Darksiders DXD

by MysticVegito

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse have expunged all those who would imperil the Balance over the eons. Now humanity is in peril as outside forces plot a premature Endwar that could potentially wipe out the Third Kingdom before it's time. Will the Council's enforcers succeed in rooting out the perpetrators before it's too late?

10. Chapter 10

~Light and Shadow~

The Kingdom of the Dead, a barren purgatory realm where countless souls across Creation end up with their last heartbeat in life. Regardless of how the individual dies, of old age, on the battlefield, by assassination, poisoning or any other examples that come to mind, they are all sentenced by the hands of those who govern the realm, judged for their crimes and then purified in the City of the Dead. These souls are often judged by the powerful Dead Lords, overseen by the Lord of Bones himself, a new ruler of the dead seated upon the Eternal Throne after the previous king Argul was deposed, who was considered too mad to be kept upon the throne. But even this kingdom from time to time requires the attention of the Four Horsemen as the dead plains can be filled with rampant undead, souls who went mad or escaped their judgment in the City of the Dead to haunt the realm for eternity, claiming more souls to swell their ranks. Usually the Dead Lords themselves would be enough to deal with this rabble, but with the burdensome task of managing millions, if not billions of souls on a daily basis, be it human, angel, demon or otherwise, pest control seemed like the least of their worries.

And today was the day when that problem has to be solved. By the request from the Lord of Bones himself, Strife, rider of the white horse was tasked to deal with the undead. While this is not in the horsemen's jurisdiction, Strife was willing to help the lord of the dead if he is to offer him a handsome reward in turn. What that reward was only the rider himself knew, but it was enough to convince him into completing this task for the Lord of Bones. And thanks to the immense power granted to him by the Charred Council all those eons ago, the rider is more than suited to deal with this mission, a trifle if anything.

"There they are Mayhem. Keep it steady, i want to charge in nice and quick." Strife said as he spun his guns Mercy and Redemption while standing on the plateau where he had a good look at the Maw, a massive, barren area where it's only landmark was the Phariseer's tomb. And as he expected, a large number of bone giants is going rampant, destroying everything they see on their path to the city itself, along with the large army of smaller undead. With the analysis at the situation complete, Strife rode downhill to face the horde of corpses.

Soon enough, Strife's horse galloped straight towards the undead, leaving a long trail of blackish-purple shadow in his wake while the horseman himself readied his guns for battle. As both rider and steed were closing in, suddenly both the bone giants and the smaller undead turned their attention on the rider himself in unison, in mutual desire to tear him apart.

"Now it's getting interesting." Strife chuckled a bit in amusement as he indeed noticed that all of them are focused on the rider. Fine by him, that only means more target practice as he aimed his guns at the undead horde.

When he was in range, he finally unleashed a hail of bullets at the corpses. While Mercy fired dozens upon dozens of bullets in seconds at the smaller undead like a machine gun, tearing them apart upon contact, Strife aimed Redemption at the first bone giant and fired, making it's upper body explode in bony bits as is usually the function of these guns, Mercy for crowd control due to it's four barrels and Redemption for single targets due to its powerful bullets. Another bone giant rushed in and raised his fist to smash the rider, but Strife jumped from his horse while Mayhem submerged into the ground, thus the bone giant only smashed the ground while Strife landed on it's right shoulder before firing Redemption on it's head, shattering it into bits as well. Then he jumped from the giant and fired both of his guns airborne at the swarm below, exterminating them in droves before he landed and continued with the purging. Both smaller and larger undead tried to catch the rider and tear his flesh from his bones, but Strife will not give them that satisfaction as he continued to fire his guns while nimbly evading the dead at the same time. Then two more bone giants charged at the rider, prompting the horseman to aim Mercy at the fourth giant, unleashing a hail of bullets that shredded the bone giant in small pieces before immediately jumping back to avoid the crushing blow fifth giant. As the smaller undead rushed at the rider from behind in a swarm, Strife quickly threw fifteen caltrops in a wide radius while at the same time dashing at the giant's arm, making the arcane traps explode violently in fire and shattered bones, taking hundreds of smaller undead and three bone giants with the detonation. As Strife fired Mercy at the giant, reducing it's head and the entirely of the left shoulder and arm into shattered bones, a seventh bone giant rushed to smack the rider when he was still at the sixth one's shoulder. But while he was disposing of the sixth bone giant, Strife charged a shot from Redemption before he aimed it at the seventh giant and fired a charged bullet, making the seventh bone giant's body explode as it's remains darted in all directions. With the two giants disposed of, he finally jumped from the sixth giant's shoulder and landed on the ground while the giant's body behind him crumpled on the ground. When he stood upright, he noticed that more of the undead are heading towards him.

"Seems there are more of these freaks than usual. Oh well, the hunt continues." Strife shrugged as he spun both of his trademark guns before he went forward.

But as he continued in his onslaught, he had enough as he decided to end the harvest. He first formed a Shadow Clone of himself and went back to back before he and his clone fired their weapons at a rapid rate, tearing the undead apart by the hundreds in seconds with the hail of bullets. After they wiped out half of the smaller undead, three more bone giants rushed in to pulverize the rider. Before they could though, Strife leapt high in the air, leaving only his clone to be destroyed. And while he was in air, he charged another powerful shot from Redemption. Although Redemption in the possession of the other riders can fire the usual bullets that were still quite potent, along with Mercy, in Strife's hands the true potential of these guns can be unleashed on his enemies, as is proper as these pistols were Strife's weapons of choice since the old days, long before they swore fealty to the Council. And one of those destructive ordnances were charging powerful shots at his foes. While it does take several moments for the charged shot to take effect, it's destructive power is enormous, as he will demonstrate right now.

"Bang." Strife said as he finally fired a charged, orange shot from Redemption, detonating in what looked like a massive, nuclear explosion that consumed the remaining undead army entirely. When a giant pillar of fire and smoke cleared a bit, Strife emerged from the pillar like a shadow before the realm's light revealed his usual form. But from behind the rider, the last bone giant rushed to do what the other undead could not. As he was closing in on Strife, suddenly a violent explosion erupted, shattering the giant as it's bony bits exploded in every direction, while the rider didn't even bother to glance back as he chuckled in amusement and looked at the arcane trap in his hand.

"Caltrops. Never failed me once." Strife said in amusement as he looked at the spiky trap in his hand in satisfaction before putting it aside, while his steed Mayhem formed behind him and galloped towards his master. "We're done here Mayhem. Let's go back to the big Bone himself, tell him that he can still sit pretty on his comfy throne." He said sarcastically as he sheathed his guns and mounted his steed before slowly riding forward.

As he slowly made his way throughout the Dead Plains to claim his prize, he noticed scores of souls marching towards the Eternal Throne beneath a long bridge, including those of the humans.

"My brothers may not know this Mayhem, but I've walked among the humans on Earth for quite some time. They're not the type of hairless simians I imagined, as Fury so delicately put it. In a few millennia, even Death was slightly surprised how far they advanced in terms of technology, I could see that hiding in his eyes. When they're not constantly harassed by demons that is. They have no fierce fighting prowess like the said demons or the military discipline like the angels, but their ability to adapt and evolve is intriguing." Strife said seriously before he glanced from the souls below and looked forward. "It's a damn shame how they turned out. All cause we were bamboozled by Lucifer's goddam schemes. If only we kept a closer eye on that bastard Samael, he knew of Lucifer's plans and we fell right into his schemes as well." He said as he vividly remembered that day eons ago when the humans, still in their infancy were infected by Lucifer's dark influence known as the Animus, driven mad by fear, hatred, lust and all manner of negative emotions that they were corrupted with.

"How far has it spread?" Strife said in slight disbelief and seriousness as he aimed his gun at the possessed infant.

"By now, who can say? Will you kill us all to be sure?" Lucifer taunted. Strife was really tempted to pull the trigger, but he knew very well that this was not the Lucifer, but a human boy that was helplessly possessed by the deceiver. After Lucifer had his say, he abandoned his host as the boy returned to his senses, horrified at the two mysterious beings in front of him before he turned around and ran for his life.

"Run boy. As far from the village as you can." Strife said grimly. After he left, War and Strife begrudgingly began the culling of the infected humans.

"However, Fury does make a point on one thing. They are still scattered and leaderless after all this time, and that divide is forcing them to destroy one another instead of being united under a single banner. If they don't, being divided as they are by religion, greed or anything of the sort, they won't stand a chance against angels and demons no matter how much they evolve. But they have evolved nonetheless, to the point where even the devils of the Underworld have adopted their architecture. Now I have a feeling that there is a far greater purpose in humanity then what the Council usually gives away, and only time will tell will they have enough strength to actually repel the legions of Heaven and Hell, on the day when the Endwar starts." Strife said grimly.

---

Later that day in the afternoon, after a rather short meeting between Death, Xenovia and Irina, with the two riders absent from the room and with Akeno and Asia heading home, Issei, Kiba and Rias were the only ones left. After a rather lengthy silence Kiba and Issei glanced at each other, asking themselves silently on who is going to speak out first, but Kiba decided to do the honors.

"President? May we have a word with you?" Kiba asked seriously.

"What is it Kiba?" Rias said as she frowned in frustration, the memory of Koneko's death still fresh in her mind. Noticing this, Kiba took a deep breath before he started talking, with Rias at the moment patiently listening to what he was about to say.

"Ever since that night, I realized the consequences of my selfish actions that costed Koneko her very life. I know that no amount of apologies will bring her back, but at least I want you to know how dreadfully sorry I am for what I did. If it will make you feel any better, I will ask from the Reaper to take my life as well." Kiba gritted his teeth in sorrow and clenched his fists as he bowed his head down.

"Kiba, what are you talking about?! Don't say that dude!" Issei exclaimed in shock as he interjected next to him.

"Quiet Issei!" Rias said strictly, making Issei flinch in fear. "I'll deal with you shortly." Then she glanced at Kiba again. "Continue."

"Thank you president." Kiba said, though his gratitude was very loose and dry given the grief in his heart. "But there isn't much to say, my deeds alone during those days speak volumes. I was so dead set on revenge that I didn't count on the fact that we have two riders of the Apocalypse watching our every step. The fact that any of us could have been killed at any given point if we are to do things behind their backs." Then Kiba bowed his head down and closed his eyes. "Like I said, I am willing to pay my debt in blood if it will appease you." He said, remaining in same position and embracing whatever fate Rias has in mind.

