The group observed the conflict outside as the Servants and fighters from each faction repelled the incoming members of the Khaos Brigade and the phantasmal beasts. The defenders were doing a good job as nothing came close to the building. They all also noticed the very obvious magic circle in the sky that was summoning all these enemies from somewhere. As they were watching, Da Vinci confirmed Issei's worries. "We've confirmed the readings and they are definitely the same phantasmal beasts you've encountered before!"
Azazel decided to speak. "So, you seem to be familiar with the monsters out there. Care to explain Issei-kun? Because even I'm a bit lost right now."
Issei turned to the leaders and explained about the monsters he had faced during his time in Chaldea, including the Demonic Front Babylonia. "These monsters seem to be the same kind unless you all have seen them before."
"They're not like any monsters I've ever seen," said Sirzechs.
"Same here," said Azazel.
"Me as well," said Michael.
The three leaders all confirmed that these were not monsters of this world. Issei turned back to the window and looked outside. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he said as he watched the battle.
"Well at least our forces seem to be doing fine out there, in no small part to your Servants' skills," said Sirzechs.
"Agreed. Is there even a need for us to go out there and fight?" asked Azazel.
They all silently contemplated this and eventually Issei spoke up. "Odysseus," called Issei. One of the helmed Servants that was guarding the room walked up behind Issei and observed the outside as well. "What do you think about this situation?"
The other leaders were surprised by the appearance of the protagonist of the Odyssey being here as Odysseus quietly contemplated his Master's question. After some time, he finally spoke. "Based on what I'm seeing we have three paths ahead. We could either, A: Do nothing and allow the forces outside to clean up the enemy themselves, since they seem to be doing fine, B: Join the battle ourselves to accelerate the battle's conclusion, or C: You could summon a Servant that could finish this all now. If I had to make a suggestion, you should summon Circe and have her pigify all the enemies so that we can capture them for questioning later."
"That is probably the smart choice, although we would have to make sure she doesn't do that to our allies as well," said Issei jokingly. "On top of that, the ringleaders of this battle haven't appeared yet."
"Right, it would probably be best to wait it out until they show up, then we have someone good at dispelling other magics erase the summoning circle in the sky to prevent them from bringing in any more troops. Although we could more than likely speed up the process by going out and fighting ourselves since she seemed so eager to prove you wrong earlier," suggested Odysseus.
"Yeah well, you know the old saying. Pride cometh before the fall." He turned to Da Vinci. "Da Vinci, have Circe on standby so that we can call her to catch the enemy."
"Roger. I'll make sure she's well prepared."
With the conversation seeming to reach its conclusion, Azazel spoke. "So, I guess we're heading out there then?"
Issei turned to him. "If you want to. I'm planning on getting in there myself and leading on the battlefield."
"Then don't mind if I get in on the fun too," said Vali, releasing his Sacred Gear wings from his back. He flew out the window into the middle of the battle.
"Vanishing Dragon, Balance Breaker!" said Albion. Vali's body began to glow and soon he was covered in his Divine Dividing Scale Mail.
Once the enemy mages realized who Vali was, they started focusing their attacks on him. The mages fired magic at him, but Vali used magic barriers to block all of them. "How boring. This is the best you can do?" He gathered power in one hand and in one swing of his arm he released a wave of magic that eliminated a large portion of the enemy force.
Issei and the others watched this from the meeting room, with Issei having an exasperated expression. "At least he's motivated," he said sarcastically. He turned to the others. "Mordred, Salter, Aśvatthāman, and Jealter, you four join the battle outside. Everyone else stays here and guard the injured and non-combatants. Mashu, Musashi, Nero, and Shishou, you're with me, I'm going to join the fray as well." Mash nodded in confirmation, as did the others, and the group readied to go out the window as well but stopped when he noticed the others staring at him. "What?" he asked.
The others were giving him various looks, with the leaders all looking impressed, Sona looking at him calculatingly, and the ORC all looking like they wanted to say something. Eventually Rias finally did. "Uhm, Issei. You just want us to wait here?"
Issei gave a confused look. "What are you talking about? I didn't tell you to do anything."
