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?

13. Chapter 13

~Material Craving~

Sometime later after midnight, Rias had a relaxing cup of tea with her parents in the living room. As relaxing as it can get at any rate, considering they now have two riders of the Apocalypse as their 'guests' in their own home.

"So Rias, it would seem that you have become well acquainted with the horsemen." Zeoticus smiled as he stood between Rias and Venelana, trying to lighten the mood for his daughter.

"I guess you can say that. It's a miracle that they haven't disposed of us by now." Rias said as she looked at her reflection in the tea with an almost sad look on her face.

"Guess they are not as ruthless as they would have us all believe." Venelana smiled a bit, mostly to ease Rias' nerves.

"They killed Koneko mother!" Rias exclaimed in frustration and sorrow as she put her tea down on the table, almost spilling some of it in the process. "Someone that I promised to take care of, someone that should not have been cut down like an animal at the farm! How can you say that they're not ruthless when they've killed her, even though she didn't do anything wrong?!"

"Believe me Rias, the Reaper went really easy on you when he only gave quick deaths to Koneko and Sona Sitri's pawn. They have been known for far more vicious and gruesome acts of depravity, against both angel and demon, all in the name of the Balance." Zeoticus said in serious tone.

"It is unfortunate, but we cannot afford to be reckless. Not now." Venelana said seriously.

"Had it been anyone else we would have enacted a swift and terrible retribution, for the death of not only your servant, but Sona's as well. But I'm afraid that is impossible against the Reaper, more so when his brother War is with him as well. To challenge the pale rider is equivalent to willingly walk towards the executioner's block for decapitation, something proven time and again for those foolish enough to make attempt on his life." Zeoticus said seriously, but Rias is still not entirely convinced.

"But father-"

"But nothing Rias!" Zeoticus interrupted strictly, surprising Rias and even Venelana. Both of them have forgotten that for all of his lighthearted and laidback attitude, he's not without his own serious side. "Don't let your sorrow overcome your senses, that leads to rash decisions and actions. And I'll be damned before I allow my own daughter to do anything foolish on the Council's enforcers." He then calmed himself, approached Rias and knelt in front of her, his face close to hers as he placed his hands on hers to comfort her. "I need you to stay composed Rias, just like you have up until now. The last thing I want is to lose my daughter to the Reaper of Souls himself." He said in serious, yet concerned tone.

As his words finally settled in Rias' mind, she sighed a bit to relax herself.

"I'm sorry father. You're right, I have to be smart about this. It's no longer just me involved with them, but all of us. You, mother, big brother, my servants, everyone." Rias said in slightly serious, yet understanding tone.

"Good." Zeoticus nodded with a gentle smile before he stood up. "Now go and get some sleep, you have a long period of training ahead of you in days to come."

"I will." Rias smiled gently before she stood up and hugged her father. The moment she did, all the fears and uncertainties that gripped her entire being was quickly lifted, as is always the case when a child embraces its loving parent.

"Good night father." Rias said before she broke the hug and proceeded to hug her mother as well. "Good night mother."

"Sleep tight sweetie." Venelana said sincerely before Rias broke the hug and finally departed, leaving Zeoticus and Venelana alone in the living room. When she did, Venelana had a troubled look on her face, something that Zeoticus noticed as he went to sit next to his wife to comfort her as well.

"Be honest with me Zeoticus. Will our daughter truly weather the horsemen's harsh demands on her? Do you think they will spare her when this is all over?" Venelana said in sad and concerned tone, for the first time in many centuries, which only troubled Zeoticus as well.

"I wish I had a certain answer for you Venelana, truly I do. But I'm afraid with the horsemen, nothing is certain, neither their motives nor their intentions." Zeoticus said in low, serious and troubled tone. After a few moments of unnerving silence, he smiled gently and looked at his wife. "But on the bright side, she managed to win their favor just enough to have a solid cooperation with them. If she continues like that, she will see this through to the end after all." He said. Venelana smiled gently in turn and leaned towards her husband, prompting both of them to hold each other in warm, tight embrace.

"I pray that you're right." Venelana said in almost a whisper.

---

Two hours later, Rias woke up and went outside her bedroom in her nightgown, walking silently across the massive hallways, her thoughts being her own as she looked down at the floor. Then she stopped in her tracks and snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the sounds of heavy boots stomping in her direction. When she looked forward, she noticed War heading her way. The moment she did she couldn't help but blush a bit, mostly at the flashback of their heated moment back at the bathhouse when she accidentally slipped and fell down with Akeno.

"War? Where have you been?" Rias asked curiously.

"None of your concern Gremory. Go back to sleep." War said in his usual, serious tone, not even glancing at her as he continued to walk forward.

This time, Rias would have none of his passive hostility towards her any longer. He had been exuding such subtle venom on her and her kind the moment they first met, and after all this time that much didn't change a bit, which only infuriated the crimson haired ruin princess. That said, she frowned seriously as she ran until she stopped right in front of War, taking aback the rider a bit. The hilarity of the situation is that their standoff so to speak is equivalent to an insignificant flea standing up to a massive monster like the Tormentor or Trauma.

"What is it?" War asked in annoyance.

"Why are you hating the devils so much? Eversince you first arrived back at the club house, you're completely indifferent towards us, as if we are as vile as the demons of Hell." Rias frowned in accusation.

"With the way your people behaves, you might as well be. And that is hardly surprising, considering that your faction emerged from the same pit like those hellish vipers." War said with seething contempt as he glared at the devil. "Enslaving the humans for your own ends, fighting against each other over petty notions of power and position…"

Rias had all she could stand from his false accusations and hatred towards her people by constantly comparing the devils to demons. They sadly do share some similarities, but they are most definitely not one and the same.

"The difference is that we are not killing each other to climb that social ladder!" Rias exclaimed in protest.

"Are you? Because Katarea Leviathan and her ilk would say otherwise from their graves, along with the traitor Riser Phenex and the rest of the renegades that we encountered when they attacked us during the three faction summit." War said in contempt.

"Had they had their way, our people would still be locked in the neverending war with the angels, the reason why we chose to defect from the Dark Kingdom to begin with." Rias said in frustration.

"Spare me of your attempts to put the devils in a good light, when you are no different than those dregs. No matter how many centuries pass, it is always the same with your kind. I know because I have lived long enough to witness all manner of atrocities the demons committed against Creation and the Balance. You devils might be different than the demons in appearance and moralities, yet you bear the very same murderous ambitions as they do." War said sternly.

"You know nothing of the devils War! Your hatred towards the demons apparently blinds you to the fact that the devils and demons are not one and the same! Yes, we may have similar patterns of behavior like the demons do, but we are not them. And we will never be like them. Surely the time that we cooperated with each other should have let you know that we are not as bad as you would believe us to be." Rias said sternly.

Now War started to be really annoyed and angered by Rias' incessant, hypocritical debates, making Rias flinch in fear as she noticed how his face grimaced a bit, apparently pissed off.

"Do you truly believe that mere few weeks would change my stance towards the demons and their subfactions, a stance that remained the same over countless centuries? I am yet to be even remotely convinced of your kind's nobility and honor Gremory." War said in a low, threatening tone, his face dangerously close to hers before he straightened his massive frame up. "Now enough of this prattle, lest you press your own luck to a dangerous degree." He said sternly before he finally walked away from her.

After their heated debate was finally over, Rias could only turn sideways and look silently at the red rider.

"War." The word escaped Rias' lips in slightly sad tone.

She should be fuming mad right now for all the accusations the rider berated her and her people with, but for whatever twisted reason, she's not. While some of his statements were unjust, they are not entirely inaccurate, at least with the devil nobles outside the Gremory bloodline. And apparently, after the stunts Riser and Katarea pulled with their demonic and renegade invasions respectively, what slim, positive opinions War had for the devils has been erased altogether. With that in mind, she could only stare sadly at his massive back with Chaoseater strapped to it, feeling rather confused as to where her stance towards War himself ultimately lies after all this time. Friend? Foe? Dare say love interest even? Not even she knew, conflicted as she felt in those moments. Either way, returning to slumber sounded like a really good idea right now.

---

After the night passed and the Gremory devils had their sleep, Rias and her retainers had attended the awaited devil conference. During that time, each representative of the noble houses, like Rias for the house of Gremory, expressed their desires for years to come, Rias' ambition being the victor in every Rating Game to come. And the Rating Game that the devils had to battle in this time would be against Sona Sitri and her servants, a prospect that was surprisingly bitter between the two, from Rias' perspective at any rate. Not that much of a surprise though, since Saji's execution by Death had left a rift between the two and damaged their friendship to an uncomfortable degree. Whatever the case, she has to prove herself worthy in front of the four Devil Kings at the day of the Rating Game. But it hurt her a bit when she discovered that they will not fight as friends, but bitter foes.

Hours later after the conference was finished, the Gremory devils gathered outside the castle to discuss training preparations with Azazel.

"Right then, I've got personalized training regimens set for each and every one of you here. First, Rias." Azazel said in slightly serious tone, drawing the ruin princess' attention. "Your natural talent, physicality and magic power are already off the charts. Your power will grow naturally over the next few years to make you an ultimate class devil candidate. But I take it you want to get stronger now, right?"

"Yes. I don't want to ever be weak and helpless again." Rias said seriously, vividly remembering her recent losing streak up until this point, like against Kokabiel for example.

"Then see that you follow through all this during your training period." Azazel said as he handed over the training schedule to Rias, allowing her to analyze its contents. And it unnerved her a bit when she discovered how… overwhelming it seemed. Impossible even to pull off, at least not without injuring herself. She was true to her word that she wanted to be strong as soon as possible, but not subject herself to this kind of training to achieve that goal.

"Azazel, you do realize how intense this training regimen is, right? I don't think even I can handle it." Rias said in slightly nervous tone.

"Yeah, War may have something to do with that." Azazel said bluntly as he pointed at the red rider.

"War?" Rias said, her eyes widening a bit in surprise as she looked at the horseman.

"If you plan to make yourself more powerful Gremory, then this level of intensity will be more than suitable to begin your path of improvement." War said in his usual, serious tone.

"But I-"

"But nothing." War interrupted bluntly, silencing the crimson haired devil. "It may appear to be a true torment, but if you truly wish to be strong, all of you, then following these training routines I have altered for you to the letter would be your only option." He said as he glanced at Rias and the devils behind her.

So that's what War was up to last night, altering their training schedules so they might improve even further. Rias now felt a pang of guilt for snapping at War last night, he was helping the team behind the curtains and all she did is yell at him, even though her anger last night was justified.

"There's more besides basic training however. As difficult as it may be, your main issue is your aptitude as a king." Azazel said seriously.

"My aptitude… as a king?" Rias asked in slightly doubtful tone of that regard as she looked down.

"Yes. A king needs the mental acuity, guile and judgment to smash his or her way past any challenge. Your role as a king is to think on your feet and draw out your team's potential." Azazel said seriously.

"And that's why you're having me watch recordings of the old games." Rias said seriously.

"Exactly. Be sure to stick to your basic training as well." Azazel instructed.