"And you Issei? Is there anything you want to share to the table?" Rias asked seriously.

"I know I said it before, but I really want to apologize for being a brainless dickhead and had to drag Koneko into all that. Not only her, but Saji too. I wanted to help Kiba so badly that I didn't even thought about consequences. And what Kiba said about Death and War, so…" Issei said in regret before he bowed his head down. "Just kill me on the spot. Blast me, beat me to the ground, whatever you prefer. I'm ready."

It was at that point that Rias took a deep breath and sighed just as deeply, letting out all the frustrations from her mind and slowly returning to reason.

"It's no use. I will achieve nothing by punishing the two of you, be it death or otherwise." Rias frowned seriously in a now calmer tone as she looked down at the table, much to the surprise of Issei and Kiba. "I'm still mad about what you both did. The truth is, I don't know if I'll ever let go of the fact that Koneko's gone." Then she looked at her servants. "But right now all of us need to stick together and try to survive this whole ordeal in one piece. And to do that, we need to be extremely careful and be cooperative with the riders every step of the way. Am I clear?" She said in a dead serious tone while heavily emphasizing the last sentence.

"Yes, president." Issei and Kiba said in low voice with bowed heads and closed eyes.

"Good, because I meant every single word I just spoke." Rias said in serious tone. But a few moments later after seeing her servants so glum, so deep down in the dumps, she let go of her anger as her usual, caring tendencies towards her servants resurfaced in her mind, getting up from her chair and walking towards Issei and Kiba before stopping in front of them.

"Look. I may have sounded very cruel, but I want both of you to understand that it's for your own good. I want you to be mindful of every single decision you make while Death and War are around." Rias said in calm, sincere tone before she placed her hands on Kiba's and Issei's shoulder. "If you make a single mistake again, then there's nothing I can do to keep you two alive. They wouldn't care of what I say or do to stop them should that scenario occur, for those two mean business. I want you to promise me that you'll be careful in the future. Can you do this? For me, Akeno, and especially Asia."

Issei's eyes went slightly wide at the mention of Asia. Rias was completely right. If he was to make a stupid mistake again, then not even Asia would be spared of their wrath. And that's the last thing he wants for someone as pure and gentle like her. With clarity in their minds, Issei and Kiba glanced at each other and looked at Rias with determined look on their faces.

"Yes president." Issei and Kiba nodded.

"That's good to hear." Rias smiled gently as she nodded in turn before lowering her hands she placed on their shoulder. "Now let's go home and get some rest. A lot has happened in recent days and both or minds and bodies need rest." She said, with Issei and Kiba nodding again in agreement as the three devils departed.

---

Two days later, Rias and the other devils decided to go have a little dip in a school swimming pool, mostly to get a day of reprieve from all the chaotic events happening in the last few weeks. Death and War, not having any intention to waste time with such trivial commodities, decided to separate and continue with their main objective, but not before Death commanded his companion Dust to keep an eye on the devils during their absence. Currently, Death in his human form was strolling around the city, searching for any clues to the supposedly upcoming Endwar, while War made a detour to deliver the five out of seven Excalibur swords back to the White City, more specifically Azrael, an archangel whom they consider sufficiently trustworthy. Death sometimes wondered if this whole expedition was some sick joke employed by Panoptos and his brownnosing kinsmen, who somehow convinced the Council to send the riders to Earth. True they sent only one, War basically came on his own accord, but even so, this is starting to be a waste of time. Or so it seemed before Kokabiel and the demonic horde came into play. He knew they had to stay on Earth until humanity's safety was guaranteed for many millennia to come. Or so he hoped if the Balance is to be maintained.

After about an hour or two, Death continued to stroll forward before he stopped and turned his head to the right, noticing a familiar academy as the student were walking inside. Not bothering to linger on the sight though, he continued to walk forward.

"I sense the presence of a very ominous power passing by." A somewhat familiar voice suddenly said from Death's right side, but the rider didn't even glance to his side as he continued to look forward, his senses detecting a familiar power.

"And I sense an enemy before me." Death said grimly as he glanced at the newcomer before he turned his front towards him. "Ready for his end."

"Enemy?" The newcomer said before he chuckled slightly. "That depends on how this conversation will go. Besides, you wouldn't want to start a dramatic fight in front of all these people, would you?" He smirked before he closed his eyes while maintaining his smirk. "But don't take my word for it. Attack me if you don't care about causing a scene."

Death knew what was going on. He was deliberately provoking him into attacking him in front of all these humans, gaining unwanted attention in turn, but the pale rider is way smarter than that. If the boy thinks that childish trick is going to work on him, he's got another thing coming as Death maintained his usual icy, yet stern attitude.

"Who are you?" Death asked.

"I am Vali, the White Dragon Emperor. Also known as the Vanishing Dragon." The newcomer now known as Vali smirked.

"So you are the one who attacked War the other night." Death said in dead serious tone.

"Not on purpose, I can assure you. My task was to retrieve that warmonger Kokabiel, but it seems you riders have permanently beat me to him." Vali said.

"Don't think that I don't know of your true intention, 'White Dragon Emperor'. You mean to fight your counterpart, the wielder of the Welsh Dragon, just like every other wielder in the past." Death pointed out.

"You mean Issei Hyoudou?" Vali smirked before he chuckled again in amusement. "Oh please. You and I both know that boy is probably the weakest Red Dragon Emperor to ever walk this world. That brat isn't even an impressive student in high school. I think we can both agree on the fact that without his Boosted Gear, he would have been nothing."

"Then who else you would consider to be your rival?" Death asked curiously.

"Well, recently I have found several candidates. I guess you can say my life suddenly got a lot more exciting." Vali smirked as he looked at the horseman dead in the eye without even the slightest sign of fear, much to the rider's confusion.

"I would stay away from trouble if you value your life, such as it is." Death said strictly before he turned sideways and departed, putting his hands in his pockets while Vali continued to smirk as he looked at Death.

"It would seem that you don't value the information I have for you." Vali said with folded arms as he leaned on the wall. Curious, Death stopped in his tracks.

"And what information would that be, boy?" Death asked, not even bothering to glance behind him.

"Oh nothing much. But I think it probably has something to do with the Seven Seals." Vali smirked.

It was at those last words, the only words that Death thought last to hear, above other things on his list, that made him shocked for the first time in many millennia as his eyes went slightly wide. But he frowned immediately in anger as he grabbed Vali by the throat, catching him completely off guard and slamming him onto a stone wall so hard the wall cracked to the verge of collapsing.

"What do you have to do with the Seven Seals?" Death growled angrily in dead serious voice as he clutched Vali's throat hard, almost on the verge of snapping his neck in a single motion as the white dragon wielder struggled for air. It was really tempting to do so then and there, but since they were among the humans, he indeed doesn't want to bring complications to himself as he let go of the silver-haired boy.

"Speak quickly, before I do something we will both regret." Death said strictly in dead serious tone as Vali coughed and slowly started to catch his breath.

"There is not much to say unfortunately." Vali grunted a bit in minor pain as he slowly stood upright and rubbed his neck to numb the pain. "But I have a bet that the Archangel Michael knows, his lackeys spoke rumors about a weapon capable of destroying the Seals. And I think you have a good idea of what that weapon might be."

"The Armageddon Blade." Death thought grimly before he looked at the silver-haired young man. "And so what if I do?"

"Then you know that prematurely broken Seals spells bad news for all of us. I don't know what kind of weapon is capable of destroying the Seals, at least not yet, but if you are to uphold this 'Balance' as you did up until now, I suggest you find the archangel and coerce him into telling you what he knows." Vali smirked before he started to walk away.

"One more thing." Death said seriously, stopping Vali in his tracks. "Who is it that sent you to stop Kokabiel?"

"Now that I can't tell you horseman. What I can let you know is that it wasn't a request from an angel or a devil. And we both know that demons of Hell are out of the question." Vali said before he walked away, leaving Death to figure out what he meant by that.

Later that day after his encounter with Vali, Death sat on a bench in the park and gazed at the streaming fountain in front of him, the very same park where he first encountered Raynare and slew her three fallen angel comrades as he thought about Vali and this individual that tasked him to stop Kokabiel.

"If I pretend that I believe him and it wasn't an angel or a devil that sent him to stop Kokabiel, then that only leaves a fallen angel? Why would someone of their kind prevent him from harming the humans and starting a war? Most if not all of them would be eager for another bloody conflict, considering how many of them we slaughtered before War fought Kokabiel himself." Death thought as he had a flashback of their skirmish with the fallen angels and War's battle with the fallen angel leader himself. "And then there is the whole talk of shattering the Seals. If Michael is indeed planning to start a premature Endwar, then I will drag his corpse in front of the Council for them to judge that mad angel."

"Mind if I take a seat?"

Someone suddenly asked the rider, breaking him from his thoughts as he looked at the newcomer, discovering that it was a man with black hair, golden bangs and black goatee.

"No." Death said dryly before the man sat on the bench next to him.

"A wonderful day today, isn't it?" A man smirked before he looked at the rider. "Not that it's my business or anything, but you should go outside more often in these sunny days. A pale skin like that tends to scare away some people."

"I prefer it that way." Death said dryly, though starting to be curious as there was something really off about this man's entire aura. It isn't a devil aura or that of a human, and it certainly isn't the benevolent aura that the angels usually exude, even in disguise.

"A loner, huh?" The man smirked before he looked back at the fountain. "Well everyone has the choice to make their own lifestyles. Though I can't help but notice that you are stressed about something."

"And how is that your concern?" Death asked in annoyance.

"Personally it isn't, but stressing about the future is honestly a waste of time. Things in this world usually turn out the way you want them to, just wait it out and things will change in your favor." The man smirked.

"I don't wait for things to happen, I make them happen. And the future that can affect millions of lives is worth stressing about." Death pointed out before he stood up and walked in front of the man while looking at him sternly. "Especially from those who threaten this world's denizens."

"Really? The future is that grim, isn't it? Well you certainly caught my interest, a man can't help but speculate." The man said in amusement, easily noticing how this pale man is getting aggressive right now, on the verge of attacking him on the spot, something that didn't concern him in the slightest as he was ignorant to his true nature.

"Then let me give you a hint human. Or should I say, fallen angel." Death said grimly before immediately pulling out his right scythe and pinned the tip of his weapon on the man's chin, catching him by complete surprise.

