italics - Thoughts
Bold underlined - Spells/Sword Skills
[Bold] - Ddraig
[Ddraig] - Ddraig mental speech
{Bold} - Albion speech
[Issei] - Issei mental speech with Ddraig
[Issei] - Issei speaking with Ddraig
Underlined - Timeskips/Flashbacks
"Bold" - Rating Game Announcement
Disclaimer: I do not own Highchool Dxd, Sword Art Online, or any of its characters. All rights belong to their creators.
Chapter 20:Their battles for personal gains Pt7
None of them were sure on how to react.
None of them were sure what had just happened.
And as such, none of them, not even Rias, would be able to recover from their shock quickly.
Wh-what just happened? Rias could only just stare at the spot where Asia had been mere moments ago. Ise-kun defeated Diodora Astaroth and destroyed the device made by a Longinus, and we rescued Asia-san safely. So, why did Asia disappear in that pillar of light? Why?
"An object made from a Longinus perishes from the attack of a Longinus, huh. Damn Mist-user, he eased up. It's necessary to readjust the plan."
This voice...he sounds familiar...how do I know it? Rias quickly readied herself for battle as she looked in the direction the voice came from. Up in the sky was an unfamiliar man. He was floating in mid-air, wearing light armour that had a cape on it. AS she watched, he slowly descended.
"…Who are you?" Rias asked cautiously. What is with this amount of aura? It feels like my body's core is being frozen…
"It's my first time meeting you, sister of the annoying fake Maou." The devil's voice came out as very prideful, befitting the amount of aura he was exuding out of his body. "My name is Shalba Beelzebub. The true successor of the Great True Maou Beelzebub. I'm different from the relative of the fake one you fought earlier. Diodora Astaroth, I lent you my power and look at the situation you are in. In the match against Agares, you used Ophis's snake without my authorisation and had the enemy predict our plan. You are very foolish indeed."
-Old Beelzebub! Rias was instantly on guard. After all, she had been told of the Old Maou faction targeting the current Maou's family and relatives. Which included her. And at such a time like this!
"Shalba! Please help me!"
"""!""" Everyone's eyes shot towards the dark-green haired devil. What is that idiot doing? We just showed him that he was disposable, yet he is crawling back towards one of the heads of the Old Maou!
"If it is with you, we can kill the Sekiryuutei!" Diodora continued to beg. "If the Old-Maou and Current-Maou were to join forces….."
*STAB*
Suddenly, a lance of light the thickness of an arm shot forwards, piercing Diodora's stomach with ease.
"…eh?" At first, Diodora was unable to comprehend what had happened. But the pain quickly set in. "GUAH!"
"How pitiful." Shalba scoffed at the sight of Diodora trying to heal himself. "I even told you the power of that girl's Sacred Gear and yet you couldn't do anything. That explains how useless you are."
*STAB*
"Hurk!" Diodora tried to cough out chunks of blood, only, nothing came out. There was nothing left in his body to hurl.
"Old Maou and the Current Maou joining forces?" Shalba positively pat out, retracting the hand that had shot out the strike of light that pierced Diodora's chest. "Calling the true bloodline 'old' is a mistake in itself. We only tolerated your presence because you served as a way for us to fulfil our current objective. You have fulfilled that purpose, so we no longer have a need for you now. Turn to dust, like the trash your are." Shalba laughed at the end, watching as Diodora's face morphed into one of shock, before that too crumbled into dust like the rest of his body.
The power of light? Ras noted the device on Shalba's arm, similar to that of a gauntlet. Is that perhaps the source of light, which enables devils to use the power of Angels or the Fallen? Either way…
Rias felt sorrow and anger at Asia's demise. Not only because she had lost a Servant. But because she had lost someone she considered as part of her family; as her younger sister.
"Now, sister of Sirzechs. It may be sudden, but I will have you die here. The reason is simple. That is to destroy every blood relative of the current Maou."
Shalba says it with a cold voice. His eyes are also filled with hatred.
"So you mean to kill Glasya-Labolas, Astaroth, Sitir, and us, the Gremory." Rias pushed down the turmoil she was experiencing. It would not do for her to lose her calm right now, and cause all their deaths prematurely. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed that Xenovia's body was trembling with rage. Hopefully, Xenovia can control herself.
Shalba narrowed his eyes with her words. "That is correct. It is simply displeasing. We, the true successors, to be called the 'Old' by you people, the relatives of the current Maou, and it is something very hard to endure."
Shalba sighed. "Our plan ends with this. It is our defeat. I never thought that a Boosted Gear, a mid-tier Longinus, would win against the Dimension Lost, a high-tier Longinus. I can only say that this was something we didn't anticipate. Well, we got significant results for future terrorism, so I have to be satisfied with it. Cruzerey died but it won't be a problem. –As long as I'm active, we can still progress even without Vali. The True Beelzebub is great. Now, as for my souvenir while returning…. –Sirzechs's sister, I will have you dead."
"You don't challenge the current Maou directly, but kill their relatives, what cowardice!" Rias allowed her temper to flare for that moment. Although she would have liked to say it was to lull the enemy into a false sense of security, it was only because she managed to reign herself in that she did not make any actions against Shalba.
"That's alright." Said descendant of the first Maou Beelzebub disinterestedly waved his hand, as if to brush away her thoughts on his actions. "I will kill the family of the current Maou first. It won't mean a thing if we don't have them taste despair."
"-Scum! Most of all, the crime for killing Asia! I absolutely won't forgive you!"
