Volume 2, Life 6

"We should attack now, while he is distracted, Lord Issei."

Back in the cavernous depths of Canterbury, Issei and the others had stood idly by as Ferdinand pierced his blade into the back of his only remaining comrade. Ravel had made the suggestion to attack, but Issei did not hear her. His focus remained on the body that was slowly bleeding out in front of him, a mixture of emotions stirring within him.

Rage boiled inside of him, though for what reason he did not know. His enemy had killed one of his own, and yet, was it because she had been so defenseless that caused him this anger? Should he be relieved that it had been one less contender to deal with? But he was not like that. He did not celebrate at the deaths of others, even if they were his worst enemies. Most of all, however, was confusion.

He did not have much time to dawdle on why his enemy had killed his own though. It was obvious that the Dullahan was moving once more. He picked up the holy blade that he had given the young girl earlier and inspected it closely, as if to say that Issei and the others were of no concern to him.

"Lord Issei?"

Finally, Issei had managed to catch Ravel's voice, as he turned to look at her.

"Sorry, it seems my mind had gone blank for a second there."

"Well, please do not let that happen too often. We still have an enemy to fight."

Issei placed his hand on Ravel's head, lightly rubbing her head in recognition. "Thanks Ravel, I'll be sure to pay more attention."

Ravel could feel that warmth had begun to gather in her cheeks as unneeded, but very much welcomed praise was given her way. But the warm spot where Issei's hand had been placed faded away, the Crimson Dragon preparing himself to fight once more. "It's time."

His body had kept the boosted stacks he had from before, nowhere near a strain on his body compared to a little over a year ago. Once again, the gauntlet began to broadcast its power as it repeated the same word over and over.

[BOOSTO!]

Issei began to walk towards Ferdinand, his power still growing. Ravel and Kuroka had begun to ready themselves as well, as they too began to use their magic.

Ravel, with her fire, conjured up more fireballs in her hands, ready to launch them towards the enemy at a moment's notice. With her powers of the Phoenix, she was sure that even if the enemy had no physical body to speak of, her powers were more than enough should he be hit by her magic. She could already imagine in her mind the steel cage of the Dullahan's soul melting away as it encountered the intense heat of her fire.

Kuroka began to help as well, the air around her beginning to distort. Knowing that her enemy was something with no physical body, her miasma magic would be as effective as her doing it on a Dragon. That is to say, not very effective at all. Still, it was very easy to say that she had other abilities that she could use to take down this lonely entity, as the crackling of magical energy gathering behind her were anything to attest to as they formed into tiny balls of pure energy. The Dullahan was sure to face her wrath, as the magical energy began to grow, scarring and singeing tiny spots around her feet as she waved her hands in a smooth motion, directing the magic in her hands.

With a flick of her wrist, she began the attack, the magical balls shooting forward, past Issei's shoulder and towards Ferdinand like a barrage of tiny musket balls. Ravel's magic did not lose the race either, as she launched her fireballs at nearly the same time, scraping past Issei's other shoulder with minor burns before crashing directly into the Dullahan's chest, the same place as Kuroka's magic. Add it with Issei's boosted punch, and there was sure to be no way that even a magical being like a Dullahan could survive.

But much to Issei's annoyance, it seemed he was proven wrong.

With minor scraps on his chest plate, Ferdinand had held his hand out. A small barrier was surrounding him, negating the damage from Kuroka and Ravel.

"You're getting more and more annoying."

"You may thank Danette and her sacrifice for that."

Annoyed with the antagonizing tone, Issei charged forward, continuing with his attack.

Ferdinand raised his sword, ready to strike. That was what Issei thought, but was proven wrong once again as the Dullahan brought the sword down with a hard slam. A giant arc of magic formed and destroyed the ground. The earth below began to split, rocks growing and making a fissure along a narrow path, right where Issei had been running.

Issei leapt to his side, missing the rocks that began to spike out of the ground where he had just been standing. But that did not slow him, continuing his charge once more.

Kuroka and Ravel to the sides began to assist their king as they too began to send magic towards Ferdinand in hopes of disabling him. Fire and magic rained down on Ferdinand, who simply stood still, waiting for the attack to come.

"Hmph. You are four hundred years too early to believe you can defeat me using such petty tricks."

With a swing of his sword, Ferdinand easily knocked the balls of magic and fire away, the blade of Joyeuse glowing a faint blue color each time it encountered the magic. It mattered little though, as it gave Issei the distraction he needed to get up close to Ferdinand, ducking low below the Dullahan's waist and driving an uppercut to hollow jaw of his enemy. With a loud clang, the metal head flew off with ease, even though he did little to slow Ferdinand down as the Dullahan quickly swung his sword to cut Issei in half.

Issei managed to jump out of the way, with a smile on his face as he saw one of Kuroka's balls of magic blow up in Ferdinand's arm. The sound of metal hitting the floor told him that the attack was successful in disarming Ferdinand, as smoke from the magical attack covered his body.

But the assault did not stop. Ravel continued with a fireball of her own, launching it to the small cloud of smoke. A bubbling sound came forth as the smoke cleared up, and a set series smoke rose. That was, of course, the melting metal of Ferdinand's left hand, struck by Ravel's fire. A Phoenix's fire, far hotter than any iron could hope to withstand.

It seemed to be the end for Ferdinand now. Disarmed, headless, and even unable to put out the fire that continued to eat up his left arm as he stood there, still as a statue, seemingly unaffected by what had happened.

'Is it over?' Issei thought to himself, as he stared long and hard at the Dullahan. For a few moments, he even wondered if the soul attached to the body was still there, but that question was confirmed, as the sound of laughter began to echo from within the armor.

It seemed as though the current situation had made Ferdinand amused, laughing out loudly as he gripped his left arm, and tore it off from his body, letting the rest of the iron melt away from the Phoenix's flames that continued to eat its way through the metal. Unsure of what was going to happen, the three devils continued to keep their guard up, waiting for the Dullahan to make his next move.

"How Ironic. After all that talk, it seems my bite is not as powerful as my bark." Ferdinand finally mused as he continued to laugh, bending down to pick up the sword below him. Before he could pick it up though, a ball of magic hit the blade of Joyeuse, knocking it out of Ferdinand's reach and sliding near the corpse of its former master. "Hmph. Not even allow your opponent to have a fighting chance?"

"Wouldn't you do the same?"

"Perhaps… Then again, it seems our little match will have to be postponed."

Before Issei or the others could question him about what he was talking about, the earth beneath them began to shake.

"Wha- What is this?!"

"She has awoken. Will you succeed in imprisoning her once again? Or will this become a fitting end to your living legacy, Red Dragon?"

Issei looked up and managed to dodge a piece of rock that had fallen from the sky above him. "Who?! Who is waking up, you bastard?!"

It seemed that he would not get much info as he hoped though, as the Templar was taking this chance to escape. Slightly hesitating between chasing after him and protecting the girls, quickly in an obvious and king-like decision, Issei decided that it was more important to make sure that Ravel and Kuroka were first secured, rather than go after the Templar in this madness. He made his way towards them, bashing and shooting away any debris that would begin to fall on them if they didn't get the chance to do so themselves.

What was thought to be an endless white room turned out to be nothing more than an optical illusion. Pieces of the walls around them and the roof above them began to fall onto them more rapidly as the shaking began to get more intense. The only pillar remaining inside the room, falling apart as the base easily broke apart. In what was thought to be simple chaos before with the Templars had turned even more chaotic and dangerous in a mere moment.

With Dragon wings spread far apart, Issei quickly leapt to Ravel, before dashing back into Kuroka's direction. He managed to grab the girls with precision and brought them both close to his chest. With the two girls huddled underneath him, he took on the brunt of the rubble that fell from the ceiling, harmlessly bouncing off his red armor.

He thought to himself that he was sure to get yelled at by Azazel, or perhaps even his dear Bishop, Ravel, for failing his objective and letting the enemy run away like this. But that just wasn't him. Those closest to him were always the priority, no matter the danger.

Making sure that the girls were safe, Issei stayed strong like that for several minutes, waiting for the earthquake to end. At the same time, unbeknownst to him, a spider-web-like crack slowly began to form on the far end wall. An enemy far greater than Ferdinand was about to make their grand debut.

~~*Oppai-Dragon*~~

It happened as Issei and his two support battled with Ferdinand at the end of his tunnel. It had been shortly after the Rias and the other girls entered the other tunnel, shortly after the fog had begun to form all around them, that a sharp pain stabbed itself into her head as she ran, bringing the pure-blooded devil to a dead stop and down to her knees. Like a thousand needles piercing her skull, the young devil let out a painful scream. What had been absolutely nothing for nearly two hours, the enemy had finally made their move against them.

"Rias-!"

Rias' Queen, Akeno, began to feel the effects of whatever it was that was affecting Rias as well, collapsing to the ground as she placed her hands on her head. Restraining herself from screaming out, Rias was feeling weaker by the second as the unknown attack began to drive her insane. The mist around them grew thicker and thicker with each passing second, bringing them harsher pain with it.

"Rias! Akeno!"

Somehow seemingly unaffected, perhaps due to the Golden Dragon, Asia rushed up to Rias' side, frantically searching for whatever it was that was hurting her. When she noticed that it was her head that was in pain, Asia immediately began using her Sacred Gear on former King's head, hoping to heal her of her symptoms.

But the soothing green glow seemed to have no effect, as Rias continued to visibly struggle with the pain, curling up in the fetal position as she clutched her head tightly.

Suddenly, a massive blast of air!

As Asia remained crouched down besides Rias' and Akeno's sides, doing whatever she could to comfort them as she propped them up against the wall, a large torrent of wind blew through that tiny tunnel, nearly pushing the poor distraught devil onto her bum as she was taken by sudden surprise. She held on though, waiting for the wind to pass, doing her best to cover her allies with her golden aura so that they did not get hit by any bones that may have littered the path.

Soon though, the wind died down. The once eerily silent tunnel had become even more eerie as Rias and Akeno, once screaming, were now suddenly settling down. Their peaceful breathing was all that seemed to make noise in that tiny tunnel, as Asia nearly stopped breathing altogether, staring hard down the path where the mysterious wind had come from.

An odd series of events indeed. However, it was only the beginning.

The sounds of squeaks and skittering soon embraced the passageway. Asia remained alert, waiting for whatever it was that was coming down her way.

Soon the sound became louder and louder, as if whatever it was was right on top of her, and yet Asia did not notice any changes from within the tunnels. Even as though it was right on top of her, there had been nothing that she could see-

But that was because she had been looking down the tunnel, waiting for something to happen. She never thought to look down at her feet. With a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye, Asia glanced down and nearly jumped up in fright.

Rats and cockroaches. Hundreds of them. Even with her devil eyes, their black fur and shells melded into the ground, making them unnoticeable unless one were to look carefully for it were not the sound they were making.

Running frantically, the tiny creatures climbed over one another, going towards the exit at the other end of the tunnel. Strangely enough, they gave Asia and the other girls a wide berth, as if they were afraid of them too, which is why Asia had not felt anything near her feet. With the mist, the problems that Rias and Akeno had endured in their heads, and now with these tiny creatures. Just what was happening?

Eventually the stream of critters had to end. But that was not had the poor former-nun afraid. What made her afraid was, what were these creatures running from? What could cause such tiny beasts to be afraid, that an entire swarm of them would rather run away out of their dark homes and into the light in the other direction?

~~*Oppai-Dragon*~~

To say that Rias was confused was the last of her worries. Gazing down a long, dark hallway, different from the one she had just been, she could not help but be unnerved by the sudden change around her.

Rather than be walls made of stone carved out from the earth, this one had the feeling of a noble's humble abode. A red carpet spread down on the floor, walls made from marble, reflecting the flickering lights that came from the lit torches held in the air by the tight grip of sconces. Glass windows high in the air, separated by few feet, with the pale moonlight gleaming down onto the new arrivals. But the strangest of all, were the grayish stone statues of hideous creatures aligned throughout the hallway.

Gargoyles. A creature with the face of a human, but with the curved beak of a bird. Horns protruding from its head, curved like the horns of a Satyr, as each statue hunched forward in their frozen state, their raptor-like claws resting on the platforms they rested upon. Bat-like wings hid their unsightly back, with a lion's tail wrapped around their feline legs.

Rias held very little love for these creatures, often for the fact that some of the lesser humans who would devote their entire lives following the church would often compare them with her own kind.

Unsure of where to begin, Rias took her attention away from the gargoyles to look behind her. Unsurprisingly as it was, all that laid behind her was the same marble wall that surrounded her and her trusty companion.

"Akeno."

"Yes Rias?"

Her Queen had acted in a similar fashion as she did when they first got transported to this bizarre phantom-realm, but was quickly able to adapt thanks to the presence of her King.

"We need to find a way out of here as quickly as possible. Let's try the windows first and see if they'll budge."

"Of course."

Without another word, jet-black bat-like wings of their own sprouted from the backs of both Rias and Akeno, as they used their powers to fly up into the sky and next to one of the windows. Raising their arms, they shot out both the powers of destruction and lightning to break the flimsy glass, but were soon shocked to find that their attacks simply bounced away, dealing nothing to the window.

