If you possess an inherent and abhorrent hatred for any fictional character whose name is not Shou Tucker, I would kindly advise you against reading this story. Particularly if you possess hatred of a fictional character whose name happens to be Hyoudou Issei.

Reading reviews about people wishing death against a character whose major flaws arrive either as an inability to take action, or a feeling that he is "undeserving" in quotes, of the girls he has, gets rather tiring. Again, if Issei was someone like Shou Tucker from Full Metal Alchemist, I would understand your hatred. But, as he has yet to convert any cute girls and dogs into monstrous abominations, I fail to grasp why he is so despised.

Regardless, the second Arc of this story begins. Do enjoy.

Et Cetera

Arc II:

Winter of Monsters

Issei

Journal Entry

Day One

A journal. I can't believe I'm keeping a journal of all things. But – But I can't help it. I need it – something to talk to, someone to talk to, someone that isn't crazy or insane or, or something else. I need to put down all the shit that's going on in my head otherwise I'm sure that I'm going to lose it. Hell, I'm sure that I've already lost it. All of this – it's too much to take in. How the hell am I supposed to believe anything? To believe any of this? The whole world ruined, the end of the world and somehow, I survived?

Me?

How the hell am I supposed to believe any of that?! Ddraig, the fucking dragon in my arm, tells me that I was out for almost a week since the event happened. Since meteors crashed down from the sky and nukes lit up the entire world. A week! I was out for a week! How the hell did I survive that? Why did I survive that? Why me of all people?

Why me?

I don't know. I haven't figured out the answer to that yet. I don't think I ever will.

A lot of my memory is still foggy – and my mind constantly feels as though there's this haze over it. Maybe this journal will help me remember things. Ddraig says it's a good idea, so maybe there's merit in it. Maybe…

Journal Entry

Day Two

The talking dragon in my arm – which I still can't believe – gave me some more information today. I'm still wrapping my head around the idea that every supernatural thing I thought was nothing more than fantasy is actually real. I mean, devils, angels, gods, all of them – they all existed.

Ddraig's theory about how the world got all messed up is that those three beings that went out of their way to fight across the globe are actually world-ending gods from another dimension. He says that they were powerful – powerful even by his standards, and he hadn't seen such power like that since the Biblical God himself. I really don't know how to feel about that…

I eventually got home today. Even though I hadn't seen anyone on the roads or the streets or anything, I still hoped… a bit of me hoped that I'd meet Ka-san or Tou-san at home. Except – they weren't there. The entire house wasn't there. A giant fragment of a meteor was now where my home was. It was where my entire street was.

I don't know how to feel about it. A part of me wants to believe that my mom and dad are still alive somehow, someway. I can't believe they would die. It's… just not possible.

I decided that I would search all of Kuoh for them if I have to. It's likely that they left the house and the street before the rock impacted – maybe they're holed up somewhere, and they're waiting for me.

Ddraig says that I'm in the first stage of grief – denial. I asked him what a dragon knows about grief. He went quiet and hasn't spoken to me since. That's fine – he can sulk if he wants. I have more important thing that I need to be doing. I'm going to need to stock up on as much stuff as I can if I'm going to be travelling around. Money isn't really useful anymore, but food – mostly canned goods and stuff – I'd need that.

I'd need to also grab a book on survival, I couldn't rely solely on Ddraig's knowledge all the time. As far as I'd seen, nothing electrical or electronical was working anymore. Cars, mobile phones, fridges – nothing.

Last night, I'd slept almost in complete darkness and cold. Ddraig taught me how to light a small fire – I grabbed some wood from where I could and slept under a collapsed bridge. There were no mosquitos. There were no insects. I couldn't even hear the sound of any animals or movement. It was just me and the crackling flames.

It was terrifying.

I could barely sleep at all. The silence, the realization, everything hitting me all at once.

I cried. I cried and I cried and I couldn't stop crying.

I cried myself to sleep.

I'd never done that in my life before. I'd like to pretend as though it didn't happen – but I can't lie to myself like that.

I missed my parents. I missed Matsuda and Motohama. I missed everything. Everyone. I would rather go back to school and let all the girls beat me into a coma than experience this. I'd rather be in prison for sexual harassment than experience this.

Ddraig didn't have anything to say. If he noticed, he pretended as though he didn't. All he could add, was that I should not hold supernatural beings to the same standard as humans. They comprehended emotions and feelings and thoughts in entirely different ways.

As was growing more and more common these days – I didn't know what to think about it.

