~Devil Ninja~
With Ophis safe, Naruto and the others returned to the entrance hall where the two battles were happening between Rias and Euclid and Grendel and Koneko. It looked like the battles were over now. Perhaps Euclid and Grendel had felt when Rizevim disappeared and realized he'd succeeded. Naruto didn't think Euclid was the type to run unless they were certain they had accomplished their goals, and Grendel didn't run unless Euclid forced him to.
Naruto walked over to Rias with Ophis and Kunou at his side. She took one look at them and smiled.
"I see you've succeeded in rescuing them," she said.
"Well, half succeeded." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Half of Ophis's powers were stolen. To top it off, it seems Hades is sending his Grim Reapers over here to capture her. I'm not sure what he wants with her, but I doubt it is anything good."
Rias closed her eyes and her brow furrowed. Naruto didn't interrupt his girlfriend while she was thinking.
"If that's the case, we should meet up with the others and leave before they get here."
"I was thinking the same thing," Naruto said.
No one disagreed with her words, and they quickly went back outside using the way they had entered. It didn't take more than fifteen minutes. However, when they arrived outside, the first thing that assaulted Naruto's senses was the sound of detonations. They slammed into his eardrums and nearly blasted him off his feet. This was followed by the intense surge of energy, which caused the hairs on his scalp to prickle.
Naruto looked up in time to see Bikou and Kuroka being forced back by numerous cloaked figures wielding scythes. Grim Reapers. They were sort of like half-gods that did the bidding of Hades, the undisputed ruler of the underworld.
Kuroka created several copies of herself, but they were all illusions. The Grim Reapers didn't seem to realize this as they attacked her illusions, and while they were busy being tricked, she sent several attacks their way. She summoned multiple giant wheels covered in black flames and sent them at the Grim Reapers, destroying many of them. Meanwhile, Bikou used his extendable pole to smacked a lot of Grim Reapers out of the sky. Unlike Kuroke, who seemed to focus mostly on utilizing her senjutsu, he was almost all melee. He dove between enemies on his Flying fucking Nimbus and swatted Grim Reapers like a rampaging school teacher punishing bad students. Even Naruto winced when one unfortunate reaper received the end of his pole to their face.
While Bikou and Kuroka looked like they could handle the situation, the members of Sona's Peerage were not so lucky.
Naruto only saw a glimpse of Saji darting between the buildings. The man was being hounded by what looked like a dozen Grim Reapers. He was certain Saji could take care of himself in most situations, but the man had been lugging two unconscious bodies over his shoulders. It looked like the two he was carrying had blood matting their hair. Several hundred meters in the distance, a giant ice serpent was attacking and being attacked by many Grim Reapers. Even as he watched, the Grim Reapers descended upon the serpent, hacking it apart with their scythes until it shattered into a thousand pieces.
"We need to split up and rescue the others," Rias said the moment she also took stock of the situation out here. "Vali, I think you, Le Fay, and Arthur should help Kuroka and Bikou. Ise, take Akeno, Raynare, Asia, and Xenovia, and help Rescue Saji and the other members of Sona's Peerage. Naruto, you, me, Ravel, Kiba, Irina, and Koneko will help Sona. We'll rescue everyone and meet up at the extraction point."
"Hmph." Raynare crossed her arms. "I guess I can help out."
"I don't really like being told what to do, but I do agree that your strategy is the best one." Vali gestured to Arthur and Le Fay. "Come on, you two. Let's go help Bikou and Kuroka."
While Arthur followed Vali without a backward glance, Le Fay glanced at Naruto one last time before she turned around and flew after her brother and Vali. Fenrir faithfully followed by the girl's side.
"Ufufu, I guess I'll be teaming up with you guys," Akeno said as she walked over to Issei, Asia, Raynare, and Xenovia. "Ufufu, it should be fun."
"I don't know how much longer I'll last, but I'll keep fighting until I have nothing left," Xenovia said with a determined gleam in her eye.
'Um, Ise-kun, I'll do my best to help you out!" Asia said while clenching her fists.
"In that case, we'll head out too," Issei said, still decked out in his Welsh Dragon Armor. He looked at Rias and Naruto, then nodded. "We'll see you at the extraction point, Buchou, Sensei."
"Stay safe," Naruto said.
"You too."
With his group behind him, Issei charged off in the direction where Saji had last been seen. As they disappeared, a group of Grim Reapers appeared from above and descended toward the spot where they had vanished to. Explosions echoed from that direction seconds later. A loud boom that caused the ground to shake echoed all around them. A massive beam of red energy erupted through the sky and took out several Grim Reapers. Naruto recognized the telltale signs of Issei's Dragon Shot.
