A/N: Hello everyone. Sorry that this chapter is a day late but I have decided to split this final part of the summit arc in half which is why, as you've probably found out already, this chapter isn't as lengthy as the others before it. There was simply too much stuff to put in a single chapter without it becoming tedious to read as I've found some fanfic chapters to be.
The next chapter will be the end of this arc and I'll move straight on to the next one right away.
With that out of the way, please enjoy the chapter.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Previously:
Sirzechs turned towards Kiba and Xenovia, "Michael and I will continue to hold the barrier around us. Azazel has led Cattleya away from us to reduce the damage from their fight but we'll need you two to keep the magicians and knights off our back while Grayfia and Serafall finish analysing the magic circle they're using."
Without hesitation, Kiba nodded his head in confirmation. "Of course, Sirzechs. Please leave it to us."
"We'll keep them off you," Xenovia stated confidently as she raised Durandal in preparation.
"I'll go with you too," Gwen declared fiercely as she removed her white robes to reveal the same combat fatigue she wore when she was searching for the Excalibur blades with Xenovia.
"Are you sure you can work together?" Sirzechs asked as Gwen joined the two Devil Knights, removing the frilly bracelet from her arm which then transformed into her Excalibur Mimic as she did so.
"Yes sir," Gwen told the Devil King without hesitation. "Xenovia and I became friends when we were part of Lord Michael's guard. All three of us have worked together before."
"Good. We're counting on you three to hold them off until Rias and Ben save Gasper and break the others from his power free," the crimson-haired Devil King said with a nod.
The three of them nodded in return before charging forward and plunging into the school yard and began their attack.
. . . . .
The Old School Building
(Five minutes earlier)
Ben opened his eyes from the light which revealed to him that he and Rias had managed to successfully teleport under the noses of the magicians and knights and were now standing in the old school building…or rather one of the various abandoned classrooms he realised as he looked around, recognising the room from the numerous times he had walked past it.
"How come we ended up here? Why didn't we end up in the clubroom as we wanted?" he asked Rias who also looked around the darkened room with confusion with soon changed into understanding.
"They must have put up a teleport barrier around the clubroom to stop any unwanted guests taking them by surprise. I'm surprised they put one up at all as they're the only ones who can teleport for the moment."
"Then how come we were able to teleport here from the conference room?" Ben asked.
"Because we didn't use a teleportation spell, we used a Castling manoeuvre," Rias explained. "While it's the same thing in a basic sense, it doesn't follow the magic laws of teleportation meaning that we could ignore the larger teleportation block inside this dome but it couldn't break through an area covered by a smaller, more concentrated barrier."
"Great! Guess we're walking then," Ben said as he made his way to the door with Rias hot on his heels.
He had nearly reached the door when suddenly….
BOOOOOOMMMMMM!
The entire building shook slightly from the explosion and brought the pair of them to a sudden stop.
"What the fuck was that?!" Ben cursed as he ran to the nearest window where the sky appeared to be on fire as what looked like an inferno burned in the distance…exactly where the main school building should have been!
'No!' Ben thought with horror at the implications before snapping himself out of it.
Rias wasn't as quick to do so, though. "No! My brother! The others!"
Ben placed his hand on hers and squeezed it to get her attention. "Hey, don't forget who you're talking about. Do you really think Sirzechs would be stopped by an explosion like that? He's not a Devil King for being good looking, is he?"
Rias couldn't help but smile at Ben's confidence. It amazed her how she had been able to get this far in life without him there with her. He was an important part of her life now and she'd never let him go. "You're right. He can handle himself."
"And don't forget that he's got Serafall, Michael and Azazel there to help him too and they're no slouches either. We've got to focus on saving Gasper and Koneko from these assholes, the others are counting on us," he added with a comforting smile on his face.
Rias nodded her head once before forcibly turning her back to the window and leaving the empty classroom and into the deserted corridor before quickly catching her bearings and heading in the direction of the clubroom with Ben beside her as they ran.
They reached the next floor up and were just reaching the final corridor before they reached the clubroom when they were brought to yet another halt when the sky lit up as bright flashes of light and explosions lit up the dark sky. They rushed to the window again just in time to catch sight of two winged figures fighting in the sky above the ruins of the burning remains of the new school building.
Through the flashes and explosions, Ben could make out the twelve black-feathered wings of the Governor-General but he had no idea who the woman he was battling was. He could only assume that she was someone of great strength if she was capable of standing against the leader of the Fallen Angels.
"Who's that woman that Azazel's fighting?" he asked Rias without taking his eyes off the fight. "She's not the one behind all this, is she?"
"I'm not sure if she's the mastermind for this attack but I do know that she's Cattleya Leviathan, a descendent of the former Leviathan. You remember the Devil civil war my brother was talking about in the conference room?"
"Yeah, he said that it was because the old Satan families and their allies wanted to keep the war against the Angels and Fallen Angels going, even though it would have destroyed the Devils entirely," Ben replied, thinking back to only a few minutes ago when the peace talks were going on; back before all this other craziness took over.
"It replaced the four Devil Kings who were killed in the war with Devils who earned the title through their strength and power rather than those who inherited it simply by chance of birth," Rias continued to explain.
"That was how Sirzechs and Serafall became Devil Kings, wasn't it? Because they proved themselves worthy during the civil war," Ben deduced to which Rias nodded her head.
"The decision of the current Devil Kings to stop the war when they did most likely saved us all from total destruction. If they hadn't then we probably wouldn't be here today to have this conversation. That decision didn't go down well with the families of the former Devil Kings who retaliated against the new Devil Kings, naming themselves as the rightful successors to the titles. Because of this they were chased out of Devil territory to the farthest edges of the Underworld and hadn't been heard of since…until today it seems. Cattleya is one such rebel, vowing never to rest until she has reclaimed the title of Devil King 'Leviathan' from Sona's older sister…even if it was over her dead body."
As another series of flashes illuminated the window, Rias turned away from it and continued down the corridor towards the entrance to the clubroom. "Let's keep going, we can't worry about her right now. We've still got our comrades to save and these trespassers need to pay for what they've done!"
