DxD - The Last Amagiri

by HolyKnightX

Kensei Amagiri, the surviving heir to the Amagiri Clan, after losing his mother now lives on an island, where he fights for survival with his new friends. Left for dead by the Old Devils and Taro, is found by two legends who'll assist him in taking his fate back into his own hands.

56. Bringers of Hope

Welcome to the next chapter of DxD – The Last Amagiri, but before starting the story. Let's answer some reviews:

altair95: Yeah, this was the most intense chapter that I've written since starting DxD – The Last Amagiri a long time ago. Thanks and I'll continue doing that.

Guest: Don't worry, Koneko is going to be making her appearance in the future, in addition to there being more interactions with Rias, Sona, and their peers.

Phantom Reader: Thanks. I'm glad to hear that the readers here enjoyed reading the intense battle of the Numbers and Ordinals. It's horrifying that the Amagiri Clan's children and teens turned into monsters and were then forced to murder their parents. This version of Lancelot differs from the one that I wrote in the Magic Knight. What'll happen to Alice and the others in the next chapter will be revealed, and this is going to be a moment for them to grow from this defeat.

No, I understand that each of them is twisted and dangerous in its way, the most notable being Arata and Jun, both of whom have committed the worse crimes imaginable. No doubt, Jun is the worse as he's done that for no other reason aside from his selfish desires. Arata is most understandable, because he lost the most important person in his life, more so witnessing it right in front of him.

Of course, the Numbers are going to be getting their payback at some point, there's no doubt about that and there are no spoilers in knowing that. But, I won't reveal how that happens. Kensei would have had a much better handling of dragon power considering that he was born with them, whereas Jun practically stole it. There's going to be some teamwork between the Dragon and Tiger in the future.

Well, there's not much revealed about Amatsu-Mikaboshi's personality, at least in canon, but it wouldn't be too out of the ballpark. And in Shintoism, he has often been considered the original evil, also being a source for the Demons and Oni among their faction. But, Arata considering his lack of care about what'll happen in the future, he's already a willing pawn.

Thanks, I'll keep up ensuring the new chapters will be enjoyable.

I'll be doing some other stories shortly, considering that doing another High School DxD will be repeating the same events. I might leave up the Magic Knight, and if someone wants to make a personal version of it, then I wouldn't mind.

Rider126: You're not wrong, and I'm that he'd agree with you on that.

Shephawk: Thanks. I'm glad to see that you liked the chapter, and I'll ensure that it'll be an amazing one to read. I can see her still a resident in the Hyoudou Residence for convenience, but I think that it might be best if she remained in Kuoh Town all things considered.

ryanleemartinez14: I think that it would make sense to add her. But, at the same time, to me, it would be no different from adding Akeno. I'll be considering it.

---

Bringers of Hope

In the same dimension, the battle between the weakened Numbers and the Ordinals, not counting Jun continued without hesitation. Their leaders, Kensei and Arata stood in front of one another, the latter held out his hands, manifesting his flames. In one swift motion, he released a fireball straight for him, reacting to this, his injuries still weren't healed, but he avoided them using Shinsoku.

It sailed passed him, incinerating a building that it came in contact with within a matter of seconds, amid that, he was healing the most serious injuries. As that happened, Arata propelled himself forward with the flames, then utilized that momentum for a punch. With dragon ki infused into Kurogane, he swung his sword and met the punch with a noticeable collision between them.

"…?!"

Kensei ignored the remaining injuries caused by Arata's and Jun's attacks, but he willed through the pain with a determined look.

Infused with flames, Arata started releasing a barrage of punches straight for Kensei, who fought to match all the attacks. He strained himself to match the punches aimed straight at him, using the technique he hadn't finished to make ki flow through him without leaking out. As Arata launched another attack, he reacted by aiming an elbow, a strong blow nailed him in the chest.

"Kuh!"

Kensei was knocked back a bit from the flame-imbued elbow strike, burning his chest from the impact.

He swallowed up the pain caused by the impact but recovered with his feet scraping across the ground, recovering his posture. Not letting him do so, Arata continued letting out a barrage of attacks that combined punches and kicks. Handling himself using footwork and Kurogane, he tried handling the relentless attacks that kept coming without skipping a beat.

It wasn't in a set pattern, Kensei received punches, kicks, high and slow, elbows, and even an uppercut. On their own, the attacks didn't have much strength behind them, but the flames added a high amount of firepower behind them. None of them nonchalant attacks, he concentrated the flames on them, causing the temperature to raise much higher than it would be.

Amid all that, he tried getting himself acquainted with the newfound energy that'd been building up within himself a couple of moments ago.

"Hah. I can see it. It feels much stronger than my Ki and spiritual energy, which can be said as being human power, from the Amagiri Clan. If that's the case, then the dragon power that started flowing into me turned into Dragon Ki," Kensei thought, splitting his focus from fighting Arata while thinking about what to do with this new power. "But, if that's the case, about Amatsu-Mikaboshi, putting a seal on me. I wonder if it was restricting my spiritual power too. No, I'll worry about that later. I need to figure out about using this power. So, it's good that I started learning more about it already since that fight against Cao Cao."

"You've been silent this entire time, Kensei. I thought that you'd be more pissed off since you realized you killed a friend you thought was a monster," Arata taunted, as he continued releasing a barrage of attacks at Kensei, with an arrogant tone. Kensei didn't need to think about who he was referring to. "You must've been thinking about an oh-so-fateful encounter with Hakki before you killed him. I didn't bother learning the names of those children and teens, but I'm sure that you…."

Just as Arata was preparing to say something else, Kensei aimed a kick upward straight for Arata's chin, but he avoided it a second later. He did feel the kick nicking his chin, sharp enough to leave a faint scratch that caused a small trace of blood to seep from it.

"If you continue talking Arata, you could end up biting your tongue."

Kensei despite not falling for Arata's taunts passed the breaking point.

From learning the truth behind Meiko's death. Hearing that Arata and also a primordial god were responsible for his clan's tragic fate. Killing one of his old friends with his own hands. And Alice was fatally injured right in front of him, without him being able to do a single thing about it. Kensei's emotions were built up passed the limit, but he couldn't become angrier than that.

Because of those intense emotions, it felt as if his Dragon Ki was reacting to and building up because of that. So, as much as possible, Kensei tried controlling those emotions and instead put them to work for him.

"Tougen Amagiri-ryuu: Sandanzuki!"

Kensei released three slashes at the same time, strong dragon ki being channeled into Kurogane, as Arata had no means of avoiding this technique. He released flames in an attempt to defend against the three simultaneous slashes. But, it was too fast for him, as three wounds could be seen opening at three different spots, but he did manage to minimize the damage.

"Well, looks like someone picked up their second wind," Arata said, not seeming to mind the damage that he had taken. "But, that isn't going to last for much longer. You can't defeat me, and the main reason that I'm not landing the killing blow is that Amatsu-Mikaboshi wants me to leave you alive."

"And there's no way in hell I'm letting him possess me again," Kensei declared as he stood strong having not one intention of becoming the host to his ancestor's enemy. "I'm guessing that it goes beyond him wanting revenge on my ancestor. In your own words, he wants someone who has a strong body and potential."

"That's right. I guess that someone who've naturally had the blood and power of an Evil Dragon is something that he finds to be a suitable vessel. I can see things from that angle, but it simply proves that this world is unfair," a joking tone came from Arata as he continued. "You have the blood of an Evil Dragon who attacked Japan. Your childhood friend isn't even supposed to be alive. I'm not talking about the fact that she has a Sacred Gear, either And yet, you two ended up meeting Mei, who was marked for death."

"What happened to Mei was unfair. But, why didn't you target your parents, let alone the Five Principal Clans?"

"I'm not in that much of a rush. Besides, I think that it'll be hilarious to hear the Himejima Clan giving birth to yet another person who tried eliminating them. And it wouldn't be fair if my parents didn't have a front-row seat to the fall of the religion they cared about more than their daughter."

"Really? And I thought that it was simply because you're not used to whatever power you received from Amatsu-Mikaboshi. Even if your flames are strong enough to outclass what I'm used to, it must be hard to fight against all the current clan heads who've trained to master their Sacred Beasts' powers."

"…," Arata reacted to that comment, as he seemed to chuckle. "I'm not used to you being this thoughtful about these situations. I never thought that a little battle maniac could think this far ahead. You're right, I haven't gotten used to it after all this time. You see, after our partnership, Amatsu-Mikaboshi granted me a portion of his divinity, which empowered my flames. But, as a human, it's not easy accessing the power of a god. And for that reason, I looked for someone who could help me with that a little more."

"What?"

Kensei was surprised that Arata received a portion of a primordial god's divinity, something that explains the drastic change in his flames.

"I'll gain the ultimate body that'll be strong enough to tame the divinity that I've received. And with that, I'll become the vessel of a primordial god, who'll become a transcendental being. Before all that I'll prove to him and everyone that I'm far superior to you."

Arata replied, seeming to be almost deranged as Kensei listened in.

"Is that so," Kensei said, then positioned Kurogane in front of him as he got into position. "I don't think that you'll be able to achieve that, though."

"Well, I guess that only time will tell."

Kensei and Arata stood in front of one another again with the pure intent of settling their score.

---

Continuing to witness their battle, unable to do anything aside from listening in, the parents, at least those who'd gathered together. In the corner, Hinata seemed to have been tending to Lingqi's injuries, having finished bound her injured limbs. Once that was finished, she treated her injuries using Healing Senjutsu but thought that it'd be best if she rested for some more time.

"…?"

Amid this, she and the other mothers were turned to find that Yasaka's face looked turned pale as if she'd just seen a ghost. Kunou, who'd been standing beside her noticed the change in her mother's experience, looking on worried for her.

"Hahaue, what's wrong?"

Kunou worriedly asked.

"…."

Yasaka didn't respond as Arata's words and certain words before from Jun seemed to resonate with something she heard elsewhere. Ravel wasn't around as she was assisting with other business, not like the fact that she's been helpless here.

"Hahaue!"

Not knowing what else to do, Kunou gave her mother a slight shake, causing her to snap out of whatever trance she'd been in.

"K-Kunou," realizing what she'd been doing, Yasaka returned to her usual expression and gave a faint sigh. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kunou. It seems as if this situation has become a bit much for me to consider."

"You're also worried about Ken-chan and the others too," Kunou thought that was the reason for Yasaka's recent stupor. "But, don't be worried, Ken-chan and the others are going to survive this. And then we're going to get our payback another time."

"Ufu, I know, dear," Yasaka smiled at her daughter's energetic response, maintaining a strong look despite being worried herself, then wrapped her arms around her daughter. "I know, things are going to turn out well in the end. I don't need to be worried about Kensei-kun and the others."

Smiling into her mother's hug, Kunou started feeling warmer, but couldn't see that her mother was still worried at the words she'd heard. Hearing those words, Hinata guessed what Yasaka's concerns were placed as the words echoed in her mind too.

'If I can perfect this, I'll be able to grant someone the strongest and immortal body. Just think about the implications of it, it could end injuries and sickness. Forget about the painstaking effort for humans to ascend through the use of methods meant to become a Sennin or Xian. In the end, this could even birth true transcendental beings, no different from those mutations among Devils.'

Yasaka and Hinata seemed to think about hearing those words from 'that' person, the former almost instinctively started wrapping her arms around her daughter much tighter.

"I hope this will be finished soon. Alice-chan's injuries aren't something that can be healed by Claire-chan," Hinata was worried as she knew the full extent of Alice's wound some seeing it herself. She kept speaking in a low tone so she wouldn't aggravate the situation more. "It was a clean hit straight through her stomach, damaged internal organs, and structural damage. If nothing is done, then…."

She looked on as if there was a group who was working on something right then and there to make a solution.

---

Just as she said, Claire was having trouble handling the full extent of Alice's wound, continuing to focus demonic power on the wound. But, at most, she could ensure that she wouldn't die. Amid all that, she'd tried holding back the tears forming at the corners of her eyes, which dripped onto the ground.

"Please don't die. Please don't die. Please don't die," Claire continued chanting and praying, wanting someone to hear her request. "We've been together for a long time. We eat together and slept together. We shared the good times and bad times. There are so many things I wanted to do together as one group. I don't care how it'll go, but please don't die on me, Alice-nee."

Amid her prayers, Alice's life seemed to be getting fainter as time passed, and her breathing started becoming more shakier. As if sensing that, her shadow started squirming, surprising Claire before tentacles seemed to come out of them. She looked on, realizing what was happening around her.

"Alphard?"

Claire asked curiously, noticing it was among the last monsters Alice had left, the others were destroyed.

She looked on as Alphard moved its tentacles straight forwards Alice's stomach, which had been pierced straight through. Claire looked on as it looked as if the monster was accessing the injuries as Alphard's tentacles touched the wounded area. Before long, it dug its tentacles into the wound causing a reaction from Alice, who seemed to flinch at the intrusion.

"A-Alice-nee?"

"N-Ngh, aaah."

Claire heard Alice groan as the tentacles dug into her body, through the wound, the younger girl didn't know what to do. It looked as if the monster was messing around with Alice's insides for some time before, it looked as if she settled down. Staring on, Claire noticed the tentacles looked to be sending something straight into her, and soon realized Alice's breathing started settling down. Amid all that, it looked as if Alphard started losing more of itself in the process and getting smaller.

"Is it healing her?"

Claire asked, not able to come up with any other option aside from that.

She wondered what this meant, as she hadn't heard something such as this happening before, but it looked as if Alphard was tending to her wounds.

"What happening?"

[Hmm, well, Sacred Gears are something that's a part of their wielder from birth, so to speak. So, it's no surprise if it ends up being the most compatible with them. I believe the same could be stated about blood transfusions and transplants. To me, it looks as if it's assimilating its flesh and cells to replace what Alice lost. If anything, I believe it wouldn't be that surprising if Independent Avatars could do this. But, in Alice's mind, her monsters are the same as them. So, it's saving the creator of its own volition.]

"So, she'll be right."

Claire said, feeling hope returning within her.

"Tsk, well, this a curious situation."

Claire flinched as Jun appeared behind her and looked surprised about the situation that he was witnessing right in front of him. She wasn't in the right situation to fight against someone of Jun's caliber, same as Arata, if Lingqi couldn't defeat him then the situation was dire.

"I planned on ensuring that brat would experience the pain of witnessing someone he loves being tormented and turned into an emotionless shell," Jun stated, as Thunder Emperor could be seen around his forearms, sparkling with lightning. "I'll take great pleasure in handing you two off to my men."

"Don't be arrogant," Claire uttered without showing fear on her face. "No matter what your messed up beliefs are. Ours is that we belong to Kensei, and he belongs to us. That's something we all agreed on a long time ago. And that means we're proud to become his wives in the future and no one else. I feel sorry for the women who've had their lives ruined because they met someone like you!"

"So, you're a mouthy little brat you! It doesn't matter, it wouldn't be the first time I…."

