To be honest, the schedule for this update is after the Alfheim arc is concluded; but I misjudged the length of the remaining issues needed to be covered in NEO, so... I've decided to post this baby a little earlier.

Also, in order to make things less confusing:

'Ise' = NEO DxD Ise

'Issei' = Canon DxD Issei

WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT AND NEO SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

"...So let me get my head around this."

Vali began after listening to the story before he sipped his cup of coffee. Currently Ise, Ophis, the Occult Research Club and Vali team were sitting on the table in the dining room with snacks and refreshments served.

Vali seemed to calm himself enough to listen to Ise's story about his life. Everything about this Vali mirrored the Vali he knew so far.

"Your name is Issei Hyoudou. Your father… is a bald man named Saitama, not Gorou. Your mother goes by Haruka instead of Miki… and you believe that you live in a different timeline where the Issei Hyoudou we originally know is probably in, somehow swapping places with you."

"That's the gist of it, and I hope that's the case… otherwise this will be a hellish trip that I just can't wake up from," Ise replied with a nod and tilt from his head, with Ophis casually sitting on his lap while munching on a cupcake.

"And… in your original timeline, you…. Were the Red Dragon Emperor, but your body has gone through several surgeries and modifications that you are now…." Vali gestured his hand confusingly at his supposed rival, "Some sort of hybrid between a human, demon and the goddamned Trihexa; with residual Welsh Dragon's essence in your current body?"

"Pretty much, yes." Ise nodded again before he automatically took a nearby napkin to wipe some crumbs off Ophis' lips.

"...What are you, then?" Vali asked the important question.

"Don't know." Ise shrugged, "...Some asshole that used to like eating Dragons said that I am a walking paradoxical concept of sorts; saying that an inherent power of mine is somehow fusing all of the extra stuff together with my humanity at once."

"I… see…" Vali did not know how to digest that information.

"And I don't think he exists in this timeline… for good reason." Issei nodded to himself.

"...I won't pry further, then. How did you come up with that anti-Dividing technique? Never encountered something that can exploit Divide like that. Even Albion is amazed." Vali asked.

"Forget about that one. What's this about something about you being the son of this strongest guy?" Bikou interjected with a curious grin.

"What's there to say? He is the strongest man. A guy so strong that he can bend reality over like his bitch if he puts his mind to it." Ise shrugged with a knowing smile, "...Oh, and he's also Surtr's successor in ruling Muspelheim."

[...What?]

Everyone mirrored each other.

"While we weren't looking, my dad actually went to Muspelheim after losing a bet against Thor. To retrieve Surtr's sword and bring it to Valhalla… and guess what he did?" Ise started to break down into stifled laughter. "He… he beat the Surtr! And somehow earned the right to rule Muspelheim with that flaming sword of his! Who even does that?! You should've seen the look on his face when a giant fiery army started calling him king and all that!" Ise ended with an amused laugh.

"...You fucking with us?" Bikou retorted.

"Nope, not at all." Ise shook his head, "...But enough about my dad. Talking about him and stuff will take ages to finish. Any other questions?"

"...What can you do?" Arthur was the next to ask. "The Issei we know can somehow power up through… sheer lustful fanaticism; and has extended mastery over Boosted Gear. What about you?"

"I know some magic." Ise summoned a fire ball in one hand. "Some martial arts, Sage Arts and… I can also copy certain powers to an extent. Like this."

Ise summoned a sphere of the Bael power to Rias' abject shock and Ise's cheeky grin - relishing everyone's reactions.

Rias shakily raised her finger at Ise, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Koneko just froze like the Koneko he knew did whenever she saw Rover smothering her with his affection.

Akeno's stoic demeanor broke at the sight.

Yuuto's jaw dropped.

Vali and the group just stared at the sphere of destruction stunned.

"And…. I basically have power over souls."

"...Come again?" Bikou asked.

"I can control souls. Part of the Demon's power, though it isn't enough to, let's say, raise an army of the dead and whatnot. I can use it to hack into Sacred Gears, though."

"One second, you said 'Demon'. Are we talking about devils or something like Youkai or something?" Vali then asked.

Ise took a glance at Azazel who shook his head urgently, albeit Vali noticed the gesture as he narrowed his eyes at his father figure.

"Er, by the way. What about you Vali? The Vali I know likes to stick around where I'm from. What's your relationship with the boob pervert? Are you in anguish like I am by his existence?"

Vali stared at Ise for a moment.

"...They didn't tell you." Vali asked, or more like, stated.

"Tell me what?" Ise asked.

Azazel sighed. "...Vali is currently a wanted fugitive."

The word 'vali' and 'fugitive' failed to settle into Issei's ears.

"...Come again?" Issei turned to Azazel.

"Vali is technically an outlaw. He has committed the crime of collaborating with Khaos Brigade, and allowing the Old Satan Faction to breach the Peace Conference Barrier." Azazel explained.

"...You what?" Ise narrowed his eyes at Vali, everyone grew uneasy when they saw his pupils turned into draconic slits.

Vali tensed when Ise rose from his seat, fist clenching with an aura so piercing that it made Vali's skin crawl.

"Let me finish." Azazel cut in, "While he did assist the Old Satan Faction invading the Peace Conference, Vali ultimately never served Khaos Brigade's agenda. He's actually been giving me some intel about each factions' movements and outline of their future plans whenever he had the chance."

Ise's glare softened somewhat, "...But that doesn't really explain why the fuck he did something that stupid. Got anything to say, buddy?"

Vali met Ise's looks - he suppressed his urge to grin and taunt this Ise for another round; his lust for battle made him really curious what this Ise was truly capable of if he was pushed to the brink.

Eventually, however, Vali's reason won out.

"...I just want to challenge the Dragon of Dragons, to be the most powerful dragon…. As simple as that."

"You… fucking retard. Actually, I want to punch some sense into your face. But thinking about it, the Vali I know might pull this kind of shit without my parents keeping him in check…" Ise sighed harshly, "But seriously, I really want to punch you in the face right now." Ise's reply caused the tension in the room to melt away.

In return, Vali only shrugged with a knowing smile on his face.

"What's next then? Now that you're here… what do you plan to do?" Arthur asked.

"Well…" Ise fell back into his seat with a frown. "One, I'm gonna fit in the best I can. Two, find a way back home… And hope that this isn't some elaborate nightmare realm I can't wake up from."

Azazel broke into snickers.

Ise wondered how the other Issei was doing back there, anyways. Knowing his friends, they would treat him well… unless that pervert decided to have funny ideas or something.

Eh, he was sure everything would work out.

The torture was literally mind breaking.

Every cut from that katana was pure excruciation. He knew that a cut from a legendary holy sword was painful, but this was many, many times worse. Yuuto did not stop no matter how much he cried out, each act felt like a piece of him died.

No, every piece wanted to die, but was kept alive to live through it all was the better comparison. It just would not stop.

He had no idea how long he was tortured.

He kept asking questions that did not make sense, treating him like he was another fake. What was going on? Issei continued asking himself this question every time that katana gouged his muscles. The pain just would not stop.

Then they transitioned into something… different.

Sacrifice

Sacrifice

Sacrifice

Sacrifice

Sacrifice

Sacrifice

Sacrifice

The evil black teletubbies drew a pentagram around him while he was bound in the center.

Each candle was at each tip of the star in the middle. The black midgets were wearing pagan robes and dancing around him in the dim red light while chanting in an ominous tone.

Yuuto was still there, his katana out, though he looked uncomfortable with this setting.

"Praise the Demon God Slaanesh, Praise him! For we shall offer thee thine sacrifice for thy boons!"

One of the black midgets started offering 'prayers' to an evil god.

Issei had absolutely no idea if this god was real. But in the slightest chance of this god being real… Could it have anything to do with his friends turning on him?

"Now then, here's the deal. If you don't tell us what we want to know, we're going to sacrifice your most precious organ to the Demon God Slaanesh." Another Black informed the impostor.

"...Eh? Demon God? What organ?!" Issei asked, now extremely terrified.

"Your little wee wee."

The image of his Johnny being… a new swell of terror overcame him.

"NO! PLEASE! NOT MY LONGEST COMPANION! I'M BEGGING YOU!"

Issei struggled against his bonds, thrashing even, his efforts doubled when he saw Yuuto unsheathing his evil katana.

"It's gonna hurt like hell, too. You have ten seconds to comply. Everyone! Start the sacrificial chant!"

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

"Confess or live without…. Um, sex." Yuuto, albeit unnerved by the interrogation itself, gave his ultimatum as he placed the sharp edge against the crotch of his pants.

"PLEASE! I HAVEN'T EVEN SLEPT WITH RIAS OR ANYONE TO BOOT! DON'T DO THIS TO MEEEE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Issei cried out pathetic tears as Yuuto raised his katana.

"MAY SLAANESH BLESS US WITH ALPHANESS!" The Blacks chanted and raised their hands in prayer as Yuuto dropped his katana.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Issei watched as the world slowed in motion, fueled by his horror as the blade stabbed into his crotch.

Issei cried out in pain as the mind-breaking pain wracked his nerves.

"NOooooooooooo! My johnny! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! You monsters! How could you?!" Issei managed to eke out his words before he resumed tearful screaming.

Yuuto pulled up his katana and sheathed it once more.

"...Tsk." Black clicked his tongue. "Seriously? Not even that got you talking? What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I have nothing to say! You-you cut off…" Issei bawled.

His companion was gone… forever. How could he ever find the will to live anymore?

"Either your stupidity or acting is amazing. Your wee wee is still there," Black commented. "Alright, we're done here. Let's go, Samurai-boy. We're leaving this to the gals."

Yuuto sighed with relief as Issei blinked at the mention. Issei looked down at his crotch and clenched his gut a little to feel for his companion…

"Oh… uhhh…" To his embarrassment, it was still there. Yuuto missed on purpose… all of that reaction and bawling… he blushed with shame.

However, the Knight sent him one last look.

"I… Don't know what your deal is, but… For the sake of your own sanity… Or well, all of us' sanity, I suggest you talk in the next session. I wish you luck."

The evil teletubbies cleaned up the room, scrubbing the sacrificial circle and picking up the candles with efficiency before they waddled away with Yuuto, Yuuto closing the door behind him.

Issei was not sure what to expect. He was scared that they have new ways to torture him, something more excruciating than that katana.

Regardless, he still could not make sense out of anything. His friends had been turning against him, yet their personalities did not seem to be tinkered in any way - Asia still had this kind disposition in her eyes whenever she came over to patch him up, even the damn pretty boy was reluctant to torment him. Either they were put under some elaborate mind control or everything had been one nasty joke picking on him.

