Chapter 21:

Azazel shifted his eyes towards the wide-eyed Asgardian king. "I think he wants your head."

Odin snorted. "No, really? What gave you that idea?!"

"Enough!" Yasaka snapped, getting both men to calm down. She looked outside with a saddened expression, seeing the Fire Giant burn down several youkai guards. "We need to deal with the threat at hand. Not bicker amongst ourselves!"

"Agreed," Sirzechs nodded, a frown on his face.

Akihiko gave an 'I told you so' look to his parents, who frowned. "Oh, shut up," his father grunted, crossing his arms.

Squinting his eye upon looking at the flashing lights surrounding Surtr, Odin sighed. "And it looks like some pesky magicians are also interfering in this attack. This can't possibly bode well for us."

As if to prove his point even further, Surtr's fiery gaze shifted to the top of the school building, seemingly looking directly at Odin. "There you are," he grunted, before rearing his head back and breathing out an ungodly amount of flames. Even before the attack approached them, all of the younger beings sweated at the blistering heat being produced from Surtr's mere presence. Some even had a pieces of their clothes melting.

Fortunately, Odin raised Gungnir in the direction of the blast, and a beam of ice magic shot forward, intercepting the attack and managing to freeze it solid for a few moments. The chunk of ice fell to the ground, immediately melting as Surtr's fury grew.

"You refuse to even stand while in my presence?!" Surtr demanded, his eyes giving out more and more light. "How dare you show such direspect to the Lord of Muspelheim?!"

More and more fire sprouted from his body, burning his magican allies and destroying a good portion of the school building. Eye narrowed, Odin finally stood up, his magic aura immediately coming to life around him.

"If you want to have your fire put out so brazenly, Lord of Muspelheim," Odin snarked, the title tinged with a mocking tone, "then allow me to do so with gusto!"

Blasting off the ground with Norse runes covering his body, Odin bellowed as he thrusted Gungnir forward, the tip of the spear meeting the raised blade of Surtr. A mightly clang rang through the air, the shockwave produced crushing or pushing back the ground and magicians nearby.

"Odin-sama, wait!" Rossweise yelled out, brandishing out an intricate wand that also had Norse runes littering across the surface. Her body glowed, allowing what looked to be Valkyrian armour to form around her. "I'm coming!"

She had made to jump out and help him, but Akihiko moved, grabbing her arm before she could go. "Rossweisse, wait! You can't get caught in the middle of their battle! You'd be annihilated!"

Frustrated, Rossweisse shook her arm out of his grasp. "I know of the consequences of interfering. But I am honour-bound to follow Odin-sama wherever he goes, including battle." She then jumped out of the hole, magic coating her entire body. With a shout, ice and lightning shot forth from her wand, blasting away and killing nearby magicians. She made to aim her attacks at the battling duo, but the sheer shockwaves and heat produced blasted her away, the flames not even being doused by her water magic.

Akihiko looked like he was about to jump out and help her, but Azazel stood up, clasping his hand on his shoulder. "Hold your horses, kid. You've gotta think before you jump out into unknown battles. Let your little mistress focus on her battle, while we focus on our battle."

Reluctantly, Akihiko backed down, knowing that Azazel had a point. "Fine. What do you suggest we do, then?"

Yasaka answered this time, looking on with some sadness as a good chunk of her youkai guards were either fighting or currently dying from Surtr's flames. She clenched her fist, struggling to put a plan forward. "We need to first take out any stray or incoming portals. It's likely that the enemy has a method of continuously dragging more and more of their forces to the battlefield. If we take those out, then we can deal with the opposing force."

Akihiko's father glanced outside, taking note of the rising flames and the magic being flung about. "Well, we do have one game-changer on the side." A meaningful look was passed from him to Akihiko, who frowned.

"What do you-oh. I see where you're coming from," Akihiko confirmed.

"May we know who it is you're talking about?" Sirzechs questioned, curious.

Before Akihiko could say anything, his mother butted in. "A close friend of ours. He would, however, like to keep his identity a secret." She then looked at her son, silently saying, Say nothing for now. Confused, Akihiko slowly nodded his head.

Frowning, Sirzechs sighed. "Very well. If you believe that he will turn the tides of this battle. Rias, I'd like your peerage to assist as well." Rias nodded in agreement as her peerage started preparing themselves as well.

Michael turned towards Xenovia, nodding. "Xenovia. Do it."

Nodding, Xenovia held up her right hand out, her own fragment of Excalibur not appearing in her hand. "Saint Peter. Saint Basil the Great. Saint Denis. Holy-mother Mary. Please hear my voice." The space before her distorting, everyone watched as Xenovia placed her hand in the middle of the distortion and pulled something out of the dimensional rift. What appeared was a uniquely shaped broadsword, with a blue blade and a golden edge that was extremely long. The sword had a semicircular guard on the left side of the handle that extended to the bottom just above the pommel with a small extension on the right side of the handle.

"In the names of the saints whom reside within this blade, I will release it! Durandal!" Xenovia finished chanting, slightly shocking everyone.

