Chapter Thirty - New Dawn

You know, he had a lot of expectations going into what was apparently a highly important Peace Summit. The event was supposedly monumental; after all, these three factions had been at each other's throats for what, tens of thousands of years now?

Vin knew damn well that the entire process would take time. A lot of diplomacy, discussion, all of that jazz.

But at the same time, Vin underestimated just how brutally boring it would all be.

Stifling a yawn into his palm, Vin leaned back against the far wall. Beside him, true to his word, stood Vali, who gazed at the back of Azazel's head in barely concealed boredom.

Directly ahead of them sat four people at a round table. The closest was Azazel, and at the top of the table, back to the large window that overlooked the nighttime sights of Kuoh's back field was Michael. However, it was the two others that sat across from Azazel that were the most curious cases to Vin.

One man and two women. Both representatives of the Devils, and two of their Maou. Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan.

When the two devil kings had entered the room for the first time, Vin was immediately struck with deja vu at their appearance. He'd known that Rias was a sibling of Sirzechs Lucifer, but now that he'd seen the man who carried the legendary namesake of the late Morningstar, he was overcome with just how similar the two looked. The same blood red hair, cascading down his back in luscious locks. The same sapphire eyes that made you freeze in place whenever they would even glimpse your way.

Serafall reminded him a bit of someone else as well, although he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Long shimmering-black twin tails, pink eyes. Clad in a dark-green blazer, nearly reminiscent of a military uniform to Vin, she was beautiful, but at the same time, imposing.

And right in the back corner of the room stood… a maid? Vin didn't exactly know why she was here, but from her silver hair, to her stoic and frankly, intimidating glare, Vin was in no rush to find out exactly why she was brought here. For the time being, she stood off to the side next to a tea cart, stacked with several containers, a few kettles, and on the shelf below, a myriad of intricate china.

The four leaders had been chatting away for the last few hours, undergoing discussion regarding trade, tariffs, so on and so forth. Initially, Vin was rather engaged, hanging onto every word spoken by the four leaders present, utterly engrossed in the conversation, no matter how dull it may have been in reality.

But now, three… four hours later, Vin had lost count of the time since this all started; but after all the time spent in there, Vin had thoroughly disassociated - and by scanning around the room, he was sure he wasn't the only one.

Standing at each of Michael's shoulders, Ezekiel and Irina, clad in their cloaks, looked to be feeling the drain as well. Irina, pretty much only half-listening at this point, seemed to have begun a task of trying to count each dark speck in the linoleum tiles of the floor. Meanwhile Ezekiel would close his eyes for slightly extended periods of time, yet would stand completely still, disproving that he was nodding off.

If Vin had to guess, the chuunibyou likely had it best here, his own imagination was likely enough to keep him company. Vin doubted that 'Blackflame Sinclair' actually existed, likely a unfortunate, but ultimately harmless side effect of Excalibur Nightmare's prolonged effect on it's primary wielder, but at the same time, Vin imagined that holding a conversation with your imaginary friend crafted from your own delusions right now would be a pretty sweet deal.

Thankfully, something new finally happened, breaking up the tedium of the conference, when a soft rap at the double doors to the conference sounded out over the din of the leader's conversations. All eyes turned towards the entrance, as the doors creaked open, Rias Gremory and her peerage slowly trailing behind her.

Even though it had only been a few days, Vin had to admit it felt great to see Xenovia again. Not only her, but also everyone else who helped them throughout their mission in Kuoh. Rias, Issei, Asia, Akeno, Kiba, they were all here, oddly enough, with the exception of Koneko, who seemed to be missing. Odd.

Regardless, Vin flashed them a smile and a small wave, prompting a nod from Rias, a smile and a wave back from Issei, Asia, and Kiba, and… huh, Akeno was pointedly ignoring him. Great.

Sirzechs smiled, "Ah, my sister and her peerage, welcome, you're right on time. We were just finishing up our current topic of discussion."

Rias bowed her head in acknowledgement, but never spoke up. If she was born this prestigious, then Vin had to imagine that response was something she was taught in an etiquette class in her childhood. Vin made a note of her response, while he hadn't been told really any instructions on how to carry himself during this conference, it was likely smart to try and remain as respectful as possible.

Sirzechs turned back to the table, a proud smile on her face, "She and her peerage were responsible for taking a stand against Kokabiel during the recent incident."

Michael nodded, "I've read the mission report section filled by Mr. Corsetti and Ms. Quarta. Again, I must thank you for assisting in such an operation."

Oh right, that hadn't been fun at all. Turns out, even when you're excommunicated, you still need to file a witness report for the mission you underwent. Normally, it would've been left to Irina alone, but since she'd been out of commission for the actual encounter with the Cadre, the responsibility for filling out that section had been left to Xenovia and himself. It was… a little awkward to do, especially since they'd already announced their excommunication. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, he supposed.

With all her grace, Rias once more bowed her head at Michael.

"Ah right, sorry about that," Azazel casually replied, everyone's eyes drifting over to the fallen angel, who was lounging back in his chair, not a touch of guilt in his tone, "Our Kokabiel caused you quite a bit of trouble."

Rias' composed demeanor slipped for the briefest second, the corner of her lips twitching into a scowl, but instead, she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath through her nose.

"Please take a seat," The maid guided Rias and her peerage to a set of chairs that lined the final unoccupied wall in the room, right behind the two Maou.

Rias nodded, "Thank you, Grayfia."

Oh… That's why she was here. Throughout his admittedly spotty supernatural history lessons given to him over the nine months under the church's care, he'd heard the name Grayfia come up a few times. She was a legendary figure in her own right. The wife of Sirzechs Lucifer, his queen, the strongest queen, in fact. Suddenly, her presence made significantly more sense to Vin.

Sirzechs lightly clapped his hands together, "Wonderful. Now that everyone's here, I believe that we may begin this segment of the summit. First of all, some ground rules, I believe all the youth that have been gathered here have been chosen because they share knowledge in the forbidden truth? That topic, the fact that God is dead, acts as a concern not just to the angels and the forces of Heaven, but to us all."

Irina's gaze turned sad, yet she didn't shed any tears. Likewise, Ezekiel didn't have much of a visible reaction, but if Vin stared close enough, he could see the tension in his jaw, revealing that the chuunibyou was likely gritting his teeth just under his lips.

Vin's brow furrowed, so they ended up telling them the truth anyway, huh?

Sirzechs waited for a moment, before nodding, "Very well, let us continue this conference. Now, like I spoke before, God's death impacts not just the Angels, but all of us as well."

Michael nodded, "Indeed. Which is why peace is imperative to all three of our factions. If we were to go to war with each other, the unfortunate truth is that one of our factions may very well become irreversibly damaged, if not wiped out entirely."

"Probably not mine," Azazel chimed in, which earned him several looks of ire from the other faction members at the table.

"As far as things go, us fallen angels act as a net, and everyday, as far as heaven goes, the loss of Dad is making more and more angels lose faith, and as such, fall. That's leading to the Grigori growing bigger and bigger ourselves. Which brings me to part of the reason why I called this summit in the first place…"

"And that is?" Serafall asked.

Azazel stared down the Maou, "The Grigori needs more land. We have a population that's exponentially growing. Angels falling, Fallen having children…" Azazel shot a brief glance over to Vin, "...Reincarnation. What I'm saying is that the Grigori is fit to burst right now. We don't have enough room. In terms of trade, we have enough resources, but the end all be all is that we simply don't have enough space in the underworld to sustain our ever-growing population."

"So you desire more land in the Underworld, that's your goal here," Sirzechs stated.

"Amongst other things, yes," Azazel nodded, "I do genuinely want peace. I think it's high-time we abandon all this vibrato about which faction is 'righteous' and which are 'evil'. We're all put in this world, so we have to share it, which starts with securing more land for my people."

"You know that's not that easy, Azazel," Sirzechs countered.

"Is it?" Azazel raised a brow, "Think about it, Sirzechs, you devils are a population that rarely has offspring, more than half of the seventy-two pillars are lost to time. You have so much land that isn't being used, meanwhile, my species is forced to try and work with what little we have. We've tried building higher, but in the end, that's not going to solve everything. We need more land so we can spread out. Land that your kind isn't using"

Serafall spoke up, "Here's the thing, Azazel; we can't ask a surviving pillar to just give up their territory, and if we were to grant you a dismantled pillar's territory, that would generate a myriad of issues. The activists who call for the old Maou to be placed in power would have an easy means to convince the surviving pillars to join their side. At best, that would cause a Civil War."

"Tch," Azazel clicked his tongue.

"However, while we're on this topic…" Vin went as still as a statue, as Sirzechs' eyes shifted onto him, "This reincarnation interests me… After all, that boy's aura indicates something… shockingly close to the Evil Pieces, Azazel. Ajuka would have words if, or more accurately, when he learns about this."

"It's no big deal. Think of it like a contribution to his little science project. I was bored one weekend, so I figured why not?"

Sirzechs' eyes narrowed, "I have a feeling he wouldn't call it a 'contribution', but a 'bootleg'."

