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[Ddraig talking]
[Ddraig thinking]
{Albion talking}
{Albion thinking}
|Tiamat talking|
|Tiamat thinking|
(Mastema talking)
(Mastema thinking)
Mental Communication
"Regular Dialogue"
Attacks/Spells
Unnamed Cemetery, Wyoming, United States, March 16, 2020, 5:00 PM; Current Time: 3 Minutes Til Midnight
Beelzebub stood across from the squads deployed by DxD with a cocky smile on his face. He crossed his arms and eyed them, more specifically eyeing Vali Team and Gremory Peerage. He paid particular attention to Issei.
"How about we get this started eh?" Beelzebub asked as he lowered his arms. At the sight of the gesture, everyone stiffened as he began to slowly walk towards them. Their caution, they felt was completely warranted. The man before them was no Shalba Beelzebub. No, this being was a true monster. A god wearing the skin of a devil. He made Shalba look like a child with the oppressive aura he was radiating. Were they all afraid? A little, but fear was healthy in a situation such as this. Fear stimulates the need to survive. The need to survive fuels the need to fight harder. And it wasn't as if Beelzebub was the strongest opponent they've ever fought. His power was lesser than that of Rizevim Livan Lucifer but the sheer difference in malevolence could be felt.
"Well? Is no one going to take the first shot?" Beelzebub asked.
No one moved. He was baiting them but why? They had the Dragon Emperors on their side as well as the wielder of [Telos Karma]. What could he gain by baiting them?
"I guess I'll go first then," Beelzebub said. He took a step and vanished from their sight. He appeared next to Issei and Vali and grabbed them, slamming their skulls into each other. His sudden display of speed surprised them as they never expected him to be so fast. Mitsuki formed an energy blade and swung it at Beelzebub. Beelzebub ducked and threw Vali into her, sending them crashing into the forest.
Rossweisse, Akeno, Le Fay, Rias, and Ingvild summoned and pooled together a massive amount of magical power. A polychromatic, iridescent magic circle appeared in front of them as they fired their combined spell. Everyone moved except for Beelzebub who merely raised his hand and froze the spell in front of him. A massive shockwave flew past him from the force of such a dense ball of energy being stopped so suddenly.
Everyone's eyes widened when the spell fizzled out and turned into streams of light that were rapidly absorbed into Beelzebub's hand.
"A little spicy from the Power of Destruction being added in but I'll take it," Beelzebub said. He quickly dodged when Kiba swung Gram next to his face. The air behind him shifted, causing him to summon two dark blades to intercept the swords of Xenovia and Rikka.
Beelzebub grinned as he raised his hand.
"KIBA! XENOVIA!" Rias yelled.
"RIKKA!" Irina screamed.
An omnidirectional pulse of pure kinetic energy exploded from Beelzebub's form, sending the three flying back.
"Bikou, Kuroka," Arthur said, tightening his grip around Caliburn, "Back me up."
Bikou and Kuroka nodded. Kuroka summoned blue flames to her hand as her left eye turned green. Bikou spun Ruyi Jingu Bang as Arthur took off in a burst of speed towards the Demon Lord. Beelzebub summoned a violet sword and blocked Caliburn. He was surprised when his blade immediately shattered upon making contact with the Holy Sword. He flipped as Arthur swung Caliburn, the swing generating an extremely thin wave of air that sliced apart all of the headstones and trees in its path.
Kuroka and Bikou appeared above Beelzebub, their respective weapons brandished and ready to tear into Beelzebub. Beelzebub rapidly turned and unleashed a massive swathe of darkness at them, pushing them back. He then used his other hand to telekinetically pull Arthur towards him. He slammed his fist into Arthur's torso, breaking five of his ribs and sent the young Pendragon crashing into a tombstone.
"BROTHER!" Le Fay screamed. She growled and glared at Beelzebub. She raised her staff and summoned a massive magic circle. A summoning circle keyed with Fenrir's energy. Sensing the power of the God Eating Wolf from the circle, Beelzebub raised his hand and fired a blast of energy at her. Le Fay dispelled the circle to raise a barrier, deflecting the blast.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Rikka and Bova appeared next to Beelzebub and let loose a series of devastating attacks. Rikka kicked Beelzebub into the air and summoned the Agneyastra, firing it as a massive blast of fire. Bova opened his jaw and fired a meteoric blast of flames.
"WAIT!" Tohka yelled. "He can absorb energy-based attacks!"
Her warning went unheeded as Beelzebub raised his hand and absorbed the flames into himself. He smiled as he righted himself in the air, using his twelve wings as stabilizers.
"Hmm. I can do more than just that," Beelzebub said. He raised his hand once more this time summoning the very flames used to attack him. The flaming sphere grew in size and luminosity, mimicking the very sun itself. The heat that radiated off the sphere was palpable as small plants began to rapidly combust and turn to ash.
"What the…?" Bova said.
"Here. Have a taste of what a combination of Dragon and Divine Fire feels like," Beelzebub said as he fired the flaming sphere at them
"Tohka!" Mica yelled.
"Right!" Tohka said.
The two raised their hands and began to chant a series of indiscernible words. A massive cyan barrier with ancient script revolving around it appeared around the cemetery. The fireball crashed against the sphere, grinding against it before exploding. The explosion engulfed the entire area reducing of ninety kilometers of the forest into nothing but ash.
Tohka and Mica fell to their knees, panting as the barrier fell apart. Rias and the others gawked at the pure destruction that had been wrought. Where there were once trees and animals was nothing but a barren wasteland. Beelzebub hovered above them, eyeing them carefully. Devils and spirits still poured from the door that Risa was so desperately trying to close. She was close. She could feel it. Just a few more runes and she would be able to close the door and alter the key.
