I'm back! Hard to believe it's already been half a year since I updated this. National Service really does take up a lot of my time. The best I can do right now is 1 chapter for 1 story a month, so expect that to be the norm for a good long while.

This chapter is where things really diverge from canon. I hope. It really depends on how long this chapter goes. If worse comes to worst, I'll have to split the chapter in two parts, and I won't work on the second part until the next update cycle.

By the way, the majority voted for Issei to have Senjutsu, so yes, he does. Doesn't mean he's automatically good at it though. *Troll Face*

Jose19 & Jamez-08: I understand. One of the key highlights of High School DxD is its harem, and since that aspect has been removed from this story, it probably doesn't seem much like DxD anymore. But please understand the reason behind this. With Issei's current personality, I just don't see him willingly taking on a harem. He's more of a 1 girl kind of guy. Girls will fall for him, many of them in fact, but he won't reciprocate their feelings, at least not in the direction that I'm taking this story. Anyway, thank you for giving this story a try, and I hope you will find other stories that suit your tastes.

Zikarn Krais: Of course. That was my intention from the beginning. Issei is already too powerful for most opponents to fight him. Giving him complete Senjutsu would make him just a bit too perfect.

The DarkEnd Dragon: Interesting idea, but not possible, since that means Ophis will have to take on a supporting role instead. Not what I had in mind for her.

Dp11: He doesn't need a Sharingan to use its techniques. This isn't Narutoverse after all. (Hint hint)

Karlos1234ify: Goofball? Does he really come off that way? That's not what I was going for though…

Andre 'Vortex' Prower: Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi and Yata-no-Kagami are currently in the possession of his parents, so he won't get those. He doesn't need the former anyway. He already has Futsu-no-Mitama, which, while not as famous or powerful, is still a very formidable weapon. I guess that means Issei will get the Yasakani-no-Magatama, if I decide to give it to him.

Rlot: Issei and Vali are indeed at about the same level. Well, Issei might be just a bit stronger. Unfortunately, it has been voted that Issei will get Senjutsu, but don't worry, I don't intend to make it easy.

sinclair: Sorry, but I don't write lemons. I already have trouble illustrating most parts of the story and you want me to write a steamy love scene? Yeah, I don't think so. That could only end terribly. Ophis steps up to the plate soon. And no, the battle at the conference will not be against Loki and Fenrir, not even close.

Kinunatzs: Yeah, I'm confused about that. One minute they're saying Ophis and Great Red are equal and the next they say Great Red is stronger.

the DragonBard: Gods have infinite lifespan, but they are fueled by faith, which is why a lot of pantheons have faded. Only Gods persevered by religion like Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Shintoism, those so famous that they are still well known around the world despite having few followers left, such as the Greco-Roman Gods, the Norse Gods and the Egyptian Gods, or those whose domains have become so powerful and widespread that they still exist, can maintain their presence in the world. Dragons, or at least most of them, are not immortal, the exceptions being the Divine Dragons, the Heavenly Dragons, or Dragons who are also Gods, like Apophis and Tiamat. Issei does indeed come across as arrogant because he has never lost an actual fight since the day he first discovered the supernatural world. He will be humbled soon though.

Kadzooks: Did I? I vaguely recall referencing to Campione in one or two of my other fics, but I don't seem to recall any in this one. Would you mind telling me what that is?

ahsoei: I'm aware that my chapters are a bit fast-paced. It's because I want to hurry and get to the main plot, which starts in this chapter, incidentally. I'm also aware that one of my numerous glaring weaknesses in my writing is character development. I'm working to improve this, but it's a work in progress, so don't expect any giant leaps.

By the way, there is a lot of reference to Yin-Yang in this chapter, but I honestly do not know much about them other than what was in Naruto, namely that Yin had to do with the mental, spiritual aspect and Yang had to do with the physical aspect of things, but that honestly just doesn't make sense to me, which is why I'm using my own, probably horrendously erroneous, interpretation. If someone could properly explain this to me, that would be great.

One more thing, to a certain reader, who I will not name here, who keeps bombarding me with reviews, guest reviews under a different name and PMs asking for details on the story, knock it off. You know who you are. You are a reader, same as everybody else who enjoys this story. Exactly what makes you so special that you are entitled to additional pieces of information that no one else knows? Stop it, or I will report you.

On with the story!

Issei frowned as he and Ophis neared his home after school. It appeared that once again, there was someone loitering outside the gates to his estate. At least it was someone he knew this time, even if it was only in passing.

As the two reached the gate, they were greeted by the sight of a middle-aged man with purple eyes, black hair and a blonde fringe, along with a goatee, dressed in a grey striped kimono, loitering outside the gate. He perked up when he caught sight of them.

"Yo, Sekiryuutei, Ouroboros Dragon, it's been a while."

"Azazel, if that's how you're going to address us, I'd rather you call us by name." Issei said with a sigh to the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels.

They had first met around the first time Issei and the Hakuryuukou had three years ago. The latter two had coincidentally met on the outskirts of Kyoto, and upon realizing who the other was, they immediately donned their Scale Mail and began the fated battle between the eternal rivals. While they had managed to gauge that the other's strength was on the same level as their own, the battle itself was interrupted by the arrival and intervention of Azazel and Susanoo. Though the battle was unresolved, the two swore to fight again, and at that time, no one would interfere.

The Grigori treaded carefully around Japan after that, not willing to risk the wrath of the Shinto Gods, the Sekiryuutei and the Ouroboros Dragon. Which was why Issei had been surprised when that quartet of Fallen Angels from a month ago had run amok in the town.

"So, what are you doing here? I would imagine that the leader of the Fallen Angels would be busy with preparations for the upcoming conference."

"Eh, I left the hammering out of the details to Shemhaza. I'm not good with administrative stuff like that anyway, so it's safer this way."

"How on earth has the Grigori managed to survive this long with someone like you at its helm?"

"Bwahaha! It's not like I'm the only leader around, you know. Anyway, I'm here to talk. Mind if I come in?"

"I don't mind, but I'm grudgingly playing host to the little sister of the current Lucifer. She may not take as kindly to your presence. She's still at school at the moment, but she'll be back eventually, so whatever you came to say, you'd better say it fast. She's quite the territorial spitfire." Issei said as he pushed the gates open and invited Azazel in.

"Whoa, this is quite the estate. Japanese style is the best after all!" Azazel said with a look of admiration directed towards Issei's home.

"Of course. Giant western style mansions don't feel anywhere near as cozy as a good old fashioned Japanese style home." Issei said proudly while inwardly sneering at the thought of those giant western mansions that were far too big and empty to ever be properly called a home.

"Hahaha! That's for sure. Hey, you got a hot spring somewhere in here? I'd like to try it out if there is."

"Sure, but that'll have to wait until after dinner. Ophis doesn't like it when her food is delayed."

"Sounds good. A Japanese style dinner along with a hot spring in a Japanese style home, it's like I'm staying at an inn." Azazel mused as he slipped off his sandals and placed them neatly at the entryway.

"In that case, maybe I should charge you." Issei snarked as he did the same as Azazel, followed closely by Ophis.

"If the food's good, I don't mind paying."

"Then prepare to dish out a fortune."

Thirty minutes later, the three of them were seated around the dining table, Ophis already digging in while Issei and Azazel were still picking out the portions of their meal. As always, Issei already sent Asia's and Rias's shares to them via the talisman.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Issei asked as he polished off his bowl.

Azazel was halfway through his second bowl of rice when he set it down and started speaking.

"Well, first of all, I'm here to report that Kokabiel's punishment had been decided by me and the other leaders. For trying to start a second Great War, he has been frozen for all of eternity in Cocytus."

"The River of Lamentation that freezes everything that comes in contact with it, huh? I suppose that's a fitting punishment for that warmonger."

"I agree. Anyway, I'm also here to thank you. For putting a stop to my idiot subordinates."

"Which ones? Kokabiel and his entourage, or the quartet of idiots?"

"All of them. I guess it's partially my fault. Though it was clear that nothing had been resolved, I called a ceasefire and put an end to our battles against Heaven and the Devils. I should have known that there would be those who would be unsatisfied with such a result and would try to continue the conflict on their own. It's my fault that another Great War almost broke out, and right here on Shinto territory too." Azazel said with a tired expression on his face.

"It's hardly your fault. You stood by your subordinates and made the best decision for them, even if it was one that not all of them could agree with. It was they who did not stand by you. If they cannot stand the peace of the current world, it simply means they had no place in this era." Issei said as he scooped himself his second bowl.

"I guess. Well, the last thing I want to talk about is the conference. I heard from the Devils that the Shinto Faction will be participating as well?"

"Yeah, since we're the only ones outside of the Three Factions who were made aware of the Biblical God's death, and since I played a role in stopping Kokabiel."

"Hmph, 'played a role', huh? Aren't you kind of underplaying your importance in that conflict? If it hadn't been for you, Rias Gremory, Sona Sitri, their peerages and the two exorcists from the Church would have been killed by him, and Japan would have turned into a battlefield for what would possibly have been the bloodiest conflict in history yet."

"And despite all of the possible consequences, we still achieved the best possible outcome. It's in the past now, there's no need to keep mulling over it. What's important right now is the present and the future."

"Yeah. I suppose I should thank Kokabiel too. Thanks to his actions, the leaders of the Three Factions finally have an excuse to sit down and talk to each other about where we go from here."

"Why don't you try saying that to his face? I imagine he'll make a hilarious expression when he hears that." Issei said with a smirk on his face.

"Hahahaha, he probably would! Well then, I'm done with my meal. Now how about that hot spring?"

"You sure? You did just eat, you know?"

"Don't worry about me. Fallen Angels are a lot more resilient than humans are. A little indigestion won't kill me."

"If you say so. The hot springs are behind the main building. Use the rightmost one. The middle one is for mine and Ophis's personal use, and the one on the left was commandeered by Rias Gremory, and she has a weird sixth sense about who's been using it without her knowledge." Issei said, point his thumb over his shoulder behind him.

"Got it. Well then, I'll see you later!" Azazel said cheerfully as he marched towards the hot springs, whistling a jaunty tune as he did.

Issei shook his head as he cleared the dishes. Were all of the leaders of the Three Factions that quirky?

It had been almost 3 hours before Azazel left, mostly because he took his time in the hot springs. Thankfully, he left before Rias came home. Though his estate was Shinto territory and thus technically a neutral zone between Devils and Fallen Angels, he doubted she would be happy to learn that the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels was in this town that she arrogantly considered her territory. The Devils had yet to cause major problems that would affect Japan as a whole, which was why the Shinto Faction allowed them to continue under this little delusion of theirs. Well, that might change with the upcoming conference though.

After Azazel left, Issei was left to ponder on two things while Ophis gorged herself on late night snacks. The first was of course, the big briefcase full of money he was staring at. Azazel had given it to him, payment for services rendered or something along those lines. It was hardly anything compared to the wealth of the Shinto Faction, but it was certainly more than any amount Issei had ever personally handled. There was more money in there than had gone into building this estate.

Issei wasn't quite sure what to do with it. He could of course, just do the obvious and add it to the fortune of the Shinto Faction, but it was technically his own money. Oh, the things he could do with this money. He certainly had access to the seemingly limitless fortune of the Shinto Faction, but he had a limit as to how much he could take at a time. The number was higher than what most salarymen would make in a year, but most of said money went into filling Ophis's bottomless pit of a stomach. Electricity, water and gas were supplied to the estate through the normal means. It wouldn't do for people to ask why such a large residence produced next to little utility bills. Combining that with Ophis's food expenses, as well as that of his own, Asia's and Rias's, Issei was left with little money of his own to spend.

But with this much money…Perhaps he could finally get himself a whetstone for Futsu-no-Mitama. Said sword was a Divine Sword and thus did not actually require sharpening, but Issei found the process quite relaxing and therapeutic, and Futsu-no-Mitama herself seemed to enjoy the feeling of being sharpened. Issei likened it to a sword's version of a manicure.

"Izzei. Voob." Ophis said with her mouth stuffed full with sandwiches, and yet with those two incoherent words, Issei understood perfectly what she was trying to say. She wanted him to use the money to buy more food for her. He figured that was what would end up happening in the end anyway, but it didn't mean it was any less disappointing. Oh well. At least he now knew how to rake in cash quickly. Maybe he should start charging Rias for staying here as well? Might make her less eager to irritate him, though it was unlikely considering the Gremory Clan's own impressive wealth.

With the money issue settled in a way he was somewhat dissatisfied with, Issei focused on the second matter. Something Azazel mentioned before he left. About the Hakuryuukou.

"You should be prepared for a hell of a fight. He hasn't been slacking off for the past 3 years, you know. He could easily give me a run for my money with just the Scale Mail."

That was what Azazel had said, and repeating those words in his head, Issei couldn't help but get excited.

Azazel was a good deal stronger than Kokabiel, not necessarily due to a massive gap in their powers. In terms of raw power, Azazel wasn't that much stronger than the rebellious leader. However, factors like cunning and ingenuity also played just as big of a role as power in a fight, factors that Azazel was known to have in spades. It was due to that that Azazel was unanimously considered the strongest of the Fallen Angel leaders.

For Azazel to say that the Hakuryuukou could match him, it meant that the Hakuryuukou had power, cunning and ingenuity that could rival Azazel's…or his power was so great that even Azazel felt that he wasn't completely confident that he could win no matter how much he prepared beforehand. Well, Longinus Gears were usually unpredictable, so that couldn't be helped.

Issei could feel his lips curling into a bloodthirsty smile. Now he wanted to fight him again. Not to kill, of course. Why kill a perfectly good opponent? Let him live and grow stronger so that they could fight another day. Of course, that wasn't to say that he couldn't maim him a bit first, maybe even char him.

"Mm!?" Issei was broken out of his increasingly violent thoughts by a powerful finger flick to his forehead that left a sizable bruise.

"…Issei, you have that look on your face again." Ophis said as she lowered her hand and resumed eating.

"Ah, sorry about that." Issei said as he gingerly rubbed his forehead. His near bipolarity was a result of his divine Grandfather's blood. Susanoo was after all, a God of the seas and storms and was thus just as tempestuous as either of them. At one point, he could be a kindly old grandfather with a penchant for teasing young ones, and in the next instant, he could become a tyrannical boot camp leader from the depths of Yomi who made it his mission to make his training as hellish as possible, as Issei had experienced many, many times over the past few years. Issei wasn't as bad as his grandfather, and his own father had proven that it was possible to control the impulsiveness, but that required a level of control and finesse that Issei just did not possess, which was why he was prone to bouts of mood swings, especially in the heat of battle when he could go from being calm, collected and analytical to a hot-blooded berserker, like he nearly did during the fight with Kokabiel. Thankfully, Ophis was usually around to calm him down, and even when she wasn't, Ddraige or Futsu-no-Mitama could do it as well.

"…Issei."

"Hm?" Issei looked at Ophis when she addressed him.

"…Class visits are tomorrow."

"Geh!" Issei flinched and released a sound of displeasure at the reminder that his grandfather, and possibly his grandmother and great uncle would be dropping in tomorrow in place of his parents who were investigating a possible Youkai attack in the Kansai region. The latter two were fine, since they actually knew how to blend in with humans, but Susanoo, who was both bipolar and possessed a flair for the dramatic…Issei shuddered at the thought of the fresh hell that awaited him tomorrow.

"Shit, there's really no way for me to avoid this, huh?" Issei muttered darkly. He had implored the History Compilation Committee to somehow talk sense into his clinically insane grandfather, but apparently, that had failed and only served to increase his desire to come to the class visits.

"Tch, if that shitty old man tries anything, I swear I'll kick his ass back to the Edo period." Issei growled as he prepared to retire for the night. It was too damn late to worry about this. He should just sleep on this and figure it out tomorrow.

Issei did not sleep well. He was way too worried about the impending class visit to do so. His carefully built reputation in this school could be shattered in one fell swoop if he couldn't keep his crazy grandfather under control. Well, if his grandmother and great uncle were there too, they could probably keep him under control, but with someone as unpredictable as Susanoo, preparing for the worst case scenario was a priority…no, a necessity.

Which was why Issei currently slightly hunched over his desk, nervously drumming his fingers on his desk, waiting for his grandfather's inevitably dramatic entrance. His classmates, including Xenovia, were looking at him strangely, having never seen him act like this before. Asia looked over worriedly at him, and Ophis, as usual, was staring impassively at him.

His classmates' parents and relatives were at the back of the classroom, watching their class activities, which, for some reason, the English teacher had seen fit to change to an arts and craft class, which explained why there was a block of PVC clay on Issei's desk. With a sigh, Issei started absentmindedly molding the clay, even as his eyes darted to every possible entrance of the classroom. The two doors, the windows, hell, even the air vent. He wouldn't put it past Susanoo to throw down a smoke bomb and make an entrance through the vent if he wanted to.

*BAM*

Issei flinched and then proceeded to groan and place his head in his hands when the door was thrown open, nearly ripping it off of its hinges, and a well-built rugged man in his early 40s with black hair and stormy grey eyes, dressed in a grey cloud-themed kimono under an equally grey haori held together by a white haori himo and a hakama of the same color, entered the room, guffawing loudly, causing his teacher, classmates and their visiting relatives to jump a foot into the air.

There was no doubt about it. He had shrunk himself down to the size of a human, and his power felt heavily diminished due to having assumed a mortal form, but his aura and boisterousness proved his identity beyond a shadow of a doubt. His paternal grandfather, Takehaya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto, one of the Shinto trinity and the Shinto God of the seas and storms. He thankfully had enough common sense remaining to not wear his battle armor and bring Totsuka-no-Tsurugi with him or at least keep it out of sight, but that was basically the only solace Issei could find.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! Bow down, mortals! The great, gallant one has descended from the plains of Takamagahara to grace you with his presence! I-"

He had begun announcing his usual rehearsed speech at an unbelievably loud volume that forced everyone else to cover their ears in fear of going deaf, but was thankfully silenced by a swift strike to the back of his head by a folded iron fan, sending him to the ground and knocking him out. Behind him, holding the small weapon that had felled him, was a beautiful woman in her mid to late 30s with long black hair of the same shade as Susanoo's, stylized and held in place by a red kanzashi, and reddish-golden eyes as radiant as the sun itself. His maternal grandmother, Amaterasu-Omikami, the head deity of the Shinto Gods and the Shinto Goddess of the sun. Like her brother, she had forgone her usual ceremonial kimono and instead wore a simple red one with a sun theme with a simply designed obi holding it together at her waist, but even then, her sheer aura of overwhelming elegance had not faded in the least. In fact, everyone was staring at her with expressions of awe, borderlining on adoration. It was disturbing to say the least.

Right now, he was just profusely thanking her in his head for stopping her crazy brother before his classmates and their relatives started wondering if insanity ran in the family. Amaterasu slid her iron fan up the left sleeve of her kimono and stepped elegantly into the room, nonchalantly stepping over the fallen body of her brother. The clicking sound that her zori made against the tiled floor of the classroom invoked a strong sense of nostalgia in Issei, heavily reminded of his traditional Japanese lifestyle back in Kyoto, much stricter than how he was now.

"Please pay no mind to the ramblings of this idiot. He just likes being dramatic. We're actually from Kyoto." An smooth, elegant voice came in from the doorway. At the position at which his desk was situated, he couldn't see half of the doorway, which was why Issei didn't notice the third person next to his grandmother at first. But now that Amaterasu had entered the room, the third person could now be seen. He was a handsome, elegant man that looked to be in his early to mid 30s. His shoulder-length hair was also the same shade of black as Amaterasu and Susanoo, and his eyes were yellowish-silver, like the light of the moon at night. His maternal and paternal great uncle, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the last of the Shinto trinity and the Shinto God of the moon. He was dressed in a black kimono under a haori and hakama of the same color. Like Susanoo, his haori himo was also white. He too stepped over Susanoo without hesitation and stepped into the room, stopping next to Amaterasu. Both of them smiled and waved at Issei, who waved back discreetly and ducked his head when his classmates turned to stare at him. Evidently, they had realized whose relatives they were.

