WHOOOOOO 9.5K WORDS BEFORE AN!
I have been up for 24 hours. This was painful. But, I think it's a good chapter. It's not going to go how a lot of you think it will...but I think it turned out better. Anyway, go ahead and read it and I'll say more at the bottom.
"Why are you so nervous?"
Raynare stood beside Issei, holding his left hand and wondering why he'd become so clammy all of a sudden.
"Well, Vali is going to be here, right? What if he tries to start something…?"
Raynare wanted to assure Issei that Vali wouldn't try to fight him, but she wasn't so sure. The White One was a battle maniac through and through, and would only restrain himself if he foresaw a better fight coming because of it. Really, she was no small part nervous herself.
"Oh, he's definitely gonna try to start something. Then, we'll fight him together."
Instead, she reminded him that even if Vali tried to attack, they weren't exactly slouches. Together, they could more than likely push him back.
"...Right."
Of course, the thought of Raynare fighting Vali with their kid in her made Issei's skin crawl, but she most certainly wasn't one to be sidelined while he fought on her account. Even the mere suggestion was likely to get him a pissed look. Regardless of her feelings about the subject, he was worried for his child- the power released from his Balance Breaker at full force would incinerate a weaker life-form, but would it hurt Raynare? The baby? He didn't know, and frankly, never wanted to find out.
The two of them were at Kuoh Academy, in a large room prepared specifically for the event- which is to say, the Three Faction Peace Summit. They were among the first to arrive, right beside Rias and her peerage. Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan sat at the table, preparing themselves. No one else had shown up, yet.
"Ugh…" Matsuda groaned, standing beside Akeno and Asia and rubbing his bald head ferociously in anxiousness. "I hate waiting around, let's get this show on the road!"
"Couldn't agree more, kiddo." Azazel announced his arrival by agreeing with the low class devil, teleporting in right by Issei. The Devil Kings stood in warm greeting as he appeared, and Issei gave the man a firm handshake.
"Azazel. Welcome." Sirzechs said, smiling.
"Sirzechs, good to see you. You too, Serafall." Azazel waved to the two Royal Devils as they stood to welcome him, and he soon took his place on Sirzechs' left at the large round table.
"Issei," Azazel said before truly giving his attention to the meeting, "Vali will be here soon. Be on your guard." With that ominous sentence, he turned fully to the preparations for the Summit.
The warning had multiple meanings. Watch out for Vali trying to attack, sure- but also that Vali was no longer under the control of Azazel, and that no one really knew what the wildcard white dragon would do.
The only people left to arrive were Vali, the Archangel Michael, and, if rumors were to be believed- the new God.
Issei really had no idea what to expect. He'd only ever asked Raynare about God himself once, more out of sheer curiosity than anything else.
"He was...magnificent. There's no human word that's enough to really describe God. As much as I resent him for what he did to me...he was amazing."
That didn't really give him much to go off of, not really, but it gave him the sort of impression that nothing he could think of would ever come close to what would really happen.
A couple minutes passed. Vali wasn't really guaranteed to show up- he wasn't really strictly aligned to any one faction, so it wasn't certain that he'd come to the peace meeting- but everyone was wondering about where Michael was. The angel hated to be late, and while the meeting did have about ten minutes before it was to officially start, Azazel had said that he loved punctuality so much he might actually get there before everyone else.
And then the door opened once more. Every soul in the room turned to look, but only one voiced their confusion.
"Lisa Lisa?" Issei stared unashamedly at the old woman, his mouth agape in both worry and surprise.
"Oh, hello Issei darling. And Raynare, good to see you both! How are my two favorite kids?" Lisa Lisa asked, approaching the two with all the speed the excitable old woman could muster.
"What are you doing here? And what are you wearing...?" Issei asked, extremely worried for her safety. He didn't know much about the Devil Kings, but he wasn't sure how they'd react to a random old woman walking in on their meeting.
The woman was dressed in a faded white sari with a blue border- not clothes he or Raynare had seen her wear before. Somewhere else in his mind, he subconsciously recognized her robes, but didn't think of that at the moment.
"Friend of yours, kiddo?" Azazel asked Issei, warily eyeing the elderly doctor.
"Why, Chief of the Watchers, you don't recognize me?" Lisa Lisa asked with an audible grin, turning to the Governor General.
"Should I?" Azazel now knew something was amiss. He hadn't been referred to as his title in a millenia, and never by someone who wasn't related to Heaven.
"Haha! I suppose not, hm? Maybe this'll jog your memory."
Lisa Lisa laughed and spread her arms, and it was like someone put the Sun in the middle of the room.
The purest, brightest, holiest light anyone there had ever seen radiated in waves off from Lisa Lisa, bathing the room and everyone in it in a warm glow. Issei's skin felt amazing wherever the gorgeous rays touched it, and he felt an overwhelming urge to fall to the ground in praise. Everyone present was affected by the light, and while the devils all prepared defenses in anticipation of pain, they too found only bliss in the shining.
After what felt like an eternity but was in reality only a couple seconds, the light diminished and faded, soon disappearing entirely.
Issei slowly opened his eyes, and what stood before him shocked him to the bone.
Lisa Lisa stood with two radiant wings of pure light, a beautiful scepter in her left hand and an immaculate halo above her head. Her modest robes shone bright with renewed grace, and a golden sash crossed her torso. Behind her was Michael the Archangel, kneeling on the ground in reverence.
Nobody could talk.
What would they say?
What could they say?
Issei realized this was what Raynare had meant.
There truly wasn't any words in any language that could describe the beauty and power of the Almighty God.
"Come now, my children." Her voice was like that of flowing water; graceful, yet steadfast and clear. "Do not be afraid." Lisa Lisa smiled, and her face projected pure serenity.
Issei, once the quietest person in the room, was the first to speak.
"Lisa Lisa, are you...are you the new God?"
He found it difficult to merely speak, but at the same time, he fought the urge to raise his voice in song and praise.
"Mmm, indeed. In life I was known as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, but you will know me better as Mother Teresa, Saint of the Gutters. I was chosen to ascend to the throne of Heaven by the Lord our God, and so I have."
