Welcome back! After years of being inactive I decided to update this story.
Walking to school the entire occult club and student council rubbing a small bump on the back of their head given to them by Issei. Saji gave a small soft laugh wondering why he got hit as well even if he wasn't part of the whole fiasco. They all looked back to the embarrassed Issei, an apologetic but worth it glance as he stared off into the distance deep in thought. Ophis had noticed and tugged at his arm a shirt a bit, but Issei kept glancing up at the sky not noticing his mate trying to get his attention. In his mind he traveled back to a time when Gabriel was training him, or whatever you could call training which was more like an excuse to use her sadistic nature which had always been kept in check to keep the image of a leader. She would often talk about how powerful God's divinity was compared to other was almost on its own plane of existence reaching into the realms but not quite entering the realm of Ophis, Great Red and Trihexa. It would take the combined powers of the great Super Devil trio to even have a chance at beating him.
Gabriel had also talked about the fact that Issei had inherited that same divinity within him, so how was he hurt that badly from the cerberus Kokabiel summoned? It was nowhere near Super Devil class, nor was Kokabiel himself. He suddenly snapped out of his daze when he opened his eyes to find himself laying on the sidewalk with his head on Ophis lap, and the entire group looking at him worriedly. Slowly sitting up while rubbing his forehead he stared at the group with a groggy look in his eyes but quickly shook it off.
"W-What happened..?" he said with some flem in his throat that he cleared as he talked.
Ophis was the first to speak up "You started glowing like you used to in heaven, and suddenly you collapsed… Your energy didn't feel like yours though, it felt as if someone had taken control of your body but failed. You felt more akin to your actual father than you yourself." She explained
"But I thought his energy was god's? What would make it different?" Rias questioned
"That is true but as time passed I gained my very own energy signature during training with Gabriel. While it was still as holy and pure it would never actually be my fathers signature no matter how much of it I had. We are just two separate beings with different power levels and personalities. But… I did have a vision about him before I woke up." Issei said slowly trying to stand up, but wobbling as his head seemed foggy, as though he still wasn't back all the way. Ophis helping him keep his balance with a worried look on her face.
"What was your vision?" Ophis asked, putting her hand up to his forehead just out of reaction. Not like Issei could actually catch any disease or illness as his body was immune to all ailments.
"He spoke to me.. As if he was trying to tell me something but I couldn't hear him. All I saw was his mouth moving in distorted ways making me unable to read his lips. He held his hand out to me and handed me a gauntlet, it looked like the Red…" he tried to explain but his head started to throb in pain unlike anything Gabriel ever did to him. His energy flared again as he gripped his left hand, then grabbing his core hunching over. It was as if his body was fighting off something that was not supposed to belong in it.
Suddenly two holy crosses appeared next to them where Michael and Gabriel both emerged with worried looks as they felt his energy change and spike at odd levels, his signature changing every second between pure angel to part dragon. "My lord, what is wrong!" Michael yelled out before he saw him hunch over further. Without saying another word Gabriel picked him before transporting him to heaven, shocking even Michael who grabbed Ophis and the rest of the friend group and teleported them to the castle directly to avoid the glares and trouble of the other angels.
Gabriel had laid Issei down on a table that looked more like an altar, while undoing Issei's shirt and wrapping his own hand in a glow of holy light slowly attempting to enter Issei's own energy. Michael eye's eyes widened "What are you doing to him?!" he said, grabbing Gabriel's wrist stopping him from possible further harm to their lord.
"I am saving his life. God left very specific instructions for us to remember. Did you forget what he said when he left us with his energy?" Gabriel yanking his hand away from Michael's loosening grip who was slowly remembering what they were told all those years ago.
"My children, I may not survive my battle with the battle I am about to partake with Trihexa. The seals I may end up putting on it may not last through eternity like I may hope, so I ask this. I will incorporate a very personal sacred gear into the energy I will be using to make a new son. One that depending on how the child ends up could harm or enhance his abilities. I cannot correctly predict but I hope for the best… In this sacred gear will be a power from Great Red himself, I was brought a piece of his skin from an aftermath skirmish between him and Ophis the infinite Dragon God, If my calculations are correct Issei should be able to adapt himself to control this power, or it will have to be extracted as the power may try to corrupt his pure angelic body when it is awakened. I hope I am right about this…"
Michael's eyes widened even more as he saw someone he saw his own son writhe in pain from both the corruption of the custom sacred gear, and Gabriel attempting to extract it. Asia tried to rush over to help Issei but she was stopped by Rias who shook her head at her, silently telling her that we would only be in Gabriel's way. Suddenly Azazel's magical circle crest appeared behind them all with him holding a contract that contained a peace treaty and on the other hand a bottle of wine to thank Issei for finishing Kokabiel for them. But he was stopped in his tracks when he saw the new angel leader being operated on by Gabriel, he dropped both items and Michael extended his wings to stop Azazel, so he could explain the story to him.
