Eventful Meeting Unfolds
"Issei Hyoudou" - Talking
'Issei Hyoudou'- Thought
"Issei Hyoudou" - Communication circle/phone
*Sounds*
[ Issei Hyoudou ] - Heavenly Dragons.
"Issei Hyoudou" - Draconic voice
'So, those two finally arrived,'
[This will be interesting]
'It's a bit earlier than what I told them, but it will work, I guess,' I mentally spoke.
[I'd assume it's hard to be precise when your journeying through a town that you've never been in, or haven't been in for an extended period] Inanis reasoned.
As I stared out the window, I could see the four in their tense situation, neither of the groups making any sudden movements towards the other, as to not escalate the matter any further.
As a few moments passed, their mouths began moving as if they were speaking to one another. With the obstacles and distance between them and me, I had no chance of hearing them. Instead, I relied on their body movements as well as their aura signatures to understand what they were conveying.
Their body movements were rigid and tense, and their aura held a charged feeling, showing that it was uncomfortable, and that both groups were ready to make a move in necessary.
"What's going on out there?" Wynter whispered to me, her gaze shifting out the window to investigate whats going on.
"I'm not sure, but those two have pure holy aura's," I feigned my ignorance. They can't know that I'm involved with this, or it could all fall apart.
"Holy? So they're from the church?" Wynter asked, her voice, while still a whispered, carryed a shocked tone to it.
"Looks like it, I wonder what church members are doing in a devils lair," I asked myself, acting as if I didn't already know.
We continued watching the two groups from the window. It appeared that they seemed to be getting to some form of understanding, as both of the group's auras seemed to calm, and appeared to have relaxed, even if only just a bit.
After a few long and seemingly tense moments of conversation, they walked off, the church members following closely behind Sona and her Queen. The direction they took seemed to be leading them to the path of the old school building, and the ORC.
"Isn't that the direction of our club? What do they want there?" Wynter asked.
"Who knows, but judging by the time, we will know soon," I spoke, nodding to the clock on the wall, which displayed that we only had a few minutes left of class.
With that, Wynter and I both stopped our talking, as to not push getting caught by the teacher, and I'm sure any human that could have overheard that would be... confused, to say the least.
As I sat in the classroom, I focused my mind, shutting everyone out as I tried to track their energy. I managed to pick them up, but that isn't much of a test considering their relatively close proximity, so instead, I opted to try and memorize their auras, ingraining the pure holy aspect into my mind.
'This won't help much, but at least it gives me an idea of what to track,' I thought to myself, continuing my focus on their auras.
[Indeed, each person has a unique twist to their aura but given a wide variety of similar auras, and you would find the same small aspect with each one, and with only two people it won't be enough to see that aspect]
I didn't respond, continuing my focus on searing their auras into my memory. Even if I could detect them now, I need to train with it regardless. Specifically, I need to hone how well I can sense their type of energy, as currently, it's difficult to pinpoint their location. I can tell their on the path to the ORC room, but not how far down it they are. If it weren't for Sona's energy next to them, I wouldn't have any clue.
I continued the deep focus on their energies, only for my concentration to be cut short by the bell going off. The teacher released us, the students grabbing their things to leave the classroom as soon as possible.
As the students flooded from the classroom, Asia Wynter and I opted to wait for a bit, so the congestion of the halls would lessen as we walked to the club room. I'm a bigger guy, so I don't navigate through crowds well, and it doesn't help that I hate large groups of people regardless.
As the few minutes passed, and the sound of the students in the halls slowly lessened from more and more of them leaving, a realization hit me. They could know who Asia was and that she was exiled from the church. If they do, there isn't any telling how Asia or them would react.
"Asia, when we get to the club room, I want you to stay close to me, ok" I spoke, giving Asia a concerned look.
"Um ok, but why? Is something going on?" Asia asked.
"Yeah, I'm not entirely sure what, but a few members of the church showed up here just minutes ago, so I want you to be careful, ok," I responded, once again acting as of I don't have any knowledge on the situation.
"M-members of the Church? Why would they be here in the same place as Devils?" Asia asked, looking at Wynter and me.
"We don't know Asia, but it can't be anything good, so stay by Issei ok. If you can't get to him, you can trust me to protect you," Wynter swore, reassuring Asia that she was protected.
"Come on. We can't wait too long," I spoke, looking at the doors leading into the hallway, the hallways now have vast amounts of more room with the lesser amount off students.
Wynter, Asia, and I hastily made our way through the halls, weaving between the small number of students who remained in the building. I know they gave said that they wouldn't start anything, but I'd like to be there regardless of what they said, and waiting to long would prevent that.
With that in mind, as well as the safety of those close to me, we quickened our pace to a jog as we made our way through the doors leading out of the school building and turning down the path that leads to the old school building. The closer we get, the stronger the holy aura becomes.
The old building came into view from the trees as we made our way down the path. Unfortunately, the windows were closed, so I couldn't get a look through, not that I would have seen much from the glaring height difference.
Sona's energy was nowhere to be found within the old school building, most likely wanting to stay away from this situation as much as possible. I can't blame her, as any devil getting involved with church affairs would most likely be a high hazard.
I roughly pushed the doors open, causing a loud creak and thud that they like heard withing the ORC room. A few words could be heard through the walls of the clean and shining hallway. None of the words understandable, but just loud enough for me to hear them.
We slowed down, stopping upon reaching the doors of the club room. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the worst outcome, all while hoping for the best. I think it will at least go smoothly, although there isn't any way to know for sure.
Glancing towards Asia and Wynter let me see that they're even more nervous than I am. Asia, in particular, was more nervous than either Wynter or me. I doubt shes happy to see members from the church considering she was exiled from there.
"Remember, just stay calm and stay by Wynter or me, and everything will be fine," I kneeled to her hight, placing my hands on her shoulders, all in an attempt to calm and reassure her.
Asia looked up to me, nodding her head slightly, and closing her eyes as she began to take some deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. Thankfully, it seemed successful, as her breathing steadied, and her eyes shone with a small gleam of resolution as they opened, preparing to face the upcoming events head-on.
I can't say I'm too nervous, as I already know what's about to happen in there, so long as they keep to their word and nothing goes off-plan, then everything should be fine.
I put on my usual poker-faced expression, pushing open the doors to the club room. I was met with stares of the room's occupants, probably due to the sudden opening of the wooden doors, which caused quite the noisy entrance.
On one side, Rias was sitting on one of the couches, Akeno and Koneko taking their places behind her without Kiba. On the other side of the room sat Xenovia and Irina on the only other available couch.
Anyone with the slightest observation skills could tell that the mood was tense just from looking. Although, that should be expected from a meeting between enemies.
"Ah, good to see you three have arrived," Rias spoke, looking towards us, her gaze shifting past us, only for her to gain a slightly displeased expression. She must have been hoping everyone would have shown up for this, which it appears that Kiba hasn't.
"Well, as you can see, we have some... visitors," She continued to speak, gesturing to the two settings across from her.
I gave her a nod, no more words were needed, Asia Wynter and I all took our spots behind the couch Rais was set upon, Wynter positioned next to Koneko and Akeno, and Asia stood between Wynter and myself at the end of the line.
"Well, as I was saying, thank you for agreeing to speak with us today. My name is Xenovia,"
"And I'm Irina Sido, your friend Issei and I used to be childhood friends when I lived here," The two introduced themselves, Xenovia maintaining her cold and calm persona, while Irina, with her expectingly bubbly and childish nature, despite being in the lair of devils.
"Yes, well, I must admit that it fascinates me to no end at why worshipers of God would want to visit their mortal enemy," Rias responded, her legs crossed as she sustained a professional appearance.
