I can only say this, fellas. Give this a read and kudos for those who can tell what this is all about.
In his private workshop, Azazel was walking around a rotating contraption which contained a pulsing, glowing energy core. His eyes were alternating between reading the notes on the clipboard in his hand, observing the machine, and reading on the screen of the computers around.
One of the fruits taken from the child of Yggdrasil, a trophy from war for Yggdrasil. Something he had tried to refine and experiment with,
He scrunched his eyebrows as he had spent quite a long time in the workshop, yet no real developments. Pursing his lips, the leader of fallen angels then proceeded to tap on his keyboards, hoping his latest theory would bear fruit.
However, as soon as he pressed the Enter key, the contraption suddenly went into a halt, before it slowly rotated again while gaining speed.
Azazel stared as the energy core within the increasingly fast-rotating contraption, gave brighter glow by seconds. His eyes quickly darted between his notes and the screen, before returning to the machine who was at this point, had illuminated the entire workshop in a blinding light.
"...Uh-oh."
Issei Hyoudou exhaled the late morning air as he made his way to school.
So peaceful…
Issei Hyoudou lived a good life. He had been raised in a good family, he had friends, best friends, girlfriends, and great adventures.
And from those adventures, he gained new friends, rivals. Speaking of which, Issei could not help but pout at the reminder that Vali chose to skip school again.
Vanishing Dragon… Vanishing on school day, that lazy bastard; secret mission my ass. Let's see if I will be in the mood to write today's lesson's notes for him.
He looked up and he had to squint his eyes closed when he accidentally stared into the sun, which somehow appeared too bright. However, when he closed his eyes, he felt something wash over him - kind of like the burst of air conditioner when you stepped inside a shopping mall.
As soon as he blinked his eyes open - he looked around, activating his Meta-Vision to find anything different in his surroundings.
There were none.
But the anomaly he experienced earlier was definitely real. Additionally, his surroundings were intact - no sign that it was any form of artificial dimension or hallucination, as Issei took several deep breaths and got a feel of his own body.
Nothing seemed amiss, with himself, at least. Something felt off about where he was standing, however.
Issei did not know how to describe this feeling - it was like…. Ordering the same burger from a McDonald's restaurant… But at a completely different branch outlet than the one he usually frequented. It was hard to describe.
He remained in place for a bit longer, waiting and expecting something to jump at him, only to find nothing out of ordinary. Concluding that he was merely paranoid, Issei finally resumed his trek to school, albeit the sense of unease lingered in his mind.
XoX
Upon entering his classroom - Issei found that most of his classmates were minding their own business.
Making his way to his desk, he noticed several people were absent.
Matsuda, Motohama, Katase and Murayama - the latter two usually had finished their morning practice around this hour, so the former pair would, most likely, be peeping in their changing room.
Typical.
The church trio were not in the class either, but Issei saw them off to school earlier; which meant they were probably in the old school building.
That's right, might as well check in how everyone is doing.
When he made his way out, he ignored the fact that Kiryuu was staring at him leaving.
"What are you looking at, Kiryuu-chan?"
One of the classmates asked.
Kiryuu blinked at the door where Issei disappeared, "Err…. Is it just me or does Hyoudou look…. Different today?"
XoX
Issei decided to make a quick stop by the Student Council room. Knocking on the door a few times, he opened the door and let himself in. He then found the members of the Student Council were milling around, with Sona sitting at her usual desk with Tsubaki by her side.
Sona was the first to greet him as soon as she spotted him, "Ise, you're here."
Issei took note of Sona's tone - as if she was not expecting him, "Yeah, good morning, Sona. What's up?"
Sona blinked at Issei's casual address towards her, but she shook her head slightly and replied, "Rias just called me - she said she suddenly lost track of you this morning."
"Is that so? I mean, we had breakfast together and I saw her off to school this morning." Issei blinked, glancing at the rest of the student council who was looking at him expectantly. He then fished his cellphone out.
"She didn't ring me either….. Well, whatever - I'm on my way to the clubroom anyway. Thanks for the heads-up, Sona."
However, before Issei could have left, Sona called him out, "Please wait a second, Ise."
