Destroyer of Worlds

by xBrawlx

In times long before the creation of the Seraphs as God's messengers and the rulers of his dominion in his absence, there were four other beings he had created. This is the story of one of them, this is the story of the Destroyer of Worlds. (One-Shot for now)

AN: Hey there and welcome to my new Fanfic "Destroyer of Worlds"

It's been so long since I've written anything for this fandom, and with "Switching Sides" finally being worked on once more and very soon to be finished with the next 2 chapters rapidly hitting their deadline and publish date, I've wanted to try my hand at something new. Now, I do not know if this story will be something more than a one-shot as I have no actual plot written for this story except some very rough ideas, but perhaps with enough positive feedback I will try and develop something more from this story.

For the past year or two that I had been absent from my fics many things had happened, be it COVID related, family related or college related. In short, like all of you I have a life of my own outside of fanfics and things standing in my way of completing the fics I set up to do, but no matter the time, I do intend to come back to it and finish it as I will not abandon it and the passion I hold for writing and reading remained much the same since I first started writing / visiting this website in 2017.

Honestly, this started as a fun little project to help me get back into writing and I've had a blast writing it and doing the research for what you'll see in this chapter.

Iam hopeful that this story will be used as a base for many more great ideas and stories from the many talented authors that grace this fandom.

Now, without further ado, here is the story! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD!

"…" / "…" - Dialogue

'…' / '…' -Thoughts

["…"] / ["…"] - Ddraig / Sacred Gear Dialogue

['…'] / ['…'] - Ddraig / Sacred Gear Thoughts

Bold Text – Attack

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Issei Hyoudou looked around him, his face set in grim acceptance as he surveyed the unrecognizable landscape of what used to be the Underworld.

Once lively and robust, filled to the brim with Devils and Fallen-Angel, the Underworld was now a complete wasteland, barren from any life and structure, and instead was as empty as its first days when God had formed a new realm for his fallen son to rule over.

The silence around them was eerie, it was the same disbelieving silence that usually defines such catastrophes. Only the distant roars of that creature were heard… The same one that was responsible for all the devastation.

Trihexa, The Emperor Beast of Apocalypse, the same legendary being said to be on par with Ophis and Great Red, the entity that was recorded in the Apocalypse.

Sealed by the God of the Bible using thousands of forbidden seals, and released by Rizevim Lucifer, Vali's Grandfather and the son of the Morningstar.

He was standing at the front with the leaders of the factions beside him and the DxD team in its entirety behind him standing at the vanguard.

"It's over…" He frowned when he heard the clear defeat that tinted Sirzechs' tone.

The other leaders nodded, the realization that they had been utterly defeated beginning to slowly sink in.

"It won't be long before the beast will invade the Human World and Heaven close behind. By the end of the day, the entire universe will be destroyed," Michael said.

Issei remained silent, unable to refute the truth that was voiced, but inside, he was seething in anger.

'How can they accept defeat so easily? There's gotta be something we can do to hold back Trihexa!'

['Even the mightiest of beings will fall in the face of utter despair,'] Ddraig mused.

Issei nodded and turned to look behind him and with that look, the rest of his heart shattered.

There they stood, right behind him, his comrades, his friends, and his lovers, pale like the wings of an angel, and shaking like a leaf. Even his eternal rival was not indifferent to the pending doom they were facing, his face set in resignation as he comforted a crying Kuroka and Le Fay.

But it was the sight of his peerage, of the people he grew to care for and love, the same people who gave him a second chance in life, that hit Issei the hardest.

So many things they had faced together, and so many times they had been close to death's door, but they always managed to emerge victorious.

But now… The luck they possessed had seemingly run out, and the cold acceptance that there wouldn't be a next time began to settle.

As if they sensed his gaze, they each turned to look at him, his own heartbreak mirroring in their faces.

At the sound of ensuing panic, Issei quickly snapped his gaze back towards the direction where the beast was and gulped when he saw it coming their way once again.

'When faced with true despair, only then will my gift to you emerge... Those were the words he had spoken to me on that fateful day.'

['Oi! Partner! Don't tell me you think of using that.']

'It's the only way Ddraig. I think he knew, in his last moments, the horror that we will face, and knew that only I will have the resolve to act.'

Ddraig remained silent, unable to refute the wisdom in Issei's words.

'Besides, I've got what I always wanted in life. For a short time, I knew the joys of being a Harem King! My only regret is not being able to leave a lasting legacy,' Issei lamented.

['Ha! I can only imagine what a son of Issei Hyoudou will be like! Probably more perverted than his father!']

A tick mark grew on Issei's forehead. 'Screw you, you overgrown lizard!'

