Chapter 1: Betrayal and Acceptance
"Baka!" Buchou cried as she ran out of them room. Issei listened to her leave, her footfalls echoing inside of his head, refusing to look at the President of the Occult Club make her exit.
'…' The boy just stared at the wall, declining the choice to move from the spot he was standing in favor of looking at the wall where Rias was previously standing.
"Issei…you are horrible. This is too much! Why can't you…why can't you understand Onee-sama's feelings!?" She too ran off after the red-haired devil.
'…Why can't you understand my feelings?'
"That wasn't right Ise-kun." Kiba sighs, giving me a dirty look with his arms folded across his chest.
'…you don't have the right to talk to me about being right or not…'
"It is only natural for Rias and Asia to get mad." Was Akeno was also scolding him?
'…it is only natural for me to get mad…'
"Even I, who is dense at these sorts of things thought you were a bit off, Ise." Xenovia shakes her head at something she does not understand.
'…even if you have an excuse…'
"Mou! Ise-kun, sure is a no-no! Poor Rias-san."
'…you too...?'
Issei glanced over at Koneko, expecting her to say something as well. If everyone is going to belittle him than he wanted to hear what everyone had to say. Oddly enough, she didn't say anything; her face was thunderous but she wasn't looking at the former perv; she was looking at her clubmates! Perhaps she…
Issei glanced over at Gasper, hoping…nope, no such luck. He was hiding in his box but the look in his eye was darker than normal.
The Red Dragon Emperor tossed Koneko a glance to affirm his suspicions. Now, she was glaring at Gasper, who eeped and hid himself fully in his box.
'She does understand…' Issei thought, seeing a thin shard of light within the mass of thunderclouds that were beginning to take over his sanity. 'Makes sense since she has been observing me since day 1.'
'Ddraig?'
{…}
'Even you...? You have been with me since the moment I was born.'
That did it. Issei had honestly expected for Ddraig to provide some insight about the situation or at the very least side with him. But he felt nothing from the green jewel that resided within his hand.
'So that is how it is…" He thought, his emotions and thoughts only growing darker as the situation progressed.
The boy snapped my fingers and Koneko was at his side in an instant. Together, we began moving towards the exit. Just as I was about to leave, Akeno blocked me. A sensation at the back of my neck told me that Kiba had pulled a Holy Demonic sword and was threatening me.
"The current Ise-kun will just hurt her more even if you go after her, so don't."
'…My restrain is slipping…" Issei balled his fists, his arms shaking as the sheer emotion was beginning to overwhelm him.
"Umm…this is my mother's and my fault, right?"
"No," I said, interrupting Akeno who was about to say something. "This isn't your fault."
?
Everyone in the room became very confused, no one moving.
CRACK! Crack crack CRACK! Issei's mentality could not hold on much longer.
"This is not your fault Ravel." Issei repeated, his voice growing hoarse as he continued to speak. "This is their fault. All of them."
!
"What was that?" Xenovia exclaimed angrily, drawing Durandal from its closed space.
"Care to repeat that?" Kiba growled as he drew the blade closer to Issei, attempting to intimidate him. Gasper peaked outside of his box as even Irina was beginning to show signs of frustration, standing up from a nearby coach.
Koneko, sensing the inevitable conflict, raised her fists as cat ears popped out of her head and her tail slithered out of her skirt.
"Issei-kun," Akeno said lowly, "the fault for Rias' and Asia's anger towards you is nothing but-"
"Those bitches are the one who I blame most of all!" Issei roared, releasing all of my anger and aggression.
SNAP!
{Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!}
With a loud boom, the boy's aura blew everyone away from him save for Koneko and Ravel who were holding on to him tightly enough for the red aura to envelop them rather than push them away. The ceiling overhead was ripped from the rest of the building, the walls were flattened and hallway was in tatters from the sudden increase in power.
The others that were just now getting on their feet, looked on in complete and utter shock. Issei, the one that they all had grown close to, had just called Rias and Asia a bitch and destroyed the clubroom!
