This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!
Sona did not look the slightest bit impressed when she was standing right in front of Akira.
While Rias was busy dealing with her own Peerage and the two exorcists that were around, the Student Council President was to deal with Akira privately. The rest of the Phantom Thieves, rather admirably in her opinion, wanted to accompany their leader so that the supposed scolding he would get would be lessened.
Unfortunately for them, Sona put her foot down on the decision of speaking to Akira privately. The black-haired male at least reassured them that it wasn't like he was going to die or anything. That respect for calming his team down dropped a bit when the boy joked about how he was probably going to at least lose hearing in one of his ears for a few minutes after she was done with him.
"So… let me get this straight to see if I'm missing anything here." Sona decided to start to recap after hearing Akira's tale. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes to think of what to say next. "Issei-san approached you all and asked for your help in aiding Kiba-san. You then proceeded to help Rias' Peerage, with the help of Ravel Phenex, convince the exorcists to have a couple of the Excaliburs destroyed. Then one thing led to another, and now one of the infamous members of the Church is inside a solid block of ice."
"Give or take a massive surprise attack." Akira supplied, shrugging his shoulders in the process.
"…" She sighed, resting her chin in her hand. "How did you manage to have Ravel-san tangled in this mess?" She asked.
Akira looked over to the side, watching the Phenex seeming to intently listen to something Ryuji seemed like he was attempting to explain. But after a couple of seconds, the male blonde pointed over towards Makoto with a defeated sigh. "Actually, Ravel-san followed Ryuji to where Issei told us to meet him. So, she actually joined in on her own free will really."
Sona however chose to not answer Akira's remark. Instead, she decided to go straight to the point she wanted to make. "Do you at least have any sort of idea what kind of danger you were putting yourselves, Rias' Peerage, and Ravel-san into?"
Akira noted the look on Sona's face and decided to not let his smart mouth get the best of him. "Yes, we are well aware of the many consequences." He folded his arms with his lips falling down a bit. "It may not look like it, but we do a lot to be careful so that we all can get back home safely."
Violet eyes did not shy away from grey ones. Staying silent, Sona looked up and down to observe Akira's physical appearance. Her gaze then looked over towards the other Phantom Thieves. "It doesn't seem like any of you are hurt."
"A few bruises and cuts can be seen, but nothing a simple Dia spell won't fix." Akira answered back.
Sona only nodded her head in return, still starting at the area where Rias was with everyone else.
"…I'm sorry." Akira's voice made the girl turn her head so he was in her vision. "You do worry and care for all of us, and I caused you to feel like that. So again… I'm sorry."
Tilting her skull to gaze curiously and calculative at him, Sona was silent for a few seconds.
The quiet moment between the two of them was broken when Ryuji jogged up towards them. His footsteps tapped on the ground to indicate his arrival. "Hey, I'm not disturbing you guys at the moment, am I?" He asked.
"…Not at all." Sona answered, keeping her gaze lingering on Akira for a couple more seconds before looking back towards Ryuji.
"Something wrong?" Akira asked the blonde.
"Yeah, and it isn't something good." Ryuji shook his head with his mouth turned downwards in a troubled expression behind his mask. "Kiba wants the Valper guy dead since he was the ring leader of the Holy Sword Project. To avenge his friends and all."
"…" Akira did not say a word, looking over to the mentioned Knight piece. He then started to walk over. Ryuji and Sona both trailed after him. No one else spoke a word when they arrived, but it looked like there was tension between the two exorcists and Kiba. "So, what is this I hear about Kiba wanting to kill Valper?" The black-haired male asked.
"You already know my story." Kiba stated, keeping his eyes narrowed towards the frozen fat-man. "You know what he did to me and everyone else. He deserves to die, and I deserve to be the one to kill him."
"Your vengeance is understandable." Akira nodded his head. "I will admit, the story makes me agree that he should die." He walked up right next to Kiba and turned his head. "But that is not the way to go." His grey eyes looked over towards the members of the Church. "Tell me, Xenovia-san and Irina-san, what punishments will Valper have to face when you all get back to the Church?"
"It's… not for us to say." Xenovia admitted, after looking at Irina. "Our leaders are the ones who decide the punishments. Although I do hear rumors that those being judged would prefer death than to fully finish their sentences."
"But still…" Kiba gritted his teeth, stepping forward. "I have to avenge my friends… They were my family. Won't you at least let me have that?"
