At the Arena of the Tournament
[Odin vs Apollo]
In spite of his old age, Odin was still a formidable Norse God. From the short time he had to train before the tournament date was announced, he resolved to hone some of his abilities. Even though he was much stronger when he was younger, Odin wasn't hindered by his current age.
Apollo, a Greek God, wasn't exactly weak either. He may not have been as strong as the older Olympian Gods or even Hercules, but he was still an excellent archer. And he aimed to use that to his advantage.
The Greek God lifted his bow, and concentrated on where to eject his arrow. Manipulating the arrow with his light energy, Apollo released the arrow, making sure its target was set on Odin.
Much to Apollo's displeasure, Odin effortlessly dodged the arrow, and summoned the legendary spear known as Gungnir.
"Humph," Apollo huffed, "Do not tell me you plan to use that little spear of yours, Odin! It is no match against the power of my arrows."
Odin didn't respond, merely choosing to focus his energy into the glowing spear. Apollo scoffed and gathered another arrow into his bow. Wanting to finish the battle, the Olympian put more energy into his arrow, its power augmentation greater than the last time.
"And here I thought this tournament was going to be interesting," Odin muttered to himself, "What a shame."
"Hold your tongue!" Apollo bellowed as he ejected his arrow.
Odin threw the Gungnir spear towards the arrow. It looked as though Apollo's attack was going to pierce through Odin's spear, until Gungnir's tip began to generate high voltage bolts of electricity. Apollo's eyes widened when his arrow was disintegrated by Odin's spear, and pierced through his armor, sending him crashing out of the arena.
[Apollo has been defeated! Odin is the winner!]
The usual crowd of deities cheered out in glee.
Feeling real proud of himself, Odin sauntered out of the arena, debating whether or not to eat or watch the upcoming fight. On his walk, he spotted a meter tall being, covered in golden fur, with a wrinkled and creased face. Held in his hand was a staff-like weapon, with prayer beads on his forehead, shades, and a smoking pipe in his mouth.
"Sun Wukong," Odin greeted with a nod, "You ready for your first battle?"
Blowing out smoke from his pipe, Sun Wukong spared the Norse God a shrug of nonchalance.
"I didn't even bother to find out who I am facing, to tell you the truth. The son of Amaterasu and Vali Lucifer already had their battles, so I'm curious to see who my opponent is."
Food Court
"Damn it Issei, where are you?" Vali cursed.
It was as though time had stopped, and suddenly Issei was no longer sitting next to him. Vali normally wasn't concerned about his rival, but it still confused him on where Issei could have gone.
(You seem worried, Vali.)
The host of the Vanishing Dragon scoffed as he walked away from the food court. Albion's observation was correct, a factor of their friendship.
"I'm not worried, Albion. I'm just horribly confused. I would've heard the retreat of Hyoudou's footsteps anyway. Besides, he would have told me where he was gonna go before even moving. It's weird. One minute he's sitting next to me, and then he's suddenly gone."
(Hmm. That is troublesome. He'd best hurry though. That cousin of his is about to fight Sun Wukong.)
"It doesn't matter if Hyoudou needs to observe Yoru's fight. What does matter is that I need to find him. After all, he's the one who created this plan that involves him, myself, and Yoru."
Muttering to himself, Vali sprinted onwards in hurry to search for his rival/friend.
"Hyoudou, wherever you are, you better be there for a good reason."
Unbeknownst to Vali, a shadow was hovering above him, completely undetected.
Lobby
Yoru's eyes slanted as he furrowed his brows in confusion and impatience.
"I don't sense my cousin's presence anymore. He better not have left me and the Vanishing Dragon to deal with his plan. Then again, the fool isn't that type of person to just leave a tournament. Humph."
Yoru crossed his arms and scoffed in displeasure. It was almost his time to battle against his first opponent. He wasn't worried at all. Not even a little. His power had grown exponentially while he had been trapped within the depths of Death's Domain. That was precisely why the lost souls that existed in that realm were unable to consume him.