Issei didn't really know where to go from that- his mind was too busy reeling. The woman who'd taken Raynare dress shopping, who'd given them an apartment, who'd healed him after the time with Matsuda...had been God?
Raynare wasn't faring much better. Less than a week ago, she'd been out shopping with the God of Heaven? Ages ago, when she'd very first started entertaining the idea of keeping Issei alive, the one who'd given her advice on the drive to his house- was God?
The God who cast her from Heaven, the God who took her beautiful white wings and her title as Rachiel?
Then she stopped. No, not that God, Raynare reminded herself. That God was dead. This is Lisa Lisa, the woman who ultimately set her on the path to truly loving Issei and gave them everything necessary for their relationship to thrive. Which meant, if this was God, if this was the new person running the system of Heaven-
Lisa Lisa was the one who bestowed upon her the Silver Wings of a Risen Angel. Lisa Lisa is the one that forgave her.
No, even further back than that- Lisa Lisa had every opportunity to kill Raynare so she wouldn't harm Issei, but never for a second did she do anything but encourage.
Raynare now realized- she owed everything to Lisa Lisa, to the New God.
She could do nothing but stare.
Xenovia and Asia were at the verge of tears. Having God's death revealed to them had nearly broken the spirits of the two believers, and to see not only was God not dead, she was an ascended saint- it was moving to say the least.
"I hope you all don't mind, I brought a couple of angels." Lisa Lisa gestured to Michael, who rose from his kneeling position on the floor, and another two angels who stood behind her on the other side.
Because of the angle they were at, Issei hadn't been able to see the other angels, but as they stood up he saw them clearly. One was Irina, but he didn't really care too much about that. The other, however-
"Mom?!"
-was Doctor Elsa Hyoudou, in the flesh. She wore a flowing golden robe and a crown of white flowers, and had two beautiful white wings on her back. She looked just as she had in Issei's dream of her, and on some level he realized that it probably hadn't been a dream after all.
"Hi, darling." Elsa waved, barely able to hide her elation at seeing her son again.
Issei was much the same. His every impulse was to shoot across the room and throw her into a hug, but he figured that might not be the right thing to do right now. He resolved to do it after the meeting, when there were less people around.
Unexpectedly, the door opened once more, and Issei instantly recognized Vali Lucifer based off Raynare's description of him. He looked exactly as she'd described- a typical bad boy douche, chain on his pants and all. His hair gave him away as the White One, and Issei briefly felt relieved that he didn't have red hair on account of being the Red Dragon.
"Yo." Vali said, waving at Issei with a smirk. He didn't acknowledge anyone else in the room, simply stood against the wall opposite the Red Dragon Emperor.
"Well, if we're all here, then are we ready to begin?" Sirzechs asked, himself a little shocked that Mother Teresa herself had ascended to the Throne of God.
Every present agreed, and the faction leaders took their places at the negotiating table. Lisa Lisa's appearance diminished back into that of a humble nun, leaving her in the same unassuming state she'd been in when she entered.
Issei stood back against the wall, beside Raynare and Rias' peerage. He could feel Vali staring a hole into him from across the room.
[I can feel it; balance breaker or not, Vali's strength outmatches your own. Be on your guard.]
Ddraig's mental warning was unnecessary. Issei was well aware of their gap in strength, and hoped that if it came down to a battle that his trump card would settle the difference.
Issei was so lost in his thoughts that he barely kept up with the actual semantics of the meeting. Accusations were tossed this way and that way about Kokabiel, even though Vali ended up handling everything. Freed got brought up momentarily, but only as a footnote to Valper's scheming with the Excalibur fragments.
Rias gave a report, Sona showed up to give a witness' account, there were some more legal theatrics between the Devils and Fallen. It all went way over Issei's head, as he was focused solely on Vali. His grip on Raynare's hand was firm, almost as if the moment he loosened it Vali would fly across the room to attack.
Matsuda said something to Michael and Lisa Lisa, sparking a conversation between the three of them as well as Xenovia and Asia and Irina.
After a while, Issei was broken out of his inattention by a comically loud sigh from Azazel.
"Let's just hurry up and make peace already! Isn't that what this summit is for, anyway?" He asked, lazily leaning on his arm.
Lisa Lisa chuckled, but Sirzechs and Serafall Leviathan didn't look quite so amused.
"I couldn't agree more, darling. Peace is all Heaven wants." Lisa Lisa remarked, nodding.
"The Devils are the same." Sirzechs replied.
"Then the problem lies with the two outside our factions- the ones with the power to change the world, all on their own. The Twin Sky Dragons. I think we should hear what they have to say." Azazel gestured to the two Dragons, giving them the stage.
"I just want to be able to fight strong opponents." Vali commented dryly, his smirk widening.
"You can do that without a war, can't you?" Azazel asked, a humored grin on his face.
"True enough." Vali's grim laugh was more than enough to set Issei on edge.
Lisa Lisa herself was a little aggravated at the comment. Being the paragon of peace and harmony, she would never understand the White One's fascination with battle.
"Well, that's one. Issei, what do you think?" Azazel turned to his nephew, and everyone else followed suit.
Issei could feel the eyes of everyone there he cared about- Lisa Lisa, Azazel, his mother, Raynare- all waiting for him to declare his position. He answered without hesitation.
"I want nothing more than to be able to start a family without worry. A war, or fighting strong opponents, would be bad for that. If peace between the three factions will guarantee a untroublesome life for my house- then that's exactly what I want."
Everyone present was pleased by his answer, most of all Raynare and Elsa. Lisa Lisa and Azazel expected nothing less, both nodding in approval. Vali grinned even wider.
"Then, are we all in agreement? Peace for the three factions?" Azazel asked an open question. The atmosphere of the room, while mostly peaceful, seemed to have an underlying charge to it- like Azazel was inviting challenge by asking that question.
"It would seem so." Sirzechs said, glancing around.
"Then so it shall be." Lisa Lisa said, smiling brightly.
As if on cue, something went horribly wrong.
