The one who stopped the Second Great War, who was blessed by the Dragons, and the sole protégé of the Infinity… he's back.
Well, here it is. Finally. 'Apprentice of Ophis' revamped and anew.
Read the AN at the end, I answered some of the general questions there.
A General disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Highschool DxD, or any other IPs written in this story.
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Reawakening
I
"Katarea! How much…"
Shalba Beelzebub's words trailed off as the tremors reverberated throughout the castle, demanding his attention. His gaze snapped toward the site of the explosion, pure dread filling his heart.
Fortunately, the shield that enveloped their entire castle held resolute, but not without taking some substantial damage.
The outer layer of the formidable shield had been destroyed. Not the entirety of it, just around the impacted area. Yes, the damaged area was minuscule, insignificant even, when compared to the overall size of the shield. But a crack had been made on their impenetrable wall. Now, their enemies' path to enter the castle had been narrowed.
All they would have to do now was to focus their assault, aimed at the crack, until all the layers were down.
"How much longer?!" Shalba screamed.
"Shut your mouth, cocksucker! Almost there!"
Any devils who knew the descendants of the original Satans would have been able to tell how grim their situation was just through this interaction. First was Katarea, who valued elegance and appearance above all, dropped her persona and showed her true tongue.
Second, Shalba didn't bother keeping her in check… through violence.
The descendant of Beelzebub gritted his teeth and focused on his own task – directing his subordinates to maintain the shield.
Their situation was truly grim.
This attack… it came out of nowhere.
The Old Satan faction, remnants of the old beliefs, comprised of pure-blooded devils who frantically supported the World Domination ideals of the original Satans. And the ones who lost against the new Devils' Government, making them scatter and hide throughout the world before reforming under the Khaos Brigade.
While the descendants of the original Satans tried to maintain their lavish and depraved lifestyle, they always kept their senses sharp. After all, half of the supernatural world was looking for them and the front runner was none other than the new Satans. No way Shalba or any of the descendants would believe that Sirzechs and his lackeys forgot about them. They were sure that the new Satans were constantly looking for them or any clues about their whereabouts.
One slip would be the end of them.
And so, he knew that it wasn't Sirzechs who was knocking on his door. Yes, it was true that the Old Satan faction had enemies… a lot of them. But no movements from his adversaries reached his ear.
There were no signs.
No news.
No premonition or banging of the sixth sense in their heads that they were about to face impending doom.
Nothing.
It was like any other day just a few minutes ago until all the warning bells around the castle acted up all at once.
He still remembered that feeling of disbelief and panic when he came out from the inner chambers and saw what was happening just outside the parameters of their castle. And he knew he wasn't the only one to be shocked like that.
Everyone else was. And it clearly showed in their expressions.
Grey heavy fog had covered the whole area… no, the entire region. It was artificially created and magically enchanted, of that, they had no doubt since their regular 'Dispel' spells had no effect on it. And soon Shalba found out that they were unable to use any sort of 'Teleportation' magic as well.
It was an 'Imprison' type of spell, locking the entire area and separating it from the outside world. And it was 'S-tier', no questions there. Meaning, they needed to use a spell or technique of the same caliber to counter or dispel it.
The stunned silence lingered for a few seconds before the three leaders jumped to action. They were war veterans after all.
Shalba took the responsibility for maintaining the shield. Katarea Leviathan along with a handful of devils who were adept at magic started working on the counter magic. As for Creuserey Asmodeus…
Shalba's eyes involuntarily moved toward an empty clearing on the ground where an intricate fabric was covering his corpse… half of his corpse.
Creuserey had taken around a hundred strong devils and ventured outside of the shield, to scout the area. But the moment he stepped outside of the castle, the fog started to expand rapidly and very soon completely covered the entire vicinity. Shalba and the rest of the devils inside the castle were completely unable to see anything on the other side of the shield.
And then came the screaming and the sound of explosions.
Even though Shalba couldn't see, it was easy to tell that Creuserey's team was getting slaughtered. Just a minute later, maybe it was less than that, Creuserey tried to get inside, looking frantic and terrified. The frightened expression on his face even rattled Shalba.
But Creuserey wasn't fast enough.
Something struck him. And even with this distance, Shalba couldn't see who or what attacked Creuserey. But the result was the complete obliteration of his lower half.
Creuserey Asmodeus died a minute later.
Whatever the attack was, it was lethal to the point that no type of healing potion or magic worked on Creuserey, not even the devils' infamous 'Phoenix Tears'.
