Winds of Change (DxD)

Japan, Kuoh

Skyward Household

…

Jin Skyward's Soliloquy

…

Once we were all in the meeting room and everyone was seated, I started to tell them what I had found out—or at least, the theory that Ddraig and the rest of us thought might be happening. And how it's backed up by Ignia who left to travel the multiverse in search of her.

In a way… she left the ExE and CxP to run wild here with the other factions of the Khaos Brigade which was concerning. I know a lot of them want to go home and are tired, but I wanted to tell them this information.

"So, with that in mind, stay on even higher alert. As I mentioned earlier, we captured someone from the Evie faction and she has been transported to Grigori. I'll go there in a few minutes to maybe reinforce it more," I said to them. "Anyway, you're free to leave, unless you want to ask a question."

Not many of them had questions. Most were tired and just wanted to go home or sleep. However, Rose and Raiko stayed behind.

"Why… why did you ask me about my essay on Trihexa earlier?" she asked.

"I believe they might try to kidnap you because of it. Besides you knowing what the contents of your research were, I also know, and now the Khaos Brigade knows. They are definitely trying to find that beast, or they have found it and are now working on attempting to awaken it."

"Isn't the Trihexa just rumors and legends?" asked Raiko.

"No. It's real, very real, and also the reason why the God of the Bible is dead. He used a great deal of his powers to seal it and he rushed back into the Great War very weakened, costing him his life. So, the God of the Bible was the first one to confirm Trihexa's existence, and then promptly sealed it up," I said and got up from my seat.

"Anyway, let's rest for now and wait for Azazel or Rias to message us by tomorrow. If not, I'm heading over there."

If one of the Eradicators, or someone below them goes there—hell, if even someone from the Evie faction goes there… and the fact I haven't evolved yet, is concerning. Maybe I should speed up my…? No, it wouldn't work. I need powers beyond what I have right now…

'I just need more backup contingency plans…' I thought and headed up to my room

…

Third Person Point of View

…

????

…

Avezza, she was walking towards the meeting room for the Seekers of Truth. The hallway she was walking down was dimly lit by blue light. She—and her fellow seekers have been searching for another entity besides 'The False King'.

The first part of their plan was to attract the False King to this universe, and have it merge with Lapis. Although, the second half of that plan was only suggested by Lapis herself only after the attacks on the DxD alliance.

The second part was to attract the other one. The Draconic King of Death, Desghidorah. A being that was born from the False King's own flesh. This version of Desghidorah grows stronger after killing and feeding on the life energies of the planets it ravages.

It is as large as King Ghidorah, but much more ferocious as it will kill and consume all life it comes across without 'playing' with it. Unlike the False King who believes itself to be the strongest existence in the multiverse.

To the Seekers of Truth, who wish to find the creator of all—Azathoth and control it, they believe that by conquering the multiverse first, as well as finding the 'clues' that Azathoth left, that they could summon her… but they must first create such an item to control her, and they believe if they used Lapis, The False King, and The King of Death, and as well as Ignia and Jin's life essences, they can create such a powerful item—that the Blind Idiot God would be unable to resist the mind control of.

Unfortunately for them—Lapis who is not truly mentally unstable—she simply misses her 'father', and wants more of his approval has gone out to seek the False King herself, and merge with it. She believes that if she merges with the False King, her own power will also increase. After that, she plans on finding other powerful beings in the multiverse, killing and consuming them—and then finding and killing two Outer Gods to become as powerful as an Outer God.

In her own messed up mind, that is what Lapis thought would push her up in strength. She had simply bid her time, and enjoyed the small universe of the Draconic Deus. But seeing her inevitable end coming—she wished to change that—in her mind, she thought that if she did this, she could make her 'father' fall in love with her. Fulfilling her 'mothers' goal.

On the other hand, many of the factions in the Khaos Brigade had their own plans. Especially the Evie, who simply have conquest in mind and the Phantasma in awakening their master—Magnum Tenebrosum and then conquer more worlds after that with his guidance.

Avezza pushed a large door open and stepped inside. She saw many members of the Seekers of Truth and sat down in her spot.

"Lapis-sama, she is gone, correct?" Promestein asked.

"Yes, she is. Ignia is also perusing her so both of our 'leaders' are absent. Meruem is also missing, but we believe that he has defected to the Dual Dragon's side. The remaining powers will lead the organization if that is the case," replied another.

"How about… 'them'? They are cooperating with Euclid and Rizevim with the vampire factions of Romania, correct?" Promestein asked again.

"Yes, as of now… 100% of the Tepes faction have fallen and are now hybrids. No one is left and they are under our full control. Reports indicate that Azazel the Governor of the Fallen, the heiress of the Gremory clan, Rias Gremory, her [Knight], the [Holy Demonic Sword] wielder Kiba Yuuto, and an unknown man are en route to Romania," replied Nagendra.

"Unknown man?" asked another.

"Yes, we believe him to be a subordinate of the Dual Dragon. There are also reports of a base being built in the Dimensional Gap—likely to be the Dual Dragon's base."

"Observe it, do not attack," ordered Promestein.

"Unlikely to happen. Anyone who has been there has perished. It seems their range of detection is the size of the sun. As soon as they enter—they die. We only managed to find this out because we added a recording software to the deceased's eyes and recovered it—barely."

"There are also 6 humans, an elf and some sort of demon in there. Not including the giant moth, the 'beast', the dragon and the warrior Bellion as well as other subordinates of the Middleman are currently residing there. Furthermore, another 5 'beings' are patrolling the entirety of the Dimensional Gap. Nowhere is safe in there. We advise against using the Dimensional Gap to transport our troops," added another.

"Many of our agents and troops in the human world are slowly being killed off. Reports say new powerful subordinates have appeared and will kill anyone associated with the Khaos Brigade on site, he must know that the fodder we send out won't have useful information for him anymore," said Avezza and clicked her tongue.

"He's severely limiting our movements within this world and its Dimensional Gap; however, he hasn't ventured out into the universe of the Evie or the Phantasma," added Glenda.

"As long as we are unable to utilize the means of our universe, we will just use our newly acquired allies instead. Inform them—Melvazoa and Phumera that we will be taking advantage of their abilities and techniques to maneuver our troops around," said Promestein with a smirk.

She then looked at Oz and asked, "How about you, Oz? Will you proceed with your plans?"

"The plan will continue to be implemented in order to enact revenge on Grigori, Team Slash/Dog, the Five Principal Clans, and the other gods. However, I do expect casualties, so we won't be sending all of us into it."

"…Halloween, we found an ancient relic that will amplify our powers during that day—as well as an artifact that Yve gave us that will empower us even more." She looked at Augusta and Glenda while smirking. "We have confirmed the locations of all members of their families, correct?"

Glenda nodded. "We have made Lavinia Reni's parents into hybrids, and found many of the parents or loved ones of those who belong to Grigori, Slash/Dog, and the clans. Once we kill them, we will also turn them into hybrids."

"Gayelette, Kalinya, Ondri-baba, Sonadia, Mombi, Locasta and others that we recruited are slowly getting ready for this operation. The Wizards of Oz will make a big comeback soon, ufufu~," said Augusta.

Promestein nodded and turned her attention to Nagendra who smirked.

"Black Alice is making her own preparations, although she does want more power out of the ExE and CxP, so that will take time—the same with the Alliance of the Evil Gods," he said and licked his lips.

