[Partner!]

'I got it!'

Issei yelled at Ddraig, charging at the dark dragon. Several attacks came toward him and he dodged all without any difficulty.

BEAST MODE!

When he came face to face with the monster in Juggernaut Drive, Issei got out of his speed mode and used the complete beast transformation, becoming a being of a hundred meters, standing above the black dragon. But this time the sekiryuutei didn't intend to attack his opponent.

'Don't forget he can teleport Ise-kun.'

Elsha said.

'I know… really, what a boring guy.'

Issei said to the blonde, almost mentally sighing. Elsha found these reactions rather amusing, as it was usually Issei's opponents who thought such things.

'I just need him to stay still for a moment...'

Issei's body surrounded the black dragon, which looked around, seeming to look for a way to get out of there. However, when he noticed that he was surrounded, he would use his teleport to escape from there.

Issei wouldn't allow that.

BOOSTX10

At the same time that the announcement of the ten boosts ended, a massive pressure descended on the dragon on juggernaut drive. That was the result of Issei using his conqueror's haki boosted by his hundred value boosts, a total of ten times. Beings of weaker will and body would have already died by this point.

For the dark dragon, it was as if gravity itself was pulling him down. Leaving aside using his teleport to flee, he was struggling just to try to move. And of course, that was the result Issei was looking for.

ADJUSTMENT: TWO HUNDRED! BOOSTX10

The adjustment of one hundred times per boost wasn't Issei's and Ddraig's current limit, in reality, the actual limit was two hundred. With those boosts, once again Issei's aura changed, rising to extreme levels.

But it wasn't for attacking. His aura covered his body and was especially concentrated on his forehead, where the boosted gear gem was located.

Issei's ability to read his opponents, whether their rational actions or their subconscious, was a result of combining the aura's telepathic skill, his observation haki, the Voice of All Things, and the boosted gear. He could read the intent of anything when he focused during battle.

And now, with his boosts maxed out, that skill was at its peak, where he could enter someone's mind.

[Be careful. Going into the mind of those who fell on Juggernaut Drive... at best nothing will happen, but if the negative emotions and curse that afflicted him also enter your mind, the result will be... catastrophic is not enough to define it.]

Ddraig's words were exactly what the brunette feared the most. He has been warned countless times by Vegapunk, his family, and even his father that under no circumstances should he attempt to resort to the Juggernaut Drive unless he deems it to be the only option left. And luckily, it never got to that point.

But, perhaps now was the time when he came would come closest to the boosted gear's forbidden power, and there was no way he could not be slightly apprehensive about it.

'But that's why we'll be here, with you. Isn't that right, Cyn-chan?'

'But of course El-nee! Ise doesn't need to worry about anything with us here!'

In Issei's mental space, there were now two silhouettes of blonde women, one was Elsha who was already there, and the other belonged to Cynthia. With Issei amplifying his aura's telepathic ability, even Cynthia who was far away from him was able to use her aura to communicate and even enter the brunette's mental space.

A smile would form on Issei's mouth if he was in his human form. In that instant, he felt like he didn't have to worry about anything. Juggernaut Drive or the previous users' curse seemed like simple issues now.

Taking a deep breath, and taking advantage of the dark dragon's lapse in judgment under the effect of the conqueror's haki, Issei tried to get inside his mind.

On his forehead, in his leviathan form covered by boosted gear, the green gem glowed brightly. A blinding green light seemed to cover that world for a brief moment, before the intensity diminished, as fast as it rose.

But, unlike before the glow, both the leviathan in red dragon armor and the dark dragon in Juggernaut Drive, were stationary.

Mentally, though, Issei felt like he was sinking into thick mud.

If he had time to think, maybe he could compare this feeling to the one time he fell into the sea in his family's original world. Except now it was much worse.

What seemed to cover him was much denser than water, but that was the least of his problems. Due to his talent with observation haki and the power of the Voice of All Things, added to Boosted Gear and the changes it underwent, there was a curious side effect where Issei was prone to feeling what those around him felt. This was somewhat problematic during his childhood, but he had already trained and mastered this ability. Unfortunately, sometimes it still happened to trigger involuntarily, such as now.