"Yeah, it is a little random, isn't it, but it isn't without reason," Irian spoke, Rias raising an eyebrow in curiosity to their reasons.
"There are six fragments of Excaliber from the total seven that we can account for, three of them still in possession of the church, the other three were stolen by the fallen angels, and we've tracked the thieves to this town," Xenovia spoke, her voice holding disdain and annoyance.
"These are two of the three we have left. The one I wield is known as Excaliber Destruction," Xenovia explained, showing the wrapped up blade.
"And mine is the Excaliber Mimic," Irina spoke, raising her arm from withing the clock. A small whiteish band wrapped around her arm, which must be the Excaliber she was mentioning.
"I'm also this generation's Re-"
"They don't need to know that!" Xenovia quickly interjected, startling the rest of us in the room from her sudden outburst.
"We have to have some form of trust between us if we expect them to agree to this, so telling them is for the best," Irina justified her actions.
Xenovia couldn't say anything in response, as Irina was right, regardless of how reckless it is to reveal such a thing. Hesitantly, Xenovia backed down, allowing Irina to continue to speak.
"As I was saying, I'm this generations current Red Dragon Emperor," Irina continued.
The others were stunned to hear the words leaving Irian's lips, their eyes wide and shock evident. Koneko glanced between the two of us, a thought popping in her head after a few moments of silent thought.
"I thought the Heavenly Dragons were supposed to fight each other no matter what," She spoke, the others going silent upon hearing her words and remembering the details of the legends about the three Heavenly Dragons.
"While the Red and White Dragon is in perpetual conflict, the Black Dragon isn't and never was involved within their fight. The rumor that all three of them fought only continued because the Black Dragon Emperor was so rare to pick a host that all three of them hardly ever met, so the others just assumed that it applied to all three of the Heavenly Dragons," I explained, relieving their worries of having to deal with a fight between Heavenly Dragons.
"Getting back on track, what is it you would like for us to do for you today?" Rias asked impatiently, attempting to speed this meeting up, as I doubt she wants them here very long.
"Stay completely out of this conflict. This is between the Church and the Fallen Angels. We don't need the Devils inhabiting this town to interfere with these affairs of ours," Xenovia spoke, or more demanded straight to Rias.
"That sounds like your accusing of us of plotting against you. Are you afraid that we'll side with the Fallen Angels and try to keep you from obtaining your precious holy swords?" Rias responded.
"Well, for a devil, a holy sword is a detestable item, so it would make sense for you to support the Fallen Angels to prevent us from retrieving them," Xenvoia reasoned.
Rias's destructive aura began to surge, her eyes shifting from her beautiful blue to a devastating and violent crimson red. Akeno and I could feel her anger boiling at the accusation of working with the Fallen Angels through the soul link we share.
Even with the soul link, it wasn't required to see how she was feeling. The others could tell that she was getting pissed just from looking at her, and the aura she's giving off.
"And if you do align yourself with the Fallen Angels, we will have no choice but to annihilate you along with them, regardless of your relations to the Devil King," Xenovia continued.
"Well, if you already figured that much out about me, let me share something with you. I would NEVER even think of aligning myself with the abhorrent creatures that caused great harm to the members of my family. You have my word on that," Rias sharply spoke.
Akeno and I were somewhat surprised to hear the conviction within her words. I never knew she had such a feeling for the Fallen Angels, although I shouldn't be surprised about her dedication when it comes to her family.
"It's more than enough for me just to hear you say that," Xenovia spoke, a relaxed smile crossing her face.
"I was only relaying the thoughts of our higher-ups. I honestly didn't think the younger sister of Lucifer would do something so idiotic, but orders are orders," Xenovia continued.
"Glad to hear that. Then I also hope you know that I won't be providing help to your side either," Rias spoke.
"Of course, we trust that we will prevail so long as you keep your word and don't intervene in what we may do in this town," Xenovia nodded, her and Irina rising from their seats.
"Well, that's something we can promise won't happen,"
"Again, thank you for meeting with us. We won't take up any more of your time. We'll let ourselves out," Irina spoke, giving a slight bow to their hosts.
The two began to leave the room. The atmosphere of the room seemingly started coming to calm as the rather abnormal meeting seem to be coming to its conclusion. The others visibly relaxed as the two members of the church made their way to the doors.
However, Xenovia stopped in her tracks after glancing towards Asia, her eyes scanning her up and down. The tension soon began to rise again at the curious nature expressed to our previous nun and current Bishop.
"Your Asia Argento, yes?" Xenovia questioned, her eyes sharpening as she stared at Asia.
The others and I were somewhat confused by the seemingly random question. Even her partner Irina turned around with a curious expression as to what Xenovia was doing. This was definitely not planned.
"Um, y-yes," She responded, her voice slightly shaky from nervousness due to the sudden attention.
"I should've known we would have run into a witch in a place like this," Xenovia spoke in her cold, piercing tone.
Asia's eyes went wide from her words. All of us were taken aback by the sudden words leaving Xenovia. Asia's gaze was now shifting to the floor, her hair covering her eyes as she tried to hide from their stares.
"Oh my goodness, it is you! You're the former saint who became a witch because you have the powers to heal the fallen and devils, and then you actually used it. I didn't know you'd become a devil yourself," Irina joined in. Contrary to Xenovia's harsh tone, Irina's voice was naively curious, leading me to think she doesn't have the same ill will that Xenovia does.
"W-well... I, um... yeah, I-I guess so," Asia fumbled over her words, her hands clutching to the bottom of her school uniform's skirt.
'What the hell does she think shes doing?' I mentally yelled to myself, anger rising in me as it seemed that Xenovia didn't seem to care that this situation is making Asia uncomfortable.
"Hey, are you all right?" Wynter concerningly asked Asia.
"Of course she isn't, she went from a saint to a devil, that's the farthest one can fall," Xenovia continued with her harsh belittlement of Asia.
Instead of acting, I bit my tongue. I know how important this meeting is to future events, not to mention that starting a fight with the church would be bad for everyone involved. It wasn't easy, but I managed to keep myself from acting irrationally, for now.
"Tell me, Asia, do you still happen to believe in our God?" Xenovia questioned.
"Don't be silly, Xenovia. She's a devil now, she's over us," Irina spoke confidently.
"That doesn't mean what you think it does, Irina. There are those whose hearts remain pious, despite being amid their own selfish betrayal, and she seems like she could be one of those," Xenovia spoke, examining Asia closely with her icy gaze.
"Really? Is that true, Asia? Do you still wish to follow our god?" Irina curiously asked.
"I-I... Y-yes. I... I have never been able to let go of my beliefs," Asia stuttered, drops of tears slowly falling from her face to the ground.
Just the sight of this made my blood boil with anger, and the increasing urge to protect her by punching that blue-haired bitch was growing ever so tempting. I was practically shaking from the burning anger inside of me.
Just as I was about to move in, Koneko moved over to me, stopping me by grabbing my wrist to prevent me from moving forward. She shook her head while looking at me, silently signaling for me not to do it.
"If that is the case, then you should allow us to execute you this instant. Even if you have sinned in the worst way imaginable, if you give yourself to God, he may still forgive you," Xenovia spoke, drawing closer to Asia, placing her hand on the hilt of her wrapped blade.
After hearing that, something snapped. I don't care what happens. I don't care about the consequences of acting anymore. I warned them that if they tried anything against the peerage that I would side with my friends. Yet here she is with the audacity to try and kill Asia?
No one hurts those close to me. NOT AGAIN.
Breaking free from Koneko's firm grasp, I forced my way in between the two, shoving Xenovia back with my sheer body weight. My wings and tail bursting from my back, and all my draconic features now showing themselves on full display. The others looked at the escalating situation with slight panic for the events to unfold next.
