This was the second day in a row waking up in unfamiliar rooms, and I was already getting bored of it. The couch I was on was plush, verdant green with a high back and fancy, stylized arms. It seemed like a very expensive couch, but when I looked around and saw the multitude of lit candles, victorian-era paintings, and the admittedly gorgeous Akeno Himejima sitting on an identical couch across from me, I knew why.
Inwardly, I laughed to myself. "Damn, two days into this shitshow and I'm already in the ORC." I noticed that I didn't feel any pain, nor did I have trouble breathing, so I braced myself and spoke to the boy, who was about to say something, now that I was awake.
"I hope she didn't reincarnate me in my sleep." I said to the woman, who looked rather amused at the interruption. "Cause that would be a really shitty thing to wake up to."
Akeno only smiled, and held out a cup of some liquid. "You must be thirsty." She said with a kind tone, though I could tell it was slightly forced. "Would you like some tea, mister...?"
I smiled back, trying to be as cordial as possible. "Kai Malek, miss. And what would your name be, if I might ask?" The woman handed me the tea, and I cautiously took a sip of it. True to canon, it really was some amazing tea. I took a moment to enjoy the beverage before letting out a deep sigh. "This is wonderful, by the way."
Akeno giggled in a way that made me slightly nervous for my safety. "Ufufufu, why thank you Mr. Malek. I am Akeno Himejima, the Queen of Lady Rias Gremory, the Devil who took you in last night." She gave me a dangerous look, a small spark of sadistic glee behind her eyes. "I apologize for forcing this on you so soon after awakening, but my King needs to know what a being such as yourself is doing here in Kuoh, without notifying us beforehand." A small spark of electricity danced between her fingers, and I took another sip of the tea to calm myself before responding.
"I will assume that Lady Gremory did not reincarnate me then?" I asked, to which the woman nodded. "Good to know that she kept her word." I said, making a show of looking around the clubroom. "I honestly didn't know if she was going to go back on it or not." I joked
Akeno narrowed her eyes at me, speaking in a cold tone. "My King does not take advantage of others in such a manner." The sparks on her hand intensified. "And I would recommend you not speak about her in such a manner again, Mr. Malek."
"Fuck, thirty seconds and I'm already off to a bad start." I thought to myself, the far-too-sweet smile on Akeno doing an excellent job at unnerving me. I raised my hands in a sign of surrender. "My apologies, miss Himejima, I did not mean to insult her. You must understand my apprehension, however. Devils don't exactly have an excellent reputation."
Akeno looked at me for a moment, before letting out a breath, and dissipating the lightning in her hand. "A fair point, I suppose. You did just wake up after almost dying, after all." She shifted to sit up a bit straighter and looked my dead in the eyes. "I still need to ask, Mr. Malek, what exactly were you doing following Issei Hyoudou last night?"
I leaned back on the couch, gathering my thoughts and taking another sip of tea before responding. "I wanted to apologize to him for my inaction two nights ago, and offer to assist him with exacting revenge on the Fallen who murdered him. Along with possibly explaining and assisting him with accommodating to the Supernatural World he now finds himself in."
I figured mentioning killing Raynare would pacify Akeno, and my gamble paid off. Her shoulders relaxed slightly before she motioned for me to continue. So I did. "I wanted to wait for him to be alone so no humans could overhear, but I didn't expect for a Fallen to show up." I paused to take another sip of tea. "I didn't want to let him die a second time, so I intervened. The Fallen is dead, I take it?"
Akeno nodded again, her face becoming a bit less cold. "It's quite impressive that a human was able to defeat a Fallen One, though I suppose your Sacred Gear is the explanation." Her expression then shifted, from one of cold neutrality to one of feigned curiosity. "What is your Sacred Gear, anyways? My King was not able to identify it from what she had seen last night."
I chuckled, before adjusting myself on the couch, leaning against one of the arms. "To be perfectly honest, I wasn't able to manifest the Gear until last night after that guy fucked up my ribs, so I also don't know what it is. Thanks for healing me by the way, just another thing I owe you for."
Akeno shook her head, looking at me in disbelief. "You mean to tell me that you killed a Fallen with a suppressed Sacred Gear? You'd barely be stronger than a normal human, and Fallen aren't exactly weak."