"A scythe?" The man thought in surprise and slight shock from the weapon being so dangerously close to his face before he glanced from that scythe to the man's now murderous glare. After a few moments of realization he smirked again, much to Death's confusion. "So it is true. A Horseman of the Apocalypse on Earth. Never believed that story up until this very moment."

"So you know of me?" Death asked while still keeping the tip of his scythe on the man's chin.

"There hasn't been a fallen angel out there that does not know of you or your brethren, pale rider." The man said before Death pulled his scythe back and held it in reverse grip, while the man rubbed his chin for the sharp pain to subside.

"Then identify yourself, fallen angel." Death said seriously before the man stood up from his bench.

"I am Azazel, the Governor General of the fallen angels." The man now known as Azazel said seriously.

"What do you think you're doing in the Third Kingdom Azazel?" Death asked strictly.

"After what happened with Kokabiel, I just thought I'd drop by." Azazel smirked.

"To finish what he started?" Death said grimly.

"To clean up his mess before the damage becomes irreversible." Azazel said seriously.

"So you are the one who sent the White Dragon Emperor to put an end to Kokabiel's machinations?" Death asked curiously.

"Seems you have met Vali before." Azazel smirked.

"I did, on the night after the fight with Kokabiel and today a few hours before I came here. Speaking of which, if you did not approve of Kokabiel's actions, why did you send Vali instead of stopping him yourself?" Death asked seriously.

"During Kokabiel's rampage, I had important matters to attend to. And because of that I had to send Vali to take care of things for me, I must say I was impressed at how well he followed directions this time." Azazel smirked.

"And what matters distracted you from the crisis that we had to resolve?" Death asked accusingly.

"Matters that involve a peace summit between the fallen angels, angels and the devils." Azazel said seriously.

"A peace summit?" Death said as he raised his eyebrow curiously before he frowned seriously again. "With the devils I can somewhat believe it possible, but if you believe you can make peace with the White City, then you are on a fool's errand."

"It would not be my first horseman, and hopefully won't be the last if you would entertain us with this summit." Azazel smirked.

"What do you mean?" Death asked curiously.

"Well here comes the problem. We had agreed that we would come together to this little meeting, but we have trouble deciding where. The White City is obviously out of the question for fallen angels and the devils, along with any angelic outpost out there. And on the flipside, the Underworld is also a no go as the angels refuse to hold a meeting in the home territory of the devils and fallen angels. So we had come to a compromise that we will gather on a neutral ground, and where else to meet but…"

"NO!" Death shouted in anger, slightly surprising Azazel with his outburst. "Don't you even think about holding a summit in Man's Kingdom, wherever it may be! If you do, by the Creator I will kill all of you, angel, fallen angel and a devil. It is already enough that you lot broke the law by being on Earth in the first place." He heavily emphasized his threat in a dead serious tone as he inched closer to Azazel's face, a murderous glare blatantly obvious in his almost fiery, orange eyes. Even Azazel, who was usually known for his laidback attitude couldn't help but freeze in fear. He knew fully well what these riders are capable of, and if there are any beings out there he doesn't want steamed up, it's the Four Horsemen.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Azazel stammered a bit before he composed himself.

"If you are being serious about this meeting of yours you will hold it in the Underworld, that shouldn't be a problem for you fallen angels and the devils. As for the angels, leave them to me. But first, tell me who is leading these angels that will meet with you." Death said seriously.

"Their leader is called Michael, the Archangel of Divine Faith." Azazel said seriously.

"Michael?!" Death said in slight surprise.

"You know of him?" Azazel asked curiously.

"He is an angel that I'm after for trespassing in the Kingdom of Man for almost two millennia. And he will be punished for breaking the law." Death said sternly.

"While it would be stupid of me to stand in your way…" Azazel said seriously.

"It would be." Death said dryly.

"Please refrain from dealing out your judgment on Michael. As you may know, the angels fought against the demons since the dawn of time. There won't be a better opportunity for the angels of the White City to turn a new leaf and make allies instead of being left to their own devices all the time." Azazel said seriously.

"These angels are left to their own devices the moment they followed Michael's foolish path of salvation, so he speaks only for his little cult. He knew of the law that binds the Three Kingdoms and he broke it. He disobeyed the Council and we will carry out their sentence." Death said strictly.

"If you must, but please do it after the summit, otherwise the four factions will be locked in eternal conflict." Azazel said seriously in almost defeated tone, finding it impossible by the minute to talk the rider out of his decision before he walked forward and looked at the water in the fountain. "And to be honest, I'm tired of millennia after millennia of ceaseless fighting. Aren't you the least bit tired of the endless conflict between angels and demons? Now joined in by fallen angels and the devils during recent millennias? All those eons, countless angels and demons slain by your hand or those of your brethren. Surely once you have asked yourself is it even worth having a life like that, maintaining this 'Balance' when it ultimately leads you nowhere. That the future the Council apparently has in mind is not that of peace, but of neverending war."

"I became a warrior for the Balance for a reason fallen angel, a reason that I don't feel voicing out." Death said sternly as he had brief images of his fealty to the Council, followed by the image of his slaughtering of the Nephilim before he looked at Azazel. "And the future set by the Council will be determined when humanity is ready to stand against Heaven and Hell, a battle that will decide the fate of the Three Kingdoms."

"And when will that happen? In a thousand years? Ten thousand years? Another eon? How much blood will be spilled from either factions until that time?" Azazel asked seriously.

"As much as it is required for the Balance to be preserved." Death said in strict and cold tone.

"Times are changing Death, nothing is black and white as it once was in the old days. I know that the legions of Hell cannot even think to live without bloody conflict, but the other factions are starting to tire from the endless fighting. The devils are a living proof of their desire for peace, despite some of them yearning to rejoin the demons. Although there are angels of Heaven who would give anything for another open battle against the demons, many outside of Michael's order joined him in that same pursuit, tired of going through endless cycle that spanned since the dawn of time. And even the fallen angels have also started to strive for peace, though some among them share Kokabiel's sympathy to spill blood again." Azazel said seriously.

"A fallen angel who wants to live in peace? Now that is impossible to believe Azazel." Death chuckled a bit in amusement at the notion.

"You'd be surprised how much this world can change a person, be it a human, angel or a fallen angel. Even the devils themselves turned a new leaf by its influence, and one of the proofs is in their architecture as you probably noticed when you paid them a visit in the Underworld." Azazel smiled a bit as he looked at the sunny sky before he looked at the rider. "I think that particular influence is why the Council forbade everyone to set foot in this world, don't you agree? You could say that it started to change even you."

"Nothing has changed fallen angel. From the moment I got on this planet. Be it an angel, demon, fallen angel or a devil, we will uphold the Balance and enforce the Council's will, as we had always done over the eons that passed." Death said strictly as he regressed his weapon's size to that of a small trinket before putting it on his pocket while turning his back on Azazel. "As for your summit, I will decide whether Michael will live to see this meeting of yours or die for his actions. Stay in my may and you will share his fate." He then departed, leaving Azazel all alone at the fountain.

Death hated to admit it, but he did felt slightly conflicted about this situation. The most obvious thing to do as the Council's enforcer would be indeed to punish Michael, but recently he started to feel that things are a little… off. Two millennia. It took two millennia for the Council to inform the horsemen about this. And now the two riders have to deal not only with the fallen angels that Death first encountered, but also devils, demons and now angels as well. Someone must be pulling the strings behind the curtains, setting up chain of events that lead the two riders on Earth. But currently it would be foolish to believe that Council is deliberately keeping their enforcers in the dark, at least in Death's mind. It is a possibility, but then it would bring the question as to why the Council themselves would threaten the very Balance they seek to uphold through their enforcers. That would make all those eons of its preservation turn out to be for nothing.

Alas, that is something he will have to resolve in days to come, right now his priority is to find Michael and interrogate him about the Seven Seals that he supposedly plans to destroy, and of the Armageddon blade that can be used to shatter them.

---

Later that day, after the devils had their fun at the pool and War finished delivering the Excalibur shards to Azrael, they all gathered together in Rias' club house as usual.

"Azazel? The Governor General of the fallen angels himself?" Rias said in slight surprise.

"Indeed." Death said.

"Why would the leader of the fallen angels show himself, right after we disposed of Kokabiel?" War asked curiously.

"It would appear that he is organizing a peace summit between fallen angels, angels and the devils. For all the good it will do in the long run." Death said in slightly skeptical tone before he turned towards War. "But he is not the only person of note that I've met. I've also encountered the white dragon emperor, who turns out to be a boy with silver hair named Vali."

"So we finally found the wielder of the white dragon?" War asked.

"Yes. And he told me the most troubling news that I'm still debating about whether I should believe it." Death said seriously.

"You seemed to be unusually troubled brother. What is it that the boy revealed to you?" War asked curiously.

"It is possible that he lied to me back there, trying to mislead me to kill Michael, so he would profit from his death one way or another. But at the same time it isn't farfetched, considering that many tried to bring about the Apocalypse earlier than anyone would wish for." Death said grimly as he folded his arms.

"Michael? Apocalypse? Are you saying that angel is trying to bring about the Endwar?" War asked in frustration.

"Like I said, it could be possible that the boy lied to me. The only way we can know for sure is if we find the archangel himself and interrogate him about it." Death said.

"From the sound of things, someone is definitely trying to bring about the Endwar. And since Vali mentioned Michael, I suggest we commence our search with him. He may not be the criminal we are looking for, but it would be a good start." Rias said seriously.

"For once we are in agreement." Death said as he looked at Rias, while the devil herself nodded silently with a serious look on her face.

"Let us hope that those two females prove to be useful and find the archangel for us." War said seriously.

Then everyone's attention was drawn to the double doors suddenly opening, with Akeno entering the room.

"President, we have a visitor." Akeno said in slightly serious tone.

"A visitor? Who?" Rias asked, curious to Akeno's unusually serious demeanor at the moment. When she took a few steps in the room and moved sideways, the visitor, or two for that matter turned out to be…

"Big brother?" Rias asked in surprise.

"Hello Rias." Sirzechs smiled to his sister as he and Grayfia entered the room before his face went serious. "Horsemen." He said to the two riders.

"Sirzechs." Death said dryly.

"What business brings you here, devil king?" War asked seriously.

"Nothing official. I came here because I need your help." Sirzechs said seriously.

"With what?" Death asked in unenthusiastic tone.

