"You intend to climb that?" Asked Issei as he pointed at the mountains.
"That's the only way for us to get into Asgard as I don't have direct access" Replied Rossweisse
"Nah, I'm good,I don't have much time anyways" Said issei.
"What do you mean?"
"Balance breaker"
[Welsh Dragon Balance breaker!]
He didn't let Rossweisse say a thing as he just grabbed her bridal style and took off fast.
"Aaaaaah Ise!" Shouted Rossweisse as she clung to him from the fear of falling despite habing wings of her own.
"Just relax Rose" Said issei.
Sometime later they had already reached the other side of the mountain.
"So Rose, where is Asgard?" Asked Issei as they landed. Issei saw nothing just snow all over the place.
Rossweisse walked away a little and whispered something that Issei couldn't understand. Suddenly an entrance like a gate appeared out of nowhere in front of Rossweisse.
Issei watched in awe as Rossweisse opened the golden gates that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Well, let's go in" Said Rossweisse.
They were walking some kind of corridor as soon as they entered the gate which disappeared after entering.
They were walking in silence until two valkyries stopped them.
"Halt! who are you and how did you get here?" Asked one of the two who pointed a spear.
She was wearing more revealing armor than Rossweisse and her partner.
"We came to meet Lord Odin" Answered Issei.
"And you are?" Asked the other.
"He is the Red Dragon Emperor and I'm the strongest Valkyrie's sister and previous Lord Odin's personal guard" Answered Rossweisse.
The two of them looked at Issei and Rossweisse for a moment and noticed Rossweisse's armor that was proof. They could tell that it was a real Asgardian armor and not a fake.
"Alright, come with us, we shall escort you" Said one of the girls before they lead issei and Rossweisse straight to Odin.
Fifteen minutes later they reached the throne room's large golden double doors that had Norse ruins and two Valkyries who were guarding the doors after after reching the magestic castle.
The guards saw the newcomers being escorted by the two Valkyries so they let them in as they slowly opened the doors.
As they entered they didn't see as many guards as Issei thought there would be as only a few were lined up in front of the throne, one Valkyrie was standing between the queen's and Odin's throne and she had golden armor instead of silver like the other ones.
'I guess she is the most powerful Valkyrie and a new personal guard for Odin' Thought issei as he analysed the room.
"Lord Odin, newcomers arrived to have a word with you" Said one of the two Valkyrie that escorted them after they kneeled.
"Welcome Red Dragon to Asgard, though I must ask, what do we owe the pleasure of you visiting us without a warning this humble day?" Greeted Odin as he stroked his silver white beard.
"Sorry for that, but I asked Rossweisse to bring me here as I have some business to discuss with you" Replied Issei politely while Rossweisse got on her knee respectfully.
"Hm? and what might that be?" Asked Odin out of curiosity.
"I invite you to the four faction meeting to discuss how to deal with the brigade and Trihexa" Answered Issei.
"Four factions? I see... well, I will come that fated day of our meeting" Answered Odin.
"But is that all? I mean you came all the way here?" Asked a woman who was sitting on the next throne with a kind and motherly voice.
"I came here for a favour too" Replied issei.
"And that might be?" Asked Odin.
"I need Midgardsormr's soul fragment, I'll explain it with a short version, I need all the dragon king's soul fragments and the two heavenly dragon powers to defeat Trihexa" Explained Issei hastily.
"I see, you will get it at our meeting as that lazy dragon is not in Asgard at the moment" Replied Odin.
"I see, I thank you very much" Said Issei as he bowed slightly.
"No need to bow, I'd rather shake hands with the likes of you" Said Odin with a smile.
"But are you sure dear that you can defeat the beast? I wouldn't like you sacrificing yourself, I'd rather find another way of defeating the beast" Said the lady on the throne.
"Don't worry Annette, I think he has a plan" Reassured Odin.
"...If you say so" Said Annette noticing Issei nod in affirmation.
"Hello dear sister" Spoke the Valkyrie in thr golden armour for the first time.
"Hello big sister Diana, I see you finally got promoted" Replied Rossweisse who was standing next to Issei already.