Despite myself, I allowed a smirk to appear on my face. "Firstly, I didn't kill him until I manifested the gear, and I was pretty much dead until that happened." I closed my eyes, and felt the power of Pinnacle Form flow through my body before speaking again. "Secondly, this Sacred Gear is pretty strong from what I understand, even in its more limited form."
Akeno raised an eyebrow, prompting me to elaborate, but I just smiled at her. "I would prefer to discuss my abilities and potential avenues of repayment with Lady Gremory, if you don't mind." I said calmly, before a thought occurred to me. "However, I would like to thank the person who healed me, they did an excellent job."
Akeno frowned before looking me over once more, seeming to notice for the first time that I was in perfect condition. "We didn't heal you." She said slowly, meeting my eyes with an inscrutable expression. "Your body was mending itself, so we laid you out on this couch and kept watch over you until you awoke. If things went wrong we would have intervened, but your regeneration is most impressive, especially for a human."
I paused for a moment, processing exactly what was being implied. "I can regen that fast?" I thought, trying not to let the shock show on my face. I smiled again, setting the tea down before focusing my attention on the devil across from me. "Awful nice of you, to allow me to rest under your care, not to mention the monitoring." I said with a false joviality. "Why the generosity?"
Akeno smiled back, though one more disarming, genuine. "Think of it as a thanks for saving our pawn. We were... distracted and we wouldn't have been able to stop the Fallen if you hadn't intervened." She reached down, picking up her cup of tea and taking a slow, graceful sip. "To be frank, Mr. Malek, our new pawn would have died if not for you. We don't owe you anything."
Before Akeno could say anything else, I heard a door opening, causing my to turn to the side. A set of double doors opened, and two young women walked through the door. One, I recognized immediately as the devil who took me in the night prior. Rias Gremory, little sister to the most powerful devil in the world and the main love interest of Issei Hyoudou. Also the King/master, of the devil peerage I found myself in the middle of.
She was also a child thrown into an arranged marriage to a stuck-up playboy bitch of dubious moral standing. Even as she tried to hold an air of confidence, of power, I could see the unease behind her eyes. So I just smiled at her before looking at the girl next to her.
The girl was tiny, so small I wondered if she was truly a first-year at what is effectively a highschool. She had white hair that reached down to her shoulders, except for two longer bangs that perfectly framed her tiny face, and had the most incredible golden eyes that immediately gave away who she was.
Koneko Toujou, the little sister of Kuroka, Rias Gremory's Rook, and quite possibly the most adorable person I have ever seen. Only the mental image of this small child throwing around monsters hundreds of times her size kept me from reaching over and ruffling her hair. That, and the idea of pissing off the walking calamity that is Kuroka. I still gave a small nod to her, though it was ignored in favor of the small plate of chocolates she held in her hand.
Koneko walked over to the couch across from me and took a seat next to Akeno, who merely smiled at the girl's behavior.
I looked back at Akeno, meeting her eyes. "Well, I may very well have died if not for you, so please allow me to converse with Lady Gremory about ways I might assist you all. For my own peace of mind." The raven-haired Devil was surprised, if the visible widening of her eyes was anything to go off of. But she regained her composure remarkably quick and motioned over to her King.
I went to stand up and bow to Rias when I realized something was very different.
Before, in the park, Rias seemed about my height, perhaps slightly shorter. Now, however, she came barely up to my nose. I knew I was average height at best before coming to this world, and that seemed to hold true up until just now. Confused, I took note of my surroundings, and I noted that things seemed ever so slightly smaller than I expected. Looking back at Rias I saw that she also noticed the change.
Confused, I opened my mouth to speak. "Sorry if this sounds odd, but was I shorter last night? I was certain we were nearly the same height..."
Rias looked my body up and down before responding. "You seem to have grown by a tenth of a meter or so, and your height isn't the only thing that has changed, Kai Malek." She walked across the room before moving a curtain that was covering a doorway. Behind it, a mirror reached from the floor to the ceiling, practically begging for me to look at it.
I walked over and immediately flinched at the sight. I hadn't looked in a mirror since before arriving in this world, it seemed like such a small thing when shoved in front of people like Kuroka or discovering my Sacred Gear. Now I realized I should have been paying more attention, because perhaps then I would have noticed that I was transforming into a pro athlete overnight.
Before, I woke up in the woods, I wasn't the most fit person. I had muscle, sure, and I was decently strong, but there was rarely any definition except perhaps in my upper back and arms. Things were very different now. Wherever I looked, it seemed the bodyfat I had previously had simply vanished or transformed into pure muscle. I was no bodybuilder, my build was much more streamlined than that, but the condition of my body was far better than it had ever been. I was also much taller, around six feet if I had to guess.
