Disclaimer: I do not own Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End). I write this for your enjoyment only. This story is an alternate version of the Shibuya/Shinjuku arc with differences from the original; please refer to the footnotes at the end. Once again, I would like to thank my beta reader, ResidentialPsycho, for her help in making this fic possible. Enjoy and please review!

Chapter 18: The Worst Foe Lies Within the Self, Part II

"Yuu-chan, what's wrong? Talk to me, please!" Mika pleaded.

But Yuichiro could not. Her body had become agonizingly hot and she was struggling just to breathe. On reflex, the ravenette did what became second nature to her whenever she found herself in any difficult situation.

She reached for her most treasured possession, her heart-shaped locket.

As soon as Yuichiro's fist closed around the trinket, her eyes flew open and her other arm reached towards Mikaela but instead of the usual green orbs the blond was used to seeing, her eyes were now red. And not even like a vampire's with normal white sclera and black pupils. No, the girl's eyes were a glowing deep pit of crimson, red as the fires of hell, and when she finally opened her mouth, a piercing scream several octaves above that attainable by any human or vampire, escaped.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

During their four years apart, Mikaela Hyakuya had seen many horrors during his numerous missions beyond Sanguinem, but not one of them could have prepared him for what was unfolding before his eyes now. To his horror, he saw his sister's ponytail become loose, letting her long raven hair billow about her head and torso like a black cloud while her fingernails became long talons and two dark wings with razor-sharp feathers burst from her shoulder blades through her uniform as she turned into what could only be described as an abomination.

"It's just as I thought, the humans are using you! That bastard, Guren! I'll make him pay for this!" Mikaela cursed as he desperately tried to reason with Yuichiro, even in her monstrous state.

"Yuu-chan, I know you're in there! Please, leave all this behind and come with me!" he cried but soon found that his plea had fallen on deaf ears as Yuichiro maliciously swung her sword at him, the resulting gust of wind ten times stronger than the usual one Asuramaru released against her enemies when she was in human form.

And had he had not evaded it in time, the airy blast would have easily sliced Mikaela in half. It didn't take the blond long to realize that he was not the only one who had noticed Yuichiro's transformation. Her scream was so loud, it literally shattered the glass on every building, car, and structure within a ten-mile radius and stopped everyone on the battlefield below, vampire and human, dead in their tracks.

"Now what in the world is that?" Ferid asked curiously as he forgot Guren for a moment and turned his head to look at the creature that was now Yuichiro Hyakuya. If he had to describe it, the noble would say that her new appearance was reminiscent of the harpies of Greek legend. *1*

Despite being in agonizing pain, the lieutenant colonel still managed a smug smile while locked in his assailant's iron-clad grip.

"Heh, looks like victory isn't so certain for you bloodsuckers anymore…" he sneered.

Turning back to Guren, Ferid narrowed his eyes.

"What is that thing? You know, don't you? Have you been raising a monster under our noses all along?" he demanded while retaining a pleasant tone.

If he could, Guren would have spat into Ferid's face for insulting his ward.

"Are you calling my girl a monster? I'd prefer to think of her as a fury!" *2* he answered proudly as he tried to imitate the vampire lord's polite tone even though the contempt in his voice was still quite obvious.

Crowley, who had lost interest in fighting Shinoa, Mitsuba, and the Harada twins alongside Horn and Chess now that Yuichiro had caught his attention again, ordered his retainers to cease their attacks. Both vampire women, who had virtually no interest in doing battle unless it was to assist their lord or serve his interests, obeyed and retreated.

"I don't know what that is but it doesn't look good…" Crowley said as he started to approach Yuichiro, who had just flown off the building where she had transformed.

As he did with any other unusual opponent he encountered, the maroon-haired vampire lord whistled and gave Yuichiro a curious look like cat toying with a poisonous snake.

Shinoa glared at Crowley's retreating back while maintaining a tight grip on her demon scythe.

"How can you say that so casually?" she demanded as if the noble was an ignorant friend instead of the deadly enemy he was.

