Greetings! Please make sure that all phones are switched off during the screening and prepare for a showing of someone else's phone! Well, now that all of the useless stuff is done with, hey there! It's time for some action! Anyway, let's go!
Super hero time!
Shuujin: Time for a showstopper! Issei, get in there!
Issei: You just focus on... going home?
Shuujin: What on earth are you talking about?
Issei: It sounded better in my head...
S + I: Break the chains! Phone up the future!
Expectation can be a fickle thing sometimes, that much is a given. It is there when you don't want it, cropping up when you try to hide it away. People have forced their own upon us and we had ours deflated like a balloon after a bullet. There are occasions when it brings out the worst in us and there are others where it can result in the most pleasant of morale boosters, especially if you believed you were destined to fail something. The most unusual talent it had was rather interesting actually. It could result in one of the greatest nightmares of your mortal existence or it could lead towards the greatest future you couldn't ever have possibly seen.
If you were to ask this lot though, perhaps they wouldn't be too quick to judge it as the second though, not the situation they were in currently. With the belief and expectations that they would be facing a simple stray devil, as the peerage of Rias Gremory had done so many times before with a fair amount of success, the expectation there had resulted in something far more disappointing – as well as intimidating.
In the location where the stray devil had been sighted before, the group quietly snuck in, Kunou holding back the squeals that threatened to come out. She hadn't been allowed to face any real life battles, only facing the trainers she had been supplied with in mock spars, so the idea of going against her first stray devil was probably making her more exciting than it should have.
Issei however, was much more frightened, even with the emotionless Ophis at his side. He hadn't faced a genuine threat to his life with prior knowledge, his poor encounter with Raynare not being a proper standoff. Considering that the stray had chosen to reside in an abandoned mansion of places, the student could feel his legs tremble with every step he took. He glanced to the side, almost tempted to take her hand in order to make himself feel more safe, but that would be another way of saying he would sacrifice his dignity because a young girl was less scared than he was.
"Are you excited!?" Kunou quietly asked Issei, the energy coming off of the kitsune evident by the waving of her tails behind her.
"To be honest, not really." He bluntly whispered back, hopping a small amount when a creaking of a door rung out in the emptied halls. "I'm not a big fan of horror shows."
"Don't worry Issei, you have us to keep you safe." Rias placated, her stance ready to take action at any moment as they walked, entering a different corridor when the sounds of a delirious muttering could be heard, the rest of the Occult Research Club preparing for a battle. "You were forcefully entered into our world, it is the least we can do to keep you safe."
With a quick thrust, the door was burst open and Rias' group was ready to fight and destroy the stray devil had been feasting on the corpses of humans, only to be met by a cruel twist of irony. There stood a lone man, illuminated by the light of the setting sun through the previously grand windows, eating away at the brutally murdered body of a disgusting woman-spider hybrid with an unbridled gusto. From the back, he would appear to be a normal man, if the blood stains that decorated his brown trench coat and grey hair was ignored, but it was when he turned his head to see who had interrupted his feasting that made the sight even more disgusting.
Rather than a normal mouth like any other human being, a wolf like a muzzle proudly protruded out of his face, pale skin giving way to grey fur like the hair upon his head. Grasping a gruesome chunk of bloody flesh within clawed hands, a small snarl escaped the man before somehow, all light within the room shut off within a second, leaving the group in pure darkness. Barely five seconds later, the windows drew back open, Kiba struggling within his grip as the man sniffed near his neck, licking his lips at the fresh scent.
"Who would believe that such a lovely specimen as you would walk in here…" the man spoke in a raspy voice, blue eyes flashing towards the distance before in another burst of darkness, Akeno was in his foul grasp, struggling as the furry grip edged closer to her private areas. "Delicious meals happily walking about…"
"Stop that this instant!" Rias ordered, the fierce dark crimson of her power of destruction flaring into life upon her hand ready to fire, only for the man to force her friend into the line of fire worth a vicious smirk.
" I see… food's still got some fight." The man remarked almost casually as he held the black haired yamato nadeshiko hostage. "Maybe I should go for red first. Always the most juicy at that point!" a blink had Rias now in his grip just moments before Akeno tried to discharge a great voltage through where his body once was, instead releasing sparking streams behind her like demented wings.
"Ara, Ara, I thought you would want to keep someone like me close for a small bit longer." Akeno commented with a hand to her cheek, watching as Kiba brought out a sword that glowed with a supernatural power and slashed towards the beast man, for him to simply turn and let Rias take the attack. Roughly grabbing the arm that was left to take the brunt of the attack, he gave it a long lick with a forked tongue before he let her go to avoid the backward blast of energy that would've undoubtedly left a great hole through his chest.