"It seems that whatever brought us here wants us to walk down their corridor no matter what, Rias."

"Agreed."

With the confirmation of escape not being able to be obtained so easily, the two girls glided back down to where they first started, readying themselves for the trial ahead.

Landing softly on the red carpet, the two girls began their trek down the long, dark hallway, with Akeno leading in the front. Nothing but the sound of their footsteps hitting gently against the carpet echoed in the hall.

After several moments of doing nothing but walk, Rias' eyes lingered towards the gargoyles surrounding her, wondering as to what their purpose were in this strange new place. With no door or exit in sight, there was very little to do other than to be lost in one's own thoughts. As the two walked though, an unfamiliar sound was heard by their devil ears. The sound of stone cracking as something broke free from its petrified prison.

"Rias."

"Yes, I heard it too. Continue walking, and keep your eyes forward."

Akeno obeyed her master's command, silently nodding and continued walking forward, never turning her head behind her. The two continued to walk down the path, listening vehemently to the sound of stone cracking as it got louder and louder, echoing from different places within the hallway. Eventually, the sound stopped, but that did not mean that they were still alone. Feeling a presence of something hostile creeping up on her, Rias quickly turned around, unsurprised by what awaited her.

One of the gargoyle statues had managed to leave its pillar, and was now in a new position, right behind Rias. The moment her eyes barely managed to get a glimpse of it, the creature was forced to turn back to stone, but its hostility could still be felt. Its claws were wide open, barring down on Rias' neck, inches away from dealing a fatal wound. Its beaked mouth, now wide open as well, filled with razor-sharp teeth that could tear away the toughest of meats with absolute ease.

This was the true nature of the Gargoyle. A predator of the unseen; a creature that was capable of blending in with the gothic statues forged by man, and given life through the imagination of the feared. If you looked upon it, it was nothing more than a harmless statue. But the moment you looked away, was the moment your life was forfeit.

"Akeno!"

"Yes!"

Upon confirmation of what they were dealing with, the two girls took flight, summoning their respective powers and blowing away any statue they could see.

With an orb of destruction forming in her hand, Rias sent the projectile down to where the renegade gargoyle had been stalking her as it crashed into the beast. The power absorbed the creature, turning it into dust as it broke it down to its bare atoms.

Akeno formed balls of holy-lightning within her hands, a trait given by her father, as six black crow-like wings formed out of her back. She threw the balls downward, the crackling energy exploding into giant flashes of light as it destroyed any statue that was caught in it.

With their existence now known, the remaining gargoyles began their attack. Any that had not been in Rias' or Akeno's eyesight had flown up to them with tremendous speed, ready to dash in and give a deadly blow. Fortunately for the two girls, their devil ears could hear their assailants coming. Rias turned towards her back, throwing balls of destruction below her as any gargoyle caught in her eyesight immediately turned back to stone. But even with their superior eyesight and hearing, both Rias and Akeno could not hope to come out of this battle unscathed.

Even if back-to-back, the two girls would always have a blind spot open, which would give enough time to the gargoyles to strike.

"Aaagh!"

"Rias!"

Rias was the first to receive a blow, as one of the gargoyles managed to get behind her and wrap it's arm around her, scratch its claw against her unprotected stomach. Luckily the wound had been minor, as it was only able to scrape the flesh as opposed to digging in hard, but still pain coursed through her.

With quick reflexes, Rias had managed to catch her attacker's claw, facing it as the creature turned back to stone before blowing it away. Unfortunately, another gargoyle came barreling down, as it opened its mouth and bit onto Akeno's shoulder the moment she took her eyes off the enemy in concern of her King.

The girl did her best to withstand the pain as she brought her left hand up to her right shoulder, blasting the hideous creature away from existence with her holy-lighting, before placing her hand onto the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Without Asia, and without Phoenix Tears, this battle was going to prove to be difficult.

~~*Oppai-Dragon*~~

Asia managed to calm down a bit as the rats and cockroaches finally managed to skitter away, leaving her all by herself as she watched the two others quietly. But what was she going to do now? She had tried to shake them awake, but they had given no response in return.

"What should I do, Rassei…?" She asked aloud, looking up at the stone ceiling above her as she called out the name of her familiar, whom she had called out for company.

Her familiar, a little blue Sprite Dragon, nothing more than a whelping, cuddled within her arms as it watched over its beloved master, doing its best to keep her company and cheer her up. Rubbing against her chest for attention, the little blue Dragon felt a soothing hand embrace its head, gently stroking it as the creature tried mimicking a sound familiar to the purring of cats.

But the purring shortly stopped, as Rassei nudged the hand off its head, turning it in favor of looking over at Rias and Akeno. Asia noticed the change of atmosphere as her hand was pushed away, and following the eyes of little Dragon back to where the girls were peacefully sleeping… at least, that was what she had thought.

Soon that thought changed, as even her nose could pick up the iron scent of something she smelled hundreds of times before.

Blood.

Asia quickly got up from her seat, her worries surfacing once more as got closer to the girls. What she found quickly confirmed her growing fears, as the crimson-colored liquid began to seep into the fabric of Rias' shirt.

Unsure of how the wound had even been made, Asia had very little time to dwell on it, as she immediately went to action. She pulled Rias' shirt up, unveiling the wound that had magically appeared, and placed both her hands on it. "Just wait, Rias. I'll have you healed soon."

A green glowing light warmly embraced Rias' flesh, and for a time, the wound had begun to close. As she healed though, the magic seemed to be doing nothing. The wound was not closing, or, at the very least, closing very slowly.

But something began to worry her.

Upon inspection, she saw that what little healing she did, Rias' wound had to begin to open back up to its original state. Not only that, but that a new wound had appeared on Akeno's shoulder, blood staining her clothes as well.

"Oh no!" Asia whispered to herself, before trying to heal Rias once more.

As she healed, another burst of wind entered the tunnel, nearly knocking Asia off her feet once again. This time, however, it was shortly followed by a piercing scream, one that could compare to the wail of a banshee. Asia covered her ears, her familiar scrambling underneath her and covering its own little ears with its claws. She noticed however, that more and more wounds had begun to appear on Rias and Akeno, and took a firm stance.

Ignoring the pain coming from the wailing sound, she placed her hands on Rias once again, trying to seal the wounds on her body. But as she healed and healed, the wailing seemed to get louder, almost as if it were trying to stop her. But Asia was unwilling to give up. The scream had gotten to a point of being so loud, that even Asia had begun to bleed from the ears, her eardrums rupturing from the intense sound.

"Please, just hold on." She whispered as she continued to heal the two girls. Pain would have to wait if she were to save her friends. That was, until the rumbling above her head began.

~~*Oppai-Dragon*~~

Kiba frantically pulled on massive stone blocks in an effort to push them out of the way of the entrance leading into the underground caverns underneath the city of Canterbury. Minutes before, he, along with the other members of their group that had been stationed to stay above ground, had tried to find another way into the secret basement of Canterbury Cathedral, but were unable to find such hope. The one and only entrance it seemed, was buried in rock, fallen from the collapsed ruins of the once architectural beauty.

On his right, Koneko was picking up massive stones, five to ten times her size, and easily throwing them aside with absolute ease. Normally he wouldn't have been so worried about her chucking massive boulders around, but with the sun out, it wouldn't be good if someone were to see her in action.

The sun…

Xenovia and Rossweisse were still busy picking bodies out of the rubble upstairs, while Gasper kept an eye out for any suspicious characters. That being said, it wasn't so much what they were doing that bothered him, but rather, the time they were doing it.

The sun was a time that told Devils that they weren't needed. They were creatures of the dark, the opposite of light. Showing off their powers, regardless if it was simply magic or using their devil powers, they couldn't let those who weren't in the fold know what they really were. That, and in this day and age, it came with a far heavier price should humans find out the existence of the supernatural given how easily it would spread.

"Kiba."

The young blonde Knight turned around to see his comrade, Rossweisse, standing over him on the ground floor of the ruined church.

"We managed to collect all the bodies."

With the simple phrase, Kiba nodded once, understanding.

"Koneko, I'm going."

Koneko understood, as he allowed the Nekomata beside him to continue clearing the rubble into the tunnels, as he followed the Valkyrie to where the dead rested. He had hoped that, by gathering all these bodies, that there might have been a chance to tell him and the others as to why exactly these people were here, and goals they had in mind for the future.

Not taking long to get there, Kiba saw the bodies of the Templars sprawled out, each body lying side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder. All of them were horribly disfigured one way or another, all thanks to the mysterious earthquake that had occurred. Pushing down the lunch that had been sitting in his throat from thanks to the gruesome view, he thanked the two girls for doing an excellent job as he crouched down to the closest one, inspecting it as close as possible to find any possible clues as to why these people were here.

"Why are you here? What did you come for?" He whispered, leaning forward as he closely inspected the bloodied corpse.

The corpse, from what little he could tell, seemed to be a man in his late twenties, possibly early thirties. He seemed to be a militarized type, as a bulletproof vest could be seen underneath his torn surcoat and military-grade black vestments, a semi-automatic weapon broken in two found lying next to him where his body was. As Kiba looked around at the other corpses, he could see that many of them were very similar in taste, with only one out of all of them wearing armor resembling that of a knight from medieval times covered in chainmail with a mangled great helm that once covered his face, completely crushed from the weight of the rocks that landed on him, but strangely enough even he had been wielding a gun as well.

Disregarding the knight, Kiba wasn't all that privy when it came to military stuff, but seeing what these corpses held, it did give him one clue that surprised him quite a bit.

'These people aren't from the Church. How is that possible? Didn't the information back home say that these people rebelled from the Church? Was it wrong then? Are they not exorcists? Or is it they don't have the numbers, and are using easily-duped civilians as nothing more than cannon fodder while their elites stay and back and protect their base? But if that is the case, then why is-'

Around and around, Kiba's mind stirred with questions. One after another, he believed that he could answer one when another would pop up to take its place. Meanwhile, as Kiba began his investigation into the invaders, Koneko was almost done with her job, when something all of them least expected happened.

It happened as Koneko was almost done with clearing the path, picking up on of the few stones left, when suddenly, she picked up the sound of metal clanging, echoing within the tunnel. For a short moment, she had believed; hoped, that the metal clanging had been the sound of Issei in his Balance Breaker form climbing back out of the tunnels, with the rest of the group in tow behind him.

Too occupied and completely worried with the thoughts of Issei's and Rias' safety, even she had failed to notice that the sounds she heard was nothing like the sound of Issei's armor.

"Yuuto!"

She called out to her senpai, hoping that her words reached him and would come running over with the others in time for them to see her other comrades coming out of the tunnel. But that was when everything went wrong.

Picking up the last stone blocking the underground tunnel, she looked up with a smile. But that smile immediately faded, her worries growing once more as the thing she saw wasn't the man she adored, but rather, a steel body. One without a head, nor a left arm. Before she could even get a word out, a cold metal hand wrapped its fingers tightly around her neck, gripping her with unnatural strength and pulling her up off the ground.

Kiba and the others came running over just in time to see Koneko be gripped off the ground. Their happiness soon turned to fear and anger as they saw their precious comrade being attacked. Before a word could even be uttered, the metallic sounds of their enemy reverberated within that tiny alcove, as he slowly walked out from the tunnel, Koneko still struggling in hand.

Upon the full form of their enemy emerging, a strong sense of fear went through them all. Rossweisse whispered its name. "Dullahan…"

"Let her GO! Raaaaagh!"

Without warning, Xenovia had begun the charge against their enemy, jumping into the air as she summoned Ex-Durandal, ready to bring the full force of its holy justice upon the missing head of their opponent.

"Xenovia!"

The moment that Xenovia jumped into the air, Ferdinand threw Koneko against a nearby wall, readying himself to catch the blade that was falling from the sky like a meteor. With powerful magic building up in his hand, the Dullahan had managed to catch the blade with ease, but the absolute strength of it nearly brought him to his knees and crushed his hand as the ground below him cratered.

Seeing that her blade was easily stopped, Xenovia's eyes widened in fear and surprise. "H-How?!"

"Do not test me, girl. I have what I came for, and these interruptions are beginning to annoy me." Ferdinand said. Though it was hard to tell, and even though he had no physical body, the sound deep breathing could be heard, perhaps finally showing signs of fatigue.

"If that's the case, then I'll be sure to make this quick!"

Kiba had used Xenovia's attack to get behind the Dullahan, using his speed to his advantage, and swung his holy-demon blade horizontally in hopes of finishing this in one blow. Bui as the blade made contact with the steel of the armor, the sword shattered, crumbling into hundreds of pieces. Seeing the blade shatter so easily, Kiba jumped back, readying himself for his next attack as he summoned the demonic blade Balmung from a dimensional pocket where he stored all the demonic blades he had received the day he defeated the sword user Siegfried. Xenovia distanced herself from Ferdinand as well, splitting the blade into two, summoning both Durandal and Excalibur.

