The Lone Dragon Emperor

by Nosferatu869

Issei was just a normal, perverted, playful boy, but because of a certain organization that had yet to reveal themselves, he lost his family. Over nothing but petty conflict that didn't involve them. Now he must live through the hell that is the unfortunate life of the Sekiryuutei. Would it be wrong to say that he is cursed? Maybe not. After all, he truly is— the boy who suffers...

26. Chapter 26: Creux

Hey guys, we're back! The Kokabiel arc of LDE came and went. Now we're moving onto the next part! Well, kinda, sorta.

This chapter is gonna be a little bit of a "miscellaneous" chapter. It's actually only gonna tie into the next part of LDE by a little bit, because we're not doing that just yet. Rather than get right into the next part, this is gonna act as like a "bridge" chapter between the two arcs. In simple terms, this is an "extra chapter." Now, that doesn't mean this is a "filler" chapter, because filler implies that it doesn't affect anything at all and is just for entertainment. When it comes to my major stories, I don't usually do "filler" chapters. If I do something like an extra chapter, it's because it does have a purpose. It either serves a purpose to the narrative, or more likely, it serves a purpose for the characters. In this case, it's the latter.

This extra chapter takes place during the one "extra" year that Issei was convinced by Satoshi to remain in Nagoya for, months after Marie's death. So yes, you will indeed be seeing a little bit of the training that Issei did on his own after earning the Balance Breaker. I don't like being one of those authors that just leaves character's training entirely up to imagination after all. Just feels wrong to me, too many stories do that. All power with no backstory or explanation, it's not a good idea to rely on that. Sometimes it can be excused, but there are times when it cannot. I also feel like there's A LOT of room to explore the place that Issei's character was at during this time.

Besides, I foreshadowed that I would do this many chapters ago, during the start of the Raynare arc. Mainly because I thought it was an important piece of Issei's character to show what life was like for him in that extra year. We know how he dealt with his guilt immediately after Marie's death, but not that in depth. How did that sense of loneliness develop and gestate for him? We already know how he's been dealing with it up to arriving in Kuoh, but we still don't technically know how he dealt with it during those extra days in Nagoya, at the second homeland of his that she died in. Spoiler: it's dark. Real dark. A blast to the past. We'll call this a "return to form"...

Plus: come on. Do you really think nothing eventful happened in those extra days that he spent there? A year with nothing happening? Yeah, right. This is fucking Issei we're talking about. As if he could ever catch a goddamn break, lol.

---

SCENE

"MARIE!"

There was a boy, desperately running through a familiar forest familiar only to him now. Far ahead of him, he could make out the figure of another person. A woman he cared dearly for. She was the one who he was chasing after.

"WAIT! DON'T GO THAT WAY!"

He chased after the woman desperately, but to no avail. She was too far ahead of him, running towards an inexplicable, blinding light at the end of the forest. She was only getting closer to the light with every moment, and farther from the boy.

"NO! COME BACK!"

The boy reached out, but his arm couldn't possibly reach that far, no matter how much it stretched out in front of him. In fact, it felt like, rather than his arm stretching out as he desired, the boy's arm instead began to shrink. It was decreasing in size.

It became a size too small for someone his age, as if he had shrunk down to the size of a boy.

A boy who could do nothing.

([You are but a child. —There is simply nothing you can do.])

And so, that woman he reached out for— disappeared into the light, leaving him to follow no one at all.

"No… Don't leave me.."

He was alone now. There was no one for him to look or chase after. It was just him, and him alone.

"...Why…"

And now, all he wished for was to someday reach that light which she disappeared into.

To no avail.

—And he came to curse that blinding "holy" light.

"...Why won't you just let me be free?"

---

….

….

The eyes of the boy who suffers—

Hyoudou Issei's eyes— fluttered open with an endless stream of tears falling from them.

"...Aah.."

Hyoudou Issei, Age 15. 3 months after the death of Marie Bellerose.

Issei released a moan, but it was more like a croak, the croak of a dying man. Because in every way that wasn't physical, the boy was dead.

The eyes from which a waterfall of tears came down from had lost all their color, and were comparable to a dead fish. The voice which let out a croak was quite hoarse or gruff sounding for a boy his age. And even his body, which was fit, relatively speaking, somehow displayed signs of unhealthiness. His eye sockets appeared sunken in and covered in shadows, and his irises themselves were much too dim of a color to appear as if they were his own anymore. For the boy who was born with chocolate colored eyes, which then developed in his teenage years to a lighter "coffee" brown with a hint of yellow— those eyes were now just pitch black. Black, like the deadness of space, a never ending void. And even his hair, which was always rugged and emblematic of his immaturity in some way— that now appeared "flatter", as if it had "lost energy" over time.

Perhaps, from a medical perspective, this boy was "healthy." But simply from appearance, there aren't many who would assume that.

Any regular person would more likely assume that he was living on borrowed time.

Knock, knock..

There were two gentle knocks on the door of Issei's room. By this point, he had already stopped making any noise. Now, he was only lying flat on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with hollow eyes.

Why is it that when he sleeps, he can weep so easily, yet when he wakes, he can't? Why can he only be overcome with emotion in a state in which he feels less conscious than most times?

Despite the dream he just had, and the tears which followed it, he can't feel anything. Not one single emotion. Instead, he feels 'suppressed.' Even though he just had an emotional dream that invoked tears from him, now that he's awake, it's as if it never happened.

...Hyoudou Issei must certainly be nothing more than the definition of a "husk" now.

An empty shell.

"...Nii-Nii? Are you awake?"

—From behind his door, Issei heard a familiar voice. Logically, it was a voice that should have filled him with even the slightest hint of life. And yet, there was still no light in his eyes.

"...Nii-Nii, breakfast is almost ready. Are you going to want some this morning?"

The voice of his beloved "cousin", Maki Aikawa. She was trying to bring him out for the morning, which was bound to end in only an hour. But Issei didn't reply. He was lying on his back like a dead man, silent and unmoving.

What could be going through his mind, only the God that cursed his life could know.

"...Nii-Nii… Please say something…"

Maki called out for Issei to speak, in a pained voice. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, he fulfilled her wish.

"...Maki.."

With a voice that held no emotion or energy, Issei replied.

"Nii-Nii? Are you going to eat today?"

Issei finally turned his head a bit, towards the door. Light peeked through the bottom of it, just as it did with the curtains. Issei dreaded that light.

"...Yeah… I'll go now..."

It was just another day in a colorless world.

Another day in what is, and always must have been, a never-ending nightmare.

---

After reaching the downstairs floor, Issei was greeted by his aunt and uncle.

"..Ise-kun, good morning. You've come out for breakfast?"

Issei's aunt, Akane, tried her best to greet Issei with a friendly attitude, hoping that he would lighten up, even if just by a bit. But unfortunately, Issei's emotionless expression did not change. Rather, this expression has now become the one his family would see every day.

Issei sat down at the dining table without saying anything, causing Akane to frown. Issei's uncle, Satoshi, who sat on the opposite side of the table, glanced up at Issei from his newspaper. Seeing that Issei's expression was the same as always, he could only sigh defeatedly. Time and time again, Satoshi hoped that he could think of a solution to this problem. Yet, every time he thought of something to say, his words did not come up to par with what Issei needed to hear. He always thought of himself as a smart man, but lately, he's felt that perhaps his intelligence isn't all it's cracked up to be.

And Maki, well, she was the most affected. Seeing her beloved "older brother" figure act so melancholic after no longer being able to see her "older sister" figure, it was heart-wrenching for her. Especially considering that she doesn't even know where her older sister figure disappeared off to. There was nothing she could do about any of it. But judging from the behavior of everyone else besides her, it was almost like her older sister figure was…'gone.'

"..Aren't you going to touch your food, Ise-kun?"

Akane asked Issei hopefully, but Issei just stared down at his food silently.

..Food. Nourishment. These things hardly meant anything to Issei anymore. He doesn't really feel appetite all that often. And he also doesn't taste much either. Eating was nothing but a necessity to maintain his physique now. He doesn't find any enjoyment in it anymore.

—And every time he eats, he thinks about his "partner..."

Her favorite foods. Her favorite desserts. Her favorite drinks. Would she enjoy the food sitting in front of him now? She never complained about any of the food offered to her. What would she cook today if she was here? She enjoyed cooking alongside Issei's aunt. What part of the meal would she pass on? She always cleaned her plate. Would she say "itadakimasu" in that weird accent she always pronounced it in? She couldn't help the way she talked.

….

Or̴ ̷w̷o̷u̷l̵d̵ ̴s̸h̶e̴ ̶hate ̶h̸i̶m̷?̶ ̴W̸o̶u̷l̵d̸ ̵s̸h̴e̴ ̸cu̴r̴s̶e ̵f̷o̵r̷ ̸n̶o̶t̷ ̵s̷a̷v̴i̶n̸g̴ ̸h̶e̵r̸?̸ ̵W̷o̸u̴l̶d̸ ̸s̶h̸e̴ ̸b̴e̷ ̸cr̵y̷i̴n̵g̴ ̷o̸u̸t̴ in ̶ang̵e̵r ̷f̷o̶r̴ ̸b̴e̵i̶n̸g̶ ̸l̴e̵f̴t̸ ̴t̸o̵ ̶die̵ i̸n̵ ̴t̸h̶e̵ ̸co̶l̶d̸?̵ ̸W̷o̶u̶l̵d̶ ̸h̵e̸r̶ ̶s̶p̴i̷r̶i̵t̷ ̶a̸p̸p̵e̷a̵r̴ ̶w̵i̵t̷h̸ ̸b̶l̵o̸o̸d̵ ̴l̴e̷a̷k̶i̵n̴g̶ ̶o̶u̴t̵ ̶o̸f̴ ̷e̴v̴e̵r̶y̵ ̸o̸r̶i̶fice ̷a̸n̸d̷ ̶b̴l̸a̶c̴k ̸h̶o̵l̴e̵s̵ ̷f̶o̸r̸ ̴e̶y̴es̶?̴ ̴

