Ophis: Embrace Madness, that little idiot, does not own Highschool Dxd, or any other anime. Though of course, he does have a rather embarrassing wallpaper for his smart phone, but that's for another anime… it's actually kinda cute.

E.M.: O-Oi! Don't listen to that crazy girl, people. Anyways, Ophis, shouldn't you be getting ready? You're going to have another scene in this chapter! You've got to get to prep!

Ophis: And that's why you're an idiot. I'm omnipresent, remember?

E.M.: … I'm sorry, I had a really weird thought at that…

Ophis: Which was?

E.M.: I mean… you must really be a stalker if you can be everywhere at once, without most people noticing. Jeez, I feel violated now…

Ophis: B-b-baka! Shut up already! As I said before, this idiot doesn't own Highschool Dxd or me! So just start reading!

E.M.: But I do own your cute personality, since you're pretty OOC for the normal Ophis depicted in the canon… hehehe…

Ophis: What do you think you're doing!? B-b-b-baka, stop staring at me like that!

(for explanation of my absence, please refer to bottom AN)

Secluded dragons

"Of all the possible places in the underworld the two could've been kidnapped to…" I sighed, as Kiba and I stood at the top of a hill over five kilometers away from our destination. I grabbed a pair of binoculars from my side and stared into them at the target.

The place the magic had led me to was a prison, an inactive one, apparently. However, the many devils walking around said otherwise.

"This place looks disturbing," Kiba commented at my side. He was also looking into binoculars, and I grunted in agreement.

The prison was surrounded from all sides, firstly, with an extremely tall fence, topped off with barbed wire and other niceties. The only way into the prison was a single spot where two guards stood, a gate of sorts. From what we could see, there were a total of six buildings, five small and one main, large one. It was quite obvious as well that there were two former prison cells, since they had no windows and a single door each. The other three small buildings looked a bit nicer, leading me to believe that they might've been living quarters for the guards, or something. Lastly, the main building looked nearly brand new, as if someone had renovated it. A few paces away from the main building, however, was a sewer entrance, strangely enough.

Oh, and of course the fact that the entire faculty, and region, actually, was as cold as Russia may have added to the bleakness of the prison.

"Come on, Kiba, let's contact Leviathan-san," I said. He nodded, and the two of us got down from where we were standing, kneeling in the snow.

For the rescue attempt, I had switched my regular clothing. Despite being part dragon now and thus a bit resistant to intense heat and cold, I was still mostly human, so the blistering, freezing snowy area would've frozen me alive had I not bundled up. I was wearing a large, baggy, white snow-jacket with baggy pants to match. Both were white, though accented with red at some points, and I was wearing black gloves to go with them. My normal shoes had been switched for snow-boots.

Kiba was the same as me in the style of dress, making us both look uniform, though his didn't have the accented parts.

"Leviathan-san, we've arrived," I said, as soon as the communication magic was set up properly. Her voice came from the other side of a piece of paper with her clan marking on it.

"Thank goodness, have you two spotted their hideout yet?" Serafall asked eagerly. I nodded my head, forgetting that she couldn't see us for a moment.

"Yes, they've apparently taken up residence in an old prison over here. Is it on any of the maps?" I asked.

"No," Serafall said after a while, "no it's not. That's strange, there shouldn't be that sort of thing out there, are you sure it's a prison?"

"It's surrounded with fences topped with bar bed wire, there's one entrance, and plenty of buildings with one door and no windows," I listed off. I heard her sigh.

"That's a prison alright. But that sounds more like a human prison, which doesn't make any sense. In any case, do you think the two of you will be enough to take down anybody you encounter? We could always send more people," she suggested.

"No, I think we'll be enough. We should be perfectly fine, provided we don't get caught. We're about to head in now, Issei, out," I said, folding the paper before placing it into one of the many pockets I had in my jacket.

"What's the plan?" Kiba asked. I paused for a moment.

"Just out of curiosity, how many guards did you spot?" I asked.

"16," he responded immediately. I nodded.

"Do you remember where they were?" I asked.

"If I got another peek, I think I could. Why?"

"I'm going to make a sort of model of the prison so we can easily make a plan of action. I'll start lining out the prison format, you count the guards and their places," I said, before beginning to trace in the snow. Luckily while there was snow on the ground, there wasn't any falling. I noticed him nod out of the corner of my eye, before he stood up, focusing his binoculars. A few moments later, he kneeled again, and began to draw X's in certain spots around my drawing of the camp.

"Okay, I think I've got it," I said, after staring at the draw out model for a while. I pointed a finger at the entrance. "It'll be a basic distraction plan. One of us will go in, and draw as much enemies towards them as possible, before leaving, hopefully getting them to follow," I began, my finger trailing from our position to the gate, before looping around back to our spot, "That person will hopefully manage to dispatch the following guards, or at least stall long enough for the other person to sneak in, before finding the locations of the two girls," I continued, using another finger to trace into the camp.

"What happens after we find their location?" he asked.

"Simple, that person gets out of the camp if the other person hasn't come in yet, and helps the distracter with the guards. After that, with both of us in the camp, we'll go in, using your speed and my magic, we should easily be able to sneak past anybody that gets in our way. After that, we rescue the girls and haul ass, simple as that," I said.

"And… if something fails?" he asked. I nodded.

"Then we go to plan B."

3rd person

The person in charge of the entire operation was a pure-blood devil by the name of Katerea Leviathan a descendent of the original Leviathan. She was well-known in the gossip circles of the Khoas Brigade as a ruthless killer, who hated the Maou with a passion. So naturally, it wasn't all that surprising to those under her command, (her soldiers comprised of all female fighters, her anger at the modern devils making her despise males to, as a strange sort of twist) that when moves were finally made against some members of the current Maou, she immediately made a move against the current Leviathan, by organizing a kidnapping of her little sister.

Oh how she laughed and cheered at the prospect of torturing the sister of the bitch, before killing her in front of the bitch's eyes!

1st person

The two guards for the prison gate were standing stiffly side by side, a visor covering their faces as they looked from side to side, completely inconspicuous.

Yeah right.

Anyways, I needed to make a distraction for Kiba; we had talked a bit over who should take what part, stealth or distraction, before we both came to a mutual agreement that I would be a much better distraction, especially since I had a much better chance of actually holding my own against a large number of guards. Though he was faster than me…

I hid inside a small hill of snow I had slowly moved close to the camp, the bored guards somehow not noticing. I had burrowed into it after moving it, and was now inside it, staring at the guards that still hadn't noticed me.

I carefully moved my hand to the side to a small amount of snow on the ground at the two guards' feet. With a small amount of thought on my part, the snow shot out, hitting one of the guards in the back of the head, soaking into their jacket in the process.

A startled yelp made my eyes widen. A girl?