"You're right! Let's make these bastards pay," Ben growled lowly, surprising himself at how he still felt in control of himself yet it was clear his draconic side was emerging. He looked down at his arm to see the silver bracelet that Azazel had given him.
"I want you to promote yourself to Queen before we go in there, Ben," Rias told him as they neared the wooden doors.
"Right! [Promotion: Queen!]" Ben exclaimed before feeling his body flow with power.
The two of them stopped outside the wooden doors and glanced at each other before they launched their rescue.
"You ready?" she muttered as she was engulfed in her familiar crimson aura.
Ben only nodded in response as Rias sent a burst of demonic energy towards the door causing it to splinter into a million fragments and create a smoke screen which Ben took immediate advantage of. He charged forward, spotting two armoured knights in front of the doorway, taken completely off guard by Rias' attack, which he launched himself at, taking hold of their armoured heads in his gauntlets before thrusting them to the floor with as much force as he could muster. Through all the different sounds coming from all around him, Ben could catch the dull 'crack' as their heads struck the floor, leaving sizeable dents in them.
The other occupants of the room had recovered from Rias' initial assault and were shocked at the sudden arrival of two devils.
"Impossible!" one of the magicians cried in shock. "How were they able to teleport here?!"
"I don't know," a female knight exclaimed as she raised her shield and sword in front of her. "I thought you magicians had put up another anti-teleport barrier in case something like this happened!"
"We did!" another magician assured her armoured comrade. "It must be some sneaky devil trick!"
"Fucking monsters!" a knight, male from the sound of their voice, sneered as he raised his sword in a defensive stance.
The two devils in question ignored all the other insults and curses thrown at them when they heard the sound of the captured comrade they had come to rescue.
"R-Rias! B-Ben!" the terrified dhampir cried from the chair he had been tied. Ben could just make out the tattered remains of Gasper's paper bag mask lying on the floor beside him and couldn't help but feel his fury grow exponentially. He wanted to hurt these fancy magic users and canned humans.
It was an extremely strange sensation he was feeling. Ben knew the dangers of losing himself to his emotions, particularly in a battle, yet, unlike last time, he couldn't feel himself losing control. He was still himself yet could feel these immense emotions flow through him.
[It's thanks to Azazel's bracelet,] Azmuth informed him, his voice echoing in Ben's head. [It keeps you safe from letting your draconic, alpha side takeover.]
"Sweet!" Ben muttered happily in his head before returning back to the situation at hand.
"Gasper! Koneko! I'm so glad you're both okay!" the crimson-haired heiress sighed with relief as she spotted her white-haired rook tied up in a similar manner. The fact that she was tied down with the same rope as Gasper and couldn't free herself told Ben that it must have been strength-cancelling rope.
"Koneko, Gasper! How are you?" Ben asked his two friends and comrades.
"Better now that you guys have turned up," Koneko said with a small smile while Gasper wailed in his response.
"I-I'm so sorry, Rias! I-It's all my fault!" the young dhampir wept with shame. "Please just kill me and get it over with."
"Not going to happen, little buddy," Ben retorted in a split second as he clenched his fists in anticipation of the impending fight.
"It'd be better for everyone if I was just dead! I'm a useless coward who can't help but hurt my friends!" Gasper continued to plea as tears trickled down his cheeks. "I don't deserve to live!"
"Don't go spouting that crap, Gasper!" Ben ordered loudly, causing Gasper to look up at him with his tear-streaked face. "Despite what people think, there isn't some 'Grand Plan'. Life is a precious thing and shouldn't be squandered so eagerly."
"Ben's right, Gasper," Rias agreed with a kind smile for her terrified servant. "Do you remember what I told you when you became one of us?"
At her warm words, Gasper did as she asked and thought back to when he first met Rias. He had worked up the courage to finally escape the castle after suffering from years of prejudice, hatred and fear, only to be killed by vampire hunters. Just as he was taking his last breaths, Rias appeared and decided to reincarnate him as one of her servants. The words she said to him then still echoed in his ears.
"Live for me, little one. At the same time, find a way of being that will make you happy. You are my servant and a valuable part of my household."
"I made a promise to you on that day too," Rias added. "I will not, now or ever, abandon you."
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted when one of the Forever Knights struck Gasper with their armoured hand. She then seized his hair tightly and held up his face while he gave Ben and Rias a sneer.
"You repulsive creatures are so fucking stupid! I find it sickening that you treat this half-vampire as if it was an actual person. It's just as the old Devil King faction says; the Gremory family are as dumb as they as affectionate and overwhelming with unnatural power."
"You don't want to do that!" Ben growled dangerously at the knight who struck his friend so ruthlessly and then insulted Rias and her family.
The knight ignored Ben and chose to keep his attention on Rias. "If you were smart, you would have brainwashed this half-vampire freak and use it as your own personal weapon. If you had made its Gear run out of control like we have done, you could have ended the Fallen Angels overnight by throwing it into their territory. Why haven't you done something like that already? Could it be that you intend to treat this thing as a…friend." He spat the last word out with disgust at the very notion.
Rias placed her hands on her hip and smirked at the knight though she addressed all of them. "I know this will be beyond the realms of your simple understanding but my servants are actually cared for. Shocking, I know!"
"Disrespectful bitch!" one of the female magicians hissed with fury as she fired a magic bullet from the pattern on the hood of her robes which covered her face. The bullet shot through the air before Ben could react, streaking past Rias' cheek though it was close enough to cut her white skin begin to bleed with small trickles of blood trailing down her cheek.
Seeing this was the final straw for Ben. He growled again, but this time his growl wasn't human. Instead, it had morphed into one which reminded him of the times Azmuth or Ddraig growled.
It seemed some of the magicians had the good sense to appear concerned with the dark aura which descended on the room. The knights, however, remained vigilant and prepared themselves accordingly.
"That's it!" he growled darkly as he brought up his emerald gauntlet and cycled through his forms, stopping on one that seemed oddly appropriate in the current situation. He slammed the dial down and disappeared in a flash of bright green light which forced the magicians and knights to cover their eyes from the unexpected action.
[Transform: Vampire!]
