Chapter 3: Fallen Angel vs Ace of Spades
I am quite amazed that EMIYA and [no name] had such votes… and sad that the man in green had so few, regardless the winner was Heroic Spirit of Justice: the 'perfect' version of the snark and cynical Counter Guardian we all know and love.
While he acts like so, he also acts like his younger self and will look for the best possible outcome. When I post this a new poll will be up for the next servant… also, please help me out on my plight, I made also gofundme to raise raise money for a new laptop as mine was damaged beyond repair due to also flood that occurred in the apparent where I live, my mother left the sink running and flooded the place. PM me if you wish to help me, any help is greatly appreciated.
[Ddraig talking aloud]
[Ddraig talking in their mind]
Chapter start
Issei sighed as he rubbed his sore shoulders and tried to soothe his aching muscles, the teen couldn't remember the last time he had felt this exhausted. That spar with Kiba had gotten way more out of hand then he would have liked but at least he now had a baseline for what a Devil knight's speed was like.
Assuming Kiba's speed was the average level displayed by most Devils then Issei could honestly say he was quite impressed with the peerage system.
Sure, they were nowhere near the levels of the Rider or Lancer class from the Holy Grail Wars, the fact that he could keep up with them in the Include state was proof of that, but unlike the Grail system it wasn't limited to a single individual. If every normal human that was reincarnated as a knight gained that level of speed then it was no wonder that Devils were so successful.
Frowning Issei looked down on his fist as he remembered the force from his punch that sent Kiba flying, which was definitely not his natural strength so why did it come from? While the Lancer card did increase his strength it mostly focused on speed and agility, he was not sure where the increase of his strength came from.
Issei then noticed Rias studying his weapon
"Is something wrong?" asked Issei.
"No it just isn't what I expected you to have; I can't detect any sign of a dragon residing in the spear, in fact I don't recognize this Sacred Gear at all," informed Rias with a frown.
"Is that really such a big surprise? I'm sure you haven't memorized every single Sacred Gear in existence," replied the teen.
Rias nodded, "true but that spear doesn't feel like a Sacred Gear but something else entirely…"
Issei frowned as he remembered the conversation with Rias that he'd had last night and started clenching and unclenching his fist. He had just assumed Raynare had mistaken the Class Cards for a Sacred Gear but Rias said that Gae Bolg didn't feel like one, maybe Raynare wasn't mistaken. Assuming that Rias was telling the truth then the Fallen Angel shouldn't have mistaken the Class Cards for a Sacred Gear, which left only one logical conclusion. He had a Sacred Gear.
"That bastard Zelretch, I bet he knew all along and thought it would be funny to not tell me!" growled Issei as he began heading to the troll's 'home.'
He was going to make that old man help him activate his Sacred Gear and then he was going to enjoy testing it out on the damned troll. If anyone had been in the deserted street at that moment then they would have been slightly disturbed at the excited smile that crossed Issei's face as he brought out his phone.
"Hey dad? Yeah it's me, just letting you know that I'll be home late tonight. Yeah sorry about dinner, why don't you just order pizza? Cool thanks, remember to save me a few slices," laughed Issei as he called his father.
With his phone call done then teen was about to head down the street towards Zelretch's 'house' when he heard a female voice and turned to see a blonde little girl running towards him with tears in her eyes. Looking behind the girl Issei's eyes widened as he saw a group of thugs chasing after her armed with bats, chains and other typical delinquent weapons.
Upon reaching Issei the girl hid behind him as the teen turned to face the horde of thugs that begin surrounding him, "you know this brat?" snarled one of them.
Issei's vision darkened… he then saw what could be called hell.
The place he found himself was a nightmare... fire had consumed everything... everything was lit on flames... those flames however where black.
A man with a shock of white hair held a little girl who couldn't be older than 10 years old in his arms as arms monster made of pure darkness haunted them.
The girl had long white hair and her eyes where the color of crimson. She looked ethereal… cute and beautiful. She was protected by the young man… clad in red armor.
A small child with dark colored skin emerged from what could be a pit of tar… his smirk predatory as he skulked towards them both with eagerness in his face.
"I don't care that you are a god ngr1 m n¥u…. You will not touch my sister… no one wishes for you... There is no servants, no greater Grail…. Leave!" the man said.
The "child" was angered… it discarded his human like body as he became a gargantuan monster of darkness.
"I will not be denied!" the creature roared
The young man with managed to dodge the attack but not on his own... his little sister pushed him out of the way as the monster…. God or whatever…
"*****!" he yelled her name.
A solid bar of darkness erupted from that being piercing the young girl's chest.
"Onii-chan… sayonara…" she said as her body gave up… her heart on the spear that turned back into a hand holding the young girl's heart.
"Return to the darkness… relieve me from my pain and burden" the creature roared.
The man made two weapons appear in his hand.
"Return her heart NOW MONSTER!" he yelled as he charged.
" I ****** the **** of **** sword" he yelled as he jumped 20 feet into the air with intense determination in his face.
Blinking as the strange scene faded from his mind Issei frowned as he stood protectively in front of the girl. "And if I do?" replied Issei with an almost catlike growl.
"Then you'll suffer along with her," replied the same delinquent.
"Don't let them hurt me Onii-chan!" cried the girl fearfully.
"You punks really are something, picking on a child like that," growled Issei, who was surprised as he felt a reaction from both the Lancer and, oddly enough, the Archer cards.