[Attention everyone! The fifth match of the first phase is about to begin!]
[Yoru vs Sun Wukong!]
At the mention of his name and the opponent's name, Yoru let a dark smirk envelop his face.
"So it begins. This'll be over quickly."
Feeling pleased, Yoru walked over to go to the arena, ready for the battle to begin.
Unfortunately for Yoru, only he was the only one to feel satisfied when his name was called. The rest of the beings, however, were not so happy.
Another Part of the Lobby
Odin and Sun Wukong subtly reacted as they heard the name of the latter's opponent.
"The son of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto. And here I thought he was dead." Sun Wukong commented lazily.
"...Humph," Odin huffed in distaste, "The son of the Moon. The exact opposite of Issei Hyoudou. I wonder how you'll fare against him."
Sun Wukong gave no reply, and simply transmitted away, leaving Odin to himself.
VIP Stateroom
"ARE YOU SHITTING ME?!"
The exclamation was uttered by Saji, who was having great difficulty in regaining his breath from screaming. He had immediately reacted as soon as Yoru's name was called.
"This can't be real!" Saji shouted, "I thought he was dead! We all thought he was gone for good!"
Saji wasn't the only one who was shocked at the sight of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto's son. The Occult Research Club, the Student Council, Gabriel, Serafall, and even Amaterasu were horrified. The three mentioned were all worried in due to their mutual concern for Issei. Gaia was perhaps the only one who didn't appear all that concerned.
'What is Tsukuyomi's son doing here?!' Amaterasu exclaimed in her thoughts, 'I didn't sense my brother at all in this tournament, and yet his son is here?! Oh no!'
"That can't be!" Rias gasped, "I thought Issei destroyed him!"
"We weren't there to see it!" Akeno pointed out.
"But he tried to kill Newby!" Saji began, "So there's no way he would have let him live!"
Feeling concerned for her son, Amaterasu attempted to search for Issei's energy signature. Her eyes widened when she received no response. Overprotective maternal instincts began to overwhelm Amaterasu as she stood up.
"I don't sense him!" She said in worry, "I don't sense my little Sun! Where could he be?!"
"Taking a trip to the past, if I'm correct." cooed a lethal yet seductive voice.
The Sun Goddess and the remainder of the members of the Stateroom turned to see the female personification of Death. Immediately a crushing aura began to envelop and dominate over the weaker beings, and they found themselves collapsing, with the exception of Amaterasu, Gaia, Serafall, and Gabriel.
"Shinigami?" Amaterasu questioned.
Death smiled as she looked over at the Sun Goddess.
"It's been a while, Goddess of the Sun. I didn't expect you to be at this tournament."
Saji widened his eyes at the woman, and found himself unable to breathe. Amaterasu tried to compose herself, knowing that Death was more or less an ally of her son.
"Where is my little Sun," She asked first, "And why on Earth is Tsukuyomi's son here?"
Death's smile widened, almost giving in to the urge of teasing the beings below it. However, as it and Amaterasu had mutual feelings regarding Issei, it ignored the urge.
"Well regarding Darling's case, he is trapped in a vision of the past. And the reason Yoru is alive and well all has to do with Issei."
Amaterasu widened her eyes.
"What do you mean, trapped in a vision of the past? Issei shouldn't have that ability because he didn't inherit it from myself or Izanagi."
"You're correct, Goddess of the Sun," Death remarked, "Issei does not possess that ability. But his 'loving' grandmother does."
Amaterasu felt her heart stop momentarily for just a second.
"No..." She breathed out, "Please, no! Not Izanami!"
Gaia sensed her friend's tension and tried to soothe her, only for Amaterasu to move away from her.
"That's not possible! How could she gain enough power to contact my little Sun?!"
"Izanami?" Gabriel questioned, "The Shinto Goddess of Creation and Death?"
"She's Issei's grandmother?" Serafall asked.