The light disappeared to reveal Ben's new form. Rias and Koneko were confused at first because it appeared as if Ben hadn't actually changed his form at all. However, when they were able to look closer they saw that his face had changed considerably. While Rias already thought it was perfect the way it was, Ben's face had become doll-like in its attractiveness which removed any imperfections from it. A set of extremely deadly-looking fangs could be seen protruding from the corners of his mouth and his eyes had turned blood-red in colour.
The two things they did take immediate notice of was the corpse-like skin tone Ben now possessed and the cold aura which now could now be felt by everyone in the room.
The gathered terrorists were completely taken aback by Ben's sudden transformation and several backed away at sight of his new, vampiric form.
"What the fuck!"
"We didn't anticipate two blood-sucking monsters!"
It was the knight who now held a knife to Gasper's neck which recovered the fastest.
"Who gives a flying fuck what that bastard can turn into?! If he takes a single step, I slit this little vampire monster's neck from ear-to-ear!" he bellowed furiously, his knife already drawing a little blood from the terrified Gasper's neck.
"You kidnap my friends, you insult my master and her family," Ben growled as he listed off their actions in a low growl as he glared at the knight who held Gasper hostage. "You threaten to kill one of my comrades, and you had the nerve to strike my master and cut her?!"
"Two things are going to happen now," he added as he clenched and unclenched his fists menacingly. "Firstly I'm going to return Gasper and Koneko back where they belong, and then I'm going to kill every last one of you!"
"Tough words coming from a vile monster not fit to breathe the same air as us," the lead knight spat back, unafraid, as he kept his blade pressed against Gasper's neck. One of his subordinates had also taken to following her leader's actions and stood behind Koneko and had a knife pressed against her neck though she failed to spot how it wasn't able to break her skin thanks to her Rook piece.
"And how do you plan on taking this abomination from us, exactly?" the lead knight sneered, completely failing, along with the rest of the terrorists, to notice the shadows surrounding Gasper and Koneko's chair start changing their shape.
Rias, on the other hand, did spot the change in the shadows and, realising what Ben was about to do, called out to Gasper to calm the poor dhampir down. "Don't worry, Gasper. We'll get you back to us and I promise to scold you over and over again for all the trouble you have caused us, and when this is all over I'll hold you close and never let you go," she told him warmly, making sure he looked her in the eye as she said this.
"Y-You w-will?!" Gasper sobbed as tears continued to fall down his cheek.
"That's right, Gasper!" Ben stated firmly, his eyes never leaving the bastard knight holding a blade to Gasper's throat. "You don't need to be afraid anymore! You've got all of us, all of Rias' peerage. We're all your friends and we will never turn our backs on you!"
"Will you shut the fuck up!" the lead knight barked fiercely. "I've heard enough of this emotional bullshit! Monsters like you are a blight on this world and it is our duty to destroy creatures like you wherever we find you!"
"I'll be more than happy to put you out of your misery," Ben growled as he raised his left hand in front of him and clenched it tightly, springing his trap. Several, black, elongated 'arms' quickly rose up out of the shadows below the two knights holding Koneko and Gasper hostage and took hold of their arms, holding them in place and preventing them from inflicting any damage with their blades. The one standing behind Koneko was taken off guard by Ben's attack and, not as strong willed as his boss, completely freaked out as the hands, created out of the very shadows, took hold of him and pulled him away from the chair while another pair of shadow hands made quick work of the white-haired rook's bonds, freeing her. As soon as she was out of her bonds she leapt over the chair she had been tied to mere seconds ago and tackled the knight who had been standing behind her as well as a magician who was standing next to the knight when the rook tackled her.
The knight who appeared to be in charge, however, was more composed than his subordinate and didn't appear fazed by the hands which clung to his armour. In fact, he tried to carry out his threat and slit Gasper's throat. Before the muscles in his arm and hand could even begin to tense up to carry out his murderous action though, Ben charged forward, disappearing in the blink of an eye and reappearing right in front of the knight and twisted the hand which held the blade to Gasper's throat and broke it, crushing every bone in the knight's gauntleted hand as easily as if he had just crushed a handful of dried leaves.
The knight released a shrill cry of agonised pain as his hand was crushed though he didn't have much time to cradle his now useless hand as Ben's hands reached up to his helmet and, without saying another word to the man who was so willing to kill Gasper a second ago, spun his head completely the wrong way, snapping it without any apparent effort needed with a dull 'crack' as his neck broke.
Ben released his hold on the knight who instantly crumpled to the floor with a loud clang as his armour struck the floor.
"Good riddance," he growled as he made quick work on Gasper's bonds. Once he was finally free, Ben pulled him out of the chair and chucked him towards Rias who caught the dhampir and embraced him while she watched Ben turn his attention to the rest of the terrorists.
"Who's next?" he asked as he cracked his knuckles in anticipation.
"You fucker!" a knight bellowed with rage as she drew her sword and prepared to strike.
"We should have killed you as soon as you entered the room!" a magician exclaimed as she and the rest of her comrades began to fire more magical bolts towards him. Before they could do anything though, Ben snapped his fingers, creating several more 'arms' out of the shadows which attacked the magicians and knights. Though they tried to break free from the numerous shadows with blows from their swords and magical bolts, the shadows merely reformed, ignoring whatever damage was dealt to them and continued to hold them in place.
While this was happening, Ben disappeared in a puff of smoke and was replaced by a flock of black, red-eyed bats which flew around the dark room before swooping down on the female magicians all at once. The magicians and knights tried their best to drive off the swarm which surrounded them with their blades and magical bolts but the swarm easily avoided each strike and while they could do little more than distract and antagonise the knights, they could do more damage to the magicians who wore particularly revealing robes, leaving plenty of exposed flesh for the bats to latch onto and bite.
"Argh! You intend to suck our blood?!" a magician exclaimed as she tried to swat the bats away only for more bats to appear and latch onto her skin.
"Damn you, you foul creature!" another cried as she fired magical bolts at the bats which was met with the same level of success as her comrade's.
