It all happened in less than the blink of an eye. Issei had to act fast, he was unused to fighting an enemy where his observation haki and the ability to read aura didn't work so well, allowing him to almost be caught off guard. Fortunately, Ddraig didn't let that happen.
In the same instant that he saw the light coming towards him, at a speed that he couldn't dodge in the form he was in, the Scale Mail's mouth opened, and a gigantic blast, even bigger than the dark dragon's star blast, came out of Issei's mouth. It was a mixture of blue fire, coming from Leviathan's powers, intense red fire, coming from Sekiryuutei's powers, and electricity, also coming from Leviathan.
And added to this combination, was the Boosted Gear capacity to multiply by a hundred. In seconds Issei's attack was already thousands of times stronger. It was a gigantic fiery column, the temperature was such that it had turned into plasma, and the dragon in Juggernaut Drive star attack seemed minuscule in comparison.
The two columns of energy met, but Issei's easily prevailed over the dark dragon's. Even the power of stars wasn't enough for the attack reinforced by several boosts worth a hundred each.
However, that wasn't a problem for the uncontrolled dragon, who simply opened his mouth and wings, and devoured the energy that was thrown toward him.
Like a black hole, the energy moved toward his mouth and the gaps in his wings. In seconds, that gigantic attack was completely devoured.
"This is cheating..."
Issei complained mentally.
[You are the last one who can complain about such a thing.]
Ddraig replied sarcastically.
"Tsk, which side are you on?"
Issei asked rolling his eyes.
The dark dragon began throwing blasts of energy at him, attacks that Issei could only guess were using his previous attack as a source.
With his gigantic body in the shape of a beast, despite his great control and speed, the brunette didn't find it so easy to dodge the blows. But on top of that, he had one more problem.
KILL! DEVOUR! ATTACK!
The type of haki Issei had the most affinity for was observation. Add that to the telepathic ability derived from aura and the Boosted Gear's capabilities, and he was able to do more than just read his opponents' minds. Even his opponents' subconscious instincts and intentions could be read by Issei as if they were complete thoughts, almost nothing could surprise him.
And yet, now he was facing an enemy so steeped in the grudge and curse of Juggernaut Drive's hatred and resentment that even his readings boiled down to the most basic instincts possible. There was no intention in his opponent's mind, he had no goal, he was just a beast, which at best had been reduced to its most primitive survival instincts, and at worst, was simply a monster formed by hatred that no longer had instincts or conscience.
Only that, there was something else as well. Issei could feel it, he knew there was more behind that dragon.
"He is sad..."
The leviathan thought to himself.
[Can you sense something from this beast?]
Ddraig asks, genuinely surprised. In the end, Issei's ability to sense emotions, presences, and thoughts, had already surpassed even Ddraig's, although this was possibly due to the restrictions of the Boosted Gear, as it is not known what the Red Dragon's current power would be, taking into account the Moa Moa no Mi.
Instead of answering the question, Issei asks another one.
"Hey, Ddraig, what were the conditions for releasing the Juggernaut Drive again?"
He asked as he dodged the dark dragon's attacks. As soon as the opponent got closer, Issei turned his body, hitting him with the tip of his tail, which was covered in the power over earthquakes, which seemed to be unable to be absorbed by the dark dragon. As a result, the dragon in Juggernaut Drive was sent flying thousands of meters, destroying several mountains in his way. His body also seemed to nearly shatter several times, but his regeneration still prevailed.
Ddraig understood where his partner was getting at.
[There are two ways. One, the user can voluntarily chant to enter this state. In theory, you are more than capable of it, but...]
The red dragon didn't need to complete his thought.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Destruction of a world, universe, or whatever. But what about the second? It was trauma, wasn't it?"
Within Issei's soul, it was possible to see Ddraig nodding his head.
[Trauma, high-level mental stress. In the end, anything that can trigger the resentment harbored by previous users will trigger the Juggernaut Drive.]
Ddraig finished speaking when Issei was again face to face with the dark dragon, who tried to use his claws to attack the sekiryuutei. Once more the anomaly over space happens through the dragon's attacks, and some of them hit Issei, causing slight cracks in his armor.
Issei responded with a headbutt, smashing the dragon to the ground, and creating a gigantic crater that spread hundreds of meters. The brunette continued, dragging his opponent down for hundreds of meters until they reached a lava pit that started to seep above the ground, thanks to their struggle.