Rias felt like her control was ab out to snap. She kept er temper in check at the last moment, but as for her power...she allowed it to fill her body, increasing the red aura around her body to the utmost limit. Beside her, she could feel Akeno's holy-lightning being worn over her body.
Asia had just regained her happiness! Rias raged in her mind. Asuna was right. Diodora was scum, scum that dirtied and made her past so horrible, she was weighed down by it! It was thanks to Ise that she was able to close that chapter on her life!
…The one we love…
For the crime of killing my new sister, of taking away my Peerage's comrade, we will kill you! Even if it is at the cost of our life!
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Rias knew she should be telling her Peerage to buy time to escape, so that they could get away without further casualties. But her family was known for dotting on those under them. And to see one of her Peerage killed right before her eyes…her heart would not find peace unless they managed to kill him, or die trying.
"Asia? Asia?"
! Rias felt her heart clench when she saw Issei's face as he called out for Asia, his footsteps unsteady.
"Asia? Where did you go? Hey, let's go. We are going home. Dad and Mum are waiting. I-If you hide, then we won't be able to go home. Hahaha, Asia sure likes to play around."
Issei…started to look around for Asia. When she saw that, Rias felt her anger drain away. Ise-kun…
"Asia? Let's go home. Now, there is no one here anymore who would bully you Asia. Even if there was, I would beat them up! So let's go back. Asia, we still have to do the three-legged race for the sports festival…"
Unable to hold it in anymore, Rias quickly hugged Issei gently, pressing her face into his hair. She could hear Koneko and Gasper sniffling.
"Buchou..." Issei felt Rias's presence. For a moment, she thought that he had been brought back to his senses, but the next words betrayed her expectations, causing her heart to drop even further. "Buchou, I can't find Asia. Even though we are finally able to go home. We still need to hide under the basement Sensei told us. But if Asia isn't here….. …D-Dad and Mum said Asia was their daughter. Asia also said Dad and Mum are like her real parents as well….. She is my…. She is our important family…Do you know where she went?"
Gently, Rias reached her hands up to stoke Issei's face. Ise-kun…please, come back…
"…I won't forgive you. I won't forgive you! I will cut you! I will cut you up and kill you!"
Rias could see Xenovia slash at Shalba with Durandal, using the technique that she had thought of.
"Futile." With a single movement, Shalba reflected the holy sword with a defence barrier before shooting a demonic power bullet into her stomach.
*shink*
Like a hot knife through butter, Durandal stabbed itself into the floor, embedding it's blade a few inches into the marble ground. Xenovia herself was launched back, a distance away from her blade.
"…..Return Asia….. …..She is…..my friend….! …..She is my kind friend… She was kinder than anyone….! Why…!" Rias could hear Xenovia's weak mutters as she attempted to reach for her blade.
"Humph." Snorting, Shalba turned towards Issei and Rias. "Vulgar reincarnated devil and the dragon which is the same as garbage. The princess of Gremory seriously has bad taste indeed. That girl disappeared beyond to the dimension. Her body should have perished by now." He gave a sadistic grin. "Do you not get it? Let me make it simple for a vulgar trash like you –It means, she died."
Slowly~ Rias felt Issei's head turn. Although she was beside him, she knew that his gaze was locked onto Shalba, who is floating.
At first, Rias felt that this was a little bizarre. He just continued to look at Shalba emotionlessly.
[Rias Gremory, leave this place at once. If you don't want to die, then it would be better to leave here immediately.]
! Rias looked down at Issei's left hand. She could see the green gem glowing. Ddraig's voice...why is he talking now? And what does he mean by leave?
[The devil over there. Shalba was your name, right?] Ddraig directed his vice towards the person who had killed Asia.
"Filthy dragon." Shalbe acknowledged(?) Ddraig. "What are you going to say? Beg for your host's life so that I would spare him?"
[Nothing like that.] Rias felt someone's hands push her away. Familiar hands.
…Issei?
[It's just that…You-]
Issei's started to head towards Shalba, walking like a ghoul. As he walked, Ddraig's voice came from his left gauntlet. The sounds he said did not have even a hint of emotion, chilling Rias's body.
[-made the wrong choice.]
*DOOOMM!*
With a loud sound, Issei's aura positively exploded. His aura, which had been a light red, turned into a blood-like colour, bathing the entire area inside the shrine in it.
Rias immediately understood from the quality of the aura when it hit her skin. That it was extremely powerful.
And extremely dangerous.
Without a sound, Issei donned his armour. And from his mouth, a curse-like chant is emitted. The voice isn't just that of Issei. Young. Old. Male. Female. A creepy sound which is mixed with voices of several people.
[I, who is about to awaken…]
It Started. Looks like it StarTed.
While Issei spoke that chant, Rias could also clearly hear the mixture of voices of several people. Light also shone from his armour, bathing the entire shrine-like area in a slight green glow as well. It made the entire situation even creepier.
[Am the Heavenly Dragon that has stolen the principles of domination from God…]
ItwaS AlwayS likE That, No MatTer wHat. No; It HaS aLways BeEn Like That eVery Time.
[I laugh at the "infinite", and I grieve at the "dream"….]
tHe oNe tHe World SeEKs...tHe oNe ThEWorld reJects...
[I shall become the Red Dragon of Domination…]
It was Always PoWEr. It wAs aLwayS LovE. YoU guys
AlwaYs chOose DestrucTioN nO matTeR HoW MaNy tiMes!
