Chapter 19
"Ha!" Issei exclaimed as he barely ducks away from the edge of an oncoming blade. He jumped backwards l distance himself himself from his opponent, before summoning his gauntlet. "DRAGON SHOT!" A red energy blast rocketed from the boy's fist.
"BOOOMMMM!" When the energy blast made contact, a large explosion encompassed the vicinity. Issei took a second to observe the plume of smoke, before his eyes quickly widened.
"Hyaahhhh!" Using his enhanced speed, Kiba rushes to attack Issei's flank.
"CLANG!" The sound of Kiba's sword clashing with Issei's gauntlet had filled the air.
'Damn!' Issei thought to himself as he broke away from the blonde knight. 'I know I promised Rias I'd help train her peerage before they're big fight with that Phenex guy, but I never thought…' Issei's thought was interrupted by a few more close strikes by Kiba, the young dragon was only able to dodge by a few centimeters. 'I never thought it'd be this bad.'
Issei's right hand erupted in a crimson blaze, as he threw his arm down and a wave of red fire exploded in front of Kiba.
"Aaaahhhh!" Kiba yelled as he was consumed by the flames, but Issei quickly snapped his fingers and the blaze disparated before the boy could be hurt badly. Once Kiba realized he was no longer on fire, he looked up at Issei whose seemed to be rather disappointed.
"I'm sorry Issei-kun." Kiba bowed apologetically in front of Issei.
"No it's alright." Issei said, urging the boy to stand. "You just have to learn how to counter flames like that when you're fighting against Riser's peerage. Take a break for now, we'll pick back up later."
Issei leaves an exhausted Kiba, as he makes his way towards the large castle-like mansion where Rias chose to hold her training camp. Issei looked around as the entire ORC was working hard on training. Koneko was taking laps around the castle while balancing large boulder on her back, Akeno practiced a variety of magical spells as she hovered over above the training grounds, and Rias slowly jogged a back and forth across a 100 meter patch of dirt, followed closely by Asia. The sight of the blonde girl caused Issei to make a troubled face.
(Flashback ORC)
"Alright Everyone!" Rias called for the attention of her peerage after Grayfia And Riser's group had left, Issei, Raynare, Asia, and Tiamat were also there but they didn't join the group. "We have 10 days to prepare for this rating game, and I'm gonna need everyone to work harder than ever! We have a disadvantage in numbers, but we more than make up for that with heart!"
After Rias' motivational speech, Asia took a step forward looking more determined than Issei'd ever seen her before, it was almost familiar. "Rias- senpai!" The Red haired devil turned around and met Asia's determined gaze. "I… I want to help you! I want to help with your fight! I'll be a devil!"
"WHAT!" Issei erupted out of turn. "But Asia you're a woman of the church, and your devote in your faith. Why would you want to be a devil?"
"Because of you Issei." Asia answered with a smile. "When you saved me from the Fallen Angels, you showed me how strong you were. I can be strong too, I can help my friend when she needs me." Asia's eyes burned so brightly with desire that Issei didn't dare dissuade her.
"Hmph…." Issei turned away as he relented. "If that's really what you want to do then I won't object."
"Thank you Issei! I'll become a wonderful devil I promise!" Asia practically glowed with enthusiasm as she was approached by Rias.
"Thank you so much Asia! I know that your Sacred Gear will be of great assistance to my peerage." Rias pulled a crimson red chest piece resembling a bishop from seemingly nowhere. "I promise you won't regret this…"
(Flashback ends)
"Issei…. Issei! ISSEI!"
Issei quickly snapped out of his mind with a rapid blink, and he turned around to see Raynare dressed in her maid outfit standing behind him. "Huh… R-Raynare did you want something?"
"Yeah dumbass." Raynare deadpanned. "I figured you were thirsty so I brought you a drink." Raynare tossed a bottle of neon liquid at Issei who caught it easily.
"Oh thanks." Issei quickly as he cracked the beverage open and took a sip.
"So what do you think about our rag tag group of good hearted devils." Raynare asked, masking her concern. "Do they have a chance against that flaming turkey and his harem?"
Issei took a second to think about his answer as he honestly wasn't sure. "It's not impossible for them to win, but the flaws are far to glaring. Kiba is skilled but lacks any viciousness what so ever. Akeno is powerful but not necessarily a fighter, and I'd hate to see Koneko match up with someone as physically strong as she is. Asia doesn't have competitive bone in her body, and they barely have any experience fighting anyone on their same level."
"Really? But Rias' peerage deals with stray devils on a regular basis. You'd think that get them ready for a fight like this." Raynare countered.