Hate, anger, and resentment. But also regret, affliction, guilt, desolation...

At that moment Issei was sure, there were more sad feelings in the one who fell on Juggernaut Drive than resentful ones.

Issei started to feel cold. If he wasn't within that mental space he would have noticed that his breathing was getting heavier.

Flashes of memories began to run through his mind. Vague silhouettes of people he felt he didn't recognize, but at the same time, he felt they were the ones he loved all his life, passed through his eyes.

À̸̳̟̪̟̔̚S̴̛̱͙̟̤̟͙̟̤͑̓͛̀̾͜Ǐ̴̧̭͝Ȧ̴͖͖̱͈͍̼̾̾͛̔̔̎̉̀͑̃̕͠!̸̳̻̰̹̥͎͍̮͈̬̖̎̕͘͜͜͝ ̸̨̛͎̲̘̮̅͆̍͂̈̊̓̄̑͂͋͘͘͝ͅN̸͉͍̩̤͈͎͒̏̄̍͂͐̾̇̎̀̉͘O̵̩̲͜͝!̷̢̛̮̺͉͕͚͓̺̭́̈́͆̿̎́̔͗̌͘͝ͅͅ

And then voices began to emerge. Distorted, distant, like memories he wanted to hold on to but couldn't.

Î̷̭̤̼̲̗͚̮̌͘S̴̢̤̪͖̻̳̻̬͔̲̣͔͗͆̊̕͝͝͠Ş̵͉̦̈́̆͒͋̚͝͝͠Ȩ̸̩̗̣͚͎̠̮̣̦̱̝̞̟̈́̿̓̔̌̎͌̄̾̿ͅI̷̛͙͎͇̿̍̍͂̿̊̀̏̀̋͘͘!̶̤͖͈̪͍̹̰̀̀̎͌̋̒͜ ̷̨͍̼̮̫̬͙̲͈͍͚̘̦̩̈́̏̇̊Ì̴̮̺̺̗̟̥̦̟̞͓̠̳̤̗̈̈̔͋̆̆̋ ̷̡̭͙͎͔͓͚͉̣̖́͆̆́̀̑̉͋͜L̸̢̠̪͚͍̙̄̒͛͐͗̾ͅÓ̴̡̡̮̗͔̥̦̥̫̥͈̝̖̒͗͛̋́̌͜͠V̶̨̼̲͇͙͓̀̈̒́̆́͋̓́͂̀̈͝E̵̙̗͇̳̙̦̟̯̠͋͐̿̀ ̵̡͚͔̤͗͌͌͗̇̔Y̶̢̨̯̺͚̦̯̝̪͖͉̮̗͉͌͑Ö̵̡̧̫͇̇̎̔́̾̀-̸̤̟͈͙͔̖̆͆̀̊̂͜͠

R̴̛̗͔̟̘̀͠Ǐ̷̡̢̹̩̟͍̝͙̟̲̯͖͎̆̈́̇͊͋̾͐̾̓̽͑̚͝͠A̴̡̤̭̽̀̇̇̃̈́͋͂̿͘S̶̨̖͇̘͖̘̗̱̲̼̗̊͗̓͋̉̆͘͜ͅͅ!̵̛̤̜͔͙̫̥̲̻̘̔̐͌̽̍̓̚͠

I̵͓̬̰͉̣̯̿̉̇̍̋͝͝͝ͅS̶̱̯̗̭̝̣̗͔̣̩̦͒̎͒̓̐́̒̚͠͝Ȩ̴̡̨̻̺̭͉͓̠͍̹̥̺̥̰̔̓͋͒̅-̶̨͚͓͈̜̹̽̎̓͘K̵̢͇̞̦̮̝̞̀̆̑ͅÛ̴̧̨͎͎̫̬͔̔̋̈́̃̏̋̌̇̈́̄͌̕N̷̡̧̳̳̞̔͌̈́́̑̒̎̉͐̈̚!̴̞̮̘̩͓̼̖̱̈́̎ͅ

