Chapter 1:
The Demon Lord and the Anomaly
The rain began to fall, first in a drizzle, and then in a more steady, rhythmic pace that falls upon the stone and concrete, the wood and mud. Nothing can be seen beyond the tree line of the forest that forms a perimeter around the Kuoh Academy's soccer field, but she stood there, little else save the trees in her field of vision. The rain began to get heavier the more she focused her concentration, and started to ruin her view of the academy building.
Conjuring water was considered to be an elementary magic, something that even the most incompetent of Devils could cast. But to Serafall Leviathan, the most powerful female Devil of her time, it was an impossible task...at least, until recently.
She smirked in satisfaction at the progress she was now making. She then dispelled the precipitation, and prepared herself for another rerun of her spell's procedure.
She picked up her trademark magical girl staff and held the point towards the field. Her tongue peeking out as she licked her dried lips before she shut her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she slowly exhaled and allowed her magic to gather.
Serafall had only drawn a small amount of her Mana, she needed nothing more for the spell but just by pulling on her magic supply she had ended up sending a ripple through it.
She then proceeded to channel the Mana she gathered up her staff, taking far more care than a spell of this level would have required. Much to her surprise, in the briefest of moments, she noticed that her staff has changed in appearance and was replaced with another staff similar to her own. It has a yellow star in a ring that has two small red bead with six white wings. The size of each wing is smaller than the one above it, and a red retractable handle that has a white top with a gold color cross at the bottom.
"Maximizing Mirror World connections!"
"Huh?!" She couldn't believe it. Her transformed staff just spoke to her?
"Nice! Very Nice!" The foreign staff continued.
Serafall soon realized that the world around her became surrounded by an endless sea of golden light and bubbles. She noticed that her body began to glow as new pieces of clothing were now covering her.
"Your sly cuteness makes you the perfect magical girl. It's the birth of a new Kaleid Liner, Prisma Serafall!"
"Ehhh? What is going on here?!"
"Nah, just kidding. Anyway, I got something even better for you: here's the Sekiryutei from another dimension. Oh, and be careful, he's not exactly sane and has an unhealthy habit of pissing off others. Have fun!"
The Magical Ruby outfit that Serafall had just wore immediately vanished, and she was back to her original clothes.
For a few seconds, nothing seem happened at first, until an unexpected flash of white light came, revealing a person.
Serafall recognized that the person who appeared in front of her was a male Kuoh Academy student based on his uniform. He was of average height with short spiky brown hair with two short locks of hair behind his head, and had light brown eyes.
However, the cloth that was covering his right arm caught the Maou's attention the most. There's no doubt about it, it was a sacred holy shroud. She had a strong feeling that something was definitely off about it.
He looked back at Serafall, and vice versa.
"..."
"..."
"Oh no...this is the worst possible outcome." He realized in horror, breaking the awkward silence.
'What is this guy blabbering on about?' The Devil thought in confusion.
"Your mid-life crisis has gotten drastically worse to the point where you are now kidnapping me for your cosplay fetishes!" The teen pointed an accusing finger towards said "kidnapper."
"What?" Serafall found herself at a loss for words, not sure how to formulate a proper response to this very eccentric person before her.
"I don't masturbate to this and in general, but I could understand why people would find a media of cosplay-esque pornstars to be arousing. Cosplay porn is different from conventional porn. Here are some reasons for why: first, the characters in that porno aren't even the real characters, but are portrayed by the performers since anime characters are far from realistic. Second, most anime plots are pretty unrealistic, so I'm assuming most cosplay porn plots would be too, dragging it even farther from the realm of reality."
"You are Hyoudou Issei, correct?" Serafall calmly asked, remembering that he was part of Rias' Peerage.
Issei ignored her. "Cosplay sex videos became a thing as people realized that they could do porn while keeping their identities secret. Wearing disguises granted them the anonymity that they needed to make money on the low. It was not long after, that this new category was labeled as 'cosplay porn,' which spiked a rise in popularity in adult sites. Now, its demand goes up every time a new movie, comic or anime comes out, as viewers crave to see the kinky version of their main characters."
'This is going to be an eventful day.' Serafall sighed, resting a hand on her forehead. She waited patiently for the boy to stop rambling, which he finally did after he remembered that he had to breathe.
"Do you...want something to drink?" She asked.
He finally looked straight at her. "Sure, a glass of ice-cold water would be fine."
As she went to fetch the drink, Issei looked around. This place looked like Kuoh City, but it clearly wasn't.
"This place is a replica, isn't it?"
"Oh, you noticed," She replied, confirming his suspicion. She hadn't even reached the pitcher yet. "I created this place for private projects and experiments."
Huh. Did his "Serafall" do something like that? It wouldn't surprise him if she did.
Serafall considered conjuring some water there and then, but then thought better of it and went to a nearby pitcher. Pouring water into a tall glass, she wrapped her hand around the latter and applied a little of her power. The glass frosted in her hand, and she held it out to Issei, who took it and gulped it down quickly.
Smacking his lips as the taste and feeling brought moisture back to his mouth, he regarded her.
"Well," He said, his voice calmer now, "Care to explain why you kidnapped me?"
Rolling her eyes, Serafall walked over to a pair of chairs and sat down in one before indicating the other. Issei did nothing at first, then blew out his breath and sat down on the chair next to her.
"First of all," She said, after Issei had made himself comfortable, "I did not kidnap you. I was merely testing a new spell, and this was the unintended consequence."
"Sounds pretty clichéd," He said, sneering. She ignored him.
"Second, I have no intention of forcing you into cosplay."
"Who are you and what have you done with Serafall Leviathan? Did something happen to you?" He leaned forward, his sneer giving way to an expression of intrigue. "It did, didn't it?"