For a moment, Crowley turned his head and gave the purple-haired girl a look of amusement over his shoulder.

"Would you rather see me shivering in fear the way you and your cute little squad are doing now?" he asked mirthlessly.

Mitsuba was about to make a scathing reply to the noble's barb when she, Shinoa, and the Harada twins saw Yuichiro suddenly charging towards Crowley with her sword drawn. Instead of running, she was now gliding towards him on her wings at breakneck speed like a hawk speeding towards its unsuspecting prey from the air.

"Shit, she's coming!" Riku cried as she pointed with one of her sai over Crowley's shoulder.

Not like the warning was even necessary for Crowley could still sense the oncoming attack from a mile away and turned around quickly enough to meet Yuichiro's sword with his own.

What happened next however, did manage to catch even Crowley off guard. For Yuichiro's blow was powerful enough to send him flying through the air and crashing into a nearby building. The surrounding humans and vampires who witnessed the scene were just as stunned. *3*

All except for Guren who looked as though he expected no less of his young ward. The lieutenant colonel watched with smug satisfaction as Yuichiro lashed out at the other vampires who abandoned their human opponents to focus their attacks on her instead.

And just as she did with Crowley, Yuichiro easily swatted and smashed the bloodsuckers one after another as if they were mere flies. Many were killed on the spot because they did not have the strength of their noble superiors. Others were knocked into unconsciousness if they were lucky. The humans, on the other hand, who were smart enough not to make any attempts to take Yuichiro on, hid themselves and watched her rage when they realize she did not discriminate on whom she attacked. *4*

"What's happening to Yuichiro?" Mito demanded as she turned to Sayuri with fear apparent in her eyes.

"I…I don't know!" the other woman answered as she placed a hand over her mouth to repress the scream that wanted to escape from her throat.

Sometime during Yuichiro's rampage, Crowley managed to recover and made his way back to Ferid's side.

"My lord, would you care to explain what that creature is? I'm not all too pleased she got my clothes dirty…"

Ferid turned to Guren and narrowed his eyes at the human in his iron-clad grip.

"It looks like the humans are playing God, making monsters they cannot control. Isn't that right, Ichinose? Well this wouldn't be the first time. It looks like they never learn…"

"Like you are any better…" the other man spat.

Before Ferid could reply, they heard another blood-curdling scream as Yuichiro tried to find more victims after the smarter vampires chose to back off upon seeing their brethren ripped to shreds, smashed to a bloody pulp, or knocked into unconsciousness.

Yoichi, whose concern for Yuichiro overpowered his fear, made a brave, even if unwise, attempt to get through to her. Leaving his hiding spot with Takeshi behind an abandoned car, the brunet boy put away his bow and raised his arms into the air with his palms facing outward to show Yuichiro that he was unarmed and had no intention of fighting her.

"Yuu, stop! You need to snap out of it!" Yoichi cried as he waved and tried to catch her attention.

Takeshi, who had been fighting by Yoichi's side throughout the whole battle, found himself glaring at the other archer as he followed him out into the open with his crossbow drawn.

"What, are you nuts, Saotome?" he demanded. "That creature isn't your squad mate, she's something else! You can't reason with her the way she is now! We gotta escape before she turns her wrath on us!"

Takeshi hoped that he would be able to make Yoichi see reason and hide with him again until Yuichiro calmed down but quickly realized it was too late when the ravenette turned her attention on them after hearing her squad mate call out to her.

But the look she gave them wasn't anything remotely resembling recognition. If anything, Yuichiro eyed them no differently than the vampires she had mercilessly slaughtered only moments before.

"Shit, she saw us!" Takeshi cursed before turning to Yoichi. "Run, Saotome! Or take out your bow and fight if you don't wanna die!"

Yoichi obeyed and attempted to summon his demon bow again as he and his fellow archer saw Yuichiro flying towards them. Since Takeshi already had his crossbow out, he decided to try and immobilize or at least slow Yuichiro down until Yoichi could draw his own weapon or get away.