As Rias watched, her beloved's armour started to change...Growing sharper and larger wings that had gems embedded into their skeletal structure. On both his hands and feet, claw-like appendages appeared. On his helm, many jagged horns appeared, giving him an appearance that many devils knew of.
Ise-kun…looks like a dragon now...
And then, from all the jewels in its body that glowed ominously, the mixes scream of voices said in one, unified voice:
And I shall sink you to the depths of crimson purgatory!
[Juggernaut Drive!]
"Grooooooaaahhhh!"
With that, Issei let out a large roar, signifying the end of his transformation. At the same time, his aura, blood-red in colour, surged forwards, damaging everything in its path. The ceiling, the floors, the walls...nothing was left unscathed in that temple. It was a miracle that Issei had not harmed anyone but Shalba at that point.
Slowly, he dropped to four limbs-
*swish*
-and flew towards Shalba so fast, it looked as if he was teleporting to Rias. She did not know hot to respond to his actions.
"Nggggggggh!"
Hearing a strained scream, Rias looked towards the source...and found Issei the miniature dragon gnawing on Shalba's left arm, right at the shoulder, with the jaws that had appeared on his helm. That has to be painful. Even from down below, she could hear the munching sounds he was making.
"Damn you!"
A look of anger on his face, Shalba used his free, right hand and aimed it at Issei. Realising what he was going to do, Rias attempted to intercept it, but stood frozen to the spot not but a few seconds later.
For from one of the jewels on his body, a dragon arm covered in scales appeared, gripping onto Shalba's shoulder.
With almost agonising slowness, but in reality was a single second, Issei tore off Shalba's entire left arm, from the shoulder down. Blood gushed from the wound, splattering all over the temple floor, the sickening sound of flesh being torn asunder echoing all over the place.
"Guu!"
To his credit, Shalba did nothing more than give out a grunt of pain from the action of his flesh being torn from his body, his now open wound dripping blood.
Dropping to the floor on all fours, Issei started to chew up Shalba's dismembered arm with disturbing sounds. The red armour mixes with Shalba's blood, giving off a creepy brilliance.
Rias could see that many of the devils around her were a little sickened by the sight of what was once their Pawn snacking on the arm of a devil. Although, she pretended not to notice the heavy blush on Akeno's face when she saw her out of the corner of her eye.
"Don't screw around with me!" Shalba, enraged by the loss of his limb, released an attack of light with his remaining arm, the large beam heading straight for Issei's head-
-only for the beam to be sliced by the mutilated arm that resembled a long, pointy piece of metal that had appeared from one of his many jewels
With a start, Rias realised the piece of metal that looked like it came from a horror slasher film was actually Ascalon.
"D-damn you!" Obviously unnerved by the fact that Issei had managed to cut light, Shaba attacked, this time with countless blocks of demonic power. With a wave of his arm, he sent all of them on a course for various parts of Issei's large body.
…And in response to that, one of Issei's wings glowed a brilliant white.
[Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!]
While that sound echoed, a few of the blocks became smaller and smaller, until they were the size of ping pong balls instead of basketballs. And as for the rest of them-
*fwish*
-he simply flapped his wings, causing the blocks to careen off course, hitting the cracked walls of pillars of the room they were in.
Issei used the power of the Hakuryuukou that he stole before! Rias thought in shock. She had known that Issei could utilise this technique, but it was extremely dangerous due to the fact that not only could it hit him, he had a 50-50 chance of it working with no repercussions, or with him having his life shaved off, and that it could only be used on one target at a time. Did he improve his usage? Or is it because he became like this that Ise was able to use it at such a high level…
"Vali's power?!" Shalba had an ugly expression on his face when he realised what Issei had done. "Damn you, Vali! How many times do you have to stand in my way! DAMN YOOUU!"
Shalba is cursing Vali? A descendant of the original Maou like him? Riaas frowned slightly. Could they have had a falling out?
As she was thinking that, she noticed that Shalba's eyes drifted towards Rias. He smirked, causing some chills up her spine. It was cold, and spoke of large amounts of pain that was to be inflicted on her. "If I can't kill you, the Sekiryuutei, killing those brats would suffice just fine!"
The descendant of Beelzebub tried to dash towards Rias, only to find a large dragon blocking his way.
"GRAHHH!"
"!"
Eyes wide, Rias could only stare in shock as she witnessed Issei's helm open wide, causing a laser cannon of all things to emerge. With a futuristic sound, it charged up, before firing off a single laser.
PIIIIII~
The red laser coming out of the mask barely missed the devil, who had retracted his wings, while simultaneously using a spell to push him downwards. Good news for him: he managed to dodge most of the damage, hitting only his torn off stump that was once his arm, which also coincidentally cauterised the wound.
Bad news for him: He was also in lots of pain. As could be heard by the scream he let out, the loudest he had ever been since he had arrived and was not shouting at them. Or jeering. Rias thought spitefully.
"NYARRGGHH!" Shalba's expression finally morphed into fear for the first time since he had stared at Issei with a fearful gaze. "Y-you Monster! A-are you telling me this is the 'Juggernaut-Drive'!? This is no joke! M-My power should have been raised to that of the former-Maou due to Ophis' power! He has surpassed the Boosted Gear's specs recorded in the data!"
"Nuaaaaa~!"
Roaring again, Issei covered himself in an enormous amount of aura, creating a hole in the floor, before turning it into a large crater that surrounded his entire body.
