A/N: Hello everyone, it's me!
Firstly I would like to welcome all the newcomers who favourited my story and are now following it. It means a lot to me that you've decided to read my fanfic.
Now…I know it's been a while since my last update and I am really sorry that I kept you all waiting for so long without anything.
I was able to finish my exams but I was met, shortly after, with other pressing personal matters which made it impossible for me to put my best effort into this story. Not only that but I also had to think of my beta reader who had exams shortly after mine were over.
However, now that exams are finally over and I have nothing else which takes priority, the usual release schedule for the last few chapters of the summit arc. As I said in my last two chapters (which has been a while, I'll admit), I'll be adding to my version of the DxD universe and will do my best to explain it in a way which is both interesting and easy to follow.
Now without further ado, here's the long-awaited next chapter.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh!"
Ben flinched and visibly winced at the sudden shrill cry emerging from the dark room battered his unsuspecting eardrums.
"They've got a good set of lungs in them," he noted as he tilted his head away a little though it did absolutely nothing to lessen the bombardment on his ears.
He looked over to Rias to see her wincing slightly at the piercing shriek but she didn't appear taken by surprise.
In fact….
Ben glanced around at his companions to see that Akeno, Kiba and Koneko all shared similar expressions as Rias. It seemed that they had been expecting the shrill cry when they opened the door.
Rias sighed lightly, shaking her head with it before she made her way into the darkened room with Akeno, Kiba and Koneko quickly following her lead.
"Hello there," she said kindly to the room's occupant. "I'm glad to see you're looking well."
"W-What are you all doing here? I-I don't understand what's going on," they cried out, their voice full of fear.
"The seal has been broken. You're free to go out with us now," Rias explained softly as she crouched in front of a thick blanket that was shivering, clearly originating from whatever was hiding underneath it
As Ben, Asia and Xenovia entered the room behind everyone else Rias reached out to the blanket and gently pulled it down to reveal them to Ben. He had no idea what to expect but a Koneko-sized, platinum-haired and violet-eyed girl with who was wearing the Kuoh Academy's uniform for girls was nowhere close to what he was imagining….
'…and certainly not someone who had pointed ears,' he added as an afterthought when he spotted the pointed tips which were revealed as she shook her head violently at Rias' suggestion
"Nooooooooooooo! I don't wanna go outside! It's way too scary out there!" she cried tearfully.
It was then that something suddenly dawned on Ben.
"Hang on. Didn't you say the bishop was a guy? What's with the girl then?"
Rias turned from where she was knelt down beside them and looked back at him with a small smile.
"I know it might be a bit confusing with the uniform but he's most definitely a boy," Rias confirmed as she gently patted the scared little boy's head in an attempt to soothe him.
"Ara, ara, but as you can see, he likes to dress up as a girl," Akeno chuckled softly.
"Uh okay. I wasn't expecting that," he mumbled dumbly as he looked back at the young cross-dresser cowering before them all. Even though he didn't swing that way, even Ben had to admit that he looked cute.
"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you all to Gasper Vladi, the other bishop in my peerage," Rias said, hugging him warmly. "He's a first-year student…and before I had the honour of turning him into a devil, this little guy was half-human and half-vampire."
"He's a real vampire?" Asia asked with intrigue while Ben approached Gasper and Rias with a look of fascination on his face.
"No way! Seriously?! He's a vampire?! An actual, real-life vampire?!" he asked eagerly as he caught the slight glint from the light as it reflected off the corner of the fang which, while small, proved beyond any doubt that Gasper was, indeed, a genuine vampire.
Rias chuckled at Ben's excitement and nodded her head. "Yes. He is an actual, real-life vampire," she confirmed with a smile before turning back to look at Gasper. "Now, Gasper. Do you want to come outside with us now?"
Gasper shook his head vigorously and backed away from Rias. "I don't wanna go! Please don't make me!
Ben knelt in front of the young dhampir. "Hey, it'll be alright. We don't bite," he said calmly as he held out his hand for Gasper to take.
This proved to be the wrong thing to do…
[Watch out, kid!] Azmuth cautioned but it was too late. Ben's vision went white for a split second and when it returned to normal Gasper was no longer in front of him. It was as if he'd completely vanished.
Ben blinked with surprise and stood back up. "Uh, what just happened?" he asked, confused by what just happened.
He spun around at the sound of a familiar cry to see Gasper who, somehow, had managed to move to the other corner of the room without anyone seeing him do it.
The half-vampire cowered with everyone staring at him with different expressions, most of them being curiosity and fascination.
"I'm sorry!" he cried in terror as he cowered in the corner. "Please don't hit me! I didn't mean it!"
"Did he just do that?" Ben asked with astonishment while Rias just sighed and nodded her head.
"He sure did. Come on, let's go into the clubroom. I'll explain everything in there."
. . . . .
ORC clubroom
"This is why he was sealed away in the first place," Akeno explained. "He possesses the Forbidden Balor View, otherwise known as 'The evil eye that stops the world'."
After a few minutes of coaxing him, they had managed to convince Gasper to leave his room and were now all back in the clubroom with Rias sat behind her desk as usual and Akeno standing beside her while everyone else bar Gasper had taken a seat on the sofas.
The dhampir was standing in the middle of the sofas and looking extremely uncomfortable at being out of his room.
"The what and the what?" Ben replied, completely lost.
"It's his Sacred Gear. When he gets too excited he can stop whatever he's looking at for a certain amount of time," Koneko explained.
"And unfortunately, Gasper has trouble controlling his power which is why he was sealed away by Sirzechs, it was as a precautionary measure."
"On top of that, it seems that his abilities are unconsciously growing stronger which means that it could almost certainly become a Balance Breaker."
"Wow, that's impressive! It's that powerful?" Ben asked with curiosity and Rias nodded in confirmation.
They were interrupted by the sound of whining and, turning around, they noticed a small cardboard box in the back corner of the room which was quivering slightly. "I don't like it when you guys talk about me like I'm not here! Why can't you just ignore that I'm alive like normal?!"
"I take it he's got some serious issues with social interactions," Ben summarised from what he had seen with the young dhampir.
As Rias nodded once again at Ben's astute skills of observation, Akeno cleared her throat to attract the crimson-haired heiress' attention.
"I think it's about time for us to go," she announced lightly.
"Yes, you're right," Rias replied as she glanced at the small clock on her desk. "If you'll excuse us; Akeno and I have to attend a meeting in preparation for the summit in a few days."
"I'm still struggling to believe it's actually taking place," Xenovia muttered under her breath.
"Kiba. Could you please come with us to this meeting? My brother is extremely interested in your Balance Breaker and would like to ask you some questions about it," Rias asked as she stood up from her desk.
"Of course," Kiba replied respectfully as he rose out of his seat.
"Wonderful. Everyone else, I'd like you to take over Gasper's training while we're away," Rias said as Kiba joined her and Akeno in preparation to wherever their meeting was.
"I guess we can do that…or at least give it a go," Ben replied, casting a quick glance back at Gasper as he said this but stopped when he caught the glare of the sun reflecting off the window. Once he noticed this, he immediately remembered something about vampires from the stories and films about vampires that he'd read and seen and wondered if it was true. "Is Gasper alright with sunlight? All of my knowledge of vampires comes from Stoker and Hollywood so I can't really believe everything they tell me."
Rias chuckled a bit before answering.
"He'll be quite alright in sunlight. It just so happens that he possesses the blood of the Day walker vampire; a special type of vampire which can move about in daylight, even if they still aren't overly fond of it. Now, we need to go otherwise we'll be late. I leave you in charge of Gasper's training, Ben. Please don't let me down."
With that, Rias, Akeno and Kiba all disappeared in a crimson, Gremory-crested magic circle, teleporting to wherever they were meeting up with Sirzechs.
When the circle dematerialised, Ben turned to the rest of the group and the whimpering dhampir.
