Author's Notes: Sorry about the long wait for the chapter but a lot of things happened. I lent my labtop I usually work on the chapters with to a family member to finish his assignments at a college. However, not only did I find out he wasn't using it for his assignments he also dropped out, yeah I regret that decision. Right after that I caught a sinus infection that was keeping me from writing the chapter. But my rant aside, I feel a bit better now so on to the reviews.
Draaxe12: Well first of all, thank you. I'm flattered to hear that you think this is one of the better fanfics. Can you be more specific on what you mean by on what level Vince's will get hectic?
The Storm Master 567: Yup. There'll be an explanation for that soon.
Cobalt Striker Gundam: You'll find out in this chapter.
Keybladewielder97: Defintely Vince will be getting more battles in the near future that will pressure him a lot. Well, Shura and Gabriel arrived earlier nothing more if they came a little bit later then it would have been Rias and the others. That will be explained in a future chapter, I would probably one of two chapters depending on how it goes. The relationship between Vince and Gabriel will be develop at a natural pace. At this point, I don't really anything that makes them want to be romantically involved at this point in time. Vince would prefer to be friends will teasing Gabriel for her reactions and Gabriel herself is a bit oblivious.
vmage2: Thanks for letting me know. I'll admit that was a mistake on my part but thanks to the light novels revealing their is more than one Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, this will remain unchanged because I have an idea. But again, thanks for telling me.
Ran: Glad you like it.
zero kazama: Thanks. As for Tsubaki, I'll have to look into it but I find it a bit difficult especially since she's attracted to Kiba.
Earl: Maybe. But at the moment, that's not possible.
burstroc: I don't understand the context of that sentence.
ASTROFOX: Everyone will in the chapter.
Guest 1: Oops. Thanks for letting me know, I'll go fix that right now.
Guest 2: I'm not sure if Vince and Gram will be compatible besides, after finding out that Gram reduces the life span of the user I don't think he would use it.
No.5: Thanks.
AcclaimingMC: There are some similarities but it's not the same as Zenith Tempest.
ReaperX01: Okay, that's good to hear.
Savae: Well, no. Vince doesn't have that sort of ability, with Yume's case it's a bit more unique. Besides her spirit is still bound to his Sacred Gear.
Guest 3: Right now actually, I apologize for the long wait.
That's it for the reviews, I'm surprised that so many people reviewed. But moving on, here's the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any other references or elements I may put in the story. They all belong to their respective owners I only own my OCs.
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Sighing a little, he looked at himself and noticed his shirt missing and instead had several bandages wrapped out around his ribcage. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized he was still wearing his pants. "Claudia?"
"Yes, Vince-sama?" She asked with a smile.
"Thanks for not taking off my pants, and how long have I been out?" Vince asked with a small nod.
"You're welcome. I'd figure you wouldn't like being completely stripped and to answer your question you were asleep for about twenty-four hours." Claudia stated simply with him nodding.
"Twenty-four!?" Vince exclaimed as his eyes widened greatly.
"At least yer keepin' up in shape. It be a pain in the ass to see all that hard work I put into you go to waste." Shura commented as she noticed his muscular chest.
"You've beaten the habit of training everyday into me. It also doesn't help that I have even more incentive with the amount of psychotic bastards and pricks that's been popping up lately." Vince replied deadpanning, with her chuckling.
"For now Vince-sama, it would be inadvisable for you to train. Several of your ribs are bruised badly and in addition, a large majority of your muscles and tendons are also torn as well." Claudia informed him.
Vince however shrugged. "...Damn. Well, just let me get some of your Phenex Tears and I'll be good to go."
Claudia however shook her head in disagreement. "Unfortunately that is impossible at the moment. The Phenex clan has run short of Phenex Tears and will need time to make more, as for my vial I traded it away for a video game I've had trouble tracking down for months. My apologies Vince-sama, I didn't think this type of situation would occur."
"Oh? Is it any good?" Shura asked curiously.
"Why yes, actually. I even got the instruction booklet and the casing in mint condition." Claudia spoke with a smile.
"Well... To be honest, I would have done the same thing." He replied shrugging.
[Eh?! I swear you two are like two peas in a pod...] Yume stated as she shook her head.
"Yume. How long were you up?" Vince asked raising an eyebrow.
[I woke up a few seconds after you did.] She answered simply.
Gabriel smiled a bit before she cleared her throat. "How are you doing Yume?"
[I'm doing well Lady Gabriel.] Yume spoke cheerfully.
"You can just call me Gabriel, Yume." She replied smiling.
[Of course Lady Gabriel.] Yume said with a small hint of mirth in her tone as Gabriel pouted a little.
(They know each other? Huh, as much as I would like to find that out, I'll have to do that some other time.) Vince thought to himself.
"Oh that reminds me Vince-sama. Rena, Rias and everyone else are here. Shall I bring them in?" Claudia questioned.
"You let them in even though the manor is suppose to be virtually off limits to everyone?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"The decision falls on me when you are not able to and I don't see why not. Even if you don't say it outright, you still consider them to be friends and I don't think they're bad people." Claudia commented nonchalantly.
Vince sighed as he rubbed his temples with his index and middle fingers. "Anyway, I'll go talk to the others after I freshen up a bit. I'm still groggy after that I have to return a few phone calls."
"Vince-sama. Would you like some tea or coffee?" She asked him.
"Coffee. Which ones are avaliable?" He questioned in a curious tone.
"Almost all variations of coffee are avaliable." Claudia replied without skipping a beat.
"Alright. I'll have cappuccino and a latte. Also, get yourself a cup coffee if you want some." Vince said with Claudia smiling at his thoughtfulness.
"Understood." She then turned to Gabriel and Shura. "Would either of you like a cup of coffee or tea?"
"Coffee. Gimme a shin shin coffee." Shura answered, grinning a bit.
"I'll just have an espressino." Gabriel replied with a smile.
"Very well. I'll be back as soon as I finish." Claudia spoke as she left the room and closed the door behind her.
"Shin Shin Coffee..." Vince then turned to Shura and raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that coffee with some whipped cream and a shot of rum in it?"
