Chapter 23

Naruto waited for Rias in the clubroom. He was thankful for his enhanced constitution letting him operate without sleep for so long. He could probably go for a week straight if he wanted. Three days wasn't too hard, but he had noticed a few faint bags under his eyes that morning.

He had been waiting for close to an hour before Rias walked in, surprised he was already there. "Naruto-kun. I see you didn't sleep much." She was wearing a modest, well-fitting dress that was obviously saved for a formal occasion like today.

Naruto chose to go with his Kuoh Academy uniform. The suit that he'd been forced to wear to the party after the Rating Game made him feel like a stiff. He looked closer at Rias and saw she'd used a slightly thicker layer of makeup than usual under her eyes. Hiding the bags too, eh? He grinned and said, "I imagine you didn't either."

Rias stared at him a moment longer. She then sighed tiredly. "No. I didn't. And why aren't you dressed for the occasion? I know you're smarter than this."

He shrugged. "I just beat Kokabiel in one-on-one combat and saved the Underworld from a war that would've killed a lot of folks. I'd like to think I don't need to be in a monkey suit to get thanked."

Rias pinched the bridge of her nose. "We don't have time for this. The Original Four guide me, but you can be frustrating."

"I know. It's part of why you love me so much."

Rias froze for a second. She shook her head bemusedly. "Let's just get going." She grinned like a fox. "You still can't teleport on your own, can you?"

Naruto crossed his arms and grumped. "You really gonna rub that in my face after last night?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'll take whatever I can get. But come here. I'll get us there. Onee-sama gave me a direct circle."

She then held her hand out and created a magic circle large enough to transport the both of them. Naruto walked over and stood next to her. The magic circle then raised into the air and he felt the magic envelop him. He blinked and he was no longer in the Occult Research Club's clubroom. He shook the shivers out of his head that always came whenever someone used magic on him.

Still not used to that, he said.

You probably should be, Kurama jibed.

I'm fast enough as is.

Can't get into the Underworld though.

Hush up.

They now stood in a grand entryway that had a few dozen devils bustling around, going about their jobs. Naruto could feel the slightest difference in the air now that he'd been in the Underworld for the second time. There were a few hanging tapestries and portraits of various people who he guessed were important devils or other. He recognized one of Serafall and the one next to it was Sirzechs.

In front of them stood Grayfia, dressed in her usual maid outfit. She bowed in greeting. "Welcome to the government building. The Maou are gathered and await your arrival."

"Onee-sama," Rias said. "Apologies if we are late."

"You're not."

"Ah. Then you were able to whip them into shape then."

Grayfia stared at her evenly, and Rias wilted. Rias mumbled an apology. "Please follow me," Grayfia said, turning on her heel and starting to walk towards an ornate pair of doors.

Naruto and Rias fell into step behind her. Naruto said under his breath to Rias, "I thought it was funny."

Rias smiled at him gratefully. "You think almost anything is funny."

"I just have a good sense of humor." He asked, "So what should I expect in there?"

Rias thought for a few seconds. "I honestly don't know. The Maou are usually laid back for their positions. Grayfia has to prod them to get anything done. I joked once that Grayfia was actually the one running the Underworld, and she didn't take it well. Though they can be serious when the occasion calls for it. You've already met my brother and Serafall, so that should give you an idea."

Naruto nodded as they crossed the threshold and entered a long narrow corridor that had another ornate door at the end that was guarded by a pair of armored guards on either side. He asked, "So who are the other two then?"

Rias blinked, stumbling over her feet. "Damn! Did I forget to tell you about them?"

He nodded. "You did."

She looked like she wanted to smack her forehead but held back so as to not ruin her makeup. She said, "The other two are Falbium Asmodeus and Ajuka Beelzebub. While we're in there, only refer to them by their titles and always use '-sama' unless they tell you otherwise. Beelzebub-sama is the one with green hair. Asmodeus-sama is the bald one. Please try not to insult them."

He could see that she was starting to fray at the seams, so he assured her as best he could. "I won't. Believe it or not, I do know how to be respectful. I can promise I won't be the one to break protocol, but I will respond if they do."

