Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
The tips of the terrorists' weapons started glowing, making everyone tense as hell. "These numbers..." Rias said. "I don't know if Akeno and I can defend against their attacks completely..."
Out of nowhere, Akeno gasped...seeing that Odin had appeared and was peaking up her skirt. "Hmmm~, you got a nice ass, young lady," he told her. "This youthful resilience is irresistible."
Everyone was shocked to see him there, never mind his perverted entrance. "O-Old Man Odin?!" Issei exclaimed.
"Odin-sama?!" Rias also exclaimed. "What are you-"
He chuckled, stopped looking up Akeno's skirt, and stood up, facing the horde of terrorists before the peerage. "We all found out that Diodara Astaroth was making deals in the dark." He then spread his arms out, grinning. "Come at me now! I am the Great Father of the Norse. Having my head would mean gaining infamy!"
The terrorists had shot their beams at him, but then his monocle glowed, him chuckled again as he tapped the end of his cane down. It summoned an ever-growing forcefield, deflecting the beams. "That Azazel wanted them all taken care of in one fell swoop." The forcefield managed to disintegrate a big number of the troops before disappearing.
"Then, this Rating Game..." Akeno said.
"...was a farce, and we were used as bait," Rias finished for her.
Odin faced the terrorists again. "Well, you young ones go now. Let this old geezer hold the front lines for you. Consider yourselves lucky!"
"But we can't leave an old man like you to-" Issei said before he glared and pointed his wooden cane at her.
"A child like you that's lived for only a decade and more is 1,000 years too early to be worrying about me!" He then faced the terrorists again and shouted, "Gungnir!" A sudden wave of water appeared and formed a wall next to him. A sharp gold and black spear appeared out of the water and he grabbed it, twirling it around and pointing it at the terrorists. It then shot a lavender energy beam that wiped out the many terrorists charging towards him.
Issei looked completely awed at the sheer amount of power it had. It made the group look like it had a large hole. "That's amazing..." She really didn't need to worry about him after all.
As the Great Father of the Norse laughed again, Rias said, "We shall take you up on that offer, Odin-sama."
"Oh no, it's alright." He began massaging his shoulder with his free hand. "This old man needs some exercise once in a while."
She then faced the rest of the group and said to them, "Alright, we make it to the temple!"
Everyone nodded and replied, "Yes, President!" They all then ran to the temple as fast as they could, still looking ready to fight. Koneko had carried Gasper on her back, making him blush.
"Hey, you kids alright?" asked a familiar face through a small magic circle to Rias's ear, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Azazel!" she exclaimed.
"I'm sure you've got questions, but you must listen to me now! The Old Satan faction is attacking not only the field, but the area around the V.I.P. room. We've planned for this as well."
The crimson-haired beauty suppressed a smirk. "Planned, huh?"
"Yup. Various units we've placed around the area are fighting back as we speak. Due to battle plans though, I'm afraid I can't tell you all what was going on."
"Wh-what if something happened to us?!" the cross-dresser cried out.
"Since I'm this battle's strategist, I'll take responsibility. My head alone won't be enough to quell your anger, I bet."
Everyone stopped at the beginning of the flight of stairs to the islands, looking worried about him. "Then..." Issei murmured.
"You prepared yourself for a suicide mission..." Xenovia said, frowning.
"When you used us..." Koneko muttered.
"Stay hidden for now. Wait until the battle ends. We'll take care of the terrorists."
"Hold on, are you on the battlefield too?!" Yuuto asked worriedly.
"Yep, I'm on the same field. The area's pretty large though, so I'm pretty far from you guys."
Issei clenched her fists and yelled, "But we can't hide! Asia-chan's been kidnapped by that bastard Diodara!"
Azazel's tone then turned worried. "What did you say...?"
"We need to go save Asia-chan RIGHT NOW!" She tried to hold back tears and keep her anger moderate. "Sensei! Asia-chan is like a wonderful little sister to me! She's a part of my family! I don't want to EVER lose her again, you hear me?!"
Everyone knew she cared about Asia so much, so of course she would say that. It just proved how close they were and how stubborn yet determined Issei was to save her friend, her sister. That was what the peerage liked about her...what Yuuto loved about her.
"Then we'll all go and save Asia!" Rias said, determined. "We'll teach that traitorous man how foolish it is to take a member of my household, OUR household!" Everyone looked just as determined as well, nodding.
Azazel chuckled a little. "As you wish. I'll take over everything else then! Go rampage your hearts out!"