W̸̪͇̱̦͚̞͈̓̄̃̿̀͝ǫ̷̡̛̝̟͍̜̩͖̳͈͂͗̏̐͗͑́̇̽̈́̂͐̕͜͝͝u̴̞̣͗́͊́͌ḷ̸̛̟̯̈́͂̈́͂͛́̆̆͝d̷͔̱̰̝̤̯̏͒̀̽͆̎̆̿̂̇̀͐̓̏̎͘͜͝ ̴̢̨̞̭̺͙̟̻͍̟̘̹̝̗͔̼̱̪̓̋͜͠ş̵͎̰̤͇̖̳̬̾͋̇́͒̐̄̂̈́̋ḩ̵͇͇͍̫̳̹̱̫̤̘͕͎̗͖̦̹̈́̃̈̀̄̄̈́̒̂͌̈́ͅẽ̵̩͕̦͕̦͇̹̦̝̜͇̜̽̌͝ ̵̧̲̭̳̝̱̞̟̰̟͚͚̺̪̳̜̙̗͆̇̈́̋̉͊̀̾̕̚ͅl̸̨̹͇̼̤̙̳̪̩̝͎͚̝̣͓͓͎̲͒̒́͐̇́͊̈́̂̕ͅo̸̡͉̯͖̱̤̝̲͖̞͕͈̔̾̾̈́̎̚͜͝o̶̧̗̘̠̹̤̝̫̘͈͉̞̤̘̅͜ͅk̶̨̗̻͌̃̈́̽̐̓͂̽̚ ̶̘͍̎̑̅͋̀̅͑̇͂̅̃̄̅͘a̵̡̢̧̛̳̫͎̹̬͓̜̥̠̝̻̯͎͍̋̽̅̐̈́̈́̑͗̌͠t̵͖̙̽̄̆̐͂̉̓͗̿̚͠ ̶̟̤̥͎̭̣̳͙̯̌́͗̉͘͜͝h̵͇̲̤͛̅̈́̑͑̅̏̓͗͋̌̐i̸̗͈͚͌̅̏̌̾̃̎̓͂͘m̴̢̡̛̛̞̥͎̰͇̬͎̻̝̭̙̜͍̼̬̻̏͑͐͌̿̑͆̇̀̈́ ̵̗̣̈͊̃̌͗͐͗̅̓̉̔͐͘͠a̷̢̧̲̱̗̻̼̪̹̩͕̜͉͊̽̔͋́͘͜͜͠ń̷͇̮̤̺̟͎́͒̌̎̈́̓ḑ̸̡̲̳̤͎̜̺̘̤͉̖̪͓͖͙͇͎̣̾̀͐̆̾̓́͗̔̋̓̚͝͠ ̴͔͚̣̞̈͌̈͂͠͝å̴̧̼͉͑̈́̎̈̕͝ś̶̨̢̧̢̝͖̻̝͍̺̦̼́̒͛͗͆̈́̀͆̚͜͝͝ķ̴̢͉̙͎̤͖͈̙̣̫̜͇͖̖̑̍̂͂̍̎̉̽ ̸̡̡̢̛̩̲̦̞̼̹̭͔̦̰͈͓̓͜ͅ"̵̧̡̛̗̗͓̟̼̲̟̦̻͙̠͓͙̻̏̈́͑͜w̶̧̢̝̹̣̳̱̞̰̖̙͓͇͙͈̩̃̓͊͗̆̆̓̋̐͌̀̐͋̑̈́̃͘̚̕ͅh̷̢͉͂̈́̊̏͂̋̏̅̃y̵̻̜̘̞͈̫͚̭͔̫̮̰͔͈͂̽́̈́̉̉̇͐̀̃̂̉̍͘̕?̴̼̝̜̮̳͈̈́͑͂̊̃̂́̚"̷̷̛̣̣̭̠̥̰͕̦̗̟̞̪̗̯̜̬͙͉̻̦̀̇͛̏̀̎̅͛́͗͑̈́͂͒͐̃̊̍͂̊̂̒́̒̅̐̅̽͑̃̌̈́̂̊͝

.

.

.

"...Nii-Nii?"

Issei was snapped back to reality by the voice of his cousin. His entire family was looking at him with worried, yet unsurprised expressions. Issei wasn't sure what expression his face was making right now, but judging by the familiar reactions of his family members, he could take a guess.

Every once in a while, he would make a certain face. Whenever he recalled something, became lost in thought, or unconsciously brought back a traumatic memory from the deep recesses of his mind, he would make that face. He didn't know what the face looked like, he was never looking into a mirror when making that expression, after all. Even so, he still knew when he was making "that face." It was easy to tell just by the reactions of those around him. Reactions that indicated unease, worry, and sometimes even fear... It made him wonder, what type of expression was he making at those times?

Was it an unsettling expression of widened eyes and hollowness? Was it a frightening expression of terrible fury and bloodlust? Was it an unnerving expression of pure instability? Or was it something else entirely? He doesn't know. The only descriptor he's received aside from unspoken reactions is a comment from his cousin similar to "you're making a scary face, Nii-Nii.."

In any case, Issei understood that it was an expression he likely never made before in his life…. At least, not before a certain "event.."

But now, whatever this unknown expression was, it may likely be his most common expression right behind "nothingness.."

Slide..

Without touching his food even once, Issei stood up out of his chair and left the dining table. Issei's family only shared a collective sigh, unsurprised by his actions. Maki held her eyes on her cousin while his figure disappeared into the hallway leading out of the house. When she finally heard the entrance door open and shut, she lowered her head in sadness.

It was the same result as every other day.

---

A thunderous explosion.

Booooooooooooooooom!

Somewhere deep in the mountains of the Shiga prefecture, there was a constant series of explosions that flashed green light into the night's sky. The sun had just barely set a little over an hour ago. And yet, Hyoudou Issei was still outside in this mountainous area, far away from his homeland. Donned in a suit of armor that was red like ruby, with jewels green like emeralds.

It was the armor of the Sekiryuutei. The Balance Breaker, "Scale Mail." And Issei was using it to train.

[Shot!]

Booooooooooom!

Yet another explosion was set off by the ball of power that became an energy blast, shot out from his gauntlet. The field which Issei stood in was almost entirely a wasteland by now. To the naked eye, all that was left standing for over 100 meters of space was that tall hunk of silent armor.

[Yet another location that has been reduced to dust… Is that enough for today, partner?]

Issei's spiritual ally, the Red Dragon Emperor himself, communicated to him telepathically. Issei said nothing back to his partner, he merely continued with his uncoordinated blasts.

[..Or perhaps you plan to work yourself into exhaustion again today?]

[Shot!]

Boooooooooooooom!

[It did not take me long to realize that soon after it happened, you began to feel less and less as time progressed. A certain "numbness," of both body and soul. I am no fool. I have lived a very long time. I understand it. Simply because your soul doesn't realize it, however, doesn't mean that your body is immune to it.]

Boooooooooooooom!

[I cannot guarantee that constantly placing yourself under such physical stress will not have adverse effects on your body. In fact, I would say that you are already pushing yourself beyond your limits daily, even if you refuse to recognize it.]

Booooooooooooom!

[So you choose to ignore me today as well?]

Booooooooooooom!

[...Suit yourself.]

With that last message, the inside of Issei's head went silent, and the world around him was the same. Now, all he could hear was the sound of energy and the creak of his armor.

"..."

Issei said nothing and thought nothing. He simply lowered his readied arm and dispelled his armor a moment later.

And with one glance at his ruined surroundings, Issei turned on his heel and began walking in a certain direction. He returned home to Nagoya, which was nearly 100 kilometers away from his current location. That location being the vast territory surrounding Mt. Ryozen.

---

Part 2

It was the next morning.

Issei was lying in bed with his eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping. He was only lying down, devoid of motivation and thought. Most nights went like this for him. He wasn't sure if he ever truly slept. Most nights, it just felt as if he was in a constant state of "semi-sleep," not fully awake, but somewhat aware of his surroundings. The only times he was certain that he slept was when he had nightmares, and even then, he would end up waking up constantly due to them. Because of this, he always felt tired. Or perhaps that was because he was always exhausting himself physically, like Ddraig said? He wasn't sure. Either way, he had little to no energy most days.

So, he just lied there, like every other day.

Knock, knock..

A soft and familiar knocking on his door. Even without hearing a voice, it was clear to him that it was his cousin.

"...Nii-Nii, do you want breakfast today?"

Maki asked from behind the door. Issei didn't answer her, as expected. He just turned his head to his side, looking at his right arm. There, resting in his right hand, was a sword in a sheath which he stared at silently.

"..."

There was another knock on his door.

"..Nii-Nii, there's actually someone here to see you right now."

A guest? A visitor? It's rare that someone would visit Issei nowadays. Who could it be, he wondered.

"...It's Tsubomi-neesan."

Issei's eyes perked up ever so slightly. Akane Tsubomi… Issei hadn't seen that lady friend of his in a while. He hasn't seen almost any of his friends in a long time. He's homeschooled now after all.

"Are you going to come down and see her? Or should I ask her to leave..?"

Issei gave one last look at the sword in his hand.

"...Yeah. I'm on my way…"

—After some time waiting downstairs, Tsubomi was informed by Maki who walked into the living area.

"He's coming.."

"Ah, o-okay..! Thank you, Maki-chan!"

Maki nodded her head meekly and walked away without saying anything else to Tsubomi. Tsubomi frowned.

To Tsubomi, it was clear that there was a difference in the atmosphere of the house. She assumed that it had to do with the busty, red-headed, foreigner who lived here previously. According to Maki, that girl moved away. She must have returned to her homeland. That must be the reason Issei was feeling down, she assumed. Still, to believe that he was willing to start homeschooling himself and essentially cut off all contact just because of it… To Tsubomi, it felt somewhat overdramatic.

But it also proved how much Issei valued that person… That realization caused great discomfort in Tsubomi's heart from time to time.

That doesn't matter. What matters most is that she makes an effort to change that. She'll try to fix this, to the best of her ability.

Thump, thump, thump..

Finally, after waiting another few minutes, Tsubomi could hear steps from the other room. Someone came down the stairs. With those heavy steps, it was undoubtedly Issei. Finally, after three months, Tsubomi could see the man she had feelings for again.

But, once he stepped into the living area…

"...!?"

Tsubomi was almost speechless.

"I..Issei-kun?"

The version of Hyoudou Issei that walked into the room was not the one Tsubomi knew at all. The flesh around his eyes was sunken in with shadows hanging over them. His irises were pitch black and dead like a corpse's. His skin was paler than usual. His body, despite being as muscular as always, paradoxically appeared "sickly", and his shoulders were slouching. He had certainly lost a deal of weight, no matter how little. His hair was matted to his head in such a flat way that it perfectly reflected his clear lack of energy. And of course his expression, which was a depressed frown.

"...Tsubomi.."

Because of her shock, Tsubomi didn't realize that Issei had already sat down next to her on the sofa.

"...Tsubomi. What happened?"

Issei asked Tsubomi that, assuming that something must have occurred for her to visit him. Tsubomi found herself at a loss for words.

"I… You... Issei-kun, you're…"

It took a few seconds, but Tsubomi regained her composure enough to speak properly.

"Issei-kun… What, what in the world happened..?"

Issei, who still has yet to even make eye contact with Tsubomi from beside her, sighed deeply.

Tsubomi had no clue what was going on with Issei, but she could tell that it wasn't anything minor. Nothing about him was the same.

In the past, Issei always had a certain "aura" about him. He was reserved, he kept to himself, but he didn't refuse to interact with others. He was constantly on guard and serious, but he didn't immediately treat everyone like a threat. And most of all, he had an aura of sorrow about him, but he wasn't entirely broken yet. There was a certain "light" in him. There was a fire in him, somewhere, deep within.. As he became older, that fire only increased, and so did his friendliness.

But now… He was like a dead person. There was no life in his posture, no light in his eyes, no fire in his blood. Even just by looking at him, Tsubomi could see all of this. He wasn't the same, at all.

He seemed...truly broken.

"...I was….left behind.."

That was Issei's explanation to Tsubomi, just what he said.

"...Left behind? What...do you mean?"

Tsubomi asked Issei dubiously, unsure of who he was referring to, but having a good idea of it. Much to her dissatisfaction, Issei said..

"...I don't know."

To that, Tsubomi furrowed her brow in confusion. Yes, even Issei wasn't sure why he said what he said.

Who was it that he was left behind by? Was it God? If he was simply going based off of everything that he's experienced in life, then that would be the easy answer. Then again, if he really was going off of everything that he's experienced in life, then it's not unreasonable for him to assume that God was never with him in the first place.

Besides, it couldn't have been God who left him behind. His feelings told him otherwise.

No… This was a loneliness beyond the absence of God.

A loneliness, perhaps, beyond even...the death of his parents.

Yes… It was only now in his life that Issei felt truly alone.

Oh what a terrible loneliness it is...

—Tsubomi felt like she had little to say to Issei. Before coming to his home, she was confident that she would be able to do something about the supposed "slump" that Maki implied he was experiencing. But now, she wasn't so sure. Perhaps she underestimated how heavy of a slump Issei was in. This wasn't even comparable to the depressive moods Akane understood, when athletes would experience slumps in their careers. Perhaps she shouldn't have expected something of that level. There aren't words of inspiration for this type of melancholy.

As a result, Tsubomi simply didn't know what to do.

"...Tsubomi. It's alright. You don't need to worry."

In order to ease Tsubomi's worries, Issei— against all of Tsubomi's expectations— gave her a weak smile.

"-I'm used to being alone."

Issei's main priority is staying home and protecting his family. And whenever he's away from home, he's training far off in the mountains. At those times, Issei makes sure to never hold back when releasing his power. It makes it more likely that any supernatural beings would find him in the mountains first by following the power source rather than finding his home through its lingering spiritual energy emanated by his family. But he trains practically all day, everyday.

