Yami stood in the center of a massive chamber deep within the heart of Agreas. The room was covered in glistening symbols that were so arcane he couldn't even begin to read them. He didn't need to read them, however, to know what they did. This was the spell that contained Trihexa.
Sealed within what almost seemed like a crystal coffin was the Beast of the Apocolypse, a creature that not even God himself could defeat. From what Yami understood, the god of the Christian Bible had fought against this creature and, unable to beat it, sealed it away with hundreds of thousands of forbidden seals that continued to shine brightly even after his death during the Great War. It was a testament to the strength of the man who had ruled the Heavens.
It was, in fact, the act of sealing away Trihexa that led God to losing his life in the war between the three factions. If he had not spent so much of his power sealing the beast away, he would have possessed more than enough strength to contend with the likes of the Satans and Fallen Angel generals.
"How much longer will it take to break the seal?" he asked someone standing beside him.
"Not much longer," Rizevim said. "We suspect it will take maybe another few days at most."
Yami frowned. "Didn't you tell me it wouldn't take that long before? Why the change of heart?"
"I had not realized how powerful the forbidden seals keeping Trihexa sealed were." Rizevim shook his head and grinned in that lazy manner Yami knew so well. "It's only now, as I stand here and look at all these spells myself, that I realize how powerful God was. Had he been at full strength during the Great War, the Devils would have lost. I'm not even sure Sirzechs and Ajuka could have stood up to him."
Yami sensed begrudging respect in Rizevim's voice. This man hated Ajuka and Sirzechs as much as he respected them, which caused him to acknowledge both people while still trying to sound degrading. His voice was the kind that Yami would expect from someone who had been forced to eat shit.
"The Three Factions Alliance won't stand still now that Agreas has appeared," Yami continued.
Rizevim shrugged. "It's not like we could have kept it concealed. We need every mage we have working on deciphering these spells to break them down."
"I did not say it was a bad thing." Yami had yet to look away from Trihexa's hideous visage. There was something primal about this beast that appealed to him. "So long as we can undo the seal keeping Trihexa locked away, everything else will fall into place."
"I see you are really going through with this."
Another voice spoke up, one far different from Rizevim's. This voice was cold and mocking, as if to declare that everyone here was beneath the one it belonged to.
Yami and Rizevim turned around and looked at the god who had entered the room without either of them noticing—one who looked like nothing more than a skeleton decked out in priestly robes.
"Hades," Yami greeted with a nod. "I see you have agreed to work with us."
"Do not misunderstand my intentions. I have no desire to work with an interloper like you, but the situation we find ourselves in simply makes working with you convenient."
"A common enemy does indeed make our alliance convenient. Can I count on you when the time comes?"
"So long as our circumstances don't change," Hades said with a shrug.
"Then that is fine. Once we have crushed Naruto, the underworld, and everyone else who opposes us under foot, you and I will probably become enemies. Though I won't fight you so long as you don't get in my way."
"I should be the one saying that. Do not get in my way after this is all over."
Hades scoffed at Yami, or that was what it seemed like—it was hard to tell since Hades could not make facial expressions—before he turned around and stalked off. He marched toward the stairs. Several mages got in his way, but he pushed them aside with godly strength and sent them to the floor. He was quite the violent man.
"Fool," Rizevim snorted. "I still find it hard to believe that Hades can think so much of himself when confronted with overwhelming power like yours. I do hope you will kill him the moment his usefulness is at an end."
Yami regarded Rizevim for a moment, then shrugged and turned back toward Trihexa and the hundreds of Magicians currently going over the forbidden spells that acted as its seal. He watched as one particular Magician waved his staff at a circle, causing it to light up, then began creating several magic circles around it. If he was not mistaken, they were using analyse magic to quantify the spells.
"I don't care enough to kill him, but if he proves to be a nuisance, I will have no problem ending his life."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"What of our artificial scale mail and mass produced evil dragons?"
"We currently have five hundred thousand artificial scale mails and one million mass produced evil dragons."
"Good. And what of Shadow? Did he complete the task I assigned him?"
"He did. We now have the Fruit from the Tree of Knowledge in our hands." Rizevim's chuckle would have made anyone else's skin crawl, but Yami took the ingratiating sound in stride. "Those idiots in Heaven were so focused on Apophis and Crom Crauch that they didn't even notice that we had stolen some of the fruit. With this, we should be able to recreate dragons that are on par with Apophis and the others."
"Good. Get at least a few of our Magicians on that right now. I would like to have an army ready for the inevitable battle between us and the Three Factions Alliance."
"Sure thing." Rizevim shrugged. "By the way, you don't mind if I plan my own little surprise for those brats in the Gremory Peerage, do you?"
"Do what you want."
"Your graciousness knows no bounds."
Rizevim's bow was as mocking as everything else he did, but Yami did not let that bother him. It was just his way. Instead, he continued to watch as the Magicians did their work. He hated them and everyone else in this world, but he felt giddy at the same time. It would not be long now before the seal was undone. He was certain their actions would not go unnoticed, and this city was sure to become a battlefield soon, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered except achieving his goal.
~Devil Ninja~
While Lilith did not appear any different now than it had the last time Naruto visited, that did not mean many changes hadn't taken place. The once bustling streets were now mostly empty. Very few people were leaving their homes, and the ones who did were those who needed to leave for work. A city still needed people working to function. That said, the city was being run on a skeleton crew. There were also quite the number of guards patrolling the city. Their dark armor looked reminiscent to the kind Naruto would have expected to see on an ancient overlord from a video game.
Guess that's the underworld for ya.
The van they were in took them to an underground parking lot, where they all disembarked and were led by Azazel through a building and into a conference room—one so massive it could probably seat thousands. Built with tertiary seating, this room reminded Naruto of a movie he once watched with Rias. It had been some kind of sci-fi. Much of this room was already being filled by various people. Some of them like Sairaorg Bael and his mother, Naruto knew. There were plenty of people who Naruto didn't know, however, and he found himself looking curiously at a few of them.
Sirzechs was already present. He stood beside Ajuka Beelzebub and Serafall Leviathan, Michael and Gabrielle, Shemhazai and Baraqiel, and Shiva, Indra, and Brahma from Hindu mythology. Naruto only remembered vaguely meeting them during the battle between them and the Alliance of Hell. He hadn't known about what had happened to them because he had been too focused on everything else that was going on at the time.
"I'm going to be down there with the other bigwigs," Azazel informed them. "You kids find yourselves a seat. It won't be long before the meeting starts."
Azazel didn't wait for anyone to respond before leaving them, so Naruto, Rias, and the others were left with no options but to search for an empty group of seats they could use. Fortunately, there were still quite a few places left. As luck would have it, they ended up sitting beside Sairaorg and his peerage.
"Well, look who finally returned from Heaven," Sairaorg said in greeting. "How was it up there?"
"It was nice. Heavens a pretty chill place, though all that holy energy does make me feel disconcerted."
"Ha ha ha! I'll bet. You know, I think you might be the first Devil to enter Heaven."
Naruto shrugged. It didn't much matter to him if he was the first, second, third, or last Devil to enter Heaven. He'd only gone there because Michael wanted to help him and Irina.
"Speaking of Heaven, I have a letter for you. It's from Angelus."
"Oh? Well, thank you."
Sairaorg looked surprised, but he congenially accepted the letter under his mother's watchful eye. Naruto found himself looking at the woman who seemed so poised and calm. She didn't look frail or sickly like she had when she was lying on a bed inside of the hospital. He was positive Sairaorg was making sure his mother was well-cared for. When she caught him staring at her, she turned in his direction and smiled, causing him to smile back.
With everyone getting comfortable, Naruto once again found himself surrounded by a veritable wall of feminine flesh. Koneko and Ophis were on his lap. Rias was on his right. Rossweisse had taken his left. Naruto was a little surprised the other girls weren't getting into an argument over who took that spot, but Irina was sitting next to Xenovia and Asia, while Ravel was… oh, it looked like she was sitting with her family. He hadn't realized they were close by, but it looked like they were only a few seats away from him. Naruto would have to say hello before they all left.
More seats were beginning to fill. It wasn't long before it seemed as if every major power within the Three Factions Alliance was present. Naruto even saw members representing the yokai of Kyoto, though he did not see Yasaka or Kunou anywhere. The famed Kyuubi could not leave Kyoto since that was where the ley lines resided. With everyone supposedly present now, Sirzechs called the meeting to order.