"Durandal, huh?" Azazel whistled, slightly impressed. He turned to look at Xenovia, then at Michael, smirking. "You've had that bad boy all this time, entrusted to a newbie Exorcist? Then again, I'm not really one to talk about being reckless."

Xenovia frowned, looking at Azazel distastefully. Gabriel, however, decided to speak. "Azazel, please. Do not doubt Xenovia's capabilities. She would not be entrusted Durandal if she wasn't strong, physically or mentally."

Holding his hands up, Azazel only chuckled. "Hey, hey! Don't go blaming me for being cautious. Oh, speaking of which, oi! Red Dragon Emperor!"

"The name's Izzy-Trick-Hazy!"

"No one calls you that," Azazel countered, getting Issei to sulk. "Anyways, take this." The Fallen Angel tossed a bracelet to him. "That bracelet is used to control a Sacred Gear to some degree. You haven't mastered the power of the 'Welsh Dragon', right? If so, put it on. If it's for a short time, so it'll be possible to go into the Balance Breaker state without paying any price. This will be used in place of the price. Also, so we don't have anymore Juggernaut Drive incidents."

Brooding slightly at the reminder of how his Juggernaut Drive activated, Issei inspected the bracelet doubtfully as he put it on. "Is this thing really supposed to help me access Balance Breaker?"

"That, and you'll also temporarily undo the seal that's been applied on you. Your 'Pawn' power has been blocked, right? This is only my personal opinion, but in terms of piece distribution, Ddraig is seven and you're one, right? No, it may be 7.9 and 0.1. 'Promotion' also builds the necessary foundation for the sake of manifesting Ddraig's true power. Either way, it's a fact that releasing Ddraig's power will release the seal as well. Basically to sum it up, I'm awesome!"

Azazel's beaming smile didn't do jack for Issei, however, as he reevaluated the bracelet on him. "Huh. So, it's a limit-breaker, huh?" he mused simply. Shrugging, he gave a thumbs up towards the Fallen Angel. "Thanks! Now I can actually use my Sacred Gear properly!"

Azazel sighed upon hearing Issei's simplistic answer. "Why do I even bother... anyways, use that bracelet as a last resort. Since it can't regulate its consumption of stamina, you'll just exhaust yourself wastefully if you activate it suddenly. It will consume an intense amount of stamina and magical power while in Balance Breaker."

"Got it!" Issei nodded, thankful.

Azazel then turned to look at Valerie. "Valerie. You go have fun. Make sure your performance is flashy."

Grinning, Valerie stepped towards the hole in the wall. "Finally get to stretch my legs." Looking at Akihiko, she smiled. "Want to join me?"

Smiling, Akihiko also stepped forward. "Yeah. Been a while since we did anything fun together."

"Just be sure not to slow me down, alright?" she retorted. Scoffing, Akihiko fell through the hole as his Devil wings shot out from his back, his battle armour appearing around his body with nothing more than a thought.

Gotta thank Hagane for the upgrades he made to the armour, he mentally noted, thankful that his equipping time was almost instantaneous. Just as he was launched in the air, Valerie's voice called out, "Balance Break. Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!"

Upon looking at his fellow half-Devil, Akihiko saw her draconic wings glow, before a bright white light surrounded her, forming the armour of her Sacred Gear. She flew outside, following his pace as several magic circles popped into existence, different magicians casting different spells.

Instead of looking worried, Akihiko simply muttered, "Meteor..." A bright light surrounded his body, before he disappeared in a quick flash of light. He quickly reappeared a good distance from where his original position was, Yamikiri whipped out with darkness peeling off of the tip.

The magicians looked shocked... before they were destroyed in a bloody mist of severed bone and destroyed flesh.

Angling her body aerodynamically, Valerie plunged into a sea of magicians on the left border of the school, a white trail of light following her path. She then flew up and danced in the air, easily evading the concentrated bullets that the magicians fired, and the large mass of surge bullets hit the school grounds.

"Wanna take over for this?!" Valerie yelled over the noise. Shrugging, Akihiko allowed the Norse runes etched on his armour to light up, his face-plate appearing at it glowed, firing off a concussive blast of magical energy at the group of magicians, decimating them by the second.

"Thank you!" was her reply, as she opened her wings more, firing off multiple beams of piercing white magic. Nodding, Akihiko drew in his wings and landed on the ground, Yamikiri slicing through an oncoming magician's heart. He then kicked him away before moving towards another magician and slicing him in half.

He was about to continue, but a wave of holy energy flew towards another oncoming group, decimating them instantly. Akihiko raised an eyebrow upon seeing Xenovia land near him, slicing through enemies just as he was. Their swords swung in tandem, Durandal's holy energy a stark contrast to Yamikiri's dark power. The two eventually were back-to-back, killing all foes who approached them foolishly.

"You know, I'd never thought that I'd be fighting alongside you pretentious Church lot," Akihiko admitted, lighting magic dancing from his fingertips. He shot out small lightning bullets, small but deadly projectiles that pierced through different magicians.