"We should also head out," Kiba said.
"Worried about Tsubaki?" asked Naruto.
"A little."
When Kiba admitted this, Naruto could not help but chuckle.
"I'll do my best to help you all out!" Irina created a sword of light from her powers. "Michael-sama gave me these powers so I can help protect my friends, so that's what I'm going to do."
"I'll do my best to come up with strategies we can use," Ravel said, biting her lip. "However, without knowing the capability of these Grim Reapers, I'm not sure how good my strategies will be."
"It'll be okay, Fried Rice." Koneko patted the girl on the shoulder.
"So I'm not even fried chicken now?!"
While Koneko's small joke had lightened the mood a little bit, it didn't change that they were still in a pretty grim situation. Naruto looked at Ophis and Kunou, still glued to his side. Kunou was shaking in fright, which he didn't blame her for. She'd definitely gotten far more than she had bargained for when she came to Kuoh. Naruto honestly felt awful for her.
"Ophis, do you think you can help us out?" he asked.
"I do not… believe so." Ophis frowned at him. "While I still retain half my powers, the loss of my powers has made them… unstable. Once I adjust to the loss, I think I will be able to use them again, but they won't be as effective as before."
"In that case, I guess we can only rely on ourselves," Naruto said with a sigh.
~Devil Ninja~
Naruto moved swiftly with Rias, Ravel, Kiba, Irina, and Koneko through the streets of Luccifaad. What had once been a nice but empty city was now a warzone. Explosions detonated in the air as Grim Reapers attacked Sona's Peerage, who had been forced to scatter across the city. In the skies above, Naruto could see Vali and his group doing their best to fight off the overwhelming number of Grim Reapers. He didn't know how many there were, but it felt like Hades had sent his entire army after them.
Ophis was sticking close to Naruto. Her powers were currently in flux. While she had plenty of power, she had no control, and thus she could not protect herself.
Kunou also stuck by Naruto's side, though hers was on account of how she didn't have much power to begin with. She might be a yokai, but she was still just a young girl.
"We've got several cloaks coming up on our six," Koneko said. She was acting as their sensor since she had such great control over Senjutsu and Naruto was still not using it.
"Leave this to me," Naruto announced.
He quickly parted from the group, disappearing within a shunshin and traveling to the roof. He could already see the Grim Reapers that Koneko was talking about. There were a dozen of them.
"Hup!"
Kicking off the roof, Naruto traveled through the sky. He made a hand seal. Two shadow clones appeared by his side, though one of them used Naruto's shoulders leap higher into the air before flapping his bat-like Devil wings.
Naruto and his remaining clone attacked the Grim Reapers. He slammed a Rasengan into one, watching as it went spinning through the air. Meanwhile, his clone launched his infamous Uzumaki Rendan onto another one. While that Grim Reaper also plummeted to the ground, one of them came in and swung its scythe, slicing straight through the clone. As the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke, the other Grim Reapers all attacked Naruto at the same time.
Only for Naruto to also disappear in a puff of smoke.
Before they could search out the original Naruto, several threads of glistening ninja wire suddenly flashed in the light as Naruto, now high above their heads after replacing himself with the clone who used his shoulders as a springboard, jerked his hand tight. The Grim Reapers were unable to escape as the ninja wire wrapped around them. Now trapped, they could do nothing as Naruto created two more clones, which created a massive Rasenshuriken between them as they dropped from the sky.
Flapping his wings in the air, Naruto watched as a large sphere of intense wind chakra exploded. He couldn't see the millions of microscopic cuts that were appearing along the Grim Reapers's bodies. However, he could see how their bodies were swiftly torn to shreds under the incredible pressure of his infamous wind jutsu. He waited until they were nothing but chunks of cloth and bone before traveling back down toward Rias and the others.
"All done," Naruto said in a cheerful voice.
"You scare me sometimes," Rias said with a small head shake.
"With my brilliance?"
"With that ridiculous power of yours."
Naruto laughed as they continued on. They ran into three more groups of Grim Reapers, but Koneko and Ravel took care of one group by using teamwork and Rias annihilated the last with her Powers of Destruction.
"We didn't really get to do anything, did we?" Kiba joked as they kept moving.
Irina shook her head. "No, we didn't. I wanted to show off my angel abilities a little."
"There will be plenty of time for that," Naruto said. "We're almost at where Sona and Tsubaki are."