A̵̯̰͌͑̉̾̑͗͑̋͒̚͘͝͝͠Ķ̴͔̣̯̤͓͔̬̮͔̜͔̲̀̿͊̓͑̊̾̿̇̋̇̿̚̕ͅE̶͖̬̝͚̜͗͂̇̄̅̕͝N̴̛̩̦̔̈Ṓ̶̢̫͖͙͓̜̝̳͕̰̓͐͆͘͘!̷̡̛̦̼̤̙͕͖̭̕

̷̝̱̪̲̗̺̘̥̘͎̞̭́̐̉͌̀̓̃̃̊̇͑͘͘K̵͍̖̠̘̹̀̽̃͆̋͋̾͆̐̈͋̉̉ͅO̷̗̮̪͓̤̠̫̯̓̀̒͛̔̽̀̎͗̄N̴̢͖̦̰͖̼͋͌Ȩ̷̨̧̞͓̮͚͔̱̖͉̙͚͓̔̋͛̓͜K̸̳͂̎O̴̡͙͑͆̊̄̈́̈́̊̋̌̀̀!̴͙̠̗̫̯̙̥̀̅̊́̋̐

̶̫̉̉̈̉̄̔̌͗̐̌͋̌̾̍̐R̸̨̢̧̞̘̞̭̦͔͕͍͔͙̓̿̌́Ǫ̷̛̫̜̖̻͉̉̈̆́̈̍̅̀͋͜͝S̷̡̝̳̟̭̋͊̆̈́͑̕S̷̛̙̠͍̖̰̯͍̭͖̰̬͇̤͑́̇̎̑̉͊̓̕W̶̢̢̛̫͓̤̯͈̳̗̋̎̀̾͒͑̒ͅE̶̢̤̖̦̲̻͉̥̐̅͋͗̎̒̌̏I̵̛͙̰̙̟̗͉̠̖͖̔͌̿͒͌̽͊̀̐͛͜͜͜ͅS̴̢͕͓̪̙͎̠͕̘̑̓͆́S̶̡̯̥̝̖̜̜̟̻̙͇̺̆́̈̏̃́͆̈́̚͝E̶̢̛͕̍͒͐͗͛̋̔!̷̻͖̞̠̝͇͙̳̞̙̩͕̌̉̉͘͝

The voices came one after another. And even though he couldn't understand them, with each distorted scream, he felt his desolation growing. He felt emptier, more lost.

And then, for a single instant, another flash appeared in his mind. But this one was different from all the previous ones. There was no one there, and he felt no familiarity. Just horror, seeing a gigantic monster. It was just a silhouette but Issei couldn't imagine what that beast looked like. And only that was enough for the creature to give him a feeling of horror and at the same time a hatred that he had never felt before.

T̸̗͚͈̐͆̊̈́̈́̈̕͜͝͠Ŗ̸̢̫̠̮̬̟̘̭̲̣̟̘̪͈͂̏̍͋̽͌̊̍͘I̷͎͍̽̚H̵̢̰̳̞͉̱͑E̴̮̅̔̀́́̉̉̽͒͘͘̚͝͝͝X̸̧̨̢̞̦̯̱̼̟͓͔̑̂̈̌̾̏̕͜͝A̶̡̧̡̛̛̦͎̲͔͈̹͖̋̽̄̅͆͐̄̑̒̈̍̕͠

Everything came at once. Issei felt as if he couldn't breathe. Terror and hatred mixed, his mind was a mess as it had never been before.

More flashes appeared, sometimes the image of the gauntlet in his hand was red, and sometimes it was black. Glimpses of a red-haired, feelings of joy when talking to a girl who looked like she had golden hair. A small white shape and a dark one. Lots and lots of flashes, happiness, sadness, loss, and desolation, all blending into the sekiryuutei.

He felt empty.