"Xenovia!"

"Got it! Cross Crisis!"

A wave of energy in the shape of a giant X was launched towards Ferdinand. Meanwhile, Kiba swung Balmung numerous times, summoning whirlwinds capable of slicing flesh from behind. The two forces of absolute power met in the middle, right where Ferdinand was standing. The result was an explosion, debris and rock flying everywhere, strong winds pressing against the bodies of the two swordsmen as the ground beneath them rocked.

As the dust settled, Xenovia and Kiba watched in anticipation. They found to their annoyance that the enemy still stood, and readied themselves for another attack, but the enemy simply stood still. Eventually, small lines began to appear across its armor, as the creature fell to its knees, muttering to itself as it became evident that he may have been defeated after all.

"This is why… I hate… Devils…"

The lines that had appeared on his armor showed that his armor had been cut. Pieces of metal began to slide off, his entire body crumbling apart easily. A surprisingly quick and easy defeat for this unnatural enemy.

With his body now in small pieces, Xenovia and Kiba relaxed their stances, sure that the battle was over. Gasper and Rossweisse, one of whom had felt like that she may have been a bit useless not having jumped in, came down and regrouped with the two knights. Gasper immediately rushed over to the unconscious Koneko, trying to help her. The other three joined him, Rossweisse casting her magic to make sure that the little kitten had been really okay and healing her. But even with their enemy defeated, Kiba's face was still intense, as if he suspected something wasn't right.

"Kiba?"

"Hmm?"

"Is something wrong?"

It seemed that Rossweisse had notice the uncertainty in Kiba after healing Koneko, as she looked over at him.

Not wanting his comrades to worry, he simply waved it off, shaking his head as he denied his worry. "No, nothing's wrong. Thanks for the concern though." Wanting to change the subject, he turned around, facing the tunnel entrance. "Issei and the others haven't come out yet…"

"Surely you don't think they were defeated by him, do you?"

Again, Kiba shook his head. "No, I don't, but… I find it odd that only he came out, while Issei and the others still haven't. Then there's the fact that that earthquake had come out of nowhere…"

"Should we try to go down and look for them?" Xenovia suggested.

"Our Kings gave us orders to stay here." Rossweisse chimed in. "We should have faith in them that they're fine."

"If you say so, Rose. But now that Kiba has brought it up, I agree that something doesn't feel right."

Unbeknown to them and too fixed up in their own conversation, one of the corpses from the line of fallen Templars had begun to twitch, going unnoticed. To be exact, it had been the knight, it's fingers beginning to spasm, as the body inside the armor began to dissolve. Blood and pinkish ooze began to pour out of every hole, the armor itself beginning to remold itself and rebuild, until every surface of it was straight and solid. Cracks began to mend together, dents began to fix themselves, and broken pieces began to unnaturally come together.

Eventually, the entire human body within had finally melted, the terrible stench of fresh blood wafting in the air. All of the body's blood and organs, now spilled everywhere on the outside, as the armor itself was finally complete once more. The armor jerked upright, positioning itself where it could see all around it. With a bend of its knee, the armor picked itself off the ground, standing erect within seconds. The armor began to fully survey its surroundings, before finally looking at its own body. "… It seems my intuition was correct in making one of the men go in this suit."

The Dullahan, Ferdinand, had been reborn.

Looking down at his feet, he picked up the broken gun lying next to the body that had once inhabited the armor. He looked at it carefully, looking at its value as a possible weapon to use, before swinging it like a club. Even without lungs, an audible sigh could be heard coming from the armor. "A pity, but it seems that this will have to do for now."

With his mission complete, there was no more reason for him to stay in the destroyed cathedral. He made his way down the main corridor where the pews were once placed, now turned into splinters, and out the ruined archway. The devils were too wrapped up in their own thoughts, his footsteps went largely unnoticed. Perhaps they had thought it to be part of the work the police had been doing, or perhaps they did not hear it at all. Either way, it seemed as though he would have an easier time escaping from his foes.

Walking into the outside world, the sun had already managed to rise high enough that the shadows of the night were mostly gone. The mildew on the grass glistened within the light, showing off a glimmering light should one look close enough, before being brushed away, trampled by the heavy boot of Ferdinand.

Plans did not seem to go in his favor though, as he looked around on this outside, noticing the destruction of the quake that had come, and damage it had caused. Numerous buildings in the immediate area were nothing but rubble, sirens both police and ambulances blaring, and various people of different professions clearing the destruction to get to those who were hopefully still alive.

With the easily out-of-place dressing he wore, an officer of the law was quickly able to notice him, approaching him without concern as the poor human believed that he had been with Issei and the others thanks to his bizarre outfit. The officer was obviously displeased, infuriated even, at the damage that had been caused all due to the actions of a few. Ready to give a few words about the situation, the policeman walked to Ferdinand in a brisk manner, nearly jogging towards him.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The police officer demanded, walking right up to Ferdinand's non-existent face and screaming at him. "Just what in the hell did that earthquake come from?! How the hell are you going to make up for all of this?!"

Maybe because it was one of their own, a few of the other police officers, knowing the people behind it all but being forced to be quiet, stopped what they had been doing and began to look at the lone wolf who had begun berating the supernatural entity. Hearing the officer berate the unknown entity, the other officers began to feel as though they too deserved an explanation to the destruction of their beloved city, and began to march towards Ferdinand in their own way.

Seeing the other police officers begin to surround him, and seeing that the officer directly in front of him was going to do nothing but create a bigger crowd the more he yelled, Ferdinand decided in his mind that he would put an end to any resistance before anything big could be done to him.

Annoyed with the screaming, Ferdinand had raised the weapon he had been holding by the barrel and brought it above his shoulder. "Enough."

Without warning, he smashed the police officer's face in with the stock of the weapon, and with a sickening bone-crunching sound, the police officer's head spun a solid one hundred and eighty degrees, killing him instantly.

Shocked by the sudden attack, numerous witnessed stopped what they were doing and looked on with absolute horror. The police officers who had been walking towards Ferdinand began to run in the opposite direction, running behind whatever cover they could find as they called out for reinforcements. With the English police not allowing their regular officers to use guns, it would be up to their special forces to take down this monster, as no one was brave enough to see if a simple billy-club could do the job. Luckily enough, those officers were there already, having been dispatched when the call of terrorists occupying the cathedral had first come through.

Without even needing be given the order, the special firearms unit had waited until all possible civilians had vacated the immediate area, lining themselves up in a row like old times as they raised their semi-automatic weapons at Ferdinand. The unit shouted orders to surrender and to turn himself in, but as was expected, Ferdinand did no such thing. With a final warning, one officer fired a single shot at the feet of the Dullahan, hoping for him to stop. When he didn't, the remaining officers readied their fingers on the trigger.

"Open fire!"

With the sound of guns firing, a hail of hot lead shot forward, piercing the armor of Ferdinand with ease. But without as much of a flinch, Ferdinand continued his brisk walk towards the police officers.

"What?! What in the name of-?! FIRE!"

Once again, the barrage of bullets hit Ferdinand, adding more holes to his chestplate. They knew they were going up against the supernatural, but for the bullets to have no effect? Just what in the world were they facing?

With Ferdinand closing in on them, the police officers began to scatter, distancing themselves from the enemy before turning around and opening fire once more.

Before Ferdinand could catch up to the humans and begin his massacre before escaping, a black mass began to form from the ruins of the cathedral, growing higher and higher into the sky, until it reached a solid seven meters in height. Two red eyes glowed brightly in what some would call a face, scanning the area for something to find. The two eyes looked until it found the shining armor of Ferdinand, locking onto him as it raised an arm out towards him.

Upon seeing this, the humans had become even more afraid as the firearms unit stopped firing, thinking it had been a part of Ferdinand's plan.

Obviously, this was not true, as Ferdinand turned around to see what the humans had become more afraid of. Upon seeing the same black mass, he turned back around and took off, hoping to distance himself before the new monster could catch up to him as he ran faster than any human could. He reasoned that the gunfire from the humans had caught the attention of the devils inside, and they could only think of one person that it could be if the body of the knight inside the cathedral was missing.

From the black mass, beasts of various sizes grew from the darkness of its arm, dropping down onto the ground with a light *thud*, and immediately began to chase as their sights set on Ferdinand. But these were not normal beasts, but rather, looked as though they came straight out of a nightmare.

Birds with three sets of wings and three eyes; wolves with five legs and an extra set of jaws; insects that looked like two praying mantises fused at the hips, sharing the same set of legs as they drew closer to their victim. All the beasts shared similar traits, and each one was as deadly as the last.

Screams filled the air as normal civilians believed that the beasts were after them, the humans running in the opposite direction from the beasts were going. They surrounded Ferdinand, the makeshift club still in his right hand as he prepared himself for the attack.

When the first beast attacked, Ferdinand defended himself, swinging the club into the magical creature before it could reach him and destroying it. Numerous other beasts had tried the same, but they too had met a similar fate. He did this several times, moving himself a few blocks down at a time as the black creature began to grow smaller with time.

"Halt! Stop right there!"

As he was doing his best to run away, a massive explosion occurred at his feet as he downed another beast, nearly destroying his leg in the process. For only a moment, he looked up, finding the source of the explosion. Two bat-like wings grew out of the back of a young lady, dressed in the traditional armor of the northern race of Valkyries. A magical circle formed in her hand, and within it, a blast of magical energy came forth, shooting down to the earth like a meteor, and just as fast.

Again, another explosion occurred at Ferdinand's feet, the source of it being the magical ball of energy. He was able to dodge however, having been able to follow it and jump out of the way just in time. But again, luck was not on his side.

"Cross Crisis!"

Just like before, a giant X of power was shot towards Ferdinand from his blindside. Having heard the name of the attack called out though, the Dullahan was capable of dodging it, just like the balls of energy the Valkyrie had been firing at him. The attack followed through, going into a building that had miraculously been standing still, and thusly began to collapse when the foundations had been destroyed by Xenovia's attack.

At that moment, a group of armored knights sprouted out of the ground like fresh flowers, baring their swords at Ferdinand. Eight in total, these Dragon-headed knights rushed the Dullahan, swinging their swords in every blind spot they could find.

One by one, they were beaten back, all while avoiding the balls of energy that could destroy him in a single hit. Non-existent heads were bashed in; chests were collapsed; and bodies were broken into pieces.

An intense fight, with an audible *snap*, his weapon eventually broke in two as the immense power had been too much for it. Fortunately, it seemed that things would be ending soon.

Upon seeing the fight coming in their direction, civilians that were out on the streets fled for nearby cover. One such woman had tried to flee behind a broken lamppost, but was soon caught up in the fighting, and Ferdinand took notice.

Kiba and Xenovia had caught up to Ferdinand, with Rossweisse not too far behind. Kiba's Dragon knights had done well in fighting the Dullahan, but they had eventually succumbed to his power, crumbling to bits. Gasper's beasts had also been exhausted. The dhampir had been ordered to stay back with Koneko, as showing his Balor Mode had already been too big of a risk, but hoped he could easily overtake the Dullahan with his eyes, but obviously that had not been the case, as there were too many civilians around him at the time.

The sound of footsteps slowly approaching Ferdinand told him all that he needed to know. His enemies thought they had cornered him, that he had been caught. They couldn't have been more wrong.

"Your rampage ends here, Dullahan." Kiba announced as he approached the enemy, Gram in hand. Xenovia was right next to him, both Durandal and Excalibur in hers. "I don't know how you came back, but you'll be answering for your crimes."

Ferdinand's back was exposed to them, as the empty suit of armor did not move. He had been crouched down, next to a fallen lamppost. He slowly got up, the remains of the Dragon knights all around him. His weapon laid upon the ground, broken in two. It was obvious that it was his lost. But…

"Funny… A few children believe that they have captured me? That they have defeated me?"

"And what makes you think you haven't lost?"

Ferdinand said nothing, simply rising to his feet, and slowly turning to face them. The faces of Kiba and Xenovia stiffened the moment he turned.

In his arms, a young woman was struggling, trying her best to escape his grasp. An arm gripped around her neck, it was obvious that the Dullahan could snap it at any moment he could like, and the only thing from stopping him from doing so was his bargaining skills.

"You bastard!"

Xenovia stepped forward, ready to take Ferdinand on, but immediately stopped as Ferdinand's other hand gripped the woman's face. With a quick jerk, he could snap her neck and be done with it. The look of horror on the woman's face pleaded for them to save her, but with the current predicament, it was easy to tell that it might not be possible. Rossweisse landed on Kiba's other side, ready to fight Ferdinand, when he spoke up again.

"Look around me, young children, and tell me what you see!"

Not willing to let the woman die, the Gremory group members obliged the villain, looking all around them, searching for what he wanted them to see. It wasn't long that the eyes of Kiba and Rossweisse widened, finding what he was talking about.

"Yes, do you not see?! Soon the world shall be awakened, the truth shall soon be revealed!"

All around them humans gathered.

