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 30: Kendo Match Final

"I want to say that this is unexpected, but…" Kazuto sighed. "Well, we should have expected this. After all, this sort of thing could be settled after a school field trip.

"Die!"

"As much as I want to refute that, I know my family might do this sort of thing either way." Asuna agreed with her boyfriend/husband's comment. "Just, without the transformation part."

"Stay still, you shits!"

"But with Issei as the Red Dragon Emperor, we should have been able to see this sort of thing coming." Kazuto groaned, a little peeved at himself. "Remember what Rias-san said? The Heavenly Dragon Emperors attract power and trouble wherever they went, whether they wanted it or not. We should have seen this sort of thing happening, since trouble loves to follow Issei and those who are considered his companions. Which includes us."

"Grr…"

"That seems a little too unfair towards Issei-kun." Asuna pointed out. "It is not as if he asked to be a Heavenly Dragon Emperor, nor does he actively search for trouble. Trouble just finds him, if what the girls say are correct."

"… …"

"I know, I know." Kazuto waved off Asuna's argument. "But you can't say that Issei is not involved with making the situation harder thanks to him being the Red Heavenly Dragon Emperor."

"… … …"

"… It is unfortunate, but Issei-kun seems to have horrible luck with his opponents." Asuna agreed with Kazuto, albeit hesitantly. "They have been all so weird. A excommunicated Priest who seems to have a thing for killing devils brutally, a girl who was his enemy-turned-lover who was so blunt, she wanted to have sex the moment she realised she liked Issei, a warmongering cadre-level Fallen Angel who wanted a good fight and bloodbath, and most recently, a perverted, superiority-complex devil who had a fetish with making nuns into devils that worshipped his existence. If I did not know any better, I would say that Issei-san purposefully looked for the weird and irregular people to be his enemy."

"…I'm still here you know?"

"Yes, he does seem to have all the luck in finding weirdos, doesn't he?" Kazuto mused. "All his regulars are weird in one way or the other. One is a muscular otkau who wants to be a petite magical girl, another is a weirdo who dresses up in full armour, and the last is the leader of an entire faction who loves to play video games with Issei-san."

"OI!" Unable to take it any longer, the hulking mass of muscle that was once Julian smashed his fists into the ground, completely obliterating the area around him. At the same time, it forced Asuna and Kazuto to separate, forcing the two to be on either side of Julian. It also served the purpose of stopping the duo from chitchatting with one another. "Why the hell are you two so calm, like you are just talking about the weather?! You are facing me, a monster made of muscles, and are about to die!? Hello? Can you think about the TPO(*1*)?"

Kazuto suppressed a grin. Acting surprised, he blinked rapidly, before focusing his eyes on the huge mass of muscle that was deceptively faster than it looked. "Oh, sorry Julian-san. You were so unthreatening that I did not register you as a threat."

Well, since our physical attributes are lowered, we are unable to finish this as fast, and we are more vulnerable to him. Kazuto thought to himself. Not that it matters much, since even if with this boost in power, we would be able to easily defeat him if we pushed ourselves to the limit. Sword Skills are pretty broken like that.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" Julian roared in anger, his large fists clenching so tight, the gigantic knuckles were starting to become white. "You will die like an ant being squashed under a boot, Kirigaya Kazuto, while I will take my beautiful Asuna as my wife!"

"Oh hell." Asuna gagged. "I think I am going to be sick. This is like another Sugou."

Thanks to his new physiology, Kazuto was able to catch what she said. And true to her words, he could see that Asuna had paled considerably, and her face had a slightly green tint to it, like she was about to throw up.

"Fat chance you will be able to do that, Julian!" Kazuto taunted the male Yuuki.

"Oh, I will Kirigaya-san." Julian chuckled, his deep laughs practically shaking the entire area. "Thanks to the gift I got from that group, I will be able to defeat you rather easily! After all, you are nothing like what the world has to offer."

"The world?" Sensing a possible lead, Kazuto baited Julian, acting clueless. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Yeah, what do you mean?" With a start, Kazuto realised that they were not alone. The other four veteran kenodka were still with them.

Shit! Kazuto had forgotten all about them when Julian started to smash them in vain attempts to injure them harshly. He had thought that the four kenodka would have run away from the rather grotesque and impossible sight of Julian's transformation from a somewhat handsome male, into a muscular behemoth of a man that was twice his original size, fists the size of moving boxes, and raw, red skin that was dripping blood.

"Oh?" Julian turned his large body towards the four, regular humans. "I actually thought that I had scared you all off."

"Please." Taichi scoffed, his hand gripped firmly onto his shinai. "You turning into a monster-like human may have shocked us at first, but it would take more than that to scare us. Being a veteran kendoka takes more than skill and training of the sword."

"…A shame." Julian sighed lightly. "I was hoping that all of you would have ran away or fainted in fear. But it looks like more work for my attendant. Kochiro."

"…Yes, Yuuki-sama." Much to the surprise of everyone, Kochiro bowed towards Julian. "What are your wishes?"

"Wipe their memories." Julian ordered. "Make them forget about this encounter. Or just kill them. I don't really care how you carry out my order, as long as no knowledge of this is revealed to others outside my family."

"…As you wish." With a reluctant look on his face, Kochiro slipped a piece of paper onto the bottom of shinai. With a quick flick, the bamboo shinai turned into a katana. "I apologise everyone. I would have asked if you would allow me to wipe your memories, but judging by the way all of you are gripping your shinai, I think my question would be in vain."

"Damn straight!" Taichi barked out. As one, all three of them drew out their shinai's, as if they were unsheathing them. "We won't turn our backs on kids getting hurt because we were spineless."

"…Once again, I apologise." Kochiro said, a saddened expression on his face, before he started to attack the three of them with a speed and strength he had not shown before.

"Now, with that distraction out of the way…" Julian's voice drew Kazuto's attention away from the group of four duelling kendoka. Turning his gaze onto Julian, it was just in time to see him give a sinister smile. "Let the fun begin. Shall we have this dance, Asuna-san?"

"Blow it out your ass, Julian!" As she spoke, Asuna quickly thrusted out at Julian's exposed, muscular forearm, each strike far faster than before. With how raw looking the exposed skin and forearms were, he had expected the foil to have left bruise or drawn some blood when it hit.

Unexpectedly, upon contact with the foil, there was sound of screeching metal, before the foil snapped when Julian pushed his arm against Asuna. Unable to bear the stress, the modified foil split in half with a loud cracking sound, the end shooting into the ground with such force it practically embedded itself into the ground.

"Huh?!" Shocked by the sound and sight, Asuna quickly recomposed herself and backflipped away, narrowly dodging the swipe of the body-sized palms aimed at her legs.

Kazuto was of the same mind of Asuna. The hell?! That foil was made of the best nano-carbon available! It should not have snapped that easily!

