Caught in the Crosshairs

Alistor Forest

3rd Person POV

The massive hunk of steel came down on the troupe of devils, (Y/N) quickly turned around and caught the blade with his hands, emanating a massive burst of wind that blew away everyone else.

(Y/N) continued to struggle under the constantly growing pressure of sheer force, nearly dropping to  his knee. As he struggled to use every once of his remaining strength to resist this attempted fatal blow, he looked into his attackers' eyes.

Bustra's grey eyes were sharp and focused, gleaming with excitement, anticipation and confidence to match the mad smile on his face. That look in his eyes. There was no mistaking it. This man was set on killing.

Almost giving in to the sheer force of the assailant, (Y/N) released the sword and pushed himself away, leaving the sword to crash into the earth below.

A massive and long stretching plateau erupted on the other side, seeming to extend into the farthest reaches of the forest.

(Y/N) rolled on the ground until he stopped. Exhausted and drained of magical energy, he barely managed to stand on his own.

"Aw, what's wrong?" The horned man questioned as he readied his sword, slowly approaching the tired devil. "Is the DEMON TOO TIRED?!" He asked, lunging at the young man, only to be blocked by a quickly summoned Oath Maker, it's physical form fading slowly. "Well look at that. The Spawn of Sin can still fight. Now the question remains; How will entertain me?" He grinned.

"What the hell is your problem?! I haven't done anything to you! What is this; Some kind of bounty you're wanting to collect?!" The devil-dragon hybrid groaned, pushing back against the opposing weapon.

"You don't get it, do you?" Bustra questioned.

"What?!"

"What you've done doesn't even cover the reasons why. It's just the beginning. The goal is to stop you from doing anymore DAMAGE!!!" He rose his sword and slashed it down with enough force to completely shatter Oath Maker's physical form, causing it to disappear.

(Y/N) slid back, launching himself forward with his foot to try and deliver a blow his attacker. Punch after punch, he continued to miss. Due to tiredness or exhaustion, the devil fail to land a blow as the man in white dodged each attack with ease.

"Hand to hand now?" Bustra asked, simply stepping away from each attack. "Pathetic..." He said, stopping the young devil in his tracks by holding his bastard sword to his neck. "Trust me kid, we're doing this whole reality a favor by offing you."

(Y/N) felt unsure of what to do, his body began to tense up.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!" Koneko screamed as she descended, delivering a side-kick to Bustra's head, only to be blocked by his arm with ease.

He smiled and grabbed the Rook's head, slamming her down into the ground. He quickly grabbed one of her legs and threw her at the plateau, creating a crater upon impact as Koneko coughed up blood, falling to the ground unconscious.

"KONEKO!!!" (Y/N) cried in horror.

"SWORD BIRTH!!!" Kiba shouted, piercing the ground with his sword, sending a wave of blades headed at the white haired man. "I'll riddle your body with holes you bastard!!!" He declared.

The man in white grabbed his massive sword and unleashed a powerful slash attack, blasting away and destroying all of the oncoming blades and blasting the Knight away. "Save your breath kid."

"KIBA NO!!!"

"BASTARD!!!" Issei roared, unleashing his Balance Breaker.

WELSH DRAGON!!! OVER BOOSTER!!!

Issei quickly became encased in his Red Dragon Emperor's Scale Mail, charging a blast attack in his claw before launching it towards the enemy. "DRAGON SHOT!!!"

"Not even going to boost?" Bustra looked to Issei unamused. "Pathetic..." He unleashed a horizontal slash, cutting the oncoming blast in half.

Both pieces of the Red Dragon Emperor's Dragon Shot flew past Bustra in different directions, eventually disappearing from plain sight only to explode in the sky in massive detonations.

Issei landed by his friend quickly helping him to his feet. "You okay?" He asked.

"Would be if I wasn't so fucking tired. This guy is tearing us apart."

Issei clenched his claw in anger. "I'm sorry. This happened because I didn't keep my fuckin' mouth shut." He growled at himself.

"You're damn right..." (Y/N) replied bluntly.

"YOU COULD SHOW A LITTLE SYMPATHY YOU KNOW!!!" Issei yelled.

"Freeze over the desolate world..." The man rose his bastard sword only to pierce it into the ground. Ice immediately became emerging from the ground. He smiled and glared at the two devils. "FROZEN UNDERWORLD!!!"

Everything around the two remaining devils became swallowed by a vicious blizzard, blinding them and freezing everything, including them to the ground.

"Oh my God." (Y/N) marveled in total shock at how drastically the forest had changed. "He complete froze the forest! He turned this place into a frozen tundra!!" He claimed as he attempted to move, only to see his legs were frozen up too his knees.

"Shit! I can't move!!" Grunted the Red Dragon Emperor as he struggled to break himself free.

"You know...I've killed a lot of Dragon Emperors in my time." Bustra claimed as he menacingly glared at the Red Dragon Emperor, immediately sending a feeling of fear and terror down his spine. "But I've never offed a Red Dragon Emperor. Oh well..." He slammed the broad side of his sword against the brunette's dragon armor, shattering a large portion of it with ease. "Guess today's my lucky day." He claimed, swinging the sword against the helpless Pawn and launching him away. He began making his way towards the unconscious young devil. "Guess I can add the Red Dragon Emperor to my list of killed Dragon Emperors." He said as he stepped on Issei's head, pushing it further into the ground.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!" (Y/N) yelled, bolting towards the immediately guarding Bustra in an aura of streaming black lightning. "BLACK THUNDER CLAP STRIKE!!!" He roared.

"Aw look at that..." The white haired man delivered a cocky and insulting smirk. "The monster's pwotecting his widdle fwends. Shame they won't mean much when YOU'RE DEAD!!!" He proclaimed, parrying the attack and leaping up into the air, only to stomp down on his prey's back. Bustra hunched down and grabbed (Y/N) by his hair, tossing him up and swinging his massive sword across his chest, creating a massive blood spewing wound across his chest. Extending his hand, Bustra conjured a concentrated ball of divine looking light. "Eat it bitch..." He said, unleashing white beam that pierced straight through the target's left shoulder.

(Y/N) flew back, screaming in agony and crashing into a wall, only to find rings of light restrain every part of his body onto the wall of ice and rock.

"Hey now, don't go quitting on me now." Bustra said, placing his sword away on his back as he approached the retained devil, smiling confidently as he smacked (Y/N) across the face. "You're gonna help me with my workout." He said, punching (Y/N) viciously in the stomach.

(Y/N) screamed in pain one again, coughing out a small puddle of blood.

"You're gonna be my punching bag until you die!!" Bustra proclaimed, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks onto the defenseless devil, breaking through the stone and pushing him further and further in with each brutal blow. He kicked (Y/N) into the air, breaking him free from the wall that held him down but immediately gave chance with a confident smile.

