Chapter 10: Intervention

A day had passed since the Rating Game between Riser and Rias, with Riser being the victor.

It had taken quite a bit of time for Issei to get permission to go to where they were, but thanks to Azazel and a certain someone, he was able to go see his friends. The ORC members were recuperating in a hospital in the Human World, which was built specifically to care for supernatural beings.

Raynare had also wanted to go with Issei, since she was worried about everyone too. In the short time that she had spent with the ORC, Raynare had come to see them as friends who had accepted her, despite opposing heritage.

Having brought along some baskets and get-well gifts, Issei couldn't help but worry about the wounds that everyone had suffered, not just physically, but emotionally as well.

Soon enough, they were relieved to see that they would all be fine after some rest. Each of them had been given their own rooms. Fortunately, Rias was allowed her own room close to the rest of the club. Issei had actually expected Riser to dive in and take her away before she could speak to her peerage again.

When Issei and Raynare entered Koneko's room, they found her awake, albeit extremely gloomy.

"Hi, Koneko." Raynare greeted her softly.

"How are you recovering, Koneko?" Issei sat down on the stool by her bed and smiled softly at her.

Koneko didn't meet his gaze even so, she replied.

"I'm doing fine, Issei-senpai."

Issei could hear the frustration in her voice when she spoke, so he wasn't going to just leave.

"You're pretty bitter about this, aren't you?"

Koneko felt his words hit home at this.

"I tried my best but I ended up not being able to help much." She muttered.

She was completely upset with her performance in the match. She had hoped to be able to take out more pieces but she had only managed to defeat one piece and even then, she had barely succeeded.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, Issei tried to console her.

"You did your best, Koneko. You put everything you had into defeating that Rook. In this Game, you put your all into bringing down any enemy that would endanger President Rias. I think that there's nothing for you to be ashamed because you did admirably by going all out."

Koneko wanted to retort but couldn't.

'If only Issei knew what I was. If he knew about what I could do, he would probably be upset with me.' She spoke to herself as her face contorted to a disturbed and sad expression.

Deciding to leave her alone, Issei went to go check on Kiba. The Knight was sitting in his bed, with his arms crossed. Knocking on the door, Kiba gave his permission for entry. Walking in, Issei could tell that Kiba was feeling the same way as Koneko.

"Hey, Issei. The same to you too, Raynare." Kiba waved at them with his usual smile, but Issei knew that it was faked.

"We just went to go see, Koneko." Raynare placed a gift basket by the Prince's bedside table.

"We brought some treats and fruit since I'm sure that the food here might be a bit bland." Issei handed Kiba a candy bar.

"So how are you feeling?" Raynare asked him with concern.

She already knew the answer, but she would still ask just to see how the magnitude of his emotions were.

"Bitter. I feel incredibly disappointed."

Kiba munched on his bar as he replayed his memories of the battle.

"You did the best you could. As a warrior, there isn't any dishonor in losing after giving the best of your efforts." Ddraig gently reminded him of his brave efforts.

Kiba's spirits seemed to lift a little but they then sunk back down.

"Yes, however, since we lost, the President's freedom will be chained down to that Phenex."

"What kind of person is he?" Issei had never officially met him before his visit to the Clubroom so he decided that he'd try to discover more about him.

"He's quite arrogant but his talent is real. He's won several Rating Games and only lost 2, one of them was done out of courtesy to a family friend."

"Yeah, I recall that from the President."

"He's quite…I'm not sure how to word it, but he's a lot like Matsuda and Motohama but more reserved about it. When I saw the look he gave President and Akeno, I've gotta admit…I wanted to punch him in the face. Still, he's not completely without morals." Kiba spoke disdainfully.

Kiba then looked at Issei with a look of realization.

"Issei, why do you want to know?" He was honestly curious as to why Issei was so interested in Riser's character now.

Getting up, Issei walked to the door as Raynare followed him out. He didn't answer Kiba's question.

"Get better soon. I hear you'll get discharged in a day, so try to rest up without rushing." Issei turned back before leaving.

Issei then went to Akeno's door. He wasn't sure how well this was going to go. He remembered the look of bolstered encouragement that Akeno had when he said that he'd watch her match. He could only imagine the downtrodden look that his childhood friend would have right now. He also feared what kind of anger he would feel if he thought about what Akeno might go through if his plan failed.

