บท 393: Preparing to Return pt 1

With Alex's wedding to Hisui now behind them, there was a mix of excitement and anxiety within the residents of Asora as the time that they'd return to the DXD world slowly approached.

Naturally the excitement was because of those who came from that world originally being eager to see any friends or family that they had to leave behind, while those they had picked up along the way were eager to see the world that the Dragon Emperor had grown up in. What made them anxious though was the fact that they now knew there had been at least one reincarnator that had journeyed to the DXD world since they left, and had lasted long enough there to leave.

With no idea of what they were going to find waiting for them, those from the DXD world spent the few days left until they returned preparing alongside the girls in Alex's peerage.

Within her private realm, Kuroka could be found floating in place on the island that housed her residence there, with thousands of feline eyes on her. As per the usual when she was alone, Kuroka had shed all of her clothes to practice in the comfort of her nudity, but unlike the usual there was no playfulness in her demeanor. In her mind she pictured the one person she couldn't stand even more so than Grayfia, Megari.

Megari was the oldest and most powerful of the eastern cat Youkai in the DXD world, and was also the leader of all the remaining Youkai after Yasaka moved to Asora. Unlike Kuroka and Shirone(Koneko) though, she was not a Nekoshou, instead she was a different and less powerful species of Nekomata.

The last time Kuroka had seen her, the elderly cat had pushed her and Shirone to get pregnant as soon as possible to rebuild their species, but the sisters had refused her command to instead wait for the right time. Now however Kuroka cracked a small smile as she pictured the face the annoying old cat would make after meeting her adorable niece, and realizing the potential she held.

Though Mai hadn't started any kind of training yet, Kuroka had been able to tell that the little girl had an incredible potential when it came to sensing, and manipulating, the energy of others. When she finally started training, it wasn't too hard to see her quickly surpassing the two of them in that particular practice.

While such a thought typically made her happy, this time Kuroka focused on that along with the image of Grayfia and Megari, before muttering to herself,

"I am the 'Queen' of the Dragon Emperor~Nya!" As she spoke the aura around Kuroka suddenly changed as it intensified by several times, lifting her long black hair and six tails up and around her while the ground beneath her started shaking, and the gathered cats quickly scattered.

She then opened her eyes to reveal a very brief divine light within her golden irises, indicating how close she was to finally forming her own divine spark, while massive amounts of the energy known as 'Touki' condensed into her body. Channeling the energy into the formation of her seventh and final tail, Kuroka growled,

"I will NOT allow anyone except my 'King' to be stronger than me~Nya!"

***

"Haa, haa..." Millicas panted tiredly as the simulation ended around him, taking him from the alien army he'd been fighting in the deep recesses of space, to a relatively small room located in the academy.

While every other side of the room was solid metal, behind Millicas was a wall that was also a window, which then lifted to allow a young girl dressed as a witch into the room with him.

"You did amazing Millicas!" Yukari cried out as she handed him a bottle filled with an energizing drink, before using a towel to wipe away his sweat. Millicas, now a little over thirteen years old, looked at the little witch, his girlfriend, and said,

"Thank you Yukari, but my strength is still far from mom's, big sis's and big bro's..." Recalling the overwhelming power he felt the time that his big bro Alex had demonstrated his SSJ3 for him, Millicas's expression darkened slightly as the desire to try and close that gap welled up within him.

He knew very well why he and his mom had to leave the house of Gremory, leading to his mother becoming one of Alex's wives in the process. Though far from blaming Alex for coming in between his mother and father, Millicas also understood that his mom was definitely happier now than he had ever seen her in the Underworld.

