Chapter 20 - ch 19 - the world shall know khaos

"My name is Ophis," the words echoed across the stadium with apocalyptic finality, "and I have come to tell you that you're all a bunch of idiots."

The words were like a proclamation of impending doom. They silenced all dissenters. Words that sat on the tip of tongues were choked back. Strangled sounds emerged from the throats of people who wanted to throw their opinions into the debate, but were no longer able to now that she'd arrived on the center stage. Everyone was silent.

"So, it's true. That girl really is Ophis."

"Buchou?"

Rias buried her face in her hands. She felt sick to her stomach. All this time she'd been pushing Naruto away, believing that he'd gone off gallivanting with some random loli for no reason. Perhaps he had done some gallivanting, and perhaps he'd had more fun than he should have. But so what? Naruto had done this to expose a threat. Knowing him, he'd spent all that time with Ophis to try and bring her to their side. He might've gotten carried away, but it was still done to help her.

I let my jealousy get the better of me.

It was hard to admit it, but Rias often got jealous of how close Naruto was with some of the other girls. She'd been trying to curtail her jealousy. She knew that Naruto wouldn't betray their relationship. But when he'd arrived home with Ophis in toe, Rias had let her imagination run wild. Her jealousy toward this girl, who she didn't even know, who'd been spending time with her boyfriend while she'd nearly been killed several times, had festered in her heart—and she'd taken it out on Naruto.

"Akeno?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think I'm a bad girlfriend?"

Akeno started at the question, her eyes widening in clear surprise. She calmed down quickly, however, and considered Rias with a keen eye.

"I think that what you are feeling right now is natural," Akeno said. "Just like the jealousy you felt when Kitsune-kun showed up with another girl was natural. You might be our King, and you might be the heiress to one of the Seventy-Two Pillars, but you're also a regular girl in high school. There's no shame in feeling jealous of someone who is close to your boyfriend. It's natural. And being upset at your boyfriend for leaving when you needed him is natural, too. Although I do feel like you took things a little too far."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Rias murmured quietly before watching the events happening down on the floor unfold.

"W… what did you say?" Metatron asked, his voice breathless, as if someone had punched him in the gut.

Ophis frowned, but repeated her previous statement. "I said that I am Ophis, and that I've come here to tell everyone that you're—"

"There's no way a little girl like you can be Ophis!"

Ophis's eyes suddenly changed. Normally dull orbs containing as much emotion as a doll became agitated and angry.

Pressure like nothing Rias had ever felt slammed into her. It pushed her down without warning, causing her head to slam into the table. Standing beside her, Akeno's body lost all of its strength and crumpled to the floor in a rasping heap of flesh. Even her brother, Michael, and Azazel struggled to keep their posture. Sweat had broken out on their foreheads, and their breathing had grown labored.

And they weren't the only ones affected.

All around the room, people fell to the ground. Some lay face first on the floor, gasping for breath, drool leaking from their slack-jawed mouths. The stronger ones were forced to a knee. They clutched at their chest as if trying to keep their hearts from exploding. Several people, the young devils who'd been allowed to participate in this meeting, had already passed out in their seats.

Metatron took the brunt of the onslaught. He knelt in front of Ophis, his shoulders heaving as he struggled to gain a breath that would not come. The Ouroboros Dragon stared down at him, her diminutive height in no way affecting how intimidating she appeared in that moment. Even Rias, seated several meters away, with only Ophis's long black hair visible to her, felt like she was close to wetting herself.

"Oi! Stop that!"

Then Naruto smacked Ophis on the back of the head. The aura disappeared.

"Owch."

Ophis held her hands to her head. She looked up at Naruto and, despite how her face still remained impassive, small tears leaked out of her eyes.

"That hurt," she sniffled.

"That's what you get for unleashing your power," Naruto chastised the girl.

"He interrupted me," she mumbled.

"He's also an idiot."

"What did you call me?!" the aforementioned idiot shouted.

Naruto ignored him. "In any case, I believe you were going to make a point?"

"You're going to pet my head so much after this." It wasn't a question.

"Sure, if that's what you want."

Despite still feeling the after effects of what just happened, Rias facepalmed. "Are they really talking about head petting in a dignified forum like this?"

"Ara, ara." Akeno struggled to her feet. Her skin was ashen and sweat caused her clothes to cling to her. She looked unsettled, but she tried to play it off. "That just seems to be the way your boyfriend is."

"My boyfriend can be a real idiot sometimes."

"But now no one knows what to think anymore," Akeno pointed out. "Look at them; they're caught between being wary of Ophis's power, wondering whether they should be afraid or appalled by what's happening, and curious about Kitsune-kun and his ability to remain unaffected by Ophis's undeniably strong presence."

"I get that much," Rias muttered. "I just wish he wouldn't act so embarrassing in public."

"Fufu, you chose to date him."

"Big words coming from someone who's dating a pervert."

Akeno didn't respond to that.

Ophis glanced up, nodded, then glanced back at Metatron.

"I have been listening to all of you talk about how peace is unachievable because none of you can get your past hatreds, and I've gotta say, you all sound stupid." No one spoke, or more like no one could speak. Ophis continued. "You sit here, arguing about why you can't get along. It's like you're all trying your hardest to be belligerent. It's almost painful to watch how incredibly childish you're all acting."

Ophis paused again. She looked up, nodded, then continued.

"There are threats out there that none of you have any idea about, threats that could easily crush any one of your factions without much effort. They know that you've been weakened. They know that you're hurting. You might have been able to keep the information that God is dead from the general populace, but with so few miracles happening in this world, other factions have realized that something has happened—and they won't hesitate to destroy you all and expand their territory once the truth comes out."

Ophis paused once more and looked up. Nodding once again, she looked back at the surrounding dignitaries and continued.

Sitting on one of several balconies, Kiba, Issei, Koneko, Ravel, and Asia looked at the Naruto clone that the original had left behind. He stood near the edge of their platform, but was far enough away that no one else would see him. He was also holding several large posters in his hands. They were covered in writing. They were covered in writing that Ophis was reading from. Out loud. To everyone in the hall.

"A-are you really having Ophis read a speech that you wrote just a few seconds ago?" Kiba asked, as if he couldn't quite believe what his eyes were telling him.

"Yes," the Naruto clone answered. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"I-I suppose… not?" Kiba didn't seem sure of his answer. It sounded almost like a question.

"There, you see? There's no problem."

"I think it's kind of funny," Issei admitted. "Do you see the looks on those people's faces? They look like someone smacked them in the face with a dead fish."

"See that, Kiba? Issei gets it," Naruto teased.

"You know this is probably gonna come back to bite you in the ass later on, right?" Kiba asked, sighing and holding a hand to his forehead.

"Maybe, but I'll burn that bridge when I get to it."

"You mean cross it?" Kiba said.

"No." Naruto's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Bridges were made to be burned."

Down below, Metatron seemed to finally regain his second wind. He stood up, albeit, warily, and eyed the child-like form of Ophis.

"You speak a lot about threats to which we know nothing about, yet I haven't heard of anything that could threaten us, and I've spent the last fifty-two years learning to be a ninja." The sound of Michael facepalming rang throughout the hall. "Tell me, if these threats exist, then where are they? What could possibly threaten us?"

Ophis opened her mouth to speak—

"The Khaos Brigade."

—when someone else answered for her.

A man appeared before them without warning. He floated above the stage where Metatron, Naruto, and Ophis stood. He was a middle-aged man with long silver hair and a beard. His armor looked almost identical to Sirzechs; regal-looking multi-segmented pauldrons and a gleaming breastplate. Unlike Sirzechs, however, his were silver instead of red. Twelve pinions of the purest black jutted from his back.

Rias didn't like him. His very presence set her on edge. The hairs on the back of her neck had risen, her skin prickled unpleasantly, sensations of an unknown and unwanted phenomena ran down her spine. This man, she didn't know who he was, but he exuded an ungodly aura of vileness.

"That is what you were going to say, right?" the man asked Ophis, his smile appearing almost amiable.

"Rizevim Lucifer," Sirzechs said. The two words evoked those who remained conscious into gaping.

"Well, hello, Sirzechs. It's been an awfully long time since we've seen each other. How've you been? Is the tyke keeping you busy?"

"What are you doing here, Rizevim?" Sirzechs asked, his stern voice letting Rizevim know that he wasn't joking around.

"Why, I came because I heard about this wonderful gathering, of course." Rizevim spread his arms wide, encompassing everyone there. "I never got an invite. I figured it got lost in transit, since I know you'd never leave me out of something like this."

"You've been gone for decades, and now you've decided to show up here," Sirzechs continued, ignoring Rizevim's playful bantering. "What are you after?"

Playing stroking his chin, Rizevim seemed to contemplate the question. "There are many things that I'm after. Your title, your sister, your life." He smiled when Sirzechs bristled at the mention of his sister. "However, at the moment, if I was after anything in particular, then I would have to say it's… her."

Rizevim pointed to Ophis, who stared blankly at the finger.

"From that statement, can I take this as an admission that you're a part of the Khaos Brigade?" Sirzechs asked.

A wide smile appeared on Rizevim's face. "Why yes, I believe you can."

Murmured whispers broke out amongst the delegation. Everyone knew who he was. Even if they didn't know Rizevim, they knew the name Lucifer.

Lucifer. That was the name of the original maou, the first Satan, the strongest devil. During the great war, it was Lucifer who kept the forces of hell under control. His iron fist and ruthless ways had ensured that no one disobeyed him. Those who refused to obey, or those who spoke out against him, were not mercilessly put down. They were made an example out of.

If this man is like the former Lucifer…

"In that case, I regret to inform you that you have intruded on a peace delegation, one in which you are not welcome."

"So, I see. Peace, Huh?" Rizevim stared at the gathered ground: Angels, devils, fallen. He eyed them all, his gaze contemptuous. "It's awfully funny that you think peace can actually be achieved. It's funnier still that you, a devil, are actively pursuing peace. You've let yourself become soft, Sirzechs, though perhaps I'm making a misnomer. You always were a soft-hearted person. How someone like you could ever be a devil is beyond me."

Sirzechs made several silent gestures with his hands. Rias couldn't understand what they meant, but apparently, Michael and Azazel did. She could feel the mild surge of energy coming from them. Were they preparing to attack?

"However, I'm not here to talk to you," Rizevim said, turning back to the little girl standing by Naruto. "Ophis, I believe you've had enough fun for now. It is time for you to come back with me."

Ophis frowned at the man. "I am not coming back. I have decided to stay with Naruto."