Because of this, among every other factor in his life that contributes to it, he lives a lonely life. Yes, in every way, his life is riddled with loneliness.

And that's just the way it will always be. This truth, he had already accepted long ago.

"...Issei… I…"

Issei didn't notice it, but for a moment, Tsubomi made a heartbroken expression. She already understood his feelings just by seeing his face.

There is no room in his heart for her…

Although, it could very easily be assumed that the circumstances are the opposite— because his heart was now "empty."

"...Okay…"

Tsubomi then stood up from the sofa.

"...Well, I just wanted to check up on you so… As long as you're alright, that's all that matters."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."

Tsubomi nodded, but her lip was quivering under the shade of her bangs.

"...Okay. I'll see you later then."

"Yeah. Bye, Tsubomi."

And so, Tsubomi walked away, visibly defeated, letting herself out of the residence. Meanwhile Issei quietly sat on the sofa. He was alone once again.

"...Hmm.."

With a deep sigh that has become the routine expression of his mood these days, Issei left the sofa and returned to his room. He would spend the next ten minutes staring at the sheathed Excalibur that once belonged to his friend, until he finally left the house to continue his daily training.

Unbeknownst to him, Tsubomi had spent those ten minutes weeping outside of his front door before hurriedly taking off, feeling the guilt of having accomplished nothing. And Narutobi, Issei's best friend, who had been waiting outside for Tusbomi, returned home without having to ask Tsubomi a single question. He already knew well enough the results of their effort.

---

Part 3

On another day, Maki was thinking of more solutions to remedy Issei's depression. She had the idea of spending some time with him at the market, perhaps even a clothing store. Something innocuous and well meaning to bring up his spirits. Shopping for clothes itself doesn't matter, but spending time together might help.

So, Maki invited Issei to go shopping with her, and of course, he easily agreed.

...No, he didn't. For the first time in his life, Issei had denied her request to spend time together. In his mind, it was simply a matter of fact that he needed to spend his time training instead. However, for Maki, it was surely a shocking event. It must have shook her to the core. Never once in his life had Issei refused to spend time with Maki, no matter what it was she wanted to do. Even if he refused to go along with her requests, he certainly didn't refuse to spend that time together doing something else. That's why his outright refusal might have been so shocking to Maki that it could even traumatize her. He only realized this once she began exiting his room with such a disheartened expression.

As a result of catching a glimpse of this reaction, Issei retracted his refusal and decided to accompany Maki after all.

—And that was how they ended up in this place, a popular shopping district in their area. Luckily for them, the shopping district wasn't busy at all today.

Most of the duo's time was spent browsing clothing stores, with Maki trying her best to brighten up Issei's day. But it was to no avail. After every attempt, every time Maki made a playful gesture or joke, or simply asked if something looked good on her, Issei would only respond with a fake smile and say: "yeah, it looks good." Or "haha, I see." Underneath it all, he was clearly the same as ever.

The next stop was a bookstore. Maki and Issei browsed the store for books that may have been interesting to read in the future. What most people weren't aware of was that Issei took a particular, but secretive, interest in manga when he was younger. He would always read manga to pass time when he was at home, not studying or training. Maki was, of course, one of the few people who knew this. In fact, in the past, they would often read the same manga together page by page. And although this event decreased in frequency as they got older, that didn't mean that Issei wasn't willing to read a manga alongside of Maki for old times sake. The only difference was that, much to Issei's chagrin, Marie would usually scooch up beside them to read along too, causing all three of their faces to squeeze up next to each other uncomfortably, all just to read one manga.

As a result, Maki was constantly pointing out manga in an attempt to pique his interest. It was a futile effort, much to her dismay.

At some point while browsing the store, a certain novel piqued Issei's interest. The cover read: "The Tragedy of the Immortal Man" in English writing. Issei could understand English well, it was one of the languages he and Marie both studied alongside one another during their time together. He might not have been proficient at it, but he had a decent level of understanding.

Out of curiosity, he picked up the book and opened it to a random page. It must have been a coincidence, but Issei seemed to land on a pivotal moment in the novel, possibly nearing the climax. A scene that would resonate with him in a way he didn't quite understand yet..

"..Nii-Nii, what are you reading?"

Issei didn't answer. He was absorbed into the novel.

From what he could deduce, Dracula had lost his beloved at some point in the story and was hateful towards humanity for it. Van Helsing, the monster hunter, pursued Dracula, finally encountering him in his own home. Issei was reading the scene of their confrontation when he suddenly found himself feeling a profound emptiness.

Dracula told his rival: ["Perhaps what you say is true, Van Helsing… Perhaps I am not truly immortal. But if that is so, then in that same sense, you are not the strongest man, are you?... Yet, even still, I am cursed with the feeling of sorrow. The same sorrow that plagues the immortal man… The sorrow stemmed from yearning…. That sorrow, whether it is stemmed from the yearning for someone, or the yearning for death itself, that is…."]

For whatever reason, Issei felt compelled to skip to the end of the novel and see the result of everything..

["..The monster cursed with immortality felt sorrow upon his realization that even the strongest man could not kill him. And his suffering continued, eternally."]

Those were the final lines of the novel. In the end, Van Helsing had lost and Dracula's suffering went on forever.

….

Issei quietly shut the book and placed it back on the shelf with an emotionless expression.

—At some point during their date in the shopping center, Issei excused himself to the restroom while Maki waited outside.

Inside the restroom, Issei splashed water on his face and stared at his reflection. His expression was as dead as usual.

"..."

Issei brought his fingers up into his mouth and pulled his cheeks up into a fake smile. All of his facial muscles were loose and malleable, like that of a dead person. Realizing this, Issei started pulling his cheeks around with his index fingers to make an inconsistent set of facial expressions. He pulled his cheeks up, down, left, right, in opposite directions from each other. He pulled his face around in any manner possible. The faces he made were more than "bizarre", causing anyone else in the restroom to feel unsettled and avoid him. The odd mixture of dead, blackened eyes with various unusual facial contortions created an unnerving sight for many passerby.

To Issei, it was almost an amazing sight. It really was like he didn't feel anything anymore. No emotion, and certainly no shame from acting unusually in public. He feels nothing. Nothing at all.

Even when Maki had asked him to accompany her and he refused, he felt nothing looking at her heartbroken face. He only stopped her from walking away due to his conscience, but his heart felt nothing.

Despite this, while staring deep into his own eyes, Issei did feel only the slightest sense of unease. If there was anything he felt, it was that. And it was only because staring into the abyss of his pupils made him feel as if someone was behind it… Empty eyes, yet there was likely something more beyond them…

—Out of nowhere, Issei was overcome with the instinctive desire to exit the restroom and return to Maki.

When Issei exited said restroom, there was a trio of slightly younger boys surrounding Maki.

"Hey, c'mon, Ane-san~ Just hang out with us for an hour, yea? We can do karaoke and bowling and have a fun time, ya know?"

"..No, I'm fine. Thank you."

"Oh, c'mon, it's only for an hour. You can't even spare that much time? You've got someone you're waiting for?"

The situation was just like a scene out of a romance or slice of life manga… Except there was an unnerving presence enveloping this current scene...

One of the three boys then noticed that his companions' bodies were eclipsed by a large shadow. A shadow casted on the ground beneath them with...red eyes?

"Whoa!"

The three boys flipped around and let out their own sounds of exclamation. They just noticed a tall man obscured in shadows, Issei, behind them.

Despite his intimidating exterior, Maki immediately ran to Issei's side and hugged his arm.

"I-I'm sorry! As you can see, I'm here with my boyfriend.."

After regaining their composure, one of the boys from the group chided Issei incredulously.

"Wait, this guy..? This guy's your boyfriend? You sure he's not just a high rate bodyguard or something?"

"Yeah, seriously how tall are you, Nii-san? What're you like, 175? 180 maybe?!"

The three boys continued goading Issei on despite his stature, but he gave no visible reaction or response to them.

—In fact, Issei couldn't even hear the things these boys were saying. For some unknown reason, the world had become like white noise to Issei and these boys were only a part of that. He paid no mind to their behavior or physical taunts. He merely stared down at the three with cold, dead eyes.

The more that the three boys looked into Issei's eyes, the more unsettled they all began to feel. At some point, out of a growing sense of unease, one of the boys was trying anything to get a reaction from Issei.

"..Uh, h-hello? Yo, is this guy dead or something? I said: you wouldn't mind if we took your girlfriend with us, right?"

Although he was hesitant, the boy tried his best to rouse Issei somehow. It wasn't right how he just...stood there.. It made the boy feel more and more uneasy by the second.

"W-We're just gonna have some fun, ya know? Nothin' weird. We'll probably be doing things that are a lot more fun than what you guys were doing… What were you doing, shopping? Hehe..."

Still, Issei had no change in expression and made no movements. The boy finally lost his weakened smile and hesitantly waved his hand in front of Issei's stoic face.

"..O-Oy~ are you in there? This guy seems like he's dead or somethin'... What're you, a statue, haha…?"

Back and forth, the boy waved his hand in front of Issei's unchanging expression. And at some point, he seemed to get a reaction from Issei…

Grip!

"Eh?"

Issei caught the boy's hand mid-wave and his cold eyes creaked slowly downward to gaze into the boy's own.

Crack…

Then, a small cracking noise and a searing pain came from the boy's hand.

"..O-Ow! W-What the.."

For a moment, the boy was confused. He almost felt like his hand was suddenly pricked with a thousand tiny hot needles. His hand also felt wet. After his involuntary flinch, the boy was able to realize what was happening.

—In an instant, the boy's hand was crushed within Issei's grasp, and blood started to spill from where the boy was caught.

[—?!]

"AAAAAAH!"

The boy shrieked in pain while the rest of those around him just realized what was happening. Gradually, like a compression machine, the boy's hand was being destroyed even further under Issei's grasp.

"AAAAH! AAAH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! LET ME GO! AAAH!"

The boy's two friends attempted to pry their friend's hand from Issei's grip, but it didn't budge. Issei was unmoved and his expression was unchanged.

—Even now with all of the terrible shouting and struggling, Issei could hear and feel nothing. Absolutely nothing. It may as well not have been happening at all for him.

Issei then grabbed onto the boy's mouth, effectively silencing him before the relatively empty shopping district could become aware of what was happening. He lifted the boy up into the air with no difficulty. Staring up at the boy, eyes hollow, black, and empty— while the boy looked down at Issei with a teary eyed expression of terror— Issei realized that his assumption was correct after all.

'...I was right..'

If the boy had ever come face-to-face with death, then surely, it was through Issei's eyes.

'...I really don't feel anything anymore.'

"NII-NII!"

—A miniscule light sparked in Issei's eyes and he looked down to his side. Maki pulled down at his jacket with teary, mortified eyes.

"Stop, Nii-Nii! Please!"

For a moment, Issei felt something.

Regret.

Thud!

Issei released the boy. Immediately upon being dropped, the three boys scurried off in a random direction with no clear destination in mind, horrified, one of them mangled.

"...?"

Issei looked down at his hands, noticing how eerily still they were. At a time like this, he'd expect to be trembling, and yet…

"..Maki... Let's go home.."

Issei led the trembling Maki home, where she quietly wept in her bed for the rest of the day.

Issei felt only one thing that day. Remorse. Not remorse for his actions, but remorse for having made Maki feel the way she felt.

Otherwise, he was like a walking husk. Despite knowing how wrong what he did was, he felt nothing against it, only against its effects. Truly, there must be nothing but an abyss inside of him.

"Hm?"

—And inside of the shopping center, a random employee from the clothing store remained, wondering what the loud noises from earlier were.

---

A hospital somewhere within the Aichi prefecture.

"Honey, tell us what happened! Why won't you tell us what you told the doctors?"

A teary eyed mother pleaded with her son. Her son had his arm wrapped in bandages and with a sling holding it. Not too long ago, his destroyed hand had been amputated.

"Yes, boy, listen to your mother! What were you three doing that could have caused this?"

The boy, and his two friends who sat beside his hospital bed accompanied by their parents, remained silent. The boy stated it with a traumatized expression.