"She attacked us! Two of our friends are injured because of her! If you know what's good for you then you'll get out of our way," roared another thug.
That very statement was so absurd that it took a minute for Issei's brain to process it, "you expect me to believe that a little girl attacked and injured two of you?" I scoffed at the mental image.
"It's true! She just summoned a spear from nowhere with a flash of light then attacked us!" argued the first one, clearly pissed off at the injuries of his friends and the sheer ridiculousness of those situation.
"A spear?" repeated Issei before his eyes widened in recognition as he dived away from the girl and brought a hand to his cardholder, only to find it missing.
"Looking for this?" taunted the girl as she held his cardholder in one hand and a spear in the other with a triumphant smirk on her face.
"Give those to me now," ordered the teen.
"Now why would I do that?" laughed the girl as she threw her spear at him, forcing Issei to dive to the ground as it went soaring over his head.
"Come on guys let's teach this brat a lesson," snarled the apparent leader of the thugs as the delinquents charged.
"No! stop!" cried the teen, but he was too late as the humans surrounded the Fallen Angel, whom merely just scoffed before her wings emerged from behind her as she preceded to cut all their weapons clean in two.
"You humans have served your purpose now either leave or die, the only one who needs to die tonight is that boy," ordered the Fallen Angel.
"You think we'll run after you hurt our friends?!" shouted the leader in anger only to cry out in pain as a spear pierced his stomach.
"I suppose it was too much to hope for intelligence from a bunch of humans," sighed the girl, condescendingly.
"Boss!" cried the group as one of them rushed over to their downed leader, throughout it all Issei just grinded his teeth in frustration.
"Damn it," growled the teen as he tried to rush towards his cardholder, only to fail as he tiredly dodged another of the girl's spears. How was he supposed to fight exhausted and without using his Class cards?
"Most Sacred Gears are actually relatively easy to awaken if you're determined enough. It's all about your mental state, the best method is to picture the strongest thing you can imagine and usually they are awoken."
As Rias' words echoed in his head, Issei frowned and once again glanced down at his fist, "Rias you better have been telling the truth, my life is going to depend on it."
"Hey can you guys keep this brat busy for a couple of seconds?" he yelled at the thugs.
"Why the hell should we listen to you?" argued the injured leader.
"If you wanna live you are going to do it!" snarled Issei, causing the leader to glare at him before nodding.
"Alright boys you heard him, keep her busy for Prince Charming over there," ordered the delinquent.
Hearing this Issei sighed in relief before ducking behind cover and closing his eyes as he tried to picture the strongest thing he could imagine. At first, he thought of Cu Chulainn as his brief glimpse into the hero's memories resurfaced before the image of the man in red appeared followed by the images of the other Class Cards appearing one by one.
As the last card appeared Issei felt something rise up within him as his arm began glowing, a sudden boost of energy rushing through his body and rejuvenating the tired teen. Finally, behind the group of Class Cards, Issei saw the giant red dragon statue from his dreams break apart, a gargantuan beast of the deep color of red rose into the skies, its proud form radiating power.
[BOOST!]
Everyone stopped what they were doing as they heard the loud announcement and turned to see Issei emerge from his hiding spot with one of his arms covered in a red gauntlet and a green gem embedded in it. The Fallen Angel just froze as she saw the gauntlet, dropping the cardholder in the process as, for the first time in this encounter; fear began to show on her face.
He roared and behind him the silhouette of a crimson dragon flared to life, bringing them all down to their knees.
"All of you back off and get your friends to the hospital, I can deal with her," ordered Issei as he walked over to the group.
The delinquents all turned to look at their leader whom stared at Issei appraisingly before nodding, "give her hell for me." He said with a smirk.
The group then left with their leader being supported by two of his friends, leaving Issei alone with the female Fallen Angel. The girl seemed to snap out of her fear as she watched Issei approach with a smile on her face, as she composed herself.
"I'll admit you had me worried there for a minute, but I know you don't have Boosted Gear. After all it's impossible to be born with two Sacred Gears and Boosted Gear has never manifested itself with cards," she smirked, trying to rebuild her confidence.
Issei didn't respond as he continued approaching her with a cold expression on his face, causing the girl to back up as she summoned another spear. "What is your name Fallen?" asked the teen.
"Mittelt, what is it to you human?" replied Mittelt as she took to the safety of the skies before throwing her spear at him.
Issei didn't even try to dodge; instead, he simply caught the incoming projectile with his gauntlet hand, and smirked up at her as his gauntlet's gem began glowing again.
[BOOST!]
"I believe this belongs to YOU!," he yelled before throwing Mittelt's own spear back at her.
Mittelt's eyes widened in shock as she ducked under the fast moving spear, which buried itself into the ground before exploding into light, and watched fearfully as Issei grabbed his discarded cardholder. Attaching the holder back to his belt Issei punched his gauntlet-covered hand through the pavement below him, causing cracks to appear as he ripped out a large chunk of concrete and held it in one hand.
"Huh? So it looks like this increases my power, interesting. Hey Fallen CATCH!" called Issei as he hurled the large piece of concrete at her and nailed Mittelt in the stomach, causing her to cry out in pain and fall to the ground.
As soon as she hit the ground, Issei rushed towards her downed form with his fist raised for a knockout blow, only to see Mittelt roll to the side as his gauntlet embedded itself into the pavement. Unfortunately for the Fallen Angel she never had the chance to take advantage of this opening as Issei saw her approaching and sent a powerful kick into her stomach.
