Anything you recognise isn't mine.
"You and Roxas were together?" Isane asked, blinking. "How long ago was this?"
"Oh, about two hundred years ago?" Elsha asked. "Actually, no. It was 225, closer to that."
"Ahh." Isane replied. "Not to pry, but how long were you together for?"
"We dated for three years." Elsha replied. "It was really, really nice, too. The two of us really loved each other's company, we confided everything in each other, and the cuddles were amazing~" Elsha gave a warm, reminiscent smile, and looked at Isane. "Though one slight disagreement we had was over me wanting to hold out on having sex with him until we got married."
"I see." Isane replied. "Did that cause any problems? Was that why you-?"
"Oh, no." Elsha replied. "That little snag never caused us any problems. We still loved each other, but…"
"What?" Isane said, slightly insistently.
"Well, one sparring session we had, we sometimes sparred with each other, just to keep each other in shape… it went wrong." Elsha replied. "It really went wrong. Caused Roxas to leave and everything in the aftermath too."
She looked down at the ground, and sighed. "I was in my Balance Breaker armour- the strongest natural form that the Boosted Gear, and most Sacred Gears, can access –and fighting against Roxas, but he ended up destroying my armour with his Power of Destruction."
"Damn." Isane replied, suddenly realising in her mind that she had found a possible reason beyond the one he gave at the Gremory Manor to not use the Power of Destruction. "Did it hurt?"
"Well, the armour getting wrecked by Roxas' incredible natural talent in his father's famous power didn't hurt me that much." Elsha replied. "But one of the larger shards of the armour that got destroyed pierced one of my lungs. THAT hurt."
Isane winced, and instinctively put her hand over the side of her chest, where her own lungs were.
"Ouch." She whispered. "That must have been horrible. But... why did Roxas leave after that?"
"God knows." Elsha replied, sighing. "But if I know Roxas, his reason for leaving is probably because he didn't want to hurt me anymore than he did."
"…" Isane was silent for a moment, before speaking.
"Was... was that what killed you?" She asked. "Is that how you died? Getting punctured in the lung by a piece of your own armour?"
"No." Elsha replied. "Well, not directly, anyway. I survived getting my lung punctured, but only thanks to a few quick spells. One to remove the shard of armour from my lung, one to close the wound in my lung, and another to stop the bleeding. But, once I had managed to teleport myself home and heal myself up to the closest to full-health I could get... Roxas was gone."
"Gone?" Isane blinked.
"Gone." Elsha repeated. "I looked for him in all the usual places in the human world, and a couple of places in the Underworld that he liked to go, but I couldn't find him anywhere."
She gave another sigh.
"I didn't survive very long after that." Elsha remarked. "I came across a Stray Devil a couple of days later, and... well, you can guess how that ended."
"Elsha... I'm so sorry." Isane whispered. "Getting torn apart by a Stray Devil, that must have been horrible."
"It was. It definitely was rather horrible." Elsha replied. "It was horrible, but also rather ironic." She gave a giggle. "The Second-Strongest Host of the Boosted Gear, torn apart by a simple Stray Devil. No better definition of 'going out with a whimper' than that, huh?"
"Yeah." Isane replied. "I don't know what to say."
"Then don't say anything." Elsha replied. "I know what you're thinking, Isane, and I don't have any bad feelings towards Roxas, for what happened. It wasn't his fault."
"…" Isane was silent at Elsha's words, before she spoke again. "Do you... uh... see Roxas again?"
"I honestly wish I could." Elsha replied. "But as much as I want to, there's no way that I'll be able to come back to the world of the living. I'm dead, and my soul is sealed inside this Gear."
"Hmm." Isane hummed.
"Anyway." Elsha replied, a smile on her face. "Enough of that. I didn't just call you down here to tell my silly sob-story, Isane. I also called you down here because I'm interested in my most recent successor becoming as strong as she can get."
"Where are you going with this exactly? Isane blinked.
"Oh, I'm just going to give you a couple of pointers with the Boosted Gear." Elsha replied, giggling. "I should think that being the Second-Strongest Wielder would be good at giving a tip or two to the present wielder."
