Chapter 29 The Supernatural Alliance
I don't own DxD; I just use its characters and techniques. All credit goes to its creator. Same applies for anything that I used from other animes
(Town of Kuoh)
Issei would admit that a lot has changed for him in the last year, but today was going to be an experience that surpassed even his wildest imaginations. The kendo club had their district tournament qualifying rounds today and he stayed behind so he didn't try to kill Genevieve with Irina taking over for him as had been the recent norm. Meanwhile the ORC was doing contracts while Valerie's team helped train Asia and that meant he and Azazel were free to discuss his latest theory.
What Issei didn't expect, was for Azazel to tell him to meet him at Kuoh's most famous gentlemen's club Dark Heaven. The bouncer new he was coming and brought him in despite his age and oh was it worth it. It was a wonderful club that was rumored to have gorgeous women of various skin tones ages and sizes all around him each walking around in black feathered bras that were barely considered decent and black thongs which allowed the men at the various booths to appreciate their wonderful bodies. As he arrived at the door to the VIP section, the bouncer opened the door to reveal a sight that would've looked right at home in some of his fantasies. The walls were dark red with shelves filled with alcohol and glasses while the middle of the room had a large dark black circular couch with a small pathway for people to walk in and out with a large stripper pole in the middle. That's where he found Azazel sitting and smiling in a black suit of his own., "So what do you think of my little slice of heaven Issei?"
"This place is truly amazing." Issei replied before sitting opposite his teacher. The bouncer walked out and they were alone at last.
"That's good. The Grigori happen to own this little haunt among others and using it for a meeting is always nice. Would you like a drink while we wait for the last person to join us?"
"Who else is joining us." Issei asked immediately. He was nervous about everything and not knowing what was going on wasn't something he enjoyed.
"A certain VIP is in town and one that would no doubt benefit from knowing about your discovery. So why don't you explain it to me while we wait" Azazel smiled.
"Right" Issei replied before his expression turned serious. As he explained his plan, he couldn't help but notice that Azazel was surprisingly calm. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you figured that out yourself."
"Something like that was a theory that was being floated around so it's not shocking. It makes me even happier that we prepared ahead of time." Azazel said sheepishly.
"Should I be nervous or excited." Issei asked eagerly.
"Both really" Azazel smiled.
"Alright and actually I think I'll take you up on that drink. Just some basic sake will due" Issei smiled before leaning back on the couch in order to relax. Azazel got up grabbed some sake and a few cups before pouring one for Issei. Issei drank his first cup and admittedly enjoyed the taste but he was barely able to contain himself when the door to their room opened again.
"This is quite the place Azazel. This little trip more than worth it and I haven't heard a thing" Odin said with a hearty laugh.
Issei was flabbergasted to see the Norse leader. "Well this is a surprise. I never imagined the legendary All-Father himself would join our little group." Issei smiled. He did introduce himself to the man during the Youth Devil Meeting, but they didn't really talk since Issei had other plans at the time. He couldn't help but notice his guard next to him was exhausted. If he recalled her name was Rossweisse and she was dressed in a simple teal business suit which worked well for her.
"This Khaos Brigade of yours is an interesting foe and you're quite fascinating yourself Red Dragon." Odin smiled.
"Lord Odin, I believe we were here to discuss business." Azazel said sternly trying to return focus to the situation.
"Of course but I want to enjoy myself" Odin smiled cheekily.
"Lord Odin, you can have all the sake you want later." Rossweisse admonished.
"Oh relax girl. Being so serious is why you don't have a boyfriend." Odin chided.
"Why would you say that Lord Odin." Rossweisse said tearfully.
"Especially when that's not the reason at all." Issei said bluntly just as Rossweisse started to cry.
"Really" Rossweisse said bashfully.
"Oh yeah. I have a harem of women so large that I can't even count them on both hands and Rossweisse you are more attractive than all but one of them." Issei admitted. The only girl amongst his harem who would surpass the Valkyrie would be Valerie and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. "The only reason you don't have a boyfriend is because of the fact you're the top guard of your faction's leader. I doubt any guy wants to be the one who got the All-father injured because he got into a fight with his only guard earlier in the day and she wasn't on her game." Issei revealed.