Seeing the expression he was making during his last minute, Shalba found himself wishing that Creuserey received a swift demise instead of suffering like this.
Another explosion caused him to snap out. And as expected, it was around the cracked area.
The shield around that area wouldn't hold much longer.
"Erkol! Make a team of ten and repair the crack," With the first order given, Shalba focused on the next one. He touched the side of his temple with his index finger and telepathically connected to his other subordinate, "Azaman. What's the status of the shield?"
"Prince Shalba, the outer layer is at 80%."
Shalba didn't like the pause, "And?!"
"The middle layer of the shield got hit… and the durability dropped by 15%."
Shalba forcefully cut off the link.
This castle 'Castrum Fortis' was supposed to be the base. Yes, they had dozens of bases throughout here and the world below, but nothing could come close to this.
Simple and functional in design, 'Castrum Fortis' was a small castle. Honestly, it didn't look like one, just multiple towers of various sizes smashed together to create a makeshift castle. But the properties and abilities 'Castrum Fortis' possessed, were just unreal.
The strongest ability 'Shield of Silence' was something that, until now, they couldn't figure out how it worked. The only clue they had was that it used Ophis' power and an unknown element as the foundation. Regardless, the shield was strong enough to brush off their combined attack. After more testing, Shalba realized that this castle would be able to withstand a direct onslaught from the likes of Sirzechs Gremory and Ajuka Astaroth.
Shalba knew that if they had a weapon of this caliber during the 'Civil War', the outcome surely would have been different.
"Maybe I should have kept him alive."
Yes, this castle originally didn't belong to them. They seized it after they took over another group in the Khaos Brigade.
"Shalba!"
Katarea's scream made Shalba smile. The spell was ready.
"Everyone! Prepare for battle!"
The descendants of Beelzebub had a rough idea of how their enemies were operating.
The spell that was 'Imprisoning' them was surely being controlled by a group of individuals adept in magic. And they were either clustered in one location or spread out in an array formation. They would be the first target of the devils'.
As for the offensive forces of their enemies, Shalba had a hunch that they had a few dragons on their side. How did they manage to gain the allegiance of dragons? He would be finding that out from their bleeding tongues later.
The tip of the tallest tower of their castle lit up.
"Let's see who you are."
The light dimmed for a moment before expanding, instantly burning away the fog and clearing the area.
Shalba felt his body slackening.
There was no army behind that fog.
No groups working together on the assault.
Just one individual.
A towering, ten-foot bipedal monster whose muscular frame was entirely covered in inky black flames. And that thing was using remains of 'Dragon Bones' as exoskeleton armor, even the wings and the tail.
Shalba had seen quite a few fearsome creatures and faced a few himself. But this monster… it had a primal feel to it. Something about it was not right and all his senses were screaming at him to run.
And Shalba never dismissed his intuition. After all, he was still alive because of it.
What was worse than a well-organized army? A single individual whose power matched that of an army.
Shalba immediately tried to create a teleportation circle but failed to do so. If he was unable to cast a simple teleportation, it meant that the castle's one was out of the question.
His gaze then fell onto the area outside their castle. They were supposed to be in the middle of an artificial magical forest. But all he could see was scorched black earth as if all signs of life had been incinerated.
Then his eyes landed on it.
A skeleton staff, floating in the middle of nowhere, was humming with Divine power. His mind immediately connected the dots. This artifact was responsible for blocking their teleportation spells. It was the reason for that 'Imprison' spell still being active.
Shalba's blood froze when he realized the origin of that artifact.
Three eyes adorned its crown and from the top of the skull two large, coiled horns jutted proudly. That unique skeletal shape and the Divine energy reeking of arcane and death implied only one thing.
This staff belonged to Hades. If so, then it meant…
Shalba frantically looked at the beast.
It was still hovering above their castle, looking down at them. It was hard to understand its expression since its head was fully covered by the dragon's skull.
"It can't be! You are supposed to be dead!"
"Shalba!"
He looked at Katarea who approached him. Without waiting to hear what she had to say, he immediately barked out an order, "Drop the inner layer of the shield," Then he pointed at the staff, "We have to take it out!"
"You're mental! You want us to lower our own defense!"
In any other circumstances, he would've agreed with Katarea.
'Shield of Silence' allowed spells from inside the shield to pass uninterrupted. But it only worked on low-tier spells. For high-tier offensive ones, they needed to remove the inner layer of the shield otherwise they would be breaking it from the inside.
Shalba's retort died as he heard the roar and felt the pressure behind it.