"Yup."
"No surprise there." He then crossed his arms. "Not that I don't appreciate both of you helping me. But why are you two here?"
"Well that was to the point. I'm here because Azazel called me up to help train ya with your demon-sword, Arondight. Can't blame the guy, Arondight is a bit of a tough one." Shura commented.
"You're telling me..." Vince replied shaking his head.
"I am here because I wanted to see you and to assist you in your training." Gabriel said simply.
(Well this sucks. I wanted to train alone, especially after what happened the day before yesterday...) He thought to himself, frowning a little.
"Is there a problem Vince?" Gabriel asked, noticing his frown.
"Yeah, just thinking about that fight I had with Siegfried's descendant the other day who's in the Khaos Brigade. There's also the fact that I tried giving him Arondight before the fight however there's something about that, that's been bugging me." Vince stated, frowning a little.
"And what would that be?" She questioned with a curious expression.
"With the exception of those with great compatibility rates like me. Why didn't Siegfried turn into a homicidal berserker? Arondight's side effect of using it is supposed to turn do that. It can't be his compatibility rate because Arondight went back to me without any hesitation." He answered.
"Okay. Did this Siegfried guy, did he have multiple demonic swords on him?" Shura asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, why?"
She let out a low whistle in response. "That explains a bit. The guy used to work for the Orthodox Church. He was pretty damn powerful back when he worked for the church. He even got the nickname "Chaos Edge" Sieg. I'm not sure but it could be that his demonic swords were protecting him from Arondight's influence."
"Tch. That's sucks. He defintely earned that moniker though, I nearly got my ass kicked by him." Vince stated with a frown.
"But why did you try to give him Arondight? That sword ain't something to be givin' around." Shura asked with a small frown.
"Aside from wanting to get rid of Arondight, I was also banking on the fact that the sword would make him turn on his partner and I would use that chance to escape. Unfortunately for me that plan backfired." He explained sighing a little.
"Huh. Not a bad idea, but ya can't do something that risky there's a chance he would have gone out and gone on a killing spree if his partner decided to escape instead of fightin'. Another thing is that the sword isn't as strong as it used to." Shura stated.
"Wait. Arondight is stronger than how it usually is? I know it was sealed up for a long time but really?" Vince asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well yeah. That cursed sword is the counterpart to the complete Excalibur. The title ain't just for show." She commented.
"I do recall that day that when Arondight was corrupted and turned into a demon-sword my brother wasn't too happy about that, nor were the other Seraph's, we still haven't found out the reason why up to this day." Gabriel added in.
"Oh that. Lancelot, basically corrupted the sword with his own negative emotions and it pretty much bleed into the sword." Vince answered, surprising Gabriel.
"Huh? How do you know about that?" Shura asked curiously.
"I found a small book that a person wrote down about his experiences. He constructed an underwater temple underneath the Vatican along with Lancelot's descendant, Arondight's reasoning for corruption and pretty much everything. The book was hidden away in the temple itself so that whoever decides to get the swords knows what's going on. Pretty smart on the guy's part." He said nonchalantly.
"Vince, may I see this book? I believe my brother would like to know about this." Gabriel asked, looking at him.
"Eh... I'm not exactly sure I should." He trailed off.
Shura raised an eyebrow as Gabriel look a little sad. "Never thought I'd see the day where you'd say no to Gabriel. You sound like you don't trust them."
"I don't really trust Micheal because of his job." Vince said bluntly.
"But for what reason Vince? My brother wouldn't do anything underhanded." Gabriel spoke with a confused expression.
"It ain't about Micheal himself. Vince doesn't trust Micheal 'cause he's the leader of Heaven and he doesn't know the guy. Am I right?" Shura asked glancing at him.
"Yeah, but it's not just Heaven or the church. I just don't trust the Three Factions in general. They really haven't given me a reason to trust them, especially since The Great War caused a mess that has yet to be completely cleaned up." He answered with a frown.
Gabriel winced a bit as Shura let out a low whistle. "Damn, that's pretty harsh of ya."
Vince looked at Gabriel and sighed a little. "I'll give you the book if you give it back to me Micheal finishes reading it."
"Really?" She asked as her expression perked up a little.
"Yeah..." Vince shrugged as he looked at the window in the room, to avoid eye contact. "I don't trust the Three Factions, but I trust you Gabriel."
Gabriel's lips curled up as she gave beautiful smile. "Thank you Vince."
She then pulled Vince into a hug, unintentionally placing his face in between her large chest as she held on to him. "I'll give you back the book as soon as my brother is finished."
Shura then grinned a bit. "Heh, your soft spot for Gabriel hasn't changed. Hell, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if you have a thing for her."
Whether or not Vince's blush was from either the accusation or from having his face in between Gabriel's breasts were uncertain, however the blush was noticeable enough to be seen despite the fact that a large portion of his face was covered by her large breasts.
Claudia then opened the door and walked in, holding six different cups of coffee, each in expensive looking coffee mugs. "I've finished. Here is your coffee..."
Her expression then turned into a mischievous smile as she looked towards Vince who was still being hugged by Gabriel. "Oh my, Vince-sama you certainly do work fast. Shall I leave right now with Shura so you two can consummate?"
Shura busted out laughing as Gabriel looked confused and Vince finally pulled away from her with his large blush still present. "Real funny, Claudia."
He then turned to Gabriel who still had a confused expression. "It means for us to get married by being intimate with each other. Like Adam and Eve did."
Gabriel's face turned bright red as her eyes widened in shock. "B-But I-I..."
Claudia then handed everyone in the room their respective coffee mugs as she took a sip of her own and still smiled mischievously. "You really should take a sip Lady Gabriel, it will help calm down your nerves."
Shura took a sip of her own drink and sighed. "Not bad, Claudia."
"It's quite delicious." Gabriel said as she took another sip and calm down her large blush.
"Thank you. How is your coffee, Vince-sama?" Claudia asked looking at him.
"It's good, thanks." He replied as he took a sip of both of his coffee's at a time while trying to compose himself.