(Y/N) struggled to move, even open his eyes was a challenge in his current state. The strange black mark suddenly appeared above his eye, feeling a sudden burst of power. He looked down at the oncoming Bustra with a look or retaliation. He raised his right arm and punched the oncoming white-haired man with the massive chunk of stone he was bound too, shattering it upon impact. He kicked him with right leg's stone and spun in midair, backhanding him with his left hand's boulder, allowing him to get into position for a brutal axe kick, sending the horned man plummeting downwards into the ground below.

The ice covered ground was immediately destroyed by the impact, sending the devastation into the body of water below.

However, Bustra still remained. He stood up, dusting himself off of the stray pieces of debris.

(Y/N) slowly descended, conjuring a much stronger looking Oath Maker to help him stand. "What..." He panted. "What the hell are you?" He asked.

Bustra said nothing. He simply stretched and rubbed his jaw. "I'll admit, that last hit did some damage." He said, quickly turning around, taking a look at the devastation. "Look at all of this. None of this would've happened if you just accepted your fate." He turned back, glaring at the young devil with cold grey eyes. "Do you not understand how much of a threat to this reality you are?"

(Y/N) spat out blood. "Well maybe if someone never attacked me or my friends, things would still be intact asshole!" He growled.

Bustra hummed, rubbing his beard in thought. His eyes suddenly widened, a confident smirk growing on his face. "Tell you what kid..." He pierced the icy ground with his bastard sword, disarming himself. "I'll let you have one free shot." He goaded with his prideful smile.

(Y/N) pushed himself up using his Oath Maker, glaring murderous daggers at the horned assailant. "A free shot huh?" He gripped the blade's handle tightly. "Alright then. I was your punching bag, so it's only far for you to be my testing dummy for my new move."

Bustra's interest was piqued. "A new move huh?" He questioned, cracking his neck. "The monster's got some new tricks? Alright then. Let me have a taste!"

"Fine. But just remember..." He positioned himself to unleash a terrifying amount of power. "You asked for this!" He growled. The entire blade shined brilliantly as it continued to gather energy. (Y/N) rose his blade of light into the air. "Getsuga TENSHO!!!" He swung his arm down with a mighty roar of power, sending a massive sword beam blasting towards his enemy. The attack erupted into a tall pillar of light upon contact, cutting right through him and proceeded to tear through the mountains and frozen forestry behind him, leaving a massive fissure in its wake and the ice slowly started to melt.

(Y/N) panted heavily, struggling to stand. "Or...Piercing Heaven. Whichever...You prefer..."

Bustra stared at the young devil, slowly looking to his now missing left arm. He simply stared at it with a straight face.

"You wanted a taste of my power?! Well there you go!" (Y/N) yelled. "Consider that a warning! Leave me and my friends alone! Or next time, you'll lose more than a limb!"

"...Hm." Bustra simply hummed before reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small crystal. He crushed it with ease and his body glowed with a light blue glow. His amputated wound glowed and his arm slowly grew back within the blue light.

(Y/N) simply watched in shock and amazement. "I-Instant Restoration?!"

"Not just that." The horned man replied, stretching out his new arm. "But Rejuvenation and Recovery. My stamina is back to a hundred percent and my wounds are completely healed." He cheered. "Though, if I'm being honest, I kinda liked the old arm better." He said, as he continued to stretch. "Oh well. Guess I'll just have to..." He tightened his new left fist. "Break it in!"

The mark above (Y/N)'s eye vanished, as did the little magical energy he had left. He could stand no more. His body had finally given in and fell to the ground.

Bustra simply watched, sighing unsatisfied. "Really? That's it? A second wind and a burst of magical energy and that's all you had to offer? Talk about disappointing." He claimed, approaching the grounded devil as he grabbed his sword. He held the bastard sword steadily, a large collection of magical energy gathering within the blade as he prepared to unleash his attack. "Now you little shit, why don't you do us all a favor..."

(Y/N) struggled to look up, seeing Bustra ready to deliver the finishing blow.

"And accept your fate and die?" He glared, swinging down his weapon. "RIPPER AXEL!!!" He yelled, unleashing the violently swirling wave of light magic.

'Damn it, is this really it?! I am gonna die here?!' (Y/N) thought, watching images of his life pass him by as the attack grew closer. Upon seeing Rias's and Chisato's smiling faces, he gritted his tears and tried to stand. 'Like hell...I won't let things end here...' He declared, tightening his fist. 'I MADE A PROMISE!!!'

"I DON'T THINK SO!!!" A voice echoed from above.

(Y/N) eyes widened, watching a familiar Zweihänder crashing down right in front of him, cutting Bustra's blast attack down the middle, missing him.

The attack died down, leaving crevasse in the ground alongside more destroyed forestry.

(Y/N) looked up and saw a figure spinning high in the air as they descended, revealing to be a woman with dark blue hair in five thin ponytails going around her head, donned in a black trench-coat. She grabbed her sword and readied her battle stance.

"What the-?!" (Y/N) was baffled before recognizing the woman in his defense. "Wait, I remember you! Siris?!"

The Knight turned back and smiled to the devil on the ground. "Hey you. Looks like you could use a hand or two." She greeted.

Bustra simply huffed, resting his sword over his shoulder. "Seriously? You again? Is no one safe from your bullshit? You think one more fighter will make a difference?" He asked.

"Maybe not..." Siris responded. "Bus who said I was facing you alone?"

"Hm?"

"SCORCHING DIVER!!!" Another familiar voice echoed from above, only to come crashing down in a piercing flame towards Bustra.

The horned man in white jumped back at the last second, avoiding the physical attack, but was blasted back by the detonation of raging fire of the attack.

The figure jumped back and joined Siris in shielding (Y/N), readying a battle stance of her own.

"What the-? Isabela? You're here too?!"

The masked Rook turn back and smiled to the injured devil. "(Y/N), glad to see you're not dead yet."

"How'd it go?" Siris asked. "You get the others out of here?"

"Yeah, they're at the gate entrance." The brawler claimed.

"Wait, what are you even doing here?" (Y/N) questioned.

"We came here to train. But once we got here we instantly noticed something was wrong. We came to investigate and this is what we find. Some jackass knocking you around like a rag doll." Isabela explained.

"It's understandable though. You barely have any magical energy left and you're exhausted. So just rest up for now, we'll take things from here until you can get back your strength." Said Siris.

(Y/N)'s eyes began to grow heavy, his body quickly lost all its strength. "You guys..." He groaned before passing out.

Isabela tightened her fist. "We need to get this guy far away from here if he's gonna recover."

"I know." The swords-woman acknowledged.

"You know..." Bustra said to the women, walking through the remaining flame. "If I had a watch, I'd be looking at it REALLY condescendingly right now." He said. "So, what's your deal? You wanting another ass whooping? Because if that's the case, I'd be happy to oblige." He goaded.

"We don't have any more Phoenix Tears, do we?" Siris questioned her ally.