Line Break
Month 2
Kiba and Roxas
There was a blinding flash of sparks as one of Kiba's swords clashed with the sword that Roxas was using, which was just a normal sword made entirely out of the Primordial Power of Darkness. Roxas didn't move from his spot, but Kiba found himself flying backwards. He landed on his feet, and two swords appeared, one in each hand. One seemed to be made of fire, and the other out of ice.
Giving a yell of rage, Kiba ran at Roxas again, fully intending to cut him up. The sole Knight of Rias Gremory was currently incredibly angry, as ever since Roxas had mentioned that cursed word 'Excalibur', Kiba had been bombarded with the memories of the horrible deaths of his friends in that horrible Church. The images of his friends inhaling such a great amount of poisonous gas while he ran away, fatigued and hardly able to breathe, the temper of the rather polite and caring Knight boiled over into extreme rage.
Roxas regarded Kiba with disdain, and simply swivelled around when Kiba came close enough to him, kicking him in the back and sending him down to the ground.
Spitting blood from his mouth, Kiba jumped back to his feet and rushed at Roxas, creating a huge two-handed demonic sword, that emitted an ominous, destructive aura.
"Come on, Roxas!" Kiba screamed, running at Roxas far slower than he was used to. "Show me that fucking Holy Sword, so I can destroy it!"
"Well, if you inist..." Roxas replied, sighing. As Kiba continued to run at him, Roxas pulled his hairband out of his hair, which appeared as a sword, and swung once. Galatine clashed with Kiba's sword, destroying it on the spot, and the shock of such a simple attack sent Kiba sprawling onto the ground.
"That." Roxas remarked, coldly. "Was terrible, Kiba."
Kiba gave a growl from his position on the ground, and tried to get to his feet, but Roxas pointed Excalibur Galatine at his throat, making sure to keep him down there.
"Y-You expect me to just stay down here?" Kiba growled. "When I'm faced with one of the swords I want to destroy most in the world? The very sword that cost me and my friends our lives?!"
"What are you tal-" Roxas blinked, and then remembered something that he had been told by Gabriel. About something that had happened around ten years ago. "Ohhh. So it's you, Isaiah."
Kiba was so momentarily shocked at the realisation that Roxas knew his original name that he didn't hurl more insults at Roxas for using the sword that he did.
"Yeah, I know what happened to you, Isaiah." Roxas spoke, quietly. "The Great Seraph Gabriel told me all about the Holy Sword Project, and how you had to suffer through it. And though my words will doubtless mean nothing to you, I'm sorry."
Roxas took his sword away from Kiba's throat, and turned it back into a hairband, and tied his hair up again. He then offered his hand to the blonde wannabe-Casanova, and pulled him to his feet. Kiba, though he looked suspiciously at Roxas, didn't look like he was going to pull out a sword and try to cut him up at a moment's notice.
"Anyway." Roxas replied. "If I might make a suggestion, Kiba, why don't you try to put it behind you? I can't see being angry at the Holy Sword Project doing you any good."
"Why should I?" Kiba asked. "All it's done is cause me and my friends who died unending misery, and I-"
"Can't change it." Roxas cut in. "If time travel was possible, which it isn't, I wouldn't recommend going back to stop yourself and your friends from dying at the hands of that Project. Not only would it probably break a fourth-dimensional law or twenty, just like going back in time to take the virginity of some- I dunno -some slutty present-MILF and father her child would, but that's beside the point."
Kiba was silent as Roxas kept talking.
"Kiba, think for a second. When you died as a result of the Holy Sword Project, and died in the exact way you did, by presumably inhaling a dose of Zyklon B and/or chloroform into your system, what happened?"
"I... I was saved by Rias." Kiba replied. "She made me into her Knight."
"Indeed." Roxas replied. "And has your experience as Rias' Knight been good or bad?"
"Good, definitely!" Kiba replied, slightly more defiantly than he would have liked. "I, the Sword of Rias Gremory, respect Rias and Mirajane as my King and Queen, respectively, along with seeing them as sisters I never had. Koneko, while a little closed-off from the world, is very nice, and a good friend, and Isane is quite nice. I can't imagine life without them, but, Roxas… where are you going with this?"
