Copy Merlin sweatdropped as Ile and Nel were looking at him adoringly as they spoke to him
"Merlin-san…can we call you Nii-san?"
"Erm… I guess that really is up to you" Copy Merlin spoke confused, both girls cheering as they smiled with stars in there eyes.
"Nii-san, could you help with us with our fire magic?" Nel asked as Copy Merlin answered
"I will…although maybe another time…"
"Help me too!" Burent called, practically jumping onto his left arm as he noticed Mihae nodding in agreement on his right, much to the amusement of Saeko at the mage's discomfort, while the other members of Reina's peerage and Reina herself noticed his discomfort.
"Let's spar again, Merlin-kun" Xuelan spoke, winking to him as Copy Merlin was unable to conceal his blush as the girls started to glare between each other in an attempt to decide who would be spending time with the mage.
"I should thank you for your little binding spell" Yubelluna spoke up from behind him, Copy Merlin looking curiously at her as he decided to ask
"How did you learn it that quickly?"
"I just took notice of the characters that were written on your magic circle when you used it" Yubelluna explained as Copy Merlin looked at her impressed before speaking
"I guess that means it's fair that I learnt your explosive magic during our spar"
…
Merlin had his forefinger tracing characters onto the top of Issei's Boosted Gear as he started to explain what he was going to give him to help "I'm going to give you a fire shield…it'll over lap whatever is the top layer of your clothes to help protect you…although against Raiser's flames I don't know how effective it will me"
Smoke started to rise from Merlin's finger as he continued casting, Grayfia watching on at how the mage was wilfully injuring himself to help Issei as Tiamat explained the latter enchantment
[He's also giving you a Holy enchantment…it's untested so it could last for the whole fight or not even by the time you enter the ring…he'll activate it as the fight starts so you can use it fully]
"Why are you doing this for me…?" Issei asked surprised as Merlin pulled his hand away as he spoke
"I hate people being forced into things…and arranged marriages are high on my intervene list although I can't do it myself seeing as I'm apart of Reina's peerage"
"Ise-san…I've got those things you wanted" Asia spoke as she entered the room with a box and a bottle, gasping as she noticed the burn on Merlin's hand.
"Asia can you heal Merlin's hand…he's hurt himself helping me" Issei spoke, the former nun nodding as she moved towards them, placing the box and bottle on the bed as she quickly healed the mage's hand.
"Thanks Asia-san…I'll meet you there…and remember always have a back up plan, Hyodo…they tend to be needed when you think you're outmatched….oh I was never here alright…?" Merlin asked, the trio nodding as he continued
"…and if I ever hear or see that you use that perverted move again…I'll beat you into the ground" Issei shuddered from the threat as Merlin activated the magic circle under his feet to transport himself back home so he could wait on his signal from his clone, as he caught Grayfia spoke to Issei
"I understand why my master, Sirzechs-sama meant when he said you were interesting"
…
Copy Merlin moved to empty corridor, looking around for anyone who could find out about what was going on before sending the ok to his real counterpart. He'd barely managed to get away from Raiser's servants who had kept asking him about sparring again or even spending time much to the annoyed looks they were getting from Reina and her peerage, a small part of him almost swore that Yukihana was about to freeze one or two of them. The magic circle appeared before the duplicate brought him back onto look out duty as Merlin appeared before him sighing as he looked at his copy
"Good work…I'm surprised that Raiser's peerage has taken such a shine to me…It's worrisome with a bunch of battle maniacs like them" Merlin spoke with a sigh, changing into his tuxedo as his copy changed into Merlin's school uniform as it spoke
"I think it's to do with you be able to keep up with there sparring and even beating a few…"
"Merlin-kun!" Saeko called, sounding like she was coming closer, turning around the corner just as Merlin cut off the spell, putting the paper doll into his pocket as he fixed his bowtie before heading towards where she had called from.
