Chapter 22
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 anime
(ORC Club Room)
The night of the three factions meeting had arrived and Rias Gremory sat in the clubroom with her group as they made the final preparations for the meeting. For Rias, that involved figuring out what to do with newest member of the group in Gasper. Gasper was bad with people and with what was sure to be an intense meeting she wanted to keep him comfortable, "Okay Gasper, so we have to go now but Koneko will be here to watch you." Rias said softly.
"How about I do it instead. That way Koneko can be a part of this." a voice said with a smile. Rias looked towards the side and found a smiling Issei standing in a black jacket with red shirt and black pants along with sneakers.
"Now you're doing that too huh Issei?" Rias pouted slightly. Valerie had a habit of sneaking in without Rias realizing it and it looked like Issei was doing the same thing.
"Yeah. It's an easy trick but telling you how would ruin the fun, so I won't." Issei chuckled. He simply hid his signature before teleporting into the spare bedroom and walking in. How Rias didn't figure that out was beyond him.
Rias walked over to the man and smiled, "So is the real you going to be at the meeting or a clone." Rias wondered since Issei cloning himself was the only way he could go to the meeting.
"Probably the clone me, it will know everything I do and therefore can act as needed." Issei said warmly before making a clone to attend the meeting.
Rias sighed but realized this was how he tended to operate, "Very well." Rias said calmly before leaving with the clone right behind her. She didn't really trust him, but she did need somebody to watch Gasper.
The moment the door closed, Issei felt the aura of the room change and he quickly realized the source was the young bishop, "I thought she'd never leave." Gasper practically groaned.
"Who are you and what have you done with Gasper." Issei smiled happily. This was much better than the whiny kid he saw before.
"Valerie came by and said she wanted to help me out since it was obvious Rias had no clue how to deal with me. She introduced me to her friend Bikou, and we've been talking a lot during the day while playing video games as everyone else attended class." Gasper admitted as a smirk grew on his face.
"What did you discuss" Issei wondered.
"The nature of my power. He made me realize that instead of fearing my power I should learn to embrace it in order to protect the people I love." Gasper explained.
"That's a good lesson." Issei approved. It was one the Gremory peerage as a whole needed in truth.
"It was and when I wasn't playing video games I decided to work on my power and as I embraced my power, I felt like a new me was born as a result. One that wants to make people afraid of me instead of the other way around" Gasper answered.
'Bikou you bastard, you created a monster.' Issei thought to himself. Shut-ins like Gasper were horrifically resourceful because needed to learn how to go through daily life without dealing with people. Gasper was especially skilled at that given his supernatural situation and if he could apply the things he learned as a shut-in he could become a terror in short order. "So, what does the new you think about what's going on tonight." Issei smiled.
"Well… they're currently having a meeting about recent events, but to me that's pointless."
"Oh" Issei said with a raised eyebrow.
"What happened was bad, but that's not enough of a reason to all of the sudden want peace. After all, the leaders have been the same for a very long time and they all knew about God's death already. Even when you consider who learned the truth, none of us would do anything to disrupt the status quo especially with what happened to Xenovia."
"Keep going Gasper. You're on a roll." Issei grinned savagely.
"God's death is an excuse to get everyone together and they're going to reveal something else. Something way more dangerous. Something that they can't keep hidden for much longer" Gasper finished.
Issei was thrilled with the assessment of the young vampire and he could barely hide his joy, "I agree Gasper and I'm starting to want to talk to you way more." Issei smiled.
"Well since we've got some time, let's talk now." Gasper said happily.
"You know. I actually feel bad for my clone because I'm having tons of fun." Issei chuckled and the two continued to talk.
(Club Room)
Over in the club room the meeting was about to begin but instead of sitting on the sidelines Issei's clone was sitting right at the table between Serafall and Azazel. Sirzechs and Michael were across from him with Rias's peerage and Ravel behind Sirzechs while Sona Reya Tsubaki Momo Karlamine and Xuelan were behind Serafall. Raynare Mittelt and Kalawarner were behind Azazel with Valerie next to them.
"Alright everybody it's time to start this meeting. Let me start by confirming that everyone here knows that the Biblical God is dead." Azazel announced.
"Yeah Zaz all of us here know. For the record, Bikou Kuroka Arthur and Le Fay know also but they're sworn to secrecy by me." Vali said offhandedly.