He prayed to the God of Breasts, or whatever gods that were still willing to listen to him.

Oh, how he prayed for salvation from this Hell. Minutes went by with him still tied and bound to the metal table with only a pair of briefs on his person. The only small mercy was the temperature of the room was warm, so he needed not to worry about freezing to death yet.

"Nyaaa, is it our turn now~?"

The doors opened…

Issei looked down from his supine position, only to spit take at the sight of two scantily clad familiar faces… one of them he definitely did not expect to be wearing something so erotic was smiling with a perversely excited grin.

It was like the Goddess of Breasts answered his prayers in the most unexpected of ways as he nearly had a nosebleed from the sight of Kuroka and Griselda Quarta walking towards them with jeweled lingerie, walking on high heels with their hips and breasts swaying from the hypnotic motions.

The two ladies walked in - their eyes landed upon Issei's bare body strapped on the table surface. The boy himself was stupefied to the point of having loss for words, his mouth gaping open and close like a fish.

"...Someone's happy to see us, nya."

Kuroka commented with a cheshire smile when she noticed a tent between Issei's legs.

"Then I suppose we should make this one count, shall we?" Griselda replied as she and Kuroka approached their charge.

Issei could only swallow a lump, his mind was divided between fear and excitement as the two closed in while circling around him. Kuroka's fingers trailed along the skin on his chest, while Griselda's palm trailed softly against his outer thighs.

Eventually, Kuroka settled herself standing and looming over Issei's head by the head of the table, while Griselda climbed on top of the table, straddling Issei's hips.

Issei swallowed another lump as his eyes were trapped at the sight of Griselda smiling bewitchingly at him. The way she subtly rubbed her barely-covered crotch against his tent, how she sensually bit her lower lip, and her blue eyes boring into his brown… He had to say it was heavenly; something that only occurred in his wildest dreams or premium pornography websites about MILFs.

He was so entranced by Griselda that he was not prepared when Kuroka's hands grasped his head, prompting his eyes to blink and stare at Kuroka's own bewitching eyes.

"Wha-"

Without warning, Kuroka then captured Issei's mouth with her own and effectively shoved her tongue down his throat. Issei's mind went haywire as Kuroka passionately made out with him with them facing each other upside-down. Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived when he felt that he swallowed something that was most likely not drool.

As soon as Kuroka broke the kiss, Issei knew that she had him ingesting something, "What… What did you make me swallow?"

Kuroka merely replied with a shrug, "Eh, call it a part of the foreplay. We need you to stay full of energy, after all, nya."

Issei's attention on Kuroka was pulled away when he felt heat pooling within him. He turned and saw Griselda had slid his briefs down, letting his little guy stand up hard for Griselda and Kuroka to see.

"Ehhhh… this guy is kind of smaller. Not bad at all, but definitely different from Ise-chin." Kuroka commented.

Issei felt attacked, but decided to swallow his protest.

"Um…" Issei was afraid to ask, but he could not help but ask anyway, "What are you gonna do to me?"

"Oh, no need to worry about us. Just enjoy it while you can." Griselda merely replied as her face closed into his erection.

Issei's eyes darted between Kuroka and Griselda in the mix of fear and excitement. His body shuddered as Issei could feel Griselda's breath on his cock, and the pleasure crept up his frame even more when Kuroka began to tease Issei's nipples with her fingers.

"Kuh…!" Issei grunted as he looked down, finding his erection twitched and leaking pre-cum just from the warm air coming from Griselda's mouth.

Issei's eyes were wide in fear and anticipation when he noticed the gleam in Griselda's eyes, with the corner of her lips twitching upwards.

Is she gonna do what I think she's-!?

Issei's thoughts were interrupted when Griselda's lips enveloped the tip of his dick, and when her warm tongue pushed flick his urethra, the stimulation on the sensitive spot caused Issei's mind to go blank, as he experienced his first orgasm that did not come from watching pornography, but from doing the pornography.

"Nyaha~ He came from that alone? So cute…" Kuroka remarked with a teasing tone as she felt Issei's body go rigid while convulsing like crazy from the sheer ecstasy.

Griselda was barely fazed as she kept her lips around the tip of the dick that was ejaculating inside her mouth, all while stroking the twitching length so she could extract every single drop of Issei's load.

The orgasm eventually ended with Issei panting and his body still twitched ever so slightly. He watched Griselda did one last deep-throat to extract his last drop before she finally relinquish her hold on his penis; and Issei could not look away from the sight of Griselda sensually licking her lips without showing any sign of his load leaking out.

Holy shit…. Hoooly fucking shiiiit… Sister Griselda just gave me my first blowjob and swallowed my load…

Issei felt ashamed that he came too quickly to his liking, but he could not complain regarding the pleasure.

"There was a lot more than I expected… As expected from a young man like you." Griselda remarked with a sigh, "...And it appears you are still raring for more."

True to Griselda's words, despite the orgasm he had earlier, Issei's penis was already standing hard for another round.

"That felt great, don't you think, nya?" Kuroka whispered in Issei's ear, "But for you to come first when we just started – That's awful of you, nya."

Issei swallowed another lump as his heart was beating against his ribcage. He could only whimper when Griselda's hand grasped his erect cock and began stroking his length.

"I think a punishment is warranted… Though, who knows, if you give us what we want, we might consider it to make you feel like in heaven."

XoX

"...So he's been asking for an audience with me?"

Rias asked, as she and Akeno were being led by Genos toward an interrogation room containing a certain individual claiming to be Issei Hyoudou.

Genos nodded, "He kept saying that you can validate his claims about himself, despite his poor explanation and throwing false information at me. Currently Griselda and Kuroka are with him, trying to extract whatever possible information he can cough out."

"My, my, Kuroka and Sister Griselda ganging up on him? Poor thing." Akeno remarked with amused giggles, before she asked, "What have we learned so far?"

"Azazel had talked with him, and according to his diagnoses, this impostor…. Is an irregular, reincarnated devil. Currently Azazel is in his workshop, saying that he might know a clue or something." Genos replied.

"Irregular how?" Rias asked.

Genos glanced at Rias while replying, "Scans have uncovered anomalous objects within his soul - eight Pawn pieces with four of them mutated, and all of them have your energy signature imprinted on them."

Rias and Akeno blinked, "That's…. Not possible. Not only that all of my Pawns had been used up on Milicas, I thought Ise is now too powerful to be reincarnated?"

"Indeed, which leads to my next point," Genos continued, "Not only that he's a reincarnated devil, he also possesses an immense draconic aura, and the aura is similar to that of the Great Red and Ddraig."

"Great Red and… Ddraig? That…. Makes no sense. His aura is too mutated currently, nothing demonic?" Rias replied.

"No signs of actual Demonic powers of the Mastema Tribe. And…" Genos smiled at her, which was rare. "If you think that is obscenely illogical, then hear this - earlier, Griselda and Kuroka found that this impostor can form a telepathic link with their…. Breasts."

Rias and Akeno abruptly stopped their trek, looking funnily at the cyborg, "...What?"

They arrived at the door leading to the monitoring room.

"...Just see for yourself." Genos replied with a small sigh before he opened the door, revealing a monitoring room, a rectangular room with a ceiling light hovering above them, with Black standing by while munching a bag of popcorn before a two-way mirror.

"Yo, you're missing the action. Things are getting JUICY!" Black cackled while throwing another handful of popcorn into his mouth.

What happened beyond the two-way mirror caused the girls' eyes to widen in surprise.

"Oh, my!" Akeno covered her mouth while her face went as red as Rias' hair.

The said redhead was gawking at the scene behind the two-way mirror.

Three sweaty bodies on top of a metallic table; pressing and rubbing against each other, as soft moans echoed throughout the room.

"Do these feel good, nya? Why don't you tell me what my boobies are saying now~?"

"T-they're the best! These boobs are wonder-! Wait, no, this is wrong! Seriously, stop! Sto-mpph~!"

'Issei', still strapped to the table and in his birthday suit, had his face being smothered by Kuroka's breasts.

Griselda was also present, kneeling by Issei's hips – her mouth and tongue were caressing his family jewels, with her right hand holding the base of his erection while her left stroking the length, before her head changed position and ran her tongue across the length and took it all into her mouth all the way to the base; she deepthroat him for a second before she slowly pulled back half-way and steadily bobbed her head up and down with her hand stroking the remaining length, and her tongue playing and teasing the head of his cock.

For 'Issei' himself - despite his situation could only happen in his wildest dreams, the treatment he had been receiving for nearly the past hour, was also torture.

After his first mind-blowing orgasm, the ladies had been teasing him, stimulating him, even giving him fellatios that he only saw in his wildest dreams. Yet, every time he was about to have another climax, they would stop abruptly - asking him questions that he could not understand while lightly teasing him, before they would return on assaulting him again.

Rinse, dry, repeat - even now, Griselda had pulled his penis out of her mouth, just when he was so close from coming. Why was he receiving this kind of treatment? Even Akeno would not have gone this far how matter how sexy her teasing was. But dammit, Kuroka and Sister Griselda's charms and boobs were just so irresistible; his devilhood, puberty and whatever Kuroka shoved down his throat enhancing his lust and libido, certainly did not help his case as well.

Back in the monitoring room, Rias glared at Black with a flustered face, "What the hell is this?!"

"Hm? Oh, this? Well, you see - this sumbitch is a real piece of work; his whining aside, he's also a fucking tough nut to crack. Pain didn't work on him. The Big Bads used him as a punching bag for hours, still didn't work. Even called pretty boy Kiba to torture him with his Muramasa gal. The sword can amplify pain, so he carved into this impostor hard, you should've seen it, his dark side was blooming. Even threatened to cut off his wee wee, too."

Akeno and Rias almost paled at the idea of Yuuto nearly cutting off this man's most important organ. They did not think the Knight had it in him.

"Then we moved on to the next step. We originally planned to have Lint use her drug-inducing magic sword on him, but the girl was away on another errand and won't get here for a while, so we use an alternative to…. Appeal to his inner monster. You get what I mean?" Black replied with a knowing grin.

Rias turned and saw Kuroka was whispering something to a dazed and exhausted looking 'Issei', with her fingers kept playing with his nipples. Griselda on the other hand, was enveloping Issei's throbbing penis with her breasts while playfully licking, munching and kissing the head of his throbbing erection.

"...Alright, that's far enough." Rias sighed as she pressed the intercom, "Kuroka, Sister Griselda - you can stop now. Akeno and-"

Something metallic fell and clattered on the floor.

Everyone turned to the noise, albeit Issei's neck reached its limit from his position on the table.

The metal grate of the vent in the room was on the floor. Then came the bare feet landing on it.

