"We, who have lost all,"
The true battle had finally begun. Even with just one line of Issei's chant being spoken the entire battlefield had begun to shake. The raw power that radiated off of Issei began to decimate the surrounding terrain. The three factions were forced to create a protective barrier around themselves to prevent the energy from destroying their bodies. Even with their combined efforts, they were just barely able to keep the barrier stable and stay alive. The attacking mages, however, weren't so lucky. They tried to do the same as the three factions but were far too weak to make a strong enough barrier and so they were all painfully wiped from existence.
"We are the lost Dragons who have been forsaken by God."
Issei began to be engulfed by dark energy that quickly formed around him. Around him began to form hundreds of dragon-like creatures, the same creatures that ended Saji Genshirou, known as the Children of Shadows. Almost as quickly as they arrived, the shadow creatures began to break down into waves of shadows and encircled Issei, forming a sphere of shadows around him.
"We travel in darkness. Masterless and free,"
Behind Issei formed two large apparitions of a pair of western Dragons everyone had been familiar with. One was a large white Dragon with two golden horns. Rather than having scales, this one had a feathery exterior that gave it a look of magnificence. The over however was much different. It was as large, if not larger, than the other. Its black scales made it look like you were looking into a void. It had a horn on both sides of its mouth facing forward and were as sharp as its metal breaking fangs.
"Through our supremacy, we shall reforge the world into innocence."
The power intensely building up within Issei almost reached its peak. Before the chant had begun his father still wasn't convinced that his son would be able to take him on without some help. After this occurring transformation, however, the thought that he wouldn't survive the day slowly crept into his mind. Some of the factions leaders began to gain their own opinions about his power.
Sirzechs began to grow wary of Issei's near infinite power which he admitted easily surpassed his own. After learning of Ophis' involvement with the Khaos Brigade he began to worry about the safety of his faction if Issei were swayed to join them.
Serafall, on the other hand, had a completely different opinion. She thought that if he had all this power the entire time he would have caused some major damage a long time ago. Plus his sheer strength alone began to entice her. She also remembered how Michael asked her about him because of his meet with Gabriel. She easily noticed that Gabriel had a strong interest in the boy because of her reaction to Penemue's earlier antics. If Gabriel were interested in the boy then perhaps she would have to win him over first. She has dubbed Gabriel as her rival so perhaps now they could be romantic rivals.
The Angels shared Serafalls thoughts. If Hyoudou were on the side of the Khaos Brigade then he would have joined Katerea and prevented her demise. They sensed that he was, mostly, pure of heart and it wasn't in his nature to do such a thing. Michael also had the thought that if Penemue was to literally fall for someone then they should be someone honorable.
Then the Fallen Angels had other thoughts. Azazel was intrigued by the power Issei had due to possessing two sacred gears, one of which he never even heard of. This warranted further study. Then there was Penemue who had... Other reasons to be intrigued. She saw herself blessed compared to her elder sister. Being a Fallen Angel let her have her own freedoms to do whatever she pleased. There were so many activities that she could never even think about taking part in when she was an Angel. After feeling all the raw power radiating off of Issei she knows exactly what she wants to do first.
Then there were the two newest additions to the group. The ones that have been watching over him for not so long and had the least idea of his total power. His cousins.
"H-How? H-How is he so... Strong?" Ony asked, still struggling to form a sentence after her beatdown from Tiamat.
"We knew that he was powerful but this...this is ridicules," Xia added to her sister's astonishment.
After hearing the two girls words, Kuroka looked to Issei with pride. He was only just a lost boy with no one but Ophis to call family. Then after years of training, he was not only able to be recognized as the strongest White Dragon Emperor the world will ever see, but also unofficially managed to become one of the Top Ten Strongest. For him to be the father of their unborn child was a blessing. But that was in the future. They're in the here and now; and what's important now is...
"Who even are you two?" Kuroka curiously asked. It had been on her mind for the past few minutes. The duos ki were similar to Issei's but she couldn't figure out why.
