Hello, everyone. This is SecretArtLotus here! I am here once again in the year 2019 to grace all of you, my readers, to read the story that I have long been postponed. I am sorry for the lateness and I am sorry that I made you all of you wait. Although this chapter wouldn't satisfy your desire enough but I have a reason for making it this short. So I hope you will be patient for the upcoming chapter after this one.

Anyway, for you information, the reason I was in hiatus is because I have been swamped with work and assignment. One after another…until I forget to work on this story however! I have gotten to work on this series after I have read all of your reviews and private messages. And it all started almost two weeks ago that I have started to continue this series. I have a few ideas where this series will lead to. So I hope all of you will continue to read this series for as long as I am still breathing.

It has been a lengthy hiatus on my part but now I will start to dedicate a bit of time for this story. Though you will not find me updating this story after a week or so. Sorry for the disappointment. But I have to be real that I will not have as much time to write than I was before.

So, I hope all of you had read all of the chapters before this because this is the long-awaited chapter that all of you have been waiting for! Oh, Happy Belated New Year everyone! Let us hope in the year 2019, we will prosper!

So without further ado, I present to you, A Problem Devil, Born~

Ja'ne! ArtLotus out!

Chapter 61: A Fateful Meeting!

"You're a persistent kid, aren't you?"

Kuroka claimed, a hint of annoyance in her tone as she stood on top of an octagon magic circle just above the height of the buildings around the vicinity.

From where she stood, Kuroka could clearly view the countless of antimonsters rushing on the side of the buildings in front of her, digging their claws into the concrete to gain leverage of the gravity and when they're near the building's ledge, they attempted to jump towards her! They however, were decimated by a large ball of condensed ki that exploded upon contact, which also destroyed a large portion of the building's roof with it, leaving the interior of the building exposed to the outside world.

The aftermath though, prevented the other countless antimonsters from climbing over the building and they prompted to hiss in anger at Kuroka while their glowering eyes glare at her. In response to their annoying hissing, Kuroka decided to put an end to it by vaporizing their existence with a ball of condensed ki.

At the moment, she was not amused to deal with the countless mutilated gore creatures which kept appearing to replace those that were killed.

"Everytime…They just kept coming and coming…" Kuroka muttered frowning before surveying the vicinity, which was void of the overwhelming quantity of creatures however few small groups still remained alive. However small they may be, they were still many, but not as many as before. Kuroka had made sure to obliterate their numbers by a large margin by luring them into narrow spaces so she could finish them with one powerful strike of ki. With that, she could recover and conserve her energy since the antimonsters had to rely on attacking by land, hence jumping from building to building in an attempt to approach her. Though it proved futile in the end. Aside from that, the antimonsters had approached the idea of shooting light beams towards her and while she was a bit annoyed to be moving constantly, she had managed to decimate them without any trouble whatsoever.

After all, she still had her pride to prove as her lover's woman. Her strong desire to stand next to her lover means too much for her to be pertain as weak, and so she will not be seen as such against her enemies, especially against the large mass of enemies she was facing. Though she was easily overwhelmed by their large numbers, she did not let that fact quelled her determination to fight against such foes. She was not a mere species to be underestimated! Even if she held other lives within her at the moment...—She did not deter to show techniques of diminishing countless enemies at once!

As Kuroka prepared to face against the fewer enemies that were left behind, she opted to glance at her left—where her lover was, amongst the over towering and smoking buildings located over her vision. She had known that her lover would not need her help at this point, and she had heeded his command to left him on his own to face the youngest member of the Hero Faction before giving her a task for her to complete, which only she could accomplish. However, before she went to complete the task, she had to battle the antimonsters that had surfaced by Leonardo's will and were sought to attack her solely. Which led her to where she was currently…

A glint of light made visible on her peripheral vision, and Kuroka had to glance below before moving backwards in response, avoiding the beams of light that nearly struck her. Frowning over the likes of the infernal creatures, an octagonal magic emblem appeared behind her back. Raising her finger, Kuroka opted to move her finger by a set of gestures whilst chanting silently before multiple unfamiliar words appeared over her finger one by one just as she finishes. Before long, multiple copies of Kuroka appears hovering around her.

Smirking at the dumbfounded expressions of her enemies, Kuroka snapped her fingers.

Instantaneously, her copies shoot forth an array of concentrated blasts of energy—easily dissipating the remaining antimonsters! After that, Kuroka opted sensing around the vicinity to search for any remaining antimonsters that might be hidden. However, she had digressed that there was none of them left. At this, she looks over at her copies and share a bout of smiles at each other.

"A job well done, girls." As she spoke, her copies sent her smiles before fading afterwards. Glancing at the empty streets, Kuroka release the pent-up breath she was holding. She had not noticed it prior to fighting the antimonsters however she had distinctly felt she was losing a bit of energy more than usual. Normally, she would not be at all winded at initiating the variety of attacks she had struck upon her enemies though she felt a bit drained at the moment. After some time, she had a distinct feeling that the cause behind her current wellbeing resides within her... For some reason, it made her smile warmly. Feeling a bit rested after a while, Kuroka then proceeded to accomplish her task.

"—Huh?"

Kuroka's cat ears perked up to the side and she looks over to the skies. Her eyes spotted an anomaly unfamiliar to her. —A giant hole tearing through the dimension had made an appearance over the starry night skies…

Her senses perked up however when she felt a strong yet familiar presence emanating within the giant hole. Her curious eyes stared out at the giant anomaly, fully trusting her sharp keen senses about the unexpected new arrivals. She did not know the reason they were here and as curious as she is right now, she disregards the matter easily as to focus on her main task.

Stealing a glance to the left, seeing heavy dose of smoke rising up to the skies in her sights, Kuroka concentrated at her lover's presence before smiling, and teleporting soon after—leaving the vicinity.

South Side Of Kyoto

"If I am observing this correctly, I'd say their numbers are reducing at this point. We aren't facing any difficult hurdles against them as opposed to their sheer numbers that overwhelmed us moments ago. I do wonder why…"

"Indeed. Their numbers are greatly reduced in comparison to before." One of the Angels reciprocated with a nod to Asuka's claim. She stood closely in front of Deen's right mechanical arm as she and the group of four Angels stood guard over Deen.

"Has that got anything to do with the terrifying display of one natural disaster?" One Angel questioned much to her curiosity. Her question made everyone felt conscious over the past event that happened a while ago. Neither one of them cannot pinpoint what was the cause of the devastating earthquake however they were rest assured by Serafall's reciprocating their concern.

"...That just might be the case…" Asuka murmured smiling, developing definite suspicions over the culprit. She was well aware that Serafall had given her a hint as to who it was when she came to bring her message across.

"Rest assured. He is with us right now."

Serafall had informed her without any clear indication of their identity, which baffled her but she did not speak up in the midst of focusing her attention to the countless antimonsters swarming on all directions at the time.

At the recollection, Asuka smiled still. She then looked over the numbers of antimonsters that came hurdling over towards them. She herself had noticed that the enemies' numbers currently compare to before, were significantly reduced. She had suspicions that the culprit behind this unexplained event was related to the shocking display of one natural disaster amidst the battlefield in the shape of violent earthquakes, which toppled a good number of buildings whilst they fought the antimonsters. Asuka deducted that the natural disaster might be the cause of the reduction of the enemy's numbers as of now. Although being given a hint, she cannot hide the feeling of foreboding that he was here—even before Serafall had relayed her message to them all.

"The culprit might be one and the same."

Just as she finishes her train of thoughts, Asuka was startled by a voice behind her.

"Oh? So, you're the girl that Izayoi-kun wanted me to fetch…?"

"Huh?"

Asuka turned—only to face the curious looking Kuroka standing behind her.

In that moment, Asuka was assaulted with an imagery of Kuroka in her head prior to this moment. She had never personally met the black-haired woman however she immediately could recalled that the woman was present alongside Rias and Serafall tending to Izayoi—after the Underworld had been rid of the threat—that is the tyranny of the Three-Headed Dragon. Other than that, she could also recalled that Kuroka was also the woman who had accompanied Rias and Serafall to tend towards Izayoi's recovery as per Shiroyasha's permission.

"…Who are you? How did you get here?" Asuka questioned slowly under her breath. She had opted to remain oblivious to her assailant's identity as a way to be cautious of her assailant. She hoped that Kuroka did not recognize her prior to their official meeting in this moment. She also does not know if the assailant in front of her was on the same side as her after the significant period of time had passed of the Underworld's near destruction, and the full recovery of Sakamaki Izayoi. The last time she had seen Kuroka was when Rias had made the communication link to her mother whilst the Gremory group were having breakfast. Asuka could tell at that time, that Kuroka seemed content and she was brimming with happiness. As did both Rias and Serafall.

Pretending to stand rigidly as part of her cover, Asuka was subjugated to think about the prospect of Kuroka's sudden appearance as she had snuck behind her without her noticing.

"Was I that careless to let my mind wander at a time like this?"

"You don't need to bother yourself with that yet. You just have to know that I came here for a good reason, —and that involves you."

"So, she doesn't recognize me…"

Asuka thought breathing a relief sigh at that aspect at least.

"What—Wait…me? —And what did you say about Izayoi-kun?" Asuka tended to keep feigning oblivious innocence before she barely forgot that the woman had mentioned Izayoi's name to her.

"...He's a bit busy at the moment but he'll be back." After she finishes her statement, a few Angels immediately appeared surrounding her in a circle. "Ah~...All of you are making this more difficult than it should be, nya." Kuroka opted to a simple glance towards the Angels, the tips of their spears pointed dangerously towards her though it did not seem to bring any reaction out of her. Instead, she nonchalantly addresses their presence with amusement on her features.

The Angel that led the group of five, narrowed her eyes at the assailant's amused impression. A testament of her grimness of the situation at hand was the vulnerable timing of the assailant's sudden presence. She and the others did not sense her presence at all. It was Asuka's voice that brought them to their attention to finally registered the intruder.

Further scrutiny towards the identity of their assailant, the leader of the group of Angels, raises her voice.

"—This is a surprise for one such as you to appear...Kuroka of the Underworld."