"Oi, bitch, why the hell did you just put snow down my back!?" she demanded of the other girl, stomping towards her.

"What are you talking about!? I've been standing here perfectly still for an hour, you crazy schizophrenic!" the other girl retorted. They locked eyes and snarled. No wonder they hadn't noticed the snow hill moving; they were completely daft!

I shook my head slowly, not wanting to make the snow move too much, before I looked past the two at the main yard of the prison, where guards were standing about. I looked to the side, where Kiba and I had found a blind spot, and I was pleased to see Kiba giving me a thumbs up, as he slowly set down an unconscious guard. I smirked. Go-time.

Breathing deeply to help concentrate, I closed my eyes for a while, before feeling the mana within myself flow enough to use. I opened my eyes and smirked again. This would be fun.

I noticed a lone guard standing by one of the prisons. That person first then, I thought, before a small amount of snow flew so fast it knocked the guard on the ground. The guard yelped as well, before falling flat on their face, bottom in the air. I ignored the guard, before finding another target. Two guards conversing not far away from one other, who was facing away from the two others. Perfect.

With a 'splat!' sound, the two guards got pelted in the visors with snow, each springing up and immediately demanding that the third had hit them. They retaliated quickly, as the third protested, but some of the snow missed, instead hitting other guards nearby, who turned on the first two instead. This quickly escalated to most of the guards arguing and throwing snow at each other, before I remembered my part in the plan.

To draw them away.

So unfortunately, all amusing things came to an end when I got out of my little hiding space and stood on top of the snowy hill, before firing a fireball at the camp, not hitting any of the guards but being more than enough to grab their attention.

"Hey-oh!" I called down as loud as I could. I noticed Kiba smack his face in exasperation, but I simply smirked as the guards all began to charge at me. They really were predictable.

3rd person

Kiba shook his head in amusement as he watched his teammate's antics. He had to admit though; they had been really effective. The guards had been so preoccupied with teaching the boy a lesson that they had left the gate wide open, a fact that Kiba exploited as he snuck in, quiet as a feather, though it wasn't really needed with all the noise Issei and the fifteen guards were making.

He slowly walked around the courtyard, before hearing a noise. With a burst of speed, Kiba got out of view, his beating heart hammering as he prepared for a confrontation. To his surprise, there was none, however, and he frowned as he tried to discern where the noise had come from.

Realizing he was next to the first prison, Kiba slowly opened the door, to see Shinra Tsubaki tied to a pole, with several people around her.

1st person

"Get back here you bastard!" I heard the guards shout as I sped away as fast as I could, clearing the hill in a few seconds.

"Not likely!" I called back, laughing as I heard cursing. I finally stopped a few moments later, however, when I realized I was more than far away enough from the prison. The guards all skidded to a stop as they noticed my own halt, each guard drawing a weapon as they slowly began to form a circle around me.

"Punk. Why are you here? This is private property," the first guard asked, brandishing a mace. I laughed cheerfully.

"Oh I'm sorry, I guess I should leave then, would that make it any better?" I asked jokingly. A gleam of metal flew past my head, just as I managed to dodge it. The blade still managed to nick my cheek though, and I grimaced as the group around me began to rush at me.

"Charge!" the first guard called, a similar battle cry coming from her comrades. I sighed as I activated a nearly passive magic that made my physical plane less encompassing to help with my physical strength. I couldn't afford to waste too much energy on the basic guards.

The first thing that came at me was a glowing Roman Gladius, which I deflected by grabbing the person's wrist, before using my palm to deliver a powerful strike to their abdomen, their light armor somehow getting ripped away a bit from the amount of force I used to properly propel them away into the snow. They flew back a few feet, before getting back up, but by then I was already on my next attacker.

The second guard swung a mace surrounded by electricity at me, and I used my foot to propel the previously dropped Gladius up, the pommel managing to strike the offending guard in the arm, making the mace fly up. Next, I grabbed the guard's hand and pivoted, before throwing them over my shoulder, making them fly away as well, before I stuck out my hand to grab the electric mace, Gladius on the ground.

I quickly weaved to the side to avoid a sword that nearly bisected me, before ducking awkwardly to avoid a second that would've disemboweled me. The guard currently attacking me then swiped down with both swords, forcing me to use the electric mace to block both ninjato's leaving me wide open. I looked to my side to see another guard flying straight at me, wielding a spear and large Spartan-like shield, obviously intent on piercing me through.

Acting fast, I dropped to the ground, making the guard with the ninjato's fall as well with a startled cry, making the spear-and-shield guard try to stop their rushing, but failing miserably instead stuck out their shield instead of their spear, causing the ninjato using guard go flying as well, before I pushed up my legs and wrapped the around the guards neck, making them struggle as I slowly suffocated them, before the mask on their face slipped, showing beautiful, Mediterranean features. Before the girl could react, I moved my feet again, gripping her waist and throwing her.

I quickly kicked up from my supine position on the ground, and once again weaved to the side to avoid a large metal fist that was where my head had been an instant sooner, before I grabbed the offending fist, kicking the user of the weapon away before I landed in a crouched position.

Another battle cry made me quickly scan my surroundings, and with this scan I saw a guard rushing at me from four different directions, each guard wielding a different, but large, weapon. The first wielded a Naginata, a large, Japanese Polearm. The next, a large war hammer, which was set ablaze with a blue fire. The third, a Katana and the last, a Longsword. I couldn't go forward, backward, left or even right, which left-!

A loud clang sounded as all four weapons smashed on a single spot, causing a wave of energy to travel through the ground, before causing a small crater to appear in the ground as well, bursting up around a single destroyed spot. With no me.

Luckily, I had launched myself in the air with the few split seconds I had, narrowly avoiding all four heavy weapons. With a little wind manipulation, I landed in a one-handed, crunched handstand on the point their weapons all met, before twisting around, my extended feet kicking away all four of the guards (this is a bboy move known as a dead-man 90, if anyone wants to search it up. Just imagine with the feet extended and lower) away, before I landed firmly on my two feet.

Before I even fully recovered, I felt a sharp pain as another gleam of metal flew past me, knicking me in the shoulder. I traced the weapon throw back to a guard twirling multiple knives, near juggling them. The guard caught the ones in the air with each hand before sprinting forward, tossing more. They flew through the air like darts, and I rushed toward the guard as well, quickly performing sort of side-aerial (no hands cartwheel) to smack a guard and their bo staff away, before I continued, dodging more throwing knives that the other guard was throwing. When we got within a few paces of each other, I hopped with my momentum, before letting a surge of energy travel through me as I landed, propelling me forward in a loser-flip heel kick, my heel hitting the guard straight at the back of their head, knocking them out.

I turned to feel a blow to my stomach, making me fly back a bit and lose my breath. I looked up to see a single guard with a police baton. There was a pile of weapons slowly collecting on the ground, and those that I had previously disarmed and either knocked out or shoved off were slowly beginning to gather up again, ready for round two.

