It was winter night, high up on the snowy mountainous region of an unknown land. The strong blizzard shrouded the lands in both darkness and ice. There were no light sources as far as the eye can see, only the dark and the cold, with the exception of a certain place. On one of the highest peaks, strangely stood a large structure. It was a worn down cathedral, unusually out of place considering the desolated environment of the place.

The chathedral was gothic in design, both inside and out. Its interior was vast with around two hundred meters from floor to ceiling. There were little to no light sources, with the exception of a few candles, which were incased in glass, which brarely lit the entire place. Having been built around the 8th century, the cathedral was almost in ruin, with large gaping holes on the rooftop that allowed the icy winds to enter and the snow to fall on the marble flooring. The aging walls were close to crumbling with wide cracks all over, ranging from all kinds of shapes and sizes. The wooden seats were ruined, showing signs of decompotion but was nevertheless still in use by the people who kneeled down before the altar.

"Crucem sanctam subiit"

(He who bare the holy cross)

"Qui infernum confregit"

(Who shattered hell)

"Accinctus est potentia"

(He was girded with power)

"Surrexit die tertia. Alleluia!"

(He rose on the third day. Alleluia!)

A hauntingly yet beautiful song, which fit perfectly with the ancient dark cathedral, was sang by the people inside as the priest stood by the altar. The priest was a very handsome man, appearing around his mid 30s, with shoulder-length brown hair that curls in the end and a square-shaped chin with a trimmed beard that matched his hair. His expression was fierce and battle-hardened, possessing a piercing stare with his eyes alone. The robe that he donned was pitch-black in color, instead of the traditional white. A golden sash resting on his shoulders with the symbol of the cross embedded on the cloth on both ends and finally a golden cross necklace around his neck which glittered brightly even within the darkness of the cathedral.

He was not alone as well as the crowd were not dressed in plain civilian clothing. The men were all dressed in black-colored priest trenchcoats while the women wore dark nun robes. Each one of them wore the same golden cross necklace as well. Due to the dim lightning of the place, these people were shrouded in shadows, which made them appear as silhouettes with only their figure and the golden crosses visible.

It was a mass where all the attendees were actually priests themselves.

"Then I saw when the lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come". I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer"

The head priest's strong, deep voice echoed throughout the halls as he flipped a page from a large tome in front of him on the altar.

"When he broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come". And another, a red horse, went out , and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another, and a great sword was given to him"

The priest flipped another page and continued.

"When he broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come". I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, but do not damage the oil and wine"

The priest once again flipped another page.

"When the lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come". I looked, and behold, an ashen horse, and he who sat on it had the name Death, and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth"

At that moment, the sound of the doors opening caught the attention of the priest. His eyes darted upwards to see a man enter the hall, motioning a sign of the cross before stroding towards the altar.

"I apologize, brothers and sisters, but we must bring the holy eucharist to an early end" The priest said, causing the kneeling attendees to silently rise to their feet before they began to voluntarily exit the hall, leaving both men in the room.

"The last book of the New Testament" The man that entered the hall earlier said as he stopped right at the foot of the altar. "John of Patmos, 6:1-8 from the Book of Revelation"

"Correct" The priest said, closing the book before he carried it to a container by the shrine of the altar.

The man patiently waited as the priest placed the book inside the container and watched as he took his time walking down the stairs of the altar.

"So what do I owe this visit?" The priest asked. "It is quite rude to our Lord to interrupt a holy mass"

"I'm afraid I have brought terrible news from the country of Japan" The man said.

"Ah yes, the nation controlled by the Pagan Gods of the Shinto" The priest said with a wide grin, his voice was calm and gentle but with a hint of venom on the last few words.

"It appears that the Shinto and Youkai factions are at war" The man explained. "A great battle had already took place and the casualties are high"

"As far as I am concerned, there is nothing wrong with that" The priest said. "If two heathen factions want to kill each other, let them be, it is not of our concern"

"Unfortunately, Amaterasu and Yasaka are not fighting against each other, but rather, they are fighting together" The man said. "Against the Azrallian Empire"

The priest's eyes narrowed after hearing this. He didn't say a word but the air around the two thickened.

"The evil empire has returned, they had set their eyes on Japan and are committed to conquering it" The man continued. "The have already conquered the realm of Hades prior to this, slaughtering countless greeks in the process.

"I have heard rumours of their return but I did not expect them to be actually true" The priest pointed out. "The Azrallian Empire, marching their army of mindless dolls on foreign soil, as if their own lands. Even after all these years, these warmongers are as shameless and barbaric as ever. What is the Vatican's response to this?"

"They are still recovering after providing aid to the devils' conquests of the orcish lands of Durotar" The man responded. "The Vatican and Heaven are currently ignoring the chaos"

"The Vatican actually siding with our mortal enemies, all the while not batting an eye on the movements of the empire" The priest said bitterly. "How far did the Church fall?"

"Regardless, whether the Azrallian Empire march on pagan or catholic lands does not matter, we cannot allow these damned demons to spread their vile corruption upon earth once again. We must take up the sword at once and rally our armies into battle" The man said. "They must pay with their lives for committing the greatest of all sins, the murder of our Lord"

"May the steel of our swords strike down on each and every the Azrallian heretics that dare to exist in this world" The priest declared. "In the name of vengence for the Holy Trinity, we shall set forth to the country of the rising sun, Amen!"

Lightning bolts cracked from the sky as the heavy rain continued pouring with no signs of stopping. Drenched with rainwater right outside of the crater, Issei silently stared into the distance. There was nothing but open ground as far as the eye could see. Countless deep ravines scattered all over the place, large pools of burning magma slowly hardened to rock by the rain and multiple craters were seen everywhere, ranging from all shapes and sizes.

The once blooming city of Kuoh, utterly was destroyed. The buildings that once occupied the land were no where to be seen. There was nothing but destruction as far as the eye can see.

Not too far from him, the Praetorian Guards, minus Primus, all stood nearby watching him.

"It seems the present Supreme One has completely absorbed the past Supreme One" Zoro turned to Kuesu. "Do you sense anything unusual from him?"

"His current energy has increased compared to his state prior to the recent events" Kuesu said, her eyes glowing with magic as she scanned Issei's entire energy signature. "Apart from that, I do not see any abnormalities, both physically and spiritually"

The Praetorian Guards were feeling anxious about what had happened recently. Issei won the battle against Vladimir, making him the undisputed ruler of the Azrallian Empire. But they could not help but wonder if the Supreme One was okay or not. They had never seen their creator as two individuals before and they don't know what happens if one absorbs the other. Is his mind the same way? Does his body feel something different? Was his spirit stable? These were the kind of questions that troubled the Praetorian Guards.

"I, myself, could not see any problem with our beloved" Vladima said with a calm expression. "I'm sure we're just worrying about nothing"

"But what happens if there is something wrong with the Supreme One?" Moka asked. "For all we know, something might not be stable within him that we do not know of"

"Not to mention if the Supreme One's personality is still the same or not" Yuno added. "If the past and current Supreme Ones merged together, what kind of person is he now?"

"I wonder about that too" Zoro agreed. "Did his personality changed back to his past self, remain the same or became a mixture of the two?"

"His personality is the last thing we should consider" Kuesu said. "We should focus on trying to make sure nothing is wrong with both his body and soul most of all"

"If you, yourself, could not find anything wrong within our beloved then I am sure there is none, Kuesu" Veronica said, silencing the rest of her fellow guards.

"I fully agree, dear sister" Vladima said with a smile.

"As for his personality on the other hand..." Veronica trailed off as she started to approach Issei from behind.

She licked her lips along the way as she eyed him from behind like how a predator stalks its prey.

"My beloved?" Veronica called out, causing Issei to turn around to face her.

"What is-"

Issei didn't even get to finish his words when Veronica suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and captured his lips. She pushed herself closer to him, pressing her large breasts against his armor as she held the back of his head to pull him closer to her. Issei was completely caught off guard by this, especially the part when he felt Veronica force her tongue inside his mouth. He pulled his head back in order to breathe as he ran out of air from the unexpected kiss.

"Veroncia, why did you do that all of the sudden!?" Issei exclaimed with a rather annoyed tone, not something any person would do after getting a kiss from a woman as attractive as Veronica.

"Hmm... yes, his personality is still the same" Veronica said it loud enough for the other Praetorian Guards to hear nearby.

"Huh? What are you talking abou-"

Veronica didn't let him finish and pulled his head closer, planting her lips against his once again. Veronica ravaged Issei's lips, more so than their usual. She pushed herself forward and forward while pulling Issei closer to her. She did it so hard that without the armor, Issei was sure that he would get crushed due to her monstrous strength. Issei already knew that if Veronica was like that, there was little that he could do to stop her so he just gave up after a few seconds.

It took over a minute until Veronica pulled her lips back, leaving a trail of saliva in between their tongues.

"Delicious..." Veronica let out a very seductive purr.