"Um…are you the relatives of one of my students?" The teacher asked with a bemused expression on his face, not entirely certain how to deal with this situation.

"Yes. I am…Ichijou Asami, Hyoudo Issei's maternal grandmother. Pleased to meet you." Amaterasu said and bowed, having the common sense to use an alias instead of her real name. There were women who were actually named Amaterasu, but they were rather few.

"Likewise, I am Ichijou Akihiko, her younger brother and Hyoudo Issei's maternal great uncle." Tsukuyomi said, following up on his older sister's/wife's act.

Then, they both turned their gazes to Susanoo, who had regained consciousness and was getting to his feet.

"The fool over there is Hyoudo Kaito, Issei's paternal grandfather." Tsukuyomi said before Susanoo could think of some overly pompous name for himself, or worse, actually introduce himself as Susanoo-no-Mikoto.

Susanoo scowled for an instant before grudgingly standing and walking over.

"G-Grandparents? But, you all look quite young…" The teacher commented as he looked between them and Issei.

"Both my sister and Kaito were young when they were married and had their children, Issei's parents, who also married young and had him." Tsukuyomi shrugged as he said.

"I see. Still, to be able to marry young and still keep afloat, even affording clothing like that…Could it be that Hyoudo-kun is actually from a wealthy family?" The teacher muttered, but no so softly that the rest of the class couldn't hear him. Immediately, the class broke out in whispers.

"Eh, so Hyoudo-kun is actually rich?"

"T-Then, that means…he's actually a prince!?"

"Kyaaa, his eligibility just went up!"

"Dammit, Hyoudo, you again! Why is it always you!?"

"At least leave some behind for the rest of us!"

"Yeah, ever heard of the Bro Code!?"

Issei groaned and rubbed his temples as he listened to the ramblings of his classmates, males and females alike. He briefly wondered if the parents were going to say anything, but it appeared that they were engaging in their own gossip.

For the third time in less than 30 minutes, Issei groaned. This was going to be a long, long day.

It had been practically impossible to restore order in the class over that, and it was with an expression of great relief that the teacher dismissed them for lunch.

Issei briefly thought of ditching his divine relatives, but thought better of it. Who knows how much chaos they would cause if they were left to their own devices. Thus, Issei and Ophis were bringing them to the cafeteria for lunch, with Asia tagging along behind. Well, Issei was anyway. Ophis was just hungry.

The three Gods usually had high-class food for their meals, so he had no idea how they would take regular commoner food. Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi would probably take it in stride for the sake of maintaining their cover, but the overly prideful and boisterous Susanoo…Issei felt a chill run down his spine at the thought.

"Oh, if it isn't Issei."

Issei looked up as the sound of his name being called to find Rias and Akeno standing in front of the vending machine, looking at him.

"Oh, it's you two."

"Still acting cold towards us, huh? It's really only reinforcing your image as a tsundere." Rias said with a smile.

"Shut up." Issei retorted. Then, he noticed that she was looking rather tired.

"…Don't tell me your family came for the class visits too?"

"Yes, my brother and my father. They showed up out of nowhere. I made every effort to make sure they stayed ignorant of this day, but Grayfia ended up telling them anyway."

"Yeah, I've come to learn that trying to keep anything from my crazy family is an exercise in futility."

"Oi, foolish grandson of mine, who are you calling crazy?" Susanoo asked in a displeased tone.

"You! Who else in the family qualifies as crazy!?" Issei turned around and shouted at his grandfather, whose eyebrow started twitching.

"Why you little brat! Don't forget I can still beat your ass six ways from Sunday!" Susanoo yelled and got into a battle stance

"Bring it, you old fart!" Issei replied and fell into an identical stance.

"Hey, we would appreciate it if you didn't destroy the school." Rias said with a sigh. Issei rolled his eyes, but conceded her point and relaxed his stance.

"Ha! Giving up already, brat!? Then prepare for the worst punishment of your li-"

*WHACK*

Once again, Amaterasu struck her brother in the back of his head with her iron fan, and while he fell to the ground again, he didn't lose consciousness this time.

"You're drawing too much attention, buffoon. At least try to act like a human, not like a belligerent ape."

"What the hell, Aneki!? This is the second time you've hit me today!" Susanoo immediately yelled at her.

"If you behaved civilly, she wouldn't have had to do that, foolish little brother. And don't call her Aneki in public. Our cover story will be blown." Tsukuyomi reprimanded his younger brother.

"Issei, could these three be…?" Rias asked with an apprehensive expression on her face. Behind her, Akeno had a similar expression on her face.

"Yeah. Allow me to introduce you. My idiot paternal grandfather, Takehaya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the Shinto God of the seas and storms, my great uncle, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the Shinto God of the moon, and my maternal grandmother, Amaterasu-Omikami, the Shinto Goddess of the Sun and the head of the Shinto Gods." Issei introduced his divine relatives to the two Devils, secretly enjoying the shell-shocked looks on their faces.

The two of them immediately sank into a bow after checking that there weren't any ordinary students around.

"I am Rias Gremory, heiress of the Gremory Clan, and this is my Queen, Himejima Akeno. It's an honor to meet the legendary trinity of the Shinto Faction." Rias said with a respectful tone.

Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi nodded in response to their greeting, but Susanoo simply stared at them while scratching his chin after getting up from the floor.

"Gremory, huh? You keep strange company, grandson of mine. Didn't you always used to say that you hated Devils?" Susanoo asked with a glance towards Issei.

"Hanging around with them has improved my opinion of Devils somewhat. It was rather childish of me to bear a grudge against an entire race due to the actions of just a few. Now if only a certain Devil would stop freeloading at my house and return to her former residence…" Issei drawled with a pointed stare at Rias, who simply stuck her tongue out at him in a childish manner.

"And also, Himejima? Are you perhaps that half-Fallen Angel girl who was banished from the Himejima Clan and taken in by the Devils?" Susanoo asked bluntly, his gaze turning towards Akeno, who flinched and lowered her head.

"…Yes, I am the granddaughter of the current head of the Himejima Clan, the child born from the union between his daughter, Himejima Shuri, and Baraqiel, one of the Fallen Angel leaders." Akeno said in an uncharacteristically subdued voice.

Asia let out a shocked gasp at the revelation. In contrast, Issei's eyes simply narrowed. He had felt a certain vibe to her that was different from other Devils, just like with Koneko. However, unlike Koneko who he had identified easily due to his close proximity to the Youkais of Kyoto over the years, he had been unable to pinpoint just what Akeno was, likely since she had purposely avoided using her Fallen Angel powers for years and relied only on her Devil powers. A rather foolish decision in Issei's opinion. Power was power. No matter where you had gotten it from, it would be a waste if you didn't use it.

"That brat's granddaughter, huh? Human lifespans are short as always. Well, I'll apologize for that brat's behavior. I keep telling him to lighten up on his silly clan traditions, but the ways of the old are still stuck with him, I guess. He's not as adaptable as the great Susanoo, bwahahahaha!" Susanoo guffawed as Akeno gaped at him, stunned at his utter disrespect for either her grandfather or for tradition. It was definitely not behavior that one would expect from a millennium-old God. One would usually expect a proud, paranoid old man who would literally kill to maintain tradition. So far, they only got the 'proud' part right.

"Well, whatever. You look like you're having fun with the Devils, so I guess it's fine. Of course, if you want, I could go kick that brat's ass for you, for a price of course. Guhihihi…" Susanoo giggled perversely while wiggling his fingers, causing even the bold Akeno to instinctively wrap her arms around her torso and back away until Issei kicked his perverted grandfather in the back. All of them paused when they heard a distinctive crack coming from him.

"Ow! The hell are you doing, foolish grandson!? I may be a God, but even my back gives out sometimes!" Susanoo yelled while clutching a hand to his hip.

"I just saved your sorry ass. Even though Kushinadahime-sama magnanimously allows you to fool around, I doubt she'll be pleased to know that you bedded a teenager." Issei said, briefly making reference to Susanoo's immortal wife, Kushinadahime.

"Ha! Of course not! Why, we were at just about this age when we met!"

"You mean she was at our age. You were already an old man who was thrown out of Takamagahara for destroying grandmother's rice field, throwing a horse carcass at her, killing one of her attendants and causing her to hide away from the world in her fury and grief." Issei said with a raised eyebrow.

Both Susanoo and Amaterasu scowled at the reminder of Susanoo's worst rampage to date. He had cooled down since then, though not by much. At the very least, he wasn't stupid enough to antagonize the other Gods anymore.

"Hm? Issei-san? And Buchou and everyone…"

Issei turned to find Yuuto walking down that hallway towards them.

"Yuuto? Going for lunch?"

"No, actually I heard that there was a Mahou Shoujo photo shoot in the hall, so I decided to check it out…" Yuuto said as he pointed down the remainder of the hallway where the multi-purpose hall was connected to the main building.

"Mahou Shoujo?" Issei and Rias asked at the same time as they gave each other a confused look.

In the end, they decided to go check it out. Yuuto had been introduced to the Shinto trinity along the way, which made for a rather interesting greeting when Yuuto bowed to them and Susanoo just laughed and asked how good he was with a sword and whether or not he wanted to spar with him. At the latter question, Issei signaled to Yuuto to decline post haste unless he wanted to die. Susanoo did not know the meaning of 'moderation'.

When they reached the hall, they were quickly blinded by bright flashes of white light, which had Susanoo dramatically declaring that they were under attack and made to draw Totsuka-no-Tsurugi before Amaterasu silenced him with the third strike to his head with an iron fan today. The three Shinto Gods remained at the door, with Amaterasu forcing Susanoo to sit in seiza so that she could lecture him, in vain in Issei's opinion, while Tsukuyomi watched for his own amusement.

The rest of the group stepped into the hall and found a mass of students gathered around the stage, taking photos of someone dressed in a gaudy pink costume, striking poses with a stick in her hand. She certainly looked and acted the part of a Mahou Shoujo, Issei admitted.

Issei's eyes narrowed as they drew closer. That girl on the stage was a Devil. An extremely powerful one at that. As in Azazel-level power.

Could it be that this girl prancing around the stage in a costume was actually a…

"Ack!" Rias released a sound of shock when she saw the Mahou Shoujo, confirming that she was at least a Devil of substantially high stature, though he couldn't imagine why such an important person was dressed like…that.

"Hey, what do you guys think you're doing!? This photo shoot isn't part of the class visit activities! Leave! Leave!"

Saji Genshirou, along with a couple of other student council members who were also members of Sona Sitri's peerage, appeared and ordered the gathered students to disperse. A good number of them grumbled, but eventually, all of the students left.

"And you, please don't wear a costume like that on school grounds. Are you a relative of one of the students? There is a dress code for relatives visiting the school. Didn't you know that?" Saji said with an exasperated voice.

"Ehh? But, this is my uniform!" The Mahou Shoujo exclaimed while striking more poses, causing Saji to grit his teeth in frustration. That was when he noticed their group approaching.

"Oh, Rias-senpai, and Hyoudo too. Your timing is pretty good. We were just guiding Maou-sama and Lord Gremory around."

As though on cue, the two red-haired males of the Gremory Clan appeared, led by Sona Sitri and her Queen, Shinra Tsubaki who Issei suspected had ties to Kyoto's Shinra Clan, similar to Akeno.

Sona stepped forward with a displeased expression on her face.

"Saji, what are you doing? I asked you to quickly resolve this situa-"

She suddenly cut herself off and turned extremely pale when she saw the Mahou Shoujo, who in contrast, perked up when she saw Sona.

"Sona-chan, found you!" She cried enthusiastically and hopped over to Sona, who was frozen in place.

The two appeared to be acquainted with each other, and on very close terms, at least in the case of the Mahou Shoujo, so there was a high possibility that they were related. And the only particularly well known member of the Sitri Clan was…

"Oh, if it isn't Serafall. So you came for the class visits as well?" Sirzechs greeted the Mahou Shoujo, confirming Issei's theory.

Serafall Leviathan, one of the Yondai Maou. Formerly Serafall Sitri, the former heiress of the Sitri Clan before she took on the role of Maou Leviathan. A master of ice magic, beyond even the original Leviathan. While she wasn't a Super Devil like Sirzechs Lucifer and Ajuka Beelzebub were, she was still without a doubt one of the strongest among Devils.

One of the leaders of the Devils…was a childish teenage girl dressed in a Mahou Shoujo costume? Somehow, Issei didn't feel as surprised as he probably should have been. He had spent nearly a decade of his life in the company of Susanoo, a.k.a the craziest fucking bipolar god who treated him like a grandson half the time and made a valiant effort to kill him the other half, so he supposed when it came to crazy leaders whose conduct left much to be desire, he was already jaded.

"Leviathan-sama, it's been a long time." Rias greeted the…woman who was one of her race's leaders with a wry expression. Issei guessed that her dressing up was commonplace and did not just take place today.

"Oh, Rias-chan! Long time no see! How have you been doing~?" Serafall Leviathan said in such a bubbly and cheery voice that even Rias seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Y-Yes…thank you for asking. Did you come here for Sona's class visit?"

"Yeah, but Sona-chan was so mean! She didn't tell me about the class visits today! Hmph, Onee-chan was so shocked that I was about to attack Heaven!" Serafall childishly exclaimed with tears in her eyes. Suddenly, Issei felt a deep sense of kinship with Sona. Evidently, at least one member of their family was batshit crazy.

He grew apprehensive when Serafall suddenly turned her gaze towards him, and a gleam of interest appeared in her eyes.

"Hey, Sirzechs-chan, is this the Shinto boy?" She turned to her fellow Maou and asked.

"Yes, this is Hyoudo Issei-kun, a Shinto demigod, and also, as we found out during the Kokabiel incident, the current Sekiryuutei." Sirzechs replied completely unflappable , not even batting an eye at the massively out of place suffix added to the end of his name. Issei's respect for the current Maous was rapidly dying and yet increasing with each passing moment. It was quite a disconcerting feeling.

However, following the etiquette that he had been taught, he bowed and greeted her.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Serafall Leviathan-dono. I am Hyoudo Issei, a member of the Shinto Faction."

"Mm, pleased to meet you too! I am the Maou Serafall Leviathan! Just call me Levia-tan!" Serafall said, striking a ridiculous pose at the end.

Issei felt his already steadily diminishing respect die a rather pathetic death then and there.

"…I'll…keep that in mind." Issei said after a pregnant pause.

"Oh, and Uncle Gremory is here too! I didn't see you there!"

"Greetings, Serafall-dono. Once again, that's a rather exotic uniform you have chosen. Though it does suit you, somehow I think that a Maou should have more dignity."

"Yes! Yes, that's exactly it! Please say more! Restore the little faith I have in your leaders!" Issei yelled in his head.

"Ara, Uncle, didn't you know? This is traditional attire in this country!"

"Oh, I see. Forgive my ignorance then."

"Don't believe that so easily!" Issei continued to scream in his head. Were all Devils really this stupid!? So far, yes, all of the evidence seemed to point towards the fact that most, if not all Devils were either megalomaniacal morons like the Old Maou Faction, or just plain morons, like Rias Gremory and Serafall Leviathan.

"Oi, did I just hear someone insulting my kingdom!?"

"…And another lunatic joins the party." Issei muttered to himself lowly as the Shinto gods walked towards them, Susanoo leading with a scowl on his face, though he couldn't tell if it was because of the lecture he had just received, or the perceived insult against Japan.

"Oh, relatives of yours, Hyoudo Issei-kun?" Sirzechs asked jovially, but Issei could see the guarded look in his eyes. He had realized that the three approaching them were very powerful.

Issei secretly sighed in relief. At least there was one competent Devil. Although he had his quirks, the pros outweighed the cons.

"Yes, my grandmother, Amaterasu-Omikami, my great uncle, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, and my fool of a grandfather, Takehaya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto. The Shinto trinity. They are in town in preparation for the conference, and also to substitute for my parents who weren't able to make it for the class visits."

The ones who weren't already in the know got quite a shock, but Sirzechs quickly recovered and bowed.

"I am the current Maou Lucifer, Sirzechs Lucifer, formerly bearing the name Gremory. My apologies for not greeting our esteemed guests sooner, but I was unaware that you would be coming today."

"Ho ho, didn't mention that little detail, grandson of mine?"

"Mostly because I was futilely praying that someone back in Kyoto would be able to talk some sense into that thick skull of yours and stop you from crashing the class visits. In hindsight, from past experience, I should have known that once you get some inane idea in your head, no one is capable of stopping you. I suppose I should be glad that grandmother and great uncle also came along to keep you in check." Issei said with a scowl, causing an identical once to appear on Susanoo's face.

"You make it sound like I'm a savage beast that needs to be kept chained."

"If I recall correctly, just two years ago, you almost destroyed all of Kobe City with a tsunami because you disguised yourself as a human and lost a poker game in a pub. You're not like a savage beast, you are a savage beast." Issei said with a glare. The Devils stared at Susanoo incredulously, not quite believing that such a powerful being could be so petty. Issei was of the opposite opinion. After growing up around deities for 10 years, Issei had pretty much learned that the more powerful a being was, the pettier they were likely to be.

"That was their own fault! They should have known better than to humiliate a God, especially one as wonderful as me!" Susanoo immediately declared.

"It's hardly their fault that you suck at gambling! From what I remember, when I was just 9, I kicked your stupid ass at blackjack and you retaliated by trying to throw me into an active volcano!" Issei exclaimed as he delivered a swift kick to his grandfather's hindquarters.

"You little brat! You're asking for another beating!" Susanoo growled as he rubbed his sore hips.

"Bring it on, old fart! I'm paying you back everything you did to me over the past decade!" Issei retorted as he headbutted his grandfather, who retaliated with a punch, quickly devolving into a childish scuffle with juvenile cheek pulling and the like, and eventually they ended up on the ground, with Susanoo holding Issei in a full nelson and Issei trying to break out by reaching backwards and trying to twist his grandfather's neck. It wasn't like that would kill him. He was a God after all.

After a while, it was clear that he wouldn't get anywhere with his current course of action, so Issei changed strategies and used all of his might to lift himself up into a sitting position. Susanoo, not expecting that, was lifted up along with him.

Issei then pushed with all of his might back down, making sure to exert his full weight onto Susanoo, and then slammed the back of his head into his grandfather's face.

With a sickening crack, Susanoo's nose broke. In his self-assuredness, he had forgotten he and his siblings were currently in their mortal forms, not their full divine forms or even their usual divine vessel form, and were thus almost as vulnerable as any other human.

Combining his forgetfulness along with his usual overconfidence in himself, needless to say, he got quite the shock when he actually felt the pain of his nose breaking, so much that he loosened his iron grip on Issei's arms enough that he was finally able to pry himself free, get up and deliver a swift kick to his grandfather's crotch. All of the males in the vicinity, even the elegant Tsukuyomi, winced and made to protect their genitals when the toe of Issei's shoe made contact with Susanoo's nether regions.

Issei ignored Susanoo writhing on the ground in pain and turned to Serafall.

"Serafall-dono, I'm not sure where you got your information from, but what you are wearing is most certainly not Japan's traditional attire. That is a part of Japan's deplorable pop culture that is a very great source of pain for most Japanese, including me." Issei said with a grimace.