"Yes, I trained hard and I see you found yourself a boyfriend hm?" Teased Diana.
"We-well I-I" Stuttered Rossweisse, but before she could properly answer Issei put his hand on her shoulder and suddenly brought her closer to him.
"Yes, Rose is my girlfriend and I believe we discussed everything we needed here so I will take her on a date here in Asgard if you don't mind lord Odin" Said Issei cheekly.
"Haha Of course boy! go ahead and have fun! everything is on me" Replied Odin cheerfully while Diana was left speeches.
"Young couple how nice, Diana when are you getting a boyfriend?" Asked Annette.
"I- I -I" Diana couldn't even utter a single word as she didn't expect her little sister to find a soulmate before her.
After Issei and Rossweisse left the throne room Rossweisse finally had the strenth to talk.
"Why did you say that!?".
"What? I meant it when I said I'm taking you on a date so let's go, we won't be here for too long" Said Issei as he brought her closer again and dragged her out not letting her speak again.
-Time skip-
Half a month had passed already. The other girls haven't returned yet. Issei offered Momo to live with him because he felt lonely but Momo of course agreed. She felt really happy being with Issei almost all the time.
Right now Issei is training in the underground training facility, the one he asked Azazel to make, it wasn't anything special but quite large and well equipped.
He was drenched in sweat because of training nonstop for eight hours and still going strong. But Ddraig was worried for his partner.
He's been having these nightmares every night. Now that Momo is his mate too she ends up in his nightmares.
When Issei slept alone he always woke up alone and that would make him panic because he couldn't see his mates with him.
He sometimes starts to think that all that wasn't a dream. If not for Ddraig being there for him he might have done something stupid...or even went insane.
But now that Momo was living there with him, she was there to calm him down.
At first, she wasn't ready to sleep in the same bed as Issei, but after seeing him in a terrified state after those nightmares she decided to sleep with him to be there for him.
These nightmares never end. That's why Issei was working and training trying to get stronger so he could protect his loved ones.
Ddraig tried to reason with Issei to slow down the training, but Issei was too scared. He thought that if he stops getting stronger his mates, daughters, and friends would suffer.
Those nightmares are pushing him too far. He surpasses his limits in every training.
He even stopped taking short breaks, he just trains nonstop.
-Flashback-The night before girls left-
Everyone woke up except for Issei.They looked at Issei and saw him again in tears and sweating. He was even leaking some of his aura. They were about to wake him up but he started to talk loudly.
"Please... just leave them alone... I can't, just take me and kill me...just leave them at peace...I don't want them to suffer...I will instead...Nooo! leave my daughters out of this!"
The girls were confused about the daughters part but decided to ask about that later because they had to wake Issei up.
"Darling wake up... we're okay" Said Valerica as she shook him gently.
Slowly Issei opened his eyes and saw the girls looking at him worried and confused.
"Guess I'll have these nightmares for a while" Said Issei.
"... You have daughters?" Asked Murayama.
"What?" Asked Issei.
"When you were having that nightmare, you said to leave your daughters" Said Irina.
"Well...yes, I do have six daughters" Replied Issei.
"What? when? who?" Asked shocked Katase.
"One of them is Kunou" Said Issei.
"Your daughter?" Asked Irina.
"Yes" Replied Issei.
"Who's the mother?" Asked Valerica.
"Yasaka" Replied Issei still not realising what he is doing because he was half asleep.
"W-what?" Asked Ingvild in disbelief.
"Is she another one of your mates now?" Asked Katase.
Issei immediately fully woke up hearing her question.
"W-what?! no! ...it's just when I was in Kyoto I was always spending time with Kunou and I always felt like her father and it made me really happy...I started to spoil her and her friends and make them as happy as possible...on the last day before leaving they said to come back soon dad... Their words meant the world to me" Explained Issei with a soft smile.
"Wow" Said Murayama in awe.
"So you like children?" Asked Valerica.
"Maybe...maybe I just want to have a child..."Said Issei making all of the girls blush.
"Of course, if we even wanted that, we can't have a child...not yet, because of the chaos brigade, I don't want our children born with them still here" Explained Issei.