"Naruto?" Rizevim frowned, his eyes panning to the blond, who met his gaze evenly. "Ah, yes. I remember now. Naruto is the one that you've been trying to locate for nearly a year now, wasn't it? The one who tore a hole through the Dimensional Gap."

Rias winced as more mutters broke out. They'd been trying to keep that a secret for a reason.

Naruto stepped in front of Ophis.

"Sorry, but Ophis isn't going back with you. She's with me now." Naruto's smile caused his whiskers to stretch, giving him a truly vulpine appearance. "And I'll beat the shit out of anyone who tries to take her from me."

Rias knew that Naruto didn't mean that in a romantic way. She really did. But, in that moment, she really wanted to hit him for saying something that could be so easily misconstrued.

Rizevim chuckled. "Is that right? Well, I suppose in a straight up battle of power, you could very well defeat me." He snapped his fingers. "However, who said anything about me fighting you fair and square—or at all, for that matter?"

"Wha…"

A dark crimson magic circle appeared underneath Naruto. Rias's eyes widened. She recognized what that was—a teleportation spell!

"What is this…?" Naruto mumbled.

"NO!"

"RIAS, WAIT!"

Before anyone could do anything, Rias leapt out of her seat, rushed across the room, and pushed a confused Naruto out of the way. Naruto landed on his backside. He looked up at her, his eyes wide and confused. She smiled. Her mouth opened to speak, but in that moment, just before she could talk, the world around her disappeared…

… and all she saw was darkness.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. Rias had disappeared. She'd been standing right in front of him, but now she wasn't there anymore. She'd pushed him out of the way of that teleportation circle. She was gone, having been transported to wherever that circle led to.

"Well, now, this isn't good," Rizevim said, mostly to himself, though he didn't sound very distressed. "That circle was meant specifically to teleport Naruto away, not the wench of the Gremory family."

Rage boiled inside of him. Naruto thought he heard something break—a dam, where all of his darkest emotions, those same emotions that he'd accepted when training to use Kurama's chakra, had gone.

"Where is she?" Naruto asked, his voice harsh and grating.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Rizevim dismissed Naruto's anger. "You and everyone else have much bigger problems to worry about now."

At that moment, the walls and ceiling exploded in a million fragments, showering the interior like drizzled rain mixed with falling meteors. A threnody of frightened voices screamed as they were buried under several dozen tons of rubble. Many people were squashed flat, their bodies crushed. Those who'd already experienced war proved their mettle, pulling out weapons or channeling magic and destroying the debris that tried to crush them.

Naruto snarled as the ceiling descended toward him. He thrust out his hands and channeled massive amounts of wind chakra into them. Two large tornadoes shot from his fists, engulfing everything above him and tearing the ceiling fragments apart. When the technique dispersed, Naruto glared at where Rizevim should have been. He was no longer there.

Jerkwad must have used the rubble as cover to escape.

With the ceiling gone and many of the walls crumbling around them, everyone was given a first hand glimpse of the pandemonium outside. The angels, fallen, and devils who'd been tasked with guarding the delegation were locked in combat against a myriad of individuals. Mages wearing purple cloaks threw spells at their flying foes. Devils tore through the sky, fighting their brethren, tearing them apart with a surprise attack. Caught unawares, many of the devils and fallen guarding the delegation were killed, their wings torn off, their bodies sent hurtling to the ground.

Several mages tried to attack the delegates, but a large beam of crimson darkness cut through them, annihilating the entire swarm before they could launch a single attack. It was Sirzechs, cutting through swathes of enemies like a scythe cuts through wheat. His hands were covered in the Power of Destruction, which he used to far greater effect than Rias could, controlling the dark power with incredible skill and finesse.

Naruto didn't know what to do. His thoughts were consumed by Rias. Yet even while his thoughts were overtaken with worry for Rias, he still had the piece of mind to use the substitution jutsu, replacing himself with a log when an enemy devil tried to skewer him with a large broadsword. Before the devil even had a chance to realize that he'd missed, Naruto appeared behind him and killed the devil with a rasengan to the back, blasting him into the antechamber floor.

A large dome suddenly sprang up around the delegation chamber, a golden barrier of incandescent light, crackling with arcane power. The barrier was obviously divine in nature, and the casters became obvious when Naruto glanced at the table. Michael and Gabrielle stood with their hands thrust out, palms facing the sky. Several devils tried to cut through the barrier, but they were killed instantly, their bodies fried by the holy power coruscating along the golden shield's surface.

"You… you are a shinobi!" Metatron exclaimed in surprise. Naruto blinked. It took him a moment to realize that Metatron must have seen him use the substitution jutsu.

"Um, yes. Yes, I am."

Naruto ignored the shocked Metatron and searched for Ophis. He found her standing several feet from the devil he'd killed. She appeared untroubled by the chaos happening around her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I am fine," Ophis said, observing him with her calm gaze. "You are not fine."

"No," Naruto admitted. "No, I'm not."

"Everybody, calm down!" Sirzechs shouted into chaos of hundreds of panicking individuals. His voice rang above everyone else's. "We're beginning the evacuation process. Those of you who cannot fight, please follow me to the portal gates! Guards! Help those who've been injured! Get them to a healer, then escort them to the portal gates after me!"

The devil guards saluted and immediately rushed to carry out Sirzechs' order. They blasted apart debris and lifted those who'd been crushed, carrying them either to an angel or a devil healer, depending on their species. They didn't discriminate either, helping out everyone regardless of whether they were angel, devil or fallen. Sirzechs had chosen his soldiers well.

"My fellow fallen angels, help our devil comrades protect and evacuate the civilians," Azazel ordered. The fallen guards who'd been inside when the attack happened pounded their fists to their chest in a salute. Then they went to work. Side by side with devils, they helped gather injured delegates and bring them to a healer.

The earth suddenly rumbled. A massive buildup of energy crashed into the barrier, vile purple matter that caused cracks to appear along its surface. They spread quickly, covering the entire dome. Michael and Gabrielle fell to a knee as they poured more energy into the shield, however, it was all for naught. With the sound of shattering glass, the barrier was destroyed, and several figures descended to the ground.

There were three of them: All of them were devils. That much was clear. Black pinions jutted from their backs—devil wings, darker than midnight and reminiscent to those of a bat's. The one in front was a bespectacled woman with a voluptuous body and an arrogant sneer. To her left, a long man with pale skin, pointed ears and black hair tied into a ponytail glared at everyone in the room. On the right, a man with long hair that went down to his hip and covered his left eye stood, his armor darker than crow feathers and his shoulders covered by a cape.

"My, my, what a disgusting group," the woman in front said. "Devils cavorting with angels and the fallen. How low has our species become."

"Katerea," Serafall Leviathan, Sona's older sister, looked at the woman in shock. "What are you doing?"

The woman, Katerea, sneered. "Serafall, the little slut who stole my title. How dare you speak to me so familiarly."

Serafall's eyes went wide. She took a step back, as if the vitriol in Katerea's voice had been a physical blow.

"Let's hurry up and kill these pretenders," the one on the left said.

"I'll take on the fallen leader," said the one on the right.

"Oh-ho!" Azazel laughed as he stepped in front of Serafall. "So, Shalba Beelzebub thinks he has what it takes to defeat me? How amusing."

"You won't be so amused when I rip your face off."

Before anyone else could speak, an overwhelmingly massive pressure shoved them into the ground. Earth's gravity appeared to have increased to ten times what it normally was. Cracks appeared along the ground as several people fell to their knees. Fortunately, the feeling radiating from the power wasn't malignant—just angry.

Naruto had been listening to the conversation for a while now. He understood what was going on, but honestly, he couldn't have cared less about the Khaos Brigade and their petty desires right now. There was only thing on his mind.

"Where is Rias Gremory?" he asked the group of devils who'd intruded upon this place.

"R-Rias Gremory?" Katerea put on a brave front, adjusting her glasses and giving him a scrutinizing gaze. "I see, so Rizevim failed to take care of you, and Rias Gremory took your place. Hm, that is most unfortunate. Do not worry, though." Her lips twisted into an unpleasant smile. "I am sure that, at this moment, your little girlfriend is receiving the hospitality of the Hero Faction."

Naruto sucked in a breath. The Hero Faction hated devils. Rias Gremory was a devil of the highest caliber, an heiress of the Seventy-Two Pillars. There was no telling what they would do to her.

"Where are they?! Where have you taken her?!"

"I would watch your tongue if I were you, boy," Shalba snarled. "There is no need for us to tell you anything. That little cunt is probably already—"

Naruto had heard enough. Seemingly moving faster than light itself, Naruto appeared in front of Shalba and punched him in the face. Hard. The older man all but vanished, and only the wall exploding in front of Naruto let everyone know what had happened.

"He just punched Shalba through a wall," Michael muttered.

"Shalba was supposed to be my opponent," Azazel mumbled.

"Oh, dear," Gabrielle said, sounding mildly worried, though for who was anyone's guess.

Naruto snarled as he rushed out of the broken antechamber. All around him devils, fallen, and angels battled against members of the Khaos Brigade. Light spears flew through the air. Magic circles appeared all around him. Explosions rocked the earth and sky. Naruto ignored them and rushed at Shalba just as the older man was getting up.

"You little shit! Do you think you can get away with—"

"Shut up!"

Naruto slammed a knee into the man's jaw. There was a very loud crack! as the jaw shattered. Shalba opened his mouth to scream, but Naruto kicked him in the chest, punting him across the ground. The older devil rolled across the earth, kicking up dirt and dust in his wake. Shalba stopped only after being a ragdoll for several meters. He clambered to his feet, blood leaking from his scowling mouth. His eyes were shot with blood.

"You piece of fucking—"

Crack!

Shalba's nose broke as Naruto trapped his head in a clinch and slammed a knee into his face. Blood sprayed from his broken nose, a geyser of arterial fluids that painted the muddy earth red. Stumbling back, Shalba growled and created a magic circle in front of him. The circle glowed brightly—only to shatter when Naruto drove a rasengan through it.

"GRAA!"

The swirling blue ball of chakra slammed into Shalba's face and sent the Old Satan devil flying. Several fights were broken up when his body plowed through them. He soared across the field, then crashed into the treeline.

A large trench had been dug into the ground. It spanned nearly four meters in width, and was probably ten times that amount in length. Naruto walked through the trench he'd made of the treeline, using Shalba as the catalyst for the massive amount of vegetative destruction. Most of the trees had been outright uprooted, bust some had also shattered, and their fragments littered the desecrated ground.