"Whatever he calls it, I don't care," Azazel shrugged, "Because the fact that I was able to modify your Evil Pieces in order to allow for a reincarnation into a different species means that we potentially have a solution to another major problem here."

Michael's eyes widened, "You don't mean to insinuate…"

"It would take some more research, and some trials, but there's a possibility that we could invent a method to reincarnate humans as Angels."

Michael put a hand to his chin, "That would indeed be beneficial…"

"Then consider that a big reason why we should have peace, huh?" Azazel smirked, "You become allies with the Grigori, and we can get some scientist to work with that right away."

"While that sounds great," Serafall spoke up, "I can't help but be concerned. Us devils already reincarnate quite a lot of humans. And if both the Fallen and the Angels were to do the same, then I could see the human race possibly being significantly shortened by this. If a reincarnated human and a normal human have a child, they will be of the race of the reincarnated. If that cycle continued… Would we not potentially risk the loss or endangerment of the one species all three of our factions rely on the most?"

"Hmm…" Azazel hummed, "We'll have to keep that in mind if we're to go forward with that plan."

"Indeed," Sirzechs nodded, "Shall we move on to another topic… More specifically, the recent events regarding one of your own Cadre. Peace is a nice gesture, but there are concerns that betrayal might be in the cards if we do choose to make peace and let our guard down for the Grigori. Especially after our recent talks about your faction being desperate for land."

Azazel shrugged, "There's nothing much to it, Sirzechs. Kokabiel was a rogue element, a warmonger, someone who was broken because they felt they couldn't live without war. When it was time to step off the battlefield for good, I had my research, Shem and Barakiel got wives… But Kokabiel had nothing."

"Of course, the reports reflected as much…" Michael nodded, "However, that doesn't change the fact that he's been taken back to Grigori by the Vanishing Dragon. How do we know that he's simply not being pardoned?"

"I got him sealed in the deepest pits of Cocytus, for one. It's one of the only prisons that will hold him. If you truly don't believe me, we'll just have to take a tour of the place sometime so you can see it yourself."

"That won't be necessary," Michael dismissed, "However, on the topic of the Grigori's forces, I must say, you've made a habit of taking talent under your wings recently, Azazel. Not only the Vanishing Dragon, but you also scooped up the Slash Dog, and most recently, a promising exorcist from our ranks…"

"If I remember correctly, it was the church that let Vin go, Michael," Azazel replied.

"Perhaps, but one has to wonder why you would do such a thing? Was it for his Sacred Gear? Or perhaps it was for the information he may have been privy to as an exorcist training under Griselda Quarta?" Michael hummed, "Not to mention, the devils have been acting in the same manner. Both the Sekiryuutei and the ward of Griselda herself, Xenovia Quarta, all in the peerage of your sister, Sirzechs? I'm sorry if this comes along as insensitive, but the simple fact is, Heaven is in a position where I have to ascertain anything and everything that could pose a potential threat to our already dwindling ranks."

"... Is that why you gave Issei Ascalon?" Azazel grinned ominously.

Silence fell over the room, as the weight of the unspoken accusation hung in the air. Vin gulped, so much for keeping that discovery under wraps.

Michael closed his eyes and smiled, yet it never quite reached his eyes, "What I bestowed upon the Sekiryuutei was a gift of goodwill, as well as a test. The fact that he now successfully wields it proves he had the willpower to be the Sekiryuutei."

"That's some logic you have there, Michael…" Azazel grumbled as he picked at his ear, "For the record, you're harder to talk to than Dad ever was. Geez, it's like I have to sneak around just to do some research nowadays, I have a textbook of my findings, for crying out loud. Either way, I think we're all on the same page, right? We all want peace, so let's do it. Let's make peace already."

Michael began, "Azazel it's not that simple-"

"Of course it is," Azazel cut in, "Here, let me show you. Vali, what do you want to do with your life?"

The Hakuryuukou scoffed, "I just want to fight strong things."

"And can you not do that in times of peace?"

"I suppose I can."

"And you Issei," Azazel called out to the Sekiryuutei, who seemed to have jolted upon becoming the center of attention.

"Huh? Wha-?"

"You want peace, right?"

"Uh… I mean…" Issei blustered under the sudden glances of the entire room, as he stumbled and muttered.

"Here, kid, let me make this simpler for you, alright?" Azazel smirked, "If we have peace, that means less time having to fight for your lives, which means more time for you to enjoy your precious oppai, right? You can't do that if you're dead in a war, now can you?"

"Of course!" Issei cheered, stars sparkling in his eyes, "Peace is the best option! Let's go for peace!"

Rias blushed, as she facepalmed, "Oh, Issei…"

Barking out a loud, boisterous chuckle, Azazel turned back to the leaders, "There you have it, I think you'll agree we certainly have a strange group of Heavenly Dragons this time around, no?"

"It certainly seems that way," Michael stroked his chin, "Oh yes, Issei. I believe I promised you an answer to a question you had during the ceremony yesterday."

Issei calmed down, "Hm? Are you alright with me asking right now?"

Michael nodded at Grayfia in thanks, as the maid poured him a cup of tea, which he picked up with the utmost delicacy, "I don't see why not. I believe that our current discussions have led our three factions to one unanimous decision. And after all, what good would an Archangel be if they didn't keep their promise?"

Issei glanced over to Asia with a look that seemed to be asking for permission. The bishop gently wrapped her hand in Issei's own hand and nodded.

"If that's the case, then I want to ask you, why did you excommunicate Asia from the church? No, not just Asia, but also Xenovia and Vin."

Everyone went silent, obviously not prepared for the sudden question, yet Issei remained strong, staring across the room, and locking eyes with the Archangel.

Michael sighed, setting down his tea onto the saucer, "You're aware of how all that remains of God's power is his system within Heaven, correct?"

Issei nodded.

"Well, that system is responsible for providing the power to every holy object, exorcism, and prayer out there in the entire world. With God gone, we have been left to try and operate it ourselves, but it's proved to be impossible to operate the system with as much ability as God once did. As such, there is only so much that we can do with it. The system is powered by belief. We need a constant flow of faith to keep the system operational, and because of that, we've been in a state where we cannot have people who may influence a decline in faith.

Issei put the pieces together, "So in other words, because Twilight Healing could heal Devils and Fallen Angels…"

"Yes, because there is an expectation that God's Sacred Gears, or God's blessings are true and just, having people learn that it can also heal those that the believers view as evil would only inspire a celine in the faith of God," Michael explained, "I'm sorry that we had to take the course of action that we did. But with God gone, we've had to struggle and make hard choices to ensure our safety."

"Part of that was also ensuring that there were no loose ends. We couldn't risk future exorcists being disillusioned and spreading the truth of god's death throughout their ranks. That could have potentially led to a future generation of exorcists without belief. And due to that, along with the actions of associating with the other factions in a time of the tentative ceasefire that we're looking to end tonight, we had to excommunicate Xenovia Quarta and Vincenzo Corsetti."

Michael stood up out of his chair, staring at Xenovia, Asia, and Vin, "You three, you truly did not deserve the fates you were given, nor the treatment you received, and for that…"

To everyone's shock, Michael bowed.

"...I am sincerely sorry."

"Lord Michael, please don't apologize," Xenovia spoke up, "I've been raised by the church all my life, and in truth, when I was first excommunicated, I was devastated…"

"But recently," Xenovia looked over to Vin and smiled, "While I still feel regret and sadness over what happened, I've also learned that it's granted me the chance to have opportunities and experiences that I never thought I would ever have. I may still miss the church, and I still do have hang ups about what transpired, but in the end, it's just the end of a chapter in my life, and the beginning of a new one."

Asia stepped forward, "I feel the same way, Lord Michael. I was very sad that I got excommunicated, but at the same time, if I never did, I wouldn't have met Issei, or Buchou, or Akeno, or all my other friends here. I truly am the happiest that I've ever been in my life."

"I see," Michael closed his eyes, smiling sincerely as he slowly nodded, "I'm truly delighted to hear that… How about you, Vin?"

Vin paused when the room's attention shifted onto him. What did he truly feel about everything? Being abducted from his home, being forced to train for months, facing death-defying odds, being sent on a suicide mission, only to be tossed away. Sure, like Asia and Xenovia, he could understand the reason why he was excommunicated, but at the same time, all of it weighed heavily on his mind.

"... To tell you the truth, Lord Michael, while I have no issue with you, I detest how the church operates," Vin admitted, locking eyes with the Archangel, his emerald eyes burning with intensity, "You have to understand, this last year has, frankly, been nothing short of a cluster-fuck for me."

Despite the few scandalized gasps that sounded out in the room, Vin remained undeterred.

"Listen, in these past nine months alone, I nearly died, discovered I essentially had super powers, my entire past life was uprooted and thrown out in favor of being drafted into an order of exorcists, which was something I never wanted in the first place. For crying out loud, if you asked me in January of last year what I wanted to do in the future, I would have told you that I wanted to graduate high school, and go to college to become a mechanical engineer, not a super soldier for the church."

