Author's note: Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the conclusion to the fights from the last chapter. Hope you guys enjoy….or you might not, who knows? Anyway, have fun! :D
Highschool DxD: Road of the Dragon King
Ch 10: In the End...
…
Kiba hit the ground hard as he received multiple whippings from three vines. "Gahha!"
Shuka smirked as she saw the state Kiba was in. "Hoh? I guess this is all that you're capable of. I would say that I'm disappointed, but my expectations were already low.
Kiba stood up, albeit trembling as he does so. Shuka sends another assault of vines at him, forcing him to dodge. Unfortunately, Kiba's movements became much more sluggish than before. He took the full brunt of five vines whipping his chest, legs, and his kidneys. Shuka even wrapped one of her vines around his sword, shattering it to pieces. The Knight fell on the ground once more as he noticed that his vision was getting blurry. 'What the hell…? I could've sworn that I could dodge that. I guess I'm in worse shape than I thought….' Kiba looked up at the Stray and only now noticed that there was some strange powder coming from the flowers. His eyes widened as he realized what happened. 'Don't tell me…'
"Oooooho ho ho ho ho ho! So, you finally realized it? I told you that you walked into your own grave, didn't I?"
"You….bitch," The swordsman spat out. Kiba managed to get on his knees as his breathing got heavier. "This whole time you were-"
"That's right! I've been filling this little area up with my poisonous pollen! It shouldn't be too long now before you die."
Kiba punched the ground partly in frustration, but mostly to keep himself up. 'Dammit! I can't believe I was so careless,' Kiba chastised himself while glaring at Shuka. Though, his gaze felt weak since he was slowly fading into unconsciousness.
'I'm sorry, President...I did the best I could. Sorry that I couldn't save you, Issei.' Kiba could feel himself double over as he comes closer to death. 'Issei…'
"They are monsters...And I'm gonna beat the hell out of all of them."
"!"
"I've decided….I'm gonna get stronger and fight all these Stray Devils! That way, they don't take any precious girl that goes to our school!"
Kiba slammed his head on the ground before his body collapsed while gritting his teeth. Surprisingly, this haphazard method kept him awake 'I can't back down, now!' The swordsman managed to get on one foot, though he still had difficulty breathing due to the powder.
"Hm? You're still alive?" Shuka asked in slight surprise.
Kiba tore off his jacket and wrapped it around his mouth to hopefully help him breathe better. The way he wrapped it around made the jacket appear to be some make-shift scarf. Shuka was shocked that Kiba was getting up despite not only the pollen getting into his system but the increasing wounds that he has on his body. However, the green-haired Devil managed to quickly compose herself.
"It's useless. You've already inhaled the pollen. It's only a matter of time before you die."
"If that's the case…" Kiba held out his hand to grab a sword handle, "then I'll use that time to take you with me! Wind!" Kiba drew out the same pale green sword as before. 'Issei...you showed me your resolve, now allow me to show you mine. I'm gonna cut down all the Stray Devils in order to protect the people that I care about!'
"That wind sword again? Now, who's repeating tactics?" Shuka mocked the Knight.
"And…" Kiba stretched his left hand out to grab another sword handle. He drew a sword out from the circle which was revealed to be a bright orange blade that had a few sparks emanating from it.
"Fire!"
"Tch. Another sword? All you're doing is delaying the inevitable! Nothing you do will amount to anything, just die!" Shuka launched more vines and flower petals at the blonde teen.
"I'm afraid I can't do that!" Kiba retorted before blasting away the petals with the wind and turning the vines to ash with his burning blade. "Master's orders!" The swordsman charged at Shuka, grunting as he could still feel a great amount of pain.
"So, you've found a countermeasure? Not bad, but it's still pointless!" Shuka shouted as she shot out a huge blast of pollen at Kiba, engulfing him.