But my face was what had me the most surprised. My hair, reddish-blonde in color, shone with a previously unseen depth, as if made of polished metal. It looked fuller, and as I ran my fingers through it, I realized it was thicker and softer than before. My skin, previously dotted with faint freckles, was clear, and far smoother than before. I used to have bags under my eyes and circles so dark they were often pointed out by others concerned for my well being. Now. they were all gone, as was the pudginess I had kept from childhood and never quite gotten rid of. Hell, even my teeth had shifted around, becoming straighter and more uniform.
I remembered that I had grown a beard because people thought I was several years younger than I was, even at the age of 20. Now, I had a jawline one could almost call chiseled, and the slight double-chin I had was little more than an afterthought. My eyes, however, had the most exceptional change. Before, my eyes were a shade of bright greenish-blue, and I recalled them being a point of pride for me. But now, they practically glowed with inner light like Rias' eyes, though a deeper blue with a hint of gray. As I looked closer at my reflection, I could see the irises of my eyes waver slightly, like my hands when surrounded by the Sacred Gear's power.
Whatever supernatural condition beings like Rias had, it seemed that I now shared that trait. Though this seemed even more drastic than what I had seen before, and there was really only one possible cause.
I stepped back from the mirror, took a breath, and lightly chuckled to myself. "Pinnacle Form, huh?" I thought with a small smile. "Quite the appropriate name, if a bit on-the-nose." I then turned around to look back at Rias and her peerage, a bit more confident now that I saw what my power could do. "Last night, I spoke to you about assisting you and yours." I waited for her to give a nod before continuing. "I am still open to have that conversation, if you are willing, that is."
Rias looked at me, seemingly perplexed. "You are aware that you don't owe us anything, Mr. Malek? I thought Akeno would have told you that already."
I smiled at her, lightly shaking my head. "She did, Lady Gremory, but I believe I can be of use to your peerage, and I can probably get something out of it in return."
The redheaded Devil looked intrigued, if a bit amused at my theatrics. "Forgive me, Mr. Malek, but unless you are asking to become a Devil, something you have already expressed displeasure with doing, what exactly could you offer?" She gave me a look, subtly daring me to retort. So I did.
"To be perfectly blunt with you, Lady Gremory." I said, "I just crippled a Fallen Angel last night with a Sacred Gear that wasn't even manifested, and nothing else. No superhuman strength, speed, or even magic." I paused for a second, tilting my head to the side. "Unless you count whatever the Gear does as magic, but I just figured that whole thing out when I was waiting outside of the Academy yesterday."
I looked back up at her, meeting her gaze. "In other words, I used a pretty limited ability I had just discovered a day ago, and used it to kill a mythical being with my very squishy human body."
A small light lit up in her eyes, realization flashing across her face. "You want to train my peerage?" I nodded, and she narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion. "Why? How do I know you mean no harm to my adorable servants or myself?"
I deadpanned at her. "You mean besides the fact that I almost died to save your pawn, or the fact that Sirzechs Lucifer exists?" She had the decency to look away awkwardly at that. I let myself smile again before continuing. "Because I don't just want to train your peerage, I want to train with your peerage. And you as well, actually."
She looked at me slightly confused, but I kept talking, slightly pacing around the clubroom. "If my Sacred Gear does what I think it does, then I have a lot of utility and some serious potential for power, I just need a place to push myself." I stopped and looked back at Rias. "I doubt regular humans would be able to cut it, and I'm not trying to wander around beating up random people like a psychopath. Despite being small, your peerage is quite diverse and I believe I have much to gain from training with them."
Rias nodded, clearly thinking about the potential of such a relationship. "And you believe you could find a way to improve my peerage beyond standard training?" She asked slowly. "That is a very bold thing to say. You know who my family is, and they have never mentioned anything of the sort to me." She looked at Koneko and Akeno, and while the younger one was engrossed in her chocolates, her Queen was looking at me intently, seemingly lost in thought.
I nodded, ideas already filtering through my mind. "I do, yes." I then took a breath and continued pacing. "I will be honest with you, Lady Gremory." I walked over to the empty couch, letting my hands rest on one of the arms, staring at the wall. "I am quite aware of a certain bird problem you seem to be stuck with." The girls in the room tensed, but I kept talking. "And I am not a fan of nonconsensual relationships. I imagine the only way out of this contract is to fight, but I also imagine the idea of facing a foe with his accomplishments seems like a daunting task." I turned to look Rias in the eyes. "Am I correct on this assumption?"
