I am very happy that so many people enjoyed this story so far. In all honesty, this had been a spur of the moment, but I am glad that it is well received. And just a hint, the Fortress is here, and the Wraiths also had a role with this world. Anyway, on with the story. Be sure to review!

Also, a person asked if the runes from 2016 will be here, they are.

(With the Doom Slayer)

The Slayer continued his trek through the woods. No Danger Beast had tried to approach him, but that didn't mean his guard was down. Even if the beasts did not attack, then there was a chance that humans might give it a go. This world had proven to have plenty of bandits due to the Empire's corruption. Many who turned to banditry just to survive or merely capitalizing on the current situation, defenseless villagers, unguarded caravans, or travelers. Of course, those who had run into the Slayer these past few days had been left as broken corpses. Even a few Imperial soldiers had tried their luck on him, only end up like their comrades from the camp.

[By my calculations, we will arrive in the capital in about an hour. So long as we do not run into any obstacles] VEGA said. [I am still attempting to pick up the teleportation Teigu's signature but have only gathered small traces. I shall inform you if I make any progress]

Doom Slayer grunted as he continued his trek through the woods. It was rather aggravating for him. For eons he had done nothing but fighting and killing demons. Even after he was freed from that damn prison, he had gone straight back to his crusade. Now, thanks to that damn robot, he was stuck here, forced to trek through forests, the only noise the occasional animal sound. At least there should've been…

A familiar squeak caught his attention, causing the Hell Walker to freeze. Turning to his left, the Slayer's eyes widened underneath his helm. Not too far away was a family of brown furred rabbits. A father, mother and three children. The parents were clearly gathering food for their young ones and were unaware of the Doom Slayer's presence. Not that the Destroyer mind, for a moment he forgot all about finding a way back to Earth and just settled watching the family. Their fur reminded him so much of his sweet Daisy that he had to hold back the urge to pet them.

The moment was ruined when the bushes nearby shook. Coming out was a what looked like a lion but with big horns growing from the side of its heads onward. It also had three red eyes. It growled, staring at the family of rabbits, revealing its fangs bent on rendering harm to the fluffy ones. The creature lunged at them, only to be stopped by something grabbing its tail.

The Doom Slayer glared at the beast with unbridled fury. Attempting to kill the rabbits? Heresy! With a strong pull, the Slayer pulled the danger beast away from the family before putting his boot on the beast's back. With both hands, the Hell Walker gripped its horns. Then, he twisted the head so hard that it was ripped off the body. Throwing the head away, the Slayer was sad that the rabbits had already left, no doubt fleeing from the danger. [I have noticed that all these Danger Beasts have unique energy signatures. I could not tell at first, but they are all similar, yet each altered in a small way, no doubt due to their unique physiologies] VEGA said. [It is familiar as well. I shall begin trying in diagnosing them. In the meantime, I am detecting several human life signs approaching us from the south] VEGA said.

Turning his head, the Slayer saw that VEGA's words were true. Calmly, but slowly, walking out of the woods were several people. Two were males while the one at the front was a female. One of the males had a pair of horns in his head. However, according to the Praetor Suit's scanners, there were three more people nearby. Two hidden in the trees while another was invisible. There was another pair at the nearby mountain cliff looking over the area. They were all armed with exotic weapons, clearly the teigus that were written in the journal. The Doom Slayer wanted to just keep moving, not wanting to bother with these people, but VEGA said, [We may be able to gather more information from them]

Najenda stood a safe distance from the armored person. Said armor was definitely unique and advanced, perhaps even more so than Incursio. The wearer appeared to be about a foot shorter than Susanoo, but one could make out their muscles under the armor. Then she watched as he swiftly killed the Jackaleo without a problem. She didn't see any weapons as described in the report, but apparently, they could be stored within the armor or something. Presently, the person was watching them, his expression unknown underneath the helmet's visor. Clearing her throat, Najenda decided to initiate contact.

"Greetings. I apologize for our sudden appearance, but I was hoping to get the chance to speak with you." Najenda began. "My name is Najenda, I am the leader of Night Raid, an assassination unit aligned with the Revolutionary Army."

[Greeting Najenda. I am VEGA. To be clear I am not the one inhabiting the armor but am an artificial intelligence inside the Praetor Suit. The man wearing it is called the Doom Slayer] The AI replied politely.

Najenda took this in. She had no idea what an 'Artificial Intelligence' was, but perhaps it was like a biological Teigu? Either way, at least she had a name now.

