A/N: As of 4-14-2019.

New information provided during ending author's notes.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or High School DxD.

8. I Play the Role She Gave Me

Part I

The day of the meeting came, falling on July 19, a Friday. In the end, after a solid two hours of debate among the Grigori's original Cadres, Azazel managed to slip by everybody else's recommendation and took only Vali and me with him to Kuoh, Japan.

Strange as it sounds, the conference was being held in a school, of all things. Thankfully, it was a school holiday, which meant we didn't have to worry about getting a random human involved in our problems. Without the Mist, I figured covering up the supernatural side of things was more of a hassle than in my world.

"Warm, huh?" Azazel said once we'd arrived in front of the huge academy gates. A fifteen-foot brownstone wall rose around the entire academy, topped by short wrought iron posts. Fancy it may have been, but I was more menaced than I was impressed. "Seriously, it's actually way too hot right now."

I had to agree with him. Even with it being close to 10:00 p.m. the heat hadn't settled at all. For the most part, I'd dressed for success; my shorts, boat shoes, and T-shirt all made sure I was decently comfortable in the swelter. The only article out of place for the weather would be the red scarf I'd loosely wrapped around my neck and chin.

Seeing as it was a gift from Le Fay, however, I couldn't have left it out of my get-up. She'd insisted on me wearing it. She wanted people to know I was a hero. And since red was the color of justice, well, that's just the way it had played out in her head. Tobio had teased me about it back at headquarters.

Incidentally, I hadn't seen either Le Fay or Arthur in a while. Both of them were still in England, according to Bikou, no doubt still looking for clues in the case of the mysteriously disappearing Excaliburs. I'd found the scarf on my bed just last night with a note attached to it. Le Fay had knit the thing herself. There was no way I couldn't wear it.

"This place is kinda menacing, huh?" I pointed out. Those wrought iron stakes looked a little too ostentatious. If someone fell on one of those things, it'd be game over. Those things were a fatality waiting to happen. I hoped nobody would be dumb enough to try climbing over the wall.

"Nervous?" Azazel asked. He had on a charcoal-colored three-piece suit. Over that, he wore a long wool coat that stretched to his thighs.

"Not really." I thought back to my old world. The walls of Erebos rising around Hades' domain had been much creepier. "Been through a lot worse than this."

He gave me an approving nod. "Vali, how about you? Feeling the jitters? Got ants in your pants? I can sing you an old Bulgar lullaby to help soothe any nerves. It's about Torbalan."

"I'll be fine," Vali said with a deft shrug. His eyes were locked on the uppermost level of the giant school building in front of us. "The other leaders are already here. I can feel Sirzechs Lucifer's power from out here. He's pretty strong, huh?"

"No fighting," Azazel immediately shut down Vali's only train of thought. "We aren't here to start a war. I'm sure Percy here understands what we're up against. He's got diplomatic experience."

I looked around. "You're overselling me. I've gotten more used to these things after years of dealing with the gods. Like when we defended Manhattan from Kronos. The gods were all off saying, 'We're busy battling Typhon, he's so scary, he destroyed half of Kentucky, Dionysus got buried in the mountains,' and there we were, about forty half-bloods trying to fight against an army of monsters and two freaking Titans. So, I decided to be pushy. Hermes almost killed me."

"Nice guy," Vali commented.

"I brought up a sore spot for him. He's actually a pretty cool dude most of the time. His multivitamins saved me from living as a guinea pig at one point."

Azazel sighed. "You really aren't helping me make my case here."

Behind us, high in the night sky, dozens of Fallen Angels appeared out of a sea of magic circles. In front of us, the Angel and Devil soldiers already in position around the school stiffened. Tension frayed at the soldiers' nerves on every side. Another kind of heat spilled into the area.

And that's not all, Nekhbet said. As the Lucifer boy said, there's a presence inside the school with power far above ours by a wide margin. Devil. There wouldn't be a point in fighting fair with that one. You'd lose horribly.

Good to know. Thanks.

Don't let your pride get in the way of staying alive.

"All right." Azazel's voice went steely. "No sudden moves. Don't do anything that could piss these guys off. We don't want to start something here."

I nudged Vali. "He's talking to you, dude."

Vali rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm talking to both of you. Vali might be the one to pick more fights, but, Percy, you have a natural charm that makes certain people want to punch you right in the shnozz. Sometimes I'm included in that demographic."

"You know, Tiamat said the same thing when we were in the desert." I pulled my scarf up. "Have you guys been talking about me behind my back?"

"Don't think so highly of yourself, punk."

Vali gave me a sidelong glance. "I would say that's a sign of self-consciousness."

I stuffed my hands in my pockets and squinted at the brownstone walls. "Oh, sure, mock the demigod. Shouldn't we get going?"

"Eager? I like it! Let's march, then." Azazel pressed onward.

We walked through a wide courtyard. In front of us, standing like some kind of monolith, was a four-story building. On either side were paths leading behind the huge school building. Smaller (but no less fancy) buildings took up the furthest sections of our right and left sides. In the center of the courtyard was a fountain, not as large as the one back at Grigori HQ, but still substantial in its own right. Water spewed out from the top in five different directions to fill the circular pool serving as the fountain's base. Despite it being summer, I noticed the grass surrounding the pathways was still a rich green color.

"Man, I would've been kicked out of this place so fast," I said lightly. There would have been no way I wouldn't have done something to break the rules. That, or I'd end up breaking the school. Hopefully, that wouldn't happen today. I didn't need another charge of destruction of property added to my rap sheet.

