Author's rant: Another twist in DxD's canon
DISCLAIMER: i OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY PLOT
Chapter 4: Marriage crashers, a spar, from 72 to 34, the beginning of a new journey and a torment maid.
Rias couldn't believe in her eyes.
The moments she opened her eyes, she found herself along with Akeno, Koneko, Sona and Tsubaki standing in a place she was too familiar with.
The grandhall of the Gremory Castle.
At the moment, the grandhall now was bustling with activities. Lords and Ladies of 34 remain Pillars that Rias recognized, including her parents Lord and Lady Gremory, along with their families member as well as their peerage were sitting at many tables in front of a stage. Then Rias noticed something else...
"Hey Sona, who are they? Ther are too many people I haven't met. And based on the number of the tables, there are much more than 34 Pillars are presenting here." asked Rias as she pointed at many people she didn't recognized but Sona could only shake her head
"I don't know, Rias. Wait, is that Beelzebub-sama?" said Sona as she pointed to the Blue Satan who was now sitting at a table near the stage along with a lazy looking Falbium Asmodeus, a thoughtful Underworld Civil War commander Roygun Belphegor and... a silent Serafall Leviathan?!
And the weird thing was while everyone around were enjoying the banquet and having fun, the Satan's table was very silent... No, TOO silent was more precise...
"Kaichou..." said Tsubaki hesitantly "... Is that really Leviathan-sama? Why is she so silent? Usually she would be more... energetic..."
Shaking her head, the Student Council's president said dryly
"I don't know, Tsubaki. But for some unknown reason, I have a bad feeling about this"
"How bad?" asked Rias as she tilted her head.
"I'm not sure" sighed Sona "But it feels like we're going to see something we shouldn't see or know."
Before Rias could say anything, the voice of lord Gremory resounded throughtout the grandhall, getting every devil's attention and made them turned to the stage where he and lady Gremory were standing on
"All my fellow devils! Please, may I have your attention?" After seeing that all the attention had turned to the stage, lord Gremory continued "Today I am very pleased and graceful that all of you can make it to our banquet. I believe that everyone is enjoying the banquet, yes?"
After getting a round of "Of course, Gremory-dono" with many approving nod, lord Gremory continued
"Today, one of the reasons I am holding this grand banquet is to clelebrate the victory of the our faction against the Old Faction 1 year ago. Even with many losses after the Great War with Heaven, we still won the War against the Old Faction and the most important thing are the 72 Pillars still remains and a new era is brought to the Underworld! Drink for the new Underworld!"
"For the new Underworld!" roared the devils in the grandhall as they raised their glasses up to the air. As the same time, Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Sona and Tsubaki were having a hard time to believe what they had just heard.
"...Buchou... What is the meaning of this?...Why did lord Gremory-sama say that 72 Pillars still remained? Wasn't 38 Pillars were extinct because of the Great War between Heaven and Underworld?" Said a shocked Akeno as she couldn't believe what lord Gremory had said. If what lord Gremory had said was true than... why? Why was the history she had read so different from what she had just heard?
Before Rias could come back to her senses after hearing what her father had said, lord Gremory continued
"BUT, the other and most important reason is to celebrate the marriage between our son, the hero of Underworld Civil War and one of the new Satans, the Crimson Satan Sirzechs Lucifer and his lovely Queen, the Queen of Annihilation, Grayfia Lucifuge!"
After lord Gremory finished, the grandhall immediately became silent as Sirzechs Lucifer in his usual Satan clothes that Rias had seen hundreds times walked to the stage with a big smile alongside with Grayfia who was clad in an elegant black satin wedding dress while having a small strain smile on her face. And then it hit her...
"Wait a sec. Rias, Grayfia-san isn't married to your brother, is she? Then why is this happen?" Rias's thought was said out loud by Sona, who was shocked at the turn of the event
"I... I... don't know..." said Rias as she was too stun to said anything but then she remembered "No, wait... my nii-sama said she was close-to-become his wife... so if what we have seen are true then... "
*BOOM!*
The grandhall's doors were totally destroyed by a thunderous explosion as a large screen of smoke and some small fire concealed the grandhall's entry. After a few seconds, a familiar voice started resounding the grandhall.
"There is no hate, only joy
For you are beloved by the Goddess
Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds
Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul
Pride is lost
Wings stripped away, the end is nigh"
At that moment, 2 very familiar man emerged from the smoke screen. The first one was a young man who had auburn hair as he was reading a book while the other one who had messy black hair was holding a rocket launcher on his shoulder. When the 2 men were completely seen, many cries were shouted from the devils and based on how the devils immediately became on guard, these 2 were the kind of people you didn't want to mess with
"Genesis Rhapsodos!"
"The supreme commander of Saido ( 済度/which means Salvation or Redemption) Kingdom's army!"
"The One Winged Fallen Angel!"
"Emiya Kiritsugu!"
