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FICTION

High School DxD, New, BorN, Hero and other products related to the DxD Series are all owned by Ichiei Ishibumi, Miyama-Zero, Fujimi Shobo and TNK.

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Chapter 28: Understanding and the Prelude of Madness

The dojo-like room that was picked as the place for the planned spar was fairly large and something that reminded me of the training room back home. It was styled after a normal Karate Dojo, with tatami mattresses covering the floor and small runes erected to keep up the situation under-control.

The spar rules were simple:

1) No Magic was allowed from my part but Akua was limited in making use of her physical advantage as a Vampire;

2) No special moves like Senjutsu or the Jigen-Tou were to be used. We had to keep things to a proper pace;

3) No killing blows, only disabling and knocking the opponent out.

Simple rules that still left me in quite the uneasy situation as I was going to fight someone with a precise fighting style that stemmed from pure assassination techniques, cultivated by practice and discipline. She had more or less two decades of raw experience on the field and the girl's speed was still be an issue to deal with even with the limits imposed.

Just as Ruby took the stand on the middle section of the side, dividing the two groups of spectator for the fight, I saw her lift her hand up as she prepared to begin the spa and-

"Begin!"

Even through my brain and body felt ready, the word felt so sudden and unexpected as we both rushed to action. My eyes readjusting, fixed at Akua's stance as the vampire assumed an oddly familiar guard, but I didn't make further advances my way as I was unwilling of clashing with someone this strong without some more hints of her style.

Blinking, I finally went for a probing attack, hoping to try and see what was going on with that guard of hers and… soon I found myself forced back at the angry set of punches and quick kicks that retaliated right before I could even get close enough to her.

I dodged, ducked, deflected and then tried to counter the sudden bout of aggressiveness but the effort behind it proved to be as taxing as difficult.

Her face was calm, collected in a peaceful but tense expression, and her movements were perfectly crafted within her active position, highlighted by her shocking edge in putting me already on a defensive mindset.

Yet young woman's eyes were unfocused as this happened, seemingly distracted in the fight and looking as if... thinking of something about the situation.

I found out about her reason to appear so absent-like the harsh way. Or 'via hard kick in the ribs'.

I grunted at the pain and I realized fairly quickly that her defense was looking to be way too strong and problematic to deal in a normal situation.

Two minutes of mere attention at not getting hit passed, my patience was thinning quite quickly as I felt like there was a clue about what was going on and yet I was missing it so dumbly. And while I was the one recovering from some damage, the fierce engagement was a stalemate as her attacking force sacrificed to grant to her body a nigh-unbreakable guard.

With my brain too attentive to the 'present' rather than analyzing what was the real problem in this early stage of the brawl, I knew from past experience with the spars with Azazel and Baraqiel that hesitation wasn't acceptable, and so I decided to get some distance between us, away from what felt like an ugly attrition war.

The moment I took two steps backward, the dark-haired former assassin seemed to spring into action and adopt a more-aggressive pacing, as if predicting what I was planning all along. Her arms and legs tensed as she rushed quickly forcing me to deal with a renewed flurry of punches and kicks, this time I did felt some noticeable damage.

Groaning inwardly, I felt my attention shattered while I continued to think how I was supposed to deal against her, and for a moment I thought I was going to lose this fight quite quickly because of the flexible and punitive style of my opponent.

It was in the middle of the painful reckoning of possible defeat that I was reminded that there was another 'individual' within my head that wasn't affected by the pressure and nervousness.

She is using Wing Chun.

So… you mean to tell me that-

You could have asked that, yes. You just weren't thinking straight. That's fighting nervousness is.

My eyes widened in realization, the Chinese martial arts style was one of the few I could recognize, especially since it was portrayed and showed multiple times in the films depicting Yip Man's life.

The renowned fighting style that the master of Bruce Lee was known for his expert grasp, was something of an annoyance to face as it relied on the capacity of the user to counter-attack quickly and sternly.

It was mostly defensive, but some users were also known for developing an aggressive 'baiting' to get the first attacks on them going. It looked like Akua had learned from this little group, her insane speed and reaction time giving me quite the trouble but now I knew what I was supposed to do.

While the Wing Chun was a fearsome technique, it had some glaring weaknesses and opening that I knew how to exploit and the only price was… getting hit once or twice while going in an offensive.