Angels with pure white wings floated over the right-hand side. Devils with angular black wings were positioned on the left. Their stares felt electric. The Fallen Angels drifted over the gates, taking up space at our rear to make it a good, old-fashioned three-way standoff.

I noticed a lot of the soldiers from the Angel and Devil sides eye us warily. As we approached, they tensed, some even going as far as to back up and break formation.

Standing by the front doors of the main building, a woman dressed as a maid watched us expressionlessly. Her arms were held at her fore, placid. Even so, the danger she passively managed to exude made me take stock of how much water was freely available to use in the pipes crisscrossing the academy. I readied a set of hieroglyphs in my head, keeping Nekhbet's power at the tip of my tongue.

"Welcome, Governor Azazel." Once we were close enough, the maid greeted us with a polite bow. "The others are awaiting your arrival in the designated room. Shall I escort you and your company there?"

"Ah, Grayfia, you're as beautiful and as impersonal as always," Azazel replied with a happy smile. "We'd gladly accept your offer. Lead on."

Grayfia nodded, her red eyes narrowing just a bit when they crossed over Vali. Other than that, she kept herself stoic. She opened the glass doors for us. "Then, please, follow me."

We went inside. The school was different from what I was used to. The first thing I saw were small lockers that didn't look like books could be stored in them. We took an immediate right and passed through a hallway that led to a stairwell at its far end. The rooms had wooden sliding doors with labels denoting things like "1-A" and "1-B". It was hard to miss the fact that the school was much cleaner than Yancy or Meriwether or Goode.

Azazel tried to make idle conversation as we went along. "Have you been waiting long?"

"No," Grayfia didn't bother looking back. "Only about an hour or so."

We climbed the stairs awkwardly as Grayfia's subtle accusation fell on us. Scratching his goatee, Azazel cleared his throat. "I see. Is everyone already there?"

Grayfia made a small noise of dissent. She didn't respond until we reached the second flight. "We are still expecting Lord Lucifer's younger sister, Rias Gremory, and her peerage. They should be coming shortly."

"I see. So the Red Dragon Emperor will be in attendance as well. How do you feel about that, Vali? Your eternal rival is going to be there. Fun times."

"Why should I care?" Vali asked bitterly. "He's a sad excuse for a dragon. What a boring existence Issei Hyoudou is. Normal parents. Sad excuse for a student. No demonic magic. Without the Boosted Gear, he's worthless. And even with the Boosted Gear, he's worthless."

I drove my elbow into Vali's ribs. We weren't looking to pick a fight, but those were fighting words if I'd ever heard any.

Grayfia glanced over her shoulder. She didn't look angry, but the gaze she locked Vali with was glacial. I wondered what that reaction meant, and what kind of relationship Issei Hyoudou had with Grayfia the maid. She didn't seem to be the forgiving type.

"So, Grayfia—um, can I call you that?" When she nodded, I kept going. "So, Grayfia, are you a servant of one of the Great Satans?"

"Yes, I am in the service of Sirzechs Lucifer as his [Queen]."

Wait, so this was the "Strongest Queen" that Azazel had mentioned? For some reason, I hadn't expected her to be wearing what she was, but to each their own. I was wearing a scarf in July, over khaki shorts and boating shoes, no less.

Once the stairs couldn't climb any higher, we turned a corner or two and stopped in front of a pair of doors. Grayfia knocked once to acknowledge we were there, then pushed inside.

"Governor Azazel and company," she introduced, though it was probably unnecessary.

The room was a big one. Along one wall was a line of huge windows, each around fifteen feet tall, with the curtains drawn open. Two glass chandeliers hung on thick chains from above. Sitting around a table with gilded accents, I got my first look at the leaders of Heaven and the other side of the Underworld.

Long hair was all the rage, apparently. Blonde, black, red—it didn't matter the color. Everybody sitting at the table had long hair. Azazel had told me what he thought was relevant information about the leaders, so I did recognize them by appearance alone.

Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan sat near each other, two of the Four Great Satans. War heroes for the current Devil populace after the civil war that tore their people apart.

Lucifer was dressed in something too rich for my blood, his hair a shocking red color that almost matched my scarf. Apart from his hair and clothing, the guy looked friendly enough, going as far as smiling kindly at me when we locked eyes. The Divine Words I'd been holding on to during our walk with Grayfia changed immediately. The balance of power was so obviously in favor of Sirzechs Lucifer. I had no choice but to disregard everybody else in the room. If I didn't use the most outrageous spell in my arsenal, it'd be no contest.

The girl beside Sirzechs Lucifer was Serafall Leviathan, sporting black hair held in long twin-tails. While she wasn't dressed as lavishly as Sirzechs, her suit looked rather expensive. Also unlike her scary Satan friend, Serafall was much less outwardly intense, which I could appreciate given our positions.

Michael and Gabriel were next. Two of the Four Great Seraphs. Survivors of the Great War, and powerful beings in their own right. Michael, the current leader of Heaven, had a similar vibe going to Sirzechs. Not quite on the same wavelength, but behind his amiable smile I felt something was . . . off. He had rather sad, droopy green eyes, and he'd taken a page from the Devil's playbook, wearing a set of grandiose armor to relay his station.

Gabriel reminded me a bit of Penemue, mostly in facial structure. The similarities ended there. Gabriel, like Michael, had a head of long blonde hair and a floating halo. Her white gown hid most of her body and looked more like something you would wear to bed rather than to an important conference. Azazel had told me that Gabriel was the most beautiful woman in Heaven. I'd never been to Heaven myself, but it wasn't hard to see why she'd been labeled that way.