Beelzebub appeared behind her and summoned a darkness blade. She glanced over her shoulder, feeling his presence. She could do nothing but embrace death but at least, she would be able to close the door at the cost of her life. As he swung the blade down, a boot made contact with Beelzebub's face, sending him flying and crashing into the ground, skidding for several hundred meters into the distance.
Issei appeared in front of Risa and smiled. "Just close that door! We'll take care of him!"
Vali and Mitsuki landed next to Issei.
"Ready?" Issei asked.
"You bet," Vali said.
"It's just like the Evil Dragon War all over again," Mitsuki said.
"I, who is about to awaken,
"Am the White Dragon Emperor who will take the law down to the darkness.
"I walk the road of domination with infinite destruction and by piercing through the imaginary dream.
"I shall become a pure Emperor of White Dragon
"And I shall have you obey the silvery-white illusions and the perfect evil ways!" Vali chanted.
(Juggernaut Over Drive!) Albion announced. Vali's entire form glowed with a bright silver light as Vali became clad in the familiar armor of the (Divine Dividing's) Scale Mail. The armor underwent a drastic color shift as it changed from white to silver.
"Telos Karma: Crossed Fates Form Verdandi!" Mitsuki said. Her clothing changed into the armor she wore during the Azazel Cup as she began to levitate in the air. The golden metallic feathers shifted as they poised themselves to strike at Beelzebub.
"I guess it's my turn then huh?" Issei said.
(What are you going for Issei?) Mastema asked as she hovered next to him.
"The Satan Breaker," Issei said. Issei's eyes glowed as he became clad in demonic dragon-like armor.
"Chaos Break: Satan Drive," Issei announced.
"Oh? This is the synchronization of the Shevirat Ha-Kelim and the [Boosted Gear]? How interesting," Beelzebub said. He raised his hand and summoned several javelins that were comprised of pure shadows. He threw his hand forward and launched the spears at them.
(Divide!) (Divide!) (Divide!) (Divide!) (Divide!) (Divide!) (Divide!) (Divide!) (Divide!)
Beelzebub's eyes narrowed as Vali's wings glowed, rapidly reducing his volley of javelins into nothing. He flew back as Issei swung his fist, narrowly missing his head. The force of the swing created a massive wave of air that pushed the Demon Lord back.
Beelzebub quickly reacted as he parried one of Mitsuki's feathers. She raised her hand and a green magic circle appeared.
"Space-Time Tuning Circle: Time Fracture!"
A green wave burst from the magic circle as the world slowly began to dull in color. Beelzebub's eyes widened when Issei's fist slammed into the side of his face. He grunted in pain as a barrage of punches from Issei impacted his entire body. He gritted his teeth. He needed to stop this farce. As he went to move, Vali slammed into him and shot into the air.
"Take this!" Vali yelled as he shot past Beelzebub, tearing a massive hole in his side. Beelzebub gasped in pain before sensing a massive pulse of pressure coming to his side. He turned and saw a bolt of violet energy slam into his body, sending him high into the Earth's atmosphere where an explosion shattered the sky and cast a massive violet light over the area. Color returned to the world as Mitsuki dispelled the magic circle.
"Did they take him out?" Tatsuya asked as he held a flaming sword next to him.
"I don't know," Rias said.
Issei, Mitsuki, and Vali all stood ready. They knew that Beelzebub wasn't dead yet. If the man managed to survive for that long, then a combined attack wouldn't be enough to do him in but it would sure as hell leave him extremely injured. Their next attack would be the one to destroy him. They would guarantee it.
"There," Issei said, pointing to a small speck in the sky.
Beelzebub gritted his teeth as blood poured from his mouth. The damn wielder of Telos Karma knew space-time magic. He had been caught off guard by that time slow spell and had sustained a considerable amount of damage if his missing arm and legs were any indication. Some of his wings were also destroyed, leaving him with only four wings. He would heal but he would need to buy himself a bit of time for his healing factor to finish its job. Smoke poured in volumes from Beelzebub's injured body parts as his limbs began to grow back.
He moved as Issei shot past him. Seeing this as an opportunity to accelerate his healing. He grabbed Issei's leg with his other arm and began to sap energy from him. Issei's eyes widened when he felt his energy deplete at an alarming rate. He turned to see Beelzebub holding his leg and promptly kicked him in the face. The force of the kick forced Beelzebub to drop Issei's leg and stagger back but the damage had already been done. With the energy Beelzebub stole from Issei, his damaged parts were almost fully regrown.
"DON'T LET UP!" Issei yelled as he rushed Beelzebub. Beelzebub began to block Issei's blows, countering with some of his own. Behind him, Rikka appeared and slashed her swords at him. Beelzebub's eyes glowed as Rikka's swords were stopped in mid swing. He kicked Issei way and summoned a dark sphere of energy to fire at Rikka. Rikka twisted her body out of the way and flew back.
Beelzebub made to pursue and kill her when a massive water serpent swallowed Beelzebub whole. He scoffed. He could just absorb this technique. A red glow caught his attention as he glanced to his left and saw Rias through the dragon's translucent skin. She held a small power of destruction orb in front of her and began to charge it. The hyper-dense sphere of magic began to warp the light around it as its G-Force increased.
"Pseudo Singularity," Rias whispered as she fired the sphere into the snake. The sphere exploded, pulling everything in from the charred topsoil to even some of the tombstones. Beelzebub desperately tried to avoid the sphere only to fail and get sucked in.
"Akeno! Don't let him recover!" Rias yelled. Akeno nodded and fired a torrent of Holy Lightning. Asia and Eren assisted alongside Rossweisse who unleashed a hail of magical spells. Irina compressed a massive sphere of light between her hands and fired it into the water dragon.
