5 Chapter 5

"There goes Stray Devil number 456… You know something, Vali…? #SIGH# with that type of attitude, you'll only get yourself in a lot more danger than before." A low, exasperated female voice spoke in a bemused tone, carrying no small amount of exhaustion and weariness towards the one it had been directed towards.

That said person shrugged their shoulders in an uncaring manner, a deep yet boyish voice responding to her as if to say 'are you still going on about that?' to her. "What can I say? I love to battle, and it's the only way for me to get stronger." the boyish voice replied before a roll of the boyish voice's owner's eyes followed afterwards. "Seriously Xun Er, you worry too much."

"Haaaaaa... sometimes, I wonder how I will get through that thick head of yours."

Xun Er sighed as they strolled on over to Japan by foot, intending to see what was happening in the land of the rising sun. Now, originally the goddess would've sent them by magic circle since it would be the quickest way to clarify the situation brewing there. However, there was a problem, and that was that she couldn't do that, all because it would draw lots of attention from the other factions, specifically the Shinto faction. Furthermore, it seemed that according to Hathor, the Shinto Faction had also sensed this strange phenomenon, but they hadn't sent anyone there because it had been part of the Devil's territory, so in order to not cause problems she told the two children that they had to walk from Egypt to all the way to China and book a boat trip towards japan: a small island to be sure, but decent as well.

Though this wasn't to say that they didn't have any problems along their journey, for thanks to them being what they were (a powerful Human/Devil Hybrid and a Demigoddess), their combined scent had attracted the attention of dozens upon dozens of different Strays in their surroundings. Not just a few either, but a LOT of them, in fact, they had like a dozen attempts on their lives a day, which had resulted in a LOT of fighting for the two… not that Vali minded though, as it had given him an opportunity to refine his battle techniques and gain experience in fighting varying sized opponents, something which he took great value in since it went towards his overall goal. Xun Er however, she DID mind and had tried MULTIPLE times to convince Vali that sneaking around them was the better option since it would save time, but considering Vali's stubborn and prideful nature, those attempts were almost DESTINED to end in absolute failure.

Seeing that, once again, she had failed in persuading Vali to keep things on the down-low, the young girl sighed to herself, but let it drop for now. Even if she was supposed to be older than Vali by 2 years, her being 9 and him being 7, it seemed as though he was already FAR too into what he wanted, whatever that may be. It didn't help that, even after all this time, she still felt a mild sense of… discomfort, coming from that Switch Axe on his back, as Vali had called it when she'd once asked. It was almost as if it held a grudge against her or something, but she pushed that aside for the moment in favor of another topic of conversation. "So, let's go over what mother has told us: She said that there was something from outer space that came down into our atmosphere, what that was she isn't sure but she feels that it will spell trouble for multiple parties involved, and with the truce between the three factions as unstable as it is, that can't be allowed. So, what do you think it would be, Vali?"

Upon hearing this question instead of the usual nagging that his acquaintance asked him, Vali instead began to ponder on it some. Though part of him felt relieved at the alternate topic choice since he had slowly begun getting irritated with her obsessing about his desire to fight. Part of him even somewhat missed the days when it had just been him and [Glavenus], whom ALSO didn't appreciate someone as 'sheltered' as Xun Er trying to talk like she knew everything. "Hmmmmmmmm… not sure about that one, but I will be surprised if there is life outside of the world, wouldn't you think so Xun Er?" he responded after a few moments of silence then asked her a question back.

"Maybe Vali." Xun Er replied before she came up with a possible idea in her mind. "Who knows it could be aliens." She suggested, and if she were frank that thought actually excited her a little. The possibility of encountering life BEYOND that of this world's, even though she had yet to discover everything in this world too, it sounded REAL attractive to her young innocent mind. She'd even grown up on some tales from the mortals in the mortal elementary school she had once attended where aliens had played parts of the Pyramids construction, as far fetched and fake as that had been since she knew the truth behind that matter.

When he heard her answer, Vali rolled his eyes whilst placing his hands in his jacket pockets. Of course, he had been aware that his clothing choices weren't… that well-received by his companion's mother, she'd made THAT notion quite clear by now, but it wasn't like he cared much. It's just, the moment he first laid eyes on said styled clothing during a day of clothes shopping with Hathor, he had just felt 'drawn' to it, like it was meant to perfectly represent what he wanted to be when he was older. Plus, no other clothing styles, not the classic Egyptian or other types really appeared to him, if he were honest. "If there are aliens, then I hope they are stronger than the stray devils that keep coming."

"... Sheesh, you're one obsessed battle-maniac, you know that? When will you start thinking about things other than fighting Vali?" Xun Er questioned in exasperation with a hand over her hip whilst looking wearily at her companion.

Something which he completely blew over like it had nothing to do with him whilst Vali responded. "When there is something interesting that catches my mind, which actually reminds me, Albion?" he began to say, only to recall something he had wanted to ask his Sacred Gear's spirit which soon appeared on his back, spreading it's blue energy feathers out wide.

'Yes, what is it partner?'

"Have you been to space before?"

'Hmmmmmmm oh yes I have, but I have only seen outside of Earth's atmosphere. Flying up there wasn't an issue since I can break terminal velocity, and for air I used my magic powers to breathe outside of Earth, but I couldn't get any further since I quickly ran out of magic due to the low magic density outside of Earth. Ah, I remember something, one of my previous wielders was a scholar and a scientist, he always had a thing for researching more knowledge. He theorized that the reason why it was almost impossible to create the Sacred Gears that YHWH created, was because he used materials that were outside of Earth. Even now Azazel, the Governor-General of the Fallen Angel group known as the Grigori, he currently tries to create his own Sacred Gears, but he doesn't have any proper materials for it.'

"Really, so what you're saying is that the materials used to create the Sacred Gears are from outer space?" Vali questioned, and this also drew Xun Er's curiosity as well, since Albion spoke in a manner where both of them could hear them. Plus since the Sacred Gear's feathers 'flashed' with each word the Dragon spoke, this became a pretty clear indicator. Although the next few words from the said being quickly dispersed any fantasies of more Sacred Gears made inside the children's heads.

'That is true but it's theorized only, don't get your hopes up high, partner. Since the material came from outer space, we might know the answer if it's true or not with this encounter.'

"Alright I get it...…. Oh, would you look at that, we're here Xun Er."

Upon hearing that from her companion, and later realizing it was true when she noticed they had come up to a walkway which led to a… fairly standardly sized rural town in the distance, a LOUD exclamation of joy escaped the normally soft-spoken girl. "Oh, finally! It's been a couple of months since we've arrived in Japan! I'm tired of walking at this point!"