"Oh, is that so? Well, it doesn't really matter to me, I love Mahou Shoujos!" Serafall exclaimed in a carefree voice that made Issei's grimace grow wider.

"Are all of the Maous like this?" Issei muttered to himself, but loud enough for Rias to hear him.

"It's embarrassing to say, but all of the current Maous are carefree. Certainly a far cry from what you would expect from Faction leaders." Rias said with a sigh, and Issei snorted.

"Personally, I don't think you have the right to be criticizing them, Otaku Devil." Issei deadpanned.

"S-Shut up! What's so bad about being an Otaku!?" Rias pouted with a blush on her face, causing Issei to roll his eyes.

That was when he noticed that Sona had seemed to unfreeze, and was now shaking on the spot with a bright red face.

"Sona-chan, what's wrong? Your face is really red. Since it's your long-awaited reunion with your Onee-sama, I think you should be a bit happier! Like running towards each other and embracing in a yuri way while crying each other's names!" Serafall said in an increasingly cheerful and affectionate voice, and Issei finally realized why Sona did not want her to come.

Serafall was a hardcore siscon. Issei didn't even want to imagine what would have happened to the town if Serafall had come during the Kokabiel incident.

"O-Onee-sama, I am the student council president of this prestigious academy. Therefore, even if you are a Maou and my older sister, I will not allow this manner of conduct on school premises." Sona said in a calm-sounding voice, which didn't have its desired effect of creating the impression that she was composed, mostly because she was still bright red, and sweating profusely.

"N-No way! If Sona-chan says something like that, Onee-chan will feel sad! Sona-chan knows that I admire Mahou Shoujos, don't you?" Serafall said with a devastated expression on her face.

"I swear, just listening to this conversation is killing off my brain cells." Issei sighed as he placed his face in his palm like he had been doing so much lately.

"With this sparkling staff, I'll send the Angels and Fallen Angels flying!" Serafall said with a cute voice, striking another pose, and Issei swore that for an instant, her magical…stick or whatever actually released sparkles of some sort.

"O-Onee-sama, please don't make jokes like that. If you, a Maou, were to…sparkle, this small country would be eradicated several times over!" Sona scolded her flamboyant sister.

"What was that you said about destroying my kingdom!?" Susanoo roared as the pain in his genitals finally subsided and he made to get up, right before Issei delivered another kick to the same spot.

"Don't get up, you'll only make things worse!" Issei yelled at his grandfather, who was now once again rolling around on the floor and screaming bloody murder.

"You damn brat! I swear I will flay your stupid ass for this!" Susanoo yelled at him.

"Just try it, stupid old man! I'll kick your ass back to the Edo period!" Issei shouted back while flipping him the bird.

"Uuuuh, I can't take it anymore!"

While Issei and Susanoo argued again, the stress of her sister coming to the school that she was in charge of and making a fool of herself finally proved to be too much for Sona to handle, causing her to burst into tears and flee the hall.

"Wait, Sona-chan, where are you going!?" Serafall shouted in confusion as she gave chase.

"Please don't follow me!"

"Nooooooooooo! Don't leave your Onee-sama behind, So-tan!" Serafall cried with tears in her eyes as she increased her speed.

"I've asked you many times not to add -tan to end of my name!"

Eventually, the back and forth shouting faded away, leaving everyone else in the hall to stare at their rapidly disappearing forms through the door.

"Hahaha, looks like the Sitri Clan is as lively as ever, Ria-tan." Sirzechs said to his little sister with a teasing smile on his face.

"Onii-sama, I can barely tolerate you calling me by my pet name at this age. Please don't add -tan to the end of it." Rias said as she rubbed her temples.

"N-No way, Ria-tan…Even though you used to follow me everywhere and go 'Onii-sama, Onii-sama' all the time when you were younger…I see, you must be in the middle of your rebellious phase." Sirzechs said, acting like he had received a massive blow, though from the look in his eyes, he was just having fun with his little sister.

"Geez, Onii-sama, why must you bring up those embarrassing anecdotes of my childhood-"

*FLASH*

A bright flash of light interrupted her. Lord Gremory had taken a picture of her in the middle of her tirade.

"That's a nice expression you're making, Rias. It's good to see that we've managed to raise you splendidly. Since your mother couldn't come, I'll make up for her share of enthusiasm as well."

"Otou-sama! Geez!"

"…I don't even care anymore." Issei sighed as he looked at the Gremory Clan's antics. He was feeling more than just a bit disillusioned right now.

Issei was very sore the next morning. Susanoo made good on his promise to beat him upside down. It was a very good thing they had put very powerful barriers around the dojo beforehand, or else the entire town would have definitely heard the ruckus.

On a side note, as a result of their fight, the dojo was now unusable until Issei could get someone from the History Compilation Committee to rebuild it.

Sirzechs and his Queen/maid/wife, Grayfia Lucifuge also visited the estate shortly after that. He and the Shinto trinity sat on the veranda, sipping sake, moon gazing and presumably talking about the upcoming conference. Grayfia had dragged Rias off to another part of the house to talk to her, giving Issei and Ophis a bit of private time together which they spent in bed spooning, a bit awkward considering their size difference. Like he had many times before, Issei asked her if she would consider changing form or at least her size, but like she had just as many times before, she refused, saying that she liked her current form best. Issei didn't particularly mind, but her diminutive stature had caused some problems for him in the past. The Shinto Faction was well aware of who she really was, but it didn't stop them from calling him a lolicon. Honestly, he was surprised he had yet to be given such a label in Kuou Academy.

After he had finished talking with the Shinto trinity, Sirzechs left along with Grayfia, and dragged Rias off with them as well to talk to her. His divine relatives stayed in separate rooms, even Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, who despite being husband and wife, had a rift torn between them due to the whole Uke Mochi incident. Though their relationship had improved compared to how it was back then, it was nowhere close to a level where the two of them felt comfortable sleeping in the same room, much less in the same bed.

The three of them left the house before he did, presumably to go sightseeing in the region before the conference in two days.

And now, he and Ophis were walking home from school after class activities, where Issei had once again cooked a gourmet meal and Ophis had devoured it almost instantaneously, just to tide her over until dinner.

Issei paused as he stepped out of the school gates. He felt a small barrier around the area, as well as a very familiar presence. It was diminished, but that was only natural since they were in a populated area. Issei looked around, noticing that there were no humans in the vicinity, and his eyes came to rest on a silver-haired, blue-eyed young man in his late teens to early 20s, leaning against the walls of the gates. He was also looking at Issei, and a smirk grew on his face. Issei felt one of his own growing as well.

"Well this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting you to approach me like this, my rival." Issei said as he walked over to the silver-haired man.

"Yeah, I wasn't planning on it either, but Azazel sent me to give you a message to pass on to the rest of your faction, Hyoudo Issei. He also sent other messengers to the Devils and Heaven." The silver-haired man replied.

"Oh, and what message would be so important that he would send the strongest Hakuryuukou of all time to deliver it, Vali?" Issei asked Vali, the current and strongest Hakuryuukou, just like how he was the current and strongest Sekiryuutei.

"It's about the conference. In the past few days, Azazel received intel that a certain organization intends to attack the conference."

"A certain organization? That's pretty vague, isn't it?"

"It's the best we have. They're quite the elusive bunch. We only just learned of their existence in the past two months, and almost nothing else since then. Well, I doubt they'll be able to do much anyway. The attendees of the conference include 4 leaders from the Three Factions, high-ranking subordinates including you and me, the three head Gods of the Shinto Faction, and the Ouroboros Dragon herself. I just can't imagine any organization, no matter how big, that could actually oppose us."

"True, in terms of power, we most likely have the advantage. Still, to be able to evade Azazel's information network, they must be fairly good in terms of structure and intelligence. At the very least, we should keep our guard up."

"That's what Azazel said. Well, anyway, that's all I'm here for. I'll be taking my leave then. Unless of course, you want to fight right now?"

"Right before the conference? Yeah, that'll go over well with the leaders. Maybe another time."

"Pity. Well, that's fine for now. But, we will settle this fight one day."

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Vali walked off, leaving Issei standing at the gates with Ophis next to him. And suddenly, as though by magic, the area around him was teeming with humans, students leaving school, adults returning home from work. The barrier that Vali had erected had been removed.

In the wake of his close proximity to his destined enemy, the person he wished to fight most, Issei's blood was once again boiling, his smirk becoming bloodthirsty until Ophis elbowed him in the side and gave him that look.

Issei shook his head, calming himself down and thought about the information that Vali had given him.

An organization capable to avoiding Azazel's eye until now when it had decided to attack possibly one of the biggest events of the age…They sounded like a bunch to be wary of. Even a pawn was capable of defeating a king after all.

"Issei?"

Issei turned to find Rias Gremory, Sona Sitri and their respective Queens standing at the gates. The latter three were looking around while Rias was looking at him.

"You sensed the barrier that had been erected here just now, I take it?"

"At first, we were looking for you to pass on a message. Archangel Michael wishes to meet you in one hour at the abandoned shrine atop the hill just outside of town."

"The current leader of Heaven? I see. My thanks for passing on the message."

"You're welcome. Now, about the barrier…was that your doing?"

"No, it was the Hakuryuukou. Azazel sent him to pass on a message."

"A message? From the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels?"

"…That's right, he said that messengers had also been sent to your side and Heaven as well, so I don't see any harm in telling you."

In an hour, Issei was ascending the stairs that led to one of the only two shrines in town, which was also the only abandoned one. He had Rias take Ophis back to the house and cook dinner for her. He couldn't imagine that she would have been happy about her dinner being delayed, which seemed to be happening a lot lately.

"By the way, why are you following me?" Issei asked as he turned his head back and looked at Akeno, who was climbing the stairs right behind him.

"Ufufufu, it's only natural for me to return to my residence after school, isn't it?"

"…You live in the shrine?"

"Yes, Rias helped me to secure the deed to the property after the previous owner, the head priest of the shrine, died."

"Good grief, yet another one of our hallowed grounds desecrated by outsiders."

"So why exactly is Archangel Michael looking for me?" Issei asked, changing the subject.

"I cannot be sure, but I would hazard a guess that he wishes to give you a present."

"And why would you think that?"

"He did the same last night. He gifted Ascalon to the Devils, specifically to Yuuto-kun, after modifying it so that it could be wielded by Devils."

"The Dragon Slaying Holy Sword of Saint George?"

Gifting a Dragon Slaying Holy Sword to the Devils when the Sekiryuutei was a member of the Shinto Faction and the Hakuryuukou was affiliated with the Grigori…

"Hmph, Archangel Michael…he's quite a bit more pragmatic than I had initially thought." Issei said with a small smile, able to appreciate the practicality of the gift.

Issei stopped as he reached the top of the stairs and stared at the sight before him.

It was fairly obvious even to an average onlooker that the shrine was abandoned. The buildings, whether it was the main hall that usually stored the artifact for worshipping, or the small annex building meant for storing supplies, were all dilapidated, obviously not having been properly maintained for quite some time. In the small patches of grass that grew throughout the property, there were quite a number of weeds as well. The trees that outlined the property were as luscious as one could expect them to be, but that was likely because they were much more low maintenance compared to other plants. Their branches grew out, sometimes over parts of the buildings, due to lack of pruning.

Still, the property looked to be in fairly good condition, certainly better than one would expect if it had been abandoned for as long as the rumors said it was. Akeno certainly had done a good job of maintaining the property despite being the only one to do so.

"So, this is the current Sekiryuutei?"

An unfamiliar male voice caused Issei to turn his head upwards to the sky. Immediately, he was forced to cover his eyes when a bright golden light filled his vision.

The light faded, allowing Issei to partially open his eyes. He caught sight of a male silhouette of average height, with twelve feathered wings sprouting from his back, bathed and cloaked in shimmering golden light.

The light faded completely, allowing Issei to take a good look at who it was in the sky above. He was a handsome fellow, Issei acknowledged that. He was about the same height as Issei, maybe a bit shorter, and he was of a leaner build than Issei, who was of a slightly stockier than average size. He had shoulder length golden blonde hair and gentle green eyes, not unlike Asia's. He was dressed in ceremonial robes and armor, somewhat resembling the one that Sirzechs wore when Issei first met him.

Most striking of all were without a doubt, the golden halo floating above his head, and the twelve golden feathered wings, proving his identity beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, current Sekiryuutei and Shinto demigod, Hyoudo Issei-kun."

"Likewise, Archangel Michael-dono, leader of Heaven."

Issei took a sip of the tea that Akeno had brought for him and Michael as they sat in the main hall and sighed contentedly. As always, few things could calm him down as well as a good cup of sweet yet bitter green tea.

"The tea is delicious." Issei said to Akeno, who smiled and nodded her thanks for the indirect compliment.

"Now then, getting back on track, what business does the current leader of Heaven have with me?"

"Yes, the truth is, Heaven would like to present a gift to you, the representative of the Shinto Faction. Or rather, we are returning something to you."

"Returning?"

"Yes. I mean this."

Michael held out his hand, palm facing upwards. Issei's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at the sight of what was on that palm. A golden, perfectly comma-shaped jewel that was releasing an incredible amount of power.

"That's…the Yasakani-no-Magatama!?" Issei exclaimed in shock. It was only natural. The object in front of him was one of the Three Imperial Regalia of Japan. The one enshrined in Kashiko-Dokoro, the central shrine of the Imperial Palace of Japan, was just a fake, only used in the inauguration ceremony of the emperor. The real one had been lost, until now.

"Yes, we found this quite some time ago. Unfortunately for us, we never did figure out what its powers were. Now that the Three Factions are on the verge of finally making peace with each other and forming an alliance with the Shinto Faction, we felt that this should be returned to its original owners. I am rather curious though, how did the Shinto Faction lose possession of one of the Three Imperial Regalia of Japan?"

"…It happened during the Youkai War near the end of the Heian period. The Three Great Youkai of Japan, the Great Tengu, Emperor Sutoku, the king of Oni Youkai, Shuten-Doji and the bewitching golden-furred Kyuubi-no-Kitsune, Tamamo-no-Mae led a massive invasion of Youkai into Japan. During that time, an army of Onmyouji and benevolent Youkai, led by the leader of the Hyakki Yako, Nurarihyon, the then leader of the Kyoto Yokai, the Kyuubi, Kazue, and the then leader of the Onmyouji, Abe-no-Yasuchika, was mobilized to fight them. Upon the three leaders of the army, the Three Imperial Regalia of Japan were bestowed. Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi to Nurarihyon, Yata-no-Kagami to Kazue and Yasakani-no-Magatama to Abe-no-Yasuchika. With them, the invading army was successfully repelled and the Three Great Youkai of Japan were slain. However, during the final battle, Abe-no-Yasuchika met his end, and the Yasakani-no-Magatama was lost. May I ask, where did you find this?"

"We found in it Cornwall. The Church was performing an excavation to find several Holy Relics that were lost during the fall of Camelot, and we happened to find it there."

"All the way in England, huh?"

"If it managed to leave the country, then the rumors of a traitor amongst the Onmyouji Clans are most likely…" Issei begun to think to himself, but then realized he had yet to thank Michael.

"The Shinto Faction extends our gratitude to Heaven for the return of one of our most prized artifacts." Issei said as he extended a trembling hand to take the Yasakani-no-Magatama.

The moment he closed his hand around it, Issei felt a strong resonance within himself with the comma-shaped jewel. He quickly closed his eyes which, unbeknownst to anyone but himself, had started glowing molten gold before returning to their normal brown hue.

"Well then, my business here is concluded. I will see you at the conference, Hyoudo Issei-kun." Michael said as he stood and made to leave.

Issei briefly considered asking him about Asia's and Xenovia's exile from the Church, but thought better of it. First of all, it was technically none of his business. Even if he was their friend, he wasn't a member of the Three Factions, and this was most definitely an internal incident.

Michael vanished in a flash of golden light, leaving Issei and Akeno alone in the shrine.

"I'll be taking my leave as well. I thank you for being a gracious host."

"Of course. I will see you at school tomorrow, Issei-kun."

Issei stood and walked to the shoji door.

"Issei-kun."

Issei's hand stopped in the process of sliding the door open when Akeno called him.

"Can I ask your opinion about something?"

"What is it?"

"Do you…think my grandfather was right to exile me from the clan?"

Ah, so that was what this was about. It appeared that Susanoo's careless words got to her more than he thought.

"…The Onmyouji Clans place a great deal of emphasis on blood purity and traditions. In their view, if those served them well in the past, they would serve just as well in the present and even the future. Thus, they felt it was necessary to exile you, a half-Fallen Angel, in order to protect their heritage."

"But, do you think they were right to do so?" Akeno asked insistently.

"…It hardly matters what I think. I'm not an Onmyouji. Even if I am of a higher rank than the Clans, as an outsider, I don't have the right to judge them. What really matters if what you think? Do you think that it was right for you to be exiled?"

Issei turned his head slightly to see Akeno with her head down, her expression uncertain.

"…I can understand why my grandfather exiled me. But, even so, this Himejima blood I inherited from my mother, I was proud of it! I was proud to be a Himejima! But, because of the blood of a Fallen Angel inside of me…!"

"Hmph…blood, huh? Himejima Akeno, from what I understand, you wanted to prove to your grandfather that even with the blood of a Fallen Angel running through your veins, you were worthy of being a Himejima, am I correct?"

Akeno looked up, startled, but nodded her head uncertainly.

"Then, I'm afraid you've already failed to do that."

"Wha-!?"

"The duty of an Onmyouji is to do everything in your power to protect this country. No matter how much you dislike it, it's your obligation to use your full power. However, up until now, I have never seen you use the Holy powers you inherited from your Fallen Angel father."

"That's…!"

"Not even when you were fighting Kokabiel. At that time, it wasn't the future of Japan or that of the Three Factions at stake. There was also something else, something far more personal and close to home at stake. The life of your comrades. I'm not saying you could have won with your full power, but at the very least, you would have put up a better fight. But, you didn't, and by not doing so, you failed your comrades."

"…" Akeno was now completely silent, her long hair casting a shadow over her facial features, making her expression unreadable.

"I am not judging you, but you should probably think about what it is you should be doing."

Issei stepped through the shoji door and slid it shut behind him. Almost immediately, he heard the sounds of sobbing coming from inside the room. Shaking his head, he departed.

As he made his way down the stairs, something occurred to him. Akeno had basically told him her life story. Just like Yuuto before her, and just like Asia before either of them.

"When the hell did I become the go to guy for life counselling?"

The time between then and the conference passed by quickly, and Issei found himself dressed in a black kimono, walking down a hallway in Kuou Academy late at night, long after the students had gone home. A barrier had been placed around the entire campus, powered by the soldiers of the Three Factions and the Onmyouji of the Shinto Faction. It somewhat troubled Issei that such an important task was being left to those who, while more powerful than regular humans, were little more than cannon fodder at bottom of the supernatural food chain, especially when there was a possibility of an attack by an almost completely unknown organization. But, if the leaders seemed to be okay with the idea, he supposed he couldn't complain either.

Still, it seemed as though the leaders were inviting the organization to attack. Come and get us, if you have the balls; that was what he was inferring. Then again, maybe that was the whole point: to lay a trap for the organization.

Beside him, holding his hand was Ophis, dressed in a child sized black kimono. Sirzechs and Azazel already knew of her, but Issei was rather looking forward to seeing Michael's reaction to her.

Behind him were the Shinto trinity, all in their divine vessel forms and dressed in their usual ceremonial clothes that practically screamed, 'I am superior to you! Bow down before me!', to all who looked upon them.

Speaking of the Shinto trinity, the moment he got home, he presented the Yasakani-no-Magatama to them. Or rather, he presented one of the magatamas that was known as the Yasakani-no-Magatama.

