Hey everyone, it's me Hide Shinyama.
Little under four weeks since my last chapter. That's a good sign of faster writing. However, studies resume next week, so I wonder if I will have enough time to write.
Anyway, about this chapter.
Issei, Yuuto and Gasper (well, and Ddraig) have formed a group and are now going to stop Kokabiel and his plans.
Will they succeed?
Find out in…
Chapter 66 – Yuuto's Moment
15th of November, Sunday, 3:55 am – Hallway, Ground Floor, Hotel Entertainment
Issei needed some time to recover his disbelief and stammering at the mere existence of Gasper Vladi. He did not believe his eyes.
Yuuto and Gasper watched over Issei as he freaked out at what he just heard. After a few minutes, Issei had finally calmed down. The first thing he did was by pointing at Gasper.
"Why is he dressed up as a girl!?" Issei yelled at Yuuto.
"Well… as far as I was told, he had a friend at childhood who liked to dress Gasper in girl's clothing. Since then, it has become a habit for him, I guess," Yuuto answered truthfully, while sweating nervously, while looking at Gasper for confirmation.
Gasper said nothing, but shyly nodded as if to say, "Yes, that's true."
Issei rubbed his temples to calm himself. After twenty seconds, he managed to do so.
Gasper Vladi… truly the literal definition of a trap… Issei could hardly believe it.
Just as Issei was pondering at the marvel of the existence of Gasper Vladi, he froze upon realizing something. Issei walked up to Yuuto to whisper in his ear.
"Hey, Kiba," Issei whispered to Yuuto.
"Yes, Hyoudou-san?" Yuuto replied, feeling a bit unnerved at Issei getting close to him.
"You mentioned about how everyone in your peerage had their dark pasts… Is he the one whom you mentioned… the one where everybody… died at his birth?" Issei asked as discreetly as possible.
Yuuto nodded, while making sure that Gasper could not hear them.
Gasper himself was standing a good distance back, looking around the facility of the hotel for enemies.
"How come they died? I mean… what is he?" Issei asked Yuuto.
"He is a Dhampir, a Half-Vampire. His mother was a human and his father was a vampire. The reason for the mass deaths at his birth are related to his Sacred Gear Forbidden Balor View," Yuuto explained.
"Wait, is his ability not time-stopping? How can time-stopping kill everybody?" Issei asked Yuuto in confusion.
"Forbidden Balor View's abilities are most likely not limited to time-stopping. As for what those other abilities are, I do not know," Yuuto answered before drawing back and walking over to Gasper.
Gasper looked nervously at Yuuto who approached him.
"Now, that you're here. What will you do? Are you going to head back? After all, you saved our lives, which is exactly what this guy – whoever he is – wanted you to do," Yuuto said to Gasper.
"I… I'm scared, Kiba-senpai. Very scared… but I think that if I went back home and left you to die, I would never be able to forgive myself," Gasper answered honestly.
"Gasper…" Yuuto said quietly.
"Rias-sama… was the one who took me in when no one else did and was willing to put up with all my faults. I want to repay her for everything she has done for me. And if facing danger with you guys is what is necessary to repay, then I'll gladly do it," Gasper said to Yuuto with determination visible on his face.
"Gasper, you… you don't have to…" Yuuto wanted to say more but Gasper continued.
"No, I insist, Kiba-senpai," Gasper interrupted him. "I've been a coward and a hikkikomori my whole life long. I have always been thinking if it would not be better to… just die…"
Yuuto, and even Issei, gasped at that. Was it that bad for Gasper?
"…but when that man spoke to me… about how Rias might be sad if you had died, I… I knew that I had to change… nothing is worse to me than seeing my friends die and suffer, even though I have the power to change that!" Gasper declared with a raised fist in the air.
Issei and Yuuto were looking on him with awe.
For Yuuto, this was because the vibes Gasper was giving off was completely different from the shy boy, he had known him for (even though he had little interaction with him).
For Issei, it reminded him of himself after his parents died. It was the will to become a hero and protect everyone.
Years of being a shut-in and all because of this one man.
Although both of them did not know who that mysterious man was, they were quite sure that it was the same person who told Yuuto to meet Issei in this abandoned hotel.
Shinyama Hide.
Yes, given Shinyama's habit of trying to help in the most mysterious ways, it had to be him who got Gasper to leave the room and save them.
'Frigging Shinyama! Why could he not tell us from the start who was going to be on this mission? Who else did he choose that I haven't seen yet? Murayama and Katase and their kendo shinais?' Issei thought to himself.
[Who knows. But unless nobody else is coming to our aid and nobody of those currently here are leaving, there are just the four of us] Ddraig said to Issei.
'Yeah, just the four of us against Kokabiel and the rest of his minions…' Issei thought to himself grimly.
Issei looked at Gasper and Yuuto, the latter two who which were looking at each other and exchanging nods and smiles.
"I take it you're coming with us, Gasper-kun?" Issei asked Gasper (though it was still hard for Issei to address him with a "-kun", which is suited for boys).
Gasper flinched upon seeing Issei with Yuuto putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. The two of them exchanged glances with Yuuto nodding as if to say that it's okay.
"Y-y-yes!" Gasper stuttered out and made a typical Japanese standing bow. "I look forward to working with you!"