"But you just told us to guard this room."
"I was talking to my Servants. I'm not your boss, you can make your own plan."
Rias and the others all realized that and had embarrassed expressions on. They were used to following his lead and were trying to follow Issei's orders out of habit. The leaders thought the situation was funny and it got a chuckle out of them. Azazel finally spoke up. "Well then, considering your plan is to draw them out, it only makes sense for me to head out there as well since Katarea will definitely be out to get me. It makes sense for people good at defending and healing to remain here to help the injured and non-combatants. Gabriel and Michael should probably remain here as well to watch over everyone while Sirzechs, Serafall, and I head out."
The others nodded and Rias turned to her peerage to address them. "Alright, Asia should stay here to help the wounded when they are brought in, Gasper will stay as well since we don't want his power going out of control. The rest of us will go with Issei and the others to fight as well." The others nodded in agreement.
After Issei felt that everyone was ready, he spoke again. "Is everyone all set? If so, let's go. They're not gonna wait for us forever." With that, they all joined the chaos.
As everyone entered the battlefield, they all saw the flow of battle was in their favor, but only slightly. While the mages were pushovers the phantasmal beasts were keeping most of the Servants busy. They were the muscle behind this force, and more were appearing with the mages. Thankfully Issei's Servants were good at crowd control, and with so many of them here and them only having to defend a small area, taking care of them was simple. The only thing that was difficult for them was holding back, so as not to have the battle spill out into the town. The defenders from the various factions were having a harder time dealing with the enemies, especially the phantasmal beasts, but were properly supported by the Servants. As Issei made his way in, he was met by Shakespeare. "Greetings Master! How wonderful of you to join us! Things seem to be getting quite lively out here and I'm making sure to capture every moment of it!" he said enthusiastically.
Issei had a surprised look on his face. "Shakespeare? Why are you here? You hate fighting."
"True, but I couldn't miss out on such a dramatic event as angel's and devil's joining hands. I was quite enthralled by your meeting, and this battle only adds more drama to the mix! It's a writer's dream opportunity for inspiration!"
Issei had the face of someone looking at a troublesome child while the others put two and two together to figure out this was William Shakespeare. The leaders thought it was interesting that Issei could summon people who weren't warriors, although they should have expected that since he works with someone like Da Vinci. Issei walked past him as he addressed him. "Fine, do as you please, but expect to be put to work if things go south since you're here."
Shakespeare made a face like he didn't expect that and was looking for a quick getaway. "Oh! Would you look at the time! I best be on my way!" he said and quickly fled.
The others weren't sure what to make of this situation, but Issei didn't seem to be bothered so they decided to ignore it. Issei scanned the battlefield and saw where the enemies were most concentrated and had his Servant split into groups. "Salter and Jealter, handle the group on the left. Mordred and Aśvatthāman, you take the group on the right. Make sure to tear up the enemy as much as possible so that we can draw out the leaders. Musashi, Nero, and Shishou, go and help whoever needs the backup." The Servants nodded and went out to accomplish their tasks.
Rias looked to her peerage and gave her orders as well. "Kiba, Xenovia, you two accompany the first group. Koneko, go with the right group. Akeno, help Emperor Nero's group." They all nodded and followed their respective groups. Rias walked beside Issei. "I'm staying with you," she said seriously.
Issei nodded in acknowledgement and prepared to join the fray with Mash. Azazel spoke next. "Well then, I guess we should draw their attention. Me, Sirzechs, and Serafall will make a scene as well. That outta draw out Katarea and anyone else who is gunning for us," he said casually and the three flew off in different directions where the enemy was.
"Let's go!" said Issei and the three joined the battle.
Kiba's group was making short work of the enemy forces. Kiba had some practice from the battle simulator from Chaldea, but the phantasmal beasts were stronger than the simulations. Xenovia on the other hand was having a harder time, having never seen these creatures before. She was making do with her brute force approach though. Things would have been worse if it wasn't for Issei's Servants. They were easily taking out the beasts, but they were arguing the entire time and it felt like the beasts were destroyed because they got in the middle of their spat. Kiba and Xenovia had to move out of the way as well as to not be caught up in their squabble.