Issei didn't know what happened at first. It felt like he turned upside down and back again all in the space of a millisecond, and he nearly staggered out of sheer dizziness. His grip on Raynare's hand kept him upright, and as he looked to her he saw that she too was feeling odd. The both of them glanced around the room, and it became massively obvious that something bad had happened.
Several of the people present were simply frozen solid, but not in ice or anything of the sort- a purple glow surrounded them, and they were entirely unmoving. The only other people unaffected were the faction leaders and Vali, as well as Elsa, Xenovia, Kiba, Irina, Matsuda, and Rias.
"Oh, phooey. We were this close." Lisa Lisa said, shaking her head in disappointment.
"What happened?" Sirzechs asked, taking stock of who was still available.
"Someone's playing with time," Lisa Lisa replied. "How very dangerous."
Outside, the sky was tinged purple over a massive orange barrier covering the school grounds. People in odd black robes poured from the top of the barrier, floating on magic circles and firing strange lasers towards the Summit. All the standing troops brought for defense by each faction were quickly hit with the beams, having been frozen by whatever stopped everyone else. At first, Issei thought they were being killed, but an offhand comment from Serafall eased his worries.
"Magicians. Wait...teleport magic? They're moving all our soldiers outside the barrier." Serafall spoke to Sirzechs, but everyone could hear.
"It must be the half-vampire." Azazel said, looking at Rias. She nodded, agreeing. Sirzechs hummed, realizing what happened.
"Gasper?" Matsuda asked, realization crossing his face.
"Uh, what? Vampires are real too...?" Issei asked Raynare quietly, not having any knowledge of something like that. Raynare just nodded, mostly focusing on what was going on.
"It would seem that the stronger of us were protected from his ability, as well as those with powerful artifacts or sacred gears." Sirzechs commented. True to his word, the ones who weren't faction leaders or currently frozen all had something on them. Matsuda's hands were shrouded in the inky darkness of his Longinus, Issei's gauntlet had appeared, Kiba and Xenovia had holy swords drawn, and Irina and Elsa both had Excalibur fragments out.
Issei had to do a double take when he saw his mother holding Excalibur Rapidly. He'd never in his life expected to see his mother alive again, much less as a blade-wielding angel badass.
"So what's going on, exactly?" Issei asked. Mentions of a half-vampire were being thrown around, but he had no idea what that meant.
"A member of my peerage is able to stop time within his field of view. These terrorists must be causing Balance Breaker conditions, for him to be able to affect this much at one time." Rias answered, worry and anger written all over her.
"So why are we able to move?" Raynare asked, talking to Rias. They had neither high-tier power like the leaders nor any special artifacts, yet were still unfrozen.
"You were protected by their longinus, just like they were. Count yourselves lucky, I guess." Azazel interjected. It was true- Rias had been touching Matsuda's arm, and obviously Raynare and Issei were holding hands.
"I was under the impression there was a barrier around us to stop this kind of thing." Issei was trying to piece together what was going on, to determine the best course of action he could take.
"There was. Somebody opened it to teleportation- from the inside." Azazel remarked dryly. No trace of his good humor from before was left.
"So there's a rat." Matsuda said darkly, looking suspiciously at Vali. The White Dragon didn't even acknowledge the gaze.
"Sirzechs." Rias addressed her brother formally.
"Hm?" He hummed in response, his mind racing.
"There's an unused rook in the basement of the old school building."
"A rook? Ah, I see. Castling." Sirzechs nodded.
"Castling?" Matsuda asked, not understanding.
"A chess maneuver. You can switch the places of a rook and king." Kiba explained shortly, grasping Rias' plan. "She's going to try and save Gasper, whose sacred gear is currently being exploited by the enemy." He explained further, addressing Issei and Raynare, who had absolutely no clue what she was talking about.
"Even with my power, I can only send you and one other." Sirzechs said, looking Rias in the eyes.
"I'll go," Matsuda offered with hesitation.
"Wouldn't it be easier to just obliterate the vampire along with the terrorists?" Vali remarked, only half-sarcastic. "If you want, I can do it for you."
"Vali. Have a little tact, would you? We're trying to make peace." Azazel reprimanded the White One, who chuckled dryly in response.
"Sorry. It's just not in my nature to sit around and do nothing."
"Then, why don't you go introduce yourself? If you're bored, I mean."
"Not a bad idea."
Vali launched himself from a window, summoning his sacred gear mid-flight. He rose up into the midst of the hundreds of enemy magicians, and came to a sudden stop.
(Vanishing Dragon- Balance Breaker!) In a fraction of a second, a flash of incredibly bright light exuded from Vali, and he was left wrapped in white Scale Mail, exactly like the Red Dragon's Balance Breaker.
"So he's unlocked that power too, huh?" Issei asked, his hopes dashed. Realistically, he knew that of course Vali would be able to freely use Balance Breaker like himself, but he had been holding out hope that the White One wasn't as far along in his sacred gear's progression. Unfortunately, that display of power removed all traces of doubt from Issei's mind.
In a massive show of force, Vali let slip a maelstrom of chain-lightning, jumping from one magician to the next and mercilessly destroying those who were hit. Every spell they sent in retaliation was simply blocked without a second thought, the armor of the Dragon protecting him effortlessly.
"Pride is a deadly sin, Vali." Lisa Lisa mumbled, too quiet enough for anyone who wasn't near her to pick up.
Raynare and Issei watched as Rias and Matsuda stepped into a magic circle created by Sirzechs. Azazel handed the bald boy something, and the two were teleported away. A mundane white Rook dropped to the ground in their place.
"Once those two free Gasper, we can begin the counterattack." Sirzechs said as he picked up the rook, examining it closely.
"Zechs." Serafall spoke urgently as an orange magic circle appeared in a corner of the room. Everyone turned to face it, and a devil woman wearing a low-cut purple dress stepped out.
"A friend?" Issei asked.
"Not even close," Raynare answered. They both turned to fully face the woman, ready for anything.
"Good day, Devil Kings Sirzechs and Serafall." The woman said, in a voice dripping with malice.