What he had chosen not to mention to Michael, and Akeno who was listening in, was that the name Yasakani-no-Magatama did not refer to a single magatama, but rather to six, each of a different color, that were together known as one of the Three Imperial Regalia of Japan. He hadn't been bullshitting about how the Yasakani-no-Magatama was lost, but he neglected to mention that they had lost three out of the six Magatama. Two, now that one had been returned to them.

The power of the Yasakani-no-Magatama wasn't as obvious as that of the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi or the Yata-no-Kagami. Unlike the other two Regalia, the Yasakani-no-Magatama joined its power with that of its wielder rather than having an ability that directly targeted the wielder's enemy. Each of the six magatamas that were collectively the Yasakani-no-Magatama granted full mastery of a single combat style that the Shinto Faction prized above all others. Bukijutsu, the art of armed combat. Taijutsu, the art of unarmed combat. Senjutsu, the art of becoming one with nature. Genjutsu, the art of illusion weaving. Onmyoujutsu, the art of manipulation of the Elements, as well as Yin and Yang. And finally, Shinjutsu, the art of manipulation of divine power. Naturally, the last could only be used by Gods or those with divine blood.

The three magatamas that were lost during the Youkai War were those that granted mastery over Senjutsu, Genjutsu and Shinjutsu, and the latter of which was the one that had been returned to them. It was now hanging off a piece of spare string he found lying around the house, tied around his neck, tucked neatly away under his kimono. Unlike him, the Shinto trinity, having mastered their powers long ago, had no use for it. On the other hand, he, who was just beginning to scratch the surface of his full potential, would benefit the most from its power.

Issei was glad that one of the missing magatamas had been found, but he was also worried. If one of them had managed to end up halfway across the globe, who knows where the two were at the moment? The other two were far more worrying than the one that had been returned. Unlike Shinjutsu, Senjutsu and Genjutsu could be used by practically anyone who had a modicum of power. In the wrong hands, they held the power to raze entire countries in just a matter of hours.

Issei shuddered at the thought, in both disgust at the thought of the misuse of two of his Faction's most treasured weapons, and at the thought of fighting whoever it was who would misuse them.

"Mmph!" Issei grunted as he felt the familiar sensation of an elbow being jabbed into his side. Ophis was once again looking at him disapprovingly, and Issei couldn't help but look away sheepishly. That seemed to be happening a lot lately.

The group of five stopped as they reached the door of the conference room. Issei knocked on the door.

"We, the delegation from the Shinto Faction, have arrived."

"Come in." Sirzechs's voice came through the door.

Issei turned the knob, pushed the door open and led the group into the conference room. In the center of the room, seated around a round table were Michael, dressed in the same outfit he wore the day before, Azazel, wearing a black suit, Sirzechs, dressed in a similar fashion to Azazel, and Serafall, who had thankfully forgone her Mahou Shoujo outfit in favor of a formal female suit. Standing behind their respective Faction leaders were a powerful, possibly even Ophanim-Class, female Angel that Issei didn't recognize for the Angels' side, Vali, dressed in a black shirt and jeans, leaning against the wall behind Azazel, and for the Devils' side, Grayfia, dressed in her usual maid attire. Behind her, seated in the rows of chairs at the side of the room, were Sona and her peerage, dressed in their school uniforms. It appeared that Rias and her peerage had yet to arrive.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! Bow down, mortals! The gallant-"

Susanoo began his rehearsed speech again, but this time, before he could get any further than that, Issei struck him in the stomach using his elbow, quickly followed up by a slap to the face by Amaterasu and finished with a strike to the back of the head by Tsukuyomi. Susanoo collapsed to the floor, trying to simultaneously clutch at all three sore spots on his body at the same time. Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi stepped into the room and took a seat at the unoccupied part of the table. Issei and Ophis stood behind them, shutting the door behind them as they moved.

"…Are you just going to leave him there?" Azazel asked, craning his head to look at Susanoo who was still writhing on the floor in agony.

"Leave him. He'll be fine. We've done worse to him." Tsukuyomi said with a careless tone as he shrugged. The other leaders stared at the Shinto delegation for a brief, awkward and silent moment before shrugging.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

Everyone's attention turned to the door when two small knocks were heard.

"Rias Gremory and her peerage have arrived." Issei heard Rias declare to them from the other side.

"Come in." Sirzechs said once again.

The door opened, and Rias and her peerage walked into the room.

Issei's and Akeno's eyes happened to meet as she walked in, but after a second of stiff silence, she flashed him her usual smile, as though nothing had happened yesterday. Issei wondered if she had taken his words to heart.

"My little sister and her peerage. They were heavily involved in the Kokabiel incident a few days ago."

"I've read the report. My thanks for your hard work." Michael said with a smile, and Rias bowed in acknowledgement of his gratitude

"Sorry. The idiot from my side caused you guys a lot of trouble." Azazel said with a grin, not a hint of shame or regret visible on his features. Rias twitched in irritation at his nonchalant attitude, but wisely chose to hold her tongue.

"Please take your seats over there." Grayfia said to Rias and her peerage as she pointed them to the remaining empty seats that Sona's peerage had not taken up.

"Now that everyone has arrived, let's make sure that we're all on the same page. All of us here know of and acknowledge the Biblical God's death." Sirzechs said with a serious expression on his face. Everyone else in the room, save Azazel and Vali, both of whom looked vaguely amused, and Ophis, who did not react at all, adopted a similarly serious expression.

Since there was no other reaction than that, Sirzechs nodded and was about to say something when Amaterasu raised a delicate hand, catching everyone's attention.

"Before we start the conference, the Shinto Faction has something to announce, not just to the Three Faction, but to the rest of the world."

Amaterasu turned to look at Ophis, who nodded and stepped forward.

An oppressive aura pressed down, causing extreme discomfort to everyone who wasn't at least as strong as Issei's level. As it was, Issei was having a bit of trouble breathing, as was Vali, from what he could see.

"…On this day, with the leaders of the Three Factions as my witnesses, I, Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon, hereby announce my affiliation with the Shinto Faction."

Though she had spoken in her usual monotone, there was power in her words, so much that no one in the room dared to doubt her.

The overall reaction was rather subdued. Most of the people in the room already knew that Ophis had allied herself with the Shinto Faction. In fact, the only ones in the room who had reacted with more than just the expression of minor discomfort from the power Ophis was releasing were Michael and his Angel subordinate. Both of them had a wide-eyed, gobsmacked expression on their face that did not suit their gentle features at all.

Issei had expected Serafall to have a similar reaction, but evidently, Sirzechs had already told her about Ophis beforehand.

"I, Sirzechs Lucifer, leader of the Devils, bear witness and acknowledge the Ouroboros Dragon's words."

"I, Serafall Leviathan, leader of the Devils, bear witness and acknowledge the Ouroboros Dragon's words."

"I, Azazel, leader of the Grigori, bear witness and acknowledge the Ouroboros Dragon's words."

The three leaders that were already in the know before the conference announced their acknowledgement, prompting Michael to snap out of his daze.

"…I, Michael, acting leader of Heaven, bear witness and acknowledge the Ouroboros Dragon's words." Michael said after a moment of silence.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, shall we begin the conference proper?" Sirzechs said, turning his attention back to his fellow leaders of the Three Factions.

The conference began in earnest. The delegation from the Shinto Faction felt slightly out of place, since the purpose of the conference was to discuss the future of the Three Factions, of which they were certainly not part of. At this stage in the conference, the members of the Shinto Faction present were little more than witnesses. It was not like they minded. This was rather entertaining to watch.

It was also at that point that Susanoo finally got off the ground and took a seat next to his older sister. He grumbled as usual, but stayed quiet and listened to the leaders of the Three Factions talk, or at the very least, he was doing a good job of pretending to listen.

The fair majority of the conference was mainly Michael and Sirzechs taking turns to express their views, with Azazel occasionally throwing in his own two cents, which would cause the other Factions to pause and stare at him for several awkward moments before resuming. Issei got the feeling that Azazel knew exactly how the others would react when he spoke, and was thus doing it on purpose. He did appear to be the leader who was taking this conference least seriously, but Issei knew that that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Now then, Rias, could you present your report about the Kokabiel incident?" Sirzechs turned to look at his little sister, who rose from her seat with a slightly nervous expression on her face.

"Yes, Lucifer-sama."

Rias started speaking of the events that led up to the confrontation with Kokabiel, choosing her words carefully as she did so. Her words may decide the future of the Three Factions, so it was only natural that she was a bundle of nerves at the moment.

"My report is finished. That is all that I, Rias Gremory, and my peerage, have experienced during the incident." Rias finished her report after describing the final confrontation against Kokabiel, Issei's own intervention and subsequent victory, as well as Vali's arrival to retrieve the defeated Kokabiel.

"Good work. Take your seat." Sirzechs nodded to her, the image of pure professionalism that Issei could appreciate.

"Good work, Rias-chan!" Serafall said in her bubbly voice, and the effect was ruined. Issei briefly mourned for the past moment before his attention returned to the conference.

"Now then, Azazel, after hearing this report, I would like to hear the response of the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels." Sirzechs said as he turned his gaze to the only Fallen Angel present in the room. Following his actions, everyone else in the room turned their attention to Azazel as well.

If he was bothered at all by the sudden scrutiny, he didn't show it.

"Oh geez, do I really have to keep saying this? Like I said before, regarding this incident, Kokabiel acted completely on his own accord. The other leaders of the Grigori and I had nothing to do with it. Anyway, the idiot got his ass kicked by the Sekiryuutei and was retrieved by Vali. After that, he was judged by our internal court system, and was sentenced to eternal frozen confinement in the Cocytus. He won't be coming out ever again. As for why we chose that particular punishment for him, it's all in the material I sent you before the conference. That's all I have to say." Azazel said with a hint of amusement in his voice as he spoke.

"The explanation leaves much to be desired, but I suppose that isn't important right now. What I want to know is whether or not the rumors that you have no intention of starting a war between the Three Factions are true." Michael said with a sigh.

"Of course. I don't have any interest in wars. In the report, Kokabiel criticized me because of that, didn't he?"

Issei nodded silently to himself. He had overheard Kokabiel screaming something like that right before he had interrupted. About how Azazel refused to actively fight the Devils and Heaven, and spent most of his time researching Sacred Gears.

"Azazel, then why have you been gathering Sacred Gear possessors over the years, especially during the past few months, if not to wage war against us or Heaven?" Sirzechs asked.

"Yes, even after a long time, you never launched an attack against Heaven or the Devils. When I heard that you had recruited the Vanishing Dragon, I was particularly weary." Michael added.

"Oh, for the love of…That was just for the sake of my Sacred Gear research. If you're that skeptical, how about I send you all a full copy of all of my research? Even if I am doing research, it doesn't mean that I'm planning to wage war. I already said I don't have any interest in wars, didn't I? I'm perfectly happy with the way the world is right now. I even ordered my subordinates to not interfere in the affairs of humans. I have no interest in interfering with the Church's or the Devils' interactions with humans. Good grief, suspecting me just because of something like that, am I the least trustworthy one in this room?" Azazel grumbled.

"That's true."

"That's right."

"Got it in one~!"

Sirzechs, Serafall and Michael concurred at the same time. Around the room, everyone basically had an expression of agreement. Azazel clicked his tongue as he scratched his ear with his pinky.

"Tch, and here I was thinking that you three would be more agreeable than God or the original Maou. You guys are pretty troublesome in your own way too. Ah, whatever, let's make peace then. That was the intention of the Angels and Devils from the beginning, right?" Azazel said with a grumble.

Once again, everyone stared at Azazel. Issei had already guessed that that was to be the crux of the conference, but it was surreal hearing it from Azazel of all people.

Then, Michael smiled.

"Yes, that was what I wished to propose to the Devils and the Grigori. Let us end this meaningless conflict. Continuing the way we are now would only bring harm to the human world. The original cause of our conflict, God and the original Maous, have fallen. There is no longer a reason for us to fight. What we need right now is to band together, in order to prevent a collapse of the power balance in the world." Michael declared fervently, prompting a bout of laughter from Azazel.

"Ha! So the stubborn Michael has finally started thinking by himself! Back then, you always went 'God this' and 'God that'."

"…I have lost many things in the Great War. But, there is no point is wishing to get something that is already gone back. Guiding humans is the duty of Angels. We, the Seraphs are of the opinion that the most important thing now is to watch over and guide the children of God."

"Oi, that speech of yours will cause you to fall…or at least, you would have back then. But, the world has become a better place after you took over the system. It's vastly different from the time that the original Fallen Angels fell." Azazel said with a smirk as he rested his chin on his hand.

"We're the same. Though the original Maou have fallen, the Devils must move on in order to survive. We do not desire war. Another war would only bring devastation to our kind." Sirzechs said.

"That's right. The Three Factions can no longer afford to continue in this meaningless cold war. If another great conflict were to break out, it would only end in our mutual destruction. The war will doubtlessly ravage the world as well." Azazel had become serious, all hints of mirth all but gone from his face.

"Is a world without God wrong? Would a world without our God fall into ruin? If you think so, then look around you. The world continues even now. Not just humans, even you and I are alive and well."

And then, Azazel proceeded to say the words that would stay with Issei for a very long time.

"…The world goes on even without God."

The conference had been a fairly simple affair after that. All the pieces just seemed to fall into place once it was clear that the Three Factions were united in one purpose: to bring an end to their internal conflict once and for all.

They spent a few minutes discussing battle potential and the like before taking a break, during which Michael had addressed and apologized to Asia and Xenovia on his initiative for their exile from the Church.

He had explained that while the Biblical God had fallen, the System he had used to grant blessings, power Holy artifacts and exorcisms, and perform his many miracles still existed and was still operational. However, with his death, no other being in Heaven possessed the power to keep the System running, not even the Four Seraphs put together. So, they resorted to powering the System with Michael as the core, and the faith of their many followers, still ignorant of their deity's death, throughout the world to make up for the rest.

Needless to say, no matter how many humans contributed their faith to power the System, it would never, ever be collectively enough to match the power of the Biblical God, and thus, the effects of the System were noticeably weakened compared to when the Biblical God was alive.

Not only that, faith was incredibly fickle. Even the smallest seed of doubt could taint it and render it unusable to power the System. That was why any factor that could possibly negatively influence the faith of the Church's followers had to be removed immediately. Factors like heretical Sacred Gears such as the 13 Longinus Gears that were said to possess the ability to slay Gods, and Asia's own Twilight Healing that could be used to heal any being, not just the followers of the Biblical God, as well as those who knew of the Biblical God's demise but did not keep their mouth shut about it, like Xenovia.

Following the explanation, Michael once again apologized to the two, who simply shook their heads and proclaimed their faith in the late Biblical God, prompting a smile from the acting leader of Heaven.

After that, the conference started again, this time with the Shinto Faction involved. The Three Factions, while now united, were still lacking in power compared to other Factions, even if one were to factor in the two Super Devils, Sirzechs Lucifer and Ajuka Beelzebub, and Vali, the Hakuryuukou. Which was why they requested the alliance with the Shinto Faction which, while not the strongest Faction in the world, still ranked amongst the top 5, and had the allegiance of the Ouroboros Dragon.

As always, Susanoo almost screwed it up with his antics until Amaterasu finally got irritated with him and set him on fire with her divine flames. As Susanoo stopped, dropped and rolled on the ground in an effort to extinguish his sister's flames, a useless endeavour as the flames could only be extinguished by Amaterasu's will or after seven days had passed, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi began the task of negotiating with the Three Factions.

In some ways, this part was a bit more nerve-wracking for the Three Factions than making peace with each other, considering the Ouroboros Dragon was there in the room and not on their side yet, but a compromise was eventually reached, with the Shinto Faction forming an alliance with the Three Factions in return for the reduction of the Christian presence in the Japanese community, and a couple of other, unimportant matters.

"So, that will be it." Sirzechs said. It appeared that the conference had come to an end.

"Wait, before that, I'd like to confirm something. The opinions of those outside of the Faction leaders who have the power to change the world. Let's start with the invincible Hakuryuukou. Vali, what's your opinion of the current world?"

Vali simply shrugged in response.

"I'm fine with peace as long as there are still strong opponents for me to fight."

Issei felt a smile grow on his face at his rival's words.

"Hm, well, I already expected that. Then, Sekiryuutei, what about you?"

"I'm with Vali. I don't mind peace as long as I can fight strong people."

*BAM*

"Oof!" Issei grunted when Ophis elbowed him yet again. This time, there was a hint of a small pout on her face.

"…And if I can remain at Ophis's side." Issei added, causing her to brighten up slightly.

Everyone seemed to snicker or giggle depending on their gender at that. Susanoo, who was still on fire, stopped in his useless attempts to put them out long enough to make a whiplash sound before he resumed rolling on the floor. Amaterasu seemed to remember that she had set him on fire and figured that he had been punished enough, and so extinguished her flames...only for Susanoo to be set on fire again by a retaliatory shot from Issei. Susanoo cussed him out even as he tried to put them out. Issei's flames were weaker than Amaterasu's, so he would probably succeed after a while.

Azazel coughed and everyone's attention shifted back to him. His eyes were now on Ophis, who simply returned the gaze unblinkingly.

"The one I wish to hear the most is the opinion of the strongest being in existence. Ophis, what is your opinion of the world?"

"…I'm fine with it. Whether it's peaceful or not, I don't really care."

"You say that because right now, you have Hyoudo Issei. However, unlike you who are eternal, Hyoudo Issei, while half-God, is without a doubt still a mortal. He will most likely have a longer lifespan, but it will eventually expire, and that's not even considering his chances of dying on the battlefield. What do you intend to do once he is gone?" Azazel asked with a very serious expression on his face.

"…" Ophis did not reply, but there was now a pained and complicated expression on her face, unperceivable by anyone who did not know her, but plainly obvious to Issei who had been by her side for over a decade. Obviously, she had never considered that Issei would one day leave her side. She turned to look at Issei in dismay, who simply smiled at her and patted her head.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Issei said to her. Ophis nodded uncertainly, and gently, but insistently squeezed the hand that was currently on her head.

Issei frowned at Azazel, sending him a silent warning. Azazel sighed, but dropped the line of questioning.

An awkward silence filled the room. No one really knew what to say after that.

*BOOM*

Thankfully, the silence was broken for them, by the sound of an explosion from outside, rocking the room and shocking everyone out of their stupor.

"What the…?"

"Are we under attack?"

Everyone turned to the window, beyond which a massive column of smoke could be seen billowing from somewhere on the school grounds. Then, something even more shocking shattered.

*SHATTER*

The barrier that was surrounding the school grounds, powered by the soldiers outside guarding the venue, shattered into countless glass-like fragments.

"What!?" The leaders let out simultaneous sounds of shock at the sight.

That was when the screaming from outside began.

"What the hell are these things!?"

"Uwaaaaah!"

"Dammit, don't underestimate the Grigo-Aaaaaaaagh!"

The soldiers outside started screaming in pain and fear before they were abruptly cut off, one by one, to be replaced by an incredibly loud and booming voice, filled with sadistic glee and malice.

"Hahahaha! What's wrong, you little peons!? Come on, come on, come on! Put up a better fight!"

"What the hell is going on out there!?"

Everyone rose from their seats and moved to the window. Shock was not a strong enough word to describe their reaction when they saw the chaos outside.

Somehow, without them noticing, an entire army had congregated in the town and infiltrated the school. Well, perhaps infiltrated was not the appropriate word. That would imply that some measure of stealth had been utilized. The army had forced their way into the school grounds with nothing more than sheer power.