"I'm sure many of you have already learned that Agreas went missing not long ago," Sirzechs began. He stood on something resembling a stage. The other most powerful members of the alliance, along with the Hindu gods, were also present. "Its disappearance shocked everyone and sent many people into a panic. We just discovered that Agreas has reappeared again. However, it has been taken over by the Chaos Brigade."
The news itself was not surprising. Everyone had already suspected this to be the case, but having it confirmed caused many people to break out into whispers. Naruto wished his hearing was better so he could listen into what they were saying, but at the end of the day, he wasn't sure it mattered.
"I still can't believe the Chaos Brigade managed to steal away an entire city," Rias said under her breath.
"Don't forget what kind of power members of the Chaos Brigade wield. Not only do they have the Holy Grail in their possession, they also have many incredibly powerful people working for them," Kiba said. He had his arms crossed as he sat on Rias's other side, looking down at the stage where Sirzechs and the other leaders were. "While we have people like Sirzechs and Ajuka on our side, I would say quite a few of the Chaos Brigade's forces are just as powerful as our own. They also have the benefit of secrecy."
"Yes, I know. But I still find myself shocked they were able to accomplish something so audacious and bold like this."
"Understandable. I'm pretty shocked myself."
Down below, Sirzechs continued to speak. "A plan is currently being worked on to reclaim Agreas. However, several problems have revealed themselves. The first two problems is that the Chaos Brigade has somehow managed to raise an army that easily outnumbers our own forces one hundred to one."
These words caused the crowd to stir once more, but this time with complete shock. One hundred to one was not good odds by any means. Hearing that they were so heavily outnumbered was sure to dishearten many of their forces.
"The first part of their army consists of the mass produced evil dragons. Each one of these dragons has the strength of a mid-rank devil. The only way to kill them is to either work together in squads, or for one of our more powerful members to fight them. There are several skilled devils here who could take down several of these dragons on their own, but they are few and far between. Most of you will have to work in groups. The second part of their army are these."
Naruto found himself leaning forward alongside everyone else when two very familiar figures appeared like a large hologram in the air. While there were some minor variations like how the helmet sloped back, or how the gauntlets possessed blades instead of claws, it was easy to tell that the red and white armored figures were some kind of variation of the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing.
"I'll let Ajuka take over now to explain what you're all seeing," Sirzechs said, stepping back and allowing his friend to step forward.
Naruto was surprised to see that Ajuka was going to speak. The man was not what he would have called socially adept, nor was he any good at oratory. That was more Sirzechs' thing. Ajuka was the kind of man who preferred spending all his time cooped up inside of his laboratory.
"I'm sure everyone here can recognize the two figures being displayed. They are quite obviously designed off the Balance Breaker for the Boosted Gear of the Red Dragon Emperor and Divine Dividing used by the White Dragon Emperor. I've taken to calling them Fake Dragon Armor for that is exactly what they are. Using the powers of the Holy Grail, they have managed to create artificial scale mail that has all the powers of the Sacred Gears they are based on."
A ripple spread through the crowd. Naruto looked around to find worried faces staring at the two armored holographic figures. It didn't surprise him to see all these people acting worried. The Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing were Longinus of the highest order, powerful artifacts that were capable of even defeating gods, and now those two powerful weapons were being mass produced by their enemy.
Ajuka continued. "Fortunately, while both types of Fake Dragon Armor have all the powers of the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing, they only have a tenth of the strength. A mid-rank devil should be a match for both types of armor. The problem lay not in the power they possess but their numbers. At last count, there were over five hundred thousand of these Fake Dragon Armors."
Naruto could almost hear the sound of everyone sucking in their breath. Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels were not very numerous. Not only had many of their forces been depleted during the war between all three factions, but it was impossible for most of them to reproduce. It was rare for Devils to give birth, Angels could not reproduce at all without God's aid, and the Fallen were only born when an angel fell from God's grace. While the Evil Piece and Brave Saints system had been put in place to replenish the forces they lost, they were still a long way from being able to compete with those kind of numbers.
"Will our forces even be able compete with that?" asked someone in the audience. Naruto didn't know who asked that, nor could he find them within the crowd.
"I'll have Sirzechs answer that question," Ajuka said.
With the mic once again handed off to him, Sirzechs stepped forward and, projecting an aura of complete confidence, spoke to the people present. "While we cannot compete with them in terms of numbers, we do not have to. I'm sure all of you have noticed that we have three special guests here today. The three with us are Brahma, Indra, and Shiva, who have entered into an alliance with us to deal with the Chaos Brigade."
Stunned silence met his proclamation, and with good reason. The Hindu gods were some of the strongest in the entire world. With those words, the massive gathering seemed to settle down. Naruto looked over at the Hindu gods after they were mentioned and saw the ugly smirk on Indra's face. He was obviously basking in his own superiority.
"Now then, there are several other problems we will need to deal with aside from the mass produced dragons and fake dragon armor," Sirzechs continued. "Those are the more powerful members of their group. Rizevim, the Evil Dragons, Lilith, and Yami himself. While we have reason to suspect Yami won't make an appearance on the battlefield, the other three are powerful foes we would do well not to underestimate. Lilith, in particular, as she now holds nearly all of Ophis's power. We don't know what kind of plan is being made for her, but we do not believe they will let her sit this battle out when her contribution could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Fortunately, most of you won't have to worry about these forces since they will be dealt with by myself and the others. Your focus is going to be on the fake dragon armors and mass produced dragons."
Sirzechs went into a detailed explanation of their plan to assault and reclaim Agreas, which involved an assault from all sides by their forces, which would be divided into four divisions who would come in from the four cardinal points. There were only a few problems with this plan that Naruto could think of. The first was that they were clearly outnumbered. Even if every faction present combined their forces, they would have maybe a third of the forces arrayed against them.
Once again, Sirzechs had a plan for that.
"We plan on having several of our more powerful members marching within each division. They should be able to make up for our lack of numbers. However, I want it known that our main goal is to not to fight against their main forces. Our main goal is to remove their leaders: Yami and Rizevim. If we can remove their leaders from the playing field, the rest of them shouldn't be too difficult to defeat."
It was a solid plan, one that went with the idea of cutting off the head so the body would fall. Naruto had used this type of tactic many times in the past. So had some of his fiercest foes. While Madara had simply sought to demolish everyone and everything in his path, Kabuto had tried several times to get rid of him and the other powerful individuals within the Shinobi Alliance's army.
"Each of you will be placed under a field commander, who will issue your orders. I know we are asking a lot, but please remain within the hotel until you receive your orders. After that, you may do what you want with the remaining free time available. We will be attacking Agras in three days."
That appeared to be the cue for everyone to leave. People stood up from their chairs and made their way toward one of several dozen doors. Naruto remained seated alongside the other members of the Gremory Peerage. Rias did not want to be crushed by all the people attempting to rush out of the meeting hall.
"It looks like brother has really thought all this through," Rias murmured to herself.
"It's pretty basic as far as plans go, but a battle like this would be too convoluted if they came up with a plan that was too complex," Naruto said.
"I hope they will let me deal with Lilith," Ophis interjected. "I would like to get my powers back."
"It would be helpful if you could get your powers back," Naruto agreed.
"What do you think our role in this battle will be?" asked Kiba.
"Naruto will definitely be fighting his counterpart, but I doubt the rest of us will be allowed to take part in that particular battle," Koneko said.
"Koneko is right." Rias nodded toward the nekousho. "Sirzechs will probably have us take part in the larger battle against the mass produced dragons and fake dragon armor. Ise might be asked to accompany the leaders alongside Naruto because of his Boosted Gear, but the rest of us won't be allowed to fight against the more powerful members of the Chaos Brigade's forces."
A few minutes passed before Rias directed her group to stand up and leave. The congested staircases had cleared out enough that they wouldn't be squashed by the other people attempting to leave. Perhaps because they had the same idea, Sairaorg, his mother, and the Phenex Family chose to leave at the same time they did. Naruto noticed that Rizer Phenex was also with his family. The man must have felt him watching because he turned his head, nodded once to him, and then focused his attention back on his family.
Huh. Guess he's not an arrogant douche anymore.