"If we did, I'd've used them to to heal him and his friends." The brawler of fire replied. "Plus, we used the ones we had left to get away from this maniac the first time."

"You know, if you think you girls can hurt me, when THAT THING couldn't, then you girls are as stupid as I think you are considering how our last encounter ended."

The two lady devils looked to each other then back to the horned man, unamused looks on their faces before growing a confident smirk, vanishing from sight.

Bustra looked on, an eyebrow raised in bafflement. Suddenly feeling a flaming fist smash into his face blasted him away, only for the assaulter to give chance. He backflipped off a sprouted stone and ascended, only to be knocked back down by Siris bashing him with the board side of her sword.

The two rushed him with tremendous speed, only allowing the horned man to evade and dodge any oncoming attacks with no retaliation until he unleashed a burst of his magical energy, blasting everyone apart.

"Well well, I'm genially surprised. Looks like you two managed to learn from last time. Behind all the stupid hair and dumb looking mask, there are actual fighters." Bustra taunted the two girls.

"And behind all that insufferable smarm is a dead man!" Isabela replied, unleashing her Burning Heart ability.

Siris gripped her sword, activating her Blade Break.

The horned man in white chuckled. "Ladies...you couldn't even fathom the amount of dead men behind me." He claimed proudly, unleashing a fraction of his magical energy and encasing himself in a thick white aura with blue sparks.

The two parties clashed. Isabela threw a fire incased punch, which Bustra struggled to hold back. Siris swung her sword only to be blocked by Bustra's.

The two devils broke the clash and unleashed a barrage of incredibly fast attacks, knocking Bustra off guard and pushing him back down to the ground. Isabela rose her hand and Siris aimed her sword, both conjuring a powerful flame directed at the falling man in white. They unleashed a piercing stream of fire, pushing Bustra back down to the ground in a devastating blast.

As the smoke disappeared, Bustra shook his head to silence the ringing he heard, only to look up and see the former Rook and Knight of the Phoenix Peerage descend back to the ground.

"Now that might not have done a lot of damage..." Isabela claimed.

"But DAMN did it feel good!" Siris added.

"Oh ho ho~? Am I detecting a tiny bit of pride?" Bustra chuckled, dusting himself off of stray debris. "Guess there's still a little Phoenix coursing through those veins after all."

"That mouth of yours isn't going to save you while we're taking you apart!" Siris sneered.

"In case you haven't noticed, we've LITERALLY have your back against the wall!" Isabela claimed.

"And don't think I don't appreciate the effort." Bursta smiled, cracking his stuffed neck. "By a wide margin, your both packing about the same amount of power as your friend. However..." He halted at the two girls. "Neither of you...will ever...be as strong as what he's capable of."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Siris questioned.

"That little freak is only just tapping into what he's capable of. He's merely scratched the surface of his true power, and there's already so much from just that. But you know what he does with it? He uses his powers to help people, protect people. When he should be taking whatever it is he wants!! He's making humanity stagnant, making others rely on each other than just doing things for themselves, hoping that other people will do the hard work for them!! That's why his race was eradicated!!"

World of Endless Sea and Sky

(Y/N) laid in the thin water in silence, looking up at the endless sky above. "...I think I should probably come up with a name for this place. I've been here about three times now and I have no idea what this place is called."

"What name do you have in mind?" The unknown blonde woman questioned taking a seat next to the young devil.

"How about...The Final World?" He suggested.

The woman tilted her head in puzzlement. "Why something so depressing?" She asked.

"Because the only times I'm here is usually when I'm close to dying. So this might be the last thing I see before die. So yeah; Final World probably fits."

"I see." The woman acknowledged. "So, what's your plan on beating this new foe?"

(Y/N) looked to the woman, only seeing her smile. "I don't know." He replied. "Even if I try and rest, I know for a fact that I won't have anywhere near enough to make a difference in this fight. I can't even move my body."

"Hmm..." The blonde woman hummed in thought. Suddenly an idea struck, bopping her hand into her palm. She moved over, hovering directly over the young devil. She gently holds (Y/N)'s face, slowly leaning down.

"What're you-?!" He was quickly silenced by the woman's soft and tender lips planting themselves onto his own. The connection felt passionate and warm from the kiss alone, a sense of familiarity soon arose. Suddenly, a warm golden light flowed across his entire body, feeling his magical energy slowly but surely being restored.

The woman broke the kiss and (Y/N) quickly shot up. He blinked twice. He looked down to his hand, opening and closing it with ease. He repelled himself off the ground with ease, much to his astonishment. He punched and kicked the air at his usual battle speed. He engulfed his left hand in a black and green flame, launching it forward. "WOLKENPALM!!!"" He cried, unleashing an explosive burst of fire. "I can move at my usual speed. I can use some of my magic again." He reaches out to summon his Blades of Order, but only being able to conjure one. "But I can only bring out one of my swords." He looked to the blonde woman. "I don't know what you did. But thank you."

The woman giggled, standing up and fixing her white sundress. "I didn't do too much. I just unlocked your Second Origin. And restored a bit of your magical energy."

"My what?" (Y/N) looked to the woman quizzically.

"It basically another source of magical energy. Think of it as another pool of magical energy your magic circuits can draw from." She explained.

"Huh. Didn't even know that existed." The dragon-devil hybrid admitted.

The woman giggled again. "Well, only a select few can actually have one. Usually people who have Sacred Gears." She added. "So...what are you going to do now?" She asked.

(Y/N) looked to her with a serious look in his eyes, quickly smiling with confidence. "Same thing I always do. Help my friends and kick some ass in the process." He declared, slamming his Blazblue into his open palm.

Reality

"What're you talking about?! Devils aren't extinct!" Isabela replied.

"I know. You devils were supposed to be snuffed out in The Great War, yet you all keep multiplying like rabbits. But that's not what I meant." Bustra reclaimed his sword and swung it over his shoulder. "Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. No use telling a bunch of dead people anyways." He grinned, readying to attack once more.

"Is that so? Fairly confident for someone who getting their face pummeled in not five minutes ago." Isabela replied.

"Oh please. You think you've been hurting me. You think you had any advantage? You may have gotten stronger since the last time we fought, but you harpies are still way too weak to even put a scratch on me."

"So what the hell do you call those five minutes?!" Siris questioned.

Bustra simply smirked. "...Pity."

Siris and Isabella growled, readying themselves to battle once again, only to feel a powerful blast of wind blow past them.

Bustra blocked an incoming sword strike and an excited smile. "Oh? Finally jumping back into the fray you monster?" He said to the True Shadow formed (Y/N).

"I think..." He stepped forward, pushing Bustra back. "It's time..." He advanced again. "That you..." He broke the clash, raising his bastard sword of darkness. "LEFT!!!" He roared, slamming the blade down.

Bustra blocked the attack, but fell to his knees as the ground cratered below multiple times. 'What the shit?!' He thought.