"The right hand of Dark Kiva!"
"The Devil Killer!"
Chuckling amusingly, Genesis looked at how the devils in the grandhall reacted to his and Kiritsugu's presence as he spoke with an amusing yet arrogant voice
"My, oh my, no need to be hostile toward us like that!" said Genesis as he snapped the book close "Man, we really do have some reputation, don't we Kiritsugu?"
"It seems so" said Kiritsugu in an indifferent tone as he threw the useless rocket launcher to the ground."The only thing amused me that now I am called 'Devil Killer', not 'Magus Killer' anymore"
"Well, things changes as time flies by" shrugged Genesis "After all, I..."
Before the conversation between Genesis and Kiritsugu could go any further, lord Gremory stepped down from the stage and come near the duo with a friendly manner
"Genesis, Kiritsugu, are you coming here on the behalf of Otoya-kun? If you do then it's unnecessary to destroy the gate..."
Before lord Gremory could finish, Genesis's cyan blue eyes changed to crimson as he glared at Rias's father while emitting a very large amount of Killing Intent which made lord Gremory as well as everone else involuntarily took a step back as lord Gremory flinched.
"It's Rhapsodos and Emiya to you, old fart!" snarled Genesis venomously"And don't you dare to call our King 'Otoya-kun'! It's 'Dark Kiva' or 'Kurenai-sama' to you as you no longer have the right to call him by his name! For your question, no. We came here on our own free will, Kurenai-sama have nothing with this."
"Only you, Genesis" grumbled Kiritsugu as he lit a cigarette with a silver lighter, a gift from Otoya many years ago "The reason I came here mostly to make sure that you will come back in one piece"
"Yeah yeah, whatever."said Genesis in a boring tone "Anyway..."
Suddenly, the KI emitting from Genesis grew tenfold as the young man drew his long red sword on his waist. Even though Rias's group couldn't intervene with what was unfolding in front of their eyes, they could feel the KI and the pressure came from Genesis as well as the dread aura came from the sword.
"... the reason I come here today... Well, let's just say that my Rapier want to taste the blood of a certain silver hair harlot... Though I have no doubt that the taste will be far from acceptable..."
At that moment, another wave of KI coming from an enraged Sirzechs flooded the grandhall as red energy started covering The Crimson Satan's body.
"Don't you dare insult my Queen, arrogant fool! Grayfia-chan has her own feeling and her own choice! And she chose..."
"...AND THAT HARLOT CHOSE TO CHEAT ON MY KING!" roared Genesis in his own demonic voice as one again, the KI emitting from Genesis flaredup tenfold. If there had been any lesser devils hadn't fainted from seeing Sirzechs's power display, they would have now. Even Rias's group now was having a hard time breathing because of the pressure came from the man in red coat while Koneko was shaking like a leaf as she hid behind Akeno. Still, the 'cheating' part didn't escape Rias's as well as everyone's ears.
"...And you, Sirzechs Gremory, the so-call-best-friend of my King..." growled Genesis as some flame started flickering in his left hand "...Despite knowing that damn harlot was in a relationship with my King, you still jumped in and had an affair with her. 'Gremory Clan is known for being passionate toward their servants'?! What a pathetic reason to have an affair with your SUPPOSE best friend's girlfriend!"
The accusation seemed to hit Sirzechs hard as his head bowed down slightly whiles his hair shadowed his eyes which made his reaction became unreadable. At that moment, Rias's mother, lady Venelana Gremory, decided to step in in an attempt to defuse the tense situation as well as prevent a fight from breaking out. A Super Devil Sirzechs might be but with the Saido Kingdom's Supreme Commander as her son's opponent, not to mention The Devil Killer who was smoking in ignorance but she knew that Kiritsugu was still keeping attention on everything around him, the fight would be disastrous and there was no guarantee that her son would come out victory .
"Ge...No, Rhapsodos-dono, please calm down. Surely we can solve..."
However, before lady Gremory could finish, another huge wave of KI hit both her and lord Gremory hard and made them step back in fright but this time, the KI came from Kiritsugu, who just threw the remain of the cancer stick to the ground and put it out with his shoe.
"Calm down? Solve?" said Kiritsugu in an emotionless yet sharp voice "You said 'calm down' and 'solve'. Like how you 'solved' with Kurenai-sama?"
"Wha... what are... you ta... talking about... Ki... No, Emiya-dono?" stuttered lord Gremory as he fidgeted nervously under Kiritsugu's sharp gaze
"YOU KNOW DAMN TOO WELL WHAT KIRITSUGU IS TALKING ABOUT, OLD FART!" roared Genesis, his voice barely contained his anger "Don't you remember? When that son of the bitch decided to hold this damn marriage party 2 months ago, Kurenai-sama came here, in this DAMN grandhall ! And in front of you two, Kurenai-sama, a KING no less, KNEELED DOWN ON HIS KNEES to beg both of you to POSTPONE this damn marriage so that damn harlot could have more time to decide who she wanted to be with! But then... What did they say that time, Kiritsugu?"