Akira didn't answer. Staying silent, he thought about what the decision should be.
"Erm… I know it's not my place to say, but… I think you should let them take Valper back to the Church."
Ann's voice brought everyone's attention towards her. Now conscious that everyone was looking in her direction, she stepped back once. "We-well, what I'm trying to say is that…" She scratched her head while releasing an irritated sigh. "Me and my big mouth…"
Morgana looked up. "Are you referring to Kamoshida, Lady Ann?"
"Yeah." The third-year blonde nodded her head in response. "Kiba-kun… don't you at least want this guy to answer for his crimes? For what he did to your friends?"
"Well… yes, I do." Kiba nodded his head slowly.
"Then why argue with them?" Ann asked. "As Xenovia-san and Irina-san confirmed, he's going to be severely punished for what he has done." She then paused for a second. "It's kind of twisted in a way… but it's going to be like he will have to live through the pain you experienced for the rest of his life. He'll beg to die… but they won't let him."
Most of the Phantom Thieves looked down, grimacing at the description Ann gave. Even she did not like her own words. "Really effed up when you get down to it." Ryuji mumbled.
"Very repulsive." Yusuke agreed.
"You can rest easy in the fact that this way, you've avenged all of your friends." Ann attempted to add on. "That's… that's what you had in mind, right? So… look on the bright side. Silver lining, you know?"
Kiba looked back to the frozen block, his face clearly showing that he was thinking about Ann's words. Yes, they didn't seem like much. But she still had a bit of a point depending on the person's thought process. Sighing, he nodded his head. "I suppose you are right." He said quietly.
Ann nodded her head. Hearing someone approach her, the blonde looked over to see Rias coming over. "Ann, I'd like to thank you for comforting Kiba-kun." The red-head said with a thankful smile on her face.
"Oh, it was no trouble at all. Really." Ann chuckled sheepishly while waving her hands.
An amused exhale escaped Rias' mouth as she looked over to her Knight walking towards where her Peerage was. As all of her other pieces were comforting Kiba, she folded her arms and watched from a distance. "You stepped up when I actually should have. I at least should have been able to take charge of the situation, yet he still did not listen to me at first."
"Hey, no need to beat yourself up or anything." Ann poked her elbow against Rias' side gently. "You don't always succeed every time. That's why you just have to keep trying. No matter what happens, just trying to keep looking forward."
Irina and Xenovia then approached them from the front. As soon as they were about a meter away, they stood their ground. But there was no sense of hostility from them. "Gremory, we thank your Peerage for their aid. If it weren't for them, surely we would never have succeeded." Xenovia stated, nodding her head.
"We thank Akira and his companions as well for their help." Irina added. "It was an absolute amazing sight seeing how you all initiated the fight." She put a finger to her chin. "Although, I do have to ask. What kind of Sacred Gear was Futaba using? I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before. It's awesome how it can scan buildings and create barriers though."
Ah, right, the Church was still unaware of their Personas. "Err… can you guys keep us a secret actually?" Ann asked. "It's just that we prefer not to be under a giant spotlight."
The two exorcists both looked at each other. Xenovia had her eyes slightly narrowed in thought while Irina's were a bit wide in confusion. Makoto, from the side, thought that it was probably now a good time to change the subject. "So… considering that you two are going to take Freed and Valper back to the Church, how exactly are you going to carry two massive blocks of ice back to Europe? Plus, what are we supposed to do with all of these Fallen Angels?"
As that conversation began to move on, Akira looked around to see everyone interacting with one another. But he frowned a bit due to this. There was this nagging feeling inside of him that he couldn't shake. Like a sixth sense that turned on and off whenever he was about to be pelted on the head by a piece of chalk.
It was as if they were being watched at the moment.
Sona seemed to notice Akira's silence and looked over towards him. "What is it?" She asked curiously.
Slowly, Akira began to look up.
He saw something in the air. It was tiny at first. But then as the seconds passed, the size of the mass began to get bigger. Eventually, Akira could make out that the strange object began to look like a person.
…A person with five pairs of feathery black wings. Several bits of light also were seen around their hands.
"Incoming!" Akira exclaimed when he saw that the person was careening down towards them.
Sona looked up and only for a second saw what Akira was looking at. Her vision was suddenly shifted to his chest when the boy pulled her in protectively while leaping and rolling away from their positioning.