As Jun reached his hand in an attempt to grab onto Claire, his hand was stopped as he felt a pressure nothing like what he'd felt from someone before. His arm was soon forced from Claire as it was brought into the air, then he looked to find who was standing beside him.

"From here on out, no one lays a hand on that girl or anyone else here."

Diehauser stood beside Jun, something that caused Claire to give a bright smile.

"Diehauser-ojisan."

Claire happily called out, as Jun glared at the Rating Game Champion.

"This has nothing to do with you, Devil."

"If anyone is threatening this girl's life, then it's my business," Diehauser said, as Jun continued to attempt to free his arm from him. "Now, mind repeating what you threatened to do to her?"

"I promised to hand her off to my men, same as the girl standing beside her. Now, release me!"

In that instance, Jun released an abundance of lightning from his entire body that covered himself and Diehauser. Just as it was preparing to reach the two injured women, a barrier was formed around them and soon even the lightning was erased as if it wasn't there.

"What?!"

Jun looked surprised as his lightning vanished from sight, then seconds later received a hard punch straight into the face. A decent amount of blood escaped from Jun's nose and mouth as he was blown from his previous spot, landing on the ground as he glared at the one responsible. From Diehauser, an aura that seemed to be capable of destroying his presence alone did just that.

"I have no right to bring you down. I know that girl, Lu Lingqi in all rights has to be the person who does it," there was a calm and serious tone from Diehauser, who held his hand out towards Jun. "But, as this girl's uncle, I won't let anyone threaten her in front of me."

"Is that so," Jun said, wiping off the blood that came from his mouth and nose, then looked forward, but sensed a great threat from Diehauser. "Balance Break!"

He reactivated his Balance Breaker, donning his black and gold armor, knowing that Diehauser wasn't someone to be challenged halfheartedly. Standing before one another, both the Rating Game Champion and Great Dragon Conqueror released their auras.

---

In another battle, Maria was still facing off against Lancelot with her seven knights beside her, but there wasn't a lot she could do to gain an edge. She released each technique, she could against her older brother while working in unison with her dragon knights. Getting through Lancelot's armor was one thing, but getting passed his almost flawless technique was impossible.

He wielded that strong demonic sword in his hand, which shifted into different kinds if weapons based on the situation at hand. Maria strained herself more from merely attempting to get passed his technique, her wounds still weren't all healed. Moving around and swinging her swords sent pain throughout her muscles and bones, but she continued pushing herself.

Each time, their weapons clashed, Maria was more on the receiving end of damage caused by their collisions.

"It hurts, it hurts. Fighting like this, fighting against my brother, it hurts my heart more than anything," Maria admitted within her heart, as she clashed against her brother's black sword again. His face was once again hidden by the black armor he'd donned. If Maria had to be honest with herself, her brother was the last person she wanted to fight against. "Everything that I learned came from you. About what it means to be a knight. About what it means to fight for something bigger than yourself. And how to be a good older sibling. But, it's because of that reason that I can't back down now!"

Maria realized that her brother was their enemy for whatever reason, and he'd harm the members of her team, all of whom put their faith in her. And it was because of that same faith that assisted in continuing to push Maria forward, not letting it go to waste. No matter the situation, she'd continue to follow the seven knightly virtues: hope, justice, generosity, courage, mercy, nobility, and faith.

All of these were what her seven Dragon Knights embodies and were strengthened, as each one started to wrap themselves in their respective auras. Said auras were silver, golden, purple, black, blue, red, and green, all those auras wrapped around the knights.

"I don't know the reason you turned out like this. But, I can't let anyone attack my friends and comrades, even if it happens to be a relative," Maria declared, as she looked forward with determination. "So, I'll continue fighting and I'll snap you out of this!"

At that declaration, Maria continued forward straight for her brother, who'd reacted to that, releasing a dangerous aura. Both charged at one another, with the intent of attacking one another with whatever strength the two had in their arsenal. Just as the two were preparing to attack one another, something or someone came in between the siblings. A hexagonal barrier stopped Lancelot from moving forward, a hand stopped Maria from proceeding with her attack.

"I never thought that there would be a day where I'd have to intervene in my daughter's fight," Maria looked on in surprise as her father stood in front of her. "I realized that Maria had grown up into someone who could take care of herself. At least that's my thought as a warrior myself. But, what kind of father would I be if I allowed my child to head straight into a battle where she's encountering the unknown?"

"Dad."

Maria almost felt all the drive to continue fighting to vanish as her father stood in between them, but that was simply the presence Galahad gave off.

"Lancelot. I know that you're somewhere deep within this madness," Alison gently said, as she continued looking forward at her son, who was covered in black armor. "But, please don't tell me that this is your desire. Wasn't your dream to become the strongest knight to elevate your ancestor's madness?"

"…?"

A faint reaction could be seen from Lancelot, as he looked to flinch at his mother's gentle tone, which seemed to send feelings within those listening in. Not long after, he moved back a bit as he touched his helmet with his hand but didn't release his sword.

"Lancelot, are you there?"

"…m…mo…the…," moving back from Alison, his mother, and sister, Lancelot started shaking in place, while he seemed to react to those words. "…wh…ere…ar…e…you…?"

His voice sounded as if he was a phantom, releasing a black aura around himself, with his mind beginning to fall into chaos. Some hope built up within Maria and Alison believing that her brother and son would be returning, but it didn't last as the Black Knight returned.

"Alison, take Maria over to Layla, Iris, and Alex," Galahad said, feeling ashamed about what happened himself, at his side, there was a sword sheathed beside him. "It's been a long time since we last fought as father and son. I would like to confirm for myself who the person in front of me is."

"Alright, dear. Come on, Maria."

"A-Alright."

Maria said, knowing her parents' decision was correct and this would be a good experience for her to witness her father in combat. She hadn't seen him on an actual battlefield before, and he often denied training her in the past despite requests from her. Reaching her adoptive daughters and their teammate, she enveloped herself and the others in the same hexagonal barrier.

"Alright. So, now that Maria and Alison aren't here, why don't we have a father-son chat?"

Galahad asked as if testing to see whether or not Lancelot would respond again.

"…?"

Lancelot didn't respond at all.

"Alright, I forgot that you were more of a momma's body, which explains the reason you responded to her instead of me," Galahad joked, before letting out one calming breath. "To be honest, I want to know who I'm talking to in this instance. And I talked to my son, Lancelot. Or, am I talking to my ancestor, Sir Lancelot?"

At that question, Maria looked on surprised and came to a sudden realization about what that meant.

"Is that it," Maria asked, wondering if 'that' was the reason that her brother was well into this state. "Did he fall into that madness too?"

"What does that mean, sis?"

Layla asked as Iris, who finished healing herself started healing Layla and Alex.

"My brother, Lancelot, it was found out that he inherited the spirit of our ancestor, Sir Lancelot, who was the best knight among the Round Table. After that, rumors and concern started spreading through King Arthur's house as the descendants believed he'd become the second coming of our Sir Lancelot. I'd never doubted that he would turn into that, but…."

Maria replied, looking down as her brother stood there, not knowing whether or not their ancestor's madness had taken over turning him into this Black Knight.

"Come on, Lancelot, I thought that you wanted to become someone who surpassed our ancestor. I know that you can still hear me in there," Galahad said, before letting a faint sigh escape from his mouth. "Fine. It looks as if it'll take either your mother or sister to reach you. If that's the case, then at most I can play father and give out a little bit of punishment. One, for beating up your sister. And the other, for falling into this."

At that, Galahad brought out his sword, an arming sword that looked to have been well-crafted, at some point, it'd received modifications from the Wayland House. After a couple of stretches, his neck cracked, and he started limbering himself up while doing a couple of practice swings.

"Alright. I haven't been in a serious fight in quite some time aside from training to keep myself in shape. So, I do think that it'll be interesting to fight against my ancestor if that's who I'm talking to now."

Galahad said, pointing his sword straight at the Black Knight, who pointed his demon sword straight back at him, in a prepared manner.

There was a faint pause, then Lancelot and Galahad rushed straight at one another, both their swords clashed, and a faint shockwave occurred. At that signal, their swords continued clashing against one another, as the two shifted their positions and foot to match or counter the other. Despite not being donned in armor, Galahad didn't look all that concerned, if not at all.

"…."

"…."

Galahad and Lancelot stared straight at each other, Maria kept her attention on the battle between them, taking it all in. She focused on their footwork and technique, something honed from training and experience, a fact Maria started using as a personal lesson for herself.

"Alright. I can see there's still some small resemblance to my son's technique in those swings and movements. It isn't like he's been completely absorbed in madness. But, there are some things that I haven't seen from other people from this era."

Galahad blocked another slash from Lancelot, holding it back without being pushed backward, and held him off without straining himself.

"…."

Lancelot seemed to understand this.

In a moment, his demon sword shifted into a spear, moving back in one swift moment, aiming a straight-forward thrust at his father's defenseless side. It looked as if the attack landed, but it instead seemed to simply brush off his skin. Lancelot looked surprised but then noticed that holy energy seemed to radiate off Galahad's skin, keeping the blade from cutting him.

"I guess after all this time, you forgot that little trick that I learned from a certain exorcist."

Galahad said, smirking and noticing his son's body language.

"…?"

Around Galahad's sword, he started coating it in that same holy energy, causing Lancelot to react to it and move a good distance from him. It didn't help as Galahad swung his sword releasing that energy straight for him, which smashed against his black armor. It didn't lose momentum as Lancelot was sent into the rubble of another house with a noticeable scratch on his armor.

"Fu, that was quite the warm-up," Galahad said while rotating his arm around in a circle, as holy energy started to radiate more from his arm. "Man, it looks as if I'm a bit out of fighting shape. Compared to before, it took me a greater amount of effort to gather holy energy. I swear if that old man saw me today, then he would likely tease me about it."

Lancelot came straight from the house's rubble and smoke, demonic sword in hand as it transformed into a lance covered in a strong demon aura. In that, Galahad infused holy energy into his sword, clashing against Lancelot's charging lance. As their battle continued, Maria kept all her attention on the battlefield between her father and brother. Not that she could take her attention off the battle as a swordswoman, holding a good deal of respect for the two men standing there fighting.

---

During the battle between Hisui and Kurohime, the former couldn't hold on any longer as the corruption started to spread further. It was difficult to split fighting against her opponent while fighting off the evil ki at the same time. Rui couldn't do anything as each attack she launched at Kurohime didn't even reach her because the dark aura around her ate the attack's energy.

"D-Dammit, I need to figure something out. Hisui won't be able to last much longer against Kurohime," Rui wore a saddened look at her hopelessness, sensing that the corruption of Hisui's ki wasn't being stopped no matter what her best friend's attempts. "Please don't fall Hisui."

"Hah, hah, I-I can still…f-fight."

Hisui remained strong but she found herself falling to her knees as she felt exhausted, physically and mentally as it felt as if she was fighting two battles at once. Around Hisui, a darker aura started manifesting, but she wouldn't let it manifest to the same degree as Kurohime's aura.

"Come on, Hisui-chan. It's going to hurt at first, but it'll feel better once you learn to accept it," Kurohime stated as she approached Hisui. "Trust me, you're going to feel some pressure from the power that you'll be swallowed up in. But, as long as you don't drown in it, then…kuh!"

At that moment, Kurohime felt a hard impact on her shoulder as she was sent a great distance from her previous position. Just as she recovered, landing on her feet, he felt odd as her right arm went limp and couldn't be moved anymore. Despite Kurohime's attempts at healing it, she couldn't move her arm, as if whatever was done wasn't something easily healed.

"You had to have come here."

Kurohime realized who came here.

"M…Mom…?"

Hisui found herself being held within Hinata's arms, as her mother looked down at her with a soft expression right on her face. She found that her mother wrapped her in a beautiful, pleasant green aura, causing her to feel all of the corruption being purified faster than she could've managed.

"You did a good job handling yourself against Kurohime, and keeping the evil ki's infection at bay for at much as possible," Hinata replied, placing a hand on her daughter's head and started rubbing it. "Don't ever think that you don't deserve your position as a Number, okay?"

"Uh, huh."

Hisui nodded her head in agreement but wore a saddened look on her face nonetheless.

"Hinata-san."

"Hold up a second, Rui-chan. I'll heal your injuries as soon as I ensure the corruption is purified."

Hinata stated seriously, causing Rui to nod her head in agreement.

"Well, if it isn't Hinata-obachan. If anything, I never thought that I'd end up standing on the same battlefield as the one Nekomata close to Magari-obachan."

"It's been a long time, Kurohime," Hinata said, in a serious tone, releasing an aura that'd caused a cold sensation to run down the nekomata's spin. Rui and the others felt surprised by the presence, as it carried a strong sense of youki from the mother. But, then calmed down as a breath escaped from her mouth as the aura settled down, Kurohime did the same. "I'll attempt this again. But, would you mind please returning to Magari-san? She put you into that prison cell, not as a punishment but to save you. There aren't that many Nekoshou left around, and she adores you as if you're her granddaughter."

"…?"

Kurohime seemed to pause as she heard that.

"There's no telling what taking in and cultivating evil ki is going to do to you. It might appear as if the power that's going to come from it is worth it, but you're losing all the versatility that comes with using Senjutsu. You're going to become a beast that might end the species entirely."

"…," Kurohime let a breath escape from her mouth as she started speaking. "I see Magari-obachan as my family. She's been there for me for as long as I can remember. She taught me, fed me, and read to me whenever there was something that I couldn't understand. To me, she's my precious family and that'll never change no matter if Magari-obachan can never forgive me. But, I'll continue with the path that I chose, because I want to see this through until the end."

Kurohime answered Hinata in a more serious tone, but then found herself looking at the mother and daughter pair standing in front of her. At that, a sudden feeling hit the young Nekoshou in her heart as she stepped back a bit from them. A sigh escaped from her mouth, then she started walking off where the other Ordinals were.

"I, won't continue to pursue Hisui-chan, Kuroka-oneechan, or Shirone-chan," Kurohime pointed out, not turning in Hisui's direction. "At least not until I reach it. I'll show that I can control the power that comes from taking on this path. So, Hisui-chan continues pursuing the path that you're walking and we'll see which one of us is going to win in the end."

"…Kurohime?"

Hisui could sense there was the faintest reaction in Kurohime's spirit, almost sadness as she walked away. Once she left the area, causing her to settle down as she felt as if the situation ended.

"Mom…."

Hisui called her mother, as she covered her face using her arm, but Hinata could see her mouth trembling.

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you think that I can become stronger than her," Hisui replied, answering her mother's question with another one. "And even save her from herself."

"Don't ask dumb questions, Hisui. Forget becoming stronger than Kurohime, you can become the most powerful Nekoshou there is if you wanted to. Stronger than me, and stronger than Magari-san," Hinata replied, smiling at her beloved daughter. "You're Kensei-kun's fiancèe, someone who wants to stand at the top. So, being his future wife, a number, and a woman. You should reach that too, right?"

"…r-right."

Hisui found herself tearing up from frustration built up at her helplessness.

