Hey guys, MT here!

Sorry for the delays! I actually finished this chapter a couple weeks ago but have been going through cleaning some stuff up in the story and making notes of various things. I also made some adjustments to this chapter after rechecking some things.

I have a bit of stuff to talk about at the end, but for now, ENJOY!

Life.11

Xenovia's attack had caused a massive explosion, destroying much of the castle and leaving dust and rubble everywhere. I sighed and looked over at her, who was letting out a deep breath after releasing such a strong attack.

"Did…Did you have to start with such a finishing move?" I asked, wondering if she really needed to use that kind of attack…again. Xenovia grinned as she looked at me and gave me a thumbs up.

"The opening always requires an exciting strike such as that," said Xenovia, gleefully.

I sighed again and wondered what do to with this battle freak on our side while the dust settled, only being interrupted once I heard some rubble moving. I glanced up and saw a large slab of rock being lifted up by a big, burly arm. The slab was tossed away, and all the same members of the Hero Faction rose up from the rubble. Just like last time, they were all unharmed by Xenovia's attack, but were covered in dirt and dust. The thin mist surrounding them must have protected them again.

They all pat their clothes to get some of the dust off and then Cao Cao rubbed his chin and laughed.

"Not bad, not bad at all," began Cao Cao, looking excited to have taken such a powerful blow. He's still a battle freak just like before. "You guys are truly powerful. Not just the Sekiryuutei, all of you could hold your own against the bulk of upper-class devils – no, the top servants of the upper-class devils. That sister of the Maou…she has truly assembled a terrifying team. Once you start participating in the Rating Game, you'll surely reach the top in only a decade or two. What a bright and glorious future! That Shalba, he was such a fool for underestimating you guys."

Siegfried smiled wryly at Cao Cao's words, also looking pleased.

"Being bound by their pride, they couldn't see that the new generation was rising up to surpass them, and so replace them. That's how I would put it, at least. This is why Vali ignored them and let them fall. Those in the Old Maou Faction were all fools…Anyway, how should we proceed? After taking that attack just now…my excitement is quite high," said Siegfried.

"Oh, right. That attack was quite the distraction, but let's start the experiment," said Cao Cao before tapping his spear on the ground. Yasaka-san, in her Nine-tailed fox form, began to glow and roar out. "Focus power into the power nodes of the Nine-tailed fox and prepare to summon Great Red. Georg!" shouted Cao Cao, looking over to a black-haired man with glasses. That man responded with a simple 'Understood' and reached out his hands. He created an endless number of magic circles around him and magical scripts began to flow around.

I heard Rossweisse-san shuffle behind me, and I glanced back.

"…From a rough glance, so many different magic circles. Norse, Demonic, Fallen Angel, Black magic, White magic, even Fairy magic…Such a diverse array for a human that looks so young," said Rossweisse-san, looking both impressed and anxious.

Just like before, I was impressed by how many different types of magic that Georg could use! On top of being a possessor of a top-tier Longinus. He was honestly too powerful!

As I was thinking that, a massive magic circle appeared underneath Yasaka-san and I could feel an ominous magic coming from it.

Yasaka-san began to roar, loudly, and her eyes dilated as her body glowed brighter.

"The magic circle and the sacrifice for summoning Great Red are ready. Now we have to wait and see if Great Red takes notice of the power of this city and takes the bait. Luckily and Dragon King and Heavenly Dragon should work to our benefit, but my hands will be full maintaining this magic circle, Cao Cao," explained Georg to Cao Cao, receiving an understanding nod.

"Got it. We'll take care of things then, just focus. Now, what's next then? Leonardo and the rest are dealing with the allied forces outside. I wonder how much time they can buy? Between the Fallen Angel Governor and that Maou Leviathan, things will be difficult for them…Well, anyways- Jeanne, Heracles."

"Yes, yes," said a woman in armor with blonde hair.

"Uhn!" shouted a big burly man.

Both of them moved forward in response to Cao Cao's call and stood by Cao Cao and Siegfried who was already standing next to him.

"These two are the ones who have inherited the will – the spirit of the heroes: Jeanne d'Arc and Heracles. Siegfried, who do you want to battle this time?"

Just like last time, Siegfried's response to Cao Cao's question was to draw one of this swords and pointed it at Kiba and Xenovia.

"While I enjoyed my fight with the Sekiryuutei, I'd much rather fight against the swordsmen," said Siegfried, looking excited.

"Then," began Jeanne. "I'll take that Angel-chan over there. She's pretty cute."

She looked a little crazy as she eyed up Irina.

"Hahaha! Then I'll take that silver-haired lady then! I heard Valkyrie are supposed to be pretty tough!" bellowed Heracles, laughing.

Siegfried, Jeanne, and Heracles all locked eyes with their opponents and Kiba, Xenovia, Irina, and Rossweisse-san all stepped forward, so they were next to me.

"That leaves the Sekiryuutei for me…excellent," began Cao Cao, looking at me with a wild expression. "How about Vritra-kun over there?"

Saji's black flames flared up a bit at Cao Cao's attention, but I held up my hand to stop him.

"…Saji. Your opponent is going to be the Nine-tailed fox, Yasaka-san. I need you to figure out how to release her from their control, okay?" I said, not taking my eyes off Cao Cao.

"So, I get the monster battle, huh? …Understood. Hyoudou! Don't die!" shouted Saji before going towards Yasaka-san.

"How could I die? You do your best, Saji," I said, just loud enough for him to hear.

After Saji moved a bit away, he engulfed himself in black flames and the flames began to spread out, creating a giant fire.

"Vritra Promotion!" I head Saji shout.

The flames exploded out into a massive pillar and then dissipated into the air, leaving behind an enormous, black serpentine dragon, towering over the battlefield. Just like last time, Saji had learned how to transform into his Dragon King state.

The massive black dragon roared as it faced Yasaka-san and large magic circles formed from black flames next to it. They began to release a dark cloudy aura and it covered the field around Saji in in his Dragon King state.

