A/N: Hello everyone!
This is it! The final chapter for the summit arc. I know I said it might be shorter than usual chapters but I just couldn't stop writing, especially the big battle between Ben and Valerie. I'll leave this A/N short here and put my proper one at the end.
Without further ado, may I present to you: The Summit pt3!
Enjoy!
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"My real name is Valerie Lucifer."
Everyone except Azazel's eyes widened in shock at the figure's revelation. Even Sirzechs was taken completely off guard though he kept himself more composed than the others.
"She's a descendent of Lucifer?!" Ben exclaimed with a gasp.
[I thought I recognised his power within her,] Azmuth muttered in Ben's head. [It's very faint but I can still sense the same power as the original Lucifer.]
"Indeed I am. I am the great granddaughter of Lucifer," Valerie declared as her mask disappeared to reveal her face to everyone. "My mother was a human which makes me a half-blood devil. It's only by pure coincidence, or perhaps fate, that I ended up possessing the White Dragon, Albion's, Sacred Gear. Even though I'm half-human, I'm a true blood relative of the Great Devil King, Lucifer, himself."
As she said this, twelve, black, bat-like wings unfurled behind her white, draconic wings.
Nobody said anything as they stared up at her with disbelief on their faces.
"She could very well be the best possessor of the White Dragon the world has or will ever know. The chances of a person such as her existing are so low it's still hard for me to fully believe it even though she's standing here right in front of us," the Governor-General muttered under his breath to everyone who was within earshot and not currently engaged with the attacking magicians and knights.
The governor-general then took a few steps forward, creating a spear of Light in his hand and pointing it up at Valerie. "So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to fight me? I may have lost my arm and my artificial gear may have gone but I'm still confident that I could fight with you without any serious difficulty,"
"You know perfectly well that I'm not interested in fighting you, Azazel," Valerie replied as she looked past Azazel until her gaze landed on Ben.
"You intrigue me, Benjamin Tennyson. We couldn't possibly be further apart, even if we tried. On one hand, I am the great granddaughter of Lucifer and am the strongest White Dragon Empress who has ever existed, or ever will, and then there's you."
"What about me?" Ben asked cautiously, his entire body tensing up and preparing for anything Valerie might do.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," Valerie replied with a disappointed sigh. "You're just an ordinary human with ordinary parents. How is that you ended up with so much power when you're just a nobody?"
"You've been investigating me?" Ben asked icily. He didn't like the fact that someone as dangerous as Valerie was looking into his and his family's private life.
"Of course; you possess Ddraig's Sacred Gear. Until being reincarnated as a devil, you led an incredibly boring life. Your father is an ordinary office worker, your mother gave up her own menial job to become a full-time mother and housewife, and your sister lives such a boring life that it's painful. How can you possibly be considered my equal?!," Valerie revealed as she gestured towards him, shaking her head at the last part.
She regained her composure immediately though before continuing. "But despite the fact that, before you became a devil, you lived an incredibly boring life, I still believe that you have potential. After all, you possess the Sacred Gear of Azmuth, the Dragon God of Life. I couldn't ask for a better combination of powerful beings as my rival even if I tried. Honestly, I laughed when I found out about you. 'What are the chances?' I asked myself. What are the chances that I would find a person like you in this era? An era where God is dead and there's no chance of another war occurring."
Valerie chuckled to herself as she looked down at Ben.
"I just wish you would fulfil your true potential as quick as you," she continued before she audibly gasped and snapped her fingers as an idea entered her mind. "I know! How about this? How about I turn you into an avenger?!"
Ben felt a chill run up his spine and glared at Valerie intently as he clenched his fists.
"Yeah, that'll work. If your family is killed by a being as valuable as me they'd thank me for killing them. It'd finally give them meaning in their otherwise completely boring and tedious lives."
Ben felt something click in his head he popped the muscles in his neck and clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
"That does it, bitch!" Ben growled darkly, turning everyone's attention towards him. "You've managed to really piss me off! If you want my family, you're going to have to go through me!"
"That's exactly what I want," Valerie retorted with a gleeful expression on her face at the hatred she could see in Ben's eyes.
"I don't give a fuck if my family isn't up to your high standards of how I should've ended up with my power. They deserve to live their lives the way they want to and I'm not going to let a psychotic bitch like you tear it away from them! If you want to fight me then I'll give you a fight; don't involve anyone else!"
Ben summoned his emerald gauntlet and started turning the dial on the back of the gauntlet until he found the form he wanted and slammed his palm down on the dial and disappearing in a flash of bright green light.
[Transform: Diamondhead!]
The light quickly dispersed to reveal Ben's pale green, crystalline form. He flexed his large arms as his eyes burned with hatred towards Valerie who looked down at Ben with boredom.
"A Petrosapien? Is that the best you can come up with?" she asked with disappointment clear in her voice.
"If you want something more, then how about this?!" Ben growled as he raised his left arm in front of himself.
[Ben, are you sure about this?] Azmuth muttered with concern as he sensed what Ben was about to do. [You've never tried this before and Azazel's bracelet will only be able to sustain you with so much power for a short amount of time.]
"I'll just have to beat Valerie quickly then," Ben countered hotly, not really listening to Azmuth's warning as his attention was wholly focused on Valerie.
[Ascalon: Blade!]
Ben's right arm glowed as it altered its form until it had morphed into the shape of Ascalon's blade. As this happened, the rest of Ben's crystalline body also began to change as it was engulfed in crimson light. The bright light disappeared to reveal Ben's body though it had changed considerably, generating gasps from everyone around him.
Ben's body was now partially encased by several pieces of crimson-red armour. His crystalline forearmswere now covered by vambraces, his shoulders now sported large crimson pauldrons and his shins were now covered with similarly coloured armoured greaves. Ben's head also found itself protected further by the armoured helmet now covering his head while, protruding from behind his back, he now had a pair of draconic wings which were fully unfurled.
Everyone stared at Ben with both wonder and awe. Even Valerie was taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.
"Well this is…certainly unexpected," Valerie admitted, though by the tone of her voice as well as the smile which she sported, she couldn't be happier than she currently was. She didn't have time to remember the last time she was so looking forward to a fight before Ben suddenly launched himself into the air and lunged towards Valerie at great speed, his bladed right arm pointed directly at her. She avoided his attack at the last second and rose up into the air a few feet away from Ben who now hovered below her, his eyes glaring at her with great intensity.
[The Dragon Slayer?] Albion asked with curiosity, Valerie's bright blue wings glowing brighter as he spoke. [Be cautious Valerie. I won't be able to deflect a single cut from that blade.]
"Then I won't let him cut me then," the White Dragon Empress replied as her face was, once again, covered up by her draconic helmet.
Before Ben could carry any other attack, he was suddenly pushed onto the defensive by Valerie who was now moving at such a blinding speed that it was proving difficult for him to block her assault effectively though he was just about able to keep up with her. The two opponents streaked though the air as they battled each other, the battle raging below them completely ignored as they lit up the sky with flashes of light as they struck at each other. Once he had gotten over her lightning-fast counterattack, Ben was able to at least deliver some blows back on her though they didn't slow her onslaught down in the slightest.