Rias pinched her nose again. "I suppose that's the best I can hope for. You're not one to let a slight go, are you?"

Naruto blinked in surprise when he realized that she was right. He wondered, Have I always been that way?

Kurama answered. No. Hmm. My best guess is that your pride was inflated even higher than before when you became a devil. Makes you more interesting, at least.

Huh. Makes sense, I guess. Being a devil enhances your sinful nature.

They stopped in front of the door. The two guards didn't even look at them; they kept their gaze forward and almost unblinking. Naruto wanted to go up and poke them to see if they would even react, but he held that in for now. He'd just promised to be respectful, after all. It wouldn't do any good to break that a few seconds after making it.

Grayfia nodded to each guard, who remained stoic. She then pushed open the doors and they walked in.

They entered a large but not obscenely so audience chamber. At the other side of the room was a raised half-moon table where the four Maou sat equidistant from one another. Serafall and Sirzechs, Naruto recognized immediately, were sitting on the left half. The other two had to be the Beelzebub and Asmodeus. Ajuka Beelzebub was to Sirzechs' immediate left. He was a handsome young man who seemed to be around the same age as Sirzechs and had slicked his green hair back. That made Falbium Asmodeus the one on the far right. He looked the eldest of the Maou, but that could be because of his bald hair and goatee combo that made him look older than he really was. Naruto resisted the urge to dip into his Senjutsu and try to get a feel for the Maou's aura. He'd promised he wouldn't be rude.

Grayfia curtsied to the Maou. "Four Great Maou, I have brought before you Naruto Uzumaki and Rias Gremory, as requested."

Sirzechs was the first to speak. "Thank you, Grayfia. Please stay as we speak with them."

"As my Lord wills." She then stepped to the side and let Rias and Naruto walk forward.

They did so. When they reached the center of the room, Rias curtsied like Grayfia did, and Naruto followed her lead with as genuine a bow he could manage. Rias said, "Thank you for calling upon us, Maou."

"Bah! Get these formalities out the way already!" Ajuka said derisively.

Falbium's voice was slow but deliberate. "Ajuka, why must you act so in front of guests?"

"It's Sirzechs' sister!" he said back. "Not some random!"

Serafall stood up and said, "I'm with Ajuka! Let's just go ahead and get to it! All in favor?"

She and Ajuka immediately raised their hands. Falbium looked down in thought. Sirzechs smiled nervously at Rias and Naruto as if to say, 'I promise it's not always like this'. Naruto saw Grayfia sigh tiredly and pinch the bridge of her nose.

Sirzechs asked Rias, "Would you like to just jump ahead and ignore the traditional greetings, Rias?"

Rias glanced briefly at Naruto. "Naruto-kun is unfamiliar, so I believe it would be best he not be put in position to inadvertently break a tradition and insult anyone."

Sirzechs nodded. "Wisely said. I join then." He raised his hand. He looked around the room. "Falbium, will you make it unanimous?"

"Hmm?" Falbium seemed surprised at being called out. "Oh. Yes. Let's do that." He raised his hand too.

"Then we're all in favor," Sirzechs said, dropping his hand along with everyone else. "We'll dispense with the traditional greeting and get down to business. Falbium, I believe you had first question rights."

Ajuka huffed. "He just lucked out with the right straw."

Falbium smirked at Ajuka. "You know that isn't true Ajuka. Please stop acting like a child when you lose."

"I'll—"

"Beelzebub-sama. Asmodeus-sama," Grayfia's voice cut like ice. "You are acting below your stations."

Both Maou looked at her. They shakily nodded, and Naruto was thrown for a loop. Not only was Grayfia Sirzechs' leash, but she was everyone's? Poor woman. It was a wonder she stayed sane dealing with these clowns.

Falbium said to Naruto and Rias, "First, of course, we welcome you to the Underworld. We understand some of what happened with Kokabiel yesterday, but we wish to hear from both of you about last night. Please leave nothing out."

Naruto met Rias' gaze and nodded for her to talk first. She stepped forward and told them of everything that happened over the past few days. From meeting Xenovia and Irina, to Kokabiel's arrival, to Kokabiel revealing that God was actually dead, and his eventual defeat by Naruto. Naruto hadn't heard about Issei's performance in his fights, which made him want to go scream his pride from the highest rooftops. She told them what she could observe from Naruto's fight with Kokabiel, but it was little more than the surface details.