Issei stopped on his track, looking at Sona who was looking funny at him.
"Is…. Everything alright? Did you need anything else?"
Issei merely shrugged in return, "Yeah, everything's cool. I'm just here to check on Tsubasa and you guys."
Sona raised her eyebrows ever so slightly while Tsubaki blinked at him.
Speaking of which, Tsubasa spoke up, "Um, do you need something from me?"
Issei blinked at Tsubasa before he smiled coyly, "What, can't a guy check on his girlfriend every now and then?"
Issei's answer caused Tsubasa to be frozen in place, her mouth gaping like a fish with her face slowly gaining pink shade.
"Anyway, we don't get all morning, so I gotta go check with Rias and the others. See you guys later." Ignoring the dumbfounded looks from the Student Council, Issei winked at Tsubasa before he finally left the room.
Once the door was closed, Tsubasa turned and saw her comrades were staring at her. In return, she pointed at the door, with her composure steadily crumbling.
"...Please tell me I'm not the only one who heard and saw all of that."
While continuing his trek to the old school building, Issei saw Irina walking in his direction in the hallway.
As soon as their eyes met, Irina's face broke into a relieved smile as she jogged towards him, "Ise!"
"Hi, Iri." Issei smiled as he allowed the girl to pull him into a quick hug.
"Geez, where have you been?! Everyone was worried!" Irina chided as she lightly slapped on his chest.
"Hey now, what is it?" Issei asked as he kept Irina in his arms, "I mean, Sona did tell me that you guys were looking for me, but did I really go for that long?"
"Well, considering what happened to you before, Rias suddenly felt her connection to you disappearing… Yes, I think all of us have the right to be worried."
Issei finally released his hold, holding his hands up placatingly, "Okay, okay, I'll talk and apologize to them…. Everyone still in the clubroom?"
Irina then sighed, finally calming down before she smiled at him, "Yeah, come on! Let's go meet…"
Issei blinked at Irina trailing off - the girl then took a step back and looked at him head to toe.
"Say, Ise… You look, um…. Different."
Issei regarded the girl for a second before he looked at himself and replied, "Well… I don't feel any different, though. Anyway, let's go meet with others, yeah? We can't have everyone miss the homeroom, can we?"
Before Irina could have replied, however, Issei had closed the distance and pecked on her cheek. The girl froze for a few seconds, before she slowly brought his hand up and placed it on the spot where Issei's lips made contact.
"Come on, what are you standing around for?" Issei called out as he offered his hand.
"Err… Okay." with rosy cheeks - Irina carefully took Issei's hand and they made their way to the old school building hand-in-hand.
Issei sniffed Irina for a moment.
"...Iri, are you wearing some kind of perfume? You smell very sweet…. And something else." Issei asked, looking at her for a moment.
"Ummm, I didn't?" She asked, blushing hard.
"You sure?" Issei rubbed his nose.
His enhanced sense of smell never lies, using Rover's experience.
"Mhm." Irina nodded.
Issei decided to roll along with it until he found out what was wrong.
He followed Irina through out the school building.
However, he was receiving condescending gazes from the girls. He could smell their disdain towards him.
"...Did I do something wrong?" Issei asked as he looked around, confused by the girls' eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Why are the girls looking at me like I'm garbage? Their anger is filling the air."
Irina smiled awkwardly, "Well… I guess while you are getting better, your old reputation is not something that everyone can forget easily."
"Huh…?" Issei blinked. Not to brag or sounding cocky - he swore his rep was somewhere below Yuuto and above the average schoolboys in terms of popularity. The only thing keeping him down was the two perverts he occasionally hung around with.
When Issei approached the old school building, he smelled the air.
"Issei?" Irina asked.
"...This place smells unprotected." Issei mentioned. "Where are the magic wards?"
"What magic wards?"
"Wasn't the school attacked and stuff?"
"Oh, you mean like the Kokabiel incident and the peace treaty invasion? Um, now that you mention it… Let's ask Rias."
Issei was even more confused. He could not even detect Black… did he somehow find a way to sneak past his nose? He hoped Azazel had nothing to do with this or else he would send Rover to chew on his sack
The inside of the place smelled the same.