"Hey Vince, I've been wanting to ask for a bit. What are you going to do about that problem from the other day?" Shura asked, gaining his attention.
"I'll go talk to the others and do a few things I need to take care of. After that I'll deal with the problem as quickly as possible." Vince answered.
"That sounds like a good idea. Everyone else is really worried about you. Rias, Akeno, Kasumi, Rena and Akari each took turns watching over you. Lady Gabriel did so as well so they could rest." Claudia spoke making him raise an eyebrow.
"They agreed on something without any arguments? Did Hell froze over?" He asked in a somewhat joking tone.
Shura chuckled a bit while Claudia sighed and Gabriel looked confused. "Pokin' jabs at your harem already Vince?"
"I'm not in a relationship right now." Vince stated with Shura now raising an eyebrow.
"Seriously? You're not leading them on or something are ya?" She asked looking at him with a small frown.
"Hell no. Between this load of crap and schoolwork, I hardly have any time to process how to go about it." He retorted as he took another sip of his coffee.
"Will you be including Lady Gabriel in the harem as well?" Claudia asked in a teasing tone.
"Ha! I don't even think Gabriel would notice if she is in one." Shura said with a grin.
"What is a harem?" Gabriel asked innocently.
"A term for a person having more than one spouse or lover and doing everything to them like what a married couple would do. Including the part about being intimate like Adam and Eve, in most cases more than one person would join in." Vince explained nonchalantly.
Gabriel blinked twice and remained silent for a few moments before her face lit up with a deep blush. "E-Eeeh!?"
Shura busted out laughing at her expression while Claudia covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.
"P-Please, don't consider such a thing Vince! That sort of thing has to be done with the one you love." Gabriel said looking at him with a pleading look.
"But what if I love all of them Gabriel?" He asked in a teasing tone.
Her blush deepened as she remained silent, unable to respond as Vince chuckled a little. "Couldn't resist saying that one. Anyway, Claudia."
"Yes, Vince-sama?"
Vince's eye slightly twitched at the honorific but sighed. "I'll get ready and refresh myself. In the mean time can you go into the vault and get a few valuable jewels or gems that are worth something?"
"Of course. Is it because of Sona's proposal?" She asked curiously.
"Yeah. I'm not going back on my word. Besides, seeing those so called "noble" devils loathe in jealously will be a good highlight for the day whenever Sona decides to start on the construction of the school." Vince commented, his lips curling up into a smirk.
xXxXxXxXxX
Vince sighed in relief as he now wore a dark blue t-shirt and some black shorts along with a pair of black socks and matching black gym shoes. (Well, I've taken a shower and everything. I can't exactly stall seeing them anymore.)
Opening the door, he walked into a large living room in the manor where everyone stood seated a table, talking amongst themselves. Sighing a bit. He took a seat on a comfortable looking recliner that's colored black.
Rena tapped Vince on the shoulder from behind the recliner and smiled a little. "How are you doing Vince?"
"Sore and worn out." He replied.
"Really? Do would think that a day of complete rest would be enough for you to recover?" Rena asked curiously.
"I'd say I would recover a bit. Hopefully enough for some light training." Vince spoke, shaking his head a little.
"Still. I'm glad you're safe Vince. I was really worried about you, seeing you in that state wasn't pleasant." She said, sighing a little.
He scratched his cheek a little and sighed a bit. "Sorry about that. I wasn't exactly expecting to get into a fight like that."
"It's okay. I'm just glad that you're safe Vince-" Seeing that the others were busy talking, she pulled a strand of her blonde hair to the side and kissed him on the lips.
A small blush appeared on his face as he returned the kiss, lacking any amount of lust only being a kiss of pure passion. After a few seconds of kissing the two pulled away with Rena smiling genuinely while Vince remained somewhat bashful.
However the moment immediately shattered as someone cleared their throat loudly, gaining their attention.
Rena's expression turned into somewhat of a mix between both surprised and embarrassed as her face turned bright red, her blush resembling Rias' hair color. Vince on the other hand look the other way, scratching his cheek a little. (We got caught. Still, I can see that Rena still gets embarrassed easily by public affection.)
"Quite crafty Rena. I never would have expected you would do something like this." Rias spoke with an annoyed look.
"Ara ara, I assume this is what you and Vince-kun would do when you two were dating back then? It is quite romantic. I wouldn't mind trying that with Vince-kun, myself." Akeno spoke with a small blush.
Vince sighed a little and turned to the others however, Kasumi and Akari remained calm and smiled a little. While Issei and Asia blushed a bit at the scene, Kiba on the other hand just smiled while Koneko remained stoic, Xenovia on the other hand looked somewhat confused.
"Anyway, I appreciate all of you coming over-" Vince started, most of the others at his words. "But to get straight to the point, all of you want to know about what exactly happened right?"
"Yes, we had to cover up quite a bit of what happened." A voice spoke gaining their attention.
Turning around everyone else saw Sirzechs walking into the room with Serafall and Azazel in tow with Gabriel and Shura.
"I shouldn't be surprised that all of you would want to know-" He spoke as he glanced at Claudia who just came in the room with a cart with refreshments and snacks. "I'm even more surprised that you let them in."
Claudia smiled a little as she started served everyone in the room. "Well, I couldn't say no to two great Maou's and the Govenor of the Fallen Angels. Also Rena and the others insisted for me to allow them to come here."
"I see."
"It has to do with the powers you absorb from Ddraig and Albion, doesn't it?" Azazel asked, looking him.
"Pretty much. Long story short, because I was pushed to my utter limits I had to rely on their power but doing that gave those two large dragons you saw the opportunity needed to escape." Vince explained surprising the others with the exception of the leaders who nodded.
"But how did you beat them Vince-kun? Serafall asked, tilting her head cutely.
Vince however shrugged. "Both of them are pretty much mindless and I have two powerful dragon slaying swords, one of them having god slaying traits. I just made sure to work smarter, not harder. If those two things could think like Ddraig and Albion it would have been a different story."
"Still, to be able to defeat them in addition to your earlier exhibition match and that ambush from the Khaos Brigade is quite impressive." Sirzechs commented, with the others nodding in agreement.
