Chapter 19: Going All In
"Mother fucking dick suck cunt fucking fuck fuckity…"
"…" Danhauser Belial carefully spared a steady glance at the blonde girl floating beside him—she was hiding her face with that pointed hat of hers.
Danhauser turned back to the hologram on the table.
"….fuck fucker fucking fucks fuckers! FUCK!" Mephisto Pheles breathed out, angrily massaging his temple. "They're five steps ahead of us…!"
"I'm so sorry, Pops," Lavinia Reni apologized, crestfallen.
"Why didn't any of you tell me about this?" Mephisto squinted his eyes at both Danhauser and Lavinia. The good thing is that at least the Director was patient enough for them to finish, even if he was on the brink of exploding in a fit of curses, he stayed quiet.
That truly deserves recognition.
"We were occupied searching for clues," Danhauser replied, adding. "To hopefully locate their hideout and move to the next phase."
The Director huffed and rolled those heterochromatic eyes, obviously with an attitude of disbelief, which in a way, they weren't lying, something that Mephisto truly believes. The main problem's the late update to him and the rest.
Hence the scolding.
"They have two of them now," He grumbled. "From what you've told me, these two Evil Beasts have the resemblance of a cat and a hawk." They nodded. "Good thing Azazel told me about them. The cat is known as Toukotsu and the hawk Kyuuki, they control over lightning and wind respectively."
Grauzauberer's director continued. "Now it seems Augusta and Hanezu wish to have a word with you."
Both Devil and Magician noticed the lack of warmness in his words. They don't know if it was because the Agency is practically pushing them around or Danhauser and Lavinia's lack of contact with them. They just nodded mutually.
"There's no denying that this is just a stupid attempt to snare our attention," Mephisto said icily.
"Which they did," muttered Danhauser.
"We'll end this now," Mephisto said, snapping a hand at a shocked Lavinia. "I'm tired of playing with their shit. This could mean many things, a trap, alliance or even a way to push you out of this mess. We know the coordinates where the meeting is going to be, they'll obviously be filling the zone with traps to give them the advantage if a battle breaks out. Regardless of it, we will fight."
Danhauser shrugged a single shoulder. "Maybe force them out of there?" He suggested.
Mephisto's distinct eyes closed, treating his words with the consideration it deserved. "Impossible. I can bet that Augusta and Walburga are going to be present, most likely to act as Hanezu's bodyguards."
Not an easy task, at all. Pushing the whole Agency out of that place was possible. He hopes. Danhauser wasn't a master of the arts of tactics. He wasn't a tactician that tipped the scales as a daily basis his previous life.
Defeating the Agency and capture the leaders is a taller task. And saving the students and respective parents without causing them any harm? The difficulty increased by a lot.
Lavinia noted Danhauser going motionless. He still looked terse as ever—arms folded, eyes gazing somewhat pointedly—but the way his nose twitched, it reminded her of tension. "It would be great if we could get reinforcements from you." He said. "Something tells me this fight is going to be much bigger than the previous ones."
"I will," Mephisto confirmed, no hesitation laced his voice. "We, the Faustus, swore to stop them from folding more chaos. They'll love fighting at your side just as long as they have the chance to give each one of them a black eye."
Danhauser glanced at Lavinia, who looked as determined as the blue-red-haired Devil.
"Just for safe measures, I'll send Azazel the coordinates to take a look at the place," Mephisto picked up nimbly. "If there's a Faction that can stay hidden from anyone's radar, it's Grigori. I'll also call the Ace of my academy."
Lavinia's eyes widened. "Is he…?"
"Yes, he is," Mephisto replied. "He doesn't know about this, yet. But I'll inform as soon as we end this conversation."
"Is… is it a good idea?" The Faustus hesitantly asked. "You know how he is…"
"I don't have any other option, Lavinia." Mephisto cut her off. "Besides, because of his Sacred Gear, he can teleport our allies immediately in the midst of the war. That'll become handy to us."
"I understand," Lavinia conceded, not looking entirely convinced by her headmaster's explanation, but with the reflection of someone who knew they needed to use the last cent to grasp victory.
The holographic figure of Mephisto began stroking his chin, gazing into the nearest thing as he weighed his options. "… If luck smiles upon us, then they'll instantly be arrested, only if we follow our plan to the letter. Augusta is someone we couldn't look down upon, after all, she was offered a seat in the Magical Council… that was until I expelled her for being fucking retarded."
"What can you tell me about her?" Danhauser promptly asked. "How strong is she? I understand she was offered a place in the Council, but I doubt you invite those who are just strong."
"You're right, I don't," Mephisto confessed. "I seek for those who have a good head over their shoulders, without doing anything moronic." He explained briefly. "… And about her powers, she's fond of the motto 'A magician never reveals his secrets', she was back then the user of Incinerate Anthem and a good one at that..."
"Damn…" Danhauser pursed his lips. "In terms of Magic power?"
"Good enough to single-handedly take down Va, Natsume and myself," Lavinia plainly said. "But we were ambushed, maybe we could've defeated her if we were alert that night."
Mephisto grunted. "Wizards of Oz has four Aces, Augusta was the third strongest of them, where the other three aces are is unknown."
Danhauser noted Lavinia stiffing slightly. He remained quiet.
"Other than that, Augusta has the common tricks as any other Magician." Mephisto paused. "I won't participate in the fight. If I do, I'll leave Grauzauberer and the Magical Council defenseless for an open attack, Tannin and I are going to keep an eye over here."
"Alright then," Danhauser sighed, urgent and tensed. He frowned. "You want us to capture them?"
"… Preferably, yes," Mephisto said uncertainly, his features wrinkling. "… but I can't see that happening. They can disappear as many times as they want… so the other option we have is—!"
"End them," Lavinia finished for him, nodding firmly. "Consider it done, Pops."
Lavinia was treated with a fixed stare. She had to hide her eyes behind her hat. Even Danhauser found it uncomfortable.
"Very well," the elder drawled. "If things start getting out of hand, then expect to see either Tannin or myself chiming in along with the Faustus. Meanwhile, I'll interrogate Kazuhisa but this time with… harsher methods. Stay sharp."
The conversation finished with a small flicker on Mephisto's figure, leaving his presence from the room.
The Heir released a tired yawn, he had in mind to go back to his home and stay the night with his family, that was until Hanezu Himejima and Augusta decided to suggest a 'meeting.' That most likely would end in a fight. Hopefully the last one.
"Tired?" The Magician softly asked, even her eyes carried the maternal glint over them.
Knowing the answer, she continued. "Don't worry, this senseless war will be over soon."
The Heir, for an odd reason, doesn't feel alleviated by her words. He made sure to smile, though. "I hope so. The one who worries me is Augusta."
She frowned and nodded in agreement. "Indeed, a dangerous foe she is. I would love to speak with you about anything else, but it's better if we began formulating strategies for the upcoming battle."
Danhauser couldn't agree more. "Definitely," he breathed out, gesturing at the exit. "Shall we go downstairs and fill them in?"
She giggled. "We shall."
Since they were using Sae Toujou's former house as their base they needed resources such as food drinks and more places for the team to sleep in, like a futon. Tons of them. They were eight people in total and the house only carried three bedrooms, each one of them having a bed, Sae parent's bed was for two people.
But it was doubtful that they were willing to share the bed. Danhauser Belial wouldn't.
Of course, they weren't foolish enough to leave the house alone without someone staying vigilant in case of intruders trespassing. Lavinia Reni, Tobio Ikuse, and Jin had volunteered to do the shopping while the rest figured out what to do to burn time. Some of them honed their skills, or others explored deeper into the building.
When the two Longinus Users arrived, no one wasted a breath to slump on a chair and wait for the food with empty stomachs. With the Agency always being the first thing to worry about, they almost skipped dinner.
"Alright!" Slash Dog called them out. "Food's ready! Go pick up a dish!"
They scavenged their food for dinner out of the kitchen and ended up back on the table where everyone is already eating from their bowl. Danhauser couldn't really blame them for not waiting for the rest to take a seat. The smell was intoxicating and impossible to resist.