[I don't want your blood in my veins!] Ben's voice echoed around the room, the eyes of the bats glowing blazingly as he spoke. [Your blood doesn't deserve to be consumed by me. No, I want your magical power and life force.]
As he said this, the magicians were already feeling the effects of the swarm's attack. Unable to muster any more magic power to fight off the bats nor the physical strength to remain standing, all of the magicians began to collapse to the floor and fall unconscious from Ben's assault. Once the last magician had fallen to the floor the flock of bats congregated in the middle of the room before Ben reappeared before everyone in another cloud of smoke.
"As much as I want to kill you bastards," he declared to the unconscious magicians with a deep breath. "You're more useful to us alive than dead."
"Ben, look out!" Koneko's voice called out from the other side of the room where she was dealing with the last remaining knights who were still standing.
Ben turned around just in time to see the last knight in room with his sword raised above his head. He had broken free of Ben's shadow hands and had decided to avenge his comrades instead of trying to escape.
"I'll fucking kill you, monster!" he cried manically as he charged.
"However…," Ben grunted as he raised his Boosted Gear above his head and caught the blade as the knight brought it crashing down with a loud 'clang' as it struck the gauntlet, stopping the attack in its tracks. He took hold of the blade tightly as he brought his left arm up and punched the Forever Knight in the chest as hard as he could, his emerald gauntlet leaving a deep imprint of his fist in the armour, causing the knight to collapse to the floor in a crumpled heap. "…I don't have any issue with dealing with you."
Ben looked back at the others to see Koneko disposing of the last knight and letting him fall to the floor, his armour severely dented in several areas whereas Koneko looked as though she hadn't just been in a hostage situation nor a fight shortly after.
Their mission had been successful. They had rescued Gasper from the terrorists.
. . . . .
As Ben dragged the last magician he had tied up over to the magic circle Rias had created which would send them to the appropriate authorities in the Underworld to be interrogated. It would be impossible to send them there at the moment as the barrier which prevented them from leaving the dome around the school was still in place. Because of this, Rias had created a holding circle which would keep the prisoners secure until they could send them to the authorities.
Koneko had even managed to keep one of the knights alive for interrogation which was a surprise to Ben from the state the knight was in after the Gremory Rook had dealt with him. At least they may be able to get some information about the knights from him when he's sent to the Underworld.
[It seems that that bracelet that Azazel gave you works after all,] Azmuth muttered in Ben's head as he secured the magician in place and checked the other prisoners. [A Vampire is a creature easily lost to its emotions. Transforming into one for the first time would've overwhelmed you without a doubt. Your emotional state would have driven you over the edge had you not been wearing it.]
"You're right," Ben admitted as he thought back to the recent fight. "I could feel the change that my transformation brought on but I retained control."
[I wouldn't recommend going that far with your vampiric form again until you reach or surpass the power of that bracelet,] the emerald dragon added as a word of caution which Ben was eager to remember.
"Don't worry about that," Ben murmured as he rose to his feet. "I've got no intention of pushing my luck."
"H-Hey Ben?"
Ben glanced round to see Gasper standing before him and looking worse for wear, though, from what he had just gone through, that wasn't completely a surprise. He could see the glisten of the metal bracelet which Gasper was now wearing on his left arm to prevent his Gear from going out of control again.
"Hey there Gasper. How are you feeling?" Ben asked, patting the dhampir on the shoulder kindly.
"B-Better. Umm, thanks for rescuing me," he muttered timidly.
"Hey, there's no need to be so sullen, buddy," Ben retorted with a warm smile. "I already told you that I'm your friend; we all are. I'll never turn my back on you…ever."
Gasper seemed to look up at Ben with something akin to awe before he looked back down at the floor and shuffled his feet nervously. "A-Are you injured? F-From your fight I mean," he asked with concern.
Ben just lightly chuckled at his concern. "No I'm not injured. Compared to the other fights I've been in, this was a pretty much injury-free one which is a nice change."
"R-Really? So you've been in a lot of fights and gotten injured before?" Gasper asked with curiosity.
Ben scratched the back of his head as he thought about Gasper's question. "I don't usually find myself in a fight but when I think about it, I've been in quite a number of fights since I became a devil. I'm not saying that's the cause though. After all, a fallen angel ripped a hole in my stomach before I even knew Devils existed."
"Wow," Gasper gasped with wonder. "You must be super tough!"
Ben just laughed at this and ruffled Gasper's hair. He'd never had a younger brother before but he believed that this must be what it felt like to have one.
Their conversation came to an end when Rias and Koneko approached the two of them. "Alright, they're all tied up and ready to be transported. Come on you two, let's return to the others!"
The four devils exited the damaged clubroom (it would have to be repaired after the attack had been repelled) and hurriedly made their way through the dark corridors of the old school building, the only light coming from the battle outside the main building. Gasper stayed close to Ben as they made their way through the building.
They made it to the entrance of the building just as another wave of knights and magicians appeared through their magic circles and began to assault the new school building.
Through the light show, courtesy of the terrorists, Ben could make out Kiba, Xenovia and Gwen holding off the enemy and protecting the others who were behind a durable shield which was being maintained by Sirzechs.
"It looks like they could use some help," Ben observed as he noted the three sword wielders being hard-pressed to hold off the enemy.
"Ben! Koneko! Go and assist them!" Rias ordered as she placed her hands on Gasper's shoulders. "I'll take Gasper to the others where he'll be safe!"
"You got it, Rias!" Ben and Koneko replied in unison before taking off to aid the others.
. . . . .
(A few minutes earlier)
"Hyah!" Kiba cried as he cleaved through the protective barriers that the magicians placed around themselves, cutting down the individual behind the barrier.
He had lost track of how many knights and magicians he had cut down throughout the fight though it mattered little in the end. For every enemy he cut down, two more would take their place.
"There's no end to them," he exclaimed as he blocked a sword strike from a Forever Knight, countering it and delivering a strike of his won which hit its mark.
"You're telling me!" Xenovia shouted back as she slashed a magician, cutting yet another one down before she was forced into a defensive stance when a group of magicians took note of her and began to unleash a barrage of magical bolts at her.