"What were you just doing?" the purple haired Knight asked, dressed in a formal purple kimono with a violet sash, her hair was held up with a long pair of pins into a bun at the back. Merlin managed to contain most of his blush as she smiled to him
"Nothing…just needed to get away from Raiser's peerage" Merlin spoke as she gave him a disbelieving look, Merlin sighing as she refused to believe it
"Fine…I was planning a surprise for everyone"
"This surprise wouldn't have anything to do with a fellow dragon?" Saeko asked, looping her arm with his as they started to walk back to the hall, Merlin giving her a knowing smile as he nodded, barely managing to keep his thoughts from the affectionate hold the purple haired Knight had on him.
"Can't wait…" She spoke as they entered back into the hall only to find most of Raiser's pawns glaring at Saeko, who ignored them as they walked over to Yukihana, Asuna, Katase and Murayama. The latter two seemed annoyed at how close Saeko was to him as he sighed before asking
"Would you rather Raiser's servants trying to drag me off somewhere?"
…
The doors opened as Issei ran into the hall, noticing none of the devils looking at him as he noticed Merlin give him a nod before he found Rias as he shouted
"Buchouuuu!" He soon realised that everyone was looking at him, Raiser sneering at seeing him.
"To all the high-class devils here! And Buchou's brother, Maou-sama! My name is Hyodou Issei from Kuou Academy! I have arrived to take back Buchou, Rias Gremory-sama!" The whole hall started to speak up in confusion as Issei continued towards Raiser
"Hey you! Do you know where this…." A guard tried to stop him, only for the brunette's fellow club members to show up to help him
"Ise-kun! Leave this to us!" Kiba spoke, wearing a white tuxedo before Koneko spoke up
"…You are late."
"Ara-ara, you finally came." Akeno added, wearing an expensive looking kimono as Issei spoke up as he continued forwards
"Thank you." He stopped in front of Raiser
"Buchou, Rias Gremory-sama's virginity belongs to me!" Most of the room was shocked at Issei's words as Merlin sighed annoyed, slapping a hand onto his forehead as he thought
'Typical…Hyodo'
"It's an event that I organised" Sirzechs spoke as he walked towards the trio before Rias called him
"Onii-sama"
"I wanted to see the power of the dragon, so I asked Grayfia" Sirzechs spoke before one of the relatives spoke up
"Si…Sirzechs-sama!? You can't do something irresponsible like this!"
"Who cares. The "Rating Game" from last time was very entertaining. But it was one-sided because my sister who has no experience at the game had to face the genius Raiser-kun."
"...So Sirzechs-sama, you are saying that the last game isn't fair?"
"No, no. I don't think so. If a Maou such as myself says that, then I would be making the old nobles look bad. The connection between the high-class devils is important." Sirzechs said with a smile, Merlin easily able to tell that he was on Rias' side
"Then, Sirzechs. What do you want to do?" Lord Gremory asked
"Father. I want to make my cute little sister's engagement party into a flashy one. Dragon versus Phoenix. Don't you think it's the ultimate event? To stir up the party by having a battle between legendary creatures. Nothing can beat this entertainment."
Everyone in the hall became silent with Sizrechs's words as he turned to look at Issei.
"Dragon user-kun. You have my permission. Raiser, can you show your power once more right in front of me and Rias?" Raiser smirked after hearing the Maou's wish as he replied.
"Alright then. I cannot decline if Sirzechs-sama asks me. This Raiser will show his last performance before settling down!"
Issei started to pump himself up as Sirzechs asked him "Dragon user-kun. What prize do you want when you win the match?"
"Sirzechs-sama!?"
"What are you saying!?"
The relatives started criticizing after Sirzechs's offer.
"He's a devil, so we need to give him something great for asking him to do something. Now dragon user-kun. I will give you anything. A peerage? Or the most beautiful woman?" He asked me while ignoring the voices of others around him, Issei speaking instantly
"I ask you to give me Rias Gremory-sama back."