The twins looked at one another in search of their next move. Up until now, they didn't want to reveal their identities to anyone but at this point, they have nothing to lose. But before they had the chance, Lilith returned to them and answered in their place.
"My brothers' cousins."
"Cousins?" The girls of the group said in unison, none aware of Issei's extended family.
Once again before someone could give an answer to the groups' confusion, another new face to them came to deliver answers. "My darlings father had a sister he'd never knew existed. These two are her offspring." Tiamat informed.
"Who are you to claim him as yours?" Rias questioned.
"Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon," Lilith answered.
Tiamat unfurled her wings and radiated a partial amount of her power. Once again Issei was somehow able to attract another female leagues above them. So many girls in so little time really astonished them. With everything going on recently he barely got enough time with a majority of them. Grayfia, Rias and especially Kuroka had been stealing his attention from them. Thankfully, with their dates, he promised each of them they will have their chance.
"Issei has a lot of expla-"
"TREMBLE BEFORE US AS WE GIVE YOU EVERLASTING DARKNESS"
[SUPREMIC PRISON BALANCE BREAKER]
Before the shadow sphere encircling Issei finally dissipated, Ophis' trademark infinity symbol appeared in the center if it followed by an explosion of energy. All that was left from the explosion was Issei in his dual Balance Breaker armor standing before Shiroryuu.
"Finally you reveal your true power," Ryuu commented.
"Final warning father, cease what your doing now and let me help you regain control of your mind," Issei said, his voice sounding deeper and demonic. Even though he knew he had no other choice he didn't want to fight his own father.
Issei's response, however, was Shiroryuu charging at his son at full force. He attempted to punch Issei's faceplate but unluckily for him, Issei caught the punch and gave one in return. Ryuu was sent flying back to the school building where Issei followed soon after. When Shiroryuu finally managed to get a hold of himself he began to breathe fire and burned the already crumbling school. Issei easily dodged the burning debris but the surrounding dust clouds impaired his vision.
Issei descended to the center of the school and formed a sphere of energy in his palm. He poured more energy into it until it began to expand. While it was rapidly expanding, everything it touched began to disintegrate to ash. He didn't want to have to deal with anything getting in the way of the fight so he thought destroying the school would be the best course of action. Sona however, wasn't happy about this decision.
"I hope he realized we have to rebuild that," Sona said with an annoyed expression.
"Oh c'mon Sona don't be like that. You have to admit it looked super cool!" Serafall exclaimed joyfully. "I know Tsubaki thought it did!"
A blush appeared on Tsubaki's face while she attempted to readjust her glasses. "I-It looked impressive."
Rias noticed Tsubaki's embarrassment after what Serafall said and came to her aid. "Now, now Lady Serafall we should focus on the battle at hand."
"Aww, you're no fun Rias." Serafall pouted. She was sad that she couldn't continue the teasing toward Tsubaki but in the end, she complied.
Ony and Xia overheard their conversation and glanced at one another with a look of confusion on their faces. Their cousin was surrounded by so many odd people.
"How did Issei find these people?" Xia asked her sister.
Ony gave her sister a shrug as she too had no clue. To counteract this some of the girls decided to give the twins some backstory on how they met him. But unfortunately for Issei, some of the girls were too straightforward with their explanations.
"I was ordered to kill him."
"I tried to kill him."
"He killed my brother."
"Killed my master."
Those explanations came from Raynare, Kalawarner, Ravel, and Yubelluna respectively. They weren't the best depictions of Issei that anyone could offer but in reality, they were true. Because of this Ony and Xia thought negatively about their cousin but thankfully some of the other girls gave better explanations.
"He saved me from an arranged marriage."
"He freed me from my past."
"Saved me from being killed."
Came from Rias, Grayfia, and Kuroka respectively. As expected of the closest women to Issei, not including Ophis, their backstories with Issei were much more heartwarming than the previous three. Of course there were some details that Grayfia neglected but for the time being, that's all she would say for now.