However, the pollen was quickly blown away by what appears to be a flaming tornado. The tornado disintegrated to reveal Kiba spinning around with his two swords. "It's useless! I can blow away any technique you throw at me! You may be a Queen, but you overestimated your own power! You're no different than any Stray that I fought in the past!" Kiba clashed the two blades together before swinging them simultaneously to create a fire wave to launch at Shuka. Shuka naturally blocked the attack with her leaves. However, the fire managed to burn slowly burn the leaves away.
"What!?"
As the leaves turned to ash, Shuka saw Kiba jumping at her with his arms crossed, ready to swing his blades to finish her off. However, that opportunity would never come as she whipped Kiba's wrist with her vines to force him to drop the wind sword and uses three more to impale his chest, forcing the boy to cough up blood.
"*huff* *huff* It's done. *huff* *huff* You lost," Shuka sounded composed, but her heavy breathing indicated that she was more relieved than anything else.
She was so busy trying to calm herself down, she failed to notice that Kiba was still moving his left arm and he quickly swung down his sword at the vines, freeing himself.
"What!?" Shuka's eyes widened at seeing Kiba still moving. "How are you still alive!? You're nothing but low-class scum!" She shouted with a mixture of fear and anger.
"The only scum here is you!" Kiba shouted as he started to draw another sword. "Ice!" Kiba pulled a translucent, light blue blade from the magic circle. Kiba coughed up more blood as he could feel his body hit his limits. 'Just one chance! I can't waste it!'
"Another one!? How many swords do you have!?"
"Uryaaaah!" Kiba roared out as he thrust the ice blade forward right into Shuka's stomach, making the plant woman spurt blood from her mouth. She suddenly felt colder as she looked down, noticing that her body is slowly being encased in ice.
"N-no! This is impossible! You should be dead!" Shuka's body continues to freeze over save for her head.
Kiba pulled the ice sword out of her stomach. "It's over!" Kiba discarded the freezing blade and gripped the fire sword with both of his hands while holding it up in the air. "You're finished! Or as my master would say..." Kiba swung his sword down with all his might, cutting Shuka in half.
"Checkmate!"
Kiba landed on the ground and turned his back on Flora, leaving the split corpse behind. The blonde Knight started to tremble all of a sudden as he began to lose his footing. 'Damn, I'm hitting my limit…..'
Kiba doubled over and collapsed on the ground. He started to close his eyes as he was quickly losing consciousness. 'I guess this is it for me….Sorry...President….'
…
Issei's body slammed into the dirt as he was knocked away once again by Kunama.
"It's useless. You've already lost. Just sit still and let the poison kill you."
Issei's reply was to stand up, trembling heavily as his body was clearly past its limits. He limped towards Kunama and then was quickly swatted away by her pincer.
Issei's body flew up into the air before hitting the ground like a lifeless puppet. Kunama relaxed after seeing the brunette plop to the ground. However, she quickly tensed up as she saw Issei get up again.
'You have got to be kidding me! The poison alone should've done him in by now! How is he still getting up after that!?' Kunama started to grind her teeth in frustration.
Issei continued forward as if he was a zombie. Kunama smacked him away with her massive claw once more, only this time she put a little more weight behind her attack.
'That should kill him.' Kunama had a small smirk of satisfaction on her face after seeing Issei hit the ground for the third time at this point.
That smirk turned into a scowl as Issei slowly stood up as if his body was on autopilot.
'What….am I doing?' Issei asked himself as he kept moving forward. 'Why...do I….keep going? What's the point? I mean….' Issei took a downward strike from Kunama's pincer, forcing the brunette's body to bounce off the ground.
'I lost….right? So why…..?' Issei stood up much slower as he could barely move his limbs now.
"Why do you keep getting up!? What the hell is driving you!?" Kunama snapped.
'Yeah...why do I keep getting up? What's the-'
"Issei!" Yuuma suddenly appeared in his mind with a smile on her face.