"Hm? How did you know of me? I didn't think I was at all distinguished amongst you Angels if I recall…I must be quite popular within the populace of you, Angels…"

"You are not however. Michael-sama received news from Sirzechs-sama that you are to be known. After the tragic occurrence of your exploit of power."

"What brought that to your attention?" An amused smile came across Kuroka's lips.

"You are not an individual to be taken lightly. If I do remember correctly, Sirzechs-sama had notified that you had been labelled as a Rank SS criminal in the Underworld."

"...That's true…" Asuka thought silently gazing back at Kuroka standing closely behind her. "...I can't act recklessly, and I can't use Deen either in this situation... —But what exactly is she talking about Izayoi-kun earlier?"

"—So, what will you do, nya? When you'd just know all about those facts?"

"We will ask you to—"

"I'm not here to oppose against you, nor am I to obey your orders to surrender myself, Angels." Kuroka quipped lightly with a light smile.

"What?"

"The purpose of my visit is to get this little girl for my partner. He commanded that she will be of use to us later." Kuroka silently laughed while smiling to the Angels who tightened their holds over their spears of light.

"What use is she to you and your partner? Also, who is your partner?"

"Well...That is for you to find out—and for me to not tell!" Kuroka flicked her tongue out childishly before she and Asuka disappeared without a trace through her teleportation circle.

"She got away!"

Every Angel look around the vicinity in hopes to find any trace of Asuka's presence however they cannot pinpoint nor felt any traces of her presence at all.

"Everyone, don't let your guard down!" The head group of Angels spoke as each Angel stood on guard as antimonsters started appearing within their visages. "The enemies are within our sights. Do not let up! We have another duty to complete; exterminating these creatures!"

Every Angel nodded at their leader before focusing their attention to the enemies and readies themselves to fight.

"We can't do anything to protect Asuka-san…" An Angel frowned in utter disappointment as the other Angels expressed their anguish over their duty.

The Angel leader however stared at where Kuroka disappeared along with Asuka and closed her eyes tightly. The spear of light in her hand glowed brighter before dimming and evaporating completely. Just as she opened her eyes, she took upon the sight of an unfamiliar purple octagonal magic circle situated above and below Deen. Before she could voice out her surprise, Deen instantly disappears out of her sight.

"Asuka's summon...is gone too. D-Did she took it with her too? That large of an object…Did we really underestimated her capabilities that much…?"

"...What should we do?" An Angel asked representing everyone towards their leader.

"...Our main duty from this point onwards has been abolished. We will return to Serafall and report to her about this new development. Suffice to say, we will have to bear the news to her. If anything, we will sought advice from her to sort this out. Yes, it is unfortunate that Asuka-dono is left alone and we are powerless to prevent her to be taken however, we cannot lose hope of Asuka-dono. Not now."

The leader admitted firmly as all the other Angels look at each other before all of them answer in unison.

"Yes!"

"However, at the same time, we cannot ignore these creatures crawling around the vicinity." The head of the Angels briefly spoke as she caught sight of the antimonsters nearing them. "Although their numbers were significantly reduced, they still posed a threat to everyone. And I mean, everyone! We cannot let them trespass us beyond this point, understand?!

"Yes!"

The group of Angels readied themselves as they posed to fight. Even if they were affected by the loss of their comrade, Asuka which they were tasked to protect, they did not let that deter them to complete the other task; protecting everyone against the antimonsters preying on them!

"Asuka-dono, I do hope nothing befalls upon you." The head of the Angels thought as she summoned a few spears of light at the flick of her wrists, preparing herself to fight. She silently hoped and prayed that Asuka is safe wherever she is…

Glancing at the skies, there was a grim look on her beautiful expression.

Elsewhere at the East Side of Kyoto…

"Wh-Where are we? No, wait...This is…"

Asuka questioned in surprise as she looks up towards the skies, immediately noticing that she was still within the odd dimension resembling the entirety of Kyoto! Tilting her head down, Asuka also noticed that she was standing on top of a building rooftop though she soon was caught by the sight in front of her as she overlooks the edge of the rooftop. The sight in front of her shown the numerous building reduced to rubbles around her. Few building stood strong however they were nearly about to crumble to the ground due to the numerous big holes decorated the exterior of the buildings. As Asuka surveyed the surroundings, she wondered the numbers of antimonsters that had done the damages she was seeing, and she concluded that it would take countless of antimonsters…which she cannot fathom.

"…I don't understand…"

"I thought you were clever as it is, little girl. Should I take back what I said, nya?"

At the spoken voice resonated behind her, Asuka swiftly turns around—instantly recognizing Kuroka standing in front of her. She saw that Kuroka crossed her arms underneath her chest and looks at her amusingly.

"…Where you teleported us to…We're in a different location though we're still within the dimension, am I right?"

"It seems you understand after all. I was afraid that my task would be pointless to complete but there might be truth to what my lover says…"

"…Lover? Who are you talking about?"

"—Listen, little girl." Kuroka addressed as Asuka stood still. "My initial intentions are not what you are thinking in that little pretty head of yours. So, you better banished everything negative about our meeting." She smiled amusingly. "And don't think I didn't recognize your facade upon my arrival, nya~ After all, this is not our first meeting, right? You think I didn't recognize you?"

Listening to her, Asuka frowned upon being caught.

"At first, I presume you did not."

"And then I did." Kuroka smiles tilting her head.

Asuka kept silent as an annoying frown appears on her face before she banishes her annoyance to access the situation and the woman in front of her.

"—If you want to know why we're here…—I was given this task and I would really like to return to my lover's embrace as soon as possible…" Kuroka smiles wistfully as she closes her eyes before she opens her right eye while kept her left eye closed. "—but he opted for me to relay a message to you."

"A message…? To me?"

"He'd said that you would be vital into helping us. I am not against his orders whatsoever but after witnessing your summon, I can understand the purpose."

"Then why does he want my help for?" Asuka asked. Her tone sounded with a bit of annoyance. "How do you know that I'm going to help you?"

"You can drop your unnecessary anger. It's not going to get you anywhere, you know?"

"…Why is that?"

"Because this concerns your objective as well as ours, nya~ In fact, all of us are in this." Kuroka stated smiling in amusement while Asuka narrow her eyes in suspicion at her statement.

"What is she talking about? We all have the same objectives? What could that mean?" Asuka thought to herself before she started to speak up to directly ask the answer.

However, she was soon cut off by the violent tremor that shook the building violently beneath her!

"T-This—!"

Startled by the shake of the building, Asuka looks around at the shaking building before she got swept up by the violent wind pushing towards her right side. She lifted an arm to shield herself before she glances at Kuroka, noticing she was looking over at the direction of where the wind blows from.

Turning her head to look at the same direction, she immediately watches a few buildings in the distance collapsed as huge puffs of smokes rises up as a result. However, she could also see a bunch of buildings over the distance were decimated into the ground.

"Wh-Who did that? The tremors that occur recently…—Were it all cause by whatever it is over there?"

"If you didn't connect the dots yet, we are very much against the Hero Faction." Kuroka spoke whilst looking over at the smoke rising from a distance. "We are as much driven to be against the Hero Faction as all of you." She turned to Asuka. "Oh, and to answer your question? The one causing all of the tremors was all done by my partner and lover, nya~ That's my Izayoi-kun, nya~" A sweet and seductive smile appears on Kuroka's lips as she spoke of her lover adoringly.

"…—Huh?!"

Near the moat of Honmaru Garden

"So, Yasaka-sama was supposed to meet with the Heavenly Emperor's messenger on that day…But due to the upcoming Gion Festival, the meeting postponed on the day after..." Rias murmured with a hint of seriousness in her tone. Her speculative gaze fell to the ground. "However, she was kidnapped the night prior to the meeting by this—Hero Faction…" Rias spoke much to herself than the others as Issei and her other servants stared at her in curiosity, having heard her at the beginning. All of them suppressed their surprise over the knowledge about knowing the tragedy that befell onto the Leader of the Youkais' that led to her abduction.

"Then, the one she was going to negotiate with was this old man monkey?" Issei asked raising an eyebrow, his gaze fell to the old individual in front of him. "To be the messenger…this must be a very powerful monkey?" He asked himself in mind. "...Who's that exactly? That monkey-like...old man?" The brunette asked curiously as he wanted to know about the identity of the old man appearing quite suddenly in the midst of everything.

"Yes, who is he, Buchou?" Asia quipped in curiosity, seeing she had understand the story behind Yasaka's abduction however she was sceptical about the identity of the messenger—which was supposed to be the old man monkey in front of them.

Both of Issei and Asia look up at Rias for the answer. Other than them, Kunou, Sala, Rossweisse, Kiba, Xenovia, Irina, Shirayuki-Hime, Pest, Koneko, Gasper look on in curiosity. Neither each one of them having any clue as to the identity of the monkey-like old man.

Akeno looked over at Rias with a knowing smile.

"The one before all of us—He is the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong."

At her proclamation, the reaction of everyone was instantaneous. Disbelief was shared amongst everyone once they heard the proclaimed Great Sage Equalling Heaven—which was the old monkey-like man in front of them. Some of them such as Xenovia, Irina, Rossweisse, Koneko, Kiba, Issei and Asia cannot hide their amazement about seeing the legendary figure in the flesh.

"Great Sage Equalling Heaven…" Kunou uttered the long title whilst looking over at the old man.

"The Great Sage Equalling Heaven…It's this geezer?" Pest asked out of curiosity. Her face devoid of emotion. However, her statement left many to look at her in surprise and embarrassment because her statement simply was the truth.

Shirayuki-Hime tried to suppress a laugh though she kept a hand over her mouth while Sala shakes her head with a restrained smile. Meanwhile, Rias and Akeno smiled at Pest for her innocent yet humorous statement.

"Geezer?" Kunou asked tilting her head innocently. She did not understand the word spoken by Pest and thus, she found herself curious at the used word. "What does that mean?"

"Geezer means old man in a different word." Shirayuki-Hime answered to Kunou who nodded at her before smiling.

"Thank you…Um…"

"My name is Shirayuki-Hime. It's nice to meet you." Shirayuki-Hime introduced herself with a smile at the young Kyoto ruler.