"Delicious," Lavinia praised the cook, eating her noodles. "You are a talented cook, Tobio."
Tobio sheepishly chucked, rubbing his neck. "Credit goes to my granny. If it wasn't for her, I would be skinny as hell right now."
"…" Vali Lucifer remained quiet, also using a chopstick to twirl the food in his bowl, carefully fishing a few and eating it off, humming pleasantly. "They're good."
"It's amazing!" Bova Tannin grabbed the bowl and drank the liquid in seconds, sighing contently. "Is there more?"
"On the kitchen, inside a cooking pot, you can't miss it," the brunet waved him off before glaring. "But leave some for us!"
"Yeah, yeah," Bova rolled his eyes and moved away with a goofy grin, almost flipping the table with his tail.
"Watch it!" Snapped the Japanese boy, getting a grunt from the retreating dragon. He caught sight of the Devil, Dhampir, and Ex-Exorcist.
Tobio arched an eyebrow. "Why're you three not eating? Not hungry?"
"I don't know how to use chopsticks," Danhauser admitted with a discouraging laugh.
"Likewise," Siegfried grumbled, fighting to grab anything from his dish with the wooden sticks.
Valerie Tepes just shrugged, not even trying. "Same reason."
"Well then," clicking his tongue, the gray-haired dropped the chopsticks and picked the fork on the table. "Good news, Mephisto's going to send backup."
Since Belial had the courage to bring forth the subject, Lavinia supported him. "Grauzauberer is going to help us out."
"A whole magical organization...?" Siegfried drawled. "Your headmaster is really tired of this, isn't he?"
"Everyone is," Valerie corrected him. "I presume the negotiation between you and Mr. Himejima was never meant to happen?"
"It will happen," Danhauser said, gathering confused looks from everyone. "I'll distract them while the Faustus make their way to us."
"Hold on," Tobio finally understood. "Isn't it dangerous to do this alone? Augusta and Walburga most likely will be there to protect Hanezu!"
"Of course you guys will be there," Danhauser explained. "They'll grow suspicious if they notice that most of you are gone."
"That's excellent," the light-blonde commented. "I encourage you to not hesitate on demanding answers, mostly about their desire to achieve the Four Fiends."
"What makes you think they'll give us free information?" The brunet asked, sending a brief nod to Bova who came back. "That'd be stupid on their part."
"You're right, it would be moronic," she admitted. "But if they really want us on their side, or at least out of their business, they'll gladly fill a few holes. Of course, we won't join their cause..."
"… We'll make them think we're interested." Siegfried finished for her.
"That sounds dangerous," Danhauser said, but thoughtfully.
"We're already facing danger," Valerie pointed out. "And something tells me that there'll be harsher problems in the future compared to this. We should take advantage of the situation and fish out some answers."
"I don't like this," Lavinia said, frowning. "There's no necessity to even speak to them, it's preferable to just finish them, you cannot trust them."
"It's your decision, Master," Siegfried reminded the gray-haired. "As your servant. Whatever is your decision, I'll follow it."
"…" Danhauser laid down his fork and stared distantly into his palms, the fact that several pairs of eyes were drinking over his figure made it more difficult to concentrate. "We'll talk to them." He announced. "Maybe, just maybe, they'll tell us where the parents are and those affected by the Utsusemi."
"Unlikely," Siegfried said, arms folded. "But if that's your order, then I shall obey it."
The Faustus sewed her lips, but the scowl pointed her opinion about this.
"So, it's decided," finally, Vali spoke after gulping his dinner. "Pity we're not going to straight into the fight. Whatever, I'll handle Augusta if things start getting off-hand."
"Unfortunately, a fight will happen," Danhauser interlocked his fingers and sighed. "Now, let's jump to the next subject, we need people to stay vigilant during the night while everyone else's sleeping."
"Good idea," Siegfried concurred. "We're eight if we count Jin. Two can stay awake for an amount of time and then swap with another pair."
Lavinia hastily floated beside the Dhampir, startling her. "Then if I can choose, I would love being partnered with you."
Valerie blinked, bemused. "Pardon me?"
The Magician just smiled invitingly. "We're the only girls in this house. Girls work great together. Plus you need to tell me how to get such beautiful hair like yours!"
"W-wait a second—!" Valerie yelped as Lavinia dragged her by the hand. "S-stop! Stop this mistreatment right away… or I'll bite you!"
Danhauser locked sight with the two blondes, smiling in amusement. "So…" he started after the girls disappeared up the stairs, looking at the only males. "Who wants beautiful hair such as mine?"
Tobio pointed a thumb at his shadow. "I'll be working with Jin. Sieg with Bova."
"Then that leaves me with…" Danhauser drawled, his eyes landing on the silver-haired boy. "You. Hope you don't mind."
Vali just shrugged, alright with it. "We can be the first ones keeping an eye out. I'm not really tired."
The Heir hummed in response. "Thought I was the only one." He turned to Siegfried and indicated to the second floor. "You guys get some sleep, I'll call you out when it's your turn."
"Of course." Siegfried spun around, followed by the rest.
"A fair warning," the White Dragon said. "Make sure to keep the door locked. Lavinia's a sleepwalker and normally, she'll sleep on a bed even if it has an owner."
"Where's the problem, again?" Danhauser joked with a chuckle, eliciting stares. He flushed. "I was kidding, trying to lighten the mood."
"Right," Tobio muttered.
"Thank you for the caution," Siegfried ignored them and climbed the stairs. "I'll make sure of it."
Something that Danhauser Belial and Vali Lucifer shared in common is the dislike of small talks. The former figured it out by noticing the way Vali's eyebrows sank for each question Belial asked. He obviously stopped to not annoy him, but in all honestly, Danhauser didn't like to be quiet when someone's with him. Fear of boring them to death.
So, Danhauser suggested something that made Vali's lip mold into an eager grin.
However, to complete this request, they needed to be in the backyard.
"Bring it," Danhauser fired bullets of demonic energy gliding to Vali with the tip of his finger. They were easily deflected by Vali's barrier.
The halfbreed blitzed forward with a speed that was very hard to follow. It wasn't too shocking, after all, the silver-haired was schooled in combat by the Governor-General himself. Vali is an extremely efficient combatant, even if he's thirteen years old.
But Danhauser was disciplined by The Emperor. He brought an arm up and parried the flying kick, almost tripped over by the unexpected sheer force.
Before Belial could grab his leg and slam him down, Vali bent his legs and bounced away, quickly summoning his mecha wings and darting over, landing a firm punch across Danhauser's cheek.
Vali hastily jumped out of range, smirking. "Is that all you got?" He taunted, he couldn't see it by the way Danhauser rubbed his cheek, but he imagined a good bruise was left behind.
Danhauser didn't reply.
"Lend me your power!" Vali said, snapping his fingers to trigger his Sacred Gear… but nothing happened.
He scowled and repeated his actions, facing the same consequences. "What have you—!" Vali coughed when Danhauser's kneeled him on the abdomen.
The Heir never stopped, taking a hold of Vali's silver hair, he harshly yanked him closer and brought a fist on his stomach, followed by one to the cheek and more blows from different areas.
The White Dragon barely caught Danhauser's fist, heartily hitting Danhauser on his chin and pulling himself from danger.
The silver-haired spat blood and glared at his knuckles, noticing the Belial crest. "Ah, right. You're a Belial, your House trait is troublesome, you know?" He commented, dodging in and out of Danhauser's spells.
The Heir lowered his arm and Vali approached the momentum to rush at him, keeping in mind that Danhauser just shaped a demonic circle under him.
As expected, something occurred. A black viscous liquid surged through the gray circle, creeping over Danhauser, building a cocoon. Vali never hesitated, he tried to punch him, but it shot a fist of resin at him, nearly hurting him.
Vali soared to the skies and evaded the black fist that kept stubbornly stalking after him. He tried to damage Danhauser's shelter, rocketing over it, but the now three resin-shaped limbs came to the rescue every time he got closer.
He frowned when the arms of resin stopped and crawled back inside the cocoon, slowly melting to show the form of Danhauser. "What are you doing?" He asked. "Things were starting to get better!"