After a few minutes the entire group were shocked to hear the experimental plan God had hashed out backfiring, and Michael giving a concerned glance at Azazel knowing full well Azazel was the only one among any of the factions whom knew anything about sacred gears and custom or not. Nodding his head Azazel walked over to Issei and Gabriel who had finished extracting the sacred gear which appeared as a red orb of light with hints of black in it like it had been poisoned or contaminated. Azazel grabbing the orb the dagger in his suit pocket glowed and flashed as if resonating with the new gear. A memory of when Azazel created his own sacred gear and shortly after found Vali, the White Dragon Emperor and his sacred gear had done the same type of resonating as it is now. Azazel narrowed his eyes at the new sacred gear and whispered ever so slightly "Sameals blood…"
Azazel's scared gear flashed quicker than ever, almost as if it was fearful. Dragons feared one thing and one thing only, the blood of Sameal. The one weakness to even Ophis. It was used once already to threaten her to join the Chaos brigade side in an attempt to squash the new devil society. Ophis realizes now that when old Leviathan Maou threatened both him and Issei, the blood she had in her hand was already sprinkled in the general area in case Ophis had tried to transform into her true form. Not that she ever needed too to take on someone like her, but a caution the old Maou took regardless. Then it hit her… Issei was in gym class outside that day when they met and had rolled in the grass all period long, gathering all of the particles like a vacuum picking up pet hair. It never affected Issei up until his sacred gear also awakened and now that he had part dragon inside of him he was started to be poisoned by the divinity should have protected Issei from such poison as his body was naturally immune, but it seemed the sacred gear did not mix well with his divinity hence why he was able to be hurt easily by an enemy that was nowhere near powerful enough to hurt him. Michael and Gabriel hit themselves mentally for not realizing sooner.
"Can you fix it and help it have a better chance of mixing with our lord..?" Said Michael who almost sounded like he was begging.
"I can try, but as for Issei he has to fight the rest on his own. He should be able to heal himself but that also depends on how badly he was damaged internally by the blood." Azazel explained as he took a batter look at the gear realizing the wavelength was never made for Issei but for God himself. But if it was made for the biblical God, then why would he give it to Issei before his passing. It seemed unlike the old man to do things so wonky and without complete faith in himself, it was as if he knew it was going to fail, or…
"That's it!" screamed Azazel startling the group as he walked over to the next room's bench as if he owned the place. Placing the sacred gear on the table without much effort removing the poisoned blood "The gear was never made to be awakened so early, it was meant to be awakened when Issei reached his full potential and achieved the same level of power as the old man, but something the energy surge you felt Michael from him wasn't Issei but God himself!"
"What are you babbling about Azazel? How can that be when he is dead?" berated Gabriel as if Azazel was speaking out of his ass to seem useful as he usually does.
"I am not quite sure myself but you said Ophis mentioned that it felt more like God's energy then Issei's but kept changing between Issei's signature, a Dragon like signature and God's signature. What if God left a message within Issei when the time was right to help push him along his path incase something went wrong like Sameal's blood corrupting the gear further." Gloated Azazel making himself seem smarter then what others gave him credit for.
"I guess that does make sense…" Michael noted "But can he be saved?"
"If push comes to shove I can redo the sacred gear now that we know his energy signature, but…" he was cut off by the sudden surge of light radiating off of Issei making Michael and Gabriel rush over handstand by his side.