So I did rush forward, ready to bask in some aching retribution as I let one of the kick slam in one of my elbows but I finallymanaged to swiftly land a punch on her face.

The surprise painted in Akua's face was inspiring and, combined with the little hesitation at the sudden breach in her previously strong defense, I was already capitalizing over her shock by getting another punch through one of the exposed openings, this one reaching her left-side and bruising some of her ribs, before throwing a kick onto her stomach, causing her lungs to forcefully expel the air held within them.

She finally snapped back to reality from the momentary confusion, pushing herself away from my reach and recoiling from the punishment of being this careless with her pacing. The young woman blinked and nodded.

"I suppose you noticed." She stated quietly, a little grimace plastered in her face at the fact her initial attempt had failed.

That wasn't her best performance, I was sure of that. The wasn't using her best fighting style because this had been her attempt to study me.

I should have realized sooner that she wasn't truly fighting at her peak performance, but playing around against me for a while, using a fighting style she was less experienced with while also gauging my capacity to 'escape' her initial probing.

That was her initial probing, a warm-up to what was going to happen relatively soon now.

"That you were holding back?" I guessed loudly for the spectators to hear and she nodded.

"The info I've on you says that you are particularly keen in the use of magic, but there is very little about your prowess in close-fighting." She replied with blunt honesty. "For someone that surfaced only recently in the 'underworld', your speed and strength are… admirable."

I bowed a little. "Kind words-"

"Honest words." Akua interjected almost petulantly, her lips twitching with mild-annoyance. "I don't praise people that aren't worth of such judgment." She conluded with a sigh.

"I understand." I nodded her way as I took my stance, ready to resume the spar. "And I genuinely apologized for having accused you, Shuzen-san."

An accepting nod, then she rushed forward and I was proved right by the fact her pacing increased.

I mustered my defense up, forcefully denying the precise hits coming mostly from Akua's hands.

Sighing and noticing that I was starting to get winded, I knew it was now time to brave the real aspect of this difficult spar and see how far I've gone with my training. Diodora had been but a mere proof that I was on a high-level, but this battle was going to give me a proper study of the results yielded by Baraqiel's regiment.

I began returning hit with hit, the female vampire quite flexible in dodging the incoming strikes while also keeping up with the several attacks thrown at me.

My arms and legs were starting to burn a little at the fatigue accumulated after almost ten minutes spent against the former Assassin. I was starting to suffer through this spar and I knew that she was aware of that too.

This woman… to get me this winded after just some minutes in this spar-

I ducked to avoid a quick punch and I rushed to slam my knee up on her chest, forcing her to take some steps back before returning to the close exchange. Leg meets leg, fist meets fist, the danse macabre was starting to rear its ugly rear as I knew that I was once more on the losing side of this encounter.

She was just too durable because of her Vampiric body, which couldn't be limited by normal rules and I could genuinely feel my body starting to demand some quick reprieve just to recover from the stress I was gaining the more I continued the engagement.

"You are slowing down." Akua commented calmly, almost teasingly in a dry manner. "Is this your limit?" She asked quietly, yet I could feel a different edge to it.

I knew it wasn't some mocking coming from her mouth, but my mind was far too much in the fight to be taking under consideration the fact she was just being polite. The small pride I had over my strength starting to boil angrily in my head as it craved some retribution of sort.

I was tired and anger was only a consequence of being this inadequate of fighting on this tier.

Burning within my soul, achingly so, I felt the strains once pulling my body down disappear as a sudden chilling sensation started to spread through my entire body. I blinked just once, I was back at attacking the young woman and displaying the same if not a better presentation of my form in my attack and defense.

The vampire raised a surprised brow as she found her arms swatted away quite suddenly, one punch slamming harshly on her stomach, the strength behind it forcing her to crash down on the floor, eyes looking up wide and in perplexity.

Surprise turned in to confusion as she swiftly stood up and returned to her stance, eyes narrowing on me.

"And now your speed is higher than before." The Shuzen remarked with genuine interest. "You are still holding back." She condemned with a frown.

I didn't reply, my attention completely taken by her next actions but… she didn't move just yet.

"I must admit that you are fairly strong for a human." Her voice leaked some of her surprise. "But I do find it quite interesting that I can't truly see what drove you to gain this much power."