Serafall blinked, but nodded. "Why is that of any interest to you?"
"Just curious."
Serafall's eyes narrowed. She didn't owe this boy anything, and he didn't give off any kind of feeling that would make her want to open up to him. But then again, her past was filled with comedy and tragedy, and maybe it would get him to explain himself so they could sort this out. So, with that in mind, she began her tale.
"Would you believe me if I told you I wasn't always like this?" She asked.
Issei quirked an eyebrow. "What? Were you super-melancholy?"
Serafall nodded. "More or less. I dressed in black and white, never smiled, and focused entirely on my studies."
She waited for his reaction, and she got it in the form of a scrunched expression on his face. "I...I find it hard to imagine you being emotionless."
Serafall's lip curled upward. "I was, throughout my prepubescent and into my early teenage years; and then, one day, she came."
"She?"
"Evelyn. Morgan LeFay's apprentice. She taught me how to smile, how to laugh, and how to have fun."
His eyes narrowed. "What kind of fun?"
"Touching girls' boobs and chasing after her. She even got me into the magical girl thing."
'Damn you, Evelyn!' Issei cried mentally. 'I curse you! You created a most unholy monster, you evil witch!'
If it turned out this "Evelyn" existed in his world, he would hunt her down, alive or dead, and make her pay!
"...And then I lost her," Serafall continued sadly. "But then my sister came along. I hated her initially, but I eventually came to love her with all my heart."
Issei sniffed. He had endured multiple stories from the "Serafall" he knew about how great her little sister was.
"So, basically, you're now trying to replace a dead friend in the hopes of keeping her 'spirit' alive." He surmised. "Or a perverse way of 'resurrecting' her. Why didn't you just prevent her death in the first place, or why not just be 'her' yourself?"
He was aiming for a reaction. To his annoyance, he only got a small one.
"Why the hostility?" Serafall hit him with another question of her own, not taking the bait.
Issei considered making an asinine remark, but decided to answer. "The other you screwed me over."
"How?"
"That's my business," He replied icily.
"Then, until I get more facts, I'm going to assume that she owes you nothing, or not as much as you think."
Issei's eye twitched. "Why should I tell you anything?"
"Why should I, or the other me, give you anything?" Serafall countered.
"She OWES me." His tone was insistent. Though, it failed to do anything.
"How and Why?" Serafall inquired further.
She leaned forward on her chair. "I'm not my Queen; I don't just give favors out of generosity. I need to know why I should give something to someone else, and I'm sure the 'me' that you know also feels the same way."
Issei was about to respond with a cutting remark, but something she had just said intrigued him. "You...have a Queen?"
Serafall smiled fondly. "Yes, I was initially not interested in having a Peerage despite intense pressure from my peers."
Huh. Serafall with a Peerage? That was just a whole can of worms' worth of trouble.
"...But then I found someone—well, he found me and it feels good. You look like you're scared of something." Serafall continued evenly, her eyes fixed on the Sekiryutei.
"Don't play psycho-analyst with me." Issei snarled, his mental state clearly reaching its limit.
"Oh, I don't need a degree to figure you out. The reason you keep doing that is because everyone else managed to carve some stability into their lives in spite of their problems while you couldn't, so you insult them out of jealousy. For all your pride and power, you're pathetic, Issei."
Just when he began to reach for his cellphone, a blast of ice was quickly shot, hitting the device to the ground and freezing it.
"Goddammit Sera I just got a new one," Issei lamented, earning a small twitch from the Maou at the use of her personal nickname.
Quickly recollecting himself, Issei wasted no time, tossing off his school jacket before he held his hand up. The sphere of flames shooting towards Serafall.
Using her magic, Serafall summoned large ice pillars shooting up and blocking the fire. A moment later, the ice pillars bent and shot towards Issei. The Sekiryutei jumped back as the ice hit the ground, pulling his pen out of his pocket.
Electricity coated Issei's pen, throwing it towards Serafall. However, the Devil casted another ice pillar to block it, only for Issei's pen to pierce right through it. Serafall leaned back as the channeled pen went past her and cut the front of her attire, leaving a long cut across Serafall's torso. Issei smirked as his Presence activated, his pen being yanked back by the force.
The pen went into a spin once it was pulled back, imitating an electric buzz-saw as it flew towards Serafall. Issei ran at the woman from her other side, his left hand was now sparking with electricity. Serafall grunted as she steadied herself, waiting until Issei and his pen were right next to her. The ice pillars shot up, hitting the electrically-charged pen from beneath and sending it flying up as another pillar slammed into Issei's chest.
Issei grunted as the pillar knocked the air out of him and pushed him up into the air, further away from Serafall as his lightning spell faded. Issei quickly regained his breath, flipping so he was standing on the pillar. Jumping down, the Sekiryutei flipped and aimed the heel of his foot at Serafall's head.
Once Serafall tried another spell, Issei stepped back to dodge it, grabbing her wrist and slamming her into the ground before she could attempt to fly with her Devil wings.
Issei then spun and threw her towards the same ice pillar that she had used previously on him. Serafall stumbled to her feet and was now glaring at Issei.
"Not bad." Serafall mused as she pulled herself out of the ice Issei had thrown her into. Brushing some dust from her clothes, she scowled at the Sekiryutei. "A big mistake." She clenched her fist and put her hands in place, a white mist coming from her hands, then a barrage of ice lances shooting forward.
White magic shot out from Issei's hand, solidifying into the shape of a small ball, and blocking the ice attack.
"Oh, this is just great." The Maou muttered, pushing her palm forward to create a massive ice construction. Serafall cursed as she saw more of the solid white magic coming from Issei, turning and running towards the area she had been going towards before.
