"I'll only say it once…" Valerie told to the curious boy in front of her while standing up. He had done enough for her to get a thank-you from her. When she finally prepared her briefcase and made her way to the door, she glanced towards him at the exact time she approached the door. Preparing herself and inhaling a deep breath, she put an uncharacteristic smile to her face, he deserved this one.
"Thank You ~" Valerie said it with her bright-smile fully spread, with that, she got out of class. Leaving the boy stunned and surprised. He clearly wasn't expecting this.
["What?!"] Ddraig shouted with a high-pitched voice, enough for Issei to collect himself. Seeing her doing this also made the Dragon inside him surprised, maybe he had a chance after all.
'Are you freakin' kidding me?! She smiled for the first time in 3 years, and the person she smiled is none other than me. What should I do?!' Issei asked to Ddraig like a child that's lost, but Ddraig could plainly sense the happiness in his voice. It was one of those times when Issei didn't know what to do and this time, Ddraig also couldn't think anything. It was very unexpected.
["Calm yourself down, we'll eventually find a way to set this one out. Also, you should be happy that she's giving her attention to you, just do what you want Issei. If you want to kiss her, go and do it. I'm pretty sure that she'll fall for you after that."] Again, Ddraig did that. Starting as serious as a dragon, but failing to contain himself and making fun of the current situation like a child. Issei had it enough today, he wanted to lean towards his desk and take a nap, but had to do one more thing. He reached out for his bag and took out a fork from his bento, he put an evil smile to his face. Ddraig already understood what he was going to do, and it wasn't going to be a pleasant experience for him.
'Enough for today. You deserved this one you damned Dragon.' Being with Ddraig for such a long time, Issei learned weak points of [Boosted Gear]'s gauntlet in the end. Just a bit below from the gem, there was a very specific place. If the gauntlet took damage from the exact point his fork was in, it could be easily broken. It wouldn't hurt Issei, but Ddraig would receive immeasurable amounts of pain. Too bad for him though.
[No! you can't do this Issei. Please think of my children!"] Ddraig was behaving like a captured hostage. It brought a smile to Issei's face, he could feel that he was going to enjoy this one, a lot.
'It was good to know you Ddraig, and don't worry I'll take care of your children if there's any left. May Lord bring peace upon your soul' With his last line, Issei prepared himself. He positioned his left arm and held the fork with his right hand. He received a headache above from heaven, he accidentally said Lord, he could care less though.
"[Boosted Gear!]" He didn't even bother looking whether Vali was gone or not, right now only thing he cared about was the payback he was about to deal. His left arm was enveloped within a bright crimson light, and when it died down. On his arm, there was a specific crimson gauntlet, or to be exact, the Longinus [Boosted Gear]. Issei originally uses [Boosted Gear] in its second liberation, because of the fact that it mostly covered all of his arm to his elbow, so he could get his job done. [Boosted Gear]'s second liberation's form was more complex than first one, it had two jewels instead of one, one at his wrist side and one at around his elbow. From his wrist to his elbow, [Boosted Gear]'s total of ten spikes covered his arm. The jewel he was gonna hit was the second one, normally it would make sense if it was the first one, but he didn't know why the gauntlet had a weakness at the exact point.
Issei readied his fork while Ddraig continued to beg him, he jabbed the clean fork to the exact point. Then, came Ddraig's ear-piercing response. Issei looked at the fork, it was close to be bended completely, but [Boosted Gear] was nearly broken. It had so many cracks, and Issei felt a bit guilty. Not because Ddraig's agonizing cry, because he nearly broke his gauntlet.
'Not that I can summon it again though. But I should break it, I don't like seeing my dear gauntlet like this.' Issei got up and readied his fist, he approached the wall behind and punched it lightly. With a thud sound, [Boosted Gear] was completely broken and it fell off from his arm, it quickly turned to ashes and the wind had it flying off. It wasn't the first time Issei did that, but he had to control whether his gear was here or not.
"[Boosted Gear!]" Issei shouted again, his favorite gear came back and it was alive and kicking. That made him smile, if he were to compare Extreme Concealment and [Boosted Gear], it wouldn't be a hard choice. Because his Artifact was something Issei would toss away after being found out, but [Boosted Gear] would be here for him every time he needs. When he was going to dismiss his Longinus, he sensed a presence coming towards his classroom. Quickly dismissing his Gear, he steadily approached his desk and began to pack up. When the unexpected guest arrived, Issei released the breath he was holding. It was none other than his childhood friend.
Laira Silver, her and her family were the only ones that looked after him. She was kind, likeable, appealing and mostly, beautiful. Her shoulder-length golden-like hair was one of the things that made everyone but Issei go crazy. She was a bit shorter than Issei, with Issei being 5'10 and her being 5'7. When his eyes met with her brilliant green eyes, he put a smile to his face. He really liked Laira, he felt like she was his female counterpart, they were getting along very well. Her figure was a bit lacking in breast department, but her personality closed that part. She was someone whom he could be interested in, but he didn't know why he didn't feel that way towards her, in fact, he saw her as a sister. And little did he know she felt the same way about him. She was his best friend and maybe the one he fully trusts, it's because they lived in the same neighborhood for 12 years. If he didn't trust her, then whom he was gonna? He was one year older than her, so he was her senior. But the age difference didn't affect their friendship in the slightest, in fact, it strengthened their friendship. When she had a trouble concerning her, he would be there to comfort her and give her some advices. After staring each-other for an uncomfortable amount of time, Issei decided to start the conversation.
"Eh? Laira. Why are you here?" Issei asked with confusion apparent in his voice, he thought he was the only one in the school right now. She might have come for the tiny thud sound he made by punching the wall. But he doubted it, he was sure that it was very light and he himself couldn't hear the sound of wall being punched. Laira had a nervous smile on her face as she started to fidget her fingers.