"...Stjarna?" Kuroka called out at the sight of the infant in the shape of a young man.

Stjarna stared at the three and then at the prisoner strapped to the table. Issei could feel his judgemental three-eyed gaze burning into him.

"...Am I coming in during a bad time or…?" Stjarna pointed at the two women and Issei.

Issei wanted to bury himself in a dark, deep hole from sheer shame at this moment.

"Never mind that, what are you doing here?" Griselda asked, letting go of Issei's erection from her hold.

Stjarna blinked, as if just realizing his original intention, "...Oh, right. Sorry about this."

Everyone blinked this time at Stjarna's sudden apology, "Sorry for-?!"

With a gesture of his fingers, ice sprouted and crashed into Kuroka like a tidal wave.

"Nya?!" She was slammed to the glass window, ice pinning her to the wall to the surprise of the onlookers behind the one-way glass. "Cold cold cold cold cold! What're you doing to a delicate maiden?!"

Then Stjarna flicked his fingers towards the wall, sealing the magically reinforced door shut.

Meaning the Devil girls could not erase it with ease even if they used their full power.

"Eh?! Hey hey hey!" Black shouted in the microphone. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

Griselda immediately pulled out the Sword of Duality, a weapon of two halves colored in black and white, conjoined by the handle in a twisted knot as she moved in, her instincts screaming that there was no time to go into the balance breaker in the face of this opponent.

Spliced Beast Style: - Serpent Dragon's Lash

Her sword lunged forward, missing under the creature's shoulder before his two fingers plunged into her shoulder.

Viper's Bite, Dragon's Grip

Akeno and Rias heard a crack before Griselda crumbled, falling to the floor like a puppet with cut strings.

"S-Stjarna…" Griselda was still conscious, albeit robbed of strength.

Stjarna walked towards the prisoner, the prisoner staring at him upside down before the stranger swiped at his bonds, destroying the straps as Issei felt relief in his limbs with the freedom bestowed.

"Is your health nominal?" Stjarna asked.

"E-eh? Err, I, um…" Issei was at a loss for words since everything happened so suddenly, but after a brief look over himself, he replied with a frantic nod.

Then, noises were heard from the door leading to the outside.

"Dammit! The ice is blocking the door!'

"Stjarna!? Stjarna! Open this door!"

Issei and the creature glanced at the door before the latter grabbed him and threw him over the shoulder like a potato sack. While the said potato sack was blinking rapidly confused, Stjarna waved bye bye at the girls when the door broke down; they saw Stjarna teleporting away at the last second.

"Stjarna!"

"...Well, that makes things complicated. This will be a pain if he goes into Djall mode again," Black simply remarked.

The door of the observation room then opened, revealing a frantic Azazel entering the scene with his eyes on the incident behind the glass.

"What the hell just happened?!"

"Stjarna." Black merely replied and everyone was exasperated already.

Rias and Akeno were busy melting the ice and helping Griselda recover from the paralysis.

"Shit…" Azazel knew what that meant. "We have to get him back before Stjarna does something irreversible. Actually, why did he abduct this Issei in the first place?"

Azazel did not know what's going on behind Stjarna's head this time. Worst case, his inner Djall was compelling him to lobotomize Issei to get to the truth… and he might be able to pull it off at the cost of his life.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Black asked.

"No, no no no…. This might not even be an abduction case in the first place! This Issei might just be another victim of an… unfortunate mishap." Azazel explained.

"...What did you do? Did you pull off another bullshit like the anti-hive mind crap?" Black asked, knowing Azazel too well.

"I'll explain later after we get this Issei back. I still need to confirm some loose ends before I make a sound conclusion, though… Anyways, there is one place we can look for him. Let's just hope that Stjarna didn't set up the defenses."

Ise stared at Griselda Quarta when she was present within the room with the Satans of the Underworld, along with Archangel Michael.

Ise compared this Michael to the one he knew… unfortunately, there was no difference despite Saitama punching that Michael into a mountain. He was really hoping to confirm that there were fist-shaped scars on Michael back home.

As for Griselda - who came together with Michael, she was staring at her charge, Xenovia who was trembling before her swordmaster.

Ise wondered if he should break the ice and blurt out that he was… sort of(?) dating the older woman… No, who was he kidding - that's another whole can of worms waiting to be opened.

It was the next day where Rias and Sona decided to report to their siblings and other leaders about the situation involving one Issei Hyoudou, and everyone was currently situated in the house's meeting room where Issei was sitting across from the rest of the leaders on the large table.

"So you people basically had trouble taking down a mute kid's army of berserking monsters after getting blindsided by a fly devil?" Ise scoffed at learning about this reality's version of an Underworld invasion.

Honestly, the invasion of the Underworld he recalled was a lot more catastrophic with a higher body count; not something to brag about, of course.

"Just so you know, most of us were either too injured and busy trying to survive after being ambushed by Longinus-wielders and another army of Grim Reapers, all while escaping a crumbling dimension, so…. Yeah, things were really hectic." Azazel defended.

"Whatever that floats on your boat, Azazel. By the way, Vali - I forgot to ask this, but is that Fenrir?" Issei gestured to the lone canine in the room snarling at him with fangs, the white wolf of the Norse, the God Killer of the Ragnarok.

It still had that golden horn-like protrusions as he remembered, and Issei could tell that this one did not go through major enhancements.

Looking back - It was awesome to have Rover duel the God-Killing Wolf to the finish.

"Hmph. I suppose that your Vali also has the legendary Fenrir with him?" Vali crossed his arms with an air of snobbish superiority.

"When did you get your dog, though?"

Fenrir growled louder at Issei.

"He doesn't like to be referred as a 'dog.'' Vali rolled his eyes. "I managed to tame him during the battle against Loki"

"...Loki? Like when?" Issei asked.

"When Odin was invited to Japan to form a truce, Loki attempted to assassinate him with Fenrir." Vali noted.

"...Really? That early?" Issei could not believe it.

"When did your Vali get Fenrir?" Arthur asked.

"After an epic battle against Loki for the fate of the world tree. It's a long story. Better to not get into it."

"But you saying that is having the opposite effect." Azazel leaned in.

"I don't think it's that relevant anymore. Why's Fenrir antagonistic against me, though? Is it because of the dog smell on me?" Issei asked, amused by Fenrir's hostility.

"Probably Fenrir-chin is not comfortable with the aura exuding off your body." Kuroka surmised.

"Does it look like I want to kill him? Oh wait, is it because I smell dangerous?" Ise mused, "No matter; anyway, back to the topic at hand; is there anything you'd like to ask?" Ise addressed the other leaders, who had been listening to the story so far.

"So….. Dimensional travel?" Ajuka was the first to ask with a face full of curiosity.

"Probably something even beyond that, but basically, yes." Ise nodded. "Turns out that there are other universes out there if one travels far enough in the gap if you're wondering. Anything specific?"

"...Will you make time to come and visit my workshop? There are many things I'd like to learn from you." Ajuka asked again, this time with a small smile and somewhat predatory looks.

Ise found himself leaning back slightly under Ajuka's eyes.

"Mmmmmaybe… I'll let you know if I have time, like ever." Ise threw a few glances at the Occult Research Club, who were looking as lost as him. "Any other question?"

"Oh oh oh!" Gasper raised his hand. "Um, what about me? What am I like there?"

"Eh…"

Issei could only hear dubstep and see a chuuni vampire doing the Jojo.

"...Uh, good news. You're being trained by the Dracula there."

The room abruptly became silent at Ise's word.

"...Excuse me, but did you just say…. Dracula? As in, Vlad Tepes III, the Count Dracula, the first vampire recorded in history?" Michael was the one who asked.

Ise blinked and looked around before replying, "Yes, that Dracula. What, you guys don't have him around here?"

Everyone stared at him.

"Oh…. OH!" Issei hammered his palm. "Oh right, you don't have an eldritch god breaking every soul out of Hell…. Right, right. Things are… pretty hectic back home so the setting might be too extreme."

"An eldritch god?" It was Azazel who spoke this time, "Lovecraftian mythos are real in your world?"

"Hah! Well, there is someone that resembles Cthulhu, but no." Ise snorted before his expression grew a little grim, "'Imagine… something so strong that it can kill the Great Red with ease. That is what we're dealing with at the moment… it is not from this universe. That is the big bad I am dealing with."

"...Oh…" Azazel responded, before asking again, "And this being… Does he or she have a name we should be aware of?"

"GOD. Just… GOD." Issei answered. "Nobody ever heard of his name, but whenever people made contact with him, they always addressed him as GOD. This GOD… is more than just an enigma; from what I heard, he's near-omnipotent. So powerful he can destroy stars and worlds."

Everyone digested the scale of the battle in his home, the war against an unfathomable powerful foe that could contend with the so-called Strongest Man.

"...Huh…" Serafall hummed. "What about me? What was I like?" She pointed at herself.

"Err…" Issei's face soured at the sight of Serafall.

"What?" Serafall asked, blinking.

"...Nothing. You're basically the same siscon magical girl fanatic, right?"

"I wouldn't say 'siscon' but- What do you mean 'fanatic'? I'm not a 'fanatic', I am the Magical Girl Levia-tan!" Serafall admonished while brandishing her signature magic wand.

"Yeah, sure you are. Moving on, next." Issei waved off.

"Who is my pawn in your world, if I didn't ever get to reincarnate you?" Rias asked.

"...Millicas." Issei answered.

"...Millicas?" Sirzechs, Rias and Grayfia spoke out.

"Yeah, your son. He's a cool kid. Lots of potential and very energetic. Though he looks a bit too teasable to the opposite sex…"

Sirzechs smiled, although he flinched when Grayfia elbowed him from the side.

"Wait, wait, you are serious about my nephew joining my own peerage?" Rias interrupted, "I mean, how is he doing? I know Millicas is talented for his age, but Rating Games are not… Well, 'games', you know?"

"Pretty good." Issei gave her a thumbs-up. "Living up to the Crimson Satan's name. Next."

"Anything interesting from my side?" Sona asked.

"Saji has a hot Devil noble gunning for him."

Saji spluttered and coughed at the mention while Ruruko and Momo's eyes widened.

"Wait wait wait, really?!"

"Moving on." Ise ignored the Sitri Pawn with a knowing smirk.

"Hey, Hyoudou! Don't just leave a guy hanging-ACK?!" Saji squawked when Momo smacked his head.

"Next."

"Anything interesting from my side?" Ajuka raised his hand.

"Nothing that I know of, only you're busier. Next."

"What about me, if I may ask?" Michael asked with an amused curiosity from himself.

"Eh…. You're… well, it'll take too long to explain. Next."