Everyone else immediately looked around to see what Akira was talking about. When they looked up, all of them managed to have quick enough reactions. Ryuji dove out of the way while holding onto Ravel. Ann and Rias ducked out of the way. Yusuke and Kiba swiftly moved away from the spots. Makoto, Xenovia, and Irina dodged the objects coming towards the ground. Everyone else managed to be unharmed but were blown away due to the impact of the falling mysterious object.
Spear of light rained down onto them. A barrage of the weapons attempted to hail upon their very beings. They all left small craters upon impact. But they were only concentrated in the areas where they once stood. As the weapons fell, many pierced through the ice blocks that held the Fallen.
The blocks where Freed and Valper were in however… flew right through their bodies.
When everyone got back onto their feet, they all rushed towards one another. Akira was the first to pull his gun out and aim. That immediately made everyone else draw their weapons after as they grouped up.
Everyone looked up to see a single figure streak down from the sky. Their impact created a hole knee-deep into the cement. Slowly, he rose. Standing to his full height, every slight motion was heavy with veiled threat. Half of his torso was bared. Pale, sickly skin stretched across a muscular chest, the color so white it was almost transparent. Blood-red eyes stared out from a fiendish face. Five pairs of feathery wings rose and extended from his back, black like a crow's.
"Oh dear, it seems that I have missed." The Fallen Angel said out loud before releasing a small sigh. But clearly, it was almost mocking. "Ah well, just gives me some more time to play with you all."
Haru adjusted the trajectory of her grenade launcher. "Who is that?" She asked quietly, warily noting the destruction that was caused by the person most likely across from them.
"…Kokabiel." Sona hissed out.
"Ah, the Sitri and Gremory heiress' are both here." Kokabiel observed, folding his fingers together. "Originally, I was only here because of news that the building where I'm keeping Excaliburs I stole was being raided. At first, I really did think it was the Church sending in some great powers to take them back. But what do I find here? Two exorcists, the little sisters of the Great Satans with their Peerages, a Phenex far from her home, and a delusional group of humans playing heroes."
"Wow, he even sounds like an evil prick." Ryuji commented.
Ravel glared at him but still made sure that her magic was at the ready. "Now's not the time for such comments." She hissed.
"She's right, you know." Kokabiel flashed a smile, sharp teeth shown as if he were going to devour them all. "I advise that you save your breath to keep yourselves alive. It will be very difficult to breathe with a hole in your lung."
"…Holy shit… this guy's going to be strong." Futaba whispered from behind the ground, several green screens in front of her displaying all sorts of information. "He's unlike any of the people we've faced since we got out Personas back."
"…" Akira turned his head by a fraction. "Gremory-san and Sitri-san, you both-"
"Do not talk unless you want to die!"
Kokabiel's yell was immediately followed by two underhanded throwing motions with both his hands. The first movement generated a wave of light that flew towards them. The second attack created the same object, this time at a faster speed. But when the second attack caught up with the first, the light immediately expanded into a massive wave careening towards them.
Rias beat Akira to calling out orders. "Scatter!" She yelled out and they all dived out of the way in different directions.
The very pressure of the incoming attack helped them disperse, the winds blowing them all over the place. Yusuke was the first to recover, charging straight towards Kokabiel. Jumping into the air, the blue-haired male slashed downwards to cut the Fallen Angel. The Fallen proved to be too swift however as he dodged the slash. As Yusuke landed, Xenovia appeared right where her opponent was and tried to slash the Fallen with Durandal.
Kokabiel avoided the attack as well. When Irina came from behind, Kokabiel flew up into the air and out of their blades' range. In the air, the dark-winged person watched as Yusuke, Xenovia, and Irina all jumped up towards him, their blades ready to slash him. Just before they could swing, the man swiftly flew off to the side to reveal that Issei, Koneko, and Kiba were attempting the same thing they were.
As the six of them crashed into one another while falling down to the ground, Akira soared right up to Kokabiel. Spinning in the air, he and Arsene attacked at the same time. Kokabiel however grabbed the Persona's fist and Akira's blade. Pushing off Kokabiel with his foot, Akira flipped in the air and away from the man.
Just as the Fallen tried to charge at Akira, a cannonball flew in and interrupted the flight path. Growling, Kokabiel quickly flew right towards Ryuji who was riding on Captain Kidd's ship. When the Fallen tried to stab the Persona, Captain Kidd's clawed hand grabbed the spear. Ryuji meanwhile shot Kokabiel's leg but it only seemed to greatly irk the Fallen Angel.