Shalba Beelzebub stood at the end of the trench. His forehead was bleeding. Blood dripped into his left eye, which he'd closed. His once regal black armor was dented, and his cape had torn apart at the seams.

"Where did that teleportation circle take Rias Gremory?" Naruto asked again.

"Like I'd ever tell you!"

Snarling like a vicious animal, Shalba palmed a device in his hand. Several light spears suddenly appeared, as if they'd been brought forth from the ether. They hovered in the air, buzzing and thrumming, and then they flew at Naruto like arrows shot from a bow.

While he could have called upon Kurama for help, he didn't want to use his friend's power while he was this angry. He'd never allow Kurama's power to be used for his own selfish desires—he'd definitely never use it when his thoughts were filled with rage like they were now.

He wove around the spears, dodging them via quick application of several shunshins. The spears continued on, striking the ground and exploding on contact, vaporizing everything. Naruto ignored this and closed the distance between him and Shalba.

"Don't think I'm gonna let you keep hitting me!" Shalba growled. Two light swords appeared, one in each hand, their blades curved like a falchion. He wielded both weapons like a master, gracefully swinging and spinning around each weapon at a different angle. Naruto scowled as he was forced back.

While he could overpower most light based attacks with his chakra, Shalba was using that device to turn his own devil magic into a light based power. Naruto felt that, between the two of them, he was the stronger one. However, Shalba was not lacking in magic power. His reserves were quite immense, more so than Kokabiel's power had been, and it meant that Naruto couldn't simply overpower him.

"Naruto, are you sure that you don't want to use my power?"

"Don't. Tempt. Me." Naruto clenched his teeth. "I don't want to break my promise, but if you ask me that again…"

Naruto had promised Kurama long ago, before they'd shown up in this world, that he would never use Kurama's powers for selfish reasons. Right now, Naruto was being selfish. He could hear the sounds of battle being raged behind him; innocents were dying, and his friends were likely in need of his help. But he couldn't bring himself to help them. His every thought was consumed with the desire to help Rias, his girlfriend, the woman who'd given him a purpose in this world.

"I understand. In that case, kick his ass, Naruto. Don't let a prick like that get the best of you."

"I don't plan on it."

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A dozen Narutos appeared as if out of thin air. Shalba growled and rained light arrows into the horde of clones. All of them went up in several puffs of smoke, which blocked Naruto from Shalba's sight. Unfortunately for Shalba, Naruto could see him just fine.

"Rasengan!"

Blood spilled from Shalba's mouth like sludge as he went flying for the third time. While he was sailing through the air, Naruto appeared underneath him and planted his feet into Shalba's back, launching him upwards. Shalba regained control over his flight and created a massive light spear that he sent at Naruto, who swerved as he ascended into the air. The spear passed him by several inches. Then it exploded into several dozen smaller spears, all of which tried to perforate Naruto from behind.

Spinning around, Naruto created a magic circle in front of him and fed both his devil powers and chakra into it. The result was a large tornado of wind that burst out of it, which collided with the spears to catastrophic effect. A large shockwave of power spread from the explosion of polar opposite forces. Light versus dark. Devil versus holy. The two powers negated each other, but in a way that was almost cataclysmic.

Shalba was nearly blasted from the sky as the shock wave slammed into him. Unlike the ancestor of Beelzebulb, Naruto rode the shock wave, ignoring the searing pain of light energy burning his flesh. He crashed into his foe with a flying spin kick. Unprepared for such a maneuver, Shalba was spun like a top, his face almost caving in from the power Naruto put behind his attack. He tried to stop his spin, but then Naruto launched a heel drop to the top of his head.

The ground cratered as Shalba crashed into it. Rather than give his enemy time to recover, Naruto zoomed down while Shalba was trying to sit up and shoved his feet into Shalba's gut. The man folded like a chair. Bile, blood and mucus flew from his mouth, which soon snapped shut with a loud clack! when Naruto kicked him in the jaw.

Shalba groaned as he hit the ground. Naruto didn't give him any reprieve and lifted the man up by the throat.

"Where did that teleportation circle take Rias Gremory?" he asked again.

"Go… fuck yourself… you damn reincarnated filth!"

Naruto snarled and slammed Shalba into the ground. The devil tried to scream, but Naruto's vice grip around his throat kept anything more than a gurgle from escaping. Using his other hand, Naruto gripped Shalba's head and began to squeeze.

"Kurama? Do you know how to read minds?"

"There is a way to read his mind. It is similar to the Yamanaka technique. Follow my instructions very carefully…"

Naruto listened to Kurama's instructions, and then followed them to the letter.

Shalba's agonized shrieks echoed across the forest.

Contrary to what Kurama said, the mind reading technique that he had in mind was nothing like the Yamanaka clan technique. Where that one required finesse, this one was all brute force. Where that one subtly slipped through the cracks, with the one being interrogated remaining completely unaware, this one slammed into the mind with the subtlety of a sledge hammer. Naruto forced his way into Shalba's mind, uncaring of the damage that he was doing.

And while in there, ripping apart Shalba's mind, Naruto found his answer.

I see. So, Rias Gremory is being kept in the gap between this world and the dimensional gap…

"I can tear a hole through this dimension and reach the gap," Kurama informed him. "And before you complain about promising not to use my power for selfish reasons, this is not you using my power. This is ME using my power to help a friend. Nothing more."

"I see. Thank you."

Naruto go of Shalba, who cried out as he hit the ground, then proceeded to crab walk away from the blond.

"Understand this, Shalba Beelzebub," Naruto said, his voice as unbending as steel. "If you ever come near my friends, if you or your people even think about hurting the people who are dear to me, then I will make sure that you don't live long enough to regret it."

Shalba Beelzebub gnashed his teeth together until blood poured from his mouth.

"You… how dare a lowly reincarnated devil like you speak to me like that! You're a curse! Your entire race is a curse! You and every other reincarnated devil have poisoned our kind with your soft ways! I won't stand for it! One of these days, you and I will meet again, and I will destroy you and everything you hold dear!"

With one last shout of defiance, Shalba Beelzebub disappeared, vanishing within a teleportation circle.

"An emergency teleportation circle. Clever."

"Cowardly," Naruto countered.

"Are you sure it was wise to let him go?"

"I…"

"You really are too soft sometimes, Naruto."

Naruto didn't know how to answer that, so he said nothing.

"Naruto!"

At that moment, someone ran up to him. She was a familiar face, one that he hadn't seen since the Kokabiel incident.

"Irina," Naruto greeted. Irina Shidou looked the same as always. Golden brown hair tied together in long pigtails. Amethyst eyes that were vibrant and bright. The only difference between now and the last time they met was the look on her face—that grim expression someone had when they were in the middle of a war.

"Michael-sama and the others asked me to find you," Irina said. "They said… that you need to come back. They need you to help them protect everyone."

Naruto closed his eyes.

"Please tell everyone else that I'm sorry, but I can't go back just yet."

"What?"

Opening his eyes, Naruto gave Irina his most serious expression.

"I can't come back until I've rescued Rias."

Naruto had expected many things; shock, denial, a refusal to let him go off and play the hero. Irina's bright smile was not what he'd expected.

"They said you would say that, so they asked me to help you find Rias Gremory and return only when you were with me."

"You're coming with me?"

"Yep!" Irina winked at him. "And don't think you can stop me. These orders come from the great Michael-sama himself. Oh! Michael-sama!" Irina clasped her hands in prayer. "To think you would entrust me with such a task. I won't fail you!"

Naruto stared at the girl. Maybe it was just him, but she seemed to be sparkling. He shook his head, shrugging off her strange behavior and deciding to accept her help.

"Thank you for helping me out," Naruto said. "I do have a favor to ask you before we leave, however."

"What's that?"

"The people who are holding Rias hostage are all very powerful," Naruto started. "I would not be lying to say that each person we'll be fighting has the same power as a high-class super devil. As you are right now, I do not believe you will be able to fight them."

"Are you saying I'm weak?" Irina frowned.

"Not at all. I'm saying that the people we're fighting are simply that powerful. Only someone with the same strength as Kokabiel would stand a chance against them."

Naruto penetrated Irina with the fiercest stare he had. He needed to let her know how serious he was about this.

"That's why I'm asking you to get Rias out of there and leave the fighting to me."

Irina seemed pensive at first, but slowly nodded.

"Good."

"Wait!" a voice called out. Naruto blinked. Irina blinked. They both turned to see Ravel flying toward them on wings of fire. Flying beside her was Koneko. The two girls landed on the ground and looked imploringly at Naruto. "We're coming, too!"

It was Naruto's turn to seem pensive.

"I don't know if that's good idea…"

"Why not?" Ravel asked, pouting. "I can help! I can be useful to you!"

"Don't push us away," Koneko added, her tone almost dispassionate, though anyone who knew her could sense her desire to stay with him.

Naruto knew that he had to make a decision quickly. Every second he spent here was another second Rias spent at the Hero Faction's mercy. He couldn't afford to delay.

"Alright. You two and Irina will be in charge of getting Rias to safety, then. Is that good?"

"Yes!"

Naruto breathed out a deep breath.

"Okay. Then let's go."

"Kurama?"

"Right!"

Kurama externalized his power, which manifested as a dark red flame. A cut appeared in front of Naruto; a thin line seeping with darkness. The cut widened, the fabrics of the dimension they lived in tearing apart at the seams. What lay beyond was darkness, a world without light. Naruto strode into the tear, Ravel and Koneko and Irina walking by his side. Once they entered, the void closed behind them, leaving no trace of their passage.

~Devil Ninja~

The fighting had grown heavy. Pandemonium reigned throughout the entire academy. Buildings had been reduced to rubble, nothing more than barely standing walls and caved-in ceilings. Bodies lay strewn across the battlefield—angels, devils, and fallen, their figures twisted at awkward angles, like half-finished pretzels. Blood coated the ground, staining the once pristine floors and green grass carmine.

Issei was in the middle of this chaotic throng of death. He and the other members of Rias Gremory's peerage had been tasked with helping defend the civilians as they were evacuated. Unfortunately, that seemed to paint a large target on their backs.

"Take this, you bastards! Dragon Shot!"

An orb of light formed in front of Issei's gauntlet. He made a fist and punched it. A giant beam of energy lanced out at the flock of devils attacking them, engulfing them in a bright radiance. When the beam faded out, several dozen charred corpses plummeted to the ground, thumping against the bloodstained floor.

"It's a good thing this building is already destroyed," Xenovia mumbled, "or that attack would have caused some serious property damage."

"That's Ise for you," Kiba replied. "He takes after Naruto when it comes to causing destruction during a fight, though I think Naruto has a little more finesse than Ise does."

