Time for the finale of the Aegis arc! I hope you all enjoy it!
A couple of reviews in the last chapter requested that I create a list of all of the OCs I have introduced so far, so I'll create a separate story containing these details that I will regularly update so I can update certain details with particular milestones. I will provide links at the beginning of chapters in this story whenever I update it.
In the chamber of the Aegis, Luke and the rest of his team were confronted by Kaidon and his servants.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Issei angrily asked them.
"Do not talk to me unless spoken to, reincarnated filth!" Kaidon dismissed as he looked directly at Luke. "So, you're this Luke Sigmund I've heard so much about."
"You know me?" Luke questioned while still holding onto the unconscious Rias and Akeno in his arms.
"My sister would always talk about you." Kaidon replied. "She seems quite attached to you, which is why I've been keeping my eyes on you."
"I'm the one who bugged their clubroom and listened in on their conversations!" Giardas, Kaidon's Bishop and younger brother, shouted back.
"And what luck I have that those conversations also involved acquiring the legendary Aegis." Kaidon continued. "I could kill two birds with one stone!"
"And what kind of birds were you hoping to kill?" Luke inquired.
"Heheheh..." Kaidon chuckled. "Claiming the power of the Aegis for myself and… He then pointed at Luke. "Bringing your head to my sister as payback for humiliating me!"
"Luke had nothing to do with that!" Katherine furiously yelled. "Why would you kill him for that?!"
"Because with her dear Luke dead, she will fall to despair! Allowing me to claim my right as heir to the House of Morag!"
"How petty can this asshole be?" Emery clicked her tongue at Kaidon's words.
"And let me guess, Giardas invented a device designed specifically to jam my Omniscient Oracle's abilities, didn't he?" Hikaru asked.
"Indeed." Giardas took out a strange circular machine that was the size of his palm with a flashing strobe in the center. "During the previous Rating Game battle, I had my mech analyze and record your abilities, allowing me to create countermeasures against such things."
"Also, we didn't want to take our chances against the Heir of Gremory and the Priestess of Lightning, so I targeted them with a sleeping spell." Juphine, Kaidon's other Bishop, said. "By the time they wake, some of you will be long dead, including you, Red Dragon Emperor. Even though Grencin requested us not to fight you, you must pay for breaking my sleeping spell with your life!"
"Looks like Kaidon isn't the only petty one here…" Issei muttered to himself.
"Now that you're all exhausted after fighting Talos, defeating you all should be a breeze!" Kaidon declared before ordering his servants. "ATTACK!"
Ebichan, Sawalee and the masked Knight rushed forward.
"I defeated these chumps before and I'll do it again." Akira breathed a little heavily.
"I'll lend you a hand." Emery walked up to Akira's side and got into a fighting stance. "I'd hate to see you lose to these idiots because you're tired."
"Heh, doubting me?" Akira smirked.
"Nah, I just think we'd be great drinking buddies."
Akira and Emery took on Ebichan and Sawalee, respectively, while the Knight went past them and headed straight for Luke.
"I, Aplohath, shall take down the enemy for Master Kaidon." The masked Knight, Aplohath, proclaimed.
"I won't you near L…" Katherine had leapt forward to block the attack, but she fell asleep mid-flight and slid across the ground.
"Come on, Katherine! Not now!" Luke exclaimed.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind started to blow Aplohath away from Luke. The source of the wind was the sword being wielded by Setsuna.
"I will not allow you to hurt Luke-sama!" Setsuna stood between Luke and the enemy.
"Setsuna, why-" Luke was about to ask.
"You're an incredibly kind soul, Luke-sama." Setsuna turned her head toward him. "I will not allow anyone to extinguish it."
Luke just stared at Setsuna for a few seconds, until she disappeared and started dueling with Aplohath. While there wasn't anyone aiming for him, he carried Rias and Akeno to the wall far from the fighting and gently set them down.
"I won't let them hurt you…" Luke whispered to them.
"Luke-san…"
Luke looked behind him and saw that Fumiko had followed him.
"Fumiko, stay here and look after President and Akeno. You're pretty exhausted from using your Supreme Aid so much during the last battle and I don't want you getting hurt."
"But…"
Fumiko tried to say something, but she stopped and didn't utter another word. Luke only responded with an exhale and a complicated expression aimed at the ground before heading back into the battle.
"Take this, Red Dragon Emperor!"
Juphine shot a barrage of fireballs at Issei, who tried his best to dodge them while his Boosted Gear was stockpiling power.