Naruto fell in line with the others, walked out of the massive auditorium, and stepped into the hallway. A few of the people who were present during the meeting were standing around in the hall and discussing the meeting itself. Naruto and his group were traveling toward their designated rooms when Sirzechs himself appeared before the group. He wore a grave expression that caused them all to be brought up short.
"I apologize, but could I speak with Ise for a moment?" Sirzechs asked.
"Uh, sure. What do you need me for?" asked Issei, stepping forward.
"I have something important to tell you. However, I do not think we should talk about it here. Please follow me."
While Issei was still clearly confused about what Sirzechs wanted with him, he dutifully followed the older man. As they disappeared around a corner, the Gremory Peerage continued moving.
"Well, Naruto, it looks like this is where we part ways for now. Thanks again for delivering Angelus' letter to me," Sairaorg said.
"You're welcome. I hope your relationship with Angelus works out," Naruto said with a cheery grin. His smile became even wider when he saw Sairaorg cough into his hand several times and avert his eyes. The blush staining his face was something Naruto had never seen on the normally confident and powerful man.
They parted ways with Sairaorg, his peerage, and his mother, and continued walking. Eventually, the Phenex Family turned to them as well.
"And this is where we will leave you all," said Lord Phenex.
Lady Phenex bowed. "Please continue to look after our daughter."
"Don't worry. We will do our best to continue looking after Ravel. She's a member of our family, after all," Rias said with a gentle smile.
"Hey! Fox boy," Rizer shouted.
Naruto blinked as he pointed at himself. "You mean me?"
"Who else would I be talking about? Listen, you had better take care of Ravel. If I hear so much as a rumor that you made her cry, I will come to claim your head. Not even all the powers in the world will stop me from enacting my revenge."
It was obvious to Naruto that this man didn't have the power to do what he wanted, and it was probably obvious to Rizer too. His words were mere bluster. However, the fact that he was thinking about his sister instead of himself told Naruto that Rizer was on the mend, that he was actually becoming a better person, and so Naruto decided to respond like he would normally.
He thumped a fist against his chest, grinned, and said, "Don't worry. I'll die before letting anything happen to Ravel. She's one of my most precious people, after all."
While Ravel blushed and looked at the ground, Rizer merely nodded before turning on his heel and walking away. Lord and Lady Phenex traded amused glances before they bowed to Rias and hurried after their son.
"Please forgive him," Ruval said with a smile. "He's doing his best to become a good brother again."
"It's no trouble at all. I'm glad to see the Phenex Family's fractured relationship has been repaired," Rias said, waving off Ruval's apology with her own gentle expression.
The eldest member of the Phenex family thanked Rias for her kindness before heading off after his parents. Naruto wondered if he would end up fighting alongside Rizer at some point in the future. Perhaps they would even become friends…
…Ha! As if that would ever happen.
~Devil Ninja~
Naruto and the others didn't spend time inside of their hotel rooms, which were nice but only meant for a few people. Instead, they decided to check out the hotel's facilities. While it didn't boast as many amenities as Naruto's house, it did have an olympic swimming pool, a small waterpark, an arcade, a hot spring, and a lounge where people could sit on comfortable massage chairs.
Naruto found himself playing arcade games with Rias.
The game they were playing right now was called Taiko Drum Master. It vaguely reminded Naruto of another game called Guitar Hero, but this was with drums, and the goal was to pound the drum at exactly the right time. Small symbols moved across the screen. Your job as the player was to hit the drum just as the symbols moved over the indicator.
Naruto stared intently at the screen as it displayed two areas where small symbols of either red or blue were scrolling across the screen. One of the blue orbs suddenly appeared in a small translucent circle. He struck the drum and watched as the orb bounced up and transformed into a little chibi character that ran across the top of the screen. Several more orbs appeared in rapid succession, but Naruto continued to hit the drum with timing and precision only possible because he was the greatest fucking ninja ever and his reflexes were some of the best in the world.
Hell yeah! I'm a drumming ninja super freak! Look at how awesome I'm doing! I should go ahead and call myself the drumkage at this rate. There ain't no one better at this game than me. If I wasn't a ninja, I'd almost feel like I was cheating. Naruto laughed to himself.
This particular version of Taiko Drum Master was based on the Touhou games, which was a very popular franchise of maniac shooter games. The longer he went with a perfect score, the more Touhou characters that would appear at the bottom, dancing to the rhythm set by his insanely amazing drumming.
Of course, this wasn't a single person game but one meant for two. It pitted him and Rias against each other.
The redhead was standing right next to him, also banging away at the drums, and it seems she was doing very well for herself. He spared a quick glance at her and saw that she also had a perfect score like him. This caused Naruto to narrow his eyes. It seemed he was not the only Drumkage in this vicinity. Naruto could feel his competitive spirit soaring.
They continued beating away at the drums and eventually scored a tie when the game ended. After staring at the matching scores on the screen, the two turned to each other.
"You're gonna have to do better than that if you want to beat me," Rias taunted him with a smile even as she continued smacking away at the drum.
"Ha! Don't worry. I'm just getting warmed up. Now the real battle begins."
Since this level of gameplay was obviously too easy for them both, they decided to crank up the difficulty. There was no difficulty setting. However, some of the songs were harder than others simply because of how chaotic they were. This particular arcade game had all kinds of songs from classic folk songs to the latest anime theme songs. The song they chose this time was from a classic anime series called Code Geass. The song was Colors.
Naruto and Rias once again set off. Both were determined to win. Naruto didn't even need to look at his girlfriend-cum-fiance to know that she had every intention of defeating him, but that didn't mean he was going to lose. No, he couldn't lose. His pride as the Drumkage was on the line.
"I'm naked."
While it was just a simple two-word sentence, those two words were so powerful that it took everything Naruto had not to look over at Rias. It was instinct to want to look despite the fact that he knew she wasn't naked. Even though he did not look at her, his body froze for a second, which caused him to miss several drum beats, lowering his score. He quickly tried to get back on track, but it was already too late. Rias had pulled ahead.
"That was dirty," he accused.
Rias smiled as she continued to pound the drum. "Aren't you the one who constantly says if you're not cheating, you're not trying? I'm just putting your advice into practice."
Naruto grimaced. He had indeed said that exact phrase on numerous occasions, but this was the first time anyone had dared to use it against him. That the person using his own philosophy against him was Rias, of all people, was perhaps expected. She knew him the best. He honestly should have seen this coming. That he hadn't caused him a great deal of shame.
However, that didn't just mean Naruto was going to give up.
Nay, he couldn't give up.
"You know… I was thinking the stakes aren't high enough. What do you say we raise them?"
"I'm listening."
Naruto kept his eyes on his screen, watching the symbols and pounding the drum with the precision of a high-output supercomputer. He rolled the drumsticks as a long stream of symbols appeared. Down below, several Touhou characters he recognized were dancing to the rhythm.
"If I win, how about you let me plug all three of your holes using Shadow Clones?"
Now it was Rias's turn to freeze. Her entire body locked up and her cheeks turned a deep scarlet. No doubt she was imagining what it would be like to have three Naruto's taking her in all three of her holes. They had done it before and she had admitted to him in private that it was one of the hottest things she'd ever done and would be more than willing to do it again. However, Naruto had not been as interested. They might have been his clones, but seeing his Rias being plowed by other dicks had not been pleasant for him… even if those dicks were still technically his.
And now he was offering to do that for her.
Of course she would freeze.
And of course her score would drop.
"Now who's playing dirty?" asked Rias with a scowl as she realized their roles had reversed.
Naruto just gave her a brilliantly foxy smile. "If you're not cheating, you're not trying."
~Devil Ninja~
Unfortunately for both Naruto and Rias, neither of them were able to defeat the other. They both began escalating their dirty talk, until neither of them was fit to continue playing, and they had to be brought to their room by the others.
Naruto woke up the next morning to find himself lying on his bed, with a redhead in one arm and a petite blonde in the other. He blinked when he realized Le Fay was in his bed. They weren't really what you would call intimate. She had slept with him and the others on a few occasions, but their relationship was unofficial. It was for this reason that he wondered what she was doing here.
"Rias. Le Fay. Time to get up."