As their fight progressed Ben was made painfully aware of just how outclassed he really was against Valerie in his current state. He may have been granted the power of Ascalon but that didn't mean that he knew what its capabilities were nor how to wield it properly. If only he had had more time to learn about the sword and its true power, the fight may have been going in a different direction.
Just as he came to this conclusion, he released a low groan of pain as a powerful blow landed on his crystalline torso and sent him crashing down to the school field where he landed inside a fairly big crater of his own making. The blow came so fast that he didn't have any idea where it had come from, only that he knew who had delivered it. He looked down at his chest to see a small crack in the middle of his chest. It was small but that didn't make it better. He needed to be even more careful with Valerie if she was able to damage his nigh-on indestructible crystalline body.
"Come on!" Valerie shouted down at him with annoyance in her voice. "You're supposed to be my rival! You need to be stronger!"
"This fights only just beginning!" Ben retorted as he picked himself off the crater floor and crawled out of the hole.
Once he was out of the crater he had made when he landed he rolled his shoulders and neck before launching himself back into air. He thrust his blade at Valerie but she anticipated this and dodged right, easily avoiding the blade's deadly edge. Unfortunately for her, Ben also anticipated that she would do this and brought his fist up to where she had moved to, catching her completely off guard when, in the blink of an eye, Ben smashed his fist into her armoured chest, causing her to release a groan of her own as she recoiled from the blow.
She quickly recovered from his attack though and the two of them continued their terrifying dance in the skies above the school where Rias and Asia could only watch with concern as their fight grew more and more intense the longer it continued while the others remained focussed on mopping up the last of the enemies assaulting the school.
"Yes! That's more like it! This is what I wanted to see from my destined rival!" Valerie exclaimed with clear glee in her voice as the two of them rained down blow after blow on each other, neither one preparing to call it quits.
The fight continued to rage on in the dark sky, each one delivering a blow which would've killed normal humans, perhaps even low-class devils, until Valerie decided to change things up to end the apparent stalemate as she delivered another punch to Ben who had brought up his arms to block the blow.
[Divide!]
Despite blocking the powerful blow, Ben still felt a sudden drop in his power and was, once again, sent flying uncontrollably through the air until he crashed through the wall of the gymnasium which was somehow still standing after everything that had happened.
"That one hurt," Ben groaned to himself, holding the spot where he had just been punched, as the wall lost its structural integrity and fell on top of him, knocking him back to the floor.
"Ben!" Rias shouted at him from beside her brother a few feet away from him. "Are you alright?!"
Ben gave her a thumbs-up as he pulled himself out of the rubble. A falling wall was a picnic compared to Valerie's punches. He looked at himself to see several more, small cracks running along his crystalline body, adding to his growing collection.
"I'm fine," he shouted back to her as he stood up and dusted himself off. "This is nothing compared to your training!"
[Boost!]
In an instant, Ben felt the power he had just lost return to him.
'I feel better now, but it's still troubling. Even if I can restore the power she steals from me, she's still ahead of me,' Ben thought to himself as he glanced up at Valerie to her wings glowing brightly.
"What's she doing now?" he wondered warily.
[Transferring her excess power into her wings. You're right about her being ahead of you by keeping the power she stole from you but even she has a limit. She can't keep the power within her body without it destroying her,]Ddraig explained for him.
"So, it doesn't matter how powerful she is, she still has a limit to the power she can hold," Ben replied as a plan began forming in his head.
"Is this the best you can do?!" Valerie shouted down at him, her arms crossed under her chest as she hovered above him. "It's pathetic! Where's the conviction I saw when you were fighting Kokabiel? It's like I'm fighting a completely different person from then."
Her gaze then switched to Rias and the rest of her peerage as a thought suddenly struck her.
"Of course…," she muttered under her breath, so quietly that Ben almost missed it. "You were fighting for your friends back then, weren't you?"
Her voice grew louder until everyone could hear it plain as day. "Would you fight me properly if I kill your friends before your family?!" she cried as she fired large magical bolts of energy towards their group. As the bolts streaked towards them, Gasper hid behind Kiba who raised his sword to defend himself though he was aware that it would be next to useless against someone as powerful as Valerie. Asia screamed in fear while Rias prepared to shield her peerage from the bolts though that would have been just as effective as Kiba's plan.
"Leave them alone!" Ben bellowed as he reared his left arm back before slamming it into the ground with as much power as he could muster. As his fist struck the ground, it began to split apart as a large wall of crystal erupted into existence, blocking Valerie's magical bolts which exploded against the crystal wall, shaking the air around it as they detonated against the unyielding barrier.
"Your fight is with me, bitch!" he roared as he launched himself back into the air, delivering a powerful kick to her right flank before backing away from her until he was hovering a few feet away from her.
Instead of being annoyed and angered by his sudden blow, Valerie seemed ecstatic and returned her attention back to him.
"Yes! This is more like it! This is what I wanted to see from my rival!" she cried with excitement as she started to fire bolt after bolt of bright blue magical energy at him. Before they struck him, though, Ben was able to block the attack by quickly morphing his arms into the shape of a large shield which stopped the bolts in their path. However, despite this, the attack number of bolts didn't diminish and, instead, increased as Valerie sought to break through his rudimentary shield.
Just as he felt his shield start to crack and give in, another sudden idea entered his head. It was a stupid plan and could backfire on him horribly if he was wrong but, right now, it was the only plan he had to go on so it would have to do. He told his plan to Ddraig and Azmuth who, though they strongly opposed the reckless idea, agreed to go through with it.
With his idiotic plan in mind, Ben waited for the right time to pull it off. His moment came shortly after when his shield came extremely close to breaking apart from the force of Valerie's attack. Before this happened though, Ben lurched forward, directly towards Valerie as she continued to fire her powerful magical bolts at him. His shield broke apart when he halved the distance between them and grunted in pain as he continued to push towards her. It especially hurt as his crimson armour had disappeared as he needed to re-morph his right arm back into a hand for what he was about to do. Once Ascalon had returned to the Boosted Gear, the armour went with it which resulted in Ben feeling the full power of her magical bolts.
In spite of this, though, he kept going and soon collided with Valerie where he quickly grabbed hold of whatever piece of armour he could with his left arm. Once he had a suitable hold on her, he kept hold of her no matter the damage he took as she punched and kicked him to dislodge him and push him away.
She came up with a new plan when she realised that he wouldn't let go of her.
[Divide!]
"Did you forget that I can steal half your power?" she taunted as she saw him lose his strength but stubbornly continued to hold onto her armour. Her confusion was raised when she saw the smirk on his chisled, crystalline jaw.
"Oh, I didn't forget," he retorted as he pulled back his right arm before thrusting it forward and getting it lodged in her armoured chest. "In fact, if you want my power so much, here's a little more! Ddraig now!"