"Well, I'd never thought that there would be a treaty between the Three Factions," Xenovia remarked, backflipping suddenly and using Akihiko's back as a springboard. She leapt up, spinning like a ballerina and carving through any magical projectile that came near them. Falling to the ground, Xenovia charged up a large amount of holy energy and pierced the ground upon landing, producing a tidal wave of energy that blew everyone bar the now airborne Azaroth heir.

"Yet, here we are," she finished, wiping some sweat off of her brow as she sighed. Eyes widened, she whirled, hearing the projectile heading towards her before seeing it. A stray magical bullet was aimed her way, and she found herself too slow to react. Closing her eyes, she awaited her demise... only for nothing to happen after a few seconds. Confused, she opened her eyes, only for Akihiko's outstretched hand to appear in her vision.

His hand was cocked in a mock-gun expression, index and middle finger pointed in the position where the bullet came from, while his thumb pointed to the sky. Charging his magic, he fired off a high-speed bullet of lightning at the downed magician, making it impact her skull, shattering the bone and killing her instantly.

Blowing his fingers dramatically, he then looked to Xenovia, who slowly got up. Frowning, she sighed as she nodded her head. "Thank you for your assist."

"Don't thank me yet," Akihiko muttered, hefting his sword. "We still need to win this."

Nodding, she hefted her own sword, charging alongside the half-Devil.

At another part of the battle, Kiba and Issei were all on the ground, taking advantage of their speed against the magicians, while Koneko was taking advantage of her strength. Rias and Akeno were all in the air, dodging while countering with their own magic attacks.

Suddenly, a magic circle appeared near the hole at the side of the school, with a familiar sigil on the top, Rias became surprised. "The magic circle of Leviathan?! Wha-" She made to say more, but was interrupted by a gargantuan blast of flames erupting near them.

These flames were dashed away by Odin, twirling Gungnir around like a baton and aiming the lance at Surtr. Holding up his sword, he sliced through the beam, advancing on his enemy with a renewed vengeance. He growled, however, as Rossweise continued to fire magic at him rapidly.

"Insignificant scum!" Surtr bellowed, swinging his sword in a clockwise direction and summoning a flaming tornado of fire that surrounded him, shielding him from Rossweisse's magic. However, more attacks from above came, coming from what looked to be reinforcements; Norse reinforcements.

Valkyries of different shapes and sizes flew down, some wielding spears of light, while others had wands almost similar to Rossweisse's. "Valkyries!" one of them bellowed, glowing with magic. "Protect Odin-sama! Destroy Surtr!"

While the rest of the group from the Biblical Factions watched in slight awe as the fiery tornado was diminishing from the power of the flames, Issei watched the display with a lewd grin on his face. "Damn, look at all of those Valkyrie babes!" he hollered, blood gushing out of his nose from looking at different Valkyries' assets bounce. He was about to say more, but was kicked in the back by Koneko towards some stray flames.

"AIIIEEE! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!" Issei shrieked, rolling over to get rid of the flames. His problems vanished, however, by water being summoned and dousing his body, making him sigh.

Making sure that Issei was alright, Rias turned to glare at Koneko. "Koneko, that was too far!"

"But Rias, he-" "I know he's perverted, but that doesn't mean you should act that way towards him on a battle field! The same goes for you, Issei! Focus!"

"Yes, Rias,"/"Yes, senpai," came the replies from the two Devils, heads bowed in shame.

Just as it looked like Surtr's flame was about to be doused, the flames burned with an even brighter intensity. "Do you really think peons such as yourselves, could douse MY flames?!"

Odin looked towards his Valkyries. "Look out!" However, his warning came too late. The tornado shrunk slightly, and then expanded rapidly. The blazing attack consumed the nearby Valkyries, incinerating them by the dozen. Seeing that Rossweisse was about to be consumed, Akihiko made a quick decision.

Flapping his wings, he flew towards where Rossweisse was, who was frozen in shock and horror at seeing her fellow sisters fall one by one. "Aki-san!"/"Akihiko!" were the shouts that came from those in the Biblical Factions. Ignoring them, the Azaroth heir quickly tackled Rossweisse out of the air, causing her to cry out as the two of them landed on the ground, narrowly missing the oncoming flames.

"Let me go!" she yelled, hitting Akihiko's armoured back, but he didn't relent, continuing to keep her down. "I said let me go, dammit! I can save-"

"You can't save them!" the half-Devil retorted, tears prickling his eyes at hearing the tortured screams of the burning Valkryies. Concentrating, he muttered out a quick "Fūinjutsu: Bōka Hōhō", the seals lighting up as he quickly drew them, allowing the flames to suck themselves up inside of them. His seals did their best, but couldn't save all of the Valkryies. Those seriously injured moaned in agony as their burns caused them even more pain.

Seeing them, Rossweisse gave out a painful sob as she collapsed to her knees, tears falling from her eyes as she beheld the horrific scene.

Surtr chuckled, hearing her cries. "Do you see? THAT is the fate of all those who defy me! Now tremble in horror as I- ARGH!" He cried out in pain at the last part, grunting as a powerful blast of PoC collided with him.

