I do not own Highschool DxD.

And now we come to a scene I'd been looking forward to writing ever since this fic started.


Azazel was, in a word, disappointed.

It had been obvious from the outset that Cattleya wasn't exactly a technician. Her strikes were powerful, yes, and somewhat varied in their angles, but that did not change that they were simply powerful. Straight power was, of course, useful, but raw power without technique to back it was easily subverted or dealt with.

Beyond that, it was just deathly tedious to fight. There was no imagination needed, no tricks or quirks in the opponent's fighting style to learn and best; all there was power striking with the force of a hundred elephants and the intelligence of ants.

Azazel yawned as he blocked yet another shot from Cattleya, earning a sharp-tongued remark from the arrogant Devil. Once the attack had ceased, the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels casually reached into his coat.

"I'm pretty bored right about now. You mind if I spice things up?"

From the fabric, Azazel withdrew an incredibly short spear. It was golden, with a handle equal in size to the head and a purple gem resting upon the handle.

"What are you holding?" Cattleya demanded, sounding mildly confused.

"Something much more interesting than war. Call it my hobby." Azazel raised the spear so that the moonlight glanced off of the metal. "This is the Downfall Dragon Spear - an artificial Sacred Gear developed by yours truly. Balance Break."


As soon as the aura was released, the attention of nearly everyone - magicians, Angels, Devils and Fallen Angels - broke from the battle still raging around them to stare at the Fallen Angel. Chiefly among their number was a certain brunette Angel.

Azazel had been encompassed by an enormous sphere of light. A moment later, that same sphere contorted, twisted and shaped itself into a humanoid form.

Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished, leaving behind Azazel.

The Fallen Angel Governor-General was now covered by an immense golden armor, set with purple gems. The armor was clearly draconic in influence, but the thing that held Issei's attention most the aura itself.

"Ddraig? What is that? That aura?" Issei asked as he looked on in awe of the Governor-General.

"He managed to make a pact with Fafnir?" A chuckle escaped the Red Dragon Emperor. "I suppose he truly is the strongest Fallen Angel. A monster in every sense, brains and brawn."

"Fafnir?"

"I'll explain later."


Azazel raised his now-armored palm at the Leviathan descendant. "Come here."

"I'll kill you!" Cattleya snarled as she obliged him, tearing forwards whilst enveloped in her snakelike aura. As she did so, Azazel formed a spear of light in his hand.

Then, all of a sudden, Azazel was behind Cattleya, who had begun screaming in pain from an enormous gash that had appeared from nowhere on her shoulder. Issei's jaw dropped wide at this display.

Cattleya, in response, spun in midair. Half a moment later, her fingers began to...

...extend?

Then, the fingers swelled up and burst, and from each burst came forth a legion of new hands, which continued this pattern as they rocketed towards Azazel at breakneck speed.

"I am not necessarily needed for the creation of our new world!" Cattleya yelled in desperation as the extensions wound themselves around his left arm and seemingly melted into it. No matter what Azazel did, the extensions wouldn't break; even his light spear did not get them to so much as budge.

"If I can take out even one of the Three Great Powers, then I welcome death!" Cattleya shrieked. "I'll destroy myself for glory!"

"Destroy yourself?" Azazel said dismissively. "I don't want to mock your hopes and dreams, but it doesn't seem worth it!"

Then, to Issei's shock and amazement, the governor-general, without a hint of hesitation, sliced cleanly through his own shoulder, separating himself from the crazed Devil King descendant.

"You'll still die," Azazel said.

With a quick toss of his spear, Cattleya had been skewered through the skull.

As she screamed her last, she dissolved into nothingness, the descendant of Leviathan felled in two strikes.

"But I'm only willing to give up an arm for you," Azazel finished, moments before the golden armor disintegrated. A quick healing spell later, and the blood gushing from his mutilated arm ceased to flow.

Into Azazel's remaining hand drifted the purple gem that had rested on the end of the spear.

"And yet again, there's still plenty of room for improvement," he murmured, staring at the sphere, before tucking it back into his coat.


"He cut off his own arm...?" Issei whispered, shocked by the short sequence that had just taken place. He was jolted back to reality, however, when a hand came to rest on his shoulder.

"Issei, now isn't the time to gawk," said Mirana. "There are still magicians who have yet to be dealt with."

"Right," Issei said, reluctantly tearing his eyes away from Azazel and going back into the fray.


The remaining magicians were killed off at an almost leisurely pace; with the gate broken and the one leading the charge dead, there was no reason to fight aggressively from any of the powers.