Issei did not allow them to voice their questions as he continued to roar at them. "All of you are to blame for this situation, but I blame the two of them most of all! You want to know why? BECAUSE OUT OF ALL OF YOU, THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REMEMBER RAYNARE!"
The roar of a dragon ripped through the air as if it was less than paper. His voice carried to where the other two girls were located, the both of their eyes widening as they remembered the name, the identity behind the name…and what she had done.
The name seemed to click with the majority of the club members present as well, all of their eyes widening as they realized why Issei was unable to give Rias what she wanted.
"Issei…I'm sorry! I didn't real-" Akeno began to voice her apology as she stopped herself.
{Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!}
"Ascalon."
{Blade!}
The scarlet blade of the dragon slayer drew itself out of the sacred gear. Issei reached for the blade and drew it away from my gauntlet, focusing his will and separating the two.
"Draig…out of everyone, I expected you to be by my side."
{Partner…}
"No!" He exclaimed with pain and anger. "You don't deserve to call me that anymore!"
It was then that a thought occurred to the brown-haired boy.
"In fact, if you want to side with the Gremory girl…" he spat out the name, "then you should go and be her sacred gear!" With that, Issei brought Ascalon back and threw it down on his own arm, effectively severing it! As he did so, he wishes with all of his might that the boosted gear begone from his soul, to no longer be one with the Welsh Dragon.
"Issei!" Koneko shouted in shock and horror. The others were rendered incapable of speaking as they watched the scene before them. Issei…had just separated the sacred gear from his body! But wouldn't that…
BOOM! An explosion even bigger than the one Issei released shook the entire school building, the former Red Dragon Emperor rocketing through the sky since he was the closest to the blast. No one noticed when the Nekomata jumped on him before the blast occurred, the rest of the Occult Club members shielding themselves from yet another blast of explosive power.
As they were trying to remain standing from the blast, a voice could be heard from where Issei was previously standing.
{Welsh Dragon! Seal is Broken!}
"Ugg…" A certain brown-haired individual groaned in pain. His memory was fuzzy, his body was in tremendous pain, he couldn't feel anything from his left arm…oh.
"Issei-senapi!?" A voice said his name. Curious to see who it was, said person opened his right eye since there was no sensation in his left.
"Oh…Koneko…" He tried to speak. His throat was coarse and scratchy so he ended up coughing after just two words.
The boy could tell that she was trying to do something. Her face and hair were dirty and there was blood on her hands…blood? And why was she in her underwear?
"Issei-senpai…please don't say anything…I'm trying to heal you…"
'Heal? I don't need healing…I've been in worse pain than this.'
The boy let his face fall to his left and he saw the state of his arm…or lack thereof. Where his appendage would normally be, there was a bunch of white wrapping that was drenched in some kind of red liquid. Issei couldn't stop the sense of familiarity when he looked at the strips covering his stump, they looked almost exactly like his school uniform.
"Tch…this isn't working…" The Nekomata's voice reached the former dragon's ears…at least those were working fine…ish.
"What are…you doing…Koneko *cough cough*" The pain increased.
"Please don't speak!" She snapped at her patient. Issei couldn't help but notice the impatience in her voice…the desperation. He decided to heed her wishes and remain quiet…it felt a lot better not to speak.
He watched as the girl's cat ears twitched occasionally and tail shake restlessly. Slowly, ever so slowly, he could feel some feeling return to his body…what was this pressure around his groin area?
"No…even Bedroom Arts… aren't enough?" The cat girl growled, the sensation around Issei's groin increasing.
'Bedroom Arts…isn't that some kind of healing technique used during sex..? Ah…so that is what she is doing…to bad it hurts so much I can't even enjoy it…'
Suddenly, a bush began to ruffle. Issei and Koneko quickly glanced over to said bush, the former getting a large headache from just doing so.
"See Vali? I told you I felt Shirone's energy around he-Red Dragon Emperor?"
Issei felt another presence position itself next to him.