I blinked. "What?"

"Humans are greedy people," She replied coldly. "They always seek to obtain something, to steal from others. Yours, what was your desire?"

Admittedly, her claim wasn't wrong, but it was still an overshot. Her childhood was proving to have influenced her more than any other memory in her lifetime.

I tilted my head to the side. "You are quite racist." My comeback was unexpected, especially by how she looked at hearing it.

She blinked, quite shocked by my statement. "Racist?" The young woman parroted back, only for me to shrug.

"I don't think your thought over humanity is as legitimate and objective as you make it." I continued without hesitation. "There are people that do important stuff without seeking anything selfish onto them."

"Humanity is cursed by being led by selfish desires." Akua retorted sternly, her slits flaring a darker red. "And I bet you are the same as them-"

"Don't you dare paint me in such light!" I returned furiously, my face turning red in anger. "I know that you were hurt by morons, but to even think I would be one of the bastards that hurt her-"

I stopped, my mouth closing rapidly as her eyes widened at the reference I almost relayed.

Her stance softened just a brief moment, before her eyes narrowed on me and she rushed once more against me.

"You don't know anything!" She almost yelled for the first time breaking her composure as her fist partly unfolded and her hands started to glow a familiar light-blue.

She was using the Jigen-Tou, her eyes sending a new pure sense of hatred directed at me.

I ducked, dodging the first hit and suddenly turning in my Senjutsu mode. Her keen vampiric senses were quick to perceive the immediate shift in power and the young woman proceeded to adopt a more cautious but aggressive attack pattern, but still refused to back away from that encounter.

I was unaware of what the group witnessing this was doing, especially now that the rules were off so suddenly and without notice, but I was once more rushing at her with the same passion.

"I know that you fault yourself over that." I returned with some strength, my punch hitting her chin with a uppercut. "That you could have saved her and-"

I turned away from another strike of Jigen-Tou, a small cut forming on my cheek as my reaction time was almost near as hers at full power, but not quick enough to dodge her attack perfectly.

"She could have lived happily," Akua interjected harshly. "She could have survived against those foul people living in that village." A snarl present in her face, I knew I had pressed her berserk button, but I was completely caught unaware by the destructive power it was giving her.

I landed two powerful punches on her torso, but she seemed to shrug them off as she went to take a swing at my chest with her 'Dimensional Cutter'. The only victim was my shirt as it now sported a large opening because of the devastating attack.

"She trusted them and they betrayed her trust. They killed her and-"

"You could have stopped her. Yet you didn't." I sternly interrupted, kicking her leg away and slamming a furious kick on her ribs.

She jumped away and paused at my quick interruption. "I tried to-" Her explanation was cut down by a grunt from me.

"But you still decided to let her go and try nonetheless." I pressed on, unwilling to let the fight continue at this pace. "Because you believed that there was hope too!" I was starting to feel too much strained, her swift and precise hits having dealt some damage to my muscles.

"She was begging me to let her go!" Akua rebuked, her breathing growing erratic. "She wanted to make friends with the humans, to break away from that loneliness and-"

"You didn't want to break her heart." I finished for the woman. "You didn't want to deny her and your own hopes of finding more happiness in the future." I almost whispered to the wide-eyed vampire. "You didn't want to lose that purity that she had and that you found so endearing and awe-striking."

There was no response, her stance lessened as there was a minor pause.

"I can't say that you are the best person possible, Akua Shuzen, I know you did some terrible things because you thought them part of the right way." I sighed tiredly and softened my guard myself. "But I know for a fact that you are still a good person deep down, one that never gave up to try and get some peace from this."

"Y-You are wrong-" She tried to rebuke, stopping as if expecting me to interrupt once again and… I didn't.

I didn't need to. The girl knew it too that her stance over humanity had already been broken years ago.

It wasn't me, it wasn't Akashiya- no, it was Moka.

Like Dante with Beatrice, Akua found clarity and confirmation that a way of peace existed… she just didn't feel worthy enough to walk with her sisters.

And now that her resilience was crippled by the truth itself, I decided it was time to throw my own penny in.

Before coming to the Gakuen, I did make some research for eventually-important info to have over some of the people and… I found the dark-haired vampire's dossier.

Many crimes, many deaths but also… some unknown situations that were never explained. Or at least, to those that didn't know what was going on with her morality.

