Human World, Japan, Kuoh.
"Who in the hell would show up at the house this late at night?" James asked with a frown.
After speaking, James, with annoyance written all over his face, made his way toward the front door of the mansion. As he did, he expanded his perception and mixed it with his soul sight. When he did, he noticed two familiar energy signatures and two that he did not recognize. However, one of those signatures made him pause in his tracks.
"What the hell?" James said with fear and confusion on his face. "What kind of monster did that asshole bring to my house?"
*Ring!* *Ring!*
Once again, the visitors rang the doorbell. Luckily, the sound of the doorbell snapped James back to his senses. Unfortunately, it did nothing to quell the fear he was feeling from that overwhelming presence he could sense from outside the door. Taking a deep breath, James did his best to calm down. Then, he made his way to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob. After another deep breath, James opened the door.
Just as he expected, James found two familiar people standing outside the door. Vali, wearing a smirk, and Kuroka, wearing a smile. Then there were the two unfamiliar people. The first, a handsome man with flaxen hair that reached the middle of his back and green eyes. What struck James as peculiar, however, was this man's presence. He seemed to be as calm and as vast as an ancient forest.
The second individual, however, was the one that gave James pause. And that feeling got even worse after making eye contact with her emotionless dark grey eyes. Eventually, James was able to tear his eyes away to find a cute young girl with long black hair that reached her hips wearing a black Gothic-Lolita dress.
"So, I guess you're not gonna let us in?" Vali said with a smirk on his face.
Snapping out of his current state of mind, James returned the smirk.
"I don't make a habit of inviting terrorists into my home, Vali."
Before James and Vali could continue their back and forth, the little girl stepped forward until she was right in front of James. Then, she tilted her head back to look up at him. James also focused his attention on her.
"Strong." The little girl said. "Help me beat the big red idiot."
"I'm sorry, what?" James replied in confusion.
"Why don't you invite us in, young man." the flaxen-haired man said with a calm smile. "We have much to discuss. And this is no place to have a discussion of such import."
Shrugging his shoulders, James stepped aside. He had no idea why, but he felt as if hearing what this man had to say was of great importance. On top of that, even if he wanted to refuse, he knew that there was nothing he could do to stop the little girl if she decided that she wanted to come inside.
A few moments later, James returned to the living room with his four guests in tow.
"What took so..." Mizore began to question before she came to a stop after the little girl entered the room.
Everyone else, except Scathach, also froze when the little girl entered the room. Scathach, on the other hand, simply scanned the new arrivals.
"Chiron, I did not expect to see you here." Scathach said as she addressed the flaxen-haired man calmly. Then, she shifted her gaze toward the little girl. "And you brought Ophis with you as well, huh?"
Chiron whose true form is a centaur, was like Scathach is to Celtic lore, the greatest trainer of heroes in Greek mythology. With Heracles and Achilles among his disciples.
James, who was not as affected as those under the minor god-rank widened his eyes like everyone else. However, unlike everyone else, he was still able to move normally. So, he once again scanned Ophis, who was still staring at him.
"So, this is Ophis, huh?" James asked curiously. "As the leader of a group of terrorists, I was expecting a more... sinister look. Cute was the furthest thing from my imagination."
"Well, Ophis appearance can be changed on her whim." Chiron explained.
"Oh, I see." James said with a nod. Then, he turned his attention back to Vali. "So, why are you here?"
"Before I explain that, could you call Azazel and whoever else you deem necessary, and have them come over." Vali replied without answering James' question.
"*Sigh* It's gonna be one of those kinda nights, huh/" James asked rhetorically. "I guess I'll just skip school tomorrow."
And just as vali asked, James contacted Azazel, Sirzechs, Serafall, Michael, and Yasaka. Although Yasaka could not attend this meeting in person due to being connected to Kyoto's ley lines, she would be able to attend this meeting via other means if she chose to. Also, Azazel chose to contact Odin, since a meeting with the Oroborus Dragon was enough to bring any faction a sense of crisis.
About an hour later, Sirzechs, Serafall, Azazel, Michael, Gabriel, Odin, Rias, Sona, and the two peerages were gathered in James' living room. While Yasaka was connected via a magic circle that mimicked a video call.
"*Sigh* it's pretty crowded in here." James said to himself as he looked over all the people in his living room. "Maybe I should consider getting a new house."
Not paying any attention to James' muttering, the faction leaders were focused on the four outsiders.
"Chiron, I didn't expect someone like you to join the Khaos Brigade." Azazel said, breaking the ice.
"I have not joined the Khaos Brigade." Chiron responded calmly. However, I have taken Vali and his team as my students, much like Scathach has done with James Alaverus."
"I see." Azazel said with a grin on his face. "I guess losing to James when they fought and being out classed in the fight with Loki made you reconsider things, huh, Vali?"
Vali ignored Azazel's attempt at mockery. Instead, he looked at the rest of the people on the opposite side of the room.
"I've come to entrust Ophis to you." Vali said, cutting straight to the point. "I believe that she is in danger."
Hearing that, everyone in the alliance was shocked.
"And just who could harm the Infinite Dragon God?" Michael asked calmly.
"Exactly." Odin added. "Even if all of us present joined forces, we would not be able to do any damage to a being such as her."
"I'm not sure." Vali replied while shaking his head. "But I know that the Khaos Brigade is acting strange lately."
"Hold on, isn't Ophis the leader of the Khaos Brigade?" Rias asked. "Why would they want to hurt her?"
"Because all the factions of the Khaos Brigade have their own agendas, nya." Kuroka replied with a smile.
"On top of that, Ophis is only the leader because she is the strongest." Vali continued. "She actually doesn't even manage the members at all."
"Other than giving out her snakes." James added. "What I don't understand is, why did she gather all those people who are so much weaker than her?"