Knocking on the door, Issei entered her room.

Akeno looked at the doorway but immediately turned the other way when she saw Issei.

"Yo, Akeno." Issei smiled at her with a toothy grin.

Unfortunately, his smile didn't have the same impact as usual this time. Dropping his act, Issei moved over to her side to hold her hand.

"If I had tried harder, I could've beaten Riser's Queen. It was because of me, that she managed to use her Phoenix Tears to help win the match. If only…" She drifted off as she had tears well up in her eyes.

She hated this feeling inside of her. It was the same feeling when she denounced her father.

Conflicted emotion was raging in her. On one side, she felt angry at herself and another side felt angry at her heritage. The night when she denounced her father, she knew she was wrong to blame him, but if she didn't she would have never been able to maintain her sanity.

At this moment, she hated herself for being so prideful. Even after her animosity towards fallen angels had faded, there was still a lingering fragment in her heart.

"Just let it all out." Issei knew this feeling and wanted to help her through it.

When his parents died and when he found out about his role in Shuri's death, Issei had bottled everything up and almost became a miserable point in his life. It was only with the support of others, that Issei hadn't effectively shut down completely.

Not wanting to intrude on the situation that was about to happen, Raynare left to go check on Asia, who was in the next room.

With the close of the door, it was now safe to speak openly.

Akeno wrapped her arms around Issei and clutched the clothes on his back.

The Red Dragon Emperor could feel her shake and sniffle as she cried quietly. He knew that her conflicted emotions, her haunting past, and her bleak future were scary.

"I hate myself. I couldn't swallow my pride to help Rias. I'm so pathetic. I couldn't even be strong enough to talk to my father again. I feel so weak." Akeno confessed as her emotions came to light.

"I don't want to just be another plaything for somebody. If others knew what I was, they would just shrink away or mistreat me. I've had enough of that from the Himejima Clan." She cried further as Issei patted her back and stroked her head.

"You did what you could, Akeno. I promise, everything will be fine." Issei whispered to her, trying to be as soothing as possible.

At the moment, Akeno hadn't understood what Issei meant but soon enough, she would come to.

After convincing her to rest, Issei left her room and went to visit Rias, since Raynare went to go talk to Asia.

Knocking on the door in front of him, Issei entered the Gremory Heiress's room and put his last gift on her bedside table.

"Issei." Rias regarded him gloomily.

Compared to the others, she was wounded the least.

Issei looked at her face and saw that it was red and puffy.

'She must have been crying pretty hard to get herself to look like this.'

Rias had puffy, red eyes and the atmosphere around her just seemed vacant of any hope. It was natural and obvious of course. She was to be wed to someone that she loathed and she would lose her freedom to just become another plaything to a man that only seemed to care about reputation and looks.

"So…how are you holding up?" Issei felt like it was a dumb question but he had to find a way to start the conversation.

"Fine…I guess." Rias replied with a low and hoarse voice.

"Say…Issei?"

"Hm?"

Rias refused to meet his eyes, and so she continued to talk without a glance at him.

"Am I a terrible King?"

In all honesty, Issei thought that she was a good king in his opinion. During the mock Rating Game, she surrendered for the sake of her Peerage, even though she knew that it would cost her, her freedom.

"I endangered my Peerage for my own selfish desires. I was just so tired of people wanting me for my reputation as the Gremory Heiress that I came to the Human World. I fought against my family's wishes even though it would endanger our future. I fought to the point that Asia was nearly reduced to ash. Even after all of our hard work, I still let everyone down." Rias sounded like she wanted to cry again, which was something that Issei wasn't ok with.

Putting a friendly and kind hand on her shoulder, Issei smiled at her.

It was full of hope and kindness, and not pity, which was something Rias had expected.

"I think that you are a good King. You pushed to make your Peerage stronger for their own sake as well. I've seen how you act with them. I know that you treasure them dearly and that you tried your best to make sure that they wouldn't be wrapped around Riser's finger. You also did your best to win. I think that you're a truly kind woman, given what Akeno has told me. And I know she doesn't embellish either. I'm sure that whatever doubts you have, they are probably just from overthinking."