"Oh! My name is Kunou. It's nice to meet you too, Shirayuki-Hime." Kunou bowed her head slightly before smiling up at her.

"That's nice of you." Pest smirked at Shirayuki-Hime who sent a smile at former Demon Lord.

"You think so?"

"So, he is the Great Sage Equalling Heaven…" Xenovia trailed off in amazement, looking at the old monkey-like man.

"The First Generation Monkey King." Kiba chimed as Issei looks at him for a moment. Then, the brunette turns his attention back to the monkey-like old man.

"I-It's really him!? The F-First Generation Sun Wukong! That old man monkey is the famous one from Journey to the West...!" Issei gaped at the legendary figure in front of him which showed up by the hole formed in the dimension. "So, the reinforcement Azazel-sensei mentioned were the Great Dragon King and him?" Issei exclaimed with a speechless look. He cannot believe he was graced by the significant presence of the First Generation Monkey King and one of the Great Dragon Kings as their reinforcements. "Azazel-sensei must have known we needed the reinforcements badly..."

As Issei turns back his gaze at the legendary figure, Sun Wukong noticed his gaze, and smiled with his creased lips.

"You worked hard, Red Dragon Emperor boy. Judging by that good dragon pulse earlier, I reckon that it came from you, no? Anyhow, since you've already worked hard, you don't have to push yourself anymore." Sun Wukong advised calmly to Issei whom relaxes at the statement while the others kept looking at the First Gen Monkey King's sudden appearance. Apparently noticing the attention upon his appearance, Sun Wukong shoulders his staff on his left shoulder and turns his head at the Gremory group including Kunou. "—I am the reinforcements to deal with this Hero Faction...Just leave everything to this old man."

The Gremory group nodded at the reassurance, however Pest was the only one who was sceptical about giving the task to the First Gen Monkey King.

"After all we came here for…?" Pest thought in annoyance, her hand twitching to release a blast of black wind towards the monkey-like old man. However she glances at everyone who stood near her, noticing that they stood at ease at the arrival of the figure. They did not appear irritated or annoyed at the prospect of aid of one Great Sage Equalling Heaven. Although they seemed relaxed, their stances show differently, noting that they had their guards up regardless. Huffing a breath, letting out her pent-up annoyance at the unavoidable situation, Pest crossed her arms and started to watch the First Gen Monkey King.

Turning away from the Gremory group, Sun Wukong look up at Yu-Long flying up in the air in his sights. "Yu-Long, I leave the Kyuubi to you." Just as Sun Wukong ordered, the Dragon King—Yu-Long expressed instant dissatisfaction.

"Hey hey, giving orders to dragons just like that—Didn't you know, old man? Just getting here made me super tired! And you're just riding on me all the way! It isn't like you're one to go through all that travelling alone—Anyway, what happened to the White Dragon Emperor's witch companion! —Wow, look, it's Vritra! Hey hey hey, the one fighting with the fox is Vritra! How many years has it been?"

"—Haven't changed at all." Ddraig commented with mirth at one of the Great Dragon King's quirk.

"I-Is that so, Ddraig...?" Issei sweat drop at the enthusiastic Great Dragon King.

Sun Wukong puffed his pipe and spoke to Yu-Long.

"You can eat your fill of Kyoto cuisine later. How's that?"

"That's a promise, old man! You have to treat me to some delicacies later! Ah! Don't look down on the Dragon King-sama! Fox lady! I am very amazing!" Expressing the desire to stand against the Nine-Tailed Fox, Yu-Long began to take on Yasaka alongside Vritra.

"So he's coming to aid us, huh?"

"Will it be enough?" Saji asked to his partner.

"We'll just see. I do not have high expectations for his help."

"It would be better than to fight alone, right? That's what you were saying, right?" Saji let out a chuckle before focusing upon the upcoming fight. With aid.

"Alright." Sun Wukong then turned his focus on Cao Cao. "Then, I will punish Cao Cao's descendant now." He declared as he walked towards Cao Cao.

But then Siegfried extended his arms and launched a surprise attack at Sun Wukong!

"Siegfried! Don't take him on! If it's you—" Though Cao Cao tried to stop him, Siegfried happily rushed in without hesitation! His desire to battle against the First Generation Monkey King was too big to simply be ignored.

"Monkey boss! If it's that Sun Wukong, then I have no objections to face such an opponent—" Siegfried commented to himself with glee on his face as he twirls the swords within his multiple hands while he charges towards the calm Sun Wukong. "This is not an opportunity I am willing to pass! This is of great opportune to see the strength of one Monkey King! When will I have this fateful meeting ever again?!"

"You're really excited on meeting an old man like me? Yet, your actions is not admirable on such a first meeting…" Sun Wukong shakes his head disapprovingly before he lifted his staff from his shoulder and pointed it straight towards Siegfried.

Meanwhile, everyone watches the scene before them, not knowing what would happen.

As Siegfried nears his opponent, his swords glinting with light, Sun Wukong simply utters two words—just as Siegfried stood in front of him.

"Extend, staff." Sun Wukong spoke calmly, the staff in his hand rapidly extended in length, bluntly hitting Siegfried to his stomach, knocking the air out of him simultaneously before easily sending him flying backwards!

"—!" Surprised, Siegfried cannot maneuver himself to flip backwards safely to the ground as the sheer force of the staff overwhelmed his body. He also cannot utter any sounds to describe the pain he was in as the air within his lungs had been forcefully knocked out of him. Without so much as a counter to the attack, Siegfried was sent flying into a pile of debris with one hit. A cloud of smoke obscured everyone of Siegfried's condition as all of them looked towards Sun Wukong nonchalantly shoulders his staff once it returns to its normal length.

"S-So very strong! W-What is going on, this old man monkey! Defeating Siegfried with one hit! Even Kiba and Xenovia with the new Durandal couldn't win!" Issei gaped in awe at the amazing spectacle while the others looked on in amazement.

"Unfortunately, you are not ready to be my opponent, young demonic sword user. Yep, not enough strength in that waist. I'd advise you to better train again. Better start with jogging." As Sun Wukong eyed Siegfried amidst the debris, Yu-Long wailed.

One of the Great Dragon King's voice resounded throughout the area.

"Ooh wawawawa! Hey damn old man! This fox is quite strong! Even Vritra is not helping me enough!"

He commented as Yu-Long had been entangled by a few of the Nine Tailed Fox's tails in the midst of battle. Yu-Long tried to counter the flaying appendages wrapping around him though it proved difficult as the tails instinctively tightens their grip on him.

"Are you telling me that my strength is not up to your standards?" The annoyed sound of Vritra's voice rang through Saji's head. "You insolent Dragon…! It's your own flaw that got you into trouble!"

"..." Saji look on with an awkward smile.

"Pull yourself together. You are a Dragon King, right?" Sun Wukong sighed as he advised whilst silently agreeing to Vritra's statement.

"Amongst the Dragon Kings, I am the youngest! And also, the liveliest!" Yu-Long stated blatantly ignoring Vritra's scolding of him.

"You sure know how to argue. Yet, you are that youngest Dragon King who first proposed retiring the instant you ended your most illustrious battle. Use your youth to pull through." Sun Wukong did not appear bothered by the Dragon King's complaints whilst he battles yet seeking to give out advice to the Dragon King.

"Understood. I will try my best!" Yu-Long replied enthusiastically as Issei sweat drop at the short time of the duo reaching an understanding.

"I hope Saji is okay…" Issei expressed his worry.

"Not to worry, partner. Yu-Long is not one to admit defeat in this situation he is in. "He's—"

"He was basically bribed by food, right?"

"He was always like that, unfortunately. I almost sympathize with Vritra…"

"This is not good. If we continue to delay ourselves, we will be overwhelmed in due time...With the addition of the recent Gremory Heiress and her group and the latest addition of these pair…" Georg glances at Yu-Long and Sun Wukong lastly. "We will have to issue a retreat sooner or later…" Georg thought in the end, having no qualms to retreat in this situation.

Glancing at the pile of debris where Siegfried laid, the Dimension Lost user, Georg released the magic circle binding the Kyuubi, —and extended his hand towards Sun Wukong, deeming him a more important task than handling the Nine-Tailed fox at the moment. Georg had begun to realize the dire situation their group was in each passing moment. Although they had conquered the battle against the Red Dragon Emperor and his comrades, he did not expect the arrival of reinforcement in the likes of the Princess of Destruction along with her own group and lastly, the Dragon King, Yu-Long with the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong.

With Georg's attention focusing on Sun Wukong, he attempts to chant.

"—Capture and bind. Mist!"

At the chant, a mist started forming, mirroring the one from before, began surrounding Sun Wukong and gathered.

With a glance to the mist surrounding him, Sun Wukong chanted.

"—By the justice of heaven, thunder sealing the dragon's jaw. Prostrate upon the ground."

Sun Wukong chanted, and then tapped his staff on the ground once, and the mist instantaneously dispersed! His action however did not go unnoticed by the Hero Faction and neither is the Gremory group who looked at him in awe and astonishment.

"As far as I can tell, your Sacred Gear training is very weak. You should enter in a dialogue with it like that Red Dragon Emperor boy over there, how's that?" Hearing his comment, Georg looked very surprised at his ineffective attack while Issei sheepishly smiles, extremely grateful to hear a compliment from the Great Sage.

At this exact time, Cao Cao saw an opening and extended the blade of his spear, planning on ambushing the First Gen Monkey King.

"...Not a bad attack. But with only this? You're still young." Holding up one finger, Sun Wukong blocked the spear as everyone looked at the scene in surprise. "At the level that can be stopped by my finger, it is impossible for you to eliminate the other gods and buddhas. You or the mist user, neither gave a serious attack. Do not underestimate me."

Hearing the Great Sage's words, Cao Cao laughed.

"... I see. That monstrous strength still exists... We keep hearing how strong you were in your younger days. But how is it now?"

To Cao Cao's question, Sun Wukong simply shrugged his shoulders fearlessly.

Meanwhile, Siegfried picked himself up from the rubble and turns to Cao Cao.

