After returning and enjoying a short rest with his family, it was time for Kiyoshi to get back to work. He arrived at the shrine as instructed to meet with his superiors. With the appearance of the blond, their usual gathering was reconvened.
— I am glad to see you are completely healthy, Kiyoshi, — the goddess greeted the boy. — Many things have happened during your forced vacation. You are probably already familiar with some of them.
— Yes, Amaterasu-sama. My deputy Shinichi told me the general outline of what happened.
— That makes things a lot easier, — Yasaka said with a smile. — By the way, you have chosen a wonderful deputy — your friend has been very competent in your absence. How about leaving the boy in charge of Hyakki Yakou, — the kitsune suggested to the others, — until we sort out Christianity and everything else?
— A very good idea, Yasaka, — Amaterasu praised her. — What do you think, Kiyoshi? — Your presence will be needed in many places now.
— I have no objections. I know Shin's abilities and I have confidence in him.
— Then we have decided on that, — the atmosphere in the room became more tense. The goddess glanced at them. — Let's move on to the issue of the biblical factions and the confrontation with them.
— We know that Odin made an alliance with them in the fight against the "Chaos Brigade." The old man did not join the peaceful alliance of the three factions, but such an outcome is possible in the future.
— That's unpleasant, — the phoenix complained, hearing the words of the nine-tailed fox. — Then we need to speed up our plans so that the gods of the north do not side with Christianity, but on the contrary, prefer to get rid of them.
— That shouldn't be a problem, — the kitsune grinned evilly. — We have already contacted and agreed with groups in North and South America, Australia, and many European countries. The preparations should be completed next week. — Because of the Vatican and the Church, we have to act too slowly, — Yasaka complained at the end.
— It happened rather quickly, — Zankoku admired. — In just over a month, you have prepared groups all over the world.
— Nothing surprising, — the goddess said. — There are dissatisfied people everywhere. Especially among the young, ambitious generation who have not seen all the horrors of war.
— We are not forcing anyone, so there is no need to worry about these fools, mistress, — the fox said. — By the way, while gathering information, we discovered something that only you, Kiyoshi, can handle best.
— You intrigue me. I am listening.
— There has been a conflict between vampires in Romania for a long time. They have split into the female Carmilla faction and the male Tepes. So, — the woman put on her fox smile, preparing to surprise Zankoku, — there has been a change of power in the Tepes group. Immediately after that, their fighters became stronger and lost their natural weaknesses, and there was a rumor about the appearance of a longinus in the hands of Marius, the new leader.
— If we talk about longinus, then among them, only Sephiroth Grail can do something like this, — having come to this conclusion, Kiyoshi was in anticipation. — Undoubtedly, this is great news! Another holy longinus in our hands will be a great help against demons.
— That's right, — Amaterasu agreed, — and with your capabilities, vampires will either die from holy power or turn to ashes. Burn these dark creatures and get Sephiroth Grail for Shinto.
— Yes, my lady, — the phoenix bowed to her and smiled slightly. — All my enemies will be burned in the name of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu-Omikami.
— So be it, child, — the Shinto leader beamed with pleasure. A dark sword appeared in her hand. — I remember you wished for a sword with the ability to kill dragons. My brother was able to get it from one of the attacking heroes. Here you go, — Kiyoshi carefully took the sword's hilt. As soon as the blade was in his hands, it began to exude dark miasma. — Its name is Gram, the strongest demonic sword, also known as the "Demonic Emperor Sword". It is not inferior in power to Durandal.
— A fitting nickname, — the phoenix grinned, releasing its aura of holiness, suppressing the sword. — I feel its power, but it does not want to obey me, — the guy made a couple of swings, hiding the gift in his subspace. — Oh well. Gram is a bit like my Murasame, so let it marinate in the holy flame until it submits.
— You know better, — Yasaka grinned. — You're doing a great job with the cursed blade. It even obeys you, so even Gram won't be able to resist. Haha!
— Go, Kiyoshi. Prepare yourself and leave as soon as possible. We're not the only ones who know about the vampires' situation.
— Okay, Amaterasu-samu. I won't let you down.
***
Rias Gremory's POV
I slowly began to regain consciousness. My body ached a little, but it was a pleasant pain. Opening my eyes, I saw the sleeping face of my beloved Issei. He looked peaceful now, but just a couple of weeks ago, Issei was immersed in depression. He blamed himself for Asia's death and his weakness. The Red Dragon, imprisoned in the glove, added fuel to the fire. Ddraig constantly reminded him of his mistakes and powerlessness. With Azazel's help, we managed to briefly disconnect the dragon's connection with reality. It was at that moment that Xenovia and I managed to talk to and console our beloved. I will never forget that night.
But Issei was not the only one consumed by negative thoughts. I felt disgusting too. First, Kiba's death, during, so to speak, the battle with Kokabiel. Everyone in my group took the loss of the swordsman badly. After that, there was a conference of the three factions and the signing of a peace treaty. That's when the "Chaos Brigade" made their presence known. It was my first time participating in such a large and chaotic battle. Hakuryuu's betrayal was a surprise to many, but what shocked me the most was how quickly Kiyoshi Zankoku dealt with him. I couldn't even imagine that guy's strength. Only I was increasingly tormented by worries about Akeno and her frequent meetings with him.
Returning to our family in hell should have distracted us from our worries, focusing on preparing for the meeting of young devils, but once again everything went wrong. At the very first training, a gloomy Azazel made a whole bunch of negative comments about our abilities and shortcomings, as well as how to fix them. Having reached Akeno, the leader of the fallen advised her to accept her origin, which my "Queen" always hated to hear. But this time, the brunette mockingly demonstrated Lightning Lightning on her hand, the spark from which almost fried the fallen.
