Last of the Line
I do not own Highschool DxD or any of it's characters. I own only Vale Beleth. Nero Marchosias is property of cloudfarron.
OP: Undead by Nightcore
Chapter 20: Meet The Competition
A few minutes before the start of the Young Devil's Gathering...
Vale walked over to the table where the rest of the Young Devils had taken a seat at following Zephyrdor's defeat. He strode over to the table before taking a seat between Sona and Rias as his servants took their place, standing behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Koneko eyeing Kuroka with displeasure evident on her features. Kuroka paid no mind to her sister's displeasure as she waved back to Koneko, causing Koneko to scowl even harder.
"Hello, I am Seekvaira Agares. The next head of the Agares Family, rank Archduke." Seekvaira said elegantly from the seat across the table from Vale.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Rias Gremory, next head of the house of Gremory." Rias said with a small bow of her head. Vale surreptitiously reached down before he felt Rias take his hand in her own. He gave it a gentle squeeze as he heard Sona reply,
"I'm Sona Sitri. Next head of the house of Sitri."
"I'm Sairaorg Bael, I'm the next head of the Bael family, rank Great King."
"I'm Diodora Astaroth, the next head of the Astaroth family. Please take care of me, everyone." The Astaroth heir replied with a gentle smile. All eyes turned to the silver-haired Marchosias heir before he leaned back in his chair.
"Nero Marchosias." he enunciated slowly as began to tap rhythmically on the table top. When it seemed no further information was forthcoming, the eyes of the young Devils turned to Vale.
"Vercingetorix Beleth, head of the Beleth Family. But please, call me Vale." Vale said as he saw Rias shoot him a questioning look. His parents had named him Vercingetorix but his mother called him Vale, so he preferred to go by that name.
"Ah yes, I've heard of you. Rumor has it that you were one of Grigori's best agents. I'm quite keen to see how you perform in a Rating Game." Sairaorg replied with interest from the other side of the table.
"I could say the same for you, Sairaorg. After all, it isn't everyday that one gets to see the possessor of the Regulus Nemea in person." Vale replied as he watched all eyes in the room turn and fixate on Sairaorg.
"Sairaorg? What does he mean?" Seekvaira said as she fixed Sairaorg with a cold stare.
"More to the point, is he telling the truth? Do you possess on of the 13 Longinus?" Sona asked as she adjusted her glasses.
"Well, it seems I've been found out... Yes, I do possess the Regulus Nemea, or at least I possess the spirit inside it." Sairaorg conceded.
"Why haven't you informed the Four Great Satans or Grigori then?" Rias asked as she let go of Vale's hand.
"My family forbid me from telling anyone else. It seems with me not inheriting the Power of Destruction they felt me having the Regulus Nemea would be a good replacement, but they wished to keep the knowledge from the Satans for some silly reason." Sairaorg replied.
"That still leaves the question: where is the Regulus Nemea's spirit now?" Diodora asked, choosing finally to speak.
"It's his [Pawn]. The one in the mask." Vale said as he pointed to the man with the golden hair wearing an opera style mask. Before Sairaorg could reply, and employee opened the large double doors at the end of the hall.
"Sorry, for making you wait so long- everyone is waiting for you." the employee said apologetically.
"Well, it seems we are out of time." Vale said as he stood from the table and made for the open doors...
A few minutes later...
Vale and his servants assembled with the other Devils in a large room with two tiers of seats resting against the wall. The first tier was lined with the current heads of the Devil houses who sat slightly elevated above the younger Devils so it appeared they were looking down onto the youths. The top level seated the current Satans of Serafall Sitri, Sirzechs Gremory, Ajuka Astaroth, and Falbium Glaysa-Labolas on the right side of the top level. It seemed like many of his former bosses and colleagues from Grigori had arrived and as a gesture of good will, Sirzechs had let them sit in on the meeting. On the left side of the top level Azazel, Shemhazai, and Baraqiel sat as they silently surveyed the young Devils, while Slash Dog stood vigilantly next to Azazel, obviously brought in as a bodyguard by the leaders. Though, it seemed that many of the elderly Devils disapproved of Sirzechs' decision, based on the number and intensity of scowls present in the room.
The meeting began by explaining the purpose of gathering them was to ascertain their capabilities and goals for the future. Though apparently, they did not care for the fact that the youths had already fought amongst themselves. All eight of the young [Kings] stood before the adults with their servants in a line behind them, typically with their [Queen] at the front of the line. Even Zephyrdor had awoken and entered the room, albeit with a nasty burn on his chest from where Vale's spell had hit him.