It was not a single scream but a cry of countless creatures, echoing and resonating with each other.
It was a sound that he never heard of.
Looking at the origin, Shalba saw that the dragon skull covering the monster's head had opened its jaws. Black flames started to gather in front of its jaws… condensing and hardening. And then, in a split second, that spinning energy orb made of black flames doubled in size, distorting and tearing the space around it.
Then the monster fired.
When the enormous beam hit the shield, the entire castle shook.
Shalba was using the terms 'Break', 'Crack', and 'Shatter' to indicate the condition of the shield. Yes, the outer layer was damaged but it wasn't visible to the naked eye. But now, the crack that formed on the surface of their unbreakable barrier, everyone could see it.
The same shield that easily withstood the combined attack of the entire Old Satan faction for hours was breaking from a five-minute assault of one individual.
"Drop the inner layer!" Katarea roared. Her voice was loud enough that Shalba didn't need to use any telepathic skills, "Everyone, gather! Now!"
Nodding his head in agreement, Shalba was in the midst of preparing his spell but had to halt.
The monster was now standing in front of the staff, blocking their path.
For the first time, in the last five minutes, Shalba felt relieved. Either the monster was going down or the staff… any of the two scenarios worked for the devils.
"Ready!"
Hundreds of magic circles came to life in a flash. In return, the monster opened the jaws of the dragon's skull.
That same piercing scream vibrated the air once more.
"Fire!"
So many spells of various origins and scales were fired. The light and the energy released from these spells brightened up the sky as they descended on their target.
At the same time, the monster's attack also reached their shield.
The explosions caused by both attacks rocked the entire area. He wouldn't be surprised if even the neighboring countries felt that quake.
Shalba was the first to stabilize his footing. He immediately zeroed in on the other side, trying to look past the fog and debris to see if they hit their mark or not.
His answer came in the form of another attack smashing into the shield.
"Fire at will!" Shalba shouted before he started firing various magical attacks at their target even though he couldn't see either the monster or the staff, "Fire at will!"
His desperation showed through the order as all the devils started firing spells after spells with everything they had.
Another attack… and this time, the entire shield collapsed.
The explosion caused by the attack and the fall of the shield created an enormous one-way shockwave. And unfortunately, Shalba was in its path.
He managed to raise a barrier of his own just in time, but he was a split second too late to reinforce it.
The world around Shalba spun, blurred, and darkened… before becoming blurry again. He felt himself smashing into something… multiple something.
Shalba stood up shakily and grabbed the side of his head. He felt a warm liquid under his touch. He didn't need to see to know what it was.
Even through his blurry vision, he could see the flashes of explosions, figures of devils disappearing instantly, and spells flying around all over his head. But in each passing second, the amount of spells being fired was decreasing swiftly.
Even through his ringing ears, he could hear the numerous magic circles activating and disappearing. He could hear the sizzling sound of fire downing the screams of the devils. And just like the spells, the screams were dwindling rapidly.
He knew he lost consciousness when the shockwave hit him in the face. But was it a second or a minute, he didn't know.
When his vision cleared, he froze.
He was the only one still standing. And just a few feet away from him, the monster stood.
His bony tail was wrapped around Katarea. And her body was disintegrating. Starting from where the tail touched, her flesh was losing all its color and was becoming nothing more than a pile of grey ash.
The sheer terror and desperation in her eyes before her final breath made Shalba laugh. A depraving and a hollow laughter.
The monster cocked his head while looking at him.
This made Shalba to lose all his senses.
"DIE!"
He roared from his heart and soul before taking out every ounce of his power. In his right hand, he summoned an enormous amount of bees to create numerous magical circles before condensing the demonic power. On his left, he summoned Ophis' snake, the power he received when he joined the Khaos Brigade.
Then he jumped to reduce the distance between himself and the monster before smashing both of his hands together. The result was the creation of an enormous demonic blast that completely engulfed his enemy.
Shalba took a shaky step back to catch his breath. He looked at his left hand. He could still use Ophis' gift. But it didn't make sense since…
Then the dust cleared.
The monster was standing there, in the same posture as if Shalba's strongest attack meant nothing. And it did nothing. Not even a scratch.
And for the first time in his life, Shalba felt true despair and fear.
With a scream, Shalba tried to fly away. But the moment his wings came out, he was forced to kneel as if an unimaginable force had been put on his shoulders.
Then the monster started walking… toward him.
Each step made its bones creak and the fires sizzle, making a uniquely intense sound.
