Kurozai's eyes narrowed after Kokabeil introduced himself, calling Kurozai out specifically. "Good to put a face to the name." Kurozai said, recalling a conversation he had with Mittlet and Kalawarna after the rating game.
The two had blamed Kokabeil for Raynare's descent into madness. Having wanted nothing more than to please the hand of the Grigori. "If you ever are at odds with the Fallen Angels," Kalawarna had said. "Then please, put Kokabeil down like the dog he is."
"Glad to know you at least know some key players in our world." Kokabeil smugly said. "Gives a dark soul hope for the future."
Kurozai scoffed and shrugged. "I didn't study for nothing. But are you just here to talk shop, or is there something you want?"
"Oh, getting down to business then? I like that." Kokabeil smiled and turned to face Kuoh itself. "I'm here to offer you a chance to take everything you have and leave Kuoh." Kokabeil explained. "I plan on remodeling the town into a smoldering crater and would rather not let the newest evil force be caught in the rubble."
Beneath Kurozai's armor, the young man visibly bristled at the bold declaration to destroy his home. "Why?" Kurozai asked and stepped forward.
"Simply put, I'm hoping the devil king will run out to save his baby sister."
Rias stomped forward with a scowl. "And if you do that, it will kick off a war between Devil, Fallen Angels and God again."
Kokabeil let out a laugh. "A better result than what I got from stealing the Excalibur Shards. I was sure Micheal was going to come for me…" Kokabeil sighed. "But instead, I only got a few holy sword users and a few exorcists… It was disappointing until I learned that the Overlord himself was living in this town."
Kurozai's eyes narrowed as he watched Kokabeil. "So you came out all this way just to piss off Porch Tech-"
"It's… Sir Zechs." Kokabeil said, slightly confused at Kurozai's version of the devil king's name.
"That's what I said." Kurozai shook his head. "Regardless, you came out here to piss him off and kick off a war?"
Kokabeil stared at Kurozai for a moment before returning to the matter at hand. "Yes. After the three way war ended in a draw, no one wanted to help kick off the next one!" The fallen Angel raged. "And now that fool Azazel is off galavanting to collect Sacred Gears and try to finish up his little project he started on all that time ago."
Mentally, Kurozai bookmarked Azazel. Something about the name was important… Something he read or something he heard. Either way, Azazel was important somehow.
"Even now, the three factions are in an uneasy cease fire, all waiting for one or the other to do something. And cap it off with no Overlord to corrupt man kind in the last one hundred years, and everyone's gone down right PEACEFUL!" Kokabeil calmed himself and looked down at Kurozai. "But now you're here… And that's got everyone shaken. And that shaking's all I need to topple this damn peace and start a war all over again!"
"Sounds like you got big plans." Kurozai called out, and slowly placed his left hand behind him. Signalling Issei to call Gnarl.
"Of course! But this time, I thought to use Devils!" Kokabeil turned his attention to Rias and Sona. "With Rias Gremory, Sir Zechs little sister, and Sona Sitri, the sister of Serafall Leviathan, there's a perfect blend of power hanging over that little school of yours. So by destroying it and killing you, it will send the devils into a tizzy and prompt Serafall to declare war on the Fallen Angels! And when they declare war, the Angels of Heaven will come down to smite them!"
Kurozai felt his anger start to bubble after Kokabeil made the threat on Rias' life.
"And when the war ends only one will be left standing…" Kokabeil pointed at Kurozai. "You."
"What?!" Kurozai yelled, the accusation making his anger bubble even more.
"Oh yes, once all is said and done, you'll be left in the dust, and when the lesser pantheons of the world see that Christianity has fallen and that you survived, they'll all fear you enough to declare war! They'll accuse allies of siding with you and rip each other to shreds!" Kokabeil began to laugh louder and louder, sounding even more insane than everyone had initially thought. "The War to End All Wars!!!"
Freed laughed as well. "DON'T YOU LOVE IT WHEN HE LET'S HIS PSYCHOTIC SIDE SHOW? IT TURNS INTO A REAL PARTY! AND WHAT PARTY IS COMPLETE WITHOUT ITS GIFTS?!" Freed opened his cloak revealing two swords hidden within. The Excalibur: Sword of Mimicry, and The Excalibur: Sword of Nightmares.