Rias, to her credit, looked shaken for a mere moment before calming herself enough to speak. "You believe you can train us to defeat Riser?" She said, desperation coloring her voice. She looked at me, and for a second I saw a young girl thrown into a terrible situation by the people who were supposed to protect her. I couldn't say no to that.
I smiled, and held up my fingers. "There is at least one way to defeat the Phenex, from what I know about your peerage." That was a complete lie of course, any of Rias' members could singlehandedly destroy Riser and his peerage, but they weren't ready for that just yet. "If my assumptions are correct about your servants and yourself, you should have three different options. We will talk about that more as the training progresses, but I think I want to meet the rest of your peerage, if you want to go along with this."
Rias watched me for some time, pondering what I said. She walked by me to look out a window, and stared off at the sun hanging in the sky. I looked over at Akeno, who held me with a guarded look. Koneko had finished her sweets and was just staring at me with an inscrutable expression. I heard shuffling next to me, and I looked back over to Rias. She had turned back towards me, looking me in the eyes, trying to find any sort of deceit. But there was none.
She sighed, closed her eyes and turned away. "My knight is bringing Issei to us very soon, you can wait with us until then, and from there we can discuss how your training is going to work. You'll be responsible for getting Issei stronger, as he is the newest servant of mine." She looked at me, and smirked for a moment. "Think you can handle that, Mr Malek?"
I laughed in excitement. "Of course, but please, just call me Kai. I'm gonna be training alongside you lot, and I don't really care for the formalities. Mr. Malek makes me feel old."
Rias smiled back. "Very well then, Kai. I'm sure you already told Akeno," A look in her direction was met with a nod. "But do you think you could tell me about last night, and how you ended up in the park with my pawn?"
The next few minutes were spent recounting my story, or at least the parts I told Akeno. Rias was satisfied with that, though, and by the time I had explained everything, the doors to the clubroom opened, and two young men stepped inside.
One of them was Issei, that much was obvious. The other was a handsome blonde teenager with blue eyes similar to what I had before my Sacred Gear. He had this aura that could only be described as gentlemanly. He wore a polite smile, held himself with a carefully practiced grace, and barely even hesitated before stepping forward and bowing to me.
"You must be the man who saved Issei here." The boy said as his smile widened slightly. "Thank you for taking care of him. My name is Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Gremory."
I smiled back, nodding in return. "Kai Malek, a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yuuto."
Issei was so entranced by Rias and Akeno that he hadn't realized I was even there, but once Kiba stepped back to sit next to Rias he noticed my presence. His eyes widened and he pointed at me in shock. "It's you again! You're that guy from that night!"
I couldn't help it, I laughed. I always found Issei's blatant attitude to be the funniest part of DxD when I watched the anime, and that had not changed apparently. "Yo, Issei. Glad to see that you're doing alright. I take it one of the people here found you once you started running?" I said.
He nodded, his eyes flicking towards Kiba before looking back to me. I took that as an indication that he was the one who met Issei, and kept talking.
"Well, I promised you that I would explain a few things, didn't I?" I said. Issei perked up, and I could see the burning curiosity behind his eyes. The poor guy was practically bursting with questions.
Seeing this, I looked over at his master, and ultimately the person who would decide mow much impact on canon I would have. "Want me to give him the rundown, or do you want to take over?"
Rias shook her head before gesturing to Issei. "You did promise him, no? I doubt you're one to go back on your promises, Kai." She said with a small smirk. I figured she was challenging me, but I also figured that she was giving a lot more weight to my proposal than I thought, speaking about promises the way she was.
"You certainly have that right, Lady Gremory." I responded, smiling right back before looking back at Issei. "Firstly, my name is Kai Malek, and it's a pleasure to meet you Issei Hyoudou. I imagine the past few days have been a little weird, huh?" Issei nodded, eyes clouded in thought. "Well, you might want to take a seat for this before I continue."
Issei walked over to the couch, sitting where I was sprawled previously. He was completely focused on me, not even sneaking glances at the women in the room. My smile faded when I saw his hands trembling slightly. "Of course being murdered was going to affect him, damn it Rias." I thought to myself, annoyed at the child across from me. "You couldn't have just invited the guy and told him about devil harems? His entire personality is loving tits, for God's sake!"
