deathwing17: Thank you very much, I will keep them coming!
FateBurn: Thank you!
Wacko12: Can't give away any information like that ;) But I can say she will have a greater role as the story progresses.
HollowReaper 93: Lol, they would be pretty intimidating to face both of them at once. We'll have to see how the OSF's unified front holds up this time.
Slayer Cross: I am glad you liked it :D The Old Satan Faction united, which if you think about it is odd they didn't in canon. Katerea jumped 4 leaders ALL of whom were stronger than her with no backup. This variation was not so headstrong with having to worry about Freyja being there too.
The Last Kenpachi: It truly is, hopefully our heroes are up to the task.
ahsoei: Indeed, this lineup is infinitely more of a threat than canon.
fanficcyberman: A bit late but I hope you had a great Easter too! Kuroka is unaware of the killing intent when such things are tried on Dorian xD Thank you so much again for your kind words :D
naruto: You are right, only 1 showed up in canon which always confused me. How did Katerea expect to kill all four of them when she was barely a match for one? lol. Indeed, that scepter is quite interesting, she shall see...
Jwebb96: Yes they are!
fabio mp19: Akeno is probably the toughest adjustment to canon of a named character I had planned for this. The way she becomes totally dependent on Issei never sat well with me. Hopefully, the changes brought about by Dorian's presence will help her, it means so much that I was able to make you laugh with this chapter.
GunBlade2019: I hope not to disappoint :). That is a very good point, one of my biggest gripes with canon is the sheer size of Issei's harem. Not only does it make little sense so many would be okay sharing with so many others, but from a narrative standpoint there are SO many they can't focus on each one and individual stories suffer as a result. Thrud and Rossweisse have certainly grown closest since the beginning :D
Natalie: That is...a fair but awkward question lol. I did rate this story "M" and Dorian is no dense anime protagonist. I fully intend them to take that step when the time comes, however neither are the type to just jump into that situation...and I am contemplating whether to write it out or allude to it. That may depend on fan preference.
OBSERVER01: Thank you, the best time XD
And with that...ONTO THE SHOW!
"Three of the descendants of the original Satans," Sirzechs announced, taking not of one missing. "You finally step into the light."
Katerea Leviathan stood before them, stepping ahead of the others. The old families had disappeared from the limelight of Hell ever since their removal from power after the Great War ended. She and the other children had fought right up to the end, mustering a sizable resistance finally quashed under the might of the new Satans. Sirzechs and Serafall remembered the armies that had marched on Hell even with their weakened state after the battles. Despite the enemy's best efforts, in the end they had been defeated, however all of their leadership escaped to plot for the future.
"You were all so predictable, all I had to do was dangle my estranged cousin in front of your noses and you couldn't wait to unseal that pathetic excuse for a Dhampir. With his powers in the field we didn't even need our other allies…"
"The Khaos Brigade?"
I hoped they'd remain restricted to the Olympian lands, to wither and die out…it sees fate will not be so kind. Freyja recalled reports from Olympus that such attacks had completely vanished since the siege. Hecuba's replacement and new demigod in charge of defense had done well to assert themselves in that regard.
The Leviathan commander looked down towards Lady Freyja, her smile somehow widening further at the image of the Norse Goddess on her knees still tending to Baraqiel.
"Your people interfered at Olympus and again now in our struggle, stepping into matters where you do not belong. Your own realms were cowards unbefitting of your warrior status, so afraid of death you compromised each of your sides in the name of peace," she practically spat out the last word.
"With your death, there will be one less to operate the system of Heaven," Shalba's eyes focused squarely on Michael.
"Katerea-chan, you were better than this!" Serafall shouted desperately, her eyes looking truly sorrowful towards the woman she had known as a child.
"You dare to ask me such a thing?" She glared with a purely hateful gaze at her, the smile Serafall had once known completely gone. "You played me for a fool when we were young, setting it up to take my position as soon as the opportunity came, robbing me of that role which was rightfully mine!"
"I didn't!" The new Leviathan's normal cheerful and boisterous aura was cracking. It is true she was chosen as the next Leviathan over Katerea, but she had never sought it in spite of her. It was just the way the winds of fate had blown, casting the two childhood friends far apart. "I…"
"Do not worry," Katerea sneered. "I will kill you today, retake the title for myself and together the three of us will reform the doctrine and laws of Hell."
"And restore our discarded dynasties," Shalba Beelzebub formed a sphere of demonic power in his left hand. "Rule beneath the Ouroboros Dragon who will be the new symbol and God of this world. Your era is now past and was too long coming."
"Once our power is restored and consolidated, we may move to claiming more territories of those less worthy," his gaze clearly focused on Freyja with those words.
A quick chuckle escaped from behind the serious-looking leaders. It was none other than the Governor-General himself upon realizing Baraqiel would live he allowed his confident nature to return as he stepped forward. The quick chuckle quickly turned into an ongoing laugh, his smile a little crueler than before.