"Ah, Sirzechs, Serafall, you're both looking especially devilish today." Azazel smiled at everybody as he walked to the table. "Michael, Gabriel, you're simply heavenly as always. I'm glad to see everyone's doing well!"

"Thank you, Azazel," Gabriel smiled brightly. Unlike the ones Sirzechs and Michael gave, hers was calming. "You seem well yourself."

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Azazel?" Michael put his arms on the table.

Vali, without concern for propriety, sat down right there at the table before Azazel could. The leaders gave him a strange look but didn't say anything. I held back a sigh. It wasn't a big deal, in the end.

Azazel followed behind Vali and sat down. I noticed there was a chair for me at the table. Along a wall adjacent to the windows was a row of foldable metal chairs.

One person was already there, a girl about my age with short dark hair and a pair of glasses, gussied up in what I assumed was a school uniform. I wasn't too sure, though. Her skirt was short. Probably too short to be considered appropriate at a private academy as fancy as Kuoh.

Instead of sitting at the table with the other leaders, I walked over to the row of chairs and pointed at the seat next to the girl. "This occupied?"

The girl studied me curiously—suspiciously. "Not yet."

Her vaguely standoffish answer made me frown. I looked back toward the table. Most of the leaders were watching. Serafall Leviathan was staring at me like a hawk. I tried not to feel intimidated. "Do you mind if I sit here, then? The table's a little too rich for my blood. I'm not dressed for the occasion."

"I don't mind." The girl shot the leaders' table a discreet huff. "They went out of their way to give you your own seat, though. It would be rather disrespectful if you didn't take their offer."

"Yeah?" Humming, I went back to the table, picked up the chair meant for me, and hauled it to the wall, making some room before sliding into my preferred position. "Hey, the view's pretty nice from here. Courtside. You were holding out on me . . ."

The girl blinked owlishly. Her mouth opened a few times, though no sound came out. Eventually, once I'd started grinning at her, she offered, "Sona. Sona Sitri."

"Percy," I stuck my hand out. She tentatively shook it. "Percy Jackson."

"Was that a good idea?" Sona asked. "You skirted around the issue without properly addressing its core."

"It'll be fine," I said, gesturing with my chin to the table. The leaders didn't seem angry. If anything, they were amused. "Doesn't look like they're gonna complain."

"I hope you're right," she said. "Your bold move did seem to break some of the ice. The leaders had been quite tense before you acted."

I adjusted my new scarf. "All according to plan."

At the table, the leaders exchanged pleasantries for a minute or two. Sirzechs didn't sound as intimidating as I'd made him out to in my mind. Unfortunately, he still set me on edge. Everybody at the table was all smiles, though Serafall shot furtive glares at a blissfully unaware Gabriel every so often. I found that funny.

A knock at the door dwindled their conversation. It opened to reveal a nearly identical copy of Sirzechs Lucifer. Except this Sirzechs Lucifer was a girl, no doubt about that. She walked into the room, a group of six people trailing behind her.

"Excuse us," Girlzechs said politely, bowing toward the table.

"Rias Gremory and her peerage," Sirzechs introduced with a wave. "They were one of the targets Kokabiel had in mind to assassinate to provoke a war."

Serafall took the chance to jump in. "Along with my own younger sister, Sona Sitri."

So, the girl sitting beside me was the younger sister of the Satan Leviathan? I made note to watch her.

"I would like to thank both of you for handling the situation with as much tact as you did," Michael said pleasantly. "Your level heads certainly kept it from escalating into something much more destructive."

"Yeah, sorry one of my guys gave you such a hard time," Azazel said. He didn't even try to put an apologetic tone behind his words. I'd worked with him for long enough to ignore his inflections about half of the time he talked. "Surprisingly, none of you are dead! Good, good."

Rias "Girlzechs" Gremory and her people weren't as attuned to those kinds of comments. Most of their faces fell a bit flat hearing my boss' sorry excuse for an apology.

Gabriel tilted her head. "You're as flagrant as I remember, Azazel."

I'm not sure how, but she'd said it without sounding condescending in the slightest. It was a completely innocent observation on her part. While that was refreshing, it still managed to throw me off. She looked so much like Penemue, I suppose I expected her personality to be a closer match as well.

"Well, before we get started shall we finish individual introductions?" Sirzechs smiled at the room. "Why doesn't everybody from Rias' peerage name themselves for the benefit of our non-Devil acquaintances?"

Considering he was the leader of Devil-kind, I figured the peerage was hard-pressed to refuse. If they had any misgivings, they hid it well, going down the line to identify themselves. Azazel hadn't told me about the peerage. I listened and tried to commit names and faces to memory.

Eventually, I got to see the Red Dragon Emperor for myself. Issei Hyoudou was a plain-looking guy, not very tall nor muscled, with brown hair and warm eyes that lingered on Gabriel throughout his introduction. He wasn't what I was expecting. Not at all.

"Thank you all," Sirzechs nodded at his sister, then gestured to the row of chairs next to me. "Please, have a seat."

The group made its way to the wall. I got plenty of looks. Issei seemed to be angry at me if his glares were anything to go by, though I wasn't sure what I did to offend the guy. We'd just met for the first time. How had I riled him up so quickly?

Rias hesitated when she got close to me and Sona. She greeted Sona first with a warm smile, then turned to me, head tilted ever-so-slightly to the left. "Hello. I don't believe we've met."

