ch 57 - pt 2

~Devil Ninja~

"Haaaa!"

"Take that!"

Ravel and Le Fey stood side by side and combined their magic. A powerful sunburst of fire erupted from Ravel's magic circle. It was nothing special, just an extremely powerful explosion of fire magic. On the other hand, Le Fey's magic circle produced a powerful tornado that engulfed the fire. Rather than snuffing it, the tornado and fire merged together, mixing to create a raging inferno that swept across the battlefield.

Nearly two dozen or so modified dragons that were in the way of their attack became engulfed. Their agonized screams were drowned out by the infernos blaze. The attack ripped through the enemy forces, surprisingly not hitting a single ally, and only after nearly a minute had passed did the attack dissipate.

What remained was a trench of thoroughly scorched earth. None of the dragons who'd been caught up in the attack remained, having been reduced to ash that blew away on the wind. Even some of the dragons who'd merely been close to the attack were dead, their bodies black and scorched, like charbroiled chicken. Some of the enemies further out had spontaneously combusted and were running around on fire. They would eventually die too.

"That was a nice job," Le Fey said with good cheer. She was smiling vibrantly like a child. "You're really talented with magic."

Ravel smiled just a bit. "Thank you."

The smile left.

"Is something wrong?" asked Le Fey.

"I was just thinking… about how this was way too easy. Should this battle be so easy?"

"Do you really think this is too easy?"

"Yes. I do. Something isn't right here."

Ravel furrowed her brow and studied the battlefield. Bikou, Kuroka, and Fenrir were demolishing their enemies with ease. They tore through the battlefield like a hurricane, never staying in one place for too long. Xenovia was standing with Gasper, still in his Balor Release the Beast: Kitsune Variation. Like the members of Team Vali, they were destroying their enemies. Xenovia attacked with ferocious swings and Gasper supported her with his ability to create shadow monsters.

The members of Sona's Peerage had already slammed into the enemy forces from behind and were crushing them. A massive dragon made of ice was lashing out at everything nearby. Flashes of light and explosions dotted the landscape as one of her servants attacked. Tsubaki was close by as well, using her naginata to cut through the enemy forces. They were having a harder time than Ravel's group, but it wasn't like they were suffering too many losses.

Mixed among them were the Vampires from the Carmilla Faction who, while not as good at killing as their groups were, were still doing an admirable job of fighting off the modified dragons. A little ways off, Queen Carmilla was attacking with a sword of all things. She was quite good.

A pair of modified dragons had her in their sights. They roared as though issuing a challenge and tried to attack with Dragon Breath. Fire so powerful it blazed white erupted from their mouths and enclosed on Queen Carmilla, who merely swung her sword, slashing through both attacks and forcing them to disperse. After that, a thick mist poured from her body, surrounded the dragons, and engulfed them.

They began choking.

Ravel knew about a Vampire's ability to create fog, but this seemed vastly different from the fog of a normal Vampire. As the modified dragons choked and gurgled like they were drowning, Queen Carmilla walked up to them, swung her sword several times so fast Ravel could barely see it, and then walked past them. The two modified dragons were cut into multiple segments. They fell apart.

While surveying the battle, Ravel was trying to figure out why she felt such unease. Surely there was something about this battle that was bothering her.

Unfortunately, it wasn't until a loud roar filled her ears that she realized what.

"Reinforcements?!"

Flying toward them was a large swarm of black dots that were growing larger with every passing second. Ravel couldn't make them out at first, but she didn't need to: the roars filling the air said enough. More modified dragons were coming their way—a lot more.

"Oh. Well, that isn't good," Le Fey muttered.

"Can you tell me how many there are?" asked Ravel.

"Give me a minute," Le Fey said.

She created a magic circle that was different from her normal ones; it acted as a magnifying glass. Aimed at the swarm, she was able to see the modified dragons flying toward them as if they were standing right next to her.

Le Fey sucked in a breath. "I can't tell you how many there are because I don't think I can accurately count them… but I can tell you the group coming toward us is much larger than the one we're fighting."

"I was afraid you would say that."

Ravel knew she couldn't let them be caught between these two forces. Their group was powerful, but they were exhausted, and this new force was fresh. Even if they were at full strength, it was doubtful they would be able to face this group head on. It would be even more impossible now that they were exhausted.

"Help me get to Queen Carmilla," Ravel said to Le Fey.

"You got it!" Despite the dire situation, Le Fey responded in a cheerful voice.

The two began moving toward Queen Carmilla, who had just finished off another modified dragon. Like them, she seemed to have noticed the army coming toward them. It was hard to tell if her face had paled or not because it was already so white. Ravel imagined, however, that the Vampire queen was definitely feeling fear.