"If you want this temporary peace to hold firm, then you best stop where you are now. If you don't... your church will be receiving a body bag rather than swords," I threatened, restaining myself from beating her as I want.
I could see it, I could feel it. Xenovia was filled with fear, her instincts screaming at her to run. Yet, despite her dismay, she maintains her composure, refusing to back down as she held her cold stare. She certainly has a strong will.
"That's quite the threat, but would you be willing to take on the entire church? If you even could, that is," Xenovia confidently spoke, giving no ground to me, or her fear.
"Who knows, but hey... Why don't we find out,"
"Issei that's enou-" Rias was interrupted by the doors swinging open.
Everyone's attention was drawn to that of the doors opening, our gazes being met with the sight of our ally and Knight, Kiba. In his hand was that of a sheathed sword, his eyes piercing Xenovia as an aura of hatred and rage flooded from him.
"What perfect timing... I'll be your opponent as well," Kiba spoke, resentment filling his voice as he walking in the club room, his hand gripping to the hilt of his blade.
"And who are you?" Xenovia questioned.
"You're superior. Though apparently, I was a failure," Kiba smirked to Xenovia's question.
"Kiba wai-"
"Good... now we're even, two against two," I interrupted Rias, still itching to beat Xenovia into the ground.
The room was silent, as the others feared to say something that would escalate the situation any further. That was until Rias got an idea that could possibly solve this whole situation, and at the very least, dissolve the tensions.
We all relocated, moving to the back yard of the old school building, the other ORC members stood on the sideline with worried expressions. Kiba and I stood side by side, and a few feet away stood the church duo, Irina and Xenovia.
"So, which one do you want?" I whispered to Kiba.
"I want to fight the blue-haired one," Kiba spoke, staring daggers at her. I was tempted to deny him to fight Xenovia, as I really wanted to lay into her, but I doubt he'd listen to me right now either way.
"Fine, just make sure you give her a beating for what she said to Asia, and if you don't... I will," I begrudgingly spoke, anger filling up inside me just from thinking about that situation.
"All right then, let's begin," Xenovia spoke.
After those words left her mouth, the two removed their large robes. What lay underneath was their church battle attire, consisting of a black, skin-tight, short sleeve leotard with pauldrons, matching fingerless gloves that extend to her biceps, and thigh-high boots, all of which are adorned with straps.
"Are you sure this is ok? I mean, should we be fighting members of the church without permission from the higher-ups?" Akeno asked Rias.
"This is just an informal bout, not an actual battle. Consider it a friendly spar if you will," Rias responded, nervous for her family, yet slightly eager to see which team will prevail.
"Agreed. If the higher-ups found out, we'd all be in trouble," Irina spoke, quickly unraveling the ribbon around her arm, which then rapidly morphed into the form a Katana.
The Katana's blade was quite long compared to Irina, and it was ornately decorated with a gold and round guard, as well as a golden pommel. Its brown leather-wrapped handle was long enough to be held with both hands if needed.
Her left arm began glowing red in color, the light morphing into a large red gauntlet with gold spikes protruding from the ends. This was undoubtedly the boosted gear, Ddraig's Longinus.
"We'll consider this a drill. No killing," Xenovia spoke, the wraps around her sword quickly unraveling, revealing the blade underneath.
Her Excaliber was starkly different from Irina's, containing a huge and long blade that ended in three points, its guard resembling that of a battle-ax. Even the hilt was absurdly large, appearing as if three hands could fit on it at the same time with ease.
"Please create a barrier to contain the damage and sound from reaching the school grounds," Rias requested of Akeno, which she promptly began the process of setting up the barrier.
Kiba moved over, positioning himself directly in front of his opponent. I did the same, shifting my position directly in front of Irina. I am a bit frustrated that Kiba wanted to fight Xenovia, I wanted to beat her myself, but I suppose the end result is the same no matter who beats her. Besides, if he fails, I'll do it myself.
"I guess I'll be fighting you, Irina. Show me what the Red Dragon Emperor is capable of," I spoke, shifting into a defensive position, shadows mixed with violet light surrounding my arms, morphing into my own Void Caster Sacred Gear gauntlets.
"I didn't want to fight, but I am excited to see how strong you are, Issei," Irina spoke, an excited smile spreading her lips, her grip tightening around the handle as she shifted to a defensive position.
Kiba's sudden and somewhat malicious laughter took the attention of the entire field. Xenovia adapted a confused expression upon seeing her adversary laughing at the upcoming battle.
"What's so funny, devil?" Xenovia questioned.
"Oh, it's just there's been one thing I've always wanted to destroy, and hear it has just appeared before my very eyes," Kiba smirked, a multitude of blades shooting from out of the ground at rapid speeds.
"Sword Birth, huh? The possessor can create any demonic-sword they imagine in their head, it's quite the versatile sacred gear to have, which reminds me of something. There was a subject that possessed quite the unique sacred gear which was able to avoid being disposed of by the Holy Sword Project. That's you, right?" Xenovia questioned.
Kiba didn't respond, not vocally, at least. His already dreadful aura filled with even more hatred as he glared at Xenovia with dangerous eyes from beneath his hair. Even though he didn't respond with words, this burst of hatred in his aura was more than enough to answer her question.
"All right, the barrier is completed," Akeno announced to Rias, as well as us on the field preparing to fight.
"Good work Akeno. On my signal, the bout will begin," Rias spoke, raising her hand as a sort of flag.
Kiba grabbed one of the swords from his more than ample selection, while I readied myself to dash forward into combat with Irina. Xenovia and Irina both griped their swords tightly, ready to strike swiftly with their holy swords.
I took one last deep breath, pushing the hateful emotions for Xenovia down into containment, preparing to focus on the fight upcoming.
.
.
.
"BEGIN!" Rias yelled, swinging her hand down to signal our start.
I dashed forward along with Kiba, both of us meeting out enemies in the middle. Ignoring their fight to focus on my own, I blocked out the metallic echos from their clashing blades, now focusing solely on Irina.
[BOOST]
Her gauntlet's gem flashed a bright green color to accompany the sound of her boost ability. In any other circumstance, I would eliminate her quickly to prevent her from acquiring to much power, but seeing as this is just a spar, I can afford to let her power herself up.
Irina raised her sword above her head quickly, swinging it back down to strike me with a powerful hit. Immediately I raised my arm, easily blocking it with my black gauntlet. The sound of metal on metal screamed through the battlefield.
"Come on. You've got more than that, don't you!" I roared, swinging my leg in the air with force and speed, aiming for her side as a counter-attack. She saw the attack coming, barely managing to dodge the fast kick.
"You better believe I do," She responded.
[BOOST]
She dashed forward, slashing her sword with speed and precision, aiming for my legs and other non-vital areas that could incapacitate me. Yet despite her efforts, I dodge each attack easily, catching her blade on her last swing, which was aimed for my shoulder.
A sly smile formed on my face as I reared my right fist back to send a punch towards Irian, confident that I got her in a position that couldn't be escaped from, only for her to do something I never expected.
Within just a split moment, her blade began extending at high velocities as I was holding onto it. I reflexively moved my head to the side, barely dodging the sword as I saw it cut through a small piece of my hair. I immediately let go of her sword, jumping back to distance myself from her.
"Be careful you two, even if this is just a spar, those swords are built to eliminate devils, and I'm not entirely sure how much your dragon biology would stop it!" Rias warned Kiba and I from the sidelines, concerned for her peerage members.
With distance now between us, I took a second to regain my composure from her attack. I underestimated her, as she's better than what I gave her credit for, even if her sword wouldn't do any severe damage to me.
[BOOST]
'She's definitely more skilled then what I initially thought, I thought to myself. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Irina charging me once again.