"Katerea Leviathan, descendant of the first Leviathan. Why are you here?" Michael asked, stepping protectively in front of Lisa Lisa and the other angels.
Katerea held her staff high in the air. "To spread destruction and chaos, of course."
Faster than anyone could react, her staff exploded.
The blast destroyed the main building of Kuoh school, leaving only the bottom level and about half of the second not reduced to ashes.
Above the ruins floated a sphere of yellow light, inside of which was everyone present in the Faction Summit, shielded from the damage by a powerful barrier maintained by all the strongest people there.
Issei, clad in his Scale Mail, released his full-body hold on Raynare. The moment he'd seen Katerea about to blow, he'd instinctively shielded his fiance with himself. Once he saw that they were safe, he let go, dispersing his armor. In return for the selfless-though-unnecessary action, Raynare kissed his cheek, earning an eyebrows-raised look from Elsa in the process.
"For the leaders of the three factions to put up a barrier together...what a disgrace!" Katerea, now on the ground outside, laughed maliciously as the sphere flew down.
"What are you trying to do, Katerea?" Sirzechs asked once they hit the ground. His right hand was held up palm-out, partially maintaining the barrier.
"The opposite of you. Now that God and the Devil King are dead, there should be a revolution in this world." Katerea said matter-of-factly.
"Why are you doing this, Katerea?!" Serafall yelled in anguish.
Katerea looked pissed that she'd even been addressed by the Devil King. "Serafall, you sure are slacking after stealing my title. Don't worry. After I kill you here now, I'll reclaim the name of Leviathan for myself.
"Oh man, and here I was thinking we got caught up in a devil's coup d'état." Azazel remarked, stroking his chin.
"Is that not what this is…?" Issei mumbled, a little lost. Raynare shrugged. All she was waiting for, really, was the time to burst out of the barrier and start destroying magicians. After all, they threatened peace, which put her and Issei's lives at stake- as well as their childs'. She wasn't happy.
"But it sounds like you want to take over it all, the whole world." Michael said, his voice stalwart and unflinching.
"That's right, Michael! We want to build a world where nobody cares about God or the Devil's deaths. We'll take this decayed world and reform it ourselves!"
Azazel laughed. "How boring. The villain who says things like that is always the first to die." He stepped forwards, preparing to fight her himself.
Lisa Lisa stopped him.
"So, because God and the Devil Kings are dead, you think you deserve to rule?" The old woman asked slowly, her normal upbeat tone replaced with one of grim seriousness.
"Of course. The descendants of the Devils naturally deserve to rule over what they conquered."
"Then if God was still around? What would you and your terrorist friends do then?" Lisa Lisa pressed on, no one around her saying a word.
"Just who are you to talk to me, anyway? We'd kill him, obviously. Idiotic hag." Katerea was losing her patience, and it showed.
"Then I believe your quarrel is with me."
Lisa Lisa slowly walked forwards, using her scepter as a cane. The barrier in front of her parted without hesitation, even though none of the people casting it had made it do that.
"What…? An old woman, challenging me? Are you stupid? Who is this, Sirzechs?" Katerea spat as Lisa Lisa lazily walked forwards, the old woman's head shrouded by her cowl.
"That's for you to find out, Katerea." Sirzechs replied, warily watching the new God.
"This'll be something…" Azazel remarked, now solemn. He and Raynare looked apprehensive. The true power of the biblical God was something truly indescribable- of those present, only they and Michael had felt it first-hand, and they all looked a bit worried.
"You have one chance, darling. Everyone deserves at least one." Lisa Lisa stopped just ten feet in front of the terrorist, looking her dead in the eyes.
"A chance? A chance to what, surrender?" Katerea began to laugh uncontrollably. Lisa Lisa didn't react. "As if!"
"A chance to be better. The Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. She will not turn her face from you if you return to her." Lisa Lisa dropped the scepter and held her hands out, palms up, seemingly wanting Katerea to come to her.
Katerea laughed once more. "What, are you saying you're God? He's dead! And, because I'm tired of your nonsense- you're next!" The descendant of Leviathan blitz-rushed Lisa Lisa, hands raised with offensive magic ready.
Without moving an inch, Lisa Lisa lowered her left hand and raised her right, almost in a half-prayer stance.
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
God spoke.
Katerea was disintegrated.
It happened entirely without spectacle.
There was no flash-and-thunder, no magic circles, no overwhelming presence. It was just...wholesale erasure, leaving almost nothing behind.
"A snake." Lisa Lisa said, as if that explained everything.
The only thing remaining was a blake snake, in the shape of infinity, writhing on the ground with its own tail in its mouth. Lisa Lisa waved her hand over it, and it disappeared.
"That would certainly explain her audacity to attack all the faction leaders at once- I was wondering where she grew the extra balls. Now we know." Azazel laughed- no one else looked amused.
Issei was still a little awestruck at the laughably easy battle against what was apparently a pretty decent threat- up until a couple hours ago, he'd thought no more of Lisa Lisa than that she was a nice old woman, if a little eccentric. Now she'd just obliterated a descendant of the Devil King Leviathan, without so much as breaking a sweat.
He was reeling, to say the least. The snake was honestly the last thing on his mind.
After destroying it, Lisa Lisa walked back to the barrier, the magic easily parting for her to re-enter.
"Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God. The Dragon even my predecessor feared. I should've expected as much- to be able to corral such a dangerous group together as the Chaos Brigade, it would've had to be someone immensely powerful." God shook her head and sighed. "I had hoped it was merely a group of malcontents...were it so easy."
"The Chaos Brigade? Did I miss something?" Issei asked an open question. Even Raynare knew nothing about such a group, so she stayed silent. She'd gotten pretty good at staying silent- a vast majority of the people there were people she either was uncomfortable with or downright hated, so she didn't say much.
"The Chaos Brigade is a relatively new group of terrorists, formed with unknown goals in mind. They're the ones who Freed got the drug from to spike your friend, but I couldn't tell you that at the time. Sorry." Azazel rubbed the back of his head as he spoke, and Issei couldn't really tell if he was sorry or not- not that it really mattered.
