The Roots of Hope

by Dunedan

The apocalypse could not be stopped, at the end of creation a fragment of hope is cast back upon the winds of time to prevent this fate. One young man will awaken from his death into a larger world he never imagined. Trained by Gods, Valkyries and men, can his newfound power stop the coming storm? A power tied to the foundations of Yggdrasil itself...

74. Kyoto: Climactic Confession

ARSLOTHES: They aren't as open minded as the other gods we've met. Unfortunately not everyone sees things the same way.

Gan315: Oh gosh...Bennia and Kuroka joining forces to troll their friends...NO ONE IS SAFE! XD I am so glad you've liked my portrayal of her, I always felt there was a more mature side based on her actions that canon didn't focus on too much. It's fun bringing out that side while keeping her playful nature intact. And exactly :D She wants to help bring her people back herself so Koneko doesn't have to and to have a place as a home...that home close than she may think ;) As for Dorian and Iggy, you are not wrong about that frustration which will only grow worse in the battle ahead. I sent a full reply to you on each separate point you made. But yes, considering Hecuba's dedication to continuing her family's name as heroes, she takes Cao Cao's tarnishing of that title very personally. She tried to reason with him...next time she knows to start with the actions over words. Dorian is hurrying...as we know Rossweisse is far from her best at this moment due to her enebriation.

J0ker981: Mommy Kuroka XD XD Oh gosh I am so tempted to make that a contender for her form name XD Exactly, in the Shinto mythology sin is anything that weighs heavily upon you...the memories may have been subconscious but with the ritual they are coming to the surface. I hope the wait for the new chapter was not too long :D

TheLycan2026: That is great to hear it was a surprise...canon never did say where her spirit went when she passed considering the afterlife is a tangible place that can be visited. Her appearing was something I felt had to be done with more to come.

OBSERVER01: I am not familiar with that story, but I understand. I wanted to show that not every mythology will be so open minded and welcoming to merging with others. The Shinto are the first who just don't see the appeal in it...yet.

fanficcyberman: Yea, writing moments of turmoil for my characters, Iggy especially is rough...she starts getting a bit closer to those memories/nightmares she was afraid to even look at before. That is truly great praise and is truly appreciated. You are right that balance is so tricky to keep up ensuring the heroes and villains get their deserved development. I hope I do not disappoint as I continue into the later arcs, there are more myths to come and I adore sneaking real world information on each one I showcase. I am doing very well, all my family safe to which I pray the same for you. Thank you again. :D

King0fP0wers: I am glad you felt that way :) You are right, the way I saw it Dorian didn't have great sin weighing him down. The death of his parents, true but that happened so many years ago I didn't see it greatly affecting him in modern day to a ridiculous degree. Iggy on the other hand, even though she can't recall the memories...they are still there in the back of her mind. In regards to your question, for a harae ritual, technically yes if the horrible person has no guilt or feelings in regards to their crimes. You got a chuckle out of me calling the Shinto gods boomers XD.

In regards to the Gremory family, yes as far as canon has showed they all are Ultimate Class with Grayfia being borderline Satan. I felt they deserved more time to shine :D And as for a power up for Rias...not yet...but her not getting any power ups outside Issei and Gasper was a missed opportunity I felt. She will show the power runs as deep in her as her brother ;) Thank you for the review as always :D I sent you a full PM in regards to all your questions.

theLawbringer: Well, they never do give Cao Cao's age, but all the Hero Faction are either late teens or early 20s in age is the general consensus. They certainly do act like teenagers lol.

Dragon Bone Z: That really means a lot :D Thank you very much!

Guest1: Yes :D A theme of Dorian in the story is being able to access multiple afterlives via his gear...makes him a bit unpopular with most death gods lol. I am glad you liked Shuri's inclusion, you are right I saw that with how faithful she was as a priestess in life, the god's would have allowed her the highest honor in death. In the same way they separate themselves from their followers, they weren't so unforgiving hence treating her with respect despite speaking out against their judgement.

We won't get to see it yet, but you are right that her weapons have powers that one would think do not mix with being a devil. She will have to come to terms with that and risk using them in time. I felt exactly the same way, Xenovia had good chemistry with Kiba at first but it never went too far after she became obsessed with Issei. Catherine I hoped to be a good knight-in arms by his side as both are a mix of devil and holy in their ways. And not to worry, Gasper will keep the time stop, I was confused by his lack of using it later on too lol.

For Perseus, you are exactly right. Though his Sacred Gear wasn't revealed when I wrote the Olympus scene, I did intend the shield to be only one of the Gorgon's. When they revealed that was also his gear, I intend to have it that one was sealed into a gear which is what he has. Just a bit of tweaking canon lol. Not to worry...he'll be back ;) As for Moloch, I am curious if your guess is right as to who he is. I will say it is tied to another name that means the same as Moloch...there will be another big hint this chapter so I hope you like where it leads. If it helps, the regeneration was mostly to state how the damage they did was minor that he could patch himself up.

I won't give spoilers as to Kuroka's form name yet...but I will say you know your DxD lore well ;) I felt she needed more love in terms of not just her power...but ties to her and Koneko's mother as they never really say how she was with her. Since you were a guest I couldn't reply via PM so I apologize for this wall of text lol, but I am so happy you've been enjoying my story so far and continue to do so :D

autor godz: Thank you very much! :)

Spectrvs: Good Morning! Always great hearing from you :D I sent a PM with the full reply to your review. To answer your questions though, yes that is Shuri as in Akeno's mother Shuri who was a Shinto Priestess when alive. I can't say in regards to the fate of Siegfried's Nordic/Devil swords...but their fates will not be the same as canon. Your kind words are always great to read, I hope the wait is not too long and that you are staying safe as well! I am doing great as is my family, all the hugs! :D

WinterRuneWolf: I will admit, Kuroka in the harem has come to mind, no spoilers on the likelihood but that means a lot you have liked the redemption/focus I've been giving her. Oh, with what Heracles does to Rossweisse, you may get the fight you wish for when Dorian arrives...

And with that…ONTO THE SHOW!

Connla shed another of his shadow appendages, the infuriating nekoshou's kasha wheels lighting it ablaze. He cursed not finishing her when he had the chance, this strange new transformation giving her the clarity to see through his greatest weaknesses. While he was immune to physical attacks and could absorb basic along with Sage Arts energy to redirect, fire and other elemental attacks could latch onto the darkness he used as armor and harm him. She was burning him slowly yet surely all the while using shifting rings of blue flames around her body to repel his own assaults.

"You may be immune to my offensive Sage Arts in that form," she continued to show her clarity of the battle. "But I can still sense your lifeforce, you're running out of energy. How many more burns will it take to realize that?"

"I w-won't lose," he gasped in pain as he stepped back, part of his reforming body now visible through the burns in his armor as he was forced to reconstitute his physical self. "You can't hit what you can't see." With that last word, he melded into the darkness behind him, disappearing from sight.

"I don't need to," she replied calmly, whipping her tail left to right, "if I hit everything at once!"

The blue rings surrounding her suddenly unfolded until a bubble of kasha was totally engulfing her. Before, the defenses had been unmoving, but now were shifting with purpose as they took on traits of the wheels themselves.

"I mean if Dorian-nya can combine his abilities then why can't I? How does Kasha wave sound? Too cliché? I never was one for flashy names."

Kari shielded Kunou's eyes back at the entrance to the shrine as a nova of blue fire erupted from Kuroka expanding in all directions. Every shadow surrounding her was consumed, most of which the conflagration simply passed over, however one in particular ignited like a bonfire on contact. Screaming in utter agony, Connla emerged covered head to toe in the inferno. Ignoring his opponent, he rushed past, collapsing into the waters of the Shinto shrine, disappearing beneath the waves.

"Did that do it?" Kunou risked inching closer, Kari unable to follow with her injuries. She and Kuroka glanced over the edge, the pool totally calm as if nothing had disturbed it.

"Wh…what?" Suzaku stirred from her position slumped against the inner shrine. Having missed the battle she was unaware of what occurred though swiftly started piecing things together since the Hero Faction's sneak attack. "Is the conduit undamaged?"

Suddenly, a new arm of darkness crashed out beneath the surface to clamber back ashore. Connla's armor was falling apart, his burned skin able to now be smelled in the air causing the young women to turn their noses. His eyes stared daggers into each of them, his sunglasses long-since destroyed. With an expression of pure rage, the beaten Hero Faction warrior turned his remaining arm towards the humble shrine.

"Your Einherjar is NEVER coming back!" He refocused his armor, forming it over his body again as shadows surrounded the structure closing in. Kuroka rushed forward realizing too late how far she was.

"GRAAAAHH!" Connla roared as his body was suddenly enshrouded in a golden-white lightning that Kuroka almost didn't recognize. After several agonizing seconds the surges of electricity ceased, Connla falling forward to reveal the trident-form of Twilight Star jutting out of the water rising above the waves.

"Sir Dorian!" Kunou called out even before Kuroka could see him. The last of Connla's shadows had been snuffed out, his battered human body slumping into the grass around the shrine. Sure enough, Dorian now clad in his Asgardian armor over the white robe floated out of the water, a pale hand following him out guiding him back to his own world.

"Thank you Shuri," he turned back to the dark-haired woman following him. "Is there any way you can stay a bit longer? I am sure Akeno would…"

"That is impossible," she lamented before taking on a more teasing persona. "I can only guide you here ere I return to my god's side. Do be sure she knows that I was overjoyed when she reconciled with her father and that I..."

"Is that…really you?" Suzaku approached from behind, her stoic nature as a ruler of Clan Himejima breaking at the sight of her aunt. "Y-you made it to Takamagahara after all?"

"Suzaku," she turned with a wholesome smile that caused a tear to fall from her eyes. "You have grown so much. If there is anyone who can change our clan, it is you."

"I…I have so much to say."

"It must wait, once again I cannot remain. Be well little niece and have a happy life, please give Akeno all my love."

"You can tell her yourself," Dorian replied with a determined expression as she sank back into the waters. "There are roads that lead everywhere…even back to you."

"H-how can you say that with a straight face," the gasping voice of Connla broke the moment of reflection once his guide had returned to her afterlife. "The dead should s-stay dead."

"You will be too unless we help," Dorian spoke with a sterner voice than before, the events of the past hour swirling in his mind.

"If…I die then so be it. For Lord Cao Cao, I would do so if he wished it." There was no sign of deception in his voice.

"So, you came of your own accord?" He asked as Kuroka administered some Sage Arts with a glance from Dorian, the beaten man only able to give a groan of complaint. "Like Perseus?"