VEGA continued. [We have limited knowledge on the Revolutionary Army and Night Raid, based solely on the information we gathered from the Imperial Camp at the North. Might I inquire why you wish to meet us]

'So, it is true.' Najenda thought. When she first heard how the feared army of Esdeath was wiped out, she didn't believe it at first, despite the claims of the scouts who reported it. But it didn't seem like this VEGA was lying either. "Well, to fill in the gaps, our goal is to eliminate the ones responsible behind the Empire's corruption and the suffering of the people. If the stories of your prowess and eliminating the soldiers of the most feared Empire General are true, you would make a great asset to our cause."

The Doom Slayer immediately knew what this woman wanted. She wanted him to help them with their little war. Well unfortunately for her, he did not have time to deal with their problems. He had bigger and more important things to focus on. As if agreeing with him, VEGA gave their answer. [While I understand your reason and agree with your cause, I am afraid we'll have to decline. Matters far more important require our attention, and thus we must find a quick way to return to where we came from before the situation escalades even further. Good day]

Before the Slayer could take a step, the two figures who had been hiding appeared on both sides. One was a male wearing unusual armor and had a red bladed spear pointed at the Beast. While the other was a young black-haired girl with red eyes, wielding a katana, likewise posed at the Slayer's throat. The ones who had been beside Najenda also readied themselves.

The silver haired woman frowned. "I would very much like you to reconsider. We're already facing problems already, and the Empire is a great threat to everyone."

[Again, we cannot, Najenda. We have our own problems to settle with. Please tell your subordinates to stand down before force is used] VEGA stressed, trying to end this without violence. He could tell that the Slayer was ready to snap at this obvious display of confining him. While the AI doubt the Slayer would kill any of these assassins, the injuries he would deliver would not be pleasant.

Sadly, they did not heed the AI's warning. "Unfortunately, I can't allow that. Now that you've seen us, we can't risk you leaving and potentially revealing our location. You will have to come back with us as a prisoner. I assure you that you will be treated fairly. but we'll also be taking the Teigu and any other weapons you have." She gave a nod to Akame and Tatsumi, the two preparing to detain the Slayer.

That had been the final straw. Without warning, the Doom Slayer's hand lashed out, grabbing the katana and throwing it and its wielder aside. He then grabbed the top of the armored brat's head and slammed him hard against the ground, creating a small crater. Lifting him up the Slayer threw the brat at the blonde beast girl who had tried to rush him. The two were sent flying backwards as the horn man struck next with a staff. The Slayer casually grabbed the staff, to the surprise of the horn man, and pulled it forward, bringing said man closer to the Hell Walker. With single strike, the Doom Slayer released a devastating headbutt that caused the horn man's face to bleed, breaking both horns.

Before he could land another blow, an energy beam struck him in the right shoulder. The attack did little to damage the hell-forged Praetor Suit. Turning his head, the Doom Slayer glared at the person who fired, only to be stopped when the black-haired girl lunged at him, blade brought down. The Slayer merely raised his left arm and blocked the strike. The sword wasn't even able to leave a dent in the armor. The red eyed girl's eyes widened before the Slayer kicked her aside. She crashed into a boulder and coughed up blood.

Suddenly a beam of energy flew out from the nearby cliff. It struck the Praetor Suit in the right shoulder, but dealt no damage, save for causing the Doom Slayer to stagger back a bit. Angered, the Slayer spotted the source. On the cliff a short pink-haired girl wielding a massive gun was arguing with a redhead. Glaring at them, the Slayer brought out his Gauss Cannon. Putting it in siege mode, he charged the weapon up before firing it, the magnetic projectile flying straight towards the girls. They must've noticed because they freaked out before trying to get out of the way. The two had just barely jumped out of the way when the beam tore through the cliff.

The Doom Slayer made to move but found himself immobilized. Looking down, he could see his right arm and leg covered by thin wires. Following them he saw that they originated from a green-haired kid wearing goggles. He wore some strange gloves where the wires came from. The Slayer's attention shifted when the blonde woman charged towards him, fists raised at the Hell Walker's helmet. The Slayer merely raised his right arm up, dragging the green haired youth with him, much to the kid's surprise. The beast girl's fist was grabbed by the Slayer's larger hand and with swing, the girl was thrown aside. She crashed into a tree and knocking it down on top of her.