"I would've remembered," I said, gesturing to her hair. "Name's—"

"And now," Sirzechs' voice trounced my whisper, "Azazel, can you introduce your own side for us? I'm afraid there's an unfamiliar face in the crowd."

"Putting the pressure on me this early, huh? Very slick." Azazel stabbed his thumb at Vali. "This here is the White Dragon Emperor, Vali. He's the trouble-child of my group."

Vali had crossed his arms and looked out the window as our boss introduced him.

Azazel continued, "The social butterfly over by the wall is Percy Jackson. He's . . . not all that important."

My lip twitched. "Thank you Azazel, very cool."

Sirzechs raised his eyebrow. "You'll forgive me if I'm not very familiar with your accomplishments, Mr. Jackson. Do you, by chance, possess a Sacred Gear?"

"Nothing so fancy," I held up my hands defensively. Rias sat down next to me, and made Issei sit on her other side. "And I'm not complaining about being out of the spotlight."

"If only we all could be so lucky," Sirzechs chuckled. "With introductions out of the way, how does everybody feel about starting the conference?"

Heads bobbed up and down from the leaders. Serafall said, "To reiterate, everybody here already knows about the death of the Biblical God during the Great War."

I leaned forward. "Come again?"

Azazel snapped his fingers a few times. "So that's what I was forgetting."

"That's about par for the course," I shook my head at my boss. "So the 'Big Guy Upstairs' is gone? Like, for real? He didn't just decide to take an extended vacation in Bora Bora or something, right?"

"Yes, unfortunately, God died during the Great War," Michael said.

"Wow." I blinked. The impact was lessened by what I recalled of Pan. I'd seen gods die before. I'd almost killed one myself. What was one more added to the list? "Okay, got it. Sorry for ruining the flow you guys had going."

Though I still got some weird looks, Sirzechs moved right along. "With that out of the way, let's get started."

Part II

My leg bounced up for the millionth time. Over the course of an hour, I'd managed to stay almost completely still in my seat despite the horribly boring proceedings. At least, I think they were horribly boring. My brain had checked out a few times while the leaders talked about this or that or the other.

I'd spent more time thinking about how I would handle myself if a fight broke out than listening to the conversation. True, I may have had a stake in the situation now since I worked for Azazel, but everything the leaders discussed was mostly white noise. I didn't understand half of the references they threw out regarding territory disputes or diplomatic mishaps. Just another problem with being the third wheel in a group.

The ones sitting beside you will pose no problem, Nekhbet helpfully supplied. Keep on your guard, and we can make quick work of them. Of course, we must be wary of the leaders. The most pressing matter for concern is—

Yeah, I knew. Sirzechs Lucifer. Undoubtedly the strongest person in the room. He shared a similar aura to Rias, something dark and cold, an abyss deep enough to make Nekhbet shiver.

The difference between the siblings was subtle. Sirzechs had incredible control over his power. Rias . . . not so much. That said, with my Vulture Vision, it wasn't hard to see how chasmic Sirzechs' dark power really stretched. The guy was no joke. He was Crom Cruach levels of scary. Maybe even scarier.

I kept my guard up. For the most part, I assumed the talks were going well. Nobody seemed overtly interested in killing another person. There hadn't been any outbursts of anger from the leaders. Heck, Grayfia had been serving tea and snacks, making it look like a scene straight out of a movie.

When Sirzechs asked his sister to talk about the incident with Kokabiel, Rias and Sona both stood up and addressed the leaders. Naturally, Sirzechs' gaze had been drawn my way due to how close I was to his sister.

Our eyes locked; we both squinted at each other for the briefest second, and the distance between us shrank as Sirzechs' dark power stretched.

Invisible fingers of red-black energy drifted from his body and poisoned the air. He gave me a pleasant smile. But he couldn't fool me.

He's a monster, Nekhbet warned.

I agreed with her.

Rias and Sona finished talking and sat down again.

"Thank you both," Sirzechs said. "Azazel, what do you have—"

"Yeah, I've already read the reports," Azazel yawned. He didn't bother covering his mouth, just waving his hand loosely at the leaders. "There was no need to have the kids waste their breath. Here's my retort: Kokabiel was working on his own. He went rogue for this operation. None of the other Cadres were aware of what he planned to do, and none of them provided him any sort of assistance. He's been locked away already. Maximum security. Frozen solid. We're over that hump now, so can we move on to something productive?"

"Do tell what you mean by that," Serafall said icily.

"Let's make love, not war!" Azazel pounded his fist onto the table. "Peace is what I mean. Aren't we all tired of walking on eggshells? Why don't we just agree that the bullshit from the past should more or less stay in the past? God and the original Satans are dead. Good riddance. Why don't we let them roll in their graves at this kind of news?"

"That's quite convenient," Gabriel said, tilting her head. "Putting our bad blood behind us certainly would do our people good."

"I concur." Michael smiled. "I came to this meeting with the intention to ask for peace with the Devils and Grigori."

Sirzechs nodded slowly. "Certainly, I think the idea of peace can only be good for Devils in the long run."

Azazel grinned at everybody. He spread his arms wide open. "Peace it is. If anybody has a problem, speak now, or forever hold your tongue."

I tuned the conversation out again. My back hurt and my leg hadn't stopped moving once. I'd started drumming my fingers on my thigh at some point. Closing my eyes, I felt Nekhbet's energy filter through my veins. I focused on the sensations, vaguely aware of the talking in the background.