"Just a rock…. Boulder…. My hand...was crushed. By a boulder.."

The boy's mother made a horrified expression.

"..Didn't you say you were going shopping?.. Where in the world were you playing that there was a boulder large enough to crush your hand like that?"

But the boy did not answer, nor did his friends. Since that day, they would never speak about what happened in that shopping center to anyone, nor of the unsettling figure which appeared as an inhuman-like creature in their nightmares. Lest it somehow appear behind them again and wipe them from the face of the earth..

---

Part 4

"49… 50."

Up in the night's sky, above the many mountains of the Ryozen "family", Issei released balls of red energy that floated harmlessly on their own. They were scattered amongst the clouds like stars, only meters apart from each other. He left it at 50 and descended to a much lower altitude. Thanks to his lone, rigorous training, he's become capable of detaching his power from himself, allowing it to exist separately from him and even letting him control it to a certain extent.

While looking up at the numerous energy attacks he left floating up there, he focused himself and brought out his arm. He then swiftly retracted it in a "pulling" motion, causing the many energy balls to start descending at a rapid speed. His attacks came down from the sky like shooting stars and he prepared his own arsenal of counter blasts from below. His objective: don't let a single one of them hit the ground. It was one of his only methods of training himself.

Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom!

"Haah.. Hah.."

With heavy breaths, Issei descended and inspected the ground below him. Most of the surrounding area was craters and ashy dirt from explosions. He was looking around for any new holes or spots that could have been created from his attacks. Lo and behold, he did end up noticing a new spot of charred dirt with a line of smoke emerging from it. He missed one. Seeing this, Issei sighed and looked up at the stars.

"Hmm… Looks like I have to try again."

[Why not just leave it at that for today, partner? You've already been at it for three hours. I doubt your coordination will improve with exhaustion.]

"No… I need to do it perfectly. Maybe I should focus them closer together; decrease the proximity between them.. That might make it easier. But if I do that, won't it have been pointless? It's not like any enemies who use a similar attack to this would be giving me such easy volleys to defend against.. Unless I was the sole target. Yeah, I'll keep it the way it is.."

[Partner, your Gear has been experiencing some peculiar…"fluctuations" ever since you unlocked the Balance Breaker. It might be as a result of "that power" somehow..]

"Will it affect the Boosted Gear's functionality?"

[I can't be sure until it happens.. But if it does, I doubt we'll be able to do anything about it. On top of that...I feel as if it might affect you mentally. Lately, your gear has been… Something feels like it's trying to "reach" you... I think it's..]

"So my power is unaffected?"

[..Well, as I said, I don't know yet—]

"Then I don't wanna hear it."

[Haah… Very well.]

As Issei ignored his partner's concerns for yet another day, he went on with his training. Or at least, that was the plan.

Rumble…

Off in the distant mountains, Issei's ears caught the sound of an earthquake of some sort. He immediately distinguished the sound as an explosion of some sort.

"..Hm."

Feeling a sense of familiarity with this type of scenario, Issei took off into the sky with an unbothered attitude and flew in the direction of the noises. As he drew closer, the explosions became louder and more frequent, and he began to feel something ominous coming forth.

"Is this...demonic energy?"

It was similar, but slightly off. Somehow, it felt even more malicious…

DOOOOONNN!

The moment Issei flew over the area obscured by trees, the same place the explosions were coming from, the noises stopped. It was as if whatever was down there was suddenly aware of his presence. This put Issei on high alert as he descended into the forest.

[Partner, I feel an ominous presence approaching. It's unique. I've never felt anything like it before..]

"..This smell… Blood. Lots of it."

Despite Issei's nostrils catching the irony scent of blood, he couldn't see any bodies around. The most he could observe were large craters with small splats of blood pooled within them. There were things that were killed here, but there was hardly any trace left of them. It was impossible to tell what was even killed. The smell of the Devil blood and human blood is nearly identical, and the blood didn't seem to belong to wild animals. That all being said, deciphering the victims was a pointless effort, so Issei gave up. In the end, he'll probably just kill whatever is doing this regardless.

As he was thinking very nonchalantly about the circumstances, a loud thumping followed by the sounds of heavy panting started to emerge from deeper within the forest.

"... HUFF… HUFF…"

The sounds of heaving, a deep, inhuman like growl… Whatever was approaching, it was big. Bigger than a bear, in fact, it was almost reminiscent of a large bear or bull just by the way it huffed and puffed so heavily. And with every step that this thing took, the ground shook lightly. Heavy, tall, shaped like a man. But it was far too large to be a man. It was more akin to..

"...An ogre?"

That was the conclusion that Issei's curiosity brought him to as the massive figure approached. Little did he know, his assumption wasn't entirely off the mark.

"No, wait…. That's…"

With one last thunderous step, the humanoid giant stepped out from the trees and into Issei's line of sight. Over 2 meters in height and a bulky, brutish figure. Discolored skin which appeared a greyish hue in the moonlight, like if it was the skin of a dead person. In its hands, it held a large club-like weapon which Issei immediately recognized from his time studying in Japanese culture classes.

"Kanabō..."

If that weapon wasn't enough to distinguish this being, there was a far more recognizable feature present on its body. Classical japanese samurai armor, likely from the Heian era. And most recognizable of it all, the face…

A "red face" with curved teeth jutting out in bizarre directions, glowing red eyes, and an eternally enraged expression stuck to it…. From the moment Issei set his eyes on it, there was no mistaking it. He could recognize it even if he was a clueless child. In fact, perhaps if he was a child, he would be infinitely more terrified of it, as it was a monster of the legends from his childhood.

[Partner. That is..?]

"Yeah, Ddraig…. It's one of my people…. The "devils" of my people. He's…. an [Oni]."

The blood drenched Oni let out an earthshaking bellow of rage towards Issei, as if he was an enemy that the demon was hunting for all of his time.

" RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Issei realized it only a moment before the Oni charged him. The reason why there wasn't a trace of any bodies left around —it was because the Oni viciously pulverized them into nothing with his massive club.

DON DON DON!

The Oni came hurtling towards Issei like a raging bull, breaking the ground with every step. Issei dodged the Oni's charge with ease using his wings, wondering whether the Oni was planning to tackle him or just run straight through him.

"Slow. He's too bulky for his own good."

The Oni came to a grinding halt, destroying the ground every which way. After forcefully stopping itself, it charged Issei again, but to no avail. Issei dodged again by simply flying to the side.

Yet, as if out of some dramatic irony, the Oni contradicted Issei's prior statement about it being sluggish and used the strength in its muscular legs to launch itself back to Issei's position in an instant, ready to strike.

(—?!)

[Jet!]

Issei barely dodged the attack by a small margin using his jetpack. The Oni slammed its club into the ground, creating another large crater upon impact.

'What the fuck?! Isn't he fast after all?!'

Issei wasted no time in counter attacking and concentrated energy into his palms, placing them side by side.

[Boost Boost Boost!]

Upon boosting his power, Issei unleashed his blasts on the Oni who had its back turned only a couple meters below him. Its figure was easily enveloped by the explosion and smoke blew everywhere.

BOOOOOOM!

"Did I get him?!"

Feeling that the malicious aura from the Oni had subsided, for a moment, Issei believed that he had won. However..

[Partner, I feel it rising again..]

As the smoke cleared, the Oni's large figure became visible again.

"Are you joking?"

Issei only had the time to catch a glimpse of it, but aside from the steam arising from its pale skin, the Oni was completely unscathed. That was when the red eyes of the Oni grew even more fierce and burst with a red aura.

DON!

The next moment, the Oni had launched into the air with such speed that it was unfitting for its bulky body, and was right in front of Issei.

"WHA—?!"

Issei crossed his arms to defend against the giant club that the Oni had reared atop its head, but when the impact came, Issei's arms were slammed against his torso and his body was sent shooting down with a sudden impact.

DOOOOOOOOONNNNN!

Issei landed with such ferocity that the ground around him shattered and even shot up like glass as he was left in a massive crater. Suffice to say, blood came out of Issei's body and his mouth.

"KAHA—!"

One hack of blood spilled onto his own face before he had to lift his arms up again to block the descending Oni's incoming slam. Essentially, it was the same result, and the crater widened even further.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!

"AAH!"

Issei's voice came out with another wad of blood as he felt the impact through every section of his body, rattling his bones. The Oni lifted its club above its head again, ready to strike. In a panic, Issei released an unfocused dragon shot in close range, causing an explosion which blew the both of them out of the crater and away from each other.

BOOM!

"Ugh..! Fuck!"

As Issei rolled away and struggled to recover, the Oni, only a few meters away from him, slowly brought itself up to its feet without much trouble.

[Partner, we can't fight it! You've been training for the past 8 hours and 3 of those hours were spent focusing and blasting your energy off constantly! We have to retreat!]

"Rrgh! You think I don't know that..?!"

Once again, Issei heard the deep heaving and growling of the Oni far behind him. With a glance, he could tell that the demon was readying itself to charge like a bull, every foggy breath displaying its anticipation.

"Shit..! Ddraig, jet!"

Just as Issei commanded his jetpack to activate, the Oni bolted forward. Its strike missed Issei only by a hair's length of distance.

[Jet!]

Shyooooom!

As Issei flew up and away from the Oni, he could faintly hear the puffs of the demon's breath diminish in frequency. Despite that, when Issei took a glance back at the Oni's figure, he could still see its shimmering blood-red eyes. Its menacing gaze never once broke away from Issei, no matter how far he flew away from it.

---

"Agh..! Dammit.."

Issei entered his home as quietly as he could, despite how heavy his body felt. He had only just shed his mostly broken armor off his skin, and yet, it already felt like all of his strength left him. He struggled up the stairs, running out of breath due to the sheer effort it took to walk without slamming his heavy feet on the carpet. He was lucky that most of the blood on his body was stuck to his clothes, otherwise he might've started tracking it everywhere.

The first place Issei went to was the bathroom, to clean himself off and assess the damage.

"Ugh.. Ddraig… Damage report."

[You're lucky. Without Scale Mail, you might be dead. For now, you've sustained no major damage to your internal organs, but you have several broken ribs. Alongside that, the arms that you used to block the attacks are also broken. More so your left arm than your right, since it was the one on top.]

"Will it heal?"

[I've told you, haven't I? The influence of the Sekiryuutei allows you to heal from many injuries at a faster rate than usual. Broken ribs are already something that tend to heal on their own, so you're bound to recover from this. And the bones in your forearms will heal up just fine thanks to our aura as well. However, you won't be able to fight or train seriously again for a number of weeks.]

"Too bad. I've got to kill that Oni bastard as soon as possible. Maybe even tomorrow."

[Tomorrow? Have you been listening to what I'm saying? You heal fast, but not that unreasonably fast, especially with this much damage. Any more than that and you would've had no choice but to go to the hospital in critical condition. How would you explain that to your family? Don't be ridiculous. You won't be fighting anything tomorrow.]

"I have to kill it. That thing's a threat. It might not be anywhere near my home, but it's got plenty of opportunity to kill others. Especially in a tourist location like Mount Ryozen. By tomorrow, it could already be slaughtering plenty of people.."

[In that case, it would soon be discovered by Devils who linger in that area after they investigate the missing persons. By then, they'll be the ones handling it, not us.]

The silence in the house then became deafening. So deafening that even the nebulous realm in which Ddraig resided within seemed eerie.

"...Ddraig, right now…. what did you just say?"

For the first time in a long while, Issei felt another real, palpable emotion.

—Anger.

"Say it again, I didn't hear you.."

And Issei glared down at the jewel of his sacred gear with a burning rage.

[..Forgive me, partner.. I misspoke… What I mean to say is.. You can't do it tomorrow. It's too soon for you. Far too soon… At the very least, wait until the next day after that, but not tomorrow.]

"..Will I be healed the day after tomorrow?"

[No, you won't… But it's still better than doing it tomorrow. You may be suicidal, but you can't fight it tomorrow, it's impossible.]