"It's fine. You can cry if you want," Hinata said, as she rubbed her daughter's head. "None of your friends will end up laughing at you. And if the enemies laugh, I'll make sure you can't digest food for two weeks."

"…waaaaaah."

Listening to her mother, Hisui cried as the frustration that'd piled up broke through as she cried, while Hinata cradled. Rui looked on unable to respond, looking on sadly as her cheerful friend cried her eyes out.

---

In the battle between Kensei and Arata, the two were continuing their clash against each other without stopping, but the former seemed to start slowing down. It wasn't surprising as Kensei's injuries began catching up to him, it didn't make matters better as the newer wounds inflicted on him. Despite all that, his determination remained firm, while it felt as if he was still brimming with power.

"Well, this is odd. Kensei's spiritual power seems to be raising, but that's supposed to happen when someone close to the lines of life and death," Arata uttered to himself, as he continued releasing flames straight at Kensei, who blocked it using his raised spiritual power. "Well, he doesn't look close to death, not that I have been trying to kill him. But, I might know the reason. Amatsu-Mikaboshi's seal was one placed on his soul to seal his dragon power, which means that his spiritual energy was restricted too. I can see the reason that he viewed the Amagiri Clan as much more of a nuisance. But, it still isn't something that I can't handle."

"Damn," Kensei seemed to be reaching his breaking point as the injuries were starting to catch up to him. "Well, it looks as if this will be my last technique."

Realizing that, Kensei sheathed Kurogane, and then stood in an Iai stance meant to unleash the fastest possible slash. In that, he'd started channeling spiritual power and dragon ki into his sheathed sword as his concentration continued increasing too.

"Oh, is that so? Let's see if that technique can hit me."

Arata held out his hand, shaped into a knife-hand, as flames started surrounding his hand in great amounts, then took the shape of a double-edged flame blade.

"Tougen Amagiri-ryuu…."

"Shin'en Karate…."

Both Kensei and Arata called out their respective martial arts, as the latter propelled straight for Kensei without a hint of hesitation.

"…Shinzan!"

"…Enshoku Shutou!"

Kensei released an instantaneous slash what he learned from Sandanzuki, wrapped in a potent aura, while Arata swung his knife-hand in a diagonal slash. Both passed up each other, as a deep wound opened across Kensei's chest that had a burning sensation.

"Hah, it looks like I got you," Arata said in an almost amused tone, but then sounded hurt himself. "But, that last one got me too."

Same as Kensei, a deep wound opened across his chest, cutting through his uniform, something surprising as it was made durable.

"…dammit, that hurts."

Kensei leaned forward as he felt the burning sensation across his chest, but that attack was his last one as he'd felt drained.

"Hah, so that means that I won this fight," Arata said as he raised his hand as flames gathered around his fist. "I'd think that means I have the right to land the final blow. It's not going to kill you, though, since Amatsu-Mikaboshi will want you as a vessel."

"Go fuck yourself."

Turning around, Kensei flipped off Arata.

"That's about what I'd expected."

Arata released a flaming punch straight for the downed Kensei, but then it was blocked as it made contact with a blade, wreathed in an aura. Standing in-between Kensei and Arata was Tetsuo, who held the punch back using his beloved Ryuuou, wearing a serious look.

"And this is a big surprise. I didn't think that I'd find myself in front of the leader of the Uesugi Clan, one of the so-called Heroes who defeated Kuroakami," Arata stated, almost mockingly. "And the man who single-handedly sent his son to Hagun Island and caused his own wife's death."

"Hah, Arata Himejima, right," Tetsuo didn't look the slightest bit rattled. "I thought that you were some dangerous mastermind, but it looks as if you're nothing more than another childish and conceited brat."

"…?!"

For a moment, Arata felt a sudden pressure from Tetsuo, that caused him to step backward from him without a second delay. He felt surprised about that action, not sensing that presence the last time he fought against Jun a week or two prior.

"I came to terms with the decision that I met. I and Kenichi-dono decided to do whatever it took to rescue him from whatever threat targeted those children. I never thought that it'd end up being some teenager and a god working together," Tetsuo pointed out as he tightened his grip on Ryuuou. "All those children and teens who were forced to murder their parents and family, after being turned into monsters. I'd never thought that I'd feel this irritated in my entire life."

"…dad?"

"I have no right to defeat you. But, that doesn't mean that you're going to be walking out of here without getting a proper punishment," Tetsuo said, staring straight forward as the black draconic markings started manifesting around his arm, then continued spreading. In that instance, his aura continued increasing, to the point where it could cause several people to doubt he was human and not a Dragon. "Balance Break."

A sudden release of dragon power caused the ground underneath them to crack from the pressure, starting to take the physical form of armor. Once it settled, Kensei and Arata noticed Tetsuo standing there donned in black armor, resembling a Scale Mail designed after a samurai armor. Sheathed at his side too was Ryuuou which was modified compared to before.

"Black Dragon Rounin Armor."

Tetsuo uttered as he stood right there in front of Arata and Kensei, neither have seen that Balance Breaker.

"Hahaha, well, this is amazing. I never thought I'd meet someone whose Sacred Gear, despite being one of the most common variants could give off a presence no different from Jun's Balance Breaker. No doubt, you're one of the few who has…," as Arata was preparing to finish his sentence, then looked to find an armored fist approaching him. "…mastered their Balance Breaker."

Wham!

Arata was nailed in the face, knocking him upward off the great distance, lifting him off the ground as blood came out of his nose and mouth. He kept himself afloat in the air using his flames as he touched his nose.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that one. I guess he deserves his title as a Hero."

"I'm no Hero."

"…?"

Arata was surprised to find Tetsuo floating right behind him, Ryuuou was raised in the air, and brought down just as the Ordinal used his defensive flames. Once the sword and shield made contact, an intense dragon aura was released from the blade.

Crack! Crack! Break!

Arata looked surprised as his defensive barrier cracked, then the dragon aura bathed the Ordinal, slamming him into the ground.

"A true Hero wouldn't have sent off their child to their potential death. And wouldn't have gotten their own wife killed either," Tetsuo said as he floated toward the ground as Arata started standing back up. "There those who deserve the right to be called 'Hero'. And those people, the Numbers, you've all been fighting are among them."

"Really? Well, I don't doubt that, not that I care about who's a Hero or not Hero. In my opinion, there's no such thing as Heroes. It's all simply just a matter of perspective to me," Arata stated standing up, then sensed two more people around him. "Now now, this one big surprise after another."

Standing beside Tetsuo were Suzaku and Seiryuu, the current Heads of the Himejima and Kushihashi Clans, but the former stood there with a despondent look.

"Arata."

"Well, it has been a long time since we last met each other Suzaku," Arata stated, almost showing no emotions behind those words. "I guess that the Five Principal Clans and my parents would be informed about this now. But, it's what I wanted. I want them to know the disaster their actions caused."

"…," though she was sad about what was happening here, Suzaku was still the Clan Head, but the actions she heard committed by Arata were unforgivable. "I heard what happened to Meiko from the others before entering this place. But, no matter what, the actions you've committed are something that can't be forgiven. By your sister and all the victims themselves."

"I never planned on being forgiven, neither by humans, the gods, or Shintoism itself," Arata stated, while he held out his hand, showing off the crimson-black flames in his hands. "I said this before, but there's nothing that I want aside from bringing back Amatsu-Mikaboshi and returning the Shinto Faction to what it was before."

"You know that previous state was nothing, but chaos and nothingness," Seiryuu said, speaking up. "I almost didn't even believe that Amatsu-Mikaboshi was involved in this and that you'd agree to be his next host. But, those flames aren't normal and could only be possible if a god is involved."

"Trust me, I know that. In the end, that's what I want, because I don't need a future. And I'm going to ensure that no one gets to have one either. It must be a pain for you all, taking control over the Five Principal Clans who caused so much trouble for themselves, because of their religion. Because of them, the Utsusemi Agency was created, and as a result of that, I was able to complete the Mazoku."

"I see. So, you encountered your uncle then."

"…?"

Kensei looked confused about that comment, not knowing who Arata's uncle was.

"You mean, Hanezu? Yeah, or he found me when I wasn't hiding. Ironically, someone rejected for not having the Himejima Clan's flames would accept someone with them. If you think about it, then the Mazooku are the perfected versions of the Utsusemi without the need for a host to control them. I can send them out, and they'll complete the tasks given to them. But, of course, the souls of the Amagiri Clan members used to create them are rather stubborn and I had to put more effort into controlling them. At least until Amatsu-Mikaboshi is revived."

"If this is about revenge for what happened to Meiko, then why not turn your anger against us, the Himejima Clan? You targeted the Amagiri Clan, who tried helping her. You turned their children into these Mazoku, then forced them to murder their parents and relatives. What was the point of all that?!"

"And what'd be the point in that? It's not just the Five Principal Clans, but it's other clans that committed the same acts for generations. This is a rotten system that's pressed and murdered their children for the simplest reason. If that's the case, then why not burn it to the ground and ensure that it doesn't happen again," Arata said with more emotions in his words, but then shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it's not like I'm doing this for good. I'm simply out for my act of vengeance, truly a last petty and childish act."

"So, are you still planning on fighting?"

Seiryuu asked as he and Suzaku seemed prepared to act.

"Are you kidding, no way," Arata waved off Seiryuu's question, showing no intention of fighting back. "Right here are people who could defeat our members right now. Tetsuo, who'd mastered his Sacred Gear to the limit like that Slash Dog. Diehauser, the Rating Game Champion that rivals the new Maou. Hinata, a Daiyoukai closest to the Nekomata leader. Galahad, a former student of the Church's Device of Violence. And also two hosts of the Sacred Beasts. So, let's end things here, Malik!"

"Oh, we're leaving. Alright, I have my fun," Malik said, as he stopped fighting against Zane. "Sorry, but it looks as if this is where it ends. But, I hope that we'll be able to fight again."

"What?"

"This dimension is hard to break out of, but I'm a specialist in teleportation magic and even developed the one all our group's Scourge uses. Besides, thanks to this grimoire, I've got access to an abundance of magical power to use as I like too," Malik said, raising his hand into the air as a strong demonic power started being released, then a magic circle started appearing underneath him. "So, all I need to do is open up a small hole for us to leave."

"…."

Zane couldn't utter a single word as Malik started doing just that, as a small hole in the dimension was opened, and it was noticeable that it wouldn't remain open for long.

"Man, this dimension is good. I'll leave with them before it closes."

Malik said, as a pillar of green light wrapped around him.

He wasn't long, as Arata, Jun, and Kurohime were all wrapped in the same green pillar of light. Soon enough, all their bodies were being lifted from off the ground, towards the dimension's forced open exit.

"Well, this wasn't a serious battle for us in the first place," Arata said, scratching his head, then found himself, while looking down at Kensei. "I consider this an introduction to the Ordinals and Amatsu-Mikaboshi. So, use this time to make preparations, because the next time after I've obtained the ultimate body, I'll show you what it means to have a god's divinity and flames. So, let's see what you'll do then, Kensei Amagiri."

"…."

At that, Kensei didn't utter a single word, aside from glaring straight at him.

A moment later, as if neither of them was there, the Ordinals vanished from sight, but the dread wasn't removed from the atmosphere.

"Great, Arata is right about at least one thing," Seiryuu stated, scratching his hair. "It's kinda a pain dealing with the messes the previous generation caused. No doubt, this is going to be worse than the incident four years ago. I mean, a dangerous primordial god is going to be returning soon."

"I didn't think that something like this would happen. I didn't want to believe that another member of the Himejima Clan would cause another incident," Suzaku said, almost feeling emotionally overwhelmed. "Kensei-kun, there's nothing that I can…Kensei-kun."

Suzaku turned around to find Kensei slouched down unconscious in Tetsuo's arm, but she could see that it was because of exhaustion. Tetsuo disengaged Balance Breaker, as he continued holding onto Kensei, with the other Numbers also being knocked out too.

"No doubt, I think that it'll become much harder for them. But, this isn't the first time their group handled things of this nature from childhood."

Tetsuo stated as the remaining people were removed from the dimension and back into the real world.

---

"Ugh, what happened?"

Kensei found himself waking up, wrapped in bandages, staring at a familiar white ceiling, not that he have been in there much. But, he has been around from time to time to check up on some occupants, which was the reason he knew that it was one of their alliance's recovery rooms. Kensei didn't need to move around much, as he found out that all the other Numbers were there too.

"Right, we got out asses kicked in the end, huh."

"Wow, that's quite something to admit. I don't know many people who could admit something like that without far more hesitance behind them."

Kensei was surprised about the new, but familiar voice right beside him.

He turned around to find Amaterasu, sitting right beside him, dressed in the Kibou Academy's school uniform. In her hands, she seemed to be in the midst of casually peeling apples to perfection using a knife. There was a faint pause, as a surprised look appeared on Kensei's face, while Amaterasu smiled.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

"A-A-Amaterasu-sama."

On reflex, Kensei prepared to lean forward in a manner that his body shouldn't be doing right then, something that she's realized. A finger on his forehead, caused Kensei to stop moving, no he couldn't move an inch as the goddess held him down. He turned his attention to find Amaterasu staring at him with a gentle smile on her face.

"Don't think about it. I doubt that the patient should be making rash movements right now."

At that, Kensei couldn't help but listen to her advice as he continued looking upward as a sigh escaped from his mouth.

"I didn't think that I'd be lucky enough to have the Chief God herself at my bedside."

"Wow, looks like someone has gotten better at smooth-talking women," Amaterasu stated, finishing peeling the last apple, and throwing the peeled remains into a trashcan. "Now, let's get you up for a chat."

Much to his surprise, Amaterasu stood up, then started helping Kensei up, with the pillow acting as a support for his back. He never thought that a goddess, a Chief God no less would be tending to him like this.

"I brought these apples from Takamagahara and have better nutrition and properties compared to ones in the Human World," Amaterasu said, picking up the plate of peeled apples and a fork, then stabbed one of the apples. "Now, say, aaah."

"A-Aah," Kensei looked stunned as he was even being fed by the Chief God, after eating the apple, a surprised look appeared on his face. "This is good."

"Of course, they are, we've got our own gods who focus on agriculture. For us, Gods, it might be normal for us, but for those who aren't, it'll likely be the most delicious apple they'll ever eat. It also has a lot of benefits good for the body too."

"Then is this something that you should give me?"

"Well, this isn't the first time that we've given certain humans these apples and it's not like they're all that rare in the first place. I mean, Itsuki-kun, Kiyoko-chan, and their children all loved eating these when I brought them during one of my visits," Amaterasu replied, then her smile started faltering a bit. "Besides, you can consider this a small part of a long apology."

"Come on, there's nothing for you to apology for."

"No, you're wrong. If we handled the situation with Amatsu-Mikaboshi a long time ago, then Itsuki-kun wouldn't have even needed to fight him in the first place. He's a trickier god than we gave him credit for, which was the reason that we've been hunting him down for a long time," Amaterasu said, as she fed him around apple slice. "I didn't think that he'd end up targeting Itsuki-kun, though."