Danhauser passed his thumb over the corner of his bleeding lip. "Sorry, but the fight's over."
Vali's hazel eyes widened. "What? You can't just end a match like that!" He complained.
Danhauser offered a wry smile and walked past him, ignoring the huff from the young, battle-maniac. "Let's just get inside, I bet you're hungry, maybe there are noodles left in the kitchen you could eat."
Vali puffed his cheeks, reluctantly following. "If not?"
"Then Bova ate them all, let's just hope not," Danhauser said, finally stepping inside and taking a deep breath of the air conditioner. Refreshing.
He quickly made his way to the kitchen, listening to the squeal of the chair and someone slump on it. He opened the refrigerator. "Hey, Vali, why were you absent?"
The half-breed stopped tracing circles on the table. "Azazel ordered me to warn the Five Principal Clans about Hanezu's progress."
"Good thinking," Danhauser complimented as he kept on his searching. "Lavinia filled you in with everything, right?"
"Yes she did," Vali said, fist on his cheek, yawning. "Why are you in this fight?"
"To help Tobio out," Danhauser answered briefly, pulling out a cup of noodles. He shook it at him. "You like instant noodles?"
"They're alright," Vali said with a weak shrug, although Danhauser swore to hear the excitement growing in his voice. "You're not doing this from the bottom of your heart then?"
"Not really," Danhauser admitted, pouring water on the cup noodles before shoving it on the microwave. "I'm just doing it to fulfill my promise." He laid back on the wall, staring at the child. "What about you? You don't look like someone who wishes to save people. Unless you are here just to fight."
Vali sniffed the air, gulping silently. "Azazel told me to aid Grauzauberer."
"Which brings me to the next question," Danhauser said, frowning. "Why does the Grigori want to fight them back. Is it because of Natsume or the horrible things that the Agency is committing?"
"…" The White Dragon became silent, sparing a long glance at the fluffy dragon on his shoulder.
Danhauser didn't know if it was a hallucination, but he swore to see the tiniest nod coming from the toy.
"What," He shook his head, massaging his eyes.
He was about to speak but Vali was faster. "The Agency part," he answered. "The case of Natsume became something personal, but there are things that made Grigori and Grauzauberer grow worried."
"What could make Azazel and Mephisto alarmed?" Danhauser asked, finally looking away from the toy suspiciously.
"The Utsusemi," the silver-haired responded. "No matter what name they wear, they're still Independent Avatar Sacred Gears, artificially made by mortals."
The microwave's beeping sound was enough to startle Danhauser, he opened the microwave and wrapped the hot noodles in a napkin, sliding the microwaved dinner and a fork on the table. "… I still don't understand."
"Isn't it suspicious that strays of the Five Clans suddenly found a way to produce one? Back then when they were members of their respective Clans, they shared the same low views of Sacred Gears." Vali said, blowing the steam from his food before eating it. "Plus Sacred Gears are not easy to make."
"Mephisto told me that Hexennacht were expelled because of animal and human experiments." Danhauser pointed out. "Maybe Augusta and her students are the ones fabricating them?"
Vali pointed the fork at him. "Again, it's a rare sight to see humans designing Sacred Gears in such little time."
Danhauser brought a hand to his chin, absently watching Vali wolfing his dinner. His eyes finally widened in realization. "They're apprentices?"
"If by apprentices you refer to 'learn on how to create Sacred Gears' then yes they are," Vali gulped down his food. "There's someone who taught them on how to build Sacred Gears."
"I get it now… you're making a valid point, Vali." Danhauser took a seat, shaking his head in disbelief.
Vali perked up from his half-empty cup, eyebrow arched. "Did you just…?"
The gray-haired cringed. "No pun intended." He said after dropping regaining his posture. "Either way, they seem to have planned this for a long time…"
The White Dragon smirked. "Good. You're keeping up." He pushed aside the empty cup. "Azazel knew about your fights against Kazuhisa Doumon and Walburga, but who matters the most is the former, he had a black lion. The Cowardly Leo it was called, do you remember?"
Danhauser nodded.
"We took the lion back to Grigori Headquarters," the silver-haired continued. "We found out that it was an incomplete version, but it followed Azazel's methods of inventing an Artificial Sacred Gear."
…
"A traitor," The Heir whispered, already catching on. "There's a traitor among Grigori."
And the only Fallen Angel that comes to his mind is—!
"—Kokabiel," Danhauser clenched his knees tightly beneath the table. The warmonger who has the courage to steal Excalibur Fragments and appear in Kuoh Town to murder two heiresses just to resume the war between the Three Great Powers. He could be the one behind this feud.
"Exactly," Vali wiped his mouth with a sleeve. "We don't know who the backstabber is," he finally stood up, walking to the exit. "I'll be watching over the main room, if you want to fight again you know where to find me."
"…" Danhauser shaped a pyramid with his fingers, his eyes distantly locked at the wall, as if an answer was about to pop out just by glaring at it. Danhauser had the idea of calling the army of Magician to be with them, it could definitely work, Hanezu Himejima and Walburga don't seem the types of detecting multiple targets hiding in different zones. Even if Soror Shien was putting Danhauser in a corner, all her abilities came from Incinerate Anthem and powerful barriers.
The issue was Mater Ozma, Augusta.
It wouldn't be too baffling if Augusta could notice the scent of magic from different sectors and from far away, that alone could be an alarm for the Agency alongside Hexennacht to retreat in that mystic light. Danhauser always saw Augusta as the final boss, that was until Vali warned him about the traitor of Grigori.
And so far, Grigori is made up by Cadre-Class Fallen Angels, if we discount Freed Sellzen—if he's right now a member—Raynare and company.
"We could screw-up the negotiation and just fight head-on, just like Lavinia said," Danhauser gritted his teeth, shaking his head. "But we still need to buy some time for Grauzauberer to appear and it's unlikely we'll win… damn."
"Danhauser Belial," Vali's voice reached his ears, it came from the living room. "… come here."
The Heir blinked but stood up and pushed the door open. "What's wrong, Vali…?" He trailed off after discovering the problem. "Oh."
"…" Vali was in a comfy chair, pointing an accusing finger at Lavinia Reni who stole the sofa to continue her sound sleep, mumbling happy incoherent things.
"… How long was she there?" Danhauser couldn't help but ask.
Vali casually shrugged, used to this. "Maybe while we were sparring outside."
"And we never noticed her sleeping on the sofa when we came back," the Pure Devil continued, nearly disappointed.
"Never."
Danhauser ran a hand through his hair. "So, unlucky." He turned to the silent half-breed. "What do you want me to do? Pick her up and lay her on her bed?"
"You could do that," replied Vali. "Or stay here and keep an eye out while I bring a pillow and a bed sheet for her, whichever is fine."
"Alright," Danhauser nodded, dropping to his seat. "I'll make sure she doesn't go anywhere."
He prefers to do that anyway. Carrying her bridal-style would be awkward, mostly if she suddenly wakes up in Danhauser's arms.
"Good," Vali said, walking up the staircase.
"Maybe he'll find a rope to tie her up," Danhauser's eyes darted over the somnambulist Mage. "Sometimes I wonder how it feels to walk while sleeping." He spoke mostly to himself. "Obviously dangerous, but… nevermind."
The blonde snored quietly.
"… I should try activating my Senjutsu," Danhauser crossed his legs and closed his eyes. "Who knows? Maybe I'll have it now. Who am I kidding? Of course, I won't."
Straightening his back, he inhaled and exhaled.
How quickly nighttime made its presence known over them.
The whole team never had the blessing to even enjoy the morning's breakfast and the youthful evening, all thoughts preserved on what could be the last fight against the Agency and Hexennacht.
Cold sweat glistened on his furrowed brow. With a hand carefully reaching for his lower back, he passed his finger over the sheathed sword, he also made sure Tobio had three swords, as Siegfried requested.
Danhauser Belial had plenty of time to think about the matter at hand. More so when they were impatiently waiting for the enemy to appear, so they can commence the negotiations.