"Were you kissing me or suffocating me?" Issei asked with a raised eyebrow "If you want to do something like that then at least let me know beforehand, I don't like being surprised"

"Oh dear me, if that upsets you so much then why don't you return the favour?" Veronica licked her lips. "How about you suffocate me this time?"

"My entire hometown got flattened... and you want me to fucking kiss you?"

"A fine way to rejuvenate the soul after all the stress, wouldn't you agree?"

Issei was feeling many things after witnessing what happened to Kuoh, and "stress" was definately not the right word for it.

"Just... get off me please" Issei said, practically requesting Veronica this time.

"At once, my beloved" Veronica said as she pulled away from him.

That was when the rest of the Praetorian Guards approached the two.

"If I may ask, Supreme One, how are you feeling at the moment?" Kuesu asked with concern. "Are you feeling anything weird after you merged with your past self?"

"Except for the fact that Kuoh is no more and the ones responsible for it all is still out there, I'm alright" Issei said, he was not feeling anything different other than the fact that his energy got stronger. "What happened after I was trapped in the barrier anyway?"

"Did you not remember what happened, Supreme One?" Vladima asked, causing Issei to shake his head.

"I got into a fight with an unwanted person, as you already saw" Issei said. "I lost consciousness around the time I was fighting the samurai and youkai army"

"The Shinto and Youkai forces were cornering you, our beloved" Veronica stepped forward to explain. "But before they could eliminate you, you unexpectedly created a general and a Red Legion to protect yourself. After that, the Akantor showed up and destroyed the place"

Issei cocked his head to look at Veronica and asked. "The Akantor?"

"Yes" Veronica nodded. "It is your strongest creation, my beloved. It was the reason behind all of these moltan lava"

"The strongest creation?" Issei asked. "You mean to tell me that there's someone stronger than you guys here?"

"Not someone, but something, Supreme One" Kuesu corrected him. "The Akantor is a beast not like any other, it has the ability to literally create active volcanoes that could turn an entire paradise into a burning distopia. It was second only to you in terms of power within the entire Azrallian Empire, none of the Praetorian Guards can defeat it in single combat"

"If it's that powerful... why didn't we use it before?" Issei asked, if the Akantor was as strong as Veronica described it then it would have been easier to use it instead of rellying on the Red Legions. "Are we reserving it just like the First Red Legion?"

"Unfortunately no" Veronica responded. "The Akantor is too powerful, to the point that it does not recognize any authority but you, our beloved. No one commands it but its creator, not even by us"

As far as Issei was concerned, the Praetorian Guards were second only to him in terms of authority. As long as he did not say anything, their orders were to be followed by the empire. So if the Akantor was strong enough to be independent from them, it was indeed a terrifying beast.

"So where is it now?" Issei asked.

"It is currently heading north from here, our beloved, leaving a trail of destruction on its path" Vladima answered. "We have decided to leave it be for now, we will only end up fighting it if we try to control it"

If Issei was the only one the Akantor listened to then it was a smart decision for the Praetorian Guards to just let it be, he could just go to it himself and command it instead of them using force to try and stop it.

"What about the Shinto and Youkai factions?" Issei asked again. "Where are they now?"

"Their forces were wiped out by the Akantor, but the important ones are still out there" Zoro explained. "It is safe to assume that they are currently preparing for another assault against us"

"We must strike back while they are still gathering their force" Veronica said. "Primus had deployed 12 legions in total for the first wave but he made sure to seperate them into four groups due to the threat of the human weaponry that Amaterasu has in her arsenal. One of those group is currently under attack by a large group of Shinto forces led by Susanoo, I made sure to send another group to reinforce but it will take some time for them to arrive"

"They are outnumbered but General Darius and General Draven are holding out as best as they can" Vladima added. "However, I am positive there is going to be heavy casualties on our side"

Issei put a thought in the matter. On one hand, he had a group of legions in dire need for reinforcements and on the other was the Akantor on the loose.

"It would be best to leave the Akantor for the moment and reinforce the legions first, our beloved" Veronica said, after noticing the troubled expression of Issei's face. "We already lost four entire legions during the Battle of Kuoh, it would pose a problem to us if we lose three more"

"But we can't ignore the Akantor" Issei said. "If it continues its rampage up north, who knows how many lives it will take"

"If we ignore the legions, many lives will be lost as well" Moka pointed out.

"Then we should split up" Issei suggested. "Moka, Zoro, Yuno and Kurumi, you guys go and help the legions right away!"

""""Yes, Supreme One!""""

"Go!"

With that, the four Praetorian Guards flew up, headed straight to the east to aid the Red Legions, while Issei and the remaining three Praetorian Guards, Veronica, Vladima and Kuesu, stayed behind. A few seconds later, Issei sensed a certain pair of familiar energies nearby. He leaped towards the direction where he sensed the energies. Seeing their creator moving, the remaining three Praetorian Guards followed closely behind. Once they landed, they met up with the two who helped Issei in his earlier battle, Saji and Kuroka.

"Issei!" Saji called out.

Issei walked up to the two and saw their conditions. The multiple bleeding wounds on their bodies, the scratches and bruises they sustained. They recieved all of these because they helped him in his own fight.

"Issei, that armor you're wearing..." Saji trailed off, he saw his friend strangely wearing the same armor as the man they fought earlier. However, this version was smaller, one that perfectly fit Issei's smaller structure compared to the man earlier.

"It's a long story, I'll explain it later" Issei turned to the Praetorian Guards. "Kuesu, heal them"

"Yes, Supreme One" Kuesu responded as she stepped forward.

Opening her tome, the Praetorian Guard chanted a few words before releasing a wave of green energy which engulfed Saji and Kuroka along with the area surrounding them. Immediately, they began to feel their strength return. Saji watched in awe as all of his wounds began to heal rapidly, along with the aching pain that he felt. The second the green mist disappeared, the two of them were in perfect condition. Disregarding the torn clothes they donned, it was like nothing happened to them at all.

"Amazing... I'm back to normal" Saji said as he inspected himself and saw absolutely no wounds at all.

"It is as if you drank an entire bottle of Phenex tears, right?" Kuroka said, she already knew the Azrallian mage's powerful healing spells beforehand so she was not as surprised as Saji was.

"Why are you here Saji?" Issei asked. "What happened to Rias and the others?"

"I don't know" Saji responded. "They should have been here, the town was under attack after all"

"They were taken away by Ajuka Beelzebub"

Issei and Saji turned to Veronica, who stepped forward and answered their questions.

"Are you sure about that Veronica?" Issei asked.

"I sensed the maou's energy for a brief moment earlier" Veronica added. "I am certain that it was him"

"Now that you mentioned it, I can recall a bright green light that came out of no where and surrounded me" Saji said, grabbing Issei's attention once again.

"Green light?" Issei asked.

"Yeah, it was a jump portal used to teleport people" Saji said. "I was about to be transported but coincidentally a boulder from one of those catapults crashed near me, sending me flying and preventing the jump from continuing"

"I found him unconscious on the ground when I was rushing to the school to get my sister" Kuroka added. "That's when we found out that both the devil peerages of the school were all transported by the maou and only he remained"

It was odd for a maou to transport the peerages that guarded the town away, the second the town got attacked. It was like Ajuka actually allowed the Shinto and Youkai factions to carry out their operation. Was it possible that he let them attack the town, specifically the Azrallians?"

"Who did this Issei!?" Saji demanded, his voice filled with anger. "Who did all of these!?"

"The Shinto and the Youkai factions" Issei said, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth as he uttered those words. "They were the ones who are responsible for destroying our precious hometown"

"Why?" Saji asked. "First it was the orphanage and now the entire town!? Why would they do something this!?"

Issei didn't respond, in fact, he couldn't. His presence there was reason why the Shinto and Youkai factions attacked in the first place. They demanded him to leave the country but he refused. He tried to talk with them, try to assure them that he meant to harm but they didn't listen. Instead, they ravaged the town and tried to kill him. Thinking about it, Issei couldn't help but blame himself for all that had happened. If he didn't visit the orphanage, the greeks wouldn't have blown it up. If he just left the Kuoh then probably the town would still have been intact. He could have prevented it all by just not being there.

But it didn't matter, what was done was done. All that was left was to pay the debts he owed to the ones who wronged him.

"It doesn't matter why Saji" Issei responded. "What's important is that they still did it and I can't allow this to go unpunished. They will pay for what they have done, I swear it"

Hearing this, Saji clenched his fists so tight that blood began to spill on his palms.

"I'm coming with you..."

Issei already expected this kind of response. It was only natural after what happened to Kuoh and especially what happened to the orphanage.

"I got to tell you that the devils don't actually see us in a positive way" Issei pointed out. "They won't take kindly of you if you associate yourself with me"

"They killed my mother Issei!" Saji shouted. "They killed all of those orphans and you think I would just sit back and let them get away with it!"