A voice suddenly rose from my right-hand side. "Because of your people, Asia and I were killed!"

I turned my attention to the room at large. Nekhbet filled me in on what I'd missed. Apparently, Issei Hyoudou had asked Michael a few questions before turning his attention to my boss.

Azazel gave Issei a good, long look of interest. "My negligence did get you both killed, you're right. Raynare and her friends were operating in this territory under my orders, that's right. Do you want me to apologize? Is that going to make you feel any better? Those guys are all dead. I believe your master had something to do with that. So, then, is it such a problem for you still? Do you hate being a Devil that much?"

Issei's anger deflated some. "W-well, no. I mean, everyone treats me really well, and I've also been having a good time with them . . . but still!"

Beside him, Rias stood up and put a hand on his arm. She spoke gently, "Calm down, Issei. What's done is done. Even if he apologized, it wouldn't mean much, right?"

Slumping a bit, Issei lowered his accusatory finger. "I—yeah, I guess so. Still, it's a dick move to just sit there with that kind of smirk."

Azazel didn't bother hiding it. "At least you've got fire. But with the discussion of peace basically over and done with, why don't we get some opinions that aren't our own? Maybe talking to the two Heavenly Dragons will give us some insight, right? Vali, tell us how you feel about peace."

I wondered if this was planned before we came here. Azazel hadn't told me anything about it, and Vali did take a second to think about the answer.

"I want to fight strong people—to fight my way to the top."

Issei looked at Vali as if he were crazy. It wasn't just him, either. Most of Rias' peerage did the same. The leaders, on the other hand, took it in stride. They'd probably heard it all before.

"And what about you, Welsh Dragon?" Azazel grinned. "What's your opinion?"

"Urg . . ." Issei's face fell into contemplation. "Well, I'm not really worried about the state of the world in that way, you know? I have an underclassman who seems to need my help right now, so I'm more focused on dealing with that before anything. Plus all the talking from before was too much for me."

I suddenly felt a certain level of camaraderie with Issei. I was glad it wasn't just me who felt out of place.

Azazel laughed loudly. "Yeah, politics are awful, aren't they? That's why I try to leave things to Shemhaza, my right-hand man. But let me be more blunt about it: peace in this age and those following means we don't have to worry about fighting on the front lines."

Vali scowled at the table.

"What's more," Azazel continued, "we can't focus on keeping our respective people going. I'm talking about baby-making, of course. If we make peace, you, Issei Hyoudou, will be able to make love to Rias Gremory however much you want. You can try making babies every hour, of every day, each year. Sounds good, eh?"

The room went silent. For a few seconds, I was afraid Issei's brain had up and melted. The expression on his face was one of absolute shock.

Then, a trickle of blood trailed down from his nose. He trembled so much, I was afraid he was going to pass out. "S-sex? You mean h-have s-sex with President?" Issei's voice was coarse. "Yes! Okay! I've decided that peace is the option for me! Please make peace, everybody, so President and I can make babies! The first step for becoming a Harem-King!"

I tried not to laugh at his sputtering. This guy was definitely a weird one. In this kind of situation, he just blatantly described wanting to have sex with the younger sister of Sirzechs Lucifer, who was sitting about ten feet away?

If someone said that about my little sister in front of me, I don't know what I'd do. I'd have to give them an obligatory punch to the gut, of course, but apart from that, I wasn't so sure.

Further down the line, a handsome guy with blond hair—Yuuto Kiba—said, "Uh, Issei, you do remember that Lord Lucifer is sitting right over there, right?"

Sirzechs, for his part, just chuckled.

Beside me, Azazel struggled to keep himself from guffawing. "'Harem-King?' You want to be 'a' Harem-King? That's all the Red Dragon Emperor aspires for?"

"W-what? Don't laugh! This is a serious dream of mine!"

"But it's such a shallow one," Azazel said. "You, bearing the power of one of those Heavenly Dragons, shouldn't be resigned to such an easy fate. Don't get me wrong, harems are fun, but it's been done before."

Issei's eyes blazed with hidden fire. "Then what are you suggesting? For me to abandon such a beautiful dream?"

"No. I just think you should aim bigger." With a happy, whole-handed point, Azazel said, "Don't just be another [King] with a harem. Instead, embrace such a title for all it's worth. Become the irrefutable king of harems. Crown yourself Harem King!"

"I-is something like that even possible for me?" Issei fell to both his knees. "Can I really do something like that, you damn Fallen Angel? Don't bullshit me!"

"Of course you can do it. People are attracted to a dragon's power, you know? With grit, a likable personality, and plenty of luck, I'm sure you can be the one, true, Harem King. He who holds a harem unrivaled in the world!"

Tears built up in the Red Dragon Emperor's eyes. "You actually believe in me? Ah, you're not as bad as I originally thought, Governor Azazel!"

Just as he finished speaking, a sensation spread throughout my body—a sensation eerily similar to Kronos' ability to control time.

I was at the windows before anybody else had even started to get up from their seats.

No need to get so excited, Nekhbet told me as we watched hundreds of magic circles light up the night sky. From the circles, people in drab, full-body robes appeared, their hoods drawn up and everything. None of them is worth much.

"So something like this happened, huh?" Vali had made his way beside me. "Hmph, that's pretty annoying. They're all so weak."

I glanced back. Azazel was talking to the other leaders. They'd all gotten up and walked away from the table to huddle together. Behind them, most of Rias' peerage hadn't moved a hair.