"I wasn't brainwashed if that is what you are implying," he coughed painfully, his throat burned with the rest of him. "I followed him of my own will, none saw worth in me before him."

"You didn't have to."

"Were you not saved by those Norse gods?" Dorian paused in thought as he turned it around on him. "Could you have done anything but follow them? Someone who gave you a home and worth you never knew before?" He didn't await an answer before continuing, the look in Dorian's eyes the only response he needed. "Sacred Gear wielders have tragic lives. Not all of us are given children of gods or all-powerful dragons. What do you think others felt of an orphan boy who could manipulate the shadows around them…something feared merely by human instinct?"

"I am an orphan too," Dorian answered simply, causing Connla's eyes to focus on him for the first time. "But I didn't have my Sacred Gear back then, at least I couldn't sense it. Cao Cao used you to further his own goals."

"And you felt special when the gods asked more of you," Connla guessed correctly. "You chose to leave their side while I stayed by his. My Lord told me that this gear made me a precious existence, that I was a hero in every meaning of the word. For someone who gave me reason to live like that, isn't being willing to die for him only natural even if it was to use me? Didn't those Norse Gods use you just for their own dream? Those two, among the enemies to all mankind who…"

Dorian punched him hard across the face, silencing his continued insult of the man and woman who had saved him from death and treated him more as one of their own than any since he was a child. He didn't care if it wasn't an honorable move, he wanted him to shut up.

"They are no more enemies to mankind than you or I. Our Sacred Gears make us special, there is no doubt of that…but it does not make us heroes just for wearing them. Today you and your allies tried to kill my friends and a child, you've kidnapped a mother and are threatening an entire city, perhaps the world if Great Red is removed from the Dimensional Gap. That can never be seen as heroic. You won't die," he glanced at Kuroka who nodded to confirm his recovery, "you can use that time to reflect on what a true hero is."

"You know our plan?"

"Not fully, until now," Connla groaned at the realization he had confirmed any guess the Einherjar may have had.

"And what…is a true hero?" He whispered as he lost consciousness, head slumping backwards at long last.

"It…" Dorian contemplated the answer despite him no longer able to hear it. "It isn't something claimed or taken. It has to be earned, working towards…"

"DORIAN-NYA!" Kuroka interrupted his contemplation, flying into him with such force he tumbled against the wall. The nekoshou rubbed their faces together as she pressed her body against his. "Oh, I knew you'd make it! What do you think?" She showed off her new transformation emphasizing her shape and flipping her hair in a seductive fashion. "I guess things went well with the fogies up top?" She ignored Suzaku's glare for the insult to her gods and Kunou's groan at how she was acting.

"Not exactly well, but they won't be punishing anyone," he answered while standing to his feet, having to lift Kuroka in the air to get her off him, an act she did not dispute in the slightest. He looked her up and down, barely recognizing her. "Unfortunately, we won't be getting any help from them either. You, um…you look good."

"Right?" She struck a pose, adoring the looks he gave her up and down. "I think I could get used to this."

"What is the Hero Faction doing here? Has the battle started already?"

"It has," Kari groaned in pain as she sat up straighter. "Shortly after you entered the pools, these ones attacked. I was informed that an army of anti-monsters is currently engaged with our troops near Kyoto Station. The Crossroads and Gremory Peerage both went missing in the battle currently ongoing."

"Are they hurt?! Did Rossweisse make it out"

"No, they simply vanished into thin air, her included."

"They're inside Dimension Lost," he immediately deduced, Laerad Ragnarok rotating to azure and producing a path to the Roads. "I'm heading out."

"Someone need a guide?" Ratatoskr popped his head out of the portal already awaiting his request. "Nijou Castle spooky-verse path coming right up!"

"I'm going too!" Kunou leapt through the air landing on Dorian's back and locking her arms around his neck. "That is where they have mother, I WON'T be left behind!"

"But you might get hurt," he warned as he felt her hands grip him tighter. "I promised I'd get her back."

"I know you did, but I can't just sit this out. I'm not going anywhere." Her expression was fierce and determined. The look of worry was still present, but she wasn't crying anymore. He sighed in defeat once more, bested again by her eyes.

"Okay, but only if you agree to do EXACTLY as I say from here on out," he pointed a finger at her accusatorily. "If I say to run, you run no matter what and don't try to get in the middle of anything that can get you hurt."

"Yes sir," she gave a half-hearted salute while still hanging onto him. Shuffling her around for comfort, Dorian made sure she was secure on his back. Once we're in the Roads, I know some friends we can ride to the battle, it will save time."

"Awww, how precious," Kuroka stepped forward. "Give me a minute to collect myself, then…"

In the blink of an eye, the otherworldly glow emanating from the older nekoshou disappeared, her reserves having been expended in the fight. The strength drained from her body as she fell forward, Dorian barely catching her in time. She seemed a bit smaller as she landed in his arms, her previous appearance having been restored.

Was she always so light?

"Kuroka? Are you…?"

"Fine," she lied a bit, her breath shallow. "I guess I pushed myself a little harder than I thought. You go on ahead, I'll catch up," she stroked his cheek. "Go save that Valkyrie of yours and our team."

Our team…I like the sound of that.

Dorian nodded with a smirk, despite all Kuroka's teasing, she was a good person. As tenderly as he could manage, he handed her off to Suzaku who was working with the newly arrived medical teams to get everyone back up on their feet. At long last, he stepped through the portal, turning back just before it closed.

"Don't worry!" He called out to the youkai watching with worry and trepidation at their princess being spirited away by the strange newcomer they had only just met. "I'll bring Kunou back safe and sound…and Yasaka along with her!"

Nijou Castle…

Vritra roared in pain as the fires of a Kyuubi burned even his black scales. The power Yasaka held mixed with the Ley Lines she gathered were incredible, even draining as fast as he could, she never seemed to experience a weakening of her strength. Her fangs sank into the serpent's throat, holding Saji back from doing the same to her. Despite the Dragon King's desire to consume, Saji restrained the urges and focused all on her rescue.

Don't try to kill her! Just keep sapping her energy, she has to give in soon!

And if she does not, we both die. I will not withhold my wrath much longer. She is…very strong even without Kyoto supplementing her. Were she in full control of her power, we would already be dead.

He was not the only one fighting a monster as Xenovia along with Irina leapt across the recreated castle walls staying ahead of the bladed dragon pursuing them. Jeanne rode atop its back content with seeing how they would counter her greatest creation. The ancient structure crumbled beneath unable to withstand the power of hundreds of holy swords.

"She is resistant to light!" Irina shouted as they ran. "What about the time we fought that perverted priest with the hydra?"

"Wouldn't work," Xenovia called out as they reminisced on their previous days as partners in the hopes of coming up with a strategy. "He was slower than her, what about the Vampire Saint and the hippogriff?"

"With our new abilities…?"

"On three!"

The pair leapt in separate directions as a swinging tail from the behemoth crushed the platform they were standing on. Irina's wings kept her afloat as Xenovia activated seals of flight beneath her feet. The Stake Dragon stopped briefly to pick a target, finally focusing on Irina with a flash of red in its eyes. Opening its maw wide, a barrage of holy swords erupted from within like the dragon of legends breathing fire. The young angel barely had time to gasp before a dozen pierced her body all over, sending her plummeting to the ground below.

"Angdurvadal…Durandal," Xenovia chanted using the opening. "You have become good friends since I held you both for the first time. I am a pale image of your past wielders but give me this chance to prove my worth. Show me…what you both can do!"

The runes across Angdurvadal ignited in flames as Durandal's holy aura grew to near unbearable levels of brightness. Raising both high into the air, she locked the blades together causing their attacks to merge into one as the energy built to an apex. The Stake Dragon only had time to turn before she let out a colossal battle cry. A cross-shaped mass of energy surrounded by runes burst forth from the Norse Blade and Holy Sword traveling in a straight line towards its target.

"What?" Jeanne gasped as she dove from the dragon's shoulder before impact realizing the new attack was far beyond the previous. The blast Shattered every sword making up the Balance Breaker's form, sending a rain of metal and hilts clattering to the ground into a mound-like mass. Jeanne stumbled, collapsing at the peak of the mountain of blades. "I got one of you! Just wait…"

She froze in her tracks as the unmistakable cold of steel touched her throat though there was no one there. As she turned, the form of Irina Shidou grinning from ear to ear materialized beside her out of thin air, Excalibur pressed against her neck. It had been a decoy, the Irina pierced by Stake Dragon's assault was a Nightmare clone quickly utilizing her Transparency to become invisible until Xenovia could make her move. The blue haired Einherjar climbed the slope, angling her own swords towards the Hero Faction woman.

"It…is over," Xenovia huffed, clearly feeling the fatigue of eluding the dragon combined with her attack. "Surrender and tell us how to break the hold on Lady Yasaka."

"Oh, that is outside my expertise, I am just the muscle," she held her hands up. "You'll have to ask Georg, but I am SO proud that your teamwork is on point. That Crossroads of yours really is something huh? I joined the Hero Faction for the same reason ya know? Where else can I really prove what I am capable of? The Church was so stifling. But they did tell good stories, like the ones where the good guys faced the monsters…"

"What are you getting at?"

"Well, everyone knows you never target the dragon…you have to beat the wizard first silly."

Jeanne knelt in an instant, narrowly avoiding Irina's blade. The two Crossroad swordswomen looked down, realizing in horror that the face of the Stake Dragon had reformed beneath their feet. Too late to make any difference, they attempted to leap away as the mountain of blades upon which they stood opened up to swallow the pair within its gullet.

Across the Courtyard…

Catherine darted behind Siegfried; her swing parried by the legendary blade known as Balmung with his sword of light blocking her second. They could not hope to outmaneuver his six alone, a powerful forward assault being their best option. Twisting her weapons, having anticipated his reaction, she locked them in place with her own before throwing Kiba a look to signal his chance.

Rias' first knight dropped the remains of his last holy-devil swords that had been broken by Siegfried's, nothing he could create withstood the blows of Tyrfing or Gram, the two combined were superior to any weapon he knew. With his hands free, he summoned all the power of his own Balance Breaker he could muster to create a new hybrid sword taller than he was.

"Sword of the Betrayer!" He shouted, slicing the mighty weapon with all his strength directly towards the Hero Faction Clone. It was their last idea, their final strategy.

Their hope collapsed as a silver-blue sword still free slashed sideways to cleave his in half with the utmost ease. The power traveled up the length to strike his hands leaving a bloody mess within Kiba's palms.