The army…was odd, even by supernatural standards. For one thing, they were comprised of numerous identical copies of two beings, a bipedal, winged, giant reptilian creature covered in dark, sickly green scales, and another reptilian creature, this one looking like a fusion between a massive apple tree, if apples could be gold in color, and a hundred-headed dragon.

All of them were identical in not just their appearance, but even their powers. Their auras felt exactly the same, the only differences being magnitude. They ranged from being as strong as Middle-Class Devils to being almost as strong as Issei himself in his current base state, with no increases to his power by Boosted Gear or his divine gifts.

And then there were the two who led the charge. Again they had the appearance of the two types of beings in the army, but they were much bigger, and much more powerful. The truck-sized bipedal one had power that could rival even the Faction leaders, excluding the Shinto trinity and Sirzechs, and the building-sized hundred-headed tree-dragon hybrid's power was almost at the level of a minor God. Those two were most likely the originals that the rest of the army was cloned and mass-produced from.

The bipedal one was the one who was laughing as he tore through the soldiers with contemptible ease, a far cry from the other Dragon, or their inferior clones who all had a blank expression on their face.

Issei had no idea who they were, but there was absolutely no doubt as to what they were. Dragons. Extremely powerful ones at that. So powerful that there was no way that they were not legendary Dragons that were known to the world in some way. But, even so, Issei just couldn't identify them.

A weight appeared around his left forearm, and Issei realized that Boosted Gear had summoned itself into the material plane. Next to him, Issei found that Divine Dividing had done the same, appearing on their accord on a startled Vali's back.

[Albion, are you seeing this?]

[Yeah, but I can't believe it. How are those two still alive? They were supposed to have been killed long before even we were sealed.]

Everyone turned to look at him and Vali after listening to the Heavenly Dragons' short conversation. Issei looked down at the red gauntlet on his left forearm.

"Ddraige, do you know who they are?"

[Of course. You should too. They are famous Dragons, though I don't mean that in a good way.]

Issei frowned. Infamous, powerful Dragons who were supposed to be dead? There was only one group of Dragons that fit that description.

"Evil Dragons. Those two outside are Evil Dragons."

[Correct. The bipedal one is the Crime Force Dragon, Grendel, the Dragon slain by the Geatish hero, Beowulf. The hundred-headed one is the Insomniac Dragon, Ladon, the Dragon that once guarded the Garden of the Hesperides, the orchid of the Queen of the Greek Gods, Hera. He was slain by Heracles, renowned as one of the greatest heroes of all time. Both of them were killed long before Albion and I were sealed away into Divine Dividing and Boosted Gear, so I can't explain how they're even alive and here right now, or why there are so many inferior copies of them.]

"Evil Dragons…troublesome opponents have shown up. Are they part of the organization that planned an attack on us?" Azazel groaned.

"Azazel, you started gathering Sacred Gear possessors much faster than before in the past months…was it because of this organization?" Sirzechs asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah. Preparations for a war, I guess you could say. They are a pretty dangerous bunch."

"To be able to revive the fallen Evil Dragons…just what kind of enemies are we facing?"

"Does it matter? They're enemies, which means we just have to defeat them. Those Dragons have been slain before, which means we just have to do it again." Issei said as he opened the window and prepared to jump down.

"It sounds interesting to have two Evil Dragons as opponents. I'll go too. Azazel?" Vali looked to his boss for permission.

Azazel looked at his subordinate for a moment.

"Eh, do what you want. We leaders have to remain here to create a new barrier, so we can't exactly do much anyway. But, try to bring one or two back alive. I'd like to conduct some research on them."

"Sure. Hyoudo Issei."

"Yeah, let's go."

"Balance Breaker!"

[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!]

[Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!]

The two Heavenly Dragons announced, and red and white light filled the room. It died down, revealing Issei and Vali in their respective Balance Breakers, the Scale Mails. They were identical in appearance, aside from the obvious differences like color scheme and the absence of wings in Issei's case.

"Onii-sama, let us go too. This town is mine and Sona's territory. We must defend it."

"Hm…do as you wish, but be careful. The ones outside…they're not your run-of-the-mill enemies. Dragons are notoriously strong." Sirzechs warned his little sister.

"Understood, Onii-sama."

The two jumped out of the window, Issei landing on the ground and Vali taking to the air.

"There's no need to worry. Leave the bulk of the enemy forces to me and Vali. The rest of you just hang back and take pot shots until we're done. After that, you can take care of the remainders. Vali, once we've cleared most of the army, we'll go after the original Grendel and Ladon." Issei said with an authoritative tone, causing everyone to listen to his words.

"Fine with me." Vali nodded without a care, causing Issei to wonder if he was really listening.

The Devils didn't look happy about staying on the sidelines for most of the fight, but conceded his point. The invading army was strong, not opponents they could afford to take on lightly.

"Ophis, stay here. The opponent is a bit stronger than what we're used to, but it's not at the level where you would have to step onto the battlefield."

Ophis stared at him, a small hint of worry in her eyes. Evidently, Azazel's words from before were still haunting her. But, eventually she nodded and sat down on one of the vacated chairs.

"Now then, shall we begin?"

Issei and Vali leapt out of the open window, Issei landing on the ground and Vali taking to the air.

Almost immediately, as though sensing that much greater threats had appeared on the battlefield, the Grendel and Ladon clones turned their attention away from the soldiers and to the two Heavenly Dragons.

The Grendel clones flew up to confront Vali while the Ladon clones bum rushed Issei. At the same time, Issei and Vali waved their arms. Black flames consumed the battlefield, immediately igniting the Ladon clones that led the charge and preventing the others from approaching carelessly.

Above in the air, countless bullets of light rained down on the Grendel clones in a merciless barrage, courtesy of Vali. The bodies of both dead and dying Grendel clones crashed back down to the ground, hitting the Ladon clones and sending the whole army into disarray.

"The hell, these guys aren't really much of a challenge." Issei declared in a bored voice.

"Well, we can only expect so much from mere clones. I would like to think that the originals are more entertaining." Vali said as he continued to bombard the seemingly endless number of Grendel clones chasing him.

"Let's hope so."

Issei raised his hand again. The black flames spreading across the ground halted in its advance and turned into sharpened black flaming tendrils, spearing through the Ladon clones one after another.

"Hm?" Issei let out a sound when he saw some of the Ladon clones throw up barriers in an attempt to block the flames. They did hold out for a few seconds before the barriers were pierced and the Ladon clones were slain.

"Barriers?"

[Yeah, Ladon is famous for his incredible defense which is said to be the greatest among the Evil Dragons. Even Heracles had a tough time killing him, remember?]

Ddraige commented as Issei cut through the remaining Ladon clones with swords of black fire, easily cutting right through the weaker ones. As for the stronger ones, well, let's just say flames have a terrible disposition to set fire to wood. Even if Issei couldn't cut through them with mere arm strength, the powerful divine flames easily ignited the Ladon clones' wooden bodies, killing them slowly and agonizingly.

An explosion from up above caused Issei to pause in indulging his inner pyromaniac and look up to see Vali slaughtering the Grendel clones with a large variety of spells. Balls of flames, shards of ice, bolts of lightning, jagged pieces of earth, blades of wind, it seemed as though Vali had full command over the elements. Issei smirked. As expected of his rival, the strongest Hakuryuukou of all time.

Not wanting to be outdone so easily, Issei snapped his fingers, producing sparks of black lightning that engulfed his left hand. Very much like how the white lightning that was used to create his Raijin no Yoroi was created via the use of Yang manipulation, this black lightning was created with Yin manipulation.

One person could usually only manipulate one and never the other unless it was through other means, but Issei was a special case due to his divine grandparents. Amaterasu was a female, often associated with Yin, but was also the Goddess that ruled over the Sun, which was a symbol of Yang. Susanoo was a male, associated with Yang, but ruled over the seas, a symbol of Yin. Likewise, Tsukuyomi was a male, like Susanoo, and thus associated with Yang, but ruled over the moon, a symbol of Yin. These contradictions did not interfere with their abilities, but instead increased their proficiency over Yin-Yang manipulation. Thus, Issei, who possessed the blood of two of those Gods, could naturally manipulate both as well, though being male, was better at Yang manipulation.

Yang was the power of positivity, gentler, protective, which was why it was better suited to being used for defense, like his Raijin no Yoroi. On the other hand, Yang was the power of negativity, and was much more aggressive, which was why it was used in offence, like his black flames, and now his black lightning.

Issei raised both hands, his right hand covered in black flames and his left in black lightning and slammed them together. Immediately, a massive shockwave of both fire and lightning surged through the battlefield, tearing the remaining Ladon clones to pieces and even taking out some airborne Grendel clones that Vali had missed.

The Gremory and Sitri peerage stared in shock. It had been a completely one-sided massacre, over in less than 5 minutes. They didn't even have a chance to do anything.

By now, the few remaining dregs of the enemy army were beginning to flee, their survival instinct finally kicking in. Issei and Vali didn't bother chasing after them. With that few of them left, the soldiers could easily take care of them.

"Now then, where did the big ones go?" Issei muttered to himself as he looked around for the originals.

"Well, if it isn't Ddraige!"

That was the only warning Issei got before a massive winged form dropped down from the sky. He barely had time to raise his arms before an insanely heavy fist slammed into them, shattering his gauntlets and sending him flying with ease.

"Holy shit, this guy is strong!" Issei frantically thought to himself as he attempted to regain his balance in midair, even as terrible pain shot through his arms. It appeared that even the legendary power of his Scale Mail wasn't enough to absorb the force of the punch.

Issei flipped in midair, allowing him to land on his feet. He noticed he had been knocked back a considerable distance with just that single punch.

"A fluke? Or…"

Issei didn't have any more time that that to ponder before Grendel closed the distance between them and pounced on him with a manic, toothy grin splitting his face almost in half. Pouring more energy into his right arm to quickly regenerate his gauntlet, Issei intercepted Grendel's second punch with one of his own, and immediately regretted it when the gauntlet shattered again like it was made of glass and felt the bones in his right arm shatter under the force.

"Urgh…!" Issei grunted as Grendel closed his hand around his injured fist and squeezed hard, forcing him down to his knees from the sheer pain. It appeared that it was no fluke. Grendel really was that fucking strong. But, something was up. From he had sensed from the window earlier, Grendel was only at the level of a Maou. Issei's current strength, compounded by the power of the Scale Mail, should have already exceeded that, even if the margin was smaller than he would have liked. But somehow, he was still being overpowered. Badly.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! What's wrong, Ddraige!? You're even weaker than before! Man, you're pathetic! Getting yourself sealed by some upstart God and becoming a tool of humans, I seriously can't believe you're the same Dragon who defeated me before!" Grendel laughed maniacally, an insane gleam in his yellow, slitted eyes as he towered over Issei.

*BAM*

A white gauntlet slammed into the side of Grendel's face. His head had been forcefully turned by the impact, but other than that, there was no indication that the attack had any effect. However, the surprise from the attack caused him to loosen his grip enough for Issei to get away and throw a ball of black flames at him.

Grendel turned back to him only to find his vision obscured by a black fireball that collided with his chest, setting it alight immediately. But, instead of roaring in pain like Issei had expected, Grendel laughed and did something no one could have expected. He dug his claws into his chest and tore the portion of his body that was set alight off and toss it to the ground nonchalantly. Blue blood splattered across the ground as Grendel exposed his own muscles and sinew lying beneath his scales and skin.

Then, the patch of torn skin, muscle and sinew bubbled, boiled and smoked. Issei watched in morbid fascination as Grendel's skin and scales regenerated almost instantly, leaving him completely unscathed.

"What the hell…?" Issei couldn't help but mutter in shock at the sight in front of him.

[Partner, something's wrong. Grendel's always had a few screws loose, but even I've never seen him pull something like this before. Not only that, but he's stronger than when I last saw him, and that wasn't too long before he was killed. Certainly not long enough to become that strong. He's been modified, and I'm assuming that the same thing has been done to Ladon too.]

Ddraige's voice carried a hint of wariness and disgust as he warned his host.

Issei shifted his eyes to the side as Vali landed next to him. Grendel did the same thing, and his grin grew even wider if that was even possible.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Albion's here too! What, you got yourself sealed too!? Pathetic, so pathetic!" Grendel said as he guffawed at them.

"Vali, this one is dangerous. We have to take him on together." Issei said with a serious voice as his regeneration started to kick in and fix his broken arm.

"Hmph, I know. Let's do it." Vali said as he prepared to move.

"Come on, come on, come on, Heavenly Dragons! Give me a good fight!" Grendel yelled as he charged like a mad bull at them.

Issei and Vali leapt into the air and hovered as he passed beneath them. But, the reprieve only lasted a moment as Grendel took flight and followed them. Both of them dodged Grendel's punch and retaliated with one of their own each, Issei's going into Grendel's gut and Vali's going into his face yet again.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Is that all!?"

Grendel didn't even so much as flinch when he was struck by the two Heavenly Dragons, and before either of them could react, Grendel slammed his fists into their armor, shattering them instantly. Both of them managed to hold steady and delivered kicks to the back of Grendel's knees, causing them to bend forward.

They didn't stop there, they quickly followed up with flurries of punches and spells, but even after all of that, Grendel didn't even budge.

Vali was sent flying with a haymaker to the face that Issei was sure had broken or at least dislocated his jaw. Issei dodged the straight aimed at his gut and made to punch Grendel's open back when Grendel's segmented tail slammed into his stomach with so much force that all of the air in Issei's lungs was immediately evacuated.

Issei was sent to the ground by a punch to his chest that he was sure had shattered his rib cage, proven right when he tried to get up and coughed up blood even as the Scale Mail regenerated.

"Dammit, he's tough."

[Grendel may be the smallest, but he also has the hardest scales among the Evil Dragons, so hard that some call him Adamantine Grendel. Ordinary attacks won't do anything to him.]

"Could have mentioned that sooner, like when we were getting our asses kicked." Issei grumbled to his partner as he rose. A distance away, he saw Vali prying himself out of the crater he had formed when he had crashed.

"Well, if normal attacks aren't going to cut it, we'll just to have make them stronger." Issei said as he raised his gauntlet.

[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!]

Ddraige's voice announced the command in rapid succession. The same move Issei had used against Kokabiel took almost a full minute. This one had taken less than 5 seconds and unlike back then, Ddraige did not need to announce 'Explosion' for Issei to feel the power boost.

Issei moved at an even greater speed than before and closed the distance between him and Grendel in an instant.

Grendel blinked, and in the next instant, an armored fist rammed into his snout.

"Ngh..!"

Issei grinned when he heard Grendel grunt in pain and felt his fist crack at least a couple of Grendel's fangs and possibly his jaw.

"It's working…!" Issei muttered to himself. Grendel might have been strong, but it wasn't a difference that couldn't be overcome.

[Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!]

Vali also seemed to have realized the same thing and immediately cut down Grendel's power. The oppressive aura that had surrounded the Crime Force Dragon diminished rapidly. However, Issei noticed that it was not by as much as it should have been. Vali halved his power six times, so Grendel's power should have dropped to a sixty fourth of its original level. However, from what he sensed, it had only dropped by perhaps half at best, as though Vali had only halved his power once. Perhaps his body had a high level of resistance?

Either way, not ones to miss an opportunity, he two Heavenly Dragons released a succession of attacks on the weakened Grendel, who roared in pain and anger as his renowned Adamantine Scales began to break down under the force of countless physical and magical attacks, tearing through his skin. Blue blood gushed from the wounds on his body even as he attempted to swat his two opponents away. However, even his speed had heavily diminished, allowing Issei and Vali to dodge his clumsy attacks with ease.

"ENOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUGH!"

Finally, Grendel roared uproariously, generating visible shockwaves that caused the entire campus to tremble and destroy the surroundings. Issei and Vali were forced to halt in their attacks to avoid getting caught up. And that reprieve was enough for Grendel to act.

Folding his wings, Grendel dived down to the ground, landing next to the corpse of one of his numerous, inferior clones. He grabbed it by its tail and lifted it into the air. Issei briefly wondered if he was perhaps planning on using the corpse as a weapon when he did something even more unexpected. Grendel brought the corpse up to eye level, open his jaws wide…and bit the corpse's head off.

"What!?"

Issei, Vali and everyone else watching exclaimed in shock, transfixed by the macabre sight even as Grendel swallowed his clone's head with a great gulp.

The two Heavenly Dragons landed on the ground and were promptly buffeted by Grendel's aura, which was suddenly increasing rapidly. It wasn't back to its original level yet, but it was getting there.

"What just happened!?"

"HAHAHAHA! I'll let you two in on something good! These weakling clones of me and Ladon, they weren't just created to be foot soldiers! Their main function is to increase mine and Ladon's power exponentially and heal our wounds when we eat them! And as you can see, it's an all-you-can-eat buffet for us! You should have destroyed the bodies properly just now! You won't get the same chance again!" Grendel said as he guffawed even as he continued to chew on the remainder of the corpse, his malicious aura increasing with every bite.

Grendel swallowed the last part of his clone and let out a loud belch. Just as he said, all of the wounds that Issei and Vali had inflicted on him were gone, and the power Vali had stolen from him had been restored, and even increased. It was now almost at the same level as Ladon, who was silently watching a distance away.

Then, he vanished from sight. Almost immediately, his aura reappeared behind them. Instinctively turning around to face the threat, Issei and Vali were greeted by the sight of Grendel's massive arms moving towards them before they were struck a second later. The two careened through the air, their armor shattered by the force of the attack. Try as he might, Issei was unable to regain his balance in time before he slammed into a tree at the edge of the school grounds, easily snapping it in half. Vali landed next to him in a heap.

The two got to their feet only to find Grendel already in front of them. Issei had the wind knocked out of him again when Grendel slammed an elbow into his gut and delivered a kick to Vali's abdomen at the same time. As they staggered, the Evil Dragon wrapped his arms around their neck and slammed them down into the ground.

Issei and Vali lay on the ground, their bodies paralyzed and wracked with pain. Grendel leapt up into the air and started descending with his feet outstretched, one for each of them. Issei managed to roll out of the way in time, but Vali wasn't so fortunate. Though he had managed to put up a barrier in front of him, Grendel's foot tore right through it like it was paper. Issei caught sight of Vali hacking up blood as Grendel's foot slammed into his stomach right before the impact crushed the earth beneath them with such force that Issei had been knocked off his feet and so much dust had kicked up that Issei couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.

[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!]

Abandoning any hope of seeing any time soon, Issei instead increased his own power in preparation and reached out with his other senses to find Grendel.

After a while, enough time for his Scale Mail to regenerate, the hairs on the back of his neck tingled, and Issei immediately turned around with his arms raised defensively, just in time to block Grendel's haymaker. Now that his power had further increased, he was able to withstand the attack and hold his ground. The shockwave of the clash dispersed the smoke, allowing Issei to see the devastation Grendel's attack had wrought.

The ground around them had shattered, there was no other way to put it. A massive crater marred the school grounds, marking the spot where Grendel had crashed into Vali and the earth beneath, and the ground surrounding the crater was covered in cracks. The nearby trees had been either destroyed outright by the impact, or uprooted and lay on their side in pieces. Irregular piles of dirt lay throughout the area, blasted away from their original position within the flat ground. Vali lay in the center of the crater, not moving at all. Only the very slight movement of his chest told Issei that his rival had yet to kick the bucket.

An increase in the force pressing down on his arms brought Issei's attention back to the stalemate that he was slowly beginning to lose. Grendels's aura had increased again. It appeared that while hiding under the cover of the dust, Grendel had sensed that Issei had increased his own power and devoured the corpse of yet another one of his clones to gain more power to match him.

