Ben 10: Dragon God of Life

by DragneelGiant96

Ever since he was 10, Ben Tennyson has been having dreams of strange creatures, strange events...and a strange green dragon. No one can explain them; they're a mystery. But when he attends Kuoh Academy, he learns that there's more to his dreams than he realizes. Powerful, original version of Ben Tennyson. OOC and AU. Rated M for swearing, violence and DxD nudity. [Ben x Harem]

35. Suspicious allies & trustworthy enemies

A/N: Hello everybody

I would like to thank everyone for being so patient with me as I write and release these chapters. I know it can be frustrating waiting so long between chapters and it means so much to me that you continue to support this story.

A mixture of work, life and innate procrastination can be a deadly combo for a fanfic writer but I promise you that my love of the story hasn't left me, even after all this time.

I'll stop talking now and let you get on with what you've been waiting so long for.

Hope you enjoy it.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sometimes Ben couldn't help but think on how contradictory his life had become nowadays.

He was a devil, reborn as one after he had been killed by a fallen angel assassin, and saved by Rias Gremory, an impossibly beautiful devil heiress who had saved his life and brought him into the world of the supernatural, joined by several others alongside him; a sadomasochistic fallen angel/devil hybrid who lost her mother to her own family because of the man she fell in love, a former nun who was reborn again as a devil after being murdered for the power she possessed, a survivor of a brutal experiment within the Catholic Church which killed all others except him, a former exorcist of the Church who was kicked out after learning the truth about God's demise, a Nekomata/devil hybrid who was shunned by society when her sister went on a murderous spree and abandoned her, and a dhampir who was cast out of his home by his own family and hunted down for no other reason than his very existence.

With this group of amazing people Ben had seen and done so much in the span of less than a year. He'd crashed an engagement party, he'd fought a fallen angel to stop them starting a war, he'd helped bring peace to the Three Factions and finally end the bloodshed…and all this was just in the human world. In the Underworld he'd fought a genuine, real-life dragon in combat only to then train with that same dragon and raise his power and he'd fought an actual god to prevent them from bringing about the end of days.

So why…why was it that someone like him…someone who had seen and done all that in such a short span of time still apprehensive about returning to school now that the holidays were over?

This was the thought that was swirling through Ben's head as he stood at the gates of Kuoh Academy, his bag slung over his shoulder as he stared up at the large building before him. It seemed like such a strange thing that someone like him, someone who'd fought a god mere days ago would still have his life dictated to him through lessons, homework, and schoolyard gossip.

If he were an arrogant man, Ben would say that such things were completely beneath him now. As it was though, Ben just couldn't find the enthusiasm to enjoy school as most of his peers obviously did as they ran past him to meet their classmates they hadn't seen all summer and caught up with what they'd missed during that time.

Thanks to his superior hearing, he was even able to clearly make out the conversation between Kuoh's own Perverted Duo, Matsuda and Motohama, discussing all the videos and pictures of women they'd 'fapped one out' to during summer and comparing all the erotic video games they'd somehow been able to acquire and play during that time.

"Oh dude, you just gotta try out 'Reign of the Tentacle King III'!"

"Ah crap. I didn't get that one. I got 'MILFs & Magic Girls II' instead. Is it any good?"

"Dude, seriously! I was completely drained after playing it! I came so many times playing that game. Shit, even just thinking about what I did to princess Hana makes me so hard!"

"Dude, that's sweet! I gotta play it myself!"

"Yeah, man! If it wasn't for those stupid school assignments we had over the summer I wouldn't have done anything else beside playing that game. It makes "Plague of the Nymphomaniacs" look like "My sexy big sister" in comparison!"

Ben groaned slightly at hearing this and shook his head, forcibly diverting his attention away from the profane conversation and redirecting it elsewhere…anywhere so long that he couldn't hear them anymore.

"Are you alright, Ben?" a voice on his left-hand side asked him.

Ben glanced over and down at the owner of the concerned voice, the blonde-haired young woman standing by his side.

"Yeah, it's nothing, Asia. Just hearing something that made me want to rip off my own ears," he replied.

"The Perverted Duo?" Kiba asked from beside Asia, glancing at Ben with a small smile.

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"They're still talking about it. I must say, they have really vivid imaginations, don't they?"

"Can we just ignore them?" Ben retorted with a heavy sigh. Listening to the sex-crazed delusions from the two horny Kuoh students was not something he wanted to experience before he'd even set foot inside yet.

He glanced to his right at the crimson haired beauty standing beside him.

"How come we still have to come to school? Doesn't it seem so unimportant after everything we've been through?"

"Of course you still have to go to school, silly boy," Rias retorted with a sweet smile as she patted his cheek affectionately. "You are a member of the Gremory household and I won't have any member of my peerage lacking a comprehensive education, okay?"

Ben just grumbled in response and kept step with Rias as she led the way through the school gates and across the large, spacious courtyard with everyone else joining them.

As well as catching the depraved end of the Perverted Duo's conversation, Ben's superior hearing also enabled him to make out all the hushed whispers of students as they caught sight of them approaching. While around half of the female voices he could hear were fawning over the sight of Kiba and muttering to each other as they wondered whether the blond man had become even more handsome over the summer or if it was just because they hadn't seen him all summer.

The rest of the voices though were focussed upon himself and Rias who was walking along with her arm firmly wrapped around his own as they made their way to the front doors of the building arm-in-arm.

"Hey, there's Rias!"

"Ooh, she's still as radiant as ever, isn't she?"

"Yeah, but who is that walking beside her?"

"Is that Tennyson?"

"I don't know. Is it?"

"Yeah, I think so. He looks so different than before though."

"Hmm, looks like he was hitting the gym over the summer."

"Is it just me or does he have a more rugged look now?"

"Yeah, he looks quite dishy now, doesn't he?"

"He might look like that now but Rias still deserves someone better than him in my opinion."

"Yeah, she can do so much better."

And that was just the girls. In regard to the general mutterings from the other boys….

"Damn him! where does he get off getting shredded like that and making the rest of us look like shit?"

"I know, right! It's just not fair! He's got a sexy thing like Rias hanging off his arm and he has the balls to look like that too?!"

"Between him and Kiba, there won't be any chance of the girls going out with us when they're going to be constantly comparing us to those two!"

As usual though, Ben just ignored them all and continued walking, passing through the large doors of the academy and entering the open atrium where they came to a stop in the middle of it and said their goodbyes to each other.

"We'll see you guys later, okay?" Rias said to her peerage as she and Akeno made to head off to their class…though not before Rias planted a quick kiss on Ben's cheek before turning and making her way up the stairs. Before joining her, and while her back was turned to them, Akeno also took the opportunity to quickly plant a kiss of her own on Ben's other cheek, sticking out her tongue and giving him a cheeky wink before turning and catching up to Rias, the two of them soon disappearing down the corridor which led to their class.

As he watched them leave, Ben forced himself to stifle a smirk from appearing on his face as he heard an adorable whine originating from the blonde devil standing beside him. He didn't need to look at her to know that she was sporting a cute pout at Rias and Akeno's expressive shows of affection.

He was a little surprised at the low grumble originating from the white-haired member of their group.

"We'd best be heading off too," Kiba announced as he and Koneko also took their leave, heading off in the opposite direction to Rias and Akeno towards their own respective classes.

With just the three of them left standing in the atrium, Xenovia turned to her two companions and nodded her head curtly.

"We'd best be heading off too. Don't want to be late for our first day back at school, do we?"

"No, I guess not," Ben replied as he and Asia fell in step beside Xenovia and made their way to their classroom.

When they reached the corridor where their classroom was located, Ben spoke up again.

"A little bit of me still can't believe that, after everything we've done, we still have to come to school and act as normal students," he murmured with a slight sigh.

"It does seem a little weird, I'll agree with you on that," Xenovia conceded with a small nod.

"I'm not all that happy with leaving Jen alone at home either," he added with a grumble, the image of his sister alone with free reign of the house entering his mind.

Asia gently took hold of Ben's arm and gave him a comforting smile.

"Don't worry about her, Ben. Ship's there to keep her company," she reminded him sweetly.

Yet again, Ben was completely thrown by how innocent and adorable a person could be and marvelled at Asia's very existence.

'Of course that's what she thinks I'm worried about,' he thought to himself, unable to find the heart to tell her the real reason he was concerned about Jen being alone in their house without anyone there to watch her….

…well, nobody that is except for their unexpected guest.

It turned out that when Odin and Baraqiel had left yesterday they had forgotten to take Rossweisse with them. This had resulted in a completely inconsolable Valkyrie who couldn't be reassured that it was an honest mistake and just drifted off muttering about Odin only coming back to town if there was a special going on at the local 'titty' bar and weighing the pros and cons of applying for a job there so that he'd see her when he visited. This line of thinking only helped her further into depression as she started playing out an imaginary scenario in her head where Odin would complain about the old lady on the stage and demand she be taken away.