"Kuroka-neesama!?" Koneko was focusing so much on healing her senpai that she didn't notice her presence until she was right next to her.
"Hyoudou?"
Issei recognized the last voice. He also recognized that clothing and hairstyle once the owner of the voice stepped into his view.
"Vali…hehe… *cough*"
Vali Lucifer was wearing a dark green shirt under a black jacket with burgundy pants, his normal attire. He was looking down at the two Nekomata and his rival, wondering what he could have done to put himself into such a state.
From Vali's point of view, Issei's body was in such a shape that he was surprised his rival was even still alive. The left side of his body looked like the equivalent of what humans call spaghetti. His left arm was nonexistent, he could visibly see the white and yellow of his rib bones peeking out of what was left of his flesh and his left leg was just barely attached. His right side looked just about the same as before save for a few evident broken bones.
"Shirone, I need you to focus on the Bedroom Arts, I'll take care of the healing. Vali, I'm going to need your help." Kuroka looked absolutely appalled at the shape of the man below her sister, casting all of the repair and healing spells she knew. It was no wonder her sister was performing the Bedroom Arts; the Red Dragon Emperor would have died already if it wasn't for Shirone.
Vali, who was surprised to see that the elder Nekomata was ordering him around, did as he was told and performed his share of healing and repair spells. It wasn't like he didn't want to do so, he had questions for his rival that needed answers. Then again, he could just ask the girl who was slamming herself on his rival's nethers…
'At least this isn't boring.' Vali thought as a small smile formed on his face as he redirected his focus towards the former wielder of the Boosted Gear.
"What happened Hyoudou?" The Lucifer asked as he ensured the flesh of his rival was knitting together properly.
"Well…*cough cough*" The boy tried to answer the question, but his throat wasn't letting him. Kuroka, noticing this, moved one of her hands from his rips and applied some healing magic to his vocals.
"…thanks, Kuroka…As I was trying to say… the others were being selfish and… pissed me off. When Ddraig… didn't defend me and sided with… the Gremory… I lost it. I cut my arm off and…focused my will… and separated him from my body."
"…I see…" Vali breathed, looking up at they sky. Issei followed his view the best he could. It was a cloudless night out; the stars decorated the sky similar to one of those star globes at parties. It was a full moon out so there was no lack of light, making the silver hair of Vali appear even brighter than normal. "It seems fate truly works in mysterious ways."
Koneko and Issei noticed the strange way he said it. Kuroka picked up on this and elaborated. "The White Dragon left Vali. Hyoudou must have destroyed the seal God placed on his dragon by forcibly removing the Boosted Gear. The seal had to have been linking the 2 dragons since Albion left Vali only hours ago. So, when one seal broke, the other broke as well."
This was certainly news to the two of them. The key to breaking the seal on the two heavenly dragons was to remove one of the gears from their bodies? No, it couldn't be that simple, there had to be more. God wouldn't let such a strong seal have such a weakness.
"So why are you… not injured?" Issei asked.
"For one, Albion left without resisting because that would only hurt the both of us in the long run. The real reason is because I was stronger than you without the dragon and I was able to prevent most of the damage. But really, it is better now that Albion is gone; he was getting on my nerves. He told me that my reluctance to kill the Red Dragon Emperor was infuriating and that if he was ever given the chance, he would leave and settle his fight with the Welsh Dragon himself."
"The Vanishing…Dragon didn't…seem capable of…such aggression..." Koneko's voice was starting to trail off, the pleasure must be making her close.
"Shirone, you can't stop moving. Here, I'll take some of the pleasure for myself but you have to keep moving. You are the one keeping the boy alive, if you stop he dies." Kuroka placed a hand on Koneko's shoulder and a green aura like substance appeared on the younger Nekomata that was focused on the area between her legs. That substance started moving up her body and towards the older Nekomata's hand, traveling towards her body and making her eyes roll back a little before adjusting to the foreign sensation.