The route to get in here wasn't troublesome, however, when they walked on the streets it was like walking once again in the Natsume Minagawa's neighborhood, empty. This occasion with the dreaded feeling of someone observing their movements.
A blinding light suddenly emerged far away from the group, they brought a hand up to block the light striking their orbs.
"So it begins," Danhauser drew a sharp breath and hesitantly lowered his hand. Catching the sight of seven figures.
Two of them were the white cat and red hawk respectively.
Another one was Walburga the Purple Flame, floating and looking ready to incinerate Danhauser.
One of them was recognizable by Lavinia Reni and Vali Lucifer.
"Natsume!" Lavinia's eyes moistened at the sight, her body induced by a sudden passion to rush at her.
"…" Vali grabbed her by the wrist, stopping any foolish movements. He made sure to glare daggers at the elderly woman in purple robes who chuckled dryly.
"Natsume! It's me, Lavinia!" The Faustus cried out. "R-remember?"
Her hopes slowly buried down when Natsume showed no human emotions. The caramel-haired Utsusemi only wore the menacing smile on her face, just like the Utsusemi beside her.
Valerie Tepes shot a sidelong glance at the mutated Knight.
Words weren't necessary to understand the 'I told you' look, Slash Dog preferred to avert his gaze with a click of his tongue.
Siegfried and Bova Tannin stayed on guard, ready to charge when they see threatening movements.
"…" Danhauser approached the moment to peer over the kitty's owner. It was just another student from Tobio Ikuse and Sae Toujou's school, the uniform he was wearing was the proof he only had. Kouki Samejima, another important character of Slash/Dog and one of the Evil Fiends.
"You're the Devil coming from the House of Belial, I presume?" Danhauser followed with his gaze the powerful voice. On the middle between Kouki and Natsume stood the middle-aged man in a three-piece suit. The one behind the incident on the Luxury Liner and kidnapping the innocent and silencing the media.
"You must be Hanezu," Danhauser said in a neutral tone. He knew they needed to buy time for Grauzauberer to come.
"Indeed," the tough looking man said. "I am infamously known as Himejima Hanezu. As you might already be aware, I have undertaken the role of leader of the organization called the 'Utsusemi Agency'."
"… The Five Principal Clans." Tobio Ikuse by mistake mumbled, catching the terrorist's attention.
Hanezu brought a hand to his chin, a look of interest sparking in those purple eyes. "It is obvious you read the message I wrote for you, Prince Belial, or why else would you be here?" The man smiled amusingly for a short time. "If I stand correct then it makes things simple. I wish to address some things with you, Prince Belial."
Danhauser remained silent.
Hanezu took this chance to continue. "Why not fight side by side as equals? No, for argument's sake, apart from stabbing us down with that spear of yours, for the present—instead of us, why not overthrow those abominations from the Five Principal Clans?"
"Abominations?" Danhauser repeated, eyebrows furrowed.
The man smiled pleasantly at his reaction. "Ah, caught your attention, didn't I?" He chuckled shortly. "There's a dark background that the Five Clans are hiding. Those that inherited the Sacred Beasts are the ones affected by this monstrosity. Hence I left my Clan."
"I thought you were expelled?" Danhauser carefully said. "For being rebellious, something along those lines."
"Just fake rumors," Hanezu shrugged. "I was disgusted enough to leave and to my surprise, I wasn't the only one sharing the same low views over the acts of the Five Clan. Thus, the Agency has been born thanks to the generous help of the Wizards of Oz—"
"Hexennacht," the elderly woman corrected him.
"—we began designing one of our greatest creation—the Utsusemi in hopes to locate the remaining Four Fiends."
"Could Vali be right?" Danhauser glance at the silver-haired. "A Fallen Angel is helping them out? Mostly the Wizards of Oz on fabricating these Sacred Gears by copying Azazel's methods… why though?"
"How can you sound so damn proud about this?" Tobio clenched his fists. "Turning teenagers into machines just to capture the Four Fiends!"
"You wouldn't understand, Ikuse Tobio or should I address you as Himejima Tobio?" Hanezu mused, freezing the brunet. "Those of you who possess the Four Fiends will be retrieved immediately."
"Bad news for you, we don't have any of the Four Fiends anymore," Danhauser pointed out, nodding at the two Utsusemi. "We had two of them until they had the misfortune to meet you, other than that we have none."
"I know you have none of them," Hanezu assured him. "We found the two remaining one's locations."
"How do you know my name?" Slash Dog demanded in disbelief, finally breaking from his surprise. "We've never met before."
The man laughed. "How can you be so sure? After all, Ageha locked all your memories." He said, shocking all the youngsters. "But you're correct. I've never met you, but I've met your grandmother. She was a member of the Himejima Clan. They banished her for not having the desired power that the Himejima wanted, that's the story of your grandmother, Himejima Tobio."
"… It's Ikuse." Tobio growled. "Himejima was nothing more than my grandmother's maiden name."
"Although you may think so, as far as those in the underside of this country are concerned the Himejima bloodline takes precedence. However, it's ironic. For the 'Dog' to be of the genealogy of one who was expelled from the Clan… and later then, 'Lightning' appeared in the picture. Sometimes I wonder if the Himejima Clan is cursed or being derided by a god of mischief…"
"Lightning?" Danhauser parroted, shaking his head, not the time. "Where are the bereaved parents of the Utsusemi?"
"Confidential information," the elderly woman sharply replied before Hanezu could speak. "Chief-Engineer. Cut the chase. We shouldn't be speaking with them, to begin with."
"I can't believe I stand in agreement with you," Lavinia spat out, glaring at Augusta.
Mater Ozma snorted indignantly. "I have no words for you. Traitor."
Danhauser frowned at her words.
"Interesting," the stray Himejima eyed the Faustus. "Not only are the gang of crows blocking our objectives, but Lord Pheles sent one of her students into the fray, you weren't lying, Mater Ozma." He sighed, disillusioned. "Just with that alone, I presume that this alliance was never meant to happen?"
Everyone slowly posed a fighting stance, Danhauser reached for the sword under his lower back. His eyes wandering over the blonde Magician who had a troubled look. "Where's Grauzauberer, Lavinia?"
Much to their surprise, the man never missed a heart's beat, unfazed by their display. His shoulders slumped like a disappointed father. "It appears so." The snap of his fingers was enough for Vali and Bova to charge forward. "Augusta."
"At last."
The two Dragons unwillingly froze like statues, the corners of their bodies faintly glowing. Bova's fist just inches away to send Hanezu's head flying to United States airlines.
Vali grunted.
"The hell…!" Bova roared, shakily trying to at least gash out the terrorist's cheek, but his arm just quivered in place. "I-I can't MOVE!"
They weren't the only ones affected.
Just when Hanezu had thundered his digits the whole group felt their feet slowly retreating from the floor. An unknown, invisible force grabbed their throats, clenching them. They struggled to kick the air, their head's pounding as every cell in their bodies screamed for oxygen.
Not only that, but they felt how slowly they ribcages were getting squeezed.
Danhauser instinctively reached out for his neck, feeling the veins popping out at his touch. His wide eyes weakly darted over Augusta, whose fingertips dully glowered. He noted how she shot a cold glare at Bova who stubbornly moved around in mid-air, hissing in pain whenever the Dragon harshly attempted to escape.
"Stupid lizard!" Walburga snapped, cloaking her fingers with holy fire with, grinning. "Gotta turn you to ashes first it seems… fine by me! Hyahahaha!"
"We'll see about that, bitch!" Bova growled.
Walburga eyebrow quivered. "You…!"
Danhauser abused her distraction. Mentally, albeit with difficulties, he invoked demonic ripples circling their foes and fired. The Force behind the attack rushed all at once and bombard over their enemies like a nuclear warfare.
Just the briefest second they were airborne before roughly landing on land, gasping for air.
"Telekinesis," Siegfried breathlessly said, carefully standing up. "That's her specialty!"
"Shit man," Tobio cursed, massaging his sore throat. "How are we going to beat that?!"
Jin barked in agreement!
"Stop chatting and get ready," Valerie said. "The battle's about to begin."
