Last of the Line

I do not own Highschool DxD or any of it's characters. I own only Vale Beleth.

Author's Note: Hi guys, I took a break from my new story and my old Sekirei story to update this since it has been quite a bit since I posted anything for this. Also, I wanna urge all you writers to check out a website called Charahub(.com) it's a site where you can create profiles for all your original characters. It's very in-depth, and I highly recommend it.

Chapter 23- Trouble Brewing

Vale wrung the sponge out before using it to gently wash away the suds on Rias' naked back as he massaged her shoulder with his other hand. They were inside the massive bath in Vale's mother's resort's master bathroom, they had snuck into the resort to spend the day together during an empty period but had reduced the time dilation to six hours to every one in the outside world. Vale really needed their alone time, especially since Michael had assigned Irina, of all people, to serve as Heaven's representative and liaison at Kuoh Academy. Worst of all, she was also assigned to keep an eye on his Heavenly Gear program and report back to Michael on his projects. Which meant she was constantly looking over his shoulder and asking him questions on their operation and function. It was infuriating. Vale had never hit a woman first in his life, but Irina was driving him CRAZY!

"Oh my Vale, you were right. This bath was just the thing to wash away all the stress I've been under about the Young Devil's Gathering and the whole business with Diodora. I'm so glad you talked me into it." Rias said with a sigh of ecstasy as Vale worked out a knot in her shoulder.

Vale leaned over and kissed her neck tenderly as he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her into his chest as he kissed his way down her soft, silky skin towards her hands.

"Hmm, I'm glad you like it. But, I gotta confess, this was just as much for me as for you. You have no idea how annoying Irina is!" Vale groaned.

"Vale you need to work out your issues with Irina soon. We'll be seeing her a lot from now on, for who knows how long?" Rias sighed as Vale's hands resumed kneading the knots out of her tired, aching back.

"Look, honey-" Vale began when he was interrupted by a knock at the bathroom door. Rias moved to get out of the tub to get the door when Vale pulled her back in.

"Don't go get it, just ignore it and they'll go away." Vale whispered in her ear as he pulled her back towards him again.

"No Vale, it could be important." Rias said as she moved to remove his hands from her way.

"Ugh! Fine. But I'm not gonna stop what I'm doing. COME IN!" Vale whined in false protest before calling out in a shout to their visitor, as he pulled back her crimson hair to kiss her ear as he heard the door open and looked to see their visitor was none other than Irina, still dressed in her school uniform. Irina walked in and scanned the room before realizing the two occupants were sitting naked in the bathtub across from the door. Irina covered her eyes frantically as she squealed,

"Ah Vale! You're naked... w-w-with Rias-buchou!" She squealed as she averted her eyes and her face turned firetruck red.

"That's correct. Did you need something, Irina?" he asked as he casually kissed Rias' neck.

"Michael wants to know when he can expect a prototype of your Heavenly Gear Longini models." She whimpered as she stared intently at the floor.

"That's going on the back burner until after the match with Sairaog. That takes priority until it's over with, it may prove to be an actual bit of challenge hopefully." Vale said as he massaged a particularly stubborn knot in her lower back(one that was not helped by her enormous breasts), causing Rias to audibly gasp in pleasure at his ministrations. This caused even Rias, along with Irina, to blush in embarrassment.

"Well anyways, Michael wants to know if we can borrow Excalibur for an experiment with Durandal?" Irina asked shyly. Vale's eyes widened in anger at the question as he launched himself from the tub and landing solidly in front of Irina.

"What?" Vale hissed venomously as he closed to within a foot of Irina. "You want it back?"

"Um... yes?" Irina answered, more than a little uncomfortable with the angry, naked Vale standing a foot in front of her.

"No. I do not do jobs for loans. If you want it back so bad, take the whole damn program. That won't put Heaven last in the tech race of the Three Factions or anything." Vale hissed, his tone icy-cold now.

"No wait, I'll talk to Michael. I'm sure we can work something out." Irina whimpered before Vale shot back,

"You do that." he said as he sent her scurrying from the room. Rias watched Irina scurry from the room before standing up with a sigh.

"Vale, you have to be nicer to her. She's not the bad guy here. Issei has told me she has apologized profusely over and over since she arrived after your Rating Game." Rias said as she walked up to him before he wrapped her in a towel and hugged her to his chest, not entirely hating the feeling of her breasts pushing against his arms, apparently she thought it was rather cold in there too.

"Look, if you drop a plate on the floor and it breaks and you apologize, the plate is still broken. No amount of her apologies will fix what she did. Her staying out of my life however, will help. Besides, I was delightful to her. I could have been so much meaner, I just needed to make sure her plea to Michael was gonna be convincing. In fact, I already have a sword they can use instead of it, but it's a bitch to retrieve." Vale finished as he began to dress himself for the return to school.