Issei and Rias smiled. "Thank you, Sensei!"
"Thank you very much...Azazel."
"And Issei? Show that brat the full power of the Red Dragon Empress! Make sure you bring your little sister back!"
She nodded, donning a confident grin now. "Yes, sir!"
...
As everyone ran up the steps, Issei thought to herself, Hang in there, Asia-chan! I'm coming to save you right now! Me and everyone else! You'll be alright after all of this, I swear!
Yuuto saw the sharp determination in her eyes, glad to see them instead of her angry ones. After all, her determination inspires others, including him.
...
When they got inside the temple, they stopped and gasped at the sudden appearance of several cloaked women before them. Then Diodara's voice echoed throughout the room, "I've expected you all to come, Rias Gremory and her household."
"Diodara!" Issei exclaimed, looking around to see if he was anywhere to be found. "Bastard!"
"Let's begin our little game~."
Everyone was a little puzzled. "Game?" asked Akeno.
"Well, thanks to you, our Rating Game was completely called off," Rias said, smirking and looking up.
"That's why we'll play this game instead. If you all don't fight, then Asia will be mine." Now they were left no other choice, but since it was for Asia, they were willing to do it.
The doors of the temple began to open up and the green-haired guy announced, "The two battles will take place at once. On the right, I send my two Rooks and eight Pawns. On the left, my Queen and Bishops. You can arrange your pieces in any way you like."
In no time, Rias announced, "Issei, Koneko, Xenovia, and Gasper will go to the right side of this temple."
That made the former vampire freeze. "W-wait, wouldn't that be ten against four?!" he exclaimed.
Yuuto gave him a reassuring look and said, "Issei-chan has absorbed all of the Pawn pieces, so we should have an advantage in terms of power." The boy felt a little reassured, especially since he knew Issei was strong.
"Then, let us begin," Diodara announced.
The couple looked into each other's eyes before departing though, holding each other's hands. "Good luck, Yuuto-kun, and be careful."
He nodded and smiled at her. "You too, Issei-chan."
...
Issei, Koneko, Xenovia, and Gasper had all then appeared at the right side of the temple through a magic circle. A green magic circle appeared before them, making Gasper tense up. "Here they come..." he said.
Several cloaked women had appeared out of the magic circle as the heir stated, "By the way, I have promoted all of my Pawns to Queen. One can never be too careful."
Issei clenched her fists and her teeth before she heard Rias say through a small magic circle to her ear, "Well, I wasn't expecting this to be a fair fight. Xenovia, you handle the two Rooks." The two Rooks were charging towards her as she said that.
"Yes, m'am," she said as she deflected two kicks from the two Rooks with Durandal and engaged battle with them with both Durandal and Ascalon.
"Koneko, make sure to stop the Pawns from surrounding all of you." The white-haired loli nodded as she began throwing blue balls of fire towards said Pawns, who were dodging them. Gasper was right behind her to be protected by her. "Issei, give Gasper some of your blood."
She nodded and said, "Yes, President." She then bit into her index finger, making it draw blood. She pointed it at Gasper, who blushed a little and licked it. He gasped before feeling the power surge through him, his eyes glowing.
He and his senpai smiled as she said, "Alright, we're ready to kick some ass!"
"Not yet. Promote yourself to Queen and listen to me." This made her curious and listen into what Rias was going to tell her. Her eyes widened.
"Really? The two of us need to...?"
As Rias was in front of Yuuto and Akeno and blocking attacks from their opponents, she replied, "Yes. Look for the perfect time, and then do it. Do you understand?"
She sighed and nodded. "Yes, President." She then turned to the cross-dresser. "Gasper-kun, stay close to me!"
He looked a little scared, but did so, running to her side. "Y-yes, Issei-senpai!"
She closed her eyes and brought her gauntlet up a little. "Promotion: Queen!" She then felt a lot of power surge in her veins. She looked at the white-haired loli, still throwing blue fireballs at the Pawns. She looked serious and said to Gasper, "Follow me. We need to get close to Koneko-chan."
They moved to get to her, but the platinum-blonde male was confused. "Wh-why?"
"Can't say it while the enemy's around. Just trust me, okay?" He did, but he still didn't have a good feeling...no, he had to be confident. He had to be strong!
As they both got behind the Nekomata though, Diodara asked, "Oh, and by the way, are you thinking about using any of your techniques here, Red Dragon Empress?" She gritted her teeth before he stated, "Well, I've prepared my Pawns by casting a speed and agility spell on them, making it impossible for you to even touch them!"