"What do we do!?" Issei exclaimed in fright as he saw his fellow school mates get mishandled like mere toys at the hands of a careless child. He couldn't afford to panic though, pulling out his phone before he stepped back in surprise when Kunou spat out a small flame towards where the man stood with Koneko in his hold, though thanks to her superior strength, she easily broke out and managed to reverse the hold so the fire impacted his stomach with nary a growl of discomfort though, he broke out even as his trench coat burned ever more, standing towards the group with a hand on the zip and ripping the blazing article off with a grandiose gesture.
"This is getting fun! Don't stop now!" the man roared with great excitement, curling into himself as a piercing growl was let loose inside the building. Fur grew even longer, claws sharpening further and the man's entire body growing even more muscular. When he stood up tall once more, there wasn't a single centimetre left bare of the grey fur, blue bloodshot eyes looking towards the group with hidden fury.
"A Werewolf… Wasn't expecting that." Rias remarked with only a slight twinge to her voice to betray the fear she had. She certainly hadn't been expecting a European creature to be prowling within her territory, but at least it had taken care of the stray devil Viser for them. She was the king of her peerage and the sister of the Maou Lucifer, one of the four strongest devils that ruled within the underworld. To show fear to a creature like a werewolf would be to spit upon the reputation of the Maous themselves.
"I can do something… I can do something… this is what I was meant to do… that's what she wanted me to do…" Issei had been ignoring the fight around him, only paying enough attention in order to dodge any attacks that would come near Ophis and him, though the beast seemed to shy away from Ophis for some unknown reason whenever she stared at him. Flipping open the phone, he desperately tried to remember the instructions he was given, slamming his finger onto the centre button.
CALL!
Pausing at the deep intonation, the werewolf caught a glimpse of the golden tool within Issei's hand and surprisingly, began to gently shy away from him, instead choosing to quickly eliminate one of the Occult Research Club members. The sight must've made him more anxious though as he unwittingly ran straight into Akeno's arcing electricity, giving a small pained howl.
"Looks like the bad wolf needs to be shown how to restrain himself!" the black haired girl cooed as she increased the current of her attack, the man holding himself together fairly well and leaving a bleeding gouge on Kiba when he tried to approach warily. Issei had to debate what he wanted to do. He had three images to select from at this point: the woman on 0, Kunou on 2 and Ophis on 3. His thumb flicked over each person multiple times before he saw the creature burst out of his capture in a shower of sparks, landing a hefty punch on Koneko's guard, the white haired girl being sent back a small amount even with her sheer strength.
"Oh you know what? Screw it!" with a click, he pressed down on the number 1, then flashed back to the centre button before bracing himself.
NUMBER ONE – DRAGON!
CALL TO ARMS!
A thrilling energy flushed through Issei's body, as if the entire cosmos had chosen to give all of its power directly to him. A small, egotistical part of his brain wondered what he was capable of doing as this strange power sent his nervous system into overdrive, sending pleasurable chills through his body. Ophis, at the boy's side, could feel her power flowing through him, just like her mother had told her once before would happen. Watching as the boy's school uniform began to flap, there was no visible emotion on Ophis' face as Issei let out a powerful roar to the skies, shaking the very foundations of the building.
All combatants froze in their tracks, the sheer strength held within Issei being easily sensed as he held out a single hand. Rather than do something major with it though, Issei slowly pointed but a single finger towards the werewolf, who tried to backtrack at the immense pressure that pushed down upon him. A small purple glow of energy gathered at his fingertip, no bigger than perhaps a key upon a keyboard and with a flick, it was sent flying at top speed towards the creature, who let out an agonised cry as it pierced through his chest, leaving a hole that bled blue. It might not seem like much of an achievement, but it left the Occult Research club frozen even more; the skin of a werewolf was meant to be near impenetrable by all but the purest of silvers.
Ophis knew what she had to do now; it had all been explained to her before by her mother. This was a true show of her bond to father, the one who would become the greatest amongst all warriors by bringing them to his feet, then his side. With eyes closed and a slightly open mouth, Ophis let the change happen, embraced it even Kunou let out a startled gasp as Phis' body existed no more, now being pure lilac energy that took on a different form as it floated towards Issei's hand.
"My dear Ophis, born from nothing. Did you like the song?" the blue haired woman asked as she tenderly stroked her daughters jet black hair. Considering the form she took now, it almost looked like the two could be sisters if it weren't for the contrasting choices of clothing and different facial features.
"What, does it mean?" Ophis asked monotonously, her eyes captured by the piano that gave way to a wondrous town happily kept within itself. "Why, do you play?"
"I play because it makes people happy!" the woman declared with a bright smile to her face, her glow near entrancing as she gazed lovingly down on the people as they went about their daily lives below under an eternal night lit by glowing flame streetlights.
