Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.

Marathon (2/3)

Chapter 32

— Remember, Ed. There is no being more dangerous than the one who no longer has a soul of his own —

Tolfdir to Edzard 201 4E

Valerie, Rias and Issei had appeared at the entrance of the old building, in which the ORC was located.

"The entrance?" Rias asked looking at the place confused. "Why didn't he drop us off somewhere else?"

"Ed's shadowkey magic works by creating portals to places he has gone." Valerie answered looking at the place. "He was able to create a portal to this place using Issei-san's memories, so, having never come to this place, he couldn't create the portal to another place."

"I see." Rias said realizing one of the limitations of the shadowkeys that Edzard could create.

"We have to move. Every second that passes is a second that Gasper and his partner have less chance of staying alive."

Rias and Issei nodded to what Valerie said and together they started running all over the place. They passed through several rooms, but did not find them. They even searched the main room of the club, but nothing.

"We have already searched several places." Issei said with concern for his clubmates. "Where can they be?"

Rias put her hand to her chin and began to think to try to locate the place where they were. Her eyes widened as she realized that there was a place that Gasper and Koneko could have gone to.

"I know where they might be." Rias said with a smile.

"Seriously, Buchou."

"Yes, follow me."

Rias started running being followed by Issei and Valerie. The three of them ran for a short period of time and managed to reach a room. Issei recognized that room as the place where Gasper had been sealed. Wasting no time, Rias raised her hand and released a ball of power of destruction. The sphere impacted the door, destroying it and allowing the three to enter the room.

Seeing the door destroyed, Valerie wasted no time and creating a magic circle on the ground, she enveloped herself in darkness. A second later she was striding into the room. What she saw there made her very angry, as her childhood friend was trapped in a magical structure with a shape very similar to the tree of life or Sephirod.

"Damn bitches." Valerie said gritting her teeth as she saw the magicians who had forced her friend's sacred gear into a balance breaker. So she quickly extended her right hand and the darkness around her turned into tentacles.

"What's going on?!" one of the magicians asked upon seeing Valerie.

"What is she doing here?!"

"There's no way she was here!" another magician yelled. "We have blocked teleportation magic so that it is impossible for outsiders from our organization to use!"

"Disappear!" Valerie yelled causing the tentacles to lunge at the magicians.

The magicians created defensive magic circles to defend themselves when they saw the tentacles of darkness magic lunge at them. Unfortunately for them, the tentacles managed to easily break through the defensive circles, impaling all the magicians.

The corpses of the magicians fell to the ground making a dry noise that made Gasper and Koneko look at what was happening in astonishment.

The eyes of the two devils widened in fear as they saw a humanoid figure made of darkness with eyes that glowed as if they were burning coals; however, before they could speak, they saw Issei and Rias enter.

"Buchou. Issei-Sempai" said Gasper and Koneko with joy seeing their friends.

"Gasper! Koneko!" Rias cried out in excitement as she approached her servants; However, when she was about to reach their side, she saw how Gasper received an electric shock that made his eyes shine.

"Ahhh!" Gasper cried out in pain; however, that pain vanished when a black dome expanded throughout the room.

This dome had been produced by the scrolls that Edzard had given to Valerie, who thanks to it had stopped being enveloped in darkness. Additionally, the magical emblems holding the two devils had vanished, causing them to fall to the ground.

Gasper looked up while rubbing his butt and his eyes widened when he saw a specific person. She had grown since the last day he had seen her, but her physical features had hardly changed, save for the growth she had experienced from her puberty. The features on her face were more mature, but there was still the same smile that she used to put on when they both played. These facts combined caused him to begin to remember his past. He slowly got up and began to walk towards the figure as tears began to form in his eyes.

"V-Valerie?" Gasper asked approaching his childhood friend.

"Yes. It's been a long time, Gasper." Valerie said with a teary smile.

Both friends saw each other and without waiting a second, they threw themselves at each other and gave each other a strong hug while tears of happiness ran down their faces.

Issei, Rias and Koneko looked at the scene with a smile. Rias had told Koneko that she was Gasper's childhood friend. Furthermore, she had found out from Koneko how they had been captured. Apparently, the magicians had ambushed them and managed to reduce them with it.

"How did you escape from the castle of the Tepes?" Gasper asked as he separated from his friend.

"It's a long story, Gasper. I'll tell you when we get out of here." Valerie responded with a smile as she finished wiping away her tears. When she did, she noticed that Gasper was wearing Kuoh Academy's female uniform. This caused her to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Gasper, why do you dress like a woman?"

Gasper blushed as he looked away. "I-it's t-that these clothes are pretty."

Valerie smiled with amusement, as it seems that the time she spent dressing him caused him to become a transvestite. Raising her hand, she patted Gasper on the head. "When we get out of here let's go buy nice clothes, is that okay with you?"

Gasper put a smile on his face upon hearing that, but then turned pale as he remembered that to go shopping he would have to be in a place surrounded by many people.

Seeing that Gasper was scared, Valerie looked at Rias for an answer.

"Gasper is scared of crowds." Rias said seeing the questioning look Valerie gave her.

Valerie looked at her friend and sighed, as she was able to understand why he had developed such fear.

'I guess all the discrimination we suffered as a Dhampir ended up making him afraid of people for fear of being discriminated against and harmed.' Valerie thought as she began gently ruffling her friend's hair to try to calm him down.

"Sorry to intrude, but we can't stay here." Koneko said drawing everyone's attention.