Walking to the wall, I got a closer look at the problem. Only three people—Yuuto Kiba, Xenovia Quarta, and Rias herself—were glancing around. Everyone else seemed frozen.

"H-huh?" Issei blinked rapidly. So he'd come back as well. It happened quickly, but a flash of light drew my attention to his left arm. A red gauntlet with gold accents had manifested. The Boosted Gear.

"So, terrorists, huh?" Azazel sighed. "Man, what a time to choose."

The magicians outside had started firing spells at us. Blue, white, red, yellow, ice, fire, lighting—all of it came our way. None of their attacks hit the building, though, fizzling once they got within twenty feet.

"Gabriel and I can handle the protection surrounding the building." Michael smiled at us while Gabriel nodded with happy determination. "And it seems the Lords Lucifer and Leviathan are dealing with the barrier between this academy and the town at large."

"Wait!" Issei stopped them. "Did you say 'terrorists'? What the hell! How are you guys so calm!"

I wouldn't expect the leaders of Heaven to erect a barrier flimsy enough to be broken by these ants, Nekhbet sighed. The difference between your magic and theirs is already night and day.

Yeah, but they're able to cast so many spells. I can't throw out nearly that much, I told her.

Quality over quantity, in this case.

Sirzechs held his chin. "So it seems as though Gasper Vladi has been forced into his Balance Breaker state? This time freeze is reminiscent of Forbidden Balor View. And all of the soldiers we brought with us have been frozen in time, along with some of my sister's peerage and the heiress Sitri."

"And that won't go unpunished," Serafall promised dangerously. "I'll make sure to find out where these guys came from and destroy their entire organization!"

Rias also looked murderous. "To think that someone from my family is being used as a tool by those malcontents! This is beyond inexcusable."

Azazel waved his hand over the scene. Spears of light started to appear. One, two, four, thirty, a hundred, and on and on the number climbed. Soon, the sky outside was filled with light-spears. With a flick, Azazel sent them all falling down.

"Wait, Zaze, if those guys are human—" I tried to protest, but it was too late.

PHWISH!

A rain of spears cut the magicians apart. Blood sprayed from chopped up bodies as chunks hit the courtyard. My mouth soured. I looked away, narrowing my eyes.

"What?" he said, pretending to be innocent. "They're terrorists. You think I should welcome them with open arms? Just because they're human doesn't mean they should be exempt from being killed. After all, they'd kill you without a second thought."

I frowned. "Whatever, dude."

Sirzechs cleared his throat. "We should find a way to get Gasper out of the magician's control. If they can forcibly induce a Balance Breaker state, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that they can increase the power behind Forbidden Balor View."

Gabriel put a finger to her chin. "Wouldn't that mean there's a chance they could freeze us in time, too?"

"Exactly so," Azazel said dramatically. "Which means Sirzechs is right. We've gotta get that half-vamp out, and fast."

"There's more to the magic than just time freezing," Vali nodded at the courtyard. There, the bodies of the magicians disappeared, along with the blood. More magic circles lit up the sky, and from them, more magicians came through. "Those must be the same as before. They have a very knowledgeable magician on their side."

Rias stepped up. "I'll go to Gasper. He's a member of my family. He's my responsibility! I'll take care of him."

"And how do you plan on getting there?" Sirzechs asked. "The usual transport is being blocked. Walking outside will get you blown away."

"I have an unused piece to castle with inside the club room."

"I see. That could work but . . . Grayfia, prepare a ritual and send the Welsh Dragon with Rias. Azazel, there've been rumors that you have some kind of device that allows for the control of a Sacred Gear."

Azazel muttered, "Spies everywhere. But you're right, Sirzechs. Want me to hand it over?"

"Can you think of a better way to test it than on the Red Dragon Emperor and Forbidden Balor View?"

A deal like that, Azazel just couldn't refuse. If I knew anything about my boss, it was that he took golden opportunities when he saw them.

"Haha! You're totally right." Azazel fished out two bracelets from his jacket. He tossed them over to Rias and Issei. "Use that on yourself and the half-vamp. It should contain the power a Sacred Gear holds."

Issei pointed at himself, surprised. "What? Me?"

"That's right. If worse comes to worst, you'll even be able to activate your own Balance Breaker without harming yourself. Careful, though. You'll eat through stamina and magic power like crazy. Man, you really are a sad excuse for a dragon, you know that? I don't remember the last few hosts being so weak."

Azazel absolutely destroyed the poor kid. Grayfia moved by Issei and Rias to prepare the spell or whatever it was they were doing.

Michael sighed. "How far have you gotten in your research of Sacred Gears, Azazel?"

"What, you got a problem with it?" Azazel smirked. "God is dead and gone. Somebody has to step in, right? You aren't the kind to concern himself with science, and now, in these types of situations, isn't it good to have someone be able to explain the system for other people?"

"I think Michael is just concerned that it's you, Azazel, who has such knowledge," Gabriel said that, again, without any kind of unpleasant intonation.

"Kuh! To hear that coming from you of all people, Gabriel, somehow cuts deep." Azazel held a hand to his gut. He straightened and said, "Anyway, Vali, why don't you go and introduce yourself to those guys out there? Seeing the White Dragon Emperor would ruffle a few jimmies."

Vali glanced out the window. "Why don't I just blow up that old school building? That way, we get rid of some terrorists and Forbidden Balor View at the same time. Two birds, one stone."

I questioned the logic of saying something like that given our present company.