"It's surprising to see what you can do when you're backed into a corner like that." Azazel added in.
A red gauntlet suddenly materialized on Issei's arm, surprising the others. [Those mindless beasts can't really compare to the originals. Still it's surprising that you absorbed that much power from Albion and I for them to appear in our original sizes.]
"I think it's even more surprising that you're commenting on this Ddraig. I was under assumption that all you had interest for was self preservation of yourself and Issei along with your rivalry with Albion." Vince commented without skipping a beat.
Ddraig snorted in response as the gauntlet slightly glowed. [You have a considerable amount of power sealed away in your Sacred Gear from both Albion and I. In addition to something that may end up taking your life.]
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise while Vince crossed his arms. "You mind explaining what that something is? If it really is that dangerous I'll need more clarity."
[Those "amalgamations" you and Yume are referring to are also the negative emotions of the past possessors of the Boosted Gear and the Divine Divide.] Ddraig explained as Azazel's eyes narrowed.
"You don't mean...?"
Sirzechs, Serafall looked at each other for a moment before turning to Azazel while Gabriel looked worried as the others looked confused.
[No. Vince's Sacred Gear hasn't absorbed from that state from that however, with the amount of power that it contains. It may be as strong as that.] Ddraig answered.
(Looks like I'll have to look up some information about Ddraig and Albion's abilities later since everyone seems to be beating around the bush.) Vince thought to himself.
"To think it's gone this far..." Azazel muttered to himself.
[What will you do Vince? While that will make you considerably stronger, keep in mind that it will come at a sacrifice of something great.] Ddraig warned.
"Yume. How long will the seal hold?" He asked, making the others look confused.
[If you plan on training then it will be about a week.] Yume stated with Vince nodding.
"Good."
"What are you going to do Vince?" Rias asked looking a little confused.
"Get stronger. After that I'm going to deal go inside my mind to deal with them." Vince spoke, crossing his arms.
"How are going to do that and isn't that a dangerous to fight them on your own? Even I can feel Ddraig and Albion's powers leaking out of you!" Issei exclaimed as the others nodded.
"By meditating. And I already know about their powers leaking out, I noticed it the moment I woke up." He replied simply.
"Do you have a plan, Vince-kun? I'm pretty certain you wouldn't charge in recklessly even after you've trained." Kiba stated.
"Pretty much." Vince glanced up at the large ceiling for a moment before looking back down. "My chances will increase if I manage to restrain one of them while I deal with the other, even if the other joins in before I'm finished, the dragon in question that I targeted will be too weak to continue."
"Ara, and how do you plan on restraining one of them Vince-kun?" Akeno asked with a smile.
He shrugged a little while noting her fake smile. "Yume, has the ability to restrain the dragons, while she restrains one of them, I'll deal with the other."
"That's a pretty well thought out plan, in such a short amount of time. Have you decided which dragon you'll face first?" Sirzechs asked curiously.
"The cups of coffee helped and no, I haven't decided yet." Vince admitted.
"Why not let the dragons out so we can fight both of them together?" Xenovia offered.
"Xenovia does bring up a point. With Issei's Ascalon being a dragon slaying sword along with your demon-sword Arondight and your holy-sword the Totsuka-no-Tsurugi then we should be able to defeat them." Rias pointed out.
"I'll pass on that idea. The collateral damage will be a lot and that's not counting the amount people that'll be watching. Besides, you'll all get in my way. It'll be more trouble than it's worth." Vince stated casually with a tickmark appearing above Issei's head.
"Hey!"
The others frowned while Kasumi and Akari giggled a little, seeing the meaning behind his statement and Rena rolled her eyes but had a small smile. "You say that, but even Kasumi, Akari and I can tell that, that's not what you really mean. You're afraid of us getting hurt in the process and dragging anyone else into this situation. Is that right?"
Vince said nothing but turned the other way as Serafall giggled. "I think you nailed it, Rena-chan!"
"You didn't have to sound like an ass..." Issei muttered with a small frown.
"This coming from you?" Vince asked raising an eyebrow.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Issei exclaimed.
Kiba laughed a little bit as he spoke up. "It's okay Issei-kun, Vince-kun is worried about us after all. He just has trouble showing it."
"That is quite true. Vince was never a people person to begin with, he's more of a listener rather than a talker." Rena pointed out.
"Tch."
"That is true, Vince would rarely speak when I first met him. It did take a while for him to start talking to me regularly." Gabriel added, recollecting the memory.
Serafall giggled as she looked at him. "I didn't know you were so shy back then Vince-chan."
He sighed as he rubbed his temples with his thumb and index finger. "Either way, I'll be going now. I have a few things I need to take care of."
"And what of the training schedule Vince?" Azazel asked, looking at him.
"I'll iron out the details myself later, after I make a few preparations." He said before turning to Shura. "You mind if we just trained until the week is up?"
"Yeah, no problem. It just means I'll just have to train ya harder. After I'm up Gabriel's gonna be helpin' ya out with the angel side of your Sacred Gear." Shura said, smirking after seeing Vince wince slightly.
He paused for a few moments before blinking owlishly. "Huh?"
Gabriel nodded and smiled. "Why yes. Azazel has told me about how underdeveloped your angelic side is, so I will be assisting you in that regard."
"What about your position?" Vince asked curiously.
"I wouldn't worry about it. Micheal already has that covered." Shura answered, waving off his question.
"I see..."
"Do you want us to help you Vince?" Rena questioned.
"No. I've already taken enough time out of everyone's training. Besides, I'll already have what I need to take them out. I just need to prepare." Everyone's eyes widened as they saw his hair changed into a white color while his eyes turned red, his body radiating a small white and red aura.
Seeing everyone remaining silent, he left the room as the aura faded along with his hair and eye color returning back to normal.
"Did you see that Azazel?" Sirzechs asked looking at him.