Despite Ben finding it completely impossible to consider Rossweisse as either unattractive and displeasing, he knew that whatever he'd say would fall on death ears so had taken Rias' advice and stayed far away from the situation, leaving it to Rias who had already sent a message to her brother, asking him to pass on a message to Odin when he could.

"Yeah, you're right, Asia. Ship'll look after her," Ben nodded in agreement to Asia's attempt to sway his concerns, smiling down at her and squeezing her shoulder affectionately as they came to a stop just outside their classroom.

"After Jen's return and everything that happened yesterday I would be content if there weren't any more surprises for at least a week." He glanced over at Xenovia. "Do you think that's asking too much?"

Xenovia smiled and shook her head slightly.

"No, I wouldn't think so. Yesterday was enough excitement for me."

"Yeah. I suppose that's one of the few positives of coming back to school. At least here there won't be any unpleasant surprises, right?"

. . . . .

---

. . . . .

(Five minutes later)

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

"Hey everyone! My name is Gwen Tennyson and I'll be joining you guys from today onwards," Gwen announced with a friendly wave to the class from the front of the class after writing her name in perfect Japanese on the chalkboard and introduced herself.

The collective gasps of shock and awe of the unexpected announcement of a transfer student from the rest of the class completely drowned out the dull 'thunk' sound as Ben's head fell onto his desk as he cursed the universe for throwing another curveball at him.

Despite sitting right behind him, Asia had also missed his dramatic action as she too was caught up in the mood of Gwen's surprise appearance.

"Oh, wow! I didn't know Gwen was joining our class!" she exclaimed in surprise.

Sitting at the desk on Ben's left, Xenovia did note him pressing his forehead into his desk and chuckled softly.

"I guess we were wrong," she noted with mirth.

Ben said nothing back in terms of intelligible words. Instead, he just grumbled a series of incoherent noises in response and held his head with his hands and groaned again as he tried to ignore the cascade of mutterings from his classmates.

"Oh wow, another transfer student!"

"It's unusual for them to come so far into the school year."

"I know…but who cares. Just look how pretty she is!"

"Oh shit! What an absolute babe!"

"Oh yeah, she's got it going on!"

"Wait a second. Did she say her name was 'Tennyson'?"

At this last comment, Gwen spoke up again, gathering everybody's attention again bar Ben's.

"Some of you will have noticed my family name and made the connection already but it's not quite what you think. I'm Ben's cousin," she explained for them with a warm smile which broadened at the collective gasps of understanding from several students.

It was at this point that the teacher regained control of the classroom, directed Gwen to the empty desk near the back of the class which would now be hers and commenced with the scheduled lesson after everyone had calmed down.

Meanwhile, Ben slowly rolled his head – still resting on his desk – and groaned internally, cursing whoever was listening for his bad luck.

'Argh, why torture me like this? Why can't I just be struck by lightning and be done with all this?' he moaned internally, paying absolutely no attention to the lesson at all.

. . . . .

---

. . . . .

ORC clubroom

(Several hours later)

"It's so good to see you again, Gwen," Asia said happily.

"I hope you had a safe trip here," Xenovia noted with a smile.

Gwen scoffed and shook her head at the two devils standing opposite her.

"Come on, you two. We've been through too much together for such a formal greeting. Come on, bring it in you two!" she declared before opening her arms wide and embracing the two of them.

Caught off guard for a moment by her sudden action, the two devils quickly overcame it and embraced Gwen too, showing just how happy they were to see her again.

"After our fight with Loki I didn't know when we'd get to see you again!" Xenovia stated as she embraced her old friend tightly.

From the other side of the room Ben, Kiba, Gasper and Koneko watched the joyful reunion play out from their spots on the clubroom couches.

"I'm a little confused. Wasn't she an exorcist for the Church?" Gasper wondered, recalling what little he could remember about Gwen.

"Yes, she did used to work for the Church but she's a reincarnated angel now. We're all on the same side now," Kiba explained from his spot on the opposite couch, lowering the book he was reading to look at Gasper as he said this.

"I still wouldn't put it past her to attack us though," Ben muttered with a grumble as he leant back against the couch, doing his best not to move too much and risk the ire of the Nekomata sat on his lap and enjoying the bag of sweets in her own lap.

He was taken by surprise when Koneko had chosen his lap as her seat almost immediately after sitting down himself but he couldn't find it in him to ask her why she had done this…and even less so upon hearing her adorable purring as he patted her head lightly.

"That would only apply to you, dweeb," Gwen declared, turning her head as she broke her embrace with Asia and Xenovia to look over at him. The two cousins glared at each other for a moment but, unlike in the past – before either of them were introduced to the supernatural – there was none of the hostility that existed there previously.

"Stop calling me that. You know how much I hate being called that," he muttered.

"Of course I do. Why do you think I like calling you it?" Gwen retorted with a sly smirk and wink.

"What are you doing here anyway, Gwen? Why have you transferred here?"

Before Gwen could respond to his question, the doors to the clubroom opened as Rias and Akeno appeared and entered the room.

"Ah, I see you've all gathered," Rias noted as she glanced around the room to make sure they weren't missing anyone. Her attention then turned on Gwen. "Welcome to our school, Gwen. I hope you enjoyed your first day of school."

Gwen smiled. "I did, thank you. I'll admit it's been some time since I was last in school because of my duties as an exorcist for the Protestant Church but it was actually fun being back in class again."

"I'm glad to hear it."

Ben chose this moment to speak up.

"Not that that isn't a touching story or anything but can anyone tell me why Gwen has transferred in the first place?"

"Because Michael believes you guys aren't strong enough and so decided to send her to bolster our numbers," Azazel declared as he appeared behind Ben through a magic teleportation circle.

"Hmm, I guess that makes sense," Ben muttered as he looked back across at Gwen and the other girls bar Koneko as they chatted amongst themselves. "Having a member from each of the Three Factions in our group to fight against the Khaos Brigade would sound better for the bigwigs…and having a reincarnated angel with us would certainly help…even if it is my cousin."

"That's right, cuz," Gwen interjected, having heard his muttered statement. "You guys don't have to worry about a thing now that I'm here. You guys have got Lord Michael's Blessing on your side now."

As she said this, a pair of pear-white feathered wings sprang out from her back and a golden halo materialised around her head.

"Now that I think about it, how the fuck are you an angel now? I thought Angels were supposed to be selfless, humble, and pure."

Gwen glared at him and gave him the middle finger.

"See! That's exactly my point. How in the hell did you trick Michael into thinking you'd be a good choice for an angel?"

"Because of you, doofus," she retorted bluntly.

"What? What do you mean by that?" Ben asked in confusion.

"She's right, kid," Azazel declared, moving around the back of the couch to stand beside it as the entire room turned its attention upon him.

"When Michael used Ascalon to alter the System it did a lot more than just stop Devils from feeling pain when praying and when handling crosses and such. It also changed what it means to be an angel."

"How so?"

"Well, as you said yourself, kid, before the change angels had to maintain a high level of purity or risk 'falling' as I and the rest of my fallen angel brethren did. Before the System was altered it was completely impossible for Angels to be born or made by anyone besides God. When He died, there was a chance, albeit a small one, that Angels would be the first to be driven extinct as there was no other way for them to repopulate their numbers. Hence why the Church was so driven in increasing the number of believers among humans; it was so Heaven and the System could receive more power to sustain them…and even with all the believers that have ever existed, it doesn't come close to the power that God possessed and gave to the System."

"After the full, combined power of God and Azmuth was merged together with Ascalon and its scabbard, and used to change the System, it massively reduced the power demand of the System through such actions as removing the action of damaging devils through prayer and interaction with Light weapons and holy artifacts."

"It took that much energy to maintain?" Ben asked with intrigue.

Azazel nodded before continuing.

"Sure did. God added it to the System after the original Devils came to be in response to their open defiance of Him. It might seem petty to us now but none of us thought so back then. With that part removed it restored a lot of Heaven's power to maintain its other aspects. Another change it brought about was what was required for an angel to 'fall'. They no longer 'fall' for things we would describe as petty sins or for something like falling in love and procreating. As well as this, it also made it possible for new angels to be created through similar means to devils."

"It's still impossible for Pure Angels to be made or born as that was something only God could do," Gwen added.

Azazel nodded his head at her statement. "That's true. It's possible for half angels to be born from the union of an angel and someone from another race."

"An angel like myself can now be made using a system very similar to the Evil Pieces System that you devils use," Gwen went on to explain to everyone who was gripped by the information they were receiving. "However, instead of using chess pieces like you guys, we use card decks."

"Oh, wow, that's so cool!" Asia exclaimed excitedly.

"So which card are you then?" Xenovia asked her long-time friend.

"I'm glad you asked me that, Xenovia. I'm Lord Michael's Ace! I was so honoured that Michael chose me for this position and I will do everything in my power not to let him down."

"Great, something else to give you a big head," Ben muttered under his breath.

Just then, a thought came to him.