"Thanks…Onee-sama." Her breathing became more regular and her pacing normalized. Kuroka, feeling a portion of what Koneko was, couldn't help but moan and lick her lips despite the situation. "Onee-sama, please focus on healing Issei-senpai!" Kuroka regained herself at her sister's words and focused her more of her magicks onto Issei's left side.
Vali and Kuroka were beginning to feel frustrated. Neither of their magicks were working nearly as effective as they should. One of them alone could heal a number of humans on the brink of death to near perfect health effortlessly; yet, the both of them combined could not seem to heal a weak and dying devil. His external and internal wounds were healing nicely, but he didn't seem to be getting better. Could this be some kind of side effect on his body from the removal of the Welsh Dragon?
"What, is going on?" A voice asked, feminine and childlike in nature.
Everyone looked in the direction the voice came from. Behind the group of devils, stood a small girl. She had black hair, violet eyes, and was wearing a gothic Lolita outfit and an x shape cloth that covered the nipples of her visible breasts.
"Ophis." Vali acknowledged. The eyes of Koneko and Issei widened as they remembered the name.
"Hehe…can't say…I expected to see…the Infinite Dragon God again…" Issei's voice whispered. The other's noticed how faint his voice was and redoubled their efforts of attempting to heal what was ailing the weakened devil. His exterior body at this point was starting to show signs of repair, but his life force was still diminishing rapidly despite the Bedroom Arts.
"I, ask again." Ophis said, rather annoyed that no one was paying attention to her. "What, is happening?"
Koneko was the first to speak, turning her face so that she could maintain the Bedroom Arts while looking the little girl in the eye. "Please…help Issei-senpai. Please…"
She could not say much more. She was scared, so scared. She was beginning to tear up, almost believing that this is where the man she loved was going to die.
"Help?" The little deity asked, tilting her head in a cute manner. "Help, with what?"
Vali decided to elaborate. "Issei Hyoudou ripped the Boosted Gear out of his body. I'm guessing that when he tore Ddraig from his body, a portion of his soul went with it. His soul must be in a critical state if he is in this bad of a shape after all of the magic we cast on him. I'm afraid…there is nothing more we can do." The Lucifer delivered his analysis of the situation with a hint of sadness. The world was about to lose one of the few he deemed worthy of his rivalry.
"No…it can't be…" Koneko could not help it anymore. She was crying heavily, outright sobbing, all the while attempting desperately to put more magic into the Bedroom Arts.
"I'm sorry Shirone…but I have to agree with Vali." Kuroka told her sister, trying to give her the news as gently as she could. This only made her sob even more.
Ophis approached the party to look down on the dying devil. "Ddraig, you are going to die?"
"It…looks like it…" Issei replied as best he could, growing colder and colder by the minute. "But…my name isn't…Ddraig. My name…is Issei."
"Issei." Ophis tested how the pronunciation felt, experimenting with each syllable. "Do you want to die?"
"Hehehe…not really."
"Why? Don't, you wish to end the pain?" The girl bent her neck to the side, similar to that of a confused dog.
"I…guess? But…more than that…I want…to live…"
"Why?" Kuroka, Koneko, and Vali observed the interaction. One of them watched on with sad disappointment, another one with worry and awkwardness, the last one still crying her heart out for the man who had earned her trust and love.
"I want…to enjoy…what this world…has to offer." Issei whispered, his voice barely able to do more than that. "There are…lots of things…I want…to do still…"
"Like, what?" The Ouroboros Dragon could not comprehend what would motivate the former wielder of Ddraig to continue living.
Issei could feel his sensation fading…but…something… was inspiring him to continue talking to the Infinite Dragon God.
"I…want to get stronger…fight strong people" Vali looked Issei in the eye.
"…enjoy peace and quiet…" Kuroka turned herself away from her sister to gaze at the dying boy. Ophis continued to watch the boy who was making her feel…things?
"but…most of all…I just want…to be acknowledged…loved." Koneko did everything she could to not go back over to Issei and wrap her arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. Kuroka had pulled her away from the high school kid against her will to continue the Bedroom Arts.