"Asia, watch over Kunou," I commanded, receiving a nod from Asia. I glanced towards Kunou. "Kunou, I leave Asia to you."

Kunou also nodded and looked at me with a serious expression. She already knows I will definitely save Yasaka-san, so she didn't even need to ask or worry.

I spread out my dragon wings, blocking Asia and Kunou who were behind me from view, but not blocking the others.

I'll be facing Cao Cao again this time, but I wonder how his holy spear, the ultimate Longinus, will hold up against me now. I've become much stronger, but the holy power of that spear is no joke.

Honestly, I don't understand how I survived these boss level fights in the previous timeline…

"You, Cao Cao. Are you stronger than Vali?" I said, mimicking what I said in the previous timeline.

"Who knows," began Cao Cao, smirking and shrugging his shoulders. "I'm certainly not weaker than him, but my body is still that of a frail human."

"Do you call someone who can fight against Sensei a frail human?" I said, smirking.

"Hahaha, that's true. But, isn't that 'Sensei' super strong? I think I'm still inferior, wouldn't you say, Sekiryuutei?" said Cao Cao, grinning over at me.

There was a moment of silence after Cao Cao said that, and then-

ROOOOOAAARRRR!

Saji and Yasaka-san both roared out, the sound shaking the field, and they began their monster battle, smashing against each other and spewing fire, Saji shooting his black flames and Yasaka-san shooting out silver fox fire.

I turned away from their battle, focused on Cao Cao who hadn't taken his eyes off me. I could hear Saji and Vritra's conversation through my Boosted Gear, since we were connected, but I was focused. I had already told Ddraig to send any [Transfer]s Saji needed, but I doubt Saji would remain in control if his power gets increased too much.

"Kiba, Xenovia! You both should battle farther away from the monster battle so you don't interfere," I commanded. Kiba and Xenovia both responded with an 'Mm' and ran off, Siegfried following them after seeing them move away. "Irina, you too."

"Yes, Ise-kun!" said Irina before releasing her angel wings and flying off in a different direction from Kiba and Xenovia. Jeanne followed her, though she looked annoyed to have to go anywhere.

I could already hear blades clashing and I glanced over to see Kiba and Xenovia were fighting Siegfried. He had his third, silver arm out and was fighting them with his demon swords. Xenovia had learned from last time and started with one of the Excaliburs in hand. I could tell they were doing better, but Siegfried hadn't activated his Balance Breaker yet…though they won't be surprised about it like last time.

Before I turned back, I heard a stomping from in front of me and turned to find Heracles was running over to us. I glanced at Rossweisse-san and she locked eyes with me before nodding and flying off, putting some distance between us. Heracles turned towards her without hesitation and grinned wildly.

Now it was just Kunou and Asia behind me and Cao Cao in front of me. I analyzed him, still listening to the others' fights. Rossweisse-san isn't suffering from a hangover this time so she should fight better against him, but Irina only just recovered her memories and hasn't done any special training yet. I hope she can handle Jeanne…

Cao Cao beat the handle of his spear against his shoulder, making me focus on him and I glared, ready to fight. I was already coating my fists in ki, in preparation for taking an attack from that holy spear.

"It seems we're finally alone…" said Cao Cao, grinning. "Well, as alone as we can be with those two behind you…but don't worry, I have no interest in harming two little girls who can't fight back."

"…That doesn't change the fact that I'm going to beat you," I said, wondering what he will do. Unlike last time, Jeanne and Heracles moved and acted somewhat differently, letting Irina and Rossweisse-san lead them away.

Just as I was thinking of what to do, I heard a roar come off from the direction Irina went, and I saw that Jeanne had activated her Balance Breaker. Her Blade Blacksmith sub-species Balance Breaker. There was a giant dragon made of blades attacking Irina and she was furiously throwing light spears at it. The dragon was regenerating, and I clicked my tongue, since I couldn't leave Irina to fight that thing alone. I created a Dragon Shot in my right hand and aimed it at the sword dragon. Just before firing it off, I heard a swoosh of air, and Cao Cao appeared in front of my attack.

"Hey, your opponent is me," he said, looking annoyed.

I gritted my teeth and, with my left hand, grabbed Cao Cao by his spear and threw him behind me, surprising him. I launched the dragon shot and it hit Jeanne's sword dragon, blowing off a huge chunk of his body.

I wanted to do more damage, but…

Without finishing that thought, I turned back towards where I threw Cao Cao and just barely dodged a thrust from his spear. I leapt back to put some distance between us and eyed him.

"That surprised me…I never would have thought you would throw me out of the way like that. I'm more surprised that you were able to grab my holy spear, being a devil," said Cao Cao.

I glanced at my left hand, but the armor wasn't even fazed since I was wearing a thick layer of ki.

Good, stocking up on ki was a good idea. As long as it's not a direct attack, the holy element won't make it through my ki.

Although I couldn't turn to see it, I could hear the explosions coming from Rossweisse's fight with Heracles and his Balance Breaker. He was probably launching missiles at her, but she should be able to deal with it being at 100% this time.

I focused on Cao Cao again and he was grinning at me.

"You're quite fast, you know. Not fast enough to protect all your friends, unfortunately. Such a shame that you have to be held down by them so much. Well, you won't be able to focus much on them after they're defeated. Balance Breakers are quite a thing, aren't they? Any human can become so powerful because of them."

"But you're not going to Balance Break?" I asked.

"It's not necessary, at least not yet. I'd like to see how far I can go without relying on that power. I'm sure you can imagine how much power the Balance Breaker of the True Longinus has."

"Tch," I said, annoyed. Even after all he's seen he doesn't want to use it?

I moved into position, and decided to just go all out in my Balance Breaker form to try and goad him. I spread out my wings and readied my fist.

[Jet!]

I launched myself forward at high speed and lunged at Cao Cao, throwing my fist, coated in ki, at him. He moved into a defensive stance just before I reached him and used his spear to block my punch, cause a loud bang to echo out. The punch made him move back a few feet, but didn't knock him over so I grabbed his spear and flung him around, causing him to swing around on it and land near me.

