Author's Notes:

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE! *cue maniacal laughter and dramatic thunderbolt in the background*

Jokes aside, I'm terribly sorry for the long hiatus Devil Arts Online suffered. I have dozens of ready excuses to explain it, up to and including changing jobs and moving to a new city, but the fact remains that even with all that I still found some time to update Skittering Campione, even if sporadically and sometimes with months long delays between updates.

The fact is that my muse wasn't really forthcoming with this story, which, when added with how busy these past few months were, made writing for this particular tale something that I ended up procrastinating again and again. So I once again apologize for that.

Thankfully things are back on track for me, and the fact that I managed to finish this chapter without having to force it shows that my muse is in a more agreeable mood again, so I think I'll be able to get back to my old update speed for this story. I hope you all enjoy the chapter.

Thirdly, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Lastly: I do not own "HighSchool DxD" or "SwordArtOnline

\V/

Questions

"Come on Asuna, it's not that bad!" Kirito attempted to explain to his wife as he walked alongside the chestnut haired [Knight] on the way towards the occult research club room. "And besides, my so called crazy plans do tend to work!"

"Kirito, I do love you, but that does not mean I'm blind to your faults," she patiently explained back towards the black clad [Rook] as she massage her brow with a hand. "Yes, your plans do tend to work, eventually. But the fact remains that at least half of your so called plans also tend to explode on our faces before said working happens!"

"I just want to test what my transformed form can do while wielding Lizbeth's blade. And I even remembered to both say it to you and plan to go ask Rias before attempting to do it!" he reiterated as they turned down the path that would lead to the old school building, where he intended to ask his [King] for permission to try and experiment with his new form. "Which is really unnecessary by the way. I mean, seriously, we already confirmed that I can do the transformation without overt side effects. What's the worst that can happen?"

"You did not just say that," Asuna deadpanned as she moved her hand away from her face so that she could give Kirito a long look.

Kirito tried to think how to answer to that for a moment as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, even if the fact that Asuna kept staring at him without blinking really wasn't helping him think.

Thankfully for the [Rook], his wife's attention was nicely derailed as they finally turned around the building, only to be greeted by what looked like over a dozen beach balls suspended in midair on the path towards the building's entrance.

"What?" Asuna voiced her confusion, something that Kirito himself could relate to. It really was an unexpected sight. Thankfully, a helpful answer was soon given to them by a familiar voice coming from slightly above their heads.

"Mama, Papa, hello!" Yui happily called as she descended towards Asuna's shoulder, where she hugged her neck briefly before waving towards Kirito. "And in answer to your question, Koneko Onee-chan, Issei-kun, Saji-san and myself are currently examining the particularities of Gasper-san Sacred Gear in order to better analyze its functions and capabilities in order to help him refine his use of it!"

"So you are helping Gasper practice with his Sacred Gear?" Kirito asked for confirmation as he watched Issei throw a beach ball towards the very nervous looking Hikikomori half vampire as Koneko and Saji watched from the sidelines. The ball sailing thought the air for a moment before, with a barely audible squeak of panic from the dhampir, it froze midair due to Gasper using his [Forbidden Balor View] as a brief light shine over the area.

"That's what I said!" the little fairy AI chirped happily from Asuna's shoulder with a smile on her face. A smile that grew even larger as Asuna started to gently pat her head.

"It's very kind f you to decide to help him Yui, well done," Asuna warmly said as she kept patting her head before turning around to give Koneko a smile. "You too, Koneko."

The petite [Rook] simply nodded her head in acknowledgment of Asuna's words, the barest hint of a smile on her usually nonchalant face. A tiny smile that grew a little more pronounced as Kirito decided to emulate his wife and started to pat Koneko's head as a reward for her actions in helping their fellow Peerage member.

"Good work, the both of you," Kirito added while lazily waving in greeting to his fellow Devil's. "So did you learn anything new about Gasper's Sacred Gear?"

"Objects under Gasper-san power don't seem to be affected by the world's natural laws. Items affected by it seem to remain in a state of dimensional flux where they simply cannot be affected by anything until the Sacred Gear effects is exhausted," Yui dutifully explained before taking an eager expression. "Said power also completely blocks my ability to scan the affected target, meaning that all information had to be obtained through indirect methods and many questions remain. Which has made it slightly more challenging to acquire proper answer to various ongoing question regarding it!