"I checked on your career," She tensed up at the sudden shift of topic, but I was still continued before she could protest. "And most of your missions were about taking down known-criminals, hardly going for those who had done anything terrible." I paused a moment, her newfound tension starting to simmer down at my words. "You also smuggled kidnapped children if there were any while on your missions." I reminded her, her eyes half-closing at that much info about her being given out to the public but she sighed.

"I seek death through battle, I seek an end to my pain." She admitted harshly, eyes hardening but her target… not me. "I am not a good person." Her conclusion was as saddening as legitimate.

But I didn't believe in any of that crap.

I blinked. "Nope, that just makes you a good person that is also a moron."

People do horrible things, everyone is a sinner for their own reason… but for someone like Akua? I could honestly say that I could see why she was this much deep in the darkest bits of society, finding solace in decadence and hoping for a quick end.

The mind of someone that didn't care anymore and that couldn't do.

I can't just accept it.

"B-Beg your pardon?" Her tone was frail and I continued.

"Being a good person doesn't exactly mean being happy, Akua. Your happiness is partial, your joy is dependent to the ones of those part of your family and… I think you shouldn't give up to that. At least, not yet."

Her eyes darted momentarily at the spectators and I saw her look at Moka specifically. Everyone looked quite nervous at what had just happened, even Kunou looked ready to jump in the arena, but they were all avoiding to interrupt this.

Akua's eyes closed, her breathing turning calm as peaceful time passed.

"T-Then what should I do?" She asked, failing to grasp at my attempt and thus… I went all in.

"You are Akua Shuzen," I said with a small smile. "The newest member of the Omega Initiative, a woman in seek of redemption and a dummy for trying to just giving up so easily." I stated with the most serious of tones. "You passed the spar and hopefully I will have a loyal ally from now on?"

I stretched my hand towards her, waiting for the girl to either accept the offer or not.

The vampire blinked, red eyes darting to the stretched open palm and then back at me, her lips twitching as she took a step, then two. Finally, she ended up right in front of me, my eyes widening in surprise at the sudden closeness and then she moved forward… her lips landing on my neck.

I felt teeth.

Capu-chu~!

In that exact moment, several things happened all at once.

Moka and Tsukune both blushed madly while receiving the annoyed and accusing stares from the rest of the harem. Kuroka's jaws hit the floor at that sudden intimate action, her mind starting to formulate how to not lose to this possible new rival.

Meanwhile Kunou's and Koneko's faces were now shadowed while an aura of unholy fury coated them in outrage at this blatant claim of possession this woman was marking on their mutual older sibling.

SHE IS BITING MY NECK!

Fuck, this is sure going to become a running gag!

She pulled back quite quickly, her tongue licking off some of the blood remaining in her lips, a smile present in her face. "You got a highly-nutrient blood, friend."

T-That was painful and- Friend?!

"Uh… Akua-san?" She hummed at her name being called as I went for the question. "C-Can I ask you what do you know about biting people and sucking their blood."

The dark-haired girl blinked confused.

"It's what new friends do, Hoitsu-san." She replied. "Or at least that was what I could garner from the way Moka-chan bites her best friend, Aono, so much."

...Oh no, this is not happening.

"T-That is not what it actually means- Uh?"

But before I could explain, I felt a large amount of Killing Intent washing over me as two pale hands grasped painfully at my shoulders, I glanced back and my eyes widened in dread at seeing Issa, the man giving me a terrible wide-eyed glare.

"So you are saying that now you want to be more than friends with my daughter."

He is seriously trying to fake some misunderstanding there! It's just like in the After-Story!

Just as I hoped that the escalation could be defused somehow with some proper verbal intervention, someone decided to join in with the madness still growing in that particular spot of the school.

"Papa! Can I become Hoitsu-san's friend too?" Kahlua butted in, the tanned vampire giggling, her eyes locking onto the untouched side of my neck and causing me to shiver at the hungry glance she was giving me. "Do I have to bite him or-"

"He will accept you without requesting such thing." The patriarch of the family interrupted quickly, squeezing harder as to emphasize his point. "Am I right, young man?"

"I-Indeed!" I replied quickly, the blonde girl pouting at my quick answer but then nodded once more.