However, now that they were going to be returning to their home world, where those bastards who had tried to hurt her and use him against her were, Millicas wanted to gain enough strength that his mother never needed to worry about him again. The resolve he felt at that moment however paled in comparison to the desire to become stronger that he felt when he recalled what he learned when he last entered the space-time orb to see her, which now drove Millicas to his feet as he looked at Sairaorg outside the training room, and said,

"Cousin Sairaorg, can I go again?" Smiling wryly, Sairaorg nodded and replied,

"Of course, just remember not to push yourself to the point that it'll do more harm than good." Nodding to show he heard Sairaorg's warning, Millicas steeled himself as Yukari exited the simulation room once more. Through the window, they then watched as the room darkened to once agin look like the deep was of space, as numerous figures then began to appear around Millicas before they started to attack him.

Watching the young Crimson haired boy fight, Sairaorg sighed,

"I wish we could use these as well..." The simulation rooms, which were developed by Lala using the same tech she used to make the Love Room Alex used, had been installed in the academy and training center for anyone who needed to to use them, but unfortunately Lala hadn't figured out how to keep them from crashing when people as strong as Asora's elites used them. As such, Sairaorg, who often taught strength training and combat classes in the academy, couldn't use them either.

However, at the moment, he knew no one in their previous world, barring existences like Trihexia or Great Red, would be a match for the current him after the years of additional trading he'd done after becoming a super Devil, especially when one took his Regulus Nemia transformation into consideration on top of that. Sairaorg's body then began to radiate an intense pressure as he thought of seeing the people who had tried to oppress him back home, even going as far as trying to take his peerage from him. His own father and clan had even turned so against him, that they had issued warrants for his arrest right before that had left that world.

Resolving himself to at least punch his father in the face once when they returned, Sairaorg then turned his attention back to the children he was supposed to be teaching.

***

While one Gremory was training in the Academy's facilities, another was actually in the deep recesses of space as she faced a certain petite dragon God.

"Are you sure about this Ophis?" Risa asked hesitantly, to which Ophis nodded and said simply,

"Yes, if you can truly 'destroy' me then I cannot be 'infinite'." Hearing Ophis's declaration, Rias nodded her head in affirmation, an action that made her hair bob through the empty space and her breasts jiggle due to the complete absence of gravity. Said breasts were then soon exposed as the power of Destruction began to gather within Rias's body, destroying all of the clothes that she was wearing as her skin began to turn the same crimson red as her hair.

Once the transformation was complete Rias's entire body had been turned red from the power of Destruction, she had a red tail reminiscent of Kurumu's, and a pair of short red horns protruding from her head.

She then turned her eyes toward the petite dragon God floating across from her, and raised her hand to summon more demonic power and Destruction than she ever had before, firing enough at Ophis to almost erase an entire planet.

***

Also in space was another pair of Alex's peerage members that were sparring on the surface of the planet they had stolen from the Rosario Vampire world, Mars.

What was once a red rock filled with nothing but barren expanses of dirt and sand, was now a lush fertile world filled with greens and blues. Kuroka's time manipulation had helped transform the entire planet in a surprisingly short time after they covered it in water, and dumped billions of seeds of every kind they could onto its surface.

However, with a concussion of noise and power a part of that landscape was destroyed as a certain golden haired young girl was sent flying through it, followed by a second figure who appeared to be wearing a black body suit with her white hair flowing behind her.

"...That form is annoying..." Yami muttered as she made sure her black leather dress wasn't too disheveled, before turning to look at Mirajane as she hovered in sky above her.

Currently the usually docile and kind woman was training her newly acquired 'Satan Soul: Mirajane Alegria' form, which she had obtained by consuming the demonic souls of the members of the dark guild Tartarus. Now alongside her 'Halphas' form it was the strongest in her arsenal, giving her the strength to wipe out entire cities with ease, and soon even more than just that.

Yami on the other hand specialized in direct combat and assassination, meaning she wasn't too suited for dealing with the power Mirajane now had.....well, the current her at least.

"Damn...." Yami swore as only one realistic solution entered her mind to overpower Mirajane, one that she hated due to how draining it was and the difference it had on her mentality, yet she still knew that she needed to train it to try and bypass these side effects.

She then closed her eyes and tried to empty her mind, focusing only on how 'content' she was now. Mirajane however realized what Yami was up to, and, instead of trying to stop her, waited patiently as the assassin focused on her transformation.