Though the local police and even military had helped the Gremory group at the beginning, because the fighting had gone so deep into the city, the authorities were not there to help them. With their cellphones out, humans had been taking pictures and videos of the fighting that had been happening, posting it online in real time, showing the world of the ugly underbelly of something that had stayed hidden for over six thousand years. Even if the Fallen Angels had been able to erase the memories of everyone here, the secret was out, as the obvious murmuring all around told them that.

"Hey, hey! Is that really real?"

"Are those wings supposed to be real?"

"She was flying earlier, I saw it! I did!"

"I thought they were supposed to be some kind of props!"

"What are those swords? Are they allowed to have those?"

"That blue-haired girl destroyed a building with those swords! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"I saw that silver-haired lady shoot something out of her hands. It looked like magic!"

"That blonde-haired boy created those knights! I swear it! Look, they're the same color as his sword!"

Ferdinand laughed manically as Kiba gritted his teeth hard, one of his main objectives easily completed. It seemed as though the Dullahan had played them hard, and now they were going to pay a giant price for their ignorance.

"What is it that you want…?" Kiba calmly asked, restraining himself from lashing out at the Dullahan.

"What is it that I want…?" Ferdinand stopped his laughter and took a moment to ponder what Kiba questioned. Eventually, he came up with an answer to satisfy himself with. "I wish for this world to burn. To burn for all the sins it has committed. For too long, humanity has bathed in the darkness, praising it, all while pretending to care about the light. This world must be taught a lesson, and for that to happen, a new era of holy knights must rise, and with our power, we shall cleanse this world of its sins. Perhaps then, I will finally be able to rest. For that, the world must first know of the ugly truths; that humanity is not so mighty after all."

Unknown to them, his answer had been a lie. His real goal, as it was, was something far more selfish, but he would not reveal that. No, not yet…

Annoyed with his answer, Xenovia lashed out. "What makes you think you are the one to tell others what is wrong and right? Who do you think gave you that authority?!"

"The same being in which you once believed in, traitor." Ferdinand pointed at Xenovia's chest, the cross dangling from her neck showing in front of her bosom. "Or is a devil such as yourself going to claim to know what the Almighty Father wants of us, when you have done nothing but turn your back on him?"

Before Xenovia could answer, Kiba stopped her, refusing to let the conversation get off track. The first priority was to save the woman in the Dullahan's arms, then to take care of the Dullahan himself if possible. "You got what you wanted, haven't you? So let the woman go!"

"Oh? But have I? From where I stand, what assurance do I have that you won't attack me the moment I let this woman go?"

"She has nothing to do with this! Let her go!" Rossweisse shouted.

"But she does have something to do with this. It had been her fault for getting so close to the fighting, and now, her life rests squarely on your hands. So tell me, Devils, what is it that you'll do?"

~~*Oppai-Dragon*~~

"Is everyone okay?"

The earthquake had finally subsided, and although all three of them believed that an aftershock would eventually come, they all believed to be safe at the immediate moment.

Issei released the girls from his grip as they gently placed on the ground, quickly looking over them for any injuries they may have sustained from any place he couldn't have protected. Looking over them quickly though, he let out a relieved sigh as he believed them to be okay.

"Mou, if you had wanted to cuddle, Master, you simply had to ask, nya." Kuroka teased, giving him a wink before rubbing her shoulder up against his body in an affectionate manner.

Issei chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his helmeted head in embarrassment, a tinge of heat growing in his cheeks. 'If Kuroka is joking at a time like this, she must be alright.' He gathered, looking at Ravel next.

"Do not worry about me, Lord Issei. I am more than fine." Ravel bowed, holding the hem of her school uniform as she twirled around for Issei to get a better look. No injuries were on her person, so no reason for worry.

"I'm glad you two are alright. I don't know what I'd do if either of you were hurt." Issei admitted shyly, continuing to chuckle nervously. Eventually the laughter died down as his face became more serious, a more somber tone filling the air. "Still… I shouldn't had let him get away. It should have been an easy fight."

"Do not get yourself down too much, Lord Issei. There is still time to catch up to him. Besides, there are the others waiting at the entrance, so I'm sure they'll be able to slow him down for us."

Issei smiled, losing his depressed mood with the praise of his Bishop. "You're right Ravel, I'm sorry. It's far too early to be calling it quits." With a fist raised into the air, Issei felt new vigor in his body, ready to fight once more.

Before any more could be said, all three of them had felt it. A surge of new energy, one which did not belong to any of them, began to form behind Issei. Issei reacted immediately, using his body to cover the girls once more as a massive explosion happened behind him. Bits of rock hit his armor as the spider-web like cracks on the wall now formed a vast hole.

As Issei gently placed the girls down once again, all three turned to see what it was that erupted behind them. What they saw made them want to do a double-take, as none of them could believe their eyes. Ravel's own mind had come to a halt for barely a moment, as the sight before her made her emotions well up. Emotions of loneliness, confusion, and perhaps even of longing for someone she long thought deceased.

"O-Onii-sama… Is it really you?"

From the hole came the last person they had ever expected showing up in front of them. A red jacket and pants with a white shirt beneath, golden hair that formed like fire, and a handsome face to go along with it. Raiser Phenex had appeared before them.

"H-How…? How is this possible?" Issei muttered, still not believing his eyes. "Y-You died, you died protecting her from King Belial's attack! We all saw it happen!"

Her emotions blocking all illogical conclusions, Ravel jumped forward.

"Raiser-onii-sama!"

Ravel screamed out her brother's name, tears now pouring out of her eyes as she formed her fiery wings, flying towards her brother. Arms were stretched out, ready to embrace her brother, whom had stretched his arms out as well, ready to embrace her back. But before she could finally feel his warmth once again, another explosion occurred, right in front of Ravel's flying path.

"Kyaah!"

Ravel was pushed back, as both she and Issei turned to look at where the explosion had come from, as it had come from a local source.

With an arm stretched out, Kuroka had launched a ball of energy at the spot where the explosion had happened, stopping Ravel from embracing her brother. Her calm and lustful demeanor was now replaced by an intense aura that felt as though she knew Raiser was an enemy rather than a friend.

"K-Kuroka?"

"What's the big idea, Cat?! Can't you see it's my brother?!"

"That's not your brother!" Kuroka retorted, her arm still stretched out at Raiser.

"What do you mean it's not my brother?!"

"The smell! The smell is rotten! Look!"

Before either of them could question what she was talking about, balls of energy formed around Kuroka, forming a white ring of energy around her before launching it at Raiser. Time seemed to slow for Ravel as she watched her not-so-dead brother about to get hit by an attack from Kuroka. She was too stunned to move, to think of what was happening. The sudden appearance of her brother, and now, Kuroka saying it wasn't really him?

Making up her mind and deciding to go against what the Nekomata was saying, Ravel decided to send her own attack at the white ring to intercept it. The result was another explosion, creating a small crater in the ground. "Don't you dare attack my brother!"

"You fool!"

Kuroka sent many more attacks at Raiser's way, but Ravel did her best to intercept them. Issei could only stand idly by, stunned by the actions of his two peerage members, as Raiser continued to stand where he was, a smirk on his face as stood idle as well. He said nothing, only watching the fight in front of him with amusement.

"Enough of this!" Kuroka exclaimed, backing away from the emotional Phenex girl. Her body began to glow white, and within seconds, numerous images of her were scattered across the battlefield. Immediately all of them rushed Ravel, trying to overwhelm her in sheer numbers.

It did not work. Ravel, with her fiery lineage, easily managed to burn the clones away her with powers as a torrent of flames surrounded her. "If you think that this could work against me, Kuroka, think again!"

"Enough! Both of you! As your King I command you to stand down!"

Not wanting to see his precious comrades fight anymore, Issei took the moment to realize that he was in fact a King, and theirs to be precise. Surely, they would listen to his command.

But his command fell on deaf ears. The girls continued their struggle. Kuroka continued to send clones towards Ravel, who would burn them away in return.

One such clone had managed to get behind Ravel though, a purple mist erupting from the sleeve of her kimono. Issei remembered it to be a poisonous miasma that she had used on him, along with Rias and Koneko, when he had first met her as enemies to restrain them all before trying to eliminate them. Sensing this attack, Ravel managed to burn the mist away, but a chain reaction occurred as the fire and noxious gas mixed together, making a massive explosion of deadly fumes.

The sound of coughing filled the air as Ravel took the brunt of the attack. She cursed the cat for creating such a lowly attack, but in the back of her mind, could not criticize the effectiveness of it.

Blinded, she swung her arms to clear the air and find her target, but only black smoke surrounded her. Continuing to cough, Ravel tried her best to flee the fumes, but could not find her way out of it. In the end though, she did not need to, as she felt the hard surface of her master's armor wrap around her waist, grabbing her tightly.

With the coughing finally coming to an end, she was brought out of the smoke, back into safety. "Thank… Thank you, Lord Issei…" Ravel managed to squeeze out in-between the clearing of her throat.

"Do not thank me just yet."

"Eh?"

Ravel looked up at her master, wondering what he was talking about, before turning in the direction he was looking. When she did, she had wanted to scream, but restrained herself.

Whilst Ravel was caught in the smoke, Kuroka had managed to finish what she set out to do, as she was in a pose showing she had just shot out a ball of energy right at Raiser. But, as all three quickly began to realize, Kuroka had been right all along.

The façade of Raiser began to melt away, as a new form began to emerge. It was a form that looked weak, so very weak, and one that looked to have been starved for many weeks. The truth was, however, that this creature had been starved for far longer than that, lasting since many millennia. Bony arms and bony hands to its sides; bony legs and bony feet on which it stood on, and a torn and faded white dress to cover the shame of its skeletal frame. Grimy black hair ran down to its knees, its pale-bluish and sickly-looking face covered by it.

Quickly Kuroka ran away, jumping back to where Issei and Ravel were standing, the former readying himself for battle as the latter could not believe what she was seeing.

"O-Onii-sama…" Ravel cried out, finally coming to realization that she was wrong all this time, as the creature that had taken the visage of her brother was standing there, completely still. Once again, tears began to well up, but this time, out of knowing that she truly could never meet her brother again.

Hating whatever creature in front of him was for making the little girl next to him cry, Issei could not help himself but apologize. "I'm sorry Ravel. I had wanted to believe it too, but…"

Issei stopped there, as the tiny frame of Ravel began to shake, hard. From grief to fury, the little devil lady was a torrent of emotions, ready to burst as she glared deathly intent at the standing corpse in front of them. Under her breath, she whispered.

"How dare you..."

"R-Ravel?"

"HOW DARE YOU!"

With a fiery eruption, giant flame wings erupted from the back of Ravel, flying towards the corpse, and rage in her eyes. She flew hard towards the corpse, before stopping herself only a few meters away. Raising both her hands, she summoned all the strength she had in her body and unleashed it all in front of her. A giant torrent of flames spiraled from her hands, making a cyclone of fire which began to engulf the corpse. "Burn for your sins!" She yelled, images of her beloved brother flashing through her mind as she felt the need to avenge his legacy.

Both Issei and Kuroka could only stand back, the flames bringing an unnatural amount of heat towards them that only a member of the Phenex lineage could survive. The flames enveloped the entire of the corpse, sure to have burned it to a cinder.

But-!

After seconds of the torrent of fire, two ghastly hands burst out from the flames, surprising everyone around. The hands quickly grabbed Ravel by the head, one on her chin while the other on her forehead.

Because of the shock, the attack by Ravel withered out, eventually showing that the corpse had taken no damage from her attack. It made its way towards Ravel, its own head hovering above hers as it gripped her head harder, forcing Ravel's mouth open. From it, it looked as though the corpse was readying itself to kiss Ravel in a shocking display.

"Welsh Sonicboost Knight!"

[Change Star Sonic!]

In an instant, Issei, who had been standing a good few meters behind Ravel, had vanished and reappeared to Ravel's side. Calling upon his Illegal Move Triaina, Issei's Balance Break armor shed off, massive pieces of it dropping to the ground and breaking down into particles of light, back into the nether. In doing so, he became as fast as the fastest Knight.

"Welsh Dragonic Rook!"

[Change Solid Impact!]

In another instant, the armor he had lost had reappeared, and along with it, even more armor than before. Doubling the amount of armor he had than before, so did his strength, becoming as strong as the strongest Rook, and with it, bringing his massive fist down upon the corpse's face. Unlike the time he had fought against Sairaorg's Queen in a rating game, this time the fist had connected. The sound of bones crunching and breaking echoed within the room, as the corpse let go of Ravel and flew backwards, crashing into the wall behind it with a loud *crash*.

Shocked by the fact that her fire didn't seem to have an effect on the enemy, and the feeling of the cold, dead hands on her face, Ravel could only stand still. Her eyes wide, she did not know how to respond to the King who had suddenly appeared next to her. Though the rage in her heart had not subsided, her confusion had overtaken it in an instant.

Suddenly, though it was wrapped in cold armor, she felt the warmth of her King's hand placed on her shoulder once more.

"Ravel, are you alright?"