Vin looked around the room, eyes shifting from Irina, to Ezekiel, to Xenovia, "Mind you, if I never was forcibly sent into this life, I would have never got the chance to meet a lot of people I hold very dear to me… But that doesn't change the fact that I still resent the Church's leadership for what it did to me and my friends. So much so, that when you all excommunicated me, I was almost relieved, in a way. Truth be told, the way you handled the Kokabiel incident was more than just the straw that broke the camel's back."

Sniffing, Vin stated at the floor, fighting back tears that threatened to well up in his eyes, "We had just lost a friend, no, a brother to that thing, and your first instinct wasn't to try your hardest to establish contact with the devils of the fallen, it was to send the very same children who fought and died against him on a suicide mission."

"You want to know why I joined the fallen angels? It's because Azazel actually reached out to me, he helped us as much as he could from his position. He didn't care about tensions between factions, he didn't hesitate to literally promise his life to us if he failed to deliver reinforcements to us," Vin shook his head, "You know, Lord Michael, if this peace treaty is to truly work out, you and the heads of the church will need to make an effort to be more open, you need to communicate. That goes for all the factions here; the reason us children were thrown as a damn martyr was because of a failure to communicate and organize accordingly. That can't happen anymore, it shouldn't have happened in the first place."

Vin took a deep breath to recover from his tirade, and bowed his head. While he did, the room was drawn into silence, until a single sound cut through the stillness of the room.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

Azazel clapped his hands slowly, his signature cocky, yet sincere smirk on his face.

"Damn kid, maybe I should've hired you as my speech-writer."

Vin blushed with embarrassment.

"No, you're correct," Michael finally spoke up, "This recent crisis surrounding the actions of Kokabiel was handled… poorly on my end. For that, I deeply apologize."

"I'm not asking for your apology, Lord Michael," Vin reiterated, "What happened, happened. There's nothing that's going to change that, as much as I wish there could be. What I'm asking you to do is to make strides to ensure that doesn't happen again."

"..."

"Well, those were some enlightening perspectives," Sirzechs smiled, "Now, I believe with that all taken care of, we shall prepare to draft up a final copy of this treaty for signing?"

"I believe that would be best, yes," Michael nodded.

Azazel leaned forward in his seat, "Of course, let's get this show on the road, already."

Sirzechs gazed over his shoulder, "Grayfia, may you go retrieve the supplies needed for the signing? I believe they may be in the principal's office a few doors down."

"Of course, my liege," Grayfia nodded, as she turned around, and began to walk to the door, only to freeze on the spot.

Only for the world around them all to gain a haunting purplish hue. Several flashes of light sprung off at once across the room, as Sacred Gears and Holy Swords were instantly summoned into people's hands.

"This is…" Rias stood stunned.

Azazel, stood up out of his chair, "Yeah, Forbidden Balor View."

"So Gasper stopped time again?" Issei looked around, staring stunned at the frozen visages of Akeno, Asia, and most importantly, Serafall Leviathan herself, "How's that possible, Gasper couldn't even stop a volleyball reliably last night!"

"Ockham's Razor, kid. Do you see any other people who can stop time here?" Azazel shrugged, before stroking his chin, eying up Serafall, "But you're right, even with the training I suggested for that kid, he shouldn't have been able to do something as drastic as freeze a space this wide, or with this much strength."

"So wait, then how are we able to still move around?" Irina asked.

Vali shifted off the wall where he was leaning, staring at Issei, then Vin, "Our dragon's protected us, I imagine. For the rest of you, it was the aura from your holy swords."

Irina perked up, and whipped her head around to face Vin in shock, "Wait, what?! Vin, you have a dragon in your Sacred Gear?!"

Vin swallowed, to be honest, he didn't want to open up that can of worms yet, "It's really not the time, right now, Irina. But short answer, yes."

"All of our security outdoors has been frozen…" Michael narrowed his eyes, "This was orchestrated."

Crystal Weaver pulsed with light. As the sounds of Bheithir's growls entered the room.

[Get away from the door, NOW!]

The last thing that Vin experienced was a blast of light surrounding him from all sides, and an all-encompassing sound of explosions, before his vision turned black.


"Vin! Vin, can you hear me!?" A faint voice called out, slowly growing in volume as Vin wearily cracked open his eyes. His vision immediately being taken over by the sight of Xenovia looking down on him in relief.

Immediately, Vin was wrapped in a hug, "Thank goodness you're okay."

"Ugh… Xenovia? What happened?" Vin groaned as Xenovia let him go.

"There was an explosion, a terrorist group is trying to attack the summit. The leaders managed to make a shield to block most of the damage, and protect those frozen, but you got hit by a stray piece of debris and got knocked out. I took you in here so you'd be safe."

As coherence slowly faded back into Vin's mind, he brought his hand up to his forehead, his fingers returning covered in blood. Oh well, that wouldn't keep him down…

Slowly, Vin shifted to his feet, as he regained his sense of balance, "So, what's happening right now?"

"Most of us are dealing with all of these magicians right now," Xenovia pointed Durandal at the hole in the building's wall, indicating at the hundreds of cloaked figures descending from the sky, "Meanwhile, Issei and Rias have gone back to the clubhouse to save Gasper, and hopefully unfreeze time. Azazel's also fighting their leader right now."

"I see," Vin looked around the air, from who Vin believed was Azazel, clad in some rather imposing black and gold armor, dueling against a dark-skinned woman high in the sky, to Vali, complete in his brilliant Balance Breaker armor, zipping around, smashing magicians left and right, to Kiba, Irina, and Ezekiel speeding along the earth, fighting off magician after magician in what seemed like a never-ending swarm.

"Let's go help them, then," Vin declared.

"Are you sure? You're injured right now," Xenovia pointed out.

"Well, I can't do nothing, can I?" Vin retorted, as he spread his black-feathered wings, "C'mon, I feel fine. Let's go help our friends."

Xenovia nodded, a smile on her face as she unfurled her leathery devil wings, "Right."

With that, the two flapped their mighty wings, and took to the air, and into the fray.


With a howl of effort, Ezekiel wretched his blade out of a magician's shoulder, quickly pivoting to slash another one that had believed they were sneaking up behind him. Sheathing the Judgement Sabre, Ezekiel levelled Flachiden at a wave of enemies coming towards him, firing blast after blast, sending them hurtling to a painful death.

Sensing movement behind him, Ezekiel backflipped up high, drawing his sword and as he spun, hacked into the magician with brutal force, like a buzz-saw of torment.

Landing in a crouch, Ezekiel huffed and puffed, using his forearm to wipe the sweat and grim from his brow. Initially, Ezekiel had been relieved to find that the magicians, for all their supposed power, were still about as frail as the average person, which meant a single decently fatal attack would more often than not spell their doom.

However, the chuunibyou quickly picked up on the fact that what they had lacked in durability and survivability, they made up for nearly ten-fold with their numbers. No matter how many he fell, they would keep coming. It was as if every time he took one down, two more would come to take their place.

Leveling Falchiden at the ground, Ezekiel used the arm-cannon's blast to launch himself up in the air, right overtop of another magician. Savagely, Ezekiel thrusted his blade right into the mage's skull, planting his feet on their chest as if to ride the body like one would a skateboard. They fell to the ground, Ezekiel yanking the blade out of the enemies head, the purple flames that broiled around the blade eating away at the blood that threatened to build up and risk caking the edge.

He didn't know where the others were in the back field. The ground was already so littered with bodies and the sky filled with enemies that he could barely see two feet ahead of him. Like a blizzard of bloody carnage.

He prayed that Irina and the others were safe. He was sure they would be, they were built tough, they wouldn't fall to these odds, and neither would he…

Although as another wave of magicians descended on him, he could feel that certainty begin to slip. There were simply too many of them. With the big power houses being preoccupied with either combatting the the terrorist's leader, or being forced to hold back as they attempted to fight off the brunt of the enemies forces, all while defending those still trapped in stasis, that left just him and a few others to deal with the remaining enemy.

Ezekiel lunged out of the way, as a volley of magical arrows struck the ground where he once stood not a moment prior. Skidding to a halt by digging his word into the ground, Ezekiel huffed, before his ears picked up the telltale hum of an enemy charging their magic from right behind him.

He didn't have time to react. He couldn't pull his sword out of the ground in time, and if he chose to leave it, he would practically be leaving himself to die anyway. Blast it, if he hadn't been fighting a countless number of enemies before this point, he wouldn't have been nearly as tired as he was now.

Ezekiel slowly braced himself for the pain that would soon consume him.

"ZEKE!"

Thankfully, it was pain that never came. As out of nowhere, a wave of crystal wrapped itself in an arc by his back, causing the enemy's magic to be blocked easily.

Ezekiel watched in awe as Vin dove down from the air, hands outstretched, palms crackling with raw light, before they exploded in wide bursts that scorched numerous magicians. As he landed, Vin swung his arms upward, sending two massive waves of crystal sweeping up into the air, impaling several magicians as it went.

As soon as Vin stood back up, he ran towards his ally, "Ezekiel! Are you okay? Talk to me, dude!"

Ezekiel laughed weakly, "I'm fine, Vin. Why didn't you show up any sooner?"