Journal Entry

Day Three

I slept in a house today. It was one of the houses that I usually passed on my way to school, but never entered. It was slightly intact – with the roof still being in place. The worst of the damage was internal.

Sleeping on a bed made me slightly more comfortable – and I'd been able to find a blanket to use. I was glad for that – glad for the little luxuries. I just wish I didn't have nightmares though. The nightmares were the worst part about sleeping. I'd see skulls and bones, and I'd see the purple titan samurai – swinging his sword and killing people. I'd see Kuoh on fire – the Academy burning – people's faces melting – guts and rivers of blood –

I'd wake up in a cold sweat, and then I would eventually force myself back to sleep. I needed sleep. I needed it.

When I woke up, I decided that I would head to a Department Store to try and get the items I needed to find my parents. I know I'm not really the smartest person around – so I made a list of all the items I think I'd need:

Travelling Clothes.

Canned Beans.

Canned Sardines.

Canned Meat.

More Canned Foods.

Snacks and/or drinks.

A Map.

A Rucksack – to carry everything.

A better pair of shoes. (I should have put this under travelling clothes)

A lightweight foldable bicycle. (To get around faster)

That thingy for checking the radiation levels of a place. (I really needed it.)

Some tools. (In case I needed them.)

Some porn magazines. (For entertainment when I was resting.)

Some hentai manga. (Same as above. Also – the internet isn't a thing anymore. I'd need as many of these as I could get.)

Some normal manga or light novels.

That was most of what I could think of for the meanwhile. Ddraig chipped in and said that I needed to look into getting myself some weapons or things that I could use to defend myself. I asked him what I'd need that for – and he went silent again.

I don't get Ddraig. Always cryptic and silent and stuff – when he could be helping me a lot. I mean, he does help me – but he could afford to help me some more – right? We're pretty much the only two people left in the world. What does he have to lose?

Anyway – I needed to head to the supermarket. I'd deal with Ddraig's paranoia much later.

End Entry.

The weather was getting progressively colder. I noticed it, there was a chill in the air that Kuoh never had before. By the time I left my current hideout, and began trekking it to the nearest supermarket, mall, or department store, I was shivering immensely. I could see my breath appear in front of my face, and I wondered why this was happening – it wasn't even remotely close to winter yet. We were still just in September… I think?

My stinky Kuoh Academy uniform did little to shield me against the elements. Instead, I reached into my small book, my journal, and hastily scribbled with a black-ink ballpoint pen 'get winter clothes.'

At this point, I would do with clothes of any sort. My current uniform was little more than a pair of glorified rags. Hopefully, I'd be able to find some thick clothes.

I made my way across deserted streets, abandoned roads, and empty buildings, the eeriness of it all still unable to completely escape from my mind. Morbid as it was, there should have been corpses or something around – at least, enough corpses to make it clear that a disaster had happened. But there was nothing – not one. I had not come across a single corpse throughout – and the thought sent more and more chills running down my spine.

If everyone was dead, where were their bodies?

I didn't want to think too much on it, and instead, I focused on getting to the nearest store. The closest one was not too far off – although I'd have to cut through some houses to get to it.

"Hehehehehehe –"

A cold chill passed over my shoulder. I felt my hair stand on edge as I whipped my attention around, my eyes rapidly searching for something – for anything that had made that disconcerting noise. That disconcerting giggle – it sounded like a child – but it was far, far too creepy to be one.

"Ddraig… was – was that you?"

I turned to my arm, staring at the exposed red gauntlet and hoping to heavens that his answer would be in the positive.

"No."

I felt my heart sink.

"Hehehehehe –"

The laugh came back, and this time around, I caught the sight of something, something dashing out of the corner of my vision. The speed – the sheer speed at which this thing moved told me that there was no way it could be human, much less be a child.

"Run. Run, now."

I was already moving before the dragon gave me the instruction. My feet hit the road and I sprinted as fast and as hard as I could.

And it was pitiful.

"Slow. So pathetically slow. Why are you running so slowly?"

I grit my teeth and did my best not to pant or wheeze. The answer was obvious in my mind. I hadn't eaten in more than a week. I hadn't even noticed, or realized – I had been too preoccupied with trying to deal with the end of the world that it never occurred to me to stop and eat. I'd slept, and it had given me some energy, but I had no nutrients to use. Not even water. I'd been running so far on nothing but pure adrenaline.

What in the world is that!? I demanded, making sure to use our mental connection while focusing on moving however fast I could manage at the time.

"Something that will kill you if it catches up to you."

That wasn't an answer goddamn it! I grind my teeth together as I turn my gaze to the direction of a nearby stall. I dashed for it, ignoring the burning in my chest and in my limbs, as I used the last dregs of energy I had to dive through the window.