Her eyes widened again, being both shocked and confused. "Wait, what?" As one of the Pawns dodged a fireball, she suddenly appeared right behind Issei.
Gasper noticed her and shouted, "ISSEI-SENPAI!" He was about to use his Forbidden Balor View...but in a mere half-second, the Pawn already landed a hard kick on the side of her face. She screamed and landed on the ground, flinching. He looked horrified. "NO, ISSEI-SENPAI!" He didn't notice that another Pawn appeared before him and punched him hard in the face. He screamed as well and fell.
Koneko gasped, looking at the two of them with terrified eyes. "Issei-senpai! Ga-kun!" She noticed yet another Pawn before her. She swung her fist to her face, but she managed to block it with just her arm. Unfortunately, another one behind her grabbed her and kneed her at the stomach. She coughed and fell to the ground, flinching but trying to stand up.
Xenovia, still fighting the two Rooks, looked completely shocked to see her fellow members getting beaten up like this. "Everyone!" she exclaimed before blocking one Rook's attack. "President, let me fight the rest of those Pawns!"
"No! Any more distractions and you will all lose!" Rias replied, still blocking attacks from the other Pieces. "Keep fighting the Rooks! Everyone else, keep your guard up at all times! Find a way to overpower the speed and agility spell!"
Yuuto looked completely worried about his girlfriend and her current situation (as well as the others), so he said through the communication magic circle, "Issei-chan! Remember our training this morning! It should help with your situation!"
She knew exactly what he was talking about...
Since he taught her how to do basic swings and blocking with Ascalon, Issei began blocking Yuuto's swings. However, he used his super speed to disappear and then suddenly, she gets a kick at the back, making her fall onto the ground. "I know it's been a long time since you've fought someone fast, but you need to straighten up your dodging skills."
She frowned and stood up, looking at him. "Well, I haven't fought anyone as fast as you!" They began sword-fighting again. "Vali was fast, but I was too, in my Balance Breaker! I don't know how to fight someone that fast head-on without it!"
He sighed. "Then I'll give you a piece of advice: remember during training that I told you to watch your opponent and your surroundings?"
"Yes!" She deflected a swing from him.
"Well, you must also hear what they're doing and what's going on!"
"What do you mean by that?!" He then used his speed to disappear again, making her look around.
"Though your opponent, which is me for now, is fast, I can still make noise. Usually, there's a wind noise that's easy to miss if you don't pay attention to sound. Sometimes, I can even make a loud step or a light tap." Just then, he appeared behind her again, shoving her. She turned to him with a serious expression on her face. "You need to pay attention to those as well. Do you understand?"
She sighed deeply, frowning. "I'm not fast."
"You don't need to be to find out where we are, Issei-chan. All it takes is practice." He used his speed to disappear again, but this time, she decided to use her hearing to find out where he was. She then heard a slight wind sound to her side, making her turn quickly and grab Yuuto's wrist before he could do anything. He smiled at her and said encouragingly, "See? You're getting it." She smiled back at him. "Let's practice again."
Of course...how could I forget?! she thought before hearing a light tap near her. She turned, grabbed the Pawn's wrist, and punched her in the face with her gauntlet. "Bring it on!"
...
Some of the Pawns were shooting magic at her and Gasper, but she managed to deflect them with her gauntlet. One of them managed to punch her, but she was still on her feet and punched her away. They were still dodging Koneko's fireballs, making everyone tense as hell. "What the hell is going on with these girls?" Though Yuuto's advice and practicing helped, these girls were still being unpredictable in their movements.
"Their attacks are perfectly coordinated," Koneko stated, clenching her fists. She, Issei, and Gasper stood back-to-back now, watching the pawns jump all around them as fast as lightning.
"I-it's like their hearts are connected or something!" Gasper said.
Hearing that made Issei gasp. "Wait...hearts?" She then remembered the time she hugged Akeno and heard her thoughts. Maybe...
I can test my new technique to best these girls, she thought. She then closed her eyes and raised her gauntlet up to her face, the orb glowing.
This concerned the loli and cross-dresser. "Issei-senpai?" Koneko asked.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Gasper also asked.
She didn't answer them and thought, Don't put everything into power...focus on the mind. Focus my demonic power on wanting to hear people's hearts! She then crossed her arms together like an X, got enraptured by green aura, and shouted, "All my care, release! Slow everything down so I can focus!" Suddenly, the girls have started to slow down in her vision. "Expand, my comfortable dream space!" She then spread her arms out.