Serafall put her hands together for another spell as soon as she was out of harm's way. Quickly slamming her hands onto the ground, she focused her magic and formed a large ice wall to block. She let out a sigh of relief once the white spheres on the other side were unable to break through the ice.
The Devil looked around the school grounds, walking out to the center of the area. Serafall clenched her fists as she ran towards the Sekiryutei.
Just as Serafall neared Issei, a red hue started to leak out from around him. The draconic energy quickly melded together and hardened as if it became materialized.
[Boost!]
The Boosted Gear appeared on his left forearm, then he swung its claws at Serafall.
"My my, someone's getting aggressive." Serafall chirped as she jumped back, just dodging the claws as they sunk into the ground. Icy mist started to come from Serafall's hands as she put them together. A large battle axe made of ice appeared in Serafall's hands as she swung it, aiming right through the stomach of her adversary.
However, Issei sidestepped the slash from her as she gritted her teeth.
The Sekiryutei rushed at her, aiming to strike Serafall with his gauntlet's claws. The Maou put her hands together as ice formed, a sword appearing as Serafall used it to parry Issei's Boosted Gear.
Serafall gathered more magic in her hands as Issei prepared another counterattack. She then thrust her hands into the ground, forming a glacial geyser and freezing him entirely.
Just as the Maou straightened up the ice around the Sekiryutei, said ice began to crack. Flames erupted from his body as the ice shattered, throwing Serafall back.
"To think he would use his fire magic this way." Serafall grunted, pushing herself to her feet.
A red magic circle appeared in front of her as it shot a spiraling inferno. Quickly stepping back from the blast, Serafall put her hands together to form a wall of ice, blocking the flames.
Issei formed another magic circle aiming at Serafall. A small tornado of wind shot towards the Maou as she quickly formed a second ice shield to take the attack. Once the wind and flames died down, Serafall put her hands together, a barrage of ice lances shot forward—only for Issei to evade it.
'There had to be some opening.' Serafall snarled, jumping away from the gauntlet's claws, forming her ice shield to block the sudden blast of lightning. The attack shattered the ice, and then a kick attacking Serafall from behind as it did. Serafall's eyes widened as she put her hands together again, the claws of the Boosted Gear going straight at her.
'Come on, I have to concentrate or I won't be able to stop it!' Serafall thought in alarm, trying to conjure her ice. The Maou closed her eyes as she braced herself for the impact of the attack.
The sounds of electric current filled the area, Serafall's eyes snapping open just in time for her to see a scalpel blade stabbing the ground right next to where she was standing. In a flicker, Issei now stood in front of the Maou instead of the blade, lightning crackling along his body as he aimed his empty hand towards her.
The pile of electricity shot forward and plunged onto her torso, shoving her back and into the far wall of a building, forming a crater.
Serafall stood still for a moment before letting out a breath. The Maou grinned as Issei straightened up, the electricity no longer coating his body as he held onto his scalpel blade.
Issei lunged towards Serafall with another stab of his blade, the Maou sidestepping the attack again as an icy aura glowed around her. Serafall went on the offensive, aiming several punches and kicks at the Sekiryutei. Issei danced around her attack with ease, sending Serafall flying back with a strong kick to her chest.
The Maou quickly recovered, just in time to lean back as Issei's surgical knife went flying over her face once he summoned it from his Boosted Gear (which had the internal space big and durable enough for Ddraig's soul to fit in with some room to spare for storing items, albeit there's a physical size limit).
In an instant, Issei swapped places with the surgical knife using his Presence, electricity crackling on his hand as he aimed to stab Serafall with his lightning-imbued fist. Just before the attack made contact, a water orb flew towards Issei, the Sekiryutei catching it with his empty hand. The speed and force of the sphere still pushed Issei away from Serafall.
Narrowing his eyes as he regained his balance, Issei clenched his fist, forming another lighting attack that shattered the orb. Just a second later, the orb repaired itself, three more appearing as each one rushed at Issei from different directions. The human's draconic emerald eyes gleamed as he casually moved out of the way of each attack, watching the orbs closely.
"Self-repairing and completely aerodynamic, very intriguing." Issei noted as he watched, dodging the liquid spheres.
Looking over at his opponent, he noticed that Serafall was controlling the orbs.
'Okay, that's new.' Issei mused, clearly not used to seeing her using the Sitri Clan's water technique.
"Take this!" Serafall shouted, the water orbs began solidifying into frozen stalactite spears, then a barrage of them flew towards Issei. Seeing the attack incoming, Issei transported himself in place of his surgical knife again once he threw it, the spears missing him entirely.
Serafall scowled. Flicking her fingers, more water orbs started floating over her, 'He can use some type of teleportation magic from the looks of it.'
'Be on guard, he's attacking again!' Serafall warned herself, Issei rushing towards her as he took in a deep breath. Then large rush of flames flew at the Maou.
Serafall held up her hand, causing all the spheres to collide to form a spiral double-helix of water torrents cutting through the flames and flying at Issei.
Issei smirked as he slid to a stop and held up both his hands, "My turn." He whispered, the force blocking both attacks. Serafall looked shocked to see the attacks were blocked so simply, Issei taking the opportunity to attack, the electricity shooting forward at incredible speed and striking Serafall in the chest.
The Maou cried out in pain as the lightning coated her body, and Issei threw her back. The Devil turned back to Issei, about to launch another attack before a surgical knife suddenly went past Serafall's head, cutting a few of her hairs. In an instant, Issei appeared in place of the surgical knife, holding his scalpel blade at the woman's neck. But then, Issei was channeling something to it:
"Argh!" Serafall yelled, electricity crackling over her body as she tried to stand. "Don't you dare!" She screamed, more icicle spears appearing around her. Issei smirked as he pointed his left hand at her, a scalpel blade of crimson flames shooting out and stopping just at her neck.