Once again crying out in pain Mittelt returned to the sky and summoned another spear as she watched Issei remove his hand from the pavement with a shower of concrete. The red gauntlet on his arm once again glowing as he grinned up at her.
[BOOST!]
"That's not possible! You can't have Boosted Gear! Twice Critical I could understand but that Longinus never showed anything to do with cards before!" exclaimed Mittelt.
Issei just chuckled darkly at her, "what makes you think that the cards are a Sacred Gear in the first place?"
As he said this Mittelt froze and realized the fatal flaw with her entire plan, she had just assumed that he was a normal human apart from his Sacred Gear. She had assumed that those cards were his Sacred Gear, she didn't even pause to consider if he could use other abilities. Which meant the time he had fought off Raynare and killed Dohnaseek... even when fighting that Devil knight, he was using his own power.
"Looks like you've figured it out, that's right this entire time I haven't been using my Sacred Gear," he grinned and grabbed the cardholder on his belt.
"That's not possible, no normal human… no matter how skilled at magic they are could create those cards, they have to be Sacred Gears!" denied the Fallen Angel fearfully.
Her machinations and her assumptions had come back bearing fruits.
As the old adage goes "never assume, it make an ass of me and you"... or in this case, only her.
"Well I wouldn't exactly call their creator a normal human but I promise you these cards are no Sacred Gears. In fact why don't I show you one now, Archer seems like he wants to meet you, I think you made him angry with your little charade… he is one who upholds the ideal of justice after all," replied Issei as he held up the glowing Archer card.
"Include Archer," called the teen as the card's glow blinded Mittelt, as her eyesight returned the Fallen Angel was greeted to the sight of Issei holding a jet black bow that was larger than he was tall in his non gauntlet hand.
Even though Mittelt couldn't feel any magical energy being emitted by this bow, she instinctively knew that this weapon was dangerous. Issei then got an influx of information... while he didn't have any arrows that didn't mean anything… he was 'someone who will never be without a weapon'.
"trace on" Issei intoned.
A sleek sword of color black materialized in his hands… but he was not done… no, that was just step one.
"alteration" he intoned once more.
The blade coiled upon itself, making it sleeker, aerodynamic.
He knocked the arrow on the bow and pulled.
He found himself unable to pull back all the way.
Mittelt's face was of relief when she saw this… however…
"I see… yes… it is to be expected… a hero would be much stronger than an average human… he must been really strong and skilled… thankfully I can cheat a bit on the strength requirement" he said with a self deprecating smirk.
[BOOST]
With that he pulled it back.
"Go out into the red plains… ******!" he yelled.
Mittelt didn't hear the last part as the super sonic arrow flew at her… the arrow made a sound akin the rolling thunder.
In her fright she managed to dodge the incoming attack.
She smirked.
Mittelt only just managed to dodge the speeding projectile but even so, it still clipped her spear as it passed, completely shattering her light spear and nearly breaking her arm in the process. "Hah Archer?! Don't make laugh, call yourself that once you actually hit your target," she taunted, trying to hide the pain coming from her arm.
"Rather than talking, you should really dive again" replied Issei, his smirk still in place as Mittelt heard a creaking noise from behind her.
Frowning the Fallen Angel quickly spun around and saw the projectile had returned.
She flew upwards… but the projectile was…
"Im… Impossible! How...how is it… is it… homed in on me?!" she thought in shock.
She twirled in the air as she tried to loose the persistent arrow that gave chase at her like a dog after it's prey.
However it was useless.
The arrow pierced her side… the feeling of pain flooded as the weapon pierced her at supersonic speeds and cauterised the wound in one go.
She plummeted down like a rock… she held her bleeding side. She was shivering in fright, that attack...
"So you survived, I'll admit you're more resilient than I gave you credit for," complemented Issei from behind her as the dust surrounding them began to clear.
Turning around the Fallen Angel saw Issei once again nocking another arrow.
Mittelt suddenly felt an enormous amount of power gathering around the bow as Issei pointed it towards her, "I recommend you dodge this… any protection you may use will be destroyed!" He yelled as the projectile glowed.
"My core is twisted in madness" he said as the projectile took a slimmer form. Still in a drill like form he let it go.
"Fly... *******!"
With that he le released the arrow.
"Gyaaah!
A ray of light...
Pushing her wings as fast as they could take her, Mittelt tried to get out of the blast radius but the spread was simply too wide and she cried out as the sheer passing of the arrow was like a physical blow done from a Satan class devil.
Realizing how dangerous her opponent was she decided to deny him of his long range attacks. Dashing into the building she then took refuge in as she decided tod rest and recover while also plan an ambush on this…. Being.
"I see… that is indeed a good plan, here I can't use my arrows" Issei said in mock appreciation at her 'tactics'.
Archer class is a bit of a misnomer… people tend to think about bow and arrows. But heroes don't become one for being predictable.
As he walked into the skeleton of the building he felt a change into the air above him.
"Die!" Mittelt roared as she dropped down with her spear of light towards the unarmed Issei.
"trace on"
A white Chinese blade, white as snow appeared in his hand.
With the blade he deflected the attack, he then spun out of the way and delivered a powerful kick to her injured side.
"Gahhh" she yelled in pain as she was launched towards a support beam.
She unceremoniously fell on the ground and then she tried to stand up.
Only to find herself being shoved back down by Issei who was now straddling on top of herself with the white sword and now with its black counterpart.
