Chapter 16
I don't own DxD; I just use its characters and techniques. All credit goes to its creator. Same applies for anything that I use from other animes
(Sona's home)
Sona Sitri was by every definition of the word a simple person. Despite being the heiress to Devil nobility, Sona lived in a simple apartment in a building she co-owned with her fellow heiress Rias Gremory. The home had a small kitchen and living room which suited her perfectly. Her bedroom was as basic as it got with a simple wooden dresser that held most of her unmentionables and other casual clothes with her uniforms sitting in a closet not far from the twin-sized bed she was currently sleeping in. Her glasses sat on top of an alarm clock that was on top of a small table right by her desk that also contained a small lamp. However there was one aspect of her life that wasn't simple and it was because of that relationship that her eyes shot open. "Issei!" Sona Sitri gasped as she quickly got out of her bed and at a speed far faster than most would expect, ditched the pajamas she was wearing in order to get her Kuoh uniform on. The man she loved Issei Hyoudou, got himself involved with something crazy and she was going to help him whether he wanted to or not.
During their last date, Kokabiel a cadre of the fallen angels and the man behind the current chaos in Kuoh got a hold of Issei and revealed his plan. Sona was worried because Issei was hard to control and there was a chance he could do something on his own. To make sure he didn't go completely rogue Sona wore him down with a threesome involving her and their waitress for the night who was also her employee. Once he was exhausted and asleep, she cast a spell on him that would allow her to track him no matter what happened and if anything disrupted the spell, she'd be alerted which is exactly what happened. As she left her room, she wondered if she should contact her sleeping peerage and get them to help with the situation. That was until she received a knock on her door which was odd considering how late it was. Opening the door, she was surprised to see Ravel Phenex wearing a purple dress and with a concerned expression on her face.
"Sona, we have a situation?" the voice of Ravel Phenex said nervously.
"What happened?" Sona wondered.
"That idiot is trying to make moves on his own again. One minute he's at the home of those fallen and the next he's charging somewhere. Luckily for me, I managed to figure out his sensory range and my familiar is following him in secret." Ravel revealed.
Sona frowned because the idiot in question was clearly Issei, but something else was bothering her, "Why is your familiar watching him." Sona wondered.
Ravel blushed briefly, "It doesn't matter. What matters is we need to get to his location and soon. Who knows what he'll do next?" Ravel said hastily.
Sona was afraid to ask why she blushed but she realized that it didn't matter. What mattered is finding Issei and, "Alright but we should gather the others since who knows what could be going on." She wasn't going to at first, but now she was going to gather all the resources together that she could.
"Agreed." Ravel frowned. This was going to be a long night.
(Irina and Xenovia)
'Issei what's going on.' Irina thought to herself as she and her partner ran through the town in the deep of night. Figuring out where Issei was ended up being a far simpler task than they realized due to Irina sensing a massive magical barrier. Issei was many things, but the thing he specialized in was logic. Fighting Kokabiel alone was the opposite of that and she couldn't help but wonder what would cause him to do go after the cadre alone.
"Irina you need to focus." Xenovia shouted breaking her from her musing. She knew her partner was concerned also and she could appreciate that.
"Yeah I know." Irina frowned but as they approached one of the many large bridges around town, they stopped because a very familiar person was waiting for them.
"Hello girls, it's been quite some time." The person said with a smile.
"It can't be. What the hell are you doing here Arthur!?" Irina said in disbelief. Standing in front of them was a young man that appeared to be in his early 20s with short blonde hair with a long strand across his faces and spectacles. His outfit consisted of a black business suit but on his right hip was a sword sheath. His name was Arthur Pendragon and she was a mentor of sorts.
"I'm sorry Irina. As a knight of the Pendragon family I will serve my Lady's desires and right now those desires are to stop you from going to the Red Dragon Emperor" the now named Arthur Pendragon revealed.
"Irina. We can't beat him. Maybe we should stop" Xenovia suggested.
"I know… but I have to go to Issei" Irina scowled. She really didn't want to fight Arthur but this was for Issei.
"I know how you feel Irina, I really do. However, I have a mission and I will do everything I can to stop you. Even if I must use this." Arthur frowned again before reaching into his sheath and revealing Excalibur Ruler, the final fragment of the Holy Sword Excalibur.
