One-Punch DxD: Legacy
IT'S ALIIIVE!
Good to see you again, dear readers! New year and the previous year were hectic so it took me this long to update another chapter. Without further ado, enjoy!
Beta-read and co-written with i4md347h.
Chapter 56: Heaven's Door (II) - Unexpected Occurrence
The occupants were gathering around the dining table for breakfast, one guest sitting besides one Irina Shidou.
"I am very glad that my daughter is enjoying her stay in Japan, and grateful to all of you for taking care of her." Touji Shidou spoke as he received another serving of tea courtesy of his daughter.
"On the contrary, Irina-chan has been a very good girl to have around." Haruka Hyoudou replied with a pleasant smile. "Who knows what would have happened without her."
"Come on, Ms. Haruka. I didn't do that much, did I?" Irina replied with a blush.
"Ms. Haruka is correct." Xenovia added her two-cents as she bit into her toast. "Irina is a great comrade to us. Many times occurred where I would rely on her." Everyone nodded in agreement, making the reincarnated angel to blush with added embarrassment, although she was not looked upset.
"It gives me joy that my daughter is doing well." Touji nodded in approval, before he turned towards Issei. "Ise-kun, did my daughter give you any hard time?" Somehow, there was a hint of teasing in his tone.
Issei blinked at the sudden question directed to him. He glanced at Irina for a second - the girl was looking at him, as if expectantly, before he returned to regard the older man. "Well, um, Irina has been nothing but helpful. I'm very glad that I met her again after she moved to England a decade ago." At the reply, Touji nodded again, while Irina smiled pleasantly.
"I see…." Touji simply stared at Issei before he turned his gaze towards Irina. "...Daughter, would you mind showing me your wings?"
"Um, okay?" Irina complied as she revealed her angelic features. Touji regarded the white wings and he nodded.
"So you haven't attempted making babies with Ise-kun. Very well." Touji said with a neutral tone, causing Issei and Irina to blush awkwardly at each other.
"F-f-father, what are you saying!?" Irina spluttered. "I am an angel, Lord Michael's Ace of Heaven! I can't partake things like… Like…." Her eyes trailed towards the awkward-looking Issei, before she took a deep breath and chose to close her eyes and clasped her hands in prayer, doing her best not to let her mind wandering towards 'dangerous territory'.
Everyone was looking awkward and amused at the same time, when Xenovia spoke up. "Well, it is bad if Irina were to try making babies with Ise… She's gonna fall."
"Xenovia, you're not helping!" Irina retorted at the remark.
"True, while I'm proud that Irina has received the position in Lord Michael's peerage, I am also sad that my daughter won't be able to give me a grandchild easily." Touji said.
As a matter of fact, it is possible for angels to procreate and conceive children without having to fall from grace. However, the process is complicated and only has one in a hundred chances of success. Basically, two angels would be placed within a special bounded field where they would perform the intercourse, and the deed had to be done out of pure love instead of lust or obsession. Any impure thoughts or emotions during the ritual would cause either or both of them to fall.
Hence pure-blooded angels were low in numbers ever since the Great War and the death of the Heavenly Father. Pure-blooded angels could not be created conveniently and conventional procreation had a high risk of them falling.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that, is there?" Saitama said after swallowing a banana. "They love each other. If they want kids but too scared to fuck, they can just adopt."
Everyone, especially Issei and Irina, only stared at Saitama with mixed reactions. Crude choice of words, but he had a point. It never ceased to amuse everyone to know that Saitama could say some wise words despite his laidback attitude.
"True, true." The priest agreed. "However, fortunately the current alliance between Three Factions of Christianity had allowed Heaven to come up with this idea…" Touji then reached out to his pocket and pulled out an item, before he placed it on the table.
"...A door-knob?" Saitama voiced everyone's thoughts on the table.
"Not just any door-knob." Touji elaborated. "This serves as an access to an interdimensional room invented by heaven, where angels can perform… the deed without repercussions."
The straight-to-the-point explanation put the entire room into silence; everyone staring at the magical door-knob while taking in Touji's every word. Eventually, the silence was broken by a certain Nekoshou. "So I guess the little angel can officially join Ise-chin's harem, nya?"
Irina was choked by her own spit while her expression turning into a flustered mess, while Issei simply looked away awkwardly. Everyone else was either blushing, or sporting looks of agreement. "Of course! If what Touji said is true, then Irina can give me a grandchild as well!" Haruka clapped in excitement.
"Ms. Haruka?!" Irina turned at the matriarch.
"Oh, this is wonderful! Let's see…" Haruka then counted with her hands while glancing at the girls. "My son has already done it with Asia, Xenovia, Rias, Akeno, Kuroka, Ravel…"
"Mom, do you really have to mention that?!" Issei cried out with flustered face, along with the aforementioned girls.
As if ignoring her son's plea, Haruka carried on. "I guess the only ones left are Koneko and Irina. So, ladies!" Her eyes were practically glittering as she turned towards the girls in question. "Now that Touji has given the opportunity, you know what to do!"
"Honey." Haruka then turned to her husband, who gestured at the entire room. "...It's kind of not the time and place here, don't you think?"
The Hyoudou matriarch blinked and she was finally aware about the situation. "Right, of course. Sorry that I'm getting too excited." She coughed into her hand in embarrassment, but she certainly did not look regretful.
"It is alright. Besides, I believe Haruka has a point." Touji replied before he turned to look knowingly at his daughter. "I won't force you to do things that you don't want. I'm simply giving an alternative. Whether you want to use it or not is completely up to you. Know that I will always feel proud of your life choice, Irina."
Irina stared at her father for a moment, before she regarded the magical door-knob. Then, a small smile grew on her face. "...Thank you, father."
Rias then decided to take it upon herself to change the subject. "Mr. Shidou, would you mind me asking if you have other business on Kuoh, aside from visiting your daughter?" She asked politely.
"No, you are correct. While I wish this visit to be social, I'm afraid I am here for a task from the Vatican." Touji straightened up. "The truth is, I and one other person, are here to escort a certain individual of importance to have an audience with Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri's peerages, who oversee this town."
"Other person?"
"You're escorting someone? Wait, you don't mean..."
Touji nodded, "Yes, as a matter of fact, she originally intended to join me here, but she had to make a last-minute arrangement. However, I believe she will arrive here at any moment now…"
As if on cue, another door-bell sound echoed throughout the house. "Ah, I believe that is her." The priest remarked.
As Saitama took it upon himself this time to get the door, Xenovia somehow had a sense of foreboding; her instinct told her to hide somewhere. However, she forced herself to ignore it in favour of breakfast with her newfound family.
A couple of minutes later, Saitama returned along with another guest into the dining room. "Hey, Xenovia, Irina; there's this lady saying that she wants to talk with you two." The man pointed his thumb at the woman following him.
She was a beautiful woman of Northern European descent in her late 20s or early 30s garbed in nun attire, with her blonde hair sticking out from her head-dress. Her blue eyes scanned the room until they landed on the aforementioned girls, who looked apprehensive at her appearance.
"Boss Griselda?"
"Sister Griselda!"
Without hesitation, Irina and Xenovia concurrently rose from their seats in greeting, the former looking nervous while the latter downright scared. Everyone else seemed interested by the development, opting to observe for the time being.
Touji on the other hand, chose to stand up and approach the nun. "Allow me to introduce you all, my colleague for this assignment - Griselda Quarta, Lady Gabriel's Queen of Hearts." To prove her status as a Brave Saint, Griselda revealed her white wings and halo for a few seconds before putting them away from view.
"It is a pleasure to meet all of you." the newly-introduced reincarnated angel gave a polite bow to everyone in the room. "Oh, on a related note, Mr. Shidou." she addressed the clergyman. "The Cardinal Priest is on his way here."
"Truly?!" Touji was barely keeping his voice tone level, not expecting the news from his colleague. In fact - everyone in the room, sans the Hyoudous, also showed various degrees of surprises, which did not go unnoticed by Issei and Saitama.
Griselda on the other hand, maintained her calm smile. "Yes. Originally, the visit would have to wait for another day or two, but His Eminence wanted to speed things up." However, before Griselda could have said anything further, another door-bell sound was heard from the front door. "...It appears that His Eminence has arrived a lot earlier than I expected." She remarked with a silent sigh.
This time, Haruka dutifully walked out of the room towards the front door, followed by Touji. "I'll come with you." which Haruka simply replied with a nod.
A minute later, Haruka returned while looking astounded at the guest following behind her; her head was craning upwards at the sheer height of the new arrival. When the said new arrival stepped inside the room, an indescribable pressure fell into the room, causing everyone to freeze on their spot, not daring to make any sudden movement - with the exception of Griselda, Touji (who were accustomed to his presence), Saitama, Issei (due to their respective immense strength and power) and Haruka (due to her being a normal human without any sort of sixth sense whatsoever).
The occupants also found their gazes trailing up at the guest - an elderly man in priest vestments towering at roughly 2 meter high with white hair and wrinkling skin to prove his old age. However, the most prominent features were his bulging muscles from neck to toe, hugged by the fabric of his clothing.
Touji then stood aside as he cleared his throat before speaking up. "Allow me to announce the arrival of His Eminence Vasco Strada, Cardinal Priest of St. Peter Vatican."
Everyone in the room immediately stood up; Irina, Xenovia and Asia being the first to kneel and bow in respect, while the rest bowed lightly. Issei and Saitama were the last ones to follow, only because everyone else did so.
"Please, be at ease. I am barging into your house, after all." With one raised hand, the Cardinal, Vasco Strada spoke in unexpectedly gentle tone. He then turned to smile at the devil in the room. "Lady Rias Gremory, am I correct? It is a pleasure to finally meet you."
The pressure which had been coming from the Cardinal Priest suddenly vanished as well, allowing the devils to relax and respond properly, "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Strada." Rias replied after barely able to put on a polite smile. "After all, it's not every day devils like my peerage and I can talk with a legend such as yourself."
Saitama then leaned to whisper at the church trio. "...Legend?"
"Come on, dad…. We just talked about him yesterday." Issei dryly retorted. "Did you even read - ugh, nevermind that. I don't think you even touched it." Issei sighed while shaking his head, earning a pout from his father.
"His Eminence is considered as one of the strongest warriors in Church's history." Xenovia dutifully provided. "He is the previous wielder of Durandal before me, in other words, my predecessor. I heard he once fought and drove Kokabiel off into retreat during the period of World War II. He also once received an invitation to become a part of Lord Raphael and Uriel's Brave Saints, but he refused in favour of his humanity. Were he accepted, His Eminence would've most likely been the strongest reincarnated angel in history."
Issei and Saitama blinked at the last bit of revelation. Then, before they could even muse the notion of Vasco could have been reincarnated as an angel, both men noticed that Cardinal was looking at them after exchanging greetings with Rias and her peerage. The tall elderly then made his way towards them before he extended his hand. "Saitama and Issei Hyoudou? It is an honour for me to meet the famous hero and Red Dragon Emperor."
The father and son blinked again at the greeting, before the former snapped out of it first and proceeded to shake the extended hand. "Ah, yeah. Likewise, nice to meet you too."
Vasco's eyes widened ever so slightly as he exchanged handshakes with the two males before him. Despite the obvious difference in size, when he shook Issei and Saitama's hands respectively, Vasco could tell from the touch alone, that the two were strong, even more so than him. Not to mention, during the entire talk, Vasco's 'sixth sense' - gained from decades of strife and battles, screamed that Vasco was completely not in control of the situation.
Particularly, he had heard the story from Dulio Gesualdo, of how the older one - Saitama had single-handedly decimated the Greek's Hades and Tartaros; it was a feat that far surpassed everything he had achieved in his lifetime. Moreover, his son - the Red Dragon Emperor, was rumoured to be as strong as him lately. Many exorcists and other warriors, himself included, had called bluffs and expressed doubts about the story's authenticity. Then again, Vasco knew Dulio well enough that the young Joker was not the type who would lie about such things.