"Yeah. I didn't think the powers of Ddraig and Albion's would drastically change his appearance. He looks like a mini heavenly dragon with that appearance. Looks like I'll have to have a talk with Tannin." Azazel commented with a small hint of mirth.
xXxXxXxXxX
A few hours after everyone left, Vince ran a hand through his hair as he placed another book down, reading at a table at the Valefor library while sitting on an antique wooden chair. "Damn, so far nothing."
"Is something wrong Vince-sama?" Claudia asked as she came in with a cup of hot tea.
"Just trying to read up more on Ddraig and Albion. I know they were holding back something, I'm not sure whether or not it was because of Issei or me." Vince spoke with a small frown.
"I see... I've prepared you some tea to calm your nerves. But be careful it's hot." Claudia spoke as she handed him the tea.
"Thanks." He quickly took a sip the hot tea and winced a bit. "Crap that's hot."
"I told you." She replied with a sigh.
"Y-Yeah. So is there any recordings of Ddraig and Albion hear?" Vince asked as took another sip of his tea, after blowing into it this time.
"There should be some recordings. The Valefor library has a book on nearly every subject." Claudia answered.
"...That's convienient. Still, it sucks that I can't just look up in a labtop about Ddraig and Albion with a search engine. It would have saved a hell of a lot of time." He commented with a small sigh.
"True. Would you like for me to search for books on the subject of the Heavenly Dragons then?" She asked.
"Yeah. And after that, go ahead and take a break or something. I really won't be needing any help. In the meantime, I'll go return a phone call or two." Vince said as he got up from his chair.
Claudia giggled a little but nodded. "Of course."
"What's so funny?" He asked curiously.
"My apologies. It's just that I never assumed that the heir I would be working for would be so different. I expected you to treat me as the other nobles treated their servants, however you have treated me as an equal thus far." Claudia answered.
Vince however shrugged. "That's because you are my equal. You should already know by now that I don't care about social status. Besides, just because you're a maid doesn't mean I can't pull my own weight."
"You're really precocious." She commented, chuckling a little.
(Precocious? I'll have to look up the meaning of that later when I can get on the internet.) He thought to himself.
Vince sighed a little and turned to her. "Anyway, let me know when you finish, okay?"
"Of course."
"Later." He turned around and walked out of the library as he took out his cellphone and started looking through his contacts. (Hmm... I'll call Helena, she did call me first after all.)
Sighing a bit, Vince pressed the button on his cellphone to call Helena.
After a few moments a voice picked up on the other end and spoke. "Hello?"
"Helena? It's me Vince." He said as he walked down a large hall in the Valefor manor.
"Vince. What happened? You told me that you would call me back after you finished dealing with the woman you spoke of." Helena spoke.
"Eh. Long story short, I was unconscious for twenty-four hours from putting a lot of stress on my body." Vince stated, without a hint of care in his tone.
"My word. You certainly should be more careful Vince." She replied sounding surprised.
"I know. But moving on, what did you want to talk to me about yesterday?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"It is an invitation to Zack's Island. I assume you are familiar with it?" Helena questioned.
Vince blinked owlishly and paused for a moment before speaking up. "Zack's island... Isn't that the tropical island that usually hosts a party after the Dead or Alive tournament for all of the women competed?"
"Yes, it is."
"I think, I'll pass on the offer. I'm not exactly that type of person." He answered.
"Are you sure Vince? Kasumi and Akari asked me to see if I can pull a few strings. And I can assure you, it wasn't exactly easy to do." Helena stated.
"Kasumi and Akari did...?" Vince asked in a surprised tone.
"Why yes, they told me that lately you've been under a lot of stress and figured that this will benefit you. Even I am aware of how stressed you are." She said sounding in a concerned tone.
Vince sighed as he stopped walking and sat on a chair in the living room. "...I see. Just a question though."
"Yes?"
"Do you still think that Akari is dangerous? Or do you still think that she's still unstable?" He questioned with a curious expression.
"No, not anymore. I do think that she means well, however she Donovan cannot capture her. The advancements she has made has already enticed him to capture her, as well as you." Helena said with a small frown.
"Yeah. Going by the information and the reports it looks like Akari is a more advanced version of that Phase-4 thing you were talking about. Not to mention, going off by what you and Kasumi told me, I'll probably be placed in the Project Epsilon thing like Hayate was. It was a genetic modification project to enhance the body to a supernatural height, right?" Vince asked, sounding a bit unsure.
"Yes. Despite that project ending in failure when Hayate escaped, I believe Donovan has opened the project again, with using you as the test subject." Helena stated, sighing a little.
"I'll keep an eye out then. I wouldn't be surprised if he's biding his time." He commented with a small frown.
"Very well. I will inform you of any developments that occurs." She said with him nodding.
"Alright then." Vince sighed and scratched his cheek a little. "As for the invitation. Will it take up the rest of my summer vacation?"
"No. It is only a week. Have you changed your decision?" Helena questioned in a curious tone.
"I need to think about it for a little bit more before I make my decision. Is it already if I call you back when I make my decision?" Vince asked.
"Sure. But be aware that it starts within ten days. So please do make your decision by then." She replied.
He blinked twice before nodding. "Ten days? Okay then. Anyways, take care."
"Yes and you as well, goodbye." Helena said.
"Later." Vince closed his cellphone and sighed a little. (Ten days, huh? That'll give me enough time to train so I can take on those amalgamations of Ddraig and Albion along with three extra days of resting. I wonder if Helena knows more than what she's letting on.)
He opened his cellphone again and dialed Yasaka's number. After a few moments of waiting he cleared his throat a little and spoke up. "Yasaka?"
"Vince... What happened? I tried calling you a few hours after you hung up and yesterday but you didn't answer my calls." She stated with a hint of surprise in her tone.
"I got ambushed by the magicians of the Khaos Brigade along with two of their Hero Faction members." Vince said simply.
"Oh my, that's certainly surprising. But why didn't you call me back immediately? I could have gone there as soon as possible to assist you." Yasaka asked, frowning a little.
"You can leave? I thought you were bound to Kyoto because of the Leylines." He asked, looking slightly confused.
"I can leave Kyoto for a short amount of time." She replied.