Naruto's words were indeed correct. Barely ten seconds later, their group burst out between a set of buildings and found what looked like the site of an ancient battlefield. Corpses littered the ground. Of course, the corpses were little more than skeletal remains, but that just added an ancient feeling to this battlefield. It was like staring at a battle from the Edo period.
Several meters ahead of them were Sona and Tsubaki, locked in a battle against what looked like a hundred Grim Reapers. Naruto honestly could not even guess at their numbers. There were so many they blotted out the sky. It was amazing that the two of them hadn't been overwhelmed, but it looked like Sona was relying heavily on her ice magic, while Tsubaki was twirling a naginata in her hands and sliced apart any Grim Reaper that came too close. The dome above their heads kept the Grim Reapers from attacking en masse, which forced them to take on Tsubaki in close-quarters.
However, while the Grim Reapers were being kept at bay, Naruto knew it was only a matter of time before the two were overwhelmed. As a general rule of thumb, Low-Class Grim Reapers were stronger than the average Middle-Class Devil. It was likely that these two were alive only because Sona was a High-Class Devil and Tsubaki had the strength of a Middle-Class Devil.
"We're going in!" Rias shouted. "Kiba and Irina, head straight through the center with Naruto. Koneko and Ravel, take the left flank. I'll take the right."
"Got it!" Kiba said.
"Just leave this to us," Irina added.
Naruto pounded his fists together. "Time to kick more ass."
"Let's go, Fried Turkey."
"I'm not a turkey! Why do you keep changing my nickname like this?!"
"Because it's fun."
While Ophis and Kunou found a place to hide, Naruto separated from Rias, Koneko, and Ravel as he lead Kiba and Irina on a blitz run straight through the Grim Reapers's formation. His first attack, a Rasengan, slammed into the face of one Grim Reaper, blasting its skull to bits. Afterward, he created several Shadow Clones and had them quickly widen the gap they were running through. His clones were savage as they fired off Rasengans like they were going out of style, killed with kunai… one of his clones had even taken a Grim Reaper's arm and was beating his foes with it.
Irina and Kiba were right behind him.
Kiba, being a Knight, put that incredible speed of his to good use. None of the Grim Reapers could even see him. He was like a flash of light as he created multiple swords that exploded from the ground and skewered several of his opponents. At the same time, Kiba himself appeared and disappeared in bursts of intense speed and attacked while his enemies were distracted. Even Naruto was impressed when the boy jumped through the air and twirled around, hacking off a Grim Reaper's head with his Demonic Holy Sword.
While Kiba used his speed, Irina elegantly flowed across the battlefield as she hacked apart Grim Reapers. Her body spun, the light sword in her hand humming, as she danced and swung the blade. An arm was removed by her upward swing. A head was chopped off when she swung her blade horizontally. Two Grim Reapers tried attacking her, but she stepped backward to avoid one strike, then raised her sword and blocked the other one. Loud sizzling sounds emerged from their weapons as light battled against the scythe. Then Irina moved to the side and rotated her wrist. The scythe became buried in the ground as she took a step forward and sliced through the Grim Reaper's torso.
Sona and Tsubaki saw the group heading their way and fought even more viciously. Despite how hard they were working, it was clear they could not do much. Most of the Grim Reapers had already backed off in the face of Sona's last attack, but there was one Grim Reaper with much darker robes who refused to stay back.
"All of you will die," the Grim Reaper in dark robes hissed.
"That's not for you to decide," Sona said in a composed voice.
"Hmph!"
The Grim Reaper shot forward and swung its scythe at them, but Tsubaki intercepted the attack with her naginata while Sona used her ice magic to create another massive serpent. The giant snake wove around Tsubaki and attacked the Grim Reaper, but he merely swerved back, spun around, and used his scythe to hack off the beast's head.
"You should already know that doesn't work on me," the Grim Reaper said.
"Then how about this! Konohagakure Hiden Taijutsu Ogi: Sennen Goroshi: Rasengan Style!"
Before the Grim Reaper could launch his attack again, Naruto appeared beneath him and slammed two Rasengans up the cloaked figure's ass. The attacks were so strong that when they exploded, the Grim Reaper was launched into the sky, smacked against several of his fellow Grim Reapers, and caused the Grim Reapers in question to explode.
"What kind of secret technique is that?" asked Sona. While she at least looked calm on the outside, Tsubaki had curled her nose in disgust at him, but it wasn't like Naruto cared about what this woman thought—even if she did love Kiba.
"Just an attack designed to piss opponents off." Naruto waved a hand. "You two should go. Head outside this formation of enemies with Irina and Kiba."