['Oi!']

Issei looked downward towards his left hand,at the red gauntlet that rested there, his gaze somber.

'So, this is it huh? Thank you Ddraig!'

['It was my pleasure, Issei Hyouodu! You were the best partner I've ever had!'] The Red Dragon replied. ['Now go and complete your destiny!']

It was the sound of wings flapping that snapped everyone from their daze. They cast wild looks around, thinking that unexpected aid had arrived to rescue them from their imminent end, when they saw none other than Issei flying towards the beast.

Everyone cried out to the brunette, horrified at his actions. However, amongst the cries of denial and horror, it was Rias' that was the most tragic one.

"No! Ise!" She cried, and the heartbreak that could clearly be heard in her voice, left no pair of eyes dry.

For most people, the love story of Rias Gremory and Issei Hyoudou was well known. In fact, it was said to be on par with the story of Sirzechs and Grayfia by many of the youngsters of the Underworld.

A broken boy, traumatized by the horrors he endured at the hands of his first ever date, and a broken girl, only seen for her titles and beauty. It was by the hands of the other that the two had begun to heal, to find the joys they had so horribly missed in life.

It was their love, and the depths each will go for its sake that brought forward other girls to vie for Issei's heart.

But no competition was required, for in his damaged heart, there was place for everyone who wished to be loved by him, so long as they can love him much the same way.

"Ise…" Rias muttered despondently as her wings unfurled. But before she could take flight in pursuit of her lover, she was stopped by none other than the other girls who held a place in Issei's heart.

Akeno, Asia, Koneko, Irina, Xenovia, Asia, Kuroka, Le Fay, Rossweisse…

Each sported an expression so much like Rias herself, each holding a special piece of Issei's heart and him a piece of theirs.

"Don't worry Rias, it's Issei we are talking about!" It was Xenovia who tried to bring some reassurance to the group.

The others nodded, choosing to take comfort in Xenovia's words when another voice piped in.

"Indeed, Issei Hyoudou is a formidable foe, I am honored to have met such a worthy fighter like him," Sairaorg said, getting an overwhelming agreement from all of the members of team DxD.

The beast roared against, cutting off any conversation, and everyone saw that the beast was almost upon them, and in its way, a short distance away, Issei stood serving as a barrier between them.

And then, they heard Issei speak, but his voice was not just his own but a combination of Issei's and of that of a being long thought dead, a being many were familiar with. But it was the words that they spoke in their unified voice, that resounded so clearly in the barren wasteland that served to change everything.

'Urgh, I almost forgot how hideous the beast is'

Indeed, as a large beast with characteristics coming from different animals, with seven necks, seven heads, with ten horns, as well as seven long thick tails of different shapes, and four stout arms and two legs that are even thicker than its arms and a main body of a primate leaning forward and is covered in black fur and what appears to be scales all over its body was truly hideous.

But it was in its core that the true horror resided.

In there was what seemed like a young boy made of light, with ten horns upon its head and on its back six wings, each belonging to a different animal.

'It's time.' Power exploded out of Issei, and the beast stopped to survey the newfound threat to its goal.

I, who am about to awaken.

It is your time to rise once more!

Am the legendary horseman who rules the principle of death.

Show the world your true might!

I admire the "Creation", and despise the "infinite"

Finally you shall become what you were always meant to be!

I shall be reborn as the son of God, the Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Stand beside me, as is your rightful place as my son!

Now, I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds!

Go forth and destroy that which threaten my creation!

Rebirth of the Apocalypse!

Rebirth of the Apocalypse!

The world shook as a being long thought to have vanished, had reawakened once more, and the members of the DxD team, who stood upon the cliff overlooking the scene, were left unable to do anything but shield their eyes from the brilliant light that brought life to the wasteland.

In times long before the creation of the Seraphs as God's messengers and the rulers of his dominion in his absence, there were four other beings he had created.

He did not want to create a second paradise, a utopia, and so, he had given form to four concepts that would govern his world.

On four horses they sat, and with four great weapons bestowed to them by their father, they begun the quest their father had given them.

On a White Horse, sat Pestilence, the harbinger of plagues and sickness, a great bow in his hands.

On a Red Horse, sat War, the harbinger of War and destroyer of peace, a great sword rested in his sheath.

On a Black Horse, sat Famine, the harbinger of hunger and in his hands, a pair of scales held in his bony hand.

And finally, on a Pale Horse, sat Death, the destroyer, the doom, and in his hand, he gripped a large great scythe.

To the four of them, authority over a fourth of the universe had been granted, and it is only together, that their true power can be truly realized.

