? ﾝﾅﾥ? ﾝﾅﾘ? ﾝﾅﾮHi ho, hi ho, it's off to war we go ? ﾝﾅﾥ? ﾝﾅﾘ? ﾝﾅﾮ

"I admit a rather personal bias at play," Loki, the Norse God of Mischief began, with his hands raised in surrender and a gun pressed to his forehead. "But I'd like to suggest that no one make any hasty moves?"

Yuuji, the one pressing the gun to his forehead, had thankfully only pierced the God with his gaze and not with bullets.

… The Devil kid reminded Loki more than a little of his eldest, though Kazami Yuuji was more of an attack dog than a wolf.

Yet it was undeniably true that something deep at their core was the same, and that similarity handily explained why the kid had been making waves the moment he was thrown into the ocean of the supernatural.

Those who knew could see the legions hiding behind his shadow might think that they were the source of the sheer, uncanny sense of threat the kid projected at a whim, but no, it had nothing to do with the dead, and everything to do with Kazami Yuuji.

It was the absolute, unyielding conviction to always bite when he decided he should bite.

That defiant animosity that carried the promise to make even a God bleed if given cause.

Oh sure, the kid wasn't nearly on the level of his son just yet, but the 'thorn' in his hands was a worthy enough fang to make the comparison more fair than it should be.

His little girl had brought the perfect collaborator, and he had in his hands the perfect incentive to make that collaboration work.

By the Bifrost, someone must have bribed the Norns to make things line up this well.

Now… all he had to do was avoid putting his foot in his mouth so that the kid didn't put a bullet in his head.

"My sister is dead," a voice with a whole lot of conviction and not a whole lot of tone insisted.

"Good thing we have a Death Goddess handy." Loki sing-songed without meaning to sing-song.

There was a heavy 'click' as the hammer of a gun was cocked.

… Well, being the God of Mischief was fun while it lasted.

Talking Yuuji down was a near thing, and everyone in the room knew it.

The moment the gun in his hand was dispersed, he'd turned on his heel and walked off, straight out the dormitory doors.

No one had even considered stopping him- Akeno had just exchanged a glance with Rias, and JB, before following behind him without a word.

Thus, as his King, Rias took the initiative to converse with one of the two Gods in the room.

Or at least, that had been the plan.

Instead, Rias, and many others, were forced to conclude that they were a little afraid of the weakest person in the room.

"The coroner's report didn't properly identify all the bodies from the 'accident' that claimed the life of Kazami Kazuki," Julia's tone was clinically cold as her sharp eyes bored into those of a Norse God. "But all numbers were accounted for. How exactly do we know this woman is Kazami Kazuki?"

"It's a good question," Loki said approvingly. "I wouldn't believe me without evidence either, but I'm not entirely sure you'll believe what I've got."

"Try me." Julia's eyes narrowed.

But it was not Loki, but Hela that answered, after a wordless prompt from her father.

"There is no one amongst the dead known by the name of Kazami Kazuki," Hela claimed, closing her eyes briefly.

When she opened them, the white from her eyes was replaced by a deep darkness.

"As a Goddess of Death, you have my word that this is the truth."

JB maintained eye contact without backing down for a moment, before glancing to the side to catch Kalawarner's eye.

The Fallen Angel kept one eye on the Goddess, gauging her reaction at what could be a potential slight from both herself and JB, but the Goddess merely gestured towards the blonde without a shift in expression.

"It's somewhat uncommon yet well-established knowledge that Gods and Goddesses of Death, no matter the pantheon, can identify whether a person is living or dead, simply from hearing their name spoken aloud." Kalawarner briefly explained. "There's an importance on true names by necessity, but I doubt it's relevant in this case."

JB was silent for a moment, lips pursed and crossed leg bouncing ever so slightly.

"That'll do it for me, then." Julia relented. Kalawarner smiled softly, but JB averted her gaze at the perfect timing. Kalawarner hadn't failed to notice the emphasis on JB's use of 'me' when questioning the literal Gods in the room, a brave yet subtle claim of responsibility.

The dignity of an adult at play from the human woman she'd come to consider a friend.

Just then, Grayfia reentered the room to give an update, having stepped out briefly to contact her King and the Gremory estate. She confirmed the safety of Rias and the others… and discovered that dozens of locations across multiple realms and multiple factions had suffered similar assaults.

The Gremory territory included, but Grayfia headed off any concern rather rapidly, with the simple report that the Satan of the Gremory family had been visiting his parents when the attacks occurred. Said attack had lasted in under a minute, without a single blow struck by the 'intruders'.

The Dragons had naturally been airborne, but the further up his enemies flew, the less Sirzechs needed to worry about the ground below, and Sirzechs had annihilated them with extreme prejudice.

"With that established, an explanation of how Kaz… Kazami-san is connected to the mass-production of Evil Dragons might be a good topic to move onto next, don't you agree?" Rias took over, after allowing herself a slow sigh to expel some of her many worries.

"Your Pawn isn't the only one in his family with a Sacred Gear, Red," Loki revealed, acting as if he hadn't noticed. "And currently, what's 'pouring forth' from that Sacred Gear is being used to grant the wish of Qlippoth to wage war on the rest of the supernatural world… their very own 'Ragnarok', you could say."

Rias was silent for a moment, parsing the information- 'pouring forth'? A cup, perhaps…?

Her head turned quickly to the side at the sound of a low, harsh gasp, Kalawarner standing there with a hand over her mouth and golden eyes wide.

"... Sephiroth. Sephiroth Graal." The Fallen said slowly. "Yuuji's sister is the wielder of the Holy Grail."

"Power over life, death- the soul itself, in a very real way," Hela Black explained with a nod. "As a Death Goddess, I can't say I'm overly fond of that cup."

"But for all its power, I've never heard of the Grail making life," Kalawarner said with a frown.

"Ah, but if it didn't have to make life, but alter it?" Loki asked meaningfully.

"... How much of the Khaos Brigade is left?" Kalawarner questioned, her posture going rigid as if Akeno had struck her with lightning.