-Flashback end-
He got countless times stronger compared to half a month ago.
Ddraig is really impressed by his improvements. But be would've liked it if he would've been training not out of fear of losing someone, not of some stupid nightmares.
"Partner, that's enough for today, go take a shower" Ddraig ordered.
"It's not enough Ddraig. My progress is slowing down...I need something more" Said Issei as he did some push-ups with a magic west that added a lot of weight.
"No, right now you need to rest. You are overdoing it...Your mate is worried. The white-haired one to be more specific" Said Ddraig.
"I know Ddraig...but I can't just stop,I want them to be safe, those nightmares burned into my mind,I can't forget those horrible images" Said Issei as he sat down on the ground.
"I know partner, I saw all of them, but please slow down, it's not healthy, just go out on a date with the girl and relax, plus you haven't visited Kunou in a while too...I think your mate and daughter would be happy if you'd spend some time with them" Said Ddraig.
"...I guess you're right" Replied Issei.
After agreeing Issei took a shower and dressed in his casual clothes.
He went to his room and saw Momo reading a book related to magic.
"Hey Sweetheart" Said Issei.
"Oh, Ise. Done training finally?" Asked Momo with a smile.
She acted like nothing was wrong but she was extremely worried for him. She doesn't like when he trains nonstop. Not because he spends more time training than with her, It's because it's not healthy for him to do same thing over and over again nonstop for hours.
"Yeah ...sooo, wanna go on a date?"
Her eyes lit up immediately with excitement because of his words and jumped up from her seat to hug him.
"Of course!" Momo replied with evident happiness.
"Alright, get ready we'll leave in an hour" Said Issei as he chuckled.
Momo released him from the hug and went to the girl's room to get ready for their date.
After an hour they went out for their date.
They went to an amusement park, watched a movie, played in an arcade, and did basic stuff, but this time Issei had planned something else to end the date.
"Come here, we'll go somewhere else" Issei said.
"Okay, but where are we going?" Momo asked.
"You'll see" Issei replied with a smile.
Momo came up to Issei and hugged him as Issei summoned the teleportation circle before disappearing in a bright flash when no one watched.
They appeared on some kind of hill surrounded by lots of greenery and flowers that were illuminated by the moonlight.
"Where are we Issei?" Momo asked as she marveled at the beauty of their surroundings.
"We're in Kyoto somewhere near the temple of lady Yasaka" Issei replied. He was glad that Kounu had shown him this place, he'll make sure to thank her later.
"Look up" Issei said.
Once looked up she saw countless beautiful dots in the sky that were stars and a moon that shone brightly, but what caught Momo's attention was a bunch of shooting stars that looked very beautiful.
But as she was looking into the night sky, she was too concentrated to notice Issei looking into her eyes. He couldn't look away from their beauty especially when he could see the stars in them but Momo eventually noticed that he was looking at her.
"Is something wrong?" Momo asked.
"No, it's just that your eyes are very beautiful, I can't look away" Issei admitted making Momo blush slightly.
She then leaned forward and kissed Issei and Issei of course replied to the kiss.
"Thank you for today, I had a lot of fun ise" Momo said before kissing him once more.
After ten minutes of comfortable silence, they hear a little girl's voice behind.
"Dad!" Shouted the girl before running up and hugging Issei.
"Hello, pumpkin how are ya?" Issei asked as he hugged her back.
'Dad?' Momo thought for a moment before returning her attention to the little girl.
"I'm better now that you're here! Why didn't you visit me for this long? You know how boring it is for us without you" Kunou whined with a small pout.
"I had some business to take care of" Issei replied before giving a small peck on her forehead making Kunou giggle as his lips tickled her forehead.
"Why are you here alone?" Issei asked the young princess.
"I sensed your presence here so I came here as quickly as possible before you could leave" Kounu replied honestly.
"Does your mother know about it?" Issei asked already knowing the answer.
"Well...no"
" 'Sigh'... Don't do that again okay? It's too dangerous to be alone especially once it's dark. Plus when I'm in Kyoto I'll always visit you alright? That's a promise"
"Okay" Kunou replied as she covered her head a little.