Ripping the wires off himself, the Slayer dodged a robotic arm flying towards him. Following it as it was reeled back, the Slayer saw it was the Najenda woman. Taking out his combat shotgun with the grenade launcher mode attached, the Slayer fired a single shot at the woman. Najenda's eyes widened and instinctively jumped out of the way. Though she avoided the explosion, the shockwave caused her to lose her footing and hit the ground hard. In response, the goggle kid tried to ensnare him with more wires, but the Slayer merely pointed his shotgun at him and fired another grenade. Somehow, the kid used the wires to make a makeshift shield that blocked the explosion, but the shockwave still sent him flying into some bushes.

Before the Slayer could finally leave, the armored brat jumped on his back. Gripping his spear with both hands, the kid put it over the Slayer's neck, trying to hold him place. "Please just listen to us!" Tatsumi begged, struggling to keep the 'Doom Slayer' pinned. Even with the training he went through, combined with the increase strength Incursio gave, the Slayer's own strength was far greater. "The Empire is cruel, surely you can see that! We need all the strength we can find, and I know you want to stop them as much as we do!" Tatsumi exclaimed, not even seeing Leone trying to help him in pinning the Doom Slayer.

Ignoring the brat's idiotic words, the Slayer preferred to hear what VEGA was saying. [The boy's armor appears to be semi-conscious. In addition, the energy from it is pure and I have identified it as Sentinel Energy]

Sentinel Energy? Wraith Power, the energy that the Night Sentinels and Argent D'Nur had used before Argent Energy. Such a discovery was extraordinary if not impossible. The Doom Slayer did not think it was possible for the energy to still exist except for on his adopted homeworld. How was is here? As if hearing the Slayer's question, VEGA answered. [While I am unable to come up with a solid answer, I believe the armor can help us. Its pure Sentinel Energy should have left a trail no matter how many centuries it has been. Acquire a sample and I can scan it]

Not needing anymore words, the Doom Slayer grabbed the busty blonde and promptly threw her to the side, causing her to crash through several trees. Then he grabbed the brat with one hand and held him by the neck. Ignoring his struggling, the Doom Slayer grabbed the horns on the helmet and promptly tore them off. In fact, he tore off most of the helmet, revealing the brat's brown hair. The Slayer then slammed him on the ground, knocking the kid out. Meanwhile, VEGA began scanning the material. [This is sufficient. I have already completed my scans. Focusing on oldest traces…done, the armor's origin point is about fifty miles northeast of current location. Recommend holding onto pieces for further analysis in case of usefulness]

Done with these people, the Slayer was about to run off when the sword girl came at him again, followed by the horn man. Raising his arms, he blocked the sword strikes as the blade harmlessly bounced off his armor. He tried to grab the girl, but she was surprisingly swift, almost as fast as a Prowler. Almost, being the keyword as the Slayer grabbed the girl's face and roughly threw her at Najenda. The woman was forced to stop her charge as she crashed into her subordinate. The Slayer dodged a strike from the horn man and dodged the next few. [This individual is giving off different bio-energies similar to the Teigu. I believe that it is a biological Teigu as mentioned in the journal] VEGA noted.

He wasn't human? That made things easier for the Hell Walker. Pulling out his super shotgun, the Doom Slayer fired at the horn man, blowing both his legs off and half of his left arm. The horn man fell to the ground with a thud but according to the Praetor Suit's scanners, he was still alive. The Doom Slayer then took off towards the direction that VEGA had previously pointed towards, leaving behind a disorganized and disgruntle Night Raid.

Leone finally managed to push the tree off, and slowly got up. Rubbing her shoulders and wiping some dirt off her face. "Agh, asshole!" She shouted, looking for the armored man, but saw no sign of him.

"Where the hell he'd go?" Mine shrieked as she and Chelsea came out of the woods. The girls had used the trees to lessen their fall, and were currently covered in twigs, leaves, dirt, and other things that they rather not mention. "Where is he?! I'm going to tear him a new one!"

"You are not." Najenda said as she managed to get up. The explosion had made her disoriented but with some help from Lubbock she got back to her feet. "Mine, Chelsea, help Tatsumi. Lubbock make sure our little fight didn't attract attention. Akame, are you still good?"

Said girl tried to move her left arm but found it unmoving. "I think my arm is broken. Other than that, I can follow him."

"No, not with a broken arm. Instead, Leone and Su will follow him. But keep your distance. It's clear that he's not someone we can lightly." Najenda ordered. The busty blonde and living teigu nodded before following the Slayer's trail.

In hindsight, this was poor planning on Najenda's end. They had underestimated simply because it was one person, despite the fact he managed to slaughter an entire army. He was an unknown who, so far, appeared to have strength and skills on par with Esdeath, perhaps even greater. That was also another factor that caused the rash decision. The armored man would've been such a great asset that Night Raid had acted carelessly and were suffering because of it.