"You stop that." Azazel reprimanded with a flat glare. "We made peace already."

"Fine." Vali summoned Divine Dividing on his back. The robot-wings opened. "Balance Break."

[Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!]

Once he'd clad himself in that white armor, Vali sent a final glance over his shoulder directed at Issei. With that, he smashed through the window and started attacking the magicians gathered in the sky. They fell like flies.

"Percy, you should go too," Azazel said.

I squinted at the courtyard, watching as the magicians fell in the face of Vali's assault. But for every person that hit the ground, another appeared out of a magic circle in the air. I put my hands in my pockets. "Yeah . . . I'm not really feeling it."

"Great, then we . . . Wait, what are you saying?"

Pointing with my chin, I said, "Look. Vali can handle those guys no problem."

"You—are you kidding me?"

"That's just how it is, boss."

Azazel sighed dramatically. "You've become a lot lazier since Tiamat gave you that advice."

[T-Tiamat? Who said that name? Is she here?]

"Huh? Ddraig, what are you talking about?" Issei looked at his left arm, toward the glowing green jewel on the Boosted Gear. "Who's this 'Tiamat' person?"

"Tiamat is one of the Dragon Kings. The strongest, if I recall correctly," Rias said with awe. "Do you know Lady Tiamat, Mr. Jackson?"

I held up my hand. "Just call me Percy. As for knowing Tiamat . . . I guess you could say I know her. I've helped her a few times. Almost died because of her. Twice. But she helped me figure some things out, so it's a fair trade in my book."

The dragon inside the Boosted Gear asked, [You . . . aren't going to tell her you met me . . . right?]

"She already knows," I shrugged helplessly. That much wasn't a lie. Tiamat had debated on whether to come just so she could harass the Red Dragon Emperor. "She chose not to come today. But she definitely knows you're here in Kuoh."

[I-I see. T-then, as long as we move far, far away from here, I'll be fine. Mhm. Okay then. Easy enough.]

"H-hold on a minute, Ddraig! You can't just expect me to uproot my whole life with one sentence!" Issei protested vigorously, shaking his left arm. "My parents and friends—"

[This is for your own good. Forget about them. Lead a new life in Borneo as an adapted native. Live off the land deep in the forest.]

"B-Borneo? I don't even know where the hell Borneo is! Be serious here, you damn dragon!"

Xenovia, the girl with blue hair, stepped forward. "Mr. Jackson!"

"Huh? Percy is fine." I moved away a little at her intensity.

"I see," she nodded intently. "Then, Mr. Percy."

I smiled wryly. "Lose the 'mister' part, too."

"How did you help Lady Tiamat?" she asked, ignoring my request. "And how did she help you?"

Before I could answer, Azazel said, "We've got company."

A magic circle appeared on the other side of the room. Sirzechs clicked his tongue while Serafall gasped. Michael hummed. Gabriel only tilted her head. The reactions made me figure someone special was about to pop in.

"Grayfia, send them now." Sirzechs' eyes churned with dark power. "Be ready to add your own power to the barrier around the academy."

"As you say." Grayfia turned to Issei and Rias. "Good luck. Stay safe."

"Wait, Grayfia—"

Rias' words were cut off as she disappeared in a flash of light. She and Issei were gone from the room. Everybody turned to the magic circle.

"So, who's about to crash the party?" I asked.

Azazel chuckled. "That's the crest of the original Leviathan. Apparently, we're about to meet a blood descendant of that person. What kind of irony is this, I wonder?"

From the circle, two people stepped out, walking side by side. One was a tall woman in an exotic dress, a pair of glasses over her cold blue eyes. The other was an elfish dude (as in, he had pointy ears and a youthful face) wearing fancy clothes that were probably all the rage back in the courts of ye-olden-Europe.

"Katerea Leviathan, Creuserey Asmodeus. What a pleasant surprise," Sirzechs said, not sounding surprised nor pleased at their arrival.

"Ah, hello there Sirzechs Lucifer. And the same goes for you, Azazel, Michael, Gabriel." The woman, who I assume was Katerea, spoke with negligence.

"Wha—! Katerea, how could you forget me?" Serafall put a hand against her chest and pouted. "That's just too rude!"

Katerea's lip twisted. She snarled, "I don't want to hear it from you, you fake. I'm the rightful inheritor to the title of Leviathan!"

"Yes, well, at least you get to kill her today," Elf-Dude picked at his ear calmly. "I, on the other hand, have to wait for another chance to reclaim the throne of Asmodeus. And the same goes for Shalba, you know?"

"Oh, come off it, Creuserey. You'll get your chance to kill Falbium once this is done." Katerea pretty much ignored her partner's complaint.

"Yes, yes, I've heard that one before," Creuserey sniped. "You're always saying 'today is the day', and it never is. Why couldn't I have just gone and finished the pretender on my own?"

"Because," Katerea ground out, "you and I stand a much greater chance of killing Serafall and Sirzechs together."

"But isn't it overkill at this point?"

"Have you ever heard the expression 'better safe than sorry'? It applies here."

As they bickered, I asked Nekhbet, How's the situation looking?

Yes, well, both of them are quite strong. Certainly above your own level by a good margin. Nekhbet hummed slowly. Their natural aura is intermingling with another, more powerful energy. It would seem they are being enhanced in some way. Almost like you and I. Neither are at the level of Sirzechs Lucifer, however, they have just about exceeded every other person here.

Should I use ma'at on one of them? I asked.