"Hehehehehehe –"

The sound echoed past my ears once more, but this time, it shot past me, past the stall where I'd hid myself, and I shuddered silently as it moved by. I waited, holding my breath to the best of my ability to not make any sounds that would reveal my hiding place.

"It is toying with you. It knows exactly where you are. Do not attempt to hide – not even for a second. Run, run and keep running."

Ddraig's words sent a wave of fear and a spark of anger up me at the same time.

What is it? I asked. Again, I received nothing but irritating silence. I bit my lip. I couldn't keep running. Not like this. I didn't have the strength to run indefinitely. I was already completely tired out as it was, and Ddraig wanted me to keep running?

"There is no time to waste. Ru –"

"I can't fucking run!" I snapped, panting. "I can't run! I can't outrun it! I don't have the strength to run! I don't even know where I'm supposed to run – and I'm tired!"

My voice cracked. "I'm tired."

"Then you die." Ddraig intoned emotionlessly. "On your gravestone, they shall write 'Here lies Hyoudou Issei. He was tired.'"

I gnashed my teeth together. I needed to move, but I didn't have the strength. I felt like I weighed at least six times my normal weight. Every bone felt as though it had been replaced with dumbbells.

"Very well. If you are tired of running – I suppose your only option is to stand and fight."

Fight? I asked, the concept sounding foreign to me. I don't know how to fight.

"Then you are lucky you possess me as a teacher."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why?" I asked vocally. "Why suddenly help me?"

"Because as it stands, you are one of the few humans left on the planet. As time passes, it will become more and more likely that you humans become extinct – which means, for all intents and purposes, you are most likely going to be my last host." Ddraig explained stuffily. "This means either two things. That if you die, the Sacred Gear which houses my soul, the Boosted Gear, will die with you, hence, I will die as well. Or, more annoyingly, the Sacred Gear does not die, and I do not die, but instead remain in a state of eternal limbo wherein the Boosted Gear searches for another soul compatible enough with it to merge. Of course, with no humans – it will be an impossible task."

I don't think I understand…

Ddraig huffed. "Essentially, if I do not die with you, then I will be confined to fate that is equivalent of standing in line at an eternal queue for a product that no longer exists. Forever."

I grimaced. That sounded really bad.

"So… can you tell me what is hunting –"

"Dodge to the left! NOW!"

I didn't even think twice about the order. I rolled, hitting the ground harshly as I scrambled away from my previous position, away from the stall. It was not even a tiny second too soon, as the sound of something impacting the stall hit my ears, followed by a large brush of heat which almost seared my back. I hit the ground with a thud, my eyes going wide as I stared at the damage done. The entire stall was gone. The entire stall, along with a good portion of the road. Instead, there was what seemed to be steaming, glowing goo that looked acidic in it's place.

"Aww… you dodged it."

I snapped my gaze up to the sound of the voice. The dust cloud in front of me slowly began clearing, allowing me to take in a good stock of the features. It looked like a young woman, and if this were in other circumstances, I would have been gazing lustfully at her body, but it wasn't.

The woman was of somewhat average height, with thick black hair, and deep raven eyes. She was completely naked, making me swallow the saliva in my throat as my eyes settled upon her breasts and nipples, and daringly, but dangerously strayed down further below, witnessing the patch of hair that hid her… feminine parts.

She let out a sensual sigh. "But… I suppose this is good." Her voice held a rumbling quality to it. Thick, dangerous – and it made the hairs on my neck stand on edge. "I've been eating my fill of you humans for so long! But they're so few of you actually alive that I can hunt and toy with. Eating nothing but cadavers can get tiring you know?"

A significant amount of my arousal died that second. "W-who – w-what are you?"

"A Stray." I heard Ddraig grumble in my mind. "A devil who has decided to abandon or commit crimes against its master is designated as a stray. They are usually unanimously hunted down by every single faction, because they eat humans and feed on them as sustenance for their magical power."

My blood ran cold at that information. At the same time, my mind was running at several miles an hour. This – this was supposed to be a devil? Other than the slightly longer nails and the menacing aura, I would never have realized that she was anything other than human. I pictured devils as red-skinned, ugly looking monsters with a forked tail, horns, and a pitchfork.