Issei was taken aback at how polite the crossdresser was towards him. Issei raised his hands to calm Gasper down.
"Easy, easy… No need to be so formal…" Issei said to Gasper, which made the latter relax. "However, from this point on we are going to face powerful Fallen Angels. And one of them is a Fallen Angel named Kokabiel – a really powerful one. Are you really sure you want to come with us?"
Gasper was shocked at hearing that they were going to fight Fallen Angels – one which was named Kokabiel. Even a shut-in like him was knew the name of one of the leading members of the Grigori. Yet, even so, Gasper nodded.
"Yes, I… I do…" Gasper answered softly.
Issei was impressed at the boy's courage.
He reached out his hand to Gasper.
"Then welcome to the club!" Issei said with a friendly smile.
Gasper went to Issei carefully before gently putting his hand into Issei's. They shook hands awkwardly, but at least they both came to an agreement.
Yuuto smiled at this and walked up to them.
"Hyoudou-san, from here on out, we should be careful. Kokabiel and Valper Galilei are bound to come here prepared. We need to have a plan," Yuuto said to him.
"That coming from the one who rushed all the way here while being led by his anger," Issei muttered to himself.
[The Fallen Angels should already be aware that we are here. Sneaking past them won't work as well as before] Ddraig told the three of them.
"Figures," Issei answered. "I guess we have to rush through."
"But how?" Gasper asked Issei.
[I have an idea…] Ddraig said and explained his idea to everyone.
15th of November, Sunday, 4:02 am – Underground Floor, Hotel Entertainment
A group of Stray Exorcists (about thirty of them) and three Fallen Angels were standing guard in front of the door leading to the underground bunker. That was where their leaders were carrying out their plan.
While waiting there, one of the Stray Exorcists could not help but ask his comrade.
"Say?" asked one of them.
"What's wrong?" asked the second one.
"Why have we not been sent to eliminate the intruders?" asked the first one.
"It's because we have been ordered to guard this door. The intruders are being taken care of by the others. Unless there are other orders, we will stay here and guard," the second Stray Exorcist replied in a way that brooked no argument.
"Yeah, yeah… Just got bored standing here, that's all," the first Stray Exorcist complained.
"Well, get over it," the second one responded bluntly. "At least, we can wait for the end results of our leaders inside."
"Yeah, you're ri-" the first one agreed, only for something to cut off his dialogue.
"Huh?" the second one voiced confused, getting everyone else's attention.
All the Stray Exorcists and the two Fallen Angels turned to see a bright light appearing at the other end of the corridor and then…
[Dragon Shot!]
[BOOM!]
…a powerful red beam tore through the Stray Exorcists, killing them instantly.
The two Fallen Angels standing guard, barely managed to shield themselves with their magic and had closed their eyes. The two of them then opened their eyes and let down their magical shields.
But that turned out to be a mistake…
"WHAT!?" one of the Fallen Angels turned around upon sensing something behind him.
It was Gasper and he had a gun!
[BANG!]
"AGH!"
With a cry, the Fallen Angel fell to his knees. This got the attention of the other Fallen Angel who also turned around.
With a fury, the Fallen Angel summoned a light spear which frightened Gasper very much.
But luckily, the Fallen Angel never managed to make his move.
(((WHOOOOSH!)))
Accompanying the sound of wind was Yuuto with his sword ready.
[STAB!]
Yuuto stabbed the Fallen Angel through his back, killing him instantly.
The other Fallen Angel looked in shock at demise of his comrade.
Then, Issei rushed at him and tackled the injured Fallen Angel to the ground and…
[Absorb!]
…drained him dry with the Boosted Gear until Issei's prey was nothing more than a dry husk. The Fallen Angel stopped moving.
With that, the battle had ended. Issei and Yuuto took a second to catch their breath, while Gasper trembled as he looked at the dead bodies lying right in front of him.
"Gasper, are you okay?" Yuuto asked Gasper with concern.
Gasper did not answer but then took a few deep breaths to calm down.
"I… I'm alright…" Gasper replied calmly, though a bit of nervousness could still be heard in his voice.
"It's a good thing that you can stop time. Without it, we would never have been able to scout this place unnoticed and figured out their numbers before the fight. This fight would have dragged on longer than it needed to or worse, ended up with us getting hurt," Issei said to Gasper.
"Well… it is nothing compared to both your abilities… I'm just able to suddenly appear here and there. It's nothing special," Gasper humbly argued.
[Which is what makes our group ideal to carry out the perfect ambush] Ddraig said proudly.
"Yes. You should hold your head up high more, Gasper," Yuuto encouraged the cross-dressing Dhampir.
With that said, Issei, Yuuto and Gasper looked at the door in front of them.
They could feel it. Right behind this door, they could feel a huge magical presence of some kind. It felt ominous and suffocating. Nevertheless, all three boys stood there bravely without looking back or flinching.
"This is it," Issei said to the others. "Once we go through here, there's no going back."
[Indeed] Ddraig affirmed Issei's words. [I suggest we do the same. Scout out the area with Gasper. Then launch an ambush, except this time we use our full power. We are facing with Kokabiel here – a twelve-wing Fallen Angel – and multiple other Fallen Angels with multiple wings. I advise the others to do the same.]