"Well, let me ask you something else, Kiba." Roxas replied. "Did you ever stop to think, even once, in the 20 years that have happened since the Holy Sword Project ended, that it was the catalyst that set off you getting reincarnated as a Devil, and meeting the people who you view as the siblings you never had? The people who, in your words, you can't imagine life without?"
"I..." Kiba looked down. "I never thought of it that way."
"Thought not." Roxas replied. "So, Kiba, though I empathise with your anger at the Holy Sword Project, how about you channel your anger at it in a different direction? Like, I dunno, into trying to become as strong as you can possibly be, so you can be a better 'Sword of Rias Gremory'?"
Kiba looked thoughtful for a second, before adopting a resolute look on his face.
"I'll try." He replied.
"Good man." Roxas replied. He created a sword out of the Primordial Power of Darkness. "Now that we've got that mushy shit out of the way, let's get back to training, Sword-Birther. I got a few ideas as to some special swords you can create."
Line Break
"So, how's everyone's training going?" Palutena asked, as she sat down, a few feet away, and watched Rias and her peerage eat dinner (or rather, a picnic-dinner, prepared by Akeno and Asia) inside the dimension they were in. After the dinner, Rias and her peerage would have a mock-fight against each other for around half a week, before they went to bed. "What've you been doing for the past two months?"
"I've been doing magical training with Akeno." Rias replied. "She's helping me create a magical mine-field, with a combination of Power of Destruction and sleeping magic."
Rias' peerage gave small noises of interest through their food.
"Mira?" Palutena asked.
"Valian's helping me with my Sacred Gear." Mirajane replied. "She's been helping me with using my different forms of it, and helping me control myself while in said forms."
"...Akasha's been helping me with kicking in a fight." Koneko replied. "...She's considering teaching me savate."
"What's-" Isane asked, but Palutena answered the question of the current host of Ddraig before she could finish asking it.
"Martial art. Originated at around the beginning of the 19th century in France. Roxas is exceptional at it."
"Oh." Isane replied, nodding.
"So, what have you two done for training?" Palutena asked, turning to Kiba and Isane. "My husband didn't carve you up into pieces, I see, Kiba."
"No, he didn't." Kiba replied. "He's actually been really nice. Roxas' given me some ideas as to some new swords I can create with Sword Birth. Like a lightning-sword, one that controls gravity, and one that controls other swords."
"Cool." Palutena replied. "And Isane?"
"Tobio's been giving me some pointers in magic, and he's helping me with speed and stamina." Isane replied. "Even with those weights on, I feel a lot stronger."
"Well, when you take them off, on the day of the Rating Game with Riser, and after you win, you might have to work on restraining your newfound strength. I remember Roxas not doing so, and well..." She shrugged. "I won't go into that."
Rias and her peerage continued eating their dinner for another five minutes, before Rias spoke up after finishing her sandwich.
"Speaking of Roxas, Palutena, do you know where he might be?" Rias asked.
"Oh, Roxas?" Palutena repeated. "He said he's going to see some friends of his. In the Grigori."
"The Grigori?" Rias blinked. "You mean the Fallen Angel organization that accounts for around 95% of all known Fallen Angels? Why would Roxas associate with them?"
"What other Grigori do you think I refer to, Rias?" Palutena asked, slightly sarcastically and also slightly playfully. "And Roxas would probably associate with them because their, arguably, highest-ranking female member is one of his wives, even if she is his first-cousin once removed."
Palutena took a bottle of Coca-Cola, opened it, and took a drink.
"He probably went to see her." She remarked. "Or he's hanging around with the team of humans that have allied themselves with the Grigori. Or he's getting chased around by Shuri because she, somehow the only woman who's actually able to scare him, wants to incorporate him into the kinky-as-fuck games that she plays with her husband, Baraqiel."
The green-haired goddess gave a shrug, and noticed Rias, who looked slightly disappointed at the realisation that wherever Roxas was, there was one place that he wasn't at and that place was here.