"I told you...that last attack was your final warning." He growled. "You didn't listen...Now you'll reap THE CONSEQUENCES!!!" He roared, unleashing a powerful burst of magical energy, sending the horned man in white flying back and crashing into a stone wall.

"What the..." Siris stared in awe.

"I'm not sure what just happened, but looks like you're ready to fight again." Isabela said eagerly. "How long you think you can keep that transformation?" She asked.

"With the magical energy I managed to recover in the short amount of time...not long." The being of shadow claimed. "But this bastard knocked my friends around while I had practically no magical energy...Let's see how he likes it when I've got some power to use." He said, dashing off towards the dust cloud.

Siris smiled, resting her Zweihänder on her shoulder. "He's gotten stronger, but that shouldn't mean he gets to hog all the payback!" She smiled.

Isabela slammed her fist into her hand, releasing a small flame upon contact. "Then let's lend him a hand." She suggested.

The two smiled to each other and sprouted their wings of fire, dashing after the devil cast in shadows.

Bustra removed on of the large pieces of debris off of him, only to see (Y/N) blasting towards him at incredible speed. He readied his sword and the two clashed, sending a massive blast upon contact.

The two traded sword strike with sword strike, parrying and countering each other to gain an opening.

'This little shit is actually trying to push me back?! LITTLE FUCKER!!!' The horned man growled to himself in anger.

"The only reason you were able to beat me was because I was too weak from healing my friends. But now that I have more than enough magical energy, I can fight back!!" (Y/N) roared, swung his sword up, causing Bustra to lose his grip on his bastard sword.

However, he wasted no time. He slammed his fist into (Y/N) gut, causing him to be winded for enough time for him to elbow the devil in shadows away. He rose his hand and conjured another blast attack.

Isabela dive-kicked him away, sending him sliding back, only for her and her partner to give chase. "What's wrong whitey? You forget about us?!" Asked the half masked woman.

"What? We boring you? Don't worry..." The former Knight of Phoenix conjured lightning into her blade. "WE'LL DO BETTER, PROMISE!!! THUNDER HALBIRD SMASH!!!" She swung her Zweihänder, sending a massive stream of lightning hurtling towards the opposition.

"BURNING NOVA!!!" Isabela launched her fist forward, sending a massive wave of fire towards Bustra as well.

The horned man's in white clicked his tounge, jumping back to his sword and readied to retaliate. "RIPPER AXEL!!!" He cried, unleashing his viscious swirling vortex of light magic.

The group of magical entities clashed, but only one managed to push back the others. So much so that the former servants of Phoenix were sent flying back.

Bustra sighed in exhaustion, only to see his true target rise again, ready to fight once more. "Oh what? You want some too?! FINE!!!" He said. "RIPPER AXEL!!!" He roared, unleashing his attack.

"FULL COUNTER!!!" (Y/N) cried, sending the attack back with twice the amount of damage.

"WHAT?!" Bustra exclaimed, receiving the stronger force of his own attack.

As the vortex of light died, Isabela rushed at Bustra with an elbow aimed for his head, but was countered with his own, quickly receiving a follow up knee to her jaw.

Siris descended with a powerful downwards slash, but was redirected ever slightly by the man, only to be backhanded away.

Isabela received a vicious kick to the gut and was sent flying.

(Y/N) conjured dark wind into one hand and dark fire into the other, quickly rushing towards Bustra to deliver a flurry of attacks. "WOLKENPALM!!! WIND CLAW!!!" He roared, unleashing his barrage.

Bustra, with little time to react dodges as many as he could manage. "You little fuckers are stubborn and it's starting to PISS ME OFF!!!" He yelled furiously. Taking a chance and threw a punch.

(Y/N) smirked. 'Got him.' He thought, ramming his claw into Bustra's gut, causing him to keel over in pain.

The horned man glared murderous grey eyes to the devil cast in shadows. "You little-"

"And now..." He opened his fist, only to sink his claws slightly into Bustra's gut. "CALAMITY BOLT!!!" He cried, shocking his opposition with a vicious bolt of black and green lightning. Reeling his claw back, he began to unleash endless onslaught of punches.

"You little shit...YOU'RE DEAD!!!" Bustra roared, blasting the devil in shadows away with pure force.

(Y/N) suddenly vanished, reappearing from behind. "Said; literally everyone who's tried to kill me and either lost or died." (Y/N) goaded from behind.

Bustra turned to retaliate, but received a kick in the stomach via the devil in shadows reappearing in front of him.

"What's wrong? You were so much stronger a second ago? Did you burn yourself out already?" (Y/N) goaded, only to receive a vicious punch to the face, sending him flying back. He backfliped for enough distance, quickly readying a roar attack. "DARK CALAMITY ROAR!!!"

Bustra gave chase with sword in hand, slicing the roar attack down the middle until he rammed the young devil with his shoulder. He punched him across the face then uppercutted him high into the air, sledgehammering him back down to the ground as he bounced off, quickly unleashing his focused blast attack from his hand and sending him flying back.

"(Y/N)!!!" Isabela called out.

(Y/N) gripped the blast with his claws, using all his strength to force the size of it down. The more he did, the more it burned. 'What is this thing made of?! It's more than light magic! It's it holy magic?!' He thought through the pain. With one final roar of determination, the blast exploded in his claws.

The smoke settled slowly, revealing (Y/N) still standing in his transformation. His arms were crossed in defense and his breathing was heavy.

The two former servants flew down to him and landed at his side.

"You Alright? That attack felt different from the others." Isabela claimed.

"Yeah..." He replied in exhaustion. "I think it was holy magic."

"Are you serious?!" The two asked in unison.

"How are you still even alive?!" Siris asked.

"How the hell should I know?" (Y/N) replied. "All I know is that I'm getting sick of this asshole." He said, conjuring a large blade of darkness. "Let's just finish this." He said, gripping the shadow made weapon with both hands, channeling dark magical energy through it, causing the flames of darkness it was formed from to grow more violent and intense. "I don't know who you are. But your madness ends here!! AND I WILL SEE TO IT MYSELF!!!" He proclaimed, raising his sword high, emitting a large pillar of black energy. "God's Severance...SKY- RENDING SWORD!!!" He roared, sending a massive wave of dark magical energy crashing towards Bustra.

"You Ready?!" Isabela asked her partner, readying her flames.

"Let's scorch this motherfucker!!" Siris replied, her blade surging with lightning magic.

"UNISON RAID!!!" The two chanted. "CRIMSON LOTUS: EXPLODING LIGHTNING BLADE!!!" The roared, unleashing a vortex of fire and lightning.

The two entities of magic slowly began to merge. The lightning flames slowly fusing with the massive black sword beam.

Bustra simply watched at the attacks came hurling towards him at terrifying speeds. He simply clicked his tongue in annoyance and was quickly engulfed by the magic of the devils, resulting in a massive explosion of darkness, Phoenix fire and raging lightning. The explosion practically destroyed the entire forest.