"And what about you?" asked Sona.
"I'm going to deal with these people."
"You say that like it's easy."
Naruto laughed off Sona's words and once more told them to leave. None of them argued as they swiftly began traveling out the way they'd come, through the weakened area they had blasted through. Of course, by this point, that area had already been filled, but the enemies numbers had also thinned. He could see the other three past the formation. Rias was on one side, using a combination of sword techniques and long-range bombardment spells to annihilate several Grim Reapers. On the other side was Ravel and Koneko. It looked like Koneko was up front, using Senjutsu to fight evenly with the more powerful Grim Reapers, while Ravel hung in the back and provided support.
Kiba was the first to emerge from the enemy formation, but Irina, Sona, and Tsubaki followed shortly behind. When Naruto saw they were safe, he created six shadow clones and had them split up into groups of two. One of them held out their hand and formed a Rasengan, while the others added wind chakra.
A loud and shrill bell-like screech began echoing around the battlefield as the Naruto clones finished creating their Rasenshurikens, three in all. Because they couldn't throw them, the three clones merely leapt into the horde of Grim Reapers and thrust out their hands. Meanwhile, Naruto ran like a Devil out of Hell seconds before all three Rasenshurikens exploded.
The Rasenshuriken was still one of his greatest and most powerful techniques. Creating three of them and launching them into a horde of enemies was basically overkill.
When the massive explosion of wind chakra lit up the sky, Sona and Tsubaki, who still weren't as well versed with some of his more destructive techniques, could do nothing more than gawk. Three large spheres several dozen meters in diameter had appeared in the sky. Within those spheres were the Grim Reapers, trapped by the vortices of wind surrounding them. Meanwhile, countless microscopic blades attacked the Grim Reapers on a cellular level, utterly destroying them.
"There." Naruto clapped his hands as if ridding them of dust. He walked over to the group and beamed at them as if nothing was wrong. "Let's head to the extraction point."
Ophis and Kunou quickly emerged from a building and ran to his side. As Naruto began moving off with the two girls in tow, Sona leaned over to Rias.
"Hey, Rias?"
"Yes?"
"Your pawn scares me sometimes."
Rias just smiled.
Their group arrived at the extraction point soon enough. Of course, while it was called an extraction point, it was nothing so extravagant. It was an empty space just a few kilometers outside of Lucifaad. In the center of this space was a large-scale magic circle, which was a transportation circle that would take them back home.
Rias and her group were the first to arrive, so they stood around and waited for the others to show up. Not long after they arrived, Vali, along with Arthur, Le Fay, Kuroka, and Bikou also made it. However, Issei and his group had not yet made it.
"Do you think Issei might have found trouble?" asked Kiba with a worried frown.
Rias bit her lip. "I hope not. It didn't look like there were any High-Rank Grim Reapers among the group that Hades sent. I don't believe he expected us to be capable of putting up such a strong resistance… no, maybe even someone as arrogant as Hades is unwilling to provoke the Four Maou by sending anything above Middle-Rank Grim Reapers to deal with us. In either event, so long as they don't run into a High-Rank Grim Reaper, they should be fine."
"How are Grim Reapers ranked?" asked Irina, now curious.
It was Ravel who answered them. "Grim Reapers are given the same ranking system as Devils. There's Low, Middle, High, and Ultimate. You can tell what a Grim Reaper's rank is by how dark their robes are. That one who was fighting Sona and Tsubaki was a Middle-Rank Grim Reaper." She paused, then continued. "You should also keep in mind that Grim Reapers are generally stronger than most Devils. A Low-Rank Grim Reaper will be stronger than the average Middle-Rank Devil. The reason we were able to fight so many was due primarily to the fact that all of us have powers far beyond a simple Low-Rank or even Middle-Rank Devil."
Everyone nodded at the girl's thorough explanation. However, as Ravel's small lecture ended, the group once more turned in the direction of Lucifaad.
"Ise and the others still haven't shown up." Rias bit her lip.
"I think they might have run into trouble," Koneko said, her ears twitching.
"Nya, this might not help, but the last time I saw them, they had been making their way here," Kuroka said. "I only managed to catch a glimpse of them, though. They were too far away for me to see and they kept disappearing between the buildings, nya."
"I don't believe Hyoudou is so weak that he can't deal with a couple of Grim Reapers." Vali crossed his arms. "I'm sure they are okay."