"Her attacks are relentless!" Issei panicked. "She's really pissed off!"
"Can one of these fireballs just fucking hit him?!"
"Shall I bring 'you-know-what' out?" Giardas asked his older brother.
"Not yet." Kaidon replied as he stepped forward. "The battle is in our favor. Wait until at least two of my servants have fallen. Anyway…"
Walking in the direction of Luke, Kaidon's body emitted steam as the air around his body drastically rose in temperature.
"I'll kill you slowly so I can revel in your pain." Kaidon had a disgusting smile on his face. "It will be extra delicious when I tell it to my sister in all its juicy details!"
Kaidon surrounded his hands in lava and shot blasts of it directly at Luke.
"Svallin!" Luke surrounded himself in a barrier that protected him from the bullets of lava.
I can't use any of my other abilities while I'm protecting myself. Luke thought. And my friends are all worn out from fighting Talos. His eyes then turned to the jagged red sword stuck in the floor. The Aegis! That's it! I just have to wait for an opening.
Keeping himself behind his barrier, Luke watched as Kaidon kept shooting at him. As soon as Kaidon lowered his arm and stopped his assault, Luke ran to the Aegis sword and moved his hand towards the hilt.
"NO! THE AEGIS IS MINE!" Kaidon screamed.
The moment Luke's hand made contact with the Aegis, his vision became obscured by a white light from his perspective, but to everyone else, it just looked like he was zoning out.
"… Are you still alive?" Kaidon asked Luke.
However, it appeared that Luke could not hear what Kaidon had said.
"Heh…" Kaidon smirked deviously as he walked toward the seemingly unconscious Luke. "Looks like you just made your death come much easier."
Setsuna, who had been pushing back Aplohath, noticed Kaidon approaching Luke, disengaged from her enemy, and dashed toward Luke and Kaidon. Taking this opportunity, Aplohath changed his attention to Akira, who was busy dealing with Ebichan, and swiftly moved to her blind spot, ready to strike her down. Fumiko was left motionless, and it felt like time had slowed down to a glacial speed as her mind was taking in that Luke was about to have his neck melted by Kaidon's lava-infused hand and Akira was about to be struck down by Aplohath's sneak attack.
No… This can't be happening… Fumiko thoughts raced. I just got back together with Akira… And Luke-san… just when I finally know how I feel about you… Why do they have to be taken away? … I… I… She looked like she was about to cry, but instead of grief and sorrow, a newfound resolve welled up from heart. Akira… My Onee-san… Luke-san… the man I love… You protected me all this time… Now, it's my turn to protect you!
Just as Kaidon was about to grab Luke's skull with his lava-infused hands, he clutched his grip on the face and listened to the screams of agony with pleasure.
"Hyahahahaha!" Kaidon let out a boisterous laugh but stopped when he had a feeling that something was off.
Kaidon took more of his surroundings into his vision and noticed that he was in a completely different spot than he was just a few seconds ago as his other servants watched in horror in his direction. It was at that moment he realized that the person whose head he was melting was Aplohath. When he let go of his Knight, there was nothing left of his face and his lifeless and limp body fell to the floor.
"Aplohath!" Juphine exclaimed.
"How did…?" Kaidon looked in the direction of Luke.
His eyes widened when he saw that Akira was the one standing near Luke instead of him.
"When did I get here?" Akira wondered aloud in confusion.
From the corner of her eye, Akira caught a brilliant light coming from the corner of the room.
"What's that light?" Juphine tried to shield her eyes from the light.
Explosion!
"Time for my ultimate technique!" Issei shouted as he ran toward Juphine.
Unable to see Issei approaching her, Juphine was helpless as he punched her in the shoulder and sent her skidding across the floor a bit.
"Aaaand…" Issei closed his eyes and snapped his fingers. "Dress Break!"
Juphine's clothes exploded into pieces, exposing her completely naked body, and rendering her in complete shock and disgust.
"Hyaaaaaaaaaah!" Juphine shrieked as she tried her best to cover her breasts.
Issei shot a tiny ball of demonic power at Juphine. "Dragon Shot!"
Despite its size, when the ball struck Juphine, she was engulfed in a massive explosion. With his opponent defeated and his nose bleeding, Issei looked back in the direction of the shining light.
"… Is that…" Akira muttered as she squinted her eyes in an attempt to make out the source of the light.
As the light slowly died down, a figure was gradually revealed.
"… Fumiko?"