[You must disarm them more permanently, partner. Simply taking them away from their weapons won't be enough if they can just get back up and grab them again] Ddrag commented. I nodded, wishing I had realized such a thing earlier. I had wasted enough time with the guards, I needed to get back to Kiba.

"Girls, get him!" the police baton guard cried, answered by shouts of agreement as nearly all fourteen guards cried in unison. I pivoted slowly, trying to keep them all within my field of vision, but there were too many. Even those that I had previously knocked out were now groggily getting up; their devil body constructs no doubt helping.

I began swirling my hands in a sort of ball-like fashion, before manipulating the air with a push and a simultaneous magical hit to the ground to cause a heavy blow of air and a miniature earthquake as all of the guards around me fell, surprised. As they fell, I summoned twine, which split off into two, then four, then eight, until there were fifteen strands of rope steadily growing. These bindings moved forth as if they had minds of their own, slithering in a pattern similar to snakes, before each found a target, quickly wrapping their ankles together, and wrists behind them. I sighed from the exertion, before in unison, every single weapon disappeared.

1st person (Kiba)

My eyes widened in shock as I saw the people surrounding the queen of Kaichou. Though they didn't seem to be doing anything to her, it still worried me that they had devoted so many to guarding her. As I had no idea as to how powerful the guards were, it would make sense to fall back and inquire Issei for assistance but…

I looked back at Shinra-san. She was had a mouth gag, but looked fine otherwise. I hesitated. Should I…?

Before I could decide, one of the guards that had been talking in a muffled voice to Shinra-san grew angry and punched the metal wall next to them, making Shinra-san flinch back in fright, causing me to accidentally make noise in a flinch as well.

Immediately, the four guards turned to the door I was at, and I sighed before deciding to reveal myself, lest they start to threaten Shinra-san further. I heard metal slide as the four all unsheathed a katana in a similar fashion.

"Halt, male! Who are you? I didn't hear Katerea-sama mention extra guards! And this area is off-limits to lackies and other members of the Old Maou faction, punishable by death from Katerea-sama! Answer to my question now or die!" the guard threatened. I smiled softly, trying to placate the angered guard.

"I am sorry; I am here for my friend there, behind you, and the other young devil she's here with. Please, what you are doing is wrong, if you could simply surrender, I am sure you would be given pardon," I said in my most calm voice. The guards turned to each other before turning around and laughing at me.

"Are you joking? Pitiful, ignorant male; we need no such pardon! Rather, I think we would enjoy impaling you through, that would be much more enjoyable," she smirked, lifting the blade up on one side, before twirling it. The three behind her nodded in agreement, each lifting their own swords as well. Luckily, none thought to try and use Shinra-san as a shield or hostage, but it was only a matter of time…

"Please, don't fight," I tried again, as the leader guard darted forward, slashing. I dodged the first swipe and traveled backwards. So they wouldn't simply surrender then…?

"Die!"

"I apologize in advance for the pain I will cause," I said to them, before summoning a holy eraser with my Sword Birth ability. The four looked surprised, as the leader stopped charging.

"A fellow sword user, eh? How amusing," one of the guards in the back commented.

"Come, let us battle if you will not peacefully surrender," I proclaimed, pointing my sword. This statement must've surprised them also.

"I thought you didn't want to fight?" the leader asked curiously.

"I won't hesitate to defend myself, naturally. And if you won't make the first move, I will!" I stated, rushing forward in a displacement of air. My blade grinded against the leaders own sword, making her slide back a bit as I gripped my holy eraser in both hands, airborne and swinging down.

"What!?" the guard cried, as I forced her back before kicking off her wrist in time to see another of the guards attacking me with their own sword raised overhand. I simply lunged to the side in a basic parry, blocking their blade in the process. After, I used the strength I possessed to knock them back, before turning around to block two more swords the threatened to overpower me. Naturally, I took off a hand and summoned a second sword, before matching the two for power, making them fly back as well.

With all the enemies now away from Shinra-san, I rushed forward and cut off her binds, before seeing strange iron handcuffs on her wrists. She wordlessly brought them out and I lifted my two swords together, slashing them at accurately, the handcuffs breaking apart one after the first. I turned in time to knock away an offending sword in motion and kick the attacker, before stabbing a sword into the ground to offer my free hand to Shinra-san, who took it.

She stood at my side, rubbing her wrists, before firing off a weak spell that froze one of the guards to the wall of the prison. I darted forward now, ducking under a stab before slashing upward, Shinra-san sending another spell that froze the guard to the wall. Soon, all four guards were frozen, their swords destroyed.

"Thank you, Yuuto-san," she said gratefully, before a small blue magic circle with the Sitri clan insignia on it appeared, a long Naginata appearing out of it. I nodded to her, beginning to walk towards the door, before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to feel a light touch on my cheek, which barely lasted a moment, before it ended, and the door was open. I simply stood, dumbstruck for a moment, before shaking my head, writing it off as a thanks for rescuing her.

1st person POV (MC)

I watched Shinra Tsubaki come out, closely followed by Kiba as I sat atop one of the watchtowers with my legs crossed.

"Took your time," I called down. Shinra looked up with her eyes narrowed, before seeming to deduce why I was here. Kiba simply smiled at me as I leapt down, landing gracefully due to the air cushioning my fall. "I took a look around, there are no more guards except for those that I dispatched and I'm guessing those that you met. So we're left with a possible leader, which I think is likely from what deduced from what the guards were saying as we fought," I informed. Kiba nodded.

"In which case, let us find Kaichou," Shinra began, moving forward. I shook my head.

"We need to send you back first. You got captured once, if we fail, we need you to at least be able to tell that we got this far," I reasoned. She shook her head at me in turn.

"You don't understand. Sona is my king, and I will fight to rescue her, even if it means fighting the two of you." I looked to Kiba for help, only to find him glaring at me, a strange expression for him.

"Issei-san, I am in agreement with Shinra-san. We might need help, and so long as she stays back as support, she should be fine," damn you, Kiba, I thought as I nodded to the two. The three of us quickly approached the last building, where it was likely that the 'final boss' resided.

I put on the glasses given to me from Azazel and looked inside in an 'X-ray' sort of mode, to see Sona in the far corner, seemingly in a separate room. There were no devils with her, but I saw her wrists bound behind her, and a group of at least twenty devils in the room. I turned the glasses into its energy sensing mode and immediately shut them off. There was a vortex of energy created from the devils.

"She isn't in the first room, but a second," I said, as I passed the glasses off to the other two. They nodded.

"In which case, we can be destructive with an entrance, or should we just go around and get her anyways?" Tsubaki asked. Kiba shook his head.