"WHAT could be so funny?" The Leviathan heiress asked, hands tightening around her staff as he seemed to hardly take their combined front seriously.
"All of you, actually working together," he wiped a nonexistent tear from his eyes. "You really must be desperate; you didn't do that even when trying to usurp Hell."
Katerea looked as if she wanted to throttle him in that moment.
"You honestly believe that you three can reform this world together?"
"Correct," Asmodeus asserted with a solid foot stomp. "Too long has the Earth been on a decline since our usurpation with allowing humanity to grow unchecked. This shall be corrected and…"
His speech was cut off as Azazel let out a raucous laughter, being forced to grip his stomach tightly to try in vain to contain himself. The others looked on as if he'd gone mad all save for Serafall who looked to being barely able to prevent herself from joining in.
"A decline? Decay? You think that humans will lead to the Earth's destruction? They can barely kill each other let alone the world, you don't think things have been going up in recent years…or do you consider THIS as prosperous?" He motioned towards the debris and Baraqiel whose breathing had finally stabilized under Freyja's ministrations.
"How someone with so much power can be content with the world as is…do you seek nothing greater?"
"I seek plenty greater than myself," he responded pompously. "Yet I think I am a little more interesting with my hobby than to have such a cliché and cruel goal as yours. You sound like a villain in the climax of their master plan doomed to fail and it is entertains me to no end."
"You damned relic," Katerea's aura flared to such an extent, her twelve wings bursting to life. "I will enjoy ripping you apart first!"
"Kids," he remarked behind him without looking or breaking his stride. "Mommy and daddy need to have some words, why don't you head out and play with your friends?"
A hole in the barrier opened up, allowing Kiba, Irina and Xenovia room to depart. Vali's associates Kuroka and Bikou also snuck out alongside them, facing a large number of magicians and devils loyal to the Old Satan Faction.
"Help them," Freyja bid for Rossweisse to join the procession from the barrier. "We shall keep the others safe, you work to clear their numbers and make a safe Haven for Dorian when he returns."
Rossweisse only gave a determined head nod as she slipped out, the field closing behind. As expected, the three Satans paid whom they saw as insignificant no mind, totally focused on their foes.
"I will maintain the barrier around our frozen allies," Sirzech asserted. As the strongest of the three faction leaders present, he could keep the shield going at its current strength for some time under the current bombardment, longer if the children could clear out the magicians.
"Once he is in the clear," Lady Freyja looked up with determination. "I can hold the barrier while you join the fra…"
The three old Satan descendants rocketed forward, their opponents rising to meet them. Azazel unfurled his twelve black feathered-wings, scarcely deflecting an augmented blast from Katerea before ducking in closer for his preferred fist-fight. Serafall's devil wings emitted an aura that pressed against the Asmodeus heir, her suit jacket being blown away was his own upper tunic. Lastly, Michael's golden radiance clashed with the former Beelzebub, Heaven and Hell meeting on opposing sides as they had in the Great War.
The meeting of such great powers shook the skies, the greater barrier already bypassed by the Old Satan Faction being the only thing preventing collateral damage in the human world beyond as the Earth trembled. Great explosions and outbursts of energy caused minor tremors acting as warning toward any without matching power to stay as far as possible. It was an effective deterrent; even their own troops had pulled back only to be met with the unified resistance of those still moving.
"Xenovia, you, Irina and Kiba can run interference," Rossweisse analyzed the battlefield before her. "I can support you with suppressing fire, shields and augmentation. "Bikou, can you and…?"
The pair belonging to the White Dragon Emperor's entourage had already run ahead, ignoring her calls for cooperation. The black-eared youkai was in the process of releasing handfuls containing blue-white balls of flame upon unsuspecting enemies as Bikou leapt in with his staff, pummeling those close enough with ease. Rossweisse shook her head as the swordsmen trio from as many factions raced into the fray with her following close behind, determined to alleviate the besieged leaders as much as their limited powers would allow.
We'll take care of them here Dorian…it will be safe when you return, I swear it.
Old School Building…
"How did they get here?" The lead sorceress roared in frustration as Issei planted his boosted gear in the face of one of her acolytes. At the same time, Rias released a torrent of destruction energy, blowing away another row. "Secure the Dhampir!"
"President! Issei-senpai!" Gasper called out with tears in his eyes. The young half-vampire was suspended from the wall wearing the kilt Dorian had given him the previous day. Holding seals glowed at each of his limbs, torso and head with Koneko not far, similarly incapacitated by a magic circle canceling out physical exertion, her only power.
"Gasper!" Rias called out, eyes narrowing at the magicians. "Koneko! Don't worry, we'll get you out in a…"
Unexpectedly, the growing mass of black and crimson energy in her hand sputtered down to barely a single ball of flame. A light bullet she had prepared to intercept came through, sending the Gremory heiress staggering backwards.