"Cao Cao. I do not mean anything by this but...It's over. Sun Wukong is famous for stopping Khaos Brigade operations numerous times. If we continue to attack recklessly, valuable talent may get injured. I was too naive to blatantly realize. He is ridiculously strong for us." Siegfried explained applying common sense into the current situation. After he had witnessed first-hand of what the First Gen Monkey King was capable of, Siegfried cannot deny the opportunity facing against him was unlucky on their part. With the First Gen Monkey King's arrival, it had ruined their plan to summon the True Dragon, Great Red, altogether. —Unfortunately, they had been close to achieving their goal...

Hearing Siegfried's judgement, Cao Cao returns his spear to its normal length and put away his spear. He had known that their group imminently had to retreat at this point. Cao Cao had the same thoughts with Siegfried ever since the arrival of the First Generation Monkey King. However, he had also planned to issue a retreat when the Gremory Clan Heiress made her arrival with her own group. When he had seen the abilities of one of her members which almost cost him and his group their lives, he had thought to retreat. Though it was halted by the untimely arrival of the pair, Yu-Long and Sun Wukong.

Shouldering his spear, Cao Cao had come to a definite conclusion of the growing situation.

"I do not disagree with your judgement, Siegfried. The time to retreat is imminent, it seems. Contrary, choosing the wrong moment could result in grave injuries."

Cao Cao jumped back, far away from Sun Wukong and taps his spear into the ground.

Smack!

At the signal, the Hero Faction swiftly gathered in one spot, and the mist user started activating a giant magic circle which conjured under his feet. It was a transportation magic circle!

"They're trying to escape!" Issei exclaimed with surprise, attempting to move forward and act. But he felt his body drop drastically before he felt a pair of arms hoisting him up. "What?! Asia?"

"Issei-san! You can't move! You've lost too much energy." Asia reasoned in worry as she supported the brunette to stand up once again. "You need to rest." She told the brunette softly.

"As much as I want for you to fight using the Knight again, I have to apologize in advance that you have to sit this one out, Issei." Kiba explained to his friend while smiling. "You did your best, Issei. Thank you for avenging us. We cannot thank you enough…"

"Kiba...Heh, it's not a problem!" Issei smiled widely. "I can't let them get away by ignoring us. We have to show them that we're stronger than we look!"

"You are right about that. And if I have to guess, we will have to develop ourselves as Devils...by the time we will fight them once again. Just as Pest-san advised."

"Yeah!"

"Yes, all of us will be stronger! As for me...I will be stronger too, for the sake of everyone! I will improve myself better, so everyone will not be hurt as much like today. Everyone will stand a better chance against them next time!" Asia vowed with a determined look.

"Asia..." Issei looked at her before nodding, "Yes, you're right, Asia! Let's do our best!"

"I figure that all of you will improve nonetheless before our next encounter."

At Cao Cao's voice, both Issei and Asia turned their attention towards him.

"I trust I'd be able to fight the Red Dragon Emperor with everything I have. I really do. The same goes to you, Red Dragon Emperor. You've displayed enough ferocity of your Balance Breaker that I shouldn't underestimate you any longer from this point on. You really surprised me. Do not disappoint my trust on our next meeting."

"Don't worry! I'll give it everything I got!"

"Good." Looking at his opponents gathered in front of him, Cao Cao spoke up. "Anyway, let's call it a day, First Gen-dono, Rias Gremory and servants, as well as the Red Dragon Emperor. I will await for our next encounter. This time however, I sincerely hope I will be able to meet the famed husband of yours, Rias Gremory, in action if I may." At the last part, Rias quirked an eyebrow in confusion before she turned to her servants in question.

"Is Izayoi-kun not here?" Rias frowned as she directed her question towards the others, wanting to know if any one of them had been in contact or had seen her husband anywhere.

"No. As far as we have known, he is not here." Kiba answered frowning while Issei nods sadly. "Although Asuka-san and I are in different classes than the others but we did not see him at all."

"We haven't seen him on our part too." Xenovia added nodding. "Neither did we encounter him throughout any of our trips in Kyoto."

"He did not contacted any one of us prior to the battle." Irina chimed as she and the rest of the ORC group had already saved the blonde's contact number in their mobile phones, so he could potentially call one of them if he wanted during their trip. But so far, the blonde senior did not attempt any calls that she was aware of.

"I apologize. But he did not contacted me also. If he had contacted anyone of us, we would have known by now. But it appears he does not want to establish contact with us at the moment." Rossweisse answered with a small frown before she started recalling the conversation between her and Azazel about the blonde. "...I had talked to Azazel awhile back about Izayoi-kun since he did not mentioned him whilst he was with all of you in the Underworld, which bothers me ever since...Prior, I had wanted to contact you, Rias to possibly understand the strange situation revolving around Izayoi-kun. Unfortunately, I realized that it had to wait…" Rossweisse said before going silent. After a while, Rossweisse looks up at Rias with concerning eyes. "—Rias, can you tell me what has happened to Izayoi-kun?"

"I truly understand your concern, Rossweisse." Rias offered a sad smile of understanding at the former Valkyrie. "—And I gladly answer your question." She stated before looking to everyone including Kunou, who looked on with a small frown, wondering what had happened to her father. "You all may not know of this but it was a few days after the Second Year juniors had gone to Kyoto, that Izayoi-kun disappeared. Fortunately, Akeno was the last one to see him...Up until his absence, we do not know about his behaviour that causes him to act this way. But Akeno had established that he had thought about this for a period of time."

"Yes, I believe that he had planned his trip for quite some time." Akeno added. "Unfortunately, I do not know the exact reason he deliberately went away. He specifically said that he was going to take some time off to somewhere and he would be gone for some time. Other than that, he asked me to take care of the house until then…" Akeno tilted her head down, a deep frown formed on her face at the recollection.

"Ever since then, we haven't received any news about him and his whereabouts for a lengthy amount of time." Rias spoke up. "Fortunately, he had contacted us recently. The reason behind his absence is his past and he went to revisit it."

"Izayoi-kun's past?" Rossweisse asked frowning as Irina and Xenovia glances at each other in concern. Meanwhile, everyone was confused by Rias's statement of the blonde's reason of disappearance. However they were left curious by the mention of the blonde's past since everyone does not know the blonde's past except some of them albeit through his childhood photos. Some of them can make their own conclusions that the blonde had a normal childhood life however they were left baffled by the news and questioned their doubts about the normalcy of his childhood.

"Does Izayoi-senpai have such a bad past…?" Asia asked with a deep frown. Asia did not expect that her senior would left to confront the past that he must want to avoid after so long.

"Asia…" Issei looked towards her, frowning. He understood from her point of view. He also had the impression that his senior had lived a normal life like any other but for him to know that his senior had a rough past…The brunette cannot think of anything to comment about his senior. He could only sympathize right now.

"Izayoi-senpai knows all of us, even of our pasts...Yet, we still don't know his…" Asia muttered her contorted into sadness of her senior. "He came to know us but we did not…And I thought we did…"

"That's true…" Issei admitted as everyone else thought the same. All of them had shared their pasts if not, some of their events in their past to the blonde before, however they did not hear the past of the blonde. As the topic of the blonde's past came to light courtesy of Rias, they begun to question themselves if they ever heard anything of his past and they had to admit that they did not heard anything from his past. Though they were relieved to hear a piece of his past that they were grateful for; that he grew up with his mother throughout his childhood. And they understood he had to confront the past which involved his mother.

Looking around everyone, Kunou frowned seeing them in deep thought. After the topic of her father's past came up, Kunou was about to speak up but she withdrew the courage as she had noticed that it was not appropriate to ask when everyone around her was in a sad state. Withdrawing her gaze from everyone, she looks up at Rias. "Rias onee-sama…—Did something happened to Otou-sama?" Kunou spoke up in worry for her father.

Rias smiled in reassurance at her.

"Fortunately, no. He is fine. He must want to visit somethings in his past that he wishes to settle for a long time now. I believed it was the appropriate time for him. Although I am not entirely sure what it is, but I trust in him…As I am sure, you all do." Rias looked over everyone who simultaneously nodded at her or giving a look of understanding. She smiled gratefully.

"I appreciate that all of you believe in him. Although for him to not be here…" Rias thought before brushing off the negative thoughts that occupied her mind about the well-being of her husband currently. "...—Where are you, Izayoi-kun?" Rias thought in slight worry. She does not want to doubt herself that her husband would not be present in the encounter of the culprits behind Yasaka's abduction. She had known herself that her husband had been waiting to encounter the ones responsible ever since he had known of Yasaka's disappearance. And so, Rias does not want to stop believing that her husband is not coming to pay retribution in his concealed anger.

Contemplating to herself over her husband's absence, Rias tilt her head upwards to look at the members of the Hero Faction in front of her before looking at the Nine-Tailed fox at the corner of her eyes. She frowned deeply. Anger coursing through her at facing off the definite culprits of Yasaka's disappearance, which left many in a state of misery and sadness. She herself cannot help the guilt inside her when she recalled at her helplessness at the time of Yasaka's kidnapping though she was reassured by her husband that she was not at fault. They were encountering new enemies. The enemies they were facing were different to the past ones they had encountered, which makes it all the difference.

"So, I assumed that the Prince of Destruction will not grace his presence here…" Cao Cao spoke up. His tone voices out slight disappointment. "...It is an apparent shame that I cannot meet him properly…"

Cao Cao sighed, masking his disappointment. He had sincerely hoped that he and his faction would have gotten to meet the human that transcends humans. Cao Cao had heard almost all there is about the appearance of the blonde through the news, rumours, and facts that he had the opportunity to obtain. He was not picky to hear through multitude of information circulating around Sakamaki Izayoi. He welcomed them actually. To hear the exploits of one individual appearing out of nowhere and accomplishing difficult obstacles, especially when he had gotten word that he was a human which was confirmed by Azazel himself. It was unheard of. He was specifically intrigued to hear whether the information surrounding Izayoi was true or untrue because Cao Cao cannot be as amazed as he was when he heard of the feats of one Sakamaki Izayoi.

"It cannot be of help then." Cao Cao said to himself before looking at the Gremory group. Lifting his hand to the side as a gesture, he addressed to the Gremory group. "However, I am anticipating for his arrival on our next meeting…I am certain we will meet face-to-face by then."