"Going around like that would achieve nothing. The wall is reinforced, if you looked closely enough," Kiba said on his turn. I nodded.

"A destructive entrance then? I got this," I said, preparing.

"Are you sure you can spare the energy?" Kiba asked. I nodded.

"Ready you two?" I asked, as I prepped a power, snow swirling quickly in one palm, normal, chilly air in another. I got a nod from the two as the sphere formed in my hand, and I slammed it into the door, making it fly off its handles, covered in ice, before smashing into the opposite wall, a human imprint in the metal.

Immediately, the three of us sprung into action with surprise on our side. Two devils found themselves pinned against the wall from Tsubaki's ice magic, and several more were knocked out entirely. I myself singled out one of the stronger looking devils, a black-haired woman with a ridiculously low cut dress and voluptuous figure, her dress even featuring a high slit that showed quite a… view…

I barely noticed Kiba taking on another one of the devils as most of them were dealt with as quickly as possible, littering the room with iced devils and unconscious ones bound with rope. Tsubaki quickly went across the room, breaking open the door trapping Sona, disappearing from my view.

"Damn you brat! Do you realize what you're doing, you insolent human!?" the woman, presumably Katerea Leviathan, growled at me. I smirked.

"Yeah, beaten most of you in a matter of seconds. Are you the ones that have been kidnapping relatives of the Maou?" I asked rhetorically. She spat at me.

"We are the relatives of the Maou, the original, better ones! The copycats today deserve to die in the most painful way possible!" she retorted, sending a green power at me. I quickly side stepped, to see the wall behind me dissolve. Acid.

"That answered my question pretty well," I commented to myself, preparing for a battle.

"What is your name, woman!?" I shouted in question. She smirked.

"Katerea Leviathan, leader of the sub-division of the Old Maou faction known as the Amazons, and one of the leaders of the Old Maou Faction itself, the greatest faction of the Khoas Brigade! I am the descendent of original Leviathan, and I, along with the other three, will tear the foundation of today's devil society down, brick by brick, bloodstone by bloodstone!" she laughed gleefully, in a craze. After some laughter and moving up and down from it (which gave me even more of a view) she pointed at me. "And what is your name, one-who-is-about-to-die?" she asked.

"Issei Hyoudou, Dual Divinity wielder and currently, the champion of the three factions, apparently. Nice to meet'cha," I grinned, launching myself forward as she did the same.

1st Person (Kiba)

I flew back in the air, out of breath, before impacting the magic reinforced wall. I heard a rather loud crack as my back hit, and I slumped down, tired. I then looked up to my enemy.

It was a rather strange being. While I had studied the beings and creatures of the underworld quite thoroughly, I had never exactly seen the type of creature… being… in front of me.

He had begun as a normal, regal looking devil, with orange hair and a strange sort of bandana. He wore a ripped open jacket, and pants that looked rather worn. Strangely enough, though I hadn't really thought of it at the time, he had three large orbs hanging from his belt, each with a strange, upside down black peach symbol. He looked perfectly normal. However, that had all changed after my initial attack.

I had approached him from above, his power being evident to me as one of the stronger of all the devils gathered. I had swung down with my grip solid, form good, and hardly any open spots. So I thought I would be able to easily overcome him.

Of course, he surprised me.

When my sword made contact, I was surprised to see him sacrifice an entire arm, his left arm to be exact, to my sword swing from Holy Eraser. I had leapt back and was about to engage another enemy, thinking him out for the count, when he had blindsided me, and here I was.

Now, however, instead of looking human, he had… changed…

His arms and legs were completely covered with dark brown fur. His chest had quite a bit as well, and his face had some scattered throughout, with his ears becoming much more pointier.

In other words, he looked like an ape.

"Behold, young devil, my power!" he laughed gloatingly, raising his arms to gesture. I simply stared at him, noting that there were now only two of those strange spheres at his waist. Also, Shinra-san was no longer present, no doubt going to help Kaichou.

"And what power is this?" I asked politely, as I tried to think of something to do. Thankfully, my back was already beginning to heal what minor injuries it had, due to my being a devil. It wouldn't be long before I could move again.

"Ha ha ha, wouldn't you like to know? Just know this, you pathetic devil, that I, Kuro Momotaro shall be your executioner today!" I felt my back straighten out fully again, "Or are you perhaps, already dying?"

"Hardly," I commented, before dashing forward in a burst of speed, summoning Holy Eraser out of thin air, before trying a diagonal slash from top right to bottom left. To my surprise, as soon as the sword hit his body, it stopped. I tried several more times, but was stopped by a sharp pain to my stomach, as Kuro punched me in the stomach.

"Is that your best?" he asked rhetorically. I coughed a bit of blood, before shaking my head.

"Hardly," I repeated, before running around him at top speeds. To him, it looked like an entire vortex of swordsmen were running around him, but there was only one. I began to move closer… and closer… I then added multiple stab moves as well, as I ran.

I must've tried to hit him at least twenty times before he sent a large backhand carelessly, managing to smack me off my course only due to his hands ridiculous size. I skidded this time, noting that his entire body was perfectly fine.

"That's it, you idiot, don't you understand?" he asked, suddenly getting angry, "No matter how many times you attack me with that same blasted sword, it'll do nothing! Nothing! No pain out of it at all! You could attack me at the same spot and you'd be stabbing for the rest of your life! As soon as you first attacked me with that sword, it became useless. Now pull something else out, or die!"

I nodded. If he really wanted me to get serious that badly, then I would. I placed my hands to the side, a free hand and one holding Holy Eraser. In my free hand, Flame Delete appeared.

"You aren't going to be able to do anything different with another sword if it isn't as powerful-" I merged the blades. Now, there was my Holy Flame Delete sword. Constructed from ice and black metal.

"Now we're talking! That looks like it's a lot more powerful than just one sword alone! Come at me!"

3rd Person (only because I can't write from a female's perspective well)

Shinra slowly moved around the fighting in the room, taking note of the powers of those that Issei and Kiba were fighting. The four fighting seemed too engrossed in their own battles to hassle her, which was good considering her weakened state. Though she would normally be all for helping either Kiba or Issei, she was just too exhausted from the energy repressing hand-cuffs that they had put on her and Sona.

Speaking of Sona, Shinra slowly opened the door in the back of the room, looking to see her King sitting on a bench, seemingly unconscious. Her hands were actually no longer bound with the energy-sucking hand-cuffs, which made no sense. Shinra shivered slightly as she walked closer. She had no idea why, but there was some sort of cold aura in the air.

When she got close enough, she gently put a hand on Sona's shoulder.

In a flash, Sona's eyes were open, and Shinra was facing the opposite direction, her face shoved towards the ground, her hands behind her back. She struggled momentarily, shocked by what was going on.

