And the arc continues. What will happen to our heroes now? Only reading to find out~. JK, have a nice read and stay sound.

DISCLAIMER: dxd and its characters don't belong to me~.

'Rina-chan... I apologize for your arm, but even I won't be able to make a perfect copy of it.'

'...?'

'That structure of yours... When Miyama Enma cut your arm down with his fangs, I'm afraid he also placed a curse of a sorts on the wound, a giving considering I've told he was an amalgamation of all the powers of the six dragon kings. No matter how much I try, I couldn't reattach your arm back.'

'Oh, I... I see...'

'I hate to say this. I really, I really tried my best to put your arm in place, but no matter what I do, it just won't go back to normal, and that curse... I can try to break it, but it might take a while. In the time being, I can only make you a new arm with Katalia's cells so it can stick to your stub and some of the flesh from your arm to avoid rejection. It might take a while to get used to it, but soon you'll be able to move, hold and even feel things through it. It'll be basically a flesh prosthesis. But I promise you, I will find a way to break the curse and turn you arm back to normal...'

'It's okay, Mary-sensei...'

'Rina-chan...?'

'I... I can get used to it. I'm not Ludger anymore, and even now it feels like a distant dream, but this arm... It'll remind me of all of my failures and hubris from now on. I'll keep it, and every time I look it, I'll remember... To never waver or cry anymore. That's... Also a promise.'

'Rina-chan...'

'...'

'On that topic, since I can't turn your arm back to normal, might as well do something cool with it: how about I turn that prosthesis into a Totally rad, voice-commanded rocket-powered fist? It'll be nearly unretrievable once launched and you'll have to wait with just one arm for me to make another one, but you wouldn't mind a rocket punch attack, right? How about? Do you want it?'

'DO, I!'

'Hell yeah. Here, let me build the jets and the voicebox for the commands...'

...

Haaaah~, I'm so glad I accepted Mary-sama's offer for a super cool rocket fist~! I had to hide it from everyone since I knew that would eventually reach either Nemesis or Ichijou and they would scold me hard for that, but the fact I'm safe and sound and, above all else, victorious from a war means my request wasn't for nothing after all! Although having to spend the rest of it with just an arm might become a problem later...

Hmm~... *VUPT! VUPT!*, yep, I can still 'feel' I have an arm, but in reality is gone for now. I wave the air in front of the stub on my right forearm just to confirm that Mary-sama's prothesis is there no more yet I can still sense something from it. I guess it's the so-called 'ghost effect' or whatever, kinda creepy if you ask me. On well, I clench my left hand instead in a fist, and aim my sight to the old Kuoh building! I still have a mission to accomplish, and no arm or lack thereof will slow me down! Maximum effort! Be prepared, Lord Nosferatu, when I'm done with your kids, your butt is next on my shoe's list!

"Kh... Kh... Ugh..." Before I can take the first step towards a new quest however, I hear some grunts and gasps from be beneath me. Some more moans and groans, and I turned my attention to where Esther Hellsing, son of the illustrious prime-minister of the vampiric empire Desmond Hellsing, was, all wrapped up in Alastor strings, trying yet failing to break free from it. It's no use, those are resistant enough to shield me from his attacks, escape from those is a whole another level. He gives up, sniffs the air and then turns to me, only to furrow his eyebrows. "Tch. You... You stink, Berolina Gremory..."

"..."

*KICK!*

"Let me finish my sentence, you fucking devil barbarian!" He declares with now a broken nose and a few teeth less after I treated his head like a soccer ball. So I can only assume he didn't want to insult me, good to know, but that one's on you, Esther Hellsing. He spits a little bit more on blood and tried to continue. "I meant to say that you stink of a hybrid, or rather, I can feel the distinct stench of a vampire hybrid around your own putrid devil scent... Not to mention, the small drops of blood coming from it... I can assume they are from my cursed little sister, Annabelle Hellsing..."

"...?" Oh-hoh? So he figured I have my bonds with Annie of all people due to my scent? I don't smell that bad, do I? That aside, I turn to him completely, my body pointing at his direction, and nodded, arms crossed and a smile on my face. "Yep, you can say that. I mean, we weren't that close, but I guess it's a given..."

"So it's true, Annabelle downgraded herself to a lowly devil under the command of a Gremory... Well, at least I know she won't be mistreated for what's worth." He sighs to himself a dark smoke, but despite his face and words, he actually sounded relief in hearing those, not something I expect from a vampire of all things. "Tell me, Berolina from the house of Gremory, is my sister being useful or worthwhile to you? I know she can be hardheaded and ignorant at times, but I do want to know if your time together is being productive, and she's not... Being a hindrance."

"Well, you see, Esther Hellsing: Annie and I didn't got to interact much because, how I can say it, I had a pretty bad breakdown mid-semester, and then she ran away from home, but for what we could share... She was a very awesome dumphir... I mean, a vampire-ninja hybrid." I declare with a hand in the air, and again the silverette vampire sighs and clenches his teeth, but despite such he sounds relieved in hearing that. I think even those bloodsuckers are not as heartless as I thought, but then again, family is family, no matter how much you try to put a rock over it. "Esther Hellsing, are you perhaps... Worried and proud of your sister Annabelle?"