"True, but typically those fights consist of a single servant devil against Rias' whole peerage. Hardly a fair fight if you think about it." Issei looked down at his drink rather disheartedly. "No the truth is that they have virtually no competitive fighting experience. I don't know if Risers peerage is any different, but the advantage in numbers is definitely gonna be a larger factor than first anticipated." This caused Raynare to think for a second and a troubled expression formed across her face. "But damn it if we don't have heart!" Issei said goofily to break the tension, causing the Fallen Angel to chuckle.
Meanwhile Rias and Asia had finished their laps, and the red haired devil got a full look at Issei and Raynare laughing it, this didn't please her in the slightest.
"Yeah I think it's possible, but there's a lot of ground to cover in a very short time." Issei began mumbling as Rias approached the two of them.
"So what do you think of my peerage." The devil asked suddenly, interrupting breaking Issei's train of thought.
"Ahh!" The boy jumped. "Whoa you scared me. Did you say something?"
"Hello! I asked you about our chances chances!" Rias had lost her patience. "Can we beat Riser's peerage or not."
"Oh, about that….. Weeeelllllllllll…" Issei tried to stall but, received a death glare from the Devil and had to drop the act. "If the battle was today, you'd stand no chance…." Issei said very quickly hoping Rias hadn't fully heard him, but she did.
"We wouldn't stand a chance? You mean the way it is now I'd have to marry that bastard!" Rias sounded angry but in reality she was masking her own fear with her rage. "Why!?"
"Um a lot of reasons actually…" Issei tried to keep his distance from Rias, not wanting to start any further conflict. "Risers group has a huge numbers advantage, in order to combat that your peerage would have to outclass them significantly in power, which doesn't seem like the case. Your team is too balanced, with Asia being the healer and Koneko being the tank you and Akeno are the only powerful cannons in your group. Kiba is fast but he doesn't pack the punch it takes to eliminate multiple enemies in one battle." His words weren't what Rias wanted to hear, but she couldn't deny that Issei sounded right while speaking them.
"And then It comes down to Risers peerage. You and Akeno are both more powerful than his queen who I fought, but not exponentially, and the blast I felt from Riser leads me to believe his powers far exceed yours." Issei mind was racing to the point where he forgot to filter his words would spell trouble. "And that's not even taking the regeneration into account, which your peerage is defense not properly trained to handle. When it comes to Koneko, Akeno, and Kiba their first strike is typically their best and they don't have the stamina to fight long periods of time. Plus Asia doesn't have any business fighting right now, but that one's not your fault…" With that Issei had touched another.
"That one's not my fault….. What do you mean that one's not MY fault?"
"Well you know, Asia only just reincarnated so her lack of combat experience." Issei continued not realizing the words that were leaving his mouth.
"So you're saying that the problems with the rest of my peerage are because of me." Rias' hair began to dance with red energy as her anger began to turn into power. "Do you have a problem with the way I've been training my peerage."
"Well you are pretty soft on them, and it shows." Issei said still believing he was simply doing his job. "They have no disciplined fighting styles. They all just use their powers and expect that to be enough, but against someone who matches them with power, that strategy only works half of the time. Kiba only uses one real sword style and an experience fighter will counter that fast. Koneko is just a brawler, not really a martial artist. And Akeno is too dependent on having the most destructive power on the battlefield, which won't be the case against Riser."
"And you think that's my fault! If you're going to point fingers maybe you should point one at yourself." Rias was frustrated and began to grasp at straws looking to shift the blame. "I brought you here to train my peerage and your telling me that the Legendary Welsh Dragon isn't capable of training them to beat a man who wears maroon suits, unironically!"
"So I, the guy who is willingly volunteering his own time to helping YOU, I am the one at fault for the weaknesses of YOUR servants." Issei believing he was in the right fired back sarcastically. "That makes sense. I'm only the guy who beat the legendary Chaos Karma Dragon."
"No…" This time it was Rias with the sarcastic tone. "Ddraig beat Tiamat, only using YOUR body because he had to. YOU are the guy who couldn't beat a second tear Fallen Angel, and that caused him to freak out." Rias paused and lifted a finger to the side of her face. "Thinking back on it You really aren't very impressive without your armor, maybe having you as the trainer was a bad idea."
Issei's eyebrow slowly rose out of place as Issei processed the devils words. "Whoa Whoa Whoa… Excuse me but are you calling me weak….."
"No no no. Of course not, I would never." Rias explained waving her arms in defense. "Your super strong Issei….. In your armor."
"Oh really, because I'm positive I could beat you easily as is, no armor required." Issei smirked as he spewed confident words to protect his ego.
"Hahahaha!" Rias began to laugh, causing Issei to pop a blood vessel. "That's cute. If I went all out, I'd simply burn all of the flesh off your body with the power of destruction, but someone as cocky as you wouldn't believe a simple fact like that unless I beat it into." Rias paused for a minute. "Actually that sounds like a good idea, I'll put you in your place plus I can show my peerage how capable I am. What do you say, you can always refuse if you're afraid."