Koneko's group was causing a lot of destruction for the enemy forces as well. Some nearby allies had to move away so that they wouldn't be caught up in the chaos. Mordred was slicing and tossing the beasts around and managed to outmaneuver any mages that tried to attack her. Aśvatthāman was following Mordred's lead and was tossing the beasts at the mages to disrupt their attacks. Koneko was focusing on fighting the beasts, but despite her strength the beasts were holding their own too. She struck one in the face, but it recovered faster than she anticipated and went to slash at her. She prepared for the attack, but it never came. She looked and saw Berserker of El Dorado holding the beast's claw with one hand. "Don't let small fry like this get the better of you. You have stronger foes to face someday!" she said strongly as she broke the beast's wrist and tossed it into another. Before either beast could get up both of their heads were smashed in by Berserker's mauls. Berserker looked at Koneko with her red and gold eyes. "Stand and fight! If you are a warrior, then you should only stop when you've either won or are dead!" Koneko was taken aback by her forcefulness at first but soon nodded her head strongly and readied herself again. The two stood side by side as more beasts charged at them. "Let's Go!" shouted Berserker and the duo charged in as well.
Musashi and Nero were slashing through enemies as they swiftly moved through the battlefield. They quickly moved to anywhere the defenders were having a hard time and cutting down their numbers to give their side better odds. Scàthach was slowly walking across the battlefield and swatted away any enemies that came her way. She was more observing than fighting. That changed however when she saw Cu fighting a group of enemies with a wild grin on his face. She immediately moved in and cut down several around him, causing him to complain. "Hey Shishou! Those were my kills."
"Be quiet brat. If you weren't busy fooling around, they would have already been dealt with," she chastised back.
"Tch, you always gotta spoil my fun."
"Humph, as usual you're still a child. Maybe I should start training you from scratch again?"
"Huh? You're joking right? You're making light of me more often than usual. Now that I think about it, you've been doing so ever since Master started training for the fight against that devil."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Scàthach tried to say evasively. The two continued to bicker while still fighting off enemies.
Meanwhile Akeno was hovering overhead raining down lightning on beasts that were getting too close to any of the allied forces. As much as she disliked it, she followed Scàthach's advice and channeled some of her fallen angel powers into her lightning, which proved to be more effective against the beasts. A few of the beasts lept at her and she was surprised by the height they got, but they were shot down by magic attacks. Akeno looked behind her to see Medea Lily and Ashtart supporting her again. The three exchanged smiles and they launched magic in every direction.
Issei's group was currently just moving through the battlefield and taking out every enemy they ran into. Issei and Mash would charge in with Rias giving fire support whenever an enemy would try to get around them. As they fought, Issei's Servants would join in and then go off once they moved past their area. Although she was fighting, Rias observed how well coordinated the Servants were to almost seamlessly join in with Issei's fight and then move off on their own without a hitch. As she was thinking about this a beast appeared from her blind spot and she let out a surprised yelp when she noticed it. Both Issei and Mash took notice when she made noise, but Mash was preoccupied with the enemy in front of her. The beast was on top of Rias, about to dig its claws into her body when it was intercepted by Issei who smashed his fist into its face. Rias saw for a moment that Issei had an expression that was bordering on rage as he flew by. The beast missed Rias but there was a loud ripping sound as it staggered back. Not wanting to give it a chance to recover, Issei used his runic magecraft to set the monster ablaze, followed by multiple projected spears being launched into it. Once he confirmed that the monster had dropped dead, he looked over at Rias to check if she was ok. "Rias, are you ok-" Issei cut his sentence short when he noticed Rias' "condition".
The red-head's shirt was torn, exposing her breasts to the world. Rias didn't seem to notice however as she addressed Issei. "I'm fine Issei, thanks to you." She noticed that his face was becoming flush. "What's wrong?"
Issei seemed to snap out of it for a moment and looked around to see if anyone was looking in their direction. He soon stood directly in front of her with his back to her to cover her. He cleared his throat as he addressed her. "Rias… Your shirt," he said trying to keep his voice steady.
