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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
High School DxD, New, BorN, Hero and other products related to the DxD Series are all owned by Ichiei Ishibumi, Miyama-Zero, Fujimi Shobo and TNK.
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Chapter 49: Heavenly Beating, Sinful Declination
I have to recover.
I need to recover!
The figure's smile was as unnerving, the violence behind his attacks just like back then. I was reactive enough to dodge most of them, the rest was deflected as the risk of being sent flying once more wasn't… endearing as it might sound like.
Apophis' wings materialized on my back, I whispered a 'Kaioken x2' as I decided that fighting in Kuoh Town wasn't going to be ideal nor acceptable.
The bastard was strong, much stronger than even Rizevim and his speed was nothing to scoff at.
Flying swiftly through the limpid sky, the smiling monster had plenty of chances to beat me in the race that ensued, my very attempts to get him out of the unprotected city several times in jeopardy… but he decided against it.
I stopped, there were no cities, towns or villages around and… he stopped too.
His face, it was no longer covered by shadows. He looked human, at least until the demonic smile plastered on his face. He didn't dare to attack and I frowned.
What is he waiting for?
He s-should- what are we supposed to do right now!?
'Flaring your energy might get some people's attention. We need reinforcements more than ever.'
D-Do you have any suggestions about what is he?
'Nothing too accurate. Something… he is something that is close but opposed to Shadows themselves.'
"Who are you!" I demanded impatiently. "And why are you at-"
My eyes widened as I ducked away from a punch trying to deck me right on my face.
"Rude!" I snarled as I switched in my Senjutsu mode and tried to kick his back. He spun around almost instantly, dodging the attack and crying?
What?!
"S-So much like him!" The attacker exclaimed with demented joy, his smile threatening to split his face in half. "Just like he said! You are here, yet I didn't believe, I didn't remember-"
This time my punch did hit him squarely in his face. His head recoiled, surprise quickly replacing awe and joy.
He stood there, stuck in that position like some living statue.
I frowned as the dread wasn't certainly diminishing after landing my first hit on the nutjob. Quite the contrary.
He started to laugh, it was slow as it picked a soft giggling that soon turned in a full-fledged maniacal laugh. "I-It's just like back then."
The brief moment of insanity was temporary, his crazed look shifting to a blank expression as he regained some composure. "What a silly notion." He muttered quietly, his stare turning right at me.
A small smile, his soulless eyes poking at my very core. "Of course you are supposed to be like him."
I blinked, blocking just in time as the blurred kick sent me flying upwards, far above some of the clouds around. Huffing, the pain was negligible as I saw him approaching, the crazy black blur already back to the offensive.
I thought we could have held without going that far-
We need to synchronize right now!
'Caution is still… you know what, let's just deal with him until someone can take him out.'
The Twilight Joker armor formed just in time, my senses enchanted to the maximum and soon I was able to properly see and intercept the approaching friend.
Surprise flashed once more in his face but he couldn't move quickly enough to avoid the armored punch driving deep in his chest.
I expected to hear something cracking, my eyes widened in shock as I just felt something squishy letting my fist… inside?!
I pulled out from the dark mud, brushing the substance away as the being backed away quickly.
"O-Oh my-" He stared wide-eyed at his upper chest, now sporting a small hole caved in it. He blinked and nodded to himself. "T-That's something. B-but it's far from that day. More, we are too close to stop-!"
I didn't let him finish, the full-powered Masenko slamming his whole body and pushing him away from where I was floating. He wasn't making opposition to the beam of light, the figure letting the energy wave completely take him in a loud and noisy explosion.
Blinking in confusion, I slowly prepared for another assault, stance ready to counter whatever crap I was going to deal with. I stood there, stuck in a guarded frame, but my attention was suddenly diverted away.
The cloud of dark smoke created by the explosion dissipated instantly as a sudden surge of air blasted everything around. The epicenter of this was the very cloaked figure.
He smiled, staring up as he held his arms spread open as his wings took him few feet above me.
"It's not enough. Maybe I did something wrong." He sighed tiredly. "Maybe a reset. Yes, that could- let's just end the rest so we can-"
My eyes widened, the incoherent mess of words giving little to no sign of what was going on inside his head, but I could recognize 'reset' and allude to what 'the rest' meant to him.
I rushed towards him, prepared to stop him before he could truly reset time while also kill everyone else when something much faster, more annoyed and terribly white slashed the figure in half.
Vali's Scale Mail was still pristine, the speed with which he carried the clean cut having driven off the strange mud off from his armor before it could stain it. He glanced at me, from the 'mighty spot' he ended up floating about, but my attention was still fixed on 'what' was left of the strange being.