"..." He says nothing, only closes his face and turns away to instead look at the sky. Who he thinks he's fooling with that? "Preposterous, Berolina from the house of Gremory. I'm just relieved that piece of hybrid trash is not tarnishing the illustrious name of Hellsing any further. Her own existence is a sin, so if by chance she would be dirtying our name more, I would personally end her existence myself."

"Okay, whatever you say, Esther Hellsing." I shrug with a smile that would probably piss him off if he wasn't too busy contemplating the dark sky. Like I said, family is family, and to be honest, it's kinda cute. If only Annie knew... Maybe we're not that different. Speaking of which, now that I'm done with him, I should be going back to the conference to protect father and Zoroaster-sama and maybe bump into Annie in the meantime. "Well then, bye. I gotta get back to the conference and do my duties. Smell ya later, Esther Hellsing..."

"I can sense Annabelle's smell around too, Berolina from the house of Gremory." He declares, making me turn back to him and give him a side glance, not all interested in hearing what he has to say. "That foolish lass... I can assume she's no longer with your group considering that her main objective was to become the vampire king by killing lord Nosferatu. So, what are you going to do, Berolina? Are you going to destroy her for the sake of this reunion?"

"Of course not. Who do you think I am?" I laugh a bit for his little words, and he sharpens his sight at me. I'm still a bit irked about Annie having a brother who knows exactly how she smells like, but that aside, I won't destroy my own Knight, she's still part of my peerage after all. "I'll just kick some sense into her and make her return to the peerage. I mean, she might want to become the Vampire King, but even so, I want her to at least be able to come back alive from it if she fails."

"Tch, she becomes a stray devil and betrays your group, yet you still wants her back into it? No wonder you Gremories has such a bad reputation among other supernatural creatures." He spat with contempt and arrogance, yet I can still sense some kind of affection and shine into his otherwise ruby red eyes. I can't help but smile since the name of Gremory is kind of infamous in the world. "That affection of yours will take you nowhere, y'know. Forgiving and forgetting the sins of others is only an invitation for a blade on the back."

"You might be right, but this is how my clan is, this is how I am." I smile. Call me gullible, call me stupid, but if people want to help me or be part of my peerage regardless of motives, I'll always be glad to have a super cool, super strong piece into my peerage, and if he or she betray me... Then I'll just have to show why I am a high-class devil in the first place! "Besides, this is quite obvious... You can only end in a stalemate with just a King piece."

"Berolina Gremory..." He grunts, and I close that epic boast with a quick hair flip... Only to remember that my right arm is gone, which means I just dumbly waved a stub around. The feeling still remains, though! No matter what, my peerage is my own, and I'm me, flaws and cups included for both of them...

*DOOOOOON!*

"...?!" The ground shakes! I just take one step forward and the sole beneath my feet shakes as if something exploded from within! From the cracks and craters it created, a black blob of darkness emerges and starts spreading all over the remaining terrain! Those black figures, they have something quite malevolent about them, even worse than a devil's aura! Soon, the place were I stood was covered in a shadowy mass of darkness, and started to consume everything around! Esther Hellsing, who was already on the floor, had his eyes bewildered as he slowly sinks into the black void, as if he was standing on quicksand! "Alucard... Is that... Is that your doing..?"

"Esther Hellsing...!" Even though he is an enemy, I tried to reach for him and pull him out of the consuming blackness, but it was too late as when I was able to get my left hand to him, he already sank into nothingness! The black mass grows unquiet and frenzied, now latching onto me like a wave from hell! I jump out of the way and spread my wings to try to fly away from the dark matter! "What the... What even is this?! I gotta run away!"

*GRIP!*

"...?!" But I didn't go far: a smaller, slender, dark tentacle of yet strong grip reached for my ankle and held me in place in midair, no matter how much I struggled it wouldn't let go or allow me to move! I lifted a hand and fired a ball of power of destruction at it, but if it were a snake, it simply dodged the area that would hit and before I could do anything else, it slammed me against the floor, making my ears ring and my head spin! I regain some conscious a few seconds later, but it was too late: the black shadows were already sinking me into themselves! "Gaaaah~! Get off me~! No..! NO~...!"

I try to fight it off, launching random streams of power of destruction left and right and trying to stand up and emerge from the consuming void, but it was of no use: it's like my body is glued to the darkness, and like quicksand, the more I struggle the faster I sink! Curses, at this rate, I'll drown in blackness and who knows what'll happen next!

The cold, eerie darkness little by little spreads all over me and practically engulfs me into itself, and I start to lose conscious yet again! No, no, everything... Is... Getting... So... So dark...