The whole time she fought, she wasn't actually fighting for herself only. She had worried for the future of her servants. She didn't want them to become slaves or laughingstocks. She didn't want them to be held down by her. She just wanted them to be happy. All of her Peerage members had horrible pasts, something that she hadn't been cursed with. Therefore, she had resolved to fight for them in the Rating Game with Riser. Still, she had lost and now, she could only feel her hopes fade after being crushed.

Bringing her hands to her face, hot tears streamed from her eyes as she sobbed quietly. She mulled over her failure again, but suddenly, she felt a warm hand pat her head.

She turned to see Issei look at her kindly.

"I promise, everything will be okay." Issei gave her one last radiant smile before leaving.

Walking outside into the hallway, he met up with Raynare, who had wrapped up her visits.

"Issei? What's wrong?"

She was unsettled by how quiet Issei was. He looked to be calculating something. It had to be serious given how nervous he seemed.

"Raynare, I'm going to be busy for the next few days or so. I'll need you to go to Grigori for a little while and wait for me there. I won't be home and I won't risk you getting captured again." Issei gave her an apologetic look but he just couldn't let things be anymore.

'This does it. Phenex bastard made Akeno cry. Not only does he want to restrain and prove his status through a beatdown, but he wanted to break everyone in Rias's peerage. THAT, was one thing that Riser shouldn't have done.' Issei swore revenge as he tightened his knuckle.

He recalled the crying faces of Akeno and that only infuriated him more.


After leaving the hospital, Issei was contacted by Raynare.

A red magic circle appeared by Issei's ear as Raynare's voice came out.

"Issei, you should come home right now. There's someone that wants to see you." Raynare sounded nervous, so Issei wasted no time to rush back to his residence.

As soon as he entered his home, he was surprised by what he saw.

He found Raynare, sitting in front of another man and a familiar woman.

He had long crimson hair, green eyes, and wore a purple, gold, and white attire with massive shoulder guards. This person was none other than one of the current Satans, Sirzechs Lucifer. Next to the Sirzechs, stood Grayfia.

"Excuse us for intruding." Grayfia bowed at Issei, who dismissed her worries.

"It's fine."

"How are you doing, Issei? I hope you're well." Sirzechs gave him a friendly smile.

"I'm doing well, Sirzechs."

Sitting in front of Sirzechs, Issei looked at both of him seriously.

"So I'm assuming this is about the Rating Game between Riser and Rias?"

Sirzechs nodded.

"In truth, I was sure that Rias would lose. She is still too inexperienced in fighting opponents above the average Stray Devil. I knew that if you trained alongside her and her peerage, they would grow stronger, but even then, 10 days would never have been enough to get them to the point that would've allowed them to win." The Satans spoke calmly.

"So why have you come then?"

"I came because there's a serious matter to talk about. While I do worry for the future of my race, I don't want it to come at the cost of their freedom. I know that we both disapprove of arranged marriage and thus, I have come to a decision." Sirzechs then looked at Issei with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Issei instantly paled as he knew that look very well. During his time training under him, Issei would receive some sort of crazy task whenever Sirzechs looked at him that way.

"I'm cashing in my favor. I've already received permission from Azazel so he said to tell you that it's an order for you to follow as his godson."

Issei turned to Raynare.

"It's true. I brought Lord Sirzechs here as soon as I met him at Grigori. Azazel has ordered for you to fulfill this request." Raynare replied back, sealing Issei's fate.

"And there you have it, Issei." Sirzechs smiled as he had caught Issei in a trap.

Sirzechs knew of Issei's tendency to disappear to dodge questions or situations that he deemed troublesome but much to his surprise, Issei was all too willing to comply.

"Understood. If that's the case, I'll need a specific day, time, and location."

Taking a paper from his coat pocket, Sirzechs handed it to Issei.

"On one side, there is a magic seal that will bring you to where you need to be. On the other side, is a way of escape. I'll need you to show up at the planned location by 7:00 pm in Human time. The day that you need to come is in 2 days. The event on that day will be the engagement party between my sister and Riser. When you arrive, I'll explain more then. I just need you to rescue my sister since I cannot do it without sending the Devil World into chaos." Sirzechs then stood up.