I̴͓͔͂̀̇͋̒ ̴̨̗̙̣̙̝̤̟̱̦͎̭̍͑̉́̓̌̑̚͝ͅͅW̵̛̛̯͓̉͌͛̄̍̀͊͋͘H̵̛̛̬̰̺̜̞͔̾̊̓̉̊́͐̚͘͝O̷̡̬͈̣͍̗̐̀́̓̈̔͜ ̶̻̹̺͂̇̃͋̑̀̔͋͝A̷̧̧̢̛̟̼͕̗̦̚̕ͅM̶̙͖̤͈͎͓̲͕͙̂͊͐͐͗̚ ̵͔̼͈̻̫͕̦̰̞͋̐̚͜͝ͅA̷̠̞̻̭͙͇̼̦̔͒̐͑̍̈́̅̓̾͘B̴̘̞̯̗̪͗̍̈́͋́̌̎̓͊̆͗͐͘ͅƠ̴̥̜̮̱̞̟̩͗̐̒͂͑̊͛̍̂̕̚̚͘͝U̵̯̖̿̇Ṯ̵̡̭̣̝͙̥͚̀̋̓̑͌͝ ̸̭̗̤̖͕̠̞̈̓͊̀̆̓̂͜T̸̡̯̩͕̦̜͕̖͕̓͗̐̆͐̾͝ͅO̴̜͕̙̅̊̅͆̚ ̷̢̪̘̎Ȃ̵̞̭́W̸̪͑̾̓͐̌̏̔͋̓̔͊A̵̝̘̰̎̃̓̂̓͒͗̇͘K̵̛̯̮͍̜̰̭̫̋̈́͛͑̅̚̕Ê̵̢̛̱͓̩͎̳̼̯͇͕̥̬̬̠͓̄͛̽̀͐̉̇͑̈́̅͝Ǹ̴̺̬̤̬̰̠͇̠͌̈́̕͠ͅ

But then, a warm feeling washed over him.

"Ise!"

"Ise-kun!"

[Partner!]

He felt two hands on his chest. The emptiness that was plaguing him disappeared, and he felt the heat passing through his body again. Issei no longer felt anything dense around him, plaguing his mind. Even breathing felt easy again.

Before he could notice it, the view of his surroundings completely changed. In front of his eyes were Cynthia and Elsha, with worried looks, and behind them Ddraig, with a cautious expression.

Issei gently grabbed the two blondes' wrists. A weak smile formed on his face.

"Sorry to worry you two."

Their expressions instantly changed to relief, and the two hugged him tightly.

"You promised you would never be... like that again."

Cynthia whispered in his ear, referring to the promise they made when they were children, right after Issei ate his fruit.

"I know."

Issei replied smiling as he ran his hand through her hair.

"But in case you stumble, we'll always be here."

Elsha said, into his ear. She was no doubt enjoying the moment, even though these were all just projections in their minds.

[Aham! I'm sorry to disturb the moment, but partner you might want to look behind you.]

Ddraig's words made Issei curious, and without breaking the embrace, the user of the powers of leviathan looked back. At the same moment, his eyes widen, and the girls take a step back, giving space to Issei.

He turns around completely and takes a few steps forward.

"Hey."

Maybe he shouldn't be so surprised. They were almost sure of their suspicions, and they went through this whole process of getting into the dark dragon's mind for just that reason.

That said, it was inevitable that Issei would be stunned at the sight of himself.

"Yo."

His voice came out instinctively.

The one in front of him was someone with the same presence and almost identical aura as him. His face was almost the same, just not looking like a reflection due to a few factors, those being, the other Issei, the one with the dark dragon, was shorter and had chestnut hair. But, the biggest difference between them was that this Issei had an almost transparent body, and visually looked weak and tired.

But besides that, there was still someone behind this Issei. A black-scaled dragon with the same size as Ddraig, and whose body was identical to that of the Red Dragon. The only difference between the two was the coloring of their scales.

And just like its wielder, this dragon looked weak and tired. His eyes were open, but he seemed to be struggling to keep them that way.

"What happened to you?"

The sekiryuutei asked, sitting down on the "floor." There wasn't one since that all was just a projection.

The kokuryuutei smiled weakly, but it was notably a desolate smile.

"I saw some of your memories. You must have seen some of mine too, right?"

The sekiryuutei nodded. In that instant, a single glimpse flashed through his mind again. Only that, now it was less distinguishable, like a dream he was forgetting.

"What was that?"