"You've got a point there boy." Odin smiled.
"Anyway we can talk about how lovely your assistant is later. Right now we need to focus on the reason you're actually here aside from the women." Issei smirked.
"Works for me" Azazel smiled.
"Same" Odin smiled and the discussion began. Issei enjoyed a little sake and explained what he told Azazel but eventually it was time to pick up the kendo club and Issei was forced to leave. It was a nice meeting for sure, but Issei was more focused on the fact that he found his next conquest in Rossweisse. Some would say he was getting too greedy considering he added Seekvaira recently, but he would say he was simply following his desires. He was far too good at that to stop being who he was.
(Scene Skip)
After using magic to sober up, Issei teleported to just outside the waiting area before hopping into the limo. The driver simply nodded before closing the door and Issei had a chance to relax. When the door to the limo opened ten minutes later, Issei was surprised to see Genevieve hop in, "What the fuck are you doing here Genevieve." Issei questioned. He really couldn't understand why she kept coming to see him after what happened.
"I wanted to talk to you about something, so I convinced Mury to let me come in when you showed up." Genevieve replied.
Issei was furious that the girls were doing this especially since he went out of his way to avoid a meeting with her but now that she was here, he had no choice but to answer, "Talk." Issei said sternly.
Genevieve shuddered briefly before gathering herself to talk, "Remember how I warned you about Diodora Astaroth before." Genevieve asked in order to calm him down since she knew things were tense between them.
"Yes I remember." Issei deadpanned. This was the definition of old news and she was really in trouble if that was all she had for him.
"Well I've learned that Diodora is going to use the upcoming rating game against Rias Gremory to go after the nun again."
"I know that already Genevieve so unless you have something of substance to give me, get out." Issei growled. His irritation rising.
"What about the fact that he has a device that will reverse that nun's healing power and use it to kill everyone that may potentially come to save her." Genevieve added knowing she was on thin ice.
"I figured as much. Though since it looks like you haven't given me any information of substance answer me one question." Issei replied flatly. This was a useless meeting but he figured he might as well get something from it.
"What" Genevieve replied slightly taken aback that he was being so lenient.
"You're a member of the Khaos Brigade yet you continuously give me information that works against them. Why in the world would you do that?" Issei wondered. He had threatened more than often to kill her and yet she kept going. She was on thin ice and she knew that, yet she kept coming to him.
"I may work for the Khaos Brigade but I'm a girl first. What he did to those nuns is deplorable and seeing him suffer would make me smile." Genevieve explained.
"Care to elaborate."
"Given how calm you are I take it you know that Diodora's peerage is mainly nuns that he's tricked into his servitude."
"Yes I do." Issei replied quickly.
Genevieve twitched since this was an opportunity to get back on his good graces and it was failing miserably. They would be true enemies soon enough and him not killing her on instinct would be helpful, "Well what you may not know is that after he leads them into ruin, he appears to them as a savior and uses the opportunity to rape them and break their minds. By the time he uses his evil piece on them, those girls are so broken that any thought of betrayal vanishes." Genevieve said bitterly.
"Once again I figured as much." Issei groaned in annoyance. When he first learned about Diodora's unique peerage and after he had calmed down, he thought about many things and one of them was the fact that none of the nuns had betrayed him. As he well knew, fetishes tend to come with sexual desire and Diodora was more twisted then even he was on his worst day. The fact that none of the girls he went after ever tried to fight back suggested he was manipulating them somehow. Genevieve confirmed one of the theories he had and it did a nice job of helping her mood.
Genevieve breathed a sigh of relief since it was clear he wasn't going to strangle her, "Well I've said my bit. I'm going to go now, and I doubt I'll see you again."
"I'll hold you to that." Issei replied and Genevieve Arcana left yet again. As Issei tried to recover from a relatively useless conversation he was interrupted by a source he never expected.