As the attacks were pulled into Rias's Singularity, the dragon emitted a massive shockwave.
"Shit!" Ingvild cursed as her dragon dispelled. Rias's Singularity warped and fluctuated as the pull grew stronger. This time, everyone, was being pulled in, even the escaping devils.
Everyone flared their auras as they tried to keep away from the sphere. After a few moments, the sphere emitted a small pulsating violet light and the orb completely collapsed into a small black and red marble that hovered above Beelzebub's hand. In his other hand was a compressed sphere of their spells. He smiled as he crushed the orb, absorbing it into his body which had been fully healed. He raised his other hand, containing the spells and fired them.
"Get down!" Yuu raised his hand and formed a massive golden barrier around them.
"Let me help," Le Fay said as she cast a secondary barrier around Yuu's. The conglomerate of spells smashed into Le Fay's barrier, causing cracks to appear.
"Damnit!" Irina said as she glanced at her bracelets.
Sync myself with my soul! SYNC SYNC SYNC! Irina chanted frantically.
"BEELZEBUB!" Issei engaged Beelzebub in an aerial fistfight, taking great care not to add any energy to his attacks as to not give the Old Maou any energy to amplify his strength or heal himself.
[Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!]
Issei boosted twenty times and threw a punch at Beelzebub. The old maou dodged it and placed his palm in front of Issei's torso.
"Heh!" Beelzebub laughed as Rias's Power of Destruction formed in his palm. Issei's eyes widened as he was sent crashing into the ground.
"ANIKI!" Mitsuki yelled. She charged at Beelzebub, not giving him any room to breathe. Beelzebub dodged and evaded her attacks. Her speed was annoying. She blitzed him at every turn, landing more attacks on him than he could dodge or block. If things didn't get worse for the Demon Lord, Vali capitalized on this and began to blitz Beelzebub as well. Beelzebub found himself caught between two extremely powerful devils, blocking their attacks. He roared and unleashed a shockwave of energy that knocked them back.
"Why won't you scum just lay down and die!?" Beelzebub yelled. He appeared in front of Vali, catching the Devil off guard by his sudden increase in speed. He grabbed Vali's helmet and slammed his head into the ground at high speeds. The ground shook from the force of the impact as a large crater formed in the charred forest floor. Mitsuki appeared behind Beelzebub in order to rescue Vali.
The demon was prepared for her attack and swung his fist, slamming his arm into her torso. She coughed and was sent flying into the cemetery, crashing into a tombstone.
"Stay down this time girl!" Beelzebub said as he raised his free hand. He fired a bolt of dark energy at the helpless Mitsuki.
Mitsuki gritted her teeth as she saw the energy coming for her.
Redirect! Mitsuki mentally yelled. However, she didn't need to activate her Sacred Gear. A blur of blue shoved Mitsuki out of the way and reappeared a few feet away from the destroyed area.
Mitsuki's eyes widened when she saw Irina standing by her. Irina's hair had been dyed silver as her ponytails disappeared. Her eyes shifted from violet to gold with small targeting reticles that surrounded her pupil. Her exorcist combat gear changed color and now possessed white accents. The combat gear parted in the middle, revealing some of her cleavage. Sleeves that were open at her shoulder covered her arms and a high collar with a large blue gem hanging in the middle appeared. Her boots changed from black to white and a fauld that had blue feathers and was decorated with gems and gold accents appeared. Behind her, there were two extra pairs of wings, from her usual six. Her halo also drastically enlarged and became large enough to fit several dinner plates.
Beelzebub eyed the girl as she turned her smoldering golden gaze on him.
"Dawn Breaker: Code Seraphina," Irina announced.
"She unlocked her Codification? At this time? Talk about luck," Mica said.
"The stress must have forced her to unlock it," Ingvild said.
"Let's just hope she can last long enough to allow us to recover a little," Rikka said.
"Don't worry. My Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker should be able to get everyone back to peak condition," Asia said as she activated [Twilight Healing's] Balance Breaker. Her nun outfit disappeared as she became clad in a revealing golden armor that resembled that of a valkyrie's.
Eren turned away as she stood next to him, raising her arm to emit a healing field. Her eyes caught him as she smiled.
"I don't mind if it's you," she said meekly.
"No flirting on the battlefield you two," Ingvild said as she felt her wounds heal.
"Good thing Asia's here. Our ultimate support mage," Bikou said.
A large noise alerted them back to the fight.
This was inconceivable. All of this was. This angel that stood by Issei's side. He was so sure that she wasn't a danger but here she was, inflicting damage on him. Every hit with that damned holy blade of hers was like a sting but a million stings could prove fatal, especially if they all happened simultaneously.
Irina deftly evaded one of Beelzebub's swipes.
"Flash: Phantom Claiomh Solais!" Irina muttered as she swung Hauteclere a million times within the span of an instant. Beelzebub recoiled in pain as several cuts appeared all over his body. His regeneration kicked in as his wounds began to heal rapidly. He roared and formed a blade from pure energy and swung his blade at Irina.
Irina blinked out of existence and appeared behind Beelzebub.
"Thousand Star," Irina yelled as she slammed her palm into Beelzebub's back. A thousand explosions happened all at once and sent Beelzebub flying.
"HOW!?" Beelzebub yelled as he righted himself in mid-air. His eyes spotted the small logo on her bracelet.
"Blacklight," Beelzebub growled. "How much more are they going to keep interfering!?"
"More and more," Rikka whispered.
Rias raised her hand and coated Obsidian Rite with the Power of Destruction. She swung the blade and inflicted a deep wound on his back. Beelzebub gritted his teeth and kicked her away.