Issei was slightly taken aback by Saji's outburst. He could clearly see his friend's emotions in his eyes alone, burning with rage and hatred for the people that took away his most treasured person. Seeing his eyes, Issei could understand his friend's feelings. If a person that killed his most treasured person, who was his sister, was still out there then he too wouldn't be able to control his anger.

He would have the same reaction as Saji had.

"I can let you come with me, but are you really sure about heading to this direction, Saji?" Issei asked. "You're a devil and if they see you with me then they will not doubt declare you as a stray. Once you take this path there's no going back. Are you willing to sacrifice everything for vengeance?"

Saji remained silent for a moment. He didn't know why the devils would name him as a stray if he went with Issei but since his friend said it then he had to believe that it would actually happen.

He recalled all the memories he had during his time with his peerage. All the times he spent training to get stronger, fulfilled all of his duties for the student council and everything he did for his master, Sona Sitri, the woman he ever loved. If what Issei had said was true and he would be deemed as a stray then he would no longer be serving under Sona. He would be seperated from the woman he had fallen for. A part of him wanted to decline, to continue remaining as her servant. But the burning flames of hatred inside his heart was overwhelming, the very thought that the ones who mercilessly destroyed the orphanage and butchered the people inside were still on the loose out there drowned him in rage.

They all must pay for their sins!

They must suffer!

"Yes..." Saji said, his voice was soft yet overflowing with emotions. "Take me with you... allow me to give my family the justice they deserve!"

Issei stared at Saji with a stoic expression before answer "Very well"

He actually wanted his friend to refuse, to be able to stay out of this. But he knew better than to stop him at this point. Once a man gave his final answer, he will certainly fulfill it. All Issei could do from that point was to join his friend in his journey for revenge.

"You two come with us, we'll start off by finishing a few things first before we begin our assault" Issei then turned to the Praetorian Guards. "Lead us to the Akantor"

"At once, our beloved!" Veronica responded with a small bow of her head.

Issei shrouded himself with his crimson energy and flew upwards with the Praetorian Guards behind him. Saji and Kuroka, who were both devils, drew out their bat wings and followed right after. Led by the three Praeotian Guards on the front, the group headed straight to the north where they expected to run into the Akantor and hopefully stop its rampage.

When they all left the area, a certain creature appeared out of the ground. It was an earth kami, possessing the capability of merging with the ground to camouflaged itself. The kami watched from below as the Azrallians flew high up in the air with great speed before contacting his superior through telepathy.

"Lord Susanoo, the enemy on the move" The kami reported.

After informing his superior, the kami turned around to leave but he suddenly gasped as he felt an unexpected throbbing pain on his chest, followed by an overflow of blood spurting out of his mouth. He looked down and saw the blade of a katana sword sticking out of his left chest, around the area where his heart was at. He only had a few seconds to react until the strength on his knees faded and he fell to the ground lifeless, the killer standing over his corpse.

"Are you certain that we are going to side with the Azrallians now, Lord Tsukyomi?"

Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the Moon God of the Shinto faction, was the killer of the deceased kami on the ground.

"My sister's reign is coming to an end" Tsukuyomi said to one of his subordinates nearby. "If we join her battle, we join her fate as well. Siding with the Azrallian Empire is the only way to guarantee our survival"

"But milord, the Azrallian Empire has never had any allies before. How can we be certain that they will not treat us as slaves?"

"Our alliance with the Azrallian Empire is only a means for survival. I have no intentions of committing myself to them. When they destroy Takamagahara, we will be the ones to become the new Shinto faction and use the Azrallian Empire to our advantage"

Tsukuyomi had heard about the resurrection of the Blood Lord from Amaterasu. According to the information, the new Blood Lord was not like the one in the past. He was not as powerful as before and definitely not as bloodthirsty. If the present Blood Lord was anywhere closer to what the descriptions about him said then Tsukuyomi was sure that he could somehow use him to his advantage. Even with the Praetorian Guards giving him council does not matter, a sheep leading an army of lions is no match against an army of sheep led by a lion after all

While the situation within the country of Japan in the human world grew dire, another battle took place within the realm of Hades.

The Azrallian base built within the realm was under siege by a large army. Reaching around 340,000 soldiers with a large cavalry and thousands of chariots. The 6 Red Legions, who were stationed there, were completely outnumbered, only consisting of 120,000 infantry, 48,000 cavalry, 12,000 feral beasts and 24,000 wyverns. The greeks had their army on standby while dozens of catapults bombarded the base with fiery boulders. The boulders rained down on the Azrallian base, leaving large dents on the sturdy walls and fortresses, all the while spreading wildfire throughout the garrison for the legionaries to put out. Being outnumbered, the legions stayed within the wall to exploit their fortified advantage, guarding the every inch on top of the platforms.

If the greeks attacked them, the Azrallians would use the defences of the base to their advantage and if the Azrallians attacked first they would be abandoning their defensive positions and would face an army larger than theirs.

Both sides didn't want to charge in first, which prompted in the usage of artillery.

"Prepare the artilleries!" Budo, one of the four generals that were stationed there, ordered the troops.

In response, the legionaries lined up their own catapults to retaliate. They loaded each one with large stone boulders that were drenched with black flammable oil to be ignited before launch.

"Fire!"

At the general's command, the catapults all launched at the same time with their own flaming projectiles. The volley of fireballs rained down on the greek army, pulverizing all soldiers that were unfortunate enough to be caught within the blast. However, the majority of the boulders were destroyed into tiny pieces before they could hit the ground by a certain individual.

It was the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis. With her mighty bow in hand, she fired powerful arrows that easily pierced through the projectiles like they were fruits. Her godly accuracy enabled her to hit her targets with certain precision, despite rapid firing her weapon. With the goddess acting as a sentry in the sky, the catapults were rendered irrelevant.

Budo saw how the projectiles were shattered one by one and immediately ordered another assault "Battleships!"

At his command, five Avalon Battleships formed a line above the Azrallian base. Once in formation, their two triple-barreled cannons were raised up at a certain angle, aiming directly at the enemy army.

"Fire!"

The Avalon Battleships simultaneously fired at the same time, causing a thunderous sound with each shot. The projectiles were all fiery magic energy and were much more powerful than ordinary catapults. Artemis shot a volley of arrows in the sky and deflected many projectiles but there were still some that got through and bombarded the greeks, spreading wildfire on the blast area which scorched all soldiers within range. The Avalon Battleships wasted no time in reloaded and just a few seconds, they fired another barrage. And just like before, Artemis deflected most but not all projectiles.

That was when another goddess appeared in the scene.

The Goddess of Wisdom and War, Athena, launched herself towards the incoming bolts of flames and with one swing of her spear, she created a shockwave in the shape of an arc and destroyed the remaining projectiles.

"Annoying little goddess..." Budo growled before he launched himself up in the air.

As the general ascended, thunderclouds began to appear followed by violent cracks of lightning bolts and roaring thunder. The lightning struck the general, empowering him with immense energy. This scene was seen amongst both the armies which inspired courage on his side and fear on the other. Strengthened by the lightning of the sky, Budo gathered a large amount of energy towards both of his hands before he fired a beam of electricity towards the greek army.

Like a mighty hammer from the heavens, the beam advanced towards the greek army, causing the soldiers to waver. Athena readied her shield in preparation to deflect the beam but before she could, the beam suddenly stopped midway, releasing a chaotic shockwave which the greek soldiers were forced to hide behind their shields to protect themselves. Upon closer look, Athena saw a figure of a person which seemed to be the one responsible for stopping the powerful beam. Once the beam disappeared, the individual that stopped it remained.

Budo narrowed his eyes as he saw who it was. "So you finally returned here... Hades" He said.

"I am here to take back what is mine!" Hades, the one who stopped the beam, said before he raised the staff he held in his hand to manifest a thick pale mist, consisting of countless souls stuffed onto each other. With a wave of his staff, Hades launched the soul mist towards the Azrallian base, continuing to grow in size as it advanced closer and closer.

In response, Budo raised a hand up and was struck by several lightning bolts at the same time. With electricity surrounding his entire hand, the general lashed a fist downwards, firing multiple bolts of lightning on the ground which halted the advancing mist of souls. The mist grew in size, desperately trying to break through to get to the enemy base but Budo further increased the power of the lightning bolt which later reshaped to the form of a great wall which held the mist at bay. Both energies clashed with one another but in the end, they proved to be equal in power as both the soul mist and the wall of lightning destroyed each other in the end.

Seeing his attack being completely deflected, Hades turned his attention to Budo in the sky. Amongst all the Azrallians within the base, he was no doubt the strongest they have, surpassing even his fellow three generals which commanded the legions alongside him. If the greeks hoped to win the battle, the Azrallian general Budo, must be defeated.

"You will offer your soul to me in compensation for building your filthy structures in my territory" Hades said with his spectral voice before launching himself towards the general.