Kensei couldn't think of a response to come up with as she continued feeding him, as she continued speaking.

"But, to him, the Amagiri Clan was a bigger threat than the Five Principal Clans. Among Gods, he's one who seeks no peace and instead chaos, nothing more, nothing less. He could turn love to hate, respect to contempt, compassion to malice, and courage to fear," Amaterasu seemed to start listing out the different things that the primordial god could do. "And the Five Principal Clan might be devoted to us, but several people suffered because of that same devotion."

"It's not up to the gods to decide who humans should worship them. It's kinda the same as parents raising children, at some point, you have to let them decide what to do. You can't constantly be there in their life continuing to just baby the entire time. It's a good thing that the current Five Principal Clans' heads aren't the same as the previous ones," Kensei pointed out, thinking about those such as Suzaku, who wanted to ensure none among her clans is treated the same as before. "Besides, human faith is practically an important lifeline for gods."

"Yeah, it's surprising how humans react to some things. I mean, none of the gods minds Sacred Gear users just as long as they aren't Longinus users who end up causing trouble."

As Kensei and Amaterasu were sharing a somewhat causal conversation, the tenseness of the air settled down a little bit more than before. In that instance of looking around the barely lit room, a question came to his mind, as a result of the situation.

"How long have we been out?"

"Well, if you want to know, it's the next morning."

Amaterasu casually replied something that sparked a sudden reaction from Kensei.

"We've been out for more than a day?!"

"I think you shouldn't shout in a hospital room. Especially, not in your current condition," Amaterasu pointed out, then fed him another apple to get his mind off of it. "Your group's doctors thought that it'd be best if you rested at most for a day, instead of simply waking you up. Hinata made it so you all wouldn't wake up until around the next morning. I think it was for the best too, all your serious injuries were taken care of and they thought that it would be better if you naturally healed up a bit."

"Hah, well, I never doubted our group's doctors. More so, Hinata-san."

"Yeah, you should trust your future mother-in-law."

Amaterasu teased while sending a kind smile at the blushing Kensei.

"Hah, so you're aware of that."

"There's almost nothing that I'm privy to in the Shinto Faction. I do have a rather decent network of Yatagarasu, who tells me things that I've become curious about."

"And that'd be my married life too."

"Of course, I'd be interested in the interesting life of the final descendant of Itsuki-kun building up a certain group within Shintoism. I do have to do my job as the Chief God, you know," Amaterasu stated, before staring at him in a more teasing manner. "But, don't be concerned, I don't spy on your private matters."

"…!"

Kensei's face turned red at the implications behind that, something causing Amaterasu to laugh from amusement and satisfaction.

"And that's another reason that I love your clan so much. No one can make that kind of face at a simple goddess' tease."

"You're not a simple goddess, though."

"Well, you're right about that," Amaterasu didn't deny that comment. "I truly did love your clan among the others, I haven't met someone who showed such love for all people, human or not. Your ancestor, Itsuki-kun did so much for the people who met him and made Kibou Town the way it is now with Kiyoko-chan."

"I haven't heard much about the first-generation Amagiri Clan from anyone," Kensei said, feeling more curious as soon as he recalled Arata's words. "So, could you…."

Before Kensei could finish, surprisingly enough Amaterasu placed her finger on his lips and then stopped him from speaking further.

"There's a reason that no one aside from the Amagiri Clan Head is knowledgeable about Amatsu-Mikaboshi. There's one place where you can learn about the first-generation. And that's the reason that he and Arata had targeted the children and teens before either of them was old enough to go there," Amaterasu stated, then a gentle smile could be seen on her face. "It's and holds your clan's greatest and most precious treasure. So, I'm going to return something that Kaitou Amagiri gave to me for safekeeping."

"Wait, the last Clan Head gave you something?"

Kensei asked, recognizing the previous Clan Head's name before the massacre started.

Not giving him an answer, Amaterasu instead placed a finger in the middle of his forehead, then for a moment, it emitted a bright light. She removed her finger, and the Amagiri Clan's emblem appeared on Kensei's forehead before it faded. And in that instance, words entered his head.

"What was that?"

"It's something that's supposed to be passed from the previous Clan Head to the preceding Clan Head. But, before the massacre started Kaitou visited me and asked me to hold onto it until you were prepared," Amaterasu replied as a breath escaped from her mouth. "Well, there's something else you're likely curious about. But, that can wait after you think about what you know now. But, I'll leave you with this."

He was handed a miniature mirror that resembled the Yata-no-Kagami, then held it in his hand.

"What's this?"

"It's a miniature version of the Yata-no-Kagami that I hand out to certain people, with it you'll be able to talk to me wherever you are as long as I have the other mirror."

"Thank you, Amaterasu-sama."

Kensei thanked her and bowed his head.

"There's no need. Besides, I think that it'll be interesting talking to you more. But, I hope that you'll be able to talk to me as if we're close friends," Amaterasu said, standing up and heading in the direction of the entrance leading outside their room. "You can finish eating the apples and share them with your friends here."

"Alright. I'll do that as soon as they wake up."

"Oh, right. One more thing," Amaterasu said as she remained hanging out of the door with half of her body still in the door. "Your friends have been awake the entire time, for as long as we've been talking. Goodbye, Numbers."

[…!]

Despite not moving an inch, Kensei could tell that the three in the room were, in fact, conscious now. As soon as Amaterasu left, he looked on to find the sheets the three were covered in to shutter.

"Guys, come on."

Kensei called out.

"Ah, well, I didn't think that I'd meet Amaterasu like this," Zane said, as he leaned himself up, while still seeming to be getting used to not having a right arm. "She seems nice."

"Yeah, I didn't think that she'd be that nice. But, she sounded respectful and easy to talk to at the same time."

Maria added as she found herself leaning up.

"Same. I heard from Ken Ken that she was nicer than anyone would think, but this was surprising," Hisui pointed out, as she remained laying back. "I didn't think that she'd end up feeding Ken Ken, even though she knew that I was aware."

At that, Kensei couldn't help giving out a nervous laugh, knowing that Amaterasu did have her playful side too; something the three of them witnessed.

"Mind sharing those apples, though? She spoke highly of them."

Maria asked as Kensei didn't seem to mind that.

He turned his attention towards the plate of peeled and sliced apples beside him, then used telekinesis to begin splitting them up. At that, the three received their apples, before taking a bite from them with their expression changing a good deal.

[This is delicious!]

Zane, Maria, and Hisui couldn't hide their surprise at the apple's deliciousness.

Neither could believe it, but no fruit eaten before could match the sweetness that touched their taste buds. But, it wasn't surprising as it was a fruit grown in Heaven, however, tasting it was an entirely different experience.

"Yeah, apparently, it's supposed to be good for the body too."

"I can feel that too," Zane uttered before placing a hand on the location where his arm had been severed. "But, it still doesn't make me forget the feeling of being without my right arm. Despite that, it looks as if I now have an excuse to equip myself with a robotic arm or something."

Despite how morbid it sounded, it looked more joking rather than serious, as if in an attempt to further lighten up the mood around.

"So, what're you going to add to it? A laser canon?"

Kensei asked, going along with it.

"How about a rocket punch function?"

Maria added.

"Oh, I got it. How about a robotic claw function?"

Hisui added, motioning her balled-up fists up and down.

"How about all of the above? I can end up making a Swiss army arm, all the functions that I could dream up into a single artificial arm. Huh, I wonder if I can have a co-op with either Azazel or Ajuka."

"Now, that'd be a dream come true for you."

At Kensei's comment, the four of them shared a big laugh, but then the four regretted that since pain spread throughout their body.

[Ow, ouch, ouch, ouch! Hahahaha, it hurts so much.]

Kensei, Zane, Maria, and Hisui all laughed, despite the fact the pain signals spread throughout their body.

"Damn, we got our asses kicked for real this time."

Kensei couldn't stop himself from laughing at that.

"Yeah, this reminds me of that one time that I got slammed into a wall by that Minotaur a long time ago."

Maria pointed out, with the group realizing she was talking about her match during the Gehenna Tournament.

"I remember that one. At that time, I thought, 'Dang, that girl is going to feel that one tomorrow. Hm, I wonder if I should visit her'," Hisui pointed out chomping on another apple slice. "But, then I saw you walking around as if nothing happened."

"Don't forget you weren't the only healer there. I did have Iris around me at that time. But, I can't help admitting I was barely able to return home on my own. I'd tried acting tough right in front of Layla and Iris because I'd never wanted to concern them. Huh, I guess that's the responsibility of being an older sister."

"Yeah, that's the responsibility of being an older sibling, always standing up to set an example for them. But, we got the responsibility of letting them know that there's nothing wrong to lose a fight as long as you don't surrender after that loss."

Kensei pointed out, as he looked down, something that resonated with them all, most notably Maria.

"Yeah, paving the path is an older sibling's responsibility and ensuring that they're put on the right path," finishing the last apple slice, Maria looked despondent. "There's no doubt in my mind that Lancelot was that to me, someone who showed me what it meant to be a Knight. All that I became now was because he paved the path to reach this point. And now, he's split off the path he put me on."

"Maria, you know that there's a chance something happened to him down the road."

Kensei pointed out, sensing something odd about the Black Knight the first time he encountered the Ordinals.

"Yeah, my father thought the same thing. You see, like Jeanne and Heracles, my older brother inherited the soul of our ancestor, Sir Lancelot. You can guess the kind of reaction that got from certain people from the Pendragon Household. But, no matter what anyone said, he continued with the path that he made for himself even it if led to several people attempting to fight him," Maria started speaking as if reminiscing about that past. "Being a part of a family that births a traitor is one thing, but he inherited his soul. So, his treatment could've been nothing short of hatred and malice."

"It must've been hard for him. I mean, it's not his fault that he ended up in such a situation."

Hisui stated sounding sad for him, but Maria shook her head.

"He didn't let it get to him. Each time, any child from the Pendragon Family came to tease him and tried claiming they were superior. My brother said," Maria said, pausing for a moment before continuing in more of a tone she'd expect from her older brother. "'Hah, it seems as if I ended up winning. I stood my ground taking the brutal words from the descendants of a king. But, I, the descendant of a knight, stood my ground while never giving in anger. So, I won.' Hehehe, he was that kind of person who considers controlling yourself was the first thing one should learn and master."

Maria kept sitting up as she thought about the kind of person her older brother was. After that, she started to tremble as emotions started building up within her, as she felt tears streaming down her face.

"But, now that same older brother became my enemy," in front of them, her friends, who she has experienced the worse with, Maria couldn't hide her sadness. "He even hurt my younger sisters and even Alex, who I promised to protect. And I couldn't even do anything to protect them until Iris returned me to my senses. I don't have any right to call myself their older sister or even a Knight."

"Maria…."

Hisui could sense the sadness from her ki.

Despite not being told not to do so, the Nekoshou got right out of her bed, then walked over to the bed, where the female Knight had been resting. After getting there, she wrapped her arms around Maria, bringing her deeper into a warm hug.

"You know, those two girls love and adore you as the person who helped them when the people responsible for them tossed them aside. For the longest time Alex looked up to you as someone who braved numerous things as a leader and fighter," Hisui said, feeling the older girl's tears on her shirt. "But, even you're not without a limit. Those three will understand, and deep down you know it too, don't you?"

"…yeah."

Neither Zane nor Kensei could blame Maria for being in such an emotional state, more so the latter, who was still processing things. Despite being in worse conditions, the two got themselves out of their hospital beds, then headed in the same direction.

"We took a severe loss this time, but we made it out of that fight alive. It was ten years ago, when we faced one of worst situations any kid could've been thrown into," Zane started as he arrived there." But, neither of us had surrendered, despite how impossible it all appeared from our perspective."

"But, hey, look at us now, a collection of kids fought off an entire group together when everyone guessed that we would've been sold off or died. Together, we freed ourselves, took their earnings, and build our own little home," Kensei added standing around his teammates and friends. "For the people who lived alone, because of their circumstances, we build a family. For the people who had fear, we gave them happiness. And when those people felt fear, we gave them hope. We all lost the battle, but we're not going to lose this war, right?"

From Kensei's words that showed confidence, Maria brushed her tears aside using her hand, with both Zane and Hisui feeling the build-up of hope within them. The young female Knight's face went from tearful to confident, then wore the same determined look as her fellow Numbers.

[Right!]

All three of them replied to Kensei's question, then a moment later, the four leaned forward wrapping their arms all around them in one big up, while touching heads. At this moment, it showed the bond the Numbers all shared, as well as their friendship.

"You know, I should lecture you four for getting out of bed, though you're all injured."

In that instance, the four shuttered as that authoritative tone could only originate from the one person, whom all four could consider their "older sister". Slowly, the four turned around to find Abigail standing at the entrance with a serious look on her face.

"Uh, this is…."

"Kensei, you had a serious chest wound, as well as other internal and external causes from a combination of fire and lightning. Zane, you lost your dominant right arm and should be resting. Maria, you had multiple bones that were broken or fractured. And Hisui, you should be resting since the damages were more spiritual than physical," Abigail stated as she continued approaching the trembling four. "I swear, each time you four keep coming back to me all of the wounds that you receive becomes worse and worse. And you know what I hate about that…?"

[…uh, this is….]

Instinctively, the four tried coming up with an excuse, but then stopped and felt Abigail wrapping her arms around them. It was a big surprise for them, as the four didn't expect something such as this, more so as the older young woman seemed to the tearing up.

"I hate myself, most of all! Despite being a Number, I'm never there when you guys need me the most. And all I never seem to be good for is healing your injuries after you return. If this continues, then I doubt that I'll ever be able to call myself a Number any more."

"But, Abigail, you…."

"I don't need to tell me, Hisui. I know that I'm not someone cut out to be out on the intense battlefields like you all are," Abigail didn't need her to finish her comment to realize what it meant. "I'm the healer. I'm a supporter. So, I don't need to be worried about entering the battle. Even then, it doesn't mean that I'm happy being the person who remains behind and tends to severe injuries. It might take a while, but this is the last time that I'm going to stand on the sidelines as your four fight! So, if this turns into a war, I'll be right there beside you all!"

[….]

Neither of them could utter a single word as Abigail uttered those strong and determined words, but the four had a warm feeling of complete love spreading throughout them. For them, and those who got to know her, no matter the situation this young woman would be their "older sister".

---

Open!

Moments later, the Numbers heard the door opening revealing the members of their team, all of whom looked on with tears in their eyes.

[Kensei/Ken-chan/Ken-sama!]

[Sis/Maria!]

"Hisui!"

"Moron!"

"Come on."

As all the others received gentler comments from their teammates, despite being sad about the fact that Zane was injured, Lena called him a 'moron'. But, then for Kensei, Claire, Kunou, and Ravel leaped straight for him, a conjoined impact sent him to the ground. For Maria, she'd received regular hugs from Layla, Iris, and Alex, same for Hisui and even Zane.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch," Kensei felt pain traveling across him, but he felt good nonetheless as the three young girls were concerned about him. "Come on, it hasn't been that long, we've only been out for one day. But, I know that I must've worried you three after that last battle. It was the first time that I've taken that bad of a beating."