Well, maybe sensed was too strong a word. Boosting wasn't exactly a discreet process, especially with Ddraige literally shouting out whenever he doubled his power. Issei briefly wondered if there was a way around that before he returned his attention to the fight.

"Tch, Ikazuchi!" Issei roared.

Immediately, ten white lightning bolts appeared out of nowhere and hovered in the air above them.

"Ha! My scales are too hard to be affect by a little electric sho-"

Grendel was cut off when the ten white lightning bolts struck him, but did not electrocute him. Instead, they acted as physical blades and cut through his scales, impaling themselves in his body. It was unlikely that it had done any serious damage, but the shock alone was enough for Issei to gain the upper hand and push Grendel away.

As Grendel staggered backwards, Issei snapped his fingers. Immediately, the ten black bolts exploded, releasing the electric charge inside them throughout Grendel's body, creating a massive storm of wild electric bolts.

"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" Grendel roared in pain so loudly that Issei was forced to cover his ears.

The electric storm surrounding Grendel abruptly dissipated, revealing Grendel's smoking, charred body, still standing upright. Forget that, he was still conscious, and looking very angry.

"You little braaaaaaaaaat!" Grendel roared as he charged at Issei. Issei moved backwards, but not fast enough as Grendel's massive fist closed around his waist and lifted him into the air. Issei struggled in an attempt to break out, but Grendel's grip was far too strong.

"I'm going to enjoy ripping your flesh from your bones, brat!" Grendel sneered with a malicious gleam in his eyes. Issei gritted his teeth as he felt his Scale Mail strain and break under the force of Grendel's tightening grip. The shattered metal fragments dug painfully into his skin, causing fresh blood to flow from the cuts they made.

"I won't allow it! Hyoudo Issei is my destined rival, only I can kill him!"

Grendel once again roared in pain when blades, this time of light, pierced through the scales along his arms. With a flex of his massive muscles, the blade shattered into tiny fragments. He turned around to meet the offender.

Vali floated in the air behind him, his Scale Mail fully regenerated and several dozen magic circles formed around him, each humming with energy. With a wave of his hand, each magic circle released a blast of energy, bombarding Grendel and causing him to reflexively let go of Issei, who immediately got out of range of Vali's attack.

Eventually, Vali's bombardment ended, and all was silent for a moment. The dust cloud the attack had kicked up obscured Grendel from view, but his aura was still strong, so there was no way he had been defeated by that.

That was proven right when Grendel burst out of the dust cloud, another punch aimed for Vali, who quickly turned his body to the side, allowing Grendel's fist to lightly graze his chest plate before slamming his palm into Grendel's snout.

[Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!]

Once again, Grendel's power fell, allowing Vali to easily punch him aside and hit him with another bombardment of spells. Grendel recovered from the attack and flew off, presumably to eat another one of his clones' corpse to recover his power. Vali made to go after him, but Issei stopped him.

"Wait, Vali. This is going nowhere. Your Dividing isn't very effective against him, and no matter how much power we gain, or how much he loses, he'll just eat another one of his clones to recover. We have to finish him off with a decisive attack." Issei said as he rose to his feet.

"…Then, I suppose our only option is 'that'?" Vali asked with just a hint of trepidation in his voice. Issei nodded.

"Let's hurry. Grendel won't take his own sweet time."

"Hm. I'll send a message to Azazel so that the leaders will increase the strength of the barrier."

Vali created a small magic circle next to his ear and started speaking into it.

Meanwhile, Issei took a deep breath and channeled his power throughout his Scale Mail. A blood red aura started to build up around him, causing the earth to tremble slightly beneath him. Malice filled his mind, almost completely blacking it out, but he quickly pushed it back before it was able to overtake him.

A burst of bright white light caused Issei to look up and see that Vali had done the same, resulting in a pure white aura appearing around him. The trembling of the earth grew stronger with the addition of Vali's power.

"Shall we begin then?"

"Let's."

"I, who am about to awaken…"

[It has begun!]

[Yes, it has certainly begun!]

"I, who am about to awaken…"

[They'll be blasted away!]

[Yes, they'll certainly be blasted away!]

Issei and Vali recited identical verses. Immediately, the jewels set in their respective Scale Mails started flashing, and voices not belonging to them started chanting in malicious tones of excitement. The malicious auras around them begun to grown thicker and stronger as the past Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou voiced their resentments. Once again, Issei pushed the malice away, though it did take a bit more effort this time.

"…Am the Heavenly Dragon who has stolen the principles of domination from God."

[It's always been like this, no matter what!]

[That's right, it's been like this every single time!]

"…Am the Heavenly Dragon who has stolen the principles of supremacy from God."

[The Dream ends!]

[And the Illusion begins!]

Issei and Vali finished the second verses of their respective chants. They were no longer identical, but the malice in the voices of their respective predecessors grew equally more malicious with each word that passed through their lips. This time, the blackness at the edge of Issei's mind refused to recede no matter how hard he pushed. His breathing slowly grew heavier as he found it harder to stay controlled. Opposite him, Issei saw that Vali was experiencing similar problems by the way he was hunching over ever so slightly.

"…I sneer at the Infinite and despise the Dream…!"

[What the world seeks…!]

[And what the world rejects…!]

"I envy the Infinite and pursue the Dream!"

[Everything!]

[Yes, give us everything!]

Unlike Vali who had recited the third verse of his incantation perfectly and fluently, Issei gritted out the third verse of his own incantation through his teeth. It wasn't because the malice of his predecessors was adversely affecting his mental faculties. It certainly was a bit of a problem, but not one he wasn't able to handle. He had trouble saying because he hated that particular verse of the incantation. 'Sneer at the Infinite', Gods, he hated that part. Even just thinking about it made feel like he needed brain bleach.

The Infinite…it was an obvious reference to Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, and the one Issei loved most in the world. To dare to say that he would 'sneer' at her, that he would even think ill of her, it honestly made him want to summon Futsu-no-Mitama and crudely lobotomize the treacherous section of his brain that dared to think of such blasphemy.

The very first time he had used this incantation, back during his training, the look of hurt that flashed across Ophis's face…that had pained him more anything else he had experience before or after. Not even the hell Susanoo put him through that he called training could compare. That very same day, he had gotten down on his knees and begged for her forgiveness. Being the usually magnanimous Dragon God that she was, she had forgiven him, but he also vowed to never use this power again until he found a way to change the incantation. And now, he was breaking that oath.

But, he pushed back his disgust and self-loathing. He needed this power. He would apologize and beg for forgiveness later, right now, he needed to win.

"I will become the Red Dragon of Domination…"

[It was always power!]

[It was always love!]

"I will become the White Dragon of Supremacy…"

[No matter how much time passes…]

[Or how the world changes…]

[ALL OF YOU ALWAYS CHOOSE DESTRUCTION IN THE END!]

As Issei and Vali finished the second last verse of their incantations, their predecessors, both Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou, shouted in maddened elation.

"…And I will drag you into the depths of a blood red abyss!"

"…And I will bring you to the limits of a white paradise!"

Issei and Vali shouted the last verse in unison with their predeccesors.

[Juggernaut Drive!]

[Juggernaut Drive!]

The instant the last verse was finished, Ddraige and Albion announced identical commands. In the next instant, both of their auras exploded outwards in massive flashes of red and white light that brightly illuminated everything within the boundaries of the barrier around the school. Everyone nearby felt an immensely heavy pressure pressing down on them as well as a terrible sense of foreboding.

The Scale Mails began to transform themselves, growing and sharpening in various places. The helmet of the Scale Mails elongated upwards, forming horns, and fangs appeared near the mouthpiece of the helmet, which had become jagged in shape. Massive wings appeared, or in Vali's case, simply grew bigger, on their backs. Their gauntlets and greaves turned into claws. Their metallic tail that had initially grown out of the portion of the armor that covered their upper back disappeared and grew out of the part covering their tailbone. It grew thicker and spikes appeared around it, giving it a much more dangerous appearance. Both of them were covered in a tremendously powerful aura, bloody red in Issei's case, and pure white in Vali's.

Essentially, they had turned into human-sized, bipedal Dragons. And they were much, much more powerful than before. The sheer force of their presence was causing the earth to tremble, and the ground cracked beneath them with every step they took. The barrier above them shook for a moment before it flashed with blue light and stabilized. It appeared that the leaders had done their job and strengthened the barrier.

This was Juggernaut Drive, the strongest technique available to the Sekiryuutei and the Hakuryuukou. It temporarily unsealed the bulk of the Heavenly Dragons' powers that had been sealed away by the Biblical God, inaccessible even with the Scale Mail. However, in return, the technique would drain away their life force, and the malice of their predecessors, remaining within Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing even long after their deaths, would manifest all at once and shatter the current Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou's sanity. But because Issei and Vali both possessed immense reserves of power which they could use to substitute as the cost of Juggernaut Drive and maintain their sanity at the same time, as long as they had the mental fortitude to push back the malice of the previous Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou, they could use Juggernaut Drive without much consequence, at least until their power ran out.

However, Issei suspected that that wasn't all there was to the technique. The power boost granted by Juggernaut Drive was immense, that was true, but for being the power of the legendary Heavenly Dragons that even Gods feared, the power just seemed to be…lacking. As though the seal on the Heavenly Dragons wasn't completely removed. The fact that the majority of Ddraig's old abilities still could not be used, something that said Dragon had confirmed himself, it appeared that Juggernaut Drive wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Right now though, the power they had would be enough to easily take on Grendel, and perhaps Ladon afterwards, if they could last that long.

Issei twitched slightly. The malice of his predecessors were being held at bay at the very edges of his mind, roaring as it pressed against his resistance.

"Let's end this." Issei said to Vali, who nodded. They unfurled their massive draconic wings, and with a great beat, took to the air to track down Grendel.

It didn't take that long. They only needed to follow the sound of his manic laughter, and eventually found him back where they had first confronted the army, in the middle of a one-sided fight against the remaining soldiers from the Three Factions, the Onmyoujis from the Shinto Faction, the Gremory and Sitri peerages. It appeared that they took Grendel's reappearance without the two of them to mean that Grendel had defeated them and moved to engage him in combat themselves. However, they were being torn apart.

The foot soldiers were already trashed by the inferior Evil Dragon clones, so Issei hadn't expected them to be able to do anything against the original. And like he thought, most of them were already defeated, laying around the courtyard, either dead or dying.

Most of the melee fighters from the two peerages lay defeated. Koneko in particular was badly injured, considering that she was out cold and her entire right side was covered in blood.

Rias, Akeno, Sona and the spell casters from the Sitri peerage bombarded him with the strongest spells they could muster, but all of them simply bounced off Grendel's Adamantine Scales. Even the Power of Destruction wasn't able to do more than shave off the topmost layer of Grendel's scales, and they regenerated almost immediately.

Saji was trying to halt his movements and take away his power with Absorption Line, but Grendel kept snapping the line every time it touched him. Perhaps it was because he was a Dragon that he was able to physically interact with the line.

Asia was working overtime to heal the defeated fighters, beads of sweat rolling down her face even as she knelt at Koneko's side and healed her wounds.

The only ones who appeared to be doing any real damage against the Crime Force Dragon were Xenovia, purely because of her Durandal's raw power, and Yuuto, who had already activated his Balance Breaker and dual-wielded a Holy-Demonic Sword along with a golden western sword that was giving Issei a bad feeling. That was probably Ascalon, the Dragon Slaying Holy Sword that Michael had given Yuuto as Akeno had mentioned. The cuts that they were making on Grendel's body were not healing, at least not as fast as the other wounds that had been inflicted on him so far. However, even then, the wounds Xenovia and Yuuto were inflicting were superficial at best and not in any way debilitating for Grendel, who was wildly swinging his fists at the two swordsmen. It appeared that they had realized somewhere along the way that Grendel's attacks were not something they could take on, so they immediately dodged rather than try to block. However, Grendel had evidently already wizened up to their tactics. When he saw that his fists would miss their target, he lashed out with his tail at Yuuto and turned to fire a massive fireball at Xenovia.

The massive appendage slammed into Yuuto, who had attempted to block with his two swords. But the force of the attack shattered the Holy-Demonic Sword and though Ascalon was able to block it and even cut it slightly, Yuuto was knocked back into the wall of the main building and slumped to the ground unconscious.

Xenovia swung Durandal at the fireball and after a brief struggle, was able to cut it down. However, that opening was more than enough for Grendel to close the distance between them and nail her in the gut with a fist. Xenovia too lost consciousness, and with that, the only two fighters that had even a ghost of a chance of defeating Grendel were out of commission.

"Yuuto! Xenovia!" Rias cried out in worry for her fallen Knights.

"Hey girly, you don't have the time to be worried about others!" Grendel cackled as he went after the spell casters.

It was then that the two Heavenly Dragons decided to make their presence known.

*BAM* *BAM*

"Guoh!?" Grendel let out a startled groan when two immensely heavy fists slammed into his face at the same time, probably shattering his cheek bones, before he was sent flying.

But, Issei and Vali didn't stop there. Issei summoned more bolts of lightning while Vali cast dozens of spells at once. The bombardment of attacks struck Grendel before he even hit the ground.

Issei took the opportunity to turn to the others on the battlefield.

"Leave. We can't guarantee your survival while we're both using Juggernaut Drive." Issei told Rias, who started when she realized who it was.

"Issei? That armor…so that's the legendary Juggernaut Drive." Rias muttered to herself as she stared at his transformed armor before she and Sona started moving to evacuate everyone else from the battlefield, an effort interrupted when Grendel got up and attacked her again.

Issei stepped in front of Rias and countered Grendel's punch with one of his own. This time, with the power of Juggernaut Drive, it was Grendel who got off worse. With a sickening crunch, the scales on Grendel's arm shattered and the bones cracked.

"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!?" Grendel roared in pain as his right arm now hung limply at his side.

Issei lashed out with his clawed gauntlets and easily serrated the scales on Grendel's body, leaving multiple cuts on his chest, which he quickly took advantage of by slamming a palm over them and releasing bolts of electricity into Grendel's body.

Despite the terrible pain running through his body, Grendel didn't scream. He couldn't, no matter how much he wanted to. The electricity surging through his body, destroying him from the inside, had completely paralyzed him the moment it reached his nervous system, preventing him from even so much as blinking, much less trying to get away or even express his agony.

With Grendel frozen in place, the two Heavenly Dragons unleashed a vicious assault on him, tearing through his scales and into his flesh, bombarding him with an assortment of spells. By the time they were done with him, Grendel had lost both of his arms and a leg, and the rest of his body looked more like a mass of bloody flesh and scales. He was regenerating, but compared to before, it was obviously much slower.

"It's over. He can't fight back anymore. Let's finish him off, then we'll deal with Ladon." Vali said to Issei, who nodded.

"Allow me." Issei said as he stood over Grendel and looked down at him.

The mouthpiece of his helmet slid open, revealing what appeared to be a small barrel of a laser cannon inside.

[Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!]

In a single instant, Issei's power shot up to sixteen times what it was just before. The Boosting process had been sped up even more due to Jugegrnaut Drive's influence. The laser barrel in his mouth glowed blood red before it unleashed a powerful red beam of light that disintegrated Grendel's body…

…Or at least, it would have, had it actually hit Grendel. However, before it could, a multi-layered barrier appeared around Issei, blocking the laser. Though the barriers had instantly shattered, the laser had been weakened enough that the only thing it did was a burn a small hole through Grendel.

"Hmph, impressive, to break my barriers so easily. So, this is the power of Ddraige's and Albion's current hosts. In that case, how about this?" A calm voice cut in on them.

Suddenly, more barriers, greater in both numbers and power, appeared around Issei and Vali. Both of them immediately punched the first barrier in front of them. It shattered upon contact, but immediately, another barrier came up to replace it.

The two of them turned to see the hundred-headed Insomniac Dragon, Ladon, finally stepping up from the sidelines to join the fight.

"…Ladon, you bastard…why are you interfering in my fight?" The mass that was Grendel groaned as it's only visible, swollen eye looked up at his fellow Evil Dragon with contempt.

"Hmph, did you already forget our orders? 'Wreak havoc on the conference, but don't get yourselves killed. It'd be troublesome to have to revive you two again.' I'm simply abiding by those orders. These two are above your current level." Ladon's front head spoke calmly in the face of his comrade's rage.

"To hell with you…! I'm not gonna leave like this! Not after they humiliated me!" Grendel shrieked in rage.

"I know. That's why I brought these with me." Ladon's front said and gestured towards his body.

Grendel, Issei and Vali turned to look, and the latter two paled when they saw what the rest of Ladon's hundred heads were holding in their mouths.

Corpses. The corpses of the fallen Grendel clones, 99 of them, all waiting to be devoured by the original to increase his power and heal his wounds. Issei and Vali doubled their efforts to break the barrier, but Ladon simply snorted and increased the power of the barriers accordingly, rendering their efforts useless.

"Dammit!"

[Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!]

[Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!]

Issei increased his own power while Vali diminished the power of the barrier and took it in as his own.

"Do hurry up, Grendel. I won't be able to hold those two for long." Ladon said as he focused his attention on the two Heavenly Dragons who actually were giving him a challenge to keep them contained. His other 99 heads dropped the dead Grendel clones in their mouths near the original, who immediately sank his fangs into the nearest one.

Issei and Vali watched in horror, even as they pounded away at Ladon's barriers, as Grendel's body was slowly restored to its former state. With his body restored to its former condition, he was able to eat even faster, going through the corpses at an insane speed.

"Dammit, in that case, we'll just go after the source!"

[Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!]

The laser cannon in Issei's mouthpiece charged up again and fired a concentrated beam of red light that pierced through the barriers around him and struck Ladon, piercing through the massive tree that made up most of his body.

"Mmph!?" Ladon flinched as the laser seared his main body and lost his concentration for just a short moment, long enough for Issei and Vali to smash through the barriers around them and simultaneously cast wide-area spells to destroy the rest of the corpses before Grendel or Ladon ate them.

"Hey!" Grendel yelled in displeasure when the rest of his meal went up in smoke as Issei's black flames tore through the corpses and Vali's spells destroyed even the ashes.

However, the damage was already done. Grendel's power was now almost equivalent to theirs, and Ladon, who must have eaten a few corpses of his own while their attention was elsewhere, was at the same level.

"Ha! Well, whatever! Shall we continue our fight then, Ddraige, Albion!?" Grendel challenged them with a grin, making a 'come hither' gesture with his fingers.

Not taking any chances, Issei charged at Grendel with his new speed and turned his body hard when Grendel threw a straight punch at him. With a mental command, draconic arsm grew out of the jewels on the Juggernaut Drive-enhanced Scale Mail and grabbed the arm that had gone over his shoulder, preventing it from moving.

Grendel immediately threw a punch with his free hand at Issei, who reacted by catching it with both hands. With both of his arms locked in place, Grendel found himself immobilized, in very, uncomfortably close proximity with the Welsh Dragon. Apparently, he realized what a terrible idea that had been and immediately attempted to pry his arms free. However, Issei held firm and pointed the laser barrel in his mouth at Grendel. The barrel glowed red as Issei prepared to fire a laser at Grendel's face.

*BAM*

Issei's helmet was struck hard, causing his head to get knocked around inside like a demented ping-pong ball and stars to fill his vision, knocked to the side so fast that his neck almost snapped. The laser that had initially been aimed for Grendel's head had been redirected towards the far ends of the school grounds, all the way to the barrier, which trembled as the laser struck it, but did not break.

Issei turned back to Grendel, ignoring the aching pain in his neck, to find that it had been Grendel's tail that had struck him in the side of the head. And that in that moment that he had been distracted by the pain, Grendel had pried his hands loose and was ready to let loose a hail of punches on him. That is, until Vali kicked him in the back of his knee and forced him down to the ground.