"Alliance of the Evil Gods?" asked another in a confused tone.

"Yes, they changed their name from the 'Alliance of Hell' to the 'Alliance of the Evil Gods'. It's quite a long name, don't you agree? Well, Hades doesn't seem to mind," Nagendra said with a chuckle.

"What about on your end, Miss Leviathan?" Nagendra asked the original Leviathan who had been silently sitting in her chair.

"We, the original Satans, and our descendants will continue with our plans of conquering this world first. However, we will expand our horizons to conquer the multiverse after doing so on this planet."

She sharply looked around the room and growled out, "However, our first target is the Underworld, after that Grigori, if you haven't ended them yet, then Heaven and finally the human world. The gods and their pantheons will come after since killing their believers will weaken them."

"Fufu, you've thought this through, haven't you? Unlike that Lucifer who got injured, kukuku~" said Nagendra mockingly.

"He is a fool, a powerful fool, but he still has the mind of a child. He needs to think this through instead of letting his own pride and arrogance get the better of him. Beelzebub has learned, however, he's as good as useless, even after receiving that Artificial Sacred Gear," Leviathan said with a scoff.

"Kuku, it seems those fools have made it to the country. What shall we do?" asked another.

"Let Rizevim, Euclid and the Phantasma deal with it. The rest of us proceed with our plans," ordered Promestein as she looked at a glowing ball on her wrist.

'I'll visit those bases soon, I need to retrieve some documents,' Avezza thought.

…

Azazel's Soliloquy

…

Romania

…

A day has passed since we entered this country. Even while on this carriage, I could feel that there was some sort of tense atmosphere here. The two kids, and Akaza also sensed this as all of us have been on high alert since we entered.

However, we did get a small break in all this tenseness since we got the news of Jin and the others successfully defending the Greek realm against another attack by the Khaos Brigade, and we even managed to capture a member of the Evie faction of the Evie Etoulde.

In all honesty, I want to leave and go back to Grigori to start interrogating the guy… or thing? Well, I did order Shemhazai to start today, so we should be underway. I did have Rias contact Sirzechs and I with Michael.

Although what alerted me was… something else. Jin sent a supernatural wide text informing everyone that the existence of Trihexa was real, and that it may be with the Khaos Brigade now. That in itself is worrying. If those bastards have it, then whatever they have planned for it… though they surely plan on awakening it or unsealing it if it is sealed, right?

I sighed again. At the moment, we were heading towards the Carmilla faction of vampires here. God, I wish it was a lot simpler like the vampires of Ireland. According to Jin they're not in a civil war, or fighting each other—although they're not best friends, it's a lot better than whatever the fuck is happening over here…

"Rias, why so serious? We're not even near it yet, though we are on a carriage from the Carmilla side and on our way there, kuku~" I tried to lighten the mood. Even Mr. [Knight] of Gremory looked very serious.

Even that man Akaza has been exuding some powerful aura since we got here. He may be just telling any potential enemies not to come closer or else they will die. He also lost his disguise since we came to the supernatural side.

"Azazel, aren't you the oldest one here? Wouldn't it be appropriate of you to take this seriously?" Rias said and glanced at me.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood, jeez. But yeah, I will—well, sooner or later. I mean we're still around four hours away from their town, so we don't need to be that tense. Also, Akaza will just kick their ass," I replied and waved her off.

Akaza glanced at me, sighed and shook his head.

Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'll pull my own weight when the time is right. I always do…

…

Four Hours later

Carmilla Faction – Town

…

After our carriage trip, four hours have passed since then. Originally, I was planning to go with Rias, Kiba and Akaza to help with the negotiations—however, as we began to make our way towards the castle, Rias stopped me and asked for a favor.

…

'Would you let me handle this myself?'

'Huh, why? I specifically came here to help with the negotiations.'

'I know, and I know I'm asking a lot but… I want to do this alone. We're also traveling to the Tepes side, right? Help us then, but… maybe the ones from the Carmilla side will be easier—or I'm being optimistic… either way I want to do this myself.'

'Is it because of Jin? You do know the reason why his alliances go over extremely well is because of his reputation he built, his achievements that were widely known and the power he has displayed, right?'

'Yes, and I know all of that… even now I think he's getting further away. I wanted to stand by his side, as equals, so that's why I've been desperately trying to do a lot of things myself—improving myself in many ways. So maybe if I do this right… I'll get closer.'

'Fine, you guys are strong enough, but if you mess up, no one will be there to help you, Rias.'

'I know, Azazel, and thank you.'

…

"To stand by his side, huh?" I repeated and sighed.

I had randomly picked out a restaurant and walked in there. Before Rias left to go to the castle that housed Queen Carmilla herself—she gave me some money… I said some, but it was around ¥72,224,273, or €500,000 or around $529,212.

In terms of the supernatural, this is pocket change. However, for most humans, it's a lot of money. But in terms of our trip, it should be enough—hell if I wanted, I could even gamble at least half of it away and it would be fine.

But she did say that it's mine and I could spend it however way I like… so I'll just spend as much as I can while here and then keep the rest for my Sacred Gear research and other research and funding~

Vampires like living in middle age Europe style buildings, though I can't judge much since devils do the same thing, with their own buildings and architecture. However, like the devils—not all their buildings are like that. Some are quite modern. But the pure and older vampires are the ones living in the old-style buildings. Though… I looked at the window and it was covered. Hell, most buildings in the town barely have windows!

Well, at least they picked an appropriate spot to build this town. Surrounded by mountains and a lake, at least the atmosphere is good if we ignore the constant fog around it to prevent humans from finding it by accident. Also, the fog prevents the sun from reaching them since it is one of their weaknesses.

Right now—as I said, I was having lunch, so it was around no one. Most of these bloodsuckers are sleeping, however, to the ones that are awake and out and about. They're wearing a lot of clothing to protect their skin from being exposed. There's even some traveling by modern car or the carriage we came in earlier.

The Tepes faction's territory isn't too far from here… but something felt off. Although they do have a boundary line to which they don't usually cross—but as mentioned before, a civil war was currently happening between the two of them. However, we hadn't come across any fighting so far, nor could I feel any kind of magic ability being used.

"…I'm bored and full…" I muttered to myself.

Earlier, I ordered and ate some lavish crap that cost me €2500. It didn't even taste that good… or am I just spoiled by the food that I sometimes get from Jin? Shit, that brat is making me…! I sighed and took a sip of my tea. Thankfully, it wasn't blood.

Now, after Rias left earlier with her group, it didn't take them long to send me a text saying that Queen Carmilla was in a meeting, and instead of coming back, they opted to stay and wait. Normally, I would split up with them and go to the Tepes side. However, my gut feeling was telling me not to... and Jin told us that one of the Phantasma, or the Eradicators might be there.

'Well, it's not like I'm alone~' I thought and glanced at some vampires that had been looking at me. They were sent here to keep an eye on me, so I wouldn't do anything unnecessary, you know? I'm pretty sure Rias' group has some too.

But suddenly, the ones inside the restaurant, and the vampires who were keeping an eye on me, had fallen asleep. I knew what this was and sighed, that other little brat sure does like doing things like this.

"So? What do you want from me? It has to be something of importance, right, Vali?" I asked and turned my head to the side. I saw Vali and his current team of Arthur, Bikou, Calantha, and Fenrir.

