A Devil who appeared as a referee, looked at Riser, the Phoenix Devil and Issei, the wielder of the Boosted Gear.

"Begin!"

Riser grunted as he summoned a pair of pyrokinetic wings. Glaring at Issei, he pointed to the young man's Boosted Gear.

"Your little Sacred Gear looks much different from before. However that doesn't change the fact that you have little to no chance of winning!"

With a determined glare, Issei looked down at his Boosted Gear, and he nodded.

'Ok. Are you ready?'

{Ready as I'll ever be, partner. Now go!}

With a nod, Issei lifted his left arm up, and he shouted out his call.

"Shine! Over Boost!"

{Welsh Dragon Over Booster!}

The emerald-colored jewel glowed brightly, its color changing to a crimson glow. A crimson aura surrounded around Issei, and pieces of Dragon Armor began to meld onto his body. The armor had the shape and motif of a Dragon, and green jewels covered Issei's body. The jewel of the Boosted Gear was present on Issei's arms, shoulders, knees, and the middle of his torso. On the back of the armor appeared to be a rocket booster propulsion.

The Devils looked on in shock. Rias's blue-green eyes widened in astonishment.

'What is that form?! And how did my kouhai obtain it?'

Riser also had a look of surprise on his face, and he let his question out.

"An armor?! You manipulated the Boosted Gear into a physical armor?! You look like a Dragon or something!"

From above the crowd, Sirzechs smiled in amusement.

'Well, well, well. It seems that this boy has a couple of surprises up his sleeve. Let's see if he has any more tricks.'

Issei, now in his Balance Breaker form, stood still.

{Remember kid. When in this form, your stamina will decrease significantly. You can use this power for about 10 seconds.}

'All right I understand.'

Ready to start the battle, Issei spread his arms out wide, and two tiny spheres of emerald energy emitted out his palms.

Riser looked at the young man cautiously.

Issei then put his hands together, combining the two spheres into an enhanced large size, and he shot it towards the Phoenix Devil. Riser looked on in shock, and he quickly evaded it in time. The energy sphere crashed into the halls of the engagement party, causing the ground to shake in tremors.

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Riser.

{9 seconds.}

Not wanting to waste time, Issei quickly charged towards Riser, and the Phoenix Devil narrowed his eyes, before lifting his fist. Issei lifted his fist as well, and the two clashed their fists together, creating an impact so powerful that it shook the halls in tremors. The Devils struggled to keep their balance, and they successfully kept it. One Devil was holding a video camera, and he held a wide grin.

"This is better than daytime television!"

{8 seconds.}

Riser narrowed his eyes as he and Issei backed away from each other. A rainbow-colored aura surrounded the Phoenix Devil, and his wings grew to a larger size. Issei stood in a battle stance, ready for what came next.

'His energy increased a lot.'

A whirlwind of flames surrounded the Phoenix Devil, and the halls of the engagement party. Issei looked over to see some Devils forming barriers in order to shield themselves.

'If some of the Devils are trying to put barriers around themselves, then Riser's flames must be powerful.'

"Brat!"

Issei turned to look back at Riser, who was glaring darkly at him.

{7 seconds.)

"Fire bird and Fenghuang! The hell fire of our clan that was praised as being that of a Phoenix! Taste it with your own body and turn into ashes!"

After declaring that, Riser rushed towards Issei, who set himself into a defense stance.

{The fire of the Phoenix can leave some scratches of the scales of Dragons. I would suggest you avoid being hit by its flames.}

Narrowing his eyes within his Scale Mail, Issei raised his fists and charged towards the Phoenix Devil, and their fists collided with each others face, shaking the halls from their power clashing. Backing away from each other, Riser and Issei charged towards each other, exchanging punches. The two were able to get some hits on the other, and they backed away once more.

Riser narrowed his eyes, and he pointed to Issei.

"If you didn't have that damn armor, then I would have easily wiped the floor with you as soon as my fist reached you! If you were to take your gauntlet off, then our powers would be drastically far apart!"

{Kukukuku. He's half right. You still have the inherited power from the preexisted being in your disposal. With that power, your stats are far more enhanced compared to this turkey. With the being's abilities, the gap between you and Riser is extremely wide.}

'I know. But there's another way to win. I know there is. And it's in my hand.'

