*Whoosh*
The sound of the ocean drifted calmly across the quiet beach.
Arthur stood barefoot on the sand, the sunset painting the sky in shades of orange and gold.
The gentle waves touched his feet and retreated, leaving behind cool traces of seawater.
He blinked once, trying to remember how he even got here.
(Okay... Am I always gonna get into some dramscape, gonna be a recurring thing because it's getting old.)
The wind brushed past him, carrying the scent of the sea and something else.
*Lover's Oath*
A soft, melodic humming.
It was faint at first, but then it grew clearer.
Arthur turned towards the noise.
(That voice... why does it sound so... alluring?)
The humming came from further down the shore.
He followed the sound without meaning to, each step sinking lightly into the sand.
The closer he got, the stronger the melody became.
Just then, Arthur spotted a silhouette in the distance.
It was a young lady who stood where the waves met the shore, letting the water glide across her feet.
Her long purple hair fluttered in the breeze.
Her dress, the same shade as her hair, swayed like the breeze.
*Humm~*
Her back was turned, her voice still humming the same gentle tune.
Arthur stopped walking.
He stared, unable to move.
(Who is that? Why does this feel... familiar?)
He opened his mouth to speak.
But before he could say a word, the humming stopped.
The girl slowly turned her head, as if she had always known he was there.
Her orange eyes met his green ones.
But full of something he couldn't name.
...
Arthur jolted awake.
His head snapped up, almost falling off the desk.
He blinked a few times, eyes focusing on a stack of paperwork.
Documents with signatures and requests, and signatures again.
He groaned and rubbed his face.
"Great. I fell asleep... again."
He looked at the chaos of his desk and sighed.
He ran a hand through his red hair, his voice flat.
"Is this what Naruto had to do every single day as Hokage? No wonder he got nerfed in Boruto. Paperwork is like kryptonite for protagonists."
He slouched back in his chair.
"This will be the death of me sooner or later... Thank God, Georg is the one handling most of these things."
He stared at the ceiling for a moment.
Then his expression shifted slightly.
(That girl... who was that? And why did she look so... alone?)
Before he could think further, there was a knock on the door.
*Knock*x3
Arthur shook his head, sat up, and swept his hair back with his fingers.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Lavinia entered, wearing a black dress that contrasted with her golden hair and sapphire blue eyes.
She glanced around the room before looking at him.
"What's taking you so long?"
Arthur stood up.
"Sorry, sorry. I was just... doing paperwork to pass the time."
Lavinia raised an eyebrow.
"Really? You? The same person who would rather fight a Dragon God than sign a single document?"
Arthur forced a smile.
"Well, I figured Georg deserved a break, so I-"
Lavinia didn't even wait as she sighed.
"Arthur, that excuse was terrible."
He rubbed the back of his neck, laughing weakly.
"Yeah. I know."
She stepped closer, her expression softening.
"If you don't want to go… they'll understand. You don't have to force yourself."
Arthur stopped what he was doing as he looked at her.
Lavinia held his gaze, no judgment in her eyes, just worry.
"You've already done more than anyone asked of you. What happened a year ago… nobody blames you. You've avenged them, after all."
Arthur slowly exhaled.
He shook his head.
"No... I should go too. It was my responsibility then. And it still is now."
Lavinia watched him, then reached up and fixed the tie on his black suit.
"You're still as stubborn as ever."
Arthur looked at her, almost smiling.
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"Sometimes it is, but I still love you regardless."
She replied, but her tone was gentle.
She finished adjusting the tie and let her hands rest on his chest for a moment.
"You don't have to carry everything alone. We're here for you. Whatever challenges you'll face, we'll be there to support you... together."
Arthur didn't say anything at first.
Then he stepped forward and pulled her into a quiet hug.
"Thank you, Lav. I needed that."
She hugged back, resting her head against him.
"You're welcome, Art."
They stood like that for a few seconds, no words needed.
Then she slowly pulled away and held out her hand.
"Ready?"
Arthur looked at her hand.
He nodded.
"Yeah."
They walked toward the door, their hands intertwined.
Just before leaving, Arthur glanced once at his desk with stacks of paperwork.
But something else tugged at his mind.
The girl with purple hair and orange eyes.
(Who is she?)
Lavinia noticed his silence.
"Something on your mind?"
Arthur shook his head lightly.
"Just… a strange dream."
"Oh? Want to tell me about it?"