Rias was confused for a moment but when she looked down she recognized what he meant. Her face became flush for a moment as she quickly tried to cover her chest. "Sorry. Thanks Issei," she said as she quickly used magic to fix her top.
Mash quickly rejoined the two as they recollected themselves. Suddenly another voice from above addressed them. "You kids having fun?" asked Azazel playfully.
Issei leveled a gaze at him. "Did you see anything?" he asked all too calmly.
"See what?" Azazel said with a straight face.
"Nothing. Never mind," said Issei, not fully believing he didn't see anything but letting it go for now. "Any sign of whatsername?"
Azazel chuckled at Issei's name for his enemy. "No, Katarea hasn't showed up yet."
"Huh, guess we're not making enough noise," he said as he scanned the battlefield. His eyes landed on Nobunaga and a smile came across his face. "Let's change that," he said as he went over to her.
Azazel watched as the trio left and couldn't help the smile on his face. I'm sure if he knew I saw his woman's breasts he would try to poke my eyes out. Still, seeing the way he reacted when he noticed at least confirmed what info I got about him before his vanishing act. Could be useful info for later, he thought to himself as he went back to stirring more trouble.
Issei's group made their way to Nobu who was fighting with Okita against some beasts with no trouble and soon noticed their Master's approach. "Hey Fujimaru! What brings you to our party?"
"I thought it was time to clear out some of the fodder. Think you can take care of that?" he asked knowingly.
Nobu just gave him an evil smile, seeing where he was going. "Heh, it'll be no problem. I won't be responsible for anyone caught in the crossfire!" As he said this he leapt to the top of the school. Issei got some of the assassins to warn the others to get everyone out of the blast zone as Nobunaga charged up her Noble Phantasm. "The six heavens assemble to cover the four seas… Pāpīyas Reborn! Demon King of the Myriad Heavens!" The terrain changed to a burning landscape; a giant six-armed skeleton appeared behind Nobu along with giant matchlocks behind it. The giant skull opened its mouth as if to scream and when it did so, the matchlocks fired and rained down destruction on the beasts and mages.
When it ended there were no enemies left on the ground. A few airborne mages managed to avoid death but were stunned at how easily they were eradicated. They weren't the only ones as the allied forces who weren't familiar with Issei and his group had their mouths comically hanging open at the sheer absurdity of Issei's Servant's power. The only ones who seemed to be composed were Vali, the ORC and the leaders of the Factions, although they all had strained expressions. Issei looked over the destruction and scratched his head awkwardly. "Maybe going to Nobu was overkill," he said quietly. Those that heard him gave him looks that said, "Ya think!".
Thankfully for Issei, the enemy didn't seem to be perturbed because more mages and beasts continued to emerge from the magic circle in the sky. It seemed that they were upping the stakes as well as four giant stone creatures with clubs appeared as well. "Spriggans!?" said Mash, surprised.
"More creatures from your world?" asked Micheal.
Mash nodded and Issei had a grim expression. "It seems I'm not the only one who came here from the other side (aside from the Servants, obviously). Whoever followed me seems to be helping the Khaos Brigade," stated Issei, solemnly.
"But who would have the power to summon this many phantasmal beasts? Even for a high-level Magus this would be extremely difficult," said Mash.
Issei didn't think this was a Magus. These beasts seemed all too familiar. A thought of a possibility crossed his mind, but he was hoping he was wrong. "We can figure out who is doing this later, after we capture the ring leaders," said Issei.
"Oh really? You think you are capable of something like that?" said a familiar feminine voice. Appearing from another magic circle was Katarea. "Don't get overconfident just because you took down a bunch of small fry."
"So, you finally appeared, Katarea," said Azazel. "Tired of hiding in the background as your plans fall apart?"
Katarea held her usual smile. "Our plans haven't fallen apart. Our forces continue to come through, and no matter how many you take down more will still come. You all will die by our hands and then a new world order shall be made!"
Azazel flew closer to her, readying for battle. "We'll see about that," he said as he pulled a golden dagger with a purple gem on top out from behind him.