Nevertheless, Vasco kept himself together as he had an objective to complete.
Everyone was gathering in the sparring hall beneath the house. In the middle of the stage, Vasco was standing off against Saitama, while the rest watched from the side. Rias and everyone else could not help but wonder how things ended up like this in such a short time, their faces were laced with worry.
"I beg your pardon?"
Rias pretty much voiced everyone's thoughts at Vasco, who calmly repeated what he just said, "Before we go through our business for today, I would like to have a friendly match against Mr. Saitama Hyoudou, if it is not too much to ask."
"May I ask why?" Rias asked with a skeptical look in her eyes.
Nodding in understanding, Vasco proceeded to reply, "You may call it a simple curiosity from my part; a mortal man with an unparalleled strength who triumphed against gods and demons alike. Yet, despite the relationship he shares with all of you, he claims that he doesn't pick sides. Thus, I would like to see him for myself; I know you are troubled by my request, but I shall explain the rest of my reasoning after the match is concluded, no ills bared."
Everyone eyed the Cardinal Priest carefully for a few seconds, before they turned towards Saitama, as if asking for his response. Saitama regarded the looks he was receiving for a moment, before he met Vasco's gaze with his own. The two males simply regarded one another without exchanging words, causing everyone to glance between them as the tension built up.
A few minutes later, Saitama sighed.
Hence, here they were - watching Saitama Hyoudou and Vasco Strada facing off against each other in a friendly match. Everyone was rather anxious of the outcome; after all, while they doubted that Saitama would be in any danger, Vasco Strada was an influential man. In other words, they were not exactly worried about the victor or the loser, but more like the repercussion and particularly, Vasco's real goal from this match.
On one side of the stage, Saitama simply stood with his usual poker-face expression while on the other side, the Cardinal Priest was holding a sword identical to Xenovia's Durandal; a replica of the Peerless Sword - Saitama could not help but mildly fascinated at the sight of the holy sword looking rather small in Vasco's grasp.
Noting that everyone was present and ready, Rias took the duty of the referee as she stepped into the middle of the stage, glancing at both combatants. "The match will end when either party is incapacitated, surrender or when I say so. Any objections?" She announced before she regarded Vasco first, who had been closing his eyes in concentration before he opened them on Rias' announcement, revealing the eyes of a hardened-warrior. Taking it as a 'no objection' response, Rias turned to Saitama, who much to her-not-surprise, simply poke his ear with his pinky finger.
Holding down the urge to roll her eyes, Rias then raised her hand up in the air, "Begin!"
In a blink of an eye, the spot where Vasco was standing suddenly collapsed into a crater, as the Cardinal Priest launched himself towards Saitama with his holy sword raised at immense speed.
When Vasco swung the sword down, however, Saitama simply twisted and side-stepped, causing the blade to cleave through the ground instead of his head. The training hall's interior had been designed to withstand force in case the activities became too… intense, but Vasco's display of strength truly showcased his legend. His slash cut down through the floor all the way to the wall and a good chunk of the ceiling, shaking the room in small tremors.
Through several trials and errors after Issei's 'revival', Azazel and Ajuka finally came up with a room that was separated from the current realm; in other words, they had constructed a space - something akin to a vacuum space, or perhaps even a dimensional gap, between the training ground and the main building above, but at the same time, still accessible conventionally speaking. Thus, theoretically speaking, the main building on the ground level, as well as the other underground floors in between, should not have felt the commotion caused by the match between Vasco and Saitama.
Everyone covered their eyes for a brief moment of dust cloud flying around from the shockwave, except Issei, Touji and Griselda, who merely squint their eyes a bit as they kept watching the unfolding match.
Back to the stage, Vasco noted and was impressed by Saitama's reaction as he pushed on with his attacks. With swordsmanship he had honed for decades, the Cardinal Priest proceeded to hack, slash and stab towards Saitama with powerful and precise motions, which the latter easily manoeuvred around. Everyone, even Yuuto, Touji and Griselda, were having a hard time following their movements.
Issei, however, can still follow the movements of the combatants on the arena. Vasco was relentless in his attacks, but all Saitama did was dodging without any attempts of countering. The game of cat and mouse kept on for the next good few minutes.
The Cardinal did not show it, but agitation had begun to build inside him, as his strikes did not land their marks at all. His opponent's moves were actually rather easy to read, but no matter how much he was pressuring him, Saitama just seemed to be a second faster. Moreover, Saitama's face did not once change or shift whatsoever throughout the exchange, as if the man did not put any effort at all.
Meanwhile, from the spectator's side, Issei was wondering about Vasco's intention. The Cardinal definitely did not simply want to win; he was after something, and fighting against Saitama would help him for some reason. But how? Issei admitted that Vasco Strada was strong, but he still could not picture Saitama's defeat in his head. It was clear as day; Vasco was still going strong, but Issei noticed the small hints - few beads of sweat, small pauses between attacks, small breaths that were longer than should've been; the old Cardinal was slowly getting tired. On the other hand, Saitama was not even winded as he easily kept dodging strike after strikes.
"...Those stories about you have not been exaggerated after all." Vasco commented with an exhale, his face was smiling pleasantly.
"...Yeah, you're not bad yourself." Saitama replied, although his impassive expression was not looking winded at all.
Vasco nodded, though his smile dimmed into a thin line. "I must ask, why are you not fighting back? You've been on defense this entire time."
Now that the Cardinal mentioned, everyone noticed that all Saitama did was dodging around. The man in question had his gaze to the side, then down, as if he was caught at something.
"Well…." Saitama replied as he rubbed his head somewhat awkwardly. "...It's not like I wanna fight you or anything in the first place."
Vasco's face went into a small frown, "...May I ask why?"
"Well…" Saitama said again, "I don't know, but…. It kind of feels that you're not really into this either. I mean, seriously, why the hell did I have to fight you, again?"
Not fighting without reason - that line of thought was actually something Vasco could respect from Saitama. However, it might have been selfish of him, but Vasco certainly had a reason to challenge the man. Then again, at this rate, the fight would last a lot longer than his liking. Might as well seizing the moment while he had the chance.
"...Tell me, Saitama. What do you think of the current state of affairs between Three Factions of Christianity?"
Saitama blinked at the question, while the spectators showed various degrees of questioning looks on their faces. Naturally, the bald man merely spoke his mind with a shrug, "….It's fine, I guess. Everyone seems to get along. Where are you going with this?"
"Hm, 'everyone seems to get along', eh?" Vasco hummed as he quoted what Saitama just said. "Then, tell me this; now that we make peace with our sworn enemies, what have we, exorcists and warriors of the church, been fighting and dying for?"
"...Eh?" Saitama blinked twice at this question, while the others started not to like the direction of the conversation.
"The Great War between Three Factions had cost us so much." Vasco remarked as he dashed again towards Saitama, whom easily weaved through slashes and thrusts thrown by the Cardinal. "...yet, at the drop of a hat, all of us threw away our fractious history for the sake of peace. Some might say we buried our past into the soil without leaving a grave to remember it." Somehow, there was something resembling a growl as Vasco kept speaking.
"Some of us just can't let go of what once was. We are warriors, veterans of a hidden age where all distinctions of right and wrong are… driven by a shameful past. If we end it all with the ghosts of our past still haunting us, how can we accept peace when that peace meant condemning our efforts so far?" Vasco pushed on, his eyes intently honing at Saitama.
"You are a hero, Saitama. Surely you have seen the pain of victims who suffered, before and after you rescued them? Surely, you understand the frustration of leaving scores unsettled?"
"The way you've been talking, you sound like you guys want revenge or something, am I right?" Saitama asked with a neutral tone.
"That…. Might be an understatement." Vasco gave a rueful smile before he chose to pick up his pace. The replica of Peerless Sword in his hands began to glow as Vasco channeled his holy aura through the blade.
As if on cue, Issei quickly placed himself in front of the spectators, while both Touji and Griselda stepped forward and casted a layer of bounded field between the spectators and the stage, before Vasco swung his holy sword and unleashed a wave of energy towards Saitama. In response, much to Vasco's mild surprise, Saitama literally caught the crescent-shaped wave and crushed it with his bare hand.
The hero glanced behind him and noticed that the exorcists had erected some kind of barrier as precaution, but that did not erase the scowl from his face, as well as Issei's. "...That's dangerous, you know." Saitama remarked as he gave Vasco a pointed look.
"Forgive me, but Shidou and Quarta have taken precaution in case our match escalates. We will see that there shall be no collateral damage." The Cardinal replied. "...So, shall we pick up the pace?" This time, his entire frame was encased in golden light.
It was Vasco Strada's signature style - Sacred Fist. Long story short, he fused holy power into his body, usually his punches, in order to deal extra damage in his strikes. It was a style that he had developed ever since his ascension into exorcist ranks. It might had been developed for the sake of fighting devils and other dark creatures, but the sheer amount of energy itself was still quite dangerous even for angels themselves.
However, before Vasco could have even taken the first step, Saitama had already appeared right in front of him. With a step back out of reflex, Vasco swung his blade at Saitama's neck, the gleaming sword shining a swift flash of passing light under that terse moment, only for the blade to stop a millimeter away from biting its prize. Saitama looked at the sword, his hand holding the pommel of Durandal Replica as Vasco struggled to push his blade into the flesh.
He shifted all of his weight with each tense of his muscles, but no even as he poured his strength into his wrists, the bald man did not flinch. His stoic gaze remained onto Vasco like a calm pond that just could not be disturbed.
Unbelievable as it was, but knowing the futility, Vasco threw a hook at Saitama's head with his free hand, only for his incoming fist to land into the Baldy's other free hand.
Vasco quickly tried to pull his fist out, but despite his yanks, his fist refused to leave Saitama's clutches. From the sidelines, everyone watched with shock and awe, seeing the larger man trying to pull away from the other's clutches. The bald man didn't even budge a nanometer from his spot or posture despite Vasco's obvious attempts.
As Saitama kept Vasco on ropes, the latter caught the former speaking, "...Y'know. I've been thinking about what you've said earlier."
Suddenly, Vasco found Saitama relinquishing his hold on him. The Cardinal did not waste the opportunity to leap back and make some distance.
After recollecting himself, Vasco made sure to keep a certain proximity and began to slash at Saitama in retaliation in order to make some distance between themselves, while the latter kept talking while easily weaved through the blade. "Honestly, if you and your folks are not satisfied with what your higher-ups have decided, why did you bother coming all the way here, asking me for a duel, and…. This?" Saitama finally leapt back so he could open his arms to gesture their current circumstances. "Why didn't you just come straight to your, whoever your higher-ups are, and tell them right in the face?"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, young man." Vasco replied. "Some of us did voice our protest about the treaty, but the Pope and the Archangel Michael himself would not budge. We have been patient enough not to actively look for fights during the cease-fire, now we've been told to drop our arms and leave everything behind?" Vasco's voice hardened, "...You might be a strong hero, Saitama. But you never saw the horrors we've seen back then."
Saitama stopped on his track as he looked down in thought. Vasco used the chance to make some more distance in order to catch his breath and regain his bearings. "...Yeah, you're right." Vasco caught Saitama speaking, the man had a different look on his face - gone were the poker, nonchalant expression, replaced by a sharp-eyed one. "I never really went through war before, the biggest fight I've ever gotten myself in was basically a raid and some skirmishes with monsters and stuff." Saitama then looked down on the floor, a strange flash appeared in his eyes. "But… I think I know the feeling of losing someone you wanted to protect."
Unknown to everyone, Saitama's mind was having flash of images; men, women, elderlies and children - those he had failed to save on a certain remote island away from main land of Japan. While he would not let the past drag him down, at the same time, Saitama would never forget the sight of those people lost their lives and humanities as the hero himself had been forced to put them to rest. Hell, he would even wonder if things could have turned out different.