Kuroka left the team before his announcement of joining the Khaos Brigade, and Le Fay was sent to Jin's home because they were planning to try to travel to other universes, but were promptly caught by Jin, then scolded by Lavinia. Heh, well, I also got an earful from her… for some reason.

Vali, along with his team came over to my table and sat down. Vali sat across from me.

"Well, I sensed a presence nearby that I was familiar with, so I came over here," he said.

"Hey~ hey~ Governor~" Bikou greeted me with a friendly wave.

"I haven't been here in a while~, I didn't think I would come back so soon~" Calantha Vordenburg said with a sigh.

Arthur and Fenrir said nothing as they sat down in their seats quietly.

"Bikou… did you put them to sleep?" I asked and pointed at the sleeping vampires.

Bikou just gave me a cheeky smile and left for the kitchen. That cheeky youkai brat is going to eat everything… he also probably used some form of senjutsu to put them to sleep. I sighed at Bikou and looked back at Vali whose eyes had been closed.

He opened them and said, "Yes, it's about the Evil Dragons."

"The ones you came across?" I asked.

"Only one, although he was with two other people. I guess they were from the other two universes. Anyway, it was Aži Dahāka… and he was insanely strong. The strongest dragon I've fought since Aniki… but I look forward to the rematch," he said and clenched his fist.

This battle maniac… also, two other people?

"Who were the two others?"

"I don't know. They were covered in robes, but… they were powerful, and their aura was quite literally 'out of this world', almost like Aniki."

Aniki… that must be Jin. He has been referring to him like that, like how he sometimes called Lavinia 'Nee-chan' in the past, after her insistence of course.

"Of course, he was the newest one we came across," he added.

"We fought Grendel earlier, and came across Apophis. Both also had either machine-type things with them or other powerful individuals that had strange energy coming from them," said Arthur as he looked at the teacup in front of him.

"Well, Jin, his group, the Gremory and Sitri peerages also fought against Grendel—according to Sona, Jin killed Grendel and a soldier from the ExE, although according to his own theory, the Grendel he fought may have been a mass-produced one. Jin said it may have been at least a Dragon God-class clone."

"And recently, he captured a 'Shepherd' from the Evie faction of the ExE. He's currently in Grigori, and I have Shemhazai, Baraqiel and Penemue keeping an eye on him. Jin might go there to reinforce and add more barriers and protections to the cell he's in."

"That was in the Greek realm, right? I heard that Aniki made a new goddess for them," said Vali.

"Yeah, a new Goddess of War, that rabbit girl Vera. It's to replace Ares—the one he killed not too long ago."

"Heh, Dual Dragon-chan, fought Thor, killed both Azrael and Kokabiel, killed Ares and made 2 new Goddesses~ it makes me wonder if he's some sort of God~?" Calantha Vordenburg asked while looking at me.

Ah, right, she might not know about Jin being a hybrid—or the 'creator' of the Omniverse. Though, I doubt he'd tell anyone about it willy-nilly. I certainly won't say it right now…

"Anyway, the resurrection of the Evil Dragons, can we assume that it was due to the [Sephiroth Graal]? Or maybe Lapis might be responsible for it… or do they have another way?" asked Vali.

It's normal to have questions like that. I can probably guess that Vali's group, after Kuroka left, had trouble finding information before they left and were hunted down. Though… it's as he said, it could be the Graal, Lapis, or even something else they found. Perhaps they have the other gods of those two universes help with the resurrection?

"It's an unknown right now—but Jin said he suspected both, or something else—or maybe combining all three? You normally would require the souls of those individuals to resurrect them, so… either going into Third Heaven where the souls of the dead are. That place is connected to Purgatory after all…"

Also, there are other places…

"So, the Evil Dragons and the other descendants that were resurrected as well as the original Satans… they all may have been resurrected in different ways?" he asked while narrowing his eyes at me.

"More than likely, unless Jin manages to get new information and tell us…" I replied. "But…"

"But?" Vali repeated.

"You also noticed too, right? The Tepes faction… something seems off about it. I'm not entirely sure as to what, but…"

Vali closed his eyes for a few seconds before he nodded. "Yeah, when we were passing by earlier, something felt off. I myself am not sure what it was, but… it just felt 'eerie' or 'creepy'."

"The Carmilla faction knew of their circumstances, well, partially since according to their envoy—they might have received help from the Phantasma, so… I don't like that look you have, Vali."

"What look?" he asked with a grin.

This idiot… he doesn't plan on charging in there and asking to fight whoever is from the Phantasma, right? We don't even know what it is…! Earlier, Jin sent a small text about the 'Eradicators' too, and the Satans got a report from Sona. They're insanely strong, and most should be considered on par with Ophis and Great Red… or even higher than them.

"Vali, I don't know who's in there, but—" I then proceeded to tell him about the Eradicators, though… it backfired since he looked even more pumped up. Maybe I shouldn't have told him.

"Heh, I couldn't travel there since we're stuck in this universe, but if they start coming here… I'll just challenge them," he said.

"Vali—if you do, assume it's a death battle. I doubt they would spare you. The Evie conquers worlds, planets and universes, the same with the Phantasma. I don't think they'll just spare you after a decent fight. Also, you don't have full control of your [Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive], right? Your stamina drains way too quickly… those guys, if they figure that out—"

"I know. I'm not dumb," he said in a dissatisfied tone. "But that won't stop me from trying to fight them. I still have my Balance Breaker and my normal [Juggernaut Drive], Azazel."

I was about to say something to him when Bikou came back out with some food and placed it down in front of all of us. Everyone started to take something and I just sighed.

"You guys were that hungry? What do you eat on a regular basis while adventuring?" I asked.

"Cup noodles, or after we beat up people, we take their money to eat ramen! And well, I guess Le Fay usually cooks for us, but since we dropped her off at Jin's house, we have to turn back to cup noodles and ramen. Calantha is useless at cooking. She's pretty incompetent at it," replied Bikou.

"Hey, at least I try! Vali actually appreciates it!" she quipped back looking angrily at the monkey brat.

Oh? Vali likes her awful cooking? I looked at Vali as he had his eyes closed and didn't give a reaction… ho, ho? Did Jin influence him? If he gets together with Calantha Vordenburg… though, I would feel bad for Doumon-chan… wait…

"I am not," he said plainly.

"Harem… I see! I see! So you're finally following after your 'Aniki', huh?!" I said and howled with laughter! "Doumon-chan won't be sad then! Hahahaha!"

Vali just gritted his teeth, blushed and glared at me.

I just laughed at him and then looked at Fenrir. He had a plate put in front of him with a bunch of different types of meat, and he was silently eating it. He's a lot smaller than when I last saw him, but… he has a mysterious aura around him. Who would have thought that the god-slaying wolf would be like this?

Though… when looking at Team Vali, and comparing them to Jin's group… where Team Vali is eating like beggars or near homeless people—he, the Dual Dragon Emperor is eating proper meals three times a day made by his loving harem… it's like night and day, comparing both of them—not including power-wise.

Now that I think about it… they were looking for more members for their team, right? I think they travelled to China for it…

"Hey, what happened to recruiting new members to your team?" I asked Vali.