"First I have to ask. Is it true that you were the one who killed Sona Sitri's pawn, Saji Genshirou?" Sirzechs asked in serious, yet not too demanding tone in fear of their wrath.

"It is true. His demise, along with Toujou's was a warning to your sister and her pets not to fall out of line again." Death said coldly with no hesitation whatsoever. Both Sirzechs and Rias did not take the rider's words kindly as they frowned angrily, but they kept their mouths shut before they are to say something that will get them all killed.

"And the fate that will follow all those who trespass in the Kingdom of Man again." War said sternly.

"Then you were the one who awakened Vritra within Sona's pawn." Sirzechs said seriously.

"Who?" Issei asked in confusion.

"Vritra?! One of the five dragon kings?!" Rias asked in shock and surprise.

"The very same." Sirzechs said seriously.

"And how is Death responsible for awakening this 'Vritra' within that devil?" War asked in curious, yet slightly accusing tone.

"I reckon that he was the host of this 'dragon king', much like Hyoudou and Vali are for the red and white dragons. When I took the boy's life, that dragon must have taken his body under its control, allowing him to manifest into a draconic form we are yet to see." Death deduced.

[That's not how it works with dragons, I'm afraid.] Ddraig suddenly spoke from Issei's left arm in flashes of green light, drawing everyone's attention. [Especially concerning the dragon kings. Although they are powerful, they are incapable of possessing the body of it's host when the last spark of life leaves him. Not even we, the heavenly dragons, who are superior to the dragon kings have that kind of power, otherwise there wouldn't be a need to wait for the next living host time and time again after so many centuries.]

"It is quite a mystery." Rias said as she held her chin in thought.

"Not exactly." Sirzechs said seriously, drawing Rias' attention. "From what were able to gather when the massacre ensued, before Vritra took over Saji's body, he was covered by some black and yellow substance. And then the dragon consumed his body and formed into some kind of mindless abomination, bent on destruction and murder. Whatever formed from that boy was not Vritra that any of us would expect."

"Black and yellow substance?" Death asked curiously before Sirzechs nodded silently with grim expression. After that, with that sentence ringing in his mind, Death recalled witnessing the similar phenomenon when he was chasing a stray demon decades ago in France, who turned out to be an angel instead, consumed by the same tar-like liquid that the devil king described just now.

War noticed Death's pondering and raised his eyebrow slightly in curiosity. Knowing his brother, whenever he trails off like that, there is always something that Death has a knowledge about in varying degrees, this topic being one of many examples over the eons that passed.

"Sounds like something worth investigating." War pointed out, mostly to see Death's reaction to it.

"Indeed. If it's what I think it is, then we must put a stop to that dragon before he wreaks havoc across the Underworld." Death said seriously.

"I'm curious of one thing. If I remember correctly, Serafall Leviathan is the sister of Sona Sitri. Due to her fondness towards her sibling, wouldn't she be opposed of your idea to ask for our aid due to our involvement with the boy's demise?" War asked curiously.

"She was adamant against the idea of seeking your aid in the matter, but her personal grudges, although justified, bared no significance when the lives of our people were at stake." Sirzechs said seriously.

"You are the leader of the devils, aren't you mighty enough to deal with this threat?" War asked in slight annoyance.

"Not this one. Although Vritra is the weakest of the dragon kings, his ability to absorb energy from his enemy, along with variety of techniques at his disposal more than compensate for the lack of raw power, which arguably makes him the most dangerous of the five dragons. Not only that, we have received reports of the numerous demonic assaults and terrorist attacks that are in need of my attention." Sirzechs said seriously.

"So it's up to us to clean up your mess." Death said unenthusiastically.

"If anything, this will be a mutual benefit. Not only would you save my people, but we would continue to repel the forces of Hell from gaining a foothold in the Underworld. And as you may know, they can from there threaten humanity, something that neither of us would like to happen." Sirzechs asked seriously.

"Where can we find this dragon?" War asked begrudgingly. He was not thrilled at all with all these diversions from their real objective, but they have to make sure that no harm comes to humanity until they are ready to face the demons, along with the angels for that matter.

"He is currently attacking one of the cities in the Agares territory. If the dragon continues his rampage, at this rate every city will be destroyed until he reached Zeonar itself, our capital city." Sirzechs said seriously.

"That's the territory where Sona's castle resides. I hope that she made it out of there alive." Rias thought in worry.

"That dragon will be long dead by the time he is finished with the current city he is sieging." Death said seriously.

"Thank you horsemen. As the devil king, I am grateful that you will help my people." Sirzechs smiled gratefully.

"Don't get the wrong idea devil. We are not doing this for you or your kind. You may benefit from that dragon's demise, but we will stop him for our own reasons." Death pointed out harshly.

"You still have my thanks Death. Farewell." Sirzechs smiled before he, along with Grayfia teleported back to the Underworld.

"Gremory." Death said before he and War turned sideways towards Rias. "Take us to the Underworld, we have a dragon to slay."

"Right." Rias nodded seriously before she stood between the riders.

"Wait, what about us? What are we, chopped liver?" Issei said in protest.

"In this fight, you might as well be." Death said with a stern and cold tone.

"Man, that's harsh." Issei said, baffled at how casually the Reaper said that. Then again this is the very person who showed no remorse or pity in killing Koneko and Saji, so he shouldn't be surprised.

"Neither of you will be of use to us in this battle, the dragon is too powerful for you devils to handle, so it is for the best that you remain here until we return." War said seriously before he looked at Rias. "Now, let's be on our way."

Rias silently nodded before she extended her arms wide to her sides, forming a magic circle beneath them before she, along with the riders disappeared from the spot.

---

When they appeared in the Underworld, Rias, Death and War found themselves on some kind of road, where unbeknownst to the riders Rias took them near Sona's home. Then Rias gasped in shock as she discovered that Sona's castle has been completely demolished, and the bloodied corpses of so many servants littered the grounds. As Rias ran towards the castle grounds, the riders ignored the Gremory devil as they were preoccupied with matters more pressing than a few dozen dead devils.

"The devil king did not lie, this place reeks of some kind of corruption." War said as he inspected the destroyed area, noticing a few patches of black, tar-like substance here and there that Sirzechs described.

"The handiwork of that rogue dragon, no doubt." Death said before he turned around and looked on the horizon. "His trail leads off in this direction. Let's hunt that dragon down and kill it. The sooner we get that done, the sooner we can continue with our mission."

"Agreed." War said before he and Death summoned their respective steeds from below, Ruin and Despair, hopped on their saddles and then galloped towards their destination.

As the riders made their way to face the dragon, Rias walked slowly and was saddened to see Sona's home in shambles, the black flames still burning through the ruins and patches of black ichor still staining the walls that yet stand.

"How dare you come here?!" A familiar voice shouted angrily. When Rias looked to her right, it was none other than Sona, looking really angry as she marched with Tsubaki towards her.

"Sona, listen, I…"

"How could you let that pervert drag Saji into his schemes? I told you to be very careful with the horsemen around, but you apparently didn't listen!" Sona shouted angrily. Rias was surprised to see her friend this angry for the first time in years, but in this case she shouldn't be as it's not without good reason.

"It was out of my hands Sona, i was just in the dark about Issei's plans like you were." Rias frowned slightly in protest.

"I told you that your life and the lives of your servants were in extreme danger, that if they tried to do anything behind the horsemen's backs would most certainly incur their wrath! And now Saji paid the price for Issei's recklessness!" Sona shouted angrily.

"So has Koneko in case you have forgotten!" Rias exclaimed angrily.

"All because of YOUR lack of comprehension to the severity of your situation!" Sona shouted angrily. The two devils then had an angry staredown for a few moments, but alas, Rias then looked down in guilt and remorse as she knew that Sona was right. With that, Sona turned around and folded her arms, her back facing Rias.

"You completely disappoint me Rias. I thought you'd be a lot more responsible, a lot more careful with your actions with the riders on watch. I'm not interested in any excuse you might come up with on the spot. Saji is gone and you are to be blamed for it. Now go. I don't want to see you ever again." Sona said sternly before she started to walk away, followed by Tsubaki.

"You are right." Rias suddenly said in sad and regretful tone, prompting Sona to merely stop in her tracks without even glancing back. "Although Death was the one to take Saji's life, it was ultimately my fault that I didn't kept a closer eye on Issei's actions. If I did, then none of this would have happened." She then looked at Sona and frowned slightly. "The fault is mine, and my responsibility to make it right, no matter what it takes. I know I may never earn your forgiveness at this point, but know that whatever danger comes to you, I will always be there to fight by your side."

"I might not grant you the same courtesy Rias." Sona said strictly.

Even though her behavior is justified, Rias's heart ached a bit to hear her longtime friend treat her as if she murdered her entire family, let alone let her servant die by Reaper's hands. The Sitris may not have that emotional connection with their servants like the Gremory family, but she still cared about them all the same, something that is apparent with her current attitude over Saji's death.

"I know. But I still want you to know that." Rias said before she turned sideways as her expression softened a bit. "Be safe Sona." She said gently before she sprung her wings and took to the skies.

After Rias left, Sona had a rather conflicted look on her face. This was the last thing she wanted to happen between them, for her to be so angry and bitter on someone she wouldn't even think of being furious on, the only person that she hanged out with since they were but children, who trusted each other enough to one protect the other with their lives if need be. But now… she's not even sure if she will even behave the same way she always did when it comes to her interactions with Rias. For now it's for the best that they don't even see each other, at least for a while. Still, she prayed inwardly that Rias will not be the next victim of Vritra's rampage, or die by the horsemen's hands for that matter.

---

Meanwhile, as Death and War continued to gallop along the road…

"Death. When the devil king Sirzechs mentioned the black and yellow substance, you seemed surprised by the revelation. As if you encountered this phenomenon before." War said curiously.

"Are you capable of reading minds now?" Death said sarcastically.

"It doesn't take a psyker to see that you know something about this. Because I know you enough brother." War said seriously as he looked at his brother dead in the eye. Death knows about that look all too well, it only means that War will not even budge unless he reveals what he knows, which isn't a problem for the Reaper in this case.

"Three centuries ago, Abaddon told me that there was a demon who infiltrated the Third Kingdom and was wreaking havoc to the humans. But when I arrived, I discovered that it was an angel who arrived on Earth, and she was responsible for manipulating the humans for her own ends. When I pursued her inside the church, I discovered the same black liquid that we noticed when we arrived here." Death explained.