"Issei!" Rias shouted.
The ORC was there, the girls looked worried. Issei squinted at Asia when she approached him.
"Are you alright? I… Hm?" Rias blinked as she placed her hands on him. "...Did something happen to your evil pieces?"
"What do you mean?"
Why was she asking that? She should know what the sneaky Demon Lord tried to do to him with those things.
"I…Never mind. How are you feeling?" She asked.
"Fine, but… what's up with Asia? And Xenovia?" Issei asked, pointing at the two.
"What?" Asia asked.
"U-Um…" Asia looked left and right, blushing by the sudden attention.
"...You smell different. I don't…" Issei started sniffing close to her face.
Issei heard flapping noises as he looked up, seeing a small dragon.
A blue western dragon he never saw before as it dove at him.
Issei caught the thing in his hand as he looked at it.
"...This thing hates me. Why does it hate me?" Issei asked as he looked at the struggling dragon trying to break free from his grip as he looked at Asia.
What should he do with it? Issei released it before it landed back on Asia's shoulder. It perched it as if it was his home tree and hissed at him like a cat.
"R-Rassei, please calm down." She pet her dragon friend.
"...Rassei?" Issei stared at the hostile baby dragon with a gawp.
"Oh… okay, um. Issei, since… well… I think we need to continue monitoring you. I mean, after what happened with Ddraig and…" Rias tried to move on the awkward conversation and atmosphere.
"Oh. Honestly, I feel as if a burden was lifted. Think Ddraig likes it better this way."
[...Eh?]
Everyone in the room stared at Issei even more confused.
"What? I feel stronger than ever." He said, confused in return.
"...Really?" Rias asked.
"Oh yeah. I feel like I can take on… your brother for a while, even. I think even beat him. Actually, we never fought now that I think about it. So, what's your plan for today?" Issei asked.
Rias started to notice something. She and the others exchanged glances.
Rias started to try something as she slowly unbuttoned her shirt.
"...What are you doing?" Issei asked.
Rias widened her eyes. The girls nearly gasped.
The reaction of the Issei they knew… the blush, the sexual predator and his fanatical devotion for all things breasts. With her concern growing, Rias decided to test the waters even deeper as she proceeded to open her top, revealing her breasts covered in her bra.
However, much to everyone's surprise yet again, Issei closed the distance… and put Rias' shirt back together, even buttoning them back.
Asia was utterly confused - Issei was completely acting out of character, yet at the same time, the boy in front of her was Issei, yet he was also not? She had no idea of what was happening anymore.
Koneko furiously scrutinized his aura, but his Aura was that of the boy she fancied, yet was completely different. She was not sure why, but it might be because of his resurrection. His demonic power was there, but… there was something alien about it.
Akeno should check on his condition to see if he had erectile dysfunction or worse.
Kiba was a bit flabbergasted as this was not the Issei he fought alongside with yet he needed to be calm and confirm his suspicions.
Xenovia felt like she was seeing an impostor wearing Issei's skin. This Issei before her appeared to be more…. Regal, stronger - completely unlike the one she saw just this morning.
Irina was not sure if this was Issei or her childhood friend was changing for the better.
Ravel herself was just as lost as everyone else - she would make sure by checking on his back later, but the boy was clearly acting in a more gentlemanly manner than she was used to.
"Um… Look, I love you all and everything, but right now I'm not sure what's going on, so can we save this until we're back home? This is getting weird for some reason."
"E-Ehhhh?" Everyone was even more shocked.
"Everyone!"
Interrupting the awkwardness, Gasper entered the room with a box full of… mails.
"We have another one. They want to contract with Issei-senpai again!"
"...What?" Issei's face tunred stupid with confusion. "What do you mean by 'contract'? Wait, what's going on?"
Then, before anyone could have responded to Issei's question, another familiar face entered the room.
"Everyone, it's almost time for homeroom. Please return to your classes!" Rossweisse announced her arrival.
Everyone stared at Rossweisse for a moment.
"...Yes." Rias decided to let this matter go.
"...Huh. Alright, then." Issei left the room, eyeing everyone else with caution before he finally returned to class first - come to think of it, where the hell is Ouryuu?