"Well then, what should we do for training?" he asked with his hands placed on his hips as numerous ideas passed through his mind before being discarded when a different one entered his head.
Before he could come up with a suggestion, however, Xenovia stepped forward with a determined expression on her face.
"I've got an idea, Ben. Please let me try it. I know how to discipline him, you'll see," she declared confidently, a bright smile spreading across her face.
For some reason, Ben had a sinking suspicion things weren't going to go well.
. . . . .
(A few minutes later)
It turned out that he was right.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeek! Why are you being so meeeeeeeeeeeeean?!" Gasper cried as he ran around the back of the old-school building with Xenovia trailing behind him with the Holy sword, Durandal, in her hands as she chased after him.
"Stop complaining and keep running!" Xenovia shouted after him as she slowly closed the gap between them. "If you don't work those legs faster then you'll become Durandal's next victim!"
Standing on the side-line were Ben, Asia and Koneko who watched as Xenovia ran after the poor dhampir. Ben had face-palmed himself and now ran his hand through his hair as he tried to figure out why he let the former member of the Church help train a vampire…especially when she revealed to him that she had always wanted to face off against one ever since she was a child.
"This may have been a mistake," he admitted with a heavy sigh. "It just looks like she's a vampire hunter; she's having way too much fun with this."
"I think you're right," Asia agreed with a sigh of her own.
The two reincarnated devils continued their game of 'cat and mouse' for a few more minutes before Gasper fell over and glanced back up at Xenovia with a fearful expression on her face.
"Why do you have to be so mean to me?!" he whined fearfully.
"A healthy mind lives in a healthy body! You won't think I'm so mean when you're stronger," the azure-haired knight declared with a confident smile on her face.
"Gasper."
Gasper looked to his left to see Koneko standing before him. Ben cast a quick look to his left to see that the white-haired rook had vanished from his side.
'She really can be quick and quiet when the situation calls for it,' Ben thought to himself as he looked back at Gasper. 'Though it's to be expected with what she is.'
Koneko held her hand out to Gasper and Ben saw that she held two large cloves of garlic in her palm.
"You'll feel better instantly if you eat one of these," she stated as she pushed the cloves in her hand towards him.
"Are you insane?!" Gasper cried as he suddenly found some hidden reserves energy in his legs and began running away again, though this time he was running away from Koneko instead of Xenovia.
"Now Koneko seems to be having fun training him," Asia observed, sweatdropping at the strange scene playing out before her.
Ben just face-palmed himself again. "It just looks like she's bullying him."
"Hey guys," Saji called out as he rounded the corner of the building and came to stand next to Ben, Asia, and Xenovia who had re-joined them to give space to Koneko's training method.
"Hey Saji," Ben muttered back in response with a sigh as he slowly dragged his hand down his face at how askew the training had gone in such a short time. "How're you doing?"
"Not bad. Heard from Sona that Rias finally let her 'dangerous' bishop out so I thought I'd come and check things out," the Sitri Pawn explained before catching sight of Gasper as he ran for his life with Koneko hot on his trail. "No way! Another pretty blonde?"
"Might be pretty but he's still a dude," Ben corrected and chuckled to himself as Saji fell to his hands and knees in abject despair.
"A dude?! Why have I been forsaken?!" he moaned despairingly as Ben knelt down and patted his shoulder.
"I know what you're going through. Believe me, I was taken off guard by his choice of clothing too," Ben added as he looked back at the fleeing dhampir.
"Well, well, well. Don't tell me the servants of the devil kings little sisters have all come out to play together; that would be just too sweet," a familiar voice called out from the bushes.
"Hey there, Azazel," Ben greeted, knowing exactly who it was without even needing to look. He still did though, turning around to see the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels walking towards them. In contrast to the last time he saw the fallen angel leader, Azazel was now wearing a dull brown Yukata.
"Ahh, hello there, devil boy...oh, I'm sorry. I mean Dragon All-father," he replied with a smirk.
"What happened to our meetings 'Zaza'? You don't summon me anymore, weren't you happy with the service I provided?" Ben asked him with a small smile on his face.
Azazel chuckled deeply and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, there was no point to them anymore since you know my true identity now," Azazel replied with a hearty laugh.
"Wait a moment, Ben!" Saji asked with sight fear in his voice. "Are you saying that this guy is the leader of the Fallen Angels?!"
As he said this Xenovia and Koneko both took up combat positions before the middle-aged man though Ben shook his head slightly at their actions. Even Saji unconsciously summoned his Sacred Gear and glared at Azazel menacingly.
"Come on you guys. There's no point trying to face him; firstly, there's no chance in hell that we'd be able to fight him…not to mention that, secondly, it would kinda ruin the whole point of the peace summit that is being held in just a few days," Ben explained calmly to the three of them as he continued to stare at the Governor-General. "I doubt he's here to cause any trouble for us."
"He's right, you know," Azazel said as he glanced around at the devils which surrounded him. "Even if you all come at me at once, you'll never be able to beat me." He said, completely unfazed by the devils which surrounded him.
"So, what are you here for?" Ben asked with curiosity. "I didn't think the leader of the fallen angels would be interested in lower class devils."
"Normally you'd be right, dragon boy, but your group of devils are far from regular lower class devils, aren't you?" Azazel replied with a smirk.
"So what do you want from us?" Ben asked again, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I came to see that Holy Devil sword guy. Is he around here somewhere?" Azazel asked innocently, glancing around them on the off chance that he was hiding from him for some reason.
Ben shook his head. "Sorry to break it to you but he isn't here right now," he shrugged with a small smile. He knew exactly why Azazel would want to see Kiba; his Sacred Gear. It was the exact same reason that Sirzechs had asked Rias to bring Kiba to see him.
"Urgh, is that so?" Azazel moaned with disappointment clear in his voice.
He turned to leave but stopped when he spotted Gasper hiding behind a tree. "Hey, adorable little vampire." He stroked his beard as Gasper peered around the tree. "Hmm, so you have the Forbidden Balor View? Rias really does have an interesting peerage, doesn't she? I hope you realise that this kind of Sacred Gear can be very dangerous if the user isn't able to control it properly.
"Why's he telling us this?" Saji muttered under his breath though Azazel still heard him easily and turned towards the Sitri Pawn.
"Oh, so you possess the Black Dragon Pulse Absorption Line? If you want to listen to my opinion, you should use your Gear on the vampire kid to take away all the extra power that he can't control. It should make it easier for him to control it." He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "That's just my opinion though, you are free to completely ignore it if you wish."
"What?!" Saji gasped with shock as he looked down at his Gear. "Are you saying that I can take away other people's power?!"
"Of course you can. You didn't know that?" Azazel asked with disbelief. "You possess the Evil Black Dragon Vritra, the Prison Dragon and one of the Five Great Dragon Kings. When you connect the line to something else you can take their power away and scatter it to the winds."
"Of course there's another way to help the vampire kid control his Sacred Gear," Azazel continued. "You could always drink the blood of the Dragon All-Father. When a vampire drinks blood, they gain power relative to that person's power which would be very beneficial in your case."
"Thanks for the advice but why are you helping us?" Ben asked with confusion. The last thing that he expected from the Governor-General was for him to help out a group of lower-class devils with their Sacred Gears…even if they were extremely rare kinds.
"What can I say? I'm just really interested in Sacred Gears," Azazel replied innocently, the smile on his face broadening slightly before turning his back on them and heading back into the wood. "Feel free to completely ignore my advice if you wish but they're the best options you've if you want to help the little vampire boy."
Everyone watched in silence as the insanely powerful fallen angel walked away from them, but before he disappeared into the vegetation Ben stepped forward and called for Azazel to stop.
"Before you go, I've just got one question to ask you," Ben called out as he took a step forward. "I never got the chance to ask you before: Why did you try and keep your identity hidden from me? I knew who you were because of Azmuth but still…."