Irina's eyes widened at seeing Ruler unsheathed, "I never thought I'd see the day you pointed Ruler against me Arthur. Especially since you were the one who taught all of us how to use the blades." During her training she and the other exorcist were taught about the various Holy Swords and Arthur was the one who taught them about Excalibur. Not surprising since he was the heir to the family that once used the full blade to rule over Camelot. He also held Ruler and another blade which it seemed as though he wouldn't use yet.
"Yes and I taught you back then that conviction is everything. So tell me Irina, even if it means dying against Excalibur will you stand against me. Are you willing to fight someone you KNOW you cannot defeat?" Arthur asked with a steeled gaze.
If this was even a month ago the answer would be different but right now, there was one answer, "Yes I would. If I have to fight you to save Issei I will and that's how determined I am." Irina said firmly. In her life only three things mattered: Serving God with her partner, Her father, and Issei. To protect him, she would do anything.
"Very well" Arthur replied before surprising both girls by sheathing his blade.
"Arthur" Irina said in shock.
Arthur Pendragon stared at the two girls with a steeled expression, "In this world conviction is everything. The reason I am with my Lady right now is because I was willing to sacrifice everything for the woman I loved. I just hope you won't regret showing your conviction this time Irina." Arthur smiled. In the back of his head he knew this was a bad idea, but he respected the girls far too much. Plus if Issei learned what happened, it would be a challenge escaping his wrath at least according to his mistress. A rather cruel position for him to be put in but at this point, it didn't matter.
"Thank you" Irina smiled as she and Xenovia moved towards Issei once again.
(Ravel Sona)
"Looks like we found Issei." Sona smiled as she flew in the air with her devil wings out towards the large barrier that was shining in the moonlight. With her was Ravel Reya Tsubaki and Momo along with Karlamine and Xuelan.
"I still can't believe you put a tracker on him during a threesome. Talk about distrust" Xuelan chuckled.
"Issei is the type who does what he wants when he wants and because he wants to. To have a whole campus bend to his whims the way Kuoh does requires a special human being and we all know Issei is that and more. I'd say it's merited" Momo said calmly.
"We can argue about how terrifying Issei is later. Right now we have to help him with Kokabiel." Ravel said with a hint of annoyance.
"Yeah about that?" Xuelan spoke up.
"What now!" Ravel frowned.
"He was going to have his chance to fight Kokabiel tomorrow. What in the world could've caused him to change those plans?" Xuelan wondered.
The girls all stopped since Xuelan had a very good point that they hadn't thought about. This was reckless and if there is one thing Issei was not, it was reckless. "It's got something to do Irina. That much I can promise." Momo spoke up clearly showing her annoyance.
"Well whatever it is we won't know until we arrive." Sona insisted and everyone resumed their flight. Sona agreed that Issei found realized something, but the real question was what he found and perhaps just as importantly, who he was with. She knew a thing or two about barrier's and she knew the one they were headed towards was powerful. Issei couldn't possibly maintain that type of barrier and fight Kokabiel at the same time which means somebody else was doing it for them. This was getting weirder by the minute and Sona didn't like it at all.
"We've got company" Karlamine frowned and in front of them were the three fallen that roomed with Azazel.
'This can't be good' Sona thought to herself and they all stopped.
"You guys headed somewhere fun." Raynare smiled but considering the expression on her face she was anything but happy.
"Get out of the way Raynare. You know exactly where we're going and the only question now is will you stand in our way." Ravel said angrily.
Raynare sighed before her expression turned serious, "I'll answer your question if you tell me how you knew about this fight."
"I put a special spell on him that let me keep track of his magical signature during our last date. It alerted me that his signature and vanished and Ravel was stalking him with her familiar." Sona answered.
"I was not stalking him." Ravel protested despite a blush on her face.
"Seriously" Raynare said in disbelief.
"Who cares why they're doing it. Our job is to keep them away and I say we do it." Mittelt spoke up to the annoyance of Sona and the others.
"Who told you to keep us away." Sona said nervously praying it wasn't Issei.