"However, knowing you, my student, I'm sure that you can figure something out. Brute force is your forte after all." Sirzechs laughed lightly as he and Grayfia disappeared through a magic circle.

When the two guests were gone, Issei turned to Raynare.

"Raynare, I'll need you to go to Grigori in 2 days' time. If something goes wrong, you'll be safe there."

Raynare couldn't understand why he seemed so unconfident now.

"Issei…"

"Considering the type of situation that I'll be crashing; politics will definitely be involved. I'm not so sure that I'll get away lightly, so I want you to be safe."

Issei knew that this would happen but now that he thought things through, he had remembered that politics would definitely come into play.

"I'm sorry Issei but I can't do that." Raynare looked down as her bangs covered her face.

"Why not?" The young man raised an eyebrow at this.

"I don't care if I get into danger because I'll do so willingly. It was because of you that I managed to live this long since my capture by those Stray Exorcists. If you get into trouble, I won't just abandon you. I'll help you anyway you can." Raynare declared to him.

Shaking his head, Issei decided that he'd have to compromise.

"No. It's best that you stay out of this. You still have your family to care for. This is something I've gotta do myself."

Raynare wondered why Issei was so fiercely aggressive with this plan. Then, it dawned on her. It was for Akeno. Akeno was probably the most cherished person in his life right now. Whatever she asked for, he'd do it. He never hesitated if her safety was called into question.

Thinking things over, Raynare knew that she wouldn't win the argument, so she nodded quietly.

"Okay. I promise to succeed and come back safely." Issei gave her a thumbs-up.

The two smiled at each other as they waited for the awaited day to arrive.


It was the night of Rias' and Riser's engagement party and numerous Devils were invited to attend the event.

Rias was sitting in a dressing room, wearing a white dress that was heavily similar to a wedding dress. Her only company was Akeno and Grayfia, who were allowed permission to be there. Koneko and Kiba were in the Hall that was to be where the party would take place.

"Rias…I'm sorry that things came to this." Akeno bowed her head in shame.

Shaking her head, Rias showed her disagreement with a smile.

"No, you, Yuuto, and Koneko, did your best to help me. I'm the one that's sorry. You all got hurt unnecessarily for me. Even after all of that training and help, we still couldn't win. It's because I'm such an incompetent King that you all are cursed to be in the grips of that man."

Grayfia was tempted to tell them about what Sirzechs and Issei had planned but she chose to remain silent.

Rias turned to Grayfia and gave a sad smile.

"Lady Rias, I'm sorry that I couldn't help." Grayfia wanted to say more but she just couldn't. She was just a maid of the Gremory Family.

"Grayfia, I know that you wanted to do more but I didn't want you to get involved in more than you should be. You're like a big sister to me and I don't want your past to come back to hurt you just because of me." Rias gave her a sad look as Grayfia grimly watched Rias slump back into deep thought.

'If only I'd been stronger.' Rias thought to herself as she wished her friend were here.

The three stayed silent as they waited for the beginning of the party to officially begin.

Exactly at 7PM on the day of the engagement party, Issei took out the piece of paper that Sirzechs gave him and teleported right to where he was to appear.

Taking a look around, he noticed that he was in an extravagant hallway that had several torches and a red and gold carpet.

Down the path, he could hear echoes that sounded like Riser's voice.

'Giving a cocky speech, huh?' Issei remarked.

Walking up quietly to a door in front of him, Issei charged a [Dragon Shot] and fired it, obliterating the obstacles blocking his way.

Walking past the dust clouds, Issei appeared in front of the crowd, staring down Riser in his Balance Breaker.

"How dare you invade our realm!" Riser immediately ignited flames around him.

However, before any more attacks could be thrown, Sirzechs walked out from where he stood on stage.

"Who are you?" Sirzechs feigned ignorance as he looked at Issei.

"I am the Red Dragon Emperor." He stated bluntly.

Murmurs echoed through the halls like wildfire. Issei was certain there wasn't a point in hiding that fact tonight.

"And what brings you here?" Sirzechs pushed on further.

He didn't want to say it, but he got a kick out of messing with Issei.

"I promised someone that I'd take care of this problem. I've heard that married Devils can have authority between each other's peerages, correct?" Issei looked back at his former mentor.

