Chapter 49
Disclaimer: I do not own High school DxD or Fairy Tail they are property of Ichiei Ishibumi and Hiro Masima respectively.
-With Natsu-
Wendy's birthday had come and gone. After he and Wendy were done in the Dragon Realm, Natsu had brought them back where they were met with the smiling faces of the ORC members and a house set for the ensuing party.
Everyone had retired for the night, Wendy with a big smile after her successful party while Rias and her peerage had retired to bed to be ready for tomorrows Rating Game against Diodora. Currently, Natsu was walking through the cold night. Grayfia had given him a message that requested that he meet someone at a certain location.
"Natsu, glad you could make it," a male voice called out as Natsu entered the local park. Illuminated by one of the lampposts stood Azazel, leaning against the lamppost but as Natsu approached him he stood up straight.
"Grayfia told me you wanted to talk about something?" Natsu asked.
"Yes, and I would request you first agree to hear me out before you form a judgment on the plan we have at play," Azazel said as he motioned for Natsu to follow him on his walk around the park.
"I'll listen," Natsu said in an even yet guarded tone after a moment's thought as the Dragon King and Fallen Angel wandered around the dark park.
"Thank you. Now as you are aware, tomorrow Rias and her peerage will face off against Diodora," Azazel began, a low growl emanating from Natsu at the mention of Diodora but he didn't say anything.
"Not long ago, the air to the Glasya-Labolas family met his untimely demise, the norm on this is that it was an accident. Though I do have another theory, with Diodora's devil powers increasing inexplicably. Now from what I could gather along with a warning Vali gave to Issei, I would say that there is a very direct correlation between the events. Now we expect Diodora is in league with the Khaos Brigade and that during the course of this Rating Game they will spring into action. I have quite the number of our allies ready to sop this and I would like you to join us in our effort," Azazel finished as he came to a stop and looked at Natsu.
"So, you expect an attack by the Khaos Brigade of unknown size and you are using Rias and her peerage as bait?" Natsu asked, his tone still even.
"I don't like that we are using those kids like that either, but I assure you that they will be closely monitored ad if anything happens help will be there as soon as possible," Azazel replied.
"Though I do have quite the aversion against putting my mates in danger…" Natsu began, giving rise to the fear that he will reject the plan in Azazel's mind.
"I can see how this will ultimately be beneficial to the peace that had been gained by your stupid war all those years ago," Natsu finished with a sigh.
"So you'll join in on the plan?" Azazel asked with a hopeful tone.
"I will support this decision, but I won't be joining in on all the action. I will simply be there to ensure the safety of those I care about. I won't fight your battles for you. The affairs of Gods, Devils, Angels and Fallen Angels aren't my concern," Natsu said.
"I thank you for your support, and knowing that you will be there to ensure the safety of the young ones lifts a lot of pressure from my shoulders," Azazel said with a smile.
"Now, would you mind going over the detail of this plan?" Natsu asked. For the next thirty minutes, Azazel explained what the roles of everyone involved would be, where they would be stationed and what contingency plans he had if something big were to go wrong.
"I see you were smart enough not to rely on my aid to win any of the more crucial battles," Natsu noted.
"I might not know everything there is to know about you, but I do believe I can judge someone's character quite well," Azazel replied with a small smirk.
"I will have Wendy and Grayfia accompany me," Natsu said.
"I'm sure Sirzechs would want Grayfia to aid him during this war and are you sure it would be a good idea to bring Wendy?" Azazel commented.
"He should be able to handle things on his own if his reputation is anything to go by, besides he has quite the number of other members in his peerage. As for Wendy, her healing abilities are exceptional and would be of great benefit, plus I won't let anything happen to her," Natsu replied.
"I'll let him know," Azazel sighed.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be off," Natsu said as he started to walk away, giving Azazel a wave before he vanished into the dark night.
"That went a whole lot better than I thought, still got all my limbs attached," Azazel joked to himself.
-At the ORC building-
Rias and her peerage were standing on a teleportation circle, ready for the Rating game against Diodora Astaroth.
"Good luck everyone," Wendy encouraged them with a smile.
"Go show them what you are made of," Irina smirked with her fist balled in front of her face.
"Stay safe," Rossweisse said as the red glow of the teleportation circle surrounded Rias' peerage.