"Are we even paying attention to the fight anymore?" Xenovia interrupted.
Everyone had been distracted by the twin Dragons that only the leaders had been paying much attention. Especially Lady Gabriel. She paid close attention to the battle but not in the way that everyone would expect her to. Instead of eyeing Issei as if she were awestruck struck she was staring at his father. She found it suspicious that he wouldn't understand that he was outmatched and retreat. True Evil Dragons were known to be battle maniacs but they weren't stupid. A beast such as himself should know when to swallow his pride and run away. Odd.
Kuroka was about to say something until she began to hear an odd noise. She looked at the very top of the barrier and saw someone trying to break in. He was a young man with short black hair and dressed in ancient Chinese armor. What set him aside from everyone else she had seen was that he wielded a large golden staff. And thus realized who it was. Instead of telling anyone about it she just ignored him and rolled her eyes.
'Idiot'
Meanwhile, Issei was still dominating the battle against his father. Whenever Shiroryuu would try to attack Issei head-on, Issei would dodge it then circle around his father and knock him back to the ground. Issei wasn't using the combined powers of his two sacred gears at all yet. All he needed was the additional power that came with the armor and his father stood no chance.
Shiroryuu made one last attempt to get some damage on his son but got the same result of getting knocked into the ground. Only this time he was too weakened to get back up. "I'm impressed...I truly stood no chance against you my son." Shiroryuu said while coughing some blood.
Issei descended next to his father and deactivated the faceplate of his armor. "Surrender now father, we can still avoid bloodshed." He offered.
"And then what Issei? We live happily and I help raise your first child? Yes, I know about it. I was there the night you visited the graves of your mother and me." Issei continued to listen to his father's words as he spoke. But he didn't exactly trust him so he created a sword of shadows just to be safe. "We could've had a long line of powerful Dragons ruling as a family. But instead, you decide to allow your race to die out." Issei said nothing but raised his sword above his head, preparing to finally end his father. "But still... I'm proud of you in a way. You have great conviction. Strength. Courage. You remind me of Lilith. She always stuck to her ideals and never gave up. She would be proud of you."
Issei's hands trembled while tears threatened to escape his eyes. He began to think that his father wasn't completely gone but sealed away under the hatred that grew in him. Maybe if he spared him then he would be able to bring back the father he once knew when he was a child.
If only.
While his son was distracted in thought, Shiroryuu summoned a knife that was laced with an infamous curse that could make even Ophis cower in fear.
"GAH!" He cried in pain. Just one small cut from the sword left him completely incapacitated. Thanks to Lady Gabriel using Ascalon she saved Issei from being harmed by Samaels Curse and left Shiroryuu paralyzed for the time being. Issei was left stunned by Gabriel's quick reflexes. If she hadn't intervened when she did it would be Issei on the ground instead of his father.
"Why did you bring that of all things?" Issei asked.
"I wanted to be safe. We planned to have three Dragons attending so it would've been nice to have something in case something happened." Gabriel explained.
"So you would've stabbed me if I went awol?" Issei asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"I would've lightly poked you," Gabriel claimed. "Now be a good boy or I will be forced to use it on you."
Issei sighed them turned back to see his downed father. He realized that the father he once knew was completely gone and there was no getting him back. He once again rose his sword above his head, this time prepared to finally do the deed. "Forgive me, father. But what I do now, I do for the good of all."
When Issei swung his sword down to his father, the barrier around the school shattered and a figure caused Issei and Gabriel to jump away. In the dust all Issei was able to see was a cloaked figure grabbing his father and retreating. Before he was able to chase down the cloaked figure, a certain monkey boy fell from the now broken barrier and landed next to Vali.
"It's about time! I've been trying to break through for so long!" He exclaimed, clearly annoyed.
"Bikou, what are you doing here?" Vali asked, seemingly coming out of nowhere.
"We're finally going to fight the northern earth gods, so I was sent to find you and bring you back." The now identified Bikou answered.