" 'That is no need. We approve the marriage and give them our blessing. Stop overreacting and grow up, Otoya.' " quoted Kiritsugu venomously as his eyes held a piercing gaze "What a convenient way to 'solve' a 'nuisance', no?"
"Ye... Wait, NO! I mean..." squirmed lord Gremory but he was interupted by Genesis
"Save your breath, old fart" sneered Genesis as he pointed his Rapier at a pale Grayfia "... Come back to the reason I come here... You, Grayfia, the harlot who's responsible for all af this, now will pay for what you did, right here, right now! To think Kiritsugu's and my lieutenant, Kenzaki Kazuma and Kido Shinji sacrificed their lifes to save a harlot like you... Damn, talked about meaningless deaths..."
"Wait, Genesis! Calm down! There is no need to be hostile like that!" interjectedFalbium Asmodeus
"Please stop, G-tan! Kiri-tan, please do something!" pleaded Serafall. Even though she extremely hated the silver hair bitch standing on the stage and wanted nothing but her death for what that harlot had done to her 'Onii-tan', she knew if a fight broke out here, many devils would be caught in the crossfire and with all the remain of many Pillars in the grandhall, if Genesis and Kiritsugu went all out, she wouldn't be so sure if 72 Pillars would be the same or not.
"Shut up, you lazy ass of Satan!" growled Genesis "Despite knowing about this harlot's affair from the beginning, you kept it secret and didn't tell a SINGLE word to Kurenai-sama with the most pitiful excuse I have ever heard: 'I was too LAZY to tell' ! Don't you dare say anything about calm down to me, son of the bitch!"
"Since Kurenai-sama sees you like a younger sitter, I recommend you to step aside Sitri-sama" said Kiritsugu emotionlessly as he took out his 2 Calico M950 submarine gun "My purpose is to make sure that Genesis will come back in one piece. What he do is not my concern"
At that time, many devils seemed to snap out of their fear and surrounded both Genesis and Kiritsugu, every kind of weapon in their hands pointed at the duo as many high-class devils prepare for a fight.
"You two will do nothing!" said one of the devils.
"Drop your weapons or you will die" threatened another devil with a halbert in his hands.
While Kiritsugu's reaction was a raise of his eyebrow...
"Geeh... He... Ha... Haa Haa Ha Haa Ha Ha Ha Haaa!"
... Genesis's reaction was a hollow yet demonic laugh.
"My only warning. If any of you value your life, leave now because today I will go ALL OUT! Or else... Standing in my way and you won't have a chance to see tomorrow..."
Even though Genesis's threat did its work efficiently judging from the tense reaction of many devils, none of the devil retreated or backed off which was understandable to Rias's group. Most of the devil surrounding the duo were peerages's members so their responsibility was protecting their King while with the high-class devils, their pride refused to let them back off, especially when Kiritsugu and Genesis were outnumbered with the odds 2 against hundreds.
"So you have made your choice..." said Genesis ominously "...Well then..."
With a swift movement of Genesis's left arm, a large black bird wing was unfurled from his left shoulder which earned many many gasps from the devils as well as from Rias's group
"... A Fallen Angel's Wing..." muttered Akeno as she was so shocked. To think the alias 'One Winged Falllen Angel' was literally true...
"Don't take them lightly, Genesis" said an indifferent Kiritsugu as he ready his guns "And spare anyone can be spared"
"The first part... Noted... The second part... No promise..." smirked Genesis as he pointed his Rapier at the devils in front of him.
"And now... LET'S GET THIS DAMN PARTY STARTED! "
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The moment Wataru opened his eyes, what he saw was something he had been too familiar with for 5 years.
An endless grass field bathed in the sunset light with many swords anchored in the ground like grave markers.
The field of swords. His mindscape. His inner world.
Every sword, every weapon he had ever seen and in his possesion was recorded and preserved in here. In spite of having the real 'things' at his beck and call thanks to a certain arrogant goldie sensei, he still prefered to use the tracing version even though they weren't as strong as the real things.
'Things change as time flies by' thought Wataru as he chuckled inwardly. The first time he had come here when he had been 4, it had just been a large dirty sewer with a large cage. With some effort, the sewer had been changed into a grass field with a blooming sakura tree. And now, the sakura tree was replaced by his weapons...
"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess
We seek it thus, and take it to the sky
Ripples form on the water surface
The wandering soul know no rest..."
... and a certain annoying blond.
Walking in a calm manner to the source of the voice, Wataru saw the same young man appearing in the dream of Rias's group, sitting comfortably on a sofa as he was reading the same book G-nii-san had always carried with him.
"LOVELESS, Act I" said Wataru in boring tone
Smirking amusingly, the blond man snapped the book close and stood up from the sofa as the sofa disintegrated into the air.