"Where are you going to be staying while you're in town then, Gwen?"

Gwen smirked at him before answering his question.

"At yours, of course."

"What?!" he exclaimed in shock. "There's no fucking way that's happening!"

"There is too a 'fucking way'. I already spoke to Uncle Carl and told him I was coming here and he was adamant that I stay with you guys. He said there was more than enough room since you'd had the house renovated."

"How wonderful! It'll be so nice having you around the house too," Asia gasped happily, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"You're right, Asia. It'll be nice to have you with us," Xenovia added.

"The hell it will!" Ben exclaimed. "The last thing I need is you and her meeting and making my life a misery!"

"Who are you talking about, idiot?"

"Oh, he's talking about J–," Xenovia began to say before Ben butted in, cutting her off.

"Ah, ah, ah, no, she doesn't need to know who because there's no way I'm ever going to let the pair of you meet–."

"Hey, guys!"

"Fuck!" Ben cursed loudly, trailing off his previous statement as the clubroom doors opened and Jen entered the room.

While horrified at his sister's unexpected appearance, Ben was also surprised to see Rossweisse right behind her.

"Phew! I finally found you guys! You wouldn't believe how long I've been looking for this place. This building is a complete maze if you don't know where you're going…," Jen started to say before trailing off at the end when her eyes met with Gwen's as she, as did everyone else in the room, turned to face her.

As their eyes locked upon each other, their faces morphed into ones of happiness and joy.

"Jen!" Gwen exclaimed with a combination of surprise and elation.

"Gwen!" Jen cried back, also with a mixture of shock and joy in her voice as the two of them quickly closed the gap between them and each embraced the other tightly.

"Oh shit, girl! It's been forever since I last saw you!"

"I know. How long was it? Three? Four years?"

"Was it really that long?! Fuck! You've turned into such a beauty since then."

"I can say the same thing about you! I bet all the girls at uni have to keep their boyfriends away from you."

"What can I say? Most of those numbskulls got the message to leave me alone after I sent the first few to the infirmary when they thought they could touch the 'merchandise' free of charge. Enough about me though. I heard that you'd been reincarnated as an angel but I couldn't fully believe it until I saw you with my own eyes. Shitting hell, Gwen! Just look at you! You were beautiful before but now you look like a masterpiece."

Gwen blushed a little at Jen's sincere compliment.

"Oh stop it."

'Yes, please do,' Ben thought to himself as he picked up a nearby cushion and signed loudly into it, allowing it to muffle the noise.

"So what are you doing here, Gwen?"

"I've been assigned to Kuoh to assist Rias and her peerage in their fight against the Khaos Brigade."

"Is that so? Well. they've got nothing to worry about then, do they?"

"I told them that already."

"Well, great minds think alike, don't they? Where are you staying? You've got to stay with us while you're here. There's so much room in it now."

"Your dad already told me to stay at yours while I'm here."

Jen squealed happily at this news and the two of them embraced again, pressing their cheeks against each other affectionately.

"Not that this isn't a beautiful reunion or anything…," Ben began as he rose to his feet, having gently moved an unimpressed Koneko off his lap, and approached his two relatives.

The two of them broke their joyful embrace and glared at him.

"Oh, I didn't see you there, baby bro," Jen said with false innocence in her voice.

Ben forced himself to refrain from replying to her obvious lie, his cheeks reddening ever so slightly at Jen calling him 'baby bro' and at the chuckling he could hear behind him which belonged to Azazel who, no doubt, would never forget that and would bring it up again in future.

"You've always got to get in the way, don't you?" Gwen added with a shake of her head.

""You've always got to get in the way, don't you?"" Ben mimicked childishly back at his cousin before gaining control of himself again. "As I was saying, what are you two doing here, Jen? We were going to head home once the meeting was over."

"Hmm, oh yeah!" Jen exclaimed as she suddenly remembered why it was that she had come all the way from home to their school to find them. "I've a favour to ask of you guys."

. . . . .

---

. . . . .

A forest somewhere in central Japan

(Two hours later)

CRASH!

KABOOM!

"Why did you drag us into this, sis? And why did we agree to come along in the first place?" Ben wondered with slight bewilderment, his voice more nasally in his Tetramand form, as he dodged a right hook from his opponent before countering with a strike of his own two right fists and tackling them, sending the pair of them through a thicket of trees and tumbling down the slope on the other side.

The favour that Jen asked of them, as it turned out, related to another one of Animo's secret labs that he used to work on his mysterious formula to corrupt human souls and transform them into demons.

Her team had uncovered its location after looking at missing people reports in outlying villages and small town. They were alerted to the location of the secret hideout Ben and his team were currently assaulting by the surge of people disappearing from their homes from the nearby small town.

When they materialised at the location and approached where Jen had been informed was the base's location they found it surrounded by another barrier hiding it from prying eyes. This barrier also had the added effect of actively turning animals away from it while, at the same time, drawing in any human who may have been walking through the woods and happened upon it, drawing them through the barrier where they would never be seen again.

After entering the barrier Jen, already having been given permission by Rias to give orders to her and her peerage in recognition of Jen having operational control for this mission, ordered them all to surround the base and hold positions while they observed the base.

Once in position, at Jen's order through the communication devices Rias had created and distributed out to everyone they each began to make their approach through the wood towards the structure, a large dingy-looking warehouse, that harboured Animo's minions and their despicable magic experiments.

Everything had gone exactly as they had expected in accordance with Jen's plan. Half of their team, Ben included, infiltrated the building, masking their presence and auras through magic, making their way through the bowels of the building until they located their target: the experimentation room. It was there that they found the missing people strapped into various machinery, each one being fed different concoctions through tubes inserted into their bodies.

From above the open room, the infiltration team spotted three fallen angels that patrolled through the room, interacting with the scientists and magicians as they worked on different potions and documented how they affected their human captives.

What caught their attention though was the additional presence of two of the same monsters that had been present in the Underworld when Loki had attacked the gathering.

Once they were in position and Jen gave the order, they had all dropped down from their hiding spots, taking everyone below completely by surprise. They quickly dealt with the fallen angels, Animo's two abominations being swiftly dealt with by Ben and Rias, and subdued the rest of Animo's minions, killing those magicians foolish enough to try and attack them.

That was as far as their good fortunes took them though. they had thought they'd captured everyone in the building but that hadn't been the case. They had failed to capture the last of Animo's servants in their ambush and this proved to be a costly mistake as they had descended to the basement and had opened the vault doors that, unbeknownst to them, had contained the finished results of their experiments and released them.

The result of this foolish action was that, before anyone could react or realise what had happened, the whole building was swarming with several deformed human/demon hybrids which went into a mindless rampage, destroying everything in their path and attacking anyone in sight.

Quickly reacting to this sudden change of events and transforming in Fourarms, Ben immediately charged into the nearest monsters, attracting their attention, leaving the rest to the others who he knew could handle it.

As he found himself dealing with three monstrous creations and was launched through a wall that took him out of the building Ben started to question why they were there in the first place.

"Stop complaining, Ben," Jen responded through the small communication circle resting in their ears. From the sound of it, Ben surmised that she must be fighting her own opponent.

"But why us in the first place? Why didn't your team come up here and deal with it?" he replied as he reached the bottom of the slope and threw the monster he was currently battling off him and launched it into a tree a few feet away from him.

"I'll admit that I had something to do with that."

"Why aren't I surprised?"

"It's not like they didn't offer to come up and join me in dealing with it. I told them that I'd take care of it with you guys."

"But why?"

"Simple really. I wanted to see how you and your friends handle yourselves in a fight…mostly you though and this seemed like the best opportunity for me to find out."

"Great, so this is a test, is it?"

Before the Tennyson siblings could continue arguing with each other, another voice chimed in through their communicators.

"As funny as I find you arguing with your sister is, Ben, could you please leave till we're back at home," Rias chided him sternly.

She could understand where Ben was coming from…especially with how annoying and embarrassing her own sibling could be but this was hardly the time or place for them to argue.

"Sorry, Rias," Ben apologised, instantly realising how childish it was to argue with his sister while they were busy dealing with monstrous creatures rampaging around the place.

This was proven to be the most optimal time for him to come to this conclusion as he was struck in the back by one of the two monsters that he had left at the top of the slope which had followed down after him.

The force of the blow was enough to send him to the floor and slam him into the base of a tree.

"Crap!" he grunted as he swiftly picked himself up and turned back to face his opponents who had already begun surrounding him and snarling at him animalistically.

Above them, back up the slope they had all come down, the warehouse which had been the source of so much evil ignited and gradually became consumed by a rapidly growing inferno.

"Was anyone still in there?" he asked everyone through their connection.

"No. Jen and I were the last ones in there but we made it out," Rias' voice replied.

"Did you guys get what you were looking for?"

When coming up with their plan of infiltration and attack, Jen had made them aware that they needed to take this opportunity and find as much evidence they could about Animo's operation and possibly find out how far they've progressed with their malicious experimentation into the 'Hyde formula' or what their plans were with it.