Azazel, meanwhile, stayed up in the air; Issei supposed he'd earned the rest.

As Issei deflected a magician's close-ranged magical blast and subsequently decapitated them, however, a thought occurred to him.

Where's Vali?


Despite the pace taken by the alliance, they made good time in polishing off the remaining enemy forces.

However begrudgingly, Issei had to admit to having his hide saved at least once by Rias' new piece, the boy's magically-based bow-and-arrow combination coming into its own in aerial combat.

High above the school, Azazel allowed himself a grin as he watched the last magician die.

"Well, that's nice. They've annihilated everyone."

The moment these words left his lips, however, somebody slammed into his back with titanic force, sending the Governor-General crashing into the ground and restarting Kuoh Academy's crater collection.

Well, almost everyone.


Issei, at the time, had made the foolish mistake of allowing himself to relax for a moment, take in their rather bloody handiwork.

The magicians were dead, Azazel's opponent had fallen, the gate had been shut for good. He'd almost thought that the battle had been won.

Issei himself wasn't much worse for wear, save a small burn on his shoulder. Looking around, he could see that the story was mostly the same for the rest of the Saints. The Gremory and Sitri groups' injuries had been more serious, but none were life-threatening.

This small bit of satisfaction was dashed when Azazel came crashing down not fifteen feet away.

As the Fallen Angel pulled himself from the pit, seemingly unhurt by the impact, he groaned.

"Oof... you got me. Must be losing my edge." He turned to look up at the sky, resting his head on his remaining hand while a mildly annoyed smirk came across his face. "Bad Vali."

Sure enough, when Issei turned to follow the Governor-General's gaze, he was met by the sight of the White Dragon Emperor, cloaked in a white armor not dissimilar to Azazel's.

"Sorry, Azazel," Vali replied, his tone indicating those words to be a lie. "Things just looked more interesting on this side."

Issei's teeth clenched. "So Vali was the betrayer. Why am I not surprised?"

"I can understand," Azazel said as stood up, brushed himself off and spread his twelve black wings. "There is, however, something I'd like to ask you." Azazel sprang into the air, coming to float evenly with Vali. "You know Shemhazai, my vice Governor-General? Well, he's recently informed me that someone's been gathering the dangerous members and elements of the Three Great Powers."

Azazel gave a humorless half-grin to Vali, tipping his head as he did so. "What were they called? The "Khaos Brigade"?"

Vali didn't answer.

"So," Azazel continued, "I bet I can guess who's leading you - has to be Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon, right?"

"Ophis?" Issei gasped.

"Yes, it's true that I've sided with her," Vali said, speaking as though he were discussing the weather. "But believe me, neither of us has the slightest interest in world domination. We're just a group that formed in order to use our power - that's all."

Azazel shrugged. "I suppose that makes sense. Conspiring with Cattleya seemed beneath you, but even still... both of you had Devil titles stolen, so I wasn't sure..."

"He's a Devil King descendant too?!" Serafall cried.

It wasn't her that Vali was looking at when he responded, however.

Instead, the White Dragon Emperor stared Issei down, his expression unreadable behind his white metal mask.

"My name is Vali Lucifer! I am a direct descendant of one of the dead Devil Kings - though my mother was human, thus making me a half-blood. My father was the grandson of the Great Devil King Lucifer!"

Two, four, then six Devil wings forced themselves from Vali's back, enshrining the blue Diving Dividing's aura in a shroud of black.

"So he is a descendant of a Devil King and the possessor of the Vanishing Dragon simultaneously?" Issei could hear Deethelm murmur. "Then his power is..."

"I believe the term 'miracle' suits me well," Vali said, his tone nonchalant. "If only the same could be said of you, Issei Hyoudou. Fate can be cruel, wouldn't you agree?"

Every single head promptly turned to look at the brunette Angel.

Issei bit his lip. "Maybe."

"I am the strongest dragon," Vali boasted. "And the blood of the Great Devil King Lucifer flows through my veins."

"That proves what exactly?"

"But you..." Vali said dismissively without answering Issei's question, "...you're just a former human, reincarnated out of pity. Before you became an Angel, you weren't even an impressive high school student. That is to say, aside from the Boosted Gear, you are nothing. It's disappointing. It's so disappointing that it's funny."

Issei clenched his teeth, but didn't respond.

"Even though we are rival Sacred Gears..." Vali droned on, "you and I are as far apart as the sky to the earth. No... more than that."


For several moments, Vali hung there, saying nothing, mildly interested in what his rival's response would be. He expected anger, frustration or fear - all excellent means of getting a Sacred Gear user to fight seriously.