"Understood." Rias nodded. Though thanks to War's alterations, this training of hers is anything but basic, which still made her nervous a bit.

"Next is Akeno." Azazel said as his attention was now turned on Rias' queen.

"Yes…" Akeno said in not so ecstatic tone, having a dreadful feeling of what is to come next. Azazel walked over to Akeno and handed her a paper of her own training schedule.

"I saw the tape of your fight against Phenex's team and the demons that invaded the Rating Game dimension. Why didn't you use your fallen angel power? If you'd combined that side of you from the start, the power of light with your lightning, the resulting Holy Bolt would have eradicated the demons with ease and deal noticeable damage to Tannin during yours and Issei's combined assault." Azazel said seriously.

"No! I never want to rely on that power Azazel, ever!" Akeno shouted in seething anger, bitterness and even sorrow as she gripped the paper in her hand and bent it a bit, almost making a hole through it with her thumb. Just the kind of reaction Azazel was expecting, not surprising considering her loathing towards her own father and his powers that she inherited from. But he'll be damned if she get herself killed out there because she prefers to be chained to her past.

"You have to accept the blood that flows through your veins Akeno." Azazel said seriously.

"Or that blood will be spilled on the pavement by your enemies. Do you really wish such an end for yourself, to die knowing that you haven't given your all to protect your comrades?" War said seriously.

"What do you know about protecting someone you care about?!" Akeno shouted at War angrily.

The red rider grimace a bit in frustration, annoyed by her impulsive outbursts that seems to be more frequent the longer they are under the horsemen's employ. But before he would respond with another dose of discipline, much like the one delivered to Koneko and Saji…

"Hold your tongue devil, and open your ears!" Death growled a bit in frustration with folded arms, making Akeno flinch in fear. "War doesn't like to waste his words, and neither do I for that matter. So my advice would be to heed his." He said in cold, threatening tone.

"War is right Akeno." Azazel said seriously, drawing the attention of the horsemen and baffling Akeno a bit that he's supporting their cruel remarks. "Don't deny your heritage, if you don't accept it you'll only be a hindrance to the team in battles to come. You have to accept who you are and embrace the power you've been born with, it is the only way."

Akeno merely nodded silently while still looking at the paper's contents in her hand with a conflicted look on her face.

"Kiba, first and foremost you need to unlock your own Balance Breaker. Once that is done you need to be able to maintain it as long as possible." Azazel said seriously to the blonde swordsman.

"Balance Breaker?" Death and War thought curiously as they raised his eyebrows and looked at Azazel, remembering Vali's Balance Breaker form that was the Scale Mail armor.

"To that end you'll be training under your swordmaster, right?" Azazel asked.

"Yes, I'll be instructed from square one." Kiba nodded confidently.

"Good. I wish you luck Kiba, given the swordmaster that War chose for you." Azazel said before he turned his attention to… "Gasper, you're next."

"Y-yess!" Gasper flinched in fear, even shaking a bit. Azazel sighed in almost a groan of frustration at Gasper's all too apparent agoraphobia.

"Your biggest problem is your scaredy-cat nature, since your lineage and Sacred Gear put you at a great starting point otherwise. Once you learn to stand against the enemy without fear, you'll be a formidable fighter." Azazel said seriously as he handed over Gasper's own training schedule.

Death couldn't help but snort a bit in jest at Azazel's last two words. Even if this boy does muster his courage by some miracle, with his fighting skills and very poor management of his Sacred Gear he'd still be a simple bloody stain to smear off the enemy's boot.

"The plan is to make you less of a shut-in. At the very least you gotta be able to be around other people without slowing down." Azazel said.

"Y-yes! I'll give it all I've got!" Gasper said in ironically mortified tone as he quickly hid in his box again.

"That box has gotta be the first thing to go." Issei said in very annoyed and frustrated tone.

"For once we agree Hyoudou." Death said as he walked behind Issei and grabbed Gasper's box from the bottom with a single hand, lifted it, turned it upside down, and unceremoniously dropped the mortified Gasper out of it.

"If I see you again in another accursed box halfbreed, I'll make sure to bury you with it." Death grunted a bit in annoyance as he grinded the box into a small ball and tossed it casually behind him.

"Why are you always so mean to me?! It's no fair!" Gasper wailed in fear as tears streamed from his eyes in exaggerated fashion.

"Pitiful. It only goes to show that your words back then are just as empty as your courage." Death said coldly.

"My words?" Gasper stopped crying as he looked at the pale rider.

"Yes. That you want to be, and I quote, 'a man like Issei and a brave warrior like those scary riders Death and War.' That you wish to prove yourself worthy and earn pride from your comrades. Remember?" Death remarked.

Gasper's eyes widened at that, having a flashback where he indeed said those words in his moment of pure determination and will to save his friends from the then considered enemy Tannin.

"Yet the way you behave right now you will never be a man you want to be, let alone a brave warrior to be proud of." Death said coldly.

"Death has a point, you certainly won't make them proud of you if you keep being pessimistic like that. You have the potential to be a fearless fighter Gasper, a fact proven when you froze Tannin in place back then. But first you have to learn to harness that courage, starting by walking in public freely. That would be a solid first step on that path." Azazel said in more encouraging tone.

When their words finally settled in Gasper's mind, what fears and uncertainties he had were lifted as he frowned this time in legitimate determination and confidence.

"Yes, you're right! If it's to make Issei and others proud of me, then I'll do whatever it takes!" Gasper said before he glanced from Azazel to Death. "I promise I won't let you down sir!"

"Fulfill that promise with deeds child, then I will believe your resolve." Death said strictly, while Gasper only nodded eagerly.

"Seems Death's cold and straightforward scolding is not without its merits." Azazel smirked a bit in thought before he turned towards… "Right then, you're next Asia."

"Yes!" Asia said in attention.

"You'll also be doing basic training to improve your strength, stamina and magic. I'm also expecting that your Sacred Gear will get stronger during that time." Azazel stated.

"But isn't Asia's healing ability already close to perfect?" Rias asked curiously.

"It's 'close to perfect' for a reason Rias. The trouble here is that she has to head out to the front lines to heal a wounded ally, but that leaves them both wide open for enemies to attack them." Azazel explained.

"So when you said her Sacred Gear could get stronger, you mean…"

"Yes. The true value of Twilight Healing comes in expanding its area of effect." Azazel smirked.

"So you're saying that we could get healed even if we're far away?!" Issei asked as he raised his hand like a school student to a teacher, which isn't far from the truth in this case.

"In theory, yes. She might even be able to heal multiple targets within range at the same time. If that's true, then Asia will be an incredible asset on the battlefield." Rias said as she held her chin in thought.

"Not likely." War bluntly interrupted Rias' trail of thought, drawing her attention. "In order for Argento to be of any real use on the battlefield on such degree, she must improve her stamina and magical ability on a massive scale. In her current state she can only do so much even with a basic level of skill."

Asia could only stare down sadly, feeling really useless right now, while Issei frowned in frustration at the red rider that he's not even trying to be compassionate towards poor Asia. As if the girl didn't go through enough crap over the years.

"Baby steps horseman. I don't know if she will massively improve in the next three weeks, but it doesn't hurt to wait and see." Azazel smirked.

"The results better be worth the wait fallen angel." Death said in annoyance.

"Don't worry, I know just the teacher to bend Asia into shape." Azazel said casually before he turned towards… "And last up, Issei." He smirked before he looked up, and noticed a certain someone diving from above. "Oh, here we go."

"Huh?" Issei looked up curiously, but a moment later a massive, humanoid dragon landed close to them, jumpscaring Issei good.

"What?! It's that dragon from two days ago!" Issei said in panic.

"Thanks for coming Tannin." Azazel smirked casually.

"Don't forget why I'm here to begin with Governor-General." Tannin said sternly with folded arms.

"Yeah yeah, I got it. Anyway, this lovely piece of work will be your personal trainer in next three weeks Issei." Azazel smirked to Issei as he pointed at the dragon. The young pervert froze like a statue in fear at the prospect that this giant, winged reptile will be his trainer.

"Had I wanted the pervert dead Azazel, I would have done so myself by now." Death said bluntly, making the fallen angel chuckle in amusement.

"Don't worry horseman, Tannin will teach this kid how to wield his dragon power properly without hurting him too much." Azazel smirked.

"Why not just have the dragon inside the pervert's Sacred Gear instruct him instead?" War asked curiously.

"That can only take him so far rider, for the dragon training must come through experience, not theory." Tannin said before he grinned slightly in sadistic manner. "And that means that tormenting the boy a bit is in order."

"What?!" Issei screamed in panic.

[You will have to hold back Tannin, my current wielder is unimaginably weak.] Ddraig said, making Issei narrow his eyes a bit in frustration and annoyance.

"So not kill him then? Leave it to me." Tannin grinned wickedly.

"Are you shitting me?! I'd rather train with the riders then have that dragon eat me alive!" Issei shouted to Azazel in horror as he pointed at Death and War while tears of fear flowed comically from his eyes.

"I would not recommend it Hyoudou." Death said bluntly, drawing Issei's attention. "At least with the dragon you will have a chance to live another day. With us, you would only have minutes at best, seconds at worst before you die." He said in his usual, cold, heartless tone.

"I truly am in hell." Issei whimpered.

"You got twenty days to make sure you get your balance breaker up to snuff, so try not to die until then." Azazel smirked in amusement as he gave Issei a thumbs up for encouragement, while Tannin promptly picked Issei up like he was an ant.

"Lady Rias, might we borrow that mountain for his training?" Tannin asked formally as he pointed at the said mountain far away from their position.

"Of course, I'm counting on you to toughen him up." Rias smiled sweetly.

"For real?! That mountain's gonna be my grave!" Issei whined childishly.

"So you wish your alternative to be to stand by and watch your friends die? Some reliving death again like Asia Argento?" War said coldly. Issei quickly stopped with his comedic whining and gasped in shock as his eyes widened by the rider's words. "Precisely. Keep up with your sniveling and that is the exact fate that will follow her."

"And this time, i will make sure she remains in her grave for good." Death added without a shred of empathy in his voice.

Silence followed for Issei as he bowed his head down and gritted his teeth in anger, bitterly remembering that heartbreaking moment when Asia died in his arms back at the demon infested church, how he felt so furious at himself that he failed to protect her from Raynare, let alone the demons who took her Sacred Gear away from her, along with her life. It would seem that again he had to be reminded of his goal to get stronger, to never again allow such tragic fate to befall her or his friends.

Tannin couldn't help but grin a bit in adequate amusement, when the boy flipped from being an unbearable crybaby to a seethingly angry hatching ready to burst something into flames. Good, now he has something to work with should the boy decide to revert to his weakling self again.

"You wish to make your wrath known? Then prove it by enduring the dragon's training in the next three weeks. Assuming you survive till that time." War said bluntly.

"We're off then." Tannin said before he flew in the sky and headed towards the mountain. As they did, Issei lifted his head and frowned in utter determination and confidence.

"Oh I'll survive the dragon's training alright, just you wait." Issei thought without a shred of doubt in his words.