"Y-Yes, I suppose I am…" She admitted shyly. The truth was, she really wasn't. Mixed feelings of loneliness and of hatred still filled her heart. But she nor Issei had time to really focus on that, as the sound of rubble shifting caught their attention as the rotting remains of their enemy got back up from where they fell. The first sign of damage, a small trickle of blood, along with a crooked nose on that blank face, hollow eyes staring back at them.

[Partner, you need to watch out for this one.]

Hearing the Dragon within him, Issei looked down at his gauntlet, surprised. "Ddraig?"

[You should be careful, partner. You're facing an enemy far stronger than the last one.]

"What do you mean?"

As Issei was communicating with Ddraig, the corpse began to slowly amble towards Issei and Ravel, both whom stood their ground. Before Ddraig could give an answer though, the corpse surprised all three members of Issei's group as it suddenly picked up speed, rushing towards Issei with its arms up.

"W-What the hell?!"

"Lord Issei, get behind me!"

Ravel stepped in front of Issei, summoning a fireball in one hand and hurling it towards the corpse. The corpse did not try to move out of the way, as the fireball collided with it and exploded. But, what happened next shocked them even more, as the flames did not disintegrate the corpse like Ravel had hoped for. Instead, the corpse had lifted a hand in front of itself, and upon impact, the flames began to be sucked into a vortex that had been summoned by the corpse.

"I-Impossible!" Ravel screamed.

"So that's how it survived the flame tornado from before." Kuroka commented, moving behind Issei as she readied herself for combat once more.

But all three became even more shocked, as it was obvious that it wasn't just disrupting Ravel's magic.

The vortex, as it was, seemed to be a spell of some sort that used other people's magic to rejuvenate the user. Though it was barely noticeable, the skin on the corpse had started to become less pale, and began to smooth out the more magic it withdrew. The eyes had become less sunken, and more meat seemed to appear on its arms and legs, making it look more alive.

"So that's its trick." Issei couldn't help but say under his breath as he watched the creature become younger. He looked down at his gauntlet once more, speaking to Ddraig. "Ddraig, just what is that thing? What do you know about it?"

[Carman…]

"… Carman?" Issei repeated, not sure if he had heard the dragon within him correctly.

Issei heard a grunt of confirmation before the dragon spoke once more.

[Seeing that form once more, I remember it clearly now. The Celtic Witch Carman, a goddess of evil magic, using her powers to bring a blight onto the isle of Ireland back in the day when the island was split among many tribes, massacring thousands as she did it. And as you can plainly see, she only managed to get stronger when other magic users tried to face her.]

"So how the heck did she end appearing here?" Issei questioned, watching the enemy carefully as it seemed to ready itself for a new attack.

[Though it's been some time, I seem to remember that a hero from the Irish Isle managed to banish her, sending her across the sea. I can only assume that she had been defeated once more within this area, and was forced to be imprisoned for eternity down here.]

"Had I known you were going to get me into this much trouble so early on, Master, I would have stayed with Vali and that idiot monkey instead…" Kuroka muttered, getting a glare from Ravel and a small, nervous laugh from Issei.

"Don't worry Kuroka, I'll continue to hold up my end of the bargain, so long as you hold up yours." Issei jokingly said, before becoming more serious and began to get ready to face down the enemy. With an authoritative voice, he commanded his pieces on what to do next. "Kuroka, take Ravel and go back up to the surface. Tell the others of what's going on here, and help out if that asshole in front of us somehow managed to give them trouble."

"WHAT?!" Ravel screamed, obviously not pleased with the order, among other feelings. But she would not be able to let those emotions be known.

"Got it."

Without hesitation, Kuroka hit Ravel in a key ki point, knocking her out, and began to dash in the opposite direction as she carried the small child on her shoulder, heeding her master's orders. The moment she began escaping with Ravel, the enemy's head moved towards them, watching them escape. With a flashing speed, it tried to catch up and attack them before they could get away, but Issei easily managed to get in-between the two, raising his fist and smashing it into the enemy's face once more.

"Don't even think you can get through me!" Issei boasted, still in his Welsh Dragonic Rook mode. If magic wasn't going to be an option, then the only thing he could do was give a good old-fashioned beat down to the newly recognized threat.

As the enemy stumbled backwards, it managed to catch itself before falling back onto its behind, seeing that Issei was going to be the bigger threat. Opening its mouth, it surprised Issei once more as it tried to speak.

"-!"

Not understanding what it was trying to say, Issei could only smile, remembering back when he first met Valerie. The poor girl still under the effects of the Holy Grail, she spoke in different tongues long forgotten by the common man to spirits of a different dimension. Issei could only assume that this was a similar case.

"Sorry, I can't seem to understand you. If you want though, I'm more than willing to open my ears; using my fists! Welsh Sonic Boost Knight!"

[Change Star Sonic!]

"Ascalon!"

Once again, the armor on Issei shed off, and he rushed towards the enemy with lightning speed. No man would be able to follow him with their naked eye, and with that, he hoped he could finish this fight with a single swing of his sword. Summoning the Dragon-killing blade, he swung up from the ground, trying to hit the enemy from below.

"-!"

The enemy anticipated his move though, summoning a magical spell to block his attack in the nick of time. The sound of steel meeting steel echoed within that white chamber.

Not allowing Issei the chance to try to make a follow-up attack, the enemy jumped back, watching him carefully for his next move.

~~*Oppai-Dragon*~~

Kiba scanned the situation carefully, searching for any opening he could find.

Surrounded by curious citizens, capturing every moment on their cellphones, it seemed impossible to do something flashy without pulling the poor people into battle. Worst yet, it was obvious that the Dullahan across of him still had a tight grip on the poor woman in his arms. It truly seemed like a lost cause.

Most of the surrounding buildings had survived the mysterious earthquake from earlier, having been out of the range of the epicenter. Numerous alleys and streets, any which way the enemy could escape, and any which way he could lose them in the maze of an unknown city should he choose to run.

With looking and scanning every single bit of his surroundings, his thoughts eventually led him that the first thing he needed to do was get the woman away before engaging the enemy. But in what way was he supposed to do so?

"How do you want to do this, Kiba?"

"That's what I'm still trying to figure out myself." Kiba whispered back to the blue-haired girl who was also his fellow knight, knowing that she too was getting anxious waiting for an opening.

"The clock is ticking, devils. What will it be?" The Dullahan called out to them, tightening his grip around the woman's neck. The woman in question began to gasp for air as the chokehold got tighter, pounding on the Dullahan's arm in attempt to free herself.

"Coward!" Xenovia screamed, readying herself to charge in the direction of the Dullahan to separate him from his victim, but Kiba forced her to stay her hand.

"Don't do it! We'll be playing right into his trap if we do!"

"Then what can we do?!"

Kiba could taste iron slowly filling up in his mouth as he bit his lip hard, the crimson liquid pouring out of the wound as he struggled to come up with a plan. 'All this talk of Justice and right-doing. We may be Devils now, but the vile one here is-,' and that was when Kiba's eyes widened, realizing a truth he could use to turn the tide.

"You claim that we Devils are beings of evil due to the actions of the older generations, and yet, from where we stand, are we not the virtuous ones? If you are to wash the world of sin, then should you not start with your very actions?" Kiba spoke in a very dramatic manner. In an effort to challenge the Dullahan in his hypocrisy, he also hoped that his 'acting' could sway the surrounding crowd's opinion on this being reality, and instead, be a film that was secretly being recorded. It was a longshot, but a longshot that was needed.

The crowd around them had begun to murmur, questioning whether what they were seeing was real or not, simply for the fact that Kiba revealed his true identity so easily. After all, there were no such things as Devils in real life, right?

But the Dullahan did not budge. Seeming to notice something that the three did not, nodding once as his attitude on the situation looked to have changed. "An interesting proposal, but one I must disagree with. For you see, no matter what action we take, in the end, all that matters is the greater good! We shall be redeemed by God, for we Black Templars have been blessed by him! We are his chosen ones!" He screamed, before looking down at the young woman he still held hostage. "Woman, does your faith belong to the one and only true Father?"

Scared out of her wits, the woman could not help but answer the terrifying man in hopes of him not hurting her. "Y-Yes! I-I do believe!"

"Then be thankful young one. For today, you shall be welcomed into the bosom of the Almighty inside the gates of Heaven. Deus Vult!"

"No! Don't!"

Kiba rushed forward, trying to stop him with his unnatural speed, but to no avail. With a resounding *crack*, the woman limply fell to the ground. In an instant, Ferdinand had snapped her neck at an unnatural angle, breaking her spine and instantly killing her.

With the act having been far too real, the people around the supernatural beings began to panic, realizing that this really wasn't a type of play, but was, in fact, real. Screaming at the top of their lungs, the surrounding civilians began to run away, hoping to get away from the mysterious murderer.

"You Bastaaaaaard!"

Enraged, Xenovia began to charge at the Dullahan. The blood of the innocent had been spilled in the name of his convoluted ideology, taking the Lord's name with it. In her mind, he had committed an unforgiveable sin, and would need to be punished for it.

Kiba, taking her cue, began a flanking maneuver, attacking from the Dullahan's right while she took the left. Rossweisse rose her hands and began to chant, ready to attack the middle. But before any of them could reach their target, a loud popping noise sounded in the air.

Before she could reach her target, Xenovia felt a sharp pain shoot through her left leg, causing her to trip over herself and nearly fall onto her face. A burning sensation slowly crept through her leg, making it feel as though that entire part of her body was on fire.

"Xenovia!" Kiba screamed, seeing his beloved ally get hurt. Blood had begun to pour out of a small hole in Xenovia's leg, becoming the source of the pain she had begun to feel.

Soon, as Xenovia was falling to the ground trying to rebalance herself, another popping noise was heard. Quickly realizing what it was, Kiba stopped his pursuit of the Dullahan, and began to rush over to Xenovia's side. Swinging his sword in mid-air, it had collided with something as the sound of two metals met. The small metal object fell, bouncing and rolling onto the ground.

A discharged rifle round, freshly fired from its weapon.

Kiba did not look down to confirm it, rather, glaring in the direction from which the bullet had come from. Sitting on top of one of the nearby building's rooftops, sat a lone gunman, dressed in similar garbs to the ones in the cathedral, aiming down his sights and looking at Kiba and Xenovia.

Annoyed by this new presence, Kiba knew he could not look away from this new threat. The fact that the first bullet had managed to pierce Xenovia's skin meant that these bullets were not ordinary ones, but rather, ones that were lethal to Devils.

"Kiba, watch out!"

Rossweisse called out to the young man as she set up a barrier in the nick of time to protect him from a barrage of bullets from behind. She quickly flew to their position, quickly casting magical missiles at the enemy who had tried to flank them. Though it was regrettable that it seemed that they were going to have to take human lives, it was necessary to survive.

The magical missiles were shot towards the enemy, exploding just before they hit their target. As if a grenade had gone off in their face, and with nothing to protect their faces as there was nothing there, the two enemies set up on top of the house on the other side of the street were forced to take cover as their eyes were scorched by the magic. But as those two went down, more enemies popped up from the rooftops, all with their own guns, pointed towards the trio.

Kiba used his sword techniques to deflect the oncoming bullets with ease, his speed faster than that of the bullets. But it was obvious that he would not be able to hold on forever. Rossweisse continued to shoot magic in the direction of any assailants when they were forced to reload, but they began to catch on, taking cover before her magic could hit them.

'Damnit, if only we could go on the offensive!' Kiba thought to himself, thinking of his role as a Knight. "Rossweisse!" He called out, trying to get his comrade's attention. "Are you able to create a barrier to surround us while you heal Xenovia?"

"Y-Yes, I can, but I'm not sure how long I would be able to hold out against their light projectiles. They're strangely stronger than I first thought."

He cursed under his breath for the lack of Phoenix Tears, but was forced to make due. "That's fine, I'll do your best to protect you both."

Stopping her attacks, Rossweisse began to chant under her breath, and within seconds, a bluish-colored barrier surrounded all three Devils, her Norse magic at work. Meanwhile, trying to stop the bleeding herself, Xenovia had been putting pressure on her thigh where the bullet wound had gone through.

Rossweisse crouched down next to Xenovia, speaking to her calmly. "Please, move your hands." She said, and Xenovia easily obliged. Xenovia winced in pain as Rossweisse gently touched her thigh. Xenovia could not help but think that it was lucky as hell that the bullet had missed her major artery, otherwise it would quite be possible that she would have been close to bleeding out now.

With a faint green glow, Rossweisse began her healing process. Though nowhere near as powerful as Asia's Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, it would still do the job.

Slowly, the small hole began to close, the blood quickly drying up and no longer spilling. A full minute later, the wound had fully healed.

"Thanks, Rossweisse." Xenovia muttered, ashamed that she had needed help in the first place.

Rossweisse helped Xenovia stand up by holding out her hand, and Xenovia gratefully obliged. She was wobbly at first, but quickly regain her footing, ready to fight once more as she wielded Ex-Durandal with pride.