Issei stopped moving as he thought back to Yuuma. That bright smile that she always wore around him, her adorable laugh, her violet eyes, her flowing raven hair, the way her cheeks flushed when she first asked him out, the way her face lit up when he got her that scrunchie, the warmth of her hand when he held it. Everything about her brought a smile to his face. His date with Yuuma was the happiest moment in his life.
And he would do anything to have that feeling again.
"Yuu…."
"Hm?" Kunama looked at Issei as he started to speak.
"...ma…..Yuu….ma…."
"Yuuma?" Kunama asked in confusion. "What does a woman have to do-" Kunama suddenly grit her teeth in anger as she came to a realization. "A woman? A woman!? That's what's keeping you alive!? Don't fuck with me! Just hurry up and die!" Kunama launched her tail at Issei, who still wasn't moving.
Issei looked up to see the tail flying at him. 'I….'
In a split second, Kunama suddenly widened her eyes as her tail was suddenly smacked away. 'Wha-what on earth happened? How did-' she looked away from her tail to see Issei standing there with his arm stretched upward. However, what was even more shocking was the look in his eyes.
Kunama no longer saw the lifeless orbs that the brunette carried a minute ago. What she saw was a burning intensity held in his gaze, a new life shining in his eyes.
'That's right….' The gem on the Boosted Gear started to shine brightly.
'I want to see Yuuma again. I want to tell her how I feel. I can't die before seeing her again! I refuse to die!'
In the next instant, a red aura started to glow around the draconic gauntlet. The Boosted Gear grew a second green jewel on the forearm and ten golden spikes began to protrude from the gauntlet. 'Wait. What the hell?'
["Dragon Booster! Second Liberation!"]
"What the hell is this? What's going on!?" Kunama started to panic.
'I don't know what's happening, but let's roll with it!' Issei thought excitedly as he tried to move with a feeling of power surging through him. However…
'Oh goddammit! You gotta be kidding me!' Issei looked down and noticed that his legs were trembling.
"Tch. Getting me worked up over nothing. Just die already!" Kunama shouted as she charged at Issei. She lifted her pincers up in the air as she prepared to smash Issei, who was still trembling.
'Come on, you stupid legs. Move!' Issei looked up to see the pincers come flying down at alarming speeds. 'Come on come on come on!'
Blood started to spurt from his legs and the sounds of bones cracking could be heard as Issei suddenly charged past the pincers, narrowly dodging the attack as the pincers came crashing down. 'MOVE GODDAMMIT!'
"HAAAAAAHHHH!" Issei swung his fist right into Kunama's stomach. The Stray puked blood as the brunette kept driving the red gauntlet further into her gut.
This left Kunama stunned briefly before she grit her teeth and slammed her pincer down on Issei.
Issei took the full impact of the strike. His body digs into the ground, forming a small crater. The boy coughs up blood as he helplessly lays on the ground. 'Shit….I guess this is the best I can do…..dammit….I'm so pathetic….'
Kunama rapidly punched the ground to make absolutely sure that Issei was dead. "Die die die die die die die DIE!" She shouted frantically as she continued punching. Soon, she stopped and looked down to admire her handiwork. However, as the dust faded away, she noticed that Issei was gone. "What!?"
She looked around in confusion until she saw Koneko suddenly appear while carrying Issei. Before she could even question the little girl, Kunama heard another voice.
"Oh my, I see you've been bullying my cute junior."
Kunama tried to locate the source of the voice until she saw Akeno standing on top of a tree. "And who the fuck are you!?" Kunama spat out.
Koneko was the one to respond to that question. "Servants of Rias Gremory."
"Servants? Oh, so you're Devils?" Kunama looked at the two girls with intrigue.
"Correct." Akeno flew down from the tree and landed next to Koneko. "And it's our job to get rid of monsters like you." Akeno said with a cheerful smile. She then licks her lips. "Ufufu~ I feel so lucky tonight. You're my second toy that I get to play with.~ I just hope you don't break as quickly as the last one.~" The Queen's hands began to spark with electricity.