"Who knows what he's doing?"
Line Break
It transpired that the second possibility of the three that Palutena had stated was the closest to the truth. He was sat on a stool, which was pulled up to a counter, and having a drink poured for him by Tobio Ikuse, who worked as a bartender at the bar Roxas was sat in, known as the Black Dog BAR, while he strummed the opening melody to the song 'Buried Alive' by Avenged Sevenfold, on an acoustic guitar, that while old, was still in good condition.
"Thanks again for agreeing to help out with Isane's training, Tobio." Roxas thanked his best male friend, as he paused, took the glass, and downed it in one go. "I owe you one, mate."
The black-haired bartender gave a shrug.
"No problem, Roxas." Tobio replied as Roxas returned to his playing. "Just returning the favour for all the times you help us out when we go to deal with supernatural threats. Like those few vampires in Ireland, though that didn't go as well as it should have."
"Tell me about it." Roxas chuckled, as he switched to the opening riff of 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica. "Grigori's top task force, the son of the current Lucifer, Hellsing's ultimate weapon AND the most famous vampire slayer of all time, in the same place, at the same time? How long are those odds?"
"Probably as short as the odds were of it turning into a bloodbath." Tobio replied, smartly, as he poured Roxas another drink. "Even if it didn't. You sure you don't want anything stronger?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." Roxas replied, as he paused again and took a drink. "I might be strong enough to give Azazel and Baraqiel a run for their money in a fight, but I'm not a drunk pervert. Or a cuck."
"Fair enough." Tobio replied, as Roxas drunk a bit more of his drink. The door to the bar then swung open, with four individuals walking in.
The first individual was a handsome man, with the appearance of a delinquent, and with a white cat sitting on his shoulder, which he was stroking lightly.
The second person was a beautiful young woman, with brown hair tied to her back. She wore an agent uniform.
The third person was also a good-looking young woman, who had brown hair tied into short twin-tails, with the rest of it going down to just below her shoulders. She wore a casual shirt and jeans.
The fourth individual was a woman whose beauty outdid that of the second and third individuals, several times over. She was a European-looking woman who appeared to be around twenty years old, around the same physical age as Roxas. Her golden-blonde hair flowed all the way down to just above her thighs, and her sapphire-blue eyes seemed to glow, and light up the bar, whose lights were slightly dimmed. She wore grey Magician's robes, with a hood, which was pulled down.
Respectively, these people were Kouki Samejima, Natsume Minagawa, Sae Toujou, and Lavinia Reni. They were all members of the Slash/Dog Team, which was founded and led by Tobio.
"Hey, everyone." Tobio remarked to his team members. "Glad you could make it."
Everyone on the team greeted Tobio and Roxas (who greeted them back (while putting the guitar back into a pocket-dimension), as he was on friendly terms with all of them), and made their way up to the bar, and sitting down. With the exception of Lavinia, everyone ordered drinks of their own, with Lavinia just shifting her stool closer to Roxas, and laying a gentle hand on top of his own.
"It's been a while since you joined us, Rox." Lavinia spoke, gently, with her eyes meeting Roxas' own. "How've you been?"
"Pretty good." Roxas replied, as he drunk the rest of his drink, and looked back at Lavinia. "You?"
"Oh, I've been good." Lavinia replied, her hand slowly making its way up Roxas' arm. "You're looking pretty good tonight, you know?"
"Thanks." Roxas replied, smiling. It was pretty hard for someone to NOT smile when Lavinia was around. "You always seem to, yourself, Lavinia."
"Aww~" Kouki remarked, slightly teasingly, with a light alcoholic drink in hand. "Relationship goals~" Roxas responded by throwing the rest of his drink (which was only a bit) onto Kouki's face.
"Shut up, Kouki!" Roxas groaned, though he couldn't stop himself from laughing, which in turn, couldn't stop the other five individuals around from laughing. After everyone stopped, he went back to talking with Lavinia, for about half an hour, until he stood up.
"Well, I gotta get going." Roxas remarked, to everyone. "See you tomorrow, Tobio. Put it on my tab."
