Chapter 58

It's a Trap!

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The morning after their battle against the modified dragons found Naruto and his group sitting in a large dining hall, having breakfast with Elmenhilde and Queen Carmilla. It looked like Elmenhilde held a very high position among the Vampires. Azazel was also there. However, when someone compared his presence to that of the two Vampire women, he most definitely came up lacking.

At least, that was Naruto's honest opinion.

"I wonder when Arthur will return with Angelus, LIx, and Reuel," Naruto pondered out loud as he ate his breakfast.

A lavish feast had been spread out before them. Vastly different from the traditional Japanese breakfasts he was used to, what lay on the table were a variety of dishes like yogurt, cheese, cereal, boiled eggs, herring, cold cut meats, ham, and freshly baked bread. There was also a pot of tea and coffee, which the maids had served them.

Naruto had gone with coffee.

It was bitter, but he needed to wake up.

"He should be back by the end of the day," Vali said. "It does take some time to reach Heaven, and if what Azazel said is true, then Heaven is currently in trouble." Vali paused to scoop some cereal into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and then continued. "If the situation is really bad, he might come back empty handed."

"Fortunately, we do not have to worry about Sona and her peerage not showing up," Akeno interjected. "I received a message from Sona saying they would arrive some time in the late afternoon."

"I'm glad we can always count on Sona and her group to help us out," Naruto said.

"What should we do in the meantime?" asked Asia.

"I don't know about you, but I'm gonna fucking relax," Raynare said as she leaned back, thrusting out her chest. "All that fighting yesterday exhausted me." She looked at Asia. "You should join me. We can take a bath or something."

"Um… actually, I was thinking of doing some training," Asia admitted in a small voice.

Raynare sighed. "Fuck. Well, I guess I could join you."

"Oh, my. It seems the Fallen Angel has had her wings clipped," Akeno giggled. "Asia has tamed you well."

"Shut the fuck up."

Naruto didn't much care to listen to their arguing, so he turned to Irina, Ravel, Koneko, and Rossweisse. The four women who were a part of his harem ate by his side. They were mostly quiet. Irina and Koneko still looked chastised from last night. Ravel was humming softly to herself and seemed in good spirits (Naruto was certain she was feeling pleased by how she handled the situation last night), but Rossweisse was staring at him.

"Are you upset that you didn't get to sleep with us last night?" Naruto asked.

After Ravel broke up Koneko's and Irina's argument, the four of them had gone to her bedroom and fallen asleep together. Naruto had woken up with Irina and Ravel using his shoulders as pillows and Koneko curled up on his stomach like a cat. He'd been almost uncomfortably warm. At the same time, waking up to three gorgeous women was always a pleasant experience.

"No. Of course not." Rossweisse turned her head.

"Are you sure?"

"Why would I be jealous? I have no reason to be jealous. It's not like you are my boyfriend too or anything."

"She's jealous."

"Totally jealous."

Naruto gave Rossweisse an indulgent smile, which the woman saw out of the corner of her eye. She looked away. He didn't know why, but seeing a grown woman like Rossweisse get jealous was an adorable sight. It made him want to tease her.

"Well, if you're not jealous, then I guess we don't have to sleep together tonight. That's too bad. I was going to ask if you wanted to share my bed with me."

"I take it back! I am jealous! I am very jealous!"

"Her true colors are showing," Koneko muttered with a frown.

"Naruto-sama is always teasing Rossweisse," Ravel added. "I wonder if she brings out his sadistic side."

While Naruto joked around with Rossweisse and the others, his heart really wasn't into it. How could it be when Rias was still in Yami's clutches? But he tried his best to put on a brave face. He didn't want the others to worry since that would only make them more tense, which could lead to any one of them making mistakes when they finally went to rescue Rias and Kiba.

Speaking of…

"Queen Carmilla." Naruto suddenly turned to the woman hosting them. "Can I ask if the Vampires plan on assisting us?"

"Of course," Queen Carmilla said. "This entire matter is an issue we Vampires have created, so we must also be the ones who resolve it."

"How many forces can you muster for an assault on the Tepes Faction?" asked Naruto.

Queen Carmilla didn't answer right away, eyes turning thoughtful. Beside her, Elmenhilde was staring at Naruto again, but he tried his best to pretend he didn't see her furtive glances. He didn't know what was going on with her. Right now, however, he could not afford to deal with whatever had caught her interest.

"We have about five thousand Vampires in total… but many of them cannot fight," Queen Carmilla said at last. "I'd say only about a thousand of us really have the ability to fight well. Of course, you saw how we fared against those modified dragons. With all of the Vampires weaknesses gone and their bodies enhanced by the Holy Grail, I fear combat against them will be difficult."

Naruto couldn't help but agree. The modified dragons had definitely been tougher than your average Vampire. He remembered seeing how hard it was for one normal Vampire to kill one of the modified dragons. Even his own group had some issues. While they had managed to kill them all, it had been more difficult than it was to kill the Grim Reapers who attacked them during their mission to rescue Ophis. If he had to assign them a ranking, he'd say these modified dragons were a little stronger than a Mid-Class Devil.

"We'll come up with a plan to maximize your efficiency in combat," Ravel inserted herself into the conversation. She reached out for a slice of bread and continued to speak while spreading jam across it. "I believe the most effective method for combating the modified dragons will be to overwhelm them with numbers. Attack with several people to overpower their defenses and you should be able to defeat them."

"That might be a good tactic if we weren't outnumbered, but there are at least five times more modified dragons than there are us," Elmenhilde said, suddenly speaking up. "How can we use tactics like that if we're the ones who are outnumbered?"

"You bring up a good point. I'll have to think about this," Ravel said and then went silent. She ate her jam, eyes focused on nothing in particular. Naruto knew she was already in the process of trying to think up a way to use the Carmilla Faction Vampires in the most efficient way possible.

Naruto reached out for a slice of bread, some meat, and some butter, and then made himself a sandwich. He munched on the food and pondered the situation they were in. It would be difficult to fight against so many modified dragons with just them. Maybe he should consider reverse summoning Kurama.

"If you summon me at the beginning, we may not be able to use me during your confrontation with Yami."

"True, but I don't think we will need to worry about Yami this time."

"Are you sure? He is still stronger than you are right now."

"I know, but you've noticed it, haven't you?"

"I have. Well, if that's what you've decided, then we'll need to prepare ourselves before the operation begins."

Naruto could only agree with Kurama.

Breakfast came to an end. When it did, Naruto suggested to Issei they find a place away from the Vampire's village to do some group sparring. No one disagreed with his suggestion, and so both the Gremory and Vali groups left the mansion, traveled away from the village, and found a nice field where they could spar without having to worry about any prying eyes.

"I don't think we should use any magic or powerful attacks right now," Ravel said. "We want to be rested, so let's just do some light sparring. We can work in groups and practice our teamwork. I believe that will be important in the coming battle."