"You won't surprise me with the same tactics."

I created dragon shots in both my hands and activated my Boosted Gear to increase their power.

[Boost! Boost Boost! Boost! Boost Boost Boost!]

The dragon shots were much stronger now and I launched them, one at a time at Cao Cao. He grinned as he swung his spear in a circle, deflecting the first and then dodging the second.

The dragon shots flew off behind him and he maintained his grin until he saw me swing my arm forward. He turned around and the two dragon shots were coming back towards him because I changed their trajectory. He released the blade of light at the tip of his spear and swung to slice up the dragon shots, redirecting the explosions they caused out and away from him.

Cao Cao turned back towards me to find me taking in a deep breath after lighting a fire in my stomach.

[Boost! Boost Boost! Boost! Boost Boost Boost! Boost! Boost Boost! Boost! Boost Boost Boost! Boost! Boost Boost! Boost! Boost Boost Boost!]

"Take this! [Great Fire Breath!]"

I breathed out the huge flames which covered the area Cao Cao was in.

I felt his presence move just as my flames surrounded him and I cut off my flames after a second and searched for him.

He landed some distance away from where my flames had scorched the ground and was using his spear to support himself. I glanced down and saw that my fire breath had hit his leg, charring his foot.

"Well, this is unfortunate," said Cao Cao, looking down at his injury. "This is a perfect example of having a frail human body."

"…I think most people wouldn't have survived if they had taken that attack," I said, annoyed that he had only taken that much damage from my attacks so far.

"Hm…well, it's not too much of an issue," said Cao Cao as he rummaged through his pockets. He pulled out an all too familiar bottle and I was reminded about the fact that the Hero-faction had those illegal Phoenix Tears. He poured it on his charred leg and it quickly regenerated. "There we go. I apologize, where were we?"

Cao Cao moved into a battle stance again, looking happy to see me so bothered by the Phoenix Tear.

"Guahh!" shouted a voice from behind me. I turned to find Rossweisse-san had landed on the ground behind me and was covered in wounds and unconscious.

"Rossweisse-san!" I shouted. I glanced over to Asia to see she was already throwing a green ball of healing energy at Rossweisse-san before feeling a chill down my spine. I flapped my wings to fly up just as I felt Cao Cao's presence approach me, but I was a second too late and his spear pierced my side, a wild grin on his face. "Damn!"

I could feel the sharp burn of the holy spear in my gut and I knew it had pierced my ki layer. I smashed my fist in Cao Cao's face, launching him away from me before throwing up some blood. Even with how powerful I am, my weakness to light is still a pain.

"Shit, this really hurts," I muttered out.

"Ise-san!" shouted Asia, looking over to me. I held out a hand to stop her before she tried to heal me and groaned.

"Heal Rossweisse-san!" I shouted.

I took out the Phoenix Tear Sensei had given me before we set off and poured it on my wound, causing it to heal immediately and the pain from the holy element disappeared.

"Well, then," said Cao Cao from a few yards away. He was wiping blood from his nose and mouth as he looked over at me. "You really shouldn't get so distracted. Did you know you almost died just now? Pierced by the holy spear, you were almost erased. Despite all your supposed power, death is surprisingly simple, no?"

Tch, this guy is getting too full of himself! He can say I was almost erased, but I already know what it's like to get stabbed by that spear! And I don't even know if it would erase me, who is part angel.

"Remember this well," said Cao Cao, as he tapped his spear to his shoulder. "That was the feeling of being pierced by the holy spear. It doesn't matter how powerful you get; you will never overcome that attack. -Because you're a devil. Even if it's Vali, as long as he remains part devil, the holy spear's damage is absolute."

"I won't be scared by that kind of thing! Don't try to intimidate me with those words. If I don't defeat you, I won't be able to face everyone. Being the Sekiryuutei isn't each, you know," I shouted, annoyed at hearing that speech again.

"…I'm impressed. You didn't get scared. I was thinking it would be fun to see you cowering in fear, but…Hahaha," said Cao Cao before laughing. "Ah, how nice this is. I can sort of understand why Vali likes you so much now. Vali, I'm jealous. You've found a good opponent."

Before we could prepare to fight again, I heard someone shuffling over and found Heracles was walking over, more injuries than he had last time, and he stopped next to Rossweisse-san, who was still unconscious, and put one foot on her.

"She put up more of a fight than I thought, but it wasn't good enough for me," said Heracles, irritating me.

Take your foot off my comrade, you bastard!

Asia had moved back when he walked up to Rossweisse-san, so I didn't have to worry about her getting hit.

As I was about to say something, I heard someone else slam to the ground nearby and found Irina had also been defeated and was on the ground covered in wounds and unconscious. Jeanne walked over and looked like she hadn't taken a scratch, just like last time.

"Irina-san!" shouted Asia, sounding horrified.

"Damnit!" I shouted, irritated.

"Good job, Jeanne, Heracles," began Cao Cao. He glanced back to where Kiba, Xenovia, and Siegfried were fighting and I could see that the three were still fighting, though Kiba and Xenovia had many more wounds than Siegfried did. "It seems I'm not the last one yet. I'll have to hurry up and finish before Siegfried then."

Cao Cao moved into a battle stance, but I didn't move. I was furious to see my comrades beaten like this. As I thought, I should have just destroyed them from the beginning so they couldn't hurt everyone like this.

"…Due to your anger, your aura has increased. Letting your aura fluctuate due to emotion…did you know that could bring destruction in certain circumstances? I heard that the Heavenly Dragons can enter Juggernaut Drive," said Cao Cao.

"Shut up," I said, irritated. "My aura isn't increasing either. It leaks out when I get angry."

Cao Cao squinted at me, suspicious of what I was implying, and I released more of my aura, turning my ki red. He became much more alert at seeing the color of my ki change and I decided that this was enough holding back so much.