"Loverboy showed up a little while ago wanting to speak to my dad and I heard the pair of them go over to Valerie. After that he left, but I heard Valerie say something and she left soon after that. Dad realized something and then asked us to follow and make sure you guys don't interfere." Raynare explained.
"This is very bad." Sona said nervously. Azazel wanted to make sure they didn't interfere which means he knows what Issei is up to. This was getting more problematic by the second.
"You girls are already aware of this, but for him to change the plan means he knows something major that we don't. Whatever it is, it made him attack a Kokabiel this late at night and do so with no backup. So you guys joining in would probably do way more harm than good." Raynare explained.
"So what would you have us do. He'll get slaughtered by Kokabiel if we do nothing." Ravel said angrily.
"Lady Ravel is right. We have to go and help him." Karlamine frowned.
"Yeah" Reya persisted.
Raynare frowned because this was truthfully an annoying situation. She had no idea what her dad and Issei were hiding and she wanted to know. However she knew that Issei and her dad had a reason for not telling them. In the end there was one choice, "Let's go. My dad can get pissed at me later, but honestly I want my own answers." Raynare sighed.
"Ray" Kalawarner warned.
"Way I see it, if we join the battle we'll find out what he knows. Plus there's no telling how patient Kokabiel will be and Issei's a good guy" Raynare countered.
"Fine" Kalawarner sighed. Issei was the most tolerable person they'd met in a long time. The fact he was a monster in bed didn't hurt.
"Shall we" Mittelt chuckled deciding to go along with it.
"Yeah" Sona said hesitantly as they resumed their march to the battlefield. The closer they got, the more nervous she got.
(Scene Skip)
Sona and her group arrived just outside of the barrier in a small clearing that had forests around them but they weren't alone. Irina and Xenovia were talking with a blonde girl that Sona wasn't familiar with. "What was my brother thinking letting you two get through" the girl said angrily. Sona wasn't familiar with the girl but Raynare was.
"What the fuck are you doing here Le Fay?" Raynare said angrily.
Le Fay saw the girls behind her and was not happy, "Oh just great! Raynare brought the devils too? Does nobody listen" the now named Le Fay cursed.
"That's besides the point. If you're here that means Valerie's involved and that means she's inside with Issei." Raynare deadpanned.
"That's right and you guys shouldn't be here." Le Fay said angrily.
"What's going on Le Fay. You clearly know something but you won't tell us." Irina asked nervously. She knew the younger Pendragon also through Arthur and they were good friends.
"My job was to make the barrier for the fight and that's that. I don't know why Valerie and that guy want to fight Kokabiel alone but they do and you're not getting through." Le Fay frowned.
"That's enough Le Fay. You can't fight all these guys alone." a sultry voice spoke up.
"That's right. So how about we help you." a male voice added with a chuckle. As the two new figures approached Sona's eyes widened yet again.
"You're Kuroka" Sona gasped. The woman was beautiful young lady who appeared to be in her early 20s with long black hair with split bangs, and hazel-gold eyes with cat-like pupils. She wore a black kimono with a red interior that was open so a pair of massive breasts that rivaled those of Rias and Akeno were on full display along with a yellow obi, a set of golden beads and an ornate headband. Despite all of that, her most notable feature was the black cat ears and black tail she was also sporting.
"Wait a minute. You're talking about the S-Rank Stray Devil Kuroka who killed her master." Ravel frowned.
"Yes that's right." Sona said with gritted teeth.
"Don't forget about lil old me." The guy said with a smile. He was a young man with short black hair who wore ancient Chinese armor.
"Fuck, Bikou and Kuroka are here. This just got ugly." Raynare cursed to Sona's shock.
'It can't be. Why is a powerful Stray Devil like Kuroka here and how does Raynare know her?' Sona thought to herself.
"That's right Raynare so if you and your friends know what's good for you, you'll give up now." Bikou smiled.
"That's right go home and relax and let the two dragons handle this." Kuroka added
Sona was furious but she needed answers as much as anything, "Why are you blocking us." Sona asked trying to figure this out.
"We honestly don't know. Lady Valerie called us and asked us to help so we did." Bikou shrugged.
"That's right. What she wants she gets." Kuroka smiled.