"But…" Michael sounded sad, while everyone was rather curious at the story when Ise refused to divulge further.

"You're living up to your Dad's shoes more up there. That's all I have to say. And you have to deal with people learning that their God is dead."

Irina and Michael were stunned, their expressions mirroring their emotions.

"Oh… oh…" Xenovia understood what that meant.

"...I… see." Michael did not have words to respond to such a serious predicament.

"It is a hard road you're leading. Good thing you have help, but many Pantheons around the world are beating you while you're down. A lot of pent-up resentment for your Dad, you know? I know about the shit He's done."

Michael closed his eyes before staring at Ise, "Ise, while I may not be aware of the circumstances in your world, please don't speak lightly about my Father."

Ise blinked at a certain edge in Michael's voice, yet ultimately Ise decided to relent, "Right, sorry about that; I'll keep that in mind. Anyone else want to ask something?"

"Well, I do have one more question." Azazel piped up with a knowing grin, "How many girls in this room have you slept with?"

"I ain't answering that, you dirty old crow." Ise retorted with a dirty look at the snickering Azazel, ignoring the blushing curious faces from the other girls upon hearing the question.

"Alright, then I'll alter the question - which one of these girls did you lose your V-card to?"

Issei exhaled through his nose at the next question. However, his mind could not help but to ponder. During that one incident involving a gender-bending ray gun and Tsubasa…. Did that one count as him losing his virginity?

….Nah.

"It was…" Ise took another second to decide whether he should say or not, but decided that there was no real harm if it was just a brief detail about his first time, "...It was Irina."

All heads turned towards Irina, who was flustered with her hands cupping her blushing cheeks. When her eyes found Ise's, the boy shrugged.

"I did say the harem stuff started with you, didn't I?"

"I… Um…" Irina's wings blackened for a moment.

"Alright, I think that's enough for now. If we continue, we're going to be here all day, and I don't think you all have the time in the world to go through with it." Ise leaned back on his seat.

"Right, I guess we have enough ice-breaking." Azazel understood, "Now, here's the real question - Vali mentioned that you are aware about the revived Evil Dragons while he's still investigating them. What can you tell us about them?"

The light-hearted mood turned serious as everyone waited for Ise to answer. The boy in question closed his eyes to gather his thoughts before he took a breath.

"Before I begin…. I'd like everyone sans the leaders, Rias, Sona, Vali and….." Ise's eyes landed briefly on a certain nun in the room, "Sister Griselda, to get out of this room."

Everyone exchanged glances before Saji spoke up, "Um, why?"

"Sensitive information. I need you guys to trust me now." Ise replied with a serious expression.

They looked hesitant, but after receiving nods from Griselda, Vali, Rias and Sona, everyone else began to fill out the room, leaving Ise with those he allowed to remain.

Once everyone was settled and comfortable, Ise began, "Okay, this is gonna be quite a long story, so make sure to listen, because I'm not gonna repeat myself."

Maaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

They were within an unknown location, windows peering into the building while the three-eyed stranger stared at him.

With something… out of place on his head.

It had a long, sinuous neck with creamy white skin, adorable black beady eyes, had four stubby legs, and was covered in what looked like cacao beans dangling off its leafy hide.

"...What is that?" Issei pointed at the thing giving him the cute eyes.

"My little buddy." Stjarna answered.

He grabbed his little buddy and placed him… her… on Issei's head.

Kyu

It squeaked adorably as it craned its head upside down, looking Issei in the eyes.

And not only that, they were surrounded by cute animals, puppies and kittens…

This was not what Issei was expecting when the stranger abducted him and transported him inside an… animal shelter.

Ah, the thing bit his nose. And… It was wiggling it. Then the puppies and kittens yipped and mewled as they pawed his shins. For some reason, the sight of the small animals showering him with attention and affection gave him warmth, considering what he went through before.

"So nice… So cute…"

"Wait, wait, wait, hang on." Unfortunately, Issei had something else to think and do, "I need to figure out everything about this situation! What's going on? What's wrong with everyone? Why were they treating me as if I'm someone else? And since when the fuck has Sister Griselda been so erotic?!"

"It is best to start from the beginning to understand your position," Stjarna said as he took his little buddy and put her back on his hair. "I rescued you per Asia's request. My name… do you know my name by any chance?"

"...Uhhhhh… Wait, Asia asked you to rescue me?"

Issei asked with an elated hope; unexpected, but at least he was glad that Asia still cared enough to ask… Whoever this guy was, to get his ass out of the fire. Still, he had absolutely no idea who he was and what was going on, no matter how hard he tried.

"...Yes." Stjarna nodded. "She's not the kind of person that likes to see people suffer. I am not sure if it is because she sees good in you or because you have the same face, but it doesn't matter. Now, back to my question. Do you know my name?"

"Um… no… I don't think so… what's your relationship with Asia?" Issei asked, curious.

"It is complicated. Her little dragon is my self-proclaimed senior." Stjarna chuckled. "Stjarna, Stjarna Djall. Some call me Djall while others Stjarna." Stjarna answered as he offered his hand to Issei.

Issei stared at the offered hand for a moment, but after considering the person(?) in front of him just rescued him earlier, he decided to give him benefit of a doubt.

However, as soon as Issei's skin and Stjarna's made contact during the handshake, Stjarna's fingernails dug into his skin and pricked his wrist vein.

"Ow?!" Issei retracted his hand, finding a drop of blood smeared on Stjarna's finger.

"Don't panic." Stjarna retorted as he licked the blood from his finger.

He smacked his lips in thought.

"...You're under great stress. So much confusion swirling in your blood. In pain. You feel betrayed… and you are infected with desperation for something. Answers, most likely. You've suffered. So much fear for what will happen to you and what you will find. Am I right?" Stjarna hummed.

Issei stared at him.

"...You got that from licking my blood?" Issei pointed at him.

"You're also under… sexual stress. Should I ask?" Stjarna asked with a raised eyebrow, glancing at the half-erect penis.

"Um…" Issei blushed and noticed that he was still in his birthday suit, "Probably not. Though, you mind giving me something to wear?"

Stjarna stared at the boy before he clapped his hands together.

When he pulled his hands apart, a stretching, sticky substance stuck to his palms.

Then he 'weaved' the substance, knitting a set of simple black t-shirts and shorts from his hands to Issei's astonishment. Upon receiving the clothes, Issei stared between the cloth and the creature.

"...Did you just make these out of your body?"

"Trihexa silk. Very strong." Stjarna smiled.

"Is this safe to put on?"

"It's hygienic. Elemental proof, acid proof, sword proof, the list goes on." Stjarna replied with a matter-of-factly tone.

Almost boasting even.

Issei stared at the fabric in his hands for another second before he finally decided to put them on. True to Stjarna's words, the clothes felt really comfortable to wear.

"...Thanks." Issei spoke as he attempted to get himself back to relax.

"Now, back to the problem." Stjarna hummed and started clicking his throat in an inhuman-insectoid tune to Issei's bewilderment.

"...Uhhh, what are you doing?"

"Monologuing."

Stjarna said as his little friend squeaked and nestled into his hair.

"Hmmm. Too many questions need answering… Alright, let's start with your history. Your name is Issei Hyoudou, yet your bloodline is different. It is corrupted by dragon blood and devil blood, but I can taste the human ancestries within you. You are a child to two mundane humans, correct? What are their names?" Stjarna asked.

"It's… Gorou and Miki Hyoudou." Issei replied.

"...Unknown names, possible attempt at gene fabrication?" Stjarna muttered to himself as he rubbed his chin. "The Issei Hyoudou I know is the son of Saitama and Haruka."

"...Excuse me?"

Ignoring Issei's confusion, Stjarna continued with his questions, "How did you die?"

"...Die? I… I died… wait, how did you know I died not long ago?" Issei asked.

"I guessed. You don't look like the person that would sacrifice your humanity willingly to the extreme for more power."

"That's… yeah, I died from poison. I was struck by a poison arrow."

"Who shot you?"

"...Shaalba."

"The Beelzebub?" Stjarna tilted his head. "What poison?"

"...Do you know about Samael?"

"Yes… I see, hmmm, interesting." Stjarna started clicking again.

"How did you get the dragon flesh of Little Red?" Stjarna asked.

"...Little Red?"

"Once, he was the Great Red. But then he lost and got reduced to Little Red after a humiliating defeat. It is quite funny. Too bad the red snack is off limits to me," Stjarna snickered.

His little buddy squeaked and pulled his eyelid as if trying to discipline him.

"Now, answer the question."

Issei did not know how to process the information… Everything was too confusing, and the sight of Stjarna being nagged by the cute thing on his head was too distracting.

"Um, the Great Red bestowed me this… body made from a chunk of his own flesh, after some convincing…"

"Isn't the dragon an obnoxious manchild that hates listening to reason?" Stjarna asked.

"I think that's a bit harsh to label the Great Red like that, but… Ophis helped me convince him, so it all worked out." Issei replied.

"Hm... Interesting…" Stjarna learned forward and started sniffing. "There are no traces of preservatives in your bloodstream indicating possible cloning… must be magical. Tell me, where did everything go wrong?"

"I don't know what you mean by that-"

"Like when everything is out of place. When things started to become strange before you got caught and tortured."

Issei blinked, "Oh. In the mansion… Now that I think about it, it all started when I saw that six-eyed dog."

"Then we have a clue… I have a conjecture, but for now, we need to move. It won't be long until they find us here and take you back to that torture table. Can you fight?"

"Um, I guess? But Ddraig has been sleeping ever since my revival since constructing and assimilating my new body took a lot of power, so I won't be able to go all out."

"Hm... Let me see…" Stjarna hummed with interest while his little buddy mewled.

He grabbed Issei's left hand and dug his fingers into his wrist.

"Ow?! Do you always prick strangers like this?!" Issei asked.

"No. Now be still… Who in the Dead God's name is responsible for your revival?" Stjarna's face soured.

"Uh..."

"This is so sloppy, I want to murder him or her to death, revive them, and eviscerate them again. Whoever is responsible failed to properly transfer the dragon soul with your soul, crudely tying the two souls together with a flimsy knot made of inferior, rotten string. They threw your soul into this facsimile of a human body, forgot the dragon, and hurriedly shoved the dragon into you with primitive barbarism, tying the string to your soul at the last second."

Stjarna sounded genuinely offended with his features scrunched with pure displeasure.

"...It's Ophis." Issei ended up answering with a silent apology sent her way.

"Impossible, she is not that incompetent. Maybe before her serious training in learning the more advanced magical arts, but…" Stjarna retorted.