The Triaina should be more than enough to defeat him.

I felt the pieces inside of me and changed them into the first one I wanted to use.

"Promotion! Bishop! Mode change!"

[Welsh Blaster Bishop!]

My armor transformed and my two cannons formed on my shoulders. I immediately began feeding them power and there was a loud buzzing coming from my cannons.

"What the hell is that?" I heard Heracles shout from behind me.

"…This is very dangerous…" muttered Cao Cao, taking some steps back.

These cannons can vaporize everything so you should be scared!

[Boost! Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost! Boost Boost! Boost! Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost! Boost Boost! Boost! Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost! Boost Boost! Boost! Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost! Boost Boost! Boost! Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost! Boost Boost!]

"Disappear! Dragon Blaster!"

GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

The two cannons released an incredible blast out of them that coated the whole battlefield in a red light. I could barely see anything, but I could feel that Cao Cao was moving from the path of my blasts and I clicked my tongue that he managed to dodge again, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

The blasts ended up hitting a building far in the distance, but the resulting explosion blew away the entire fake Kyoto that existed in this space. Even what was left of the Nijou Castle we were in was mostly blown away.

After the dust settled, I could see Cao Cao looking a mixture of shock and mild terror some distance away while Jeanne was on the ground utterly terrified and Heracles was shocked. I could also see that Kiba and Xenovia's battle had stopped as Siegfried was staring over in my direction. Those two had even more wounds though.

"…Destroyed the whole city! Hey! If he keeps firing that, this dimension won't last!" shouted Heracles as he broke out of his shock.

"This-This dimension was made to be strong, wasn't it? B-But with that kind of destructive power…" said Jeanne, stuttering a bit.

"Cao Cao!" I shouted, making Cao Cao visibly tense up. "Get ready!"

I adjusted the Evil Pieces inside me again and this time promoted to Knight. He can't react if I move fast enough.

"Promotion: Knight! Mode Change!"

[Welsh Sonic Boost Knight!]

Chunks of my armor were shed off and the cannons transformed into sleek wings. I leaned forward a bit and launched myself forward with [Jet]. Cao Cao jumped back a bit, probably in surprise at how fast I was moving, but he wasn't going to be able to dodge.

I flew across the field at high speed and was quickly closing in on Cao Cao. Just as my fist was about to land on him, he put his spear out to block my attack and when my fist collided with his spear, there was a loud clang that echoed out across the field. Unlike last time, Cao Cao wasn't able to maintain his position and was launched away and into the ground, causing a huge explosion as the ground collapsed under him. I stood there while the dust settled and let out a deep breath.

As the dust was settling, though, I heard movement behind me and I turned while also changing the Evil Pieces inside me again.

"Promotion: Rook! Mode Change!"

[Welsh Dragonic Rook!]

My wings shrunk and my armor suddenly became incredibly thick as my form changed and I threw my arms up to block an incoming attack.

"Mighty Comet Detonation!" shouted a voice in hidden in the dust cloud.

Several missiles shot out from the dust, but I blocked them with my arms. The resulting explosion barely left a crack on my gauntlets and I swung my arms out to blow away the smoke and dust in front of me. I could see Heracles was close by and was holding his hands out towards me, probably preparing to fire another round. He was being cautious of me, already using his Balance Breaker.

There was a moment of pause and then he fired out again. I started walking towards him while continuing to shield myself with my arms and the missiles kept exploding on my arms.

[Partner, if you keep taking those attacks head on, the armor on your arms won't be able to take it,] said Ddraig.

Mm! I'll defeat him now then!

I dodged the next two missiles and lunged at Heracles, causing him to try and evade me. I followed his movements, though, and hopped up so I was looking him in the eye. He looked shocked for a second and then aimed at me, ready to fire more missiles. Just before he could fire, though, I smashed my fist into his face and then the percussion hammer in my elbow smashed down, increasing the strength of my punch several fold. Heracles couldn't take my attack and my punch sent him flying. He smashed into the ground some distance away, headfirst, and he didn't move after that. I assumed he was unconscious since I could still feel his presence.

"Guagh!"

I turned to see Cao Cao coughing up some blood after standing up from the rubble.

"So…this is this generation's Sekiryuutei…Truly terrifying. To think you had this kind of power. I wonder if this was the power you used to defeat that Loki…If it hadn't been for my spear, I probably won't be alive right now," said Cao Cao, panting heavily. "This is kind of like an Illegal Move…though…being able to promote to whatever piece you like…Yes…an Illegal…huh? That sounds familiar? Why does it feel like I've-? Agh!"

At the same time that Cao Cao had called out in pain and grabbed his head, I also felt a sharp, but familiar pain in my head and I stared over at him in shock.

"To think he would be one of the ones to remember…" I muttered to myself.

"W-What the hell is going on?" said Cao Cao, more to himself than anyone else. "Why is everything…doubled? And further back. We were just about to steal Ophis' power…and we left the Sekiryuutei to fight Shalba and then…I was young again. What is-?"

Cao Cao looked completely baffled by what was going on and I was wary about what to do. Things are different this time around and after regaining his memory, I don't know what he will do.

While these strange things were happening, I suddenly heard a buzzing sound coming from high up in the sky. I glanced up and saw that a hole began forming in the sky.

"This is playing out again? Then, it won't be Great Red, but-," began Cao Cao before being interrupted by Georg who was yelling from some distance.

"Cao Cao, it doesn't feel like Great Red. What should we do?"

Cao Cao looked over, mildly confused, and then looked back at where the hole was, leaving Georg with a confused expression.

"-As I thought, the Mischievous Dragon, Yu-Long," muttered Cao Cao.

Just like last time, Yu Long was the one to appear from the portal they opened and if I'm right…

A figure leapt off of Yu-Long's giant body and nimbly landed some distance from us. It was the same monkey geezer as before.

"What a massive flow of youkai ki, as well as the flow of [Domination]. Due to these, the entire capital city is full of strange fluctuations," said the monkey geezer.