"No!" Amaterasu turned to look at the Devil and Angel with a wide-eyed expression, "She's not! At least...not biologically."
Death lost her smile, feeling that the tension was far too high for her to edge further.
"The fusion between her consciousness and the supernatural sent Darling on a trip to the past."
"But why?" Gabriel asked the Shinigami.
"Perhaps she wants Issei to see why everything turned out the way it did," Death answered with a nonchalant shrug, "She certainly loves and hates her adorable little grandson. Even if she is trying to kill him."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Saji repeated as he waved his hands, "This doesn't make any sense! So this Izanami woman is Newby's grandmother? And if that's true, then why does she want to kill him?"
Amaterasu gave Death a glossy-eyed stare that exuded great sadness and despair.
"My family...is twisted. From the beginning of Izanagi and Izanami's meeting up until Izanami's fall into Yomi. From that point on, it's gotten worse. In spite of what I've always told Issei, his safety was my first priority. I sent him to Earth for that reason. To get away from the supernatural. But Izanami wouldn't let go of her grudge."
Narrowing her eyes, Gabriel looked over to Death.
"How long is Issei going to be in the past?"
"Forget about how long he's going to be there!" Serafall cried out, "What if Ise-chan doesn't come back?!"
"Hmm," Death hummed in thought, "It all depends on how many memories Izanami allows Issei to see. All we can do is wait for Darling to come back. That is...if his grandmother ever releases him from the past."
"This can't be happening..." Amaterasu whispered to herself, prompting Gaia to envelop her into a hug.
Death tilted her head at the mixed display of emotions.
'Even though I am worried about Darling as well, I am not too concerned. After all, I am able to spot where he and the manifestation of his Solar Powers are. They are at the beginning of Shinto mythology. If Izanami has any shred of 'love' for Issei, then perhaps she might let him go. If not, then Darling will just have to find someway to get out of the past.'
Dimensional Gap
Leiko blinked several times in confusion as she looked at the dimensional screen. The Trihexa was focusing all of her attention on the screen, wondering what was happening. The Great Red on the other hand, was looking absolutely bored.
Sure, he was happy to see Issei's fight, and grudgingly applauded Vali's fight, but the others he couldn't care less about.
"Red, can you see where Ise-itoko is?" Leiko asked the Apocalypse Dragon.
"Yeah, yeah." Great Red droned in boredom.
The True Red Dragon God Emperor closed his eyes as he tried to find Issei's spiritual energy. His eyes then snapped open in confusion.
"That's strange. I sense him. But he's not at the tournament."
"What?!" Leiko exclaimed, "Well, where is he?!"
"Calm down already, cousin-in-law!" The True Dragon barked at Leiko, "That's what I'm trying to figure out."
The Apocalypse Dragon snarled in annoyance, trying to figure out where Issei was at the moment. He felt the vibration of 666's growl of annoyance as she tried to sense Issei as well.
"I...can't sense...Issei." The Trihexa's eyes started to constrict, causing Leiko to crawl away from her.
"Humph," Great Red huffed, "Now 666 is pissed off. Damn it Issei, where are you?"
"Ise-itoko wouldn't leave the tournament like that," Leiko pointed out, before her crimson-ruby eyes widened, "Could someone have taken him?!"
An opening space suddenly manifested within the Dimensional Gap, causing Leiko, Great Red, and the Trihexa to move their attention to the portal. Seconds later, a figure jumped out of the portal, and stood in front of the three inhabitants of the Dimensional Gap. Leiko widened her eyes at the newcomer, while the Trihexa sent the figure a twisted and deranged glare.
"What the hell?!" Great Red exclaimed.
It was a voluptuous young woman with sharp dark-golden horns, pale skin, wild black hair, and a unicursal hexagram on her stomach. Her body trembled with rage, causing her aura to disrupt the area of the Dimensional Gap.