"Like, for example, why the frozen beach balls aren't punching holes through the surrounding landscape at four hundred and sixty meters per second due to the earth's rotation instead of somehow maintaining their geosynchronous position in relation to the ground despite being supposedly frozen in time while everything around them isn't," she happily explained to the two of them, going so far as creating small screens depicting the likely outcome of over a dozen indestructible beach balls hitting the surrounding landscape at roughly one thousandth miles an hour. "It's truly fascinating!"

"I see…" Asuna hesitantly said before with a shake of her head she seemed to dismiss whatever it was that had bothered her due to Yui's explanation. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

The little AI hummed in agreement happily, before a startled cry coming from Issei followed by Gasper's repeated and frantic apologies filled the air. Asuna looked towards the source of the noise, only to be greeted by a blank looking Saji staring at Issei as the [Pawn] ineffectually tried to make his arm move while he simultaneously talked towards a shivering cardboard box.

"Gasper-kun also has some difficulty controlling the specifics of his power, including the duration of the effect or hitting only the designated targets," the little fairy helpfully supplied as the four of them watched Issei try and calm Gasper down so that he would come out of the cardboard box he had hidden into, despite the fact his right arm was now frozen in time and refused to move, effectively restraining him in place.

They all stared at the odd sight for a few moments longer before Kirito moved towards one of the frozen beach balls with a thoughtful look on his features.

"So the frozen items can't really be affected by outside forces?" the black clad [Rook] ask towards their adopted daughter as he lightly touched the time displaced object.

"Yes, Papa, all data points towards that being the case," Yui chirpily replied as she took flight from Asuna's should in order to hover closer to him.

"Is there an upper limit towards that resistance?" he sought clarification as he poked and prodded the floating beach ball. All the while an odd glint slowly filled his eyes.

"Unknown, further analysis is required," the little fairy AI dutifully answered as she tilted her head sideways, arms crossed in front of her chest and eyes closed in contemplation.

"I see," Kirito mused without paying them all much attention, his whole focus upon the frozen object as he took a step back. "Well in that case…"

His words trailed off as he lightly touched the metal ring on his left hand that Lizbeth had given him the other day, the action more than enough to allow the chestnut haired [Knight] to know what was coming next.

"Kirito…" Asuna sighed in fond exasperation as a sudden and strong gust of wind washed over the area due to the displacement of air caused by the unexpected appearance of so much mass where once there was nothing as Kirito's gargantuan new blade materialized on his hands, the sudden rush of wind making Yui swirl around through the air for a moment before she decided to land atop Koneko's shoulder. The white haired [Rook] impassively watching it all even as she raised a hand to help stabilize Yui upon her new perch.

"What?" the black clad [Rook] obliviously asked as he lowered the huge slab of metal to the ground with a muted crushing noise. Despite the incredulous looks he was gathering from the others at the mere sight of the 'sword' now in his hands.

"Oh, nothing," she nonchalantly replied, a tiny smile on her features as she took in both Issei and Saji's open mouthed looks of shock as they took in the fact that the 'sword' in question was both larger and wider than her husband's whole body. "So, what exactly are you planning that you needed that sword for?"

After wasting most of yesterday trying to convince her husband that wielding a blade larger than his whole body was a bad idea, to exasperatingly little effect, she had grudgingly decided to humor him in regards to the behemoth blade for the moment. Not that that didn't mean she wasn't looking forward to Lizbeth finishing a pair of more normal sized swords so that Kirito could go back to wielding something a little less ridiculously oversized.

"Well, if I understood it correctly, for all intents and purposes Gasper's Sacred Gear basically freezes something he laid eyes upon in time, right?" he idly questioned as he moved back towards the frozen beach balls that was hanging midair. "To the point that nothing can even really disturb the frozen item until the effect has ran its course?"

"I believe so, yes." Asuna hesitantly replied as she tried to remember everything that Rias had told them about the shy dhampir's [Forbidden Balor View] even as she looked to both Koneko and Yui in search of confirmation.

"Papa's information is correct mama! It's theorized that Gasper-kun's Sacred Gear acts by causing a temporary removal of the object affected by its effect from the rest of the universe's regular time stream, essentially freezing it in time!" Yui cheerfully replied from Koneko's shoulder as she nodded her head in confirmation. "All data found, theories available, alongside several treatises on the subject point to that being the case!"