Budo saw the incoming greek god and immediately blocked his attack, the collision releasing a powerful shockwave which was felt even by the ones on the ground below. Hades summoned a large amount of blazing fire which he sent forth to encircle his opponent. Budo responded by releasing a large explosion of lightning energy from his body, holding the flames at bay. The two soon engaged in a fierce aerial combat, striking each other and blocking each other's attacks

While the two clashed with each from above, the battle from below continued. The Avalon Battleships went ahead and immediately reloaded again which Artemis used this to her advantage. She quickly loaded her bow with an arrow that was shrouded with her godly energy. After aiming directly at one of the battleships for just a split second, she released the string. Her arrow travelled at instanenous speed with great precision, easily piercing through the thick armored haul of the ship, resulting in multiple internal explosions which caused a chain reaction of more explosions. The damage of a single arrow from the goddess was more than enough to cause one of the large battleships to descend to the ground, causing yet an even larger explosion once it crashed which destroyed a large chunk of the base.

Artemis loaded another arrow and fired at the battleship next to it, destroying it the same way as the first one. And like the first one, the ship was set ablaze and crashed on another area of the base, destroying it with a large fiery explosion. Artemis managed to destroy two Avalon Battleships in a row until another general flew up and personally blocked her arrows to protect the remaining three ships.

"I cannot allow you to destroy any more of our ships" The general said.

"Make sure to defend them then" Artemis said as she shot another volley of arrow.

The general quickly reacted and deflected all incoming projectiles. Artemis fired more arrows with a faster pace the second time but the general continued to deflect each and every arrow.

"My arrows can't do anything with those generals guarding their ships" Artemis said as she shot another arrow which was deflected by the Azrallian general again.

"Continue firing at them" Athena said. "Wear them out as much as you can before we engage"

At that moment, a large portal appeared in front of the greek army. Both goddesses stared as the portal grew in size until it finally opened.

"Is it wise to use them this early sister?" Artemis asked, fully knowing what the portal meant. "We have the Azrallians outnumbered, should we not preserve the creatures' before we march on Japan?"

"We must minimize the casualties of this battle as much as we can" Athena responded. "If these monsters are able to do that then it is a viable option"

The greek goddesses watched as the ground started to quake. Lumbering through the large portal was a giant so hideous and gruesome with fifty heads and a hundred muscular arms. Each head screaming and roaring loudly, creating a horrific sound of battle cries. Its limbs flailing and thrashing all over the place, each one holding different types of weapons which ranged from swords, spears, axes, maces and more. Some arms were larger than the others with several smaller ones protruding out of it and the sizes of the weapons depended on the sizes of the arms.

The creature was not alone as well as another similar looking giant appeared, also possessing fifty heads and fifty-pairs of hands. It was also armed with various weapons like the first one but some of its limbs were larger than the ones that the first creature had. In fact, its arms were long enough to reach the ground, causing it to walk on all fours. Its largest hand held a gigantic battle hammer, it was completely covered with dents all over but the weapon was still empowered by multiple enchantments, making it a weapon to be reckoned with.

The third and final creature that came through the portal was also in same species but this one was bigger than the first two. Like the first two, its armed with various weapons. Out of the three, it was undoubtedly the biggest and most powerful of the three.

These creatures were known as the Hecatoncheires, the Hundred-Handed Ones. Powerful giants that were born from the union between Uranus and Gaia.

"Load the catapults and fire immediately!"

Seeing these hulking behemoths appearing out of the portal, alerted the Azrallians so much that one of the generals, the Azrallian version of the nine-tailed-fox, Ahri, ordered the catapults to fire at these creatures. The catapults launched the flaming projectiles which were sniped by the greek goddess of hunt once more. The ones that were not destroyed however, rained down at the hecatoncheires. The burning rocks collided with the humongous bodies of these creatures, doing absolutely no damage against their sturdy hides.

The only thing that the boulders achieved was to anger the monsters.

The hecatoncheire that was the first one to cross the portal let out a deafening combination of roars from its fifty heads. It charged forward, creating miniature quakes with each step of its mighty feet on the ground. Despite its huge size, the giant displayed agile movements which allowed it to travel at great speed.

"No effect, I see" Ahri giggled as she summoned an energy orb which hovered above the palm of her hand.

Seeing the creature advancing towards them, Ahri dashes forward, fully intending to take on the behemoth head on. The hecatoncheire roared as it swung sword its largest sword at the incoming general. At the right moment, Ahri gracefully dodged the titanic blade, which caused the giant to pulverize the ground instead, releasing a thunderous shockwave upon the impact.

"Playtime's over!" Ahri said before she summoned dozens of spectral blue flames which orbit the around a large area, surrounding herself and the hecatoncheire.

The hecatoncheire pulled its sword back and swung again but with a mere flick of a finger, the orbiting fox fire instantly launched themselves towards the giant, bombarding it with explosions from all directions and shrouding it with a thick cloud of smoke. But before the general could react however, the giant launched itself forward, striking the Azrallian general with one of its many swords and sending her flying back to the Azrallian base, ploughing through the sturdy high walls before crash landing on the ground hard.

The impact was strong enough to create a large crater with the Azrallian general on the center. But even after that, Ahri recovered quickly. She rose to her feet just a few seconds after her fall. She could feel a throbbing pain on the area where she was hit by the sword and another aching pain her back due to the impact on the ground with several bruises and scratches visible around her body.

Despite only recieving one direct blow, she recieved so much damage.

Her gaze shifted forward as she saw the hecatoncheire that sent her flying slowly advanced towards them. She gathered a large amount of her energy and transformed it into fox fire, shrouding the giant with a column of searing blue flames. The fire was so intense that it illuminated the entire area around them within a radius of a few kilometers like a bright sun. But despite the burning heat that from the flames, the hecatoncheire within slowly walked out of it with small, laughable burnt marks on its skin. Not only that but the other two hecatoncheires casually walked through the blue flames, ignoring its heat entirely.

"My flames have so little effect on them?" Ahri exclaimed as she realized how durable the bodies of her opponents were.

With another loud roar, the hecatoncheires all charged at the same time, creating powerful tremors on their path. If all three of those creatures were to assault the Azrallian base, it would give the greek army a huge opening to exploit. If that happened, the base will fall and their hold on the realm will be lost. She cannot allow something like that to happen.

"Legions, defend this point at all cost!" Ahri's voice echoed throughout the entire base. "We must not let this realm fall into the enemy's hands!"

The legions responded with motivated battle cries as they prepared for battle against the three charging behemoths.

While the battle raged on, sister goddesses Athena and Artemis held the greek army in reserves. They would let the hecatoncheires deal as much damage as they can and when the Azrallians are finally weakened, they would deploy their army and finish them all off.

"Ugh... so noisy" An alluring and mature voice was heard as the two goddesses turned to see a stunningly beautiful woman. "I never really liked war, I much prefer a peaceful environment"

The woman was tall with long blonde hair which reached past her waist and was tied in braids. Her body was voluptous which no man could resist to. She wore a toga of pure white which reached down her torso like a long gown. Two clothes ran around the back of her neck and down her front, covering her large breasts which revealed a generous portion of her cleavage and exposed the fair skin of her back and sides. Two golden sashes held the cloths tightly on her body, one right below her breasts and another around her waist. Smaller versions of these sashes were wrappred around on both her biceps for further accessories. Her attire was completed with a pair of high-heeled sandals, golden earrings which glittered against the light and a golden bracelet on her left wrist.

"If the battlefield bothers you that much, you are free to leave, Aphrodite" Artemis scoffed. "We don't need a little slut like you on the frontlines"

"You know I could not do that even if I wanted to, Artemis" The woman, who happened to be the greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, passion and procreation, Aphrodite, answered with a sneer on her face but with a slight venom in her voice. "Zeus himself ordered me to come here and help in the war effort after all"

"And how will you do that exactly?" Artemis asked. "Are you planning to seduce all of our enemies into submission?"

"Please, I don't need any seduction for them to fall for my charms" Aphrodite said with a confident tone. "It does not matter whether they be Azrallians or not, no man can resist my beauty"

"I still can't see how are you any useful here" Artemis said, shrugging her shoulders. "All you're good at is just spreading your legs to any man you fancy"

Aphrodite's smile slowly faded from her face as she narrowed her eyes dangerously at Artemis.

"I am only here because, as always, our control-freak of a father demanded me here, even after I voiced out my disapproval. Typical of him, if I may say" Aphrodite responded. "If it wasn't for him, I would never be here in this dirty and rowdy realm in the first place. Unlike a certain stuck-up bitch, I'm not fond of lrollingl around in the mud and stinking like dirt all way"

"Do you want to repeat that for me skank?" Artamis growled, loading her bow with another arrow.

"Enough you two. Your petty squabble is not required here at the moment" Athena said firmly. "You can settle your difference and your unapproval with each other after we defeat our enemies, agreed?"

"Fine..." Artemis said.