"Good to know." Azazel smiled.
"Seeing as how Kokabiel was a fallen, the first word goes to Azazel." Sirzechs said calmly.
"There isn't much to say other than my bad." Azazel shrugged.
"A mea culpa. That's all you've got." Issei's clone said with disbelief. He knew the man was nonchalant, but this was insane.
"Yes, and it's because of politics that I can say that Issei." Azazel replied. "You have to remember that I AM the leader of the Fallen Angels and the only one of the leaders to survive the original war between our factions. I pulled out and a lot of people including Kokabiel were not happy with my decision because with the devil kings and God dead we could've easily won. I basically told them that I was their leader and what I say goes and they went with it. Luckily for me, the Fallen went along with it and I didn't create my version of the Old Maou Faction. Or rather I didn't appear to."
"Old Maou faction?" the clone questioned. The real him heard the term from Jeanne, but now it seemed he'd get some clarity on the group.
"After the Great War was over and the original Devil leaders died, the new devil leaders were chosen from four people who were considered war heroes. I became Sirzechs Gremory. Serafall here became Serafall Leviathan. My friend Ajuka Astaroth became Ajuka Beelzebub and Falbium Glasya-Labolas became Falbium Asmodeous. That decision was met by severe protest by the children of the original devil kings who felt that they should rule just as their ancestors did. They separated from us and formed a faction known as the Old Maou Faction that eventually waged war on us. Our group won the war and since then the Old Maou Faction has scattered into the wind" Sirzechs explained.
"And now their back with a vengeance and they've brought ne-er do wells from other factions to join them. I wonder how everyone will react to this news.' The clone thought to himself. "I see." The clone replied calmly.
"As for the fallen, I'll admit that I could've watched over them closer, but I chose to let them be. It was cruel, but I chose my faction over a few humans here and there." Azazel said rather bluntly.
"That is cruel, but I get it." The clone acknowledged. He couldn't hate him for thinking about his people first no matter how much he wanted to.
"Let's get back on topic. Rias, do you mind giving us the report on what happened." Sirzechs spoke up bringing everybody back.
"Yes" a slightly surprised Rias yelped. Freed never interacted with her group at all before his untimely death and Kokabiel was the same. She knew a bit about the exorcists and Valper along with what Kokabiel told Sona and Issei on their date. Outside of that, she was clueless, but she told them the few things she could.
"Thank you. Now Sona can you explain what happened the day of the battle because as I understand it Rias was left out." Serafall said calmly trying to hide her irritation since Sona knew FAR more than Rias but Sirzechs insisted Rias explain some details to make her look good.
"Of course." Sona said calmly keeping her cool at just now being brought in. "As Rias said, the original discussion with Kokabiel was that he would attack Saturday afternoon and we'd be waiting for him. However, Issei decided to attack Kokabiel alone."
The focus turned towards Issei and the question that was on most people's minds was finally asked, "Why did you attack Kokabiel alone. Surely you were aware of the risks" Michael wondered.
"I attacked him because I realized that Kokabiel was planning to reveal God's death to the group that day and I was going to prevent that."
"But according to the report, YOU were the one who eventually revealed God's death." Azazel replied dryly. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on anybody.
"My original plan was to fight Kokabiel and find a way to prevent him from telling the devils later. Since I knew he wanted a good fight, I figured that by approaching alone, Kokabiel would've held back enough that I could potentially knock him out"
"What changed" Serafall wondered.
"Pretty much everybody found out about it. Valerie realized I was going to attack and followed me into the barrier. Meanwhile, Sona not only figured out that something was wrong but had the annoying foresight to bring Momo along. They arrived at the barrier and were met by a clone that wanted to ensure they didn't join the parade and ruin things. Unfortunately, I only got them to leave after promising to reveal my real motive for attacking Kokabiel to them later.
"It sounds like Momo and Ms Shidou being there forced you to change your story." Serafall frowned.
"That's right. I can lie to Sona to some extent, but Momo and Irina are another story. I'd wager there wasn't a lie I could tell that they'd believe, especially if they were together." The clone shrugged. Sona frowned at the statement while Momo and Irina shared a smile.
"That's… interesting." Michael sweatdropped unsure of how else to answer.