"You're right," Naruto agreed. "Okay! Let's do some teamwork drills then!"

Teamwork drills were basic exercises in which their group formed two teams and sparred against each other using tactics. It wasn't just sparring however. There was a goal in mind for these exercises, and each exercise was almost like a game.

The current game was capture the flag.

Naruto's team consisted of Koneko, Ravel, Rossweisse, Irina, Le Fey, Kurouka, and Fenrir. Issei's side had Akeno, Asia, Bikou, Gasper, Raynare, Xenovia, and Vali.

With the goal of capture the flag being the take the other team's flag before your own was taken, Ravel had decided that their best option was to use Naruto and Koneko to guard their flag.

Since a lot of limits had been imposed on this game, Naruto's own abilities were likewise limited, which meant guarding the flag on his own would be impossible. That was why Koneko had joined him. Ravel had figured they would send either Issei or Vali and two others to capture their flag, while everyone else would defend the flag.

"Heads up. We've got bogies incoming," Koneko suddenly said, turning her head to look in one direction.

Naruto looked up and saw what she was talking about. Vali was walking out from behind the line of trees. He seemed to be alone.

"Can you sense anyone else around?" asked Naruto. Koneko cocked her head to the side as if listening for something, then shook her head. "Hmm… even if you can't sense someone, keep your eyes open. I'm sure Vali wouldn't come alone."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure no one touches the flag," Koneko said.

With Koneko's assurance backing him, Naruto strode forward to confront Vali, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to fight you," Vali said. "Ever since we first met, I've wanted to have a bout with you."

"I know. Though you do realize we can't go all out, right?"

"Of course. That's fine by me. I just want to feel the thrill of a good battle."

Naruto nodded in acceptance. Vali was a battle maniac through and through. He craved combat, enjoyed pushing his limits, and fighting against strong opponents. Naruto was the same. While he didn't much care for war and death, he would not lie and say the idea of fighting against strong people didn't interest him.

On an unspoken signal, Naruto and Vali pushed against the ground and sped toward each other, their fists clashing between them as they threw a punch at the same time. Even though no powers had been used, the air was still kicked up between them. It was like an airburst.

Naruto was the first to react. He twisted his wrist, diverted Vali's first with an open palm, and stepped forward. He tried to strike Vali while the other man was off balance. It didn't work. Of course Vali would not let himself be hit that easily. He swayed to the side and twisted his body, allowing Naruto's fist to soar past him. Then he grabbed Naruto's extended wrist, spun around, and tried to flip him through the air.

Naruto replaced himself with a log.

A moment after Naruto disappeared, the log exploded and dozens of ninja wire burst from the splinters, wrapped around Vali, and pulled his arms tight against him. Vali broke the ninja wire easily enough. However, Naruto had used that time to appear behind him. The hit Naruto sent to Vali's back was strong enough to knock the White Dragon forward, but Vali used his momentum to move into a series of front and back handsprings. He landed on the ground several meters from Naruto, who now stood where Vali had been.

"Your sense of tactics is impressive," Vali complimented.

"And your instincts are sharp," Naruto said.

"Hmph. Don't act like you don't have killer instincts too. I can see it in your eyes. You know war perhaps better than anyone else I know save Azazel."

"Well, I was in a war back in my old home, so…" Naruto shrugged. "Anyway, you ready to continue?"

"Of course."

With those words, Naruto and Vali once more clashed in the open field.

~Devil Ninja~

Sona arrived late in the afternoon alongside her peerage. Naruto greeted her with Azazel and Elmenhilde, who was now acting as their host, a job that had been given to her by Queen Carmilla. It was interesting to see how humble she was acting now. She'd been so arrogant before that the change was a little shocking.

"Greetings, Sona Sitri." Elmenhilde curtsied like a proper European noblewoman. "It is a pleasure to see you again, though I do wish it was under better circumstances."

"Good afternoon, Elmenhilde," Sona greeted the Vampire with a similar courtesy. "I understand how you feel. I was briefed on the situation before coming here. It does not sound good."

Sona was not alone. Ophis was with her. The dragon god walked up to Naruto and tugged on his sleeve. She didn't say anything, but that was because she didn't need to; her eyes said everything.

Naruto began petting her head. "Thank you for doing this, Ophis. I really do appreciate it."

Ophis smiled as she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. She reminded him of a cat seeking affection from its owner.

"You are welcome. I like Rias too."

It wasn't many words, but Naruto understood what she meant just fine. Ophis was close to Rias. Out of all the women in his harem, he believed Ophis was probably closest to the redhead. He thought it was because of the way Rias treated her. Out of all the people in their group, Rias was the one who treated her almost as affectionately as Naruto did.

Well, it was his theory at least.

"Please let me show you to the rooms you will be staying at during your time here. I can—geh!" Elmenhilde stopped mid-sentence when her eyes landed on Loup Garou. "W-werewolf?! You have a Werewolf in your Peerage?!"

"Yes." Sona pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Is that a problem."

"… No," Elmenhilde said, though it was clear she was not being honest. "Please follow me."

Elmenhilde turned around and walked into the mansion, Naruto, Ophis, and Sona's Peerage following behind her. They swept past the entrance hall and into a large hallway on the second floor. The sound of their footsteps echoed around them.

"Well, that was odd," Naruto murmured.

"Heh. I guess it's true what they say about Vampires not liking Werewolves," Saji said with a smirk.

"Oh?"

Naruto looked over at Saji, interested in what the boy was saying. He still didn't know much about the various species around the world, and while he had studied Vampires for a bit, this was not something he remembered reading about, nor was it something Rias had informed him of when she told him about Vampires. He guessed this information hadn't been important at the time since he was studying their culture and not their enemies.

"Werewolves and Vampires are natural enemies that have hated each other since time immemorial," Sona explained as they turned a corner. "Neither side remembers where this hatred comes from. It could be a simple matter of pride. Vampires and Werewolves are both incredibly powerful supernatural entities with a great deal of pride. Both races believe they are superior to the other. This sense of superiority could have manifested into a form of hatred after thousands upon thousands of years of competing with each other, but who knows for sure if that's true."

That was an interesting theory. Naruto did know about how prideful Vampires were from dealing with Elmenhilde when she first arrived. If she was an excellent example of her entire race, then the superiority complex of her race would make all too much sense. He could definitely see them thinking they were better than Werewolves. Of course, Naruto knew squat about Werewolves, so he couldn't say whether or not they were the same as Vampires.

He glanced at Loup Garou, who had not spoken up since they arrived. The man was so quiet. Naruto had learned during the mission to defeat the Stray Magicians that Loup Garou was enrolled in Kuoh Academy's college department. Sadly, that was about all he knew. The Werewolf was so quiet that Naruto hadn't been able to talk to him at all. It didn't help that they were in different peerages.