*FLASH!*

*SHRIEK~!*

"Huh...?" But before the void could swallow me whole, suddenly I'm blinded by something else; not darkness, but instead light! Intense, bright light! The shadows around me shriek like a scared animal and little by little retreat from me, finally letting me breathe in peace! I stood sit on the floor that little by little was being released from the darkly grip of those shadows, and notice something new: above my head there was a small sun-like ball of pure light, and out of the sudden a ring of flames emerged around me, protecting me from the shadows that were struggling to get it! "This light... Warm... What the...?"

"Berolina-san~...! Quick, here~...!" I recognize that whiny voice, and it's coming right above me! I turn around to the other direction and then I saw both Tasha and Whiswain standing right on top of a flying broom, with the latter waving at me with a crying face while the other had runes around her hands. So it was Tasha's flames! "Quick~! Hop on the broom, Berolina-san~...!"

I'm still a bit dazed about what has been happening until now, but as fast as I could I spread my wings and jump onto the flying broom my bishops were riding! Tasha, who was balancing her feet on top of the broom's body, nodded firmly at me while Whiswain latched herself on me with a crying face.

"Weeeeh~! I was so worried about you, Berolina-san~! When the ghouls started to attack, I was so worried everyone was getting attacked too~! I'm sorry if I sound I don't believe in your strengths, too~...!" She declares, hugging me tightly, and regardless of intentions, I feel safe now.

That was a close call! So this means the barrier is no more around the Kuoh buildings, if they're here to save me. Well, the Vampire children broke the barrier from inside somehow, so I guess it doesn't matter if they uphold the barrier or whatnot. Suddenly, I hear another shriek coming from below, and turning back there, I saw that somehow the mini-star died and the darkness started to reach for us as massive black tentacles!

"Uh-hoh. Gremory-chin, Whiswain-chin, hold on tight." Tasha commanded with sharp eyes, and so Whiswain and I held tightly the broom's grip with our hands and thighs!

The tentacles tried to reach for us, but in a moment, the broom kicked the high gear and started to fly around like a falcon, still being pursued by the darkness from below! *ZOOOM~! ZOOM~!*, the magical cleaning tool would make curve, turns and drifts in midair while trying to escape the black tendrils, until there was a good number of them pursuing up, forcing Tasha to turn the broom upwards and jet us straight to the skies, still being chased by the darkness! We went higher and higher, so much I started to get hard to breathe, and the tentacles were already coming too close!

"Whiswain-chin...!" Tasha spoke with a sharp look to Whiswain. The grim reaper let out a surprised gasp, but then put up a trembling face and nodded!

"Right...! Please, cover yours ears!" My second bishop spoke and after we did so as ordered, she turned around to the ground and let out one of her screams! Even with us protecting our ears against it, her ghastly wail shook my entire core, making me a bit sick as well! However, the one affected the more was the darkness, which trembled once caught in the vocal blast and like simple goo it fell to the floor, completely immobile! So her screams works even on non-corporeal things, shaking their core so much they simply cease function, either physical or magical. I'm glad to have her on my peerage!

"And now...!" Tasha lifted a finger and blasted a small firework show from the tip of it. Not as a weapon, but like a flare gun for some reason. I turned my attention to the sole as we descended to it, and I noticed the goo haven't give up, it started to twitch and slowly recompose itself!

Before it could do it though, *BAM!*, out of nowhere Serena-chan's rook, Bellerophon emerged from nowhere and smashed a massive piece of concrete on top of the darkness, making it splat everywhere! Then Serena-chan's bishop, Akira, also jumped into frame to place a paper seal on top of that piece of concrete! It shone, it sparkled, and suddenly the darkness was no more! It simply disappeared from under the ground sandwich.

"And that's that for now! I'm afraid our efforts will no be enough to take care of such darkness unless we find the cause of it though!" Came the thunderous, powerful voice of Bellorophon as we came to the ground and I could finally land on solid footing. Tasha and Whiswain also jumped from the flying broom and soon enough we came to encounter Serena-chan's pieces, not only Akira or Bellorophon, but Orie was also here!

"Ah~! Berolina-san, you're hurt! Please don't move, I'll heal your wounds right away!" Came the worried but firm voice from Serena-chan's pawn, the chestnut-haired second year!

I was about to dismiss her worries since they didn't hurt that much, but nothing came as she summoned something that surprised me: from her fingers, two silver rings shaped like vines appeared, and once she reached me, they started to glow a small and pale green light, slow but steadily healing my wounds and closing any marks! I don't believe it... She's the user of [Twilight healing], the [Smile of the holy mother]! Or at least one of them. How come I only know this now~?! Serena-chan, you meanie! (Serena - In my defense, she was still in that phase, so she would pester me to no end for 'stealing' a Twilight healing user from her).

"So you guys are no longer holding the barrier, right? Any reason for that?" I asked as Orie heals my wounds with her Sacred Gear. The four of the them look at each other and awkwardly smile. I already know the answer for that, but I'm just making sure of things. Tasha was the one who came closer to respond.