Katarea looked closely at the dagger and seemed to come to a realization. "Azazel, you-" she was about to yell at him when he cut her off.
"Oh, so you recognize what this is, do you? I may not appreciate God as much as I used to, but I give the old man credit where it's due. He created wonderful toys, these Sacred Gears." He lifted the golden dagger in front of him. "And after all my time researching, I have finally made one of my own. My Artificial Sacred Gear, Downfall Dragon Spear!" As he said its name the jewel on the top began to glow brightly. "Balance, Break!" Azazel was enveloped in a golden light and in doing so the Boosted Gear began to react to it. Issei was closely watching Azazel as soon the light faded and a Golden Armored figure with purple gems adorning it came into view. Azazel's black wings coming out of the back, making a nice contrast in appearance.
Katarea wasn't idle as she was covering herself in a dark power that Issei felt was also draconic in nature. Her strength grew as the power coiled around her body. Once she had powered up, she readied an attack. "Thanks to the power given to me by Ophis nothing you do will stop me, even with a Sacred Gear knockoff!"
"Heh, we'll see about that," he said and the two began their battle.
Issei returned his attention to the battle on the ground. Even though the enemy was still appearing, thanks to Nobu clearing them out earlier the allied forces were having a better time keeping the enemy in check. More Servants were diverted to deal with the four Spriggans but that aside everything was being taken care of. As he scanned the battlefield, he noticed Vali floating nearby one of the Spriggans watching the fight. Something about Vali just watching and not fighting didn't sit right with him. Eventually Vali turned his gaze to Issei and even with the helmet on their eyes locked on to each other. Their stare-off was broken by the sound of an explosion above them as Katarea was being pushed back by Azazel, who was now holding his own light spear. Katarea looked messed up with her clothes ripped, her hair disheveled and cuts and blood all over her. "This… This is impossible! Ophis' power was supposed to make me invincible!" she yelled in anguish.
"It's just like Issei-kun said before, you're just some spoiled brat who thinks the world should bow at your feet, but you're just all hot air," he said with a chuckle. "I think it's about time I ended this," he said as he readied his spear.
Katarea wasn't gonna take this loss lying down. She mustered all her power and her arm stretched out like a tentacle and wrapped around Azazel's free arm and began melting into it. "Hahahaha! Now you're doomed! This is a forbidden technique in my family that will cost me my life, but it will also bring you down with me!" she said while laughing triumphantly.
Issei and the others looked at Azazel concerned about what to do, but the man in question didn't seem too bothered. "I see. Well, I guess that is the best you can do," he said carefreely as he cut off his own arm.
"Whaa!" said Katarea in shock.
"It's no big deal. An arm is all you're worth," said Azazel as he launched the spear in his only hand at Katarea, piercing her skull.
"Im… possible…" she said as she faded to dust.
As that happened Azazel's armor disappeared and Azazel created a magic circle where his cut off arm was to stop the bleeding. "Seems like this thing still needs more work. I hope you'll keep me company a little longer, Fafnir," he said as he looked at the gem in his hand. Before he had a chance to catch his breath however, he was suddenly tackled from behind knocking him to the ground. Everyone was surprised by the sudden attack, but even more than that, by the one who did it. "So, you decided to betray me, Vali," he said as if he knew this was coming but was still disappointed.
"Things seem to be more interesting on this side of things so the answer should be obvious," said Vali as if it were the natural decision.
Everyone looked at him sternly with Azazel picking himself up off the ground and dusting himself off. "I'm assuming you're the one who tipped them off to start attacking?"
"Naturally, and they would listen to me willingly, since I am just like them," he said ominously.
"Like them?" asked Rias.
"My full name is Vali Lucifer, the half human half devil descendant of the true Lucifer," he announced.
This came as a shock to everyone and while Issei was surprised, he was more exasperated. Of course my rival is not only stronger than me, but he's also the son of "the" freaking devil. Seems I can't catch a break, he thought self-mockingly as the conversation had continued without him.