She could see a figure behind him… A tanned man with white shock hair and deep eyes of the color of silver…
No, not silver…
It was the color of steel.
"Now Mittelt I'm going ask you a few questions and you're going to tell me the truth, understand?" stated Issei with a frown.
Mittelt hesitated slightly which caused the hostility from the ghostly figure to increase tenfold as the Fallen Angel shuddered in fear from its glare, "yes of course just don't kill me, please" she begged while nodding her head furiously. Tears begun to form on her eyes.
"Good, now why did you attack me? I thought after I dealt with your two friends that you Fallen would have learnt your lesson," he interrogated.
"I saw your fight with that Devil and…" Mittelt trailed off as she began eyeing the ground.
"You thought you'd take advantage of my tired state," finished the teen, making her flinch.
"Not a bad strategy, especially since you actually stole my Class Cards while I was distracted. You've definitely got more brains than the other two," he nodded with an almost approving tone.
Mittelt just looked up in confusion at this unexpected reply only to flinch as Issei placed the two swords on her neck, the girl shivering as she felt the bloodlust barely being restrained. "Now for my next question, did you really had to hurt those two humans?" he asked in a dangerously calm voice.
The Fallen swallowed and slowly nodded her head, the thought of lying never even occurring to her, which oddly enough was the only reason she was still breathing. "Mittelt this is one of those times you need to think very carefully about how you answer this next question," warned Issei quietly.
"Why did you hurt them?" asked the teen in a tone devoid of emotion.
She wanted to lie, she wanted to give him some sad sob story, anything to justify her actions and yet when she looked into the eyes of her judge, she found that she couldn't. Looking back at her actions she wondered, why did she hurt them? If she wanted to get those thugs to follow her, there were plenty of better ways to go about it, so why did she do it?
Eventually Mittelt just sighed as she turned to look up at Issei who was waiting with raised eyebrows, "I don't know."
The teen blinked a couple of times before he glared at her again, "then why did you want to kill me?"
"Didn't Raynare tell you? We were ordered to kill you because of your Sacred Gear," she explained with a confused frown.
"So you're only following orders? Is that it? Don't give me that! Everyone has a choice; you could have chosen not to obey your superiors but instead you didn't even question them," he growled, angrily.
Mittelt just gave a hollow laugh, "you obviously don't know much about Fallen Angels then do you?"
"Oh? Enlighten me then," frowned Issei.
The girl just glared up at him in defiance, "you think we have a choice? You think we can disobey our orders and abandon the Grigori? Tell me Issei Hyoudou, how are we supposed to do that when everywhere else we go we're hated and hunted?"
Mittelt then stood up, uncaring about the blades had cut cut thin line on her neck "no matter who we are or what we are doing, we are always hunted. Devils, Angels, Yokai, even Humans! Whenever they hear there is a Fallen in town it becomes open season for us!"
"To them it's always the same, you are a Fallen therefore you must be evil! Even damn Devils are treated better than we are. Devils! The original creatures of Sin!" she shouted as tears began to well up in her eyes at this, her anger, her sadness and her despair
Issei just watched, stunned as she wiped the tears from her eyes and glared at him, "the Grigori is the only place we can be free, where we can be safe. We can't survive anywhere else, so don't give me that crap about having a choice! A human like you could never understand what it is like!"
"How could you know what it feels like to see those you care about hunted down for simply being seen with you, because of some fanatic whipping a crowd into a frenzy?! How could you know what it feels like to see the people you consider family butchered before your very eyes?!" she growled and the teen's eyes just widened.
"I'll kill you GILGAMESH!"
"Foolish mongrel! Why cry over what amounts to a broken puppet?"
"Do you have enough blades at your disposal… king of heroes?!"
Then he remembered… that night...
The man just growled in frustration as he let go of Issei, pulled something from his holster, and pointed it at him. Seeing this his mother placed herself between the two of them and screamed at him to run before a loud bang went off and she fell to the floor.
It was a robbery gone wrong.
Suddenly everyone heard the familiar sirens of the police getting closer and the balaclava man and his henchmen began to grow nervous. "Boss we need to go before the cops show up!" exclaimed one of them, causing the man to nod before the bolted towards the exit.
"Mom! It's my fault, I'm so sorry," cried the ten-year-old Issei as he rushed over to his mother's side and gripped her hand with his own.
"Don't worry Issei it's not your fault," smiled his mother before her hand slipped from his grip and collapsed to the ground.
"Mom…" whispered the child as he just stared at his motionless mother.
Shaking the memories from his head the teen frowned as he forced the painful memory back and stared at Mittelt with a frown. There was silence as the two began a staring contest, Mittelt could still feel the eyes of the two ghostly figures burning a hole in her head but even so, she kept her gaze focused solely on Issei. Eventually the human just sighed as he lowered his spear and looked at her, not with pity, not with sympathy, but with understanding.
"I know that feeling better than most Mittelt, but even so I still try to move past it. Can you say the same? Do you think your loved ones would want you to become a mindless killer, obeying whatever order others give you without question?" replied Issei.
The Fallen Angel just reared her head as if she'd been slapped before looking down to the ground, refusing to meet his eyes. Eventually Issei sighed and dismissed the two blades, which then returned to their card form, and walked away. "even if you are my enemy… the life of a child is not one I will readily take"
As he was about to leave Issei stopped and turned to give Mittelt one last look, "we all have choices Mittelt, whether we know it or not and I've just made mine. I'm giving you a second chance, don't waste it."