"Yeah, we got it," Jen announced, all traces of their previous discussion forgotten as they became serious about the situation. "It's not nearly as much as I'd hoped for but it's a helluva lot better than nothing."

"That's good to hear."

"All we have to do now is deal with these monstrous hybrids," Rias added, directing this to everyone in their team. "Take them down!"

""You got it!"" came the collected response from Ben and the rest of her peerage.

"Don't let a single one escape," Rossweisse shouted above the noise of her magical attack.

"Let's put these poor people out of their misery!" Gwen declared, privately ashamed that they couldn't get there fast enough to save these people, or more importantly their souls from being ravaged and corrupted to such a degree.

"Good luck everyone," Jen called out to everyone before she engaged with a hybrid straggler.

With his order given, Ben glared at each of his three large opponents. They were very far from successful demonic mutation and transformation but he could still make out the demon that Amino's servants had tried transforming them into. Two of his opponents had the reddish skin and the extra set of limbs that denoted them as having been attempted to be turned into Tetramands.

The third one was a little more difficult to place than its two allies but from the combination of patches of matted, orange fur across its elongated body, the small protrusion in the back of its hands along with the manic look in its eyes and frothing about the mouth Ben would make the guess that the former person before him, whoever they used to be, had been combined with an Appoplexian.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you but I can't allow you to live," he declared before being consumed by emerald-green light.

[Transform: Heatblast!]

"Come at me," he taunted, adopting a defensive stance as his fists ignited into flames.

The trio of monsters didn't need to be told twice. With a bellowing roar and pound of their chests or the floor, the three of them charged at him.

. . . . .

---

. . . . .

It didn't take Ben long to deal with his opponents. Despite being outnumbered three to one his opponents were simply mutated humans that had been forcibly combined with demons. They lacked any skill or ability; instead, solely relying on brute force and rage.

He, on the other hand, had not only had plenty of time to practice with his demonic transformations but had also recently finished a brutal survival 'training' camp in the Underworld. He was now more powerful than he'd ever been before and the results of his training could clearly be seen tonight as he defeated the three monsters before him and put an end to their suffering.

Reverted back to normal, he stared at the three 'pyres' before him, cursing Animo for his cruelty and insanity when he received a call from Rias through the communication circle in his ear.

"Have you dealt with your targets yet?" she asked him. From the way her voice came through, Ben knew she must still be dealing with her own mutants.

"Sure have. You need me somewhere else?" he asked her, stepping back and turning away from the burning fires and making his way back to the warehouse.

"Koneko spotted a straggler which managed to slip through and is heading westward. She tried to catch it but was caught by a group of Tetramand mutants and lost sight of it. I'd send Kiba or Xenovia but they're both still stuck dealing with their own fights. Would you be a darling and stop it for us?"

"Your wish is my command."

"Thank you," Rias replied before ending their conversation as she concentrated on her own fight.

Without missing a beat, Ben quickly cycled through his selection before finding the one he wanted and slamming his hand down on the dial, lighting up the wood with emerald-green light.

[Transform: Fasttrack!]

The light dissipated to reveal a feline-like humanoid creature, its fur black in colour except for its hands, legs, chest and part of its head which were blue in colour.

As soon as the light dispersed, Ben turned into a black and blue blur as he sprinted through the undergrowth in search of the escapee monster. He headed west to where the monster had been seen last and it didn't take him long before he found the clear marks of the monster's path through the wood.

Having found its tracks, Ben ran after it at a slower speed than before so as to not get ambushed by it yet it was still at a speed that was impossible by human standards.

As he ran after his target, Ben could make out more and more fresh signs of its path through the wood. He knew he was close after a minute of running but it was when he heard it roar that he knew just how close he was.

After reverting back to normal, hidden in the undergrowth, he emerged out of the undergrowth to find himself standing on the edge of a low cliff that overlooked a pool of water where he finally found his prey.

Like all the monsters he'd seen tonight, the monster before him was further evidence of Animo's complete descent into insanity to his goal of achieving 'perfection' – whatever the fuck that word meant to such a madman – through his experimentations on humans.

Though some evidence of the creature before him once being human was still evident, showing that Animo was nowhere near being successful, it was impossible for Ben not to see the creature before him, from its pale grey scaly skin, its webbed hands and gills, to its elongated jaw full of razor-sharp teeth.

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath at the sight of it.

[It looks like Animo has succeeded in crossing another species barrier with his experiments,] Azmuth growled lowly, keeping a firm grip on his emotions.

Ben continued to observe the Human/Ripjaws monster hybrid and watched as it crawled to the edge of the pool and attempted to scoop handfuls of water into its mouth, an act which proved to be almost impossible due to the horrific distortion of its mouth which resulted in most of the water missing. After several more attempts with this method, each one more desperate than the least, the beast gave up and decided to submerge its entire head under the water.

Ben grimaced as he suddenly realised that the monster must've been struggling to breathe all this time thanks to the demon which had been used. Ripjaws was an aquatic demon and couldn't survive for long out of water.

"It must have been struggling for breath the entire time it was running," he realised.

[The best thing you can do for it now is put it out of its misery,] Ddraig stated simply and Ben could find no fault in his words.

Before he could leap down and carry out the deed though, the sky turned unnaturally dark and an eerie yet familiar aura surrounded him.

The monster below was completely oblivious to the sudden change around them while Ben was the complete opposite. Instantly recognising the aura and remembering the person who had cast it last time, he reacted instantly, pulling back and taking up a defensive stance and snapping his body around to face her.

"Kuroka."

"Hey. Long-time no see," the black-haired Nekoshou purred from where she sat on a branch and stared down at him with a sly smirk on her face.

"What are you doing here?" Ben asked her cautiously, his eyes quickly scanning his surroundings whilst at the same time remaining fixed on Kuroka to ensure she didn't take him off guard. "Are you here for Koneko again? When are you going to take 'no' for an answer?"

"As it so happens, I'm not actually here for Shirone tonight," Kuroka replied as she stared down at him, tilting her head a little as if trying to understand what she was seeing, before pushing herself off the branch and landing gracefully right in front of Ben who immediately took a step back and braced himself for an attack.

However, no attack came. Instead, Kuroka leaned closer to him, her sly smirk turning salacious.

"Hey, you're still a virgin, right? I mean, I can smell that you've fooled around plenty of times but you've yet to go all the way yet," she suddenly asked him out of the blue.

If she was expecting him to become flustered at her abrupt question then she was in for a surprise as Ben didn't even flinch.

"What's that got to do with you?" he retorted simply, still keeping his guard up in anticipation of a trap or sudden strike while he was distracted.

Again, no strike came. Instead, Kuroka just smirked again and fondled her particularly large breasts, presenting them to Ben as she licked her lips.

"How would you like me to be your first?"

Ben blinked, taken completely off guard by the question.

"Uh, what?"

Kuroka stepped closer to him and pulled her robe down a little, just enough to expose her pink nipples to the open air and flaunt them before his eyes; inviting him to ogle them…perhaps even cop a feel too.

"You're a dragon. Just imagine how powerful our brats would be," she purred seductively as she squeezed her breasts suggestively before his eyes. "Even if we forget about having brats, I'd love to know what it feels like…."

She suddenly presses herself against Ben's chest, pushing her full breasts against him and purring seductively up at him.

"…to be taken by such a primal creature as a dragon. I wonder; if you did take me, pin me down and have your beastly way with me, would Shirone be jealous. I have to admit I'm a little envious of her constantly being near you, close enough to…." She leaned close and inhaled deeply. "…taste your raw power."

He didn't know if it was being taken completely off guard by Kuroka's abrupt change in attitude compared to the last time he met her, his innate draconic instincts emerging at the prospect of dominating a potential mate…or even if it was some combination of the two but Ben finally broke himself free of Kuroka's 'spell', took a firm hold of her shoulders and pushed her away from him.

"Why are you here?" he asked, trying to ignore the brief pout the beautiful Nekoshou woman gave him as she stood before him, her breasts still exposed and on full display. "I doubt it was only to try and get into my pants, was it?"

"Not quite," a new voice called out as a white, vertical teleportation circle materialised and another familiar figure appeared before him.

"Valerie?" Ben murmured before he started putting the pieces together. He glanced between Kuroka and Valerie and stepped back from them.

"I see how it is. You want to go another round, do you?" he deduced as he summoned his Sacred Gears and brought them up defensively.

To his surprise, though, Valerie just chuckled and shook her head at him.

"Maybe another time. I'm not interested in destroying an entire forest tonight though."

"So then, why are you here?" Ben asked again, not completely believing that Val didn't want to fight him. A thought then suddenly came to him and he gestured towards the grotesque mutant with its head still submerged under the water. "You here to stop us from destroying your friend's little project?"

Again, Valerie shook her head and took a seat on a large rock beside her.