"A peaceful world is worse than death to me. I simply wish to fight and fight until I become the strongest." Vali looked at Issei. "And to defeat my destined rival." Mash stood in front of Issei protectively and Vali could tell the other Servants were ready to jump in at a moment's notice. He relished the idea of fighting them, especially after what he saw them do here, but he wanted to know something that he didn't quite understand. "Hyoudou Issei, how did you become so strong?" The sudden question caught him off guard as Vali continued. "Once I found out you were my destined rival I looked into you, and let's just say I was less than impressed. You were horribly mediocre, and your family was completely normal. Even when the new information came in after your disappearance there was nothing of note that I felt was anything special." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "Then you beat that Phenex with little to no issue. Then you thwarted Kokabiel and made him look like a joke. Granted you had your Servants do the heavy lifting, but it was your strategy and leadership. Not to mention all these powerful warriors following you, who I'm assuming are the ones you were referring to last time we talked about strength. You refuse to reincarnate into a devil and remain a weak human, yet you still managed to accomplish so much. So tell me, how did you become so strong?"
Issei was silent as he looked down in front of him. The others were looking at him with the leaders also being curious and Issei's Servants interested in his answer. Vali was waiting to see how he would respond but was surprised when Issei folded his arms and was making an expression as if he was really thinking about it. After about a minute of silence Issei just shrugged. "I just got lucky I guess."
Vali was not expecting this answer, nor was anyone else besides his Servants who all shared a wry smile. "Just, got lucky?" Vali asked, confused.
Issei looked at Vali with a passive expression. "Don't get me wrong, I trained and studied to get where I am today. I had many teachers and mentors, as well as many life-or-death experiences that forged me to the person I am today. But if I were to think of the reason I was able to acquire this strength, it all ultimately boiled down to chance." Issei's expression changed to a wry smile. "I just happened to get summoned somewhere, and I just happened to lose my memory, essentially making me a blank slate to easily take in all this new information, and I just happened to be put in a situation where everyone was relying on me in order to survive, and despite all odds, came out victorious. I don't know how you would describe that as anything other than luck."
Vali listened intently to Issei's words but found something was missing. "So then, you just go through the motions of the situation you were put in? You have no motivation to become stronger now that your objective is complete?"
"Who said anything about having no motivation? I may have made it through that situation by the skin of my teeth, but I have no intention of letting that happen again," Issei said seriously. "I refuse to leave everything that matters to someone else every time. I refuse to just stand by and watch as others risk themselves." He clenched his armored fist at his side as his tone turned dead serious. "So many people helped me be here. And so, I choose to stand here on behalf of many others. I will fight and get stronger so that I will be worthy of their trust. And I will do it my way," he said with a fearless smile appearing when he said the last sentence.
Vali saw such an expression and gave a fearless smile of his own under his helmet. "I see, and here I thought my rival was going to be a disappointment. But your reasons aside, it is clear you seek power just like me. Perfect. My rival should be someone of equal determination at the very least," he said as power began to radiate from his body. "If your words are true then show me the strength of that determination!" he challenged.
Issei raised his Boosted Gear in front of him as the gem began to glow. "Gladly!"
It's finally here! Sorry for the late upload, I caught a severe case of procrastination. So here's the thing, writing large battles is not my strong suit unless I have something methodically planned out. The battle with Riser was easy for me to write because I had a plan in mind with the characters fighting a group, but in this case where a sudden battle happened and everything was being played by ear, I had a harder time thinking of how to write this battle. Especially since there were so many Servants there to easily make this a wash. I will definitely do a side story or two about this battle from someone else's perspective when I think of ideas to add more substance to it. Anyways, next up is the Issei vs Vali fight, and just a slight spoiler, it's gonna be close to how it normally happened, y'know except a more experienced and versatile Issei. Their fight is gonna get a whole chapter to itself cause I think I can make it interesting. This chapter also suffered from me forgetting something I was gonna have the characters say and it bothers me because I remember it being really good. But hey, it is what it is and I'm already behind. So, I will do my best this month to make sure the chapter is out on time and probably work on some other stuff in the meantime. I look forward to the comments as always and thank all of you for your continued support. : )