"Huh? Oh… we met very interesting individuals over there… and—"

…

Flashback

…

Nanzendu – Realm – Chinese Alliance

Jiaochun – Main Capital City

…

Vali Lucifer's Soliloquy

…

Upon entering the new realm of Nanzendu, we were greeted by the sight of the new city that the new Chinese pantheon alliance were currently residing in. Just like the Gaelic Alliance… they call it the Jiangxi Liansheng.

In the back were large castles, where I believe the government officials and higher-ups of this realm live. Below it is a large and massive town. In the middle, I could see an enormous pink tree. Around the city were also small to medium-sized trees of different colors.

There were canals that connected to a large river that ran around the entire city. Beyond them, were large mountains that I could feel many auras from.

My team—Team Vali, are currently looking for two new recruits. The descendants of Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie. The current generation of Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie, we—I want them in my team since we need more youkai after Kuroka left.

"You are aware of the Sacred Beasts of the Five Principal Clans, correct?" Lin Chong asked.

"Yes, I was involved with them in the past. Why do you ask?" I replied.

"Not many people know this, but those five beasts also reside here. The Vermillion Bird (Zhuque), the White Tiger (Baihu), the Black Tortoise (Xuanwu), the Yellow Dragon (Huanglong), and the Azure Dragon (Qinglong). They occasionally go to Japan, but mainly stay here. That is how those five families gained their manipulation powers—as these five beasts worked together with the Shinto Chief God, Amaterasu," she explained.

That was the first time I heard of it. Even Suzaku Himejima, one of Aniki's lovers did not explain that in the past. Although I doubt she knew, perhaps Suou Himejima knew of it? But…

"They along with the newly formed alliance and the Dragon King of our pantheon give us protection."

"Dragon King? Like the Five Dragon Kings?" asked Bikou as he spun his staff and looked in front of us.

"Yes, Lord Longwang, the Dragon King. Together with Lady Ningguang and the rest, he helps to ensure that the realm is protected. I am among those, as one of the '8 Divas' that Lady Ningguang created," she said and started to walk away.

"You won't be asking for our assistance with those 'problems' you mentioned, are you?" I asked.

"Lady Ningguang may ask you to help with one—she may use it as a way to 'turn the cheek' for allowing terrorists to roam our realm without arresting them…" she answered.

"I see."

We would have been attacked as soon as we entered this realm. That woman—Lin Chong must have alerted the rest of the realm since as I walked down this road, many of the people here were giving us questioning looks.

"Are we heading to one of those castles?" asked Le Fay who was on her broom.

"Yes, we are," Lin Chong answered plainly.

As we walked down the road, we finally arrived at a small bridge. There were guards there but they simply looked at us without saying anything. These two were at least High-class in power, not bad.

We walked through the streets of Jiaochun. There were many shops here, children running around and people walking around doing their normal daily activities. However, I could also sense a large mass of auras in a certain direction—perhaps that area of the city was a training place? If so I want to see it.

"That place is our training barracks. With how the supernatural world is right now, White Dragon Emperor, it only makes sense," said Lin Chong.

"I see," I answered and looked back in front of me.

{What will you do, Vali? You and your team are still seen as criminals. You may be forced to do a job when you meet their leader, Ningguang,} said my partner, Albion.

'If we can freely roam around the realm, and potentially speak with the current generation of Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie and maybe the Dragon King Longwang, I don't care. It would be better if they also accepted my challenge,' I said with a grin.

{Very well, if that is what you want—however, I will warn you that I have heard many tales of Longwang, the Dragon King of this realm. He has boasted to have been on par with the Heavenly Dragons of the past—in my prime, the same with the Red One, and the other White One.}

'Heeeh? If that's the case, then I would like to fight him even more,' I replied.

{That was back then, Vali. It would not surprise me if he trained—while most dragons don't, there are exceptions, remember that.}

'I'll keep that in mind.'

As we neared what seemed to be another inner wall that divided the rest of the city from the castles, we saw another individual there. She had scarlet hair tied in a low-end ponytail and had red eyes. She wore a Chinese battle outfit with crimson red ornaments.

"Wu Song," called out Lin Chong.

"Hmm? Oh, Lin… are those the terrorists that came here?" the woman named Wu Song asked.

"Yes, has…?"

Wu Song nodded and said, "Yes, everything should be fine and they've been cleared to go in." She then turned to us, "White Dragon Emperor, I suggest you don't do anything suspicious until you speak with our leader, Lady Ningguang. All the higher-ups and prominent figures in our pantheon have been informed of your arrival. You will not come out of this realm alive if you choose to cause trouble," she said rather threateningly.

"Heh. We have one goal only and that is to have the current generation of Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie join our team, so we won't be too rowdy," I replied.

The woman named Wu Song just squinted her eyes at me as Lin Chong started to walk past her and into the inner part of the castle walls. I smirked at her as I passed her by and once I stepped into the inner part of the city, it mostly looked the same, however, most of the homes here were much more luxurious.

"The largest castle is where Lady Ningguang resides. Follow me and do not fall behind."

After saying that, Lin Chong sped up her walking speed and we did the same thing. I glanced back at my teammates and they were quite fascinated by the place. The further we went into the inner part of the city, I could feel more power auras of many different people.

'Heh, they're all powerful… it makes me itch.'

{Vali…}

'I know, I know. I won't do anything like that. Have a little trust in me, Albion.'

After walking through a few courtyards, we saw some mini training areas there. I saw young children training, and they looked quite determined. Some gave us quick glances, but said nothing. Is the training here strict? …Yes, it has to be. As that woman said, the attacks by the Khaos Brigade have been increasing, and this definitely prompted them to do this.

"Hey, Nee-chan, were you trained like that?" Bikou asked and pointed his head at the children.

"…That is none of your business," she said sharply and glared back at him.

"B-Bikou-sama…!" Le Fay said worriedly. Bikou just laughed at her reaction and shrugged his shoulders.

"Eh, worth a try~ maybe all-mighty Dual Dragon Emperor can crack through her shell, I mean, he's known for that, right~?" he said rather cheekily and looked at Le Fay and Arthur.

"…Eh?"

"…What are you talking about?"

Both siblings had near identical reactions, though one expressed their emotions more.

"He can't crack mine since Va-Va-kun already did~!" said Calantha beside me.

"Fuck her already, V-a-k-u-n~," said Bikou and I was tempted to throw a demonic ball at him but held myself back.

"Will you people be quiet? Has it not occurred to any of you that this place has been mostly silent apart from the sounds of training? All of the attention is on us," Fenrir said in an irritated tone.

From the moment we entered, I also noticed that many eyes were on us. Finally, we came to the 'center' of the place, which was a small circular circle. In front of us, just beyond a miniature bridge was an enormous castle.

Lin Chong stopped, put her hands together and murmured something to herself. After that, she started walking again. It seemed like she said some sort of chant or prayer to herself. It must be something personal. We shoul—

"Hey, did you just pray or somethin'?" asked Bikou.

I looked back at him a bit dumbfounded… I wasn't the only one as everyone on my team just stared at him.

"What? What did I do?!"

"…Bikou, just shut your mouth," chastised Arthur.

Bikou grumbled something but decided to press the issue. However, Lin Chong did not react as she continued to silently walk forward. Finally, we arrived in front of an even larger door. She tapped it and the two large doors vanished. She stepped through and we followed.