J-just by exposing his aura, he blew away his surroundings?! Rias felt herself being dazed by this fact. The first time he had done that, she had merely thought the first time he had done it, it was just coincidence. Something that only occurred because of the loud roaring that Issei had made, coupled with his aura further Boosting the volume of his 'attack'.
But now…
With a start, she realised that her entire body was trembling.
W-what? Rias shakily raised a hand up to her eyes. Clear as day, she could see that her entire hand was trembling lightly. Like she was afraid.
No...No! I can't be afraid! Rias stubbornly thought, shaking her head, trying to clear the murky thoughts out of her mind. That's Ise-kun! Ise!
*kachik*
The sound of metal sliding brought Rias's attention back towards Issei.
When she looked up, she saw that chest and stomach area of Issei's armour had opened up and slid back...no, slid forwards, forming a large barrel shape. A miniature launcher had been made.
*DOOOO~*
With a small hum, and silent vibration, a red aura started to gather towards the launcher. Slowly, it started to get bigger and bigger, the aura being compressed, and getting smaller, before it got bigger again, before it smaller, than bigger, than smaller, than bigger...This process repeated itself a few times, and each time it occurred, Issei's wings, which were spread to the side, glowed a deep, blood red, causing the creepy aura surrounding him to expand around the area.
By now, the area was starting to crumble. When Rias looked behind her, she was a little surprised to see the entrance towards the temple(or what was left of it) not but a few metres away from them. Maybe the space extension magic that Diodora casted had expired, but we did not notice-. Her thoughts were interrupted by falling fragments of the already crumbling walls and ceiling of the temple they were in.
-Either way, we are escaping! Rias quickly made up her mind. "Everyone! We have to get out of temple!"
"Sorry, Buchou, but we can't!" Kiba's words made her scowl. "The entrance is severely damaged. If we try to get out that way, we might be trapped in there!"
In that case... "Akeno, Joan-san, Gasper, help me create a barrier!" Rias directed her attention to above their small group. "Xenovia, pick up Durandal and come back as quick as possible. When everything arond us has stopped crumbling, Xenovia and Koneko, you blast us a way out!"
""Got it Buchou!"" Both of them nodded their heads.
*crumble*
no sooner had she finished talking, a large section of the wall behind them crumbled, falling towards the group. Acting quickly, Rias immediately poured large amount of demonic energy into her palms, creating a barrier which was supported by her Queen ad Bishop. The crumbled part of the wall would have crashed into the barrier as well, had Xenovia not arrived in the nick of time, her Holy Blade smashing into the piece of stone so hard and fast, the thing split in half before it turned into dust. "Buchou!"
In this way, when large sections of the temple feel all around them, Koneko and Xenovia practically disintegrated by them in response,. As for the smaller pieces of shrapnel that cam their way from the two's destructive attacks, they bounced off the barrier that three devils with high demonic energy capacities were making. And because of this, everyone could also see what was going on between Shalba and Issei, their view unobstructed by any rubble.
"Ku!" Shalba scrambled away from Issei as fast as possible. "I can't die in a place like this!"
[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!]
Using his remaining hand, he attempted to draw a magic circle...only for his hand to freeze in place suddenly for no apparent reason.
Save for a blood-red aura that covered that particular frozen limb.
" …You stopped it! My hand!" Shalba's eyes widened in disbelief, as did everyone in the area around them.
…Are you telling me it activated an ability similar to Gasper-kun's Sacred Gear!?
Rias could feel the dense aura covering every part of exposed skin.
"Buchou!" Riss turned towards her Knight, Kiba, who had called out to her. "We have to retreat further. Out of the temple. Otherwise, we might get dragged into it!"
Rias knew that they had to do it. The temple had stabilised, but with the next move, the entire temple would be naught but rubble. They would be caught in the attack Issei was about to release, and even if they escaped the initial attack, the after effects might still hit them.
"Ise…I…"
*Crack*
Her ears caught the small sound. It should not have been possible, what with the loud sounds all around them. Yet...
Not wanting to believe it, her hands grasped onto the small necklace thay was made from Issei's scale. It served two purposes. One, was to help amplify effects that Issei would use on them(including Billingual).
It's other effect was to show that Issei would always be with her. Something that was only possible thanks to Kirito's and Yui's help with the inscriptions that were laid on it.
Said scale now had a large crack running through it, nearly splitting it in two.
Ise… Rias felt a stinging sensation at her eyes. No…
"My apologies!"
Faintly, she could hear her Knight say something, as well as carry her in her arms. She did not resist.
In her heart, she knew.
That whatever made up Issei's psyche…
…was lost…
Shalba Beelzebub was one of the more powerful descendants of the original Maou. Thanks to Ophis's snake, his already large abilities were further boosted to those of his ancestors. The True Maou, as he called them. And as such, he believed that very few could stand in his way.*BAANG~*Reality decided to give him a slap. A wake up call to the cruel nature of the world.
"I-Impossible…..! I, the true successor of the True-Maou…..! I still haven't made a fool out of Vali yet!"
Shalba was panicking.
This was not the first time he had ever felt such an emotion. He had panicked when he knew he was going to oppress the current Maou, or the fake Maou, as he called them. Two were Super Devils, far greater than the him before taking the snakes. He had panicked when he realised that the plan to use Twilight Healing to kill as many high ranking individuals as possible had failed. He had panicked, and was still panicking, when he realised the data he obtained about the Juggernaut Drives of the Vanishing Dragon and Welsh Dragon was matching what he was seeing.
That panic, abruptly turned to fear when the laser beam shot from the Red Dragon Emperor's jaws shot what felt like literal javelins of light up his arm, and cauterising said arm in the process.