"Understood," Yuuto answered and focused.
This was it. The moment Yuuto had been waiting for so many years. Behind this door was not just Kokabiel and some Fallen Angels, but also Valper Galilei, the man that betrayed and murdered his comrades.
Ddraig put it in the best way – and that was to use one's full power.
Issei thought the same.
[Dragon Scale Mail! Equip!]
With a flash of green from the Boosted Gear he had equipped the Crimson Scale Mail.
[Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!]
Issei boosted his power as much as he could. He could feel the power rushing through his body. But even as he was doing so, he could sense that there was an enemy behind that door with an immense presence.
'This Kokabiel guy can't be taken lightly," Issei thought to himself.
"Can you do your thing?" Issei said to Gasper.
Gasper nodded and vanished. Within a fraction of a second, he reappeared.
"There are about twenty Fallen Angels in there and thirty Stray Exorcists. Kokabiel is in there, too, and he is very strong," Gasper reported to Yuuto, Issei and Ddraig. "Also, one of the Stray Exorcists has a powerful Holy Sword."
"What? What kind of Hold Sword is it?" Yuuto asked of Gasper.
"I don't know. But you better be careful when facing him. Its holy power is truly frightening," Gasper warned Yuuto.
Yuuto was frowning at this point, wondering what Gasper meant. But there was no point pondering here over what it might be. Only fighting this Stray Exorcist could give him the answer.
[I see… Here's the plan. Gasper, you rush in and take out as many of the enemies inside as possible. Start with the Fallen Angels first while they are frozen in time. I hope you have enough bullets?] Ddraig asked Gasper.
"Yes… I do…" Gasper answered as he looked at the guns he had in his belt. He had picked it up from one of the dead German terrorists. With it he could carry a total of three guns (which he also picked up from the dead terrorists).
[Once Gasper finishes his surprise attack, Gasper here will shout for you to come in and you two will rush in. You will take out the rest of the Stray Exorcists and Fallen Angels. Start with the Fallen Angels and finish with the Exorcists. If a Stray Exorcist is closer to you than a Fallen Angel, you can take the Stray Exorcist down first] Ddraig said to Issei and Yuuto. [It's important that you it as quickly as possible. We cannot afford to fail here.]
"Sounds good," Yuuto answered seriously.
"I agree," Issei added equally seriously.
[You all agree? Then go, Gasper] Ddraig said to Gasper.
Gasper nodded and disappeared.
With the help of Forbidden Balor View, time froze. Issei and Yuuto stood still like statues readying themselves to rush in when the time came.
Gasper, on the other hand, rushed in first. He opened the door of the bunker and pulled out one of his guns.
While inside the bunker, Gasper looked around the area for a bit. He could not help but be fascinated by the existence of such an old bunker. But he also knew that this was not the time. Gasper saw that just like before, the Fallen Angels and Stray Exorcists were frozen in whatever activities, he found them in. And that meant that his ability was working.
He ran to the first Fallen Angel and…
[BANG!]
…shot a bullet at his back. The bullet stopped before touching the Fallen Angel. But Gasper knew that once time started moving again, that that bullet would pierce through him.
Gasper could not help but feel pity for the Fallen Angel. He would be dead, or at best seriously injured before he knew it. However, Gasper knew that it was either they would die or his friends. He would never be able to live with himself if the latter happened.
Hence, Gasper moved on to the next one and repeated the process.
[BANG!]
Next one…
[BANG!]
Next one…
[BANG!]
Next one… and so on.
Gasper had to switch guns due to the lack of bullets. By the twelfth Fallen Angel, he knew he was out of bullets. Moreover, he could feel that he was getting tired, and his duration of his time freezing abilities was about to end.
Gasper knew that he had to go.
Gasper ran straight for the door to where Issei and Yuuto were located.
And just as time began to move again…
"ARGH!" "GAH!" "WAGH!" "UAH!" "KEUK!"
Numerous Fallen Angels screamed in surprise and pain, they all stumbled and fell.
"What!?" "WHO!?" "How did this happen!?"
Confused shouts and exclamations of those assembled in the room rang out and with it…
"NOW!" Gasper shouted to Yuuto and Issei.
That was their cue.
The door burst open, and Issei and Yuuto rushed in.
Using the element of surprise, Yuuto swiftly cut down the injured Fallen Angels. Issei used a particularly strong Dragon Shot to obliterate several Stray Exorcists and Fallen Angels in the bunker.
[Dragon Shot!]
While he did this, he noticed that one Fallen Angel had put up a magical shield to protect himself, along with another Fallen Angel and two Stray Exorcists standing nearby.
[BOOM!]
Thus, all the Fallen Angels and Stray Exorcists nearby were obliterated except the ones inside the shield.
It was then that Issei saw that one of the Fallen Angels was Dohnasseek, whom Issei had unfortunately fought against before. Dohnasseek was glaring at Issei fiercely. Issei turned to look at the other Fallen Angel – the one that had put up the shield. That one had a fierce cold look like that of Dohnasseek's. But what also stood out were the wings on his back. There were twelve wings!
[It's Kokabiel!] Ddraig cried out in realization. [Be on your guard!]
"No need to tell me twice!" Issei answered and intensified his effort to attack Kokabiel with his Dragon Shot.