"Gremory-chin, I know it sounds strange and like an excuse, but as we were trying to maintain the barrier, an army of ghouls invaded not just from inside the barrier, but also the room where we were." She starts. Wait, what? "If it wasn't for Bello-chin, we would be goners by now. Fortunately, once we could grasp what was going on, we are now trying to contain not just the army of the undead, but also this darkness that came out of nowhere but is consuming everything it touches. I couldn't contact the rest of our peerage, though. I hope they're okay..."

"..."

"What...?"

"You... You can speak full sentences? This is the most I've ever heard you say anything!" I finally say it. No joke, ever since she became my Bishop she only speaks in a broken way like mom's old records! I even thought she had a speech impeachment or something! How come she's speaking so normally now?! She blinks a few times, and hides her mouth with her hand while turning her eyes away, embarrassed.

"A witch's tongue is important to recite and conjure spells, hence why I avoid talking too much since I have this bad habit of biting my tongue a lot." She says, clearly embarrassed to say so. "This is a moment of crisis, so I can allow myself to speak in full sentences as my spells will also grow stronger with some special magical verses. Sorry if I ever bothered you with this quirk of mine. I'm really sorry..."

"..."

"..."

"Huh..." I chirped as I ponder those words a little. It actually makes sense, and we finally have this mystery out of the way. Good for us. Returning to the more important plot-points at hand: it seems that teleporting Ichijou and Ren-kun away wasn't the only 'interference' that blasted priest caused, only a Sacred Gear on the same caliber a as Longinus could break inside the barrier we created, or perhaps it has a finger from Lord Nosferatu instead? I just don't know anymore! What I do know, however, is that we must reach the old building! "Fine then, I gottan idea: we should head to the old main building and protect the Demon Lords and The Vampire King anyway! The Black twin's plan is to kill their father, so we must be there to stop them! We already know where they're heading, after all!"

"Roger that, my King." Tasha nodded with Whiswain. I turn my attention to the other three pieces next to my own and bowed so-slightly to them.

"And I'll be also counting on you three as servants of Sitri. Please, lend me your strengths!" I bowed again and requesting their assistance. I might not be their King, but I'll be really glad if they can lends us a hand! The three pieces turned and nodded to each other, and then kneeled before me. Ah~, so much respect, I'm a bit embarrassed.

"We're unworthy, but please use us well, Lady Berolina! Until we find our own dear King, we shall follow thy instructions, so please, use your better judgement to guide us to victory!" Bellorophon announced while his fellow evil pieces nod back. So this is the feeling of a leader, I think it's a bit too much for me, but I will do my best as well! I wrap the sleeve of my right arm so it couldn't fly all over the place and pointed my left pointer finger onwards!

"Alright then! My dear servants, pieces of Serena-chan, onwards to the main building! And to victory!" I declared with the fire of determination burning deeply from within, and all of them cheered their own way! With all those people, I'm certain for sure we'll wipe those zombies and vampires with ease!

I just hope everyone else is also okay!

*SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!*

*DOOOOOOON...!*

And no matter how much we try, this army of ghouls doesn't seem to wither! While they are pathetically weak and easy to bring it down, a since slash from Clarent being enough to reduce them to ashes, their numbers is where the problem lies. Still, I guess we are making some progress since we're getting closer and closer to the meeting room at the old building...

"Just a little more. Those ghouls might be many, but they ain't tough." I ponder to myself, cracking my knuckles a few times so that the grip around my sword could loose a little. I turn to my redheaded king, and with another swift move from her centipede-like tendrils coming from her back, she swap an entire platoon of ghouls while also firing small bullets of power of destruction from their segments, annihilation another army. She then redraws her Alastor tendrils and sigh, cleaning her face from the sweat. "How are you holding up, Nemesis? I'm sorry to drag you into this whole facade, but Cohen-sama left me with no choice. Besides, I'm your knight. It is my duty."

"Don't speak like I'm not part of this as well. If they want a piece of me, I'm more than willing to give it with extra charge." Nemesis instead sighed and made a pose, flipping her crimson locks and blinking a few times with an expression that conveys confidence. Oh man, she's indeed a cool beauty worthy as a King, makes me feel a bit unworthy to be her boyfriend. I take a deep breath to regain my composure, and walk right beside her on the now deserted school ground. "But it is indeed foolish to try to get rid of all of the ghoul army. We should regather with the others as soon as possible and protect Father and Zoroaster-sama."

"Roger." I nodded to her. She's right, the main target is the vampire King, both for the Black siblings and Rina-chan's Knight, so going there not only to return to our position as bodyguards, but also to use them as bait to fight the intruders is the correct answer. However... I turn to Nemesis again. "Uh, Nemesis, you're not going to... Turn Nosferatu-sama into paste once you find him, right?"

"..." She says nothing, she doesn't even turn to me, only gives me a not-so-friendly side glance. That's not reassuring at all. I know her for quite a while now, but when she's cornered like that between her duties and own personality, she tends to get... Unpredictable. I draw a half-smile.

"Nemesis, please..."