After a longer amount of time than she would've liked, yet another thing Yami needed to work on, there was a sudden shift in her mentality as Yami's power began to skyrocket.

First her appearance began to change as Yami's dress began to vanish until it resembled a swimsuit with high exposure rate, with her breasts just barely being covered by her top with the black cloth from them descending in strips before fanning out behind her like a form of cape. Meanwhile her bottoms consisted of little more than a matching black thong, which wedged into her crotch so much that anyone who was looking would be able to see its outline clearly. Two of the most noticeable physical differences though were the black horns protruding from the sides of Yami's head, while black bands wrapped around her forearms until her hands, which were now tipped with claws on each of her fingers.

It wasn't just her appearance that changed though, as Yami's personality, which was usually against anything perverted, shifted so that all she could think of was having Alex's rough and skilled hands all over her body. She shuddered at the thought of him poking and prodding every single intimate area of her body, his heat as his amazing cock thoroughly violated every inch of her depths before pumping her full of its spunk. The thoughts were so overwhelming, that one of Yami's hands even started moving downwards as she appeared to fight the urge to play with herself then and there.

Most terrifyingly about her Transformation though, was the ungodly amount of power she was now radiating. Around her, strands of Yami's hair seemed to come alive as they formed numerous rings which became wormholes that completely encircled Mirajane, with one even being formed within the lining of her panties to reveal her crotch on the other side. Along with the wormholes though, several strands of Yami's hair also formed a series of sinister looking blades, each one capable of cutting an entire planet cleanly in half.

As for said planet though, with her newfound power Yami's Transformation began to even influence her surroundings and numerous constructs began to emerge from the ground around her, either looking like Alex or giant penis's. It wasn't just limited to the ground though, as trees, rivers, lakes, and even the entire planet itself began to shift to transform according to Yami's whim.

Mirajane gulped nervously as she beheld the power Yami wielded whenever she activated her 'Darkness' Transformation, which was designed by the scientists who built her to be a weapon to singlehandedly destroy the peace of the entire universe. Her nervousness only increased as Yami finally directed her attention to her, and crooned while placing the tip of one of her fingers against her lips,

"I feel ecchi~"

***

Within the space-time orb, on one of the islands floating around the villa, a flurry of metal strikes echoed loudly as two blurred figures fought while several women watched.

"Shadow strike!" Shizuku muttered quietly, before several blades sprouted from the shadows around them to strike at Erza. Despite the fact that Shizuku and her attacks were several times faster than her though, Erza's abundance of experience and raw skill allowed her to deflect each and every one of the shadow blades with ease.

Immediately after, seven different Shizukus suddenly appeared from the void around her to deliver a series of strikes, to which Erza was only just able to use her 'Telekinesis(Weapons)' skill to prevent any of the blades from impacting her. She then followed up by summoning dozens of small dagger-like blades that Erza then shot in every direction at the shadow clones around her.

Several bursts of smoke erupted around her as the shadow clones dissipated, while the blade that struck Shizuku herself was also enveloped in smoke, which cleared to reveal a leaf that had been stabbed through by the blade. Seeing this, Erza smirked as she took a more relaxed stance and said,

"Now I wish I'd met you a lot sooner Shizuku, it would have been nice to have someone around to help me push my limits like this." Though she couldn't see her, Erza heard Shizukus voice coming from every direction around her as she replied,

"Indeed, I feel as if my skills would've improved a lot faster if I met you sooner as well." For a moment the two Knights paused their fight as they made their admiration and respect of the other known, but then Erza's expression hardened once more as the atmosphere coming from Shizuku changed once more.

Slowly, the ponytailed ninja emerged from the shadows of a nearby tree alongside her new companion, Jin. She then focused her gaze on Erza, and said,

"Now, I'm going to try something new." When she heard her Erza took a defensive state, as there was no telling for her what Shizuku was about to do. What came next was completely outside her expectations though, as Shizuku cried out,

"BALANCE BREAK!"