"K-Kaichou! What are you doing, it's me!" she protested. Slowly, Sona released her, and stumbled back into the bench just as Shinra fell back on her bottom, her back against the wall, breathing heavily.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Shinra. Something isn't right…" Sona muttered to herself, looking at her hand warily. Shinra coughed a few times.

"Are you okay to leave right now? Issei-san and Kiba are next door, fighting some of our captors," Shinra informed her. Sona hesitated.

"I… look at me, please. Is there anything off about me that you can sense?" Sona asked, her Queen loyally doing so. Her eyes began from top to bottom, and she immediately noticed something amiss.

"K-Kaichou, your eyes…!" Shinra choked out. Sona raised a delicate eyebrow.

"What about my eyes?" Sona asked.

"They're… they're red."

The two of us met in a strange sort of locking of fists. I could see aura flowing around both of us as we struggled, green, sickly aura surrounding her in waves, my reddish-white aura retaliating as I tried to press forward. Of course, in the end my natural strength wasn't enough to match hers, and I was sent flying back.

"Insolence!" she shouted, jumping at me. I was distracted for a moment as she did this, because the place that she had been previously standing at before jumping towards me was completely destroyed, a miniature crater where she once stood. I leapt back in time to narrowly avoid an attack, though my snow-jacket was still torn in the front, making me realize just how close the attack was.

"Die!" she shouted again, this time attempting a heel drop. I reacted instinctively, side-stepping just in time for her attack to miss. Debris was flung up, but I managed to avoid it, instead grabbing her free leg and throwing up, making her fall onto her back. I then manipulated the wind to send me flying back as I prepared an attack.

"Firebolt!" I cried, a blazing ball of fire streaking towards her, laced within were red and white, in the orange-yellow ball of destruction. She knocked it aside easily, smoke curling off of her as she blocked. I wasn't paying attention however, instead trying to make the environment turn in my favor. I looked around to see Kiba still fighting his opponent, a strange armor around the opponent. He seemed to be holding his own though, and so I ignored him, instead focusing more on the building.

There were still devils throughout the area frozen to walls and unconscious, it actually took a bit of added effort on my part to not allow my fire attack to thaw them out. There were some that were slowly regaining conscious, but the air itself was getting thicker, with the humidity from the ice thawing off into the air and the fire attack I had used. That gave me an idea…

"You haven't got time to think your way out of this!" was my only warning before I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder, sending me flying.

Kiba 1st POV

A loud crash resonated when my partner for the rescue operation, Issei, was forced to fly back, hitting a wall and creating plenty of shrapnel from the process. We were really destroying the building, and I wanted nothing more than to help him, perhaps get the two of us some backup if possible but…

I had my own problems.

"What's the matter, kid? Aren't you going to try and slice me yet?" the cocky devil, Kuro Momotaro taunted me. I grit my teeth before putting on a fake smile.

"Well since you seem so eager to get cut up, why should I?" I asked brightly. Naturally, he wasn't the slightest bit fazed, instead simply laughing at me.

"Attack me already, and we'll see just how powerful your new sword is!" he demanded suddenly. A personality switch?

"Strange, why are you acting so violent now? You were perfectly jovial just a moment ago," I asked, stalling. If I could sneak around him, he had to have a vital organ under all of that hair. It wouldn't be too hard to simply behead him either, but those dumpling-like things around his belt worried me… especially since one had been there before he had transformed.

"Shut up!" he growled suddenly, leaping forward in a spring. He caught me off guard!

"Guh!" I coughed, when I felt his claws rake through my jacket, drawing blood from my arm. With no choice but to retaliate, I sliced through his offending arm, before dropping under his wild haymaker, slicing off both of his legs as well. He fell to the ground, a bloody mess, and I panted heavily. I hadn't gone so fast for a while, I had nearly forgotten how tiring it was.

"Da-Damn you…!" he cursed. I sighed, before letting go of Holy Flame Delete. I no longer needed it with him being so mutilated.

"I apologize for your loss of all of nearly your limbs," I said politely, before turning my attention to the battle Issei was having. To my surprise, I couldn't see anything. A heavy bit of steam was blocking my view.

"How peculiar…" I murmured. The steam was no doubt meant to damage, so naturally I couldn't just stroll in. However, it wasn't as if I could afford to not help.

"Hah… hahahah…" I heard from behind me. To my surprise, Kuro was laughing hysterically, the second bun already in his hand. I realized my mistake too late, and ran forward, already summoning Holy Flame Delete. He crushed the dumpling, inhaling the steam produced. My eyes widened.

An immense amount of power suddenly! The steam seemed to add a dramatic effect as I saw Kuro's newest armor.

"That damn clan has got nothing on my Phoenix armor!" he cried gleefully, showing off his armor. Now, his feet had been changed to talons, and on the undersides of his arms came out large, blue, scale-like feathers, his face distorted terribly to match. His entire body was now blue, to add to the disgusting sight.

"Get ready to die! This armor grants me ridiculous speed!" he boasted, before disappearing in a burst of pure speed. Surprised, I was barely able to match him, appearing behind him, prepared for another slash. To my surprise, when I hit him on his shoulder-blade with Holy Flame Delete, nothing happened.

"That little thing won't be able to hurt me anymore, haha!" he shouted, punching at me. This time I wasn't able to dodge, and I felt the full force of his new power. He had to be twice as fast as before!

I slouched, holding my stomach, as he circled me, calling out taunts.

So basically, his power worked like this: Every single time he absorbed one of those strange dumpling-like objects, his power, his speed, and his endurance is boosted a considerable amount. His endurance is based on what first caused any wound or injury he had, and afterwards, said attack becomes completely useless.

"-idiot dumbass-"I caught the slightest bit of his taunting. It was quite obvious now what I needed. I needed something stronger than Holy Flame Delete, but what? The demonic sword and icy sword combination wasn't enough to stop him. It was also quite likely that the armor was an actual armor, wrapping around him in demonic energy. How was I supposed to use something stronger than my recent strongest creation?

While I was caught musing, he suddenly reached forward and shoved me against a wall, holding me up. Then he picked me up and slammed me into it again. I noticed his eyes looked… hazy, as if he were on the brink of insanity.

"Answer me! Will you give me more pain!?" he asked. I was shocked, before piecing together what I had seen before. He didn't seem to get any joy out of life except the pain and since it wasn't permanent, I suppose he could've developed an addiction to it…

Unfortunately, I had nothing to use. There really was nothing I could do that would hurt him now, that sword combination had been my ace-in-the-hole, and Issei was still in the steam he had created…

What could I do?

3rd person

"Red eyes…" Sona whispered to herself, as the two devils sat, momentarily stunned. Sona suddenly shook her head.

"No matter. We haven't got time to spare, we need to go help those two," she asserted. She began to stand, but Shinra stopped her.