"But, then again…." Saitama then looked up; Vasco's eyes were met with a pair of eyes filled with resolve and conviction. "I can only move forward."
Vasco was silent for a few seconds, his eyes never left his opponent upon hearing those words. Then, the Cardinal shot forward to attack Saitama once again. "In that case, what about those who can't move forward!?"
"I don't know. Why can't they?" Saitama merely shot back. "I mean, what's so bad about not having to fight anymore? I thought you guys are meant to be…. Well, I don't know, heroes or something?"
Saitama met the attack head-on; closing the gap so he could catch Vasco's wrist to stop the blade from descending. "Heroes…. Perhaps we've been hailed as such by the masses, but I'm afraid that's an over-simplification." Vasco grunted as he struggled to gain more ground in his dead-lock with Saitama, who was not even looking winded.
"Yes, it's simple. But what else are you? You're supposed to be all good and holy and all that stuff. Else… I think it's called hypocrisy." Saitama asked, his last word palpably making Vasco wince. The spectators could see the larger man tremble when the words hit his ear.
"In fact, you see those two?" Saitama gestured and pointed at the spectators - Asia and Xenovia in particular. "I'm pretty sure that those two had gone even more shit than your folks, yet they are still all for making peace. Come on, man... Who's even the adult here?"
"The injustice happened to those two girls are nothing compared to-"
"Bullshit." The air suddenly grew heavy as soon as Saitama interrupted Vasco's retort. "To me, you guys are like a bunch of kids throwing tantrums when your toys get taken away. Not even the strongest guys I fought back home were that petty. Hell, one of them even wanted to become a hero in his own way before I knocked some senses into his head."
At this point, Vasco was stunned, unable to make a retort at Saitama's words. The spectators had also found Saitama in another new light; Asia and Xenovia found themselves smiling gratefully when they listened.
However, Vasco did not stay clueless as he eventually came up with a response. "Then let me ask you this, Saitama. Will you not seek retribution if, let's say, your family were murdered right before your eyes? Will you simply stand when you're ordered to let it go and let the perpetrator walk away scot free?"
"...No." Saitama shrugged, surprising everyone, especially Vasco. "Of course I'm gonna make them pay, I'm a hero, after all. But if your answer is to become on the same level as the bad guys around here, I am going to smack you silly like I usually did before. Besides…" Saitama hunched slightly as his expression hardened.
Everyone found themselves tensing up as the weight in the air suddenly intensified; Saitama closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's funny that you think I'm gonna let anyone mess with my family in the first place."
It happened all at once when Vasco saw Saitama opening his eyes, meeting his gaze with his own. The bald man's eyes became sharper, and at the same time, a tremendous pressure fell upon him. It took less than a second for Vasco to compose himself under the pressure, but it was also enough for him to have Saitama missing from his sight. The next second, Vasco only noticed that someone had sneaked behind him. Another half a second, Vasco realised that someone was Saitama himself, and the Cardinal's eyes were looking at the red glove covered fist speeding towards his face.
That moment, the world seemed to freeze around Vasco. When was the last time he encountered such a phenomenon? When he was training to conquer Durandal? When he fought against Kokabiel? Or during one of those missions in his younger days, when he fought a particularly dangerous foe? He knew that Saitama was launching a punch towards him, but he could not, for the long life of him, comprehend whether it was a fist of man or…. Something else entirely.
He could only tell that whatever coming towards him was something unstoppable…. Or perhaps, he daresay, inevitable.
The tremor that came after, could not be compared to the previous ones caused by Vasco's attacks. Gust of dust cloud flew around, forcing everyone to shield their eyes and faces. When everyone came to, the entire training ground - walls and ceilings included, were totally wrecked; Saitama had his arm outstretched forward, his fist was merely a few inches away from making contact with Vasco's abdomen, whose garb was ruined and torn up from the shockwave alone. The Cardinal Priest remained standing, frozen with wide eyes and sweats on his face.
Then, a couple seconds later, the Cardinal Priest closed his eyes, and with a deep breath, he silently dropped his stance, along with his sword to the ground with an audible clang.
It never failed to disturb everyone how incredibly powerful Saitama was, when he was not even trying, and Issei was just as strong. However, the time they had spent with Saitama to know about the man had eased up their reactions to more like amused. Griselda and Touji, on the other hand, were completely stupefied at the spectacle.
"Good Heavens above…." Touji could not help but mutter breathlessly. Griselda had to take a breath to re-compose herself.
However, before everyone could have said anything else, Azazel suddenly burst through the entrance of the training ground. "I was just outside when the house suddenly shook like it's having an earthquake! What happened? What did I miss?!"
Everyone only blinked owlishly at the sudden intrusion before they sighed, forgetting the tension during the match. With that, the duel between Vasco Strada and Saitama Hyoudou had come to an end.
After briefing the Scapegoat of what had taken place, everyone had settled down in the meeting room, it only took a minute for the Vatican emissaries to calm themselves after witnessing Saitama's true power first-hand. True to his words, Vasco began to explain the entire reason for his earlier visit to Kuoh, as well as his proposition to have a duel with Saitama.
By the end of it, Rias only sighed as she massaged her forehead. "Allow me to summarise our conversation so far…" Rias said while massaging her temple. The exorcists' expressions did not shift at the devil's predicament, although there was a small hint of guilt on Touji's features. "There is already a case of disappearances and assassinations towards multiple church officials that we have to look into, and you just told us that there is a group of exorcists that is planning a coup d'etat?"
"Yes, that is pretty much what I wanted to relay to you." Vasco replied with a small nod. "Ever since the Three Factions had formed an alliance, as well as the revelation about the death of Heavenly Father, there have been voices of dissatisfaction and protests among the ranks of exorcist. They feel that they have lost their purpose; while they still take missions to hunt vampires, stray devils and monsters alike, they still can't let go of the old doctrine when they are meant to fight creatures of the dark. However, most of the rebels are those who have lost their friends and loved ones to the Great War."
Some of the youngsters, particularly Irina, Xenovia and Yuuto grimaced at the revelation; the latter knew well how it felt to hold a grudge, it was only thanks to his friends that he could accept his past and moved on with his life. The former exorcist duo - Xenovia in particular, could sympathize about losing purpose in life - she once lost her purpose as an exorcist when she learned about god's death, and it was only thanks to Issei and Asia that she could lead a new life.
Speaking of Asia - she was looking worried, while the others showed various degrees of uneasiness. Issei seemed to tense slightly, while Saitama remained unreadable as usual.
"The reason I challenged Saitama Hyoudou to a formal duel is because of certain rumours…" Vasco carried on as he threw a glance at Saitama. "Rumours that the man is an enforcer of the alliance between Three Powers, since he's been appointed as the overseer during the peace talks."
Everyone blinked, having only heard that information by now, before they glanced at Saitama, who was also looking as lost as they were, before he glanced at Azazel.
"Well… Yes, but not really." The fallen replied, and he quickly carried on with explanation. "Saitama has always been a hero first and foremost, a neutral party, so to speak. So he will deal with anyone who has the gall to cause trouble, Three Factions or not."
Saitama only gave a small shrug at Azazel's assessment, although he did not deny any of it.
Vasco blinked at the answer before sighing. "Nevertheless, I have seen what is needed to be seen from the match. However, I'd like to hear it from Saitama's own lips. Tell me, young man... Even though I've agreed not to pull through with this rebellion, I am only one man. Even with my rank and influence, my words alone won't be enough to quell my subordinates. How will you convince them?"
Everyone could not help but tense up at the question, subtly glancing at Saitama, who remained impassive at the attention. It might be easier should the rest of the exorcists were present to witness the fight between Vasco and Saitama, but now that there were still all the way at Europe…. To be honest, forcing the exorcists to stand down with fights and violence would not help anything in the long run. On the contrary, it might send a wrong message when the Alliance was supposed to promote peace between races.
"...I'll figure something out." Saitama replied nonchalantly with a shrug, which garnered several sweat-drops around the room, but nobody questioned him in the end.
"Speaking of which…" Azazel piped in. "Since we are also dealing with assassination cases happening on your turf, do you think it's possible…?"
Azazel had not finished his sentence, but everyone easily put the pieces together as their faces grew pensive. Griselda and Touji tensed up slightly, while Vasco sighed. "I don't think my men are the types to commit such atrocity, despite their sentiments, but I can't completely dismiss the possibility either."
"So we have more ground need covering, huh…" Issei rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Then, as if the universe gave another nasty surprise, Akeno suddenly received a call from Sona. The Queen narrowed her eyes slightly at the gesture; Sona's peerage should have known that they were dealing with emissaries from Vatican, and since Rias would be busy leading the talk, all message would have to go through her first. What could be so important?
"Sorry, Sona. Rias is in the middle of a meeting here. Can you make it quick, please?" Akeno whispered.
A few seconds later of listening on the other end, Akeno's lavender eyes widened as she ended the call, and she trud over to whisper on Rias' ear. The King narrowed her eyes at the information passed by her Queen. "...Seriously?"
At the same time, Azazel also appeared to have a message sent to him. When he read the said message, his eyes trailed to Rias, as if they happened to receive the same information.
"...Is something wrong?"
Rias, Akeno and Azazel quickly returned to address Vasco. Considering that they were all technically allies according to the treaty, it was only proper to let them know of the situation. After sharing nods, Azazel decided to do the explaining. "The vampires of the Carmila faction from Romania have made contact with us; they are requesting an audience with Rias Gremory by tonight."
Hints of apprehension appeared on the exorcists' faces; vampires had been well-known for being isolated bunch - refusing to make contact with the outside world more than necessary. For them to suddenly request an audience with Rias Gremory, a prominent heiress of Gremory Clan of 72 Pillars, as well as a relative of the current Lucifer? They could not help to think something was up.
Vasco sighed in acceptance, "I see…. Perhaps it would be better if we continue our conversation for the next day?"
"Much appreciated, but… Are you sure?" Rias asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"Yes, I have seen what I wanted to see; and with the stunt we pulled today, I believe we have overstayed our welcome. Besides, for the vampires to make contact with the Alliance…. I'd be lying if I'm not curious myself." Vasco replied with a knowing smile. "...In fact, is it alright if I have Sister Griselda to join the meeting with vampires later, as the representative of the church?"
Rias blinked at the idea before a smile formed on her face. "That would be helpful, thank you. In fact, how about Ms. Griselda spending the night here? I'm sure she can use some catching-up with Irina and Xenovia." Unknown to her, Irina and (especially) Xenovia had their faces drained of colours.
"Hmm… That sounds like a good idea." Griselda replied with her own smile. "...Although I still need to return to our lodge to take my things before I join you for the evening. Is that acceptable?"
Rias smiled and nodded in return. "Of course, I'm looking forward to have you, Ms. Griselda."
"Lovely." Vasco also nodded in return. "Then, before I take my leave, there is one more thing I'd like to address." he trailed his gaze at a certain former nun. "Ms. Asia Argento?"
"Y-yes?" Asia squeaked at the sudden notion of being addressed by the Cardinal himself.
Vasco held up his hand and Griselda dutifully placed an envelope she procured from her robe, on top of his wrinkled palm. Then, he stood up from his seat and gradually made his way towards the nervous holy maiden. Everyone kept their eyes on the Cardinal; their bodies were not overly tense, but enough to intercept if necessary.
Vasco easily towered over Asia's frame; imagine her surprise to see the Cardinal knelt in front of her so he could see her on face-level and hand her the envelope. "Please, accept this."
Asia blinked and stared at the offered piece of paper before she took it with both hands. "Your Eminence, this is…?" She asked with a confused look.
"It is a letter from the people you have helped in the past. On the paper is contained their signatures and messages, including my own, to vouch for your stay at Vatican… When the church found that you healed an injured devil."