"Correct. It's like sharing funds and rights to a certain degree."

"Then I object." Issei bluntly stated again.

"And why is that?"

"Because I can't let Lady Rias become his wife. Lady Rias is a dear friend of mine. I can't allow her to have her freedom restrained by an arranged marriage. If her life is ruined, so is the rest of her peerage. All of them are friends to me! That is why I'll fight to free them." Issei boldly declared to everyone in the room.

'That was off script, Issei!' Sirzech's eyebrow twitched but he couldn't help but smirk. He was supposed to talk about Rias specifically.

"I see. Well then, there is an easy way to solve this. I suggest that you and Riser duel. The winner will have their wish granted. If Riser wins, he can lay claim to Rias and her Peerage and if this young man wins, he shall have a wish granted." Sirzechs spoke.

"Lord Sirzechs, what is the meaning of this?" Riser looked at Sirzechs incredulously.

"At first, I was surprised but I see now that this young man is acting out of his own pure conviction. Therefore, I believe that a flashy event for this engagement party is in order. I'm quite sure that Riser is more than able to fight with this person."

The Satans then turned to Riser.

"Riser, would you be willing to show us your strength once more?" Sirzechs turned to Riser and employed a look of earnest pleading.

"Very well. I cannot refuse a request from Lord Sirzechs. I shall make this my last performance before settling down as a married man." Riser then turned to Issei.

"I will burn you to ash that'll scatter into the wind." Riser sneered at him.


After moving to a stadium outside of the Ballroom, Issei and Riser stood in front of each other.

Riser had changed into more battle-oriented clothes, while Issei remained in his Balance Breaker to continue trying to hide his identity.

"Young man, you will be allowed one wish if you win. Tell me, what do you desire?"

"I want to free Rias Gremory from all future arranged marriages and to grant immunity for her servants from her future spouse."

"Very well."

"Lord Sirzechs? What are you saying? He's not even a Devil?!"

"He is going to fight for our entertainment. I believe that it is only fitting that both sides can get something out of this if one of them wins." Sirechs ignored the arrogant pleas of those around him as he showed his approval.

"You may begin." Sirzechs signaled as Riser and Issei stood ready to clash.

"Burn to nothing!" Riser created a fireball in his hands and fired it at Issei.

(Highschool DxD OST - D no Taidou. Play Song.)

With a wave of his hand, Issei brushed the fire aside after coating it in mana, extinguishing it.

Riser was shocked at this revelation as he backed up.

Creating more spheres of fire in his hands, Riser flung them at Issei but he only created a wall of ice in front of him. The fire melted the ice, but Issei thought no consequence of it.

"What?!" Several people exclaimed. Normally, his flames would have reduced a normal Devil to charcoal already.

"Weak." Issei muttered.

Issei retaliated with a [Dragon Shot], though he toned it down to reduce its power. Riser actually winced as the attack hit him, though the fires of his body reformed him. Issei knew that even his abilities weren't the most suited for fighting someone like a Phenex Clansman.

Issei activated the thrusters on his back, propelling himself forward. He used water magic to spray water on Riser, who merely smirked as the water hissed on him.

"Heh, is that i- " Riser's face then contorted in pain.

The water hissed on his body, steaming dangerously as red burns spread on his skin.

"Gaaah! What is this?!" Riser grunted.

"This." Issei held up a bottle of clear liquid.

"That's?!" Asia, who had come along with the other members of Rias's Peerage, instantly knew what it was.

"Holy water." Issei finished her sentence as opened the bottle again.

Manipulating the contents inside, Issei boosted the power of the Holy Water to become much more potent.

"Holy Water causes physical and spiritual harm to Devils and malevolent beings. It's a suitable tool to use against the Phenex, who have mortal souls." Sirzechs commented as he spectated the battle between Dragon and Phoenix.

Issei had been a bit of a direct fighter under his tutelage, but he was thankful his former protégé had picked up a bit of tactics. Taking this chance, Issei closed the distance between him and his opponent.

Clutching a cross rosary in his hand, Issei boosted its power in his left hand, making it 5 times stronger. He didn't want overdo things because if Riser died, he would have hell to pay. Sending a punch right into his gut, Riser coughed out blood as all of the air in his lungs was blasted out.