She held her blade to her side as she charged me, performing a quick and powerful draw slash upon reaching me, to which I leaned back and dodged with ease.
After seeing that I avoided the attack, she began releasing a flurry of slashes at me. I dodged each one with ease, her speed, while impressive for a human, was still far to slow to keep up with me.
After dodging one of her many slashes, I feinted her into slashing the wrong way. I quickly used this opening to jump forward, grabbing the hilt of Irina's sword.
"Let's see how good you are without this," I quickly spoke, kicking the side of her knee, causing her to fall, propping herself up with the kicked knee.
As she fell, I let go of her sword, wrapping my scaled tail around the blade, ripping it from her grasp and throwing it off to the sidelines, far out of her reach.
[BOOST]
Her gear announced itself once again, and while I have been patiently waiting, it's definitely a slow process. If she can only power up this fast, then she doesn't stand a chance of winning a fight against Kokabiel, not unless she can use her Balance Breaker.
Irina jumped back, putting distance between herself and me as she lost her primary means of offense. She quickly tried to run around me in an attempt to grab the sword, only for a wall of shadows to raise from the ground, cutting her off in her path.
"Yeah, that's not happening," I spoke, raising my hand, multiple shadows forming in the shape of sharpened spikes above my head.
With a wave of my hand, one at a time, the spikes shot at Irina, who barely managed to dodge them, the last one leaving a small cut on her arm as it tore through her uniform. Small amounts of blood running out of the wound.
Irina backed away from her failed attempt to reclaim her weapon, wincing from the pain as she grabbed her wounded arm. I only stood there, curious to see what she would do as I pushed her into a corner.
[BOOST]
[EXPLOSION]
The gem on the boosted gear flooded with a bright glowing green light, a similarly green aura flowed around her body. It felt as if her power just multiplied 30 times over. I could only imagine the kind of power that sacred gear could generate with the Balance Breaker.
Irina took the offensive, leaping forward into combat, her speed greatly improved upon compared to her earlier charges. She quickly reared her fist back in the midst of the assault, taking her momentum to her advantage as she swung her fisted gauntlet at me.
I quickly raised my hand, catching her punch with minimal effort, dust flying up off the ground from beneath us. The air was filled with the loud echoing of our metal gauntlets slamming together. Even if I blocked her with just minimal effort, it was a vast difference from the earlier demonstrations of her strength.
Taking advantage of the situation, I quickly clamped my hand around her wrist. Irina panicked as she struggled to free herself from my grasp, throwing a powerful kick at my side in an attempt to break free.
Yet, her attempt only ended in vain as my wing folded around that side of my body, blocking her kick entierly, a mighty thud emanating from her kick. With my grip still firmly on her wrist, I spun around, throwing her across the battlefield.
Irina gracefully recovered from the throw mid-air, landing feet first of the ground as she skids backward from the forceful throw. After she stopped sliding back across the field, she shot her hand up facing the sky, her palm wide open and a small red sphere around the size of her fingertip forming in the palm of her hand.
[BOOST]
Ddraig's voice echoed from the sacred gear once again. Irina's swung her arm down. Her opened palm now facing me directly, her other arm gripping onto the bicep of her outstretched arm.
'What the hell is that tiny thing suppose to do to me?' I thought to myself, looking curiously at the small sphere floating in her palm.
Suddenly Irina reared back her once outstretch arm, her hand now forming a fist behind her as the small red sphere floated where her arm was once extended.
"DRAGON SHOT!" Irina slammed her fist into the small sphere, which then expanded to the size of her entire hand nearly instantaneously, a large beam now shooting out of it directly at me.
Surprised, I quickly threw up my arms, my palms outstretched, the gems on my gauntlets filling with a bright glowing violet color. A black hole the size of my palm shot forward, rapidly spinning and expanding to that of a basketball in size.
Irina looked on in shock as she witnessed her blast get entierly absorbed into the black hole with ease, nothing remaining but the scattered dust that was kicked up from the beam.
"How... how did you do that? What is that thing?" She questioned, stumbling back in awe at how easily her attack was stopped.
"This is just one of the many abilities I wield. Although, I'd be more worried about yourself rather than this one ability right now," I spoke, forming a sly smile as Irina looked confused at my words.
Suddenly, a small red light began radiating from within the black hole. Irina's eyes went wide as her very own blast shot back out of the black hole, the blast flying in her direction.
She quickly crossed her arm in front of her head out of reaction, a poor attempt to defend an attack she can't dodge. Thankfully for her, I wasn't aiming at her, just at the ground directly in front of her.
Upon making contact, the beam exploded, destroying the ground in front of Irina, kicking up loads of dust and debris around the now damaged area. With the dust acting as a smokescreen, I quickly allowed the shadows to surround me, transporting me within the dust, directly behind Irina.
After a few moments, the dust finally settled down, allowing Irina to peer out from her crossed arms. After that one peek, she quickly dropped her arms, looking around in shock to see the ground decimated in front of her, nothing left besides rubble of the once intact ground.
Irina then quickly began frantically looking everywhere in front of her to find where I disappeared to, now ignoring the destruction in front of her entierly.
"What the, where'd he g-" Irina was cut off by the looming presence of powerful magic directly behind her.
Irina slowly turned around, her eyes widened upon seeing a condensed black and violet orb within the palm of my hand, pointing directly at her, only mere inches away from being pressed into her head.
"Concede, you've lost," I simply spoke, the violet hue of the orb glowing brighter the longer she took to the respond, acting as intimidation.
[RESET]
"All right, you win," She admitted, throwing her arms up dramatically, the red gauntlet fading away from her arm.
'She isn't half bad,' I thought to myself, letting out a small sigh, relaxing my body as the fight has now come to a close. The orb dispersed from within my palm, the energy fading into the air.
"Wow, your so much stronger than when we were kids," Irina laughed, picking up her sword as we made our way over to the spectators, the Excalibur Mimic morphing back into the ribbon-like item fitting around her arm.
"I guess so, a lot of time has passed after all. Your a lot stronger than I thought you would be, too," I complimented.
While it was true that she was stronger than I thought, she couldn't even provide the slightest of challenges against me after she boosted. She definitely couldn't win a fight against Kokabiel.
"Why, thank you. Sure I have a ways to go, but who knows how strong I'll get if I keep trying," Irina giggled, no concerns what so ever.
"Yeah, keep training, maybe you'll even fight the gods at one point," I lightly laughed, my gaze shifting to the others as we reached the sidelines.
"You did well out there, Issei," Akeno spoke, giving me a warm smile.
"Indeed you did," Rias congratulated, although her voice didn't match her expression.
"Something up?" I questioned.
"I'm just concerned about Kiba, that's all. I was sure you'd win, but Kiba..." Rias spoke, her voice carrying worry as she turned to the ensuing battle between the two sword wielders.
I turned to look at their fight, negative emotions re-emerging just from looking at Xenovia. The things she said to Asia infuriates me just from thinking about it.
'Kiba better beat her good for me, but... judging from how it looks so far,' I thought to myself, equipping a serious face as I look on at their battle.
Kiba and Xenovia were in the midst of clashing blades. Their swords locked together as they pushed against each other. While Kiba did have the speed advantage, Xenovia seemed to be decently stronger than him, while still maintaining relatively good mobility, despite her cumbersome sword.
Xenovia gave one good push, forcing their blades apart, quickly following up with an upwards rising slash. Kiba promptly jumped back, taking his speed to his advantage, putting significant distance between himself and his opponent, landing amid his summoned swords.
Kiba stabbed the ground with his current blade, leaving the hilt sticking up from the ground. Shortly after abandoning his first weapon, he pulled two more blades from the ample selection around him. He raised the swords in the air, crossing them over each other.