The rooms Elmenhilde showed them to were across the hall from the ones the Gremory Group was using. Naruto didn't go inside. Once Elmenhilde showed them their rooms, she turned on her heel and left. Naruto decided to follow her. Ophis, of course, followed Naruto, both her arms wrapped around his left arm.

"Is it true what Sona said?" he asked. "That Vampires and Werewolves don't get along because you both believe you are the superior species?"

Elmenhilde glanced at him, shrugged, and looked away. "Who knows. Our two races have hated each other for so long that I doubt anyone remembers the real reason for it."

"And do you hate Werewolves?"

"Would it matter if I did?"

"I guess not."

Silence stretched out between them as they walked. Elmenhilde kept glancing at him and Ophis. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she held herself back.

"Naruto," the one who spoke was not Elmenhilde. It was Ophis.

"Yeah?"

"I want to have sex now. You promised we could do it when I came back."

"I did, didn't I?"

"You did. I want to have sex. Now."

"Can you two not talk about having sex in my presence?!" Elmenhilde's ears and cheeks turned bright red as she shouted at them.

~Devil Ninja~

The evening drew closer and Arthur had not returned. Naruto was worried he had gotten caught up in something dangerous. Maybe he'd arrived in Heaven to find them being besieged by the Titans. While Vali had assured him something like that wouldn't happen because Arthur could just open a portal and leave, that did not stop him from worrying and wondering.

"It looks like help isn't coming from Heaven. That means we will have to make do with the forces we have," Azazel said.

They were all in the entrance hall, the place where Queen Carmilla received people who sought to speak with her. The ceiling had been repaired by Azazel. While Queen Carmilla sat on her throne and Elmenhilde stood by her side, Azazel, the Gremory Peerage, Sona's Peerage, and Team Vali stood before the throne.

"Are you sure we can succeed with so few numbers?" asked Sona. "I do not mean to be so pessimistic, but Ophis did tell me about the kind of forces we are facing. An army of modified dragons that have been enhanced by the Holy Grail's power is not something so few people can deal with."

"You are right, of course." Azazel nodded in agreement. "However, you are thinking in terms of a confrontation. We're not planning to fight them head on. Our goal right now is to rescue Rias Gremory and Kiba Yuuto, not defeat an army with an unknown number of modified dragons. That said, we will need to break through their defenses if we want to reach Tepes Castle. Vali?"

Vali stepped forward, hands in his pocket and a cool look on his face. He seemed completely at ease under the looks people were giving him.

"We've done some reconnaissance of the area surrounding Tepes Castle. Just like we suspected, all the Vampires there have been transformed into dragons. We could not get an accurate estimation of their numbers. I'd say there were maybe ten thousand of them, but there could be more. In either event, they have arranged themselves to form a defensive perimeter around the castle and surrounding town. No matter which direction we attack from, they can send reinforcements to enforce that area. Breaking through won't be easy."

"No," Ravel said after Vali finished speaking. "I believe it will be easier than you think."

"How so?" asked Vali.

Ravel coughed into her hand. "Our goal in all this is not to defeat this army but to infiltrate the castle. If we send a force against the modified dragons, then have them retreat and get the army to chase after them, we can create a gap in their defenses that a small task force can slip through. I was thinking we could have Azazel lead an army of Vampires against the Tepes Faction as a distraction."

As expected of Ravel, her plan was quite sound. However, there was someone among them who had an objection.

"While your plan would certainly help accomplish your goal, it would also put my people in danger," Queen Carmilla said. "Not only are my own forces not as comparable to the Tepese Faction in terms of numbers, but now that the Tepes Faction Vampires have been transformed with the Holy Grails power, they far outstrip us in terms of firepower too. I fear our forces would be overwhelmed."

Naruto would have furrowed his brow at the woman, but he understood that she needed to think of her people first and foremost. It was what all leaders did. If they could not put their people ahead of everyone else, they would not make good leaders. It still rankled on his nerves though.

"Not true," Ravel objected. "The modified dragons might be more powerful than a normal Vampire, but I took the opportunity to study how the modified dragons fight when we were helping you fend off the assault. I have a plan that will keep your casualties to an absolute minimum."

While Queen Carmilla looked cynical, Naruto could not keep the smile off his face. Ravel was definitely the greatest strategist among them. The way she came up with plans so quickly and decisively carried them out always impressed him. He also liked her managerial skills. It was only thanks to Ravel's management that Naruto could get his work done in a timely manner.

"And what is your plan?" asked Queen Carmilla. "If I deem it a good plan, I may agree to lend my aid, but be warned, I will not help with this if it sounds like my people are going to be used as sacrificial pawns. It does not matter if we join the Three Factions Alliance if my people suffer."

Ravel nodded. "You do not need to worry. I am sure you will approve of my plan." She took a deep breath as though psyching herself up. "The plan calls for the Carmilla Faction Vampires drawing the attention of the modified dragons to create a gap in their defenses that a small team of elite forces can slip through. Of course, this is a dangerous task, and I won't deny that. First, I plan on having Team Vali work with the Vampires to help mitigate the pressure you will face. This includes Naruto's personal magician, Le Fey Pendragon. Every member of Team Vali has the strength of a High-Class Devil. The modified dragons only have the strength of Mid-Class Devils, so they should have no trouble killing a lot of them."

"Hold on." Vali raised a hand.

"What is it?" asked Ravel.

"I don't mind if everyone else fights against the modified dragons with the Vampires, but I am going to be on the infiltration team. I refuse to let anyone else fight Rizevim. He is mine."

Vali was Rizevim's grandson. While Naruto didn't know exactly what went down between them, he knew that Vali hated his grandfather as much as he hated his own father. Naruto's understanding was that Vali had been abused and mistreated by his entire family. Perhaps this was a familial grudge that could only be solved with violence.

"All right," Ravel said at last. "In that case, Vali will go with the infiltration group. We'll have Sona's peerage move from being part of the infiltration group to working with Team Vali." She turned to Sona. "Is that okay with you?"

"I am fine with whatever you decide," Sona said.

"Okay then. Vali will join the infiltration group, which will be spearheaded by Naruto. Your goal is to enter Tepes Castle, confront Rizevim and Yami, and rescue Rias-sama and Kiba-san. Your group will consist of Akeno, Asia, Koneko, Ise, Irina, Naruto, Raynare, Rossweisse, and Vali. Everyone else will join the Vampires. Once the Vampires have grabbed the modified dragons attention, we will retreat to a more defensible location, where Azazel will prepare a barrier for us."

While some people felt the infiltration team needed more people, Naruto understood that anymore than what they already had would be too much. Too many people would just get in the way. It also wouldn't help against people like Rizevim and Yami. Rather than fighting them with a lot of people, it was better to face them with a small group of powerful individuals.

The plans to attack Tepes Castle continued into the evening. The operation would begin at midnight.

~Devil Ninja~

Midnight. A time when the people of this world believed all ninja operated. Naruto would have laughed at most people, but since he was a ninja in the middle of a midnight operation, he could only laugh at himself.

