Issei sighed as he finally entered Kuoh in the late afternoon was falling after about two days of travelling. A few devils and fallen angels who were foolish enough to attack him for being a stray were promptly beaten back and annihilated.
Now where could this household of Rias be? Issei wondered as he stepped into the outskirts.
When you have a question, simply ask, am I right? Albion replied.
I suppose…. Issei replied, trying and failing to keep his skepticism from falling into his voice. But first I think I'll rest, and then get on with the asking tomorrow morning. It'd be kinda odd for me to wander around at dusk asking where Rias was….
Issei could simple see the smirk on Albion's face. Well, I'm sure that you would want to be looking for her after dark…. for other purposes of course.
Issei ignored the snickering dragon, and decided to hole up in what appeared to be a fairly safe spot—an abandoned warehouse. Sighing as he sat down, with his back against the wall, facing the door, and indeed, soon drifted off into sleep.
Only to be rudely awoken by the warehouse door falling on the floor with a long crash!
Issei growled at having his sleep interrupted, and his eyes flew open to assess the situation before him. In the frame of the doorway, there was a small girl with white hair and a slight figure recovering from a kick, strength belying her figure. His nerves tingled, but not In a distinctly unpleasant manner. These were devils, most likely sent here to exterminate him as a stray.
Issei sighed once more. When will they ever learn not to attack me? Before springing to his feet, and charging forwards at his maximal speed, getting behind the white haired girl in the time it took her to vaguely express surprise, and kicked her forwards, sending her flying into the wall of the warehouse, which she ran into, leaving a dent in the wall, before falling backwards and slumped to the ground groaning in pain.
He had just done so, when his 6th sense tingled rapidly, and he barely managed to avoid the massive lightning strike which struck the spot where he had been standing moments before.
"Finally, a challenge." He muttered to himself, having felt the force of the blast, and deemed it higher than average.
He turned around to see a several devils all ready to attack him.
A blonde guy, wielding a sword as if he knew how to use it. Clearly a knight. I'll just beat him at his own game… they never change strategies.
Now, Issei is usually not the perverted type of guy, but even he had to appreciate the figure of the girl with luscious, long black hair flowing down to far past her waist. He struggled to pull his eyes away from her very curvaceous figure to a more strategic way of thinking. She was flying in the air, clearly the one who threw the lightning bolt, as she appeared to be panting slightly.
Don't you wish she was panting for— Albion attempted to quip.
Shut up. Issei said with barely a thought.
He then moved on to examine the last member, which was even more breathtaking than the last. Long Crimson Hair also flowing far past her waist to float at the lower end of her thigh. An impressive bust—that was well accentuated by the uniform she appeared to be wearing. And Issei could simply imagine and wish how he could be—
ARGH! FOCUS! Don't be a pervert/be distracted! Issei mentally yelled. Outwardly of course, he simply appeared to be exuding sheer confidence, not even vaguely suggesting the tumultuous internal conflicts he was having over the beauty of his enemies.
Albion snickered in the background. It's only natural. If you hadn't been distracted, I would've thought you were playing for the other team.
Issei ignored him, and finally returned his attention to the situation around him.
The knight had started charging at him at an incredible speed, with his sword raised behind him to deliver a devastating blow- if it hit that is, which of course, it didn't, as Issei jumped high into the air over him, and then spread his wings momentarily to give him a surge of speed towards the ground, and simply pushed the knight forwards, propelled by his wings and gravity, Issei used him as a battering ram against wall next to the doorframe of the warehouse.
Issei winced as he felt the impact even shielded by the knight's body, now a very unconscious, broken ribbed knight.
He once more felt the destructive power of lightning combined with something more, but this time, instead of merely side stepping, stepped forwards and created a white circle of runes, which reflected the attacks right back at their creators.
Their eyes opened in shock, but the black-haired one dodged, while the red one simply built a circle and absorbed it.
They once more prepared for another attack, but Issei would have none of that, and he leapt into the air, his agility and speed far faster and more effective than the black-haired one's attempts to dodge, and she was sent flying into the ground by a well-aimed kick, clearly not going to be a threat for a while.
Now, this left only the Crimson Haired beauty left, and though she looked rather surprised and shocked by the sudden defeat of her entire household, she continued to fight, but was promptly stopped in a similar fashion to the previous one, but with a slightly lighter blow. She appeared to be the leader of some sort, as she exuded more power than the rest of her household, though the black-haired one came close, and Issei wanted to ask these devils some questions.
He floated downwards next to the groaning, but defiant girl as she weakly attempted to summon a spell, only to have it broken by Issei.
"Hold on, I only want to ask some questions," as he held up his hands in a placating gesture.
"What do you want?" she asked rather curtly, but polite, clearly not altogether pleased with having been so easily defeated, but respectful because, well, she had been easily defeated.
The others in her household had struggled to sit up, and were watching the scene as Issei squatted down to talk to Rias.
"Well, perhaps, seeing as you are a devil in this area, could you tell me where I could find the Rias Gremory household? I planned on joining them to get rid of my stray status, as it clearly brings me some… ah, problems," gesturing around him as if to demonstrate.
The devils on the ground stared at Issei. The Crimson-Haired devil coughed, and the silence dragged on.
"...well…. Nice to meet you! I'm Rias!" She said looking rather bemused. Then suddenly, the entire peerage burst into spontaneous laughter.
This left Issei in a rather… awkward situation…..
Well that was a surprising turn of events…. He thought furiously, while sheepishly rubbing his head, as he flushed in embarrassment.
She sure got you good on that one…. You just beat up the peerage you were thinking about joining. Wow. Then he too began to snicker.
"Ah…. Sorry! My sincerest apologies!" Issei awkwardly said while extending a hand to help Rias to her feet.
She took it, and said, "Well, I suppose that you would be a very powerful addition to my household. We may have gotten off on the wrong foot," Rias said, being rather considerate of the odd circumstances.
Understatement of the year. Issei thought.
"but I suppose that wasn't your fault, and your power only makes you an even more attractive addition to my household."
The rest of the household had by now calmed down, and the black-haired one, had said rather forthrightly, "What an awkward situation to be in! I feel sorry for you…." She said, waiting for him to fill in the blank.
"…Issei." Issei said, completing the sentence.
She nodded, and then Rias joined in once more. "Well then. I command you, Issei to be reincarnated as a devil, and to join my household as my loyal servant!"
They watched as light circled around Issei in a red circle, and one pawn piece was summoned beside him. Then another. Then another. Until all 8 of Rias' bright red pawns were summoned.
The surrounding figures looked shocked at the amount of pieces required, and Rias whispered, "Wow…"
However, the circle did not disappear, and everyone waited to see what would happen next. Then, after a long silence, the first pawn cracked, and turned a darker shade of red, and then all of a sudden 8 cracking sounds appeared, and all of his pieces had cracked and mutated.
Then, the circle suddenly began to spin, and the power revolving around Issei was physically palpable, and after an interminable moment, the circle finally slowed and dimmed, and finally disappeared.
Everyone sighed in relief as the stressful wait was finally over.
Then suddenly, as soon as they relaxed, a loud clap of thunder that deafened the sensitive ears of the devils, tore asunder through the silence, and all eight of the pawn pieces shattered, and returned themselves to Rias' hand, where they lay gleaming, as if nothing happened.
Then, almost in unison, all of the eyes in Rias' household stared at Issei until Rias finally broke the silence.
"Just… how powerful are you?" she asked in awe.
Yeah, Issei does seem a bit overpowered, but trust me, it's necessary for the later parts of the plot.
-dumbothedumbo