When she finished and stepped back, Falbium looked to Naruto. "And you? Please tell us how you defeated Kokabiel. We are most curious how someone who hasn't even been a devil for three months is suddenly stronger than most Ultimate-class devils."

Naruto shrugged. "I just am, is the best way to say it. I don't have any secret Sacred Gears or anything. Everything I fought him with, I've had since the day I was born."

Ajuka slammed his hand on the table, making everyone look at him. Ajuka said, his voice hot, "Don't try to hide from us. We already know where you came from and what is within you. Now, you can say it yourself, or I will read off what I have here." He held up a small pad.

Naruto frowned. He'd known they'd had him under observation for quite some time, but he doubted they knew as much as they thought they did. For instance, there was no way they knew of the Elemental Nations. There was not a sniff of his home anywhere that he could find, and he'd looked hard when he'd first arrived. He also doubted they knew any more than he had a strong energy source within him, as Kurama's very soul was now fused with him.

He went contemplative. He could see Rias try and fail to hide her own curiosity. She'd all but outright asked him last night. He'd managed to beg her off until this morning because he wasn't sure whether to tell her everything or not.

He asked Kurama, Should I bare it all here?

I'd recommend staying clothed, but I think this is your best chance to come clean. I get the feeling that one there, he meant Ajuka, at the very least is not bluffing. Remember that we don't know how effective their technology is. Besides, they have been mostly honest with you. What do we gain by keeping these secrets any longer?

He sighed. He saw Kurama's point, but revealing everything about his life back home felt far too private to air in front of all of these people. But I don't have to give them that. Just enough to where they don't think I'm purposefully keeping information from them. He said, "Okay. Fine. I'll talk." All of the Maou leaned forward in anticipation. "To start with. I'm from a different dimension."

The room went silent for a moment. Rias broke it. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. "Hah! Wait until I tell Sona!" Everyone looked at her and she blushed, embarrassed for her outburst. "Sorry."

Ajuka's glare left Rias. His eyes seemed almost disinterested when he met Naruto's eyes. "Yes. We already know that."

Naruto blinked, surprised. "Wait. You do? How?"

Ajuka snorted. "It's our job to notice these things." He pressed a few buttons on his tablet and a holographic image of three planets linked by grey tunnels appeared in the air between them. "Nine months ago now, we got an unusual reading from the Dimensional Gap." The image shifted to a giant mass of grey. Within the mass was a giant image of a red dragon that moved almost lazily in the mass. "We noticed an anomaly here." He pressed another button and the image zoomed in to where the dragon was. "This is Great Red, in case you didn't already know. Great Red guards the Dimensional Gap. He ensures no one crosses to an area that they're not supposed to. Except this time, for some reason." A small orange dot appeared near Great Red, the two a few inches from each other. "Normally, Great Red or the Dimensional Gap itself takes care of such discrepancies.

"Again, except this time. The anomaly passed right by Great Red. It was then redirected and landed on earth." The screen followed the small orange dot until it eventually crashed into the small replica earth. "That anomaly," Ajuka said, "is you, Uzumaki-san. We have no idea why you are here, but you are. Do you have any clue as to why Great Red didn't notice you?"

Naruto shook his head, still reeling from the revelation that they knew already. "N-No." A memory then struck him. "Wait. I actually think this Great Red might have noticed me and let me go."

"Impossible!" Ajuka said. "Great Red, in all we know of him, has never done such a thing!"

Naruto held out his hands to try and calm them down. "Look. I can explain if you'd let me." Ajuka sat back down. The other Maou looked between each other and then back at him. Rias was looking at him, eager to learn more. "Thanks. Can you go back to when you first saw that me and Red passed each other?" The screen rewound to that moment. "Thank you." He walked forward and pointed to where he and Great Red had apparently crossed paths. He explained, "You see, when I was in the Dimensional Gap, I think you called it, I was drifting for a long time. I honestly have no idea how long.