"Whatever you say hon" Aphrodite shrugged.

The three of them then turned their attentions forward when they heard a loud crashing sound in the distance. The first hecatoncheire had already breached the wall. The Azrallian legionaries immediately attacked the beast, firing magic projectiles from the tip of their spears while the wyverns swarmed it, breathing out fireballs all over its body. In response, the hecatoncheire swung its swords violently, tearing through its enemies with ease and causing as much destruction as it can.

"Begone, foul creature!" Ahri shouted as she launched her energy orb forward. Both size and power increased as it closed in on the monster before collision.

The orb released a constant wave of energy that was capable of creating a tempest of shockwaves throughout the surrounding area. But despite that, the hecatoncheire was as solid as a rock, using its massive size and immense strength to hold its ground against the raging orb of fox fire. The two other generals that were present used that opening to launch their own attacks to reinforce Ahri's orb. With the combination of three simultaneous attacks, the hecatoncheire was ultimately knocked away, falling on its back and destroying the ground it fell on.

The generals successfully fended off the first hecatoncheire but only for a moment as it immediately began to rise from the ground again. It was at the moment that the biggest out of the three hecatoncheires rammed through another part of the wall. The legions defended the fort furiously but this hecatoncheire was stronger and more massive than its other two. Ahri launched her orb at it, the same attack which she used against the other hecatoncheire. However, once the orb neared, the biggest of the hecatoncheires swung one of its swords and effortlessly sliced the orb in half, creating a massive shockwave which blew away everything within range.

It was indeed on another level compared to the other two.

"Now... attack now!" Athena shouted, causing one of her subordinates to blow the war horn, signalling the greek army to charge forward.

Issei, accompanied by the three Praetorian Guards, Veronica, Vladima and Kuesu, alongside Saji and Kuroka, followed the burning trail of destruction which was caused by the creature they were heading to. The ground was destroyed, leaving a path of craters and ravines all over. Wildfires, which were caused by the oceans of lava which the beast had left behind, spread as far as the horizon, creating gigantic blankets of blake smoke that rise in the air that completely covered the skies.

The once green land that was blessed with nature was completely scorched by just one single entity.

As the group pressed on, they would occasionally pass through literally active volcanoes which Issei could have sworn was never there before. It was when he remembered that the Akantor possessed the ability to create entire volcanoes out of flat lands. They had been flying for just ten minutes and he already countered at least a dozen active volcanoes. each one spewing out streams of lava and bursting volcanic rocks were rained down on the area surrounding it.

Issei couldn't help but feel relief that he made the decision to prioritize the Akantor personally and let the other half of the Praetorian Guards reinforce the legions under general Darius' command. If he allowed the Akantor to continue its rampage, who knows how much damage it could cause to the country.

"What kind of creature could do something like this anyway?" Saji asked after witnessing the amount of destruction around them.

"Apparently a really strong one" Issei responded.

"So what are you really?" Saji asked. "You guys told me about you being the Blood Lord or something but I've never heard of that before"

"It's hard to explain right now"

"Also, you have servants too, like that army of yours that saved us against Kokabiel. Are you some kind of king or something?"

"Hold your tongue reincarated devil" Kuesu unexpectedly cut in between their conversation with a sharp tone. "You do not question the Supreme One with such-"

"It's okay Kuesu" Issei assured her. "Saji is my friend, please respect him from now on"

"Understood, my apologies" Kuesu said obediately.

Saji was astounished at the authority that Issei just displayed. He knew his friend was something but he didn't know he was some kind of royalty.

"We are close now, our beloved" Vladima said. "I can feel the Akantor's energy nearby"

As Veronica said that, the four of them could could see a faint silhouette of a mountain in the distance, behind the raging sea of flames and the curtain of black smoke. But the closer they got to it, the more Issei realized that it was indeed not a mountain, especially after they heard a beastly roar coming from the direction where they saw the silhouette.

"That's the Akantor?" Issei asked as he saw the large mass slowly moving away from them, continuing its aimless advance up to the north.

"It is, our beloved" Veronica nodded. "That is your most favourite pet of all, your strongest creation"

"Such a majestic beast to behold, wouldn't you agree, our beloved?" Vladima asked. "The mere sight of it brought fear to many of our enemies in the past, it's power rivals only that of your own"

"...Yeah" Issei mumbled, he couldn't really agree with Vladima on calling the Akantor "majestic" after he saw all the destruction it caused along the way.

Issei's attention was suddenly pulled away from the Akantor as he saw a burning wreckage coming towards them. Issei was about to deflect it but Kuesu reacted faster and got in front, immediately using a spell to blast away the wreckage before it could hit her creator.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Supreme One" Kuesu turned to him and said. "I should have destroyed it long before it got a chance to enter your vicinity"

"No, it's all good, thanks" Issei said, causing Kuesu to visibly flinch on what he said.

He thanked her for doing her duty, for doing something so trivial. She was not used to being thanked by her creator, especially since protecting him was expected of her.

"Anyway, what was that?" Issei asked as he looked at what remained of the wreckage. "It didn't look like any volcanic rocks"

"I believe I saw a few pieces of metal as well" Veronica said. "It was certainly not a volcanic rock"

It was then when the four of them heard a sharp loud noise as a few very fast moving objects passed through above them. Upon seeing it, Issei could recognize that they were military aircraft, jet planes to be exact, and they were heading straight towards the Akantor. Once they got close enough, visible explosions could be seen on the beast's body, probably caused by the bombs that were dropped by it.

"It appears that the human military is responding to the Akantor" Vladima pointed out. "Considering the amount of destruction it caused, it should be expected that the humans would notice it sooner or later"

As the group approached closer, it was clear that the human military was in fact attacking the Akantor. They all bombarded the beast with countless rockets and bombs. Back to back explosions assaulted its entire body but even so, the Akantor made no signs of weakening. Its sturdy shells withstood the onslaught it was exposed to and kept advancing like an unstoppable force. Human aircrafts flew in the air, relentlessly bombing the beast from above which did no visible damage at all. The Akantor lashed out as well, occasionally stomping its huge claws on the ground and sending powerful quakes towards the human ground forces. More bombs were launched, exploding on the side of its face which it responded by breathing out large waves of scorching flames. The fire annihilated everything within its range, even the most armored vehicle which the humans deployed were no matched against its searing heat.

One lone soldier however, managed to accidentally fall into a ditch, completely avoiding the bursting flames and saving his life. He screamed as he was not safe from the heat as black burnt marks slowly spread all over his body. As the flames dispersed, he quickly took off his top which was caught on fire and threw it aside. Despite suffering severe burnt wounds, he was ultimately alive, a much preferrable fate compared to his companions who were all reduced to ashes.

"I-I'm... alive...?" The soldier asked with a shaky voice, traumatized at the terrifying battle he was forced into.

Before he could get himself together however, he suddenly felt another wave of intense heat. He turned around and paled as the towering monster that they were tasked to eliminate was upon him. He fell on his knees with tears in his eyes as he gazed up at the bottom of the creature's claw, ready to stomp him to death. He pretty much accepted his fate and closed his eyes until...

"I command you to stop!"

He uddenly heard an unusual voice. The sound was faint despite it being a yell so whoever its owner was, he was far away from his position. The soldier slowly opened his eyes to peak whether he was alive or not. He was so terrified that he almost forgot to breathe as he saw the creature's claw remain motionless a few meters above the ground. If it decided to stomp the ground, he would undoubtedly get crushed like an ant.

Whatever the reason why the monster suddenly stopped moving was the same reason why he was still alive.

Flying above the Akantor, was Issei and the others. The four of them flew down and landed on top of its gigantic head. Despite the scorching heat the beast released from its body, Issei nor his companions could hardly feel anything at all. Saji and Kuroka felt the intense heat however but with just one protection spell cast upon them by Kuesu, they were able to resist the extreme temperature and follow the Azrallians.

"Well I guess he really does listen to what I say" Issei commented.

"Yes" Veronica nodded. "The Akantor only listens to you, our beloved"

"But why was it created to only listen to me anyway?" Issei asked, turning to Veronica. "Shouldn't it be more convenient if the Praetorian Guards are able to command it as well?"

"It is so that you have the full authority over the great weapon of the Azrallian Empire" Veronica responded. "You didn't want to share its control with anyone, even with the Praetorian Guards"

Even when the loyalties of every Azrallian were unquestionable, Vladimir still didn't want to allow the Akantor to be controlled by anyone other than himself. Even after absorbing him, Issei still found his former self to be rather unlikable.

"Our beloved, several unwanted pests are upon us" Vladima said as she stared into the horizon.

Issei followed her line of sight and saw a small fleet of combat helicopters approaching. They were no doubt humans.

"Should we swiftly dispose of them Supreme One?" Kuesu asked, taking a step forward and flaring her energy.

"What!? We can't just kill them, they're humans!" Saji turned to Issei. "Hey Issei, can't we do something to just shake them off!?"