Despite the man's words, five minutes soon turned into fifteen, and Issei's group still hadn't shown up. At this point, the looks on everyone's faces had turned grim with worry. Naruto glanced at Rias, who looked like she was about to start pacing back and forth any minute now.
Naruto sighed and walked forward, causing everyone to look at him. He gave them a helpless smile and shrugged.
"I'm going to see what's keeping them," he said.
Rias frowned but nodded. "Be careful."
"I will." He was about to leave when someone grabbed the sleeve of his jumpsuit. He turned to find Ophis staring at him. With a grin, he patted her on the head before removing her fingers from his sleeve. "Don't worry. I won't be gone long."
Naruto raced back into Lucifaad and found the tallest building he could. There were still a lot of Grim Reapers in the area. They obviously hadn't given up on finding Ophis, though it looked like they had no means of tracking her. Naruto narrowed his eyes and searched for Issei and the others. He found them, but his eyes narrowed further when he saw how injured they were.
Issei was standing protectively in front of the group, blood running down his head as he pushed his Boosted Gear to the limit. It appeared he was using his Balance Breaker to the limit. Not only that, but Akeno had even exposed her breasts for him to power up, which meant the situation must have been dire because she'd probably never do that if she didn't have to. Asia was doing her best to heal the members of Sona's Peerage, all of whom were bloody and bruised.
Not only was Issei viciously fighting to protect the others, Akeno and Raynare had even joined forces, an occurrence he didn't think was possible. While Raynare used a light spear to fend the Grim Reapers off, Akeno was blasting at them with holy lightning. It looked like they were doing a somewhat decent job of forcing their enemies back. However, Naruto could see how their bodies were slumping. They were beginning to burn out.
Naruto did not hesitate.
He blasted off the building and activated Rikudou Sennin Mode to give himself a burst of power and speed. It didn't take more than a few seconds to arrive at their location, and when he did, Naruto didn't stop as he created a pair of staffs with his Truth-Seeking Balls and tore into the enemy forces. He became a whirlwind of destruction. Not only did he attack with the short staffs in his hands, but he sent his Truth-Seeking Balls sailing into the Grim Reapers. They might not have looked like much, but these small black orbs possessed a frighteningly destructive power.
There were quite a few Middle-Rank Grim Reapers, but in the face of Naruto while he was in Rikudou Sennin Mode, they were basically just paper.
"Naruto!" Asia exclaimed with joy.
"Sensei!" Issei shouted with tears in his eyes.
"Ufufu, it looks like Kitsune-kun has come to our rescue," Akeno said.
"Hmph. As if I needed this asshat to rescue me," Raynare mumbled.
Naruto looked at everyone, at his fellow peerage members and Sona's Peerage. All of them were injured to some extent. However, they were able to heal thanks to Asia and her Twilight Healing.
"Come on, everyone," he said. "We need to leave now. You head to the extraction point. I'll cover for you."
Everyone nodded before they set off. Because several of their members were unconscious despite being healed, some of them had to be carried. Saji, who was healed but exhausted, lifted Momo and Reya over his shoulders as they ran through the streets. Issei lead the group. They were essentially using him as a spear point since his Balance Breaker was the most powerful among them. Meanwhile, Naruto darted around the group and killed any Grim Reaper that came too close.
It looked like they were making great progress.
Naruto should have known things were going too smoothly.
They were just about to reach the outskirts of Lucifaad when a magic circle appeared and Shalba Beelzebub stepped out. He was alone, which was odd. However, even more odd was the arrow in his hand. Naruto didn't know what he was going to use it for. An arrow wouldn't even really harm any of them.
"Sekiryuutei!" Shalba screamed. "I've decided to end you! Your master has ruined my plans over and over again. If I can't kill that bitch, then I will get my revenge by killing you!"
Issei clicked his tongue as he stared at the man. "I don't know what you're screaming about, but anyone picking a fight with the Buchou is going to get their ass creamed! Prepare yourself!"
Akeno snorted into her hand while Raynare palmed her face.
Naruto was about to intervene in the battle. He had a bad feeling about it, but before he could, a Grim Reaper suddenly appeared before him.
This Grim Reaper was different from the rest in that he had his hood pulled down, though that didn't mean Naruto could see his face, which was covered by a clown mask. His scythe had a more intense aura than any of the ones wielded by the Grim Reapers they had fought so far. It was so black that it was like the light abstained from it. What's more, this Grim Reapers robes were also the darkest black Naruto had ever seen. He felt like he was staring into a black hole.
"I'm going to go ahead and say you are one of those High-Rank Grim Reapers," Naruto said as he stood on the roof of a building next to Issei and the others.