Sona froze because this was getting complicated. However a solution came in a surprising source, "How about this. What if Irina and Xenovia leave and the rest of us stay and help with the barrier. Containing all that power must be difficult and our group specializes in that." Momo spoke up as everyone stared at her.
"Seriously Momo! Why would you suggest that?" Irina exclaimed clearly angry at Momo's suggestion.
"Shut up and think for a second Irina. Issei isn't the type to do rash actions like this on his own and the only explanation I can think of is something that involves you." Momo said coldly causing Irina to freeze.
"What did you just say?" Xenovia said angrily coming to the defense of her partner.
Momo turned towards Xenovia with a hateful glare in her face, "You're Irina's partner so I don't know how much you know about Issei, but I do and that means I know a few things about him and the way he thinks. Kokabiel was going to face us tomorrow and we knew where he would be and when. Instead of waiting for that time, Issei decided to attack Kokabiel out of the blue and do so alone, which is reckless. If you know Issei, you know he doesn't do reckless… EVER. Every move Issei makes is calculated to a nauseating degree. The only reason I can possibly think of that Issei would act so rashly and fight Kokabiel alone would be that he doesn't want your partner finding out something." Momo said bitterly. Everyone turned towards Irina curious about her response but her eyes said it all. "See Irina, you know that I'm right. For some reason that none of us know, Issei is risking his life against a cadre. If you go in there now you ignore that completely."
Irina froze for a bit unsure of what to say but Bikou spoke up, "The idiot will be fine. Valerie might be a pain in the ass, but she likes lover boy enough to save his ass if things get too freaky." Bikou chuckled causing multiple twitches from the girls.
"Of course she does." Raynare groaned.
"So why don't we all just go home and relax." Kuroka smiled.
Sona froze but realized that this situation was getting troublesome, "The three of us are good with barriers so we can help hold up the barrier while Issei and Valerie fight. The rest of our group will go home provided we get answers later." Sona spoke diplomatically.
"I agree with that" Ravel frowned with Xuelan nodding her approval.
"Works for me." Raynare smiled with Mittelt and Kalawarner nodding their approval. The only ones left was Irina and Xenovia.
"Fine. We'll leave." Irina frowned. She didn't like it, but that was the right move.
"But Irina." Xenovia said nervously.
Irina turned towards her partner and smiled, "As long as we get the news from Issei it'll be fine. We got what we needed anyway." Irina smiled referring to the blades.
"Right" Xenovia frowned and the two girls left the area.
Once the two girls were gone, Sona breathed a sigh of relief for various reasons. She had questions also but fortunately for her the person who could answer them wasn't far away, "You can stop hiding now Issei. I know you're there or at least a clone of yours is." Sona smiled as she turned to the left in an area hidden from view.
"I can't believe you figured it out so easily." Issei smiled as he walked out in his casual outfit.
"Nice. I take it the real you is with Valerie." Bikou smiled.
"Yep. I'm glad she had you guys as backup, but I think I can take it from here." Issei smiled.
"Works for me. Le Fay here needs to stay for the barrier but we can go." Bikou smiled as he and Kuroka left. As for the other devils there was confusion all around.
"What's going on?" Ravel spoke.
Issei took a deep breath since this was going to be a pain but he could throw them a small bone, "I was relaxing in my room, ALONE, when something occurred to me. In order to figure out if my theory was correct, I went to Azazel. I asked Azazel to confirm something and after doing. so we realized what his plan was.
After that I was going to confront Kokabiel myself and stop his plan but Azazel insisted on me bringing Valerie. We agreed to attack tomorrow but I knew that would never work and I decided to confront Kokabiel alone. Ironically enough Valerie got to me just before I was about to fight and after a small argument we agreed to attack together" Issei smirked.
"And yet a clone of yours is here. Don't tell me you sensed all of us coming." Sona scowled.
"No. Just as I was about to attack Ddraig mentioned that he sensed Ravel's familiar nearby since his sensory range is greater than mine. Realizing that if Ravel knew, she could tell Sona I started to make clones to ensure that they didn't get in my way. Fortunately for me, Valerie already had a plan for that and she wanted to wait and see how things played out before we fought." Issei shrugged.