"That's not funny, Kensei!"

"She's right, Ken-chan! This isn't the kind of situation, where you can make jokes!"

"Ken-sama, you baka battle maniac!"

Kensei received comments from the three of them who glared straight at him with tears rolling down their face, a determined look could be seen on their faces though.

"Well, that's the kind of person he is nonetheless."

A familiar voice came up, as Lingqi, who had her broken put into an arm sleeve and cast. Same as them, she too was dressed in medical wear worn by their patients.

"Hey, Lingqi, how're you doing?"

"I'm good. I woke up a couple of moments ago myself to find these three checking up on me at the same time," Lingqi replied, looking at her arm and back to him. "I received the detail about what happened from them. It looks as if there's some concern from our classmates about our house getting burned down. But, these three handled the damage control well enough, and it seems as if I gained some get letters too. It seems as if our injuries could be explained, as a result of rushing into our house."

"That so? You three did a good job."

Kensei thanked the three for their hard work, as he wrapped his arms around the three younger girls, who all had a blushing faces.

"Well, there's a lot that we need to do. But, at least, we got a handle on the damage control around town first," at a sniffle, Claire rubbed her eyes and continued explaining. "We managed to alter the memories enough to make them believe it was a terrorist attack from Hikage. No supernatural beings, no special abilities, just humans who attacked the town."

"It took some time because there were some messages that went out into the internet. But, we managed to make some modifications without it remaining out there."

Ravel added, as Kunou still seemed to be preoccupied with hugging Kensei.

"Yeah, but there's still the fact that we're still without a house."

"That might be something easily fixed. I'd talked to someone from the Research Department who walked passed me just as these three ran here," Lingqi said, wearing a knowing smile as Claire, Kunou, and Ravel looked on a bit embarrassed. "The families who lost their homes were moved into the apartment that's being run by the Kibou Alliance. It might be dangerous to rebuild their house on the same plot that touched Arata's flames. So, the group decided to build a new house using those plots over the summer."

At Lingqi's reveal, the group there looked surprised about that sudden reveal, Zane himself looked surprised, but not to an extreme level.

"That sounds like something that my group would do. I don't doubt that it's going to be far better than the original house, considering we learned more about craftsmanship in two of the factions known for them. Besides, even the Wayland Household is on our…," at that Zane paused for a second, at a moment of realization. "Ah, shit. I forgot about my mom! She must be worried about me! I need to…."

"Don't scream!"

Lena karate chopped Zane's head in an annoyed voice, causing noticeable pain to travel throughout his body. It was worse considering he wasn't in perfect condition already.

"Don't be worried. I told your mother about your condition, and that you should be waking up anytime now," there was a calmer tone from Abigail. "Well, all things considered, I think that you all can return home now. I can take care of the more serious injuries now for those who can't heal. But, for Hisui, there's something that I want to try out first."

"Huh, am I doing to be turned into some test subject now?"

"Don't sound all dramatic. It's nothing that serious."

Abigail replied while urging Hisui to come closer to her.

She walked up, then Abigail placed her hand in front of her as she emitted a white aura, different from the golden one that she'd used before. At that, Hisui felt her wounds being healed until her condition returned to normal, then looked on surprised.

"Huh, I'm healed?"

"Well, it looks as if that worked. I can't heal creatures of darkness, because of their natural weakness to light, which would cause more good than harm. Since Hisui is a Youkai, most of the time I have to dilute the light trait enough but the healing isn't effective. So, I worked on separating the light from the healing part and I plan on advancing the things that I can heal," Abigail replied, smiling straight at them. "I won't be holding anyone back again."

Everyone looked surprised about that reveal that Abigail achieved something like that. But, it goes to show what she managed to achieve by continuing to practice medicine and healing. She caught their attention after clapping her hands together.

"Well, now now, you all have permission to roam about as you please, ensure your families aren't worried about you," Abigail added, as the group nodded their heads in agreement. "But, Kensei, there's someone who wants to see you too."

"Huh?"

---

Meanwhile, in another room, one where Alice was resting, she found herself staring forward with a wondering look. She'd been up for some time, but Alice haven't called out for anyone and hadn't received any visitors yet. The first thing she noticed when she woke up was the machines and IV drip that she's been linked up to, but she felt as if she was in perfect condition now.

"Huh, I'm starting to feel a bit lonely. I wish someone would…."

In that instance, the door burst open revealing Kensei who was standing there, breathing a bit heavier than he would do in top condition.

"Oh, didn't Abigail tell us not to…?"

Alice was prepared to ask but found herself surprised as Kensei wrapped his arms around her in one big hug as she felt a great sense of love. Amid that, she felt him shuttering from the emotions building up within him, most of all sadness and happiness. Alice couldn't blame him, considering she was stabbed straight through the stomach by Arata's flame-covered hand.

"I'm so glad you're alright."

Kensei couldn't stop himself from tearing up, as he leaned back and stared at Alice.

"Sorry that I worried you."

At that, Alice wrapped her arms around him, bringing him into a hug, with his face nestled between her abundant breasts. She couldn't stop the brilliant smile on her face as she'd received such emotions from Kensei, who didn't stop himself from continuing to cry from happiness. A couple of minutes passed, and the two remained in that position until he pulled back and looked worried.

"But, are you alright? That attack should've ruined your stomach and other organs."

"I was confused too. But," Alice said confused, then found herself unbuttoning her top, and then showed from her stomach. Because Alice wasn't wearing a bra underneath it, her breasts could also be seen. "See? My tummy is all better and it doesn't feel as if my organs are messed up."

"Geez, you shouldn't do that. What if someone walks in?"

Kensei said, wondering what he'd do if another male walked in and saw Alice wounded.

"It's not like anyone is going to…."

"ALIIIIIICCCCEEE!"

Suddenly, the door opened once again burst open as someone else could be seen rushing inside the room. And much to their surprise, it was revealed to be Rossweisse, dressed in professional wear.

"Oh, Rose. You're…."

Before Alice could finish her sentence, Rossweisse rushed right in front of the blonde-haired young woman, then leaned down with tears

"Waaah! I heard that you'd taken a serious wound from Claire during an attack the other day, but we weren't able to come and held. The Valkyrie Squad was focused on a mission, and I was busy around Odin-sama! I couldn't focus on anything aside from what happened here!"

Rossweisse continued speaking as dramatically as possible, leaning her head against Alice's hospital bed.

"Thanks for being worried about me, Rose. I understand, you're an important part of another faction and have your own business to attempt to too."

Alice smiled as she petted her Valkyrie friend's head.

"Rose, please don't shout in a hospital."

"Hey, it's good to see you, Brynhildr."

Kensei turned his head to find Brynhildr standing at the opening leading into the hospital room, dressed in formal wear too.

"Same. But, it doesn't appear as if the situation here is the best. I could tell there was a far tenser air around the people working around the Kibou Alliance. It must've been a tough battle."

"Yeah, but we made it out alive, albeit with a couple of injuries. It's good knowing that we all have people who'll come to our aid."

"Well, that is the point of allying with someone. I'm just sorry we couldn't get here on time," Brynhildr smiled, bowing her head and showing her ability as a leader. But, on the inside, her inner voice was speaking in an entirely different tone. "'I'm sorry?!' Screw that, I wanted to come here the moment that I heard someone was attacking him! I settled it with that moron with decided then and there at all times to launch an attack, but I was still stuck writing and giving a dumb report! I could've finished that report anytime! If anything happened to Kensei, I'll quit being a Valkyrie! There's no man in the world closer to being Kensei's match!"

As Brynhildr was happening her internal moment, her expression didn't show that.

"Well, if you'd been there, then you would've had to see something embarrassing from us."

Kensei stated, unable to get that beat down out of his head, no doubt being the worst beating that either of them has ever experienced. Brynhildr and Rossweisse could see the expression on his face, as well as Alice's face, it was a clear sign that the battle was worse than any one of them thought.

"Well, I'll be sure to explain it to Odin, more so since at least one part does have something to do with your Norse Faction. Everything else might be a bit rough for anyone to hear."

"There's no need to rush," Brynhildr approached Kensei, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, then gave a beautiful smile from such a transcendentally beautiful face. "I know that it must've been a hard battle for you all. I don't believe that you need to force yourself to explain to us what happened. So, simply take things at your own pace and we'll do whatever we can to help."

"Thanks, Brynhildr," Kensei replied to her gesture with a gentle and cool smile, something that almost caused the Chief Valkyrie to shutter. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"You're a good friend and a sparring partner of mine," Brynhildr replied coolly, while her inner voice was gushing as if she was a young girl in love. "Iyaah! Kensei is so handsome, his cute smile warms up my heart, making my work as the Chief Valkyrie easier for me! He said he admires me for being the Strongest Valkyrie, as well as how I use magic and swordplay! Uh, how long do I have to wait before I can finally be with him?!"

"Are you sure that you're fine?"

Rossweisse asked.

"Yes, yes, see. I told Kensei, but my stomach and organs feel fine."

Once again, Alice showed no shame as she opened her shirt, as Kensei and Brynhildr look on surprised as she did such a thing without consideration. Though, that could be simply because she was one, in front of her fiancèe, and two, in front of other women.

"Well, it does seem as if Alice is quite the showy girl."

Hinata said as she walked inside the medical room Alice put her top back, but didn't button it up. In Hinata's hands, there was a medical tablet in her hands and Nekomata's parts were revealed.

"Hey, Hinata-san."

"It's good seeing that you're up, Kensei. I hope that you enjoyed your rest, there shouldn't be anything wrong as I'm sure that my adorable student informed you. You can heal your injuries, but pretend that your pretend as if you're still injured."

"Thanks for letting me know. But, did you heal Alice?"

"No. But, that's the reason that I came here first because how she was healed is something that she might want to be informed of. And since you're here too, I think that it should be important for you too," Hinata said, turning to Brynhildr and Rossweisse too. "I don't mind if you two remain here. So, don't be worried about being nosy. I also know that you're friends with them too."

"Alright. Though, it appears as if one of my members became more proactive in wanting to check up on them. To the point where she forgets about her duties as Lord Odin's bodyguard."

Brynhildr pointed out.

"That's funny coming from the person who practically annihilated the person who we tracked down because you heard Kensei-san was in trouble."

Rossweisse thought, glancing to the side while standing aside as she allowed Hinata to stand before Alice.

"So, what was the issue? I mean, I feel fine."

"That's true. If you think about it, you're in perfect condition, but how you are in perfect condition is something that's the thing that we should be worried about."

"Uh, what does that mean?"

Alice didn't seem to be realizing what Hinata meant about that, but the Youkai doctor continued discussing the situation calmly.

"I'm sure you're not aware of this. But, I could indeed do something about the wound you suffered if I'd gotten to you on time. You could've lived a long time, but you would've had some lasting damage. There's a limit to what I can do using healing-type Senjutsu, which increases your natural healing process. Anything short of the highest caliber of Healing Magic can regenerate lost organs and limbs," Hinata explained. "But, you're in perfect condition. You're healthier than before."

"And what would be the reason for that?"

Kensei curiously asked.

"You can thank Alice's monster for that. Alphard, I think. Claire saw her monster breaking down its cells and flesh to replace what Alice lost, which were the most important things needed to live. I heard four years ago, that there was an Independent Avatar who healed its owner from a wound similar to Alice's wound. But, hers caused some unique changes," Hinata replied. "It's similar to what the Sekiryuutei, who Hisui said sacrificed his normal arm for a dragon arm, granting it dragon power. So, you presently have the same cells your monsters are made of, which I've dubbed monster cells."

At Hinata's explanation, surprising Kensei, Brynhildr, and Rossweisse from the results, though Alice looked about as casual as she normally would. She then took the medical tablet in her hands, went to the medical diagnostics took, and showed it to Alice. From the looks of it, it was a rendering of Alice's entire body, with blinking red lights at the section where she was wounded.

If anyone had to guess what that was, then it must've been the location where these "monster cells" were infused into her body, which was shining with a red light.

"I had Lisanna use her Sacred Gear to scan you for abnormalities, that's where we discovered these special cells and tissue transplanted into you. It was then, that Lisanna noticed it looks as if these cells are continuing to spread to the normal cells. It's not as if it's parasitism from what we can tell, as a matter of fact, it's benefiting her. Based on initial exams, her organs are operating better than before. But, if these monster cells continue spreading outward, then you might turn into a half-monster. Or something like a full Kaijin, all things considered."

"Huh, is that so?"

Alice asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Alice, you're taking this easier than I think anyone would think."

Rossweisse pointed out, feeling this situation was overwhelming for a person to think about.

"Well, I mean, because of that I'm still alive. So, I'm happy about that, I didn't think that my monsters could even do something like that," Alice replied, crossing her arms at the thought. "Besides, if I'm half-human, a monster, or whatever, then I'll be the same as Kensei and Claire."

"Alright, I'm going to need some more context. Because, at this point, my feelings are being hurt."

Kensei joked.

"It's not that. I mean, Kensei has dragon blood that'd pretty much changed his body since birth. And Claire is also a half-Devil," Alice pointed out as she glanced at Kensei. "So, that means I'm not so normal anymore either."

"Well, you weren't normal, to begin with."

"Now, that's mean, Kensei."

Alice looked on pouting as she looked forward at Kensei, something that caused Brynhildr and Rossweisse to let a faint laugh escape from her mouth.

"Alright, then. We'll continue monitoring the increase in monster cells as things continue," Hinata said almost not helping to smile herself. "All things considered, it's fine for you to leave too."

"Alright, then let's go home," Alice said, starting excited, but then remembered that Arata blew up their house. "Or, to the temporary one."

"That's fine. Before leaving, Claire mentioned something about preparing a big meal for all of us," Kensei said in a tone sounding as if he was looking forward to it. He then turned to Brynhildr and Rossweisse. "Both of you can come too. I'd hate to see you two leave here without at least getting some good ol' Kibou Town hospitality."

"Well, if you're offering such a thing, then it'd be rude to reject it. If possible, I would like to assist as well."

Brynhildr stated smiling.

"Same. I'd like to remain here for a little bit longer. Nothing is going on around Asgard at the moment, and I have the excuse of gathering information about what happened for Odin-sama."

Rossweisse added, liking that idea.

"Then let's head out," Kensei said, leading the others over to the outside of the room, intending on heading out to the Amagiri Clan's main shrine. "Hinata-san, you're coming too?"

"No no, not yet. There's still much that I need to do here," Hinata replied, waving her hand as she kept looking at her chart. "I mean, Alice-chan's newfound cells and tissues have quite gotten my medical instincts all roused and I'm going to have a blast going over them for a little bit longer. But, I'll be joining you as soon as I'm done."

"Alright. Let's go ladies."

[Alright.]

All three women behind him continued following behind as the four started heading outside of the building.