[Boost!]
Ben felt a surge as his stolen power was stolen but the feeling didn't last long as Ddraig continued on to the next stage of his plan.
[Transfer!]
"What are you doing?!" she demanded as she felt the surge of power flowing through her.
"I'm just giving you some of my power!" Ben shouted back at her as Ddraig proceeded to repeat the action of boosting Ben's power only for him to then transfer it over to Valerie.
[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Transfer!]
"I wonder just how much of it you can take before you overload," Ben added with a triumphant smirk on his face which only grew at the look of realisation on Valerie's face as she tried even harder to remove his grip from her armour.
She blasted him with more powerful bolts of magic and kicked him viciously in her attempt to stop him but he persisted, grunting through the immense pain he felt from the strikes as he refused to let go.
Just as he began wondering how much more of this he could take before he couldn't keep going anymore, there was a large explosion of power which detonated between them with such force that it knocked both of them out of the air. However, while Ben crash landed and created yet another crater, Valerie was able to recover in time and unfurl her bright blue draconic wings and land with more grace than he did. That being said though, she still had multiple cuts all over her body and had to brush away a thin line of blood which trickled from the corner of her mouth. She glanced down at the small red smear on her finger with surprise in her eyes.
From the side-line, Azazel watched the two of them with a barely contained look of amazement on his face.
"Incredible," he muttered to himself as he glanced at Ben. "He found a way to use Albion's weakness to his advantage!"
Valerie was likewise impressed as she looked around the school field at the scattered remains of her White Dragon Empress armour which littered the floor. "Fascinating! You managed to completely destroy my Balance Breaker. This is what I expect from my rival!" she exclaimed excitedly as she was engulfed in blue light again which revealed her back in white armour when it dispersed."
"What's happening now?" Rias asked with confusion as she looked at Valerie's unscratched armour.
[It's how dragons fight!] Ddraig explained to her as Ben crawled out of his newest crater to reveal his battered form. [They fight until one is unable to fight any longer, even if it takes years to do so.]
"How is that possible?" the crimson haired heiress asked with concern as she looked at Ben's injured state. She didn't know how much longer she could just stand on the side and watch him fight such a powerful foe on his own.
[It's because dragons aren't like other creatures,] Azmuth explained, adding his own voice to Ddraig's. [They defy all logic.]
[With all the hosts of the Welsh Dragon I've fought since I was confined within this Gear, never once have I ever seen such a move performed,] Albion's voice called out from across the field.
With her armour fully materialised once more, Valerie took to the air once more and stared down at Ben who looked like he had been run over by a train. He felt like he had too but he refused to back down.
Hearing his thoughts, Azmuth had other ideas.
[You might have to do just that and run, kid. You are a long way from holding the kind of power that she does. There's no way you can handle much more power; the bracelet's nearly been worn out and I wouldn't suggest you use Ascalon again,]the ancient dragon warned and Ben couldn't find any counter argument to give him. He was exhausted and didn't know how much longer he could keep fighting for.
He had to do something to tip the balance in his favour but he didn't know what he could possibly–.
He stopped his train of thought when he noticed a cracked blue orb at his feet. It was the same blue orb which resided in the centre of Valerie's chest piece. Recalling what he had been told about the abilities of his Sacred Gears, he was struck by yet another reckless plan. But, like his previous plan, it could just be what he needed if it worked.
"Hey Azmuth. You remember when you said the Sacred Gears respond to my thoughts and feelings?" Ben asked as he bent down and picked up the orb with his left hand and held it in front of him as he relayed what he planned to do with his two dragon partners.
Needless to say, neither dragon was impressed with his insane plan.
[Are you sure about this, Ben. You'd better be prepared to die if you want to carry out your plan,] Ddraig cautioned him while Azmuth reacted slightly differently than he did.
[Are you insane?!] he shouted within Ben's head. [Do you realise what it is you are planning to do?! It will almost certainly kill you.]
"Yeah, I know it's risky, but is it possible?" Ben countered as he glanced at the orb in his hands.
Azmuth released a large sigh before replying. [I honestly don't know. Such a thing has never happened before and I have no idea what will happen if you succeed but if you do survive this then you will have done something that only God has been able to do until now.]
"I'll take the risk. It's my only chance to catch her off guard and beat her," Ben told them firmly.
[Hahaha! You truly are a fascinating master! I like your resolve!] the crimson dragon declared with a hearty laugh. [If you die then I'll be sure to tell my next host all about you!]
With his decision made, Ben poured all his concentration into what he wanted his Sacred Gear to do for him.As he did so, the orb in his hand began to glow brightly as Ben held it above his head as he merged his power with the power which still resided within the orb.
"What are you doing?" Valerie asked with intrigue as the light continued to grow more intense.
"I'll tell you exactly what I'm planning to do, you fucking bitch!" Ben bellowed as he crushed the orb in his hand and allowed the two powers to fuse together and become one. "I'm going to take your power and fuse it with my own!"
No sooner had he crushed the orb and begun the process that Ben begin to feel as though his entire body was on fire. The light from his Transformation Gear flickered between the emerald light it normally emitted and the bright blue light from Albion's orb as they fought to become one.
"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" Ben cried out as the agonising pain spread from his left arm throughout his entire body and only seemed to become more intense as he pressed on through it. When he first felt it, Ben swore he would've fainted from the searing pain had he not been expecting it. "Fucking hell! This fucking hurts!"
"Are you seriously trying to take in my power?" Valerie asked with amusement in her voice, crossing her arms under her armoured chest as she watched him.
"Arrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhh! If Kiba can steal power from his enemies, why can't I?" Ben gasped as he felt a fresh wave of blinding pain overcome him.
[Your partner seems to be misinformed, Ddraig,] Albion stated as he observed Ben's writhing form. [We are a profoundly different case from that devil fusing Holy and Devil powers together. They both, at their very cores, originate from the same thing, even if they have changed over the millennia. We, on the other hand, are completely two different existences and can't ever fuse our powers together. Do you not remember when Mordred possessed your Gear and tried to steal my power from Lancelot?]
[Of course I remember, brother,] Ddraig retorted firmly. [It's a good thing then that it's not my power that my partner is fusing your power with.]
[What do you mean? What are you talking about?!] Albion demanded, confusion clear in his voice.
[It's my power he's fusing it with!] Azmuth declared, much to the shock of everyone gathered as Ben was engulfed by the bright fusion of blue and green light as the process entered its final stages.
"Arrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhh!" he screamed as the pain entered into a whole new level of agony. Not even when he had been gutted by Raynare's Light spear had he felt such searing pain. It was as if his very DNA was being altered!
[Vanishing Dragon power is taken! Transform: Crystalsapien!]
Ben stopped screaming and the light which had been surrounding him suddenly changed from the combination of green and blue light into a rainbow of colours which illuminated the entire school field. After a few seconds, the light dissipated to reveal Ben.
When they saw him, the students of Kuoh academy gasped in shock at what they saw while Sirzechs and the other leaders' eyes widened in shock at the sight before them.