While the exterior looked quite traditional—the inside looked semi-futuristic. If Azazel were here, he would be over the moon. Floating holograms, that are colored in white and gold. There were what seemed to be both human and android workers doing their jobs around the entrance.

I did not think the Chinese pantheon was this… advanced. Perhaps it was due to their leader? I glanced back at Le Fay who was in awe of the place.

"I heard of rumors that their leader Ningguang wanted to advance their technology while still keeping a traditional aesthetic, but this is… beyond what I thought," she whispered high enough for us to hear.

As we walked through the hallways of this enormous castle, we could see many parts of it that were as Le Fay said, a mix of both traditional and futuristic. What intrigued me were the multiple strong auras around this place, and my fighting spirit wanted to test them all…

After going up a few futuristic-looking elevators and teleportation pads that were within this place, we reached a large door near the top of the castle. A large golden dragon was carved into it as a design with many other creatures around it.

"There's a lot of defensive magic on that door, and many barriers around the room as well as seals," commented Le Fay.

"Yeah, even I can tell, talk about overkill~," said Bikou.

"No, it makes sense. The most influential figures of this realm congregate here, so having this many protective spells and barriers makes sense," Arthur said and fixed his glasses.

We stopped in front of the door, and Lin Chong turned around and said, "Mind your manners."

That's all she said and put her hand on the dragon before it briefly glowed and opened. We stepped inside the room and could see it was even more lavish than the rest of this place. Immediately I could see many maids and butlers working around the place, however—

The middle of the room was a large rectangular table, and at the very top was. That must be their leader, Ningguang.

Ningguang is a tall and very elegant young woman with fair skin and red eyes. She has long straight hair. Half of it being tied into a wide bun resembling a bow and the rest is left to flow into two individual divided sections. Her hair is white and reaches her knees, where it fades into an ashy color. Her bun is accessorized with a black hairpin, and she wears a red tassel decoration atop her head that lies between her eyes.

Ningguang wears a white, high-necked sleeveless Qipao dress with side slits that reach up to the thigh. It is decorated with a fur neck wrap around the collar, yellow patterns with gold banding, and black lace along the edge of the dress. She wears a pair of black high gloves that extend long enough to reach the ruffled extensions stretching from her upper arms.

Her gloves are decorated with copper patterns and claw attachments on the thumb, ring and pinky fingers which act as fingernail guards. The side of her left thigh has a red tattoo. The side slit in her dress revealed a pair of black shorts with diamond cut patterns.

She wore a pair of brown heels, with another tattoo around her right ankle. Ningguang also carried a smoking pipe with her. Her outfit, Gold Leaf and Pearly Jade, is described as having intricate embroidery which is the hallmark of this graceful dress.

However, there were only two other people with her. One seemed like a youkai and the other a normal human…? No, are those cat ears?

"Huh? Is she a Qilin? Those horns gave it away~, also, is she some kind of Nekomata?" Bikou asked while pointing at a blue haired woman and a purple haired woman.

"Ufufu, welcome my terrorist guests to my humble abode. Yes, my secretary is a Qilin, and no the Yuheng is not a Nekomata, her hair is just styled like that," Ningguang answered.

Lin Chong glared at Bikou who just shrugged his shoulders.

"I am Ningguang, as you may know. To my left, my secretary Ganyu, and to my right is my Yuheng, Keqing. I heard you wish to recruit some youkai to your team, Mister White Dragon Emperor?" she asked.

Keqing had long lavender hair that faded into pale blue at the tips and was styled in two buns resembling cat ears. Her eyes are pink with diamond-shaped pupils and she has a sharp gold barrette on the right side of her head with a white flower and a small round gold piece on the left side.

Her earrings are teal and flower-shaped. Her dress is white at the top with a thick, dark blue piece of fabric around its side adorned by a large gold piece, purple feathers, a single golden feather and white flowers on it.

Her royal blue skirt is ruffled and has a plum purple overcoat. Her blue sleeves are held by gold armor-like arm cuffs and are frilly with dark blue bows above them, as well as being much longer around the bottoms with feather patterns identical to the one on her dress.

Ganyu is a youthful-looking woman with the physical appearance of a late-teenage girl in her early twenties. She had long blue hair that faded into a brighter shade at the tips as opposed to the lighter shade it is the closer it gets to her scalp. Her eyes are a mix of pink and purple.

Her outfit is a black bodysuit with golden details around her legs underneath. Her sleeves are white with blue at both ends and are detached from her dress, matching her dress' bodice. She has a noticeable pair of black and red horns on her head similar to those of a horn.

I stepped forward and nodded. "That is correct. I wish to recruit the current generation of Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie, and I wish to meet them. If we have to do some menial task—like eliminating a pest, we'll do it," I said to her.

"Ufufu, at least you're quick in understanding your position. Very well, I could tell that you were not lying, although rumors indicate that the current generation of dragon emperors are quite open and honest with your wishes."

"I just want to fight strong opponents, that's why I left to join a terrorist organization. Jin-aniki just wants love, peace, and a harem. So, I guess you're right about that," I said and chuckled.

"Ufufu, very well," she said and snapped her fingers.

In front of me, a piece of paper appeared and I grabbed it.

"It's the perfect opportunity. To the east of this realm there have been rumors of a group of Stray devils that have been terrorizing a certain village over there. We have been busy with many things, so we haven't had the chance to send help their way. Capture them or kill them, I do not care. Report back here once you are done and you're free to do as you wish," she said with a smile.

"Stray devils? Should be a piece of cake~" said Bikou and put his arms behind his neck.

"Oh, will it? I heard rumors of them spouting something about being part of the household of the 72 Pillars of the Underworld, although as I said, they're just rumors."

72 Pillars? A household then… interesting, if they have a unique power—I might just recruit them too.

"Very well, we'll do this. If that's all, we'll get going," I said and turned around.

"Isn't the Azure Dragon located east too?" asked Bikou and looked at Ningguang.

"Yes, yes, she is. However, she tends to keep to herself and only acts when the threat is serious—so she deems these devils as nothing in her eyes," replied their leader.

"She? That Azure Dragon is female?" asked a confused Le Fay.

"That she is, as you know most historical documents made by humans are almost never accurate. Some males are females, and vice versa. Out of the five Sacred Beasts, the White Tiger of the West and the Yellow Dragon who is in our city—although beneath us… are the only males, the rest are females."

The White Tiger (Shinra Clan) and the Yellow Dragon (Nakiri Clan) are both males, while the Vermillion Bird (Himejima Clan), Black Tortoise (Doumon Clan), and the Azure Dragon (Kushihashi Clan) are females? I did not hear about this from anyone before, although I never asked. I should have asked Azazel since he's usually knowledgeable about these things.

"Heee~ so we're meeting a Nee-chan or an old hag then, fufu, that'll be interesting~," said Bikou casually and then shivered.

"She has very good hearing. She may have heard you already, monkey youkai. Fufu, well not that it matters, off you go now." Ningguang dismissed us and we left.

…

"Alright, let's go~!" shouted Bikou.

Growl~

"…Maybe after we eat…?" he asked while blushing a bit.

"We don't have money right now, Bikou," said Arthur as his own stomach growled. "So we have to leave and do this mission on an empty stomach."

Bikou then looked at Le Fay who gave him a weary smile.