Choosing to ignore for the moment how exactly Yui knew about theories regarding Sacred Gears and their effects, or where exactly she had even manage to find treatises about said subject in order to read them in the first place, she instead watched as Kirito calmly touched the frozen beach ball with his left hand one more time, an analytical look in his eyes.

"Yes, this will work," he mused out loud, the weight of his words in the silent evening air enough to even make Gasper curiously peek from inside his box. "This will work nicely."

"Kirito?" She once again asked as she saw her husband heft his unwieldy blade onto his shoulders and take a ready stance.

"It's just an idea I had when I saw the effects of Gasper's power," he calmly said as he raised the sword above his head on a two handed grip as black demonic power gathered upon the gigantic blade. "You could even call it a little nagging question really. A question that basically boils down to: What would really happen when something hits an unmovable object?"

The moment the words left his mouth Asuna realized what he intended to do, but before she could so much as open her mouth Kirito had already acted. Said action took on the form of bringing down the humongous and ridiculously resilient sword Lizbeth had made for him, that was now overloaded with enough demonic power to annihilate a building, down onto the frozen beach ball with all the considerable strength his [Rook] piece could grant him.

The thunderous boom of enchanted metal hitting the time displaced object was only overshadowed by the high pitched scream that came from the cardboard box Gasper had once again retreated to and the shouts of surprise that came from the two [Pawns] flaking it.

"Fascinating," Yui eagerly muttered from her perch on the still placid looking Koneko's shoulder as the resulting gale caused by the blow died out.

While part of Asuna wanted to berate her husband for such a brash move, a larger part of her had to agree with her adoptive daughter's words and was far more interested into analyzing the apparently still perfectly intact object made of completely ordinary plastic that had survived an attack capable of taking down several rock walls without so much as a scratch.

"Thought so," Kirito proudly proclaimed as he gently passed a hand over the item in an attempt to find even the smallest sign of damage. "Not a single mark on it!"

"That could be used as an extraordinarily effective defensive power," Asuna quickly added as she moved closer towards the item in question, her mind already churning through dozens of possible scenarios where such an ability would be invaluable. "Freeze an object, any object, on the path of an attack and said attack will be effectively neutralized as it fails to reach its target regardless of its power."

"Yup, I mean, it doesn't really matter how strong an attack is, if it can't reach its target then it will do nothing," he continued to talk even as both Issei and Saji joined him in examining the beach ball in fascination and even Gasper gingerly opened his box flap slightly to peek outside.

"Indeed, it probably wouldn't fare that well against non and semi solid attacks like flames and liquids though," a mature, unknown voice thoughtfully commented from the [Rook's] side. "But against any kind of attack that is truly solid or is dependent on mass to cause damage? Now for that this would work marvelously! I will have to update my data in regards to the [Forbidden Balor View] later!"

Asuna jumped backwards alongside Kirito and Koneko the moment she heard the stranger speak, while noticing Saji and Issei doing likewise from the corner of her eye, as her rapier materialized on her hand and she took in a ready stance as she analyzed this new intruder.

He was a tall man, who looked to be around his twenties or so, with an average build and jet black hair, golden bangs and a black goatee. Who was wearing a V-neck maroon long-coat with an open high-collar. And apparently wasn't paying any mind to the fact he was surrounded by five Devils showing various amounts of unease and aggression.

"Azazel!" Issei shouted in surprise even as his [Boosted Gear] materialized on his arm and he adopted a battle stance.

The moment she heard the name Asuna felt her breath leaving her body and her muscles tense as she connected it to it's owner. Azazel the Scapegoat, leader of the Fallen and governor-general of the Grigori. Only for all of said tension to immediately leave her as she processed the next words the extremely dangerous being in front of her had spoken.

"Yo, Sekiryuutei. It's been some time since we had one of our gaming nights!" the leader of the Gregori happily proclaimed with a lazy wave of his hand. A carefree smile on his features despite all the wary looks all the Devils around him were giving him or the fact all of them had taken ready stances as if expecting a fight to happen at a moment's notice. "Have you been avoiding me? That would hurt my feelings you know!"

Looking from the extremely carefree looking, extremely dangerous, Fallen that was calmly smiling towards Issei while gently resting a hand on the time displaced beach ball, to the sputtering and clearly out of his depth [Pawn], Asuna wondered, not for the first time, when exactly the absurd had become her new normal.