With the sun streaming in through the window, Naruto knew it was time for them to rise. He began shaking the two women awake. Both stirred, though only Rias woke up. She sat in bed, stretching her arms, bare breasts jiggling in his face, and yawned widely. Le Fay, on the other hand, groaned and burrowed deeper into his shoulder.
"Good morning, Naruto," Rias muttered as she leaned back down and kissed him. Naruto accepted the kiss even though he was still trying to wake up Le Fay, which Rias eventually noticed. "Oh. It seems Le Fay joined us last night."
"You don't seem too surprised," Naruto said with a raised eyebrow. It didn't look like Le Fay was going to wake up quite yet, so Naruto stopped shaking her and instead placed his hand on her hips. She was wearing pajama bottoms, so he couldn't feel her silky skin against his palm, but that was fine. The warmth she emitted was pleasant enough.
"I'm not." Rias shook her head. "You know how Le Fay joined us in bed the day before we left for the underworld? That's because we've all been talking. Le Fay expressed an interest in joining us, and so we decided to let her join as a sort of trial run to see if being a part of your harem was something she wanted." Rias looked down at Le Fay as she snored in a way that was oddly cute. She smiled. "I think it is safe to say she's gonna be joining us from now on."
"Huh…"
Naruto didn't know what to say, so he said that.
Rias soon left the bed and wandered into the private bathing room. Each bedroom was equipped with its own bath and shower. That left the task of waking the blonde up to him. While it did take a little while, Naruto was able to eventually wake up Le Fay.
"Morning, Fay-chan."
"Ah. Naruto. Um. Good morning." Le Fay blushed when she realized their relative positions, but she didn't shy away from him, which seemed to prove Rias's words. "I, uh, hope you don't mind that I'm the one in your bed instead of Koneko or Ravel. I know they're usually the ones you sleep with."
"I don't mind. In fact, this is perfect. I was eventually gonna ask you to become mine, but the opportunity never presented itself." Naruto brushed some of her hair behind her ear, then settled his hand on her cheek. They were still lying on the bed, on their sides so they faced each other. "Le Fay, will you become mine?"
"Of course," Le Fay muttered. "That's what I've wanted for awhile now."
Naruto thought it was a bit odd that he was asking Le Fay to be his after they had already had sex, but he had decided a long time ago not to question these things. He leaned up and pressed his lips to Le Fay's, surprising the girl and making her release a startled squeak. Surprised or not, it wasn't long before she was leaning into him, kissing him. Her soft lips pressed harder against him before she took one of his lips between her teeth and nibbled on it.
They would have continued kissing, but Rias chose that moment to walk out of the bathing room. She was dressed in a white bathrobe and a towel was around her hair. A few strands of red spilled from between the white.
"Showers ready for whoever wants to freshen up," Rias announced.
"I'll go first," Le Fay said, hopping out of bed and making for the bathroom door.
"She seems embarrassed," Rias said.
Naruto tilted his head. "You think so?"
"I do." Rias sat on the bed, though she only remained on its edge. "Naruto, I feel like I should tell you this now, but we girls have been talking, and we decided that Le Fay is the last woman we'll allow into your harem."
"So… basically, you don't want me to have any more women in my life?" Naruto asked for clarification.
"Yes. I think being romantically involved with seven women is more than enough, don't you?"
"I suppose so."
Naruto honestly didn't care how many or few women he slept with, so long as he loved them and they loved him, but it seemed Rias and the others wanted to impose a limit, which was fine with him too. He did think there should be a limit to how many women he slept with. The more women in his life, the less time he had to spend with each one.
Le Fay soon emerged from the bathing room and Naruto entered to take a quick shower. He came out minutes later, got dressed, and the three of them left the bedroom and traveled to the dining hall.
They weren't the only ones who had decided to eat breakfast. There were already several hundred people within the dining hall, a strange mix of Angels, Devils, Gods, Fallen Angels, and Yokai congregating together as if it were natural. While Naruto was able to ignore the strangeness because he was from a different world, Rias could not help but release an amazed gasp when she saw all those different races eating together like old friends.
Despite how many people were already eating, it didn't take long for them to find the rest of their peerage. Everyone from the so-called Gremory Group was seated around a long table. Ravel was daintily eating her meal next to Koneko, who had loaded her plate up with only the sweetest foods around. Consequently, Koneko was ignoring Rossweisse as the Valkyrie tried to lecture her on eating healthy. It seemed this hotel featured a buffet style breakfast. After piling all kinds of breakfast foods onto his plate, Naruto sat down across from Issei—and only then noticed the somber atmosphere surrounding the young man.
"What's wrong?" asked Naruto.
His question was met with silence at first. Issei was staring into his runny eggs, not eating, but silently brooding. It was very un-Issei-like. Sitting on either side of him were Raynare and Asia, who were rubbing his back. They were trying their best to comfort the young man, but it was like he didn't even notice their attempts.
Naruto looked at Asia, but she shook her head.
"We don't know what's wrong either," she confessed. "He came to bed last night like this. He hasn't said a single word."
"It was probably something Sirzechs said," Raynare said with a click of her tongue. "Honestly, why the fuck can't Issei just tell us what's on his damn mind? Does he think we're fucking mind readers or something? How are we supposed to help if he's gonna brood like some little bitch?"
"That's rich coming from a woman who actually is a bitch," Akeno said in a mild voice.
"Keep talking, cunt."
"Stop fighting, you two," Issei finally spoke, releasing an irritated sigh. His words might not have seemed like much, but they stunned the two girls into silence. They looked at each other, then at Issei, and then they began quietly eating.
Naruto and the others all wondered what was going on with Issei, but they didn't think they would be getting anything out of him right now, so they instead focused on their meal. The food was delicious. It was a much more European meal, with eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, and toast. Naruto lathered his food in tabasco sauce, which was something he saw someone do in an anime he watched once. Some of his friends gave him looks. However, this really did enhance the flavor. The spiciness of the tabasco contrasted nicely with the saltiness of the sausage and bacon.
Some time during their meal, Azazel entered the dining hall, located them, and made a beeline to their table. The look on his face was pretty grave.
"After you all finish eating, I need you to come with me," he said without preamble.
No one knew what Azazel wanted with them. Naruto glanced at Rias and Rossweisse, but even the two who were most known for keeping abreast of the situation didn't seem to know what the former fallen angel leader wanted.
Because everyone was curious, they quickly hurried to finish their breakfast, then left with Azazel as he led them to a much smaller meeting room than the auditorium they had used the other day. In the center of the room was a long table. A number of people were already sitting there, including the leaders of the Three Factions Alliance, the Hindu Gods, and several of their more powerful members like Sairaoarg Bael and Gabriel. Metatron was also present… though Naruto almost didn't recognize him since he was dressed like a ninja. Even his head was covered in a black mask.
Another thing Naruto noticed was that Zeus and Posedien were present. It had been a long time since he'd seen them. He almost forgot that after the battle to rescue Sirzechs, Michael, Azazel, and the other alliance leaders when they were being mind controlled, the Greek Gods had become members of the Three Factions Alliance.
"Thank you for coming. Please be seated," Sirzechs said to them.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume whatever you want to discuss has to do with our plans to reclaim Agreas?" Rias asked as she sat down with Naruto on her left. Koneko took Naruto's other side before the others could. Ophis scowled at her but slowly moved to another seat.
"That is correct." Sirzechs nodded, his expression remaining impassive. He waited until everyone in the Gremory Group was seated, then began again. "Before we begin, I would like to say that a situation has occurred that will complicate our plans. We learned not long ago that Rizevim Lucifer has kidnapped Issei's parents."
"Wait. You fucking serious?" Naruto asked in shock. He stood up and pressed his hands flat against the table.
"I am very serious," Sirzechs said.
"We believe the reason Issei's parents were taken is because he's one of our heavy hitters, but also because his parents are the easiest targets," Azazel chimed in. "They are both humans living in the human world. What's more, neither of them is aware of the supernatural world like Irina's parents are. They're just regular people, and we have done our best to keep it that way. Unfortunately, this has come back to bite us in the metaphorical ass."
Naruto slowly sat back down and glanced at Issei, who had kept very quiet up to this point. Now that he knew what happened, he understood why the young man was so silent. Sirzechs and the others must have told him about this the other day.
"This is a rather unprecedented disaster," Michael said. "What do you think we should do?"