Issei's body started to float off the ground and his wings unfolded themselves but he grew two extra wings making a total of 12 angelic wings on his back. His energy level spiked as well almost as if this near death experience made him stronger and his energy slowly became closer to that of God's himself but slowly reverted back to his original nor corrupted signature. His body slowly gilded back down to the altar with his eyes slowly opening revealing his eyes went hazel like eyes to a more calm lighter brown but not before flashing a deep crimson red for a very split second. His skin on the other hand while it did not change shades, it rippled ever so slightly before stopping. Sitting up slowly Issei looked around his surroundings seeing everyone with tears in their eyes excluding Azazel who only smirked. He kept looking around the room as if he was looking for someone in particular, but before he could fully scan he was tackled by not only Ophis but Michael and Gabriel. They were relieved that he turned out to be alright in the end and they became a bit confused and Ophis became a bit concerned as Issei slowly pushed them off of him and walked towards the throne room, still glancing around the room. As he pushed open the large double doors in the throne room, he almost in an instant traveled across the room onto the throne itself and sat down as if it was natural. He was the ruler of heaven but he was always so awkward about it all.
It was not long before Issei regained his gentle smile everyone had known and stared at them all. "I am sorry to have scared you all like that,I am better now. No, more than better. This body.. I mean my body feels fantastic but weaker than what I am used to.." He tried to say while hiding a red flash in his eyes which was caught by Michael and Azazel.
"The way you speak, the way you instantly move at speeds I could not register, the way your eyes flash red every so often. You aren't the lord we know, where is Issei." Michael hissed with venom as he stared at the body of the boy they raised. The smile Issei had slowly turned into a smirk. It was no use trying to fool the head arch angel and pseudo leader of heaven.
"You may know me by a name this one over here hates." He said with elation as he pointed over to Ophis who grimaced and flared her Aura which made everyone in the room minus Issei collapse from the sheer pressure.
"Great Red…" she scowled which made everyone's eyes widen, as she walked up to the body Issei holding a black orb in her hands ready to strike down at a moment's notice. Only making Great red cackles in victory.
"Do it. Kill the body of the man you love. Let me ruin your own chance at happiness like I did all those years ago when I kicked you out of your home. DO IT!" He explained "I am not the body of Great Red so I will not die unlike the boy here. I must say though it is quite hard keeping him in check. His mental strength and love for you and those angels there is quite strong. But then again I must thank that one over there. I was waiting to be released from that poisoned gear for years. I just had to finally wait for this boy to be hurt so his own divinity would dwindle and the gear could awaken. It was a risk as Sameal's blood could have killed me before I corrupted the boy, but everything seems to have worked out. Now then…" Issei's body looked over at Gabriel whom he shot a crimson blast at which the seraph barely dodged due to the interference of Ophis slapping his wrist in the knick of time to make him miss.
"Oh that really got this boy going. Attempting to kill that one who he sees as a mother figure really got him angry. Who would have known god's own progeny could get so angry." The entire group stood there. They were powerless. Ophis would be enough to easily dispatch him but there was the risk of harming Issei in the process. Everyone else could not truly hold a candle to his power. Maybe combined they could but there were risks involved that made it an unsure battle even for Azazel.
"Issei! My Issei! You can fight him, I know you can! Don't let me lose you too… Please…" Screamed Ophis which only caused Great Red to laugh as loudly as he could.
"Who knew the lowly Infinite Dragon God Ophis herself would fall for an angel of all people. Did you get unsure of yourself after our last battle? Did you finally admit defeat and accept your home is lost? Did you final-" He was stopped mid sentence before clenching his head quickly as his body shook. His body glowing brighter than ever.
"No! You can't have it back! I just got here! Let me have more fun!" Great Red yelled as the body kept getting brighter and brighter before finally settling down and Issei's bright warm smile returned and his eyes returned to their natural brown state.
"Now stay there. You won't ever hurt them, not now, not ever! We will find a way to seal you properly until that time to sit still and play nice." Issei said with a tone filled with venom but yet seemed calm enough to give even Akeno a chill down her spine.
"Issei… You're back..?" Asked Michael, Gabriel and Issei. Before even giving him a time to respond they all tackled him giving him a warm embrace that was duly needed. The chaos that had ensued, Issei had put on himself for having more control or will power to put Great Red back in his place sooner. He almost killed Gabriel, his own mother figure and he wouldn't ever forgive himself for that. If it was not for Ophis she would have been dead and that would have let him drown in despair. The friend group who was originally brought here gave a sigh of relief to see that their friend was truly back and seemed to recover from the poison.