A grumble of discontent nearly escaped Vali's lips, had he not repressed it at the last moment. "Yeah well, quit your complaining and let's find a hotel or better yet an apartment. Your mother gave us a healthy sum of Japanese money, so we can live off that for a while here, at least a couple of years." he said, remembering the calculations that [Glavenus] had done. Who knew that the former Wyvern actually had the mathematics of what Albion had called a 'university professor'.

"Ugh more walking... hey, can you carry me Vali? I'm really tired." Xun Er whined, pouting as she glanced over at the boy's direction. She SO didn't want to do any more walking for the rest of the day, her legs pretty much SCREAMED for some rest at this point.

Of course, Vali didn't give a shit, instead, he gave her a glare that spoke CLEAR refusal to follow that request. "No way woman, do it yourself." he stated, looking away from her.

[This brat… a sheltered one like her whining about minor stuff like this is REALLY aggravating. This is like the 40th time today that she's whined...Glad you weren't NEARLY this bad when we first started out.]

'You and me both [Glavenus].' Vali thought back to his Devil Arm, which apparently only he could hear at the moment, which suited him and [Glavenus] just fine.

"How am I supposed to carry myself?!"

"Well maybe figure it out yourself instead of whining like a pathetic little brat."

Cue more pouting from the older girl, though just from the look on his face, it showed just how ineffective this move was on the young boy, she sat to the ground and put the back of her hand on her head."You're so mean Vali, would you let a lady be tired?"

"Yes I would and for one, you're no lady, you're a kid." Perhaps he was being a little harsh on her, but since Vali had to deal with this girl's whining since this journey had BEGUN, over MONTHS ago… yeah, he'd reached the limits of his patience with her already, and would NOT be afraid to show it.

"Aaaahhhhhhhh fine let's go Vali."

Xun Er whined before she had to get up and follow the hybrid boy. He had had the look of someone about to draw out his Devil Arm and start poking her to get a move on, anyways.

Tinkering like this, well, it wasn't something his past self would have ever considered that he'd be getting into, eventually developing an almost-obsession with it. But well, his topic of interest turned out to be just so FASCINATING that he just couldn't help himself and, as a result he pretty much spent entire centuries till the current day just immersing himself in it. Kind of like going underneath the Ocean and only coming back up after so long had passed and people had begun to show worry for his safety. His MENTAL safety by the way.

But, today, something happened that would change EVERYTHING for one Fallen Angel Governor-General.

"Hmmm, hmhmhm… hmmm,hmhmhmhmhm..."

The sounds of sparks flying could be heard as a certain man stood before a large table, one which had all kinds of different machinery on it that looked to be quite complex, at least more so than any sole human could understand right now. The room itself also looked no different from a junkyard, since there were so many pieces of tech just… well, scattered across the floor like they were just waiting to be eventually completed whilst their maker remained lost in his own little world.

Speaking of said man, his facial features were mostly covered by a metallic face-mask which meant identifying the majority of them was pretty much impossible. However, one COULD still see tuffs of black hair with golden bangs hanging over the top of said mask whilst the glass lense concealed his eyes from view. What else that wasn't concealed was how he had been a rather tall man, with his age being that of between his mid to late twenties, although there was an aura around him which implied that he had FAR more experience and wisdom than someone of his age… his PHYSICAL age should have. The man wore a pair of black dress shoes over his feet, some brown dress pants over his legs whilst his upper body only had a high collared, crimson-colored trench coat covering it.

Whilst the man remained completely transfixed by what he was currently doing, using a variety of different tools on a piece of tech in front of him…

"TROLOLO LOLO LOLO! TROLOLOLO LOLOLO LOLOLO!"

"WHAAA?!"

All of a sudden though, the room's door suddenly got thrown open when a foot kicked it down, some speakers belonging to a DVD Player ERUPTING with the troll song being played on full blast. As a result, the man quickly yelped like a child caught doing something naughty by the mischievous sibling or the parents, practically jumping out of his skin and falling onto his backside.

"Time to wake up, Azazel sir. We need you to be the Governor of the day."

The one who brought the song into the room, literally breaking the atmosphere within the room, turned out to be a tall, broad man with dark hair and a beard, wearing a black suit with a serious, stern gaze. He spoke those words after stopping the troll song by pressing the said button on the DVD Player, putting it down on the ground beside him before proceeding to walk further into the room, closing the door behind him. "Been cooped up in here for a while now, sir. We're not having another of those 500 year long stays in here, even if your hobby demands it."

"Uggghhhh… gurgh… argh, what the hell Barakiel? Ya know that all ya gotta do was ask and I'd stop…!"

In contrast to his size and appearance, a childish whine erupted from the seemingly adult man called Azazel who, after getting to his feet and dusting himself down, removed the metal mask to reveal his violet coloured eyes and black goatee, along with a rather irritated expression thanks to being so rudely 'interrupted' from his 'happy time' one could say. Rubbing the back of his head, the man gazed back at the other taller, broader man with one of his eyes closed, waiting for him to respond.

Something he didn't have to wait long for since the other man known as Barakiel simply responded with. "Do you REALLY think so? Penemue had to order this DVD Player online with the Troll Song SPECIFICALLY to draw you out when there's no other option." the man drawled, eyeing his comrade with a look which could only be described as exasperation, having had experience with using this device a couple times before to draw said colleague out of his hobby akin to a parent pulling out the plug of their child's console, just to get them outside.

Really, Azazel could be so childish sometimes.

"Ugh… how long this time?

"... nearly 50 years, sir."

"Eeeeeeehhhhhhhh? That's not long at all! Man, what is it that you need me for enough to bring me out just when I was in the zone?"

There he went, the broad man mused, whining like a spoilt brat instead of being the Governor General which the lower ranked members were supposed to look up to. Then again, he only showed this side of him to those he trusted anyways, so that was one plus. "Well, you'd be happy to know that it's not HER this time…" Barakiel began, causing Azazel to pale slightly and then make a relieved sigh, knowing EXACTLY who the man had been talking about. "But you'll be happy to know that this DOES concern your Hobby in some way…"

"Oh?"

In an instant, Azazel shot straight towards his fellow man, stopping right in front of him with eyes sparkling like a miniature solar system viewed through a telescope, something which Barakiel thought was quite fitting for this situation, to be honest. "Well, what is it? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" he pleaded, grasping the other man's shoulders and thoroughly shaking him about like he was a doll… making for a rather odd picture since it should be the OPPOSITE way around, considering their builds.

"Remember that Scholar whom you kept an eye on due to his Sacred Gear being the White Dragon? Well, turns out you might get a chance to confirm that theory since something not of this world fell into a japanese city. One called Uminari."

WHOOSH!

