Chapter 1: A Wish to Protect

"Will you smile for me Clare?"

I could feel myself beginning to fade, my time with her quickly beginning to trickle away as my presence began losing hold within her soul. I had long overstayed my welcome, and it was a miracle I had been able to hold on long enough to finish the fight with Priscilla.

Still, I wanted more. More time to talk with her and laugh with her. The young girl who, in the short time we had spent together, had managed to fill my monochrome world in a rush of color, who had given me a purpose in life other than fulfilling the crude schemes of The Organization.

"Teresa!" she cried as I felt a weight crash upon me. Tears pouring down her face, her embrace almost suffocating as she desperately held me. While I had enjoyed watching Clare grow up into a wonderful and strong woman, it was rather fortunate that Clare was in the form of a child during this last goodbye, as if Clare had been in her real form than there was no doubt in my mind that she would have surely crushed me.

"I'm so happy… I'm so happy I could see you." She cried into my shoulder as I held her in my arms, my knees bent in order to accommodate the difference in our heights.

"Yea… Me too. I'm so happy I could see you all grown up." I replied, gently stroking her hair in an attempt to sooth her, while also maintain my smile in an attempt to contain the gnawing pain in my chest.

"Always… From now on always… We'll always be together Teresa!"

And then she smiled at me, a smile covered in the tears pouring from her eyes and the mucus oozing from her nose. Even so, for me, whose world revolved around the cute little creature in my arms, it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"A filthy smile covered with snot, huh." The faint smile on my face widened ever so slightly. "But it suits you. It's a great smile."

Just her and I.

Seconds. Minutes. Hours.

I was unsure of how much time had actually passed as we stood there, holding one another and relishing in each other's presence one last time. The smell of her hair, chock full of the scents of the land accumulated through our travels. The softness of her cheeks against the palms of my rough, battle-worn hands.

It was all made apparent to me here, within the confines of her soul, where there was nothing but the two of us, and the two of us only. It was with her that I had truly been born into the world, and it was beside her that I would gladly leave it.

'This isn't a bad way to go out, I suppose.'

Everything had been answered for. I had finally rectified my mistakes with Priscilla and had freed her from her eternal suffering. The Organization was finally beginning to deteriorate and their depraved schemes finally brought to light. And most importantly of all, Clare had finally grown up and had made good friends and had even found herself a good man, no matter how much of a cheeky brat he was. She was happy, and as long as that was the case than my role was fulfilled. There was no more reason for me to remain in this world. I could finally rest in peace.

My only regret was that I had not met her earlier. Perhaps I would have realized the beauty of the world around me sooner, the true meaning of my existence as a Claymore.

It was something I had long abandoned since becoming a warrior, much less since becoming the number one. An important ideal which had evaded my mind and could have brought peace to my bleak existence. How could I forget? Perhaps it was due to the indoctrination of The Organization, molding us is into the efficient machines that we were, with the sole focus of killing the Yomas being drilled into our heads. Kill or be killed.

That's what I thought it had all amounted to. It was what I taught, and it was what I lived by. And while it had made me strong, strong enough to be the number one of the generation, every day I still found myself lacking.

It was only upon meeting this young girl, that I had realized what truly made one strong. By a sliver of chance or perhaps even the divinations of fate, our paths crossed and through her I finally realized. A Warrior's claymore isn't meant to be wielded with the intent to kill.

No, it was wielded in order to protect.

A young fragile girl, full of love and compassion. And her, a cold lost warrior carrying a heart of stone.

'A rather peculiar adventure it was.' I quipped to myself.' If only I had had more time to fully appreciate it.'

That would be my one last regret. That I had learned too late the joy of companionship. That I could not experience this exhilarating new world of purpose and fulfillment that Clare had opened up to me. It was rather selfish, but I yearned for more than what I was given.

I loathed the fact that it all had to end now, when it had been the most breathtaking experience in her life. And it was here, within the marble of her soul sheltered from the reality of the world that I began to fade, and as I watched as her teary eyes widened and she stifled back a sob, a smile looking up at me full of appreciation and tenderness, that I couldn't stop myself from making one final wish, a prayer to the high heavens, a longing for this bright new world filled with promise and meaning. One final request within myself, with no one else to hear but me.

I want to protect.

She had heard it. A distant yet resounding plea, echoing through her mind as if to call to her and her only. The voice of a woman wrought with emotion, permeating through her mind in an enticing trance.

"Interesting" she hummed to herself as she suddenly laid up from her bed, her long black hair cascading down her back and her violet eyes gleaming with contemplation.

It wasn't every day that someone was able to penetrate her mental barriers. On the contrary, until now nothing had ever entered her mind without her permission. Intrigued, she wondered whether or not to answer this request and reached out in search out in search of its source. What she found stunned her.

The voice was distant. Significantly so. She wasn't even sure if it was still within the boundaries of her world. Yet it could not be ignored. She was never really skilled at detecting wishes and pleas as that was more of Sirzech's area of specialty. This was also the reason why her peerage paled in comparison to the other three Maous. She simply wasn't one to accept just anyone into her court. Yet despite this, she could feel the connection almost immediately. The bond must have been strong to have reached her across the Dimensional Gap, going as far as to transcend the very boundaries of time and space. This wasn't something she could simply brush off.