"Um…. I may or may not have slept in class and there might have been nobody to wake me up. It's just a speculation though, trust me really nothing like that happened. I might have heard a faint thud sound by the class upside and woke up." Laira basically summed up what was going on her behalf, the anxiety on her voice was clear. Issei just sighed and smiled, like Vali, seeing Laira would make him happy and have him forget his concerns for a good time. Laira sheepishly smiled and scratched her head, Issei took another glance towards her and took his briefcase.
"It's getting late Laira, your parents are probably worried about you. Let me accompany you, it's already late and Kuoh is an uncanny place. So, will you let me accompany you my dear Lady?" With that, Issei bowed in front of her and held her left hand with both of his hands. She was blushing, her blush was so wide that it was impossible for Issei to not see it. When he saw that she was blushing furiously, he released both of her hands and started to laugh like a mad scientist. He rolled himself around the class, he liked messing around with her, it was one of his favorite things to do, and he wouldn't get bored of it.
"I-Idiot C-cut the crap Issei!" And he did it again, used his charisma and speech to make fun of her. She was near her limit; he was so unbearable at times yet so good to have himself around. She didn't mind having herself made fun like this by him. After all, if she couldn't bear to this little, then why she was his friend. Issei finally got up and wept his tears, he seems to have laughed so much from a little thing. Laira adopted a furious look, she wanted to have him cornered, she knew she couldn't win against him. He'd be always the victorious one, and Laira was confident to change that fact.
"I'll tell you to dad, and he'll beat the crap out of you!" Laira said with seriousness in her voice. But he didn't seem to be affected by it. Issei only looked at her and put his usual smile.
"Ho Ho. I'm the one at advantage Laira and you're the one at fault. Should I tell Aunt Hikari that you slept in class and I had to accompany you to your home? I think they'll believe in me than you, after all I never lied to them" Issei used his card as a senior, and had her cornered. She puffed and agreed, she really didn't like losing, but against Issei, she really had no choice but submit to him.
"Fine You won. I'll let you accompany, but I have a condition. You aren't gonna say that I slept, tell them I was just helping you to clean the class." Now that had him surprised, how did she know that he was alone and it was his turn to clean the class. Deciding it would be the best to ask, he quickly adopted a confused look. His eyes facing with hers, contacting their eyes.
"How did you know that I was cleaning the class? Maybe I have slept nor I forgot my briefcase here and got back to get it. Also; you know, If I were cleaning the class, then I would have had someone to help me. Our teacher just won't let only one student to have the burden of cleaning the class" Issei said in his defense, on his account he had good reasons to use against her, but he forgot one little thing, and she saw the opening he accidentally left. Putting a smug smile to her face, she was so sure that he couldn't escape from this one.
"Well, I didn't. I had to find an excuse, and it was the first thing that came to my mind. But when you said that, I immediately looked to the ground. It is so clear that it must have been cleaned recently, I think your job was done 10 minutes ago. I also recall seeing someone particular with Silver hair, what was her name again? Valerie? Yes Valerie. She was getting out of school when I woke up. If I remember correctly, you two are in the same class. But I'm surprised that it took so much time for you two to clean the class. Maybe you are secretly dating and you had to find an excuse for yourself to not get exposed. So, when it was your turn, you delayed cleaning the class and sneakily made love to her, didn't you?" Even Laira didn't expect she was going this far, but her last lines came to her mind and she found them funny to say. When she tried to make eye contact with him, she found him avoiding her gaze. He had a wide blush on his face, she got him good.
"S-stop spouting non-sense, there's nothing between me and her. If there were, you'd be the first I'd tell to." It was the first time she had seen him that anxious and blushing. He wouldn't blush in front of every people, even if he did, he would try to not expose it. Seeing that it was her only chance to have him cornered, Laira opened her mouth.
"Then say, why did it take so long for you to clean the class? You could have done it within 40 minutes. But here you are, it's already 5:35 P.M. Tell me or I'll spread the rumor that you two are dating." She dropped her last word with her smug smile continuing to spread her face, it was for the first time that she had him that much cornered. She felt like he couldn't do anything but tell the truth. Issei sighed deeply, it seems like he had no other choice.
"Fine… I went to take brooms for us to clean the class. But when I came back, I found her sleeping, I decided it would be best to let her sleep. And Began to clean the class all by myself. Are you happy?" Issei told exactly what happened. What he could possibly do other than telling the truth? Laira didn't give him any openings to escape, so she had this one. But he also knows that revenge is a dish best served cold, because of that, he was gonna wait until he had the chance.
"Really, you're one kind of a man Issei, I mean, you are truly a gentleman. I wonder if I were in her place, would you let me sleep too?" She said it while giggling, it was the first time she won so, she would be happy.
"Don't be an airhead Laira, you know that I wouldn't even keep you here for cleaning if you were in her place. I would've sent you straight to home and could have done the cleaning myself." Issei said with seriousness in his voice. Sure, he had some unknown feelings towards Valerie, but he couldn't compare her to Laira. The Golden-haired girl had a special place in his heart, he was more than willing to sacrifice his life in order to have her live. She was there for him when he didn't even know Valerie existed. After all, Laira had people that would look after her and would be very saddened even if she cut her finger. He didn't have those people, he never did.
"Aww… knowing that you care about me this much makes me happy Issei, let's go home!" She said with her childish voice back, Issei dropped out of his serious manner and led the way.
The sun was starting to sank. Issei and Laira were walking towards Laira's home, which was neither far away from the school nor Issei's house. In fact, they could be considered neighbors as Issei's house was in 10 minutes of walking distance. They were rather silent, Issei didn't want to be the one to start the conversation as he feared that she would pressure him about Valerie matter. So; the usual talkative boy was replaced with a silent but anxious one. When it came to talk about Valerie, he felt like he couldn't even open his mouth to protest and make Laira shut up. Issei unwillingly admitted to himself that Valerie was his current weak spot, yet hearing people talking good after her would make him relieved and happy. Why? Even the boy himself didn't know.