But as time had gone by, and their quest had been completed, the four horsemen had faded, their existence labeled as myth by both humans and supernatural alike.

Only he, who had created them, knew the fate of the horsemen, and in his wake, he left an old transcript, given to his must trusted Seraph to deliver to the masses.

"Only in the depths of despair, when that which had been created is threatened, and chaos will rule, will they reawaken and their quest shall begin anew."

When the light dispersed, they finally saw it.

On a pale horse he sat, his attire showy and barbarous. His hair had remained brown, but as its length went further, the paler it became, and his eyes had become black and glowing with untold powers, and his skin sickly pale.

And his horse, thought to be green was instead a sickly crimson, his mane and tail were pale gold, and his eyes, emerald green.

And it was then, that they knew, that the Heavenly Dragon of Domination was no more, and in its place stood the Horse of Death.

Death… Issei… They did not know what to call the being in front of them, opened his mouth, and his voice caused them to shiver.

With a booming, icy voice he spoke. "You, the beast of chaos, seek to bring destruction to the world of my father. You will fail, as is the duty of my brothers and I, we shall begin our quest anew and vanquish the fake Apocalypse,"

And the beast, whose mind had long since been lost to the lust of destruction and chaos, had only roared in the face of its adversary and plunged forward.

The horse reared, as if accepting the challenge set forth, and galloped at great speed towards the beast.

Death held out his scythe, it's blade as black as midnight, and its snath a dirty white and made out of wood known only to its creator.

As the two forces were upon each other, Death had swung his scythe and from the weapon, a great wave of black energy emerged, one that instantly filled the barren wasteland with the distinct smell of death and of a sense of profound despair that one can only associate with dying.

It was a testament to his strength, when upon collision, the beast roared loudly, and was thrown back ever so slightly as blood began to flow from the wound it had been inflicted with.

"Now you shall forever walk with my mark, my presence will always accompany you, and the sense of imminent demise shall forever be your only friend. Know, that with this mark, my brothers and I shall scour the world in our quest to annihilate its bearer and remove its taint from our father's dear creation."

The beast roared mightily, as if reacting to the words of its opponent, when it lunged at the horseman once again.

Death slammed the snath of his scythe on the cold ground below him, and everyone waited with baited breath to see just what he had in plan for the beast.

They were not disappointed.

Large black chains erupted from the grounds and wrapped themselves around the beast and held it still as it struggled to break them.

"Alone, I cannot defeat you for that is my purpose not. For now, I shall send you to my domain, encased in the chains of the true Apocalypse to lay dormant and wait for the day of reckoning."

Death pointed his scythe at the beast, and chanted.

"The Devourer."

And below the beast, a pit with no end was created, and the beast, it devoured and sent to the realm of Death, one unique to the Horseman alone, where the beast shall be imprisoned for the time being.

As it dropped downwards, the beast opened its mouth and it was not a roar that emerged from it, but coherent words that surprised everyone there with great amount.

"I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my reign of chaos above the children of God and all of creation; I will roar victorious in the ruins of the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds and destroy everything beneath; I will make myself like the Most High!"

The leaders of the Angels and Fallen recoiled as they heard the vow of the beast. It was so much similar to the vow their fallen brother Lucifer had made upon his fall into Hell.

However, instead of promises of revenge against his father, and cries of defiance like the Morning Star had promised, the beast spoke of its promise to deliver absolute annihilation upon all of creation.

There was no throne to usurp, no Heavens to conquer, and no people to subjugate, for such was not the beast's goals.

It was on this day, when the true Apocalypse had stepped on the earth once again, that the beast that God had fought against would be known as the Beast of Annihilation.

['Sooner or later, you know it will break out of its prison']

The horseman nodded; his gaze still set on the place where the beast stood just seconds before.

'Indeed, and when that time comes upon us, we shall be ready to end its existence.'

['Did he tell you? Where you can find them?']

Death gave out a tired sigh and turned to look behind him at the incoming members of the DxD group. It was hard to miss their arrival, as even in his conversation with Ddraig, he could hear the noise they emitted quite easily.

'My father was many things, direct isn't amongst them. He left behind clues; prophecies he shared to his other sons and transcripts he asked his human prophets to write. He told us, back then, that our revival cannot be triggered by anything but our own selves.'

['But how is that possible? You were gone, your other brothers still are, so how can you be in charge of your own revival when you are supposed to not exist anymore?']

'The thought refused to leave my head for many moons to come after our talk with my father. Eventually, I found out the truth, a truth that had been confirmed when I reawakened.'

Ddraig rumbled. ['What is it then?']