"Hah! Please. We might both be on the same side right now but I have absolutely no love for Animo's perverse science experiments. When I have to, for the sake of a mission, deal with them I'll tolerate them."

She then glanced down at the submerged monster below them.

"But when I don't…," she muttered before raising her hand up at it and, before Ben could react in any way, fired a bolt of pure white magical energy at it. The bolt struck the monster squarely in the head just as it pulled its head up out of the water, vaporising it instantly and leaving the decapitated corpse to collapse onto its side before shattering into bright light and disappearing.

Ben didn't say anything as Valerie so callously ended the mutated creature's life. He just continued to stare at the two of them standing before him.

"I came here to give you a warning, actually," Val continued, returning her attention back to him.

This caught Ben's attention.

"Wait. What? A warning? A warning about what?" he asked curiously.

"Not 'what', 'who'. I understand you're going to have a Rating Game against the Astaroth heir soon."

"So? What of it?"

"Keep your guard up around him," Val stated simply as she pushed herself off the rock she was sitting on.

"What do you mean by that? What do you know?!" Ben demanded.

"That's all I'm going to tell you. Take it however you want," Val replied easily, her smile never leaving her face.

Ben growled under his breath and glared at Val though didn't have any response to her reply…or rather, he knew she wasn't going to say anything else on the matter.

In the end, he decided to ask a different question.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Val just shrugged her shoulders as the white teleportation circle reappeared behind her.

"No particular reason. I just thought I'd caution a fellow dragon. I'm all up for a fight…but not when lies and underhanded tactics are used."

With that said, Valerie turned her back on him and stepped through the circle, giving Ben a lazy wave over her shoulder as she disappeared.

Kuroka moved towards the circle, turning back to face Ben once last time and, surprising Ben, blew him a kiss and held her breast seductively.

"Don't forget about my offer, dragon boy. Hit me up when you're interested, k?" she purred, giving him a saucy wink, before also disappearing through the circle which promptly disappeared after she stepped through.

As soon as Kuroka disappeared the strange aura vanished and the unnatural darkness receded to reveal the night sky again.

Ben stood there in silence as he took in Val's words (Kuroka's too though he did his best not to) and considered what to do with her warning. He had considered passing it off as a lie, as some kind of mind game she was trying to pull with him for some reason but discarded that idea after thinking about it.

"There's no reason for her to lie about something like this. She knows I'd be distrustful of anything she'd say so there must be a reason she came to me out here," he thought internally before turning to his dragon companions. "What do you guys think?"

[I think you're right, kid,] Ddraig answered with approval. [Every White Dragon Emperor I've faced in the past all shared the same trait; they hated using underhanded tactics whenever we fought one another. Every one of our vessels, when they encountered one another, always fought fairly, purely using their own physical strength and magical power and this current one is no different from what I can see.]

[I concur,] Azmuth added deeply. [While you might be enemies, it would be wise of you to take her warning seriously. Even if it turns out to be a lie – which I highly doubt – it's better to be prepared, especially considering he is going to be your next opponent.]

Ben nodded in agreement with the 'council' of the two powerful dragons and glanced down one last time at where the mutant had been before Val destroyed it.

"Well, we can't really do anything about it now except tell Rias about Val's warning," he noted as he activated his Sacred Gear, cycled to his intended transformation, and slammed his palm down, transforming back into Fasttrack and re-entering the wood as he returned to the others.

. . . . .

---

. . . . .

(Later)

Ben returned to the clearing in front of the still-burning warehouse to see their group gathered in front of the torched building. As he reverted back to normal and jogged the remaining distance to them he noticed that Rias, Koneko and Xenovia weren't there.

Kiba glanced over at him when he was just a few feet from them and smiled at him, giving him a small wave in greeting.

"Hey there, Ben. I take it you got the straggler that slipped through," he asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, I got it," Ben replied as he joined the Gremory Knight. "Where are the others? They not back yet?"

Kiba shook his head and gestured to the trees on his right. "Not yet. They ended up fighting some monsters, taking their battles over there and haven't come back yet. We just heard from Rias that they're on their way back though so it shouldn't be too long now."

Ben nodded in understanding and joined Kiba with some of the others as he waited for Rias to return so she could tell her about his unexpected encounter. While he waited he joined everyone else as they stared at the crumbling structure burn before their eyes, watching as it destroyed every trace of Animo's perverse, cruel experiments.

"Well, I'm glad that it's all over at last," Kiba stated, breaking the short silence amongst their group.

"Hear, hear," Ben muttered in response as he looked around the surrounding area in the aftermath of their assault on the base.

"May those unfortunate souls finally find peace," Gwen muttered to herself from where she knelt as she prayed for the tortured souls of those who had been twisted so ruthlessly into such horrific creatures.

"Is everyone else okay?" Asia asked them as she tended to the small wound Xenovia had sustained in her battle.

"I'm good, thanks, Asia," Ben replied with a smile.

"Yeah, me too," Kiba added with a small nod.

"I think I could use some assistance if you're offering," Jen stated with a raised hand before gesturing to her other arm which Ben could instantly tell that, despite wearing her protective uniform/armour, it was burned.

"Still as reckless as always I see," he noted as Asia hurried over to Jen's side and began healing her burned arm.

"Hey, not all of us can be as strong or durable as a devil, okay? Some of us have to fight with our brains more than our muscles," Jen retorted with a hollow scowl before leaning back and sighing in exasperation. "But perhaps I did act a bit rashly this time."

"What happened?" he asked her simply.

"I had to get these," she replied as she reached her uninjured hand into a pocket in her suit and pulled out a scrunched-up stack of papers and waved them in front of them. "I couldn't let them be destroyed. We still know too little about Animo's formula and what his plans for it are. I had to take the risk."

"I hope it was worth it," Ben muttered as he watched Asia use her Sacred Gear to heal his sister's arm.

"Same here," Jen mumbled back at the same time Koneko, Rias and Xenovia emerged from the trees together and walked towards them.

"Hey, you guys alright?" Ben called out to them as they made their way over to them.

"We're fine. Thank you for your concern," Rias answered with a smile.

"All enemies have been neutralised," Xenovia nodded with a straight face.

"Peachy," Koneko muttered simply, nodding her head ever so slightly in response. A split second after she does this the wind changes direction and her ears twitch and she sniffs the air as a familiar scent suddenly fills her nostrils.

The next thing Ben knew, Koneko was standing next to him and sniffed deeply before staring up at him with a suspicious expression on her face.

"Why do you have Kuroka's scent on you?" she asked bluntly, giving him a deadpan stare as she asked.

"Wait. What?" Rias demanded, attracting everyone's attention.

"Yeah, I was waiting for you to come back to tell you," Ben said as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, doing his best to ignore how close Koneko was now standing to him as she continued to stare at him intently, her ears twitching adorably.

"Tell me what?"

"I was approached by Valerie and Kuroka," he admitted, noting the immediate look of concern on Rias' face.

"What?! When did this happen?!"

"When I was chasing down that straggler you sent me after. I caught up with it some distance from here which is where they revealed themselves to me."

As he finished explaining he was taken by surprise when Rias suddenly embraced him tightly, pressing his face into her large breasts for a moment before pushing him back and examining him.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine, Rias. Seriously," Ben told her, taking hold of her hands and giving them an encouraging squeeze. "They didn't come for a fight."

"Really?" Kiba muttered curiously.

"You had two terrorists, both of whom you've fought in the past, approach you when you were completely alone, without any backup of any kind…and they didn't attack you?" Jen asked, already having returned to her feet and stepped closer. She had been told about some of their adventures and encounters and was just as concerned about this as Rias was though she was restraining herself and holding back.

Rias was pacing back and forth, a serious, if not outright angry, expression on her face.

"I'll never forgive them for this! They dare ambush my precious Ben when he's alone!" She looked up at Ben. "What did those cowards do? Did they threaten you? Tell us to stop destroying Animo's experiments?"

Ben crossed his arms and shook his head, a strange expression on his face as he played out the scenario in his mind again. "That's the thing. I thought that's what they were there for; to tell me to back off from what we did tonight…but they didn't. Hell, Val openly admitted her disdain for Animo's monsters and destroyed the one I had been chasing."

"She did?" Akeno interjected, just as surprised as everyone else was with this.

"Why would she do that? I thought they were all on the same team," Asia added in confusion.

"Maybe they're not as unified as we believed," Xenovia noted with intrigue.

"Seems that way," Ben agreed before continuing to tell his tale. "Anyway, she said she was actually there to warn me about someone; that we mustn't let our guard down around them."

"Who?"

"Diodora Astaroth."

Rias stopped in her tracks at this and turned to face Ben.

"What's the heir to the Astaroth family got to do with anything?"

Ben could only shrug apologetically. "Don't know. I tried to get her to tell me more but that's all she would tell me. Said the only reason she was telling me at all was out of courtesy of me being a fellow dragon."

Rias stood in silence for a few seconds, processing what she'd heard, before speaking again.

"Did they say anything else?"