"Kahaha!" Julian cracked his knuckles, causing more blood to spew everywhere. "What now Asuna? Your weapon is gone! No weapon and weak, how will you win against me?"

"Being bigger and stronger does not mean I am helpless against you Julian." Asuna said as she glared at the hulking mass that was Julian. "They mean nothing at all if you can't catch up to us!"

"Who said that I was slower than you?"

""!""

Kazuto could see the movements that Julian made, clear as day. He had no doubt that Asuna could too. After all, they were that were stronger than the average human.

Yet, they were unable to get their body out of the way of Julian's actions.

"AH!" Letting out a shocked noise, Kazuto could do little besides struggle helplessly as he was grabbed by his hands, stuck in Julian's grip.

"You may have been faster than me before, but this boost from my benefactor made sure that my abilities were 100 times that of a human." Julian explained as he sneered at Kazuto. "Look at you, all helpless little itty, bitty humans. If I apply just a bit of pressure…"

*snap*

"Rgg…" Kazuto could not feel the pain at first. But that quickly changed as blinding hot electricity seemed to shoot up his broken arms. "GAAAHH!"

"Kirito-kun!"

"Ahahahaha~" Giggling, Julian took pleasure in seeing Kazuto squirm in pain. "That sounded painful. But wow, it was so easy to snap your bones! Are you sure you are not a twig? You sure look like one, from my point of view. Hahahaha!"

D-damn it. Kazuto tried to keep his body as still as possible. Without my hands, I won't be able to access my Sacred Gear's weapons or items! Thankfully, that debuff potion is expiring soon. If Asuna heals me…

Without warning, Julian smashed Kazuto into the wooden floor.

"K-kack!" Kazuto felt his bones and flesh cracking and rubbing against each other as he was repeatedly smashed into the ground. With each smash, he could feel the wooden protective gear he was still wearing crack and break, pieces flying off his limp body. With each swing, his hyper aware senses felt each muscle fibre get ripped apart, until-

*RIIIIIP*

-an arm got torn off.

"Ah…" Unable to bear the pain, Kazuto's eyes rolled into the back of his head, his mind only showing the embrace of inky darkness.

…urg… The blackout was quick, less than a minute. Kazuto was quickly awakened from his forced unconsciousness, his body all but screaming at him to wake up. Shit…he ripped my arm off…

Slowly, Kazuto felt all his senses awaken. His ears could hear the faint sounds of multiple people talking and shouting. He was all too aware of his warm blood dripping out of his partially ripped off arm, pooling around his face and body. His clothes were also slowly soaking up with his blood, making him feel distinctly uncomfortable with the feeling. Really strange. I know that my arm was ripped off, but my mind is not registering the pain just yet.

A quick check into the reflective, unobscured section of the polished wooden floor allowed him to see that his eyes had changed to a gold colour. …I see. With a grunt of effort, Kazuto forced himself into a kneeling position. My Sacred Gear activates whenever I am in life-threatening danger. Though, it looks like it is not fully awakened since my arm has not regrown into its polygonal-like shape like back in that Rating Game.

"-id…-kay?"

"-rito-kun! Kirito-kun!"

With each passing second, Kazuto became more aware of his surroundings. He could feel someone shaking him, but it was muted. Like he was not in his body fully. Blearily, he forced his eyes open, focusing onto the somewhat unkempt yet rugged look of Dante shaking him. "Hey kid, you good? What am I saying, of course you aren't! Your arm was ripped off for god's sake! We have to stop the bleeding to, so bear with the pain, okay?"

Kazuto, although unsure of what was happening around him right now, knew what he had to do. The brief mention of God created a pinprick of pain in Kazuto's mind, but that was what he need to clear his mind. "St…op. No…need." Gritting his teeth, Kazuto forced himself to stand up, shaking his head like a dog to clear it of the muddiness it was in.

"Oi, oi." With one hand, Dante tried to support Kazuto. The other was trying to create a tourniquet, ripping the fabric of his Gi for the fabric needed to create such an item for his ripped elbow. "Slow down there boyo. Your girl is somehow managing to occupy that ass Julian. Once the cops get here, we would be safe. Man, that was one hell of a cocktail mix he took, huh. Wonder how he manged to get so big though."

"Nnng…" Grunting, Kazuto forced himself to stand on his two legs, shrugging off Dante's hand as he did so. "There is…no need for that…Dante-san."

Now that he was actively drawing on more of Reality Mould's powers, he was slowly starting to feel much better. His crushed hand may have not been able to open the bottle, but with Dante here…

Fighting the pain, Kazuto took out one of the plentiful health potions he had created for situations just like this, the mangled fingers just barely able to select the item he needed. With a flash of polygons and light, the medium Health Pot appeared in Kazuto's mangled hand. "Dante-san, can you pour this over my hand?"

"What in the…" Dante started to ask a question, but he cut himself off mid-sentence. Shaking his head, he took the crystal bottle and uncorked it, doing as Kazuto asked of him. "Never mind. So you know about the supernatural, I suppose?"

"You too?" Kazuto grit his teeth, hissing in pain as he felt his bones and flesh knit themselves back together.

"Well, I have exterminated the odd supernatural entity here and there when they attack me with malicious intent. That, and my ancestor was a demon slayer from my mother's side." Dante admitted. As they watched, the hand reknit itself, like watching a video of something happening in reverse. "Holy smokes, what was that you used? It healed up your messed up hand perfectly! Shame it won't grow back your arm though." Dante nodded to a mess of flesh and wood. "Julian stomped your broken arm into bits, so no way you are getting back your real arm. Maybe I can get a prosthetic one for you after all this is over? As an apology for not helping you sooner."

"…I am flattered that you would help me like that." Kazuto admitted. He really was. He knew that a prosthetic was costly. A good one even more so. "But there is no need to do so. Asuna and I, we need to stop Julian."

"…Hey now." Dante frowned. "This is no place for you to be arrogant. Especially since you are missing an arm."

It is not arrogance if you can be considered the equivalent of a raid boss from SAO. Instead of saying that, Kazuto decided that his actions would speak for themselves. "Reality Mould."

On command, his visor appeared, showing the relevant data he needed. At the same time, his protective gear, which had been in shambles, was replaced with his usual attire of a black coat, pants and undershirt. His shoes, which appeared over his bare feet, lacked the metal that usually covered it. Hmm, looks like Reality Mould can freely edit my battle attire when the situation calls for it. Got to take note of that.

Looking to his left, he tensed and untensed his polygonal net arm, checking its movements and response time. Hmm, this feels strange. My substitute arm feels just like my real one, but the sensations feel a bit muted. At the same time, I can feel my real arm being regrown. It won't bother me much, but it will take some getting used to.

"The hell?" Dante could only stare in bewilderment at the sight of the light net arm that had appeared, along with Kazuto change in attire when he spoke. To the average outsider, it would seem like advanced technology or just a showy performance, but Dante was no ordinary person. Unconsciously, he moved his hand out to touch the crystalline like arm. "What sort of bullshit is this? I know that there is magic to allow one to store items, but to regrow an arm and change outfits...I would think I am smoking if my leg was not in pain right now."