Death cracked a small smile at the impatience of his companion. 'When the time had come for us to move onward, it was but our shell that we discarded, but our essence had prevailed and passed onto another body. We were reincarnated, but not entirely. While I am Death once more, Issei is still there, and our essences are not clashing in a battle for dominance, but rather, we slowly merge.'

Death could feel Ddraig beginning to say something, but what, he wouldn't know as the DxD forces had come upon him and cut their conversation short.

"Ise!" He heard Rias, as he recalled from the memories he shared with Issei, cry out as she rushed towards him.

But her path was soon blocked, by the leaders of the factions.

"Brothers! It is good to finally meet you at last!" Death greeted; his tone slightly more upbeat as he surveyed his younger siblings. "Many were the years in which I had heard father plan your creation and your role in his grand plan!"

"And that was…?" Azazel asked, hoping to humor the being in front of them.

At closer look, it was clear for the members of the DxD team that it was not Issei Hyoudou that stood before them, but a being so ancient that he dared called the Seraphs, his brothers.

"Ah, but surely you know? The Messengers he called you! The divine manifestation of his will! But your role was larger than just that! You were designed to succeed us; to become the overseers of our concepts! The emotions you invoked in our father came to be what is now known as pure adoration."

Everyone was awed, the Seraphs especially as they heard the confession of the being in front of them.

True, while the Seraphs knew that they walked with their father's grace, never had he openly showed his feelings towards them. For their entire existence they remembered their father only showing his love towards the humans he created, but never to his divine children.

To hear of the great love their father held for them, to know they were more than messengers and extensions of his will, brought such euphoria for the Seraphs that their halos had momentarily blinded everyone.

And while the Seraphs were busy celebrating the newfound knowledge of their father, the other leaders were looking at Death intensely.

"What are you exactly?" Sirzechs asked, his tone cautious and his poise ready for any sudden attacks.

"I come in peace!" Death said, his hands extending outwards from his body in a peaceful manner. "It is my duty not to fight with the factions that make this world so long as they pose no threat to it."

For the members of the DxD team who knew no better, it was a cause for relief as evident by the sigh they released, but for those who knew, who read between the lines and lived through such declarations before, they knew that it was anything but a cause for relief.

They knew that the ancient being before them would be the one to decide just what is considered a threat to their world, and should they cross that line, their lives shall be forfeit.

"What happened to Issei Hyoudou? You are clearly not him anymore." Azazel asked.

And yet, despite the alarm the being in front of them invoked in them, there was a part of them, a large one, that refused to consider the one in front of them as not Issei.

They could not accept with such ease the realization that Issei is no longer his own man, and that another being, one much powerful, had taken control to some degree, if not entirely.

Death's eyes soften, and he gave out a sympathetic smile. "Ah, I know much of the care you feel towards Issei, and while I am not him, I am also him."

It took several seconds to digest his words, but when they did, it was not the leaders who came forth to ask another question, but someone else.

"Don't fuck with us!" Rias hissed, her fists clenched at her sides, and her eyes full of blazing fury. "You took Issei away and had the gall to possess his body and refuse to tell us what really happened to him!"

Death remained silence, and only looked at Rias sadly.

He knew the hurt she felt, and a part of him, that of Issei, felt much of the same. It bothered him, to possess emotions like that. They brought forward sensations he was not aware he could ever feel, and he could do nothing but look sadly at Rias while he tried to make sense of the newfound sensations he felt.

In his helplessness, it was once again his partner to come to his aid, now a horse of biblical origins and not a willful Dragon with a thirst for domination and a grudge against the Vanishing Dragon.

["Worry not Rias Gremory;. Issei had not disappeared. I do not understand it all myself, but at the moment, Issei and Death began to merge into one being. They do not fight, for Death was always meant to awaken in Issei, and Issei was always meant to be Death."]

Rias looked at the horse, and released the breath she was holding.

The words Ddraig spoke were not enough to quell her anger on their own. No, but when she looked at the mighty horse before her, and met his gaze with her own, she knew that while her lover had momentarily been lost, his loyal partner was not.

"So, what now? The beast is imprisoned, but I doubt that it shall remain so forever," Michael asked.

Everyone tensed, it was easy to hope with such an incredible display of power, that the being in front of them will be able to imprison Trihexa forever. They dared not to doubt, for doubt would mean that the beast of annihilation will emerge from the endless pit of despair stronger and angrier than ever.

"Indeed, I was never meant to be able to hold the beast by myself; it was not the way I was created. No, like in times long past, when our father had given us a fourth of the universe to command, he gave it to us all, and not separately."