"Nothung is particularly known for its sharpness," Siegfried explained. It doesn't matter how big you make it, if your power is less than mine the result will be the same. Each of these arms increases my strength, this was over from the start." He pushed against Catherine, forcing her to somersault over him to avoid it. She was too slow, earning a new bleeding wound on her leg.

"He's…so strong," Catherine staggered back. One of her blades was cracked and the other held in shaky hands. Every weapon of Siegfried's was vastly superior to hers and without unleashing the power in them, she had no way to counter them.

"Why?" Kiba asked, equally beleaguered and exhausted unable to create a new sword with the pain coursing through his maimed hands. "Why won't you use them?" He looked up towards her, his expression clear, he believed her weapons had an ability that could help yet she refused to attempt it.

"Th-they were meant to be used as a human. If I used them now as a devil, I don't know what would happen. I'm sorry Kiba, I…"

"My other weapons have their own unique traits as well, did you know Balmung could give the destructive power of Excalibur a run for its money?"

Kiba and Catherine looked up, too exhausted to move as an explosion eerily similar to the one Xenovia had used against him in their first spar expanded towards them. The last thing they saw before all went black was an inferno of color and pain.

Gremory Territory…

A wave of black consumed the station, the crimson darkness of destruction enveloping all in its path. A master of the Bael-family ability surpassed only by her son, Venelana Gremory unleashed her fury towards the man who had tried to murder her daughter. Amazingly, Moloch remained ahead, his wings erecting a barrier that parted the energy to leave him untouched. The minutes dragged on as the four fought, the devastation being unleashed by the struggle rending the entire area.

"You will not escape!" Zeoticus joined his wife, slashing downward to catch him on his retreat. The swing cleaved the floor into pieces, even Moloch's barrier cracking under the assault.

It had been many years since the Patriarch of Gremory wielded the greatsword of their family yet in all that time he had not lost his edge. Enshrouded in the demonic energy surpassing most Ultimate-Class foes, the weapon became an instrument of utter devastation. His peerage had been commanded to remain outside to secure the area and any stragglers, sensing Moloch was beyond their power.

Moloch sacrificed his barrier, forming a dark sword in opposition to Zeroticus'. The older man was shocked that this terrorist had the power to create a blade that could contend with his own. Their strikes were slow and calculated, each swing having the weight of mountains behind them. Walls shattered and pillars were obliterated as their back and forth continued. With an unexpected leap over a side-slash, Moloch vanished from sight moving at tremendous speeds, catching his opponent in the arm and sending him staggering back. He did not give a chance to rest, rushing forward targeting the throat of Rias' father.

"DAD!" She shouted from the behind the stalwart barrier, her family completely unwilling to let her help, or the others assist.

A smaller barrier rose from the floor to deflect the incoming swing, the unmistakable magic of Grayfia saving his life. Individually Moloch proved his mastery over them all, but together they could contend with him. A seemingly unending barrage of dense demonic bullets drove Moloch back, his weapon now whittled down to bits, forcing him to discard it.

"You are more than you appear," Zeroticus announced as he regained his posture. "There are few who can fight so well and with such power, all of them known to us. That, and I can smell the illusion magic from this close."

"That vaunted Gremory arrogance," Moloch retorted with a grin. "All that natural power mixed with the absolute might of Destruction from the Bael Clan, was it any wonder a steamy coupling between you created the strongest devil our people have ever known? What a disappointment your daughter must be compared to tha…"

A slash of demonic energy soared over his head, Zeoticus' rage fueling it as the very ground Moloch stood upon ceased to exist. Moloch gasped with a drop of sweat at the attack, even a second slower and he would have joined the rubble in obliteration. He was undeterred, reforming the ominous black spheres he so enjoyed relying upon.

"I was toying with your child, not even one of the four Satans would survive a full impact from these," he boasted, the three not certain it was not an empty one.

They did not await his attack, Zeoticus, Venelana and Grayfia unleashing a wave of magic mixing their respective abilities together towards him. They never expected his sphere to encircle one another, acting as a barrier to split their efforts around him harmlessly. They pushed forward with all their might, not understanding how he could stand there still holding the strength advantage.

He is so strong, Rias pondered as she watched the battle they were far outmatched in, finally realizing that without the intervention of her family they would have been killed long ago. They all are, I need that strength. To lead my family…my peerage, I need to get stronger. Gremory and Bael blood, my brother has it and so do I!

"This is nothing! I end your lives today and will come for your son in time!" Moloch pushed his hand forward, sending the combined sphere ploughing through the combined attack. Their efforts were not even slowing it, he had won the struggle.

"Grayfia!" Venelana called out, her body flickering black for a heartbeat as their power spiked enough to slow the sphere. "NOW!"

Demonic seals surrounded the strongest Queen, ten devil wings emerging from her back in tandem with her soft chanting. The Lucifuge family had long ago served the Old Satans before meeting the man who became her husband, the numerous wings the last sign of her former allegiance. Akeno stepped back as the barrier protecting them suddenly lurched. The protection keeping them safe had formed a bubble around the station. At the command of the powerful devil it started to shrink, condensing down around them. As it reached the combatants, the shrinking sphere of energy phased through them like walking through a waterfall. Growing smaller, the barrier caught the oncoming attack finally stopping it in its tracks. Without slowing, the sphere closed in around Moloch dragging his own attack back down upon him.

"N-!" He screamed, the look of true fear upon his face. Closing his dark wings, he huddled down as the attack collided with him, detonating while still within the confines of the barrier, limiting the tremendous power to only include himself and the ground upon which he stood.

"Mother!" Rias ran out of their hiding place to grip her mother's arm, keeping her from collapsing. Grayfia somehow stood tall, though labored breathing gave away the effort the strategy had required. Only Zeoticus advanced towards Moloch, the opponent somehow still on his feet albeit kneeling behind the plume of smoke.

""It's…done," he raised the sword towards the devil's throat. "If you surren…?"

Moloch was wounded, bleeding and on his knees but the damage done was far less than they expected. All the same, he was seemingly unable to regenerate these new injuries. With his form now visible, they could see the unmistakable presence of not ten but twelve wings, the renewed burst of energy no doubt enough to save his life from what would surely have been a fatal blow. He glanced up, the smile never wavering though now it was more out of anger than enjoyment.

"I knew a frontal assault had a low chance of success at this juncture, it would be foolish to try in earnest," he spat blood, his dark hair shifting to silver-grey for a fraction of a second. "But you took the bait, bringing such overwhelming force to one place, you left yourself vulnerable elsewhere."

"Is that you? I had hoped you would stay in the shadows where you belong. Tell us what your plan was!" The Gremory sword tasted Moloch's throat, blood sliding down its length as his stared his foe down almost certain of his identity. "And I will end you quickly." Behind him, Thrud stood ready to help, her axe just begging for a reason to use it. Moloch locked eyes with her, a sinister gleam twinkling within them.

"How are your friends at Kyoto, do they have enough manpower?" He winked at her, sending a wave of cold down her spine. "Or your allies at the Grigori? How odd you couldn't reach them to assist with this situation is it not?"

"How did you…?"

"My pieces have performed their roles; it is too late to stop us. Your territory may grow peaceful for a time, but that is only the calm before the storm that sweeps your short-lived ill begotten dynasty into the sea."

Zeoticus leapt back, Venelana shielding him as dozens of magic seals and runes materialized beneath the beaten devil. Light engulfed Moloch, the cur giving a final tilt of his shredded hat at their inability to advance.

"And that would be my friends, I will give them your regards…ta." With that final words, the light consumed him to leave naught but the obliterated area behind. Moloch had escaped.

"He left all his men, what a coward," Thrud remarked with a disrespectful spit to where he had once stood before rounding on Venelana. "What did he mean by needing manpower in Kyoto?" The three glanced to one another awkwardly.

"We…received word that forces are gathered in Kyoto to face the Hero Faction; they are present and kidnapped the youkai leader Yasaka. I'm sorry, we didn't want…"

"I'm leaving," Thrud stormed to one of the few remaining flat surfaces remaining in the station and kneeling. "This was a diversion?"

"So it seems," Rias agreed as Akeno started preparations for her own magic circle. "He wanted us to bring as many of our troops here as possible so we wouldn't be available elsewhere. Mother, we can head to Kyoto and help there. I'm sorry Thrud, our magic won't permit you access."

"Don't need it," she stepped back to reveal an intricate Nordic summoning circle now completed she had drawn in haste. "Rossweisse taught me a thing or two over the years. I'll race you there."

"Deal," Rias shook her hand before glancing to her battered servants. "You can rest, get your strength back and…"

"We AREN'T staying behind," Gasper surprisingly responded faster than Koneko who was advancing to say the same. "I am coming too!"

"And me," Koneko raised her hand followed by Honda, the suit of armor barely managing the gesture, the joints creaking painfully. "You're not the only one worried about Kiba and Issei, Catherine too is there!"

"We shouldn't let you go," Venelana let the whisper of a smile slip through. "But stopping you would be an impossible task even after what you've already faced. Go, help your peerage, your father's and I shall make contact with the Grigori. It seems they were on his list as well; I am worried for our newfound allies."

"See you in Kyoto!" Thrud stood upon the circle, the magic surrounding her in an instant. Hefting Gullbjorn over her shoulders, she gave a final thumbs up sticking her tongue out at the Gremory heiress before she vanished in a shower of sparks and light.

"Just another few moments," Akeno promised as her own circle neared completion. "Everybody gather close, I'll keep it stable here so you can get through."

We won't leave you all there, we'll make it in time and…Rias paused as she was forced to squint her eyes, a gentle light gathering upon her chest. She was not the only one who could see it as the others turned, shielding their own faces from the glow. It was not just light but heat as well. Rias could feel a warmth emanating from her breasts that reverberated to her very core. It did not appear to be doing anything; however, a single name and face became etched in her mind and heart, the one responsible for the feeling but how he did it was beyond her knowledge. It was as if he was there with her though that thought was utterly impossible.

"Issei…?"

Nijou Castle…

"B-bastard," Issei grunted in pain as he jetted back out of the spear's reach. Cao Cao sported an ugly bruise across his face and was bleeding, but it had come at a high cost. Blood poured from a wound in Issei's gut, a hit scored by the Hero Faction leader that wouldn't close.

"You…are strong," he admitted. "But your style has a great many openings. This spear truly is the best weapon against you, you won't even go to an afterlife if killed by it."

"Issei!" A green light appeared around him, causing the bleeding to stop. To their combined horror, the blood continued to flow after only a moment, the wound widening again.

"I told you the spear was perfect," Cao Cao mocked. "Hecuba was fortunate to be human, you are not so lucky. Not even Twilight Healing can close a wound for you from this."