"Anyway. Valerie and I fought Kokabiel for a bit, but he gave up after a few rounds." Issei explained. He wasn't going to reveal the fact that he stopped because Azazel got pissed at him for nearly killing Valerie with a Holy Spear. Too many headaches were involved with that revelation.
"I'm surprised he did that. Kokabiel gave up far too easily considering the length's he went to." Sirzechs admitted.
"I can't explain it either." The clone smoothly lied.
"Something else is curious to me." Sirzechs spoke up.
"What's that" Issei wondered.
"These reports mentioned nothing about Valper Galiel the person believed to be Kokabiel's partner. What happened to him." Sirzechs said calmly.
"We forgot about him. We were so distracted by Issei going rogue that we forgot about the other fragments of Excalibur." Sona lamented.
Michael spoke up, "Not to worry Ms Sitri because they were taken care of." Michael said calmly.
"Something you're not telling us Mikey" Azazel smiled.
"According to the report Irina gave us, somebody left a large briefcase in front of the Red Dragon's household. After checking to make sure it wasn't a trap, they opened the case and found the fragments along with a note claiming that the person who left the note killed Valper and Freed." Michael answered.
Sirzechs turned towards a now bashful Irina and asked, "Ms Shidou do you have any idea who gave you the fragments?"
"Not at all sir." Irina said calmly but the clone realized she was lying because of a few tells on her face. It wasn't hard to figure out that Jeanne was the one who killed Freed and Valper, but it didn't matter now. He would look that gift horse in the mouth later.
"I see" Sirzech's frowned.
"Well enough about that. You guys got the fragments, we stopped Kokabiel. Problem solved." Azazel said nonchalantly.
"I'm not so sure" Sona spoke up.
"A penny for your thoughts Ms Sitri." Azazel smiled.
Sona gathered herself before turning to Raynare, "Why did you come to Kuoh back then Raynare? Before Issei… well made you a member of his harem" Sona asked delicately.
"What do you mean?" Raynare said nervously. Fortunately for her, the clone could translate.
"What's Sona's trying to say delicately and failing to do so is this. You're the daughter of a fallen angel cadre. Of all the places in the world for you to set up and do some covert operation involving a nun who was recently excommunicated, you chose the place where the siblings of two devil kings lived. That means you're bold, stupid, or you were told by somebody else to do it." the clone said bluntly causing a few winces around the room.
"And of course, you come at it with all the delicacy of a sledgehammer?" Sona groaned.
"Yep because being politically correct is pointless." Issei shrugged.
"I wanted to get my dad's attention and what better way to do that, then complete a major operation under the noses of a hated enemy." Raynare answered quickly.
"Is that so" Sona said with a raised eyebrow.
"You can stop lying honey because I'll tell them why?" Azazel smiled before focusing on the group much to the relief of Raynare, "As all of us who went through the Great war can attest, there were mixed feelings about the way things played out. The Devils Civil War was just one result but there were many who weren't happy at the way things played out. Those mixed feelings resulted in the creation of a group known as the Khaos Brigade."
"The Khaos Brigade?" Rias questioned.
"Yes. I've heard rumors of it before, but never had anything concrete. Due to her jealousy of my relationship with Valerie, I suspect my baby girl ran into somebody working for that group and they manipulated her into joining them."
"Is that true Raynare?" Sirzechs questioned.
"Yeah. Dohnaseek told me about the job and that somebody needed help with Asia. I was drunk at the time and it was too good to ignore and I gave in. By the time I realized what I had done, it was too late and luckily it worked itself out." Raynare admitted shamefully.
"I see" Sirzechs frowned.
"Anyway. The Khaos Brigade is a group that I believe consists of the remnants of the Old Maou Faction and other supernatural beings. The Khaos Brigade is also behind Kokabiel, and there's no telling what they'll do next" Azazel warned. It was fitting that the group heard a massive explosion right after.
"I blame you for that dad." Raynare deadpanned.
"Umm that was by the clubroom wasn't it." Xenovia spoke up causing panic to appear from the girls.
"Gasper!" Rias screamed.
"Is perfectly okay" clone Issei smiled.
"But that explosion." Rias protested.
"Was probably due to the real me running into people who were from the very organization Azazel is talking about."
"You're a clone!" Irina gasped.