{6 seconds.}

Narrowing his blue eyes darkly, Riser charged towards Issei once more, but was unprepared as Issei unexpectedly punched him in the face. The Phoenix Devil, wincing from the impact, backed away.

"What the hell did you-"

He then coughed out a spittle of blood, and he covered his mouth.

"What the..." He muffled.

He looked towards the young man encased in his Dragon Armor, and he opened his hand, revealing the object to the Phoenix Devil.

"A cross?!"

The Devils looked on in terror, as they saw the holy cross in Issei's palm.

{5 seconds.}

{Hmm. Aren't you a smart one.}

"If a Devil is weak against a holy cross, then that means an empowered holy cross can be used against a Phoenix Devil."

Riser growled, and shook a fist at Issei, and then his eyes widened, looking at Issei's left arm.

'His left arm...it's continuously pulsing with energy. The armor looks like it's inorganic, but his arm...'

His eyes widened further, Riser clenched his fists.

"Why is your left arm pulsating?! And what happened to your power?!"

{The turkey seems to be a little ruffled.}

Issei lifted his head up, and looked directly at the Phoenix Devil.

"Riser. I sacrificed my left arm to the Dragon that lives within my Sacred Gear."

"So your arm was replaced by a Dragon's arm?! Don't you know that your left arm will never return to normal!"

Issei nodded to the Phoenix Devil.

"I know. And that's a risk I'm willing to take."

{Like I said, you could always use the inherited power to just will your human arm back.}

{4 seconds.}

Riser gritted his teeth.

"You're insane! And for the first time, I'm a little wary of you, brat!"

Riser narrowed his eyes as he increased the aura of his flamed wings.

"I'm going to beat you with everything I have, you stupid brat!"

He rushed towards Issei once more, his body and his surroundings covered by fire.

Setting himself into a battle stance, Issei rushed towards the Phoenix Devil, clenching his fist back with the cross inside. The two enemies crashed their fists together, and a flash created from the collision, blinded the Devils that were witnessing the fight.

Riser shouted out in pain as he clutched his face, bleeding from the cross. Issei backed away from his opponent.

{3 seconds.}

'All right this is it.'

{Hmm, what are you planning?}

His question was answered when Issei summoned a small bottle that contained holy water. Crushing the bottle instantly, Issei absorbed the liquid, and manipulated it into the form of a sphere, while simultaneously charging an emerald sphere of energy. Wiping the blood from his mouth, Riser looked on in shock.

'What's he doing?!'

Manipulating the liquid and combining it with the emerald sphere, Issei cupped the combined energy to his side. Issei began to yell as a multi-colored aura began to surround him, and he thrust his hands forward, releasing a powerful energy beam. His eyes widening in surprise, Riser flew away from the beam, before realizing that Issei was manipulating the projectile.

"Shit!"

Riser flew away again, and Issei enhanced the speed, allowing it to target the Phoenix Devil indefinitely. Riser was caught off guard, as suddenly Issei charged at him and punched him in the stomach with the cross in his hand. Riser screamed in pain as he was distracted, and Issei flew down just in time to avoid his own blast. Riser let out a cry of pain as he was engulfed by the energy beam. The Phoenix Devil slammed onto the ground as he writhed in pain. Issei stood where he was, looking down at the Phoenix Devil.

{Impressive. You used holy water, didn't you?}

'I picked it up before we came to the engagement party. I thought it would be a big help. I guess I was right.'

{2 seconds.}

'Is...is he going to die?'

He heard a scoff from Ddraig.

{So naïve. It's not that simple to kill someone from the Phoenix clan. Remember, they can regenerate.}

"So...he's going to be okay?"

{More or less. The effect of holy water depletes a large amount of the Phoenix's stamina and a force of will. Even if he regenerates, and loses his stamina anyway, he won't be able to recover his emotional strength. Not at the moment anyway.}

Issei was silent, and then he flew down onto the ground, walking over to Riser, until someone blocked his path. A young girl with blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Her hair is tied in twin ponytails with large, drill-like curls, with blue ribbons keeping them in place. She wore a purple dress with matching gloves and black boots.