The light completely faded, and Fumiko was now wearing a white doctor's coat with several syringes and surgical tools in its pockets.
"Huh?" Fumiko was perplexed at the new coat she was wearing. "What is this?"
"No way…" Hikaru looked at Fumiko in amazement.
"Do you know what's going on, Hikaru-chan?" Issei asked.
"That… that must be Fumiko's Balance Breaker…"
"My… Balance Breaker?" Fumiko looked at the syringes in her coat and they had similar liquids that her Supreme Aid normally had.
"I see… So that's what happened." Kaidon said. "That girl used her Balance Breaker to have me switch places with one of her allies to keep me away from him."
Hikaru then felt something off about the space around her. "… That's it! Fumiko's Balance Breaker must have the ability to turn an entire space into her personal operating room!"
"I don't get it." Issei said.
"It means that Fumiko has complete control over the space around her, allowing her to swap the placement of anything."
"That's pretty amazing!"
"My own 'personal operating room'…" Fumiko mumbled some of Hikaru's words. "… Clinic of Kindness… That's what I'll call my Balance Breaker!"
"Kaidon! The tables have turned!" Giardas called out to his older brother. "I'm bringing it out!"
"Do it!" Kaidon agreed and jumped backwards.
Giardas slammed his palms on the floor and a large magic circle appeared. Rising from the magic circle was a giant, humanoid machine with thick steel plating, nearly reaching up to the ceiling once its entire body left the magic circle.
"After that little girl with Dyrnwyn destroyed my mech, I decided to give him an upgrade!" Giardas gleefully stated. "None of you will be able to break through his armor, even if you were at full power!"
"Luke-san, you need to wake up!" Fumiko shook Luke to get his mind back to reality.
When Luke's vision returned, he found himself in a temple of Ancient Greek architecture. There was a bright blue sky above his head and structures built on top of clouds, including the one he was standing in.
"Wasn't I deep underground a few seconds ago?" Luke muttered to himself. "How'd I get all the way up above the clouds?" He then had a look of dejection. "Don't tell me I died again…"
As he continued checking his surroundings, he noticed that there was another person standing on a nearby balcony. He walked up the staircase and upon reaching the balcony, he saw that the person was staring at a mountaintop piercing through the clouds with a large ancient Greek city built on top of it.
"That… is Olympus, home of the Greek Pantheon… and the place where I was born."
After hearing someone softly speak, Luke looked to the person standing on the balcony and turning to face them. They appeared to be a young woman with red bob-cut hair, red eyes and wearing short red and black armor with gold and green ornaments, black fingerless gloves, armored red thigh-high boots, red short-shorts, a long multi-colored reverse drape scarf-like cape and a golden tiara. Luke recognized that the shape of her body was similar to the ethereal being guiding them through the station, as well as the silhouette he saw in the green liquid inside the Aegis's room.
"'Where you were born'? Are you a god?" Luke asked.
"No. I was forged by Hephaestus to be the Shield of Zeus."
Hearing those specific words, Luke finally understood who this woman was. "… You're the Aegis?!"
The woman nodded.
Then… she's like Grimm Red's partners… Luke's mind immediately went to the living weapons he met the other day, but then he realized something. "Ah! My friends are all fighting right now and I'm all the way in Greece!"
"Heheh, don't worry, this isn't actually Olympus. This is a world within my consciousness, given form by my memories of Olympus."
Your consciousness was sent here after touching the sword, along with mine. Opheria's voice echoed throughout the space.
"Is that you, Opheria?" The woman asked. "If you're here, then that means…" She looked at Luke. "You must be the Sapphire Dragon Emperor."
"I am, but that's not important right now." Luke said. "I need to help my friends right away. It will only be for a moment, but may I borrow your power?"
"Hm, you're… a Devil, aren't you?"
"Uh, y-yeah."
The woman approached him with her clenched right hand to her chest. "Then I would like to form a pact with you."
A pact? Now?!
"I want you to take me to Olympus."
"That… that might take a while. I only became a Devil a couple of months ago."
"That's fine. As long as you take me there someday. In exchange, I will lend you my power. The Aegis will be yours to wield as you see fit."
As the woman held her hand out, Luke felt uneasy about her request.
"Are you sure about this? I am a Devil. For all I know, I could abuse your power."
"You were deemed worthy by the key to my seal, were you not?"
Luke nodded in response to her question.
"Then I don't have to worry. Hephaestus told me before my long slumber that when I woke up, I would be in the hands of someone he could trust with my power."
Seeing her warm smile, Luke couldn't help but blush.