Nothing more needed to be said, for the moment that Barakiel finished speaking Azazel unfurled a set of 12 black wings, shaped like a bird's and shaded like they were everlasting darkness. Afterwards, the man practically SHOT through the ceiling, which had opened up like a hole in some sort of secret hideout and would eventually lead him to the outside. Seeing this, the broad man couldn't help but shake his head in a 'what am I going to do with you?' manner.

"Seriously, old friend… you need to perhaps get laid soon, maybe that might take your mind off those things for a decade, at least…"

"No-no-no-no-no, pl-pl-please don't kill me, I-ugh!"

SCHULUCK!

The sound of a blade cutting through flesh rung throughout a deserted park within Uminari City. A man's scream got cut off, all when he got himself killed as a sword, one shaped somewhat like an Executioner's sword, sliced his head off. The severed head fell to the ground behind the former body it had been attached to, which then fell to the ground before the killer: a tall, broad and bald man with a black coat that hid everything about his body, save for the pre-described features. However, what WASN'T concealed, was plates of metal around his head and lower jaws, that only showed his face along with his bald head.

Though, as the body collapsed into a heap and started spewing blood from its headless area, the man gave a derisive scoff as he put the sword back inside his coat, his eyes shining with disappointment whilst still having a toothy grin on his face, the grin of someone who lusted for one thing and one thing only: BLOOD. "Heh, this got boring real fast... when will there be a challenge for me?" he wondered.

The unknown man then turned to get a move on, when from out of nowhere a faint beeping sound registered to his ears. His eyes momentarily widened at this, the man knowing from experience that this was a call through his metal plates as he put his hand on the side of his left jaw to answer it. "Talk to me."

"Hello, Mr.Third Wind."

"?!"

The man, known as 'Third Wind' widened his eyes whilst his mouth became 'O' shaped when he heard his codename, the only one who knows that name was ONE man..... The man responsible for his 'gifts'. His former smile, which had been wiped clean off earlier, then returned onto his lips but in a larger quantity.

"Well well if it isn't the Doc, how can I help you?" The man questioned cheerily as if he HADN'T just brutally murdered some helpless sod, all whilst he walked on his merry way, not really caring about the Corpse anymore as he had a more 'interesting' matter to deal with at the moment.

"You know what I want, Third wind."

"Is it about the mysterious energy I felt entering this world? Because if it is I can handle it myself if you let me."

A few seconds of silence passed, save for some static, before the other person on the opposite end gave a negative response. "No, it is too risky. We can't have any failures on retrieving that artifact, therefore I'm sending you and the other 'Winds' to accompany you."

Upon hearing that, the man's features IMMEDIATELY soured at the mention of his so-called 'fellow winds'.Third wind gave a snarl as he raged out to the man on the other side of the line. "With respect sir, I can handle this myself! I don't need those pansies, they would only get in my way!"

"Careful on who you're speaking to Third Wind. I created those gifts of yours and I can take them away from you... unless you behave."

…

…

…

...

...

"...RRRAAGGGHHHH."

For a moment, Third Wind remained silent as he trembled and quivered on the spot, no longer walking which resulted in him standing close to a tree next to the park's entrance. Eventually, however, his inner feelings couldn't be contained anymore and a loud, piercing scream akin to a blade of sound erupted from within, filling the surroundings instantly. Out of fury, Third Wind took out the same sword which had been used before (as proven with the recently spilled blood on the blade's edge), then swung said sword towards the tree as he chopped almost all of the front ones before he took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Hhhhaaaa fine, tell me where do I have to go?"

"Good you're going to Japan specifically Uminari City."

Hearing this, the man blinked owlishly, this time more confused than angry. "Japan? Why that place, isn't that place a Devil's territory?"

"Yes indeed" Replied the voice on the other end of the line. "But no need to worry about that, one of the Winds killed him and I replaced him with a robot I created to perfectly imitate him."

Well, that made more sense, Third Wind mused internally. The Doc usually liked working with technology, him and the other Winds were proof of that. Heck, he bet that this Doc had more tech in him than the entire world combined, and THAT was saying something. "I see. Will there be anything interesting Doc?"

"There is Third wind and it might interest you."

"Oh? Well, give it to me then Doc."

"Me and the other Winds have felt an aura of a Demigod and a Devil with dragon and Wyvern for some reason. Nevertheless, they are in Japan and are heading to the same city. A confrontation will soon follow if you're interested."

For a moment, Third Wind became wide-eyed in shock, since he amongst many other Strays and the Supernatural world in General knew of Dragons and their sheer dominance. They were supposed to be beings of pure power that caused chaos and destruction wherever they went. But a Wyvern too? Was this Devil trying to be some sort of tri-brid or something? Nevertheless though… "...Hehehehehee, ahahahahahah! YES, FINALLY! Now, THIS is what I'm hoping for! Book me a flight towards Japan, I'll be there as soon as possible Doc."

"Alright, but if they or anyone else get in your way... do whatever you or the other Winds do, I don't care. Get me that artifact and do whatever its best on what you think. But be careful, be sure to not attract the attention of the Shinto gods or the Satans, otherwise my plans will go to waste. If you finish this job, this will be the last time I will contact you for something I need."

"You got it Doc, I will be on my way then."

"Good, one last reminder: do NOT fail me, or else there will be a whole lot of hell to pay."

The caller then promptly hung up on the covered man after that last little threat, although the said man didn't really care too much. It was just the typical big secret boss stuff, nothing which he hadn't heard before in his multi centuries of living. Still, since he now had a job to do with a… respected client, he had to see it through to perfection. Thus, Third Wind set out for his goal, proceeding to head towards the airport where his main destination: Japan.

"Well, let's see if that Devil can give me a challenge, now…. Hehehehehe, oh I'm REALLY looking forward to this."

"In other news, there have been cases of multiple murders happening in Uminari City. The murderer has been only active at night, we strongly advise you to go home early from school or work. That will be all for today back you Kaito-"

CLICK!

Within Uminari City at a house that was attached to a bakery shop, two people, a middle aged man and a woman, sat together whilst watching TV, something they rarely got to do due to how busy they tended to be with their daily lives. However, with the recent news of a string of murders starting to happen within this city, perhaps they would appreciate this time that they spent in work more often, if they didn't have to listen to this news.

"Haaaaaaa these reports are getting worse and worse, I think we should move." A sigh escaped the man's lips as he sat back on the sofa, wondering if the cushions could pull him in and into a world of pure soft comfort. At least then he wouldn't have to worry about seeing that stuff over the news.

Looking over to her husband, as evident by the rings on their wedding fingers, she aimed a soft yet scolding look towards him, since whilst she understood his worry, the woman believed there were some more important matters to attend to. Well, at least this problem wasn't something they should focus on, in her mind. "Don't be like that Shiro , we've been living here as long as we can remember, let the police handle this, I'm sure they'll catch the killer."