The cold night air was not enough to even mildly phase him as he stood several dozen meters from the first perimeter of the Tepes Factions village, their base of operations. With him were Issei, Vali, Akeno, Asia, Koneko, Irina, Raynare, and Rossweisse. They were part of his team for this operation, which would begin once the other group lured the majority of modified dragons to them.

Naruto's breathing was steady as he observed the army before them. They were the modified dragons enhanced by the Holy Grail. There must have been thousands of them, in the sky, on the ground. Not all of them looked the same either. One of them might have blue scales, while another might have red or green scales. The length of their wings also varied from dragon to dragon, as did other facets about them like their muzzles, teeth, size, and shape. It wasn't something he noticed when killing them. He'd only spotted the differences now.

"Some ninja you are."

"Can it, furball."

"That is a lot of dragons," Issei mumbled.

"I thought the army we fought against before was big," Irina muttered in a bitter voice. "But this is ridiculous."

"I said there were a lot," Vali shrugged.

"It's one thing to hear about it. It's another thing entirely to fucking see it," Raynare said. "Holy fucking shit. This is insane. There's no way we have enough forces to deal with this fuckfest."

"Fortunately, dealing with these dragons isn't our job," Naruto said.

"Word," Koneko agreed.

Naruto pressed a hand to his left ear, activating the communication device inside. "Ravel, we're in position. How are things on your end?"

~Devil Ninja~

"Ravel, we're in position. How are things on your end?"

The moment Ravel heard the words spoken into her ear, she reached up to activate the communicator and spoke into it.

"We're all ready to begin."

"Then begin the operation now. I'll see you when this is all over."

"Yeah. See you."

Ravel lowered her hand, took a deep breath, and psyched herself up. This was it.

She turned to Queen Carmilla, who had joined her and Azazel on the battlefield. The queen was dressed in armor fit for a warrior princess. The steel corset wrapped around her body, flared out at the hips into a pleated skirt made of leaf-shaped segments, and her feet and hands were adorned with greaves and gauntlets. Ravel wondered if this woman really needed such adornments, but she didn't question her.

"We're ready. Let's begin the operation."

"Very well." Queen Carmilla nodded and turned to look at her forces, the several thousand strong army of Vampires standing just behind them. "My people! The Tepes Faction has betrayed us and themselves! They have allowed an evil man like Rizevim into their homes, and look at what it got them. They were turned into abominations. But we are magnanimous. Let us, their former brethren, put them out of their misery. To battle!"

A great cheer went up, thousands of voices raising their battle cries as they surged forward. Some became bats and flew through the air, others turned into mist, and a few simply raced across the plain.

Ravel was at the head of this procession. She flew alongside Azazel, Queen Carmilla, Elmenhilde, Ophis, and the other members of the Gremory Peerage. Sona and her peerage were hanging back for now. They were with Team Vali. Their job was to wait until the Vampires had engaged the enemy, and then strike them from behind after the army led them to the location they had chosen to defend.

They were to be the hammer that smacked the modified dragon forces against the anvil that was the Carmilla Faction.

First contact with the enemy was made by those of them at the front. Ravel's demonic power flared, her wings grew brighter, and a pair of fireballs appeared within her hands. She combined them together, forming a swirling ball of incandescence that exploded into a brilliant orange beam. The fire attack engulfed a dragon and burnt it into cinders. It continued on, killing several more before exploding in a fierce gale of burning hot wind.

As if in response to the sudden attacks from her forces, the modified dragons howled and attacked in turn. Dragon fire spewed from their mouths. The incredible flames swept over several Vampires, charring them. Their smoking corpses tumbled to the ground. In the skies above, a number of the Vampires that had turned bats were charred. They plummeted to the ground below.

Ravel was no longer able to focus on the flow of battle. Much as she wished she could remain back, observe the situation, and direct their forces, a battle like this was too chaotic, too messy for that. Hanging back would be useless. And so she fought.

A pair of brilliant flames coalesced into her hands, and she transformed them into short swords. As a Bishop, Ravel specialized in magical attacks, and indeed, her magic power was quite impressive even for a High-Class Devil. However, her melee skills were lacking. Like her brother Rizer, she had never been one for close combat.

That had changed recently.

Ravel knew she couldn't afford to remain behind all the time, thus she sought to improve her combat abilities by sparring daily with Irina and Xenovia. Naruto probably knew about what she was doing. He never said anything, however. He didn't have to. There was a tacit understanding and trust between them, formed from their relationship.

That was something Ravel cherished.

Ravel did not release any battlecries. She did not shout. With a fierce look on her face, she waded into the enemy forces and attacked. Her blade made quick work of an eye as she thrust it forward. The dragon roared and tried to claw at her, but Ravel created a shield of fire between her and the claw. Flare bursts exploded before her eyes as she spun around behind the creature, leapt upon its shoulders, and stabbed her fire swords through the back of its neck. The creature groaned, tottered forward, and died.

Ravel jumped off its back and sought out her next opponent.

Chaos reigned all around her. The cloying scent of blood filled her noise and the anguished screams of the dying mixed with the draconic roars of the enraged dragons as they also found themselves in death's embrace. Ravel felt sick to her stomach as a Vampire on her left charged at a dragon and was impaled through the stomach. The claws sprouted from his back, blood running down them as the dragon lifted the Vampire up and tossed him aside. As it roared as though demanding another challenger, Ravel swallowed the bile surging up in her throat.

And then she removed its head with a crescent-shaped fire blade.

It was only at this moment that Ravel realized she was all alone in this sea of combat. None of her companions were near her.

At that moment, a terrifying roar went up. Ravel snapped her head in that direction and found Gasper, transformed into a massive five meter monster and attacking the enemy modified dragons. He looked different than his normal form.

Gasper's normal Balance Breaker, Balor the Beast, transformed him into a creature with a dragon's head, arms with claws, and massive wings. His transformation this time resembled a fox with nine tails. Bloody irises surrounded by darkness stared at the world with savage eagerness, or so it seemed to Ravel, and his torso was shaped more like a human's than a fox's. He even had opposable thumbs.

The massive nine-tailed fox lashed out with its tails. Everything around it was destroyed. The ground, the modified dragons, everything. It was a good thing there were no members of their own forces near it, or they would have been killed too. Seeing this terrifying creature sent a chill up Ravel's spine.

Like most Vampires, Gasper had the ability to gain power from drinking people's blood. His dragon form when he activates his Balance Breaker was the result of drinking Issei's blood. In that case, this new form he used very likely came from drinking Naruto's blood. Naruto must have given it to him before the mission began.

At that moment, Ravel's attention was forced away from Gasper as a powerful energy descended upon the battlefield. Several black beams of energy lanced down from above. They curved around the Vampires and struck the modified dragons, blowing holes clean through their bodies. The wounds looked like black holes that ran through them. Each attack was a killing blow, striking either the heart or the head. Nearly twenty modified dragons dropped dead in less than a single second.