Cao Cao shoulders his spear.

"Till our next—"

But before he could finish, Cao Cao lifted his head as a disturbing look came upon his face, when he had sensed something in the air. It was unfamiliar however at the same time, familiar. He along with the other members of the Hero Faction also look up with disturbing looks.

"Stop." Cao Cao ordered Georg with a single signal of his hand just as the mist surrounding them thickens.

At his command, Georg disables the mist surrounding them. Confusion apparent through his spectacles.

"—Georg. Does Leonardo have the capability to Balance Break currently? As far as I am certain, he has not matured yet to accomplish it."

Looking at him for a moment, Georg turns to look up at the sky and he then felt the newfound power through the air. At the designated presence of power, Georg recognizes it to be Leonardo's. "…Yes, but it is unmistakably his. The amount of power is definitely coming from him and no one el—" But when Georg went to finish his sentence, a shrieking sound of a pained cry as a gigantic being 200 metre tall high—instantly appeared in their line of sight, up within the skies above Honmaru Palace before crashing outside of the Honmaru Palace. The crash resulted in a giant widespread of wind blowing to all directions. "Th—That! What is that?!" Georg sounded genuinely shocked at the revelation of the gigantic creature.

"Oh my!" Jeanne gasped, covering her wide mouth with the back of her right hand. "Where did it come from?!"

"That is one huge monster…" Heracles commented with a serious look. "Did that brat came up with that?"

"What exactly is that creature?" Siegfried questioned with surprise laced in his tone.

Every member of the Hero Faction expressed their shocking opinions over setting their sights on the massive creature. The Hero Faction watches in disbelief at the creature slowly moves and stands up. They were rooted in their spots and did not move an inch in response to look at the diabolical looking creature that towers them over 200 metres. Especially Cao Cao who upon looking at the creature was disturbed immensely. The thoughts of retreating at the moment was abandoned at the prospect of looking over the creature that was surfaced by the will of his comrade, Leonardo.

"—Woah, woah. What is that massive creature?!" Yu-Long exclaimed in surprise looking at the massive creature which was over 200 metres tall. The youngest Dragon King was currently on the ground, after being hit by one of the tails from the Nine-Tailed Fox. However, his entire attention had been shift to focus at the gigantic grotesque creature that shriek painfully which resonated throughout the city of Kyoto.

"Vritra…" Saji called his partner as he steals a glance towards the diabolical creature behind him.

"Yes, I have noticed. If the base ability of the Annihilation Maker is to will any creature into reality through the user's imagination, however this does not apply to this...creature… It appears the Annihilation Maker user had achieved Balance Breaker."

"Should we intervene?"

"No. We already have difficulty facing against this Nine-Tails Fox. We must focus on our primary enemy. Do not lose sight of what we should do."

Hearing Vritra's words, Saji understood without any defiance to speak of. He had already known his duty first and foremost. He knew the duty bestowed upon him was the most important since it was the same duty bestowed upon his friends too. It was to return Kunou's mother. There were no other objectives than that. Although he had sympathised with his friends' defeat against the Hero Faction, knowing that he would not fair against any one of them if almost everyone had been beaten badly. However, he was grateful that he got to witness his rival achieved the same kind of power as Juggernaut Drive and had avenged for their friends using the awakened power against the Hero Faction.

"I understand, Vritra." Saji answered before stealing a last glance towards the newly arrived creature. "Just wait, guys. I'll be there with you all once I'm done."

"Exactly what happened..." Cao Cao expressed his concern over the appearance of the towering creature. He was not at all familiar with the creature since he knew that his comrade did not have the capability yet to summon a being such as the one in his sights. Cao Cao questioned himself mentally about the condition of his comrade as he gazed upon the gigantic creature.

"I never seen such a creature before…" Sun Wukong commented with a calculating gaze over the gigantic creature. "Who could have summoned it at this point…?"

"I don't believe this…" Rossweisse looked eyed wide at the gigantic creature in front of them. Though she was not the only one who expresses immense shock over the creature.

"Issei-san." Asia called out eyed wide at the gigantic creature appearing in her view while Issei gaped at the said creature, genuine shock etched on his face and he was speechless sort to say about the spectacle in front of him. Meanwhile, the others gaped in shock because of how tall and frightening it looked which greatly contributed from its terrifying height.

"Wh-What is that?!" Gasper voices out hiding behind Koneko in fear. "I-Is it an enemy?! Please tell me we aren't going to fight that thing, Koneko-chan! We can't fight that!"

"Gaspie." Koneko looked at him sympathetically before looking back at the massive creature towering the skies. Koneko tightened her fists at a single look of the creature despite the hidden fear welling up inside her. She does not understand the negative feeling in the pit of her stomach when she look at the creature.

"That one…it looks similar to the ones we fought before." Irina spoke up to everyone.

"Yes, it does bear similarity…"

"The only one who could have created such a creature would be…"

"It's one of them. It's one of the members of the Hero Faction…!" Issei spoke up as Kiba and Asia looked at him along with the others. Their attention was grabbed by the brunette's voice.

"Which member, Issei? Is he here?" Rias questioned her Pawn, silently observing the surroundings.

"—No. He's not here. But why isn't he here? Wasn't he supposed to be with them all along?" Issei talked to himself before addressing everyone. "…He's one of the members of the Hero Faction. He's still a kid but he wields one of the Thirteen Longinus, Annihilation Maker."

"What?" Rias expressed surprise before frowning. "To obtain not two, but three out of the Thirteen Longinus…They prove to be an adversary of this scale…They're already dangerous by obtaining the True Longinus however, obtaining both Lost Dimension and Annihilation Maker altogether? They are too dangerous if let be…" She spoke grimly in thought. Rias turned her attention towards the 200 metre tall creature standing opposingly over the distance. "…Issei, this must be the likes of the Annihilation Maker user, am I correct?"

"Y-Yeah! It is! There's no doubt about it."

"If I vividly recall, he is the only one capable to will such a creature out of his imagination as one of the abilities of his Longinus. However, he is still a kid…For him to summon a creature of this size just from his imagination…" Kiba added gravely. "His capabilities of imagination is frightening…"

"I wonder why he didn't summon it earlier? We could have really dealt serious difficulty if he chose to summon that kind of creature early in battle. Why was he absent from the rest of his members?" Irina wondered out loud.

"He must be concentrating his effort to prevent the Allied Forces to advance towards Honmaru Palace." Rossweisse answered to Irina's question. "Since he has the ability to create antimonsters that can conjure the weakness of Devils of light, they must have given him the responsibility to stand against the Allied Forces. With his ability to create countless of antimonsters, it must have brought trouble to the Allied Forces."

"He's just a kid…" Asia muttered with a hint of sadness.

"Yes, but he wields one of the strongest Longinus and he has sided with the enemies. There's no turning back for him, Asia." Xenovia shakes her head with a disapproving frown. "He is a kid but he is wielding his Sacred Gear to hurt others, and—potentially kill."

"I understand." Issei watches Asia nodded solemnly before looking at the determined look on her face. "He is our enemy. Nothing more, nothing less. He's hurting our friends, and I can't ignore that."

"Me too, Asia-chan." Issei agreed wholeheartedly.

"Ara, ara. I think we should save the conversation for later. Because it looks like the creature have regain his footing and is targeting us." Akeno informed everyone.

Instantly, everyone looks towards the 200 meters tall creature had turned its eyes towards them. Its glowing eyes glow brightly as it spotted the Gremory group.

"W-What should we do, Rias onee-sama?" Kunou asked in urgency, standing near Rossweisse.

"…I apologize, Kunou. But we cannot run."

Kunou looked at her in surprise.

"Because we had gotten here just recently." Rias smiled at Kunou. "How about you'll leave it to the rest of us? You can stand safely away from the battle with Asia and…"

"I can accompany her, Rias." Shirayuki-Hime volunteered, stepping forward.

"Thank you, Shirayuki-Hime."

"B-But, Rias onee-sama…"

"It is alright, Kunou. You might be able to have the opportunity to watch us in battle." Rias offered a smile.

"As properly told by our King." Akeno asked as she unfurled her Devil and Fallen Angel wings out of her back. At this, Sala, Koneko, Percher stepped forward to stand next to her.

As Rias stepped forward to join the group of four, the gigantic creature stood full mast before tilting its head up to the skies and let out an insanely loud scream!

"I don't know about all of you, but this might be thrilling." Pest commented in self-contained excitement, evident of her growing smirk.

"This is otherwise a different enemy than the ones we fought before. But we cannot falter behind." Sala commented as her fingers grip upon the handle of her blade confined within its sheath.

"Yes, that is true. Fufu, this will be an interesting practice for us. We had just arrived here after all." Akeno smiles before glancing at a frowning Rias. "…Rias?"

"—I do not know what to say about this…However, for the enemy to issue reinforcement at a time like this…" Rias fell silent at the appearance of the gigantic creature. "They must want to guarantee their escape without interruption." Rias grimly speculated before a loud shout resonated throughout the area.

"Wha-What the?! W-W-Wait! I-Is that the Kyoto Tower?!"

Issei exclaimed loudly as he and the others sees the Kyoto Tower appearing flying through the air—instantly piercing the unknown gigantic creature's throat by the tip of its spire, earning a loud pained scream from said creature. Then, in hindsight, the brunette sees him. Without any hesitation, Issei pointed out his finger.

"That-That's—Izayoi-senpai!"

He shouted catching everyone's attention. Including the newly arrived First Gen Monkey King and Yu-Long, and ultimately every member of the Hero Faction.

"What?" Rias questioned followed by the others as they all looked towards the direction where Issei pointed.

"—Sakamaki Izayoi?" Cao Cao stated glancing at Issei before looking at the gigantic creature and then he finally saw a lock of blonde in the distance. "…It is him." He muttered as he sees the said blonde in mid-air—falling straight towards the head of the creature.

It was a split-second pause presented to Cao Cao and the others before they all witnessed the instant wide gigantic explosion—! The explosion engulfed the gigantic creature and blasting forth a gigantic burst of wind throughout every single direction including Nijou Castle which was nearby.