The Alpha-Leviathan snarled as she looked over at the other occupants. From what she could sense, the first girl was human, and the other two beings were powerful creatures. But that didn't matter to her. She needed to track down Indra and bring back her fellow Leviathans, and swallow every drop of Solar Energy from the boy she had heard about.
Narrowing her eyes, the Alpha sent her eyes over to Leiko, who recoiled back.
"Where is the Heavenly Emperor?!" She roared,"Is he at that blasted tournament?!"
"Y-you mean Indra?" Leiko asked hesitantly.
Great Red scoffed as he looked at the Alpha.
"Just who the hell are you? And what do you need Indra for?"
"He promised me the consumption of Solar Energy. And then he summons those pathetic humans to steal away the rest of the Leviathans."
"Wait," Leiko began, "Solar Energy? Leviathans?! You mean Indra wanted to sic you after Ise-itoko?!"
"Humph, like that hasn't happened before." Great Red rolled his eyes, alluding to the Trihexa, whose eyes twitched at the mention of Issei.
"You fools are wasting my time!" The Alpha shouted with a scowl,"I will go find Indra myself!"
Before the others could say anything, the Alpha-Leviathan gathered a pool of energy and summoned it in the form of a portal. Increasing her energy, the Alpha flew towards the portal in a high amount of speed.
"Oh..." Leiko moaned as she palmed her face, "This can't be good."
"I know," Great Red agreed, "Issei's getting another member in his Unwanted Harem. I'm not sure if the kid can handle another one."
"I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT!" Leiko shrieked, "I'm talking about Issei being in actual danger! Didn't you hear her mention Indra? He's obviously planning to do something harmful to Ise-itoko! And I think it has something to do with those Leviathans!"
"Well, screaming like a damn banshee isn't helping anyone, now is it?!" The Apocalypse Dragon snapped back.
Tournament
[Yoru vs Sun Wukong]
The son of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto walked onto the arena as he spotted his opponent. Immediately after, a dark smirk pulled on his lips. Normally he didn't care about who he was fighting within the tournament, but not even he could ignore the excitement of battle.
Sun Wukong, in contrast to Yoru, was perfectly still. He showed no facial reaction, nor physical movement.
"Issei Hyoudou took great lengths of his power when he fought against you. Why you are back in the world of the living and standing on top of the arena in front of me, is beyond me."
Yoru lost his smile and crossed his arms in impatience.
"Why I'm back here is none of your business, Monkey King. And I don't feel like chatting with you, so let's just get to fighting already!"
[Ready?]
Yoru moved into a battle stance, while Sun Wukong remained in his spot.
[FIGHT!]
Ready to get into battle, Yoru charged head on, intending to headbutt "The Great Victorious Fighting Buddha". He gathered his lunar power into the form of an energy sphere and augmented his speed.
Sun Wukong remained still. As soon as Yoru edged closer, the Monkey King lifted up only a finger. Yoru's shield bashed against Wukong's finger, and the Lunar God found himself getting angry and confused. Sun Wukong showed no resistance as he pushed back Yoru's shield with just his finger.
'What's going on here?!' Yoru shouted in his thoughts.
Suddenly, a portal opened up near Yoru and Sun Wukong, prompting the former to edge away from the latter. The Alpha-Leviathan jumped out of the portal, and glared all around her. Yoru and Sun Wukong were perplexed enough to exchange confused glances.
The crowd of Gods and Goddesses were silent, and looked on in amazement as they caught sight of the Alpha. Noticing all the stares all around her, the Alpha-Leviathan growled and turned her attention to Yoru and Sun Wukong. Unbeknownst to her, a black substance was hovering above her.
"Where is he?! Where is that swine Indra?!"
Before Sun Wukong or even Yoru could answer, the substance suddenly covered the Alpha and engulfed her. The Alpha screamed and shrieked as she tried to get out of her trap.
"It's such a shame that I had to use her. But it seems the other Leviathans missed their leader so much that I just had to take her back."