\V/

"How is this even possible?" Argo angrily questioned to her [Queen] as she paced back and forward inside her Kuoh manor's office while waving around the report she had just read while deftly avoiding the myriad of monitors and modems as she thought about the current situation. "I mean, I know that most of our clan's resources are being directed towards learning how the other factions will react to the coming peace talks, but even so this is simply ridiculous!

"Hikari, are you certain that this latest report is correct?" the information broker questioned her long time friend as she stoped her nervous pacing to look the two tailed kitsune in the eye.

"Regrettably, yes," Hikari answered with an slightly annoyed expression as she swiftly went through the various intelligence reports they had received from the many, many Dantalion informants' spread throughout the country, as if doing so would change what she knew the papers contained. "None of your family agents have reported a single sighting or actionable intel in regards to PoH and his followers, not a single one."

"How is this possible?" she mused out loud, setting aside the report in favor to restart her nervous pacing as she thought about this annoying new problem.

The moment PoH and his happy little band of murderous psychopaths had escaped her grasp she had immediately dropped all the information she had straight in the hands of her family and happily let the many, many contacts the clan had accumulated during its long years of existence do its job on finding them so they could be dealt with.

She had given them all a few weeks tops before they were found and put down, and so had put it all aside in favor of more important issues, like a mad high ranked Fallen trying to restart the Great War by murdering her and her friends. Only that had turned out to not be the case, as the remains of Laughing Coffin still remained at large despite it being nearly three months since their last sighting.

There was absolutely no way those lunatics could hid themselves from her family's spy network this thoroughly no matter how much information that little nut job Xaxa had given then in regards to the supernatural side of the world, that was a fact! For no matter the fact that the lion's share of her family resources were being pointed elsewhere, what was still available for her to use was more than enough to ferret out all the secrets of an underworld minor noble house or two! The mere idea that those crazy upstarts could be foiling the efforts, no matter how small, of one of the still standing Seventy Two Pillars, with all the resources and centuries of experience that title carried, was simply was quite literally unthinkable!

'Unless…' she thought as she once again stopped her pacing for a moment as a new idea fixed itself on her mind.

"Someone is blocking us," she mused out loud as her eyes roamed through the spacious room without really seeing it, mind miles away. "There is absolutely no way they could avoid my family's network for this long. Or at least, no way they could have avoided it if they were truly acting by themselves as independent strays."

"You think they may have a backer?" Hikari immediately questioned, alarmed at the idea of a bunch of psychotic mass murderers Stray Devils having the backing of someone strong enough to thwart the Underworld's best information gatherers and spies.

"It's a very strong possibility," Argo simply stated as she looked her [Queen] straight in the eye. "It's simply a fact that they should have been found by now if they were truly acting by themselves, so considering the fact they haven't, it strongly implies that they aren't."

"Occan's Razor, huh?" the kitsune mused for a moment before nodding her agreement. It did make sense. "But why would anyone care to protect them? They are nothing but common murderers after all, nothing especial in the great scheme of things."

"Can't you think of any use for a bunch of psychotic murderers? Especially with the growing tensions due to the looming peace talks just around the corner?" she questioned with a humorless smile as she restarted to pace around the room as she searched for the elusive answer to this newest conundrum.

The look Hikari gave her after hearing that told the information broker that the kitsune had reached the same conclusions that she herself had already gone through. For, no matter the fact that as they currently were the members of Laughing Coffin right now were little more than a disposable blunt instrument, at best, for anyone with any real power, that did not mean that they couldn't be useful to the right individual, not by a long shot.

"Do you think they will target the peace talks?" her [Queen] asked with a hint of worry as she started to pace alongside her [King]. "A group of Stray Devils attacking either of the other factions could have disastrous results, no matter how ineffectual said attack ends up being. Perhaps it would be best to warn the Sitri and Gremoire heiress to this possibility so that they could helps us prepare for it?"

Argo seriously thought about the possibility for a moment, considering all the ramifications and repercussions that would be unleashed should such an attack happen and balancing then with the chance of needlessly antagonizing the other factions with any overt preparations, before she firmly shook her head clear of such thoughts.

"No, not yet, we shouldn't be hasty Hikari, at least not right now. We are working with nothing but pure conjectures, after all," she firmly stated as she forcibly calmed herself and focused on the here and now and not on any number of possible what ifs.