"Well, let's just say the rank-and-file is a lot less… varied, than it used to be." The Trickster shrugged. "Takes some pretty good 'material' to successfully replicate the genuine Evil Dragons though, so there's less of those."

The Norse God casually turned his gaze Grayfia's way.

"Good job with that Asmodeus brat, on that note." Loki smirked.

After a small pause, the maid offered the God a small curtsey seemingly on reflex, a slight widening of her eyes the only sign of her surprise.

"The 'material' for the Apophis clone, I take it?" The maid questioned mildly, receiving a small nod by way of answer. "As I doubt the White Dragon has any desire to lead, it would seem the Old Satan Faction has been left leaderless, if it still remains at all."

Loki gave a short laugh that was anything but kind.

"You have the right of it, Miss Maid- there are no 'Devils' left in the Old Satan Faction."

"So when we mount the rescue, we'll be attempting to infiltrate a nest of Dragons?" Rias asked, a dignified mask in place to hide her mounting worry.

"A nest of insane Dragons," Loki helpfully clarified.

The dignified mask cracked ever so slightly.

The 'deal' was looking worse and worse with every passing moment, despite being an offer they couldn't refuse.

… And they didn't even know why Sephiroth Graal was being used to manufacture Evil Dragons. If her hunch was correct, not knowing how they had managed to 'convince' Yuuji's elder sister to build their army was proof that they hadn't heard the worst of things yet.

"Nee-san never did anything she didn't want to without good reason," the voice was deceptively mild in tone. "How'd they manage to convince her?"

Rias felt her heart lurch to a halt as she turned to find Yuuji had reentered the dorm, a worried but composed Akeno sticking close to his side and sitting down with him as he took to an empty couch.

Rias wanted to believe that she'd imagined it, but… Yuuji made it sound almost as if… as if his long-lost sister was a willing participant.

"Your sister is still human, if you're wondering," Loki began, making no comment on the absence even as Hela fretted by his side. "A scarily smart human, but a human. She doesn't have the power to protect the only thing she values, not in a world where all the Gods and monsters are real."

As the Trickster's gaze grew distant, his lips curled in disgust. There were few lines he'd cross, when it came right down to the wire.

The powers behind Qlippoth lacked even those meager scruples.

"All it took was to put her to sleep, show her a world where protecting that one single thing, that one single person, required an army. Then it was supplying her the resources to do so, blurring the line between dream and reality, and…. the rest handled itself."

In a sense, it was proof of how terrifying Kazami Kazuki truly was- just a human teenager, willing and able to fill the sky with legions of Dragons just to protect her little brother.

Being just as willing to do dreadful things to protect his kids, Loki wasn't without sympathy for Kazami Kazuki.

"About the only thing that's gonna safely wake her up is the genuine article she's been waging war over," the God forged on, a bare whisper seeping through the stricken silence left in the wake of his words. "But her prison has no lock and no key, and the door only opens one way."

Loki's smile returned, and this time it was vicious and just a little proud.

"And none of those things mean a damn thing to me. I'll get you in and get you out, and all you need to do in return is unchain my son."

"'Unchain'?" Rossweisse spoke for the first time, snow-white skin growing even more pale. "Don't tell me-!?"

"You guessed it, Valkyrie," Loki muttered bitterly. "Been trying to track 'em down for centuries, and I found them around my son's neck. The Chains of Gleipnir, forged to be the contingency plan against the God-Devouring Wolf, lost along with several other treasures of the Norse during the war against Muspelheim."

"... Truth be told, the most prevalent rumor was that…" Rossweisse trailed off with a guilty glance towards the two Norse Gods.

"That I took them?" Loki laughed. "Don't feel bad, I'd be my first suspect if I wasn't already me."

"The first thing I did when I heard was ask Papa if he'd taken them," Hela White nodded, demonstrating who she'd inherited her shamelessness from.

"Gleipnir is the only one to have fallen into Qlippoth's hands, thankfully, and I worked my ass off to confirm that." Loki continued.

"I… I see?" Rossweisse clearly didn't, but the effort was there.

"So what's special about Gleipnir, that one of you can't remove it?" Yuuji asked.

He'd gone truly expressionless, and not even the likes of Akeno or Rias could pick up the slightest hint as to his mental state.

"Gleipnir is bullshit," Loki bluntly replied, Hela once more nodding along.

Yuuji's eyebrow raised, and he looked to Rossweisse for an explanation.

"It was designed with a 'safety measure' specifically so that none of Fenrir's direct family could affect it- the chains will… 'tighten' if one of Fenrir's bloodkin approaches within a certain range." Rossweisse began, her tone somewhat delicate. "Furthermore, once bound, Fenrir may only be freed by a mortal acting of their own free will."

"... Do Devils count?"

"Devils are long-lived, not immortal," The Valkyrie pointed out. "The number of genuine immortals in the world is actually rather small." Even Valkyries, demigods that they were, gradually succumbed to the ravages of time.

"You're asking me, but I'm one of Hela's Einherjar now," Yuuji said. "Sure it'll differentiate?"

Directing a warm gaze at his daughter, who had preened the moment Yuuji declared himself her Einherjar, Loki was slow to respond.

"Nah, you're fine, I tested that out with… methods when the chains were still in the treasury. They only react to Fen's flesh-and-god family."

Curiously, Rossweisse didn't react much to Loki's mention of 'testing' in the treasury, probably because it wasn't all that surprising given the one speaking.

"Right, next question," Yuuji pushed on. "What's the reason you haven't already gotten some random human to do it? 'Free will' seems like a shoddy condition, and they'd probably slip right under the radar."

Only a crazy person or a Trickster God would smuggle an ordinary human into a supernatural terrorist den.

"Chain links the size of a car." Loki shrugged. "Only so much you can Bless a human before they break, and I hate pointless shit like that."

Accepting the point without comment, Yuuji lifted his hand and began to count off.

"So let the wolf off the leash, free my sister, kill everyone with anything at all to do with Qlippoth, all with limited help from you, Hela, and Jormungandr?"