"And so, he has returned!"
Shalba was speaking gibberish. Maybe it was the fear corrupting his mind or the touch of death ripping all senses from him, he didn't know. But he knew he wasn't getting out alive from this.
Not this time.
He felt all the heat leaving his body when it raised its fist. This made him start laughing, a deranged laugh that he couldn't stop.
"Go on! Do it!"
He roared. It was his last act of defiance.
"Son of Infinity!"
And the monster brought its fist down.
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X
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Naruto's PoV
Naruto let out a throaty growl as his body started going through severe changes.
He was shrinking. The flesh, the bones, and the organs… they were shifting and being readjusted. The inky black flame covering his body was slowly extinguishing and the color of his skin was returning back to normal. As for his armor, the exoskeleton, it started to break and fall apart. The pieces of the exoskeleton were turning to ash and disappearing into thin air the moment they touched the ground.
The process wasn't painful, but it was quite uncomfortable.
The moment Naruto was back to normal, he immediately did two things.
He cast multiple High-level 'Scan' spells to the surroundings. Yes, he scanned before transforming back to normal, but it was simple ones since he lacked the focus to cast any advanced spells in that form.
Second, he took out some clothes from his spatial inventory.
Yes, right now, he was butt naked.
Even now, he couldn't find any materials or enchantments that could keep his clothes from burning to ashes by his own fire.
After he was fully clothed, he took out two more items from his inventory – a simple-looking old scroll and that necklace.
He hung the scroll on his belt and securely held the necklace in his right hand. He cast another advanced 'Scan' spell. Only when the spell showed zero signs of activities in the vicinity, he finally relaxed.
Releasing a tired and audible breath, Naruto stepped toward the carnage… that he had created.
Almost close to a thousand devils were scattered all over 'Castrum Fortis'. None were alive.
And none were innocent.
Some may believe this to be wrong. There was no honor in killing every one of your enemies when the possibility to subdue them existed. One simple way to do so was to take out the leaders and the rest would kneel. Of course, there was always the option to give your enemies the choice to surrender by showing the error of their ways – either through force or compassion. Either way would cause the least amount of bloodshed.
But Naruto learned firsthand that there were times when honor and ideals had to take the back seat.
During wars.
And when dealing with monsters.
But did it mean that he liked the choice he had taken? Absolutely not. But was it necessary? Yes.
After all, the strong had the responsibility to protect the weak.
And, deliver judgment upon the wicked when no one else can.
"The notion of World domination… what a childish dream the Old Satan faction harbored."
Naruto let out a sad smile before turning around.
Ash-colored, shoulder-length hair gently hung over a strong, handsome face. And his bright amber eyes were looking over the carnage in the castle with a pleased smile.
"Marc."
Hidden beneath this charming face was, Marc Garou, the ex-Alpha of one of the most infamous Werewolf packs in Europe.
And one of his brothers, all but in blood.
"A curious thought, isn't it Naruto?" Marc walked closer until he was standing beside him, "Their ambition lay in the remolding of the global order, sowing disorder to pave the way for the authoritarian reign of the progeny of the original Satans."
He then met Naruto's gaze, "Alas, they seemed to have overlooked the records of their predecessors, who struggled to establish dominion even within the Underworld, let alone the world above or the interlinked realms. What led them to believe they could achieve where the Originals failed?"
"Fanaticism at its best."
Marc frowned, "Are you perhaps quoting my woman now?"
In response, Naruto just chuckled.
A few seconds passed before Naruto realized that Marc was still looking at him.
"What?"
The pure-blood werewolf took a half-step back before giving him another look over, "Yes. I preferred your pre-second-puberty look."
Naruto scrunched his face, "What does that mean?"
"Well, before you were what? 5 feet 7, or 9? Natural athletic build, spiky blonde locks," Then Marc waved at him and pointed his entire body, "Now, you look like a supernatural pornstar."
Naruto felt his eyebrows shooting toward his hairline.
"Okay, maybe 'Pornstar' was too much. But in all sincerity, you look like the very embodiment of adolescent fantasies."
Naruto made a scandalized face, "What are you…" Then it hit him. And it made him grin, "You are just jealous that I am taller than you now," Then he flexed his biceps, "And more muscular."
Marc gave him a deadpan look, "I find it rather rich coming from someone indulging in drugs."
"All Natural," Naruto widened his shoulders and tried to pose intimidatingly, "Hitting puberty the second time by overusing your powers, you should've tried that."