"But what I do know is that I spent most of that time in a dream-like trance. Opening up the rift into the Dimensional Gap took almost all of my energy at the time, so I had to rest. I remember one dream in particular, now that you showed me this. I was actually floating in the Dimensional Gap itself, so I'd at first thought I was awake but quickly discovered that wasn't the case. I then heard a voice. I can't describe it to you even if you asked me to, so don't bother. The voice asked me what my…dream, I think was the word it used, was." He took in a breath to steady himself. Those memories were not pleasant ones for him. "I…told it I didn't want to have to fight anymore.

"It then basically said yes in a very roundabout way and said it would grant my dream. I then woke up in an alley in Shinjuku. I'd at first thought it strange that everyone I came across spoke the same language I did, but I never thought too hard about it. To be honest, I was just glad I wasn't too lost to get started. Grayfia-san found me a few weeks later."

Ajuka was frantically writing down everything Naruto said on his tablet, his fingers moving so fast it was hard for even Naruto to keep up. "Hmm. I see," Ajuka said. "Very interesting indeed."

Sirzechs then asked, "This cloak that you summoned as you fought Kokabiel, is it an ability from your home dimension?"

Naruto shook his head. "Well, yes and no. I did have one similar to it before I left, but the one I used last night was different from the one I'm used to. I don't honestly know why or what caused the change." Still no clue on your end?

He could feel Kurama shake his head. None. Everything feels normal to me.

"Very interesting," Ajuka said, continuing to type on his tablet, seemingly ignoring everything going on around him.

Serafall coughed into her hand. "Before we go further down this road," she said, "I believe it best we talk about the elephant in the room."

Sirzechs and Falbium nodded. Ajuka continued to ignore everything around him, furiously typing away. Sirzechs said the secret the leadership had concealed for so long: "God is dead. This is no longer a secret. It's information."

Serafall took over. "I'm sure Kokabiel told you a little of the reasons why we hid this, but it wasn't just because of how devastated all of us were from the war. Well, it was mostly that. The biggest reason is that God's presence dissuaded anyone trying to swing in and take advantage of all of our weakened states. Even today, devils, fallen angels, and angels are nowhere near as strong as they once were. God was powerful enough on his own that even the Hindu gods are hesitant to try and face him. I don't think I'm overstating it by saying that he was one of the only beings capable of perhaps wounding Ophis and Great Red."

Falbium nodded. "That's a fair assessment, Serafall. He was one of the only beings capable of creating from nothing. The human theory of the 'Big Bang' I believe they call it, is not entirely inaccurate. The source of all matter was God himself."

Naruto nodded, understanding. "So you used God as a weapon of mass destruction then?"

The three Maou paying attention looked at each other. Sirzechs said, "I'm unfamiliar with the saying you just used, but I imagine the meaning is correct. Yes. God's presence was enough of a threat to the other powerful entities out there that they would not risk trying to take advantage of how weak all of us were after the war."

Naruto took in the information they'd given, and it made sense to him. It was like how the Elemental Nations used to be with their bijuu. If you were weak, you made sure that the other nations knew you had a bijuu and would not hesitate to use it if they tried to invade.

I always hated that, Kurama said.

And you have good reason to. Naruto said, "I admit I want to know something then, if you'd permit me to ask." Sirzechs nodded his permission. "If we'd failed to stop Kokabiel, would the armistice have ended?"

There was a tense silence that went on far longer than Naruto was comfortable with. "It might've," Sirzechs said. "Azazel was very insistent when I spoke with him last night that the fallen angels wouldn't have done anything even if it had, and I am inclined to believe him."

Serafall nodded. "Azazel hated the war more than anyone. I'm shocked he didn't send anyone to deal with Kokabiel himself."

Sirzechs said, "He assured me he had, but that who he sent hadn't been needed. Did either of you notice anyone else? Someone who may have been observing?"

Rias shook her head and Naruto shrugged. "Too focused on the fight, to be honest," he lied.

Sirzechs looked like he didn't believe him but didn't press for more. "A pity. Perhaps they escaped your notice and fled when they realized they weren't needed."