Issei stopped in his pace and tilted his head.

'Who's she?'

{A member of the Phoenix Clan, no doubt. She looks pissed at you.}

She looks ready to yell at Issei, before looking up at the appearance of the Scale Mail, and realizing how imposing he was. Her breath caught in her throat, she started to stutter.

{Hmm. Never mind she's scared of you.}

{1 second.}

Issei nodded his head, and he straightened himself, as he spoke to the young Phoenix Devil.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anymore damage. Riser looks likes he's taken enough hits to his durability. The battle's over."

{0. Times up.}

The Scale Mail Armor disappeared from Issei's body, with the only thing left on was the Dragon arm. The girl looked up in shock at the young man who had defeated her brother, and she gulped down a lump in her throat.

Outside of the battle, Rias had her hand on her chest, her blue-green eyes watering with tears.

'My kouhai. Thank you so much...'

"Well it was definitely worth watching. But it seems like the match is over."

Rias turned around to see her older brother with a smile on his face.

At the battle field, the ground started to shake, and the scenery started to change. Issei blinked in confusion.

"What's going on?"

He looked up as he saw the young girl carrying Riser away.

{Kid, you should fly up into the air right about now.}

Listening to the Welsh Dragon's words, Issei charged an aura, and levitated up into the air, as the scene around him began to change into a distorted-space like color.

"Why is the scene changing?"

"Ise-kun!"

He turned around, and was unprepared when he was tackled by a elated Rias. Blushing furiously, Issei was embraced by the crimson-haired Devil, with her hands gently on the young man's cheek.

"My precious Issei. Thank you so much, my Issei."

Issei was caught off guard, when Rias claimed his lips in a loving kiss. His face gained the color of a bright red cherry tomato.

{Kukukuku. Host, you lucky bastard.}

Issei was still, as his lips were claimed by daughter of the Gremory clan. Right next to them, Akeno Yuuto, and Koneko flew up, bat wings present from their backs.

'Ara, ara. How unexpected. Looks like Rias has already claimed Ise-kun. Uffufufu. Well, he's my cute kouhai as well. I hope Rias doesn't mind sharing.'

Akeno giggled in amusement.

'It's amazing! Ise-kun already unlocked his Sacred Gear! I never expected this.'

Yuuto smiled as he looked at Rias and her kouhai.

'...He's strong. A very strong person. He's so shy, I just assumed he was a weakling. But now...he's proven me wrong.'

Koneko looked upon the couple with her emotionless look.

Rias gently rubbed the still shocked Issei's cheek lovingly, and she hugged him tighter.

Rias held up a paper with a magic circle symbol, and a four legged beast with wings appeared. Issei tilted his head in curiosity.

"It's called a Griffin." Akeno said.

Issei turned around to see her smiling.

"Ise-kun, would you like to take Rias back to the club room?"

Issei blushed again, and he heard a chuckle from Rias.

"Would you, my precious kouhai?"

Issei looked at the crimson-haired Devil nervously.

{Brat, don't just stand there! Say yes!}

With a gulp, Issei nodded.

"Yeah, of course I will."

With a giggle, Rias sat up top of the griffin, then Issei joined her, and with a pull of the griffin's restraints, the two journeyed off to the Occult Research Club.

Watching them from the rooftop, were Sirzechs and Grayfia. Sirzechs had an unreadable look on his face, while the maid looked at him curiously.

"I never anticipated that the Welsh Dragon would arrive to this world."

Grayfia looked over to the Maou, and she sighed.

"Perhaps his encounter with the Vanishing Dragon, is not too far ahead."

Issei looked all around him, until he felt a warm hand on his cheek. Looking at Rias, another blush formed on his face.

"Rias-senpai?"

Rias sent him a smile.

"Baka kouhai. You sacrificed your left arm just to save me."

Blinking in confusion, Issei widened his eyes, remembering what Ddraig had said.

"Don't worry, Rias-senpai. I can change it back."