"Seeya, Roxas." Tobio leant over the counter and fist-bumped Roxas. "And I'll make sure to."
Before the silver-haired Nephalem walked out of the bar, he felt a pair of soft arms wrapping around him from behind, in a warm embrace.
"Bye, Rox." Lavinia bade Roxas goodbye. "I hope I can see you again soon."
"Y-yeah." Roxas replied, going slightly pink, and smiling slightly at the feeling of Lavinia's large breasts pressing up against his back. "See you, Lavinia."
As Roxas left the bar, and magic-circled away, Lavinia took her seat back at the bar, and Tobio remarked, smiling slightly.
"You like him, don't you?"
Now it was Lavinia's turn to go slightly pink, as two individuals walked into the bar, both Fallen Angels.
The first Fallen Angel to walk in had the appearance of a middle-aged, gruff-looking man, with short black hair, matching beard, and a muscular body. He wore a dark-green robe, with what appeared to be high-tech body-armour underneath. This was Baraqiel, a high-ranking Cadre in the Grigori. He was a ten-winged Fallen Angel (though his wings were hidden right now).
The second person was a woman that appeared to be in her late-twenties. Her hair was jet-black, and her eyes were green. She wore a shrine maiden's outfit. This was Shuri Himejima, Baraqiel's wife and Fallen Saints Queen (the Fallen Saints had been developed as a result of the alliance treaty, signed by representatives of both Grigori and Heaven, as a counterpart to the Brave Saints, Heaven's system of creating new Angels in the absence of the possibility of Palutena being able to create Angels, like her Father had done), and the mother of Akeno Himejima.
Tobio looked up from the bar after serving Lavinia some fruit-juice.
"Oh, hey Baraqiel, Shuri." Tobio greeted his aunt and uncle. "Shuri, before you ask, Roxas isn't here. He just left about a minute ago."
"Damn!" Shuri muttered. "I wanted to talk to Roxas about something!"
'Oh, I wonder what about?' Tobio thought, dryly.
Line Break
Month 3
Mirajane and Valian
"Excellent, Mirajane." Valian whispered, just loud enough for Rias' Queen to hear her, as the white-haired wielder of 'Take Over' sat, cross-legged, with her hands folded at her lap, eyes closed, in deep meditation, while Valian sat opposite to her. "Deep breath..."
Mirajane did as instructed, heaving a slow, deep sigh, feeling a new wave of relaxation overtake her.
"Very good." Valian whispered. "You're a natural at this."
Quiet dominated the air around them, settling down on the two Sacred Gear wielders, as thick as the snow got during a Russian winter. Minutes passed.
"Aaaaannd..." Valian muttered. "Open your eyes."
On command, Mirajane opened her blue eyes, and took a breath.
"Thanks, Valian." Rias' Queen spoke. I'm surprised that I've never explored the possibility of meditating before."
"Well, given that Rias' peerage seem to rely on power, I'm not surprised that anyone hasn't thought of taking a more supportive option in battle, especially when you all, with the possible exception of Kiba, have the potential to." Valian replied. "You chief amongst them, since in raw magical power, I can sense you outmatch Rias, who prefers to use her Power of Destruction, and only resorts to magic when the Power of Destruction doesn't work. Or when she needs to subdue you."
"That's right." Mirajane replied. "She learnt sleep-inducement magic for that very reason."
"Yeah, I guessed as much." Valian remarked. "Anyway, meditation is a much better, and far more healthy option, for controlling a Sacred Gear, especially one like yours, that has such a high potential for its wielder to go out of control."
"Indeed." Mirajane replied. "Since I have a Stray Devil, a Demonic Dragon and a Demonic Elf sealed inside this gear."
Valian nodded, and stood up.
"Yeah." The silver-haired descendent of Lucifer replied. "Now. How about a quick spar?"
"Sure." Mirajane replied, and before Valian's eyes, a dark light seemed to come over her, and over time, it slowly began to become more intense.
Once it cleared, in a large, dark explosion, a different-looking Mirajane stood before Valian, who spread her eight Devil wings.