Marc scoffed, "Regrettably, not all among us have been graced with the presence of a 'Cheat' Longinus."
"Not a cheat but a 'Broken' Longinus," Naruto laughed while correcting Marc, again.
"Whatever you say," Making an exaggerated tired face, Marc then faced the castle.
After that, a serene silence lingered between them. And for a few whole minutes, Naruto enjoyed the calm and quiet before finally breaking it.
"Do you think…" a pause, "I will be forgiven?"
A threatening growl came from Marc's throat, "Naruto. Do not bear the burden of this misfortune upon your shoulders. It is we who have failed, not the other way around."
Naruto frowned, "You married the woman you love, had a child with her, and spent a wonderful and fulfilling life with her. How is that considered a failure?"
Marc scoffed, "You apprehend that my words bear a different connotation. Besides, my life with her? I would not have bartered it, not even for your sorry ass."
Now that got a chuckle out of Naruto.
Marc turned to face him, "We failed because we were weak," He immediately raised his hand and stopped Naruto from protesting, "I am not so bereft of reason as to suggest that we ought to have intervened in your fight against Hades. In that clash, we'd have been nothing but a liability. Yet, our strength should have been sufficient to aid him against Pluto. But it wasn't."
"Perhaps," He clenched his fists and avoided Naruto's gaze, "Just perhaps, if we were strong enough, his loss of sword arm could have been avoided. Perhaps if he assisted you, then…"
"Marc."
A condescending laughter escaped Marc's lips, "Look at me. I was the one who imparted to you that musing over 'What ifs' and 'What nots' serves no purpose. To leave the 'Past' where it rightfully belongs," His eyes then landed on the ruined castle, "Look what happened to those who didn't. Consorting with the evil, only to be repaid with a dagger in the back."
Naruto followed his gaze. For a few seconds, he just remained quiet before finally asking the question that had been plaguing his mind, "Is that why Lucas and Svalna allied with the Old Satan faction?"
Marc retreated his gaze, sighing wistfully, "With you gone, him leaving, and the war being over… we had no reason to keep the team, Khaos Brigade, going. And if you ponder about it, the team achieved its goals, just not the way we envisioned."
"So," Marc took a step back and spread his arms wide, "We decided to disband the Khaos Brigade. Who would have thought that Lucas and Svalna would be severely against the idea? In the end, as you can see," He tilted his head toward the castle, "We couldn't come to an agreement. Thus, each member just decided to tread their own path."
"Regrettably for some," For a split second, Marc's form flickered as he let out a dangerous growl, "Their path was cut short."
Releasing a tired breath, Naruto looked up at the sky, "They should have followed your footsteps. Live a fulfilling life. Treasure what they had."
Another moment of silence before it was broken by Marc.
"So, what now?"
Naruto took out the old scroll that was hanging from his belt, raised it up, and then loosened his grip.
The scroll floated away from Naruto's hand and then opened by itself. Inside, there was a sketch of a three-dimensional map and some notes below it. And then, the map started to change. The ink rearranged itself before showing a different map now, with different notes.
"One last base to hit."
Marc chuckled at Naruto's comment, "No rest for the wicked it seems."
Nodding his head in acknowledgment, Naruto waved his hand and commanded the scroll to close. He took it from the air and as he was about to hang it back on his belt,
"Brother."
His hands froze.
"I think," Marc looked at the castle once more, "I am content with this."
Naruto opened his mouth, but he couldn't decide what to say or what to ask. So, he snapped it shut.
"It was a selfish desire, I confess. Staying behind just a bit longer to bid a proper farewell," Marc chuckled before his expression hardened, "In addition, I get to see the thieving bastards pay their due price. With their lives!"
His anger slipped momentarily but Marc quickly composed himself, "What I am trying to say here," He paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "I am ready to say goodbye."
Naruto didn't reply back immediately. And for a full minute, both of them remained quiet. Finally, Naruto decided to break the silence.
"Didn't you want to look for him together?"
"That's on you," Marc pointed toward the sky, "She's waiting for me up there," Out of nowhere, he snapped his fingers, surprising Naruto, "But when you cross paths with him, punch his face for me, will you? A solid good punch."
This made Naruto chuckle.
"I will be sure to do that."
Marc's grin waned as his eyes locked onto the necklace on Naruto's hand.
Naruto squeezed it gently before finally saying the words, "So, this is it."
"Brother, I've expressed this before. Allow me to do it again. After your supposed death, some of us chose to move on whilst some didn't. But it was our choice, and we alone bear its weight. Is this not the principle you instilled in us?"