"If we come across anything edible, I will make sure to cook it for our lunch, Bikou-sama."

"As expected of our magician and cook! Alright, let's go~!" Bikou shouted and ran off.

…

After a few minutes of travel towards the east, we should be nearing the village that where these devils are located at. The terrain on the way here was mostly trees, open fields and large bodies of water. There was also a large bamboo forest where many beasts and animals lived in.

"Hey, is that it?" asked Bikou as he sat on his Jindou Yun.

He pointed to a medium-sized village that was surrounded by mountains. Most of the architecture was the same with brown roofs. However, there was a large waterfall near it and near the small river made by the waterfall was a small rice field.

One building stood taller than the rest, which may be the home of the 'elder' or 'leader' of the town. Although, I felt a very faint energy that resembled a dragon.

{Vali, I feel a dragon from that large building.}

'You do too?'

{Perhaps that's where the Azure Dragon resides? She is certainly powerful, she may be close to my prime, as is the case with the Red One.}

The prime of Albion, huh? So she's at least Heavenly Dragon-class… the same as Longwang, the Dragon King. We quickly landed in the center of the village and many people stopped for a moment to stare at us for a few seconds before ignoring us.

"They were probably alerted to our presence," said Arthur.

"Let's go," I said and started walking towards the large building that we saw earlier.

As we walked through the village, it only had the necessary buildings, a medium-sized marketplace, a small hospital, and the rest were just homes. However, as we walked up the small village we got a few glances, but nothing more. I guess their leader's word is very trusted.

As we arrived at the large building, there were no guards. I half expected someone to be here, but… there wasn't. However, now that I was closer, I could feel a very strong aura from within—specifically underground.

"She has to be here, right?" asked Le Fay.

"I can feel a powerful aura underground, Lay Le Fay," said Fenrir.

"Yeah, she's probably down there, let's go ask… no, Bikou and Calantha go scout the area, if you find anything contact us," I ordered them.

"Gotcha~!"

"I better be rewarded for working with this monkey here," she said and huffed.

The two of them left while bickering with one another. I turned to face the building again and walked towards it and once inside…

"It's barren…" whispered Le Fay.

"Well, it does have those," said Arthur as he pointed to small statues of an eastern dragon and a few portraits on the walls.

"There are some stairs over there." Le Fay pointed to our right and we made our way there. "There doesn't seem to be anything that prevents someone from entering it…" she muttered.

"So she's that confident in her fighting ability? Interesting, let's go," I said and started descending the stairs.

As we travelled deeper and deeper underground, it was mostly pitch black with Le Fay making a fireball to keep us illuminated. At some point, there was a very heavy and intimidating pressure that was bearing down on all of us. Arthur had to shield his sister as well as Fenrir.

I was using my own power to push back and it was working. Although I had to use quite a bit of it. This dragon, the Azure Dragon was quite something. Is this how both the [Vanishing Dragon] and [Welsh Dragon] felt in their prime?

{Indeed. It makes me feel a bit nostalgic. However, now the Red One and the other White One… I cannot feel their strength—they are currently beyond me—beyond us.}

Using my powers, and the other two helping, we eventually pushed forward and arrived in front of a large entrance. It took us around another fifteen minutes while also pushing against the pressure. Beyond the entrance was a large cave. The entire cave was illuminated by glowing blue crystals.

In the middle—a woman sat on a large rock.

The woman had long silver hair, multicolored horns on her head, purple eyes and mostly wore a white dress and was barefoot for some reason. Her eyes were closed and as we stepped into the cave, she opened them and glared at us.

"You're the Azure Dragon, Qinglong, right? We're here to ask you a question," I said to her.

"…You are here for those devils. Ningguang said as such," she said in a monotone voice.

"…A Lucifer? …Well, it doesn't matter. They are north of here; I sense your teammates are making their way there. You are stronger than them—also, the current generation of Sha Wujing and Zhi Bajie are south of the city of Jiaochun."

"South… that's where the Vermillion Bird is, right?" I asked and she silently nodded. It seems like that's all she's going to say. "One last thing, will you fight me?" I asked.

"…No," she answered plainly.

We stared at each other before I sighed. "Fine." I turned around and left with my team. Those eyes were telling me to beat Aniki first before I could challenge her, or at the very least get stronger. Even though she was suppressing her powers, I could still feel it—she was definitely at Heavenly Dragon level.

{Perhaps even stronger than I was in my prime, I doubt we would win if we used our [Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive], Vali.}

'Well, I'll reach that level soon, so I can ask her again—no, not just her, but many others.' I grinned and we finally reached the surface after a few minutes of walking.

As soon as we did, a magic communication circle appeared beside me.

"What is it?"

"We found 'em, Vali! Calantha is heading back to get all of you," said Bikou.

"Alright," as I answered, Calantha arrived and she gestured for us to join her in the air.

…

Around a minute later, we arrived at a heavily wooded area with a few bamboo trees too. There, in the middle was an abandoned home. It was quite large and had many of its windows broken and much of it decaying, but… there were a few auras in it that I could feel.

They weren't anything special. At best, the most powerful were High-class in power, while the rest were Middle-class. I was a bit disappointed by this. We could see Bikou on top of the house while in bird form. He waved his wings at us and I looked at my teammates.

We were never one for espionage after all. I nodded at Bikou as he transformed back to his usual form and summoned his Ruyi Jingu Bang and covered it in touki.

"Go… boom!!" he screamed and the house exploded.

Once the explosion was over, the rest of us stepped into the opening. In total, there were 20 devils, now they were down to 10, as at least half were knocked out or killed when Bikou unleashed his attack.

"You…! Heh, the hybrid Lucifer descendant, eh?" a blonde haired man said.

He wore a gold and purple business suit with a cape. He had slick blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He pointed his hand at me and opened a magic circle.

"That circle… I see, you're an Astaroth, aren't you? What might a member of that clan be doing here? …Unless you have been exiled, heh," I said and snorted at him.

This only angered the man more and he fired a demonic ball at me. I simply slapped it away making him even angrier.

"I was a follower of Diodora Astaroth! He was going to be the man that would change the Underworld, and lead the Astaroth into a new age of power and wealth! …Yet… yet…!" His face turned red and he got angrier. "That disgusting lizard who boasts about uniting the supernatural?! I'll kill him!"

"Yeah! Fuck that stupid outsider! He shouldn't have meddled in the devil's world!" another shouted.

More and more joined until the remaining devils were screaming and shouting about killing Aniki. I couldn't help but sigh.

"You're all too weak. Do you seriously think you stand a chance against him with your low power?" I asked and shook my head.

Even I, a miracle existence—the strongest White Dragon Emperor in history can't beat him no matter how hard I keep pushing myself. To me—no, maybe to everyone he considers his friends and rivals—he is an unclimbable mountain, a place we can't reach, yet we desperately try… and that makes it even better and exciting.

How far can I push myself? Will it even be enough? I doubt it, but at least it shows progress, at least in my opinion.

"Balance Break."

{Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!!}

Donning my white armor, I stood there and stared at the man who became shocked.

"I did not believe a filthy hybrid would actually have one of the original Thirteen Longinus… but this makes it even better! If I kill you, my name will spread far and wide!" He grinned, and a dark demonic aura covered his body.

He thought the Sacred Gear I possess was a rumor? He's stupider than I thought, though he is a devil that follows the old ways. He failed to evolve with the times…

Don!