And even though it was like a distant dream, the feeling he felt at that moment was already ingrained in the sekiryuutei.

The kokuryuutei's smile faded.

6̶͕̮̖̰̺̜͈̫̖̟̲̣͔̈́̒̐̇̈̇̂͊͋̽̏̈͐͘͜͝ͅ#̷̹̔͋̉̃̕̚¬̵̢̛̛̗̮͈̞͉͇̪̫̥̠̲̊̈́̃̌̈́̉͝ͅ

He tried to say something but stopped himself by placing his hands on his head. The world they were in trembled faintly.

{Partner! Do not think about it!}

The dark dragon finally said something, and it seemed to work, as the kokuryuutei took his hands off his head breathing heavily. But he looked weaker.

Ddraig looked thoughtful, but even he couldn't quite understand what the kokuryuutei was trying to say. He just had the feeling that it was something vaguely familiar.

"Hehe. Sorry, thinking about it... Thanks, Ur."

First, he apologized to the sekiryuutei, and then he thanked the dragon behind him. Following that, he seemed to realize something.

"Oh yes. I didn't ask your name."

He said, glaring at the sekiryuutei.

"Monkey D. Boa Issei."

The leviathan spoke, extending his hand.

"Hyoudou Issei."

The kokuryuutei replied, handshaking his counterpart.

They had a mutual understanding. They were the same, but at the same time, they weren't.

'I am you, but you are not me.'

[What happened to you guys?]

Ddraig finally asked the question the sekiryuutei group wanted to ask.

Ur, the dark dragon, looked down in defeat, and the kokuryuutei was the same.

{That thing...}

It was Ur who began to speak.

{We didn't... make it.}

"I... I couldn't protect anyone. Everyone... everything... is gone... But not me..."

{We fall into the Dimensional Gap. After it was all over.}

"Hehe... I couldn't do anything."

The feeling of desolation affected the group more and more. But the sekiryuutei listened attentively, and in that instant, he allowed himself to feel his counterpart's pain. He wouldn't lose control and he needed to at least understand his desolation.

"I... had overcome the Juggernaut Drive... Only that, when everything, everyone... died... all that..."

{We achieved a sort of Juggernaut Drive variant, practically a sub-species.}

Ur completed the explanation. It wasn't difficult for the other four to connect the dots from there.

[I see... a fake Juggernaut Drive, that certainly explains why you never tried to use the Longinus Smasher.]

The kokuryuutei had a distant look, even though he was facing the sekiryuutei.

"What's wrong?"

Perhaps because they were the same person, the leviathan understood his counterpart's gaze, even if they had just met.

The faint smile returned to the kokuryuutei's lips. He raised his hand right up to his face, staring at the back of his hand.

"The original Juggernaut Drive didn't work that way... absorbing life energy. To begin with, this form was never intended to be long-lasting. What we did... we broke some logic and rules."

[You don't have much time, do you?]

Ddraig asked. Perhaps, because that dragon in front of him was also something like his counterpart, they also had a mutual understanding.

{Exactly, Red Dragon. We've been in this form for too long, our souls and memories suffered too much. As my partner said, God never intended for the Juggernaut Drive to be like this. We won't last much longer. I'm just sorry for the trouble we caused you.}

The sekiryuutei was going to say something, but the kokuryuutei cut him off.

"No Ur, you are wrong. Our time isn't running out, mine is."

He spoke, looking at the other version of him.

"But we came here... I don't know how or why, but I do know was looking for you. Can you do me some favors?"

The sekiryuutei didn't have to think twice before nodding his head. Whether it was because they were both dragons or because they were both the same, it didn't matter to him. No matter the requests, he would fulfill his promise to Hyoudou Issei.


Honestly, I personally really liked this chapter. And we are closer to DxD, not canon quite yet, this is still a bit far, but going to the DxD world is just around the corner.

If you got confused, [] is for Ddraig, and {} is for Ur.

The next chapter concludes this arc then the following is the epilogue of what I like to think is the Volume 0, the overall eleven first chapters of this story. You can also see them as a gigantic prologue.

Reviews would be appreciated.