Mirajane's eyes had become darker, and her eyelashes had grown larger, with a dark, thin marking in a light zigzag-style vertically crossing her right eye. Similar markings were present above her right breast, and on both of her bare thighs. Her hair had become wilder, jutting upwards while getting curlier, with her front ponytail growing longer. Her ears had enlarged, extending backwards and getting pointed edges. She also gained sharp, canine teeth, and her lips seemed to have become covered in dark lipstick. Her forearms and hands had received noticeable changes, becoming covered in scales and each sprouting a fin-like protrusion on its outer side. She also grew a large, stocky tail that seemed to be made of metal plates or scales, getting smaller and smaller near its end.
Mira's clothing had also changed, with her school uniform being replaced by a dark, skimpy one-piece suit, which revealed her arms and legs, and was open on the front and back, exposing most of her belly and large cleavage. Her clothing had golden-coloured edges taking on spiky shapes, and her similarly spiky collar was tied around the neck by a cravat tie. Her shoulders were tied in thin belts protruding from her one-piece suit, and her feet were covered by matching, high-heeled thigh-high boots, which were decorated by lighter motifs on their upper parts, taking on the shapes of jagged blades pointing downwards on the front of her thighs. She also donned a pair of gauntlets covering the back parts of her transformed arms.
Mirajane, after spreading her six Devil wings, flew at Valian and attempted to wrap her tail around her, but Valian flew out of the way, and snapped her fingers.
A magic-circle opened in front of her, and a large shard of ice flew from it, and it was bang on course to hit Mirajane, if she hadn't countered with a wave of boiling water, which melted the ice-shard on contact. Mirajane flew at Valian, and attempted to claw at her face, but Valian teleported backwards a few yards, and flung a blast of lightning at Rias' white-haired Queen.
Even when Mirajane extended both her hands and sent a large ball of lightning of her own at Valian to counter the attack, Valian's attack was still powerful enough to hit and damage her, as it was used in combination with the Primordial Power of Darkness, the power that Valian had inherited from her father, Lucian Lucifer who inherited it from HIS father, Rizevim Livan Lucifer, who inherited it from HIS father, Valian's great-grandfather, and Roxas' grandfather, Lucifer himself.
Valian went on the offensive now. She flew forward in the blink of an eye, and grabbed Mirajane's head, before slamming it into her knee to stun her. Valian then delivered a mid-air spin-kick to the side of Mirajane's head, sending her flying to the side. When Mirajane tried to create a number of magic-circle shields to stop Valian from hitting her anymore, Valian just flew forward, and in a few seconds, had punched through them all faster than Mirajane could make them, and delivered a devastating punch to Rias' white-haired Queen, sending her down to the ground.
Mirajane shakily got back to her feet, flickering between her original Satan Soul form and her normal form, before settling on her normal form and collapsing backwards onto the ground, panting heavily.
"Well, at least I didn't have to Divide your strength this time." Valian remarked, landing back on the ground, without a scratch on her body, or even a ruffle on her clothing. "Come here, Mira. I'll heal you."
Mirajane got back to her feet, trembling slightly, and walked over to Valian, who extended her hands and let a dark aura come from her hands, which began to heal Mirajane's wounds.
"Man... thanks, Valian." Mirajane muttered. "Though I didn't think the Primordial Power of Darkness was a healing power."
"It can do anything that the user imagines. Including healing." Valian replied. "But it's the only Devil Clan power exclusive to those with Lucifer's blood in their veins, rather than one that can be learned, like the Power of Destruction, or emulated, like the Demonic Aquakinesis of the Sitri Clan."
"I see." Mirajane replied, as Valian finished healing her wounds.
Rias and Roxas
"So, Rias." Roxas sat down, at his ease, close to Rias, on the edge of a river inside the training dimension. "Tell me. Do you have any ideas for what you're going to do during the Rating Game with Riser? Tactics-wise, that is?"
"Well..." Rias replied. "I always imagined having more than five peerage members for my first Rating Game, but for this match, I think Kiba and Isane would be a good forward offensive force, with Mirajane supporting them from above, possibly?"
"Hmm." Roxas replied. "And what about yourself and Koneko?"