A pair of dragons tried to get in their way, but Ravel and Le Fey combined fire and wind to create a thousand burning wind blades. The combination attack tore the dragons apart before they could put up a fight.

"Queen Carmilla!" Ravel shouted.

Queen Carmilla turned and gave her a wan smile. "Young Ravel, it seems you have noticed the threat as well. Our forces cannot go up against another army. They are much too exhausted."

Ravel nodded. "I know. That's why I was thinking we should retreat to a more defensible location."

"Is there a location like that?" asked Queen Carmilla, her voice bemused. "I do not mean to put a damper on your plan, but was this mountain you selected not the most defensible location around for miles? There are no better defensible locations than this one—unless you mean to have us travel back to our village?"

Ravel shook her head. "That wouldn't be a good idea. It would just invite them to attack your village. Rather than simply finding a location we could defend, I was thinking we could limit the number of enemies they can attack with. I think we could also lure them into a trap."

"And how would we do that?" asked Queen Carmilla, who merely sounded flabbergasted now. Indeed, Ravel could understand why the Vampire queen would be confused. They had maybe five minutes before the modified dragon army was upon them, and that was much too short a time to build a proper fortification.

"We're going underground," Ravel said before explaining her plan. She listed off exactly what she wanted, which caused Queen Carmilla's eyes to widen.

"How do you plan on doing that?" asked a shocked Queen Carmilla.

"Le Fey?" Ravel turned to Naruto's contracted magician. "Can you dig us a tunnel underground using magic?"

"I can. How far underground do you want to go?" asked Le Fey.

Ravel bit her lip. "Far enough that an attack from these dragons won't reach us. At least two hundred meters."

Le Fey breathed out a sigh. "You ask for a lot. I'll do my best. But you have to protect me while I'm working."

Ravel nodded and turned to Queen Carmilla, a question in her eyes. This entire plan would hinge on whether the Vampires' forces could defend Le Fey while she worked. The queen seemed to understand this and took a deep breath.

"We will do our best to protect you," she said at last.

"Thank you," said Ravel.

"I guess I'd better get to work," Le Fey joked.

Since it looked like they had a plan in place, Ravel placed a hand to her ear and began speaking into her communicator and told everyone else her plan. She didn't tell them everything since there wasn't enough time. Ravel only told them enough to convince them to close ranks.

The first to arrive was Elmenhilde. The girl was covered in blood, but it didn't look like most of it was hers. The only injury Ravel noticed was the wound on her head and the way her left arm dangled uselessly at her side, though was still a pretty serious injury. Her arm was probably broken. Azazel arrived not long after Elmenhilde did, followed by the members of Rias' Peerage, Team Vali, and Sona's Peerage. All the other Vampires under Queen Carmilla also formed ranks, creating a circle around Le Fey as she activated her magic to begin digging a tunnel underground.

"They're coming!" Ravel shouted loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Create a shield!"

The first group of modified dragons reached them, roaring as they unleashed Dragon Breath. Blazing hot fire slammed against a foggy shield created by the Vampires. Sadly, these dragons were fresh and the Vampires exhausted. The attack burned right through the shield.

"Applause Wall!"

Just when it looked like they would be struck by the combined Dragon Breath, a powerful barrier appeared around their group, taking the attack head on. Flams splashed against the shield, roaring as though angry. The barrier rippled but held. The flames soon dispersed, unable to penetrate the barrier.

The one who had cast the barrier was a young woman with gorgeous white hair and bluish green eyes. She was not very tall, but she wasn't short either. Her height was average for a Japanese woman in high school. She had a large chest barely contained by the shirt of her school uniform and appeared to be a very proper woman.

Ravel knew her. The girl's name was Momo Hanakai—a member of Sona's Peerage. She was one of Sona's Bishops. The ability she had just used was an Artificial Sacred Gear created by none other than Azazel and calibrated for her use. It took the form of bracelets and had the ability to create barriers within a certain distance from the caster.

"Oh ho. Now that the first attack has been blocked, I guess it's time for us to release an offensive," Bikou muttered.

"Right you are, Bikou. Nya ha ha. Come on, Fenrir," Kuroka said with a grin.

While Bikou jumped on his golden cloud and Fenrir released a howl that could shake even a god's resolve, Kuroka created several magic circles around a group of modified dragons, which suddenly froze as if they had been trapped in time. That wasn't it, however. The space around them was distorting as Kuroka manipulated the area to trap her enemies in another space. Once her enemies were trapped, she unleashed a toxic purple cloud that filled the space she created.