After hearing his wife's words, the man called Shiro aimed a tired, weary look towards her as he turned his head to face her. "Alright... but I'm worried about our family Momoko, what would happen if one of us becomes the victim?" He questioned, his worry still prominent despite his current condition.

However, it seemed she had prepared for this, as the wife known as Momoko soon had a cup of tea in hand that she'd prepped not too long ago, one which she handed over to her hush=band. "You worry too much Shiro, here have a cup of tea dear, that would help your stress."

Upon seeing the cup of nice, hot steaming tea which his wife had prepared, a small but happy smile spread across Shiro's face as he took it. Taking an experimental sip, a low moan of contentment escaped his throat. "Oh, why thank you Momoko. What would ever do without you?"

When she heard that, an idea came to her, and a rather… suggestive smile formed on her lips as the atmosphere began to change… becoming rather heated between them. "Maybe some extra service in bed dear?" she suggested, wiggling her eyebrows whilst giving her husband the 'bedroom eyes' which all women had as lethal weapons… and considering how long they had been married for, she had AMPLE experience over the skill.

Something which got proven when the man aimed a dazed, beaming smile of acceptance back at her, lust beginning to build in his eyes as he gazed with a matching one whilst reaching for her jean-covered thigh. "Oh I would gladly do so-"

"Dad, mom what do you mean by extra service in bed?"

Their daughter, who sat on the sofa perpendicular to the one her parents occupied, couldn't help but listen to their conversation when they were speaking about the news on what was happening in the city. Apparently, she had just come into the room about halfway into the news show and, judging by the look on her face, one could easily tell she had been worried about it's content. However, it did result in her making sure to not go out at night. she then heard talking about extra service she was about and asked her parents about it.

To say this innocent question threw them into panic mode was an understatement.

"Guuaaahhhh" Panic filling his veins, Shiro flailed his arms about and away from his wife's supple thighs, all whilst he struggled to come up with an excuse to sate his 9 year old daughter's innocent curiosity. "Its... it's about breakfast in bed, yeah thats right won't you agree darling."

"Ummmmm yes that's right. For now go to school Nanoha, you won't want to be late do you?"

"...Okay, have a nice day Mom and Dad."

"You too, honey."

"Be sure not to be late tonight, we won't have to worry about you."

"I won't dad!"

After all THAT stuff, the morning proceeded onwards as normal.

The girl named Nanoha, after grasping her brown backpack, soon left the house in a hurry to catch up to her friends. To accurately describe her, she looked like a typical schoolgirl of someone her age, with her auburn hair tied into a pigtail-like style, complimented by her big, innocent yet naive dark blue eyes. In terms of attire, Nanoha wore a typical school uniform, a white sailor shirt which had black outlines, also having a red tie in front of it, a long skirt with a similar appearance that reached down to her feet, which were concealed by white socks and brown shoes

She then saw her friends wearing the same outfits with one of them waving at her, calling her name and beckoning her over. Their names: Arisa Bunning the girl with light brown hair and the other girl's name: Suzuka Tsukimura, a girl with purple hair and was the one waving at her.

"Nanohaaaaaaa! Good morning! How are you doing?" Suzuka greeted loudly whilst Nanoha jogged up to them, hands on the straps of her backpack.

Once she had caught up with her two friends, Nanoha answered whilst they began to talk to one another. "I'm fine, how are you Suzuka and Arise?"

"I'm doing fine, what about you Nanoha, did you hear the news?"

The auburn haired girl nodded her head, her eyes flashing with concern as she recounted what she had heard this morning… as well as for the last few days. "Yes I did. My parents are considering moving despite living here for as long as I can remember." she answered, sighing sadly. Like she said, her family had lived in this city for as long as she could recall, so this place had so many memories for the young girl. Yet she couldn't really say she didn't get what they were scared of, since they likely wanted to keep the entire family safe from this supposed murderer.

Just the thought of such a person prowling the streets was enough to make chills go down her spine.

Arise nodded her head in agreement, and judging by the look on her face she sported seconds later, she too didn't find any joy in this situation. "I know, right? While they aren't considering moving, my parents ARE considering hiring a bodyguard to keep me safe, which totally sucks. I don't need a random person to always follow me around, that's just weird!" she yelled, pumping a fist into the air

"Don't be like that Arise, your parents are just worried about you."

"Haaaaa fine Suzuka, but let's go. Class starts in ten minutes."

"Okay!"

As they were walking over to their school, you know going on with their regular school life, they passed by a silver boy and a girl who walked straight by them. Of course, the three girls remained unaware of them, but shortly after their passing the silver haired boy stopped, taking his hands out of his jacket pockets before glancing behind him at the girls. Aside from their bright as hell uniforms, the boy eyed the auburn haired one intently, having sensed... something within her, something which had given him pause even with part of him guessing that she was older than him.

"...Albion. By any chance, did you sense something in that girl?"

'Yes I did partner, she might be a 'special' person if you know what I mean, but even so what we sensed is still dormant.'

"....Lets leave her alone, she has nothing to do with the supernatural."

'Alright partner, whatever you say.'

Since they spoke through speech instead of anything like telepathy like they usually did, Xun Er heard Vali that the girl with auburn hair had 'something special' which she didn't take long to figure out. However, surprise appeared on her face upon hearing Vali say to leave her alone, something which she did NOT expect to hear from him, not one bit. "Are you sure it's wise to leave her alone? Especially if she DOES have one of THOSE?"

Vali nodded in her direction, resuming his stride as he returned his hands to his jacket pockets. "I'm sure of it because we can't drag other people into our mission, that will just invite unnecessary trouble. Besides, if THAT was dormant still like Albion said, then that would mean she has nothing to do with the supernatural world, something which should remain so for her entire life ideally. You know as well as I do how 'those' people are treated by all sorts of races."

"Alright if you say so. By the way, when will we find a place to stay? I'm almost tired."

"Grrrrr, We'll be there when I think it's necessary, so stop whining!!"

"Mmmmmhhhhh fine!"

Xun Er whined as she kept walking with Vali as he was almost about to lose it and use [Glavenus] to shut her up, the Devil Arm having gone inside his Soul so the sight of it didn't spook the humans… it had been Albion's idea. That thing about it being used on her, she suspiciously thought was something that the weapon would almost be… happy about, if what her mother said about it having sentience was any indication. As he and Xun Er continued their walking (which she kept almost whining almost every time) Vali soon spotted a bulletin board which had multiple Flyers, ones which detailed about various hotels and rental apartments.