Standing between the two, Takeshi attempted to shoot Yuichiro in a non-vital area but before he could even release his arrow, she viciously knocked him away with a powerful backhand to his face before repositioning her sword to impale Yoichi.

The brunet boy was so stunned and frightened, he could not focus enough to summon and draw his weapon. And if not for Mikaela suddenly appearing between him and the raging Yuu, Yoichi would have found himself impaled on her sword.

Yoichi whimpered in shock and fear which caused his legs to fall out from under him when he saw Mikaela take the attack that was meant for himself. He watched in horror as the blade of Yuichiro's sword slowly protruded from Mikaela's chest further as he was being impaled from behind.

"Why..?" Yoichi gasped. "Why did you protect me?"

The blond vampire gave him a vicious glare.

"Shut up, human," he snarled. "I'm not doing this for you! You were the ones who did this to her!"

Yoichi blinked as if he had no idea what Mikaela was talking about. Not like he had the chance to ask before his nose picked up the scent of burnt flesh and saw dark blood dripping down a corner of his unwitting savior's mouth.

"Dammit, my wound isn't healing!" Mika cursed under his breath before he heard his sister snarl in a raspy voice.

"Stay out of my way, vampire! All sinners must die!"

And with that, Yuichiro flung Mikaela away like a ragdoll. Without the blond vampire to act as a shield, Yoichi was left completely defenseless against Yuichiro, especially now that he was too frightened and unfocused to even think straight.

Yoichi was about to succumb to his fear and resign himself to his fate when Guren suddenly offered him a heaven-sent lifeline.

"Yoichi, you can still save Yuichiro! Bring her back to her senses before it's too late!"

The brunet boy didn't quite understand what his superior meant by that but following his gut instinct, Yoichi quickly forced himself to get up and grab the raging girl in a fierce bear-hug before she could raise her sword to cut him down.

"Yuu, snap out of it! You gotta wake up now or we're all gonna die!" Yoichi cried as he used all his strength to hold her in place.

Considering how easily Yuichiro had knocked down or destroyed everything and everyone in her path earlier, one would think that an embrace from her shy and fragile squad mate wouldn't be nearly enough to pacify her. But miraculously, Yoichi's voice and gesture did somehow managed to calm Yuichiro and she stopped screaming before collapsing and becoming limp in his arms.

"I don't believe it! It worked!" Yoichi breathed before gently lowering Yuichiro and laying her on the ground while watching with amazement as her fingernails returned to their normal state and her wings melted into her back like they never existed.

Ferid, who had been watching the entire scene unfold in silence, turned back to Guren when the other man's snickering caught his attention.

"So what do you think of my girl's performance? For a 'princess', she's a real hell-raiser, isn't she?"

The vampire lord smirked. "Maybe so, but your girl didn't accomplish much beyond a mild disturbance," he answered as he finally loosened his hold on Guren's throat and lowered him slightly.

Guren shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, bloodsucker. She's managed to distract you and your troops, and that was our main objective all along," he said smoothly as he gazed over Ferid's shoulder to the rooftop of a building in the distance behind him.

Catching on to the human commander's warning, Ferid spun around with Crowley following suit and saw a young man with snow-white hair in a sniping position on top of the building Guren was gazing at earlier. And though that building was several blocks away, Ferid easily made out the sniper's form with his sharp vampiric vision.

And he wasn't the only one. Shinya smirked when he saw the silver-haired vampire lord looking directly at him through the small telescope of his demonic rifle.

"Uh oh, it looks like they've spotted us! But not soon enough to make any difference. Destroy the bloodsuckers, Byakkomaru. And try not to hit Guren while you're at it. Bang!"

"Your concern for your best friend is ever so touching, Shinya…" his demon contractor replied humorlessly but obeyed, manifesting itself into three white tigers surrounded in blue flames before speeding towards its ordered target when Shinya pulled the trigger.

Having been tipped off by the lieutenant colonel, Ferid moved quickly and flung Guren aside like a ragdoll before evading the oncoming blast that destroyed the area around them. Ironically, with his strength, the vampire lord had also unwittingly flung his enemy to safety as well.