"That's it, kid," Loki admitted. "Get Fen free, and that 'limited' goes away, so might wanna do that first."

"And I thought this was going to be complicated," Yuuji said with a straight face.

Loki burst into laughter.

Recognizing that it wasn't the sort of decision that could be made immediately, Loki had excused himself to the lounge on one of the lower floors, with Grayfia tending to their guest.

But before he'd left, the Norse God of Mischief had had one last bomb to drop.

"I know this isn't fair at all kids, but you need to make up your minds quickly- we're talking within the hour," the God said bluntly. "The owner of the Grail overdid her 'rallying cry' and sent out more Dragons than she wanted to- which means her and my boy are about as lightly defended as they'll ever be. If we don't go tonight, the next chance is gonna require a whole damn army, and a lot of casualties."

But of all the replies he might have expected, a snort wasn't one of them.

The first kid he'd met that was less expressive than his daughter was smirking wide, and every shadow behind his eyes was grinning too.

"Didn't you hear, Loki?" Kazami Yuuji asked in a thousand voices.

"'I' am an army."

She didn't think it was cowardly to think that way, and even if she did, she was willing to be a coward if cowardice was what it took to protect her important people.

"Refusing the offer is naturally out of the question," Rias began. "And of course I understand wishing to be involved personally, but… nevertheless, I wish to hear everyone's thoughts."

"Oh, oh, pick me!" Irina held up her hand like they were in class.

"... Yes, Irina?" Rias responded, after a moment of bemusement.

"Isn't this exactly what our task force thingie is for?"

"... You're not wrong." Rias admitted, after a moment, smiling.

"In a way, this would be our first real mission, wouldn't it?" Akeno suggested with a thin smile.

"Given that Kuoh wasn't the only place attacked, who else could they send in a hurry?" Kiba pointed out.

"The more big players are accounted for, the less paranoid the enemy is going to be, and the less chance they start trying to recall their forces- if that's even an option- to defend the homefront," Yuuji weighed in.

"Strike hard, strike fast," Xenovia began-

"Impress Yuuji's sister so she approves of our relationship~!" Raynare finished with her fist thrust up into the air.

There was a chorus of empathetic nods, at that.

… The way Kuroka draped her arms around him and rested her chin against Yuuji's shoulder was casual, even affectionate, but the seriousness in her eyes didn't match her smile.

"Deal or no deal, you gave me a chance to reconnect with my sister," the Nekoshou murmured. "Never thought I'd get the chance to return the favor, but no way in hell I'll miss it."

It was a poignant reminder that the 'forces' they had at hand were far from lacking- even putting aside the likes of Kuroka or Grayfia… they'd come a long way since the days when a newly-born Devil with a gun had been the only thing standing between them and disaster.

It was the perfect chance to repay that same Devil for what he'd done for them back then… and all that he'd done for them since.

Rias had given them all a chance to voice their thoughts, but it was merely a show of consideration.

From the moment Loki had revealed his 'bargaining chip', not a single person present had considered refusing the deal.

"... The nature of my Herald has revealed to me that Death is not so fair as I have worked to make it- that some of those who should find solace in my halls may require more guidance than most to find their way home." The Goddess was telling Rossweisse, the only member of the peerage currently separate from the rest.

To Rossweisse, those black and gold eyes called to mind a moon floating in the abyss- the only light for those forsaken by the sun.

"It is a far greater job than myself and my Herald can handle alone- and that is why I make this request of you- Helheim requires Valkyries of its own, and I desire that you be the first among their ranks. You may believe that your failure thus far to usher heroes into the halls of Asgard is a failure of yours, but you cannot deceive me as you have deceived yourself."

Yet if that 'moon' was the only light, it was still light enough to illuminate the truth of things.

"Choosing one means forsaking another, does it not?" Hela questioned. "To simply choose the best, and the brightest, when it would mean rejecting all others has never been a choice you could make."

A Valkyrie chose 'a' hero- that was why there was never a single Valkyrie choosing. For each battle presided over by the Valkyries, one hero was chosen by one Valkyrie. That was their 'limit', and even Brynhildr herself was bound by it.

Rossweisse had never been able to make that choice- never been able to 'choose' just one hero, and so her opportunity to choose anyone would pass her by.

She had always cursed her own indecisiveness- hated herself for the hero she didn't choose.

Blinded by the lights of Asgard, Rossweisse had never truly considered what Helheim might have to offer the dead.

"Valkyrie Rossweisse, here and now, I declare that your compassion has not been wasted."

After all, Hela knew what Rossweisse didn't…

That the warriors of Helheim were rather fond of the Silver Maiden- the tragic Valkyrie whose hands remained empty, simply by virtue of wishing to save too many.

Rossweisse was silent for what felt like a long time, stunned by the words of the Goddess.

To be 'chosen' because she could not 'choose' was… a complicated feeling.

A strangely gratifying feeling that she could not make sense of, and yet-

"I cannot serve two masters," Rossweisse murmured, feeling ashamed for reasons she could not comprehend-

"It's a request," Hela returned, her eloquence all but gone as the darkness faded from her eyes. "Devils do those, and the terms are between Devil and client. No problems at all." For some reason, the Goddess chose that moment to raise both hands, flashing a 'V for victory' with a mysterious aura of smugness.

"Is... I-is that how it works?" Rossweisse stammered.

"Mm, checked with Rias," Hela nodded, her white and gold eyes unblinking.

"... So that was what she meant," Rossweisse murmured after a moment, mostly to herself.

She had been more than a little surprised that a Goddess she had never met in person before that night wished to speak to her personally… and the surprises had only increased.

Rias had simply told her 'I'll back whatever decision you make' without clarifying further.

"Also, when 'on the job' you'd mostly be partnered with Yuuji," Hela (Black) casually dropped.

"Deal!"

… In the silence that followed, Hela's smirk grew wider as Rossweisse's blush grew deeper.

"While you guys are infiltrating the castle, I'm going to be elsewhere, trying to break Thor's nose." Loki launched into without any sort of preamble, the moment he'd received their agreement.