Serafall stood perfectly still, knowing that any sudden movements could lead to Issei defeating her. The Sekiryutei looked boredly over to Serafall, who was now standing. Sparks of electricity still crackled over her body occasionally when Issei had hit her with his large dose of lightning from earlier.
"I'm almost impressed. Most people would still be down after the amount of electricity I just hit you with." He added.
"It takes more than that to keep me down." Serafall retorted, glaring at Issei. The fact that the human could speak to one of the Four Great Satans so easily while having a dry look in his eyes somewhat irritated the Maou.
Issei scoffed as he began to form another spell, "Unfortunately for you, I far exceed anyone you've battled so far."
"Oh? And why is that?" Serafall asked him in cheerful tone, shifting the mood.
"Because, I have the resolve you talked about from our earlier conversation." Issei riposted. "Beating you is something I'm willing to do." He then took a deep breath before a sphere of flames launched forward, leaving a trail of scorched earth as it flew towards Serafall.
"We'll see about that." She smirked as red magic circles swirled around her. In a flash, the Maou switched her position with Issei, the mass of flames now flying towards the human. However, the smirk quickly left Serafall's face as Issei put the flames right back to how they had been moments before, using his Presence. Flicking her wrist, Serafall used her teleportation magic to cause the flames to twist around her, missing her entirely.
"My Presence can manipulate space (by projecting the potent nature of my inner dragon's den into the outside world in addition to swapping any object, person, or thing in and out of that domain)." Issei rolled his eyes, leaving the latter part unexplained for obvious reasons, once he saw the questioning gaze of Serafall, "Your teleportation magic's switching technique won't work since I do that too, so it's predictable."
"Your Presence?" The Maou tilted her head, looking a bit confused.
'Oh right, I forgot, this 'Sera' and everyone else in this parallel world are unaware of that concept.' Issei mused. 'Good thing Sera doesn't know that I was repeatedly going in and out of my cave just so that I can easily dodge her attacks by choosing the area I wanted to go next after simply teleporting away outside. However, I can't do this constantly since I have limits. I don't want to keep seeing traces of Snowball's imprint every time I visit my cave.'
Serafall grinned as her ice magic coated her hands, "That's fine, defeating you will still be easy." She said as two streams of frost shot towards the Sekiryutei.
Issei jumped out of the way of the blasts. Imbuing his hand with healing magic, he swiped it forward, watching as Serafall's spell exploded into spheres with "X" marks across them. Gathering an intake of breath, Issei called out a spray of Fire Shot from his mouth and shifted into the shape of a dragon going towards Serafall.
The same swirl of ice magic went around the Maou, causing the fire attack to harmlessly fly around her. Issei scowled at the technique.
Serafall narrowed her violet eyes, 'It seems most attacks don't affect him. No, it isn't that they don't work, he can just redirect them with his so-called 'Presence'...and healing magic?'
'We'll see how well that works with something else then.' Issei thought as lightning coated his hand, then snake-shaped mass of electricity shot towards Serafall, who deflected it once again with her magic. Issei, however, took that opportunity to appear right behind the lightning with his Presence and aimed a roundhouse kick to Serafall's face.
Serafall caught the kick on her forearm, grunting at the force of the blow as ice magic coated her other hand. As Serafall aimed a magic charged punch toward Issei, the Sekiryutei formed another set of electricity on his right hand to grab the Maou's fist with ease. Issei moved his foot back to the ground and slammed his elbow into Serafall's chest, throwing her backwards.
"Bad Dragon! Bad!" Serafall coughed in pain as Issei used his Presence, sending her flying right back into the same indent her body had made from the earlier attack.
'You can't divert something unseeable like the projected pressure of my inner dragon's den.' Issei noted in his head. 'Now what to do next...' He wondered before dodging another magical explosion blast from Serafall.
Summoning two metal holy crosses from his Boosted Gear, Issei threw the weapons towards Serafall, who deflected them with her teleportation magic. Issei pulled back his left arm, which had lines connected to the crosses, yanking them back towards Serafall. The Maou, however, just smirked as the attacks were diverted once again, "My teleportation magic works from any direction." Serafall told him before firing a water orb.
Issei frowned as the magic attack suddenly turned and missed him entirely, purposely striking one of the school's buildings right behind him. The structure began to fall down, gravity bringing it down right on top of the Sekiryutei. Serafall lowered her hand with a smug grin, which quickly changed to a look of shock as Issei's fiery dragon construct broke out from beneath the rubble.
Wasting no time, Issei had the fiery dragon construct create a crimson sword, which it swung downward at Serafall. The sword, however, was deflected just barely and hit the ground beside Serafall.
The Sekiryutei started to walk towards Serafall as his fiery construct stared lifelessly at the foe, "It seems your teleportation magic has a certain limit to how much it can handle." Issei blankly stated, having noticed the fire dragon was only slightly affected by the technique before making the construct fade away.
"Even with you just facing me, you'd lose." Serafall stated confidently, "Are you really so arrogant to think you could defeat me one-on-one?"
Issei scoffed, "The only arrogant one here is you, but that doesn't matter." The Sekiryutei took another step forward, "What you said earlier to me during our conversation before our fight, I'm going to have to fight you alone because of that."
"Innocent or not, sometimes we have to be accountable for our actions regardless of our pasts." The Maou replied calmly.