"Shit!" Issei cursed as he fumbled for the Phenex Tear beneath his armor, quickly popping off the stopper and pouring it over his wound. With a gasp of slow relief, the wound started to close at last. The pained expression of frustration was made all the worse by Cao Cao simply watching, allowing him to heal up with a smug smirk of superiority etched upon his face.

"Well, no more issue with those pesky tears of yours. If you hadn't used them, you would have been utterly erased from existence."

"E-erased?" Issei questioned his choice of words.

I've been hurt way more than that before, the spear is that powerful against dragons and devils? They did say that could happen if slain with a holy weapon and that is the first real one. I can't let that happen, I'd never see Asia or the President ever again!

"That is correct," he worked to instill the fear into his opponent while tapping the spear nonchalantly against his shoulder. "As a devil, no matter how powerful you become, this attack will prevent any reincarnation, any chance at joining an afterlife. That is an absolute truth of the world, even Vali would cease to exist if struck. Afraid yet?"

"I'd be a bigger moron than most think I am if I wasn't," he admitted while readying Ascalon once more hoping the properties of his own holy sword could protect him. "But if I don't keep fighting, how can I face everyone as the strongest Pawn?" Cao Cao let out a raucous, almost heartwarming laughter at the statement.

"While I would have liked to see you cowering in fear a bit, you are an entertaining opponent. I can see why Vali likes facing you." He raised the spear, the holy light shimmering brightly for a renewed strike. "Come then."

Issei stepped back a bit, the wound had healed but his armor was still reconstituting itself. No matter how hard he focused, it wouldn't go any faster.

Ddraig, a little help?

[I am trying partner, that attack is all consuming. Do NOT let it touch us again, there is no way I could fix this twice at this rate.]

"You hesitate, that is better," his opponent mocked. "Had you charged in again with your emotions like that I would surely win. Your aura has been thrown into disarray, are you preparing to go Juggernaut Drive again?"

"Shut up!" Issei unleashed a Dragon Shot Slash which he bounded over with the easiest of moves. "You like to talk big, all I need is one good shot on you and I win."

"But can you get that shot? Just try and…"

"Irina!? Xenovia!" Asia cried out, her voice in anguish with the hint of tears drawing Issei's attention.

"Huh, you are still fighting?" Jeanne strolled up in the back with her dragon close behind. Upon its back which were slumped to the ground unceremoniously were the bodies and Irina and Xenovia, the pair covered in blood and sword wounds from head to toe. They were not moving.

"He must be stronger than these two," Siegfried was next up carrying the equally beaten bodies of Kiba and Catherine. Their own weapons were broken behind them, both black and blue from bruises, their clothes stained red. They too were thrown on the ground at their opponent's feet.

"No…everyone!" Issei's voice finally cracked as he started to shudder. Even in the distance, he could see Saji losing ground, the black form of Vritra ensnared by the nine tails of Lady Yasaka's kyuubi form. The pair were screaming in pain as one with no sign of Rossweisse anywhere. Each member of the Crossroads and Gremory Peerage had been beaten with Issei now utterly surrounded.

"Don't get me wrong, you are all very strong," Cao Cao sarcastically complimented the defeated foes. "But you cannot hope to face those with the power of our Sacred Gears. Dragons, devils, angels, Satans and more have fallen in the past under such might. Even if you could overpower me, what of the rest of the team? You have no chance to…"

As the combined faction encircled Issei and Asia, an azure portal torn the sky apart above them. They had seen it before, but never with such rippling torrents of power heralding the arrival as a grey-green armor-clad warrior fell through.

"Goldie?" Issei called out as Dorian impacted the ground Twilight Star first, sending out of burst of fire and lightning in all directions to force the collected heroes to halt. He almost missed the small fox girl Kunou leap from his back with Ratatoskr close behind. "Where did you come from?"

"Sorry I'm late," he inhaled deeply having run at breakneck speeds the whole way to reach them. "What is the situa…?"

He froze as he saw the bodies of Irina, Xenovia, Kiba and Catherine sprawled out in the distance. Eyes widening in horror, he lastly saw Hecuba behind where he had emerged, rushing to her side. She was still breathing due to the ministrations of Asia, he thanked her profusely under his breath.

"Hecuba, can you hear me? Hecuba?"

"D-Dorian, I, I'm, sorry. The others, help them first." Was all she could mutter before slumping back, her healing not fully finished. Dorian made sure she was comfortable before rounding on Cao Cao.

"Mother!" Kunou called out in sorrow as she saw the unmistakable shape of Yasaka wrestling with Saji in the distance. "MOTHER! Please! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?" Avoiding the Hero Faction agents, she bounded off towards the battle between titans.

I couldn't save anyone…again. Iggy broke her silence with a sorrowful statement. Everyone is…

"You will pay for this," Dorian twirled Twilight Star in his hands prepared for battle, unable to focus on her return. His face was contorted in anger, "When the rest arrive here…"

"Heh, so you made it," the gruff voice of Heracles caused him to turn. "Just in time, I have a gift for you."

Dorian's calm snapped in an instant as the hulking brute sauntered over to his allies carrying a body over his shoulder. It was covered in so much blood he could not tell if the armor was silver or red anymore. Even the hair falling down her shoulders was dyed crimson. With the most uncaring of motions, he tossed her to the ground.

Rossweisse had lost as well, her eyes open but unfocused and blank. Heracles put a foot threateningly on her chest for good measure, the same chest Dorian had kissed up and down only the night before. He could still smell the shampoo of her hair from where he stood now mixed with blood. The memories of the night before merging with the image arrayed before him.

"She wasn't very strong, actually tried to seal me, can you believe it? Her aim was off by a mile, after that it was child's play to…"

A beam of energy cut through the air slicing his cheek before the giant could notice. He stumbled back with a shocked expression, slowly wiping away blood from the deep wound that had nearly taken his head off.

"SHUT…YOUR…MOUTH!"

"B-boss?" Ratatoskr fearfully reached out to the Einherjar, seeing something he thought he'd never know, a terrifying Dorian. His features were warped making him appear more fiendish than any Satan, his eyes looking for nothing more than the death of the man he was staring at without the slightest hesitation. "She's alive, I can hear her heart from here. Try to calm…"

'Rat," he snapped towards his friend, making him jump. "As SOON as there is an opening, you get them ALL to safety…GOT IT?"

"Y-yea boss," he answered quickly, realizing saying anything else was pointless. He knew Dorian well enough despite never seeing this side of him before. "Kick his ass up the line and back, j-just don't lose yourself, please." Bounding past him, Ratatoskr grew to his larger form and started carefully picking up the defeated teammates while the Hero Faction had pulled back. Rossweisse was still too near to Heracles to grab, but he stared up at the former Olympian with an expression of anger, fury, and a touch of pity for what he knew was coming. "Bro…you fucked up; I'll notify your next of kin to add that to your tombstone."

"Issei," he glanced over to his ally who also swallowed nervously at the new side of him they never wanted to see. "Can you fight?"

"O-of course I can!" he forced himself to stand despite the pain only just subsiding. "Don't count me out yet!"

"Then handle Cao Cao, Heracles is MINE!"

A sonic boom shook the eardrums of those around as Dorian hurled Twilight Star towards Heracles with all his might in the blink of an eye. The weapon glowed all the colors of the spectrum, the young man having wrapped the energy of the Nine Realms around it to create a melee form of his Bifrost Barrage. The ground shattered at the force of the throw, the surface disintegrating along the path towards the self-proclaimed hero. Heracles had no hope to evade, being known for his strength, not speed.

"This is nothing!" He roared, punching forward with one of his missile-covered hands. His aura spiked to its peak, for all his bluster even he realized the danger hurtling his way.

Dorian's blow impacted the warhead of his Balance Breaker, a painful grinding sound echoing as it cut through the first chunk with ease. Only be reinforcing it with his second hand did the descendent of Zeus slow its advance. His feet planted themselves only to rip through the stone below and push him back, his vaunted Balance Breaker cracking all the way.

"RAAAHHH!"

He roared while tilting his hands away, firing off the damaged missile. His plan succeeded, sending the projectile with Twilight Star lodged within soaring off into the distance. In his rush to relieve his attack, he did not realize he had inadvertently aimed towards Yasaka. The explosion caught her in the back, distracting the mind controlled Kyuubi long enough for Vritra to push back once again.

"Not…bad," he admitted while starting to turn back towards his opponent. "A little more power and that might have…"

Heracles did not finish, in a flash, while he had been preoccupied with the attack, Dorian cleared the distance. He could not have been certain, but his armor looked thicker, more imposing with barb-like spikes growing from its surface as his helmet took shape. Despite Dorian having thrown his sole weapon at Heracles, he had a new one in his hands. A hammer of unmistakable Norse-make. Heracles did not have time to process its identity before it was too late.

The replica of Mjolnir, held in keeping within the Road Between Realms since its absorption after the Loki fight, collided with Heracles' breastplate at its strongest point. The armor cracked inward instantly to press upon the bone and sinew beneath. Heracles was fortunate the divine powers instilled within the replica had been expended to defeat Loki, all the same, it had long since charged upon the energies of the Roads. Heracles was blasted into the ground below with a gurgle of blood from his mouth.

"Go, go go!" Ratatoskr shouted, rushing in to scoop up Rossweisse and ferry her with the others to Asia's side as soon as the area was clear. The former nun worked tirelessly to tend to everyone, her brow starting to sweat profusely as she struggled to breath from the exertion. "That's everyone sweetie, here take some of my energy."

"Thank you," Asia smiled in gratitude as the mystical squirrel placed a hand on her head. Slowly, he started shrinking back down to his standard size as the girl grew stronger, the green light of Twilight Healing growing brighter. "Will Dorian need help?"

"Only from himself, he's manhandling that poor fool," he worried while turning back to the battle if they could call it that. Heracles had yet to land a single blow as Dorian followed up savage strike after savage strike. "I've never seen him like this, I didn't think the boss had a crazy switch or if he knows how to turn it off…"

Not Far…

How did things come to this? Issei thought as he parried the deadly spear with Ascalon. I promised to protect everyone, save Yasaka but in the end it turned out like this. We tried our best, fought so hard as we'd always done, but they were just too strong. How can I call myself the Oppai or Red Dragon? I'm just like she said…

Are you going to cry?

M-Ms. Elsha? He recognized the busty blonde former Red Dragon Empress from his mind in her purple attire that showed off just enough skin. She had been the one to hand him his potential only to lose it on the train. He's just too strong with that Longinus! Goldie can't fight them all and I am letting everyone down.