"You still remember,huh... Naruto" said the blond ominously
"How can I not when it was... beaten into my head, fishcake" smirked Wataru as he tapped his temple with his forefinger.
"How many time did I tell you, stop calling me 'fishcake', you sword maniac. My name is Sukouru (スコール/which means squall or storm), not 'fishcake' " growled Sukouru
"Said the one who just called me by my... No, OUR old name" mused Wataru "If you can't call me by my new name, there is no reason for me not to call you 'fishcake'. And try not to insult me too much since you will also insult yourself. After all, you and I are 2 sides of the same coin once named Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto or in other words, Thou art I... And I am thou... "
"Ok, ok, I know and stop using old English like Kaa-san." shuddered Sukouru as he put his book away. "Everytime I heard that it still gives me a creep."
Letting out a mocked laugh, Wataru said "Wow, my inner self doesn't like hearing old English, that's really a surprise. Well, joke aside. Why did you pull me in here? If you want to complain about not pushing Rias and Sona for more information then I will take my leave"
"Wow, refer to that Gremory by her first name?" sneered Sukouru "I thought you hate the Gremory?"
"Yes, but only who had a hand in breaking our tou-san's heart" growled Wataru "The son of the bitch Sirzechs, the 'strongest queen' harlot Grayfia, the so-called honorable 'lord' and 'lady' Gremory..."
"... Don't forget about the lazy ass of Satan Falbium Asmodeus" interupted Sukouru " If I ever meet him, I will let him have a taste of Enum..."
"Ok, stop rambling and tell me why you pulled me into the mindscape" Snorted Wataru "I doubt you would just pull me in here just to hear you rambling"
Chuckling merrily, Sukouru said as a psychotic smile appeared on his face
"Ah yes, the reason I pulled you into here... Well, let's have a dance, Naruto!"
*CLANK*
Suddenly, in a burst of speed, Sukouru dashed toward Wataru, Arondight in his hands, as he swung the sword downward but was intercepted by Wataru's Galatine. With a quick movement, Sukouru thrusted Arondight forward forcing Wataru jumped back to dodge. Sukouru continously pressed on the assault, not giving Wataru any chance to recover or counter-attack and with Arondight's ability to enhance all the stats of the wielder, it seemed Wataru was having some hard time to stand his ground. Suddenly, a dagger appeared in Wataru's hand and he threw it at Sukouru's left armpit. As Sukouru deflected the projectile, Wataru reinforced his arms's muscle and he knocked Sukouru back with the flat side of Galatine. Immediately, Wataru's mind was flooded with many weapons's images.
Trace on.
A red spear gradually appeared in Wataru's right hand as he dismissed Galatine. The cursed spear of the great Irish hero Cú Chulainn. Its title was The Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death.
Backing about a hundred meters from Sukouru, Wataru took a crouching position on all fours and accelerating through an approach run by dashing forward before he took to the skies. Arching his back, Wataru pumped as much prana as he could into the spear and hurled the red spear toward Sukouru with all his might while as the same time, Sukouru raised his left palm
"Gae Bolg!"
"Rho Aias!"
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Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Sona and Tsubaki couldn't believe in their eyes.
In front of their eyes, the wedding party in grandhall of the Gremory castle had been turned into a bloodbath... No, a massacre... No, a slaughter... No, a bloodshed... No, all those words combined couldn't describe what they saw.
Hundreds of devils's corpses laying around the grandhall as the grandhall's floor was covered in blood while many devils were slowly dying on the floor along with what could be seen as the remnants of many dead devils: hands, arms, legs, bodies, heads... The sight was so... so... Rias couldn't even form any words as all of them had died out before they could escaped her throat.
Rias, Sona and everyone else understood the meaning of killing. Hell, both Rias and Sona had killed quite a number of devils. But still, all of them are Stray Devils and killing them was a mercy, to themselves and to human. But this... the way they were killed was... too brutal... Rias doubted even the craziest exorcist could be brutal like this...
Only some devils, all of them are women and young children, were spared and more than half of them were spared by the Devil Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu.
Emiya Kiritsugu the Devil Killer and Genesis Rhapsodos the One Winged Fallen Angel. The ones who created this massacre.
Two individuals. Against hundreds of devils. And now Rias and everyone else could understand why they were so feared by the devils. They wove through devils after devils and stroke with precise. Each strikre always aimed for the kill or fully incapacitated the target with very fatal blows, making the target die a slow and painful death. Not to mention their fighting style worked perfectly with each other: Genesis's superior yet elegant swordmanship and his destructive fire-type magic were perfectly in sync with Kiritsugu's surprising advanced weapons, incredible reflex as well as cold and ruthless yet unpredictable fighting style. Why it couldn't be called perfect since both Genesis and Kiritsugu had received some minor injuries but with how they completely dominated the battle, not to mention the fact that they were singing why cutting down devils like trash as if this massacre was nothing but merely childplay to them was terrifying.