"These people, the people of Orchest town, they are special, you know? They hold each other close when they need to, are willing to hold each other strong. That is something that I alone cannot give you Ophis." The woman explained, holding out an oversized sleeved arm to the pearlescent walls that surrounded the two "I cannot leave this place. You face no troubles here, no sadness, no wonder. Here, in my prison, you experience nought but complacency."
"What, is the issue?" Ophis asked with continued confusion. "I, see no problem." In return, she received a sad smile, the woman holding Ophis close to her aqua covered chest.
"My daughter, there is so much more you haven't discovered in this world. There's so much you need to learn, to experience, that I can't give you here. There will be someone who will be your guide, who will show you the world's wonders one day." The woman said softly to her child, holding the back of her head.
"Like, you have done? Guiding, me mother?" Ophis clarified, a slow nod from the blue haired woman.
"Yes. Like me. Think of it like... a father."
With the strength of Ophis, a blade appeared in Issei's hand, the edge crooked and styled like it had been forged out of a black and violet monster's skin. The handle fitted right into his hand as if it had been personally made for him, entirely in black with a scaled design. Slashing downward upon the exposed werewolf to easily slice off his hand, blue blood spurting out freely. Unlike how he had reacted before to getting hurt, the creature screamed in pure excruciation, placing another hand over the stump in a vain attempt to try and stop the blood flow.
Rias wasn't sure how to react at this new development. She thought this would simply be a show for Issei and his cousin, not an apparent showcase for the mysterious power he could hold, turning the girl with him into a bloody sword of all things! One that was able to cleanly slice apart a werewolf, a feat that should be impossible to do as a normal human. There was no chance he could be a normal human though, the power he was emitting was definitely not something a human could achieve; it could probably even be sensed all the way in the underworld!
"No, you can't do this! It's against the rules, the laws! You should know them out of everyone!" the werewolf declared in anguish, though Issei wasn't listening at that point. This was someone that aimed to eat his classmates, aimed to put an end to the people that, even if he didn't know what they were really like, tried to be nice to him regardless of the reputation that had been built up around him. When they were devils, then perhaps it made a bit more sense in the situation, but that clearly wasn't a priority thought at that moment. A single swing fully decapitated the beast, his features returning to normal post mortem. With the lifeless eyes looking back at him, the power that had so instantly filled him to the very brim of his body now leaving as if it was flooding out. The sword leapt out of his hand, changing back into Ophis with an emotionless curtsey as she regained her bearing. Kunou hesitantly approached he, poking her with a single finger and somehow being satisfied by such a move, grabbed the girl in a fierce hug.
"Oh my gosh, thank god you're okay!" she cried exuberantly, catching a glimpse of the wince that the devils had before releasing an awkward chuckle. "Sorry, devils. Can't really hear the god's name. I remember being taught that part!"
"There, was no risk to me." Ophis attempted to reassure her, like her mother did to her at one point. "This, was all foretold."
Issei didn't hear the reassurances though. His mind was instead blank as he fell face forward onto the ground, Kunou letting out a frightened yelp as she tried to lift the boy up, struggling both because of the difference in height, age, weight and strength; Kunou had been extensively trained in the art of fleeing into the safety of a warrior's view rather than learning anything strenuous when all she needed was the ability to shoot perhaps a single ball of flame as she did before.
"No, no no! You can't die! I've only been gone for a short while, if someone dies then I'm to blame!" she cried, desperately tugging at Issei's hand until a hand rested upon her shoulder. Seeing the blank look upon Ophis' face, she turned, only for the Lolita to walk past her and lift Issei effortlessly above her head, giving a slight frown before she closed her eyes and her body grew into that of a full grown adult. Now able to carry Issei with much less effort, she turned grey eyes onto the occult research club, who looked at her with astonishment.
"I, ask that we return." The adult Ophis requested, her voice slightly deeper than the youthful tone she had before. "Father, is in need of my help."
"Um… Sure. I suppose we need some extra information as well." Rias answered, turning towards the door with a dumbfounded expression. "All of this happened because I allowed Issei to die without any form of help. To think that this happened because of my single mistake…" walking out with a constant mumble to herself, filed with self-loathing and depreciative humour, Akeno could only look to Kiba and Koneko who just spared a look to each other before they shrugged and followed their leader out of the mansion, Ophis walking out after them with Kunou pulling at her arm, asking her questions about her new form. After all, she was a young girl and until she grew up, she would continue to be a young girl.
Ophis cheated!
Let's put this on hold for now. What do you think? Is this interesting enough? If it is, then stay tuned for the next installment, where we check out the repercussions of such a move! You may have to wait a while, because my exams mean I may not be able to write until the 21st of june!