"Right then, now that everyone's got their own training regimens to work on, lets not waste any time and make the arrangements to commence them. I want all of you to do your best." Rias smiled in encouragement.

"Yes president!" Asia, Akeno and Kiba responded with conviction, but not so much in Gasper's case.

After her retainers left, Rias approached the red rider, her mind filled with appreciation for War, that he actually took his time to help her and her servants by planning out their training schedules in a way he would deem it necessary for the Rating Game ahead.

"Thank you War." Rias smiled in gratitude.

"I have no need of your thanks Gremory, only the expected results upon your training's completion." War said in his usual, serious tone.

This time Rias merely nodded silently, the smile still on her face before she too departed. Ever the fool this one, the riders thought in those moments. She really thought that War planned out their training schedules solely for their benefit, or funny still as some twisted reciprocation to her feelings which till this day baffles the horsemen a bit. But the reality is, as ever, it was actually one step further to their own goals to continue to uphold the Balance, as they did over countless centuries.

With that being over, only Azazel, Death and War were left. But just as Azazel was about to leave as well…

"Explain yourself Azazel." Death said strictly with folded arms.

"Explain what?" Azazel asked in slight confusion as he turned sideways to look at the horsemen.

"You haven't told us that these Sacred Gears can achieve Balance Breaker forms, no matter the user." Death said accusingly.

"You never asked." Azazel shrugged.

"Don't you play coy with me fallen angel." Death growled a bit in low, threatening tone which unnerved Azazel. Guess there's really no fooling around whatsoever when the horsemen are involved, at least not with Death and War.

"Yes, it's not something exclusive to Issei's and Vali's Sacred Gears. Every sacred treasure can peak, achieving a state with powers and abilities that the user wouldn't normally be able to utilize in their base forms. That state is what you know as the Balance Breaker." Azazel explained.

"And what about the Juggernaut Drive? Is that something that every Sacred Gear can also achieve?" War asked in curious, yet slightly accusing tone.

"No, certainly not that. The Balance Breaker is the ultimate manifestation of a Sacred Gear, there's nothing stronger than that. But Sacred Gears with magical beings sealed within have unique checks and suppressors built in." Azazel said seriously.

"Like with the wielders of the Red and White Dragon Emperors." War said, having a flashback when Vali fought against Death while he utilized the Juggernaut Drive against him.

"Correct. Ordinarily the full extent of the user's strength is suppressed, but the Juggernaut Drive works by forcibly removing that seal and unleashing the power. It's a move that temporarily gives the user godlike power, but at a great risk to himself. It eats away at your life force, and you lose all sense and reason." Azazel explained seriously.

"That would explain why Vali's attacks were so wild and uncoordinated. His fighting was more akin to a wild animal than a trained fighter." War said seriously.

"So by your description the Juggernaut drive turns the user into a bloodmad berserker, not stopping in his carnage until his body is eventually destroyed from the sheer power unleashed." Death summarized.

"Yes, theoretically it should be impossible to control such power, but given Vali's enormous stores of magic it allowed him to maintain and control that form for a few minutes." Azazel said.

"So if Hyoudou happens to have massive supply of magical energy, he should be able to unleash the Juggernaut Drive and temporarily control it as well?" Death asked curiously.

"Hypothetically speaking yes, but given how panicked Albion seemed when Vali decided to use it, it was apparently still a dangerous move to use even for Vali." Azazel said seriously.

"The danger of the form matters little if the situation is truly dire Azazel, Vali proved that much when he used the Juggernaut Drive against me. And it would be hardly the first time someone would resort to desperate tactics to achieve victory against the horsemen." Death said as a matter of factly.

"Anything else you omitted to tell us about Sacred Gears Azazel?" War asked seriously.

"No, that's all the basic knowledge about them." Azazel said.

"Are you certain? Because we are not fond of any surprise capabilities that we could have known about beforehand." War asked in accusing tone.

"Like I said, the abilities of the Sacred Gear can vary widely, but all of them share these basic functionalities, which is the Balance Breaker and sometimes the Juggernaut Drive." Azazel said seriously.

Several moments of silence followed as Death and War stared at the fallen angel, not entirely convinced that those two transformations are the only ones to be achieved. Especially from the tools that are gradually starting to be considered too dangerous to exist, much like The Grand Abominations. But given these are the tools gifted to humanity by the Creator himself, and not some unholy engines of destruction manifested from the corpses of an exterminated race, they can't do anything reckless to be rid of them other than exterminate the Third Kingdom itself, which is obviously out of the question.

"Then you are dismissed as well fallen angel. War and I have some matters to discuss in private." Death said.

"I'm off then." Azazel waved before he conjured a magic circle beneath him and dematerialized from the spot, teleporting elsewhere.

"You seem curiously invested in their training War, given that you personally altered their training regimens." Death said as he turned to his brother.

"You said yourself that we may find use for them in days to come Death. And since they intend to proceed with their plan to make themselves stronger, then I might as well alter the intensity of their training to make them adequately useful to us when they are finished." War said seriously.

"Fair enough." Death shrugged. "Now, let's move onto more pressing matters."

"Agreed. There is still a matter of the Armageddon Blade to be found and secured in our care." War said grimly.

"Along with dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins. If we can secure at least one piece of the blade, then the weapon itself will not have near enough power to shatter the Seven Seals. During these three weeks, I will attempt to scour the realms on Earth and find them." Death stated.

"While you do that, I will aid Strife and Fury by attempting to find the Seven Deadly Sins and incapacitate the wretches for them." War said.

"No. You will remain here to oversee their training, and be close by should the Khaos Brigade strike again." Death said in almost commanding tone.

"Wasn't it you yesterday who insisted that I aid them in defeating the Sins?" War asked in mix of confusion and frustration.

"Yes, but we cannot leave the Underworld vulnerable for Ophis to strike. However, we also cannot let the Sins run rampant across the realms, and I sincerely doubt that Fury and Strife are capable of fighting all of them simultaneously on multiple fronts. To that end I will attempt to find them myself, while you remain here." Death stated.

"Are you saying that I am too weak to face the Sins in battle?!" War growled angrily.

"No." Death answered without a moment of hesitation. That immediate, genuine answer quickly diminished War's anger, to a degree where he is capable of listening his brother's words again. "Your strength is something I never had doubt for brother, but overall I am better suited in dealing with the empowered Sins, should I encounter them during my hunt for the blade shards."

"That may be, but I am willing to take my chances. Which is why I will ride to hunt them down within a week of reprieve out of three we are given. It is a risk, leaving the Underworld wide open for Ophis to make his assault, even if it is for a week, but it will be a greater regret if I don't track the Sins as well. Should I fail to find them during that time, or if the realm is indeed threatened by Ophis or it's most powerful of minions, I will return here with all haste. And do not try to convince me otherwise brother, I will disobey you should you try." War said in usual, serious tone, not a trace of threat to Death in his voice.

Strangely enough for the red rider, there was no reaction whatsoever from Death after his words. He just stood there, watching his brother in silence in what appears to be a contemplation, apparently weighing his decision on whether he should protest further or finally come to an agreement with War. And after a few moments of silence between the two horsemen, Death opted for the latter. After all, it wouldn't exactly be the first time the youngest horseman would defy the Reaper's orders after countless centuries, and his current proposition is about as solid of a compromise as it can get.

"So be it." Death said simply.

War was mildly surprised that Death is not adamantly opposed to his idea this time. Something he was admittedly glad for, for every moment they waste bickering with each other, it would give further advantage to the enemy.

"Let us be on our way then. The sooner we reimprison the Sins, the sooner we'll be able to deal with Ophis and the Khaos Brigade as well." War said.

"I expect you to return here after a week War, not a day longer of your absence." Death stated. War only nodded silently before both of the riders summoned their respective steeds from the ether, mounted them and rode forth in separate ways.

---

Elsewhere, realizing that there were more than enough of the horsemen in the Underworld, Strife decided to have a little stroll on his steed Mayhem in an unknown realm.

"Thing are going awry real quick in these last few weeks, are they? With the whole Seven Deadly Sins and Ophis being free to do what they please and all that." Strife said in contemplation, while his steed Mayhem only snorted in reply and bobbed his head upward. "Hey, I'm not complaining, at least it's not boring, but there is such a thing as taking too many things at once, you know? We're maybe the horsemen, but we're not invincible, all of us have learned that much at this point. Well, except Death, nearly." He said, while Mayhem neighed slightly which the rider recognized as the horse version of laughing. "Sure sure, laugh it off, clearly you've forgotten how many times we almost got killed over the eons." Strife said bluntly. Mayhem didn't take that kindly as he turned his head right and looked at the rider still on his saddle and snorted roughly. "Yeah, that's right, so don't give me that look cause you know I'm right. Ya feel me?" Mayhem snorted slightly a bit before looking forward again. "I'll take that as a yes. Okay, that's enough chit chat, time to pick up the pace and meet our quarry." He said as he kicked his steed in the ribs a bit, prompting Mayhem to gallop forward.

Two hours later, Strife had decided to pay a visit to one of the nine circles of Hell. More specifically the fourth circle called Greed, the wealthiest and the most contested of the Circles out of nine that exist, next to Circles like Anger and Violence. There he shall see if he will find a clue of one of the Sin's whereabouts, which in this case might be Avarice. It is one of the most obvious of places to start looking for one of the Seven Deadly Sins and highly unlikely that he will actually be there, but it doesn't hurt to check. Besides, in this particular circle demons are drawn to materially rich items like a moth to a flame. And since Strife does carry a few valuable weapons and items, most notably his guns Mercy and Redemption, there will definitely be hordes of demons swarming on him, which is perfect for Strife to have some target practice.

However, as he spent about half an hour riding across the said realm, strangely enough not a single demon was on sight.

"Odd. Usually a horde of them would come around to rob me naked. Guess today's not that day, which is a total bummer." Strife said in slightly disappointed tone. Up until now he was itching to pull a trigger on at least one demon, but sadly that's not the case, not yet anyway.

Upon further investigation as he surveyed one outpost after another, he can see why. These outposts have been completely pillaged of every material, not just gold and jewels. And judging by the shock in one of the fallen demon's faces, the wretches here never knew what came for them, they were struck down before they even had a chance to fight back. This type of quick and voracious pillaging was unlike anything he had seen from a demon.

"Lots of corpses around, but not a single item of worth left. Doesn't look like the work of any demon I've seen over the centuries. This might be Avarice's work after all." Strife mused to himself in thought.

"He is the embodiment of greed, but…"

Before the voice of the stranger would finish his sentence, Strife pulled out Redemption and fired at the newcomer behind him. But when he did, he noticed nothing but shadow disappearing into nothingness.

"As ever, you are always quicker on trigger than words." The newcomer said in charismatic voice as he appeared behind Strife. When the rider turned sideways and looked at the newcomer, he noticed a humanoid demon twice his size with four horns. And what's strange about this demon is that his attitude is not nearly as hostile as he would expect.

"And you would be…" Strife asked curiously as he raised his left eyebrow.

"Abraxis. At thy service, Ghost of the Abyss." Abraxis said as he bowed cordially.