The three devils panted hard, some even falling to their knees in exhaustion.

"Jesus..." (Y/N) panted heavily, barely holding himself up by his sword of shadows. "I think...I'm done...For real now." He claimed.

"So..." Siris breathed. "Does trouble just naturally find you? Or do you go looking for it?" She questioned jokingly as she knelt on the ground.

"Eh..." He shrugged his shoulders the best he could. "It's usually comes to me. Never have to go really far for it most of the time." He replied jokingly.

Isabela chuckled. "Looks like you're destined to deal with maniacs and overpowered assholes with giant meat cleavers." The former Rook implied.

"Oh yeah? Well you know what I say to that?"

The two girls looked to the shadow in devil, both with a raised eyebrow.

He flipped his middle finger to the sky. "Fuck Destiny!!" He proclaimed.

"I see." Said a familiar voice from the giant cloud of smoke. "I think I get it." Bustra said, making his way through the smoke cloud. "You've been managing by using a Second Origin, haven't you?" He asked, slowly standing back upright.

"You've got to be kidding me!" The former Phoenix Knight groaned, gripping her zweihänder.

"Why won't this asshole just stay down?!" Isabela questioned, struggling to stay standing.

"Well then. If that's how we're going to keep playing...Guess I should do the same...And use mine." He claimed. A burst of raw magical power erupted from the horned man, shaking the very ground below everyone. The ground began to crack and large pieces of broken stone began to rise up into the air.

"He still has this much power?!" Siris asked on total shock.

"How strong is this guy?!"

Bustra, ready to unleash his power, took a step forward, cracking the ground below. He gripped his sword and was ready to charge in. However, he suddenly stopped. All the power suddenly vanished and calmed down as he spoke to someone via communication spell. "Hm? Yeah what? I'm in the middle of-Are you kidding me. Right now?! Tch! Shit...Fine. I'm on my way." A Dark Corridor opened behind Bustra. He turned around and began to simply walk away.

"Where're you going?!" (Y/N) roared. "We're not done yet you son of a bitch!!" He collapsed to the ground, the black and green shadows gradually disappearing from his body.

"Yes we are you little prick." Bustra replied. He turned his head and glared at the fallen devil from the corner of his fierce grey eyes. "I've been called back, and I rather not have my boss off me before I get the chance to kill you myself." He replied with an irritated stare. "Don't get me wrong, I wanna kill you, but I want it to be worth while. With the way you are now, I won't be satisfied. So, I suggest you get stronger. Make killing you something I'd enjoy."

"Who-Who are you?!"

Bustra glanced to the boy once more, only to scoff. "Maybe if you're stronger the next time we meet, then I'll tell you my name." He declared, walking through the darkness of the portal. "Oh, and if you're worried about finding us, don't be. 'Cause we'll find you." He added, his cold gaze not leaving even as the Dark Corridor vanished with him inside.

"Get...Back here..." (Y/N) muttered before falling to the ground motionless.

Siri's ran to him and checked on his state. "He's just unconscious, he must be exhausted."

Isabela chuckled weakly. "After facing off with that asshole, who wouldn't be?"

The former Knight grabbed his arm and put her head around it, lifting his unconscious body up off the ground. "Come on. Let's get him and his friends outta here."

"Yeah." Isabela agreed, putting his other arm around her next for better support.

The two devils walked off, the unconscious and beaten (Y/N) in hand as they proceeded to leave the devastated forest turned battlefield behind.

Time Skip

Simply Snoozing Inn

Three days had past since the stray Behemoth incident. All but one managed to recover fairly well. Besides some bruises and other faint injuries, everyone managed to recover.

Koneko sat by the bed where (Y/N) continued to rest, only watching to see if he would wake up.

The door to the room opened and Kiba and Siris entered.

"How is he?" He asked.

"No changes." She replied. "It's been three days. This has never happened before. So why now?" Koneko asked with utter worry.

"I'm sure he'll wake up soon." Kiba replied. "Don't forget, we had to deal with that Behemoth and then face it when it turned into an Ifrit. After that he healed us, only giving him badly enough energy to mortally wound that guy who attacked us at least once."

"He said something about a Second Origin. That mean anything to either of you?" The female Knight questioned.

Kiba and Koneko looked to each other, turning back to Siris. "Sorry, we got nothing. What is it?" He asked.

"No clue. But that horned asshole seemed to think it's how (Y/N) managed to get back up and fight back. He managed to deal a little damage in the process too. I'm guessing he didn't have much though, because he hit the ground like a ton of bricks right before the guy left." Siris explained.

The door opened once again and Isabela and Issei entered, a small collection of food in his arms.

"Hey guys." Issei greeted. "How is he?"

"Still out. But he's breathing at least." Koneko replies.

Issei hummed softly, walking towards the Rook and handing her a wrapped hotdog. "Here." He said. "You should eat something. You've barely have since we got back." He claimed.

Koneko took the foil wrapped hotdog and began eating it slowly, only taking small nibbles out of it.

"Here. You guys should eat too." He said, handing everyone something to eat.

As everyone ate, Siris spoke. "So, I've got a question. What are you guys doing in Alistor? You said it was for some stray?"

Kiba swallowed before answering. "That's right. We were asked for dealing with a stray that been terrorizing this town for the past week. We kinda drove here because (Y/N) can't really do teleportation circles and Issei can't really go through them." He explained.

"Thanks blondie." Grunted Issei as he took an aggressive chomp out of his burger.

"What about you ladies; what're you doing here?" The Knight of Gremory asked.

"Well..." Isabela paused, looking to Siris. Receiving a light nod, she turned back to the others. "After the whole engagement party fiasco, we took our concerns to the Masters of the Phoenix House. And we were released from our pacts." She claimed.

"You were exiled?" Kiba questioned.

"On the contrary, we asked if we could leave and they said yes. They understood our concerns and wished us the best. They let us keep our pieces so we could retain our powers as a gift for all the work we've done. Lord and Lady Phoenix were very understanding about the whole thing. We decided to explore the human world and would up here. That's when we ran into that guy. He whipped the floor with us like it was nothing. We decided to train until we could find him and get some payback. But we felt some familiar magical energy, so we went investigating and found your friend about to be offed by that same guy who beat us." Isabela explained. "Now, here we are."

"Huh...Who would've thought that birdbrains' parents would be so understanding." Issei said. He looked at the clock and noticed how late it was getting. "Come on..." He said, crumpling his wrapper before tossing in into the trash bin. "It's getting pretty late. We should turn in for tonight." He suggested.

"Yeah. You're probably right. We can talk more about this later. Come on guys." Kiba motioned as everyone slowly made their way to the door.

All but Koneko.

"Koneko?" Kiba looked to his fellow devil.

"I'm not going yet." She said. "I'm gonna stay here until he wakes up." She said, holding onto one of his hands.