"Oh, that," Azazel muttered offhandedly as he stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder at Ben with a neutral look on his face before shrugging his shoulders. "Heh, it's just something that I do," he replied before departing the clearing and disappearing.
. . . . .
"Okay, Gasper, are you ready for this?" Ben asked from the other side of the clearing as he played with the basketball in his hands.
Almost immediately after Azazel had left them, Ben was struck by an idea which he thought could help with Gasper's training but he would require Saji's assistance to help him pull it off successfully.
Thankfully this proved to be no issue to the Sitri Pawn who was more than happy to help them out…particularly when it meant that he would be able to get to understand his Sacred Gear and the new abilities Azazel had told him about.
After Ben had explained the plan to them, Koneko and Xenovia headed off to the gym and came back with a crate full of basketballs a few minutes later and placed them in front of Ben.
He now stood, along with the rest of Rias' peerage, opposite the young half-vampire who stood with his back to the old school building facing them with a look that told Ben that he would rather be anywhere else than where he was right now. Saji was standing on the side between Gasper and Ben and had a line connecting his Sacred Gear to Gasper's forehead.
"I-I guess so," Gasper whined timidly.
The aim that Ben wanted for this training was for Gasper to use his Sacred Gear stop the basketball before it hit him in the face.
"Saji. Can you take some of his power away, please?" Ben asked as he prepared himself to throw the ball at the dhampir.
"Sure thing," Saji replied as he began to siphon off some of Gasper's power just as Azazel had suggested. He still didn't fully trust the fallen angel – He didn't exactly have the best relationship with Fallen Angels so far after all – but Ben didn't have any reason to believe that Azazel had any serious alternative reason for helping them. Even if he did, this was perhaps the best chance they had at helping Gasper control his power.
He knew what it was like to lose control of his power and he didn't want Gasper to suffer any more if he could help it.
As some of his power was taken away, Gasper released a particularly feminine moan which made Ben feel a little weird but he quickly rushed that aside and raised the ball in front of him.
"Alright Gasper, here comes the ball!" he declared as he reared his arm back and threw the ball towards Gasper, hoping that the young dhampir would stop it before it hit him in the face.
Just before the ball reached Gasper's head though, the young dhampir completely vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye, leaving the ball to hit the wall and harmlessly bounce off it.
"Well…that wasn't really what we were trying to accomplish here but I suppose that's one way to avoid being hit," Ben noted as he followed the line from Saji's Gear along the clearing towards the treeline where he already saw Gasper being dragged out of the bushes by Koneko with ease who dropped him back in his original spot.
"There's no point in running," she muttered emotionlessly which only seemed to make her statement that more scary.
"He's still got way too much power for him to handle," Ben muttered to himself before looking over at Saji again. "Think you can take a little more power from him?"
"Sure I can," the Sitri Pawn replied enthusiastically as he siphoned off even more power from Gasper who moaned again as his power was taken away.
"Thanks for doing this, Saji," Ben said sincerely as he cast a quick glance at his left arm. "I'd be more than willing to do it myself but I don't have anything I can transform into which can take away another person's power yet."
"Hey, don't sweat it, Ben, it's no problem. Besides, it gives me the opportunity to understand my Sacred Gear a little better," Saji replied, waving off Ben's thanks.
"Yeah, but I wish there was more I could do," Ben muttered before he remembered the second thing Azazel had suggested.
His blood.
"Hey Gasper," Ben called out to the blonde-haired first year who looked up at him with teary eyes. "Would you prefer to see what would happen if you drank some of my blood? I don't mind giving you a little if it can help you out."
"N-N-No way!" Gasper exclaimed with a furious shake of his head. "The whole idea of drinking blood freaks me out! I can't stand the taste of blood!"
"What! Really?!" Ben asked with amazement, totally taken off guard by Gasper's statement. "I don't think I've ever heard of a vampire who can't stand the taste of blood."
"I can't help it! I feel like I puking whenever I even smell blood!" Gasper bawled loudly.
"You're the worst vampire ever," Koneko muttered in her usual, straight-to-the-point deadpan tone which only succeeded in making the young dhampir worse.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Why are you being so mean to me, Koneko?!" Gasper wailed in a shrill voice as he fell to his knees before crying at such a high pitch that Ben winced as the shrill whine pierced his enhanced ears.
"That is running right through me,"Saji groaned with a pained expression on his face as he looked at the wailing dhampir.
"This is going to be a long training session," Ben muttered under his breath before trying to get Gasper back to his training.
. . . . .
(A few hours later)
They continued Gasper's training for the rest of the afternoon and partway into the evening before Gasper couldn't take anymore. He had become increasingly more stressed as the training carried on which, in turn, made him even more incapable of controlling his Gear and resulted in him freezing Ben and the others nearly every time Ben threw the ball and wailing out apology after apology to them.
Then, without any prior warning, the young dhampir simply escaped them, ran back into the building and barricaded himself back in his room and wouldn't allow anyone to enter the room and the only sound they could hear coming from within the room was his muffled sobs.
Knowing that they wouldn't be able to do anymore training for the time being, Ben thanked Saji again for his help before he had to leave before Sona became angry that he hadn't shown up to report to the student council. Once he had left, Ben also waved Asia, Xenovia and Koneko off, stating that he would stay behind to see what could be done about Gasper. Asia had tried to offer to stay with him and help but Ben turned her offer down, instead telling her that she should head home and tell his parents that he may be late home tonight.
Once she had begrudgingly agreed to his request and left with the other two, Ben phoned Rias and explained the situation to her.
A few minutes later and the two of them were now standing in front of the doors to Gasper's room where the muffled sobs could still be heard.
"I'm sorry again for causing you all this trouble," Ben said, apologising for the second time as he glanced at Rias, the sobbing from within the room still resonating through him, reminding him of his failure to help Gasper. "I thought I was helping Gasper control his power but I only seemed to make things worse for the poor guy."
"Don't worry. I'm grateful that you're going so far to help Gasper out. You and the others, even Saji, have my thanks. It's not your fault that Gasper's like this," Rias said sadly as she crossed her arms under her breasts. "There's only so much you can do for him when you understand what he went through before he joined us."
"What do you mean? What happened to him?" Ben asked, hopeful that he could do more to help if he knew the root of Gasper's fear of social interaction.
"Gasper's father is the head of a noble family of vampires but since his mother was a human mistress of his, Gasper isn't a pure-blooded vampire," Rias explained. "You think that devils are obsessed with pedigree? That's nothing compared to the obsession vampires have for it. As a result of being born half and half, Gasper was both shunned by the vampires, even his own family, and by the humans who treated him like a monster. That's enough to scare anybody, but when you consider his Balor View…."
"I see," Ben muttered understandingly as he struggled to picture what Gasper had gone through before he became a devil.
"He isn't simply feared because of his power, he's outright loathed," Rias continued with a sad expression. "It's impossible to know what happens to you when you've been frozen and nobody likes that feeling of vulnerability nor being anywhere near someone who can do that."
"I wish I couldn't do it."
The two of them were distracted by the sudden voice which came from within the room before them.
"Gasper?" Ben asked softly.
"I-I-I wish I didn't have this s-s-stupid power!" Gasper sniffed. "I hate this power just as much as everyone else! My friends freeze right in front of me and there's nothing I can to stop myself from doing it."
"I'm a failure as a King. What kind of master would let someone under their care suffer so much because they are incapable of doing anything to help them," Rias muttered under her breath, ashamed at herself for being totally helpless in helping Gasper when he needed it the most.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Rias," Ben retorted as he thought for a way in which he could help Gasper again. When only a single idea came to the forefront of his mind he resolved to follow it through until a better one came along.
"Let me handle this, Rias. Please," he said to the crimson-haired heiress who looked him with a sad expression on her face. "It's my fault that Gasper is like this now and I want to do whatever I can to correct my mistake. I promise I'll sort everything out."