The modified dragons howled in pain as they were killed.

Bikou and Fenrir attacked up close. Bikou used his staff to great effect as Fenrir ripped into his opponent with his claws and fangs. Fenrir was an incredibly powerful creature. His God-Killing Fangs were so powerful they were able to kill even the most powerful of beings, including gods. While his claws weren't as powerful, they could easily pierce Issei's Scale Mail.

However, even though these two were powerful in their own right, the modified dragons numbers proved too much. Superior strength could only do so much against overwhelming numbers. Bikou was hit with a Dragon Breath from several directions. He screamed as burns appeared on his body and he fell. At the same time, multiple modified dragons leapt on Fenrir and began tearing at him.

"Kuroka! Get them out of there!" Ravel ordered.

"Nya ha ha ha! Just leave this to me," Kuroka said with a bright grin.

Kuroka didn't rely on poison this time. Her fists glowed as she covered them in Touki. The nails of her hand lengthened to an incredible ten centimeters, and then she slashed the air, though nothing seemed to happen at first. The enraged cry of dragons tore through the air seconds later as several blood burst from several wounds that appeared on their scaled flesh.

"Nya ha ha ha! I got this idea from how Arthur uses Caliburn! How do you like it?" Kuroka asked, laughing as she continued attacking. "Now if your chance, Fenrir!"

Fenrir howled as he raced over to Bikou, let the monkey man land on his back, and traveled back toward their group. The moment he did, Yura stepped forward and held out her hands.

"Twinkle Aegis! Protect us!"

Yura used her own Artificial Sacred Gear to create a massive shield of light. The modified dragons that tried to attack Bikou and Fenrir after their retreat slammed into the shield and bounced off. This did not deter them. They unleashed roars and continued hammering away at the shield with both physical attacks and Dragon Breath. Yura grunted as the flames and bodies struck her shield.

"I… uh… I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but there's no way my shield will last long against creatures this powerful," Yura told them.

"Just hold on for as long as you can," Ravel urged.

She looked at Le Fey, who was still in the process of digging out a tunnel for them. She could see the hole being created. It wasn't very big yet. The tunnel they needed had to be big enough to fit all of their enemies inside and deep enough that they couldn't escape. Sweat poured from Le Fey's forehead as she struggled to keep her magic working. She must have been burning through magical energy like nothing else.

The shield finally shattered. The modified dragons roared as they charged down. Ravel gritted her teeth as she ordered the Rias Peerage, Sona Peerage, Team Vali, and the Vampires to fight back. It wasn't long before the stench of blood filled the air. Magical attacks flew everywhere, people were ripped apart by claws and fangs, and Dragon Breath burned numerous Vampires to a crisp.

Kuroka once more used her space manipulation to cut apart nearly half a dozen modified dragons, but then she was slammed into by a dragon that attacked from her blind spot. Fenrir tried to aid her, but he was struck with a claw to the head. The attack sent him hurtling to the ground. At the same time, Sona's Peerage tried to set up a defensive perimeter, but there were simply too many modified dragons swarming around them. Yura and Momo were mauled by a dragon's claws. They screamed as they went down.

"Yura! Momo!" Saji shouted. "Damn you!"

Saji activated all four of his Sacred Gears in tandem. Black flames covered his body and took on the form of the Black Dragon Vitra himself. There was no heat when he erupted like this. Instead, what Ravel and the others felt was a chilling cold.

Ravel wanted to tell him to stop. Vitra Promotion allowed him to use the powers of Vitra, but it came at the cost of his sanity. He entered a berserker state that only Issei could bring him out of. She said nothing, however, because she understood how dire their situation was.

With a dragon-like roar, Saji flew into the air and began attacking the modified dragons with the power of a Dragon King. His black flames swept across the enemies swarming in the skies, burning them. Modified dragons were consumed. Strange tentacles lashed out and latched onto the modified dragons, absorbing their aura to increase Saji's own power. Like this, he began decimating the enemy forces.

But even he could only last for so long.

Saji eventually ran out of power, unable to fight off the sheer overwhelming numbers of the enemies arrayed against them. He was struck by numerous modified dragons who tore his Vitra body apart. Saji appeared from within the black flames as they dispersed, falling head first toward the ground. He was fortunately caught by Sona, who was in turn protected by Tsubaki, Bennia, and Loup Garou.

"I've done it!" Le Fey suddenly shouted.

Ravel turned toward the Le Fey. There was a massive tunnel just in front of the young woman. It was easily wide enough to fit a Dragon King inside and seemed to be quite deep.