"Koneko-chan is right. We can't stay." Issei said looking everywhere, because an enemy could appear at any moment.

Valerie and the rest nodded, as Issei was right, but before they started to move, they stopped when they felt a large amount of power in the air.

"W-what is this aura?" Gasper asked fearfully.

"I do not know." Rias replied as beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. "But it seems like it's coming from the place where the conference was taking place."

"We have to go back." Valerie said with a bit of panic.

"You're right, but first." Issei said approaching Gasper. "Gasper, this will help you control your power."

Saying that, Issei gave Gasper one of the artifacts that Azazel had previously given him before leaving for this place. He had two, one for Gasper and the other for himself. Supposedly, these artifacts in the form of arm bands could help them control the power of their sacred gear.

With the band put on Gasper and Issei's arms, they all started running. As they exited the building, they saw Mittelt, Aika, Yuuto, Xenovia, Irina, and Lint fighting the magicians attacking the conference.

"Gasper!" Kiba said with a smile seeing that his friend was free; however, he could not get close, as he had to dodge the attack of some magicians.

"We can't stay here!" Valerie yelled as the wizards began to surround them. "We will be a hindrance to them at this time. So give me your hands."

Rias, Koneko, Gasper and Issei put their hands on Valerie's shoulders, who using magic caused everyone to be enveloped in a dome of darkness.

"Please don't vomit."

None of the devils understood what the Dhampir was trying to say, but a few seconds later they understood, as they shot like a comet towards the place where the faction leaders were. The speed with which they moved was such that they seemed like a blur, so when they hit one of the walls of the room, they ended up destroying it.

All the leaders looked towards the shattered wall and were amazed when they saw Valerie, Rias, Koneko, Issei and Gasper appear from a dome of darkness.

"W-w-what was that?" Issei said as he stumbled along and then put his hands to his mouth to avoid vomiting. That gesture was copied by Rias, Koneko, and Gasper, who almost threw up their lunches as well.

"It's a darkness spell that allows me to attack at high speeds." Valerie said as she walked towards Edzard. "Ed calls it Dark Meteor."

"And for good reason. That spell makes you go like a meteor towards a place at full speed." Edzard said without taking his eyes off the newcomers. He knew that the androgynous-looking young man with platinum blonde hair and violet-pink eyes with his hair styled in a short bob cut with several small bangs across his forehead, and pointy ears was Gasper, as Valerie had told him about Gasper's appearance from his friend a while ago. "It's good to see you saved your friend, Val."

Valerie nodded with a smile as Edzard ruffled her hair a bit. After that, they both smiled at each other in a loving way, causing confusion in Gasper, who did not understand who was the young man who was very affectionate with his friend. So, riddled with doubt, Gasper approached Valerie.

"Val, who is he?" Gasper asked looking at Edzard curiously.

Valerie looked at her friend and with a blush on her face, she introduced him. "He is called Edzard and he is my lover."

Gasper's face flushed red as his eyes widened in astonishment. He looked at Edzard for a few seconds and then put on a shy smile; however, before the Dhampir spoke, Edzard walked over to him and cupped his chin and brought his face closer.

"You're really cute. You know, I could take a bite out of you." Edzard said with a smile as he got closer to Gasper's face.

Gasper's mouth fell open and he let out a silent scream as he blushed atomically causing a little smoke to come out of his ears. The Dhampir closed his eyes as he trembled in fear because he thought that Edzard was going to do something to him; however, he widened his eyes upon hearing a soft laugh. Across from him, Edzard laughed softly as he began to mess his hair up.

"Hahaha. Don't worry, I'm not planning to kiss you." Edzard said as he walked away and stopped messing his hair. "I'm not bisexual, I just like women. I'm sorry, but I wanted to play a little joke on you."

Gasper looked at Edzard and with tears in his eyes he ran to Valerie and gave her a hug as he started rubbing her face against hid friend's chest.

Valerie comforted Gasper and lifting her face, she gave Edzard a death glare, which made Edzard shiver.

'Looks like I won't have any action with Valerie for a few days.' Edzard thought with a bit of regret, since he liked being with all his lovers.

"Looks like you're in trouble, Ed." Issei said approaching his friend.

"Yes, it seems so." Edzard said with a resigned tone of voice.

"You know, you scared me too. For a second I thought you were bisexual." Issei said with an awkward smile on his face.

"I'm not, I just like women. Although, in my homeland there is no discrimination for homosexuals."

"S-re-seriously?" Issei asked in shock.

"Yes, as long as there is love involved, there are no problems with the composition of the couple. The only annoying marriages are interracial ones. For the rest, nothing to see." Edzard replied as he walked away from Issei, leaving the devil and the rest of those who heard him amazed by that detail of information.

Edzard walked towards where Gasper was and separating him from Valerie, he asked in a serious voice. "Gasper. can you disable the power of your sacred gear?"

"N-no." Gasper said stammering with a little fear, as he was still scared by what Edzard had done.

Edzard put a hand to his chin and began to think of a way to make Gasper's sacred gear deactivate. He thought for a few seconds, but in the end, he only came to a conclusion. So, sighing, he spoke.

"I see. Unfortunately there is not much time. So I apologize in advance for what I will do."

"Ed. You plan to do?" Issei asked with concern as he heard his friend apologize. He slowly clenched his fist and prepared to stop his friend from killing his other friend.