"I'm surprised Kokabiel is being so generous. Allowing you to delay a big battle like that is surprising." Sona admitted. This whole thing was strange but at least the battle hadn't started.
"He's facing both Dragon Emperor's and he wants me fully focused. Say what you want about the guy but he likes his battles" Issei shrugged.
"Makes sense" Sona acknowledged.
"So what's this big secret." Momo wondered since it had to be a major one.
"Like I promised Irina, I'll tell you after the battle is over. Right now I need to dispel."
"Alright. We'll get in position to help the barrier and Ravel, Raynare Mittelt and Kalawarner will leave." Sona assured.
"Good" Issei smiled before he dispelled.
"Then let's go girls." Sona smiled as she looked towards her servants.
"I'm trusting you Sitri." Ravel scowled before vanishing via a magic circle.
"We're gone too, I guess. I'll let Dad know you guys are at least watching the scene. Damn it I'm tired." Raynare scowled as she Mittelt and Kalawarner left.
(Inside)
Inside the barrier Kokabiel was sitting on a large throne with Valerie and Issei sitting and waiting. "Bout time they finished up." Issei shrugged after his clone dispelled.
"Those girls of yours are troublesome. Most of your supernatural lovers somehow came at once and that's considering you snuck out." Valerie smiled.
"You're as troublesome as all of them considering you followed me after we agreed to attack tomorrow." Issei retorted.
"As much as I find your flirting hilarious. I'm curious about something before we get started." Kokabiel admitted.
"What's that?"
"Valper and Freed were killed the night I was at the bar meeting with the Red Dragon. Since he wasn't behind it, I'm curious if you were Valerie." Kokabiel smiled.
"Not at all. I wasn't going to get involved at all to be honest." Valerie admitted.
"Hmm so was it those exorcists?" Kokabiel wondered turning towards Issei.
"I doubt it. Irina is many things but sneaky is not one of them. Honestly I was half expecting to fight Freed and Valper as a warmup." Issei admitted.
Kokabiel simply shrugged, "Oh well. It doesn't matter now since as you're aware, I don't need the fragments anyway. Valper was a contingency plan all things considered. I guess I'll simply face you two and call it a day." Kokabiel smiled finally leaving the throne.
"Looks like its game time Rival." Valerie frowned.
"Yeah"
BOOSTED GEAR
DIVINE DIVIDING.
Issei's Boosted Gear appeared on his left arm ready to go while Valerie's Divine Dividing appeared. When it was just him, he was going to use his Balance Breaker but now that wasn't necessary.
The Two Dragon Emperors were ready to go but so was the Kokabiel. Instead of staying above them he brought himself down to their level so they could have a more interesting battle. "Show me what you can do." Kokabiel smiled.
"Will do" Issei smiled before flaring his magic and vanishing in a flash of speed.
"Not bad" Kokabiel smiled before making an upward block to deal with Issei's right footed axe kick.
BOOST
"Thanks but I'm not done." Issei smiled staying on the attack charging Kokabiel ready to punch him in the face.
"I hope you don't think that'll be enough to beat me." Kokabiel smiled aiming to punch him in the face.
"Maybe not but it was a good distraction." Valerie smiled having moved behind him.
DIVIDE
"Damn it. I forgot about that power of yours." Kokabiel scowled as his power was drained.
"Yep. That's why this is gonna be fun Koky." Valerie smiled as energy seemed to come from her wings.
"Nice. You can steal his energy and add it to yours. I'm guessing that energy around your wings is extra power that you can't absorb." Issei smiled from a distance and Valerie was next to him in short order as a panting Kokabiel tried to recover.
BOOST
"That's right. It comes in handy since most supernatural being's favor magic. It's also the reason Zaz wanted me to help you." Valerie chuckled.
"Good to know, but I can't let you have all the fun." Issei smiled as he focused on Kokabiel again.
"Well if that's all you two have, I'm not going to be satisfied." Kokabiel smiled.
Issei smiled back before taking a glance to the side. "Alright. Then I'm going to show you something special. But first I need to make a slight change." Issei smiled lifting his hand into the air and producing a small bit of flames. Just like always Ravel's familiar appears and eats the flames.
"What the hell?" Valerie said in shock.