While the three had gone under the barrage of bullets, the Dullahan, Ferdinand, had managed to run off, provoking them into following if they could. Kiba believed he had wanted to run after him, but it seemed like it was going to be an impossible task so long as the numerous gunmen on top of the roofs were still firing at them with their special bullets.

Counting twelve of them, eight on the roofs behind him and four on the roofs in front of him, Kiba had come up with a plan to defeat them all without any more casualties. Before he could tell it though, Xenovia quickly spoke.

"Kiba." She said, looking towards the gunmen as they waited for the barrier to come down, realizing their bullets weren't going to get through.

"Yeah?"

"We… We let that woman die…" She calmly stated. "That bastard killed her without mercy."

Kiba thought to himself that it seemed the events of today began to eat at Xenovia's heart. It was probably the first time that any of them had begun to feel the effects of letting the people down, as opposed to being the heroes who would always protect them. "Yeah, he did…"

She smirked right afterwards, finding the events around her funny. Life truly was unfair sometimes, or so she thought. "Today hasn't been our day, has it?"

"No. No, it hasn't."

"We can make it up to her and anyone else who has been hurt by them by capturing these people and making them tell us what we want." Rossweisse tried to cheer her up. It seemed to have work as well, as Xenovia could not help but laugh once under her breath.

"Yeah, you're right…"

"In that case, here's the plan to do just that." Kiba calmly spoke, continuing to keep his eye on the targets while he told his comrades his idea. Hearing him out, they both nodded, believing that it would do.

All three huddled together, their backs facing each other as they watched the enemy. Rossweisse began to take down her barrier, and the enemies raised their weapons once more, anticipating their moment of when to fire. But before a single person could pull the trigger, Rossweisse had been casting another spell at the time of taking down her barrier. The moment the blue barrier disappeared, the entire street was filled with a bright white light.

Rossweisse had casted a spell equivalent to a massive flashbang, and with it, blinded all twelve gunners. Xenovia and Kiba both charged in opposite directions, jumping onto the roofs before the gunners knew that they were there. Rossweisse flew high into the sky, overlooking all twelve as well as her comrades, and began to fire bolts of ice down at the enemy, hitting them at their feet so that they would become stuck on the roofs.

Stunned and unaware of what was happening, the gunmen began to fire in the spot where the three Devils had been, hoping to catch at least one of them off-guard. But it was for naught.

Rushing up to the first gunner, Xenovia kneed him in the jaw, nearly causing him to bite his tongue off. She used Ex-Durandal's pommel to crush the man's hand, making him release his weapon before quickly kicking onto the street where he would not be able to retrieve it. She began to move on to the next gunner, an ice bolt shot from the sky and hitting the man's foot so he could not escape.

Kiba used a similar tactic on the other side, kicking the gunner in the face as the enemy was still rubbing his eyes from the flash, before using the gunner's shoulder as a vault to jump off from. The strength of the kick caused the gunner to let go of his gun, the weapon in question flying out of his hands and landing far away. Kiba then used the forward momentum to strike the next gunner in the face with the heel of both his feet, doing a drop kick right into the man's nose and knocking him out. Bolts of ice soon followed suit and connected the men to the roofs where they would stay until Kiba and Xenovia were finished.

Again, and again, the two Knights began to take down the enemy. Kiba had managed to clean them up fairly quickly, but Xenovia was not so lucky, having double the amount of people to take care of. Because of this, the gunmen had begun to regain their senses.

By the fourth person being taken down, the fifth had managed to regain their senses, and aimed their weapon at the oncoming Xenovia. Pulling the trigger and aiming at the chest, they had hoped to hit their mark. Xenovia quickly crushed that hope though by bringing Ex-Durandal to her chest, blocking the oncoming bullet. She jumped into the air the moment the bullet had made impact with the steel, the gunner unable to follow her movements. She brought the pommel of her sword down onto the man's head, knocking him out, before using his body for protection from the other gunners.

The next gunner aimed and fired into his ally's body, ignoring the man's life as he tried showering Xenovia with bullets. Witnessing the disregard for their ally's life, Xenovia began to charge with the body in tow, crouched down so that the bullets had a smaller target to hit. Ramming the gunman, she tackled the person down to the ground to disarm him. This had been a fatal flaw though, as she still had two other gunmen that she needed to take out.

Ignoring Kiba on the other side who knew he couldn't make it in time, and not knowing where Rossweisse was, the two gunmen chose the easy target and aimed their weapons at Xenovia.

Xenovia's eyes widened as she looked up and saw the two barrels aimed towards her. Regret began to build up inside her, images of her entire life began to flash before her life as time seemed to slow down. Watching their fingers slowly wrap around the triggers, Xenovia waited for her final moment.

But before the triggers were pulled, the stench of flesh being burned, cloth being scorched, and metal being melted filled the air as both gunmen began to jerk erratically, along with a bright flash enveloping the two of them. Although the weapons went off, the bullets never came near to Xenovia.

Protecting Xenovia, Rossweisse had seen that enough gunmen had been captured, and used her magic to summon two bolts of lightning, right on top of the two remaining enemies. Xenovia's heartrate began to calm down once more the moment she realized she was safe, quietly thanking Rossweisse for the assistance. Though the mixture of terrible stenches was incredibly unpleasant, it was far more welcomed smell than a new hole in her head.

"Are you alright, Xenovia?!" Rossweisse immediately asked the moment she touched down on the ground, rushing over to her comrade and offering her a hand to stand up. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Xenovia smiled, her mind settling down as the man below her having been knocked unconscious from his unprotected head hitting the rooftop, gladly took the hand as she realized that perhaps, the battle was finally over. "No, I'm alri- "

"Xenovia!"

Climbing up the building in a very parkour manner, Kiba had reached the rooftop where the other two stood, looking down at the enemies that were defeated, then back to Xenovia. "Are you alright?! I'm sorry I- "But he stopped midsentence as Xenovia raised her hand, telling him to stop.

"I'm fine, Kiba. And don't worry, you did what you could. There were only three of us, so there was only so much we could do here."

Kiba, seeing his dear friend was indeed alright, began to calm down as well. He had feared that perhaps he was too late as he saw the enemies raise their weapons to fire at Xenovia, and he was still stuck on the other side. It didn't sit well with him that he had almost lost his friend so easily once again. 'The world would lose much if it lost this girl's kindness… and so would Issei…'

Thoughts drifted back to his friend as he once wondered what the young man had been doing down in the catacombs underneath cathedral. Either way, they would have to begin cleaning up in the immediate area and return to Gasper and Koneko. The sounds of police sirens filling the air only brought that point home as he looked down at the captured enemies once more.

Nine captured; most suffering head wounds. Three dead; one by a barrage of bullets, and two by electrocution. In hindsight, perhaps it was a miracle that they had managed to capture these many alive given the actions at the cathedral had cost them even more lives than needed.

As Kiba was getting ready to help the girls tie the hands of the captured forces behind their backs with whatever they could find, he heard Xenovia wince in pain. Looking over, he noticed a small blotch of red begin to form on her exposed thigh, the same spot where she had been shot before. "Xenovia!"

Xenovia had crouched down, putting pressure once more on the wound to slow the bleeding as she gnashed her teeth, enduring the burning sensation from before slowly coming back. "W-What the?" She managed to squeeze out, just as surprised from seeing the bullet wound coming back.

"How is this even possible?" Rossweisse said to herself as she crouched down next to Xenovia, using her magic to sense any anomalies within the wound.

Kiba also crouched down next to Xenovia, trying to take a closer look at the wound to see if there was anything he could do. Seeing the blood not slowing down, and unsure if the wound would come back even if Rossweisse tried healing it again, Kiba ripped the left arm sleeve of his school uniform off, wrapping the cloth around the wound and tying it tight to stop the bleeding. At least until they could find a proper fixture.

Watching Kiba's face, Xenovia could see just how focus he truly was. Whenever they were on a mission, he always had the same face of intensity on. Always calculating, always formulating. It was a face of a true King, and one she envied, knowing the day she would eventually get her King title and the pieces along with it as well. She even began to see that same face in her former master as well. Would she stand up to someone like that and be just as thought-provoking when her time came?

She then thought of Rossweisse who was still bent over searching for the cause of her injury, envying the young magical genius as well. Today had proven that she hadn't cured her bullheadedness, having gotten injured, and even being emotionally drained at the actions of others due to her religious affiliations. Just because she hadn't rushed in without thought, perhaps she wasn't fully cured yet. Even if the young woman was only a few years older than her, it was true that she was far more mature; far more calculating.

However, eventually her mind remembered the power-headed idiot she had fallen for as well. His stature, his kindness, his unusual bravado in the face of intense enemies… Perhaps, it wouldn't so bad after all…

But not much could dwell on that, as all three of them were shocked at failing their basic instincts.

"You three! What's going on up there?! What in the hell happened here?!"

All three had failed to notice the fact that the police had arrived.

~~*Oppai-Dragon*~~

Another mark was made in the walls of the underground sanctum as the Witch Carman was thrown backwards from Issei's punch. Once again, still in his Dragonic Rook Mode, Issei had punched what felt like a living doll. At no point was the Witch trying to dodge, or evade, or cast magic to protect herself. All she had been doing was grabbing hold of him when he got close enough, but would get pushed away before being punched.

"Ddraig, do you have any clue what the hell she's trying to do? I mean, didn't you say you knew her?" Issei asked as he continued to attack the Witch, watching her movements for any sign of attack.

[I said I only knew stories of her, partner. I had never come across her in my time from when I was still a Dragon, so the small amount I know of her is what I've already told you.]

"Damn." Issei cursed under his breath. He hadn't been angry at his partner, but rather, the lack of information he had. Ever since he had become a King, it had been drilled into his head by numerous people; Rias, her mother Velenana, Grayfia; that information was the key in victory. Without it, he may as well be swinging his arms around in complete blackness hoping to land a strike at some point.

[Partner, watch out!]

Issei focused once more as the strange corpse came running at him once more. Deciding to try to switch tactics for once, he jumped backwards when the corpse got close to him. But this did not seem to deter the corpse, as it simply continued to run after Issei. 'Damnit. If it's not showing signs of taking damage from my punches, and I can't use magic- Just what the hell!'

Seeing that running away wasn't going to have any effects on the corpse, Issei stood his ground.

The corpse grabbed hold of Issei once more, and instead of punching her away, he decided to grab hold of her hand instead. "Two can play at this game!" He yelled as he began to spin around, swinging the Witch around and around. Eventually, the momentum caused the Witch to lose her grip on him, and when it did, he too let go. The Witch went sailing in the air as she was thrown clear across the room, crashing into the wall once more upon impact. Issei followed up by running after her, not letting her get the chance to get up before pinning her body down to the ground. He began to punch her more intensely as he tried to harm her in any way he could.

Issei pushed the thoughts of him looking like the villain once more into the back of his mind, because even though he was punching her in the face enough to kill the strongest man ten times over, no visible wounds ever settled in. "What, the, hell, are, YOU!"

Deciding that because physical attacks were having no affect, and magical attacks would not work, he decided to start using things in his arsenal that had yet to be revealed to the Witch.

Issei jumped off the Witch, distancing himself as he changed specs. "I know you can absorb magic, but- I can't put it away without even trying! Welsh Blaster Bishop!"

Once again, Issei's metallic form changed as his body became less bulky. Two cannons grew out of his back and rested on his shoulders. A green glow began to emit from the mouths of the cannon.

[Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost-]

As energy gathered within the cannons, his body was repeatedly being boosted so that it would be as effective as possible.

The Witch, in response, had stood up from where she had been being pummeled and watched as Issei readied his attack. Seeing the so much magic gather within those cannons, she did not even try to get close to him. It would do no good for it to explode in both of their faces. An unseen smile began to grow on her rotting lips.

"Dragon Blaster!"

Two beams of green light spewed forth from the cannons, evaporating what little rubble and corpses that laid in its path. The Witch, clearly calm, raised her hands in anticipation from the attack. The moment it connected, the entire room was filled with smoke as a massive explosion shook the entire underground, even causing bits of the ceiling above to fall. People above would wonder if it was the so-called aftershocks that were supposed to happen after earthquakes.

Issei, even with his inferior detection abilities compared to his comrades, could feel a significant boost of magic pulse within the room the moment the explosion had ended. "So, it's come to that, huh?" Issei muttered to himself, knowing that the fight may have just gotten far more difficult. With it, it would require more power. "Give me your blessing, Ria-"

Before he could end his sentence though, the sight before him made him lose his words. The sight before stood not the Witch, or even what he would assume to be beautiful woman if the Witch had absorbed all his magic, but rather-

"Rias…"

From the dust settling and the smoke clearing, the signature crimson hair shone brightly within that white hall. The curves that he knew, more than anyone, laid naked and bare for him to see. Her beautiful face, that he fallen in love with again and again. It was all there, and yet-

"How?" He asked. Though he had wanted to walk over there, to embrace her after the hard fighting he had done and listen to her praise like many-a-time before, something in the back of his mind told him something was severely off. The person he had fallen in love with the year before was there, and yet, not.