Not wanting to miss this opening, Issei coated his hand in black lightning and thrust it at Grendel, intending to pierce his skull. However, his hand stopped less than an inch from the top of Grendel's cranium. A barrier had appeared around his hand, making it look as though he had stuck it through a hole in a wall.

Beside him, Vali fell over when the same thing happened to his legs.

Ladon stepped forth, a gleam of displeasure in his eyes. Evidently, he didn't appreciate having a hole burned through his body, especially not with a high-powered laser.

"Impressive. That attack managed to break through the natural barrier around my main body. I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less from Ddraige's host. But, don't think you'll be able to get off easily for this, Sekiryuutei."

The barriers surrounding the two Heavenly Dragon's limbs exploded with great force, knocking the both of them away.

The two quickly recovered, but not fast enough. Ladon's hundred heads extended and shot towards them, jaws wide open, and white, very sharp fangs gleaming under the dim light of the surroundings.

Issei and Vali quickly cast many spells in succession, blasting the hundred heads aside. However, they quickly recovered and spew forth sickly green clouds of noxious fumes.

Issei and Vali leapt backwards into the air to avoid them, but failed to notice Grendel above them until he slammed his fists into their guts. The two crashed into the ground below, where they were immediately besieged by Ladon's heads.

Even as Ladon's head wrapped around them and attempted to take a bite out of them, Issei summoned black flames around him, causing Ladon to recoil and drop him to prevent his body from catching fire. Issei landed on the ground in a heap.

He quickly got up and tried to throw a black fireball at Ladon to free Vali from the draconic bondage he was trapped in, but before he could, Grendel leapt into the fight and breathed a massive fireball of his own at him, forcing Issei to turn his attention to him and leave Vali to fight Ladon himself.

Issei and Grendel engaged in a fistfight, every blow sending shockwaves that rippled throughout the school grounds, tearing the ground, cracking the buildings, shattering the windows. The cleanup crew would have their hands full fixing this mess. Assuming they survived.

Pieces of metal shattered and fell off of his Scale Mail as Issei and Grendel exchanged blows, though the damaged parts quickly regenerated. Issei frowned, unseen from inside the armor. It was a very, very close contest, but Issei was undoubtedly losing ground. Grendel was hitting unperceivably faster and harder than he was, and each time they exchanged blows, Issei would lose out by an exceedingly small margin. Right now, the damage was practically non-existent, but it would slowly and steadily build up, and become his downfall.

Worse still, his reserves, while incredibly large, were being sapped fast. Right now, they were somewhere at 60%-ish, and that would only last for perhaps half an hour before completely running out. He had to find a way out of this.

Identical loud roars temporarily brought his attention back to his destined rival's own battle. Vali had somehow managed to pry himself out of his opponent's hold and was now taking on Ladon in a battle of spells. Lore never spoke of Ladon possessing any particular affinity for spellwork, other than his barriers. That was more of the Evil Dragon of Zoroastrianism origins, the Thousand Diabolism Dragon, Azi Dahaka's shtick. However, watching the magic shootout between him and Vali, the strongest and most talented Hakuryuukou of all time, Issei couldn't help but feel that the chroniclers of Greek Lore did a piss poor job of properly recording Ladon's epoch.

The two were currently locked in a stalemate. Each of Ladon's heads was only capable of casting a single spell on their own, but there were a hundred of them, as opposed to his opponent's numbers of one, and because each of them possessed a brain of their own, their casting speed wouldn't be affected like how a single person would have trouble casting the same number of spells on their own. On the other hand, Vali was countering by casting multiple spells by himself to offset Ladon's. Though even he wasn't good enough to cast a hundred spells strong enough to stop Ladon's in the same amount of time the Insomniac Dragon needed to cast, the ones that he wasn't to stop, he used a variation of his Dividing ability, Half Dimension, if he remembered correctly, to cut down their size and power before they were able to reach him, and thus, by the time they hit him, they weren't strong enough to do any serious damage.

Vali's situation was far from ideal despite that. His reserves were also still being quickly drained by Juggernaut Drive, though he was comparatively better than Issei, since his Dividing power allowed him to absorb a portion of his opponent's power and use that to sustain Juggernaut Drive. However, it wouldn't last long. This forbidden technique was just too costly. They had to find a way to break the stalemate, and soon.

"Hey, don't look away in a fight, dumbass!"

Issei's attention was forcefully brought back to Grendel when a heavy fist slammed into his gut, causing bolts of pain to wrack his body even through the Scale Mail, which unfortunately also left him open to a massive fireball being fired at him point blank.

Being the grandson of Amaterasu, Issei couldn't be affected by flames, no matter how strong, unless their origins were of a power greater than his divine grandmother. Unfortunately, that near invulnerability did not extend to the Scale Mail, which began to melt and deform under the sheer heat of the fireball, leaving him unable to move properly. Not to mention, Issei didn't have any immunity to molten metal. He didn't feel the heat, but it was uncomfortable as hell to have liquid metal dripping onto his skin.

Grendel ended with a vicious haymaker straight into Issei's face, exposed due to the deformation of the Scale Mail. A broken nose was the least of Issei's problems as the punch shattered almost all of the bones in his head and almost turned his softer parts, namely his eyes and his brain, into goo.

Issei landed on the ground, blood flowing from pretty every orifice on his face. The Scale Maul slowly began to reform around him, but it did nothing to relieve the pain he was experiencing.

"Aaaaaaaagh!"

Issei looked, or at least tried to, when he heard Vali's yell of pain. From his angle, he could vaguely make out Vali trapped in the maw of one of Ladon's heads, the massive fangs breaking through his Scale Mail and sinking into his flesh and blood body underneath.

Ladon's head swung him around for a bit, worsening whatever wounds that had already been inflicted on Vali, before spitting him out onto the ground next to Issei. Vali's pristine white Scale Mail began to regenerate, but not before Issei caught sight of discolored flesh around Vali's wounds. It appeared that Ladon's poison had entered his body. Being who he was, it was unlikely Vali would be killed by the poison, but it would weaken him unless it was treated quickly.

"HAHAHAHAHA! What is this!? Is this seriously the limit of the power of the two Heavenly Dragons!? Pathetic, so pathetic! I may have gotten stronger, but if it had been the old you, you would have still easily torn me apart, Ddraige, Albion!" Grendel guffawed as he walked up to them.

"I concur. You two once stood at the pinnacle of power amongst us Dragons, leaving aside those impossible existences, Ophis and Great Red. No matter how powerful we have become, you should have been able to defeat us. Ddraige, Albion, look just how low you two have fallen. The hosts of the great Heavenly Dragons, almost dead at our feet. Grendel is right. It's incredibly pathetic." Ladon commented as he too moved towards them, his blank voice now sounding slightly mocking.

Issei gritted his teeth. White hot anger washed against the walls of his mind, not all of it his own, threatening to overwhelm his mental barriers.

At the insult to their pride as Sekiryuuteis, not only his own, his predecessors' anger had increased even further, shouting at him to obliterate the enemies in front of him for their slights against them. Even Ddraige didn't seem to be able to hold back the massive tide of anger.

"Destroy them, Hyoudo Issei!"

"How dare they insult the legacy of the Heavenly Dragons!"

"Unforgivable, unforgiveable. Unforgiveable!"

"Stand, Hyoudo Issei! Use our power and crush them!"

Issei felt the crushing tide of anger against his mental barriers ebb away…no, they simply changed direction. Instead of attempting to take him over, their anger now lent him strength, pointed at Grendel and Ladon like a sharpened blade. Power flowed into his body from an unknown source, causing his body to once again be enveloped in a blood red aura.

Issei rose to his feet despite the pain in his body, and even that was already fading. His regeneration wasn't kicking in faster than before. It was simply that the combined anger of his predecessors, Ddraige and his own were allowing him to ignore the pain.

[Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!]

Issei turned to see Vali also standing, looking a bit better than he did a moment ago. Issei guessed that he had used his Dividing ability to reduce the potency of Ladon's poison in his body.

Issei caught sight of the cold anger on Vali's face before his helmet regenerated, and he assumed that he had received a similar lecture and support from his predecessors and Albion.

"…Vali, let's cooperate on this. Now's not the time for the rivalry between the Sekiryuutei and the Hakuryuukou to get in the way of victory."

"…Yeah, let's end this."

"Did you guys hear that? None of your squabbling and whatever grudges you hold against each other. If you want retribution for the insult to our pride, then it's time to work together." Issei spoke, addressing the two Heavenly Dragons as well as the previous possessors of the two Longinus.

[Hmph, it's displeasing, but I'll cooperate for now.]

[Took the words right out of my mouth. I don't like it, but I can't let what those two said slide either. I'll cooperate with Albion just this once.]

The two Heavenly Dragons grumbled, but consented. Issei had already expected that. While they were prideful, they knew how to set their differences aside when the situation called for it. The real problem was…

[Work together with the Hakuryuukou!? Blasphemy!]

[We are more than enough on our own!]

[The Hakuryuukous cannot be trusted! We fight alone, Hyoudo Issei!]

[We return those words to you, Sekiryuuteis! Deceit is your specialty! We will also fight alone!]

The previous Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou immediately started squabbling amongst each other. Issei had been afraid of this. Ddraige and Albion were capable of swallowing their pride, but the past Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou were imprints of their resentment, left behind in the Sacred Gear, and their greatest grudges are against each other. Getting them to work together would be a herculean task.

Issei grunted and gripped his head as he felt the hatred of his predecessors being redirected towards Vali, and turned to see that Vali appeared to be having similar problems. This was bad, at this rate, they would end up being overwhelmed and start fighting each other instead, obliterating everything within a hundred kilometer radius in the process.

"Oi oi, what is this!? You having an argument in the middle of our fight!?" Grendel screeched in anger at being ignored.

"Wait, Grendel. This is interesting, let them finish. Who knows, perhaps they'll gain an even greater power when they're done." Ladon said, stopping his partner from attacking.

[I think that's quite enough.]

A new male voice, one Issei had never heard before, sounded from one of the jewels, far more calm and tranquil than the others. Suddenly, Issei felt the hatred of his predecessors being suppressed, if only by a fairly small margin.

[That voice…Is that you, Belzard? I thought you and Elsha had departed to the deepest depths of Boosted Gear.]

[We did, and we initially didn't have any intentions of reemerging, until we saw something rather interesting. The current Sekiryuutei and the current Hakuryuukou, working together against common enemies. We honestly never thought we would ever see the day.]

This time, it was a female voice that had answered Ddraige.

Issei immediately recognized the names. Belzard and Elsha, known as the strongest and the second strongest Sekiryuutei respectively before him. The former had defeated two Hakuryuukous in his lifetime, and the latter was the strongest female Sekiryuutei. Ddraige had spoken highly of both of them, and Issei had looked forward to meeting their imprints in Boosted Gear's core, but they, fully sentient and not just swallowed by their lifetimes' worth of hatred and grudges, had left for the deepest parts of said Sacred Gear long before his time to escape the squabbling and resentment of their fellow Sekiryuuteis. Why were they…?

[My fellow Sekiryuuteis! I understand your reservations! All we have known all of our lives was that the Hakuryuukou was our sworn enemy, and that we were destined to fight to the death with them! We have killed countless Hakuryuukous, and they have killed just as many of us!]

Belzard proclaimed loudly so that the imprints of the other Sekiryuutei could hear him loud and clear.

[That's right! The Hakuryuukou is our enemy!]

[Our lives were destroyed because of them!]

[Destroy them! Destroy them! Destroy them!]

[For the sake of our pride, as Sekiryuutei!]

In response to Belzard's words, the other Sekiryuuteis started shouting in outrage and hatred. Issei groaned as their hatred grew stronger before it was suppressed again.

[Yes, that's it! Pride! That's what all of this has been about! For the sake of our pride as the Sekiryuutei! And they do the same for the sake of their pride as the Hakuryuukou! However! Right now, that pride is being challenged by these Evil Dragons! Not just our individual prides as the Sekiryuutei and the Hakuryuukou, but also our collective pride as the hosts of the two Heavenly Dragons! For the first time, we, the Sekiryuutei, and the Hakuryuukou are united in purpose! That's why it's time for us to put our differences aside and defend our pride!]

Belzard proclaimed, trying to get the two sides to work together, and for an instant, Issei felt the hatred of his predecessors decline before it returned in full force. Belzard's words were getting through, but it would take a lot more than that to convince them.

[Ha! Impossible! We will never work together with you! Don't go off making decisions on your own, damned Sekiryuutei!]

The previous Hakuryuukou interjected, angry at Belzard. Vali struggled to remain standing as the hatred of his predecessors began to overwhelm him.

[Is that really true?]

Another new male voice interrupted, this time coming from Vali's Scale Mail. Vali started breathing heavily, taking in huge gulps of air as he managed to recover.

[You…!]

One of Issei's predecessors growled at the sound of the voice. It must have been a previous Hakuryuukou that he had fought, and most likely lost to.

[Oh, is it you, Rodin? It's been a while since I last heard from you.]

Albion asked with a tone of inquiry.

[Hey, Albion. I took a leaf out of those two's books and decided to separate myself from the others. But I decided to return. Belzard and Elsha, was it? I agree with you two. These two are interesting. Doing what none of us have been able to do and crush down the hatred of the Heavenly Dragons with sheer will. Perhaps they hold the answer we had been desperate for all of our lives.]

[You…! You intend to betray us!? Betray our pride!?]

The other Hakuryuukous directed their anger towards the rebel, who snorted.

[And what exactly has that misguided pride, born out of hatred, done for us? Where did the path of hatred and destruction that we followed lead us? Our loved ones perished, our lives were destroyed, we were devoured by our resentment, we became drunk on our own power, ultimately leading to our deaths, and even now, we are bound by that hatred.]

The rebelling Hakuryuukou, Rodin, retorted heatedly and bitterly. Once again, Issei felt the anger of his predecessors wane, affected by the words of one of their sworn enemies.

[Exactly. This pride of ours only led us to ruin. It's time for a new pride, not born of hatred, but born of hope.]

Elsha said, agreeing with Rodin.

[Hope!? Is that not what we have been holding onto our entire lives!? Hope that we would be free from this curse! Hope that we would be able to live a long life! We return your words to you, Hakuryuukou! What has hope done for us, but bring us inevitable pain and despair!? What makes these two so different from us!?]

One of Issei's predecessors shouted. This time, his voice was not solely dominated by anger. Along with it were very strong feelings of pain and hopelessness.

[Have you not yet realized? These two are different from us. We allowed ourselves to be swallowed by Juggernaut Drive's power, not because we required it, but because we had given up and just wanted the pain to be over. But, these two did not. They are fighting Juggernaut Drive's corruption because they want the power to live. They do not walk the same path of destruction as us. What they walk is…the path that leads to a bright future.]

At that, the hatred of the previous Sekiryuutei all but vanished.

[These two…they can lead us to a bright future?]

Only one, a previous Sekiryuutei, asked this question with a faint voice, but it was painfully obvious that all of the predecessors, both Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou wished to know the answer.

It was at that point that Issei decided to speak for himself.

"I have no intention of dying anytime soon. I still have many things I have left to do. I will live, and I will show you a bright future, filled with hope. So, lend us your power!" Issei proclaimed passionately.

Next to him, Vali nodded, agreeing with Hyoudo Issei and silently beseeching his predecessors' help.

With flashes of scarlet, not blood red, light as well as that of silver, not pure white, the two Longinus Gears responded to their possessor's will.

[…Centuries of hatred between the Sekiryuuteis and the Hakuryuukous will not vanish so easily. Even now, I cannot forgive the Hakuryuukous for what they have done, and the Hakuryuukous cannot forgive us Sekiryuuteis either. However, just this once, we will cooperate with you. Show us the path that you walk, Hyoudo Issei, and what lies at the end of it.]

And just like that, the hatred that threatened to break through his mental barriers completely vanished, replaced by an intense feeling of hope. Power surged through Issei's body, visibly crackling.

"Vali." Hyoudo Issei called out to his rival, if that was even the correct word anymore, and held his fist out towards him.

Vali got the message and bumped his own fist against Issei's, the first act of reconciliation between the Sekiryuutei and the Hakuryuukou.

The moment their fists touched, a massive gale enveloped them, originating from the jewels on their Scale Mails, each one glowing erractically.

"…!?"

"This is…!?"

[…! Albion, can you feel that!?]

[Yes! I can't believe it, but one of my original abilities, Reflect, has returned! Ddraige, you too?]

[Yeah, Penetrate just returned to me. But, why?]

[Could it be…the condition for the release of the seal on our powers is the cooperation between us?]

[Whatever, we can figure it out later. Partner, now's the time! Defeat Grendel and Ladon already. Use this new ability! You should already know what it does, right?]

Ddraige said to his partner. Issei nodded. Boosted Gear had already given instinctive knowledge of how Ddraige's ability worked.

"Yeah, I got it." Issei said.

The gale died down, and Issei and Vali immediately rushed at the two Evil Dragons, who assumed battle stances.

Issei and Grendel threw fists at each other, but Issei smirked and activated Ddraige's new, or rather regained, ability just before the impact.

[Penetrate!]

The ability activated, and Issei's fist glowed with a scarlet aura as it hit Grendel's incoming fist. Immediately, the scales of Grendel's arm completely shattered as Issei's fist simply tore right through them and destroyed his flesh, muscles and bones. Arcs of blood spurted into the air as Grendel lost one of his arms without managing to do anything against Issei.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!?"

Grendel screamed in pain even as blood continued to pour from the disfigured stump that was once his arm. It was abruptly cut off when Issei slammed his fist into his gut.

[Penetrate!]

Once again, Grendel's renowned scales shattered before the glowing fist, allowing it to tear all the way through Grendel's torso, destroying anything that stood in its path, including Grendel's stomach and a portion of his lungs and heart.

This was Penetrate, one of Ddraige's old abilities that had never returned whether it was in Boosted Gear's base form, Scale Mail or Juggernaut Drive until now. Simply put, it was an ability that allowed Issei to strike his opponent and deal maximum damage over and over as long as it was active. In other words, it destroyed the opponent's strongest defenses, whether it was a physical defense, a magic-based one, or even illusions that prevented Issei from perceiving his opponent. In Grendel's case, his strongest defense was his Adamantine Scales, which was why they instantly shattered. Issei guessed that there were other applications of this ability, but this was the most basic and useful one.

Issei backed away, expecting Grendel to drop to the ground dead after the damage done to his vital organs, but after a few moments, it was obvious that was not what was going to happen. Grendel remained standing, and the hole in his gut and his missing arm were beginning to regenerate. Issei clicked his tongue. His new ability was certainly giving him an edge against the Evil Dragon, but it appeared that the only way said Dragon would die was if his body was completely destroyed.

Flashes of light to his side brought his attention to the fight between Vali and Ladon. Once again, Ladon was bombarding Issei with a hundred spells, but this time, Vali had the advantage.

[Reflect!]

Albion's voice announced the new command, and a transparent barrier appeared around Vali. Ladon's hundred spells struck the barrier, and were immediately reflected back towards Ladon, who was too startled to bring up a strong enough barrier to block them in time. Ladon roared in pain as his own spells struck him back, though the damage had been mitigated by the natural barrier around his body.

That was Reflect. Like Penetrate for Ddraige, it was one of Albions's old abilities. It generated a barrier that, as the name of the ability implied, reflected the opponent's attacks back at them. It was the perfect defense against energy attacks, though Issei had no idea of its usefulness against physical attacks.