Edzard didn't reply to Issei. Closing his eyes he concentrated for a second to internalize the words of the thu'um he would use. Opening his mouth, which began to emanate smoke, he shouted.

"GOAL! HAH!"

Being the first time he would use this thu'um on earth, Edzard didn't know how difficult it would be to bend Gasper's will to his, so he decided to use two words to be sure it would work.

All those who had never heard a thu'um covered their ears at the sound this magic generated, as they watched with wide eyes as a wave of pale gold color rushed towards Gasper.

"Gasper!" Rias yelled in panic seeing how her servant was attacked by Edzard. Wasting no time, Rias raised her hand and prepared to launch an attack at Edzard, but she was stopped in her tracks when she felt the point of a sword on the back of her head.

"Rias-san. I recommend you not do anything stupid." Asia said as she gently pressed the tip of her mithril sword to the back of Rias's head. She had reacted quickly to prevent a problem from arising that could end up with a fight between her group and the devils. "Calm down. Since Edzard won't hurt Gasper-san."

Issei, who had also tried to attack Edzard, was being held back by Valerie. The devil squirmed as he tried to get out of the Dhampir's tight grip, but to no avail as he couldn't break free.

"Calm down, Sekiryuutei. Edzard has done nothing wrong to him." Valerie said calmly, because she trusted that Edzard would not do anything bad to Gasper.

Issei looked at Edzard and Valerie. Seeing that Gasper's childhood friend was calm, he decided to trust his friend, so he stopped struggling. This caused Valerie to release him.

Sirzechs, Serafall, and Grayfia were prepared to attack Edzard and Asia, but they stopped in their tracks when they heard Edzard speak.

"Stop your sacred gear."

To everyone's surprise, time stopped being frozen and taking advantage of that, Edzard quickly launched a sphere of magic made with the dispel magic spell against the circle of enemy magicians. This caused the spell to be dispelled.

With Gasper's Sacred Gear switched off, all those who were frozen came to their senses and looked at what was going on around them in confusion.

"What's going on here?" Akeno asked seeing that the whole place was under attack.

"We are under attack by magicians." Edzard said approaching Gasper and putting his finger on the Dhampir's forehead, making him fall asleep.

Gasper's body never hit the ground, as Edzard caught him. Carrying it, he brought it close to Rias, who no longer had Asia's sword on her neck. Leaving it close to his king, Edzard spoke.

"Sorry if I scared you, but that was the only way I could think of to stop Gasper."

Rias looked at Gasper and sighed in relief seeing that he was unharmed. Looking up, she looked at Edzard and spoke. "You do not have to apologize. It was my mistake to believe that you would hurt Gasper."

Edzard nodded and walked towards his wife.

Seeing that the magicians' spell that prevented them from teleporting was broken, Sirzechs told Rias and the rest of the devils everything. Who, hearing what was happening, decided to help those who were fighting outside the barrier. Valerie also went out to help her friends while Edzard and Asia stayed behind to make reserves in case things got worse.

Issei started pummeling the magicians while Rias and Akeno attacked them with magic. Sona and Tsubaki did the same, while Valerie attacked them with tentacles of darkness.

As the youths' fight continued, those within the barrier watched as Katerea descended, followed by Azazel.

"Looks like you're already tired." Azazel said mockingly seeing how Katerea was covered in wounds.

Katerea looked at Azazel and, clenching her teeth, she summoned a circle from which a snake appeared, which enveloped her and seemed to merge with her body. After that, she raised her hand and summoned an item from a magic circle. The item was a black key with a blue skull head on it.

Edzard and Asia's eyes widened in shock when they saw that object, because the aura it emitted was very similar to their shadowkeys, but there was a big difference, and that is that the aura of that key reeked of conjuration magic. So, acting quickly, Edzard raised his right hand and tried to conjure a spear of fire to stop the devil. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so in time and Katerea managed to activate the artifact.

A large portal made of purple energy formed behind Katerea's back. From said portal a daedra appeared, who was dressed in black plate armor with red details. On the daedra's back was a black greatsword with a red line down the middle.

'Don't fuck with me. Seriously, a fucking Xivkyn just showed up.' Edzard thought worriedly, since a high-level daedra just showed up. However, his eyes widened as he saw ten dremora appear beside the Xivkyn.

"Shit." It was the only thing Edzard said when he saw the daedras.

"Ha ha ha!" Katerea laughed insanely. "I hope they are ready to die"

What Katerea was saying was interrupted when the Xivkyn lopped off her head with a swift sweep of his sword. The speed he had used was such that only the most veteran could see what had happened. The ease with which the descendant of the original leviathan was struck down caused surprise and shock in Sirzechs, Serafall, Grayfia, Azazel, and Michael. Azazel who was closest to the spot calmly walked towards the Xivkyn.

"Hey hey. It seems you have killed your ally." He said as he brought his right hand to his chin. "Why did you do that?"

The Xivkyn did not respond verbally, but tightened its grip on his weapon.

"Azazel, move!" Edzard yelled as he felt the rapid buildup of power in the greatsword.

Azazel looked at Edzard not understanding why he yelled. And that was a colossal mistake, since the Xivkyn took advantage of that opportunity and moving his greatsword at high speed, released a large crescent of fire, which went at high speed to Azazel, who thanks to his years of fighting experience managed to move enough to avoid it. Unfortunately, he was not fast enough and ended up losing his left arm.

The crescent of fire continued on its way towards the barrier created by Sirzechs and Michael. Seeing that attack coming, Edzard quickly ran to the front and stretching out his hand, created a ward. This he did because he knew that the barrier would not be able to stop this type of attack.