[Issei… Oi Issei! I'm talking to you mad lad. What were you thinking when you stabbed me with that fork?! It hurts so much! I swear If you do that again, I'll show what Dragon of Domination's rage is. Understood?!"] The Dragon inside him shouted mightily, making his host cover both his ears instinctively. Normally Issei would just jab him lightly. But in this time, he used so much force that Ddraig couldn't come to his senses for a while. And he was yet to fully to regenerate. Seeing that Issei covered his ears, Laira looked at him with a surprised face as she raised an eyebrow. Had he gone insane? She hadn't heard anything within 10 minutes besides the sound of their walking.
"Issei? What happened? Do your ears ache? Should I caress them for you?" She bombarded him with questions, upon making eye connection with her, he saw the worried and anxious look in her eyes. Issei smiled and shrugged it off.
"No, I'm fine Laira. Thank you for asking though. But caressing my ears doesn't sound like a bad idea, you should caress my other parts and show me some affection some time. It would make me unbelievably delighted; you know~"" Issei had that perverted look on his face, and the lust in his voice could be sensed. Laira blushed heavily at the thought of that, and started to smack him around.
"I-Idiot! D-don't say things like that!" She continued to smack his chest and shoulder until she got her anger off. Seeing she calmed down, Issei adopted a fake frown, but inside, he was just entertaining himself.
"Aww… Did I lost my chance to have my ears caressed? I can't live with that. I wonder if there's an angel sent by Our Lord to take my life." Issei exclaimed while doing a praying gesture, something that would be funny came to his mind as he prepared himself. Laira continued puffing and refusing to make eye contact with him, if he couldn't make eye contact, then what about holding her hands? He quickly reached out for her petite hands and held them in his strong yet comfortable ones. Being confused from his actions, Laira turned her face, only to have their eyes met. They stopped dead on their tracks.
"Oh… I forgot, there's an angel here for me, Laira. One that looks after me, one that scolds me when I make mistakes even though I'm her senior. One that become my sole purpose to live in this desperate world. Had I told that her smile being bright as the Sun itself in its peak?" Issei reassured her, staring into her very soul. She felt her heart skip a beat, and let him continue what he was saying.
"But I feel that she isn't entirely pure, she makes fun of me, punches me, flirts with me and takes me to her home. I'm sure even the Archangels are jealous of her Golden hair. But I'm not the one that looks for the beauty outside. Sure, she has an eye-catching beauty, but you know what makes her special than others?" Issei asked to himself, she was starting to be more emotional with each passing second.
"She is willing to help anyone in need. Her personality is out-right perfect, neither too introvert nor too extrovert. I feel like she is the pinnacle of the humanity itself. Sometimes, she can be such clingy girl that I think she can't live without my support. And sometimes, I feel like she doesn't even need me. But I think even Angels need to have someone to lean their shoulder, that's why I'm more than willing to become her Devil." Issei told her with all honesty he could put into his speech. At the right moment Issei didn't expect, she tackled him to the ground, making a hearable thud sound and hugging him tightly in the process. Issei looked her with surprise. Sure, he had meant every word that came out of his mouth, but he expected her to smack him even further.
"W-why? Why do you think that I'm that glorious while I can't even do anything by myself? Y-you are so mean Ise…. S-so mean." She was on the verge of tears when she exclaimed that, she was furious, not because of Ise. It was because of the feeling of being useless she had for a long time. Her explanation surprised Issei though, he hadn't been called Ise since childhood. It brought so many memories along with it, and they were mostly pleasant ones that he shared with Laira. Issei comforted Laira by gently caressing her hair, normally she wouldn't even let him pat her, but this time was different, she was the one that needed special attention from somebody special.
"H-hey Ise… Can we stay like this for a while?" Laira said with a throbbing voice, it was clear that she was embarrassed. To hide her embarrassment, she buried her face to his chest. Listening his heartbeat in the process. Issei smiled brightly, she didn't even need to ask though, he was already satisfied with the situation. Not because he could plainly feel her breasts, which were still developing, but due to he had nothing to do. He continued caressing her hair, it was so soft and elegant. It was a golden experience for him.
["You closet pervert. Can you even convince yourself that you aren't aroused by feeling your dearest friend's breasts?"] Ddraig sounded like he was scolding him, but in reality, he was just messing around. Issei adopted a faint blush, he had forgotten that he had someone inside hearing his thoughts.
'Y-you know Ddraig, Even I am disgusted by my current self. Why did I think that though? I don't even know but I can't help, the feeling of her breasts is just amazing. The shape, the softness. Wait, I can feel her nipples. Does that mean she doesn't wear a bra? Or is it because our bodies are really starting to merge?' When he said that to the dragon inside him, he took a closer look to the girl tackled him. She was still burying her face, and he could feel the heat of her face. 'She must be embarrassed' thought Issei while preparing himself, he took a peek at her chest area through from the one opening in her school uniform. What he saw made him shocked to the core and made his blush skyrocket.
'I-I…... A-A-Are you kidding with me Laira? Unhooking your bra? How did you do that? Why did you do that? Hell. When did you even do that? Did I accidentally fall into your trap? Is this my reward for comforting you?' The boy had so many questions inside his head, and unfortunately, it did reflect to his face. Confusing the girl in front of him.
"What's the matter Ise? Is something wrong?" Laira asked with her teary and somewhat confused face, unlike her face, her voice was cleaned after so much sobbing. When she made eye contact with him, she found him blushing, and it wasn't a normal blush. With one more step, he would be steaming from his ears. She wept the tears away with her arm, but couldn't wipe away the confusion apparent on her face.
Issei was having a hard time, on one hand he was trying his hardest to not to have an erection, on the other hand he had to find an excuse. But it wasn't that easy, she was directly glaring to his eyes, and her breasts still pushed against his chest. He found that he had nothing to say, and instead followed the truth. Although he never wanted this feeling to end, they couldn't lie there forever.
"Um…. Laira. How can I say this? Uh…. I… Huh…" He minced words; he couldn't find the strength in him to say that. He would rather die, and if he said that he would die from embarrassment. He looked straight into her chest area for her to understand. Fortunately, at the same time he looked, she turned her gaze from his face to her chest.