With his piece said Issei walked off and Mittelt watched as the ghostly figure gave her another suspicious glare before they dissipated. All alone the Fallen Angel flew back to the church, the human's words still reverberating in her mind.
"Mittelt where have you been?! Dear God what happened to you?!" exclaimed Raynare as the Fallen 'leader' spotted her.
The girl briefly thought about telling Raynare about her fight and what she had found out, certainly it would help them take down the human if they were aware of his real Sacred Gear. Yet for some reason Mittelt hesitated as his words continued echoing in her head.
"…elt? Mittelt you useless child, snap out of it!" yelled Raynare, slapping Mittelt from her thoughts.
Shaking her head she looked up at Raynare and just snarled, "Nothing happened I crashed while flying that's all."
"You really are useless sometimes Mittelt," sighed Raynare with a shake of her head.
Mittelt just growled before heading up to her room and getting changed into clean clothes as she began packing her bags with whatever she could afford to take with her. Once she had finished packing Mittelt grabbed her bags and opened the window, giving one last look at her room the Fallen Angel sighed as she flew out into the night. Leaving the abandoned church and all its residents far behind her.
We all have a choice; whether we know it or not, sometimes it just requires a little push to help us realize it.
Morrigan sighed in relief, if what that boy had said was true then it was a good thing that she'd had the foresight to put a Boundary Field around the area to mask the magical energies being released before the Fallen Angel attacked. Heavens forbid he used those attacks where there would be potential collateral damage.
However he chosen a place that was abandoned… used the enemies designated battle spot against them.
Somehow she and Lugh were going to have to keep the boy hidden from their fellow Celtic deities, the Biblical factions, as well as keeping herself hidden from the Shinto Pantheon in their own territory. It was taking all of Morrigan's will power not to simply tear her own hair out in frustration, she wasn't Loki damn it! She was a Goddess of Death and Destruction, subtly was not her strong suite! It didn't help that her partner in crime was about as subtle as a lumbering elephant in the middle of a jungle, honestly why did she agree to this again?
'Right Cu Chulainn, damn that Lugh, taking advantage of my weakness like that,' thought Morrigan with a sigh that turned to a frown as she pondered what the Goddess had just seen. As a Goddess of Death, Morrigan had a unique affinity for souls, often ferrying the souls of Celtic warriors into the afterlife.
It was how she was able to detect Cu Chulainn's presence near the boy yesterday, and after her conversation with Lugh, she had stuck close to the boy in case the event repeated itself. So imagine her surprise when she felt a presence near the boy that was completely unfamiliar to her, it had the same weak static quality that Cu Chulainn's had but it was definitely not his presence.
He summoned weapons from other heroes and distorted them, making them into projectiles… Demonic weapons of WAY higher caliber than those made with [Sword Birth]... How could he use those weapons and destroy them like so? Those were precious artifacts damn it! Those things where what wars were started for!
It could have ended there and given Morrigan only a mild headache but no, to make matters worse the boy even had the Longinus Boosted Gear stored inside him. 'Well if nothing else the boy has definitely inherited Cu Chulainn's luck,' sighed the Goddess as she began massaging her temples.
"Still Boosted Gear combined with Gae Bolg and his new ability, now that's a potent combo. He might just be able to kill a God with that. And that's not even including those other cards he has left to reveal," she mused with a frown.
She'd had her suspicions before but this had proved that those cards definitely weren't his Sacred Gear and that they had something to do with the boy's connection to Cu Chulainn. However if they weren't Sacred Gears then what were they and who made them?
The boy clearly didn't and it certainly wasn't a God, no God would want to risk another war by creating them. Azazel maybe? He did have a disturbing fascination with Sacred Gears; maybe he wanted to create his own using souls of the departed? As horrible as it sounded it was possible but from what she knew, the Governor of the Grigori wasn't nearly powerful enough to create artifacts of this level of power.
In fact, the boy himself seemed to be if not on friendly terms with the card's creator then at least know of him, which seemed to indicate that he was definitely living here. This meant she could cross off most deities and faction leaders as the Shinto Pantheon wouldn't let them set up shop in their territory.
It was clear that Lugh may have had a point, Morrigan had been a bit hasty in thinking he was the reincarnation of Cu Chulainn. After all Cu Chulainn never wielded a bow… much less those blades that much is certain and she didn't even feel his presence until the boy summoned Gae Bolg earlier on that spar... But then how did he know those names? Why did she feel Cu Chulainn's presence near the boy at all?
Maybe it was his bloodline? Maybe he was a descendant of multiple heroes and the cards merely bring out the abilities of his ancestors? The odds were low, astronomically so, but still it was a possibility; Morrigan would have to send word back to Lugh to check if Cu Chulainn had any hidden descendants.
Still all this revolved back to those damned cards, the boy was the key to finding the creator of those cards, which meant she needed him, alive. This presented a problem, if the boy continued using those cards then she might not be able to mask his abilities from others. She would have to stay close to him and that meant stepping out of the shadows, she could already picture Lugh's smiling face as she prepared to tell him of her plan.
They would need help though if it was going to work, neither Lugh nor Morrigan herself were skilled enough at magic to hide the Goddess from the devils and Shinto faction at that close quarters. However, there was no way they could ask any of their other more magically inclined deities for help without rousing suspicion. That left only one option, they would have to ask her for help. A twinge of jealousy appeared in her mind before she suppressed it; after all, if they wanted to remain undetected then they would need that damned sorceress' help. Still Morrigan shuddered to think how she would react to the news about Cu Chulainn, hopefully for the boy's sake she wouldn't take it too badly.