The Maou made a very happy face when Issei answered him without any pause.
"Okay then. If you win, you may take Rias with you."
"Thank you very much." Issei spoke as he bowed his head to the Maou, who went back to the end of the hall, Merlin readying himself to trigger off the Holy enchantment as the people moved back to give them space.
Merlin kept himself as near the barrier as possible without drawing any suspicion, Reina and the other members of the Phenex family, there servants were all together as well. Raiser and Issei were stood inside the latter already had his Boosted Gear active
"Please start!" The person in charge of the battle gave a call for the start of the match; Raiser let his fire wings out and pointed at Issei's gauntlet.
"Your ability is already cracked. A Sacred Gear that keeps on doubling the power of the user, "Boosted Gear". Also it seems like you gained a new ability that can transfer the multiplied power into an object and your allies."
Issei grinned to Buchou as he spoke "Buchou. I will finish it in 10 seconds."
"...Ise?" Rias looked doubtful of Issei's claim as Merlin smirked slightly as Raiser countered
"10 seconds? You talk big. Then I will finish this in 5 seconds. It won't be like last time, Rias' "Pawn"!"
"Buchou! Allow me to use "Promotion" here!" Buchou nodded at his request.
"Promotion, Queen!" Issei called, his power increasing as he shouted
"Buchou! I don't have talent for swords like Kiba! I'm not a genius like Akeno-san at using magic! I don't have a crazy strength like Koneko-chan! And I don't have a healing power like Asia! But still I will become the "Ultimate Pawn"! For you, I will even beat God! With this Boosted Gear! My only weapon! I will protect you!"
"Glow damn it! Over Boost!" Issei shouted, his gauntlet responding as Ddraig spoke
[Welsh Dragon over booster!]
The jewel in the gauntlet released a red light which shined throughout the entire hall. A deep crimson colored aura covered Issei as his armour started to form.
"I can beat the crap out of him!" Isse spoke to himself as he stepped forward while emitting a red aura. His body was covered with a red armor, mostly plates that had the motif of a dragon. The whole armor had a sharp shape. The gauntlet he always had on his left arm also was equipped to my right arm, although it lacked the faint white glow the left did from Merlin's enchantment. The jewel that was present appeared in both his arms, shoulders, knees and the middle of the torso. On the back there was something like rocket booster propulsion.
"Armour!? You made the power of Sekiryutei (Red Dragon-emperor) into a real form!?"
Raiser commented with a shocked expression.
"This is the power of the emperor of dragons! Balance Breaker, "Boosted Gear Scale-mail"! If you want to stop me, ask Maou-sama! Apparently it's the "Hated Forbidden Technique"!" Issei explained as Merlin decided to active his secret weapon
"Adeat Divin" Issei's weapon started to give off a faint trace of holy energy which seemed to be missed from most, it soon dying out Merlin silently sighed to himself
'I guess I still need to work on that' He thought, Tiamat agreeing as Issei's countdown started
[X]
Making a block of magic between his hands, Issei shot it towards Raiser immediately, the Phenex devil choosing to dodge it.
[IX]
He jumped toward where Raiser had ran to, the jets releasing magic power which turned into explosive speed as he lost control of it as he crashed into a wall.
[VIII]
The Sekiryutei shook off the fragments of the wall before confronting Raiser again, who was more vigilant then before seeing Issei's attacks as his body was covered in a rainbow coloured aura. Merlin could feel the enormous magical power easily so he knew Issei could sense it as well.
"Shit Sekiryuutei brat! Sorry but I won't hold back! I don't want to admit it, but right now you are a monster! Die right in front of your master, Riassss!" A pair of fire wings appeared on Raiser's back after he howled. There was a whirlwind of fire surrounding him and the hall was surrounded by an intense fire. Issei seemed to not feel it as much as the devils around, a faint orange glow over his armour from Merlin's fire shield spell
"Fire bird and Fenghuang! And the flame of our house, which is admired as the immortal bird of phoenix! Receive the fire with your body and perish!"