"Koushite bokura mata hashaide iru/And thus, we're losing ourselves in excitement once again
Tokyo~Osaka-kan mo suttobashite/The distance between Tokyo and Osaka is nothing to us"
Okita Souji, the strongest Knight of the Underworld along with Surtr Second, the ultimate Rook and Beowulf were panting exhaustingly. All three of them had many seriously injuries on their body as their blood dyed their clothes dark red while Genesis seemed to be far from weary with only some small cuts here and there.
"Oh, come on! Stand up! Are these all you three, the strongest Knight, the Ultimate Rook and one of the strongest Pawns, can do?" said Genesis after he had sung his part of the song he was singing with Kiritsugu "Pathetic"
Letting out an angry roar, Beowulf dashed toward Genesis. With Beowulf, his dislike toward enemies who didn't take him seriously was very well-known. The thought of not being taken seriously by his enemy angered the descendant of the hero Beowulf. He would make this arrogant One Winged Fallen Angel regret not taking him seriously!
*SLASH*
Before Beowulf could take in what had happened, spurts of blood gushed out from his chest as he dropped to the floor on his knees. With a roundhouse kick, Genesis easily knocked Beowulf unconscious while Beowulf's blood was dripping from his Rapier.
"Pathetic" sneered Genesis "And you two, stand up! My patience is very thin now!"
Shakingly standing up, Okita and Surtr charged at the smirking Genesis. With a swift movement of his left hand on the flat side of his Rapier, he channeled his magic into it and endowed it with a red aura and caused runic symbols to appear along its length. Crouching on his legs, Genesis dashed toward the charging opponents with a crazed grin on his face
"Koko ja mirenai keshiki wo misete yo/Show me a scenery that I can't see from here
Ano hi no you na KIREI na shashin/A beautiful photo, like the one from that day"
With many incredible rolls, flips and jumps, Kiritsugu wove through waves after waves of flame, ice, whirlwinds, lightnings and many types of magic attack coming from a heavily injured strongest Bishop, MacGregor Mathers, who was trying his best to heal a bloody Enku as Rias's former caretaker lied in a pool of his own blood. If it wasn't for the rising of Enku's chest, Rias would cry out loud thinking he had been dead.
*BANG*
Kiritsugu's Thompson Contender open fired as its bullet penetrated MacGregor's barrier and hit his right chest, making him cry out in pain. If the Bishop's instinct hadn't worked, the bullet would have hit his heart.
Coughing up blood, MacGregor tried to stand up but Kiritsugu fired a magazine of silver bullet at MacGregor's legs with his submachine gun Calico M950, forcing him fall to the floor. Taking out 2 silver crosses, Kiritsugu impaled the crosses at the Bishop's hands and rendered him immobile.
"Kimi wa itsu no koibito? /In which previous life were you my lover?
Sode fureau mo tashou no en/It must be a bond from before that caused our sleeves to brush against each other"
Twitching his body in an unbelievable angle while in mid air, Genesis dodged Surtr's flame punch as he slammed his left elbow into the Rook's gut, knocking the wind out of him. Okita tried to thrust his katana forward in order to impale Genesis but he soon regreted his decision as Genesis grasped Surtr's left arm and pushed him toward Okita, using the Ultimate Rook as a meat shield and the katana sank into the Rook's stomach, much to Okita's horrow. Before he could recover, Genesis swung his Rapier downward, creating a deep large gash on Okita's chest and breaking Okita's katana. Reinforcing his legs with magic, Genesis kicked both the Knight and the Rook to the ground with a heel drop kick. As both Sirzechs's servants touched the ground, feathers were shot out from Genesis's wing and impaled both Okita and Surtr to the floor. Landing next to an indifferent Kiritsugu, Genesis smirked
"So... how many clans will be extincted after our wedding crash?"
"Hm... if my estimate is right... I would say about... half of the 72 Pillars... maybe more..." said Kiritsugu in a cold tone that sent chills to Rias's spine.
Suddenly, Genesis tilted his head to the right as he narrowly dodged the dark red energy ball came from a very, very enraged Sirzechs
"... First you came here... And you wrecked my wedding party... And you killed so many devils as well as badly injured my servants and my peerage's members... ON THE NAME ON SIRZECHS GREMORY, I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!" roared Sirzechs as his energy literally started covering his entire body as it made the already heavy air become heavier and heavier.
"Said the one who spent the last 5 minutes watching the fight instead of helping" sneered Genesis venomously.
"Sirzechs! Please, stop! Don't use it!" pleaded Grayfia but it was too late.
"HUMAN-SHAPED AURA OF DESTRUCTION!"
Sirzechs's body started converting into the energy of Power of Destruction as the castle started shaking violently because of the tremendous power. Now at Sirzechs's place was a crimson humanoid figure of the Power of Destruction. Letting out a monsterous roar, Sirzechs rushed at Genesis and Kiritsugu but before he could reach them, something happened.