Then again… considering this boy's luck...
However, it was necessary if she wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery boy and Cu Chulainn. Morrigan was certain that the cards were the key to this mystery; she needed to find out how they were created and what their connection to Cu Chulainn was. If she discovered that it really was his soul being unwillingly used for a pseudo-Sacred Gear, then she would personally hunt down this mystery creator. Then she would show them just what happens when you anger a Goddess of Death, after Lugh had had his fun of course, that man's wrath could rival a Devil's when needed.
"Great, time to make the preparations," sighed Morrigan as she returned to the Otherworld, to organized a meeting with Lugh and contact a certain sorceress.
The next morning
Issei yawned as he awoke from the best sleep he had had in a long time before panicking as he checked the time, only to breathe in relief as he saw that he hadn't slept in. Honestly if he was nearly late again then the Student Council would have his head, and he was in no mood for an eternity of detention.
Stretching the teen climbed out of his bed and glanced once again at the Class Cards spread out on his table, along with that weird flyer from the cosplayer, before placing them in their holder, the Lancer and Archer cards glowing slightly at his touch. Thinking back to the Archer card Issei frowned as he made a mental note to research the legend of that man later, who knows it might help him forge a better connection with the card.
[You're up? About damn time to, I was getting bored waiting for you.]
Upon hearing the male voice Issei instantly grasped the Lancer card from its holder and summoned Gae Bolg, getting into a stance as he searched his room for the intruder. "Come out intruder!" he ordered.
[Relax partner I'm not here to hurt you, in fact I want the exact opposite.]
"Oh really?" scoffed Issei. "Then why don't you come out of hiding and show yourself then?"
[I'm not hiding partner, just look at your damned fist. It really shouldn't be that difficult to figure out.]
Frowning Issei did as the voice said and was surprised to see the Boosted Gear suddenly appear on his arm unannounced. Then the voice started talking again and Issei just watched as the gem lite up with every word, his brain refusing to comprehend what its senses were telling it.
[See partner not that hard to understand is it? I am the Red Dragon Emperor or Welsh Dragon, but my hosts refer to me as Ddraig.]
"Nope," replied Issei as he dismissed Gae Bolg and placed the card back into its holder. "My hand isn't talking to me, I'm not hearing voices and I'm going to get a CAT scan on the weekend."
[I don't know whether to be insulted or amused by this. Still at least my current host is an interesting one and for once, I have company to watch with me.]
Issei just ignored the mumblings of the 'imaginary' dragon and continued getting changed into his Kuoh academy uniform before heading down to make breakfast. His dad arrived shortly after as the smell of the meal began wafting throughout the house, making both the house's inhabitants stomach rumble loudly before they devoured their breakfast.
[Oi partner I know you're not listening to me but I thought I'd let you know that you're late for class again.]
Issei just froze mid bite before he slowly looked at the kitchen clock and spotted the time, 'that's not possible the clock in my room said I had heaps of time left!'
"Oh Issei I forgot to tell you that I messed up your clock," stated his father, obliviously.
"You what?!" cried Issei in horror.
"Well I was trying to set an alarm on it so you wouldn't keep being late to class," he replied.
[Partner, your luck truly is incredible.]
Issei just growled at his new partner before leaping up from the table and grabbing his bag, wasting no time as the teen bolted out of the door and rushed towards school. In his rush to beat the clock Issei failed to notice his body performing feats of parkour that it certainly wasn't capable of doing before, nor did he notice the Archer card glowing slightly from within it's holder.
However even with this newfound skill the teen cried as he saw Kuoh Academy's gates closing in the distance as the last bell rung. Trapped outside the teen sighed in defeat before something caught his eye, looking at the side of the school wall he saw a large tree branching over the barrier and smiled.
"Maybe Kaichou won't put me in detention after all," he grinned as he climbed up the tree before swinging himself over the wall and gave a cheer as he landed safely on his feet.
"Impressive work Hyoudou-san but in the future you might want to check your surroundings next time before you celebrate," commented a female voice, which caused Issei to stiffen up and freeze as he slowly turned around.
Souna Shitori just glared at him with cold eyes as she marked his name off the list, "late for nearly three consecutive weeks. This must be a new record."
"Kaichou there's a perfectly good explanation for this," replied Issei.
Souna nodded, "I'm sure there is and you can tell me all about it… in detention that is."
"You mean you're holding the session personally?" he questioned, fearfully.
The teen's face just paled as he remembered the last detention he'd had with the Student Council President and he immediately feel to his knees, "Kaichou isn't there something else, anything but that?"
"My decision is final Hyoudou-san, I'll be seeing you in detention," she replied, stiffly and caused Issei to slump to the ground as his last hope disappeared.
[Oi partner, if you want out of this then just do exactly as I say.]
Blinking as his new 'imaginary' friend explained to him what to do Issei nodded and just did as he was told; after all, it couldn't get any worse than it already was. "Kaichou what if we made a wager?" he offered.
"A bet?" repeated Souna with raised eyebrows.
Issei nodded, "if I win you let me off the hook this time."
"And should I win?" she replied, obviously curious as to what he had in mind.
"I know you've been looking for people to help with the parent's day coming up, if you win I'll help set up the decorations and act as part of the staff during the event," he answered, causing Souna's eyes to gain a worrying gleam.
"Very well but under one condition," proposed the Student Council President.