"Milady," Naamah said, bowing before a white-haired woman who sat in the air. The woman observed the battle with great intensity as her toxic yellow eyes drank in the information of the combatants.
"Naamah," she said.
"If I may ask Elder Sister Lilith, why aren't we assisting Beelzebub?" Naamah asked.
"Beelzebub knew what he was getting into the moment he stepped foot in the graveyard to face them. If he dies, then it shall be extremely unfortunate," Lilith said as she placed her hand on her cheek in a bored manner.
"Wouldn't it benefit us more if he were to survive?" Naamah asked.
"Perhaps but he has harmed Issei in a way that I won't even bat an eyelash at killing him at this point," Lilith said as she conjured a small doll of Beelzebub and gripped it. The doll glowed with a dull violet glow before breaking down into nothingness, erased from existence at all levels of existence.
Naamah gulped in fear as an intense killing aura radiated from Lilith's body. Naamah found herself being assaulted with all the trauma she had suffered. The horrific acts that had been done to her by the Cadre Kokabiel. She shuddered and a tear streaked down her face as an image of her deceased lover appeared in her head.
"Oh? Did I bring up some unpleasant memories?" Lilith asked, glancing at her over her shoulder.
"N- NO! I'm completely fine, big sister!" Naamah whimpered.
Lilith sighed and flew over to her, pulling Naamah into a comforting hug. Naamah closed her eyes as she felt Lilith's maternal warmth washed over her.
"Shhh… you'll be okay, Naa," Lilith whispered. She pulled away and focused her attention back on the fight.
Beelzebub was sent sliding back as Vali slammed his fist into his chest. He jumped out of the way as Mitsuki attempted to kick him in the head. Rias and Kiba sent a flurry of attacks at Beelzebub forcing him to weave around their attacks.
"GODDAMNIT ALL!" Beelzebub yelled as he took to the air. He craned his neck as he dodged a punch from Issei. Issei began to trade blows with Beelzebub. Fist collided with fist as shockwaves shook the entire area.
"GO TO HELL!" Issei roared as he punched Beelzebub in the face. Beelzebub staggered back a few steps. He looked up and glared at Issei as he growled.
"To think that I've been pushed this far," Beelzebub said. "Very well then."
"What are you…?" Issei said.
"Oh?" Lilith raised an eyebrow.
"GRAAAAGGGHHHH!" Beelzebub roared as his body became shroud in violet energy. Issei and the others were pushed back by the sheer intensity of such power.
(Vali. This is bad. His power is constantly rising with each passing second. At this rate, he'll surpass the Maou in power of this keeps up) Albion warned.
"What?" Rias looked at Vali shocked.
"The Qliphoth Mode," Eren said.
"Like Natalia-sensei?" Asia asked.
Eren nodded grimly as the aura intensified.
"We have to stop him," Mitsuki said. She and Vali took off towards Beelzebub in order to interrupt his transformation. The others followed suit with the sole exception of Eren and Asia.
"Why aren't you… they can't stop it can they?" Asia asked.
"No, he's past the point of stopping. After this… we're doomed," Eren said.
True to his statement, everyone was pushed back as Beelzebub's body emitted a massive wave of power that threw them all back.
Beelzebub hovered in mid-air. His wings were fully spread, casting a shadow over the land. His white hair fluttered in the breeze as his yellow eyes began to glow malevolently. He became clad in silver armor that exposed his chest. The armor had indecipherable runes that none of them could understand embedded into them. Purple lines of energy traced themselves on his armor.
"Qliphoth: Chaigidel."
A green aura manifested around Beelzebub as he raised his hand at them.
"GET DOWN!" Isse yelled as several green insectoid creatures made of pure energy manifested around Beelzebub. The insects took off, swarming them as the group desperately tried to defend themselves.
Issei punched and kicked, killing all the insects that were sent at them.
Kuroka raised her palm and unleashed a swarm of blue flames that scattered across the field, killing as many of the insects as she could. Beelzebub narrowed his eyes as he snapped his fingers. The remaining insects responded by absorbing the flames.
"They can absorb our powers too?" Vali asked as he killed another insect.
"This just got more difficult," Mitsuki said.
"God Killer!"
Beelzebub felt a series of slashes cut into his back. He turned and slammed a wave of kinetic energy into the offender. The offender twisted out of the way and hovered in the air across from him.
Risa glared at Beelzebub as she leveled Tatsumasa at him.
"Raphael's pet raccoon," Beelzebub said. Risa's tail stiffened at his words.
"I'm not a pet," Risa growled as she took a stance.
"Just merely stating a fact," Beelzebub said, raising his hand. A series of darkness spears manifested and launched themselves at Risa. Risa's eyes widened as she weaved out of the way and swung Tatsumasa, distorting space and time in front of her, causing the spears to shatter. Risa appeared in front of Beelzebub but was knocked away into the ground. Risa crashed into the ground and got up, glaring at him.
"I see that the door is closed. No matter, I have what I need," Beelzebub said, hovering over them. "I have no more use for you. However, Red Dragon. You shall live for the sole purpose of suffering as I make you watch the death of your friends."
[This is bad Issei. In his current state, he's surpassed Sirzechs in power] Ddraig said.
"Who cares? We've fought worse and came out on top! I'm not letting him have his way with us and the rest of the world," Issei said.
|Issei. We've gone past the time limit of this form. If you keep this up, the strain will severely damage your body!| Tiamat said.
"I don't care," Issei said as red aura surrounded him. The aura was weak and flickered.
Beelzebub hovered there as Issei slammed his fist into the side of his face. He didn't so much as flinch from the impact. Issei fell to the ground and landed on all fours. He looked at the charred earth and shakily held up his hand.