Meanwhile, Yuuto continued slashing and killing the helplessly injured Fallen Angels and surprised Stray Exorcists. He slew them like an Angel of Death would. Some of them had managed to fight back, but to little avail. All they could do was block a blow or two before being cut down.
Eight of the Fallen Angels managed to escape unharmed and were flying around the room. They flew at Issei with their light spears.
[Partner! Fallen Angels coming from your right!] Ddraig alerted him.
Issei reacted just in time to direct his Dragon Shot at the incoming Fallen Angels.
"""AAAAAAHHHHH!"""
The Fallen Angels screamed before vanishing into ash and burnt feathers.
For Kokabiel and his minions, this created an opening for Issei had his attention elsewhere.
"Freed, go!" the Fallen Angel Kokabiel ordered one of the Stray Exorcists by his side.
"Yes, Lord Kokabiel! This guy is mine!" the Stray Exorcist named Freed answered with a maniacal grin.
With that, the barrier opened and Freed rushed towards Issei.
[Partner! Watch ou-!] Ddraig tried to warn Issei but Freed was faster.
"OOF!" Issei grunted as he was hit by Freed's sword.
"Issei-san!" Gasper, who had been standing on the sidelines to recover, cried out.
Luckily, Issei was wearing armor, so he did not get hurt. Still, his Dragon Shot had been interrupted and he was thrown to the side.
"Agh!" Issei landed on his side.
Before he could find his bearings, he saw Freed rush towards him with his sword.
"Goodbye, you amateur!" Freed yelled at Issei before trying to stab his face.
"NO!" Gasper cried out as he used his time-stopping abilities to suddenly appear before Freed and tackled him to the side.
"Ugh!" Freed grunted, as he also fell to the side.
Just then, Yuuto had finished off his last Fallen Angel. All that was left on his end were about ten more Stray Exorcists and then he was done on his end. His eyes shifted to see the fight between Issei, Gasper and the Stray Exorcist named Freed. It was then that he noticed the sword in Freed's hand.
"Is that…?" Yuuto widened his eyes in recognition. "It can't be…!"
Issei could not help but stare at the sword the crazed Stray Exorcist held in his hand.
'What is that sword?' Issei thought to himself. 'Something is off about that sword…'
As Freed looked up from the ground, he saw Gasper and glared at him.
"You little b****! I'll kill you damn Devil!" Freed yelled at Gasper who flinched back in fear.
"You aren't going to do anything!" Issei said as he stepped up in front of Gasper.
"Oh, yes… I will…" Freed smirked and stood up, while licking his lips. "Once I've…"
"RAAAAHHHHHH!" Yuuto roared in a fury and ran at Freed with full speed.
Everyone turned to see Yuuto launching a stab attack at Freed.
Freed blocked Yuuto's attack with his own sword. Despite the surprise attack, Yuuto was the one being pushed back.
"You scream like a girl!" Freed mocked Yuuto as the latter was being pushed back.
"You… how dare you use that sword…" Yuuto growled angrily.
"Oh, what's the matter. Did me using this fused Excalibur Fragment here touch a nerve?" Freed mocked Yuuto some more.
"Excalibur Fragment?" Issei wondered puzzled.
[Partner, watch out! More Stray Exorcists!] Ddraig warned Issei.
Sure enough, more Stray Exorcists had their guns out and were ready to shoot at Issei.
Issei took stepped up and charged.
[Boost!]
[BANG!] [BANG!] [BANG!]
Bullet after bullet flew at Issei and bounced off harmlessly against his armor. Issei, on the other hand, ran forward and took on the Stray Exorcists in close combat.
Seeing that their guns had no effect on Issei, they pulled out their swords and hacked at Issei.
But Issei's armor blocked off their attacks and Issei proceeded to grab and smash the first one to the ground. The second Stray Exorcist's sword was caught and broken by Issei's armored hands.
[CLANG!]
Issei proceeded to punch the second in the face, rendering him unconscious.
[Dragon Shot!]
Issei blasted the next three Stray Exorcists to death with a Dragon Shot.
The last three Stray Exorcists looked at Issei fearfully and kept their distance.
"Damn you!" one of them cursed.
Another one took the opportunity to attack Issei from behind with his gun.
[BANG!] [BANG!]
But Issei took on the attacks harmlessly before reaching to grab the shooter.
The Stray Exorcist dodged in time out of Issei's reach.
Another one attacked Issei from behind with his sword, which Issei dodged before…
[WHAM!]
…smashing the unlucky Stray Exorcist in the stomach, rendering unconscious.
The remaining two Stray Exorcists shot at Issei with everything they had before Issei…
[Ice Orb!]
…unleashed his icy cold attack unto the ground, freezing the two Stray Exorcists' feet to the ground.
"What!?" cried out one, as he unsuccessfully tried to lift his feet.
"I can't move!" cried the other one, while trying to get his feet to move.
Issei used this chance to walk up to them. Then, he grabbed their faces simultaneously and smashed their heads together. They both fell down bleeding to ground unconscious.
With the Stray Exorcists now taken out, Issei turned his attention to Yuuto and Freed's fight. Freed was clearly overwhelming the now tired Yuuto, the latter who was barely holding on. Just then, Freed broke Yuuto's sword and…
"Tch!"