"… Right."

"Boost!"

"Here we go!"

Issei attacked his enemies with near reckless zeal. He slipped through their defenses and pummeled them with his Boosted Gear. Several devils tried to outmaneuver him, but Xenovia and Kiba stood on either side, using their superior sword work to keep any and all enemies from flanking Issei. Behind them, Akeno fired off bolts of lightning, protecting her companions with long-range attacks, and behind her stood Asia, who acted as their healer.

The horde of enemies was beaten back. Unable to withstand their combined resilience, the devils who'd slipped away from the main battle were mercilessly crushed.

"Boost!"

We can do this…

"Boost!"

We can win…

"Boost!"

Issei felt confidence surge through him. They could do this. They could win!

"Boost! OVER BOOSTER!"

A long sword jutted from the Boosted Gear. Issei thrust it forward, causing it to split into multiple segments that resembled a dragon's tail. It coiled around several enemies and dug into their flesh, cutting them apart with ease. The sword continued to elongate, continued to separate, and continued to attack. Some enemies were pierced, others were sliced apart, but all of them felt pain.

"That's showing them, Ise!" Kiba cheered as he dove into the hole made by Issei's attack. His demonic holy sword was a blur as he sliced apart devils and fallen like wheat before a scythe. An arm was cut off when one devil came to close. A fallen lost her leg when she tried to attack Issei. Six enemies went down as Kiba used his speed to race by them, cutting them apart with ease.

Xenovia followed after him. Unlike Kiba, who was all speed and finesse, she was pure brute force. Durandal sang as it unleashed devastation upon those around her. The bodies of her enemies weren't sliced apart, but outright destroyed. No one could stand against her.

"We… I think we can actually win this," Xenovia said, her tone hopeful.

With their opponents overwhelmed and the civilians beating a hasty retreat, Issei and the others felt hope swell within their breasts.

That hope was soon dashed with the beating of six monstrous wings.

~Devil Ninja~

The first sensation that returned to Rias after waking up was pain. It wasn't the kind of pain that came from being stabbed or punched. Her body simply ached, like when you spent hours exercising and your body was trying to heal itself. She'd become intimately familiar with that feeling, though what she felt now was slightly different.

"Tell me again why we're not just killing her?" a voice asked.

"Because bait is only good if it's still alive. Besides, she can be of better use to us alive than dead."

Rias opened her eyes, but all she saw was darkness. She blinked several times. Her eyes didn't adjust. There was still darkness. That's when she realized that it wasn't because she couldn't see, but because wherever she was didn't have any light.

Turning her head, Rias found several figures standing about a meter away. There were three men and one woman. She didn't recognize any of them.

"Oh, she's awake," the woman said, her beautiful face marred by an ugly sneer that seemed somehow cheerful. "Hello there, red devil-tan."

"Who are you?" Rias asked.

"Do you really think that we'd answer you?" a hulking, brute of a man growled at her. "We have no reason to answer any of your questions, filthy devil."

Narrowing her eyes, Rias tried to channel her magic—tried, and failed.

"Don't bother," another man said calmly. "You won't be able to use any of your powers unless we decide to let you use them."

His impassive gaze bothered Rias immensely, his words even more so, but she didn't say anything. Without knowing what was going on, acting rashly would be foolish. The best she could do right now was bide her time, and try to figure out what they had done to separate her from her power.

Hoping to analyze the people who'd apparently kidnapped her, she studied the group. One of the men was a towering mountain of muscle. He appeared to be more of a lacky than anything, so she skipped over him. The young man standing next to him had silver hair and carried himself with a refined aura. He reminded Rias of Kiba in that regard, though his cold eyes were nothing like her knights. Standing a little apart from the two was the woman, a beautiful blond whose arrogant sneer made her seem uglier than she should have been. Despite her sneer, she seemed to enjoy teasing the two, calling the silver-haired one "Sieg-kun" and the big one "Herc-chan."

While those three all had a powerful aura about them, it was the one who remained silent that she felt the most wary of. Handsome and dark-haired, the young man wore a Japanese school uniform. Combined with the uniform was ancient Chinese attire. Held in his right hand was a spear, which caused the feeling of her unease. She didn't know what sort of weapon it was, but she could tell that it was a Sacred Gear of great power.

"He's here," the one she'd been staring at said, his head turning as he spoke.

Who's here?

Everyone turned to see a figure walking toward them. Flanking this person on either side were three of people. Rias craned her neck to get a better look. Her eyes widened in surprise, hope, joy, and more than a little worry, when she saw who'd come.

Striding toward them with a look that she'd never seen on his face before was Naruto.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto was finding himself angry more often than not these days. He'd been angry when he'd returned to Kouh and discovered his friends under attack. That time, he'd been angry at Kokabiel and himself. Kokabiel for daring to attack his loved ones, and himself for having not arrived until the last moment.

Now he felt anger again. These people had kidnapped Rias, the girl he loved, the person who'd given him a purpose. They had taken her from him, and were using her as bait to lure him out.

Naruto had felt anger plenty of times. When people had made fun of his dreams about becoming Hokage, when people underestimated him, when people looked down on him and treated him like garbage, he'd gotten angry.

He'd felt anger when Konoha had been destroyed by Pain.

He'd felt anger when Kokabiel attacked his friends.

And now he felt anger as he stared at the group responsible for kidnapping someone important to him.

"Looks like that stinking devil, Rizevim, was right," Heracles said, grinning. "He did come."

"Naruto…" Rias muttered from where she lay, her form prone. She'd been wrapped in cloth of some kind. Naruto sensed faint magical powers emanating from it, and he could barely sense Rias at all. It was obviously designed to keep her from utilizing her Powers of Destruction by suppressing her magic.

"Cao Cao," Naruto's voice was calm, a facade to mask his emotions. "I am only going to give you this one warning: Release Rias now, or I will shove my foot so far up your ass that you'll never walk straight again."

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Heracles roared and charged at Naruto, who remained where he was. "You think you can threaten us like that?! I'm gonna teach you a lesson!"

"Heracles!" Cao Cao shouted in alarm. "Don't act recklessly! We need to surround him and—"

Heracles didn't listen.

He had already thrown the first punch. The area around Naruto was engulfed in an explosion. Heracles laughed as Naruto disappeared from his sight.

"You're not very bright, are you?" a voice asked from behind Heracles. Eyes bulging like a pair of grapefruits, Heracles spun around—

"DOOF!"

—and was sent flying off when he received a fist to the face.

"Herc-chan!" Jeanne shouted. "Damn pervert! You're not gonna get away with that!"

A holy sword appeared in Jeanne's hand, a large broadsword with silver etchings and a golden hilt. It was a beautiful sword fit for a queen. The diamond pomel glistened within the darkness of the gap between dimensions.

The woman charged at him. Cao Cao shouted at her stop, and when she didn't, he swore and turned to Siegfried.

"Guard the Gremory girl! I'll help Jeanne deal with this one."

"Very well. He's not a holy sword user, so a battle with him would be boring anyway."

Naruto stood, silently watching Jeanne and Cao Cao flank him. They attacked from two different sides at the same time, a pincer maneuver. For a move that was made on the spot, it had been executed rather flawlessly—too bad Naruto wasn't there. He'd disappeared just as they swung their weapons, causing them to nearly skewer each other.

"What?!" two shouts came simultaneously as Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Rasengan!"

Even when shocked, Jeanne still reacted when Naruto appeared behind her. She spun around, moving her blade and striking the rasengan in his hand. While still a human and therefore physically weak, her holy sword proved more than up to the task of slicing through the rasengan and Naruto's hand, cutting it up like a warm knife slicing through swiss cheese.

Naruto disappeared, then another Naruto burst from the smoke and launched her into the air with a swift uppercut. That Naruto ducked down while another one used him as a springboard, leaping up to kick her higher into the air. He was intercepted by Cao Cao, who expertly spun his spear around and sliced through him.

More smoke clouded their vision as the Naruto clone dispersed.

"What kind of power is this?!" Jeanne asked, surprised.

"The kind of power that only a ninja can wield!" Naruto shouted from above. "Uzumaki Heel Drop!"

Since they were both airborne, neither Jeanne nor Cao Cao could do much when two Naruto's dropped from above them. They could only raise their weapons to block, which resulted in them both flying back to what made up the ground in this place. Both landed lightly on their feet, only to find Naruto standing between them, a tornado of power surrounding his fists.

"This technique is still experimental," he said, grinning. "Let me know how it feels."

Neither of them had time to do much as Naruto punched them at the same time, and they were both blasted off their feet and sent hurtling through the void.

~Devil Ninja~

Away from the battle between Naruto, Jeanne, Cao Cao, and Heracles, Ravel and Irina and Koneko attacked Seigfreid, who'd been left to guard Rias.

They attacked in unison; Ravel from up high and Koneko from below. Fire and Senjutsu energy tried to engul Siegfried who, with a slash of his sword, cut their attacks apart.

"Balmung."

Dark steel formed into a drill-like edge. Gleaming black like midnight made manifest. Balmung. A mythical sword of Norse mythology. It was a weapon of implacable power. Even from a distance, the aura it manifested could be felt by everyone, ferocious and surging, like an unending hurricane of force gale winds.

Irina released a battle cry as she charged forward and attacked with Excalibur Mimic. It was met by Balmung, the great sword of Norse mythology blocking it easily.

"Oh, it's a holy sword user," Siegfried sounded quite pleased. His eyes lit up with sadistic glee. "How positively lovely—tch!"

Siegfried jumped back when several energy spheres almost slammed into him. They missed and dissipated harmlessly, but that small distraction was enough for Irina to charge back in with her sword swinging. She tried to split him open from left hip to right shoulder. Siegfried backpedaled and blocked with his sword, Balmung grinding against Excalibur Mimic, sparks flying as they traded a series of impeccably timed blows.

"You're not very strong, are you?" Siegfried asked, disappointed. Irina gritted her teeth and leapt back. Excalibur Mimic changed from a sword to a whip, which she used to lash at Siegfried, who wove around her attacks with ease.

Koneko came in during this time, hoping to use Seigfried's distracted state to attack him. Yet even while distracted, the silver-haired swordsman proved to be more than capable of dodging her. He sidestepped the girl, who hit flew past him and was forced to use her wings to halt her forward momentum. Then he thrust Balmung forward, which created a massive tornado of wind that crashed against Koneko and sent her flying through the void.

"Koneko!" Irina shouted in worry—only for her worry to prove unfounded when Koneko flew back toward Siegfried like a bullet, slamming into him with a powerful heel kick that sent him flying in turn.