The Grim Reaper bowed slightly. "That is correct. My name is Pluto. I am an Ultimate-class Grim Reaper under the employ of Lord Hades."
"I assume you're here because you don't want me interfering in the battle between Shalba and Ise?" Naruto gave Pluto a vicious grin as he cracked his fingers. "Who the hell do you think you are? You're asking for an ass kicking."
"Hmph. I know well of your power," the Grim Reaper called Pluto said as he swung his scythe. "I also know you are not at your full strength. A man who doesn't even have half of his original power is no threat to me."
"We'll see about that."
Naruto snorted as he prepared himself for combat, but he was secretly worried. An Ultimate-class Grim Reaper was considered by many to be even more powerful than Ultimate-class Devils like Serafall Leviathan. Only a super Devil like Sirzechs could defeat someone like this, and while Naruto was confident in his own power, what Pluto said was true. He wasn't at full strength.
"Kurama?"
"You have five minutes."
After Kurama informed him of how much time Naruto could remain in their shared state, the fox's chakra spread through his body as he activated his Nine-Tailed Chakra Shroud on top of Naruto's Rikudou Sennin Mode.
Pluto did not say anything as Naruto powered up. Down below, Issei's battle against Shalba continued, while the Grim Reapers tried their best to take down the others. Xenovia, Akeno, and Raynare were having none of that and fought viciously to hold them back with the still conscious members of Sona's peerage. It also looked like Shalba did not have the strength to defeat Issei. Out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto saw Issei slam a fist into Shalba's body that sent the Devil crashing through a wall and demolishing the entire building.
"Truly, you are an incredibly powerful individuals," Pluto said at last. "Even though you lack half of your original power, you are able to emit so much energy that even I am forced to acknowledge you as a threat. I can see why Lord Hades wants to get rid of you. This kind of power is dangerous."
"If Hades wants to get rid of me, he should have come himself." Naruto grinned, revealing his sharp canines. "You aren't anywhere close to being strong enough to beat me. I'm the greatest fucking ninja in the entire world, Dattebayo!"
… There was a pause in the battle.
"Datte-what?"
"Dattebayo. You know, like, believe it… or something."
Pluto stared at Naruto, who stared back. There was a moment of uneasy silence before Pluto attacked. He rushed forward and slashed at Naruto with his Scythe, but of course, the Naruto his scythe bit into exploded into smoke, revealing that Naruto had replaced himself with a Shadow Clone.
Before Pluto could retreat, Naruto appeared behind him and tried to slam a Fuuton Rasengan into his back. It was blocked when the Grim Reaper moved his scythe to intercept. Even though the attack was blocked, the destructive power of his jutsu sent Pluto flying through the air. He managed to stabilize himself. However, Naruto was already on top of the man… Grim Reaper… thing. What were Grim Reapers anyway? All they had were bones.
Pushing those thoughts into the back of his mind, Naruto continued his relentless bombardment of attacks, which rang out as Pluto intercepted them with his scythe. Explosions and shockwaves surged from their constant back and forth. Several buildings in the general vicinity were destroyed and even some of the Grim Reapers attacking Naruto's friends disintegrated when they got to close.
When Sona's Peerage and the other Gremory group members saw this batte, they immediately backed away. Naruto noticed this and knew he could now go all out. Ten arms extended from his back. Each one held a mini-Rasenshuriken. He slammed them into Pluto, who was finally overwhelmed by the constant attacks and forced back. Even so, he didn't get blown apart, which had been Naruto's original plan. He frowned. This Grim Reaper was not stronger than him, but he seemed to have a lot of experience.
As their battle continued, the world around them began shaking. Tears in space appeared around their battle. Black rips began appearing all over the place, large spatial tears that caused the area around them to distort. He watched as one of the rips sucked up an entire building. It wasn't just the building that disappeared either. Several Grim Reapers that had been floating near it were also sucked up.
"You are indeed a powerful enemy," Pluto admitted at last. He looked at the tears in space that had opened all around them. "Even this dimension is unable to withstand your power… though this dimension was already collapsing when Rizevim and Euclid left. I understand now there is no way for me to defeat you, but it doesn't matter. Our goal has already been accomplished."
"What?" Naruto asked.
In that moment, he received his answer when a loud cry of "ISE!" went up. Naruto turned his head toward the battle between Shalba and Issei. Shalba was engulfed in a bright red light as Issei fired off several cannons from his wings. However, what caused Naruto's heart to shake was not watching as Issei killed Shalba.