"No, Kaichou. You need to rest. People don't just get turned into something of the night and darkness so simply and ignore it. We need to do something about this," Shinra countered. Sona shrugged her off irritably.

"What are we going to do, get a priest!? No doubt if I'm both a devil and a vampire now, my weakness to holy materials will quadruple. No, we haven't got any time to spare, I must go and help Issei-kun!" Sona demanded, standing up. Shinra stopped her again.

"Wait, what did you say, Kaichou?" she asked, suspicious. Sona scowled.

"You heard me, queen! I need to find Issei-kun, right now! I demand it!" she commanded. Shinra nodded calmly, but her mind was going a mile a minute. That didn't make any sense, sure her Kaichou had been turned into a vampire, but why would she immediately search out Issei?

1st person

I tried to refrain from sneezing as I groaned, feeling my back give out. Unlike Kiba and the others, I didn't have the plus of being a devil; my weak human body could only take so much. Speaking of too much…

My right arm was broken. The shoulder was twisted in a strange way, and my wrist had bone popping out. I vomited a bit onto the side when I saw the sight of white sticking out of my flesh, before gasping, feeling the toxic taste of my own vomit in my mouth.

I turned to stare hazily at my enemy, who was standing across from me, gloating. My… my entire left hand…! Ddrag!

[… I'm alright, partner] thank the heavens. How are you holding up?

[Perfectly fine. You, on the other hand, are obviously not. Why are you hesitating? You haven't used any gravity spells, your wings, or either of us. You've already announced who you are as well, why aren't you…? Ah… so that's why] yes, yes that's why. And I don't need that publicized very much.

(No need to fret, brat. Just use me for now, it'll give you more practice. Ddrag, is there any way you could suppress your presence a bit? We'll need it if the brat is going to use me)

[… You're being surprisingly helpful for once. What's going on?]

(Nothing you need to worry about. Now hurry, we need to do something before Issei here passes out when the pain of having his shoulder popped too in and a wrist-bone popping through the skin hits him. Shoo!)

[Very well. I won't be in contact for a while, I'll be sleeping. Good luck] Thank you… What are we going to do, Albion?

(First thing is simple. I really don't know why you're acting dumb, but don't you remember your magic? What did that weird teacher call it, persuading the environment, or something? Or was that in your book? Either way, 'persuade' your bone to pop back in, and your shoulder to realign. You're going to need to do this fast, your human body is acting its 'superhuman secretions' into the blood, making you feel every second like a minute. It won't last forever though, and when you run out, that's when the pain will hit. Oh, and that's probably when that woman will attack.) Thank you.

I finished my conversation with Albion for the time being, staring at my bone, imagining the atoms and molecules making it up. The bone just needed to be put back in place, luckily, and it was still perfectly fine otherwise. So I did so. I forced the bone to move itself back into the place it originally was, before staring as the wound that had previously been there sewed itself back up. With a startling crack, my shoulder realigned as well, and I felt a sharp sense of pain from this, making my world spin and ring as I grit my teeth. Time suddenly went back to normal, and I could once again hear the sounds of battle around me.

Across from me, Katerea Leviathan still stood, scowling as she saw me get up successfully. Even with my healing, however, my entire left arm was still one huge bruise, and I felt pain wrack through it upon trying to use it. Thinking practically again, I made my muscles in my left arm all tense up, freezing it to my side. Now only having my right arm available, I pointed it towards the ceiling.

"What are you trying now, commoner?" Katerea asked, sounding curious. I smiled grimly. It had been a while since I had resorted to using one of the two boosted gears. Time to set my plan in motion.

My entire right arm was suddenly covered by Divine Dividing, the color scheme surprisingly matching my ruined jacket quite well. Immediately, I pointed it at Katerea, making her pale.

"Divine Dividing!" she said, before jumping a little, and slamming the ground. A strange sort of green ooze traveled forward, mimicking her previous crouched position, looking exactly like her. I luckily realized better than to try to attack it, and dodged, seeing it melt through surprisingly intact table. Not any longer, of course. I continued watching as the acidic attack spewed past, melting a few devils on its way. Finally, it dropped into a pool, sinking through the ground. Scary.

She scowled; seeming to think such an attack would actually hit me. I retaliated quickly, activating an attack.

"Half Dimension!" I announced, and she stared in shock as nothing seemed to happen. I grit my teeth, before things began to change. As I continued doing this, I used magic simultaneously to make the steam and humidity created by the thawing bodies and my earlier thrown fireball to surround us, before in turn going in between us, creating a barrier of such. Neither one of us could see each other. But I still had the advantage, as I made the atoms in the steam start slowing down as they spread out, making sure to keep myself warm with friction. I then waited for a while, thinking, and stopped the atoms completely.

Immediately, chaos ensued inside the small, divided dome. Wisps of burning cold began to try and travel towards me, and I had to actually keep a shell of fire around me to stop it from reaching me completely. I then knelt, realizing that it would take a ridiculous amount of concentration to simply keep up the dome, let alone keep up fire around me. Ignoring that, seeing as how I essentially controlled the absolute zero dome, I also could find out where Katerea was…

There she was! Surrounded on all four sides, I hadn't failed earlier with my Half Dimension attack. I was actually doing something more discrete. All around her, the air amount had been halved. Then it had been halved again. And then again. I was actually quite surprised that she was still able to stand with such cold conditions and such low amounts of air to breathe, but she still stood, before sinking to her knees. She fell face-first into the soft ice, and the absolute zero conditions slowly began to freeze her as well. I simply watched from my little spot, as she slowly and steadily died…

Oh screw this.

Mustering a ridiculous amount of concentration, and releasing Divine Dividing while doing so, I began to build up energy. Next, I gathered the oxygen molecules all around me, forcing them to move towards me and envelope me, nearly all of the molecules in the space I was in now surrounding me in a little air bag. I surrounded that air bag with other particles to prevent it from escaping, before walking into the ice wall, the ice parting in front of me before closing off behind me, to ensure that no more air entered. There, on the ground, was Katerea, face-first in the ground already. She was already turning blue.

I… I really didn't wish to kill her…

But her target was Sona Sitri and Serafall Leviathan, two people that I really didn't want getting hurt…

And she was a part of Khoas Brigade, one of the leaders of one of the factions, to be exact…

Could I spare her though?

And could I kill her either?

I continued staring at her while pondering this, extremely hesitant. My concentration was definitely tested as I balanced maintaining my body heat, the absolute-zero conditions, and the air trapped around me. I hadn't killed Riser…

But of course, being forever trapped inside an unbreakable jar wasn't much of a life to live either.

I looked down at Katerea again, only to be startled. She… she wasn't breathing!

Immediately, I forced half of the oxygen sac I had into her, making her cough and sputter as her lung, or the devil equivalent, was restarted, making her breathe again. She was still inside a ridiculously cold, absolute zero climate though. What could she do?