"Because they said they would help me beat that big red idiot." Ophis said monotonously. "They would help me regain my silence."
Everyone from the alliance looked at Ophis in confusion.
"You." Ophis said while staring at James. "Help me beat the big red idiot, too. I can make you strong."
When she finished, Ophis produced one of her snakes in her hand.
"I don't need your help to become strong." James replied with a smile. "And who is this 'big red idiot' you're talking about?"
Instead of answering, Ophis stared at James with her emotionless expression. However, in the depth of her eyes, one could see confusion swirling around. Usually, whenever she offered someone her snakes, everyone would jump at the opportunity.
"Ddraig, why won't he accept?" Ophis asked curiously.
Then, without James' input, the [Boosted Gear] appeared on his left hand.
"Because he has pride befitting a Heavenly Dragon." Ddraig said in a way that everyone could hear him. "He only trusts the strength he is able to gain with his own efforts."
"Like Vali." Ophis said while still not moving her focus from James.
"Anyway, like I said, who is this 'big red idiot'?" James asked again.
"She's talking about Great Red." Vali replied with a wry smile.
Once again, everyone was surprised.
"That's the whole reason Ophis created the Khaos Brigade, nya." Kuroka added.
"But why?" Gabriel asked curiosity overflowing from her innocent eyes.
"I want my silence back." Ophis said, not alleviating the group's confusion in the slightest.
Vali then explained what Ophis meant. How She was born in the [Dimensional gap]. How she enjoyed the silence in that place. How one day, Great Red was also born. About the ripples and noise Great Red's concept of dreams introduced into the [Dimensional gap]. About how she fought with Great Red to have him banished from the [Dimensional Gap] and lost. And about how she eventually created the Khaos Brigade to get helpers for her next fight Against Great Red.
"*Sigh* And it seems that Ophis sucks at picking her friends, huh?" James said after vali finished his translation of Ophis' wishes.
"*Sigh* Basically." Vali replied.
"But why do you want to leave her here?" James asked while he looked at Ophis, who had relocated to his lap, his left thigh to be precise, while Vali was telling her story.
Koneko, who was sitting on James' other thigh, was also staring at Ophis. Unsure of what she should do with the Infinite Dragon God so close to her, she pulled out a bag of cookies from her pocket and offered one to Ophis. Ophis, on the other hand, looked at the cookie in Koneko's hand curiously, then she looked at Koneko. After switching back and forth between the two for a while, she accepted the cookie. However, she only held it without eating it.
Seeing Ophis actions, James and Koneko were confused. Then, as if she had received enlightenment, Koneko took another cookie out of the bag and began to nibble on it. Seeing Koneko's actions, Ophis imitated her and took a small bite of the cookie. Then, her eyes lit up and she began to nibble on the cookie at a much greater pace than Koneko.
"Well, I see how the Khaos Brigade turned out the way it did." James said after watching the entire exchange between Koneko and Ophis. "She may be ancient, but she's practically a blank slate."
"That's about it." Vali replied. "The members of the Khaos Brigade took advantage of this fact to use Ophis power for whatever they wanted. However, because Ophis is so strong and didn't recognize them as threats, she didn't put up any guard against their actions or possible betrayal."
"*Sigh* This is gonna be a pain in the ass." James replied. Then, he turned toward the higher ups. "So, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to accept the request?"
"Well, if keeping Ophis with you and out of the reach of the Khaos Brigade will delay or even stop their plans for her, I think it's worth it." Azazel said while stroking his goatee.
Sirzechs, Serafall, Michael, Odin, and Yasaka all nodded in agreement with Azazel's words. At the same time, Gabriel looked like she wanted to try feeding Ophis a cookie while biting her thumb nail.
"*Sigh* Whatever, she can stay here." James said in a tired tone.
"We'll leave Kuroka here to help look over Ophis, as well." Vali said with a smile.
Hearing that Kuroka would be staying nearby, Koneko's ears perked up before she stared intently at her elder sister. Kuroka smiled back at Koneko in return.
"I'll get to see you every day from now on, Shirone, nya." Kuroka said with a genuinely happy smile on her face.
Koneko continued to stare back in response. However, there was a bit of happiness swirling in the depths of her eyes as well.
"I really do need a bigger house." James said while shaking his head. "We haven't had any free rooms ever since Master moved in."
"Don't worry, we'll take care of that." Sirzechs replied. "IN fact, why don't all of you begin living together?"
"I know I'm gonna regret asking this question, but what do you mean?" Rias asked.
Instead of Sirzechs, Serafall was the one to answer that question.
"Well, Rias-tan, since you and So-Tan are both engaged to jay-Kun, we thought it was about time for you all to start living together." Serafall said with a smile. "So, we'll buy the other house next door to Jay-Kun's house and renovate them all into one large estate."
"I knew something like that would be coming." Sona said while adjusting her glasses.
Although Sirzechs was the one who brought it up, James could see unhappiness swirling in his eyes.
'I guess he's still in his feelings about me telling him about himself.' James thought to himself as he observed Sirzechs' state. 'Well, he better get over that shit. I don't know what his deal is, but I really don't give a shit. Okay, maybe I have an idea why he's not happy with me, but I still don't give a shit.'
After discussing a few more things, everyone got ready to leave and make arrangements for what was to come. Before Vali and Chiron could leave, however, Dante approached them.
"With Master Chiron training you and your team, Vergil must be getting stronger, right?" Dante asked.
"Yes, his improvements are impressive." Chiron replied with a calm smile.
"Has he chilled out, at all, since his strength has started to grow?" Dante asked.
"You could say so." Chiron replied. "However, his desire to defeat you burns brighter than ever."
"I see." Dante replied before turning away and returning to Devil May Cry with Lady.