"Have any of the humans been infected with this poison?" War asked.

"Some of them were, by the angel herself. This substance corrupted her entirely, in her warped mentality believing herself to be the savior and all that. I thought that plague dissipated when I took her life, but it would seem that this sludge persisted after all this time." Death said.

"Be that as it may, I am still annoyed that we are to put that dragon down ourselves. The devil kings could have easily dealt with this problem if they combined their powers." War said in annoyance and irritation.

"It is always the soldiers who do the dirty work War, not kings. As was always the case." Death said bluntly.

"They are nothing but cowards, who sit on their thrones while their soldiers and citizens needlessly die. They are no different from many other cravens we put down in the past." War said in disgust.

"I would have agreed with you brother, had Sirzechs not mentioned the terrorist attacks and demonic incursions." Death said.

"The incursions could not be so severe to ignore the dragon destroying their cities, and leaving a trail of corruption in his wake." War said in slight disbelief.

"We can only speculate at this point War. For now let's focus on finding that dragon and putting it down. Maybe then we will solve this mystery about this plague that is spreading." Death said, with War nodding silently in agreement.

After a while of continuous galloping, the riders finally reached one of the cities, albeit ruined and still on what looks like black fire, which was a curious sight for the two riders. The dragons usually breathe regular fire, or in some cases lightning and frost, but it's the first time they see a dragon spewing black flames, a liquid fire by the look of it. Was it the cause of this corruption that turned his flames black or it was his natural color, they did not know.

Not long after they reached the vicinity of the city, they entered it's walls and found the city in utter ruins, with the usual bloodied corpses littering the streets and black fires continuing to burn from the structures.

"It's as if we walked into a dark void." War said as he looked above him, the skies almost blotted by the rising flames and smoke.

Then they heard the growling and gurgling noises as they noticed that the corpses around them started to twitch. Men, women and children alike started to rise from the ground like zombies, their eyes glowing with yellow light while black goo oozes from their mouths and several parts of their body.

"The dead rise." Death pointed out, mostly to himself as it was pretty obvious for the riders.

"Let's not waste any time with this rabble. The longer we tarry, the further the dragon slips from our grasp." War said. Death nodded to his brother before he and War pulled out their respective weapons and started to slice through the swarm.

After Death and War slaughtered hundreds upon hundreds of infected civilians, they reached the other side of the city. When they did, Ruin and Despair dashed forward and galloped so fast that to the eyes of others they would almost appear as speeding red and sickly green bullets.

It didn't take long before the riders reached the second city on their way to Auros. It was in the similar state like the first one, all demolished and littered with bloodied and tar-stained corpses of fallen citizens. The horsemen continued to follow the trail left behind by Vritra, the dragon's eerie aura feeling stronger and stronger as they rode in the right direction.

Then as the riders reached the plateau overlooking the third city…

"There's that dragon!" War exclaimed as he noticed Vritra flying above the city on the horizon. Apparently the dragon was in the middle of destroying another city, but this time an army of devils is foolishly trying to stop its rampage.

"Hurry brother, while the dragon is still preoccupied." Death said as he yanked his reins a bit so Despair could gallop downhill, followed by War as he directed his own steed to follow his brother.

As the riders descended towards the town, they noticed how Vritra is decimating the devil army, enveloping multiple devils in black flames while at the same time grabbing ten devils with each of his ten yellow tentacles, absorbing every bit of life force until they are but empty shells, making him stronger bit by bit with every victim leeched, but never sating the endless, maddening hunger that consumed his entire being. After he dropped the ten now dead devils, he continued to reach out with his tentacles on whatever devils were in his vicinity, while at the same time continuing to wildly breathe black flames on other devils. When the riders were close enough, they both dismounted and then jumped high in the air while their steeds submerged into the ground, and the riders landed on the rooftop of one of the buildings before looking up at the carnage above.

"Make sure you avoid it's flames. I'd rather not see if it's corrupted state can affect us firsthand." Death warned.

"Understood." War nodded while not averting his gaze from the dragon.

When Vritra dispatched several more devils with brutal efficiency, the others were forced to retreat. Then the dragon looked down and growled as he noticed the two riders standing on the rooftop. Then the dragon let out a howling roar, conjuring a dome of darkness around the entire city, sealing them off from what light the cloudy sky provided. After that, without a moment to waste, he breathed down black flames on the riders. War immediately dashed to his left while Death jumped nimbly on his right on another rooftop. When Death noticed that the dragon was in pursuit, the pale rider quickly jumped down while Despair materialized from below, prompting the rider to land on his seat and gallop forward. Vritra breathed black flames on the rider, but Death manage to gallop his horse fast enough to avoid the flames while navigating the streets. War used the opportunity to perform a mighty leap, jumping hundreds of meters in the air before he dived down on the dragon like a meteor, his Chaoseater at the ready. But Vritra saw the rider coming as he immediately turned around and whipped his ten tentacles in attempt to absorb the rider's power. War reacted quickly as he swung his sword to cut through the absorption lines, but when he was close enough to the ground, he crashed through several buildings.

Death went to use this window of opportunity as he leapt from his horse onto one of the house buildings and then jumped in the air. But to his surprise, when he extended his hand towards the dragon, he could not use his Death Grip.

"What?!" Death exclaimed as he looked at his hand in surprise before he started to fall back to the ground, but he flipped backwards repeatedly before he landed nimbly on the ground. Moments after he did, War drilled through the rubble and ruined buildings and landed on another rooftop, growling in anger before he turned towards the dragon.

"Time to unleash a firestorm of my own!" War proclaimed before he raised his Chaoseater above him, but the red rider was just as surprised that his own ability is not working either. "What the…"

Before he could say anything, Vritra unleashed more of the black flames on the rider, prompting War to jump down onto the streets while summoning Ruin from below, thus landing on his saddle and galloping away from the flames.

"I don't understand. Why can't I use my powers?" War growled angrily as he looked at his signature sword before he reluctantly sheathed it.

As Vritra chased War, Death tried to use his Murder ability as he raised his hand above him, but not even that worked, much to his frustration. Then the pale rider noticed how War jumped from his steed and charged right at the dragon for a counterattack. Just as the rider jumped and was about to enter the dragon's mouth, Vritra moved to his right and swung his tail, smacking War and making him crash through the buildings below. It was at that point that Death quickly looked around for anything that would prove to be a suitable distraction. Then he noticed one of the large and thick wooden beams from the nearby ruined house. Not thinking a second longer, he quickly grabbed the wooden beam, hoisted it on his right shoulder and then threw it hard towards the dragon as if a man would throw a spear. Before Vritra could unleash his flames on the knocked down rider, the wooden beam struck on his head and shattered. The infuriated dragon turned left and breathed black flames on Death, but when the flames died down, the pale rider was not there. Using this moment of distraction, Death leapt right towards his brother and rammed him on his sides while grabbing him around his waist and pulling him into one of the narrow alleyways, which was a suitable hiding place for the time being. Vritra noticed that the riders were gone, and he believed that they ran to the other side of the city, so he departed to find them, having no idea in his primal rage that they were close by.

"I did not need your help brother." War growled angrily.

"With our powers nullified, we are both helpless if we are not careful." Death said grimly as he looked at the dragon looking left and right while occasionally spewing black flames.

"Speaking of which, why is it that I can't use any of my abilities?" War asked in frustration as he sheathed his weapon on his back.

"A negation field. I knew that this darkness was far more than it seemed." Death said as he looked at the darkness above him.

"So with this field up, we can only kill the dragon with steel?" War asked as he also looked up.

"So it would seem. Now I understand why the devil kings would not fight this dragon. Since they rely on their devil magic, they would have been easy prey if they were to be trapped by this field." Death said as he looked at his brother.

"One of the reasons why I choose to use conventional weaponry instead of magic." War said bluntly.

"I am not usually in favor of your brute force approach, but it seems that it will yet again be required." Death said before he looked back at the dragon, but for some reason he's not there.

"What is it?" War asked.

"The dragon disappeared. Where did it go?" Death said before he jumped on one of the rooftops again, followed by War.

"How can a dragon as big as him vanish like that?" War asked curiously as he looked everywhere around the city, but the dragon was nowhere to be seen.

Unknown to the riders, pitch-black shadows started to swirl on the ground behind the horsemen, something that Death noticed from the corner of his eye. Death quickly reacted by shoving his brother aside before moments later Vritra emerged from the shadows, swallowing the Reaper whole.

"Death!" War shouted in concern, but moment or two later he started to growl furiously as he glared daggers at the dragon. But before he could proceed with his furious counterattack, he was grabbed by the dragon's tentacles, roaring at the rider before he started to absorb War's power, making him scream in agony. However, the dragon flinched in agony, paralyzing him in place and letting go of the red rider, prompting War to land on his feet.

"Huh?" War looked up in slight confusion and listened to the dragon's grunts and wails of agony and pain as it squirmed airborne for some reason.

Then the red rider smirked as he knew exactly what is happening right now. It was Death, who was killing the dragon from the inside out by slicing the dragon's innards before reaching his scaly hide, slowly cutting his way out while the dragon himself wailed in rapidly increasing agony. Finally the Reaper himself emerged from the dragon's split open stomach in tainted blood and gore, while Vritra let out a howling roar of pain again. Now that he was out, War was ready to end this fight. He first used his Abyssal Chain to fire his spear-tipped weapon on the dragon. When it impaled the dragon's hide, he pulled himself towards it, retracting his chain before he switched to his Tremor Gauntlet, sparking in continuous electricity as he clenched his fist hard. Then in a mighty roar, War slammed the Tremor Gauntlet with a sound of thunder, punching the dragon so hard that he rammed through the field, making it shatter like glass before it crashed in the mountains miles away from their location. With the field destroyed, War landed on the ground while Death galloped towards his brother on Despair.

"My powers have been restored." War said as he clenched his prosthetic gauntlet while it flashed with fiery light.

"Good, now let's go and end this." Death said before he rode forward. War didn't hesitate as he summoned his steed Ruin and rode to catch up to his brother.

Sometime later, the riders reached the dragon in the mountains where he was sent flying, still lying incapacitated on the ground, it's gaping wound leaking black tar-like blood and creating a pool of it beneath him.

"Kill me." A voice whispered in Death's and War's mind. "Kill me… horsemen. End… my suffering." The riders heard the whisper again, this time realizing that it comes from Vritra.