"Then, I want to do something about it." She hummed and then, without asking for permission nor giving any notice, she swiftly went for a hug. "There! It's just like with Momo-chan and Kokoa-tan and- Oh my, it's super nice!"

The naive insane girl pressed herself more onto me, urging her parent to further squeeze my poor shoulders in return.

I'm going to die. I'm going to die and then get killed.

Shirou Emiya would be proud of you…

SHUT UP!

At least I wasn't getting any issue from Akua, the dark-haired vampire deciding to not join in, but to stare at the situation from afar while smiling a little at the happiness exuding from Kahlua.

Today sure is a memorable day.

Several hours later, Tokyo.

If there is something that irritated him the most about his morning routine, it was the late hour he was forced to abide to when going to visit his girlfriend.

Glancing in front of him while keeping a relaxed pace and posture, Baki Hanma yawned as he went calmly through the last tasks of his usual everyday.

It's been almost a full year since he had fought equally against his father, Yujiro Hanma deciding to go for a world-wide trip that had yet to conclude after said match. It was an odd reaction from the Ogre, but the 'Strongest Man' didn't care a single bit about the suddenness and the peace he was left to deal with at Yujiro's departure.

He was given the chance of enjoying his life without having to deal with his revenge, to nurture the relationship he had with Kozue and possibly settle down, away from the dangerous life he had lived until now.

Another yawn, his lazy stare followed up to the cloudless sky. The stars were glowing just a little, proving their existence as the moon was the main lead of the delightful sight he would receive while walking to Kozue's home.

He was about to yawn for a third time when he felt something. Pausing instantly, the boy glanced around and soon he felt footsteps rapidly approaching from behind.

Rushing around, he barely dodged the strange tentacle-like tendril trying to back-stab him, the sharp object cutting part of his shirt's side. His eyes narrowed as he found himself staring at two red-cloaked individuals with familiar masks.

Ghouls had lived in Tokyo for a long time now, but to see them wandering in the Chūō ward? It would seem like someone was either ballsy or suicidal.

"Son of Yujiro Hanma, your death shall be granted by Aogiri Tree and-!"

But before he could finish, the brunet was already charging forward. The second Ghoul had his Ukaku unfolding, pellets made by RC cells trying to intercept the swift brawler, but the boy was already upon them by the time he tried to take aim.

The first punch crushed the Ukaku's mask, shattering his nose too while the untouched one tried to help out his comrade. Baki, wasn't unfamiliar with Ghouls, but after facing some logic-defying individuals in the last few years, he felt particularly confident of his skills to deal with monsters of this caliber.

With a calm smirk, he proceeded to lift with two fingers the approaching punch and kick mightily the attacking Ghoul's chest. His leg slammed angrily on the ribs of the flesh-eating figure, blood spurting out of the being's mouth as he fell lifeless on the ground.

The Hanma's attention shifted back to the still-recoiling Ukaku and the boy sighed. "Look, I'm going to let you go if you tell me who really sent you and why." Quick and curt, the Ghoul actually paused with some minor interest, but then something like a broken chuckle leaving through the holes of his mask at that ultimatum.

"I-If you think th-that we will be t-terrified by- GAH!" Another punch impacted on the Ghoul's face, the hit being fatal as the monster fell backward, quickly to turn lifeless as his skull fractured at that second hit.

The brunet sighed at the bloody results of his self-defense, thinking if he should have now called the CCG or not to deal with those pests. Just as he was about to pick up his phone, he paused at the sounds of… wings?

Body tensing at another intruder, Baki turned around to see where this sound was coming from and… he was graced by the sight of a strange and unfamiliar man wearing normal clothes and no mask.

Standing just a little bit above him, this individual had brown hair with the frontal bit being blond. He was smiling, while glancing at the aftermath of the recent fighting.

"Seems like you did manage to fend off against your first attackers." The stranger muttered loudly, still smiling. "That proves that you truly are powerful, Hanma-san." His smile widened.

The young man blinked and took a guarded stance towards the man.

"Who are you?" He asked sternly, getting a sigh in return at first.

"Forgive me, young man, but I tend to focus more on the present sometime and…" He stretched his hand towards the human. "I'm Azazel and I wish to share some words with you in a private setting, if possible."

Baki's eyes narrowed at that request and the name, ignoring the attempt for a handshake.