A brief flashback of Kuroka's flirtatious behaviour and her expressing her desire and offer to sleep with him entered Ben's mind but he quickly pushed it out again. That was certainly the last thing he'd ever want to reveal at the best of times, let alone while surrounded by his present company.

"No, nothing else. That was it."

"I'll have to send a report up the chain about this. I'm not going to trust anything Valerie says but I have to let the higher-ups know anyhow," Rias announced to everyone.

With her decision made, everyone took it as a sign that the conversation had reached its course and silence fell on their group for a brief moment before it was broken again, this time by Jen.

"Well, cheers for tonight, guys. I know this isn't something you normally do but I appreciate you assisting me with this," she announced to everyone with a nod and a smile.

"Don't mention it, Jen. Animo is someone who needs to be stopped and, by the looks of those magicians we saw here, there's a strong possibility that he's joined forces with the Khaos Brigade and is using them to advance his plans and experiments. If that's the case then he poses a much greater threat than we previously thought," Rias said with a warm smile.

"I know it's a bit late now but, seeing as we've completed our mission here tonight, I believe it's time we head back home and properly welcome Gwen with a party," the Gremory heiress added with a clap of her hands, eager to turn attention away from the serious conversation before.

"Great," Ben drawled under his breath with a muted sigh. "I thought we'd be able to forget that as we did with Jen."

"Of course! How rude of me," Rias exclaimed with a gasp, ashamed of herself for forgetting. "Please forgive me, Jen. We completely forgot about your welcoming party!"

Jen just waved off Rias' apology. "Don't worry about it, Rias. I'm not that much of a fan of parties anyway."

"Still though, we need to welcome you home properly!" Rias retorted, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. "Come on everybody, let's head back home," she went on to say as she created a large teleportation circle and beckoned everyone to join her.

"This again?" Jen groaned as she rummaged in her pocket to make sure she still held the passenger Gremory seal charm which allowed her to use teleportation circles created by members of the Gremory clan. "Urgh, I can't say I'm a fan of teleportation circles."

Ben chuckled and patted his sister on the back as he walked past her. "Come on, you big baby. You'll get used to it."

Jen looked ready to offer him a retort but he didn't give her a chance to and pushed forward, onto the circle along with everyone else and disappeared in a flash of crimson light, leaving the destroyed building to smoulder and decay in private.

. . . . .

---

. . . . .

Somewhere in the centre of Kuoh

(Three days later)

"Are you alright with all those bags?" Ben asked Asia as they exited the store.

After school had finished, that day Ben and Asia had volunteered themselves to stop by the convenience store to refill their food stores. With the large increase in residents in the Tennyson household, the food demand had also increased, in particular in response to Jennifer's unusually voracious appetite which had taken all of them by surprise…everyone that is except for Ben who'd witnessed the terrifying sight during his childhood.

"No, it's alright, I've got it," Asia replied sweetly as she altered her grip on the bags of food she held in her hand to get a better hold of them.

"Ok, if you're sure. Let's get going then," Ben said as he led the way down the busy high street in the direction of home.

"We sure did buy a lot of food, didn't we?" Asia noted after a few minutes of walking through town and turning onto another, less crowded street.

"You can say that again. Even without Jen and her monstrous appetite, there are so many people around the house now. Do you remember that time before when it was just you, Rias and I?" he muttered, more to himself than actually putting it out as a genuine question.

"I liked it back then. There weren't so many girls after you then," Asia mumbled under her breath, answering his faux question regardless and without thinking.

Ben, having been distracted by the scene of a child crying in the middle of the street because their mother wouldn't buy them the toy they wanted from a shop window, glanced back over his shoulder to Asia.

"Did you say something?" he asked her, missing what she had said which was something he had all but forgotten about being possible because of his devil hearing.

Asia blushed at her slip of the tongue and shook her head quickly.

"Me? No, I didn't say anything at all!" she denied firmly, unable to look Ben in the eye for fear of revealing her red face to him.

"Okay," Ben muttered slowly, stifling a smile at Asia's embarrassed behaviour, and was struck yet again by how adorable Asia was.

As he turned back and made to continue walking his eyes caught sight of the sportswear shop on the other side of the street, or more specifically the advertising picture plastered on its front window.

"Oh yeah, the school sports festival's going to start in a few days, isn't it?" he wondered as he strolled across the empty street and came to a stop in front of the shop window as his eyes glazed over the image.

"Sports festival? What's that? Is it important?" Asia asked in confusion as she followed Ben's example and stared at the picture curiously.

Ben silently cursed himself as he was reminded that Asia grew up in the Church and didn't get to experience simple things like sports festivals and other simple things that people take for granted.

"Important? Hmm, not really I guess when you compare it to some of the things we've been involved with in the past. It's really just a bit of fun. It's like a big competition between classes where we compete against each other in different events to see who's the best."

"Ooh, that sounds like fun," Asia gaped with a beaming smile.

"Yeah, I suppose it is really. It gets us out of class for the day and everyone has a good time."

A thought came to Asia's mind and her smile faded a little.

"Um, uh, does everyone have to compete in something?"

"I don't know, come to think of it. This is my first time doing something like this here so I'm not completely sure what it will involve here. If it's similar to the ones I've been involved with before then I reckon it's safe to assume that. It does involve classes competing against each other, doesn't it?"

The two of them pressed onward, continuing down the street. After a few minutes of walking in relative silence, Ben noted her steadily increasing dour face.

"Hey, what's wrong. Do you not want to compete in the festival?"

Asia shook her head a little at his suggestion.

"It's not that I don't want to compete. It's just that I know I'd be so bad at whatever I do. I don't want to let everyone down."

"Hey, come on. Don't be like that. You won't let anyone down. As I said, it's just a bit of fun really. If you want the two of us can compete in a joint event, something like the wheelbarrow race or the three-legged race perhaps."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"I guess I could give something like that a go," Asia muttered with a smile. "I just hope I don't mess it up. Despite growing up in the Church, I don't have any grace at all."

As if tempting fate…or just deciding to prove her point, Asia clipped her foot on a raised pavestone on the street and tripped over, unable to put her arms up to protect herself due to the cumbersome bags she was holding.

Hearing her sharp gasp of surprise, Ben glanced around to see her falling and spun around quickly and made to catch her. Before he could do anything though a pair of hands appeared seemingly out of nowhere and took hold of Asia's shoulders, holding her perfectly in place and preventing her from falling to the floor.

"Shit! Asia, are you okay? You're not hurt, right?" Ben asked, his attention focussed wholly on her and nothing else in that instant.

"I'm fine," Asia gasped, frozen in place at her near tumble.

Ben let out a slight sigh as he looked past Asia at the stranger who had beaten him to save Asia from her fall.

His eyes widened a little in surprise upon recognising them.

"Diodora?!"

What the hell was the heir of Astaroth doing here in the human world?

Val's warning echoed in Ben's mind and his defences instantly went up. He had no reason to trust anything that Val said – she was a terrorist after all – but that didn't mean he keep his guard up around the high-class devil to be on the safe side.

"Um, thank you for helping me," Asia mumbled, turning around to face Diodora who had released his hold on her and bowed her head a little in thanks.

"It was no trouble at all. In fact, it was my pleasure, Asia Argento," Diodora explained suavely, offering Asia a smile.

"Yeah, thanks for the help," Ben muttered, mimicking Asia's own thanks before his curiosity got the better of him. "How come you're up here in the human world, Diodora?"

He would swear that, as he uttered Diodora's name, the high-class devil cast him a venomous glare that lasted less than a split second. If he did though, he had done it so fast that not even Ben's devil eyesight could spot it, and his face remained one of calmness with a smile.

"I came here to see Asia of course," Diodora replied simply.

As he stared at the devil noble, Ben started to get a bad feeling about him. It wasn't simply bias from the warning he'd received from Valerie but rather a feeling that came out of nowhere it seemed, one that he couldn't shake off, and couldn't hold back anymore and took a step forward, stepping between Asia and Diodora.

Diodora noted this and raised his hand placatingly in front of him and backed up a little, his broad smile still adorning his face.

"Come now. There's no need for that. We're all friends, aren't we?" he asked innocently.

Ben scowled as he found himself unable to think of any retort to Diodora's statement yet remained where he stood. He was starting to find the devil before him unbearable – for reasons he didn't even know himself – but knew that it would cause issues for everyone, Rias especially, if he just suddenly attacked the Astaroth heir without provocation.

"You didn't answer the question," he growled slowly, reigning in this hostility he felt towards Diodora as he and Diodora stared at each other unblinkingly.

Their brief staring contest came to an end when Diodora's smile broadened and broke eye contact to look past Ben at Asia.

"I didn't get a chance to speak to you at the gathering of young devils. You helped me some time ago and I never got the chance to thank you properly. I would like to rectify that now."

Ben cast a quick glance over his shoulder at Asia who looked just as confused as he did.

"You helped him?"