"President!" Issei leapt forward, dropping a magician before three moved in, forcing him into a defensive posture under their combined assault.
"I didn't expect that seal to be needed so quickly," the sorceress sighed in relief. "You will find that devil magic no longer works in here."
"Damn it," Issei growled. He was frustrated at the situation, Gasper and Koneko unable to move and his President being pushed back. Despite the anger in the back of his mind, he could not help but notice every magician in the room was a well-endowed woman, a special cadre formed by Ona for the ritual.
"Please Issei, President…kill me," Gasper begged, lowering his head solemnly. "I'm worthless with my powers; if I die then everything will revert back to normal. I wasn't worth what you did for me."
The memory burned in both Rias and Gasper's minds, a wounded Dhampir out in the cold forest having failed to escape the vampire hunters though they were all driven off by her approach.
"Do you want to live?" She asked. Weakly, by instinct alone the young boy nodded as the vision of her crimson hair the color of blood grew hazy. "Very well, then you will serve me while we both find a life that can give you meaning."
"I wouldn't be worthy of my name, family or servants if I gave up on you so easily," she announced while high kicking a magician who wandered too close. Her powers may have been suppressed but she could still fight. "You were only just unsealed after so long."
"That's right Gasper!" Issei jumped in next. "We'll help you; all of us, we'll get you to believe in yourself and control your powers. And if you can't, we will stop you so you don't hurt anyone else!"
"You sicken me," the sorceress leading the ritual spat. "I had heard the Gremory family was too soft, yet never imagined by how much. One such as he is only good as a weapon, why my Lady Barbatos insisted on keeping him aware and conscious I will never know."
She did what?
"I treasure my servants," Rias crossed her arms, the smile betraying how high above the sorceress she saw herself. "That is why they will each become stronger than all of you."
A new blast of magic rocketed straight for the unpowered Rias. It never made it as a familiar red gauntlet took up position of shield in front of her, deflecting it into the wall though at the cost of a painful looking bruise.
President…
"Keep causing me trouble Gasper," Rias continued as Issei warded off the magicians. "I will keep scolding you again and again…yet will always comfort you afterwards and never give you up. I would not have chosen you otherwise."
Gasper burst into tears of happiness, not since his friend Valerie had he ever felt like people cared about him. He was still restrained yet no longer sought his own death, the despair instead turning to hope of rescue.
"Do not let them near!" The head witch commanded, her remaining troops taking up position between Rias, Issei and Gasper. The would-be rescuers had no venue for an easy approach as the magicians advanced on them.
"GASPER!" Issei finally cried out, drawing the new holy blade Ascalon from the confines of his gear to prepare for a surely doomed assault. Power surged within it as he used his ability as a pawn to promote himself to queen though it was a pale comparison to Akeno's. "You stay right there! We are all your friends, President, Kiba, Akeno, Koneko, myself, Goldie and all his beauties! We aren't leaving you; we'll never abandon you and we'll give you a home to come back to!"
"See, if you acted like that a bit more I am sure people would think better of you."
In a flash of light, the bindings holding Rias' rook shattered, a familiar crystal swordspear breaking the seals with runes lit up along its surface. The magicians turned as a wall of enchanted ice from Hel emerged from the floor, cutting their forces in half between each side.
"How did you break our seal?" The leader cried out, embarrassed at how quickly he had crushed Koneko's restraints.
"I learned from a genius-Valkyrie, compared to hers I could interpret your formula in my sleep!" His swordspear split into a trident, firing forked Olympian lightning that dropped the closest half-dozen mages. "Lady Gremory, I also took the liberty of disabling their devil magic cancellation bindings as well. I need a few minutes!"
"You got it," Koneko leapt towards the opponents who rushed to fill the gap as Dorian knelt before Gasper, analyzing the complicated seal clearly not made by the mages nearby." On the other side of the wall, Issei was cutting through opponents as Rias, powered once more, unleashed her attacks.
"Dorian-senpai!" He smiled as the other who had made him feel more comfortable and welcomed appeared. "C-can you get me down?"
"Tricky," he murmured while analyzing it. "This one is hardier than Koneko's, wouldn't be surprised if a higher-tier caster put it up."
"That was a gift from our mistress!" The sorceress unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of light bullets towards the Einherjar ensuring not to hit Gasper for fear of killing him. Dorian's shield unfolded from his wrist, taking the blasts that could not break it.
The crystal on Dorian's arm rotated faster than ever, his practice in devising a signature move granting him increase skill in its use. Tendrils erupted to incapacitate several before rotating to boost his runes raining down elemental attacks upon them. Even with Vanaheim's reinforcement, he could not break Gasper's seal holding him.
"Knowledge is nothing in the face of true power," she asserted, holding out her hand for a blade of shimmering purple light to form within it. "It will not be much longer, before the hour is half through not even the great leaders will be able to resist the Dhampir's power and will succumb."