Even Valerie's eyes widened in intrigue at what she was now looking at.
Ben stood at around 10ft tall and looked unrecognisable from his previous Petrosapien form. Instead of being bulky and pale green in colour, his body now took on a leaner, less muscular appearance and was dark purple with several black lines and spots covering his body. His forearms and face were magenta in colour as well as the six shards of crystal which protruded from his back, the two which sprouted out of his chest, and the one on top of his head which looked like a horn. His face consisted of a mouth and a single, large green eye.
[Impossible. This is completely impossible.] Albion muttered in astonishment as Ben clenched and unclenched his fists as he inspected his new body.
[I thought so too,] Azmuth said with a clear hint of fascination in the tone of his voice. [Essentially, what the kid has just done is create an entirely new demonic subspecies with his little act. The only being capable of doing something like what he did is God Himself. I may have created dragons but I could only do something by using myself as a template for every dragon to copy. What the boy did was create a brand-new subspecies from a form which wasn't even his own! The action was not without serious risk as I was certain he would surely die from such a move.]
[However, it seems I was wrong about him. I doubted he would survive the procedure and I was proven to be mistaken. It's not very often that I'll admit any of my mistakes, mainly because I rarely make them, but in this case, I'll be the first to say that I was wrong.]
Ddraig released a hearty chuckle.
[This host of ours has been an interesting one. I've had many unique hosts and have seen many miraculous things in my life but this one is different else entirely,] he stated in his usual deep, rumbling voice.
"He created a new demon?!" Sirzechs said with awe in his voice.
The gathered spectators found it difficult to tear their gaze away from Ben's form and for good reasons.
"I wonder what it can do?" Azazel muttered to himself with a look of intrigue in his eyes.
"He can't really do that…can he?" Xenovia asked, her eyes wide and her jaw agape.
"It seems he's already done so. He never ceases to amaze us, does he?" Kiba said with a small smirk on his face.
[Although I truly am amazed at what you have just done, I must tell you that you have taken centuries, maybe even millennia, off your life with that little stunt of yours. Devils can live almost forever but I can say for certain that you will not be one of them,] Azmuth informed Ben within his head.
"I'd say it was worth it with what I'm seeing," Ben replied through their telepathic link as he finished getting himself familiar with his new form. "I just wish I knew what it can do though."
Ben was distracted from further thought at the sound of laughter above him. He followed the sound until he reached Valerie whose featureless mask prevented him from seeing what expression she was making, though he could guess from her laughter.
"This is getting fun. I never expected you to be able to take my power but this just makes things all the more interesting. Well, if you're going to get serious then I suppose it's only right that I do the same thing, isn't it?" she asked as her wings unfurled to their fullest extent.
[Half Dimension!] Albion cried as Valerie held up her hand in front of her and clenched it tightly.
As she did this, Ben felt the air begin to vibrate as a sudden wave of intense energy washed over him and covered the entirety of the dome covering the academy. He looked around to see the school remains begin to shrink as well as the trees in the wood next to the school which instantly halved in thickness.
"What the hell is she doing now?!" he demanded to anyone who heard him.
"He's using an ability which warps the dimensions around him. It's an incredibly dangerous ability that can potentially cause someone to be shrunk out of existence entirely," Michael explained with worry in his angelic voice.
"Shit!" Ben muttered as he tried to work out what his new form could but he couldn't feel anything that stood out at what he could do.
"Hey, Azmuth. Is there enough power in Azazel's bracelet to let me achieve balance breaker?" he asked the ancient dragon.
[Yes but not for long. I estimate it will only last for another two minutes at best before it breaks. Whatever you plan to do with it, I suggest you do it quickly or you will have lost this fight,]the emerald dragon replied.
"That's all I need. Remember what I could do with it in ten seconds?" Ben said as he glanced back up at Valerie.
[Dragon All-Father: Over Booster: Ultimate form!]
Once the emerald light had disappeared, it revealed Ben's brand-new demon's ultimate form. He had grown another two feet to stand at a towering twelve feet tall while his body had bulked up and became more muscular and robust; more so than even Diamondhead's form. His crystalline 'skin' had turned into a reddish-black colour and the crystals which protruded from his back became longer, octagonal-shaped, and bright ruby red in colour. Three more, similarly shaped crystals now sprouted from his shoulders and resembled deep blue sapphires. Four smaller spikes extended from each forearm: the right emerald in colour and the left amber. His hands were similar colours to the spikes on each forearm. The two crystals protruding from his chest had altered their shape into diamonds and the crystal on top of his head grew a couple inches larger whilst two more spikes, one in the front and in the back, making his look appear similar to a mohawk.
One more thing that happened to Ben. As well as his drastic physical change, like a burst dam, Ben also felt his head fill up with information about the abilities that his new form. He would have to ask Azmuth why he couldn't sense these abilities before but that would have to wait until after everything was over.
"You want me to be serious? Well, I guess I can get serious just for you," Ben shouted up at Valerie. "I'll teach you to fuck with me!"
[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!]
As the Boosted Gear raised his power, Ben's body went through a physical change as power raced through his body. Every single one of the crystals protruding from his crystalline body began to pulsate with bright, multi-coloured lights.
"Huh, that's quite a pretty light show you can put on," Valerie said with a slight chuckle.
"You think that's good. How about this?" Ben retorted with a smirk on his face from the strange euphoria he felt from the power running through his body before bringing up his fists which were now engulfed by small spheres of rainbow-coloured light.
With his fists pulsating with energy sphere, he floated about two feet into the air before seemingly disappearing into thin air. Just as quickly as he disappeared, he reappeared right in front of Valerie and delivered an extremely powerful right hook to her armoured chest which sent her soaring higher into the air where she re-orientated herself, only for Ben to suddenly appear right behind and punch her armoured back, sending the White Dragon Empress falling back down to the ground where she recovered yet again and turned back to face her opponent.
"How are you able to move so fast? Where did this speed come from?!" she demanded with frustration as she barely dodged yet another strike from Ben as he lunged past her with his left fist extended.
"It's thanks to your power I stole! I feel its effects more than ever before while I'm in this form," Ben shouted back at her as he hovered in the air opposite her.
"Well let's see how you handle this!" Valerie bellowed as she pressed her hands close together and slowly created a magical bolt of energy, far larger than any bolt she'd created before. Once it had reached half her size she threw it in Ben's direction and expected it to cause him immense pain when it struck him. Her expectation was dashed, however, when, instead of a large explosion as she had expected, the large ball of magical energy simply shrank and disappeared to reveal Ben who had his left hand extended, palm open. The crystals covering his body glowed even brighter as he absorbed her magical attack.
"Did I forget to mention that I also have your absorption power too? It makes it extremely helpful to use my enemy's attack to my advantage," he gloated as he cracked his knuckles.
Valerie growled in annoyance but, before she could make any other move, Ben suddenly appeared right in front of her, yet again.
"Now where was I?" he asked sarcastically. "Oh yes, now I remember."