Rias looked at him in silence for a second before she smiled warmly at him and embraced him in a warm hug, resting her head in the crook of his neck on his left side. "I know you'll find a way to help him. Thank you, Ben."
"It's no problem," Ben replied softly as he wrapped his own arms around Rias' waist and gave her a soft squeeze of reassurance to which she replied with a quick kiss on the cheek before she broke apart from their hug and disappeared in a crimson circle which transported her back to the meeting she had been taken away from when Ben had called her.
With her gone, Ben turned back towards Gasper's room where he could still hear the muffled sobbing from the dhampir within and held a determined expression on his face.
"Alright Gasper," he said to the wooden doors as he sat down in front of them and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not moving from this spot until you come out. If I can spend an entire day hiding from a pissed-off sister after accidently breaking her phone then this will be a piece of cake."
. . . . .
(Much later)
"Fucking pigs! Why won't you just fucking pop already?!" the shape-shifting devil growled under his breath as he restarted the level he had been stuck on for the last hour for the umpteenth time. When he failed to complete it yet again he aptly closed the app on his phone in frustration and glanced at the time, surprised to see that it was nearly ten o'clock.
He had been sitting there for nearly two and a half hours in his battle of endurance with the young dhampir who he could still hear sobbing behind the wooden door…though it was a lot more muffled than it was an hour ago.
He had phoned Asia not long after he had initially sat down to let her know that he would be back home a little later than he expected. She had been completely understanding and had wished him luck in helping Gasper as had Koneko and Xenovia who he learned were with her before hanging up, leaving Ben with his arduous task.
"Gotta hand it to ya, Gasper," he muttered as he glanced around to look at the wooden door he was now leaning against. "I didn't think we'd still be here after this long."
He chuckled, more to himself than anything when Gasper gave no indication that he had heard what Ben had just said. He just sighed at this and rested the back of his head against the door again and listened to Gasper's continued sobs of misery.
After a few more minutes of muffled sobbing, Ben decided to try a different approach.
"Is it because of your Gear? Is that why you're so scared? Or are you scared of us too?" he asked quietly, trying his best to see the world through Gasper's eyes. It was hard to do so, mainly because he just couldn't imagine what sort of life he had lived before becoming part of Rias' peerage. From what Rias had described, it was an extremely hard life – to be rejected from both the races he came from simply because he was born as a hybrid between the two.
He glanced down at his hands and turned them over so he was looking at his palms. "I've got two dragons in me…and not just any two dragons. The Dragon God of Life and Red Dragon Emperor; two of the strongest beings in the world. I never had a life like you or Kiba before this; I was just a simple guy before I was murdered by the first friend I made here and had my eyes opened to this world."
Silence fell on the dhampir's room which Ben took as a sign to continue.
"I'll let you in on a secret, just between the two of us, alright? Sometimes I'm terrified out of my mind of the power I now wield. Sure it seems cool to be able to transform into different creatures entirely, but I feel as though I lose a little bit of who I am whenever I do so. Azmuth says it's got something to do with me becoming the apex version of each species I become due to his power slowly merging with my very being. I'm the first wielder of his Gear in history so it's completely unknown as to what it'll do to my body over the years, but the changes that I'm already undergoing are tough enough to overcome and control on their own."
"But even with all that I have no intention of letting fear rule my life," he added as he clenched his hands into fists.
"Aren't you scared though? Scared of losing the people you care about the most because of your power," Gasper's voice asked timidly from inside his dark room.
"Are you kidding? I'm absolutely terrified of that happening," Ben admitted with a grim expression on his face.
"Then how can you keep going?" Gasper asked with curiosity.
Ben sighed deeply and looked out of the window in the darkened hallway and up at the star-lit night sky.
"Because I've seen what happens if I let this power control me. When the fallen angel, Raynare, pulled out Asia's Gear and killed her I completely lost control of myself and brought the entire church down on top of us. If I wasn't for their quick thinking, I would've buried them beneath the rubble. It was only because of Rias that I was able to return to my senses in time to prevent that from happening."
"And then there was the Rating Game against Riser and his peerage. I was forced to watch as my friends fell one by one until only Rias, Asia and I remained. I let my anger consume me and I let my transformation lose control and go on a rampage. Because I let myself lose control of my transformation I returned into my normal form, extremely weak and weary and was almost killed because I pissed off the wrong enemy. It was only because of Rias forfeiting the match that saved me from Riser's wrath.
"I heard about that fight," Gasper said quietly, slightly surprising Ben as he hadn't heard the door being opened and the young dhampir staring back at him through the small gap. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help out. I was locked in here at the time."
"I don't blame you for what happened," Ben replied, a small, comforting, smile forming on his face. "You had your reasons. Anyway, it'll be different from now on."
"Perhaps," Gasper said, not really believing his own words. "But I'll only bother everyone and get in their way."
Ben chuckled lightly. "I don't want to speak for the others but I can definitely say that you don't bother me. You still think you can do that after I just told you what I'm going through; being frozen in place for a few seconds has got nothing on your entire body being altered into a completely different species altogether."
Gasper pushed the door open further and crawled out slightly, a stuffed, black, rabbit held to his chest by his left arm. "Do you really mean it?" he asked, wide-eyed.
"Of course I do. All you need to do is learn to control your power and not let it control you. As your friend and comrade, I'll do everything in my power to help you do that. And if there's anything that scares you then I'll blow that bastard away.
Gasper looked at Ben with an expression akin to awe before turning away and his expression returning to one of worry and sadness. "I don't know if I can do that. I've never been able to control my power."
The shape-shifting devil hummed in thought as he brain-stormed several ideas in which to help Gasper and soon remembered something from his conversation with Azazel a few hours ago.
"Well what about drinking some of my blood?"
Gasper's gaze quickly returned back to Ben's, his eyes wide though this time with shock and horror.
"I know you said that you don't like the taste of blood but if what Azazel said is true then it could help you control your power," Ben suggested even as Gasper began to frantically shake his head.
"No, no, no, no! There's no way I can do that! I can't stand drinking blood from living things; it takes me everything I've got just to drink blood from transfusions every now and then. It's just too scary thinking about it. What if Azazel is wrong? What if it makes my power worse? I already hate this stupid power of mine but if something made it even worse, I don't know what I would do."
"You really hate your power that much, huh?" Ben asked to which Gasper responded with a despondent nod of his head. "That's kinda weird because I'm jealous of what you can do. For as long as I can remember that was the superpower I always wanted when I was a kid."
"Really?" Gasper asked with shock in his voice.
"Yeah it is," Ben replied sincerely as he held up his left hand and glanced at it. "I haven't found a form which can do something like that…yet, but I'm always hoping that I'll find something with that power."
"No one's ever said they were jealous of my power before. For some reason, hearing you say all that makes me feel a lot better. I've believed for my entire life that I needed to hate this power of mine," Gasper muttered.
"You only need to hate it if you let it control you," Ben replied firmly, standing up on his feet with Gasper joining him. "You need to accept that you're stuck with your Sacred Gear; it's a part of your life and you can't just ignore it. The problem won't just go away because you want it to so you need to learn to control your power or you'll be afraid of it for your entire life. Don't worry though, I'll do everything in my power to make sure that that doesn't happen."
"Thanks, Ben. I don't know why but hearing you say all that makes me feel really courageous. Hearing that you're brave when you have such a power makes me feel brave too."
Ben placed a hand on Gasper's shoulder and smiled down at him warmly. "I promise I'll do everything I can to ensure you are able to control your power."
"Now that that's been decided," he stated, suddenly changing the subject away from such a serious topic to something else. "Let's talk about something more pleasant, okay? Hmm, ooh, I know; I could tell you more about the forms I can transform into."
"Wow, really?!" Gasper asked with excitement in his eyes, causing Ben to chuckle as he entered Gasper's room with the young dhampir and sat down on some cushions.