Rossweisse looked at the others, noticing their expression.
"...Everyone? What's the matter?" Rossweisse asked.
"Um… well…" Rias walked to Rossweisse and whispered into her ear.
Issei rummaged through the envelopes.
Something about 'saving the Underworld' from the Hero Faction or something. What?
The date sounded recent. Were they talking about Khaos Brigade's invasion months ago? The one with Demon God Garou nearly turning the Underworld into cosmic dust?
He wanted to believe that, though there was not anything about the mention of the Demon God. Just… him saving the day like a cliche, third-rate hero in third rate anime.
He heard something else just as ridiculous, something about an Oppai Dragon show thing made for kids or something.
What the hell was he reading?
"Is this a prank…?" Issei asked.
They were back in the ORC building.
Everyone was maintaining a distance between them, all of them reeking of concern.
"...No?" Irina asked weakly
"I… okay. This is… weird. Too weird…"
Issei wanted to question Cao Cao. The Cao Cao he dueled back then in Kyoto did not seem as much of an asshole. Well, he admitted to being an asshole in his face.
This was a new low, however, if what he read was right. He might need to ask Azazel about this later.
On the other hand - As for the girls and Rossweisse, Issei displayed a surprising amount of intelligence in class.
Especially the language course, speaking English so fluently it was almost a crime.
The most concerning was during break time; when Matsuda and Motohama were engaging him in perverted topics, Issei almost looked completely disinterested.
Okay, disinterested was a bit too strong, but he only indulged in short answers. Hell, he even outright refused when they asked him to 'hang out'.
He walked away when they invited him to peek in the girls' locker room.
"...Issei. Are you feeling alright?" Asia asked, encouraging herself to approach him.
"...I am more confused than anything. Honestly, some of this doesn't make sense." Issei scratched his hair.
Koneko rubbed his eyes when she saw his eyes changing, pupils turning into slits for a split second.
"The ink is even enchanted…" Issei smelled the paper. "Mandragora, squid ink, and some fancy herbs… heard magicians like to make their inks special as a special personal DNA signature. A bit of… bat blood in the ink? Some more herbs I don't recognize, a bit poisonous. And the paper is made from Minotaur hide." Issei remarked.
Everyone stared at Issei, dumbfounded by his wide range of knowledge and perception. Akeno mouthed at her King if the paper really was made from Minotaur. Rias shrugged her shoulders.
Issei put the paper down on the table and glanced at Asia… Before he took a double look and stared at the girl intently.
"Um…Ise? Is something the matter?" Asia meekly asked.
"...I need to check on something." Issei then stood up and approached the girl, "'Scuse me a bit. This might get uncomfortable."
He started to look over Asia's person - he ran his fingers through her locks, opened her eyes wide, checked inside her nostrils, even sniffing Asia like a hound dog.
The others who watched grew unnerved at the display. Rias was the one who stepped forward, "Ise? What are you doing to Asia?"
"...Something is wrong." Issei walked around Asia, standing behind her.
"Don't move." Issei inhaled and channeled Ki into his fingertips to Koneko's surprise as he started poking Asia's back at various points.
When Issei finished by pressing into the base of Asia's spine, Asia yelped when her wings spread.
"What the hell…?" Issei stared at the wings. "...You have Devil wings. Why do you have Devil wings?" Issei asked, before his eyes darted towards Rias.
"...Rias, what the fuck is going on?"
"...Ise-senpai just used Ki." Koneko pointed out.
"...Yeah, what of it?" Issei asked, turning towards Koneko. "Is Ersi pranking me? Showing his ungodly skill in soul transmutation?"
"Who is Ersi?" Rias and the others were slowly growing suspicious of this Issei.
"...The Demon Lord of the Mastema Tribe?" Issei reminded.
"...Demon Lord?" Akeno asked.
"Yeah?" Issei asked.
"...From some anime?" Koneko asked.
"No, an actual Demon. One of the ones that wants to kill all the Devils for the crap Lucifer pulled."
Everyone was starting to suspect that the Issei here was not the Issei they knew indefinitely.