Issei looked at the bird and stared at him, "Get out of here buddy. I know Ravel probably sent you to watch over me like a mother hen, but now it's serious time. I don't want you getting hurt from the power we're about to put out." Issei said calmly to the intrigue of the others.
"Alright but you know Lady Ravel won't be happy." The bird nodded.
"Yes but that never stopped me before and it won't stop me now." Issei smiled.
"Very well." the bird nodded before vanishing in flames. Issei focused for a bit to ensure that the familiar and any other observers might be gone and after knowing as much focused back on the other two combatants.
"You said that it's serious time now. Does that mean you've been holding out on us?" Valerie teased.
"Yeah. I was going to do something else before you showed up and now, I'd say it's time to take this to the next level" Issei smiled.
"If you're telling me it's time to take things seriously. I'll respond in kind." Kokabiel smiled before focusing his power. The energy around the Fallen was visible and even Valerie shuddered.
"I hope you know what you're doing. I mean I've been holding back too but now Koky is taking it seriously." Valerie said nervously.
Issei looked towards his rival with a vicious grin., "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Issei chuckled causing Valerie's eyes to widen before a grin of her own appeared on his face.
Kokabiel twitched heavily, "Any day now you two. If I wanted to watch horny people flirt all day, I'd have gone to one of Azazel's bars." Kokabiel twitched.
"Hey, I'm not that horny right now." Issei retorted.
"That's your complaint." Valerie sweatdropped.
Issei smiled before focusing as his expression turned from playful to serious, "But you are right. Maybe it's time I pump things up." Issei smiled "BALANCE BREAKER"
Valerie and Kokabiel's eyes widened as power exploded from Issei and soon Issei's balance breaker was revealed. It was crimson armor with a dragon-like head and a red tail. "Now that's more like it." Kokabiel smiled.
"Yeah and since he was so nice to start the party. I think it's my turn to get into my dancing clothes" Valerie smiled before uttering the same sentence. "BALANCE BREAKER." Now it was the White Dragon's turn to reveal her power and hers was a white and gold armor with a tail and the same blue energy wings.
"Now we're talking." Kokabiel smiled happily as he allowed his own power to flow. The fallen Angel cadre knew that things were about to get good.
(Outside)
"What the heck is going on in there." Momo growled as she and the others tried to restrain the barrier. Issei and Valerie both using their balance breakers upped the ante.
"The battle is getting serious most likely. Lady Valerie is a battle junkie which means she's going to enjoy facing a cadre." Le Fay sighed.
"Which means Issei is taking it seriously himself. Well this just got interesting." Sona continued.
"What do you mean by that?" Xuelan wondered.
"Issei suggested long ago that Rias wasn't nearly strong enough to reincarnate him, but although the performance against Riser was something, I always got the feeling he was holding back his true strength."
"So how strong is he when he's serious." Reya wondered.
"I don't know but what I do know is this. We won't be able to hold back or this will get ugly." Sona frowned as she poured more magic into the barrier.
"We'll discuss this later." Momo scowled before doing the same.
'This Red Dragon Emperor must be some person if these girls are fighting over him. I guess this will be interesting for Lady Valerie after all.' Le Fay mused mentally before doing the same.
(Battlefield)
With both Balance Breaker's ready the two dragon Emperors were primed to strike. "Mind if I go first Valerie" Issei smiled as he stood clad in his balance breaker.
"Go ahead but don't die." Valerie teased.
"Yeah yeah" Issei chuckled before charging Kokabiel.
"Bring it" Kokabiel smiled before coating his hands with Holy Power.
"I see what you're up to" Issei smiled rearing back to show a right jab.
BOOST x 5
"That's right boy. Show me what you can do" Kokabiel shouted as he met his jab with his coated fist. The two fists collide and the brief clash made for a powerful burst of energy.
"Not bad" Valerie smiled as she felt the clash.
"Not bad boy but let's see you handle this." Kokabiel smiled as he disengaged briefly in order to nail Issei at close range with a holy spear. Issei was ready and used his speed to create some distance.
"Nice try but you're going to have to do better than that. Thanks to training with Raynare Mittelt and Kalwarner I know even the most skilled fallen needs a moment or two to make their spears. If I can sense that timing, I can dodge it." Issei smiled.