Koneko steps in front of Akeno, surprising the senior slightly. "Oh? You wanna play with her, too? This is a surprise coming from you, Koneko.~"
"It wouldn't be fair for you to hog everything for yourself." The Rook retorted.
"Ufufu. Fair enough, I'll let you play. Just don't get too rough, don't want the poor thing to break.~" Akeno licked her lips as her S-side was kicking in again.
"Got it." Koneko ran towards Kunama while the scorpion swung her tail down. Koneko quickly dodged by dashing to the right.
"Oh? You're fast." Kunama smirked in amusement. "But…" The Stray swung her tail to the right in an attempt to hit Koneko.
Koneko, however, jumped up in the air to avoid the strike. Koneko then slammed her fist down on the tail, crushing the stinger.
"AHH! You...little….bitch!" Kunama shouted before retracting her tail. 'What the hell was up with that power? I thought she was a Knight judging by her speed, but her abilities are more in line with a Rook.'
Koneko continued to charge straight ahead at Kunama, who put up her pincers as a means of defense. Kunama managed to block the petite's powerful punches, although she was being pushed back slightly. Soon, Kunama pulled her left pincer back before launching it at Koneko, who countered with a powerful left of her own. The fist collided with the claw, but Koneko was the one being pushed back. However, she still tried to pushed forward with succession and it appeared to be a stalemate.
'We're evenly matched. How annoying.' Koneko thought.
Meanwhile with Akeno, she was currently setting Issei's head in her lap while looking at his body. The sadistic Queen looked at Issei with surprise in her eyes. 'He….shouldn't even be alive….' Akeno thought. The boy had wounds from top to bottom not only from the fight with Kunama, but also the other Stray that wasn't completely healed. To top it off, Issei had been struck by the poisonous stinger. Akeno frantically looked around in her pockets before pulling out a Phoenix Tear. She held it over Issei's mouth and tilted the vial. She watched the liquid go down Issei's mouth.
She watched Issei's wounds gradually disappear within a few minutes. She relaxed as she saw Issei breathe normally. 'Thank goodness. It'd be a waste if we lost such an interesting guy.' Akeno thought in amusement.
The Queen saw her junior jump back to avoid a crushing attack. "So is the pervert fixed up?"
Akeno nodded, "Yes. Though, I'm not too sure whether or not the poison left his system. But at the very least, he's not dying anytime soon."
"That's good….I guess."
"More importantly, is our little Stray giving you a hard time?" Akeno took notice of Koneko sweating and breathing a little heavily.
"She's tough," Koneko said in her usual emotionless tone.
Kunama gave a light chuckle as Koneko backed away. "What's wrong, shorty? Is that the best you can do?"
"Oh my, she can still talk big despite those bruises you gave her?" Akeno asked the little Rook.
"Apparently."
"Hey! Don't talk like I'm not here!" Kunama shouted, annoyed at the two.
Akeno stepped forward, "Ufufu. I'm sorry, honey.~ I'll be sure to give you my full attention starting now.~" Akeno smirked sadistically as her fingers crackled with electricity.
"Tch. Then what are you waiting for, bitch? Come on!"
"Ufufufu.~ You're certainly needy.~" All of a sudden, lightning crashed down on Kunama, who let out a pained shriek.
"Mmmm.~ Yes. That's the way Mama likes it.~" Akeno licked her lips before striking Kunama with another bolt.
"KAAAHHHHH!"
Akeno let out a shaky breath before noticing that Kunama is charging forward. "Oh? You're more resilient than I thought. I think I like that.~"
"Shut it, you psychotic cunt!" Kunama raised her pincer up in the air, ready to crush Akeno.
"Well, now. Aren't you vulgar?" Akeno still held a smile on her face despite Kunama's insult and just continued to zap the Stray.