She was so caught up in defending herself from their onslaught that the azure-haired swordswoman failed to notice the knight who had snuck up behind her and was poised to deliver a lethal blow on her. Before his blade came crashing down on her, however, a metallic ribbon appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the knight, catching him completely off guard. The owner of the metallic ribbon revealed itself to be Gwen who leapt over the knight, landing next to Xenovia, using her momentum to lift the knight into the air and bringing him down hard on a squad of knights in front of her before reforming her sword back to it blade-like shape and cutting the lot of them down.
The two swordswomen moved back until their backs were touching as they each held the enemy at bay.
"Thanks for that," Xenovia grunted in thanks as she blocked a magical bolt which was launched at her from one of the many magicians surrounding them.
"I don't want your thanks, Xenovia," Gwen stated as she cut down a knight who had launched himself at her. "I just want to know why you never told me the truth. Did you forget how long we've been partners?"
"Of course not!" Xenovia retorted, shocked that Gwen would even go there. "I couldn't tell you that I had been exiled without being forced to tell you that God was dead. You were always the smart one; you would never have accepted that I was exiled without any explanation. I knew you would still be suspicious of the reason behind my expulsion from the Church but it was the only to do it and protect you from the truth."
"But why hide it in the first place?!"
"You were the most pious out of the two of us," Xenovia explained. "I didn't have the strength to tell you that God no longer existed."
Gwen was silent for a moment as she processed Xenovia's explanation. "I guess that's a decent enough reason to keep the truth from me. Don't get me wrong, I'm still upset that you couldn't tell me the truth. That's for another day though; let's take these guys down! If we can get peace between our three factions, you will no longer be my enemy!"
"And you won't be mine either," Xenovia replied with a smile.
"Less talk, you two!" Kiba shouted over at them as he sliced through another squad of knights and turned his attention to another squad of knights who were firing magical bolts at Sirzechs and the others with their crossbows. "We've still got a lot to do before we're in the clear!"
A sudden burst of light caught Kiba's attention and he looked up to the battle being waged above them. The awesome roaring sound of power could be heard clearly as the Governor-General fought Cattleya Leviathan with fierce determination.
"Have some of this!" he bellowed loudly as he created multiple Light spears, all of which very thick and heavy, before quickly launching them in Cattleya's direction. Instead of impacting the devil, the spears merely exploded in a bright light show as they impacted the several defensive magic circles which now laid out before her, blocking the assault. It was by the skill of the two combatants that neither one of their attacks had touched the defensive barrier around the school. If their attacks ever did make contact with it then it was almost certain that it would be brought down by the raw power of the devil and fallen angel and the surrounding residential area outside the dome would have taken serious damage.
"Is that the best you've got, Azazel?" Cattleya taunted with a maniacal cackle. "I must have overestimated the power of the leader of the Grigori."
"I'd hate to disappoint," Azazel retorted with a smug grin as he threw more Light spears at the devil only for her to block them yet again.
Kiba turned his attention away from the devil and fallen angel as another squad of Forever Knights charged towards him, their blades raised and malice in their eyes. He blocked the swings that three of them took against him and counterstruck, slaying two of the knights and causing the two of them to disintegrate and disappear.
"Die you fucking bastard!" the third knight bellowed as he clashed swords with Kiba yet again and the two of them found themselves in a stalemate as they struggled to break their sword free of them clash and strike the final blow.
Unfortunately, Kiba failed to spot the fourth knight who had made his way behind Kiba in time and offered no counter or retaliation when the knight launched himself in the air, his sword raised and directed towards Kiba's unguarded back. Just as Kiba was going to risk disengaging from the knight he was currently battling with and blocking the fourth knight's attack, the knight suddenly exploded in a shower of bright sparks, disappearing off the face of the earth.
It was Ben!
"Looks like you could use some help," Ben observed, his voice echoing slightly from within the crimson-plated dragon armour which encased his body after he had summoned Ascalon from his Boosted Gear.
"Thanks for that, Ben," Kiba replied before fully noticing the new armour that Ben was wearing. "Where did you get that armour from? I've never seen it before."
"You can thank Ascalon for this," Ben explained, gesturing to his armour-clad body. "I'm still learning about this sword but now's not the time, don't you agree?" he asked before using his blade to erect a protective shield in front of the two of them just as a barrage of magic bolts were fired from the horde of magicians and knights in front of them.
"Let's take these bastards down," Ben growled as he charged towards the throng of enemies before, though not before swinging Ascalon in a horizontal line in front of him which emitted a wave of energy which struck the front line of knights who had broken into a charge.
"I'm right by your side!" Kiba called out loudly against the bellow of battle and quickly appeared on Ben's right side as the two of them met with the knights in battle and began to engage with the knights in fierce combat.
"You'd think these guys would recognise the sword that they believe belongs to them," Ben stated as he cut through a knight's defence, causing the knight to explode in a shower of light. "I was half-expecting them to recognise me as their king and surrender."
"I wouldn't count on it, Ben," Kiba shouted back at him as he made quick work of the knights before him too. "The modern Forever Knights are very different from their original Order. I doubt that they even believe in its legend anymore."
"Aww, shame," Ben retorted. "It could've made this a lot easier."
As the battle grew more intense, Ben and Kiba were soon joined by Koneko who needed no weapons thanks to her impressive Rook-level strength which allowed her to wreak havoc in the Forever Knights' battle formations. Rias also arrived to provide protection against the numerous magicians hovering above them by blocking their magic bolts from hitting a target while also returning fire with her potent Power of Destruction magic which cut swaths through the magicians' numbers.
Ben quickly noticed as he continued to swing his blade and end the lives of numerous terrorists that, no matter how many knights disintegrated under his blade, another two would come to take their place.
"We could really use Akeno and the others right about now," Ben shouted out to the others as he defended himself against four knights which tried to overwhelm him with their numbers. While he had trained with Kiba to improve his swordsmanship skills, he was still nowhere near as skilled as Kiba, Xenovia or even Gwen. Ascalon's power made it easier to swing the blade and cut through the armour of the knights but he wasn't skilled enough to block every single one of their strikes and it was only thanks to his impenetrable armour that he hadn't been injured yet.