It was how Issei was standing in front of Akeno as though he had protected her from something, an arrow protruding from his chest. He turned his head toward the stunned Fallen Angel/Devil hybrid and smiled as he said something. Blood was dripping from his mouth. Naruto didn't know what he said, but Akeno's horrified expression grew.
Seconds later, Issei fell forward and was drawn into a spatial ripped, where he disappeared.
"ISE!"
All of the girls who had been fighting alongside Issei screamed when they saw him disappear into a spatial crack. They would have rushed through, but Naruto was aware of how dangerous these rips were.
He slammed a Rasengan into Pluto's face, taking advantage of the situation, and then rushed toward the girls. He created four Shadow Clones, one for each girl. Before any of them could race into the spatial crack, the Naruto clones knocked them unconscious, grabbed them, and bolted as more cracks began appearing. Naruto glanced around as more and more tears materialized in thin air. He frowned as he wondered what the hell was going on.
"It seems Rizevim does not want us attaining Ophis," Pluto said as he floated down beside Naruto. "He has set this alternate dimension to collapse. I believe it was his intent to kill off all his enemies in a single swoop. Our battle here is done."
Naruto didn't bother paying attention to Pluto as the Grim Reaper flew off. It was clear the being sent by Hades had no intention of battling him when there was nothing to be gained by it, and he had lost his desire to battle.
He bit his lip and stared at the crumbling space all around him.
What should he do?
As Naruto was lost in thoughts and trying to come to a decision, the most unlikely person suddenly appeared before him. He gazed at Ophis as his eyes suddenly watered.
"Ophis…"
"I saw what happened," Ophis said. "I know you wanted to go alone, but I followed you when no one else was looking." She glanced at the crack that Issei had fallen through. "That boy… he was struck by an arrow coated in Samael's blood. Samael's curse has infected him. It is very likely that his body is dying. Once that happens, his spirit will die next."
A shudder ran through Naruto's body when he heard this. Fear took hold of him.
Issei was one of his friends—probably one of his best friends now. He recalled the times he helped the boy train, the times he, Issei, and Kiba went out to do guy things, and all of the battles they had been through together. Issei was more of a brother to him now than Sasuke had ever been. The idea of him being gone was not something Naruto could accept.
"Is there anything I can do to bring him back?" he asked.
"There is nothing you can do," Ophis said, and Naruto felt a crushing weight on his chest—until she spoke again. "But I might be able to do something."
"You can?" Naruto asked. Ophis nodded her head and Naruto sucked in the tears he wanted to shed. "Please do it. Find Ise. Then come back to me."
Ophis's eyes sparkled a little when Naruto told her to come back to him. She nodded once before turning around and blitzing through the spatial crack that Issei had disappeared through.
~Devil Ninja~
Rias and her peerage, Sona and her peerage, and the members of Team Vali disappeared through a summoning circle and reappeared inside of their house. Naruto and his clones were with them. They were carrying the unconscious Akeno, Asia, Raynare, and Xenovia.
Naruto told Rias about what happened.
Immediately after returning home, Rias contacted Azazel and informed him of what happened. It did not take long for Azazel to appear before them. Then he, along with the former Dragon King, Tannin, prepared a ritual to summon Issei.
"The Dragon Gate is a magic circle exclusive to Dragons," Azazel explained to the Gremory group. "It allows them to summon another Dragon to them. While the Dragon Gate insignia can be drawn by someone else, it only responds when there is a dragon nearby. This is why I've invited Tannin."
Everyone glanced at Tannin, who was in a much smaller form than usual. Not only was Tannin present, but even Vali had remained behind to help open the Dragon Gate.
They were currently inside of the living room of what had basically become the Gremory Peerage's house, though Naruto would tell anyone willing to listen that it was his house because his apartment complex used to be here.
The living room had been completely cleared out to make way for the magic circle, which spanned the entire room. The Dragon Gate insignia had the representation of the Five Dragon Kings, Tannin, the Two Heavenly Dragons, and Grendel. Each Dragon was represented on the magic circle by a different color: Red for Ddraig, white for Albion, purple for Tannin, blue for Tiamat, green for Yu-Long, black for Vritra, grey for Midgardsormr, gold for Fafnir, and dark green for Grendel.
Kuroka was helping draw the circle as well. It seemed she knew quite a bit about magic circles and even the Dragon Gate.
"The situation is beginning to look incredibly grim," Naruto muttered as he rubbed Kunou's head. There was something therapeutic about it, and he really needed this to keep himself from going crazy. His actions also seemed to help calm down Kunou.