He had tried to run, only for his leg to get stuck in place. And was about to face the jaws of death-
-In the form of the Longinus Smasher he had read about.
No… Shalba griped his fist tightly. No, no no no nononononononono! I won't stand for this! I won't die to this trashy dragon! Never!
"GRAAAAHHHHH! YOU ARE JUST A SHITTY DRAGON! THIS WON'T HOLD ME!"
With that shout, Shalba moved.
Using his remaining arm, Shalba steeled his nerves-
-and cut his frozen leg off from his body, the single swipe slicing the limb clean off.
"Grgh!" Biting back the pain, he crawled behind the machine he had that Sacred Gear holder make for him. Faintly, he had the hoe that the machine would be able to stand up to the attack that the Sekiryuutei was about to unleash. Boosted Gear is a middle-tier Longinus. Shalba rolled behind the machine, using magic to quickly stem the blood flow. This was created by Dimension Lost, a Sacred Gear which is a few tiers higher than the Boosted and Dividing Gears. It is a high-tier Longinus that boasts the strongest in barrier type things. There is no way that this machine would hold up under Longinus Smasher, but it should be able to hold up before I get out of here!
3 seconds remained.
Come on, come on...Frantically, Shalba brought up the demonic energy he needed to power the magic circle. Normally, it would have been as simple as snapping his fingers, but with the loss of two limbs, a damaged body and an even more damaged hand that was performing the deed, he would not risk failing.
1.5 seconds remained.
There! After failing to bring out the required amount of power from his frazzled mind twice, he finally managed to power up the circle. Now, to get out of
0 seconds remained. Times up.
[Longinus Smasher!]
The large beam was fired. Already, he could tell that the machine would not slow down the powerful attack, the mere pressure it was emitting further cracking the already cracked machine.
"No...no!" Shalba felt despair. He could tell that this attack was different. Just like the Heavenly Dragon Emperors of this era.
"Beelzebub is greater than Lucifer!" Before his very eyes, Shalba saw the beam pierce through the machine like paper. "Curses! A mere dragon! Red dragon! White dragoooon!"
Shalba gets enveloped by the red aura that was shot, and he disappeared into the light along with the shrine…..
3rd person POV
The Khaos Brigade HQ was rather empty. More specifically, the Old-Maou faction's HQ. After all, that attack they were making right now was meant to be something like the final attack. As such, the only people there were a few low-tier and middle-tier devils that kept everything in order. Celebrations for when their leader returned, victorious.
"YARGH~!"
Which was why everyone widened their when they heard the pained screams of one Shalba Beelzebub.
The closest devils rushed towards the scream, already fearing the worse. A lost limb, a holy weapon embedded in him. Or maybe, the prototype light weapon they made having backfired somehow, and was injuring the Maou.
What they did not expect to see was their beloved leader with two limbs lost, large burns all over his body.
As they got closer, they could hear him muttering gibberish.
"Red Dragon…kill…kill…have to escape…no, have to kill, no, escape, impossible!" The Maou rolled all over the floor, spreading the blood leaking from his wounds and staining the wooden floors.
"Have to escape, have to kill, impossible!"
At that moment, the thing that made Shalba Beelzebub who he was…
…had cracked…
When Rias had been whisked out of the temple, Kiba immediately went towards the gathered group of devils before creating many holy-demonic blades from the ground up, creating an impromptu shelter. As a precaution, the ones that could use magic erected barriers over them, making multiple layers of protection.
*DOON~*
And it seemed that Kiba was not a moment too soon as well, for almost immediately after he set down Rias in the shelter made of swords, a loud boom could be heard, followed by the ground shaking and the sound of the temple further being destroyed.
Time passed. When the ground stopped shaking, and the sound of collapsing rubble had ceased, Kiba hesitantly allowed a small part of the shelter to open up to check on the conditions outside.
Faintly, Rias could hear Kiba say that the coast was clear, but she did not pay it much attention. She could also tell that many of the girls around her were feeling the same as her, if not worse. After all, each of their scales from Issei had severely cracked, nearly perfectly down the middle.
Ise... Rias wanted to sniffle, but held back the impulse. Her Pawn, as well as the one that she loved, was gone, replaced by a beast that merely wore his skin. The cracked scale that was fashioned as an ornament was proof. Ise…you baka.
"Ooooon~" Hearing the pitiful howling, Rias looked up towards the source, tears prickling her eyes.
Said boy was perched on the highest point of rubble, howling mournfully. Shalba, as well as the machine that once held Asia, were nowhere to be seen.
"Why isn't Issei reverting back?" Joan looked at Rias. "Shalba and Diodora-sama are gone now, so everything should be fine. Why is he still in his armour?"
For a split second, Rias wanted to scream at the Rook. She wanted to do nothing more than rage at her, to beat and kick her until her own feelings had diminished. After all, one did not ask something insensitive and expect to get away from it.
But just as quickly, she reigned in her feelings, knowing it was irrational. Joan just joined us. She might not know about how much Asia means to all of us. She reasoned with herself. Diodora had abused his Peerage members, so not all of them would be as knowledgeable about affairs concerning the other factions and such. If she did, she might have tried to tell the Maou about his doings. Especially since with the treaty in place, if someone knew what had happened to them, Diodora would have been severely punished the minute Onii-sama had a chance.
It worked. Rias could feel her anger ebb away. Closing her eyes, she spoke slowly.