What neither he nor anyone else expected was what Issei actually said.

"You're right."

Not only Vali, but the Devils, Fallen Angels and Angels present all appeared incredibly confused by this response.

"You're right," Issei repeated. "It is disappointing."

"So, then-" Vali asked, before Issei cut him off.

"It's disappointing that the White Dragon Emperor had to buy into this crap."

Vali blinked behind his mask. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We're not rivals, Vali, and I'm not going to fight you."

The half-Devil's eyes narrowed. "You are the Red Dragon Emp-"

"No, I'm not," Issei said, his voice growing testy. "I am the Jack of Hearts - one of Lady Gabriel's Brave Saints who happens to wield the Boosted Gear. I am not the Red Dragon Emperor - that's Ddraig, and he's not me."

"You reject that proud title?" Vali asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.

"Of course. Pride's a sin, after all."

"It's not pride to accept a title that-"

"The same title that's been used by mass murderers and psychotics who wielded it? Only one creature who used that title has an ounce of my respect, and that's Ddraig himself. And unlike you, I don't intend to live in somebody else's shadow my whole life and demand respect because of it."

Azazel could practically hear the fuses blowing in Vali's brain, despite the fact that Vali's voice remained calm and controlled.

This kid's got no idea how much he's pissing Vali off right now...

"You seek to defy fate, then?" Vali demanded. "A foolish choice. We are the Red and White Dragon Emperors - we must always clash. It's nothing more than destiny."

"And you believe that?" Issei snapped. "There's no fate in this, Vali. The previous hosts of our Sacred Gears didn't fight because they didn't have a choice. They fought because they wanted to. Ddraig and Albion might have been perfect opponents for each other, but they didn't fight each other because destiny said they had to. They fought because they wanted to, just like their hosts. There's nothing forcing us to do the same."

"Are you trying to make peace with me?" Vali said, chuckling mirthlessly.

"Vali, once the Three Factions unite, they'll turn their focus on this "Khaos Brigade" post-haste, and they'll probably get other mythologies to join in. You and I both know that you won't last a year." Issei turned his gaze to Sirzechs, then to Azazel. "They'll probably be a lot more lenient if you surrender sooner rather than later."

Sirzechs shrugged and nodded, while Azazel rubbed his chin with his remaining hand, saying nothing. Issei, for his part, breathed a sigh of relief at having guessed their responses correctly.

"Then there is yet another way we are different, Issei Hyoudou," Vali spat, disgusted at Issei's words. "I am a powerful warrior with no fear of battle or death. You, on the other hand, are a coward, an insult to both the Heavenly Dragon dwelling within you and Heaven itself."

Issei gnashed his teeth at this remark, but did not respond.

"But, if you claim that we will only clash if we choose to, then that is simple enough to fix. I simply need to force you to choose battle."

Issei's eyes narrowed at Vali, but he still said nothing.

"So then," Vali said, a wicked grin coming onto his face behind the mask. "If you won't fight without a motivation, how about I give you one? That family of yours, perhaps?"

The Jack's eyes widened slightly.

"Yes, I think the role of an avenger suits you well. Once I've slaughtered both your mother and father, perhaps you'll finally find the mettle required to come and face me. And if that's not enough, I can kill your fellow Saints, too."


Michael listened to Vali speak with steadily-growing disgust.

The half-Devil was certainly strong - no one was denying that much. But the sheer arrogance with which he bandied it about was both tiresome and repugnant to the leader of Heaven.

Michael would, however, have admitted to the sin of pride at hearing Issei's response and attempts to quell Vali Lucifer without violence.

It was all for naught, however, and at Vali's threat towards not just Issei's family but Heaven's Saints, Michael stepped foward, more than willing to kill Vali right then and there and fully intending to battle him in Issei's stead.

He, stopped, however, when he looked towards the Jack of Hearts.

The brunette had begun shaking, and after a few moments, the Boosted Gear appeared across Issei's left arm.

"Issei?" Michael called.

Just as the word left his lips, everyone in the area felt an incredible burst of power blast forth from the Jack, and all observing were blinded by a flash of crimson light.

Azazel's sight was the first to return, and when it did, all he could do was shoot a quizzical look at Issei's form.

"Well, of all the things I might have expected... that wasn't it."


And cut.

*Begins laughing like a demented circus clown on meth*

Also, wanted to address this:

That's right, Mirana. You tell him. Because God forbid you let him leave the area of the anti-teleportation in order to go get reinforcements. I mean, that would be stupid!

Right, because they were 100% aware of where the edge of the teleportation field was and definitely weren't under orders to get Gasper back in any case.