Issei stood tall in the scarlet armor of his balance breaker as his aura flared up immensely like a raging fire, burning out of control. The armor itself was relatively form fitting with draconian aspects such a razor sharp claws, a dragon head helmet and a tail starting at the neck and jutting out the body gradually as it went down the back. There were green gems over the gauntlets, boots and chestplate similar to the one on the boosted gear's natural state.
The fallen angel who was still dazed from Issei's surprise attack snarled at his increase in power, now it would be almost impossible to defeat him and bring the nun to their lair to extract her sacred gear, unless...
The fallen acted quickly, she pulled out a whistle from her outfit and blew on it. Moments later 100 plus fallen angels had teleported to the scene and all had light spears charged and ready to throw. The fallen that had called them grinned and rushed towards Asia, teleporting away with her.
"NO!" yelled Issei as he watched her take Asia to god know where before he was skewered in the stomach with a light spear from one of the many fallen now in his vicinity.
Issei grunted in pain as he pulled out the spear with great difficulty due to his half devil status.
"Damn, that hurts like a bitch, I guess me only being half devil doesn't matter considering holy weapons touching me, but I wonder if I can still wield my holy sword?" Issei asked himself.
Issei summoned the scabbard containing his holy sword to his belt and unsheathed it only to scream out in pain as the hand holding it felt like it was being melted. He quickly re sheathed the sword and banished the scabbard to his pocket dimension.
"Well that answers that question, can't say i'm too bothered about it since I don't like my angel side but it really would have helped against these bastards" Issei lamented aloud as he jumped into the air and unleashed a torrent of dragon fire upon the group of fallen.
"Then again, with sick dragon powers like this, who the hell needs an angel's" Issei taunted aloud which was met by growls from the fallen and a chuckle from Ddraig.
Issei landed in front of the remaining fallen. Roughly 40 or so had been incapacitated by his fire and about 60 remained standing in front of him.
"This is where the fun begins, if you would Ddraig?" said a cocky Issei with a grin to match.
(It would be my pleasure partner) replied Ddraig in an equally cocky tone.
(BOOST)
Issei felt his power double and immediately dashed towards the nearest fallen, catching them off guard with his speed, he punched them square in the face, knocking them out cold.
"Damn..." mumbled Issei as he witnessed his power in action.
Issei quickly sprung back into reality just in time to see a light spear heading for his helmet, he decided to test something just before it hit.
(BOOST)
Issei stepped out of the light spear's path before grabbing it's front and spinning it around back into the caster's face, sending them flying back into a group of three fallen, knocking them all unconscious.
"Awesome" yelled Issei at the move he'd just performed.
The rest of the fallen were quickly teleporting away in fear after what they'd seen and even Ddraig was curious as to how Issei had managed this, all he'd been told was to boost again before Issei grabbed and span the light spear.
Once all the fallen had left and the few that had stayed were incapacitated, Issei dispelled the balance breaker and his armor vanished. Soon after, Ddraig materialised the boosted gear on his left arm to ask his partner a question.
(So would you like to tell me how you were able to redirect that light spear but not wield your holy sword?) asked Ddraig.
"I figured that when I was holding my sword and it burned me, I hadn't boosted beforehand so it was basically my normal power holding it which was why the light affected me. When I had boosted I felt less pain towards the spears as I dodged them so I had an idea, boost again and use my draconian power instead of my normal power to hold the holy weapon" explained Issei.
(So you boosted your draconian power and replaced your half devil half angel power with it to effectively wield a light weapon... how interesting) mused Ddraig as Issei walked over to where Asia had been taken by the fallen woman. On the ground lay a single white hair pin.
"I failed her Ddraig I told her I protect her and I let her be taken by that fallen bitch, she's going to have her sacred gear ripped out, it'll kill her!" Issei told his partner, his voice breaking as he started to shed tears near the end of his sentence.
(Calm down partner, becoming hysterical and angry won't help us find her) advised Ddraig.
"WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!" screamed Issei as he fell to his knees clutching Asia's hair pin tightly.
(PARTNER) roared Ddraig, angry at how quickly his partner was able to give into despair.
"W-what?" stuttered Issei half because of his tears and half because of Ddraig's harsh tone.
(You cannot give into despair this easily, you are the red dragon emperor, many foes will be attracted to your power to fight you, not all of them will fight fair, people you care about will die, it's going to happen, the only thing you can do is stay focused and hone your skills to the point where you can beat them) lectured the dragon.
Issei stood.
"I refuse" was all he said.
(Pardon?) said the confused dragon.