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "This isn't the time for that." I thought, focusing back on Issei like nothing had happened. "Issei, what do you know about religion?" I said. Issei looked confused for a moment, so I elaborated. "The religions and myths of the world like the greek gods, Shintoism, and Christianity. You know what I'm talking about, right?" Issei nodded again, clearly lost. For all his good qualities, the dude wasn't exactly bright.
I took a breath before continuing. "All the myths of the world, every religion, every god, monster, and hero..." Issei looked at me intently, and I could see the gears start to click into place in his head. He seemed to be coming to the conclusion, looking at me incredulously. I looked him in the eyes, as seriously as I could convey, before speaking.
"They're all real, Issei. Each and every one."
Issei, to his credit, kept his shit together remarkably well. I kept talking, hoping I could explain everything before he started shouting. "The majority of humanity doesn't know about this, obviously, but you are one of the unlucky few to be targeted by the supernatural, for a power you possess." He started to say something, but I cut him off. "The girl in that park, the one who killed you, she was real Issei. It wasn't a dream. She is a Fallen Angel, and she killed you because you have something called a Sacred Gear."
Issei digested the information before saying anything. "She was talking about a Sacred Gear! Something about blaming God-" Anything he was going to say afterwards was stopped as he flinched, holding his head in pain. He looked around, seeing a few others in the room holding their heads. "What the hell?" Issei said, looking lost as ever.
I cleared my throat, gaining his attention. "I would recommend you don't speak his name right now, Issei." He furrowed his brow in confusion but I kept talking. "I will be blunt with you Issei, you died that night. Completely dead. But Rias decided to bring you back." I gestured over to the redheaded devil, and Issei looked over in slight amazement. "However, she didn't bring you back as a human." I said slowly, waiting for Issei's head to whip back to me.
"Not human? The hell are you talking about?" He said, all but shouting in confusion.
I gestured to the members of the Occult Research Club around me. "You guys want to show off for a moment?" I asked. Rias and Kiba walked over, smiling, before large batlike wings appeared from behind their shoulder blades. Issei flinched back, looking in shock at the two Devils. I took the moment to continue my little speech. "As there are Fallen Angels and regular Angels, there are also Devils. Lady Gremory is one such Devil, and a pretty high-class one at that. Devils of her caliber have the ability to reincarnate other races as Devils to serve under them, using something called the Evil Pieces."
In his shock, Issei didn't even notice the wings that sprouted from his own back until he turned to look at me. He yelped and jumped away for a moment, only to realize they were his own wings. He looked at them in disbelief before turning his gaze back to me. "You mean my life as a normal dude is over now?" He said, looking slightly sad.
I deadpanned for a moment. "You get awesome enough and you'll be able to do the same and get a whole-ass harem my guy." Immediately his sadness disappeared, pervert that he is, and a big goofy grin appeared on his face.
"You mean I can get a harem of super-hot devil babes?" He asked almost frantically. "And they have to do whatever I ask them?"
Inwardly I groaned, amazed and utterly disappointed with the guy. "Ethical implication aside, pretty much, yes." Issei looked like he wanted to ask another question, but I cut him off again. "Before you ask, the first step to reaching that level of awesome is to figure out what Sacred Gear you have."
Issei looked a bit lost again, and I realized I hadn't explained Sacred Gears to him. "Sacred Gears are basically superpowers given to random people by Heaven, and you have one of them. The Fallen saw it as a threat, so they killed you for it. Figuring out what it does and what it can do are the first step to figuring out how to get stronger. I have one as well, and it's what allowed me to defeat that Fallen last night."
"So, how do I do that?" Issei asked as he stood up, looking around on his body to try and find the Sacred Gear.
At this point, Rias cut in to speak. "You focus on what body part feels the strongest and focus, it should appear then." Issei thought for a moment, before he held up his left hand and started clenching it, staring intently. He held that pose for a few seconds before stopping, as nothing was happening.
"It's not working, why isn't it working?" He asked, looking back at Rias.
She frowned, looking at him. "You might not be focusing hard enough. You might just need to wait until you get stronger naturally or are in another life-or-death situation before it awakens."