"You are all here because you come from houses with exceptional pedigrees and hold true potential that no one can deny. The purpose of this gathering is to get a good measure of your ability by having you compete against each other and raise your power before you officially debut in Devil society." Sirzechs said from his seat at the topmost level.
"Will we eventually be sent to battle the Khaos Brigade?" Sairaorg asked abruptly.
"I do not know, but I'd prefer not to send out young Devils against the enemy." Sirzechs replied calmly. Sairaorg raised an eyebrow in reply, as if he could not understand Sirzechs' reply.
"Why not? As young Devils, it is our duty to carry on the-" Sairaorg began when he was interrupted by Vale replying,
"Silence yourself Sairaorg! Our king has spoken! You will have to sate your bloodlust some other way. I have personally engaged the leaders of both the Hero and the Magician factions of the Khaos Brigade. You are ready to battle neither of them. Besides, with our species numbers as low as they are, we can ill afford to resort to child soldiers." Vale replied in a scathing tone as he turned to face the elders once more. Many wore looks of disapproval at his outburst, but seemed not to disagree with his views.
"As tactless as his speech was, Vale is right. We can ill afford to lose youths as precious as all of you. Sairaorg, you will see battle if and when we decide that you are ready. Not before then." Sirzechs replied once again.
"I understand." Sairaorg sad with a small nod. It did not escape the elders' notice that Sairaorg wore a dissatisfied expression.
"To finish things, will you now let us hear your respective future goals?" Sirzechs asked from his place atop the top row of seats.
"My dream is to become a Satan." Sairaorg declared without hesitation. There were a chorus of gasps from the elders in response to Sairaorg's proclamation.
"It is unprecedented for a Devil from the Bael family to ever leave it." a Devil with a large, bushy mustache replied from the lower row of seats.
"When the people of the Underworld feel that there is no other choice but for me to become a Satan, I will become one." Sairaorg declared loudly for all to hear.
"Jeez, and I thought you had a big ego." Vale whispered back to Vali. Vali had to try his hardest to suppress a snicker of amusement in response before replying in a whisper.
"Well at the very least, he'll make an interesting opponent. Guy like that is probably a huge battle maniac." Vali replied in a whisper. Vale nodded in agreement as Rias spoke up,
"My goal for the near future is to live as the next Gremory head, and to triumph in all my Rating Game battles." Vale had never heard Rias talk about her dreams in such a straightforward manner. But he thought her dream was a simple one, but a good one at that. Soon enough though, it was his turn to speak.
"My current goal is to complete fine-tuning of the Abyssal Gear: Lucifer's Twin Halos. Second, I hope to complete synchronization trials for my newest project, the Sin Engine. That particular gear was inspired by the Longinus, Annihilation Maker. I hope to have it effectively integrated with my [Pawn] Edith Teach by the time of my first Rating Game. After the completion of the Abyssal and Heavenly Gears I hope to focus on my personal life. As for my plans for my personal goals, if everything works out with my current relationship, I hope to be married soon. Also, while I know many of you were hoping to see the Beleth clan return to power soon, I think I will most likely spend my near-future searching for someone of exceeding importance to myself. Lastly, I have many obligations to my [Queen] that need fulfilling eventually." Vale said as he glanced to his left to see Rias blushing profusely as she stared at the floor. Her face was so red he could swear he heard her praying for the rest of the assembly not to notice her blushing and launch into a new round of questioning for the two of them.
"Mister Beleth, while I believe I speak for all present when I say we are especially excited to see the results of your little project. But, I believe we can all agree that we would be much more appreciative of your work if you did not keep the most promising gears for yourself and your peerage." a dignified-looking older gentleman dressed in a resplendent blue robe replied from his seat. Many of the other elders replied with general murmurs of approval and agreement.
"That may be true, but tell me something. Do you know how the Sin Engine or Twin Halos is built and how they function?" Vale asked calmly as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well... no, but-"
"Do you know what exactly needs to be tweaked to allow for introduction to a host that is not myself?"
"No, but that is to say-"
"Do you know how to identify all the potential little red flags that signal a Gear Failure which could lead to the death of the host?"
"No, but-" the gentleman replied in a frustrated tone when Vale cut in,
"Do you know anything about the Sin Engine or Twin Halos other than what I have revealed today?" Vale replied curtly once again.
"No! But still-" the man began angrily once more.
"Then tell me, why should I hand any of my prototypes over to someone who has no idea how they work?" Vale coolly cut in again.
"That is enough master Beleth! I am the current head of the Agares family! You would do well to show me the respect due to your betters!" the man replied angrily as he stood from his chair.