East Side of Kyoto

"What is up with this torrent of winds?" Azazel asked in annoyance just after he had struck down one of the last remaining antimonsters in the area. He held up his right arm to block the incoming strong gust of wind. Looking down, Azazel watches his feet losing its footing against the concrete roads and he deliberately smirk.

"Azazel-dono."

Michael called out near him as Azazel glances at him, noticing the Seraphim gazing out in front of him and a small frown appearing on his face as he gazes out.

Without questioning his call, Azazel looks towards in front of him, squinting his eyes in focus.

"For Michael to adopt that kind of expression in the midst of this...Something must have…—What in the worl—?!"

Azazel's bout of surprise was cut off by the sounds of cracking concrete—the roads they were standing on—was cracking.

"Ascend to the skies, Azazel-dono." Michael advised unfurling his Angel wings and flew upwards just as Azazel unfurled his, following after him.

Just as Azazel's feet were off the ground, the ground beneath instantly breaks apart and explodes outwards, sending chunks of earth deep within beneath the concrete roads, towards the skies!

Summoning forth a spear of light, Azazel slew huge chunks of earth into pieces by a few swings of the spear before he ascends to the upper levels of the skies, evading all of the projectiles on his way. His expression was of genuine shock and awe at the spectacle happening in front of his pair of eyes. He cannot comprehend the current catastrophic event right now within his mind!

Sensing Michael's presence beside him, Azazel glances over his right shoulder and watches as the devastation of destruction continues…

Buildings upon buildings collapsing and toppling over one another just as the ground collapsed beneath them and exploded outwards. The destruction continues to engulf all and leaving nothing to pass…

"What could have caused such a…display? Is it possibly an enemy we do not know? To leave a level of destruction on a city scale such as this…"

Michael stood beside Azazel. His Angel wings evidently unfurled behind his back whilst he witnessed the ongoing destruction in its place.

"That's what I like to ask. Though its coming from the direction where the kids are…" Azazel analysed the amount of destruction beneath him. "—You have felt it awhile back. The burst of energy…And what became of it?"

Azazel fell silent after he directs the question towards Michael. The Fallen Angel Governor cannot bear to erase the appearance of the —creature that over tower the tallest building in Kyoto by nearly 70 meters.

He recalled the moment where he and Michael had been bombarded by the allied forces stationed all around Kyoto about the sudden appearance of the creature that came out of nowhere. The creature had announced its appearance with a frightful scream that rang throughout Kyoto, which everyone could hear and they all had to close off their ears from the high frequency of the scream. The allied forces were distraught by the 200 meters creature and they were awaiting orders on their next course of action involving the creature, forgoing to put aside the small antimonsters for the moment since they deemed the gigantic creature was more of a threat to them than its small counterparts. At this, both Azazel and Michael had nothing to establish orders since the appearance of the creature was too sudden and they had no knowledge of the creature at all.

However, Azazel had state his orders that the allied forces were not to engage the enormous creature summoned by the Annihilation Maker user. All of the allied forces had agreed to his proposition. After that, Azazel talked to Michael about approaching the creature with the two of them only, identifying it a threat that the Gremory task force cannot engage at the time. Azazel had known that both the Gremory task force and the newly arrived reinforcements in the form of Yu-Long and Sun Wukong would be far too busy engaging the Hero Faction and the Nine-Tails Fox, and they cannot split their attention to focus on the newly appeared creature that stood frighteningly 200 meters off of the ground.

However just before Azazel suggested to Michael that they should made their appearance by faring against the creature, they were taken by surprise at the —disappearance of the creature. In happened in an instant, which they cannot comprehend before they were greeted by a strong gust of wind out of nowhere.

A pained scream came from the creature before they soon be watching the creature standing up though it stood a lot farther than when it appears the first time. But then when the creature scream defyingly in agitation, they were stunned to sense and watch an explosion happening right in that moment. Though they had strangely had a brief glimpse of the whole of Kyoto Tower colliding with the creature before the gigantic explosion happened. —As the explosion happened, they were caught by a stronger torrent of wind which differ greatly than the previous one—before the appearance of earthquakes followed right after—in moments they thought they would never expect, they were looking at the destruction of the entire Kyoto.

"—Yes. It must came from the Annihilation Maker user. Because as soon as the outbreak of energy was released, the numbers of the antimonsters are decreasing rapidly without any reason, and in place of it? One such creature I had never lay my eyes upon…" Michael told Azazel. "Had the Annihilation Maker shown its true colours?"

Michael frowned deeply at the end.

"Might be. —Or, he was provoked into resorting to it…" Azazel quipped as Michael turns a confusing eye towards him.

"He was provoked?"

Azazel nodded at Michael's question.

"And I might have a few candidates that match up to provoking one's enemy."

As he ended his sentence, Azazel glances all around him, reviewing the amount of destruction that happened just moments ago, before he smirked widely. He had known one individual that matches up to his assumptions and guesses when he had recalled all of the strange appearance reminiscent of natural disasters up until this point.

"Who?"

"If my assumptions are right, and they always are...—Apparently, we are already been graced with the presence of the Gremory Prince of Destruction."

Togetsukyou

Gabriel looked down towards the imitation of the Katsura River before her eyes wander around the area, noting the absence of antimonsters in the Katsura River. Standing alone on the Togetsukyou bridge, Gabriel stood along the ledge of the bridge as she placed her hands over the railing.

"...It all started with the gigantic hole in the sky...Things has started to escalate from there…Afterwards, strangely...the numbers of the enemies decreased exponentially without reason. Because of that, there is no sight of them engaging their route towards Togetsukyou anymore..."

Gabriel gazes around the beautiful scenery of Togetsukyou without the presence of the enemy lurking and staining the picturesque image in front of her. The peace and quiet atmosphere around her causes Gabriel to smile warmly. Afterwards, she let her mind wander towards prior events.

"Neither Azazel-dono nor Michael can gave us proper explanations to it. All of the commanding officers of the forces stationed were fortunately able to calm everyone despite the intense situation." Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief. "None of us expect something as equivalent to natural disasters to be greeting us in the midst of our battle. If the recent earthquakes were what caused the rapid decrease of these monsters created by the Annihilation Maker user, we might not be facing a foe. But for them to cause such destruction that can be seen and felt by everyone...They are no doubt powerful to establish themselves to show their overall power."

Gabriel furrowed her eyebrows as she frown silently. She had felt the immense force behind the wind and earthquakes the first time. She was caught off guard the first time but she cannot withhold the surprise she experienced once she had felt the power behind the backlash. Her first thoughts were that it came from the allied force, primarily Azazel or Michael who might have displayed overwhelming power because of their stature as the Governor of the Fallen Angels and the former leader of the Archangels respectively. She also had known that the direction where the natural disasters came from where identical to where both individuals were. Though she did not jump into any conclusions, she sought to confirm it with Michael by establishing communications with him.

Once she had gotten a hold of him, Gabriel had asked the question directly with concern. But she did not expect the answer coming from Michael himself when he had answered that he did not know the actual cause of the natural disasters. He had mentioned Azazel had speculations over the identity of the culprit but did not give a definite answer to him. After that, Gabriel asked about the conditions of the allied forces as she felt worried over them.

Michael reassured her that the allied forces did not sustain any heavy damages but were perplexed over the whole situation at the moment and had established to report to both him and Azazel for answers and any possible actions to be taken. Both him and Azazel had taken the role of mitigating the majority of the allied forces' worries and concerns over the attacks. After listening to Michael, Gabriel expressed her relief over the allied forces' condition and Michael promptly claimed that she did not have to worry too much before he told Gabriel to prep herself for anything in the meantime, if she is required. Gabriel understood without question before she concluded her communication with Michael.

As Gabriel stood alone on the bridge, in the lone and empty Togetsukyou…A small frown curved downwards on her beautiful face as her thoughts immediately went to the time when she heard a monstrous scream that came out of nowhere and suddenly. She could immediately recall the chilling feeling trailing down her spine at the cry. She does not know why but fear was gripping her entire body... The fear petrified her body and she cannot do anything to dismiss it.

Shaking her head slowly, Gabriel tried to dismiss the scream from ringing in her head...—Before she heard it again.

"What…?" Gabriel utters under her breath at the loud screeching scream that resonated through Togetsukyou. She squinted her eyes at the sound reverberating throughout the area—then she sensed it.

A backlash of wind spreading throughout the Togetsukyou as it hits her, causing her to shift her feet back. She looks down at the waters of Katsura River, seeing her reflection reflected on herself. As she looked at her reflection, she notices the waters tremble causing her reflection to shake.

"This feeling again…...No, this is not the same...This is even more!"

Gabriel's eyes widens as she look up—to see a gigantic wave of water coming into her sights. That is when—cracks started appearing all over the Togetsukyou bridge!

"What is happening…?"

South of Kyoto

"Where is this coming from?"

"This is different than the previous ones we've encountered! It's more powerful and destructive than the rest! And it just happened right after that monster appeared!"

"Yeah, it came out of nowhere too! What is going on upfront?"

"What happened to that creature?! Did it got caught in the explosion?!"

"Is the one causing it, the same as the one who had caused those natural disasters all around Kyoto? —Did it vanquished the creature too?"

Murmurs spread amongst the allied forces of Devils, Fallen Angels and Angels as they all felt the insanely peer pressure of the burst of wind coming from Honmaru Palace alone. The allied forces that had been split to occupy all around Kyoto had nevertheless felt the impact of the backlash of wind. Almost everyone had to erect their defensive magic barriers lest they got blown away by the sheer force of the wind.

However, they were not the only ones who were affected. The antimonsters that the allied forces had been fighting against ever since the beginning had all been decimated by the gust of wind and the unearthly earthquake that topple down every unstable buildings and crumble down the stable ones too. The combined forces of the torrent of wind and earthquake had decimated the antimonsters for the allied forces stationing to the North and West side of Kyoto and were in the middle of facing off the antimonsters in their area. However, there were some of the allied forces stationing to the East and South side of Kyoto had decimate all of the antimonsters prior to the natural disaster they were experiencing right now. The reactions of the allied forces of both North and West is nothing short of shock and awe upon discovering that the antimonsters had been entirely decimated through the help of the natural disaster before they act to protect themselves from the disaster itself.