"I-I don't remember," Asia replied meekly, looking down for a moment before she looked up at Diodora again, this time in a different light. "You do look a little familiar but I don't remember you, sorry."

Diodora just smiled and waved his hand dismissively at her. "It's alright. I can't say I'm surprised that you don't recall my face as our previous encounter was so short."

"You might remember this though," he added as he swept his cloak over his shoulder and began unbuttoning his shirt in front of them.

"Hey, what are you…?" Ben started to demand, casting a quick look around the deserted street to make sure there still wasn't anyone else around, before trailing off as Diodora undid half of the buttons on his shirt and opened it up, revealing his bare chest to them.

Asia gasped in shock and clamped her hand over her mouth at the large, X-shaped scar adorning Diodora's chest. Even Ben was caught off guard by the wound.

"It's you," Asia breathed, slowly moving her hands away as she took a step toward him.

"You remember him then?" Ben asked her, tearing his gaze away from Diodora.

Asia nodded her head a little at his question. "I do. I can't believe it though."

"I'm the first Devil you saved all that time ago with your Sacred Gear," Diodora added with a small smile.

"The same one which resulted in Asia being branded a witch by the Church and being expelled from the only home you'd ever really known?" Ben asked, already noting how his question sounded as he cast a sideways glance at Diodora who had already fastened his buttons, covering his scar again.

"I heard about what happened to you after you saved my life and it broke my heart at how you were punished for your mercy and compassion," Diodora bowed his head in apology. He then went down on one knee in front of Asia and gently took hold of one of her hands.

"I never thought we'd meet again. For me, seeing you again in the Underworld was nothing short of a miracle…or perhaps we are bound by fate." He then surprised them by planting a quick kiss on the back of her hand. "I never want to lose you again nor break the bond between us so I would ask that you become my bride."

There was a clatter of noise as Ben and Asia dropped the bags of groceries in their hands.

"What the fuck?!" Ben exclaimed while Asia's face went red in embarrassment and squeaked at Diodora's unexpected action. "What kind of messed up reasoning is that?!"

Diodora's gaze flashed towards Ben for a fraction of a second before he released his hold on Asia's hand and returned to his feet.

"…but of course, I couldn't ask something that important of you right now. We might be bound by fate but we still don't know each other." He placed his hand over his chest and bowed slightly. "I will prove my affection towards you, my love. Please be prepared to understand the love I have for you, sweet Asia."

Diodora took a single step backwards and a small teleportation circle appeared beneath his feet.

"We are bound by fate. You are destined to be with me," he called out as he vanished into thin air.

The two young devils stared at the spot where Diodora had disappeared in silence for a moment, unaware of the stillness in the air that was already dissipating around them.

Eventually, it was Ben who broke the short silence.

"Are you alright, Asia?" he asked her, unable to imagine how she must be feeling.

Asia blinked and shook her head a little as if lost in thought and glanced up at him. "Yeah, I think so. I can't believe I was able to meet him again after so long. I'm glad he's doing well."

Ben kept his own thoughts to himself and cast another glance at the spot where Diodora had been standing a moment ago before picking up the discarded shopping bag at his feet and gesturing with his head towards home.

"Come on. Let's get home before we run into someone else we've got history with."

"Yeah, you're right," Asia agreed and joined Ben as the two of them continued on their way back.

As they walked away, Ben couldn't help but look back one last time. He couldn't put his finger on it but there was something strange about Diodora and the way he acted.

"There's something off about that guy. I don't trust him."

[A wise decision,] Azmuth acknowledged with a modicum of approval at Ben's distrust. [I don't know why but, for some reason, that devil spawn possesses magical power far greater than they should be capable of wielding. Someone – or something – has gifted them power.]

"You sure? How can you tell?"

[Because I can sense a being's magic and I can tell whether it's their own or if it has come from elsewhere, be it from a weapon or item they possess or whether they've received assistance from another.]

Ben grimaced at this, hiding his reaction from Asia. He was already intending to report back to Rias about their encounter with Diodora but, combining their meeting with Azmuth's own suspicions and the prior warning he'd received from Val, he needed to tell her as soon as possible.

. . . . .

---

. . . . .

The Occult Research Clubroom, Kuoh Academy

(The next day)

"Can someone tell me why we're going ahead with this?" Ben grumbled under his breath as he crossed his arms across his chest.

Upon returning home after their encounter with Diodora, Ben had immediately gone to Rias and told her everything about it…particularly about his abrupt declaration of love for Asia and his surprise proposal of marriage.

Rias was naturally perturbed that another high-class devil, a noble from an extremely prestigious House to boot, had not only entered her territory without asking permission but also had the audacity to try and steal her away from them. What made the matter worse for her though was that, shortly before Ben and Asia had returned, she'd received a missive from Diodora requesting to meet her the next day in the clubroom. Despite having Valerie's warning in the back of her mind Rias had no reason to deny such a visit and had agreed to the meeting.

After listening to Ben's report though Rias did well to hide her anger and frustration at the scenario she'd found herself in and had no choice but to continue ahead with the meeting to prevent embarrassment to her family.

At least now she knew what Diodora was there to discuss and could plan accordingly.

And so, this is how Ben found himself standing in the clubroom at the end of the school day, standing behind Rias who was sitting on the couch across from their visitor, joined by the other members of their devilish team as they all stared across the room at their visitor too, each one keeping a careful eye on him.

Their visitor, of course, was Diodora Astaroth. He had arrived via teleportation circle moments ago and was currently enjoying the cup of tea that had been prepared for him by Akeno – ever the dutiful host, no matter who it was – and, besides offering a polite greeting to Rias, had yet to reveal his reason for being there.

As he continued to watch Diodora in silence, Ben tore his gaze away momentarily to his right to see Asia shifting uneasily beside him. Upon seeing this, Ben subtly uncrosses his arms and takes a gentle hold of her hand and gives it a comforting squeeze to remind her that he was there beside her.

This had the desired effect, as soon as Asia felt his hand in hers, she calmed down instantly and gave him a grateful smile before looking back at Diodora who had just placed his cup on the table in front of him.

"Hmm, that was delicious. My compliments to your queen." He then smiled at Rias and leant forward a little from his seat. "Now, shall we get down to business?"

"Yes, let's. I'm curious to know what brought you here today," Rias replied, feigning ignorance as to the real reason for his visit.

"I would like to propose a trade between our bishops," he stated simply, his obnoxious smile never leaving his face.

'Wow, he just went out and said it,' Ben thought to himself, a little amazed at Diodora's confidence that he was going to get what he wanted.

"I see," Rias replied simply, her gaze locked with Diodora's, neither one of them willing to be the first one to blink. "You mean to trade for Asia, don't you?"

If Diodora was shocked or surprised that Rias knew precisely what he was aiming for then he did a marvellous job of hiding it from everyone. Instead of answering her question, he chuckled lightly and produced two small magic circles in front of him where a small image of a young woman in priestly clothing appeared on each one.

"I can assure you that it's a fair trade. Both of my bishops are extremely hard working and will more than–"

"I'm going to stop you right there. There's no point wasting your time, Diodora. I have absolutely no intention of trading Asia away to anyone," Rias declared firmly, raising her palm up to him.

Diodora didn't react immediately to this rejection. If he was angry or frustrated at being rejected so quickly then he did it remarkably well.

The images of his two bishops disappeared and he leant back in his seat a little.

"Is that so? How disappointing to hear."

"I know it might be a strange concept to you but Asia is not just another member of my peerage; I consider her the little sister I never had and I cherish her with all my heart."

"Thank you, Rias," Asia murmured through teary eyes.

"Furthermore, the fact that you think a simple trade will get you the one who rejected you tells me that you are not only uncouth but that you clearly have no idea who she really is or what she truly wants. All I can offer you is some friendly advice: stop wasting your time chasing a fantasy."

Silence filled the room as Rias finished speaking. Nobody spoke as Rias and Diodora continued to stare, unblinkingly, at each other.

Diodora turned out to be the first one to break their staring contest. Chuckling lightly to himself, the Astaroth heir rose out of his seat and walked around the couch Rias was sit on and, to everyone's shock at his arrogance, knelt before Asia and took her free hand in his.

"Fear not, my love. Our meeting and reunion were predestined by fate. Not even all the demons of the Underworld can keep us apart. I love you," he announced, completely ignoring everybody else in the room.

[I believe that was a slight against you, kid,] Ddraig began but Ben, having completely run out of patience and restraint, was already moving.

"Get your fucking hand off her right now!" he demanded as he placed his hand on Diodora's shoulder to get away from Asia.

As soon as his hand made contact though, Diodora reacted to it instantly. His expression turned hateful as he glared at Ben and stood up with a shot, slapping Ben's hand away with his own.

"How dare you touch me. I won't have my body sullied by such a filthy base-born as yourself." He brought his hand up to cover his face as he glared at Ben with disgust clear in his eyes. "Just standing so near to you is agonising. I can't stand being so close to filthy dragons. Simply revolting."