"I have... My own duties as the devil in charge of Kuoh town, not to mention my honor as a child of Gremory and my own name as Nemesis. Regardless how I feel about that old sack of bloody pus, I shall return to my work as the protector of this place... Although, it would be such a pity if an accident were to happen in the conference room..." She's getting sardonic; nothing good ever comes when she gets sardonic like that, and the pitch-black aura she's exhaling is not helping matters. However, in one second, she flinches a bit and let out a moan of pain, slightly twitching her back upwards. "Ugh...!"

"Nemesis...?" I blink a few times for that small display of discomfort, only to turn my eyes to her back and notice a small tint on blood spreading all over her white shirt! Oh no, is she hurt? But those ghouls didn't even reach her, let alone attacked her, what gives? "You're bleeding, from your back. What happened?"

"Am I?" She let out another uncomfortable moan, and after a sigh, she turns back to look to her derriere, pulling her shirt up to see the blood mark and the cause of it: her wounds from that time... The dark scar shaped like a deranged spider she got fighting Miyama and his goons, they were bleeding from the sides. I could help but to grit my teeth, but Nemesis' only response was an annoyed grunt. "What a disgrace. It seems those wounds are not fully healed yet. No wonder my metamorphosis got so weak out of the sudden. We should hurry before this becomes an issue."

"Nemesis, this is already an issue. I won't let you fight just so you can open those wounds and potentially kill yourself." I declare, and once again she grunts in annoyance. She did it while looking at me, but I know she actually is annoyed and angry at herself. Why does she has to push herself like that every time? "You better rest for now. Opening those wounds will be dangerous, and you are already a target. Leaving you vulnerable while losing blood is not wise, it's stupid. Just... Let me handle this for now. I see what I can do."

"..." She grunts yet again, louder this time. Now she's annoyed and angry at me for worrying about her. She says a lot about Rias-sama and Rina-chan, but she's as stubborn as they are sometimes. But even so, I won't allow my King to act do recklessly! I'm a knight, after all.

"C'mon, don't be like that." I whine a little, trying to kick her Gremory instincts so she would reconsider her choices. I know it's a low blow, but she's being careless and reckless, and so a reality check is needed. However, what she did next surprised me: she pulled her shirt up so that her wound would be visible, and from her hand she summoned a small dose of power of destruction to cover her palm. What... What is she doing? "N-Nemesis, what, what are you doin-...?"

*SLAP!*

"...?!"

"Done. I guess this is enough for now." She just slapped a handful of power of destruction on her back to cauterize the wound! What in the world in she thinking?! That could've killed her! Her face grimaces a little and she bites her lower lips with a grunt of pain, but her stoic stance doesn't fault, not even in the slightest. She pulls her shirt down, and turns to me. "No more bleeding, no more issues, right? It hurts a little, yes, but I'll be damned if a bit of pain will stop me now that I have approval. How about it, Nero? Shall we proceed?"

"..."

"...?"

*Chuu~!*

"*SIGH*, no matter how much time I spend with you, you find news ways for me to fall in love." I said in a defeated but relieved tone, kissing her cheek and ruffling her precious red hair. She blushes a little and let herself be spoiled a bit. She did something absurd just to prove a point, and while it is kind of dumb, I can't be mad at her, her commitment to her duties is both admirable and beautiful...

Again, I wonder if I'm worthy enough to be her boyfriend.

"Let's go."

"Umu." She nods, and together we cross all the school ground until we reached the gates to the Old Building.

However, much to my surprise, someone was already there, a young woman not older than Rina-chan or Ichijou of dark blue short rebellious hair and ruffian eyes, and despite the utter chaos that has been happening, her pose was quite relaxed: laying on her side on the floor, a hand supporting her head and legs one above the other. She also had a tired but concentrated stare, as if she was waiting for us.

"Yo." She greeted us with a hand in he air, her blasé pose still unchanged despite noticing us. Even her words are a bit too relaxed. "Let me guess: you guys are devils, right? I can sense a distinctive scent coming from you two that is similar yet so different from Annie-san, I can only think about it. My instincts are not kicking into overdrive either, so I assume you're not vampires."

"Who wants to know?" I inquire, and from her pose, the girl smiles. I remember her, she's the girl that was with Rina-chan's Knight, who broke in into the barrier with her when I used [BLACKBOARD DEATH] into this place. So that can only mean Hellsing-chan is already inside the building, we gotta be fast!

"A friend of Annie-san, you can say. My name is Miyamoto Mukuro (no relation!) and I'm a she-wolf, as they say." She responds, jumping from her stance to land on a stand. From here I can see she's being serious: she had a grey tail waving left and right, and her feet were shaped like a wolf's. "In case you want to know, yes, Annie-san already entered the building, and it's on her way to become the next Vampire King. She wanted me to stay and take care of her fallen friend, though, so I did."

"Fallen friend...?" And turned my eyes to right beside her and the shock made me gasp: wrapped in a cocoon of blades, like a hut made out of swords, I saw Rina-chan's rook Liu Bei's unconscious body, her clothes cut and rip and a massive black mark on her eye. Unbelievable, Hellsing-chan, who's so flat and slender (wait, why do I have to bring up the fact she's flat?) and this werewolf girl were enough to knock Rina-chan's strongest piece out of commission? But then again, that dhumpyr wouldn't choose her if she couldn't! I turned a serious look at her! She doesn't look it, but she's dangerous. "You..."