"Eh, I took a hit to the head," Vin shrugged, before looking to the skies above, "There's… There's a whole lot of these guys, huh?"

"That there is…" Ezekiel slowly got to his feet, "It's good that you're here. Is Xenovia-?"

"She went off to help Irina and Kiba," Vin replied.

Ezekiel nodded, "In that case, I suppose it's just me and you for a little while, hm?"

"I guess so," Vin smiled wryly, forming a crystal blade over his right hand.

For a moment, even despite the cacophony of battle that surrounded them, the two remained silent.

"...Hey Ezekiel," Vin looked to the sky, watching as golden-clad figure of the Governor General traded blows back and forth with the terrorists leader, "Hold onto hope, alright? We're going to win this."

"Quite right," Ezekiel readied his blade, "I won't die today… Not when I still have things to do in my life."

"Like Irina?" Vin asked, chuckling when he saw Ezekiel blush, "Hah, c'mon dude, it was obvious you had a thing for her. I knew that, like, a week into being with you guys."

"I'm truly that obvious with my hidden affections?"

"Yeah, you kinda are," Vin admitted, "But, if it's any consultation, I'm rooting for you, buddy."

"Thank you, but I believe we have slightly more pressing matters to tend to."

"Right," Vin sobered, falling into a stance, "Let's do this, Ezekiel!"


"What's the matter, Katerea? I thought you wanted to change this 'imperfect' world, yet you're barely putting up a fight!" Azazel taunted, barking out a laugh from under his armored helm, as he shifted out of the way of every attack the Leviathan launched at him, "You say you're the true Leviathan, but I'd say that Serafall puts up more than one hell of a fight when compared to you."

Katerea's visage warped and snapped with rage, "Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!"

Azazel flew backward, twirling his large light spear in his hands, deflecting another volley of attacks from the terrorist leader, still chuckling as he did.

"Seriously, I thought this was going to be a field test for this new invention of mine, yet you've barely pushed me over here!" Azazel remarked, "I don't know if that's a testament to the power of this armor, or to just how weak you truly are."

"Azazel!"

The sudden cry from below prompted Azazel to look down, finding Vin flying into the air, hand outstretched, in that moment, Azazel grinned, being his helm in understanding. Crazy kid, but hey, that's why he liked the guy so much.

"Here you go kid, catch!" As gently as he could, Azazel tossed his light spear down towards Vin, who caught the spear by it's shaft, racing back towards his own battle with his new weapon.

"I have you now!" Katerea screamed as she lunged forward, like a child attempting to tear apart the object set in front of them.

However, instead of succeeding in her efforts to close the distance between her and Azazel, taking advantage of a distraction, she instead felt her windpipe caught in a vice-grip as Azazel clenched his left hand around her throat.

"Seriously, I thought you were smarter than this, Katerea…"

"...Shut your mouth… and die!" Katerea Leviathan wheezed, aiming her hand point blank at Azazel's head, and firing a burst of demonic magic, engulfing the Governor General's head in a cloud of smoke.

For the briefest of moments, the woman's expression grew elated. She did it! That tin can that Azazel was wearing couldn't possibly stand up to such a potent magical attack at point-blank range. The only reason that she was still in his grip was the rigor mortis in his muscles. As soon as that smoke cleared, she was ready to revel in the sight of her spoils, a headless corpse of the great Governor General of the Grigori.

Unfortunately, it seemed the universe was set to crush her dreams harder than Azazel's left arm was threatening to crush her windpipe, because once the smoke cleared, the same armored visage of Azazel's head stood proud, looking practically no worse for wear.

"... As I was saying, before you so rudely interrupted," Azazel brushed off, "I thought you had the brains to realize how idiotic an attack on a peace summit like this was. I mean, for crying out loud, you can bring an army all you want, but you can't win against four leaders of factions, if you can't even beat me."

"..."

"Is it all setting in now?" Azazel asked, "Are you finally seeing sense for once? If you call your magicians to surrender, this doesn't have to be the end for you. You wouldn't be walking free, but you'd still be walking away with your life."

"...Y-You're right…" Katerea's head fell limp, her hair long since fallen out of her ponytail and falling in her eyes, "Even with this army, I wouldn't be able to beat all of you… However…"

Katerea raised her gaze, teeth bared in a sadistic grin, her eyes unhinged, manic, the definition of madness.

"I'll still gladly settle with taking you down with me!"

Katerea's hands bubbled and popped, the flesh contorting like the surface of a boiling pot of water, as with a wet, vile tearing noise, her hands split apart over and over, turning into tentacle after tentacle. The flesh of her mouth ripped apart as her jaws grew larger and larger. It was as if she was turning herself inside-out in real time.

"CoMe WItH mE, aZAzEl, lEtS dIsSaPPeAR ToGeTHeR!"

Azazel titled his head, and snorted, "A self-destruction spell, you damn fool. Was this your way of trying to prove to me the strength of your resolve?"

Yanking with all his might, Azazel found himself unable to free himself from her grasp.

"iT's UsELeSS… mY LiFe fOrCE PoWErS tHIs sPeLL," Katerea hissed as she began to pull Azazel closer, like a fish on a line, "tHeRE's nO eScaPe~ YoU dIe ToDAy, aZAzEL!"

"Really?" Azazel hummed, "I suppose you're right, it would be impossible for someone to escape this. You got me good, I'm impressed."

"However," The red eyes of Azazel's armor glinted, "I'm not dying today. Sorry, but I can only let you have a piece of me."

Azazel lifted up his right arm, light forming in his palm, as he made a blinding sword of light, and without hesitation, the Governor General swung the mighty weapon down onto his own bicep, bisecting it from his body just a bit beyond the elbow.

As Katerea harmlessly fell away, her warped eyes widened in horror, "yOuR ArM?!"

"Yep, an arm's nothing compared to my life," Azazel stared her down, light spear already in hand, so powerful that it's aura could be felt radiating across the entire battlefield, "... And here's something for the road, you damn fool."

Azazel tossed the spear, causing it to sail right towards Katerea's deformed, writhing abomination of a body.

"nO! AzzZzZzzZzaAaAAAaaZzZZzZzzzEeeeEEeElLlllLlLL!"

The spear struck true, blasting her body to naught but ashes. Leaving Azazel alone, flying in the air, blood raining down from his stump arm.


Ezekiel and Vin huffed and puffed as they fought off one magician after another. Large swathes of their slashed, stabbed, and blasted bodies piled up like grim mountains around the two.

If Vin wasn't practically surviving off of adrenaline at this point, he was sure that the very prospect of taking this many lives would bring him to the verge of breaking down.

But in this moment, either because of a moment of clarity or blindness, he was able to disregard it all, it was simply either them or him and his friends. It was a black-and-white choice, a struggle of life-and-death.

So, he kept swinging the borrowed light spear from Azazel back and forth, while he couldn't exactly form his own spears yet, there was nothing stopping him from using his bosses, and just like he thought, it's sheer strength was super helpful in their fight, cleaving through magicians like they were paper.

Vin swiped the light spear through the body of another magician, before raising his left palm to the air to fire a blast of his own formless light at a small cluster of approaching magicians.

"Ezekiel!" Vin called, outstretching his hand to the chuunibyou and spreading his wings.

Without another word, Ezekiel ran forward, allowing Vin to grab tightly to Falchiden. Taking off, Vin sent them upwards as they spun around like a carousel from hell, Vin's pilfered light spear and Ezekiel's Judgement Sabre outstretched and hacking through magician after magician as they rose higher and higher into the air.

Once they reached the apex of their ascent, they began to fly over to where Irina, Xenovia, and Kiba put up their own stand against the waves of enemies.

Xenovia's dangerously powerful swings dredged up deep gashes in the earth as she acted as the hammer of the group, sending clusters of magicians flying as if her swings were tidal waves. Meanwhile, in perfect synergy, Kiba and Irina would dart in and out of Xenovia's attack range in order to both cover her blind spots, or capitalize on the cover that her massive attacks brought them to strike and pick off magicians.

With shared nod, Vin swung his left arm, bringing Ezekiel onto his back, before cancelling the magical flow to his wings. Combined with the weight of Ezekiel on his back, Vin dropped like a comet, his spear pointed downward, and combined with the purple flames of billowing off the Judgement Sabre, they plummeted in a ball of purple and blistering yellow light, taking swathes of magicians with them as they went.

They landed a safe distance from their comrades, slamming to the ground, causing Crystal Weaver to kick into overtime as their surroundings erupted in rings upon rings of crystal spikes billowing outward like a flower blooming in the span of a second.

The impromptu super move had managed to take out a massive amount of magicians, granting a temporary respite for Vin and Ezekiel to break through the crystals, and rejoin their teammates.

"Oh my god! That was you guys?!" Irina gawked, only to turn around when she got a growl from Xenovia, "Oh right, sorry Xenovia. Force of habit."

"It's…" Xenovia pulled back Durandal, before swinging it in a wide horizontal arc, catching at least four magicians in it's impact, "...FINE!"