"Well, if the worst came to it, I would have to come out and fight, but if I did, I think Koneko would be a possible guard for me." Rias replied. "Koneko could easily keep me safe from any of Riser's peerage. Hopefully, that is."
Roxas blinked, before shaking his head.
"No." He replied. "Bad idea, Rias. One, I think having a 'guard' for you is a bad idea on principle, since it'd render you and your peerage less able to do things in a fight. And two, if you really want to have a 'guard' for you, don't let it be your Rook."
"Why not?" Rias asked, looking up at her nephew.
"Castling." Roxas replied, simply. Once he'd said that word, Rias blinked, and then facepalmed.
"Fuck." She whispered. "I didn't think of that."
"Yeah." Roxas replied. "Picture yourself in a fight with Riser, with Koneko as your guard by your side. He's kicking your ass, and he's about to retire you, rendering the game, along with your status as a sexy single Devil lady, finished."
Rias blushed at Roxas' wording, but stayed silent.
"So, you decide to Castle to get out of that situation." Roxas replied. "And you castle with Koneko, leaving her to take the attack for you. However, you end up only a couple of feet away from Riser, where he can easily burn you. See what I'm getting at?"
"Y-yes, of course." Rias replied. "But I don't want to leave Koneko to take an attack that was meant for me. That doesn't seem right."
"Rias, it doesn't matter." Roxas replied. "Cruel as it might sound, you don't have to care about your servants during the Rating Game. They can go out there and get their asses destroyed, and they'd get nursed back to full health after the Game is over, so you don't have to worry about their health."
Rias glared slightly at Roxas for his callous words about her and her cute servants, but her glare paled in the face of the glare that Roxas returned with.
"It's your call, whether or not you want to use every way possible to win your match, Rias." Roxas remarked. "I don't suffer any consequences, whether you win or lose. I'm just here to train you. You DO understand that, right?"
"Y-yes, I understand." Rias replied, inclining her head. "Sorry, Roxas. But I kinda structured my entire Rating Game strategy around having Koneko as a guard. So, I'll have to come up with an entirely new one."
"Eh, that's alright." Roxas replied, a small smirk overcoming his features. "I'll help you out, Rias."
Rias blushed slightly, as she and Roxas began bouncing possible ideas for the Rating Game off each other.
'Even if you're my nephew, Roxas...' Rias thought, as her blue eyes took in Roxas' body, which was the product of centuries of training 'I wouldn't mind you helping me out in a different way~'
Line Break
Mount Olympus. Unarguably, one of the most famous mythical places in the supernatural world, and home to the Olympic Pantheon, or Greek Gods.
One of these Greek Gods in particular was flying up the mountain, right to the very top, where the King and Queen of the Greek Gods were.
This particular God appeared to be a middle-aged man with an athletic figure, which was slim and fit. He had curly hair which was a mix of black and grey, blue eyes and rather elfish features. He wore nothing but a pair of shorts, along with a pair of winged sandals, and a winged hat.
This was Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods. He had just seen something that he thought some of the higher-ups of the Pantheon, particularly the Queen, would be interested in, and had decided to return to Olympus to inform them of it.
When Hermes reached the top of Mount Olympus, and landed on the top plateau, and bowed before the three Gods that stood before him.
The first God was an old, tall, muscular white-haired man. His eyes were an electric blue, and he wore a white toga and golden arm guards. Electricity seemed to sparkle across his body.
The second God was a very beautiful woman, who had shoulder-length emerald-green hair, a face of regal beauty, and brown eyes. She wore a dress that seemed to shimmer in colour, and a pair of sandals.
The third God had the appearance of a friendly-looking elderly man, with a well-built muscular body. He had whitish-blue hair, turquoise eyes, and he wore a white and blue toga.
"Rise, Hermes." Zeus, the King of the Greek Gods, and the God of the Sky, Thunder, Lightning and the Heavens, ordered his son. "It isn't often you travel to Olympus."
"No, it isn't, Lord Zeus." Hermes replied. "However, I have news that you may take interest in."
"Oh?" Zeus raised an eyebrow. "And what news would this be?"