"Y-Yeah, I know this looks awesome, but trust me, it was very confusing on our end." But instead of pride, I could only see awkwardness oozing from her eyes, like she just remembered a bad Joke or something while scratching her wolf ears. Half of me wanted to stay on guard, but the another went along with her words, as if to believe her. "But anyway, Annie-san is on her way to become the next vampire King, and I can only assume you people want to avoid that at all costs or something. So, if you don't mind, I will have to stop you right there and...!"

*ZOOOOOM!*

*DOON!*

"You devils really have no patience!" And a red flash crossed the way from my side to Miyamoto-chan's, and when I could see clearly what was going on, I saw my King creating a crater with her Alastor tendrils, to no use since the she-wolf jumped to dodge that attack. However, Nemesis completely ignored the flying girl and instead reached for the entrance gate. "Oh no, you don't...!"

*ZING! ZING! ZING!*

"Nemesis...!" But when the redhead tried to reach for the handle of the door, several tall blades suddenly emerged from the floor, reaching for my king ready to stab her! But I was faster, and using my Knight speed, I reached for my king, grabbed her by the collar and pulled her to somewhere else before she could be harmed! She landed right on my arms as I held her bridal-style. "That... Was a close one!"

"Not bad, you guys have reflexes. But it won't make a difference, I feel invincible now. Like I just woke up from a nice 8h nap and changed my underwear!" And Miyamoto-chan landed on the same place, stretching her arms and rabbit-jumping back and forth. My red-haired King jumped from my arms and started to walk towards the dark-haired she-wolf, emanating a rather somber but controlled aura.

"Out of the way, she-wolf. I have greater issues to deal with, so if you're in my way, prepared to be swapped like a fly." Nemesis declares, but despite the threat, Miyamoto-chan doesn't seem all that fazed, worse, she seems really in the mood to press some of Nemesis' buttons.

"No way, sis. I won't allow anyone to interfere with Annie-san's affair, be devil or vampire, and since I feel invincible, I guess I can even take you on!" The werewolf snapped and then Nemesis herself twitched jus by hearing that. Oh no, I better stay on guard or else the redhead might go too far regarding Miyamoto-chan!

"As you... Wish!" And from her back a new tendril shaped like a demonic centipede emerged, slapping Miyamoto-chan away! But actually no, before she could even be hit, the werewolf jumped and landed right on top of Nemesis' dark extra limb, running on top of it while summoning a sword between her teeth! "You little shit...!"

M king then lifted a finger and started to fire a barrage of mini-power of destruction, all to the direction of the she-wolf! However, the latter was too fast and would jump and dodge the small bullets of doom while swinging her sword against Nemesis' tendrils, fortunately not leaving any damage since they were pretty resistant!

I had to do something, so I did: I jumped right on the opposite end of those extra black limbs and ran towards Miyamoto-chan, clashing swords with her! *TING!*, it was just a clash, but I could feel that her sword had something on it, an aura, a pressure very dissimilar to Clarent... A sacred gear? Of course, her sprouting swords out of nowhere should've been. Major hint, but now I know for sure: she's a Sacred Gear-user, the user of the [SWORD BIRTH], the creator of demonic swords!

As expected, my genuine demon sword was too much for her, and soon her own blade crumbled in contact with my own as I pushed her away with another swing! She jumped away from Nemesis' tendril and landed on her foot, again jumping up and down and with a daring expression on her face while dodging more of Nemesis' bullets of destruction. I wonder why does she feel 'invincible' when she's clearly outmatched!

"Alright, alright. I am complete now. I've figured how to fight you both, and now, time to go all out." I heard she say while still jumping up and down, getting a curious hum from both me and my king. Instead of answering, however, she opened her mouth to show a golden eyeball between her teeth, which she soon smashed between them. What in the world was that about?! "I hope you're prepared to face me now!"

"No good, if she's a werewolf, that eyeball can only be...!" Nemesis' words were filled with dread, but before she could finish her sentence, Miyamoto-chan swallowed something and after that, her body started to emit a heavy and malevolent aura, a howl escaping her lips as I could feel her growing stronger tenfold! When the dust settled, she then summoned a sword on her waist and grabbed it by the handle: "Oh shit! Nero...!"

"On it...!" And then we ran towards her as fast as we could! No matter what she has in mind, it can't be good! In the end, we reached close to her in a blink of an eye, reading to cut down her sword and incapacitate her as we could, but then she pulled her sword up and then...!

"[BALANCE BREAKER]...!"

*SWING!*

*SWING!*

*BAAAAAAAAAAM...!*

I tried to swing my sword and hit her, maybe slap the sword away, maybe distract her long enough for Nemesis to poison her, but we were too late: from her unsheathed sword an explosive energy emerged and as I was about to cut her, something massive and strong halted all of my movements! I tried and tried, but it wouldn't even budge!