"W- What? Why do I feel so… weak?" Issei asked.
Behind him, the others began to stagger and fall to the ground, causing Beelzebub to laugh hysterically.
"Hahaha! My very aura in this form symbolizes the concept of Gluttony itself! While I'm in this form, your energy will be constantly drained while you're in my presence," Beelzebub said.
"Goddamnit!" Issei said. He weakly raised his hand and fired a [Dragon Shot] at Beelzebub. Beelzebub raised his hand and absorbed the blast. He landed in front of Issei, looking down on him.
"You know Issei… I was really hoping that you'd come around and join me. You should have realized that there was no hope of you ever winning this fight. You might have defeated Rizevim but… I'm no Rizevim. I have eons of experience on that child so whatever made you think that this fight was going to turn out the same way?" Beelzebub asked.
"G- Go to Hell," Issei said.
"Been there done that. By the way, do they know?" Beelzebub asked.
Issei's eyes widened. He looked up at Beelzebub, who had a sick grin on his face.
"They don't? Oh, this is rich! Ahahaha! No one was suspicious of this? How Mitsuki suddenly came back to life without an explanation?" Beelzebub said, cackling like a madman.
Mitsuki glanced at her brother, who shook in anger. Everyone else looked at Issei, wondering what was happening. The reality of the situation suddenly hit them as they realized what just happened. Mitsuki had come back to life in perfect condition with no explanation as to how. Or perhaps they already knew that deep down inside, Issei had something to do with this and that… whatever price he was going to pay or paid, it wasn't going to be pleasant for him in the end.
"Tell me, how long do you get?" Beelzebub asked.
"...," Issei remained silent.
"Oh? Not going to say anything? Ten years? One year? Five?" Beelzebub asked.
"No way," Rikka gasped, connecting the dots.
Irina glanced over at her.
"What? What's going on?" Irina asked.
"He… He made a deal to bring Mitsuki back to life," Rikka said.
"W- What?" Irina felt her entire world shatter at Rikka's words.
"Not going to say?" Beelzebub asked. He sighed and walked over to Mitsuki, who backed away slightly. She hid her hand behind her back and readied whatever power she had left into this strike. However, she needed to distract him.
"Tell me. Do you know what happened back in that town?" Beelzebub asked.
"N- No," Mitsuki said, partly to keep him rambling, partly to find out what he was going on about.
"Well, to put it simply, you died saving your brother," Beelzebub said.
Mitsuki's eyes widened as memories of the pain that very moment came rushing to the front of her mind. She closed her eyes and shook her head, reminding herself of what she was attempting to do.
"I see that you remember," Beelzebub said. "It's ironic."
"What is?" Mitsuki asked.
"You sacrificed your life so that Issei could live and what does he do? Take that sacrifice and spit on it," Beelzebub said.
"Get to the point," Mitsuki said, the ferocity of her glare intensifying.
"Hmph, rather impatient I see. Very well then, your sacrifice was in vain. Issei will die within a period of time that he is unwilling to disclose though if I were to bet, I'd guess that he has at most… less than five years considering how high-profile your soul was and how much of a high-profile soul Issei would be hooked up to the meat rack within Be'er Shacath," Beelzebub said.
"Shut up," Mitsuki said lowly.
"What was that?" Beelzebub asked.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" she yelled, swinging her arm. She caught Beelzebub off-guard as her energy blade sliced his throat open. He stumbled back, smoke pouring from his throat as it began to heal.
"I.. nsole..nt!" Beelzebub gasped as his vocal cords began to knit themselves back together.
[Issei! Now's your chance! Attack!] Ddraig urged.
"Right! But this attack will reduce my energy!" Issei said.
(JUST DO IT!) Mastema yelled.
Issei shot off towards Beelzebub, slamming an armored fist into the side of his face. Beelzebub flew off, crashing into the ground and sliding several hundred meters before coming to halt. Issei landed in front of Mitsuki.
"Mitsuki," Issei said.
"We'll talk about it later," she said, deploying her blades.
"Irina? Rossweisse?" Issei glanced over at them.
The two remained silent, preferring to ready themselves for battle.
"Now's not the time to discuss this Issei. Right now, we need to get ready. Besides, I noticed something. When you knocked him away, my energy stopped depleting," Vali said.
"Meaning?" Issei asked.
"His draining aura only works within a certain range. All we have to do is keep out but then we'd be unable to attack due to him being able to absorb ranged attacks of any kind," Vali said.
"So what do we do?" Eren asked.
"I'll go into {Diabolos Dragon Lucifer} and use my Satan Compression Divider to negate his aura. That way, we can go in and deal damage to him," Vali said.
"Why can't we just use it to divide him out of existence?" Rias asked.
"Because there's the chance that he'll be able to absorb it and redirect it at us," Vali said. "You saw it earlier. He consumed the flames of a divine sword and used them against us. I'm just being cautious."
"Right," Issei said. "So… me and Mitsuki go in and deal heavy damage after you compress it?"
Vali nodded.
"Seems like a plan-!" Issei fell to his hands and knees as pain coursed through his body.
[Your body's reached its absolute limit maintaining this form. It's been several minutes since you activated it] Ddraig said.
"My limit had to be reached now of all times!" Issei growled as he struggled to keep himself on all fours. His armor flickered with a few orange flashes before disappearing.
"Your body's reached its limit with that form?" Vali asked.
"What do we do now?" Mitsuki said.
"We continue. Rias. That other form of yours? Can you and Mitsuki deal major damage to him?" Vali asked.
Rias nodded. "Count on me."
A massive cloud of dust and debris exploded in the distance as a green streak shot into the sky and hovered there for several seconds.