And of course, in the time of me facing an enemy that I didn't want to kill… I did what I had done too many times already.

"If you want to live to see a member of the Maou die… sign this."

3rd person

"This coolness… it's too cold!" Sona hissed as the two entered the main battle room. There was an icy dome not far from the door, and Sona was now trying to skirt past it quickly, while Shinra simply followed, thoroughly befuddled. Sona never feared the cold!

"Kaichou… are you sure you are well?" Shinra asked cautiously. Sona growled, raking at the air and twisting in a strange way.

"No, of course I'm not! Where is Issei-kun!? I need to find him right now!" she growled, worrying Shinra.

"He's inside that dome of ice, I'd say. Kaichou, perhaps we should wait for the fight to end before we interrupt it-"

"NO! I need to see him now!" she shouted, smashing her hand into the nearby wall. There just happened to be a devil that Shinra had frozen at the very place Sona had hit, and when she hit it, the devil exploded in a shower of blood, the hit blowing out the metal wall behind the devil as well.

"W-what…?" Shinra muttered to herself.

"Bring him to me right this instant!" Sona continued, her body twisting even more. Shinra noticed a faint red outline surrounding Sona, an outline which began to grow larger, as her eyes glowed brighter.

"Kaichou…!" Shinra muttered.

Finally, in a sudden move, Sona's chest arched as the rest of her body was shifted backwards, her body now floating in the air. In a few moments, she contorted multiple times in painful looking ways, flashes of light emitting as her shape changed. The skin on her back cut open as massive black, leathery wings emerged, not unlike those that devils normally had but so much more horrifying. Finally, she stopped, landing softly, face and body down.

"K-Kaichou?" Shinra asked, not knowing what to expect. Suddenly, Sona lunged forward, teeth bared and eyes glowing bright red as she attempted to claw Shinra with incredibly long claws. Shinra, still tired but quickly regaining her strength, was barely able to dodge the few swipes sent her way, backing up against a wall in an attempt to put distance between herself and her king.

"What… what's going on…!?"

Kiba 1st POV (other side of the icy dome)

"Well!? Have you got anything else to throw at me, or are you ready to finally die?" my enemy asked of me as he slowly approached me once more. I grit my teeth. Time to try something else, I suppose.

My sacred gear could create countless types of swords, each with different abilities, but I never really concentrated too much on trying to create more types, instead I tried to master those that I knew of. Quality over quantity, in essence. I knew that there existed a type of sword-many types, most likely- that would be able to kill my current foe. Until I found that special sword, there was nothing wrong with trying with any others that I had learned to create.

"Let's go!" I called, throwing my hand to the side. A small ball of energy formed there-the sign that a new sword was being called upon. It took quite a strain on my body to summon such a sword, but I really didn't have anything to lose. Kuro Momotaro stood across from me, an eyebrow arched as I tried to summon the new weapon.

"Oh? This looks curious; let's see if you can pierce this hide of mine then." So he was going to let me summon it? Big mistake, I believe.

Finally, the sword took form, a long weapon that was more of a spear than anything, it was created entirely of a metal, silver-colored substance, with a glowing yellow gem in the middle of the circle created near the sharp end, just before the point formed. Just by holding it, I could already feel the power it commanded, and its name.

"Replenishing Calm…" I muttered to myself, before gripping it, using the pole to stand up again. The armored Kuro stood still, before widening his feet into a horse stance, baring his chest.

"Come at me!" he cried. I allowed myself to smirk.

"As you wish," I said, before dashing forward, blade behind me. As I ran forward, I lunged forward with the blade, the tip impaling him just enough to draw blood.

"Pitiful but nice try. It'll be fun hearing you scream," Kuro stated. I smiled.

"I'm not done yet." With a single burst of energy, the latent power contained within my new weapon emerged. Unlike my previous two weapons, which completely nullified the powers of certain elements, my current weapon had the ability of ejecting air from behind itself, propelling it forward at unimaginable speeds. With the tip already buried into someone's chest, the weapons propulsion would create a devastating combo.

"Wha-?" was all Kuro was able to state before the air blasted backwards, sending me and the weapon shooting forward, the entire spiky weapon going straight through him before I myself was face to face with him, the pole part of the weapon now being inside of him.

"Guh-!" he coughed, blood coming out of his mouth. I had certainly pierced a vital organ or two with that thrust-I had made sure of it. The battle was over.

1st POV

"Go… go fuck yourself," was the response I got from Katerea. I stood there for a moment, not really knowing what to say.

"You'd rather die then?" I asked her. She growled, looking back at the statement I had written. Maybe she was reconsidering?

"Actually, sure, I'll sign the damned paper," she said. I breathed a sigh of relief, as I handed her the pen that would extract her blood to make the contract official. Thank the heavens-

"Too gullible," Huh? She grabbed my hand and threw me into the icy wall, my body cracking the wall before I slid down, momentarily stunned. I looked across the winter that I had created to see her dissolve the parchment I had created for her to sign.

"You-you think this is c-c-cold? I've l-lived in m-m-much worse," she said to me, shivering. "0 degrees Kelvin, right? You ignorant human, there are places in the underworld colder than this, this is nothing," she commented, before facing a wall. Thinking quickly, I summoned twine and sent a dozen long strands at her, trying to subdue her. At the last second, a green orb appeared around her, and the twine that touched it dissolved, before the orb faded.

"You won't be able to ever capture me alive, I can assure you of that," she stated proudly, seemingly over the blistering cold now. I could do nothing as she simply melted the ice wall and walked out, but take down the cold dome itself.

The molecules began moving freely again, and the entire dome evaporated into nothingness. We now faced each other, me, nearly exhausted from the effort it had taken to create the icy dome while she looked pale and tired as well. Clearly she was a powerful adversary.

"Weak," she spat at me, turning towards the hole in the metal wall created by an earlier battle. I was deaf to the world at that moment, as she stepped out. "Too scared to kill women, I guess. Well now the Old Maou faction knows exactly how to deal with you." She expressed immense dislike for me as she simply walked out of the prison room, not even bothering to kill me or anything else.

It was like I was beneath her.

(Issei… Issei! You've got to snap out of it!) Albion? What was he talking about?

(Get your head into gear, man! Your friends are losing battles right now, you know?)

3rd person

Shinra gulped as she flipped out of the way of a massive, demonic claw that threatened to snap her in two. The claw tore through the energy enforced walls like it was wet paper, and was zooming towards her once again as soon as she looked at it. She was forced to try and bob and weave out of its way multiple times, before finally having a definite dodge from it, in which it was sent across the room into a wall, damn near hitting Kiba and his enemy. Just as Shinra was about to capitalize on this, however, she felt a sharp pain as she was hit by Sona into a wall as well, moaning as she fell from the height, a large imprint in the reinforced metal being created from her impact.