"Let's see you burn, and then frieze!" Kiba shouted, both of his blades igniting in their respected elements. One shooting orange flames out from the guard, and the other sooting out white snow mixed with ice shards, each enveloping their own blade.
Kiba charged forward, roaring a loud battle cry, swinging his swords wilding across the battlefield at Xenovia. He made no attempts to delude his opponent's judgment or any other form of technique he used against me in the past, merely relying on his raw abilities.
"Pathetic!" Xenovia shouted, swinging her blade into Kiba's, shattering Kiba's blades, leaving him stumbling forward without any weapons.
Xenovia quickly followed up on this opening, raising her blade above her head, pointing it towards the ground. Tightening her grip, she forcefully thrust the sword into the ground beneath her, causing the field to violently shake and erupt from beneath her, covering the area in dust.
As the dust settled, the battlefield was revealed to have been decimated, a massive crater of rubble from the destroyed ground has formed, Xenovia sitting in the middle of it with her sword still buried in the decimated ground.
Thankfully, Kiba managed to jump back before the massive attack hit the area around him. Kiba stood at the edge of the crater, looking down at his opponent is surprise and anger.
"This is called the Holy Sword of Destruction for a reason, devil! Believe me, it isn't just for show!" Xenovia roared, pulling the sword from the crater.
"So, even after being split so many times, it's still this strong? Heh, there's gonna have to be a lot of destruction when I destroy them all," Kiba maliciously spoke, a sinister smirk forming across his face.
Kiba raised his hands into the air, his smirk growing wider as a massive sword began to take shape in his hands, one at least the size of his own body, if not more.
'That idiot. He's letting his hatred fog his judgment,' I thought to myself, scowling as I watched Kiba's poor performance in his decision making.
"Your swords pretty destructive, but how will it compare to my own destructive sword! Which will be stronger, your holy or my demon?" Kiba roared, charging forward, screaming a fierce battle cry, his massive sword in his hands.
"Such foolishness," Xenovia muttered to herself, dodging Kiba's slow strike.
Kiba couldn't recover from his strike thanks to his oversized blade, to which Xenovia recognize. Taking advantage of his mistake, Xenovia countered, lading a harsh blow from the ax like guards directly into Kiba's gut.
Kiba fell to the ground face first, blood running out of his mouth, and his expression showing that of shock and severe pain. The massive sword shattered upon hitting the ground, the shards fading away, as Kiba had no energy to maintain his sacred gear.
"How pathetic. Your only weapons are a few swords and some speed. Not only do you lack the strength to use such a large blade, but your sealing away your speed advantage at the same time, and you're supposed to be my superior? Saddening, really," Xenovia disappointingly scoffed, looking down at Kiba.
"Wait... this isn't over damn it," Kiba muttered, reaching out to Xenovia.
"You should only fight when your rational, you should know that, if you really are my superior," Xenovia spoke, a sly smile appearing as she peered over her shoulder to the downed Knight as she walked away.
"And where the hell do you think you're going?" I questioned, stepping out on the battlefield.
"I won, so I intend to continue my mission. You don't plan to interfere in that, do you?" Xenovia questioned, turning to glare daggers at me.
"You beat Kiba. You never beat me. We're not done here until one of us looses," I spoke, my anger rising at the arrogance of her to just walk away after her one victory.
"You really want to fight me? It would be best if you didn't underestimate me, working with the Red Dragon Emperor has forced me to take on challenging missions that I couldn't do alone, forcing me to get stronger," Xenovia confidently smirked, turning to face me from across the field.
"Not to mention that you just used energy to fight Irina," Xenovia pointed out with confidence that it made a difference. So ignorant.
"Oh, don't worry, I hardly wasted any energy against her. Besides... you're going to need every handicap you can get," I menacingly spoke, my wings furling outwards in an intimidating display. I was fully confident that this fight would be easy, even if she were remarkably strong for a human.
"All right then, if you're insistent, I'll gladly oblige," Xenovia confidently spoke, wielding her Excaliber for combat once again.
"Before we begin. Asia, make sure to heal Kiba, ok," I spoke, a whispy pool of shadows lifting Kiba and moving him over to the others for his treatment.
"Y-yeah, of course, just be careful," Asia showed her concern for me as she began enveloping Kiba's abdomen in the green light from her sacred gear.
A smirk made its way across my face as I held my arm outstretched to my side, my palm wide open. The shadows left from below Kiba and began forming within the palm of my hand, slowly taking shape into a deep, black, whispy scythe.
"On your signal, Rias," I spoke, shifting into a defensive combat position with my scythe, fully expecting an aggressive start from her.
Rias looked on with hesitation, questioning if this needs to continue, or if she should try to stop this before it gets out of hand. She slowly raised her hand after seeing my restrained expression of anger, realizing that any attempt to stop this could perhaps escalate it even further than it already is.
"BEGIN!" She shouted, throwing her hand down like a flag.
Xenovia dashed forward, taking the offensive as I predicted. With her sword overhead, she swung the sword down with significant force, hoping to end this as quickly as possible.
I quickly raised the scythe in the air, running my hands down to the ends of each side of the handle, allowing the blade to slam into the middle of the shaft. Xenovia gained a shocked expression upon seeing how easily I blocked her attack, my scythe taking no damage from her blade, and myself under no duress from her strength in any way.
"How is this possible? This is the Excalibur destruction, so why can't it break the weapon of a damned demon?" Xenovia yelled, frustration now replacing her previously shocked demeanor.
"Easy. This isn't a demon's blade, its made from nothing but draconic aura, which is far stronger than magic, regardless of your swords holy destructive nature," I smirked, Xenovia's frustrated expression now being replaced with one of anger.
I pushed my scythe in the air with a tremendous burst of speed and strength, sending her heavy blade into the air, causing her to stumble backward, refusing to lose her grip on the sword.
Taking advantage of this, I slammed my scaled tail into her gut, sending her violently rolling back across the ground. The sword being tosed a small distance away from her stopping point.
Xenovia unsteadily sat up, shaking her head to shake off the dizziness that she gained from tumbling across the ground. She grabbed her stomach, wincing from the pain of my blow.
With my scythe now raised above me, the blade of the scythe began glowing a violet hue, my aura flowing into the edge. I quickly swang the scythe down to the ground, a violet cut flying through the air at Xenovia, to which she jumped out of the way, moving towards her own blade.
Dust was kicked up from the attack, Xenovia looked on in shock after the dust cleared, allowing a clear view of the destruction. What was seen was nothing more than an unfathomably deep cut within the field, the bottom of the slice within the earth's crust was not able to be seen.
I promptly leaped forwards, dashing towards Xenovia with my scythe raised once again, beaking the ground from where I left from the force and speed of my launch. Xenovia hastily stumbled to pick up her Excalibur, just barely lifting it in the air in time for it to block my overhead strike.
Xenovia was barely able to block the attack, her arms shaking violently from the force as she held a firm grip on her sword. Her face described that of fear and panic as the realization of the power gap began to sink within her mind. Then, something she never predicted happened.
A crack formed withing Excalibur Destruction.
Xenovia looked on with mixed expressions of rage, shock, and confusion as she stared at her blade, which now held a chip where my scythe impacted her own blade.
"This... this is impossible! T-This can't be happening!" Xenovia yelled from her struggle, refusing to accept the sight before her.
Continuing on my assault, I raised my blade once again, the blade glowing even brighter than before as I pumped more and more power into the edge of my scythe.
I slammed the scythe back down on her Excalibur, another audible crack being heard from her blade. The chip and break in her sword grew even more extensive, traveling across the blade.
I raised my blade once more, even more of my power pumping into the scythe, causing the violet light to grow until the entire blade of the scythe was covered in bright violet light with some of the violet color running down the handle of my weapon.