…grazed Yuuto's chest with a clear bleeding cut wound running diagonally. Yuuto had barely managed to dodge it or else he would have been killed.
"YUUTO!" Issei cried out and was about to head to him.
"Don't move!" Dohnasseek's voice sounded, getting the attention of Issei, Yuuto and Freed.
What Yuuto and Issei saw made their blood freeze.
For Dohnasseek was holding Gasper down with his foot on the Dhampir's back. Poor Gasper was bruised and was moreover whimpering from the situation he was in. Dohnasseek had his light spear trained on Gasper in case he tried any suspicious movements.
"If any of you move, this girl here will get it," Dohnasseek warned Issei and Yuuto.
Issei and Yuuto reluctantly complied with gritted teeth.
[Dismiss!]
With a flash, Issei dissolved his Crimson Scale Mail.
Freed, on the other hand, grinned spitefully at Yuuto before raising his sword to attack them.
"You stop, too, Freed Sellzen," came the voice of one of the Stray Exorcists from where Kokabiel was standing.
'That voice…' Yuuto widened his eyes and looked to the person who said that.
Freed clicked his tongue in frustration but obeyed and stepped back.
The man walked towards them. He was an older man and did not carry any weapons. He seemed like a jovial fellow, yet Issei knew that this man was probably not a good person. After all, he was with Kokabiel and a bunch of Stray Exorcists and Fallen Angels like Dohnasseek.
"Now, I cannot imagine why you two have come here. For you, the Sekiryuutei, I presume it is to foil our plans once again. However, we were right to presume that you could be blackmailed with a hostage. So, I guess that's good to know," Valper Galilei said, while mocking Issei.
Issei suppressed the urge to kill the man here and there, but Dohnasseek still had his hold on Gasper. He could not sacrifice Gasper just like that. It would go against his principles.
"You…!" Yuuto hissed out in anger. "You're Valper Galilei!"
"Oh? You recognize me? I am honored," Valper Galilei spoke calmly with a smile on his face.
"Of course, I recognize you," Yuuto spat out. "You killed my friends and nearly killed me several years ago!"
"Oh? Did I?" Valper wondered and took a bit of time to think before a thought came to him. "Now, I know. You must be from the Holy Sword Project, aren't you? Yes, what fond times…"
"Don't give me that s***!" Yuuto cursed, much to Issei's shock.
'I never thought Kiba would use curse words like that!' Issei thought to himself.
"You sacrificed all of us when you deemed us useless!" Yuuto roared in a fury. "And all because you thought we could not be Holy Sword Users!"
"Oh, that… Well, sorry about that… But some sacrifices have to be made for the advancement of science. But in the end, the project was a huge success! Maybe not in the way we hoped it to be, but still it was a great success!" Valper said with a childlike glee.
"Success…? What are you talking about…?" Yuuto asked angrily, yet also with some confusion, too.
"Valper, don't waste your time with these brats," Kokabiel said to him from the distance. "Make sure to dispose of them quickly."
"But sir, I was just getting to the good part! And we have one of the former subject members here! I believe he deserves to hear this," Valper reasoned.
"Fine. But make it quick. I'll give you five minutes," Kokabiel told him before turning his back from them.
Issei and Yuuto watched Kokabiel warily. They knew that Kokabiel was someone they had to be very careful of. But right now, their biggest worry were the enemies in front of them, so they turned their faces back to Valper Galilei.
"As I was saying, the project was a huge success, mainly because we were able to find out a major stipulation for using Holy Swords," Valper revealed.
"A major stipulation?" Issei questioned warily.
"Yes, indeed. And that stipulation is this: The user must have a mass property of a light attribute inside the body. Most people do not have sufficient light mass inside of them, hence they needed to have light transferred from outside. What I did in the Holy Sword Project was to remove the light property from the likes of the sword boy here (referring to Kiba) to transfer the necessary element to someone that had the capacity of wielding a Holy Sword. Unfortunately, once the light element has been taken from the donor, he dies. A shame about them really…" Valper lamented half-heartedly.
Yuuto's rage rose if it had not reached the maximum already. All their suffering and deaths just so that someone else could wield that power!?
"Anyway, thanks to the Holy Sword Project, we were eventually able to create a method of transferring the light element to an item called the "Light Container" without even killing the person that it is removed from. The fruit of the results are what you can find in Freed over here," Valper gestured to Freed, who grinned while holding his sword.
"That sword… I thought something seemed unusual about it… so that is why… it's a Holy Sword…" Issei concluded.
"Yes, and not just any Holy Sword," Valper explained. "This is the legendary sword of King Arthur himself, Excalibur."
"""WHAT!?""" Yuuto, Issei and Gasper exclaimed in shock before looking at Freed's sword in awe, the latter who flashed it openly.
[The Sword Excalibur?] Ddraig joined in the conversation. [That's impossible! I heard it was broken and turned into fragments!]
"Heavenly Dragon Emperor, Ddraig! An honor to meet you," Valper greeted Ddraig. "Yes… sadly, that's true. Excalibur broke into seven fragments. Thus far, we only fused four of them, creating this current Excalibur fragment. It is a far cry from the original, but it is currently the next best thing we have here. But I was getting side-tracked. The benefit from the experiment is not the fused Excalibur Fragments, but rather the Light Container that Freed over there bears on his body. Speaking of which…"
Valper proceeded to pull out a shiny blue crystal from his pockets and held it out in front of him.