"Putting that aside for now, until Rias gets back with Gasper, we need to worry about destroying the Gate, or at least stopping the flow." Sirzechs pointed up in the sky, to the massive orange magic circle where magicians were constantly entering the barrier field, even with Vali thinning them out.
"Michael?" Lisa Lisa asked.
"I'm already on it, your grace."
In the chief archangels' hands was a complex and shifting series of silver magic circles, rotating around like a gyroscope. He was peering deeply into it, seemingly trying to decipher the circles themselves.
"Good. You just need to buy him some time, and he'll have the gate closed." Lisa Lisa said to Sirzechs.
First a nod, then he replied, "What will you do?"
"Nothing more than what I've done already. I am God of peace and benevolence, not battle- I'll not lift a single finger against these human magicians, misguided though they may be. My angels will handle anything more from our side." Lisa Lisa spoke in a manner that defied argument in every way, and though Issei didn't really understand the logic in totally vaporizing a Devil and then claiming pacifism, he could kind of see where she was coming from.
"Very well. Then we'll handle the rest." Sirzech said, understanding God not wanting to murder anyone else.
"We'll ward off enemy attack."
Issei looked to who was speaking. It was Kiba, standing shoulder to shoulder with Xenovia and Irina. They all had their respective swords drawn, and though he couldn't really remember the name of Xenovia's, and Irina's was just a fragment of Excalibur, Kiba's was just too cool to ever forget- the Sword of Betrayer. He'd been almost a bit jealous of the name, not that he had a sword to name himself.
"You three will?" Sirzechs asked, a little disbelieving.
"Not just them, don't worry. There may be another general on the field yet, so I'll head out alongside the youngsters." Azazel said, clapping Kiba on the back.
"I'll go as well. I can't very well allow a fellow angel to fight on her own, can I? Not to mention, I've got kids and grandkids in this barrier." Elsa spoke up for the first time since the start of the meeting, drawing her own Excalibur fragment once more.
Now, Issei almost tried to protest. His mom? Going out to fight magicians, hundreds of them, all shooting lasers? Hell no, he thought. Not while he had anything to say about it. But when he saw the glint in her eyes and the light reflecting off her legendary blade, he couldn't really talk her down. She offered him a wink, and nothing more. Not yet.
Without another word about it, the five of them stepped out of the barrier, the magic being parted by Lisa Lisa yet again, for them to easily pass through. Azazel shot straight up into the air, his twelve midnight wings flaring for all to see, and the other four charged straight into battle.
Issei had to restrain himself from jumping out alongside his mother. It was odd, seeing her in actual combat. She'd had martial artist as a hobby while she was alive as a human, so he'd seen her fight a handful of times- but never with her actual life on the line. What if one of these magicians stopped shooting teleporty-lasers and decided to scorch her wings off with a fireball? The mere thought made Issei's stomach churn, but he had to stay with Raynare, and their child. He wished she could just teleport home, but the barrier was preventing that.
Not that she'd ever just leave him and teleport home anyway.
"You settle down, darling. Steel your nerves. Your part in this is coming, I promise." Lisa Lisa, noticing his worry, tried to calm Issei. While her soothing voice worked wonders, her actual words only made him more anxious.
After a moment, there was another lurch, and the sky lost it's purple tint. The people who were frozen came back to reality, more than a little confused. Just seconds after, Rias and Matsuda came back into the barrier through a red magic circle. Matsuda had blood on his left hand, and a shadowy sword was dispersing in his right.
"Welcome back. Well done, you two." Sirzech congratulated them, and began to hand out orders to everyone who was now present.
"I've unraveled the gate." Michael spoke up, then raised both his hands up high and shot off a beam of blue light towards the orange gate. It glowed green briefly, then completely dispersed.
"Well, then. All that's left is to get rid of our visitors." Sirzechs said, watching the archangel work.
Issei wasn't listening. He was frantically searching the sky.
He hadn't heard a word any of them said, because he was looking.
Something was wrong, his gut told him- and Vali had disappeared from sight.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Then, a yell and a crash. Just next to the protective barrier, a crater was freshly-formed. Azazel climbed out of it, groaning.
"I must've lost my edge. Damn." The Fallen Angel said, pulling himself up and out of the hole. His left arm was entirely severed, up to the shoulder.
Issei's eyes went wide. Raynare's followed, not long after.
"Vali." Azazel said, resting his chin on the one remaining arm and looking up at the white one.
No wonder he'd been gone, Issei thought. He was turning traitor after all.
"Sorry, Azazel. Things just looked more interesting on this side." The White Dragon Emperor was hovering about thirty meters off the ground, Divine Dividing wings spread wide. He was clad in full scale mail still, a testament to how long he could hold his balance breaker.
"He was the traitor, after all." Issei said quietly, his suspicions confirmed.
Matsuda yelled. "You damn rat!"
"Well, Vali. There's just one thing I want to ask." Azazel lifted himself from the ground and flew back into the air, seemingly unphased by having lost an arm at some point during his duel with the White One. "Are you with the group calling themselves the Chaos Brigade, under the control of Ophis?"
"Yes, that's correct. But Ophis and I didn't come together for world domination or anything cheap like that- we just came together to use our power, that's all." Vali confirmed it- he was a traitor and a terrorist the whole time.
"I see. And here I was thinking you'd shacked up with Katerea Leviathan on account of you both being jilted Devil King descendants. My mistake." Azazel went on, never losing his grin.
"Devil King descendant?" Serafall questioned. This was the first she and the other devils had heard of something like that.
"That's right. My name is Vali Lucifer. I am a descendant of the dead Devil King Lucifer, born to the grandson of the former King and a human." Vali explained, looking down over everyone.
The devils all reacted with shock, but Issei and Raynare had known that, due to their connection with Azazel.
"A Lucifer Devil who's half human and able to be possessed by the Vanishing Dragon. You're written like a bad joke, Vali." Azazel laughed sarcastically.
"Indeed, the word miracle was probably made to describe me." Vali replied arrogantly, and unleashed twelve bat wings. Once again, everyone other than Lisa Lisa, Azazel, Issei, and Raynare reacted with shock.