"Thirty minutes?" Dorian tried to act confident, drawing her attention and distracting the sorceress from a familiar squirrel that rushed in, looking over the bindings for weaknesses. "All the time in the world!"
He charged her, Twilight Star clashing again her foul blade, the shockwave cracking the enchanted ice separating them from the others. He pushed hard, knowing if they did not hurry, he could find himself surrounded by a sea of enemies all alone amidst frozen allies…
In the Sky…
"That is some power you're packing and fascinating choice in accessory," Azazel quipped as he backhand blocked a swing of the Leviathan's staff. He could not help but notice a strange serpent-like shape of energy encompass Katerea's body right before her attacks were renewed at double the force. "That isn't just from your 'noble lineage' is it? I suppose your 'God' Ophis is more hands-on than I imagined."
"I have no need to explain myself to a dead man!" She roared, her refined and calm demeanor cracking for half a moment as her eyes grew wide with enthusiasm before a massive explosion consumed them both, their titanic battle continuing without a clear advantage.
"I concur," Michael remarked to the Beelzebub descendant. "None of you could come close to us last we fought. Yet now…you are holding out quite well."
Michael called down a rain of holy light spears; any one of them would have been enough to reduce each member of Rias' peerage, Issei included, to dust. Horrifically, Shalba deflected most with a wave of his hand before forming a magic circle within. A storm of dark arrows fired up towards his divine opponent, Michael's right shoulder pauldron shattered as the hail tore through it, causing the archangel to groan in pain. Without missing a beat, a long sword of holy radiance surpassing all holy blades emerged in his hand, all twelve shining wings propelling him to close the gap and enter melee range where he had excelled at during the war.
"A true magical girl always rises to the challenge!" The ever eccentric voice of Serafall Leviathan cried out as she slammed Creuserey Asmodeus into the ground. "You'll pay for causing any harm to my beloved little sister!"
The wrath of the underworld's strongest woman devil pressed him back. Even with the unnatural power being wielded by the old Satan family, it was everything he could do to weather her strikes. Holding out both hands, the new Leviathan struck a flashy pose that would have made her sister groan in embarrassment before unleashing a torrent of energy from each. Creuserey crossed his arms, the clouds above parting under the weight of the energy yet somehow he managed to hold.
On the frontlines, Thrud and Vali continued clearing out entire swathes of foes though glanced back when they could to witness the Armageddon occurring behind. As powerful as the collected pair was, neither could contend with the leaders tearing the landscape apart with their struggle. Thrud and Vali were the elites, the ones sent to scatter the enemy lines and keep the bulk of their forces busy as the others attacked from the rear, yet the ones that had assembled at the summit were as close to gods as ones could be. Thrud felt her blood pump harder and breathing quicken as she imagined how strong she could become, how she would dance upon a battlefield once she could truly harness the godly potential within her genes. She couldn't stop smiling at the thoughts.
"Baraqiel will survive," Sirzechs confirmed once the older fallen angel had been laid out beside the other frozen noncombatants. Despite their allies fighting around them, many attacks generated by magicians pounded against the barrier he maintained. "I did not expect the entirety of the Old Satan Faction to emerge at once."
"It's my fault," Freyja admitted as she stood to her feet, watching the various struggles around them. "Whatever else they may have planned, adding another god to the summit no doubt drove them to such lengths."
"You are incredibly strong Lady Freyja," Sirzechs remarked calmly, drawing her gaze upon himself. "Why do you shirk from the battlefield?" He had noticed her desire to heal and remain back. Even now, as there were no other wounded among the field she had not stepped forward to alleviate any of the three under fire.
The Norse goddess glanced towards him, looking the Lucifer Satan up and down with a sigh.
"You fought in your war quite a lot didn't you?" He nodded in response to her question. "Of course you did, only in such a monstrous conflict could you and the others obtain the powers you have. You may not be in the top ten, but you are not far either."
"You fought in a similar conflict, by that very logic…"
Freyja released a soft chuckle, closing her eyes serenely. "Your intel is excellent, I was not very fond of myself in those days. It seemed like all I was good for was death and murder. An instrument of destruction, that is all I was…until that old fruit bat Mimir spoke and I met that lecherous…"
Freyja blinked, barely having realized tears had welled up in her eyes, the first having succeeded in falling at that moment. That new sense of purpose the day she said her vows, a way of ruling over her people beyond a show of force. She had not donned her armor in true conflict since that wedding night. The things he said, whispered to her that made everything so clear. Clenching her fists, she looked up at the battle above with new light.
Damn him, how can he be so insufferable, yet so…
Back at the Old School House…
Issei punched the first magician in the gut, sending her reeling backwards, a small force behind barely withstanding the blast from Rias as they combined their wards to defend against her attack. It did not hold as Issei drew Ascalon, slicing clean through it, the holy aspect shattering the magic made from repurposed devil energy. Some were summoned astral copies same as outside, but many within the old school building were real, slowly but surely they made headway.