"Everyone! We're traveling underground! Queen Carmilla! Once we do, I'd like you and the other Vampires to create a fog barrier around the entrance. That should buy us some time!" Ravel said.

"Consider it done," Queen Carmilla shouted back.

Like that, the exhausted army traveled into the tunnel. Had they remained a few seconds longer, they would have seen Tepes Castle and the surrounding village erupt in black and white flames.

They traveled through the tunnels Le Fey had carved out with magic, moving as quickly as they could without leaving anyone behind. There were still over three thousand Vampires within their forces. Despite having so many people, they were able to travel fast thanks to many of the Vampires transforming into bats and flying through the tunnel.

The tunnel itself was five kilometers long and had many branching pathways. That was why it took Le Fey so long to create, because she wasn't just creating a straight shot tunnel, but one that separated into many smaller tunnels like the roots of a tree.

As they emerged from the other side, Ravel looked at Queen Carmilla, who nodded and used her ability to manipulate fog to block off the entrance.

"That should not only keep them from getting out—at least for a little while—it should also confuse them," Queen Carmilla said.

"Good. Now we just need to wait for a bit. I want as many modified dragons to find their way into this tunnel as possible."

Ravel closed her eyes and waited in tense silence, studiously ignoring the thick feeling of worry permeating everyone there. Their forces were exhausted. Everyone had been battling for such a long time, and they didn't have much fight left in them.

It was unknown to Ravel how much time had passed exactly, but a loud explosion of power erupted near the entrance. Queen Carmilla flinched as a modified dragon slammed against her fog. It held. However, then another dragon appeared and slammed into it as well. The Vampire queen grunted as she held out both hands and made the fog thicker.

"I won't… be able… to keep this up… for long," she said in a strained voice.

"Just a few more minutes," Ravel said. "No. Just sixty more seconds."

Queen Carmilla gritted her teeth, which caused Elmenhilde to look at her queen in worry. Ravel began counting down from sixty to one. More dragons arrived. They slammed into the shield. A small trickle of blood escaped Queen Carmilla's nose as she strained against the power she was holding back.

"Ravel! Can't you see my queen is suffering?!" Elmenhilde snapped.

"I can't… hold on…"

Queen Carmilla fell to a knee, the barrier shattered, and modified dragons surged forward.

They were cut down by Azazel, who created a powerful sword of light. He swung and sliced off a head. Then he spun on the balls of his feet, dodged a claw swipe, and impaled the attacking modified dragon through the chest. He moved so fast that Ravel couldn't even see it. Before long, he was standing before the entrance, blocking the modified dragons from attacking everyone else.

"I will hold them off for as long as you need, so do what you need to!" Azazel shouted.

With Azazel protecting them, Ravel was able to safely countdown the time to activate their trap. She wanted to go longer. The longer they let the modified dragons enter the tunnel, the better, but she knew time was not on their side.

"Now, Le Fey!" Ravel shouted.

At that moment, Le Fey tapped her foot against the ground, and a brilliant magic circle flared into existence. Barely a second passed before the tunnel entrance exploded into a brilliant shower of white hot flames. The dragons trapped inside the tunnel roared, but even that was soon cut off as the tunnel collapsed, burying the dragons alive.

"What the… what happened?" asked Elmenhilde as she pulled a handkerchief from her dress and began wiping the blood on Queen Carmilla's face away.

"I see. You planted magic mines inside of the tunnels, then collapsed them when the dragons entered," Queen Carmilla determined.

Ravel nodded. "We couldn't fight so many in a head on confrontation, so I decided that burying them alive would be more advisable. I doubt we managed to kill many of them, but it would be worth it if we could even take out a couple hundred."

"It was a good plan," Queen Carmilla admitted.

"I'm pretty impressed," Azazel added as he walked over. Blood ran down his face and arms from several cuts, but he seemed unharmed otherwise. "That's just the kind of plan I'd expect from Naruto's manager."

Ravel smiled, but she knew nothing was over yet. After all, Naruto still had to rescue Rias and Kiba.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes, blinking several times, then flinched when what felt like a warhammer slammed into his head. He grimaced, lamenting his mistake. What had he been thinking, using such a high powered attack inside of a building like that? Was he an idiot?

"I believe the answer to that question is self-evident."

"No comment from the peanut gallery please."

Several large chunks of debris were sitting on Naruto's chest, but he easily pushed those off and stood up. He checked himself over. Patting his arms, legs, and chest, Naruto released a sigh when he realized he was not injured.

Once he had confirmed that he was healthy, Naruto looked at the area around him. The castle was gone. He could see the sky now. The surrounding walls that had made up Tepes Castle had been destroyed, leaving nothing between him and the outside.