"I can jumpstart your dragon awake." Stjarna finally answered. "...But whoever is responsible for your revival left your dragon very vulnerable, and this will be my first time doing so. I don't know what will happen to him if I awaken him in this delicate state, and I cannot heal souls that are damaged as there aren't that many opportunities to practice on damaged souls."

"...Then I don't think you should." Issei pulled his left arm away.

"But you're useless," Stjarna then retorted.

"Oh, give me a break, man… I'm not that useless!"

Stjarna clicked. He snapped his fingers and whistled.

All of the puppies and kittens backed away from Issei, giving Issei space. Issei did not like the look of it when Stjarna suddenly placed one hand behind his back.

"Can you prove it?" Stjarna wagged his finger at him.

Stjarna flared his aura, a small glimpse.

That small glimpse gave Issei the sensation of being impaled by a spear, right through the heart with uncanny precision.

Issei grimaced as he looked around. The animals were sitting on their rears, now watching him carefully with an eerie focus.

Issei regarded Stjarna and inhaled, then entered his fighting stance.

Stjarna quirked a brow at his footwork.

"...Don't tell me your fighting style is heavily reliant on overpowering your foe?"

Stjarna sniped Issei's plan with pinpoint accuracy.

"...No, I know a few tricks." Issei bluffed - he did learn a few tricks himself in the past.

"Show me." Stjarna clicked a rhythmic tune as he waited with statue-like stillness.

"...Aren't you going to move your little buddy away?" Issei asked, pointing at the creature on his head.

"Don't mind Coco. She enjoys the action."

Issei scoffed when 'Coco' squeaked with confidence, raising his/her two little front paws up in the air.

"Alright, that's playing dirty, but fine! Balance Break!"

Issei broke out his Scale Mail.

"...Your armor is standard." Stjarna sounded… completely disappointed for some reason.

"Well, then try this!"

[Boost.]

Issei's power sky-rocketed, but Djall was not impressed even when the boy suddenly disappeared in high-speed movement. Not to mention that for some reason, the voice that came out from Boosted Gear sounded…. Dispassionate, as if he was listening to a machine rather than the dragon dwelling within.

Issei moved straight forward with a straight punch rocketing at Stjarna's center.

But his fist was caught, Stjarna pulling Issei into his elbow as his throat crashed into the sharp bone joint, breaking through the scarlet armor as fragments entered his throat.

Issei soon collapsed to his knees, hacking out blood while clutching his shredded throat. His Scale Mail soon vanished due to the seemingly fatal injury.

"Who taught you to fight like that?" Stjarna asked, quirking a brow at Issei's movement. "You went straight for me like a blind bull."

Issei could not answer due to the blood clogging in his throat.

Stjarna sighed as he sauntered towards Issei and placed his hands onto Issei's throat. Issei blinked when he felt his throat healed, wounds closing and vocal chords knitted.

"Hah… Self-taught, mostly. What'd you do to me? It didn't feel like healing - mmngh, magic," Issei grimaced as he got back to his feet, clearing his throat of the shards.

"Biomancy. I manually knit your wounds; and the little training you did receive?" Stjarna asked as he yanked his fingers out of Issei's throat.

"Azazel and Tannin, mostly. Sometimes with Koneko and Kiba."

"So you fulfilled the bare minimum…" Stjarna clicked rhythmically. "Now, to awaken your dragon."

"Eh? W-Wait!" Issei pulled back from Stjarna. "C-Can't we do anything else?! Other than… well…"

"...Are you and the dragon close?" Stjarna summarized.

"...Yeah…" Issei hung his head. "We've been through a lot together. Even though I've never asked for him in the first place, he stuck by me through thick and thin."

"You do know that he was made a prisoner, forced to become your source of power because of the capricious whim of a cruel, deceitful God?" Stjarna reminded.

"That's…" Issei barely got the meaning from that long sentence. "...Well, I think I get what you mean but…"

"He chose to stay by you as your brother despite it all, didn't he? That is true loyalty." Stjarna hummed with a nod.

"Yeah… so…"

"But I'm not sure what kind of worth he sees in you. You're a sloppy mess, and from what I can see…" Stjarna's third eye shifted color as his pupils changed into many shapes, "You cannot use magic that well, can you?"

Issei only pouted in response. He had no idea how this guy could see that, and the way he sniped and nitpicked failings were getting too accurate for his liking.

"...So I'll train you."

Issei blinked before asking, "...Train?"

"Train." Stjarna answered. "Honestly, I cannot stand the sight of someone with that face falling to such a pitiful level considering all I've been through."

Issei did not know whether Stjarna was being nice or an asshole at this point… Or a nice asshole.

"We're starting now."

"...Now?"

Stjarna grabbed Issei's shoulder.

Before Issei said a word, both of them teleported away from the animal shelter. The animals mewled and yipped goodbye to their friend.

OxO

Back in the Hyoudou Residence, everyone was discussing their next step to find Stjarna and their escaped prisoner.

The Student Council President was there as well as the ORC; even Vali and his team members were there.

Asia sat on a couch pillow in the center of attention as if she was being 'sentenced' for tipping Stjarna. However, nobody in the room was showing any hostility at her - mostly exasperation and understanding.

"...You know, you could have just talked to any of us instead of asking Stjarna of all people to break that guy out." Azazel asked with a somewhat bemused expression.

"…I didn't know what else to do." Asia said as Rassei poked out of her hair and nuzzled against her forehead. "...Stjarna promised me that he won't hurt him. He also promised me he would help us find our Ise."

"Does he have a plan?" Black asked from the couch, eating from a bag of potato chips, amused.

"I… I don't know. He didn't tell me." Asia whimpered slightly.

"He always is a restless one." Vali muttered under his breath, knowing the pain of dealing with him both in and outside of the battlefield.

"I checked the animal shelter." Black notified. "He isn't there. Only the tiny animals snuggled up to the other me there. He's not coming back for a while."

"Well, damn." Azazel cussed, albeit without real heat in his tone. "Where else could he be…? Anyone got any ideas?"

"I think we can find them a bit later." Rias spoke to Azazel, "Stjarna might not be the most trustworthy, but I trust him enough not to do anything drastic in this case, since Asia asked him in person. I believe you owe us an explanation for your hand in all of this. Or so you believed."

Azazel regarded the rest in the room, who was looking at him expectantly. A minute later, he sighed in acceptance.

"Let's start with this question… What do you all know about other dimensions?"

Most of those in the room exchanged glances for a moment.

"By that, do you mean the nine realms connected to each other through the branches of the World Tree?" Sona asked, pushing up her glasses.

Azazel shook his head.

"The Nine Realms might count as other dimensions, but that is not what I meant. Have you forgotten that there are realms beyond the reach of Yggdrasil? We already have living proof of that," Azazel gestured to Black who stopped munching on potato chips.

"Ohhhhh… You're researching other universes, aren't you?" Black pointed a potato chip at Azazel.

"Exactly. I've been researching ways to access realms beyond the World Tree, like your and Saitama's realm, for example. I was hoping to get more clues about our true enemy as well." Azazel elaborated, "...Unfortunately, the machine I worked on suddenly malfunctioned, and soon after, I received a report about a certain individual who shares the same identity as one Issei Hyoudou."

Everyone remained silent for a minute, digesting Azazel's story. Eventually, the first one to speak up was Sona, whose eyes were wide in realization.

"Please don't tell me…" Sona began, "That your experiment somehow swapped the Issei Hyoudou we know with another Issei Hyoudou from a different universe?"

Everyone stared at Sona for a second before turning to Azazel who was cupping his hands together on the table.

"Honestly, it is so improbable that I don't know where to start looking for the evidence. It's still inconclusive, but all the leads so far brought me to that scenario."

"You do know that the multiverse trope has been overdone, right?" Black pointed out. "You went looking for other universes, and you somehow dipped your toe into the timestream, then you accidentally swapped our chad for a pervert from an oopsie?"

"Silly, I know. But what else could it be? If anyone here has better ideas, I'm all ears." Azazel opened his hands, "Regardless, we still have to find our charge so I can get more answers."

Black snorted, "After what we've put him through? We seriously thought that he's some shameless bastard trying to take our guy's place and failed spectacularly! I even had Kiba use his Muramasa for the torture! Not to mention the poor sumbitch is now with Stjarna of all people, and we know how much of a pain he is when he's moving around and doesn't want anyone to find him. Unlike with our Ise, this guy can sniff me out before I get there! Who knows what's happening now."

"Still, what about proof that he's from another universe?" Akeno raised her hand. "Memories of another life are not the strongest evidence…"

"Yeah. We're gonna need an expert for this… So, who wants to help track Stjarna down?" Azazel immediately dove into the serious issue.

However, Rias blinked when her mind clicked at the word 'expert', "...Now that you mention it, has anyone heard from Kiyome?"

Everyone glanced at one another, silently relaying negative answers.

"Anyway, we can't stay here dilly-dallying." Azazel stood up, "Vali, with me - we're gonna contact Ddraig if we want to confirm this Ise's claim about being the Red Dragon Emperor. The rest of you… well, someone should inform Genos and Saitama about the situation. Saitama's kind of busy overseas dealing with the menace that is GOD's minions and the rise of monsters and all that. And speaking of Saitama… who wants to break the ice that we might have lost his son to another universe? We also need to inform Haruka too."

"That's on you." Rias pointed at Azazel.

"I am sorry, but we will have to sacrifice you for the world as we cannot withstand the wrath of an angry baldy," Sona harshly vocalized her decision to sacrifice the Scapegoat to take the punch, "It's your responsibility as our teacher and an adult, after all."

"It is tradition for leaders to be sacrificed to the mountains to appease the bald God, after all~" Akeno chimed in.

"...Hah, you kids are…" Azazel grumbled. He wondered how many clones and dark minions he should make before opening the can of worms that lead to Hell.

"So… Vampires, huh?"

Ise mused as he made his way towards the old school building with the rest of Occult Research Club sans Rias, Akeno and Azazel who were waiting for them in the clubroom along with the Student Council.

"Do you have them back in your world?" Xenovia asked with a curious tone.

"Yeah, we do. Not quite the funnest bunch to have around." Ise replied with a shrug.

"You've encountered them?" Irina asked this time.

"Other than Gasper? Oh yeah. I heard that they were very pompous and arrogant, though Count Dracula was a pretty chill guy when you get to know him."

"Did he come back from the dead or did someone else claiming to be Dracula ruled the Vampires?" Xenovia asked.

"Oh, he came back from the dead. There is… like a massive incident back home. Question, did the Gates of Hell let loose all of the damned souls into this world?"

"...Not that I know of. If so, we'd be having a massive case of poltergeist, hauntings and even possessions on the streets." Ravel remarked.