"Hmm, well, it looks as if Kensei-kun is becoming more of a lady killer as he matures, even attracting the attention of a half-god. At this point, I think that it's just Brynhildr. I do wonder how many women he's going to gather around him in the end, but that would be good for the Amagiri Clan's revival. They're all unique, but my darling Hisui is, of course, the best," Hinata wondered jokingly, before looking on longingly. "Hey, Sakura-chan, I'm wondering if you're watching him as he grows because he's becoming the kind of man you could be proud of. This incident answers my question as to why his dragon power hasn't manifested. No matter how hard I sensed, it just felt as if his soul was simply restricted. Now, if he does continue at this point, then he'll reach something greater than anyone among the Amagiri Clan."

Hinata sounded as if she'd wanted those words to reach Sakura to some extent, and desired for that message to reach her deceased friend.

---

At their temporary residence, the Amagiri Clan's main shrine, a big meal was in the process of being cooked due to joined assistance of Claire, Brynhildr, and Anne. Amid all that, the parents, guardians, and their children talked among themselves, about causal things. At first, all the injured Numbers' parents did show concern about their injuries. But, in the end, the situation did settle after almost half an hour, more so, as Zane's mother was the person who showed the most concern.

Both now the adults and young men and women talked among themselves with the previous causal air between them returning to normal. Among them, Rossweisse joined in conversing with the others, something that she did find interesting.

"Ah, I see that you've gotten better at using basic elemental magic, Maria."

"Yeah, at this point. It's become second nature, sometimes I use these spells without a magic circle."

Maria said, holding up her hand as numerous elemental spheres made up of flame, wind, water, earth, lightning, ice, light, and darkness circled her on command alone. Witnessing such a thing, the Valkyrie couldn't do anything aside from marvel in her control, from someone who wasn't that interested in magic.

"I'm not like Zane or you, I'm not that interested in magic. I'd thought that learning elemental magic would let me become proficient in creating elemental holy swords. It seems as if I was right, since creating them become much easier than before, taking no effort," Maria said, before causing the elemental sphere to vanish. "But, I'm lacking still. There's so much that I want and need to accomplish if I want to reach that level."

"Well, learning the basics can be more efficient than learning advanced things. I couldn't tell you the number of times that those things helped me."

"Well, I'm not talking about magic, since I'll never be as good as those with actual talent in it. My talents lie more in using swords," Maria pointed out, looking at her hand. "Ability to wield a sword aside, I want to train my Sacred Gear, to the point where it reaches Kensei's father. His Sacred Gear was a Twice Critical, but he evolved it into an all-new form surpassing its original specs. I already planned on developing it into a sub-species. And there's one more hint that I got from my dad."

At the mention of that, Maria thought back to the battle between her brother and father, the latter covered himself in holy energy. Neither of her parents owns Sacred Gears, but while her mother's barrier was an ability she was born with, her father learned his from someone.

"I can see it. An all-new possibility staring straight at me to reach a new level," Maria thought with brand new determination. "If I reach the same level as my father then I can evolve my Sacred Gear in the direction that I had wanted to. I want to surpass my older brother and ancestor."

"I see. I'm sure that someone with your talents can achieve that. I haven't met anyone with your Sacred Gear, but I remember seeing all the things you could use it before," Rossweisse said, enjoying talking to the people around her. "And, if you ever need someone to spar against, I wouldn't mind helping. It might give you some hint about what you might need to work on."

"Thanks, Rossweisse."

Maria said, feeling the appreciation for Rossweisse's offer about being a sparring partner.

"So, Lingqi-sama, what was that power you used?"

"Hmm?"

Lingqi, who'd been listening to the conversations such far with legs crossed, found herself glancing over towards an adorable and curious-looking Ravel. Hearing such an odd question almost caused the older young woman to look on confused for a moment. But, then it made her think about the one thing that the young Phenex could be referring to.

"Oh, that's what you're referring to."

Lingqi realized that was what Ravel meant, in addition to the expressions she was receiving from those who sat around them.

"I was wondering about that too. It seemed to be something that Jun was worried about after it manifested, and it gave off a divine presence. Whatever that power was, it looked as if he wasn't expecting that and could damage his armor. And it resembled the power that your grandfather used before."

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting that either, but I haven't been able to get a reaction since then. However, I can feel the fight caused a change," Lingqi stated to herself as she opened her hand. "Do you all remember what I said about my grandfather developing the Byakko Kenpo in his youth?"

Everyone in front of Lingqi nodded their heads, having heard about it after getting into a conversation about what kind of martial art Byakko Kenpo was. In his youth, Jie walked the path of martial arts in an attempt to assist him in righting the wrongs his ancestor caused. He trained in ancient martial arts and practices, the seven main ones that make it up, ranging from Bajiquan, Piguaquan, Baguazhang, Tai Chi, Xing Yi Quan, Qigong, and Neigong.

"I don't understand much about martial arts. But, I have seen Lingqi-sama training once, but it looks almost as if it was the same as Ken-sama's Amagiri-ryuu. To be honest, I'd never thought there would be such an unusual martial art in the Human World."

"Well, humans have a means of surprising supernatural beings. Among them, from the Church, there's one man who can coat his fists in holy energy. All without having a Sacred Gear or having the slightest hint of angel blood running through his veins. My dad said he believes as long as you believe in yourself, then power is going to be built up within your soul."

Maria pointed out.

"That's about the same thing that my grandfather did. He trained around Tigers, wanting to achieve the same beast power. He spent so much time training around there that none of the tigers treated him as an outsider around them anymore. In response to the power he gained, his hair turned white and his eyes turned blue, resembling a White Tiger," Lingqi said as she placed a hand on her chest. "And so, he called it Tiger Qi."

"Tiger Qi?"

Ravel seemed interested at that mention, as well as the others.

"Yes. You can think of it as similar to Kensei's Dragon Ki, the result of his dragon power within his spirit. But, for Tiger Qi, it's the 'beast power' he gained from training in the Byakko Kenpo," Lingqi replied, as she continued to the important part. "After receiving his blessing from Yu Huang, Grandpa Jie was transformed into a White Tiger. You see, even the weakest blessings contain divine power. During Grandpa Jie's training to ascend, he made it his own, which caused the Tiger Qi and divine power to mix into one."

At that reveal, the people around her become surprised at such a development. Hearing that the nature of their Tiger Qi was also the byproduct of divine power was surprising for them.

"There are said to be different kinds of immortal among Taoism, but it'd be best to describe them as possible who ascended into a different state. Since Grandpa Jie gained Tiger Qi, he became known as a Beast Immortal, or a Shouxian," Lingqi stated, pointing right at the mark signifying her status as a Master. "It might not be possible for Masters to reach the same point as us and Grandpa Jie. So, he made these marks that contain a sliver of Tiger Qi to assist them."

"So, aside from being something that signifies their Master status. It's a training aid that assists them all along the way in reaching the same level of mastery. It explains the aura that I felt from him, the first time, but was it meant to manifest this early."

"Ah, I was surprised myself. For my dad, it didn't manifest within him until his twenties. If I had to guess the cause behind it. It could be because of Spiritus Armiger, which manifests Shimon Mouko as a weapon from my soul. It might be one part of it, but it might have something to do with…," at that, Lingqi took a faint discrete glance over at Kensei, thinking about the time she protected him from Jun. At that moment, that simple desire caused that power to manifest in her. "W-Well, I reached my breaking point, at letting Jun get away with hurting a friend."

"And this friend wouldn't happen to have been me?"

Kensei teasingly asked.

"W-Who knows."

"Come on, no need to be…sh…argh!"

In a flash, Kensei received a sharp punch from a blushing Lingqi, whose emotions built up to a point where she'd been unable to control them. It looked simple enough, but as usual, the strength behind it was enough to force Kensei in the opposite direction. The people looked on in almost amusement and surprise about what happened, while a flustered Lingqi.

"A-Alright, I had that one coming."

Kensei groaned rubbing his arm.

"You sure did."

Lingqi stated as she crossed her arms in a pout.

"I'd say that's adorable, but there's a chance she'll hit me again. Not that I'm scared, but damn can Lingqi hit you with the force of a hammer."

Kensei thought as he continued rubbing his arm.

"I know that I can't use it yet correctly. I sensed the battle between my father and Jun, even in Balance Breaker, my father wasn't that far from his strength. But, now Jun's much stronger than he was seven years ago, and he's gained that black lightning too. If it wasn't for Kensei saving me in the end, then it likely would've killed me," after leaning back, Lingqi found herself staring straight at the ceiling. "So, defeating Jun means surpassing my dad. I sure have my hands filled."

Instead of sounding despondent about the situation, Lingqi instead sounded as if there was a new challenge right in front of her. Of course, surpassing her father was something that she longed to accomplish from the moment she became a disciple. But, if possible, she wanted him to be there and wanted it under normal circumstances.

"I wanted you, mom, and the others to be right there with me as I accomplished that," Lingqi said, then turned to look at the people who gathered around her and continued walking among themselves, while she smiled with a new feeling of emotion. "But, I want you to meet all the people that I've managed to befriend since then. I think that'll be something that you'll be most proud of."

As that thought crossed her mind, the scent of the meals being prepared for them attracted their attention as the parents, guardians, and children felt their appetite building. Though, the conversations held between them did a good job of keeping their minds off of it. It wasn't that long until the three women finished the meal, then placed the prepared food on the table.

It wasn't that much effort, considering Claire and Brynhildr could handle them by utilizing their powers, making it easier to pass it out. Once the food was handed out to the people, with one utterance of "Itadakimasu!" their meal started from there. During this, the parents, guardians, and children found themselves relishing in the food that was prepared.

For those who knew Claire and Anne, there was no surprise that the two women would prepare such a meal, but the addition of Brynhildr made it all the more surprising. All this delicious food made the wait worth it, while every single person sitting at the table conversed with each other. Conversation. Laughter. Smiles. Stories. Enjoyment. There was nothing aside from these positive feelings around them without one mention of the incident that had occurred.

A peaceful air remained without skipping a single beat, not one person brought up anything, which was remotely related to their respective business. For those, such as Brynhildr and Rossweisse, it was a nice atmosphere that the two Valkyrie, half-Gods couldn't help enjoying.

---

The dinner continued for almost half an hour, with the dishes being cleaned with the assistance of others who volunteered. After some time, Kensei found himself sitting outside in front of the garden, leaning backward with a breath escaping from his mouth. Overhead, the sun was beginning to set, and the beautiful colors seemed to color the sky and clouds.

"Hah, that was a delicious meal. I never thought that Claire and the others could prepare a meal that good, but I'd think it was their co-operation," Kensei said as he couldn't help thinking about what happened, despite not having spoken about it. "Mei. I didn't think to look into your death, even though I know that the Five Principal Clan isn't the most thoughtful one when it comes to certain members. No, I can't think about either the regrets or the things I couldn't do."

He'd leaned forward as he looked down at the ground, as the first thing that caught his attention was the present he had received from Sun Wukong. It was an Eastern Dragon pendant crafted from what the Victorious Fighting Buddha described as a special kind of jade. Kensei could see that it was similar to the pendants that he'd given to Kunou and Yasaka.

He modified theirs with the techniques he learned from the Amagiri Clan and Senjutsu, making it so that spiritual power could be stored inside them. If he had to compare either of them, the dragon pendant would be cut above them. It'd been imbued with the dragon aura of the Dragon King, Yu-Long, giving off a silent presence that wasn't sensed under normal circumstances.

"During that battle, I sensed something odd about this pendant. It was almost as if it was drawing out the dragon's power in me. I guess this would be the reason that Sun-sensei prepared this little trinket for me in the first place. If that's the case, I wonder if it can."

Kensei came up with an idea in mind, he held the dragon pendant in his hand.

At that, he channeled dragon ki straight into the pendant, causing it to start releasing the same color dragon aura one would expect from Yu-Long. It then turned from the usual green aura to a black aura, the latter could've been due to the nature of his Evil Dragon blood. But, the dragon aura Kensei initially infused into the pendant felt much different from before.

"Huh, if feels as if this pendant refined the dragon ki that I channeled into it. So, I can take it back."

Thinking that, Kensei re-absorbed the dragon aura he channeled into the dragon pendant, feeling the difference compared to before. For him, it felt as if the "evil" part was being purified, feeling a stronger presence from it, and made him feel as if it became more his.

"I see. If that's the case, then I can refine my Dragon Ki into something purer and without impurities in it," Kensei said, smiling at the pendant's newfound function. "If that's the case, then I have a new training in mind for myself in the future."

"Hey, mind if I join you?"

He turned around to find Brynhildr walking up behind him, then looked down giving a faint smile on her face.

"Sure thing."

Kensei, of course, didn't mind Brynhildr sitting beside him.

Taking that idea in mind, Brynhildr took a seat next to him, finding herself enjoying the flowers planted inside the garden. Brynhildr came to Japan from time to time, though she couldn't go as much as she could. But, each time she relished the picturesque things Brynhildr would often see.

"Huh, this is a beautiful sunset. It reminds me of one spot back home, where I used to go when I was training to join the Valkyrie Corps. I used to always sit down, watching as the sun started to set with the comrades I'd made during those times."

"I can see that. All the different places in Asgard seen thus far, have been the most beautiful thus far. In some places in the Greek Faction, I could say the same thing," Kensei stated, leaning beside Brynhildr, who relished in the scene before them. "Though, we don't have much time sometimes, because we're often traveling from place to place to truly enjoy seeing things like this sometimes."

"You're right about that. There are sometimes when we're focused on business and things of that nature to have a moment like this. Well, that's the responsibility that comes from being the Chief Valkyrie."

Brynhildr stated.

"What was your reason for becoming the Chief Valkyrie? Or was it, because you were the strongest one among the Valkyrie?"

Kensei asked her that question.

"Hmm, well, I guess that it would be eventual that I became the Chief Valkyrie since I focused on wanting to be a far stronger Valkyrie than anyone else. If anything, then I guess that becoming the next Brynhildr was something that I always wanted. Of course, I realize that it comes with dealing with the sometimes laxity of our Chief God, Odin-sama, and Vidar-sama."

Brynhildr joked, among the few casual moments between them, where the Chief Valkyrie could ever even make such a comment.

Brynhildr found herself loving these moments since she could converse with someone with that she held such strong feelings for. It wasn't simply because she wanted to make Kensei her lover, in the future. Aside from that, she's come to respect him as a swordsman. For more times than she could count, Brynhildr sparred with each other, noticing the improvements he's made. And the same thing could be said about her too, more than she would've thought possible.

Growing up, Brynhildr came to favor swordplay and magic without being able to choose one over the other.

"Yeah, those two can be quite the handful," after making one erratic movement, Kensei found himself groaning a bit out of pain. He still some lasting damage caused by the injuries sustained, despite healing himself using Senjutsu as much as possible. "Ugh, I guess this is what some people feel after a serious workout session."

Despite the joke made, Brynhildr could see that Kensei was still suffering a bit from the injuries sustained.

"Let me try something."

"Huh?"

Kensei looked confused, as Brynhildr placed a hand on his chest without answering the question. Soon, an aura was produced from her magic power, then Kensei started feeling the pain fading as his wounds started healing.