I appeared in front of him and elbowed his stomach. His eyes bulged out and then he flew backwards and crashed into the ground. The rest of his followers were dealt with by my team, slashed and killed by Arthur, burned, cut and frozen by Le Fay's magic, torn to shreds by Fenrir, have their own blood turned against them by Calantha, and killed with martial arts and touki by Bikou.

"This is the team you made to conquer the Underworld? They're pathetically weak like you," I said and put my hand towards him. "Divide."

{Divide!}

Halving his power, he looked at me weakly with fury.

"A filthy hybrid like you…! I was meant to join the newly formed True Satan Faction of the Khaos Brigade…! We can't rely on that shitty new heiress to bring our clan back to glory! A hybrid of Astaroth and Agares, truly disgusting!" he said with disdain.

Latia Astaroth… if Aniki heard him bad mouthing her, he may have already tortured him. There were rumors of her being conceived by two devils that came from the clan of Astaroth and Agreas—hence why she could use the power of [Time] that came from the Agares clan.

"On Aniki's behalf—I will eliminate you for bad mouthing his lover. I can act like a responsible sibling from time to time, right?" I said to myself and snorted at what I said.

"Dam you…!!!" he screamed as I fired a demonic attack at him.

Boom!

Once the exiled member of the Astaroth clan was killed, I undid my Balance Breaker and looked around us. They were no one important, so I doubt they had any useful information. I wanted to fight someone at least powerful…

"Let's go back then, and once we're done, we'll head south to meet the descendants of Sha Wujing and Zhi Bajie."

"You're going to ask to fight the Vermillion bird, aren't you?" Arthur asked me.

"It is worth a shot, though I expect to be rejected… all of you go to the main city. I will stay to speak with the Azure Dragon one more time. I have some questions to ask it."

They looked at each other before agreeing, however, Calantha stayed. She really does go against my orders… it's nothing unexpected, I just sighed and let her come with me.

…

"Why have you come back?" the Azure Dragon, Qinglong asked.

"I have a question about the Five Principal Clans inheriting your powers—the Sacred Beasts," I said and she didn't do or say anything, so I continued. "When the hosts are chosen and picked to inherit your powers, are they truly 'you'? Or are they just avatars you created?"

"It is us, however, we channel our powers into them, and if we are summoned by them, then we can only use a certain percentage of our power. It's usually around 75% to 80%. However, seeing as most of us are around your Sacred Gear's power level or near to it, it is enough. The Supreme Youkai could not touch us after all."

"Then how about the 'Spiritual Synesis'? That usually fuses you—the Sacred Beasts and the host, do they not?" I asked.

"As I said, we regulate the power, so if they do fuse with us—they won't be killed. The ones we choose usually have the aptitude and are the most talented to become our host, hence why when they use the' Spiritual Synesis' they won't be killed. You have seen it already, haven't you?" she asked.

Yeah, I have. I saw Byakko Shinra use it with the White Tiger... I still have questions, but I think this is as far as I can go. She seems quite irritated already. As we turned to leave, she called out.

"…The Dual Dragon, will he come here?" she asked.

"Aniki? He'll definitely form an alliance with all the pantheons of the world, so he'll eventually come here," I said and didn't ask why she wanted to know.

"I see…" she muttered.

…

"Is that a maiden in love?!" Calantha asked very excitedly.

"What? Most supernatural beings know of Aniki and probably want to see if those rumors are true, or for some other reason. Love is literally the last thing on their minds. They've lived longer than most, even him," I replied.

"Tch, you're so dull at times~, anyway, let's go~" Calantha clicked her tongue then hugged my arm.

I didn't like this—and I will never get used to it, even if Lavinia did it a few times to me when I was still younger…

…

We arrived in the middle of the town of Jiaochun. My team was waiting there for me along with Lin Chong and Wu Song. Their attitudes have not changed at all, but—

"You have been given permission to roam freely in our realm, but—"

I interrupted Wu Song and said, "We're only here for those that I mentioned earlier. Once I get confirmation that they will join or if they won't join, we will leave. We have other things to do after all."

She glared at me but I ignored it. "So do you guys have some sort of pass or item to indicate we're okay?" I asked.

"Here," she said and threw something at me.

It was a small wooden stick that had some magic in it and had the Chinese symbols for 'Pass' written on it.

"Everyone in the realm has been notified, however, for the ones that haven't—they will immediately know that you have been given freedom to roam our realm with that. Do not lose it, and once you leave it will be destroyed," she explained.

"I see."

"Tch, let's leave Lin," said Wu Song and dragged her teammates away.

"W-what about food…?" Bikou asked.

"Don't worry, Bikou-sama. When you were kicked out of the castle earlier, we received some money from Lady Ningguang after asking for it since she wanted to reward us in some way. We can have some lunch first before going… that's alright, right, Vali-sama…?" Le Fay asked.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too. Let's grab something to eat before going."

…

Arriving at a small restaurant, we ordered our food and waited. I had asked Le Fay how much we got from their leader, and according to her—we should have around something that equates to ¥34,062,251 or $250,000. Which I think was too much for simply killing a 'stray devil'. But she's quite rich so I won't complain. We should be fine with food expenses for a while with that.

Once our food came, we immediately started to eat. However, like earlier we had many looking at us briefly but then ignored us.

"Hey, Vali, are ya gonna ask the Vermillion bird to fight?" asked Bikou.

Right, he wasn't there when I answered Arthur. I simply shook my head. There are various reasons—one of them being Suzaku Himejima—the Himejima clan, and her being one of Aniki's lovers. I would rather not be scolded by Lavinia for an extended period of time, if I do fight the Vermillion bird…

"Hmm~, then what about those two we plan on recruiting?"

"Well, if they refuse or say we need to fight them before they join then I would prefer that."

We quickly finished eating and left to go south of this city.

…

Over the course of thirty minutes of travel, we passed through many terrains and small towns. In the distance, there was a large body of water.

"Holy shit, those boats are flying!" Bikou shouted and pointed in front of us.

True to his word, there were boats that were 'flying'. There was a floating continent surrounded by mostly water. However, there were a couple of islands with buildings and there was one that was very prominent as it was taller than the rest. The roofs were green and some had points where light was emitting from them.

"Where do we even land?" he asked.

"Over there, to the left, there seems to be a platform to land on," said Le Fay as she pointed to the very far left of the island with the large castle structure.

Upon landing there, we were immediately surrounded by guards. However, as one started to say something, another pointed to my hip where I had that wooden stick and they all looked at it. So I brought it up and showed them.

"So, you're the ones that Lady Ningguang warned us about. You are here to speak with Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie, correct?" one of them asked.

These guards ranged from humans to youkai, and they wore a blue armored uniform.

"Yeah, we are," I replied.

"Very well, follow me, and do not touch anything or wander off on your own."

He started walking away and we started to follow him. As we walked through the first long hallway, we noticed many paintings, symbols and statues of what seemed to be the Vermillion Bird and a woman. It must be her human form.

"Is the Vermillion Bird here?" I asked.

"The Vermillion Bird, Zhuque comes here from time to time, as this island castle is her abode—however, she spends most of her time at a different place, further south. Another home, you could say," he replied.