"I will fix your leg later Dante-san." Mentally going through his list of weapons, Kazuto decided on one of the Excalibre that he had managed to craft recently. Not only to test it out, but also because it was the most ordinary one. Heh. It is kinda sad that out of all my weapons, Excalibre is the least overwhelming weapon I have in terms of appearance. "Right now, I need to settle a score."

"Ah...sure." Blinking in surprise was what Dante could only do when with a single movement, Kazuto had managed to reach Asuna's side, ten metres away from them.


"Hora, hora~" Still laughing and sneering like a madman, Julian constantly swatted at Asuna, trying to incapacitate her. Each swing or smash of his fists were swift and heavy, so one would doubt if Julian was even aiming to incapacitate Asuna anymore. "Where was all that bravado about being able to handle me earlier?"

"Tsk." Asuna chose not to respond, clicking her tongue instead. The debuff potion had long since ran its course and lost its effect on Asuna's body, bringing her back to her full devil abilities. The only problem was that Asuna simply did not have the raw strength to fight Julian off evenly.

Sure, she could match Julian and beat him, but it would almost always undoubtedly end in his demise, in one way or the other. Her list of spells consisted mainly of ALO spells, all of which were too unrefined to be used to incapacitate. The few spells that she was confident in were too weak to do anything, as proven when she fired them at Julian, only for them to be either ineffective at doing anything, or be shrugged off by his new constitution. Her healing magic was also out, as they were so potent, the weakest would bring Julian back to peak condition. As for the devil magic she learned, it required time to concentrate and visualise the effects. Concentration and time she did not have.

As for the other offensive skillset she had, the Martial Arts Extra Skill she learned in SAO, she was unable to get close enough to Julian to use them effectively. Anytime she tried to do so, he would immediately try to grab onto her entire body and squeeze the air out of her. She needed time to ensure that any Skill she used would be non-lethal towards him, as even the weakest skill had the strength to kill him. As such, she faced the same problem as with her magic.

Damn it! Asuna cursed in her mind. If only I had a strong enough weapon, I would be able to subdue Julian.

"Come on, come on!" Julian taunted Asuna. "Are you too chicken to try and fight me? Or is dodging all you can do without help from your little pointy stick?"

Although the temptation of killing Julian is getting larger, Asuna held back the tide of anger that was surging in her chest. There are too many unknowns. We still need to know if the Yuuki family has any more ties to the Khaos Brigade, what the Khaos Brigade is planning, and if there is some sort of failsafe active. For all we know, Kochiro-san could have a spell that is linked to the life of Julian if we kill him by accident. At the very least, we know that Kochiro-san is under a contract to serve Julian, and it forces him to do things, even if he does not want to.

"Asuna!" The moment Asuna heard a familiar male voice call out her name, she could not help but smile. Risking a look to the side, she managed to get a glimpse of the person that she had been waiting for.

"Kirito-kun!" She could not help the smile that appeared on her face.

"Here!" Hand already in motion, Asuna quickly caught the weapon that Kazuto had thrown her way.

The colour scheme may have been different, as well as the fact that it was slightly heavier than a rapier, but Asuna would never forget the first rapier that she loved. The first weapon that held many memories for her.

"Wind Fluret." She breathed out, a small smile gracing her face as she once more looked over her favourite weapon. It may not have been the strongest or had the highest durability in SAO, but it will always remain the best rapier she ever had, followed by Lambient Light, for it contained the first, precious memories and experiences that turned her into who she was now.

"You're open, Asuna~" Gleefully, upon seeing that Asuna's guard was down, Julian pounced upon the chance that was brought before him. Whether he had seen Kazuto arrive next to Asuna or not was irrelevant. What he wanted at that moment was to grab Asuna, and make her his. By breaking her body, her spirit, or doing other things to her, it did not quite matter to Asuna. After all-

*shing~*

-her trusted, reliable and best partner was next to her. Protecting her back, just like always.

When she looked back up, rapier back in her grip in a familiar stance, it was to see Kazuto redirecting one of Julian's open palms to the side, the other having been forced to the ground earlier.

"Switch!"

Just like always…

"Quadruple Pain!"

neh, Kazuto-kun?

"GRAAHHH!" Flecks of blood splashed all over the wooden floor as the mystical Excalibre-turned-rapier carved right through Julian's defences, finding bone, tendons and joints as they were all destroyed mercilessly by the four-hit sword skill. Yet it was not enough to stop Julian. After all, this was real life. And such an attack, which would have been devastating to the average mob or player back in SAO, was nothing more than a simple hindrance in the here and now.

"You. Will. Pay!" Julian roared as he lashed his leg out, his other arm holding onto the mangled remains of his arm. Asuna was also unable to defend herself in time, having been unable to fully work around the post-motion delay of Sword Skills just yet.

*shlik*

…Of course, such an attack was quickly deflected by Kazuto, who had sprung into action to cover his partner's back. To be precise, he executed Rage Spike, a skill that was not only with a short delay time, but also one that covered the distance between him and Julian rather quickly, allowing him to get within his guard-

*spurt*

-and at the same time, amputating Julian's foot from his leg.

"GRRRAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" Howling in pain and his balance now lost, Julian fell to the floor.

"I think we are even now." Kazuto swung his blade against the floor, splattering the blood that had coated his sword on the floor in an arcing shape. Looking around, he looked at everyone besides him and Asuna, all the while keeping an eye on the downed Julian. "Anyone else want to have a go?"

Rapidly, the camera crew that Julian had hired shook their heads, the filming equipment long abandoned on the floor. Kochiro dropped his weapon on the floor as well, though not by choice. Dante, who had quickly joined back into the fight, had forcefully disarmed the kendoka, his shinai resting at Kochiro's throat.

"…Is there an explanation for all of this?" Taichi, whose shinai was poking Kochiro's small of the back, asked the duo.

"…We can explain later?" Kazuto asked in a hopeful tone. Unfortunately Kirito-kun, I doubt they would accept that.

"We won't allow that."

"…Kirito-kun, we won't be able to escape them. Not completely anyway." Asuna quickly chided Kazuto before he could try to escape. Already, she could see him eyeing the double doors that would lead outside, as well as the glass skylights that showed off the night sky. "Besides, if we leave now, there is no telling what sort of mayhem would occur if they decided to tell the media." As she said that, she turned to look at a specific individual.

A man, who had been trying to sneak out the building, stopped when multiple eyes turned on him. He would have made a run for it too, had Kazuto not picked up one of the discarded shinai, and thrown it at him with such force he was knocked out

Asuna sighed. We can always try to hypnotise them, but there is a high chance it won't stick, since we suck at them. Plus, someone might break their hypnotised state. We were making quite a bit of noise earlier, so a passer-by might come to find out what happened.. Asuna's eyes glanced at the pool of blood where Kazuto had laid, the splotches from both when he was flung around and when Julian was injured, the footprints and smears, the large crater, and finally, the dismembered body parts. That, and it would be hard to hide the damages from our battle.