"Papa, context," Hela White scolded with a wag of her finger, despite how she hadn't offered a word of explanation as to why she was cuddled up to a flustered Rossweisse like a pampered kitten, and had been that way since they returned to the common room.

"Good point, and good work," the Trickster both agreed and congratulated, taking note of his daughter's success.

"Anyhoo, while you're storming the castle and all that, I need to be visible, so I'm gonna go off and commit a classic double-cross and get a few Khaos Brigade Jotun killed assaulting Asgard," Loki explained. "Qlipoth is obviously gonna expect me to take advantage of the chaos and do… well, Loki-things, so I'll take advantage of that instead, since they also would never dream I'd trust someone else to rescue my kid. No one expects the Norse God of Mischief to be a good parent."

"Papa is contrary," Hela helpfully supported(?). "... But never misses birthdays." And she and her siblings had had several thousand each, not that she was going to hint at her age in front of Yuuji.

"Helps my kids are the most adorable things in all nine realms- speaking of which, are ya winning, Son?"

Trailing behind, and towering over Tiamat in her human form, a hulking Norseman had entered through the front door, bronze pinstriped suit and serpentine golden eyes combining with lazy posture and messy hair to create a sort of artful disarray.

"Killing fake Nidhoggr was a good appetizer for when I get to kill the real one," the 'man', Jormungandr, agreed with a yawn. "How's progress on planning the sibling reunion?"

"Not bad, it's just your big brother needs a ride, so we're gonna have to go pick him up first," Loki returned with a grin.

Jormungandr looked over those gathered in a lazy sort of appraisal.

In some way, it served to heighten the sensation that the World Serpent wasn't 'with' them but all around them, despite his drastically reduced size.

It was… more than a little baffling that such a sensation invoked a trace of awe, yet not a hint of fear.

"We'd need a whole bus to bring these many guests, Father," Jormungandr rumbled softly.

"Or a World Serpent." Loki shot back, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Or a World Serpent," Jormungandr agreed, straight-faced. "Luckily, I know a guy."

"What a coincidence, so do I!" Loki snapped his fingers.

God and Dragon shared a brief, infectious chuckle, the offbeat comedy routine serving to ward away any returning tension in the room.

"So… last chance to back out, boys and girls," Loki said, his smile faint and his tone something approaching 'gentle'. "Promise we won't think less of you."

As she met the eyes of her peerage, and the rest of the task force one by one, Rias felt a proud smile spread across her lips.

The emotions directed back at her varied as much as their group varied, but no matter where she looked, she couldn't find a trace of second thoughts.

"... No hold on," JB spoke up for what felt like the first time in a while. "Obviously as the token human I'm staying behind, but what the hell am I supposed to do with your basement full of neighbors?"

Not for the first time, Loki burst out laughing.

Jormungandr, having slipped out ahead, was waiting for them in the street.

The 'in' being more literal than normal, as all that was visible was the top half of a serpentine head longer than a school bus, peeking out of the concrete in much the same way a crocodile would stick its eyes and nostrils out of the water.

The concrete was acting a lot like water for that matter, rippling at the edges of the great Dragon's head.

"All aboard the World Serpent Express!" Loki ushered them in with Hela at his side, the two Norse Gods having at some point changed into flight attendant outfits.

"U-um, is it okay to keep our shoes on?" Asia asked fretfully. "It seems rude to walk on someone's head with them on."

|"What a polite lass,"| Jormungandr gave a snort that made the street vibrate softly. |"No need to stand on ceremony, Little Light, the barrier that keeps you all in place also protects you from my scales, so there's a 'floor' of sorts'."|

"O-oh, alright then," Asia stuttered back, before making a somewhat hasty bow. "Thank you for the ride, Mister Jorm!"

A great golden eye blinked in confusion at the nickname, unseen by the Bishop.

"Snrk," Hela covered her mouth, averting her gaze with casual ease to conceal being the source of the sound.

In her human form, Suu, who was helping Asia hop onto the World Serpent's head, tilted her head to one side as if hearing something, for just a moment.

Limpid green eyes widened and her usual smile vanished for a brief instant, but she followed her master in silence, and it went unnoticed by all save one.

A group of well over a dozen piled onto the head of a single serpent, but even if they had all crowded together, at his current size, they would not have covered even a single one of his scales.

The Midgard Serpent dipped beneath the asphalt, leaving not a single trace of the residential street having borne the weight of a being that dwarfed it in size.

Deep beneath the earth, the Midgard Serpent swam through a current of muted rainbow light.

"... A ley-line." It was only the well-honed instincts of a teacher that meant Kalawarner's hushed voice carried enough to be heard by all. "We're traveling through a ley-line directly, aren't we?"

|"Good eye,"| Jormungandr confirmed. |"Not as fast as teleporting, but for traveling incognito it can't be beat- even a group like this can't outshine the lifeforce of the planet."|

"And not much other than Dragons can 'swim' down here to begin with, I imagine," Kalawarner replied.

|"Most Dragons can't 'swim' down here either."|

"And of the few that can, it rarely crosses the minds of most, too infatuated with the sky to explore elsewhere," Tiamat said with a pleasant smile despite her somewhat mocking tone, her hands occupied with a wolfhound's fur.

It made for a rather peaceful mode of travel- Jormungandr was one of the rare few she ever passed by, down here. In fact, it was where they'd first crossed paths, some millenia past.

"It's no coincidence that this ley-line resembles the Bifrost, is it?" Rossweisse asked quietly, gazing all about her.

"Course not," Loki said with a lazy drawl. "The Bifrost itself is one big ley-line, and it does a whole lot more than connect Asgard to Midgard."

Rossweisse looked at him with jaw hanging open, but the Trickster merely shrugged in response, cluing in precisely no one as to what the big deal was.

"Oh, and don't tell Odin I said that. Been ages since the last time he threw Gungnir at me, aaand there's the past trauma, so let's talk about literally anything else!"

"Ara... Isn't Gungnir famous for having killed every time it was thrown?" Akeno murmured under her breath, eyes widening subtly.