The two halves slammed together as a transparent magical orb giving off a dark-hue started to… put him back together.
Moments passed, but I was already rushing back to the attack, ignoring the minor scowl present on the monster's face.
The form was optimally stable thus I decided to cut the chase and step up to the Kaioken x2 with the Twilight Joker. He didn't have a chance of reacting, my fist drilling this time his face.
His nose and jaws were crushed instantly, his eyes snapping open in surprise at the sudden bout of pain. This time the hit sent him careening away from me, forcing the creature to put some effort to stop his brief flight.
He blinked, smile chiming in once more as I resumed my attacks with Vali following close behind me.
"Don't give him any rest!" I barked loudly at the young Lucifer, my eyes sticking by the recovering monster rather than turning to address the fellow teen. "I don't know how, but he can erase humanity with a spell, he is trying to do that."
There wasn't any hint from the white-haired boy to slow down, rather his speed increased severely at hearing such a warning.
The smiling monster tried to raise a protective stance but our dual punches smacked him before he could prepare himself and counter our offensive. It was a pure and blissful beating, the figure having little chance of dodging or even blocking the attacks from the two of us.
It was a one-sided massacre that lifted my hopes a little for a quick end to this nightmare-like encounter. Maybe this wasn't going to end up in something horrible nor terrible.
My expectations dropped the moment some hands grasped at our necks, breaking through the respective armors and starting to choke us both.
He wasn't smiling anymore but there was amusement playing in his features. My eyes regained focus, my sudden shock replaced by confusion as… he had four arms.
Sprouting out of his cloak and creating new holes in the cloth, the new pair of limbs was muscled, toned as it strongly squeezed around my throat.
"Strong, very strong." He commented with a dull but loud voice. "You are stronger than expected… but it's not enough!"
Panic surged, my first reaction being throwing a swift kick at the aggressor. The hit slammed in his face, causing him to pause, his hold over us decreasing as we managed to quickly break free.
We need to hit him harder!
"Vali, can you hold him still?"
The teen was forming his Balance Breaker once more, head snapping my way at the sudden question but nodding as quickly as he heard it.
His armored hand pointed at the mysterious man and he loudly called for Divine Dividing's trademark ability. "Divide."
The effect was immediate, the monster bending over in sudden pain and shock… while Vali's Scale Mail started to crack visibly while his energy-based wings were burning much more than usual.
"H-Half Dimension!"
A pocket zone created to subside, reduce and manipulate things and beings held within its action range. The cloaked bastard was subsequently reduced to half of the stature it once had, but he was quickly trying to break free from his new limitations.
I huffed as I spread my arms, palms open wide as I felt energy starting to channel within my hands.
We just have four minutes in this form, if you use that we might end up wasting too much energy against him and fall unconscious.
I have some Phoenix's Tears on me. It should be enough to keep me going even without this form.
'But still… I feel that you are gathering energy from yourself… and all around you. Whatever spell you planned to use, it will be incredibly unstable.'
The technique is meant to be unstable… the issue is that is far stronger than anything we have used until now.
We will pull through this.
My arms started to shake, the energy filtering through the limbs starting to get way too much for my coils to hold… and I still wasn't even at half of the power I needed.
Vali's groans were now quite present and increasing, the host of the Vanishing Dragon starting to lose control over the Half Dimension and I knew I had to gather much more.
I blinked and sighed. "Kaioken times Four."
A new spark of energy, far stronger than usual, brought new vigor to my efforts and soon the process of channeling power was boosted up to mere seconds.
The strains were quick to appear as I felt my muscles burn intensively at the pressure the technique was putting them on, but my adrenaline and my focus onto the still-struggling figure were enough to keep me from breaking apart.
"F-Final-" I brought my arms forward, my wrists pressing one against the other as I felt the full connection of the two sources of energy starting to heat up. "FLASH!"
It wasn't like the Kamehameha, nor like the Masenko. The Final Flash was… much more draining.
I felt empty, completely spent but I was graced by the sight of the arc of light slamming and blasting the living out of the monster while his pained yells fill the sky. Vali dispelled the Half Dimension, eyes widening at the show bestowed by the promised attack.
I was forced out of everything, ready to gracefully go through some free-falling… again.
Yet, while blinking as my body started to fight back the stress put on it, I noticed that… I wasn't falling to the ground.
I was floating, like before when I had Apophis' wings to support me up… and then I finally felt a pair of small arms softly wrapping around me from behind.
I glanced back, catching just one of the two dark-themed wings flapping calmly and, feeling a small head nuzzling right onto my upper back.