Asuna corrected herself mentally as she saw what remained of Kazuto broken, torn-off arm turning into polygons and melting like ice as his crystalline arm finally faded out of existence, a fully regenerated flesh and bone arm back where it should have been. Correction, body part.

"…Asuna, you want to go a first?" Kazuto asked her. "Issei and the rest are probably in bad shape. I'll give them a basic rundown, then I'll catch up."

Mrgh… Mentally, Asuna bit her lip in frustration. On one hand, she wanted to leave as soon as possible to help Issei and the rest. She may dislike the perverted part of the brown-haired boy, but he was growing on her. Plus, Kazuto could easily interrogate Julian and keep him alive, what with the numerous potions he had manged to create from their experimentations.

On the other hand, Kazuto was not the best at explaining things. She still remembered him trying to explain to her about that government job Kikuoka had offered him a few days before the trip. It was only when the man himself stepped in that she got the gist of things.

In the end, she decided to take her boyfriend's suggestion. Kirito-kun…I do hope that you can end things off satisfactorily.

"Okay Kirito-kun." Asuna nodded her head. Going to her handbag, she took out the rapier Rika had made for her. If you were wondering how such a long weapon was able to fit into such a small bag, the answer was that the rapier was an experimental collapsible weapon made of a supernatural metal and a rune or two to help its sturdiness. "I'll see you there."

With those parting words, she quickly sprinted out of the hall, exposing her wings the moment she cleared the doors and speeding off towards the capital of Kyoto, her form but a blur of black against the night sky.

I hope we are not too late to help them! Asuna thought as her wings beat in the cool night air, each beat pushing her body with such speed, she resembled a Knight on land.


Meanwhile...

Krgh… Issei growled. His ears could pick out the sounds of battle that was going on around him, as everyone from the Gremory Group fought against the Khaos Brigade's Hero Faction.

Each of them were out of his sight, so he was very worried about them all, especially given the last state he had seen them in. But of course, he could not keep his eyes own them, since he was fighting against the strongest person out of all the members of the Hero Faction that had arrived. Shit, why did it have to come down to this?

..

..

Going back in time a bit…

When the group had arrived, they had been surprised to see that they were once more transported to a different dimension. But this time, instead of just a recreation of the bridge they had been on when they were transported, they were in a complete replica of the city of Kyoto. What's more, Yasaka, the kyuubi leader, was just standing in the middle of a magic circle, her eyes blank and devoid of any emotion.

It was also at this point that Cao Cao appeared. And Issei, being his usual self, asked Cao Cao what was going on.

Much to everyone's surprise, Cao Cao had replied. But what he had said…it was rather irritating to hear, if Issei was being honest.

Cao Cao explained that Kyoto was in fact a large-scale magical device surrounded by numerous leylines. Not only that, but the famous sights in Kyoto were also areas abundant in spiritual, youkai and demonic power thanks to the works of ancient yin yang masters, or onmyouji, hoping to turn Kyoto into a massive power. This recreation of Kyoto in the Dimensional Gap acted as a platform that allowed them to do whatever they wanted with no interference or damages to the surroundings back in the human world. As for the kyuubi leader, she was needed as not only was her power said to be on the level of the dragon kings, her very existence was intricately linked to Kyoto in various ways.

Well, there was a load of technical and magical jargon mixed in with Cao Cao's explanation, so Issei as not really sure on what was going on exactly. He did learn a few things about the Khaos Brigade and some other things as well, like there was something called a Dragon Eater and a hint as to why the Khaos Brigade was formed with Ophis as their leader, but other than that, most of what the spear-wielding hero said went over Issei's head. So, he simplified it down to the key points:

Cao Cao is using the kyuubi leader Yasaka for bad things. Yasaka and Kyoto were substitutes for the multiple dragon kings an the dragon gate that was supposed to be used for summoning the existence known as Great Red. By getting back Kunou's mother back, which will not only stop Cao Cao's plan, but also get things back to normal.

Well, that was the gist of it anyway. "I am not too sure on what is going on right now, but I do know this!" Clashing his gauntlets together, he glared at Cao Cao through his visor. "Your plan regarding the Great Red would be sure to be troublesome! So we will be stopping you!"

*Clack*

With a rather violent sound, the mobile portions of the sheath covering the new Durandal slid back, releasing the holy aura that had been suppressed up until a few moments ago.

"Like Ise said," Xenovia said as she hefted her blade into a stance. "Your conspiracies may be very deep, but no matter what, you will bring disaster to us and the people around us. -Eliminating you all, right here, is the best solution."

Everyone agreed with Xenovia's opinion, each of them preparing themselves to fight.

Irina created a sword of light in her hand, its shape resembling that of a mixture between a katana and a western short sword.

Kiba prepared his Balance Breaker, the Sword of the Betrayer

Saji sighed, but he too prepared himself. "It's always a battle to the death whenever the Gremorys are involved…Well, this is for my friends and everyone at school." Numerous black snakes appeared all over Saji's body, entangling his body and covering his limbs in such a way that it resembled armour. At the same time, Saji's presence became heavier, his left eye turning into a snake's one that started to glow red.

"…Vritra, I'm sorry but please lend me your strength. Hyoudou, please support me from the side. Today we will fight to our hearts' content!"

As Saji muttered, huge black flames appeared all around. From those flames emerge a rather large snake, from which a deep voice spoke.

""Ah my other self. Where is the prey? Is it that holy spear? Or that fox? Either is fine. It's been so long since I last appeared, I feel great right now. How about this, no matter who, let me just consume everything with my black flames?""

Wow, this snake of flame, to think that your consciousness recovered to the level of acquiring speech even after being split into many parts, how scary! It has a completely different feeling of pressure compared to Tanin-ossan. Or rather, sorry Saji. It seems like every fight that involves our group ends up against higher levelled opponents, huh.

Just as Issei was about to ask Vritra to capture youkai-form Yasaka before any burning was begun, Xenovia jumped the gun.

*WHOOSH*

Or in this case, she had jumped the sword. For before Issei had even spoken a word, Xenovia had immediately swung the Durandal downwards without hesitation! What's more, the holy aura, which had only coated the Durandal, expanded to over fifteen metres in length in an instant!

"-Strike first and end the battle. Taste my sword!"

With these opening words, the massive claymore of condensed holy aura smashed itself upon the grounds where the Hero Faction stood! A deafening sound of clashing rocks could be heard as the aura blade crashed hard into the earth, engulfing the buildings and the entire scenery as it split the earth where the blade hit the ground. At the same time, it also caused a tremor that caused everyone to stumble from the man-made miniature earthquake.