She's in a different spot, huh…? Well, it doesn't matter, I wasn't planning to fight her anyway. After walking through the entirety of this large place, we eventually ended up in front of a door. It looked normal despite having a fancy design on it.

The man that guided us pushed it open and there were two individuals that were sitting on the ground eating food.

They were both dressed in baggy and loose-fitting clothes that resembled ancient Chinese clothing, zhiduo, or monk-like robes. One of them was a small girl who looked like she should be in middle school. She had short vermilion colored hair, and she also wore a necklace with many small skulls strung on it.

The other wasn't human, they seemed to be a youkai like Bikou. However, this youkai had the head of a pig. He was also quite bulky.

"The small girl is Sha Wujing and the pig-headed young man is Zhu Bajie. I have brought the guests who were looking for you two. You received Lady Ningguang's message, correct?" he asked them.

"Y-yes…!" Sha Wujing answered.

"…Hello."

I stepped forward and crossed my arms. "I'll cut to the chase; I want to recruit you both for my team."

The two descendants and the guide froze and looked at me with surprise. The guide looked back at the two, and decided he would leave the decision up to them.

"The White Dragon Emperor, and terrorists want me on their team?" both said at the same time.

"Hmm… it sounds interesting and fun. However, how can I be sure that you will be able to utilize my powers? Will I grow stronger if I am with you?" asked Zhu Bajie.

"…I am in training, but…! If I go with you, I'll become even stronger, right?! Both dragon emperors of this era are known for their unusual growth! Especially the Dual Dragon Emperor!" Sha Wujing said excitedly.

"Heh, I'm already in a new rank of power, of course, if you go with me, you will surely grow stronger. Our adventures take us places where we will have to fight for our lives after all," I replied.

I smirked at them and said, "Why not test it? How about we fight right now."

Both of them got up, their fighting spirits rising.

""Very well!"" they answered in unison. The guide with us looked very worried.

I can't wait. I'll take both of them on at the same time. This should at least satisfy me for the rest of the day, unless I get to fight one of those '8 Divas' before we leave.

…

"Haaa… haaa… haa… I lost…!" Sha Wujing said while breathing hard and lying on the ground.

"…That, did not feel good… but I still lack training…!" said Zhu Bajie.

From what I learned from our short sparring match… Zhu Bajie is a masochist. I was already used to this because of Baraqiel and Shuri, I only needed to increase my power and use [Divine Dividing] on them and he was out—meanwhile for Sha Wujing she had potential in using her water manipulation… she needs more practical experience in fighting.

"Good, I want both of you on my team. If you require time to pack and sort things out, we'll come back in a few days. Alternatively, you can meet us in China at a certain place," I said to them.

…

A few days passed after that. The two agreed to meet at a certain place in China and then collect whatever they needed from their home. We were waiting at an abandoned home that was surrounded by large hills with grass on them.

"S-sorry for being late…!" said Sha Wujing.

"Hmm, we got sidetracked and got mistaken for human celebrities for some reason," added Zhu Bajie.

"Right, anyway, let's go… we have places to visit," I said to them.

…

Flashback End

…

Romania

…

Azazel's Soliloquy

…

"That all happened, huh? And yeah, I knew a bit about those things the Azure Dragon said, but not all of it. Anyway, where the hell are both your new members?" I asked.

"They're—"

We suddenly heard more clattering inside the kitchen and out came the two new members, Sha Wujing and Zhi Bajie. They certainly were an odd pair, but they definitely fit into this group of misfits.

"Anyway, we'll get moving, Azazel. We still have a few places to check out, but we'll stick relatively close to this country. This way, we can see if I can fight those related to the Phantasma over in the Tepes faction," the White Dragon Emperor said with a smirk and got up.

"Let's go," he said to them and they slowly left the area. Once they did—the spell that Bikou put on the vampires lifted and I shifted back to leaning against my chair.

They gave me strange looks and then—we heard a scream in the kitchen and cursing. The chef came out and started saying how much of a mess was made and how some of the food was stolen. They all turned to look at me.

"Eh?"

Why blame me?! Shit, dammit Vali!!

…

Rias Gremory's Soliloquy

…

We have been waiting in this room for the last couple of hours. Queen Carmilla of the Carmilla faction has been in a very long meeting. Even though we weren't too far from the room that they held their meeting in, we heard them shout many times.

Originally, we were going to split up. Yuuto, Akaza and I would go to the Tepes side and see if we could find a resolution there, and Azazel would be on the Carmilla side. However, at Akaza's insistence we all decided to stay here and I would be the one to negotiate on Aaron's behalf.

However, to our surprise—the outside of the town we were in—a few moments ago it was sunny and quite warm, but… it suddenly started to snow…

Akaza, who had been sitting with his eyes closed suddenly opened them and stared out the same window as we did. He didn't say anything, but his guard was increased—as if he was about to go into a fight. I glanced at Yuuto as he was also staring at Akaza.

We only met his recently added Electa a few times while in the [Pocket Dimension], most of the time they were in his ring, or he was having meetings in his office with them. He seemed to be making plans for the future with them.

I asked a few of them and Shaula was the only one who cracked. However, all she said was... 'For a time that I may not be here'. I think she was referring to Aaron… a time when he's not here? I can't see something like that happening… but we have to be ready for anything, right…?

After she spilled the beans, I'm 99% sure that Shaula was punished. A lot of erotic moans echoed throughout the house. However, when Ravel went to check, it was just Shaula being spanked on the ass by Aaron.

"President, you seem worried. Why not call Aaron-senpai?" Yuuto suggested.

"But he—"

"I'm sure he'll find time for you even if he's in school or in his office," he added.

"…Alright, I will."

I was already a bit worried after the two incidents that happened, so I took out my phone and called Aaron on it. It rang a few times before he picked it up.

[A-Aaron?] I called out his name a bit uncertain.

[Oh, hey Rias—]

[Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! I'm sorry, wait, please, stop, A-Aurelia, nyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!]

We heard chaos on the other side with Kuroka screaming her lungs out. I looked at Yuuto and he had a troubled smile on him... what on earth is happening over there…?

[Is something wrong…?] I asked.

[Nah, all good. Just Kuroka being Kuroka, you know?] he answered with a chuckle.

[You're not in school?]

[I sent a clone, so I'm home with the ones that don't need to go… anyway, did you need something from me? Or did you miss me that much already?] He chuckled again at the end and I felt myself blush.

[W-well… yes, I did… although—] I told him what we had experienced so far and he fell silent.

[Akaza, you're there, right?] he called out.

Akaza stood up and kneeled in front of me.

[Yes, Aaron-sama?]

[Go search the Tepes faction. I will send another to guard Kiba and Rias.]

[At once!] He answered and disappeared.

In his place, a very eccentric dragon came…

"Fuhahahaha! It is I, God Serena!" he said in a loud voice and did a pose.

[Anyway, just wait for Akaza to come back, and whatever he finds… well, I'll just go and join you guys, probably with some backup,] he said and hung up… I didn't get a chance to speak to him about other things…

…

After a few minutes, God Serena was just in a corner of the room doing poses, writing down things on a note pad and letting his aura pulse a few times. Looking out the window as the snow began to pile up outside… it reminded me of…

"…It sure does bring back memories, doesn't it? Especially on days that do snow…" I muttered.

"Ah… yes, it is. The day I met you, President," he said in a nostalgic tone and looked out the window.

…