While Irina and Koneko fought against Siegfried, Ravel flew over to Rias. Fire flared to life in her hand and transformed into a sword, which she used to cut Rias from her bonds. Now that she was no longer tied up, Rias shifted until she stood right side up, then pulled Ravel into a hug.

"Thank you for your help."

"I-it was nothing," Ravel mumbled, her face gently resting on Rias' soft bosoms.

"Well, then, why don't we help Irina and Koneko?" Rias suggested, her eyes gaining a dangerous glint. "I need to pay these people back for kidnapping me."

~Devil Ninja~

The beating of six massive wings brought a halt to most of the fights.

It tore through the battlefield, six wings keeping it aloft and creating massive bursts of wind that caused everyone to lose control of their flight. Three reptilian heads roared in unison. Leathery lips peeled back to reveal layers of sharp teeth. Horns curved and sloped over the heads and down their elongated necks, which were attached to a single massive body of sinewy muscle. Dark scales shone like obsidian, and claws the size of a person were attached to gigantic four limbs.

Aži Dahāka had arrived. Aži Dahāka, an evil dragon well-known in Iranian mythology. Otherwise known as Zahāk, the three-headed, six-winged dragon—the son of Angra Mainyu. He came, piercing the sky with his roar.

"DDRAIG! Where are you, Red Dragon Emperor! Come out! Come out so I can finally slay you and have my revenge!"

Several angels and fallen shot spears of light at the dragon, but numerous magic circles appeared in front of it. The spears slammed into the circles, which had created a barrier that they couldn't penetrate. The circles then changed. They were no longer a shield, but an attack spell. Hundreds of fireballs shot from the circles—brilliant white spheres of fire that homed on everyone near the dragon. Many tried to escape, but the fire followed them relentlessly, catching up to them and swallowing them whole. When the fire dispersed, not even ashes remained.

The massive dragon ignored the flies he killed and continued his search, zeroing in on the familiar scent of his mortal enemy.

"Ddraig! I'm coming for you!"

A massive light spear erupted from underneath Aži Dahāka. It smashed against a magic circle and broke apart before it could reach him. Aži then launched his own attack, a giant cone of fire that shot from the magic circle, and at the figure who'd dared to pester him when he was on a mission. Metatron, a being with luminescent wings of light, flew away from the attack, avoiding it. He darted in and out of the fire that chased after him, trying to consume him. He was so busy dodging that he didn't even see the gigantic claw until it had swatted him out of the air.

Metatron crashed into the academy grounds, plowing through dirt and grass before rolling to a stop, his body a twisted heap.

"Hmph! Fool! No mere angel can stand up against a dragon of my caliber! Go back to your gilded halls and cower as your world crumbles around you!"

After turning his attention away from the downed angel, Aži continued his search. Swarms of enemies came at him and were charred. Even allies weren't spared from his destruction. What did he care if a few hundred humans, devils, or fallen were felled by his hands. The traitorous members of the Khaos Brigade meant nothing to him. Let them all die. It wouldn't make a difference.

Amidst all this chaos, Aži finally discovered the one he was searching for. It was a young man in a school uniform. He didn't look like much, but the palpable aura of the Red Dragon Emperor unmistakably clung from him, like a foul odor that remained in your nose long after it should have dissipated.

"There you are."

He descended to the earth, crushing several people underneath his massively clawed hands. Impressions were left in the ground as he stalked forward, powerful muscles rippling with every movement.

"Ddraig," Aži spoke the name with indescribable hatred and undeniable greed. The one he stalked stumbled backwards as the earth shook. Aži's lips peeled back in a feral smile that revealed rows of sharp teeth.

"Boost!"

"At least we meet again. But to think, you would have been reduced to such a pitiful state. Fortunate must favor me indeed."

"Boost!"

Several spears of light exploded off Aži's body. Nothing happened. No damage was received—not a single cut or scratch could be seen on his nearly indestructible hide.

"Boost!"

More spears came at him. Sixteen magic circles appeared, one for each light spear thrown. Fireballs burst out, roaring like demons doomed to eternal damnation. They sought those who threw the light spears with the ferocity of rabid dogs, not letting up until they'd finally caught their prey within a fiery embraced that consumed their bodies.

"Boost!"

Aži hadn't even looked away from the frightened Issei.

"Unlike many other dragons, who would let their pride get in the way of their revenge, I shall not be so foolish. Ddraig, I will take my revenge on you here and now by killing your vessel and shattering what remains of your soul."

"Boost!"

"Like hell we'd let you kill Ise!"

Kiba rushed in and swung his demonic holy sword at Aži, who didn't even flinch as the weapon clanged off his bulky frame. In return, Aži swatted Kiba away like a fly. The blond swordsman flew through the air and crashed through a wall, which crumbled around him.

"KIBA!" Issei shouted. "Damn you!"

"Boost!"

"Stay back, Issei!" Xenovia ordered. "Keep boosting! That's our only hope of beating this thing!"

Issei gritted his teeth. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he must have known how poor their chances of survival were. He backed down.

"Boost!"

"Hpmh!" Fire licked the ground as one of Aži's heads snorted. "Pathetic. Humans, devils, fallen, you are all the same; spineless beings who cower before those stronger than you."

"We'll see who's the coward!" Xenovia roared. "Now!"

Akeno swooped down from the sky. Lightning arced from her fingertips and leapt at one of the dragon's many heads. It exploded, crackling and engulfing the head.

"Boost!"

"Ha ha ha!"

The dragon laughed. He was unharmed.

"You call that lightning?" Aži scoffed. "Allow me to show you what true lightning is, little girl."

"Boost!"

A giant magic circle appeared near the head that Akeno had attacked.

"Akeno-sama! Get out of there!" Issei shouted to no avail.

"Boost!"

Lightning leapt from the circle and hit Akeno before she even had time to move. Her body arched as it was overcome with unimaginable pain. Flesh charred. Muscles spasmed. Akeno's wings were no longer capable of holding her up, and she fell to the ground.

"Akeno-sama!"

Issei broke formation, ignoring Xenovia shouting at him. Wings jutted from his back, expanding to their full span. He leapt into the air. Two of Aži's three heads tried to take a bite out of him, but he wove through them. The third head was aiming at the falling Akeno, its mouth open and a giant magic circle in front of it, clearly preparing to finish the girl.

I have to make it…

Arcs of arcane energy bubbled within the circle. Issei could practically see the build up of energy. Whatever this dragon was going to unleash, it was going to be big.

Come on…

Akeno was helpless. Her body, charred and black, resembled a lifeless corpse. She fell through the sky, right in front of Aži's mouth.

I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE HER TO YOU!

"Boost! OVER BOOSTER! WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!"

Issei would never be able to describe what came over him in that moment. It was like a dam of limitless power had burst forth. It poured out of him like a broken sieve. Armor appeared on his chest; a breastplate of the purest crimson, centered around a bright green gem. Segments jutted from the plate, moving across his body, traveling down his arms and legs, covering him in tiny ridges. His vision became covered by a reptilian faceplate, a helmet. And there was something else—an added appendage that he could feel where before there was none. A long tail with spiky protrusions and a tip akin to a flail.

With the extra power coursing through him, Issei put on a burst of speed that made his body feel like it was being squashed by one-hundred times earth's normal gravity. He gritted his teeth as he nearly crashed into Akeno, shooting away from Aži's mouth just as a large beam of energy shot from it. The beam continued burning through the air, until it struck a mountain range far outside of Kuoh, detonating so brightly that it could have been seen from space.

"I… Ise…"

"Hold on, Akeno-sama!" Issei clenched his teeth as he tried to control his own power. Flying was harder than he thought. It took everything he had just to keep from shooting into the stratosphere! "I'll get you to Asia, and then she can heal you!"

Akeno didn't say anything, and Issei hurried down to the ground. The earth cratered around him, but he ignored that and shot into a run that quickly took him to Asia.

Behind him, Aži roared in fury.

"Damn you, Ddraig! Get back here!"

"Not so fast!"

Xenovia and a newly healed Kiba rushed the mountain of scaley muscle. They wove through Aži's legs, attacking the dragon's heels. Unfortunately, Aži's scales were too strong for their swords to cut through. Their blades bounced off when they swung. Aži laughed at their futile attempts and tried to stomp the two into the ground. However, both of them had learned their lessons, and Kiba and Xenovia darted around his attacks, presenting a hard target to hit.

Issei found Asia by the remains of the old school building. She was hiding behind a crumbled down wall.

"Asia! I need you to heal Akeno-sama!"

Asia gasped in horror when she saw the condition Akeno was in. The raven-haired beauty's skin was black, charred. Cracks secreting blood marred her flesh. Some areas of her skin had been melted, revealing the fleshy pink muscle underneath.

"T-this is horrible! Hold on, Akeno-san! I'll heal you right away!"

Asia's hands glowed green as she used her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, to fix Akeno. Flesh mended together like threads in a tapestry. Charred skin flaked off, and healthy pink skin took its place. Akeno's body slowly healed. Issei could have cried. He probably would have, too, if doing so wouldn't have lost him some points as a man.

"Ise… Asia-chan…"

"A-are you feeling okay?" Asia asked as Akeno tried to get up. She couldn't, though, because Issei pushed her back down.

"Don't move yet. Your body might have healed, but you took some major damage out there."

"But… the others…"

"They'll be fine."

Just then, loud roaring followed by numerous crashes emerged behind them.

"I think," Issei added.

"… You think?"

"Well," Issei rubbed the back of his head. It felt weird since his helmet was in the way. "Kiba and Xenovia are pretty strong. They should be fine."

Akeno sweatdropped. So did Asia, for that matter. Issei squirmed a bit as they stared at him, then he noticed something that he hadn't before.

"Akeno… sama… your wings…"

Akeno's eyes widened as she looked behind herself and saw her wings. They jutted from her back, one of them leathery and bat-like—a devil's wing. However, the other was different. Feathers like a raven's covered it. This was not the wing of a devil, but a fallen angel's wing.

"It looks like I can no longer hide the truth," Akeno looked at the ground. "I'm not fully devil. Unlike you and Asia, who are humans reincarnated as devils, I was half-fallen angel when Rias reincarnated me. This disgusting wing represents a tainted side of myself. It's ugly, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" Issei reached out and touched the wing that Akeno tried hiding from him. He couldn't feel it because his glove was in the way, but he imagined it must have felt really soft. "I think Akeno-sama's wings are the prettiest."

"What…?" Akeno stared at him like he's said something incredibly stupid.