In an instant the aura coming from Jin exploded in darkness before beginning to merge with Shizuku herself, which when the darkness finally cleared Erza and the spectators were finally able to behold Shizuku in her new form.

She appeared to have embodied darkness itself as her entire body turned to the pitchiest of black with glowing red eyes, while her form had changed to resemble that of a feminine werewolf with six tails. She wasn't the only one that experienced a change though, as Jin itself became noticeably larger and more ferocious looking, turning its bloodthirsty red eyes towards Erza.

Along with Shizukus physical change though their surroundings also differed drastically, as the shadows around them became darker and more pronounced, and the daylight sky also darkened noticeably. Erza barely noticed this though as she kept her gaze focused squarely on Shizuku, until she growled at her,

"Are you ready Erza?" Without waiting for Erza to respond though, the transformed Shizuku made a series of hand signals before there was suddenly eight of the transformed Shizukus standing there. Alongside Jin, the eight Shizukus then charged Erza while the shadows around them came alive to produce hundreds of shadowy blades to attack her with.

***

Within one of the sub space orbs, a certain duo were waiting in a thickly forested area as the ground rumbled beneath them, and a massive cloud of dust approached them.

"Ok that's every single on I could find!" Kurumu declared as she rejoined the duo, Lucy and Sun, the latter of which nodded and said,

"Alright." Lucy and Kurumu then watched as Sun sprouted a pair of pure white feathery wings and took flight, making the former sigh due to how beautiful Sun's wings were. However the beauty of her wings paled in comparison to her voice, which then filled the air when the stampede of monsters was almost upon them as she attacked.

In an instant the air was also filled with the sounds of grievously wounded creatures as her 'song' tore through their bodies to shred their muscles and organs, incapacitating the entire stampede in seconds. Both Lucy and Kurumu watched in awe as Sun drifted back down to them, before she turned to Lucy and said in her same beautiful voice,

"It's ok now, you can approach them." Though her expression was kind of sad from having to hurt so many creatures, Lucy nodded and hurried forward while simultaneously activating the Alteration magic she got from Alex.

Currently she was having Kurumu and Sun help her tame more monsters on a massive scale in order to bolster their numbers before they entered the DXD world. Lucy was very much aware of the fact that, amongst Alex's peerage members, she was actually the weakest since her focus was on summoning and taming monsters. Instead of dwelling on this though, she was putting all of her efforts into taming even more monsters and helping them grow even stronger before the gate was opened.

So, after using Alteration magic to tame them, Lucy then sent them back into the virtual space that Lala had created for her like she had for Nana and Momo. The difference between them though was that the twins needed a special cellphone-like device to call upon their friends, while Lucy simply needed to call them with magic.

While Lucy was doing that though, Kurumu was hanging back with Sun as she looked at the petite siren, and asked,

"Are you ok?" Though she looked slightly pale, Sun nodded and said,

"Yes, I just don't like hurting others like this, even monsters. But, this is for the sake of achieving Alex dream!" As she said that Sun regained come of her color as she resolved herself to help Alex and peerage as much as possible.

Though he himself would completely deny it, Sun felt as if her claims about Alex being a 'good person' were only strengthened as time passed. His actions regarding 'that man' and the people of Earthland had practically cemented that thought into her head, so, even if she didn't like fighting or hurting others, she would do whatever she needed to to help him and his followers.

Seeing the resolute expression on Sun's face, Kurumu smiled before she went to approach Lucy, intending to ask her if she would need to go and find more monsters to Charm. She too wanted to grow stronger, but since her powers were focused around mental manipulation there was only so much she could do by herself, until Lucy asked her to help Charm a bunch of monsters to attack them.

And so, the three of them continued working to become stronger, Lucy through acquiring and training her tamed monsters, Kurumu through Charming massive amounts of monsters, and Sun through using her 'songs' to incapacitate them so Lucy could tame them.