Gungnir was a Divine Spear that never missed, wielded by the Chief God of the Norse. She was aware that every myth had a bit of embellishment, but she doubted that particular tale needed much in the way of embellishment.

"Papa is strong," Hela murmured, her voice just as quiet but infinitely more smug.

"... And he does have a point," Rias said. "I did wish to go over the plan once more, and now's the perfect time to do it."

While listening attentively to her King's words, Akeno, with Yuuji's hand in her lap, used the hand that wasn't entangling his to tap on the back of his hand with one slender finger.

It looked flirtatious, and it was, but it also served another purpose- the tapping was far from random.

At her curious urging, Yuuji had taught her Morse code, and while she wasn't quite 'fluent' yet, Akeno had learned it well enough- useful for times like this, when any usage of magic would be noticed.

[U OK]

Yuuji uncurled his index finger, tapping a response against Akeno's thigh.

[OK ENOUGH]

Both Akeno's smile and her grip on Yuuji's hand tightened minutely, the woman understandably less than pleased at the inconclusive answer.

From the corner of her eye, Akeno caught the beginnings of a helpless smile on Yuuji's lips, gone between one blink and the next.

She understood the need for haste, just like everyone else.

That didn't mean she had to like it.

Because Akeno had heard the words that no one else had- his unfiltered thoughts on the revelation that his older sister was alive.

"I grew up knowing God was dead, and then another god walks through the front door and tells me 'God isn't dead, she's just missing'."

Akeno's feelings on the matter were… complicated, to say the least. She probably should be happy for Yuuji, and she liked to think she was.

But at the same time, Akeno wasn't entirely certain she wished to meet Kazami Kazuki face to face.

Because there was only one thing about Kazami Kazuki she could say with certainty.

Kazami Kazuki's little brother was terrified of her.

They 'emerged' from the surface deep in the mountains of Norway, overlooking a deep valley from a high, wooded ridge.

Sure enough, a huge castle dominated that valley, nothing outwardly strange about the appearance save that it was far too large, and far too distant from anything to have been built with human hands, even if it had roads.

If you put aside that it took a trangressor of boundaries on the level of a Trickster God to show up uninvited.

The dozens of Evil Dragons flying in, out, or above the castle probably counted as a 'complication' as well, most would argue.

None of those Dragons had seemingly noticed them, which proved that Loki could, in fact, 'take care of it somehow'. Jormungandr, side by side with Tiamat who was also in her humanoid form, stretched his back out with a low groan, half-lidded eyes agleam with vicious light.

"Well, we'll be going on ahead, is everyone ready?" The Dragon King asked, glancing over his shoulder to his father.

"Have fun playing with your friend, and don't stay out too late, Son," Loki cheered him on with a grin.

Tiamat, for her part, flashed Ruth a smile, before fixing her bright pink eyes on Yuuji with an intent gaze.

"Aiding my long-time friend would be a worthy task, but understand it is not him I am here to assist," the Dragon Queen declared in a haughty tone. "Do not take a Dragon's favor lightly, Kazami Yuuji."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Yuuji replied back without blinking.

Tiamat's smile returned, and this time, it was a good deal more suggestive.

Without another word, she turned and made her way to the ledge, a confident sway in her hips that her conspicuously absent tail did nothing to obstruct.

When she was side by side with Jormungandr, the two stepped off the ledge and plummeted from sight.

A dazzling streak of blue shot into the sky upon a mighty gale, and the ground shook as a colossal stone gray serpent rose high from the earth, higher even than the ridge they stood upon.

The Chaos Karma Dragon and the Dragon of the End roared their challenges in unison, drowning out the echoing roars of countless Evil Dragons as the conflict known as the Evil Dragon War was reignited in spectacular fashion.

Blinded by their own malice and fury, the malevolent drakes didn't feel a shred of suspicion when two mighty Dragon Kings immediately turned tail and fled, instead flying off in eager pursuit of their 'prey'.

… Leaving their 'lair' much emptied, and the smaller intruders entirely undetected.

"Look alive, people," Loki said with a snap of our fingers. "Leave the Dragons to play and let's go let the dog out."

As iron wings unfurled from his back, Yuuji turned his attention briefly downwards, to where the great black wolfhound at his side stared off in the direction that the horde of Dragons had departed in.

"Worried about her?"

{"I was a little, but not now,"} Ruth admitted.

It would be silly to worry too much about something his adopted mother was looking forward to.

Two versus two hundred may have seemed like a lynching waiting to happen, but swarming a single target wasn't nearly as easy when everyone was flying and wings got involved.

So easy to get tangled up with one another, and while Tiamat was far from the largest Dragon in the sky, she was by far the most maneuverable, and her only ally was swimming through the earth below.

She could strike with impunity, knowing that she would need to put in effort to miss an enemy.

And while the Evil Dragons were not careful or conscious of their 'allies' in the least, that careless cruelty meant they did a splendid job of getting in one another's way.

Tiamat danced through the sky with joyful brutality, biting, clawing, blasting, breaking everything within her sight as a primal storm brewed high above.

Meanwhile, below her but never truly far away, a river of scales was flowing and winding, pulling in and pulverizing everything it, or rather he, could reach.

And a Dragon long enough to swallow the clouds could reach a very many things.

Ahead of her, Jormungandr's head burst into the sky, massive jaws tearing through two separate Dragons in one bite, but Tiamat spiraled around that pillar of scales with casual ease, landing atop one of the Evil Dragons soaring to attack her friend.

A cannon blast of water from her jaws sent one drake careening into another, both tumbling from the sky in a broken tangle of wing and rage. Satisfied, Tiamat dug her claws into her perch, eliciting a shriek from the Dragon beneath her- one that rose sharply in volume when she tore its wings from their sockets.

Having risen so high, Jormungandr had left a good deal of his neck exposed (hard not too, when he had more neck than most had body), but it would take more than a handful of winged lizards to pierce the scales of the Midgard Serpent.

Keen Dragonic eyes caught sparks flying from claw upon scale, right before the serpent larger than every Dragon present combined abruptly vanished, or rather, shrunk down to a third of his current size.