"Anyway, I should help Kiba and Xenovia fight that giant dragon off." Issei stood up. "Asia, please keep Akeno from trying to go anywhere. She's in no condition to fight."

"Um, r-right!"

Issei grinned from behind his mask as he turned away and stalked out from behind the building. He could see Aži several dozen meters away. Darting beneath the dragon's legs were two figures that could only be Kiba and Xenovia. Several other figures had also joined the fight. Devils and angels and fallen angels, all of them flitting about and taking shots at Aži, not that it did much good. The dragon laughed at their efforts. Even when one fallen angel, who Issei recognized as the man that kept showing up at his house, fired off a blast of bright white lightning, Aži merely laughed as if he was being tickled.

"Hey, Ddraig? How long do I have before my Balance Breaker runs out of juice?"

"I'd say you have maybe fifteen minutes at most. This is your first time activating Balance Breaker, so you don't have much of a handle on it yet. Plus, you still don't have a lot of power, which means you're going to exhaust yourself sooner."

"Got it. Thanks."

"Anytime."

I get it, Naruto-sensei. I finally understand.

Issei pounded his right fist into his left palm. Power surged through him, enhancing him to far beyond anything he'd ever felt before. This power, this strength, he would use it to protect the people he cared about and the school they went to. That's what it was for, after all.

I understand what you meant back then…

Bending his knees, Issei launched himself into an all-out sprint that took him to Aži more quickly than he'd have thought possible. One of the dragon's three heads noticed him, and it fired off several fireballs. Each and everyone of them was batted aside. Issei them leapt into the air and kicked the underside of the head. He'd placed so much power into the attack that Aži's left head snapped upwards with a loud crack!

I've finally found my reason to fight…

~Devil Ninja~

Siegfried knew he was in trouble. As a swordsman, being able to analyse his opponent's moves and find openings to exploit was a necessity. Even if he wasn't one-hundred percent emotionally stable, he still had the training that he'd undergone with the Catholic Church. He'd been one of their best exorcists, and his ability to analyse his situation hadn't changed.

His sword moved in blurred lines, slicing the red Power of Destruction into segments that flew off and exploded in the distance.

Koneko came at him from behind, and Siegfried winced when he blocked one of her strikes with his sword. He should have cut through her hand, but they were coated with Senjutsu chakra, which protected her fist from his demonic sword. Instead of her hand getting sliced to ribbons, he was sent flying backwards.

Appearing above him was a woman on fire. Ravel, her wings of flame burning behind her, a large ball of fire pulsing between her hands. Teeth gritted in effort, the young Phenex heiress launched the compressed ball of flame at Siegfried, who barely managed to avoid being killed by spinning around and slicing the fireball in half.

This act left him vulnerable, however, and Irina had no issue taking advantage of his distracted state. Siegfried barely avoided having his head sliced off when she swung at him, Excalibur Mimic wishing by like a flash of lightning. Blood leaked down his throat from her near miss.

He blocked her next attack with Balmung, but Excalibur Mimic shifted from a sword into a whip, which gouged a chunk out of his cheek. It would have taken his left eye out, but he'd turned his head at the last second to avoid that fate.

"Irina!"

"Right!"

Irina leapt out of the way, allowing Rias to launch two orbs of reddish black energy at Siegfried. There was something different about these spheres from her last attack, and he soon discovered what when, upon trying to slice one in half, it split into four smaller orbs that surrounded him and attacked from all sides.

"Twice Critical!"

His arm glowed, a bright light pulsating like the breaking of a star. Silver scales erupted from his skin, covering his entire arm. Spikes like the main of a dragon formed along it, and the tips of his fingers ended in wicked looking claws.

"To think you'd force me to use my Sacred Gear," Siegfried said. "Then again, I am outnumbered."

"Then why don't you just give up," Rias demanded.

"I can't do that." Siegfried grinned. "If I gave up, then my dream of finding swordsmen capable of defeating me will be gone. I can't stop until my dream has been fulfilled."

"If that's how you're going to play it, then fine. Ravel! Koneko!"

"Yes, Rias-sama!"

"On it, Buchou!"

Ravel sent a blast of fire at Siegfried while Rias and Koneko fired off their own respective attacks. Dark red matter. Brilliant flames. Spheres of compressed Senjutsu chakra. All three attacks hurtled toward Siegfried, who appeared unnaturally calm. The attacks hit their mark. Siegfried was engulfed in flames and destructive matter. A large explosion tore through the space, pushing everyone away. When the area cleared, there was no sign of their enemy.

"Did we get him?" asked Ravel.

"It looks like it," Rias said. "I can't sense his presence anywhere."

"What should we do now?" Irina asked.

"Naruto," Koneko answered.

"Koneko is right. We need to find Naruto and help him."

A loud explosion let them know where their companion was, and the four of them raced off to find him.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto dodged Jeane's thrust, moving to the left and ducking. Her blade shot past him. He reached out, grabbed her forearm, and pulled her into his knee. His opponent barely had time to gasp before she was launched backwards, soaring through the blackness that was the gap between dimensions.

A spear came at him from behind. Naruto twisted around the spear, created one shadow clone, then he and his clone flanked Cao Cao, launching simultaneous wind attacks.

Both attacks were sliced apart with contemptuous ease. Cao Cao spun the spear around his body, weaving a complicated pattern to confuse Naruto before attacking with a powerful slicing motion.

Except Naruto wasn't there.

"What?!"

The real Naruto was behind Cao Cao, and he slammed his feet into the other man's back, launching him clear across the space they were fighting in. Unlike Jeanne, who flew far and was only now coming back, Cao Cao stopped himself much more easily.

At that moment, a roar from behind alerted Naruto to another foe. He spun around, blocking the large fist that tried to bash his face in. An explosion of power threatened to knock him back, but he held fast, applying chakra to his hand, then pulling. Heracles coughed up blood as he slammed into Naruto's knee. Letting go of the hand, Naruto performed a flawless spin kick that sent Heracles flying off into the darkness again.

Cao Cao and Jeanne chose that moment to attack. Naruto wove between simultaneous strikes, constantly moving and presenting an impossible to strike foe. A sword came in from his left, a spear from his right. Naruto leapt into the air and twisted around, allowing both weapons to pass by underneath him. He then did a semi-split and kicked both Jeanne and Cao Cao in the face.

"You really are an annoying enemy," Cao Cao mumbled, blood leaking down his nose.

Naruto said nothing.

"Not gonna talk? You've been so talkative until now."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Good," Jeanne quipped from behind him, "we have nothing to say to a pervert like you, either."

The tip of a blade protruded from Naruto's chest as Jeanne stabbed him from behind—or so Jeanne thought. When the Naruto in front of her disappeared, she only had a second to contemplate what happened before a foot slammed into stomach.

"Nnnggg!"

Jeanne managed to keep from going far, but that only meant Naruto had less space to travel in order to reach her.

Her eyes widening, Jeanne moved out of the way when Naruto launched a swift right. She thought she'd dodged it, but then she cried out when something still struck her in the cheek, causing her to fall backwards.

Before Naruto could capitalize on his opponent's state, Cao Cao began a coordinated assault that left him little room to attack. The man's weapon spun around in a dizzying blur, forcing him to backpedal. Heracles came in from behind and tried to attack, but Naruto maneuvered around the fist and slammed a rasengan into his chest. As the muscle bound brute flew off again, Cao Cao tried to cut Naruto in half.

A vertical slash came in from the right, but was avoided when Naruto leaned back. At the same time, his left foot came up, his upper half acting as a fulcrum, and smacked the staff part of the spear. While Cao Cao was knocked off balance, Naruto came back up and tried to shove a rasengan in his face. However, he was forced to retreat when Jeanne attacked his flank.

Lowering his center of gravity, Naruto dodged Jeanne's follow up swing, then kicked her legs out from underneath her. He would have done more, but Cao Cao chose that moment to attack.

A series of thrusts were evaded when Naruto used his hands and elbows to knock the spear attacks aside. Killing intent from behind told him that Jeanne had added herself to the mix again. He spun around, blocking several strikes with a kunai he'd pulled from his pouch.

Cao Cao and Jeanne double-teamed him, then, but Naruto always made sure to stay one step ahead of them. He ducked underneath Jeanne's swing, then thrust an open palm into her gut. As she went flying, Naruto rabbit punched Cao Cao in the forearm when Hero Faction leader tried to stab him with his spear. Naruto expected him to drop the spear of Longinus, but all he did was retract his hand.

"Blade Blacksmith!"

Several dozen swords appeared around Naruto, glowing with holy power. They oriented themselves towards him, then fired off like rockets set to skewer him.

A magic circle appeared underneath Naruto, who went through a series of hand seals. A large tornado surrounded him, bursting from the circle and increasing in intensity when he fed the devil spell his chakra. The powerful swirling winds blocked the holy swords, which flew off in all directions.

"You're a lot stronger than I expected," Cao Cao admitted as Heracles lumbered up to them, growling as he massaged the spiral mark on his chest. "I think I am beginning to see why Ophis has been so fixated on you. It is clear to me now that everything you do, that foolish personality, that friendly facade, it's all a mask that you use to hide your strength. You put people at ease with a cheerful smile, so they never suspect how strong you truly are. How like a devil."

"If that's what you think, then go ahead and think that way. I don't really care." Naruto cracked his knuckles. "And if you think you can stall for time so your partner can attack me from behind, then you're sorely mistaken."

At that exact moment, a blade sliced through Naruto, causing him to disperse into smoke, revealing that he'd been nothing but a clone.

The real Naruto appeared in the air. He descended toward Jeanne who prepared to block—when another Naruto appeared on her left and hit her with a powerful rasengan. Jeanne screamed as she was blasted away.

Heracles howled when he saw this and made to attack, but another Naruto suddenly appeared on top of him, driving him down with a massive rasengan that exploded like a star gone nova.

Cao Cao swore and tried to move in, but six more Narutos appeared out of thin air and attacked him. The first two were destroyed when they tried flanking him. He stabbed the one on his left, then slammed the pole end into the other's face. Spinning around, his spear cleaved through two more clones that tried to sneak up behind him. When they went up in smoke, Cao Cao turned around and cut the fifth one from the top of his head to his crotch.

Chains sprouted from the sixth Naruto—half a dozen of them. They attempted to wrap around Cao Cao, who spun his Longinus around his body, deflecting them with expert precision. The chains went wide, then he stepped in and stabbed that Naruto through the chest, expecting him to burst into dust.

He didn't.

"W-what?"