"I refuse your logic, I will not allow anyone I care about to die, even if it means I do. Before I wanted to die because I hated living and had no-one to live for, but now it's the opposite, I will live to protect the friends I've made, if need be, I'll die for them too" stated Issei bluntly in a low voice.
(Partner, that's not-) Ddraig started.
"This is my life, I'll decide my destiny, my destiny is to protect my friends with my life if needed since without them, I'd be back to my time as an angel" Issei interruped.
(If you feel this is what's right for you I won't stand in your way, after all it's far from a shameful destiny) replied the dragon.
"Thank you Ddraig, I promise I won't use this as an excuse to die, my death will only occur if another's can be stopped" stated Issei as he teleported to Kuoh Academy to seek the assistance of his king.
Issei appeared just outside the ORC clubroom inside the old school building and immediately cloaked his presence when he realised there were two auras that he didn't recognise, one of great power and the other less so but still relatively more powerful that the aura of Rias and her peerage whom he recognised.
Issei slowly made his way up the stairs and listened to the conversation inside.
"FOR THE LAST TIME I WILL NOT MARRY YOU, BASTARD" yelled a female voice Issei knew belonged to Rias.
"Oh come now Rias, our marriage is for the good of all the pure blood devils, do you want to doom our species" said a voice oozing with confidence and sleaziness.
"Of course not, but who I marry will be my choice and I will not choose a playboy, cheating scumbag like you Raiser" Rias shot back.
"Raiser is deeply offended by those accusations and will now stand for his name to be besmirched like that, now come with me back to the underworld or i'll burn your little peerage to ashes" countered Raiser as he flared his aura.
"Oh I don't think so" came a cocky reply.
The room of devils looked around for the source of the reply but no-one could see the newcomer.
"Come out you coward, Raiser would like to teach you not to interrupt his conversations" spat Raiser.
The response was not one he had expected. In mere seconds he was thrown to the floor by a powerful punch to the jaw. He stood up as fast as he could and stared into his attacker's eyes with burning hatred.
"Who are you brat?" asked Raiser with malice evident in his tone.
"Issei Hyoudou, pawn of Rias Gremory" answered Issei with pride.
"You are a part of my beloved's peerage, no this won't do, I can't have such a disrespectful servant once I claim you all as my own" sneered Raiser.
"Haha, like i'd ever become your servant asswipe" replied Issei with a cocky grin.
"Why you insolent little brat" spar Raiser as he formed a fireball in his hand and shot it at Issei who simply sidestepped it.
"C'mon Raiser, I thought a son of the great phoenix clan would be a good fighter rather than an overcooked pushover" replied Issei.
Raiser flushed red with anger and the overcooked comment and charged a massive fireball in his hand before it suddenly dissipated.
"Wha-" began Raiser before he was cut off.
"Both of you stop, this meeting has obviously failed to procure an outcome to the conflict between Rias and Raiser so i'm left with the only alternative, both peerages will participate in a rating game and the winner will decide the fate of the marriage" stated a devil in a maid uniform with gray hair.
Issei was about to object and carry on with the fight before he felt the maid's aura grow stronger, almost as if she could sense his thoughts, this was the great power he sensed earlier. He could probably beat this maid but he wouldn't have the strength to take on Raiser as well and right now the only one keeping him in line was her.
"If the ultimate queen wishes so, then I, the noble Raiser, shall not object" said Raiser in a voice that showed he wanted to continue fighting but cowered in the face of the maid's power.
Issei's mind clicked, this maid was the ultimate queen, queen to the son of the Gremory clan, Sirzechs, which meant her name was Grayfia.
"Grayfia... no wonder her power is so overwhelming" Issei mumbled aloud, unknown to him.
"How do you know my name?" questioned Grayfia.
"I guess you could say I did my homework on the supernatural while I was in Heaven" replied Issei.
Grayfia noticeably stiffened at the mention of Heaven.
"Why were you there" questioned Grayfia, her eyes narrowing.
"It's a story for another day" Issei brushed off the question
Grayfia was about to push the subject when Raiser spoke up.
"Well since a rating game will decide our marriage will happen, I will take my leave and await our game" Raiser said in a cocky voice as he teleported away.
"Thank god that chicken is gone, Rias I need your help with something" said Issei with renewed urgency in his voice, he'd forgotten about Asia's situation while annoying Raiser, something he berated himself mentally for.
"Oh um... ok, what is it?" replied Rias a little shaken from the meeting with Raiser and the urgency in Issei's voice.
"Ealier I met a nun when she fell in the street, she asked me to take her to the church which I did, but when we got there I had an off feeling so I suggested we leave, that's when a fallen angel attacked us and wanted Asia for here sacred gear" explained Issei.
"Wait so this nun you met asked you to take her to a church and has a sacred gear?" asked Rias.