Yu-Long may have been known as the Mischievous Dragon, but countless aggressors had found themselves caught wholly off guard when Jormungandr reminded them that the blood of a Trickster God flowed through his veins.

And today would be no different- deprived of their target, no less than two dozen Evil Dragons smashed into one another to ruinous effect.

And then the plummeting mass of Dragons was swatted out of the sky like a scaly baseball as Jormungandr swelled in size once more and swung his tail at it.

Feeling mischievous herself, Tiamat 'shrunk' as well, right as a particularly large brute came swooping in from behind her with jaws agape.

In her humanoid form, Tiamat pirouetted gracefully in midair to meet fangs from above and below, many of which were longer than her current body was tall.

Cladding herself in a thin layer of mana to keep away the drool, Tiamat went not down, but through her attacker's throat, emerging at the base of its neck and hurtling out between its spasming wings.

A burst of azure light saw her returning to her true form in time to lock claws and bite the throat of her next victim.

Biting through, the Chaos Karma Dragon roared loud, and the Midgard Serpent roared with her.

But this time, the answering roars were matching in presence and fury.

While they had warmed up tearing through the lesser fakes, the greater mockeries had risen up in challenge.

As clones of Apophis and Nidhoggr soared forth through darkening skies, Ladon clones creaked and rumbled across the ground like a forest of wicked trees on the march.

It was Jormungandr that went to meet the new threat first, gaping jaws opening wider still as he inhaled deeply, even that simple action akin to a gale.

Amongst all the Dragon King's, Jormungandr's Breath was the most simplistic, the most straightforward of weapons.

It was just water, salt water, to be specific.

Compared to Tiamat's soul-eating Primordial Waters, Jormungandr's Breath was practically mundane.

But whereas Tiamat's water, fully unleashed, could devour a mountain, Jormungandr's water could pulverize it, as if all the ocean's fury was directed in one single direction.

A 'simple' manifestation of the immense brute force that could be brought to bear by the largest Dragon to ever live.

Whereas Tiamat's equivalent to a fireball was a cannon-blast of water, what burst from Jormungandr's jaws was a meteor strike that struck the leading Ladon and blew it to bits, sending pieces of wood-scaled flesh flying for miles.

|"That… may make things tricky."| Jormungandr rumbled, in spite of the instant kill.

He couldn't even remember the last time a reasonably serious Breath of his had harmed only one of the things he aimed at.

… Twisting darkly in the air in front of the remaining Ladon clones were huge barriers resembling vines of knotted lights.

Barriers which were the specialty of the real Ladon.

As if they had been merely waiting for their cue, distorted shadows began to writhe in the air around the serpentine bodies of the Apophis clones, and foul miasma began to spread with each wingbeat of the Nidhoggr.

|"It seems these fakes were made a little more convincingly."| Tiamat agreed.

|"I guess that means it will be more satisfying to kill them."|

|"One can only hope."|

It would take far more than that to make Dragons of wave and storm falter.

Because the skies were darkening from more than just wingbeats, and the rain had begun to fall.

And despite how the nearest ocean was hundreds of miles distant, the rising wind carried with it the scent of brine.

Both hands outstretched in support of her barrier, Rias brought twin torrents of murky flame to a dead halt, back straight and expression composed.

From behind her, twin crescent moons arced out and intersected, slicing through a Dragon's throat in the shape of a 'x' as they left the ground.

Kiba and Musashi, still in perfect sync, kicked off the walls and returned to her side, touching down seconds after the Evil Dragon's head hit the floor.

The second Dragon had ceased its flame because it couldn't open its jaws at all, translucent blue ropes (that she could faintly hear giggling) having bound its scaly maw shut.

Naturally, it made to claw at the 'ropes', but Asia called out a warning and Suu simply fell away, leaving Dragon-claw to meet nothing but Dragon-flesh.

It roared in pain as it slashed its own face, then stopped roaring altogether as Rossweisse finished interlocking runic circles on the floor beneath it, sending a forest of icy stalagmites bursting up from the ground and into the Dragon's gut.

The corridor clear of threats, Rias took a moment to touch bases with the other group.

"Teams 2 and 3, sound off."

["Akeno reporting in- as expected, terrorists have poor taste in dungeon decor- no issues to report."]

["Yuuji reporting in- upper floors are light on Dragons, but high concentration of less scaly combatants. No issues to report."]

"Grayfia?"

["... It appears I've been offered the VIP treatment- such extravagance for a simple maid. Be careful, all of you."]

… Aware that she couldn't afford even the smallest distraction, Grayfia cut the connection.

"A little bat told me that you took good care of my clone that was sent to Kuoh," her 'host' said. "Clearly defective if a mere servant was enough to best it, so you have my gratitude for disposing of it."

Grayfia covered her mouth with one dainty hand, eyes widening slightly in feigned surprise. "Such manners from an Evil Dragon, the rumors have done you a disservice."

"Certainly so, if a slave thinks she can keep her head raised in my presence." The man shrugged, tone genial despite of the venom in his words.

But two could play at that game.

A small smirk spreading across her red lips, Grayfia lifted the hem of her skirt and dipped into a brief curtsey as mocking as it was elegant.

"My utmost apologies, worm," the maid replied in a formal tone. "Bare your neck, and I promise to promptly and permanently relieve you of any discomfort."

Slitted eyes bulged in their sockets, and the sunlight illuminating the rooftop courtyard was swallowed by an inky, oily darkness.

The dark-skinned young man sank down into that darkness, and vanished from sight and so Grayfia spread her wings, lightly hopping from the ground to hover a few feet above it.

As if the darkness were a thick lake of tar, its surface began to sluggishly ripple, clinging to the great lengths of black, gem-studded coils that emerged.

Three silver eyes burning with malice like tainted moons, a great head lifted itself high out of the muck and bared its dripping fangs down towards the impudent Devil who had dared challenge it.

Frost coiled its way around the dainty white limbs of the Strongest Queen as the Evil Dragon Apophis reared his head back and roared.