Flipping forward, Kokabiel struck Ryuji's head with the heel of his footwear and sent the blonde down straight to the ground. Floating downwards but still moving around at a nice pace, he saw Makoto riding on Johanna with Morgana on to of her shoulder. The cat pulled back his slingshot and tried to fire as many shots as he could.
Kokabeil only avoid each ball-bearing or took them like they were poking him very hard. But then he blinked when he saw that one of them looked much more larger and rectangular than the others. As soon as he realized what was in front of his face, Makoto shot the Megido Bomb and it exploded.
Through the massive ball of fire the explosion left behind, the two Persona users rode right through the flames. But when they were out, Kokabiel flew in from right behind them. Kicking Morgana off of Makoto's shoulder, Kokabiel tried to stab Makoto with a light spear.
With fast reflexes, Makoto sharply direction Johanna away from the Fallen so he would miss his spear. But then she watched Kokabeil throw the spear in her direction. The weapons impact upon the concrete caused the Persona to flip over and Makoto disengaged by jumping off and rolling on the hard surface.
Groaning, Makoto shoot her head. Looking up, she saw the Fallen standing right above her, his hand extended and generating light.
A bolt of lighting, a massive shard of ice, and four explosions suddenly struck Kokabiel's back. The impacts were strong enough to send him stumbling away from Makoto. Eyeing his back, his he growled when he saw that one of his wings looked badly damaged. Turning around, he nearly did a double take. "…Seriously?" He asked himself before immediately getting ready.
Necronomicon was flying upside down with precise controls and fast speed. With the bottom upright in the air, a few people were surrounding the surface. Akeno, Ravel, Rias, and Sona all were flying and had their spells ready. Haru and Ann was right on top of Necronomicon's bottom, guns still smoking from its recent shot. Milady meanwhile was pointing its massive rocket launcher and gatling gun towards the Fallen. Carmen was there also, trying to fry Kokabiel with a pillar of flames.
Preparing a massive attack, Necronomicon suddenly increased its speed. Quickly flying up, it flipped over and left its passengers airborne. Futaba then controlled the flying saucer to crash right into Kokabiel. Flipping around, Futaba backed up while Milady fired another rocket. The Devils meanwhile all threw their spells. The Fallen was ready for the attack this time, putting his guard up while several spears of light in a row like a wall to try and defend himself.
When the explosion occurred, Necronomicon flew back so Haru and Milady landed safely on its bottom. That moment was short lived though when Kokabiel went flying towards them. Firing their projectiles once again, the Fallen dodged all of them and flew right behind them. With once long spear created from light suddenly in his hands, Kokabiel started spinning it around as Ann, Akeno, Haru, Milady, Ravel, Rias, and Sona tried to attack him.
All of their projectiles were constantly being deflected in all directions, causing all those that were getting ready to get back into the fight once again to run around and panic in order to not get hit.
It was raining absolute chaos. Issei and Asia were blown into the air while everyone else was running. All of the sword and blade wielders kept on knocking projectiles away, but left themselves open to the splash damage that could hurt them. Every time there was an explosion, there was a cry of surprise followed by a body flying upwards every passing second as they were ants compared to the barrage their teammates were unintendedly attacking them with.
"Guys, can you stop it already?!" Ryuji exclaimed, almost stupefied at how none of them were becoming severely hurt. "I think you're causing more harm to us than him at the moment!"
[Alright! Alright!] Futaba yelled back. [This isn't working anyways. We'll have to regroup again!]
Necronomicon then pulled away like the other Devils did. Getting back together with everyone, Futaba jumped out of her Persona. Kokabiel seemed to be amused by their actions though as he floated down onto the ground. "Fascinating. All of you humans playing heroes really do have some interesting abilities." He observed.
"We can give you an even better demonstration if you like." Akira stated, pointing his pistol right at the Fallen Angel.
The man eyed Akira's gun however. "And your weapons hold all kinds of energies from Devils, Angels, and other supernatural factions." His eyes gleamed dangerously. "Good, this is turning out a lot better than I thought. You humans are putting up a better fight than the Devils and the group of miserable girls who don't even know they lost their master."
"You lie!" Xenovia exclaimed. "My master saw Irina and I off back in Europe! There is also no way you could kill her!"