Yoru and Sun Wukong looked up to see a grotesque figure that appeared to be clad in a symbiotic black suit. The black substance that enveloped the Alpha-Leviathan glided over to the figure, which allowed him to absorb the fragment of power. Yoru growled, unable to believe the power surge emitting from the figure.
'Who the hell is this guy?!'
The black-suited entity flared out his aura, causing pollution to the air and environment around him.
"Heh heh heh heh heh! With this power, defeating Shiva will be a simple task!"
Sun Wukong sported a glare as he stared coldly at the entity.
"Indra!"
The Heavenly Emperor smirked as he transmitted away, and then reappeared in front of Sun Wukong, who was momentarily taken aback at Indra's speed. Suddenly, a black and white sphere of energy gathered into Indra's suit-covered hand. Smirking darkly, Indra pushed the sphere into Sun Wukong's stomach. On contact, a vast dome-shaped blast flattened and erased the entire portion of the arena.
The Gods and Goddesses widened their eyes in shock as they covered their eyes from the blinding light. Yoru shielded his eyes as well, trying to find where Indra was as well. From above Yoru, the very same substance that captured the Alpha-Leviathan hovered over him.
As the light cleared, Yoru removed his arms from his eyes, and searched for Indra's energy.
"Where are you, you damn bastard!" He shouted out.
Yoru then widened his eyes as he looked down to see a shadow above him. The son of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto widened his eyes and looked up to see the black substance. Snarling, Yoru flared out his lunar aura.
"Not this time!"
Yoru flew from the substance, and soared away. As he summoned his energy shield, Yoru got ready to fly upwards, until a hand shot through his shield, and grabbed him by the throat.
"What?!"
"What was that you were saying?" Indra mocked, "Not this time?"
"FU-"
Before Yoru could curse the Hindu God, Indra reached his other hand, and tore it through the Lunar God's stomach. Yoru coughed out a mouthful of blood, and gasped for air.
'W-what is this power?!'
Indra smirked as the black substance he had summoned began to glide over to Yoru. The substance then swallowed Yoru whole, allowing Indra to absorb the portion into his black suit.
"Excellent!" Indra bellowed, "This is truly excellent!"
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"What is this fool doing?!"
"Is that a suit?!"
Indra ignored the crowds of deities, and looked down to the space where the arena used to be.
"What you are planning is not going to work, Indra."
The black-suited Heavenly Emperor turned around, and was delivered a punch to the face powerful enough to make him soar downwards. Indra's eyes constricted as black blood seeped from his costume. As he gained his balance, he looked up, and his eyes widened in surprise to see who had punched him.
Her skin was a healthy pale-white, in great contrast to her long black hair that flowed in sync with the cool air. In spite of that fact that she was still in her voluptuous adult form, she was clad in her familiar black Gothic Lolita fashion. Her dark-gray eyes, which were only soft and affectionate towards her mate, were ruthless and unfeeling.
"Ouroboros Dragon," Indra greeted, "I did not expect you to be here."
Ophis chose not to respond, instead keeping her eyes on the Heavenly Emperor. Indra narrowed his eyes as he spotted another piece of the black substance behind the Infinite Dragon God.
It was fortunate for Indra that he had destroyed the ground arena, and the fact that no other being could sense the life force of the black substance. And Ophis had no way of knowing. Indra smiled, feeling confident in himself. He made sure not to show any facial reaction to the Ouroboros Dragon.
"Your power has increased to exponential levels. You also possess power that predates that of the Angels, as well as the Three Factions. What is the source of your strength?"
'You're about to find out, Ouroboros!' Indra hissed in his thoughts.
The black substance began to gllide closer to Ophis, who remained still in her position.
"You will find out soon enough." He uttered.
"Guess again!"
Both Ophis and Indra widened their eyes at the sound of the voice. Seconds later, two medium-sized flaming energy spheres descended towards the black substance behind Ophis. The spheres then combined into a sphere resembling a giant yellow-orange, sun-like energy sphere, and collided with the substance, completely eradicating it.