Kurozai's rage was replaced with something primal… Something that screamed at him from the depths of his soul… Fear. Freed had three Excalibur Shards, each one thirsty for Kurozai's blood, and each one ready to kill him for simply existing.
"Look at that~" Freed taunted, staring right at Kurozai. "Looks like the little Overlord is scared~"
Kokabeil grumbled. "Freed, contain yourself. We're not here to kill him."
Freed clicked his tongue and closed his cloak. "Fine."
"Now then Overlord, you've heard my request. I'm giving you the chance to take your generals and leave. Including those traitors you stole." Kokabeil said with a smirk.
Kurozai, despite his fear, had only one question. "What about my sister?"
Rias snapped her head to Kurozai, stunned he would even consider it.
"Unfortunately, I cannot allow any humans to leave… The only way to piss Heaven off is to kill their precious little mortals… But I'm sure a man of your caliber can simply leave something like family beh-"
The fireball flew so close, Kokabeil started sweating from the heat. A few hairs were singed off the side of his head, and a few feathers even caught fire from proximity alone.
Where before, steam flew out of Kurozai's helmet in gusts, purple fire began to billow out of his helmet. "I'll kill you before you get the chance." Kurozai's voice was commanding. It was no threat, but a promise.
"And here I was hoping you were reasonable. You'd throw your entire future away, your kingdom for one soul?" Kokabeil crossed his arms like a disappointed parent would. "What a shame… I'll have to figure out something else to help kick off that Grand War."
"You're a madman if you think I'm letting you get anywhere close to hurt my sister."
Kokabeil raised his arms and summoned a volley of light spears. "LET'S KICK THIS WAR OFF WITH A BANG, SHALL WE OVERLORD KURO-KISHI!?"
The spears began to fly straight at the group, ready to kill the devils that stood there…
But all shattered against a giant metal shield.
"Took your damn time." Kurozai hissed at Dohnaseek.
"It was my first time going through a Gate, Sorry." Dohnaseek said as he lowered his shield, revealing that both Freed and Kokabeil ran away.
Kurozai turned and looked over the horizon… He pressed two fingers against his helmet. "Gnarl, get every Minion we have ready to mobilize." Kurozai ordered, ignoring everyone around him. "We got a big fight and I don't want to leave any chances."
"I heard Sire. Do you want me to take Lady Shirosa into the Netherworld for protection?"
"Yes. Once she's safe, get up top and help me order the Minions."
"It shall be done Sire."
Kurozai turned on his heel and walked to the gate. "Generals, on me." Kurozai commanded, stepped onto the Gate and fell in.
-OVERLORD-
Kurozai, his Generals and Minions, and Rias and her Peerage all stood at the entrance of Kuoh Academy while a large protective dome formed around them, courtesy of Sona.
"Dohnaseek, focus on pressing whatever Kokabeil throws at us. You and your minions are the front line defenders. Mittlet, I want you and the greens to stay separated, keep them in places that you wouldn't think of hiding them. Kalawarna you stay in the back and fire at anything that looks at Asia wrong. Asia you and the blues are on healer duty." Kurozai explained the plan to his generals, sans one. "Issei, I want the browns to be up front, but I need you to be behind everyone else. Gather enough Boosts and transfer it evenly through the devils."
"Yes Lord Kurozai." The five generals said simultaneously.
"Let's show this fucker a real war." Kurozai said and looked at Rias. "We have an hour till reinforcements, right?"
Rias nodded. Behind her back, Akeno had called Sir Zechs for assistance, but it would take time for him to muster a force and get there.
"...Should be a fun hour." Kurozai said, and through his voice alone, everyone could tell he had a dark smile plastered across his face.
-DxD-
Shoes and Metal Boots thudded against the ground as Kurozai, his followers, and Rias and her Peerage ran out to the main yard of Kuoh Academy.
"ALRIGHT YOU OVERGROWN PENGUIN! BRING OUT YOUR DEAD!" Kurozai yelled, his voice echoing across the yard and shaking the ground softly.