She asked.
Arthur looked ahead as they walked through the hall.
"Maybe later. For now…"
He exhaled slowly.
"We have people to mourn."
Lavinia nodded.
"Then let's go. Together."
Arthur squeezed her hand once.
"Yeah."
They stepped out of the office and into the quiet corridor.
DxD
The cemetery of Avalon stretched far, rows of white stone illuminated softly by the afternoon sky.
Valerie Tepes walked slowly along the stone pathway, holding a bouquet of white camellias in her arms.
Her black dress flowed around her legs as her crimson eyes were calm, but heavy.
She reached a gravestone and stopped.
The name carved into the marble read:
Gasper Vladi
She stared at the name in silence before slowly kneeling.
"Hey, Gasper. It's been a while."
She placed the flowers at the base of the stone with both hands.
"It's been a year since they carved your name here... And I still don't know what to say to you without crying."
She let out a small laugh.
"You'd probably be panicking right now if you saw me looking like this. You always hated seeing me sad."
She touched the gravestone lightly with her fingertips.
"I've been doing okay, better than before. I'm finally free from that nightmare, and I even made friends. Real ones."
A soft smile tugged at her lips.
"They helped me learn things I never thought I could do. I'm actually training to use my Grails… the way I want to. For once, I'm not just someone else's tool."
She looked down again, voice weakening.
"And it's all thanks to Arthur... He helped me feel safe again... helped me feel like I was worth something."
Valerie paused.
Her expression shifted.
"But…"
Her fingers trembled against the stone.
"I wish you were here... If you were, you'd probably scold me for crying again."
She blinked as tears began slipping down her face.
"But... It's because of me that… you died... And I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Gasper."
Her voice broke as her shoulders shook.
"Can you forgive me… for being such a pathetic big sister?"
She covered her eyes with her hand, trying to stop herself from sobbing.
But the tears kept falling.
Then, without a word, an arm wrapped around her shoulders.
Valerie gasped softly but didn't pull away.
She knew the scent immediately.
She leaned against his chest as the familiar warmth surrounded her.
"Arthur…"
Arthur held her gently, one hand patting her back.
He didn't speak at first.
He just let her cry.
After a while, Valerie's grip tightened on his suit.
She finally whispered.
"Sorry… I didn't mean to make a mess…"
Arthur slowly shook his head.
"You don't need to apologize for crying."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded handkerchief.
He placed it in her hands.
She wiped her eyes, trying to calm her breathing.
"Thank you…"
Arthur looked at the gravestone for a long time.
"...I'm sorry, Valerie."
She turned to him, confused.
"For what?"
His voice dropped lower as he spoke.
"For not being able to save him... If I had just-"
She cut him off, voice firm.
"It wasn't your fault."
Arthur looked at her, but she didn't look away.
"You told me everything about that night. You could've kept it to yourself and blamed it on someone else... but you didn't."
Arthur exhaled, his expression tight with regret.
"He trusted you with his last words. And I never once blamed you."
Valerie placed her hand on his.
"You did your best... And that's enough."
Arthur stared at the grave again.
"He probably would've wished he could have seen you smile one more time."
Valerie's lips trembled again, but she nodded.
"I know... And I will. I'll smile for him. Even if it hurts sometimes."
They stood in silence.
After a long pause, Arthur straightened up.
"Wanna go to the others?"
Valerie nodded.
"Yeah... Let's go."
After a short farewell to Gasper's grave, Arthur and Valerie walked away.
Just then, Arthur took a glance back once more.
His chest tightened.
(He was just a kid, and he died because the world let monsters exist.)
They both continued walking past rows of graves.
Each one marked by flowers, letters, trinkets left behind by people who still remembered.
Arthur and Valerie stopped at another grave.
Then another.
They placed single flowers by each one, touching each name with respect.
He whispered something silently every time.
Valerie could vaguely tell what he said, something about an apology.
She wasn't sure.
After visiting a few more graves, they both saw a few familiar figures doing the same.
Lavinia was placing a blue flower on a grave while quietly humming.
Jeanne was busy brushing away a bit of leaves from the grave.
Asia was kneeling and clasping her hands in front of a grave, in a prayer.
And Vasco Strada, standing solemnly nearby.
Arthur approached them.
"Hey, girls and gramps. Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it."
Asia smiled softly.
"It's the least we could do. We couldn't just stay away."
Jeanne nodded.