Dorian parried the blow of the head sorceress, blades clashing. His was clearly superior, shattering her magical construct again and again though she quickly reconstituted it and kept pushing. When he could, he had enchanted numerous rune designs into his blade or the air, hoping to weaken the seal around Gasper yet all had failed. The brute power behind the binding was simply too strong, the product of the original Leviathan backed by an ancient energy.
"I have traveled this Earth from one end to the other!" She cried, growing frustrated at how Dorian remained on par and surpassed with her at every turn. "Made pacts with fallen angels and devils before surpassing them all! I have grown beyond the limitations of humanity; I will not be bested by some damned brat of an archaic, forgotten realm!"
She slashed forward, Dorian moving to parry it once more. Unexpectedly, her weapon passed clean through Twilight Star, becoming a phased blade that became solid again moments before slicing across his face. Dorian stepped back, his quick thinking being all that limited the attack to a cut rather than taking his head clean off. In retaliation, he extended Twilight Star, forcing her back as a deep gash appeared in her gut. The sorceress fell to her knees, quickly mending the wound with her collected magic while Dorian felt his cheek, wiping away blood though the damage was shallow. His swordspear forked again, generating a charge of energy.
"D-Dorian-senpai…"
The Einherjar turned towards the restrained half-vampire, only then realizing that the slash had splashed a streak of crimson blood across Gasper's cheek. The poor guy still looked terrified, eyes quivering in fear, but behind that, he saw a bit of that spark Dorian himself had found to depart for Jotunheim in defense the most important person to him.
"I want to be like you and Issei, not afraid of my strength. I think I can try…" With that final hesitant whisper, Gasper opened his mouth, tongue licking gently against the red smudge blemishing his otherwise pale complexion with bared fangs.
The tone of the room changed instantly, an all-encompassing chill blew past everyone present to the extent Dorian created a cold-resistance seal though it did nothing to alleviate the feeling passing through his bones. Gasper's eyes exploded red though held a darkness within that made even the sorceress' jaw drop open in shock. His skin darkened until it was a deathly grey pale-blue like a recent corpse, kilt blowing in the sudden wind that kicked up buffeting the cadre of witches. Their hearts sunk as he phased cleanly through the seals as if they were not even there. The vampires native to his homeland were not known for such powers and thus the bindings had been sculpted to block physical strength and transformations only.
"What abomination is this?" a sorceress hissed loudly. "The Dhampir has become a draugr!"
Draugr, the name found meaning with Dorian as he recalled the teachings of Lady Eir back in the Valkyrie lessons that felt so long ago. Common Norse myth spoke of greedy or foul humans after death being raised as draugr should they not be buried properly or not in a horizontal position, though this variation were only found in the realms outside Midgard. Here, they were the Northern brethren of the vampire race, distantly related cousins to Gasper's people whom had developed their own sets of powers and abilities. It was believed that an ancestor had made a pact with Yggdrasil for their unique status, though if this were true none lived who recalled such an agreement.
I may have just proven that theory, the young man could not help but speculate despite their circumstance.
Gasper leaned forward unnaturally as if gravity no longer had a pull on the young Dhampir. Falling to all fours, his body warped and shifted into a great cat-monstrosity with muscular legs and dagger-like talons. He became covered in black fur darker than any night and red eyes gazing through the remaining witches.
"Kill him!" The head sorceress screeched in fear as all those that remained on her half of the ice wall fired spells of a dozen different varieties into him.
Koneko and Dorian were stunned as the monstrous Gasper leapt between them, pouncing upon and incapacitating two of them with ease. As a spell was about to hit its mark, he melted through the floor, causing them to strike the wooden boards harmlessly.
"He can phase-shift, prepare to…"
She did not finish, through the ground countless tendril-hands emerged, wrapping around the arms and legs of the witch cabal. As their numbers grew, a black puddle started rippling out from their source. They fired countless blasts into it yet they had no effect as if being consumed by the growing pool. At first the bullets were bright and powerful yet with each passing second they grew dimmer and dimmer.
"He's…absorbing our blood and magic through the shadows," a magician gasped before collapsing to a knee in exhaustion.
He's absorbing ALL the ambient magic in the area, Dorian realized. Even his wall of ice was melting, taking even the cursed mists with it to reveal Issei and Rias on the opposite side, their mages similarly incapacitated by Gasper's hands that bypassed the wall to seize them all.
"He can't even spare a drop for me?" Ratatoskr sulked, pouting with crossed arms as he failed to absorb any to increase his size.
"I never imagined he could gain the traits of other vampire clans," Rias admitted, watching her bishop work. They soon realized that the witches' attacks were completely frozen by Gasper's power though they could still move. "And he has managed to control it enough to pick what he freezes."