"How many times must they get in the way? Over and over and over!" he growled. "No more!"
"Look out!" Mitsuki yelled as Vali's face was suddenly covered by Beelzebub's hand.
Albion! Vali thought. His armor became silvery-white as jet-black accents appeared on the arms, legs, and torso of the armor. Twelve draconic wings burst from Vali's back as he held his hand out.
{Satan Compression Divider!}
Beelzebub let Vali go as his entire draining shroud was divided into nothingness. He growled as he glared at the descendant of Lucifer.
"Insolent," Beelzebub said. He flickered out of existence, causing Vali to go on guard. He turned, barely dodging Beelzebub's attack.
{DIVIDE}
Beelzebub's eyes widened when his power was cut in half. He slammed his fist inot the helmet of Vali's armor, shattering it and sending the White Dragon Emperor flying.
"Insolent fool!" Beelzebub said, forming a darkness sphere. Mitsuki and Rias appeared right next to him with their respective attacks ready.
"Take this!" Rias slammed a crimson orb into his chest which sent him, flying into the air.
"Black Hole!" Rias closed her fist as the sphere expanded, producing a strong pull.
"Ad Astra!" Mitsuki said. Her clocks began to glow as several portals opened around the sphere. Energy blasts bombarded the black hole, causing the sky to light up brightly.
"GRAAGHH!" the black hole cracked before shattering, the remaining magical blasts being absorbed into Beelzebub.
"YOU CAN HAVE IT BACK!" he yelled.
"Thousand Star!"
Beelzebub felt a series of explosions on his back, sending him crashing into the ground. He quickly recovered only to find himself bound by several plants.
"NOW!" Eren yelled as he held the plants together.
Rossweisse pointed her Mistleinn Wand and cast an extremely powerful explosion spell. Le Fay and Akeno enhanced the spell, casting a wind spell and lightning spell respectively. A massive flaming tornado appeared, consuming Beelzebub as barrages of holy lightning struck the defenseless Maou.
A buzzing noise was heard inside the roar of the flames and the crashing of thunder. Their eyes widened as the elemental cyclone was ruptured by a swarm of flies.
Tohka fired a lightning blast at one of the flies, causing it to explode violently.
"DON'T LET THEM TOUCH YOU!" she yelled.
"Satan Compression Divider!"
A silvery-white flash of light erased every fly in existence. Vali appeared in front of them, holding his arm out.
"How much longer?" Vali asked.
{Six more minutes} Albion responded.
Issei sat, using a gravestone as support. His body was weakened from the strain of maintaining his Satan Drive for too long. He needed to find a way to help them. As he thought of ideas, he remembered Lance's words.
And that Gun that opens the door is one of the only things that can kill him.
Issei pulled the Gun out of his pocket and checked the chamber. It had one ammo left so he needed to make this count. He gritted his teeth as he slowly got to his feet. Above him, Beelzebub clashed with Vali with the assistance of Arthur, Bikou, Mitsuki, Xenovia, Kiba, Bova, Rikka, and Irina while the others supported them from the ground. He found Le Fay next to Kuroka, who was sending a volley of violet orbs at Beelzebub.
"Le Fay. Kuroka," Issei said, limping over to them.
"Issei?" Le Fay stopped casting and glanced over at Issei.
"How good are your illusion spells?" he asked.
"They're pretty good… why?" she asked.
"I can cast good ones too," Kuroka offered as she fired another spell at Beelzebub. The spell hit him, unable to the fact that he was fending off several fighters at once.
"I need you guys to do something for me and to lend me enough energy for this next part," he said.
Beelzebub blocked another attack from Bikou and Arthur, using darkness tendrils to restrain them. The White Dragon Emperor's {Divide} and {Compression Divider} were becoming extremely annoying.
"Take this!" Beelzebub fired an energy blast at Vali.
{Reflect}
Vali's wings glowed as a translucent barrier formed around him, deflecting the blast.
Beelzebub growled, disappearing in a burst of speed. He slammed his fist into Vali's chest, breaking one of the gems. Vali staggered back before he found himself being clotheslined by Beelzebub.
"VALI!" Mitsuki yelled. She appeared next to Beelzebub and performed a roundhouse kick. Beelzebub dodged the attack, grabbing her leg and throwing her into the ground. He sped past the others, releasing a telekinetic burst that knocked them all back. Beelzebub landed on Mitsuki's torso, shattering several of her ribs in the process.
"GAAH!" Mitsuki screamed in agony.
"NEE-SAN!"
Asia manifested a golden bow and prepared to fire a healing arrow at Mitsuki when she felt someone rush past her.
Beelzebub turned and saw Issei in his [Balance Breaker]. Beelzebub chuckled as he dodged the attack effortlessly. He kept dodging Issei's attacks before finally growing bored.
He formed a darkness blade surrounding his hand and shoved his hand through Issei's chest. Beelzebub smirked and everyone's eyes widened in horror.
"ISSEI!" the girls yelled with Irina, Rossweisse, Kuroka, and Rias being the loudest.
"AHAHAHA! Nice try boy! Any last words before I take my hand out of your chest?" Beelzebub said as he held Issei up. Issei coughed up some blood and said the last words he would ever hear.
"Yeah… surprise motherfucker!" he said as he flickered out of existence. Beelzebub's eyes grew wide when he heard a gunshot. He looked down and saw a bullet hole in his chest with a bullet embedded deep inside the wound. He turned his gaze to Issei who stood across from him staring with hate in his eyes. The Colt's barrel was smoking. Beelzebub stumbled back, clutching his chest. Using the energy that Kuroka and Le Fay had lent to him, Issei disappeared in a burst of speed and reappeared in front of Beelzebub with his hand, which was coated in the Power of Destruction, shoved through the demon's chest.