(*Play music: Roots of the King_Tetra-Fang*)
A dark red magic circle with a bat-liked symbol in the middle appeared on the grond in front of Genesis and Kiritsugu as a humanoid figure emerged from the circle. The firgure was clad in a bodysuit armor with black chestplate, dark crimson gaunlets and shoulder guards as well as crimson iron boot with silver outline on them. His helmet had blue bat-liked visor with a small bat wing on each side of the helmet, a bat head on the forehead and finally, a silver mouthguard with four silver fangs on it. In his right hand was a sword with four-wings-bat-liked crossguard.
With a horizontal swing, Sirzechs was knocked aside and slammed through the grandhall's wall by the sword in the newcomer's hand. Immediately, both Genesis and Kiritsugu kneeled down on their right knees as their right fist was put on their heart.
"Kurenai-sama" they said in unison while at the same time, the remaining devils were shaking like a leaf because of the presence of the newcomer as many cries were hear from the background as well as from Grayfia whose tears started falling which made Rias's, Akeno's, Koneko's, Sona's and Tsubaki's eyes widened.
"Kurenai Otoya!"
"The Dark Kiva!"
"The heir of Saga!"
"The King of Saido Kingdom!"
"...Ototya-kun..."
Ignoring all the surrounding, Otoya turned his head to Kiritsugu and Genesis and said in an emotionless yet cold tone that sent chills to everyone's spine.
"What did I tell you about not involving in anything relate to them? She had made her decision."
"... It's all my fault, Kurenai-sama... Kiritsugu has no responsibility in this..." Genesis bowed his head "... I did this so I can get revenge on the ha... I mean Grayfia... I will take any punishment for what I did..."
After a few moments of silence, Otoya said "... Very well... We will talk about this later... But now..."
*ROAR*
Suddenly, Sirzechs dashed through the hole on the wall that he had created earlier but one again, Sirzechs was mercilessly knocked aside by Otoya's sword. Growling, Sirzechs's aura started spreading and destroying everything in its range.
"Sirzechs... Even until now, you still don't understand the difference between 'power' and 'strength', do you?" said Otoya as he dismissed his sword and raised his left hand "...It seems I have to end this quick... Come forth, Crissaegrim!"
A beautiful sword with black handle and black scabbard appeared on Otoya's left hand with a burst of black flame. Drawing the sword from the scabbard, Otoya dashed forward, easily dodged the blasts Sirzechs sent in Otoya's way and thrusted the point of the sword into Sirzechs's gut.
"Sirzechs!/Onii-sama!" cried lord and lady Gremory as well as Rias
"Arrhhh!" howled Sirzechs in agony as his body twitching violently while at the same time, the aura started to subdue and Sirzechs eventually changing and when it was back to normal, Sirzechs stopped twitching and fell to the ground. For the first time in Rias's life as well as other members of her group, they saw the most unbelievable sight to the point that imagining it would be harder than living in peace with Fallen Angel and Angel.
Sirzechs Lucifer, the Crimson Satan, one of the Super Devils of the Underworld and one of the top 10 strongest being in the world, was scrambling out of an unreadable Otoya's attack range while in his eyes, there were only two thing: fear and terror.
"How do you like the feeling of being powerless?" said Otoya coldly as he dismissed Crissaegrim away "Since your Power of Destruction has been sealed away for a while, what can you do now to 'make you pay' now? "
As Sirzechs was shakily standing up, Otoya suddenly appeared in front of him and punched Sizechs hard in his chest and slammed him into a wall which created a bat-liked insignia on the wall.
"Nothing" said Otoya coldly "After all, how can you do it now when you don't have the 'strength' to do it?"
(*End music*)
Suddenly, before Rias's parents could came to Sirzechs's aid, a sphere of light appeared in the middle of the grandhall and from it, a very stunning beautiful woman that would easily put the Archangel Gabriel's beauty to shame stepped out. She was quite tall, about one or two inches taller than Otoya and she had an impossible feminine and beautiful face with golden blond hair and light cyan green eyes. She was clad in a golden and white armor dress and 2 golden circulars on her shoulders with a large white veil on each of them. In her left hand was a large white shield while in her right hand was a beautiful silver scepter. The moment she appeared, Genesis quickly kneeled on his right knee while Kiritsugu gave her a ninety degree bow.
"Minerva-sama" said both Genesis and Kiritsugu in unision
"Long time no see, Genesis, Kiritsugu" said Minerva simply as Otoya's armor turned into quicksilver and shattered, revealed a stoic Otoya in his usual suit with the exception of a grey vest and a blue stripe shirt.
"My, what honors do I have to be in the present of the Goddess of the Lifestream?" said a stoic Otoya with a dry humorless chuckle.
"I come here to tell you that the preparation is complete." Said Minerva in a beautiful yet serious voice "Still, the amount of power and strength you offered me, 99%, is not enough..."
