Here is the first chapter to start the new month off with, enjoy.

Infiltrating vampire territory was easier said than done in planning than carrying out. Luckily Zeroth had Georg and Kuroka with him so they were able to pass through their barriers without being detected and once inside, Zeroth was surprised the area covered by a thick veil of fog. They had arrived at dawn though so the vampires who are the residents of night were asleep now.

He did notice a few, probably guards, patrolling the area, wearing thick clothes in order to prevent their skin from being exposed to the sun. They could use this fog to their advantage though with Georg's Longinus when sending the vampires in the castle to a different dimension.

Nodding to the others they silently made their way through the town, avoiding the guards, with Zeroth surprised to see some modern-type houses in the residential areas.

Eventually they came upon the Tepes Castle and took shelter in one of the houses nearby, quickly making sure the residents inside were still asleep or knocked out.

"We're ready to begin," Georg informed him as he gazed out the window at the castle.

"Not yet."

He knew that once Georg used his mist around the castle they would be on the clock with retrieving Valerie, but there was also the possibility that there would be guards with her as Marius probably already knew about the Holy Grail and would not leave her alone without protection. He wanted to avoid any possible confrontation with the vampires and since they had isolated themselves from the rest of the world he doubted they would let an incident such as this to leak outside their domain.

They could always use a distraction to draw some of the guards away and Zeroth gazed at the battle-axe of Regulus Nemea, wondering if he should let loose some shockwaves in the area. That would just wake up all of the residents though in the area and he didn't want that.

Shaking his head in frustration, Zeroth looked over at Kuroka and made his way over to her. "Have you found her?"

"A Dhamphir, correct? She is in the basement of the castle, with four guards."

"Can you take them out and retrieve her without being seen?"

"You should be worrying about your magician than me, nya."

"And the rest of them?"

"All asleep, nya. You chose the perfect time to infiltrate their castle."

"That's good news," Zeroth sighed in relief, grateful to have a Senjutsu master like Kuroka with them, making it easy for them to tell what is going on inside from afar.

"Is this girl really worth all the trouble of getting? I understand that she is the childhood friend of one of your cousin's servants, but that can't be the only reason you are interested in her, nya."

"Let's just say that I believe that she has a powerful Sacred Gear like Gasper."

One that could cause the apocalypse if left in the hands of the wrong person. Zeroth knew that his actions today would no doubt change the timeline as he knew it but at this point he didn't care for he would be ready for whatever new threat he would face.

This was his story now after all as the next Great King of Bael and King of Lions, not the Oppai Dragon or the Red Dragon Emperor.

"Well, let's just hope that your magician does his part then you can leave the rest to me, nya."

"He'll get it done."

"And you better keep your end of the deal, nya."

"You have my word."

He then made his way over to Siegfried and Jeanne who were testing out their new weapons. It was obvious to him that Siegfried despised the swords he wielded as they were not his Demon Swords but it was just for this mission to avoid having the infiltration traced back to them.

"Never thought that this would be how I would be entering vampire territory," Jeanne muttered, looking out the window at the Tepes Castle that loomed overhead.

"I would have preferred cutting some of them down then all this sneaking around," Siegfried grumbled.

"Hopefully that won't be happening anytime soon."

Zeroth joined them and looked over at Connla, who was not at all used to this kind of atmosphere. He knew that his new servant wasn't ready for this kind of situation but his Sacred Gear would come in handy if they got caught.

"Still don't think that all of this is necessary," Siegfried said, waving his swords around.

"Never hurts to be cautious. We are behind enemy lines after all."

"So, just a simple grab and run, huh," Jeanne said.

"Let's hope."

So long as Marius hadn't made contact with Rizevim and made common cause with Qlippoth then they were good to go. Zeroth would have preferred if the current King of Tepes was disposed of already but there was nothing he could do about it now but make do with the current situation.

He took one last look around at his group before nodding his head. "Georg, do it."

Here goes nothing.

Kuroka then took off as soon as Georg began to release his purple mist and used the fog around them to conceal it. As for Kuroka, Zeroth knew it wouldn't be problem for her to infiltrate the castle by hiding her presence with Senjutsu. Zeroth watched with a smirk as Georg's mist completely covered the castle before vanishing, leaving an empty castle behind in its wake.

"It's done," Georg confirmed.

"Then we will leave the rest to Kuroka."

He just hoped that Kuroka would able to deal with the guards quickly and quietly without alerting anyone outside of the castle.