He was a short figure and he approached us slowly while inspecting the field. Despite his small size, his fur gave off a golden brilliance and, unlike last time, I could clearly feel his intimidating ki. This must be what a true master of ki feels like. Yasaka-san and Kuroka are powerful ki users, but this monkey geezer was really a master. "Hey, it's been awhile, holy spear user. That damn kid finally grew up."

The monkey geezer spoke directly to Cao Cao just like last time, but Cao Cao didn't smile this time, instead still looking confused. I guess most people would be. The others at least had me to reassure them. I guess this is probably what Yasaka-san felt like.

"…I see the great Victorious Fighting Buddha has come to thwart another of our efforts," said Cao Cao.

"Kid, your pranks have gone too far," began the monkey geezer, seeming aware that something was wrong. "It wasn't easy for me to get assigned to have talks with the Nine-tails leader on behalf of the Heavenly Emperor, and here you go kidnapping her. There are heroes who become gods and then there are those whose descendants poison the world. Tyranny and domination only last a single generation, isn't that correct? Cao Cao."

"You may call me poison, but even poison can be used as a medicine, no?" said Cao Cao, changing what he said in the previous timeline. Were the experiences he had after this point changing his responses? Or was he doing it on purpose?

"Yes, but if poison is too concentrated, then it will not help anyone," said the monkey geezer seriously.

"You're…" I began, interrupting them. "The First-Generation Sun Wukong, right? That monkey old man from the famous Journey to the West?"

The geezer grinned at me, barely visible through his thick beard.

"You're that Sekiryuutei boy I've heard about, correct? Good job dealing with things here. That's a pretty good dragon pulse you've got there, however I'm much more interested in that ki you've got. I heard some things floating around. We can talk more another time," said Sun Wukong. He looked up into the sky and then shouted up at the green, oriental dragon flying high in the sky. "Yu-Long! I leave the Nine-tails to you! That Vritra kid won't last much longer!"

Yu-Long made some protests, but ended up doing as told while continuing to talk about me and Vritra and how long it had been since he saw Ddraig and the ex-Dragon King.

Sun Wukong puffed his pipe, drawing my attention back to him and he looked at Cao Cao.

"Now that that's taken care of, I will punish Cao Cao's descendant now."

He began to walk towards Cao Cao, but Siegfried, who had been separated from everything until now, appeared and lunged towards the First Gen with his Balance Breaker activated, all four arms plus his arms holding his six swords.

"Siegfried! Don't take him on! You'll-," shouted Cao Cao before being interrupted.

"Extend, staff," said the First gen, causing his staff to extend and smashing Siegfried away. Siegfried flew off some distance and landed in a pile of debris. "You are not ready to be my opponent, young demonic sword user. Not enough strength in that waist. You'd better train again. Start with jogging."

Just like last time, that First Gen Sun Wukong was just nonchalantly giving advice as he defeated the Hero Faction members!

"Ohhh! Wawawawa! Hey damn old man! This fox is quite strong!" shouted Yu-Long from far away. First gen sighed, seemingly exhausted from the Dragon King's complaints, and shouted back without even looking.

"Pull yourself together! You're a Dragon King, aren't you?"

"I am the youngest amongst the Dragon Kings! And also the liveliest!"

"You sure know how to argue. You are the youngest Dragon King who first proposed retiring the instant you ended your most illustrious battle. Use your youth to pull through!"

"Understood! I will try my best!"

They sure are good partners, but…I kind of feel bad for that First Gen. He looked tired after that conversation.

Just as that conversation had ended, and just like last time, Georg, the mist user, released the magic circle being used on Yasaka-san and created magic circles around the First Gen.

"-Capture and bind! Mist!"

The mist began to surround the First Gen, but he chanted a simple spell and tapped the ground with his staff, causing the mist to disperse instantly.

"Your Sacred Gear training is very weak. You should enter in a dialogue with it like that Red Dragon over there, how's that?" said the First Gen, looking over at Georg while pointing at me.

Georg looked very surprised, but just like last time I wondered if it was possible that all Longinus had some will within them. It would be an interesting thing to think about.

"…That monstrous strength of yours. I always used to hear about how strong you were in your younger days, but you haven't weakened at all, have you?" said Cao Cao, not attacking the First Gen like last time. He probably didn't think there was a point.

"Cao Cao," began Siegfried as he stood up from the rubble. I wondered if he was still conscious. "It's over for us here. Sun Wukong is famous for stopping Khaos Brigade operations numerous times. If we don't do something, we'll be defeated here. I was too naïve to attack him head on. He is ridiculously strong."

"Time to retreat, then. I have no intention of being defeated here," said Cao Cao, relaxing his fighting stance.

Siegfried, Jeanne, and Georg all gathered in one spot, Georg using his mist to pull Heracles over to them since he was still unconscious, and Cao Cao grinned over at me.

"We'll have a lot to talk about next time, Sekiryuutei. Let's see how things go, then," said Cao Cao.

I was annoyed that they were trying to escape, but I won't be able to catch them myself with Georg around, since he can just teleport them whenever he wants.

I decided to create a dragon shot and launched it over at them. Cao Cao was expecting an attack this time, though, and he deflected it with his spear. He grinned at me and I redirected the attack back at him, but it was too late, the mist already covered them, and they all disappeared.

After they were gone, I looked over the battlefield. Asia had already finished healing Rossweisse-san and was healing Irina while Kiba and Xenovia waited nearby. Their wounds were bad, but nothing that couldn't wait. In the background, I could see that Yu-Long and Saji had taken down Yasaka-san. Yu-Long was partly holding down the unconscious giant fox while I could see Saji's Dragon King form dissipating into black flames.

"It's all over, huh?" I muttered, mostly to myself, as I undid my armor.

"Seems so," said the First Gen as he walked next to me. He was puffing his pipe and looking on towards the scene of Yasaka-san on the ground. "Seems I'll have to remove some of the evil ki controlling her mind. I'll head over then. We can talk more another time, Red Dragon."