"I see... Either way, the Khaos Brigade were a pain in the ass but they weren't the main issue. Right when I was about to take down the other member of the Hero Faction, I got attacked again, this time by a third party. Vince responded, much to her surprise.
"A third party? Who was it?" Yasaka asked with a tone of confusion.
"When I absorbed the powers of Ddraig and Albion, I also took in their negative emotions according to Ddraig and because I was at my limit, they were released from my body and took the form of Ddraig and Albion. But they were completely pissed off and the only thing they wanted to do was kill each other and anything in the way. Even Ddraig himself told me that the power would make a lot stronger but it would end up costing me something heavy in exchange." Vince answered.
Her eyes widened as she spoke up. "Could that be the Juggernaut Drive?"
"The hell's a Juggernaut Drive?" He blurted out almost instantly.
"I don't know too much about it, I've only heard from stories but the Juggernaut Drive is supposed to be a forbidden move between the Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou. It temporarily removes the seal placed on the Heavenly Dragons but in exchange the user will lose their sanity while their lives are devoured by the power." Yasaka explained, recalling the stories.
Vince nodded and processed the information for a moment before his eyes narrowed in anger. "Son of a bitch... I knew those pricks were keeping something hidden from me, but something this important? Hmph, the only one that told me something important about this was Ddraig."
"Language Vince." Yasaka chided before continuing. "Please calm down and explain."
After clenching his fist in anger with enough force to turn his knuckles white, he sighed and took a deep breath, re-telling her about the previous conversation a few hours ago.
"I see. There could be a possibility, that they didn't want to disclose the information because of the Sekiryuutei being in the room and from what you told me, he's only just started. Correct?" She asked him.
"Yeah."
"Then that seems to be likely, there is such a thing as too much information and that burden could have had a negative impact on him at such an early stage." Yasaka stated, giving her hypothesis.
"...I see what you mean. He's still training on how to unlock his Balance Breaker naturally. That would probably have been too much. It's still annoying that they would keep him and I, in the dark like this." Vince replied with a frown.
"I know it's frustrating to be kept in the dark about something this heavy, but it is for the best Vince. Boldly stating this information may have repercussions for your friend if learned about it so soon." She commented.
He nodded and a sighed a little. "Yeah, thanks Yasaka. You know, if you were nearby I would kiss you."
"Oh? Then perhaps you should come over as soon as possible then. Though, I'm pretty sure we'll be doing more than just kissing then." Yasaka stated with a teasing tone.
"Sounds good. Though if I did that it would have to be before this vacation thing that Kasumi and Akari set up for me." Vince commented.
"Oh?"
After taking a few minutes to explain to her Kasumi and Akari's idea along with the basis of Zack's Island. Despite being mildly annoyed with her nine tails flowing menacingly being her tell, she cleared her throat. "I see. How unexpected of them, however please be sure to visit here before you leave Vince. We have much to discuss."
A sweatdrop appeared above Vince as he sighed. "I haven't made my decision yet Yasaka. Regardless, I need to talk to you so I'll be there as soon as my issue is resolved. It's the main reason why I called you the day before this mess happened, because I wanted to see if I can head to Kyoto soon so I could talk to you. Also, there's another thing."
"Yes Vince?"
"Well, when you used your fox fire along with the ley-lines during the first time we were intimate my Sacred Gear absorbed the power and now I can use fire magic with spiritual properties." Vince stated with a barely noticeable blush, recollecting their first time.
"Oh my, I certainly wasn't expecting that." Yasaka's surprised expression then turned into a teasing smile. "Perhaps it will get stronger if we try again?"
His blush deepened as muttered to himself. "Teasing vixen..."
Yasaka heard him and giggled. "Well, I must be going Vince. I did promise Kunou, I would pick her up from school."
"Right. Well, take care then." He replied.
"You too, Vince. Farewell." The two then hung up as Vince tried to calm down his blush.
(Yasaka sounded annoyed. I guess she's okay with me visiting overall, but I need resolve that issue with Ddraig and Albion's powers first. I should go to tell Claudia about Juggernaut Drive for a point of reference so she can find a book about them.) Vince thought as he headed back towards the library.
Upon reaching there he noticed Claudia looking over a stack of books on a table, as he sighed a little, feeling a little guilty for asking her the favor. "Hey Claudia."
"Yes, Vince-sama... Err, Vince?" Claudia asked after noting his slightly annoyed look.
"Thanks. We're not in any formal event, so just call me Vince." He stated.
She nodded with a smile and then raised an eyebrow. "Did something happen?"
"Yeah. I found out some info on Ddraig and Albion, thanks to Yasaka. Is there a book that references the term, "Juggernaut Drive"?" Vince questioned in a curious tone.
"I see... Well, that makes my search easier. There should be a book about that here. I brought every book from the "Dragons" section of the library." She replied as she skimmed through a book before placing it on the other side of the table.
"There's a dragon section of books here?" He asked as a sweatdrop formed.
"Of course. The library has a section on almost everything. Ranging from the devil clans, to medicine and books on sexual positions." Claudia answered, skimming through another book.
"Huh..."
"Shall I get you that type of book Vince?" She asked in a teasing tone.
"No need. I've seen enough porn on the internet to know what to do." Vince replied shamelessly.
"Oh my, that was quite the bold answer coming from you." Claudia replied with a somewhat surprised expression.
"Oh please. A large majority of teenagers around my age look up that sort of crap almost all the time behind closed doors and I'm no exception. Besides, you have a bunch of BL merchandise in your room so you don't fall far behind." He answered without skipping a beat.
"Blunt. But true." She admitted.
"I'll help out too." Vince replied as he took a book and started looking over it.
"Thank you. I must admit all of these books are quite thick." Claudia commented as she took another book after placing the other one she previously held in the assorted pile.
"No kidding. Not even the public library back where I used to live didn't have books this thick." He stated as he looked through a book.
"So Vince, if you don't mind me asking. What is your relationship with the leader of the youkai in Kyoto, Yasaka-san?" She asked curiously.
"I honestly don't know. I'd like to say that we're good friends..." Vince trailed off as he turned a page of the book.
"Friends with benefits?" Claudia finished as she closed a book and grabbed another one.