"Eh…? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?" Laira shouted like a child, mere words couldn't describe how embarrassed she was. She literally jumped out from his chest and covered hers with her arms. She glanced to Issei with a furious, shamed and somewhat cute look.
"Pervert! Shameless! Idiot! Monster! Demon!" She still had that cute look on her face, she didn't mean any of these words. She was only trying to hide her embarrassment. Issei laughed lightly, but he immediately adopted his serious manner and got up in an instant. Something felt off. He felt like he was trapped inside a cage, and he only felt when he was trapped in barriers. Normally, he wouldn't care whether he was in a barrier or not, but Laira was here and he had to guarantee her safety.
Laira wasn't away from him, he instantly closed the gap between them, he had to be quick and find the ones erected the barrier. He didn't even think about getting hurt or enjoying the battle's insanity, his first priority was Laira's safety. He swiftly grabbed Laira and had her in a bridal carry, surprising the girl in the process. Issei's instincts were telling him to run away, he hadn't felt like this for 3 years, and it was, pretty much, surprising. The exact time he picked her up, the spot she stood a moment ago was blasted away by an unknown force. Her eyes widened, what was happening all of a sudden?
"A Fallen? Or an Angel? Why they are here?" Issei thought loudly, enough for her to hear. A Fallen? What did even Fallen meant?
"Hmph, for a brat like you to even notice my Light Spear. You sure have some guts boy." A feminine voice heard, coming from above. She lifted her face, only to see someone floating in the air. But floating in the air wasn't the thing that had her surprised, the woman above them had a pair of wings that were as black as the night itself. Her feathery wings were so beautiful that she wished she had a pair as well. She was coated in a latex suit that barely covered any of her private places, only covering her arms up to her shoulders, with spikes guarding her both shoulders side, her feet were covered by black thigh-heel boots. Her long raven hair was something added beauty to her. The woman above had a bright face, her slender body and violet eyes were another thing that had Laira's attention. If Laira saw her outside, she could call her a prostitute because how she looks, she was so beautiful, yet so frightening. The look on her face told Laira that she was going to die here. But she didn't understand, how did Issei even saw her? Did he know anything about it?
"Shut up Fallen Angel. Tell me why you are here and then I might show mercy to you." Issei stated in a cold voice that had both of the woman surprised as he released his hold on Laira, both of them staring above. Fallen Angel was surprised because of the confidence he had in his voice. Laira was surprised due to seeing him that serious after a long time. Issei had The Fallen Angel laughing, but it was for a different reason. She would enjoy torturing him to the point where he would break.
"My My… Aren't you the entertaining? For you are going to die by my hands, at least I should fulfill your last wish. I, Raynare, only came here for eliminating your little girlfr- "Not waiting her to finish her lines, Issei jumped out to reach her. And he succeeded, as he was going to have a round-kick aimed at her and take the advantage of having her in the ground, she reacted at the last time and narrowly avoided contact with him, barely pushing herself back. She underestimated the people in front of her because they were humans, but she wouldn't make the same mistake again. Issei dropped to the ground and took a glance towards Laira who were completely frozen because of both shock and fear. He hadn't seen her like this before.
"Hey Laira. Don't worry about me, only think of yourself. I'll try to deal with her as soon as I can. Until then, just go and hide somewhere. I'll call out to you. Deal?" Issei reassured her, but she didn't seem to hear what he said. Issei sensed another light spear coming towards his way, and stepped aside, with the place he was at a second ago blown away. He had to give his full attention to the fallen above, if he didn't even this crow could take him out.
["Don't you think it's my time to shine? With the power of [Boosted Gear], It'll be way easier and quicker. You can protect Laira in the process, as well."] The Dragon inside him voiced out to Issei but he didn't seem to listen to the Emperor. He didn't need to have [Boosted Gear], it would be way much power-using for just one Fallen Angel.
'Nah, I'll pass. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. And I have the slightest feeling that we are being watched right now, it's the best if I can take her on my own. She can't even lay a finger on Laira without killing me, but I promise. If things get too serious, I'll leave the rest to you.' Brown-haired boy exclaimed rather troubled. He felt like he was really trapped in a bird's cage, and he didn't feel like having his Longinus out. But if he had to, he wouldn't hesitate. He took another glance to the girl behind him, she seemed to come to her senses as she hid behind a bank. Reassuring her safety for now, he turned his attention to the Fallen above him, who was slowly expanding the gap between the boy and her.
'Okay, If I can't get closer to her, then I'll also have to use magic. Yeah, let's try this instead.' Forming his amateurish battle plan inside his mind, boy kept the distance between them, and prepared himself. Imagining 4 pairs of bluish-frozen sword-like-daggers around him, with each being the same shape and height, aimed towards the fallen angel above him, he began to sharpen the images he saw, the projectiles around him slowly becoming real, doing them in mere two seconds. When he was done, Issei opened his eyes.
["Blistering Swords!"] Issei shouted with all his might, at the exact time the projectiles around him launched towards the fallen Angel with such a speed that Issei was certain they will hit their targets. Fortunately, they did. But the damage done wasn't heavy as the Fallen Angel covered herself with her wings, yet the damage he had done was slightly visible. The boy wasn't disappointed, because if he kept doing this, Fallen Angel's wings would be frozen eventually. But he didn't have the luxury known as the time.
"Ho Ho… You know some tricks. Unfortunately; boya. You can't even imagine to defeat me with cheap moves like this and shouting like crazy. How about we heat the things a little?" Raynare said with her sadistic smile continuing to spread on her face, it would be irritating if she copied his move. And she proceeded to do so. It wasn't late that Issei saw 2 pairs of Light Spears coming towards his way, hers were much more dangerous than his ones. If he even got hit by one of these, the part he had been hit would be done for.
'Aerial spells appear to be more effective in this situation, and if she's strong at magic then she must be not that good on close combat. I only need to slow her down, then, this one should work.' The boy thought while keeping an eye on Raynare. Quickly taking a look towards the girl behind him, he remembered that they weren't alone in this battlefield. Thinking swiftly, Issei thought a barrier coming from him would be enough to protect her. Before Raynare even made a move, he made his.