I nodded in response to the First Gen's words and he leapt over to them, covering a great distance with such little effort. Honestly, these famous people are so impressive in how effortlessly they do things…

After the Hero-faction had left, the old man, First Gen Sun Wukong, went to help Yasaka-san who was unconscious after being defeated by Yu-Long and Saji. As I thought, Saji had passed out again from the sheer amount of stamina transforming consumes, though he was otherwise fine.

Unlike last time, I wasn't needed to help Yasaka-san. After the First Gen had removed the evil ki controlling her, Kunou helped Yasaka-san wake up. It turns out that Yasaka-san had suffered some backlash from the mind control in the previous timeline, so she had used some advanced youkai magic to protect her mind and connect her to Kunou. That was why she had shown a reaction to Kunou just before the battle. Due to that connection, Kunou was able to connect to her mother's mind and bring her back.

Yasaka-san looked relieved, but she was still exhausted after this whole situation, so I didn't really get to talk to her. Instead, we decided that it was more important to get out of the fake world and report back to Sensei and Serafall-sama.

The space was easy to escape from, since Georg wasn't around anymore, and we returned to the top of the hotel with everyone in tow.

Sensei looked happy to see me when we arrived, though he was already dealing with the aftermath.

"Ise, you've returned. It looks like everyone made it back safely, good," began Sensei before turning to the medical teams wandering around. "Medical team! Please carefully examine the Gremory servants as well as Irina, Saji, and the Youkai's leader. There shouldn't be any serious injuries, but many of them are severely depleted of magic and stamina!"

Everyone except Asia was taken away for treatment, Kunou following Yasaka-san since she wanted to keep an eye on her and then Sensei turned back to me.

"Seems you decided to let things play out as before," said Sensei, showing complicated emotions on his face.

"Yeah…I don't know what kind of things happened in the Hero-faction behind the scenes, but I feel like it will work out better to let things happen like they did before, but…there is a little bit of a problem," I said, making Sensei look at me with confusion. "Cao Cao's memories returned."

"What?!" shouted Sensei, getting the attention of the people around us. He looked around and then cleared his throat before waving everyone to continue. "What do you mean?"

"After he witnessed Triaina, he said something about it being familiar and being an Illegal Move, and that seemed to trigger it. I guess seeing me activate Triaina was an important event for him. I don't know if he will let things happen like before or not…To think one of my enemies would recover their memories," I said, clenching my fist.

And to think, we're so close to the crossroads between the timelines.

Sensei seemed to be in deep thought for a moment and then sighed.

"Well…we don't actually know what their plans are anyways. Aside from taking part of Ophis' power, we really have no idea what their plans were. They also have no idea that you were killed in your fight with Shalba, so they shouldn't make any big revisions in their plans…well, aside from having to get stronger to deal with you. Cao Cao, at least, will definitely not hesitate to use his Balance Breaker against you the next time you two battle. I'm just worried about what their plans were to begin with, since we have no idea what they were planning to use Ophis' power for."

"Don't worry, Sensei. I'll be ready to fight Cao Cao when we see him again," I said, seriously. I don't care what power he brings out, I won't be beaten by him!

Sensei smiled at me and pat my head before walking off. I watched him shout more orders at everyone and then he disappeared into the crowd of people.

Just like last time, Sensei had to deal with all the wounded from our side, on top of any prisoners they were able to take from the Hero-faction's forces. That aside, I wonder what the First Gen wanted to talk about?

"Ise-san," said Asia as she walked up behind me. Despite not going with the others to be treated, she looked tired from all the healing she had had to do. "I think I'll be returning to my room for now to rest. Since tomorrow is our last day, I want to make sure I can finish everything we were going to do."

"Mm, go and get some rest, Asia. I'll finish up, up here and go to bed soon, too," I said, patting her head. She smiled at me and then turned to the stairs.

Before I could do anything else, though, I heard a voice right behind me.

"She seems like a good kid," said the voice, causing me to spin around. It was the First Gen. When did he get behind me? "You did well in this fight. You seem to have obtained a power different from the Juggernaut. Maybe the tragedy of the two dragons might finally end with your generation. Well, what a good boy you are to choose a different path than that mindless violence. You must have people important to you that keep you chained down to a better path."

"Yes! I have many people important to me!" I said, seriously. Of course! I have Rias, Akeno, Asia, and all the other girls who care for me! Of course, I also have Kiba and Gasper who rely on me as their friend!

"Then don't make them cry. You seem like the type to become strong for your dreams and to protect those important to you, just be careful what kinds of power you pursue in order to accomplish those goals. Some power is too volatile to be of use, no matter how powerful it might look. That aside, I wanted to discuss some things about ki. Who taught you, to start off with," said the First Gen, looking at me with a curious twinkle in his eyes.

"A-Ah, well a Nekoshou I know and Yasaka-san. Yasaka-san taught me a lot when I was living here in Kyoto," I said, not really wanting to reveal Kuroka's name. I hope saying a 'Nekoshou' doesn't sound too suspicious.

"Ah~, so you were that Nine-tails' student? You will have a good foundation then. And a Nekoshou with excellent ki control, particularly in senjutsu will have also been a good teacher. Well then, kid, how about I take you under my wing?"

Eh? EHHHHHHHHH?! I'm going to be trained by that First-Generation Sun Wukong?! The famous one from the well-known Journey to the West?!

"I-I-I would be honored!" I shouted, standing up straight. To be trained by that famous guy, how few people can say they were ever trained by someone so famous in both the human world and the supernatural world!

"Good, good. I'll have to let that Azazel know, then. I have quite a lot I'd like to teach you. I wonder if a unique guy like you could learn everything I want to show you…Well, we can discuss this more another time. Just make sure to take care of yourself and be ready."

"Yes, sir!"

And with that, the First Gen left on Yu-Long, probably to meet with some of the youkai higher-ups since Yasaka-san was out of commission.