With a draconic roar, I swung the Scythe violently down, Xenovia braced herself for the impact. When my scythe met her blade, the field was coated in a blinding light, the sounds of metal shattering loudly echoing through the area. As the light died down, something was revealed, something none of them expected to happen today.
The Excalibur Destruction was destroyed.
Everyone looked on at the pieces of the once completed Excalibur now lying on the ground around Xenovia, each one of them feeling the same feeling. Shock. Shock that I just destroyed an Excalibur in the very hands of a member of the church. Even Kiba, who was angry with his failure after being healed, was now filled with shock.
Xenovia laid on the ground, speechless as to what just happened, a mixed expression of rage, shock, and confusion spread wide across her face. The fragments of her sword surrounded her as her appearance was overcome with pure, seething rage.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Xenovia shouted, glaring fiercely up to me from the ground.
I turned away from her, letting go of my weapon, allowing it to fade back into the shadows. A smirk formed on my face, as I was satisfied with this outcome, feeling that it was a just ending for her words and actions towards Asia. Not to mention that this could help Kiba calm down, hopefully.
"A spar, one that you lost," I sarcastically spoke.
"Because of you, our entire mission could be jeopardized! How the hell are we supposed to reclaim the other Excaliburs if we don't have any forms of offense?" Xenovia shouted.
"You know, there's a cool invention called super glue, maybe you should try it," I chuckled, turning to look at her from over my shoulder, letting her see my smirk which only acted to enraged her further.
"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?" Xenovia yelled as she scrambled to gather up the fragments of Excalibur Destruction.
"Seeing you get upset over this is quite humorous to me, and yet I find it ironic," I spoke.
"What the hell are you going on about?" Xenovia angrily questioned.
"You insult one of my mates as well as my fellow peerage members, and then you threaten to kill that very member in front of my very eyes. Yet when I retaliate back, you play the victim, acting as if I had no reason to be angered at you in the first place. If you kept your ignorant mouth shut like a good little piss-ant, your sword would still be intact," I spoke, glaring at her from over my shoulder.
Xenoiva grew even angrier as she opened her mouth to yell back, only to be silenced by her partner Irina, who ran out there and covered Xenovia's mouth with her hand.
"I'm sorry for Xenovia's actions today, she was completely out of line, and I can promise that it will never happen again, Issei," Irina sincerely spoke, giving us a bow as she kept her hand on Xenovia's mouth.
It was a bit odd to see Irina apologize for her partner's actions. Whether it was a genuine apology or not is hard to say, it would definitely be unusual to see a member of the church defend a devil, but then again, it may be weirder to see Irina lie to someone she considers a friend. She at least seems genuine.
Regardless of the genuineness of her apology, it doesn't matter now, as it's too late now. I'd gladly break that sword again and again if time went back either way.
"It's whatever, I've already repaid her for her actions today. Now get her out of here before I change my mind, and trust me... this could have ended far worse for her," I growled, glaring at Xenovia.
"Uh, right, I'll see you some other time, Issei, take care, and I'm sorry once again for what happened today," Irina apologized once again, taking Xenovia by the hand and quickly leaving the area.
[Arrogant girl] Inanis remarked.
'Tsk, tell me about it,' I thought, turning away from their direction, making my way to the others on the sideline. The barrier surrounding the area dispersed, as there was no need for it to be up any longer.
"Issei, are you ok? Do you need healing anywhere?" Asia ran out to me, quickly asking me these questioned with concern in her voice as she looked me up and down for any injuries.
"I'm fine. It'll take a lot more than what they had to hurt me. You know that," I spoke, giving her a warm smile as I patted the top of her head.
"Do you really think that was wise, Issei? I mean, I know she was rude, but... destroying her Excalibur, there's no telling how the church will react to hearing this," Rias concerningly questioned.
"Yeah, well it's too late now, its already over. Besides, I doubt they will condone her threatening one of our members when they were supposed to be making temporary peace, so we should be fine... hopefully," I spoke.
"Well, I suppose that's all we can hope for now. Aside from that, you did marvelous Issei. She got what was coming to her for threatening our sweat, Asia," Akeno spoke, giving me a thumbs-up, her cheeks flushed red from the arousal to see Xenovia suffer as she did.
My attention was drawn away from the others as Kiba stood up and walked over to me. He didn't say anything initially as he reached me, allowing moments of silence to pass as he just stared at the ground seeming to be at a lost for words from the actions that just took place in front of him.
"I wanted to apologize. I allowed my hatred for the Exaliburs to fog my head, and I had to rely on you to finish what I started, but I have to ask... why did you do that?" He spoke, breaking the silence. His hair hung down, covering his eyes.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You don't have any grudge against the holy swords, and yet you took the risk and destroyed one regardless... why did you do that?" He elaborated on his earlier question. His gaze now shifted up to me, revealing his eyes, which shone with mixed emotions.
"Well, aside from that ass having it coming, I figured it would help you out, at least a little. I know what it's like to want revenge, and I thought this could at least provide you some symptoms of relief," I explained.
Kiba went silent, unable to speak as if he was stunned from hearing me. The quiet air was somewhat tense, not in a dangerous sense, but with no clue as to how he will respond to this, it's unsettling in a manner of speaking.
"Heh, after messing up and abruptly leave last night, disrespecting our master, and after skipping this important meeting, you still try to help me? I just don't get it, you guys have every right to be mad at me, yet you aren't," Kiba spoke with a bittersweet smile.
"We never were mad or upset with you, we were just concerned for your well being," Rias spoke, walking towards Kiba and me with the others following behind her.
"Really?" Kiba questioned with surprise, his gaze looking over to the others. He must have assumed that we would have been upset with him leaving as he did.
"That's right, we're a family after all, so it's only natural for us to worry about each other, right?" Akeno reassured him, a warm smile on her face.
"I-It may not have been long, but after learning what happened to you, a-and you leaving suddenly like that, how couldn't we worry?" Asia stuttered out.
"Come back to us Kiba, we were all worried," Koneko spoke, looking up to him. While she didn't emote physically, hearing that from her is far more emotion than she typically shows, which says a lot on its own.
Kiba's surprise grew more and more as he received the support from the others, although he really shouldn't be surprised, Rias always has looked after her family, and they certainly are a tightly bound bunch.
'He was only gone for one night, and yet they are all acting sick over him, makes sense for Asia as she is naturally worried, but I wonder why the others were worrying so much,' I thought to myself. If anything, this just proved that the bonds between the Gremory family and their servants were strong indeed. Don't get me wrong, I was worried too, but not as much as they were.
[They were most likely worried about Kiba leaving for good, shifting to that of a stray. Don't forget that your chase for revenge caused you to isolate yourself. They were probably concerned about something similar happening to him] Inanis reasoned.
'Yeah, that makes sense, I suppose. Looking back at it now, though, I wouldn't have done that again,' I thought to myself. While taking some alone time can help, it's not healthy if it turns into isolationism.
"I... I appreciate all your concerns, and I have no intention of becoming a stray, but I do have one thing to request, Rias," Kiba gratefully spoke, his attention directing towards Rias as he mentioned this request of his.
"Please, just ask, whatever it is, I will listen," Rias reassured him.
"I know this is selfish, after all the worrying you all went through for me, but... I would like to have a little more time to myself, away from the peerage. I promise I don't intend to become a stray, and that I will come back, I just need some time alone to think about things," Kiba sincerely asked, a small bow was given to Rias as a show of respect and gratitude.
Rias was undoubtedly surprised by his request, as were the others. It wasn't the expected request we had in mind, as judging from his actions last night, it seemed as if he didn't care about our opinions on his leaving. I guess their little sentimental moment had some effect on him after all.