"But that was crazy, you guys came just in time, we were beginning to feel the burn over here."

"Hey Vin…" Kiba sweated awkwardly, "What do you have there?"

"Huh?" Vin stared dumbly at his right hand, which still clasped the light spear, "Oh, I borrowed this from Azazel, I can't make my own spears yet."

"I see…"

The loud, commanding voice of Azazel sounded out across the entire battlefield, causing all parties to pause for the briefest of moments.

"Magicians!" Azazel boomed, "Your leader, Katerea Leviathan is dead! Your struggle against us is pointless! You haven't killed a single one of us yet, and now you face the most promising warriors of this generation along with four of the rulers for the three factions. Accept your helplessness, and make your choice. Die in vain, just like your leader, or either surrender, or retreat. You will not win this battle tonight."

The group on the ground listened closely, as the magicians above them broke out into numerous cries.

"Lord Leviathan is dead?! What do we do?"

"Isn't it obvious, her orders were to fight until our last."

"But she was effortlessly killed by just one of their leaders. All she could take was an arm!"

"We need to retreat, we must regroup our forces, and recuperate."

"No you fool, don't you see? They're on their last legs! As long as the Dhampir's power is active, they can't possibly call for reinforcements! We'll wear them down eventually!"

"Of course! Death to the new order!"

"Yes, we can do it, we can kill them all!"

The group on the ground drew their weapons, and reentered their stances. Anticipating a full-on assault at any moment. It seemed like the battle wouldn't be ending until one side was completely slain.

Kiba flicked his gaze over to the abandoned clubhouse, "C'mon Issei… You can do it…"

For the briefest of moments, the world flickered. It was an unnerving sensation, everyone and everything flickered with an afterglow akin to television static, the sounds distorting in much the same way, like a radio signal going through a tunnel.

"D-Did anyone else see that?" Vin asked, thoroughly spooked.

Kiba grinned, "Any day now, Issei…"

The world flickered again.

"Do it Gasper…" Xenovia smiled fondly, "You're already an expert at failing to use your powers, so please, fail already!"

It flickered once more.

All of the sudden, a familiar voice broke through the din of the magician's calls to arms, one that Vin hadn't thought he'd be this happy to hear.

"DRAGON SHOT!"

The sounds of an explosion of wood and glass filled the frozen space, as a magician shot out of the clubhouse like a rocket. And in the hole, Issei stood proud, his Boosted Gear prepared for battle.

"Gasper, do you think you can unfreeze all this?" Issei grinned.

"...Yes, Senpai! Leave it to me!"

From behind Issei, a swarm of bats poured out of the building, before they came together, transforming into a boy.

Well, Vin said a boy, but in all actuality, from how far away he was, Vin couldn't really tell. They certainly seemed pretty feminine, but at the same time, a name like Gasper sort of insinuated masculinity. But hey, it wasn't the time to really be worrying about that sort of stuff.

Gasper's eyes twinkled a dark purple light, before the world flickered again, and then again, and then again, this time the flickering persisted, the static growing in intensity until with a screech, all the purple-hue in the atmosphere dissipated all at once.

Instantly, the magicians panicked.

"The Dhampir is freed!"

"What do we do?"

"Do we still fight?"

"Without time frozen, we have little choice, we have to retreat!"

With their cries to retreat, the magicians flew up into their air, back in through the gateway that they had come pouring out of initially. The remaining magicians swarmed the gateway like ants to an anthill, desperately trying to worm their way back inside before they met a grizzly end to the remaining forces.

After a while, the last of the magicians finally left through their gateway in the sky, which disappeared shortly afterward.

Vin couldn't help himself, as soon as Azazel's light spear vanished from his grasp as he fell to the ground, the energy leaving his legs. All the while Xenovia ran over to his side, and tossed herself onto him in a hug.

"We did it!" Vin cheered, his exhaustion evident in his tone.

"Yeah," Issei walked over, with Gasper and Rias in tow, "We did, didn't we?"

Vin raised a hand up from where he laid, "Good job man."

Issei bent down slightly, as he slapped Vin's palm, "You too."

From up in the air, Azazel's armor receded in a flash of light, leaving only a certain golden dagger in his hand, "Hm? That's time, how long was this able to last for..? Oh, right, I lost my watch with my arm. Greeeat."

"Oh well, aside from having to mark that test result as 'inconclusive', I'd say that this was a smashing success, wouldn't you all agree?" Azazel grinned, as he slowly began to float downward, all too unaware of the glowing blue shadow that zipped behind him. Until it's armored hand gripped the back of his skull.

[Divide.]

"Wha-?" Was all Azazel was able to say, before his head was shoved down into the earth below.

[Divide.]

The figure slowly let go of the back of the Governor General's head, as they floated back up into the sky ominously.

"You know, if this is your idea of a practical joke, then I guess I really did fail to give you a sense of humor…" Azazel spat out a mouthful of dirt, before his gaze hardened, "Vali."

Everyone else watched on in stunned silence.

"You're seriously betraying us?" Azazel raised an eyebrow, "Geez, being caught with my pants down twice in the span of a few hours… I'm losing my edge."

Slowly, Azazel turned over, laying back in the crater that was previously formed with his face to stare up at Vali, "You know, I heard rumors about a certain terrorist organization being formed, what did they call it, oh yes, the Khaos Brigade. You know I thought you'd know better than to run off and join terrorists."

"What can I say?" Vali shrugged, "Ophis makes a convincing argument."

"Ophis?" Sirzechs echoed, "You cannot be serious…"

"No, he's right," Azazel grimly agreed, "My intel network specifically brought up that the Ouroboros Dragon was involved in this group."

"But that still begs the question, Vali. You're a damn lughead, but you aren't stupid. If you were going to betray us, why do it now?"

"There's no big reason, aside from me being impatient," Vali turned his gaze, to Issei, who froze stiff, "I want to fight my precious rival now."

"Please, how about you tussle with me?" Azazel offered, as he pointed a light spear up at the Vanishing Dragon, "Even down my armor and an entire arm, I can still take you down easily."

Vali pointedly ignored Azazel, "Fate can be cruel, isn't it, Issei Hyoudou? On one hand, I am the descendant of the legendary demon king, while you're just an ordinary boy from an ordinary family. If it weren't for the connection we share through our dragons, we'd be in entirely different worlds, would we not? Yet it's our destiny to fight."

"Wait, descendant..?"

"Right, I never introduced myself properly. My name is Vali Lucifer. The great-grandson of the original Lucifer."

"What's your point here?" Issei asked, "I'm genuinely confused. You're trying to get me to fight you, but if anything, telling me about how strong you are only makes me want to fight you less. I don't want to fight someone I know I'll lose to, I'm no masochist!"

Vali sighed from under his helm, "It looks like you're still so resistant to your destiny… How could I possibly motivate you to embrace your role as my rival… Hm… Say, Hyoudou… I wonder what your parent's up to right now?"

Issei's blood turned to ice in his veins, his pupils contracting as his breath hitched.

"What were their names again? Oh, I had them on the top of my head… Right, Gorou and Miki Hyoudou," Vali's malicious smile was practically audible under his helm, "I told you before, didn't I? I've done my homework on you."

"What if I were to kill your parents? Would that be enough to make you want to fight me? If I did kill them you'd want revenge, right? I mean, in that case it wouldn't exactly be for the sake of our destinies as the hosts of the Twin Heavenly Dragons, but eh, semantics."

"So what are you going to do, Issei? Are you going to fight me right now, or am I going to have to give you some real motivation?"

All eyes turned to Issei, who looked to the ground, his entire body shaking, as a small purple gleam lit up from under his sleeve.

Azazel's eyes widened, "Oh, he's about to activate the other ring I gave him… Alright kids, you might want to get back!"

Rias paled, "What do you mean?"

"You know those rings I gave Issei before we sent you two to Gasper's location, right?"

Rias nodded.

"Well, the rings also help regulate enough energy to basically act as a temporary stabilizer for anyone entering Balance Breaker, which, given the fact that the kid is building a lot of aura right now, I think is pretty much guaranteed."

"You really think…" Issei slowly walked forward, "You can kill my parents… Just for your own damn convenience?!"

Issei's shirt was torn to shreds as howling winds began to pick up around him. The amethyst and emerald gleams of the ring that Azazel provided him, as well as the Boosted Gear lit up like stars in the night. Vali finally met Issei's eyes, and the seemingly average boy's gaze was downright nuclear.

[WELSH DRAGON: OVER BOOSTER!]

"STOP FUCKING WITH ME!"

From the base of his feet, a massive pillar of energy whipped up around Issei as he unleashed a guttural howl of rage, the windstorm soon subsiding, revealing Issei clad in a full suit of striking red armor. His aura, so potent and powerful that it formed a thick red miasma around his figure.

"Ohohoho~ Look at that Albion, Issei Hyoudou's power went up drastically," Vali observed, giddy like a little kid.

[It's to be expected. Sacred Gears are tools that use strong emotions to generate more and more power, after all.] Albion commented, [Be cautious, there's not a hint of mercy in him at this point, it's all pure anger.]