Just as the Dhampir said, the curtain of smoke dispersed, revealing the three terrorist and the two Utsusemi safely inside a powerful barrier.
"What a bunch of troublesome brats," Augusta growled in annoyance, disabling her defensive spell and barely soaring away from Vali's fist. "You again. Hadn't you learned your lesson back then?"
"I'll make you pay!" Vali vowed, going for the kick only to be slapped away by Augusta's magic.
"Now!" Danhauser snapped his fingers, building demonic circles behind him, only to be instantly burned down by the purple flames.
"Hyahaha!" The laugh of Walburga reached his ears. He looked up and found the witch on the air, arms painted in purple fire.
She smirked. "I'm so lucky! My date tonight is sooo attractive~!" She fanned herself. "I'm too nervous to speak~!"
"I've actually read that conversation is overrated," said Danhauser, calling upon Worthlessness. "Just try not speaking at all. In fact, let's go ahead and start that now."
"FINE BY ME!" Walburga threw fireballs at him, only to be intercepted by a sudden wall of ice.
"Now what—!" She yelped in surprise when an icicle slashed her cheek. She chuckled dryly. "My my, Lavinia~! How rude of you to interrupt our honeymoon, Hyahahaha!"
"That explains why everything's cold." Danhauser felt the temperature dropping way down for his tastes, he could literally see his breath.
"Where are they, Lavinia?" Danhauser demanded after feeling her presence, trying to scare off Walburga away with many spells as possible. "Where's Grauzauberer?"
The girl in question tipped her hat as the ice slowly spread across her. "… I-I don't know, but it's too early, let's just be patient, they'll come, I know they will."
"Tch, tch," Walburga wagged her index finger, building distance from Augusta and Vali's fight, her Mater's got this—she proudly thought. "Cold, cold as always, you dumb popsicle! You know who wouldn't approve of this attitude? Glin—!" She stopped just to melt a rain of icicles. "Is that all you got, bitch?"
"I'll leave the rest in your hands, she's mine!" Soror Demise declared before soaring to the skies and fearlessly clashing with Soror Shien's flames with her ice.
"Master!" Danhauser broke from his trance after a hand grabbed his shoulder. "Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine Siegfried," Danhauser took a deep breath, slowly relaxing.
"You sure?" Tobio asked, Valerie, Bova, and Jin joining in. He nodded at Walburga. "You almost got turned into bacon back there."
"Just remind me to thank Lavinia later," Danhauser glared at Hanezu. "Hello there."
"…" Hanezu scowled at their stances. "You youngsters are starting a habit of costing us more time, even yours."
"My bad, but I'm having trouble translating your words," said Danhauser, scratching his ear. "I only hear bullshit coming from your mouth."
Hanezu growled. "Enough talking!" The two Utsusemi alongside their respective Evil Fiends jumped in front of him. "Balance Breaker!"
The Hawk and Cat were engulfed in a white a light, shocking the group.
"Well, shit," Bova blurted out, but with an excited grin. "Things are about to get messy! Heh!"
Danhauser gritted his teeth, he never expected for the two fiends to already have their balance breakers! He summoned his cheap version of Babylon and fired at once at the evolving Sacred Gears, hoping to do as much damage as possible.
The spells hit the targets with extreme precision, getting in return primal roars from the creatures. Unfortunately, his demonic bullets were now getting reflected by wind blades and gusts, coming from the former hawk, Kyuuki.
"A Griffon," Danhauser contained a gasp, "Just as big as Bova!"
Faster than a predator, the former white cat, Toukotsu, ran at an incredible speed, now striking the appearance of a white Bengal tiger, lightning coursing through its skin as it lunged at Danhauser's group.
"Watch out!" They barely dodged the sharp seven tails of the gigantic feline.
"Jin!" The brunet called out, his Dog turning into a black blade, but before he could make a move, Hanezu rushed and swung his monk staff in his head, knocking him to the floor.
"You… I'll crush you!" A battle-cry exploded from Bova's throat as he jumped in front of Hanezu. He never had the chance to enjoy the expression on his face, too occupied tasting the clenched talon that embedded itself over his cheek.
Surprisingly, Bova didn't show any signs of pain. Rather, he snorted smoke from his snout, clearly disappointed by the force. Grasping the Griffon's wrist that had just punched him he snarled "Weak!" before whirling around, dragging Kyuuki along the ride until the Dragon thrown him into the air, quickly rushing after him.
"Siegfried, catch!" Danhauser tossed him the sword sheathed in his lower back. "You can take care of Toukotsu, can you?"
The former Exorcist nodded confidently, pulling out his twin swords and catching the third one with his Twice Critical. "Leave it to me."
And in the blink of a flash, the Bengal Tiger and Knight clashed in the middle of the battlefield, the Evil Beast roaring like thunder.
The Heir noted how furiously Tobio engaged with Hanezu. He turned to the quieter of the group. "Valerie, you need to be in a safe place, you have to heal them whenever they need your help, understood?"
The Romanian nodded. "Going somewhere?"
Danhauser pulled out his spear. "I'm going to help Vali, there's no way he can defeat Augusta alone."
"And with your help, the tables might, unexpectedly, turn around?"
"Maybe not," The gray-haired boy admitted, stretching his bat-wings. "But its worth a shot, take care!"
"…" Valerie watched for a moment as Danhauser took off to the sky. She sighed. "Good luck, Mr. Belial."
Danhauser Belial knew he was catching up when a flying car nearly crushed his head like a watermelon.
It wasn't the only object accidentally thrown at him, sometimes a lamppost or other debris would find a way to slow down the Devil. It didn't stop him from reaching the chaotic fight of Augusta and Vali Lucifer, but it somewhat slowed him down on reaching the destination.
The positive thing of slowing down was that Danhauser had sufficient time to find and get behind cover when a jaw-dropping bizarre power of telekinesis swept through the town. Roofs were flung like Frisbees, windows shattered, a few taller buildings were left with a large hole in them.
"What are you doing?" Vali asked, joining Belial on his hiding spot not so long ago. "I said that I'll take care of her!"
"…" Danhauser casted a sideways glance at Vali, carefully analyzing his physical condition. He was sweating and taking deep breaths, tired but not near the stage of exhaustion. Possibly half of his demonic remains gone. A few bruises hidden by clothes. The adrenaline in his blood and his Sacred Gear were the only things keeping him conscious.
The dragon on his shoulder was intact.
"I'm here to help you out," Danhauser responded.
"I can handle her alone," The White Dragon insisted.
"No you can't," Danhauser hissed. "Anyways, we'll jump in when her powers tones down. We need to catch her by surprise so be careful." He said, tightly holding his spear. He knew if the timing was horrible, the chances of getting killed are higher.
"Ready to go?" Danhauser softly asked.
Vali just grunted, clearly upset.
Danhauser had thought that maybe it would be a good idea to make a signal because the way Vali used the last second to jump out of cover caught Belial off-guard. Even so, he couldn't be angry at him, it wasn't as if Mater Ozma hadn't found them yet.
"Two of them now," Augusta icily remarked, watching the two Devils plowing into the clearing. "Fine then!" Immediately throwing rubble with her telekinesis.
In an instant, Danhauser and Vali became blurred and vanished from sight, easily evading her attacks. They teleported in front of the terrorist and shortly thrashed out at her, only for Augusta to slap them with her unmatchable powers, launching them downward.
Despite their efforts of maintaining control in the air, the two of them crashed like meteors down to earth, their harsh landing shaping cracks on the streets. They limped and shakily began lifting from the ground, glaring up.
And suddenly, they were forced to their knees. The two individuals met the ground once again, feeling the sudden pressure sought a home on their backs, painfully their bodies trembled. In a blink of an eye, their limbs betrayed them, Augusta spell flatting them on the floor, prompting the ground to crack and cave in.
Danhauser cringed when a 'snap' came from Vali's body. He was actually starting to feel his bones slowly losing their endurance. The way she manipulated her magic was obvious. It was a sight to behold, she was a master to the point that even gravity obeyed every single command. A growl of annoyance left his throat. He knew he would be struggling fighting against her, after all, she's Headmistress of Hexennacht, but this was too much for him. It wounded his pride, somehow.