When the dust from the attack cleared, all that could be seen was a massive trench that had managed to reach the Nijou Castle's moat, littered by the destruction of the numerous roads and buildings that had surrounded not only the Hero Faction, but the area that had been between them as well!

"Hoo…" Taking a deep breath, Xenovia wiped the sweat off her forehead with her hand, her new Durandal returning back to its sheathed state once more with a click sound.

"Oi, oi!" Issei retorted. He would have done so in his mind, but he was too shocked to care about minding the feelings of Xenovia when she was being a muscle brain once more. "That is way too overboard for the first attack, isn't it?!"

"The opening always requires such a strike." Xenovia, not minding Issei's panicked tone of voice, simply said those words as she made a peace sign with her fingers.

"Who are you, Irina?!" Issei tsukkomied. "I mean, sure this might be a good result, even if you used a final finishing move at the very start, but did you not think that you might have hit Yasaka-san?! Also, what about the battle with Loki, huh? Would we have required such a sudden strike?!"

"Relax." Despite the sound points that Issei made, Xenovia was unperturbed. "Despite what it looks like, I did adjust the power. This new Durandal, Ex-Durandal could have swept everything clean if I felt like it." Xenovia gestured to the now-named Ex-Durandal. "My goal is actually to achieve something like your full powered Dragon Shot, but it doesn't seem to be that simple. -Yes, your kind of power type is exactly the ideal battle style that I seek."

Really, this girl… Issei sighed. Don't go saying that please! I am not some kind of destruction freak! My Dragon Shot only turned out like that because of desperation you know? Ever since I got reincarnated, I have consistently been fighting against high levelled enemies left right and centre, you know?! Despite being a Knight, your mindset of overpowering your enemies is completely contrasting hat of Kiba's. Perhaps you would have been better as a Rook?

"Anyway…" Issei did not relax his guard as he looked at where the Hero Faction had once been. He knew that humans could be very tough. Just look at Kazuto and Asuna! Even with that Status Down potion limiting their abilities to that of their human-selves, they managed to nearly overpower everyone in the Gremory Peerage besides Rias or Gasper with their Sword Skills and the help of Kazuto's Sacred Gear! Seriously, not only was his ability to repair his body like a Phenex overpowered, but his potions to inflict debuffs and buffs on their enemies and themselves respectively pretty much level the playing field between them and the duo. And not forgetting the humans of the past, like King Arthur or Siegfried. "How likely do you think they survived that?"

"It would be great if they got defeated with that hit from earlier." Xenovia's gazed shifted forwards for the first time since she swung her sword. "But its unlikely people like them would have been beaten so easily."

Thought so. Issei sighed. I didn't think those guys were inexperienced enough to be taken out by one attack. After all, Cao Cao could go toe-to-toe with Azazel-sensei for a bit. And I bet that those guys were the best of the best they had.

As if they had been waiting for that moment, a singular arm broke out of the cracked earth, dislodging the rubble that had been laying atop it. At the same time, a piece of earth was lifted up, allowing the many members of the Hero Faction to emerge, covered by a thin mist. Excluding the light dust that covered their bodies, the entire group was practically unharmed.

"Hmm, not bad at all." Tapping his spear audibly against his own shoulder, Cao Cao gazed at the group of devils and the single kyuubi child, his tone light and somewhat joyful. "You guys can already hold you own without disadvantage against the servants of the upper class devils. Once you start officially participating in those Rating Games of yours, you should reach…mm, a double digit ranking in no time. Probably get close to the top ten in the next few decades? Well, looks like Shalba Beelzebub really underestimated you guys. That guy was a complete fool. He wrote you off as weaklings, but it turns out that all of you have a bright future ahead of you. If you survive us that is. Georg!"

A youth wearing a mage-style robe over his uniform answered Cao Cao, stepping forwards. "Yes?"

"Focus power into the force nodes of the nine-tailed fox and prepare to summon Great Red."

"Understood." Complying with Cao Cao's order, the male named Georg simply raised his hand. In response, the area around him was filled with what looked like a numerous number of magic circles, with magical script and numbers spinning rapidly within them! At first glance, it even seemed to match the number that Rossweisse had managed to summon in her drunken stupor back on the bridge!

"…From a rough glance at those magic circles, I can see Norse, Demonic, Fallen Angel style, black magic, white magic, fairy magic…" Rossweisse narrowed her eyes. "Quite a diverse array of spells…"

That magic circle… Issei narrowed his eyes as he looked at the massive magic circle that had formed underneath the kyuubi leader. Or rather, this entire ritual…it feels very similar to when Azazel-sensei woke up that enormous Dragon King, Midgardsormr!

*ROAR~*

Pupils dilated, the transformed Yasaka roared, her golden fur standing on end, like she was agitated about something.

"With the magic circle and the sacrifice for summoning Great Red in place, the bait is now set." Georg spoke to Cao Cao. "Hopefully, Great Red would take the bait. Well, with a Heavenly Dragon and a Dragon present, we might have an increased chance in getting that beast. However, it is rather taxing to operate this magic circle. My apologies Cao Cao, but I leave it to you."

This situation is getting more and more abnormal! Issei clenched his fists in frustration. That guy, Georg, seems to be in not only the person behind this plan, seeing as he is controlling that magic circle, but also because the reason why the Hero Faction seemed to be fine! Though, that ability of his is sealed if what Georg said was true.

Cao Cao waved his hand in acknowledgement of the mage's words. "It's fine. Well, with that there is only one thing to do then. - Jeanne, Heracles."

Jeanne? Like, Xenovia's friend? Issei blinked when he heard that name, but he quickly gathered his wits about him when he saw a blonde foreign lady wielding a slender sword respond to Cao Cao's call, as well as the owner of the large hand from earlier. …I have a bad feeling about this…

Issei was right to have a bad feeling. Not too long after, everyone was forced to fight against a single enemy that had been decided for them forcefully.

Kiba and Xenovia against Siegfried.

Jeanne D'Arc against Irina.

Rossweisse against Heracles.

And him against their faction's leader, Cao Cao.

Well, Saji wanted to join Issei as well, but the pervert(with a girlfriend!) stopped him before anything could be done, telling him to subdue and release the controlled Yasaka. Grudgingly, he agreed to doing so.

..

Present time

Which now brings things to the present.

Shit! Issei narrowly avoided yet another hit from Cao Cao. If we were still in the original dimension, we would most likely get backup from Asuna and Kirito, as well as the Maou as well!

Kiba and Xenovia were going head-to-head against Siegfried, but their efforts were not bearing much fruit last he saw them. Siegfried was already able to hold his own against the duo with just three swords, but when he got his Twice Critical into its Balance Break state, his entire sword style changed into something similar to an Asura, complete with various Demonic swords and Light Swords from the Church.