While she did already have a peerage member, Behemoth-chan was always out doing his own thing and even when they were together he wasn't very talkative. Sure she still loved him as her dear peerage member, but what she yearned for was different.

She also had her sister, but truthfully she understood that Sona didn't really belong to her, and that while they would always remain sisters that would love each other, Sona would always have others she could rely on.

No, what she longed for was something different. Something that would never fail her. What she wanted was not just a simple friendship, but an unbreakable bond between companions. She didn't necessarily want a romantic love, just something to fill the void in her heart that left her incomplete.

On the outside, she upheld her facade of a cheerful and laid-back girl, oblivious to the whims and intricacies of the world. However most failed to realize just what truly lurked within the heart of the Leviathan. What people never noticed was that despite her outgoing demeanor and the overly joyous smile which adorned her face almost exclusively, there was an inner turmoil that haunted her within.

The title of Maou was a heavy burden to bear, even for someone as powerful as her. The weight of a society as volatile as the Underworld could find even the mightiest lacking. She needed someone to stand by her side. But not simply someone who was strong, but someone who could understand her. Someone who could shelter her. It was an aspect of herself that only she knew, and that she hid from everyone else.

She was lonely.

Sighing, she shut her eyes for a moment, and when they opened something had changed. The hesitant haze in her eyes was now replaced by a spark of confidence, her eyes gleaming with newfound conviction.

'What a hassle. The one time I finally get a call and it comes from across the Gap in the middle of the night. I really hope Great Red and Ophis-chan don't notice, this is already problematic as it is.'

Rising out of bed, she made her way over to her closet with a bounce in each step and peered inside. Picking out one of her pink magical girl dresses, she took a minute to put everything on and topped it all off with some twin tails and a starred wand.

'It would take a lot of power to resurrect this new and fascinating prospect, and with all the effort I'll be putting in it would be a shame if I didn't take this opportunity to look as cute as possible.' She thought.

She was never one to disregard first impressions.

Finishing off the final touches to her outfit, she took one last look at herself in the mirror, made a twirl and struck a pose, making sure she looked as cute as possible.

'Perfect.'

She stared at herself within the mirror, unwavering in her scrutiny.

Serafall Leviathan.

One of the four rulers of Hell, the Sin of Wrath and a being of immeasurable power.

Serafall Leviathan.

An obsessive siscon and a self-proclaimed magical girl.

Serafall Leviathan.

A lonely soul in search for a companion.

Taking a deep breath, Serafall began chanting, the magic crest of the Leviathan materializing beneath her, imbued with power befitting that of a Satan. And then as the walls of her room were painted in azure light, the room was left silent once more.

The Leviathan would not return for another seven days, and with her unannounced absence the Underworld was thrown into disarray. Her family at first payed no head to it as they were used to the Maou wandering off on her own whims every once in a while. However, they began to worry once she had missed a day of filming for her show Miracle Levia-tan.

With every passing day, more and more of her duties were left unattended, much to the misfortune of Sirzechs.

But on the seventh day, just as her presence suddenly vanished that first fateful night, it returned just as abruptly as it had disappeared. And with her return did a sigh of relief resonate across the Underworld, as the four unholy thrones were once against complete.

However, much to the confusion of those who had greeted her upon arrival, she was not alone.

When asked what could have been so important warranted her to leave post so suddenly and without warning, she simply answered with her patented smile that she had simply gone on a business trip.

After all, it was a magical girl's job to grant wishes.

Author's Note: Hey guys! First of all, I'd like to thank whoever's reading this as just the idea of someone being interested enough to check out my story makes me ecstatic! This is my very first time ever writing a story honestly my very first time writing outside of essays in school. I've been lurking here for almost two years just enjoying the amazing writing to be found. Recently though I got tired of waiting around for my favorite stories to update so I've decided to begin writing to kill time.

So a little bit about the story, I feel like there's a big lack of Claymore crossovers on this site, which baffles me considering how amazing the characters are, and the potential for incredible fight scenes. So I decided to pair it up with Highschool DxD, an anime very popular on this site and with good reason, as it provides one of the most fascinating and flexible worlds a fanfic writer could work with. For the direction of the story, I'm not really sure yet as I kinda started this on a whim during the weekend, so I haven't really planned anything out yet. What I'm sure of though is that I'll most likely write some original chapters to flesh out Teresa's introduction to the DxD universe, which would occur before the story timeline of the series itself. Afterwards I'll probably delve into the actual story arcs, but I can't promise I'll write about each one as I prefer some of them to others. In regards to the characters themselves, I'll be focusing mostly on the development of both Teresa and Serafall's character, especially the dynamic between the two. Also I don't think this'll be TeresaxSera or any romance at all apart from some light flirting, but honestly I haven't made my mind up about anything so expect anything. Also I'll do my best to write some epic fight scenes, as nothing is more enjoyable than reading a breathtaking fight.

Lastly, I know my writing isn't very good as I've just started off but I'd really appreciate it if you guys could drop a review giving some ideas and tips for my writing and story, as well your thoughts of the story. I plan to focus on this one story for a while, so I'm hoping that as it develops my writing ability develops with it and I'll be able to write more stories.