"What happened between you two when you were dating that made you hate her so much?" Rias asked as she pulled on her thong and turned around to let Vale get her bra.

"Bottom line, she decided the Church was more important to her than I was. That's all there was to it." Vale said as he pulled on his summer uniform.

"Hmm, well I'll stay out of it but I hope you work things out." Rias commented as she slid her skirt on over her shapely, silky thighs before zipping it closed.

Well, I guess I'll see you later . I got shit to do in my workshop. Love you honey. Sebastian will show you out." he said as he made for his workshop.

"Sebastian?" Rias asked as he opened the bathroom.

"That would be my previously unnamed butler, I named him the same way a previous master did after I got a hold of the soul of said master. He's quite attached to it for some reason."

"Well, that aside, don't you have to get back to class? I'll miss you if you don't come back to class, I'll be myself all day." Rias pouted as she hugged him from behind.

"I know dear, but I have to do some things today. But hey, I'll be right there waiting for you tomorrow after your Rating Game. I'll see you then." Vale said as he turned to kiss Rias on the cheek before he headed off to his workshop.

The next day, two hours before Rias' Rating Game...

"Sorry about the other day again, I didn't realize you had company. So, I just wanted to apologize again for-" Irina chattered on before Vale cut in,

"Irina, you knocked on my bathroom door, there was a 95% chance you were gonna run into me in some state of undress. Now, if you don't back off and stop pestering me, I'm probably gonna stab you. Now back up!" Vale growled angrily as he sat up and flipped off his work goggles as he stopped manipulating the magic circle next to the floating red egg-like object in front of him. Irina's response was cut short as the door opened to reveal a handsome young man with long brown hair dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans .

"Ah Bucky! There you are, the Sin Engine stone has been calibrated for you. Try to only use it on your left arm as any complications from that are likely to be less inconvenient than ones with the rest of your body, just touch the stone and it'll reintegrate into your physiology." Vale said as Bucky reached out and touched the stone with his right hand, causing the stone to liquefy and crawl up his sleeve before disappearing from sight.

"Alrighty now Irina, if you'll excuse me, I have a Rating Game to attend." Vale said as he stood up and shucked his shirt off and made for his bedroom to dress for the Rating Game.

Vale ran to his room and showered before changing into his suit and heading for the exit before swinging by his workshop and grabbing a cane with an unusual glowing stone in the head of it before departing for the Underworld...

A few hours later, in the Rating Game viewing area for the Young Devil's Gathering...

"So, what'd I miss?" Vale asked as he sauntered over to Vali, who was also dressed in a formal suit, who was standing near one of the sever magical displays that was set to air the events of Rias and Diodora's Rating Game.

"Not much. What took you so long?" Vali replied with a yawn.

"Sorry, just had to take care of some things. You know as well as I do that Diodora has some shady friends. Had to make sure we're prepared if anything goes wrong." Vale replied as Vali harrumphed in reply as the match began to play.

Vale knew something was wrong right off the bat as the Rating Game opened with only a shot of the Gremory group, Diodora and his peerage were nowhere in sight Vale soon realized there was no sound either, which couldn't be good, judging by Kiba drawing Arondight and Issei manifesting the Boosted Gear.

"Wait... Where's Asia?" Vali said as he found he was unable to locate their favorite former nun. Vale. Immediately realizing his suspicions were correct, wasted no time in hunting down Arthur and Le Fay,

"Arthur, something is wrong, if I had to guess, I'd say Shalba was stupid enough to let Diodora join the Brigade. Give this to Bucky, he'll know what to do with it. I'm gonna slip out with Vali, Bikou, and Hao and go help Rias." Vale said as he handed his cane to Arthur.

"What should we do if 'he' shows up?" Arthur asked, with the slightest edge of hesitation in his normally calm voice.

"... I cannot let you fight Cao Cao or Walburga, my friend. If you see either of them, you are to retreat and leave the rest of the party to their fates. Most of them don't deserve their wealth anyways. Vale quickly strode towards the nearby door and exited the building before leaping into the air as he began to cast a spell to enter the Dimensional Gap. He was midway through the incantation when one of his warning wards went off, alerting him to a nearby teleportation gate spell.

"Arthur heads up, company coming your way." Vali said into a communication magic circle.

"Too late, here they come!" Hao said as three teleportation gates appeared around the building.

"Bucky! Do the thing!" Vale shouted into the magic circle. There was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of breaking glass as a figure in black tactical military gear leaped from the building before landing solidly as his left arm, which was composed entirely of metal began to shift and reform until where originally there had been a hand, now sat a gleaming chrome mini-gun.

"I have the situation under control from here, sir. You may leave this in our hands." the Winter Soldier replied as he removed the shield Vale had crafted for him from his back and began to wield it on his free hand.