'Oh, hellooooo…' Vali mused in his mind, whistling externally as a small smirk formed on his lips. 'Finally, just what the doctor ordered…' He and Xun Er looked through them as the silver haired boy spotted one, one which had a reasonable price to it (from what [Glavenus] and Hathor had taught him about maths) as he took the flyer out of the board.

Glancing it over a final time just in case there was anything suspicious, Vali then turned to his annoying companion with the Flyer in hand. "Alright Xun Er, let's go with this apartment." he declared.

Though, whilst glancing at him through one eye due to how tired she was, Xun Er had… an opinion. "Ahhhh are you sure we can't go to this hotel, instead?" she questioned, prompting Vali to raise his brow and gesture with his free hand with the 'come hither' gesture, allowing Xun Er to hand him the Flyer she had found.

'...?!'

A few seconds later after reviewing the Flyer, Vali's eyes bulged open wide like a pair of dinner plates, all whilst he almost choked on his own saliva in his mouth when he saw the price on the flyer.

"Are you....are you TRYING to spend almost ALL of our money that your MOTHER gave us, Xun Er?!? Look at the price girl!!" The boy couldn't help but EXPLODE with fury as he glared with the fiery intensity of an angry dragon at his companion, multiple vein marks over his forehead as he held the Flyer out like it were the incarnation of his father's return, that's just how DISGUSTED he felt about it, and that WASN'T taking in anything else but the price alone. Everything else about the Flyer seemed to be sketchy as all heck, especially when [Glavenus] had examined it. Though why he had known all about modern things like this despite being sealed away like he had been, Vali wasn't sure. But, he DID get the feeling that Albion had been involved somehow.

"What's wrong with it?" Xun Er responded defensively, not seeing why Vali was so angry THIS time. She huffed and pouted like a spoiled brat, glancing to the side as she tried to defend herself despite the fatigue ransacking her system. "We have enough money to last for a while, and it's not like we're staying here for a while"

However, this only served to infuriate Vali even further, something which became evident when he launched a rather… heated rant. "We might or might not stay here for a while, we don't know yet! I'll say it again: we DON'T KNOW how long we have to stay in Japan, but that doesn't mean that you go around and spend all of our money willy nilly! If you did, then we'd have to beg people for money and look like a pair of stuoid idiots!!"

(Somewhere at Italy, in Vatican two girls one with light brown hair with two pigtails and the other girl with blue hair with green strip in front of her face as they sneezed, confused on why they sneezed they shrugged it off as they continued training in the church)

"Anyways, we are NOT going to that shady place! We are going to this apartment, and that's final girl!!!" With that Vali took the flyer from Xun Er as he ripped it into shreds, then went walking towards the apartment that Vali had chosen to go

"My name is not girl! It's Xun Er, remember that Vali!"

"I will say your name whenever I like to or not, now come one!"

"...#Huff, what a mean boy."

After she huffed indignantly, her childish mind not getting why he had been so horrible to her, Xun Er went to follow Vali as he stomped his feet whilst he walked, hands in his jacket whilst clearly feeling the rage from having to deal with the spoiled child behind him. If he were honest, if he didn't put his hands back inside his dress jacket just now, then he likely would have done something else to her, something which likely would become much more problematic for him later down the line.

Meanwhile...

'Why, oh why must fate always love to mess with me, especially you Shai? Just why did Hathor even send this incompetent, nearly USELESS little brat with me?' The boy mentally whined in his mind, REALLY wanting to just curse the hell out of fate right about now.

[Maybe because fate hates you clearly, I'm also about to lose it so you're not the only one, Vali. Especially since that girl annoys you, I always made sure that my kids are disciplined especially when I gave them hard love.]

All of a sudden like a DJ instantly halting the record disk, Vali stopped his walking when he heard [Glavenus] mention the words "my kids".

'.......You said you have kids [Glavenus] how come you never mentioned?'

[Oh, why you never asked, boy. Now that I think about it.... haaaah, it's been so long since I've last seen my mate, I hope that I will get to see them again. Especially my seven kids, who were still growing when I saw them last time before that blasted son of Lucifer trapped me in that damn forest.]

'...........I see, well [Glavenus] I will promise you this: I will find your family, if it's the last thing I do for you. Just count it on top of my vow to slay my grandfather for the both of us.'

[..........thank you Vali, I won't forget this]

This clearly surprised Vali, but he shook it off because he knew that [Glavenus] missed his family, so it wasn't a surprise that he said his name for the first time. Not to mention, the reason why the boy had stated what he did… was well, when he had spoken about his longing to see them again, Vali had recalled his mother, the only 'true' family that he had. MIssing one's family, wanting to see them again, to hold them in one's own arms… he could at least understand that, thanks to his mother.

Still, if there was one thing that came out of this talk aside from that new revelation, it was that it had soothed his anger towards Xun Er a bit. Hence, Vali kept silent as he went back to walking towards a place to stay with the blunette girl being none the wiser to what had just happened… still sulking like a brat.

But then again, what can one do with a girl as young as her, right?

People were troublesome, Vali swore in his head whilst he walked.

"........We're here."

Finally, as the reign of the night took hold over the city with the night life being dominant now, the two children reached their destination: a building that was just right next to a bakery store named Midori-ya. The place looked quite nice actually, exuding a warm, downright comforting aura from it, being not too big and not too small. According to the Flyer, it also apparently had everything that one might need: two bedrooms, a couple bathrooms, kitchen, living room, and all the necessary utensils one might want in a home.

Upon seeing it, Xun Er looked like she wanted to go 'hallelujah!' at that moment, especially with the thought of finally being able to rest entering her mind. "Finally! We're here, I can finally rest my legs!" she declared, jumping forth to try and get inside, flop on the nearest form of comfort like a sofa or bed, then sleep…

CLUTCH!

"Ugh?!"

Unfortunately for her, before she could get too far Vali reached forth and grabbed her by the back of her dress's collar, holding her upwards like he was holding a trash bag. His features simply looked like they were pretty much screaming 'I am SO done with this bullshit' as he gave a deadpan stare towards her. "Yeah, well not right now as we have to meet the landlord before we rest."

"Well you're looking at her, children."

'Huh?'

When he heard a third female voice, his eyes widened as his instincts basically told him to immediately twist around to face the source in case of an attack. Upon doing so, Vali laid his eyes upon a slender yet shapely fair-skinned woman waist-length purple hair with shorter bangs that is in a hime cut and brown eyes. She wears the traditional attire of a miko that is a purple hakama, a white haori with a sash-like belt, wooden sandals and a white ribbon to partially hold her hair in place.

"Why hello there children, I'm Miya Asama: the landlord over this apartment." The woman, named Miya, introduced herself with a small lowering of her head, a polite bow if anything.