Beelzebub's wide eyes glowed yellow as he felt his life force ebbing. Issei pulled his hand out and Beelzebub fell to the ground with a gaping hole in the left side of his chest. The same area where Mitsuki was impaled. His Qliphoth Form dispelled as he felt his life leaving him.
"I… lost?" Beelzebub said.
Issei looked down at him and offered him no pity as he looked at the Prime Demon with hate in his eyes.
"Heh, those eyes… so full of hate," Beelzebub wheezed. "But it's not over… Issei."
His voice began to grow fainter as his eyes began to cloud up. He began to whisper something that only Issei heard due to close proximity.
"Hith-'o-rehr, shqodh… ki'o-yivkha Has-Sa-tan, k'ar-yeh sho-'ehgh, mith-hal-lehkh, u-mvaq-qehsh 'eth asher, yval-leha," he whispered.
(Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom she may devour) Mastema said.
"A warning?" Issei asked.
Mastema remained silent.
"Is he?"
Issei turned around and saw Irina and the others looking at Beelzebub's corpse.
Issei smiled.
"Yeah, he's gone," Issei said.
"WE FUCKING DID IT!" Bikou cheered. Everyone let out sighs of relief and cheers as they celebrated the aversion of another global crisis.
As they celebrated, Issei walked over to Eren, who was conversing with Yuu and Xenovia. He placed his hand on the young man's shoulder, startling him.
"Good job, Eren," Issei said. "You really held your own out there."
"Thanks, Issei," Eren said.
"Issei."
He turned around and saw Irina and Mitsuki standing behind him.
"Can we talk?" Irina asked.
"Sure," Issei said.
"Excuse us," Mitsuki said as they walked off. Rossweisse looked over Rias's shoulder as she saw Issei, Irina, and Mitsuki walking away, no doubt to figure out what Issei had gotten himself into.
"Wanna follow them?" Rias asked.
Rossweisse blinked when she saw Rias staring intently at her. Akeno, Asia, Koneko, and Kiba also gave her a similar look. She nodded and the six snuck off to follow the trio.
Issei walked silently through the charred forest before stopping at a place that he deemed was far enough to have a private conversation.
"So?" Issei asked.
"So? That's all you have to say? So?" Irina asked.
"Y- Yeah," Issei said.
"What's wrong with you!?" she screamed.
"Er…, you'll have to be more specific," Issei said, trying to lighten the mood with a humorous tone.
"Now's not the time to make jokes, Aniki," Mitsuki said.
"Come on, Mii-chan! Irina! We just saved the world, again! Can't we at least celebrate before you start to interrogate me?" Issei asked.
"Issei," Mitsuki said. Issei went silent. She never called him by his name before even during the antagonistic period of their lives.
"Did I die?" she asked.
Issei remained silent, staring blankly ahead. Images of her dead body flashed at the forefront of his mind.
"Did you… sell your soul to bring me back?" Mitsuki asked. Irina watched silently as several different emotions flashed through Issei's face in the span of an instant.
"No! Come on! I'm not like those mothers who made those deals with Beelzebub!" Issei said.
"Tell me the truth, Issei," Mitsuki said.
Issei remained silent, opting to look away from her eyes. Anywhere but her eyes. He couldn't stand to see the pain. It was bad enough being able to feel her emotions.
Mitsuki sighed and nodded, confirming Irina's worst fears. Irina glanced over at her boyfriend and began to speak.
"H- How long do you get? Did they even ask for your soul?" Irina asked.
"Yeah, they did and… I get one year," Issei said.
"How could you do that?" Mitsuki asked.
"Because it's my job. It's my job to protect-!"
"No, it's not! We made a fucking promise to protect each other no matter what! How am I supposed to fulfill my end of the promise when you go and do this!" she said, shoving Issei. Issei stumbled back and saw the raw pain inside his twin sister's eyes. Tears streamed down her face as she took a step forward.
"You saved me over and over again during the war! And all I did was go and get hurt over and over again! So why, when I had the chance to save you, you went and threw your life away for me! How do you think I feel! I can't bear the thought of a world without you! You're my twin. MY LITERAL OTHER HALF! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CONTINUE TO EXIST WITHOUT YOU!" Mitsuki screamed, punching him in the gut. Issei doubled over but managed to grab his twin in a hug.
"LET GO OF ME! I HATE YOU!" she yelled weakly pounding her fists on his chest.
"Shhhh… Mii-chan, everything's gonna be okay," Issei said stroking her hair. Mitsuki's screams devolved into sobs as she gripped Issei tightly.
"I don't care what it takes. I'm going to get you out of this," she said looking at him with determination. "I guess this time… I have to save your ass for a change."
Issei smiled and nodded, before pulling out and glancing over at Irina. Her eyes were covered by the shadow cast by her bangs. She walked over and raised her hand, slapping him in the face.
"You idiot… we could've found a way! We could've found another way but you go and do this! And now… you have a year left! What am I supposed to do? Just watch you die!? Did you think about how I would feel? How any of us would feel!?" Irina yelled.
Mitsuki stepped off to the side as Irina ripped into her brother.
"I would do it again… if that were you, I'd do it a thousand times over," Issei said.
"Idiot…," Irina muttered as she began to sob.
"It's okay," Issei said, pulling her into a hug. "We'll get through this. We always do…"
However, his words brought none of them any comfort.
Behind the trees, Rossweisse felt her heart shatter. Rias looked at the ground grimly while Akeno covered her mouth to stifle her sobs. Kiba gritted his teeth and clenched his fists while Gasper cried silently. Koneko stared at the ground in utter shock.