"But…" Hikari started to say, only to be immediately cut off by her old friend as she rested a finger on her mouth in order to silence the kitsune's protests.

"No buts! While I'm always aboard for a contingency plan or twelve, the simple fact is that we can't plan based on mere conjectures, Hikari, you know that! Even worse, conjectures based off conjectures at that!" she firmly stated as she removed her hand from the red head's mouth as a small spark of mischief returned to her eyes.

They had nothing solid, not even close. Nothing to justify a last minute overhauled of the conference's defenses that would undoubtedly alarm the other two biblical factions and cause a whole slew of political problems when peace and stability was needed more than ever. No, for the moment it was best to not be hasty.

"And like grandfather always wisely said: Conjecture based off conjecture is like inbreeding. You might even manage pull it off right a few times, but eventually you'll inevitably start hitting crazy," she seriously stated as she rested her hands atop her hips and gave her [Queen] a solemn nod, as if imparting a great piece of sagely wisdom, the whole production actually managing to get a small laugh out of her tense looking friend. "It isn't wise to postulate further without proof, we will simply have to stay alert and keep our eyes open and ears to the ground and that's that!"

"Very well," Hikari agreed after a moment with a long sigh, knowing Argo to be right about it. "But perhaps I should contact my family to see if they haven't heard anything about it from thei side of things, a few more eyes and ears wouldn't really go amiss either way."

Argo swiftly considered the idea for a brief moment before promptly agreeing with her [Queen's] idea. Due to the ever approaching meeting between the leaders of the Three Faction's her family was devoting most of their assets to track down and predict a myriad of known threats and their possible responses to the results of the peace talks, meaning that the resources they could devote to a 'minor' threat such as Laughing Coffin wasn't anywhere near what she would personally prefer. But Hikari's clan wouldn't be so hampered, the meeting only tangentially of interest to the Youkai faction, meaning they could easily devote a far more significant amount of manpower to the task.

'And besides, it has been far too long since I last met Hikari's family,' she mused, already considering the possibility of using such an opportunity to introduce the rest of her Peerage to one of her family's long standing allies.

\V/

As he stood atop a large building a few blocks away from Kuoh academy, his silver hair floating amidst the breeze, Vali Lucifer couldn't avert his eyes from the place where in mere days an unprecedented event would take place. The place where the leaders of all Three Factions would gather in order to discuss the end of the centuries old cease fire between them and the true end to their eternal war. The place where the leaders of the biblical factions would most likely sign a true peace treaty between the ancient warring factions that would usher forth a new era of peace.

'Peace,' he inwardly tasted the word in distaste as a small but noticeable scowl appeared on his features. What use was there for such thing? What was the point of preventing the growth and evolution brought forth by conflict? What purpose remained when the flames of battle had been extinguished for good? 'How distasteful.'

[Come on partner, it's not that bad,] Albion chirpily said in a carefree manner as he read his host's thoughts. [Sure, in the short term this will reduce the number of good fights we can experience by a significant amount, and that's a bummer. But in the end all this peace nonsense never lasts! Trust me, give it a century or two, tops, and one thing or another will have happened to either restart the conflict or bring forth a whole new one! I guarantee it!]

Even as he made a vague sound of agreement to the White Emperor's words, Vali Lucifer couldn't help but wonder if that would really be the case this time. After all, the cease fire between the Three Factions had lasted for centuries despite everything saying it should have fallen to pieces in short order. So who could say how long a proper peace agreement would last, especially with the fact that he knew first hand that the rulers of all Three Factions were the greatest supporters for the idea. How long would it endure, decades, centuries, perhaps even millennia?

And while he greatly respected Azazel and couldn't bemoan the governor-general of the Grigori from seeking to realize his long sought dream of a true lasting peace, it didn't change the fact that the mere thought of it, of having no more worthy opponents to face, no more battles to wage, no more obstacles to overcome, was enough to darken his mood considerably.

[We could always seek opponents outside the Three Factions you know? It's a big world out there after all,] Albion helpfully added as he tried to cheer up his long time partner from his somber mood.