"Well, Yggdrasil controls the effectiveness of seals for the Norse realms. It makes sense tasting that could give him more control. Their robes must have some ability to protect them from his power. If we can disable that…"
"On it!" Issei shouted, leaping forward as he tapped each of the remaining magicians on the shoulder while they could not move, leaving a familiar red symbol upon wherever he touched.
Oh no…
"Aaaand Dress Break!" The devil-pawn proclaimed as he got even the lead sorceress. Closing his eyes triumphantly facing away like the confident hero of his shows he snapped his fingers.
The robes of the collected spellcasters exploded in an instant, reducing even their enchanted wardrobe to little more than strips of cloth. Without their protective garb, the Old Satan Faction force froze in time, paralyzed like their friends back at the new building. Their bodies were fully exposed to the group, frozen and unable to withdraw nor cover themselves. Rias facepalmed along with Koneko as Issei held his composure, body shaking slightly with restraint as he prepared for the sight that was sure to greet him. He could tell with his perverted senses that every witch and sorceress was an absolute beauty under their cloaks.
"Grandfather," he started a quick prayer. "I hope to make you proud for the feast I am about to partake in, Itadak…!"
Issei spun, now mentally prepared to save their bodies to memory only for his jaw to hit the floor, all imagined dreams shattered before him. Dorian was in the process of tying a large white cloak around the lead sorceress, fixing it tightly in place with a tight knot. To the pawn's absolute horror, in the time he'd spent preparing to savor the sight; Dorian had drawn a cloak from the Roads for EVERY single disrobed sorceress and covered them in record time. He maintained the modesty of even their former foes; Issei would get no perverted satisfaction from them.
"Goldie what the hell?" He screamed, storming up to the Einherjar adjusting the large cloak just enough so not even a stray leg could be seen.
"Show mercy even unto your enemies," he replied without looking. "Your dress break shattered their protection; just any clothing won't cause any…"
"That wasn't the point!" He screamed, his true motives shining through. "I had a chance to check out some gorgeous breasts while they were unable to cover themselves or act embarrassed and you robbed me of it! Now what…?"
A hard smack struck the back of Issei's head courtesy of Koneko staring at him with her usual flat expression.
"You're the worst," she said quickly, Rias approaching Issei shaking her head though being unable to deny the effectiveness of his attack.
Gasper slowly rose through the floor, starting to retake human form as the adrenaline spike of Dorian's blood began to wear off. He stumbled forward, Dorian barely catching him in time. His heart jumped a beat as he saw the Dhampir's eyes were still black.
"I can't see you," he muttered while staring practically through Dorian's soul. "You aren't supposed to be here…"
As quickly as he'd said it, Gasper slumped forward into his chest. After a few moments he slowly got back up, the normal innocent pink of the underclassman's eyes glancing about confused.
"Did I do that?"
"You…did," Dorian replied, doing his best not to reveal the shiver running through his core at Gasper's words.
"Gasper," Rias took hold of her bishop, holding him tenderly close like a big sister comforting the younger sibling. "You did well, if you break the power over the area we can…"
"And here I thought it couldn't get more fascinating!"
All the air was knocked out of Dorian as a familiar woman emerged from a black portal, slamming into him far harder than he remembered in their past battles. He found his weapon thrown clear, a shapely body pinning him to the ground with familiar wide-eyes staring into him glowing brightly as hands held his own.
"Your powered blood caused an actual physiological shift in the Dhampir! I knew it was a combination of both, yet he still couldn't see you. Shall I do one better?"
Ona Barbatos' four wings emerged from her back, though to Dorian's horror were not alone. A serpentine mass of energy enveloped her, causing another half dozen to bloom into existence. They were all devil wings yet were not solid, instead being made out of her very aura with the pressure of power joining them. He could feel the energy emanating from them, bringing her on par with one of her people to possess so many.
"Get Gasper to the others!" Dorian roared out of instinct, pushing back to free himself and summoning Twilight Star back into his grasp as their conflict began. "I'll hold her here!'
Back at the Summit battle…
"Irina! Behind you!"
Xenovia's warning gave her former partner time to move fast enough to avoid the barrage, appearing in the blink of an eye behind the mage.
"Rapidly," she muttered upon activating the Excalibur's power. She had access to each of the powers though was still learning to wield them. The might of all save one of the seven Excaliburs resided in her weapon though she could only tap into one ability at a time for the moment. "Destruction!"
The shockwave blasted those near her away, giving ample room and allowing Kiba to rush in with his dual blades. A renewed attack struck barriers situated around the frontline trio courtesy of Rossweisse. Her defensive seals held strong, giving them the freedom to fight unhindered for the most part. Magic runes formed around the silver-haired Valkyrie, launching wave after wave of concussive blasts in all directions as she covered them with bombardment spells. They had lost sight of Bikou and Kuroka who disappeared into the enemy lines.
"They just keep coming," she sighed in a frustrated manner. "Unless we can find the real magicians it doesn't matter how many copies we slay. Wait…that's it!"