"Wait, this is..." one of the Pawns muttered.
"What is she doing...?" asked another.
She then closed her eyes and asked in a whispery voice, "Diodara's Pawns' hearts, tell me your plans, starting from the right."
"Well, I'm going to seal away those eyes of that vampire first!" one Pawn's heart said.
"The three of us are going to attack at once!" said another's heart.
"That's right! All of us will go left and charge from there!" said the third one's heart.
She opened her eyes and grinned. "Success!" She then pointed at the three Pawns whose hearts she listened to. "That girl, that girl, and that girl are aiming for Gasper-kun!" She then pointed where they were going to be. "They'll come from over there!"
He gasped in shock. "Wh-what?!"
She looked at him. "Look there and make them stop, okay?"
He nodded. "O-okay!" He then looked at them and his eyes changed formation, glowing as the three Pawns stopped. In his vision and Koneko's, they couldn't see them before he did that. This baffled the rest of the girls.
Suddenly, Issei could hear one of their hearts say, "Those girls are frozen!"
"That's impossible!" exclaimed another. "Could it be that our thoughts were read?!"
"Then maybe they know that we're aiming for the Nekomata from behind!" another said in a panic.
This made the brown-haired girl point at those three other Pawns. "Her, her, and her! They're going to attack Koneko-chan from behind! Stop them!" He nodded, wanting her to be safe, before using his eyes and stopping those girls from attacking the white-haired girl from behind.
Koneko gasped and looked behind, seeing those girls frozen in place and kicking them away. "I attacked first, so I win," she said.
The remaining Pawns stopped, looking baffled at this. "Our minds..." one of them muttered.
"Are you really reading them?!" asked another.
Issei kept her grin and shook her head, pointing at them. "Nope, I only asked what was in your hearts!" The orb in her gauntlet glowed again. "This is my new technique, heart translation! I call it 'Heartlingual'!"
Koneko had knocked out both of those Pawns with a single kick, landing on the ground and brushing off her skirt. "That's actually amazing," she stated.
The two Knights looked shocked at this, exclaiming, "Our Pawns...!"
"They've been defeated?!"
"It looks like I can fight with no worries now," Xenovia said, getting both of their attentions as Durandal and Ascalon glowed. "When we first met, I have said horrible things to Asia: that she was a witch, a heretic. But even then, she still accepted me as her friend!" She then put the swords up together. "Let's go, Durandal, Ascalon! Respond to my prayers so I can save my dear friend!" They then glowed very bright, blinding the Knights as they made a beam that had rubble crash down and the two Knights scream in pain as they disappeared from the fight.
The three looked awed at that, Issei murmuring, "A-amazing..." She had no idea Xenovia could do that with not only Durandal, but also Ascalon...
She then realized something, since all the Pawns couldn't be able to move. "That's right!" She then looked at Gasper. "Gasper-kun, it's time to use our technique!"
He knew what she was talking about before smiling just a little. "Oh, alright!"
"Arrange them so I can shoot at them!"
He nodded. "You got it!" He shape-shifted into multiple bats, swarming to the Pawns and grabbing them all, arranging them in a single-file line. "Now, Issei-senpai!"
She re-summoned her bow and arrow, aiming the specialized arrow at the Pawns. "Take this!" She then shot it and it formed a beam. Just as the two knocked-out Pawns opened their eyes, they both had their breaths hitched before they and the rest of their Pawns were obliterated by the blast, making them scream and disappear from the fight. The beam had eventually hit a far mountain, creating a crater into it.
Gasper turned back to normal as he and Issei both released sighs of relief. "We did it, Issei-senpai!" he cheerfully said to her.
She smiled at him. "We're awesome!" she cheerfully replied to him.
Koneko smiled at the both of them, saying, "Good job." Gasper blushed, though he kept his smile and looked away from her.
Xenovia approached them with a smile on her face. "Yeah, good job, you two," she stated before handing Issei Ascalon back, the female pervert merging it back with her gauntlet.
They all then looked at the left side of the temple, still seeing that Rias, Akeno, and Yuuto were still in battle. Issei clenched her fists and muttered, "Damn it, they're still in battle." She then summoned a communication circle and asked, "President, are you guys alright?!"
Now she AND Akeno were blocking attacks with their magic circles, protecting Yuuto. These opponents surprised them, due to the Bishops' healing powers and the Queen's strength. They needed to attack them simultaneously...but how? "We're holding up, but our opponents are stronger than we thought!"