The crescent impacted the ward and generated a large explosion that engulfed much of the building where the conference was held. Fortunately, the erected barrier managed to stop the damage resulting from the explosion, which had been greatly mitigated by Edzard's ward. When the dust thickened, half of the building was completely destroyed.

'The charge level of that attack was abnormal. It was too fast for a regular enchantment. So it must be an epic or legendary level enchantment.' Edzard thought as he watched the Xivkyn swing his sword into another stance.

Enchantment levels were the power levels that enchantments possessed on an item. These levels were six: Good, Superior, Exquisite, Perfect, Epic and Legendary. The first three levels were the most common to find in Tamriel. However, the last three were scarce and very difficult to find. In fact, weaving an Epic level enchantment was so difficult not only because of the amount of time, knowledge, and concentration required, but also because of the quality of the items that were needed. Only high-end items like Ebony, Daedric, Dragonbone, and Aetheric Metals were the only ones that could reach the top three power levels. Legendary level was almost impossible to weave by mortal hands, so that used to be the level of enchantment Daedric and Aedric artifacts used to have.

"Azazel, retreat!" Edzard yelled.

Seeing himself wounded, Azazel cast a magic circle on the stump of his arm to stop the bleeding and jumped back into the barreara.

"What is that guy?" Sirzechs asked with concern at the display of power he had seen.

"From the looks, it seems to be a Xivkyn. But it doesn't give me the feeling that other daedras give me." Edzard said looking at the Xivkyn intently.

"Xivkyn?" Azazel asked looking at Edzard. "What's that?"

"He is a high-level Daedra type. They are considered the personal guard of a certain Daedric prince."

"Daedric Prince?" Michael asked confused, because he only knew that the daedras were beings that Edzard's homeland faced from time to time. "What is a Daedric prince?"

"I will answer that question for you later. The only thing I will tell you now is that the ones who attacked Asia's hometown are ants compared to this guy." Edzard's words made Michael's eyes widen in surprise. "Also, this has become a bit troublesome. Since the guys around him are the ones one rank below him. So, they are also hard to kill for normal individuals. I even dare to say that even combining Rias and Sona's groups couldn't stand up to a group of them."

The leaders looked at Edzard with almost no surprise, for they had just witnessed the Xivkyn manage to maim one of them easily. So, finding out that those around him were almost at his level was a bad thing for them.

The Xivkyn looked at those at the barrier and plunged his greatsword into the ground. Placing both hands on the hilt of his greatsword, he beckoned with his helmet. This gesture caused the dremora to begin walking toward the barrier.

"They are moving forward. Who has a plan to stop them?" Azazel asked looking at everyone who was gathered inside the barrier.

Edzard looked at the dremora and sighed, for he was the only one who could fight them and not be caught off guard with the abilities they possibly had. So he turned his head and looking at his wife, he whispered to her. "Asia. I will banish them with my conjured swords. But in case it fails against the Xivkyn, have them all go back and create a barrier using your balance breaker. Something tells me that guy is going to be someone very troublesome."

Asia nodded, because she understood what Edzard meant, since like him, she also felt that there was something strange with that Xivkyn, since he did not have the unnatural aura that all daedras possessed.

Seeing that his wife already knew what to do, Edzard started toward the dremora. Extending his hands, he created a bound sword in each of them. Before anyone could say anything to him, he ran at high speed against the dremora. When he got close to them, he shouted. "TIID! KLO! UL!"

The faction leaders watched in amazement as Edzard disappeared and reappeared in front of the Xivkyn. The dremora that were in the middle of the path, fell headless as they were swallowed by puirple portals.

"W-w-what happened?" Sirzechs asked looking amazed at what had just happened, since he couldn't see anything of Edzard's attack.

"I-I-I do not know. I only saw that Edzard disappeared." Azazel said with wide eyes as concern filled his being, for he had never seen anything like that.

"Asia-san. Could you explain to us what happens?" Michael asked looking at Asia.

"It's alright, Michael-sama." Asia said looking at the leader of the angels. "Edzard has used a spell to stop time for a few seconds."

"Wait. He has stopped time?" Grayfia asked letting her serious woman mask drop as she was shocked by what Asia had said. And she wasn't the only one, as everyone looked at Asia and then at Edzard in surprise at those words. In their minds neither could understand how Edzard did it.

"That's right. Ed has stopped time for a few seconds. And taking advantage of that, he has defeated the lowest ranked enemies, leaving the strongest for last."

Edzard's sword was inches from the Xivkyn's head; however, the Xivkyn managed to parry the blow by raising his right arm. The bound blade slammed into the daedric armor plate, which showed no damage.

'It's over. Even just by touching you, my «Oblivion Bindings» ability will make you return to Coldharbor.' Edzard thought, feeling reassured that this would end quickly; however, his eyes widened in surprise when the Xivkyn did not dissipate. 'What the fuck?'

A second after thinking that, Edzard had to jump back to avoid the slash that was aimed at his head. When he landed, he saw his enemy. The fact that he didn't dissipate with the bound sword caused him great concern, so without thinking he used the vision of the tenth eye to see something. Seeing the body of his enemy with the spell, his eyes widened in surprise, for what he saw confirmed his worst fears.