Vale paused for a moment to think, and after deciding Bucky and the rest could handle themselves, he activated the finished spell as he and his team vanished in a flash of light before finding themselves in the Dimensional Gap. Vale immediately noticed the typical swirling iridescent coloring of the Gap, after taking a moment to get his bearings before sensing Rias' familiar magic energy to his nine o'clock and materialized his Neo Decalogue in his left hand before taking off for what he could only assume was the arena for their Rating Game, thankful that his magical barrier he always had cast was one of the strongest in the world for various environmental hazards.

They reached the arena in eight minutes before beginning to circle it as he homed in on Rias' magic signature, suddenly wishing he had brought Kuroka with him to help him track Rias. The arena took the form of a large Shinto monastery, making it quite hard to locate them in the large monastery until Vale felt the familiar power of the Rating Game retirement system. Vale homed in on the flow of power instantly before tossing Neo Decalogue at the barrier that held the arena together, where it lodged blade first with a GASHUNK! Before he zoomed in at full speed and kicked the sword square in the pommel propelling both blade and wielder through the barrier with a crash as he tumbled to the floor before calling the sword back to his hand as Vali, Bikou, and Hao alighted on the ground behind him... Just in time to watch Asia disappear in a burst of white light.

Vale had never seen Vali lose control before in the heat of battle, but Vali went from cool, collected, and ready to fight, to raving like a man possessed as he rushed towards where the nun had been sitting so fast Vale almost didn't get a hold of his arms in time to stop him massacring Diodora who was standing there looking stunned as Issei shouted something unintelligible at him while Shalba Beelzebub laughed to him self as he stood atop a tori gate. Vale was too distracted by trying to assess the situation that he missed Vali mutter,

"Balance-Break!" Vali said as the blast of white aura from Divine Dividing blew Vale off of him onto the floor behind him.

"Vali control yourself, that was a teleportation spell! She probably just got sent into the Gap! Bikou can go get her, we have work to do!" Vale exclaimed as he activated the countdown on Lucifer's Twin Halos as he prepared to enter the Fallen Angel form so he could access the Holy Lightning ability when Vali turned to him,

"No! I will get her!" He said as he disappeared through the hole into the Dimensional Gap, little more than a streak of light against the kaleidoscopic backdrop.

"Shit! Bikou! Hao! Protect the Gremory group! I'll chase Vali down!" Vale exclaimed as the characteristic 12 silver wings and hair manifested as the Balance-Breaker, Angel of Perdition, kicked on before he generated a nimbus of Holy Lightning-infused Thousand Thunderbolts spell in each hand and absorbed them into himself as he took off after his [Queen].

Vale closed the distance between him and Vali in less than half a minute, eager to avoid eating up his magic power in case he needed it later.

"VALI STOP!" Vale shouted as he swung out and around Vali before tackling him from the side and colliding solidly with the barrier, less than ten feet from their entry point.

"Vali! I know you love her, but you have to prioritize right now! Or I will be forced to stop you by-" Vale said as he broke off mid-sentence as his vision blurred and picture of a silver-haired Devil who appeared to be in his mid-fifties and swathed in a black robe with a white obi around his waist flashed across his vision.

"Do it Vale! Activate the [Apocalypse Drive] and begin the End Times and release me from my prison! Otherwise you will never be able to defeat my great-grandson!" the man hissed inside Vale's head but before Vale could react, he was distracted by Vali shoving an armored knee into Vale's stomach as he extended a hand,

[Divide! Divide! Divide!] Vali's armor called as Vale felt his power drop dangerously and his Balance-Breaker deactivate before Vali zoomed off once more into the Dimensional Gap...

"Fine, have it your way." Vale hissed as he jumped once more through his crude entry point. No sooner had he hit the ground then he heard,

[Juggernaut Drive!] Followed by an enormous wave of aura as Issei's Juggernaut Drive activated, destroying the huge tori gate Shalba had been standing on with its aura alone.

"Goddamn! I cannot catch a break today! Bikou, go retrieve Vali and seal him until I order otherwise! Hao, get Rias and the rest out of here! We have no time for me to explain, just go! I'll handle Issei!" Vale said as he slammed his fists together,

"C'mon Erasmus, let's go! Abyssal Gear override code: Dragon king delta thirty-one sigma." he bellowed as he forcibly activated Abyssal Draining's Juggernaut Drive equivalent, the Majestic Black Abyss Drive, as the tail and light wings appeared on his back.

[Override Accepted: Majestic Black Abyss force-activated!] the tail called as Vale was enveloped in a spiraling column of black, crimson, and gold light before it exploded out as Vale appeared once more in his horned Dragon armor, its typical gleaming appearance replaced with a matte black texture that seemed to pull in the surrounding light into itself.