"Yep and now it's time for me to go. Don't get yourselves killed while I'm gone." The clone smirked before vanishing.
"That guy" Sona groaned before slapping her hand against her head.
"We've got other things to worry about. Look outside" Valerie spoke up and the group saw demonic beings appearing from a series of magical circles. The meeting was under attack.
(Five minutes ago)
Issei was loving the new Gasper and he was somebody he'd definitely speak to more moving forward, "I owe Valerie for introducing you to Bikou."
"She opened my eyes to the truth. Sadly, Rias still coddles me" Gasper groaned.
"That's your fault kid. Show her what you can do, and she'll show you the respect you deserve." Issei replied with a chuckle.
Gasper was about to reply before his expression turned sour, "We have guests."
"I see. How many do you sense." Issei smiled back. Jeanne's group took the bait that was left for them and now he could wipe them out with ease.
"Not quite used to sensing people yet." Gasper admitted.
"Alright." Issei smiled before focusing his own senses. "There are six of them, medium strength."
"Should we take them together or do you have this." Gasper wondered.
"I got it. This should be fun." Issei smiled as he walked out of Gasper's room. He needed to blow off some steam and it didn't take long for him to find his foes.
"Who are you?" one of the attackers questioned.
"Your worst nightmare" Issei smiled before powering up. This was going to be fun.
(Conference Room)
As the soldiers began to fight most of the group was keeping their cool. "Big brother I need to go to Gasper." Rias insisted focusing on her bishop.
Most of the room looked at Rias in disbelief, "Seriously red. Your bishop is with Issei and that means he's the safest person here." Valerie chastised.
"Valerie is right. There's no way Issei will lose." Irina insisted and a glare from Sona said the same thing.
Rias took a deep breath since they were right. Issei showed his strength plenty of times, "I guess I'm just nervous. I don't trust that guy."
"Seriously. He's the strongest person in the school and he's connected to practically everyone here. What's there not to trust." Valerie exclaimed.
"Her issue isn't trust but control" Raynare smiled.
"What was that!" Rias scowled.
"You're angry because you wanted him for yourself and he's stopped you at every turn. You can't stand the fact that somebody with his power and influence isn't under your thumb. What makes it worse is that you can't even try and earn his trust while Ravel and I have earned his friendship despite what we did" Raynare practically scolded.
"That's a lie" Rias protested.
Sona was about to speak up, but a magic circle appeared in the middle of the room. The person responsible was, a tall bespectacled woman with a voluptuous figure. She had tan skin with long brown hair tied into a bun with a headset and purple eyes. Her outfit was an extremely low-cut dress and it had a high slit which exposed a large portion of her massive breasts. "Sorry, am I interrupting." The person said with a cocky voice.
"Katarea what are you doing here?" Serafall said in shock.
The woman in question simply smiled, "I'm here to destroy all you fake Maou on my honor as Katarea Leviathan and-" Katarea started to say before a strange flashed appeared out of nowhere. Everyone looked towards the source of the flash, which was a cell phone belonging to Irina, "Excuse me! I'm in the middle of a big speech here." Katarea yelled.
"Sorry, but Issei is never going to believe this." Irina smiled before nonchalantly texted the photo to her childhood friend.
"Who the hell is Issei?" Katarea scowled.
"He's this generation's Red Dragon Emperor and we were joking about some smoking hot chick leading this attack. I never guessed it would be true and I wanted to let him know about it." Irina smiled. Katarea's eyes widened at the fact they knew she was coming, but she would've never expected the next words to come from the group.
"Be ready for an evaluation Katarea" Momo chuckled.
"What's that supposed to mean." Katarea wondered almost afraid of the answer.
"I'm one of many girls who are in a relationship with Issei and sometimes I text him photos of girls to see what he thinks of them. He's probably going to do the same thing with the photo Irina just sent him."
"You're kidding" Katarea said in disbelief.
"She's not. He just sent me a message back" Irina smiled.
"So, what did he say" Katarea deadpanned choosing to focus on this odd twist instead of the fact they were seen through.
"He says 9/10. You have this hot librarian look to you and your tits are absolutely fantastic." Irina answered shamelessly.
"You know he's got a point. Take away the staff and I could totally see it." Azazel smirked.