Irina was fighting against the other Jeanne, who had apparently inherited the spirit of the famous French Saint called the Maid of Orleans, Jeanne d'Arc. Their fight was at a stalemate, but it was likely that Irina would lose. Their skills seemed to be somewhat even, but with the appearance of Jeanne's Balance Breaker, which took the form of a dragon made entirely of holy swords. That was the last that Issei saw of the duo before they disappeared from view.

As for Rossweisse, she was fighting against the guy that was called Heracles. To be honest, Issei felt like their matchup was the worst. Despite the former Valkyrie bombarding the large guy with magic spells, it could only manage to superficially wound him. Not only that, but he was rather agile for his size, so he could get under Rossweisse's guard sometimes, forcing her to dodge and cancel her attack lest she get her body broken. Add on to the fact that his Sacred Gear, Variant Detonation, allowed him to make his target explode whenever he attacked, and his Balance Breaker allowed him to cover himself with armour and missiles… …the only reason she had not fallen yet was thanks to Issei getting Asia and Kunou to help the Rook out.

Damn it! Frustration building, Issei used his right hand to fire a Dragon Shot, while his left jabbed forwards, hoping he would be able to corner Cao Cao. Alas, the human dodge the first attack, while skilfully parrying the second one, his spear just barely scratching the back of his gauntlet. Each and every one of them have a Balance Breaker! What the hell is this even?!

As if he had read Issei's thoughts, Cao Cao laughed, retreating a little as he spoke. "Isn't it great? This is a Balance Breaker free for all. Without a little inflation, how can humans compete with you supernatural existences?"

Careful… Issei retreated from Cao Cao as well, increasing the distance between them. Remember what Kirito taught me…look for an opening. Even if your enemy is look relaxed, their guard is always up. They will look for ways to counter your every move, so attempt to anticipate their next move. Wait for the right moment!

"Aren't you going to Balance Break like the others?" Issei asked Cao Cao, partially out of curiosity, partially to make Ca Cao lower his guard.

In response, Cao Cao shook his head. "No need. We can win without me needing to go that far. Well, all of us don't really need to do that, but they are pretty eager to crush you guys for the sake of humanity. Plus, today is my chance to really have a good look at the Sekiryuutei's power."

"It really sounds like you are looking down on us. However, it doesn't sound like a joke." Think! What is the best way to counter him? Ignore the unnecessary things at the moment!

"Ah, I was just thinking about how to draw our power and have a satisfying battle." Cao Cao raised a finger, a cocky smile on his face. "My companions came up with a simple theory to defeat you. Since your main weakness is your time limit, they proposed to accelerate the time of your Balance Breaker using one of our Sacred Gear users, quickly forcing you to waste your time limit. When you are forced to dispel your armour, you would be easy to defeat."

Cao Cao shook his head. "But I rejected that idea in the end. You know why? Well, because I noticed that you seem to work the best under some pressure. and with how you think of ways to escape certain predicaments, I was certain you would have turned our counter into your strength. Simply by releasing the armour of your own free will and switch to your normal ability of doubling your power every ten seconds, our time acceleration counter will turn into our end, as you would quickly gain enough power to far exceed our base abilities, Balance Breaker or course, it is still unknown whether the time acceleration effect will affect the normal mode Sacred Gear if it was applied during Balance Breaker. But for someone like you who has reached the depths of the Sacred Gear, it was very possible."

"…What on earth are you trying to say?" Just a bit more…

Cao Cao shrugged. "What I'm saying is, rather than using these indirect manners, it's probably best to defeat you with direct attacks. -You have a great wariness of technique types, so I was thinking those types might not be able to handle you. But thanks to your nature, you also have two other decisive weaknesses - the dragon slayer as well as light. Dragon and devil, possessing these two attributes can make you more deadly, but naturally at the same time, it increases your number of weaknesses. These weaknesses are very conspicuous to me. It makes me feel like wanting to prove to the world that a truly invincible being does not exist." Cao Cao raised his spear, pointing it's tip at Issei. "Enough talking. Let's be-"

Now!

"-gin…!"

Before Cao Cao had finished speaking, Issei leapt at Cao Cao, the fingers at the end of his gauntlet glowing. Sword Skill, Embracer!

"Asia! Promotion to Queen!"

"Yes!"

With Asia's approval, Issei promoted to a Queen, dramatically increasing the force behind his surprise strike as he utilised the trait of a Rook to increase his strength.

At the same time, he activated the boosters on his back, allowing him to increase the amount of force he could output even more!

*Clang!*

At the last moment, Cao Cao barely managed to stop the surprise attack, the force of it causing the male to step backwards, lest he fall. "Krgh!"

"ORYAH!" The moment the glow faded, Issei quickly grasped onto the spear, not allowing it to be used against him properly. Drawing back his other hand, Issei summoned Asclaon as he punched forwards, aiming to sever Cao Cao's arm, or at the very least, his hand, from his body.

[Blade!]

*Slice!*

The sound of slicing metal was quickly followed by the sound of something falling. Issei was successfully. However-

"Blgh-!" Fresh blood found its way out of Issei's mouth, spewing through his helmet as he coughed it out. At the same time, Issei felt a burning sensation on his abdomen.

Sh-shit… Issei already knew what had happened without needing to look down at his stomach. Letting his hand go slack, he quickly pulled out the holy spear that had embedded itself into his body. A cross counter? And that fast? Urgh…well, that was worth it. Unlike that guy, I have Phoenix Tears to heal my wounds!

"Ise-san!"

With the sound of a smack, Asia healed Issei causing the smoking wound to stop pouring blood. However, the burning feeling he felt did not subside. If anything, it seemed to intensify!

Sensing something wrong, Issei checked his wound. Sure enough, it had not closed. Rather, blood was starting to pour out once more, and the burning sensation was starting to spread all over his body!

Acting quickly, Issei sprinkled his bottle of Phoenix Tears onto his wound. Finally, the wound started to close.

Keeping his guard up, Issei observed Cao Cao. He had been looking at Issei with an expressionless face, his right hand catching his felled left arm. Without a single change in his expression, he held his severed arm underneath his armpit as he took out a small bottle from his pants leg. Without even looking at what he was doing, he poured the contents of the bottle over his wound, before attaching his arm. Seconds after he attached it, smoke rose from the wound before it dissipated. Then, the once severed arm started to move, as if it had not been cut off in the first place. That bottle…Phoenix Tears?!

"You…how did you get those Phoenix Tears?!"

"The Black Market. As long we keep certain channels open, all it takes is money. I'm sure the Phoenix family definitely does not want these to fall in our hands." Cao Cao gave a smirk towards Issei. "Honestly, I did not expect that from you! From the previous fights that I observed about you, your fighting style was very simple. You just charge in with no tactics or plans in your head until halfway through the fight! Well, I understand why Vali likes you now, since you are a very interesting opponent. Honestly, you were this close to being erased, yet you did not panic or grovel!"

Erased? What is he talking about?