"Issei-senpai." Koneko's tears were beginning to dry up, not believing what she was hearing. She had always thought of him as some super perv. But after time, she saw that he actually did care for the club…cared about her. These…were his real feelings…this was his motivation for being so perverted. But this didn't answer why he chose to be a pervert to accomplish his goals.
"What about… you Ophis?" What…do you want?" Issei asked the infinite mass of energy. "What…do you desire?"
"I, want to return to silence." She replied. "I, wish to go back to the Dimensional Gap. But, Great Red is there…noisy. Can't enjoy silence. I, want him out."
'So Ophis' goal is to take back her home.' Issei thought. 'Has she ever thought of making a new home? A new place to enjoy silence?' Just as he was about to close his eyes forever…
'"I'm guessing that when he tore Ddraig from his body, a portion of his soul went with it."'
'"I, want to return to silence."'
'A new place to enjoy silence?'
"Ophis…" The mass of energy blinked at the sound of her name leaving the boy's lips, his arm stretching out towards her. "…will you…enjoy silence…inside of me?"
?
No one understood what the devil meant by that. Enjoy silence inside of him? What did that mean?
"I, do not understand." The dragon told him, confusion evident on her face. Something inside of her stirred, something she had long since thought nonexistent.
"Make…my soul…your new home…" Issei asked, a newfound hope giving birth inside his mind. "You…should be able…to enjoy silence…inside my soul…"
No one knew what that meant. Issei wasn't making any sense. Was he becoming delusional in the face of death?
However, there was one person who seemed to understand. "You, wish to host me?" Ophis asked.
The brown-haired boy smiled, not knowing how to put his meaning into words. Thankfully, the mass of infinite energy was smarter than she looked. "If you…can make my soul…whole again…there…should be silence…"
The light in the boy's eyes faded, his body went limp, and his head fell once again to the side.
The devil known as Issei Hyoudou, former pawn of the Gremory and former Red Dragon Emperor, was dead.
…
"No…no…NO!" The younger Nekomata's crying was renewed with great vigor, her hands grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling his upper body to her, wrapping her arms around the torso of the devil's corpse, crying relentlessly into the cloth. Kuroka had to turn away, unable to keep her own emotions down as tears began to travel down her own cheeks. She wasn't as hurt by the fact that Issei died, it was how much it tore her apart listening to the cries of her sister as she begged the corpse to come back to her. Never had she thought such sounds could ever leave her sister's throat and it pulled at her soul.
Vali turned away as well, if only to not look at the unrefined scene behind him. He had no wish to see the mass of sorrow and sadness fight against reality, let alone to see the body of his rival pass on without honor. Had he died in battle, Vali could appreciate such a death. To die rejected by the people he loved…
…it reminded him of what he used to be…when he was human.
"Hmmhmhm," a voice chuckled. "Hmmhmm… hahahahahaah!"
The other three present turned to face the being who dared to laugh at the death of someone who did not deserve it…only to find the girl in gothic clothes to be covering her stomach as she laughed.
'Ophis is…laughing?' Vali thought, astonished. He didn't even know it was possible for the Infinite Dragon God to laugh. The two Nekoshou just glared/stared at the little girl as her laughing died down.
"Issei! You, are interesting! So, interesting! You, offer me your soul so that I may obtain silence? Very well! I approve!"
This was very unlike the Ouroboros Dragon. Koneko was beyond pissed and beyond caring as she was about to last out against Ophis, Infinity Dragon God or whatever, no one dares laugh in the face of the death of her loved one!
But Kuroka and Vali knew…this wasn't like Ophis.
Just as Koneko was about to pull her fist back and punch the gothic girl, a black and purple miasma began to emerge from the black-haired girl's body; purplish lightening flashing within the black and purple fog like substance. Before Ophis was swallowed by the miasma, everyone caught a glimpse of her face.
She was smiling. The Infinite Dragon God was smiling! Not some cocky smirk or anything like that, but a smile born out of eagerness and…happiness?