Issei remained silent, they were not up against the Shinto, the youkai or the greeks. They were humans. Just normal humans who were trying to defend the country from the rampaging monster which was the Akantor. He didn't want to kill the ones who were not his enemies but if he let them be then they would not stop bombing the Akantor.

Before Issei could think of a solution, a sudden beam of red light tore through the human aircrafts, destroying everything unfortunate enough to be caught.

"What the hell!?" Saji exclaimed at the unexpected attack.

At that moment, a fast moving figure appeared before them. It was a person, donning a full-bodied crimson armor filled with green gems all over. The armor was dragon-like in appearance, complete with a pair of powerful wings and claws. This unknown person swung an arm to the side, launching an arc of red energy which finished off the rest of the aircrafts, blowing each one into burning pieces.

"Oh dear me, I didn't expect to meet him here at this moment" Veronica said with an intrigued smile.

Issei's expression remained stoic after what he saw. He just stared as the combat helicopters were torn down by this unknown individual. His attention was then drawn when a magic circle appeared nearby. Manifesting out of that magic circle was a woman appearing around her mid twenties to her early thirties. She was tall with a voluptous body and wore a pair of glasses. Her skin was dark and her hair was brown, tied in a bun on the back of her head with a headset. Her outfit consisted of a low-cut purple dress with a high collar and a slit in between her chest to reveal a large portion of her breasts.

"We finally meet at last, Blood Lord" The woman said. "My name is Katerea Leviathan, a noble descendant of the true Leviathan"

"Leviathan?" Kuroka asked. "A descendant of an original maou?"

"Correct!" Katerea proudly said.

"A devil, huh?" Issei confirmed after sensing her energy. "Are you here to kill me too?"

"I assure you that I have no ill intentions towards you, Blood Lord" Katerea said. "I am here to offer you a proposal"

"A proposal?" Issei asked, he already was thinking of refusing it even before he could hear it, after his experiences with a certain devil who pretended to be his friend he was already having trust issues with them, especially with the woman giving an air of mistrust around her.

"Prove me if I'm wrong but are you here to ask our beloved to help you retake the Underworld?" Veronica asked, causing Katerea to shift her eyes towards her after she just predicted what she was about to say. "I've heard about your little group, Katerea Leviathan, you and the other descendants of the original maous have banded together to plot to overthrow the current leaders of the devils and take control of the Underworld, correct?"

"I see that you have not lost your touch, Veronica Sapphires, as smart as always. Yes, you are correct. I am here to ask the Blood Lord of that favour" Katerea turned to Issei and continued. "Our organization plans to dispose and replace the unworthy maous who disrespectfully stole our titles for themselves. After the war that your empire started, the system of the Underworld had been decaying and the current maous are doing nothing but further ruining it. So as the true heirs to the titles, we are the only ones who are capable of restoring the Underworld to its former glory"

"Dispose the current maous?" Saji exclaimed. "Are you saying you're going to kill the current maous!?"

Katerea turned to Saji, her eyes glaring like daggers at the poor boy.

"What makes you think that you can speak carelessly amongst your superiors, second-born devil!" Katerea said with a penetrating voice.

"You just said that you're going to dispose of the maous!" Saji pointed out. "You expect me to just stand by and be quiet!?"

"Saji"

The blonde suddenly paused as Issei called out his name. That was when he realized that he had mispoken. He got riled up after hearing Katerea intending to kill the maous, which one of them happened to be the older sister of his master, Sona Sitri. But depsite hearing her vile intentions, he should have interrupted them like that.

"So you want me to give you leadership over your species?" Issei asked, turning back to Katerea. "What's in it for us?"

"If you aid us in our return to power, we will compensate you by offering your empire the dominion over our enemies, Grigori and Heaven" Katerea said. "With our combined efforts, our enemies will undoubtedly fall on their knees"

Helping people rise to power in their factions in exchange for the destruction of a common enemy and conquer their lands. Katerea's offer was very similar to that of Tsukuyomi. As far as he was concerned, they only want to use the military might of the Azrallian Empire to further reach their ambitions.

To be used by someone else was something Issei really didn't like, considering he had been used for the first half of his entire life.

"It's a tempting offer but I don't want a war with the devils" Issei said. "All I want to destroy are the Shinto faction, the Youkai faction and the damn greeks for everything that they did"

"And what will you do after you destroy them?" Katerea asked. "The other mythologies won't just simply ignore after destroying three entire factions like that, they will surely react in a negative way, including Grigori and Heaven. It is best to destroy them before they could have the chance to strike first"

"If they attack us then we'll retaliate" Issei said firmly. "But if they don't, I don't see any reason for us to attack them"

Katerea didn't show it on the outside but she was displeasured by the stubborn words of the Blood Lord. If they attack the current maous with the support of the Azrallian Empire then victory is guaranteed. For that reason, she needed to convince him.

"I have heard that an assassin was sent to dispose of you not too long ago" Katerea said. "I believe the perpetrator that sent that assassin was the maou Ajuka Beelzebub. Like the other maous, Ajuka desires to erase you from this world once again, wouldn't it be appropriate to repay them for this atrocious act?"

"Need not worry of it, Leviathan" Veronica assured her. "The assassin you speak of has already been dealt with accordingly for his foolish actions"

Issei glimpsed at Veronica from the side. He didn't really know what Veronica did to Silvers but judging from the dangerous smile she had, he could probably guess that whatever happened to him was definitely not good. But even thinking of what might have happened to Silvers, Issei didn't really feel a single ounce of sympathy for his former friend, especially after he lied and tried to kill him.

Before Katerea could ask Veronica what she meant by her words, the red armoured individual suddenly flew towards them, stopping to hover right above their positions.

"Is this the one you've been blabbering about Katerea?" He asked as he looked at Issei. "Disregarding that armor of his, he just looks like your average school boy, are you sure this is him?"

"This is him, please behave yourself, Jeremaias" Katerea turned back to Issei. "Blood Lord, I'd like you to meet Jeremaias Osterianus, this era's Red Dragon Emperor"

The Red Dragon Emperor. Veronica had told him once the existence of the Heavenly Dragons, the Welsh Dragon Ddraig and the Vanishing Dragon Albion. She told him that they were his creations but were kept secret from the rest of the world. He didn't actually asked why so he still didn't why. No one but the Azrallians and a certain few others know the true originas of the Heavenly Dragons.

"Nice to meet you" Issei said politely.

"Likewise" Jeremaias said, but then his eyes quickly darted towards the stunningly beautiful woman standing near Issei. "Oh my, what might your name be milady?"

Issei turned his head slightly and realized that he was referring to none other than Veronica, who maintained her usual seductive smile on her face.

"Excuse me, but are you perhaps referring to me?" Veronica asked. "What might you be so interested with my name?"

"Well why wouldn't I be?" Jeremaias asked casually. "I could not help myself with such a beautiful young lady such as yourself before me"

Issei raised an eyebrow by how he just called Veronica, of all people, "young lady". Does he not know who she was or something?

"Oh dear me, to be called young again" Veronica said with a delighted tone. "How flattering of you, Jeremaias Osterianus"

While Veronica smiled at Jeremaias for his compliment, Issei noticed how she did not give her name after he asked her. Knowing her, she probably did it on purpose as well.

"That is Veronica Sapphires, Jeremaias" Katerea said with a slight tone of annoyance in his voice. "You would well to respect her"

"Veronica Sapphires... a lovely name fit for a lovely woman" Jeremaias said with a smile. "Wouldn't you agree, Ms. Sapphires?"

"Of course it is a lovely name, it was given to me by my most beloved person in this world, after all" Veronica responded. "Someone who I place on a higher caliber amongst the rest"

"Jeremaias, wnough of your nonsense!" Katerea shouted. "We are here to negotiate, and your behaviour is definately not required!"

But despite her words, Jeremaias simply ignored her and shifted his eyes towards the other two women present nearby and saw their beauties as well. While they did not rival the stunning looks of Veronica Sapphires, they still possess remarkable charms, especially the blonde woman that resembled Veronica so much.

"I see that you're not alone as well" Jeremaias pointed out with a smirk on his face, slowly looking at the two women from top to bottom, as if he was inspecting them. "What's your name ladies?"

"Our names are not important, host of the Red Dragon Emperor" Vladima said. "All you need to concern yourself is the man right in front of you"

Jeremaias turned to look at the one who the woman was referring to and saw Issei, who silently stared at him in silence.

"Oh yes, you are absolutely right" Jeremaias said with a nod before he landed on top of the Akantor's head near where they were. "I went off topic from you and I hope you accept my apologies"

Issei raised an eyebrow as he noticed that the tone of Jeremaias' voice suddenly changed when he spoke to him. When he was asking the names of the females, his voice was filled with eagerness and adoration. But the second he turned to Issei, his voice suddenly became uninterested.

So he decided to not bother with him at all, silently staring at him from the side.