"As it should be!" Vali shouted back, his excitement unrestrained, "Oh?"

In but a second, Issei had leapt up to here Vali hovered in the air, arm already drawn back to strike, "Stop talking about useless shit! You wanted to fight? I'll give you a fucking fight! ASCALON!"

The blade of the legendary sword shot out of Issei's gauntlet, as he attempted to swipe at Vali, who managed to dodge and weave around the Sekiryuutei's swings, planting a light kick to more so shove him away than actually hurt Issei.

Albion hummed as they disengaged, Issei landing on the ground, drawing back his weapon in preparation for an attack, [Ascalon? I won't be able to deflect even one cut from that thing, Vali, be careful.]

"Even better~!" Vali chuckled, "Now come, Sekiryuutei! Put on a good show!"

Like a shooting star of blue, Vali took off towards Issei, who met him equally in a streak of red, as if a comet.

"Issei!" Rias yelled, attempting to run towards him, only for her to be stopped when her brother grabbed his wrist, solemnly shaking his head.

"Brother-"

"Rias, if any of us head in there, we're liable to either harm Issei's ability to fight this opponent, or worse, get injured ourselves."

Rias looked up at the sky, the two blazing trails of red and blue colliding and flying around over and over being the only sight they were even able to see of the two combatants.

"But…"

Sirzechs looked his younger sister in the eyes, "Rias, I don't think that Issei would want you to get involved right now. This is his battle, correct? I believe he'd want you to simply believe in him. If you do so, I'm sure he'll pull through."

Issei and Vali flew around each other, pulling back, prepared to clash once more, as Issei quickly scanned over his opponent's body to see if he could find a spot to slip in any extra damage. There! That bastard had the left side of his ribs open, if he could just slip a strike into there… Could he quickly change which hand was using Ascalon, so that he could potentially deal some really big damage?

[It's possible,] Ddraig's voice filled his head, [It would take some extra focus though.]

He could do it, he was sure of it. That bastard was about to get a taste of some real damage!

Issei charged forward, prepared to clash one more…

Only for Vali to swoop upward at the last second, leading to Issei swiping Ascalon into thin air.

Issei barely had time to brace himself as Vali punished him brutally by diving into his spine with his feet like a spear, causing Issei to cough up thick wads of blood that expelled out of his helmet. Still, he wasn't out of it yet-!

[Divide.]

Half of Issei's strength left his body, just like that, as he dropped to the ground in an ungraceful heap of blood and armor.


"Issei!" Asia cried out, her feet betraying her common sense, as her instincts told her to get to Issei and heal him.

She began to run forward, only for Ezekiel to snatch onto the fabric of her shirt at the last moment. Asia tried to escape the chuunibyou's grip, only to be met with failure.

"Let. Me. Go!" Hot, messy, frustrated tears spilled down Asia's cheeks, "He needs me! I have to help him!"

"He needs you alive, not dead!" Ezekiel snapped.

Asia's eyes widened, her strength leaving her body as she fell to her knees. Her hands clenching her skirt in tight fists as she fought off the scared frustration of her current inability to help the boy she loved.


"I… I can still fight," Issei slowly got up, spurred on by the calls of his allies, "After all, Buchou is watching!"

[Boost!]

Issei stood strong, glancing up at Vali, who floated far up in the air above him, azure wings spread wide… With… Red dust coming off of them?

"Ddraig, what's he doing?" Issei asked.

[He seems to be expelling any extra power through his wings, that way, he's always fighting at full power without risking overloading his Sacred Gear.]

The gears in Issei's head began to turn, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that mean that no matter how great the wielder is, the Sacred Gear still has some limits?"

[I suppose that's accurate.]

"Oh that's right," Vali interrupted, his palms suddenly glowing ominously, "You fought a lot for your friends too, huh? Saving Asia from the fallen angels, Rias from her arranged marriage, even helping Kiba recently, no?"

Vali's tone was sickly-sweet, "So how about I kill your friends, and then I kill your parents!"

The lights in Vali's hands shimmered brighter and brighter, until he tossed them forward as if they were frisbees. However, as they soared, they quickly broke off into numerous flying arrows of cyan light. Issei's eyes widened in horror as a chunk of them flew towards Asia.

There was no time for thinking, only action, as Issei rocketed forward, sliding in front of Asia right in time to shield her from the projectiles with his back.

Another set shot towards Vin, Xenovia, Irina, and Kiba. Springing into action, Irina and Kiba shot off in two directions, each with a set of projectiles trailing them as if they were heat-seeking missiles. Meanwhile Vin summoned a crystal wall to block the projectiles, the pure force behind them threatening to smash the wall to pieces at any moment.

So Vin did what he did best, trying his damn-dest to find a solution. Unfurling his wings, Vin ran his hands along them, coating the feathery appendages in thick, heavy coats of crystal. Essentially having made his wings a pair of articulatable bunker walls, Vin put them together in front of him, and braced as the projectile smashed through the previous wall he constructed.

The very first thing that Vin realized was that the fact his wings felt like they were burning was probably not a good sign. The projectile dug into his wings, causing him to cry out in pain, however, he held strong. Before flapping his wings outward, the force causing the projectile to spin out and fade away harmlessly behind him.

Vin huffed and wheezed as the crystals sloughed off his wings, frowning when he realized he basically burnt his feathers in certain places. Still, it was worth it to live.

While Issei was distracted with saving Asia, Vali made a swoop for Rias. Issei practically snapped his neck with how fast he turned around, firing off at mach speed, and roughly tugging Vali away from Rias, and into the air.

"Yes, YES!" Vali cheered, "Hate me MORE! Get angier at me, get stronger so I can have more fun with you!"

Vali punched Issei in the gut, causing the two to separate, however, Issei charged right back in, cocking back his left fist, "Ddraig, transfer Ascalon's power into my fist!"

[Transfer!]

"Rrrrraaaaaaaaaggggghhhhhh!" Issei screamed as he fired a devastating hook right into the side of Vali's armored head, the aura from Ascalon tearing through the armor like nothing shattering one of the lenses to reveal Vali's shocked expression.

Issei grappled onto Vali's body, reaching over and sinking the talons of his left hand deep into the base of the Vanishing Dragon's wings.

[Transfer!]

"What are you doing?!" Vali cried.

Issei grinned under his helmet, "I'm boosting the energy going in and out of you! Let's see how much energy these precious wings of yours can take!"

The buzzing of Divine Diving grew louder and louder the more energy was pumped into it, until it reached a fever pitch.

[Vali, all systems are in overdrive trying to compensate, we're having trouble performing any other functions right now we need to restart the systems before we potentially burn up.]

Issei released the wings, and cocked back his golden-bathed fist once more, "Get ready to taste the power of a dragon slaying weapon, you bastard!"

Issei swung with all his might, his fist striking the largest azure orb on the Vanishing Dragon's armor, the surface of which shattered like glass, causing the entirety of Vali's armor to burst apart at the seams.

The silver-haired Lucifer dropped to the group, landing in a crouch before hacking up a massive wad of blood, immense pain wracking his chest.

"S-See? That's the spirit," Vali complimented as Issei landed a few scant meters across from him, "You can do it if you try hard enough…"

"Now," Vali got to his feet, as a cerulean glow bathed his body, and in an instant, he was back in his Balance Breaker once more, "How about round two?"

[It's not over until one of us absolutely cannot fight any longer,] Albion chimed in, [That's the way we fight.]

"Tch," Issei clicked his tongue, as he fell back into his stance, only for a sad glow to shine out of the emerald orb on his left hand, "Ddraig, what's wrong?"

[The ring that we were given by is reaching the limit of its effectiveness. We won't be able to sustain ourselves like this much longer,] Ddraig commented, [If we're placed on a timer like this, at our current strength, we will lose. The only way we're living is if you run now.]

"Not an option," Issei immediately retorted, "I'm not leaving Buchou and the others."

Issei wracked his brain, they needed some way to turn the tide, some way to even the odds against the asshole…

Issei's eyes fell to the shattered remains of Vali's previous armor, what could he do? He had barely managed to destroy the bastard's armor, only for him to make a new one…

Something caught his attention, a small blue orb resting on the ground, probably one of the ones that decorated the backs of Vali's hands. The teen began to think, if he could absorb Ascalon, a holy dragon-slaying sword as a Devil with a Dragon Sacred Gear… Then…

Issei reached down and scooped up the orb into his clawed fingertips, gazing down at it curiously.

"Hey Ddraig, Sacred Gears evolve in accordance to their host's feelings, right?"

[What are you-] Ddraig trailed off, before realization dawned upon him, as he began to chuckle, [If you're talking about what I think you're talking about… Hm, that's certainly interesting. But you should know this is basically suicide. Are you sure you're ready to die, Partner?]

Issei chuckled bitterly, "I thought we just established that I was dead either way."

"Still, if it's a little bit of pain, I'll take it," Issei boasted, "I still haven't taken Buchou's virginity yet, right? There's no way in hell that I'm dying before that."

[Ha-ha-ha! I like your resolve, Partner! Allow me to show you mine!]