"Hmph. Does it really matter if the brat's parents were kidnapped? It doesn't change your goals, does it?" asked Indra, arms crossed as he smirked at everyone present. Issei looked up and glared at the man, but the Hindu god of war was not intimidated in the least. He grinned. "Now there's a scary look. Careful, brat. I might assume you're threatening me and kill you on instinct."
His words only caused Issei to glare harder, but Sirzechs broke in before he or anyone else could say something to escalate the situation.
"Now isn't the time for us to argue like this. It is true that our plans to reclaim Agreas haven't changed, but we need to accommodate for this new development. The original plan called for Ise helping fight against the Alliance of Hell, who we learned have formed a temporary alliance with the Chaos Brigade. However, I'm pretty sure Ise won't be able to fight against the Alliance of Hell when he's worried about his parents."
"Which means we need to relocate some of our troops so they can take on the Alliance of Hell, but we don't have anyone who can match Ise in terms of raw power," Michael said with a sigh.
"You don't need to defeat anyone from the Alliance of Hell," Ophis suddenly declared. Everyone turned to her.
"What do you mean?" asked Azazel.
Puffing up her chest, Ophis gave them an oddly bold smile. "All you need to do is get a group who can hold off the Alliance of Hell long enough for me to regain my power. Once I've regained my power from Lilith, I will be able to squash Hades and his ilk flat."
Ophis was originally the most powerful creature in the entire world, ranked #1 on the Top Ten Strongest Beings in the World, until Rizevim used Samael to steal her powers and place them inside of Lilith. Now Ophis was so weak she wasn't even listed in the Top Ten Strongest anymore. Of course, her weakness was all relative. She was still more powerful than just about everyone else.
"Would that work?" asked Naruto.
"What do you mean?" asked Ophis with a frown.
"Let's say you regain your powers. You would once again become the Number One Strongest Being in the World. Hades has used the power of the Ark so anyone who is ranked among the strongest beings in the world cannot fight him. Would you be able to fight Hades despite this?"
"Yes." Ophis answered with such confidence that Naruto had to raise an eyebrow, but she had an answer ready for him. "I won't regain my place among the Top Ten Strongest Beings in the World for at least an hour after I regain my power. It shouldn't be too difficult to defeat the Alliance of Hell during that time."
"Speaking of, how do you plan to regain your lost power?" asked Shiva.
"Naruto is going to help me."
Everyone turned to look at Naruto. Seeing so many people staring at him caused him to scratch his cheek in an almost embarrassed manner.
"After what happened to Ophis, she and I have been working together to think of a way for her to reclaim her power. What we came up with was a seal that can be used to transfer power from one person to another."
Everyone raised an eyebrow at Naruto. Even Rias and the other people who knew him best looked fairly shocked by his announcement.
"You can create a seal that transfers power?" asked Indra, leaning forward in interest.
Naruto shrugged. "Yes, though different people would require different seals. The seal I created for Ophis is one that works specifically with her power and no one else's. There are also several issues with this seal. The first is that both Ophis and Lilith must remain inside of the seal for it to work. If either of them leaves the seal while it's active, then the seal will break down and stop working, and I'll have to redraw it all over again. That reminds me. This seal is something that I have to place down in advance of using it. I'll have to find a place inside of Agreas where I can draw the seal, then have someone lead Lilith into the room with it."
Seals were complicated in nature, and the one Naruto had created was probably his most complex seal ever. It was even more complex than the reversed sealing jutsu he created to summon Kurama with his full power.
"In other words… you won't be able to enter the battle until after you've helped Ophis reclaim her power, which means we can't rely on you for the beginning of the battle," Michael mused.
"That will make this fight considerably harder," Sirzechs said with a sigh.
Naruto was another of their aces. Without him to battle their enemies more powerful members, they would have to rely on people who were weaker. To make matters worse, Sirzechs, Ajuka, Shiva, Indra, and Brahma were all unable to fight against members from the Alliance of Hell thanks to their use of the Ark of the Covenant. Even the Top Ten Strongest Beings in the World were unable to disobey a command from the Ark. That meant there were several very powerful enemies who their forces could not match.
"I can deal with at least one of the members from the Alliance of Hell." Sairaoarg raised his hand. "In fact, let me battle against Hades."
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Sirzechs mumbled.
"I'm not stupid enough to believe I can defeat him," Sairaoarg said. "I know my limits. But I think I can at least hold him off long enough for Naruto and Ophis to finish dealing with Lilith."
"And we will take on Thanatos," Zeus said with a gesture toward himself and Poseidon. "I actually believe we are strong enough to defeat Thanatos. We know all of his powers and abilities."
"I guess that's two, but we also need someone who can fight against Nyx and Angra Mainyu," Sirzechs said.
"You can leave Angra Mainyu to me and my Brave Saints," Michael said at last.
Michael was not one of the Top Ten Strongest Beings, but neither was Angra Mainyu. Naruto didn't know who between the two was stronger. However, he was certain that Michael could defeat the Persian God if Dulio and Irina were by his side.
"In that case, I suppose the rest of us will divide ourselves up and take on the strongest members of the Chaos Brigade," Sirzechs said at last.
"I am going to fight that Yami character," Indra said as if it was already a foregone conclusion. He stared at everyone present as if daring them to disagree.
Sirzechs looked at Naruto. "Are you okay with that?"
Naruto frowned, then shrugged. "I doubt Indra will be able to beat Yami, but if he can hold him off long enough for me to help Ophis regain her power, then I don't mind him trying."
"Heh. That sounds like a challenge to me," Indra said.
"Take it however you want."
"All right. Fine. But if I do manage to beat Yami, then you can bet your ass I'll be taking all that power he's got for myself."
Naruto almost snorted. As if stealing someone else's power would be so easy. The only reason he and Ophis would be able to claim the power from Yami and Lilith was because those two were a part of them. Indra could spout whatever nonsense he wanted, but there was no way he would be able to steal Yami's power.
The rest of the meeting continued along in this vein.
~Devil Ninja~
Agreas was a floating city in the sky, which meant in order to capture it, they would need to lead an aerial assault.
It was a bright morning with a clear sky. The artificial sun shone down from overhead, creating long shadows along the ground as its luminous rays struck the army standing on the plains of the underworld.
An encampment had been set up on these plains, built using the technology created by the combined minds of Ajuka and Azazel. Unlike a normal camp, which would have relied on tarps and such made from hide and artificial fabrics, this one was composed of artificial cement made through magical means. All the buildings were uniform in shape and color. They were shaped like standard rectangles exactly two meters in size—all of them except for the command center. It sat in the center of the encampment, a structure twice the size of every other and shaped like a dome.
Naruto found himself standing inside of this command structure with Rias Gremory and many other important figures. Sairaorg was with them as well, as were Michael, Sirzechs, Azazel, Ajuka, Serafall, Indra, Brahma, Shiva, Poseidon, and Zeus. There were so many people present that the command center, large though it may have been, felt a little cramped.
"You all know the plan," Sirzechs said. "So I don't believe there's a need to go over it again. However, if you have any last minute questions, ask them now. There won't be time once the fighting starts."
"I've got a question." Indra stood with his arms crossed and the same dastardly smirk he always wore. "What are we going to do about the overwhelming numbers we're up against? I don't want to put a rain on anyone's parade, but even though we've managed to scrounge together an army of one hundred thousand, we're going up against at least ten times that many enemies."
Naruto was surprised by the logical question, but then he remembered Indra was a war god. It was only natural he would understand the intricacies of war like the back of his hand. He just didn't expect those words to come from someone so arrogant.
Sirzechs did not seem surprised by the question as he answered in a calm voice. "While they do have numbers on their side, I believe our forces are superior in every other way. Our army has quality over quantity. Besides, the goal of our army is not to defeat the enemy forces, but to keep them off us so we can take care of the Chaos Brigade's leaders."
"Fair enough," Indra conceded.
"This is not a question, but more of a statement," Shiva suddenly said.
"Go ahead," said Sirzechs.
"I will not be taking part in this battle unless Trihexa is fully resurrected," Shiva announced. His words caused a shocked ripple to spread through their group. Shiva was the most powerful among them, ranked as the number one strongest being in the entire world. To have him not participate was a huge blow to their fighting power.
"Can I ask why you've decided not to fight?" asked Azazel.