["Compassionate Barrier!"] Shouted the boy, soon Laira was engulfed within a faint white light that made her eyes close. When she opened her eyes, she found a smaller barrier around herself. She looked at Issei, who had made eye contact with her, and nodded. He didn't need to think about her for now.
"Now, we can play, little crow." Issei said with his smile widening, sensing that the battle's insanity had washed over him as he began to enjoy himself, he had to shake this feeling over him. This line completely irritated the Fallen Angel, who did he think he was? She was a goddamn Fallen Angel, a former angel who had seen the dark sides of the world as she fell down from the grace. She had seen so many things in her life, and nothing he lived could be comparable even with her slightest memories. But she couldn't lose her cool now. if she did, she might give him an opening. Even this boy had a chance towards her, like she could take the governor trio if they don't be cautious. After all, everything is possible in this world.
["Heavy Rain!"] Just as Issei said that, Raynare found herself soaking wet. When she looked at the sky, she found that he casted a weather spell, but that wasn't as much effective on her as she couldn't even feel the rain drops hitting on her. As she turned her eyes to the point where the boy was standing, she couldn't find him there. To be more precise, she couldn't see anything but rain drops over a 3-meter radius. She had to be careful with her surroundings. Sure; he couldn't fly, but that didn't mean he could literally jump up to the point where she is.
'Phew, I can't believe that it worked. This will distract her for a while, and I have to be quick.' Thought Issei as he escorted Laira out of the Barrier, the ones who didn't have connection to Supernatural weren't affected by the Barrier. So, she could get out of here and go home. As they approached the barrier. Issei stopped on his tracks, making Laira confused in the process.
"Laira, go straight to home and don't tell anybody what you have witnessed. Even your dad. Am I clear?" Issei stated like a matter of fact, still having that serious manner on his face. He couldn't afford to have her get hurt, so only thing he could do for now was having her get out of here. He could take care of himself. After all, that was the thing he did for 8 years straight.
"But Why? Can't you come with me? I don't want to leave you here with that crazy winged-girl. I fear that something might happen to you." The golden-haired girl stated in a high-pitched voice, like she was about to cry. She didn't understand, she couldn't even understand a bit of it. Why there was someone chasing her? Why Issei was acting like he was familiar with all of this kind of things? Why it happened to be her? She couldn't ever forgive herself if he got hurt in the slightest.
"No, I can't. I have already engaged in the battle against her. If I don't finish it here, she will be haunting us until she kills both of us. Besides, only I can get out of here after killing the caster. And the one who casted the barrier is none other than the Fallen Angel." As much as he hated to see her like this, he couldn't afford to lose his cool and comfort her. If he did, he couldn't convince Laira to escape. The girl's eyes widened upon hearing this. He had to finish it here? Did he mean that he was going to kill the Fallen Angel?
"Wait! Issei. Are you gonna kill her? How can you do that?" Laira opened her mouth to protest, even in this condition she didn't want him to commit murder. She knew that he was doing all of this for her sake, but she couldn't shake the feeling of being guilty from herself. Because of her vanity, he had to take someone's life and that frustrated her. Issei grabbed both of her shoulders and had her in an eye-contact. Her teary eyes facing with his serious but determined ones.
"Look Laira. You don't happen to know the rule of this world. In this world, you are either the hunter or the prey. Sadly; I don't have any plans for becoming the latter anytime soon. I have been doing this for 8 years and this wouldn't be the first time I take someone's life. And I'm certain that she can't even lay a finger on you, but I don't want you to see me brutally murdering someone like it is something I do every day. I promise that I'll explain everything to you after that. Just do what I'm saying for now. And don't ever try to approach the barrier ever again, go straight to your home. I'll take you from there." Issei tried to reassure her by pressuring her and taking the least time as possible.
She wasn't convinced, everything happened all of a sudden and she couldn't even think straight anymore. She wanted all of it to end as soon as possible. She wanted to trust Issei's power with all of her heart, but she just couldn't. She had seen the devastating strikes of the Blackened-Angel, and saw Issei's, which hadn't done any significant damage. She didn't want to lose that one friend in her life, she couldn't shake Issei away anytime. No one would understand her better than he does.
Just as she was thinking all of those. She felt someone pushing her forward, towards the barrier. Laira was approaching the barrier by each passing second and she took one last glance to Issei, who still had that serious- semi scary look on his face. When she made contact with the barrier, something Issei and Laira clearly didn't expect happened. She was pushed back from the barrier. Issei's eyes widened at the moment of impact, what did that even mean? The cool of him that he tried to protect was shattered to pieces by one mere second.
"Are you kidding me….?!" He was left breathless, having her get out of the area by tricking the fallen was one of the last things he could do, and that, unfortunately, didn't work. He glanced at Laira, who was as shocked as him. They both didn't understand what was going on. Issei tried to compose himself, he couldn't allow himself to be surprised that much, at least not here. He could solve the mystery of Silver family later. He threw away the seriousness around him in an instant. Nothing made sense right now. And at moments like this, he'd rather finish the thing on his hand as soon as possible.
"Alright… I think It's time for another magic trick. Come forth! The Dark Slayer." As Issei shouted, his left hand was enveloped in bluish-black lights. The light was so bright that Laira had to close her eyes, and had to keep them closed until the light died down. When she was able to open her eyes, the first thing that captured her attention was the blade, to be more precise a katana, on Issei's hand. The blade was kept in its scabbard, made by traditional varnished woods and painted black, with metallic additions at the bottom of the scabbard.
The Katana's handle had an infinity symbol imbued to it, with the traditional diamond shape. The hilt of the katana was golden and blue, and both the bottom and the top hilts were decorated with golden rings. The katana itself was so long that Laira didn't understand how could Issei ever use this. Much to her dismay, the katana was actually a bit shorter than her, approximately four inches. If only she knew that he grew up with the exact sword she was staring at.