"Whoever said I was referring to that kind of master?"
Kokabiel's question seemed to draw a bit of confusion. "What?" Irina questioned.
"Mind clarifying for us?" Makoto asked, narrowing her eyes.
The Fallen Angel only chuckled. "Whoops, I guess it just slipped out."
"Why don't you just shut up and answer their questions already?!" Ann shouted out, pointing her gun right at the man.
It started as a chuckle. Snickering soon occurred. All of that humor then led to massive laughter as if Kokabiel had been told the funniest joke ever. "Have any of you felt betrayed recently? Every time you pray despite how faithful you are, your prayers are never answered?" He saw Asia visibly react. "Oh, so there is one of you. Although she's a Devil now. How unfortunate. Especially since God could have done something about it if he were still alive."
The last sentence seemed to immediately bring silence to them all. Dreadful, disturbed silence. Kokabiel grinned at them. "What did you just say?" Sona asked with wide eyes.
"Did you not hear me properly?" Kokabiel asked. "Well then, let me speak loudly." He then took a deep breath. "In the previous Great War, God died! He hasn't been there for none of you before any of your generation was even born!"
The two exorcists faltered, their muscles barely holding them up. The Devils and humans, too shocked just like the members of the Church to even move. "No… no… that's impossible…" Xenovia said quietly. "God's… dead?"
"…How…" Ravel whispered. "How is that possible?"
"Bullshit!" Ryuji roared towards the Fallen Angel. "How the hell can God actually die?! Wasn't he around ever since he started the universe and lived up to this point?!"
"…Something must have had to affect God greatly then." Akira managed to hypothesize despite his disarrayed mind. "Just like how we managed to kill Yaldabaoth before…"
"You're lying!" Rias called out. "I've never heard anything about that!"
"Back then the Devils lost all their kings and most of their high-level Devils. The Angels and Fallen Angels lost almost everyone except their leaders." Kokabiel explained while holding his arms out as if he were a grand performer. "Pure Angels could not increase their numbers and pure-bred Devils are just as rare if I recall correctly."
"That's not true." Asia squeaked out desperately. "It can't be! God doesn't exist anymore? There where is the love that has been coming to us from?"
Kokabiel huffed in amusement. "Michael has been holding his own so far. He's the one keeping the Angels and humans together in God's stead."
"The Archangel Michael has been acting as God's agent?" Xenovia asked breathlessly, still extremely shaken as she was using Durandal to support her. "Then… that means… all our prayers…"
"I've stated that already." The Fallen shrugged his shoulders. "As long as the system works, prayer and exorcisms will endure to a certain degree. I'm sure someone has been listening. Well, I do suppose knowing the number of believers in God has drastically dropped probably doesn't help anything, does it?" He then grinned. "I'll help drop that number out if it means starting another glorious war!"
"Shut the fuck up already!"
Issei's roar seemed to suddenly snap everyone out of their shocked states and looked over towards the male-brunette with surprise. "What kind of sick mind do you even have?!"
"Oh, you poor Devil." Kokabiel mocked while shaking his head. "The feeling. The adrenaline. Satisfaction. Why else would I need such reasons? Do you not understand? I at least expect the owner of the Boosted Gear to understand that."
"No!" Issei exclaimed. "And I don't want to!"
Running recklessly towards Kokabiel, Issei felt himself be punched in the face and sent skidding back towards the others. Getting back up, Issei charged forward again, this time to be kicked to his original position.
"Your efforts are futile, especially against me alone." Kokabiel remarked. "You are nothing but an infant compared to me."
"Issei-kun! That's enough!" Rias assured the brunette as Asia started healing him. "You're already exhausted from your raid for the Excaliburs!"
Issei didn't say anything, his body staying very still. But then the sound of metal tapped against one another, his Sacred Gear balling up into a fist.
"No, Issei! Stay down!" Kiba exclaimed. "Twilight Healing can't bring back your stamina!"
"Are you serious?" Issei asked, gritting his teeth in great effort. Putting his free hand to the ground, he shakily got back to his feet with most of his remaining strength. "Friends… and family on the line… How the hell can you ask me to sit on the sidelines?"
"Yes, because you are already beaten to the point where you can barely stand!" Ann scolded as Issei fell back down right after. "Just let us handle this!"