Four thunderbolts later, Kunama crashed down on the ground. Kunama gasped for air as smoke emanates from her body.
"Is that all?~ That's disappointing," Akeno looked down at Kunama. "I guess I'll have to finish this." The Queen held her right arm up in the air.
"Wait….."
Akeno stops as she heard a different voice. She looked back to see that Issei was awake and laying on his stomach.
"Issei?" Akeno asked, surprised that he was conscious.
"This is...my fight, dammit," the brunette got up on his knees, his eyes felt heavy as he was struggling to stay awake.
"Don't move. You lost a lot of blood," Koneko told him.
"Look…*huff* *huff*...I don't *huff* give two shits….about my blood. I can't have you two jump in the middle of my fight. Ok?" Issei glared at the two girls.
Koneko glared back, "Your fight's over. You lost."
"Bullshit," Issei covered his mouth as he started coughing.
"Well, now we know the answer to whether or not the poison's gone." Akeno kneeled in front of Issei. She smiled gently at him while putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look Issei, I really admire your tenacity, but you gotta know when to call it quits. The Phoenix Tear that we gave you may have healed all your wounds, but it didn't replenish the blood loss or make the poison go away. You need to rest while we finish this up. Ok?"
However, Issei didn't back down, "No. I refuse…." Issei got on one foot, "I refuse to give up. I'm not…" Issei suddenly dropped to the ground again.
"Put away your macho crap and face the facts. You can't fight," Koneko said bluntly.
While the girls were distracted, Kunama smiled as she had a Phoenix Tear hidden in her mouth. She bit down on the vial, crushing the glass and drank its contents. "Kiii hii hii hii hii."
Akeno, Koneko, and Issei turned to look at Kunama. Akeno and Koneko widened their eyes as they noticed that Kunama was healing.
"Now now, don't be so hard on the boy. After all," Kunama stood up and smiled psychotically, "he provided a nice little distraction!"
"Tch. Phoenix Tears?" Koneko asked the Stray in irritation.
"KIIIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIIIIIIII! Yes! Me and my sisters snagged a ton of them from our stupid Master! Of course that was after we killed him! Kiihihihihihi! Oh man, just thinking about splattering his brains sends shivers down my spine!~"
Akeno glared at Kunama, "Why do it? Why kill your Master?"
"Hah! What kind of stupid question is that!? Isn't it obvious? Me and my sisters wanted freedom! The freedom to feast on whatever guy we want!" Kunama licked her lips. "Our Master always held us back, insisting that we get along with the humans. Ha! How stupid! Humans are nothing more than food for us Devils! Kiii hii hii hiii KAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"
"Disgusting." Koneko took a step forward while cracking her knuckles.
"Oh? You ready for round 2, shorty?" Kunama smiled excitedly before slamming her pincers together, "Come on!"
Before Koneko could take another step, she was suddenly held back. She looked behind her to see Issei grabbing her ankle with his left hand. "I said...wait, dammit."
"Don't touch me." Before Koneko had the chance to yank her foot away, Ddraig's voice suddenly spoke from the Boosted Gear.
["Transfer!"]
Koneko let out a small moan as energy started flowing into her. Koneko's face flushed as she dropped to her knees in shock. 'Wh-Wha….'
"Koneko?" Akeno looked over to the Rook with slight concern. Issei looked surprised at this as well. He tried to stand up to help, but he quickly fell unconscious as fatigue completely overtook him.
Seeing a chance, Kunama swung her tail down at the two girls. "Die!"
Akeno was briefly caught off guard so she didn't immediately notice the tail. However, she managed to put a barrier at the last second. The Queen winced slightly as she barely managed to hold the tail back. "Koneko!"
"G-got it." Koneko managed to compose herself and charge past Akeno at alarming speeds.
"Wait, what!?" Kunama was surprised as Koneko was suddenly in front of her. This sudden gust of speed even surprised Koneko herself. She tried to prepare a punch, but found herself unable to stop. So, she decided to settle with just simply charging at the Stray and ram her.