Issei gritted her teeth. "Then let me go in there, or shoot an arrow to transfer power to you guys-"
Hearing her say that made her think of something. "No, no, it's not necessary!" She remembered that she could transfer her own power to her beloved servants, so long as it wasn't too much. "We can handle this, just stay put!"
She frowned and looked at the battle going on. "Stay put...?" How could she stay put when her friends and boyfriend were there, probably getting overwhelmed by power...?
The red-haired beauty looked at her best friend and shouted, "Akeno, take over for me!" Though concerned, she nodded and lengthened her magic circle as Rias stood between her and Yuuto.
"Yuuto, come close!" she told him. He nodded and got close to her...then she placed her hands on both his shoulder and Akeno's.
"President?" Akeno asked, unfamiliar with this.
Yuuto realized what she was doing and asked her, "What are you thinking, President?"
"On my mark, get ready to release your powers," she told them before glowing her red aura. The two felt power surge into them, making them tense up a little before easing up. They felt very powerful as they too got enraptured by red aura. They haven't felt this powerful in their entire lives...it was like they could obliterate this entire temple if they needed to.
Rias removed her hands off their shoulders and shouted, "Akeno, release your lightning!"
"Yes, President!" She released all of the lightning she could produce, grinning sadistically. This was more lightning than she ever thought she could produce...making this fight a lot more fun for her.
Everyone on the right side gasped as they saw a lot of lightning come from the left side. "Whoa..." Issei murmured in awe.
"I haven't seen Akeno-senpai use that much lightning before..." Koneko also murmured in awe.
The Queen and Bishops looked shocked at the overwhelming amount of lightning. "What the-" the Queen exclaimed as rubble began to crash down.
The crimson-hired beauty then looked at Yuuto and shouted, "Yuuto, get behind those Bishops and use your Sword Birth!"
He nodded and answered, "You got it, President!" He used his speed to get behind the two Bishops, who had yet to notice that they were behind him due to the loudness of the battle. He raised his sword up and yelled, "SWORD BIRTH!" The three opponents looked back in shock before he shoved his sword into the ground, releasing dozens of swords from it.
The Queen stopped shooting at Akeno and Rias and with the Bishops still using their healing powers on her, dodged with them. However, one of them got staked by a longer sword, screaming and dissolving away. "NO!" the Queen exclaimed before barely dodging another sword and a bolt of lightning. But as she did that, she accidentally led the other Bishop get hit by that lightning bolt, screaming and dissolving away as well. This left her without either of their healing. "No, it can't be!" And then, she got electrocuted by one of Akeno's lightning bolts and got impaled by a sword as well, shrieking in pain before dissolving away.
Issei was smiling ear-to-ear when she saw Yuuto's Sword Birth big and tall for all to see. "That's so amazing, Yuuto-kun!" She's never seen his Sword Birth like that before. It was like his power and Akeno were heightened somehow...
Yuuto was panting, feeling some of his demonic power drained from using a lot of swords for his Sword Birth, building onto one another to stake all of them. Akeno stopped using her lightning and began to relax a little. She looked at her best friend with a smile. "Ara, ara~, that was much fun~," she told her. "I never knew you would transfer power though. I thought Issei-chan could only do that~."
She grinned at her and crossed her arms. "I learned during my summer training," she said to her. "It's in case Issei isn't around." Both her and Yuuto grinned back at her.
As the dust cleared, all seemed to be calm back at the left side. "Wow, they won!" Gasper said, awed.
"I wonder how Akeno-san and Kiba were able to use so much of their magic like that..." Xenovia said. "But no matter the case, that was impressive!"
"Using lightning and swords to overpower the enemy," Koneko said, smiling a little. "That is impressive."
"We haven't seen President's powers though," Issei stated.
Now that she mentioned it, everyone seemed to agree with her on that. "Maybe she coordinated the attacks?" the white-haired Nekomata asked.
"She must have," the blue-haired female said. "As expected from our King." Yeah, Rias WAS a really good tactician...
"Let's join up with them," the female pervert suggested. The other three nodded and began to exit from the right side of the temple.
Stopping here. What do you guys think of this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?
Yeah, I did change up the action here to fit with this AU. I actually really liked how I executed it. I didn't want Rias's transferring of power to be one and done if you know what I'm saying, so I decided to use it here. Also, I hope you guys like Heartlingual!
Follow, favorite, review, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