"What's that?" replied Issei, eager to escape his detention.
Souna just gave a small smirk, "I get to decide the game."
[Be careful partner she'll have the ad-]
"Sure so what are we playing?" agreed Issei, ignoring Ddraig whom sighed in disappointment.
The president's smile grew tenfold, "tell me Hyoudou-san, how good are you at chess?"
"I wonder what he did this time?" whispered a student.
"Lucky bastard getting punished personally by Kaichou herself," growled another.
"Yeah going into her office for their own punishment time, who knew those two were into that kind of thing?" replied a third student.
Issei just sighed as he heard the whispers from multiple other students follow the two of them as he and Souna headed to her office. Although he had to admit, if Souna heard or was affected by these rumors then she had a great poker face, in fact he was grateful that she didn't want to play cards instead.
[Partner, do you even know how to play chess?]
'I know how the pieces move, that's all you need to know right?' questioned Issei as the two them sat around Souna's table.
The rest of the student council just sat and watched with knowing smiles on their faces as Souna brought out an expensive looking ivory and ebony chess set. Souna quickly set up both ends of the chessboard before looking up at him with a superior smile.
"So Hyoudou-san which colour would you like to play?" she asked, smugly.
"Err…what's the difference?" he replied in response.
"You don't even know that? Oh boy this is going to be a quick game," laughed the only other male in the room.
"Saji you didn't even know what each piece was at the start," retorted Souna before turning back to Issei. "White always moves first while black always goes last."
'I have no idea what I'm doing so I guess I'll go black, see if I can copy her moves' he thought and selected the black side.
[Partner, you are going to be destroyed.]
'Wow thanks for the encouragement,' he grumbled in his head while trying to ignore the voice of his partner laughing at him. Ddraig was right though, he lasted a grand total of three moves before being checkmated.
"If you'd like Hyoudou-san we can make it the best of three?" offered the smug president.
'It doesn't matter if it's best of a hundred, even I can tell the result will be the same,' thought the teen with a sigh as he prepared to leave.
[Hold on partner, agree to her deal. No one mocks my wielder and gets away with it like this.]
'But there's no way I can beat her,' he thought back at Ddraig.
[Not by yourself but with help you can. Just do what I say and we'll knock those smug looks off their faces.]
Nodding Issei grinned at Souna, "alright then best of three it is," he announced, much to the shock of everyone in the room.
Frowning at his stubbornness Souna just shook her head and reset the board, following Ddraig instructions Issei again chose black. However, the end result was completely different this time around, as Souna completely underestimated him, based off the previous game. Issei didn't know if Ddraig was real or not but the moment he saw the shocked expression on everyone in the room, the teen decided he didn't care, Ddraig was now officially his best friend.
"So all tied up huh Kaichou?" he grinned, smugly while Souna just fixed her glasses and glared at him.
"It would appear so Hyoudou-san," she replied and reset the board while the rest of the Student Council silently watched on.
[Oi partner, how badly do you want me to beat her?]
'Ddraig, let's crush her,' he thought, giddily.
[You sure about that partner? She seems pretty prideful; I doubt she'll take the loss well]
'Ddraig, there are some moments where you have to throw caution to the wind to enjoy life. I'll gladly take whatever punishment the universe can throw at me just to see the Ice Queen, Souna Shitori taken down a notch,' replied Issei.
[All right partner, but don't say I didn't warn you.]
Everyone crowded around the table as Issei and Souna began their final round, expecting to see the human be destroyed easily now that Kaichou was serious. They couldn't have been more further from the truth. Souna was good but Ddraig was better and outmaneuvered the devil with every move until sure enough Souna found herself in checkmate.
The entire Student Council was silent as they just stared at the board in shock; meanwhile Issei just hummed a merry tune as he got up from the table and headed for the door. "I'll see you later Kaichou, remember our deal," said Issei as he struggled to keep a smirk from growing across his face and closed the door behind him.
Once the door was shut, Issei burst into laughter as he headed to his classroom, drawing confused looks from his fellow students who gave him a wide berth. 'Ddraig that was perfect did you see their faces!' he thought, happily.
[Indeed it was quite amusing but I'm more impressed with you, partner.]
A frown crossed his face as he rounded another corner, 'me? What do you mean Ddraig you did all the work.' There was the sound of rumbling laughter echoing throughout his head before Issei heard the dragon's reply.
[Not many people would antagonize and step on a Devil's pride like that, and especially not in front of her peerage, let alone an heiress of one of the 72 Pillar Clans. You're definitely going to be an interesting host that's for sure.]
Issei just froze mid step as the blood drained away from his face, making other students once again give him strange looks. 'Umm…Ddraig are you saying that everyone in that room was a Devil?... not only that but bound to her as well' he asked.l with a squeeze voice.
[That's right everyone there was a Devil most likely related the Sitri clan judging from the heiress' demonic energy.]
'Sitri clan?' questioned Issei as he began breathing again and continued onwards to his classroom as Ddraig explained.
[The Sitri clan is one of the 72 Pillars that rule the Underworld; in fact, last I checked a member of their family recently became one of their leaders, same with the Gremory girl.]
Issei just groaned as he began banging his head against the wall, ignoring the looks other students were sending him in the process. Eventually he stopped and just sighed as he made his way back to class, while Ddraig tried to keep the amusement out of his voice.
[…You didn't know… did you?]
'Shut up,' he hissed at the dragon in his head, only to flinch as Ddraig once again burst out into a loud and roaring laughter.