He abruptly punched her in her abdomen, causing her to cough up some blood which seeped through the gaps in her mask.
"That was for threatening to kill my parents!" he bellowed angrily before immediately following up his blow with another, each blow absorbing some of her power with each blow.
"Gah!" Valerie gasped as she recoiled from the blow.
"And this is for betraying all of us to the Khaos Brigade!" he continued to bellow as he took hold of her shoulders with his hands and brought his knee up to collide with her stomach.
"And this is…." He brought both his hands together above his head and brought them crashing down on her mask which disintegrated from the force of the impact. "…this is for trying to kill everyone I care about for your own sick fantasies!"
The last blow struck Valerie so hard that she fell from the sky at great speed and crashed into the ground just as Ben had done previously during their intense fight. Ben returned to the ground just as Valerie had returned to her feet. Instead of the look of defeat that he and the other students expected to see on her face after the beating she had just taken. Rather, she held a look of excitement on her face.
'How can she still have such a confident expression?' Ben thought with concern. He had used every bit of power he had left in him and she was still looking as though she was only getting started.
He didn't seem to be the only one who shared this concern.
"How can she still be standing?" Xenovia muttered under her breath with worry.
"Alright, so you can just about handle my balance breaker," Valerie said as she rolled her neck and shoulders with anticipation. "Let's see how you handle my trump card; the juggernaut."
[Don't do it, Valerie,] Albion cautioned at her suggestion. [Now isn't the best time to activate that ability.]
Valerie ignored Albion's caution and spread her arms out and began to chant. "[I, one who awakens to the supremacy of reason—."
Ben made to charge at her once again before she could finish her chant as he wasn't exactly eager to see what would happen, but as soon as he took several, staggered steps he fell to his knees as he felt weariness quickly overcome him. He barely had enough strength to stay in his form but the bracelet was reaching the very end of the power contained within it.
[Don't act rashly, Vali! Is it your desire to be at the mercy of my power?!] Albion barked with anger in his voice.
'Albion's angry? Why would he be so against her using whatever it is she's going to use?' Ben thought to himself but received no answer from his own dragon partners.
Just before Valerie could finish her chant, an object suddenly broke through the protective dome as though it was made of paper, causing it to disintegrate completely. The mysterious object landed beside her and stirred up a small cloud of dust. When it fell away, the object was revealed to be a young man clad in what looked armour worn by Chinese warriors in the Han Dynasty.
"Who the hell's this?" Ben muttered with annoyance.
"What are you doing here, Bikou?" Valerie asked the new arrival as she wiped the blood trailing down from her mouth, annoyed that he had stopped her from completing her chant.
"What's with the hostile attitude, Val," he asked her with false hurt in his voice, the spear he held resting on his right shoulder. "Is that anyway to speak to speak to someone who wanted to help their partner get out of a pinch? The other guys were making a right ol' fuss back at headquarters, you know? We were able to get the Osmosian warlord on board and we're planning to take on the northern country gods. You were supposed to return back to us if your mission failed, remember? Seeing as the three powers still have their leaders and Cattleya is nowhere to be seen, I can only assume that she's dead. If that's the case your observation role is over, is it not?
"So, it's time then?" Valerie asked to which the young man nodded his head in response.
"Hey! Who the hell are you?" Ben asked firmly as he picked himself off the ground.
"That's Bikou, a descendent of the Victorious Fighting Buddha," Azazel answered for him as he walked up beside Ben, his hand in his pocket.
Ben vaguely remembered the story of the Journey to the West and the story of Goku but only the very basics. He'd never call himself an expert on the matter.
"I'll admit that I never expected you to associate yourself with an organisation like the Khaos brigade. Hell must have frozen over since I was last there. Although I say that, I have to admit that the Vanishing dragon and the Monkey King do look good together."
Bikou laughed at Azazel's statement. "You're too kind, Azazel, but I look just about good with everyone I'm with," he said cheerfully.
"It's been nice meeting you. Until next time, Dragon All-Father," he called out as a dark circle appeared below him and Valerie and began to swallow them into the ground and leave.
"We'll continue our fight some other time, Tennyson," Valerie called out as she disappeared. "keep getting stronger until our next battle."
As much as he wanted to stop her from escaping, Ben was under no delusion that he could fight in his current state. Even as he reached this conclusion, the bracelet finally gave in and released his form, transforming him back into a human where he then collapsed to the ground in exhaustion as Valerie and Bikou disappeared.
"If you emit that much power so explosively, your stamina will deplete very quickly," Azazel explained to Ben. "As you are now, your energy store is very limited and long battles are impossible for you. That being said though, you released a huge amount of power in that new form of yours…even if it was only for a few minutes."
. . . . .
It was over. The battle was finally over.
With the block on teleportation magic finally removed, the reinforcements of the three powers descended on the school which now had another, stronger barrier to hide them from the neighbouring humans as they proceeded to process the battlefield and aftermath of the failed assault.
They carried away the few corpses of dead magicians and knights who hadn't been destroyed in the battle and began to repair the extensive damage done to the academy and its surrounding grounds while the leaders of the three powers had gathered to discuss the events of that night and their next steps.
At least, that's what Ben would be told what had happened after the battle's conclusion. As of right at the moment, however, he had rolled over on to his back and was staring up at the night and breathing deeply as he recovered from his intense battle.
"Ben!" Rias yelled as she ran over to him and held his upper body in her arms as his head, feeling very heavy from the action, fell onto her shoulder where it would stay for the time being.
"Hey, Rias…. Are you alright?" he gasped through deep breaths.
Rias pressed her cheek against his forehead and stroked his cheek, wiping away the thin line of blood which trickled down from his hairline. "You stupid boy," she muttered quietly though she continued to stroke his cheek after removing the line of blood. "Why do you have to be so reckless?"
Ben tried to laugh but it was painful to do so, so he stopped immediately, before answering. "You know me? It's…what I do."
"I know," Rias replied as she pressed her lips lovingly against his forehead. "It's what I like best about you."
Behind the two of them, the Occult club members smiled at the scene before them. Even Asia kept quiet at the scene before her though she still felt a small pang of jealousy at not being able to comfort Ben like Rias had.
. . . . .
(Several minutes later)
When Ben was finally strong enough to stand up though he still needed the assistance of Kiba to walk without falling over again from fatigue, they headed over to the others. After their embrace, Rias had let Asia rush over and apply her Sacred Gear on his injuries and, before long, he had been completely healed of all his injuries leaving only his fatigue which Asia couldn't help him with.
With him able to move again, the group made their way across the school field which had almost been completely repaired already towards the centre of the school grounds where they saw the four leaders conversing with each other.
Catching sight of them, Sirzechs turned his gaze towards Ben and gave him a comforting smile.
"It's good to see you up and walking again, Ben," he said kindly.
"Thanks. Valerie's insanely strong, but I'm still here," Ben replied with a smile of his own.
"Speaking of Valerie," Azazel interjected as he, too, turned his gaze towards Ben and Sirzechs. "I feel it's only polite to apologise for her actions."