'It's just as I imagined the worst-case scenario that could happen.' Edzard thought through clenched teeth. 'This guy is not a Xivkyn, he is a human from Nirm. A Nord by the structure of the body and the height of it. And from the amount of Daedric power coursing through his body, he's not just a Daedric worshiper with a special weapon. No, this guy is a full-fledged daedric champion.'

The Daedric Champions were the champions of the Daedric Princes. They were mortal beings who received a part of the power of a prince, the power granted was such that they could reach the base level of a hero of the elder scrolls. And if they possess daedric artifacts, well that made them true monsters difficult to defeat, achieving feats of being able to face a hero one by one. Fortunately, the princes were very picky when it came to giving that kind of power to mortals, so Daedric champions were very rare, to the point that the total number of champions in the entire history of nirm would not reach the hundred.

'Looks like Lady Nocturnal is mad at me for making me unlucky enough to meet a champion here.' Edzard thought as he raised his hand and beckoned to Asia.

Asia's eyes widened in surprise at the sign Edzard sent her. So, without wasting a second, she looked at the leaders of the three factions.

"Please. Tell everyone to return to the barrier." Asia said as he walked towards the center of the barrier.

"Why Asia-san?" Michael asked with concern in his voice.

"I am afraid the situation has worsened. If they continue to be exposed to what is to come, they will die." Asia said as she used a communication device that she had on her ear to call the rest of the girls, who also had one on a single frequency.

The three leaders looked at Asia doubtfully, but in the end, they decided to listen to her and using magic they called everyone who was fighting outside the barrier.

"Azazel. Why did you bring me back?" Vali asked looking at the Fallen Angel.

"Young Asia has told us to bring them here to prevent them from dying." Azazel replied looking at Asia. "She unfortunately she has not told us the reason for her death."

"The combat that is about to begin is very likely to become more chaotic than the one you had with the descendant of Leviathan." Asia answered as she closed her eyes and extended her hands summoning her sacred gear.

"Balance Breaker." Asia said in a whisper.

Asia's body shone for a second, after which she appeared wearing her armor.

Rias, Issei and the rest of those who had never seen Asia's balance breaker looked at her armor in amazement, as it gave off a somewhat strange aura that caused a little discomfort in the devils.

"B-balance B-breaker?" Issei's voice contained surprise seeing that someone else here could enter her balance breaker apart from Vali.

"That's how it is. This is my balance breaker." Asia said as a golden light formed in her hands and then, in less than a second, a dome of golden energy formed around them. This dome ended up consuming the barrier that previously protected them.

"W-what is this?" Issei asked looking at the barrier.

"It's a barrier created by mixing the defensive properties of my balance breaker and a special barrier spell." Asia answered as she looked at the barrier trying to find any flaws, as this was the first time she had used it outside the practice yard. She sighed when she saw that there were no cracks or thinner areas.

"Wow. Is beautiful." Lint said looking at the barrier, as it seemed to be made of liquid gold. "How resilient is it?"

"Enough to withstand several high-level spells Ed uses." Asia replied without giving them more details, because although the barrier was holding up well, it had a big problem. And it was that she couldn't move, otherwise the barrier would fall.

The moment Asia finished speaking, everyone jumped as an explosion hit the barrier Asia had erected. Looking towards the place of origin they were amazed when they saw Edzard fly towards them.

Edzard was flying through the air after trying to hit the champion with a blow enhanced by destruction magic. He had jumped up and positioned himself in front of the champion and tried to punch him in the chest, but missed when the champion moved slightly and then kicked him. Fortunately, he managed to cover himself, but the force of the blow sent him flying.

'Looks like that was a bad idea.' Edzard thought as he steadied himself in the air before landing gracefully. 'I can't attack with magic, my tenth eye spell let me see that that armor is enchanted. Also, me dispel magic spell won't have much effect on enchantments woven by a Daedric Prince. So I can only attack with a sword.'

Raising his right hand, Edzard began to conjure the weapon he would need. If his enemy used a weapon enchanted with the power of fire, he would use one enchanted with the power of ice. The only weapon that could rival that sword was one with a perfect level enchantment, but one that was stronger than that thanks to the passive characteristics of the material it was forged from. In a purple flash, a Sthalrim greatsword manifested. Taking the weapon with both hands, Edzard watched as his enemy did the same with his greatsword.

The champion charged the enchantment on his sword and sent three crescents of fire at Edzard. The crescents formed a triangle, which was closing with each meter that advanced.

Edzard saw the attack and charging the enchantment of his greatsword, whose blade was enveloped by a pale blue aura, he launched himself at his enemy. When he was mere meters from the first crescent, he swung his greatsword and sliced through the enemy spell with ease, doing the same with the other two. After that, he continued on his way and appeared in front of his enemy. In one swift motion, he slashed across at the champion, who moved his own weapon to block the blow; however, he ended up flying when Edzard applied more force to the blow.

The champion maneuvered in the air and managed to land in a crouch. As he got back to his feet, he looked at Edzard, who was also looking at him.

"A-amazing." Irina said seeing Edzard deflect those attacks, because for her they had moved so fast that she had barely seen the flashes of the blow.

"Yes. It was incredible." Xenovia said staring at the battle.

Vali narrowed his eyes at the fight. "Was that why you made us come in here? I don't see much in that battle."

Asia frowned hearing Vali's teasing tone, so looking at him, she spoke. "Who says the battle has begun?"

Everyone looked at Asia with confusion.

"Asia-chan. What do you mean?" Serafall asked.

"Those attacks just now were just to test the waters. The real battle is about to begin."