Sitting above them all, in an odd flying throne and platform, Kokabeil let out a sigh. "I'm disappointed in you… I had hoped you would have come to your senses and ditched Little Red. But beggars can't be choosers." The fallen Angel held up his hand and summoned a spear of light the size of a truck, before throwing it straight into the ground. "I'd rather not bore myself by fighting you lot yet, so… enjoy playing with my pets!"
The ground cracked open as the spear exploded hellfire pouring out as if a pipe burst…
Then, paws began to grip at the edges…
Multiple monsters crawled out, each taller than a building with the muscles to match… they were covered in a thick layer of fur, one was black, another red, and the third was brown… Each of these monsters had three heads, each of them being a dog.
Escapee's from the dog kennel of Hades: Cerberi Hounds
"That's gonna be one hell of a flea bath…" Kurozai said slowly backing up with the others.
"They're the pups of Cerberus!" Rias informed Kurozai. "Nowhere near the strength of their father, but strong all the same!"
"Oh great, I love puppies!" Kurozai spat. "Alright! Let's get to work!" Kurozai cracked his hands together, the tips of the gauntlets sparking against each other, purple sparks flying off with each hit, then pointed at the Cerberi. "CHARGE!"
Kurozai broke ground with how fast he took off, bringing the attention of the largest Cerberi, that being the red one.
Kalawarna, Rias and Akeno took off into the sky to pelt the black Cerberi with magic and fire.
And on the ground, Dohnaseek, Koneko and Mittlet fought against the brown Cerberi, the smallest of the three.
Finally, Issei and Asia stuck with the third group, the former staying behind to start stacking boosts.
-OVERLORD-
Issei carried Asia in a bridal carry, who was carrying her shield to block fire or stray projectiles from above.
"That's one strong bitch!" Issei yelled wincing as Asia's smaller shield blocked a wave of fire. The hound tried to snap at Issei, but Dohnaseek's shield bashed into the side of its third head, knocking the dog over.
"Speak later! Keep moving!" Dohnaseek yelled before using his shield as a steamroller to push the Brown Cerberi.
The middle head was too busy to care as green minions appeared from the air and stabbed the back of its head, their general along with them. "I love dogs! So when I say 'This hurts me more than it does you?' I mean it!" Mittlet yelled as she used two of her knives to blind one eye in the middle head.
"NICE JOB MITTLET!" Dohnaseek yelled as he pushed the Cerberi against a wall. "Your turn Devil!"
The two heads free snapped out to bite Mittlet, yet Koneko grabbed the Cerberi by the tail before swinging it around like a club, beating it into the wall. "I hate dogs."
Mittlet jumped off the hound and stood on the roof of the building Koneko was beating. "How could you say that?! Doggies are adorable!"
"Dogs are more evil incarnate than your boss." Koneko said, still beating the building with her Cerberi club, the hound howled before spitting out a wave of fire, rolling onto Koneko, singing the edges of her clothes.
Dohnaseek bashed his shield against the hound, breaking the wall with the hit. "Retreat and Heal. We will take care of the Cerberi."
Koneko winced as her skin felt as if it was melting. "F-fine…"
At that moment, Issei ran over, Asia still in his arms. "Healing coming up!" He yelled.
As Asia jumped out of Issei's arms to heal Koneko, the brown Cerberi stood up and let out a howl. It still had more than enough fight in it.
-DxD-
"HOLY SHIT!"
Kurozai skidded on his chest before scrambling to his feet to avoid another bite. The eldest Cerberi pup was faster than the other two, which put Kurozai at a disadvantage.
"FUCK!" Kurozai yelled before falling onto his back to narrowly avoid being bitten. With a roar, Kurozai pierced the hound with his gauntlets and clung on for dear life.
Unfortunately, the hound began to shake the head around to try and fling Kurozai off. "I'M GOING TO PUKE!" Kurozai yelled, his legs dangling and flailing about with each shake. "BAD DOG! DOWN BOY?!"
One of the other heads grabbed the Overlord by his leg and tossed him into the air, screaming the whole way.
Kurozai spun as he plummeted back to the earth, the crimson hound's middle head snapped its jaws shut around him… For a moment all was calm… The next, Kurozai slowly pried open the hound's mouth, his armor covered in dog saliva. "Oh sins… This sucks. huh- OH SHIT!" Kurozai jumped out of the hound's mouth before it could spew fire.