Naruto let out a hoarse chuckle, "Using my own quotes against me now."
"Don't blame yourself," Marc continued resolutely, "If we were granted a choice to do it all over again, we would always choose to follow you. And," Marc started scratching his chin with an embarrassed look, "Take care of Loup on our behalf, will you? I hold no doubt that you will be a wonderful role model for him. Dare I say, better than me."
"I will," Naruto wet his lips before gritting his teeth, holding back the tears was becoming harder each second, "Thank you for being a part of my family and giving me so… so many wonderful memories."
"Make more of them," Marc smiled, "Remember what you said - Follow my footsteps. Live a fulfilling life."
Naruto chuckled hoarsely once more before squeezing the necklace and breaking it.
"Farewell, brother."
The form of Marc Garou started to flicker and slowly faded away.
And when he was completely gone, Naruto finally let out a choked sob. He tried to hold it back, he tried to take a step forward… but it was too damn hard.
For a few minutes, in front of the silent blood-soaked castle, only hushed sobbing could be heard.
A moment later, Naruto felt a nudge coming from inside his mind.
A concerned voice.
While it didn't make anything better, it gave him just enough strength to take a step forward.
After all, he had work to do.
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X
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6 hours later
The entire vicinity lit up as hundreds of spells soared and covered the sky; before descending toward him.
"Shit!"
Naruto immediately made a run for it, after he created a smokescreen by exploding the ground around him to cover his movement. So, when the spells rained down on his original spot, he was already standing at a safe distance without his enemies noticing.
He waited, hidden from plain sight, until the stronger spells died down before going back in again. And the moment his feet touched his old spot, he took a deep breath and shouted.
"Ēka Mušha!"
An enormous amount of blue flame emerged all around him before the entirety of it condensed into an orb, two-thirds the size of a regular basketball, in front of his mouth. And the moment it was stabilized, he fired it.
While the smoke obstructed his vision, he still felt his attack destroying his mark. Since the tower was down, "The barrier should be falling soon."
With his current task accomplished, he stealthily moved away. Since the smoke and dust still filled the area, he was certain that his enemies didn't notice his little trick. And they would believe that he tanked their combined attack while firing back his own devastating one without moving.
This would, for sure, drop their morale significantly.
Unfortunately, he had to rely on certain trickery to fool his enemies because his second form was nowhere near as powerful as his final one.
Frankly speaking, he was surprised at the resistance. By now, the remnants of the Old Satan faction should have heard the news about the demise of their leaders and the heart of their main force. Naruto also made sure to place some solid clues for the remaining devils to find easily. He even waited a few hours for them to verify those clues and confirm the news themselves.
And he saw that they did.
Yet, they were doubling down on the resistance.
'Fight until the last man' – a notion that was easy to scream out loud and to ask others to follow through. After all, it was honorable and courageous to die for a cause. To many, this gave a purpose to their life. Unfortunately, many were blinded to the fact that this cause was chosen for them by someone else.
And when they would be on the ground bleeding, losing their lifeblood; they would curse, they would beg… not accepting the fact that it was the repercussions of their choice.
Yes, the cause was not theirs. But they chose to follow it.
"And once again I will have to bloody these hands."
This was the last vital stronghold of the Old Satan faction. With this taken care of, this stain of the Khaos Brigade would be permanently removed. He just hoped that it didn't require more bloodshed.
A wishful thinking it seemed.
"Partner, these diseased filths need no mercy," A voice called out from within his mind.
Naruto smiled, "Arashi, we've talked about this. A lot."
He stopped and crouched to scan the base again.
A few modern double-floored buildings were combined aesthetically with a simple wall surrounding them. From the outside, it looked like those luxurious villas rich nobles used for vacation. Even the location helped with that front.
While Naruto didn't sense many activities going on inside the buildings, it was a different story under the ground.
It seemed they had decided to fall back since the barrier was fully down.
"Cancer of the world, we eliminate, everyone happy."
This made Naruto sigh, "You're right. No arguments on these devils' personality alignment since I can sense their true emotions," Naruto stood up and then focused his aura on the large front yard of the enemy's base, "But you know, I can also sense their life leaving their bodies because of this ability."
Naruto felt Arashi frowning, "We use this for innocents, not wickeds. Your fault."
This actually made Naruto snort.
But Arashi was right. Naruto could easily filter out whose emotions he wanted to feel or understand. He could have easily blocked out the dying screams of the evils he killed.
He didn't for most of them because he was afraid.