Raynare had something entirely different on her mind, actually. "There goes that name, anyway. Damn, I liked Miracle." She cursed under her breath, almost making Issei laugh despite the situation.
"This guy will probably be the strongest White Dragon the world has ever known." Azazel said, not a shadow of doubt in his voice.
Issei grit his teeth. He didn't need anyone to tell him that. He knew. He knew, but he didn't believe.
He didn't believe would surpass him, because he couldn't allow that to happen.
Vali could never be the strongest, if Issei stopped him here.
"Issei Hyoudou, wouldn't you say fate is cruel?" Vali asked, addressing his so-called rival directly.
"No one crueler. So what?"
"I am the strongest dragon, and I carry with me the blood of the devil king. But you...are just a lowly human. Before awakening your sacred gear you weren't even an impressive student in high school. That is to say, aside from the Boosted Gear, you are nothing."
Issei was silent.
"It's disappointing. It's so disappointing it's funny. Even though we are rival dragons- we are as far apart as the sky to the earth. No, even more than that."
"You got a point, Vali?" Issei yelled, unable to respond otherwise. He couldn't think of anything to say back- everything Vali said was true.
"I do. I think you should try harder. Maybe you should try being an avenger. That's your mom, right? I could kill her, if that would help."
Issei ground his teeth. Raynare snarled.
"If I take something as precious as your mother away, surely you would be able to act on that tragic fate? I'm sure any death I could give her would be more exciting than serving as a weak angel under a pathetic God. Yes, let's do that."
"Are we gonna kill this guy or what?" Raynare asked, almost unable to hold herself together.
There wasn't any sarcasm in her voice.
It was a question, a real one.
And he definitely had an answer.
"Absolutely. Go high."
Raynare shot into the air in an instant, six silver wings flaring out. Above her head, she summoned a ball of incredibly bright light- a basic illumination spell, boosted by thousands of years of magic experience. Even Vali had to shield his eyes.
[Welsh Dragon, Overbooster!]
Power overwhelming burst forth from Issei, along with a massive outburst of flames to boot. He jet into the air just under Raynare, and her wings being between the light and him cast a huge shadow over the Red Dragon Emperor.
Without warning, Issei completely disappeared from sight, disorienting their opponent as he searched for the invisible dragon..
Raynare, who was still completely visible, flew forward, going directly over Vali. He Looked up at her, preparing to defend from an attack.
He never got the chance.
As he looked up, a massively powerful red armored fist slammed into the underside of his jaw, sending him reeling horizontally. Raynare took the opportunity and flung the light-orb downwards at Vali, hitting him square in the chest. He screamed out as the light-magic burnt his devil flesh even through his armor, and he barely had enough time to fling the orb away before Issei was on him again.
"Wanna know something about me Vali?!"
Issei, now visible, was holding a bright silver dagger and seemed to flicker in and out of sight, making it impossible to even almost predict his attacks. Before Vali could recover from the light-magic, Issei shot forward with the dagger.
[Transfer!]
"I can't fucking stand bullies!"
Issei lunged with the dagger into a chink of Vali's armor, right into the right side of the Devil's waist. He was only able to land a slice rather than a stab, but with the transferred power- it was enough. He pulled the dagger back and kicked Vali downward, sending him feet-first onto to the ground.
The dagger was the one from so long ago, the gift from his mother. Carnwennen, the dagger of King Arthur himself- a holy blade. No devil, not even a Lucifer, could withstand it.
Pieces of his armor falling away, Vali fell to his knees, unable to stand. It wasn't the pain- he was far beyond something so trivial as pain. No, it was actually that the boosted holy power of the dagger was literally melting his joints and ligaments to a point where he found it impossible to put any weight on his right leg at all without crumpling.
At this point, a merciful opponent may have stopped, and allowed Vali a chance to leave or surrender. After such a flawlessly executed and undeniably brutal combo-attack, one might think he'd had enough- but such was not the case for Issei and Raynare.
But, they both knew- with someone like Vali, if you gave him an inch, he'd take a yard.
So, they kept coming.
Issei shot downwards, aiming to punch his opponent into the concrete. Vali managed to propel himself upwards just fast enough to not be hit, but he made an oversight- Raynare was above Issei, an attack waiting.
Raynare sent a volley of light spears down towards Vali. These, he was able to dodge, and was also able to dodge Issei coming back up from the ground in a savage uppercut.
Unfortunately for Issei, he managed to land a touch on the Red One's armor.
(Divide!)
Issei lurched in midair, half his immense and constantly-boosting power being immediately removed. It made him stagger, but didn't interrupt his flight enough to send him crashing.
It only allowed Vali time to get away. He shot away as fast as he could, expending Issei's stolen power to do so. The rest, he vented through his blue wings, sending off a bright shower of red motes.
Buying himself some time, the Devil tried to understand what was going on. This should've been easy! Issei was just a human, one who had barely reached Balance Breaker!
But Vali himself had almost been disabled with just one attack, and only narrowly managed to avoid the second.
(Vali, they're overwhelming you. That leg is useless for now, and I can't fix it.)
"This shouldn't be possible. He's weaker than me...just a human."
(The Red One and the Angel have synergy that you cannot match alone, and he has unknown Holy artifacts. If you take another hit from that dagger, I'm not certain I can protect you again.)
"Fine...then I won't get hit again."
As Vali resolved himself to keep fighting, Issei and Raynare saw what he'd done.
"He's letting off excess power through his wings." Issei said.
"...If you can overload them, he'll be weak as hell for a moment." Raynare replied.
"Can you do it in that short a time?"
"Absolutely."
Understanding each other just fine, Raynare and Issei rapidly approached Vali once more, before coming to a halt just in front of him.
"I'll give you once chance, Vali. If you swear to never try to harm anyone close to me ever again, we'll let you live. If not...you'll die on the next attack." Issei spoke with a voice that didn't offer any argument. It was so authoritative, it almost made Vali laugh.
"If you really think you can kill me, then try it!" Vali was ready, this time.