'You know as well as I do that most of those outside the Three Factions are utter weaklings when it comes to combat potential,' he answered the draconic titan dismissively, there was a reason why the biblical factions had swept aside the majority of the old powers when they had joined the battlefield. 'And the few who aren't would create political problems of such magnitude if we were to attack them that Azazel would never allow us to fight them seriously.'

[Point,] Albion grudgingly accepted as he let out an aggravated snort. [Well, at least we have found out Ddaig and his host. So there is at least that to look forward to, right?]

The dragon's words made Vali's mind immediately dart towards the unassuming looking Gremorie [Pawn]. When the wielder of the [Divine Dividing] had first heard about the new wielder of the [Boosted Gear] he had outright scoffed. A pervert reincarnated Devil who barely knew how to fight and hadn't even possessed enough demonic power to activate a transportation circle hardly seemed to be worthy of his time, regardless of being Ddraig's host or not.

But that had lasted until he had seen the recordings of his fight against Raiser Phenex.

Yes, he was unskilled, painfully so. His moves were rough and unpolished, his grasp over his abilities fleeting at best, and his power was barely worth of mentioning. But as he watched him take down the arrogant fool that was his opponent despite having to nearly kill himself to do so, underneath it all Vali had seen something shine past all those deficiencies, potential.

Something that was proved as he saw Issei keep his own against Kokabiel for far longer than Albion's host had initially expected. Oh sure, the [Pawn] hadn't come even close to defeating the Angel of the Stars, but the fact remained that his power and skill had risen nicely since the Rating Game he had fought but a few months before.

'There is potential there, yes. But not yet, and not for quite some time for that matter,' he answered the White Emperor. Issei could become a worthy opponent in time, especially if his growth continued uninterrupted. But that did little to solve his lack of opponents for the foreseeable future. Truly, the next few months were promising to kill him from sheer boredom alone.

But before he could think about it further, his musings were cut short as his instincts shout at him that he wasn't alone any longer on the rooftop.

He lightly turned his head to the side in order to see this new interloper, slightly interested due to the fact that he had not sensed whatever means she had used to get here, or that even now he was unable to truly sense her presence despite the fact that but a few feet separated them both.

She looked like a young girl with long black hair that went down to her hips and black eyes with reptilian slitted pupils. But what really caught Vali's notice was that the emotionless looking girl felt like nothing to his senses, as if she was nothing but a void in the form of a person.

[Well, well, well, if this isn't a pleasant surprise!] Albion eagerly stated, excitement and battle lust radiating out of his form. [Greetings Ophis, so what brings the Infinite Dragon to this little corner of the world?]

The moment the name left Albion's lips Vali found his whole attention sharpen to a razor point. He turned around fully so he could better face this new arrival, excitement and battle lust slowly permeating his own being as he realized that he was in the presence of one of the strongest beings in the entirety of existence, Ophis the Dragon God of Infinity.

"To recruit you and your host to my cause obviously. What else is there to do in this location?" the girl shaped being bluntly answered as she slowly scanned the flat rooftop with an uninterested gaze, as if seeking confirmation if there was anything else of note to do in this location.

"Oh?" Vali wordlessly sought for more information as a predatory smile started to form on his face.

Perhaps the following months wouldn't be that boring after all.

\V/

Author's Notes:

I always found it slightly odd why Gasper never used his Sacred Gear more obvious defensive capabilities, to simply freeze basically anything that was placed on the path of an attack in order to block it.

As anyone who has read Worm can safely attest thanks to Clockblocker, to hit something that was frozen in time is a good way to turn into paste while the object that was hit won't even feel what happened. So why wasn't that explored, especially for early in the series Gasper who would rather avoid conflicts and run or hide instead of fight? He could basically turn his cardboard box into an unbreakable bunker by doing that if he wanted after all! That always bugged me, truth be told, so I'm going to use it in my story.

In another note, I always thought that Vali is simply way too straightforward to act as a double agent for long. In my opinion his personality simply isn't suited for it, him being someone who would rather march up to someone and demand a duel than stab them in the back while skulking through shadows. But at the same time I agree that he would happily choose to join the Khaos Brigade rather than accept a peaceful, and boring, coexistence with the other factions.

And so that lead me to the rather amusing mental idea of Vali being recruited mere days before the peace talks happened. It wouldn't even be difficult to convince him after all. All it would take was to explain that their end goal was to take down one of the strongest beings in existence while promising him plenty of fights against strong opponents on the way and he would be raring to go.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.