"Yes, but I'm on a whole different level from Raynare. You are correct that most fallen need about a second and a half to make their holy spears. However I can make mine in a millisecond if I so chose. By the time you sensed my spear it would be through your gut and you'd be dead" Kokabiel countered.
"Well fuck" Issei groaned. If he was that fast then he wouldn't stand a chance.
"However if you make me even consider doing that it'll be your victory. So shall we-" Kokabiel taunted before he was forced to move because Valerie had taken the chance to speed behind him.
"He's not the only dragon in this fight Kokabiel and you know how dangerous I am." Valerie smiled her sacred gear ready to go.
"Damn you" Kokabiel cursed trying to move away but even he was too late
DIVIDE x 2
As Divine Dividing reigned down Kokabiel's power was cut in half twice seriously weakening him, "How do you like my sacred gear Koky. Thank you for teaching me how to fight back in the day also." Valerie smiled.
"Cheeky brat. That gear of yours makes you annoying, but it doesn't change much." Kokabiel grunted.
"Ahh but it does." Issei smiled as he stood side by side with Valerie. "Her gear drains your power and I'm guessing her Balance Breaker means she can constantly do it like I can with my boosts. We may not be equals but enough drains and we are and that's what we're counting on." Issei smiled.
"That's right Koky." Valerie smiled.
Kokabiel growled because he knew this was going to get ugly. "In that case" Kokabiel vanished in a burst of speed.
"Get ready Valerie" Issei warned.
"I got it" Valerie replied but Kokabiel appeared behind her with a spear primed.
"Take this!" Kokabiel growled nailing her with a holy spear in the back before she could even consider dodging.
"Shit!" Valerie cursed.
"Valerie!" Issei shouted with worry. Valerie's devil heritage meant that a holy spear would be a problem.
"One down!" Kokabiel smiled as Valerie fell to the ground but to the shock of Issei and Kokabiel, Valerie seemed to poof out of existence.
"Or not" another Valerie smiled from behind the stunned Kokabiel.
"What!"
"Thank god for Dragonic Clones. Now it's payback time." Valerie smiled.
DIVIDE x 5
The gear struck again and Kokabiel's power was dropped again.
"Well that was a surprise" Issei said with relief.
"Yeah. Watching you use clones inspired me to start using them myself. I'm glad I did too or I'd be in trouble" Valerie said happily through her armor.
"Yep and now Kokabiel is much weaker." Issei smiled.
"Yeah but weaker doesn't mean weak. Even as he is, we'd still have a tough time beating him one on one." Valerie smiled.
As for Kokabiel himself he was panting with exhaustion after being drained like that. It had been a while since he was pushed this far and it was taking it's toll, "You dragons have become powerful. I knew Valerie was talented but I never imagined the Red Dragon would be this good." Kokabiel smiled.
"To be fair, I haven't done much in this fight." Issei admitted.
"Yes but to keep up with us is special. You must've trained long and hard to get that Balance Breaker at such a young age without any formal training." Kokabiel admitted.
"I had some formal training but that's fine. So are you going to give up?" Issei asked hopefully.
"Oh come on do you honestly think?" Valerie started to say before Kokabiel shocked them.
"You know what… I think I will." Kokabiel smiled.
"Huh?" Valerie said in disbelief.
"If I did much more, I think Azazel over here would be angry at me." Kokabiel smiled turning towards the entrance of the theatre.
To the shock of both teens Azazel walked out with a smile on his face, "Now why'd you go and ruin things. I was enjoying the battle."
"Yes you were at least until I nearly killed Valerie. I may be eager for a battle but I'm not stupid enough to test your patience." Kokabiel smiled having noticed his friend's killer intent when the spear struck.
Issei and Valerie were both stunned by this but Issei spoke up, "So wait… why are you here Zaz?" Issei asked in confusion
"Short version is that just like you guys I knew where Kokabiel was but couldn't step in for annoying reasons. When I realized you went to challenge him, I snuck in myself. I hid and watched to see how you'd do and I was going to step in if Kokabiel got super serious. We need you guys for the future events and that means you dying would be bad."
"Future events?" Valerie wondered.