Four floors might not have seemed like a whole lot of space for a castle where Dragons laired -their dorm had more floors- but when three out of four of those floors could almost fit multiples of said dorm, there was quite a bit of room to work with.

And fight in, even in a comparatively 'crowded' section of the castle, the upper floors where things like bedrooms, meeting rooms and the like could be found, the less 'showy' parts of the structure, in a sense.

It lent itself to brief, intense fire-fights, battling room to room and bleeding for every inch.

It was the kind of fighting that few supernatural races bothered much with, and the kind of fighting that Kazami Yuuji did for a part-time job.

There was an overwhelming difference in proficiency on display, and the humanoid members of the Khaos Brigade were being massacred because of it.

"Kala, bust down that wall-" a heavy boom prompted a chorus of screams as Kalawarner kicked out without hesitation, turning a solid barrier into a vertical rain of debris and all but emptying out the adjacent room of capable combatants.

Yuuji and Raynare nonetheless followed up with silenced rounds and bright pink arrows, silencing the groans of the fallen.

Ruth emerged from the wall behind the trio, slinking from the shadows with traces of blood barely visible against the dark fur of his muzzle.

At four people, their group was the smallest- smaller numbers were better suited for room-to-room combat, but with Yuuji being the 'rallying point' for a certain number of 'reinforcements', their group could switch to being the largest by far in the blink of an eye.

The reason those reinforcements weren't already 'out' was simple- it dipped too much into Yuuji's Einherjar-side, which naturally bore a heavy degree of Hela's influence, and risked 'confusing' Gleipnir's safety measures.

That, and out of all those present, only Yuuji and Grayfia had any real experience fighting alongside large numbers.

But once the wolf was free, things would be different, and he could feel their eagerness as his own-

"You've been smiling a whole lot more lately, huh?" Raynare leaned around him, violet eyes kind but voice quiet. "Keep it up- you're hot when you're stoic, but you're hot when you're happy too."

"Doesn't that mean I'm hot all the time?"

"You really get it, huh?" Raynare grinned.

Kalawarner, who had been nodding along with Raynare's words, stiffened up as Ruth growled a low warning.

Almost immediately, they could hear it.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

"What the hell? Are those… footsteps?" Raynare murmured.

"... Yeah," Yuuji agreed, his dark eyes sharp.

The thumping continued until it reached the wall at their left, and then-

"WHOOHAHAH!"

Something, or someone, came right through it, pulverizing the wall in their way.

And unlike the side wall Kalawarner had kicked, the hallway walls were made of stone.

Kalawarner, who was closest, disappeared in a wave of gray and bronze, carried right across the room to slam into the other wall.

Her curvy body embedded in the stone of the outer wall, fingers digging in as she braced- Kalawarner had one leg up, heel braced against the massive outstretched fist of a grinning, gray-haired young man closer to seven foot tall than six.

"Haha, haha not bad, not bad!" The man boomed. "Sturdy girls are just my style! How'bout becoming mine after I get the hindrances out of the way!?"

"I… will… pass!" Gritting her teeth, the faintly hidden muscles in her thigh pushed against the skin as Kalawarner launched him away from her.

But when she freed herself from the wall, she swayed as a sudden wave of dizziness hit, coughing up a little blood.

"Kala!" Raynare cried out in alarm.

The man's grin widened, and a sudden aura of gold silhouetted his body, coupled with a small series of popping explosions.

Yuuji, who had just fired three rounds on the man's blind spot, clicked his tongue.

But in that opening, Raynare flew to Kalawarner's side, supporting the taller Fallen Angel as Kalawarner wiped the blood from her mouth.

The hulking young man just watched, crossing tree-trunk arms with a smirk.

He looked close to Yuuji's age, though he was nearly a foot taller than the already tall Pawn.

A mane of flowing stone-gray hair, rippling muscles and bronze armor, worn over, of all things, a school uniform not all that different from what Yuuji's own.

"Haha, you lot have the privilege of fighting me, the mighty Heracles!" The young man boomed, just as loudly as before. "Descendant of the Greek legend himself, clenched fist of the Hero Faction!"

Ignoring the unnecessary volume, Yuuji took quick stock.

The loudmouth was strong, undoubtedly so.

Worthy of his ancestor's name, he gave off the impression that someone had crammed an entire mountain into one human body.

It was going to be a troublesome fight, but not undoable with the four-

"Yuuji, leave this to Raynare and I." Kalawarner straightened up to her full height, feet planted and fists clenched.

"... Come again?"

"Yeah, we got this!" Raynare flashed the victory sign. "You boys run on ahead, and we'll catch up in a minute or two."

Almost immediately, that golden aura around Heracles returned, a vein bulging on his forehead.

"You think two… Fallen… sluts are enough to 'handle' me!? Me, HERACLES!?"

"Yup." Raynare casually admitted, undeterred. "You really think we'd say that if we couldn't?"

"Indeed, perhaps all those muscles have left his brain starved for nutrients?" Kalawarner suggested, tilting her head to one side.

Yuuji relaxed the muscles he hadn't realized were tense, breathing a silent sigh as Raynare gave him a shooing gesture.

"You heard the girls, Ruth."

At his side, the wolfhound turned.

Heracles, seething mad, paid the two retreating figures no attention at all, even though he could have easily intercepted.

Which was why he didn't stop Yuuji when he should have, as Yuuji briefly turned, one hand against the crumbling wall while he looked back at the two Fallen.

"Don't take too long, you two," Yuuji tonelessly urged. "My Knight and my Rook wouldn't get held up by a delay of this level."

Without another pause, Yuuji vanished from sight.

Heracles, staring after him, scratched his head.

"Why's he calling them that? They're Fallen Angels, not… Devils…?"

""Ufufu~!""

Heracles stiffened as bewitching giggles filled the room, two very different voices in perfect harmony, the sound beautiful yet…

He turned to find two gorgeous Fallen Angels in the midst of a rapturous trance, hands to their flushed cheeks as they twisted sensually to and fro.