She was clearly hesitant to respond to her Knight, shooting me a slight glance of uncertainty before turning her attention back to Kiba, a few moments of silent consideration from Rias passed before she answered.
"I understand, it's perfectly fine, but please let someone know if you need anything, we all care about you, and I'm sure we would all help and listen if you merely asked," Rias spoke, giving Kiba a nod.
"Thank you for understanding. I promise I'll come back, Rias. I just want a few days," Kiba appreciatively spoke.
"Issei, I wanted to apologize for having to rely on you to finish my work again. I've had to rely on you more than I'd wanted to," Kiba remorsefully spoke, clearly upset with having to put his burdens on another.
"Don't worry about it, I don't mind helping. For now, take your time sorting this stuff out ok, and if you need anything just ask, I'll do everything I can to help," I reassured him.
A pleasant smile formed on his face. He must have expected much more negative results from trying leaving again, so it's probably a pleasant surprise to receive such support from us.
With a small wave, Kiba left the field with a slight smile on his face. Kiba's hateful aura has faded significantly since these events unfolded, yet even still, there was a tinge of uncertainty within his presence. Hopefully, this will help him deal with the trouble fogging his mind.
"Well, this was certainly an interesting club meeting today," Wynter remarked.
"Yeah, the club meetings are usually quite routine, so this is quite the lively change. Issei certainly put it to that blue-haired girl today, it's a shame he isn't rough in bed as well," Akeno seductively spoke, licking her lips, shifting her gaze over to me.
"Down girl," I spoke, flicking her forehead.
"Owwwww, that's mean, Issei," Akeno whined, puffing her cheeks out as she rubbed the impact point of my finger.
"I barely flicked you," I deadpanned to Akeno's overreaction, to which she stuck her tongue out at me.
"We better clean this up before we head home, I usually would have Issei do it since he caused a portion of the damage, but with his lack of magical prowess that isn't exactly possible," Rias sighed.
"Akeno, would you mind helping? I know you didn't cause any of this, but it will go much faster together than just us alone," Rias requested of her Queen.
"Of course, I don't mind, the sooner it's over, the sooner we get to go home," Akeno happily spoke, walking over to Rias.
"Yeah, well while you guys you do that I'm just going to wait over here, I can carry your things on the way home or something since I can't help repair this," I reasoned sitting under the shade of a nearby tree, leaning back on the trunk.
"That sounds reasonable to me, Akeno?" Rias spoke, turning to Akeno to get her opinion.
"Yes, I believe that will work for me as well. Although, I think we both deserve to have a favor for taking his place in the repairs, we don't have much to carry after all, so it hardly seems fair," Akeno continued on her seductive spree.
"Hmmm, I think I agree Akeno, but perhaps we can discuss this at a later time," Rias joined in agreement with Akeno's statement. Akeno's seductive expression grew more as she heard her King agree with her.
"Regardless, everyone else is free to leave if you please, Akeno, Issei, and I will be heading home after we finish patching up the field," Rias announced to the others. Shortly after, Akeno and she both began their process for repairing the school grounds.
Koneko, Wynter, and Asia all began walking down the path that leads to the school building, grabbing their stuff and leaving. I think Asia and Wynter were going to stay with me, but I think they didn't want to make Koneko have to walk alone, even though I'm pretty sure that's normal for her. I'll see them when I get home anyway, so it's not like it matters.
I closed my eyes as I rested back on the tree, leaving me to myself and my thoughts. My sense picked up on the now accustomed and distinctive demonic magic of the two girls flowing through the destroyed field.
'Ah great, as if she wasn't enough of a hassle by herself as a child, I mean she never did anything bad, but it's apparent that her other side has become more... promiscuous,' I thought to myself, a sigh leaving me as I thought about what they could be planning, not to mention when.
[And is that a bad thing?]
'Yes, and no. You've noticed that my house isn't exactly big, right? We also have two others in the house, and those walls aren't very thick,' I mentally responded to Inanis.
[This world does have things called "Love Hotels" correct? Why not take them to one of those?]
'Yeah, but I think I'll pass. I'm not sure if we can get human diseases, but I doubt that those places are clean, and I don't want to take the chance only to walk out with some human STD. Besides, Akeno's mother was human, so I'd rather not test the thought if we even could get those diseases,' I explained.
[I'm pretty sure Akeno's human side was replaced by her devil side, leaving her only devil and fallen angel]
'I'd still prefer not to take that chance, so still no. Why do you care so much, wouldn't it be awkward for you? Your just a soul in a glove, not like you get any action,' I mentally questioned.
[Your the last of our lineage, so it's essential for you to have many healthy and robust hatchlings to continue our family]
'That's assuming that our DNA doesn't just fade away after they have their own children,' I thought, letting out a sigh.
[Dragon genes are a very dominant gene, so it's unlikely that the genes will fade away so quickly, you should know that Issei]
'I do, but what're the chances of them falling for a high-class dragon that can morph shape? I mean I don't even know how to do that,'
[True, but you're not a full-blooded dragon, so you'd likely have problems with that ability your self, and there are dragons under Tannins protection they could meet]
'Well, it's whatever, having children is far from the topic at hand for me anyway,' I dismissed the idea.
[Well, don't forget about preserving our race. Besides, I doubt those two want to wait too long, especially the Fallen Angel, they're notorious for being seductive]
'Trust me, I know,' I dismissed the idea of having children.
With Inanis going silent, I allowed my mind to empty as I relaxed against the tree, the soft breeze calming me as the soothing sound the leaves gently moving from the wind filled the air.
With one last yawn, I slowly fell asleep under the tree.
My muscles relaxed as the warm water flowed from the showerhead, falling onto my body. The air filled with steam as the mirror fogged up, the dirt and filth gained from my battle with Xenovia washed away from my body.
After Rias, Akeno, and I made it home, we spent most of the day just chilling and watching TV. There weren't any contracts today. Hopefully, they keep slowing down for a while, at least until the events with Kokabiel finish up. I figured devils would receive more, but I guess we are just low-class devils right now.
'I wonder if the others fell asleep yet, it was 10ish last I checked,' I thought to myself, scrubbing my hair as the water washed out the shampoo.
Asia typically goes to bed earlier than that, but Rias is a bit of a Japanophile, we call her an otaku to tease her, but she got us watching one of her anime series. It was called Dragon Ball, or something like that. It's pretty long, and ironic that humans created a world that already somewhat resembles one already in existence.
Wynter, well, she usually goes to sleep whenever everyone else does, kind of like a dog if they don't have anyone to be with now that I think of it.
With my hair free from soap, and the water clearing all the body wash off of me, I turned the nob, halting the waters flow from the showerhead. The mirror was completely fogged over, not a single inch of it showing a reflection.
I stepped out of the shower, planting my feet on some previously used towels I laid out to soak up the water dripping from my hair. With a sharp inhale, I took in the oxygen from the air, holding within my lungs.
With one quick spark, A small fire lit inside me, rasing my body temperature enough to turn what water was left of my to vapor, drying most of my body immediately. Unfortunately, that only fogged the mirror even more, but it's not like I need to worry about my appearance since I'm going to bed.
Instead of releasing the fire and burning down the house, I opted to hold my breath until there was no more oxygen to burn in my lungs, eventually leading to the extinguishing of the flames. As I opened my mouth afterward, a few puffs of smoke left my lungs.
"11, huh? Yeah, I bet most of them are asleep, everyone besides Rias and Akeno probably. They're probably in bed waiting for me," I spoke aloud to myself.
For whatever reason, they like to fall asleep with me, it's nice and all, but I don't think it'd bother me too much if I slept by myself again. At least I'd have more room to spread out.