"Whoo, that was too close for comfort!" Ferid exclaimed as he placed a hand on his chest and took a deep breath before turning to Crowley who also managed to get away from Shinya's demon blast in the nick of time. "If it wasn't for his big mouth, I'd be a smoking pile of ash right now."

But instead of giving a witty reply as usual, the other vampire lord said nothing and blankly stared over Ferid's shoulder.

Curious as to what his subordinate found so interesting, Ferid turned around to see Guren standing again in the distance with his sword drawn. And he wasn't alone. Behind the lieutenant colonel was an array of human soldiers, all clad in the black uniforms of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army.

"Oh, what's this? It looks like they've called for back-up while Yuichiro was busy trashing the city," Ferid said as understanding finally dawned on him.

"You'd think?" Crowley asked a bit sarcastically as he caught sight of another high-ranking human commander approaching Guren.

But instead of praising Guren for a job well done or even asking if he was all right, the other commander gave him a cold look and said:

"All right, Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose, we'll take it from here. Leave the rest up to the Hiragi family."

Guren smiled bitterly at his superior as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Heh, you mean let you take credit and reap the rewards of my work, Kureto?"

"Haha, don't complain Guren. I have every intention of rewarding you properly for your efforts." Turning to the other soldiers, including Guren's squad, Kureto continued.

"Take the nobles alive!" he ordered. "We'll show these despicable creatures what happens to anyone who opposes humanity, the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, or the might of the Hiragi Family!"

"Do you hear that, my lord?" Crowely asked Ferid after they both heard Kureto Hiragi's announcement. "It looks like we're not going to be able to take Shinjuku after all. Especially since that monster girl wiped out so many of our troops. Even as nobles, we can only do so much alone."

Ferid sighed. "I suppose you're right, Crowley, we'll have to try again another day. You can go now; I've got something, or rather, someone to tend to before heading back."

Before Crowley could ask what he meant, Ferid swiftly took to the air, leaving him to retreat on his own or fight the humans as he chose. And judging from the circumstances, Crowley decided that the former was probably wiser.

Now that it was finally safe to do so, the rest of Shinoa and Satoshi's squads approached and surrounded the comatose Yuichiro Hyakuya. The girl's uniform had been torn almost to shreds from her violent transformation and rampage and now barely covered her body decently. So thinking quickly, Yoichi deftly removed his cape and placed it over Yuichiro to protect her modesty before Kimizuki hoisted her into his arms and stood up.

"Is she all right?" Risa asked worriedly as she gently placed a hand on Yuichiro's forehead.

"I think she'll be ok," Kimizuki answered. "I just checked her pulse and she doesn't appear to have any serious injuries."

"So what're we going to do now?" Takeshi asked as he rubbed his sore jaw.

The irony of being assaulted by Yuichiro again in the very same spot she struck him the first time for pulling up her skirt was not lost on him. Only this time, his demon contractor gave him enough endurance not to be knocked out cold again, something Takeshi was secretly grateful for.

"Normally, I'd recommend taking her to a hospital or medical base, but it doesn't look like just any doctor or medic could treat what just happened to Yuichiro," Shinoa answered grimly.

"Aye…" Satoshi agreed. "But at least Miss Hyakuya helped us protect Shinjuku by terminating a lot of those vamps; she even made the nobles retreat."

"I wish there was another way we could have driven those bloodsuckers back without Yuu turning into a monster," Mitsuba muttered.

Riku grinned, unable to resist the urge to tease the other girl even though she knew now was not the best time.

"Aww, I didn't know you cared, Miss Sangu!"

Mitsuba blushed furiously while trying her best not to take Riku's bait.

"Who said anything about caring? Miss Hyakuya may have turned the tide of battle in our favor but she also trashed the city even more while doing it!"

"What does that matter? Even if it gets trashed, the city could still be repaired. That's still better than losing it to the vamps altogether. So regardless of how it happened, Yuichiro saved all our lives. Not to mention countless civilians as well," Daisuke pointed out.