After splitting off from the main group, Kuroka made her way inside the Tepes Castle, not at all surprised to see most of its inhabitants no longer around. It would seem that her new King had an interesting servant as his Queen. Then again, most of his servants were an interesting bunch and she could tell they were all strong, except for one of them whom she assumed was a recent addition to the group.

As for their King, Kuroka didn't know what to make of him yet. When they had first met, she was surprised that he was the only one in the group who did not show any signs of hostility towards her while the others did. Then he had completely taken her off guard by offering her a place in his peerage and giving her a chance to see Shirone again, tossing his Bishop piece to her as a sign of trust, which she would not expect from a Devil from the House of Bael.

Now he had put his complete faith once again in her by leaving her to rescue this girl alone without any thoughts of her betraying him and leaving him in the wind. She knew that he was only interested in her because of her power but to have complete faith in her after one meeting was just absurd in her mind.

She was a Stray Devil after all who had killed her former master but it would seem that didn't matter to the next Great King of Bael.

Yet she knew the influence the Great King held over the rest of the Devils in the Underworld from her time with the House of Naberius and if anyone could get her pardoned for her crimes it would be Zeroth Bael. So if it meant rescuing this young girl from a nest of vampires then she would do it if it meant getting a chance to see Shirone again.

If Zeroth was willing to put so much faith in her then she would do the same for him.

Making her way down into the basement of the castle, Kuroka stopped when she heard the voices of the guards standing by the girl's cell.

"Hey, is it just me or are we the only ones in this castle?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Everyone else is just asleep while we're stuck on guard duty because of that damn Marius."

Kuroka smiled, sensing only the four guards and the girl in the area and swiftly casted her Youjutsu, knocking only the guards out with her mist. She then emerged from the shadows, appearing in front of the girl she was sent to retrieve, and was surprised to see no reaction from the girl when she stood in front of her.

Zeroth didn't mention this and she couldn't help but wonder what these vampires were doing to her.

"Who are you?" The girl asked with a voice devoid of emotions.

"My name is Kuroka and I'm here to get you out of here, nya."

"Out?"

She then remembered what Zeroth had told her to tell the girl to convince her to come with her and hoped this would work.

"Away from this place for one and a chance to see your friend, Gasper, again."

"Gasper?" Life finally seemed to return to her eyes, filled with hope, as she looked up at her. "Is he here with you?"

"Not here but at your new home if you decide to come with me, nya." Kuroka offered her hand to Valerie and gave her a warm smile to put her mind at ease.

"I'll be able to see him again?"

"Of course."

Valerie then reached out and grasped her hand. Kuroka then helped her to her feet and taking her into her arms, she left the cell, lifting her hypnosis over the guards before taking her leave.

"See, nothing to worry about." Georg was pleased with himself after Kuroka returned with Valerie and they were able to escape without being detected.

"Never hurts to be cautious."

Though it was mostly thanks to Kuroka and her Senjutsu that they were able to easily slip in and out of the vampire territory without being caught. He could now understand how easy it was for Vali and his team to move about without being caught by the Three Factions or Khaos Brigade. Senjutsu was truly a useful ability to have and Zeroth couldn't wait to obtain it for himself.

With Senjutsu and Touki added to his arsenal he would be able to become even stronger to the point where the members of his current generation wouldn't be able to touch him.

And now that he had the Holy Grail in his grasp he had the perfect healer for his team.

"How do you think the vampires are going to react when they find out that she is missing?" Georg asked.

"Probably nothing since I doubt they would want an incident like this to leak out to the other factions."

Being isolated from the rest of the world worked in Zeroth's favor and due to their pride he doubted the Tepes Faction would want their rivals the Carmilla Faction to know that they had lost their Longinus possessor right from underneath their noses. So it would make sense that they would not report this incident to the other factions in order to prevent it from leaking to their rivals.

Though there was one problem and that was Marius. He didn't know when Marius made contact with Rizevim and Qlippoth in the original timeline and if he had already made contact with them then they would target him when they realized that he was the one who had taken the Holy Grail. And if that happened then Rizevim would come after him in order to accomplish his dream of awakening Trihexa and invading the other world.

And he knew all about Rizevim and his unique Sacred Gear Canceller ability. Luckily most of the members on his team with Sacred Gears had other abilities they could rely on in battle. He understood why Sirzechs and Vali recruited members without Sacred Gears to combat Rizevim, but he was looking at the bigger picture and realized that they could rely on other abilities besides their Sacred Gears in battle.