Rias blinked in surprise. Closing his eyes in concentration, an aura formed around Issei's arm, and then the Dragon arm disappeared, revealing his human arm. Smiling, Issei showed his regular arm to the surprised crimson-haired Devil.

Until the Dragon arm returned once more.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

'I thought you said I could-'

{I know what I said. I just wanted to troll the hell out of you. Kukukuku.}

Issei frowned, and he sighed.

"Well...I can make it go away, as long as the Dragon in the Boosted Gear lets me."

Rias chuckled, her hand covering her mouth with her hand.

'My precious kouhai. You really are my special one.'

"Lord Phoenix. I apologize that the engagement turned out like this-"

"You don't have to say any more, Lord Gremory. I admit it was a good engagement for pure Devils, but it appears that we both possessed greed. Both of us already have pure-blooded Devil grandchildren. Maybe it was the greed as Devils that has made us crave for it. Or was it because we saw hell in the last war."

"No, I also forced my greed onto my daughter."

"His name was Issei Hyoudou, correct? I wanted to thank the young boy. What my son lacked was defeat and humility. He overestimated the ability of our clan. The Phoenix is not absolute. Just learning that was enough for this engagement, Lord Gremory."

"Lord Phoenix..."

"Your daughter has a good servant. Looks like the Underworld won't be bored in the future."

"But, I never would have thought that my daughter would pick it up."

"Welsh Dragon. I couldn't believe that that loathsome existence actually came to our side until I saw it."

"Then the next will be—"

"Yes, it must be. No, perhaps it already exists."

"Vanishing Dragon. It's just a matter of time until the red meets the white."

"Father. Lord Phoenix."

Lord Gremory turned around to look at his son, Sirzechs, who had an amused look.

"Just for the record, Issei Hyoudou is by no means a Devil, and nor is he a servant of Rias. He's completely, one-hundred percent...unique."

Both Lords Gremory and Phoenix widened their eyes slightly in amazement.

With a chuckle, Sirzechs left his father and Lord Phoenix to think about the status of Issei.

One Week Later

Issei rubbed the back of his head, as he approached the Occult Research Club base.

"I wonder what Rias-senpai wanted me to come here for."

The young man opened the door, and his eyes widened. There was Rias, Akeno, Sona, and Tsubaki sitting on the couch. Issei also spotted a number of students he had never seen before. The four senpais turned around to see Issei.

"Ise-kun."

"Ufuffu."

"Hyoudou-kun."

"Hello, Hyoudou-kun."

"...Sona-senpai, Tsubaki-senpai? What are you two doing here?"

Akeno giggled as she approached Issei.

"Sona Sitri is a high-class Devil, and is the next heir of the House of Sitri."

Issei blinked in surprise.

'So her status is just like Rias-senpai's status.'

Akeno smiled wider.

"The House of Sitri is one of the 72 pillars that survived the Great War just like the House of Gremory and the House of Phoenix. Kuoh Academy is actually controlled by the House of Gremory, but at day time, it is the House of Sitri who is in control. The time of being in charge is split between day-time and night-time."

Issei widened his eyes.

'So the school belongs to Rias-senpai, and Sona-senpai?'

"So...if Sona-senpai is a Devil, then she must have her own peerage too, right?"

{Ding, ding, ding! Give the boy a prize.}

'I thought you were asleep.'

{I was. Until I got bored.}

Issei inwardly sighed, and spotted Sona getting up from her seat on the couch.

"Hyoudou-kun, allow me to introduce my peerage."

She gestured to Tsubaki who nodded to Issei.

"Tsubaki is my Queen."

A girl with white hair, and a girl with long brunette hair smiled as they were introduced next.

"Momo and Reya are my two bishops."

Sona then pointed to a girl with shoulder-length, reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, and to a tall girl with blue, shoulder-length hair and matching eyes. She had the basic appearance of a tomboy, and had a bishounen face.

"Tomoe is my knight, and Tsubasa is my Rook."

Tomoe smiled cheerfully, while Tsubasa sent Issei a soft smile.

Sona then introduced a short, petite girl with brown hair in twin ponytails and green eyes, and young man with short blonde hair and grey eyes.

"These are my two pawns, Ruruko and-"

"Genshirou Saji, it's good to meet you man." Saji said as he held his hand out to Issei.