As you are now, yes you are losing to that one. But remember that your potential returned to you, all the possibilities of your strength are available to you. You need only discover them.

It just came back to me; I didn't do anything…

But you did, that night you just sat with Asia opening your heart to her. It was a step forward Issei, a step beyond breasts to something more. That made you able to accept your potential, at least in its basic state. It sat within the chest of that Dorian friend of yours until it could return.

Goldie had it?

Yes, and a portion of him remained behind imbedded within your potential. His residual memories, perhaps an inspiration to move forward?

I unlocked my Balance Breaker by poking the President's breasts, but she isn't here. Oh, how I'd love to fondle them one more time…

So short-sighted, a blue-haired man with a regal red and gold cloak stood by Elsha's side. He was Belzard, another past user of the Boosted gear. Envisioning inspiration and what matters should come as easily as if it were in front of your very eyes!

Envision…her?

The gem upon the Boosted Gear exploded with light, forcing Cao Cao to shield his eyes unable to withstand it.

"What is going on?"

In the outside world, Issei's power started to rise, his battered armor reforming to a pristine condition. His eyes could not be made out through his helmet, unbeknownst to them he was still within the landscape of his mind where time moved far faster, his conversation with the past wielders driving him on.

Yes, envision her Issei, the one who sparked your rise to power! Who is she?

It's the Pres…

He turned as suddenly she appeared before him standing beside Elsha. Her red hair, blue eyes, Kuoh Academy uniform, striking posture no matter how she stood. His eyes fell to her body which he had long-since memorized, it was her in every sense of the word. She stood there gazing into him, her expression more tender and gentler than he could remember. She held out her hands, arms and embrace welcoming. Issei moved towards her, yet no matter how fast he ran she was always out of reach.

President, where are you going? The despair of the outside world was returning at the thought that even thinking of her, she wouldn't draw near. Don't you care?

I said…WHO is she?

Issei stopped chasing her, drooping his head low in shame realizing what was being asked. She had given him permission to do so, all the same the idea of uttering that name hung heavy on his heart. Why? He couldn't say, perhaps it was the worry that what Dorian was so certain was true was a lie? That maybe his heart would be quashed a second time? If she did that, he knew he would never recover. But as he looked into the eyes of the woman who saved his life, that same feeling he had experienced with Asia in the closet returned filling him with resolve.

Of course, she is…you are amazing. The image of the Gremory heiress reached out as her real-world counterpart felt the warmth of his feelings, their hands finally meeting. I will call you that name someday, not president or master, but R…

In the real world, at the consideration of that name within his mind, Issei's power exploded into a pillar of light to make Cao Cao worried. His wings exploded now covered in extra armor plates and gems reminding them of those across Dorian's gear. His new suit was larger, not quite to the level of the Juggernaut Drive, but the sensation of it was similar yet different in the best ways. The red aura expanded in all directions, bathing the area in a newfound power the Hero Faction had not expected to encounter.

Ddraig, is this…? Issei felt a warm glow within his chest and almost, just almost, thought he heard his Master call his name.

[My old aura!] The ancient dragon leapt for joy, the sorrow at Issei's obsession with breasts lightening if only for the moment. [This is what it felt like without the negative power of extreme emotion, this is the beginnings of the power I wielded when warring with Albion!]

You have opened the path away from Juggernaut. Remember those words for when you meet her again in the real world. Seek the breasts you love but strive to look beyond the material as that young man did.

Elsha, thank you…for everything. I don't know what I would have done without you. Don't you dare tell Goldie about this!

The secret is safe, and you can do much without us, keep moving forward along this path and our full power will be restored. As the powers adapt to the wielder, so too must the wielder adapt to those around him and what is truly important. It is enough that we may pass on now.

Wait, pass on? You mean die?

We are but residual memories, we all died a very long time ago, she motioned to the room beyond filled with individuals of every size, shape, gender, and color. We should have disappeared already, only remaining to help you grow. That is no longer necessary, our time has come and gone.

But I have so many questions.

And you must find the rest out for yourself. You love breasts, we do not, but there is more to it than that. That aspect beyond them, that you must find out yourself and with your friends and loved ones. Each of us delved into the power of the Red Dragon Emperor to the detriment of all else while you have held onto simpler things. It was our voices as much as your rage that invoked Juggernaut. Without us, it will be your choice to use that again. Cherish your humble side…and farewell.

Tears started falling down Issei's cheeks, he had not spoken with the past lives often, but they had been there since he first unlocked his Sacred Gear. To realize they would be leaving forever was disheartening. Slowly, the pair faded away with the others following suit, leaving him alone in the vast emptiness of white.

So that is what it will be, he sighed as the room disintegrated around him, bringing Issei Hyoudou back to Nijou Castle. His aura and pillar of strength still kept Cao Cao at bay, finally dissipating with his return. This is what I am, I'm…

"I'm the Red Dragon Emperor!" He held out Ascalon whose shape had transformed into a massive greatsword bleeding power. At the same time, massive cannons appeared upon each shoulder taking aim at his opponent. "I am a pervert but am more than that. Cao Cao! You're going to pay for all you've done tonight!"

Across the Field…

"Damnit!" Heracles shouted as he coughed up blood again. "Enough of this!" He took aim at the rampaging Einherjar. Ever since the battle started, Dorian had been out for pain pounding upon him with the replica Mjolnir again and again. He wasn't unassailable, the Hero Faction muscle had gotten blows in which the blonde warrior simply shrugged off even as it scorched and burned his armor.

With some distance, he loaded a missile and fired, Dorian not even attempting to evade. The blast caught him square in the face detonating and reducing the area around him to rubble.

"Don't get cocky around me boy," he started to threaten until the obscuring smoke was parted. Dorian jetting out after him upon his root wings cracking the giant with the hammer now glowing bright gold with the power of Asgard, he hadn't even turned it on before.

Dorian's helmet was broken in half from the blast to reveal a bloody forehead and eyes swirling with rage. The attack had hurt him, his armor broken and tattered, one wing ripped painfully. All the same he ignored it, lashing outward with Jotunheim roots to seize Heracles, and throwing him into the ground below. The brute tried to get up only to find his feet frozen by Helheim's ice to the floor to remove any hope of escape. Roots seized his arms and held them down as a bright light of Alfheim blinded him from the attack to come. The hammer blow fell upon him again and again, the head glowing a dozen colors as seals of reinforcement, power, impact, and many more had now been etched upon it and layered to increase their potency.

"St-stop," Heracles finally muttered for mercy as the latest attack connected. His chest was caved in, ribs shattered and at least one of his arms useless. His foe ignored his pleas, crashing down with his full weight upon his broken body.

"SHE…WAS…DRUNK!" Dorian cried, unleashing another savage blow between each word. "SHE WAS STILL RECOVERING! AND YOU DID THAT TO HER!" Heracles couldn't hear him anymore, his eyes white and unfocused. "You are going to pay for every drop of…!"

"Boss! Watch your six!" Ratatoskr's warning was received too late.

Dorian gasped as he raised the faux Mjolnir to strike again, a familiar cold sensation piercing his chest so close to where the ice javelins had so long ago. He had been so focused on the one who had beaten Rossweisse, the woman he loved whom he'd spent the night with, to a bloody pulp that he had not considered the remaining Hero Faction warriors. The blade of a rapier slick with his blood was sticking through his back having pierced his armor with relative ease. He hadn't even thought to reinforce it.

Again?...

"You cheating bitch!" Ratatoskr called out across the field, bounding towards them at full speed. He did not make it far, being forced to move to avoid an explosion from Siegfried stepping in. He would not allow any interruptions. "Then there's THIS asshole. Get out of my way or I'll have you singing soprano!"

"This is piercing your vertebrae," Jeanne whispered in his ear. "You'll be lucky to walk again, you aren't taking another step. Herc, you okay big man?" He did not reply. "If he doesn't answer, I'll just twist this and…hey!"

Dorian's right arm had bent backwards at a near-impossible angle and seized her sword just above the hilt. Being a mechanical construct courtesy of Azazel, it was not as paralyzed as the rest of his body. All the same, its construction to emulate his real one did not disappoint with blood flowing through his fingers as he held it in place against Jeanne's attempts to push it further in.

Move…MOVE, I HAVE to move! Dorian screamed in his head. Despite his best efforts, he could barely twitch his other limbs, Mjolnir's copy having fallen to the ground with such force it crushed everything it touched.

Dorian? Stay calm. The worried but calming voice of Despoina could be heard. Iggy is having an episode of some sort; I couldn't get through to her. She needs help, I don't know what to…

I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING AGAIN! Iggy broke through, drowning out the remaining voice of reason in Dorian's soul. The sin that had been brought to the surface enveloping her very being. Memories that she had wished to forget swimming at the edge of her conscious memory just out of reach but leaving the feeling they instilled behind. I failed them again, but I won't…I won't watch everyone I love die…NOT AGAIN! I WILL PROTECT THEM ALL!

We both will Iggy, we both will!

Jeanne was very confused as Dorian stopped struggling, his body growing eerily calm despite her blade piercing his spine. She looked on in horror as his armor softened to an elasticity akin to a mold, reforming around the wound she had given to consume her sword.

"Wh-what are you doing? Let go!" She tugged on her rapier, failing to extricate it from him. The root-metal armor indicative of his Balance Breaker kept growing, sloshing over his body until it barely looked human, advancing up the steel towards the heir to Joan of Arc's hands. In a panic, she released her spare weapon leaving it to be overgrown by the foliage of Dorian's rage. Slowly, the Einherjar started to speak, the voice of Iggy beginning alone only to merge with his own deepening to a terrifying degree. None who knew either could have guessed the pair were capable of such speech.

I, who watch over all that live,

Am the child of ash who witnessed the twilight of life.

Crafting worlds to preserve those that remain,

All shall be made safe beneath the boughs of our limbs, by their will or not.

Reaching out these arms to cradle all that lives...

Breakdown the Beast: Decimation's Waltz!

As the chant ended, the hulking monstrosity of bark, steel and magic roared to the heavens, all surrounding him covering their ears to drown out the pain. Dorian raised his tendrils now larger than trucks slamming them into the Earth to delve deep and greedily. Great pulses of light were pulled from parts unknown, traveling up the branches towards the center of mass…into the young man himself.

"I suggest we get FURTHER away!" Ratatoskr offered, starting to drag the wounded towards the front gates. "Son of a…!"

As he rushed to help carry the wounded, a tremendous root burst forth from the ground nearly sending him flying. Ignoring the others, it coiled atop Rossweisse's unconscious body. Despite the carnage and destruction caused by the ever-expanding mass, it was oddly gentle with the beaten Valkyrie, forming what looked like a cage or pen around her that deflected all damage to become like the eye of a storm.