"Ngggggg…"

A groan to his left. Naruto turned around when he saw none other than Yami pushing himself out of the wreckage, wincing and rubbing his head.

"Damn you… have you gotten even more reckless than when you and I were one person?"

"I don't want to hear that from someone who became the leader of a terrorist organization," Naruto snapped.

Yami didn't respond right away as he stood up and shook his head. It was like he was attempting to clear out the cobwebs.

Naruto used that moment to make some clones, which spread out and began searching through the wreckage, looking for his friends. They quickly found Rias, Kiba, Koneko, and Asia. The four of them were together. Rias had protected the other three from the wreckage. When the Naruto clone removed the debris from their bodies, Rias sent it a glare.

"What were thinking? Do you want to get us all killed?" she asked.

Clone Naruto raised his hands. "Hey, don't blame me. I'm just a clone. It was the boss' decision to use such a powerful technique."

"Naruto gets your experience when you disperse, right? In that case, I am going to take it out on you. In fact, sit down right now."

"But I—"

"Sit. Down."

"Yes, ma'am."

Clone Naruto sat in seiza as Rias, with Koneko and Asia on either side of her and Kiba behind her nursing his injury, proceeded to lecture the clone on why his reckless behavior would not be tolerated. To his credit, the clone did not say a single thing to dispute her. Perhaps he agreed with Rias, perhaps he just understood that it was better to let a woman vent. Either way, he took his lecturing like a true man.

Yes. A true man.

The other clones quickly found everyone else. Akeno and Raynare were together, having protected each other from falling debris. Rossweisse was with Irina. Vali and Issei were also together, having been battling Rizevim.

He also found the two villains working alongside Yami. Rizevim and Lilith had emerged from the debris none the worse for wear. Given the dirt covering Lilith's body, it was clear to Naruto that Rizevim had let her protect him from the falling degree, which seemed kind of pathetic.

"You are quite the dangerous element," Rizevim said to Naruto as they regrouped with Yami.

Naruto shrugged. "You say that like you aren't dangerous."

Rizevim chuckled. "True. I guess I can't say anything without sounding like a hypocrite. Still, I wouldn't drop a fucking ceiling on my own head."

"Sometimes to trick the enemy, you have to use yourself as bait."

"A likely story."

"Hmph. It seems our plan to lure you into a trap has failed," Yami said.

As if his words were some kind of signal, Lilith waved her hands to create a portal—but just before the portal solidified, it was disrupted. A massive undulation ripped through it. Then the portal exploded into energy particles.

"What the—?!" Rizevim shouted as Yami looked to his left.

A figure flew in and landed next to Naruto. Her modest chest was covered by two black bandages forming an X shape, she wore puffy shorts, and her black hair contrasted with her pure white skin. Ophis crossed her arms as she glared at the three people.

"I finally found you," she said to Naruto. "And it seems you are having some trouble. Do you mind if I take on my little clone?"

"Do you think you can beat her?" asked Naruto.

"Hmph. Of course. Lilith might have most of my power, but look at how she uses it. It's clear to me that she hasn't mastered using my power yet. Now is the perfect time to strike."

"Okay then. Feel free to take her on."

Those were all the words Ophis needed before, like a rocket, she blasted off her feet and slammed into Lilith before the much smaller girl could do anything. A blink later and the two of them disappeared. Ophis had created a portal and hurtled them both through it.

"Damn it! That bitch just stole my bodyguard!" Rizevim swore.

"You stole that bitch's power first," Naruto exclaimed. "So fuck you."

Rizevim whirled around, a snarl on his face, but Yami stepped forward and silenced him with a raised arm. The look on his face was dark. However, he appeared relatively calm, at least compared to his companion.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Naruto?" he asked. "I was willing to let you live now that my plan has failed, but I am still stronger than you."

"That may be so, but don't pretend ignorance." Naruto grinned as the members of his group gathered around him. He pointed at Yami and declared. "The truth is, you've grown weaker. The last time we fought, you've had about seventy percent of my power, but now you only have about sixty-five percent. I've figured out your weakness. So long as I don't use Sage Mode and experience life to the fullest, you will continue to grow weaker and weaker. That's why you decided to use this half-assed plan to kill me, isn't it?"

Yami's expression darkened, but that was just more proof that Naruto's theory was correct.

It was actually obvious when Naruto thought about it. He and Yami were like an hourglass. The power they had was shared between them. When Naruto used Sage Mode, that power traveled to Yami because the world's hatred filled them, but when Naruto didn't use Sage Mode, the power remained with him, though what he lost didn't return. It wasn't until Kuroka suggested having an all-night orgy with Rias and the others that he realized the truth of the matter.