Ise nodded with a small sigh, "Cool, cool… That's good to know. Anyway, let's meet up with these vampires first, yeah?"

They entered the old school building again. For a second, Ise expected Rover to run up to him from Gasper's room…

He almost saw a phantom visage of his little buddy waddling up to him with an expectant face for treats.

"Damn, I miss home already."

His best friend, and his evil teletubby friends as well, he was starting to miss them.

They made their way towards the main room. There, Ise saw them.

A noble vampire girl with a porcelain-like face. She looked more like a doll than a human, smooth pale skin garbed in black, crimson eyes, petite, in an aristocratic dress that was very out of fashion, pale blonde hair.

Her bodyguards were male, ironically. Tuxedo clad, well-built bodies wearing black sunglasses.

"Welcome." Rias greeted her Peerage with an easy smile, Akeno also nodded with her signature smile as well.

Azazel was also seated, saluting at them with a small smirk on his face. The rest from the Student Council also gave their subtle greetings.

"Hope we didn't make you wait long." Issei nodded at the two ladies before casting a quick glance at the vampires, who ignored them in favor of sipping at the cup of tea served before her.

"No, not at all. Our guests just arrived a minute ago." Rias waved off, and everyone stationed themselves behind Rias.

With everyone settled, the vampire lady placed her cup down the table and opened her eyes.

"How do you do, people of the Three Great Powers. It is a great honor for me to meet with the sisters of Great Satans and the Governor of Fallen Angels. I am Elmenhilde Karnstein. Feel free to call me Elmen for short." the vampire - Elmenhilde introduced herself with a small curtsey.

"The honor is ours, Lady Elmen." Rias returned the courtesy.

Issei recalled who she was.

"...Elmo Caramel?"

Everyone turned their heads towards Ise as he stared at Elmen.

"What is it, Ise?" Rias asked with a small confusion, which was shared by everyone else.

The vampires, however, only regarded Ise with a slightly bemused look.

"...Sorry. Uh, she kind of reminds me of someone I met by chance… Only more down on her luck."

Elmenhilde narrowed her eyes slightly in disdain at the man, but otherwise did not say anything.

"Right…" Rias then addressed her guest again with a sheepish smile, "Please forgive my Pawn here, this is his very first time encountering vampires."

To her credit - Elmen simply gave a soft, dignified sigh through her nose, "It is of no consequences, Lady Gremory. Now, I shall not waste your time and cut to the chase - for my purpose of coming here, as the representative of the Esteemed Household of Carmilla… We request to borrow Gasper Vladi's strength in our battle against the Tepes. I believe you people are familiar with our race's history."

Azazel's expression was neutral as he nodded along, "Very familiar since Dracula is involved with Christianity…. For you to come all the way here to request a vampire who technically came from one of the households serving the Tepes clan, I assume there's a change in tides of the battle?"

"What's so important about Gasper that you need him?" Ise pointed his thumb at Gasper, who had a mixture of surprise and fear on his expression.

"His power, for one." Elmen replied, "The truth is, a member of Tepes household has awakened her Longinus Sacred Gear for a while, causing the tide of war to turn to their favor."

"Oh? And pray tell, what is this Longinus?" Azazel asked, while throwing a brief glance at Issei.

"I'm afraid that is classified." Elmen smiled.

"Sephiroth Graal?" Ise sniped.

Elmen and her male bodyguards suddenly turned to Ise. To her credit, Elmen gave nearly nothing away other than her eyes twitched slightly while narrowing at him.

"...Lady Gremory, I must ask you to keep your servant from interfering so impolitely." Elmen retorted.

"My deepest apologies, Lady Elmen. Decorum is not my Pawn's…. Strongest suit. I'll make sure to reprimand him later." Rias nodded her head while throwing Issei a mild glare.

Ise was starting to wonder if this was what his life would be if he did accept Rias' panicked desperate plea to become a Devil… This might be a good learning experience of a 'what if' scenario.

"Apologies, I simply took a shot in the dark." Ise decided to do some damage control as he bowed his head, "...It is merely an educated guess considering the number of Longinus Wielders discovered. There aren't that many left after all. The Hero Faction possesses the largest collection of Longinus Users, even the True Longinus. Dimension Lost and Annihilation Maker were in their possessions as well. Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing are already accounted for. The Church has Zenith Tempest in their ranks, and there is an individual that possesses two Sacred Gears at the same time. Two more are under Azazel as well. Sairaorg Bael has Regulus Nemea. With no news whatsoever about Telos Karma and Innovate Clear, that will leave… two Longinus unaccounted for. Incinerate Anthem and Sephiroth Graal. My earlier answer has a 50/50 chance of being correct."

Everyone regarded Ise with various reactions.

Rias and the others were shocked by his response and another display of his intelligence, Azazel was impressed by his makeshift excuse and excellent deduction, the vampires were even more surprised to see the Pawn, not known for his intellect, narrow down the answer.

"...If you want something more, I didn't see you wanting to ask for ways to deal with the Holy Fire. As the Holy and Fire Elements are your greatest enemies, and news of any tragedies within Vampire borders haven't reached us so far. And you look too composed to be dealing with two of your kind's greatest nightmares."

"...An astute deduction, I admit." Elmen closed her eyes while exhaling softly, "If you're to know your stations better, your insight will take you far." She then opened her eyes, "Indeed, it was Sephiroth Graal - The Holy Grail of The Secluded World. We believe the Holy Grail is in the possession of Valerie Tepes."

Knowing Sephiroth Graal from his studies, it had a heavy hand in God's attempt to perfect the manipulation of souls like the Mastema tribe. However, Ise's musing was interrupted by a certain dhampir in the room.

"Valerie… Longinus…?" Gasper then exclaimed, "But that's impossible! Valerie has never shown any signs of possessing a Sacred Gear!"

"I recall that you used to spend time together with Valerie before your reincarnation into Lady Gremory's peerage, did you not? It is not uncommon for a Sacred Gear wielder to awaken their power in later time. If it is worth anything, our knowledge about Valerie's possession of Sephiroth Graal is still rather recent."

"...Yeah, sometimes the signs only come out when the user is under great duress. Like a near-death experience on my part." Ise nodded in agreement. "Otherwise, it will go unnoticed until then."

"Back to the matter at hand; Lady Elmen, you said that the Tepes has Sephiroth Graal in their disposal. What are they planning to do with the Grail?" Azazel asked.

"Perfection." Elmen replied with a scowl on his face, "A true immortal body where they will not need to fear the sun anymore, where their body will not die by a stake through the heart or even decapitation, where they can withstand the presence of garlic and holy items, where they do not need to rest in the coffin anymore. Those heretics from the Tepes want to abandon their pride as vampires." She spat the last sentence with scorn.

"...I see… but what is the problem on your side?" Ise asked. "Elimination of racial weaknesses is something everyone would strive for in my opinion. Why are you against it?"

Mostly because of how many terrible ways Genos could abuse said weaknesses. Silver alone could vaporize the entire Devil race if he put his mind into it.

Elmen closed her eyes in silence.

"...I suppose it is too much even for you to comprehend. It is a matter of pride in my species. I doubt a reincarnated Devil that wasn't raised from birth as one would know what it means to invest yourself in your race - Your culture, your history."

"What do you know about Dracula, then?" Ise asked. "There are two different kinds of history. The one written by the victors, filled with fantasies about nonexistent glory and infected with falsehoods, and the actual history that takes no sides. To truly care about history to take both the good and the bad from the past, and use it to forge a better future from the present. Not rely on it to live an ideal present. Which one do you prescribe to?"

Elmen narrowed her eyes at the 'Devil' amongst the most famous rookie peerage in the Underworld.

"I believe we are diverging from the topic." Elmen said with a forced calm.

"Hmph." Ise inhaled. "...Are you afraid that the Tepes would not share this power with your faction and too afraid to say it?"

"You are overstepping your bounds, servant." Elmen seethed at this point.

"Maybe. But what about you?" Ise shot back. "You're awfully cocky under someone else's home, aren't you? Where is the respect you're showing to my King when in her domain, especially to the Sister of The Strongest Devil?"

"...And where is your respect? You, a mere mortal born of common blood? I am a vampire from the Noble House of Karnstein!"

"Respect can only be earned, not bought. Fancy titles don't buy respect, they are fancy discount coupons that let you earn respect for less at a bargain sale. What respect have you earned with that title so far outside your home? What have you accomplished so far that others outside of your land should give you their respect? Or better yet, what did your Karnstein house do so far that respect should be given to you?" Ise asked the hard question.

"Ise!"

Elmen and Ise blinked before they turned to Rias who had raised her voice and was now glaring at the boy. With a huff, Ise finally decided to step back. Rias could only look embarrassed and Elmen was too angry and tired to bite at her.

"Ahem." Azazel stepped in between the two. "Before things get heated up out of control, let's continue on." He interjected. "First, there are some points I wish to go over. I cannot imagine a vampire not wanting to stand under the sun without fear, so I must give some credence to Issei's input. Secondly, is there another reason why we should hand over Gasper to you? A lone boy that hasn't experienced war and politics, especially someone vulnerable in the latter, is not an ideal option to solve your national problem. Your faction favors females, and I'd be stupid to not see the problem when handing him over… as a potential political hostage."

Elmen and the other vampires paused at Azazel's accusation.

"Do you even need Gasper alone for this? As his King, this matter falls under my responsibility instead of his. He is not ready for this," Rias was the next to ask the vampire. "We are willing to assist you in this matter as well, in sworn honor as our duty as public servants of the Alliance. We swear on our word, Lady Elmenhilde Karnstein."

The vampire girl stared at the King that slightly bowed before her. The noble grimaced before she sighed.

"...Very well." She conceded to Rias' honest plea. "What do you propose, then?

"I propose a visit to Romania with one of my Peerage members as my escort. I will bring Ise along as punishment for his behavior. He will be put to work, I assure you."

Ise quirked a brow at her suggestion, "Won't Kiba or Gasper do? Or both of them? This can be a chance for Gasper to reunite with his… girlfriend."

"G-Girl-?! V-V-Valerie and I are n-n-not in t-that kind of relationship!" Gasper stuttered with a blushing face.

Wow.

Ise never thought that Gasper could pull off the cute look further. He glanced at Rias and the others… Yeah, the girls were silently fawning over the blushing girl-boy.

"A-Ahem. I understand." Rias nodded to herself while an amused tinge of red was on her cheeks. "But I cannot endanger Gasper as he is now. It is better that he remains here… and you are suitable enough for this task. This isn't a battle, but a scouting mission."

Ise could not argue with that.

"...You okay with this?" Ise asked Elmen.