"Really now? Because let me tell you something Lord Agares. I grew up literally two miles from your castle. I know exactly how you treat your servants and the commoners that live in your territory. You are not my better. Now please, sit down." Vale replied coolly as he saw a vein pulsing in Lord Agares' forehead. The Agares head remained standing for a few more minutes before taking his seat once more with a harumph.
"Well then, where were we?" Sirzechs replied from the top of the room once again.
"I believe Seekvaira has the floor." Vale replied calmly as he waited for the gathering to resume once more...
The rest of the young Devils went on to tell the elders their dreams. None of them were particularly noteworthy until Sona expressed her desire to build a Rating Game school for Devils of all caste and creed. This didn't go over with the elders well, who almost laughed her out of the room. But in the end they had been dismissed after announcing the Rating Game match-ups. Sona and Rias would fight on the 20th, Sairaorg and Zephyrdor would fight the next day, then Seekvaira and Diodora, it was decided that Nero and Vale would fight on the 19th as entertainment for the party that would precede Sona and Rias' Game.
"I must say, that was an impressive speech you gave to the Agares head in there." Nero commented as Vale was re-entering the banquet hall once more.
"Oh, that wasn't a speech. That was a verbal bitch-slap." Vale replied with a chuckle.
"Well either way, I'm interested to see how you'll do in our Rating Game. I have high hopes for the Twin Dragons of Grigori. Don't disappoint me." Nero replied nonchalantly as he turned to leave.
"Like-wise. I've heard plenty of rumors about of the XIII's prowess in battle. I hope you will be good enough to provide a challenge." Vale called after the silver-haired Marchosias heir.
"Count on it."Nero called back as he exited the banquet hall with his peerage in tow.
"Alright Isley, I want you to take Kuroka back to Lucifaad. I'm gonna mingle then we'll head back and we'll discuss training then." Vale said to his [Rook] Isley nodded before grabbing the nekomata by her wrist and moving to escort her from the hall.
"No way! I wanna stay and talk to Shirone-nyan!" Kuroka protested as he pulled against the White Silver King's grip on her wrist, to no avail.
"Which is exactly why I'm sending you back right now. Koneko has enough on her mind right now, she doesn't need to worry about you right now. Now go." Vale replied brusquely as his [Rook] began to escort her back to Lucifaad.
Vale glanced around the room for a few seconds before he located Sona and her peerage making for the exit. Vale jogged over to catch up. He reached her just as she was about to leave.
"Hello Vale-san, is there something you needed?" Sona asked as she turned to face him, obviously surprised that the Beleth heir had decided to engage her in conversation.
"Yeah, I just wanted to say that I thought your future goal was probably the most inspired out of all the others that attended. It's really a step in the right direction. It's about time someone tried to really dissolve the prejudices and barriers between the classes. It is ironically, the kind of thinking a Satan should have. But I suspect that you have no desire to become a Satan at anytime in the future. Vale said with a fair amount of respect evident in his tone.
"You are correct Vale, I never plan to take office like my onee-sama has. Though, I do appreciate your praise. It means a great deal to me that you said that." Sona replied with a small bow to him.
"It's no biggie. Just paying respect where it is due. Though, I do have something I think you will enjoy." Vale said as he fished two nondescript slips of paper bearing the Beleth clan insignia from his suit jacket and handed them to Sona.
"Give one of them to Shemhazai and the other to Ajuka-dono. I think they will be most beneficial for both your current and future servants. Also, in exchange, I'd like you to keep me apprised of any job openings at your Rating Game school." he said as Sona took the slips of paper from him and pocketed them as she replied,
"I think I will do that." Sona replied with a smile.
"Alrighty then. Well, I'm off." Vale said as he turned and headed for his next target.
"Dude, can I go back yet? I really don't wanna run into Slash Dog." Vali asked with a dramatic sigh.
"Yeah, go. I've just gotta talk to a few more people." Vale replied.
"Oh thank you so much!" Vali replied as he turned and headed for the the doors, followed closely by Bikou.
"You know, I said the rest of you can leave too, if you want." Vale called back to the rest of his peerage.
"Yes, yes you did." Arthur replied.
"You effectively gave us leave to go where we wish. It is simply that we have elected to remain with our [King]." Hao replied, his first act of speech in days.
"Besides, I enjoy the time I spend with you. You always end up in fun situations Vale-sama." Le Fay chimed in.
"It's not like I've got anything better to do anyways." Kanda replied with a shrug.
"Besides, it's not everyday I get to hang around so many sexy ladies." Edith purred as she surveyed the nearby Devils with her one uncovered eye.
"Hello Rias-hime, how goes it?" Vale asked as he approached the Gremory group who were conversing with Azazel about something.