That being said though, he could still feel a sizable drain on his strength as he wielded the powerful blade. He'd come to the conclusion that it was thanks to the bracelet that Azazel had given him that reduced the draw on his strength to its current level.
The number of knights and magicians never seemed to diminish and it was soon becoming harder for his comrades to hold their ground. Koneko had a noticeable number of small cuts and bruises on her body as did Kiba though the pair of them still fought on with fiery determination. Rias was also finding herself being hard-pressed with the magicians who were steadily making their way through her protective magic circles and Ben had to divert his attention to the ones closest to Rias and trying to flank her. The billowing cloak hanging from the back of his armour changed form, transforming into a pair of large, crimson-scaled dragon wings which launched him into the air at great speed and allowed him to engage with the magicians on their level.
The battle continued to rage both on the school grounds as well as in the skies above it with little change until –.
"Ben! Rias!"
The two devils in question turned back to the small dome being maintained by Sirzechs and Michael to see Gasper kneeling on the ground and staring at them with wide, teary eyes.
"This is all my fault! I want to be strong, just like Ben! I want to make all of you proud of me!"
Ben cut down two more magicians who got too close to him and turned towards Rias who was staring at Gasper with a concerned look on her face.
"Rias!" he called out to her, directing her attention to him. "I'll go help Gasper!"
The red-haired devil stared at him for a few silent seconds before she nodded her head and returned her attention to the new wave of magicians which had begun another assault.
Once he had dispatched of all the terrorists in front of him, Ben shot through the air, landing in front of the small dhampir and sending Ascalon back into his Boosted Gear which subsequently caused his draconic armour to disappear too.
"What are you planning to do, Gasper?" he asked his young comrade earnestly, not wanting Gasper to put himself through anything else which would cause him pain.
"I'm going to unfreeze time! I need to undo what my stupid power did to the others and free them!" Gasper replied firmly as he moved his hand to the bracelet which contained his power but Ben beat him to it and prevented him from going any further.
"No! That's far too dangerous, Gasper! What if something happens to you?! You've been through enough already!" he chastised Gasper in a big brotherly manner.
Gasper didn't back down though. In fact, he appeared more determined than Ben had ever seen him before, even with his eyes glistening with tears.
"It's because of me that Asia and Akeno are frozen! I'm the only one who can fix it!"
Ben glanced past Gasper at the frozen forms of Asia, Akeno, Sona and her Queen, and knew that Gasper was telling the truth. As it was his Forbidden Balor View which froze time it needed to be his Sacred Gear which unfroze it.
"Can you do it?" Ben asked Gasper urgently. For Gasper's Gear to have done what it did it had taken the terrorists to forcing it to achieve Balance Breaker conditions and it was only natural to assume that the same conditions needed to be met to undo what the Gear had frozen in time.
"I don't know…but I still have to try!" Gasper stated firmly as he, again, tried to pull off the bracelet but, still, Ben prevented him from doing so. Unlike before, however, this time it wasn't because he was stopping Gasper from acting out his plan. Instead it was because he had just been struck by an idea from the advice he remembered Azazel giving them two days ago.
"Why don't you try some of my blood?" When Gasper looked like he was about to adamantly refuse Ben's offer yet again, Ben stopped him from doing so. "I know you don't like blood but this isn't the time for that. If it can give you the power to unfreeze time then you should take it, okay?"
Gasper stared up at Ben for a few seconds before gulping and nodding his head hesitantly.
"Alright then," Ben said as his Boosted Gear disappeared to reveal his normal hand which he held up in front of himself and, using the tip of the claws on his emerald gauntlet, cut the tip of his index finger, a thin line of blood already beginning to trickle down his finger. Without waiting a second more, Ben thrust his bleeding finger in front of Gasper and motioned for him to take it.
Gasper stared at Ben's reddened finger as his tongue emerged and licked Ben's finger. In an instant, Gasper felt his power rising rapidly and stood up while ripping off the bracelet. As the bracelet fell off his arm, the young dhampir was engulfed in a bright light which forced Ben to cover his eyes from the blinding light.
The light dissipated a few seconds later and Ben had to blink his eyes a few times to return his vision after it became blurred for being so close to the sudden bright light. When his eyesight returned he looked up to the sky to see that the purple hue which covered the sky after Gasper's Gear froze time had now disappeared.
"Looks like he did it," Sirzechs observed as he also starred up at the sky.
"What's going on?"
Ben's gaze returned back down to earth at the sound of Asia's confused voice. Both she and Akeno had been unfrozen and were understandably confused at everything going on around them. Behind them, Sona also appeared confused by everything happening around her though that was quickly changed when she was suddenly embraced by Serafall who held her little sister tight and expressed her relief for getting her darling sister back.
"How did we suddenly get outside?" Akeno asked as she looked around, taking notice of the magicians and knights surrounding the school.
"He did it…," Rias said as she stopped next to Ben, her gaze still pointed towards the sky. "He made everything go back to normal. He even closed the enemy teleportation circles."
Ben followed her gaze skyward and saw that it was true. When Gasper undid what the terrorists had forced him to do he had also forcibly closed the gates which the knights and magicians had been using to bring their troops into the protective dome.
"Way to go Gasper," Ben said with relief. Without the gates the knights nor the magicians would be able to get any more reinforcements. When the dhampir in question didn't say anything in response Ben turned around just in time to see a weak-kneed Gasper collapse to the floor. Before he struck the floor though, he was caught by Asia who immediately ran to his aid.
"What's going on?" Asia asked with confusion. "I don't understand what's happening."
"We'll tell you about it later," Ben told her as he rose to his feet and turned to face the remaining enemy forces.
"Ben's right. We'll tell you everything afterwards," Rias declared as she took to the skies once more with the aid of her bat-like wings. "But for now, I need everyone's help!"
Without requiring any further information, Akeno changed into her Thunder Priestess clothing and joined her King in a fierce attack against the magicians who had been demoralised by the loss of their teleportation circle.
Ben was about to bring out Ascalon once again and charge into battle himself but paused when Azmuth's voice rang out in his head.