Najenda's mood sunk even more when Leone and Susanoo returned a short while later, reporting that they had lost the Slayer's trail.

(Doom Slayer, Thirty Minutes Later)

The Slayer had finally reached the location of where the Wraith energy VEGA had picked up originated from. Said location was a large hill covered in rocks and stones within a forest. Not a sign of civilizations from miles around, the area to thick with Danger Beasts. And despite its normal appearance, the Praetor Suit's scanner told a different story.

[The interior of the hill is hollow and travels downwards into the planet. However, the layer is thick enough to resist conventional weaponry. The Gauss Cannon, Rocket Launcher or the BFG can break through, but that would risk destroying the structure] VEGA said as he continued his can. [There appears to be a mechanism right there. Pressing it should grant us entrance]

His HUD designating said mechanism, the Slayer followed it. He found a piece of rock that was unnaturally loose. Pressing his hand on it, the Slayer pushed it. The outcome was a large section of the hill opening, allowing fresh air to enter for the first time in most likely centuries. What followed next were rows of blue lights coming on, illuminating the interior, and showing the walls were made of metal. Without hesitation the Slayer entered the facility.

After a few minutes of walking, the Slayer ended at a large workshop-like area. The place was covered with shelves, tables, chairs, hangers, charts, tools, blueprints…and skeletons. Indeed, there were many bones across the large cavern. All of them covered in dust like everything else. What caught the Slayer's attention were two canisters on top of a large table. One was empty, having a large crack on it, while the other was filled with glowing bluish energy. The Doom Slayer quickly recognized them as Sentinel Batteries, filled with the energies of the Wraiths. Walking over, the Slayer picked up the battery and put it into his suit's quantum dimensional backpack. He then spotted a journal lying next to the empty batteries, with a skeleton lying against it and a map tucked inside. Picking up the journal, the Slayer flipped through it, allowing both himself and VEGA to read its contents.

What they read answered many questions. According to the journal the First Emperor had discovered large unknown structure half buried in the ground and surrounded by many varieties of Danger Beasts during the early years of his conquest. After several long hours, his men had managed to open the fortress and found many exotic objects, including multiple batteries, with one already cracked open. The Emperor had his scientists take the remaining batteries and anything of value for study, in this workshop to be precise. Through their research, the scientists were able to create the Teigus, by using the energy to manipulate the materials of Danger Beasts and other precious resources too. When the civil war began 500 years ago, this workshop had been attacked by the separatists. The loyalists had managed to repel them before they could take anything but died in the result.

Turning to the last page, it showed a picture of what appeared to be a large circular structure. The Slayer's eyes widened for a moment. Though the drawing only showed the upper part not buried and had faded in time, he recognized a Sentinel Slipgate easily. The big ones used to move a large number of people, vehicles and sometimes even ships to other worlds in an instant. He had assumed that they had all been destroyed after the civil war. Did this mean this planet was once an Argenta colony world? Was this a coincidence? Had Samuel Hayden sent him here because he knew the slipgate was here? His thoughts were broken by VEGA.

[According to the journal, the Empire's Capital City was built on top of the structure, with it directly underneath the Imperial Palace. Excluding the broken battery there are five batteries in total. We already have one, thus leaving four left. Three of the others were sent to different locations while the final one was used to power the last Teigu] The AI then scanned the map. [These appear to be the locations where the batteries were taken. I have also locked onto the Wraith energy signatures. Be advised that this map was made centuries ago and may be outdated]

Nodding the Doom Slayer put the journal down and left the workshop, having gotten what he needed. With a goal in mind, the two began the long trek to recover what rightfully belonged to the Hell Walker.

(Empire Subjugation Force, Southwest of the Empire)

Surrounded by the wilderness forest, soldiers were moving about across the camp. Some were patrolling, others were checking their weapons while a few conversed. Near the edge of the hill they were stationed on were rows of cannons, all pointed to the occupied fortress that was about three miles away. The Empire soldiers were not firing at the moment, instead waiting for General Esdeath and the Jaegers to arrive and reinforce them.

Outside a large tent in the middle of the camp was Nouken, the general in charge. A large man, he was brimming with muscles, covered in leather straps and a large cape hanging off his armored shoulders. Strapped to his waist was a longsword. He was glaring at the fortress. Despite having besieged it for so long, the Imperials had made no progress so far. "When the hell is Esdeath supposed to arrive?" Nouken grumbled.

"Well sir, if she and her team are riding on that dragon of hers, she should be here within the hour." An officer said.