"Your step-daughter and her husband." Hermes replied. "They've taken up residence in Greece, to the south-east of here."
Zeus and Poseidon looked at each other, and shared a look. Personally, neither the King of the Greek Gods nor his brother, the God of the Seas, had any feelings for or against Roxas and Palutena, other than Zeus acknowledging that Roxas, as a Nephalem, a species that, prior to the balance of Holy and Demonic Powers being downright ended, thanks to the deaths of the God of the Bible and of Lucifer, couldn't have existed, had potential to become one of the most powerful beings in the world, perhaps coming to rival the more powerful of the Olympic Pantheon, such as Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus himself.
However, Hera, the wife and sister of Zeus, the Olympic Goddess of Marriage and Women, did have a reaction. A very, very unpleasent reaction.
"What the fuck?!" She shouted. "I thought I told that bastard of mine to never spoil Greek soil ever again, after our previous meeting!"
"Lady Hera, aren't you overreacting?" Poseidon asked of his sister-in-law and Queen, before turning to Hermes. "Hermes, are Roxas and Palutena doing anything that could threaten the Greek Pantheon?"
"Negative, Lord Poseidon." Hermes replied. "All I saw them doing was moving into a recently-brought villa in the south-east, along with a half-Fallen Angel, a Vampire, a Nekoshou and a half-Devil."
"So that prideful, silver-haired grandson of Lucifer's sleeping around with women other than his wife!" Hera yelled. "Has my bastard daughter no shame?!"
As Hermes silently left the scene, Zeus and Poseidon gave a simultaneous sigh, as they let Hera rage about something along the lines of Palutena, her 'bastard daughter who is unworthy to inherit the powers of the Ruler of Marriage', not being allowed to live on Greek soil.
It was just easier to let her rave on. Even if she could go on for days at times.
Line Break
Month 4
At the start of her month or-so of training, Koneko came out of the magic-circle that Roxas had sent her through. By instinct, she immediately shifted herself into a combat-stance, waiting for Akasha to come out of nowhere and attack her, which was how she usually started their training sessions.
However, after five seconds, which was the usual time it took for Akasha to start attacking, there was no sign of her.
No sound of her, either.
…
Not even a scent of her.
"Hello, Shirone, nya."
Koneko instantly froze, and whipped around at the voice coming from behind her.
Right there, sitting on a tree-branch, and lazily swinging her legs, and smiling down at her… was Kuroka.
And that's the eighth chapter of Nephalem of Gremory! Elsha's and Roxas' past has been revealed, along with the reason that Roxas doesn't use the Power of Destruction. Not the happiest reason in the world, is it?
Anyway, Roxas and his history with the Slash/Dog Team. Yes, they did meet Alucard and Anderson. Whether they (or, to be more specific, Roxas himself) get involved with Hellsing or Iscariot in the future remains to be seen. And Lavinia has feelings for Roxas. Because since Vali's not around for that to happen here, who else could the Sexy Blonde Ice Princess want to get between the sheets with? Also, Shuri scares Roxas. Who knew?
The training has continued, the Greek Pantheon know of Roxas and Palutena now living in Greece, and Koneko has met up with Kuroka again. Expect fun shit to go down next chapter between them.
Now to wrap things off before I piss off and listen to the undisputed best WW2 song of all time: Aces High by Iron Maiden.
Now that that's done, what did you think of this chapter? Please, review and let me know, because I really do love hearing feedback. If you fancy letting me know about some possible ideas you might have for later in the story, just let me know in a review or PM (or talk to me on Discord (my name for it is on my profile)), as I really enjoy talking to readers!
Three Sizes of New Girls:
Lavinia: 100-59-88
Shuri: 90-58-85
Hera: 93-54-88
Next Time: Koneko and Kuroka, Heart-to-Heart Between Rias and Palutena
Preview of Next Chapter:
"I guess you could say that I represent the 'trust between two married partners' part of marriage, given that I trust- no, I know that Roxas still loves me, despite having lovers other than me. Get what I mean, Rias?"
Seeya!
There goes the siren that warns of the air raids, then comes the sound of the guns sending flak...