"Okay… Laira. Could you please stay away from me for a while? I'm gonna try something and I might cut you open in the process. So, if you don't want to hurt get 3 or 4 meters behind me." The boy said while holding the scabbard with his left hand and the handle with his right. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate, like he was going to do the flashy moves she saw at video games. He unsheathed the katana with such speed that she couldn't even see what he did.
Issei, in fact, made one of the classic moves of the sword itself. The Katana itself was a bit tricky. If it was found and wielded by the right user, they could unleash its true potential, which Issei had done years ago. With this katana at his hands and [Boosted Gear], he felt like he couldn't be beaten. The after-effects of the strike were about to be seen. In Laira's eyes, he only unsheathed the sword and sheathed it quickly. But in reality, he had four diagonal slashes applied to the barrier within the limited time between the sheathings.
As Laira was about to open her mouth, she witnessed the barrier itself being shattered down, but only a small part of it, the exact point Issei warned her about not getting too close. It was high and wide enough for her to pass. Her eyes widened at the thing she witnessed, when he did even do that? She only saw him reaching out to the katana and nothing more.
"Now… Should I push you myself again? Or Will you leave me here with your own free will?" Issei asked with his playful attitude on himself, his usual smile back on his face, but this one was apparently a fake one. Right now; there were tons of things inside his head that really bothered him, sensing that Laira just obeyed what he said.
"Fine… But if you come to me even with a scratch, I'll take you out myself. Understood?" Laira said with emphasizing her last lines. Issei found it good for her to care that much about him. Although, he wasn't sure how much he meant to her, her pressure about not letting him here alone was convincing enough for him.
"Like how you say m'lady." Issei told to the concerned girl while gesturing her to the newly opened gap. Laira casted one last look to Issei as she left the area, the determination and experience in his eyes told him that he'll return in one piece. She must've been blind to not see them before, but she couldn't think anything when she was anxious, so that wasn't her fault.
After being sure that she left the area, Issei could purely concentrate the matter he has on the hand. He didn't know how much time left since he casted [Heavy Rain], which was more than just an illusion spell. Sure, it makes the caster not be able to seen for a while and leaves wide open the opponent for incoming attacks through the rain barrier. Also, when casted, the opponent can't feel anything for the duration of the spell. Combined with Extreme Concealment, it poses a great danger for those against him.
"Well… Let's stick to the matter." Talking with himself, Issei began to return the battlefield quickly, with The Dark Slayer still on his hand, in its scabbard. Like he thought before, if he can't beat her on long-range fight, then he'll try everything to have her on a close-range combat.
["Are you still insisting on not using Boosted Gear? With her gone, you should be able to unleash everything you have."] Ddraig protested, not because he feared that Issei would get injured nor get killed. He just wanted to have some fun after a while, and his host urged not letting him have fun.
'I think I have said that before Ddraig, but I feel, no, I'm certain that someone's watching us. That's why I am not bringing Boosted Gear out.' Issei exclaimed as he continued to run where he left the Fallen Angel. Only If she hadn't fled by now. His answer made sense, but Red Dragon still wasn't convinced. He didn't have anything to lose, why he wasn't announcing himself as the Red Dragon Emperor was a question that wandered through Ddraig's mind.
["Whatever, I don't really care. Just do what you want and leave me alone. I'm gonna sleep."] Red Dragon answered nonchalantly. If he didn't have anything to do with him then it meant that Ddraig could sleep peacefully.
'Yeah, you lazy lizard.' Issei just shook Ddraig away. In reality, he didn't want to bother both Ddraig and [Boosted Gear] because of the recent incident. They might take serious injuries in the heat of the fight and Issei wouldn't even realize.
While running towards his objective, Issei took another glance to the katana on his hand. It was really important to him as it was a family heirloom, the blade itself had been passed down to him by his mother before she passed away. It meant to him a lot, whenever he used the blade in a proper fight, he felt like his mother was being proud of him upside heaven. Whenever he took the katana out of its sheath, he remembered the precious moments he spent with her. Whenever he thought about her, he felt powerless, why he felt like that is because he couldn't prevent what happened. If he had been strong and quick enough, he could've stopped her.
With those grim thoughts wandering through his head, he finally stepped forth to encounter the fallen for the last time.
'Damn, where the hell is this brat hiding?!' One could understand from her tone that she was furious. Raynare was standing the exact point she used to for 10 minutes, with the cursed rain never stopping. It blocked her view so she closed her eyes in order to wholly focus on her senses. For the past 10 minutes, she couldn't feel or sense anything coming towards to her, but she couldn't drop her guard. He could strike anytime, she understood that he was a force to be reckoned with, but that didn't mean she was powerless. She had thousand years of experience, a little boy like him shouldn't take her down.
She also was occasionally smelling the area entirely. If he somehow hides his presence, she can track him with his smell. She didn't need to know how he smelt; she could point out the new scent with her excellent smelling. In fights like this, she could use everything on her hand, whether the opponent is strong or not. She might seem to underestimate her opponents, but in fact, it's otherwise. She would never underestimate someone; she knew the rules of war.
She heard some footsteps; she immediately enhanced her stance. She readied her Light Spear as she opened her eyes, she wasn't entirely blind in this situation. She could see around her for a little, and that was enough, she didn't need to see every single piece now. She only needed to defend herself for a while. She turned to the point noise came out, the entrance, or the north side of the park. She had to be cautious, she felt, no, she knew that the boy was hiding something great, otherwise he wouldn't be so confident of himself.
As she was about to throw her Spear, she hesitated for a second. Realizing that footsteps were no longer hearable. She heard the sound of water splashing around, and felt a presence rising behind her. She waited for the right moment to chop away the assailant's head, she had to see in order to apply a successful strike. She saw an incredibly long katana swung towards her, and immediately tried to defend herself with counter-striking as she had no time to block nor avoid the strike. She easily could've broken his mundane sword, so only thing she had to do was replying his strike with hers.
At least that was what she thought.