I had been thinking about a way to get Issei to manifest the Gear before he met Kalawarner, and I had an idea. "Issei, hear me out for a second." He looked over at me and I started talking. "Think about your dream. You want that harem, right?" He nodded, looking surprisingly serious, which I took as a good sign. "If you really want that, then you need to be worthy of the harem, and you need to be strong enough to keep the harem safe from anyone who wishes to do it harm, do you understand me?"
I had no idea what I was saying, but it seemed to be hyping Issei up. A flash of steel appeared in his eyes, pure drive and his perverse desires bubbling to the surface. Idly, I noticed a slight change about him, though I couldn't tell what it was. I kept talking though.
"Now take that desire, take that dream, and put your all into it, your entire being!" I said, feeling the space around Issei almost shudder and something began to awake. "Who are you, and who are you going to become? Scream it out, let the whole world hear you!" I was nearly shouting now, seeing Issei on the verge of materializing the Boosted Gear. But Issei was far more excited than I.
"I am Issei Hyoudou!" He yelled, as a faint green light appeared around around his hand. "And I am going to become the HAREM KING!"
The light shone so bright I needed to look away, and I felt a wave of power wash over me that actually ruffled my hair. As the light calmed down, I realized I could still feel a not-humming from Issei, like my own energy yet also quite distinct. As I looked around the room, I realized that I could sense other not-humming from everyone else nearby, and they each felt distinct themselves.
Rias' felt like boiling water, a chaotic mass of energy and power barely held back, but also barely controlled. The not-humming was erratic, uneven and slightly disturbing. Kiba's felt like steel, solid and unwavering, but also inflexible. It felt stable, but also monotone, in a sense. Akeno's felt like the static on a television, though some parts of it were muted, almost suppressed. Those parts felt brighter, if that makes sense.
Koneko's was the worst by far. A massive portion of her not-humming had that same muted feeling that Akeno did, and everything else felt stifled because of it. This power felt like fire, if fire could be calm. It was very slow and subdued, though it seemed to flare up when Issei awakened his Sacred Gear. Speaking of which, Issei's not-humming was the most unique.
It was small, quiet, and I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't looking for it. But as I looked closer, I realized this was a single drop of an impossibly large ocean. The closest comparison would be seeing a small hole in a frozen-over lake. It doesn't look very imposing, but upon getting closer you could see into the unfathomable, terrifying depths just below the surface.
This was very clearly the Boosted Gear, and the new Red Dragon Emperor was standing a few feet away from me.
I was brought out of my trance by Issei running up to me and shoving his hand in my face. It was covered by a red gauntlet with a green gem the size of his palm on the back of his hand. He looked ecstatic, in total awe of the power he was feeling.
"I did it, you were right!" He yelled, throwing me off guard with the loudness of his voice. "I can feel it! The power is incredible!"
While Issei was practically vibrating with excitement, Rias seemed confused, and a little disappointed. I figured she thought the guy who took up eight pawns would have had something a little more spectacular. "If only she knew." I thought to myself, before turning back to Issei.
"Remember that power, Issei. Remember that drive that pushed you to awaken your Sacred Gear." I put my hand on his shoulder, and he stilled, his gaze sharpening. "That drive is what will take you the farthest. Remember that." I patted him on the shoulder and went to sit down, before Issei called out to me.
"You said you have a Sacred Gear too, right?" He asked, causing me to stop in my tracks. "What does it do? And what does mine do, for that matter?"
I looked around, and of course, the devils were also looking at me curiously. Rias herself was quite interested, probably feeling a bit shafted by Issei's supposed Twice Critical. I figured they were gonna see Pinnacle Form in a few days anyways, so in a flash of light, the two black bands appeared on my arms. Immediately, I felt the energy in my body surge to life, circulating far faster than it was the previous night. I'm not sure how I knew, but I knew that gathering that energy around my hands like I had against Dohnaseek would be child's play now, which made me wonder what my new limits were.
Though if my new physical state was anything to go off of, it seemed like I had quite a ways to go.
Issei was looking at Pinnacle Form with stars in his eyes. "Dude, badass!" I looked over at Rias, and she was looking at the gear with an analytical gaze. Issei was much closer, poking the bands with his finger. "So what does it do?" He asked, enamored with the golden symbols on the bands.
I paused thinking about what to say. I couldn't reveal everything about my Sacred Gear, mainly because I had no idea what it actually could do. I had to give them something though, and the mirror nearby provided the answer.