A satisfied grin crept across Issei's face. "Oh, You're on."
(Moments later)
"Are you sure you wanna do this, it's not too late to back down and apologize." Issei smirked as he summoned his crimson gauntlet to his left arm. "I don't plan on holding back."
"While that grin off your face." Red light began to crackle off of Rias' hands as she charged them with magical power. "You'll have nothing to be confident about after I've knocked you into the dirt. I'll show you a high class devil's power."
"Blah Blah Blah…." Issei rolled his eyes. "Can we just get started already."
"Grrrrr!" Rias growled. "FINE! Let's go! Hyah!" A bolt of black and red energy erupted from from her palm, but Issei simply jumped over the blast with a ten foot vertical.
"Come on, Rias." Issei landed effortlessly. The wind blowing his hair just enough to make it dance in front of his green eyes. "That's was a cheap shot and you know it." He shot another confident smile.
Rias was stunned for a minute by the boy's carefree attitude, before anger regained control. "Grrrrrr! Take this serious!" She fired two more energy blasts at the boy.
"Haaaahhh…" Issei sighed as backhanded the blasts with his armored gauntlet. "And you're asking me to be serious. Fine, here I go." Issei pointed his gauntlet forward as a small red energy ball charged at the end. "DRAGON SHOT!" A massive red laser fired from Issei's gauntlet and straight at Rias.
"AAAHHHH!" Rias screamed as she put up a magic circle, barely defending her from Issei's attack in time. Rias' magic circle began shake and crack against the intensity of the Dragon Shot. "It won't hold!"
The magical circle and Issei's Dragon Shot both began to glow the same bright red. "BOOM!" The shield cracked with a large explosion, sending the girl tumbling backwards.
Rias looked up in daze after recovering from the blast. "AAAAAHHHHH!" Issei yelled as he leaped forward with a readied fist.
"Whoa!" Rias rolled out of the way at the last second, before hoping back to her feet.
"Ha!" Issei fired another punch, which was blocked by another magical circle. "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Issei launched a flurry of punches and kick, each blocked by a palm sized magic shield.
"Alright! Enough close quarters!" Rias fired a close range energy blast, knocking Issei away.
"Yowch!" Issei yelled from the dirt as smoked rose from his torso. "That destruction magic does pack a pun- Oww!" Issei was knocked away by another wave a red and black magic.
"It's called The Power of Destruction, and saying it packs a punch is a huge understatement." Rias charged another handful of energy. "It could rip your skin from your bones if I wanted it to. So this is where YOU apologize."
[BOOST!] The ominous voice echos through the battle as Issei's gauntlet is illuminated in a bright green glow. [BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]
Rias could feel it, down to her bones, as Issei's power increased. "Crap…."
[EXPLOSION!] The powerful voice announced as Issei's aura bursted out a around him, then suddenly- "RIP!" Two red, reptilian wings ripped from the back of Issei's shirt.
"That hurt." Issei commented, referring to Rias' second attack. "I had no idea that the true power of a High Class Devil was essentially resorting to cheap shots, but it won't matter. You won't hit me again." Issei's eyes narrowed like daggers.
With a powerful flap of his wings, Issei was now within striking distance of Rias in less than a second and fired a close range punch. Rias was able to put up a magic circle, but it didn't matter. Issei's fist shattered the magical shield and delivered the blow with a force comparable to being hit by a truck.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Rias cried as she flew backwards and into the ground. The blow has ripped a hole in her track suit, exposing her belly button. She looked down at where Issei's fist had struck her, then back up at the boy with angry eyes. "Ouch!" But she suddenly silenced herself as she looked back up at a glowing red energy ball.
"Bird brain isn't gonna pull his punches, so I won't either." Issei stared back, his expression dead serious and his eyes full of disappointment. "That's what really pisses me off. What did you think this rating game was just gonna be handed to you, because you really wanted to win?" Issei put his normal hand over his face. "Talk about spoiled, but I guess it's to be expected considering everything you have was given to you."
Rias glared back with an angry confusion. "What the hell did you just say."
"You heard me." Issei fired back intensely. "Your power, your status, your pieces." Issei gestured to Rias' peerage in the audience. "The only reason you have it is because you were born special. You didn't work for anything you have. What have you lost? What have you sacrificed? Nothing!" Issei was getting angry now, and didn't hold any of his emotions back. "Your going to lose the rating game, and in my opinion you deserve it."
This shocked Rias, she had never seen Issei angry like this, and no boy her age had ever scolded her like this, and she wasn't going to sit there and take it. A thick crimson aura began to envelope the girl as anger boiled inside, and as Issei dropped his guard to deal with his emotions Rias took advantage of the opportunity. "HYAH!"