The black fog grew larger and larger, becoming even larger than the god slaying dog Fenrir…even larger than Tannin!
The sky above was beginning to change as well. What was once a clear sky filled with stars was now blanketed by clouds, a fierce wind blowing through their hair.
"Ddraig…no, you said your name was Issei?" The voice of the Dragon God emerged from the unknown substance, the voice was a lot deeper than the voice of the little girl they knew as Ophis however. It sounded nothing like the human figure she had donned before. It sounded old and ancient but still feminine and powerful. The force of the speech alone made the knees of Vali, Koneko and Kuroka buckle, making the three of them bend down once more, bowing before the supreme force of one of the strongest beings in creation. "I deem you the only being in creation worthy of this gift. I deem you worthy of the name Ouroboros. Now, let yourself obtain strength! Let me obtain silence! Let us become one!"
The mass of black clouds that hovered above all of them suddenly fell, a tendril of darkness rocketing down from the sky towards the body of the deceased devil.
"Look out!" Kuroka noticed the direction the tendril was taking and jumped towards her sister and jumped backwards as hard as she possible could. Koneko, who had been running towards her beloved to shield him from the unknown force above them, was pulled by her sister just in time to avoid being hit by the blast. When the cloud-like substance and Issei's body made contact, a large boom sounded off, the force of the shockwave pushing the three devils several meters away.
"Issei!" Koneko yelled over the rushing wind, confusion and worry were the least of what she was feeling watching this scene. Kuroka didn't know what was happening either, only that something in that massive cloud was giving power to the former Red Dragon Emperor.
"Is Ophis giving the boy power?" Kuroka yelled at Vali, trying to be heard. "Why is she giving power to a corpse?"
"She isn't just giving him power!" Vali hollered back, unable to take his eyes off of the scene. "And Issei didn't die after all! It makes sense now! His soul was broken to the point where his body basically shut down! If his soul gets repaired, then his body will naturally start working again! What Ophis is doing is deconstructing his soul and rebuilding it using her own! She is literally melding their souls together!"
"So that means-!" Koneko started, hoping against all odds that what she was thinking was true.
"Ophis and Issei are becoming one. One in mind, one in body, one in soul." Kuroka finished, awe struck at the scene before.
Suddenly, all of the black and purple miasma vanished, all of it entering the devil's body. Vali, Kuroka, and Koneko all stood where there, unsure of what to do.
A twitch.
A hand pushed itself against the ground, lifting the upper body off of the ground. Knees bent and Issei was standing again. The boy looked down at his body, his arm, his other arm, his legs.
His other arm? The boy looked down at the rest of his body. He felt no pain, no coldness; his body looked essentially the same as before! There was an unnatural warmth inside of his chest and new left arm though.
"The fusion is done." Ophis voice could be heard by all of the devils. It was the voice that Kuroka and Vali grew accustomed to but Ophis herself was nowhere to be scene. "But you must hurry. Your body cannot handle my power. I have already made preparations to seal most of my power but you need to offer me a chant that will be used to release the seal until your body can adjust to my presence. You only have one chance before my power burns you alive."
'So that is what this warmth is?' Issei thought as he gripped his chest where the heat originated, growing hotter and hotter with each passing second. The boy remained silent, taking in the view of his left arm, thinking. Then he smiled.
"A chant? Okay, I think I have something in mind."
Issei turned towards the Lucifer and the two Nekoshou. With a victorious grin, he thrust up is newly regenerated arm and spoke.
"I, who shall awaken,
I am the Ouroboros Dragon who soars above the Principles of Domination
I am the infinite that seeks out the Dream
I shall become the Black Dragon of Infinity
And drown you in the depths of Infinite Silence!"
"Ouroboros Dragon! Power is Sealed!"
The devils before Issei could not help but stare with mouths agape at the arm he held over his head. They were beyond surprised and shocked as well they should be.
For his newly regenerated arm was a black and purple version of the Boosted Gear.
"Infinity Gear in your face! Eat that Rias!"