"Tch.. Bullshit. It's not about whether I can or can't. I have to. If I don't, then innocent people will..."

Issei was silenced by the flash of his memory from only a day ago. The terrified faces of the trio of young boys that he felt nothing at the thought of murdering just yesterday, permeated his mind.

….

….

[..Partner?]

Soon, Issei's face lost every shred of emotion and the soulless face of a dead man returned.

"..."

Issei walked over to the shower faucet and turned it on.

"...Yeah, you're right… It's already too late…."

And while placing only his head under the running water, Issei could hear the voice of his forgotten better half.

("Écaille~!")

"I just….don't care anymore... right..?"

The water ran down the drain until it turned red, and it stayed that way for as long as Issei remained in the bath.

---

Part 5

The next day, Issei hid himself away from his family and slipped out of the house without anyone noticing, hiding his bruised up appearance along the way. When he walked the streets of Nagoya, he did it absentmindedly. He paid no mind to the constant stares and walked aimlessly throughout his city. The only thoughts filling his mind revolved around the Oni and its potential for an endless killing spree.

Issei envisioned the brutal deaths of all of those innocent people, and…

"What do I care…?"

Issei stopped walking and stood in place silently, causing the crowd passing by to avoid him like he was a suspicious individual. With dead eyes, Issei looked over to where he could hear the voice of a child walking beside their parents.

"Papa, Mama!"

The child walked happily, hand in hand with their parents, unaware of the true horrors of the world and without any sin yet committed. Perfectly innocent. And when the child happened to glance back at Issei from afar, the unwelcome memories passed through Issei's mind once more.

—The memory of a horrified trio of naive boys fearing for their lives, the distorted images of frightened faces that belonged to brainwashed Genesis members who were quickly slaughtered and "devoured" by a mindless "beast"... And most of all…

The blue sneakers of the young boy, the same age as this child, sticking out from beneath a cloak as his blood leaked through the fabric.

…

...

"...[I don't care]?... No, that's wrong… I just….. What right does someone like me have to care anymore..?"

That was the only thing Issei muttered to himself as the world wistfully passed him by. And in the silence of his mind, outmatched only by the silence in his heart, he felt truly...alone.

(—!)

And yet, as if from pure habit, Issei's eyes perked up, his attention being caught by someone in the crowd.

"..."

And yet, despite everything he felt, without saying a word, he began discreetly following the suspicious man dressed in summer attire through the streets.

At some point, this man led Issei to a more run down area with an abundance of alleyways. One of these alleyways, the one with a dead end, would be the one where the suspicious man started to talk to his pursuer.

"Oya, oya, what's this?.. I was plannin' on using my newfound powers to rob a bank or casino or somethin' flashy like that, but right off the bat, I've got somebody tailing me.. Do I really look like such a suspicious dude? I thought it was normal to wear stuff like this when it was warm out?"

The stray Devil was nonchalant, seemingly unbothered (or unaware) of the individual following him. In fact, it was accurate to say that the Devil sounded excited.

"Oh well… I guess it's my fault that somethin' like this happened, huh. I must've fucked up somewhere along my stroll. Maybe it was because...I was just leaking too much bloodlust!"

Just as the Devil finally turned around, his face began to contort in a monstrous fashion, but Issei struck the Devil's throat with his two fingers. The Devil's larynx was then immediately crushed, causing him to hack up blood and interrupt his transformation before it even truly started.

'Shit! My vocal cords! They're shot!? Just like that?! Even though I like gloating so much to my prey—!?'

The Devil's next thought didn't have much time to manifest before Issei grabbed onto the Devil's arms and pulled them away from his own throat. Issei then kicked the Devil's chest while maintaining his iron grip on the Devil's arms, effectively tearing them off. The force of the kick sent the Devil flying back into the pile of trash bags, armless and bleeding profusely.

'AGH! FUUUCK! FUCK FUCK SHIT MOTHERFUCKER! MY FUCKING ARMS! HOW—?! WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?! T-THIS GUY..!'

When the Devil looked up at the dark silhouette that was Hyoudou Issei, he couldn't help but feel an ominous chill creeping gradually up his spine, like an impending doom.

"...Ugh.. My arms… That hurt me too…. What a joke.. Against a lowly Devil like you? If only it wasn't for that Oni bastard, I… If only my body was healed.."

Issei felt a hard thump in his head, as if an ice pick headache suddenly came on out of nowhere to make things worse.

"Ugh! My head.. Dammit… This is all that Oni's fault. Why? Why can't I heal faster so I can kill it? Why..?"

But then, as if to accompany the ice pick headache, memories began to flash through Issei's mind again and his eye twitched itself shut.

("What's wrong, Maki? Are you afraid of the Beast from the East?")

("Mhmm.. What if he comes to eat me?")

("Hahaha, don't worry. If that ugly bug ever comes around here, Nii-chan will protect you. I'll get rid of him in a flash.")

The thumping in Issei's head increased to a rate even faster than his unsettled heart. With every beat, it was getting worse.

("Neh, Ddraig, what does that [Balance Breaker] look like? Does it look cool?")

["Cool?" Well, I'm not sure exactly what constitutes "cool" for someone like you, but I suppose by a conventional definition, it would certainly look mesmerizing to many. It has certainly frozen many of those who were in battle with my hosts. Though, that also may have been fear.]

("I kind of have an idea of what it looks like, but I feel like it's definitely wrong.")

[Well, who knows, partner. It isn't impossible to consider the idea that your Balance Breaker could turn out looking different than usual… Though, it would truly be unimaginably difficult to do. Unless, if you were to somehow end up unlocking the imperfect form of the Balance Breaker first, then that could most definitely change easily because of you.]

("Hm. Imperfect Balance Breaker, huh. I wonder what that would look like.")

[What would you want it to look like?]

("...If I had to think… If it's for the purpose of facing my enemies… Probably…something terrifying….")

[I would be careful with that, partner. There are times when one can become an existence they truly feared. Sometimes, the most terrifying thing, ends up being oneself.]

Issei gripped his head with his hand in terrible pain. Specifically, he held onto his right eye, the place of origin for the pain…

[Partner! Something is wrong! It's those "fluctuations" I've told you about before! They're affecting your psyche somehow! Something is..!]

《..Something is stirring.》

《..Something is yearning.》

Then, the jewel on the back of Issei's gear began to pulse vibrantly, with an unusual color.

《It's pounding at the door..》

《It's pulling at the chains..》

It was when Issei covered his face with both of his hands that the pulsation came to a halt and the power shining through the gauntlet gained a steady glow..

Then, when the pain finally stopped, Issei's dragonic eye peaked through from in between his fingers with a dim glow.

It was the last thing the Devil saw, and it sent a shiver down his spine for its eerie resemblance...to the hunger-crazed eyes of a predator who had caught sight of its prey.

《[Consume.]》

.

.

.

.

.

.

"...Ugh…"

Issei rubbed his head after coming to. For whatever reason, his body was feeling heavier than before.

"Nn..? Is the headache finally gone?"

[...Partner… What on earth have you done?]

"..Huh? Done what?"

When Issei opened his eyes, he saw that the Devil's body was in pieces now and spread all over the place. Blood was everywhere in that alleyway, and much of it had gotten on Issei. In fact, his torso was covered in it even up to his face.

"Oh, that… I've made a damn mess, that's what I've done.. Good thing he brought us to a bad area with not as many people. It might take a little while before somebody notices this. But.. I might have some trouble walking around like this.. Might have to hide somewhere till nightfall."

[...]

"Huh? That's weird. My body...it actually kind of feels better for some reason.. Yeah, my arms aren't as sore anymore. The hell? Maybe I really did only need to loosen up my muscles after all..? Looks like you were exaggerating after all, Ddraig."

Issei continued stretching his limbs in silence. He paused when he tasted a bitter, coppery flavor in his mouth. Rubbing his thumb against the inside of his cheeks, he retracted it only to find more blood.

….

….

"Hmm. I guess that bastard must've gotten a good hit in or two before he went out. And without any arms too. Gotta give it to him."

[...]

Was it genuine ignorance, or simply a denial of reality?

---

Part 6

In the dead of night, the same day Issei encountered the stray, Issei had returned to the mountains in search of the Oni. Feeling that his body had "mysteriously" recovered somewhat, he flew over to the mountains at a time when no one was around, donning his Balance Breaker. Now, he was casually stretching his body in preparation for a fight.

[Do you truly believe that you can defeat this "Oni" in the state that you're in?]

"What, I said I felt better, didn't I? Unlike before, I can actually move without wincing."

[...Even so.. This Oni isn't a weakling. Frankly, it isn't comparable to the enemies you've faced before. Even the toughest Devils you've fought don't seem to compare in terms of raw power. This might be the strongest enemy you've come into contact with so far.]

"None of 'em compare, huh? Well, I guess that just makes things more interesting. Who knows, maybe this'll light a fire in my heart again or something.."

[Unlikely..]

"Heh, yeah. I don't think so either.."

[..How do you expect to find him? Are you going to track his malice?]

"Hardly need to.. He'll come to me."

Issei ceased his stretching and finally took a proper stance. After taking a deep breath, summoned his power.

[Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost!]

The sudden burst in power caused the wildlife in the surrounding area to flee, leaving Issei alone in the silence. As he stood there patiently, he heard a distant rumbling somewhere in the mountains.

"Here he comes.."

DON DON DON!

Just as Issei predicted, the Oni came sprinting up the mountain to a harsh stop before Issei. Surprisingly, the Oni remained silent just as Issei did, maintaining his few meters of distance. It was almost like a stand-off between two samurai.

[Partner, his skin is thick. I'm not entirely sure how much effort it would take to punch through it.]

"I know, Ddraig. Why do you think I brought this with me?"

With a quick motion, Issei removed the sheathed holy-sword that was strapped around his armor's waist and released it from its scabbard. He stabbed the sword into the ground, leaving it standing upright on its own. For a moment, he stared at its glistening blade, watching the reflection of the moonlight.

("Écaille, do you know how to use a sword?")

("Huh? Like hell I do, who do you think I am?")

("Non, non, unacceptable! My partner must know how to use a sword. At least my sword, perhaps. Stand up, I will teach you!")

("Not happening.")

("Oh yes it is!")

("Hey! Let go, you idiot! Wai— You're gonna ruin my shirt, moron!")

—If there was any shred of intensity in Issei's eyes before, it was gone now. Now the look he gave to the Oni was the look of a dead man with no soul.

"...Huff.. Huff.."

For some reason, the Oni remained still during that time.

'Hmm? What, it's not moving?'

At that time, Issei couldn't have understood why the Oni refused to move, nor the reason why he felt like his and the Oni's eyes were locked in a mutual gaze. Why, in that brief moment, Issei felt no sense of malice emanating from those demonic eyes despite their angry appearance, Issei couldn't understand. No, even if he did, in his current state, he might have paid it no mind anyway...

"Well, whatever.. Let's just see how much I can soften up his skin before I slice it open."

[Boost Boost Boost!]

At that moment, when Issei increased his power, the Oni's malice came forth and surrounded the wide mountain top.

" RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!"

Without warning, the Oni began its bullish charge toward Issei.

[It's coming!]

[Jet!]

Using his jetpack, Issei quickly evaded the Oni's charge and spun around behind it. Realizing this, the Oni planted its feet for a stop, destroying the ground along the way. But because of the Oni's size, it couldn't control its momentum easily, leaving it open during these moments of struggle to halt. This was the opening that Issei took advantage of, releasing a flurry of punches and kicks while following the sliding Oni.

DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON!

'It's tough!' Was all Issei could think as his barrage came to an end and he pulled back. Even so, he felt a sense of pride realizing that some blood came out of the Oni's face/mask.

"Hmph. Not invincible after all, huh, big guy?"

It was just then that Issei's ears picked up the "sizzling" sound that came off from the Oni, and he watched the Oni's blood fade away into a dull red mist.

"Just gotta open my big fat mouth, don't I.."