The lava and heat didn't affect either of them, and Issei continued his attack, trying to grab the dark dragon with his tail. However, the dragon suddenly disappeared and reappeared tens of meters from where he originally was. This was repeated a few more times, with Issei chasing after him until they were back above ground again, where the setting could only be described as post-apocalyptic.
"What happened to make him like that… Hey, Ddraig? If I'm the Sekiryuutei, the guy with your rival is the Hakuryuukou, what do we call this one?"
Issei asked, as he once again shifted forms.
SCALE MAIL! HYBRID MODE! SPEED MODE!
If his opponent kept running away from him using teleportation, even though Issei couldn't do the same, he would make the game more balanced. With several zoan users in the crew, among them Chopper, in addition to the experiences and knowledge they had, Issei was taught directly by the reindeer himself an art that perfectly fitted zoans. Seimei Kikan, which allowed him to take his devil fruit abilities to new heights, taking on several new forms.
His body had grown taller, even compared to his hybrid form's usual height, but he was now slenderer, almost resembling the body of a humanoid bird. His wings were bigger, and thrusters were now coming out of his back.
[A dark dragon, huh... I believe it would be... Kokuryuutei.]
The red dragon declares, in his voice, it was possible to hear the respect he had for an equal, even if the user had fallen into insanity.
"Chichichi, I like that title."
Issei spoke, charging toward the dark dragon.
Perhaps if he had any level of consciousness left, even the slightest vestige, the dark dragon would do its best to avoid Issei, since after all this time he barely managed to scratch the sekiryuutei. Sadly, there didn't seem to be any more of that on the beast.
The user of leviathan's fruit saw several blasts of energy being thrown toward him, and his thought was the same for all of them.
"Very slow."
From the thrusters on his back, fire and electricity came out, and his whole body was taken over by a layer of air, like a second armor.
The beast in Juggernaut Drive couldn't see what happened next. Even Cynthia, who was far away from there, just sensing Issei's presence, was unable to maintain precision about her boyfriend's presence. All of this is because Issei simply got too fast for them.
BOOSTX10
Two seconds passed, and around the dark dragon, the silhouettes of dozens of Sekiryuutei formed, each one making a different movement. Some silhouettes punched, others kicked, all assuming different martial arts stances.
In two seconds, the dark dragon was hit with hundreds of attacks through his entire body. And although the speed mode traded physical strength for agility, being in terms of brute force one of Issei's "weaker" forms, it was far from really being weak. Add that to the repeated blows, and in those two seconds, the dark dragon had its body almost destroyed several times. But even so, his regeneration prevailed.
In the third second, instead of continuing to attack Issei flew backward, leaping hundreds of meters faster than the blink of an eye. This proved to be the correct decision as the dark dragon turned his body around, and everything surrounding him for dozens of meters disappeared.
GYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Both Issei and Ddraig soon noticed what happened.
"Is this guy eating… space itself?"
The brunette pointed because he could feel the changes that were caused in the very space around the dark dragon.
[I had my suspicions, but this confirms that the main concept of his skill is Devour. What he just did is almost like the White One's Half Dimension.]
Ddraig elaborated, remarkably impressed and even excited. At no point in his life had he imagined that he would have the opportunity to fight another Celestial Dragon other than Albion.
"So the regeneration is the life energy he ate earlier? Wait, how much of that does this guy have?"
Finally understanding his enemy's powers a little better, Issei notes the biggest problem they had.
[It is impossible for us to know. I highly doubt this is the first world he appears in after reaching Juggernaut Drive. How long was he in this form? How many lives from how many worlds has he devoured? For us, it is impossible to know.]
The dark dragon threw his head back and forth, his mouth was wide open. Issei couldn't see it, but he felt the blow coming and had already shifted his position hundreds of meters away. A trail of destruction formed in the direction the attack was pointing to, and now that Issei understood more of the dark dragon's ability he knew exactly what had happened.
[Devouring the space itself, and using it as a way to attack. Even we have to admit that this opponent is somewhat formidable.]
This was the same attack that had been used earlier when Issei was still in his full beast form, which knocked him down. However, despite being the same attack, it looked much weaker now. It seemed that it was an attack that depended on the amount of space that had been devoured before and that it was spent upon being used.
"And now what? Do I punch him until his regeneration runs out?"
Issei asked, having no better ideas. Despite the various lessons and training with the crew, one thing they never managed to pass on to him, just as Luffy himself was never able to learn properly, was strategy.