"Master Hyoudou, should I inform Lady Sitri of your conversation with the young woman." The limo driver spoke up.
"First off, why are you calling me Master Hyoudou, secondly I thought you couldn't hear anything from up there." Issei said calmly. Come to think of it, that was the first time he heard the driver speak since he'd been doing his orgy's.
"To answer your first question, I've always been ordered to treat you with respect by Lady Sitri. To answer your second, I normally block all sound once your girls come in because I understood what was going to take place in here." In other words since they weren't having sex he eavesdropped.
Issei wasn't pleased but at least the man was being reasonable, "I see. Well don't tell Sona what we spoke about. She will feel obligated to tell Rias and that would be stupid."
"Very well. Oh and your actual girls have arrived so I'll be turning off the sound now." The limo driver replied.
"Sure" Issei chuckled. It was just another aspect of his life that was fascinating, but he would worry about that later. He had girls to please and a few of them would be getting rough treatment for bringing Genevieve into his orbit yet again. Part of him believed they did it on purpose but oh well.
(Scene Skip)
Issei and Irina didn't arrive back until late at night after the tournament but thankfully his parents made food for them that they just had to reheat. Irina went over to the house to check on Xenovia while Issei got changed out of his things into his nightwear. Irina returned with a smile and revealed that Xenovia already ate so once again it would be the childhood friends all alone, "So what did Genevieve want from you and don't tell me it's sex because she was walking far too easily for that." Irina smiled as they waited for the food to finish heating up. It went without saying that she had something useful to say because she was walking. That or Issei didn't want to cause a scene.
"She wanted to tell me more information about Diodora. I knew pretty much everything she told me so it was mostly confirmation on my end." Issei replied.
"And what is it you supposedly know?" Irina questioned.
"If I told you, the chances of you trying to kill Diodora the next time his slimy behind shows up, would skyrocket. Given that you're already at your limit in that regards, I'd say telling you would be a bad idea." Issei chuckled. Irina
Irina was about to respond but the oven rang for the food so she calmed down, "This isn't over Issei." Irina replied and she went to go get the food. When dinner was over Irina left since she had a feeling Issei was right and she hadn't recovered from her punishment for allowing Genevieve to speak to him. She would get her answers later but for now she needed to relax.
(Scene Skip)
The next day went by quickly but Issei decided to go over to the ORC to check on Asia, "So how's training going?" Issei wondered.
"Asia is progressing well but sadly we won't have her ready in time to do anything." Valerie replied calmly.
"I see." Issei replied with a smile as he looked towards the nun. She was an innocent girl who was brought into a game she didn't belong in. Now she would be forced to suffer and she was taking it surprisingly well.
"So are you here for business or pleasure." Valerie wondered with a smirk.
"Neither." Issei smiled.
"Really" Valerie said skeptically.
"Yes really." Issei replied before Irina and Xenovia made space for him on the couch and he promptly sat down.
"Well anyway, since you're here." Rias started to say before a magic circle appeared in the middle of the room.
'I've got a bad feeling about this.' Issei thought to himself and when Diodora himself popped into the room that feeling worsened.
"Diodora" Rias said angrily. Issei knew this would end badly so he quickly put a hand on Irina and Xenovia before glaring at Valerie to calm down. It worked but he doubted it would last if the young man acted stupidly.
"I've come to make a request of you Rias." Diodora said calmly.
"What is it" Rias said with gritted teeth. She was on the verge of exploding and Issei slowly got up to prevent that from happening.
"I'd like to make a trade with you. The nun that once saved my life, Asia Argento is a member of your peerage. I'd like to trade for her in exchange for one of my bishops.
Rias was absolutely livid but before she could say something Issei appeared in front of her and pulled Rias into a heated kiss. Rias's anger was pushed to the side as she enjoyed the kiss and after he was sure she was relaxed Issei pulled away. A now calmer Rias simply said, "Sorry but no. My peerage is my peerage and I wouldn't trade them for anybody." She knew Issei did that to calm her down and she understood why. Diodora was a piece of work and nothing good would come from trading her to him.