Raiser who was covered in an insane amount of flames rushed towards Issei fast, the silhouette resembled a gigantic fire bird.
"I won't perish with a crappy fire like yours!" Issei shouted as he ran towards him, his jets shooting him forwards as they both punched the other's face, the impact shook through the hall.
Raiser coughed up blood much to the surprise of everyone as he shouted "Holy energy…How do you have holy energy!?"
Issei showed the cross that was in his hand as Merlin smirked, glad that he wasn't going to be noticed as Issei explained "I increased the effect of the cross with my Sacred Gear and punched you. A holy attack that has increased drastically can even be used against high-class devils. Even if it's the immortal bird Phoenix, you won't be able to heal this attack, right?"
[VII]
"Absurd! Crosses bring intense suffering to devils! Even if you wear a dragon's armour, touching it is absolutely….."
Then Raiser realised the change in Issei's left arm for the first time, the differences wasn't noticeable given that Issei was wearing dragon armour unless someone looked intently at it. The whole armour was made up of inorganic material and his left arm that was continuously giving out a pulse of his new power.
"...Did you give your...left arm to the dragon residing in the gauntlet...? So that's the reason for your insane powers...!"
"Yeah, that's right. I gave my left arm so I can use this power for a temporary period. My left arm is the arm of actual dragons. That's why a cross doesn't work on me."
Merlin watched understanding why Issei had done, deciding that it would be a good thing for him to protect against his own Holy weakness as Tiamat spoke up
[I could do both of your hands…although I think it would be best to save it till you need it]
'Fair enough'
"If you do that then your left arm won't return to normal! Do you know that!?" Raiser spoke, Issei retorting without another second
"What about it?"
[V]
"Buchou will come back just with one arm of someone like me. It's a pretty cheap deal, don't you think?" Raiser's eyes changed after hearing what Issei had just said.
"You are crazy... That's why you can hit punches without any hesitation... You are scary, just like that Bishop of my sister. I have become scared of you for real, for the first time. That's why!" Both of Raiser's wings turned into a bigger flame as he continued
"I'm going to beat you with everything I have!"
He rushed towards Issei while the surroundings were engulfed by fire, Merlin finding himself surprised that Raiser would openly admit it to everyone.
[IV]
"Uooooooooo!" Issei shouted as he put all his power into the cross he was holding on to, the holy enchantment increasing as well before both fists crashed into the other's face, a blinding flash covering the whole room.
Merlin looked surprised as he realised Issei had lost his armour, his fire shield spell had been broken in protecting the hit from reaching his fellow dragon's face. The cross he had around his gauntlet had been knocked off from the power of the attack as Issei seemed to be arguing with Ddraig. Raiser picking himself back up as he moved to grab Issei strongly by his collar, easily lifting him from off the ground while choking Issei
"I praise you for doing this well for a "Pawn". You really did well. To tell you the truth I didn't expect you to do this well. I experienced the power of the dragon user with my own body. If you had a year, no six months for you to get used to your dragon's power I would have lost." Raiser stated seriously, his fire wings were smaller than before signalling that he'd received a lot of damage.
"There's nothing you should feel ashamed about. I will train you after I become Rias' groom. You will become a strong devil."
"Now, I will have you go to sleep. You will lose consciousness for a short while. By the time you wake up, it will be all finished. Even you don't want to suffer anymore right. I'm not a sadist so I will finish it now."
"To extinguish fire you need water, right!?" Issei asked, Merlin smirking as the small bottle came into view as he thought
'Holy water…so that's your back up plan' Raiser's face suddenly turned pale as he put things together as Merlin mentally applauded him
'Boosted Gear Gift on the Holy Water…enhancing the damage…You are smart…when you use it'
"Damn it!" Raiser growled as he strengthened his grip on Issei's neck, the brown haired devil managing to open the lid and sprinkled the holy water on Raiser, smoke starting to rise as Issei called
"Boosted Gear Gift!"