She's really cute…
"My name is Pyra (Age ?)."
"… Luke. Luke Sigmund."
Luke shook hands with Pyra and they were engulfed in a glowing green light.
"Luke-san! Luke-san, please wake up!" Fumiko continued shaking him.
(Play "Counterattack" – Xenoblade Chronicles 2)
A powerful force blew Fumiko back a little bit as the red jagged sword started emitting flames. As Luke regained his consciousness, he stood up with the Aegis sword in his hand and he looked ahead to see the giant mech facing his friends.
"What the hell did I miss?!" Luke exclaimed as his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"What the hell were you doing?!" Issei questioned back before noticing the sword in Luke's hand. "Is that the Aegis?"
"It is." Luke answered.
"How dare you, you reincarnated vermin?!" Kaidon was so angry that everyone could see the veins on his face. "I told you the Aegis belongs to me!"
Flames erupted from the pool behind Luke and walking out of them was Pyra.
"That's the girl I sensed sleeping here earlier!" Hikaru shouted.
"She's hot." Issei said.
Hikaru punched Issei in the back of the head.
"Oooooww!" Issei clutched his head.
"That wasn't for ogling another woman, that was for the terrible pun."
"Are you ready, Luke?" Pyra asked.
"Let's go, Pyra."
Pyra stretched out her hand and a stream of energy extended from it all the way to the Aegis sword. Luke could feel the power coursing through the blade in his hand.
"Don't just stand there and gawk, Giardas!" Kaidon shouted at his younger brother. "ATTACK!"
"All weapons, fire!" Giardas ordered his mech.
The giant mech fired four missiles at Luke and his friends. They prepared themselves for defensive or evasive maneuvers, but suddenly the missiles disappeared and switched places with Kaidon's Rooks, the unconscious Juphine and the corpse of Aplohath. The missiles were pointed directly at the giant mech and exploded upon impact with it.
"NOOOOOOO!" Giardas screamed.
"That Balance Breaker is really pissing me off!" Kaidon growled.
Confused at what just happened, Luke saw Fumiko with her hand held out and breathing heavily.
"Fumiko, are you okay-What happened to your clothes?" Luke asked.
"Luke, focus on the enemy!" Pyra told him.
"You're right! This is our time to strike back!" Luke agreed.
Running side by side, Luke and Pyra closed their distance with the giant mech, the sword blazing like wildfire.
"Let's finish this in one strike!" Pyra grabbed onto the Aegis sword with her left hand. "Follow my lead!"
"R-right!" Luke was slightly distracted for a moment when Pyra touched his hand but regained his focus and readied himself.
"Focus all of your power into the sword."
On Pyra's instructions, Luke channeled his demonic power into the Aegis sword and Pyra did the same with her power, causing the flames from the sword to grow in intensity.
"Now, jump!"
Luke and Pyra jumped into the air with the Aegis sword raised above their heads.
"And swing down!"
"HOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Both of them shouted as they swung the sword downward.
A massive wave of fire burst forth and completely engulfed the machine, gradually melting it and slowing its movements.
"How is this happening?!" Giardas cried. "I've made it from a metal impervious to fire! Yet they're melting it like chocolate in a furnace!"
Some of the flames brushed past Kaidon's left arm and he was suddenly writhing in agony as smoke rose from the damaged arm.
"GYAAAAAAAAH!"
When the flames died down, the mech had melted plating all over and some parts had fallen off. After a few seconds, it powered down and dropped to the floor.
(End Song)
"My precious creation…" Giardas sobbed.
"You bastard!" Kaidon growled as he struggled to walk towards Luke. "You're just a pathetic Reincarnated Devil! You-"
A fist of red scales punched Kaidon in the face, and he was knocked to the ground.
"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Issei yelled at Kaidon in anger before turning around to Luke with a boastful expression. "And I got the final hit in."
Ebichan and Sawalee just looked at them with their eyes popping out and mouths agape.
"We… There's no way we can beat them…" Ebichan said.
"They're too strong…" Sawalee followed.
Chills then ran down their spines as they felt overwhelming power coming from behind them. They slowly turned their heads and saw Rias and Akeno leering at them, as the sleeping spell Juphine placed on them had been broken.
"It would be wise for you to surrender." Akeno was in sadist mode.
"Take your allies and leave this place now, and you might live to see another day." Rias's spoke with chilling words.
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Both Ebichan and Sawalee bowed to Rias before grabbing the bodies of their comrades and running out of the chamber.