What a turn…If I'm trained by a ki master like Sun Wukong, then won't my ki abilities become that much stronger? I'm so excited!

The next day…

It was the next day and the last day of the Kyoto trip. Asia and the other had gone to do their final souvenir shopping, but I had other plans. I had already gotten all my souvenirs early since I wanted to leave time on the last day to have a proper talk with Yasaka-san and Ophis before leaving. I could always pop in when I wanted, but I didn't want to give Rias any reason to be suspicious.

"Yasaka-sama will be here soon, Young Master," said the fox girl who had led me into the waiting room. Not that I needed help since I lived here for years.

I nodded in response to her and she bowed before walking out. Honestly, I wish they would stop calling me Young Master. I'm just a regular person, you know!

I heard a shuffling coming from the doorway, and the door was slid open, loudly. Kunou came running through and threw herself at me.

"Ise! You came by to visit!" said Kunou, happily.

"We just saw each other yesterday, you know," I said, sweat-dropping.

"Yes, but it was a serious situation where Mother was in danger. Now that you saved her again, I can just relax with you," said Kunou, rubbing her face into my chest. "Mmm, I missed hugging Ise."

"Haha, I missed doing this, too," I said, patting her head. She can get so affectionate sometimes.

"Ara, Issei-sama has come by. Kunou, you should be more proper," said Yasaka-san, giving a scolding look towards Kunou. Kunou pouted, adorably, and then hid her face in my chest. Honestly, she's such a spoiled girl.

"I came by. I hope you're feeling alright," I said, smiling over at her.

"Yes, I'm doing quite well. I still have some lingering fatigue from my body being used so roughly, but it isn't anything to worry about. I'm glad everything was resolved so well. As I thought, Issei-sama's difference in strength from last time to now made quite the difference in how easily you were able to deal with them. It's unfortunate they were able to escape, but I'm sure you have your own plans in mind," said Yasaka-san, still smiling at me.

"Yeah. I think it would be better to let certain events play out like they did before; especially as we get closer to when I went back in time."

"Indeed. Ah, I also sent one of the fox maids to bring Ophis-sama over, since I'm sure you would want to see her while you were here."

"Thank you, Yasaka-san. I definitely wanted to ask her about those people we met, since Ophis is supposed to be one of them," I said, curious to what she would say. They said that Ophis is supposed to represent the concept of 'Infinity', which makes sense when you think about how she is supposed to have infinite power.

"Issei, you're back," said a monotone voice. I looked over and saw Ophis standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Ophis. I hope you haven't been causing Yasaka-san too much trouble," I said while smiling over at her. She hadn't changed at all since I last saw her.

"I haven't. I have been playing a lot of video games with Kunou," said Ophis, still sounding monotone. She began to glide across the floor towards me and she knelt next to me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. "Mm. It's as I thought. I have missed Issei."

I was a bit surprised to see Ophis acting affectionate on her own, but I wrapped the arm that wasn't around Kunou, around Ophis.

"I missed you, too. I'm glad you're alright," I said, smiling. "Ah, yeah. Ophis, I wanted to ask you something. I don't know if Yasaka-san or Kunou have mentioned it, but we met some…people…a while ago."

"Who?" asked Ophis, not looking up at me.

"A couple of them were Father Time and Elohim-sama, or God from the Bible. They said you were also one of them. The one who represents 'Infinity'," I explained, wondering what Ophis was going to say. She remained silent for a moment before looking up at me and using my chest to prop up her chin.

"Ah, yeah. I forgot about that."

Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You forgot about something that importantttttttttttttttttttt!?

"What do you mean you forgot?! How could you forget something that important?"

Ophis looked at me with a quizzical look and she just tilted her head cutely at me.

"I just forgot?"

I stared at her for a minute as I felt my brain explode at how absurd this was.

This dragon god is way too much of an airheadddddddddddddddddddd!

How can one of the most powerful people in the world be someone like this gothic loli dragon who forgets such important things?!

"*sigh* Do-Do you remember anything?" I asked, struggling to stay sane.

[Patience, Partner. The dragon god isn't the smartest dragon around,] said Ddraig, echoing my frustrations.

"I heard that, Ddraig," said Ophis, looking cutely annoyed at my left hand. Ddraig went silent in response to that and I sighed.

"Ophis," I said, trying to get her attention.

"Yes, I remember. There was that Time and Gaea and God from the Bible…I don't remember the others. They were boring. I think the last time I met any of them was…four million years ago? Issei, years are hard," said Ophis, innocently. I think if she tried to keep track of so many years, her mind might break.

"Four million years? My, that's a shockingly long time," said Yasaka-san, looking very shocked. I would have been shocked too if I didn't think it was even longer than that. I thought she was going to say something even crazier like a billion years. I mean, she was in the Dimensional Gap for a lot of that time, so I'm surprised she could keep track of time at all.

"Do you know anything about what's going on? With the recoil and what's going on in the other timeline?" I asked. Ophis shook her head in response and looked up at me.

"I am cut off from the others while in my limited form. All I know is that Time is mad at me for using the time spell. When we were going back in time, he yelled at me in the timestream," said Ophis, sounding hurt.

"Wait…he yelled at you, but you didn't bother to even mention something like that?"

"Issei did not know about Time yet?"

How is it that Ophis can say such ridiculous things with such innocence?

I sighed and decided to just move on and catch her up to speed. As I expected, she didn't really react to what we learned was coming and instead gave a half-hearted answer like, 'You can do it, Issei' while holding out her fist.

Honestly, what am I going to do with this innocent, airheaded, dragon god.

After I finished up at Yasaka-san's, I met back up with the girls and we just made it to the train to head back home. As expected, Rias had received word and she was just as mad as before, though not nearly as embarrassed, since I didn't need to use her wonderful breasts to power up and unlock Triaina this time. Honestly, I'm glad, since I don't want to make Ddraig go through that embarrassing situation again. I don't think his heart could take it.