"Ise-kun...whatever sanity he had left had most likely been blown away, along with Diodora and Shalba." Rias brought out the necklace on her chest. "This was something that...Ise gave us. It allowed us to know if he was still alive. But since it has such a great amount of damage..." Rias could not finish. Her heart would not be able to take it.
Joan's eyes widened, understanding immediately. "...I see."
Everyone looked at the Issei, who was howling in sorrow. They did not know what to do. Should they comfort it? Try to tell the Maou? After all, their accessories stated that Issei's psyche was severely damaged. None of them knew if he would be able to return. Or for that matter, if he was still 'Issei Hyoudou'.
"Looks like all of you could use a hand."
""!"" Everyone looked towards where the voice had come. Standing before them, in front of a crack in reality, was-
"Vali!" Rias scowled. "What do you want? To fight Ise-kun?" She gave a bitter laugh. "Sorry, but you might as well not even do so. In Ise-kun's state, he won't put up much of a fight. We don't even know if he is still himself!"
"Buchou..." Kiba raised a hand, but she moved away. She did not want comfort at the moment. Not when they had a potential enemy to face. She knew how much of a battle junkie Vali was from Issei's complaints. She quickly shifted into a battle stance, the rest of the devis around her doing the same.
"Aiya, don't worry Switch Princess." Another person stepped out from the crack, this time wearing Chinese armour, a staff hung loosely in his hands.
He was Sun Wukong.
"We ain't here to fight ya guys." The Monkey King's descendant leaned on the staff as he spoke. "Vali here just wanted to observe. He was in the area when he sensed Oppai Dragon over there turn into what he called Juggernaut Drive."
"And from the looks of it, it is an incomplete transformation." Vali narrowed his eyes slightly. "You are lucky that Juggernaut Drive occurred within this specially-made battlefield. If this had happened in the human world, the urban areas and its surroundings might have vanished. Still, for it to be incomplete…if I remember correctly, this healing nun is yours, right?"
At that moment, another person stepped out. The person wore a business suit, and had a sword strapped to his waist. It emitted a large amount of holy aura, but Rias knew who he was from the Fenrir fight. He was the wielder of the Holy King's sword Collbrande. But what really drew her attention was the girl held in his arms.
"Asia!"
"Asia-chan!"
Rias rushed forwards, her Peerage close behind her. As he passed Asia over to Rias, she quickly checked her over. No external injuries, and she is breathing...so she is just unconscious...
"She's breathing." Kiba, who was also examining her, stated out her condition for everyone else to hear.
Joan sighed in relief. She did not want another one of her former holy maidens to die on that day. Akeno, Xenovia, Gasper and Koneko breathed a sigh of relief, tears slowly flowing down their cheeks. Even Rias and Kiba, who had known about her condition earlier, could not help but shed a few tears when they said it out loud. It was like cementing the fact that Asia was here. That she was okay.
"But, why..."
The wielder of Collbrande answered Kiba's question. "Like Bikou said, we were in the area. We were investigating the dimensional gap around here when this little lady came flying into the dimensional gap. Vali said that he recognised her, so we brought her here. She was extremely lucky. If we weren't there at that time, this girl would have been exposed to 'nothingness' and would have perished."
"I see...thank you for saving my sister." Rias bowed her head lightly.
"Uwaaaaaaan!" Xenovia, unable to hold back any longer, hugged onto Asia as she fell to the ground, her legs unable to support herself any longer. Rias lowered Asia closer to the ground, allowing Xenovia to hug the unconscious girl as much as she wanted.
"This Juggernaut drive...could he revert from it?" Rias asked Vali. She was hoping it was the case. Please...say yes...I don't want to lose Ise...
"Hmph." Vali folded his arms. "Since this isn't a complete Juggernaut Drive, there is a chance he would be able to revert back. There can also be-"
*vrm~*
Suddenly, another tear in reality opened up, causing everyone to shift on guard. Especially Vali's group. Rias took note of that. So, they aren't here with the Khaos Brigade's knowledge?
"Hm!" With a grunt, Bikou swung his staff towards the tear-
"Woah there!"
-only for it to be deflected away from the face of a boy she recognised, the crystalline blade creating a clear sound as it made the staff slide off its edge.
"Kirito!" More surprised than anything, she approached the black-clothed devil. "Why are you here? Or rather, how? There is a barrier surrounding this place!"
"Used something that my Gear produced." Kirito muttered, rubbing his head. "Took a large amount of mats and Col though…"
Mats? Col? Before Rias could question the teen, a small pixie flew up from his pocket.
"Papa, it looks like there was a barrier surrounding this place a few minutes ago. That was why the journey here was very bumpy." The small pixie stated, before she flew over to rest on Kirito's shoulder. That pixie looks familiar… Then, she remembered something she had heard from the couple. Ah, it's Yui-chan!
"So, that's what happened, eh…." Kirito placed his sword back into the sheath on his back. "So, what's going on? I rushed over here as soon as I could when I saw the small crack in the scale Issei gave me."
Ise gave him one as well? Rias filed that piece of information away. "Ise-kun transformed into something called Juggernaut Drive. Vali was about to explain about it when you arrived."
"I see…" Placing a hand on his chin, he looked at the Vali. "So, since the scale got damaged that badly, which is something that should only happen when he is in danger of dying, I am guessing that his mind is somehow clouded because of this transformation?"