"Such a softie boss, even trying to destroy everything you can't harm her. MISSY!" He turned to Asia. "I suggest we go! We can't help her, and I doubt this place will be safe for much longer!"

Using the last of his energy, Ratatoskr grew enough to carry the wounded farther from Dorian's strange growing mass. Asia never stopped healing, only pausing briefly to glance at the horrific sight of the man she had once known.

Not Far, a few minutes earlier…

"I am a pervert…but more than that!" Issei roared as the cannons on his shoulders targeted towards the Hero Faction leader. The power he felt since emerging from the Boosted Gear was more than he'd ever known gushing forth without end.

[This is what I remember!] Ddraig roared at the return of a greater portion of his former power. [The power the original God of the Bible sealed when their alliance bested Albion and I! Use it with the power Rias Gremory gave you!]

[ Desire! ]

[ Diabolos! ]

[ Determination! ]

[ Dragon! ]

[ Disaster! ]

[ Desecration! ]

[ Discharge! ]

The voices within his Gear uttered their final words, the things that granted power to men. They were all within Issei in that moment, their power building to a point as he determined what he had to do. The badge Asia wore shuddered sensing his desire, the promotion system kicking into effect without her command.

"MODE CHANGE, WELSCH BISHOP BLASTER! THIS IS FOR MY FRIENDS! DRAGON BLASTER!"

BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!

Beams of energy erupted from his cannons, the magic spiraling like a drill towards Cao Cao with even greater output than Dorian's Bifrost Barrage. His opponent understood his peril, eyes widening as he did not even attempt to block it as before. Instead, he pushed off the ground to narrowly avoid the attack. The blow traveled past him disappearing into the distance. As it finally impacted, the hills around Kyoto exploded, the shockwave consuming houses for miles around. In the blink of an eye, almost half the faux city just disappeared. Everything was gone from the greenery to the very air itself, utterly vaporized.

"That was dangerous," Cao Cao maintained his composure. "Were it not for this being a pocket dimension you would have become quite the monster just now."

"Don't let him fire that again!" Georg called out from above still holding the Dragon Gate open. "That disrupted my control, even Dimension Lost won't last long against that!"

"I'm just getting started," Issei muttered as the cannons disappeared from his back. The badge Asia held shook again as the impossible occurred, a promotion change mid-combat. "PROMOTION! WELSCH SONIC BOOST KNIGHT!"

As the name suggested, his armor condensed, growing tempered hugging his frame. It had become paper thin, yet his booster's power exponentially increased. Not even Kiba could keep up with him now.

"I am going to…what the?"

Cao Cao and Issei turned, their fight all but forgotten as a shape dwarfing even Yasaka and Vritra beyond rose into their field of vision. It was grotesque, a horrific amalgamation of plant, human and dragon with no sign of the young man resting within. Between the sudden surge of power within the Red Dragon Emperor and now this, finally Cao Cao look worried.

"That is the Einherjar?" Cao Cao demanded as Siegfried readied his swords. "That's impossible, even tapping into Midgardsormr he cannot possibly be this strong!"

"I stabbed him; he should be dead!" Jeanne asserted while leaping atop her dragon for safety. "Heracles is down! He's somewhere under that!"

YOU…

Atop the collection of vines, brambles and tendrils of metal, a vaguely human shape emerged only to be consumed within a swarming mass of roots and over tendrils made from his armor. Golden swathes of light covered the surface, sheathing everything in the strange energy that was neither fire nor electricity but a combination of the two. For a brief moment he donned a new armor they did not recognize, but the shape was quickly lost among the rest before encasing around him. The newly formed cocoon warped into the shape of a great eye that stared down upon the Hero Faction with utter malice.

BEGONE.

A condensed laser blast erupted straight and true from the pupil. The focused prism beam traveled along the ground towards them seeking them like a snake having spotted its prey. To the horror of everyone present, every spot touched by the stream of power exploded violently with force that eradicated everything it touched. The blast expanded much as Issei's had obliterating as it went leaving almost none of the recreated Kyoto standing, and it would be upon them in a matter of seconds.

"MOVE!" Cao Cao commanded as the remaining fighters scattered in each direction, even Issei heeded the order. "The Red Dragon Emperor is inconsequential, bring that…THING down!"

As Siegfried and Cao Cao cut away at the tendrils, now miles long and growing, Jeanne rode her Holy-Sword Dragon overtop them towards the head. Her blades sliced through the alien material with ease as her target drew nearer.

"Okay Stake Dragon," she called out to her child. "Just a bit more, then we can…"

Jeanne's breath caught in her throat as branches that could have scaled mountains collected between her and her goal. Ushering her dragon to attack, it opened its maw to spray a cone of holy swords to clear her path. The blades struck their targets but with no discernable effect, becoming trapped within the thick brambles failing to remove the obstacles. The tendrils retaliated, coming down hard upon her, she had no prayer to evade. In a single tremendous slam, her dragon was shattered into a thousand pieces throwing her clear. As she had done before, the remains started to reform, only for the weight of the extensions of Dorian's Breakdown to crash down upon them again. There was not enough left of her swords to put back together after that point.

"Stake…!" She tried to call only for more branches to lash out, seizing her around the waist. They were strong, beyond her ability to break free. All breath was driven from her as it slammed her into the ground without the slightest hesitation or restraint. She was lifted and brought down again and again, there was no mercy within what Dorian Held had become.

"Damnit!" Siegfried cursed as he darted from the side to cut her free. Even with six Legendary Blades at his disposal he barely sliced through them to escape at the cost of one of his silver-scaled arms. "I thought he was an insignificant opponent; he is tearing us apart!"

"This can't be him," Cao Cao tried to rationalize as his True Longinus cut the branches reaching for them to pieces. No matter how many he shredded, they advanced further gaining ground. "Georg! Has Great Red arrived?"

"Th-the Dragon Gate has closed!" The mage informed as he floated down to join his comrades. "It's gone, all of it! Every scrap of power we gathered through Yasaka is just…gone!"

"Gone? Gone where?" Cao Cao's question was answered as the sub-leader of the Hero Faction pointed up at the botanical monstrosity.

"THERE! That damned Einherjar, or whatever he is now, drained every drop of Ley Line energy in Dimension Lost!"

The roar of Dorian echoed again as wings of angels, fallen, devils and dragons emerged across its surface. Seals wielding the power of Kyoto shimmered into being beyond anything they'd known. Not even Rossweisse's drunken barrage of earlier that day could compare. And every single one was focused solely on the four remaining Hero Faction fighters. All their weaker members watching had long-since fled. Combined with the beam generated by the central eye, the surface they stood upon was annihilated, Cao Cao barely deflecting a wave though with great effort. The purple clouds moved to shield them but were dispersed barely weathering the storm. Bolts of Olympian lightning struck around them, every ability at his disposal now unleashed.

"His Sacred Gear had limitations set upon it? Whoever sealed Yggdrasil's daughter within must have feared her power indeed. Breaking those limits, that much power, he can't even comprehend his surroundings anymore, did Great Red take the bait before the portal destabilized?" He demanded as the attacks continued around them. Georg only shook his head in defeat. "Then I will have to use this," he held his True Longinus aloft, the light at the end glowing bright.

"There is no point!" Georg grabbed his arm. "Don't waste it here, we have to leave! The energy is gone, we have no way to bring Great Red through now and Leonardo surely can't hold off their united forces much longer! If we stay, we will be surrounded or worse!"

More bramble-covered tentacles lashed out, even Georg barely blocking with a barrier which cracked and caused his nose to bleed from the strain. Cao Cao took the opportunity to run up the makeshift path attempting the same as Jeanne. Firing the unassailable power of the True Longinus, his face warped in absolute frustration as it was effortlessly blocked by the armor growing uncontrollably around Dorian. They had prepared so much, were ready to challenge the entirety of the Gremory peerage AND both Red Dragons. Even when the Crossroads had been formed, they were still confidant of victory, and yet now they stood beaten and unable to progress. Cao Cao swore retribution under his breath. Avoiding another lashing of building-sized branches, he kicked off the ground to retreat knowing the slightest error would mean his death unless he used all at his disposal.

"We still have our data, make sure Leonardo puts it to use. There is no retrieving Heracles, get us a portal out before he…"

"I WAS YOUR OPPONENT!" Issei roared as he blasted forward under the speed of a knight. Cao Cao saw him coming and calmly raised his spear to act as a shield.

"I was actually worried about you Red Dragon Emperor, but that time is done. Under the power of that demon that can drain a city, your might is merely…"

"MODE CHANGE! WELSH DRAGONIC ROOK!"

Issei's cry signaled yet another sudden shift in his power. With the speed of a knight, his armor and strength were sacrificed to move faster than the naked eye could follow. In a moment, he called upon the rook promotion, his armor growing thicker than it had ever been with the raw physical power Koneko called her own infused with his own Red Dragon power thanks to the upgrades Ajuka made to his Evil Piece. Cao Cao's raised spear was struck, failing to pierce the new armor, and was pushed aside, his arm breaking under the pressure since the effort used against Dorian. With his other hand, Issei lunged forward with Ascalon, Cao Cao desperately moving to dodge.

The Hero Faction Leader's blood-curdling scream shook the air, the absolute pain unmistakable to all.

"My…my eye!" Cao Cao roared as Ascalon managed to slide past his right eye catching it with the full bladed edge. Issei did not stop as he brought it down to lodge his weapon within the faction leader's shoulder. Despite the damage done, he remained standing. "You are not the one to end me!"

The True Longinus lit up, a nova of light blasting Issei even in his rook form dozens of yards away. He righted himself in midair, sliding to a stop as Georg, Siegfried and Jeanne all gathered around. A javelin startled the group, landing just beside them from beyond the hill. A partially recovered Hecuba had used what strength she had regained to hurl it towards them not as a true attack…but as a warning. She did not have the energy to do more.

We'll meet again, and next time I'll show you who is the villain between us. You have proven words mean nothing to you, actions are needed.

"I will return the favor for this eye," Cao Cao swore as he covered the socket, Georg already sealing the wound with a wave of his hand. "Grow stronger for that day so I can feel the rush of facing one so legendary and powerful. You and Vali both, every dragon of every class shall know the strength of this spear! Your friend has become a monster," he looked up to Dorian rampaging through the recreated land of Kyoto, "he is all the proof that our fear of your kind is justified. Farewell."

With that final word, the mists of Dimension Lost surrounded the Hero Faction swirling about them like a cocoon. Once it finally abated and dispersed, the others were nowhere to be seen. The Khaos Brigade had withdrawn.