"…these are the light attribute remains of your friends," Valper said to Yuuto.
Yuuto froze in shock upon hearing this.
"What…?" Yuuto whispered out.
"Yes, you heard me right. I mentioned the extraction process of the light attribute from people, have I not? I don't need this thing anymore, so I'll give it to you as a little present… a compensation for all your troubles back then…" Valper said and tossed the crystal at Yuuto's feet.
Dohnasseek did not like where this was going.
"What are you doing? Have you gone mad?" Dohnasseek asked Valper roughly.
"What? I think the boy has more use of this than me. So why not? Plus, I can mass produce them, so it's no big loss," Valper argued back.
"Kiba?" Issei addressed the boy.
But Yuuto had shut out everything out of his mind and focused entirely on the crystal at his feet. He bent down and picked the crystal up. He held it in his hands and then…
…a tear fell from his face.
"I… I've missed you… guys…" Yuuto whispered to the crystal tenderly as more tears rolled down his face.
"Kiba…?" Issei addressed Yuuto again but with more tact.
Issei could tell that Rias' Knight was having something of a private moment.
"I… I was so weak… I… I could not… could not save you… I'm as weak as always… I could not avenge you… I… I cannot even protect the friends I've made now… I'm… so pathetic…" Yuuto whispered in defeat.
Issei was about to snap him out of it when suddenly, the crystal glowed.
"What?" Valper voiced in surprise. "What is going on?"
"I knew this was a bad idea…" Dohnasseek mumbled to himself.
"K-Kiba!?" Issei stuttered out in shock.
Freed watched with surprise, but also sought to protect himself from the blinding light.
"Ngghh… what is this annoying light show…?" Freed said with gritted teeth.
"Kiba-senpai…" Gasper voiced in empathy.
Kokabiel just raised an eyebrow at this strange phenomenon but did not say or do anything otherwise.
"This is…" Yuuto whispered to himself as he saw the lights dancing around him.
Then, one by one, the lights received ethereal human form.
"You're…" Yuuto whispered in shock.
It was then that the embodied spirits spoke.
"Isaiah… we missed you…"
"Don't give up…"
"Please, live… for us…"
"Fight on…"
"You're not alone…"
"We're here with you…"
"We love you…"
"Let us fight… together…"
Yuuto did not say anything as the spirits spoke. Then, he nodded.
[Balance Breaker!]
A blinding light illuminated the bunker, making everyone cover their eyes.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Issei cried out.
[I heard his Sacred Gear say [Balance Breaker!]. He has managed to evolve his Sacred Gear to the next stage] Ddraig explained.
As the light diminished, Issei looked around and by chance happened to see something in Dohnasseek's direction that may help turn the tides in the battle.
Meanwhile, Valper stared at Yuuto in shock upon seeing that Yuuto's aura had changed.
"You know what, Valper?" Yuuto said to him coldly. "You're wrong about so many things. But one thing more than others… my friends did not die… they are alive… within me… For as long as I live, they will live with me as well!"
And then, Yuuto raised his Sacred Gear into the air and yelled, "Sword of the Betrayer!"
With a flash, a new sword appeared in his hands.
Valper stared at the sword in shock.
"How can this be? You are a Devil and thus your swords should be Demonic. Yet, why is there Holy Energy coming from it, too…?" Valper whispered in a bid to comprehend the situation before him.
"I don't know. And I don't care. All I know is that my friends and I have made it possible and… you… will… die…" Yuuto pointed his sword at Valper Galilei.
"Go wild, Kiba! Don't let anything hold you back!" Issei cheered Yuuto on.
"Hey! Do not move! Have you really forgotten about my hostage!?" Dohnasseek reminded them all.
Issei turned to face Dohnasseek with a smirk.
"What hostage?" Issei cheekily asked Dohnasseek.
Dohnasseek was about to point at Gasper, but…
"What!? Where…?" Dohnasseek looked around but could not find Gasper for he was not under his feet anymore.
Dohnasseek found Gasper standing a good distance further away, but before he could do anything, Issei made his move.
With Dohnasseek distracted, Issei…
[Dragon Scale Mail! Equip!]
…donned his armor and rushed at Dohnasseek.
[POW!]
"UGH!" Dohnasseek grunted as Issei's fist landed in his stomach.
"That's payback for SR388!" Issei said to him.
"You damn…" Dohnasseek cursed and swung his light spear at Issei.
Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Valper decided to run to Kokabiel.
In contrast, Freed clicked his tongue and attacked Yuuto.
"YOU DAMN DEVIL! DON'T GET COCKY BECAUSE OF A MERE POWER-UP!" Freed roared at him.
Yuuto turned to Freed and blocked Freed's attack.
Previously, Yuuto was weaker than Freed in main part because of his sword.
But with Sword of the Betrayer, Yuuto could turn the tables on Freed and push the latter back.
"What!? How!?" Freed screamed in disbelief.
But Yuuto did not answer for he was not finished. He hacked Freed's sword and each time he did, the fused Excalibur fragment weakened. It was starting to crack.