Again, the Oni charged without remorse. Issei avoided it's swift approach by shooting up into the air, but as if anticipating this, the Oni proficiently reversed its momentum and jumped up into the air to strike Issei.

"Fucker!"

Issei exclaimed while scraping by the Oni's descending attack, causing the Oni to slam into the ground alone.

'This bastard was able to stop himself that quickly and immediately jump straight into the air?! Even with that size, he's somehow still so fast! And he keeps surprising me, like if he keeps hiding his true strength from me until the moment of attack! On top of that, he's completely relentless! He doesn't pause between attacks for even a second! He really ain't like the other guys I've faced!'

Without warning, the Oni then reared its arms back and threw its club up towards Issei at rocket speed like a projectile. Unprepared, Issei could only use his arms to defend against the unexpected attack.

"SHIT—!"

BREAK!

The armor on Issei's arms and chest broke, and Issei was knocked out of the sky from the powerful impact, crashing into the ground near the mountain's Cliffside.

DOONN!

As Issei brought himself up with already bloodied arms, he reformed his armor with a bitter smile. The Oni approached Issei menacingly with its retrieved Kanabō.

"Fine.. I guess I should've gone all out from the get-go!"

[Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost!]

Issei powered up once again and set off into the air, hopefully at a high enough altitude that the Oni couldn't jump to. He concentrated his full power into both of his palms and let loose a blast of great proportion, practically destroying the cliff the Oni stood on.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Despite Issei's continuous stream of power being output onto the Oni, something split through the blast and appeared right in front of Issei.

It was the Oni. It had jumped into the blast and toward Issei.

[—?!]

'BUT THIS IS 20 METERS HIGH—!'

Par for the course, the Oni's club came down on Issei's shoulder at full power, sending him crashing into the earth beyond the cliffside, making it a 50 meter drop.

DOOOOOOONNN!

—As the dust around Issei began to clear, his injuries became clear. Once again, almost the entire torso of his armor was broken and he was bloodied just like the previous day, if not worse. Issei could see the Oni quickly descending from the sky, landing only a few meters away from him. Despite this, his focus was stuck on the starry night sky above.

[Partner! Partner, he's coming! Move, Partner!]

Despite his partner's cries, Issei's body refused to move. Instead, Issei simply lied there as the approaching Oni finally stepped over him and raised its weapon over its head, preparing to deal the finishing blow.

For Issei, it all happened so slowly that it didn't even feel real to him.

'...So that's it? Huh… I didn't think I was so weak. All it took was one real strong enemy…. Oh well. I suppose this is my own fault. Maybe Ddraig was right, I wasn't fully healed yet after all… How pathetic…. Even after unlocking Balance Breaker, this was all I could manage…. No, that's not it… I just don't want to get up, do I? I...think I've had enough… Yeah… All this time, I thought I'd end up buried next to my parents, but…that won't happen. The only reason I stayed in Nagoya was to pacify Satoshi and everybody… But the truth is, I was just going back to my homeland to die anyway, so what's the difference? I won't be buried with my parents, but odds are, I wasn't going to be buried with them anyway even if it happened in Kuoh… Yeah, that's fine. After all... Just like with everything else, I don't care anymore. I've had enough. I'm tired…. That's why, if this is how it ends, then….it's fine. Yeah….. I've been through enough already, haven't I…. That's enough for me already, isn't it... Kaa-san, Tou-san..?'

And so, as the Oni's Kanabō gradually came down towards Issei, he closed eyes. The last image his mind must have conjured up was the smiling face of the one true person he loved.

Then, only silence.

….

….

《...》

….

….

《..out there...》

….

《Re….me...mber..》

—No, there was one other image his mind came up with. And as the familiar voice creeped into his psyche, a voice which sounded too eerily like the one his childlike self possessed in the past, that image appeared. The image burned into his mind for all of his life.

The image of his mother's severed hand lying in a pool of blood.

《Remember. They're still out there.》

[—?!]

Issei's eyes shot open and his arm came up. Pointed straight at the unprotected abdomen of the Oni, Issei fired a blast of energy through its gullet, sending it flying away from him through force.

Booooooooooooom!

And with that distance placed between them, Issei rose up from the crater he lay in without even the use of his arms. Solely through the strength of his legs did his body rise up in an unsettling manner, like a demon resurrected from a long lost age.

"That's right… I can't die here… Because those bastards who killed my parents are still out there… Somewhere, out there, those damn Devils are still livin' it up.. That's why, if I'm gonna die, it's gonna be in the hometown I was born in. Because that's where those rotten faced fucking Devils are bound to show up! AND I'M TAKING THEM BACK TO HELL WITH ME!"

From that point on, the emotion which came to define Issei's life until now— sorrow— had diminished. Now, that secondary emotion which came to define his life— hatred— had returned. And in the future, its presence would be far more pronounced than anything else. The boy simply didn't know it yet..

" RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHH!"

As if responding to that hatred, the Oni emerged from the place in the mountain that it was launched into, creating a landslide. While the Oni was approaching Issei at a fast pace, each thunderous step cracking the earth below its feet, Issei finally got a good look at the Oni's physical condition.

'So my last attacks did do some damage after all..'

In the Oni's gut, Issei could see that he created a large hole thanks to his direct blast. He also observed many deep gashes and bleeding tears all over the Oni's body that had yet to heal, likely caused by the Oni's own relentless approach through Issei's full powered blast. It was damaged, and the damage wasn't anything to scoff at. With this confirmation, Issei affirmed himself that he could kill the Oni.

'He's coming at me, fast! Despite his physical state, he's still got all that fight left in him, huh? Heh, my kinda guy, ain't he! Alright then! How about this!'

Issei balled his hand up in front of his mouth and took in a massive breath. With his lungs filled to the brim with air, Issei blew out of his mouth and into his hand, funneling a large torrent of flames out onto the charging Oni.

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

This didn't faze the Oni; it continued charging at full speed with a thunderous roar while engulfed in flames, like a demon of fire. Expecting this and taking no chances, Issei quickly dodged by taking off into the air, this time 50 meters high up.

'As I thought, unless the flames are boosted up to full power, they probably won't affect this bastard. That's fine. I need to save this power anyway. Because what I need to use it for is..'

Issei glanced over to the destroyed cliff that had been turned into a landslide. Without hesitation, he shot towards it at full speed, burying himself into the mountainside's remains momentarily. Then, when Issei emerged, he was accompanied by a holy light unfitting of his own power.

SHIIIIN!

That's because it wasn't his power. This power belonged to the blade he proudly held in his hand, the holy-sword Excalibur Blessing.

'Marie..'

Issei looked at the blade as he held it up against his dragonic eye, then slowly shut his eyes. His memory brought him back to when Marie first taught him to use the blade on his own..

---

"Look, partner. When you want to draw out Excalibur Blessing-chan's power, you need to make an honest prayer, from the heart. Pure and truthful. If you do that, it should be able to lend you some of its blessings. It's that easy."

"You said a prayer? Hahaha, yeah, no. That's not happening."

"Oh, come on! It isn't that hard to give one single prayer from the heart, is it?! You do it at the Shinto shrines all the time!"

"This and that are different."

"They are absolutely not!"

Issei leaned back against a tree with a sigh.

"Ugh.. Look, you already know how I feel about all that "faith" bullshit. Me and "Yahweh-kun"? Not exactly on good terms. In fact, you could probably say that I fuckin' hate the guy."

Marie pouted sternly while looking down at her Excalibur.

"Mou… Why do you always have to say things like that?.."

Issei shrugged.

"Sorry, but that's how it is. Praying to that guy? Yeah, right. You're way too optimistic thinking you can teach me that. I'll be dead before that happens.."

For a good moment, it was quiet around the duo, save for the casual sounds of the forest wildlife. After a while, Marie spoke up while maintaining her gaze on the Excalibur's blade.

"You know… A lot of people at the church always thought that prayer was all about "faith..." They thought that prayer was the method of connection between us and the Lord. From a practical sense, I suppose it is, but….. But I always saw it as more than just that... After all, what is it that humans usually pray for when they want to pray? Would you really say that faith is really necessary to create a prayer from the heart, yet there are so many people in the world who aren't believers that would still pray during a terrible situation in their lives? Do you really believe that our Lord could hear all the desperate, honest prayers of all those people and simply turn his back on them, only because they "don't believe in him?" Am I really to believe that the Father— that a parent could love his child unconditionally, and yet turn away from them because of such a reason? Simply because they lack "faith?" No, I couldn't… No matter what, I couldn't believe that. I...didn't want to… I wanted to believe that, so long as the prayer truly came from the heart, as long as it was an honest and true desire, it wouldn't matter how faithful one was… That's why, when my worthless self received this Excalibur, I was..so happy. Because even at times when I had doubts in my faith...this Excalibur never betrayed me. As long as I prayed honestly and from the bottom of my heart for help, it came through this blade. Even at times when my faith was tested…. I guess that's why the higher-ups compared it to a Sacred Gear… That's why, I think maybe if you compare it to your Sacred Gear, you could draw out its power, even if you don't have any faith… As long as its a true and honest desire from the bottom of your heart, Issei, maybe you can…... Well, that's what I thought, but maybe.."

Marie smiled sadly at her sword.

"Maybe you were right about me... Maybe I am too optimistic after all.."

Once again, the silence returned, this time lingering even longer than before. Issei's stern expression gradually faded away into contemplation. And with one final glance at Marie's downtrodden face, he made his decision.

"Haah.."

With a sigh, he stepped forward and held out his hand.

"Hand it over."

"Huh? B-But you—"

"I'll figure something out, just give it here... Leave it to me."

---

Issei could never forget that expression of happiness that Marie wore after he drew out the Excalibur's power… In the end, he never did tell her what he did in order to draw out its power. If only she had known what was in his heart, perhaps things could have turned out differently.

'Marie…'

As Issei was blinded by the holy light emitted from the blade of the Excalibur, somewhere deep beneath his unyielding hatred and rage, there was a tinge of pain that he would continue to bury for years to come.

'—Lend me your strength!'

[Boost Boost Boost Boost!]

SHIIIIIIIIIINN!

Without a moment to waste, Issei blasted toward the still standing Oni. Not being able to match Issei's speed, it was helpless in defending against Issei's oncoming flurry of slashes. Even so, the Oni still struggled on and swung at the air wildly with its club.

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

" RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHAAAAAAA!"

The Oni howled in rage, attacking futilely. Issei, noticing its failure to resist, took the opportunity to attempt at making the Oni defenseless. Using the Excalibur, he sliced the Oni's Kanabō in half, rendering it useless.

"Now what, you big bastard?!"

After that, the Oni went perfectly still, like a statue. Despite pulling back after his attack, Issei had no intention of letting up. He shot forward again with full intention to slice off the Oni's head using the Excalibur, despite how tough its neck skin was. The last thing Issei noticed the Oni do was exhale one heavy breath of air out into the night like a puff of steam.

"...Huff.."

Then..

SLICE!

"...Huh?"

The Oni was gone.

'He...disappeared?'

Issei's intuition led him to turn his head back, looking a few meters behind him. Over there, the Oni stood, its back turned to Issei and frozen in a position similar to a samurai that had just cut something down. Why? That became clear when Issei noticed the demonic looking Katana that the Oni held in its hands, stained with blood. Issei then glanced down as he felt the pain rise in his body.

—A portion of his chest armor was destroyed yet again and there was a deep, profusely bleeding slash on his chest.

[—?!]

Issei fell to his knee as blood gushed out of his wound. The Oni, in a samurai-esque fashion, simply flicked the blood off its Katana with a swift "chiburui."

'Dammit! This bastard had a Katana too!? Since when?! God fucking dammit! Just how many tricks is he hiding under his sleeve?! How many aces in hole?! Fuck! Just show your whole arsenal from the beginning, will ya?! How the hell else is anybody supposed to have a chance against you?! No wonder he's so much stronger than all of my past enemies!'

As Issei internally vented his frustrations, he noticed the blood flowing out of his wound, as well as the blood spilled onto the grass, started to lift into the air.