While she was still irked by the casual tone, Elmen closed her eyes, "For now…. 'Nostloy bleckla, den noi pushta'." She then muttered under her breath, albeit still audible enough for everyone to pick it up.

Everyone was confused by the Romanian term.

"Likewise,'Stanisha ploftoi, gag mul pafuft'." Issei quipped.

The vampire girl blinked rapidly at his remark. The others also blinked at yet another language that Ise was capable of speaking.

"...You are a man full of surprises, Red Dragon Emperor. You just spoke a language that has been considered dead in this day and age." Elmenhilde spoke with a tone of recognition for the first time during the entire conversation.

Smiling rather smugly, Issei nodded, "Fale dadalic ta."

"Kaploi." Elmenhilde quickly replied before she took a quick glance at the clock, shared small nods with her escorts, before returning to address everyone else, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, we need to temporarily take our-"

"Manush…"

Everyone paused and could have sworn that Ise just muttered something under his breath, barely audible enough for the room to hear.

"...Leave." Elmenhilde carried on, albeit she and her vampire bodyguards narrowed their eyes at the man. "I see that the Red Dragon Emperor is also a man who likes to have the last word… I shall not be drawn into such a childish exercise."

The vampiress turned and began to walk towards the door, but not before she muttered something of her own under her breath, "...Paloshtoi."

Apparently, Ise caught on, and soon the members of the Alliance were greeted by a peculiar exchange of taunts in ancient language.

"Oh, please, I know you are more mature than you look, but none of us here are children either." Ise retorted with a veiled amusement, before he added a quick note at the end of his own sentence, "...Polotnik!"

Elmenhilde then turned towards Issei again, just when her bodyguards had opened the door for her, "It is getting quite late, I am looking forward to continuing our discussion for another night; have a good night, everyone."

The rest in the room simply nodded at the vampiress, who stepped out of the room followed by her guards. However, just before the door was closed, her voice was heard, "...Abalutza!"

When the door was shut, Issei took a sharp inhale as he was bristling slightly, "Fucking hell…. I know vampires are a prideful bunch, but she's on another level." He remarked as he approached the door where Elmehilde disappeared, "No wonder the aristocracy is dying out in that part of the world... Fushta!"

Issei then quickly opened the door and yelled, before shutting the door back. He returned to the room while receiving odd looks of amusement and bemusement from his friends.

"...What?" Ise smiled a childish smile.

While everyone was sweat-dropping at his ruse, the window to the room was suddenly opened via telekinetic-spell, allowing Elmenhilde's voice to be heard, echoing her one last word.

"...Gerania!"

Much to everyone's amusement - Ise sucked in another deep breath, "...Fuck!"

Issei crashed into the wall. He coughed, Scale Mail crumbling before he looked up and charged.

[Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost.]

"ACK?!" Issei crashed into the wall again, landing beside the indentation of his first one.

He poured out more of Ddraig's power the best he could as he charged again at the annoying three-eyed asshole.

[Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost.]

The two danced around the beach where Stjarna made his first home upon landing on this place.

Issei fought a lot of strong opponents, but this was the first time he saw someone casually dodging no matter how many times he boosted. It was like hitting something… gravitational in a sense, something redirecting all of his power away from his target, a gentle fist guiding his attacks into other directions with a supernatural irresistible force that could not be defied with brute force.

[Explosion!]

Jetpacks flared as he charged again to catch his opponent off guard, the massive slab of bulky red armor flying forward with fist thrown.

Spliced - Bull Dragon Zodiac Charge

It was like a high-speed caliber bullet facing an impossible hardness, breaking upon collision before bouncing away, defeated.

That was Issei versus Stjarna's shoulder tackle.

Issei could not understand. This stranger was too familiar with dealing with Boosted Gear. He used Issei's momentum and force against him; reflected force added with the power of his counter sent Issei flying back into the wall the third time.

Gritting his teeth, Issei steeled his wounded body back together as he struggled back to his feet, knee by knee.

Issei caught something in his eye and caught it by instinct. He recognized the shape and crimson color, the Phoenix Tear vial.

He looked at Stjarna, the three-eyed man gesturing to him to take it.

Issei then took it and his wounds healed upon opening it. His Scale Mail armor slowly returned as Stjarna's pupils shifted colors and shapes.

[Boost.]

Issei decided to boost his limits. He continued boosting further and further. His opponent just watched, humming to himself.

"So this is all you know with your full strength sealed… Honestly, without Boosted Gear, you wouldn't survive on your own, faced against the strong. Do you even know how to make use of the Great Red's flesh?" Stjarna asked with a quirked brow.

"Don't know. But I'll work it out somehow!" Issei felt the strain of Boosted Gear reaching its limit as he continued boosting, reaching the asymptote limit line.

The line that would spell death if he boosted further.

[Boost.]

Stjarna and Issei moved as they dueled for the fourth time. The sands beneath their feet explode upward with every step.

Coco was sitting on the sidelines, squeaking and cheering for her friend as the sands exploded rapidly at random intervals.

The increase in strength was only enough to draw Stjarna to break out of his casual shell.

Legs clamped Issei's head from below before Issei suddenly faced the sands, caught off guard by Stjarna's forward backflip, trapped between Stjarna's legs while he stood on his feet in a superior position.

Issei gritted his teeth and brute forced himself upright, but Stjarna coiled around, pinched his legs around Issei's waist from behind and clawed Issei's helmet, fingers cracking the shell of the egg and prying it apart, exposing the naked face underneath, and then strangulated him from behind with an armbar chokehold, forcing Issei to his knees as he gagged.

"Come on. Is this all you are without overwhelming power?! A helpless victim!?" Stjarna taunted.

"Not… Yet!" Issei then allowed his draconic wings to spread out, pushing Stjarna off his back in the process.

"Hoh?" Stjarna frisked back while deflecting another barrage of blows.

Red scales covered him, horns sprouted from his head.

"Tsk." Stjarna clicked his tongue while his head tilted left and right, away from the dragon fists.

"You have no control over your transformation."

"How do you always know what you know?! I've been meaning to ask you that for a while!" Issei shouted while transitioning to a mix of fists and flight, circling around him for an opening.

"I can see and feel things much more than most. I am not human, though I am also born from human blood."

Issei's fist almost grazed Stjarna's cheek as the nonhuman twisted and pirouted, twisting his head in sync with the fist before his elbow smashed into Issei's jaw, sending him tumbling to the side.

Issei coughed a bit of blood as he rolled to his feet, his vision blurring slightly from the blow.

"...But you are a fool. You need to cycle your energy back into your center to control and manage your transformation! Not continuously exude your energy to fuel your transformation! You lack understanding of the flow!"

Issei paused as he stared at Stjarna.

"Your teachers are lacking. You lack self-control." Stjarna pointed at Issei. "Enough combat, I can see what needs to be sharpened." Stjarna took out another Phoenix Tears Vial and tossed it to Issei, who caught it and healed himself afterwards.

"...So we're done with the one-sided beatings?" Issei asked as he relished the healing power coursing through his body.

"For now. I needed to understand what I'm dealing with. You don't know how to extract the full potential of the treasure you now wield. Body and Sacred Gear." Stjarna tossed something green up and down.

Issei blinked at the sight of the green jewel of Boosted Gear. He looked at his breastplate, seeing it missing.

No wonder he felt something off after he was struck in the jaw.

Though he was perturbed by Stjarna eating the jewel like a green apple, teeth biting into the crystal with a hard crunch.

"D-dude… doesn't that hurt?" Issei asked.

"No. Did you know that you can obtain the abilities of sacred gears by absorbing crucial fragments of them?"

Issei widened his eyes. He was doing the same thing he did to Vali by absorbing a piece of Divine Dividing.

"Oh. Oh! …Wait, you're eating it to absorb it?! Isn't that dangerous?!"

"I'm not human." Stjarna answered. "It is nothing for…"

Then Stjarna paused for a few seconds. His mouth chewed three times before swallowing.

"...Impossible." He muttered.

"What? What is it?" Issei asked.

"...Nothing." Stjarna shook his head. "Take a five, then your first real lesson starts. Extract all of the power of the Dragon of Dreams and transform into a Dragon. And then transform back."

"Wait, what?" Issei blinked.

"You heard me. You are no longer human as well. If you wish to master the power of the dragon, you must become the dragon and evolve what you are and become what was once out of your reach."

"But…"

"Did you not hear what I told you? Cycle the energy back into your center, not suppress it. There's a difference. And you'll transform back into your human form. Or simply go all the way into dragonhood and obtain the power of shapeshifting from there, though your default form will always be that of the dragon's."

Stjarna walked towards his little Coco and picked up the little tree dragon. Coco squeaked as Stjarna placed his little friend on his head.

"...So… you're saying that I can… either learn how to control my transformation… or abandon my Devilhood to fully control my powers?" Issei summarized.

"Yes. I suggest the latter, though. You have no idea how exploitable your Devil weaknesses are, it is not worth the boons. Especially how vulnerable you are now."

Issei's mind returned to Rias on that fateful day.

"...I'm afraid that I can't do that."

"Do what?"

"...Well, abandon my Devilhood… well, it's more like I'm not ready for that yet."

"Why?" Stjarna asked, confused.

"...There is someone I swore myself to. I…" Issei paused. "...I cannot betray her by giving up her most beautiful gift for a guy like me."

"...Interesting answer." Stjarna leaned forward while continuing to eat the green jewel. "Hmmm, I can taste a bit of Divine Dividing."

"You can taste that?" Issei asked.

"Interesting that you absorbed a piece, but without the main source, it will take more of your energy to compensate." Stjarna concluded.

"Seriously, can I learn how you can… do what you can do? Learning things like that?" Issei tilted his head in curiosity.

"Increase your intelligence for starters." Stjarna scoffed.

Issei frowned. That might be a bit impossible at the moment.

"But enough distractions. Since you chose the harder path, I decided to make this more hellish for you."

Stjarna finished the green jewel apple and swallowed it, licking his lips.

"Stjarna!"

However, another voice called out from afar. Both boys turned around to see Kiyome waving at them with two gorgeous elves, light elf and dark elf, standing side by side and hand in hand in modern fashion, sneakers and all.

"You made it." Stjarna turned to Kiyome as Issei blinked at her.

"...Kiyome Abe?" Issei pointed at her.

There was something different about this Kiyome that Issei could not point his finger at. But aside from that, he definitely would not complain at the sight of two gorgeous-looking elves - elves, for crying out loud - in tow.

"Why do you have to drag us into this?" Ikala frowned.

Celiphrana flinched when he saw Issei's eyes glazing over her body… something predatory was staring at her breasts. Her Stjarna instincts nearly made her recoil and step back.