Snarling, Akihiko unsealed Dark Abyss, his body flickering between his normal form and his Devil Trigger out of anger. "You basTARD!" Akihiko roared, blurring forward as he sliced down, scarring the Fire Giant across the face as he roared.

"Arrogant bat!" Surtr bellowed, batting Dark Abyss aside and kicking forward, propelling Akihiko backwards as he grunted, immediately springing to his feet, a dark purple aura surrounding him. Raising his sword, Surtr was about to fire at him, only for a blast of magic to hit him on his back, stumbling him. Grunting, he whirled around, growling. "You!"

"Did you really forget about me, Surtr?!" Odin accused, eye narrowed as Norse runes danced off of his body. "You think you can mercilessly slaughter my own Valkyries and not expect retribution?!"

He turned to Akihiko. "Nephilim of Chaos, I'd advise that you leave this fight to me." He made to move, only for Akihiko to step towards him quickly.

"This fight affects all of us," Akihiko countered. "Take my help."

Odin turned to look at him, and Akihiko felt a shiver run down his spine. Not just because of the power Odin was emitting, but the rage, the fury, the pain. Standing right in front of him wasn't the perverted old Odin, but the King of Asgard Odin.

And he was livid.

Nodding, Akihiko dismissed Dark Abyss, moving towards Rossweisse to protect her.

"You dare think you can walk away and-" Surtr bellowed, but was thrown back by an enormous energy dome that destroyed almost everything in its path. Nearby magicians, Surtr's flames, even the nearby portals shook from the destructive power produced. The only ones unharmed were the injured but still alive Valkyries, all the members of the Biblical Factions, Yasaka and the nearby youkai guards.

Grunting, Surtr made to stand, only for Odin to jump up on top of him, spearing him through the eye. The screams produced were music to Odin's ears. "You seek to make me suffer. Make me cry in anguish?!" Another twist of Gungnir had Surtr screeching. "I'll shed tears when you're dead, Fire Giant."

"Would you be willing to start Ragnarok so soon?" At Odin's silence, Surtr chuckled. "Even with your own Valkyries dead, you still are so fearful of Ragnarok! What a fool! And you're an even bigger fool for not realising that I brought back-up!"

"What?!" Odin yelled, but at that moment, a red line appeared in the space at the centre of the school grounds. The edges seemed to get wider and wider, fire peeling from the lines. Odin got up and made to seal it, but it was too late.

There was a roar, and then a horde of fiery demons started running from the portal, scorching the very grounds that they walked on. Any unfortunate magicians that got in their way were immediately incinerated, their screams chilling those present to the bone (A.N. - The Fire Giants look like the Marauder, Cacodemon and Titan demons from Doom: Eternal).

"More Fire Giants," Akeno muttered, a worried look on her face. "Surtr was already too powerful for us to handle. With his entire army at his command-"

"I'll be able to execute Ragnarok more quickly!" Surtr chuckled, pushing the surprised Odin off of him and standing at his full height proudly. "You have lost, Asgardian. No one but your decrepit old ass to fight for your life. A king without his people to fight for him?" Surtr spat on the ground next to him, a small flame produced from it as his army cackled behind him. "Pathetic!"

Just as it looked like those from the Biblical and Youkai Faction were about to give up hope, Odin chuckled. As he received incredulous looks from both sides, he looked up, a fire in his own eye. "A king without his people to fight for him? Again, you seem to underestimate the forces of Asgard!"

Surtr sneered. "What are you-" Again, Surtr was struck by something from behind, making him land onto the ground while dozens of his forces were disintegrated from what looked to be lightning.

Standing on top of Surtr was an awe-inspiring and fearful sight for some, but for Akihiko, it was a relieving sight. "Thor!" he exclaimed happily.

The Asgardian god of thunder grinned, decked out fully in his armour. "Apologies. Are we late, father?"

"It's about time," Odin muttered, relieved.

"Wh-What is this?!" Surtr bellowed, flames erupting from his body and forcing Thor to move to where his father stood. The Fire Giant stood up, slowly. "How are you even here?!"

Thor snorted. "You didn't think you were the only ones to call for reinforcements, did you?"

As if to fully back his point up, another portal opened up in the sky, forcing the barrier created around the school to shatter from the sheer force from it. Though, instead of causing panic to rise in many of them, it was replaced with relief.

Asgardians of different sizes started to appear; Akihiko could recognise Tyr, Sif, Freya, even Freyja had joined the mix of Norse beings to fall from what looked to be a Bifrost. They collided on the ground, destroying dozens of Fire Giants as they did.

"Amazing," Sona muttered beside Rias and the others, her eyes wide. "The entire forces of Asgard... all of them, here."

Odin chuckled upon hearing Sona's words. "Oh no, little Devil. This is only a good portion of Asgard's army. A large one, mind you. But formidable nonetheless."

Those words still instilled shock onto those watching as the Asgardians banded together behind their king, who gripped Gungnir tightly in his grasp. "Now, my brethren!" Odin bellowed, raising his spear tip towards Surtr. "We shall strike our enemies down! For Asgard!"