"Did you know she would betray you?" Michael asked him.
Azazel sighed and ran his hand over his beard before answering the chief Angel. "From the very start she was only interested in power. Looking back now, I suppose I should have known she would do something like this…but you know what they say about hindsight and all that."
As he said this, Ben couldn't help but notice the lonely look in his eyes. He didn't say anything about it but he couldn't help but wonder if Azazel would miss Valerie.
"And I'd like to apologise for Cattleya, Azazel," Sirzechs chimed in with a faint bow of his head. "She was one of our internal issues that should have been dealt with sooner."
"Ah don't worry about me," the Governor-General said with a wave of his remaining hand as he looked down at the remains of his left arm. "This just gives me the excuse to try something I've been working on for a while now."
"It truly does look like things are starting anew," Michael noted with a hopeful smile.
"Um, excuse me, chief Michael," Ben said before anyone could interject.
"Yes, what is it, Dragon All-father?" Michael asked politely.
"There's something I'd like to ask you."
"What is it, my child?"
"Is it possible to change the system so that Xenovia and Asia can pray without being hurt?" Ben asked and was met with gasps of shock by Asia and Xenovia who looked at Michael for his answer.
Michael's smile faded from his face and his expression turned to one of sadness at Ben's request. "I'm sorry. As much as I may wish to correct the mistake we made, that is not within my power to do so. The System was one of the first things created by God…even before the Angels. He was the only one who knew how it worked fully and He was the only one who could change it. We are barely able to keep it running as it is without Him. We don't know how to change it even if we wanted to."
Ben lowered his head and felt like a fool. He had raised Asia and Xenovia's hopes only to have them dashed in an instant.
[That's not quite true,] Azmuth's voice declared from within his Gear, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"What are you talking about?" Ben asked with confusion.
[God isn't the only one who had some knowledge on the System. It's, in fact, even more complicated than any of you understand, and even God had trouble with it sometimes. In essence, it is similar to what humans would call 'AI'. It is a semi-conscious existence which included the pain that Devils and Fallen Angels receive when they pray without God's knowledge.]
"How could He have not noticed something like that?" Ben asked with confusion.
[Because He didn't care about those two factions in the early days of the war. It was only after He decided to end the war and bring about peace among the three factions that He discovered what the System had done and tried to fix it. However, aside from creating its initial form and abilities, He had trouble trying to remove that part of the System,] Azmuth explained clearly, not wishing to repeat himself as he really hated doing that.
"Not that this isn't fascinating, but what has this got to do with anything?" Azazel asked casually.
[Because, when He and I were working together on making His wish to end the war come true, we were able to create something that would alter the System to remove this part of it. Think of it as a 'patch' to the System to remove the damage Devils and Fallen Angels receive when they pray.]
"Then why hasn't it worked?" Michael asked with confusion in his voice.
[Because we didn't put it into The System. The patch was split into two parts due to the complexity of its nature. God put the main part of the patch He was working on inside Ascalon due to it great power, even for a Holy sword, due to the combination of His and my power while I worked on the finishing touches. I created it in the shape of a scabbard so it could successfully combine with the sword, and after millennia since I started, it's finally finished.]
Silence fell on the group as nobody dared to speak. They thought the story of God in the final years of the war was enough of a bombshell but this took the cake. Even Azazel couldn't come up with a witty remark.
[I'll give both parts to you, Michael, to place it inside The System so it can do its work. Before I do that, however, I need to know if this is what all three factions want. This action will take a lot of my power as well as take a great deal of power from Ascalon, so I must know if it's something you all want.]
Not one of the four leaders answered Azmuth straight away as they tried to fully understand the implications of what he was saying. It was Sirzechs, though, who broke the silence.
"I…I believe that the majority of pure-blood Devils no longer hold any affection for God, both because of their pride, and because of the years we spent at war with Him. However, I believe that there are those within our, rapidly growing, population of reincarnated devils that still hold their faith, particularly after becoming part of the supernatural world. I truly believe in achieving peace between our three factions and I believe this could be the first act to truly unify us all," he said firmly and with a seriousness that Ben had never seen in the Devil King before.
It was then Azazel's turn to speak.
"Despite our fall from Grace, the majority of Fallen Angels have never forgotten about their former home. We might not be able to pray anymore and some may be spiteful of our former leader, but I know that nearly all of my subordinates still wish to feel His warmth again and pray to Him. I can't say how they'll react after hearing of God's death but I know that they'd be overjoyed to be able to pray again, even if He won't hear their words anymore. On behalf of the Fallen Angels, I too would agree to this as our first unified act," the Fallen Angel leader explained without his usual wit and charm, but with a serious tone instead.
[And what about you, Michael? What do you say?] Azmuth asked the leader of the final faction to decide.
Michael glanced between the leaders around him and sighed before giving his answer.
"I've learnt a lot about God during this summit. While I wish that He had confided His plans with some of His angels, I understand that He had reasons for not doing so. He works in mysterious ways after all. I too wish for ever-lasting peace between our three powers, especially with the danger the Khaos Brigade presents to us all, and I to this whole-heartedly.
[Very well. Ben, hold out your hand,] Azmuth instructed and Ben obeyed. He stepped away from Kiba to stand on his own weight and opened his left hand and held it out in front of him. As soon as he did this, his hand began to glow and, in a flash of green light, Ascalon appeared in the palm of his hand.
Instead of it usual appearance though, the blade was now encased by a beautifully ornate scabbard which was the same colour of the handle and pommel of the blade and had intricate designs running along the cover. Unlike before, Ascalon now glowed with a beautiful golden light which made Ben feel warm all over.
Looking at the others gathered around him, Ben saw that they were also experiencing the same warmth that he felt.
Ben delicately handed the sheathed sword to Michael who held it like it was the most precious thing he had seen in his very long life.
[Consider this God's commitment to the peace between your factions and His final gift to all His children,] Azmuth said with a warm tone which Ben had never heard from him before.
"Even when gone, He still graces us with divine miracles," Azazel muttered.
"You don't know what this means to us," Michael told Azmuth with a small bow towards the ancient dragon. "We will never forget what you have done for us."
[It will take some time to fully integrate and take effect when you combine it with The System but, once it is done, neither the Devils nor the Fallen Angels will receive damage from praying and will feel the same warmth that Angels feel when they pray.]
"I concur with Michael. The Fallen Angels won't ever forget this act and will honour the peace for this gift alone," Azazel added as he bowed his head slightly in Azmuth's direction before turning away from everyone and waving his hand to the fallen angel soldiers hovering in the air above the school who then began to teleport back home.
"I'll be heading back now. I've got a lot to explain to my subordinates. A lot more than I thought I'd have to tell them. But don't worry, I'll be back soon. I've come to like it here in this quaint little town," he said before joining the last of his soldiers and disappeared in a magic circle.