Rossweisse moved her hands, creating a simple but specific formula in her head. The symbols came to her one by one, intermingling and overlapping to form new ideas most would never think of yet came to her like a morning breeze. Finally complete, she spread her arms wide, the glyph expanding at the same pace before she released it in a torrent of power. The symbol encompassed the battlefield, passing through friend and foe harmlessly. Only once it had traveled its course did they realize what had occurred, at seemingly random intervals, magicians were lit up with an innocuous blue glow.
"Target those ones!" Rossweisse shouted. She had theorized that the real magicians required an active link to their copies to retain a small semblance of control over them. That would mean they were expending power even when not casting, unlike the others. The seal had been simple, merely adding a tag to any whose powers were in constant use…and it worked.
"Not bad," Azazel smiled up above as he saw the Old Satan Faction's numbers dwindle. "I suppose I should get serious myself then." Reaching into his tattered jacket, he pulled out an ornate uniquely-shaped dagger with a purple gem set into the hilt.
"And what is that?" Katerea asked, glaring at his apparent trump card. "A new weapon of war?"
"Better," he grinned, holding the dagger high. "My hobby. This is the Downfall Dragon Spear, bet you had no idea that Sacred Gears could be made artificially did you? Baraqiel and I are good friends, for what you did to him I won't give you an easy time. Balance…BREAK!"
Katerea squinted as a nova-like light engulfed the Governor-General, scattering to reveal shining gold and purple dragon armor not dissimilar from Vali's. His fallen angel wings flanked on all sides, giving a truly intimidating appearance coupled with the wide plates. His aura exploded with power, gaining enough that he could have defeated Kokabiel at full power in a single strike with the current form.
"That's…Fafnir's essence!" Freyja recognized the source in an instant. The northern dragon king, whom had been missing and was the very owner of the hoard protected by Hrotti.
"Down Fall Dragon Another Armor," he announced proudly in a reverberating tone, taking up a haughty posture as he beckoned the Leviathan closer. "Now, come at me if you can."
"How dare you mock m…?" Katerea channeled more power through her staff than she had the rest of the fight, bringing it to bear on him. In a flash, Azazel was behind her, rending the mysterious instrument from her grip and slashing through her shoulder so quickly she couldn't even see the attack. A twin-pronged light spear was now held in his hand, the holy element still available to fallen angels having caused tremendous damage as blood sprayed from her body.
"Just a villain before their demise," Azazel raised his weapon high.
DIVIDE!
A crack of energy struck him in the back, sending the Grigori delegate plummeting into the ground below exploding into a sizable crater. Azazel pulled himself out, his helmet shattered though the rest of his armor remaining intact despite his loss of power.
"So…our traitor chooses this moment to reveal himself," he looked up with a combination of aloofness and disappointment. "How long have you been with the Khaos Brigade, Vali?"
"Long enough to get what I need, though I would be lying if I didn't say how much more interesting things looked on their side as well," the White Dragon Emperor announced as he floated down. The heavenly dragon had abandoned Thrud on the far side of the frontlines of combat; the Valkyrie Goddess so lost in her heat of battle she barely noticed his withdrawal. "I never expected you to create a Balance Breaker modeled after my own, though it only makes sense to use my power as a base."
"The Vanishing Dragon shouldn't be able to halve us," Sirzechs called out above. "Those with sufficient strength can resist its effects."
"You are most correct Sirzechs Lucifer, however I imagine facing ones as powerful as the Old Satan Faction puts quite a tax on your powers does it not?" He motioned towards Michael and Serafall still doing battle, clearly struggling though both sides were near-evenly matched as they warped the landscape with their battle.
"So you will divide us as we fight and make it an easy win for them? What a disappointing plan."
"It is theirs," Vali admitted.
"Why would you join such monsters?" Freyja asked, eyeing the White Dragon Emperor with contempt. "They seek to subjugate humanity!"
"I have need of information only the Khaos Brigade can provide on someone, and I do not associate myself with humanity despite my mixed lineage."
"Mixed lineage?" The Norse goddess' eyes widened as four pairs of devil wings emerged from Vali's back to join his grand white and blue dragon ones. "But, only a human can be born with a Sacred Gear!"
"I am half-human, my name is Vali Lucifer, descendant of the previous Lucifer Satan and my human mother."
"You took quite long enough stepping in," Katerea chided Vali, wiping the blood from her mouth as she recomposed herself. "Once Azazel is dealt with move on to the other two, by that time they should expended enough to use your powers on."
Vali let out a short "humph," clearly having little love for his current allies who could not win assuredly on their own. Snapping his fingers, Bikou and Kuroka emerged beneath him, having similarly withdrawn from the war zone below. "Deal with their allies."
Bikou smiled with enthusiasm as he targeted the three sword wielders still cleaving through the exposed magicians. With his staff raised, he focused on the blonde devil-knight first; Kiba was no match for the current descendant of Buddha alone.