"It may seem like that to you." Issei whispered, his voice carrying just enough for her to hear him. Shooting forward as his draconic emerald eyes flared to life, Issei swung his fist at Serafall, the woman blocking with her forearm. Glaring at the Maou, for just a brief moment, Issei saw an image of the 'Sera' of his world, who hadn't defended him on the last day of his trial in the courtroom five years ago. "But to someone else, I'd called that meaningless." He added impassively before going into a roundhouse kick.
Serafall grunted as Issei's foot struck her side, causing the Maou to stumble to the left. Dodging a second kick from the Sekiryutei, Serafall swung her staff, imbuing it with high dense Mana, to strike Issei's face, "You claim to know that sacrifices are necessary in this world, but if you believe that the innocent are exempt from that fact, then you clearly know nothing." She said evenly.
Issei ducked beneath the staff as he slammed his elbow into Serafall's torso, "You're the one who knows nothing." He said as Serafall landed a punch right on his cheek, snapping the human's head to the side. Issei grabbed Serafall's wrist before she could draw her hand back, "You say that sacrifice is a necessity, but you've never been the one to truly suffer for that sacrifice, have you?" Issei yanked Serafall forward by his arm as he kicked her chest, releasing her wrist so the woman flew backwards.
Landing on her feet, Serafall drew a ragged breath, Issei's kick having knocked the air from her lungs. The Maou pointed her staff towards Issei, "I may not have suffered in the way you're thinking, but I have paid the price for my cause on more than one occasion! But all of that is moot at this point, it's clear that you are lost." With that said, Serafall's staff began to glow a light purple once again as she channeled magic into it, "This is the end of the battle!"
Issei scowled as he started to run towards Serafall, lightning crackling around him. The human was done playing games, it was time to bring the match to a close.
"This again?" Serafall asked rhetorically as she activated her demonic aura.
Issei smirked once his electricity formed at his left hand. Swinging his arm forward, the lightning collided with Serafall's staff, breaking the weapon into pieces. Serafall's eyes widened in shock at the action, not understanding how her magic hadn't stopped the lightning.
"No way, no one has ever broken through it." Serafall mumbled.
Serafall grit her teeth before she swung her left fist forward, aiming to strike Issei's cheek again. The Sekiryutei vanished just before she could land the blow, using his Presence as he appeared in a crouch just beneath Serafall, "I won't let someone like you—" Placing one hand on the ground Issei aimed a kick upward, striking Serafall's jaw and sending her up into the air.
Quickly flipping back to his feet, Issei jumped up at Serafall. He then swung his leg at her, but she blocked it with her left forearm. Spinning around, Issei hit Serafall's chest with his arm, causing the Devil to start falling downward. Issei landed a kick on Serafall.
"You're finished." Issei said impassively, just as they neared the ground again. Bringing his heel downward, the human struck Serafall in the chest just as she hit the floor, causing an indent on the ground as she spit out some blood from the attack. With a flicker, Issei was standing a few feet from her. Before Serafall's fist could strike Issei, a crimson aura covered the human, an inferno ribcage forming and intercepting the attack.
Serafall's eyes widened in shock at the sudden defense. Issei took advantage of her surprise to manifest the flaming construct's right arm as well. The fire dragon's hand grabbed Serafall before she could react, slamming the Devil into the dirt before throwing her towards a tree. Serafall grunted in pain but righted herself in mid-air, her feet touching the ground and stopping her momentum before she could slam into the wood.
Issei exhaled. After fully manifesting, the construct that stood before the Maou was a giant burning dragon made out of pure fire, surrounding its creator from outside. Its yellow eyes were glaring at Serafall. The Maou grinned and brushed some dirt from her shoulders, "I was wondering when you would use that again."
"Believe it or not, this fiery dragon construct here is actually a child," Issei told her, his draconic emerald eyes glowing from within the flaming body of the creature. "It's one of the things that my blind asshole mentor came up with."
The fiery dragon construct raised up its right hand, the construct throwing the fireballs at Serafall. The flames spun around as they neared their target, Serafall shooting a wave of demonic pressure at the attack. Once the two attacks met the flames exploded and enveloped around Serafall, though Issei's draconic senses was able to see exactly what happened.
Serafall still stood once the smoke cleared, sporting a few burn marks from where the explosion had affected her. Serafall brushed a little bit of blood away from the corner of her mouth before asking, "My turn then?" Having covered herself in a mist of frost, as well as the first attack of her magic weakening Issei's fireballs, the brunt of the explosion hadn't heavily damaged the Maou.
Issei's eyes narrowed as Serafall leapt towards him, her fist pulled back with a large amount of ice magic charged into it. Issei's construct copied Serafall's motion, throwing its own right hook at her. Serafall's smaller fist connected with the larger dragon's, a shockwave shooting out from the impact. Letting out a roar accompanied with a discharge of demonic energy, Serafall channeled her ice magic and shattered apart the construct's entire right arm.
The Sekiryutei stared at the Maou in amazement, having not expected the construct to have any issue. Issei then commanded his construct to create a red enflamed blade in its remaining hand, 'More interesting indeed, I may have underestimated Sera.'
Issei narrowed his eyes as the construct swung its red sword downward at Serafall. The Maou grinned and caught the sword in between her hands, grunting from the impact. The ground beneath Serafall started to shatter from the pressure the one-armed fiery dragon construct put on her. The Maou then unleashed another massive burst of ice magic to disassemble the blade before it could slip from her grasp.
Issei noticed the now deep breaths Serafall was taking, the constant uses of her magic beginning to take its toll. The Sekiryutei formed a spell while thinking, 'She is strong, but she's reaching her limit fast. Now that she's expelled so much magic on breaking apart the construct, I should be able to finish this with smaller precision attacks.' He decided as his construct faded away, spewing a water shot from his magic circle once it was gone.