"Not the time Azazel" Serafall pouted.
"You're just mad because the kid is hooking up with your baby sister." Azazel retorted causing Serafall to blush.
"He literally just rated one of our enemies out of 10 like she was some random girl. How am I supposed to feel about that?"
"Heck if I know. Hell, I bet if we ask Irina here to take a photo, he could rate you also." Azazel smirked.
"Wha-" Serafall said in shock.
"Why not. You ruined my big speech anyway and seeing as how all of you aren't frozen, our planned failed miserably. Might as well see how little Sera stacks up to me." Katarea shrugged
Serafall was stunned but before she could react a camera flash appeared again, "There we go" Irina smiled having taken the photo of the Leviathan.
"Oh, come on, I wasn't even in my outfit yet." Serafall pouted.
To the side Sona and Rias were in disbelief at the situation, "We never speak of this night again." Sona said firmly.
"Agreed" Rias nodded. Internally she was grateful because she didn't want her brother to see just how bad the situation was between her and Issei. However, the idea that he was rating one of their enemies and was about to do the same with one of their rulers was not a pleasant one.
"Here we go" Irina smiled.
"So?" Serafall and Katarea said curiously.
"You got a 9/10 also. He said that Lady Leviathan looks like the sexy teacher that boys… let's just say that if she were a teacher at Kuoh she'd be pretty popular." Irina blushed and as the rest of the room figured out what Irina wanted to say, blushes appeared all around the room. Azazel Raynare and Valerie resisted the urge to laugh and although Sirzechs and Michael maintained their cool, both had a small smile on their faces. As for Serafall herself she was stupefied at the idea and her face was almost as red as Sirzech's hair.
"Okay… so we both gets 9s." Katarea deadpanned having kept her cool.
"Yep. Sorry I couldn't give you guys a clear winner, but that's on Issei." Irina replied.
"I hate to interrupt this hilarious moment but, it's safe to say your plan failed Katarea. Do you mind simply leaving?" Azazel said having gotten a hold of himself thanks to the lack of reaction from Katarea.
"Why not? I'm ambitious but I'm no fool. I can't fight all of you off at once." Katarea shrugged before leaving via a magic circle.
"So that happened" Sirzechs said in disbelief.
"Let's wait for our resident ranker." Azazel smiled as Sona and Rias looked at the man like he was insane.
"That's fine with me and we can fix the damages to Kuoh while we wait." Michael smiled himself. This was an unexpected result but one that served their purpose in the end.
(Scene Skip)
With everything fixed, and the soldiers taken care of, the wait was on for the Red Dragon Emperor and Gasper to return. "What's taking him so long." Rias said nervously.
"It's been 10 minutes Red keep your panties on." Valerie said nonchalantly.
"He's with my bishop. Why shouldn't I be worried."
"That bishop of yours has been locked in a room for how long. You can't possibly feign concern now." Valerie retorted and Rias was furious at being called out.
"Why you…" Rias scowled before Irina got involved.
"How about we just call Issei. Considering he doesn't have a date tonight he'll answer pretty quickly." Momo shrugged.
"I've got it" Irina said calmly before calling the phone and putting it on speaker, "Hey Irina what's going on?" Issei wondered.
"Well the battles over and for some reason we can't find you. What happened." Irina wondered nervously.
There was a small pause, and everyone waited for the answer, but they certainly couldn't have anticipated what happened, "Oh… whoops. After we kicked the asses of those nutjobs wanting to grab Gasper, I brought him over to Azazel's for a game night with Bikou. By the way, why'd you send me a picture of that tan chick and then Sona's sister? That was kinda weird even for you." Issei wondered.
"You ass. I thought you'd appreciate the fact that the one in charge of the attack was a badass babe."
"I did appreciate that, but I've got Momo to set me up on dates and I doubt she'd set me up with one of the bad guys. By the way how'd the battle go." Issei wondered.
Irina blushed again, "After I got your response everyone got curious."
"Let me guess. Serafall got angry and Zaz suggested jokingly that I rate her also. You being your usual impulsive self took a photo of her which you sent to me."
"Yep and then after you rated her, Katarea left clearly okay with the fact that she was rated the same as Lady Leviathan."
"How about that. My plan worked" issei chuckled.
"Huh? What plan is that." Irina replied and everyone else was equally confused.