"So, little boy –"

In a fraction of a second, she was in front of me. My eyes widened as her right foot slammed itself into my neck effortlessly, pushing me to the ground. I tried to lift it, to raise it up – but it was like someone had placed a dozen cars on my neck. She leaned forward, effortlessly, with one leg on my neck, and naked, I could see everything, everything I had always wanted to see in a woman. In any other circumstance, I would have been beyond elated – but now, I was too busy trying not to choke to death. The irony of the scene reminded me of all those hentai manga where the protagonist would get 'stepped on' by a hot woman and find it arousing.

There was nothing remotely arousing about nearly being choked to death with one foot.

"What's so special about you?" the woman, no – the monster, asked, with as much amusement in her tone. "It was funny watching you flee from the sound of my laughter. It's been a while since I messed with any humans like that. And it makes me wonder – how did you survive the apocalypse? What's your secret?"

I couldn't speak. Both from a lack of trying, and from the fact that there was literally a foot pressed against my throat preventing me from doing so.

"…Now that I think about it, how exactly did you avoid my attack? There was no way you should have known it was coming –" She stopped abruptly, and I felt my blood freeze as her gaze snapped to my arm.

She instantly staggered back in surprise. No, she scampered back away from the gauntlet as though she'd been burned by its presence. I coughed, largely grateful for the fact that I could breathe again now that her leg wasn't on my throat.

Ddraig… she – recognizes you? I sent the mental question to the dragon, and I could almost hear a mental snort in return.

"It took the combination of three factions, stopping their war, merely to defeat and seal me and my rival. Anyone who sees a red gauntlet the color of my scales and does not immediately do a double-take, would have long died of stupidity."

In accordance to Ddraig's words, the stray devil's gaze was still on the gauntlet, occasionally, her eyes flickered to me, but she never stopped looking at it.

What – What do I do? Can I fight her? Beat her? I asked, doing my best to try and get to my feet.

"No." Ddraig's voice came cold and blunt. "As it stands, you cannot hope to win against her. Against anyone. Even if you were ten times stronger and faster than you are now – you would only be a minor hindrance to this stray."

I grit my teeth, trying hard to think of something before she regained her composure. So what do I do?! I roared mentally. I can't run! I can't fight! So what do I do?!

"Not every single problem in the world can be solved by either running or fighting." Ddraig responded, and I could sense irritation in his voice. "Had this been any other situation, I would have left you to your fate and watched as you were killed and I was transferred to another host. But as it stands, the likelihood of another host is almost impossible, and I would hate for my last host in the world to have been killed against something as pitiful as a stray devil."

"That gauntlet…" the stray spoke up, and I felt my window of opportunity slowly closing. Come on Ddraig!

"Listen to me now, Hyoudou Issei. If you want to live, you will do exactly as I say, and you will repeat this words as well as you can."

It wasn't like I had a choice. So Ddraig instructed – and I followed.

"Y-you recognize it, don't you." I cursed myself internally for that initial stutter, and I tried to counter it by standing upright, and appearing as confident as I possibly could.

"Engage eye contact. Put your chin up. Tilt your head down, not that much you fool! Yes – now, your chest, out – your legs – "

Following Ddraig's command, I stood more confidently than I truly felt. I stood, and then I stared this stray devil straight in the eyes. She did have a beautiful shade of eyes –

"Focus fool!"

I stared, and then I let out the cockiest grin I could. "This" I rose my arm up, "is how I survived. This is why I survived. If God and the Devil could not kill the Red Dragon Emperor, then of what attempt can the apocalypse offer?"

The stray took a wary step backwards.

"You think I was running? Running from you?" I reared my head back and let out a laugh. "Foolish little bat. I was baiting you. I wanted you here – cocky, overconfident – standing before me like a pitiful mouse who does not realize he has made an abode in the den of a lion."

Was it working? I couldn't tell. I was doing my best to listen to Ddraig's words and at the same time ensure I didn't let anything slip. She seemed more wary than before, and the distance between us had increased – I think. Was it… was it actually working?

I could feel the sweat on my brow. Despite the cold environment, I could feel it cascading slowly. I knew, I knew that my legs were shaking. My legs were shaking badly. But, I'd positioned them in such a manner that made it appear as though I was the one making them move. As though I was rearing up for a sprint.

My face felt so hot. My palms felt freezing cold. I could feel the sweat on them.

Please fall for it – please fall for it – please –

"Fancy words. But do you think I'm going to fall for such an obvious bluff?" She let out a sneer, "Considering I had you squirming beneath my foot like a pitiful worm earlier – you expect me to believe that you are the Red Dragon Emperor?"

OhGODWHY –

"Don't lose your cool!" I heard Ddraig roar. "Now – do it!"

I thrust my gauntlet into the sky, and I felt it.

[BOOST!]