The atmosphere was calm and silent, since even the enemy magicians who were still alive looked expectantly at what was about to happen.

Edzard swung his sword and took an attack stance. His knees were slightly bent, one foot in front of the other, holding his greatsword pointed at the champion. The champion, for his part, took a position similar to Edzard's, with the only difference being that he had his greatsword on his shoulder.

Both rushed at each other at high speed. When they were face to face, Edzard spun on his own axis and slashed downward diagonally as his greatsword was enveloped in a pale blue aura. The champion responded by doing the same, but slashing upwards diagonally. When the two weapons collided, they generated a huge explosion that engulfed them both. When the explosion dissipated, Edzard and the champion were shown struggling with their weapons while below them was a large crater.

Using more force in his greatsword, Edzard managed to push the champion back a few centimeters; however, he responded by jumping back and releasing seven crescents of fire. Seeing the attack, Edzard raised his left hand and using a spell, created a large number of ice spikes. Both attacks collided, creating a large cloud of dust.

Edzard took advantage of that to launch an attack. So, using his speed, he ran towards his enemy and jumping up, he started to launch quick slashes. The champion was not far behind, deflecting Edzard's attacks with great precision. If this was a battle with normal weapons, the only sound that would be heard would be the clash of greatswords, but this battle had enchanted weapons, so the sound of magic explosions began to fill the place.

These explosions had generated great currents of air, which had forced the magicians to withdraw from the place for fear of dying.

All those who did not know the power of Edzard watched the battle in amazement, as both enemies had started attacking each other while running around the place. Furthermore, the barrier had been shaken more than once thanks to the shockwaves generated by the combat and the occasional spell.

"Wh-what power." Xenovia said in amazement seeing Edzard fight. She had already seen him fight Kokabiel, but that battle was nothing compared to this one. Looking between Edzard and Issei, she began to wonder which of the two would be the best option for her to have a strong son.

"How can he fight like that?" Sona asked with astonishment and a hint of anger, since the battle was about to destroy the academy.

"I do not know." Sirzechs replied looking at the fight. Then, his gaze fell on Asia. "Miss. How old is Edzard-kun?"

Asia looked at the leader of the devils and while still concentrating on maintaining the barrier, she answered him. "He is seventeen years old."

Sirzechs, Serafall and Grayfia's eyes widened in shock as they did not expect someone so young to be so strong.

"He he. Really amazing how much power and skill both of them are using in this battle." Azazel said with a smile as he had his only remaining hand on his chin. "I was really surprised when Vali told me that Edzard had killed Kokabiel, but seeing the power of him, I understand how he could do it."

"Why do you say that?" Lint asked not understanding why Azazel was saying that.

"The strength and speed they are using is between the levels of an Ultimate-class devil and Maou."

Azazel's response amazed the younger devils and exorcists, as they did not expect someone in their age range to be so powerful.

Edzard parried a blow from the Champion's greatsword using his own greatsword. His enemy's attack had caused him to have a small opening, which Edzard took advantage of to kick him. The kick slammed into the breastplate of the black armor, sending the Champion flying several meters. Seeing that his enemy was maneuvering to fall unscathed, Edzard jumped after him with the intention of leaving him no time to strike back.

Both enemies met in the air and began exchanging blows. In the middle of said exchange, the weapons of both of them went flying several meters from their current position. Finding himself unarmed, Edzard charged at his enemy. He quickly began throwing blows at him, but the champion managed to deflect or dodge the blows, then countered with his own blows.

'He's using the style of hand-to-hand combat taught in the Imperial legions.' Edzard thought as he parried a blow aimed at his face. Grabbing his enemy's arm, Edzard took the opportunity to land a magic-enhanced blow to the entire helm, which scored a small dent. The blow caused the Champion to crash to the ground, creating a crater; however, he quickly recovered and managed to get away from Edzard.

The champion began to run for his weapon. Grabbing it, he quickly created a large crescent of fire. Edzard saw the attack coming and tried to jump to dodge it, but he couldn't do it, because the champion had moved at high speed to his right side and launching his greatsword, cornered Edzard.

Finding himself cornered by both attacks, Edzard quickly thought of what to do to save his life, so he quickly created a ward. The crescent impacted against the ward while the weapon went through Edzard's back without harming him. The impact of the crescent generated an explosion, which dissipated, revealing a semi-naked Edzard.

'Dammit. The clothes of this world do not hold anything.' Edzard thought seeing that he was only dressed in his pants and boots and the entire upper part of his outfit was destroyed.

"I'll finish this now." Edzard said as he extended his hand and using telekinesis, he drew the greatsword towards his. Already with his weapon in hand, he returned to throw himself against his enemy, who did the same. The champion dodged a horizontal slash and quickly ran for his greatsword. When he got his hands on it, he launched himself against Edzard.

The sound of both weapons hitting was heard again as both enemies began to increase their attack speed. Seeing that he would have to use a thu'um to defeat his enemy, Edzard deflected a blow from the champion's sword and shouted. "TIID!"

The shout caused time to slow down enough that he could land a clear blow on the champion. Taking advantage of this, Edzard moved his greatsword towards his enemy's neck hoping to finish everything; however, his eyes widened as the champion managed to parry the blow.

The surprise made Edzard not see how the champion tried to split him in half from his shoulder to his hip. Fortunately, his enhanced reflexes allowed him to react at the last second by blocking the attack with his own weapon.