"And what does that mean? You are here, your brothers are not, if you cannot defeat the beast then who can?" Azazel asked.

"True, but like Ddraig had told Rias, I was always meant to awaken inside Issei Hyoudou, and Issei Hyoudou was always meant to become me. The same for my brothers. We were never meant to cease to exist, our father designed our return much before he designed our departure from his world. He created prophecies that would later be given to the Seraphs and his human prophets upon their creation, he installed many fail safes to make certain that none would be able to prevent our return."

"But why would he?" Michael asked, and his tone surprised everyone. It was impatient, slightly angry, and almost accusing.

"Why would he what?"

"Why would he not defeat the beast himself? He was our father! The All-Mighty! The Creator! Why would he create you when he could've done so himself?"

Death sighed and prepared himself. He himself had a hard time accepting the truth, but now, as he stood reborn, he began to see the threads that made up his father's plan.

"Because he couldn't." Everyone gasped. "It is not a lack of power that brought our father's demise, but rather the truth of the universe did, for his death was inevitable."

"W…What do you mean?"

"Trihexa did not come to be out of nothing, for when the universe was created, it was only the Creator, the Dream, and the Infinite that came into fruition. In the beginning, my father created the Heavens and the Earth, but the earth was untamed and shapeless. It was then that chaos was created for when the earth was untamed, Chaos ruled supreme. My father knew, even back then, that Chaos could never be completely vanquished, and instead he suppressed it, he began to create for six days…"

And so, for six days and six nights God gave form to his creations, to his dreams.

With each creation, order was given to the world and the beast of chaos, that which was unintentionally created, became suppressed, and it retreated to the edge of the earth where chaos still reigned.

And on the seventh day, when God ended his work which he had made and finally rested, Chaos was finally suppressed for there was order in the world.

But Chaos remained, lurking in the darkness, waiting for the opportune time to show itself once more and bring havoc to that which the Creator had made.

And God, the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing, knew of that which lurked in the dark, and dared not to destroy it for that too, was his creation.

"But if God knew of Trihexa's existence for all this time, why didn't he act sooner? Why did he not seal it before it was too powerful?" Sirzechs asked.

"Because it was not the Beast of Annihilation that existed back then, but rather the concept of Chaos itself. The child, made of light that is entrapped in the center of the beast, that is the concept of Chaos given form. The beast, that which envelops it, keeps it imprisoned, is nothing but a being born by those who dwell in this planet.

Everyone gasped, unable to comprehend the truth that laid bare before them. Were they… Responsible for creating Trihexa? Were they the ones who unknowingly brought forward their own destruction?

Death saw the distraught state of everyone around him and banged the snath of his scythe into the ground, bringing the focus back to him.

"You misunderstand me. The four beings of creation; the Creator, the Dream, the Infinity, and the Chaos are unique in the way of how their power works," Death began. "The faith of the people is the source of the Creator's power. The dreams that take form in our sleep is the source of power for the Dream. The infinite expansion of the universe is the source of power for the Infinity, and finally, the wreaking of chaos is the source of power for the Chaos."

"So, every crisis, every disaster, every war, every act that goes against the natural order of the universe, is what give strength to Chaos?" Michael questioned.

Death nodded. "Exactly. The three beings of creations, those who gave birth to all that exist had absolute control over their concept of creation. But Chaos, that which the Creator had accidently brought to life when he set order to the world, knew not of that which he controlled and in time, the power which he lived on was the same thing that corrupted him and gave shape to the beast."

It was poetic in a sense. The shape that the great beast had taken. The child made of light, the source of the concept of Chaos, imprisoned within the corrupted beast, the culminative chaos of the universe.

"So how can we defeat it? If Chaos is an inseparable part of the universe as you say?" Azazel asked.

"We can't."

"W-What do you mean we can't?"

"Just that. We cannot defeat Chaos, for it will always come back in some form or another. But we can dictate it."

Everyone grew confused, what did Death mean by that? How can they dictate what was never meant to be dictated?

"But how can we achieve such a feat? Even our father only managed to seal it off and that too was at the expanse of most of his powers." Michael asked.

Indeed. How can the being in front of them, as ancient and legendary as he was, can expect them to complete something that even God himself could not?

"By eliminating the shell and sealing away the source in a place where it can never be corrupted again."

The leaders opened their mouth, the questions they were dying to ask at the tip of their tongue, but Death's next words served to silence them once more.

"None of this will be worth anything should we fail to find my brothers, for only together we have a chance to emerge victorious."

And so, an overwhelming silence settled down on the group, and each was stuck with his own thoughts, but they all knew the same thing, that the battle may have been won, but the war is far from being finished.

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