"Hello Vale, it's good to see you. How are you feeling about your odds in your upcoming Rating Game against Nero-san?" Rias asked as he approached her. They had made arrangements the previous night to keep their new relationship a secret until after the Gathering.
"I have chosen my servants with care. The fact that all his servants are women, and attractive ones at that, shows that he has not. It shows that he has overlooked effectiveness in exchange for a pretty appearance. But, that is his right as a Devil. The outcome of the battle will prove who has chosen their servants with more care. But anyways, I'm more worried about your servants. As long as Koneko-chan refuses to use her Senjutsu and Akeno-san refuses to use her Holy Lightning you will be forever crippled in battle. Especially considering I pretty much just "juiced" Sona's peerage. Which reminds me! Here you are Rias-hime." Vale said as he fished a scroll tied with a black ribbon out of his suit jacket.
"What's this?" Rias asked as she took the scroll from Vale.
"Don't open it here. It's a nice little grab bag that should give everyone in your peerage a good power bump that you'll need to beat the Sitris if you use it right." Vale replied as he shoved his hands back in his pockets.
"Well, I appreciate the help. But do you mind if I ask what your reason for helping us is." Rias asked as she handed the scroll to Akeno.
"What can I say? I like to shake things up. I'll see you all around." Vale said as he turned to leave. He was on his way to the doorway when he felt a large hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the hand belonged to none other than Sairaorg Bael.
"Hello Vale, do you have a minute?" Sairaorg asked politely. Vale nodded before signaling his servants to return to Lucifaad.
"What is it Sairaorg?" Vale asked, obviously unamused by the new development.
"You seemed rather hostile towards me earlier. Did I do something to upset you?" Sairaorg asked plainly as he hid his hands behind his large torso.
"Not really, I just think you're full of shit." Vale said flatly with a shrug.
"Beg pardon?" Sairaorg asked with an eyebrow raised in interest at Vale's comment.
"You and your peerage all go on about how hard you had it. But, in reality you're just spoiled rich kids who weren't allowed to sit at the cool kids' table. Don't get me wrong, you obviously took their scorn and turned it into a strong motivation to get stronger. But, you've never had to worry about where your next meal was gonna come from. You've definitely never had cause to fear for your life. Sairaorg, you're just a brat, something I intend to show the entire Underworld when we inevitably clash in a Rating Game. You have no idea what true hardship is, and that makes you soft. A weakness none of my servants share. Now, good day." Vale said as he turned and left the Bael heir standing there, utterly flabbergasted.
Back at Lucifaad, later that night...
"Hey man, come on and hurry up. We haven't got all day." Vali called to him as he rifled through the piles of scrolls on one of the countless before he found the one he was searching for that contained the only known method for learning Magia Erebea besides personal instruction from his mother.
"Yeah yeah, I'm coming." he said as he plucked it from the pile and headed for the top of the resort. They arrived outside in the courtyard of the resort's castle. He had dragged out the old resort's expansions for the purpose of training his servants for the upcoming battle. The expansions consisted of a medieval castle as well as desert, tundra, mountain, and jungle biomes for survival training. They were currently all gathered at the main castle area.
His entire peerage stood ready in the grand courtyard, along with Slash Dog and his future brother-in-law's peerage minus his [Knight] and [Queen], as both of them were currently occupied. Souji was to spend the next 3 weeks training Kiba, while Grayfia had her job as the head maid for the Gremory family.
"Alrighty, I'll get straight to it. Sirzechs has been nice enough to loan his peerage to helping us train for the upcoming Game. Before any of you ask, this is possible because he is doing it as my future brother-in-law not as the leader of the Underworld. First up, will be a mass survival training that will last 10 days. After that, you will be split up into training groups. Le Fay and Hao will train with MacGregor Mathers and my former colleague, Dulio Gesualdo. Dulio will arrive after the survival training is over.. Kanda, Arthur, and Edith will train against Slash Dog, Beowulf, and Enku. Bikou, Kuroka, and Isley will train with Surtr Second and Baraqiel, who will also arrive later. Vali will be exclusively training with Tiamat in his own training. I however will opt out of the survival training to train with Sirzechs and Ajuka, who will be visiting as a coworker not as a Satan. I will spend at least a day with all of you, however. Now, any questions?" Vale announced to his peerage as he walked over and began to pet the enormous dog that was asleep on the ground next to the handsome Japanese man of about twenty.
"Yes, when you say mass survival training, what does that mean?" Edith asked with her hand raised high in the air, like a young grade schooler asking for permission to use the restroom.