'Well she seems nice, might as well greet her...' Vali thought, cautious around this woman. Despite the warm, comforting aura that surrounded her form right now, Vali knew for a FACT that people tend to be like predators, searching for any kind of weakness. His father did that a lot just to expose and exploit the weaknesses that his mother would unintentionally reveal, hence why she hadn't been able to leave him and take their son with her.

"Hello Ms. Asama." The host of Albion and user of the Devil Arm [Glavenus] began to say, lowering his head in a similar manner. Apparently, according to Albion it was a polite gesture of respect, so if he made a decent impression then things would go a LOT more smoothly. Afterwards, Vali raised his head and finished his introduction after quickly coming up with a last name for himself. No need for his 'true' last name to be known too much. "my name is Vali… Vali Redgrave, and this is Gu Xun Er, Xun Er for short." he spoke, glancing over to his companion and gesturing to her with a flick of his arm.

"Hi." Xun Er added softly while bowing down to the older woman. As annoying as she may be, but her mother had spent NO expense in teaching her to be polite to other people, especially her elders.

"My, what polite children…" The woman known as Miya began, her fingers over her lips with a small giggle escaping them at the sight. Afterwards though, her lips curved into a frown, through her eyes remained kind whilst expressing a gaze of concern. "But, where are your parents shouldn't you be with them?"

'Crap, I didn't think about that!' Vali mentally cursed to himself whilst sweating when the landlord asked them that. There was absolutely ZERO chance he would be using anything related to his own family, as that would open a terrible can of worms for their situation, and worse since they came to this place alone their options for a cover story revolving around parents had become rather limited. A… dangerous oversight, honestly. 'Gotta think of something, gotta think of something fast! Ah, I know!' Vali mentally declared as an idea popped into his head.

"Well we-"

"My mother and Vali's parents got a job overseas, so they couldn't take us with them. Thus, after finding a Flyer for here, they decided to send us to this apartment so we could live here for a while until our parents are done with their work."

'HUH?!?' Vali screamed mentally, though he didn't realize that both Albion AND [Glavenus] shared his feelings of extreme surprise, when Xun Er of all people suddenly spoke all that... and in a smart way, too! What the hell was that about, when the heck did she suddenly grow a brain?!

"Is that true?"

"Oh ummmm... yes, yes it is Ms.Asama." Whelp, not like he would ignore this opportunity, and as Albion once told him during the previous year's training: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Thus, he nodded his head in agreement with his companion.

"Oh my, such a young age while leaving their children... reminds me of a certain scum that always comes to my house." Miya remarked, doing the same thing as before… but whilst that happened, a silhouette of a large, twisted looking demonic visage shaped like a Hannya Mask appeared above her. A sight that scared the living daylights out of a madly sweating Vali and Xun Er, including the said Hybrids' tenants that were literally SHIVERING in terror from the chills of death crawling down their non-existent spines.

'Wh-wha…?!'

"E-Eep!"

[What the hell, Albion what the heck is that?!]

'No shitting idea, [Glavenus]! Vali, don't let that thing get us, we may lose our lives at this rate!'

"Uhh-uhhhh mi-miss, cou-could you please-"

It didn't take long for Xun Er's stammering request to snap Miya out of… well, whatever state she had fallen into, as evident by how her eyes blinked and the 'pressure' alongside the Hannya Mask vanished out of existence, almost like it was never there. "Oh my how rude of me, forgive me for that." She began in an apologetic tone, this time one which sounded slightly flustered with a hint of… guilt? Yeah, guilt, mixed in. "I was reminded of a certain someone I know, but anyway let's go inside shall we? I'm sure that you children are hungry from all that walking aren't you?"

GRUMBLE-GRUMBLE

Xun Er and Vali's stomachs, at the moment that 'food' got mentioned, soon began rumbling like roaring lions, resulting in Xun Er blushing like a cherry whilst Vali still kept his stoic face. Though, internally he remained just as embarrassed as his companion, even though both of them did indeed realize that they hadn't eaten dinner.

[N-Now that I think about it… when WAS the last time Vali ate proper food since this journey began? He's been getting used to the ability to convert Demonic Power into the necessary nutrients for his body…]

'....Perhaps a week or so, but considering how long we've grilled him on this ability, it's pretty much nothing to his reserves now.'

Glavenus wondered this, and Albion gave a telepathic answer seconds later.

"(Giggle) Come now children, let's go inside and eat. It's getting late."

Both kids, upon hearing those words, glanced at one another, seemingly having a small mental conversation before they gave a unified nod to one another. They then proceeded to follow Miya into the building, where the sweet allure of a hot meal would be waiting for them. However, just as Vali stepped in after Xun Er went in first, the sweet promise of food being her sole drive at the moment, Vali suddenly tensed up, his gaze hardening when he sensed something that was coming in two blocks away.

'What the.... What's this I'm sensing…? Sure doesn't feel like anything I've sensed before…' The silver haired Hybrid remarked to himself mentally with his Tenants agreeing with him since they too sensed the abnormality. With his curiosity and interest piqued, and knowing that he didn't need to eat right away thanks to the Demonic Energy conversion trick, the boy began to head on outside. He then called back whilst turning his head so he could see his companion out of the corner of his eye still. "You go on ahead girl, I forgot something that's in a store not far away from here. Let Mrs Asama know for me too, please."

"Sure, and like I said before, my NAME is XUN ER! Not GIRL!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

With that, Vali dashed off into the night, towards where he had sensed the anomaly.

"#Huff....#huff.....#huff....#huff"

A girl, practically a young child, ran like a bat out of hell as if her life depended on it. She had to, especially if she wanted to safely escape from something that was so terrifying that it could scar her for life whilst giving her no small amount of nightmare fuel.

"As I was saying dude-hey why is that girl running?"

"I don't know, maybe she's late or something."

As she ran, the young girl passed two boys that are the same age as her older siblings, chatting with one another and COMPLETELY unaware of the horror following her. Upon noticing her, their gazes became filled with confusion, especially when they noticed just how HORRIFIED that the girl looked. The fact that the girl held a small, practically baby-sized ferret in her arms that seemed to be curling into her embrace didn't register within their minds.

"Run!!! There is something coming!!"

She yelled that out to the two boys, her intent being to inform them of the danger currently pursuing her like a vicious hunter tracking it's prey so that they won't die from it… an attempt which may as well have hit brick walls.

"Huh what do you mean girl? There's nothing on the way."

"Ahhhhh just ignore her you know how kids are these days."