"Sorry for that" Issei after redirecting his attention back to Momo.
"No, it's alright. But who is this?" Momo asked as she looked at the little princess.
"This is Kunou, lady Yasaka's daughter, the princess of Kyoto"
"Kunou, this is one of my mates, Momo" Issei Introduced with a smile as Momo bowed.
'...Mate?' Kounu thought to herself.
"I'm like a father figure to her. I started thinking of her as my daughter" Issei explained.
"Oh, that makes sense. Where is her real father?" Momo asked curiously.
"He left when Yasaka got pregnant" Issei with a hint of anger.
"Oh..."
"Alright Kunou, let's go home, it's too late for you to stay awake" Issei said as he picked her up to very her.
As they were walking Kunou fell asleep in his arms.
"Wow, never have I thought that you are this great of a father" Momo said with a giggle.
"I didn't know that myself until I came back to Kyoto. Kunou gives me a lot of joy...I hold her dear in my heart...I'll always be there for her and do anything to make sure she's happy and safe" Issei explained with determination.
Momo was happy. She thought if he's like this with someone's kid just how good of a father will he be when he'll have his own kids.
Sometime later they came to the temple but were stopped by the guards but immediately let them in as they recognized Issei and Kunou in his arms.
The door opened by Yasaka after Momo knocked on the doors.
"Hello, how can I hel-" Yasaka spoke but noticed Issei holding Kunou.
"Hey Yasaka, I got something for ya here" Issei said as he showed a sleeping figure of Kunou.
" 'Sigh' Hello Issei, thank you for bringing her back" Yasaka spoke after a sigh.
"It's no problem at all"
"Though I must ask, who is this?" Yasaka lasked as he glanced at Momo.
"My name is Momo and I'm one of issei's mates, it's nice to meet you" Momo introduced as she bowed.
"Nice to meet you too, my name is Yasaka" Yasaka introduced back as she bowed too.
"Maybe you want to stay here for the night?" Yasaka asked with a kind smile.
"Sure, I wanted to spend some time together with Kunou tomorrow anyway" Issei replied.
Later after dinner, Issei and Momo walked into Issei's previous room and went to sleep.
The next morning Issei, Momo, and Kunou spent some time shopping and having fun and after that, they returned home at Kouh and just watched some movies and cuddled on the couch under the blanket.
-Time skip-
Another half a month passed rather quickly as Issei never stopped training, the girls still haven't returned but Issei had a feeling that they'd meet soon enough, and Momo was called to the student council for help. Issei promised Momo and Ddraig that he'd take a couple of days of rest from training.
He thought that he would visit Tannin but he's busy dealing with the last remaining issues of the future faction.
So Issei finally decided to visit Gasper, his little brother. He hasn't seen him in a while, and honestly, he missed him, but be also was curious about Valerie.
In his eyes, she was a beautiful girl, her smile and eyes made Issei blush when he saved her with his old team.
Issei dressed up with his usual jacket white shirt black cargo pants and combat boots because he always felt comfortable in this kind of clothing.
Issei took some flowers for Valerie and summoned a magic circle before teleporting to one of the Sitri hospitals.
As he appeared in their room he noticed that it was dark because the room lights were off for some reason. Something was wet on the ground but the most worrying thing was the smell, the awful, disgusting and dreadful smell that invaded his nostrils. Issei was too scared to turn on the lights, he didn't want to believe what he was thinking but once he turned on the lights...
What he saw...
Was...
Gasper, his little brother on the ground...in a puddle of his own almost completely dried blood, he was beginning to rot, just how long was he here...
"...Gasper" Issei whispered in disbelief as he got closer to his little brother's corpse.
He grabbed his arm with his own trembling ones but then he saw something fall from Gasper's hand, it looked like a letter.
He put Gasper on the empty bed where Valerie was supposed to be, gently.
He picked up the letter which had his blood on it and started to read it.
Whoever is reading this, means I'm dead...Chaos Brigade somehow got into the hospital and captured Valarie. Please save her, tell big brother Issei to save her. She loves you Issei.