"Yes, she has the twilight healing" replied Issei.
"That's a powerful gear... no wonder the fallen wanted it, but they're not supposed to be in devil's territory, do you know what they were doing here?" asked Rias.
"I think it was to lure Asia to them so they could take the gear from her" answered Issei.
"In that case, where is Asia now?" questioned Rias.
Issei's expression shifted into one of sadness.
"The fallen summoned many others and used them as a distraction to teleport away with her. I should have been able to beat her but she got the better of me due to my shock at her identity" confessed Issei.
"Wait, do you know her?" asked Rias.
"Unfortunately yes, she was... she was the one who drove me into the arms of the angels" replied Issei with a quite tone laced in sadness and regret.
The atmosphere in the room dropped and the members of the ORC all wore a sympathetic expression for Issei.
"Who is this fallen and why is she important?" asked Grayfia who'd stayed to listen to Issei after Raiser left, she was very interested in him, the boy's aura radiated power equal, maybe even more than her's and it worried but excited her at the same time.
"This fallen was the one who killed Issei's parents and injured him after he protected his sister" answered Issei.
Grayfia felt sadness for Issei but was curious as to what he meant we he said this fallen drove him into the arms of the angels.
"I see... but how does that event lead you to angels?" asked Grayfia.
"While I lay dying, my sister came to my side. She wept for me and Gabriel herself answered the prayer she gave. Gabriel assured my sister she could save me but the bitch tricked her into being sacrificed to save me, not even me actually, just the power of the boosted gear" Issei recounted, his tone shifting to anger by the end.
Grayfia was shocked to hear Issei call the female seraph a bitch but even more so at the revelation that she was talking to the red dragon emperor.
"Wait, so you're the red dragon emperor?" questioned Grayfia.
"Yes" replied Issei.
"So Gabriel saved you for the boosted gear, then what?"
"When she saved me, she reincarnated me into an angel but since I had no wish to serve her I left Heaven and became a mercenary since I was believed dead and needed the money to live" recounted Issei.
Grayfia visibly recoiled after Issei revealed he was an angel but remained silent until he'd finished while brewing her power in case the situation required her to eliminate him. Issei noticed this because he detected a surge in her aura but chose to ignore it since most devils didn't know about the truth of the angels situation.
"If you are an angel then how did you become a part of Rias' peerage?" asked Grayfia with a hint of hostility in her tone that Issei picked up on.
Issei realised that Grayfia was particularly distrusting of angels and mentally noted to ask her about it later but for now he needed to give her answers... he spread his wings.
Grayfia gasped, the boy had angel and devil wings, he was a hybrid.
"Rias reincarnated me into a devil and I ended up being a hybrid of both with a little dragon from Ddraig" explained Issei.
"I see" replied Grayfia, trailing off.
"Rias are there any shrines around the city?" asked Issei.
"There is one, it's where Akeno grew up" replied Rias.
Upon hearing about her shrine, Akeno tensed up but her worries were soon lost when she felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Issei.
"It's ok Akeno" Issei reassured her "if you need to, we can talk later" he offered.
"Thank you Issei" replied Akeno gratefully.
"Well then, if there's only Akeno's shrine then it's a safe bet that the fallen will take Asia there to extract her gear since the church was compromised" stated Issei.
"We're coming with you Issei" added Rias.
"Alright, but once we get there you all should be careful, this is a powerful fallen with the ability to call hundreds of allies and who know if she has powerful friends" replied Issei.
"Geez, how did ya beat him the first time then" joked Akeno.
"Balance breaker" replied Issei seriously.
The ORC all stood shocked that Issei was forced to unlock and use balance breaker on this fallen, it seemed as though her strengths were not exaggerated.
"I'm assuming you need to go and inform your husband of the rating game between Rias and Raiser" Issei asked Grayfia.
"Indeed, but i'll be keeping an eye on you Issei" replied Grayfia.
Issei threw her a thumbs up before turning to the members of the ORC with a serious expression.
"Are you all sure you want in? This will be your last chance out" asked Issei.
"Yes" the ORC members replied in unison.
"Then let's go save Asia" stated Issei with determination as he used his magic to teleport him and the ORC to Akeno's shrine.
Yo it's ya boi BK here again to deliver this incredibly late chapter :/
I do apologise for the wait but a combination of forgetfulness, laziness and other projects got in the way of writing this, hopefully though, that won't be the case any longer and I can get a chapter out every 2 weeks or so.
This chapter is a bit longer to make up for that, also it's to make sure I didn't condense events too much, there are probably some things I could have fleshed out more but that's in the past now.
So as always thanks you all for following, reading and reviewing and until next time,
BK out :)