Gray demonic power that laid asleep within him began to steer up and speed up to cover him with a kind of shield. Suddenly feeling his body safe from the unstoppable force. He casually began standing up, even if he was in the middle of the spell, he dashed forward to meet up with the culprit, his Worthlessness armor became ferocious around him.
Augusta's eyes almost left her sockets, but thanks to the fist that slammed into her face with the speed and strength of a launched missile they remained, but at the cost of flying away.
Mater Ozma flew at best just a few meters away from the teenagers, before snapping her fingers and calling out a flying broom, that caught her before her back could crash into a building. Her hand instinctively made it around her closed, damaged eye, her vision distorted and it was difficult to open it, the crest of Belial laid there.
Her remaining eye glimmered with fury.
Danhauser slid to a crouch next to Vali, picking up his beaten spear while not looking away from Augusta. "Go back to Valerie, she'll heal you. Then come back."
The White Dragon looked ready to protest but stopped when a deep and powerful voice echoed in his head. [Do it, Vali.] The being said. [Your arm is broken and your leg too. Your ribcage looks like it's about to snap just by touching it, you're not in good conditions to fight.]
The half-breed clenched his teeth, passing his sleeve over his bleeding mouth. "Whatever," he shot a warning glare at Danhauser. "I'll come back, stronger."
"Looking forward to it," The Heir said just as Vali used his Sacred Gear to temporarily disappear from the fight.
"Your house trait's troublesome," Augusta spat, shooing her flying broom away whilst invoking her telekinesis to remain in the air. "The power to nullify magic. Use it on a Magician and you'll leave them defenseless." She cackled like a witch. "The House of Belial truly is a nightmare for us mages."
He dropped his battered spear and flared his demonic power into a full-on mode. As it burned around him, making sure that his grayish skin was protected as much as he could. He knew he couldn't keep this 'armor' for the whole fight, there are moments that he'll need to disable it just for the sake of not draining himself of demonic power. If he, somehow is out of juice, he'll become the chewing toy of Augusta.
The traces of gray reached up to Danhauser's wings, and he was off. A jet stream of gray energy was left behind as the gray-haired youth flew at his adversary with absurd speed, shaping demonic circles behind him and firing his house trait at Mater Ozma.
She growled and with her powers started collecting whatever was within her reach, shaping with the materials a horrible looking wall that blocked all the projectiles hurling at her. Fortunately, just when Worthlessness made contact with the telekinetic force that held the wall, it began losing strength and fell like raindrops on a cloudy day.
Augusta didn't bat an eye nor showed signs of bafflement, she saw this coming from far away, she's not stupid. The world through her remaining eye began tinting in white by her magic. Her hands vanished inside the silvery glow that burst from her palms. Each grew into a spherical shape, they pulled back on Augusta's hand, levitating the biggest rocks, the broken vehicles that were spread from the wrecked town, raining a storm of meteorites in her wake.
Danhauser halted and watched in awe at the incoming wave that was chasing after him. There was no way he could destroy Augusta's work in time. If he had Power of Destruction, maybe the probabilities would rise. He deactivated his Clan trait from his body to not run out of energy, taking off from another direction as he kept doing aerobatics to evade whatever his foe threw at him.
He wrapped himself in Worthlessness again and went after her, his body not flinching when lightning or fire struck him, shrugged easily by his House Trait. He tangled his hand in her hair and made sure the crest of his Clan stayed printed somewhere on her body. Danhauser inhaled, reared his arm back and roared as his fist slammed into her stomach.
While Danhauser crossed his fingers for Augusta to crash on the floor or building, her flying broom once again appeared to assist her. Those grey eyes that settled over the mad eye of Augusta, how her twisted, wrathful eye that shined under the pale moon, it brought a chill to his back.
He could feel her killing intent.
"I'm a moron," Danhauser facepalmed. "Why did I just punch her? I could've just shot a demonic bullet in her head!" He paused, glancing at his own hand. "Maybe I'm not ready to kill after all…"
A murderous growl fled from Augusta's mouth as a white aura coated her, crackling like electricity, most of her powers moving to her hands as it slowly began to intensify with magic, she saw the projectiles of Worthlessness going after her. She just brought objects into the air, impeding their path and buying her time to charge her power. Her veins popped out and pulsed, a fair warning to Mater Ozma which she gladly ignored and kept pushing her limits.
"Why is she still alive?! How strong are you?!" Danhauser kept firing torrents of his whole arsenal, in an attempt to at least wound, or burn all her fuel to the point of severing exhaustion. Because of his enhanced vision, he noted how the streets under him cracked, chunks of pavement bounced on the floor, the buildings trembled and the windows were ready to explode inwards, vibrating.
No matter how much demonic power he hurled at her, she would block it with a car or dodge it while sitting on her possessed broom. He could just go and punch her once again, but the probability of getting hit with a lamppost as if she was playing baseball was a huge possibility, he won't risk it just to get wounded.
So he spun around and retreated for safety.
The Witch of the East smirked at the sight. She extended her arm forward as three white rings began spiraling at their own accord. As the twirl fastened as time went on, the air around her began to deform and shuffle distinctly by the incoming force of Augusta's strongest attack.
Danhauser gulped and flapped his pair of wings faster to retreat from Augusta's landing spot. He reached to the heart of the town before the witch launched her arm forward in a punch-like motion, the overcharged spell went downward. "PERISH!"
From all the distance he has built, the overpowered blast proved to be superior in terms of speed. The second that Augusta's telekinesis arrived on earth a mammoth wave of the city's remains erupted from the ground and eclipsed the floating Magician by a flood of rubble. Correction, 'flood' was an insult to her skills— the tsunami of rubble digested everything, flattened homes and tossed vehicles. It was a wall of destruction, cold and powerful.
Rushing, racing, roaring—angry froth foaming from between its lips. Danhauser's body was paralyzed with fear, his breath coming out short and sharp. He knew he had to take off, but his legs and wings refused to move. It crawled at him as swift and unforgiving as an ax, felling anything in its path.
Finally, he broke from his shock, cursing and raising his hands. His household circle erupted into life over his palms as he aimed them at forthcoming, unstoppable tide, locking himself on a five-layered barrier, ready—not—to clash with the scaled-down cataclysm.
And a moment later, the light disappeared.
Danhauser Belial coughed sharply that he may accidentally puke two lungs out. His night vision was surprisingly strongly illuminating the surroundings than before. He knew he was under rubble and other things that the tsunami had devoured.
He again coughed, followed by a short gasp. His lungs begging for fresh air that he longed for above the surface. The air thick with dust. Sweat lingering in the air. The walls closed in. The darkness was overwhelming.
It felt suffocating.
He tried to shift from his fetal position, chuckling whenever he made a single move, soft or sharp, a jolt of pain would appear.
"I don't know why I laugh while I'm in pain. I need help." He still persisted in moving his arms, and the more he did so, the closer he was to the moon's light. With the remaining tenacity he had in his system, he drove his hands out, tossing rubble out.
"I knew I should've brought a shovel," He made sure to keep his eyes closed while pushing rubble and dust out of the way. When he finished, he slowly began crawling out of the rabbit's hole.
What he saw made his brain go blank.
All around were household items: teapots, kettles, toasters, chairs, and computers. Every one of them saturated and broken. All these things people 'needed' from the stores were now just hunks of metal and yet Danhauser had to be glad that his heart beat in his chest and his bones weren't as cold as those scattered appliances. The homes that still stood were beyond repair, the walls leaning, and roofs are gone. The vehicles flipped over, some missing wheels, windows shattered and even a few had their alarms ringing loudly.
He crept again to pull himself out of the hole and laid back on a wall's remains. His face was dirty, a forehead full of blood as it slowly slithered down to his cheek. Bruises and scratches scarred his bare torso and arms, no signs of clean skin could be seen.