"Oh? Looks like you don't understand." Cao Cao tapped his spear on his shoulder. "Well, put simply, this spear is something like your antithesis. The True Longinus is a weapon that is said to have pierced Jesus Christ, blessing it into one of the holiest relics in the world. This makes it even more effective against your kind compared to a regular light spear or holy sword. Remember this well, for that was the holy spear just now. No matter how powerful you become, you can never overcome this attack because you are a devil. Even if it's Vali, as long as he remains part devil, the holy spear's damage is absolute. Death is surprisingly simple, no?"

Really? Issei frowned. You said that that spear is even more effective than a holy sword? Well, that would explain why Asia's healing was overpowered by the wound it inflicted on me. Though…I wonder why it did not turn me to dust or anything. Although…even though the feeling was similar to being stabbed by a holy sword, it was not as painful as the first time I was stabbed by Raynare's spear…Perhaps I got used to this type of pain? Or rather, I was this close to dying? Issei suppressed a shudder. If I had died just then, I would never be able to face Rias-buchou again!

"…Ah, you didn't get scared. I was thinking it would be fun to see you cowering in fear…"

"Ah? Of course I'm afraid!" The fear that surrounded Issei's heart was blown away by the anger he felt towards Cao Cao's attitude his death. "But I won't be scared off. I won't be able to face everyone if I don't give you a punch to the face. Being the Sekiryuutei is not easy! And for those tears to be in the hands of terrorists like you…countless victims suffered painfully from those attacks you made! Those tears could have saved them, and yet!"

"Oh?" Cao Cao stopped tapping his spear. Instead, he rested it in the palm of his hand, before spinning it in that single hand. "Looks like you have more guts than I gave you credit for. Or perhaps you are just too stupid. Well, no matter. Looks like your aura increased thanks to your aura fluctuate due to emotion, did you know that it could bring destruction in certain circumstances? That was the reason you entered the Juggernaut state once."

None of your business! At that moment, parts of Issei's armour crumbled away, revealing his soft flesh to the outside. …This is…I see. His spear wrecked my armour. Ddraig, I leave the repairs to you.

[…Understood. However, most likely due to the effects of the holy spear, restoring the armour will take time.]

"My, my. Looks like there is a delay, but those simple attacks I landed on you can wreck the Sekiryuutei's armour."

"Again and again, that spear sure does know how to counter me." Issei growled softly. How should I-

"Irina!"

-! Just before Issei could ponder on how to deal with Cao Cao's spear, he heard Asia shout out Irina's name in a sorrowful tone.

"Ara? You guys are still going at it?"

A woman's voice - glancing over, Issei could see that the owner of the voice was Jeanne…Carrying the bloody body of Irina in her arms.

-Irina.

"Well, it is the Sekiryuutei. Should put up a better fight than these guys."

Siegfried's voice…

Held in his six arms were Kiba and Xenovia, both of them all covered in blood as well…

Hey, hey…

"If only I got to fight the Sekiryuutei." As he finished speaking, Heracles threw down something in front of Issei.

It was a bloodied Rossweisse, her body completely covered in wounds leaking fresh blood.

""Roar!""

A further look told Issei that even Vitra was having trouble, for he was entangled by the kyuubi's nine tails, and roared out in pain!

E-Everyone… How can this be…? They've all met such fates...?Even Saji…!

Cao Cao tapped his shoulder with the spear.

"Sorry Sekiryuutei. Looks like this is the end. Strong, you are all very strong. This is already exceptional amongst devils. But this level of power cannot win against us who hold the power of heroes in our hands. Also, for devils, fallen angels, dragons and youkai to be uniting as enemies of humans, isn't that too scary? Wouldn't humans feel threatened? Resisting is only natural. -It is only normal for humans to defeat Maou and dragons. This is the principle behind our actions, we of the Heroes Faction. Well, whether for me or the other members here, that is one of our goals. -Anyway, Georg, how's the magic circle?"

The mist user nodded in response to Cao Cao's question. "Still a while, but will Great Red really come?"

"Even if it doesn't, we will get data on why it didn't come. We'll try other methods if that happens."

"Still, making this all work will mean a heavy price. Are you sure we are doing this at all costs?"

"Don't look at me, if possible, of course I want a good result."

These guys, they've forgotten about us and were now occupied with the matters of the experiment. Issei, hearing the rather carefree way their enemies were speaking in, grit his teeth in frustration and self-loathing.

"Everyone!" Tears flowing, Asia quickly ran towards where everyone had been deposited so casually, her hands glowing green as she tried desperately to heal all of them. "Xenovia-san, Irina-san! Please, be alright! Rossweisse-san, Kiba-san, you will be fine, so please! Wake up!"

Kiba…you said that without Rias-buchou here, I was the substitute 'King', right? Issei looked at the bloodied bodies of his teammates, before his sight shifted to the small girl who was trying to get her mother's attention, to no avail. Kunou-san…I promised I would save your mother, and yet…and yet!

What am I doing? Issei clenched his fist tightly, trying to get up. Even though I am the Sekiryuutei, even though all of us trained so hard, Cao Cao and his group did not even think we were a threat to them! From the very start, to them we were just on the level of entertainment, a side dish for the experiment. H-How can I call myself the Sekiryuutei? What Oppai Dragon, what a joke…

No, I cannot give up! I don't want things to end here! I must continue to fight! But there is no way to win… Just as issei tried to psyche himself up, he was quickly brought own again by how hopeless the situation was. In that moment, Issei felt a large amount of regret in his heart. Why is it that I am so weak, so powerless at critical times like this…

["Crying?"] Suddenly, a voice started to speak in his ear.

This voice…Elsha-san?

["Yes, that's right. Why are you crying?"]

I...failed. I promised that we would save Kunou-san's mother, that everything woud be fine…yet, look at me! Look at us! We failed to even dent their plans, and we lost! Why…Why is it that at these crucial moments, I am always powerless?!

Memories of when he was unable to stop the wedding from proceeding the first time due to how weak he was and Asia's near death flew threw his mind.

["Yes, that is regrettable, isn't it?"]Elsha hummed. ["But did you forget? What that fallen angel governor once mentioned before? Unlike all of us, who succumbed to the Juggernaut Drive in the end, you, who are looking for an alternative way, is the embodiment of possibilities!"]

Yes…Azazel-sensei told me that once before… Issei recalled that moment clearly. At that time, Azazel-sensei said that although from a power perspective I am super weak, another perspective shows that I have my own unique way of wielding the power of the Sekiryuutei, to become strong in my own way.

Issei's feelings of determination soared! Yeah, I may be the weakest Sekiryuutei to date but so what? I will apply the power of the Sekiryuutei in my own way! Because I am the Oppai Dragon!

["Yes, now that's more like you. Current Sekiryuutei, Oppai Dragon."]Although Issei could not physically see Elsha at that moment, he could tell that there was a hint of a smile on her face. ["The possibility Belzard and I saw! Come, release it all now! Your possibility!"]