Now free, Kurozai rolled on the ground before throwing a fireball at the middle head, causing its jaw to shut, halting the fire.
The hound pounced at Kurozai, the other two heads taking control while the middle one regained stability. The Overlord jumped out of the way, causing the hound to crash into one of the fences, which led into the tennis court.
The crimson Cerberi stood up, its three heads snarling, watching as Kurozai walked into the tennis court, having grabbed something.
"Alright boy! FETCH!" Kurozai said and revealed the item to be a Tennis ball Launcher. The machine activated and began to rapidly fire tennis balls.
This distracted all three heads, as they saw the small tennis balls bounce around the court and gave it the instinct to chase each one.
Kurozai climbed out of the court and stood on the rim of the fencing. "Alright Gnarl, this better fucking work!" Kurozai snapped as electricity crackled in his palm. The lightning shot out and covered the red Cerberi.
The large hound howled in pain, its strength slowly leaving it before it collapsed against the ground… Voices began to whisper in the hound's mind, telling the large dog to submit…
The electricity stopped, and a hand began to pet the middle head… All three opened their eyes and saw that the one they were ordered to kill was the one responsible for the pets…
"I think it worked, Gnarl…" Kurozai whispered into his helmet as the Cerberi stared at Kurozai curiously. "Hey big guy… How do you feel?"
The red furred Cerberi slowly stood up and let out a bark, before its tail began to wag. Why had it ever tried to kill the nice man? He pet them! Not even Hades did that!
"I'm gonna call you Hinoinu!" Kurozai said with a jovial tone. "Do you like that? Huh boy?"
The Red Cerberi bounced a few times, it was more than excited! The Nice Man just gave them a name!
"Aw you're not so bad!" Kurozai held his arms out and instantly regretted it once all three heads licked him, nearly knocking him over with their tongues. "... We'll work on that." Kurozai dryly said.
Hinoinu barked excitedly, ready to play.
"Alright, you see the black Cerberi?" Kurozai said and pointed to the middle brother. "He's being mean to my friends! You know what to do!"
Hinoinu paused and stared at its brother… before growling.
"Alright! SICCEM!" Kurozai watched as Hinoinu sprinted over and knocked the black Cerberi down.
"I told you Evil Presence would work Sire!"
Kurozai pressed his hand against his helmet. "Yes Gnarl, I noticed. Get some minions to make accommodations for our new pet." He ordered before turning around to see Valper Galilei still working on fusing three of the four Excalibur Shards…
The Overlord took two steps before he was blindsided and knocked away.
Kurozai rolled across the ground for a few seconds before he crashed into a tree. "I'm getting real tired of shit happening when I'm not looking!" Kurozai hissed and got onto his feet. "Especially when I get fucking blindsided by some church clock gobbler!"
AGC had taken the field, his Excalibur, thrumming with energy. "I'm already tired of you, and we've only met twice…" The exorcist spat. "I plant a bug in the perverts house, you find and break it immediately!" AGC slashed his sword, a wave of energy flying out of it and aimed at Kurozai, who had to dodge out of the way, lest he be cut in half. "I stab you in the shoulder, convinced that you would have died from the holy wound, yet you corrupt the sword and come back stronger!" AGC sent out more waves of energy at Kurozai. "You are like an annoying cockroach who won't get out of the way!"
Kurozai ducked behind a wall and began to plant the explosive spikes into one side of it. "What's your fucking problem with me?" Kurozai asked as he planted around twelve spikes. "Do you hate Overlord's that much or something?!"
"Hate?" AGC scoffed before jumping over the wall and crashing through the roof. "No… Hate is too simple. I loathe Overlord's." The Exorcist stomped closer to Kurozai, not noticing the multiple spikes embedded into the upcoming wall.
Kurozai slowly backed up, his thumb hovering over the trigger. "Why?! What the fuck did we do to you?"