If Jeremaias was more interested with talking to the females then there was no reason for Issei to talk to him.

"So Blood Lord, what do you say?" Katerea asked. "Do we have an agreement?"

"I won't be helping you in any way" Issei responded, causing the descendant of the Leviathan to blink in surprise.

"Even after what Ajuka tried to do to you?" Katerea asked. "Are you just going to let him get away after his assassin tried to kill you?"

"Like Veronica said, the assassin had been dealt with already" Issei responded. "I'll be confronting the maou Ajuka about what he did in the near future and will decide the best course of actions right after. But I'll leave that all aside for now, I have better things to do"

Katerea was visible displeased at Issei's refusal.

"Fine, if that is your decision then so be it" Katerea said before she created a magic circle beneath her feet and teleported away, not even bothering to say her farewell.

"I'll be looking forward to the next time we meet again, Veronica Sapphires" Jeremaias said as she approached the dark lady and took her hand. "Until then..."

He was about to lower his head to plant a kiss when suddenly, a strong hand was felt on his shoulder, stopping his advance.

"Katerea Leviathan has already left" Issei said with a low voice. "Shouldn't you be on your way too?"

Jeremaias remained quiet for the moment. He glimpsed at Issei's hand on his shoulder and was visibly displeasured.

"I would advise you to take your hand off of me" Jeremaias said with a threatening tone. "Did you forget who I am?"

But before Issei could respond, a sudden voice was heard from Jeremaias

"Jeremaias, let us go now. It is best not to cause a scene here" The voice was deep and it was obvious that it didn't belong to him, despite it was heard coming from his direction.

"You are too cautious as always, Ddraig" Jeremaias said before he stood up straight. Seeing him letting go of Veronica's hand, Issei pulled away his own from him.

"I apologize for my host's inappropriate behaviour" The Welsh Dragon, Ddraig, spoke from Jeremaias' left hand. "He tends to get a bit... rowby when it comes to women, especially beautiful ones"

"There's no need for any apologies Ddraig" Jeremaias argued, dusting off his shoulder which was grabbed earlier. "I am merely showing courtesy, nothing more. That was until I was rudely interrupted..."

Issei narrowed his eyes, fully knowing that he was being referred.

"Jeremaias, let's go, NOW" Ddraig insisted.

"Hmph! Very well, I don't understand why you are so agitated today" Jeremaias said before flicking his fingers to create a magic circle beneath his face. But before he could leave, he glimpsed at Veronica with a smirk on his face one last time. "I do hope that we get to see each other in the near future, Veronica Sapphires" He said before finally leaving.

"Ddraig's new host does seem to focus on us rather than our beloved, doesn't he?" Vladima pointed out. "I almost took his head when he ignored you"

Issei, himself, didn't know exactly why he stopped Jeremaias as he took Veronica's hand and was about to give it a kiss like a gentleman. But for some reason, he felt uncomfortable with it. But he had to admit that his personality was unpleasant.

"It is actually perfect for Ddraig's current host to have little to no knowledge about the Azrallian Empire" Kuesu said. "He will become a valuable insiders within this Old Maou faction"

"I agree" Veronica nodded. "I've communicated with him through telepathy and already given him such orders. As long as that hairless mutt stays with the faction, Ddraig will be able to report to us regarding their actions"

"No wonder you let that guy creep at you like that" Issei said. "I was expecting you to impale him with your spears any moment there"

Veronica giggled and said "There's no need for my spears, we still need him alive"

Issei already knew how much Veronica loved her games. Normally, he wouldn't like people manipulating others for their own benefit but as long as Veronica plays with people that actually deserved it, he was more than willing to allow her to continue.

"What now Issei?" Saji asked.

"We're going to continue what we're going to do" Issei said. "Veronica, what's the best next move to make against the Shinto and the youkai?"

"I believe that we should establish a base of operation first" Veronica responded. "We need a place to deploy our legions without the threat of a nuclear attack from the Shinto's human arsenal. For that, we need to occupy a city. The buildings will provide us with a more suitable defensive terrain than a mere open plain"

"If we take over a city, the humans will be in the way for sure" Issei said. "We can't let the humans get involved in this matter"

"How about evacuating them like you guys did in Kuoh?" Saji asked.

"Evacuating them will not be an option this time, we only managed to get them there since they were fleeing from the chaos of the battle in Kuoh" Vladima said. "Unless we use force, they will not cooperate with us"

"Is there another way to establish a base without occupying a city?" Issei asked.

"We could build a stronghold of our own but that will surely take so much valuable time" Veronica responded. "The Shinto and Youkai will inevitably harrass our forces in the midst of construction as well, we will likely lose many soldiers before the fight even begins"

Veronica was right, building a base out of scratch was not a good idea.

"If you worry about the innocent lives that might be lost from the collateral damage of our conflict between the Shinto and Youkai factions then fear not" Vladima assured him. "I am sure that the humans are already doing their very best to evacuate as much civilians are they could, especially after discovering the existance of the Akantor"

She was also right. If word got out that a massive creature like the Akantor appeared in a country, mass panic and riots would no doubt occure. The governemnt will have no choice but to take action and control the turnmoil before finally dealing with the beast.

And with the humans out of the way, there was nothing that stood between him and his enemies.

"Alright, let's occupy a city then" Issei decided, there was no other choice.

"I shall send word to the legions at once, our beloved" Veronica said. "They will capture the closest one to us"

Panic erupted all over the streets. Like ants that were unexpectedly exposed from their nest, the people scattered all over the place, either seeking refuge in the buildings or fleeing the scene as fast as they could. The reason for this disruption was the appearance of large, floating battleships in the skies. Like great gliders, the Avalon Battleships of the Azrallian Empire flew above the tall buildings of the city, spreading fear and terror to all humans from beneath. Adding to the chaos were the cohorts of soldiers, who marched in unison through the streets. With a line of feral beasts in front, who brushed aside any vehicles and obstruction in the way, the Red Legions advanced through the streets as if it was their own.

Intercepting their way up ahead, was a blockade set up by the humans, who all pointed their guns at the advancing legionaries. Most were visibly shaken by the sight of the ferocious creature that they have never seen before in their lives. Their beastly growls and roars combined by the display of strength on how they could easily shove an entire truck out of their way with one swing of their muscular limbs was enough to tempt these humans to flee.

"Hold steady men!" The commander of the blockade shouted, desperately trying to hold the already low moral of his troops. "Don't waste any bullets, aim directly at their eyes and mouths!"

The feral beasts saw the blockade up ahead and instinctively charged towards it. The human paled as they witnessed the sudden burst of speed from these monsters.

"Fire! Open fire!" The commander shouted, causing all the soldiers to shoot their guns at the stampeding creatures.

Despite the bullets raining down on them, the rubbery skins of the feral beasts were enough to completely deflect all the projectiles that the humans dished out on them. It did little to nothing to stop them and were barely able to slow them down. It didn't take long until the first feral beast launched itself towards these humans. It used its large, bulky build to tore through the barricades like they were made out of paper. Right after that, another feral beast burst through another section of the blockade before another rammed through another section, sending even the concrete roadblocks flying a few feet away from where it was originally placed.

The humans all broke in terror, desperately firing their guns at the feral beasts which only angered the creatures. With their razor-sharp fangs and powerful claws, the feral beasts assaulted and feasted upon the humans like they were helpless prey. The remaining survivors quickly fled the horrific scene, unable to rescue any of their unfortunate colleagues from the ravenous beasts. However, as the soldiers desperately fled for their lives, they suddenly saw something that was a strange sight that equalled the marching medieval army with monstrous creatures.

"S-Samurai?" One bewildered soldier mumbled.

An incoming cavalry of samurai warriors, each one wearing the same equipment that their ancestors have worn during ancient times, charged towards their direction. The humans could not fanthom who were these strange men and why were dressed as samurai warriors.

The soldiers quickly snapped themselves out of their confusion and moved aside to avoid getting trampled on by the cavalry. The hooves of the stallions shook the ground around them like an earthquake as the riders continued forward and stormed the beastly creatures that easily crushed their blockade. At first, the humans thought that these men were crazy, not only to dress up as samurai warriors but to take on the creatures head on. However, they were suddeny amazed when these samurai used their superior speed to quickly encircle the feral beasts. They coordinated their attacks perfectly and assaulted each creature with precise strikes of their katana sword, which was able to pierce through the flesh of these monsters, something that their bullets were not able to do.

"What the hell is going on!?"

"Who are these people!?"

The humans were stunned in disbelief at the battle they were witnessing before then. It was like something that one could see in movies and other fantasy entertainments. The only difference was the fact that they were looking at the real deal.

Suddenly, a cry of a horse was heard as the remaining human soldiers turned around to see a genuine samurai, mounted on horseback, staring down at them. His expression was as fierce as his spirit, his armor was yet to be spilled with blood and his katana more than ready to cut down all foes.