The one who had unleashed that astonishing attack was Ophis.

The Infinite Dragon God.

The Ouroboros Dragon.

Ravel sometimes forgot about how powerful Ophis was, forgot that this seemingly petite woman was actually a creature who had lived since the beginning of time and held unimaginable power—even after most of her power had been stolen by Rizevim. The Ophis that Ravel knew was constantly seeking affection from Naruto. She was like a cat who wanted to be pampered.

She was also one of Naruto's hornier women, but Ravel tried not to think about that.

Ophis hovered in the skies above their group, her eyes staring at the forces arrayed against them, bored and unfeeling.

Several dragons swooped over to attack her. They were surrounded her on all sides, what must have been several dozen of them. She annihilated them in an instant. Destructive energy swept out of her body and engulfed the enemies surrounding her, completely erasing them from the face of the world. Several dragons that had been charging toward her suddenly turned tail and attacked someone else.

Ravel gulped.

Then she focused on the task at hand.

"Queen Carmilla! Signal the retreat!" Ravel said into her communicator.

"All forces! Withdraw to the defense point!" Queen Carmilla's command was somehow heard over the din of battle.

Their group quickly withdrew, with Gasper and the other members of Rias' Peerage providing cover for the Vampires. A few died. But it was only a few. They were soon retreating through the woods.

The modified dragons followed them. This was all according to plan.

Ravel grimaced as dragon fire burst all around her, but she fought back by launching fire blades at the nearest modified dragons. Her attacks missed. However, they did an admirable job of forcing her enemies to dodge.

They soon burst from the woods and found themselves standing between a pair of mountains. This was where they would make their stand.

"Looks like I'm up," Azazel said as he stepped forward.

He raised his hands and held up a device that Ravel had never seen before. The device glowed with a bright luminescence before several hundred magic circles appeared on the ground, then transformed into a translucent barrier.

"Get the injured in the barrier!" Ravel ordered. "Healers! Do your best to heal the wounded! When your wounds have been healed, come back out of the barrier and ward off the dragons!"

This was Ravel's plan. Their forces would defend this location. When someone was injured, they would head inside of the barrier, where first aid would be administered, and then come back out to continue fighting. Like this, even if they did not have the same numbers as their foes, they could fight longer and harder.

A roar echoed across the area as the modified dragons surged in. The battle continued, Ravel did not know for how long, but Sona's Peerage and Team Vali soon entered the fray, attacking from behind and destroying a large chunk of the modified dragon forces. This took some of the pressure off Queen Carmilla's forces and gave them a chance to breathe. A number of Vampires retreated into the barrier with severe injuries. Oddly enough, or perhaps not, Queen Carmilla remained at the front as she fought side by side with Azazel.

"It looks like the battle has turned in our favor," Ophis said as she floated down to stand beside Ravel.

"It seems that way," Ravel agreed. Ophis tilted her head, which caused Ravel to furrow her brow. "Is something wrong?"

"I am not sure. Perhaps I am mistaken, but I feel like the forces we are fighting are too few in number," Ophis said, her voice a murmur.

"Too few." Ravel wanted to laugh and say it was just because Ophis was too powerful, but she couldn't. "Now that you mention it, Vali did tell us they had around ten thousand modified dragons, but I feel like there were only a third of that."

"Yes. There were only about four thousand," Ophis agreed.

Ravel felt something niggling in the back of her mind, but she couldn't figure out what, like an itch that couldn't be scratched.

A little ways off, Bikou and Kuroka were fighting against several dragons. Kurouka was using her Senjutsu to poison them. A thick purple fog spilled from her body and surrounded an entire battalion, and then Bikou threw himself at the dragons once they were weakened and took them down with precise strikes of his staff. His attacks were powerful enough to leave craters in the skulls of his enemies. He must have been using Touki.

As she watched the battle, Ravel had the sense that she was missing something, but she understood there was nothing she could do now. The dice had already been cast. There was only one thing she could do in a situation like this.

Ravel looked at Ophis.

"Could you go and find Naruto? I suspect he might be in danger."

"Yes, I will help Naruto." Ophis floated into the air, paused, and then looked at Ravel. "Be careful."

With those parting words, Ophis disappeared. Ravel stared at where she had been, sighed, and then flew off to rejoin her companions.

~Devil Ninja~

Naruto and his group were moving the moment the fireworks started.

They had already infiltrated Tepes Castle, which was an intimidating and ominous thing made of towering spires, flying buttresses, and evil-looking stone golems sitting on the roof. Naruto had not been aware that standard Vampire castles did indeed exist outside of fiction. The Carmilla Faction's castle was actually pleasant if gaudy. This? This was like someone had taken every Dracula set from every Dracula movie and combined them to create the most grotesque building ever conceived.

It was that horrifying.

Okay. Maybe not that horrifying, but it was very ugly.

The inside wasn't much better than the outside. After killing their way through several modified dragons that had remained behind as guards, they entered a side door that led into a kitchen. The kitchen was gloomy. That was the only word Naruto could use to describe it. With not a soul in sight and numerous knives and other implements lying around, the entire place just seemed dead.

It also set off warning bells in Naruto's head.

"Where is everyone?" asked Issei as they crept along a creepy ass hallway. Naruto wondered if his perception was merely shifting, telling him this hall was like something out of Resident Evil, but even if it was, he would have stuck by his beliefs.

He was stubborn like that.

"They've probably all been turned into modified dragons," Vali said. "I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a single Vampire left among the Tepes Faction."

"That makes a horrifying amount of sense," Irina muttered, face pale.

"Fuck," Koneko was a lot more succinct.

They continued running, passing through hallways, entering rooms, and searching for any sign of life. There was nothing. This place was emptier than a grave because at least a grave had tombstones. While this place did have some extremely fancy decorations, like the lounge that reminded Naruto of the suites he'd slept in at various Gremory owned hotels, it really seemed as if there was nothing here.

Naruto called for them to stop. They weren't getting anywhere by running around like headless chickens.

"Do you sense anyone?" Naruto asked Koneko.

Koneko cocked her head to the side as her catlike pupils became even more slitted. Her split tail waved behind her back like it had a mind of its own. Her cat ears twitched several times as if a burst of cold air had hit them.

"I can," she said at last.

"Where are they?" asked Vali.

Koneko pointed down. "Beneath us."

"It sounds like there is a basement," Rossweisse said as she looked down with narrowed eyes. "I am not surprised. Castles like this will always have a dungeon located underground. We will likely find Rias Gremory, Kiba Yuuto, and their captors down there."

"In other words, we should be looking for a hidden passage," Naruto said.

"This is fucking great," Raynare growled. "Can this get anymore complicated?"

"If you don't like our situation, you can always leave," Akeno said with a pleasant smile. Of course, it only appeared pleasant. Naruto could practically sense the snideness rolling off the woman in waves.