Anyone who witnessed such a decadent sight would have found themselves entranced…

Entranced, and terrified by the sight of those captivating beauties with maidenly smiles…

And the fiercely glittering eyes of starving carnivores ready to feast.

He would never in a thousand lifetimes admit it, even to himself, but when he saw those eyes, Heracles took just one step back.

That brainless oaf Heracles, running off the instant something caught his attention, what use was a guard who abandoned their post?

Even if he, Connla, was more than enough to deal with any intruders, it didn't make that brute's short attention span any less annoying.

And even if it was only a single Devil who had managed to slip by, it still represented a mess that Connla needed to clean up on Heracles' behalf.

How frustrating.

The intruder couldn't have been much, if he was strolling into the room without the slightest caution.

Did it not even register how odd it was, for but one room on the upper floors to be pitch black?

Just an annoying fly unaware it was caught in a web-

Without a hint of expression, the Devil slowly scanned the room, hardly paying Connla any heed, not even bothering to raise his gun (and what sort of Devil used a firearm?).

"Filled the room with shadows, huh?"

"Oh? Did the Devil notice after all? Well-"

"If you weren't a terrorist, I'd almost feel bad for you." The Devil admitted with a shrug.

"... Pardon?" Did that Devil just… pity him?

Pity the descendant of the great Connla?

How dare-

From the corner of his eye, Connla caught a flash of burning red eyes, and gleaming white teeth.

Then nothing.

Nothing but the kind of darkness that not even his Sacred Gear could tame.

They reminded her of Yuuji's Sacred Gear a little bit, so Akeno couldn't help but think they were a little cute.

It didn't stop her from breaking them, but she was on the clock so it couldn't be helped.

Through the stone labyrinth the dungeon had abruptly given way to, packs of small Dragons roamed. Dragons made of metal- no, made of swords.

They weren't big Dragons by any means, not that much bigger than Ruth for comparison, but they were tough and sharp like any good sword should be (so she'd heard about swords), and, most importantly and most dangerously of all…

The swords that formed the Dragon' bodies were of the Holy variety.

Manufacturing Evil Dragons was supposed to be the work of Sephiroth Graal, but was that really still the case?

These Dragons were… animate, but not exactly alive.

The Nekoshou sisters had both confirmed that the Dragons were 'empty'.

A measured roar of Durandal shattered the attackers swarming down the left hall, briefly interrupting Akeno's train of thought.

A slightly larger Dragon made to pounce on Irina as she was filling its packmates full of Holy-smelling holes (heh), only to vanish with a ripple as a doorway of shadow rose out of the ground.

When the darkness spit that Dragon back out, it deposited said Dragon face first into Koneko's fist, the dangers of a Devil punching a Holy object mitigated by the layer of Senjutsu around the little Rook's fist.

Akeno's smile widened a touch as the youngest members of the peerage high-fived.

Being on the third floor of a single floor dungeon didn't seem to have dampened their enthusiasm much- Akeno didn't play video games herself, but if they were excited to be in 'that kind of dungeon', then who was she to rain on their parade?

… The leader of the team, that's who she was, and precisely the one who should be responsible for breaking the bad news.

"So it's like that, nya?" Kuroka shot her a glance as Akeno sighed wistfully.

Grayfia might have purposefully gone 'dark', but the first group to be cut off from the other was theirs.

She'd used her Familiars to confirm that the exit was gone, which by necessity meant one of two things-

One- there were 'special conditions' required for entry and exit, or two- the creator of the labyrinth was in there with them.

The rules for creating pocket dimensions of any kind were surprisingly strict- even the humble little storage spaces so many members of the supernatural world used had the absolute condition of being unable to hold living things.

They were just going to have to hope that Dimension Lost wasn't an exception to the rule, if that was in fact what had trapped them.

And if it was, well…

No, thinking about that was useless.

Akeno refused to fail the people in her care, and refused to be another one of the women in Yuuji's life who disappeared before he was ready.

And besides, the bright side to their current predicament was clear as day-

After all, where else would they be hiding her sister-in-law, if not here?

Hell was scorched sky and scorched earth.

A world where all the myths and monsters were real, and 'ordinary' was a sandcastle waiting to be kicked over.

How was a somewhat talented highschool girl supposed to protect anything?

She couldn't even begrudge the ones who qualified as their 'parents' only due to shared DNA- how were they supposed to protect her precious little brother from beings that could scrub cities off the map?

Hell was a place where a neighboring prefecture could be gutted in a single night.

Hell was a place where gods offered not salvation, but collars and puppet strings.

… She wasn't entirely convinced that what she had in her possession was the real Holy Grail, as her former 'sponsors' seemed to believe, but results trumped authenticity.

Hell was a world at war where the skies were filled with not planes, but dragons that used to be people.

Hell was something that, more than anything else, she deserved to be a part of.

Because Hell was something Kazami Kazuki had crafted with her own hands, all to protect a little brother she was too ashamed to face.

"Kinda surprised you're still alive. Y'know, with all those contradictions that probably should have killed you by now."

Kiba Yuuto wasn't all that sure why the man before him brought to mind that 'private conversation' he'd had with the Norse God Loki.

"Actually, you've probably got your good taste in women to thank- got to be at least one balance for Paradox, out there in Infinity."

He liked to think he had good taste in women as well, but a little supporting evidence didn't hurt.

"But you already knew all that, didn't you, Knight of Gremory?"

Of course he did.

"So lemme stop beating around the bush, and ask the question that's got me real curious about you, Kid."

"And that is?"

"If you know all that, Knight of Gremory… no, Kiba Yuuto, then…"

He remembered patiently waiting to hear the question he already knew was going to be asked.

"Then why haven't you stopped smiling?"

Yeah Kiba, why haven't you stopped smiling?

Tune in next time to find out.

Think the castle assault will take two, maybe three chapters total- it's one of the last big conflicts of the story, so it's gonna be big.

So many details and plot threads to square away, but I hope that the combination of Evil Dragon and Hero Faction helps put the scope into perspective.

Except Connla.

He was… on the low end, of the named heroes, and the idea that he'd summon Ruth's hunting grounds all around him was too funny to pass up on.