Rias and her peerage had their faces lit up in recognition as Asia's put her hand over her mouth, her eyes began to tear up. Vasco, still kneeling on the floor, had an ashamed look on his face. "I was… not there for you when you were being condemned for merely following your heart, and it was too late for me to take action to save you. For that, this old man begs for your forgiveness." Vasco dipped his head down with his hand over his chest.
The devils and Irina certainly did not expect to witness the sight of Cardinal Priest bowing his head towards a low-class devil, who finally had few tears escaping her eyes. A moment later, Asia recomposed herself as she stood up to close her gap between Vasco, and showed him a kind smile as she ushered him to get up. "Your Eminence, please raise your head. You have nothing to apologize for."
Vasco did so, and he was stunned for a second at the sheer radiance of Asia's expression. "It is true that I have gone through painful experience during my time with the church, ever since I healed that devil…" Her eyes dimmed for a barest of second before they regained their light. "...But I won't have it any other way, for I have found something so precious in the outside world." As if on cue, she suddenly felt someone grasped her hand, she looked up to see Issei standing by her side, offering a supportive smile which she gladly returned, before she looked back at Vasco. "...So please, don't apologize. I am very happy with my life now, and we should focus at present and the future ahead of us. If you and your men are in pain, please let me know. I will help in any way I can."
Everyone was smiling approvingly at Asia's benevolent attitude while Vasco, Griselda and Touji were staring at her in newfound respect, until their expressions broke into smiles. "Thank you, Asia Argento. Truly, we, the church, never deserved the honor of having you." The Cardinal bowed his head again.
Vasco then stood up, patting his knees down before he straightened himself up and turned towards Rias. "Thank you for having us today, Lady Gremory."
"Please, thank you for coming all the way here to meet us." Rias nodded as she and Vasco shook hands (she had to suppress a grimace as she felt Vasco's hand crushing hers, even though he did not mean it). Everyone then proceeded to send their guests off at the door, with Griselda talking with Xenovia and Touji with his daughter.
"I will see you tonight, Xenovia. We can really use some catching-up with each other." Griselda smiled as she cupped Xenovia's face with her two hands.
"Y-y-yes, I-I'm looking forward to it." Xenovia stuttered awkwardly in reply while averting her gaze away in fear for some reason, despite the smile on Griselda's face.
On the other hand, Irina and Touji's conversation was much less awkward. "I'll see you again tomorrow, my little angel." Touji said as he and Irina hugged each other with the former planting a soft peck on the latter's forehead. "Be a good girl and take care of yourself, okay?"
"I will, father. Take care of yourself as well."
Once the exorcists had left, everyone found themselves sighing in relief. "Well, that went well, better than I expected, in fact." Azazel remarked.
"For once, I agree with you." Rias nodded. "Before we prepare ourselves for the next meeting, let's have some lunch, shall we?"
Everyone nodded as they certainly could enjoy a good bite. However, when they arrived at the dining room, they noticed that there was no food being served. Thinking that Haruka was still in the middle of preparation, they decided to check up on her in the kitchen.
When they entered the kitchen, however, they were greeted by the sight of a mess - broth and stew were littering the floor; plates, bowls and cups were smashed on the floor with eating utensils, and the ingredients on the table was in total disarray. On that note, the Hyoudou matriarch was seen sitting on the kitchen top, chugging beer with irritated expression.
Taking it upon himself to dare asking his wife, Saitama swallowed a lump before asking, "Um, honey…? What happened?"
Haruka looked at the door and her lips grew into a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Oh, how good to finally have you here."
Everyone was too scared at this point to say anything. However, someone still had to keep the conversation going, and Issei decided to help his father out. "Err… Mom? What just happened here? Why's the kitchen in a mess?"
"Oh, dear. What appeared to have possibly happened, indeed?" Haruka looked and gestured around the kitchen. "Let's see, I was cooking lunch for everyone when suddenly an earthquake hit the entire house. I sincerely hope whatever the earthquake earlier didn't come from a certain someone who forgot the meaning of 'restraint' in the underground floor. What do you think?" Haruka finished her sentence with a bite in her tone.
Everyone sweat-dropped as their eyes trailed back to Saitama, who had become a sweating nervous-wreck. Seeing the inevitable, Saitama took a deep breath as he hoped things would not escalate any further, as he approached his wife. "Say, Haruka… Why don't you take a break and let me and the kids handle this? It won't take long, promise." He smiled as he drew circles on his wife's back.
Haruka quirked an eyebrow at her husband before she smiled again. "Oh, honey, you seriously don't have to, but…. I'll take up that offer." She then stood up and slammed her apron on Saitama's chest. "You deal with this." Haruka said with a cold expression which immediately warmed up into another smile as she walked towards the door. "Have fun, children!"
Everyone gave a wide-berth as Haruka walked by, and once the lady had disappeared into another door, everyone stared at Saitama who had put on the apron. "Okay, so…. I'll do some clean up. Who wants to do what?"
Immediately, Issei raised up his hand. "I'll do the groceries."
"I'll go with you." Akeno volunteered.
"Me too, nya." Kuroka also nodded.
"The rest of us will help Saitama here and use whatever is still fresh for lunch." Rias declared. "Any objections?"
Everyone agreed as they began to work, the day was still long ahead of them.
The night had fallen, and the Occult Research Club, Griselda Quarta, plus Sona Sitri and her Queen, were waiting in the club room of old school building for the emissaries from Romania.
Despite the similarities, vampires are different to devils; the latter were denizens of the underworld - separated from the human world, while the former occupied the darkness and shadow of the human world, isolating themselves with everlasting mist and clouds as protection against the sunlight. They possessed humanoid appearances - beautiful doll-like faces with a pair of red eyes, sharp fangs in their mouths, and wings that looked more draconic than devil's bat-like ones. They also lacked shadows, reflection on mirrors, and no appearance in photograph capture, as the myth depicted them. However, despite their corpse-like skin tone, contrary to popular belief, vampires are not some kind of undead beings; although they can reanimate their victims into undead minions through bites.
Vampires also had several restrictions on themselves; not only they were dependent on blood consumption, allergic to garlic, and weak against blessed objects; they also could not walk across a flowing water, they needed to rest in a coffin to recover themselves from injuries, and they could not come inside occupied buildings without invitation - hence the stories of vampires hypnotising their victims to open the entrance in invitation so they could walk in.
Interestingly enough, exposure to sunlight did not truly kill vampires, or at least instantly kill them. At best, vampires would suffer a significant decrease in their strength and be robbed of most of their power, and at worst the sunlight would burn them, leaving them charred, dried up and paralyzed in agony, until they were fed blood or rested in a coffin at night time…. Or they were finally put out of their misery when their bodies became complete ashes.
However, vampires possessed more pride in their custom and culture, even more so than devils. A complete opposite of how Gremory family treated their servants - nobilities in vampire society viewed and treated their servants as means to an end. In fact, should there be a vampire with half-breed bloodline like Dhampires, they would be isolated and scorned even if they were family members. Their pride and aloofness also caused them to look down upon other races and refuse to make much contact with the outside world.
Back to the present time, Griselda had spent the entire evening before the meeting by catching up with Irina, more so with Xenovia; with the latter being scolded for not calling her, especially when the blunette decided to leave the church and reincarnate herself into a devil without so much as consultation. If Issei were to be honest, watching the interaction between Xenovia and Griselda was akin to watch a pair of sisters - one trouble-making younger sister and one stern, yet caring older sister who constantly looks out for her younger.
On a side-note, the sight of Xenovia acting meek in front of Griselda was adorable in more ways than one.
Waiting for the vampires in the club room that evening was spent by casual talks and banters - Sona were entertaining Griselda about Irina and Xenovia's performances at school, Tsubaki was barely holding herself together while having a conversation with Yuuto, who calmly took it in stride. Xenovia then introduced Asia to Griselda, as the three women were seemingly having a good time as time went by. Azazel and Rossweisse took a corner to have a small chat; most likely about their work as teachers, with the former throwing small teasing jabs at the latter's 'progress' with Saitama, much to her chagrin and his amusement.
For Issei - who was occupying the couch, obviously he had to humour Rias (on his left), Akeno (on his right) and Ravel (on his lap) constantly and casually trying to get his attention to either one of them as much as they could; albeit there were no heat or bites in their remarks towards one another. However, he could not help but worry for Gasper, who was looking anxious. It was thanks to Koneko who stayed by his side, offering him snacks and distracting him with games, that the dhampir managed to keep calm for the rest of the wait.
A while later, everyone knew the time of the meeting had come when they felt cold atmosphere washed over the building. "Looks like our guests have arrived." Rias noted and she nodded at Yuuto, who nodded as well before he dutifully walked out of the room to fetch the said guests. Ravel quickly hopped off from her 'special seat' as everyone else also took their respective position in the room.
As they were waiting for Yuuto to return, Issei could not help but to look forward at the meeting. After all, he only knew vampires from the stories and lectures given to him beforehand; it would be his first time to see vampires in person. Still, his train of thought was halt when his eyes glanced on Gasper, who became even more nervous than before. Issei kept his gaze on Gasper until their eyes made contact with each other. The Red Dragon Emperor kept his gaze steady as he nodded at him in a show of support, which the dhampir gratefully returned with a small smile.
No matter how the meeting would go and turn out, Issei would keep his words of protecting everyone in the room should the situation called for it.
Soon, knocking sounds came from the door, followed by Yuuto's voice. "I have brought our guests." The Knight then opened the door and walked inside, holding it open for the guests like the gentleman he was.
Upon looking at the guests, Issei felt a sense of fascination over his person. It was three people, two women and one man, with looks like dolls - beautiful and well-crafted dolls with skins even paler than Gasper and blood-red eyes.
The leader was a young girl with wavy blonde hair, clad in beautiful frilly dress with red, black and white colour theme; the way she carried herself screamed 'nobility' as she walked inside the room. The other woman and the man - her escorts, were clad in suits as they did not possess their leader's refined beauty, but instead they possessed sharp presences akin to swords ready to be drawn. Nevertheless, despite having accustomed with encountering women with supernatural charm, Issei had to admit that these vampires were on a league of their own.
Out of curiosity, Issel gave the vampires a look-over and noticed there were absolutely no shadows whatsoever on the floor beneath their feet. He wondered if his father had encountered vampires before, but if not, then Saitama was missing a lot.
Upon standing in the middle of the room, the vampire girl grabbed the hem of her dress as she performed a curtsey, "How do you do, people of the Three Great Powers Alliance, it is an honour to meet you." She then straightened herself up, her eyes scanned around the occupants of the room. "...Especially the younger sister of Lord Lucifer, former governor of Grigori, and…. The current Red Dragon Emperor. My name is Elmenhilde Galnstein, please call me Elmen."
"Galnstein, huh?" Azazel remarked while rubbing his goatee knowingly while giving Elmen another look-over. "If I'm not mistaken, that clan of yours is among the upper echelons of the Carmila Faction."
Several centuries ago, the vampire society fell into a state of civil war between two factions; male-dominant Tepes and female-dominant Carmila Faction. It appeared a new development had taken place in the civil war that Carmila Faction had to request an audience with their former ally during the Great War.
Greetings were exchanged, and Elmenhilde was currently sitting across Rias and Sona with her escorts standing behind her. The rest of the ORC and student council were also standing behind Rias, with Issei directly behind her and Azazel took a seat on a chair between the two. Akeno dutifully pushed out a cart filled with treats and refreshments, stopping before the table and served a few cups of tea with a practiced elegance. With the same amount of elegance, Elmenhilde took the steaming cup, giving it a soft sniff before taking a sip. As expected, the taste seemed to meet her standards, judging from the small smile gracing her lips.