Bikou and Hao wasted no time in questioning their [King] before springing into action as Bikou mounted his Kinto-un and zoomed after the White Dragon Emperor. Hao immediately summoned one of his spirit allies, the Spirit of Fire, before hopping atop it and sprinting for the Gremory group before scooping it up in the Spirit's massive hands and disappearing in a flash of fire, leaving Vale and Issei alone to fight.

[Jet!] Vale's armor roared as he rocketed toward Issei's armored form, however Issei saw him coming for him and extended and open hand toward him as he charged a Dragon Shot

[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!] the jewels on his armor called as they glowed with angry red light before discharging the humongous concentration of aura at Vale. He brought his arms up in front of him and focused his magic on strengthening his forearm guards as the Dragon Shot plowed into him, shattering the enhanced armor like it was so much sugar glass as Vale was sent flying through the leg of another tori gate, bouncing twice across the floor before regaining his footing as reformed the armor from the black aura.

"This would be so much easier if Vali hadn't hamstrung me earlier! Well, time for plan B: I can't kill you, but if you hit like that, this should be no trouble!" Vale shouted as he gathered and compressed as much Power of Destruction in his hands as he could handle before clapping them together,

"Eradication Wave!" Vale said as he sent the massive wave of demonic power at Issei. Without missing a beat Issei's armor sprouted two white wings,

[Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!Divide!]

Vale watched in disappointment as the wave began to shrink before Issei deflected it like it was a mosquito buzzing around his head, sending it crashing it into a nearby wall as it disintegrated the magic construct like paper in a blaze.

"Goddamn! I just had to be a genius and give him Raynare AND that jewel from Divine Dividing. Well, if this works, I'll owe Saji one." Vale muttered dryly as his armor's shoulder and forearm plates raised up, revealing several rows of small, dragon-headed projectiles.

[Dragon tongues activate!] his armor bellowed as the dragons launched from his armor, each trailing a white cord of energy as they homed in on Issei, the specially designed heads using the dragon armor's aura to pull themselves onto Issei's armor before attaching themselves to his armor with a KONK! Vale tried to jettison the energy cord and attach them to the walls to seal Issei's movement, but for some reason the cords were stuck fast, Vale's worry only increased as he watched the formerly white energy cords began to turn red as Issei's aura began to climb them and advance ever closer to him.

Vale gave up trying to jettison the cords and tried to physically break them as he watched the red aura inch ever closer to him. However, his worry turned to dread as he watched the plates on Issei's chest began to slide back as a large cannon peaked out out of Issei's armored chest

[Longinus Smasher!]

"Well... Shit." Vale muttered as he took the blast straight to the face and everything went black...

Vale opened his eyes to see he was in what appeared to be a large city of black goo and miasma. Large, strange spires that seemed to be more gas or liquid than stone or metal dotted the landscape. However, the most interesting feature was the thousand of black figures each branded with a glowing white Beleth Clan insignia surrounding him in an enomrous circle. They were all silent as two figures stepped forward, he recognized one as his clan's progenitor, Beor, the first Beleth ever born, the other was a figure whose name he had burned from memory long ago... his father.

"What do you two want? Why am I back here?" he asked, he knew he was back inside the city of Beleth, the source of his Abyss Physique power and repository of the clans powers and souls.

"Once again, Vale. You have endangered our line with another thoughtless battle, and unlike the battle with Alucard or the Old Satan faction we no longer have the power to intervene, due to your constant meddling with your body on your little projects." Beor began before continuing,

"All you must do is place your hand, in here. This will grant you full access to our souls and abilities." Beor said as a small obelisk appeared out of the ground, with a small bowl of swirling black liquid perched atop it.

"Be warned, it carries a heavy burden. No longer will you be able to keep our voices out, we will always be with you. Whether you like it or not, you must take this offer. You will be dead in thirty seconds in the real world. You must choose now." Beor finished, Vale wasted no time in plunging his arm into the bowl as he felt a massive influx of power, memories, and knowledge begin. It was like someone was shoving the Library of Congress into his brain as he watched the other souls disappear one by one. Until finally, only his father remained as he began to say,

"Vale, I want you to know, even after all these years I do still-" when Vale cut in,

"No, you don't. You never did. You could only love one person, at least that trait, I got from you." Vale said as he woke once more inside a pile of rubble. Through the various openings in the rubble he watched Issei's armored Juggernaut Drive form advance on him, clearly intent on finishing the job.

Issei closed to within two steps of Vale and began to charge another Dragon Shot when an armored black arm shot from the shot from the rubble and seized Issei round the throat as Vale rose from the rubble, his skin blackened with compressed miasma as he raised another clawed arm and with one blow, knocked Issei through the nearby wall like he was a ping-pong ball.

"Guess it's my turn now." Vale said in a low, gravelly voice as he cracked the tendons on his neck. This was gonna be fun...