"Fuck that," Raynare spat. "Get bent, bitch."

"Ufufufu. Only if you do first."

"If you two are going to argue, I am going to leave you here," Naruto said, which shut the both of them up quick.

Since their destination was below them, Naruto and the others began searching for a stairway or secret passage that led into the basement. There was one staircase that led down. However, they soon realized it only led to a normal basement and not a dungeon. They also couldn't find a secret passage in this basement that led further down, which, according to Koneko, was where all of those people were located.

Naruto was just about to consider blowing a hole through the floor when Koneko discovered a secret entrance in one of the lounge rooms. There was a secret staircase underneath one of the couches. Just how Koneko uncovered such an entrance, he didn't know, but they all traveled down into the depths of the dark passage, scarcely lit by several candles affixed to candelabras.

Finally, they emerged into another room.

This other room was a long hallway with several jail cells located inside of it. Naruto began walking down each cell, searching them for signs of Rias and Kiba.

He didn't find them.

"Where are they?!" asked Naruto, finally losing his patience. He'd been keeping his impatience contained through sheer force of will, but it was impossible to remain calm when he still couldn't find the people he was looking for.

"I believe there is one more floor below us," Koneko said. "That's where I sense people."

"I wonder how many floors this basement has," Issei mused.

"Who the fuck cares?" asked Raynare. "I just want to get this fucking over with."

"Naruto, we should probably proceed with caution. I've been getting a bad feeling ever since we entered this castle," Rossweisse said.

Naruto closed his eyes. He didn't want to be cautious, but he felt the same way Rossweisse did. The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling. As someone who relied purely on intuition and feeling, he knew when to be reckless and when to use caution.

"Yeah. Okay. Let's move out, but cautiously," Naruto said.

There was a door at the end of this hall, which led down to the next level. They traveled down a spiral staircase. A door sat at the bottom, and through the door was a large room with almost nothing in it—nothing except the throne at the end and the people standing there.

Perhaps it was natural for him, but the first person Naruto noticed was Rias Gremory, standing there in a dress. It didn't look like she had been harmed. Kiba was next to her. Unlike Rias, he was actually injured. His left arm hung limp like every bone inside it had been shattered and his face was covered in contusions. Naruto could only imagine what he had been put through.

Beside them were three people. Yami. Rizevim. Lilith. While Lilith didn't wear an expression one way or the other, Rizevim and Yami had donned cold smiles, the kind that spoke of incredible cruelty. They looked like a pair of two-bit villains.

"Naruto," Rias whispered with a sad murmur.

Naruto took a deep breath in a vain attempt at keeping calm, but anyone who knew him would know how much he valued the people he loved. The people who were precious to him. While it didn't look like Rias had been harmed, she had clearly still suffered greatly. He guessed she'd been forced to watch as Kiba was tortured. That would have been far harder on someone like Rias, someone who valued her servants above even her own life.

"Yami… I am going to kill you," Naruto declared. There was no joking in his voice.

"We don't see each other in so long, and that's the first thing you say to me?" Yami asked with a chuckle. "I'm disappointed, Naruto."

"Like I care," Naruto grunted. "You've gone too far this time."

"So you say, but I personally do not believe I have gone far enough. In fact, now that you are here, we can start the main event."

"What does he mean by 'the main event?'" asked Issei.

Naruto would have liked to know that too, but then he realized what this "main event" was when Yami nodded at Lilith, who suddenly appeared behind Rias. He couldn't see Lilith anymore. Her body was so small that Rias blocked it. He didn't need to, however. Perhaps it was his sharp intuition, but he understood what Lilith was about to do, and he acted before she could complete her plan.

There were a lot of debates about the Kawarimi no Jutsu. Some people had theorized that it was a low-level space-time technique, while others hypothesized that it couldn't be because time-space techniques are too advanced for the average shinobi to wield. Naruto didn't know whether he believed the Kawarimi no Jutsu manipulated time and space or not, but it was one of the few jutsu he had completely mastered to the point where he didn't need hand seals.

That was why he could replace himself with Rias.

It happened in an instant.

There was a slight puff of smoke as Rias suddenly found herself standing in Naruto's place and Naruto stood where she had been. Lilith continued her attack, plunging her hand into Naruto's chest. The pain from being impaled caused his vision to white out as he grunted. He could feel the tiny hand slide between his ribcage and attempt to grab his heart, but he latched onto Lilith's hand and stopped her.

"Naruto!" Rias screamed when she suddenly realized what had happened. Kiba, now right next to Naruto, stared in wide-eyed horror as he saw what happened.

"Tch!" Yami clicked his tongue. "It's such a simple jutsu I completely forgot you were an expert on it."

"I'm surprised." Naruto grimaced as blood down down his mouth and Lilith's arm. "You of all people should know how good I am at this jutsu."

Yami scowled. "You have not used that jutsu since gaining Kurama's power. There's no way I would remember how skilled you are."

Naruto thought he detected a lie in Yami's words, but he was far too busy trying to keep Lilith's hand from grabbing his heart. He could feel her pushing her arm forward. This girl was a lot stronger than she looked. How could someone with such skinny arms be this strong? Was it because she had been created to contain the powers of the Infinite Dragon God?

While Naruto was trying to figure out what he should do in this situation, Rizevim appeared behind him, hand poised to pierce his back.

"Since it seems Lilith has failed in her task, I will help her complete what she started," Rizevim said.

"Like I'd let you do that," another voice said.

The voice belonged to Vali, already dressed in the white scale mail armor of his Balance Breaker. He had burst forward the moment Rizevim made his move and slammed into the older Devil. There was nothing graceful about this attack. It was like a headbutt. Vali crashed head first into the man, sending them both backward.

At the same time, a magic circle appeared between Lilith and Naruto, and a tiny figure emerged from within the magic circle. Koneko. The tiny nekousho was crouched low, legs spread into a horse stance. She didn't hesitate to launch her own attack. The two fists she threw forward slammed into Lilith with enough force that the girl went flying back. Naruto grunted as blood spurted from the wound in his chest, but his intense regeneration kicked in and healed the injury up near instantly.

He patted his chest as Koneko glared at Lilith. She took several steps back to stand beside him. Meanwhile, Lilith looked at Naruto for several seconds before glancing at Yami.

"It's fine. I figured this would happen. Naruto wouldn't be much of an opponent if he was that easy to kill," Yami said.

The other members of Naruto's group quickly ran over to him. It looked like they were trying to protect him, which Naruto appreciated, but he knew now wasn't the time for sentimentality.

"Ise, I want you to help Vali," Naruto said. "Asia, heal Kiba and Rias. The rest of you are going to help me."

"I don't like leaving you hanging like this, but I know better than to argue. Kick his ass, you blond bastard," Issei said.

Issei didn't need anymore incentive than that as he headed over to where Vali was squaring off against his own grandfather. The sound of explosions was already echoing from over there. Naruto didn't need to look to know how intense the battle between them had become.