"Lady Elmen, forgive me for cutting the pleasantries short, but would you tell us the reason for this meeting? Let alone the Carmila Faction, the vampires have avoided any contact with us for many years. I can't say that I expected a request for an audience from you, of all people." Sona decided to ask to the point. Not anyone could blame her, though; despite the polite demeanour, most of everyone from Kuoh did not have the best history when it came to typical nobility like Elmen.
"Please, there is nothing need forgiving. I have no intentions to beat around the bush either, it is only right for us to tell you our objective here." Elmen replied calmly with closed eyes, before she opened them. "The reason we are here is because I would like to borrow your Bishop, Gasper Vladi."
Gasper froze up before he began trembling, while everyone's eyes were wide at the unexpected request. Thoughts and speculations ran in their minds - what could the vampires wanted from Gasper? His powers and abilities?
Azazel then smirked, feeling mildly interested. "Hm, I don't disapprove of everyone going straight to the point. However, do you mind explaining the details? Has something happened that you require Gasper's presence?"
"Of course." Elmenhilde did not lose her calm as she regarded Azazel with a long look. "Something has happened in our society that caused our sense of value to crumble. You might have gotten a hold of this information, but the Tepes Faction has a Dhampir with a Longinus-class Sacred Gear among their ranks."
Everyone directed their gaze towards Azazel at the new information, which the fallen gave a small nod, hinting that he had caught the wind of the development and intended to tell them in the future. Azazel then returned his gaze at the vampires again. "I see…. Sure, there has been information flying around, considering we have been keeping tabs on those god-slaying artefacts. So which Longinus the Tepes has gotten on?"
Upon the question, the atmosphere grew tense as the devils were nervous at the prospect of another Longinus getting into the picture. Issei found Gasper was grasping a fistful fabric of his pants, Koneko was grabbing the hem of his shirt, while Asia was clutching his hand. Issei took them in stride as he understood their worries.
Elmen gave a knowing smile at the question and gave out a soft breath, "...Considering that most of 13 Longinus have been accounted for, we learned that the Tepes Faction is having a possession of Sephiroth Graal - the Holy Grail of the Secluded World."
Azazel's eyes widened before he narrowed them, "Unbelievable... Of all things, the vampires just have to possess the Holy Grail…" the fallen began muttering with uncharacteristically distraught expression. On his defence, the Holy Grail known as Sephiroth Graal was no mere holy relic; there were many legends revolving around the Grail, beside the general depiction from the Bible and the Last Supper of Jesus Christ Himself. The most prominent legend was, that it is a masterpiece capable of turning the principles of life on its head.
Soon enough, Azazel stopped his muttering as he glanced at the vampire again. "Elmenhilde, right? Can you tell me what are the vampires trying to achieve by using the Grail?"
"Perfection." Elmen simply replied with a single word. "A truly immortal body that is immune towards garlic, holy weapons, stake through the heart, even the sun itself; and no longer needing coffins to recuperate - that is what the Tepes seeks, as they have abandoned their pride as vampires. Fortunately, the power of the Grail is still incomplete. We, the Carmila Faction aim to execute those heretics before they can further corrupt our way of life." Elmen said as her face darkened, hatred began to slip into her tone.
The word perfection that came from Elmen's mouth along with her explanation put Issei into thought about his own condition. A truly immortal body - was that actually what he and his father had attained? Ever since that fateful day in the Dimensional Gap, Issei could no longer feel pain or fatigue from his work-out routine; the muscles on his body had stopped breaking and growing, no more pain and aches developing no matter how hard he pushed himself, and he still had a feeling that his power was still growing.
In the end, Issei did not really care after a while, Saitama was sure as hell did so - since he simply told him to walk it off when Issei shared his dilemma with him; thus Issei could somewhat understand about vampire's pride in their strengths and weaknesses - both attributes that made them one of a kind.
Issei then checked on Gasper - his junior's face could not be paler. How the news affected him, Issei could not tell for sure, but if Gasper was distraught at the prospect of vampires getting slaughtered for the sake of power and immortality, then Issei could see it coming from Gasper; the timid boy was simply that nice.
"So the Carmilas don't approve of how the Tepes have abandoned their traditions and the vampire's way of life. Well, not that I can blame you; I'd be worried myself if I were to put myself in your shoes." Azazel commented.
"You are indeed correct." Elmen nodded at Azazel's assessment. "In any case, our aim here is to borrow Vladi's power to stop the Tepes Faction from destroying our long-standing tradition." She said as she met her blood-red orbs with Gasper's lighter shade of red.
The remark about Gasper's power reminded Issei when he saved Gasper from Leonardo's monsters. From what he recalled, when he was on his way towards the scene, he saw a mass of darkness on top of a building where the monsters were attracted towards it. Was it the same power the vampires seeking out from Gasper?
Rias put her cup down on the table as she maintained her calm appearance. However, Issei noticed that she was gripping the hem of her skirt tightly. "Does the reason you wish to borrow Gasper's power, have anything to do with the fact that he is a member from the House of Vladi?" she asked with a calm and poise tone that betrayed the fury in her heart. How could she not? Her guests basically asked her to send her Bishop out to fight in a civil war between two vampire factions.
Elmen gave a knowing smile, as if she had the flow of conversation tipping to her favour. "That is indeed a part of the reason. But ultimately, we want Gasper Vladi's power; we heard that the power sleeping within him has finally awakened. With that power, we are planning to end the feud between vampires with the power of vampires only."
Everyone else went still as they took in Elmen's words, until Rias spoke up with a question, "...What power is this that you are talking about?"
Much to her credit, despite under the gazes of many powers that were probably stronger than her in more ways than one, Elmenhilde remained calm as she took another sip of her tea before replying, "There are occasionally rare instances where some individuals from our kind are born with powers that could suppress normal vampires, which, we tend to find from Dhampirs; Gasper Vladi is simply one of those rare instances." She paused for a second to let her explanation sink in, before continuing, "Back to the matter regarding the Holy Grail, the one in possession of the relic is another Dhampir - Valerie Tepes, the De Facto leader of Tepes Faction."
"That's impossible!" Gasper cried out, startling everyone with his outburst. "That can't be true! Valerie wasn't born with a Sacred Gear like me!"
Issei certainly did not expect his junior to vehemently argue against Elmen's claim after being silent in fear during the talk. Since Gasper reacted at the name Valerie Tepes, who was certainly someone of importance in his life.
"I have no reason to lie." Elmen replied evenly as she directed her gaze on Gasper who flinched upon eye-contact. "Not everyone with Sacred Gears awakened their powers at the moment of their birth. There are cases where triggers or catalysts have been required to bring forth Sacred Gear power. Valerie Tepes is no different; she probably only awakened her power recently, hence your lack of knowledge about her Longinus."
Issei could somewhat relate; after all, he only manifested Boosted Gear and met Ddraig after he had spent almost two years training his body to the limits.
"So the Tepes had been hiding the Holy Grail's existence among their ranks before we could confirm it." Azazel commented. "I guess I can see why you are upset about this; a vampire using a holy relic, something that they should detest, under their sleeves…"
"Indeed." Elmen nodded in agreement, before locking eyes with the Dhampir again. "Gasper Vladi, don't you hold a grudge against House of Vladi, for exiling you? You have power now, strong enough to exact revenge on them."
Gasper took Elmen's words in for a second before looking away, "I am content staying here with everyone. I don't need anything else but my friends-"
"...Hybrid." Elmen suddenly interrupted Gasper's reply. When the Dhampir froze and looked distraught at the word, she continued, "Mix breed, hated child, a freak… Those are the words people in House of Vladi used to call you, am I correct? The only one close to you during those times were your fellow half-breed, Valerie Tepes, correct? I was told that you two grew together and supported each other. Do you not wish to stop her now?"
"You look down and discriminate against Dhampirs, but aren't those dhampirs the result of your insatiable lust and greed towards humans?" Griselda finally put in her two-cents after remaining silent until this point. Her smile remained, but there was an underlying contempt in her tone. "Your kind hunt humans and take them in for your personal pleasure, even getting them pregnant with your off-springs in many cases. That is the reason why us, the Church have been making counter-measures against your kind. If I am to be honest, none of this would have to happen if you were to leave the humans alone."
Elmen merely closed her eyes while putting her hand over her mouth as if to conceal her expression. "If it's worth anything, I apologize. However, hunting humans is our true nature. The same goes for angels and devils as well, no? You have to rely on humans to maintain your existence, either from prayers or pacts. Even the gods themselves are not much different for relying on human faith."
Issei was glaring at the vampires at this point - treating humans, either as source of power, pleasure or sustenance was already pushing it; but to ask help from his junior after trash-talking him with monikers like freak and hated-child? It was so hypocritical to the point of ridiculous - who the fuck do they think they are?
While Issei was debating whether he should step in or not, Elmen called out to one of her bodyguards, who dutifully procured a set of documents for her and set it on the table. "Of course, I did not come here empty-handed; which I believe should satisfy you."
Azazel looked through the papers and sighed wearily afterwards. "...So in exchange of lending you Gasper, the Carmila Faction is willing to join the Alliance with us, huh… I have to admit, that is a tempting offer."
Everyone was stunned at the unexpected proposal; Azazel's face contorted into a full-blown frown and Sona's gaze turned cold. "So this meeting is for diplomatic reasons, with you serving as the envoy?" The student council president asked.
At Sona's question, Elmen merely smiled. "That is true. Our queen is distraught over the war we've been having with angels and the church. It has been going long enough that she wishes to broker a truce between us."
Azazel had veins protruding on his forehead as he cracked his knuckles in anger. "It looks like you've gotten the steps wrong, missy. In this kind of negotiation, the peace treaty comes first and the issues regarding your Longinus comes after. For me, this sounds like you won't agree to peace unless we help you. This is what people call 'extortion'."
Rias was clearly angry as her demonic power began to leak out from her emotion. It was only thanks to Sona placing a placating hand on her shoulder that she did not completely lose her calm. True to Azazel's words; up to this point, the vampires had been avoiding the Alliance's numerous attempts to reach out for them into joining. Now, they were willing to sue for peace if Rias lent Gasper to them. Due to their status as Demon Lord's younger sisters, neither Rias or Sona could simply refuse.
"You are doing this because we can't simply refuse you outright." Griselda conceding with Azazel's point. "We, the Three Factions Alliance have been reaching out to different pantheons without discrimination. Refusing your proposal will only drag our reputation to the drain."
In return, Elmen kept her smile as if she had it in her bag. "That is not true at all. We simply want to resolve our problems first before vouching for peace. Peace negotiation will not succeed if not all vampires are on board with the idea. Once we defeat the Tepes Faction with the help of Gasper Vladi's power, we will be free to sue for peace as you wish. Isn't that a good deal? With assistance of a single person, another step towards peace can be taken."
Everyone was torn at the entire debacle; it was certainly not a bad deal, but they could not accept out of principle, yet at the same time, they could not refuse without causing any political backlash.
However, one person in the room appeared to have set his mind on one thing. "Alright, that's enough." Everyone turned their heads towards their resident young hero, who was running his hand through his brown locks. "Sorry, this talk has gone to the point of stupid that I can't stay silent anymore. I mean, look at you." His eyes darted towards Elmenhilde, who simply raised her eyebrows in slight confusion. "...You talk more like an obnoxious salesman trying to barter a life for peace. I don't know about you nobles, but all I see is you bickering for all the dumb reasons."
Elmen's eyes then narrowed slightly as she stared at Issei with utter contempt. "Issei Hyoudou, the current Red Dragon Emperor. I have heard much about you and your achievement in such a short time, ever since your first encounter with the supernatural. However, just who do you think you are? I heard you are not even a reincarnated devil anymore, while I, on the other hand, am a special envoy-"
"Yeah, yeah, envoy, decoy, whatever; I never care, anyway." Issei waved his hand off in rebuke, causing Elmen's face to contort in rage.