He was afraid of getting used to 'Killing'. No matter the situation, no matter the justification, taking a life was a sin. Yes, he wholeheartedly agreed that certain evils must be eradicated without question. And he never hesitated when he faced such evils. But he should be feeling guilty about the lives he had taken.
Otherwise, taking lives would become easier for him. And he was deathly scared of this particular outcome.
"We go all out?"
Naruto's focus broke away from his wayward thoughts. He shook his head, "We can't. Our last fight drained all the Divine energy from 'Baculus Inferni'," Naruto sighed dramatically while shaking his head, "Recharging it will be a pain."
During his telepathic conversation with Arashi, Naruto moved closer to the base. Fortunately, all the traps were destroyed because of shockwaves created by his attacks and the devils' spells.
This made it easier for him to reach the front yard uninterrupted.
Taking over this base wouldn't have been this hard if he came in guns blazing and caught the devils by surprise. But because he was a compassionate idiot, he gave them the choice to surrender. He even tried to pass it as 'Ophis' orders'.
Unfortunately for him, that didn't go according to his plan.
"Hate that bastard, why we still using his junks?"
Naruto smiled, "Feelings mutual, but we can't deny that he had some nifty artifacts. It would be a shame not to use them."
He did a quick 'Scan' before following up with an advanced version. It seemed the devils hurriedly put up some traps around the villas before going underground and locking themselves in.
Were they waiting for backups? Or were they trying to teleport out of here? Neither of those solutions was possible for the devils.
"I need to finish this fast."
"We go all in."
Naruto shook his head, "Without 'Baculus Inferni', we will neither be able to hide nor contain our powers if we go all in. And," He quickly added before Arashi threw another tantrum, "both of us agreed that we need to keep our reawakening a secret until we clean up the Khaos Brigade."
"Besides," Naruto looked behind him, his focus landed on the small town around thirty kilometers away from his current location, "Going all out without proper precautions is dangerous to the innocent people around us, you know that."
A pause later he heard Arashi huffing, rather loudly.
With him pacified, Naruto focused on sensing the devils' life forces below the ground. He needed to understand their motives before he could strike.
And he figured it out soon enough.
They were destroying everything inside the underground floors.
"Fucking hell!" Naruto immediately jumped and took a deep breath, "Ēka Mušha!"
While in the air, he aimed his attack right at the ground below him. The moment his attack reached all the way to the last floor, melting everything in its path, he stopped.
Without wasting a second, he clenched his fingers to make a fist and smacked his chest, right above his heart.
"Ignition!"
An electrifying surge coursed through Naruto's veins, igniting a whirlwind of sensations that heightened his every sense. He felt a surge of power emanating from his core, pushing the boundaries of his current physical limitations.
Colors became brighter, sounds sharper, and even the faintest of motions unseen by the eyes didn't go unnoticed by him.
It was as if time around him became suspended.
Then he charged.
As he entered the underground of the base through the path that he had created, he took out one of his favorite weapons from his spatial inventory.
Silent Song.
This repeater crossbow was a fusion of ancient elegance and modern innovation. A skeletal frame made of enchanted silver, a cylindrical drum filled with pure magical energy, the collapsible bow vibrating with holy energy, and the exceptionally detailed goat head sculpture at the front… this looked more like an artifact meant to be preserved in a museum than a regular devil-hunting weapon.
Originally, this repeater crossbow didn't have a name. He thought it was a waste for such a magnificent artifact not to have one. So, he corrected it.
The moment he landed on the first floor, he noticed that the devils' started to prepare spells to fend him off. But they were too damn slow.
Of the magic circles they were creating, none of them even reached one-fifth of completion before they received a single holy bolt in their heads.
Of course, a regular holy bolt wouldn't have been enough to kill high-ranked devils with one shot. But what if the holy bolt was created using mithril? What if it was fired from an old holy artifact with multiple 'A rank' enchantments? What if it was shot from 5 meters away from the target? And what if it was a direct headshot?
This was the definition of 'Overkill'.
Within the next 7 seconds, Naruto went through all three floors, every unlocked room, and dropped all the devils. It would've been faster, but 3 seconds were wasted because he needed to reload, twice. And he needed to be extra cautious not to damage the base any further.
He stopped at the first floor again and lowered his weapon when he was sure that all the devils were dead.
Naruto clicked his tongue when he noticed smoke coming out from multiple areas of the crossbow. Without even examining he knew that quite a few of the springs were busted.