[I wouldn't recommend you use Ascalon for the rest of this battle, Ben. It's an incredibly powerful artefact and the only reason you haven't fully felt the sap in your strength from wielding it is purely because of that bracelet Azazel gave you. You've already worn the bracelet down to half of its original power,] the emerald dragon cautioned Ben.
"Seriously! Using Ascalon used that much power in such a short time?!" Ben asked incredulously to which Azmuth responded with a grunt in the affirmative. "I'd better stick with your Gear for now then. Who knows when I'd have to use to Balance Break with a transformation."
With his mind made up, Ben brought up his Transformation Gear, skimmed through the various forms until he found the one he wanted and slammed down the dial, drowning himself in emerald-green light which lit up the entire school field.
[Transform: Heatblast!]
Even before the light had fully diminished, Ben had charged towards the enemy with the odd fireball thrown here and there before he met the knights head on, joining Kiba, Xenovia and Gwen in their fight against their armoured foes.
In the skies above the battle, Azazel and Cattleya had stopped fighting momentarily when the sky had returned to relative normality and the teleportation circles had been closed.
"It seems like your little plan has gone up in smoke," Azazel said with a smirk as he returned his attention back on his opponent.
"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Cattleya snarled as she fired a bolt of purple energy which the Governor-General easily avoided.
"Well I think I should start wrapping things up here," Azazel stated nonchalantly as he rummaged around in his partially opened shirt. "It's not that this hasn't been an enjoyable experience. It's the first time in a while that I've been able to use a good portion of my power; not all of it, just more than I've used in a long time."
"What's that you're holding?" Cattleya demanded as she raised her staff up defensively.
"Oh, this little thing?" Azazel asked, nodding towards the golden dagger he held in his hand, a purple jewel resting in its pommel. "Something much more interesting than war. It's no secret that I'm fascinated by Sacred Gears and this is something of a hobby of mine."
He raised the dagger above his head as the purple jewel began to pulsate with power. "May I present the Downfall Dragon Spear. An artificial Gear developed by little old me. I've gone beyond a mere Sacred Gear enthusiast and can produce them myself. Truth be told though, most of them are complete garbage. God, now He was a true artist when he developed Sacred Gears. In fact, before this summit and the things I've learned tonight, Sacred Gears were the only thing I respected Him for. They're the most fascinating thing God ever made in my view."
"You'd best enjoy them while you can!" Cattleya spat back with disgust. "Sacred Gears won't exist in the new world we are making."
"You have to own the world first," Azazel retorted as the light grew brighter and engulfed the Governor-General.
[Balance Break!]
The flash of light subsided to reveal Azazel who was now adorned in golden-plated armour. It radiated with a golden aura and held an uncanny resemblance to Ben's dragon armour. His twelve pitch-black wings were spread out behind him, a huge spear made of Light in his hands.
Down below, Ben, still in his fiery form, looked upwards at Azazel's transformation with fascination.
"Shit!" he muttered under his breath. "Isn't that…?"
[No, that isn't a true Sacred Gear,] Ddraig said, cutting Ben off mid-sentence. [That's an artificial gear that's been forced into a Burst state. It's essentially a disposable Sacred Gear with a single use.]
[Interesting,] Azmuth murmured with rarely seen interest. [To think that others, aside from God, can create Sacred Gears. Even if they are vastly inferior to the original Gears, it's still an impressive feat nonetheless.]
"Say hello to the 'Armour of the Fallen Dragon'. This is my Downfall Dragon Spear Armour!" Azazel declared as he gestured to Cattleya "Now…come at me."
Cattleya snarled manically as dark energy swirled around her. "I'll fucking kill you, Azazel!" she screeched as she charged forward at a blinding speed. However, this was still not fast enough to get past Azazel who easily dodged her attack and slashed her waist with his huge Light spear. Cattleya screamed in pain as fresh blood spurted out from the large wound Azazel had just inflicted on her.
This didn't stop her though as she glared at Azazel with murderous intent. Suddenly, her arms transformed into large multiple-limbed, tentacle-like appendages which shot forward and wrapped around Azazel's left arm.
"This isn't over!" she bellowed as her tentacle-like appendages appeared to meld with Azazel's left armoured arm. "I don't necessarily have to live to see the creation of our new world! If I can take out even one of the Three Powers, I'll gladly welcome death! I'll destroy myself for glory!"
"Huh. You'll destroy yourself? I don't mean to mock your hopes and dreams but it just doesn't seem worth it," Azazel retorted as he took everyone looking completely by surprise when, without a single moment of hesitation, he took the large Light spear in his right hand and sliced off his left arm, just above the elbow, and let it fall away as Cattleya lost her tether to his body. In the same movement, he arched back his right arm and threw his spear straight at her. It arced through the air like a bullet from a gun and went straight through Cattleya's skull and caused the devil's body to explode before turning to dust and vanishing into the dark sky.
"I'm only willing to give up my arm for you. No dream is worth dying for," the Governor-General stated nonchalantly as his armour shattered and disappeared, revealing his normal form except for his left arm which was missing from the elbow up.
Appearing unconcerned that he was now missing his left arm, Azazel merely clicked his tongue as he held the jewel-like object, the only thing remaining from the Sacred Gear. "So this is the limit of your capabilities. You've still got a lot of room for improvement; I guess I'll keep you around for a little while longer, Dragon King Fafnir.
Even with Cattleya destroyed, the battle continued to rage down below. However, as the portals which brought the magicians and knights into the protective barrier had been closed, the remaining terrorists fell before the onslaught of the Occult Research Club and their allies. Before long, the last remnants of the enemy had been destroyed. As Ben incinerated the last group of knights with a large fireball, a sudden explosion erupted behind him and sent him to the floor, drawing the attention of everyone left standing.
"What the hell was that?!" Ben groaned as he picked himself up off the floor and turned around to see Azazel crawling out of the deep crater which had been added to the collection of craters around the academy field.
"I must be losing my edge if I let you take me by surprise like that," Azazel grumbled as he rested on his right arm and looked up at the white-armoured figure hovering above him.