"Great, another aristocratic, oh so cordial brainiac." Strife mumbled to himself. "Alright, i'm game. What do you want?"

"I'm here to assist you in finding one of the Seven Deadly Sins, if his lordship would allow it." Abraxis said in strangely polite and respectful tone as he approached the horseman of shadow.

"Goodie, your kind was always known for generosity." Strife jested before he aimed Redemption right on Abraxis' forehead. "You better have a good reason as to why I would accept your help, because I'm itching to blow a hole through someone's head today."

"Please, there's no need for steel or gunfire. Not now." Abraxis said in calm tone as he slowly moved away Redemption with his index and middle finger, as if swatting an annoying fly. "Besides, there will be plenty of opportunity for something like that soon enough horseman. Especially on those that have been consumed by Avarice's voracious greed." He said as he walked behind Strife and stopped, his back facing the rider.

"Avarice is actually here? In the fourth circle of Hell?" Strife asked as he turned sideways and looked at the demon.

"Yes, and he has proven to be quite problematic for the demons of this realm. Although the demons are constantly squabbling for even a single coin in this circle, there was a certain 'Balance' so to speak, so the realm itself would not fall into complete anarchy. But with Avarice's rather public arrival, the fourth circle is threatened to be consumed by the Collector's endless and rapacious greed." Abraxis explained seriously.

"And why should I give a damn?" Strife asked bluntly.

"You should." Abraxis smirked in amusement. "Because as far as I was informed, the Council has tasked you to retrieve the Sins back to their prison. A task shared with your sister horseman Fury."

"Hate to say it, but you have a point. Fine, show me the way to Avarice. The sooner I do this, the sooner I don't have to look at your face anymore." Strife said bluntly.

"This way." Abraxis gestured cordially before he went ahead of Strife, followed by the rider himself.

---

Meanwhile, in an unknown volcanic realm, Fury woke up to find her wounds healed, but also noticed a huge, elderly person with a staff and a coffin chained to his back, slowly trudging towards what seemed like an angel and a demon soldier.

"Step forward." The elder said, prompting the two newcomers to approach him while dropping their weapons. "Now I ask of both angel and demon. Do you arrive here of your own free will? The tenets of the Hollowing demand it."

"I do, Lord of the Hollows." The angel said.

"As do i." The demon confirmed as well.

Fury's eyes widened at that, realizing where she actually ended up.

"You have both fought this war since the dawn of time. You are weary, yet immortality prevents the ultimate respite. The Lord of the Hollows alone can bestow upon you this gift. The final release." The Lord of the Hollows said as he conjured a dark, orange hued orb pointed at the angel and demon. This is the start of the hollowing process, something that the individuals started to feel as their bodies slowly turned to ash.

"No longer will your souls be recycles time and time again to fight for Heaven and Hell. They are now mine." The Lord of the Hollows said while the bodies of an angel and demon disintegrated completely, and their remains, along with their souls were absorbed into the dark orb, increasing in size. "You are finally free!" He said before he crushed the orb in his hands, thus claiming their souls.

This was the sight that did not sit well with Fury, not at all. For all the weakling angels and demons she had pleasure of slaughtering, none were as craven as these two, abandoning their duties towards their respective kingdoms for the false promise of 'final release'.

"Cowards!" Fury said in seething anger and disappointment.

"Ahh, the impetuous creature awakens. Deluded pawn of the Charred Council. Do you even know where you are?" The Lord of the Hollows asked.

"I know exactly where I am, the stench betrays you! The Hollows is a hell all its own." Fury said in seething anger and contempt.

"Indeed. But it is one that I alone rule." The Lord of the Hollows said simply.

"What did you do to them?" Fury asked.

"Nothing that they did not with for." The Lord of the Hollows said before he chuckled in amusement. "You wear your ignorance on your face. The true consequences of this so called war for Balance are beyond your comprehension. Perhaps I should hollow you."

"Then you'd be breaking your own tenets, since I don't recall coming here willingly, let alone be hollowed like those weaklings." Fury said in snarky tone as she slowly stood up.

"Unlike you horseman, some tire of the endless, and rather pointless conflict between Heaven and Hell, even demons as you may have seen yourself." The Lord of the Hollows said.

"Why did you aid me Lord of the Hollows? You could have left me to die back there when I fought Wrath, yet you did not. You wouldn't be doing that unless you had some use from me." Fury said accusingly.

"We simply share a common goal rider." The Lord of the Hollows said.

"Such as?" Fury asked curiously.

"Reimprisonment of the Seven Deadly Sins. Or perhaps even eradication." The Lord of the Hollows said.

"You know very well that their deaths are impossible. Even if it is, the Council's orders are to retrieve the Sins back to their prison, no less, no more." Fury said as she folded her arms.

"And what possible use would the Council have from the Sins? In all these centuries they haven't bothered to even use the talisman as a weapon, of such destructive potency might I add that would rival or even surpass the ruinous might of the Grand Abominations." The Lord of the Hollows pointed out.

"How do you know about them?" Fury asked accusingly.

"Eyes and ears everywhere horseman. The renegade angel and an out of control Maker wreaking havoc are hardly ignored by the great powers across Creation, angel, demon or otherwise." The Lord of the Hollows said.

"Is there a point you're trying to prove?!" Fury snapped angrily with utter impatience.

"That you're simply not ready to face them alone." The Lord of the Hollows said bluntly as he pointed at her, finally silencing the rider just enough to continue. "You were able to defeat Envy solely because she was the weakest of the Seven, but Wrath and other Sins are anything but. And your defeat by Wrath's hands solidified that they are more of a force to be reckoned with than they were eons ago. Not only that, but that your anger, recklessness and impatience was another cause for your defeat. Akin to that of a petulant child."

"Tread carefully Old One, your next words might be your last." Fury said in low, dead serious tone, gritting her teeth in anger as she glared daggers at the Lord of the Hollows while gripping onto the hilt of her weapon Scorn. But in response the ancient one merely chuckled in amusement.

"So quick to combat, your whip ready to crack." The Lord of the Hollows said before his face went serious. "Threaten me if you will horseman, but denying your own flaws is unwise. Especially when it considers the most arduous of tasks you have faced thus far. A task that would require aid from your brothers, just like the last time you fought them."

"I do not need their aid, I can handle the Sins by myself! And when I prove that to the Council, I alone will lead the Horsemen!" Fury shouted angrily, absolutely fed up with being called weak.

"Your brother Death might be capable of fighting them alone, but you, War and Strife are not. And speaking of the latter, he is about to face one of the Sins in single combat, in one of the nine circles of Hell no less." The Lord of the Hollows pointed out.

"And why should I care? Besides, for all of his boisterous bluster, Strife is not a weakling." Fury said, her words still exuding contemptuous venom at the Hollow Lord.

"Against the Sins he is. And if he were to die, what chance would you have against the Sins alone, empowered as they are? Evidently from your battle with Wrath, slim to none." The Lord of the hollows said bluntly, something that angered Fury to a noticeable degree. But before he would let the horseman utter a word… "Consider your next words carefully Fury, the survival of the vaunted Four Horsemen depends on it."

Fury said nothing as she merely gritted her teeth in anger while glaring at the ancient one again, her thoughts being her own, weighing her decision as to whether she would accept his help or outright refuse him, as her instincts scream of her to go for the latter. But in those moments she herself was not certain as to what she would say next, not yet.

---

Back at the Circle of Greed, Strife and Abraxis have arrived at the plateau overlooking a massive fortress, which is currently under siege by an enormous army of rival demons. And from their point of view, judging from the cacophonous clamor of battle, it's a massacre down there.

"Damn, this place is a warzone! I love it!" Strife said excitedly.

"Tempting as it may be for you to enter the fray, there is a matter of Avarice to deal with." Abraxis said casually.

"This is where Avarice decided not to pay his rent, in this glittering shithole?" Strife said as he eyed suspiciously at Abraxis.

"Avarice did not hesitate to take whatever he can for himself. And this fortress is now all his, along with countless demons within temped by the promise of unfathomable riches should they serve the Sin. A prospect that they all accepted with a glee that would rival the demons from the circle of Lust." Abraxis explained.

"Aint that a treat." Strife commented bluntly.

"And within this fortress Avarice had spread his influence to other demons as well throughout the realm, which eventually lead to the current siege you are witnessing at this very moment." Abraxis continued.

"Yeah, too bad I'll be the one to end it. And I'm not talking about joining one side to beat the other." Strife said as he pulled out Mercy.

"Your methods are of no concern to me horseman, as long as they are enough to defeat the Sin." Abraxis said in rather annoyed tone.

"What do you gain out of this Braxie? Untold riches to raise an army, another irrelevant demon lord title, so on and so forth?" Strife asked casually. The demon got irritated with the way the horseman asked that question, especially with that ridiculous nickname, but he kept his cool.

"What I gain out of this is nothing that should concern you Strife. Be content with the knowledge that we share a common goal. After all, the Seven Deadly Sins serve no one but themselves, so it is pointless to try to sway them to the side of the Legions of Hell. So the only solution to this chaos is death. Or reimprisonment, depending on the Council's orders." Abraxis said seriously.

"Look, that sounds great and all, but can I go now and kill things already? I'm really itching to pull a trigger at something and that something is slowly turning out to be you. So you might as well shut up and let me be on my way already." Strife said impatiently, and the demon could only chuckle in amusement at that.

"If you insist milord. Good hunting." Abraxis smirked.

"Oho it will be a good hunt alright. Let's get to it!" Strife said before he jumped in the air, prompting Mayhem to materialize from below and allowing the rider to land on the saddle. With the rider mounted, the horseman charged towards the battlefield. As he did, Abraxis smirked silently with malicious intent, his thoughts being his own as he looked at Strife slowly disappearing from view.

It didn't take long before Strife reached the invading army, spinning his guns Mercy and Redemption in murderous glee. From what he noticed the assailants seem decently formidable for the defenders, a mix of Phantom and Legion soldiers, coupled with monsters and several siege weaponry. Not for long though, as soon as Strife can be in range to finally splatter some blood and bones on the pavement. When he finally was, the first thing he did is destroy every single ballista with Redemption. With all but one of the siege weapons out of the way, it will make sieging the fortress by himself a little more fun, but also alerting both the attackers and defenders.

"What?!" One of the attacking demons exclaimed in shock as he turned around, along with dozens of soldiers. And a moment or two later, they immediately saw the ambusher as Mayhem jumped towards the demons, with Strife aiming the guns at his targets.

"It's the Council's lapdog!" One of the phantom guards shouted angrily.

"Tear him apart!" A phantom General roared as he pointed his axe at the rider, prompting the invaders to turn their attention on Strife and charged at him, just as the rider himself was hoping would happen.

"Oh yeah, the carnage is on!" Strife said before he jumped from his saddle high in the air.

When he did, Mayhem charged forward and slammed into the frontline of the demon army, causing a massive explosion and killing all the demons in it's vicinity. From black and purple smoke, suddenly a bullet was fired right in the middle of the invading army. When it struck the ground, it created a massive, shadow hued black hole that proceeded to suck in the demons in wide radius by the hundreds. With the demons distracted by that spectacle, they were drilled by a hail of bullets in Strife's vicinity, their bodies pierced into swiss cheese before the horseman finally landed on the ground. When he did, the black hole exploded violently, eliminating the consumed demons and those nearby. As soon as he did he was on a roll as he shot row after row of demons, using Mercy like a machine gun to plow through the lesser foes and Redemption for headshots on bigger and meaner targets.