"Yes really. You've been locked in this room for a long time. You've probably never seen many demons of the Underworld, have you," he guessed and was rewarded with a small shake of the head. "In that case I'll tell you all about my different forms."
. . . . .
(A little later)
"Wow, you really burst in on the engagement party with that?!" Gasper gasped in amazement as he gazed at the revolving hologram of Ben's Vaxasaurian form and having just finish recounting the story of the first and last time he had used the demonic form. "And you can really grow that tall when in that form?"
"Sure can. It certainly caused everyone a fright when I burst through the doors and literally crashed the party. Well…everyone, that is, except for Rias and the others; they seemed to know it was me immediately."
"Wow, that's incredible," Gasper exclaimed with amazement.
"It sure is," Ben couldn't help but chuckle in agreement before he noticed that, sometime during their conversation, Gasper had returned back into the box he hid in when he was last outside of his room. "You still prefer sitting in your box when talking to others, huh?"
"Yeah," Gasper replied sheepishly. "But don't take it personally, I didn't close the top, did I?"
"No but…," Ben muttered, unsure how to respond to Gasper's statement. It wasn't as if there would always be a situation where he could hide in a box if he was to come out of his room. He thought of ways in which to solve both the issue of Gasper's fear of talking to other people without resorting to him hiding in a box when he was suddenly struck by a memory of something Asia had said to him some time ago.
"I'm not particularly good at speaking to people face to face but I have no problem with talking to them over the phone. I think that it's easier for me to talk to people if my face isn't seen, that's all."
""If my face isn't seen,"" Benrepeated quietly to himself as he glanced around the room. His eyes suddenly zeroed in on a brown paper bag resting on the side table behind him.
"If you don't like talking to people face-to-face then how about…," he asked as he reached over and picked it up, tearing out two crude holes in the bag to serve as eye holes. "…this," he suggested as he placed the impromptu mask over the young dhampir's head.
"There you go. How does that feel? Better?" Ben queried as Gasper stood up in shock at the unexpected action, leaping out of his cardboard box and landing in the centre of the room.
"I-I don't know," Gasper replied with uncertainty as he looked around his room. "I guess it feels better. Does it suit me?"
"Ehhhh, well…," Ben began to say though trailed off, unsure of exactly how to respond to the dhampir's question. "I guess it's got a certain charm to it," he remarked as Gasper turned around to face him, revealing a red glint from his eyes peering at him through the two slits.
"You really think so? I do feel a bit better," Gasper admitted as he began to walk around his room in a manner similar to a sluggish zombie. "Maybe if I wear this I'll get a better reputation as a vampire."
'Let's not get ahead of ourselves,' Ben thought to himself as he watched Gasper continue to walk around the room like a zombie.
. . . . .
Kuoh town outskirts
(The next day)
As Ben reached the foot of the stone steps which led up to the local shrine he recalled back to earlier at school during the lunch break when he was approached by Akeno and Rias in the main atrium where they asked him to meet up with them at the local shrine after school.
Well, it was more like Akeno asked him to come. Rias had told him that she would join up with them once she had finished her work for the upcoming summit.
"I wonder why they wanted to meet me all the way out here," he asked himself as he began to climb the stone steps, casting a quick glance behind himself to see just how far from the town centre he was. "What's so important that it couldn't take place in the clubroom?"
"Hello, Ben."
Ben looked further up the steps to see Akeno waiting for him around halfway up. She had ditched her usual attire of the Kuoh Academy uniform for the girls and was now dressed in a shrine maiden's outfit.
"Oh, hi Akeno," he called up to her as he continued to climb the steps.
"Thanks for coming," she said pleasantly as she waited for him to join her. "I know it's unusual and I apologise for the sudden invitation.
"It's no problem at all," Ben said as he joined her and followed after her as she began to climb the rest of the steps to the shrine entrance. "I'm just a bit confused as to why we're meeting all the way out here.
Before long they reached the top of the steps and reached the tall archway which signified the entrance to the shrine.
"Are we allowed in here?" Ben asked with curiosity as he glanced up at the archway. He remembered that devils received damage whenever they entered grounds which belonged to the Church.
Did that include shrines too?
Akeno chuckled sweetly and crossed over the line and turned back to him with a cute smile on her face. "It's quite safe. We have a special agreement behind the scenes which allows devils to enter without being hurt."
"Is that so?" Ben asked as he, too, crossed over the line and came to stand next to Akeno whose cute smile still adorned her face.
"Yes, it is so," she repeated with a light chuckle.
Ben looked around, taking in the sights of the shrine which appeared to be completely deserted.
"So…who are we here to meet?" he inquired as he turned back to Akeno.
Before she could answer him though, he was caught off guard by a sudden bright light above him which caused him to avert his eyes from its intensity.
"So this is him?" an angelic voice asked seemingly from all around them. "This is the human who possesses both the Red Dragon Emperor and Azmuth?"
Just as Ben was about to ask where the voice was coming from, the bright light turned a shade of gold as a figure appeared above them, the light shining with such intensity that Ben was forced to avert his gaze again. When the light dissipated again to the point he could see, Ben took his hand away from his eyes and looked up to see a young man hovering above him.
He was adorned in a magnificent white robe which seemed to glimmer with a brilliant light but the two things which caught Ben's attention was the gold halo which floated above the young man's head which told him that he was in the presence of an Angel, and the fact that this Angel had no less than twelve beautiful, gold wings protruding out of their back, Ben knew that he was also in the presence of an Angel of extreme importance.
He got his answer when the Angel spoke again with a warm smile on his face.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Benjamin Tennyson. I am the Archangel, Michael, leader of the Angels," the Angelic figure introduced himself as he held out his hand for a handshake.
Ben quickly overcame his complete and total shock at seeing the chief of the Angels standing before him and took Michael's hand and shook it politely. "I-It's a pleasure to meet you as well," he said in greeting, unable to think of anything else to say.
. . . . .
Once the introductions had been made, the two devils and the angel made their way into the main shrine building where Ben now found himself sitting down in front of Michael while Akeno was sat in between them on the side and smiling sweetly at Ben who was still coming to terms that he was sitting before the leader of all Angels, the Archangel, Michael!
"As you are no doubt aware, Benjamin..."
"Please just call me Ben, your Angelness," Ben pleaded awkwardly, unsure how to correctly address the Angel.
"My apologies," Michael nodded his head, hiding a slight smirk at Ben's choice of title for him, before starting again. "As you already know, Ben, a summit is being held between the Three Factions and it was decided that gifts would be presented as a gesture of goodwill before the proceedings began. The other Seraphs and I decided to take this opportunity to not only present you with our gift of goodwill but to also return something which rightfully belongs to the dragon which now dwells within your left arm."
"Something which belonged to Azmuth?" Ben repeated with curiosity, looking down at his left arm and wondering just what Michael was talking about.
He was distracted when he felt an eerily familiar tingle wash over him; a tingle he instantly recognised as one he felt whenever a holy sword was nearby. He had felt exactly like this when Excalibur or Durandal were near him.
His suspicions were proven right when a golden light, not completely dissimilar to the golden which Michael emitted when he arrived, lit up the entire room for a brief second before dissipating to reveal, in its place, a sword which hovered between the two of them. It looked to be incredibly sharp as all holy swords usually were with a reddish-purple grip with a gleaming emerald acting as the blade's pommel, and a golden hilt with a guard which closely resembled dragon claws.
However, unlike the other holy swords he had come across in the past, he got a sense of unease from his right arm which was surprising as he didn't get the same feeling from Azmuth.
[Hey, Azmuth. Is that what I think it is?] Ddraig asked the emerald dragon in Ben's head.
[Indeed it is, though I never imagined I would ever lay eyes on it again,] Azmuth replied with interest, an emotion that was extremely rare for the usually sullen dragon.