Cao Cao only had enough time to contemplate what this mean when Naruto, the real Naruto, pulled the spear further into himself and headbutted Cao Cao. The man stumbled back, the spear pulling free from Naruto's body with a wet slicht! Before Cao Cao had time to recover, Naruto slammed a rasengan into his chest, sending the man back.

"Had enough?" asked Naruto as his opponent struggled to his feet.

"Y-you're a monster," Cao Cao mumbled, standing up with great difficulty. "There's no way… you should be dead! This spear should have killed you! You should be dead!"

"Don't be stupid. A spear like that isn't going to kill me." Naruto flexed his hands. "The Longinus is a spear that can kill gods, however, a spear like that wouldn't do anything against someone with more power than the average god. Didn't you say it yourself? There is a reason that Ophis has been searching for me. It's because the power inside of me exceeds even hers. Something like your spear isn't going to put me down."

Naruto stalked forward, blood dripping from the massive hole in his chest. Yet even as he moved, the wound recovered. Organs were restored. Muscle fibers wound around the organs. Bones mended. Flesh covered the rest, crawling over the wound until it wasn't a wound, just a patch of healthy pink skin.

"Naruto!"

A shout came from a distance. Naruto turned to see Rias and the others flying toward him. They landed next to him.

"Naruto," Rias hesitated for a moment. "Are you… okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Naruto didn't take his eyes off Cao Cao, Jeanne, and Heracles, who'd joined the man, but he did turn his head a bit toward Rias. "What about you? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No." Rias shook her head.

"Cao-tan…"

"Yes, it looks like we've overstayed our welcome," Cao Cao admitted. "It'll be difficult to take on so many devils all at once. Let's withdraw for now."

"Are you serious?! We can't withdraw!" Heracles rumbled. When Cao Cao glared at him, he grumbled but relented. "Tch. Fine."

"You think I'd let you do that!" Naruto shouted, thrusting out his fist. "Rasenken!"

A giant beam of spiraling blue energy shot from Naruto's hand. It struck nothing but air as Cao Cao, Jeanne, and Heracles vanished through the use of a teleportation circle.

"Damn it." Naruto scowled. "I can't believe they got away from me. Still…" He turned to Rias. His mouth quivered a bit. He sniffled once, the only sign of what he was feeling. Then he smiled. "I'm really glad you're alright, and… I'm sorry, you know, for not being there when you needed me…"

"We can discuss that later." Rias grabbed Naruto's hand. "Koneko, Ravel, and Irina have informed me of what's happening at the school. Right now, we need to get back to our friends and help them."

Naruto shifted his grip, lacing his fingers through Rias's.

"Right. Then let's go."

~Devil Ninja~

Kiba and Xenovia were in trouble. They'd been fighting Aži for a long time now, and while neither was ready to admit defeat, they were getting tired.

High above, Baraquiel fired off blast after blast of holy lightning. However, none of it did any damage. It only served to annoy Aži, who decided to get rid of him.

Seconds later, Baraquiel was surrounded by several hundred magical circles, which all detonated at the same time, scorching the fallen's body and making him plummet to the ground, where he landed with a sickening thud.

Aži's clawed hand crashed into the ground. The sheer force was enough to cause the entire school campus to shake. Xenovia stumbled, falling to a knee. She would have been crushed by a massive clawed hand, but Kiba used his speed to keep her from being turned into a pancake.

"You two truly are a pair of annoying worms," Aži growled.

"We do try," Kiba quipped.

"Indeed you do, but I'm afraid it's all going to be for naught."

"What?"

Several magic circles appeared on the ground all around them.

Aži grinned. "Did you really think I was just stomping around everywhere to try and squash you with my claws? Foolish devil. Pay for your insolence with your life."

Aži flew into the air just as a monstrous explosion erupted on the ground, engulfing Kiba and Xenovia. Pillars of flame rose into the sky like a dying Phoenix. Plumes of dust and smoke choked the sky, and when it cleared, there, lying on the ground, their fleshed charred almost beyond recognition, was Xenovia and Kiba.

"Foolish children. You should have never gone against me in my quest to—"

"SHUT UP!"

Clad in red armor that gleamed in the sun, Issei Hyoudou crashed into one of Aži's heads like a falling meteorite. The sound of a neck breaking could be heard even over the din of combat and explosions. While the head that Issei broke whimpered, the other two laughed, undaunted by what just happened, and sent a mass of fireballs at Issei, who wove between the flames and launched a Dragon Shot at the nearest head. The explosion was impressive, and while it didn't destroy the head, it did cause the scales to become superheated and melt.

"Hahaha! Is that all you have, Ddraig! More! Give me more!"

"My name isn't Ddraig! It's Issei Hyoudou! Remember it, asshat!"

"Issei Hyoudo. Very well. I'll remember the name of Ddraig's prison as I rip your body limb from limb!"

Several magic circles surrounded Issei, who had but a moment to realize what that meant.

"Oh, shit!"

He put on a burst of speed, flying up, up, into the air as high as he could. Fire burst from the circles—and lightning. They chased after Issei, who'd already climbed high into the atmosphere, following even when he performed near suicidal aerial maneuvers. No matter where he went, however, the spells followed, and Issei was soon surrounded.

And then the spells converged.

Even protected by the Balance Breaker Welsh Dragon Armor, Issei's body was battered as explosion after explosion rocked his frame. Chunks of armor shattered and his body was exposed to the heat. It burned him, searing his skin, but he gritted his teeth and struggled through the pain. Seconds later, he burst from the mass of explosions and headed straight for Aži.

"Ascalon!"

It jutted from Issei's gauntlet, a massive sword. Gilded and glistening silver, its majestic appearances suggested that it had once been used by kings. However, this was no king's sword, but a sword of the heavens. Ascalon, the holy dragon slaying sword.

"I'm gonna ram this sword down your throat!"

Aži tried to destroy Issei with more magic, but he ignored the burst flames and explosions that attempted to consume him. He soared straight for the nearest head and impaled Ascalon into its reptilian eyes. Issei had expected Aži to cry out in pain. However, when the dragon merely laughed, victory turned into confusion and confusion into horror. Blood seeped from the eye, which had burst like an overripe fruit, yet Aži was just laughing it off like it was nothing!

A loud crunch! rang in his ears. Pain filled him seconds later. Gasping, he looked down to see that one of the heads had clamped down on his ankle.

"Oh, that is not good."

The head shook Issei back and forth like a dog munching on a chew toy. Issei could feel the muscles in his leg tearing. It was like someone had stabbed him with several large knives, and then decided to slowly pull those knives across his body, cutting through muscle and skin alike. In desperation, Issei fired a Dragon Shot point blank at Aži, which forced the monsterous head to let go.

Issei would have fallen straight to the ground, but Akeno, fully healed, flew up and caught him, soaring away before one of the heads could make him into a meal.

"Akeno-sama."

"Hold on tight, Ise."

"Don't worry about me. This is nothing."

"You're very stubborn."

"Sensei taught me to never give up when the people I love are in danger."

"That's an admirable sentiment, but let's not discuss this here. We've got trouble."

"What kind of… oh, so not good."

A dragon head appeared within their field of vision, its mouth open. Fire coalesced inside of its esophagus, a bright ball of flame that pulsed like a star about to go nova. Issei grunted and fired off another Dragon Shot, which exploded against the fireball building inside of the mouth. The results were quite spectacular. Blood, bone fragments and fleshy organic remains, along with melted scales, erupted in a geyser of fire and gore. Aži's two remaining heads roared, yet even in the throes of pain, the dragon continued to laugh, as if he took pleasure from his own suffering.

Akeno descended to the ground, where Asia was already waiting to heal Issei. Kiba and Xenovia were already there, completely healed, though they looked like they'd experience some horrible nightmares come tomorrow.

"What are we gonna do about that dragon?" asked Kiba. "It's too powerful for us. Even your new Balance Breaker hasn't been enough to put it down."

"Yeah… and Ddraig says I've only got five minutes left."

"Five minutes should be plenty of time," a voice said.

Just then, a large tear opened in the space before them. Darkness appeared within the opening, along with five familiar figures.

"Sorry we're a little late to the party," Naruto said as he stepped in front of the group, Rias one his left while Koneko and Ravel hung onto his right side. Irina stood in the back.

"Damn bastard," Issei grumbled, standing up after Asia healed him and testing his leg. "Always showing up at the last damn minute."

Naruto would have made a joke about how heroes were supposed to show up at the last minute, but after the Kokabiel incident, he didn't believe he had that right.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I would have come sooner, but we ran into more Khaos Brigade members."

"Well, you're here now, so I guess it's okay. Just so you know, if you were any later, I would have kicked your ass."

"Oh? So, the apprentice really thinks he's good enough to defeat the master, does he?"

"Ha! You got that right! Just try me, buddy. Pick a fight with me and you're ass will be grass!"

"Idiots," Koneko muttered.

"You think so? I think it's kinda sweet how well they get along," Ravel said before noticing the look Koneko said her. "W-what?"

"Shut up, chicken flambe."

"Don't call me that!"

"As much as I'd love to listen to all of you joke around, we still have to deal with that dragon," Rias crossed her arms.

"Do you have a plan, Buchou?" asked Akeno.

"I do, actually," Rias said, "but it's going to be tough, and my plan is full of holes. It's also reckless."

"I'm down for anything reckless," Naruto declared.

"I figured you would be."

"By the way," he looked around, "where is Ophis?"

~Devil Ninja~

Ophis sat on the couch in Naruto's living room, eating a bag of chips, watching anime. She was currently watching the anime Shinmai Maou no Testament, in which a boy ended up living with a large-breasted redhead.

What is it about big boobs and red hair, Ophis wondered. Is that what boys like?

She'd never really cared about men before. All she wanted was her solitude back. However, spending time around Naruto had made her a little curious about other people—and since Naruto was a boy, that naturally made her curious about boys.

Naruto is dating that girl with large breasts and red hair.

It must have had something to do with breasts and red hair. There was just too much of a coincidence.

I wonder… if I had large boobs and red hair, would he go on a date with me?

Ophis continued to watch as some guy groped a teenage redhead's prominent bust, wondering.

The seed had been planted.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto had to lament his powers sometimes.

Thanks to Kurama, he had immense amounts of power at his disposal—certainly more than enough to defeat some overgrown lizard. Most unfortunately, unless he wanted to destroy this entire city along with said lizard, he couldn't use that much power. This wasn't like Kokabiel, who was so much weaker than him it was almost laughable. This monster had power, more than enough to make defeating him difficult, even if he used Kurama's power.

"I guess we're doing it the old fashioned way. Heh, I say that like I've actually fought against a dragon before."