"Sorry, 'Zazel," Valerie stated as she crossed her arms under her armoured chest. "It just looks more interesting on this side of the field."
"So you're the bitch who betrayed us," Ben deduced as he reverted back into his normal form with a quick flash of light.
"So when did you decide to do this?" Azazel asked with genuine curiosity as he crawled out of the hole and stood upright with his right hand in his coat pocket.
"I actually got the offer to join them when I was returning Kokabiel back to headquarters. What can I say? They seem more fun," Valerie explained impassively.
"Well I can't say that this comes as a complete surprise," Azazel shrugged as his twelve black wings unfurled and levitated off the ground until he reached the same level as Valerie. "But there is one small thing which I'm curious about."
"Oh, and what's that?" she asked curiously.
"You remember my vice Governor-General, Shemhazai, right? Well he's been doing a little digging for me and found out about an organisation which has been gathering members from various factions together. What were they called again? Oh yeah, that's right, the Khaos Brigade," Azazel stated with a confident smirk on his face.
"And I bet I can guess who's leading your little group; it has to be Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon. Please correct me if I'm wrong." Valerie's silence was all Azazel needed to know his theory was correct.
[Hmmm, not that sneak, conniving lizard again,] Azmuth growled with annoyance, surprising Ben.
"Do you know him?" Ben asked, glancing down at his emerald gauntlet's jewel which glowed as the ancient dragon spoke.
[You could say that,] Azmuth replied with annoyance clear in his voice. [He's the Dragon God of Infinity. One of the other Dragon Gods beside myself and is so strong that even God was cautious with him. He was stronger than me even when I was at my full power.]
"Stronger than you?!" Ben exclaimed with trepidation as he struggled to even comprehend such a being. He was prevented from saying anything further as Valerie responded to Azazel's statement.
"The offer they gave me was a pretty attractive one. 'Wouldn't you like to fight against Asgard?' 'How about the Greek Pantheon?' How could I possibly reject an offer like that? They offered me opponents to test my power against, something you wouldn't do, Azazel. You are against fighting the Asgardians and Greeks, aren't you? You're against war in general, aren't you? I'll admit that I always admired your dedication to that belief, it's just not my belief though."
"I believe I told you to 'become strong'," Azazel said with a small smirk on his face. "Perhaps I should have added the condition that you 'don't destroy the world in the process.'
Valerie chuckled at Azazel's comment. "I don't want to destroy the world. I just want to fight capable opponents for eternity and the Khaos Brigade provides them."
"…I see," Azazel muttered after a few seconds of silence. "I should have anticipated the day you would leave my side. Ever since we met, you've always wanted to fight strong people. I now understand why you were working in league with Cattleya. You both had your Devil King titles stolen after all."
Everyone gasped in shock at Azazel's bombshell.
"What?!"
"What did he say?!"
"No! It can't be!"
"My real name is Valerie Lucifer."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A/N: How about that for a cliff hanger?! Well, it's not really one for everyone who's seen the anime or read the light novel but I still thought it was the best point to end this part.
In regards to Ben's transformation into his vampiric form, I'll try to answer questions I may be asked. I decided to change it from the Whampire alien form in the cartoon because I felt that the story would flow better if I used the same vampire form as in the DxD universe. I used the information from the DxD fandom page for assistance in the physical appearance of pure vampires as well as their powers. I know he got the DNA strand from Gasper who is half-vampire but, as Ben already has human DNA, he could only use the pure vampire part of the sample.
I, personally, wasn't completely satisfied with the scene where Gasper unfreezes everything. No matter how many times I redid it, I wasn't completely satisfied with it. If you happen to share my opinion don't be too harsh.
With nothing else to say except that the conclusion of this arc will be in the next chapter, I'll say farewell and move on to the reviews.
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Reviews
Nivek Beldo: Thanks for your thoughts as always. I tried to hype the tension in the meeting as I didn't get that from the meeting in the anime. It still seemed too laid back which isn't what the meeting was meant to be, contextually speaking.
I really liked the Forever Knights in the first three cartoons they were in and really wanted their organisation and various branches to exist in my story. I didn't find it difficult to find a way to slide them into the DxD mythos and that's another reason why I like them so much.
I'll find another, better, name for that form but I am open to any suggestions you have.
As usual, thank you very much for your continued support and I hope to continue entertaining you with my story.
Malicious hero: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I definitely plan to include more Ben 10 villains (some of the most recognisable ones) and I'm thinking of ways to possibly include characters like Max or Kevin too. Can't say for definite though.
Magical fan18: I promise that there'll be more of that going on in the later chapters.
DragoBlack: I'm glad that you enjoyed that chapter so much. He was one of my top five favourite aliens in the cartoon and I just had to put him into my story.
SantoryuSekai: I'm sorry to hear that. Don't know if you'll see this review but I'm glad you took the time to look at my story.
Ultimatrix bearer: I don't watch the cartoons anymore but I do still keep an ear out for the new aliens they introduce as well as look up information on the Ben 10 Wiki page. I'm starting to get beaten down by the continued requests to add Valerie to the harem. In fact, I may put up another poll to my readers to see if they want her in there.
Thank you for appreciating my writing style. I understand that my ideas don't suit everyone but I can't change everything I've written so far just because one person doesn't like it.
Omnimania00: It was a really good idea. I had to think of a way to make Ddraig more involved in my story and giving him new, fancy armour when Ben wields Ascalon seemed like the right move. It stuck to canon too which was extremely helpful.
Walleyhollis: I debated on the idea but ultimately decided against it. I didn't see Ben as needing a familiar initially and it didn't help Ship's case when his race isn't biological as virtually everything else. I am trying to stick to using only biological forms, or at least ones which the metallic armour can make sense.
That being said though, I may try to create a mini arc in which they are brought into the DxD world.
Rexfan1333: I must apologise if I made the reboots to be the worst things ever. I didn't mean it to be taken that way. I only hate it because the writers seem to just be coasting on the success of the previous series. They dumbed down the art style, just like every other cartoon I see when I surf the net, and didn't seem to put as much effort or seriousness into the series after Ultimate Alien concluded.
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See everyone until next time. Please don't forget to leave a review!