"For Asgard!" was the bellowing response, as the forces of Asgard and Muspelheim clashed, creating a spectacle so bloody, so bright, and so violent that many looked away. Others, watched in awe.

Tyr used a heavy axe to mow down enemies before him, beheading and dismembering Fire Giants so swiftly, the fiery blood from the wounds sparked and ignited, creating beautiful deaths amongst them. Freya waved her hands, summoning a myriad of magic circles to appear and crush fellow Giants and magicians alike. She blew a kiss towards Akihiko's direction as she passed, the half-Devil torn between confused and impressed as to how she was able to slip that through there.

Freyja joined Odin in killing many Fire Giants, the two fighting with the grace of warriors who had fought with each other for centuries. It was a sight to behold; the fiery blood flying through the air, their weapons swinging and slicing through the air, and the teamwork displayed... it was nothing short of glorious.

Suddenly, dozens of white blasts of magic rained down from the sky, eliminating numerous Fire Giants and magicians from the coming portals. Akihiko smirked slightly, seeing what looked to be a white comet streak through the sky, launching attacks with ease.

Issei scowled upon seeing the ease Valerie had with wiping out the enemies before them. "Man, it's so not fair..."

"[Quit wasting your time being jealous, and actually go out and do something]," Ddraig uttered from the Boosted Gear. Shocked, Issei and the others looked towards the armoured glove.

"O-Oi, Ddraig. That's not a very nice thing to sa-"

"[I don't care]," came the dragon's blunt reply. "[Apart from fantasising about your rival's tits...]," Issei had cold sweat run down his head as Akihiko snarled at him, "[... all I've seen you do is whine and complain about how you aren't strong enough, or how weak you are compared to her. When instead you haven't done jack shit about it! You think that's what your friend Irina would want for you?!]"

The others winced at hearing of Issei's deceased friend being brought up, while Issei's eyes narrowed into slits. "Don't you dare bring Irina into this! She didn't have to die, but-"

"[I'm not trying to bring up the past, partner. What I AM doing is trying to get it into your cesspool of a head is that you need to get your shit together]," Ddraig summarised, getting Issei to pause. "[Play to your strengths. Be smarter about using your powers. And instead of waiting for opportunities to come your way, go out and take them. Use that head of yours to do more than think of tits, and do something productive. And become the Red Dragon Emperor that you're supposed to be]."

Issei paused, mulling over the words given to him. A depressed air hung over him, going over Ddraig's words. I-I-I'm such an idiot, he lamented himself as he felt a stinging sensation in his eyes. He was now finally remembering all his missed opportunities, his short-comings. I-If I hadn't been such a giant pervert and a weakling, I wouldn't have had to see Buchou cry in the Rating Game with Riser. I could have done something worthwhile, like Akihiko did in his own match. I-I could've been able to help Kiba more with his own vendetta. I could have... not gone berserk and entered Juggernaut Drive. I-I could've even saved Irina.

His many regrets were listed off, events where he could've done more to take his training - no, his life serious.

Just as he was about to dwell on them, there was some commotion near where the portals were. Several youkai surrounded the portals, chanting quickly while the portals somewhat shrunk slightly, their bodies glowing slightly.

Koneko shivered upon looking at the sight, her skin crawling. "S-Senjutsu..."

Akihiko frowned, both at the word and Koneko's reaction. Right, they're using their senjutsu abilities to try to close the portal. He then looked towards Koneko, seeing her being comforted by Rias. But then why is she shivering like that?

However, the previously mentioned commotion occurred when a figure popped out of the portal as it was shrinking. Before any more features could be identified, a sword suddenly appeared in their hand. The weapon was swung around, decapitating the youkai with a nonchalant swing.

Everyone gaped, the action going by too quickly for anyone to properly process things. Then a voice spoke out, "Ha! Guess you filthy animals really do go down easily! What a joke!"

The figure stepped forward, allowing for his full details to be seen. He had spiky silver hair that was groomed backwards, as well as a large scar over his face. His red eye - his other one being covered by a large-looking eyepatch - gleamed with sadistic joy as he cackled upon looking at the dead youkai at his feet. He donned a large black cloak that left some of his front body bare. However, the most concerning thing about the man was the necklace he wore: an upside down triangle encased in a circle.

"A Jashinist..." Akihiko whispered, surprised at seeing another of the insane devotees so soon. Beside him, the rest of the group from the Biblical Faction shivered, no doubt remembering what heinous acts Zatsu had committed.

Cracking his neck, the Jashinist grinned, his teeth showcasing his bloodthirsty attitude. "Well, hello, people of the shitty Biblical Faction! I'm Zorbin, badass murder-machine and all-around lovable psychopath! Say your prayers, beg for forgiveness and all that other good shit, 'cause the Will of Jashin will be recognised upon you filthy shitbags!"

With that, Zorbin grabbed his sword and dashed forward, adding chaos to the otherwise lulled battlefield. His sword swinging, he sliced and diced each being that he came across, although he seemed to be targeting youkai specifically for some reason. Each one that was felled by him screamed in agony, their wounds grievous and extremely bloody.