Ben was about to ask them what he was actually looking at as they clearly recognised it but Michael answered his question before he could ask it.
"Behold, my child. This is the Holy Sword, Ascalon, though it was known by another name: The Dragon Slayer. It is the same sword used by St George."
"T-This was the sword of St George?!" Ben asked, rooted on the spot by how shocked he was hearing. His eyes stared, wide-eyed, at the sword before him, the very same sword St George had used to slay dragons.
"The very one," Michael confirmed with a smile at seeing Ben's reaction. "Though the supernatural world knew of its title, it was due to George's actions that revealed it to the human world. It used to be held by the Church for safety but it had to be taken under our protection in the archives of Heaven when a secret Order of knights who worshipped George and served him tried to steal the blade after his death to enact their own, bloody, agendas. This, we couldn't allow so we retrieved the sword and kept it safe until now. We now entrust its power to you, young Ben."
Ben stood up and slowly approached the sword, the intense holy aura surrounding it was insanely strong at his closeness to it though it wasn't anywhere near as unsettling to be around as Excalibur or Durandal were.
"I don't know what to say," he muttered as he drew closer to the sword. "I guess the only thing I can say is thank you for this incredible gift."
Akeno chuckled behind her sleeve while a warm smile formed on Michael's face. Ben looked between them with confusion written on his face.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" he asked them.
"No, you didn't," Akeno said with a bright smile on her face.
Ben turned his gaze back towards Michael in hope of getting some answers.
"You misunderstand, Ben," the leader of the Angels said, his smile never leaving his face. "This wasn't the gift we intend to give you. This is the item we decided it was time to return to its rightful owner: Azmuth."
"What?!" Ben exclaimed with shock. He wasn't sure how many more surprises of such magnitude he had in him today. He brought up his left arm and looked down at it. "This sword once belonged to you, Azmuth?!"
[In a manner of speaking I suppose. I was the one who gave it the power to kill dragons after all,] Azmuth stated as though it were common knowledge.
Michael smiled and bowed his head slightly in Azmuth's direction as he spoke. "It's an honour to hear your voice again after so long, Azmuth."
[Likewise, Michael. It has been a while since we last spoke, hasn't it,] the emerald dragon replied with as much politeness as Ben had ever heard from the stubborn dragon for as long as he had known him.
"Wait a minute here. Can we back up a bit?" Ben interrupted, doing his best to stay calm after hearing such news. "Why did you create a sword which was specifically designed to kill your own creations?"
[Because one of my creations interfered with God's greatest creation, corrupting the first two humans He created for whatever reason. God fell into a deep rage at the callous interference of His precious humans and the reason for His intolerance or downright hatred towards dragons and serpents.]
[As the creator of the creature who corrupted the first humans, God's ire was also directed at me, more so if anything and I couldn't truly blame Him for it. It caused a great rift between us that lasted for centuries until I decided it was time to end it. In recognition of the involuntary part I played in the event, I appeased Him by giving Him one of my fangs with which He could shape and forge into a sword.]
"Why give Him one of your fangs?" Ben couldn't help but ask, earning him a slight growl from Azmuth for the interruption.
[Aside from those more powerful than one, there are very few things can destroy a dragon. My fangs are one such thing, able to break through the scale of any dragon and this blade that God forged with my fang is another. The reason it feels so strange to you, kid, is because God also imbued the blade with Holy Light, granting it the same properties as holy swords and promising me that it would only be wielded by humans. A way, perhaps, to correct the imbalance that my creations caused with their existence.]
"It was one such dragon who went by the name of Yamata no Orochi; an Evil Dragon who didn't take the threat of Ascalon seriously. The sword was gifted to George, a human God believed had proved himself worthy of being granted the sword, who slew the Evil Dragon after Yamata went on a vicious rampage through the mortal world leaving thousands of humans dead in his aftermath," Michael explained, his expression changing to one of complete seriousness.
Silence fell on the shrine building as Ben took in everything that he had been told by the told millennia-old beings. The silence was eventually broken by Michael.
"Do you think you will be able to assimilate it into your Transformation Gear?" he asked.
[No. It won't be possible for Ascalon to join with my Gear,] Azmuth stated with nearly no hesitation.
"What? Why not?" Ben asked the ancient dragon in his left hand. "You created the sword so why can't you take it into your Gear?"
[Because…,] Azmuth grumbled, clearly irritated by Ben's tone but continued regardless. […I was sincere in appeasing God and worked together with Him to make it impossible for the power of Ascalon to return to me in any way. I understood that my creations, while beautiful, powerful and majestic, could bring about such terrible, indiscriminate destruction if they turned against His creation and I agreed that a countermeasure was needed to protect them from those dragons who sought to bring about such destruction.]
Ddraig chose this moment to speak up.
[If that's the case then why wasn't Ascalon used on Albion and I when we interrupted the Great War?]
[It almost was. God was about to give the order to use the sword when I convinced Him to seal you away in your Gears instead.]
"It's true," Michael chimed in softly. "I would've been the one tasked by God in finding a human who would wield Ascalon to destroy the Heavenly Dragons once and for all."
Ddraig fell silent as he thought about what he had just learned, uncovering a little more as to the trail that led him to be in his current state.
"What can we do then if you can't assimilate Ascalon?" Ben asked, eager to return the conversation back to something he could understand.
Nobody said anything for a moment as they thought of a way around the obstacle that Azmuth had raised for them.
[What if you assimilated it into my Gear instead?] Ddraig suggested suddenly.
"Would it work?" Ben asked Azmuth who thought in silence for a moment before answering the question .
[I don't know. God and I made this sword to be the ultimate tool for slaying dragons. The only beings who were immune from the power Ascalon possessed was myself and the other dragon gods as they are simply too powerful for the blade to cause any real damage to them. I honestly have no idea what would happen if it were to be combined with Ddraig's Gear,] the ancient dragon explained after a moment of silence as he thought about the possibilities.
"We'll never know for certain if we don't try," Ben retorted as he summoned his Boosted Gear and held it up in front of him as he glanced at the sword with a determined expression on his face. "Alright, Ddraig, how do I assimilate Ascalon into your Gear?"
[It's all down to you, kid,] Azmuth stated, knowing that Ben was determined to go through with such an unheard-of feat. [A Sacred Gear is designed to follow the will of its host.]
[If assimilating Ascalon into my Gear is what you want then it is possible,] Ddraig added from within the depths of his Gear.
"Alright then," Ben said as he approached and took hold of the sword's hilt. As his hand wrapped around the handle he immediately felt a tingling sensation run through his right hand and up his arm.
[Focus all of your thoughts on the Sacred Gear. Match your wavelengths to the sword and then it should work,] Azmuth explained as Ben's grip on the sword subconsciously tightened as he did what the ancient dragon instructed.
As he did so, the sword emitted a brilliant golden light while the Boosted Gear began to emit a deep crimson colour. The two colours met and began to surround both him and the sword with a combination of the two colours. The light continued to grow and intensify until, soon enough, the light had grown to completely surround Ben who was grunting in pain as two things which were never intended to be combined together were being combined together.
The light eventually died down to reveal a sight which took both Akeno and Michael by complete surprise.
Ben stood before them holding the blade in his right hand but the reason for their shock and surprise was the dramatic change that Ben had undergone. He now stood before them in a large suit of crimson armour. The armour gave the appearance that Ben had grown another foot in height while, at the same time, it appeared as though he had bulked up considerably with how the armour took shape. His entire body appeared to be covered in the crimson scales which covered Ddraig's body except for his left hand which still held the appearance of Azmuth's Gear though that was only because it no longer fully belonged to Ben anymore. Draping from behind his back appeared to be a magnificent cloak with the same crimson armour etched along its edge.