"And here I thought you might be a good fight!" A melodious voice rang out above the monkey-youkai's head. "Try and keep up!"
Looking up, he barely readjusted his staff to block a greataxe crackling with lightning before it impacted his head. Despite succeeding, Thrud's landing drove him into the ground and shattered it beneath them. Parrying her to the side, Bikou performed a high roundhouse kick to catch her in the head. The daughter of Thor tanked the hit, smile widening through the bruise as she jabbed him in the gut while unprepared, backhanding him with the blunt end of Gullbjorn to send him flying though she gave swift chase.
"I saw the way you looked at the dashing Einherjar," Kuroka whispered in a sultry tone as she stood face to face with Rossweisse. An octagon-shaped glyph appeared behind her covered with intricate designs to nearly rival the Valkyrie's calculations. Eight spheres of blue-white light formed within it she recognized as a mixture of sage arts from her time with Thrud and youkai devil magic. "Such longing in those blue eyes of yours, yet still the disappointing smell of a virgin on both of you. Been having difficulty finding that special moment or is it harder to get him to take notice of you?"
Rossweisse's face flushed red at the woman's words, her left eye started to twitch as she felt like she were being chastised by Odin again for her lack of romantic encounters.
"That…is NONE of your concern!" She finally found her words she'd repeated to him many times, her own magic seals materializing anew over her head.
"Perhaps after I kill you he will be more receptive to my advances," she licked her lips with a sly wink. "I hear your Norsemen are quite fond of strong women."
The runes sparked with power as Rossweisse could take no more, unleashing her barrage against the waiting traitor who reveled in the flustered expression she had brought out of the young Valkyrie.
Back at the frontlines, Azazel found himself with a powerful gut punch as Katerea, now weaponless, moved in. The blow cracked his new armor, even a single divide sufficient to drop him well beneath the elder Leviathan as Vali watched above.
"So pathetic now!" She cried, releasing a new torrent of power he barely managed to half avoid, even what he hadn't tore through his defenses. "What good are these 'allies' of yours?"
"One more should be enough," Vali considered. "Perhaps if…"
"Vali!" The cries from afar drew his attention as he beheld who had just rejoined the battle.
"Ah, the Red Dragon Emperor," he hovered over to Issei and Rias. "You have been nothing but a disappointment since I found you. Let us see if you have learned anything since last we spoke…"
"The red and white dragons meet again," Azazel groaned as he struggled to his feet to look at the teenagers. "What an interesting encounter that may be."
"One you will not see!" Katerea formed a dark mass of crackling energy in her hand that no defense Azazel retained could block, bringing it down with a cry of victory.
The blow was stopped as a blade radiating with the color of a rainbow prism clashed with it, shattering the black flame and causing her to jump back. Braided purple hair of the Queen of Asgard greeted her, a legendary sword in each hand and warped stare of rage causing even the Old Satan Faction leader's heart to skip a beat. Accepting her hand, Azazel staggered to his feet, shaking his head to clear out the cobwebs.
"Glad to see the Freyja I had heard such talk of. I knew that old codger was never exaggerating when he spoke of the fear at crossing you in earnest."
The sword-belt at her waist, Freyja's girdle, thrummed sending a liquid-like substance to ripple across her body. The material took shape, eventually revealing a dazzling armor the color of moonstone and crimson from which all other Valkyrie's were based on. An immaculate cloak of emerald falcon feathers unfurled across her back and a winged-helm to inspire armies to war wrapped about her skull. Throughout the transformation she did not move despite how long it had been since she donned it for true battle. She tried to recall the last she had worn it at all. As per Odin's perverted machinations during the Aesir/Vanir peace treaty, it was suggestive in design without sacrificing effectiveness. The breastplate was low-cut to show off her impressive bust and left her thighs bare though the same magics protected every inch of her regardless of appearance.
I put it on when I left Asgard to follow Odin and Rossweisse to Dorian, though I did not even draw a blade then. It has not been long enough since I last had to fight in this.
"Insignificant…" Katerea started, yet was silenced as Freyja brought her blades to bear, her voice booming across the field echoing in the air itself.
"Insignificant? I am Freyja, Queen of the Aesir and Vanir over the nine realms from Asgard, wife to that insufferable dichotomy that is my husband Odin. I am the Goddess of life and shall protect as much of it as I can…by ending yours!"
In response to her proclamation, a pair of razor-sharp wings like those of a bird of prey emerged from her armored back. The older Leviathan scarcely had time to raise a defense as she charged, Azazel behind to form a unified front beholding the Queen of the nine realms in all her wrath.
The battle lines are drawn, the mightiest leaders of four factions clash for supremacy as those who support them do so where they can. All the while, Dorian struggles against the eccentric devil, Ona who has hounded his steps since their meeting, hell bent on discovering what makes the young Einherjar so special amongst even the gods. As always, I hope everyone Reads and Reviews...but most of all Enjoys! :D