If the action of senjutsu made Koneko's skin crawl, she was now hyperventilating upon looking at the sword in Zorbin's hand. "Koneko, what's wrong?!" Rias questioned, stroking her hair to calm her down.

"E-E-Evil sword..." Koneko stammered, fear creeping across her entire body. "G-Get away... p-please..."

Whether from fear or otherwise, Koneko passed out, going limp in Rias' arms.

"Koneko!" Akeno exclaimed, checking upon her and examining her.

"Dammit!" Akihiko hissed, grabbing his phone and dialling Hagane's number. After a few rings, the dwarf managed to pick up.

(Dammit, kid! We're dealing with a full-scale invasion, and you choose NOW to call?! Work on your timing-)

"Shut the fuck up and get your ass here now!" Akihiko interrupted, not in the mood for Hagane's shit. "Bring Asia, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Gasper and my Devil allies! There's a full-blown war with Fire Giants, Asgardians and Jashinists!"

(We're bus- wait! Fire Giants?! Asgardians?! Jashinists?!)

"Get here NOW!" Akihiko demanded, putting his phone away as he watched Zorbin behead Fire Giants, low-levelled Asgardians and more youkai. He scowled. "That's it. We're interfering."

"No! We have to wait and come up with a plan of attack!" Sona insisted angrily.

Akihiko turned to look at her. "The Asgardians are keeping the Fire Giants and magicians at bay. The Jashinist is removing our advantage. Left unchecked, and he could be the cause of our downfall."

With that, Akihiko performed 'Meteor', blasting forth in a golden trail, Yamikiri appearing and creating a trail of shadows to follow after him. The dual elements of light and shadows created a perfect picture of awe and beauty as he sliced at Zorbin, who caught the attack with his own sword, saving a few youkai from dying.

"What the fuc-" Zorbin started to say, only for Akihiko to punch forward with his other hand, light gathering there.

"Heavenly Beam!" he casted, the beam of light rocketing forward and punching a hole through Zorbin's chest, coming out cleanly from the other side. The intense heat cauterised the wounds, the blood instantly drying up the blood produced.

However, instead of yelling in pain, Zorbin cackled, a pleasure-filled look crossing his face. He paused in his actions, not out of pain, but of happiness. "Yes..." he moaned, but Akihiko gave no reprieve.

Quickly, he sliced across Zorbin's top, aiming for his neck. However, the Jashinist managed to backpedal in time, allowing for his collarbone to be sliced open instead. Akihiko had to pause, however, as he watched incredulously as Zorbin's body contorted, then bulged. Suddenly, bones started to sprout out from his body, slicing at Akihiko's body armour. Thankfully, it was durable enough to withstand the attack.

Zorbin pouted, which just looked disturbing with the amount of blood upon his body. However, his wounds were already healing at an alarming rate. "Dammit, no fair! Take this fight seriously! No armour! How the fuck am I supposed to see you squeal like a pig?!"

His healing rivals the Phenex's own, Akihiko noted, sheathing his sword glowing with darkness as he took a stance. Moving quickly, dark spears flying from the tip and impaling the Jashinist, getting a squawk of surprise from him. Suddenly, the spears started to grow threads, connecting with each other inside his body, getting him to moan even more.

Twirling his sword, Akihiko called out, "Shadow Stitching!" The spears constricted Zorbin, exploding in a shower of darkness.

Akihiko waited, knowing for certain that the attack wasn't enough to put Zorbin down. Suddenly, the Jashinist's sword came out of the cloak of darkness, swinging towards him like a buzzsaw. Surprised, Akihiko reacted by leaning back, seeing the tip miss him by an inch.

Zorbin appeared in his field of vision, allowing Akihiko to slice upwards. However, that didn't stop him at all. Yamikiri sliced through his left arm in a showery mess of blood, bone, and flesh. Cackling in pleasure, Zorbin used Akihiko's chest as a springboard, leaping forward as he moved forward. The Azaroth heir made to follow, but Zorbin used his right arm to flick blood from his healing injury in his face.

Reacting in time, Akihiko donned the helmet of his armour out of reflex. However, the blood covered the visor, effectively blinding him. "Argh!" he yelled, moving to wipe the blood from his helmet.

Having the necessary distraction, Zorbin watched in fascinating as his rotating sword sliced through the neck of a black-haired nine-tailed fox youkai. The female youkai watched in horror as the blade sliced through her fox tails that she'd used to try and catch it. First her tails, then her collarbone, and then finally her neck...

The powerful youkai fell in a bloody heap, bloody pieces of her falling to the ground as Zorbin caught his blade, slicing through more and more youkai upon his landing. He cackled and howled with unholy glee, licking the blood off his sword while doing so. "What fucking morons! Especially that stupid fox bitch! To think that she could try and fucking and catch the great Nenekirimaru (A.N. - Same sword from Nurarihyon no Mago)!"