A deep crimson energy wave erupted from Rias' finger tips, completely overwhelming Issei, forcing him to block with his gauntlet. "Who the hell are you to lecture me!? You say I was born special? If it wasn't for your own incredible luck, you wouldn't even be here!" Rias fired back.
"Shut it!" Issei retaliated as he struggled to defend himself from the power crimson magic.
"Oh look who has thin skin. You can dish it out, but you can't take it, huh?" Rias taunted as she kept up her onslaught. "You think just cause your family died in front of you, that you can tell other people how hard they've worked and what it's worth. But guess what, your hard work has amounted to nothing." Issei's eyes fired open as Rias addressed a sensitive subject. "You may have acquired power, but what exactly have you done with it, absolutely nothing."
"SHUT UP!" Issei tried to battle back against Rias' attack, but couldn't compete with the intensity of the magical blast.
"The only thing you've ever done with that power is kill a single Fallen Angel and a bunch of human wizards who couldn't hold a candle to your power." Rias continued. "And you didn't even do that on your own, your Dragon had to help you. Then when my brother came around, you were utterly outclassed. Your not an Avenger, your nothing." Rias' eyes narrowed as she prepared to finish it and turned up the intensity of her blast.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" As Issei started to lose ground to the energy blast. Suddenly Issei's eyes began to flash from their standard emerald green to a bloody red. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGG!"
Issei shattered Rias' crimson energy wave with a blast of his own red aura, Knocking the girl to the ground. Issei's gauntlet was now flashing between his standard green and a dark menacing red as a small energy ball began to from on the tip of his fist.
"Uuuhhh…." Rias groaned when as she picked herself up off the floor, her eyes lit up as she noticed Issei readying an attack. She quickly crossed her arms to cover herself.
"DRAGON SHOT!" Issei called out, causing the girl to shake in fear but the attack didn't hit her.
Rias eventually looked up to find that Issei's eyes and gauntlet had returned to their standard colors, but Issei's face was full of anger. "I'm done…" Issei didn't yell, rather he simply turned away and spread his dragon like wings. "Don't fuck with me…." With a powerful flap of his wings, Issei lifted himself into the air and away from the castle.
(Later in a nearby forest)
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Issei yelled at the evening sky. "GIRLS ARE SO DAMN FRUSTRATING! ALL OF THEM!"
Issei took a seat on fallen log and retracted his wings back into his back. He looked down at the ground, his face was locked in a serious gaze. "I almost lost control again and I wasn't even using Balance Breaker. To make matters worse it was in front of my friends. If it happened like back at the Warehouse, they'd been the first to die." Issei then lifted his gauntlet and stared into the dark green gem on the back of his palm.
"Ddraig, are you there? Are you going to talk to me yet? Hello!" Issei called for his dragon, but the gauntlet remained silent. "Please! I need some help! Quit ignoring me!" He sat for a second but received no answer. "Grrrrr…."
Issei stood up and forced his gauntlet to glow a bright green. "Balance Break!" But nothing happened. "Uh…. Balance Break!" Again nothing. After failing a second time Issei shook the nerves out of his head and made a serious face. "This time for real! BALANCE BREAK!"
[WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!]
Bright red flames erupted from Issei's body, and as they swirled around him the might Armor of the Sekiryuutei in caused him. "AAAAHHHHH!"
"Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha." Issei began to pant heavily as soon as he had summoned the armor and his armored knees began to buckle and shake. "Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha….."
""""No please! No! I don't wanna die! Please! I was just following orders!"""" These were the voices of the magicians, slaughtered by Issei on his rampage caused by Mittelt. They rang through Issei's head and seemed to be inside of the helmet.
To make things worse, when Issei looked through the armors two green eye holes, all he could see was a blood red world covered in flames, the flames of death and murder.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Issei screamed in pure terror, as waves of destructive red energy flew off his body knocking over trees and tearing apart the forest floor. "HHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Issei's armor began to glow a bright red, before it eventually faded away into red spark dropping Issei to the ground on hands and knees.
Issei grabbed a handful of dirt off the tattered forest floor, just to feel it between his own two fingers to assure himself that the armor was off. "Shit…."
(Author's Notes)
Whew! That was an intense chapter. Now before you guys go pointing fingers Rias AND Issei are BOTH at fault here, so don't go blaming everything on Rias cause Issei didn't handle the situation well either.
Now the point is I'm back after my break. I'm home for the summer so I should be able to have chapters out more regularly again, but I Thank y'all for your patience. Also I'm working on a Boku no Hero Academia story called Vanishing Hero: Warp REBOOTED (the first one was trash) I'm really excited about it and love y'all to check it out. Anyway till next time Read Rate Review, Bye!