"Hmph, fine. Still don't know why we need that arrogant woman. What she needs is to see how a real man takes charge." Nouken muttered as he prepared to enter his tent. "I'm in the mood. Send number 5 to me." He ordered the officer, referring to his concubines.

The officer fidgeted. "Um, don't you remember, General? Last time you literally split number 5 right down the middle-" Whatever else the officer was going to say was cut off when a purple flash suddenly appeared behind him. The it quickly grabbed the officer with long claws before disappearing in a flash again.

His back turn, Nouken did not see this happen as he went inside his tent. Grabbing a bottle from his desk, Nouken chugged most of it down in one swing. He was going to take off his cape when the sound of footsteps was heard outside his tent. Thinking it was the officer, Nouken casually walked up to the entrance. "That was fast-"

The flaps were blown open as a cloaked man rushed in. A spear with an exotic black red trimmed blade shaped like a halberd, the figure impaled Nouken right through the stomach. The force caused both men to fly out of the tent, with the cloaked man pinning Nouken to the ground. The general coughed out blood. He tried to get up, but that only caused his attacker to twist his weapon deeper. None of the soldiers were able to help Nouken, something the General realized. Struggling to move his head, Nouken saw that his men were being attacked by similarly cloaked man and humanoid monsters. The last thing the General heard were the monsters' inhuman screeches and the screams of pain and terror from his men.

(One Hour Later)

The Jaegers arrived on top of Esadeth's dragon. They landed outside Nouken's camp…or what remained of it. "W-what the hell happened here?" Wave said.

The camp was in ruins. Fires were still burning everywhere, most of the tents already ashes. The wooden and stone wall that had surrounded the camp was in disarray, with pieces broken, shattered, and burnt. Food had been spilled and was now being eaten by animals who dared to approach the camp. Broken swords, lances and shields could be found. Discarded rifles were also scattered, their cartridge casings spent with bullets lying on the ground. Armor and clothes were torn and smashed. The cannons were also destroyed too. And nearly every part of the camp there was blood, on weapons, clothes, the ground, everywhere.

"Do you think the rebels attacked the camp?" Bols asked as he looked around.

"Even if they did, they couldn't have finished so quickly. These were trained soldiers of the Empire, armed with rifles too." Wave commented.

"But this does follow the report we got. No bodies." Run added, noting the distinct lack of corpses, both Imperial and rebel, in the area.

Esdeath frowned as she looked about. Even if they were caught off guard, Nouken and his men shouldn't have lost that easily. Something else was going on here. "Search the camp for any clues. Don't leave the area until we know what we're dealing with." She ordered her team.

The Jaegers nodded as they split up, with Run taking to the air to get a bird's eye view. As they walked, none of them found any bodies, only more damaged property, and blood. Eventually, it was Kurome who made the first discovery. Having examined the ground, she spotted several unusual footprints. They either had two or three large toes and some had with what looked like hands next to them, suggesting whatever it was sometimes walked on all four limbs. There were also signs of human feet and several somethings, or someone, bring dragged away. Satisfied, she regrouped with the others near the remains of Nouken's tent.

"Report." Esdeath ordered.

"I found some strange markings. They look like scratch marks but not from any Danger Beasts I know of." Wave said.

"I saw the same thing too. And there were a lot of scorch marks everywhere. Like someone threw a fireball. That and something else that glows purple." Bols added, using his knowledge of fire here.

Kurome gave her report. "Commander, I found several footprints heading back towards the fortress. It also looked like they were dragging something with them. And some of them were not human. It might that the rebels have Danger Beasts under their command."

"Then we should storm the fortress and annihilate these evildoers, before they commit whatever foul deed they intend for the prisoners!" Seryu exclaimed.

"We will. Run, were you able to see anything from the air?" Esdeath asked the blonde.

"I couldn't see much without risk getting spotted. But I did see several figures moving at the front of the fortress. I also saw what looked like a rear entrance. Judging by the trail Kurome saw, it's possible the attackers were heading towards the back of the fortress." Reported Run.

Esdeath nodded. "Then that makes things easier. Run, you will take Kurome and Wave and attack the fort from the back. Seryu, Bols and I will strike from the front."

"Yes, ma'am!" The Jaegers replied.

Thanks for waiting everybody. Next chapter will have the people of this world facing demons for the first time. And someone is going to die…Anyway leave a review.

On a side note, I am putting my story "Supreme Danger Beast" up for adoption if anyone is interested. I am also working on a AkamexStarcraft crossover too.