"I'll explain more down the road, but I believe it's time for both of you to go home. There's a lot of explaining to do after the events that went down tonight."
"Fine but you're telling me what you mean once I get some actual sleep. It's stupidly late thanks to a certain dragon" Valerie frowned before dispelling her balance breaker.
"Alright" Azazel chuckled.
"I guess I have some girls to talk to as well." Issei smiled bitterly. The battle ended there and then but it was an experience that both Dragon Emperor's would never forget.
(Scene Skip)
Issei and Valerie walked out of the barrier and were quickly noticed by the group in front of them.
"They're back" Le Fay shouted and in moments the barrier was gone and everyone ran towards the pair.
"Lady Valerie are you alright." Le Fay said nervously for her master.
"Yeah I'm fine. Now go home and get some rest." Valerie smiled.
"Right" Le Fay replied before leaving via a magic circle.
"I'm gonna get going also. There's a lot of questions to be answered." Valerie smiled before vanishing via a magic circle leaving Issei with the Sitri peerage.
"Sorry about all this. I really wanted to keep it a secret." Issei said bashfully but to the surprise of everyone he was slapped in the face by Momo.
"You idiot! I know you care about Irina, but you could've been killed fighting him alone." Momo said angrily as a rush of emotions appeared on her face.
"I know Momo, and I'm sorry." Issei replied by wrapping his arms around the bishop knowing that he deserved the slap.
"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" Momo cried pushing away slightly in order to pound his chest.
"Let it all out Momo." Issei smiled. He knew she would be upset and he couldn't blame her. It lasted a few more minutes before Momo finally stopped and they simply held each other for a little longer.
"Umm have you guys forgotten we're here." Reya said with a slight blush.
"Nope but Momo needed to let it all out." Issei smiled.
"Well on that note how about we all get going and agree to meet up Saturday night at the ORC and Issei don't keep us waiting too long." Sona smirked to issei's surprise.
"Alright I won't." Issei replied with a smile before vanishing himself via his magic circle. Sona could've insisted they meet earlier and Issei cancel his dates but Sona clearly wasn't doing that which he appreciated.
(Scene Skip)
An exhausted Issei arrived in his room ready to get some sleep but he noticed that Irina was lying in his bed wearing her blue tank top and brown shorts. 'Looks like she wanted to be the first to see me.' Issei chuckled before walking over to the bed and bending down before giving Irina a kiss on the cheek "Wake up Iri" Issei smiled letting the kiss linger until Irina started to stir and he pulled away.
"Issei" Irina mumbled before she looked up to see a smiling Issei perfectly okay. "Issei!" Irina shouted before shooting to her feet and embracing him.
"I'm back Irina." Issei smiled as he wrapped his arms around Irina's waist and pulled her close
"I can't believe it. You actually beat Kokabiel." Irina said in shock as she tried to gather herself in Issei's arms.
"It's complicated." Issei said bashfully unsure of what else he could say.
"So what happened" Irina asked eagerly wanting answers.
"How about this. I'm meeting with everyone tomorrow night and I can explain everything to you then. That includes why I didn't tell you about Kokabiel" Issei smiled.
"Okay. So can we cuddle tonight." Irina wondered innocently.
"Sure but let me get changed first." Issei smiled before grabbing his sleep clothes from his desk. A blushing Irina could only watch as Issei got changed in front of her and soon they were ready for bed.
"Did you really have to change in front of me." Irina blushed. Sure she had seen him naked on a few occasions but she also knew he had magic.
"I didn't have to but I felt like it." Issei smirked before walking over to the bed and getting in.
"Good grief" Irina sighed before following suit and getting in with Issei acting as the big spoon wrapping his right arm around Irina's body while his left stayed by her head. As they snuggled into each other what should've been a blissful moment for Issei was anything, but as he thought to tomorrow.
'What I did was reckless Irina but I have no choice. If you learn what I figured out, everything is going to change and I'd rather you be somewhere safe instead of on a battlefield.' Issei thought to himself. Irina was about to learn a life changing secret and while it might shock the devils who weren't aware of it, the secret would devastate his childhood friend and her partner. This was going to be one of the toughest days of his life and considering some of the craziness he had endured that was saying something.