Mika, who had been unable to move from the spot where he landed after Yuichiro stabbed and flung him, found himself snarling, his fangs bared, as he helplessly watched the humans his sister called her comrades discuss what they should do with her next. To him, it was as if they thought of Yuichiro as nothing more than a prized weapon to use as they saw fit, just like her guardian did.

"Damn you, bastards! Get away from her!" he wanted to shout but his weakened state made it impossible for him to speak above a normal tone.

"You should be more worried about yourself than your sister, Mika," a calm voice said from behind him.

The blond clenched his teeth as he forced himself to stand and glare at the last person he wanted to see, especially at this very moment.

"No, I'm not leaving without her!" he said harshly.

Ferid, who was obviously used to the younger vampire's rude and rebellious behavior, pointed over Mika's shoulder.

"I understand how you feel but now is not a good time," he replied calmly, his voice sounding almost sympathetic. "Take a look at those nine kids surrounding Yuichiro. Do you really think they'll simply hand her over to you without a fight? Even you have to admit it would be quite difficult for you to take them all on in your condition, Mika."

Knowing that his commander was right, Mikaela clenched his fists and cursed as he jealously eyed Kimizuki holding Yuichiro, who was wrapped in Yoichi's cape, in his arms bridal style. The Harada twins were stroking her hair while Shinoa and Mitsuba were discussing what to do next with Satoshi and Daisuke.

"Damn those human bastards!"

Ferid chuckled in amusement.

"Very good, Mika! You're finally developing a proper disgust for humanity! I think Queen Krul would be proud!"

"Shut up! Nobody asked for your opinion! I have no more love for vampires than I do for humans!"

"Ah, so you hate humans and you hate vampires. So where does that leave you? Well, I suppose only time will tell. But enough, Mika; we should be going now. You'll have another chance to rescue your princess, I promise you," the silver-haired vampire lord said patiently as if he were trying to pacify an agitated child.

Mikaela was about to tell Ferid to fuck off but before he could even open his mouth, he suddenly felt his commander's fist slam into his gut hard, knocking the wind out of him.

"Damn you, Ferid…" the blond gasped as he started to lose consciousness before collapsing into the older vampire's waiting arms.

"I'm sorry, my boy, but I really must insist," Ferid apologized smoothly as he tossed the unconscious Mikaela over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Queen Krul has given direct orders that you are to return to Sanguinem with the rest of us. And I'd hate to face her wrath if I let you die here so I hope you understand, Mika."

After making sure his hold on Mikaela was secure, Ferid took one last look at Yuichiro and her surrounding friends. When he, by chance, made eye contact with Shinoa who turned briefly from her friends to face him, the silver-haired vampire lord gave her a playful grin and wink as if saying: "Later!" and jumped into the sky with his blond cargo, vanishing from sight.

Footnotes:

1. In Greek mythology, a harpy is a rapacious monster described as having a woman's head and body and a bird's wings and claws or depicted as a bird of prey with a woman's face. Unlike male!Yuu, I've decided to make fem!Yuu's seraph transformation a bit more polished and attractive, even if frightening.

2. In Greek and Roman mythology, the Furies were female spirits of justice and vengeance. They were also called the Erinyes (angry ones). Known especially for pursuing people who had murdered family members, the Furies punished their victims by driving them mad. When not punishing wrongdoers on earth, they lived in the underworld and tortured the damned. Instead of a monster, Guren compares fem!Yuu to a fury (a deliverer of justice) when she transforms into a seraph.

3. In the manga, male!Yuu does not fight Crowley at all; the fight scene between them is anime only though I did have fem!Yuu attack him briefly when he tried to fight her off.

4. In canon, seraphs only go after humans though they will not hesitate to attack and destroy vampires who get in their way as well, unless they are being controlled like Mirai Kimizuki. For my AU, I've decided to have fem!Yuu go after both humans and vampires to sate her destructive fury though she attacks mostly the vampires who try to take her on.