The two riders then looked at each other, silently seeing who will be the executioner for this creature. Death silently nodded to his brother and let him do the job, while War said nothing as he walked forward and used the power of hellfire through Chaoseater to purge the dragon in flames. While Vritra squirmed and wailed in agonizing, searing pain, in the end his incessant cries died down and his entire body was burned to cinders and ash, along with the area tainted by his corrupted blood. Eventually, after the flames died down, nothing but charred ground remained.

"This is definitely something that will threaten the Balance in the future." Death said grimly, mostly reminiscing what Azrael said when he talked with him a while back at the Crimson Spire.

"What do you mean?" War asked curiously.

"You've seen the trail of death and destruction the dragon left in his wake. If someone more powerful is to be affected by this corruption, then the havoc he or she would cause would be unimaginable, where even worlds throughout the cosmos could be endangered." Death said grimly.

"You don't truly believe that this plague could be that dangerous." War said sternly.

"When I was inside that dragon, it felt worse than entering a pool of burning poison. Were it not for the great power bestowed upon us by the Council, I would have been affected by this corruption as well. Especially considering our abilities were nullified by the dragon's negation field." Death said grimly.

"You can't be serious." War protested, but Death's silent, grim, dead serious look on his face says it all. "If so, then we must put an end to this before it becomes too much even for us to handle."

"Fortunately, due to this corruption not being so far reaching, the devils alone will be enough to purge what's left of it, if they are of any use. And just for good measure, I will send Dust to inform Azrael to send a contingent of angels to help the devils with the purification. We on the other hand have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment." Death said as he folded his arms.

"Michael." War said simply.

"We still need to confirm if he is indeed plotting to start the Endwar. Let us return back to Rias's club, and see if those two humans have completed their task by now." Death said before he turned around and mounted Despair, followed by War mounting Ruin before both of them galloped towards the horizon.

---

Later that afternoon, back in the Occult Research Club…

"So, how did it go? Is Vritra…" Rias asked in hopeful tone.

"The dragon is dead, he will no longer pose a threat to the Underworld." War said seriously, making Rias sigh in relief at the news.

"Thank you horsemen. I'm sure my brother will be grateful when he hears the news." Rias smiled.

"He better be." Death said sternly, sending chills down the spines of the devils present. "Now, any news on the archangel Michael?"

"While you were gone, Xenovia and Irina came to us. They told us they found Michael and have arranged a meeting with you tomorrow." Rias said seriously.

"Seems those two are not as useless as I thought." Death said bluntly.

"Come on dude, you're talking about my childhood friend here, stop treating her as if she's some kind of worthless lapdog!" Issei protested angrily as he stood up and walked over to the two riders, standing next to Rias.

"A 'childhood friend' who allied herself with the angels of Heaven. If Michael is guilty of the crime against the Balance, then he and everyone else involved will perish, along with your friend." Death said in stern and cold tone.

Issei growled angrily at that. He really wanted to continue their heated argument and try to talk him out of his decision, but before he would do anything reckless again he glanced at Rias. She had that look that is silently telling Issei to stand down, and to remember what she told him before.

"If you make a single mistake again, then there's nothing I can do to keep you alive. They wouldn't care of what I say or do to stop them should that scenario occur, for those two mean business. I want you to promise me that you'll be careful in the future. For me, Akeno, and especially Asia."

With that in mind, especially when he thought about Asia, an innocent girl with a heart of gold, he calmed himself a bit and looked down on the floor with a conflicted look on his face.

"I see you kept Hyoudou in line Gremory." Death said before he glanced from Issei to Rias. "Make sure that he remains so, because I might not be as lenient as I was back at the church if he defies me again." He then turned sideways while not averting his gaze from Rias. "We're done here. Time for you devils to depart to the Underworld. With the dragon dead, none of you will be threatened anymore." He then departed towards the doors, followed by War before they closed the double doors behind them, leaving the devils alone in the room. It was then that Rias, Akeno, Asia and Kiba sighed in relief, now that the cause of so much tension in the room is gone.

"Man, what a fucking…"

"Not a single word Issei!" Rias suddenly shouted at Issei, interrupting his remark and making him flinch in fear. Rias then sighed deeply to relax and let go of her frustrations. Too many mistakes have been made already and she'll be damned before she lets Issei or anyone else in her peerage make a slip, and possibly die as well by the Reaper's hands like Koneko did.

Not long after that did the double doors open again, making Issei freeze in fear while the other devils gasped in shock and fear when Death and War returned to the room.

"Oh, and one more thing." Death said seriously to Rias.

---

A few minutes later Death navigated the devils to a certain hallway and pointed with his thumb a sealed room, with keep out tapes, locks and all, much to Rias's shock.

"Care to explain this Gremory?" Death asked strictly.

"Umm… i… uhh…" Rias stuttered in fear, having no idea how the riders discovered the sealed door to begin with, and not knowing how to justify the certain someone's containment inside the said room, fearing now that the rider may kill her for keep this a secret from them.

"Speak devil!" War exclaimed strictly. After she calmed down a bit, Rias realized that the rabbit is out of the hat now, and that there was no point in trying to keep any secrets from the two regarding this, for her own sake.

"Alright then." Rias closed her eyes, calming down further before she frowned seriously and looked at the riders. "The truth is, I have another bishop. But unlike Asia, due to his lack of control over his powers and my lack of strength to restrain him, Sirzechs had ordered to seal him away as a precautionary measure in this very room."

"I can sense your magic keeping this room sealed. Since you've been so bold as to keep this a secret from us after all this time, you will now shatter these bonds and let us in." Death said strictly.

"No, I can't. His powers are too dangerous even for you two." Rias said in caution.

"We have faced countless creatures far more powerful than your measly bishop. Remove these bonds, or I will do it myself and then kill the bishop you have in there. And it better not be the latter." Death said coldly.

Rias looked at the pale rider nervously, momentarily frozen in place from Death's ever so cold and merciless gaze. She really didn't want to release the bishop, mostly because it was a direct order from her own brother, to keep the bishop inside until such a day when she can reign in her servant without his powers spiraling randomly out of control. But due to the riders being obstinately insistent, she reluctantly walked towards the doors and proceeded to open them. She extended her hand towards the doors, revealing the Gremory seal before it was shattered like glass, along with the tapes, the chains and the lock on the handles of the door before they dissipated into nothingness.

With the bonds removed, the riders were the first to enter the doors. Immediately after did the riders heard a loud, frightened scream, prompting the two to grab their weapons and take a fighting stance.

"No no, wait, wait, please calm down!" Rias exclaimed in panic as she quickly ran in front of the two riders and raised her hands. "Please, there is no enemy here." She then turned towards the coffin behind her and smiled. "Gasper. How are you feeling?" She said as she knelt in front of the coffin.

"I don't understand what's going on." A voice known as Gasper said.

"Of course you can't, you are locked in a coffin!" Issei said in bewilderment at the statement while the riders stood upright and sheathed their weapons.

"The seal has been broken, so you're free to come out and join us, okay?" Rias smiled as she opened the casket.

"No, I don't wanna ever leave here! The outside is too scary!" The child cried out, who at first glance was a girl, considering she was wearing a girl school uniform.

"What?!" Issei smiled in glee. "She's just a little girl. And look, she looks alot like Asia. Does that mean all bishops have to be pretty blondes or something?!" He said, making Kiba let out a muffled chuckle while War grunted in annoyance and frustration at Issei's all to obvious, perverted nature. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"That 'little girl' is in fact a boy, Hyoudou." Death grunted in annoyance.

"Wait, what?!" Issei said in shock before he looked at the blonde boy again.

"Death is right, this child is indeed a boy. I know he may look like a girl, but he is most definitely the opposite." Rias smiled.

"As you've noticed, he does like to dress up like a girl though." Akeno chuckled cutely.

"A boy who prefers to wear a girl's clothing?" War said in slight confusion.

"That makes as much sense as Belial going on a diet to lose weight." Death said bluntly, mostly to War and not the devils.

"Who's Belial?" Issei asked Asia, but the little girl shrugged as she knew about this Belial as much as Issei did.

"Everyone say hello to Gasper Vladi, the first bishop in my peerage. Before I had the honor of turning him into a devil, this little guy was actually a half human and half vampire." Rias smiled as she knelt down and hugged the little boy.

"Half vampire?" Asia said in surprise.

"As in a bloodsucker? You're kidding?" Issei asked in bewilderment and slight fear that he wouldn't drain him of his blood at some point. But that immediately went over his head as he was still stunned by his choice of clothing. "You look way too hot in chick's clothes dude!" Issei said before he leaned in closer in frustration. "And plus, if you don't go anywhere, who you're dressing for?"

"Umm, for me I guess?" Gasper said in confusion. "I just think these clothes are cuter, that's all." He said, making Death and War face palm and grunt in frustration, their brains starting to malfunction at the statement. Scarab Hulks, Tormentors, Dreadwalkers, Void Magus', Gholens… anyone they can dismember will do at this point to erase whatever is happening right now in front of them.

"Don't pull that adorable bullshit on me!" Issei said in frustration before he finally collapsed on his knees. "When I first saw you, it was like a dream of two beautiful, blonde bombshell bishops had come true."

"I had enough of this freak show. Out of my way." Death shoved issei aside before reaching out to grab Gasper, while the devils behind him fear that he would snap his neck or something. The half-vampire screamed in panic before his eyes glowed, and when they did, War noticed that the devils next to him were enveloped in purple auras, completely frozen in place like statues.

"What the…" Death stopped, not because he was affected by whatever the boy did, but because his eyes glowed in the first place made the Reaper curious, for it couldn't be just for show. And that moment of hesitation was enough for Gasper to run towards the corner and curl himself almost into a ball, trembling in fear with teary eyes. When he did, his eyes stopped glowing and the purple aura around the devils dissipated. When they returned to normal, they also noticed Gasper in the corner, now aware of what just happened.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I made you mad, didn't i? Please don't hit me, oh please, I didn't mean it." Gasper said in a trembling voice while shaking like a leaf, fearing the very presence of everyone around him, especially the unknown, masked man with scythes and a hooded man with a greatsword.

Now War started to be furious at the sight, believing in his mind that Rias and her servants have traumatized this child with some sickening torture method that the demons of Hell usually employ on their victims. As if he hadn't seen enough tortures over the eons by demons' hands, and they are beyond count at this point.