"Well, I better not keep them waiting," I spoke to myself once again. I grabbed a small fluffy towel that I sat on the sink counter to dry my hair, which even after raising my body temperature, still required mandatory effort to dry it thoroughly.
I tossed the towel in the dirty laundry basket, grabbing the shorts and boxers the I left on the sink counter as well. Putting them on, I made my way out of the bathroom, walking down the hall to make my way upstairs.
I took a quick peek into the living room to see how Wynter was doing, only to find her tossing and turning on the couch from under her blanket. I slowly made my way into the living room, flicking the lights on and quickly off again to get her attention. Wynter rolls over, removing the covers from her head.
"Issei, what are you doing in here? I thought you were going to go to bed after you got out of the shower," Wynter spoke, sitting up slightly.
"What am I not allowed to walk around my own house?" I sarcastically questioned.
"You know what I mean. Anyway, what do you need?" She questioned.
"Nothing, I just saw that you seemed to be having a bit of difficulty falling asleep," I mentioned
"It isn't that bad, its better than sleeping on the forest grounds like I used to have to do before I met you," Wynter shrugged, not showing concern for the problem.
"Would you like me to talk to Rias about buying another bed or a futon for you to sleep in?" I questioned. Rias has more than enough money, and I'm sure she would like to help if she was aware of this. I'd do it myself, but I don't have a job to make money, and I doubt they would trade a bed for a dragon scale in the human world.
"I appreciate the idea, but I couldn't'. I don't want you two to waste your money on me," Wynter appreciatively tried to decline my offer, but it didn't seem right to have her sleep on a couch when everyone else got a bed.
"Don't worry about the money. It isn't fair to have you sleep uncomfortably when the others get a bed, and besides, I'm sure Rias would help if she knew you were having trouble falling asleep," I spoke. Wynter was quiet for a few moments before she responded.
"If you insist, but if you do, please try to make sure it isn't too expensive. Even if you guys are ok with spending the money, I don't want you to spend too much on me," Wynter insisted.
"I'll talk to Rias about it sometime soon, but for now, just try to get a goods night rest. I have a feeling we're going to need all the strength we can get soon," I spoke, flicking the lights back off as I left for my bedroom. I could tell she was thankful for my concern for her, even if she was stubborn about us not spending money for her benefit.
Stopping before I went up the stair, I did a quick look around the house, turning off all the lights the remained on. After turning them all off, I made my way up the stairs and down the hall to my room.
Opening the door, I was meet by the sight that I've become accustomed to since I started dating them. A neat and tidy room with the two girls lying nude on each side of the bed, an empty spot for me sitting in the middle.
"Look who's finally arrived," Rias spoke, looking towards the door.
"It's rude to keep a lady waiting Issei, what took so long?" Akeno questioned.
"Your wings are magical constructs, so you don't have to wash them, unlike my tail and wings. Let me tell you, trying to wash my tail and wings in the shower is a pain," I sighed, stretching as I made my way down to the bottom of the bed.
"Perhaps you should let us help you wash your body then," Akeno gave a seductive giggle. Much to Akeno's dismay, I just ignored her words, as I'm starting to get used to her suggestive actions.
Akeno and Rias both scooted over to the edge of their side, making plenty of room for me and my extra appendages. As I crawled in the center of the bed, I flipped over on my back, slowly sliding my wings under the girls who scooted closer to me to cuddle.
My wings wrapped around them as they snuggled up to me. My tail hung off the bottom of the bed, coiling up at the bottom of the bed on the floor where it touched.
The darkroom went silent, the three of us cuddling under the mood light that shown faintly through the window blinds. I stared at the ceiling of my room, completely devoid of thoughts until Rias poked my cheek.
"Hey, Issei," She quietly spoke.
"Yeah, what is it?" I questioned, looking down, locking eyes with her.
"You've gotten the closest to Kiba in such a short time, so I wanted your opinion on what he said," She asked me.
"Well, he's a good guy, you of all people should know that. He'll come back once he's had enough time to think about this and feels ready. I'm sure of it," I reassured her, gently gliding my hand across her back in a calming manner.
"And what about you and Akeno?" Rias asked. Hearing her name caused Akeno to open her eyes slowly, her gaze looking at Rias from the other side of me.
"What about us?" She tiredly asked.
"I know I already asked, but you two lost a lot to the hands of Kokabiel. You sure you're doing ok? I'm just concerned for you two is all," Rias asked, her voice carrying concern and worriedness to its tone.
The air went silent, neither of us really sure how to answer that question. Akeno doesn't seem to have much of a problem with it. She hasn't voiced it at least, but I'll bet it doesn't sit right with her, and I can't tell Rias what I'm truly doing about it.
"I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me," Akeno spoke, breaking the silence.
"I'd gladly give a lot to see that monster suffer for his actions... but I have you, and the others in your peerage. I don't want to lose others because of my actions," Akeno continued, giving Rias a somewhat bittersweet smile.
"...Yeah," I simply agreed. The feeling of guilt surged as I lied to her again, I don't want to lie to any of them, but I don't have a choice.
Rias rose an eyebrow after I spoke, her gaze shifting to me for a few moments. Her stare felt as if she was piercing through my very being, just as if she was searching for something. Akeno had the same look for a moment, but shortly after looked away, resting her head on me again.
"Something wrong?" I questioned. Rias was silent for a few moments before responding.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," Rias simply spoke, pretending as if nothing happened as she just laid her head back down on me to rest.
'That was a bold-faced lie. Anyone could have recognized that, even without the soul link, the fact that it was a lie was clear as day,' I thought to myself.
[Do you think they saw through your lie? They also share the soul link with you after all]
'It's possible, but they shouldn't feel my emotions as strongly as I do theirs, their not dragons after all,'
[Well, if they did, things could spiral down from here, so be careful with your actions Issei]
'Yeah, don't worry, I'll be careful, but even so, I can't just stop searching for him,' I mentally responded, my eyes closing as I tried to fall asleep.
However, I couldn't fall asleep just yet, as my mind went through thoughts about Kokabiel and everything going on with him. Then, a metaphoric light bulb went off in my head as an idea involving Kiba popped up.
'You think we should tell Kiba about whats going on?' I mentally asked Inanis, my eyes opening once again.
[You think that's wise? It would only drag him into the conflict]
'With Kiba wanting to destroy the Holy Swords, he'd likely be lead directly to Kokabiel regardless of my actions, and at least this way, Kiba would be protected by me personally, and he could get some closure with this at the same time,' I reasoned.
[I definitely see the benefits of letting Kiba be aware of our quest, but with everything involving Kokabiel, I urge caution. Doing this would drag him into danger faster, and even if you could protect him, it might also drag the others with him]
'Yeah, I see what you mean. We can talk about this tomorrow, it's late, and I'm starting to get tired,' I thought to myself, letting out a yawn.
[Yes I agree, we'll talk about it later]
My mind went silent as I presumed Inanis to be going to sleep, being sent to the mindscape for my training against him. Rias and Akeno both seemed to be asleep, whether they are in the mindscape as well appeared to be tough to answer, as sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't
My eyes slowly closed as the weight on them increased every second they stay open, staring at the ceiling. I could feel my consciousness slip away as my eyes shut entierly.
As my consciousness fades, and my descent into sleep continues, a few final thoughts run through my mind. Questions and doubts about if I can really protect them and keep them happy, my friends, and my loved ones.
'Heh, I hope I can...that's all I want,'
So this chapter is done, I hope you all enjoyed it.
Remember to leave comments about your thoughts and critiques about the story, and what can be better and everything. I try to keep an open mind about these things.
Well, I'ma start working on the next chapter, thanks for the read. Have a nice day or night or whatever time it is for you