Asia watched with a bit of fear as her husband was almost killed. Letting out a sigh, she began to analyze the fight.

'How was the Xivkyn able to stop a blow when time stopped?' thought Asia worriedly. Since the only ones who could move when time was stopped by a thu'um were supposed to be those who managed to comprehend the change in the currents of time, that was almost impossible for normal beings. As she thought, she came to a different conclusion. 'But if he didn't stop it because he knew that time stopped, but he did it thanks to his reflections.'

Despite being a good guess, that would be a new dilemma. And that was, how good were that Xivkyn's reflexes?

'Master Tolfdir once told us that Edzard's reflexes were not a coincidence, but rather an inheritance he had obtained as a descendant of the hero of Kvatch.' Asia thought, remembering how the old master told them that heroes are usually born with an enhanced ability, which becomes a trait inherited by their descendants. According to the old mage, the descendants of the Eternal Champion have the ability to see how magical energies flow. The descendants of the Nerevarine were born with a resistance to fire magic so great that they are technically immune to fire spells or so it was said, since there was no record of any descendants of the protector of Morrowind. While the hero of Kvatch was said to possess extremely fast combat reflexes.

'No. That can't be possible, since the only living descendants of the Hero of Kvatch are Edzard and Marie. So, maybe it's just that his abilities are being enhanced by his armor's enchantments.' Asia thought as she continued to maintain her concentration to prevent the barrier from falling.

Unbeknownst to Asia, Edzard had come to the same conclusion as her after their exchanges of blows.

'This battle is going on too long. While I feel like I can win if I make this last longer, it would be best to end it all. So I feel like a single word from the dragon aspect will do.'

After thinking that, Edzard opened his mouth; however, before he could shout, he had to jump to the right to dodge a large bolt of lightning that fell from the sky. When he landed, he looked around to see what was going on. His eyes ended up resting on the origin of the attack.

The one who had attacked Edzard was another Xivkyn or so it seemed from the clothes. This being was clearly female, as she had a slimmer body with the curves that a woman usually has. She wore armor consisting of a breastplate, bracers, and greaves of the same design as the Champion. The only difference was that this armor seemed to be light and not heavy. Plus, of course, this one had a hooded wizard robe underneath the armor.

'Shit, another one showed up.' Edzard thought through clenched teeth. 'There is no other option, I will have to use the dragon aspect.'

Edzard opened his mouth again, but again had to dodge another attack, so he couldn't use his thu'um. The woman's attacks were so fast that Edzard had to go on the defensive, which prevented him from using his thu'um properly.

Edzard jumped several meters into the sky, dodging several ice spears. He was getting upset about this, so wanting to end it all, he shouted into the air. "FEIM!"

Edzard's body became ethereal and when he was about to use the dragon aspect he saw how the mage approached the other champion and using a key like the one Katerea had used, she opened a new portal through which they both quickly crossed.

"Tch. They escaped." Edzard said upon seeing that the two champions had left the place.

Wasting no time, he started walking towards the barrier that Asia had erected. When he arrived, he watched as Asia deactivated it.

"Fiuu…. That was great, Edzard." Azazel said approaching Edzard. "Who could say that you knew how to fight so well?"

"I am a man of many talents, Azazel." Edzard answered with a mocking smile.

"Yes. I can see that-"

Azazel was interrupted when he saw Edzard raise his sword and charge at him. However, he was shocked when he saw that it used his greatsword to deflect a white beam that threatened to hit him in the back.

The sneak attack had everyone on their guard and searching for the assailant.

"So you were the traitor who allowed this attack, right?" Edzard asked looking at the sky and seeing that Vali was in his Scaled Mail again.

"I really am getting old if I couldn't perceive that attack," Azazel said, flying towards his wayward pupil. "Hey Vali. Can you answer me something?"

"Umm. What thing?"

"You see, Shemhazai, my Vice Governor, has informed me that there has been irregular movement among the rebels from all factions. Since everyone was getting together in one organization." The smile on Azazel's face grew as he continued to speak. "If I remember correctly, it's called the Khaos Brigade."

"Khaos Brigade?" Sirzechs asked confused.

"Khaos Brigade?" Edzard said in a whisper, but then he remembered where he had heard that name.

'That's not the name of the organization that dragon in the shape of a girl invited me to.' Edzard thought as concern became visible on his face. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't pay attention to the rest of the conversation. Fortunately, he managed to come back to reality when he heard mention that that girl was called Ophis and that she was also a dragon so powerful that even the Biblical God feared her.

"I see, so she was called Ophis." Edzard said drawing everyone's attention.

"Wait, Ed. Do you know her?" Issei asked looking at his friend.

"That's right. I met her a while ago, in fact, she asked me to join her organization. Of course I refused, since I wasn't interested." Edzard said when he saw that everyone was looking at him. "But I also remember something else. And she never mentioned anything about wanting to conquer the world."

"He is right. Both Ophis and I have no interest in conquering the world. However, our power has attracted certain individuals who do wish it." Vali said looking at Edzard.

"Wow, and here I thought you joined Katerea because none of you could become a Maou." Azazel said.

"Becoming a Maou?" Sona asked looking at Vali.

"My real name is Vali Lucifer."

Surprise appeared on the faces of everyone who didn't know that.

"I-impossible." Rias said in shock.

"I am the great-grandson of the original Lucifer." Vali said. "I am the son of a pure-blooded devil and a human. I mean, I'm a half devil."