"You survived," came the exhausted voice of Augusta above him, he weakly looked up as the Headmistress of Hexennacht hovered after him. He could feel a menacing glow from her remaining eye. She didn't look good either, apart from her battered eye, blood was slowly oozing out of numerous wounds in her face, nose, and arm, a small but relentless flow of crimson, but however, she felt no pain. That attack consumed a lot of magical residues.
"You really are a dangerous foe." She stood in front of him, but not close enough for Danhauser to use a sneak attack. "Now I see why Walburga was defeated by you. Congratulations on getting so far."
"She will not get the better of me," He fought back a cough and a curse as he left the ground. His tongue was soaked with the taste of blood. Bruised and winded, with a leg in agony, he used his wings and as previous times, Worthlessness flashed on his body.
"Pointless," was Augusta's blunt answer as she waved her hand to slap him away with telekinesis, but because of the Belial Clan trait, nothing happened. A click of her tongue echoed around her before taking off to the skies, easily evading the demonic bullets that tried to connect with her. "Give up already!"
Danhauser never retorted back. He wasn't thinking when he let out his boiling Worthlessness and antipathy, his body took over and barely dodged the distorted air that flew past his face. Just the sensation of a slash grazing his cheek brought a dreadful chill on his spine. It burned.
He flew straight to the air, invoked a dozen of demonic spears and rained them down at the Stray Magician.
The impact like thousands of venomous blades trying to pierce apart Mater Ozma's barrier, some of them sank deeper than others, but not enough to cleave her flesh or poke it. She hastily dismantled her defensive spell and repelled the air around her clenched fist, sending a devastating shockwave toward her opponent at the speed of light.
It hit his abdomen with such force blood pooled into his mouth. Pain erupted from the point of impact as he was blown away from Augusta.
The Devil hit earth with enough force to send the rubble into the air, reaching a stage of obliteration and fatigue that he never thought it ever existed.
Augusta, still floating above him, rose up a hand, slowly shaping a large spear of metal that she recollected from her surroundings. She took aim. "… It ends here."
Danhauser couldn't give a reply, weakly he tried to raise an arm to keep a barrier up but quickly realized how futile it was when he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. A sudden sharp pain lanced through his gut and colorful spots flashed in front of his eyes. Behind all those spots censuring his vision, he could perfectly register the lance jammed its way into his abdomen and twisted. Then she pulled back, leaving behind a wound impossible to survive or heal.
Danhauser let out a strangled scream and felt blood well in his throat, tears slithering from his cheeks as Augusta properly targeted his skull.
Her concentration was cut off when a strong blast of demonic power worked together to create a massive explosion that charged into Augusta like a nuclear weapon, creating a cloud of smoke and fire around her.
While she survived the unexpected attack with her strongest rounded barrier, the speed, and force that rammed into her defenses made her bounce and when she landed she kept doing so, accidentally building some distance between her and the new adversary.
Finally, she came to a sudden stop whilst dispelling her magical shield, quickly locking eyes with the humanoid silhouette behind the curtain of smoke. The first two thoughts that burned her brain was 'machine' and 'dragon'. The white robotic wings, the large mechanical tail, the draconic aura, they certainly made it easier to imagine.
"…Really?" The Heir coughed out blood, enough for the white helmet to look at Danhauser's direction, yellow orbs clashing with his gray, tired ones. "You... you had your armor and you never used it?"
"I could've still defeated her without it," Vali Lucifer boasted, enough to make his Great-Grandfather blush. "Even if I was healed, I didn't want to use it, but Azazel told me to finish this now."
"Cheeky shota," Danhauser blinked the tears away and glared at the White Dragon, slowly breaking into a weak, shaky smile. "G-glad you're fine, though."
He just nodded and tossed a golden chalice at him. "That girl healed me with that, she told me to lend it to you." He paused. "…You appear to need it."
Like a thirsty wanderer on a desert, he lunged after the Sephiroth Graal and grabbed it by its waist, immediately feeling its miracles working on him, the pain in his stomach slowly withered away by the splendid, golden light.
"Thank you so much, Valerie," Danhauser sighed in relief.
"When you're done, get ready to fight," said Vali, taking a stance as Augusta slowly broke from her short break. The elderly woman was tired, too.
"Wait," Danhauser grabbed Vali's feet, stopping him. "I'll… think of a plan. Distract her, but if you can defeat her, just do it."
Even if the helmet shielded the half-breed's face, he could picture the confused look. Regardless, he weakly nodded, hesitantly. "Fine."
He saw Vali charging at her with an immense speed that even Augusta showed signs of awe, but she composed herself and dodged, choosing to stay on the defensive, for now.
"Because of his speed, Augusta can barely follow Vali," mused Danhauser, using the shattered wall to pull himself away, making sure Valerie's Sacred Gear's still clutched in his fingers. "She can't use her telekinesis on him if he keeps moving—she needs to stop him at least from flying around first."
"Just a theory, though, maybe she's just low on power now," Danhauser felt how the golden glow disappeared, along with the chalice, returning back to its owner. Something that he noticed, is that the pain is also gone, he peeked down at his stomach, the only hole remaining belonged to the ruined shirt, his gray skin looked just as when he left the coffin on the very first day, perfect.
Danhauser looked around desperately, this wasn't the time to praise the powers of the Holy Grail, he was in the middle of a fight and Vali can't contain her for too long, even if he's the White Dragon Emperor and a Lucifer.
His eyes finally locked on the wall he'd used to lay down when Augusta stabbed him. He flinched when the gross memories returned—even the blood was oozed there, staining the rubble. Even so, he ran at it and placed his hand on it,
One last look at his surroundings, Danhauser noted the half-destroyed buildings scattered around them, he was standing in the middle. After that, he started to form a gray seal on the deformed wall.
He moved his hand away and watched how a string of resin shot from it, stretching before its tip glued over one of the distanced houses.
"…" Danhauser placed his index finger on the rope of resin and made it wobble. He nodded, satisfied before looking up at the fight. "Hang in there Vali, I've got a plan."
Vali Lucifer flew, evading with ease fire and lightning, stalking after the Headmistress of Hexennacht. Hitting head on one of her earliest barriers she ever made, saving her life. He could feel the vibrations coursing through his arms when the hit landed.
He snarled, like an aggravated animal as his punches started to fly so fast that thousands of attacks appear to happen in the blink of an eye.
Augusta began sweating, as she noticed a crack spread just by a single punch of him, quickly shaping another when the silver-haired went for a second try, facing the same consequences. The air distorted around them as Vali kept recklessly forcing the stray magician to stay down.
Patience along with her stamina burned away and became ashes. Her remaining eye and Vali began to glow simultaneously—the latter was forced to stop from his barrage of punches, giving Augusta proper time to ward off her oppo—!
[Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!]
A weak gasp left her mouth as her spell began to weaken around Vali. Her barriers also shattered and she nearly fell off if it wasn't for the broom that answered its master's desperate command. "H-How?!" Her voice cracked. "You have to touch me first! You never touched me!"
"You did," Vali simply replied. His voice sounded different behind that helmet, deep.
"DAMN YOU!" A frustrated scream rose from her battered throat. As a blast of demonic power almost blew half of her face off, taking in return strands of her hair. She wasn't stupid enough to get hit or get touched by him! An infinitely long invisible arm stretches out and punches Vali from his spot, not expecting the quick and wrathful attack.
She understood now. Just by grabbing him with her telekinesis, she already made physical contact.
That's absurd!
"Tch," Vali grunted, dusting his white armor from debris. "She's better in magic than Lavinia." He recognized, taking off into the air and clashing with Augusta's invisible attack with his own, dividing it. He casted an annoyed glance over his shoulder, just where Danhauser Belial was supposed to be on the ground.
To his surprise, the gray-haired flew beside him with demonic energy circles flowing to life behind him. "Now!"
The demonic circles fired bullets of demonic power at Augusta, enough to make the half-breed frown at the spell. He won't deny it, while the attack is huge and fast, is this what it took the gray-haired so much to fight? Is this his supposed plan? He would've preferred if he just attacked Augusta on her back while she's distracted.
"You…!" Augusta gritted her teeth and raised her hands. From her palms, multiple vehicles raised at her command as she focused it on the incoming demonic wave.