[Partner, you really do have the most incredible luck. Still look on the bright side, maybe they won't be mad about it?]
'You think?' replied Issei hopefully.
[No. Not as chance]
'You know I think I liked you better when you were supposed to be a figment of my imagination,' grumbled the teen as he opened the door to the classroom and took his seat.
The Student Council flinched as their Devil hearing picked up Issei's laughter travelling down the narrow hallways outside. None of her peerage dared to say a word as they saw their leader just stare at the chessboard in silence, Sona then stood up without a word and headed to the room's private bathroom before shutting the door.
The rest of the Devils just looked at each other in confusion before they all heard a loud cry of rage and frustration echo from within the bathroom and some explosions. Suddenly the door to the bathroom slammed open and Sona walked out, looking completely normal with her calm poker face that was completely contrasting the hostility she was emitting.
She then calmly began packing up the chess set while the rest of her peerage just glanced at each other again, each wondering who would go first. Eventually Saji sighed as he approached, "umm…Kaichou are you okay?"
"I'm fine Saji," replied Sona coldly.
"You sure? I could go and bring Hyoudou-san back if you like," offered Saji, only to back away as the chess piece in Sona's hand snapped at the mention of the name.
"That will not be necessary Saji, now I believe you all have work to do don't you?" she ordered before turning to the rest of her peerage.
All of them except Tsubaki nodded and quickly left the room while her Queen grabbed a report from her desk and approached, "we recently got a message from Rias."
Sona raised her eyebrows, "more of that record searching? If I find out Rias is just making us look through the Sacred Gear records as a joke I will not be amused."
Tsubaki just shook her head, "no, apparently she wants to introduce us to someone after school is done."
The Sitri heiress just frowned, "so Rias has a new piece to use against Riser does she? That's good but I wasn't aware that there was anyone of potential left in the school, let alone that Rias had her eyes on them. So what piece are they?"
Tsubaki shook her head again, "she didn't recruit them for her peerage, but they are aware of the supernatural and apparently have already fought off a group of Fallen Angels and matched her knight in a sparring duel."
"A human that can match Kiba?! I didn't think such a thing was possible! Still why hasn't Rias recruited them yet? Maou knows she could use the firepower against Riser," questioned Sona as her frown deepened.
"Maybe they are just hesitant to give up their humanity? Remember how cautious the others were when you offered them a place in your peerage," reasoned the Queen.
"That's true, so who is this mystery person Rias has her eyes on?" asked Sona with a curious look on her face.
Tsubaki just shrugged, "she didn't say, apparently she wants it to be a surprise for both us and this mystery person."
"Why does that not surprise me?" sighed Sona with a shake of her head.
Finally finishing packing up the chess set, the Sitri heiress growled as she forced the memories of her embarrassment by Issei Hyoudou to the back of her mind. 'He may have outsmarted me once but next time I see that human I'll make him pay,' she thought eagerly as a scary smile spread across her face.
Tsubaki just watched as her cool, calm and collected president was replaced by the smiling individual before her. For a brief moment, the image of Sona was replaced by that of her older sister Serafall, as the Sitri heiress chuckled darkly.
The moment passed quickly however and Tsubaki blinked as the Sona returned to normal, it was only a brief moment and yet for the Queen it was quite a terrifying one. To see Sona emulating Serafall in any way was a terrifying thing to behold, if her King started wearing Magical Girl costumes after this then she would immediately call for help.
Still for a second Tsubaki almost felt sorry for Issei Hyoudou but then she remembered how he had embarrassed Sona and any sympathy she felt died inside her. Besides all she had to do was keep Sona away from Issei Hyoudou for a day or two until she calmed down. How hard could that be?
The Queen's thoughts were interrupted as Sona gave another dark chuckle, 'scratch that a week, definitely a week,' she decided worriedly. Eventually the heiress calmed down again before walking over to her desk and grabbing a file of paperwork that Tsubaki didn't recognize.
"What's that Kaichou?" asked the Queen, curiously.
"Transfer papers," replied Sona as she began to look them over.
"Transfer papers?" repeated Tsubaki in confusion, causing Sona to nod her head.
"Apparently we're getting two overseas transfer students today, they're going to be arriving shortly," informed the president with a frown.
"That's odd isn't it? I could understand a transfer from another of the nearby schools but to have one come from abroad…where are they from?" replied the Queen.
Sona flipped through a few pages before she nodded, "it says they are from Ireland and left in order to 'study other cultures.'"
"Ireland? Have you checked their background? We don't want a member of the Church living right beneath our noses," pointed out Tsubaki.
The Sitri heiress nodded with a frown, "everything checked out and our sources seem to indicate that they aren't a part of the three factions."
"I see, so which class are they being transferred to?" asked Tsubaki.
Sona again flipped through the pages before pulling one out and her evil smirk returned, "it says they're being transferred to class 2-B, isn't that convenient? I just happen to know a certain person who would love to volunteer to show them around."
The Queen just sighed and again felt a small bit of pity for Issei, "so what's their name?" she asked, trying to bring her King back to the topic at hand.
"It says one is called is Morigana while the other…that's odd," trailed off Sona as she was not sure about what she read.
"What is it?" asked Tsubaki.
The Sitri heiress just looked up at her with a frown, "their parents must know Celtic history quite well."
The Queen just blinked in confusion, "what makes you say that?"
"The other student is called Scáthach," announced Sona.
Chapter end