"O-Ophis?"
The nuzzling stopped for a moment, then a simple word.
"Yes." The Infinity Dragon said blankly.
The cavalry has arrived!
And she wasn't alone. Soon after, several other individuals appeared.
I saw Azazel donning the Down Fall Dragon Mail armor, Gabriel and Michael standing close to one of his sides while the Four Satans standing on the other.
They were all ready for a fight, staring right at the… charred piece of darkened flesh starting to rebuild into the mysterious man.
Michael advanced while bringing a strange box up, Gabriel floating right beside him in a protective manner.
The weird container looked like a treasure chest, the lock looking rather… odd for some reason. The hole which should represent the size of the key needed to open it was… nonexistent. There was no way to open that box once it was closed so… it had to be magical.
Maybe it's a containment device?
'Its seals are unknown to me but… the power hidden in those should be able to deal with incredible monsters… like your attacker.'
"Azrael, brother." The Regent of Heaven called out to the recomposing figure, my eyes going wide open for a moment as I did recognize that name from the Bible. Might have not been the fervent Catholic back in my previous life… but I knew well enough who was the Angel of Death in Christian Mythology.
The Wisest, the Bearer of Humanity's final moments, Azrael is considered the leader of the Third Heaven and… also one of the strongest (if not the strongest) angels.
Four hundreds of wings, his body represented each and every aspect of humanity. This last detail meant to help him in the sorrowful duty of bringing death to those that were ready to pass through.
At least that was the known Christian concept of him, the 'brief' encounter hardly giving me the impression that I was facing an Angel. There wasn't anything of Light within his soul and body, his wings being of various kind and only a few of those matching up to angels' ones.
The chest suddenly sprung open as multiple chains tied to the groaning piece of flesh, starting to retract the carcass inside itself. The process was quick, the chest closing with a swift 'snap' as seals of various kind appeared on it and stayed over even after the glow coming from those dissipated.
My hand went to pick up the small bottle containing the Phoenix's Tears out of my pocket as I drunk it absently, the healing effect immediate. "T-That was rather a close one…" I turned to Michael and blinked. "What was that?"
The Archangel looked sad but didn't dispense any answer to that, picking the box and slowly starting to fly away with an even-sadder Gabriel on tow.
"While I understand your wishes to not tell Hoitsu-san about Azrael, I demand with the full agreement of the Four Satans that you explain to us why was he free to begin with." Sirzechs chimed him, some of his fellow Satans nodding as to confirm such a statement.
The Archangel stopped, looked back and… sighed. "He… He wasn't free."
What?
"Now that sounds utter crap, Mike." Azazel huffed in annoyance. "We both know Big G created that box to make sure our nutty friend couldn't get out during his frenzies."
"B-Brother Michael is correct." Gabriel stuttered back, looking incredibly embarrassed.
Gabriel never stutters, she was just too… uncaring of some dangers to be this much cautious.
Something was different in this case and I wouldn't even question the fact what we just fought was only the tip of a massive iceberg.
"That's impossible." The Governor-General looked surprised, his tone mirroring his expression now rendered visible by the fact the Fallen Angel dropped his Scale Mail. "The seals there are strong enough to keep… 'that other thing' from causing chaos all around for some months, Azrael might be strong but… not so much."
"His powers have grown unstable ever since that incident few decades ago." The Heavenly Regent mused tiredly. "He has been… restless, ditching his duties for… observations."
"'Observations'?" Rias' brother questioned. "What kind of 'Observations'?"
"Nothing overly-strange I would say." The Archangel admitted. "He did seem to prefer looking around Japan but…" He stopped, a confused frown forming in his face. "A-Actually, I don't remember much about this but… he did seem quite happy a month or so ago."
I tensed, Ophis' hold tightening comfortably in response while I shifted nervously much… to everyone's confusion.
"Something you need to tell us, kid?" Azazel pointed out quickly, causing me to sigh tiredly and… nod right at him.
"I- I forgot about this back when it happened. It was surreal and… I'm lucky to be alive right now." Some frowned at this ominous premise but I decided to deviate for a moment. "Before I tell this, I need to ask you something important, Michael. It's… it's essential."
The Seraph blinked in surprise but nodded. "If it is something I can answer to… I shall try to give you a proper reply."
I nodded and… spoke. "What is a reset?"
…
Both Angels and the Governor-General tensed at the query, the Devils looking mostly confused but intrigued by the reaction from the other factions' leaders.
"W-Where did you learn about this word?" Azazel asked without hesitation, the stutter more of a byproduct of the brief surprise.