Shiva smiled. "The reason is simply because I am not interested in this battle. I am here because Brahma asked me to be here, but I have no real investment in what happens. That said, I do believe it would be bad if Trihexa were unleashed upon this world, so I'll step in only if that happens and not a moment before." He paused, then added. "I may also step in the event that the unlikely happens."
Everyone wanted to argue with him, but it was clear from the uninterested look in Shiva's eyes that nothing they said would convince him.
"That's fine," Sirzechs said at last. "Please help us if Trihexa fully awakens."
"Of course."
While Shiva's decision not to participate was a blow, it didn't change their course of action. Sirzechs spent the next few minutes talking about Agreas, then dismissed everyone.
Naruto left with Rias and Sairaorg. As he emerged from the command center, he looked up and into the distance, where the floating island of Agreas was visible. Currently about the size of his fist, the island was surrounded by a massive swarm of enemies, a mixture of Devils, Dragons, Magicians, Fallen, and Grim Reapers. The fact that Grim Reapers were present within the army disturbed Naruto as it proved the Alliance of Hell was currently working alongside the Chaos Brigade. Whether this was a permanent alliance or just temporary Naruto couldn't say, but he wasn't sure it mattered either. Either way, it meant more trouble for them.
"It seems the upcoming battle is going to be pretty intense," Sairaorg said.
"Most battles are," said Rias. She sighed. "Though I do think this one will be a lot harder than any other I've fought. There's a lot riding on our success, and we have a lot more to lose."
They walked through the encampment. Naruto turned his head to watch the people rushing around on all sides. This place was a hotbed of activity, with people moving supplies, issuing orders, or making food for hungry soldiers. Numerous scents filled the air. Sweat intermingled with the spices and herbs from food and alcohol. It reminded Naruto of the Allied Shinobi Forces's bases right before the Fourth Great Shinobi War.
Naruto looked at a group sitting on a bench not far from them, a mixture of Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels. They looked to be sharing a drink. The Devil had a large mug of ale, the Fallen was drinking some kind of martini, and the Angel had a red wine. Despite being from completely different species that had been at war with each other for centuries, they were now getting along and sharing drinks.
It was a calming sight.
"I'd better find my peerage. I'll see you guys later," Sairaorg said. He waved at them as he left.
"We should find the others too," said Rias.
"You're right," Naruto agreed.
Finding their group wasn't that hard. The members of Rias's Peerage were with Sona's group. It looked like Issei and Saji were locked in the middle of an arm wrestling match, and the various members of the two peerages were goading their teammate on.
"Come on, Saji! Put your back into it!"
"Don't lose to him, Ise!"
"You can do it, Ise!"
"Saji! If you know what's good for you, then you won't lose!"
"Ise, if you win, I will fuck you into a coma!"
Naruto would have shaken his head at those words, but they seemed to give Issei an incredible surge of strength. With a sound that made Naruto think his friend was screaming "Oppai!", Issei threw Saji's arm down, thus winning the match.
"Damn it. What kind of sick pervert power is that?!" asked Saji.
"It's the oppai dragon's pervert power! That's what!" Issei shouted with enthusiasm.
While Naruto didn't look disappointed by the events that had transpired, Rias sighed as she walked over to the group. She wore a dry and resigned smile.
"It's nice to see everyone is able to remain despite the fact that we'll be going to war soon."
"Buchou, did the meeting end?" asked Kiba.
"Just now," Rias replied.
"How'd it go?" asked Ravel.
"Nothing really happened. It was just going over what we already knew."
"When is the attack taking place?" asked Sona.
While Sona and Rias were technically of equal status, Rias had a much higher position in this army thanks to her many accomplishments on the battlefield. Every situation they had faced was won in part thanks to Rias and her strategies. Of course, quite a few of her strategies came from Ravel, but it was Rias herself who had implemented many of them.
"Tomorrow at dawn. That means you should all get some rest before the big battle begins," Rias said not just to Sona, but to everyone.
They all shared a meal from one of the work stations. Koneko and Ravel fought for a place on Naruto's lap, Rias watched them with an amused smile, and Irina and Rossweisse tried hard to pretend they didn't care while glaring enviously at the two girls out of the corner of their eyes. Even Le Fay kept sneaking glances at him. It felt like almost nothing had changed. Only Naruto seemed to notice one of their group was missing.
That was why, after dinner, Naruto went off in search of Ophis. He found the immortal dragon disguised as a girl standing on a cliffside not far from the encampment. She was staring off into the distance. It looked like she was observing Agreas, but he knew her gaze was on something else entirely, something that wasn't visible to anyone but her.
"You missed dinner," he said as he stood beside her.
"That's okay. I'll just ask you to feed me your cum later," Ophis said with a bland expression.
"I'm not sure that will be enough to fill you up, but sure. Later though." Naruto paused, allowing a small silence to stretch out between them. "Are you nervous?"
"A little," Ophis confessed. "In all the many centuries I have been alive, this is the first time something like this has ever happened to me. I did not even realize it was possible for my powers to be taken like this. And now that I am on the cusp of reclaiming them, I'm beginning to wonder if it is even possible. I keep asking myself questions I have never asked before. What will happen if I lose? What will I do if I can't regain my powers? When I begin to ask these questions, I get scared."
Ophis wrapped her arms around her body. It was a vulnerable expression, something he had never seen on her before. Even after losing her powers, Ophis had still remained supremely confident in herself. He wondered if her battle against Hades had caused her to feel this way.
"If your powers can be taken away, they can be returned as well," Naruto told her. "That's what Kurama says."
"Kurama," Ophis sighed. "That fox of yours is very intelligent and powerful. I wonder how he would fare in this world if he wasn't sealed inside of you."
"He would probably become one of the world's greatest super powers. I imagine he might even become deified and go on to form his own country."
"Absolutely not. That sounds like such a hassle."
The words echoed inside of Naruto's mind and caused him to smile. However, he did not respond to them. Instead, he placed a hand on Ophis' shoulder and pulled her to him. Seeking his comfort, his warmth, Ophis closed her eyes and leaned into him. Tomorrow would be a big day, a day of battle and bloodshed, of death and destruction, but for now, this moment was about him comforting one of the women he loved.
~Devil Ninja~
Naruto snapped from asleep to awake as the sound of an explosion nearly ruptured his ear. He threw himself off the bed and raised a barrier seconds before the shockwave struck his barracks, tearing it to shreds within seconds. Several screams echoed beside him, but he could hardly hear them, for the pounding of blood in his ears and the loud roaring of flames filled his eardrums.
Even after the shockwave swept over and past them, the sounds didn't die down. They continued. Naruto didn't need a second glance to notice why.
Meteors were raining down from the sky.
It was an aerial bombardment.
"Those are being conjured by Magicians!" Rias exclaimed.
"It looks like they decided not to wait for us to arrive at Agreas and took the attack to us," Ravel added.
All of Naruto's women had been sleeping with him that night, so they were all present now. Rias and Ophis, who always slept nude, changed into their outfits using magic. The others like Koneko and Ravel were forced to strip out of their pajamas and change outfits fast. They were fortunate Naruto had stored their clothing in a storage scroll. Rossweisse was lucky. Her armor was located in a storage space. All she needed to do was summon it.
"What should we do?" asked Irina.
"The only thing we can do," Rias said grimly. "Let's meet up with the others and push our enemies back."
No one disagreed with Rias's decision. They left the destroyed remains of their barracks and rushed across the battlefield. The darkness of night was lit up by the numerous fires that waged across the camp, allowing them to see how truly horrendous what was happening was. After the bombardment of magical meteors struck, Grim Reapers had descended under the cover of night and were attacking en masse. Many of their forces lay slain and more were dying. Naruto gritted his teeth as he saw one unfortunate Devil's head leave his shoulders as a scythe cleaved through it.
"Naruto, take defense!"
"Ravel, move on the take! Cover her with your magic, Rossweisse!"
"Koneko! Irina! Charge through!"
Rias directed them as a group, commanding one of them to attack and the others to defend. Naruto found himself working as part of a unit. He used his ninja wire to tie up any enemies that came too close, while Ravel finished them off with her phoenix fire. Koneko relied on her sturdy Rook defense and Touki to act as a shield. She took several attacks head on and even let a scythe shatter against her body before Rossweisse and Le Fay created hundreds of magic circles on that side that unleashed a literal bombardment of various kinds of magic. They had to be careful, though, for in this chaotic melee were many of their comrades.