"I guess we should get moving as well," Azazel said from his position leaning against the wall, his previous happy expression becoming more serious.
"Let's go see if your fears of an attack are well-founded," Natsu said as he appeared from the shadows with Grayfia at his side. Once he arrived Wendy quickly moved to his side. Early this morning, Natsu had come to her and explained his conversation with Azazel from the previous night.
Wendy was quick to agree, though it did take some more explaining as to why they were keeping it secret from Rias and the others, taking the disguise of being there for support if nothing happens and if something does happen, they would be right there.
With a last glance and a nod at Azazel, a bright colourful flame quickly surrounded Natsu, Grayfia and Wendy. Moments after they vanished Azazel created his teleportation circle for himself and the other two combatants.
A world filled with floating rocky islands, illuminated by an eerie pinkish-red glow in the sky surrounded Natsu, Grayfia and Wendy once the flames that teleported them to the underworld dissipated. They had barely arrived when multiple bright orange teleportation circles filled the sky.
"That is the crest of the Old Satan Faction, seems like Azazel's prediction of a conflict was correct," Grayfia commented when she saw the circles. As she said this multiple armoured devils wielding halberds and donning dark grey demonic masks spawned from the circles, dotting the pinkish-red sky with specks of black.
"Once more history repeats itself, Devils fighting Devils for nothing but their own hubris," Natsu sighed as a multitude of different magic circles formed, each donning a mark of some of the remaining houses. The Devils that had come to aid Azazel in his plan faced the forces of the Khaos Brigade and the Old Satan Faction.
"I hope no more houses are wiped out because of this," Wendy said as she watched the combatants engaging in combat, a tone of sadness evident in her voice as she remembered her own fate.
"This will not come to that, I assure you," Natsu said as he rested a comforting hand on Wendy's shoulder, gaining a small smile from the girl.
"The true Satans will rule supreme," a battle cry erupted as two devils charged Natsu's group. Immediately Grayfia jumped into action, erecting a wall of pure ice to obstruct their path.
"We will deal with these fools," a female voice called from behind the group. As they turned around, Irina and Rossweisse sped past them with blades and magic at the ready. Behind them, a platoon of Angels and Fallen Angel rushed to the battlefield.
"Wendy, I think this will be a good opportunity to gain some battle experience, I know you don't particularly like it but it's better to have the experience and not use it rather than need it and not have it," Natsu suggested.
"And if something goes wrong I will be there in the blink of an eye," Grayfia added with an encouraging smile.
A look of determination formed on the young girl's face as she started to dissolve into the wind. Grayfia released her magic, destroying the icy wall she erected and causing the shards to fall to the ground, hitting some of the enemies on their way down.
Rossweisse was floating in the sky, a purple magic circle in each hand as ten devils surrounded her.
"I will show you the power of Asgard," Rossweisse shouted before she released a deadly purple beam of magic from the magic circles. Aiming at her next two targets she once again released the beam. As the devils saw four of their comrades being dispatched with ease they charged, four wielding their halberds while the other two formed orange magical circles.
"I've got your back," Irina called out as she appeared behind one of the charging devils and quickly dispatched him with a shining halo of light. Rossweisse released yet another beam of magic at one of the casters, quickly ending their lives while Irina summoned forth a sword to enter into a melee with two of the halberd wielding devils.
"Got you now Asgardian scum," the last remaining halberd wielding devil shouted in victory as his weapon neared the unprepared Rossweisse. With her attention on the last spell caster, Rossweisse had left her back exposed. Closing her eyes and raising the best guard she could at the moment she waited for the blow, though when a moment passed without the blow she creaked open her eyes and saw a current of greenish winds slamming the devil into the ground.
Her confusion was quickly cleared when she saw a blue-haired devil materialise from the winds. With a quick nod of gratitude, Rossweisse returned her attention to the caster and saw that they were about to release a spell. Raising a defensive barrier, she gave Wendy a call to end the caster.
Rossweisse's barrier successfully blocked the incoming attack and as soon as she released it, w twister of air magic launched past her, defeating the magic-user.
"Good timing Wendy," Rossweisse praised the girl before the two started looking for Irina. They saw her dancing and weaving through the sky, aiding allied angels and fallen angels in dispatching the enemy devils.
"Wendy, would you mind playing a defensive and supportive role while I bombard them?" Rossweisse asked.