"I-"
"It was Azrael for sure." Michael replied with a serious tone. "But I found myself questioning as of why this is important with the tale you plan to give us."
I blinked, glancing at my own hands and… I nodded. "Two weeks before meeting Azazel… I faced Azrael." I started, my eyes closed for a moment before I continued. "I… I think he killed everyone and then resetted the world."
…
"WHAT?!" Serafall exclaimed loudly, eyes going wide open at the outlandish claim I just gave. "You m-mean that-"
"Everything and everyone was dead when I started to 'fight' Azrael. I tried to use everything I had around and… nothing worked of course." I interrupted, feeling some nervousness stirring up.
"That's a powerful statement that could draw many issues." Ajuka mused quietly, eyes directed at the two angels, both entities busy with something else.
"P-Place the special seal our brother taught you back when he was living in Heaven." Michael softly ordered at Gabriel, the blonde panicking a little with the box but starting to apply the seal.
"By the way, Michael, wasn't the 'Reset Totale' an ability known to a specific Angel? Someone that isn't certainly Azrael-" The Astaroth pressed on, getting a glare from the normally-calm Seraph.
"That ability was Helel's, but God himself said that it was stored away from any thieves and people greedy for power."
...Isn't Helel-
Lucifer. That means that… oh no.
'What? What's wrong?'
That Reset Totale, that full rewind… didn't work on us. Or at least, it didn't truly erase our memories of the 'old timeline'.
We were… mostly immune to it?
"Yet nutty angel over there just has it. Something like that should cause some issues if not tackled soon enough." Azazel commented, his eyes fixed on the box now sporting the new seal placed by Gabriel herself.
"If this news had reached me in a different circumstance? Possibly." The Regent of Heaven admitted quietly. "But Helel himself left for us a special seal to contain the grave power of such a terrible ability."
Sirzechs sighed. "Alas, from what I understand the seal should make sure that Azrael doesn't wander any longer without proper surveillance."
There was a nod from both Seraphs.
"We will have him freed only if we are sure that this new power is not used to cause any other… issues."
"Good then!" Azazel muttered in some awkward attempt to turn the attention elsewhere. "I'm famished! Brat, I hope you are top chef or-"
What?
"Indeed, it's kind of you to have all of us to your home for dinner, Hoitsu-kun. I decided to send Grayfia and Millicas in advance and I hope we aren't dragging this for too long." Sirzechs agreed, sporting an amused but 'cruel' smile.
"Sona-chan is there too!" Serafall butted in.
"I will be enjoying just some salad." Ajuka commented placidly.
"Some steak will do fine for me!" Falbium concluded.
The final verdict? I was screwed in multiple ways.
I mean, it isn't that bad. We need to somehow expand the table, deal with some awkward discussions with people and-
"By the way, Baraqiel wanted to join too and… do you know why he was tied up for a full day? I found him in his bedroom and-"
For fuck's sake, don't jinx me anymore…
The prospect for that evening just worsened to an infuriating degree.
At this point, exile sounded like the best option…
AN
I finally discovered what was the Audio Issue that didn't allow me to make use of the new headset! It would seem that (After deleting and re-installing the Audio Drivers, try something with commands and then weep in despair to some forsaken deity) the issue was… I was connecting the Headset to the motherboard's openings… which wasn't the one with the audio drivers on.
Thus I wasted two full days in utter sorrow because I couldn't find (lack of illumination) the proper place where to set the jacks in.
Things are solved and… this chapter is mostly the fight. I know, it's kind of short but… 3k+ of fight (okay, 2,5k) wasn't an easy task for poor me.
I started later than usual and ended up dragging even after dinner.
Next chapter will have… wholesome fluff with Grayfia, hints at 'someone having a crush' and Sona sharing some words with Hoitsu.
Tomorrow it's going to resume the newly-adjusted schedule so… first the update for this story and then the newest chapter for The New Principal.
NEW MILESTONE:
Future milestone 1: 845 Followers and Favorites.
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REVIEW Q&A!
Victorsan12345: Kuroka was 'spared' because I felt that it would feel… counter-productive to the scenes I've set for her. She has matured just a bit out of her Canon behavior, some stuff being left there like the teasing and her flirting when it is the right time, but she couldn't afford to slip up to that 'silly but self-destructive' act. She might enjoy pranking people, but to the point where everything she is trying to build from is erased by such act? She isn't exactly… dumb.
NazgulBelserion: Nope, this new villain will have… an interesting pattern.
Kylnee: Would be cool to have some fanarts. Sadly artists hardly do stuff without a paid commission behind.