"Man, remind me to not get on your bad side, Ophis, my wrist hurts a bit." he said in a sarcastic tone which caused her to give a small smile and a light hearted chuckle in response.
"Actually. Make sure you hit him harder next time. It'll teach him to have better control over his body next time" Gabriel remarked, which made Issei give off a concerned look as he rubbed the back of his head. In the background they heard Azazel's voice causing the group to turn around.
"It seems Great Red gained consciousness, like how the Boosted Gear and Vali's gear did. I can mitigate the side effects but he will never truly be put down. At best I can regulate him to just voices in your head when you sleep or when activated or at worst I just make you a whole new sacred gear until we figure out what to do with him. Do you think you can keep him down for now Issei? Let's say 3 weeks?" Azazel explained which gained a semi nod from Issei. With only a nod in response, Azazel walked back to the room in which they originally examined the custom sacred gear, the peace papers were essentially null, as not did Issei fulfill Azazel's job of murdering Kokabiel, Azazel had earned the right to peace by deducing how to save Issei from further harm by Great Red and a possible to strengthen the angelic faction more by having their leader get more power via a sacred gear of sorts. All that was left was the demon faction, but Azazel had already taken care of their side. They had agreed to peace and the only part that was remaining was for all factions to meet up and agree in person to solidify the deal.
"I assume all that is left is to ask the demon faction to cooperate for peace and our sides will no longer be at odds." Michael said out loud which caused a retort from Azazel.
"Already one step ahead. They agreed and they should be showing up any minute now to finalize the deal." Which was met with a crimson red demon circle which revealed the three Maou leader Sirzech's Serafall and giving Azazel a glare for acting like he still lives in heaven.
"Michael-Dono it's a pleasure to finally meet back up with you outside the battlefield. I see we had just missed an important conversation. I assure you our visit will be purely peaceful as I assume Azazel had told you. We are here to acknowledge the peace treaty proposed by your side and the Fallen Angels. Kokabiel who wished to start the next great war has been slain by your leader over there, and we have come to pay our respects to him for helping not only the heavenly realm accrue more casualties but the demon realm as well." Sirzechs said, adorning his regular armor, while walking over to Issei and bowing. The fellow maou followed suit as well, all bowing towards the new angelic leader.
"My sister Rias has many nice things to say about you Issei-dono. In fact I cannot remember a single bad thing she has said about you, so I thank you for looking after her while she stays in that school." Sirzechs kept his bow as Issei waved his hand up and down not enjoying the formality.
"Please raise your head, Sirzechs. It is not out of obligation to protect your sister. She is someone I care about and do it for I feel it is the right thing to same goes out to her peerage and the student council as well. Not all demons are bad people and that group are people I would lay my life on the line to protect from harm." He said getting up from the throne and giving a bow as well, which made the entire friend group present blush a bright red. Rias and Akeno more so as they seemed to like Issei more than the others.
"Ah I see. If only you were a demon I wouldn't have had Riser try to wed my dearest sister. I would have had you instead." He said with a wink to his sister which only made her blush more and almost pass out from the blood reaching her head.
The rest stared at Ophis wondering if she would be mad by the comment as she had claimed Issei for herself and were engaged. Only to be shocked at her shrugging her shoulders to the comment and leaning into her mate.
"I do not share the same morals of monogamy as some of you all do. As long as I am not forgotten or left behind I do not mind sharing if Issei is okay with it." Ophis explained the jaw dropping expression of Rias and the usual almost sadistic giggle and smile of Akeno. Michael and Gabriel only laughed under their breath as the embarrassed look on Issei's face.
"Ara ara, Issei-sama got so bright red! It's so cute!" Akeno teased her as Issei blushed harder to the comment of 'sama' coming from a woman of her beauty.
"A-anyways. I accept the peace treaty between the three factions proposed by Azazel unless Michael has any disputes." Issei, trying to regain his composure, explained to the mere nod of Michael, showing his approval.
"Fantastic! I shall make an announcement to my people Sirzechs I suggest you do the same." Azazel abruptly said as he kept tinkering at the sacred gear not even looking at the rest of the group.
"And we should get back to school." Rias said, garnering a nod from everyone else including Issei who walked to the rest of the group allowing Michael to sit upon the throne once more. The group had a bright cross envelope them and as they all teleported to the Occult club main room so that they may continue their regular school day. Of course having to warp the teachers memories of them being late.