Every emerald orb on Issei's armor sparkled and gleamed with light, as he began to howl.

"What are you planning?" Vali narrowed his eyes.

"What else? I'm going to steal your broken-ass ability!" Issei declared, holding his right hand high into the air.

"Issei, don't do it!" Vin screamed, "You have no idea what that's going to do to you!"

"It'll take more than a little pain to keep me down!" Issei boasted, until his right arm began to violently spasm, "ARGH! GAAAAAAHHHHHAHAHHAHHAHHAAAAH!"

"That fucking idiot!" Vin swore.

Xenovia turned to her partner, "What's he doing?"

The Crystal Weaver grit his teeth, "He's trying to absorb a part of Vali's Sacred Gear into his own. He very well might die from this stunt!"

"Then we have to stop him."

"No," Vin put an arm in front of Xenovia, "Once someone begins assimilating something into their Sacred Gear, one of the most dangerous things you can do is try and interrupt it…"

Vin watched his friend writhing in agony, "The best we can do is hope that Issei can pull through."

Vali stared down Issei, "You truly lost your mind. What you're trying to do is impossible, there isn't any set of powers more incompatible than the Twin Heavenly Dragon's…"

"Please!" Issei snarled through the agony wracking his body, "If Kiba could do the impossible by fusing together holy and demonic powers… Then what's stopping me!"

"Your body tearing itself apart, for one," Vali pointed out, "I imagine your body will give out under the strain any moment now. Admit it, Issei Hyoudou, at this point, you're a dead man walking…"

"... I won't die yet. I have too much I still have to do…"

[Hmph, how foolish,] Albion commented.

"I'm just fine being a fool," Issei shot back through grit teeth, his brain reaching an odd amount of clarity through the unceasing waves of pain, "Because as long as I'm a fool, anything is possible! Like this!"

An azure light overtook Issei's right arm, as he swung it forward, revealing its transformation into a sleek white and blue gauntlet.

[Impossible. Utterly impossible,] Albion gawked, [Even if you managed to do that, you do realize you've taken countless years off your life? Even for a devil, who's said to live forever…]

"I don't plan on living that long," Issei shot back, "But one thing I do know… Is that I'll still have enough time to kick your ass regardless!"

"Interesting," Vali hummed as he floated into the air, "Then I shall get serious as well."

Waving his hands out to his sides, Vali slowly strained as he clenched his fists together. The air, trees, dirt, the very reality of the surroundings began to distort, while his wings began to glow brighter and brighter, practically eclipsing the moon in their light.

[HALF DIMENSION!]

"He's warping the very dimensions of his surroundings," Michael observed, "How foolishly dangerous."

Rias looked on with wide eyes, "That's not fair… How does Issei-?"

The young Gremory was cut off when Azazel landed a few feet ahead of her, "Well, if he doesn't try, then he's certainly not going to win. I think I may have an idea to give him that little extra boost though. Oi, Sekiryuutei! Hyoudou Issei!"

Issei turned his gaze over his shoulder, "What do you want?"

"Let me explain what Vali's doing, I'll make it real simple so that you understand, alright?" Azazel stroked his chin, a grin on his face, "Half Dimension's technique allows him to half everything around him, you see. He doesn't even need to make contact first."

"Alright…" Issei trailed off.

Azazel's grin grew. He got him, hook, line, and sinker.

"So that means that Rias Gremory's breasts will also become half its size."

Rias' eyebrows shot upward, "Excuse me?!"

Meanwhile, Issei stood stunned, frozen still as stone by the realization of Vali's ability.

Azazel chuckled, waving his arm out to gesture to the rest of the teens scattered along the field, "Not just her, but every girl here. They're breasts will be halved too, and halved again, and then again. You get the picture."

Buchou's breasts… Halved?

Those words reverberated throughout Issei's head over and over again, like a broken record forced to skip right back to where it was.

Those oppai… Those beautiful, lushious oppai that I love so much… Halved…

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME!"

[Boost!]

Issei's power suddenly spiked, his entire body vibrating in pure, unrestrained rage.

"You're telling me you plan to halve my Buchou's breasts?!" Issei snarled, "Think again, you bastard! I'll never forgive you!"

"What..?"

[Boost!]

"You're the only person I will never forgive, Vali!"

[Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!]

Issei's power continued to soar, growing higher and higher, as the Boosted Gear kicked into overdrive. Gravity began to yield to the unwavering magnitude of his growing strength, causing rocks and debris to be lifted up in the air and flung around every which way.

Azazel merely laughed like a maniac, summoning a barrier to cover the people he stood in front of from any accidental collateral damage, "Wait? C'mon, seriously? That worked way too well, haha!"

Meanwhile, across the field, Vin, Xenovia, Irina, Ezekiel and Asia all stood by in shock as they bore witness to Issei's sudden shift in strength.

"So this is the strength of the Sekiryuutei…" Ezekiel murmured.

Vin groaned, "You gotta be fuckin' kidding me… He really got that powerful with the thought of a woman's boobs?!"

"Issei…" Asia stared on in awe at the brilliant lights emanating from Issei's armored figure grew brighter and brighter.

Xenovia's eyes shimmered in rapt interest, "Incredible."

"Yeah Issei, go kick his ass!" Irina cheered.

Vin gazed across the field, a stray noise catching his attention, almost like… The snapping of something. A massive tree had been uprooted under the pressure of Issei's sudden power surge, and was flying straight towards their group. Ezekiel and Asia right in its path.

"Zeke!" Vin screamed, praying that the message would be delivered in time.

Thankfully, the sudden cry roused Ezekiel from staring at Issei, as the chuunibyou's expression quickly flickered into shock. Yanking Asia to her feet and behind him, Ezekiel reached back to Falchiden, firing the weapon out of its sheath with the force of a bullet. Catching the weapon, Ezekiel swung with all his might, the sheer force, cleaving the thick trunk of the tree in two, harmlessly sailing past either side of his body.

As they came careening towards the others, Vin swung both of his arms up, crafting a makeshift barriers to catch the trees. The force of their impact was immense, but thankfully, the walls held.

"We need to get to cover now," Vin yelled over the harsh gale, waving his hand to signal everyone to get close, before he began to concoct as sturdy of a barrier as possible.


[This is unbelievable,] Albion groaned, [He's getting stronger and stronger to keep his master's breasts from getting smaller?]

"Hm, it's interesting. For as unassuming as Issei Hyoudou is, he's certainly full of surprises."

Issei's boosts finally peaked, as his body became engulfed in a shimmering green aura. Drawing himself into stance, Issei stared down his rival.

"You just try and lay a finger on Rias Gremory, you bastard! I dare you!" Issei seethed, "Because I'll destroy you hard enough, that you'll never have the chance to be reborn!"

Issei leapt into the air, a shockwave whipping up beneath his feet as he took off. Diving right towards Vali, Issei attempted to nail him with a hook to his right, only for Vali to dart upwards at the last second.

"Gotcha!"

Issei shot upward like a rocket ship, causing Vali to crumple as the Sekiryuutei's knee dug itself deep into his solar plexus.

Scrambling himself off of Issei, Vali took off, flying through the air to establish some distance, only to find, to his horror, that the Red Dragon was still right on his toes.

"This speed-!"

"If I leave you alone for any longer…" Issei reached out as he flew after Vali, clamping his left hand like a vice onto the Vanishing Dragon's shoulder, "That you won't just shrink Buchou's breasts, but everyone else's!"

Fire in his eyes, Issei cocked back his right hand.

"This is for Buchou's oppai!"

*Krak-thoom!*

Issei's white-clad fist drilled itself straight into Vali's chest. The blue jewel on the back of his hand lighting up as he made impact.

[Divide!]

Vali bent backward as blood splattered out of the gaps in his helm. However, Issei never gave him even a moment to recover, as he grabbed the Lucifer's armored head in both of his hands.

"This is for Akeno's oppai!"

*Ku-pchooom!*

Issei slammed his armored forehead right against Vali's, the force of the strike reverberating around them, as if it was a missile strike instead of a simple headbutt. As both of their helmets smashed to pieces under the pressure, the two rivals glared into each other's eyes properly for the first time since their fight began. Both teens' eyes conveying nothing but anger, and the deep-seated desire to beat each other within an inch of the other's life.

"This is for Asia's still-growing oppai!"

*Ker-rack!* *Thruuuh*

Issei lashed out in a kick to Vali's exposed left side, before immediately following it up with a kick to his right when Vali tried to recover.

"This is for Xenovia's oppai!"

*Whu-bam!*

With a devastating hail mary, Issei slammed his fist deep into one of Vali's cheeks, a spray of blood and even a tooth flying out of Vali's mouth as the half-devil, dazed from the blows, slowly began to recover.

However, the effort was far too late, as by the time Vali brought his face back around, Issei already had another punch sailing right towards his head.

"And this is for Koneko's small oppai, which if halved, could possibly disappear!"

*KERKAK-POW!*

The blow was devastating, the sheer force sending Vali hurtling towards the earth, colliding with the hard soil in a heap.

Slowly but surely, the Vanishing Dragon staggered to his feet, spitting out another wad of blood to his side in the process.