"…something similar." Vali agreed with Kirito's assessment. "The Juggernaut Drive is like a last resort. If Hyoudou Issei had fully transformed into that state, there is little chance we could save him. But because it looks like his transformation was half-done, it is possible for him to be turned back. However, there is also the case where he remains like this, which would trim his life away until nothing is left. Either way, staying like this would put Hyoudou Issei's life in danger."
Rias looked towards the sight of the armoured figure, still roaring in sorrow. She knew that the chance of Issei returning was slim, but she clung to that hope regardless. "Would he revert safely if we tell him about Asia's safety?"
"Unlikely." Vali shook his head at her suggestion almost immediately. "His mind is too clouded. There is a chance you would die."
"Then, is there a way for us to subdue him safely and revert him back to his original state?" Kirito stepped up.
Following close behind him was Akeno and Koneko. "I know we are not in a position to ask, but please. Please help us save him. If it's you, the Hakuryuukou, can you not fulfil the role to bring back his consciousness?"
"…Please. We will also help using our full strength, so please let us borrow your power to bring him back…." Koenko's exposed ears twitched as she asked Vali that.
You two…
"Hmm…" Vali seemed to be deep in thought, surprising Rias. "I would not like my rival to be done in by such a thing anyway, so...yes, it might work if there is something which would stimulate his heart."
"Why not just show him oppai?" Bikou scratched the back of his head, a wry grin on his face. "The Switch Princess can help out with that."
"Absolutely not." Before Rias could say anything, Kirito put his foot down on the matter. "My kid is here. We are NOT encouraging nay form of nudity."
…best I start to lock the doors when I sleep with Ise now…or maybe invest in some thick blinds to prevent forms from being made out… Rias thought to herself. If the father was that overprotective, she shuddered to think of what the mother would do. Especially since said mother's scolding was fresh on her mind.
"Even if you had not banned it, your suggestion would not have worked Bikou." Vali sighed lightly. "What always calmed down a dragon was a song or a dragon tamer…We are fresh out of dragon tamers, especially since dragons are already hard to tame and feed, and a song for the Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou doesn't exist."
Kirito's eyes widened. "Huh. If we need a dragon tamer, perhaps–"
"There is!"
Whatever Kirito was about to say was cut short by the appearance of a white-winged angel, who spoke over Kirito.
Shidou Irina-san.
Rias was more surprised by her appearance than the fact that there was a song that could calm down Issei.
"Haa, I finally arrived. Wait, that's Ise-kun!? I heard it from Michael-sama and Azazel-sama, but such a serious thing was actually happening!"
As always, it seems that Shidou Irina-san is in high spirits, even when she is shocked. Rias's eyes then wandered towards the object in her hands. Is that...
"Irina, why are you here?" When Xenovia asked that, Irina thrust out the holographic projector that Rias has noticed.
"Um, the fact that Ise-kun went into a dangerous form is already known by the VIPs who are at the observation room and the field. So, Maou Lucifer-sama and Azazel-sama made me carry this secret weapon!" Irina made a V-shape with her fingers, striking a victory pose. "Oh, by the way, the one who teleported me here is Odin-sama! He sure is amazing! The God from the North! And he has a huge beard!"
…Muda Desu~.(*1*) Her spirit is so high that it destroyed the atmosphere here. Rias did not know what to feel in regards to the sudden atmosphere change. It was like the tension from earlier had been all but blown away with the arrival of one high-spirited angel.
…And yes, now that she thought about it, that sentence was like a bad pun…
"I don't actually get it, but if it is something prepared by Onii-sama and Azazel, then we can depend on its effect." I guess. Rias added on mentally. Knowing her brother, she could guarantee that such a thing would work. But how it did so...well, there was a reason why she like to practise her Power of Destruction on old albums involving her brother's somewhat more eccentric plans.
Taking a deep breath, Rias took the projector and pressed the button.
At that moment–
/Oppai Dragon, Starting now!\
! Rias was stunned by what she saw. Up in the sky was a projection of Issei in his Balance Breaker armour...surrounded by children?!
What is this? At first, Rias was very confused. But as she looked closer, she could see some props and such. It was strangely reminiscent of…a…
Shivers ran up Rias's spine as she realised the implications of what she was thinking. No way…there is no way…
True to her fears, the children in the holographic vision stared to dance along with Issei. Casual music played in the background as they danced, before words appeared in the sky.
She had a feeling she was not the only one whose eyes nearly popped out of their head in shock of what was happening
..
/The Song of Oppai Dragon\
Lyrics: Azazel
Composer: Sirzechs Lucifer
Choreography: Serafall Leviathan
THERE IS AN OPPAI-LOVING DRAGON LIVING IN THE EDGE OFA CERTAIN COUNTRY.
THE DRAGON GOES FOR A WALK WHEN THE WEATHER IS GOOD
DRAGON DRAGON OPPAI DRAGON
GROPE-GROPE SUCK-SUCK PAFU-PAFU
THERE ARE SO MANY TYPES OF OPPAI
BUT HE LIKES THE BIG ONES THE BEST
THE OPPAI DRAGON ALSO FLIES TODAY
IN AN EDGE OF A CERTAIN TOWN, THE OPPAI DRAGON WAS LAUGHING
EVEN IN A STORMY DAY, THE OPPAI DRAGON BECOMES HAPPY BY PRESSING OPPAI
DRAGON DRAGON OPPAI DRAGON
CLICK-CLICK ZOOM-ZOOM IYAAAN
HE HAS SEEN LOTS OF OPPAI, BUT HE LIKES BIG ONES THE BEST
OPPAI-DRAGON ALSO PUSHES TODAY
..