"It's called Pinnacle Form." I said as the symbols glowed slightly brighter. I felt the energy intensifying beneath my skin, and immediately the world shifted. I was caught off guard for a moment, but everywhere I looked, things seemed to be in far greater detail than they were before. I could see the fibers of the couch cushion, the grains in the wood planks on the other side of the room, even the tiny bits of smoke coming from the candles.
Then I blinked, and things went back to normal. "That was a lot easier than before." I thought, focusing on the Sacred Gear. "A lot quicker too."
I shook my head for a moment to clear my head before I spoke. "As I understand, it's slowly modifying my body to become stronger on its own, and I'm already in the best shape I've ever been in. I heal a lot faster as well." I then looked over to Rias. "That's why I want to train with you lot. I'll be able to catch up pretty quickly, human or not."
Rias nodded, before facing Issei. "Since you've had a pretty intense few days, I imagine you'll want to head home and rest." She waved to Kiba, who walked over to the both of them. "Can you escort Issei home, Kiba? The Fallen are moving and he hasn't figured out how to use his Sacred Gear yet."
Kiba nodded, giving a smile before walking over to Issei. A red magic circle appeared, and I gave Issei one last nod before the boys disappeared. I turned back towards Rias, who started to look a bit disheartened at what she thought was Issei's Sacred Gear reveal.
"I wouldn't be so upset, Lady Gremory." I said jovially. "I have a suspicion that there is far, far more than meets the eye with the kid." She turned towards me, clearly confused, so I kept talking. "Out of curiosity, how many pawn pieces did you use on Issei?" I said. I knew that she had used all eight, of course, but I didn't want her to ask how I would have known that.
"...All of them." She replied quietly. "I used every singly pawn piece."
I saw my chance. "Isn't that a bit strange, then." I said, meeting Rias' eyes. "That some kid with no magical potential, no supernatural history and a shitty Twice-Critical took eight whole pawns? And you're far stronger than when you reincarnated the rest of your peerage.
For as much as I dislike Rias, I had to admit the girl was quick. She immediately picked up on what I was saying. "You think there's something more to Issei?" She asked hopefully.
"No." I replied, and she looked down slightly crestfallen. "I think there's more to his Sacred Gear than you realize." That seemed to catch her attention, as well as that of Akeno and Koneko, who had finally started to pay attention to the conversation. "He has a low-tier State Change Sacred Gear that increases his base power, yes? The Twice Critical?" She nodded to me. "And it's probably a Dragon-type Sacred Gear, no?"
Rias nodded again, still unable to connect the dots, but Koneko's eyes were wide. "I guess she knows what I'm getting at." I smiled at the small girl for a moment, before turning my attention back to the redheaded devil. "I'm not getting what you're trying to say, Kai." Rias said, slightly frustrated. "What do you think his Sacred Gear actually is, then?"
Despite myself, I chuckled. "You don't see it, Lady Gremory?" I said teasingly, taking a little too much pleasure in seeing her struggling to connect the dots. "A low-tier, dragon-type Sacred Gear that increases power." Akeno's eyes widened as well, clearly getting the hint. I could see the gears turning in Rias' head, but she needed one more push from me, it seemed.
"A red gauntlet, that boosts power. Rather similar to another Sacred Gear, no? One that would certainly be worth eight pawn pieces."
It clicked in Rias' head the moment I said the word 'boost' and she snapped her head to me, incredulous. "The Boosted Gear? You're fucking with me."
I raised my hands in mock surrender. "I mean it, Lady Gremory. I'm pretty sure that kid is the next Red Dragon Emperor. You got some serious luck, you know that?" Rias took a step back, before leaning against the wall as another realization struck her.
"...You said there were realistically three ways to defeat Riser. What are they?" She said, looking at me with an intense gaze.
I looked at her, a bit more serious now that she was actually asking something of me. "I'll tell you two of those ways, and the third after we finalize how I'm going to be training your peerage. Oh, and after a few spars with some of your members as well.
"Deal." She said, not even taking a moment to hesitate. "Now what are they? Please, I must know."
I turned and looked out the window, watching the sky as the sun began to set. "You probably already know, but if you insist, then sure." I paused to gather my thoughts before speaking. "You have the Power of Destruction, something that can destroy the body, mind and even the soul. You're honestly the peerage's best chance with that power of yours." Rias tried to retort but I kept talking. "The other is obviously Issei Hyoudou, if he truly does have the Boosted Gear then Riser Phenex should not be an issue, especially with all of you helping him. Provided that he can awaken it, at any rate."