"Don't leave me alone!" Giardas ran after them in a panic.
Now that everything had calmed down, Luke let out a huge sigh.
"This was a mess…" Luke then faced Rias and Akeno. "President, Akeno, I'm glad you're awake now."
"Luke, who is this girl?" Rias inquired.
"I am Pyra, but you probably know me as the Aegis." Pyra introduced herself.
"Wait, so, you're the Aegis?" Emery asked with emphasis on the word 'you're'.
"While I wasn't surprised to see that the Shield of Zeus was actually a sword, I am surprised that she was a being with her own will." Rias said.
Luke and Rias then turned their attention to Fumiko as her doctor's coat disappeared and she started falling over. Before she could hit the ground, Luke caught Fumiko and held her up.
"Fumiko, are you okay?" Luke asked her in a bit of a panic. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"
"No, L-Luke-san, I… I unlocked my Balance Breaker…" Fumiko said before passing out.
"Fumiko must be pretty exhausted." Akira walked up to Luke.
"I'm sure we all are." Luke retorted. "Oh, it would probably be more appropriate if you carry Fumiko."
"No, I think you should be the one to carry her." Akira insisted as she went up to the still sleeping Katherine and carried the Dhampir over her shoulder. "I've got my hands full."
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going home and taking a shower." Emery said as she walked off.
"Luke-sama, I trust you are uninjured?" Setsuna kneeled down to Luke with her fist against her chest.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"That makes me glad." Setsuna softly smiled.
"Issei-senpai, can you carry me?" Hikaru asked.
"Sure, I can." Issei picked up Hikaru over his back.
"Now that the Aegis is in our possession, let's return to the clubroom." Rias ordered.
"LUKE!"
They heard a pair of voices shouting from the halls outside of the room and saw Seth and Melody running toward them, ending in Luke getting tackled to the floor by both of them.
"Thank goodness you're all okay!" Melody smiled with tears of joy glistening her eyes.
"When we realized Hikaru's Sacred Gear wasn't working, we came here as fast as we could." Seth said.
Pyra just looked at everyone's actions and behavior and giggled to herself.
As soon as the team returned to the clubroom, everyone except the Gremory peerage, Seth and Melody were sent home. The battles Misaki and Spiral were in had left them and their rivals completely wiped out and were taken home by Issei and Azusa, respectively, with Delmi and Primoir being escorted to the Underworld by Annabelle and Alastair. Rias was sitting behind her desk with Seth and Melody at her sides, Luke and Pyra standing on the other side of that desk, Akeno, Koneko and Xenovia sitting on one of the sofas, Yuuto sitting in a chair, and Fumiko sleeping on the other sofa. Luke and Pyra told them about their contract to take her to Olympus in exchange for wielding her powers.
"Do you realize how difficult of a task that is, Luke?" Rias asked. "Olympus is the territory of the Greek Faction. As a Devil connected to the biblical Devil Faction, you can't just waltz into Olympus on a whim."
"Although… it might be possible if an alliance is formed with them." Melody placed her index finger against her chin.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't think of that." Pyra nervously responded.
"I'm sorry for rushing into a contract without taking time to consider it, but I couldn't leave my friends to fend for themselves for too long." Luke apologized.
"Well, if you're going to be fighting by Luke's side from now on, you will need to experience what his life is like. As such, I am currently discussing your enrollment here at Kuoh Academy." Rias announced.
"Huh?! So, Pyra will be a student here?!" Luke was shocked.
"Yes." Rias confirmed. "She will be joining your class as a first-year. We just need to work on a family name for you, Pyra."
"Let's see…" Pyra thought about a name for a few seconds. "Since Luke is the Sapphire Dragon Emperor… How about 'Drakos'?"
"Excellent." Rias replied. "Once we've sorted out your enrollment, you'll be an official Kuoh Academy student. Oh, Seth, do you mind if Pyra stays at our place?"
"The more girls Luke has living with him, the better!" Seth grinned.
Don't be a weirdo! Luke felt embarrassed by his brother's words.
"By the way, Pyra…" Rias's tone became serious. "Just after I woke up from that sleeping spell, I noticed that your flames dealt significant mental damage to Kaidon and melted metal that's supposedly immune to fire. Can you explain why that is?"
"Well…" Pyra was incredibly reluctant to answer.
"I won't get upset." Rias softened her expression and voice a bit. "I'm just curious."
"It's because… my power doesn't come from fire."
"But it looked like fire to me." Luke interjected.