"Healing Magic?"

"Yeah, I started picking up on the basics and haven't learned anything advanced. But, I can pull off things like this."

Brynhildr said, noticing that Kensei started moving around without difficulties at all. He, himself started feeling far better than before and reached a comfortable enough condition.

"Basics, or not, I feel better than before. I didn't feel this better when I was healing myself ever," Kensei said while rotating his arm and feeling close to one-hundred percent, without the same muscle pains he felt before. "Besides, Healing Magic belongs to the highest class of magic, something that not even a handful of people can use. So, the fact that you were able to pull it off speaks volumes of your efforts."

"Thanks. I'm someone who puts effort into learning and mastering magic more than others. But, if anything, I just want to make sure that what I learned gets passed on to the next generation."

"Ah, right. I heard that Valkyrie passes down their magic, techniques, and traditions from parent to child, through using an emblem or something."

"Yeah. Although, I'm still waiting for that one special person who's going to make that possible. A prince, who at this point has come into my life," Brynhildr stated, finding herself flustered after realizing what she said right then and there. She took a glance at Kensei, who looked a bit amused after seeing that. "I-I didn't mean to…."

"Well, that's quite the comment. So, do I know this prince?"

"U-Uh, y-yeah, y-you could know em' well enough," Brynhildr stuttered, speaking in her natural dialect, something Kensei found adorable every single time. "Ugh, why'd ya mention that in front of him? Please, don't screw this up for yourself, Brynhildr! You've been working on attempting to make him your boyfriend at least for almost over a year! So, don't mess this up!"

"Hey, Brynhildr?"

"Ya?"

Brynhildr replied and asked back at the same time.

"I've been wondering about this for a long time. But, since we're going to be preoccupied over the summer break with the training and other things," Kensei said, feeling a bit nervous about this situation and the fact that it would be the first time he asked this. Calling Brynhildr beautiful would be an understatement, more of a transcendental one. "Do you want to go out on a date sometime after the summer?"

"…!"

Brynhildr looked on stunned about that question as if a thousand thoughts and fantasies were going straight into her mind at the same time. The person that she'd been attempting to make hers in the future asked HER out on a date. Kensei wasn't surprised that she'd been paused in this instance, considering he's heard several times the Valkyrie either found or didn't find a boyfriend.

"He asked me! He asked me! He asked me! He asked me! He asked me! He asked me! He asked me! He asked me! He asked me! He asked me! He asked me," Brynhildr repeated those words numerous times in her head in a couple of seconds. "I can't believe that HE asked ME out. Kensei Amagiri! A young man who's more of a man in comparison to the men that I've met thus far! Don't mess this up! Don't mess this up! This is your moment."

Her heart was beating at a high rate, but she breathed a couple of times to catch her breath and calm down.

"Ya, I think that it would be fun to go out on a date. If possible, could we have it at my hometown," Brynhildr said in a calm enough time, but her native dialect came out? "There are some places that I would like to show you."

"Sure thing. I'm interested in hearing more about your hometown."

Kensei had no trouble heading out to the Norse Faction and seeing where Brynhildr lived, something that she couldn't help smiling about. After that, she felt another feeling welling up within her chest and went along with it. Before Kensei realized what happened next, he felt a familiar, warm feeling on his cheek, realizing that Brynhildr kissed him on his cheek.

"…?"

Kensei found his cheeks turning red from the moment.

He looked to find Brynhildr's face turning bright red from the embarrassment that she'd felt in that instance. There was a faint pause, as she stood as if she were a robot, then turned around.

"I'll talk to ya later. I heard that the other women were supposed to be having a bath together in the large bath," a mixture of fast talking and dialect, Brynhildr started walking forward in the direction of the house, waving at him in a rushed manner. "So, we'll be having our date sometime after the summer, right?"

"Right."

Kensei replied, giving her a thumbs up.

"Right. I'll see ya later."

At that, Brynhildr returned to the house.

"Hah, she'll beautiful and adorable at the same time. Well, at least, I managed to ask her out on a date," Kensei said, leaning backward until his back touched the wooden floor. "Before the summer break, there's something I'm going to settle before turning my attention to Arata."

Turning from casual to serious, Kensei looked straight into the air, as the stars shined together. He realized from the conversation he had with Suzaku and Seiryuu that there was something important he needed to do.

---

A few days later, on the last day of school before summer break, Kensei found himself walking down a hall alone, all while dressed in his school uniform. After the incident ended, he was informed that Suzaku would call a meeting with the important members of the Five Principal Clans. At Kensei's request, he ensured that Arata's and Meiko's parents were there too.

Now, Kensei was in one of the meeting places, where the Five Principal Clans would often meet one another for important matters. He could sense the auras from different people in the meeting, but their numbers weren't that numerous. It didn't matter to him, considering that Kensei needed the main Five Principal Clans' elders to hear all that he needed to tell them.

Arriving at the entrance, he found himself standing in the middle of a room that had different levels, where their elders sat with their faces covered using a curtain. He saw their clan crests weaved into it, with their Elders starting to murmur behind them. Kensei noticed the current Heads of the Five Principal Clans; Seiryuu Kushihashi, Suzaku Himejima, Ouryuu Nakiri, Byakko Shinra, and Genbu Doumon. The current Ouryuu wasn't the current Nakiri Clan Head, considering he was the same younger kid, Ryuuta who he met a year prior.

"It has been a long time, Kensei Amagiri," the first person to speak up was, who Kensei recognized as Suou, who happens to be the grand uncle of Akeno, Suzaku, and Tobio. He didn't need to lie, he hated everything about him having heard what he's done. "I was surprised when I heard Suzaku saying there was something important you wanted to inform us about. Aside from simple reports, there hasn't been a moment where you'd requested such a thing like this."

"Well, can't always be silent about certain things. I believe Suzaku when I said that wanted to be the person who informed everyone here of a particular incident," Kensei said, speaking in a casual tone, something that both Suzaku and Seiryuu were surprised about. "But, before that, I would like to ask something of the two people that I requested to be here too."

"…and that would be?"

Suou asked, feeling some suspension about that comment from Kensei, finding it odd that those two people, in particular, were called out.

"It's more of a personal thing that'll lead to the reason that I called you here. But, there's a question that I want to ask Kataru and Mitsuru Himejima," Kensei pointed out, going to the personal portion. "There's simply one question that I wanted to ask you. And I want it to be the truth."

"And what would that be?"

Kataru asked.

"Did you try to kill Mei?"

Kensei's serious question and the tone behind that question surprised both parents, who seemed surprised when it was asked. It was more than that, the pressure behind those words caused a great surprise in them, and others who were listening to it.

"And what kind of accusation is that? My daughter died because she lost control of her powers, Meiko ended up burning herself and Arata to the point where nothing, but ashes…. Ah?!"

"Kataru-san?!"

In that instance, much to the surprise of the others witnessing, Kataru was pulled from the place where he stood by Kensei using telekinesis. Witnessing the entire thing, the elders started making noise as the middle-aged man was being suspended in the air.

"Kensei Amagiri?!"

"What is the meaning of…?!"

At the situation's suddenness, the Elders went to comment but found themselves stopping before another word, with cold sweat on their forehead. Kensei, in this instance, was releasing his aura, through his spiritual energy something the elders noted as being much stronger than either remembered. Aside from that, there was also a brand new and different presence that could be felt, causing a chill to run down their spines.

"What is this? I heard that he's been getting stronger, strong, and skilled enough to put up a decent fight against the current Heads in a fight. His talents as a member of the Amagiri Clan is something that has been showing far more as time passes," Suou thought, feeling nervous himself. "His spiritual energy has risen compared to before, which it shouldn't be possible for it to rise this much in a short period. But, I guess this is something that someone from the Amagiri Clan could accomplish."

"L-Let me go."

Kataru demanded, feeling a strong pressure around him, but was unable to move an inch as he was suspended right in mid-air. It continued increasing as Kensei looked straight at him wearing a serious expression on his face.

"Just to let you know. I know the truth already," Kensei stated as Kataru looked straight at him surprised as those words left the younger man's mouth. "I'm giving you the faintest chance, to be honest, and give me an explanation before I burn the other arm. If you don't answer in the next three seconds, then I'll…."

"Fine! Alright, yes, I tried to kill Meiko," Kataru stated, as Kensei released the telekinesis, causing the older man to fall onto the ground. Not giving him the courtesy of softening the fall for him. "You couldn't understand! Neither you nor those from the Amagiri Clan! For generations, our clan has done whatever it took not to taint our lineage and to protect Japan! We don't do these things without a purpose and we don't enjoy it! It's none of your business how we do things!"

"She was my best friend and my fiancèe. The moment we decided that everything and anything that concerned her became my business. If someone threatened her. If there was anything she wanted. I would've done whatever it took to ensure there wasn't a single sad moment in life," as he talked, Kensei clenched his fist and picked Kataru up. "But, what pisses me off is one thing. All you had to do was send her off to the Amagiri Clan and that would have been the end of it! You never would've seen her again! Or have been involved with her again! So, why try and kill her?"

Those in the room could sense the emotions and power behind those words, resonating well with Suzaku, who loved her family and clansmen.

"She was a threat, the worst kind almost as much as Tobio Ikuse a couple of years ago," Kataru said, never backing down in his own personal, if not warped convictions. "Meiko kept getting stronger as time passed, almost without an end in sight. It was then, I figured that she was been born with a Sacred Gear, a powerful Fire-Type Sacred Gear. If it would've been easier to send her off, then I would've done that! But, both the Himejima's flames and Sacred Gear's flames were resonating with and empowered one another. Meiko was a walking firebomb that would have detonated and become stronger if she'd gained that evolved state those Sacred Gears users could access. I decided that it'd be simple to remove the threat before it happened!"

Hearing that didn't deter Kensei as he continued staring straight at him, then looked to find Meiko's and Arata's mother being impassive through this entire thing. It was almost as if she went along with whatever her husband decided without question.

"Well, congratulations, in ending one potential threat, you caused another much bigger one."

"What're you talking about?"

"Your son is still alive."

"…!"

"…!"

Both parents seemed surprised about that.

"What're you…."

"Yeah, Arata is still alive. And unsurprisingly, he wasn't happy about the fact that you'd tried murdering Mei which caused her death. Here's the thing, instead of going out to take revenge on you, Arata went and turned my friends from the Amagiri Clan into monsters. And then, he forced them to murder their parents, who couldn't murder their children! He's spent the last couple of years planning to annihilate all of Shintoism, because of your traditions."

[…!]

At that reveal, there wasn't a single Elder in the room, who could utter a single word at what was revealed right in front of them. No doubt, the members of the Five Principal Clan were surprised that a powerful clan second to theirs suffered such a massacre. If it hadn't been for the addition of the Five Sacred Beasts, then there was a high chance the Amagiri Clan would've been the strongest.

"This is…."

Suou was preparing to say something, but Kensei cut them off.

"I don't want to hear apologies. I don't want to hear condolences. I didn't come to hear any of that crap. You are right about one thing, I don't have the right to tell your clan how to handle your business. But, that ended when it became one of your faults that I lost my clan and my fiancèe. You fault us for not following the same traditions as your clan, but your damned traditions caused more harm than good! No matter how you word it, it was your fault that incident years ago happened involving Tobio Ikuse in the first place," Kensei stated, as the Elders kept silent as if taking the information given to them. "You people create your villains, who ended up making others suffer, even normal people. And then, either tried having someone else clean up your mess. Or try making yourself look like the righteous heroes who saved the day."

Finishing up that rant, Kensei found himself taking a breath before looking forward at the Elders, who were all hidden behind their respective curtains. He sensed based on their Ki, each Elder was in a state of panic and anxiety.

"…Kensei Amagiri. Did you call this meeting to ask for assistance?"

Another Elder asked.

"I didn't come to ask for help. I came here to inform you about the situation, nothing more, nothing less. If not for the sole reason I'm friends with the current Heads. Even then, this isn't the time to not tell you about the situation. More so, since it's your fault this happened in the first place," Kensei stated, before continuing. "Arata wants to bring down Shintoism, and thus all the clans following it. And he's using the very powers we're meant to combat to accomplish it. Talking to his father, I can see where he inherited his irrationality. Well, that's all that I wanted to say. If anything happens, I'll have the current hosts inform you. Now, if they don't mind, I want them to see me off."

"Of course, Kensei-kun."

"Sure thing, anything for Minako's fiancèe."

"Sure."

"Alright!"

"As the current Ouryuu, I'll follow behind."

All the sacred Beasts' hosts agreed to show Kensei out of the building, which left the Elders inside the room. There wasn't a single thing that either of them could say regarding what happened and what they have been informed of. Being informed about the situation Kataru couldn't move a single inch on the ground, while a deep sense of emotion build up within his wife.

---

"You didn't mention the detail about a primordial god being involved."

Seiryuu pointed out, as the six of them continued walking, the five being informed about the situation beforehand.

"Nope, bringing that up might've been too much for those geezers," Kensei stated, wearing the usual casual look. "But, in all seriousness, it wouldn't have made much of a difference whether or not I told them. If anything, then it might make things worse. I'm sure we've all heard the deal with Amatsu-Mikaboshi at least once."

"Yes. A primordial god, the embodiment of corruption that gave birth to the numerous demonic creatures that we fight against now. I heard ghost stories about him feeding off negative emotions and fear of others as a means of regaining strength," Genbu pointed out, as she continued walking beside the others. "And so…."

"I get it. If more people know about him, then there's less of a chance that he'll continue regaining strength," Byakko said, but then thought about the previous fights. "But, even then, those bastards working under Arata have been attacking several innocent people. Now, it explains those weird gems we'd kept fighting on them, then were transported elsewhere. He must've been collecting the negative emotions from others."

"…," the more Suzaku listened in, the more she started feeling bad about the situation. "Uh, Kensei-kun."

"If the next word out of your mouth is an apology. I refuse to accept it."

"But, it's…ouch."

Suzaku felt an immediate impact on her forehead that originated from Kensei flicking her forehead, causing one noticeable red mark on her forehead.

"I said no apologies. There's nothing for you to apologize for, because you're the current head that doesn't mean you're responsible for the past actions of others. Your job is to keep them from happening again," Kensei stated as he pointed his finger straight at Suzaku. "If you're still adamant about taking responsibility, then how about simply treating me to some barbecue."

"Alright, fine. But, if you do that again, then I'll tell Tobio."

"Don't go threatening me using your cousin," Kensei said, as the group continued walking forward with some hint of amusement between them. "If that's the case, then I might have to do it again. I wouldn't mind having a match with someone who's mastered their Longinus."

"Is there nothing you're afraid of?"

"Nothing, in particular, aside from my mom, there's nothing that I'm really scared of."

Kensei replied as the group continued forward.

"Oi, if you're going out to eat barbecue, then I'm coming too."

Byakko pointed out.

"I'll never turn down that kind of meal."

Seiryuu added.

"That sounds as if it'll be fun."

Genbu added.

"Hmm, that does sound good. If no one minds me, then I'll be coming too."