This demonstration gave us all the motivation to overcome our shortcomings in order to become better. However, it also made me think. In all the time I knew the "Lightning Priestess", she never opened up to anyone. Akeno always limited herself to superficial friendship, drawing a line between herself and others. That was until she met this half—demon, after which the "Queen" became more lively, showing her true nature.
I took this as a good sign that now we will become even closer, but I was wrong again. Akeno did demonstrate more open behavior, but only towards Kiyoshi and his wife. She also openly demonstrated her attitude towards everyone around her, but there were rarely any positive feelings in it. Contempt, superiority, ridicule and hatred towards the fallen. I get goosebumps, just remembering her look when she lit a fire under the fallen and enjoyed her torment.
Diadora's trap and the terrorist attack, Asia's death, Ise's rampage, and Zankoku's murder by my brother and Azazel all piled up on me in a short period of time, and I couldn't recover quickly, which was what Akeno took advantage of. Having received her invitation, I had no idea that my "Queen"'s actions were a well-thought-out plan to escape. When I felt the pain and numbness from Akeno's attack, I managed to catch a glimpse of her. I had never seen such a hopeless amount of sadness and hatred in one look. After that, there was no news for a while, until my brother reported the failure of the evil figure's summoning and its complete destruction. The news was not unexpected, but even if Akeno had betrayed us, her death brought me sadness.
Due to the loss of two servants, I had to withdraw from the tournament, which continued despite the declaration of war with the Japanese pantheon. Having lost the ability to visit Kuoh, the only thing I could do was sit in the mansion, occasionally meeting with Sona. And then yesterday I received a message from my brother. The leader of the vampires of the Carmilla faction contacted him. After telling him about her confrontation with the opposing faction, the vampire decided to form an alliance with the biblical factions. In exchange for help in deciding the succession of power among the vampires, the demons would acquire Valerie Tepes, the bearer of the Sephiroth Grail. Thanks to Gasper's acquaintance with Valerie, I was the one who had the opportunity to cope with this task, but due to the loss of the servants, Sona and her retinue, as well as the leader of the fallen, joined me. "To watch over this kindergarten",— as Azazel put it.
After completing our preparations, we immediately teleported to the Carmilla faction's castle. This group consisted mainly of girls, and although Issei had calmed down a bit, his perverted nature had not gone away, so a conflict almost broke out between us. Vampires are too proud and narcissistic creatures, considering themselves superior to other races. Azazel's released aura was enough to demonstrate the difference in their strength to the vampires present, contributing to a peaceful resolution of the dispute.
As we discussed the current situation with the vampire leader, a servant burst into her office.
— What do you think you're doing?! — the mistress of the room screamed.
— F-forgive me, mistress, but I have urgent news, — he bowed deeply. — Five minutes ago, we managed to detect a huge emission of holy power on the territory of the Tepes castle.
— Are they manipulating the Grail?
— N-no. The scout sent reports that the castle is under attack.
— Could it be the church? — the woman turned to the fallen, tensing her muscles. — Does Christianity want to betray our agreement?
— No. Absolutely not, — Azazel waved his hands and turned to the servant. — Any details about the attackers? Any unusual phenomena? And how did he determine that this was an attack?
Receiving a nod of confirmation, the vampire spoke:
— The castle is on fire, from which a powerful holy force emanates, and explosions occur within the building itself, signaling a fight.
— What color is the fire? — I had a bad feeling when I voiced this question.
—Purple.
Having heard the answer, the room fell silent. Each of my retinue felt tense. I had to squeeze Issei's hand to calm down a little. Gasper at this time rushed to help his friend, but was stopped by the fallen.
— ...Yes, thank you, Ajuka, — Azazel turned to everyone with a serious face after ending the connection. — As it turns out, the Incinerator Anthem has disappeared, and all the guards and magic have been destroyed. This happened seven days ago, but no one knew about it.
— What should we do now, Azazel-sensei? — Sona asked.
— We need to go to the site and try to save Valerie. We can't let another Holy Longinus fall into the enemy's hands, — the fallen one began to prepare the transfer circle. — The enemy is strong, so don't rush into trouble. If you can't get the Grail, then try to destroy it.
— No! — Gasper roared. — We need to save Valerie!
— Saving her is a priority, — the fallen one agreed. — However, it is not always possible to save the people dear to you. Be prepared for the worst. Let's go!
Once we were close to the castle, we immediately saw the blazing walls. The scout's words were confirmed, but no sounds of battle were heard. Only a powerful dragon aura was spreading from the center of the castle.
— Where did the dragon come from? — I couldn't help but be surprised.
— He's not alone here, — the leader of the Grigori said warily.
— What do you mean, sensei? — Saji asked.
— The power of the dragon you are currently feeling is blocking the aura of another, and there is also a bearer of the Anthem here. Be careful, — Azazel gave the order and led the group, moving towards the throne room, from where a powerful aura was emanating.
Halfway to the goal, the source of the dragon aura disappeared, and I was able to confirm the words of the fallen about the second dragon. Moving through the castle grounds, we were unable to meet a single vampire. There weren't even any corpses to be seen, just piles of ash scattered by the wind or explosions. Standing in front of the doors separating us from our targets, everyone was nervous, preparing for battle.
— Don't do anything without my command, — Azazel warned. — Perhaps we can come to an agreement.
After receiving confirmation, the fallen opened the massive doors. But the people inside were a surprise to everyone.
— And you weren't in a hurry to come here, — the white-haired youth I knew said with a grin, but my attention was completely focused on the girl next to him.
— Akeno... Are you alive?