Kunama put her guard to block the shoulder ram. Despite the successful blocking, however, Kunama was still pushed back by Koneko. The petite girl continued to ram Kunama as they started approaching the trees.
After crashing through several trees, Kunama jumped back and Koneko stopped herself as the two are now in a standoff. "Keh. You should've told me you were holding back before, you little shit." Kunama actually smiled despite the surprise attack. "Now, let's have some real fun!"
'But I wasn't holding back earlier,' Koneko looked down at her fist in slight confusion. Before she could dwell on it further, Kunama swung her giant pincer down at Koneko. The loli quickly blocked the attack with a punch of her own. Unexpectedly, Koneko actually crushed the claw with her punch.
"What!?"
'What?' Even Koneko was surprised at this newfound strength.
"You little shit!" Kunama swung her other pincer straight down, but Koneko knocked it away with an uppercut. This attack also broke Kunama's remaining pincer. The Stray Devil could only leave her mouth gaping open in shock.
'...Roll with it.' Koneko, disregarding any question as to how she did that, charged forward and slammed her fist into Kunama's gut. However, the punch was so strong that she actually impaled the scorpion woman.
"Guhaaa!" Kunama coughed up blood as she looked down at Koneko in anger. She bent her head down in an attempt to bite off the white-haired loli's head. However, Koneko quickly retracted her fist from Kunama's stomach and jumped back to avoid the haphazard attack.
Koneko jumped up in the air shortly afterward and swung her right leg straight up, kicking Kunama in the jaw. The attack sent the Stray flying up in the air.
As Koneko landed on the ground, Akeno appeared behind her and chuckled. "Oh my, You got a little greedy there."
Koneko turned around to see her upperclassman holding an unconscious Issei in her arms. "Sorry," Koneko apologized, though her tone was as apathetic as usual.
Akeno held her right arm up in the air and shot a thunderbolt at the pink-haired Devil.
"CUUUUUUUUUNT!" Kunama shouted as she was zapped in midair.
Koneko ran towards the nearest tree and then proceeded to run up said tree. She hopped off the bark as she approached the airborne Stray. Kunama, in an act of desperation, swung her tail at Koneko. The Rook knocked away the tail with a spin-kick. Koneko then reeled her fist back as Kunama could only look in shock and fear.
'This is bullshit! There's no way I could lose!' Kunama thought as the gloved fist inched closer to her face.
"You lost," Koneko stated outright before her fist implanted itself right into the Stray Devil's skull.
"Checkmate.~" Akeno smiled happily as Koneko's punch went through Kunama's head, smashing her brain.
Koneko started to descend. As she did so, she grabbed the nearest branch and then immediately let go to land on her feet.
"Aw, how could you steal my thunder like that?" Akeno pouted in mock-hurt as Koneko rolled her eyes at the pun her senior made.
"Let's get out of here. We need to find the President," Koneko said as she started walking out of the woods.
"Good idea. I'll go ahead and notify her of the situation." Akeno started to follow behind her junior. While the two continued walking, Koneko occasionally took glances at Issei, or more specifically, his left arm.
…
Kiba slowly opened his eyes while letting out a faint groan. Once his vision cleared, he saw Rias with a relieved smile on her face. "President?" The blonde swordsman asked as he sat up, and the moment he did, Rias pulled him in a gentle embrace.
"Thank goodness," Rias said quietly, "I was so scared that you weren't gonna wake up."
Kiba was stunned as he didn't really know how to react. So, he just simply returned the embrace to his Master. "Sorry that I worried you, President."
Rias spoke gently, "There is no need for you to apologize. I'm just glad that you're ok."
"So...what happened?" Kiba asked, "How am I still alive?"
Rias answered his question by pulling out the empty vial that held the Phoenix Tear. "I used one of these."