Those watching only had horror at the bloody scenes before them. However, only a few of them could sense the rising spiritual energy. Everyone saw the top of the school building explode, with several blurs flying from the top and streaking through the sky. However, the attention was mainly on the now growing nine-tailed fox, who was now growing in size.

After clearing his vision, Akihiko gaped. "Is that... Yasaka?!"

"AHRI!" came Yasaka's despaired roar, tears falling from her rage-filled eyes as she glared at Zorbin. "I'LL DESTROY YOU! YOU WILL FIND NO REST IN HELL AS I ANNIHILATE YOUR SOUL!"

The words robbing all but the strong of their will to live, Yasaka leapt out of the crumbled building, claws aimed towards Zorbin. Grinning, he merely rolled towards the side, narrowly avoiding the attack from the enraged kitsune. However, he was too slow to avoid getting caught in Yasaka's tails, which crushed a good chunk of his body into bloody paste.

"Oh, you dirty bitch, work that shaft..." Zorbin groaned in absolute pleasure, the pain automatically turning into pleasure. Snarling, Yasaka's tails lit up with large blue flames, causing a different reaction to come from Zorbin.

"Y-Yeesh! Dammit, woman!" the Jashinist growled, feeling the spiritual fire actually burn his spirit slightly. "I'm only into the fleshly pains! Keep that spiritual shit away from me!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Yasaka bellowed angrily. "I'LL DESTROY YOU INCH BY INCH, UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT!"

"S-Shame," Zorbin coughed out, quickly shifting his wrist. "I was hoping for some proper banter from a rabid animal."

Yasaka snarled, only to freeze. Suddenly, blood started to seep from Zorbin's body. But it wasn't his blood. "AAAAAHHH!" Yasaka howled, doing her best to release the Jashinist and get rid of the burning pain that was coming from her tail.

Cackling, Zorbin stabbed Nenekirimaru into her tail as his disfigured, half-torn body hung limply, dripping blood like a rainfall. And even with all of the damage done, the man was still regenerating. "Y-You almost had me worried there for a second!" he cackled, slicing off the tip her tail.

Howling, Yasaka drew her tail back as Zorbin fell to the ground in a bloody heap. However, he managed to stand up quickly, his regeneration nearly complete. "Now do us all a favour and die!"

With that, he dashed towards the pained youkai, his bloody footsteps and maniacal laugh following him as he swung down...

CLANG

... only to be intercepted by Yamikiri, with Akihiko glaring daggers at him.

Zorbin clicked his teeth. "Shit, you! What the hell do you want, dammit?! Wait your turn and I'll happily slice you up!"

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking freak!" the half-Devil growled, transforming into his Devil Trigger state and overpowering the Jashinist with ease. "You're not touching Yasaka!"

"Oh, please!" The struggle continued as both did their damnedest to kill each other. "I've been contracted by a very important man to kill that bitch, and I ain't leaving until-"

"Solar Flare!" Akihiko exclaimed, blinding those watching. Before Zorbin could even get a word out, he started to hack and slash repeatedly, disarming the insane devotee and continuously aiming lopping off his limbs, only for Zorbin to jump back, his left leg being the only limb remaining as he bounced on top of it.

"Fucking-" Zorbin gasped, his body regenerating slowly. "Could it kill you to wait until a man is done with his job, before trying to dismember him?! Like, for Jashin's sake, it's fucking common courtesy to-"

"5th November!" came a familiar voice, and Zorbin yelled as he was caught in a small, but powerful explosion. Zorbin was launched backwards, ricocheting off of the ground for a good while, puddles of blood and scraps of flesh falling from his body from each contact.

Akihiko sighed, relieved. He dismissed his Devil Trigger as he looked up. "Yubelluna," he greeted, watching the Devil descend.

"Akihiko-sama," Yubelluna greeted with a bow. "I apologise that I wasn't here earlier, but-"

"You were held up," Akihiko waved off. "It's fine. I'm just glad that you came."

"And she's not the only one," Ravel uttered as she and the rest of Riser's former peerage teleported in, smiling.

"Don't mind us. We're just 'dropping by'," Mittelt announced, her and Kalawarner dropping to the ground with Asia in her hands.

Akihiko glared at her. "... That was a terrible joke."

"Oh, piss off. Next time, you fight an army of fucking magicians and try to think of a post-celebratory joke to fit in."

Upon landing on the ground, Asia immediately headed towards the injured Yasaka, healing her once in contact.

"Yeah, yeah. You guys can flirt later," Hagane also said, teleporting to the battlefield as well. Cracking his neck, he then gave Akihiko a sheepish grin. "Sorry, but we're finally here. And luckily for you, the great and powerful Hagane has come up with a way to counter those silly portals that have been popping up." He held out his hand, summoning what looked to be two modified shotguns, with numerous runes carved into the sides. "Behold, my Anti-Portal Shotguns! Perfect for disrupting magical and/or spatial portals!"

Tossing one to Ravel, he smirked at Akihiko. "Now, you take care of the Jashinist freak, while we take care of the portal."