"I see. Well, have a nice day and I look forward to our battle." Diodora replied without protest.
"Alright" Rias replied calmly as Diodora left via a magic circle. When he was gone the tension in the room vanished for the most part.
"Issei why did you stop us from doing something?" Irina said angrily.
"Because we know Diodora will try something scummy soon, but we can't kill him just yet. Believe me Diodora is as good as dead." Issei replied firmly.
"I hope so because it's getting harder and harder to hold back." Rias insisted.
"I understand." Issei replied. He wasn't too thrilled with Diodora either, but the battle was coming in a few days. They would've calmed down but the door burst open.
"Is everything okay. It was brief but I sensed a massive killing intent." Bikou said nervously.
"We're fine Bikou. We just had an uninvited guest show up and Valerie and the others weren't thrilled." Issei smiled.
"That must've been some guest. For a minute I thought Issei's curse had returned." Le Fay said calmly from behind Bikou. Issei couldn't help but notice she was in Kuoh's uniform and it fit well.
"Well Diodora isn't exactly our favorite person." Issei replied.
"I see." Bikou replied before taking a glance towards his master.
"Yeah so go back to training. Tell the others it was just a minor incident." Valerie ordered.
"Got it" Bikou replied and he and Le Fay left.
"You know they're going to want answers right?" Issei said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah but I'll deal with that later. We all need to relax for a bit.
(Scene Skip)
The day before the battle had arrived and Issei was relaxing in his room waiting for the night's fun to begin. Irina was over for dinner but surprisingly so were Asia and Xenovia and Issei had to wonder if it was finally time to make the nun his. "So Ddraig am I about to add Asia to my collection?" Issei wondered.
"I'm not sure. The nun has become closer to you recently so the chance is there but are you sure that's what you want."
"At this point what I want doesn't matter. Honestly I wouldn't have put it passed Irina and the others to have planned this result anyway." Issei smirked. Soon the door to his room opened and Asia arrived.
"Umm may I come in." Asia said timidly.
"Of course" Issei smiled. As Asia walked in, Issei could tell she was nervous.
"So… what next?" Asia wondered.
"That's up to you. You clearly came to visit me for a reason." Issei replied.
"I guess I was just nervous is all. Irina said that when she's nervous she comes to you." Asia smiled.
'That little' Issei thought to himself. "Well Irina is rarely nervous and if she does, she just comes in and cuddles with me." Issei smiled.
Asia blushed at the implication but understood what she had to do, "Alright then." Asia replied and she went over to the bed and curled in with Issei before falling to sleep in short order.
"Rest up Asia. A lot will be decided tomorrow." Issei replied with a smile before going to sleep himself.
(Scene Skip)
The day of the battle had arrived and everyone was ready to go. Asia had already teleported over to the clubroom so Issei Irina and Xenovia were getting ready at his house. "Today's the day huh?" Irina groaned dressed in her church battle uniform with her blade by her side. Xenovia was ready but kept Durandal in its pocket dimension for the moment.
"Yes it is, and I'm ready." Issei smiled choosing to go with the outfit he used at the Youth Devil meetings without the cape.
"Well you'd better be. Though I get the feeling it won't be as simple as we'd like." Irina frowned.
"Yeah I agree. So you want me to go deal with our guest." Issei smiled viciously having sensed somebody approach.
Irina frowned having sensed the same thing Issei did and remembering the unique signature, "Go ahead, Xenovia and I will meet you at the clubroom." Irina shrugged. Issei was hungry for a battle and the person waiting for them outside would sate his hunger.
A smiling Issei walked downstairs and outside just to see a familiar silver haired priest waiting outside in exorcist robes and with that familiar cackle on his face. He was kind enough to at least put a barrier around the area so nobody would interfere which suited Issei nicely, "Long time no see." Freed smiled happily.
"It has been a while Freed. I'm a little curious why you're here." Issei deadpanned. He had a good idea of why, but Freed loved to talk so he'd let him.