"Wha- I advise you to watch your tongue, you-!"
"Hush! Hush!" Issei rebuked again, interrupting the vampire as he put his finger before his mouth and his other hand forward to stop Elmen speaking any further. "I will only say this once. I don't care who you are or what kind of special background your species have, do you hear me? All I see is a pompous girl demanding things in a stranger's home so rudely that I think you're begging for a slap to the face or a spanking."
Everyone was practically stupefied at Issei's outburst, unable to form any comment, while Elmen on the other hand, was bristling in silent rage.
"So let's just cut out all the bullshit in a way that we all understand. One, you don't like us very much. Two, you want Gasper to win your civil war, so you want to take him away like this because you really don't like us very much. And three, you speak as if we even care for your bullshit customs, though how you talk like you have the upper hand just because you are some prideful vampires astounds me. I mean…" Issei waved his hand around, his expression showed as if he tried to formulate a proper choice of words. "You people are… I don't know, lackluster? I mean, I can understand if you people can't stand sunlight and holy objects that well since most of my friends, and family - who are devils, mind you; are also deathly allergic to holy stuff as far as I know." Issei glanced quickly at ORC members.
"I wouldn't say deathly allergic…" Rias muttered under her breath.
"...And that does not include your need for daily blood and kryptonite of flowing water and entering buildings without invitation."
"Are you belittling our proud race, human...!?" Elmen accused with venom in her words.
"No, I'm saying you're all flawed as hell. Even more so than humans."
Her pale complexion did not change colours, but everyone could tell that Elmen was only seconds away from the melting point, as the vampires were glaring hatefully at Issei. However, the only thing that stopped any of them from pulling any drastic measures were the fact that their instincts were blaring, 'if you attack, you will die'. To rub salt on the wound, the origin of that instinct was the supposedly mere human before them.
"...That's enough, Ise." Rias spoke with a calm, yet stern tone. Issei snorted as he looked away and relaxed his body ever so slightly. "My husband has a point." Rias carried on, while glaring at Elmen, who could not help but blink at the 'husband' remark. "If you want to seek out peace, you will come to us regardless if you need our help or not. The talk we've been having so far proves that you have no intention for peace whatsoever. I advise you to leave for the time being. You are welcome to have another negotiation with us once you have better mindsets. Also, please do not insult my servants again; you won't like my - no, our response if you do."
Everyone in the room showed their support on Rias as they hardened their looks at the vampires. Knowing that they had lost their ground, Elmen forced a polite smile on her face as she kept her blood-red orbs on Rias' teal ones. "It appears that I have…. Overstepped my boundaries and forgot my manners. For that, I apologize…. I shall return once we all have collected ourselves."
With one last glare at Issei, Elmenhilde Galnstein left the club room with her escorts in tow.
Once the vampires had completely left the building, the room fell into a momentary silence until Issei broke it with a sigh before speaking, "...Welp, that could have gone worse, am I right?" When everyone turned their attention to him and merely stared in return, Issei blinked around, "What?"
"I hope you are aware of what you have just done." Griselda said with a stern tone.
Issei simply scratched his cheek and gave a small shrug. "Err, saying what should be said?"
"Hear, hear." Everyone turned to find Koneko nodding in agreement. "The pale hag can shove it, she's been really rude." She and Issei then shared a high-five.
"Listen, you two…" Sona groaned as she took off her glasses so she could massage her throbbing eyes. "I don't like that woman as much as everyone here, but what you just pulled has serious consequences. Not only our relationship with the vampires will be more estranged than it already has, if word gets out, other races and pantheons will have questions and second thoughts about our intention to usher peace. Worst case scenario, all of our work for this alliance to this point will go down to the drain."
Everyone, aside from Koneko and Issei nodded along as they conceded with Sona's point about the ramifications of Issei's action. However, the young hero in question did not even budge, judging from the resolute look in his eyes.
"Somehow I'm not surprised to see you pulling one on those vampires." Azazel muttered with a sigh. "...Rather, it should've been obvious, considering who you took after." Everyone else seemed to smile in mild amusement, understanding what the Scapegoat was insinuating. Issei on the other hand, merely pouted without another word. "...Still - in any case, you do need to think more before you act, kiddo." Azazel then finished his comment.
"What do you mean? Of course I've thought beforehand." Issei retorted.
"...And what do you mean by that?" Rias asked back with a small frown.
Issei then took a seat on where Elmen had earlier, with Koneko immediately seized the opportunity to occupy his lap. Automatically, Issei wrapped his left arm around her waist and his right arm patting her head much to her liking, as he began to elaborate, "Think about it. The vampires have been rejecting the peace proposal from the Alliance, and now they only made contact with us so they could have us lending Gasper to them. Then, we all have seen how prideful they are, right? People like them, who come to us after rejecting us so many times? If that's not desperation from their part, I don't know what it is. If they really, really want Gasper's power on their side, I don't think they will burn off the bridge between us anytime soon."
Everyone blinked, starting to see the point in Issei's argument. The vampires' failed 'extortion' during the talk was merely an attempt, a ploy for them to look strong. "Well, I guess you are right in that regard." Azazel remarked. "But at the same time, rejecting those vampires could hurt us in the long run, so we need to come up with something to mend things up, at least."
The atmosphere began to lighten, although everyone was still a bit tense in thought. Ravel had made herself comfortable on Issei's left lap after silently asking for a spot with a flustered pouty face, next to the reluctant Koneko sitting on his right. Sometimes he wondered if his lap really felt that comfortable.
"So, what's the next step?" Sona asked her childhood friend; her tone was stern, but there was a hint of concern in her voice. "We will definitely see them soon enough, and I also agree with Azazel-sensei that we shouldn't ignore the vampire's request. After what happened, you might have to lend Gasper to them, and worst case scenario, you might lose him for good."
Everyone, especially Gasper, could not hold back a grimace at the notion. Rias obviously would rather give her own limb than have anyone taking advantage of her peerage, but the matters with the vampires were bigger than them. The Alliance was to promote peace; half-hearted or not, as long as the vampires showed willingness to join, the Three Factions could not easily dismiss them out of hand.
In the end, however, Issei turned his attention at the pivotal element of the issue. "...Gasper."
"Y-yes?" the dhampir in question looked up when Issei called him.
"What do you want to do?"
Every eyes then turned towards the dhampir, who trembled at the attention directed to him. Much to everyone's credit, however, Gasper proved his growth by standing his ground, not taking even one step towards his cardboard box. After taking a deep breath, Gasper spoke with a shaky voice. "I… I want to go back." He began, slowly but surely gaining more resolve. "To be honest, I don't want to return to the vampire world… This is my home now, with my family and friends. However… All of these would never happen if it's not for Valerie! I can't stand the fact that she's suffering in the Tepes castle while I'm happy and blessed with my new home. I will save Valerie and bring her here!"
Everyone in the room was stunned at Gasper's declaration. To think the cowardly dhampir who could not go out of his room would stand his ground with such a determined look on his face, and wanting to venture to the dangerous outside world for the sake of a loved one; the Bishop of Rias Gremory had grown into a fine man.
Rias then stood up, a gentle smile gracing her face as she approached Gasper and pulled him into a hug - caressing and showering him with every ounce of care and pride she had towards him. "I understand how you feel, Gasper. However, before you go, I want to visit the vampires myself. We will wait until we work out a more agreeable deal with Elmenhilde, and I will sit down to have a talk with the House of Vladi personally. Then you can come over later. There should be no problem with me coming first."
Seeing the spirit and eagerness in Rias' eyes, Issei smiled in a shared sentiment. "So we are visiting the vampires in a near future, huh? I can use some vacation."
"Actually, no." Rias replied. "Ise, I'd like you and everyone to remain here on stand by. If something happens and things go south, I'll be relying on you."
"Why, though?" Issei could not help but frown. He knew that his wife knew more about matters involving politics and negotiation, but having her going into a foreign, possibly hostile territory without his protection, left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Two reasons." Rias held up two of her fingers. "Both are mainly about security. I need people to look after our home, as well as the emissaries from the Vatican should their stay end up longer than intended. Secondly, if something, anything were to happen to me, I need you all as my reinforcements. But above all else, I am Gasper's master; it's only proper for me to visit them personally. If we're to send anyone else, depending on who it is, the vampires might take it the wrong way, and we'd rather avoid that."
"You speak as if something will happen." Sona remarked.
Rias scoffed in return. "Of course not. I'd obviously prefer nothing will happen at all. But considering our track record at this point, I believe we can never be too careful. I'm going to hope for the best, while expecting the worst."
Everyone nodded silently at her decision, since they did not really like it themselves. But despite his trust on her, Issei was still frowning. "I still think you should take one or two people with you. I agree with reinforcements and all, but it's not like we can instantly arrive at your location when something comes up. You still need protection."
Before Rias could have argued back, Azazel intervened. "I'm with Ise on this one. From my experiences with vampires in my life time, including our talk earlier; this whole debacle about the civil war between Tepes and Carmila faction, as well as the Holy Grail - scream 'skeletons in the closet' to me. I can agree with you not bringing your whole peerage along, but I don't think going alone is a good idea."
Rias sighed as she could not help but nod in agreement at Azazel's logic. "...Then I will bring Yuuto, and perhaps Akeno or Rossweisse with me. Akeno is my Queen, while Yuuto and Rossweisse are my Knight and Rook, after all."
"...And are you sure you can't bring me along? The vampires from earlier were a three-people party too. A party of four people isn't that big, y'know." Issei argued.
In return, Rias only threw her husband a teasing smile. "Are you perhaps jealous that I chose to bring Yuuto instead of you?"
"...No." Everybody noticed that Issei looked away with a pouty look on his face. "I just don't like knowing that I won't be there to protect you."
"Listen, Ise…" The teasing had gone from Rias' smile as a faint pink shade appeared on her cheek. "When I leave things here in Akeno's care, I need you here to back her up. Besides, considering the stunt you pulled on the vampires earlier, I have a feeling that they will be more reluctant if my proposal involves you in the picture. Can you please let this go and trust me?"
Issei and Rias maintained their eye contact for a minute, until the former took a deep breath while pulling Koneko and Ravel from his lap into his embrace, as if to calm himself down. The two young girls in question took it in stride as they returned the gesture by burying themselves in Issei's arm lovingly.
Rias was correct; while Issei did it to stand up for Gasper, he could have done it better. Now, Issei had already made enemies of some upper-echelons in vampire society. Not to mention, Issei did not know it was actually thing or not, but Azazel once mentioned something about a rumour with him being the Strongest Red Dragon Emperor; a walking destruction who lay waste everything in his path with his bare fists - as a matter of fact, Issei had absolutely no idea how that nonsense came into being. He was pretty sure that rumour was reserved for his father.
While Issei was busy contemplating, Azazel spoke up again. "I guess I'll go as well. Though, I plan to talk to Carmila Faction first. I'll see if I can get them to agree with me dispatching the whole gang to help ending the civil war. I'll also bring some gifts over so they can relax a little.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Issei asked skeptically. "No offence, they probably won't put up too much guard around Rias, who is still rather new in dealing with outside pantheon, but they will definitely look out for you, the former Governor of Fallen Angels with a thousand-years worth of wisdom and wits."
Azazel nodded as if in agreement, although he was still smiling confidently. "Point, but it's better for me to go than anyone from Heaven or the Church. After all, the vampires have the biggest beef with them. Besides, I'm a Sacred Gear expert, remember? I have something that they most likely will appreciate to have around."
Everyone blinked as they quickly caught on; Azazel's knowledge on the Holy Grail. "Other than borrowing Gasper, I'm pretty sure that they also originally wanted to talk with me about the Holy Grail. Assuming those vampires are still open for a discussion, they probably want to see me alone next time." He then turned to Griselda. "You should inform your colleague and His Eminence Strada of our latest development here. I trust the old man will know the appropriate steps to do. Inform Gabriel and Michael as well, they definitely would love to hear this."