"This…is…incredible!" Ben gasped from behind his crimson helmet as he looked down at his body and felt the armour with his free hand. He had no idea what would happen when he assimilated Ascalon into his Gear but it certainly wasn't this. "How is this possible?"
[I don't know. All I can say is that Sacred Gears are still extremely mysterious objects; only God knew all their secrets and He only told me part of them in the last years before I was sealed and He died,] Azmuth conceded as Ben felt his poorly hidden fascination for what had just happened.
. . . . .
When Ben had managed to give his new armour a brief examination, he sent Ascalon back into his Boosted Gear. This also caused his armour to disappear in a sparkle of crimson light and reveal his normal appearance again. Once he had done so, Michael attracted his attention once again.
"Now that I have returned Ascalon back to its creator, I have a gift to present to you, Ben Tennyson," the Archangel said warmly, his demeanour having returned back into what it was originally.
'Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that,' Ben thought to himself having almost completely forgetting that the sword he now possessed wasn't the actual gift Michael intended to give him.
"We have heard that you are able to take on the form of different creatures thanks to Azmuth's Sacred Gear and how you can learn new forms by simply touching something which contained that form's DNA. Is this true?" Michael asked warmly.
"Yeah, that's right," Ben replied, thinking back to how he had unlocked his Polymorph form by touching one in the Familiar forest and later saw that it had been added to his selection of transformations.
"In that case, may we offer you another specimen for you to add to your Gear in the hopes that, as long as you live, the being will never be forgotten or disappear from history completely," Michael continued as he pulled a small, rectangular, ornately decorated box from within his white robes, opened the lid and presented it to Ben who peered inside the box and was met with confusion at what he was looking at.
It appeared to be a piece of crimson metal. He first thought it looked similar to the crimson colour of his Boosted Gear but disregarded that when he saw that it was actually a lighter, more rich shade of red than Ddraig's scales.
"It's beautiful…," Ben stated as he looked down at the metal shard lying within the box, "…but what is it?"
"It's the last surviving piece of a To'kustar in existence," Michael revealed. "Before the creation of the Earth, Heavens and Angels, these ancient warriors guarded the edges of reality and held back the darkness which constantly tried to snuff out the light of creation. It is known to a very select few as to what happened to them but what we do know for certain is that something happened many millennia ago which caused them all to disappear leaving no trace of their existence behind except for this scale as far as we know."
"It is our hope that, should it be possible for you to take a sample of its DNA, one day you would reveal the majestic form of a To'kustar once more."
"Is it possible? Can you accept the DNA from that scale, Azmuth?" Ben asked the ancient dragon within his mind.
[In theory…yes, it'll be possible for you to become a To'kustar. However, you are still a long way from attempting such a feat, young one. They were extremely powerful creatures when they existed in this plain of existence; easily more powerful than any of the three factions except perhaps God though they were incredibly close in terms of power. It will take a long time before you should even think about trying such a transformation,] Azmuth said in response to Ben's question.
[You should still accept the DNA though,] Ddraig stated, cutting into their conversation and bringing Ben back to the present.
He approached Michael and stopped in front of him before picking up the red, metallic scale with his left hand. As soon as his hand made contact with the metallic scale, Ben felt a surge of energy enter his left hand, completely different to the other times he had touched a new species and copied its DNA into his transformation collection. The surge lasted little more than two seconds but it still surprised him.
Once Azmuth had informed him that he had successfully taken in the DNA from the scale, Ben placed it back in the box and Michael closed the lid and placed the box back inside his robes.
"And now I must take my leave. There is still some work to do before the summit tomorrow," the Archangel stated as he began to rise into the air and return back to heaven.
Before he did so, however, Ben attracted his attention.
"Before you go, Michael, there's something I'd like to ask you," he asked the archangel.
"I'm afraid I don't have time, my child, but I promise that I'll hear you out at the earliest possible opportunity," Michael replied warmly.
Understanding where he was coming from and just how important the meeting tomorrow was, Ben nodded his head in acknowledgement and stepped away from the archangel who bid him and Akeno a final farewell before disappearing in the same golden light which brought him to the shrine in the first place.
. . . . .
(Later)
"So that's why you wanted me to meet you at this shrine," Ben stated as he accepted a cup of tea from Akeno.
The two of them were sitting at the table in the same building Michael had just left. As she was making the tea, Akeno had been explaining to him she had been part of a ceremony involving members of the three factions so that they could alter Ascalon and tailor its specifications to suit him, the main one being allowing a devil to wield a holy sword without receiving Light damage.
"That's right. We held the ceremony in this very room," the Gremory Queen revealed with a cute smile on her face as she sipped from her own cup of tea.
"Can I ask you a question, Akeno?" Ben asked after a short silence as they drank their tea.
"Of course, sweetie," Akeno replied, her smile remaining on her face.
"It's about the other day when we fought Kokabiel," Ben started and almost began to regret it immediately when Akeno's expression turned cloudy. "Is it true that you're Baraqiel's daughter?"
Akeno didn't reply instantly but when she did, Ben could tell she held absolutely no love for the man. "Yes it's true; he's my father. I'm the half-breed daughter of one of the leaders of the fallen angels and a human."
"My mother was a shrine maiden when she came across a fallen angel who had been seriously wounded in battle. She healed his injuries and the two of them fell in love and, sure enough, I was born from that love," Akeno explained as she stared at the table in front of her.
"I'm sorry," Ben said, ashamed, as he put his cup back down on the table and bowed his head to apologise for his personal question. "I had no right to ask you about that."
He couldn't see the expression she held on her face as he kept his head bowed in sorrow but he heard her return to her feet and then the familiar sound of wings unfurling. He opened his eyes and looked up, taking in a sharp breath when he looked up at Akeno to see that, instead of the two skeletal wings he had when he sprouted his wings, she had one skeletal wing of a devil and the black-feathered wing of a fallen angel.
"I know," Akeno said, her face turned away from Ben as she misinterpreted Ben's sharp intake of breath for one of disgust. "One wing from a fallen angel and one from a devil. The signs of my heritage which I try to hide from everyone. I hated my angel side so much that jumped at the chance to become a devil in the hopes that it could erase all trace of my fallen angel blood. But that wasn't to be…my fallen angel side is still a part of me. The result of my decision was a sad and disgusting mix between both types of wings. Who could think of a better way to showcase my impure lineage?"
The Gremory Queen span around to look directly at Ben who was staring wide-eyed up at her. "The truth is that I've wanted to tell you about this for a long time…but you hate fallen angels, don't you? Who wouldn't if they were in your position, especially after they caused you and Asia so much pain. It isn't hard to imagine what you think of them," she said sadly with a sullen expression on her face.
"You're wrong."
Akeno looked at Ben who had stood up with wide eyes.
"Sure I hate Kokabiel for trying to destroy the town and that bitch, Raynare, for killing me and Asia but that doesn't mean that I hate all fallen angels. It takes a person of extreme ignorance to judge an entire race by the actions of a few. I mean, look at Azazel. Sure he's a bit weird when you first meet him but that doesn't mean he's an asshole," he said with as much determination as he could muster.
He took a step towards the wide-eyed Akeno and gestured towards her fallen angel wing.
"May I touch it?" he asked softly, receiving a simple but weak nod of her head in response.
Ben placed his hands on the black feathered wing and was surprised with how it felt. "Wow, it's so soft! I've never had the chance to feel one before because the last few fallen angels I've met have tried to kill me but it feels so nice."
Akeno chuckled humourlessly. "You'd best be careful around me. Who knows; I could just be hiding my true self in a ploy to trick you into liking me before striking you when your guard is down."
Ben chuckled light-heartedly at Akeno's attempt to push him away from her. "Yeah, there's no way you're going to get me to think you're a bad person. Take it from someone who's got parts themselves fighting for dominance most of the time when I say that there's no way that you're a terrible person or that you can convince me otherwise. Frankly, it's bullshit and I simply refuse to hear you talk in that way about yourself."