Seeing that they weren't believing her, the young girl's heart almost exploded out of her chest thanks to the heavy amounts of fear coursing through her. In fact, if it weren't for her sheer WILLPOWER, then her fear and desire to escape to safety would have made her keep on running. That, and she didn't want anyone innocent to get hurt in the wake of a problem of hers, not if she could have done something about it. "No wait, you have to believe me!!" she cried out as the two boys ignored her, strolling down the street which she had JUST been running down.

A fact which would soon become the last mistake they would ever make, considering the following events

"Yeah man lets go-ugh!!"

SQUELCH!

"Eric!! Whats wrong-OH, FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?!?"

The highschooler, upon hearing the sound of something being impaled, quickly turned to his friend and saw the being that currently… had stabbed right through his friend's torso, through the heart too, with one of it's limbs. It looked like a spider, but… more like some kind of eldritch abomination, one which had long legs that stretched to at least one story tall. All whilst quickly proceeding to munch on his friend like a human happy meal. The Spider had purple skin and six yellow/gold eyes, with twenty long, thin legs, each with sharpened ends. It possessed a HUGE ass mouth which had a long, slobbering white tongue falling out of it, as well as multiple rows of white, straight and blunt teeth.

Overall, it looked absolutely HIDEOUS.

"I-I do-don't bel-believe th-thi-s…!"

"PLEASE RUN AWAY!!"

Despite the girl's cries snapping the sole surviving highschool boy, it soon became too late for the highschooler to run, for the spider grabbed the other boy as he had been way too paralized in fear to do anything. As a result, he didn't notice that the spider's movements till it had ensnared him him and opened its mouth for a meal

"N-N-NOOOOOO!!!"

CRUNCH! SQUELCH-SQUELCH-SQUELCH-SQUELCH-SQUELCH-SQUELCH-SQUELCH!

The sounds of grotesque crunching, bones being crushed and other horrific sounds that no child should EVER have to hear, rung throughout the deserted street, as the slightly green girl hurriedly looked away whilst covering her mouth to suppress the urge to vomit as the spider ate the highschooler boy alive. Even so, thanks to their volume and the fact that she had to keep the ferret in her arms, made it so that she heard EVERY sound with PERFECT clarity, much to her terror.

'Its… It's going to eat me, too! Just like those poor boys!'

In her mind, the young girl thought this as the sudden realization of her impending death, the fact that it had been able to chase her so far without losing much stamina causing the impending sense of doom to swallow her senses whole. This resulted in her legs freezing up, rendering her unable to run anymore whilst the Spider neared the end of it's… quite LITERAL human sandwich.

"Nanoha I've decided to let you use my powers, you must use it! Hurry, use this! Before that thing gets to us!"

The ferret exclaimed from the top of its small lungs to the young girl, Nanoha, who looked down at her sole companion as it got out of her arms and used its mouth to plop a red marble into her free hand. Seeing how bad the situation had become, especially with how there were human casualties, the Ferret saw no other alternative than to lend its power to the girl.

"Wha-what should I do!?" The panicked girl cried back as one final gulp sound escaped the Spider, signalling that it finished it's meal. In that moment, it became silent, unmoving like it had become a literal statue or sculpture, although Nanoha knew for a FACT that wasn't the case. No matter how much she wished for it, hence when a sudden jerky movement came from its eyes Nanoha nearly let out a gasp had she not covered her mouth with the other hand that once held the Ferret. Said ferret now sat on her right shoulder, scowling at the Spider with both fear and fury in it's small eyes.

"You must take this, it will give you strength." It responded under a low breath, never tearing it's gaze from the Spider whilst using its Tail to point at the Marble it had given her.

Nanoha took the red marble as she held onto it as it glowed and felt a warm sensation on it. "...It's so warm..." She mumbled under her breath, and despite the severity of the situation that she had found herself in right now, she still couldn't help but be mesmerized by its sparkly beauty for a moment. A moment which soon got cut short when, after a cry from the Ferret, Nanoha looked up and BARELY ducked under a leg which tried to pierce through her face, rolling to the side until she hit a wall in order to avoid a follow-up bodyslam. At this point, she stood up with her back pressed against the wall, a fitting thing in both a literal and a metaphorical sense as she eyed the recovering Spider which slowly got back to its feet, glaring at her with sheer bloodlust in its eyes. If it were toying with her before, NOW it looked like it wanted to end her life in the most painful way possible.

Still, after having managed to hold on to the girl despite her previous movements, the Ferret which sat on her opposite shoulder, glanced sideways towards her whilst speaking in a low voice, like a mentor lecturing a student. "Now hold it tight, close your eyes and open your heart, repeat after me..."

Knowing that she had little other choice but to trust it, Nanoha closed her fist on the red marble as it instructed, proceeding to say the words that it told her to whilst the Spider leapt towards her, raising one of its legs to impale her once and for all.

They both closed their eyes as the ferret started to speak and Nanoha followed

"I'm the one who is given this mission."

"I'm….the one who is given this mission."

The red marble started to increase its brightness as it started responding to its wielder, though the two still continued to speak. As it neared the two, a bright flash temporarily appeared, which not only stopped it in its tracks but also caused the Spider to painfully hiss out whilst backing away due to its intensity.

Neither of them noticed however, still doing the chant thing.

"Under the contract release those powers into me."

"Umm..under the contract release those powers into me."

"Winds to the sky, stars to the heaven."

"Winds to the sky, stars to the heaven."

"And the unyielding soul."

They now had begun to say the same thing, at the same time, as if they had combined into one being instead of two separate individuals.

""To this heart!""

Nanoha stepped up, opening her eyes with a determined expression forming over her features as the fear gradually lost its control over her. Instead the flames of resolve lit up inside of her, replacing it.

""Magic to these hands.""

Raising her hand to the air above, Nanoha held her determined gaze as the red marble continued to increase its brightness

""Raging heart: set on!""

The red marble, known as raging heart, began to activate as letters appeared in the marble. It began to speak in monotone

"Stand by: ready setup."

The moment those words, echoed by a mechanical-sounding female voice akin to an AI, the red marble began to release the energy that skyrocketed towards the sky, illuminating it like the sun did whenever dawn arrived.

This… got seen by one other person who had currently been flying through the air at high speeds: a familiar silver haired boy who had properly donned his mask so only his eyes and upper face could be seen, and even that was barely seen thanks to his hat. A small yet interested smile formed on his face at the sight as he soon altered his flight path to head towards it. "......Well, would you look at that? things are starting to get interesting wouldn't you say so Albion?"

'Indeed partner, now lets see how this will go'

[Agreed, Albion. Vali, make sure to have me at the ready for use at a moment's notice. We don't know the situation taking place over there.]

'You bet, [Glavenus]

With that, Vali increased the speed he was flying at, all to head to the source quicker, as he figured this energy had something to do with the thing from outer space that Hathor had sensed coming into this atmosphere.