"Welllll, I was planning to grab that little nun for a certain pervert, but she's not here. I figured I'd kill some time with you in the meantime."
"So Diodora knew Asia was here huh?" Issei chuckled.
"Bingo! He was pretty sure you guys had him figured out when he first showed up and when he realized you guys had changed your route he knew for sure something was up. He figured out where she was but since you were nearby, he couldn't do anything. Kids a bloody coward which is a shame but oh well."
"Yet here you are." Issei smiled.
"I figured I could delay you for a little bit and have some fun in the meantime. You guys exposed him so his secret is out and he honestly gets off on having his secret revealed so he's pretty pissed."
Issei appreciated Freed's honesty as well as the fact that he was coming to him, "So since you have this pretty little barrier, I'm assuming we're going to fight huh?" Issei smiled recognizing that Freed blocked the area off from others. He could appreciate that in truth since it made his life easier also.
"Yep but let me get into something a bit more comfortable." Freed replied before his body seemed to expand as though he was transforming.
'Well this should be interesting.' Issei smiled as Freed's skin turned dark brown and he resembled a chimera.
"DIE" Freed cackled before charging Issei.
"It's a real shame Freed because you won't even be a warmup." Issei smiled before vanishing behind him in a show of speed.
"What the" Freed cackled just for Issei to put his hand on his back.
"Dragon Shot" Issei said calmly and the blast piercedFreed from behind blowing a hole through his stomach that would put an end to his life.
"That was boring. I hope Diodora proves to be a better opponent than this." Ddraig wondered.
"Yeah I agree." Issei groaned before activating a magic circle to contact Azazel. They would be slightly delayed by this, but the key word is slightly.
(Kuoh Academy)
While Issei was dealing with Freed, the Gremory group along was making their final preparations for the big event. "So where's Issei?" Rias wondered.
"He stayed behind because we had a guest wanting to start the party early. I think it was that priest Freed that escaped with Kokabiel." Irina mused.
"What!" Rias exclaimed. Those two fighting in a residential area could be a big problem.
"Don't worry. Ironically the guy put a barrier up, so once Issei kills him he'll contact Azazel and that'll be it." Irina said dismissively.
Rias sighed in relief but now her focus was back on Diodora, "Alright and that means I can focus on the battle."
"You do realize that there's no way you're going to have an actual rating game, right?" Irina reminded her.
"Yes I know Irina. I'm not as stupid as Issei thinks I am. I know that the chances of us having an actual rating game are slim to none. The question is should we bring Asia along" Rias replied.
"That's up to Asia. We know Diodora is going to target her and that means the decision on what to do should be hers." Irina suggested. The group looked towards the nun who was in her old habitat and ready to go.
"I want to go. It's time to confront my past." Asia insisted. Diodora is the one who ruined her life and she wanted to stand up to him.
"Well said Asia" Valerie smiled shimmering into existence.
"You really need to stop doing that Valerie." Ingvild commented.
"Maybe so but if you don't mind I'm going to steal your bishop for a second." Valerie smiled.
"What for" Rias said skeptically.
"It's a secret." Valerie smiled before dragging Asia into another room. A few minutes passed and Asia returned with a determined look on her face.
"Sorry about that Lady Rias. Let's get going." Asia said firmly.
"Alright" Rias said skeptically. Something about the whole thing bothered her but Valerie wasn't Issei. She wasn't going to do something behind her back. A few minutes later Grayfia appeared to take her to the battlefield and it was time for her to go. As she vanished into the magic circle she wondered what the upcoming rating game would bring.
As for the smiling Valerie she looked towards the other room and smiled, "You can come out now." Valerie smiled referring to the side room that she dragged Asia to just a minute ago. As the blonde-haired figure walked into the room Valerie couldn't help but chuckle at the way things had played out. This battle was going to be fun.
That's it for Chapter 29 and yeah there's a lot to unpack. Next chapter Rias arrives onto the battlefield and just as she expected, Diodora has betrayed them. What else does the Astaroth heir have in store.