With the Queen of Hearts nodded with affirmative, and the next plan had been formulated, everyone could only wait and see what would happen in the near future.
It was later in the middle of the night, after everyone had gone home from the meeting with the vampires, when everyone in the house was fast asleep, except for one Issei Hyoudou. Nothing much had happened when they returned home. They have had dinner before the meeting, thus they went straight to bed almost immediately.
Clad with only a pair of sweat-pants, Issei was currently on his king-sized bed, with Rias and Asia sleeping by his sides. His eyes had been opened for a while, staring at the ceiling above. Heaving a soft sigh, Issei carefully freed himself from the girls' arms that were draped over him, got off the bed and putting on a white T-shirt. When he noticed Rias and Asia sporting somewhat distressed looks at the absence of warmth between them, Issei planted quick, soft kisses on their heads which calmed them down like a charm.
After silently making his way out of his room, it did not take long until Issei was standing on the garden rooftop, staring at the night sky. It was nearing the end of autumn, the air had gotten colder, yet despite how thinly he was clothed, Issei did not feel any chill; as he simply breathed in the cold night air.
A few minutes later, Issei sensed someone else on the rooftop and was not surprised when he found his father approaching behind him. "Having trouble sleeping?" Saitama asked. He was clad in a similar outfit like Issei, only his sweat-pants had small square pattern-motive. On his hands were a couple of can of soft drinks.
Saitama casually tossed one of the drinks at his son, who easily caught it before he popped it open and took a quick sip. "...Yeah." Issei replied after enjoying the fizzling taste of carbon in his throat.
"Is it about what happened earlier tonight?" Saitama asked as he stood next to his son, taking a sip of his own beverage.
"Mmhm."
"Come to think of it, I didn't hear what happened. Mind putting me up to speed?"
Issei glanced at his father for a second before he proceeded to tell him, pretty much everything that had happened during the talk with the vampires - their request of borrowing Gasper to their civil war, and their 'wishes' to join the Alliance in return for the favour. During the story-telling, Saitama did not say anything, safe from occasional sip from his drink.
When Issei had finished with his story, Saitama let out a small burp before addressing his son. "...And you guys still want to deal with those vampires?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows.
Issei scoffed. "Believe me, I honestly don't like how things turn out as well. But there's still this Alliance we need to consider. They're right; half-hearted or not, we can't ignore the vampires as long as they want to have a peace talk…. Or piss-talk for them." Issei muttered the last part.
"...Is that really necessary?" Saitama quirked an eyebrow at his son's poor taste for a pun.
"What? Admit it, it's fitting." Issei shot back.
Saitama simply sighed in resignation before moving on to the next question. "...So? What are you kids gonna do?"
"Mr. Strada is probably gonna join our next talk with the vampires. Assuming they will behave, Rias and Azazel will go to Romania to discuss with Gasper's family and the Carmila Faction before they can decide whether they will let Gasper go or not. Depending on how things will end up, Azazel can call the shots and send the entire cavalry to deal with the vampire's civil war."
"Wait, don't we still have a job with old man Vasco as well?" Saitama asked.
Issei sighed, "I know, we have even more on our plate now…. Push comes to shove - we might have to split into groups… Probably have to ask for back-up from outside Kuoh too. I think Sairaorg won't mind if we ask him for help…. Hopefully he's not busy by then."
"I see…" Saitama then glanced at Issei's left hand. "Say, any progress with… y'know?" Issei saw his father gesturing at his left arm.
"Still the same…" Issei's expression dimmed a bit as he stared at his left arm. "Ophis and Azazel-sensei have been running tests regularly to see if there's any change in Ddraig's aura in me, but it's still so faint… At this point, they believe Ddraig has vanished and I only possess whatever had remained of him."
"...How do you feel, though?" Saitama asked.
Issei closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them again, revealing a small fire in them. "Ddraig is still here. Whatever had happened to me in that Dimensional Gap simply made it harder for me to make contact with him. I just need more time."
Saitama simply hummed, "...Is he really that important to you?"
"Well…" Issei paused for a second. "No offence to you, but… Back when you're not around, Ddraig had always been there ever since I met him. Sometimes… He acted like a father when I was still learning about my powers. He's played an important role in my life."
"I see…" Saitama nodded in understanding. "I heard you're trying to get a hold on magic again, how did that one go?"
"It's… kind of hard to explain." Issei trailed off. "I've been having lessons with Le Fay, Rias, Ravel, Akeno… And sometimes Kuroka, but it's…. Hard to describe. Kuroka and Koneko told me about the seemingly infinite power around me, which I still can't sense by the way. They tried using magic gizmos to 'measure my might' as they say, but they all broke, just like that. And… this whole power we have… how do you control it? Do you always let it go on autopilot or did you try to take control of it like Rias and the others do with their powers?"
"Why are you asking?"
"I… well, how should I put this?" Issei tapped his chin. "I don't feel anything - nothing. I mean, the cramps, sore muscles, the nagging discomfort that eggs me every morning - everything, I feel as if I am stuck in Gasper's Balor Eyes with me moving in it, but also with something stuck inside. I… don't know if I am safe to be around. I mean, I have all this power and I don't know if it won't explode out of me and kill everyone I care about. Have you ever had this problem?"
"Ise… I am not some kind of expert like Azazel... Well, it's embarrassing for me to say it, I don't use my strength to shoot beams out of my body parts…. In fact, all I ever did in my training was those basic work-outs I gave you before; push-ups, sit-ups, squats and running. As for fighting…. Well, I just rolled and let it came with experience. Hell, I actually remember someone told me that I'm an amateur when it comes to martial arts… but in the end, it is all up to you." Saitama raised his hand, knuckle close to Issei's face, and flicked Issei's forehead.
"Ow!" Issei cried out as he rubbed the sore spot, mildly glaring at his father.
"Do you feel any explosive burst of power? Do you feel the sky splitting apart?" Saitama asked with a small joking tone.
"No…" Issei pouted as he still rubbing his forehead.
"Then don't worry. If you want to protect, you'll protect. If you want to fight, you fight. Simple as that." Saitama chuckled as he turned away, staring into space for some time and put his hand on his son's shoulder.
Issei blinked at his father in realization. Saitama was right - there was no point in worrying; his father turned up alright, so why wouldn't he? Besides, he had friends and family who would fill the gap in his heart, just like how his mother did to his father. Not to mention, Ddraig would chew him out if Issei remained in such a slump.
"...Speaking of energy and stuff, wanna hear about your old man's past stories?"
Issei turned to Saitama, blinking in surprise for a moment. "...Like what?"
"Wanna hear about the first alien I fought? That guy could shoot out energy like you did in the past, you know?"
Issei paused, staring at the baldy for a moment. His old man always had some interesting stories when he was still young, some of which could be worth more than Sirzech's entire fortune.
"Oh, that guy…" Issei curled his lips in anticipation. "What's he like? How strong is he?"
"Well… he once arrived when I was in a meeting…"
Thus, the rest of the night was spent by Issei and Saitama having another talk about the latter's past adventures, which lasted until a few hours before the sunrise. They had another day waiting for them, after all.
The next morning was another training routine.
After the talk with the vampires - or more like, after hearing about his childhood friend, Gasper surprised everyone by asking for hand-to-hand combat training, saying that he needed to take a page from Xenovia's book, 'a healthy mind lies in a healthy body'. Thus, at one corner, Ouryuu had volunteered to become Gasper's training partner - helping the dhampir to do several basic exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups, squats, skips, etc., to build up stamina.
As a matter of fact, Gasper had grown more exponentially powerful ever since he unlocked his Balance Breaker. Not to mention that Gasper had been introduced to hand-to-hand combat by Issei. However, considering he was not able to completely control his newfound power, as well as with the lack of events and actions as of late, everyone agreed that the dhampir needed to re-strengthen his body in order to properly control the power within him.
In addition, Vasco had been invited and was currently overseeing Xenovia training with her Durandal, providing her with tips and pointers at harnessing the power of the Peerless Sword. Yuuto was also present, standing next to Vasco as he was also interested in receiving advice on Vasco's brand of swordsmanship. Not far from them were Griselda and Touji, with the former watching and the latter talking with Irina.
Ravel was doing her usual duty as manager, overseeing everyone's training and looking at the clock and the clipboard in hand, writing notes occasionally.
Rossweisse, Le Fay and Asia were seen talking among themselves. The former was giving more pointers about magic to the latter, as well as what she knew about Fafnir. On that note, the Bishop had previously forged a pact with the Gigantis Dragon to be her familiar, but it was a story for another time.
Kuroka was doing her job of training her little sister in mastering the Sage Arts, as the sisters were now in a middle of sparring session. Koneko herself had her ears and tails revealed for the world to see.
Issei and Saitama, took it upon themselves to oversee Akeno and Rias' training. Continuing with physical conditioning from the other day, the men were wearing focus mitts as the girls attacking them - Akeno against Issei while Rias against Saitama.
Rias just launched several hand strikes at Saitama's mitts when she paused for a second, allowing Saitama to lightly swing and tap Rias' head. "Come on, Rias. What were you just told earlier? Keep moving after attacking." The man admonished while watching Rias rubbing the spot he tapped, before he held out the mitts again. "Now, do the reverse."
Rias only took another breath in preparation before she moved again. This time, she landed several jabs, crosses, and successfully ducked to dodge Saitama's swing, before she countered again with a left hook and proceeded to repeat the process.
On the other hand, Akeno was progressing better. She might have been a mid-long ranged fighter with her arsenal of magic, but the fact remained that her Queen piece had granted her the speed of Knight and strength of a Rook. It was not too difficult for her to keep up with physical conditioning.
Issei himself actually found that Akeno was doing better than he expected. She had a decent footwork, and she had a good reflex as she easily dodged Issei's left jab before launching a four-combo strikes on his mitts, which ended with a solid right cross. Issei then swung with his right, which Akeno ducked out of the way before she launched a left hook and right hammer-fist. They circled around for a second, then they began another exchange, with Issei throwing simple jabs and swings and Akeno retaliated with evasion and more strikes. Lastly, Issei was pleasantly surprised when Akeno jumped and performed a spinning kick mid-air, her foot struck hard enough from the speed and momentum that it tore Issei's right mitt off his hand.
Even Rias and Saitama paused their session as they were staring wide-eyed at Akeno, who was sporting a proud look. "So, what do you think?" the Queen asked her partner.
"...When did you learn to do that?" It was clear as day that Issei was thoroughly impressed at Akeno's final kick.
"Perks of being a Queen." Akeno shrugged. "I might have been relying mostly on magic, but with Knight and Rook trait given to me, physical exercise is not much of a hurdle." She then sauntered forward until she was whispering next to Issei's ear. "...If you want, I can show you more of my…. Techniques in private." she said with a sultry voice.
Issei would be lying if he did not feel a thing; alas, the moment was over immediately as Rias cleared her throat, causing Issei and Akeno to turn towards her. "No flirting during training."
However, Rias felt someone tapping her head again, and saw Saitama still holding up his focus mitts. "Focus on your own training. Just because you didn't get Ise to be your sparring partner doesn't mean you can slack off."
Rias blushed at the remark, but she could only pout at Saitama in return, whom took it in stride as he gave her a flat look. Issei gave a wry smile while Akeno giggled in amusement.
Then, Issei and Saitama noticed something - their extraordinary instinct and awareness sensed a shift in the atmosphere within the room, and it came from a certain young Nekoshou. Koneko just finished another exercise with Kuroka, and her body was sweating while leaking out a peculiar aura.
"Oh, so you two noticed, nya?" Upon noticing Issei and Saitama's gaze, Kuroka shot them with a proud look.