"Catch horseman!" One of the Legion Bombers roared before he threw two combustible slags at once, followed by a dozen bombers behind him.

Strife easily ducked, rolled and nimbly evaded every single slag they threw at him, making them explode at the demons behind him. As he did, the close call hits instinctively spawned several Shadow clones of the rider himself, immediately opening a rapid fire on the demons surrounding the horseman, the shadow bullets killing the demons in droves in a ricochet of death. Then the rider caught one slag, turned around, grabbed another before he threw the first slag, turned his back again, threw the second slag back at the bomber and immediately pulled out Redemption, firing a slightly charged shot at the bomber who threw the slags. When the slags that Strife threw back exploded, the charged shot hit the bombers and exploded on the spot, decimating them where they stood, along with dozens more demons in vicinity.

"Aaand you're out." Strife commented before he immediately continued the slaughter.

Suddenly one of the Gholens charged at Strife and was about to grab him with both of his massive hands. But before it could, the rider quickly sheathed his guns, pulled out his pair of sabers called Absolvers and stabbed the demon right through its hands, making it roar in agony. The rider proceeded to slice and dice the demon beast's hands in pieces, making it wail and roar in excruciating pain, then he pulled out Redemption again, pinned it in the demon's mouth and fired it, making it's head explode in gory bits, blood, brain and bone splattering behind it before the Gholen's lifeless body dropped on the ground. Another Gholen charged at Strife, but the rider aimed Mercy this time and drilled through the demon in hail of bullets, the demon beast's entire body covered in bloody holes before it too died on the spot. A third Gholen charged at the horseman, but Strife nimbly leapt behind the demon and planted two Caltrop charges on the demon's back mid-air. The Gholen struggled to remove the devices from it's back, but it was too late as Gholen's entire upper body exploded in gory mess.

After shooting dozens of more demons at once, suddenly he noticed that the demons are starting to back away from him. The frontline soldiers were retreating and in their place, Bombers, massive Boltspitters and javelin throwers laced with combustible slags lined up and ready to fire, completely surrounding the horseman.

"O boy!" Strife said in slight panic.

The demons fired at the horseman, bombers and javelin throwers lobbing their weapons at the rider while Boltspitters unleashed a hail of bullets, making the spot where Strife stood explode, eventually forming a large cloud of smoke. Then they stopped after a while of firing, chuckling in gleeful amusement that they finally put the Council's lackey in his place. Or so they thought in those moments of supposed victory.

And then, a chain lightning struck from the smoke in two directions, hitting and electrocuting multiple demons at once. In quick succession, the chain reaction reached out to the rest of the demon army in seconds, electrocuting thousands of them for a while before the remaining assailants dropped on the ground, their burned bodies left to sizzle while Strife emerged from the smoke, his hands stretched wide as he aimed his two guns in opposite direction. With them finally eliminated, Strife sheathed his faithful guns and looked at the fortress in front of him.

Then he heard the demon wall defenders chuckling and laughing with sinister intent up on the walls. Predictably, the next thing they did is aim at the rider himself, the phantom champion sized Grenadiers armed with fracture cannons, and massive Legion Boltspitters hoisting their weapons to fire.

"Oh come on, I literally killed off the invading army for you and this is how you repay me? Really?" Strife complained fakely. Not a moment too soon, the demons indeed opened fire on the horseman.

"Okay, your turn then." Strife shrugged before he dashed backwards to avoid a volley of bolts and slags.

He thought of blowing up the fortress gates and make his way in, but he then came up with a better, more fun idea. Strife climbed on the bolt of the last remaining ballista, shot at the firing mechanism and bolted above the fortress walls, before the siege weapon itself was destroyed by the volley of demons on the walls. When he was close enough, he jumped away from the bolt and threw a row of caltrops down at the demons manning the wall. As soon as the devices were in reach, they exploded, killing the demons in their vicinity. As Strife swooped down, he shot down dozens of demons before he landed on the back on one of the Legion Juggernauts, hulking demons as large as Boltspitters, equipped with a weapon they can use as club or roll it forward to pulverize their enemies with. Strife pulled out his dual scythes and sliced the demon's eyes off, making it roar in agony. Then he impaled the sabers behind the demon's neck and used them as improvised steering wheel. Now with the demon on the rampage, Strife steered the Juggernaut left and right as it smacked the demons with it's massive club, swinging wildly before it eventually charged forward, with the roller in front of the demon ready to smush any unfortunate enemy.

"Yee-haa baby!" Strife shouted in glee as the demon continued to pulverize the demons in front of it.

It didn't take long before Strife reached the main gate, so he pushed the grips of his impaled sabers forward and went full throttle with the blinded, hulking demon. The Juggernaut charged until it finally rammed through the massive gate leading to the citadel itself. As soon as he did, the rider pulled out the sabers with such a force that decapitated the Juggernaut. And as Strife jumped in the air and the demon's limp body slowly crumpled on the ground, Mayhem emerged from the ground in cloud of black and purple smoke, allowing Strife to land on the saddle of his trusted steed. The rider and steed once again united, Strife plowed through the demons as he made downstairs to the vault.

After a while of riding through the usual, massive systems of corridors, dungeons and hallways, trampling and shooting hundreds if not thousands of demons along the way, he noticed a massive, seemingly bottomless chasm and a large elevator leading downwards. If he had to make a guess, it is down there where the demons store their untold riches. And a place where it is most likely that he will find Avarice, if what Abraxis said was true. Not feeling like killing anymore demons, since he now started to be bored, he simply jumped from his steed and took a nosedive towards the bottom of the chasm. As he continued to fall for what seem like miles and miles downward, he finally noticed the bottom. And fortunately for him, there was a huge mound of gold shaped into a slope, something Strife capitalized on as he surfed down the slope, jumped, flipped forward repeatedly before he finally landed in front of the entrance leading inside the vault itself.

"That was more fun that I thought it would be." Strife said before he pulled out his guns again with murderous glee. "But now we move onto the main attraction." He then proceeded to enter the vault.

Strangely enough, there was not a single demon on sight to attack him. But that answer became clear when he noticed a row of demonic corpses shredded across the floor leading inside the enormous cavern. When Strife entered there himself, his eyes widened in surprise and shock as he noticed a mountainous amount of treasure that stretches seemingly for miles, ranging from gold to gems, artifacts, relics and other precious materials the demons managed to either mine out or steal from their rivals.

"Hotdamn! There's more gold here than even Mammon had in his time." Strife said in amazement as he gazed left and right at the marvelous sight. And with each step the rider took closer towards the seemingly endless pile of treasure trove… "Why do I feel the urge to take everything on sight?" He asked himself as he felt in his entire being the urge to take every single coin from this insanely piled up treasure hoard, not feeling like leaving out one piece of it. "Oh yeah, all of this should definitely go in my pocket. The Council owes me this much for all the dirty work we did over so many centuries."

"Yes Strife. All this wealth can be yours indeed." A cackling voice suddenly echoed across the endless, treasure filled cavern. And when the rider glanced behind him above… "If you can take it from me first!"

A huge creature suddenly leapt on Strife from above, but the rider quickly dashed forward and turned towards the assailant, his guns pointing at his foe. A foe that he immediately recognized. Avarice the Collector, the embodiment of voracious greed. The cackling abomination, with the appearance that is a mixture of a demon and goblin straightened himself a bit as he gazed it's greedy eyes on the horseman. As much as he can at any rate, considering he carries a huge, top heavy burglar sack, larger and more heavy set than Avarice himself, stockpiled with sacks of gold, jewels, angel wings, demon limbs and weapons like spears.

"Oh look, a grinning goblin himself." Strife commented bluntly before he aimed Redemption at the Sin. "Good that you showed up, saves me the trouble of digging through all this gold to-"

Strife was cut off when Avarice leapt at the rider at surprising speed, despite the crushing haul on his back. The horseman only had enough time to tilt back, with Avarice's left claw inches away from scratching at his helmet before the Sin landed behind him, while the rider quickly turned towards Avarice.

"Right then, let's dance." Strife said as he aimed both of his guns at the Sin.

Avarice cackled in murderous glee before he dashed at the rider again, but this time Strife aimed Mercy at the Sin and fired it like a machine gun, prompting the Sin to move nimbly around the room, avoiding Strife's hail of bullets as he jumped from one column after another. The rider was quick to pursue as he dashed forward, and thus began a cat and mouse chase around the enormous, treasure filled cavern, with Strife for a while trying to shoot the Sin down, but every bullet missed its mark thus far. It was rather refreshing on one hand for the masked gunslinger, the fact that he had to actually try to hit his target rather than one-shotting nearly every opponent on sight. But on the other hand it does tend to get frustrating real quick the longer the enemy evades every single bullet.

As Avarice continued to dodge and weave the continuous hail of bullets, he started throwing random things at Strife beneath the treasure pile, prompting the rider to dodge them. Until he noticed that Avarice started throwing things he didn't come to expect.

"Okay, where the hell did you manage to get that bath tub?" Strife asked in slightly baffled tone, before he ducked to avoid another thrown machine. "Or that fridge?" He then ducked again to avoid an enormous cow skull thrown at him. "Nevermind, less questions, more shooting." He said before he dashed forward in continued pursuit.

The Sin then pulled out a golden shield from below the treasure pile and threw it at the rider. Strife immediately sheathed Mercy, jumped in the air, grabbed the shield mid-air, spun forward and put the shield beneath his legs, using it like a surfboard to slide through the treasure piles, akin to a surfer on the sea waves. He pulled out Mercy again and continued to fire at the running Sin. As he did, Avarice pulled out demonic spears and javelins from his enormous sack and threw them at the rider in a barrage. The horseman strafed left and right to avoid the incoming weapons, at the same time firing with Mercy while preparing another charged shot with Redemption. But as he aimed his guns at his foe, Avarice was nowhere to be seen. And when he looked in front of him, Avarice erupted from the treasure pile, cackling and laughing as he lunged at the rider while swinging a huge, horned skull above his head, ready to slam it at the rider. Strife immediately aimed a charged shot from his gun Redemption and fired it at point blank range, creating an enormous explosion that spread throughout the caverns. But when the smoke cleared, Avarice cackled and laughed maniacally as he apparently crushed the rider beneath the skull. However, black smoke slowly churned from beneath the skull and floated upward, spread in five directions and formed humanoid shapes. Those shapes are that of Strife himself, but this time, instead of shooting a rapid fire of bullets at the Sin, the five Shadow Clones pulled out dual sabers and lunged at their foe. The five Shadow Clones moved around the Sin in a blade dance, akin to that of a harlequin, dashing and flipping around Avarice while they performed a flurry of saber strikes around his entire body. Threatened that his precious loot won't be spilled from his back, Avarice swiftly tore at the Shadow Clones and charged at the rider with greedy vigor, while Strife continued to duck and weave while firing his guns.