"Then please take ours, Mirneva-sama!" said Genesis and Kiritsugu in unison
Before Otoya could protest, Genesis stood up and turned to his King
"Kurenai-sama, one hundred years ago, I swore that I would go with you till the end of the journey and I have no intention to throw it away. After all, how can I leave you when I haven't known what is your 'Gift of the Goddess' ?"
"Kurenai-sama, you're the first one I have pledged my loyalty to." continued Kiritsugu solemnly "You gave me a chance to fight again, to save people again. While you couldn't give me a chance to become an Ally of Justice but what you gave me were more than I could repay. You have borne so many burdens on your shoulders since the beginning so please, at least let us bear it with you"
Giving a nod of approval, Minerva said
"Very well, I will take 99% of both your power and strength. That should be enough to make sure that the Bounded Field will never be broken down by any kinds of force or even by the True Magics." Said Minerva "Now the only things need to be done is a formal announcement and the price for my help"
Without any other words, the sword with four-wings-bet-liked cross-guard one again, appeared in Otoya's right hand. Slamming the tip of the sword into the floor which made the castle shook violently, Otoya said in a loud demonic voice which echoed throughout the Underworld
"IN THE PRESENT OF MINERVA THE GODDESS OF THE LIFESTREAM AND ZANVAT THE DEMON IMPERIAL SWORD, I, KURENAI OTOYA THE DARK KIVA, SOLEMNLY ANNOUNCE THAT FROM NOW ON, THE SAIDO KINGDOM'S ENTRANCE WILL BE SEALED AWAY AS SAIDO KINGDOM WILL NO LONGER HAVE ANY BUSSINESS WITH THE UNDERWORLD NOR HEAVEN SO IF ANYONE WANT TO LEAVE MY KINGDOM, YOU WILL HAVE 2 DAYS TO LEAVE. AND FROM NOW ON, I, KURENAI OTOYA, IS NO LONGER THE KING OF SAIDO KINGDOM AND THE KINGDOM'S FATE WILL BE DECIDED BY ITS OWN PEOPLE! ANYONE WHO DARES GO AGAINST ITS PEOPLE'S WILL SHALL WANDER IN THE DEPTH OF HELL FOR ETERNITY, SO MOTE IT BE!"
With another slam with the tip of Zanvat, a huge wave of raw power spread out and shook the Underworld to its core. Ignoring the shock of the surrounding devil, Otoya turned to Minerva who had just opened a portal right after he finished his announcement
"It's done. I hope the kingdom will be protected from any threats as you said" said Otoya solemnly
"I can guarantee that so no worry, Otoya" nodded Minerva "Before you, Genesis and Kiritsugu begin your new journey, it's time for the price for my help."
"Name it" said Otoya curtly
Taking in a deep breath, the seriousness in Minerva's voice was replaced by a small hint of shyness as the Goddess blushed lightly which gave Otoya, Genesis and Kiritsugu a very, very hard time to believe what they were seeing
"I... I want your heir's hand in marriage..."
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"Achoo!" sneezed a battered Wataru and a battered Sukouru simultaneously.
Backing away from his opponent, Sukouru taunted as a large axe-sword carved from rock appeared in his left hand
"Wha... what the... ma... matter...Naruto...? Catc... hing a cold?"
"As i... if, fishcake!" said Wataru, Monohoshi Zao appeared in his hands as he shuddered "Just... a feeling... that something... our Tou-san had do...ne in the past... would cau... cause some tro... troubles for us... Anyway, let's ... fin... finish this..."
"Wit... with pleasure...!" said Sukouru as Wataru and Sukouru rushed to each other
"Hiken: Tsubame Gaeshi!"
"Nine Lives Blade Works!"
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"... Eh... Come again?... I think I misheard you..." was the most intelligent reply Otoya could come up with
"... I said I wanted your heir's hand in marriage..." repeated Minerva as she continued to blushed lightly while Genesis and Kiritsugu couldn't believe in their eyes as well as their ears. Right here, the one who had given them the Gift of Goddess as well as a second chance, wanted to have their King's heir's hand in marriage before his King could even find a wife, which Genesis and Kiritsugu doubted would be possible after what that har... Grayfia had done to their King...
"I accept..." nodded Otoya which completely caught Genesis and Kiritsugu off guard as their jaws dropped to the ground "... BUT only IF I have an heir... and if my heir is female... well, tough luck"
Letting out a smile as she stepped aside from the portal, Minerva said in her usual beautiful yet serious tone
"You don't have to worry about those thing, Otoya. And I'm sure that you will have an heir that may even surpass both you and Saga. And I will inform you about your people's decision..."
"... They're not my people... Not anymore..." said Otoya sadly "... Forget about it... Genesis, Kiritsugu, are you sure you want to go with me?"