Naruto didn't respond. He didn't hold back out of any sense of loyalty or respect to Vali. He just didn't want the topic to get out of hand, so he steered it back on track. Besides, he got the feeling he'd be seeing Vali again soon enough. "So what should we do now that the word's out that God's dead?"

The Maou minus a muttering Ajuka again looked at each other. Serafall said, "You may not speak of it to anyone who does not already know. It is only a matter of time before the information leaks, but we must make sure to keep it quiet for now. Please understand this is not a lack of trust in Sona. This is very dangerous information that will be catastrophic if leaked. Please be sure to stress that to the rest of your peerage, Rias. I will be meeting with delegates from the angels and fallen angels to discuss how best to proceed this week."

Rias nodded, acknowledging the edict for what it was. "I will be sure to speak with everyone immediately after leaving."

For some reason, Rias' words seemed to finally make Ajuka pay attention again. "Oh! Are we finally through the boring stuff?"

"Not entirely," Falbium answered.

"Oh. Well, let me know when you are. I need to run a few more tests…"

Falbium then looked at Naruto again. He asked, "Will you tell us about your inner abilities, Uzumaki-san? If we better understand them—"

"Liar!" Ajuka apparently had been paying attention. "We are done with the boring stuff! You, blondie! I need some stuff from you."

Naruto blinked, shocked at Ajuka's behavior and disrespect to his fellow Maou. Falbium seemed used to it though, as he just sighed and his face fell into his hand. "Uh… Sure, Beelzebub-sama."

"Bah. Ajuka is fine. Here." Ajuka tossed a small bag at him. Naruto caught it and he heard a bunch of glass objects clattering around in it. "There's your Evil Pieces. Congratulations. You're a High Class devil now."

It took Naruto a minute to confirm that he hadn't misheard. "I'm a High Class?" he repeated to confirm it.

Sirzechs smiled kindly and Serafall beamed at him. Serafall said, "Yep! I'm sure you remember that little thing we talked about at Rias' party?"

"I do."

Sirzechs said, "We discussed it this morning, and it was unanimous. Your defeat of Kokabiel met every qualification. You are now a High Class devil. With all the good and bad that comes with it."

"Bad?"

Rias said, her eyes both joyful and full of mirth, "Societal expectations, etiquette… There's actually quite a bit you'll need to learn before we can trot you out in front of people."

"I assume we can trust you with that task, Rias?" Sirzechs asked. "We'll wait at the Ruins—"

"O-Onii-sama!" Rias shrieked. "I-I-I d-don't know why y-you're talking about that!" Her blush was so large it almost seemed to radiate heat.

I wonder what that's all about?

If I have to spell it out for you, I'm going to hit you.

You can't, by the way.

Yet.

"I don't know what these ruins are," Naruto said, "but I'm happy to meet you there if you want."

Rias' blush went nuclear, much to Sirzech and Serafall's amusement. "We are not talking about that here!" she screamed.

Ajuka's voice reflected his apathy for whatever was happening around him. "Yo. Blondie. Take out the King Piece for me."

Naruto reached into the bag for it. He felt each piece, his fingers lingering on them for a moment. They felt like they were made of glass but were heavier than he'd expected. He at last found what he was pretty sure was the King Piece and pulled it out. It looked like it was made of frosted glass. He showed it to everyone around them.

"Yep. That's the one. Now I need you to bleed on it. What?" he said, surprised at the flat looks everyone gave him. "Oh. Just a drop would be fine. On the crown, if you would." He then pulled up his tablet again and started typing away.

Here goes nothing. Naruto bit one of his fingers, so used to drawing blood for when he used to summon the Toads that he didn't even register it. He then held his finger over the King Piece. A single drop of blood fell onto it, and the Piece changed completely. It went from a white frosted glass to a solid orange, with an almost-whirlpool swirl that went up from its base to the bottom of the crown. "Huh. Didn't expect that."

Ajuka nodded along like he heard him. He then said, "Now shove it into your heart, and it should handle the rest on its own."

Naruto looked at Rias, who nodded for him to go on. Okay then. In you go. He pressed the King Piece against his chest, right above his heart. It sunk in immediately, like it was waiting eagerly to meet him. And he found he had been too. Something shifted within him, and he could feel his soul merge with the King Piece. It seemed to almost melt and spread throughout his entire body.