The battle proceeded like this for a solid hour, the Horseman and the Sin doing their best to tear each other apart, threatening to collapse the cavernous deeps and bury them both in their fight, despite its sturdy foundations. Or so it seemed. The longer Strife tried to subdue the Sin, the more he realized how difficult it will be for him to win this fight alone. True that he along with the other horsemen have grown exponentially more powerful over the eons, but with the Sins having their own power boost, far more than Strife predicted, his chances are getting slimmer with each passing minute. And after the said time of fighting, they both temporarily ceased in their duel, with Strife starting to pant, trying to catch his breath.

"Damn it. I knew that the Sins got a lot stronger, but this shit is starting to get ridiculous." Strife thought, slightly baffled at the current predicament. But due to the prolonged exposure in his fight against the embodiment of greed itself, Strife was more concerned about the treasure than his wellbeing.

"No way imma let this shithead steal my money." Strife said to himself with dark determination before he aimed both of his guns at Avarice. "You hear me, ya cackling prick? All this gold is mine! Mine!" He shouted angrily, the maddening greed slowly starting to affect his senses and reason.

Instead of Avarice being angered with that remark, he cackled and laughed loudly, noticing that even the horseman like Strife has been affected with his gift as well.

"So you finally started to appreciate the finer things in life. A pity that I am not the sharing type." Avarice said with a maniacal grin.

"Wouldn't share a single coin with you even if you asked, not one piece of it!" Strife said as Redemption cocked once, the rider preparing a different type of ammo to fire at the Sin.

Avarice once again lunged at the rider, prompting Strife to leap above the Sin. When he did he fired an acid shot from Redemption right on his huge sack. Immediately after it started to eat away at the fabric, more and more until the pile of loot started to pour from the holes from all sides, gold, body parts, weapons and all.

"What's wrong, having a little junk leak?" Strife taunted.

Avarice merely cackled and laughed again maniacally as Strife had made a mistake that will cost him dearly. Not because Avarice cared for the loot that dropped from his back, as far as he was concerned they were as valuable as any other junk he can find, but for the fact that with the weight lifted, Avarice was now much faster. That said, he quickly leapt at Strife, surprising the horseman with his increased speed. And with no time to react, Avarice plunged his left, golden, clawed gauntlet right on Strife's chest. While Strife screamed in agony as blood ruptured from his penetrated chest, Avarice slammed the horseman on the gold pile, pinning and burrowing the rider a bit.

"Your corpse and everything on it will make a tasty addition to my collection." Avarice said as he laughed maniacally while gripping on Strife's chest and drilling his claws further in, with Strife grunting and shouting in agony, trying to fight through the excruciating agonizing pain.

"Sorry, my corpse is for ladies only." Strife grunted in pain before he fired a charged shot at point blank range, launching Avarice in the air and lobbing him miles away from the rider. As he slowly stood up, he checked the damage inflicted on him and he didn't like what he saw one bit.

"Oh now you've done it, you little shit." Strife said, now genuinely pissed off as he prepared to fire a beam shot. When it finally charged with enough power, Strife aimed Redemption at the approaching Avarice. "Time to wipe that shiteating grin from your ugly mug!" He shouted angrily.

But before he would fire his attack in attempt to obliterate Avarice for good, due to the overexertion from his rage and very noticeable blood loss from wounds inflicted by Avarice, Strife coughed out a good chunk of blood, not realizing that Avarice managed to puncture his lungs, thus cancelling his shot. Weakened, Strife knelt and continued to cough out blood from the mouth piece of his helmet.

"Ain't always the way?" Strife chuckled a bit before he coughed out blood again. "Kicking the bucket right when I'm about to bounce back into the fight."

Strife then collapsed on his back, his lifeforce slowly slipping away the more blood continues to leave his body, the haze of maddening greed lifting from his mind in his moments of apparent death. It's a good thing that his brothers were not here to witness the shame he had to endure, the fact that he was consumed by Avarice's influence. If they were here, who knows what he would have done in his madness, probably something that he would regret dearly for.

With the rider finally incapacitated, Avarice laughed maniacally as he is about to get a rather valuable addition in his collection, probably the only valuable property in his eternal lifespan. But before he would claim his grizzly prize, suddenly an orb of crimson materialized between Avarice and Strife and imploded in the Sin's direction, knocking it back a good distance away from Strife while forming a cloud of black and crimson. When the smoke cleared, Avarice grinned in murderous glee as he recognized the newcomer, later on by Strife.

"Little late to the game Fury." Strife said lightheartedly as he let out a pained chuckle.

"Strife!" Fury's eyes widened in shock before she quickly reached to her brother's side and knelt next to him. "How did you manage to get yourself in this pathetic state brother?" She asked in frustrated and disappointed tone as she held the back of her brother's head.

"Nice to see you too sis." Strife said casually. Fury could only scowl in annoyance and frustration at his laidback attitude, considering the mortal injuries and basically knocking at death's door, he should be more serious than this. Some things will apparently never change with Strife, no matter the circumstance.

"Shut it and hold onto this." Fury said before she quickly pulled out a lifesaving flask gifted to her by Death himself.

The Nephilim's Respite, a green, crystallized flask with a metal emblem of the Horsemen placed in the center. When shattered, it is capable of healing it's user completely. Whether the flask is capable of reviving the user as well, Fury didn't know for sure, but considering that she never had the luxury of dying and then using the flask, Fury never bothered to test that theory. What she did know for certain is that this useful bauble saved her life Creator knows how many times over countless centuries, and this time she will use it to save her brother as well. That said, she placed the flask on Strife's grip. Then she placed her palm on top of his and helped him shatter the green crystal of the flask. The moment it did, green energies completely enveloped Strife, closing his wounds and restoring his strength and power. With the deed done, Strife got up completely healed, as if Avarice's wounds were never inflicted.

"Thanks sis. I swear that trinket is the best thing Death ever made." Strife said lightheartedly.

"Save the chatter for later. The fight is not over." Fury said seriously as she gripped Scorn and turned sideways towards Avarice.

"Right." Strife said in more serious tone before he too stood sideways by his sister's side and gazed at the Sin, ready to fight. "It looks like we got more than what we bargained for. They are just as tough if not tougher than the last time we fought them."

"Indeed." Fury said, vividly remembering her loss against Wrath, a Sin that toyed with her without the black rider even knowing it. "It would appear that a combine assault will be required for this battle."

"You and me fighting as one? Haven't heard that one in who knows how long from you." Strife said in surprised tone as his right eye widened a bit while looking at his sister.

"It is either that brother or be picked apart by that grinning goblin." Fury said bluntly, starting to lose her patience.

"I know but, kinda surprised that you'd be the one to propose such a thing. Given that you love to fight solo and all that." Strife said.

"If you're going to keep babbling, you might as well stand aside and let me fight already!" Fury snapped as she quickly turned towards Strife and was inches away from shoving him aside.

"Okay okay, got the memo." Strife said casually as he raised his hands in front of him to calm his sister down before he pulled out his guns. "Besides, no way imma let you have all the fun."

"Then let us begin." Fury said in determination as she turned her attention to Avarice.

"Ready when you are." Strife said as he aimed Mercy and Redemption at the Sin.

Avarice charged at the riders the moment Strife finished his sentence. Before the Sin could grab them both, Fury and Strife dashed sideways to flank the Sin from both sides, with Fury unleashing a barrage of crimson bolts while Strife fired Mercy at Avarice like a machine gun. Avarice prompted to dig beneath the treasure pile, hence the volley of the both riders clashed at each other, creating a cloud of smoke.

"Strife, to me!" Fury called out.

Strife quickly reached his sister's side and went back to back with her, with Strife aiming Mercy and Redemption in front of him and Fury clutching onto Scorn while conjuring crimson fire in her left hand, waiting for the Sin to appear from the treasure pile. A few, suspenseful moments passed and Avarice still didn't come out, until they felt a subtle tremor beneath them. Fury and Strife silently nodded to each other, and moment later they dashed in opposite directions, with Avarice bursting from the treasure pile from where the two horsemen stood. Fury immediately conjured crimson chains that wrapped around the Sin, pinning him in place, while Strife quickly created nine Shadow Clones that encircled the Sin. When that was done, all of the Shadow Clones opened fire at once, shooting from their pistols like machine guns. Avarice could now feel the intense pain that was crashing onto him, hundreds upon hundreds of shadow bullets hitting him all at once from the nine clones. The ground beneath him started to go crimson, but in his anger Avarice managed to break free before the crimson spikes erupted from the ground in circular fashion, pointed at where the Sin was once pinned down. Avarice quickly dispatched the nine clones before he charged immediately at the two riders, namely Fury. But the black rider smirked as Avarice walked right into a trap. When he was close enough, two of the Caltrops buried beneath the treasure pile exploded violently. Empowered by Fury's crimson, arcane magic, the traps sent the Sin flying high in the air. And while mid-air, Fury whirled her bladed whip upward and wrapped it around Avarice's right leg, locking onto it tight as the blades impaled the Sin's leg. Then she pulled Avarice while he was still mid-air and swung horizontally, sending him flying in Strife's direction. When Avarice was close enough, Strife aimed upward and fired an enormous beam shot, sending Avarice through the ceiling of the caverns and drilling upward through the fortress' fortifications above.

And finally, Fury finally made use of the Flame Hollow as her hair turned flaming orange, and she raised her hand above her head, conjuring something enormously powerful. Outside the fortress high in the sky, clouds started to form in a massive circle and molded within the center of the said circle. The clouds shined slowly with orange light before finally, a gigantic fireball was conjured, falling on the fortress like a meteor, eventually shredding through it's top fortifications like paper. Avarice was struck by the enormous, meteor-like fireball and was sent crashing again through the ground, quickly making it's way in the cavernous deeps where the horsemen were fighting the Sin. Before it could however, Fury flicked her fingers and the horsemen disappeared in flash of crimson energy, teleporting to safety. Then the fireball struck hard at the treasure pile and the ground beneath, resulting in massive explosion that tore at the landscape apart for miles around. The vault, the fortress, the entire facility was being obliterated, flesh, metal and stone, all consumed in a firestorm, imploding from within and creating a gigantic cloud mushroom where the fortress once stood, akin to that of a human nuclear explosion.

Far away, Fury and Strife reappeared in another flash of crimson energy, far enough for them to witness the beautifully destructive sight in front of them.

"That was a little overboard." Strife said bluntly.

"Nonsense." Fury scoffed.

"You could have torn apart most of the fourth circle with that meteor, you know." Strife scolded a bit.

"Which is why I condensed it solely so it's impact would affect Avarice, and not the precious demon realm. I'm not as reckless as you believe me to be brother." Fury said in annoyance.

"You once blew up a planet in half just because a fight dragged out for too long. You're that reckless Fury." Strife pointed out as he glanced from his sister to the mushroom cloud in front of him on last sentence.

"Oh shut it. It wasn't my fault that those cowards kept defending themselves instead of actually fighting like warriors." Fury shrugged in annoyance.