"Your power comes from light, doesn't it?" Rias asked. "It's the only explanation as to how those phenomena occurred."
"If that's the case, wouldn't that mean Pyra is a Holy Sword?" Xenovia wondered.
"I never considered myself like Excalibur or Durandal, but I guess I am a Holy Sword." Pyra replied. "My flames are my true power of light leaking out."
"Since you're a Holy Sword, do you have any connection to the Church?" Yuuto inquired.
"No." Pyra shook her head. "If I was, I wouldn't have made a contract with a Devil so easily."
"… That makes sense." Koneko spoke up.
President must have figured it out by now. Luke thought. The similarities between Pyra and the Regalia. I wonder if Grimm Red knew that the Aegis was a living weapon and if she is connected to the Regalia he created…
Just a little later, Luke, Seth and Rias returned home with Pyra accompanying them and Fumiko still asleep and being carried in Luke's arms.
"Fumiko still hasn't woken up yet…" Luke looked down at Fumiko.
"She used up a lot of her stamina during the fight against Talos, and then awakened to her Balance Breaker." Rias pointed out. "Fumiko will be fine, Luke. Just let her get some rest."
As soon as they entered the living room, they saw Setsuna appear and kneeling before them.
"Seth-san, Gremory-san, Luke-sama, welcome home." Setsuna formally greeted them.
"Shouldn't you be in bed now?" Seth questioned. "You're probably tired after today's work."
"I wished to greet you when you arrived back at your residence." Setsuna answered, although there was a noticeable bit of pink on her cheeks.
"Well, your new King demands you get some well-earned rest."
Setsuna looked up at Seth with wide eyes when it finally dawned on her what he was saying. "Seth-san… do you mean…"
Seth smiled in response. "Yep, after hearing how devoted you are to my little brother, I decided that you should be my Knight."
For a couple of seconds, Setsuna was motionless until her eyes started glistening and her lips curled into a gentle smile.
"Thank you, Seth-dono." Setsuna formally lowered her head. "As your Knight, I vow to protect you and Luke-sama until my dying breath."
"Just call me Seth." Seth insisted. "Now go to bed. I'll let Allegra know and we can schedule to have Ajuka Beelzebub to handle the transaction."
"The Great Satan Beelzebub is the one who created the Evil Piece system." Rias explained to Luke.
"Really?" Luke's curiosity was piqued.
"Yes. Anyway, we should be going to bed soon. Luke, take Fumiko to your room and put her in your bed. Then you can join me in the bath."
"Okay." It took Luke a few seconds for Rias's last sentence to register, causing his face to turn red and steamy. "… Excuse me, but it sounded like you asked me to join you in the bath."
"I did. I thought it would be an intimate way to bond with my adorable servant. Besides, you've seen me naked plenty of times already."
Before Luke could say anything, he realized that other people were listening, including Pyra who seemed surprised.
"… I swear I'm not a peeping tom! Seth, can I take a bath with you instead?"
"Actually, I agree with Rias. It would be a good opportunity for the two of you to bond." Seth then gave Luke a thumbs up and a wink.
Stop trying to hook me up!
A few days later, Fumiko had finally woken up and on the next day off, she requested Luke and Akira to meet her in front of the apartment her parents lived in.
"… I know you're there, Hyoudou!" Akira called out to someone hiding in a nearby alley.
Issei fell over and walked up to them. "Sorry, Melody-chan wanted me to follow you in case you tried to punch your father in the face again."
"You did what?" Luke was completely surprised by what Issei had said about Akira.
"It's exactly as Hyoudou said. I punched my piece of shit father in the face."
"… Good." Luke responded, sympathizing with Akira's actions, before looking back to Fumiko. "Fumiko, what are we doing back here?"
"There's something I need to do, and I want you and Akira to be here with me when I do it."
Fumiko faced the apartment building, took in a long, deep breath, and walked toward the front door of where her parents lived with Luke, Akira and Issei following behind her. She looked at the door as her hands shook before knocking on the door. Just seconds after knocking, the door opened, and her father appeared with a very bitter expression the moment he saw Fumiko.
"Where the fuck have you been?!" Mr. Kazuya shouted belligerently. "Do you know how much school and homework you've missed?!"
"I was still going to school and finishing my homework while I was away from home." Fumiko replied without an ounce of hesitation.
Mr. Kazuya then noticed Akira leering at him with simmering contempt.
"Ah, Akira, come running back to us, huh?"
"Gh!"