Ouryuu added.

"Yeah, sure, let's turn it into one big ol' party between Clan Heads, current or future," Kensei was already looking forward to having lunch with the five people walking beside him. "Well, first, gotta get through the summer with all the business going around. I have a date too around the time summer ends. But, before that, I kinda need to head back to school. It is going to be the last day of school before summer vacation and there's something that our school is doing."

"Oh, right, you're school has that summer dance."

Suzaku stated, being reminded of that.

"Damn, that's so much that we're going to be doing right now. It might be blasphemous, but this primordial god is going to be a serious pain in the ass to handle."

Byakko pointed out.

"I'll be handling that one. Arata aside, my clan has had some history with him," Kensei said, as he continued until he started seeing the exit. "I don't know how, but, I'm going to be the person to ensure he never comes back."

At that final statement, Kensei looked forward as the Seiryuu, Suzaku, Ouryuu, Byakko, and Genbu stood beside him wondering about their next move. All six of them were the current or future Clan Heads who were going to be leading their clans into the future.

---

As intended, Kensei returned to school, replacing the Shikigami that he'd left in his place, causing him and all the others to continue with their school. During this, the preparations for the Summer Dance were prepped some time and would be finished. After the students finished their closing ceremony, the club activities were canceled, with the Summer Dance beginning.

[One, two, three…go!]

Outside, the bonfires were lit as the male and female students sang and danced with one each, either as couples or friends. It wasn't as if the songs sung were modern pop songs, instead, the songs were classical ones that had a nice tone. Served there, a wide range of drinks and food, most notably barbecued meat and kabobs, the smell wafted the air. It might've been against certain rules, but the teachers drank from the alcohol purchased from the business run by the Kibou Alliance.

Among the Kibou Group: the Student Council, Public Morals Committee, Newspaper Club, and Computer Club were enjoying themselves too. However, Kensei wasn't among the group, having left some time, with the excuse that he needed to do something.

"Why did Kensei leave?"

Lingqi asked, eating from one of the kabobs in her hands, enjoying the seasoned taste. It was surprising for those from school, as she'd been eating different foods from the barbecue pit. Most female students questioned it and realized that Lingqi had some of the highest records in gym class; to the point where their teachers said she could compete in the Olympics.

"Well, that's a surprise. So, how're you enjoying the events here?"

Maria didn't answer Lingqi's suspicions, instead asking her question.

"It's quite fun here. I didn't expect that it would be this festive," Lingqi said, as she continued watching around as students continued singing and dancing. "I can see the students and teachers here do enjoy hosting such a big event. Though I've had to reject some offers from male students to dance with them, I'm glad the people are not the kind to take rejection seriously."

"I heard that it wasn't held for a long time, there wasn't anyone from the Amagiri Clan here," Hisui started eating off her plate. "For this town, the entire Amagiri Clan, a group that'd been around since the founding of the town was an ominous event. For this school, there hasn't been one time where a member of the Amagiri Clan wasn't a student at this school."

"Well, Kibou Town can be a rather religious town. So, hosting a Summer Dance without a member of the Amagiri Clan might've seemed almost like a curse waiting to happen."

Zane stated, having an arm made from magic, made to look no different from the original. It wouldn't be that big a surprise for them to be injured, but missing an arm would've attracted too much attention.

"I can see the reason. Aside from the Amagiri Clan's main shrine and other locations, one of the strongest dragon's veins is underneath the school. I heard there were some mysteries around the school too, which I can guess because of the spiritual power radiating from them."

"Yeah, but none of them are harmful to people. It did get worse around here, because there was no one from the Amagiri Clan, but returned to normal after Kensei came back. We can't tell you the number of reports that we've gotten about odd happenings around school. But, it's a mysterious event that became a tradition around the school. A good thing for us considering we don't need to wipe memories."

Layla pointed out.

"But, it doesn't feel uncomfortable to be around those kinds of sites. Even though, I'm a pure-blood Devil," Ravel said, as she found herself enjoying the atmosphere. "I can still feel the 'sacred' power in the air, but it doesn't feel as if I'm ever being rejected."

"Well, it looks as if the main event is going to be happening."

Claire said as she, Alice, Kunou, and Hisui looked on to find that the students and teachers looked to be moving to make some room.

Surprised about it, as their first time, being there, Lingqi and Ravel looked on as it looked as if the people outside were circling making room for someone. As the sun started setting the beautiful color in the sky appeared to mix with the bonfire's flames. It became silent, as nothing aside from the ringing of bells could be heard, which caught the newcomers' attention.

Dressed to resemble an Iwami Kagura dancer, Kensei wore an outfit that matched the colors of the Amagiri Clan, he wore a blindfold that covered his face with the kanji for "Heavenly Mist" inscribed on it. In his hands was a wooden sword resembling a Shichishitou, a Seven-branched Sword. It looked like an ancient relic, no one aside from the supernatural people could tell it was imbued with spiritual power.

"Ken-sama?"

"Well, this was a surprise."

Ravel and Lingqi were, in fact, surprised to find Kensei dressed and prepared to dance in front of the students, all of whom looked to be waiting for it.

At the movement of the Shichishitou, the bells attached to it, ringed, as if being the signal for the beginning, and their swordsman started dancing. Both young women were surprised to find his movements as fluid and flowing as a stream of water. In conjunction with the ringing bells, it sounded as if a melodious tone was played, a familiar tone seemed to be playing around them.

[….]

At that moment, all the students and teachers seemed to be humming along with the tone, with a deep sense of a familiar recollection. As Kensei continued dancing around without shoes or socks, causing his barefoot to touch and move across the ground. For those who knew that Kensei had practiced martial art too, the movements that he made seemed to be attributed to that too.

"Wow, this is a beautiful dance."

Ravel couldn't help finding herself surprised about this.

"Yeah. But, what's this song? I remember hearing it sometime around town and the school too."

Lingqi said, recalling the tone and immediately recognizing the song.

"It's said to be a song to the gods and spirits," Claire replied, as she continued looking forward as Kensei kept on dancing. "I can't tell you the exact time that it was written. But, it's supposed to be a song dedicated to the Shinto Gods and Spirits, while being a memorial to the dead. For those, who aren't around anymore, it is a song meant to reach the other world where their spirits rest. A message to inform them that the singer will continue living life as free and as much as possible until their reunion. It's a beautiful song, something that Minako herself loves and it was said to be something that Meiko liked too."

Claire smiled as she heard the tone being played, then the teachers and students together started singing it with one another. Among their group, Claire and the others started singing along with it, with Ravel and Lingqi making sure to remember it. As Kensei danced around, his thoughts and emotions remained as calm as possible, while the events that happened replayed in his mind.

"This song, right here, right now, is a memorial to the people who died unable to fulfill their dreams. Those of the Amagiri Clan, the adults who were saddened by the current state of their children. For the children and the teens who were forced to murder their clansman. For Mei, who wasn't able to live until she was even a teenager. I'm going to make this promise right here and now," Kensei wondered, as he continued standing around. As the spiritual power surrounding the school resonated with him. "I'll stop Arata and Amatsu-Mikaboshi, no matter how it ends up ending. But, before that, I'll free my friends from those cursed bodies, so that they can be reunited with their families. And that is the vow that I'm making as the next Amagiri Clan Head."

For those who could sense supernatural powers, the spiritual power around them was responding to the dance, a comfortable feeling manifested around them.

"All the spiritual power around here is resonating with the dance and is ringing about. Almost as if, those powers themselves are singing as well. I do love this song as well."

Lingqi said as she felt the song resonating with herself too.

"Yeah, that's one of the jobs of the Amagiri Clan, to resonate with Kibou Town's leylines and ensure it grants benefits and protection to those living here. Ensuring it doesn't run amok from the power that might end up overflowing with an abundance of spiritual power."

Alice added as she continued watching the dance.

She and the others kept watching, alongside the students and teachers, all of whom kept watching on as Kensei continued dancing around.

---

Those students and teachers weren't alone, as watching from the distance were Amaterasu, dressed for a festival with a kimono wrapped around her. In her hands, there was a kabob, all in all, she did look as if she was witnessing an event at a festival.

"Ah, a song meant for the gods and spirits is correct. I never get tired of listening to it, since the first time that one of Itsuki-kun's grandchildren wrote it," Amaterasu said, listening in. "Kensei is growing to become quite a strong swordsman, and he hasn't come close to reaching his limit. He and Itsuki-kun have so much in common with one another, but their differences are mostly in minor personality traits. So, what do you think, Futsunushi?"

Right beside her, acting as a bodyguard was a middle-aged, black-haired, red-eyed man dressed up in the traditional Japanese wear one would expect. A katana was positioned and sheathed, while he continued watching the Summer Dance. Futsunushi's attention was aimed at Kensei, as he continued dancing before in the middle of the students and teachers.

"Among those who picked up a sword and walked the difficult path of martial arts, I haven't met someone honest like Itsuki. Alone, he walked the path of protecting the people from evil and completing the martial art his father couldn't realize. He didn't turn his blade on supernatural beings others considered as 'evil'. Itsuki earned the Sword Saint title himself, and a Sword God, official or not. Itsuki and even Sakura reached the point all martial arts strives for, but she couldn't perfect it in the end. Those from the previous generation were an amazing bunch, opening the path for their predecessors. It's a shame, I wanted to see those children's development."

Futsunushi pointed out, as he thought back to the Amagiri Clan with some hint of reminiscence, thinking back to the past and present. He, same as others among the Shinto Gods was saddened to witness such a clan fall into ruin. All because of one of the primordial gods, who their side was supposed to have handled a long time ago.

"Well, I'm sure that Kensei will complete his martial art, and surpass Itsuki-kun," Amaterasu said, smiling as there was one memory that came up. "I'm sure that he'll be proud of that. He didn't seek power, fame, or authority, all Itsuki-kun ever wanted was for people to continue to thrive. There was one regret that he had, which is something we'll ensure is solved in this era. You believe that Kensei can defeat Amatsu-Mikaboshi, right?"

"Yes. I realized it the moment that I met him all that time ago," Futsunushi said, as he stared down at Kensei who continued dancing about and laughed. "A child from one of our faction's clans had the nerve to declare that he'll be facing me and Takemikazuchi in the future. Not out of disrespect, but respect for martial arts. Besides, there's been no person who'd been freed from Amatsu-Mikaboshi's possession and didn't become catatonic. His strong willpower and soul is going to lead him down whatever path he walks."

Both the Sun Goddess and Sword God agreed with one another on that fact, having nothing short of faith in the Last Amagiri, heading out into a battle against Amatsu-Mikaboshi.

"I've given him that key left behind by the previous Amagiri Clan Head. So, what happens next depends all on him," Amaterasu stated, before smiling and opening a fan in her hand, then started fanning herself. "Kensei should be lucky to have the backing of a strong and beautiful goddess such as me."

"Yes, Ama-tan. You're quite the amazing goddess."

"Don't call me 'Ama-tan'! And you're being sarcastic, I know that, Futsunushi."

Amaterasu said, pouting as she stared at the smiling face of her vanguard, though both gods continued watching with interest as the Summer Dance continued without interruption. If there was anything that the two could agree upon, it was their belief in the young man.

---

On Hagun Island, in a special room, accessible by no one else aside from Arata, located new the top floor of the island's central tower. He'd remained seated in the room with numerous magic circles originating from an ancient era. At the center of the room, there was a pitch-black crystal floating in the center of the room but was releasing an ominous presence no normal person could stand before.

"You should know that I met Kensei. I think that things happened as intended, though there was a couple of large surprising I wasn't expecting," Arata said as if talking to someone in the room. "For one, he removed that seal on his soul. So, the innate dragon power inside him has been awakened and he's starting to pick up on how to use it in an actual fight. I mean, if it wasn't for our brand new doctor, then that last attack would've taken much longer to heal and left a scar."

[….]

"Kensei is going to start getting stronger and stronger, but that's what you wanted, right? His future opponent is a god, so he'll be training to become strong enough to be an opponent. All while preparing himself into becoming a suitable enough vessel for the primordial god," Arata continued talking without stopping. "On our end, we keep gathering the negative energy from humans, caused by our terrifying attacks. All while helping our new doctor in perfecting this new operation meant to create the ultimate being."

[….]

"Come on, if we're going to be partners, then…."

[Your preparations, haven't been completed.] A voice sounding as if it originated from a phantom, came straight out of the crystal in front of him. [Our agreement was simple, our partnership is a means to an end. Your goal is simple revenge, mine is the return of the thing known as Shintoism to the nothingness and chaos that it was before. Before the primordial, Izanagi and Izanami brought balance to the imbalance. And then, that's the point where I'll become complete once again. So, until then, learn to use the divinity until it's time for it to be returned to me.]

At Amatsu-Mikaboshi's truly impassive and cold-hearted statement, Arata couldn't help letting a faint smile escape from his mouth.

"Alright, this divinity empowered my flames, but I can't use this newfound power for the purpose it was meant to. I'll learn as much as possible until the operation is complete, same as Kensei, I learned a little bit about the power that I have from that fight too," Arata said, manifesting the crimson-black flames once again, before closing his fist. "I think that it'll be bad if I go over the top with it because it'll simply be ruining one potential vessel for you."

Arata found himself standing up from the chair, then headed over to the entrance leading outside the room.

"I don't care about what happens to Japan or Shintoism afterward. I simply want to see it return to nothing too. A simple act of childish revenge and spite before," Arata stated, opening the door and walking outside. "I don't care what happens afterward. I lost what was important to me, so I'll take what's important to them."

Having said those final words, Arata left outside the room, leaving the black crystal there, as the lights turned off on their own. In that darkness, two lights resembling eyes could be seen from inside the crystal, being the sole means of light there.

[…Itsuki Amagiri…. …Kensei…Amagiri. …this time, I will not be stopped.]

Amatsu-Mikaboshi uttered the names of the two men, the First and Last Amagiri who stood by and intervened in his plans on different occasions.

---

A/N: And there goes the next chapter of DxD – The Last Amagiri, well, this is the final chapter of the eighth volume. It showed the Numbers' final struggle against the Ordinals, with the adults appearing near the end to assist them. There was some moment where the adults showed their strength against them, with Tetsuo unveiling his Balance Breaker. Despite their brutal loss, the Numbers' spirit hasn't been crushed and this simply lit the flame of development. And Alice recovered, as a result of her monster replacing what she lost, because of Arata.

Amaterasu made her appearance in front of Kensei, sharing a conversation about what'd happened with the Primordial God, Amatsu-Mikaboshi. All while feeding him apples. There were also some moments of support from different people, with Brynhildr and Rossweisse making an appearance.

The next chapter is going to start another volume and the summer break.

---

Translation:

Shinzan – Divine Slash

Enshoku Shutou – Flame Blade

Kensei's Harem: Alice, Claire, Hisui, Kunou, Yasaka, Lu Lingqi, Sarah, Minako, Koneko, Kuroka, Ravel, Amaterasu, Brynhildr, Rossweisse, Ophis.