"That's just one of the examples. Want me to give you a list?" Strife said playfully with folded arms as he tilted his head in doubt.

"How about you just take this gold and shut it already." Fury rolled her eyes in frustration as she pulled out a sack full of gold and tossed it to his brother, which Strife caught without even looking at it. "I know that you favor recompense for your work, annoying as it can be." She said she folded her arms.

However, strangely enough, instead of spouting his usual, laidback quips, Fury only received silence from her brother, intriguing her just enough to look at him since Strife was never the silent type, as was evident moments ago. When she did, she noticed that Strife only looked at the sack in unusual contemplation.

"You hear me, ya cackling prick? All this gold is mine! Mine!"

Strife gripped the sack slightly at the echoing words. He allowed himself to be overtaken by Avarice's influence and think of nothing but gold, a shame that may not be apparent for Fury to see, but was eating him alive from the inside. How disappointed his brothers would have been had one of them showed up while he was affected by greed, he would have most likely attacked them in his maddening haze. They would probably never look at him the same way again. It is no secret between the horsemen that they are not as infallible as they believe themselves to be, but the madness that consumed Strife during his confrontation with Avarice threatened to damage his relationship with his remaining kin to an uncomfortable degree.

"Wouldn't share a single coin with you even if you asked, not one piece of it!"

Now he started to be really aware of War's words during their hunt for Mammon all those centuries ago, how much of a mental cage the desire for material possessions can be. How ironic that it took Avarice himself to enlighten him of that fact, in his usual, murderous way that is. With his brother's words echoing in his mind, Strife tossed the sack in the air above him and fired a shot from Redemption, disintegrating the sack itself while every coin within was reduced into a glittering rain that was slowly falling down on the ground.

"Interesting. What has brought about this change I wonder?" Fury smirked in amusement.

"War was right about what he said about wealth. It is indeed nothing more than a prison." Strife said seriously as he continued to gaze at the rain of shredded gold. Fury couldn't help but chuckle in amusement in turn, inwardly satisfied, or dare say proud of her brother's epiphany.

"It sounds like Avarice finally showed you how pointless material riches can actually be." Fury smirked in amusement before her face went serious a bit and looked towards the horizon. "It is a neverending desire that would leave you no better than any demon in this miserable circle."

"Wait. You're actually saying something rather insightful. Okay, who are you and what have you done to my sister?" Strife said playfully. Fury in turn merely punched him lightly on his shoulder, making Strife chuckle light-heartedly while Fury smirked silently in amusement.

"Let us go Strife, we have a collection to do of our own." Fury said before she teleported both of the riders back to where they previously fought Avarice.

Moments later, Fury and Strife reappeared back to the battlefield, to a now barren, molten wasteland where the demonic fortress once stood. With a simple force, Fury managed to effortlessly clear the smoke for miles around her, allowing the riders to have a clear view of the destruction wrought by the black rider.

"So, do you think Avarice managed to escape?" Strife asked as he looked around for the said Sin.

"No." Fury said as she took the Talisman of Sin hanging on her belt and noticed that it emanates strong, green glow from its skull. "The talisman is reacting strongly to his presence. He's here, somewhere beneath the rubble." She said as she placed the amulet back on her belt and also looked around.

"Be careful sis. For all we know he might be making an ambush for us, waiting his moment to strike." Strife said cautiously as she pulled out his guns, ready to fire at nearest opportunity.

"I would like to see him try." Fury said with a battle ready smirk as she clutched Scorn in her right hand.

But after a few minutes of search, they found Avarice himself lying beneath the charred ground, and unconscious by the looks of it.

"Disappointing. I expected one of the Seven Deadly Sins to put up more of a fight." Fury sighed a bit.

"Probably has something to do with your out of the blue power up. Speaking of which, how did you get that literal firepower anyway?" Strife asked curiously.

"A story for another time, right now we have work to do." Fury said as she tossed and flipped the talisman before she used it on Avarice.

Multiple green lightnings shot from the talisman, enveloping Avarice entirely in waves of green energy and lifting him up in the air, winds picking up in intensity the closer the imprisoning process is to completion. Eventually Avarice was condensed just enough for him to be absorbed into the talisman, the second of the Seven Deadly Sins imprisoned once again.

When that was done, Fury noticed that something dropped from Avarice the moment she used the talisman to reimprison the Sin. Curious, she walked over to check the item that the Sin dropped.

"Impossible." Fury said, her eyes widening a bit in shock as she took the object for closer inspection.

"Fury? What is it?" Strife asked curiously.

"The Seal of the Apocalypse." Fury said in surprise.

"What?!" Strife said in genuine shock as he approached his sister to have a better look. "Please tell me that it's an exquisite duplicate or something."

"Unfortunately no." Fury said seriously as she stood upright, along with Strife. "There is no mistaking it, this is one of the Seven Seals forged eons ago when the pact was made between the Three Kingdoms."

"Avarice has been really busy since he escaped, has he?" Strife asked in contemplation as he looked at the Seal.

"Apparently." Fury said as she placed the Seal on her belt.

"How the hell did these bottom feeders managed to get a hold on one of the Seven Seals anyway?" Strife asked in confusion.

"I doubt they did. My guess is that Avarice managed to get a hold of the Seal and then pay a visit to the demons in this place." Fury said in thought.

"Yeah, but from where? Certainly not from Samael's crib at Blackstone Keep." Strife asked rhetorically in thought.

"That's not the only relic he managed to get a hold of. Look, over there." Fury said as she pointed to the two, glowing items not far from where they stood. Moments later they approached the items and picked them up for inspection, one item for each horseman.

"These look like the shards of a broken sword." Fury said curiously.

"A very big sword at that. Definitely doesn't look like it was forged by a demon." Strife said as he inspected the large shards of the blade.

"Seems really important if Avarice managed to get a hold of it." Fury said in thought.

"Fury, this is Avarice we're talking about. He doesn't give a shit about its value, he just wants it like literally anything else, hence the 'Collector' and all that." Strife said bluntly.

"The shards alone thrum with power Strife. Even you for all of your laidback drivel noticed that much. In any case, we have imprisoned two of the Seven Deadly Sins, with five more left to be found." Fury said as she handed over the shard to her brother, with Strife storing the items. "As for the Seal, we'll hold onto it until we consult with Death and War."

"I have a better solution horseman." A familiar voice suddenly spoke out. The riders turned in the direction of the voice and noticed a demon walking towards them, which Strife immediately identified to be Abraxis. "You hand it over to me, along with other items you have found."

On cue, dozens of large portals manifested around the riders, and hundreds of various demonic warriors and beasts emerged, surrounding them both.

"Oh hey there Braxie. How wonderful to see your horny mug again." Strife said sarcastically.

"I'd prefer if you would not call me that." Abraxis said with an annoyed look on his face.

"And I prefer to shove a bullet through your forehead. But we can't have everything, can we?" Strife said bluntly.

"So you are Abraxis, the 'Meddler' that I was told about." Fury said as she folded her arms.

"I never would have expected for the fabled horsemen to be the Traitor's assassins." Abraxis smirked in amusement as he noticed Fury's flaming hair.

"The traitor?" Strife said curiously.

"He is referring to the Lord of the Hollows." Fury said bluntly.

"Wait! You mean to tell me that you got your firepower from that hollow freak?! Are you out of your mind?!" Strife shouted in genuine anger.

"This is not the time to be bickering amongst ourselves Strife!" Fury seethed in frustration.

"And when the hell is not the time to bicker, especially after that stunt you pulled?!" Strife shouted angrily.

"Tsk tsk." Abraxis suddenly spoke, in a tone akin to that of an annoyed adult watching little children squabble, drawing the horsemen's attention. "How you managed to survive for all these countless centuries is a joke the universe apparently shares with no one."

"How about I give a punchline for you and spare you the headache? If anything is left of it that is." Strife said in low, dead serious tone as he aimed Mercy at Abraxis, but the demon merely let out a muffled chuckle of amusement.

"It will not be as simple as you might believe, rider of shadow." Abraxis smirked before he snapped his fingers. And not a moment too soon, nine portals were conjured, and from them, massive, armored demons known as the Shieldbearers emerged, entrenching their enormous shields in front of them, ready to fire the blasters integrated in the middle of the shield.

The Shieldbearers unleashed a volley of large blasts from their shields, but Fury telekinetically stopped the nine fireballs before they would make contact. Then she waved her hands and the nine blasts merged together in circular motion, forming a fiery ring around her and Strife. When that was done she waved her hands wide, unleashing the circle as it expanded and headed straight towards the Shieldbearers, immolating them and quickly reducing their bodies to ash, dissipating upon the winds. After that she waved her right hand and clenched it in front of her, and this time a rain of fireballs poured down from the sky on the army, every fireball hitting dozens and dozens of demons, killing them on the spot. As the fireballs continued to fall from the sky, Fury pulled out Scorn, whirled her flame imbued, bladed whip overhead and swiped it horizontally in a very long range, cutting down hundreds of demons in a single swipe and turning their bodies to ash. Then she charged forward and proceeded to slice and dice the demons, spinning her bladed whip like a whirlwind, a storm of molten steel shredding the unfortunate soldiers and beasts in her proximity in seconds, their bodies turned to ash and scattered on the wind.

Livid by the discovery of his sister's atrocity, Strife also immediately went for the kill, all the quicker for him to scold Fury for what she had done before he were to do something he would regret later. That said, he fired a static shot at the demon army, the chain lightning hitting hundreds upon hundreds of demonic soldiers and beasts in seconds in the direction where he fired.

And with the combined power of the two of the Four Horsemen, all of the newcomers were cut down without mercy, the only demon remaining was Abraxis himself.

"An exquisite display of carnage horsemen. I wouldn't expect anything less of you." Abraxis smirked in amusement.

On cue, Fury and Strife went back to back, with Strife firing a sufficiently charged shot while Fury unleashed a crimson blast of her own. The crimson-black and orange-red blasts merged together and headed straight towards Abraxis himself. The blasts seemingly consumed the demon and continued its way towards the horizon. When it made contact with the ground it detonated violently, the fiery explosion consuming everything in its path for dozens of miles around. When the smoke eventually cleared, nothing but a canyon-wide crater was left, dozens of miles deep and dozens if not hundreds of miles wide, as far as the eye can see.

"Our story is yet to even begin." Abraxis' words echoed behind the riders, prompting them to turn around only to find the fiery image of the demon in question. "We will meet again horsemen." Abraxis said before the flaming image dissipated entirely.

"That Abraxis is really starting to vex me." Fury said in frustration.

"Yeah. But you want to know what pisses me off more than that idiot?" Strife said in unusually dead serious tone as he approached his sister. "This." He roughly grabbed Fury's flaming hair, her face threateningly close to his. "Care to tell me what in flying hell have you done?! Are you really this desperate to get your little captain of the team title?! By throwing away your soul to that coffin carrying carcass?!" He shouted in anger and outrage.

"I did not surrender my soul to anyone Strife!" Fury roared angrily as she slapped Strife's hand, freeing his grip on her hair. "For whatever reason The Lord of the Hollows granted me this Flame Hollow without any cost to myself." She said in calmer tone.