[Transfer!] The multiplied power flowed into the holy water on Raiser's body from his gauntlet.
"Cra..." Raiser tried to shout as the water vaporizing, his fire wings started to look weird because he couldn't maintain its form. The holy water also burnt Raiser's body insanely, smoke starting to rise from it. Issei got out from Raiser's grip easily taking a small distance while holding his throat.
"Ugaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Raiser started to writhe with the effects of the holy water.
The smoke that was coming out from Raiser's body weakened. What was left was Raiser who had a worn out body and clothes. Issei picked up the cross from the ground with his dragon arm, held it tight and put his power in it while also sprinkling the second holy water on it.
"Asia told me this. That devils are weak against crosses and holy water. So increasing the ability of both of them at the same time would give enormous damage to devils, right?" Issei spoke up
"Ku..." Raiser who was suffering from the effect of the holy water made a scared face after seeing Issei's next move. The Pawn then looked at Raiser and his surroundings. There was nothing except Raiser as he spoke
"Kiba told me this. To widen my line of sight and look towards the enemy and its surroundings." Gathering all of the magical power in his body at one point, Issei then changed it to a dragon's power and transferred it to the holy water and cross
[Transfer!] With this, his next holy attack gained incredible powers before he added
"Akeno-san told me this. To gather the magical power that flows throughout your whole body. To concentrate and feel the wave of the magical energy. Yeah, even a dumbass like me can do it, Akeno-san."
Issei changed his stance so he could hit Raiser as he continued
"Koneko-chan told me this. When you hit someone, aim at the middle of the body and push it deep into their body accurately!"
"W..wait! Do you even know!? That this engagement is important and necessary for the future of devils! It's not something a devil brat like you can butt into!"
"I don't know anything complicated. But I remember when I lost against you and became unconscious. Buchou was crying. She was crying! And she was also crying before! That is enough reason for me to beat the shit out of you!"
Issei's fist that had the cross and the effects of the holy water went deeply and accurately into Raiser's stomach!
"Gahaa!" Raiser took a few steps backwards while coughing blood.
"Me... from something...like this..." He said that and fell on the ground, not standing up again. Issei waited for a few moments in case Raiser stood back up against before turning to head to Rias, Ravel about to move as Merlin spoke up to her "Let him be…"
Ravel turned to him before sighing as Issei stopped before Rias as he spoke "Buchou, let's go home."
"...Ise." He then looked at the person next to Rias who was Lord Gremory, bowing his head down he spoke clearly to him
"I will take back Buchou, Rias Gremory. I'm very sorry for my actions. But I will be taking Buchou with me."
He didn't say anything in response as closed his eyes, Issei and Rias moving out to the balcony.
…
Merlin yawned as he lied in bed, wishing he could get some more sleep as it was the weekend. Reina was with her parents to see how Raiser was coping with his loss. The door on the bedroom opened to reveal Sona standing there as she spoke up "I heard you helped Rias' Pawn win"
She moved to sit down on the bed next to him as Merlin turned to face as he spoke "I just gave him some advice beforehand…How did you find out so quickly…I told Hyodo and Asia-san to keep that quiet"
Sona gave him a small happy smile as she spoke "Rias told me…you did give her a message about it"
"True…So what's brought you here?" Merlin replied, his eyes widening as she started to strip down to her school shirt before getting into the bed next to him as she spoke
"I figured you deserve a reward…for helping my friend" She cuddled up next to him, her arms around his waist as she moved to kiss his cheek, her own slightly red as she enjoyed his warmth while Merlin sighed relaxed in there current position.
…
Author's Notes
Another chapter and will probably start up the Excalibur arc up next chapter so I'll have to go have a look how Ezra acts considering the wikia can only give so much...Anyway enjoy.