Issei sighed with a light smile, reaching into the to-go bag he brought and places another wrapped burger in the fridge. "Well, if he does wake up, make sure he eats something. There's a spicy chicken sandwich in the fridge just the way he likes it." He informed, walking to Koneko and patting her on the head comfortingly. "He'll be up soon...I believe in him." He smiled before turning to the door. "Have a good night Koneko."

The door closed and the two were left alone in the room.

"(Y/N)...I'm sorry." Shuttered Koneko, tears falling onto her tightly clutched hands. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe. I'm your senior devil and I couldn't help you. I'm so sorry..."

Time Skip

It was the dead of night, nearly everything was quiet apart from the birds chirping and bugs buzzing outside.

The Azure Dragon Emperor slowly flickered his eyelids open, only to rub them as they felt incredible sore. "Oh God..." He groaned, slowly rising up from his reclined state. "What time is it-?" He stopped, feeling a light weight on his right forearm. He looked down and saw Koneko, sleeping right nest to him as she held onto his arm. The young devil smiled lightly, sighing in relief. He gently patted her head, stroking it gently. "Still hangin' on my arm huh? Sorry if I worried you." He whispered. He slowly moved his arm out of the Rook's hold and replaced it with a pillow. Gently laying a blanket over him underclassmen, he left her to rest.

(Y/N) stood up and walked to the bathroom, turning on the lights and looking at himself in the mirror for any remaining injuries or battle-scars. He huffed in contentment. 'Good. Looks like I healed up alright.' He removed his shirt and turned around, looking at the markings on his back, revealing them to appear more prominent and solid. 'Looks like this massive emblem or whatever is growing. What the hell is this thing?' He thought as he turned on the sink and washed his face. He left the bathroom and knelt down to the mini-fridge for food.

"You should probably eat something." A familiar voices echoed from the devil's right hand.

"Starvlador?" He said quizzically. "The hell man, I thought you died or something. Haven't heard from you in weeks!" He bickered.

"Sorry. I've been busy." The Dragon replied.

"Busy? With what?" He asked.

"I've been trying to keep the dark magic you've been using under control. You've been using it more lately and it's starting to show. It's growing malicious and violent." The Dragon explained.

"That sounds bad." The young devil acknowledged.

"At your current state, it is yes. If you continue to use this power without being well acquitted for it, it could take over your very being."

"What would happen if it did?"

"This magic is raw, violent and dark. If you were to lose control, chances are you'd lose control and become nothing more than a rampaging beast." Starvlador explained.

(Y/N) lowered his head. "So I'd basically become a stray devil..."

"...Yes." Starvlador confirmed. "Look, we'll talk about more ways to get you better trained for this power later. Right now, you should focus on recovery. Eat something and go do your thing. We'll talk later." He suggested.

"Sure. Night Starvlador." He bid farewell and the glowing blue circle on his hand vanished. He looked to the fridges and opened it, revealing a wrapped burger of some kind. "I know this smell..." He whispered excitedly. He yoinked the wrapped food out from the fridge and opened it, releasing a spicy chicken sandwich from Wendy's. "Aw hell yeah! Mah bro Issei, comin' in with the good shit!" He cheered quietly, hoping to not wake the sleeping lolita Rook. He opened it and it revealed to have no toppings other than a few leafs of lettuce. "And just the way I like it..." He smiled with gratitude. "Thanks Issei."

He removed the lettuce and placed the sandwich on a paper plate and into the microwave, heating it up enough for it to be edible. He looked into the fridge for some sauce, finding a small cup of buttermilk ranch. He fixed his sandwich and dug in, nearly devouring the whole thing with his first bite. "Oh fuck..." He moaned through the delicious flavor. "That's the good shit." He claimed, savoring every bite he took, slowly finishing the chicken sandwich in its entirety. Through the burning spices in his mouth, he downed a glass of water. "Oh yeah! I'm gonna feel that tomorrow." He chanted quietly.

Patting his stomach, he rose up and stretched. "Alright. Time to go to work." He proclaimed. Making his way to the room, he looked back to Koneko, seeing her fidget and shiver a little bit. The young devil huffed, made his way to the bed and put the blanket over the loli Rook. Feeling somewhat satisfied, he gathered his things and took his leave, gently closing the door on his way out. Gently trekking through the long empty hallway, he made his way to the lobby of the hotel.

The front desk attendant saw (Y/N), simply smiling and waving to him. "Hey there!" He greeted. "Out for another night walk tonight?"

"Something like that." (Y/N) replied. "Have a good one." He bid farewell as he walked past and out the doors. He breathed in the cool town air before moving on his way towards the gate to the forest, seeing the progression of rebuilding and reconstruction of damaged buildings. "Looks like things are going smoothly. Glad they're rebuilding the town. Without the fear of being attacked again, this town should be able to stay strong for quite awhile." He claimed happily. A few more steps and he arrived at the town's forest gate. "Alright. This should finish things up here." He stated, walking through the gate and into the forest.

Time Skip

Hopping over a rock, he proceeded onwards through the cave. "There we go." He mumbled to himself as he proceeded onward.

While the Behemoth was slain, there was still the matter of the second objective for (Y/N) and company's road trip; to find the source of magical energy and restore it. Upon awakening three days ago, in the middle of the night he went to find the source, leaving the others behind to rest and recover. After wandering around the forest, he finally stumbled upon the source of magical energy for the American Country. The spring of magical energy was practically empty when he first found it. Nothing but a small puddle remained. Chances were that the stray was feeding off it, making its power grow so much that it was able to evolve into an Ifrit.

"Alright..." (Y/N) summoned his Oath Maker, holding it upside down. "Let's get to it." He pierced the ground with his sword. Lines of ice stretched out until forming a hexagon of ice. "Six Point Ice Formation!!" He chanted, summoning a massive tower of pure ice that practically broke through the hole on the cave's ceiling. Putting his white sword away, he conjured his black and green flames into his hands and put them in the spring, quickly bring it to a boil and slowly melting the massive ice tower. "Alright, should only take a few more of these and we'll be good to go." He chanted. "Maybe then we can put this whole trip behind us..." Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly. "...Man, I'm gonna be starving after this."

Time Skip

Simply Snoozing Inn

"ISSEI!!! KIBA!!!" Koneko roared, banging on the door to the Pawn and Knight's Room.

The brunette opened the door, clearly tired from being suddenly woken up so suddenly. "Koneko? What's with all the yelling?"

"What's going on?" Kiba asked from behind.

"(Y/N)'s gone!" She announced.

"WHAT?!" The other two shouted in shock.

"What's going on?" Isabela asked as she approached the group of Gremory devils, Siris by her side.

"(Y/N)'s missing." Koneko repeated.

"WHAT?!" Isabela exclaimed.

"Oh that's just wonderful..." Siris gripped.

"Come on! Let's go look for him." Kiba proclaim as he grabbed a jacket.

Everyone gathered their things for trekking the cold night.