When he felt that it was done, he inspected his body. Experimentally flexing his hands and legs. Everything felt…better, somehow. He'd long ago mastered his own body, and he was making great progress controlling his new chakra. Yet now he somehow felt like he could master water-walking right now rather than have to spend the time learning it again.

"What… What did you do to me?" he asked hesitantly.

"Hmm? Oh. Just fixed a few things that I messed up with your Unique Piece, is all." Ajuka went back to his tablet. "You see, your Unique Piece underestimated how powerful you really are, so it couldn't control your true power. That should have made it easier. And… Yes! I can see it here! It's merged perfectly! Hah! I knew I could do it!"

"We never doubted you for a second," Serafall said, rolling her eyes.

Ajuka ignored her. He pressed the tablet again and a diagram of a body that looked suspiciously like Naruto's appeared in the air in front of him. He pointed to the center of the body and said, "Right here is a mass of chaotic energy that is merged to your soul in a way that I've never seen before. Not even Sacred Gears do this, since they have to recycle themselves after their wielder dies. But you already knew about this energy, didn't you?"

Naruto's face was carefully neutral, but he nodded. "I do."

"Thought so. You see, your Unique Piece was created as a best guess based on a strand of your hair we were able to get. I noticed then that your DNA, while substantially similar to a normal human, is only ninety-five-percent alike. For comparison, a human and a chimpanzee's DNA are ninety-eight-percent similar. You also had some new proteins that don't exist to my knowledge. It was quite the challenge to figure out how those proteins acted. Now though, with your King Piece in, I see I was right again. The Unique Piece was designed to activate your powers, but it appears I miscalculated. Oh, keep it to yourself, Falbium!

"But back to what I was saying. I'm sure you noticed that your powers were a little out of control, shall we say?" Naruto nodded and he kept going before Naruto could say anything. "Well this King Piece has corrected that. You should be able to control your power perfectly now. Any hang-ups after today are solely on you. Oh, I should probably explain the Evil Pieces, shouldn't I?"

Sirzechs cut in to stop Ajuka from going off on another lecture. "I believe Rias can tell him about the Pieces themselves."

"I suppose that's true," Ajuka admitted. "Alright, then I'll just leave you with this. That King Piece, since it merged with your soul, is connected with each individual Piece." Ajuka grinned. "The greatest invention I've arguably ever created. A King Piece that was able to merge with someone from beyond the Dimensional Gap, and the accompanying Pieces that can do the same. I'll need to take a few readings so that I can recreate this one day…" Ajuka's head returned to his tablet and he started muttering calculations and theories to himself again.

For a few minutes, the only sounds came from Ajuka as he typed away on his tablet. Grayfia then stepped forward. "If that is all, Lucifer-sama?"

"I believe it is for now," he said. "Rias, Naruto-san. Please remember all that we discussed here today. There are things moving already that we cannot tell you yet, but know that we are doing our best to keep everyone in the Underworld safe. And that includes you two as well."

"Tell Sona I love her!" Serafall said, waving her hand wildly.

Rias curtsied and Naruto bowed. They said their goodbyes. Ajuka ignored them and didn't even acknowledge when they left. They then teleported back into the clubroom together.

When the magic finished, Rias let out a long breath. "Well, congratulations, Naruto-kun. You have just become the fastest-promoted devil in all of history, to my knowledge."

"Heh. I like to be the exception."

"I can tell." She looked at the clock on the wall. "And it's not even noon yet. That didn't take anywhere near as long as I thought it would."

He looked at her then, staring directly into her eyes. She started to shift nervously under his gaze. He said, his voice neutral, "You knew I wasn't from here."

She nodded. "I noticed a lot of discrepancies in your story. I researched it as best I can and found nothing. No stories of wars anywhere on earth that matched the time frame you've told me. And we would've noticed if you were a Youkai or anything like that, so I knew you had to have been a human. But, the more I thought about it, the less it made sense, so I had to believe that you weren't from this dimension. Sona thought you were an alien. She'll be disappointed to find out I was right and she was wrong." She looked positively giddy too.

"Well…now you know for sure, I guess."