'Rias' looked down at her body as though to observe it, and to see what kind of creature she was. Giving a good look-through, a voice that Issei had never heard finally emerged from 'Rias's mouth. "So, this is the form you desire the most in your heart. I must say, a beautiful body for sure, but even I'm beginning to wonder if my time being imprisoned for so long has dulled my senses. Or is it natural for humans to wear nothing these days?"

"Sorry for loving women so much!" Issei instinctively yelled, feeling as though this new form had said that to directly insult him. Somehow, in some way, the Witch had changed from the rotting cadaver to the stunning and alluring Rias. And then, the image of Raiser entered his mind as well, as his thoughts of earlier happenings came to mind.

[Be careful partner. I'm sensing a far deadlier aura coming from her than what I had sensed earlier.]

'Shit, so my plan didn't- Damnit!'

Hearing Ddraig's voice, Issei began to grasp reality once more as he quickly realized that his thoughts of his Bishop mode were indeed correct, and that he had only made things worse for him by using it. It didn't help that the Witch decided to comment on it.

Due to his outburst, the form looked back up at Issei and showed a familiar smile, one that he had remembered fondly. "I must thank you, child. Though you have been entertaining thus far, that magical wave you gave me has given me enough strength to become this form for more than enough time. Once we're done here, I'll remember the screams of your demise lovingly as I go on have my revenge on the surface."

Hearing someone else's voice coming out of the mouth of his beloved was unnerving at best, but to know that he was going to have to fight this form…

"I'm so happy to help," Issei muttered sarcastically, "but what makes you think that you'll be getting out of here?"

"Obvious," she replied, magic gathering in 'Rias's hands. It seemed that she could finally start going on the offensive now that she had absorbed so much magic. "Now that you have been as so kind to give me this much magic, it'll be simple to kill someone as small and pathetic as you. Now, DIE!"

The magic that had gathered in the fake 'Rias's hands was shot at Issei. He jumped back just in time to avoid the attack and the explosion following right after it. But he could not relax as more magic was shot at him, forcing him to move constantly.

"Shit, just what I need- Welsh Sonic Boost Knight!"

[Change Star Sonic!]

Once again, most of his red armor shed off, giving him light-footedness and great agility. In doing so, he had been far too quick to get hit by the Witch's magic. However, this also meant that if the Welsh Dragonic Rook mode could not damage the Witch, that there was going to be no way to kill her now.

No, what he needed was enough time to be bought bring out an even greater form. But how was he supposed to buy such time?

As he thought of ways to buy himself time, the Witch continued to shoot rays of magic at him. Where he was, where he was going to be, she slowly to become more and more infuriated as her magic was slowly being drained by child in front of her. Knowing that catching him while he was in the Sonic Boost Knight mode was futile, she eventually stopped firing her magical attacks. "You are far more irritating than you need to be, child."

"Trust me, I've been called far worse than irritating!" Issei bellowed, now knowing that his speed was beginning to annoy the Witch.

"I'm sure you have… However, if I cannot catch you while you are bouncing around like the imbecile that you are, then perhaps I shall simply change my approach."

Energy; what looked like purple electricity, but was actually magic; surged around the Witch, circulating as though she was the centerpiece of it all. Issei didn't know what she was up to, but knew it wasn't going to be good if she was unleash some type of attack at him that required her to stand still. Standing still never ended up being good.

Feeling the threat, Issei changed his tactics. Once more, he rushed in, getting right up into her face. "Welsh Dragonic Rook!"

[Change Solid Impact!]

Issei raised his fist, ready to strike the Witch, 'Rias', right in the face. But something didn't seem right. 'Rias' smiled smugly the moment he got up close. "Got you."

In the short amount of time that magical energy built up and raged around the Witch, was enough time to create a massive magical attack. Like a wave, magic was unleashed from the Witch, pushing Issei backwards as he forced himself to take on a defensive position. The wave, more like a sphere, expanded as far as it could reach within the room. Feeling the magic through his armor, Issei could tell that had he not changed into Rook mode the moment he did, it was quite possible that he would not have survived the attack.

Feeling as though he was getting hit by Rias's own destructive power at point blank range, Issei crossed his arms to protect him from the wave of magic bearing down on him. It took most of his might to stay conscious, the magic piercing his armor, and even feeling as though it was piercing his skin.

Her spell so powerful, everything around the Witch was being disintegrated by her magic, all but Issei, and everything behind him. At least, that's how it was now, as Issei's armor was slowly breaking away, destroyed by the magic.

'S-Shit! How the hell am I supposed to get out of this?!' Issei thought to himself as the magic continued to eat at his armor. 'I-If only! If only I could get away somehow!'

Thankfully he wouldn't need to get away. Not wanting to waste too much magic in the single spell, the sphere of magic that had erupted from the Witch had begun to grow smaller by the second, until eventually the magic returned to her. As the magic disappeared, the parts of Issei's armor that had been destroyed by it began to mend itself anew, though his stamina had taken a massive hit as well.

"Impressive. For you to be still standing, let alone still breathing, is truly remarkable."

Hearing the remark, Issei couldn't help but grin. "Still think I'm weak?" He casually asked. He looked at the fake 'Rias', still trying to wrap his head around what her weakness would be.

"Of course," The Witch replied, "after all, you have no hopes of defeating me."

'If I had a hundred yen each time I heard that…' Issei comically thought to himself, amused by what seemed to be the signature line for bad guys everywhere, both in real life and in the fantasy books he had always read before ever becoming a Devil. But thinking such things would get him nowhere. "And why do you think it'll be so easy?"

"Because, there will be no way for you to stay alive long enough for you to return me to that manaless state."

Issei, surprised by her answer, believed he had finally gotten an answer for the question he had been seeking all this time. "So, what you're telling me is that magic is what's keeping you alive?"

"Of course, what a silly question to ask. It is the lifeblood of all Witches and Wizards. It is what allows me to keep this beauty that you have so graciously given me, as well as give me the power to have my revenge the moment I become free of this nuisance."

Issei wanted to laugh at himself, always thinking that learning such weaknesses would always be difficult to discern. As much as he hated to admit it, he was always the power-headed idiot type, and no matter how much scheming or strategies Rias or the others tried to pound into his head, it would never stick. However, something the Witch had said did bug him enough to continue this unusual conversation. "You say that I gave you that body. How? How did you become someone I know?"

The Witch looked surprised at Issei's question, as though it was the dumbest things she had ever heard, given what she had just told him. But, if it allowed even a tiny bit of mana to come back and regenerate and delay the fight, then perhaps she would be more than willing to indulge him. Shrugging her shoulders, she answered. "I suppose that is a question I can answer. After all, it seems fitting that you should know the reason why you will die by the hand of the one you love, but, to put it simply, I can read hearts."

"Hearts?" Issei echoed.

"Indeed. Hearts are like windows into someone's soul. Using my magic, I can look into anyone's heart and see who they long for. Knowing that, I can use my magic to transform and mold myself into their longed one. A simple spell, but one that requires much mana, as it constantly drains on my magic to do so, so I am only able to do it for a limited time."

"Is that when you changed? When you were that man from earlier?"

The fake Rias began to look confused, and even tilted her head a bit as she tried to decipher what Issei was talking about. Eventually, the image came back to her. "Ah, you mean that young maiden from earlier. Yes, I suppose you could say that because her heart was so easy to read, I was able to take the form of her lost brother. Had that cat creature not gotten in the way, it would have been easy for me to take care of all three of you. However, with my ploy discovered, there had been no more reason for me to try to deceive you all. It was better to simply cancel it and save up my mana for the true fight to come."

'I see…' Issei thought to himself, now seeing a tiny bit of Ravel's heart. Even after much time, it seemed that the death of her brother still affected her greatly. "And the reason you're doing it now?"

"Simple. As I said before, it brings me great joy to see the faces of those I kill, to look into their eyes as they weep, spitting out curses at the very person who they always longed for, driving a dagger through their ill-gotten heart."

Despicable was the word that surfaced in Issei's mind. This Witch really was nothing more than a massive cretin.

Hearing enough, and now knowing the way to defeat the Witch, Issei believed it had been time to finish the fight. Without warning, he began his chant.

"I, the one to awaken am the Sekiryuutei who holds up the truth of the King up high!"

A massive explosion of energy erupted from Issei, as the red armor he wore slowly began to change a deep crimson. Unexpected, the Witch was unsure what to expect from this new development. No matter how much energy he produced, she was absolutely confident that the battle was hers.

"Holding the Infinite hope and indestructible Dream and walking the road of righteousness. I will become the Emperor of the Crimson Dragon. And I will lead you to the path of Heaven glowing in True Crimson Light!"

[Cardinal Crimson Drive!]

Another explosion of energy erupted from Issei, all of his armor now in the deep crimson color.

Before the Witch could react to the sudden change, Issei; who had been standing only a few meters away from her; had suddenly appeared in front of her. A sense of shock and pain exploded from her gut. She hunched over, Issei's fist now pressed deep into her body.

First it was the left fist. Then, the right knee. His right fist into a feint, followed by a hammering blow to the back of the head. It was a relentless assault in which the Witch could not defend herself. With a sudden tug on her hand, she felt herself be lifted off the ground as a sudden surge of air surrounded her. She flew through the air without intent, as Issei easily tossed her across the room. The Witch smashed into the nearest wall with a loud crash, stunning her for several seconds.

It didn't even last a second though as she felt her stomach collapse inward, Issei's fist driving hard into it as he pushed her into an upper cut. The punch so powerful, the Witch was launched upwards, not given a chance to retaliate. Flying up into the air, she almost seemed to start float the moment the momentum had lessened, but that simply made it easier for Issei to continue his attack. With his opponent still stunned at the sudden change in power levels, Issei had suddenly appeared besides the Witch residing in the air. Seeing his arms above his head with his hands balled up in fists, all the Witch could do was cross her own arms in front of her chest before feeling massive pressure being put on her body.

The Witch came down like a comet as she crashed into the ground, rolling around the moment she had connected the ground.

~~*Oppai-Dragon*~~

For over half an hour, Issei had been relentless in his attacks.

Though it had taken some time for him to whittle the Witch down, it was blatantly obvious to anyone who could have seen it that Issei had had the upper hand from what was quite possibly the very beginning.

'How is this even possible?!' The Witch tried reasoning within her head, pulling herself up weakly from another crater that had been created in the ensuing battle. 'A simple power-up should have not given him this much strength!' Yet, as hard as she tried to convince herself otherwise, the evidence was contrary. Something within the boy had awakened, something that not even she had anticipated.

As she began to regain her senses, the Witch began to realize something was wrong. Though that attacks from the Devil had only been for a short amount of time, her body felt far heavier than it had been just before the second battle began. Trying to get up from the ground from when she had fell from the wall, the Witch's eyes began to widen as she saw her hands.

From pure and young, the smooth skin that she had acquired from the young Devil before her showed signs of aging. The beautiful, delicate skin was now beginning to wrinkle. The flowing red hair she had received as well, she had noticed, had begun to dull. A small tint of green could be seen growing from the strands.

'H-How?!' She nervously thought. 'T-Too soon! It's too soon!'

She looked up at Issei, who had been quietly standing in the spot he had thrown her from, not bothering to move at all. Her twisted face turned from one of shock and agony to one of rage. "Who are you… What the hell did you do to me?!" She demanded, trying her best to get up from the floor, but beginning to feel the stamina drained from her as she could barely move.

Seeing Rias's face, even if for a fake one at that, be distorted in rage- It was an unpleasant feeling for Issei. However, if he wished to win here today, he knew he would have to hurt the one he loved the most.

"You bastard! Answer me!" The Witch screamed, clearly fearing for her life as she knew something was terribly wrong. But Issei continued to stand still.

Clearly not getting an answer, the Witch managed to gather enough strength to stand up and send a small bolt of magic at Issei to conserve as much energy as possible. But Issei simply swatted the magic away the moment it came close enough for him.

The magic, as it traveled, grew smaller after Issei had swatted it away, losing its power until it eventually vanished into thin air. What he didn't let the Witch know was that in his gauntlet, a small white wyvern rested, courtesy of his rival. Dividing anything he touched, including the Witch's powers, it proved to be an effective weapon.

"Ascalon!"

Issei had decided that enough was enough. It was obvious that the Witch was beginning to feel desperate as her magic was beginning to drain. He marched forward, the holy blade Ascalon now extended from his hand.

Calmly walking towards her, Issei felt like he could liken himself to a Grim Reaper. It was a bit sad and ironic for his liking, given his brief history with the Greek God Hades and his minions. However, his disdain for past enemies had little to do with the enemy he faced now he reminded himself, as he continued to swat orbs of magic away as the Witch desperately tried her best to keep him back.

Her illusion had begun to break as she drained more and more of her mana to keep Issei away. Her skin began to wrinkle once more, and the crimson hair she had borrowed was becoming duller by the second.

"Why?! Why- Why- Why- Why?!"