"Oh, now you've done it!" Ben growled deeply as he stepped forward and took a hold of Diodora's collar and pulled the obnoxious devil close to his face. "You got a death wish, do ya?"

The two of them glared at each other, neither one of them saying anything until Rias quickly rose up out of her chair and approached them.

"Ben! Don't! let him go," she ordered as she reached his side and took hold of his hand which had already released its hold of Diodora's collar at her order and pulled it back.

"Now isn't the time," she whispered to him while he continued to glare daggers at the cocky devil before him whose insufferable smile had returned as he fixed his collar and straightened his shirt again.

"I guess I can't blame you for not having any control over your pawn, Rias. Dragons are such disgusting beasts that have no concept of civility. He's just a barbarian who can't–"

SLAP!

Diodora's taunt was interrupted by Asia who'd unconsciously stepped forward and had slapped Diodora with strength that surprised everyone, herself especially.

"I refuse to stand here and listen to you talk to Ben in that way," she declared, all previous nervousness from before now gone.

As Diodora brought a hand up to the spot on his cheek where Asia had slapped him Ben swore he saw the briefest flash of a strange expression on his face, one sadistic and murderous in nature. However, just like yesterday when he saw something similar, the expression disappeared as quickly as he spotted it and a soft smile appeared in its place as he looked down at Asia.

"Of course, my dear. I offer my sincerest apologies for my reaction," he told her sweetly, his cheek turning red from her slap.

'Like hell he means that,' Ben growled internally as he fought to control himself, clenching his fists and breathing deeply.

Diodora then pointed a finger directly at Ben and he slowly turned his head towards him.

"This isn't over, dragon. We'll settle this once and for all in our Rating Game…." He returned his gaze back onto Asia "…and once I've defeated and humiliated him I'm sure you'll finally accept my love, darling."

"We don't need to wait for the Rating Game," Ben growled threateningly, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists tightly. He was still largely in control of himself but he wasn't 100% sure what he'd have done if Rias wasn't there beside him with her hand on his shoulder.

Diodora didn't show any response to Ben's threat. Instead, he backed away from him slowly, his annoying smile still adorning his face, and disappeared through a teleportation circle in a brief flash of light.

Ben released the breath he'd been holding onto and finally unclenched his fists, flexing his fingers to return circulation to them.

"You should've let me finish him there and then," he grumbled as Rias removed her hand from his shoulder and they all slowly took a seat, thankful that the ordeal was over for now.

"You know I couldn't do that, Ben," Rias retorted calmly, not rising to his tone as she knew why he was acting this way. Hell, she had needed to hold back from reacting herself when Diodora had dared laid a hand on him. "I don't need to tell you what would happen if it was found out that one of Rias Gremory's servants assaulted the Astaroth heir without provocation while he was a guest in her territory."

"Without provocation?!" Ben retorted hotly, turning to face her. "You heard him. He's obsessed with Asia…and we've been told he's up to something."

"Yes…from a terrorist who's part of a group we're at war with. No matter how accurate we might believe the information is, it won't matter if we don't act accordingly. I've already passed the warning e received to Azazel and my brother. There's nothing else we can right now except prepare to face him in the Rating Game."

[She's right, boy,] Azmuth's experienced voice interjected in Ben's mind. [You need to wait for the right moment. Don't react like a beast that insect claims you to be. You are a dragon, a noble creature of immense strength, pride and wisdom. Start acting like it!]

Ben lowered his head as he absorbed both Rias and Azmuth's words and breathed deeply to bring his raw emotions under control. Right now he may not want to admit it but he knew that the pair of them were correct. He had to wait for the right moment to take Diodora down and, perhaps most importantly, he needed to reign in his wild, base instincts and emotions.

After taking several breaths he brought his head up and looked across at Rias with a heavy sigh.

"You're right, Rias. I'm sorry for how I behaved just now."

Rias smiled sweetly at him and nodded, accepting his apology.

"It's okay. I understand perfectly well why you acted the way you did. Truth be told, I had to stop myself from reacting when he touched Asia after I told him to stay away from her." She looked past Ben to Asia who had taken a seat beside Ben. "Are you alright, Asia?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," Asia replied with a small smile.

"How's your hand?" Akeno asked wryly as she cleared away the cup and saucer Diodora had been using.

Asia blushed a little as everyone chuckled at this and reflexively held the hand in question.

"It's…okay."

"That was quite the slap you gave him, I must say, Asia," Rias chuckled light-heartedly.

Ben couldn't help but join in with the slight teasing.

"You're right, Rias. Remind me never to make Asia mad."

Asia's face continued to redden as everyone continued to laugh joyfully. She was glad to be saved from being the centre of attention when Rias finally changed the topic to some last-minute contract requests that needed to be dealt with.

. . . . .

Demonomicum extract:

Citrakayah

Appearance: Citrakayahs have the appearance of a slim, bipedal, human-sized feline demon. They are covered in fur which has a unique colour pattern that gives the impression of them wearing something akin to a bodysuit. The underline colour is black and the fur which covers their chest, forearms and shins can be any one of five different colours (blue, yellow, red, green and orange).

Along the back of their forearms and shins, they have large spikes protruding from them. While this may have the appearance of simply decorative Citrakayahs have been observed using them defensively when being attacked.

Bio: Though they bare some semblance and similar physical attributes to Nekomata species Citrakayah demons are very different from other, more familiar, Youkai. Dwelling on the other side of the Southern Chasm, the Citrakayah occupy the Great Savannah and use the vast open space it provides to master and perfect their greatest skill and strength, their speed.

Much like Kinecelerans, Citrakayah possess greatly enhanced speed, and agility and have been observed to share similar reflexes too (NB: perhaps this is a necessary requirement for speed demons in order to survive moving at such speeds). There has never been a conclusive answer to the question as to which species is fastest though Kinecelerans are widely regarded as taking the top spot when it comes to speed. However, while this may or may not be true, Citrakayahs have proved to be the stronger of the two, able to carry great weights without their speed being impacted in any noticeable way.

In terms of how Citrakayah society and hierarchy works, it would best be described as sharing similarities with Devil clans. Citrakayahs are split into five tribes or, as they refer to themselves, the Five Winds (the Northern Wind, the Eastern Wind, the Western Wind, the Southern Wind and the Central Wind). There is no actual animosity between the Five Winds, the only observable difference between them being the distinct shade of colour that members of each Wind have. The clear lack of hostility between each other and the high level of camaraderie they share can be immediately seen in the name of their unified, central union; the Citrakayah Collective.

From my studies and observations, I have been unable to discern any distinct difference between Citrakayahs which assist in discerning what sets the members of each Wind apart from each other aside from the colour of their fur, a difference that I have come to the conclusion is merely cosmetic in nature. There isn't any separation or discrimination within their society; members from two different Winds have formed relationships without note and offspring from their union is accepted regardless of the colour of their fur, their acceptance into the corresponding Wind appears to be merely a formality.

Distinctly peaceful, the Citrakayah Collective enjoys good relations with most of the Great Powers in the Underworld and have managed to work around the animosity between the powers (notably with the Devils and Fallen Angels) and make it work somehow. A notable example of this can be seen with the Eastern and Southern Winds becoming extremely popular tourist destinations for Devils while the Northern and Western Winds trade heavily with the Fallen Angels and exchange services with each other.

NB: When I am able I must learn more about the Citrakayah history and learn more about their past. There must be a reason their society has evolved into its current state. Was there a civil war in the distant past? Or did some other calamitous event occur that forced them to band together such as they have in order to survive?

Power Level: Medium-class Devil

Threat Level: Low

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A/N: Aaaaand that's that.

As I said above, I'm extremely grateful to every one of you for continuing to read my story.

Now that the stage has been set I am ecstatic to be able to tell you all that the next chapter will be the highlight of the Juggernaut arc, the battle against Diodora! It's been a long time coming and I hope you like what I've got in store for you all!

In addition to this, I am planning on adding something else into the next chapter, something I've been toying around with for some time, waiting for the best opportunity to attempt to write it, but I think the next chapter will be the one to reward you all for being patient with me for all this time.

. . . . .

Reviews

TennysonForce: That's a good question. To answer it I'll just say that I've already got something in mind for that. It won't be too soon so you'll just have to stay with me for the journey.

Nivek Beldo: As always it's a pleasure to read your reviews and hear your thoughts on the progress of my story. I appreciate every one of your comments and feedback and hope you continue to follow and read my story.

ArashiNokitsune: You have no idea how long and difficult it was to figure out that acronym for the Plumbers. It was such a pain to find one that worked well and I'm glad it seems that I picked a winner. Perhaps Ben and Jen should've had more explosive reactions to finding out about each other's involvement with the supernatural but this way seemed to work best in my opinion. Thank you for your review.

. . . . .

Don't forget to leave a review if you so wish. I may not reply to it in the next chapter but you can be sure that I read every single one of them.

Until next time (hopefully not too long) I'll say goodbye to everyone and I'll see you next time.