Obviously, I couldn't have known that before Issei awakened the Twice Critical, but I was banking on the shock of Issei having the potential to kill a god outshining that little fact. Judging by the members of the ORC listening to me as carefully as possible, I imagine it worked.
Rias cleared her throat before speaking again. "If you are correct, we need to begin training him as soon as possible. When can you next meet?" She said. I could see the hope on her face now, I guess my logic got through to her.
"I need to get settled in town, so I think the day after tomorrow should be fine." I said, patting my back pocket and letting out a small sigh when I heard the jangling of keys. "Do you have a phone number I could contact?" Akeno smirked, probably about to make a joke, but Rias immediately grabbed a slip of paper from her desk and jotted down a few sets of numbers. She handed the paper to me, and I folded it up before putting it in my pocket.
I then realized another thing I wanted to ask. "Could I spar with your Knight first? I don't think the rest of your peerage is gonna be a good matchup for me."
Rias nodded slowly before responding. "What do you mean, a good matchup? Why couldn't you fight Koneko or Akeno?" She asked, slightly confused.
I pointed at Akeno, deadpanning. "She flies away, blasts me with lightning, I'm pretty much screwed there." I pointed at Rias. "Same issue only I disintegrate instead of getting electrocuted." I then pointed at Koneko "We one-shot one another and that's it." Koneko looked at me unimpressed, but Rias was intrigued by what I was saying.
"How would you one-shot Koneko?" She asked me. "She's very durable, even for a rook."
I took a moment to smirk at Rias. "You don't think I would just tell you everything about my Sacred Gear, did you?" Rias had a moment of clarity before looking at the black bands on my forearms, still glowing gold. "I'll tell you more as I figure it out, I don't want to give false info, after all." I said, before turning around to walk out the front door.
"I'll contact you tomorrow so we can agree on a time. I'm gonna go sleep though, a lot of excitement over the past 24 hours." I opened the door, stopping before I walked through the door.
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Lady Gremory. I hope this will be the start of a wonderful partnership." I walked down the hall, letting the clubroom doors close behind me.
-0-0-0-0-0-
After I left the Academy grounds, I started jogging back towards Kuroka's house. As I was running, I realized that my stamina had increased greatly, and I was running much faster than I was before, so I picked up the pace and got home in what had to have been 15 minutes and I wasn't even winded. "An hour's walk, ran in a quarter of the time. Pinnacle Form is insane."
When I opened the door, the lights were off except for one in the kitchen. I took off my shoes and walked into the house, making myself very well known. I walked into the living room and was met with quite the surprise. On the dining table, just under the light, was a wallet, a debit card, a note and a mobile phone. The note was written hastily, but the handwriting was surprisingly neat.
Kai,
I'm going to be gone for a while longer than I realized, so I got some things that should be able to help you get settled in. The phone is all yours and you won't need to worry about the card. It won't run out of funds. Just keep watch over my sister while I'm gone and we'll call it even. Your room is the one you woke up in, enjoy.
-Kuroka.
I looked at the note, again surprised by Kuroka's generosity. I took the wallet, card and phone before walking into the room I woke up in. It was as I left it, and when I laid my eyes on the bed I realized how tired I was. I set my things on the nightstand before getting out of my now too-small clothes and slipping beneath the covers.
"Thank you, Kuroka." I thought to myself, letting the tiredness take over my body. Before I knew it, I closed my eyes, and I had finally fallen asleep.
"Tomorrow, the training begins."
YO!
It's me, back again with the chapter. Kai finally met the cast properly, though this is really just the introduction. We got to see a bit more of Pinnacle Form (And why it's called so in the first place) and Issei awakened Twice Critical like a few hours early. Also no Kalawarner or Dragon-Boy Z guy. Will this affect canon at all? Probably not as much as killing Dohnaseek, but who knows? I sure don't and I'm writing the damn thing.
Kai now has a connection to canon and the main cast, which he is going to politely abuse as much as he reasonably can. Gotta take advantage of being friends with the main character.
And now is the time for the training! Next chapter at least, along with hopefully a bit more action.
Anyways, that's all for this chapter. I'm a little (very) sleep deprived again but that's when I do my best work sometimes. Don't ask why, I have no idea. Massive design flaw, that one.
Alright, that's enough out of me, I need to pass out.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, make sure to leave a review and I will see you in the next one.
Dragon out!