The Witch continued to throw balls of magic, never capable of hurting Issei in the slightest. The entire time, she failed to notice a wyvern very similar to the one in Issei's hand that had crawled and made its way onto her back, continually pulsating as it cast its own magic to divide her power by the second. Her attention on Issei had granted him the stealth the little creature needed, continually announcing the word 'Divide' over and over as her eyes never left the Devil in front of her. It had latched itself onto her when Issei had grabbed hold of her hand and threw her across the room, gradually sucking away her power without her noticing.

By the time Issei had calmly walked over to her, the Witch had become nothing more than a husk of her fake image. Standing just before her, the Witch had all but given up on trying to fight Issei now, as it was obvious that for whatever reason, her magic no longer had the effect it had just minutes ago. As he lined the tip of Ascalon up with the forehead of the Witch, she spoke for one final time, breathing hard as her stamina was nearly gone and glaring up at him with intense hatred.

"Just… Just what the hell are you?!"

"… I am the Pawn of Rias Gremory!"

With very little pressure, Issei leaned forward, piercing the blade with ease into the Witch's forehead. In very little time, the Witch had been eliminated, the holy blade easily killing her as it struck through her brain.

It seemed kind of unreal to the young Devil just how easy the turnaround in the fight had happened. The enemy now gone in what seemed like a very anticlimactic ending, not that Issei disliked it seeing how easy it was, the young Devil felt like he had one last remaining business in that empty underground dwelling.

Ascalon as he noticed, had been pulsing the moment he had summoned it. It was reacting to its own brother across the room, the one wielded by the enemy Templar he had noticed. He looked over at the lying corpse, possibly still warm from the moment her soul had been taken.

[What is it, partner?]

But Issei did not bother to answer his Dragon friend. Instead, he walked over to the corpse of the fallen Templar, and knelt beside it. Reaching out, he gently grasped her hand. Though he could not feel a pulse, even knowing her soul was long gone, he felt as though a bit of her spirit still lingered within.

[Partner, you wouldn't be thinking of-]

"I let him escape, Ddraig, and I don't know if the others managed to capture him or not." Issei interrupted, knowing what his friend was going to ask. "I know it may be sudden, but the moment her life was taken, it made me start thinking. If it succeeds, she could become a valuable asset, as well as become a potential informant on these so-called 'Black Templars'."

[And what if she decides her loyalty matters far more?]

Issei stayed silent but for a moment before replying. "Then I will take responsibility in my actions. After all, am I not my own King?"

[… And this has nothing to do with her being another girl?]

"…"

There, Ddraig had managed to keep Issei quiet. He could feel the sweat pouring out of Issei's pores as he wore the armor, knowing that this was just another one of his partner's dirty habits. He would have sighed, but he had longed learned the interesting concepts of his current partner.

Ddraig remained silent, knowing Issei was going to go through with it one way or another. If his theory about the girl betraying her former comrades was correct, then it was indeed justified for bringing this girl back. But, if she chose otherwise, things could very easily end up badly for his friend.

[Perhaps you should tie her hands and feet. You know, just in case.]

"I appreciate the thought, Ddraig. Good idea." Issei responded to the idea, before looking around for anything that could be used for bindings. Luckily enough, with all the corpses riddled around, it was quite easy to find some sturdy material to wrap around the girl's hands and feet, before positioning her in a laying posture, her hands on her stomach. The blonde-haired teen seemed almost peaceful, and a small part of Issei felt bad for what he thought about doing, but knew that if there were any more 'Black Templars', then he, along with all the others of DxD, were going to need to know as much information as possible.

Before starting the ceremony, Issei looked back at the Witch's corpse, then back at the girl, then back at the Witch.

[Something on your mind?]

"That win felt too easy. I'm just making sure she isn't going to suddenly come back to life like some bad manga villain and attack me when my back is turned."

This time, Ddraig really did sigh. [You can be at ease, partner. She's dead.]

"Right…"

With his doubts confronted and proven wrong, Issei continued with the ceremony.

A large magical circle, one of with an intricate design, yet, was not of the Gremory clan, appeared underneath the young girl that had once belonged to the Black Templars. No, this was Issei's very own magical circle, one that he had received when he had become a High-Class Devil.

"Do you wish to live?" He asked out loud.

The air was silent, and no response was given. Despite that, Issei seemed to continue as though he had received one.

"What is your name?"

A few more seconds went by, and once again, the air was silent. However, Issei summoned in his hand a tiny chess piece. The piece in question represented the Knight, as it glowed a deep crimson color, giving off an aura of authority and righteousness.

Gently placing the piece on the girl's chest, Issei began to recite a phrase he had been forced to learn by his superiors if he was to ever become a King.

"I order you, in the name of Hyoudou Issei. You, Danette Dubois. I resurrect you back from the soil of the Earth as my servant, and be reborn as a Devil! You, my [Knight], be delighted with your new life!"

~~*Oppai-Dragon*~~

Kuroka stood hovering over her sister's body, irked at the sight she saw. Though it was true she loved her sister, more obvious now than ever over the past few months she had been staying in the same house as her younger sister, she could not help but feel annoyed at both the white kitten, and at herself. Perhaps she thought too highly of Koneko, not wanting to believe that she could have been so easily taken down, given what she had heard from the Dhampir the moment she had come up to the surface with Ravel in tow. Or, perhaps it was herself that was weak, not being able to defeat the enemy that had come up and done this to her precious little sister.

Kuroka's hand balled up in a fist as she continued staring at her sister. The Dhampir, the one that she still had not bothered to learn his name, had been the one taking care of Koneko and now Ravel as they laid next to each other unconscious. The thoughts of wondering what she could do, what she could have done, for the unconscious girl in front of her kept repeating within her mind over and over.

"U-Umm…"

The small voice coming from the Dhampir surprisingly brought Kuroka out of her thoughts, her eyes darting from her little sister to the small boy who always seemed to adore girl clothing's, something she never seemed to understand why.

Frightened from the stare that Kuroka had been giving, Gasper gave a small yelp of surprise. 'S-She doesn't want to kill me! She doesn't want to eat me!' Gasper had repeated a mantra of sorts inside his mind to calm himself from the terrifying stare of Kuroka. Taking a big gulp of air to calm his nerves, he continued what he was going to say to her.

"I-I'm sure she'll be a-alright."

It was obvious that the small boy was trying to help ease the thoughts of Kuroka by suggesting that her sister was going to be alright, but her mood did not change one bit. 'Obviously, she's going to be alright. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Stupid little boy... Stop trying to make me feel better.'

Feeling frustrated at herself even more now, Kuroka took her eyes off Koneko and began to walk away. In her mind, she began to think about what the boy had been trying to do. Though there were those she could have easily called her allies in the past, especially in the Vali group, this feeling of 'friends' still felt a bit new to her. Even with others surrounding her, she had always felt like she had been alone, never anybody to really trust. Always on the cautious side, never willing others to get too close to her.

She never showed it on the outside, but the past few weeks in particular, she began to mull over on what she really was now. Was she simply a tool to be used by Issei? After all, he did lust for her body, and she simply wanted his for future generations. She thought she could simply use him for her own devices, and have a bit of fun at the same time, but the battle down below began to make her think otherwise. Perhaps, his story of wanting to help her make up with her sister was actually real, and he genuinely wished to see the two sisters happy together once more.

It was an odd feeling, but… perhaps trusting him was the best thing to do at the current moment.

Having climbed up to the ground floor of the cathedral, Kuroka kneeled and sat on the edge of the ruined floor, overlooking the entrance to the tunnels from above. She stared off, her eyes becoming unfocused as she became lost in her mind. She had much to think about, and with her 'new job' as a school nurse (something she could not stand internally, her cat instincts telling her to blow it off and instead play around or sleep all day long), it was rare for her to have moments of clarity.

She closed her eyes, and opened her mind. For several minutes, she let her mind wander, letting it roam as it took in the sounds surrounding herself. All that could be heard was the shuffling of rocks from down below, or debris crumbling to bits as their weight became too much for their architectural form to hold. The soft and quiet breathing of the unconscious kitten and baby bird, along with the frantic meddling of their Dhampir friend to make them feel more comfortable. The sounds of police sirens could be heard in the distance as well, but the chances of any authoritative forces coming to distract them was quite unlikely, given the limited resources they had and the fighting that was sure to be going on between the Gremory girl's forces and these new enemies.

The more she let her mind wander, in an ironic twist, the more her mind focused on this unnatural chorus of irregular music. Though it gave her no answers, for once, she could feel an unusual comfort. It was almost as if…

But her mind was forced to focus once more.

Her sensitive ears picked up the shuffling of rocks that seemed more abnormal than before, as something sounded as though it was moving faster and faster, as though it was steadily moving from underground and into the surface. Was it a foe? Or a friend? Though she was confident that Issei could not have lost, Kuroka forced herself into a fighting position once more as she jumped down and stood in front of the frightened Dhampir, as he too heard the rocks 'communicating' with them.

Soon enough their question was answered clear. The sound of rocks shuffling became louder and louder until eventually, a bright red hand emerged from the tunnel entrance that had been hidden from the public for hundreds of years.

"Issei-senpai!"

Gasper excitedly called out the name of his favorite senpai, ecstatic to see him unhurt.

The full shape of Issei in his Balance Breaker form emerged from the tunnel, but Kuroka still remained cautious. She had seen firsthand what the escaped Goddess had been capable of, having shifted into the form of the older brother of Ravel just before escaping with said Bishop in tow. Yet, the smell matched the one that her own master had. Was it possible that the enemy had managed to mask that as well having known that she would be up here? Or was it something else?

The biggest issue that she had though was what in Issei's hands.

Carrying it over the shoulder like a bag of potatoes, Issei had been holding the corpse of one of the enemies that they had fought down below. To be precise, it was the young girl capable of wielding the holy blade of Charlemagne, Joyeuse.

She had to make sure.

"Ehhh? Are living girls not enough for Master? Now you want to be in bed with dead ones too? Well, at least it doesn't stink from rotting yet at least, nyaa."

Depending on the answer, she would attack there and then.

Her shoulders released their tension soon after though, as thanks to her usual playful banter, she managed to confirm the identity of the person before her. Even though she could not see the face of Issei, the sound of him sputtering in an attempt to find a response played an image in her head of his face becoming red with embarrassment.

"T-That's! That isn't true at all!" He responded, nearly dropping the girl he had been carrying after the sudden shock. "S-She's my new Knight! I'm not like that, I swear it!"

"Nyaa?" Kuroka tilted her head in confusion as Issei confessed his sins. "New Knight?"

"Y-Yeah." He answered, doing his best to get over the stutter from the sudden shock of the accusation from Kuroka. 'Seriously, I come back from a fight with a Goddess and the first thing she does is accuse me of necrophilia?! Where's the 'Welcome back, Master 3' mentality I was promised?! I want my crushed dreams back, dammit!'

Putting away the ideas of ways to scold Kuroka for her comments, Issei had begun to explain in detail to his Queen and Gasper of why he had resurrected a member of the enemy forces as his Knight. It took some time, but eventually he had been able to warm them up to the idea of using her to gather information.

"But, as you can see…" He began to finish, gently placing the girl down on the ground next to where Koneko and Ravel slept, the girl still tied up to prevent any attacks or running away. "She won't wake up. It seems that Dullahan guy really did manage to take her soul away, and now she's nothing more than a living corpse."

"So, she's useless." Kuroka bluntly stated, before sighing to herself. "Maybe I really was a fool for trusting him all this time…"

Ignoring Kuroka's demeaning comments, Issei continued with his analysis of the situation as he got on one knee and carefully examined the girl's body. "It's weird," he muttered to himself, "her soul did manage to give a response when I was resurrecting her. Was it because the enemy was still close enough? Or was it just her strong will to live…? Aaugh!" He eventually snapped and began to rub his helmet with his hands as though he was ruffling his hair up. "I'm not the type of person who can figure this stuff out on his own!"

For several ticks, Issei would continue to rub his helmet in frustration before something occurred to him. Stopping the frustrated scrapping of his imaginary hair, Issei began to look around him that seemed to be out of place, looking for someone who might have far more insight into the resurrection process.

All he could see was Gasper, Kuroka, as well as the two unconscious girls, Ravel and Koneko, really noticing them now. 'I'll have to ask about that later,' Issei mentally said to himself about Koneko, before finally realizing the person he was looking for wasn't there.

"Where's Rias?"

Not having even realized she hadn't been there, Kuroka turned to look at Gasper, who had been in the church the entire time. Feeling the responsibility of answering fall on him, Gasper began to panic. "I-I t-think she's still down in the tunnels!"

~~*Oppai-Dragon*~~

And that does it for Life 6 of Volume 2. I really apologize about how long it took to release this, but with work, the length of the chapter that I'm not used to writing, having to wipe my hard drive twice (which really sucked), and then finally general laziness about writing, it took far longer than it should have. So again, I apologize deeply about the length of time it's taken to post this chapter.

I appreciate you guys and gals sticking with me this far, and I promise you that it won't be much longer until we'll finally be at the end of our journey together. But, as one chapter ends, another one opens. So, until next time, Poodicus out.