Azazel? It sounded familiar, from Christianity if he had to take an educated guess, but the boy had hardly focused on religion ever since his mother's funeral and the… training.

"How can I trust you, Azazel-san? I can't certainly-"

There was a brief pause, the smile was still there as behind him four dead cloaked figures fell on the empty street, lances piercing their bodies.

"We share a common enemy, Hanma-san," The stranger pointed out with a more serious tone. "And I wish to offer to you a way to deal with the threat before they can try to hurt you precious ones." He

A blink, then two, the brunet considered how trustworthy the man could actually be and if he should truly lead him back to Kozue's home. Should he take the risk, maybe even try to be ready to fight him if the situation escalated?

"How do I know that you aren't with this ghouls? You could have killed your comrades-"

"First thing first, those poor bastards aren't my comrades, brat." Azazel replied annoyingly. "Also, if I wanted to cause harm to you and your family, I would have done it without making this encounter happen. My men have been guarding your girlfriend for a while now and I thought you would have appreciated to have some warnings about what is going on."

The boy's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You- You got men spying on Kozue!?"

How could he? Does it mean that his girlfriend was a hostage?

Maybe it was just like it did happen against Sikorsky!

"'Guarding'." Azazel replied dryly at the outburst. "As in making sure no one attacked her while you were away doing some training." He paused, sighing tiredly and biting down a yawn. "I can't tell more until I'm sure we are safe from unneeded ears and I genuinely wants to help you with what is going on, Baki Hanma." He offered kindly.

The smile had vanished, a serious thin line now present in Azazel's face and the young man blinked at what he was hearing. An endless stream of questions riddled his mind about why Aogiri Tree, an Anti-CCG organization, was targeting him of all people and what did this man wanted to do with him.

He sighed, this situation was turning way too complicated way too quickly and… maybe he should bite the bullet. He couldn't sense maliciousness from Azazel and while he seemed to be different from any individuals he had ever met, Baki felt like he could now trust this man.

It was his guts that said so, the very instinct that helped him during his fights that confirmed such thing was actually viable.

Finally, he sighed and nodded. "You will have to tell me everything, Azazel-san. I don't wish to be kept in the dark after what has happened this evening." The human demanded

The smile was back.

"As you wish, young Hanma."

AN

End of the Rosario+Vampire X-over with Akua and Kahlua joining the group and… here is the strongest man in the world. For those uncultured about 'Baki the Grappler' or only basing their knowledge off from the old anime and the one in Netflix, this happens after the end of Baki's manga, after he fight and… (Spoiler) against Yujiro.

And yes, Baki lives in Tokyo and so… Tokyo Ghoul. Why the fux I put Ghouls in there too?

While some will be quick to call a contrast with the RV's lore, since Vampiric Ghouls exist, I can say that the name 'Ghoul' to the TG's flesh-eaters is given by humans, while the Vampiric Ghouls are called as such by Yokai. TG's Ghouls are not part of Yokais and they don't have anything barely representing a governing body, thus… yeah they are the odds one in this part of the world.

Also, before anyone says that Baki is too 'weak', by the end of the Manga he is able to use a posture that grants him exceptional strength that helps him not only push Yujiro for several meters but also a small truck behind the Ogre.

P.S. The Tokyo Ghoul bit will actually be an AU happening few days before Jason kidnapped Kaneki that I've long contemplated to make use of. Some characters' status will be… different than canon.

PROPER DATE for this story: Early July, 2011 AD

Future milestone 1: 696 Followers and Favorites.

P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin

REVIEW Q&A!

To those asking about Dark Lords in Europe: Yep, I'm alluding at Harry Potter, but the character I'm interested to bring in will be quite the surprise (By the way, I will use HP's chronology and thus the Battle of Hogwarts happened in 1998).

Vongolaseiza012: Either next chapter or the one even after, I will address that.

ARSLOTHES: For now, no pairing is decided for him. (Neutral) maybe for Harem.

Evyplayz121: The Fandom is Rosario + Vampire and I advise you to read the Manga as it is complete there, the anime derailed in Season II. It will return in vanilla DxD by Volume 4, when most of the recruitment is completed.

NexusPrime42: I've plans for some Mythological characters, but sadly Thor can't be there for Canon DxD issue. He is supposedly death by Ragnarok.