"I see. Well its about time." Vali replied. She and Bikou were preparing themselves to leave until she heard a voice coming from the group.
"That's so cruel Vali. You're leaving us for the terrorist organization. To think I thought of you as the daughter I never had," Azazel claimed with false sorrow.
Vali just shrugged to Azazel, knowing full well he knew why she was joining the Khaos Brigade. "Sorry, Azazel but being labeled as a bad guy is way more fun. I get more opportunities to fight stronger opponents." She replied.
Azazel just chuckled. He knew that she wouldn't kill anyone so, for now, he'll let her have her fun. While they spoke Bikou was getting a bit bored and decided to scan around for people in attendance. That's when he saw his favorite black cat.
"Hey, babe. It's been a while" Bikou said.
"Screw off monkey boy. You know I have a mate." Kuroka replied, clearly annoyed by Bikou's antics.
"Oh? But I don't see him. What he doesn't know can't hurt him ba-" Bikou was cut off when Issei appeared behind him and began to grind his still armored fist into his skull.
"Speak to her like that again, and I'll mount your head on your stick." Issei threatened, before releasing him.
"Noted," Bikou said weakly while on the ground.
Vali continued to stand there and snicker while Issei had put Bikou in his place. The lightly kicked his shoulder as a motion to get up. "Get up jackass we have places to be." After a few attempts of trying to reestablish himself, Vali knew that it wouldn't be happening anytime soon and activated a magic circle herself. But not before requesting one last thing. "Make sure to call me when the baby's born!"
Some of the newer women in the group such as Penemue and Gabriel were confused at what Vali had meant and looked to Issei for an explanation.
'I hate Vali.'
[Scene Break]
After Vali had left the three faction leaders brought back the soldiers who had been teleported away by the magicians at the start of the fight. When they returned all three factions worked together on rebuilding Kuoh Academy after Issei had willingly destroyed it during his fight. When the building was fixed only the faction leaders returned inside while everyone else remained outside.
A majority of the females were formally introducing themselves to Tiamat and the two twins. Xenovia and Irina, on the other hand, were off to the side and rekindling their friendship after Xenovia told her the real reason she never returned to the Vatican. Meanwhile, the only three guys were sitting on the schools' roof watching over everyone.
"I give this alliance a year until shit breaks loose." Kirai joked.
"You're such a jackass," Issei replied which punching Kirai's shoulder. "I never thought I'd see the day peace between these factions would become a reality. These past few years have been full of surprises."
"I'd say. Who knew that you'd attract so many women?" Kirai asked rhetorically. "You're gonna leave guys like Kiba all alone."
"I don't know. Looks like Kiba got his eyes set on someone." Issei noticed that Kiba hadn't been paying much attention to their conversation but was instead looking in the direction of Irina and Xenovia. Paying most of his attention to the former. "You should go talk to her dude."
Kiba snapped out of it and turned to Issei with a cocked eyebrow. "Since when do you care about my business? I seem to remember that we weren't on the best of terms."
Issei raised his arms defensively but still gave a shrug. "Hey we may have gotten off on the wrong foot but the fact of the matter is this. We both care about Rias and the rest of the peerage so let's just try and be friendly."
Kiba thought for a moment but in the end, he decided to roll with it. "It doesn't even matter dude. She's probably returning to the Vatican after the meeting. Then there's the fact that she's an exorcist while I'm a Devil."
"True. But I can probably convince Gabriel to station her here in Kuoh and go to school with us." Issei offered. "Plus who cares if you're in different factions? You know that I have lovers on all sides."
Kiba sat there for a quick moment and after it passed chuckled. "Well that's one way to start our friendship now isn't it?"
"The perks of being harem king."
After the leaders had finished the talks for peace they returned outside with everyone else to say their goodbyes. But before they left Issei remembered to make a request of Michael to fulfill a promise.
"Lord Michael. I have a big favor to ask of you." Issei said.
"Anything, as long as it is within my power," Michael replied.