Issei could see that Akira was gnashing her teeth, doing her best to hold herself back from beating up her father again.
"Fumiko, you go inside while I deal with your sister." He demanded.
"… I will…" Fumiko replied.
"Good."
"I will go inside, take my books and supplies, and leave."
"Huh?"
"I'm not living with you and Mother anymore. You don't care about me! You care about my grades without any regard to my happiness! Akira and my friends, they want me to be happy! I'm moving in with Luke-san, keep doing well in school, and become a doctor like I've always wanted! I'll find a husband who loves me for who I am, regardless of money, have many children with him and I'll be a better parent than both of you!"
"Gggrr!" Mr. Kazuya growled before his eyes were drawn to Luke. "This is your fault, isn't it?! Fumiko hasn't been as obedient since the start of the school year! You said you're in the same class as her, right? What did you say to her to make her rebel against us?!"
Mr. Kazuya winded up his right arm and Luke prepared himself to stop a punch, though as a Devil receiving a normal human's fist wouldn't hurt all that much. Just as Mr. Kazuya threw out his fist, it was stopped by someone's hand. Both Luke and Mr. Kazuya were caught off guard that the person who stopped the punch was Fumiko. While Fumiko wasn't very physically strong by Devil standards, it was more than enough to fend off the average human male with ease.
"What… H-how…?!" Mr. Kazuya was dumbfounded at his youngest daughter's surprising strength.
Fumiko glared at her father intensely. "I won't let you lay a finger on Luke-san."
Fumiko pushed away her father's hand and walked inside the apartment to collect her things. Mr. Kazuya tried to follow after her, but Akira grabbed him by his shoulder and held him back.
"DAMN YOUUUUUUU!"
Just as Mr. Kazuya was about to beat up Akira, a fist flew from behind her and struck her father right in the jaw, knocking him to the ground with a few teeth falling out.
"You've already hurt Akira-chan once!" Issei shouted with a raised fist. "I won't let you hurt her again!"
"Please, that punch wouldn't have done anything to me." Akira chuckled.
"I know…" Issei replied as he turned to her. "I just couldn't stand the idea of this asshole striking you again."
Akira had no idea how to respond to Issei's words and just stared at him for several seconds.
He may be a perverted dumbass… But he's a good guy when it counts. Akira smiled at Issei. "… Thanks… Issei-kun."
"Oh, hey! You're calling me by my name now!"
Luke felt incredibly awkward around the scene unfolding before him, so he went inside the apartment to help Fumiko pack up. Watching everything from a distance in a nearby alley was Akira's old friend Yagami.
Several minutes later, Fumiko and Luke came out of the apartment with the former carrying a duffle bag and the latter with a box in his arms.
"Is that really everything?" Issei asked.
"Our parents didn't let us have much." Fumiko answered.
"Then let's get going." Luke said.
"Can…" Fumiko seemed like she was trying to say something. "… This was my home since I was a baby… even if I had a lot of bad memories here, it was still the place where I met Rias-buchou… I just want to look at it… one last time."
"Mm…" Luke nodded.
Luke and Issei walked some distance away as Fumiko and Akira took one final look at their old home.
"… It's been over sixteen years…" Akira spoke up. "But the nightmare is finally over…"
"I probably shouldn't feel sad… but I can't help it…"
"You have lived here longer than me… It's like you said, this has been your home since we were babies…"
"But… I have a new home now. One filled with love."
Akira smiled and embraced Fumiko in a warm hug before whispering into her ear. "I'm rooting for you and Luke-kun."
"Hhm!" Fumiko whimpered as her face turned red.
Once Fumiko and Akira were done, they went up to Luke and Issei, and they all started heading back to their respective homes. A few minutes after they left, Yagami walked up to the apartment and entered the unlocked door. As he saw Mr. Kazuya still lying on the floor unconscious, he pulled out a gun equipped with a silencer, pointed it right at Mr. Kazuya's forehead and pulled the trigger. The sound was heavily muzzled by the silencer as the bullet pierced straight though his skull. Once he was certain that Mr. Kazuya was dead, he walked into another room.
"Who-?!"
A woman's voice was stopped as he fired another bullet with its bang muzzled. Once the woman's body dropped to the floor, Yagami looked up at the ceiling.
"Akira-chan… You don't have to worry about them coming after you or Fumiko-chan ever again…"
Luke and Fumiko arrived at the Sigmund residence with her textbooks and supplies as Seth and Rias waited in the living room.
"Master Luke, shall I take those off your hands?" Alastair bowed his head to him.