"This is for those lecherous looks that you gave the girls." Issei growled at him.

He reared another fist and throttled it into Riser's right cheek, sending him skidding across the ground.

"That was for insulting Raynare."

Riser grew infuriated at his humiliation and tried to get an attack in at Issei. Jumping back several feet, Issei waited to see what Riser would do so that he could crush his spirit.

"Looks like I underestimated you. However, this is the end, you pathetic dragon!" Riser gathered the flame in his hands and formed a massive meteor of fire by causing fire to ignite the ground and lift into the air.

"This will teach you to refrain from interfering with the affairs of Devils." Riser arrogantly smiled as he hurled it at Issei.

"Not good enough." Issei muttered before charging a Dragon Shot.

Aiming right at the center of the fire ball, Issei fired a concentrated beam that caused the meteor to break apart. Riser stared at Issei with wide eyes as one of his strongest moves had been destroyed so easily.

"Do you not understand how important this is?! This marriage impacts the Devils as a whole. The Pureblooded Devils are dying out and that is an unacceptable matter!" Riser tried to plead his case but it was futile.

"I don't care about that. You made someone vital to me cry. You made Akeno Himejima cry." Issei's red aura began to appear as the ground around him tremored and cracked.

"Let me show you how to use fire, weakling." Issei created red flames from his body before enveloping himself in it.

Condensing it, Issei motioned his hands forward, firing a blast of inferno that took the shape of a Dragon's Head. Ddraig kept his silence but he thought it was unnecessary for Issei to use such a strong attack against Riser, especially since he wasn't fighting to kill. Issei's words a few seconds before were also something Ddraig didn't approve of. Years of watching people die due to their own trash talk was something he'd grown to despise.

"[Drake Flare]."

The fiery dragon head blazed forward as Riser tried to stand his ground. His plan was to dodge at the last minute and counterattack but it was a foolish attempt. Just before the fire dragon could bite him, Riser leapt into the air. It was moot, since Issei had predicted him. Clutching the cross in his hand, Issei poured the last bit of Holy Water that he had into it, mixing and boosting the power of his next attack.

Flying into the dragon's head, Issei used his aura to move the dragon's head along with his body, so as to make use of it instead of making it a distraction. Changing the direction of the fire dragon's head, Issei moved straight up to where Riser was floating in the air. With one mighty swing, he smashed his fist into Riser's chest.

The power of the cross and Holy Water had proven effective at inflicting spiritual damage to the otherwise immortal Phenex. He vomited blood, quivering as his legs gave out. Riser sank to his knees as he reeled from the pain.

"Make sure you remember this lesson into yourself. Don't you ever make Akeno Himejima cry!" Issei said before dropping Riser's unconscious body on the ground.

(Highschool DxD OST - D no Taidou. End Song.)

The Phenex clansman had stopped moving but Issei could tell that he was alive, given his breathing.

"Brother!" Rave had flown forward to stand in front of her brother as he slowly collapsed to the ground.

Moving faster than the eye could blink, Issei stopped his fist in front of her face before it connected.

"If any of you dare to hurt the people I love, be assured that I will hunt you down and kick your ass." Issei told her before she could complain or even give him a glare.

Turning around, Issei saw the entire ORC stare at him in shock.

He looked at Sirzechs, who nodded at him to continue.

"As agreed, your wish to bring the ORC home and their immunity has been granted."

Walking forward up to the stage, Issei looked at all of them and smiled his toothy grin underneath his helmet. He looked into Akeno's eyes before taking his leave.

Before he left, however, Sirzechs came outside.

"Issei, it was a splendid match. I'm glad to have seen that you've become more skilled. You're quite different from the brash boy that I trained." Sirzechs laughed as Issei returned a snappy retort.

"You were up to something, weren't you? I could feel it in my bones."

Sirzechs acted oblivious, trying to brush it all off with a grin. He had prepared a script that he had hoped would help tie Issei with the Gremory Family but Issei was too oblivious to notice. Yet, he still veered off-script. It wasn't really for any ulterior motive, but he had already taken to thinking of Issei as a little brother.

"I wasn't going to use the script anyways."