Certainly not, she scoffed. They're both distracted, yes? Let's show them why that's a bad idea in our presence.

I reached into my pocket. Neither Katerea or Creuserey noticed. Flicking the cap off, I threw Riptide at Katerea. It expanded from pen to sword as it flew. With my other hand, I pointed at the space just above Creuserey's skull. My mouth moved: "Stahp."

Ah, the beauty of Divine Words. I'd spent a lot of my time focusing on becoming a wizard, to be honest, rather than going even further beyond my raw power. In the end, Nekhbet agreed with my decision. There were just so many spells to use for any given situation. A magician was guaranteed at least one or two for just about anything they could think of. That said, I hadn't had the time to learn more than a handful of spells over the course of the spring.

Stahp was one of my favorite spells, along with being the third I'd learned with Nekhbet's help. It meant "sever", which made a lot of sense when I remember how I'd first seen it used by Carter to lop off Setne's hand. Yeah, it was awesome in that regard. Anything that could hurt Setne was a win in my book. And stahp had definitely hurt that crazy, Elvis wannabe. Good.

The downside? It was hard to aim. See, the glowing blue hieroglyph for stahp did the severing, acting kind of like a pendulum blade. The spell swung on a fulcrum in a crescent-shaped motion. Where the magician aimed was where the fulcrum would be placed. It was pretty easy to miss a moving target. Thankfully, Creuserey had been so concerned with my flying sword that he hadn't realized my words meant bad news for him.

It was over before he knew what happened as the hieroglyph blazed a line through his skull and dissipated once it had completed its arc.

Katerea, whom I'd thrown Riptide at, easily sidestepped to let it pass by her. She sneered at me. "What was that supposed to do, interloper?"

I pointed next to her. Creuserey Asmodeus fell to the ground, his head split like a watermelon right down the middle.

Despite him being stronger than me, he hadn't been taking us seriously. For all their power, it didn't matter if someone was caught off guard. Ares could attest to that. Polybotes, too. Heck, if Kronos hadn't had Luke's invincible skin, he would never have made it to Olympus.

Feeling morbidly proud of myself, I took the temperature of the room. It was silent. Eerily silent. People were giving me a strange type of scrutinization.

I frowned and looked at Sirzechs. "Hey, they're the bad guys, right?"

"They are," he confirmed.

"Whew, good. Just wanted to make sure."

Katerea seethed. "You dare spill the blood of a descendant of the true Great Satans?"

"Um . . . yes? Look, don't take it personally. You're the bad guys here. I'm just trying to do my job." I held my hands up in surrender. Wisps of smoke escaped my mouth when I spoke; using spells typically made me start combusting. The first two or three weren't so bad in terms of heat and pain. My nature as the son of Poseidon didn't help me all that much when it came to overusing Divine Words, which was kind of a drag.

"I've decided," she growled, "that you die first."

Crackling energy warped the air around her fingers. She lifted her hand. The school building exploded.

End Chapter

A/N: Gonna have a TL;DR at the bottom.

To make it quick. This note will more than likely be deleted in the future, however, it will remain until the newest version of [Chapter 9] is released.

Those who have already read [Chapter 9], I will be revising it again, because I've gone through and come to the conclusion that convoluting the story the way I'd planned to isn't doing anybody any favors. Ergo, I'll be removing the plotline which deals with Apophis. He was originally meant to take the role of one of the "Biggest Baddies" in the story, being both manipulative and stupidly powerful. However, I came to realize that another character could take his place (one that was already part of the DxD universe, and whom I think has good potential.)

Adding Apophis wasn't so much extraneous more than it was superfluous. And besides, as a writer, I don't think I could do what I'd been planning with his character. I was pretty arrogant after having read other books and thinking I'd be able to pull some of the same stuff. The story so far is undergoing an overhaul of future chapters. A lot of my initial ideas are being thrown out, which means I have to wrangle with how to go through things in a way that pleases a majority of the audience, along with making it palatable to myself.

On the subject of arrogance (mine), I'm wondering if there are some nice people out there who'd be willing to alpha/beta read. I'm less concerned about grammar and spelling (though I'm totally down for that if they are), and more interested in bouncing ideas off of them and getting their general vibe from chapters before I put them out. As an author, it's easy to disconnect with what the reader would feel when they read a chapter, given the bias inherent to feeling comfortable enough to put something out there for criticism. If you'd like to help me with this story, send me a PM so we can talk a bit.

I know that these revisions are annoying. If I were a reader and an author did it, I'd be pretty annoyed. So, sorry about that. Hopefully, this kind of thing won't happen again.

I write this long-as-fuck AN to give you a certain amount of transparency. I'd rather not abandon this particular story (though I will never make promises stating otherwise) which is why I'm doing these revisions. A full story rewrite is unnecessary at this point because most of the narrative thus far would stay the same. Any rewrite I make in this same crossover would have an entirely new premise, thus making it a new story altogether. I haven't struggled enough to say "fuck it" and just make a new story.

TL;DR: Say goodbye to the Apophis plotline. And I'm looking for a few people who are interested in being a beta/critique partner; I'm hoping for around 5 people, less for grammar and spelling, and more for plot consistency, characterization, and scene focus. Please PM me if you're willing to do so. I understand this is frustrating for those who have already been through this song and dance. Thank you for the support you have provided me, whether well-rationed criticism or telling me you can't wait for my next update.

If you have questions about these revisions, feel free to either shoot me a PM or hit me up on Discord (links on my bio.) It's easier for me to respond that way than through the review feature here.