"I've noticed as well." Ouryuu came approaching, he noticed the change in Koneko since he and Gasper were training next to them. "It appears that Koneko-san has made some progress. May we have her and Gasper-kun for one round?"
Kuroka then turned to her younger sister, who nodded in agreement. Ouryuu also glanced at Gasper, who took a deep breath to collect himself before nodding as well. Soon, a stage was prepared as everyone stood on the side to see how far their two youngest members had grown.
"Alright, you two. The rules are simple enough." Issei said as he took the role of a referee. "Nothing excessive, and the match ends when either of you surrender or are unable to fight anymore. Any questions?" When Koneko and Gasper simply took up their stances in return, Issei nodded. "Okay, begin!"
Interestingly enough, Gasper was the first one to move as he dashed towards Koneko and performed a jump-kick, which the Nekoshou easily evaded by moving backwards. Then, the two were engaged in a fierce exchange of blows. Surprisingly again, Gasper was holding his own ground better than everyone thought, though they noticed Koneko's movements had become sharper as well, as she sent several thrusts and slashes with her claws.
"Say… Kuroka." Issei whispered to the older Nekoshou. "...Is it just me, or Koneko's moves become more like a cat's?"
"It's just perks when she embraces her Nekoshou side further. It's nothing to worry about." Kuroka's lips then grew into a smirk. "...Though, that's not the best part, nya."
Back to the match - Koneko was avoiding several more of Gasper's punches before she turned her head away to let Gasper's left fist flew harmlessly across her face. She then noticed that Gasper's left foot was within her zone, and she seized the opportunity by kicking Gasper's left heel away, disrupting his balance and caused Gasper to fall backwards. Koneko quickly followed with a back-hand, which Gasper barely blocked as he stumbled back, and she followed with another overhead strike, which Gasper was still able to block, but her strike still pushed him back even further. The two then re-assessing their stances again as soon as another distance was made between them.
"Hmmm. The last martial artist I fought was more… I don't know, wolfy? He fought better if I say so myself", Saitama commented, comparing her fighting style with one of his past fights with a certain Hero Hunter.
Koneko then smirked as she decided to notch things up. Her aura then leaked out from her entire body, but everyone noticed that it was too potent to be Touki.
Cat ears sprung from her hair, her two-tails became longer on her hip, her presence magnified many fold, and her fingers tensed and curled into claws as her eyes sharpened into stoic focus. However, those were not the biggest changes; her body seemed like bulging for a second when it was actually growing, literally - she became taller, her soft muscles became slightly more toned and her breasts grew significantly, transforming her into a mature-looking lady, roughly the same as Kuroka's age. The clothes that was previously hugging her petite frame had been stretched and ripped due to her growth spurt, leaving more of her skin exposed for everyone to see, but the Nekoshou did not seem to mind her lack of modesty, as she merely smirked at Gasper, whose face became pale as he swallowed a lump.
"Gya-kun, prepare yourself, nya." Koneko gently warned as she lunged, leaping off her right foot with one arm overhead swinging down.
Unprepared for her boost in speed, Gasper squeaked as he stepped back, avoiding her downward swing. She pressed on, swiping at Gasper like a tiger, nearly scratching his chin off with the first but clawed his abdomen with the second.
"Kya!" Gasper stumbled, gritting through the pain as he returned with a right hook but Koneko caromed it with her palm - once, twice, the third time she caught his left hook, pulling Gasper to her to his surprise, and punched Gasper a shockwave in the abdomen to the point he doubled over, coughed globules of spit, before he flew like a cannon to the wall and dug his bodily shape into the stone.
Deeming that the match had gone far enough, Issei stepped in. "That's the match! Koneko-chan won!" He raised up his hand to signal Koneko to stand down, which she complied wordlessly, as Asia and Rias went over to tend on Gasper.
A minute later after Asia and Rias checking up on the downed dhampir, the King waved her hand signalling an 'okay' at the spectators as Asia worked her Twilight Healing on Gasper, allowing everyone to sigh in relief. Issei then regarded Koneko, who was still in her adult form and fidgeting shyly at his attention.
"...Ise-senpai, how did I do, nya?" Now that the tension had gone, Koneko had become more conscious of her appearance. Her face was flustered at the fact that she was not decently clothed; she was practically flashing her adult body towards the man of her affection.
Issei himself was not faring that good either. He was aware that Koneko had been adorable before, and he certainly could tell that she would grow into a beautiful lady given years time, but damn - seeing Koneko like this definitely played tricks in his mind more than he was comfortable with. The girl was basically almost at his height for goodness' sake!
"Y-yeah, you're great out there, Koneko-chan." Issei managed to smile as he patted her head out of habits. For some reason, his hand gradually trailed from Koneko's crown down to her cheek, gently caressing her fair skin; eliciting a pleased purr from her as she leaned into the touch.
Issei swallowed a lump at Koneko's reaction as he struggled to keep his hormones in check.
"Enticing, isn't she, nya?" Issei jumped a bit at the voice next to his ear, which came from Kuroka with a shit-eating grin.
"K-Kuroka." Issei greeted as he kept trying to play it cool, "Is this what you and Koneko-chan wanted to show us?"
"You bet it is! Am I a genius, or are we geniuses?!" Kuroka proudly puffed out her bountiful chest. "For now, we call it 'Shirone-mode'! By gathering Ki from her surroundings and synchronizing with her own, her body will grow stronger and she can use her Nekomata power without restraint. It's not perfect yet, but given time, Shirone-chan will surpass even me." Then her cheshire smile returned. "Still, you haven't answered my first question, nya! What do you think of her now?"
Pouting at the black cat for a second, Issei looked back to Koneko as Kuroka's question played back in his mind. He found himself trapped between rock and hard places; what was he supposed to say, when there were others around?
Koneko's face turned into a deeper shade of red, while Kuroka's grin grew even wider, when Issei gave a nod with his own blushing face. Everyone else had been watching with mild amusement at the spectacle.
Thankfully, a reprieve came in the form of Haruka's voice speaking through the house's intercom. "Everyone, breakfast is almost ready!"
oXo
Everyone had freshened themselves up and was ready for breakfast. As they were taking seats in the dining hall with breakfast prepared by Haruka, they suddenly the bell from the front door.
"I'll get it." Saitama volunteered and he made his way to the front door. He opened the door and peeked outside, to be greeted by three peculiar-looking individuals.
Perhaps the most peculiar one was the young girl standing in the middle of the other two. Her skin was pale as corpse, her clothes consisted of a frilly Victorian dress with color themes of red, white and black; the said dress was covering her from neck to toe, while her head was sporting a black sunglasses and a hat to cover her face from the sun. To complete it all, her two presumably escorts who were dressed in a simpler manner, but still covering their entire pale skin, were holding an expensive-looking umbrella over her.
Overall, Saitama could not help but think that the guests' appearances were literally and figuratively screaming, 'shady'.
A second later, Saitama heard the guest greeting him. "...How do you do, we are-"
"Sorry, I'm not interested." Saitama quickly interrupted them before slamming the door shut on their faces.
Omake by i4md347h
"-And the guy walked down from his throne, asking him his name before introducing himself. He called himself the Dominator of the Universe, Boros, leader of Dark Matter. When dad asked him why he came here, Boros said he came to receive stimulus for his bored existence. In short, he came there for a good fight."
In the living room, Issei stood in front of the sofa, retelling Saitama's story to everyone present like a playwright. All of the ORC club members were present with extras - Azazel was present, Vali and his crew happened to catch Issei's words as they joined, Sirzechs even was present as well, sitting down next to Rias listening with great attention.
They were all fidgeting, listening with great focus. Unknown to everyone, despite his uncaring attitude, Vali's leg was jittering up and down in anticipation with Sirzechs at the edge of his seat, holding a pen and notebook with eyes bloodshot with hunger. He was also seen writing furiously on a notebook in his hand.
"Dad then punched the guy in the chest so hard he flew into the wall. He struck through his armor as it fell apart, the guy just lying there ready to slide off, but just when dad chalked him off as done, the guy landed on his feet and spoke something about his armor that was holding him back being broken. Then, the fight got serious when Boros went all out."
"Issei Hyōdō, a question." Vali raised his hand up.
"What's up?" Issei asked.
"To clarify your story with this alien called Boros, you mentioned he wore armour that acts like a limiter, his handicap?" Vali questioned.
"Yeah, pops was sure of that, even though his memories suck… I think he's getting better in his years. The fight did get more intense after he took it off."
Vali hummed, as if he was thinking of something. "An interesting idea this Boros have. Could use it for my training…. Should I commission a suit? Or perhaps weights? Those can be useful…"
"Can… he continue?" Ophis asked - she was sitting on Asia's lap while snacking a bag of potato chips, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, and impatience aimed at Vali. The rest of the listeners nodded, all of them wanting to learn more about the man that survived Saitama's killer fists.
"...Oh, sure."
After Vali nodded at Ophis, Issei then carried on, "Anyways, the guy powered up and charged at dad, fists blazing with fiery might, hitting dad with all he got as he traded blows with the baldy. Then, in the last exchange, after they punched each other to the walls, they clashed like two rockets crashing and crossed fists, which ended with dad punching off Boros' arm, and the guy didn't even flinch. Instead, he said something about how dad can keep up despite going all out. Dad, on the other hand, said he was pretty strong in return."
"This is getting better…" Sirzechs muttered as he jotted that last one down, the scribbling of his notes audible.
"The two clashed again, this time tearing about the guy's mothership apart. The alien didn't even care if his ship was being shredded, he was having fun going at dad. The guy punched dad through many walls for crying out loud, and he was missing an arm, which is hardcore, if I say so myself. Hell, they fought so hard that they ended up at the top where the guy fired a laser beam from his chest at dad."
Just when everyone was ready to listen of what happened next from Issei's mouth, the door to the living room was opened, revealing Saitama. "...What are you guys doing here?" the man asked while eyeing everyone.
"Oh, speak of the devil." Sirzechs remarked as he waved at the newcomer. "Saitama, your son is relieving your past battle with this alien fellow. Come join us!"
Saitama blinked before he turned to his son. "...Are you telling everyone about that?"
"...Among other things as well." Issei nodded. "I mean, everyone wants to hear it, so…. Why not? Also, big brother Sirzechs here plans to write children-story books about you."
Saitama then turned towards the Satan. "...That so?"
"That's right." Sirzechs nodded proudly. "This kind of adventure you had… It's completely a new kind of genre that nobody had tried before. It's gonna be a hit among the youngsters! In fact, I'm also thinking of sharing the profits with you, take it as a commission, if you like."
That caught Saitama's attention. "...How much are we talking about here?" He asked with narrowed eyes.
Sirzechs' lips only grew into a grin. "Come here."
Saitama walked closer as Sirzechs whispered to his ear. Then, Saitama's eyes grew wider as he looked at the devil with disbelief. "...Are you serious?"
"Dead serious." Sirzechs winked while maintaining his knowing grin.
"...Wanna take it from here, dad, or should I continue?" Issei asked, having a guess where things were heading.
Saitama then patted Sirzechs' shoulder as he walked over to Issei. "Step aside kid, I'll take over." he then glanced at the devil in the room. "You ready? Make sure to jot it down, coz I'm not wasting my time repeating it. Where did you leave off?" He glanced at Issei again.
"The part where you and Boros punched your way to the top of the ship."
"Okay, right. Let's see… he shot me with a laser, talking about vaporizing me till there's nothing left or something. The explosion was annoying to my ears and everything went orange for a while, then the guy got behind me and I remembered him punching the back of my neck..."
As Saitama continued Issei's story, everyone returned their attention on the man as Sirzechs began scribbling again.
Special thanks again for i4md347h for the help! How is it? I hope this update is satisfactory for you all. Please leave your review - constructive ones, no flames.
Also, on another note, just a quick question; how do you guys think Boros will fare, and can he earn a spot within Top 10 in DxD-verse?