His happiness was the key to regaining his power.

The happier he was, the less of an effect this world's hatred had on him, and the more power he regained from Yami.

"I'm not surprised you managed to figure it out, though I didn't expect you to get it so soon," Yami said at last. "It looks like I will need to accelerate my plans… no, it looks like I really do need to kill you now before I lose anymore power."

"Just try it if you can," Naruto declared as once more Rikudou Sennin Modo and Kurama's chakra cloak flared to life.

Naruto knew he couldn't let his fight against Yami anywhere near his friends, and so he put on a burst of speed, appearing right beside his nemesis and punching his dark half in the face—or that was his intention. Yami twisted his body, grabbed Naruto's arm, and threw him away. As Naruto soared through the air, his opponent appeared above him and attempted to slam Naruto's own Shishi Rendan on his torso.

Naruto replaced himself with a log.

As the log exploded like it had TNT stuck to its surface, Naruto struck the ground feet first, bent his knees, and pushed off. The ground exploded as Naruto shot toward Yami. He stretched out his hand, created a rasengan, and threw it. Yami dodged the rasengan like he'd expected it, then turned around and blocked the kick as the rasengan turned into a Naruto clone that attacked him with a heel drop. A shockwave erupted from them. Naruto closed the distance and tried to strike Yami before he could block him, but Yami knew Naruto's tricks and replaced himself with Naruto's clone.

Wearing a grimace as he saw an image of him killing himself, Naruto flapped his wings and looked around. He couldn't see Yami at all. Issei, Vali, and the others were locked in combat with Rizevim—except for Rias. He couldn't see her anywhere anymore. For a moment, he feared Yami might have gone after her, but that fear proved to be unfounded when a loud screeching sound reached his ears.

Naruto looked up as a Rasenshuriken came hurtling at him. It was traveling fast enough to break the sound barrier.

Knowing better than to let this attack hit, he dodged to the side. The Rasenshuriken slammed into the ground and detonated in an explosion of wind so fierce the battle below stopped. Powerful force winds slammed into everyone as a large dome expanded. It was a good thing no one had been in the blast zone, or they'd have been ripped to shreds by the cutting millions of microscopic cutting wind blades.

Yami descended from above after his jutsu missed. He launched out his foot, attempting to perform a heel drop on Naruto's head, but it was blocked when Naruto raised his arms in a cross. The attack might have been blocked, but Naruto's bones rattled when the foot hit. Yami was incredibly strong. If he didn't know any better, he would say his opponent was using Touki to strengthen himself.

As the two of them continued battling, Naruto realized he still wasn't strong enough to win on his own. Yami still had the majority of power between them. Since a battle like this one was mostly a battle of attrition, his darker half had a clear and distinct advantage.

"Ha… ha… ha…"

Naruto's shoulders heaved as he struggled to breath. His chest was in pain, sharp like a blade. He glared at Yami. On the other hand, his opponent wore a dark grin.

"Looks like you still aren't strong enough to defeat me," Yami said.

Naruto continued to glare, but then he saw something that made him smile. "You're right. I'm not strong enough to defeat you on my own… so I guess it's a good thing I'm not alone."

"Huh?" Yami asked stupidly.

That was when a voice appeared behind him.

"Extinguishing Star!"

At that moment, Rias was standing several dozen meters behind Yami, a massive sphere of highly compressed demonic power above her head, which had taken the form of a sphere with a mixture of crimson and black energy swirling around it. Naruto had never seen anything quite like it. This was vastly different from the way Sirzechs used his Power of Destruction. The sheer amount of annihilating force trapped within that sphere was enough to make even him shiver.

Rias threw the sphere at Yami. It moved slowly. In fact, it was so slow that Yami should have been able to dodge it, but contrary to what should have happened, Yami found that he was being pulled toward it instead of moving away from it. His eyes bulged as an incredible sucking force pulled him in. It was like the sphere was a black hole.

It wasn't long before his left hand touched the sphere. A shocked howl escaped his mouth as his entire hand and arm up to the elbow disintegrated. It was just gone, as though it had never existed.

Now getting desperate, Yami unleashed all of his considerable power in an explosion that crashed against Rias's technique, destabilizing it. The sphere undulated before detonating. An eruption of destructive power flew in all directions, showering the ground like meteors falling from the sky. Whatever the power hit disintegrated into nothing.

Naruto whistled at the destruction wrought.

"Damn. How long have you been working on this technique?" asked Naruto as Rias flew over to him.

She smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've been working on it for awhile. You might not know this, but a few months after we began sleeping together, my demonic energy changed. It's more powerful now. However, it is hard to control that power, so I can't use the Power of Destruction like my brother can. I created this technique with Ophis's help."

"Ophis, huh. Seems she's helping everyone."

"What?"

"Nothing. Anyway, while that attack of yours is incredible, it doesn't look like it killed our opponent."

Naruto turned toward Yami, who floated quite a distance away from them, gripping his now stump of a left arm. There were other wounds littering his body. He had a hole in his left leg, a chunk had been taken out of his right shoulder, and blood freely ran down his body. The hatred he directed toward them was impressive. If looks could kill, Naruto was certain he and Rias would have been reduced to atoms.

"You two… damn you both! I won't let you get away with this! Just wait! This won't be the last you'll see of me!"

Before Naruto or Rias could stop him, Yami created a portal with a wave of his right hand and charged through it, leaving them—and more importantly, leaving Rizevim to fend for himself.

"He ran away," Rias said.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. He turned toward her. "Rias… I'm glad you're okay."

Rias faced him as well. "Me too. Thank you for coming to my rescue."

Despite what just happened—no, because of what just happened, Naruto pulled Rias close, feeling a desperate need to have this woman pressed against him. She didn't resist. Leaning into him, Rias wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned in close, and pressed their lips together.

~Devil Ninja~

Rizevim managed to escape. Naruto didn't know how since he hadn't been battling the douche, but Vali had been pretty angry about how his grandfather had slipped from his fingers once again.

Naruto returned home with Rias and Kiba having been rescued. They didn't look like they were any worse for wear. Well, Kiba was a little beat up, but the shape he was in hadn't been anywhere near as bad as Naruto had been expecting. All the superfluous wounds on Kiba's body had been easily healed with Asia's Twilight Healing.

"So Yami didn't… mistreat you or anything?" asked Naruto.

Rias shook her head. "No. I expected he would, but aside from our first confrontation and when he tried to spring his trap, he didn't come anywhere near me. It was almost like he was afraid of me."

That did not sound like Yami at all, but perhaps there was something more to all this that Naruto was missing.

He and Rias were lounging in bed, naked as the day they were born. Sweat covered their bodies as they snuggled together. The scent of sex hung so heavily in the air anyone else would have probably choked.

Immediately after returning home, Naruto and Rias had locked themselves in their bedroom and had sex without stopping for an entire day. No one had been able to enter. Even Ophis, who had tried to come in, was repelled. Naruto knew the dragon god was even now just outside the door, pouting.

Come to think of it, I promised her we'd have sex…

He would make good on that promise. After all, Naruto never gave up and never went back on his word. That was his nindo. His ninja way.

"Believe it."

"What?"

"Nothing." Naruto shook his head and pretended he didn't just say something really stupid. "Anyway, I am glad we were able to rescue you and Kiba. When I heard you two had been captured by Yami, I… well, I was pretty angry at myself for letting you two go off on your own."

"It's not like you could have foreseen this would happen," Rias said as she pressed her full body against his and began stroking his jaw. He liked the feeling of her nipples rubbing against his body.

"I feel like we should have," Naruto disagreed. "We knew the Chaos Brigade had something to do with the Vampires. We should have known something would happen. Also… our luck is terrible when it comes to matters like this. Seriously terrible. I don't think there's another group of people who've had more trouble than we have."

"I guess not," Rias agreed before she began kissing Naruto's chest. His breathing hitched as she shifted until she was straddling his hips. As she kissed and licked his chest, Rias ground her firm, plump ass against his crotch, causing his erection to swell. Unable to resist, Naruto grabbed her plentiful butt and began kneading the flesh, enjoying the plump sensation filling his hands.

While Naruto would always say Rias Gremory's breasts were her most charming features, that was not to say her boobs were all she had. Her ass was also something to be cherished. Firm, round, and lush, her butt would turn any straight man into jelly. The way said firm ass was currently grinding against his cock caused pleasant tingles to well up inside of him. He wanted more than anything to take her from behind while grasping these amazing twin cheeks.

And yet, just before they could go a step further, someone knocked at the door.

"I hate to break you two up, but don't you think it's time you came out of there?" said the voice from the other side. It was Ravel. "Azazel is here. He said he has something important to talk to you about."

Naruto and Rias groaned in complaint, but it wasn't like they could deny the man.

They left the bed, put on some clothes, and opened the door to find Ravel and Ophis standing just outside. The pair wrinkled their nose the moment the door opened.

"You two reek," Ravel said. "Go take a shower before heading into the living room please."