There was a knock at the door then that surprised them. Rias checked the time again. She said, "Oh! I think I know who that is. You can come in!"

The door opened and in walked Xenovia. She was still wearing her battle outfit and looked like she hadn't slept either.

Rias greeted her with a slight bow. "Have you thought about my offer?"

Naruto looked between them, confused. He realized what the 'offer' was when Rias smirked at him.

Xenovia nodded. "I have. And I accept. I will be your Knight, Rias Gremory."

Rias' smile glowed. "That's wonderful!" She reached into one of her drawers and pulled out a red Knight Piece. She asked Naruto, "Want to watch so you know how to do it?"

Naruto hung his head below his shoulders. He whined, "But I wanted to ask her…"

Rias stuck her tongue out. "Too bad. Besides, the first Piece should be your Queen anyway. It's tradition." She noticed Xenovia's confused stare. She explained, "Naruto-kun was just promoted to a High Class devil, so he just got his own Evil Pieces."

"Oh." Xenovia bowed to him. "Congratulations, Naruto-sama."

"Stop with the '-sama' crap. We're friends."

Xenovia's eyes were wide, but she nodded. "Very well then. I look forward to working with you."

"And we you," Rias said. She then asked Naruto, "Would you like me to help you find a Queen for you?"

Images of that vampire woman he'd run into the other night came to him. "You know, I think I already have a good idea…" He smirked at her. She pouted, and his grin got wider.

A/N:

And that's the end of the Kokabiel arc. Sorry to disappoint, but there won't be a chapter next week.

If you've read all the way here, congratulations and thank you. I genuinely am grateful for the support that the story still receives even after so long. I'm sure some of you have questions. I'm not going to answer many, but I will provide a little info.

1. I've had this arc written in full for over 6 months before I started posting it a few months ago. I also have the Summit arc plotted out and ready to write. But that will be a long time from now. Why? See 2.

2. I am currently writing original stories, and those are far more important to me. I expect to finish my first full-length original novel by the end of 2021. If you're interested in reading some original titles from me, it will be a few years from now at least. I might post a link to my Fictionpress account when I have written a couple accompanying novellas and posted them there, but I won't say I will. I won't say much about the story/world, but I will say that the novel will have gone through at least 10 total drafts/revisions by the end of 2021 (if the schedule stays as I want it) after starting it in quarantine 2020. This while working a full-time job.

3. A few people have asked if I'm going to address some of the criticisms this story has received. The answer is no. There are a few reasons, but the biggest is pretty simple. This is just fanfiction that I started writing when I was a teenager. Could/should I go back and revise the earlier chapters? Probably (for all my stories; honestly, revisiting my early CG chapters makes me visibly cringe). But I won't. I enjoy going back and seeing my growth as a writer from a cringy teenager to who I am today.
Some people take this far too seriously as well. As I've gotten older, I've learned to laugh at the obvious trolls trying to bait me. I just ban/report or remove their guest reviews and that's that. If some of the lore liberties I took anger you enough to hate me personally and/or tell me to "kill myself" or any variety of the such, there are other stories out there for you. I recommend you read them (and see a therapist). If you're willing to leave a review about why you dislike the story, I have no issue with the review. I may even DM you and discuss it with you. But a cowardly guest review telling me I'm "a waste of life" I will delete and ignore without a second thought.
I recommend people who want to learn to write try fanfiction out. It's a good first experience into the writing process. Working with characters and a world you don't have to build from the ground up is, in my mind, writing with the training wheels on, and that isn't a bad thing. Once you figure out how to do it without the training wheels, you don't need them anymore. (It also will get you accustomed to the vitriol you'll deal with when you try and publish anything, I learned.)

4. I will inevitably post updates to this and my Code Geass story, as they're my two largest, to advertise my original writings. Maybe my Akame ga Kill story as well depending on how I feel. But I doubt that will be for a few years. Assuming I get a novel done per 18 months, I might have the series ready for publishing in another 2.5-4 years.

And I'm done. As I said, there will be updates to some of my stories again, but it will be a while. Best of luck to all of you, including the shit-heads who try and fail to troll me, and I look forward to more coming down the line.