Rias nodded, her eyes filled with worry as she watched Azazel and Kuroka. "Now that Rizevim has Ophis's powers, there is no telling what he will do. I've already received a report from Grayfia saying the Old Satan Faction has begun attacking towns and villages in the underworld with gigantic monsters. Not only that, but it seems Hades has been helping the Old Satan Faction from behind the scenes."
"I've heard that Hades is the one responsible for many of the monsters that have appeared in the underworld," Ravel said in a quiet voice. She hadn't been the same since her brother attacked her.
"I wonder what sort of monsters that god has given to aid the Old Satan Faction," Naruto muttered.
Rias shook her head. "I don't know, but I've heard rumors that some of them are incredibly powerful beasts like Cerberus, Orthos, and even the Hydra. There's even a rumor going around that the evil dragons have been revived somehow, though I don't know if that one is true."
That didn't sound good, but Naruto didn't say anything as Azazel and Kuroka continued to work. Ravel shifted a little and moved closer to him as the silence grew. She didn't say anything, but Naruto placed a hand on her head like he was doing with Kunou. As the girl relaxed under his touch, Rias sighed while Rossweisse looked just a little putout.
"Sorry." He grinned. "I only have two hands."
"I-I didn't say anything!" Rossweisse blushed.
"No, but you were thinking it would be nice if I pet you too, right?"
"A-absolutely not!"
"I want you to pet me," Koneko muttered with a frown.
"Later," Naruto assured her.
"Okay, the circle is complete." Azazel stood up and stepped back for a moment, wiping his brow. He looked at the group. "We will now be performing the ritual."
"Will Ophis also appear as well?" asked Naruto.
"Ophis?"
Naruto nodded. "She went after Ise when he disappeared through that spatial crack."
"Hmm…" Azazel rubbed his chin and looked at the magic circle thoughtfully. "If she is with Ise, then she should appear as well."
Naruto accepted those words as Azazel lifted the jewel with Fafnir and channeled his power through it, causing the jewel to glow a golden color. At that moment, the magic circle also began glowing. Soon, it wasn't just the circle and the jewel. Vali's body began emitting a bright white glow, while Tannin's body glowed with a vibrant purple. Soon after, light spread through the entire floor. It was so bright that Naruto, Rias, and the others were forced to cover their eyes with their hands.
The light did eventually die down, and when it did, everyone looked at the magic circle, expecting to find Issei and Ophis standing before them.
Neither of them were present.
All that appeared in the circle were 8 pawn pieces.
I am not too fond of my writing at the moment. I'm sure a lot of you have noticed, but there are a lot of inconsistencies within my story.
Part of me feels like I've been stretching myself too thin. If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I've been consistently writing around 8,000 to 12,000 words every single day for multiple stories for the past several months, and I think I've been getting them all mixed up in my head. Devil Ninja has also suffered as a result. I'm going to try and focus on only one or two stories from now on, though this does mean my writing for other stories will slow down.
If you've read the High School DxD light novels, then you will know that this chapter is basically the ending of volume 11. Uroboros and the Promotion Test has practically the same ending as this chapter, where Issei is killed by Shalba Beelzebub with an arrow drenched in Samael's blood.
Of course, the rest of this arc is very different from the original. That is because I have been trying my best to mix original story ideas with canonical story ideas. I do not know if I've done a good job, but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's quite a bit longer than usual at 18,000 words. Consider the longer than average chapter my apology for not writing faster.
Anyway, if anyone wants to know what I've been working outside of this fan fic, you can follow me on Twitter. I mostly tweet about my writing, retweet artwork from my favorite artists, and anime tiddies.
Also, I released a new book last month. It's titled Journey of a Betrayed Hero vol. 1. It's my attempt at writing an isekai light novel. It's sort of like The Rising of the Shield Hero crossed with Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero. The book is available digitally in Kindle Unlimited and paperback at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, and basically any online retailer.
Here is a description of the story:
The hero's journey doesn't always end after the Dark Lord has been slain.
After being betrayed by the very kingdom he saved, Jacob Stone forsook his title of Hero. Now he lives the simple life of a barkeep. Yet even that life is irrevocably erased when a young woman named Enyo appears before him.
She claims to be the daughter of the former Dark Lord and has come seeking his aid. He'd normally never consider lending her a hand, but when she tells him that she knows of a way for him to return home, he's left with little recourse.
His journey will take him across the kingdom of Terrasole, toward the place where it all began. If he succeeds, he'll return to the home he'd been stolen from. If he fails… well, he won't live long enough to regret failing.