"DIVIDE HER!"
Vali smirked, finally catching on. "I see."
[Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!]
For each divide, her telekinesis began to dwindle until the vehicles fell back on earth, leaving Mater Ozma vulnerable and shocked.
Just as the attack impacted their foe. Augusta felt her body empty from magic circuits, catching sight of multiples Worthlessness sigils running over her body and on her magic broom, enough for the floor brush to lose its powers.
Her body twirled and jerked as she fell. The wind on her face made it impossible to breathe, she felt like she'd suffocate. Luckily, her back never met the cold and hard rubble that she created with her tsunami. Her landing was soft and was about to bounce if it wasn't for the stickiness of her life savior, pinning her.
She tried to quickly stand up, unable to do so. Her single eye wandered around and widen when she found her last stop.
Multiple strands of resin were connected by the structure lying in the middle with the surviving buildings induced by her wrath. The resin hanged loosely, dancing whenever a strong gust washed over them. It reminded her of a cobweb.
A huge cobweb.
Her sixth sense pleaded to look up, her working eye squinting to have a better look at the figures hovering at her.
A gray light flashed in the skies, making it difficult to properly see the two Devils. When the light died out, she was threatened with another sight.
Danhauser flicked his fingers as numbers of the Belial crests were summoned behind him, each of them rotating at a slow pace. But the speed began to gradually pump up to the point where it was impossible to follow with the naked eye.
Danhauser heaved, cocked his arm, and for the last time, he—
"YOU'RE GONNA GET BEAT!" —roared and swung downward at the air, his demonic circles flashing in response.
A shocking number of black, clenched fists erupted from the seals, stretching straight at Augusta, who tried to destroy them or at least reverse their course of action, but stopped when the greyish aura surrounding the cobwebs under her brightened slightly, just a mere reminder of Danhauser's main Clan Trait.
"..." Understanding the hook she just ate, she closed her single eye and relaxed her aching muscles.
Pain arrived on her frail body before blackness appeared.
Danhauser Belial and Vali Lucifer returned to the wasteland, hiding their respective wings. Little remained of the town they just fought in. It would be impossible to hide evidence of a fight occurring here. The media would salvage this, that's for sure.
"Uncle is a liar, he'd said I could only invoke resin in structures..." The Heir disabled his strings of resin, shakily standing straight meanwhile passing a hand through his sweaty temple. "Unless we count demonic circles as structures."
Both peeped down at the body, it was impossible to see the wounds with all the resin that bathed her body, but just by seeing how her chest never puffed to inhale air, they knew deep inside that she's now burning in hell.
"Not bad," complimented Vali, disabling his armor and folding his arms. "We finished her."
"We're not done yet," said Danhauser. "Our team needs our help, let's hurry!"
"Not really," countered the silver-haired, adjusting the dragon toy on his shoulder. "Azazel told me they have it under control."
Danhauser frowned suspiciously. "Since when did he tell you that?"
The toy's mouth suddenly opened. [Since you thought it was a gooood idea to handle that old hag alone.]
Danhauser owlishly blinked. "… Huh?"
The White Dragon pinched his nose. "Azazel…"
[What?] The Governor General said, playfully. [The brat already knew about this long ago, what gives?] The toy twitched its neck to face Belial, they could picture him smirking. [Good job, by the way! For a second I thought I had to send Kokabiel in there!]
Danhauser winced at the name, a troublesome figure in the future. "Why didn't you?" He asked. "We could've won this long ago."
[Vali told you about a traitor walking through the halls of Grigori, yeah?] Azazel said, his voice not friendly anymore, it was scary. [We know who he is and we were about to stop him… if it wasn't for his accomplices. Kokabiel is searching after him.]
"Hexennacht?"
[Nope. More Grigori members.] That made both Devils to perk their eyebrows up. [It doesn't seem I'm the only one facing the problem, though. Mephisto also passed through the same conflict.]
"So help never came after all," mused Danhauser, enough to elicit a grunt from Azazel. "Poor Lavinia, most of the magicians betrayed her."
Vali nodded in agreement, fist clenched.
[Nothing like that happened,] Azazel assured them, they could hear how the Fallen Angel harshly tapped his fingers on a desk. [It was just the Ace of Grauzauberer that stabbed Mephisto's back by quitting and disappearing from sight, not even sending reinforcements with his Sacred Gear before his departure. Reasons remain unknown.]
Danhauser pinched the bridge of his nose, blowing an exhausted sigh. "… A lot of stuff is happening right now."
[Yeah. I'll stop by your house tomorrow and fill you up and your Peerage, go hit the bed. I'll handle the rest. You did great for a third fight! Expected from someone of a Belial!]
"Thanks," Danhauser was about to wave goodbye before a thought came to his mind. "Wait. You know where I live?"
The Governor just gave a hearty laugh and ended the call.
"Right. He's Azazel," muttered Danhauser, tensely passing a hand through his hair.
They stayed silent for a while, their eyes roaming everywhere, it was awkward of the Heir.
Danhauser bitterly chuckled. "I-I can't believe what we just did."
"Hmm?" Vali cocked a curious eyebrow.
"This…" The gray-haired boy gestured at Augusta's corpse. "Finishing terrorists from causing trouble..."
"What's wrong with that?" The half-breed said, obviously confused. "You just said it. They asked for it."
"I know, I know," he trailed off, intuitively passing fingers where Augusta had stabbed him. "What I mean is… that's what we are going to do from now on? Fight terrorists?"
…
"… This fight is not going to be neglected by outside forces," Vali finally said. "More is going to come, especially when Azazel told us about the treachery in Grigori and Grauzauberer, we don't know if those two cases are connected in some way or if it was just bad luck striking us."
"…" Danhauser facepalmed in exasperation. "… So this is not the end."
"Not at all," Vali nodded. "It's just the beginning of something huge. The Utsusemi Agency, The Four Fiends and Hexennacht are just the tip of the iceberg. Be prepared."
Danhauser deeply sighed. "No point in getting angry, it was my call to jump into this mess, just suck it up, Danhauser," he glanced at the dark sky distantly, unfurling his wings. "Let's… let's just go and see the rest, okay?"
There was no response coming from The White Dragon Emperor, he just conjured his Sacred Gear and took off with Danhauser.
Slash/Dog only has two Volumes. In the second Volume Augusta was supposed to die, the first one Hanezu. Plus Natsume Minagawa and Kouki Samejima were not supposed to be Utsusemi, but here they are. If you want a culprit then point at Danhauser.
I hope I didn't make Danhauser overpowered in this fight, I mean he obviously had the advantage because of Worthlessness, but if Augusta had Incinerate Anthem, he would be roasted.
Either way, peerage. The updated list, the one I gave chapters back were wrong, the previous list was like the "Alpha" version, I had that years ago since I began creating my story, sorry about that.
King - Danhauser Belial
Bova Tannin- Crocodile
Tobio Ikuse - Dog
Siegfried - Great White Shark
Queen - Unknown
Lamb
Mute Swan
Hummingbird
Noble False Widow
Perhaps list: Octopus, Bighorn Sheep.
As you can see, the Queen's the only one remaining. People were suggesting either Valerie or Lavinia, but I won't. I don't picture Valerie as a Queen. Simple as that. Lavinia on the other hand for multiple reasons. Dan already has enough of Longinus, giving him more would be absurd. Plus I plan to give Lavinia some justice.
Those that are in the Perhaps List are honestly candidates for the Queen Piece, but I'm still unsure if to make them worthy of the Queen Piece, or even make them one of the main protagonists.
oh well, I still have time to think who'll be second-in-command. Don't give me suggestions. I'll handle that myself. Thank you.
I'm so happy DxD Hero came! Mostly because of one thing. We have now Siegfried's appearance! While on my fanfic he's suppose to be younger, now you have an idea how he'll look in the future. He defiantly looks like a mix of Kiba, Freed and a bit of Cao Cao, though.
It was a nice touch that he resembles like Freed. Those who are aware of his background, that is.
Cheers!
Also, I hate writing fighting scenes c:
Next Chapter: Roots of All Evil