"Considering some of the things you've gone up against, I'm almost surprised you haven't fought a dragon yet. Still, be careful. In terms of raw power, this one is more powerful than you, and since the only attacks I have that would take care of this pest would also wipe out everyone else…"

"Yeah. This battle's gonna be tough."

Almost as if his words were a silent proclamation, the dragon they were to fight lumbered into view. The earth rumbled with each lumbering step the dragon took. Naruto could actually feel his teeth rattling as it moved.

"Right… time to play my part."

"Good luck, brat."

"Gee. Thanks, furball."

Stepping out in front of the dragon, Naruto let his power leak, allowing the dragon to easily sense him. Aži stopped, its two remaining heads craning to look down at him. Naruto noticed that one of its heads was missing, and the neck it had been attached to dangled limply. He wondered who'd done that.

"Hi!" Naruto smiled with good cheer. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I shall be handing your ass to you on a silver platter today."

"Foolish devil!" Aži roared. "I'm going to crush you!"

Aži brought his clawed front foot up, then down on top of Naruto. Except Naruto wasn't there. The Naruto underneath him popped like a balloon, smoke bursting from where he'd been. The real Naruto was above Aži, a gigantic swirling orb of energy in his hands.

"Oodoma Rasengan!"

Blue energy exploded against the top of Aži's skull. The force pushed the head down. The dragon roared, enraged, and several bolts of lightning lanced out from magic circles to strike Naruto, who wove between the hailstorm of flashing bolts.

"Boost!"

Down below, Rias stood with Ravel and Koneko. A magic circle appeared in front of her, crackling with power. Beside her, fire flared from Ravel's magic circle, while Koneko's hands were coated with Senjutsu chakra. All three of them launched their attacks simultaneously, combining them to form a massive beam of destruction that slammed into the dragon's front leg. Roaring like a wounded beast, Aži's leg gave in and the dragon fell to the ground.

"Boost!"

Kiba, Xenovia, and Irina darted in after Aži fell. With Kiba in the lead, the trio of sword users went in for the dragon's weak spot—the damaged leg. The scales that had protected it from their swords had melted away, exposing the soft flesh underneath. Wielding Ascalon, Kiba hacked into the wounded leg, severing through muscle like it was tissue paper. Further damage was done when Xenovia used Durandal to annihilate the leg with ease. Irina's Excalibur Mimic transformed into a whip, wrapped around the exposed tendons in the leg, and tore them out.

"Boost!"

Aži's agonized and furious growls echoed in their ears. It stood up, its leg wobbly, and tried to strike at the group of pesky devils and holy sword wielders, but several Naruto clones appeared and used their own bodies to protect their comrades.

"Shadow Clones!"

The real Naruto continued to keep the heads busy. Dozens of clones ran all over the place, laying waste to the dragon's armored scales with rasengans and wind jutsu. While the armor was too hard for a simple rasengan to pierce, the accumulated damage of numerous attacks hitting the same spot caused cracks to appear. The cracks spread quickly, like running water flowing over a rock.

"Boost!"

"Kurama?"

"On it!"

Naruto felt the energy flowing into him: Senjutsu chakra. While he couldn't see it, he knew that his eyes had changed color. He could feel his body strengthening as it was enhanced by the Senjutsu chakra mixing with his chakra.

One of the dragon heads opened its mouth wide, as if to swallow Naruto whole. Grinning, Naruto boosted his flight, ascending into the air, then spinning like a top as he slammed his heel onto the top of the dragon's muzzle. Aži's mouth snapped shut, and Naruto used his attack as a springboard to launch himself at the other head, which was currently contending itself with several shadow clones.

"Boost!"

It never saw him coming. Naruto crashed head first into Aži's second head, which caused the dragon's neck to snap to the side like it had whiplash. Undeterred by the pain from headbutting something with scales that were harder than diamonds, Naruto launched several chains from his hands, which wrapped around the dragon's mouth, snapping Aži's muzzle shut. He then swung on the chains like Tarzan, before flipping onto the head.

"Boost!"

Aži tried to shake him off, but Naruto not only had a good grip on the chains, he was also enhanced by sage mode and had applied chakra to the bottom of his feet. Snarling, Aži tried blasting him into oblivion. Several circles appeared around Naruto and sent blast after blast of fire at him. Naruto yanked on his chains, however, causing Aži's head to jerk upwards, right into the path of his own attacks—which dispersed before they could actually hit.

"Boost!"

"Tch! I knew it wouldn't have been so easy."

"Infuriating pests!"

One of Aži's heads snarled before snapping closed around one of the Naruto clones, which popped in its mouth. The head growled.

"Boost!"

Down below, Koneko, Rias and Ravel continued to combine their attacks and damage its legs. Then Kiba, Irina and Xenovia would further wreak havoc on the damaged parts. Two of Aži's four legs had been reduced to meaty pulps of flaking scales and dangling muscle. Aži was no longer able to support himself, thus he'd been forced onto his belly. This meant that Rias and the others switched their target from its legs to its heads.

"Boost!"

A combined magic attack from Rias, Ravel and Koneko reduced one of Aži's heads to a single eye, the other having turned into drooping mush and melted scales. Kiba, Xenovia and Irina launched simultaneous attacks on the other head, gouging its eyes out. As blood spurted from bursting eyeballs, Aži struggled and growled to no avail. Pain had overridden his ability to respond to threats.

"Boost!"

"Ise, Akeno, now!"

Floating above the rest, out of sight, Issei and Akeno prepared to deliver the finishing blow.

"OVER BOOSTER! SECOND LIBERATION!"

Akeno hurtled her lightning at Issei, who took it in and enhanced it with his ability. Bright red light crackled with pale yellow bolts that surged around Issei like a tornado.

"Eat this, Douchenozzle!"

Everyone leapt away as an enormous beam of lightning rained from the sky. Aži's agonized bellowing was drowned out by the crackling of thunder. The earth shook like a stampede of giants were running across the land. Fissures spread across the ground, large enough that people could easily fall in and deep enough that you couldn't see the bottom. Whatever battles had been going on ceased as a massive pillar of red energy mixed with surging arcs of lightning rose into the sky, piercing the heavens.

"Woah…" Naruto mumbled as he landed near Rias, helping feed energy into the barrier she'd put up to protect everyone. "I hadn't realized Ise had gotten so strong. Think this will be enough to take down that dragon?"

"I don't know." Rias bit her lip. "Aži Dahāka is a very powerful evil dragon. He's known by many as the Diabolism Thousand Dragon. While he's not as strong as the two Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig and Albion, he is more than capable of matching any one of the Dragon Kings."

"Hm, well, I guess we'll find out soon enough."

The pillar dissipated, several arcs of electrical discharge remaining. The entire area smelled of burnt ozone, a sharp, odorous scent that invaded Naruto's nostrils, along with the smell of charred flesh. Lying prone on the ground, Aži Dahāka looked more like roasted meat than a dragon. The dragon's scale were mostly gone, and what little remained was molten slag that dripped from its charred body. Blackened flesh oozed with blood and puss. The cracked skin left openings, allowing those around it an unfettered glimpse of pulsing organs that grew slower with each second. Its heads were a mess. Still attached to their necks, they no longer resembled heads at all. There were no eyes, no mouth, and the muzzle was gone. They looked like a fused mass of melted plastic.

"I think we did it," Naruto said in wonder.

"Did you guys see that?" Issei asked, floating back to the ground with Akeno, a grin plastered all over his face. "We totally fried that jerk's lizard ass!"

"Fufu, indeed." Akeno licked her lips. "The pain we put Aži Dahāka through before exterminating him was most exquisite. Ha… I think I came a few times while we were bombarding him with lightning."

"I so did not need to hear that," Rias mumbled.

"At least the dragon is dead," Irina added brightly.

"He's been turned into KFC, like Yakitori here," Koneko said, seemingly in agreement.

"Stop calling me Yakitori!" a red-faced Ravel shouted.

Everyone had relaxed now that the battle was over. Issei was grinning like a loon as he spoke with Asia and Akeno, making wild gesticulations as he told them about how he "kicked dragon ass" even though they'd been present for the battle.

Naruto glanced at Rias as the others spoke. She saw him looking at her, grabbed his hand, and sent him a beautiful smile that made him smile back. He knew they would still need to speak after this, but Naruto was confident that they could resolve their issues now.

"Do you really think you've beaten me?"

The festivities came to a screeching halt as a voice, low and growling, like the rumbling of a bass, pierced their good mood.

"These wounds are nothing for one of my power."

Everyone turned to the corpse—only it wasn't quite a corpse.

"Though I do thank you for the pleasure of giving me such exquisite pain. It's been ages since I felt so alive."

The body of Aži Dahāka twitched. Then it spasmed. Naruto thought he saw black snakes of some kind wiggling inside of its body, but he couldn't be sure. The body sprang to life, and its wounds healed over. Torn pinions grew back, six black wings spreading to their full span. The stump where there had once been a head reformed; bones regrowing, muscles reknitting, and scales covering a reptilian head. The other two heads quickly regenerated as well. It stood up, then, and its three heads craned down to give the group of devils and exorcists a grin filled with saw-like fangs.

"Now, then, shall we go for round two?"

For those of you who are curious, Aži Dahāka is actually a real character in the Highschool DxD light novels. He's not introduced until volume 15, however, so anyone who relies on the anime for their DxD knowledge won't know of him. I thought it would be nice to add another Khaos Brigade character to the mix. I chose Aži Dahāka because he's powerful enough that even Sirzechs would have trouble with him.

I've got some more news for everybody! The third book of the American Kitsune series has finally been published! A Fox's Maid is available at Amazon on paperback and Kindle. If you feel like supporting my dreams of becoming a full-time author, please be sure to get a copy. The kindle version doesn't cost much more than a cappuccino at Starbucks.

The tail of a boy, a kitsune… and a maid?

Kevin Swift doesn't know what to think anymore. His love for Lindsay has dwindled, his mind is constantly plagued by thoughts of Lilian, and now he has to deal with his sexy housemate's maid: A kimono-clad, katana-wielding femme fatale who doesn't like him very much—and who has this weird tendency of adding Japanese suffixes to everyone's name for some reason. Go figure.

Now Kevin must make an irreversible choice: To become Lilian's mate or not. It's a life changing decision that no teenager should have to make. Unfortunately for him, Lilian's maid has basically threatened to clean out his entrails with her katana if he doesn't.

He used to think being a teenager sucked. Now he's realized that being a teenager is nothing compared to being the potential mate to a kitsune whose maid holds no moral compunctions about flaying him alive.