"What... What is this power...?!" I questioned, and as if to answer me, the dust caused by that explosive power cleaned to reveal something beneath it: a massive, eastern-style, utterly black armor which was larger than any of us, maybe even larger than Hwan Jin-Young, carrying a massive sword that was easily countering me and Nemesis' tendrils, and right under it, Miyamoto-chan with her own sword shaped like a black Katana. No way, this is her balance breaker?!

"Grand crusader, slash!" Commanded the dark-haired girl under the armor! The so-called grand crusader then broke the clash we had and, at an incredible fast speed that would be impossible otherwise for his side, swing his massive sword against me and Nemesis, practically swapping us away for a good distance! I rolled and rolled until I could stop myself kneeling on the group while Nemesis landed on her feet, but with a tired grunt of effort!

"A Balance Breaker... That creates a massive samurai? That's new..." Nemesis commented, retracting her Alastor centipedes and making a combat pose. Using Clarent I help myself to stand and turn to Miyamoto-chan, who was so dreamily skipping on the same place while swinging her own sword between her fingers.

"Now, I know what you're thinking: a massive samurai armor? Wouldn't be more convenient for my Balance Breaker to be something like a small army of werewolf-based knights, or maybe an work of unlimited blades? Maybe, maybe not. All things considered, that should be more awesome regarding the circumstances, and I know where you're getting at." She lifts a finger and starts to lecture us with a rather blasé attitude. Huh? What's that out of the sudden? Although she is right somehow, I was thinking that maybe a Balance Breaker similar to Kiba-sama's would be more convenient. But she continued: "But here's the thing: I believe quantity does not equal quality. I may create over a thousand bones of my sword with my body of steel and blood of fire, or a platoon of knights ready to fight for me... But they wouldn't amount to nothing if they're weak. Hence, my Balance Breaker rather turns into something that is singular, but can pack quite a punch."

"..."

"Don't believe me? Your loss, then. Slash!" And again the massive swordsman lifts his sword to try to harm us! As fast as I could, I jump into the air and clashed blades again with it! No matter, I just have to cut that thing down!

"Sever the ties that holds this world, Clarent!" I chant, and my bloody sword Clarent starts to resonate and create a massive aura of power on the blade... Only to dissipate as soon as it formed! What?! How could this be?! No, wait... There's a small blade inside the sword of this great swordsman, in fact, his entire black sword are actually small blades merged together! And my energy did not dissipate, it was just absorbed... By that tiny blade inside the bigger weapon! It didn't budge his stance! My demon sword didn't even move past his own! "W-What...?!"

[TOH!] And as I tried but failed to break down the massive samurai, it just pulled his sword away from me and instead punched me to the ground! My body skips on the ground, my head is spinning and my ears are ringing... I lose control of my body and clash on the floor like a sack of potatoes.

"Nero...!" Even from here and in this state, I'm still conscious enough to hear my King call for me.

When my head stops spinning and my vision clears, I saw instead Nemesis with bloodshot eyes firing massive spheres of Ruin the Instinct against the massive swordsman! She's going for the kill now. The grand armor let out a shriek as little by little the spheres of destruction would chomp down massive nags out of it, leaving it with more holes than a Swiss cheese until it could no longer stand and fell to the ground, it's body turning instead into blades around Miyamoto-chan! With that done, my King turned her attention to the swordsman lady and sprouted her tendrils for a poisonous attack.

"Why you...!"

*SHING...!*

"...?!" But another surprise: before she could reach the she-wolf, a massive black armored arm emerged from the sea of swords beneath them and grabbed Nemesis whole! She tried to fight, but it wasn't over yet: little by little the arm would grow a chest plate, another arm, a torso and finally legs and a head until the entire armor was completed, As if it wasn't broken at all! "You...! Don't tell me...!"

*BAM!*

"Nemesis...!" And I couldn't contain my anger and worry as the grand armor slammed my King on the ground and made her skin on the floor like a ball! Fortunately, she made a cocoon from her own tendrils to shield herself of that nasty impact and landed right next to me, tired, scratched and breathless, but still standing. I myself stand up using Clarent next to her.

"Damn her...!" Nemesis curses, firing another ball of power of destruction against the helmet of the great armor, only for it to dodge it not by moving, but by simply retracting the to-be affected area, soon recollecting its former state once the attack was done. I see! I get it now! "No way... So it's not a single entity shaped like a samurai..."

"... But several swords clustered together to form one." I concluded. It makes sense how it was able to use a specific ability against my Clarent and how it reformed even after being destroyed: that massive armor, that giant samurai, is not a singular creation, but an amalgamation of several swords shaping something far bigger!

"Bingo." We turned to the creator of such abomination, Miyamoto-chan, and the dark around around her just wouldn't go away. Worse, it seemed to grow even more. She winked at us, and sighed. "Like I said, my Balance Breaker is not to create several swords unknown to death nor known to life, or soldier for my own, but to form the combination of all of those in a single, massive entity. All of the swords I can create, [Light/dark absorption], [elemental blade], [Ghost sword], and many more compose my great guardian spirit. So if you wanna fight it... You better be prepared to face a sword that is worth a thousand more."