"You… this cannot… be happening…" Freed said angrily with gritted teeth.
Just as the Excalibur fragment was to suffer its final blow…
"Damn you! Eat this!" Freed cried out and suddenly dropped the sword while pulling out his gun.
Yuuto, however, did not flinch. It was as if he was expecting Freed to do something like this.
[BANG!]
Freed shot his gun and Yuuto vanished into thin air.
Freed widened his eyes in surprise, while Yuuto appeared from behind and stabbed through from behind, the Sword of Betrayer coming through the front.
[SQUELCH!]
"GUAAAH!"
With a final cry, Freed died and Yuuto was the champion.
Meanwhile, Issei was currently dominating Dohnasseek. Dohnasseek did his best, but Issei was just too strong for him. Every stab with the light spear was blocked and any magical attack was tanked by Issei, as the latter kept punching him until his face was a bloody pulp.
Dohnasseek would have lost consciousness had Issei landed a few more blows, except…
"Huh?"
[BOOOOOOOM!]
…that Kokabiel had finally taken action by firing a powerful light magic spell at Issei, sending the brunette flying.
"GAHAH!" Issei coughed out as he hit the wall with his back first.
Issei collapsed to the ground and fell on his knees. Issei was not seriously injured. However, that attack left him winded and unable to move for a time.
Seeing this, Yuuto roared in anger.
"HYOUDOU-SAN!"
Yuuto rushed to help Issei. But Yuuto was blindsided by Dohnasseek, who grazed Yuuto's leg with his light spear.
"AGH!" Yuuto cried out.
Although the injury was not serious, it was enough to make Yuuto stumble. And because Yuuto was running so fast, he ended up bouncing a few times before slamming against the nearest wall. Yuuto slumped down unconsciously.
Kokabiel sighed.
"Why do I have to do all the work myself?" Kokabiel asked himself. "No matter, I have achieved my goals. I wanted a portal that would allow me to access to other worlds and that is what I'll get."
Issei perked up at this.
"Other worlds…?" Issei voiced out shakily.
It was then that Issei remembered. The adventures on Planet SR388, the Doki Doki Literature Club and even the home universe of the Hulk… Of course… This was the portal where Issei had entered SR388, so it made sense…
The whole time… it was to reuse this portal in the bunker…
But Issei could not let a warmonger like Kokabiel use that portal. If he succeeded, then countless dangers would emerge to this world from which there would be no salvation.
The X-parasites…
The Metroids…
And even the Hulk…
Issei had to stop this. He tried to get up, but…
"AGH!" Issei cried out as he was pressed down.
…Dohnasseek had pushed him down his foot.
"This is the last time you've gotten in our way. Goodbye, Issei Hyoudou…" Dohnasseek said darkly before raising his light spear.
"NO, STOP!" Gasper cried out and bit down on Dohnasseek's leg hard.
"You…" the Fallen Angel cadre glared at the cross-dressing Half-Vampire.
"AGH!" Gasper cried out as he was stomped on once more.
"Gasper…" Issei voiced out weakly.
Issei could not move. And Yuuto was unconscious. Nobody could help Gasper as Dohnasseek raised his spear in the air, ready to run his spear through Gasper.
"You know what? Since you took the initiative to attack me, I'll let you die first instead!" Dohnasseek declared.
"STOP!" Issei cried out.
And just when all things were lost…
[RUMBLE!] [BOOM!]
Piles of rubble came crashing down from above, much to everyone's surprise and with it…
"HULK SMASH!"
…a familiar roar was heard.
The Hulk jumped at Dohnasseek and grabbed the surprised Fallen Angel by the throat.
Gasper used this opportunity to escape and head to Issei and Yuuto.
"HRGH! HAGH!" Dohnasseek coughed out with fearful eyes before the Hulk…
[WHAM!] [BOOM!] [SLAM!]
…smashed him into the ground a few times, rendering the Fallen Angel unconscious.
Valper Galilei could only look at what was happening in horror.
"Is… Is that…?" Valper shakily pointed at the Hulk.
"Yes, apparently…" Kokabiel answered with a serious look at the green creature.
The Hulk turned to Kokabiel with a furious expression.
"I will be damned if I let you ruin my plans…" Kokabiel glowered as he summoned a light spear and readied himself to fight.
As the Hulk stomped over to Kokabiel, Valper decided to flee.
The Hulk made his first move and punched the wall. But Kokabiel took off into the air, making the attack miss.
The impact of the punch caused part of the ceiling of bunker to fall on the fleeing Valper.
"NO!" Valper screamed as the rubble buried him, silencing him permanently.
Yuuto, having been woken up by Gasper, saw Valper get crushed from the rubble smiled.
"Finally, he's dead… you guys have finally been avenged…" Yuuto said to his dead comrades with relief.
Kokabiel threw several light spears at the Hulk in rapid succession. The Hulk knocked them all aside with his arms before jumping at Kokabiel.
Kokabiel dodged in mid-air before throwing a powerful light magical blast at the Hulk.
[BAAMMM!]
The attack sent the Hulk flying to the ground. The Hulk landed on his feet with a few burns. He remained unharmed otherwise.
The Hulk then jumped at Kokabiel again.