"Alistor isn't that big, so we should split up and look around." Siris suggested.

"Um...excuse me!" The desk attendant called to the devils, receiving their attention. "I don't mean to intrude, but you all seem worried and rather panicked about something. Is everything okay?" He asked with concern.

"Our friend is missing. Have you seen him?" Kiba questioned hastily.

"Oh him? Of course! He's in the dining room behind you." He pointed to the two doors behind the group of devils.

They all looked behind them with wide eyes, only to turn to each other in bafflement.

"He just got back actually. Had quite the pile of food with him too. Must've been some walk if he's got that kind of appetite." He said with a haughty laugh.

Everyone remained silent, simply turning around and opening the doors to the dining room of the hotel. Upon entering, they were meet with none other than (Y/N) (L/N) himself, a massive pile off food on tables that had been moved together to fit it all. As he took a bite out of his steak and cheese subway, he turned to his friends and stared at them, the subway with in his mouth. He took his bite and chewed before greeting them. "Hey guys." He waved.

"(Y/N)!!!" They all screamed with relief. They quickly surrounded him and began blaring him with questions.

"Where were you?!" Isabela questioned.

"Dude, you can't just bail without saying anything!" Issei scolded.

"...Not cool..." Koneko glared.

"We thought you were still unconscious!" Siris claimed.

"What the heck have you been doing?!" Kiba asked.

"Oh you know...Our second reason for being here. Kind of a big one too. Remember?" He replied as he took a drink from his large to go cup.

"You mean finding the source of magical energy?" Kiba answered.

"Yep. Turns out it was a spring." (Y/N) said getting up from his seat, gathering all his food. "Come on, I'll show you where it is. Just lemme put this stuff in the room."

Time Skip

Alistor Forest

"We're almost there, just a little bit further! Watch out for potholes though!" (Y/N) called as he hopped up a ledge, helping the others up. Grabbing both Isabela's and Siris's hands, he pulled them up with ease and continued on their way.

"Glad to see you on your feet again Azure Dragon Emperor." Siris commented.

"Agreed. It's nice to see you've made a nice recovery." Isabela commented.

As the devils continued their hike, (Y/N) turned to Isabela and Siris. "So, I never got a chance to ask, but why're you two in Alistor? (Y/N) questioned the two former servants of the Phoenix House.

Isabela and Siris explained everything that had happened to them leading up to their current standing.

"Gotcha. Guess that Rating Game really opened your eyes huh?" He asked.

"Truth be told, we've hated Riser and his tactics for quite some time. But the Rating Game did help. And we have you thank." Isabela smiled.

"Regardless, I'm glad you two were here. My friends and I wouldn't have survived that psycho if you didn't intervene. It was a big risk, but thanks." He thanked the two with pure sincerity.

Isabela's and Siris's face both lightly red upon seeing (Y/N) charming smile of gratitude.

"Woah, Isabela, you're face is red. Some have a little crush?" Siris teased with a matching smirk.

"Wh-What?! N-No!" Isabela denied in panic. "What about you huh?! You're face is red too!" She pointed out.

The former Knight's face grew redder. "That-That's neither here nor there! And besides, this isn't about me!" She replied loudly, growing more flustered.

As the two lady devils continued to counter each other, (Y/N) spotted the cave. "Hey! It's over here!" He yelled, motioning everyone to follow him.

Making their way down into the dark cave, they were met with a radiant reflecting light dancing on the ceiling. Looking closer, they saw a massive spring with glowing water.

"Is this-?" Koneko began to question.

"Yep. This is what we came here to find and restore. The source of magical energy for the American Continent."

Kiba knelt down, gently placing his hand inside, feeling a burst of raw potent magical energy flowing inside him. "Holy crap!!" He yelped, pulling himself out. "How did you find this place?" He asked.

"Well..." (Y/N) started to explain, taking a seat on of of the rocks nearby. "The Behemoth has a strange presence to it when we first encountered it. And when it evolved, it's magical energy changed too. And after it was dealt with, I managed to trace a small trail of the same magical energy presence that I felt in the Behemoth. So I followed it the best I could and found this place."

"So it was untouched?" The loli Rook asked.

"Oh hell no. This fucking thing was a total pothole when I found it. I've been filling it with water and my magical energy for the past few days." (Y/N) replied.

"WHAT?!" Many replied in shock.

"So you think the stray was somehow using this thing to get stronger?" Issei asked.

"Well, seeing as how a Behemoth can't change into an Ifrit naturally, it must've been feeding off this springs' raw magical energy so much that its body had to change to adapt to the added power."

Koneko simply clenched her fist. Her body trembling in anger. "So you're saying-"

The devils looked to the angered Koneko, who slowly approached the Azure Dragon Emperor step by step.

"You've been awake...For the past three days...And just let us think...You were still unconscious?" She growled.

(Y/N) looked to the small underclassmen, confused by her mannerisms. "You guys went through hell during that fight. You needed your rest. I recovered more than enough that I could start with the other part of our mission...So I did." He shrugged.

"We've been worrying about you for the past THREE...DAYS!!!" She growled viciously.

(Y/N) just looked at Koneko in confusion. "Uh..."

Everyone moved back and away from them.

"You..." Koneko rose her leg and reeled it back, rocketing it into the her senior's lower region. "DICK!!" She yelled.

(Y/N) screamed. His body went into shock from the unexpected blow. His eyes went white and collapsed onto the ground, holding on to his privates as he twitched and groaned in pain. "Ow~" He croaked.

"Koneko, we just got him back." Kiba said.

"I don't care! He can rot in this cave for all I care." She snapped back, her topaz yellow eyes glaring viciously with anger. "I'm going back to the hotel to pack our stuff. We're going home." She ordered before walking away.

Everyone fell silent, unsure of what just happened or how to proceed.

"We uh, we could probably get you an ice pack huh?" Kiba asked his downed friend.

"Y-Yes please..."

Time Skip

(Y/N)'s Home

Appearing from thin air via (Y/N)'s teleportation, the devils assigned to the stray in Alistor had returned to Kouh.

Issei stretched wide. "Home sweet home!" He cheered.

"Come on. Let's go unpack." (Y/N) said, his voice slightly solemn.

Everyone looked at each other with worried looks.

As the door opened, (Y/N) step foot into his home. "We're back!" He called.

Hearing footsteps running his direction, he braced for the collision.

"WELCOME BACK!!!" Asia greeted with pure glee, practically glomping (Y/N) with everything she had. "I'm so glad you're back!" She said. "Welcome home."

(Y/N) smiled constantly to her, deepening their embrace. "...I'm home." He said quietly.

"(Y/N)?" Asia looked to her guardian in confusion.

"I'm glad to see you've returned." Rias approached, a proud and happy smile on her face.

The young devil released Asia and walked Rias, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I did it..." He said. "I kept my promise. I came back to you."

Rias smiled happily, holding her Pawn closely. "Yes. Yes you did." She smiled, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. "You must've been through a lot."