"That's right. They deserved to be remembered properly."
Vasco crossed his arms and let out a low breath.
"Don't mention it, lad."
Arthur nodded.
They continued placing flowers for each life that was taken that night.
DxD
After visiting the cemetery, Arthur walked down the streets with his hands tucked into his coat pockets.
His green eyes slowly scanned the scenery, quietly watching the town he had helped rebuild.
The once small town had grown into a thriving sanctuary, buildings now tall and modern yet maintaining the old traditional charm.
Children of mixed races ran across the plaza, laughing.
A Fallen Angel woman in a coat handed a small bag of groceries to an elderly human man.
A trio of Youkai women in kimonos browsed a street stall selling enchanted trinkets beside a pair of teens.
Even further ahead, a massive reptilian Stray Devil sat peacefully with a child on its back while its owner chatted with a shopkeeper.
Arthur watched it all with a smile.
(I still have no idea how I managed to pull this off.)
He remembered how, a year ago, Avalon was just a quiet place no one bothered to look twice at.
Now, people traveled far just to see or live here, just because the rumors were impossible to ignore.
And most of those rumors involved him.
The strongest Red Dragon Emperor of today.
The son of Sirzechs Lucifer turned an infamous Exorcist.
The descendant of King Arthur who killed an Evil God.
Arthur exhaled through his nose.
(If only half of those titles weren't such a pain…)
As he crossed the street, he overheard a small group of teens walking by, each wearing a red armband with a green magic circle that had Ddraig's face on it.
It was the symbol of the Counter Corps.
The armband has a few unique features, which the Author will only explain for future chapters.
One of them, a brown-haired recruit, rubbed his sore arm and complained.
"Man, I swear, if Instructor Vasco makes us do another hundred push-ups for slacking off, I'm gonna puke."
His friend groaned back.
"Bro, Siegfried literally said he'd stab us in the foot if we dropped our swords again. I'm more scared of him."
Another member gave a cold shiver.
"Forget those guys. I'm just praying we don't get assigned to train under Heracles again. I heard that guy once punched a vampire's head off because it puked blood on his face."
The group suddenly noticed Arthur.
Their posture instantly shot upright like soldiers.
"Ah! Commander Arthur! Good afternoon, sir!"
"Commander! Thank you again for the training program, my Sacred Gear finally activated thanks to the drills!"
Arthur waved casually.
"Relax, guys. You're off duty, right? Just enjoy the day. Don't think too much about work."
The recruits nodded rapidly as if he had given some divine order, then jogged off, whispering to each other excitedly.
"Dude, he talked to us…"
"That was so awesome."
"I'm never washing my face again."
Arthur sighed.
(Why are they like this? I literally just said hello.)
He continued walking, thinking back on how far the Counter Corps had come in just one year.
At first, their forces were limited only to himself, Cao Cao, Heracles, Lavinia, Siegfried, etc.
But then, with the Church's support, The Pendragon Household's aid, Mephisto wanting to support him for some reasons, and multiple background checks that Arthur had ever wanted to read again, they expanded to nearly a thousand members now.
Mostly humans, yeah, but also hybrids, magicians, exorcists, Sacred Gear users, and even reincarnations of famous figures.
Arthur smiled faintly.
(That was step one of the plan done, but step two, which is funding, though… that was a nightmare.)
Equipment, food, housing, travel costs, miscellaneous things, they all burned money like gasoline.
But fortunately, they figured out a way to solve that issue.
Arthur stopped reminiscing because, without noticing it, he had arrived at the town center.
And standing tall in the middle…
The chapel.
Locals moved around it with quiet respect, even if they weren't Christians.
Some prayed, some left flowers, and some just sat down.
Arthur gazed at it, his expression unreadable.
(I wonder how the others are doing?)
He took a slow step forward and entered the chapel.
DxD
Hello readers!
I have returned.
Here's the first chapter of Volume 3, so gimme the stones.
Also, I wanna tell you readers something.
First, I'm not dead, nor am I dropping this.
Second, due to so many college-related issues, I've been unable to keep uploading for like a whole month... I think.
So I added a fifth Omake on the Volume 2 Bio & Omake as an apology.
Just refresh by removing and adding back this fanfic from your library if you couldn't see it.
I apologize for the inconvenience and hope you readers understand my situation.
I'll be updating my JJK fanfic soon.
Thank you, everyone, and see you later!