"I… might be beaten so hard… and so tired…" Issei gasped on all fours. Grinding his teeth, Issei forced himself up. His muscles screamed for him to just give up already, but he absolutely refused. "But I still got to do what I got to do, that's all." He then pointed right at Kokabeil. "And I've got to beat that smug look off of that son of a bitch's face!"
Once more, surprised silence took over. Only for a second.
"Hmph, Not Bad."
It started in Issei's arms. A burning sensation dwelled inside. Issei grunted at first, then hiss, and finally it became to much more him. The burning began crawling and stabbing the insides of his arms.
"At First You Were Nothing More Than a Pathetic Whelp."
The pain was almost unbearable. It was like something was making his blood boil specifically in his arms. No, maybe like lava? Issei couldn't think straight due to the agony he was in. In frustration, the brunette punched the concrete beneath him over and over again.
"How You Have Grown in a Short Amount of Time Is Impressive."
The punching didn't do anything. His free hand was bleeding, blood flowing out of fresh wounds like a waterfall. Screaming once more, he started thrashing around like a child with a temper tantrum.
"But It Is Not Enough. More Power Is Needed to Crush Your Enemies."
"Wait… is he…" Ryuji couldn't even finish due to being nearly speechless as what was happening.
"Let Me Help You with That by Forming a Blood Pact."
"I think he is." Akira stepped backwards, knowing about the massive pillar that came when ripping off a mask and didn't want to be near it.
"But how?!" Yusuke asked. "In no way has Issei been inside of the Metaverse before!"
"I Am Thou, Thou Art I..."
"Wait… being exposed to the supernatural and the energy was what possibly gave us the ability to summon our Personas in the real world." Morgana thought out loud. "Maybe him being exposed to us and our energies is what is causing this!"
"No offense, but that sounds kind of stupid!" Ryuji retorted.
"Will you guys shut up already?!" Ann threw in.
"Rise… and Show Them the Power of the Red Dragon Emperor!"
With the pain snapping him back and forth, Issei jumped right up to his feet. His throat felt dry after so much screaming. But he felt like there was still one last thing for him to do. His Boosted Gear started glowing brightly. The brunette could feel the power inside constantly multiplying and it amplified the pain.
Slapping his hands together while holding on tightly, one second passed before both of Issei's arms exploded and left two bloody stumps in its wake. Everyone could see the bone and some almost threw up at the very side. Blood gushed out like a fountain.
But the blood soon began to turn into a red energy of sorts. A strange looking glyph formed right underneath the brunette as the bloody substance fell onto the symbol. Almost upon immediately contact, Issei was engulfed in a pillar of red, demonic-like energy.
Everyone backed away and shielded their eyes when winds kicked up and debris flew everywhere due to the pillar. Kokabiel meanwhile was not smiling at all, having no clue about what was happening and was not pleased in the slightest about that.
The pillar of red soon began to be sucked into something. After a couple of seconds, all of the power was seen being stored into what looked like a bullet. The odd thing about it was that the primer was connected to some sort of cigarette-like tube that went into Issei's mouth as if he were smoking.
As red miasma floated up from the tip of the bullet, Issei quickly snapped his jaw shut and caused the bullet to fly and flip in the air. After the bullet spun several times around, it landed perfectly into the cylinder of a rotating double-barreled revolver. After several cycles, his hand snapped shut.
But the revolver design was nothing like anyone had seen before. The very design reminded everyone of a dragon. The two barrels both had upper and lower jaw designs, looking like there were two dragon mouths altogether. Near the magazine, which had bumps that looked likes claws to indicate where each bullet would be stored, were the iron sights that looked like a dragon's head with eyes leering dangerously.
When Issei whipped his equipped arm outwards, everyone saw that he was holding a second double-barreled revolver looking just like the first. Not only that, but his appearance was completely different than it was before a few seconds ago.
He wore a black dress shirt with a couple of the top buttons undone, showing off a small portion of his chest while a green neck tie was tied up but hung loosely around the neck with ease due to the collar being straightened up. Navy-blue tactical pants that had some rips ran down his legs and into a pair of brown cowboy boots. Overtop of the general clothing was a rouge trench coat that had the sleeves shoved up to expose his forearms while on top of his head was even a cowboy hat that was the exact same color but the brim was black and a mauve-colored band. With a couple of belts lined with dynamite wrapped around his waist to support a gun holster on his right hip, one belt along his stomach and his left shoulder carried another holster.