They wouldn't be as lethal with their Sacred Gear against Rizevim, but at least they wouldn't be entirely useless when the time came to fight him.

And for Connla he had an ideal weapon in mind for him when they got back from the Underworld. He just hoped that it existed in this universe.

"Well, you weren't lying about her having a powerful Sacred Gear so this wasn't a wasted trip."

Georg and the others except for Zeroth had been shocked when Valerie had revealed to them that she was the Holy Grail, wondering if that was why Zeroth had rescued her though he had downplayed his reasoning by telling her that he believed that she had a powerful Sacred Gear, not a Longinus in her possession.

It took some convincing but in the end she believed him once he told her that he wanted to rescue her when he learned about her plight from Gasper.

"We will cause quite an uproar when we make our debut," Zeroth smirked.

"You aren't worried about how the higher-ups of Heaven and the Underworld will react when they learn about our Longinus?"

"The Great King faction will deal with them when the time comes."

Zeroth knew that Heaven and the Underworld kept a tight surveillance on Longinus possessors and while they would no doubt not be pleased that he kept them hidden from them he didn't care. Luckily the First Bael and those serving the Great King faction agreed with his decision to hide their identities though they didn't agree with his decision to unveil them to the world when he made his debut.

"So now we are going to the Underworld."

"Yeah. Sooner or later I would have to introduce you all to the rest of the Devils in my generation. No point in delaying the inevitable."

"Should be an interesting affair."

"We'll see."

Zeroth then took his leave and made his way into the room where Kuroka and Valerie were staying. Kuroka was napping while Valerie was looking around the hotel room they were staying in. No doubt she was not at all used to this kind of setting since she was probably kept locked up for most of her life.

"How are you doing?"

Valerie spun around to face him as he entered, leaning against the wall.

"Fine. When will I be able to see Gasper?"

"Soon. He won't be where we will be going though so you will have to wait until we return to Japan."

In his current state he doubted Rias would take Gasper with her to the gathering and would probably leave him sealed up in the Occult Research Club building. He knew that he would be helping Rias in a way by reuniting Gasper with Valerie and probably helping him get over his fear in the process but he would still crush them all the same when it was time to face her.

As arrogant as that sounds.

"So what happens now?"

"Now you join my peerage and live a new life without any worries about being used for your Longinus."

There was no point in beating around the bush since Valerie probably understood that he didn't just rescue her from her prison for nothing. Nothing in this world was for free after all.

Valerie frowned. "But you will still have need of me because of the Holy Grail."

"True, but I'm not like your brother who is interested in researching your Longinus and abusing you. Don't forget that I was interested in you before learning that you had the Holy Grail."

"I thought you were interested in power?"

"Not the kind your brother was looking for. The only tools I need for power are my fists, abilities, and peerage."

He would reach the top on his own without artificial means. Not like those guys in the Top Ten of the Rating Games who relied on the King piece. Everyone above him were but stepping stones for him in becoming the strongest.

"So we are all just tools to you then." Valerie folded her arms and glanced over at Kuroka.

"Most Devils would view their servants as tools to use but to me you all are my team. Companions to fight alongside and trust. I'm not like my cousins who are known for their nondiscrimination to their servants but I can assure you that you will never be mistreated while serving me."

"You are not at all like my brother, but I still don't trust you. However you rescued me from him and are giving me a chance to see Gasper again. So it would seem that my life is now in your hands whether I like it or not."

"Then I look forward to having you by my side."

He then noticed Kuroka stir from her position and looked back over at Valerie.

"Mind giving us a moment?"

Valerie looked at Kuroka then nodded her head before exiting the room, leaving the two of them alone.

"How long were you listening?"

"For a while, nya."

Kuroka sat up, stretching her arms while giving him a good view of her cleavage, smiling when she noticed him staring at her. He didn't mind the view at all and enjoyed the show she gave him.

"Not so easily flustered I see, nya."

"I've had experience."

Being reborn in a harem anime was enough of a push for Zeroth to just say fuck it and enjoy the pleasures of the opposite sex even if his mother didn't approve of it. So it would take more than just a flash of naked flesh to get him flustered unlike a certain pervert.

"We'll be going to the Underworld soon so I take it you know what to do when we get there."

Kuroka may be under his protection at the moment but she wasn't officially a member of his peerage until he got the Maou Beelzebub to transfer her to his group. In the meantime he doubted the other Devils would be pleased to see a Stray Devil walking among them in the Underworld and would probably try to take her out.