Rias and Naruto wore matching embarrassed blushes at having someone tell them they stink so openly, but neither of them could deny her words. They had, indeed, done nothing but have sex since returning. It was all too obvious they would smell.

The pair took a quick shower. They may or may not have fooled around a bit. After getting dried off and dressed, they walked into the living room, where they found Azazel sitting on the couch and drinking a coffee. He looked somewhat abashed. Meanwhile, Rossweisse stood beside him with a red face and tears in her eyes.

He probably wanted alcohol…

Naruto could well imagine Azazel asking for alcohol, Rossweisse telling him no, and Azazel saying something thoughtless to make the Valkyrie upset.

"Finally got out of bed, I see," Azazel said when they arrived. He was grinning like he knew what they'd been up to.

Rias ignored the jab as she sat on the couch with Naruto.

"Azazel, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit? I assume it's something important."

There had been a lot of trouble happening lately. Heaven was under assault, the Underworld was experiencing a lot of turbulence, and the human world had terrorist attacks happening all over the world. As the former Governer General of the Grigori, Azazel should have been helping deal with these threats. That he was here meant he had something important to discuss.

"Getting right to the point? Well, that's fine. I don't have much time anyway." Azazel took a sip from his mug before speaking again. "As you know, I'm currently stationed in Romania to act as ambassador to the Vampires. I'm also helping with the cleanup."

"Yes, we are aware," Rias said. "I take it your visit has something to do with that?"

"That's right." Azazel nodded seriously. "While we were going through the wreckage of Tepes Castle, we found something I believe your Dhampir servant will be interested in. Can you call for him and come with me?"

Naruto and Rias looked at each other. Neither of them knew what Azazel wanted Gasper for.

~Devil Ninja~

It was hard to believe Naruto would be back in Romania so soon, but stranger things had happened. He was walking with Azazel, Gasper, and Rias. They were once more at the Carmilla Faction's mansion. The hallway they traveled down was unfamiliar to him. It was not one he had traveled through during their short time here.

They eventually reached a door, which Azazel opened and gestured them inside.

"Valerie?!" Gasper gasped in shock and sorrow.

The room on the other side of the door had the appearance of a simple bedroom. Plain but nice decorations lined the wooden walls, a few potted plants dotted the corners, and there was a bed stationed near the room's only window.

Resting on the bed was a young woman with short blonde hair and pale skin. She looked a few years older than Naruto. Her eyes were closed, and she was lying in repose, hands at her sides as if she was just sleeping. There was a certain captivating quality about her. Her doll-like appearance made Naruto realize this woman was a Vampire.

"Valerie!" Gasper stumbled over to the bed and slumped into the nearest chair. His eyes had not left Valerie's face. Tears formed in them and trailed down his cheek as he reached out, hesitated, and then reluctantly touched her hand, though he withdrew it seconds later as though he was afraid of breaking her.

"This is… Valerie Tepes?" asked Rias.

Azazel nodded, a serious expression on his face, making him actually look like a leader for once.

"We discovered her in a sub basement level directly beneath the one Yami was holding you in. After discovering her, we brought her here," Azazel explained.

"Is she…?" Naruto hesitated to ask, but Aazel seemed to understand.

"She's alive," he said. Gasper's head snapped in his direction, and Azazel explained more. "It seems Valerie's Sacred Gear is a sub-species. Her Sephiroth Graal has a total of three Holy Grails instead of just one. Two of them were removed from her, but the last one was kept inside of her. My guess was the Chaos Brigade wanted to keep that one as a spare in case they needed it. Thanks to that, she is only in a death-like state, but she's not really dead."

"Then… then if she's still alive…!" Gasper looked imploring at Azazel.

"She can be restored to life," Azazel stated.

Those words seemed to be far too much for Gasper to bare, as he began openly weeping. Rias went over to him and swept the young Dhampir into a hug. Naruto sighed and looked away. He totally understood there was nothing sexual about this hug, but he would also admit that he didn't like seeing his girlfriend hug another man—even one who looked like a cute girl.

"What would it take to restore Valerie to life?" asked Naruto.

"That's a good question." Azazel sighed and scratched his beard. "We aren't sure right now. I plan on taking her to the Grigori's primary research institute. We should be able to figure out how to bring her back there, but it might take a while… given the situation we've now found ourselves in."

Naruto understood his words to mean the war with the Chaos Brigade, which was becoming even more chaotic now that the Titans had joined. It seemed dealing with one problem simply made others appear before them. The Hero Faction was defeated, but now they had to deal with Rizevim, the resurrected Evil Dragons, and the Titans from Greek Mythology.

The war was reaching a peak. Naruto knew it wouldn't be long before something big happened, and he would need to be ready for it.