"The plan I came up with when you sent me the first photo."
"You can't be serious" Sona spoke up.
"Hey there Sona, I guess I'm on speaker. So yeah. That tan chick what was her name." Issei spoke up.
"Katarea Leviathan. She apparently hates my sister because she doesn't feel that she deserves to be a devil king."
"I can see that" Issei replied.
"EXCUSE ME!" Serafall exclaimed.
"It's the truth Lady Leviathan and here's why. If you ask somebody that isn't a part of the supernatural, they'd tell you that devils are about fear and intimidation. When somebody reveals that they are a devil, they're supposed to be someone who strikes fear into your hearts. You dress up as a magic girl which is about as far from that as you can get. Frankly the only demonic thing about you is your obsession with your little sister. At least from my perspective."
"YOU!" Serafall blushed but Sirzechs interrupted.
"Be that as it may. What does that have to do with ranking them the same."
"Well because Katarea as much as anything wanted recognition. Recognition that a 'fake Maou' like Lady Leviathan is in no way inferior to a real one like her. Power was obviously out, and attractiveness works very well as a comparison" Issei shrugged.
"And how would you know that?" Serafall pouted having calmed down a bit.
"Sometimes my harem managers can't choose between women for my orgy Saturday and whoever was more attractive ended up being the tiebreaker" Issei groaned and there were more than a few people who sweatdropped at his explanation.
"I can't tell if I pity you or envy you kid." Azazel smiled.
"We can discuss that another time, but here's the deal. The Old Maou Faction are people who lived a certain way for a long time and as I'm sure the older members of the group are aware, changing who you are is not easy at all."
"You almost sound as though you agree with them." Michael said warily.
"I can understand the frustrations of having what you know being completely turned on its head. My whole life is filled with moments like that." Issei replied holding back how bitter he felt at times.
"Issei" Irina sighed well aware of her role in that.
"So, what would you have us do about it." Sirzechs asked genuinely.
"There's really nothing you can do because this group has made their feelings known and they'll do whatever it takes to get things back to how they were. All you can do is make sure you're ready for whatever they do next."
Sirzechs was about to reply but a voice in the background interrupted them, "Yo Issei. It's your turn to play" Bikou shouted.
"Well on that note. I gotta go. I can get the rest later from somebody." Issei said calmly before hanging up. Leaving everybody to stew on what he said.
"Well that was… interesting." Michael sighed. Issei's remarks hit home for all of them. It wasn't that what he said was wrong, oh it was the opposite. People didn't react well to major change and that was one of the reasons the church hid God's death. The Old Maou Faction and people like Kokabiel were other examples of that and there was nothing you could do to stop them.
"I hate when Issei's brutal side comes out because he's usually right." Irina sighed herself.
"Especially since it was such a basic idea." Valerie frowned.
"Basic." Rias questioned.
"Yeah. Katarea left because she realized that her plan was a suicide mission and honestly, she's right. The entire plan was based on the idea they could capture Gasper and use his Sacred Gear to freeze the weaker members of the group to act as hostages. She didn't even bother to fight one of us to at least deal a minor blow because she knew it wouldn't do any good." Valerie spoke up.
"On the bright side everyone's safe and we stopped them. Sadly, this is just the beginning and I think it's time we establish peace." Azazel admitted.
"Agreed but first let's clean this up" Sirzechs smiled.
(Azazel's home)
"Issei are you sure you shouldn't be there." Bikou said curiously as they played a round of Mario Kart.
"Distracting me won't work Bikou." Issei groaned in annoyance. He was winning, but it was close.
"No Bikou has a point, his timing could use some work but oh well." Gasper pointed out as he watched from the sidelines.
"Look guys here's the deal. I became Hottie Magnet Hyoudou in order to forget the supernatural. My life isn't about fighting bad guys it's about having sex."
"Maybe, but you can't deny the supernatural plays a large role in your life. Otherwise you wouldn't manipulate as many people as you do in order to keep it." Bikou reminded him.
Issei cursed because that was annoyingly true. His manipulations recently were about ensuring he had his Hottie Magnet lifestyle and although he revealed the supernatural to some of his girls, that was more on the off chance the supernatural got him involved, "I can't deny that, but I also know that you guys don't need me. You want me, but you don't need me."