The reactions of the allied forces of both East and South were the same as their counterparts however the threat of the antimonsters had long been extinguished by them, and they were entirely in shock of the power of the natural disaster that they were experiencing and are focusing on defending themselves from the sheer and pure force it exerts.

Putting an arm above her head, Serafall braced herself against the torrent of wind strongly pushing her backwards. She looks around herself, watching as everyone had erected defensive barrier to block incoming projectiles towards them and potentially subdues the force of the wind and had a mobile magic circle beneath them to distance themselves from the earthquake that left parts of the roads to rise up from the surface and break the formation of their structure while huge chunks of earth and land had been pulled up to the surface, which sunk buildings underground. Serafall could also see that some of them had flown up into the skies to avoid the earthquake and mainly focuses on defending against the wind and the projectiles thrown into the skies by the forceful wind.

Deciding upon a decision in her mind, Serafall unfurled her Devil wings before she ascends to the skies. As she was ascending, she took notice the insane damages beneath her before she stopped herself at a reasonable height that overlooks the entirety of Kyoto.

Serafall's breath hitched. Her eyes widen.

She cannot imagine the devastating damage—that involves the entirety of Kyoto.

The buildings surrounding the allied forces had been reduced to crumbling down by the sheer pressure or had been blown away by the sheer force of the backlash wind. However, Serafall could see from her viewpoint that the earth below the soil of the Kyoto imitation which gave support to all of the buildings built upon solid ground once, had crumbled under the insane amount of pressure, which caused the roads in every corner of every building in Kyoto to rise up almost instantaneously.

As she stood in the skies above, Serafall remained unmoving as she looked upon the—remains of one would call Kyoto. Even though it was a imitation of Kyoto, she cannot properly grasp the complete destruction of the city.

Suddenly, Serafall look up to the skies towards the dimension—watching it as it fluctuates violently. By that display, she knew that the destruction of Kyoto had directly affects the dimension they were in. Serafall does not know how yet she knows that the destructive force behind the destruction of Kyoto was anything but normal.

"...Who is behind this? Is it the enemy?" Serafall questioned recalling about the burst of unfamiliar power from afar. Although unfamiliar, she had designated that the exerted power was foul and vile, concluding that whoever was the individual was not one of theirs. "—But then, the presence of that creature disappeared almost instantly right before all of this happened—" Serafall paused before she recollected her thoughts about the recent natural disasters caused by none other than—a certain blonde she loves. —A wide smile spread across her cheeks as Serafall cheerfully twirls around because she knows.

At that point she had known. There was nothing left for her to think complicatedly.

"~Oh, Izayoi-kun~ Serafall giggles happily under her hand before she surveyed all of Kyoto. "...You've really make your extravagant entrance…...—Thank you, Izayoi-kun...Thank you so much…"

She thanked silently with closed eyes, knowing that he had defeated the creature that brought about terror to the hearts of everyone when it had appeared. Even if it had appeared for a while, she did not forget the immense terror that was felt by everyone in her force, and she thought it struck the same feelings towards the other allied forces across all of Kyoto. But now, Serafall knows that the creature had been slain which she would gladly tell the news to her force right after. Although, there was the bigger news that she wants to bear towards everyone and that is—the hero that had come to their rescue and slain the terrifying creature all by himself! She herself cannot wait to bear the news to everybody and see their reactions! She knew that it would be a priceless moment for her to see.

At the thought of her blonde invading her mind at the moment, Serafall smiles adoringly as she looks upfront, hoping that she will meet with him soon after this was over. Especially since she cannot wait to give him a reward for his deeds...

"…Georg, secure a barrier around us."

Cao Cao commanded towards Georg who heard his command and immediately summons a thick mist engulfing the Hero Faction.

"..."

Cao Cao did not close his eyes over the intense wind blowing in his way as he and the other Hero Faction members kept watching the spectacle of the explosion to end under the protection of Georg's mist.

"That's one massive explosion!" Yu-Long exclaimed shockingly by the outcome of the explosion.

"Though the question remains; who is the one that causes it?" Sun Wukong asked with slight interest etched on his wrinkled face.

Meanwhile, Cao Cao and the other members of Heroes Faction looked towards the direction of the growing explosion coming from the Kyoto Prefectural Office.

"Rossweisse, can I entrust you the task to protect the rest of everyone? Akeno and I will establish our own from here."

"Yes, you can entrust me with the task, Rias!" Rossweisse immediately answered before setting out to stand in front of Asia, Issei, Kiba.

"Everyone, I ask that all of you stay together with Rossweisse! In under no circumstances let yourself be separate with each other!" Rias shouted to her servants and the others.

Immediately, Shirayuki-Hime guided Kunou to stand closely behind Asia whilst Xenovia, Irina, Koneko and Gasper followed closely by. Once all of them had been grouped together, Rossweisse started chanting. Once chanting, numerous magic circles appear in front of the group. Suddenly, a flash of light engulfed them before the 9 people looked within the barrier encompassing them all.

"All of us are protected." Rossweisse stated as Rias heard her confirmation.

"Good work, Rossweisse. Can you withstand for a little while until this is over?"

"Do not worry, Rias. My magic won't deplete so soon...I assure you of this." Rossweisse smiled.

"Good. —Akeno?" Rias turned to her Queen.

"I understand, Buchou."

Instantly, the two of them erected a defensive barrier altogether that engulfed them together with Sala and Percher. They successfully erected the barrier in time before they were bluntly hit by the full force of the harsh winds that greeted them.

"Rias!" Akeno called out as Rias look in front of her, instantly spotting the ground in front of them cracking before exploding forth!

"Rossweisse, can you stay on that spot if the ground's no longer stable? If not, I have to advise all of us to ascend to the skies to avoid confrontation."

"In my opinion, it is better for us to avoid confrontation for now."

"My thoughts exactly." Rias spoke with a tiny magic circle stationing next to her right ear.

Just as the ground crackle beneath them, Rias shouted.

"Brace yourself!"

At her shout, everyone readies themselves as both Rias and Akeno including Rossweisse braced for the impact. In an instant, the ground around them explodes outward, pushing off both the groups to the skies whilst a chunk of earth glued beneath each of the two groups as it served as their momentary land during their flight.

Thinning her lips, Rias braced herself with Akeno. The duo kept a stable balance between both their energies to keep a stable connection of their barrier.

"I never thought the damage would be this substantial…" Rias commented as she tried to see through half-lid eyes. "Did Izayoi-kun put a bit of effort into finishing that creature?"

"A bit?" Akeno asked clearly surprised by her King enunciates the effort exerted by the blonde. "Am I hearing things right? Did you say that Izayoi-kun had put a bit of effort and the result is this…?"

"Does he take things seriously when facing that kind of enemy? If he was, I understand why he has to exert a bit of effort to finish them off." Sala spoke her opinion.

"I don't know how to answer your question as accurately as I can, Akeno. Because I truly don't know the extent of Izayoi-kun's physical strength. However, judging by the backlash of the explosion...I have a feeling that he must have put a bit of effort to finish the enemy once and for all. It's not a given if he is serious but I understand your point, Sala. So far, Izayoi-kun is exerting a little of effort into this fight." Rias ended as she, Akeno, Sala and Percher continue watching as violent winds swept pass by them.

"Oh my! What an explosion…" Akeno said standing next to Rias she they both held their ground to withstand the backlash of the explosion with their barrier protecting them including Sala and Percher. Meanwhile, aforementioned duo stood next to them as all four of them watches the spectacle in front of their eyes.

Whilst flying in the skies as they stood beneath their momentary land, the two groups watches the sight with their eyes as what they could describe as a catastrophic calamity…

All they could watch was how the torrent of winds and violent tremors of the earthquakes tore through everything in its path, leaving not a speck untouched. They could see the ground they had stood moments ago had blown into proportions, before they saw the Honmaru Palace completely obliterated by the destructive force of the natural disasters.

"This is...unbelievable…" Rossweisse commented in pure disbelief with wide eyes. The former Valkyrie watches as the destruction of the Honmaru Palace continues onwards to the city of Kyoto. "There is no end to this…" She mutters while everyone standing behind her was watching the whole calamity happening.

"A-All of this...Izayoi-senpai did this…" Gasper stated out loud hiding behind Koneko while peeking out his head from her shoulder to watch the destruction of Kyoto.

Koneko did not speak as she was overcome by pure shock at the strength of her blonde senior that can cause such destruction…

"This must be a true testament of Izayoi-senpai's strength…" Kiba commented in awe whilst watching the numerous buildings in Kyoto collapsed to the crumbling ground.

"Is it really?" Asia asked watching in shock of the aftermath of her senior's blow.

"Ddraig… Am I seeing things? This is reminiscent to an apocalypse…" Issei thought shockingly as he witnessed the earthquakes spread across the entirety of Kyoto. The result—was the widespread of destruction in its path. Buildings and homes were instantly crumbled under the pressure from both the torrent of winds and earthquakes. "Just from a blow of Izayoi-senpai's…He caused this…"

"—Your senior, partner...There are many impossible things we have heard of your senior's feats in battle...Though we did not have the opportunity to watch him in action for a few of these chances but everyone including us did not doubt it...A human highly capable on killing an immortal Phenex if the Rating Game did not restrict the rule of killing in the dimension...A human cutting off the horn of Great Red, the Apocalypse Dragon God and coming out of the battle—unscathed. Amongst other things, a human beating Loki, the God of Mischievous to a bloody pulp? You do not see that everyday yet he had squarely beaten Odin and shattered Gungnir. These accomplishments are proven otherwise true. Lastly, a human saving the Underworld from being eradicated by a creature that cannot be defeated by the Four Great Satans...After hearing all of that, I doubt this is anything surprising...I believe that it's just barely a testament of your senior's power comparing his other otherworldly feats as of late. But it's a whole new perspective to seeing your senior's profound strength…Destroying the scale of a city with a just a blow…This is nothing I have ever seen a human do." Ddraig commented with an impressed voice.

"...—Otou-sama did all of this…?" Kunou asked quietly as she looked around the whole of Kyoto.

Standing behind her, Shirayuki-Hime looked down at the Fox Heiress.