Serafall smashed her fist into the ground once more, the eruption of her Mana causing the water attack to flow around her while rocks flew up into the air. The sounds of electrical current filled the battlefield, Issei appearing in front of Serafall instantly with his Presence. Electricity covered the Sekiryutei's left hand, Issei aiming to hit Serafall in the stomach with it.
Ice magic coated Serafall's right fist in response, the Maou throwing her punch at Issei's lightning. The lightning and ice magic collided together, one pushing against the other, causing the field and the trees surrounding them to whip up around them from the force of the attacks. Issei watched the clash closely, his draconic senses sharpened while he observed. After a moment, both Serafall and Issei's hands moved downward, diverting away from one another and leaving the ice magic and lightning to slam into the ground resulting in an explosion around them.
Once the light faded, it showed Issei and Serafall standing in front of one another, both of them panting from the exertion. Serafall straightened up and grinned at Issei, "Well, you exceeded my expectations." She told him honestly with a laugh. "I haven't put in that much effort in a long while."
"It's been a while since I've had a more semi-serious fight as well." Issei told her.
"That flaming dragon thing you casted is one hell of a move." Serafall observed while rubbing the back of her head, "I wasn't sure what I was going to do if you started recreating it like you did with that lightning at the end. But anyways, what really matters is I think I got a pretty good understanding of you in our bout." She mused while clenching her fists.
Demonic energy surged around the Maou, her black aura flaring as veins became noticeable on her forehead, "Since we're done with warm ups, I'm gonna go all out!" She shouted as Issei widely grinned at the prospect of a challenge.
(Recommended OST: BnHA Uncontrollable Evil)
Clouds of newly made white mist suddenly bursted, surrounding the schoolyard. The only thing that was shone clearly was a pair of violet eyes peaking through the thick mist.
The end of the tail came up and pushed on the school yard, sliding throughout as the ground began to cover with crystalized hoarfrost where it met the cold touch of the tail. The curtain of white was so dense that it appeared to be almost solid. It was there that it lurked, hidden from sight. The mist danced wildly in the air, wavering at times and teasing with the secrets it held, revealing brief glimpses of what lay hidden in its depth before concealing it again.
A flash of a bone white teeth, razor sharp and as long as a dagger. A distortion of light was reflecting off her skin like the rippling surface of a frozen lake. Then she roared, somehow managing to hiss out the sound through her lipless mouth.
"████████████!"
Issei slowly stood under the strong radiating force of Serafall's immense demonic power. 'I won't need Balance Breaker, just a little of its strength to stand easy.' He frowned, emitting a red hue around himself.
He saw a vaguely humanoid form approaching from the white mist. He noticed that Serafall's hair had turned lustrous silver. Her face was pale like arctic snow, exhibiting angular features and rough slanting eyebrows. Each side of her head displayed pointed ears. Her normal violet eyes are now burning with hellfire crimson.
Her elongated arms hanging from the torso, ending in sharp claws as her feet. Spikes protruded from her back. But the most disturbing part was the lower part of her face: besides her mouth showing fanged teeth, the long jaw and layers of teeth were the pinnacle of nightmare.
She now stood at least two meters tall, the four arms seemed unnatural on her elegant torso, and the rest of the body other than the exposed face was a sculpted mass of thorns, spikes, and layers of ragged razor-wire. The thousand-faceted scales burned with a light that might had been made by a sapphire laser.
Her tail, wire thin and colder than ice, shot out from the shadows of the mist, sliding on the ground as if it were a starved snake going out for prey. The tail's edge was like a razor. It was so sharp that mere contact upon skin would easily split the flesh apart a thousand times over.
"So this is what the Maous—no, the entire Devil race of this world are capable of." Issei whispered, his breath misting in the air from how cold the area had become; a memory of a certain pink Outer God he encountered during his childhood began storming through his mind.
"▄▄█████▄▄▄▄▄."
"Huh, you have finally show me your True Form. Come on! At least make it magical girl themed! Where's your sense of imagination?! A magical girl is a character who uses magic power that stems from a feminine trait. This can vary, for example, they draw out their power from their love or care for others. Some characters get power from a feminine item like a necklace, wand, etc. Some characters on more adult shows may get power from their feminine body."
"I...What?" Serafall questioned in total disbelief, not expecting his kind of reaction.
"In terms of appearance, a magical girl is supposedly a school-aged girl with magic powers, or at least superhuman abilities, who has an alter ego that is usually activated by said powers with which they do things they otherwise can't. Magical girls in general have femininity devised in different ways according to the author as central to their conception and the way they act, feel and think. As for you being an eldritch abomination straight out of H.P. Lovecraft's works, that contradicts what being a magical girl entails. The fact that your current form is one shows that all of your magical girl 'charms' that you built up to this point have now instantly gone through the drain. Oh, and you're not cute, like a magical girl should be right now."
"Okay, that does it." Serafall muttered irritably as she created a formula. It glowed brightly before several blasts of icicles shot out towards the Sekiryutei.
Using his Presence, Issei vanished from sight just before Serafall's attacks could land. The Maou blinked in confusion before her eyes widened and she gasped in pain. Serafall looked down to see Issei's scalpel blade stick out through her stomach, Issei standing just behind her.
Issei had made sure to miss all of Serafall's vitals, not wanting the woman to get a sudden death so he could avoid political messes. Pulling the blade back out of Serafall's stomach, Issei delivered a powerful kick to her lower back that sent her flying forward. The Maou quickly got her bearings as she landed on her feet and turned towards Issei.
"Don't worry, the fight will end soon." The human told her plainly as red ghastly bones started to form around him. He started to walk towards Serafall as his burning dragon made out pure fire began manifesting in its skeletal form.