Oh dear Maou…Sirzechs-Onii-sama, why… On one hand, Rias was a little happy to see that her Pawn was going to be very popular. Especially with the children, the future of the underworld. However, on the other hand…if one took into account her brother's sis-con's ways, she would most likely-no, DEFINITELY going to be in some sort of embarrassing position in this show that her brother had made, along with Azazel and Serafall.
The name of the song is 'The Song of Oppai Dragon'… Rias's mind went back towards an incident that had occurred shortly after they had left the underworld a month or so back. I guess this is why Ddraig was trying to kill himself…
MUST. KILL. ISSEI. FOR. CORRUPTING. YUI!
Those words were the most prominent in Kazuto's mind.
Well, technically, Yui had not seen the show. The moment he had seen the title on the projection, he had swiftly covered Yui's eyes and ears with his hands. Thankfully, since she was in her human form, this was easy to do. Ears covered by his hands, and her face covered by his coat.
And seriously, those guys… Kazuto's mind flashed back to the names of the people in charge of this…song(he hesitated to even call something like this a song). What on earth are you thinking? Making a show that encouages oppai…
"…Uuu….oppai…."
"!?" Kazuto's eyes widened in shock when he saw Issei lower his head and say a proper word. Or rather, why 'oppai'?! That's not a proper word at all!
"Ise-kun…" Rias blushed heavily, looking at Issei with moist eyes. But, when he looked closer, he could see that they were glazed over. Most likely, she was also trying to run away from the reality that her precious Pawn had somehow managed to regain a small silver of his sanity from a song that prompted perverseness. Especially since it was made by the leader of two factions, one of them being her blood-related brother.
"Shidou-san…could you play that song again?" Rias's voice sounded a tad broken to Kazuto as she spoke.
"Okay~! Leave it to me!"
The angel quickly pressed the resume button for the holographic projector.
..
THERE IS AN OPPAI-LOVING DRAGON LIVING IN THE EDGE OFA CERTAIN COUNTRY.
THE DRAGON GOES FOR A WALK WHEN THE WEATHER IS GOOD
DRAGON DRAGON OPPAI DRAGON
GROPE-GROPE SUCK-SUCK PAFU-PAFU
THERE ARE SO MANY TYPES OF OPPAI
BUT HE LIKES THE BIG ONES THE BEST
THE OPPAI DRAGON ALSO FLIES TODAY
..
"Uuu….Oppai….. Grope…grope….. suck…..suck…."
Issei started to groan as he held his head down. Slowly, his entire body stopped moving erratically. He started to act more docile.
..
IN AN EDGE OF A CERTAIN TOWN, THE OPPAI DRAGON WAS LAUGHING
EVEN IN A STORMY DAY, THE OPPAI DRAGON BECOMES HAPPY BY PRESSING OPPAI
DRAGON DRAGON OPPAI DRAGON
CLICK-CLICK ZOOM-ZOOM IYAAAN
HE HAS SEEN LOTS OF OPPAI, BUT HE LIKES BIG ONES THE BEST
OPPAI-DRAGON ALSO PUSHES TODAY
..
"….Z-Z-Zoom zoom…..Iyaan….push….."
At the last line of the song played, Issei's hands made the posture of pushing something. Kazuto also noted that his claws were resembling fingers now, and that his body had shrunk slightly. His aura too had changed from its deep blood red colour to a lighter shade of red instead.
"Looks like it will work now."
Vali commented from the side. Glancing at the silver-haired boy, Kazuto watched as he activated his version of Scale Mail.
"Papa, what was that song earlier?" Yui finally pushed her way out of her father's grasp. Frantically, he looked at Irina, attempting to stall the little girl in his grasp from looking at the still frozen image being shown in the sky. Irina managed to get the hint, shutting the projector off.
Just in time too.
"….No, he actually responded to a song like this…."
Koneko…..had her exposed ears facing down and seems heart broken. Kazuto felt the same way. Looks like his perverseness is part of his nature...I just hope he tones it down in the future. Otherwise, he is going o be put on the chopping block way too often for his liking.
Oh, and for Ddraig's sake too. This might be the reason why he tried to commit seppuku that time.
They never did manage to find out the reason for that incident, between Ddraig's sorrowful wailing and incoherent ramblings of a (now evidently traumatised) dragon, Issei trying to calm his left arm down to prevent it from slicing open his own stomach, and him smacking the hand with the flat of Dark Repulsor(which had the unique effect of making dragons calm for some reason), the pure amount of chaos that had occurred on that day prevented anyone from asking the boy WHY Ddraig had attempted to do something as drastic as this.
...that, and the fact that it was a little hilarious to see a person wrestle with their own arm.
(*1*) – 'Muda desu~', which has the same meaning as 'useless.' And as a plus, it gives the feeling of someone running from reality.
AN
Well now, this is something. We are practically almost at the end of this long arc. One more of these chapters, and we would be going to the interlude content! Based on the poll, there are two options which are neck-in-neck with each other. The winner of the poll would be told in the next chapter.
Also, shout out to SoaringXDragon for spotting that mistake of mine! Thanks for that. I would have fixed that mistake by the time I have posted this chapter, as well as the older ones for some grammatical mistakes. As well as a few changes. Well, up till chapter 10 that is. The next 9 would be settled when I post my next chapter.
Oh, and sorry for the subpar chapter. I had no idea on how to bring this part out smoothly and nicely. Happy Valentine's day for all those couples out there!
Anime is Life and please review!