"Oh, yes, about that... They're all gonna try to kill you all. You've got a five minute head-start. Y'all better run." Vale said as he flashed a grin to his servants. He watched as the realization of exactly what their training was dawned on them. Within ten seconds of his announcement all of his servants had deserted the courtyard.
"Well, this will be interesting. Shall we begin?" Vale asked as he turned to face his brother in law...
Twenty days later...
"My my, you certainly have come a long way since you first unveiled that Gear's Balance-Breaker. Don't you think so too, Ajuka?" Sirzechs asked as he turned to look at his friend and comrade. Ajuka's originally pristine suit was now in tatters. Though Ajuka himself was unharmed, the fact that Vale had landed any sort of notable damage to his clothing was an impressive achievement in itself. They stood atop the normal resort building, rubble was strewn everywhere. If Vale hadn't done most of the damage himself, he would never have recognized the blasted landscape as his mother's resort.
"I'll say, Lucifer's Twin Halos is undoubtedly much more powerful than Abyssal Draining." Ajuka said as he continued to examine Vale's current appearance. Vale wore only a battered pair of black jeans, his shirt hung in rags around his shoulders, exposing his toned warrior's physique, while 6 pairs of silver, feathered wings extended from his back. His hair had turned the same dark silver color of Vali's but had maintained its typical shoulder-length appearance, while two halos hovered over his head. One was black and the typical hoop-shaped, while the other hovered above it but was white and had the appearance of a crown of thorns instead of the typical hoop. In his hand was grasped a large two-handed, single edged blade with 10 purple stones set into the blade. A new toy of his, courtesy of some extraordinary [Knight]ing by Arthur while Vale was assembling his peerage.
"I think that our training, along with the completion of the Sin Engine renders your victory all but certain. Get some rest. I think our training is completed. You should get some rest." Sirzechs said. Vale nodded wordlessly in reply as he released the Balance-Breaker and made for his bedroom to get some shuteye...
The next day...
Vale and his peerage stood with his peerage atop the transportation-type magic circle.
"You ready man?" Vali asked, his voice heavy with anticipation of the approaching battle.
"You know it." Vale replied with his trademark cocky grin as the magic circle began to glow.
After the blinding glow of the magic circle ceased, Vale and his servants found themselves standing atop a mountain in the midst of a blizzard. Their increased Devil eyesight could make out a small town in the shadow of the mountain. The town and mountain both appeared deserted except for them.
"Hello all, I am Bedeze Abaddon. Third place Champion of the rating Game, and I'll be your announcer today. This will be a standard blitz battle. No time will be afforded to plan your moves. However, the only limit on this battle will be a two hour time limit. Begin!" A male voice rang out across the mountain.
"Alrighty, we planned for this. Le Fay, you know what to do." Vale commanded as Le Fay retrieved the Trident of the Fisher King from her pocket dimension.
"Heed the contract and serve me, O King of the Skies! Come forth, blazing thunder, slayer of Titans! Present the Widening Throwing Circle! Capture the objects first to the tenth! Established Area! Spirits, overwhelm us unto the critical pressure within! In three, two, now! Separation captivity! All spirits I will send forth most valiantly like lightning! Hurl down lightning one hundred and even one thousand times! Thousand Thunderbolts!"
Le Fay incanted as three mammoth magic circles appeared in the sky above the town before three enormous lightning bolts sprang from the center of each circle. They struck the town in a massive explosion of magic power, utterly obliterating the town from existence. While the sound of the town's destruction was lost in the blizzard, no retirements were announced.
"Alrighty, that was ineffective. They probably think we'll need to regroup now, Hao and Edith, I want you to give them something to worry about." Vale said to his [Pawn]s. Edith flashed a maniacal grin while Hao simply nodded.
Edith reached up and firmly grasped her eye-patch and removed it before opening her normally covered right eye to reveal the image of a fanged skull with blood dripping from its teeth.
"Rise, my pretties!" Edith howled as several skeletal hands thrust up from the snows as dozens of skeletons pulled themselves from the ground and began to search for the opposing team. Hao's aura began to spread out across the mountain as several shikigamis of varying shapes and sizes materialized and fanned out as they moved to assist the skeletons in their search.
"This is gonna be fun." Vali proclaimed with a grin as two wings of cyan light materialized on his back.
"Indeed." Vale said as he scratched at the ouroboros mark on the back of his hand...
Ending Theme: Let It Burn by Nightcore
Author's Note: Here it is, I know I said I'd wait until I finished my Sekirei updates but this was too tempting. I've decided that I will leave the decision of who will be Vale's Mutation Pawn up to you guys. You'll find the poll for it on my profile. Don't forget to review. This is the 19th Angel, signing off...