Serafall snarled in anger as she formed several formulas around herself, each formula sent out a barrage solid frozen stalactites.
Just as the attacks reached Issei, his dragon construct reached its full scaled form, none of the blast formula attacks making a scratch on the construct. Issei continued to walk towards Serafall casually, his emerald eyes glowing. The Maou looked terrified at the dragon before she started waving her hands, formulas appearing all around the inferno monstrosity.
Serafall roared as she finished the formula. The magic circles glowed brightly before unleashing a massive explosion of glaciers that consumed Issei and his construct.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Serafall placed one hand over the pain on her stomach, "I'll have to use healing quickly. I've lost too much blood as it is." She muttered to herself, wincing when her hand grazed against the wound.
Just as Serafall was about to begin healing herself, she saw the dust from her spell fade away. Issei was standing where he had been, his construct remain unharmed from the magical attack. Serfall looked terrified as Issei began walking forward, drawing closer and closer to the Maou.
Serafall took a few steps back before clumsily moving her hands to call up another formula, "It doesn't matter how strong your magic is, dispel!" The formula glowed brightly once Issei and the fiery dragon construct were just in front of it. The Maou's cocky smirk soon changed to a face of horror as her spell did nothing to it.
The Sekiryutei glanced at the Devil, not answering her verbally as the fiery dragon construct faded away. Issei then appeared in front of her in a flicker. Taking out his surgical knife from his Boosted Gear, Issei swung it at Serafall's side with frightening speed.
Serafall stepped back so that it only grazed her stomach, just missing the wound the weapon had made beforehand. Seeing Issei go into a flurry of swipes, Serafall created ice walls to block them. Once again, the Maou was shocked to see the blade cut through and break every single one of them that she created.
After shattering another of her defenses, Issei pulled his hand back for another swing. Rather than doing so, he simply took a step forward and rammed his gauntlet into Serafall's shoulder, blood spewing from it as the impact broke the appendage. Serafall shouted in pain as she placed both her hands over her face.
Issei gave her no time to recover as he raised his empty hand. The gravitational force of his Presence slammed into Serafall, sending her hurtling backwards into a wall.
Serafall grunted in pain as her back hit the wall, bouncing off of it and managing to land on her feet. The Maou coughed up some blood before swinging her left hand to create a magic circle, "I won't let you—" Her sentence was cut off as an electrically-charged surgical knife hit her left hand, pinning it to the building's wall behind her.
Serafall hissed as she started to make a formula with her right hand to extract the electric weapon. Before she could finish, Issei appeared in front of her, grabbing the Maou's free hand and squeezing it so hard that the bones began to break. Issei look unimpressed as his emerald eyes glowed, looking Serafall in the eyes.
The world seemed to melt around the two, Issei vanishing away in a flicker until Serafall was left standing in an empty void of white.
There was water up to the Maou's ankles, completely reflective so Serafall could see herself like it was a mirror. Suddenly, multiple portals appeared on both side of her, several chains shooting out and stabbing into her hands, forearms, and tail.
Serafall screamed in agony as the chains pulled on her limbs and stretched her arms out until she couldn't move.
"I'm not sure you have heard about it, but there's a certain visual novel that gave me this idea." A few feet away from the struggling Devil, Issei appeared with a bored look on his face, "A boundary field that pulls a switch between the external world and the caster's unique internal world, something like a landscape of their soul." He continued.
"No, it can't be...I thought he is the only one who can use it." Serafall's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. Giving up on moving her hands, Serafall tried to pull her legs up to kick them away, only to discover that the water was holding her feet still as well.
"Th-That's impossible." Serafall whispered as her arms fell to her sides. She stared up into his glowing emerald eyes as it stared back at her lifelessly. Looking back towards Issei, she said quietly, "What are you?"
Issei didn't answer her at first, stopping just a few feet away from Serafall. The human looked dryly at Serafall as he replied, "I'm Issei Hyoudou, a hikikomori, and I have an encyclopedic knowledge of all things related to the adult entertainment industry."
He advanced on her. "And I still have a small bit of curiosity left. I heard you say 'he is the only one who can use it.' Who's this person?"
"Why do you care?" Serafall asked, struggling to her feet.
"Just answer me," He snapped.
"He's...my miracle," She said honestly. However, this response infuriated Issei.
"Don't you fucking talk to me about miracles. If miracles were real, I would have gotten one by..."
He stopped to let himself go. He didn't blame himself, as that word would set him off, which was not his fault in the slightest. But, as much as she wore her face, this creature before him did not know that. Nor had she truly answered his question. Taking a few deep breaths, he looked down upon her again.
"What is his name?"
"Emiya Shirou," She said.
Time stopped. A single moment had became an eternity as the name escaped her lips and entered Issei's hearing range.
Emiya Shirou? No, it had to be a coincidence. The eternity came to an end as their eyes met.
"Is he obsessed with cooking?" Issei asked. "A total home-maker, who keeps doing favors for the heck of it? Does he use swords in combat?"
"Yes, to all three."
"Does he have an albino sister?"
"How do you know about Illya-chan? Did you watch the show?"
Oh, this was not good. "There's a show of him here?"
She nodded. "After he sold his soul to me, I copyrighted it and turned it into a big media franchise as a prank. It got a show, games, shirts, the typical merchandise."
Issei did not respond. Emiya Shirou, the Wrought Iron Hero whose world creation ability had inspired him to create his own, was real in this particular world. And a Reincarnated Devil. And the Queen of a fucking Maou!
"Why would he sell his soul to you?" He asked after a long silence.
Having apparently sensed that the danger was waning, Serafall brushed a few locks of her hair back and said, "His sister died, and I resurrected her in exchange for his soul."