"If you are true warriors of Japan, awaken your inner Bushido and protect our glorious lands against these foul invaders!" The samurai's strong voice declared as he swiftly drew out his shining sword. "For honor and glory, for the Goddess Amaterasu, onwards to battle!"

The samurai roared as his mount charged forward, leaving the humans to stare in disbelief. Bewildered as they may be, they held themselves together and followed right after the rider, entering the battle against their supposed enemies and fought alongside the samurai.

On the outskirts of the city however, a massive creature lumbered through the forest, stomping entire sections of trees and smashing through any insignificant hills that it encountered in its way. The Infernal Black God of the Azrallian Empire, the Akantor, was brought to a halt with one single word from its creator "Stop!"

Issei, alongside the three Praetorian Guard, his good friend Saji Genshirou and one of his close subjects, the nekoshou Kuroka, stared into the distance and saw the city in the horizon. Multiple columns of black smoke rose to the sky as the the fires that created it continued blazing. Even from a distance away, they could faintly hear the sounds of explosives from the gunshots being fired, alongside the thunderous roars produced by the Avalon Battleships' cannons.

"Isn't that Gifu!?" Saji pointed out, recognizing the place even from a far distance away.

"It is, young man" Vladima answered. "Apparently this is the closest one to our location"

Just then, a mist of black mist began to gather on nearby which caught their attentions. Once the mist faded, it revealed a beautiful young woman with long, white hair with wavy ends. She wore a black v-cut dress which showcased her slim figure and a generous portion of her breasts.

"Hail the Supreme One" The woman immediately said as she got on one knee before Issei.

"You're Mirajane Strauss of the Daughters of Darkness, right?" Issei said, earning a nod from the head of the Fourth Elite Division.

"Indeed I am" Mirajane responded. "I am honoured that you recognize me, Supreme One"

"We expect a report of the situation Mirajane" Veronica said.

"Of course" Mirajane stood up. "Our forces, which are six legions in total, are currently on the process of capturing this city, however it is under control by a garrison of samurai, we have encountered a bit of resistance along the way"

"What about the humans?" Saji asked. "Were they evacuated?"

"Apparently not" Mirajane responded, causing both Saji and even Issei to widen their eyes. "The Shinto and the human soldiers are fighting alongside one another against our forces, even as we speak"

"If the Self Defence Forces are fighting, who are evacuating the civilians?" Saji demanded. "Shouldn't they be the ones doing it!?"

"No one" Mirajane simply said. "It appears that the humans were ordered to attack rather than to evacuate their kin"

"So you're telling... the people of Gifu is still in the city!?" Saji exclaimed.

Hearing this information alarmed Issei, if the citizens of the city were still there then there was no way that he could let the legions go all out. Which meant he could not allow things such as wide ranged area attacks to occure.

"Amaterasu must have thought of this" Issei said. "She knew that I wouldn't go so far as to slaughter innocent lives"

"I agree as well, our beloved" Veronica nodded. "It seems after she saw how you tried to protect the people of Kuoh, she realized that you have a soft spot for the innocence, which prompted her to take advantage of"

Issei clenched his fists in anger.

"To think that she would use the humans as meat shields like that" Issei growled. "I will never allow her to get away with this!"

It was then he was struck by a sudden pain inside his head, one that made him cry in pain.

"Our beloved!"

"Issei!"

This alerted the others who witnessed, especially the Praetorian Guards.

"It's his mental attacks again" Kuesu pointed out.

"Mental attacks?" Saji asked.

"We need to get him healed immediately" Veronica said. "Kuesu, Kuroka, you two take our beloved back to Azrallia and-"

"Nevermind me!"

Issei's sudden voice interrupted Veronica's words.

"I'll be fine" He said as he stood back up straight, trying to shrug off the throbbing pain. "There's no need to take me back, Kuesu and Kuroka can heal me later.

"Are you certain our beloved?" Vladima asked with concern in her voice. "The Praetorian Guards will take care of the matters here for you, even if you go back to the capital"

"I said I'm fine, don't worry about it, just focus on the matters at hand" Issei insisted.

The Azrallians wanted their creator to go back to the capital to recover but his words were precise and his decision was final, all they needed to do was obey.

"I'm giving you an order" Issei said. "Kill all the Shinto forces you see in this city, do not let a single rat escape our grasps, but do your absolute best to minimize the civilian casualties!"

"""Yes, Supreme One/Our beloved!"""

It didn't take long for the Azrallian Empire to fully occupy the entire city of Gifu. The Shinto garrison only numbered around a ten thousand which were mostly mounted on horseback, however they did not stood a change against six entire legions at once. The battle was shortlived but fierce, resulting in massive damages throughout the city, but all in all, it was a decisive Azrallian victory. On the plaza of the city was where the legionaries gathered the captured prisoners. These prisoners were mostly civilians but many were still samurai warriors. Each one was bound by magic restraints and to further prevent their escape, the entire perimeter was completely guarded by the legions.

The legionaries immediately stood in attention when their creator arrived via magic portal.

"Hail Blood Lord!" The synchronized voices of thousands of soldiers echoed throughout the plaza for everyone, including the prisoners, to hear.

Issei stood there silently, overlooking the crowd of civilians and samurai alike. After such a grand greetings like that, there was no chance for Issei to not be the center of attention.

"Issei, most of these people aren't even part of the Shinto" Saji said. "There's no reason for you to cuff them like that"

"I know" Issei responded to his friend before he started walking forward

All eyes were on him as he approached these prisoners of war while followed by the three Praetorian Guards, alongside Saji and Kuroka. Once they were close enough, one of the generals commanding the legions, lowered her head.

"Hail the Supreme One"

"General Esdeath" Issei returned her greetings with a nod. "Are these all of the human civilians?"

"Only a small number of them, I'm afraid, most have fled the city" Esdeath responded. "Shall we send the cavalry to pursue the verim?"

"No, we won't be killing any innocent humans in this war" Issei said. "The humans are not our enemies, only the Shinto and Youkai are"

Issei turned his attention back to the gathered prisoners. Even if Esdeath claimed that there was only a small number of captured civilians, there were still easily several thousand of them present in the plaza. But thinking of the entire population of the city of Gifu, he had to admit that these were just a small number.

"Release the humans" Issei ordered the general. "But let the samurai remain, they are our real enemies"

"At once, Supreme One" Esdeath said before turning to the legionaries nearby to spread her creator's command.

They all quickly scurried about, fulfilling the Blood Lord's orders as soon as possible. They soon began to release the prisoners one by one, carefully making sure not to set any samurai free. As this process continued, Issei approached a nearby samurai which he noticed have been glaring daggers at him ever since he arrived, stopping a mere few feet away from him. Judging from the armor that he donned, which different from the others in terms of design, Issei could probably guess that he was the commander of the garrison.

"You will pay for setting your dirty food on our sacred lands" The samurai lashed out. "Lady Amaterasu will burn all of your armies to ashes for all the lives that you have taken!"

"For all the lives that I have taken?" Issei asked. "What about the lives that you and your so-called goddess have been taken!? What about the people of the town of Kuoh that you mercilessly trampled beneath your feet while you were too busy trying to kill me!?"

"If you have not arrived in that town, those people would not have suffered their demise!" The samurai said. "The lives that were lost during that battle were all spared from a fate worse than death by Lady Amaterasu, their deaths are not to be grieved!"

Without warning, Issei struck his hand forward, grabbing the samurai by his throat, choking the life out of him, all for everyone to see. His red cape flared out from behind him as a thin later of crimson energy radiated from his body. His eyes glowed bright red as his expression was filled with rage and contempt at the man before him.

"No matter what you say, no matter what you believe, what you and your goddess did was nothing short but slaughter!" Issei growled. "You butchered them all like insects! If it wasn't for what I did, many more lives would be lost by your hands! You have no right to dictate what the fates of others are!"

Despite the vice claw gripping around his throat, despite his own saliva overflowing from his mouth, the samurai remained firm and did not break eye contact.

"Lady Amaterasu... i-is the goddess of... this nation! O-Our fates... are hers to... decide..." The samurai said, chocking on the words he spoke. "If o-our deaths... are necessary f-for the greater... good... t-then so be it!"

All of the sudden, a few samurai from the center of the crowd managed to break off the magic restrictions off of them.

"Detain the escapees immediately!" One of the legionaries shouted as others rushed through the crowd to subdue the freed enemies, causing mass panic and riot.

However, these small group of samurai did not drew their katana swords to fight, rather, they gathered in one spot. Slamming their palms on the ground simultaneously, they created a magic circle which summoned a large certain object. Issei watched as the light that engulfed the object disappear, his eyes widened in fear as he finally saw what it was.

A nuclear device.

"For the Goddess Amaterasu BANZAI!" The samurai that was in Issei's hands cried out.

"BANZAAAAIII!" The other samurai shouted proudly as well before a large explosion engulfed the entire plaza.