Doing just that, Issei came forward with a fury unmatched, seemingly aiming to just pound Vali into dust. The two traded blow after blow, neither really getting the upper hand or landing any solid hits, until Raynare came in.
Flying in from behind Issei, he flung Carnwennen to Raynare between fisticuffs, then managed to tightly grab both of Vali's wrists.
"Get off of me!"
(Divide!)
"You aren't going anywhere!"
[Boost!] [Transfer!]
"Again!"
[Boost!] [Transfer!]
(He's overloading the system! It's going to force a restart!)
"I can take it!"
(VALI, MOVE!)
Vali's armor fell away in an instant, unable to contain the massive influx of power Issei was sending in. It dropped the centerpiece of the chestplate, a massive blue orb, onto the ground far below.
In that single instant, in the mere split seconds it took between Vali's balance breaker falling away and coming back- Raynare struck with Carnwennen, landing a direct hit on his right wrist.
It sliced clean through, like a hot knife through butter.
Vali's right hand fell away, completely detached, and he screamed in pure agony. Issei, unrelenting, flipped him by his remaining arm and flung him all the way down to the ground, smashing him into the concrete hard enough to make a crater. His concentration ruined by the severing of his hand, he wasn't able to form armor or even a magic defense in time to stop the impact.
Vali felt bones break, but was unable to even twitch before Issei slammed down onto his torso feet-first, shattering his sternum.
"You are done." Issei bent over and growled into Vali's face, considering just snapping his neck then and there, just to be done with it.
Vali couldn't do anything but groan.
Raynare landed deftly beside the two, sheathing her six silver wings.
Issei wasn't joking around. He never had been. The intent was to kill Vali, consequences be damned- and even now, it took everything he had not to just crush his whole neck. He had the power. He had the raw strength to remove this problem from his life forever, and never worry about this particular White Dragon Emperor ever again.
The magicians had been long defeated by this point, and so the only people left were the ones who were from the faction summit in the first place. They all approached the couple with varying degrees of apprehension, shocked to see the incredibly powerful White Dragon Emperor defeated so easily.
Issei's hands wavered just over Vali's neck. He couldn't bring himself to do it, but couldn't make himself pull away.
"Well...that's certainly one way to do it." Azazel commented with mild admiration, seeing Vali's leg and hand both badly damaged.
"I gave him an out." Issei said, almost sounding disappointed. His hands didn't move an inch away from the downed dragon's throat.
"Yes you did child, yes you did. What matters now," Lisa Lisa approached Issei, looking him in the eyes, "is what you choose to do next. Your opponent is beaten, possibly beyond repair. He threatened you and tried his hardest to hurt you, all for selfish reasons. He wanted nothing more than to take away those you loved, just for a good fight. So, it's really up to you; will you kill him, and save yourself a lot of potential trouble later on? Or will you turn the cheek and spare him? You said you hate bullies- what would a bully do?"
Issei looked down at Vali, who was looking back up at him with pure hate. His eyes promised pain, and revenge would be something Issei would have to worry about for the rest of his life.
Issei was stumped. He really, truly, absolutely did not know what to do.
"You know what I'd do." Said Matsuda, drawing a line across his own neck. "Better safe than sorry."
"Issei, if you kill that boy, you will bear that weight for the rest of your life." Elsa said seriously, just arriving.
"He threatened to murder your mother. His life is yours, by all rights." Xenovia spoke up, every bit the warrior she'd been before.
"I...I…" Issei began to panic.
Before he'd even met Vali, the White One had already done him wrong. He haunted Raynare's nightmares ever since the incident with Freed, and he'd been an ever-looming threat for as long as Issei had awakened the Boosted Gear.
It would be so easy. One crunch. One squeeze. A lifetime of worrying, gone.
But a lifetime of guilt.
"Issei, look at me." Raynare pulled his cheek, forcing Issei to look back at her. "I know I said to kill him a minute ago, but look. He's done. For now, forever. He's not coming back from that, and if he does- we'll beat his ass again."
"But...our kid. They'll never really be safe."
"Maybe. Maybe not. Look...I had the chance to kill you. I had the chance to kill Kalawarner. I had the chance to kill Matsuda. Each and every time...you stopped me. You'll always stop me. Now, I'm stopping you. He's done. Leave it be."
"...Alright."
With an enormous amount of effort, Issei got off of Vali and dispersed his armor, stumbling into Raynare's arms. She and Elsa and Lisa Lisa all breathed a sigh of relief, all happy they didn't have to watch the poor boy commit murder.
"Well done, darling. You made the right choice. And, here...I believe this is yours." Lisa Lisa handed Issei a blue orb, which he took a moment to recognize.
"Is...is this part of the divine dividing?" Issei asked, more than a little confused. It was the gem that had fallen away when Issei broke Vali's armor.
"That it is. It's yours to do with as you wish- but you earned it. Do what you will, with my blessing."
"Uh...alright. Thanks." Issei handed it off to Raynare, who put it in a pocket dimension with a spell.
"Don't mention it." Lisa Lisa winked at him.
The large barrier field around them shattered like glass, shifting the orange tint around them to one of natural night, like it was in the real world.
Issei looked up in frustration, wondering what would happen now. He didn't have to wait long for an answer, as a teenager in Eastern monk's armor dropped down in front of him, right next to Vali.
"V-Vali?" He looked stunned to see the White One in such a state. Vali didn't respond.
"Bikou? Have you joined the Chaos Brigade?" Azazel asked, genuinely surprised.
"Uh, yes. I'd love to stay and chat, but you appear to have maimed my comrade, so we'll have to talk another time. Bye now!"
Quickly gathering himself, the man apparently named Bikou slammed a bo staff into the ground, creating a teleportation circle that he and Vali both sunk into. Within moments, they were gone.
"And stay out." Issei said, kicking the dirt where they left from and nearly falling over in the process.
Raynare grabbed him by his shoulder, so he didn't face plant. "Okay hotshot, let's not get too excited."
His Balance Breaker had never been used to that extent before, and it had very obviously worn him out. Not nearly as bad as previous milestones with the Boosted Gear- he was still mobile-ish, which was a definite step up.