Not only that, but both of Issei's arms changed. Rather than Boosted Gear being on his right arm, his Sacred Gear was seen on both of his arms.
It was then they all also noticed that Issei was standing right underneath a shadow.
Looking up, they saw it. A large, red Western dragon. Its neck was long with green eyes. Spikes pointed around throughout its body as well, the colors being red and gold. Scales even harder than steel, shining under the moonlight. Snorting, the monster exhaled smoke. All it did was look like it was ready to dominate anything that stood in its way.
Issei blinked, wondering why he was posing like he was all of a sudden. Looking down, he took a step back. "Whoa!" He exclaimed, patting himself down. "What happened to me?!" Hearing a snarl, the brunette look behind him and blinked. Breathing, it then began to hit him. "No way. Don't tell me… I have a Persona as well?!"
"It seems to be the case." Haru nodded her head.
"So…" Issei looked down at himself once again. "This is what it feels like to be a Phantom Thief… or actually just a Persona user in general…" He looked up, and he was grinning from ear to ear. The mouth shape almost made him look manic. "It's freaking awesome!" He then looked over to Akira. "How about that, Akira-senpai?! Maybe I can be a Phantom Thief just like all of you!"
"Really?" Akira raised an eyebrow in the brunette's direction. But then he began to smirk. "Well then, consider this fight an audition." He then looked back to his fellow thieves. "What do you guys think!?"
Everyone seemed to be in the opposite moods as they were moments ago as all of the Phantom Thieves roared loudly in agreement.
"Come on, Buchou! Even you guys as well, Xenovia-san and Irina-san!" Issei motioned with his revolvers. "Let's show this bastard what we can do!"
Jumping into the air, all of the sticks of dynamite on Issei's person suddenly lit up. But while airborne, the dragon behind them leaned forward with an open mouth, snapped its jaws shut and swallowed the brunette in one gulp.
One second later, the dragon spat the new Persona user out. Issei was now surrounded by dragon fire as he was careening towards Kokabeil like a fireball. Not only that, but there was something new in Issei's hands. Rather than his two revolvers, there war a rocket launcher instead that was immediately fired.
Kokabiel snapped out of his stupor when he saw the incoming Devil. Creating a massive, thick spear of light, he swung and hit Issei before the brunette could reach his body. The rocket and Issei both came into contact with the spear. A gigantic explosion occurred between Devil and Fallen Angel. Issei flew backward but flipped around then landed on his feet before tracing the brim of his hit with his index finger and thumb. His skin looked a bit singed while there were black marks along his exposed skin, but he was still grinning like a maniac.
Kokabiel meanwhile did not fare as well as Issei did. He was burned badly. His clothes were in tatters. His wings singed while embers still laid on the feathers. Red eyes glared in great hatred. "Don't think you've won just because of some cheap familiar!" He roared, spreading his arms out and created several light spears to float around him.
Everyone else opposing Kokabiel in return all got back into stances. All of them were back in the fighting mood all thanks to Issei's attitude. The brunette meanwhile reached backwards inside the poncho and withdrew his two double-barreled revolvers. He then held the guns so that they were sideways while crossing his arms.
"Want to help me kick this guy's ass, Ddraig?!"
Wow… so this chapter was all over the place. A bit of an interesting beginning. Dumb reasoning and reveal of Kokabiel. But I think the last part was awesome.
Yes, I gave Issei a Persona. It was one of the greatest issues for me of whether or not to give SELECTED members of the DxDverse Personas. I decided to go with yes in the end of it all.
I'm sure all of you will have reasons as for why Issei, or a Devil in general, can't have a Persona. Yes, there can be explanations. I still want this decision to work though so please don't drop this just because of how much of a bad idea you think this is. But one of the most frequent ones I've seen all over the internet is that only humans can have Personas.
To that I respond …what about Koromaru?
So yeah, here we go. Apologies for the delay as well. I was on vacation so I couldn't write anything properly without using Microsoft Word on my phone and I did not want to type while staring at letter less than 1cm tall. Not only that, BBTAG is fun despite it missing so much damn content.
Okay, final note before signing out… DMC5 IS COMING! AWESOME TRALIER! THE SONG IS AWESOME AND ALREADY DOWNLOADED ONTO MY PHONE! CAPCOM ACTUALLY WANTS MONEY AGAIN!
No flames please.