Just like before Kokabiel dodged in mid-air before throwing yet another magical attack at him.
The Hulk was blown away once again and landed on the ground with his feet first. This time, the Hulk sustained more burns on his green body.
The Hulk did not attack right away. He looked around the bunker first as if to plan his move.
"Don't dare to make a move?" Kokabiel smirked arrogantly. "Then, I'll make one!"
Kokabiel fired another light magic blast at the Hulk. The Hulk dodged in time and landed on a nearby wall.
[BAAM!]
Kokabiel fired another blast at the Hulk, missing the latter and hitting the wall, creating dust and debris. The Hulk had managed to jump away and land on another part of the wall.
[BAM!] [BAM!] [BAM!]
"Stay still!" Kokabiel growled as the Hulk dodged attack after attack.
In doing so, more and more dust rose to the air along with more debris falling to the ground.
"Cough… cough…" Issei coughed as he covered himself on the ground.
"What is that?" Gasper asked fearfully while pointing at the Hulk.
"It's the Hulk…" Yuuto, who had a serious look on his face, responded. "But what is it doing here?"
"I don't know…" Issei answered as he gazed at the green man. "But one thing is for sure. If he had not shown up, Kokabiel and Dohnasseek over there would have killed us."
Yuuto and Gasper said nothing. They just simply watched the battle between these two titans. Being in front of Kokabiel was intimidating enough. But witnessing someone fighting toe to toe with one of the most powerful supernatural beings in existence was truly frightening – and awe-inspiring at the same time.
The Hulk continued dodging Kokabiel's attacks, but he did not just do so anyhow. Rather, he jumped from wall to wall and even from the wall to the ground and from there to the ceiling and then to the next wall and so on…
It was at that point that Kokabiel stopped firing upon realizing something about the Hulk's movements.
The Hulk was not simply dodging his attacks, but he was also bouncing from wall to wall. It was as if he was a rubber ball.
And not just that, but he became faster and faster…
And just as the Hulk bounced off the ceiling once more, he aimed his direction not to a wall or the ground but rather, he aimed at Kokabiel!
"WHAT!? OOOF!" Kokabiel voiced out in shock before being pounced on by the Hulk.
[BOOM!]
(((WHOOOM!)))
With a loud noise, the Hulk had flattened Kokabiel, the Fallen Angel now lying helplessly pinned down on the ground.
"Ugh…" Kokabiel groaned in pain.
It was clear that the Kokabiel had lost the fight.
Yet, the Hulk was not finished yet.
"You… damned…" Kokabiel cursed the Hulk, but could not speak any further for the Hulk…
[WHAM!]
…punched him in the face.
[BAM!] [POW!] [SLAM!]
The Hulk threw punch after punch on the downed Kokabiel, showing him no mercy.
By now, even Issei, Yuuto and Gasper were wincing in pain and horror. Although, they disliked Kokabiel, they really found it uncomfortable to watch Kokabiel being beaten to a pulp like this.
And just when the Hulk had finished throwing his tenth punch and would have thrown his eleventh one…
"STOP!" a voice called out from the sidelines.
Everybody turned to look and out of it came several of the leaders of the Biblical Factions, namely Azazel, Sirzechs and Michael.
"What the…?" Yuuto voiced in surprise upon seeing them.
"Sirzechs-sama?" Gasper voiced in surprise.
"Hey, that's Azazel over there! But who is the other one?" Issei wondered.
[That's Michael, one of the Archangels of Heaven] Ddraig answered. [But what are they doing here?]
The Hulk stopped punching and turned his face towards the three leaders with hostility in his eyes.
The battle had not ended with Kokabiel's defeat that day.
Instead, it had only just begun.
And that was the Chapter 66 of The Lone Vigilante Issei.
Wow, I really ended up writing more details and aspects than I intended to. I was going to keep it shorter. Instead, I ended up writing this much.
Anyway, about this chapter.
You all know the story of the Holy Sword Arc. However, it has been many years since I last read the light novel series, which is why I had to freshen up my knowledge of High School DxD. I did learn some new things about details I had overlooked or ignored in the past, such as the Light Container.
Now, I don't really remember what exactly Yuuto said when he was speaking to the spirits of his dead friends, so I had to make up the dialogue.
Regardless, it is moments like this and Yuuto's fight against Heracles that made Yuuto Kiba one of the most memorable characters in High School DxD. I think Ichiei Ishibumi himself considered Yuuto Kiba as a sort of secondary protagonist.
Also, I have to talk about Gasper. I made him use the guns since he still was not capable of using Forbidden Balor View to his fullest. And again, I know in the original light novel, he is much more of a coward than he is in this fanfiction. But I figured that given his loyalty to Rias, he would be able to do the things he did in this chapter.
Also, the fight between Kokabiel and the Hulk. I admit it is quite brief, but I realized that the Hulk's body is like rubber. Hence, I figured letting him use a tactic that involves bouncing off of walls, would be an interesting way of fighting.
And now, the Michael, Sirzechs and Azazel have shown up.
What will happen next?
Find out in the next chapter.
In the meantime, what did you think of this chapter?
Did you like it?
Please read and review, I would like to hear from you.
And as always, I hope to see you around next time.
Until then.
Hide Shinyama