"I would hope not." He commented with a small sigh.
"Oh? And why is that?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Vince paused for a moment before closing the book and placing it in the pile. "Well... Yasaka's a kind person and she deserves better than that."
Claudia nodded as she closed a book and grabbed another. "I see... Is there a specific reason why you haven't done anything as of now?"
"I... Honestly don't know what to do. With crap like the clan stuff, the Khaos Brigade, my unstable Sacred Gear putting my life in danger and schoolwork it's pretty damn hard to find time to digest and think about what to do in that department. Not to mention there's still my ex-girlfriend, my childhood friends and Akeno, which he have quite a few things in common." Vince admitted as he shook his head.
"Given that explanation, I can see why you're so indecisive about furthering a relationship with either one. However, you can't keep them waiting Vince. That will only hurt them." Claudia spoke with a small frown.
"I know that. But I can't choose one, if I do I hurt everyone else in the process and that's one thing I'm not going to do." He said.
"Then why not have a talk with them and ask if they're willing to be in a harem with you? It would avoid you from having to choose. Harem's are legal in the Underworld and with your current position no one would be able to argue otherwise." She pointed out.
Vince immediately froze at the mention of the word. He winced a bit as he started to get images in his head of his father being with another woman and his mother enraged. His hand shook a bit as he tried to block the memory. (A harem... By definition it's basically multiple women sharing one guy which is not the same as cheating. But why do I feel so much anxiety?! Is it from that memory? Tch. If it is then I guess, I'll have to chalk it up as my childhood screwing me over again.)
"Vince...?" Claudia reached out and lightly shook him.
He blinked twice before sighing a bit, with Claudia look a little concerned. "Are you okay, Vince?"
"It's nothing." Vince took another book and started skimming through pages.
Claudia nodded and continued skimming through the books, knowing that he doesn't want to talk about it.
Placing another book into the pile, he sighed. "Are you sure that they have a book on this?"
"I'm almost certain. Something as important as this wouldn't go unnoticed... I found it." She said with a smile.
Vince blinked owlishly as he quickly turned his attention to the book. "What does it say about Juggernaut Drive?"
"Juggernaut Drive is a special ability of the Longnius, of both the Boosted Gear and the Divine Divide. It temporarily removes the seal placed on the Heavenly Dragons but in exchange the user will lose their sanity while their lives are devoured by the power." Claudia explained, reading from the book.
"Ok. So it sums up what Yasaka said earlier, any further descriptions?" He asked curiously.
"Unfortunately, no."
"Hmm..." Vince paused for a few moments with a contemplative expression. "Is there any records of their abilities? If the leaders are concerned enough to keep Issei and I, out of the loop then I'm sure there's a reason why."
"Why would this be important Vince? Going by your description and Ddraig's explanation from earlier, those mindless beasts are the negative emotions of the past possessors of the Boosted Gear and the Divine Divide in addition to being the result of the powers you've absorbed from Ddraig and Albion. The normal drawbacks won't apply and they don't seem to be rational to form a coherent sentence." Claudia questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm more interested on what their abilities do exactly to find a way to adapt to it. If there's one thing I noticed last time is that they kept getting stronger the longer they were out. Dragging the fight out makes them more powerful. But I need more information." Vince explained, sighing a little.
"I see. When you explain your reasoning it does make sense. It is preferable to be as prepared as possible." She commented.
"Exactly."
Turning the page of the book, Claudia read from the passage of the book. "The Juggernaut Drive unleashes the full power of the Two Heavenly Dragons sealed in both the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing, granting the user power that is said to rival that of gods or Maou. The immense power is so great that, upon activation, its aura would have destroyed the local areas."
Vince nodded but raised an eyebrow. (If that's the case then why didn't that happen when they came out?)
"While in this form, the Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou greatly increases their flight speed to the point where it can be hard to follow with ones eye sight. This form is also capable of fending off powerful attacks by simply flapping its wings. From the various jewels all over the armor, the user can grow multiple limbs and blades akin to the appearance of a dragon." She finished as he crossed his arms.
"Ok, I'll bite. Why didn't any of that happen when they came out of my arm and where were the jewels? I didn't see any jewels on their bodies." He asked with a look of disbelief.
"It could be because of the fact that you haven't absorbed enough of Ddraig and Albion's powers to reach to that degree. In other words, they will have to be taken care of since they seem to grow stronger as time passes. If we wait too long then they might reach that level of power." Claudia theorized with him nodding in agreement.
"That makes sense. I do feel them growing more powerful, since I'm connected with them I might be able to use their powers against them." He stated.
"Most likely, but it might be preferable to weaken either one of them before attempting that." She replied.
"Yeah. The last thing I need is a tug-of-war when I'm short on time." Vince commented, sighing a little.
"Is there anything that you need Vince?" Claudia asked as she placed the books away.
Vince got up from his seat and helped her placed the books away with the exception of the one they just read. "Well, aside from ordering take-out. Not really, I'm just going to spend the rest of my time coming up with a plan and after that I'll rest for tomorrow."
"Oh my. Not even playing a video game?" She asked with a surprised expression.
"No. I'll need all the rest I can get. I know Shura is going to train me into the ground tomorrow, that's not counting Gabriel's training on my angel side which I know next to nothing about. That and I still have to tell her that my angel side evolved." He said, sighing a bit.
"Is her training regime really that difficult?" Claudia questioned.
"Shura's idea of training me when I was younger was teaching me how to dodge." Vince replied.
"That doesn't seem too bad-" She said before she was interrupted.
"-By dodging attacks that came from her demonic sword and if I got injured, she would patch me up and I would have to start all over again." He finished, wincing a little at the memory.
"Oh my."
"Since I'm a lot stronger now. I can only imagine what she's going to do." Vince stated.
"After hearing about that, I can see why you would focus more on resting." Claudia said as she placed the last book away.
"Yeah. Claudia, when you finish can you contact Serafall and have her come over to the manor?" He questioned.
"Oh my. Already making a move on Serafall-sama? I was not aware that she caught your eye." She said in a teasing tone.