"Yeah. I'm really tired." He claimed, his head resting on her shoulder. "I'm gonna take a shower and go to bed." He said, taking his bags and walking up the stairs.

"You don't want food?" Asia questioned worriedly.

"Sorry. Not tonight. I'm going to bed." He said, making his way farther up. "Good work everyone."

Everyone watched in silence, watching their friend and ally leave quietly.

Kiba released a heavy sigh. "He's been like this since yesterday." He claimed.

"It's probably about that guy." Koneko guessed.

"The one you ran into during your mission? Kiba mentioned something about that in his reports." Claimed the Peerage's King. "Come on..." She motioned to the dining room. "You all must be hungry, dinner's ready. Let's eat and discuss things later."

"Excuse us!"

Everyone looked back and saw Isabela and Siris carrying some of the luggage.

"Where should we put these?" Isabela asked.

Rias and Asia were stunned for a moment, turning to each other for a moment before smiling.

"Right there is fine. Please, come in. Would you like to join us? We have plenty of food." Rias offered.

The former Rook and Knight looked to each other with uncertainty.

"S-Sure?" Siris accepted.

"Wonderful. I'd actually like to ask you what happened as well." Said Rias.

Time Skip

The devil's diner had ended quickly reconvening in the living room and discussing the Behemoth stray mission and Bustra.

Isabela took a sip form her offered tea. "And that's about it."

"I see." Replied Rias a stern and pondering look on her face. "Do you think he's with the Church?"

"He may have been using holy magic, but I don't think so. Even when he found out we were devils, he didn't seem to care. His goal was finding this "Demon"." Isabela explained.

"Seems like he and whoever he's working with thinks (Y/N) is this "Demon" they're trying to kill." Kiba added. "He said HIS name specifically."

"And once he found out, he went full on manhunter." Koneko said, glaring at Issei. "Thanks to a certain moron."

Issei sulked. "Yeah. My bad."

"In any case, I'm just glad you're all okay. And you two..." Rias looked to Isabela and Siris, bowing her head in respect and gratitude. "Thank you so much for helping them."

The two devils smiled.

"It was the least we could do. Especially with the whole Rating Game." Isabela chuckled, slowly looking up at the ceiling, listening to the running water. "I just hope he moves past this."

Rias clapped her hands, surprising everyone. "Okay, no more doom and gloom talk! We have to report this to the archduke tomorrow now that the request has officially finished." She said. "Isabela, Siris, would you two like to stay here? You're more than welcome too."

"Y-You sure?" Isabela asked in surprise by Rias's offer.

"Of course. We have plenty of room." Asia smiled. "Here, let's go set one up. Artoria!"

The King of Knights looked up from hiding in the kitchen, a chicken leg bone sticking out of her mouth.

"Would you mind lending me a hand?"

Artoria pulled out the bone, chewing the meat before swallowing and answering. "Of course."

Rias watched the two blondes leave the room. Looking up at the ceiling at where (Y/N) would be. '(Y/N)...'

Bathroom

As the hot shower water splashed against the Dragon Emperor's head, his anger began to rise at the new revelation. "I thought I managed to leave the life of constantly being hunted behind me. Not only do we have to defend ourselves from fallen angels and Church psychos, but now I have to worry about people who specifically want ME dead again?" He asked himself, sighing heavily is disappointment. "...Fuck my life."

All of a sudden the sound of the door opening and closing brings the Dragon Emperor to reality.

"I'm coming in." Rias announced, bringing the Dragon Emperor to a state of calmness, quickly turning to a light tint of embarrassment when she walked in, completely exposed.

"It's been a while since we've done this. I could really use some time alone with you." Rias said, hugging him from behind.

"Time alone with you sounds really nice after the whole mess of crap that I've been through these last few days." The young devil said, letting out a sigh of exhaustion.

"About that. Can you tell me about what happened on the mission?" Rias asked, placing her head on his back.

"I thought Kiba was sending you reports day by day?"

"He only told me that you were attacked and that you were unconscious or supposedly unconscious for three days. I know that you have more information than them though."

"What can you base that assumption on?"

"When you walked through the front door when you came home. You were exhausted. That much was obvious. But it was clear from your eyes that something was bothering you." Rias explained.

"Am I really that easy to read?" The young devil halfheartedly chuckled in defeat.

"You are. Now please talk to me. Don't leave me in the dark."

(Y/N) thought for a moment, only to sigh in defeat. "I guess it'd be more dangerous to withhold the information than to expose it. Wouldn't it?"

"It would. Especially from the Princess of Ruin."

"Okay. We managed to find the stray devil, but once we did, there was someone there who were was looking for me. To kill me."

"Why would they want you dead?" Rias asked, extremely worried.

"I don't know. It could be the fact that I'm the Azure Dragon Emperor or some other thing that I'm unaware of. Regardless, it was clear that even though that guy just let us go, he and whoever he's working with aren't going to stop making attempts on me until they completely accomplish their goal. I could live with the fact that they're only after me and not the others. Because I'd prefer it if they weren't involved in my problems. Yet...They still tried to defend me, and it could've cost them more than what they'd been dealt." He claimed tightening his fist.

"I'm going to tell you where you were wrong." Rias claimed, confusing her beloved servant.

The confused devil raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I'm pretty sure I told you the entire story, including the part where I said that I'm being targeted."

"You're wrong about the part where you said that you prefer if the others didn't get involved in a problem that was centered around you and that you could live with that fact that only you are the target of assassination. After all these months that we have spent together you still don't understand, do you?"

"Understand what?!" (Y/N) snapped back. "That I don't want others to get hurt in something in which I am practically being blamed for? That I have just become part of a new family that I don't want to suffer because of me?! Those are the things I understand Rias!!"

Rias said nothing in response. She simply wrapped her arms around (Y/N)'s head, pulling him close into her chest, holding him close in comfort and close to her heart. "You don't understand that because we're a family. That'll we get involved in one another's affairs. We don't let anyone suffer when they're in so much pain or being threatened with harm. We'll do just about everything to protect one another. There is no shame in letting people who love you help you."

"I just...I don't want to lose the happiness that I've just gotten back. Or the people that provide me with it. Just thinking about it hurts my heart too much." The Dragon Emperor shuttered, hugging his master back.

"Just think about the pain we'll be forced to be put through if you go through this alone and get yourself killed. And the fact that we could've done something to prevent it. Did you think about that?"

"I...No. And now that I'm hearing it, it's making me feel like a dick."

"I can only assume." She said, patting his head.

"...I'm sorry for snapping at you and...for everything else. I...just want everyone to be safe."

"It's okay. And we want the same for you. Let us help you and we'll be able to stand together to defeat them and keep you, our irreplaceable (Y/N), safe and happy." Rias assured with a genuine and sincere smile.

"That sounds like a good deal to me." (Y/N) deepened their embrace. "Thank you..."