Smirking arrogantly , Genesis gave Otoya a salute with his right forefinger and middle finger while Kiritsugu gave Otoya small no before both of them walked into the portal
"See you at the the other side, Kurenai-sama!" yelled Genesis
Chuckling dryly, Otoya summoned Crissaegrim and offered both Crissaegrim and Zanvat to the Lifestream's Goddess
"Please give these swords to the kingdom's people, Minerva" said Otoya somberly "I no longer have the right to use them now, not to mention I no longer have the 'strength' the wield these 'powers' now."
Shaking her head, Minerva took the Crissaegrim and gave the Zanvat back to Otoya
"I will keep Crissaegrim and you will keep Zanvat, Otoya. You may not have the 'strength' to wield it, but your heir will need it, Otoya." said the Goddess as she pointed to the portal "The portal will be closed soon, Otoya. I recommend you to go now."
Sighing sadly, Otoya gave Minerva a sad smile as he stood in front of the portal
"Minerva... thank you for what you did for me... And please... give my apology to my former's people and Saga-sama if you meet him in the Lifestream... for being such a pathetic King... "
"You are not pathetic, Otoya but I will give your apology as you ask. May you find your salvation in your journey, Kurenai Otoya the Dark Kiva. You have my blessing" said Minerva as she put the tip of her scepter on Otoya's forehead gently before she withdrew the scepter and disapppeared in a burst of light.
"Wait! Please don't go Otoya-kun!" pleaded Grayfia as she ran toward Otoya after snapping out of her shock but then much to her horrow, an invisible barrier stopped her from getting near 'her' Otoya. With his back facing her, Otoya said in an emotionless voice
"I don't blame you for what you had done, Grayfia. I hope you will be happy with whatever choice you made"
With that, Otoya stepped in the portal and the portal closed immediately, leaving behind a heartbroken Grayfia as she fell on her knees and cried in her hands.
And then everything around Rias's group became black.
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In a small room of Gremory castle, Grayfia Lucifuge woke up from her dream as tears were flowing freely from her eyes.
200 years. 200 bloody years.
For 200 hundred years, there had been no single night that she could sleep without being haunted by the memory of THAT day.
On the the outside, she was calm, collective, cold and determined. But when she came back to her room, where she put various private spells and a lot of silence charms, her mask dropped and the usual calm Grayfia was replaced by a vulnerable silver hair woman who was on the verge of breaking down as tears started falling when the memory came back.
Even when HE had said HE hadn't blamed her, she couldn't forgive herself for what she had done.
Everything had been her fault from the beginning.
If she hadn't hesitated to stop Sirzechs at that heated and passionate moment, everything would have been different...
If she hadn't hesitated to tell Otoya the truth, everything would have been different...
If she hadn't hesitated to come to Otoya's rendezvous instead of having dinner with Sirzechs and his family, everything would have been different...
If she hadn't hesitated to decide who she wanted to be with, everything would have been different...
If she hadn't hesitated to agree to Otoya's begging to postpone the wedding, everything would have been different...
That fateful day, the day had been supposed to be her happiest day, but she hadn't known why she had felt so hollow... so empty... Even she could easily tell that the smile she had plastered on her face that day had been oviously strain and empty in other devils's eyes...
Even with Sirzechs's attempts to cover her fault by fixing the history, tellling that the Great War between Heaven and Underworld was the main reason why 38 Pillars were extincted. Even when she had a feeling that the remain Pillars agreed to do it mostly because they didn't want the younger generations to know about what could be seen as the most shameful defeat as well as some of them wanted her to be free from her guilty feeling, that could never change one simple fact,
Her hesitation was the reason why 38 of 72 Pillars were extincted.
And when she could overcome her hesitation, it had already been too late...
There was a saying that people could only realize how precious their things were when they lost them. And it seemed it was also true to devils, namely Grayfia.
It had been until Otoya standing in front of the portal that Grayfia had finally known who she had wanted to be with... It had been Otoya, not Sirzechs
But it had been too late...
And now what remained was a cold yet vulnerable heart...
Despite many attempt coming from Sirzechs to comfort her and persuade her to marry him, she couldn't take it...
Could she deserve to feel love again after what she had done?
Could she find her own salvation after what she had done?
Could she have her own redemption after what she had done?
She didn't know...
But there was one thing she knew for sure...
If there were a chance for her to have her own salvation and her redemption or even a chance to make up for what she had done, she would grasp it with any cost.
Even if she would have to become a Stray Devil for the rest of her life, she would gladly accept.
Even if she would have to become someone's slave for eternity, she would gladly accept it.
Even if she would have to kill all the Angels and Fallen Angels in the world, she would gladly accept it.
She would never let her hesitation stop her one more time.
(Chapter end)
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Can anyone guess what song did Genesis and Kiritsugu sung? And if anyone of you don't like how I potrayed Otoya's, Genesis's and Kiritsugu's abilities or if they are too out of character, well then, tough luck. This is fanfic where anything could happen, not canon.