From the day you saved her, we talked about you and she was in love with the stories about you, she wanted to meet you again every day. She needs you now more than ever...I'm sorry for not being able to protect her or myself.
And it's not your fault. I just hope you'll save her and bring her back home.
Please, big brother. That's my last wish. My sacred gear won't leave to find another host because I took it out before it could leave.
It was really painful but worth it. I leave my Forbidden Balor's view to you, big brother. Goodbye.
As Issei finished reading the letter he fell to his knees. He felt so much rage but mostly sadness...he just lost his little brother... Another part of his family... Why? Because he's just that weak?
Suddenly something flew out of Gasper's other hand. It looked like a red eye. It flew towards Issei and merged into Issei's left eye.
Now Issei had the ability to stop time but right now he didn't care about that at all, he didn't even feel the pain of merging.
His aura flared violently, he spread his wings and his eyes glowed red and changed appearance to that of a predator before releasing a powerful energy burst and roaring out of agony of losing his precious little brother.
The whole underworld heard his roar the whole heaven even the dimensional gap echoed with Issei's pained roar.
The whole building was shaking from his power. His dragons inside him did the same together with him to pay their respects. Dragons in dragon territory that heard him roared together with him, yes even Crom Cruach joined in.
Not much later, many magic circles appeared.
There arrived Sirzechs and Grayfia, Michael and Gabriel, Azazel and Barkiel, Tannin and Bova in their human forms, ORC, and most importantly Tiamat, Ingvild, Irina, Valerica, Murayama, Katase, and Momo. Even Ophis was there.
What they saw hurt the girls a lot, he was already suffering from the nightmares, his parents forgot about him, now Issei holding a lifeless body of Gasper with his wings wrapped around the corpse trying to cover it.
No one could do anything, they just watched in silence until Issei's harem, Rossweisse, Gabriel, Kiba and Azazel came up to him. The girls hugged him while Kiba and Azazel put their hands on his shoulders.
Issei calmed down and his aura dissipated.
The building stopped shaking and everyone could breathe normally again, well as normally as they could considering the smell. But even Sirzechs had a lot of trouble breathing, even he thought he was going to pass out.
As Issei opened his eyes he looked toward Sirzechs, Michael and Azazel making them flinch slightly from the predatory gaze.
"...I call for a faction meeting immediately" Issei spoke with a cold voice.
The leaders just nodded their heads and teleported away before giving him the location of the meeting.
Issei stood up and gave Gasper to Rias.
"He's your bishop...It's you who has the right to bury him properly" Said Issei as he gave Gasper to her. Rias only nodded and teleported away with the whole ORC.
He looked at the remaining people.
"Can I hug?" Ophis asked wanting to reduce Issei's pain.
Issei nodded as he spread his arms and wings.
As she hugged him he hugged her back and wrapped her in his wings before looking at his harem and Tannin.
"...I guess it's time to reveal the mighty dragon faction heh old man?" Spoke Issei with a small chuckle but everyone could see he was trying to hide his pain.
Tannin simply nodded as he had his arms crossed.
Tannin wanted to reveal the dragon faction in better circumstances than this but...he couldn't do anything about it now.
Issei walked towards them and summoned a large teleportation circle before teleporting them all away.
He and the rest teleported into the meeting room in the underworld capital, Lilith.
They opened the doors and saw Sirzechs Michael and Azazel sitting while Grayfia, Penemune, and Gabriel stood behind them. On the tables were placed small signs on which were written 'Devil faction representative' 'Angel faction representative And 'Fallen angel faction representative' Issei came up to them and sat down in the empty seat as Tannin stood behind him and the girls lined up behind Tannin except for Irina as she belonged to the angel faction, same with Momo. He took the empty sign and with the help of magic, he wrote 'Dragon faction representative'.
As he placed the sign back, the leaders looked at him confused except for Azazel who already knew of this.
"Let the meeting start between the Four factions. As the leader of the Dragon faction, I am asking the other factions to participate in the elimination of the threat that is the chaos brigade and work with three factions until then. After that, we will think about the alliance" Issei said, seriously
(To be continued)