'What the—My blood..! It's…. it's floating..!?'

But more than just floating, it began to flow in a certain direction. The blood traveled behind Issei towards the Oni's direction. More specifically, the blood flowed into a large orb held in the Oni's open palm. Once the orb was large enough, the Oni placed it into the giant hole sitting in its abdomen. Issei's eyes widened upon the realization.

"..You've got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!"

The empty space of the hole filled with blood and healed itself shortly after.

Gogogogogogogogogo…

Now the hole that was previously in the Oni's stomach was gone, and it let out an intimidating puff of hot air from its mouth again.

Foom!

Without hesitation, Issei lit one of his hands on fire and painfully dragged it across his chest. With that, his scorched chest wound was cauterized.

"Ugh.. Welp. That scar'll stick with me forever. Can't catch a fucking break, can I?"

Issei narrowed his eyes as he observed the Oni's change in posture. Unlike before, the Oni wasn't charging him in a blind rage anymore. Now, the Oni was more focused and appeared ready to strike at any moment, just like a samurai...

'This bastard…. I thought he was fast before, but hasn't he gotten even faster without his club? That damn thing was just slowing him down. But now thanks to losing it, he's quicker and he even looks more patient. On the surface, it seems like he'll deal less overall damage, but that might not be true. That sword is sharp. It can cut through my armor like cardboard… If that's the case, then I need to avoid it at all costs, especially if the blood that it draws can heal wounds like that. I can't get hit by it no matter what. But can I really land any cuts without him doing the same to me? Do I have that kind of speed..? No, I can't doubt myself now. I've just gotta keep pushing forward.'

[Partner, we're already nearing our limit. Let's pull back for today. We can return another time. This time, you were unprepared, but next time, we'll have the advantage. We'll defeat him.]

'HA! Yeah right, I'm pulling back from this! I'm taking this all the way to the end with him. I'm not gonna die here, but I'm certainly not gonna let him live this one out either.'

[Again with this! Why can't you understand that you aren't invincible! You've spent too much of your life getting by on luck alone! Even if you always had great potential, you never understood your limits! Why must you be so needlessly reckless?!]

'Why do you care?! It's not your job to worry about me! My role is to kill what's in front of me and give you a good name! Your role is just to sit there and sound cool to everybody else! So just shut up and let me handle this!'

[Even now you're still saying things like that. I don't understand.]

For a moment, Issei went silent as he remembered something from his past. Something which, even now, continued to haunt him.

[You are but a mere child. —There is simply nothing you can do.]

….

"..I refuse.."

[...?]

"..Don't you understand, Ddraig..? It's because… I refuse. I refuse to be that child who can simply do nothing but watch.."

Issei balled his hand into a fist, squeezing it until it bled.

"I refuse to do nothing! I'd rather die!"

[...]

That must have been the first time that I realized….it was all my fault.

Issei took up the Excalibur once again and readied himself. He scanned the Oni's body with his eyes, searching for the best angle of attack.

'..I should immobilize him. He's already a fast enough bastard with his club, but even more so with his sword. It would be a problem if he was to keep running around dodging and attacking like before. I need to limit his mobility. But his skin is thick. It would probably take a full powered swing with some boosted holy power to chop off a leg or two. From what Ddraig's told me, almost all beings of demonic origin should be affected by the holy element, but the amount of effectiveness will vary depending on exact origin. Devils, vampires, ghouls, and Succubi will hurt the most. Fallen Angels are next in line, then other demonic shit from other pantheons. So that means that I've gotta compensate for the difference in origin by increasing the damage… Damn, and I thought I was already runnin' on empty. Looks like I'm gonna have to push even further!'

[Boost Boost Boost!] [Transfer!]

The holy power contained within the sword increased and the light became brighter, but its flow was unsteadily fluctuating.

'Damn. It's got power, but as I thought, for whatever reason, I still can't use this thing for long periods of time. I've gotta take the initiative, and fast!'

Without waiting for the Oni to move, Issei blasted forward at top speeds, hoping to remove the Oni's leg while avoiding the Oni's katana blade. When he closed the distance, he quickly sliced into the Oni's shin, but the blade didn't cut through.

'It's stuck!'

ZIN!

Issei retracted his sword and dodged the Oni's quick slash by a hair's length, but still received a deep cut on his right cheek. Issei unhesitantly cauterized that wound so as to not allow the Oni to use his blood. He then continued with his unforgiving onslaught, this time changing his strategy up to aim for the weakest parts of the Oni's left leg and rapidly attacking the same area until it gave way.

'Your skin might be tough, but as long as I can chip away at its most vulnerable points and avoid significant damage, there ain't shit you can do against me, you ogre fuck!'

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

Just as Issei stated, so long as he maintained his quick "cut and retreat" approach while holding top speeds, he could feasibly take out the Oni's left leg.

And eventually, he did.

SLICE!

With one last full powered slash, Issei had whittled away enough flesh and bone from the Oni's left leg to remove it completely, causing it to fly off and leave the Oni on bended knee. Despite this, the Oni still went for a slash to Issei's neck. Issei narrowly avoided it, leaving another gash on his left shoulder that he quickly cauterized after pulling away.

"Haah..! Hah!"

At this point, Issei was starting to exhaust himself. He was well beyond his physical limit. He certainly couldn't boost anymore either. Even though he was in such a state, the Oni didn't seem worse for wear in terms of stamina at all. It was injured severely, but there weren't any signs of it being "tired." It's mobility may have suffered a blow, but its speed didn't. It almost seemed as if the demon never loses stamina.

But that didn't matter. All that mattered was taking off its head. So long as he could manage that, Issei could wi—

"—Whatever you're plotting, it's meaningless. That isn't a creature that can be killed through regular means."

…

…

Issei turned his head towards the direction of the unknown voice. When he looked over, someone was standing atop a tree with the moon backgrounding their silhouette. What Issei observed was a beautiful man with white hair, wearing a red and white yukata and other royal garments that appeared like they belonged to the feudal era. In fact, the man was so beautiful, Issei almost couldn't tell whether it was a man or not, despite the masculine voice. But none of that was what caught Issei's attention, what secured his gaze the most were the animal-esque features the mysterious man possessed.

—Just like the pristine snow-white hair that flowed in the breeze of the night, there was also a fluffy, fox-like tail and fox-like ears atop the man's head. And to top it all off, the beautiful man's face had red whisker markings painted on his face.

'..What the fuck?! Where did he come from?! I didn't sense this guy at all!'

[I didn't either, partner. It felt as if he appeared out of thin air for me. He must be dangerous..]

The beautiful man's vertical pupils slid over to look at the kneeling Oni, but the Oni paid him back no mind. The Oni's focus seemed entirely directed at Issei. Seeing this, the "man" spoke to Issei as if giving him advice of some sort.

"You must take his blade from him."

"Eh?"

"His blade is the manifestation of his hatred, his power. He is an entity from a long forgotten past. His thirst for blood and desire for revenge will allow him to return from any physical state, no matter how far gone he may seem. So long as his hatred remains, he shall return again, reappearing in this world just as he did the first time, even if you destroy him. —If you wish to avoid this, then you must take up his own blade against him. Cut him down with that very same blade of hatred, pierce his blackened heart with it, and he can finally be granted the path which leads to his end."

That was the beautiful man's matter of fact explanation. Why he explained it to Issei, Issei didn't know. Who the man was also was not clear to him. However, considering the position Issei was in, all he could say in response was...

"Well… Fuck it. What do I have to lose? I guess it's worth a shot!"

Issei readied himself to shoot toward the Oni at high speed with a specific target in mind.

'His arms are beefy. Since that's the sword that "contains his hatred", it's probably not something he's ever gonna let go, unlike his club. So trying to pry it off of him would be a stupid idea. In that case, I've only got one real option!'

[Jet!]

Issei charged the kneeling Oni with his Excalibur, ready to dodge the Oni's inevitable counter-attack. In the moment that counter-attack came, that's where Issei saw his opportunity.

SLASH!

Issei sliced at the arm of the Oni which held the sword, and once again, he repeated the process of rapidly attacking its arm's weak spots over time in order to remove it.

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

Until finally..

SLICE!

The Oni's arm flew "clean" off its body.

"Thanks for the hand, asshole!"

Issei caught the severed arm from its place out of the air. When he landed with it, he smiled sarcastically. He could hear the words of his long lost partner in his head.

("Mou, Écaille! Your fighting style is always so brutal and crude! Why can't you fight more elegantly, like Moi?")

He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Heh.. If only you knew, partner..."

—And so, while using the Oni's severed arm as a base, which was still clinging tightly to the Katana, Issei began slicing and dicing the Oni all over its body with its own blade.

ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN ZIN!

Unlike Issei's holy-sword, the Oni's Katana had relatively no trouble cutting its owner apart. And soon after the loss of the Oni's second arm, leaving the Oni defenseless, Issei heard the voice of the fox-eared man once again.

"Now, stake it into his heart! End his eternal suffering!"

Just as directed, Issei reeled back with the severed arm and Katana in hand, exchanging one last look into the Oni's hate filled eyes. Somewhere in all of that hatred, Issei saw himself..

STAB!

And in one swift motion, Issei drove the Katana through the Oni's heart, freezing the demon in place.

…

…

One last time, Issei heard the Oni's quiet breath release from its mouth. Only this time, the exhale was slow and unaggressive, almost as if it was a long awaited sigh of relief…

"Stand aside."

The fox-man appeared behind Issei in a flash. Issei stepped away without argument, but maintained caution around the man. When the fox-man approached the Oni, he moved his hands around in the open air, creating an elegant looking kanji made out of blue fire in front of him. Issei watched in amazement as he saw the fox-man shrink the symbol onto his palm, then gently place that palm onto the chest of the Oni, near where its heart had been pierced.

"—Be free."

A moment later, the Oni's body was engulfed by a gentle blue flame that covered its entire body. The Oni made one final movement, lifting its head up toward the sky, as if to watch the stars one last time. For a moment, Issei thought he caught a glimpse of a man's eyes from behind the Oni's mask.

Foom!

But only a few short moments later, the Oni's body faded away into the fire, as if becoming a part of the flames themselves, and when there was no body left, the flame shrank into nothingness, leaving the mask of the Oni behind.

"..."

For some reason, Issei couldn't find the right words to say. Something about the Oni's end was far beyond what his imagination led him to believe would happen, and thus, he could not find his feelings again.

Without saying anything, the fox-man retrieved the Oni's mask and began to walk away. However, Issei unsurprisingly questioned him.

"Hey, you... Who are you? And what's your connection to the Oni?"

The fox-man stopped in his tracks and turned to address Issei in a formal speech pattern.

"I have no connection to him. It was simply my mission to free him from this world."

"..A mission, huh? Somebody higher up ordered you to do that? Who would that be?"

That question, the fox-man didn't answer outright. Instead, he opted to answer Issei's previous question with an unchanging emotionless expression.

"I am what is known as a ["Kitsune"]. Although, your people may refer to us more simply as [Youkai]."

(—?!)

The realization widened Issei's eyes, but he felt naive that he couldn't deduce something so obvious.

"A youkai, huh.. So those exist after all. I should've known… So then, youkai… Why did you help me?"

"Help you? You misunderstand. I wasn't assisting you as much as using the opportunity to my own advantage. After all, it was my objective to defeat the Oni and retrieve evidence of its remains. With this, my mission is complete, with no cost to my own."

The kitsune stated it in a very matter of fact fashion. He was clearly a pragmatic individual.

"That so….? Well, if he was your target to handle, then why on earth did he wanna attack me so badly?"

The kitsune maintained his silent poker face, but Issei persisted with a sly smile.

"Oh, come on. I was the one who beat him. You used me just to get your mission done, don't you at least owe me an explanation?"

After a bout of silence, the kitsune folded his hands into the sleeves of his yukata and sighed lightly.

"Yes, I suppose that is true. Very well. In that case, I'll give you a thorough explanation. Because, unfortunately, it is not so simple."

"..What do you mean by that?"