"Mr. Issei, you should leave before anyone sees you all talking so casually." Grayfia interjected. She was tempted to bring out her paper fan but refrained.

"Well then, take care. I hope none of this comes back to bite me." Issei muttered that last part to himself, but fate wasn't done with him. Not by a long shot.

Observing from a balcony, stood two men.

One had neck-length red hair and another had blonde hair.

"Lord Phenex. Please allow me to sincerely apologize for- "The man with the red hair spoke to the blonde haired man but he was cut off.

"No need, Zeoticus. I think this was actually for the best." Lord Phenex smiled.

"My son hadn't faced defeat from someone outside of family relations before. I think that this was a great lesson for him. Our talents and powers are not absolute. He needed to understand that a strong will can easily shatter the walls that talent puts up if someone works for it." Lord Phenex grinned.

"I think we both acted too greedily. We forced our ideals and wishes upon our children. We wished for pureblooded grandchildren even though we have them already. I think that this has also helped open our eyes too." Zeoticus Gremory looked at the ORC as he smiled heartily.

"We were also about to doom the fates of several others to tradition, besides our children. Geez, we really are getting old."

The two Patriarchs of the Gremory and Phenex Clan laughed as they mused on their misdeeds.


The moment Issei had returned to the Human Realm, the ORC followed.

"Let's go home. It's been a long day." Issei smiled.

After escorting everyone to their residences, Issei had taken Akeno home last. The whole time, he was silent since he had spoken some things that now turned his face red. He'd just blurted out how important Akeno was to him. It wasn't Rias who was most important to him. Akeno was the one who'd remained on the forefront of his worries.

"Issei…" Akeno turned to him as she stood outside of her residence. It was a large home that seemed quite extravagant. There were multiple floors and even an outdoor pool was visible from the front of the home.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

She wasted no time in giving him a kiss to his lips.

Connecting her mouth to his, they stood in place as if time had stopped. At that moment, it was only those two in blissful solitude.

Finally, they parted lips but they stayed close to one another.

"You saved me again." Akeno wrapped her arms around her childhood friend as she put her head to his chest.

"I have to protect the ones I love, after all."

Akeno's eyebrow twitched a little because of his wording, but she settled with what he said for now.

"I'll see you later, then." Akeno gave Issei another smile and second kiss before entering her house.

Issei could finally let the powerful blush on his face spread as he tried to recompose himself.

"I almost let things slip at the gatecrash."

'You should've just confessed. You love her, she loves you, happy ending implied.' Draig joked.

'No, that would be half-assing it. I still don't know how I feel about Vali. I haven't seen her for several years already. I think that if I want to sort out how I feel, I need to meet her just once more.' Issei reasoned.

'Or. Or. New Idea. Or you could take the Harem route.' Draig suggested with a humorous tone.

'I don't know why you weren't called the Polygamy Dragon.' Issei deadpanned as he arrived at his house. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 9:00 pm. He was sure that Raynare must've been worried sick about him.

Before he left, he could sense her nervousness and emotional disarray.

Just as he was about to unlock the door, he could hear a whooshing sound behind him.

Turning around instinctively, he laid eyes on a beautiful person.

She was close to his height, standing 5'6 or 5'7 in height. She had enchanting blue eyes, a giant bust that surpassed Rias's but was almost as large as Akeno's, and a figure that would've made any man drool. Her hair was long and silver and she wore an attire that consisted of a black shirt, a white jacket, and a black skirt that reached just above her knees.

For some reason, Issei couldn't help but feel something reminiscent about her. It was as if they had met before.

"It's been a long time, Issei." The woman spoke nervously as she looked all over his body.

"Vali?" Issei looked at her with a surprised expression as he took in what he was seeing.

"Yeah, it's me." Vali smiled with tearful eyes as she dashed at him.

Wrapping him into a hug, Issei couldn't believe that his best friend was now back, right after he expressed that he had wanted to see her.

'Get ready, Partner. You're love life is about to get complicated.' Draig warned him as he thought about what sort of events would follow.


Boy, oh, boy. There was so much to fix here.

Changes made to Chapter 10:

1. Grammar fixes and more concise dialogue

2. Issei exhibits some more cocky behavior, for intentional reasons.