"Big man!" Ratatoskr called out with a magically enhanced voice to Dorian. "The bad guys are gone! You can stop now!"

His announcement fell on deaf ears, Dorian's mass still growing to crush all in his path. His seals incorporating the magic of every realm and mythology he had visited continuing to fire devastation upon the area. Worst of all was the eyebeam that seemed to be unstoppable, erasing anything it looked at. All the while, Rossweisse was still unconscious within the protective prison he had created.

PROTECT…HER He moaned barely comprehensibly as he advanced. There was no stopping him.

"What can we do?" Asia asked with worry while still stabilizing the others.

"I…I don't know," Rat lamented, his normal sense of humor drained before the situation as Issei and Kunou joined them on what remained of the hill. "He doesn't recognize us, he's just a destruction berserker! Oh god, the kyuubi mama!"

Dorian's vision had fallen on the struggle between Vritra and Yasaka, the fighting monsters only now spotting the swathe of carnage heading their way. Setting aside their quarrel, black and orange flames erupted to cover the encroaching mass. Limbs and armor burned away instantly only to regrow as the Ley Line's bottomless reserves kicked in. The mind-controlled fox lunged forward to bite a tendril in vain. Dorian took aim with the enormous eye…

"NO PLEASE!" Kunou called out with all her might echoing through the air. "DORIAN, YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED TO SAVE HER!"

The laser shifted the smallest margin at her words before firing from the eye, barely missing Yasaka. The resulting explosion shockwave caught her in the haunches, sending her falling backwards with a howl of pain. She slammed into the ground hard unmoving with glazed grey eyes staring upwards. Despite her defenseless state, Dorian turned from her towards Vritra who was slithering away.

"Saji!" Issei called out from the distance. "GET OUT OF THERE! I'm going in to…"

Dorian's assault towards the beleaguered black dragon was stopped as a green barrier was raised between them. From up in the sky, the now-powerless Dragon Gate burst to life with an ominous jade glow. An enormous head emerged that couldn't have been who the Hero Faction sought, with its scales shimmering colors matching the newfound light.

[Yu-Long? What the Hell is he doing here?]

"Yu-Long?" Issei asked aloud in response to Ddraig's identification. "One of the Five Dragon Kings? Wait, who is that on his back?"

A small form barely perceivable from the distance was sitting atop the immense serpent dragon soaring gracefully towards them. They gasped as the passenger seemed to fall from its back, only to realize he had jumped of his own accord. Almost as if ignoring the laws of gravity, the newcomer landed before them with the softest of footsteps.

"My my, I go out of my way to come help to find my mission is already done. Did the Hero Faction go running off already?" He looked to them like a short monkey with a wrinkled face and black skin dressed in a monk's robes. The power emanating from him was enormous, even Issei realizing how strong this old man was. He tapped his staff against the ground with enthusiasm like a teacher demanding the attention of his class. Despite his antiquated attire, he wore dark shades with a techno design, a pipe smoking steadily between his lips.

"Who are you?" Asia asked hesitantly, neither having any idea who stood before them in that moment.

"That is the first Lord Wukong, the Fighting Buddha," the welcome sight of Thrud informed them as she floated up the hill, her seal only having just brought her to the Dimension Lost battlefield. Issei stared in awe along with Irina and Xenovia who were slowly regaining consciousness as Asia moved on to the others. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," he tapped his pipe against a shoulder to clean it out. "I was supposed to meet with the kyuubi Matriarch about discussing this alliance of ours then got asked by that Azazel punk to clean out some pranksters in the Hero Faction. Last I heard though you were back in Gremory Territory."

"We had some terrorist activity there, but it seems it was a distraction for here. I set Rossweisse's seal to take me to her, but it dumped me here. Where are they?" Her face warped in horror as she only then spotted the writhing, ever growing, mass of steel and wood pressing against Yu-Long's seal. Even with the power of a dragon king, the magic holding it together was cracking. "That is…WHERE IS ROSESWEISSE?"

"In there somewhere," Issei informed them. "Goldie just sealed her up after Heracles defeated her and has been wreaking havoc. I was going to try and…"

"You'd be squashed flatter than a pancake," the first-generation Sun Wukong interrupted bluntly. "Your energy is fading fast, that new trinity promotion move of yours eats up stamina faster than a good night in Heaven. Even if you weren't, that boy is wielding the power of Kyoto within him right now. Only your Juggernaut Drive could hope to challenge it and that would kill you."

{The kyuubi leader is down old man} The voice of Yu-Long echoed over the area sounding like a rambunctious teen. {It looks like Vritra and that rampaging kid took her out. She is alive, however, and relatively unharmed}

"But he's not stopping!" Kunou sobbed, seeing her mother still unconscious behind the devastation. "We have to get him to power down, the brigade is beaten!"

"I see his eyes from here, he doesn't recognize friend from foe. If his lady friend is down there, it's sure as sin he's gonna blow away anything that gets near her. It's only a matter of time before this dimension collapses and spills out in the real world. We can't get near the kyuubi while he's doing that. I can take him down no issue, but I can't be kind, that power must be tapping into his life as well as the Ley Lines. If he runs out, it's all over for him."

"You can't fight him then!" Thrud gripped the old monkey-youkai by his shoulders. "If he fights too hard, it will kill him!"

"Better one Einherjar than the city," he retorted calmly. "This is no different than Issei's tussle with his Juggernaut Drive. Apparently his Laerad Ragnarok had some powerful limits on her power that have been broken, but something has blinded him. Might be the power or something else, point is he's not slowing down. Lady Freyja will have my head, but against the alternative…"

"I'll go then," Thrud interrupted, pushing him away as her seals of flight kicked in. "He's still in there, he HAS to be. If I fail…then do whatever you want."

"THRUD!" Irina called out as her teammate took off without another word. She tried to extend her wings, intense pain shooting through her as she doubled over to be caught by Xenovia. Clasping her hands together she made a desperate prayer to the god she knew was dead. "Please…don't let him die, don't either of them die!"

Behind her, a new series of portals opened one after another. With Dimension Lost's creator gone, the barrier was weak enough for others to arrive. Reinforcements from across the battlefield came through with Leonardo and his army having retired. Rias was next, her peerage reunited as everyone rushed to Kiba and Catherine's side who were only just recovering much to Asia's exhaustion. Lastly, a door of light ushered through Kuroka having recuperated bringing Suzaku with her. The parties from every faction stood together on that hillside. Expressions of shock, sorrow and fear spread from each face as they realized the inhuman beast tearing through the city was none other than their friend Dorian. Whatever happened next would be up to Thrud, the shine of her gold armor disappearing into the distance…

Across the fortress…

"DORIAN!" Thrud called out as she neared the eye. Yu-Long had lowered the barrier just enough for her to enter before raising it again, enclosing Dorian in a prison to contain him as long as he could. She couldn't believe this thing was him, not one sign of his humanity remaining. It reminded her of those she'd known who let power corrupt them and it made her sick. "Please, listen to me!"

She rolled out of the way of branches reaching out for her, narrowly missing as magic seals of every element blasted towards her to miss and collide with his own body. Resisting the desire to hit back, she kept low to avoid the ones reaching high into the sky. Eventually, she came across a small dome amidst the most protected portions of his mass. Within, a wounded, barely breathing Rossweisse could be seen. Despite the chaos around her, the area within her barrier was utterly calm and tranquil.

"Dorian, Rossweisse is safe!" She insisted, risking drawing attention to herself. "She needs medical attention! Please, let us take her and…"

A barrier seal opened up sending Thrud crashing into it. The damage was minimal, but the distraction allowed a trio of bramble-covered roots to catch up. The first one slammed into her back, sending her spiraling.

"Son of a-!" In frustration she spun, cleaving the remaining two in half. Despite the decapitation, they regrew, the noticeable hum of Ley Line energy moving to reinforce any weakness. "If you keep doing that it's going to kill you!"

Go…Away, the merged voice rumbled from deep within, with the defenses at his disposal she had no hope of breaking through. Every seal of magic and power focused entirely on her, Thrud was surrounded.

The sky lit up as beams, daggers, lasers, flames and every other magic he had learned over the months fired upon her. She avoided many, but even more found their mark on the daughter of thunder. Her armor broke, circlet shattered, and skin became covered in wounds compounding with each second. Dorian could not see her no matter how hard she tried.

"You…IDIOT!" She swung Gullbjorn again, cracking a stalk and sending it toppling to the ground below. "Are you seriously this blind? You need to stand down, if you don't, she's going to d-"

A new blow caught Thrud in the side breaking several ribs and driving the breath from her. Unable to recover, she crashed atop a wall of Njou Castle where the others had been fighting just minutes before. Slumping up against a wall, she looked up in time to see the grand eye looming over the mountain of life he had become lower down to stare her in the face. Having rushed to make it to Kyoto, she was still exhausted from the match against Moloch.

"All th-this power, but it's not you," she spat blood on the ground. "Like Modi after Loki got his hooks into him. This is EXACTLY what you weren't before. The Crossroads need you; Rossweisse…Rose needs you, I…"

As she spoke, the energy surrounding the eye started the grow brighter, the laser that nearly obliterated Yasaka building to an apex to fire focused solely on Thrud. From that point-blank range, not even her godhood would save her, for the first time in her life the daughter of Thor stared down certain death. Nothing else seemed to matter, that realization shattering the uncertainty of her mind. Thrud knew what she wanted to, what she HAD to say.

"Rose needs you, and I need you! You really are so blind you absolute moron. I need you; do you want to hear that? I love you too dammit!"

You…what?

She loves me?

She loves you?

She loves you! Listen to me! The impact of those words allowed Despoina to break free once more. IF YOU FIRE, SHE IS DEAD! STOP THE ATTACK!

Can't stop, far too late for that. Dorian growled knowing his words were true. The energy within the eye was already prepped and ready to overload, he could not stop it, only find a release for his overwhelming power. With his vision starting to clear and the prospect of murdering a woman who loved him at the forefront of his mind, the Einherjar broke through the blinding rage and made his choice.

The eye slammed its enormous lid shut as hard as it could, blocking the power from reaching Thrud beyond. The beam that could have disintegrated the better part of Kyoto had nowhere to go, that undefeatable energy blasting back upon its very wielder. Veins of damage and fire exploded with thunderous effect across the enormous body Dorian had grown since unleashing the Breakdown of Laerad Ragnarok. The armor, previously powerful to shield him and Rossweisse from all harm started to crack and turn to powder. It was not long before his entire form had crumbled away, lowering Rossweisse's protective cage slowly and shielding Thrud as a final act of control.