When the kitsune locked eyes with Issei, Issei felt captivated. There was a unique depth and mysticism contained within those eyes that Issei had never seen.

"...Oni are cursed beings, you see. Unlike a majority of us youkai, who are born in this form, Oni are, in most circumstances, "created." A majority of the Oni wandering about in the world are not those who were born Oni, but rather those who became Oni, as a result of their grievances against the world. This Oni in particular was an extraordinary case, even amongst Oni. Just as all the others once were, he was a human, many centuries ago. But as a result of the tragic circumstances of his life, he became a demon of hatred. "The Demon of Nara."

"The Demon of Nara..?"

Issei remembered the Oni's eyes, burning with uncontrollable hatred, and yet, somewhere inside of him, there was a man just like him… These lingering feelings were what made Issei compelled to ask, despite understanding that knowing the Oni's story would come at no true benefit..

"...What sort of circumstances?"

There was a long pause between them. But after what felt like having Issei's entire soul laid bare by the kitsune's eyes, he came to know this story.

The kitsune explained it with a solemn tone.

"..Long ago, during the age of the samurai, there were many who would take up the title of "samurai" despite having no true claim to it. Dishonorable, greedy, foolish folk who convinced themselves through ego that they could indeed be samurai on merit of their words alone. Amongst the many samurai, there was once a great samurai, a true samurai, who was defeated in battle, not by other samurai, but by these "impostors." This samurai had only a son, and shortly after his death, the samurai's son took up his sword and vowed to rid the world of these impostors, these "fake samurai." He killed many, creating a great fear amongst those who lived in Nara, believing that a "demon" was truly hunting every dishonorable samurai in Japan... However, one day, this "demon" encountered a true samurai. And though the demon claimed to hold no grudge against the samurai, the samurai claimed to hold one against it. This samurai believed that it was his duty to uphold justice and maintain the peace amongst the land, and this demon was disrupting that. After defeating the demon in combat, the demon inquired why the samurai would do such a thing, stating that the culling of the impostors was for the benefit of the name and honor of the samurai. The samurai told the demon: "Is it not dishonor to fight those who cannot protect themselves? Where is the honor in hunting those who are defenseless against you? To a true samurai, these impostors are but an inconvenience. Slaying them is like slaying a child. They are defenseless against our mastery of the blade. To hunt such easy prey is only dishonor upon oneself and the name of true samurai. If your father was truly slain by these impostors, then it was simply because he died refusing to dishonor himself by resorting to their dirty tricks. You only disgrace him with your actions..." Upon his defeat, the demon was humbled, and he was a demon no more… For a time."

Even without further explanation, Issei understood where this story was going. It was no wonder he saw himself in the Oni. He knew this type of story well..

"—The demon, now living a humble life as a farmer, found himself with a wife and child. And for a time, his life was peaceful and he lived in quiet remorse of his sins.… However, this peace was short-lived. In time, "they" came to know of the farmer's identity and sought him out. In a dishonorable act of assassination, the impostors that sought him murdered his wife and child before his eyes, then murdered him… But as you know...hatred is a powerful curse. And the demon's hatred became something which extended its reach beyond even the realm of death. Truly, a demon did rise, and the only thing it sought was vengeance. —For centuries, it rampaged, searching for all of those who resembled those impostors. Those who donned the armor but not the proper stance would die quickly and in numbers. Even those who wore armor of different types not belonging to samurai also perished due to its blind rampage."

The kitsune glanced down at Issei, causing Issei to follow his gaze. Issei looked down at his scale mail perplexedly.

'..My Balance Breaker?'

"..So you see, his hatred, just as it cursed those who were the source of said hatred, also cursed himself... As such, he was damned to walk this earth, endlessly searching to quench his thirst for blood, but never truly finding the inner peace he sought for his grief…. You were simply caught up in that. That's all. But, with this, Kyuubi-sama should be pleased. He was a high-level threat, and he travelled far beyond his origin point."

Issei's eyes followed the kitsune's gaze, towards the Oni's mask that he held in his hand. What either of these stoic individuals was thinking while looking at the item is a mystery.

"..Kyuubi-sama?"

Without clarifying further, the kitsune placed the Oni's mask somewhere in his clothing and hid it away.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I'll be the only one receiving credit for this action. At least for now. I can simply tell by looking at you that the last thing the Eastern alliance should do is become involved with the likes of you. Including an existence like you in the mission report will only complicate things further and it's more than likely to create problems for us in the future... The last thing we need is another vengeful demon to deal with."

The kitsune turned and began to walk away from Issei, but feeling insulted by the implication behind the kitsune's comments, Issei called out to him in a threatening manner.

"Oy… You fox-bastard.."

The kitsune stopped, but in a moment, he was gone from Issei's sight.

ZIN!

And in the very next moment, he was right in front of Issei, holding a Katana up against the side of his neck, ready to take his head off.

"—Farewell, Sekiryuutei. May this be the only time we meet."

With those words, the kitsune removed his blade from Issei's neck and disappeared without a trace a moment later, almost as if he was never there.

"..."

[He's gone..]

"..Ddraig. Could you tell how strong he was?"

[No, not at all..]

"Yeah, me neither.."

Issei looked over to the place where the Oni's body disappeared from. All that was left over was a tiny pile of ashes that was quickly blown away by the night's breeze.

"Neh, Ddraig…"

[What is it, partner?]

"...That story of his… It was a sad one, wasn't it..?"

[..Yes, it was. A tragic tale..]

"Yeah, it was… It was, and yet.."

[...Partner?]

Issei looked up at the full moon with a hollow gaze.

"...Even though I know that… why don't I feel anything after hearing it..?"

[...Partner? Can you hear me? Partner…?]

—One couldn't help but mistake him for a mindless, soulless husk.

---

It was past midnight already, and although it was well past Maki's bed time, she was still up, absentmindedly combing her hair. She's had a lot to think about ever since the previous day.

At some point, she heard the heavy steps of someone outside her door right before they entered.

"Maki.."

She paused momentarily, but soon resumed her combing without looking at the person who spoke to her in a robotic tone, fully aware of who it was. It wasn't until she felt the cold arms of this person gently wrap around her neck that she ceased her combing.

"...Nii-Ni—"

For a moment, she had gently taken the hand of her beloved older brother, but she flinched when she felt that there was a moist sensation upon contact. When Maki lifted her eyes to look at the vanity mirror in front of her, she completely froze.

—In the reflection, she saw the blood-soaked Issei with ton clothing, cuts and bruises everywhere, as if he had just returned from a massacre.

"..Near the 'end', I wasn't even thinking about you, even though you're all I have…. Forgive your big brother for being like this.."

That was all the motionless husk said. And after giving her a kiss on the cheek, his face smearing a bit of blood on her, he quietly left the room, leaving Maki alone in her disturbed silence.

"..."

After a while, she continued combing her hair with trembling hands, behaving as if nothing happened.

And perhaps in a desperate attempt to protect the unconditional love she always held for her brother, she shut these unpleasant memories out from her mind and lived life as if he was always the same boy she grew up with, to this day.

---

Kuoh - Modern Day

"Haah.."

Issei sighed as his long reminiscence came to an end. He looked to his right, where he saw the sleeping face of Rias Gremory, and sighed again.

"Ugh… I'm so used to almost dying, but… almost die once in your homeland and some random Devil lady and a priestess suddenly won't stop clinging to you."

He then glanced over to his left side where he saw Asia sleeping. Surprisingly, he also noticed a sleeping Raynare squeezed up behind Asia. He was honestly surprised that all four of them fit on his twin sized bed. Then again, they were all practically rubbing up against each other.

But Issei couldn't help stare at Asia's face as she slept peacefully. It reminded him too fondly of a beautiful face from his past.

"...Marie.."

Issei caressed Asia's face tenderly as she smiled innocently, clearly having a pleasant dream. But unlike her, Issei's dreams were anything but pleasant, even now. That's why, instead of sleeping, Issei opted to lie awake and think of his past. Something which was hardly better than the alternative.

"...Hey, Oni… At that time, did you feel it?... The burden of the immortal man… I'm sure you did, right?"

Issei whispered aloud, as if someone were listening, but knowing full well it was just himself.

"...[whether it is stemmed from the yearning for someone or the yearning for death itself]... Yeah, I feel it too… But at least we freed you, right?... Meanwhile, I'm…"

Issei lifted his palm into the air and looked at it. Inside, he wondered whether or not his hands resembled his father's or...his mother's..

"...Even though I've begun to feel a sense of serenity these past few days, and this sense of satisfaction for defeating Kokabiel, as if some of my self-loathing might have..subsided just a bit…. Even still, I feel…"

Issei remembered the faces of his parents. And deep under the pride he felt for having protected their home, he also felt something which prompted his fist to clench near the point of breaking the skin on his palm.

"I can...still feel the rage… somewhere underneath, waiting for the chance to burst out… waiting for that "one day" to come…."

—The last thing Issei thought of before falling asleep was his conversation with Sirzechs Lucifer.

("And that group… What's its name?")

….

("—KHAOS BRIGADE—")

---

END

And boom, there you go! A blast from the past! Pretty depressing, huh? But now you guys understand that whole little "immortal man" tangent Issei went on when he first encountered Raynare. This is the chapter has been foreshadowed since that point. Fun fact: this chapter was supposed to come out right after the Phoenix arc, before the Kokabiel arc, but I decided against it. I think the contrast in Issei's character will serve better when you compare this chapter to after the Kokabiel arc, which is certainly the most developed Issei has become as a character.

So how many of you are Dead By Daylight fans? If you are, you probably came reading this chapter. I mean, come on, the Oni in this chapter is literally just a massive, walking reference, to the umpteenth degree. It's not subtle, not even a little bit, lmao. Anyway, I wanted to represent a part of the DxD world that hadn't been explored yet in this story and I thought the Easter faction was obviously the right choice. I had always planned to have Yokai and/or Oni somewhere in LDE from the beginning, but I didn't have a place to fit them in until around chapter 11, when I finally had the idea for this extra chapter. After all, it doesn't seem too unreasonable to assume that Issei ran into one of them once or twice, right? Also, I couldn't help but think of Sesshomaru when writing Mr. Kitsune-kun lol.

So, yeah. Let me know what y'all thought.

Did you feel depressed reading the chapter? What was the most shocking/unexpected part for you? Is this what you imagined Issei being like after Marie's death? What's the mystery behind Issei's gear "fluctuations" (to this day)? How did you like the Oni? Who is Kitsune-kun and what does his appearance mean for the future? What will come of Issei's "slumbering" rage? Can he overcome it like Kiba, or like his predecessor (the Oni) before him, will he be consumed by it..?

Read, Rate, Review R̴̢̛̦̞͔̱̦̪͉͚̘̔̓͌̆̿͑̊̆̌̔̽͘̚͝ą̷́͊̋͑̀͐̐͑̅͂̑m̴̡͍͖̰̜̪͚̯͔̆̈́́̄̑p̵̯͉̦̃̀̋̒͒́͋̆͂̈́̍̋̉͌͜ͅä̵̧̖͚̬̺́̄͊̊̀̕g̵̨͓͖̮͓̬͔̾ͅę̸̢̘̣̦̟̗̫̝͉̇́͊̀͂̆̉̒̈̎̈́̏̾͊́͘͜,̶͎̯̳̥̩͈̗̝̼͔̒́̽͑̈̏͑̈́̒̀̚͝ͅ ̷̨̨̣͓̘̠̗̲̲̤̹͓͇̐̄͆̓͘Į̵͔͎̖̥̝̙̗͖͔́̇̆̌s̸̳̩̺̝̾̈͆͆̒̊̑͠s̶̢̢̛̯̤͉̹̪̯͖̳̤̃̽̀́̓̐̅̿̈̑̎̽̐͑̑̚e̶̯̳̰̩̬̣͚̤̼͉̯̼͈̽̌̐ͅí̷͕̺̦̗̟̮͑̈́̆͌͌̈͒́̆̚͘͘͝ͅ

Stay frosty.