"Was her heart ripped out?" He asked.
"No, she looked like she had died of an illness. Why?" She didn't seem the least bit put off by his question.
Huh, so not UBW Shirou, then.
"Did you just appear, or did he call you?"
"The latter and when I named my price, he accepted it without hesitation. It gave me a good laugh." Serafall reminisced.
Yeah, that's him, alright. Selfless to a fault, especially when it came to his sister.
"And did she join your Peerage, too?"
She shook her head. "No, but I altered her body so she could mature properly and I took her as my apprentice. Those two truly made a new life for me."
Magical Girl Illya? The thought made Issei shudder. Still, he pressed on. "Where is he now?"
"I convinced him to enroll at Kuoh Academy in order to train my sister and her Peerage. Although, he had to convince them to ask him to do it to keep it from looking like favoritism. He also took the time to train Rias-chan's Knight and Bishop. Her Rook adores him, and he spoils her with food."
Of course Jailbait would cherish the ground he walked on, given his cooking talents. But the Man-slave and Dio liked him, too? Damn.
Still, if Emiya Shirou was real and nearby, and apparently a "miracle worker," he had to see something from him.
"I wanna meet him," Issei announced.
"How come?" Serafall inquired, the request surprised her.
"Personal reasons. Now bring him here, or I'll blow the whistle on what you really look like, Sera."
The Leviathan's eyes widened in fear, but then she closed them, took a deep breath, and nodded.
"I'll make the arrangements," She sighed.
"You wished to see me?" The red-haired teenager asked.
In spite of the situation, Issei felt the urge to ask for an autograph. "Yeah, I beat your boss in a fight and demanded to see you as my prize."
Shirou blinked. "You beat Serafall?"
Issei nodded.
Shirou studied him. He could detect no deceit, but this was Hyoudou Issei...no, this felt like Issei, but was fundamentally different. "You're not the 'Issei' I've met," He said finally.
Issei shook his head. "I'm a different one, with issues. Lots of issues."
"I can see that." Everything about this young man/dragon screamed "damaged." Honestly, Shirou wanted to whip out Excalibur right now.
"I know what you're thinking of doing," The Sekiryutei said as if he read the Queen's mind. "And I want it, too. Show me Excalibur."
Shirou blinked again. "Why?"
"Because your boss called you a 'miracle,' and it's about fucking time I got one. I won't blame you for not being there when I needed one the most since you were probably getting lectured about your beliefs by your dad, but now that we're face-to-face, I'm not gonna let an opportunity like this go to waste. Show me Excalibur."
Shirou's eyes narrowed. "And why would I want to do this?"
Issei let out an exasperated sigh. "Aren't you supposed to believe in helping people? Right now, the only way you can help me is to show me that sword. Summon it."
"Why do you want to see it so badly? What do you think you'll see in it?"
"What I need to see. Now, please, show it to me." He had never used that word in desperation before, but he had to see it, and using force would likely end in a gelding, even if he was positive that he could overpower the Queen of Swords before him.
Shirou was silent again, then he raised both of his hands, and a bright light blinded them both. When it died down, the Sword of Promised Victory was held in his hands, its pristine blade pointed skyward, the image of the Sekiryutei reflected in it.
Said Sekiryutei stared at the blade unblinking, no words or sounds escaping from his open mouth as he looked upon it.
For a long time, there was only silence, and no motion between the two young men. Then there was a thump!
Issei, the Sekiryutei and host of the enigmatic being known as Ghost, had collapsed to his knees, his head tilting slowly downward. When it was all the way down, Shirou banished the sword and got down on one knee.
"What did you see?" The Queen asked, with all the gentleness of a caring father.
Issei did not respond, and Shirou did not press him. His task was completed, but maybe this would pay off in the long run? And even if it didn't, at least he had tried to help someone. Still, maybe he could do more.
Shirou reached out with his right hand and placed it on Issei's shoulder. "You said you needed a miracle," He said. "Do you feel like you've received one?"
"Yes." Issei sniffed, without looking up. His response was very quiet, barely above a whisper. "Could you take your hand off? I don't like being touched."
Since when was he that polite?
Smiling, Shirou withdrew his arm. "The last person I helped didn't like being touched either."
"Shirone?" Issei asked.
Shirou nodded, then his eyes narrowed and his smile turned to a frown. "Is the person who harmed you still alive?"
"Yes." The edge in Issei's voice was easily noticeable.
"With your kind of power, that's surprising. Are there others whom this person has harmed who are willing to help you?"
"In hindsight, yes. More than I thought."
"Then let them help you. Let them in. You're only hurting yourself by shutting them out."
Despite himself, Issei chuckled weakly. "You can tell?"
Shirou nodded. "Pardon my bluntness, but you're not difficult to read."
"Your boss said the same thing."
"Sounds like her."
Issei stood up, keeping his head down as he did so. "I don't usually say this...but thanks."
"You're welcome."
Somewhere in the school's courtyard.
Issei walked away far enough so nobody could see him.
If there was anything else he was thankful for, it was that Shirou, Serafall, and anybody else did not notice the small, salt-smelling puddle that he had been creating while he was on his knees.
Dragons don't cry.
'Sure they don't.'
'Shut up Ghost.'
A/N:
I hope you guys enjoyed reading the crossover between the two popular fics. This is something I wanted to write for a while now.
The replica of Kuoh City is a reference to chapter 19 of ADLH.
Also, before anyone asks, yes, I fully revealed Serafall's true form before it made an official debut in A Demon Lord's Hero, and she showed it to Issei from GAIWP of all people. Let that sink in.
Feel free to leave a review. Constructive criticism is welcome.