The roar of the Boosted Gear echoed across the deserted world like the ferocious bellow of a lion in the savannah. I felt it all across my body, the power, it ran through my blood and my veins like a comforting fire. My tiredness eased. My body felt lighter, more agile. My strength, it felt as though I could lift a couch with one-hand now.

The stray was looking decidedly less confident once she realized that I was the real deal. Then, Ddraig told me what next.

"Allow me to re-educate you, since you've forgotten," I gestured to the gauntlet "This is one of the Thirteen Longinus. A Sacred Gear with the power to slay gods. It allows me to double my power, infinitely. Do you know what that means? It means with this – even worms may fell dragons."

I gestured my hands in a come-hither motion.

"Would you like to be felled by a worm?"

I didn't move. I didn't say a word. I didn't need to. She took a long, tentative glance at me, and then, eventually, she growled.

"We'll meet again, boy."

She vanished from my perception. At a speed that was far too fast for me to have even seen. One second she was in front of me, the next, she was gone. I waited, my breath held, still.

"She's gone."

I immediately collapsed to the ground and dry-heaved. My stomach whined and revolted, arguing that there was nothing for me to vomit, yet, every other part of my body violently disagreed. I panted, breathing in rough, short breaths. My entire body was shaking, it was shaking and covered from head to toe in complete cold sweat.

Doing and saying the opposite of what I felt, and doing my best to try and hide that I felt these things – it was the hardest thing I had ever done. I still couldn't believe I had said half of those things I did –

Would you like to be felled by a worm?

Just the thought of me saying it as though I meant it – when I was doing my best not to piss myself –

"I-I-I can't believe she actually believed it –"

"She didn't."

Ddraig's words cut into my celebration.

"W-what?"

"She knew you were bluffing. But at the same time, she did not wish to take the risk in case you were not. If she failed to kill you immediately, you would only grow incrementally stronger as the battle continued – while she would tire out. There would be no merit or point in taking such a risk against you when she could simply find far easier prey."

Ddraig explained simply, and then he let out a dry snort.

"It's not so much that you are a worm, than you are a cockroach. Attempting to kill you would have been too much of an annoyance."

I frowned, feeling slightly irritated at Ddraig's comment. At the same time, I owed him my life – so I didn't say anything.

"A bluffing tactic will only take you so far. You need to get stronger if you wish to survive this new world. No ifs, ands, or buts." Ddraig intoned emotionlessly. "With the human world destroyed and in shambles, more and more of the unruly supernatural will arrive here with less than honorable means. Stray devils will consider this place a paradise to hunt. Regular devils will engage in slavery and debauchery of the worst sorts. Then, other creatures – ghouls, spirits, poltergeists and everything from a wendigo to a banshee – all of them will come crawling to the surface, in search of what few meals they may find."

I felt horrified. "There are more dangerous things out there than that stray devil?"

"If I were to rank the most powerful creatures in the world from number one, to number one-million, with number one being strongest, and one-million being weakest – that stray you just encountered would be placed around one-million and one."

The sinking sensation in my stomach increased immensely. "H-how?" I rasped.

"As a human – you are weak. Even if you were an athletic, top-of-the-line human, the pinnacle of your species, you would still be at least two to three times weaker than the average devil. A high-class devil would be no different to you as a god. And an actual god? To you, he would be beyond comprehension."

I swallowed. "So how do I – how would I… get stronger?"

Ddraig didn't answer for a long time. The silence was eerily thickening.

"You forfeit your humanity."

Journal Entry,

Day 3 Cont.

Ddraig never did explain what he meant by that. To forfeit my humanity. What would it mean? How would I go about doing it?

Despite saying he would help me, because he wanted to survive, Ddraig still liked to leave things up for me to figure it out on my own. Fine. If that was the case – I decided that I would start by trying to be more… dragony?

What did I know about dragons? Nothing. Well – except from stuff from videogames and manga – Dragons were super powerful, super dangerous, and really intimidating. I wanted to be all three – but for now, the first two were out of the question.

But the last one – could I do that? Be intimidating?

I mean – I was a nice guy – at least, I think I was –

But in that moment, when I had been listening to Ddraig, when I had been pretending to be super-confident and dangerous –

I enjoyed it. It felt… cool. I never thought I'd be able to do something like that in my life. Ever.

Maybe I can start there? Maybe if I pretended long enough to be super-confident and badass, I'd actually become super-confident and badass? So if I pretended to be intimidating, would I actually become intimidating?

Fake it till you make it – that's what people said.

So I guess – I'd try it.

I'd fake being a dragon –

Hopefully, in time, I'd become one.