Naruto soon discovered it wasn't just the Grim Reapers who were attacking when a large sphere with numerous tentacles appeared overhead. Several tentacles struck figures down below, impaling them, causing them to dissolve. Even more were absorbed by the shadows that Tartarus manipulated.
"This isn't good," Rias said. "If Tartarus is here, then it means Angra Mainyu, Erebus, Nyx, and Hades are here too."
"Let's hurry up and find Ise and the others," Naruto said.
Searching the chaotic battlefield for Issei and their other companions wasn't as hard as they first assumed. A massive explosion clearly created by Issei's famous Dragon Shot blasted a large hole in the enemy formation, and they followed the point where it appeared to its source. Issei was fighting alongside the rest of their peerage, decked in Scale Mail. Beside him was Asia, who was healing people at a distance, and protecting them both was Akeno, Kiba, Xenovia, Gasper, and Raynare.
"Ise!" Rias shouted.
"Buchou! Naruto! I'm glad to see everyone else is okay!" Issei shouted.
"Thank God you made it to us," Asia added, clasping her hands as though praying.
"We need to find Sirzechs and the other alliance leaders," Rias said, taking command of the situation the moment she appeared. "I'm sure this attack's purpose is removing them from the playing field. My brother and the others are incapable of fighting against the Alliance of Hell thanks to the Ark."
"I think you might be right," Kiba added.
"If that's the case, we should definitely go now before something happens to them,"
Xenovia said with a grave expression.
"Fuck, this day has just gone from bad to worse," Raynare grumbled in complaint.
Rias had been correct in her assumption that the Alliance of Hell was after the Three Faction Leaders. They found Azazel, Baraqiel, Shemhazai, Metatron, Michael, Gabriel, Zeus, and Poseidon fighting against Hades, Erebus, and Nyx. It was hard to tell who was winning. Hades laughed as he wielded his staff with surprising grace for a skeleton. He blocked an attack from Poseidon's trident, then knocked a lightning bolt away from him. Azazel tried to launch an attack from behind, but it was swallowed by a mirror of darkness that appeared before it could hit.
"Damn that Erebus," Azazel scowled. "He's weak, but he's damn good at cheap tricks."
"Thank you for the compliment, former governor general of the Grigori," said Erebus, his voice coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.
While they were battling against Hades, Erebus, and Nyx, Sairaorg had somehow found himself locked in combat with Angra Mainyu. Naruto didn't know how that had happened, but he could take a few guesses.
"Irina!" Naruto shouted suddenly. "Cast the brightest light you can!"
"Wha—huh? Okay!"
Irina clearly didn't know why he was asking for this, but she did as suggested, gathering light into a ball within her hands, which she tossed into the air. The ball exploded into a sphere of such luminescence that all the shadows vanished. Erebus and Nyx suddenly appeared out of a shadow that was no longer present for them to hide in.
Naruto and Kiba used that moment to their advantage. They flashed next to the pair, Naruto in front of Erebus and Kiba before Nyx. While Kiba's attack was dodged by Nyx, who leapt back just before the sword could strike her, Erebus was unable to avoid having a Rasengan shoved into his chest. He screamed as he was blasted backward like a rocket being launched into space.
"It seems we have more unwanted guests," Hades said.
"Unwanted for you, perhaps," Rias shot back.
Hades looked like he wanted to say something, but Azazel chose that moment to attack, attempting to impale him with a spear of light. It didn't work. Hades caught the attack with his staff, then redirected it toward Baraqiel, who had tried sneaking up behind him. This forced the other Fallen Angel to back off, lest he be impaled by his allies weapon.
"Your timing is quite fortuitous, all of you. Thank you for the assistance," Michael said.
"Don't worry about that. More importantly, what should we do now?" asked Rias.
"There is no choice. We have to begin our plans now," Sirzechs said. "Azazel, Gabriel, Michael, Poseidon, Zeus, can I leave these four to you?"
"Do not worry, Sirzechs. We will hold off Hades and his alliance. You do what you have to," Michael said.
"I'm going to battle Angra Mainyu," Sairoarg announced.
The two of them had been battling each other for some time now. Angra Mainyu had been creating all kinds of different element magic that he threw at Sairaorg, but each and every attack was simply punched out of the sky. Sairoarg proved why he was often hailed as the strongest Devil of his generation.
"Man, what an unmitigated disaster this is," Indra said. "A battle is happening right in front of me and I can't even fight."
"Sirzechs, I have changed my mind," Shiva added. "With what has just happened, I have decided to aid you in battle."
"I appreciate that." Sirzechs looked more than a little relieved by this. However, now was not the time, and so he cast a spell that amplified his voice and said, "Everyone! Split up into two teams! Those under Heavens purview and members of the Greek Pantheon shall remain here and battle against the Alliance of Hell. Everyone else, we attack Agreas! Battle is upon us!"
~Devil Ninja~
Explosions rocked the atmosphere. Bright red spheres flared into existence and wiped out whole swaths of people. Angels. Devils. Dragons. Fallens. Magicians. None could escape the destruction being perpetuated in midair as both sides slung spells at each other with what seemed like little regard.
An Angel launched a spear of brilliant golden light that flew forward, impaled a Devil from the Old Satan Faction, and sent the now dead man tumbling through the sky. Before he had time to celebrate his victory, however, a spinning disc of compressed magical energy sliced the angel in half from the waist. The last look on the Angels face was one of shock before the two separate halves of his body flew in different directions.
A little ways over, a Devil was locked in a vicious struggle with a Grim Reaper. The two seemed evenly matched as they attacked each other with scythe and sword. Their blades flashed with a brilliant gleam of silver in the light. It wasn't long before their blades locked and they struggled to overpower the other, but when it became obvious neither side was going to win, they pushed back and floated away from each other.
And then they both went up in a brilliant explosion.
The attack that had hit them was a stray attack from another battle taking place not far away. Two people of high rank were fighting. One of them was Mephisto Pheles, who caused the air to ignite with a snap of his fingers. His opponent, a man dressed in a dark robe decorated with ornaments and a clown mask on his face, swung the scythe in his hands and cut the wave of flames in half.
Had this attack been launched by anyone else, perhaps that would have ended things, but the wave of flames soon scattered and each errand strand transformed into a bird. The birds congregated around the Grim Reaper and flew at him with the obvious intent of destruction. The Grim Reaper had no such plans to let that happen, however, and he spun around once more, swinging his scythe so fast it was a mere blur as he cut down every bird attacking before they could so much as touch his robes.
"You are quite powerful, Pluto. I can see why you are Hades prized Grim Reaper."
"Hmph. Don't try and flatter me, old Devil. I'm not in the mood."
"Oh, dear. That's quite the temper. Why don't we see if we can't fix your attitude."
Mephisto swung his arm and unleashed a powerful arc of lightning, which Pluto tried to cut in half, but it soon turned into a lasso that wrapped around him and bound his arms to his side. Rather than let himself be defeated, Pluto spun like a top and let his scythe glide along his body. The way it danced around him even while he wasn't holding it was impressive. The lightning lasso was sliced to pieces.
The battle between Mephisto and Pluto was but one of many battles taking place around Agreas, and navigating that battlefield was none other than Naruto, Rias, Ophis, and Issei. While everyone else was battling, their goal was to infiltrate Agreas. They flew through the battlefield, doing their best to skirt around the numerous fights taking place.
"This is really awful," Issei shouted to be heard.
"War always is," Rias said.
"And we got separated from the others," Naruto grumbled. "I hope they're okay."
"We need to have faith in them. They can handle themselves," said Rias in a reassuring voice, though he didn't know if she was trying to reassure him or herself.
It wasn't long before they landed on Agreas. Even in the middle of the city, the battling was heavy. Naruto could not help but feel pained as he looked at the gutted out buildings burning with supernatural flames. Several of the buildings had already been toppled. Death and destruction lay everywhere he looked.
"You remember the plan?" Rias asked Issei.
Issei nodded. His usual goofy expression was nowhere to be found. He instead looked like a man on a mission, a man who would stop at nothing to accomplish his goals.
"I'm supposed to meet up with Team Vali, find Rizevim, and rescue my parents."