"...Are you alright, Kunou-sama?" Shirayuki-Hime asked with a small frown, contemplating of her reaction about seeing her father displaying such monstrosity of a strength through destroying the large scale of the city, Kyoto. Shirayuki-Hime hoped that she did not bear any ill-feelings of her father at the sight of Kyoto's destruction. Though the dimension bears the same resemblance as the original Kyoto, Shirayuki-Hime knew it would be bring a recollection of memories from Kunou's mind. For the Fox Heiress to see the places where she had visited with her family—decimated, might bring mixed feelings in her, which worried Shirayuki-Hime.

"...Even if this city is an imitation of Kyoto, it is not Kyoto…If this is Kyoto, there would be the population of people living in Kyoto, living their daily lives and trying to face the hurdles in the lives. At the same time, they would appreciate the nature of Kyoto and what it brings to them. There is no Kyoto without its people...That is what Okaa-sama taught me." Kunou spoke up fondly. "After that, Otou-sama spoke that a leader must lead their people towards a brighter day to nurture them along their journey, and all the while protect them—with our powers whenever possible."

Shirayuki-Hime looked surprised at the words spoken by Kunou and after a while, she smiled at her. Meanwhile, Koneko and Gasper started listening on Kunou followed by the rest of the people in the magic dome. Including Rossweisse who had glanced over her shoulders towards Kunou.

"...If the monster that appeared earlier, had come to the real Kyoto...I cannot imagine what would happen to the people…and I am scared when Rias onee-sama volunteered herself and the others to stop it. I started thinking about what will happen…" Kunou frowned deeply as she went silent.

Shirayuki-Hime watches her for the moment of silence before detecting a smile forming on her face.

"—Then...Otou-sama came, vanquishing that creature…Although the cost of it came with this imitation of Kyoto, it is not the real Kyoto. —But in the end, Otou-sama protected us all. —And I cannot be more than happy to see him!" Kunou turns around as she smile widely at Shirayuki-Hime, and the others who looked at her with smiles. "Otou-sama came for us and Okaa-sama!" A few tears escaped Kunou's eyes as she made her claim.

"And he will do everything in his power to return your mother to you, Kunou-sama. He will succeed where we had failed…"

Rossweisse spoke up with a smile.

"No, all of you did not failed." Kunou answered. "You all did your best…" Kunou smiled at everyone before bowing her head at them. "—and I cannot thank you enough!"

"You're most welcome, Kunou-sama. You don't know how much that meant to us coming from you...We really appreciate what you've said…" Rossweisse directed an appreciative smile towards Kunou who nods gratefully at her.

"Kunou-sama...You're welcome." Asia nodded as few tears escaped her eyes at Kunou's words of appreciation towards them. Meanwhile, Issei expresses his happiness by smiling at Kunou before he smiled over Asia's teary smile, knowing that she was overwhelmed with happiness by Kunou's words.

"Thank you for your sincere confession, Kunou-sama…" Xenovia added smiling while feeling touched by her words.

Irina smiled at Xenovia before she looks back at Kunou. "For you to say that sincerely, Kunou-sama…Oh my! We do not deserve such kindness from you!" Irina commented shedding tears whilst cupping her hands together. She did not expect that her client held so much kindness for their actions. Irina held regret that she did not accomplish her mission with the others. She recalled that they had claimed with their own words that they would return her mother and they would gave it their all to accomplish that objective. They have given it their all—but they cannot deny they were ashamed of themselves when they cannot keep their words to the Youkai Heiress after all of their motivation and efforts. But as they grief over their sadness of losing and failing on their respective mission, they were instead rewarded with her thankful words. Words that expresses her kind yet sincere feelings towards them about their efforts at this point.

"I cannot thank you enough for your efforts…All of you did your very best, and I cannot overlook that at all…"

Kunou smiles as she ends her statement.

"Partner, this display of strength…Is it caused by your senior?" Vritra asked which runs through Saji's mind.

"Yes, you got it right, Vritra." Saji answered as he hovered in mid-air while surveying the aftermath around him. "There is no one I know that could very well display this kind of destruction anywhere with physical strength alone…"

"Truly…What is your senior? To be born with powers beyond anyone's comprehension…"

"I always wanted to answer that myself. But all I got is that he is a human…"

"Hmph, to think he is only a human…I highly doubt that is only it."

"I have my doubts. But…there is some truth to it." Saji acknowledged himself as he turns away from his surroundings and spotted the Nine Tails Fox crouching a distance away, posing to attack while ignoring the surroundings. "Anyway, since Izayoi-senpai is here. We might as well finish this soon. I don't want to be overthrown by Issei's senior even if he is a human."

"Hmph, then prove it." Vritra added but before Saji could move in to attack forth towards the Nine Tails Fox, an enthusiastic voice interrupts his advance.

"Woah! Would you look at all of this destruction?! Did you saw all of this? I went up a moment ago, just to see an entire city collapsed!"

"Yu-Long…" Vritra hissed.

"Did you see it, Vritra? I was truly and utterly shocked! Never would I expect to be seeing this when I come here! Neither is old man Monkey King! He must be surprised to see this too!"

"Would you keep this to yourself? Why must you express your enthusiasm to us…?"

"Weren't you surprised by all of this? Vritra, is your partner know the one behind all of this?"

"The one who caused all of this is my senior." Saji answered chuckling awkwardly, feeling the growing annoyance of Vritra's over Yu-Long's blatant ignorance of him.

"Your senior?!"

"To deal a finishing blow to that creature and decimated the entirety of Kyoto…Not to mention shake the entire dimension along with it…His display of strength is quite something to question…" A wry smile appears on Sun Wukong's face. "What sort of individual is he, I wonder?" He wondered standing on top of a pile of rubble whilst he looks up to the direction of the area where the gigantic creature was last seen. "But…what sort of intention is he here on?" Sun Wukong questioned under his breath before he glances over to the Hero Faction cloaking underneath the thickened mist. He watches as the mist dissipates little by little before the Hero Faction appears and they all witness their surroundings with varying reactions.

"What in the world…?!" Georg's shocked face expressed his overwhelming conscious of comprehending the scene in front of him. He gawked as he looks over at the destruction laid before him.

"The walls around the vicinity…They collapsed…" Jeanne muttered with wide eyes. "…I can see the buildings beyond them…" She stated seeing the decimated land and buildings. "What is this…?"

Siegfried stood still as his eyes silently took in the sight before him. His grip on both of his swords tightens considerably…

"What the hell happened here?" Heracles asked with a deep frown. The tallest in his group could see the buildings around the Honmaru Palace had collapsed, the pockets of land rose up, the moat surroundings them had all been filled with debris.

"Who could have done this…?" Georg questioned himself with a hint of fear that can be sensed from his slight shaky voice. Just as he asked, he glances over his eyes over to Cao Cao. Georg sees the slight tremble in excitement of Cao Cao's hand as he grips around the base of his spear whilst shouldering it. Aside from that, he could also see that small smile ghosting over Cao Cao's expression. "What could have made Cao Cao…"

Suddenly, a bright light obscured the Hero Faction's sights, attracting the attention of Saji, Yu-Long, Sun Wukong and lastly, the Gremory Group at the same time.

"What..." Rias utters. Her hand shielding over her eyes at the bright light under the Gremory Group. As the effect of the bright light lessens over a brief amount of time, Rias lets down her hand before she looks forward—just to see red. As her vision took in the red colour, her mind reeled in the massive mass in front of her and her group. "This is!"

"Oh my…It looks like we have been graced by the summon of Asuka-san…" Akeno smiled up at the familiar gigantic being.

"So, she came here huh?" Pest let out a small smile. "She must've been bored being on the side lines all this while. I can't blame her for that."

Sala shakes her head at Pest's statement before looking at the gigantic being, Deen. She then let her sights moves up towards the left shoulder of Deen, where she could see a familiar mop of black hair poking over the edge of it. A smile curved upwards on Sala's lips.

"Are you all okay?!" A voice shouted from above the giant, Deen.

Issei and Asia looked up followed by the others. A wide smile spread across Asia as she looks up at Asuka standing over the side of Deen's head by its left shoulder and facing them with a smile.

"Asuka-san!" Asia shouted happily, relieved to see her friend again.

"Rossweisse, can you descend with the others? I think it's alright for us to land by now." Rias stated through her communication magic circle located next to her left ear. She then looks towards Akeno and nodded to her.

"Understood." Rossweisse answered clearly. After that, both Rias and Akeno including Rossweisse controlled the floating barrier and the chunk of land beneath to descend upon the ground underneath them. Before long, everyone had safely landed and the barrier had dissipated. The chunk of earth that had glued itself to the barrier had crumbled once it touches the ground.

"It is nice to see you here, Asuka." Rias smiled up at Asuka through her communication magic circle.

Glancing at her right ear at the appearance of a tiny magic circle, Asuka smiles.

"Thank you, Rias. I hope you wouldn't mind my appearance because I heard that you need some help. So that's why I'm here."

"Who did you heard it fr—"

When Rias wanted to ask, she was interrupted by a magic purple hexagon appearing in front of Deen and everyone who stood behind Deen. The magic circle appeared in between the Heroes Faction and the Gremory group. The appearance of the magic circle instantly grabbed the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

Not a moment too soon, two figures appeared and stood upon the purple hexagon before it disappears seconds after.

"I am here because of him." Asuka told Rias through the communication circle. The Gremory Heiress looks in front of her to see the familiar blonde hair and her husband's back greeting her. Behind her, everyone focuses at the blonde standing in front of them. His appearance causes everyone to be speechless.

"Izayoi-senpai…" Koneko muttered under her breath at the sight of the blonde. However, her eyes widen when she took noticed of the person next to her senior. Her wide eyes looks from her senior—to her older sister standing by his side. "…—Onee-sama…?"

To Be Continued…

So, that is the end of this chapter! Chapter 61! How do all of you think about this particular chapter? Leave your reviews in the Review Box below! For the new readers, I welcome you to this story! Do not forget to click on that Favorite and Follow buttons if you like the story and want to follow it through!

I appreciate if anyone of you have any tips or advice for me to improve. Anyway, that is all I have to say.

Ja'ne! ArtLotus out!