Issei blinked and he shook Saji's hand.

"Nice to meet you too."

Saji smiled.

"It's nice to meet a fellow Pawn, especially in the same school."

Issei blinked in confusion, before his eyes widened.

"Umm...Saj-"

"I mean sure, I had heard it was just a rumor that you defeated the heir of the Phoenix clan, but I'm a Pawn that consumed four pieces of 'Pawns.'"

Issei blinked again, and Tsubaki sighed, palming her face.

"Saji..."

But Saji didn't stop.

"Yeah, you're strong, I'll admit that. But here's my question, how many "Pawn" pieces did you take up?"

Issei remained silent for a while, and then he lifted a finger up to explain himself.

"Um...I-"

"I mean, I'm sure it wasn't that much..."

"Saji!"

Saji flinched and turned around to face a slightly annoyed Sona.

"Please calm yourself. If you must know, Hyoudou-kun is not a Devil."

Saji widened his eyes in shock, and he turned to look at a relatively quiet Issei.

"What do you mean he's not a Devil, Kaichou?"

Sona glared at him, and she turned to face Issei, before Rias spoke to her kouhai.

"The reason I called you here was because Sona wanted to introduce you to her servants."

Sona spoke next, turning to look at Saji.

"Saji, it wasn't a rumor. Hyoudou-kun did defeat the third son of the House of Phoenix. And it may come as a shock to you, but once again, he is not a Devil."

Saji widened his eyes in absolute shock, and he turned to look at Issei, who was getting a little uncomfortable at the attention he was receiving. Sona then turned to smile at the nervous young man.

"My apologies, Issei Hyoudou-kun. My servant hasn't experienced as much battles as you have, so he still has a bit of a rude attitude. If it is all right with you, can you get along with him?"

Issei looked over at Saji curiously.

{I wouldn't. Just my opinion.}

Sona looked over to Saji.

"Saji..."

Saji reluctantly bowed his head down, and Issei cautiously did the same. Rias turned to look at Sona, and they simultaneously made a sigh.

"Hyoudou-kun seems so nervous."

"It's his first time meeting someone, so I can't really complain."

Sona, along with her peerage, walked towards the club door.

"I think that's enough in introducing ourselves. There's something I have to do beforehand, so this meeting has to come to a short close."

She then turned to look at Rias with a smile.

"Rias, I look forward to the Ball Tournament."

Rias returned the smile.

"And I as well."

Issei blinked in confusion.

'Huh? Ball Tournament?'

Rias turned to look at Issei, a warm smile etched on her face.

Issei blinked again.

{Hmm. A tournament, huh? This should be entertaining.}

In a library shop, a girl with long flowing blonde hair and green eyes sat quietly as she peered at her Bible. With a smile, she closed the book, and went outside of the library.

"Before I go to bed, I want to go to the church tonight."

With a warm smile, she edged on towards her destination. In only ten minutes, did she manage to find the church. Or former church.

"Huh? What happened?"

"...Please help me."

The girl turned around to see a gentle-looking handsome young man with blonde hair. The man appeared to be greatly injured, and he walked slowly towards the girl. The girl's eyes widened in shock, and she went over to help the man.

"What happened to you?"

"I was trapped under the remains of the church, and it took me a while to get out. Could you please help me?"

The girl, overwhelmed with pity, nodded in sympathy, and she lifted her hand up, revealing two silver rings with blue-green gems. A green aura emitted from the rings, and she went to reach for the man. Unbeknownst to her, the man's grimace started to form into a grin.

"Hey, what are you doing here?!"

The two looked up to see four people with black crow-like wings.

Raynare, Kalawarner, Dohnaseek, and Mittelt looked on in annoyance as they peered at the young girl about to heal the man.

Dohnaseek narrowed his eyes.

'The noble Devil, Diodora Astaroth. What the hell is he doing here?!'

Diodora narrowed his eyes sharply.

'Shit! Four Fallen Angels?!'

Mittelt went to speak with the girl.

"Hey, whatever you're about to do, don't heal him. He's a bad person!"

The girl looked up in shock.

"W-what do you mean?"