At that moment, an intense light and heat shone through Issei's shirt pocket, prompting Issei to dig into said pocket. Pulling the item that had been inside it, Issei realised that the source of light and heat was the jewel that he had received from Azazel. The one that he had lost when he opened the box inside his mind.

["Raise the jewel to the sky, and summon loudly!"]

S-Summon?

["That's right, go summon the breasts that belong only to you!"]

Amidst the light, Issei noticed some shadow apparitions first, it was indistinct, looking more like a blob of shadows than anything else. But, within a few seconds, these shadows took on human form, multiplying rapidly with every moment that passed. This is…

["The jewel has been transferring amongst all sorts of humans in Kyoto, and these figures are formed from their residual memories."] Elsha helpfully answered Issei's unspoken question

These figures are all the poor innocent men who became molesters due to me? What kind of molester surge did this jewel produce in Kyoto! That's far too many people I must apologise to!

["Who said that they were all men?"]Elsha teased Issei. ["I can see a few females in there as well."]

Seriously?! Issei was dumbfounded by this. How many innocent people became corrupted due to me?

..

Well, the jewel did more good than harm, to be honest. Issei would only find out months later, but not too long after this incident, there was a huge increase in marriages and childbirth. Although some people got arrested for public sexual harassment, most of the people who got affected by the jewel were couples and people too afraid to take the leap in dating. This resulted in some relationships blossoming, gaining fruit, or saving in some cases too.

Issei would still feel bad about that the serial molestation cases though. Especially when it became clear that some of the females who molested others were molesting either their significant partner(current and future), but it also awakened a certain kink belonging to a SM miko.(*2*)

..

"What's going on?" A sharp voice resounded through the air, cutting through the small amount of depression Issei was feeling. Shoot, Cao Cao noticed the light show!

But before anyone could gather their thoughts on what to do…

"Oppai…" A clear voice broke through the air.

Eh?

"O-Oppai."

"Ah oppai."

The owner of the voice, as it turned out, was the shadowy apparitions. The memoires of those innocent people, these lingering memories, started to repeat the words 'Oppai' over and over again.

"Lots of oppai."

"Many, many oppai…"

"What on earth?" Bewildered, Issei could see Cao Cao take a step back from all the apparitions that appeared. "This was not in the information we gathered."

"""Oppai! Oppai! Oppai! Oppai!"""

As the huge number of figures all chanted 'Oppai!' in a low voice, they slowly and casually shuffled their footsteps, creating some kind of formation.

"""""Oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai, oppai.""""

Hey hey hey! When did this become a hentai exhibition!? Issei could not tear his eyes off this spectacle. It was like watching a train wreck. It was both fascinating, yet horrifying at the same time. Or rather, are they doing some sort of ceremony?

"What's this?" Heracles, who had also been drawn in by the lights and noise, exclaimed loudly when he saw the masses of shadows. "What the hell is this!? An army of oppai zombies?!"

As everyone watched, even the Hero Faction who looked at the mass of apparitions with mild interest and curiosity, they were more than a little stunned by how they melted into the ground, forming a magic circle by using their bodies to literally carve out the necessary symbols.

"Oi, oi!" Heracles growled in excitement. "What's this? A summoning circle for reinforcement? Well, a quick punch ought to stop this!" Grinning, the large man stepped forwards, the light of the magic circle washing over him-

-and before anyone could react, practically teleported toward the sole female of the Hero Faction. "Oppai!"

"Wai-what?!" Jeanne, who had not been expecting Heracles to jump her, flushed red as she tried to escape the huge hands trying to fondle her modest chest. "Oi, Herc-kun, stop it! What's gotten into you?"

"Oppai!" Was the only response.

"Heracles, snap out of it!" Cao Cao quickly used his spear to bash Heracles's head, most likely to knock him out, but the large guy simply activated his Balance Breaker and blew the spear away! "Stop trying to grope Jeanne!"

"Oppai?" Tilting his head, Oppai-Zombified Heracles stopped for a single moment, before a reddish-pink light enveloped his hand and tried to grapple Cao Cao instead. "Oppai!"

"St-stop it!" Cao Cao's tune did a complete 180 as he tried to avoid the pinkish-red light. "Stay away from me!"

["Everything is ready-summon!"]

W-What? All these incomprehensible things have killed my ability to think! If this was an anime, Issei's eyes would have been swirling in complete confusion Elsha-san, what is going on?!

["Go, yell it out! Summon, breasts-!"] Ignoring Issei, Elsha continued to prompt the boy that was the current Sekiryuutei.

I can't keep up with the rapid developments, do I really have to yell it out! Issei was at the end of his rope. One thing was happening after the other, it was practically pure chaos! Where was the serious air from earlier!? Ah, fine! "-Summon, breasts!"

*Boom*

With a flash of light, the magic circle spelt out the word 'oppai' in magical script before disappearing, summoning a familiar face for Issei.

R-Rias-buchou!? Issei could not believe his eyes. Rias had been summoned once more by his desires. But this time, she was unprepared for the summoning, as could be seen by her half-dressed state.

"W-What is going on!? Honmaru Palace…? K-Kyoto? A-Ara, isn't this Ise? Why are you here and why was I brought here? S-Summoned!? Eh? Eh?" Bewildered, Rias could only look around her in a confused state, her head swivelling left and right as she took in the situation.

Even the Hero Faction were speechless, unable to do anything. That is, until Heracles grappled Cao Cao and molested his chest for a second, before starting to go after Jeanne once more.

["Now, poke them"]To add on to the incomprehensible situation, Elsha whispered those words into Issei's ears, her voice solemn.

What is even going on anymore… Issei wanted to hope that this was a dream. Very badly. If Kirito ever found out about this situation… Well, there was a reason he had toned down his perverseness.


(*1*) – Time, place, and Occasion

(*2*) – Yes, the females became either sadists or machinists, depending on the original nature of themselves and their significant other. A good example would be Horimiya, where Miyamura would snap at Hori per her request, as she enjoyed him being a sadist at times.

AN

Kuhahaha! I. Am. Alive!

I have been swamped with work and exams, unable to watch my anime or do my fanfic properly! But now, I am free!

For all of a single week anyway, before I get swamped with work again.

Anyway, this AN would be on the shorter side, barring some explanations. A double release, as I really want to get this Arc done before I forget stuff.

As you anime fans can tell, I have just finished Horimiya when wrapping this chapter up, so I just could not resist the temptation of adding in that particular snippet. That of course, led to me making the power-up scenes even more chaotic. Hilarious too, if you are also a man of culture, I guess. Chaos, chaos, and more chaos, that is what this chapter's end is all about!

As per my tradition, I will endeavour to release chapters on the 1st of April(Well, this time it is the 2nd or 3rd of April, depending on the timezone, since my body decided that it had enough and forced me to sleep for 10 hours.) The second chapter will be released at the same time, of course.

Anime is Life, and please review!