"What kind of sick tortures have you put this child through Gremory? Speak, before I pulverize your skull to bits!" War said angrily as he grabbed Rias by her shirt and lifted her to his eye level. Now it was Rias' turn to tremble in fear as she looked at his blue eyes that went fiery orange to reflect the anger that he is feeling right now.

"Calm down brother. I would have been pleased if that was our concern here." Death said, drawing War's and Rias' attention. However reluctantly it was and however tempting it was to reduce Rias to a pile of sliced or pulverized bone, meat, blood and entrails, he let go of the devil as his eyes returned from fiery orange to whitish blue, mostly because of Death until he deems her life forfeit, while Rias sighed in relief.

"What do you mean?" War asked curiously.

"When the boy's eyes glowed, i sensed a shift in space and time. It was as if he used a chronosphere just now." Death said curiously.

"A chronosphere?" War said in slight surprise before he glanced from Death to Gasper. "It shouldn't be possible for this child to possess such power, let alone use it."

"What's a chronosphere?" Akeno asked curiously.

"A gift of the old ones. It is said that to master a chromosphere is to master time itself. One can stop time, or even move it, forward and back." War explained as he continued to look at Gasper.

"Gasper's Sacred Gear works in similar fashion, though I have yet to see if he is capable of moving time forward and back." Rias said seriously as she moved between the riders and stood close to Gasper. "It is called a Forbidden Balor View, also known as The Evil Eye that stops the World. In his current state, it has the ability to momentarily stop the time of anything within his line of sight."

"Whatever you call it, it is an extremely dangerous tool in the hands of an inexperienced child. He is coming with us." Death said as he started to march towards the boy, but was immediately stopped by Rias.

"Where will you take him?" Rias asked in concern.

"That is not your concern Gremory." Death said coldly.

"He's my servant, so of course he's my concern. What are you doing to do with him?" Rias protested. But Death had enough of all this bickering as he shoved her aside and went out to reach Gasper again, this time grabbing the boy before he could use his Balor View, his palm placed on his eyes to prevent him from freezing anyone in time by accident.

"Please let go of me, I didn't do anything, why do you have to be so mean to me?!" Gasper cried loudly as he fruitlessly tried to free himself from Death's iron grip, only managing to annoy the riders further.

"Quiet! One more sound boy and I'll give you something to cry about!" Death shouted while still gripping Gasper's head, dangerously close to applying more pressure on his grip to pulverize his skull. Gasper then immediately stopped with his cries, but was still whimpering and shaking uncontrollably in fear. The devils present were really tempted to lash at the Reaper and save Gasper, but they remained rooted in place because one, Death isn't actually trying to kill Gasper, at least not at the moment, and two, even if they were to attack him, they would be digging their own graves.

"Death." War said as he approached his brother. "I know that child may prove to be problematic with his out of control Sacred Gear, but we have far more pressing matters than babysitting a vampire."

"I know. But this boy will prove to be too much of a liability in days to come. Frail as he is, he's an easy prey for any ambitions demon, angel, fallen angel or any other creature out there." Death said grimly before he glanced from War to Gasper. "And if someone were to tap into the boy's power and use his full potential, then it will be about the same as using a chronosphere against us."

Issei didn't like where their conversation is going. If this keeps up, then the riders will most likely end up killing the boy, just because of his Sacred Gear. And knowing how utterly ruthless those two are, especially Death, then he knows that they won't have even the slightest problem of taking a life of a small child like Gasper, something that he won't allow to happen.

"Don't worry, it won't come to that." Issei interjected, drawing Death's and War's attention. "He will grow up from a frail boy you see there into a badass in no time, because I will be training him." He said proudly as he pounded his chest with his right fist.

"You plan to train the boy?" Death rasped a little and couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle of amusement.

"Sure, why not? Besides, it's not like you guys know someone who can babysit Gasper while you're trying to stop the end of the world, right?" Issei asked.

"No, we don't." War said reluctantly.

"So it's decided. I will take responsibility for Gasper and train him to use his Sacred Gear properly. Who knows, he might even come in handy for you guys to freeze your opponents in place and all that." Issei smiled as he pounded his chest. But despite his grandiose speech, Death was still unconvinced.

"Just let them have the boy brother. If it will ease your conscience, we will deal with him after the whole ordeal with Michael is over." War grunted a bit.

"You are seriously fine with leaving a boy, who has the ability to freeze an instant in time, to them?" Death said as he gestured at the devils present.

"Do you know anyone else sufficiently trustworthy to watch over that boy for us? Not counting Fury and Strife." War asked, but Death, for the first time in many millennia, had no answer to his brother's question as he remained silent.

The riders hated to admit it, even inwardly, but Issei may have a point. Being the Council's enforcers, the riders have enemies on all sides and their allies are almost non-existent, temporary alliances at best that are quickly terminated. There are select few people that they might help with the babysitting, like Azrael, The Keeper of Oblivion and his Maker apprentice Berrarris, but even the Reaper realized that he would be pushing it, far more than he usually does at any rate. Of course the much easier option would be to kill the boy then and there and have one less of a problem to resolve in the future, but another would be that all these devils would attack them trying to protect the boy or avenge is death, whichever of the two scenarios, and die in the process. And that wouldn't really be beneficial for the horsemen cause they may yet be of use to the riders. So reluctantly, they both agreed with Issei's suggestion to take him under his wing.

"So be it." Death said before he tossed Gasper at Issei, while the wielder of the Boosted Gear grabbed Gasper by instinct. "The boy will be in your care, but you only have once chance to shape him up. If any of our enemies or yours were to abduct him and use his powers against us, then we will put him down." He said in cold and merciless tone.

"Please don't kill me, I don't wanna die, please tell me that I'm not going to die!" Gasper cried out, his incessant cries only annoying the riders further and further.

"Shut that child up!" War grunted in anger as he looked at Rias before she immediately ran and hugged Gasper.

"Easy there Gaspy, easy." Rias hushed the little boy. When she noticed that the riders were leaving, Rias placed Gasper in Akeno's care, stood up and went towards them.

"War, wait up." Rias said.

"What now?" War grunted as he and Death turned sideways.

"To answer your question, it was not me that made him so traumatized like he is now. He was this way from the day I found him all those years ago, ostracized by the society he found himself in." Rias said seriously.

War said nothing as he merely raised his eyebrow in curiosity, giving a sign for Rias to continue her story, which she did.

"Gasper's father is a vampire of a well-known and distinguished family, while his mother was a human. The vampires were more concerned with the pedigree than the devils, and as the result Gasper was discriminated by everyone, including his own family. And sadly, when it came to the human world, they treated him as an abomination, a monster, on top of his power to stop time, the power he didn't knew how to control. He wasn't just feared. He was loathed. A person can't know what happens to them when they get frozen. Naturally, nobody wants to be near someone with that kind of power." Rias said seriously.

Death and War couldn't help but inwardly sympathize with the boy, even though it is by a narrow margin. Much like the vampires for the humans, the Nephilim were loathed by everyone in all of Creation, even till this day though them, Fury and Strife, the only surviving Nephilim to exist. Of course their loathing could be in part that the Nephilim were unnatural mold of angel and demon, created by Lilith herself, it was mostly the atrocities that they committed against far too many worlds in Absalom's crusade, most notably against the Ravaiim, which lead to the inception of the Grand Abominations. And that was prior to their battle at Eden that made the Nephilim one of the most hated races in all of Creation. Even though Death, much like Strife still felt remorse for slaughtering their own people, War and Fury did not share their sympathy. Fury couldn't care less for her people's demise, while War saw it as a duty to the Council and the Balance that his people's death was a necessity. However, as eons passed, sometimes he too can't help but wonder if his people's extermination was truly necessary for the Balance to be upheld. All the same, that day was a certain reminder that they should strive to be better people than they were in the old days.

"Why are you telling me this Gremory?" War asked seriously.

"I'm telling you so you wouldn't brand me as another cruel demon of Hell, and I'm certainly not like them." Rias said seriously.

"Noted." War said seriously after a few moments of silence, mostly so he could just go already before he finally turned and walked away, followed by Death.

---

The next day, the two horsemen are currently walking through the city streets to finally meet with Michael, sporting human disguises until they reach their meeting place while Dust guided the riders to their destination.

"I still find it odd that the archangel would meet with us like this. Could he be laying a trap for us?" War asked curiously while the two riders were currently walking past the children's playground.

"If so, then it wouldn't be the first time. And that would only confirm our suspicions and brand him a criminal against the Balance." Death said as he walked with his hands in his pants pockets.

Then their conversation was interrupted when a small girl, who giggled and laughed in happiness accidentally bumped onto Death's left leg and fell down. When the child looked up, she found two very scary adults who looked at her with stern gazes. This frightened the child as she started to cry before getting up and running towards her mother. This didn't bother the riders even in the slightest as they shrugged at what just happened and continue to walk.

"I guess you make a fair point. And what about that black filth that now plagues the towns the dragon destroyed?" War asked.

"Both Sirzechs' and Azrael's forces should have purged the corruption by now, and they are yet to discover what sort of dark power hides in that black mass." Death said.

"Unless they grow careless and be corrupted themselves." War said seriously.

"Your imagination is starting to be as exhausting as Strife's." Death said bluntly as the two riders were crossing the street.

Again their conversation was interrupted when they heard the sirens ringing from a police car, who was apparently chasing four thugs that robbed a bank and were shooting the cops with loud guns. The horsemen then noticed that the thugs turned a hard left and are apparently trying to run them down. This was good, because now War can vent his frustration of their conversation being interrupted. When the thugs were close enough, War raised his right foot and stomped the hood of the car so hard that he pinned it through the concrete, while the two thugs on the front went through the windshield and slammed on the concrete. The other two thugs were in no better shape as the third thug slammed his head hard on the seat while the fourth cracked his spleen from hitting the door's side of the window, due to leaning outside of it to shoot the cops.

Although it was more satisfying than it had any right being, Death and War didn't waste a moment as they continued to walk towards their meeting place, while the three cops went out of the car to arrest the four criminals.

"You two, hold it!" The third cop went towards the riders, prompting them to turn sideways. "How… how did you do that?" He asked in baffled tone.

"What do you mean?" War asked in slightly annoyed tone.

"I mean you stomped that hood as if it was made of thin wood. It's simply not possible for anyone to do that." The cop said in amazement.