"Why are you doing this, Yami? What are you hoping to accomplish?" asked Naruto.

"I believe I told you. I am going to become so strong that I can consume your existence, and then I will become the real Naruto. Of course, to do that, I need a lot more strength than I have now. After all, even if I am stronger than you right now, you've got a helper inside of you. My plan is quite simple. I am going to gather power, throw the world into chaos, and then undo the seal holding a great evil that was imprisoned long ago," Yami said.

"A great evil? What are you talking about?" asked Naruto.

Rossweisse lifted a hand to her mouth. "You don't mean—"

"I do." Yami's grin widened. "I plan on releasing Trihexa from its prison, and then I will seal Trihexa into myself. I will become Trihexa's Jinchurikki, and together, we will destroy this rotten world!"

~Devil Ninja~

"What's the matter, Vali? Having trouble hitting me? Perhaps you are feeling sentimental and can't hit your dear grandfather?"

"Shut up!"

"Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!"

Vali already knew what would happen the moment he tried to divide Rizevim's power, but he went ahead and made the attempt anyway.

Rizevim laughed as he leapt forward far faster than Vali could comprehend. A fist slammed into his chest, and just like that, the power Vali was using was completely canceled.

At the same time, Rizevim stepped forward and slammed his elbow into Vali's chin. Vali, unable to stop his forward momentum, practically walked into the attack. Stars exploded in the young man's vision as he stumbled back.

Rizevim did not let up. Vali soon found himself on the defensive, taking hits that caused his vision to go white. A smack to the skull rattled his brain. Something hard slammed into his knee, nearly causing it to bend the other way. Just as he was teetering, Rizevim launched a powerful double punch. While Vali got his arms up in time to block, the attack produced a shockwave as he was lifted off his feet, slammed into the ground, and rolled across the floor.

"You don't really think you can beat your dear old grandfather with such paltry skills, do you?" asked Rizevim as Vali climbed to his feet. He spread his arms wide as Vali wiped the blood dripping down his mouth. "Come now, Vali. I know you aren't weak. At least try to give me a better fight than this, you fucking pathetic loser."

Vali scowled. He wanted to scream at this man that the only reason he was able to take him on was due to the Sacred Gear Canceller. That unique ability of his could cancel out the power of a Sacred Gear. Of course, this included Vali's Balance Breaker.

"Dragon Shot!"

A powerful beam of bright red energy tore through the underground chamber, burning away ozone and the floor as it traveled straight for Rizevim. The attack was so powerful even Vali felt a thrill run down his spine. Rizevim's eyes went wide as he flapped his wings to move back quickly, letting the attack tear through the space he had been standing. The beam continued on, exploded against the wall, and caused the entire building to shake.

Vali had to close his eyes as he was hit by bright light and force winds. He would have been blown clean off his feet if he hadn't hunkered down. Even though he wasn't sent flying, he still slid across the ground despite using his Scale Mail's clawed feet to dig his heels into the floor.

When his vision returned, Vali opened his eyes to find the entire wall and ground gone. Part of the ceiling was also gone, revealing a good chunk of the floor above.

"Vali! You okay?" asked Issei as he landed next to him.

Like Vali, Issei had entered his Balance Breaker. Red Scale Mail covered his body from head to toe, green gems glowed from his chest, knees, and elbows. The wings on his back looked like those of a true dragon. Meanwhile, a tail with a sharp point curled behind him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Vali muttered with furrowed brows. "You've gotten a lot stronger."

"Of course I have! Don't you know how hard I've been training?" Issei looked pretty pleased with himself.

The one among them who did not seem pleased was Rizevim. He scowled at Issei, but then his expression shifted back into a smile as he walked forward with a swagger in his step.

"I must admit, I'm surprised you've got so much power. However, at the end of the day, you still don't have what it takes to beat me."

"We'll see about that, fucker!" Issei raised his finger and flipped off Rizevim, then turned to Vali. "Come on, Vali. Let's turn this douchenozzle of a grandfather of yours into mincemeat!"

Vali didn't say anything for a moment as he stared in surprise at Issei. He wouldn't say he was happy with the idea of teaming up against his grandfather, because he wanted to beat this man himself, but the idea of fighting beside Issei had a certain appeal. Two rivals standing side by side to defeat a powerful threat? Yes, it was something he could get behind, and he knew right now this might be the only way he could fight this man on even grounds.

"All right then. Let's do this, Issei Hyoudou."

"Hell yeah! Let's kick his ass!"

"Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!"

Issei boosted himself without limit, his power skyrocketing to the point where it matched Vali's. The two of them turned to face Rizevim. Their enemy now wore a scowl. With their faces covered in a helmet that hid their expressions, the pair launched themselves at Rizevim.

~Devil Ninja~

Lilith tried to make her way over to Rizevim.

"You girls need to stop her!" Naruto shouted at Akeno, Koneko, Irina, Raynare, and Rossweisse.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do!" Raynare snarled. Despite this, she created a spear of light and hurled it at Lilith, who didn't even look her way as she smacked the weapon away like it was nothing. "Fuck!"

"Let's try this!" Akeno said as she created holy lightning and sent a powerful burst at Lilith. Just like what happened with Raynare's spear of light, Akeno's holy lightning was smacked away like it was nothing. "Well, this isn't good."

Lilith was simply too powerful for their magic to harm her. It made sense. Lilith now contained the vast majority of Ophis' power, which meant she was a creature so far above them she was like a giant and they were ants.

Despite this, no one gave up. Rossweisse held out her hand and created several complex magic circles with the House of Gremory crest in the center. There were a myriad of different colors. He thought he recognized the different kinds of magic being used, but then something shocking happened. The circles combined. Forming a single, large magic circle that was far above anything he'd ever seen, Rossweisse gritted her teeth and released a snarl as she unleashed the magic.

Lilith stopped moving.

She turned toward the magic and raised her hands. A nearly transparent bubble seemed to form over her body. The magical attack, which looked like a thousand glowing missiles of magical energy, slammed into the barrier and detonated. Even Naruto winced at the force of the detonation. A dense blast of hot air slammed into him and Yami. Blinding light blocked out Naruto's vision as a loud rumbling caused his ears so much pain it felt like his eardrums might collapse.

When everything cleared up, Naruto opened his eyes and looked again, but this time he was staring at a massive crater on the floor. He didn't know how big it was, but it took up nearly a fourth of the gigantic room. The edges of the stone had melted into slag and were still glowing a molten orange.

Lilith was unharmed.

She stood in the center, transparent bubble still surrounding her. It flickered once before disappearing.

"What the hell?! Are you telling me that attack did nothing?!" Rossweisse squawked.

"Just what kind of monster is she?" asked Raynare in a frightened whisper. "Shit. I shouldn't have come here."