Vince rolled his eyes in response. "I still have to give her those jewels remember?"
Claudia nodded, however she giggled a little. "Of course. Although, they do say that a woman's best friend is jewelry."
"Sheesh." He took the book from the table and left the room with his eye twitching, which twitched more after hearing her giggle even more.
xXxXxXxXxX
Serafall smiled as she noticed Vince waiting as he sat on a chair reading a book. "Hey Vince-chan!"
She then hugged him from behind, pressing her breasts against his back. "I got your message from Claudia-chan. Did ya miss me?"
He sighed a little and shook his head. "I'm just giving this to you, so you can give this to Sona."
Vince then handed her a small metal suitcase, opening the suitcase revealed that it was stuffed with exotic gemstones and expensive jewelry.
"Wow, they're really beautiful!" Serafall exclaimed as she looked at them.
"I thought it would be best for you to give them." He shrugged a little as a small smirk appeared on his face. "After all, if I give them to Sona your disturbing siscon side will kick in and you'll think I want to court her."
"Hey!"
Vince chuckled a bit as he continued reading his book. "Again, that's for Sona to sell to get the necessary funds for her school whenever she thinks she's ready, alright?"
"Geez, I'm not a kid you know." Serafall said pouting.
"I know that. After all, with your job as a Maou that deals in foreign affairs and your other job as a star, it's pretty obvious to see that you're a lot more smarter and aware of your situation than what you led on." He said.
Serafall blinked owlishly as she stopped looking at the jewels and gemstones. "Wow, I didn't think you'd see it like that Vince-chan."
"You also showed this at the Peace Treaty. Instead of wearing your usual outfit, you wore formal clothing and you spoke in a way that showed that you know what you were doing." Vince added in with a small shrug.
"That's really sharp of you Vince-chan." She commented with a smile.
"Anyway, here." Vince then took out something from his pocket which gained her attention.
To Serafall's surprise he pulled out a crystal necklace. "Wow, that's really pretty."
"It's a moonstone necklace. It's thanks for coming out here and taking the stuff to Sona." He stated.
However Serafall giggled a bit as a smile appeared on her face. "Oh? I didn't know you felt that way about me."
"Huh?" A confused look appeared on his face as he tried to understand the context of what she said.
Serafall grinned as she took the necklace. "Take that Gabriel! I one upped you!"
"Mind explaining? I'm a bit a loss here." He said, still trying to figure out the context of her statement.
Claudia smiled in a teasing manner as she appeared near Vince and handed him a piece of paper before briskly leaving the room.
Vince opened the piece of paper and read it aloud. "Moonstone is another gem that is thought to be powerful with regard to love and passion. The Moonstone is most definitely the gem of passion, with powers that are thought to cause fervor and create sexual energy, often stoking arousal and provoking feelings of eroticism. In addition the moonstone is believed to be best used in stoking the flames of passion in the bedroom... The hell?"
Serafall gained a seductive smile as she went towards him. "Oh? I didn't know you feel that strongly about me Vince-chan."
He blinked owlishly as she sat on his lap, the smile still on her face. "I think I'll take you away from Gabriel, Vince-chan. You wanna go to your bedroom and see if the moonstone really works?"
Vince sighed a little and crossed his arms. "You don't have to tease me, you know."
Serafall smiled and brought her face closer to his. "Who said I was teasing you, Vince-chan?"
His face turned slightly red as she giggled and hugged him, however Vince sighed a little bit before he frowned a little. "For the record, I know about the Juggernaut Drive."
Serafall's eyes widened, stopping her advance. "Sorry Vince-chan. We were going to tell you a day before you were going to fight them."
"I figured as much. You didn't want to say anything with Issei in the same room." He said.
"Yeah, Azazel-chan and Sirzechs-chan thought Issei-chan wasn't ready to know about it." She answered.
Vince however shrugged a little before his lips curled up into a small smirk. "He'll be fine if you flash him a pair of breasts right afterwards."
Serafall giggled at the small jab. "Will that work on you Vince-chan?"
He got her off of his lap while getting up from his chair, holding the book with his arm. "Well, I can assure you I'm not going to freak out and get a nosebleed like Issei."
"Oh? Are you used to getting flashed then?" Serafall asked with a teasing smile.
Recalling his memories from both his times of being with Rena, Yasaka and Kasumi along with they way their breasts were shown to him, he scratched his cheek a little as his cheeks turned a small tinge of red. "No comment."
She broke out into a giggling fit as Vince left the room as soon as possible.
xXxXxXxXxX
Author's Notes: And finished. While there was no action in this chapter, this pretty much explains quite a few things as to what's been happening. I mainly wanted to focus on character interactions and explanations in this chapter.
Overall, Ddraig and Albion's powers also hold the negative emotions of the past possessors of the Boosted Gear and the Divine Divide. However, unlike Juggernaut Drive they're not as powerful but they continue to grow in strength as each day passes which is also why they did not look anywhere near like the usual Juggernaut Drive's appearance in the last chapter.
Given that Vince has been through a lot, it's no surprise that it doesn't take much to get him angry these days.
Originally I did not plan for Vince to go to Zack's Island because I could not find a way to properly include it in, however since a lot of people did ask for it and I felt bad for not updating in a long time. I started brainstorming and I came up with a reason, I hope it's enough for everyone to like it.
The original intent for the scene with Serafall was to show that Vince gave her the jewels to show that he did keep his word from a few chapters ago that he would help Sona with the funds for the construction of her school. However after looking at it, it felt a bit bland to me so I decided to add in bits and pieces whenever I could until it came out the scene that it is right now.
That's it for the explanations. After much thought, I've decided that the next chapter will follow the perspective of a different character rather than Vince's perspective. It will be for one chapter though, after that chapter Vince confront Ddraig and Albion's powers while in the process of unlocking his true Balance Breaker. Currently, I have two seperate concepts of it and I'm in the middle of deciding which is better.
I still feel bad for taking this long so I thought it would be nice to tell everyone what I have planned for next, hopefully that somewhat makes up for it. Let me know what you think about the chapter and take care.