"Why didn't you report to me? Even despite being busy with the riots in the Gremory territory… Sona's servants reported to her what was going on, yet I didn't know anything until she let it slip," said Rias, glaring at us. I, Kiba, Xenovia, Irina, and Asia were all kneeling on the ground receiving her anger. Just like last time, Rossweisse-san had had to go to rest from the stress of running the school trip and fighting. She was really out of stamina.

"Yes…sorry, Buchou," I said, bowing my head a bit. I did feel bad for not telling her, but it was obvious all of us were fine.

"Although I know you all would be okay with Ise there, Saji did inform Sona about Ise getting stabbed by the holy spear. Even though you're strong, Ise, holy relics like that could still kill you," said Akeno, also seeming mad. Less for not contacting them and more because for me letting myself get hit by a dangerous attack like that.

Koneko-chan was the only one not visibly angry compared to last time since she probably thought I wouldn't die even if I were killed.

"That's right! How could you let yourself get hit by such an attack, Issei? On top of not using your full power to start!" said Rias, angrily.

"But, but everyone came home safe…" I said, trying to be innocent.

"Y-Yes, Buchou, Ise-senpai brought everyone home safely, right?" said Gasper, nervously.

Thank you for the help, my junior! You're such a good kid!

"Well, that is true. On top of a bit of a prize," said Sensei, who was reading a magazine in the corner.

"What prize?" said Rias, glaring over at sensei, probably annoyed he interrupted her scolding.

"Oh? I guess you hadn't heard yet," said Sensei as he set down the magazine. He crossed his legs and grinned over at Rias. "Issei has secured himself a new teacher."

"Ara? Who could that be?" said Akeno, sounding very curious.

"A-Ah, yes. At the end of the fight, we were helped by someone and he decided to help me master my ki. It was the First-Generation Sun Wukong," I said.

Rias and Akeno both looked at me, mouth agape, and I laughed nervously. I thought they might react that way.

"Y-You what? You managed to get the famous sage, Sun Wukong, to become your teacher?! How could you not tell me sooner, that's incredible!" said Rias, kneeling down in front of me. She put her hands on my shoulders, the anger from before gone, and was beaming. "With a teacher like that, you'll become so much better at handling ki. It's said he's one of the top masters of ki and senjutsu in the world, even more so than Yasaka-sama. Congratulations, Issei!"

"Yes! I'll be sure to work hard for you, Buchou, and everyone else!" I said, excitedly. It was true that this would help me make a great leap, since I've been struggling with improving my abilities with ki.

"Senpai will have a lot to teach me when he starts his training," said Koneko-chan, smiling over at me.

Until Kuroka comes around, I'm still Koneko-chan's Ki Teacher, so of course I'll be sure to teach her lots of things! Forgive me, Kuroka, if I help your little sister too much!

"Mm! I'll be sure to get much stronger, and help all of us get much stronger in preparation for our fight with Sairaorg-san! We'll definitely beat him and the Hero-faction!"

Everyone nodded in agreement and I grinned. We've all got a lot of work to do!

So? What did you guys think?

So, to start off with, let's talk about this chapter a bit. I had some reservations about Ise v Hero-faction. Probably the same you all had. I really didn't have much a reason to make Ise go easy on the Hero-faction. There were a number of things that Ise has yet to learn about Khaos Brigade, such as Rizevim's presence and the Magician's-faction, so as far as he knows, this is really the only other major part of the Khaos Brigade he needed to stop. Besides my own knowledge of future events, Ise's only reason would be 'I want to see what other things are hiding in the Khaos Brigade'. Honestly not my favorite reason, but I hope you guys can accept it for now.

Aside from that, how exciting! Between Cao Cao regaining his memories and Sun Wukong agreeing to train Issei, we have two major events this chapter. That and also Cao Cao not losing his eye. I wonder how that will affect him in the future? Since a major moment in the battle they would have after Issei came back to life would have been Issei using Samael's blood against Cao Cao's Medusa blood, showing how he was a hypocrite.

Well, anyways, I have a number of plans for this next Volume, this chapter being the last in Volume 4. I was reviewing a lot of the things I want to touch on in Volume 5 and I will need to retract what I said previously. I had thought volume 5 would be a short, kind of filler volume, but I've decided to make it a major volume. There's just too much I need to do for the training of all the DxD members, plus relationship building, plus tying up loose ends, plus introducing some new characters, for me to make the volume anything but a major part.

Because of this, I hope you look forward to all the major things that will be happening in Volume 5!

I'd also like to mention that I'm looking for some ideas for new moves for all the DxD members! I've got some ideas on how I plan to take things, but I'd also like some ideas from all of you! One of the most difficult things is coming up with unique, but balanced techniques for our heroes. I created the attacks for Ise, mainly as a concentration of his power with some balance like how his [Divine Javelin] hurts him and his [Gae Bolg] takes a while to form, but I'd like some more ideas or wishes. Even if you don't think your idea is good, any ideas will help! Even if I don't use any specific idea, I may take parts from different people's ideas to form a good technique.

The last things I want to touch on, and I'm sorry for rambling so much, is things you guys would like to see going forward. This story is a behemoth and It's becoming more and more difficult to keep track of every aspect. Even little things like Ddraig talking is something I hadn't even realized I've been neglecting. You all know the LN and this story just as well as I do, so anything you have to say will be helpful!

That's all for the things about this story. The only things left are a concern I have. Please, please! Be logged in when you post reviews guys. I've seen a number of reviews made by guests in the last few chapters that I've really wanted to respond to without having to do something like answer here. I read EVERY review and I try to respond to any that are questions or thoughts I can answer, so please allow me to do so by being logged in!

Due to the absolute massive amount of research I need to do on a number of characters I will be creating/introducing in volume 5, the next chapter may not come out until late July at the earliest. I apologize for the lateness but I promise that, after that first chapter for Volume 5, the time til the chapter after will be shorter. Until then, I hope you guys enjoyed! I hope to see you all again...byeee :D