While this weapon was strong, the rate of fire wasn't that high. Yes, Naruto can pump more energy and push it way beyond its limit, but the end result was this.
"Why that gun?"
"Crossbow," Naruto corrected Arashi while patting his chest, hard. He took a few deep breaths when he felt the effect of 'Ignition' dying down.
"They were destroying the place," Naruto put back the crossbow inside his personal inventory gently, he would need to repair it later. After that, he took out magical gloves, "So, if we came down with fires blazing, we would've been helping them destroy whatever," Naruto waved at his surroundings, "They were trying to hide. So, we needed a bit more… cleaner approach."
After he wore the gloves, Naruto started picking up the mithril bolts. These bolts were so powerful that they even purified the dead bodies of the devils, meaning the bodies completely disintegrated.
This made collecting the bolts so much easier.
"So, we are right?"
Naruto snorted, "Of course, we were. The leaders of the Old Satan faction were fanatics, greedy, narcissistic… to the extreme. They even," Naruto paused. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath before continuing, "They even assassinated Lucas and Svalna to take over the original group of the Khaos Brigade. And I know they have been deceiving mother!" Naruto released another audible breath to calm himself. Getting angry right now wouldn't achieve anything, "Pretty sure they would've gone after her, eventually."
"They can't now."
Naruto smiled, "True. But let's find out what they were trying to hide."
"Start with suspicious door?"
This made him pause.
While he was clearing out all the floors, he noticed that on the third floor, a lot of the devils were trying to open a large, decorated door. Unlike everything else on the base, they were cautious about it.
"A good starting point, I suppose."
Instead of taking his time, Naruto sprinted toward the door. There was no need to take it slow since he would be going through all the corners of this underground base later after he found out what was behind this suspicious door.
He stopped in front of it. It was a simple-looking metal door that covered the entire wall. A quick look showed him that there was no switch or contraptions that could open the door.
The devils were acting careful around this door, meaning he shouldn't open it using brute force. Luckily, he didn't need to since he found out a piece of critical information after his second scanning.
The energy coursing through the door was using Ophis' power as the base.
Naruto raised his right hand. A familiar small magical circle appeared on top of his palm, two purple snakes coiled around each other while eating each other's tail… creating the infinity sign.
The circle vibrated once, and the door hummed in response. A second later, the door slowly started to open.
When it was fully open, Naruto cast a few 'Scan' spells and used his 'Emotion sense' to get an idea of what was inside the room.
There was only one person inside, but…
"Interesting."
Naruto cautiously stepped inside the room.
This was a laboratory filled with futuristic-looking equipment lining the walls, their screening casting an eerie glow that danced across the room. A soft humming of electronic beeps and whirring machinery filled the air.
Such contrast from the rest of the rooms. It was like entering a different place altogether.
But what caught his focus, immediately when he entered the room, was the single stasis pod in the middle.
And the person who was sleeping inside it.
Naruto didn't know who the person was but he could tell, because of the energy signature, the origin of the person. And he could tell, because of his 'Emotion Sense' ability, that the person possessed no malice.
This surprised him.
"Of-freaking-course," Naruto started rubbing his temple, "It can't be that simple now, can it?"
And just when he thought he was done with the old Satans.
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Done
AN:
Why this story?
I wanted to take a break from 'The Fourth Beast' and work on a different story. I thought one of my more recent stories would be chosen by the voting (here and in Discord). I was wrong. I didn't realize ppl still liked 'Apprentice of Ophis'.
As for why I am reworking it. Simple. I lost track of where I was going with my old version. And while re-reading, I realized many story points and worldbuilding didn't make sense and I know that I can do better after writing The Fourth Beast.
I will delete the old one after I upload a few more chapters and add it to the 'Dreamer's Archive'. So don't worry.
Will this story have romance or harem?
Romance = yes, Harem = maybe. What I mean is that other than the main girl, I don't know yet who I may or may not add. It will depend on the flow of the story and character interactions. But it WILL NOT have a mass harem.
And you will see the main girl next chapter.
And yes, Naruto has a different 'Longinus' in this version.
Lastly, if you want to see a story following exactly canon plots and power-scaling and where Naruto smashes every girl in DXD… this is NOT that story. So please don't leave reviews pointing to these.
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A quick update on The Fourth Beast – The next arc will have 9 chapters and I have written 6 chapters (draft version, need to clean up). I was burning out, hence taking a little detour.
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Hope you all liked the new version.
If anyone is interested, here is the invite code to my Discord server.
v2ChQdhvFe
See you all soon…