Issei was going to die?
Lilith appeared within the hallway alongside Naamah. She walked silently ahead of Naamah. Naamah tried to speak at several points but she found herself at a loss as what to say to her elder sister. The pair arrived at a pair of massive ebony metal doors that were intricately designed with violet roses on the door. The doors opened as Lilith walked in. The room was a massive throne room with a massive red carpet leading to a large black throne. The throne had seven pairs of black angel wings behind it. A massive glowing red ring hovered over the throne.
Lilith walked over to the throne and sat on it while Naamah stood dutifully by her side.
Lilith sat in silence for a few seconds before the doors opened once more.
"Elder Sister… I just got news of your return and I-!" Leviathan's words were cut off.
"He's dead. Beelzebub has died," Lilith said.
"He has… I see," Leviathan said, paying his respects inside his heart to his brother.
"Yes… it was rather unfortunate," Lilith said.
"Yes, it was," he replied.
"Why are you here, Leviathan?" she asked.
"I believe that I have our first target picked out. The forces that were released through that Gate have reached Hoia Baciu Forest in Romania and have activated another Doorway to… Sheol," Leviathan said.
Lilith raised an eyebrow at that.
"Sheol? So that means?" Lilith asked.
"Yes. In addition to the target that I had in mind, I believe that awakening the Second Beast would be beneficial to us. After all, the Second Beast served our mother loyally after all," Leviathan said.
"And our first target?" Naamah asked.
"Lotan," he responded.
"Good," Lilith said. "Prepare the troops."
"Who are we going for first?" Leviathan asked.
"Lotan," Lilith said. "I shall awaken the Second Beast at my own time. For now, let's focus our efforts on Lotan."
"As you wish Elder Sister," Leviathan said. He turned around and left the room.
"Naamah… leave me," Lilith said.
"As you wish," Naamah said. She bowed before walking out of the room. Lilith sat back down on the throne and opened her eyes.
Whispers emanated throughout the throne room. Whispers that only Lilith could hear.
"It was… even if I hated him at that moment. At least, he's at peace now with Ekra," Lilith replied.
More whispers resounded inside the room.
"Yes… I am dissatisfied with who it is… why Issei?" Lilith asked.
She was met with more whispers.
"I know it was written," Lilith said.
The whispers grew more intense, making Lilith wince.
"I know… I know, Mother. Don't worry. We're on track with the plan. Beelzebub's actions have triggered the Fifth Trumpet and soon, I shall trigger the Sixth Trumpet. From then on, we move to the Seals," Lilith said.
The whispers spoke once more.
"Yes, mother. I won't… I won't hesitate," Lilith said.
The whispers spoke louder this time.
"Please have faith in your daughter. Your plan will come to fruition. I shall personally deliver Issei's soul to Hell," Lilith said.
The whispers slowly began to fade as Lilith felt the presence disappear. She rubbed her temples before standing and walking over to a window.
"I hope you're ready, Ise-chan. The War has just begun," Lilith said as she looked out over the massive army of Devils.
Reviews:
18Andrew: Season 2. Artemis will have a larger presence as well as I will swap out Amatsu-Mikaboshi for Kali as I feel that her relationship with Lucifer and her knowledge of Issei's power would be beneficial to him as a whole in learning to control it. The pendant has no secret meaning. It's just a pendant that Issei gave to her on her birthday... and that's a spoiler for a future flashback...
AnimeFan0216: Yeah, I feel as if I made the Original Version of Lance too... psycho? Anyway, he didn't feel natural. I felt as if he was too unnatural in his mood swings to be an actual person though, I know people like that exist... somewhere out there. This Lance, I wanted to be sympathetic to a degree to show how much the other children suffered at the hands of the Games.
Scrumblenut: I considered doing it but it didn't fit the plot for the second big arc of the story.
E.T 2000: Yes, I am in contact with the author of Change of a Dragon.
Alright. I would like to apologize to all the new readers. I know that coming into this... there are a lot of terms I've thrown in from the original version of the story and someone pointed it out so thank you. First off, I would like to briefly summarize Mitsuki and her character. If you want to read more about her, go to the DxD Fanon Wiki. Anyway, Mitsuki is an OC meaning that she doesn't exist in canon. She's not a real character in the canon plot of the DxD Light Novels (which I assume most, not all, most of you have read.). I made her balance Issei out a bit... make him less perverted. Yes, I wanted Issei to be less perverted but not so much that he loses his entire character. Issei is still subject to perversion... he's just learning to control it.
Rikka, Tohka, and Mica were there to serve as Issei's pull into the Blacklight Organization. They're like his guides within the organization.
As for my inspiration for Blacklight, I sort of based it on the SCP Foundation if any of you SCP Fans figured it out over how the files were set up and the amount of secrecy that goes into it. I liked the idea of a secret organization that serves as a buffer between mankind and the Supernatural.
As for Beelzebub and his plot, they were heavily inspired by Azazel and Supernatural. That's it. I can assure you that is it... mostly. The entirety of the story's plot is based on concepts of the Book of Revelation in the Bible and how I can change it to fit my narrative for this story.
Anyway, for more information, I do have wiki pages on the DxD Fanon wiki so if you want to read anything about the characters go there.
Two, this story and Change of a Dragon have nothing in common plot-wise other than the initial part of the First Arc. The overall plot of Change of a Dragon is not the same as this one. This plot is completely different and is something I made up in my free time.
Anyway, this story will be going on a short break as I don't want to crash and burn so there will be no updates for this for... a good few weeks. Maybe a month so please go read my other stories while you're waiting for this to update. With this, I shall say goodbye... temporarily of course, and remember to have a great day/night, the choice is yours~!