Looking at the still strong opposing army, he frowned. "And how exactly do you plan to get through all of them."

Hagane smirked, bringing out a phone as he dialled a number, calling it. "Yeah, we're in position!"

"Right!" came a familiar voice, one that Akihiko could hear. His eyes widened.

"Is that-" Akihiko started to say.

"Yeah. But, he's going to need a little juice. Got a little blood you can spare?" the dwarf questioned, holding out a vial.

Blade out, Akihiko gave himself a light cut from his arm, followed by him extending the tip to drop a few pints into the vial.

"Perfect!" Hagane grinned. Looking up, he yelled, "Now, Gasper!" He threw the vial high into the air.

From the dark sky, Gasper appeared from the sky, having appeared from a nearby shadow in the air. "Right!"

Once he grabbed the vial, he drank it quickly, causing his eyes to light up. He gave a fanged grin, shocking those who truly knew the boy.

"G-Gasper?!" Rias exclaimed, shocked at the change to the girly vampire that she knew.

"Let's do it!" Hagane yelled, hefting his Anti-Portal Shotgun and aiming for the portal.

"ZA WARUDO!" Gasper yelled, his voice carrying out through all the battlefield. Immediately, time froze around all of the opposing forces. All of the Fire Giants, all of the fleeing magicians, even the sky was frozen for a brief moment.

Akihiko smirked to the Jashinist, who remaining unfrozen. "I'll give you an attack that you can't regenerate from..." he muttered ominously. Clasping his hands together, Akihiko gathering an insane amount of wind magic in his body. Removing his hands slowly, a violent wind ball started to form.

Ravel and Hagane charged up their guns, aiming right at the portal. "Wait for it," Hagane cautioned, knowing that they shouldn't be rushed into firing.

Yelling, Gasper summoned a gargantuan mass of darkness on the ground, almost covering the whole school ground. It instantly started to move, absorbing all frozen and remaining enemies into its abyssal void. Soon the darkness started to spread towards the portal, also sucking any nearby enemies.

"Wait for it," Hagane cautioned Ravel, who looked impatient.

Zorbin roared as he dashed towards Akihiko, only to be halted by his Devil allies. While they're attacks barely slowed him down, it was Yubelluna's bombs that made his movements difficult. "You little fucker!" he roared. "You're going to suffer for this, blasphemous filth! Jashin-sama will torture your souls in the foulest depths of hell! Burn, you pretentious little shits! Burn in hell!"

Akihiko scoffed, his attack ready. "I'll be sure to tell your precious god that he can join you, so you can both rot in hell, you psychopath!" Holding a miniature cyclone in his hands, he reared his hand back, planning to throw it. "As well as any other pieces of shit that follow your sick religion!"

The half-Devil threw the attack, heading towards the Jashinist too quickly for him to dodge it.

Seeing that Gasper's darkness had reached the edge of the portal, Hagane shouted, "Now!" He and Ravel fired off their shotguns, aiming the energy projectiles at the portals.

The three attacks went off simultaneously. Gasper's mass of darkness gave off a mini-explosion once it covered the entirety of his frozen enemies, blinding those watching only briefly.

Akihiko's attack successfully connected with Zorbin. Upon the wind spell's detonation, three-quarters of the school field was engulfed in a massive dome of pressurised air, with buffeting winds tearing apart trees and boulders and uprooting grass and dirt.

The shots from the gun connected with the portals, destabilising them instantly. The portals shrunk gradually, continuing to reach a smaller and smaller size. Once the portals were sufficiently small enough, they imploded with a soft WHOOF!

All of the members of the Biblical Faction, some Asgardians and all of the remaining youkai were blasted off of their feet, colliding with the grounds painfully from the force of the three explosive attacks.

The concussive forces continued to buffet each of them continuously for a good few minutes, before they died down slowly. Groaning, a few of the members stood up slowly. Trying to look at the results of the attacks. Many of them had widened eyes, while some had open mouths.

The results were… frightening.

The area of Kuoh Academy where the attacks connected was completely levelled. Absolutely nothing remaining from the attacks, including the opposing enemies.

Barring the destroyed school building, almost everything else was... gone.

No, I'm not dead. Not, I'm not ill. Just got really fucked over.

Long story short, I was grieving 'cause my family lost a beloved member, and I've been messed up due to that. Of course, I couldn't come to the funeral because when I received the news, I was in the middle of a shit-ton of deadlines for different projects. Unfortunately, I had to either fail and grieve, or pass and feel like absolute shit. So, of course, the latter option is what I had to go with.

Also had to move places due to the fucking coronavirus, I've had to move to a place with fucking Internet.

I honestly wasn't in the right state of mind to write a story, but I didn't want to let you guys wait too much. So, I got this out.

There'll be a change to my profile in response to my shit mood. Hopefully, it's received well.

I'm not going to reply to all reviews, so I'll just do this: those complaining about Akihiko's attitude and behaviour - it'll change. I already know. Any other concern, just make an account and then review. Or PM me. I'm too fucking messed up to care at the moment.

Thx to all those who f,f,r and r the story.

Peace!