"Well...nothing left to do but to finish, huh?" Azazel announced, looking around.
"Peace, then?" Sirzechs said, smiling.
"Peace. True peace, between the three factions. It's been a long time coming, I think." Lisa Lisa spoke in a victorious tone, like she couldn't wait for it to be finalized.
"Yay! Peaceful negotiations were a success, despite the terrorists!" Serafall pumped her fist in the air, an action entirely out of character for a Devil King.
"So by the way, what was the deal with those silver wings?" Matsuda asked Raynare. She forgot, that was the first time anyone there other than Azazel or Lisa Lisa had seen her silver wings- she'd always used illusion magic to make them seem black. She was about to answer, but Lisa Lisa interrupted.
"Darling, I'll tell you all about the silver wings. Let's let them go home and get some rest, hm?" Lisa Lisa pat Matsuda on the back, diverting his question.
"Good idea. You ready, Issei?" Raynare asked the lump of putty in her arms. At first, she'd had him in a soldiers' carry, with just his right arm around her shoulders, but at some point it had ended up more of a firemens' carry with him basically on her shoulders.
"No, wait…! I gotta question." Issei pulled himself together long enough to stand on his own two feet and walk to Lisa Lisa, coming close to her ear.
"What is it, darling?"
Issei whispered something only loud enough for her to hear. It was a question, they knew that much- but from the way Lisa Lisa's face lit up, it was anyone's guess as to the contents.
"Oh, I'd love to! Just let me know the details when you come up with them, you have my cell. Oh-ho, I'm already excited!" Lisa Lisa started to walk off towards the ruins of the school building, her angels in tow, but lingered for just a moment longer. "And, Raynare? Your baby's fine. You're lucky you angels were built tough, or it could've gone worse, but for now- the baby couldn't be healthier. Ta-ta~!"
Raynare and Issei both breathed a deep sigh of relief.
With that Lisa Lisa and her angels left for real, leaving only Elsa remaining.
"...I'll come by tomorrow morning, no worries. And, Raynare…" Issei's mother got close, close enough to whisper. "...thank you. He couldn't have done it without you."
Raynare was a bit uncomfortable with the sincere praise (and a bit weirded out about talking to Issei's "dead" mom) and tried to deflect it. "I'm sure he'd have been fine. Vali wasn't as bad as we thought he'd be, actually. We may have overtrained..."
"I didn't mean that." Elsa winked, then followed Lisa Lisa.
"I'm glad you're both alright. That was quite the fight, you work very well together. I think it would've been enjoyable to see you in the rating game a while back." Sirzechs said, before following Lisa Lisa.
"What Zechs said, you guys were cool!" Serafall did the same.
"See you both at school tomorrow?" Rias asked, waving at the two. Raynare shrugged. To her, it didn't look like there was much of a school left. Rias and her peerage left, leaving behind only Matsuda.
"Good job, man. You really tore his ass up, shit was insane!" Matsuda pumped his fists, hyped up by the amazing fight. "And, uh...glad you're alright."
Just like everyone else, he left soon after congratulating them.
It really had been incredible- it was a classic case of sheer power vs overwhelmingly synergistic teamwork, and of course Vali had been overrun. He simply didn't stand a chance, when they were both fighting together. If it had been just Issei, maybe he'd have gotten the upper hand, but that's exactly why Raynare hadn't let it come to that.
"Well, I'll admit. You did way better than I thought you would. I'm proud, kids." Azazel ruffled Issei's hair- which almost sent the poor boy to the ground- and then stepped away, starting to follow the rest of the people. "I'll be coming by with Elsa tomorrow, so keep some good sake for me. Got a lot to talk about, now. See ya."
Once everyone was gone, Raynare groaned. "Barf, finally. We're done, right? Let's get out of here."
Issei hummed in agreement, and Raynare teleported them back to their home.
Issei didn't even bother getting undressed before jumping into bed and passing out.
Okay, first thing's first- if you come to this story to complain about Matsuda and Rias, fuck you. Fuck your head and the neck it rode in on. I'll tell you right now, Matsuda's poking Rias' guts off screen. I know that pisses some of you peeps off for whatever reason, but I really don't care. Get over it, it's not their story.
And like I said up top- that's not a joke, I've been awake over a full day now as of the time of finishing this chapter. There's probably a lot of mistakes in the grammar and formatting and whatever else- FFS, TELL ME IF YOU SEE SOMETHING WRONG! I KNOW YOU SEE IT! SAY SOMETHING! That's all.
Okay, actual AN now. So, like in cannon, the original intent was to have Issei lose at first- but then I thought...why? What's the gain from having the loser lose again? Doesn't he deserve a real win, where he doesn't have to fight someone he cares about or have a (major) moral crisis or almost die? And this was the perfect solution. Issei and Raynare as a combo whooped total ass, as was always intended. My only hope was that I wrote that scene as good as I envisioned it, cus obviously Belial the Liar isn't exactly known for his fight scenes so I was a bit worried about the turnout. Oh well.
Why is Elsa back? And did you take Elsa's name from Frozen? No, I took the name from Indiana Jones. Dr. Elsa Schnider, treasure hunter and scientist. And also, I've had Elsa's return on my mind since the dream sequence from forever ago. The actual return will be next chapter, when she actually gets a chance to talk to him.
Why wasn't Grayfia in this chapter? Okay, to be honest- this one was my bad. I wrote like half of the chapter before I remembered Grayfia being in the arc (whoops) so I just filled in the gaps with Michael or Serafall. Shouldn't matter that much, hopefully no one complains too bad.
Anyway, so here's a neat thing- I started a Ko-Fi donation page, details on my profile. If you like my stories (get better taste) and you have some money that you can't find a better way to spend (yes you can, I promise there's a better way) then feel free to donate. I appreciate anything.
So that's all I can think of right now (tired as FUCK boy) so I'm just gonna sign off and hope it turned out okay. Hopefully this chapter isn't too long? I'm sure you guys won't be too salty about a 10k chapter, but who knows.
Anyway, as always, read and review.
See you next mission!