"I'll do my best, but can we try and get to Irina please?" Wendy requested.
"Sure, just cover my back and I will carve a path for us," Rossweisse answered as she started flying towards the sword-wielding angel. When they were in earshot of the dancing sword maiden, two devils cut off their path while a third came up behind.
Wasting no time and already having her spell ready, Rossweisse released a bombardment of icy shards while Wendy formed windy claws around her hands. The devil behind the two charged forward, weapon at the ready, swiping it from left to right when he was in the range of the younger devil.
Wendy remembered one of the lessons Eossinth taught her for when dealing with armed opponents. Guiding the weapon over her head with her one hand, Wend landed a devastating wind enhanced blow to the devil's abdomen. Having caught the devil by surprise with her technique, Wendy was able to bring a wind covered leg from a follow-up blow to the devil's side and sent him tumbling out of the engagement to another part of the war.
"Hey Wendy," the cheerful voice of Irina greeted them as the angel hovered in front of the blue-haired devil.
"I have a few enchantments that will help you fight better," Wendy said while extending her hands. Irina saw her body starting to glow with a golden brown colour before she felt the sword get even lighter in her hand as her body began to feel like it only weighed as much as a feather.
"This feels amazing Wendy," Irina said in wonder before she zipped away, appearing behind a devil in a blur of speed and easily dispatching them with her enhanced strength, quickly returning to Wendy and Rossweisse's side with a crazed grin.
"Now they stand no chance against me as I show them what a servant of Lord Michael can do," Irina cheered, earning a giggle from her two companions.
"Those deplorable devils who think themselves to be the true leaders of the underworld, needing the aid of fallen angels, angels and even other pantheons. How pathetic," a feminine voice sighed with a scoff.
Turning to the source of the voice, the three saw a woman with short lavender-coloured hair complementing her deep yellow eyes. She wore heavy dark blue battle armour but with no helmet, having yellow highlights at the joints and wielding a large double-headed axe in her right hand, with the blade being yellow with a purple handle.
"And who might you be?" Irina asked, levelling her sword in a challenging posture towards the newcomer.
"I will be your executioner foolish angel. I am the loyal follower of Lord Shalba Beelzebub, I am Desdra Bleeze," Desdra announced, holding her axe to the side and materializing a shield in her left hand that was yellow and designed after a wasp's head.
"Now I think I will enjoy ripping you to shreds and sending your mutilated remains to that moron Michael that you hold in such high regard," Desdra taunted with a sly smirk.
"Why you," Irina roared in anger, but before she could rush in recklessly she was stopped by Rossweisse's firm hand on her shoulder. Snapping her head towards the Valkyrie, Irina stared at her with anger in her eyes.
"Rushing in wouldn't do you any good, especially against a foe like her. We need to work together, Rossweisse said, only meeting Irina's eyes for a split second before returning them to the new enemy.
"As long as I can punish her for disrespecting Lord Michael, I have no objections in facing her together," Irina said, having calmed down enough to think about how she will fight instead of rushing in a blind rage.
"Wendy, stay on support and defence, make sure that whenever Irina is open to an attack that you reposition them with your wind magic. Irina, you will engage her head on but be careful of her axe, I can feel magical power in it. I will be weakening her with magic attacks each time you create distance between you," Rossweisse instructed.
-With Natsu and Grayfia-
High in the sky, surrounded by a powerful barrier Natsu kept his calculating eyes on Wendy's fight.
"This will be a great test of strength for those three," Natsu commented.
"If things are going wrong I will intervene," Grayfia said as she clenched and unclenched her fists. She knew that sheltering someone from everything isn't a good idea and won't help them grow, but that still did little to levitate the dread she felt each time the girl she thought of as a daughter went to battle.
Natsu took Grayfia's hand and gave her a gentle squeeze, giving her a quick loving glance before they returned their attention to the battle that is to come.
Hey guys, sorry for the long wait but here you go. A combination of writer's block, my cousin coming from America for the holiday and bad internet really halted a lot of my progress. Happy new year everyone, I wish only the best to you all for the coming year. Anyway, on to things from the story. I won't be showcasing anything from Rias' peerage's battles and rather focus on this new fight I set up as well as another confrontation that will be happening when this war comes to its climax. Leave a review with your thoughts and I will see you all next time.