As soon as Issei touched down himself, his exhaustion finally caught up to him, causing the armor-clad boy to slump to his knees, gasping and panting, having thoroughly used up his strength in that final assault.

"Like I said before, you're so interesting," Vali stood to his feet, grinning devilishly, "Perhaps it'll be worth it to show you the Juggernaut Drive."

[Forget about it, Vali,] Albion warned, [This isn't a good time to use such a volatile ability.]

Vali just smiled, as his armor began to glow with an eerie white light.

"I, who has awakened, to the supremacy of law-"

[Vali, don't be a fool! Now is not the time to be at the mercy of my powers!]

Before Vali could continue to chant, a figure dropped down from the sky, whipping up a dust cloud as they did.

"Bikou," Vali acknowledged, his spectral glow of his armor fading away as quickly as it arrived, "Why are you here?"

The dust dissipated, revealing a tall man dressed in ornate armor colored in reds, greens, and golds. A bo-staff clutched casually in his hand, he sauntered over to Vali, as if greeting an old friend.

"Vali, everyone was wondering when you were," The man, Bikou said, "The plan was that we were gonna head out towards Mesopotamia before nightfall over there."

"I'm doing just fine on time," Vali shot back.

Bikou raised an eyebrow, "Really? Do you know what time it is right now over there?"

"Of course, it's about one in the afternoon."

"Try seven o' clock at night, you meathead," Bikou deadpanned, "I really don't care what you get up to, but you know how it is, Le Fay gets antsy, and when that happens, you know who she goes to ask? Me. I can't deal with those puppy eyes any longer, man. She keeps looking up at me like 'Is Mr. Vali coming back soon?' Plus, we have that new guy the cat dragged in, so that doesn't really help the situation either."

"Fine, fine," Vali conceded, "It looks like we'll have to put a pin in this fight for now. Grow stronger for me next time, so we can have an even greater battle, my destined rival…"

A magic circle appeared under the feet of Vali and Bikou, intent to transport them away.

"Wait!" Issei wheezed, as he slowly got to his feet, "Don't think… I'm gonna let you get away, you bastard!"

Issei tried his best to run towards the two men, however, at that very moment, he finally lost the last bits of his strength, as his Balance Breaker faded away in a flash of light, leading to him falling to the ground. The ring Azazel provided shattered into pieces beside him.

"Oh~" Bikou cringed, "Yeah, good luck trying to stop us like that, Red Dragon. Anyway, see ya!"

"No!" Issei reached forward, as the two vanished in a split-second, "Damn it!"

"Issei!" Rias burst from the crowd, racing his feet, and pulled the boy into a tight hug, "Oh thank goodness you're alright…"

Slowly, Issei snuggled his head into his master's boussum, "... I did it… I protected you…"

Rias began to tear up, "Oh, Issei…"

And soon enough, the floodgates were opened, as Akeno and Asia also ran over to Issei, pulling the Red Dragon into a three-way hug.

"Damn, we really did it huh?" Vin laughed as he stared at the sky.

Vali… What were you thinking? And here I thought I got a new friend…

An arm looping itself over Vin's shoulders snapped him out of his thoughts, as Irina, who had also trapped a now blushing Ezekiel in a headlock, hooted and hollered.

"We did it!" Irina cheered, "For real this time, right?"

"I believe so," Xenovia smiled, walking up to Vin's side, looping an arm around his waist.

The two's eyes met for a moment, as they shared a tender smile, before Vin snuck his arm around her back, bent down, and pecked her on the lips.

The inhuman mixture of a squeal and a gasp drew the two's attention to Irina, who was bouncing up and down animatedly.

"Shut. Up! No way, you two finally got together?!"

"Yeah, we did… It happened a little bit after the whole… Y'know," Vin replied.

"Ah. Yeah, that makes sense, then," Irina nodded, "Oh, Lord Michael's talking, c'mon, let's go."

Irina finally let go of Vin and Ezekiel, before running off to join where everyone stood in the center of the field. With no other real options, the three quickly joined her.

"Issei Hyoudou," Michael bowed, giving off a genuine smile, "We must offer our sincerest thanks for valiantly fighting against the odds tonight. You've proven yourself truly an ally of peace tonight, and as such, we all owe you a great debt."

"In that case," Issei slowly stood up, supported by Rias and Asia, "I want to ask: can you make it so that Asia and Xenovia can pray again?"

Asia's eyes went wide as saucers, while Xenovia's hands flew up to cover her mouth in surprise.

"... Issei," Asia whispered lovingly.

"It's just that…" Issei composed himself, "Even though those two have been turned into devils, they've been praying regardless, no matter how much pain it causes them."

"Lord Michael please, allow me to vouch for them," Irina stepped up.

"Irina..!" Xenovia gasped, as the twin tailed girl turned to face her former partner.

"Xenovia… I said some awful things to you, I called you a traitor," Irina locked eyes with Xenovia, tears slowly dripping from her cheeks, "I'm sorry!"

Xenovia spread her arms wide, the strawberry-blonde not wasting a second in leaping into her embrace, "It's alright, Irina. I know you didn't mean it. I missed you."

Irina squeezed the hug tighter, "I missed you too."

"I see," Michael turned to face the two girls as Irina and Xenovia finally broke off their hug, "Asia, Xenovia, would you still pray, even knowing that God is no longer there to hear your wishes?"

"Of course," Asia smiled.

Xenovia nodded, "Absolutely."

"Very well then," Michael said, "It shall be done. I'll just have to do it once I return to Heaven."

Issei watched on with a fond smile as Asia and Xenovia both shared their thanks with Michael, jumping around with each other, alongside Irina. If given time, Issei bet they would be making great friends, a real-deal church trio… Huh, that name had a ring to it.

"Where'd Rias go?"

"She said she wanted to go talk with Gasper and Koneko," The teenage devil turned around to find himself staring down Vin, "Why, what's up?"

Vin looked hesitant for a moment, gazing over Issei's shoulder at the three girls' laughter and smiles.

"No, I… I just wanted to say thanks for doing that. Seriously, you have no idea what that means to Xenovia, and it was one of the few things she lost leaving the church that she was really attached to. So, thanks… Thanks for doing what I was unable to do myself. It means a lot to both of us."

Issei smiled, "No problem man, I'm just glad they're happy."

"You're a good man," Vin patted Issei on the shoulder.

"Hey, guys!" Irina shouted from across the field, "C'mon over here, hurry! It's nearly starting!"

Issei and Vin both exchanged glances, "You need some help getting there, or are you good on your feet?"

"Let me check," Issei took a step forward, before wincing, "Yep, nope, still not good."

"Alrighty then," Vin ducked down, getting Issei's arm over his shoulders, "There we go."


Turns out, Irina was leading them to a hill where the Occult Research Club's building stood, all around sat the members of the Irina, Ezekiel, Rias and her peerage.

"Oh, good, you two made it right in time!" Irina smiled, patting the ground next to her, "Hurry up, sit down, you won't want to miss this!"

Slowly, Vin lowered Issei down into a sitting position, where he was quickly swarmed by Rias, Akeno, and Asia from all sides; before sitting down on a spot behind Irina and Ezekiel, and next to Xenovia.

"So, what are we waiting for exactly?" Vin asked Irina, as he wrapped his arms around Xenovia, relishing in the warmth and comfort of her embrace.

Irina grinned as she looked up to the sky, which glowed pinkish and orange hues, "This."

A stray lick of light struck Vin across the face, forcing him to close his left eye. In awe, everyone watched on, as slowly but surely, the sun began to rise up across the horizon.

"This is the first sunrise after we've established peace," Irina informed, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Various mumbled agreements sounded out throughout the large group.

Vin smiled, kissing Xenovia on the cheek, before turning his gaze back to the awe-inspiring sight. And for the first time in nearly a year, Vin felt completely and totally content. All while he and his friends witnessed the dawn of a brand new tomorrow…


Hey everyone… It's been a bit, huh?

So, truth be told, with my semester now firmly in 'cram mode', I haven't gotten as much time as I would like to write, but hey, I managed to make this chapter big (it's the longest chapter yet!) and special to celebrate the fact that we've now hit thirty whole main chapters of this story! It's kinda insane that we've reached that point in a relatively short amount of time, and I want to thank you all for your support on each and every part, it means the world, truly.

The flow of releases for these chapters are going to slow down a bit, at least for these last few months. I'm done with school by April, so I should be able to have more time to get back into a flow, but until then, expect a lot fewer chapters, maybe more akin to 1-2 a month. Sorry, but as much as I love making this fic, andI wouldn't abandon it for the world, I still need to value my academics over it. Work-life balance, you get the idea.

Anyway, thank you so much everyone for sticking with me through this arc. I know it was a bit short, but what I have planned for the very-near future is going to be great!

As always, please leave a follow and a favorite if you enjoyed what you read, and please leave a review to let me know your thoughts, feelings, and opinions! I'm thinking of bringing back the review responses sometimes in the near future, so any reviews are immensely appreciated!

And with that, I must bid you all farewell. Until next time… Rock on!