"So the people constantly say at how it's not possible for him to leg press a thousand kilos of weight. And that's only the start of all the annoying awes while we mind our own business in the gym." Death said in annoyance.

"A thousand kilos?! That's almost a world record!" The cop said in shock. Death restrained himself from letting out a half-decent chuckle at that. War could bench press a mountain at this point and walk away as if he didn't exercise at all.

"Did you even noticed how much muscle he has? Is it really that surprising?" Death said shrewdly as he gestured at his brother.

"Well, you do have a lot of muscle on you, so… I guess that explains it." The cop said, not entirely convinced that his muscles alone gained from gym was the cause, but it was enough for the riders not to be bothered anymore. "Either way, thank you for stopping those criminals for us." He said as he saluted the two.

"It was nothing, forget about it." War said in annoyance before he started to walk away, followed by Death.

Half an hour later, as the two riders continued to follow Dust, the crow perched on the tree near the stairs leading up the hill. And when the riders looked up the stairs, they found…

"Greetings horsemen." A familiar voice called out to them from up the stairs.

"Himejima." War said seriously, noticing how Akeno now wore an unusual red and white uniform which looks like a kimono, from what they understood from this city's culture.

"It would be easier if you start calling us by our names, I think we have acquainted ourselves enough to pass the formalities." Akeno smiled cutely, much to the annoyance of the two riders.

"Well then, Akeno, is this the place where the archangel will meet us?" Death asked as he folded his arms.

"It is. This way." Akeno smiled before she turned around and went up the stairs, followed by the horsemen.

After what seemed like an entire day of climbing up the stairs, Akeno, Death and War have reached the top of the stairway and passed through the archway. When they did, they noticed a large wooden house, with two smaller houses on both sides of the large one. Death and War then glanced left and right to notice anything suspicious that would give away an ambush, but so far they found nothing.

"No need to worry, there are currently only five of us present, with the sixth to arrive anytime soon." Akeno smiled.

"Five?" War asked curiously, while Akeno nodded silently in confirmation. When the riders looked at the doors leading inside the large house, they noticed two familiar females standing outside the entrance.

"Xenovia and Irina." Death said.

"I'm surprised you remembered their names." War said bluntly.

"It doesn't hurt to put a name with the face. Especially those who are associated with…"

"So it is true." Death was interrupted by a voice from above. "The enforcers of the Charred Council are truly here."

"Who the…"

Then a blinding light shined above the house. When it died down, a divine robed figure with twelve golden wings was revealed, a figure that the riders immediately recognized, despite seeing him for the first time.

"Michael." Death said grimly.

At long last, after all the diversion and wait, Death and War have finally come face to face with the archangel himself. The moment of truth has finally arrived, now the riders will see if this angel is truly plotting a premature Apocalypse, or has set out to start a new age between angels, devils and fallen angels, an age of peace never thought possible by even the Council themselves.

---

A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took so long to post this chapter. I know i said i would continue after Darksiders 3 was out, but not only i wanted to finish my first story, Dragon Ball Melody, all the way to the end, but i also waited for Genesis to come out, so this chapter dragged out longer than it should. I actually had a blast with Genesis, and plus it revealed Strife's character and more of War's personality, his thoughts on his people's demise etc. in short, a bunch of new stuff was introduced in Genesis that i will most definitely add in future chapters, little bit of new enemies here and there and so on. I know that Darksiders 4 and probably other Darksiders games are on the horizon over the years to come, but i don't plan on delaying the chapters anymore and just gonna continue the story with what lore we have of the Darksiders universe, unless they tease us with something REALLY compelling :D

And holy shit, that's alot of reviews. From what i noticed its more or less a 50:50 reaction when it comes to Koneko's and Saji's deaths, mostly for Koneko. I mean, i understand that there is a Koneko fanclub, but i'd imagine it would be a bigger uproar if Akeno or Asia were to be executed instead by Death so early in the story :D I dont hate ANY of the DXD characters, don't get me wrong, but we are talking about fucking DEATH here. He is the most feared being in ALL OF CREATION for a reason, and he showed the devils why by executing Koneko and Saji, also solidifying the nickname.

So long story short, as MakeWarNotLove pointed out with Samael's quote. "Sometimes the hero dies in the end." Which is a perfect description for the fate of the characters in this story. NO ONE is an exception from dying, not even Rias and Akeno and i LOVE those two hot af devils.

-ARSLOTHES It was necessary actually, otherwise it would make Death and War look weak and their threats would not have been taken seriously from that point on if the devils were to get away for every mischief, especially behind their backs.

-Wacko12 Oh god no, anything but that :D

-Gamelover41592 Thanks. Well, so do Akeno, Asia and other characters i can name, but that doesn't mean they are any further from Death's scythe if they fall out of line, like Issei did. She basically became a casualty of Issei's impulsive urge to help Kiba.

-6tailedninja I know, right?

-Slayer of the Abyss Glad you like it, couldn't have said it any better :)

-OmegaDelta Thank you. Yeah, there will be a hell to pay once Kuroka finds out about Koneko's death. Well, you can see in this chapter how they took it :D

-zhisyamuddin2900 The uncertainty is strong in this one :D Yeah i understand, but they can't hold onto that life card forever with Death and War around, they are NOT really known to be merciful, at least not all the time.

-DeathBigFan haha, well this is DEATH we are talking about, someone who took lives beyond count even before the battle of Eden, nevermind the lives he took over the eons till this point in time. So not much of a shocker when you think about it. Don't worry, Xenovia and Issei will get their dues eventually, depends how the story goes. You have a nice day as well :)

-Abhinav Chhetri Wouldn't be any use with Asia and her Twilight Healing around, she would just reattach their severed limbs like she did with Issei's arm, so killing them was the only way to make their point across.

-Megakill As much as i understand your fondness towards Death, and he really is awesome, im trying to balance Death and War so both can have something to do and not just put ONE rider in the spotlight all the time.

-Guest Thanks a lot. That remains to be seen in future chapters :)

-Nightroad816 Sorry to hear that. I don't plan to kill off the main cast, don't worry, at least not all of them. Be mindful that we are talking about Death and War, warriors who took who knows how many lives and killing Koneko and Saji was nothing different for them. Would have been worse if they were to give them a pass over and over again for working behind their backs, even with Death explicitly telling them not to without his consent.

-MakeWarNotLove Thanks man, appreciate the vote of confidence. Yeah, people tend to be riled up when their favorite character dies, but what can you do? With Death around, nothing is certain. Also, kudos for the Samael quote, that was exactly on my mind when i wrote that scene in chapter 9.

-DEATHRIDER Thanks for the vote of confidence and your insightful review. Yeah, i didn't like either that some of the Harry Potter characters died either, like Dumbledore, Sirius Black etc., along with Lord of the Rings characters like Boromir, Theoden etc., but like you said, no one should be an exception from dying, especially in this story when it comes to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who are not really known to be forgiving if someone wrongs them in any way.

As for the top 10 strongest, i'll leave that one for speculation. If i were to give a top 10 list from strongest to weakest, then it would make the story utterly predictable and i don't want that. But i am going to say that the Creator is definitely the strongest because he has the power to write this story however he wants :D

That's kind of the idea with what Death is doing. He doesn't trust the devils at all, but he has them around so he would keep an eye on them and possibly make do with the devils for certain situations.

-Gods Angry Man Yeah, if you have seen what they did with Raynare, death seems more pleasant by comparison.

-Greer123 You're welcome :)

-Melati Death trusts no one aside his fellow horsemen, so yeah :D

-Alphawolff Dont know yet, but once i cross that bridge, i'll come up with something.

-Elldar Thanks a lot, glad you like it. Yup, they ain't gonna walk away willy nilly if they disobey Death's orders next time around, that's not how the Executioner works. I'm really not sure if Archon will make an appearance, since his debut in Darksiders 2 was solely because he had the Angel Key to the Well of Souls. But who knows, i might come up with something in future chapters, depending how the story goes.

-Kharn Sounds interesting, but we are far from the end of the story, so it all depends how the story goes.

-trollzor69 yup :D

-Guest Thanks, glad you like it :)

-TheJSmooth thanks for the reviews. No, she wasn't, but like Melati said, Death meant what he said and he's not the one to fool around.

-Quenton Samuel Thanks a lot, glad you like it :)

-IAmNotPedobear First of all, that name though :D Second, warm-hearted how? I probably missed something, but to me they don't seem warm-hearted at all. And who said they were fighting back then with full power? And those 'measly fallen angels' were champions. You know, their armor is thick and their shields broad? That take forever to kill in Darksiders 1 and 2? Not really the type they can 1 shot from the get go, but as you may have seen, still no match for the riders :D

-Sir Attlich yeah, what a waste :D Thanks for the vote of confidence :)

-divoratore500 shocking, isnt it? :D

-Hydrocell0 Thanks alot, glad you love it :) Yeah, the story seems far more interesting once you make some DXD canon alterations, at least for me :D

-WingIt Thanks alot, glad you like it. Don't worry, they'll get the memo :)

-RARE2000 Yeah, that scene was a no brainer, but then again i wasn't gonna make some deep characters if they're gonna appear in only one scene. I thought about having Death use the Shadow Realm, but i really wanted to give him a disguise that make him almost look like Alex Mercer from Prototype, so i went for the disguise instead. Yeah it is, but like It is ON said, it would be too straightforward and boring if they were go full power and 1 shot everything. Thanks for the constructive criticism though, at first i thought your review was gonna be all "Your story fucking sucks" and all that jazz :D

-It is ON He doesn't, it's simply the disguise Vulgrim gave him, not something War can alter. And his disguise is a blatant homage to Future Trunks (seems it's not apparent unless someone mentioned it :D), while Death's, as stated above, is a homage to Alex Mercer from Prototype.

-EMIYA14 Thanks, i'm glad :) Don't worry, just type Darksiders 2 Death vs (from Archon to other bosses), add Apocalyptic /w lvl 1 scythes and there you'll see the armor set, it's actually one of my videos, believe it or not :D

And thats that, jesus christ :D Like i said, i know that there are Koneko fans out there, but it would have been worse if Akeno or Sona or other, more important characters were to be beheaded or something back in chapter 9. If you have played the Darksiders games, then you'd know that they are not fooling around (except maybe Strife).

Either way, i want to thank everyone for all the reviews, faves and follows up until this point, I'm really glad that you like the story so far. Hopefully it will continue to leave an impression in future chapters, so until then, see ya in next chapter and have a good one :)