"...Actually, please don't avoid my question. Rias, why the fuck is Asia a devil?" Issei then glanced at a certain blunette, "...And Xenovia too, to boot. In fact…"
Issei then turned towards his childhood friend, "Irina, mind showing me your wings for a bit?"
The girl in question blinked before she decided to humor him.
Issei then stared at the pair of angelic wings spreading behind Irina's back.
"Your wings, they are…. Pure white."
Irina tilted her head at the remark, "Um, yes…? Is there a problem?"
Issei glanced between Irina and her wings, then shook his head, "N-no, nope, there's no problem at all, yep. That's - that's good, yeah." He bobbed his head up and down.
Then Issei returned to address Rias, "...But going back to Asia and Xenovia ‐ Rias? Your answer?"
The redhead lightly scowled, "I really don't understand…. Any of this, Ise. Seriously, what are you trying to say?"
Issei sighed as he began to feel a little frustrated, "I'm asking, why are Asia and Xenovia devils instead of angels?! When did this even happen?!"
It did not make sense - truthfully, it was not impossible if Rias, for some reason, decided to coerce Asia and Xenovia to abandon their angel-hood and became her servant, but Issei knew Rias to be better than that; which was why he was so utterly confused at the moment.
The things he saw here were destroying his common sense.
What happened? The only reason was that somehow the Overlord, Ermias, was screwing him over with his overpowered Wish Magic.
Either that, or-
"Hey, kids."
Interrupting Issei's internal crisis, Azazel popped into the clubroom.
"Ah, Azazel-sensei." Rias greeted.
Issei threw his head towards Azazel.
'Sensei?' Since when was the Fallen a teacher? Issei was sure as hell that the Grigori Leader had better things to do back at the Underworld.
Wait, Issei remembered something about Genos mentioning that Azazel was planning to enroll here as a teacher.
"Right, Azazel-sensei. Perfect timing." Issei then turned towards the fallen.
"Indeed. I'm here to test your state of health. Is your connection to Boosted Gear still inert?"
Issei stared at him for a moment.
"What do you mean 'inert?' It broke, remember? Hell, you just examined me a few days ago! You're the one who diagnosed it!"
"...Eh?" Azazel stared at Issei blinking. "...It broke? What do you mean by 'broke?"
At this point, everyone was sharing Azazel's confusion as they listened to Issei's rant.
"Gone, Ddraig is now released into the world as a spirit! We even went to Kthon to get Ddraig a new body!"
Azazel froze at the word, "...Kid, you're not making any sense here. Kthon? Where did you hear that from?"
"From you!" Issei pointed at Azazel. "It's the homeworld of the Demons, right?" The boy looked around, expecting his friends to agree with him or something, only to find everyone was looking funny at him.
"...I did not remember telling you anything about them… How…" Azazel, however, looked shocked. "Look, Ise."
Azazel placed his hands on Issei's shoulders, much to the latter's confusion.
"I don't know where you learned about the Demons. But I beg of you. Keep it to yourself. No one here is ready to face them. The same goes for all of you." Azazel turned to the others.
"...Sensei?" Rias looked shocked to see Azazel's reactions.
"Do not delve further than this. If you do, it will break all of you." Azazel warned.
"What…? But…" Issei now wanted answers. "Sensei, you're the one who taught us about these demons, now you want us to keep quiet?"
Azazel blinked in dumbfoundment. "...What?"
Issei pressed on, "Yes! Goddamn, we even met one months ago - possessing Motohama, then he possessed me!"
At this point, Azazel stared at Issei as if the boy had grown multiple heads. The rest in the room was exchanging glances, sharing one common question - what in the world is he talking about?
Azazel then regained his composure, "Okay, Ise. You're starting to scare me a bit here. You encountered a Demon?"
"Ersi, Lord of the Mastema Tribe, Lord of Souls, Master of the Ethereal Life, or so he likes to say."
Azazel stared at him with his jaw hanging.
"...How are you still alive? Wait… wait, wait, considering your personality…" Azazel rubbed his chin in thought. "Yes, yes… He might consider you not worth it."
"Anyways, we'll have this discussion later. Right now, we need to do a maintenance check on your body. I need to see if your Boosted Gear really is broken, like you said… and ask some questions."