"That's right. Our plans are in shambles thanks to the surprise attack late last night, and we lost track of Sirzechs early on in the battle, but our mission hasn't changed. Remember not to get caught up in any battles. We don't know what Rizevim plans to do with your parents, but I doubt it will be pleasant. Make sure you hurry up and meet with Vali."
"Don't worry, Buchou. I won't fail to rescue my parents."
"Good luck."
Issei was already wearing his Scale Mail, though he had yet to change into any of his more powerful forms. The booster jets on his back ignited as he took off at supersonic speeds. He didn't bother engaging in any of the enemies that noticed him and instead traveled toward the center of the city.
Naruto turned to Ophis.
"Can you find Lilith?" he asked.
Ophis tilted her head left, then right. She closed her eyes. While nothing seemed to have changed, Naruto had the sense that she was searching for her power. The power emitting from Lilith belonged to Ophis, so she should be able to locate it with ease, even if Lilith was doing her best to remain hidden.
"She's not in the battle," Ophis said at last, opening her eyes. "She is located deep underground. I suspect she is guarding the complex housing Trihexa."
"That so? Then I guess we also need to head underground," Naruto said.
"I won't be able to follow you," Rias said with a sad smile. "One of us needs to find the others and lead them. Think you'll be okay on your own?"
"We'll be fine," Naruto said with a confident grin. "Don't worry about us."
"It's when you say lines like that when I worry the most," Rias said.
Naruto would have given her one of his signature comebacks, but Rias left him and Ophis soon after. Now on their own, the two quickly made a beeline for where Ophis sensed her power coming from. They soon discovered a building that looked like a research center. The building was an example of postmodernism, with an asymmetrical aesthetic that made Naruto think the designer was one of those crazy Americans he heard so much about. It was also one of the few buildings that didn't have anyone around it.
"There is a magic barrier set up around this building," Ophis said.
"Can you dispel it?" asked Naruto.
Ophis shook her head. "Not at my current power level, but I won't have to."
Naruto didn't know what she meant at first, but Indra chose that moment to appear before them. He had his back to them, arms crossed in his typical pose, and was wearing the same outfit as always. Unlike pretty much everyone else who had chosen to don armor, he was wearing his Hawaiin t-shirt and board shorts. It made him look kind of ridiculous.
"So this is the entrance into Agreas's underground lab," Indra said with his classic smirk. "Heh. Good job finding this place, brats. Now leave entering this building to me."
Naruto withheld a grimace as intense power welled up around Indra. There was a crackling hum in the air, which caused the hairs on Naruto's arms to prickle. This must have been Indra's Divine Aura. Naruto had heard from Sirzechs that Indra was so powerful it would take all the current Satans fighting together just to rival him. He didn't know how true that was, but feeling his power now, he was inclined to believe it.
The intense wellspring of power was soon channeled into an object on Indra's person, which Naruto soon realized was the legendary relic often spoken of in Indra's specific mythology. Vajra. It was a divine weapon that let Indra command lightning that was superior to even Baraqiel's famous Holy Lightning.
A long and powerful bolt of lightning flew from Indra and slammed into the researching building—or at least the barrier surrounding the building. Sparks crackled all along the surface. The barrier seemed to hold for a moment, but then cracks began appearing. Seconds later, the barrier was unable to remain cohesive and shattered.
"And that's that." Indra clapped his hands, grinned, and turned to give Naruto a challenging stare. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going on ahead."
"Feel free," Naruto said dismissively.
Indra chuckled, whether because he was amused by Naruto's response or something else, Naruto didn't know. He didn't really want to know. This god really pissed him off for reasons not even Naruto understood.
As Indra disappeared into the building, he turned to Ophis. "We should go inside too. We need to find Lilith."
"Yes."
Naruto and Ophis entered the research building, which possessed a vague resemblance to a traditional hospital. While the entrance was definitely a lobby, the rest of the building consisted of long hallways with glass windows that displayed numerous research rooms. A lot of these rooms contained devices Naruto had never seen before. He couldn't even begin to guess at their purpose.
There were no enemies in this building. That would have been disturbing on any other occasion, but Naruto realized the reason was simply because there was no need to station troops here. Lilith was somewhere inside of this building. There was not a soul alive right now who could defeat her in combat.
"I've found her," Ophis said at last, pointing down a hallway. "She is this way."
After she spoke, the entire building shook like it had been struck by a giant. Naruto bent his knees to keep from falling. The familiar Divine Aura of Indra was erupting from up ahead, which meant…
"Is Indra in combat with Lilith?" asked Naruto.
"That seems likely," said Ophis.
"Haaaah. We'll let Indra hold her off for now. I need to find a room where I can lay down my seal."
"What if Indra beats Lilith?" asked Ophis.
"Do you think he can?"
"Not a chance."
"There you go. Now let's hurry up and get this done."
~Devil Ninja~
"Outta my way!"
Issei's arm was encased in powerful energy as he turned a normal dragon shot into something resembling an energy whip. He swung his arm, which struck several Devils from the Old Satan Faction, tearing them in half. These old Devils didn't even slow Issei down. He continued running toward the meeting point.
The meeting point was in a location deep beneath Agreas' surface. There were many buildings that led into the underground section of Agreas, where essence crystals were contained. Issei had gone through one of those buildings and reached what seemed to be an underground storage chamber.
There were a few people guarding this area, but he was able to deal with them easily. Issei whipped through the Old Satan Faction Devils and soon found himself standing in front of a door. He would have kicked it in, but the door opened on its own, and when he stepped inside, he found himself standing in a room that looked like a refinement chamber. There were all kinds of big machines that looked like they were used to refine the essence crystals into something that could be used.
Issei had heard the essence crystals were used to create both the Evil Pieces and Brave Saints. That was another reason Agreas was such an important location for the Three Factions Alliance. Without the essence crystals found on Agreas, they were unable to create more Angels and Devils through reincarnation.
"It's been awhile, Issei Hyoudo."
A man was standing next to a large contraption that looked like a drill, his silver hair and eyes as easily recognizable as the silver armor he wore. Divine Dividing's Scale Mail looked a lot like Issei's, but it had several differences like the wings and the shape of the helmet. The helmet was currently open.
"Vali," Issei said. "Where are the others."
"They've joined the battle," Vali said. "You're going to take the fight to Rizevim, right? I'm coming with you. I still owe my grandfather some payback."
"That's fine. I wouldn't bother meeting with you if I didn't need your help."
Issei understood his limits, and he knew he wasn't a match for Rizevim Lucifer, who had the Sacred Gear Canceller ability. The power to nullify all Sacred Gear-enchanted powers with just a touch was a broken skill that would be difficult for any Sacred Gear user to break through on their own.
"Good. Then let's hurry. I know where Rizevim is. He's currently holding your parents deeper inside Agreas."
"Lead on."
Issei didn't even question Vali as they left the room and began making their way deeper inside of Agreas. Now wasn't the time for questions. He was a man on a mission to rescue his family, and he trusted Vali, who had proven himself a friend by this point.
They fought their way through several enemies. None could stand against them. Fighting against both him and Vali was like trying to stop a hurricane with a handful of toothpicks. Deeper and deeper they went, until at last the two found themselves standing inside of a room that looked nondescript—save the two humans crucified to a pair of crosses.
"Mom! Dad!" Issei took a step forward, but he was blocked by Vali. He would have shouted at the other boy. He didn't, however, because Rizevim was standing right next to the crosses.
"Well now, isn't this a touching reunion?" asked Rizevim with a twisted grin. "Issei Hyoudou, I've been waiting for you."
"Ise?" his mother asked in shock when she saw him. "Is that… you?"
"It's me," Issei said as he let the mask covering his face pull back.
"I don't understand. What is this? Why are you dressed like that?" his mother said.
"What's going on here?" asked his dad. "Nothing makes sense."
Their confusion was understandable since Issei had always done his best to never let them learn about the supernatural world. He didn't want his folks getting involved in something so dangerous. Both of them were just regular humans.
"Since it seems your son doesn't want you to know, allow me to tell you," Rizevim said, the grin splitting his face growing even wider.
"Don't you dare, bastard!" Issei roared, but it was too late.
"Your son isn't human anymore. He's a Devil, an evil monster who devours humans to increase his own power."