"I must also take my leave. I must return to Heaven to report on the peace agreement as well as carry out God's final miracle. Next, we'll work together on measures to stop the Khaos Brigade," Michael told everyone as his wings unfurled and glowed a bright golden light. "I promise to return Ascalon to you as soon as it has altered The System. Farewell, Dragon All-Father."
And with that, the Archangel disappeared along with the angel warriors back to Heaven.
When he disappeared, Ben released a deep breath he didn't realise he had been holding.
"This has certainly been an interesting night," he muttered to himself.
"Ben!"
He turned around at the sound of Asia's voice just in time to catch her as she all but threw herself at him in a tight embrace. He caught her and held her tightly, mainly to stop himself from losing balance and falling over.
"Hey, Asia," he gasped as she knocked the wind out of his lungs. "Now you and Xenovia will be able to pray again…."
"I love you, Ben!" Asia declared suddenly, stopping him midsentence as she kissed him lovingly on the lips.
. . . . .
Standing away from them, Sirzechs watched, with a smile on his face, as Rias was taken aback by Asia's sudden confession and embraced Ben too. This time though, Ben did lose his balance and fell to the floor with both Rias and Asia still attached to him while the rest of Rias' peerage either laughed or smiled at their exchange.
"He truly is an amazing person, isn't he?" Sirzechs asked Grayfia who stood next to him.
"Yes he is," Grayfia agreed formally.
"It does seem they made a difference after all."
"Who made a difference?" Grayfia asked him though he wouldn't tell her.
"Oh nothing," Sirzechs told her as he continued to watch the cheerful exchange, an idea already forming in his head.
With the summit of the three great powers at an end, the representatives of the three factions signed the peace treaty. Disputes between the factions were prohibited while the framework of the cooperation between them in the future laid down.
Named after the sight where it was signed, the treaty became known throughout Heaven and the Underworld as the "Kuoh Treaty".
. . . . .
The ORC clubroom, the Old School building
(The next day)
"And so, from today onwards for the foreseeable future, I'll be the advisor for the Occult Research club. I'd like you to call me Mr Azazel but I'll also accept Governor," Azazel stated from his spot in Rias' chair, his apparel consisting of a worn-out suit.
"You can't be serious!" Rias stated with frustration in her voice.
"Sure I'm serious, I got your big bro's permission and everything," Azazel retorted with a smirk and quick wink.
Ben cut into their 'argument' before Rias could say anything else and asked the question that everyone else was thinking.
"Hey, Azazel. What's with the arm?"
Instead of the stump which should have been the Governor-General's left arm, it appeared to have regrown overnight back to its original condition.
"I thought you lost it," he added, remembering back to last night when he saw Azazel cut it off in his fight with Cattleya.
"Oh this?" Azazel said, gesturing to his left arm. "This is just something I've been working on over the years. I've never had an excuse to try it out until now. It's actually an artificial arm of my own design. It's all-purpose and can even be loaded with Light-style laser beams and tiny missiles. It's cool, don't you think?"
"You've been watching too much anime," Ben muttered under his breath.
Azazel sniffed in mock indignation and changed the subject.
"I was given one condition for being allowed to become your advisor, and that condition was to develop the immature Sacred Gears of his little sister's' peerage. I happen to know a few things about Sacred Gears from my extensive studies on them and I am confident I can help you out. One of the deterrents against the Khaos Brigade is that the Dragon All-Father and your family have become famous both in Heaven and the Underworld. You need to be better prepared for anything you might face. News of the imminent change to The System has already spread right across the three factions where, while there are some against the idea, it has been met with a better reception that any of us thought, particularly amongst the devils surprisingly enough, which has been nothing but beneficial to our new alliance.
"The other reason I'm here is because of my knowledge on the Vanishing Dragon. From the information we have gathered on her, Valerie has put together her own team which she kept hidden from me before she revealed her deception though, aside from Bikou, we don't have any information yet on who else is on her team."
"Will the academy be attacked again?" Ben asked with concern.
The Governor-General shook his head at his question. "Not likely. They only came here in the first place because it was a rare chance to assassinate the leaders of the three powers in one fell swoop. This obviously failed and they shouldn't come back here again. They've got bigger things to deal with, mainly Heaven and the Underworld. You guys shouldn't worry though. It's a long way before a full-blown war starts so you should enjoy your school life as best you can. It's no use worrying when there's nothing you can do about it."
Everyone slowly nodded their head in acceptance of Azazel's words. His gaze returned back to Ben as a smile formed on his face.
"Hey, Ben. Your dream is to create a harem, right?"
"Where did you get that idea?" Ben groaned as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"What? You're a guy who's surrounded by beautiful women all the time. I can teach you about harems if you want. I'm quite the expert you know, I've formed hundreds of harems over the years and know my stuff. You might have your Sacred Gears affecting your life but that's only a single part."
Ben groaned and shook his head slightly though that failed to dissuade Azazel.
"Are you a virgin by any chance?"
Ben's face reddened at the personal question and he refused to give an answer which was enough of an answer for the Governor-General who chuckled at Ben's expression.
"I'll take that as a yes. Don't worry though, I'll teach you all about women as well. It's only right for me to teach a man like you how to handle beautiful women. Did you know that the reason I fell from heaven was because of a beautiful woman?"
"No, I didn't," Ben said truthfully. He had wondered why someone like Azazel fell from Heaven. Not because he wasn't the sort of man to sin…far from it; it was more like which one did he commit.
"As a possessor of two legendary dragons, it's only natural for you to be surrounded by as many women as possible. Strength comes from confidence, you know?" Azazel told him confidently before an idea came to him. "Tell you what. When you lose your virginity I'll give you a graduation ceremony. How about that?"
"Please don't," Ben moaned as he kept his emotions under control of image after lewd image raced through his mind.
"Oh come on! I'll introduce you to some of the most beautiful Fallen Angel women among my subordinates. I can tell you right now that they wouldn't mind in the least if they're sexual partner was a legendary dragon.
"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't give Ben such strange ideas, Azazel!" Rias stated firmly as she embraced Ben and pulled him away from Azazel's 'corrupting' influence. "The last thing he needs is any more rivals – ah, I mean women! He doesn't need any more women in his life."
"What's wrong? It's perfectly healthy to be acquainted with more than one woman. Is there an issue with your pawn being acquainted with multiple women?"
"Yes, it is! I'm the one who manages his chastity," Rias declared firmly, unwilling to let go of Ben as she said this.
[You're a lucky guy, partner,] Ddraig told him within the confines of his head. [There isn't a guy in the world who would love to hear a woman like Rias Gremory say that.]
"Shut up," Ben retorted in his mind.
"Are you going somewhere far away, Ben?" Asia said as she stared at Ben with watery eyes, tearing up at the very thought of being unable to stay with him. She was soon joined by the girls in the room.
"You're so mean, Ben! I'll be so lonely if you go with Azazel," Akeno moaned cutely with a fake expression of sorrow on her face.
"Hmm, if Rias is managing his chastity then it won't be easy to produce a child," Xenovia muttered to herself, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Looks like you're going to be busy," Koneko muttered in her usual, neutral manner.