Sona slowly walked towards her, licking her lips. Her normal personality seemed to have been completely erased by the transformation, and she was now going out of control.

Shinra shakily got to her feet, sending a surprise blast of ice at Sona, the ice actually managing to pin her down. Sona hissed and shook, the demonic claw fading for a moment, before the icy dome that Issei had created shattered, exposing him and the enemy he had been fighting.

The sudden lack of absolute zero temperatures made Shinra's icy attack melt, and the distraction also caused Sona time to attack Shinra, sending her back skidding.

Kiba 1st POV

At last, I had defeated Kuro Momotaro! Nobody should be able to take an attack to the heart, such a fatal blow, and simply walk away unscathed, after all. The victim of my newest weapon was on the ground, a massive hole in his chest where his heart once was. I wasn't about to make the mistake of letting him get to his strange item, however, and I grabbed the ball from his belt and promptly sliced it in two, before turning to see the icy dome that Issei had created was shattered, the woman he had been previously fighting walking out the door.

When I began to walk towards the downed Issei, I felt a sudden pain from behind, and I turned to see Kuro get up.

"H-how!?" I choked. It should've been impossible! I stabbed him through the heart and destroyed his item of healing, so how!?

"Kuh… fool," I heard him mutter. I grit my teeth before throwing Replenishing Calm at him, the air thrust activating and making the weapon fly like a javelin. It was too late, however, and when the attack hit him, it simply bounced off.

He now stood a full foot taller than before, towering above me. When he opened his mouth I saw fangs, and massive claws on his hands, shaggy hair covering certain parts of his body, an evil gleam glowing from his eyes.

"HAH HAH HAH!" he laughed. "You've doomed yourself, fool! I am now in my final form, my Wolf Armor will make short work of you! Any last words, trash?"

"Just two." I heard, as a massive dragon made of flames devoured him on the spot, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes. Issei landed from the ceiling a moment later, brushing off ash from his ruined jacket.

"Barbeque time," he said.

1st POV

Having dealt with Kiba's opponent, I quickly went over to defend Shinra from her opponent. To my surprise, the person that was clawing at the shield I erected was none other than Sona, with red gleaming eyes and massive wings, I could barely notice her fangs and claws as well.

"S-Sona?" I choked out, as she constantly attacked my shield. She seemed to not notice me say anything, still attacking my shield like a wild animal. Kiba had appeared behind me as well, just on time to help Shinra up.

"What's happened to Kaichou?" Kiba asked Shinra.

"She… became a vampire, I think. But I don't know why she's acting so berserk and crazy," I heard Shinra answer. My hands shook as Sona kept slamming on the shield, my energy diminished as is. With one last slam, however, she managed to break through the shield, and before I could do anything, she lunged at me. I closed my eyes, bracing myself and a little scared to get ripped into pieces.

"No!" I heard Kiba and Shinra yell, but it was too late, and Sona was attacking me.

…

She was attacking me, right?

I peeked my right eye open just a bit, and to my eternal surprise, Sona was standing extremely close to me, sniffing me.

"Uh, guys?" I squeaked. I did not ever expect such close proximity with Sona, and it was making me a little uncomfortable.

"Um… Issei-san…?" I heard one of the two say hesitantly. I couldn't really tell since my mind was way too boggled.

Albion? Care to explain what the hell is happening?

(Well from what I can pick up from her… she's hungry. Really, really hungry for blood. I'm guessing that's what made her attack the other one and that explains what she is doing to you right now.)

Wait, what!? She's going to suck my blood!? W-won't that turn me into a vampire?

(Of course not, idiot. Unlike what you humans tend to believe, not all bites from vampires turn you into a vampire. Only when a vampire injects their own blood into you do you turn into a vampire, and that's when they actually force you to bite them instead.)

They can do that…?

(Yes. Their eyes can hypnotize. Ignoring that though, pay attention. She's about to feed.)

She's about to wha-? OH!

Sona licked my neck, only a few inches from my Adam's apple, a few times. It tickled immensely, and was really, really disorienting and uncomfortable, but she still did it.

"W-wait, S-s-s-ona d-d-don't do that…!" I tried to fight back, but she had pinned me down at this point. "K-Kiba! S-Shinra! Help! Please!" I tried.

"Ano… sorry, Issei-san, but I think it might be a good idea to let her feed if that's been what she was after," I heard Shinra say.

"I can't argue with that. Sorry, Issei-san," I heard Kiba say also. Damnit you guys! Help!

I felt a tingle on my neck as fangs sunk in, and I grimaced. Soon, I heard the sound of gulping, and I felt myself slowly lose blood, though not fast enough to really affect me too much.

Finally, Sona made a satisfied sound as she let go of my neck with an 'ah' noise, falling onto the ground of the room. She passed out right away, snoring in a matter of seconds. Her glasses threatened to fall off of her face, but her wings disappeared, as did her claws although her fangs stayed.

With the silence that fell, I myself collapsed, not having enough energy after having my blood sucked out from myself, having also battled a powerful enemy. I felt the world spin as my head hit the ground, landing right next to Sona. My eyelids felt heavy as they closed, and I looked to the open metal wall, staring at the snow still falling. How pretty…

E.M: Shh! I'm hiding from Ophis right now! She's really mad that I didn't update for so long, but can you really blame me? School got back into session, and I already had my SAT's in October! So sorry for the long wait, my loyal readers!

Ophis: Idiot. I know exactly where you are. I'm everywhere at once, remember? *appears in front of writer* I have a few words for you… *cracks knuckles*

E.M.: Eep!

Ophis: *Ahem*. Anyways, now that that annoying writer is taken care of, I hope everyone had a good end of last year, and is currently having a good 2014. Updating is still going to be random at best, considering the idiot made himself a little more eclectic by picking up cardistry and rapping while we were on a mini hiatus, so yeah, I apologize for that.

In other news, thank you to those people who tried to make EM feel better despite the fact of the annoying readers who came and read a few chapters and left. This story is a work in progress, after all, as the chapter length has gotten longer and longer, the skill has gotten at least a little better, I hope.

Oh and EM would like to give a kudos to those stories that managed to surpass the review count in comparison to this story during its several month absence. Namely that story with the overpowered Issei that was around 20 chapters and was updated all of December. While he wasn't particularly interested in the plot, he still gives kudos. All of you other story-writers that surpassed 200 reviews, he gives kudos to.

Please don't forget, after all, that EM prefers reading over writing.

When he started writing on this fanbase, there was one story that had over 150 reviews, and hadn't been updated in ages. The both of us love how far the community has expanded in short time. But make no mistake, other stories.

He will be doing his best to take to the top once more. So good luck, and good day.

MG TLE

DBJ JY