The explosion created another blinding light, and when it faded, Ophis opened her dark-gray eyes. She was in a pair of warm yet strong arms that radiated powerful Solar Energy. The person was holding her closely, as though he never wanted to let go of her.
Ophis smiled warmly as she snuggled into the person's chest. She knew who it was, and her emotions softened as she felt safe.
"My Issei." She whispered.
"It's all right, Ophis." The Solar God said as he bent down to kiss his wife on the lips, "Everything's gonna be okay."
"I, am happy that you are here."
Indra scowled deeply as he spotted the young man holding the Ouroboros Dragon safely. Issei kept his smile on Ophis, but then his smile formed into a glare as he sent his attention to Indra, who formed a smirk on his face.
"Do you sense them, Issei Hyoudou? Do you sense Vali Lucifer? Do you also sense the son of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto as well? Not only do I possess the powers of the Vanishing Dragon, the Moon, and the entire Leviathan population, but I have my own power increased to extreme levels. You don't stand a chance!"
Issei lowered his head, his hair starting to overshadow his eyes. His hair blew along with the wind. Ophis' eyes were shadowed as well, with anyone near her unable to see her expression.
"You've gone too far this time, Indra."
"And just what do you plan to do about it?"
At that very moment, Ophis moved herself out of Issei's arms and stood next to her mate.
Two powerful swords manifested in Issei's hands. The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, and the blade of Albion glowed with intense energy. The powers of Ddraig, the Yamata-no-Orochi, and the clone of the Vanishing Dragon surrounded Issei in a multi-colored aura.
Issei looked over to Ophis, and leaned forward to give the Infinite Dragon God another full kiss on the lips. In spite of the current situation, Ophis resisted the urge to squirm under the sensational pleasure. Seconds later, Issei released his lips from his wife.
"Be careful, my beloved Issei."
"I will."
"...Do you promise?"
Issei turned to face the Ouroboros Dragon, noticing the prideful yet worried look in her eyes. Flashing her a reassuring smile, Issei nodded to her.
"I promise."
And that was enough for Ophis. Smiling at her mate, Ophis transmitted away. With no one to distract him, Issei sent his glare over to the smug Indra.
"Where have you been, son of Amaterasu?"
"..."
"Not going to answer, huh? As I would expect, from the savior of the world."
Issei maintained his glare and scowled at the Hindu God.
"There's always some idiot who wants to dominate everyone in his path and remain superior."
"Flattery will get you nowhere," Indra quipped, "And what about you, Issei Hyoudou? You acting like some sort of hero?"
"I'm not a hero, Indra."
"Do not lie, son of Amaterasu. You've saved people's lives, the world, and even your own family. And you don't refer to yourself as a hero?"
"I didn't do any of those things just because it was the right thing to do. I also didn't do it just to paint myself as a hero. I did it because I wanted to do it."
"You're deluding yourself, boy."
"Nothing's changed, Indra. I am who I am, and now that I've thought about it, there is nothing wrong with that. The past continues onto the future just like it always has, constantly bringing conflicts and solutions."
"Conflicts and solutions, you say?"
"Exactly. You're a part of my conflict, and I have a solution to end that conflict."
"Well, you'd best hope your solution works!" Indra shouted as his body began to expand within the black suit.
Issei narrowed his eyes as he readied himself. As he looked up at the sky, he spotted an illusion of a familiar Shinto Goddess, who stared down at him with her original flesh intact. The expression on her face was mixed, with one of the conflicting emotions she harbored towards her grandson predominating her true feelings.
Issei stared back at the vivid image of Izanami-no-Mikoto.
'...You just won't quit, will you, Grandma? Well, I'm sorry to say, but I'm not quitting anytime soon!'
"Prepare yourself, Issei Hyoudou!" Indra screamed, the Leviathan suit increasing in power.
Issei tightened his grip on the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and the Vanishing Blade.
{Partner, be careful...}
[Issssssei...]
((Be careful, kid.))
'...I will.'
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