"Oh he just happened to pop you in his realm and gave you this power like a Christmas present, is that it?" Strife jested angrily.

"As if I had intent to visit that accursed realm in the first place!" Fury said in seething anger.

"Then explain yourself Fury! Explain to me how you managed to end up there to begin with!" Strife said angrily.

It took very long moments of silent, intense staredown before Fury could muster her willpower and quell her rage. After all, her rage was the cause of her downfall against Wrath, so she will not repeat that mistake by lashing out at her own brother. That said, she took a deep breath before she went on to explain how it went.

"After I faced off and defeated Envy, Wrath was the next Sin that I managed to find. Then we fought fiercely for hours on end, but it was due to my anger and rage that Wrath got the upper hand on me, nearly killing me in our encounter. For reasons even I cannot understand, the Lord of the Hollows saved me, tended to my injuries until I finally mustered the strength and regain consciousness." Fury explained in calmer tone before she raised her hand and conjured fire on her palm. "When he gave me this power, he said that even he knows when to pick a side. And for reasons known to him, he chose mine." She clenched her hand, the fires in her palm dissipating instantly.

"Whatever your reasoning, you have a lot of explaining to do to Death and War for you to take this power in the first place." Strife said strictly with folded arms.

"As if I ever needed their approval to use any power I gained over the centuries." Fury said snidely, nearing her already limited patience with Strife's continuous scolding.

"Not those from that withered fartbag! Come on Fury, even you know better than to have anything to do with that freak! Of all the stupid, reckless things you've done in eternity, since even the old days of the Nephilim Crusade, this is literally, unironically the worst!" Strife snapped angrily.

"ENOUGH!" Fury screamed angrily as her crimson aura erupted from her entire being, the explosion of power so intense that it shook the entirety of the circle of Greed, alerting every single demon present in the said circle.

Due to being in such close proximity, with guard down and intense release of power, Strife was sent flying backwards like a ragdoll. And Fury's eyes widened in shock as she noticed that he's heading straight towards the bottomless abyss that she and Strife created in their combined assault on Abraxis.

"Strife!" Fury called out worryingly before she quickly took up Scorn and whipped her bladed weapon towards her brother.

The bladed whip quickly wrapped around Strife's left leg, allowing her to pull him away from the titanic pit. This gave Strife the opening to nimbly land on the ground not far from her. When he did, a few moments of silence followed as Strife looked at her, with a look on his masked face that seem so rare that she forgot he is capable of being this serious, considering his usual, laidback persona.

"Brother, i-"

"No. You've done enough Fury." Strife said in dead serious tone before he turned his back on his sister. "Death may be an annoying emo, but at least he stayed true to himself. He would never even consider to have anything to do with that bastard. Take all the power you want from him, but Death will always be a better leader than you'll ever be." He said coldly before he finally departed, before he would do something to his sister that he would regret later.

Fury gritted her teeth in such anger that would more than justify her name, clenching her fists as her body trembled in unbridled rage. Were he not her brother, she would have flayed him alive, tore out his bottom jaw, rip his hands from his shoulders and use them as a mace to beat him senseless with, pull out his genitals and make him swallow it and finally tear out his guts and wring it around his neck, choking him to death. And that's just one of the gory scenarios among many Fury had in her mind. But were it to be so, it would probably only prove Strife's points. One was her involvement with the Hollow Lord, and another was her own rage that she is yet to control, even after her fight with Wrath. When anger finally subsided, doubt now gripped her mind. Did she truly made the right choice? Was it really wise to involve herself with a being such as the Lord of the Hollows? In those moments she truly did not know, considering she already caused a rift between Strife and herself. And if Strife of all people was this mad, she can only imagine Death's and War's reactions when they discover that she was fraternizing with a being as dangerous as the Lord of the Hollows.

---

Hours later, having found his way back to the Underworld, Strife sat on the rock overlooking the barren wastelands of the Gremory territory, contemplating as to what Fury had done. After all the countless centuries that passed, the idea of Fury being the leader of the horsemen was taken less and less seriously until that topic became a fleeting thing at best. But this time Fury really went too far with her ambition. Of all the things that she could have done to make her dream come true, she had to walk up to the Lord of the Hollows himself, one of the most reviled of the Old Ones among many that have existed over so many millennia and take the power from him. She was known since the old days to be extremely reckless, so much that even Death had to create an amulet to keep her alive. But this time, she might have made a decision that will cause a permanent rift between not only him and Fury, but also between her, Death and War.

"Hello Strife." A female, alluring voice said before the figure hugged Strife from behind, her voluptuous breasts pressing on his back. That figure turned out to be Kuroka. "It's about time you came back, I was starting to be impatient."

"Sorry, got a little held up at work, stopping premature apocalypse and all that." Strife said in low, slightly serious voice, not even trying to sound jovial at that moment.

"Someone's being a little moody today." Kuroka pouted playfully before she had a sexy smirk on her face, letting go of the rider and walking right in front of him. "Don't worry, I know just the stress reliever you need." She said before she licked her lips in delight while bending herself forward a bit, giving Strife a very good display at her breasts ready to burst out of her kimono.

Strife couldn't help but chuckle light-heartedly a bit at that. This girl got so used to him by now that she just knows how to cheer him up. Yup, definitely no use in taking out his frustrations on her of all people. In fact, she is just what he needed to relax himself, bigtime. With that, he completely shut in any depressing thought, got up and hugged Kuroka. The nekomata was surprised, but soon enough she giggled and moaned in pleasure as Strife pulled her up cowgirl style, opened the mouth piece of his mask and kissed her deeply, his right hand on her left, large breast, groping it like crazy. Not a moment too soon did he lie down with her on the ground, proceeding to give her another session of steamy romance, the type that only a Nephilim can deliver.

Two hours later, after Kuroka had been delighted at least dozen times during their session, they were finally finished, with Kuroka collapsing from Strife and lying on her back, trying to catch her breath before she would fall unconscious.

"By the gods, I can barely feel my legs. You seem to be better at this every time we do it." Kuroka chuckled in sensual delight as she rubbed her thighs in bliss, while Strife chuckled in amusement.

"Apparently if you can't feel your legs." Strife teased before he proceeded to hug her a bit. "Thanks Kuroka, you have no idea how much I needed this today." He sighed blissfully.

"You and me both cowboy." Kuroka smirked before she tapped his uncovered chin. "But that still doesn't stop me from trying to uncover that face of yours."

"Better luck next time." Strife said playfully with a wink before he put on his mouthplate again and started putting back on his uniform and gear. Kuroka couldn't help but giggle cutely at that a bit before she did the same, eventually fully suiting up and getting up from the ground.

"Listen, there is a favor that I'd like to ask you." Kuroka asked.

"A favor? It better have something that will benefit me handsomely." Strife said in husky tone as he held her chin, as if he was about to kiss her.

"Someone is being a little greedy." Kuroka smirked in tease.

"Funny enough, I fought one of the Seven Deadly Sins today, which happens to be Avarice. So greedy is a word I'd not like to hear today." Strife said in more serious tone.

"Noted." Kuroka chuckled a bit before her went serious. "But seriously, there is something really important I need you to help me with."

"Is it killing something?" Strife asked curiously.

"Sadly no." Kuroka shook her head.

"Then I'll pass." Strife said casually.

"What?!" Kuroka exclaimed in shock.

"Whohoa easy there, I was just messing with you." Strife said light-heartedly.

"Strife, I'm serious here." Kuroka frowned a bit in annoyance.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry. Continue." Strife said light-heartedly.

"My little sister is with the devil Rias Gremory. Since your brothers are babysitting those devils, can you tell them to convince that red headed bitch to hand over my sister back?" Kuroka asked.

"Sounds like you don't like her so much." Strife said bluntly.

"Can you do it or not?" Kuroka asked impatiently.

"If that's all I have to do, then sure thing, easy as pie." Strife shrugged.

"Thank you." Kuroka smiled in appreciation. Strife nodded silently before he turned his back on her, about to depart while Mayhem emerged from the ether in purple and black smoke.

"Oh, by the way, what was your sister's name again?" Strife asked as he turned sideways to see Kuroka.

"Shirone. Or as the devils call her, Koneko." Kuroka said.

"Koneko. Got it." Strife said before he mounted his faithful steed and galloped away from Kuroka.

When he did, Kuroka silently looked down in worry, mostly for her sister. For the last few days she tried to track her sister's chi down, but every time she did she failed to find even a spark, especially with Death's and War's titanic energies clouding the chi of other devils. She can only pray that she is indeed still with the Gremory devils, hoping that with Strife's aid the nekomata sisters will soon be reunited.

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A/N: MYSTICVEGITO LIVES *STOMP STOMP!* Geez, I've been gone a really long time, have i? I really wanted to continue with the story, but for one reason or another the story got delayed time and time again, which lead to this year long hiatus. Sorry that it took this long to post it, it's usually chapter a month post from me, not chapter a year :D

Btw, I changed the name of the Legion Siegemaster to Legion Juggernaut, makes more sense due to his combat approach and not much on brain for siege planning. Also, since there is no official name for Strife's dual sabers, I'm currently trying to workshop it and in the end came up with Absolvers, since you know, Mercy and Redemption. So if you have any other name suggestions for the sabers, I'd love to hear, maybe you can come up with something cooler than my current name :D

-Wacko12 Who knows? We can just wait and see :)

-Gamelover41592 Tnx, you're welcome :)

-It is ON Thank you. I mean, this IS Highschool DXD crossover, so it wouldn't be much of a crossover if we didn't have some ecchi stuff in it as well, it can't be all about horsemen killing stuff.

-muddin2900 Thanks man, I try. Yeah, that's probably the hardest part to pull off, making the story interesting without sacrificing their badass characteristics (I hope I didn't anyway). But I appreciate the words, you stay safe too :)

-Messiah of authors Thank you. And yeah, what It is ON said.

-DOOMRAIDER Yeah, but at this point it's a beginning stage of Fury's character development, at a similar pace like in Darksiders 3, where that she gets wiser and more understanding after she fights certain Sins like Lust or Sloth. Yeah as much as Death cares about his siblings he certainly doesn't hesitate to keep them in line, like he did with War as you mentioned, so we are yet to see what will Fury's punishment be should she try to defy Death for the position of a leader.

Yeah those thoughts came through my head as well, but even if I were to involve the Kingdom of the Dead and the Well of Souls in this story, it would probably be at the later stages in the story where things really get heated up. Thanks for the extensive review, they are insightful as always :)

-Rigald02 Yup, glad you liked his entrance

-recline Thank you, glad you like it.

-midnightscar17 updated

-xana2 Well I sincerely doubt that Issei will have the luxury to be a dimension buster in this story, due to the horsemen keeping him on a short leash, but your power estimation of other characters is quite handy, since I am yet to read the light novel.

Again, I'm really sorry that it took over a year for this chapter to come out, I'm hoping that this won't be a theme with me from now on :D But I'm finally back on track and i hope i haven't lost my touch with this chapter. Also hoping that there won't be any delays like there were before. Stay safe everyone and I'll see you in the next chapter :)