AGC slashed out, cutting Kurozai's unmarked shoulder this time. "You exist! A stain upon the Holy One's glorious earth! The fact that such evil is even considered to be necessary to the holy plan is disgusting!" AGC continued his tirade, anger evident even behind his hood. "I was born and marked by God himself! And from the moment my father told me of the unholy abominations that plague history, I knew why I was made!" AGC spread his arms out, his hood falling down to reveal his head, covered in tattoos of different holy symbols, all relating back to christianity in some way. His head shaved bare to proudly display a cross that ran down the back of his neck, his brown eyes crazed with a supposed holy purpose. "I AM THE CURE TO THE BLIGHTS! I SHALL CUT ALL OF OVERLORD'S OUT OF OUR HISTORY! AND THEN I SHALL BE REWARDED FOR MY SERVICE! GOD HIMSELF WILL PRAISE MY WORK AND GIFT ME THE FULL EXCALIBUR!" AGC declared. "I ABANDONED EVERYTHING IN THIS PURSUT! FAMILY, FRIENDS, MY OWN NAME! ALL TO FIND THE STRENGTH TO PUT YOU AND YOURS DOWN!"
"Seven sins! You're a fucking psychopath!" Kurozai shouted, his voice filled with unease and a tinge of worry.
"NO! I AM GOD'S CHOSEN SOLDIER! AND I AM THE ONE TO PUT YOU DOWN!"
"Uh-huh! And how will you do that with all that rubble on top of you?" Kurozai asked and held his left hand up and placed his right on his hip.
"There is no rubble on me, Blight!"
Clink
The wall exploded, causing the roof above to collapse and cover AGC in enough rubble to trap his lower half.
"You sure about that?" Kurozai asked and smirked as he sauntered over.
"DAMN CHEAT! RELEASE ME SO I MAY STRIKE YOU DOWN!" AGC howled indignantly. "HOW DARE YOU RESORT TO SUCH UNDERHANDED TACTICS THAT- MMPH! MMMM MMM MMMM MM?!?"
"Take it from the guy everyone says talks too much." Kurozai had stuffed part of his cape into AGC's mouth, and ripped it off to serve as a gag. "Shut the fuck up, please?"
Kurozai used his right gauntlet's spike, which split down the middle to reveal rows of teeth, to grab the sword by its hilt and pull it out of AGC's hand.
Warily, Kurozai set it to the side, far out of the reach of AGC.
"Wack ass sword… ugh." Kurozai shuddered the moment the sword made contact with the ground, its holy energy already trying to drain his Evil.
Once it was over, Kurozai turned around, ready to get back to his initial goal of attacking Valper Galilei, only to balk once he saw that, not only had he missed Xenovia and Kiba entering the fight, but also having missed the end result of the combining of the Excalibur Shards, of which Freed, who had also showed up, was holding.
Kurozai groaned and ran a hand across his helmet before running over.
Freed had his entire focus locked on Xenovia, who had performed a very familiar punching style, where she put all of her weight into a single punch, directly into Freed's face.
The stray exorcist stumbled and whined about getting hit. "YOU SCUM BITCH! WHO WOULD EVER HIT A BEAUTY LIKE THIS?! I'LL CUT YOU TO RIBBONS!" Freed turned around, only to crash face first into a dark chest plate. Slowly the man's eyes trailed up and saw a pair of purple eyes boring into his very soul. "Oh shit!"
Kurozai dropped down and swept Freed's legs out from under him, catching the man by his ankle, and dropping his elbow into Freed's chest. "What?! Expecting someone else?!" Kurozai asked, jumping back before Freed could wildly swipe at him.
Freed hopped on his feet with a snarl. "GOD DAMN IT! NEVER GIVE A JOB TO A FUCKING MANIAC!" He howled, his snarl twisting into a crazed and angered face.
Kurozai held up his hands in a boxer's stance he had seen on TV once. "That's rich!"
In the midst of their yelling, something caught Freed's full attention, having heard something that Kurozai didn't. "THE OTHER SCHMUCKS THEY TESTED THE CRYSTALS ON COULDN'T HANDLE ALL OF THE GENE GOODNESS AND DIED!!" Freed yelled with a psychopathic look on his face. "BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU SHOULD FEEL HONORED TO BE FIGHTING A ONCE IN A LIFE TIME ENEMY!"
Kurozai let out a tch and kept his hands up.