[You can try it, if you're willing to spend who knows how much time. Well, we also have to consider whether this planet could even withstand a fight of such scale.]
That is Ddraig's answer.
"Ara, ara, Ise-kun. But what kind of interesting situation have you found yourself in now?"
Suddenly, a female voice could be heard inside Issei's mind. Underneath the Scale Mail armor, Issei's face changed from a thoughtful one to a cheerful smile.
"El-chan! Did you wake up just now?"
He didn't even seem to care about his opponent anymore.
Elsha was a former Boosted Gear possessor, the strongest Red Dragon Empress. She, and the strongest Red Dragon Emperor, were the only ones who maintained some level of consciousness in the boosted gear after their deaths. However, originally they were just traces of memories, the two could almost be called fake soul fragments.
But, that changed thanks to the modifications made by the Moa Moa no Mi. Even Vegapunk couldn't explain how, but the vestiges of memory, thanks to the powers of the fruit of amplification, evolved to the point where they practically became pseudo souls, once again fully conscious and active within the boosted gear.
Between Elsha and Belzard, the other one who carried the title of strongest Emperor before Issei appeared, the brunette had much more intimacy and closeness with the blonde. There wasn't necessarily a reason, though the fact that she existed within his soul made it a lot easier. There were no secrets between them, they both understood each other very well, and their relationship was comparable to Issei's relationship with Cynthia.
Like Cynthia, Elsha was the person Issei spent the most time with. And from her point of view, she saw him growing into a man, into the person he was today. They understood each other as no one else could understand them, and it was more than just being both sekiryuutei, it was an almost spiritual level of comprehension.
Once, not too long ago, she told him the following.
"When I was alive, my man was not. And now that my man is alive, I can't be with him. You know Ise, you're the one I've waited for two lifetimes."
She had a second chance but was trapped in the boosted gear as a pseudo-soul. She did not doubt that if Issei had lived at the same time as her, the two would have fallen in love, but now it seemed too late.
That wasn't what the current Sekiryuutei thought.
"Two lives... Chichichi, don't worry El-chan, I have a lot more than that. One day, I'll find a way to give you your body back, so don't be sad. Can you just wait a little longer? I swear, I will make up for everything we lost for these two lives."
Elsha never thought that one of the happiest moments of her life would be after her death.
"Well, I'm sorry but I didn't want to just watch you get all lovey with Cyn-chan."
The former sekiryuutei said, feigning jealousy.
"Hehe, sorry."
Issei couldn't help but scratch his head, feeling a little guilty.
"Fufufu, I'm kidding, Ise. Of course, I don't mind you having fun, but I'll want special attention when it's my turn."
She spoke, with a certain seductive tone.
"LEAVE IT TO ME!"
And Issei responded with matching enthusiasm.
[Ahem, have you two by any chance forgotten the situation we are in?]
Ddraig interrupted the conversation between theM, reminding the brunette and the blonde that there was still a dark dragon in Juggernaut Drive to be defeated.
"Oh yes. Honestly, Ise-kun's ability to attract trouble is getting bigger by the day."
Elsha said with a slight smile.
[You seem to have an idea in mind Elsha.]
Ddraig points out noting how unconcerned she seems about the situation. If the blonde thought there was a serious risk she would be much more serious, Ddraig knew that because he had seen it happen.
Inside Issei's soul, Ddraig and Elsha were side by side, again something that was only possible thanks to the changes that took place in boosted gear.
"But of course. It's quite simple actually. It's impossible that the two of you haven't noticed that aura, right?"
For a moment, both Issei and Ddraig were quiet.
"Yeah... it's weird even for me, but I'm sure."
[I can only conclude that in any universe, you carry a destiny with dragons.]
They said that because in addition to the Heavenly Dragon's aura, there was a second aura coming from the black dragon. One that was very similar to Issei's.
The dark dragon power concept was finally explained, and while not super original, there are reasons to why I choose this power. Also, I twisted with it a little, so there are limitations.
I wanted to focus this chapter showcasing Issei's abilities. His multiple forms, making use of changing his body based on his devil fruit, and how this changes the boosted gear, obviously are his version of the Triainna Illegal Moves, but here he has much more forms. I was going to show more three originally, but as they really wouldn't change the battle I decided to keep them for another occasion.
About Elsha, her relationship with Issei will be explored more in the following arcs. Her main line of dialogue in this chapter came from one of my favorite novels, that I will also be using as inspiration for how their relationship will work.
I haven't been saying this, but reviews would be appreciated.