At the moment both objects collided, she felt enormously underpowered by the weight of the strike. She couldn't keep up with this. Soon, she saw her Light Spear being cut, starting to shatter as it fell down. Her eyes widened as she realized the katana was long enough to reach her neck. If she hadn't tilted her head at the last second, she would've ceased to exist. But her tilting her head didn't do any good as he managed to leave a deep diagonal cut that reached out from her right shoulder to her left breast. Blood immediately started to flood over from the cut as she felt her veins burning. Realizing that the sword was no ordinary one, it must've been enhanced with demonic magic or it must've been a demonic from the very start. The rain had already stopped by the moment he broke her Light Spear.
Starting to fall down as her wings didn't support her, it was like the life itself was ebbed away from her. She felt so weak all of a sudden, she never felt like this in her entire life. Finally; she fell down and opened a big gap to the point she crashed. She instantly tried to get up, she couldn't give one more opening to the boy, otherwise she would be done for. She shakily got up and prepared herself for another round, she might be gravely injured, but that didn't mean she wouldn't struggle for her life and give up here.
She could see the boy right in the point where she has been two seconds ago, he slowly descended to ground and prepared himself for another strike. Taking his stance, gripping the katana with both his hands, and holding it behind his neck, preparing himself for another diagonal cut and slowly crouching down for dashing much more effective. In this time, Raynare didn't stand idle. She also readied 8 of her Light Spears in means of slowing him down.
Both of them waited for other to make his/hers move. Issei had to wait as he didn't want to get any of these to be stabbed into his body, Raynare wanted to wait because she didn't want to miss any of her last Light Spears. She had run out of mana with her final move. In normal circumstances, her mana wouldn't deplete this early, but all of her mana gauge just exploded at the moment the strike hit her. So; she had no luxury of missing any of her Spears.
The final moment of the battle began as Issei quickly dashed towards the Fallen Angel. Sensing that, Fallen Angel steadily readied herself and threw two of her Light Spears, aimed at the boy in front of her, with the second one coming behind the first one. Issei had to cut both of them in a limited time, with concentration and precision. Issei quickly released half of his grip from The Dark Slayer and cut through the first Light Spear with ease, through a horizontal strike, making it shred. The second one was the troublesome one, he didn't know if he had enough time to repel the strike, but he was gonna take his chance. Switching his grip on The Dark Slayer, Issei had the Light Spear torn with a vertical strike.
He was getting closer and closer to the Fallen Angel, and things were getting more dangerous for him. Because the closer he is, the chance to get hit by one of those Light Spears were becoming higher. He had to finish it and he knew it. After all, he promised to her that he'd come back without any injuries. He couldn't afford to lose here; his determination solely came by the promise he gave to Laira.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he readied himself for confronting the other 2, coming towards his way, with both of them coming at him at the same time. He tightened his grip on The Dark Slayer, which was on his left hand at the moment. He decided it would be the best if he only took one of them on head. In his opinion, it would make sense to take out the second Light Spear. He followed his mind and analyzed the situation he was in. Both of the light spears were coming together, with one at right and one at left. Deciding that he'd rather take the one at right, Issei stepped aside to avoid the other one. The Light Spear narrowly passed by him, tearing his school uniform slightly. The other Light Spear was already in front of him, thanks to his reflexes, Issei cut the Spear in two.
Raynare on the other hand, had a hard time against him. He just kept tearing her precious Light Spears like it was the easiest thing he could do. She already spent four of her Spears, with none of them leaving any scratch to him. So; the battle was already over on her behalf. She couldn't maintain this for much longer. She could feel that her energy was being drawn from her by each passing second. She had four more Spears in her hand, but she could only maintain two of them; so that meant half of them were going to be vanished away because of her weakness. She stumbled upon a stronger enemy, only thing she could do was delaying the inevitable. The thing that irritated her the most was him sheathing his katana between every strike. Like, he was making fun of her strength, and she could do nothing about it.
She aimed her last Spears, one towards his left ankle and the other towards his right shoulder, trying to immobilize him. She could see that he was coming for her at rapid speeds, she couldn't stop him anymore. With her eyes closed, she released the last of her Spears. She lost all the confidence and hope she had at the beginning of the battle. She waited for the killing strike, but it never came. She felt someone gently caressing her chin. When she opened her eyes, she met with an unfamiliar caring gaze. She wanted to go in alarm and fight with him again, but those eyes told her the otherwise.
"What…? Are…you...not…killing…me?" Raynare blurted out with the weak voice she had, vomiting blood in the process, dirtying his clothes. The surprise could be clearly seen in her eyes.
"No, pretty, unless you force me to do. I have no real reason to kill you and if I do that, I'll probably be doing something bad for the world's sake with erasing such a beauty from the world." Issei explained with fake honesty in his voice. He didn't want to kill Raynare, not because he couldn't right now. If he were to eliminate the fallen angel here, the Grigori would send a lot more of them to take them out, presumably more stronger ones. He had to contact with her superiors about Laira and himself.
"Why?" Raynare couldn't understand, the killing intent she released only was enough of a reason for him to kill her. Had he not wanted to kill her from the very beginning? But she had the intent to take both of them out, and she justified her intent with the surprise attack. Did he not have enough strength? This one wasn't an option, judging from the previous cut, all he needed to murder her right here was another slash of his sword. Is he enough of a good person to forgive her? Maybe.
"Like I said before, eliminating you right here would do me no good. Also, I don't know whether you're with Grigori or not. Considering the higher possibility, I would be utterly damned with attention of Grigori on me. So, I'm both doing this for my benefit and I don't want to take someone's life now. Not after Laira told me the otherwise." Issei reasoned himself as he helped the fallen angel to keep her awake. She was about to pass out from the blood loss; hence he had to hurry and take her to his home.
"Hey…uh. Can you please deactivate the barrier?" Issei nervously asked, he didn't know whether the fallen angel wanted to cooperate with him and save her life or backstab him right after that. Raynare seemed to catch up with this one, thus she shakily reached forth for deactivating the exact barrier she erected. Her palm was covered in a bright yellow glow, as soon as it went down. The barrier was shattered to pieces in an abnormal way, Issei knew she had little time left. Just as he was about to leave, he sensed someone behind him, jumping down from one of the trees.