Akeno gasped at his words but Ben continued on regardless.
"You can't push me away when you talk about your appearance. Hell, I turn into demons of all shapes and varying degrees of ugliness whenever we get into a fight and you don't think I'm a bad person, do you? Regardless of what you think of your lineage, I still see you as the same smart, strong, beautiful woman I have come to know."
He was interrupted from his little speech when he was suddenly tackled by Akeno in a tight embrace which sent the pair of them falling to the floor with a dull thud that knocked the wind out of Ben's chest.
"Oooof! You gotta give me a bit of a warning before you do something like that, Akeno." Ben gasped as he filled up his lungs with air again while the raven-haired devil continued in her tight embrace.
"I'm sorry," Akeno giggled as she held him tightly, ensuring that her large breasts which had escaped from her outfit were now pressing hard against his chest. "You said such sweet things; I did what any other girl would have done."
"I'm glad you've cheered up. Sorry to make you so worried," Ben told her as he wrapped his arms loosely around her waist which pleased Akeno immensely.
"I've made a decision," she whispered so close to his ear that her lips brushed against it, sending a shiver through Ben's body and a low growl to stir in the pit of his stomach.
"About what?" he asked slowly so as to remain in control of his emotions.
"Seeing as Rias and Asia's positions are secured, I'm fine with being your third," she explained as she pressed her body even closer to his, her large breasts pressing against his chest.
"Is that so?" Ben replied in a low, husky voice which excited Akeno even more than she already was with the position they were in. The deep breaths coming from only served to add to the fire.
"There's something else we need to discuss," Akeno whispered seductively into his ear which only drove him closer to the edge of reason. "You have to take responsibility for what you did to me the other day."
"Is that so?" Ben asked in a low growl, his lips brushing against Akeno's flawless neck and sending a shiver through her body. "And what exactly are you referring to?"
"I'm referring t-to what you did in the c-changing room at the pool," Akeno gasped as she tried to retain her senses for as long as possible though that was becoming incredibly hard to do as she felt his hot breath against her neck and his arms slowly tighten around her waist.
"And what do you want me to do about it?" Ben growled, the last remaining part of his composure on the very edge of disappearing.
"I want you to tell me that I've been a bad girl! I'm such a naughty girl for thinking about such things and I need to be scolded!" she panted, her cheeks red from excitement at the thought of doing such perverted things with the man beneath her. Such thoughts were suddenly swept from her mind when she was suddenly pushed up off of Ben's chest and onto her back though she was instantly joined by Ben who appeared directly above her face, the same emerald colour as they had when they were in the changing rooms and it sent her crazy with perverted and sadistic thoughts which only became more intense at the next words to escape from Ben's mouth.
"You really are a piece of work, aren't you?" he growled deeply as he hovered directly above Akeno's flushed face. "You think you can tell me what to do and you won't be punished for it? I hate to break it to you, you little pervert, but I don't take orders from anyone when I'm like this! I give them!"
With that he brought his mouth crashing down on her neck and began to bite her neck, not in a way to break the skin and make her bleed, but in a way which caused Akeno to feel as though she were in paradise. Not content with just this action, Ben ran his right hand through Akeno's long locks of raven-black hair and pulled at it to push her head to the side and give him access to her smooth neck which he continued to bite down on and make her pant in excitement. While he was doing this, he ran his left hand down along her curvaceous breasts, along her flawless waist until he reached her backside where he proceeded to take hold of a cheek and squeeze it, taking immense pleasure in the erotic gasps and whines from the tortured devil below him who didn't seem in a hurry to end their 'embrace'.
"You are mine now! Do you understand?!" he growled as he continued to leave a trail of dark hickeys down Akeno's neck. Her answer came only in the form of a breathless gasp though that seemed to be enough for him as he continued to leave his mark on the submissive devil. When he reached her collarbone he ceased his relentless assault on her neck and brought his head back up to look into Akeno's eyes which had clouded over in her bliss and loss of sense and reason.
"Rias and Asia are my favourite!" he growled darkly, making sure that Akeno knew her place, while licking his lips hungrily. He hadn't nearly have enough of her yet. "But I'm sure there's a place for you somewhere…if you ask nicely."
"O-oh p-please," was all Akeno could muster before her mouth was plundered by Ben's whose tongue began to wrestle hers into submission. She only gave the barest effort in fighting back against his tongue but that wasn't who she truly was and quickly gave in and let him dominate her mouth without resistance. This pleased him greatly and he increased the fierceness of the kiss further, his eyes never leaving Akeno's as she moaned in pleasure.
Their passionate embrace came to a stop when Ben felt a wave of negative energy wash over him and, after looking up, locked eyes with a slightly red-faced Rias Gremory who was glaring daggers at the two of them sternly. Whether her red face was from anger, embarrassment or jealousy, Ben did not know but the way she was glaring at him told him that she wasn't in either of the latter moods at all.
"What's been going on here?" she demanded quietly, her arms crossed under her large chest as she gently radiated with the crimson energy of her Power of Destruction. It was so intense that his senses returned to him, his eyes reverting back to their normal colour and stared back at Rias with a nervous expression on his face though he remained lying on top of Akeno with his hands where they were while the devil in question was lying underneath him and panting uncontrollably.
"Uh, hey Rias," he said nervously, the look in her eyes telling him that he was totally screwed. "H-How long have you been there?"
"Long enough," she replied sternly as she walked towards the two of them. When she reached them she reached down and, without any hesitation, took a firm hold of his left ear and pulled on it forcing him to sit up, grimacing in pain, until he had been removed from Akeno who was slowly coming back to her senses after Ben's assault.
"Ow, ow, ow! Please let go," he pleaded though Rias kept a firm hold of his ear and, in fact, took hold of his other ear and tilted his face until he was looking up at her, the crimson aura still surrounding her body though less intense than a few seconds ago.
"You're just an animal in heat, aren't you?" she asked him but continued speaking before he could give her an answer. "It doesn't matter. Did you get the sword and the gift?"
Ben was about to speak she twisted his ears which made him hiss in pain and revert to simply nodding his head in the affirmative which seemed to satisfy the crimson-haired heiress as she didn't twist his ears again.
"And Michael? Has he returned back to Heaven?" she asked him next.
Ben was about to say "Yes" but remembered what happened when he last tried to speak and simply nodded his head again.
"Good. Then that means there's no further need for you to be here. Let's get going," Rias ordered as she let go of one of his ears and pulled him towards the door she had just come through.
"There's no need to be so rough," Akeno said with a smile at Rias who turned back to look at her.
"You're just as bad. I told you that I would be a little late and you decided to make a move on my Ben behind my back? I can't leave you alone with him, can I?" she said with a neutral expression.
"You don't need to be jealous, you know? He said himself that you're his favourite," Akeno retorted, her smile never leaving her still-flushed cheeks.
The reddening of Rias' cheeks along with the faint smirk on her face was all that was needed to tell Akeno that Rias had stumbled across them earlier than she would ever admit and that fact alone was enough for Akeno to chuckle to herself as Rias pulled Ben away from the shrine and back down the stone steps as the slowly sinking sun marked the end of the last day before the summit between the three factions took place.
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A/N: I hope this chapter has been enough for you to forgive me for not releasing it sooner.
As you may know, the next chapter will be the official start of the summit between the three factions. One of my favourite arcs of the series so far, there'll be much more new additions to my story as well as the introduction of a familiar enemy from the original cartoon into the DxD universe with its own history and origins.
I aim for the next chapter to be released in two weeks as per my previous schedule but if it doesn't appear, I want you all to know that I won't abandon this story, I enjoy writing it too much to do that.
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Reviews
K07IN: Thank you for the support. I was able to see your review while I was revising and I appreciate it a lot. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Guest: I'm sorry that it was so late. I hope to return to my normal routine now that my exams are over.
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Until next time, see you guys.
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