Meanwhile

The spider went back in fear as it sensed... powers from the girl awakening within her, all as Nanoha still continued to hold her hand up whilst she went from determined… to downright confused on what's happening to her.

"Wha-what's happening?!"

The ferret, upon seeing how much power that the young girl was letting out, gaped with surprise whilst its eyes stared in transfixed wonder. "What a huge magical power she has…" it muttered under its breath, too low for Nanoha to hear, before it quickly went to assure her of what was happening. "Calm down, it's okay, this is normal. Now, draw a picture of a magic wand in your mind that will control your magic powers, then imagine a suit of armor that will protect you."

"Uhhhh, okay... it's already been decided though, alright then here we go." Nanoha replied whilst she began to imagine a wand that will help her control her magic and a dress that will protect her from harm. It didn't take very long though, and afterwards she opened her eyes as she began to be determined. "Okay those will do for now!"

The gem responded to the wielder's wishes as it began to transform her and the wand she imagined. It first stripped her clothes to her underwear, using them as material in order to create the materials that would match her imagination for the wand/dress combo. Then, when it accomplished this task, it then proceeded to make clothes for her armor which turned out to be similar to her school uniform... finally it replaced her braids with a more... old fashioned kind of way, one that people used to do in the past.

In the end, the Crystal itself transformed into the weapon she had imagined: a white-and-pink staff capped by a red crystal suspended within a partial gold ring with two exhaust valves. As for her clothes, she now wore a blue and white dress with a metal waist guard, similar to the dress she wore as her school uniform.

When it finished her transformation, Nanoha began to investigate her changes, looking down upon herself with her mouth hanging open. The moment she saw what she had become, the young girl blinked multiple times in confusion. "What is this... what's happening to me?"

At this point, seeing the fact that the girl didn't seem to know what was going on, the spider no longer felt intimidated by the powers that Nanoha began to display as it began to advance towards her, raising its left leg for a diagonal sweep.

"Nanoha look out!"

However, the Ferret noticed it in time and quickly shouted to warn her. As a result, Nanoha snapped out of her precious state whilst looking upwards. She then looked back at the spider and her previous fear began to return, the same kind of fear that she experienced when it had eaten the two boys.

"Huh hhhaaaaa!"

She screamed when its leg slide down to decapitate her and she still didn't know what to do. The marble began to speak

"Protection."

The marble let out a pink circular barrier just before it could connect, resulting in the strike being blocked for a few second's worth of power struggling. Still, the spider still doesn't give up as it hopes to overpower the barrier. The barrier,, after the previously stated multiple seconds, let out a shockwave that destroyed the leg that was attacking her, spilling blood everywhere except Nanoha.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

It let out a screech as one of its legs was destroyed, stumbling backwards thanks to the lack of proper balance it suddenly found itself with. The girl, upon opening her eyes when she didn't feel anything impaling her, saw this as a chance and ran away from it. "Ah, ah, ah, ah…!" she exclaimed through some heavy panting, wanting to get as much distance between them as possible.

The ferret then decided to use this chance to explain what happened, leaning forth towards her face whilst she ran before proceeding to explain. "What happened was the gem let out a magical equation called 'programs' that are embedded in the jewel. The jewel needs to be able to tap the spellcasters energy to do this though, it's what gives us the ability to use our magic abilities."

As it explained this, Nanoha took a pause in her running to glance behind her and see if the wounded Spider was still following her, resulting in her seeing it regain its posture and howl in her direction, breaking into a mad dash towards the girl. A shrill shriek escaped her throat at the sight, prompting Nanoha to resume her running from it as the ferret continued to explain in a more... frantic, urgent and panic-filled tone. "That thing back there is a being that was created by some horrible power. You can stop it by casting a sealing spell with the staff you possess, then it will turn back what it was."

Upon hearing this, a shrill sound escaped her lips as Nanoha stopped her running to gain her breath. Whilst doing so, the young girl glanced towards the Ferret and proceeded to question it. "I don't understand any of it! What should I do?"

"The same thing earlier that you did, basic movements such as attacking and defending just by wishing for'em. But if you want to use more powerful magic you're gonna have to use a spell."

After hearing the Ferret's explanation, confusion increased within her which also got accompanied by a feeling of frustration. As such, Nanoha shook her head to try and stop herself from yelling at him, knowing that he had been trying to help her, before questioning him again whilst trying to keep herself as calm as possible. "A spell?"

"All you have to do is open your heart. Listen to your heart and a spell should come to mind."

"Um…"

"That's enough of that."

"?!"

"?!"

BOOM!

Before things could continue this way, Nanoha's eyes alongside the Ferret's widened when they heard the sound of someone else's voice, something which the Spider also heard which pretty much confirmed it to not be their imagination… although, they'd soon wish it were considering what happened next.

An unknown boy came crashing downwards from the skies above, almost like an angel descending from the heavens to bring punishment and retribution. Although she got the feeling that he had been anything but that, ESPECIALLY when she saw the dark clothing he wore, alongside the massive Axe which he smashed downwards into the Spider's nogging, an attack which caused cracks to form within the concrete below.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeee…!

The Spider's voice lowered down into a whisper, until it vanished completely after it's death, prompting the boy to tear the Axe out of it's head and hoist it over his shoulder, it's sheer size and presence causing the young girl to shudder in nervousness.

"Who…?"

"No idea, he's not with me that's for sure. But that weapon… it's no Device, but it's power is considerable, I can feel it… ah! There it is!"

"E-Eh?!"

Briefly questioning the boy;s identity, the Ferret confirmed for Nanoha that it didn't know, all whilst eyeing the strange weapon that he carried with extreme caution. To it, it did NOT like the look of it, since the weapon just SCREAMED that it was meant to do some… quite twisted things if one caught it's drift. However, that soon became the least of his concerns when what remained of the Spider's head then showed a Roman letter symbol, the XXI one, before it transformed to a regular (still dead) Spider and a jewel with the symbol of XXI.

"Hm?"

The boy glanced downwards, seeing the jewel roll down to his feet. Curious, he then picked up the gem from the ground and inspected it thoroughly, quickly noticing the symbol XXI on its centre. "Huh, well what do you know? Looks like that scholar's theory may very well be correct, wouldn't you say so Albion?"

'Indeed, looks like he was correct after all. I'm just as surprised as you are, partner, but it looks like we have company.'

When he heard about that, a curious hum escaped him whilst Vali turned his head to Nanoha as she stared at him with fear. Soon he realized why when he glanced at where her eyes were headed, realizing that he still held the giant axe as it was nothing to him still stained with the blood from the spider that he killed. Ignoring what she was seeing and asked her a question

"So... who are you?"