Issei had a number of questions himself.
What the hell was going on?
Issei was in the lab within the mansion - which was the first thing that remained the same as he last saw in the morning, much to his relief.
He saw two shriveled people as his parents, his 'mother' getting on in the years for some reason. He thought them to be loiterers for a moment until the 'mother' called him 'dear' and 'son.' It was like a sick play designed to drive his mind into insanity.
There was no sign of Rover. He knew because he did not see the dog house. There were no Blacks around and Big Bads were absent.
Something was wrong…
He decided to roll along as he lay on a table.
Azazel was performing a full-body CT scan using a machine Issei would usually see at the hospital, the large white machine with a circular opening and a table sliding inside it.
Once Issei was pulled out, Issei rose up and sat at the edge of the table.
"So, what's my 'diagnosis,' doc?" Issei asked Azazel, who was typing furiously at the computer muttering to himself.
Issei could hear it.
Thisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossiblethisisimpossible.
The girls were staring at Azazel with worry.
Azazel's eyes were bloodshot, almost vicious. Once he finished typing, he craned his head towards Issei.
"...Issei… can we talk in private for a moment?" Azazel asked.
"...Yeah?"
Azazel walked very fast and grabbed Issei's hand, dragging him off the full body CT scanner and pulled him towards the next room and closed the door.
Issei was amused that Azazel locked the door, even casting several privacy-purpose spells as he eyed Issei with bloodshot eyes.
"Alright. Who are you? No, what are you? You indeed have traces of Boosted Gear inside you - no, Ddraig's power inside you, but you… That is demonic power in you. The original. Yet how are you not a Demon?! Did Ermias send you to screw with me?!"
Issei started to smile at Azazel's reaction. It was funny seeing him make such a face.
"Issei Hyoudou. Son of the Strongest Man, Former Red Dragon Emperor, Disciple of Garou. The first human who's free from the Curse of Eden and Babylon."
Azazel stared at Issei with an eerie pause.
"...What?"
"I am the first human free from the Curse of Eden and the Curse of Babylon. God cursed the human race, didn't he?"
"...Are you something Philomath made?" Azazel asked.
"The eldritch Lord of the Agiel? No, no, I was born from a woman's womb for crying out loud." Issei waved off. "Honestly, I'm just as confused as you are… it's like I'm in a different reality or something. Honestly, what's with the magicians sending contract invitations to me? I may be an honorary Demon, but still, I'm human…. Technically speaking."
"You…" Azazel inhaled as he calmly exhaled. "...Are you a shapeshifter? Doppelganger?"
"No. I'm alive and human… Well, again, technically, I guess." Issei scoffed.
"You are not the Issei I know." Azazel stated the obvious. "I had to make sure. What are you?"
"Good question. In fact, let me ask you this - What can you tell me about the Issei you know? I am in the dark because everyone is not the people I know as well. You're not much different, though, but seriously? Why are you hiding the truth of God and Lucifer from everyone?"
"Because we have enough on our plate. And the children… they are not ready. It is too much even for them… And as for the Issei I know… well…" Azazel's face started to grow… complex.
"...What?" Issei asked.
"...What do you know about the Issei I know?" Azazel asked.
Issei shrugged, "That's what I want to know. I am starting to have an idea what's going on, but it should be impossible. The girls and boys are looking at me like I'm a different animal for some reason. What's wrong with them?"
Azazel ran his hand on his face, contemplating his choices before replying, "...Come with me for a moment."
Issei quirked a brow as Azazel brought him somewhere.
It was Azazel's personal office.
There was his computer as Azazel turned it on and started clicking the file folders.
"...Watch these videos and… well, since you're new here - get yourself comfortable and brace yourself." He gave a wry smile before he stepped aside.
Issei took a seat on the chair before the desk and looked at the screen… he saw someone with the exact same face in an arena fighting against….
"...Is that me against Riser?" Issei asked.
The last time he fought Riser, he was female. This one was male, albeit… thinner in every way. He watched the fight… seeing Riser owning this Issei.
"What the fuck?" Issei squinted his eyes at how pathetically weak this Issei was.