"You made us believe what we were doing was for God…" Kurozai turned his head and saw Kiba, who looked absolutely furious, yet also broken… A wash of emotions washed through the young man's face. "And with that faith, we stood tall through everything… but in the end, you threw us away like TRASH!" Kiba spat.
Valper laughed and threw a crystal onto the ground right in front of Kiba. "Here, think of it as a final momento of the dead brats. We can mass produce these things at a higher quality anyways. No dead kids required."
Kurozai felt his heart pound in his chest, the gall of Valper! How DARE HE SAY SUCH THINGS TO KIBA?!
"How many did your experiments take? How many deaths did it take to get what you wanted?!" Kiba cupped the crystal in his hands and held it close to his chest.
As Kiba spoke, ethereal figures formed around him… all the same shade of spectral blue… Not too dissimilar to how The Spirit presented himself to Kurozai, even if he hadn't made himself known in recent events…
Kurozai watched as they all spoke to Kiba, before vanishing into blue dust that began to circle around Kiba… only to then look down at his left gauntlet and notice that there was something in the battlefield giving him an external connection. A yellow light flashed for a moment… as if reacting to Kiba and his resolve.
Kurozai kicked up dust to cover himself and jumped to Kiba's side. "Getting all mushy over here?" Kurozai asked and wracked his knuckles together. "And without me? I'd be offended if I wasn't moved to tears…" the Overlord snarked before placing a hand on the Knight's shoulder. "Seriously though… I'm at your side in this."
Kiba blinked, some leftover tears falling from his eyes, before a smirk washed over his face. "Alright. Together."
"UGH! GROSS! JUST GO HAVE GAY SEX ALREADY AND LEAVE THE REST OF US ALONE!" Freed whined, writhing like the worm he was. "Or maybe I should just kill you two already! Yeah! That'll make me feel better after all this mushy gushy shit!"
Kurozai snarled and took his hand off Kiba's shoulder. "Got something in that sacred gear of yours?" He asked.
"Not yet… but I've been meaning to make something new." Kiba held his sword up to the sky as three different energies washed over it. "My fallen comrades, who have found peace within my soul, together, we shall overcome this Trial…" Holy energy, Devil energy collided against the sword, with Evil energy capping at the tip. "Together we shall create a new Sword that will bring all of our dreams to life! A sword for Kurozai, for Rias, for all of my friends, standing or fallen! SWORD BIRTH GO!" The energy's fully combined, revealing a short sword that looked like something out of a video game. One half was heavenly and a pure white free of sin, the other was hellish and the deepest black one could imagine, and combining them was a corrupted center, hilt and cross guard, made from a crimson metal that would hide any enemies blood from view.
Kiba pointed the tip of the sword at Valper and Freed. "THIS IS THE SWORD OF ULTIMATE BETRAYAL! ONE CREATED OUT OF HOLY, DEVIL AND EVIL POWERS! YOU COULDN'T HOPE TO STOP IT!"
Behind Kurozai's helmet, was a grin both prideful and devilish. "I'd be damned if I wasn't already… You're showing me up!" Kurozai chuckled as Kiba stepped next to him.
"Someone had to match you." Kiba said as the two slowly stalked forward, their gazes fixed on Freed and his combined Excalibur.
"Don't get sarcastic with me, Pretty Boy. Just because you got a new toy doesn't put you in the same rank as me." Kurozai responded.
Xenovia walked in on the other side of Kiba. "Tell me, Knight of Gremory and Overlord of the modern age. Are the three of us fighting on the same side still?"
Neither male looked at her, but confirmed her question all the same with a silent nod.
"Then let us destroy that Excalibur, and leave the pieces to the Overlord." Xenovia offered the deal.
"I'm down." Kurozai said, dismissing his gauntlets and cracking his knuckles.
"I don't care what happens after, I just want to destroy it." Kiba agreed and gripped his sword tightly.
Xenovia closed her eyes and held her right hand out, as a large sigil opened, revealing a massive sword for her to grab. "Blessed saints, Virgin Mary, and the great Overlord Dionysus. I pray to thee…" Xenovia gripped the blue sword with gold trim by its handle, in doing so snapping the chains holding it. "And set this sword free… Meet, DURANDAL!"
-To Be Continued-