"No, thanks, Alastair. I don't mind carrying Fumiko's things."
"No… thank you." Alastair smiled before walking away. "Less work for me."
"Welcome to your new home, Fumiko." Rias warmly greeted her.
"Rias and I have been discussing possible renovations to accommodate the surge in residence." Seth said. "Fumiko, do you mind sharing a room with Pyra and Setsuna?"
"A-a-actually…" Fumiko's cheeks became pink. "I was-I was hoping I could stay in L-Luke-san's room."
Rias sat in her seat with her eyes wide and jaw dropped while Seth was positively beaming.
"Absolutely!"
"Huh?!" Rias looked at Seth with shock.
Luke and Fumiko took her things to his bedroom.
"Luke-san?" Fumiko spoke up.
"Yes, Fumiko?"
"Can I… may I call you 'Luke' from now on?"
"Of course."
Fumiko smiled warmly at Luke's reply. "Thank you so much, Luke."
Rias entered the room with a sigh. "If it's Fumiko sleeping with you, I guess it's fine, but I should still sleep with you to make sure you don't get up to anything."
'Up to anything'? Luke parroted in his head. "Well, Fumiko, now that you've officially moved in, what do you want to do?"
"Huh?" Fumiko tilted her head in confusion.
"Tonight, you're finally going to have fun." Rias clarified. "We can watch a movie or a show, play a video game, anything you want. And no studying, that can wait until tomorrow."
"Hmmm…" Fumiko had to think it over for a few minutes. "… Seth-san mentioned Luke likes 'games, anime, and manga'. Can we do one of those?"
"I think anime might be the way to go." Luke suggested. "It would be the easiest way for her to relax."
"Okay… what is anime, anyway?"
Luke decided to put on a more light-hearted series for Fumiko to get started. Luke and Rias watched it with Fumiko, and she was immediately captivated, considering it was the first piece of entertainment she ever experienced. Witnessing Fumiko's pure joy, Luke couldn't help but feel his heart warm up.
A/N: That's the end of the first original arc!
How many of you guessed that the crossover character was Pyra from Xenoblade Chronicles? And she isn't just a character I took from one universe and dropped her into another. I adjusted her backstory to fit within the world of DxD and her power will be the key for Luke's power-ups later on. I decided to make her connected with Greek mythology with her title from the English version, the Aegis, as her Japanese title is Seihai (Legendary Holy Grail) and those who have read the DxD light novel will know that there's already a Holy Grail. It's also a chance for me to explore the Greek Faction since most of it is mentioned aside from the god Hades. For those of you familiar with Xenoblade Chronicles, you're probably wondering if Mythra will also be included. Of course, she will be! You can't have Pyra without Mythra! Although her appearance will have to wait until after the peace conference, which is the next major arc.
Also, Grimm Red's Regalia are pretty similar to Pyra as living weapons. In the context of this story, that will be explained in a later chapter as I don't want to spoil it.
For Fumiko's Balance Breaker, I had a hard time figuring out what it should be. After discussing it with my consultants, we decided to basically just make her powers similar to Trafalgar Law and I think it fits Fumiko like a glove.
Setsuna also became Seth's first Knight. She will have a few more defining moments in the next arc, so stay tuned for those.
Before we head into the peace conference arc, I would like to have a break chapter in between involving Luke, Pyra, Xenovia, and Belinda, with the setup for something pretty important later on at the end.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for next time!
Luke Harem: Rias Gremory, Annabelle Wright, Fumiko Kazuya
Issei Harem: Misaki Shirayuki, Asia Argento, Hikaru Ueda, Akira Kazuya
Rias Gremory Peerage: Rias Gremory (King), Akeno Himejima (Queen), Yuuto Kiba (Knight), Xenovia Quarta (Knight), Koneko Toujo (Rook), Fumiko Kazuya (Bishop), Gasper Vladi (Bishop), Luke Sigmund (8 Pawns)
Seth Sigmund Peerage: Seth Sigmund (King), Annabelle Wright (Queen), Alastair Wright (Rook), Emery Belmont (Rook), Hana Sakuya (2 Bishops), Setsuna Kazama (Knight)
Melody Morag Peerage: Melody Morag (King), Misaki Shirayuki (Queen), Katherine Petrova (Knight), Spiral Hirano (Knight), Azusa Hirano (Rook), Akira Kazuya (Rook), Hikaru Ueda (Bishop), Asia Argento (Bishop), Issei Hyoudou (8 Pawns)