He honestly wasn't sure what would happen if Penetrate and Reflect were used against each other. The strongest spear against the strongest shield. Considering that Ddraige and Albion's fights back when they still had their bodies almost always ended in stalemates, he guessed that the two abilities would cancel each other out.

Sensing the opportunity, Issei took to the air and flew towards Ladon, dive-bombing him from above.

[Penetrate!]

Ddraige once again announced the new command, and Issei's glowing fist struck the natural barrier around Ladon's body, stopping less than an inch away from the trunk of the tree that made up most of Ladon's body. In the next instant, with the sound of shattering glass, he broke through the barrier and struck the tree, destroying a good part of it, but not breaking all the way through.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Just like Grendel had a few moments ago, Ladon screech in pain and flailed around, trying to dislodge Issei from his body. As he did, he failed to pay attention to Vali, who was rapidly approaching, surrounded by more than a hundred magic circles, each preparing a spell.

With his natural barrier down, and Ladon himself distracted with trying to get Issei off, he wasn't able to do anything when Vali struck him with a storm of spells that engulfed him right as Issei flew off of his body.

It was working. Issei and Vali now had the upper hand. It was almost like these abilities were tailor-made to fight Grendel and Ladon. The situation had completely reversed. Now, it was the two Evil Dragons that were at the mercy of the two Heavenly Dragons.

"DDRAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGE!" Grendel roared as he charged at Issei with his fist reeled back.

Vali stepped in front of Issei and held his hand out.

[Reflect!]

This time, a smaller barrier, just big enough to shield Vali from the front, appeared. Grendel's fist collided with it and after a few moments where it seemed like the barrier would fold first, Grendel was suddenly struck with force equal to that of his own punch. However, the barrier that Vali had created was now cracked, not unscathed like it was against Ladon's spells. It appeared that it was less effective against physical attacks after all.

"Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!" Grendel repeated over and over again with an insane gleam in his anger-filled eyes. His frustration was getting the better of him. Issei couldn't tell if the Evil Dragon was addressing him or Vali.

Grendel opened his mouth wide and a fireball emerged from his throat. It slowly oozed out of his maw, growing bigger and bigger until it almost completely obscured Grendel from view. Issei frowned. Grendel was obviously trying to end this battle with that attack. Not that it would do any good. Issei was immune to fire.

But, Vali wasn't. Issei quickly realized that and stepped in front of his counterpart like he had for him just a few moments ago.

"Take this, brat!" Grendel roared as he fired the fireball that towered several meters over Issei. It moved at a tremendously slow pace, but Issei could sense the power in it. If it hit anyone present on the school grounds but those immune to flames like he and Amaterasu were, or immortal like his divine family and Ophis, they would be killed instantly. Not even Ladon would be able to create a barrier strong enough to contain that monstrosity.

"Futsu-no-Mitama."

Issei summoned his Divine Sword into his hand.

"Again? I think you've summoned me for real battles more this month than you have the past 10 years." Futsu-no-Mitama commented with an amused tone.

"What can I say? Interesting opponents keep coming one after another. Now then, shall we begin?"

Issei raised the Divine Sword over his head.

[Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!]

[Transfer!]

The power boost Issei experienced for an instant was transferred to the katana in his hand, cladding it in a golden aura.

As the giant fireball loomed over him, illuminating the surroundings in reddish orange light, Issei swung Futsu-no- Mitama down in a single vertical stroke. Immediately, the giant fireball was dispersed by an invisible force.

"No…way…" Grendel was struck speechless as his all-out attack was easily crushed in front of him.

Then, he was silenced when the same unseen force rent him to shreds. But even then, the shredded parts of his body slowly inched towards the biggest part of his body still intact, half of his head, which was still wheezing for air even though it was cut off from the rest of its body. Issei frowned. That shouldn't even be possible. Then again, he shouldn't have been able to survive having his heart and lungs destroyed.

[Tch, just what the hell was done to these two? I've never seen modification of this degree before.]

Ddraige clicked his tongue at the sight of their opponent still moving even in his state.

Identical roars brought Issei's attention back to Ladon, who was charging at the two Heavenly Dragons with a maddened glimmer present in all two hundred of his eyes.

The hundred heads all spat out clouds of the same poisonous green gas as before, but this time, Issei was prepared for it. The mouthpiece of his helmet opened up again, but the laser barrel did not release a red beam. Instead, it released a massive stream of black fire that ignited the poisonous gas upon contact, destroying the harmful fluid.

Issei and Vali nodded to each other, thinking the same thing as the other, and jumped into the smoke cloud that had resulted from the explosion, bursting out in front of one of Ladon's heads. With a swing of his Divine Sword, that head was severed from its undulating neck, which twitched and spurted a fountain of black blood for a few moments before it fell unceremoniously, unmoving. It appeared that whoever it was who modified the Evil Dragons didn't give Ladon the same insane regeneration as Grendel. Perhaps it was because Grendel had a terrible habit of taking his enemy's attacks head on while Ladon had his superior magic barriers to protect him. An oversight that would end in Ladon's painful defeat.

The other heads didn't so much as flinch as one of them was killed and simply shot at the airborne Heavenly Dragons, who easily weaved through them to get to the main body. It would take too long to cut off all of the heads, and if the one Issei severed was any indication, Ladon would not regenerate if he was dealt a fatal wound.

Ladon seemed to realize what they were trying to do and immediately created a multi-layered barrier in addition to his natural barrier that had restored itself to protect his main body, but…

[Penetrate!Penetrate!Penetrate!Penetrate!Penetrate!Penetrate!]

With quick successive use of his new ability, Issei easily destroyed all of them, allowing them to land on the back of Ladon where the massive tree that was his core stood.

But, the moment their armored feet touched the scales that covered Ladon's back, the tree shuddered once and suddenly released wooden spikes from its trunk, shooting them in their general direction. Issei once again released a stream of black fire to burn them to ashes, but the spikes pushed their way through the stream towards them. They were certainly on fire, but they weren't burning anywhere near as fast as the wood of the tree of the Ladon clones. He supposed that defeating the original wouldn't be as simple as that.

[Reflect!]

Vali activated his new ability and the wooden spikes crashed into the transparent barrier that had appeared in front of them. The black flames that had engulfed them were immediately dispersed, but the wooden spikes had lodged themselves into the barrier, not piercing through, but remained stuck in the barrier until Reflect did its job and shot the spikes back at the tree with equal force. The spikes hit their mark, but instead of doing any damage, the tree simply reabsorbed them.

Ladon's heads roared as they attempted to get the two Heavenly Dragons away from its core, snapping at them with their massive jaws. This time, Issei and Vali had much less room to move around, so dodging was a no go. Instead, they fought back with equal aggression. Issei continuously used Penetrate to break Ladon's natural barrier and force the heads back with slashes that severed them from the body while Vali held his share of heads at bay with Reflect and then bombarded them with spells. It was successful, but that way, they also had no opening to go after Ladon's core to finish him off, at least not before Grendel fully regenerated and rejoined the fight.

That was when Vali expanded Reflect to block the remaining heads that were lashing at Issei. Issei turned to look at his…comrade?

"Go, Hyoudo Issei. I will stop the heads from pursuing you. Destroy his core." Vali said calmly even as he doubled his efforts to fight Ladon's head.

"Yeah, thanks."

Issei dashed towards the tree once more. As expected, Ladon's heads immediately made to stop him, but Vali held them back with Reflect.

With every step that Issei took towards the tree, the tree reacted by attacking him with spikes and lashing out at him with branches. And each time, Issei sliced through them with the enhanced Futsu-no-Mitama.

Issei reached the tree, which shuddered once more as the bark of its trunk began to morph into the likeness of one of Ladon's heads and spat poisonous gas in his face. Issei barely fired another stream of black fire in time before he would have inhaled it and get poisoned like Vali, who had an ability that mitigated its effects, unlike himself.

Issei swung his Divine Sword over and over again, slashing off pieces of the tree every time. Ladon screeched in agony each time, rendering him unable to attack, allowing Vali some breathing space.

Issei ended his melee with a vertical swing. What remained of the tree was split in half, and instead of sap, black blood poured out of the pieces. Ladon let out one final scream of agony before all of his remaining heads slumped over. It was over. The massive Evil Dragon had finally been felled.

Issei jumped off of the Insomniac Dragon's corpse and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Vali landed on the ground next to him.

"It's over."

"Not quite. We still have to finish that one off." Issei replied, pointing over to Grendel, who was almost done regenerating, though still unconscious.

"Hmph. Do you have a plan?"

"One. We'll use our ultimate attacks to completely destroy their bodies. You dispose of Ladon's corpse. I'll take care of Grendel."

"Got it." Vali nodded and tapped Ladon's corpse with his hand.

"Compression Divider."

[Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!]

Albion's voice announced Divine Dividing's most basic command over and over again. But, this time, it was not Ladon's already dissipating power that was continuously halved, but his body. This was not the power of the normal Dividing, or even Half Dimension. This was the ultimate attack of the Hakuryuukou, Compression Divider, an attack that continuously halved the opponent until they completely vanished from the physical plane.

Ladon's body shrank down to the size of an average human, and then that of a child, and then that of a dog's, and then that of a bird's, so on and so on, until finally, Ladon's body vanished from sight. He was gone.

With that, Vali ended his Juggernaut Drive and even dismissed the Scale Mail. He breathed heavily, supporting himself by placing his hands on his knees, completely exhausted from fighting like never before.

His role was over. Now it was Issei's turn.

Issei walked over to Grendel, who had now fully regenerated and was beginning to stir. He grabbed his tail and threw Grendel into the air.

[Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!]

Issei's power increased to an obscene degree, to the point where his presence was causing the earth to tremble violently. He wouldn't be surprised if the town could feel that, even with the barrier present to isolate the school grounds from the rest of the world.

Issei's chest plate shifted and opened up, revealing a massive cannon, much bigger than the laser barrel present in the mouthpiece. A scarlet aura built up and compressed around the barrel of the cannon, so bright that it bathed the school grounds in its red light.

[Longinus Smasher!]

A massive red beam…no, torrent surged forth from the cannon and moved at Grendel with incredible speed.

At that point, Grendel woke up and saw the red torrent, his end of days, coming towards him. He would not be able to dodge, he seemed to realized that.

"D-Ddraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaige!" Grendel screamed out before he was completely disintegrated by the Sekiryuutei's strongest technique, which moved on to strike the barrier around the school, which did not even last a second before a hole was bored through it and the red torrent washed out into the real world. Issei imagined that they would have a lot of work to do to erase the memories of the humans who were woken up by a massive pillar of red light coming from the most prestigious school in their little town. Still, it was a miracle, and a true testament to the power and skill of the leaders that only the portion of the barrier that was struck directly by Longinus Smasher was destroyed. A lesser barrier would have shattered the moment it was fired in their vicinity.

This was Longinus Smasher. Just like how Compression Divider was the strongest attack of the Hakuryuukou, Longinus Smasher was the strongest attack of the Sekiryuutei. It was a blast of pure destructive force, only able to be used when Issei's power had been increased to a certain degree. Its power was so great that when he had first used it while training, his divine relatives had immediately forbidden him from using it in Takamagahara out of fear that he would accidently destroy it.

Finally, the red torrent dissipated, and Issei dismissed his Juggernaut Drive and Scale Mail as well. It took all of his willpower not to just slump to the ground, utterly spent.

It had been a long battle, and there had been many casualties, but it was now well and truly over.

Just as Issei had thought, cleanup was going to be hard. The school had been utterly ravaged. Most of the grounds were destroyed, the main building had sustained some damage, not to mention the hundreds of corpses of the fallen soldiers. Still, they were making progress.

The hole in the barrier was mended by the leaders so that humans wouldn't go near the place until it was completely fixed and presentable. Once again, Issei had to marvel at their skill.

While the remainder of the foot soldiers and the Sitri peerage helped the cleanup crew fix the damages to the school grounds, Issei and Vali were getting their wounds healed by Asia, who was accompanied by her mistress and the rest of the Gremory peerage, including Yuuto, Koneko and Xenovia, who had all been healed. As the green light bathed over them, all of their external wounds closed quickly. Unfortunately, Twilight Healing did little to replenish their reserves, which had fallen to about a quarter, or get rid of their exhaustion. It also couldn't remove Ladon's poison from Vali's body, though it was able to heal all of the internal damage caused by said poison. Since the poison was inside Vali's body, it could be said that it was in contact with him, and thus he could use his Dividing ability to lower its potency to a negligible level, at least until they could find a way to purge it from his body.

As Asia healed them, Ophis was standing by Issei's side, basking in his attention as he absentmindedly stroked her hair. Rias, Akeno and Asia shot her jealous looks that Issei didn't notice.

The leaders were off to the side discussing the attack and the conference.

"Who would have thought that it would be Evil Dragons who would attack the conference? We've seriously underestimated the enemy." Azazel sighed as he looked at all of the damage the invading force had caused.

"Yes, but now that it's over, perhaps we could put a proper end to this?" Sirzechs asked, prompting his fellow leaders to nod.

"Yeah, it got pretty chaotic, but we got the result we wanted in the end. The conflict between the Three Factions is finally over, and along with our own internal alliance, we also have an alliance with the Shinto Faction which the Ouroboros Dragon is affiliated with. I say all in all, this ended pretty well. How about we all go out for a celebratory drink afterwards? Hahahahaha!" Azazel laughed.

"Oh, that sounds good! I'll magnanimously treat all of you to the best sake in Japan! Bwahahahaha!" Susanoo guffawed just as loudly, causing the other leaders to sigh at his and Azazel's antics.

"Unfortunately, we can't do that. This…organization is a very real threat. If they could revive two Evil Dragons, I think it's a safe assumption to say that the other five have been revived or unsealed as well. Crescent Circle Dragon, Crom Cruach. Thousand Diabolism Dragon, Azi Dahaka. Eclipse Dragon, Apophis. Abyssal Rage Dragon, Nidhoggr. Venom Blood Dragon, Yamata-no-Orochi. Though the Crime Force Dragon and the Insomniac Dragon have been slain, these five still make for a very formidable force. We must prepare for another attack." Sirzechs said with a grim expression on his face.

"I agree, we should return to our territories and organize our forces." Michael said.

"Michael-dono, before that, may I ask one favor of you?" Issei interrupted before Michael could leave.

All of the leaders turned to look at Issei, who barely acknowledged the sudden attention.

"What is it, Hyoudo Issei-kun? If it's within my power, then I shall grant it."

"Since you've acknowledged that Asia and Xenovia were wrongfully exiled from the Church, would you allow them to at least pray?"

At that, it wasn't just one or two people who blinked at him.

"I've caught those two praying or reading the Bible on numerous occasions, even though their mistress should have already warned them of the repercussions. Since they're still that devout even after being wronged, won't you make an exception for those two?"

Michael blinked once more, and then he smiled.

"I see. Yes, if it's just two Devils, I'm sure I can modify Heaven's System to allow it. Interesting, to have two Devils pray to God. Asia, Xenovia, allow me to ask you. The Lord is already dead. Even so, will you still pray?" Michael asked, turning to the two in question.

"Yes, even if the Lord is no more, I still wish to pray."

"Me too. I wish to give thanks to the Lord, and to Michael-sama."

"Very well. I'll modify the System as soon as I return to Heaven." Michael said.

"Issei-san!" Asia cried out in joy and gratitude with tears in her eyes.

"Issei, thank you…!" Xenovia also thanked him, though she was much more subdued than Asia.

"You two can pray without reservations now." Issei acknowledged their thanks with a nod of his head.

"Michael-dono, about the matter we discussed, I trust you to keep your word." Yuuto spoke up, addressing Michael.

"Of course, Kiba Yuuto-kun. I swear on this Holy-Demonic Sword you have gifted to us that I will not allow anyone else to die because of Holy Sword research."

"Good for you, Yuuto." Issei said with a smile to Yuuto, who smiled back in thanks.

"Michael, I'll leave the report to the other Factions to you. Especially the Asgardians and Mt. Sumeru." Azazel said.

"Yes, leave it to me. A Maou or a Fallen Angel wouldn't be well received anyway." Michael said as he turned to his subordinates and began to organized them so that they could leave.

"Now then…I have chosen peace! The Fallen Angels will no longer fight with Heaven or the Devils! Those of you who are dissatisfied with this, you can go ahead and leave! However, I will not show you any mercy if you stir up trouble. Only those who wish to follow me should stay!" Azazel declared to his own subordinates.

"We live for Governor Azazl until the day we die!" All of them shouted as one.

"Thank you." Azazel said with a smile and a voice that uncharacteristically quiet for him.

"Well then, we'll be taking our leave here. I'll see you around, Issei." Azazel said as he created a teleportation magic circle under his feet.

But, just as it was about to activate, it suddenly shattered, shocking Azazel and everyone else who saw it.

"What the…?" Azazel muttered. He tried again, but got the same result. His subordinates tried as well, but not a single one of them were able to leave.

Issei looked up as Michael flew over to them.

"The Angels are unable to teleport out of the barrier as well. Is the anti-teleportation ward malfunctioning?"

"No, as far as I can tell, it's working perfectly fine…"

"That's because I'm the one who's blocking you!"

A jovial male voice suddenly cut in. At that moment, a black magic circle appeared on the ground a distance away from everyone else. Issei did not recognize the emblem on it.

"That's…the mark of the original Lucifer!?" Sirzechs cried out in shock, along with Serafall, Azazel and Michael, who all stared at the magic circle with looks of horror.

The magic circle glowed with black light, and a figure began to emerge from the center. He wore similar ceremonial armor as Sirzechs did when Issei first met him. He had long silver hair and a small pointed beard of the same color. His eyes were icy blue and held a cold yet manic gleam within them as they stared at all of them with a piercing gaze. His lips were curled into a slightly insane smile. There was a terrible aura around him, so great, powerful and evil that it suffocated even Issei.

He looked a lot like Vali, Issei realized. In fact, he looked exactly like what Vali probably would when he was in his 40s.

"Rizevim…!" Vali growled next to him, venom and vitriol dripping from his tone.

Rizevim. Rizevim Livan Lucifer. The son of the original Lucifer and the third Super Devil. That was who was standing in front of them.

"Why would you want to leave? After all, the party's just beginning! Grandpa Rizevim came here to play~!" Rizevim Livan Lucifer said in a childish voice.

In the next instant, hundreds of magic circles appeared around him, each emblazoned with a variety of emblems. Hundreds of people…no, Devils emerged from within them, all glaring at the conference attendees with hatred in their eyes.

The invasion had only just begun.

And I'm done! Wow, this chapter was a doozy! And I even had to cut it off on a cliffhanger because it was getting too long!

As you can see, there are some differences in this chapter compared to its counterpart in canon. For one, Gasper was never released from his seal. From what I understand, the echelons of the Devils only gave Rias permission to release Gasper from his seal in canon because her servants, Issei and Yuuto, had obtained Balance Breaker, albeit incomplete in Issei's case. Compared to that, Rias only has Yuuto this time, and his Holy-Demonic Sword, while impressive, isn't as revered and feared as the legendary Scale Mail.

Ascalon was also given to Yuuto instead of Issei, who received one of the Yasakani-no-Magatamas instead. This will play a role next chapter.

Issei and Vali have received Penetrate and Reflect, as well as taking the first steps towards the alternative path from Juggernaut Drive. And yes, Penetrate is a real canon move. It appears in Volume 18, which hasn't been fully translated yet, mostly because the translator went AWOL for months. Kinda like I did last year.

The enemies have been mostly revealed this chapter! Evil Dragons and Rizevim, appearing much earlier than they did in canon.

The real fight starts next chapter! Look forward to it.

Next update will be Dragonberry Chronicles, where Ichigo will confront the enemy leader.

That's all. As always, please read and review.