"Rias badly needs you and you know it. Sona placates you, but she fully expects you to repay that in due time." Gasper reminded him.
Issei twitched because Gasper hit the mark. He knew that would have to pay the piper sooner or later, "So what would you have me do." Issei wondered.
"Honestly there's nothing you can do. Valerie and you are in the same spot where you help on your terms, but in due time that won't be enough." Bikou reminded him.
"Maybe so, but I won this round." Issei smiled as their race came to an end with Issei as the victor.
"Yes, you did." Bikou smiled before his expression morphed into a more serious one. "You can't hide forever Issei. The supernatural will eventually come for you."
"I know but until then I'll enjoy being me." Issei smiled.
(Scene Skip)
The next morning was Sunday and Issei expected to have a nice peaceful day before returning to school, but unfortunately that wasn't to be. A knock on his door revealed a guest that he didn't want at all, "Hello Issei." Serafall Leviathan smiled as she stood in front of his house. She was in a purple short sleeve top with dark black shorts and a pair of blue and white sneakers, but instead of focusing on her appearance, Issei was focused on why she was here.
"Issei, who's this." Issei's mother asked much to his annoyance.
"My name is Serafall Sitri, my younger sister is one of his girlfriends and I wanted to talk to him for a bit." Serafall replied with a smile.
"I see" Issei's mom replied before leaving the pair alone.
"Come this way Lady Leviathan." Issei said calmly as he escorted her to his room. Serafall wasn't far behind and as they walked in, Issei made for his bed with Serafall staying by the door.
"I'm guessing you're wondering why I'm here." Serafall smiled.
"I'm guessing your mad about my ranking from yesterday, and want me to stay away from Sona." Issei deadpanned.
"There's nothing I can do about the ranking, and the same is true of your relationship with my sister."
"In that case you can go home now." Issei said bluntly.
"I can't because I feel obligated to tell you that your relationship with Sona will cause quite a bit of problems." Serafall smiled.
"Is that so" Issei twitched.
"Yes. As the heiress to the Sitri clan, Sona's purity is important to the devils and seeing as how you've ruined it that means you need to become her fiancée or she's in quite a bit of trouble."
"As far as I know, Sona hasn't revealed our relationship to anybody." Issei reminded her.
"No, she hasn't, but I can and will. My family knows I watch Sona and if I tell them she has a new beau, they'll want any details I have." Serafall countered.
"So, what do you want?" Issei scowled. He was trapped and Serafall was going to blackmail him.
"Leave Sona and her peerage alone. If you do, I'll forget I ever discovered your little relationship. Keep interacting with them and my parents will know before too long."
"You…" Issei scowled. That wouldn't be a major issue normally, but Momo ran his Kuoh harem. That meant that he'd have to sacrifice that completely and that was unacceptable.
"Have a nice day." Serafall smiled before leaving a fuming Issei behind.
"Well that was well played." Ddraig smirked.
"Yep, I have very few ways to counter this one." Issei scolded. If it was simply Sona, Issei could have Momo remove her from his rotation. This move, meant he had to remove the whole peerage and that would lead to a group of annoying questions.
"So, what will you do?"
"I have no choice." Issei groaned. Moving to his computer, he signed onto the Hottie Magnet website and made a post that would send shockwaves throughout his harem.
'Hello everyone, this is Issei Hyoudou everyone's favorite Hottie Magnet. Normally I don't bother posting on the site, but I've made a decision and I wanted to relay it to you girls as soon as possible. As of today, I'm handing over executive privileges of the Kuoh harem to Aika Kiryuu effective immediately. Also, Momo Hanakai, Reya Kusaka, Tsubaki Shinra, Sona Sitri, and Xuelan and Karlamine Hinotori (Japanese for Phoenix) are also removed from consideration for future dates - Issei Hyoudou your wonderful Hottie Magnet.'
As he made the post, Issei couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation. One of the reasons he didn't sleep with Rias was because he thought she would pull this sort of move herself. Instead, it was his relationship with Sona that was complicating things. The good news was that Momo wouldn't take this lying down and she would figure out that something happened before too long. The bad news was that until she did, he would have to deal with a lot of unpleasant questions. 'And. Here. We. Go' Issei thought to himself ready for the chaos to unfold.