"Ah...that explains it," Kiba said before coughing suddenly. Seeing this, Rias suddenly grabbed his shoulders.
"Are you ok!?"
"Yeah….*cough* *cough*...The Stray managed to poison me. But I still won in the end." Kiba smiled at his Master while pointing to the split corpse behind him.
The heiress widened her eyes in shock. 'Kiba beat a Stray Devil by himself?' Before she could question her Knight any further, a magic circle appeared in front of her. Akeno's voice could be heard from the circle.
"Rias, we found Issei," The Queen informed her friend.
"How is he?" Rias asked while Kiba sat next to her, listening in.
"We used the Phoenix Tear on him. But….he was poisoned by the Stray and now he's unconscious from the amount of blood that he lost."
Kiba frowned as his eyes moved to the ground. 'Dammit. If only I could've made it.'
Rias, however, kept herself composed. "And what of the Stray? I take it that you've disposed of it?"
"Yes. However, we need to get an antidote as soon as we can. When we found Issei….well, let's just say that it's a miracle that he's even alive still."
"...I see. And I couldn't agree with you more. Yuuto's also been poisoned."
"Oh my, our boys are becoming little troublemakers, aren't they?" Akeno tried to keep a light-hearted tone, but it was obvious that she was concerned for the two.
Rias, however, gave a small smile, "Indeed." Her gaze then turned serious, "Akeno, we're gonna transport back to the clubroom to work on an antidote. We might have enough medicine and potions to make this work. I'll be bringing Kiba along. Koneko?"
"Mm." Koneko's voice could also be heard from the circle.
"I want you to carry Issei with you. Try to make it as quickly as possible."
"Kay."
"Ok. I'll see you two later." And with that, the communication circle disappeared.
Rias then turned to Kiba. "Kiba, when we return, I want you to rest up as much as possible. Ok?"
"Yes ma'am!" Kiba quickly said before frowning. "Uh. Umm…."
"Hm? What is it?"
Kiba then bowed his head while closing his eyes, "I'm sorry. Because I was careless, Issei nearly died on my watch. I'll take whatever punishment you give to me for my failure."
Giving a sigh and then a gentle smile, Rias lifted the blonde's head up while caressing his cheek. "I already said that there is no need for an apology. As long as the people that are dear to me are alright in the end, then there's no need to worry. You won't be punished for something that was beyond your control."
Kiba smiled back at his Master, as if he felt a burden lift off from his shoulders. That burden was replaced with a shiver down his spine as Rias's smile strained. "The secretary of the archduke on the other hand…." Rias muttered.
"President?"
"It's nothing." Rias's smile returned to normal as she held Kiba's hand. "Now, let's get going." A magic circle appeared under the two of them.
"Yes ma'am." The two teleported away to the clubroom.
…
After the conversation with Rias ended, Akeno handed Issei to Koneko and then teleported away. The Rook kept walking out of the woods to head back to the old school building.
Koneko felt Issei squirm slightly as he was beginning to wake up again. The brunette opened his brown eyes only to see a yellow pair stare back at him.
"Hey," Koneko said to him.
"...Hey," Issei said tiredly. He then looked around and noticed that he was being carried in her arms. The idea of a girl much shorter than him bothered Issei for some reason, but he kept that to himself. "Wha…."
Seeing the boy's confusion, Koneko started to speak again. "Crash course: You were beaten by a Stray, the Vice President and I came to save you, we defeated the Stray, and then I'm taking you back while the President and Vice President work on an antidote for you."
Issei could only leave his mouth hanging open for a minute before closing it. However, what Koneko said next confused him.
"Also, thanks."
'What is she thanking me for? What did I even do? I don't understand. I mean…..'
Koneko looked down at Issei as he started muttering. Due to her enhanced hearing, she could pick up on what he was saying. What Issei said, however, bothered her for some reason.
"In the end….I couldn't even protect myself this time."
End.