"Tch..." Nemesis doesn't seem fazed, as she spits a bit of blood from her mouth and make a battle pose. I couldn't get left behind, so I made a stance with Clarent. A genuine demon sword against thousands of fakers in one, there's a joke in there that I might be missing. Miyamoto-chan lifted her own sword while the shadow of her guardian was casted upon her, and all I could see... Were golden hunter eyes...

"So as I pray... [GRAND CRUSADER]..."

What the hell is that?

No, seriously! What the hell is that?!

"Yo, Kan'u! Can you see that shit?! There's a giant mecha near the Old Building!" I said while supporting myself on Kan'u as we ride across hordes of ghouls on her motorcycle that was suppose to be the Red hare! What day is today?! Seriously?! "Unless Ryuubi-sensei has some kind of transformation or Serena-kaichou's peerage can pull that, I think that means trouble!"

"Might as well be right, Hong Long! I can sense some malignant aura coming from that figure, and the shape of that sword... It is the same shape of the sword of the partner of Lady Berolina's former knight! Only bigger!" The general concluded, and I had only a gasp to respond to that. So Annie really is here with company, and since she's already there, it means the ninja is getting closer and closer to the meeting room! Hell, she might even be there! We're late! "Curses, she got there before any of us. Chi Tù, faster! We have to reach that building as fast as possible!"

And the black motorbike neighed once again, kicking it into high gear and destroying every ghoul that dared to stand in its way, all while reaching break-necking speeds!

This isn't good! Either Annie kills our protectorate and our reputation goes down or she kills herself trying to stand up against him! None of those alternatives are good! Kan'u orders the red hare to go faster, but it neighs as if its hurt! Maybe he's also getting exhausted after running down so many zombies! Damn it, we have to reach there, and fast!

*BAAAAAM...!*

"Now what?!" And if things couldn't get any worse, out of the sudden the ground below out wheels bursts open like a volcano, and from it a dark shadowy matter emerges like lava! Kan'u was fast to react in time, maneuvering the Red Hare up the broken concrete and avoiding the dark waves as much as possible as if we were surfing on them! I saw a glimpse of two figures among the shadows, and once we got closer, I could see what, or rather, who they were: "Ah! Serena-kaichou! Nanami-senpai!"

"Curses! Hang on!" And I was right: the heiress of the Sitri clan and the student council president and her otaku knight were flying across the shadows with their bodies filled with scratches, cuts and bite marks, as they seem to struggle against the darkness! Kan'u also took note of them and moved the Red Hare to catch up with them!

"Kaichou...!" I screamed to her, and she blinked a few times to regain her conscious and turn her attention to me. I reached for a hand for her as we come closer and closer of the wave of shadows, and in the last minute I grabbed her by her arm while Kan'u grabbed senpai by the collar! We escaped the dark sea of shadows as it was about to collapse on us, and kaichou landed right on top of my lap!

"My hero~." She murmured in a teasing way. For that trouble, I bonked on her head. That's not time for jokes, kaichou!

"Hohoh~, it seems that my Charms have captured this lady as well~!" Like I said, this is not time for jokes, Nanami-senpai! Once we landed on safe and firm ground, Kan'u did a sideway drift and stopped to look at the shadows, while dropping senpai on the floor and kaichou jumped from the bike.

"What the hell...?" I murmured to the sudden darkness that was covering the whole place in black, lifting a massive wall to separate us from the building. Once the wall was lifted, from the dark emerged a small silhouette that started as obscure as the shadows that it composed, but soon started to regain form, shape and color, until it took the form of a tall, shaggy haired silverette of pale skin, doll-like features and red eyes in a bored expression.

"This is the far as you'll go, devils. Damn it, making me do all this work while I just wanted to rest... You're all so annoying." He whined, and while he seemed spoiled, his aura is downright murderous. I prepare Ix while Kan'u calls back the Red Hare and summons her precious Guandao Seiryuutou, Nanami-senpai dusting himself to stand right next to us with Kaichou doing the same. The man sighed seeing our stance, and his stare turned from bored... To angry, his entire body being covered in shadows once again. "You shouldn't have done that, Serena Sitri... You shouldn't have brought the ire of Alucard Hellsing..."

Alucard... Hellsing... So... Another brother...

Hate to say this, but Desmond-sama and Haruka-sama really suck at raising children if all of them are crazy like that...

And Annie's no exception.

Elsewhere...

"Atchoo~...!"

This was another reason why this fic took so long to write: there are too many branches of things happening at the same time. I'm not Togashi or Kubo to pull those all the time, so if it ended up a bit clunky, please forgive me and my arrogance for such an arc.

However, I do think next chapter will focus on a single character, expected since she's the epicenter of this whole arc, somehow. Can you guess who it is? Of course you can... No promises, though.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter for all of its flaws and execution and wait for the next one with hope. I do too hope to write something nice again. Don't forget to R&R and say safe and sound.

Greetings~