Azazel just laughed heartily at the scene before him. "Hahaha! I guess I don't have to teach you much, do I? Dragons naturally form harems anyway so you don't need much help with that. I guess I'll just have to stick with developing your Sacred Gear for now."
"I'd appreciate it," Ben told the Governor-General, eager to change the topic.
"The main objective for you is to get you to obtain both your Balance Breakers for now. Getting you to pull an advanced move and combine both Balance Breakers would be asking too much at your current level. You should train and achieve that objective during the upcoming summer vacation."
"What about the rest of us? We need to get stronger too," Rias said as Azazel nodded his head in agreement.
"I know, I know. It doesn't hurt to be stronger. I've heard through the grapevine that there's going to be a meeting of young Devils in a few days and that a certain Rias Gremory who is going to attend is close to debuting in her first Rating Game.
"That's good. Rating Games would, at least, give us good experience for combat training," Ben muttered as Azazel clapped his hands together.
"My thoughts exactly. Rating Games are the perfect place to gather combat experience without being in an actual battle. It's exactly because of this that more and more battlefields are being made and new fighting methods are being tried."
"I guess that's everything you need to know right now," Azazel said as he headed towards the doors before coming to a sudden stop as something came to him. "Actually, there was something else I needed to tell you, Rias."
"And what's that?" the crimson-haired heiress grumbled with an adorable frown on her face.
. . . . .
Back at Ben's house
(One hour later)
"I'm finally here, Ben! I promise that I'll never leave your side!" Akeno said cheerfully as she entered his house and embraced him both tightly and affectionately as Xenovia also entered his house with her luggage.
"Uh, hey Akeno," Ben said back as he returned the embrace.
The reason both Akeno and Xenovia had appeared at his house was because Sirzechs had apparently come to the conclusion that it was important for the female members of the Occult Research club to live with Ben for whatever reason. Ironically, this wasn't the strangest to happen to him so Ben just accepted it and didn't object to it.
The current female residents however….
"This isn't fair!" Asia whined cutely as she watched Akeno embrace Ben tightly.
"I know," Rias muttered in agreement as she wished she could go against her brother's wishes. "My brother ordered it though so there's not much we can do."
Apparently, Rias had resisted against this plan for as long as possible. However, Ben's parents had consented to the arrangement and so that was that. All female members of the ORC would be staying at the Tennyson household.
"I guess I'll be staying in the same room as Asia then," Xenovia said as she entered the hallway, walking straight past Ben and Akeno. Koneko walked past them too as she followed Xenovia further into the house.
Ben's mother took this opportunity to appear in the hallway, a bright smile on her face. "Oh, this is wonderful. It's so nice to have so many beautiful girls living with us now. I've just cleaned up the spare room for someone to use.
"Mother!" Rias stated, using the name Ben's mother had insisted she use, much to Ben's embarrassment. "Don't you think the house has gotten small with everyone living here?"
"Oh, don't worry about that," Sandra said, waving off the issue. "It'll be fine. I've always wanted to have a large family like this. We'll manage somehow."
Rias pouted cutely at her last-ditch attempt to stop the move-in before she snapped her fingers. "In that case, I'll get my brother to completely remodel the house during summer vacation."
Ben just groaned at this statement. He wasn't surprised at all, it was just something that Rias would do. He glanced at everyone standing in the hallway and sighed at the latest change in his, already hectic, life. In what other ways could his life be affected at this point? At least he still had Ddraig and Azmuth with him.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A/N: Phew! I hope you loved the fight as much as I did when I came up with it. Chromastone has finally made his grand debut! I told you all that I'd make it special! As one of my favourite aliens in the cartoon, I felt it was only natural that he should have such a badass entrance into the DxD universe.
Before I say anything else, I just have to make sure that I give credit where its due. The design for ultimate Chromastone actually came from the mind of Ultimate10. Some of you may know him as the author of 'Ultimate Fairy'; one of the first fanfics I ever read as well as one of my absolute favourite fanfics on this site. I was allowed to use their design on the condition that I, rightly, make sure where the idea originally came from.
And, thanks to the suggestions from several of my readers, I've also debuted what happens when the powers of both dragons are combined with Diamondhead's armoured appearance while he wielded Ascalon. I couldn't pass up such a brilliant concept and hope you all enjoyed it. However, don't expect to happen for a while now. I want it to be such an advanced move that it'll take Ben a while before he can do it without help from Azazel's bracelet. I'm thinking of replacing Issei's advanced powers with it in future. He's already more powerful than Issei at this point and I'm hesitant to include a lot of powers for Ben as I don't want everyone to be confused.
On to reviews!
I must admit that I'm a little disappointed with the very low turnout of reviews. Come on, guys! I've got nearly 250 people following my story. There must be some who want to say something. I can't tell you enough that I want to hear your thoughts on the story. I love hearing from you especially, even if I don't use them immediately as suggested, your suggestions. I take everything you say on board but I can't do anything if I don't hear from you.
The ones I did get, however, did seem to have a theme so I'll answer that now. When reading it back, I realised that this is a very different Forever Knights than the one in the cartoon. I have two reasons for writing them in such a risqué manner.
Firstly, it's an 'M' rated story so a terrorist organisation like them would speak more coarsely than their cartoon counterparts.
Secondly, I wanted them to fit into the DxD universe well. This particular faction will be the only one to speak like they did while the other ones will stick to a more formal tone. The group working with the Khaos Brigade are very different to the original order. Even in the cartoon, this faction just wanted to be unoriginal and take over the world. I took this piece of canon and expanded on it thanks to the freedom of an 'M' rated story. I tried to make this faction of their order appear simply as 'terrorists in suits of armour', a group which has been lost through corrupt and ambitious leaders who have steered away from the foundations of the Forever Knight order.
. . . . .
Treyalexander63917: I hope I answered your question with the reasons above. If not, basically: Yes, their faction is vastly different from the others, and yes, it is true that I wanted to make them fit in with the DxD style.
Nivek Beldo: Once again, thank you very much for the detailed review. I wasn't aware that my readers discuss my story with each other but I'm honoured that you've taken the time to do so. I apologise if the sudden coarse language from them was a shock (perhaps I should have put up a warning at the start of the chapter). As I wrote above, this particular Forever Knight faction is very different from its counterparts. They don't have any 'noble' goals; they just want power. I agree that I may have gone overboard and will rein it in in future.
Personally, I didn't like the overall appearance of Whampire in the cartoon. It didn't seem…serious enough for the story I'm writing. Thankfully, the DxD universe provided an alternate appearance with cool powers.
I agree with you at the unfreezing of everything being very anticlimactic. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything better. If you or anyone else has a better suggestion for that scene, I'll be more than happy to put it in.
Guest: It's not the first time someone has suggested this to me. I'm still conflicted on the idea but I will announce my answer in the next chapter.
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Please let me know if I haven't explained anything well or at all. I really value your reviews!
See you all later!