"Do you think that you could allow Xenovia to pray again? I know it would mean a lot for her." Issei requested. Xenovia along with some others gasped upon hearing the request. A Devil being able to pray was something they never would expect.
Michael himself was surprised by such an unorthodox request but was more than willing to fulfill it. "Well, Xenovia is it the truth? Would you still pray even with the knowledge of Gods demise?"
"Yes, I would. Praying had brought me much comfort while I was under your service and it would be greatly appreciated if I could do so once more." Xenovia answered.
Michael noticed that Xenovia was speaking with all her heart. He thought that it would be a shame of someone like her were unable to pray just because she was a Devil. "I can see you speak the truth. Very well once I return to headquarters I'll make the change to the system."
"I think I'll stay here for a while. I can't believe how much I liked this place." Azazel said. "Plus it'll give me the opportunity to study your dual sacred gears."
Before Issei was able to deny Azazel the chance to do any research on him, Penemue hugged Issei from behind. "I'll do the same. It'll give me the chance to spend time with my little Issei."
Gabriel did nothing but watch her sister take the chance to spend time with the man she also loved. Michael saw the distress on her sister and allowed her to do the same. "You won't be needed in Heaven for the time being. If anything happens I'll make sure to get Griselda to call you."
Gabriel looked at her brother in shock and hugged him in gratitude. What she did next, however, surprised everyone. While Penemue had Issei from the back, Gabriel took her chance to palm Issei's cheeks and give him a passionate kiss.
"Ara ara what a bold Angel ufufu." Akeno teased.
"At this rate, she'll become a Fallen nya." Kuroka joked.
Michael enjoyed the sight of Gabriel embracing her love for another. She, of course, had platonic love for all of humanity and her brothers but her romantic love was reserved for one man. Issei Hyoudou. Just one person was able to attract women from so many sides. He would no doubt have a part of keeping this alliance intact. And God help the side that would do anything to break it.
When the kiss ended Gabriel and Penemue engaged in a minor back and forth argument. Issei took this as an opportunity to take in a full view of all the women he held dear. He would preserve the happiness in his life so he wouldn't be cursed with the same fate as his father, who in himself needed to be dealt with.
His fathers' pure soul was trapped within the hate. He knew he could never bring him back but what he could do was reunite him with his mother. That will be the day when he can finally bury him alongside his mother. He'll bury the past only to grow the future.
[The next day]
"Mornings must be fun kid." Azazel joked. Just a few minutes earlier some of the women in Issei's ever-expanding harem were arguing about where they who would have Issei at what time. Large harems. Great in theory but difficult in practice.
"What are you even doing here?" Issei asked.
"And in my chair no less," Rias added.
"I told you that I liked this place and wanted to research some of your sacred gears so I was allowed to become the new administrator of the Occult Research Club," Azazel answered.
"Under who's authorization?" Rias asked.
Azazel did nothing but allow the clubroom doors to open and reveal Sona alongside with Tsubaki. "Under my authorization." Sona noticed that Rias was about to argue this but cut her off before she was able to. "I had no choice Rias. It was either him or my sister."
"So you sold us out." Rias surmised.
Sona said nothing but slightly readjust her glasses. "Anyways, now that there's no immediate danger it's time to finally fulfill my request." She noticed that Issei was confused and so decided to remind him. "You'll be taking Tsubasa on a date this evening than with Tsubaki tomorrow evening."
This jogged Issei's memory. In fact, it jogged everyones memory because the day that Sona first mentioned these dates he was forced to go on one with the other girls. Then that's when the girls began to argue about which order they will be going on. Issei just sat there and sighed while Azazel sat back and enjoyed the show and snickering.
'Even without God; the world just keeps on turning.
I hope you guys liked this chapter beause it's the last one for a few months. I'll come back to it eventually but for now I'll focus on my other two stories.
ANYWAYS if you wanna hang out with me and other writers join the discord server.
The server link is discord .gg/ pCYkPRB (remove the spaces) If that doesn't work then pm me and I'll help you out