"You got me soaking wet, nya~." Said the newly appeared figure in a playful manner. it was turned out to be a grown-up woman, wearing a black kimono along with a set of golden beads and a yellow obi around her waist. Her kimono was also featured red outlines, and it was open at her shoulders. She also had a headband on her hand, seeming to state that it didn't work quite well from covering her from the rain. The woman had a voluptuous figure along with her alluring long black hair with split bangs, and surprisingly, cat ears and also a tail, both of them matching with her hair color. Her hazel eyes, which adopted a semi-serious but playful attitude, glared right into his confused yet desperate ones. The woman slowly approached them, with Raynare's mind already gone black from the blood loss due to her last spell.
The woman was on duty, her boss asked her to keep an eye on the boy she was slowly approaching. At first, she didn't understand why she was tasked with such an irritating mission to tail a harmless high school boy. But after witnessing the battle between them, she plainly understood that the boy was no ordinary one, and understood the meaning of her quest. The boy was relentless yet so composed in battle, people like him were rare in Supernatural, and they were quite dangerous.
Issei was about to reach out for his blade and go for a second round, but he didn't sense any means of harm coming towards the woman. Thus; he refrained himself.
"Be at ease nya~, I'm not here to fight. I just happened to witness your battle. If anything, I offer help. But I demand an apology, all of my newly bought clothes are soaked. By the way, the name is Kuroka, no honorifics needed, nya~" The woman in front of him told him in a teasing manner. Understanding that she didn't mean to bring harm, he sighed in relief. He didn't have to deal with her right now.
"Hmm… an apology huh… Hey Kuroka. Do you happen to know any instant healing spell? By the way, the name's Issei." If she had the right thing he needed right now, he would be more than happy to oblige what she says. Kuroka raised an eyebrow at that, why did he need a healing spell? He didn't even get hurt in the battle.
"Wait… Do you want it for yourself? Or Are you not trying to dispose of the Fallen's body?" Kuroka was rather confused, they were trying to kill each-other for more than 15 minutes. Why would he want to heal her? Was he a necrophilia? She has seen many people in her life, but definitely not a necrophilia.
"No… I'm not wanting it on my behalf. And she's not dead, at least not for now. I just want to heal her before she dies, I don't want to get myself into a feud between the Christian pantheon. The devils are already on my neck and I don't want Fallen Angels too." Issei quickly tried to explain himself, what he said was true though. There's only Angels left to find him out, and he was ready to pray every god for not being found out.
"Hm… Only if you promise to give me a decent excuse, then I might consider, nya~" Her lively attitude being back on her meant that she understood what he was trying to do, and she would help him. Because she herself went through the same stages, and they weren't too well for her. Seeing that he released another sigh, she felt that she was about to entertain herself for good.
"A decent excuse, huh. What about a romantic dinner between us? And after than that we'll go and get another kimono for you, I'll pay." He replied with his own playful attitude, both having a mischievous smile directed to another. Kuroka faked a thinking pose, she already made her decision though. She was bored for a while and some change on her daily life wouldn't hurt.
"Deal! I'm counting on you Issei, nya~" With her last line, she approached the dying Fallen Angel. Kuroka spotted the big slit on her chest, and actually felt a bit sorry for her. It must have hurt. But luckily on the Fallen's behalf, she could easily fix her. She only had to find the right spell.
"Let's try this, nya~. [Healing of the Empress!]" Right after Kuroka said that, her palms were enveloped in a dark crimson glow. She concentrated and began to the process of healing, the spell she casted was rather a high ranked one. It would get her job done. Slow but definitely efficient, the gap on Fallen's chest already started to close, it only needed enough time, and she had plenty. Occasionally, she would cast a look on Issei, he had a look of anxiety and relieve, which surprised Kuroka slightly. She expected him to not care about the Fallen's well-being that much, it seemed like it bothered him a lot.
"Say Issei-nya~, where did you learn to battle this well?" She was curious about his capabilities, and they had some time for chit-chat. Issei looked at her rather uncomfortable, but decided to say it anyway.
"I taught myself. I just got into Supernatural at a young age and I had to survive. I adapted every habitat I have stumbled upon; I overcame every obstacle I have encountered; I improved every aspect of mine through my journey. Life may have not shown its good sides to me when I was young, but thanks to that; I can now protect those who are dear for me. I take a lesson from everything bad happened in my life, so I'll help people to avoid them when needed." Issei gave his speech while having a sad smile on his face, and surprisingly, Kuroka had gone something similar in her life. She was interested in his story, thus; she had to hear the full one, but not right now. She was about to be done with the Fallen's treatment.
"Understandable Issei-nya. Don't let life get its hands on you, you are a young lad and you have to enjoy it to the fullest. Life can be cruel sometimes but trust me it's full of joy when you look it from inside, a word of advice from me, follow your dreams. Life is short and you have at least 50 years' worth of entertainment." Kuroka reasoned herself with a smile opposed to his. True, life also hadn't shown her the good side of its, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try to achieve it.
"Thanks, Kuroka, I mean it. Really." The brown-haired boy replied with his bright smile; he needed some emotional support in his life for sure. While they were talking, the Fallen Angel's wound was already closed, meaning that she only needed rest right now. Seeing that, Issei picked her up, he could hide her in his house. After readying his teleport circle, he signaled for Kuroka.
"Aren't you comin'?" He playfully gestured her to the circle, Kuroka adopted her mischievous smile on her face. Tonight was going to be an interesting one for sure.
"What you say Issei-nya~" With that, she hopped to the circle and they both were gone from sights.
Alright, I'm done for now. Also; I'm truly sorry for the enormous delay between the updates, I know that I said I'd update in a proper way. But I just went on an unexpected vacation. Counting this week, I'll be back on writing after 2 weeks. I still have some unfinished jobs I have to do in my life. So, bear with me for a while.
Until Then, take care of yourselves people!