Kuroka smiled. "You don't need to worry about me being detected by the others." She transformed into her cat form before returning to her human form. "They won't even know I'm there until I'm a member of your peerage, nya."

"Unlike Valerie you will be seeing your sister soon. I doubt she will take too kindly with you unlike Valerie's friend."

Her smile dropped. "I caused Shirone a great deal of trouble when I killed my previous master but now I have a chance to make it up to her and I won't waste it. I know that she will hate me at first but hopefully she will come to forgive me someday."

"So long as you know what to do I'll leave the matter to you."

He knew that he was in a way helping another one of Rias' servants and couldn't help but wonder if Koneko would be using Senjutsu in two years if she managed to reconcile with Kuroka.

It would seem that some of the members he was recruiting to his peerage would be helping out Rias' servants with their own problems, strengthening her peerage but he wasn't worried.

They were just another obstacle he would destroy on his way to becoming the strongest.

"Are you not at all interested in why I killed my previous master, nya?" Kuroka looked at him with interest as he shrugged his shoulders.

"What you did in the past doesn't matter to me. I know you care a lot about your sister and that is enough for me."

Not to mention that he knew all about her past along with Koneko's and so long as he didn't treat her like her previous master did then he had nothing to worry about. She was his now and that was all that mattered to him.

He then on instinct raised his hand and caught the Bishop piece he had given to Kuroka, surprised that she had given it back to him.

"It wouldn't be fair if I didn't show you the same level of trust that you are showing me, nya." Kuroka winked at him.

Zeroth smirked. "Still wasn't necessary. And don't worry about Georg and Jeanne. They'll come around."

He made the Bishop piece in his hand vanish before taking his leave, letting Valerie back in before heading back to his own room. Once he was inside, Zeroth sat down and snapped his fingers, making his two Rook pieces appear in front of him.

They were the only two pieces he had left and soon his peerage would be complete. And once canon came around with his peerage complete they would be at the same level and stronger than the rest of their generation so long as they stuck to his training regime.

And once the Rating Games for the Young Devils began they would completely dominate their matches,showing the Underworld that he was the Strongest Young Devil with the strongest peerage of his generation.

Marius was beyond furious when he had learned after he had woken up that the Holy Grail was gone. All his research on the Holy Grail were now wasted if he didn't find out who had taken the Grail from him.

He knew that she had outside help for the guards had told them that they were knocked out by something before he had executed them in his anger. He didn't know how they had managed to sneak in without alerting any of them but Marius vowed he would find out how they did it.

Just like with the other half-breed though, Marius knew that his father would not bother to retrieve her to prevent their rivals from learning that they had lost not one but two Sacred Gear possessors. And one of them was one of the damn Longinus that would have made him invincible.

He would make whoever had stolen the Holy Grail from him pay and he knew just the right people to help him with retrieving the Longinus. He had no choice but to ask for help from them.

Making his way into his library, Marius activated his communication circle and after a few minutes the figure of a handsome young man with braided silver hair, wearing a silver robe with accessories projected in front of him.

"Marius, this is unexpected. Do you have more to report on your research with the Holy Grail?"

Marius gritted his teeth, knowing that his benefactors for his Sacred Gear research would be furious as well when they learned what had transpired for he had promised to revive the Evil Dragons for them.

"Someone stole the Holy Grail."

The Devil on the other end did not look pleased and frowned.

"What happened?"

Damn, if I keep this pace up I will hopefully be reaching canon by the end of this month. There are probably two are three chapters left until we hit it. Also, sorry for this chapter being kind of short compared to the others but I didn't know what else to add without it getting too wordy.

I know some of you don't agree with my decision to add so many Longinus and Sacred Gear users to Zeroth's peerage but he is preparing for the battles to come and having them on his side will definitely tip the balance in his favor, which is something he is going for. Not to mention that he is going for an OP team, using his knowledge to his advantage and weaken the strength of his enemies.

As for dealing with Rizevim, most of his Sacred Gear users have other abilities that they can rely on in battle: Georg and his magic, Siegfried and his Demon Swords, Jeanne and her rapier, Valerie and her vampire abilities, and Ingvild with her demonic powers. And for Zeroth it is his Great King Bael Mode.

And I realize how easily it is right now for Zeroth recruiting the members of his peerage but I will try to make it for when we reach canon that it will come back to bite him in the ass later with more enemies to deal with and a more unified Khaos Brigade.

Anyways, that's it from me, see you all next time.