"Th-Thrud, I'm sorr…" he muttered as the eye around him vanished, dropping Dorian towards the distant ground below having already lost consciousness.

"DORIAN!" Thrud yelled through the pain as she dove from the high wall to follow him down. With great effort and burning in her gut, she caught up to him before he collided, turning with a roll so she slammed into the hard surface first cradling him safely in her arms. "Are you alr-!"

Thrud gasped, at first thinking she had grabbed the wrong person. Before her lay a withered old man with hair white as snow, skin wrinkled and muscles so weak she was certain he could not have stood on his own feet. All the same, the grey eyes and a few strands of blonde hair assured her beyond the shadow of a doubt, this was Dorian.

"This is bad," Lord Wukong warned her as the entire team rushed to their side, Kunou running past to her unconscious mother. "The Ley Line energies powered most of him, but that Breakdown took strength from his very core. Another few minutes and he would have died from old age. He's fading fast."

"What can we do?!"

"We need to stabilize the flow of life energy within his body. This isn't a natural aging; with the proper use of Sage Arts we can reverse it to…"

Thrud did not hesitate, allowing her armor to dematerialize she snapped the top straps and buttons of her tunic with a single motion. Her breasts fell out exposing her entire body, but she didn't care while opening the white Shinto robe Dorian still wore. Pulling him close, she pressed her bruised body to his channeling every ounce of Sage Art training she could recall under Lady Freyja. With a face seeking guidance, she turned to look up at the elder youkai-turned god.

"Just follow my lead," he tapped his staff on the ground, leaning it against her back. Despite no skin contact, immense energy flowed into Thrud, her body growing warm to the touch. Even Dorian seemed to sense this, his broken body instinctively nuzzling closer to her bosom. "Is anyone else here trained in the art? The more we have, the more energy to reinforce."

"Move aside-nya," Kuroka pushed through followed closely by Koneko. Seeing his body, she quickly started shuffling out of her kimono only for her sister to seize her with a look of mild annoyance.

"He only needs ONE point of direct contact," Koneko reminded her, fully aware her big sister knew exactly what she was doing. With a shrug of defeat, the black-haired nekoshou settled for placing a hand on Thrud's shoulder, Koneko doing the same to the other.

With three other Sage Art users, one a master beyond compare, Thrud was able to focus more clearly upon Dorian and what needed to be done. His life energy had been drained almost dry and what was left destabilized nearly beyond recognition. Clutching him tighter, she soothed the raging storm within him by bringing it closer to her own which had become a placid pool. She never thought the day would come that she was the one needing to calm others, it was a new feeling for her.

"Please," she begged with a whisper. "Come back to us, come back to me. If you do, I'll…"

Dorian suddenly coughed violently; his wizened form hard to look at compared to how he used to be. Thrud didn't care, gripping him in an embrace not even Freyja could match, she held him in strong arms if only so he wouldn't see the tears streaming down her face. He knew they were there regardless, the warm drops falling steadily upon his neck.

Slowly, but surely, his muscles and skin started to expand nearing normal, features softening closer to what they had been. Before it could complete, however, the process ground to a halt leaving him healthy yet still looking considerably older than he should complete with a long beard. The trio stared back to the first generation Wukong for answers who had dropped a lone Phenex tear upon him to round out the healing.

"If you revert him back too quickly, you'll rip his life force apart. Sorry, but no quick fix here I'm afraid. He'll have to be eased back to his natural age, that Breakdown was nothing to scoff at. That thing sucked his life dry like a plant draining the nutrients from the ground. Kid," he looked Dorian in the eyes, "until you find a substitute for your lifeforce, NEVER use that form. I think it's beyond a doubt your Laerad Ragnarok has become the latest Longinus. Do you get me?"

Dorian nodded weakly; it was all he could do.

"So, she loves you too?" Kuroka could not help but fall back on her coy demeanor upon realizing Dorian would survive. She glanced back at the gathered Crossroad team with a smirk, "looks like open season ladies if anyone else is interested."

"I…" Dorian groaned before finally settling on a head nod. "Where…Rose, Yasaka…?"

"She will live," Asia asserted through tears, motioning to Rossweisse she was in the process of healing. "We got to her in time. As for Yasaka…"

"Mother, please wake up!" Kunou grabbed the snout of the youkai leader whose eyes were still grey and blank. "Someone, please help her!"

"Hmmm," Sun Wukong eyed her. "That is a lot of evil ki they injected into her. "I can try to lift it, but it will take time. The presence is infecting her mind and keeping her in a deep void. Unless we can break through, it will be a long night."

"…oob trasnsl…"

"What was that?" The team turned to Dorian who was barely moving. Seeing Kunou's eyes of despair at the uncertain tone in the elder Wukong's voice, he had jumped to the only conclusion in his head, an option that he would never have even considered were it not for his mind's teetering state of consciousness. Not only that, but the fading memory of a woman in purple whispered inspiration, a dim insight from the brief time where perverted compulsions drove his thoughts the previous days.

"B-boob translation, Issei. I still won't believe it speaks to breasts, but the mind…link Kunou to her mother, let her t-talk…maybe it can…" He couldn't hold on, finally passing out once more in Thrud's arms.

"Could that work?" Issei considered, seeing Kunou's glance shoot to him he saw no reason not to try. "Okay then, let's try this, she must still have breasts under all that fur…Go Boob Translation!"

"Mother?" Kunou called out, her voice echoing in her mind and the real world. "Can you hear me? I-I'm sorry if I was ever trouble. If you come back, I'll be good. I promise!"

There was no response.

"Linking a daughter's mind to her mother's in a moment of need," Wukong mused as they continued. "That lewd technique of yours seems to have a more wholesome application if you put your mind to it."

"I won't argue with my meals anymore," tears fell freely from her eyes. "Even fish, I'll eat ANYTHING you give me, I won't run away at night when I get mad." A sudden serious expression hit her face, as if she considered saying something that could help or make things far worse. "I…I'll talk to you at night when you cry about father."

"Kunou…"

The voice was faint, barely perceptible but was most certainly heard. The young fox girl heard it too, raising her voice to continue her desperate plea.

"I will, every night, I swear! I can help, you don't have to be alone mother! That dance you both did, you can teach it to me, that song your played…I can learn it all, we will remember him together. Please mother!"

The light of Issei's boob translation surrounded Kunou before transferring to Yasaka, the dreams and hopes and pleas entering not just her ears but soul as well. There was no doubt that everything she claimed was utterly true, and her mother now knew it all. Finally, at long last her giant fox form started to decrease, the youkai leader shrinking down to the size of the others. Before she could collapse, Azazel swooped in, catching her gracefully in his arms.

"Oof," the Grigori leader groaned, still a bit battered from fighting the army outside. "This little lady is heavier than she looks."

Her humanoid form had finally been restored, her flowing blonde hair and tails billowing in the breeze, eyes slowly opening to focus on her beloved daughter. Were the others not exhausted from battle, they would have cheered for joy, many still attempting to despite the pain.

"MOM!" She cried with happiness bounding into her chest with a hug. "You're back! You're back!"

"You always cry so much little one," Yasaka smiled weakly while patting her daughter's head. "I am sorry I did that, and I had a gift for you and everything. Oh, how you would have smiled."

"Do you mean…this?" Suzaku Himejima emerged from the crowd. From within her wide sleeves she produced a small package, the same she had discovered on the ground at the scene of the Hero Faction's original attack. "There was no writing on it, so I knew not who to deliver it to. I presume this was yours?"

Yasaka's eyes lit up, a single tear threatening to fall as the box she had intended for Kunou was returned to her. The idea that it was lost forever one of the heaviest thoughts on her mind after her capture.

"Take it Kunou, it is yours…open it." Her daughter looked on confused, reaching out to the small package. With tender rips she obeyed her mother as she promised, popping the lid up to gaze inside.

"I-is this?" Kunou pulled out a beautiful hairpin depicting a golden fox staring back at her with nine tails looming behind. Upon the tip of each tail was a gem rotating different colors each passing second. She recognized the pin as one her mother had often worn years ago, but she did not recognize the gems set within. "But this is yours!"

"It was little one," she sighed, leaning back into Azazel's strong arms, only then realizing who held her. "The hairpin was a gift from your father when we wed, those nine gems being heirlooms of his family and mine brought together through our marriage…through you. I had the gems placed upon it for you. Go on, put it on."

Nine gems, nine tails, even nine realms, Kunou glanced back at the unconscious Dorian sleeping soundly still looking older than he should. So many little similarities, just like he said.

"Don't mind this old angel," Azazel assured with a smile as the small girl glanced between her mother and him. "I'm not here." Kunou took him up on the offer, placing the pin into her disheveled hair before embracing her mother resting soundly upon the battlefield.

"She's waking up!" Asia called out as Rossweisse finally stirred. Her injuries were still grave, and she was pained all over, even so, the silver Valkyrie was able to make out her surroundings realizing everyone was standing around her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The wounded Valkyrie heard what sounded like Thrud muttering over and over again. It was only then she noticed her embracing an unconscious older man, realizing after a few moments it was none other than Dorian.

"Thrud…what is going on? What happened?"

"I'm sorry Rossweisse," Thrud repeated one more time as their eyes met. "I'm so sorry, but I love him too." Her lifelong friend truly had no words, unsure of how to react to the situation. The two stared at each other, eyes unwavering, their solemn expressions saying more than either could.

"That kid is going to have a tough decision to make in the future," Azazel sighed more than a little proud at the gold and silver maiden's shared feelings revealed to all. He looked across the way previously blocked by Dorian's enormous Breakdown now revealing the unmoving body of Heracles. "They had to leave the big guy behind, at least we can have someone from their leadership to interrogate."

"No chance of that," the first-generation Sun Wukong muttered as he knelt over the beaten foe.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your Einherjar has a dark side to him when pushed. Heracles won't be answering any questions…because he's dead."

The battle for Kyoto and Yasaka's rescue has come to a close. The alliances have held and grown through the conflict, but Dorian has been left in an aged state and Thrud's feelings become known to all. How will this affect the Crossroads for their final day before returning home?

Wow, my longest chapter yet with 1300 favorites and growing, I am just so touched by how much everyone has been enjoying my story all this time. The end to the Kyoto arc is next time. As usual I'll be taking an extended hiatus afterwards to rest and plan but rest assured the story will continue. As always, I open up recommendations for side stories or short LN stories to be adapted for in-between chapters you would like to see until the next arc begins.

Until then, I hope everyone stays safe, Reads and Reviews, but most of all Enjoys! :D