"I see. It was that human half that allowed you to obtain a sacred gear, right?" Edzard asked as he narrowed his eyes at Vali, for now he knew that he was Rizevim's familiar.

"That's right. Despite having the blood of a devil the human half of him did manage to obtain the power of the Vanishing Dragon. Seriously, your very existence is a complete mystery."

"Perhaps. But I think if you look up the word miracle in the dictionary, my face appears there." Vali said as he showed his devil wings.

"Those wings." Rias said with concern, as like all devils, she knew that only the descendants of the original Maous had multiple wings.

"Among all the Hakuryuukou from both the past, present and future, you may be the most powerful of them all." Azazel said looking at Vali.

Vali stopped looking at Azazel and looked at Issei.

"Hyoudou Issei." Vali said drawing the attention of the aforementioned. "Fate seems to be cruel to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I possess the power of a Maou and that of a dragon. Whereas you were just a sad ordinary human before you reincarnated. If you happened to lose the Boosted Gear, you would be nothing. Your power is so low that I even feel sorry that we are enemies destined to fight to the death. So, to help you become more powerful, I will make your mind focus solely on revenge." Vali said as he extended his left hand and created a large orb of magic. "I will make you an avenger by murdering your parents here and now!"

Issei gritted his teeth in anger, but before he knew it, he was hit with a purple sphere. This made him manage to enter his Balance Breaker in a second. Surprised by this, Issei turned his head and looked at Edzard, who had shadowed eyes.

"Finish him, Issei." Edzard's voice was hard and cold as a winter day in Winterhold. And it is that he was a person who hated that civilians or people who had nothing to do with a conflict were threatened, so Vali's threat made him angry, but he would not face him. No, that was Issei's job as the son of the threatened.

Issei nodded and quickly charged towards Vali.

Both dragons began to fight in the sky. Blows were exchanged left and right. Issei even went so far as to use a sword called Ascalon, whose aura caused Edzard to confirm that it was a holy sword for dragon slaying. The battle climaxed when Issei embedded one of Vali's armor gems into his own armor. After a few moments in which the idiot screamed in pain, he managed to assimilate Albion's power. With that power, Issei forced Vali to use his Half-Dimension. After Azazel lied to Issei about what that power would do, Issei increased his power enough to make Vali about to use some special power.

When Vali was about to use that power, the barrier protecting the academy was broken and someone fell from the sky.

The person who fell was a young man with short light-colored hair. In addition, he was dressed in red armor with gold details. In his hand was a kind of staff.

"Bikou. What are you doing here?" Vali asked looking at the aforementioned.

"Our fight against the gods of the north is about to begin. So they sent me to pick you up."

"I see. So it's about time."

"Hey, who the hell are you?!" Issei yelled as he pointed at Bikou.

"He is a descendant of the famous Sun Wukong." Azazel said approaching Issei. "To think that you would join the Khaos Brigade. It really is bad news for us. Although, I guess the white dragon and Sun Wukong work well."

"ha ha ha! Unlike my ancestor, I do what I want." Bikuo said with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Sekiryuutei."

Saying that, Bikou swung his staff around and then slammed it into the ground. This caused a kind of portal made of darkness to open at his feet. Said portal began to swallow both Bikou and Vali.

"Get stronger, Hyoudou Issei. Our next battle will be harder." Vali said, then looking at her on Edzard. "I wish for the day I can face you, dragon slayer."

Edzard didn't answer and just looked at the half devil. Raising his left hand he summoned an object. Already with the object in hand, he looked at Vali and threw it to him.

Vali caught the object and looked at it. His eyes widened as he realized what it was. Looking at Edzard, he spoke with amazement in his voice. "W-where did you get this ring?"

"I tore it from its owner's severed arm." Edzard said in a cold tone. "Now that you know this. Do you think you can take on me?"

"Who knows, but now I know that Ophis was right. You are strong, Edzard Cumberland Rolandson."

The eyes of Edzard and his lovers narrowed at Vali's words, as they did not understand how he knew about that name.

"How do you know that name, Vali?" Edzard asked in a cold, deadly voice. His tone of voice sent a shiver down his spine to many.

Unfortunately, Vali couldn't answer, as the portal ended up engulfing him, taking him out of the place.

Everyone was gathered in the room where the conference was originally held. This room, along with much of the academy had already been rebuilt thanks to the combined efforts of members of the three factions.

"So, Edzard." Azazel said looking at the aforementioned. "Are you going to talk about what happened in Tuscany yet?"

Edzard looked at the leaders of the three factions and with a sigh, took out an item from his bag. "Yes. Ask what you want"

Author's note:

To those who have made it this far, Thanks for reading. Because being honest, I don't know how to write much in English and I'm relying on Google translators and the dictionaries that come with office 2019.

The second part of today's updates. XD

Here we see the canon change a little more, as we see the appearance of the Daedric Champions. While the bearers of Daedric artifacts are considered champions in the Elder Scrolls series, here I decided to add a few more things to them to make them stronger and serve as more formidable enemies. These two who just appeared will be recurring enemies for several chapters.

I also added the enchantment level thing to give more depth to the power of Nirm's enchanted weapons, and by the way, to be able to make a noticeable difference between those enchanted by mortals and those enchanted by Daedric princes. For the levels I am using the upgrade levels of the artifacts in blacksmithing. XD

Well, I apologize for any misspelling. Do not forget to leave a review if you liked the chapter or if there is something that needs to be improved or if you have any questions about the story. With nothing more to say, until the next chapter.