Even in Scale Mail, this Issei was getting his ass kicked by a cocky Riser.
"...What am I looking at?" Issei asked.
"'You' fighting against Riser Phenex for… Rias' hand in marriage."
Issei blinked once, twice, "...Come again?"
"You heard me. Look, just watch the whole thing, and you can ask me as many questions as you want. Here." Azazel then proceeded to rummage through cupboards - procuring some rice crackers and tea.
"Just knock on the door if you need something. Until then, enjoy." The Scapegoat then withdrew himself out of the room, leaving Issei to watch 'his' exploits.
[Rias Gremory' virginity belongs to me!]
Issei already heard something extremely stupid right at the beginning of the video.
"Oh, god…"
Azazel returned to the living room, where Rias and the girls were waiting for him. The redhead just finished making the phone-call before she greeted him as soon as she spotted him.
"How is Ise, Azazel-sensei?"
The fallen sighed, "I'll get there. Mind telling me who did you just talk to?"
Rias contemplated for a second before replying, "Sona just told me about Ise's out of character behavior at school earlier. He… Flirted with Ms. Yura."
Azazel raised his eyebrows in amusement, "Did he now? With Sona's Rook?" He snorted, "...Okay, didn't really expect that one."
"Back to topic, what is wrong with Ise?" Rias asked.
Azazel chewed on his lips before sighing again, "Yeah…. About that - I have a theory of what's going on, but things are quite complicated at the moment."
Rias and the girls looked alarmed, "Is he in danger?"
Azazel rolled his eyes around, his expression said as if he had no real answer himself, "Err….. I, err, probably not?"
"Azazel…." Rias narrowed her eyes.
The fallen then held his hands up placatingly, "Look, this is gonna be a lot to take, so why don't we make ourselves comfortable first, and we'll start from there?"
Rias eyed the fallen suspiciously for a moment before she nodded. A minute later, everyone was nicely seated in the living room, with Akeno preparing drinks and refreshments.
Azazel scanned the room, "Is this everyone? On second thought, I think we should call Sona over as well."
"Not that I object, but… Why?" Rias asked.
Azazel then met Rias' eyes with his, "...Just in case that my hypothesis is correct."
[AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!]
The girls jumped when they heard Issei's voice screaming with blatant despair.
Azazel snorted, "Huh, the kid sounds like he's having a blast." He then clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention, "Don't worry, he's gonna be fine there. Let's sit down and let me give you what I think is going on, shall we?"
To be Continued…..
Special Omake
Issei Hyoudou stared at the small thing.
It had six crimson eyes and it was the size of a puppy, which was looking up at him expectantly.
"...Uhhh… hi?" Issei was not sure what this thing was. It looked… ugly.
He felt bad judging its appearance but it was his honest opinion.
"Are you lost little guy? Where's your owner?"
The dog yelped with a face of shock.
Its six eyes were teary, looking sad. Issei felt more bad that he hurt the friendly creature.
It then proceeded to take a few sniffles at him, before it took a few steps back and started growling at him.
"Whoa, whoa, easy there, buddy!" Issei tried to placate the creature, "What's wrong? What did I do?"
The dog then began barking at him.
Issei quickly looked around in panic, before he held up a finger at the noise the dog was making, "Hey, hey, shh! Shhhh! Look, I'm sorry, okay?! You're causing a scene here!"
His honed senses after the hellish training with Tannin, detected danger when the dog crouched low, ready to strike. Feeling out of options, Issei then manifested his Boosted Gear. Ddraig might still be sleeping and recuperating, but with his new body that was crafted by both Great Red and Ophis, his strength alone should be more than enough to deal with this… Whatever that is.
However, the last thing Issei expected was that the dog suddenly grew in size. In a few seconds, the puppy-size creature had grown into the size of a small house, glaring down at him. Issei swallowed a lump, and his eyes widened when the creature's open maw suddenly radiated unadulterated power and energy, aiming at him.
"...Oh, fuck my life."
Yeah... This story serves as a breather for both i4md347h and I, small breaks by writing bunch of comedy and shenanigans when NEO becomes too much due to the twists we plan in the long run.
Thoughts?