"Giving up?" asked Koneko, now in her Shirone Mode. Her massive breasts were practically spilling from her kimono. Two tails waved behind her as she stepped forward. Naruto would have loved to admire the way her tits jiggled or how plump her ass was, but the narrow look in her golden eyes cooled any lust he might have felt. This was a battle.

"Fuck yes, I am! Did you see what just happened?! That little runt took the most powerful magic attack I've ever seen headon like it was nothing!" Raynare said with a shriek.

"If you're gonna give up, then go curl up in that corner." Koneko pointed to a corner on the other side of the room. "Let the badasses handle this."

"Fuck you! I am a badass!"

"Then prove it."

Raynare swore like a sailor as she clambered to her feet. Akeno laughed at her, but the other Fallen Angel sent her a vicious glare. Koneko ignored them both and stepped forward, directly into Lilith's vision. The young-looking girl stared at Koneko with impassive eyes that seemed almost dead. There didn't seem to be a hint of emotion there.

"You ready for this, Rossy?"

"Who is 'Rossy?'" asked Rossweisse as she stood side by side with Koneko.

While Koneko and Rossweisse squared off with Lilith alongside their companions, Naruto turned his attention back to Yami, his other half who was watching the girls with a complicated expression. Something about it sent a jolt through Naruto. It felt like he was staring at himself in the mirror during one of his more vulnerable moments. However, Yami noticed him staring and quickly mastered his expression.

"Quite the harem you've got there. I'm going to enjoy breaking them in front of you," he said, licking his lips.

"I would never let you touch them," Naruto said.

"Who said anything about you letting me?" Yami chuckled as dark energy surrounded him. "I'm going to defeat you, but I won't kill you. I will strip you of your power and keep you alive, and then I will take my time breaking these girls you've become so fond of. I will let you watch as I destroy their minds and bodies one by one."

As he spoke, Yami's body began changing. His hair became jagged like spikes, his body seemed to grow bigger and buffer, the muscles of his arms, shoulders, and legs straining against his clothes, and the whisker marks on his cheeks became thick. Bars went across his blood red eyes.

This was Sage Mode. An evil Sage Mode. Naruto could practically feel the vile emotions wafting from Yami's body as he took in more of the world's hatred.

Yami did not stop there. Like Naruto, he had a Rikudou Sennin Mode as well. Nine black orbs appeared around his body like orbiting satellites as a cloak formed of black chakra covered him from the neck to his feet. It looked like an inverse of Naruto's cloak.

Naruto felt something inside of him harden and grow cold, like ice was covering his insides, and yet there was a fire burning inside of him. Whatever this man was, he was no longer a part of Naruto. They were connected. However, they had become entirely different people. Naruto could not afford to show this man any sympathy if he wanted to protect the people he loved.

Rikudou Sennin Modo activated. Kurama's chakra cloak activated. The power welling up inside of him threatened to burst out of him. He took a slow breath as ten black orbs appeared around him.

Reaching out to grab two of those orbs, Naruto let them transform into a pair of shortened bo staffs. The other Truth-Seeking Balls remained in sphere form, but he would change them as needed at a moment's notice.

Gold light flickered around him as he took a step forward. The ground cracked. Naruto disappeared.

A second after he disappeared, Naruto was in Yami's face, swinging the bo staff in his left hand so quickly it was barely a flicker. Yami intercepted the attack. Their clash created a shockwave that rippled through the chamber, cracked the ground beneath them, and caused the two battles happening simultaneously alongside theirs to stop.

Naruto gritted his teeth and snarled at Yami. "I will never let you touch them!"

"Yes! That's it! Let me feel your hatred for me! Ha ha ha ha! This is exactly what I want from you! Come on, Naruto! Show me how much you can hate! Then, when I've left you defeated and broken, we can let your hatred grow even more when I take your women and break them! I'll turn them into fuckdolls! And you won't be able to do a thing about it!"

Yami's ranting caused something inside of Naruto to snap. With a howl that sounded more like an animal than a man, Naruto took control of the eight Truth-Seeking Orbs hovering around him and transformed them into spears that shot at Yami from every direction. With a wide grin, Yami leapt back and began swatting the Truth-Seeking Orbs away with the ones he wielded in each hand. He expertly struck them like he knew where they would be before even Naruto did.

Seeing this caused Naruto's hatred for Yami to increase, caused it to surge and boil like nothing else. He raised his hand into the air, creating a single rasengan, and then let one of the Truth-Seeking Orbs enter the rasengan. What formed was a pitch black sphere of swirling energy. It didn't seem like such a big threat, certainly nothing like the Rasenshuriken or the Yoton Rasenshuriken.

Naruto only realized his mistake after he threw. By then it was too late. All he could do was race over to the others and protect them as best he could. The Yin-Yang Rasenshuriken slammed into the ground at Yami's feet, and the eruption caused everything around them to go black.

~Devil Ninja~

"Haaaa!"

"Take that!"

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

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

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

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

Ravel smiled just a bit. "Thank you."

The smile left.

"Is something wrong?" asked Le Fey.

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

"Do you really think this is too easy?"

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

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

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

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

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

They began choking.

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

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

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

"Reinforcements?!"

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

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

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

"Give me a minute," Le Fey said.

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

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

"I was afraid you would say that."

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

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

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

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

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

"Queen Carmilla!" Ravel shouted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Thank you," said Ravel.

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

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

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

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

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

"Applause Wall!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

The modified dragons howled in pain as they were killed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Twinkle Aegis! Protect us!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But even he could only last for so long.

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

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

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

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

"Consider it done," Queen Carmilla shouted back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I can't… hold on…"

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

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

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

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

"Now, Le Fey!" Ravel shouted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~Devil Ninja~

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

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

"No comment from the peanut gallery please."

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

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

"Ngggggg…"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"But I—"

"Sit. Down."

"Yes, ma'am."

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

Yes. A true man.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"A likely story."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

His happiness was the key to regaining his power.

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

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

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

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

Naruto replaced himself with a log.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Ha… ha… ha…"

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

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

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

"Huh?" Yami asked stupidly.

That was when a voice appeared behind him.

"Extinguishing Star!"

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

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

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

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

Naruto whistled at the destruction wrought.

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

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

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

"What?"

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

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

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

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

"He ran away," Rias said.

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

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

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

~Devil Ninja~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Believe it."

"What?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He probably wanted alcohol…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~Devil Ninja~

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

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

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

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

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

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

"This is… Valerie Tepes?" asked Rias.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

At nearly 20,000 words, this is the longest chapter I have written for Devil Ninja so far. I wanted to finish this arc so I could move onto a more original arc.

The next arc I have planned will involve the war with the Chaos Brigade. Naruto and his friends will be involved in the many situationed happening around the world. I also plan on introducing some new elements like the Titans and the Hindu gods.

I'm going to try and finish this series within the next 10-ish chapters. I would like to thank everyone who has been reading this story and supporting me. I always say this, but I've never considered myself a great writer, so I am grateful to the people who read my stories.