"Because this one is one of a kind." Stjarna pointed at Issei. "This one is a possible clone of the Son of the Strongest Man. Or attempted cloning."

"A clone? Really? Let me see." Ikala walked over to Issei and inspected him.

Issei remarked how beautiful… and primal her sapphire reptilian eyes are, glittering like stars yet felt like it was housing stars in each pupil.

Then his eyes lowered to her breasts. They were… gorgeous.

"...Why are your eyes focused on their chests?" Stjarna asked.

"No, I'm not." Issei quickly rebuked the accusation - a tad too quickly as his eyes looked back.

The elf girls stared at this Issei for a moment before giving him the same eyes the Kendo Duo would usually give whenever he broke into the girls' locker room.

"...Interesting." Kiyome moved close to Issei and sniffed him. "He definitely doesn't smell like Issei. Definitely an impostor at first sight but…"

"Wha-? Agh. Yeah, of course you'd be in this impostor bullshit. My own girlfriend doesn't believe me, after all." Issei grouched with a bitter tone.

"Tsubasa or Irina?" Kiyome asked, prompting Issei to blink at the names - why is she referring to Irina and Tsubasa instead of Rias?

"Neither." Stjarna answered. "This one is peculiar. He reeks of different bloodlines, corrupted by Devil blood, yet he was remade with Dragonflesh. True Dragon's flesh."

Kiyome and the elves blinked twice at Issei.

"True Dragon as in…"

"His body is made from the meat of the Great Red. Before he became Little Red."

"Wait- What?!" Kiyome scoffed with comical disbelief.

"I thought Little Red's power is limited to illusions." Celiphrana gave her input.

"Don't tell me he is back to his full power already?" Ikala added.

"I should check again just in case." Stjarna nodded. "But that doesn't change the fact that this fool is bestowed with powers and gifts too good for him."

"Do you always like to insult others?" Issei asked.

"Sometimes. It's an inherent gift."

Coco squeaked and mewled before she nipped Stjarna's nose and wiggled it. The girls smiled at Coco's attempt to discipline Stjarna's 'inner' Djall.

"So what do you plan to do with him? I don't think hiding him here is the best idea." Kiyome asked.

"Hmmm... For now, I want to train him. Honestly, seeing someone with Issei's face at such a level annoys me. Even more when that someone has the meat of a fallen giant that used to tower over all once upon a time." Stjarna groused as Coco wiggled his nose harder.

"I'm not that bad…" Issei frowned again.

"You are. Also, before I forget."

Stjarna lunged towards Issei's left hand and grabbed it, injecting his nails into Issei's dragonized skin.

Issei winced when he felt something dangerous entering his system.

"Ow?! What are you doing now?!" Issei shouted before yanking his hand away.

"Awakening your Dragon. I'm not sure if your Boosted Gear is also a facsimile since I did eat clones and the original before…"

"What?! Why?!"

"Because you suck and you lost against me more than once."

Coco started pulling his left eyelid as hard as she could. Issei started fearing for Ddraig's life as he held his left arm, backing away from Stjarna.

"And I want to witness the dragon inside now to compare to the original. I injected an elixir based on my Trihexa blood. Hopefully, it should be enough to mitigate whatever side effects that might-"

[WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!]

Just before Kiyome could intervene and chastise Stjarna, a loud… mocking imitation of an infant's cry wailed. The voice was familiar, but the way it sounded was wrong, an adult crying like an infant, intones and all.

Everyone stared at Issei, who stared at his left arm.

[WAHHHH! WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!]

The wailing continued and Issei looked up at Stjarna. Kiyome and the elves also turned to Stjarna.

"...Uhhhh…"

[S-STAY AWAY! GO AWAY, FOUL FLESH MOUNDS!]

Everyone was caught off guard by the word.

"...What is happening?" Kiyome asked.

Issei decided to check on Ddraig.

"Ddraig? Ddraig?!"

[WAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!]

"...This isn't what I was expecting." Stjarna sounded genuinely… helpless? Speechless? Overwhelmed by the failed and unexpected result, it was the most accurate. His eyes were focused on the dragon inside the Sacred Gear. He could not gather enough from sight alone so he approached Issei and grabbed his wrist, digging his nails into him.

"Ow?! Dude, stop! You've done enough damage already!" Issei struggled to free himself from Stjarna.

"...I… think he has amnesia…" Stjarna sounded surprised, confused. "...It… hmmm."

Stjarna was contemplative which was a surprise for Kiyome given his appraisal skills.

"Interesting… The echoes of the damage from before have been mended but…" Stjarna paused as he closed his eyes, clearly focusing.

[WAAAH! Go away, tentacles?! S-Stop touching me all over!]

Stjarna froawned, annoyed by the noise, and decided to back off; prompting Issei to sooth the wailing soul.

"Hey, hey, easy now. Look, the tentacles have back off, okay? Why don't you calm down and tell us about yourself? Are you okay?"

The Welsh Dragon sniffed before replying.

[I… I am Ddraig… I… think that's my name…]

"...How old do you think you are?" Stjarna asked.

"What's with that question?" Kiyome asked.

"Testing his mental age, as one who has experience with forced amnesia." Stjarna answered.

[I… I'm an infant.]

Everyone blinked - what?

"...An infant?" Issei asked.

[I want food.]

Everyone just stared at the red gauntlet.

"...What did you do?" Issei turned to Stjarna.

"This is not my work. My elixir is meant to heal… apparently it failed." Stjarna defended himself. "I didn't take the amnesia into account but for it to be this bad…"

"...Can you fix him?" Ikala asked, now very curious about this version of Ddraig.

[N-NO, NO, KEEP THOSE FOUL BOUNCY FLESH AWAY FROM MEE~!]

But Ddraig cried when Ikala moved too close, scaring her back a few steps.

"I should ask the host that. This is beyond my power at this point. I can try to restore him, but my power strains the mental faculties, and this one's mind is too… fragile at the moment. But why is it crying out at the sight of boobs? In the wrong way?" Stjarna asked, looking positively irritated by its reaction to the female breasts.

Ikala decided to ask the host instead, "...What have you done? Rather, I thought the Welsh Dragon had been set free?"

Issei blinked in confusion, "What do you mean by Ddraig had been set free? Where the hell did you even hear that from?"

Ikala and Celiphrana stared at Issei.

"...Is the dragon inside another clone?" Ikala asked Stjarna.

"I ate both clones of Evil Dragons and their originals, I am familiar with the difference in taste." Stjarna explained. "I decided to awaken the dragon because I can taste no difference between this Ddraig and the Ddraig we know. This… is beyond unusual. My only thesis is that someone perfected the cloning method of the body out there and they need to die."

Issei, however, had enough, "Okay, seriously, what the fuck is with everyone thinking that I'm some kind of a clone!? I'm Issei Hyoudou, goddammit! The current fucking Red Dragon Emperor! I was chased by some weird monsters, my girlfriend and friends are acting as if I'm a different person, and I could've sworn that Azazel-sensei himself looked like a different person! Will someone, anyone tell me what the fuck is going on!?"

"Stjarnaaaa!"

As if answering his call, Asia called from a distance. The Holy Maiden flew towards them, her fairy wings fluttering as she approached the group.

"Stjarna!" Asia called out.

Then a teleportation circle appeared on the beach.

"...They found us." Stjarna understood at the sight.

"No, Stjarna!" Asia landed before Stjarna and hugged his waist. "We're not here to hurt him anymore!"

Stjarna paused his attempt to teleport Issei away to another safe zone.

The teleportation circle brought the ORC, Vali's group, the Student Council, with Azazel at the helm.

"Hah… Hello." Azazel stepped forward.

He paused when Issei recoiled and stepped back, clearly traumatized by the torture.

"Relax, we are not here to recapture you," the Scapegoat began, as he turned to Issei, "In fact, we owe you an apology."

Issei blinked and narrowed his eyes slightly, "Apology…?"

Azazel sighed, "...I don't know where to start, but what we did to you was uncalled for. But the evidence was quite stacked against you in the worst of ways in these trying times… Issei Hyoudou. But just to confirm…" Azazel then glanced at the Spawn of The Beast.

"Your timing is uncanny, but I am still surprised you broke him out. How's he doing though? Anything funny coming from him?"

"Other than his many flaws, he is innocent so far." Stjarna answered, playing along with the casual conversation. "...How'd you find me?"

"It wasn't hard to track the rising energy signature of the Red Dragon inside our guest." Azazel gestured to Issei.

"Tsk... Bah." Stjara grumbled while Coco squeaked and nuzzled against his temple.

"Hello, Coco." Azazel waved.

Squeak

Coco squeaked and waved her little foreleg at Azazel.

"Did you find anything from this Issei strange, even by your standards?" Azazel asked.

"The Boosted Gear jewel is perfectly identical with the original. It is mixed with a drop of Divine Dividing, but the core essence is unmistakable. The taste doesn't lie. So is the taste of Little Red. My conclusion is that someone is dangerously close to perfecting the art of cloning and they must die."

"Shit…. And hold on trying to search and murder said cloner." Azazel muttered. "He's no clone if what you're saying is correct. But just in case…"

He then tapped into another communication link, "Yo, Ddraig. We found him. Think you can come over?"

Issei's eyes then recognized a dragon gate manifesting in the sky, and an awfully familiar-looking western dragon flew out from the shining red gate.

The size was tremendous, a titan of red unfurling wings that covered the sky, encompassing Issei's periphery.

"...Ddraig?" Issei could always recognize the sight of the dragon that was supposed to be sealed in his left arm. And the feel of its aura, even though there was something strange about it.

The Welsh Dragon landed beside Issei with a bewildered look. Silence befell everyone until it was broken by the voice from the Boosted Gear.

[E-Eh? W-Why is there another me!?]

In the training room under the basement of the mansion, Ise stood against the Strongest Devil, both facing each other in the cube-spaced room with spectators.

Rias in particular.

Vali was with his team, wanting to see the fight.

Sona was there with her Peerage, not wanting to miss this scene.

Even Sirzechs' Peerage was there, Grayfia included, wanting to see the fight between the two.

The discussion with the vampires had finally reached the conclusion where they had agreed to allow Rias and Ise to have an audience with the House of Vladi to discuss matters regarding Gasper; and in exchange, the vampires from Carmilla faction would like to have Azazel over for the fallen to offer his expertise regarding Sacred Gears.

Upon catching up, Sirzechs Lucifer wanted to see if this 'Issei Hyoudou' had what it took to protect his dear baby sister in an uncharted territory of the vampires.

"...You know, I did spar against the other you back home once." Ise remarked. "Mostly to test my progress. I was close to winning though before dad stepped in."

"Hm..." Sirzechs smiled. "Are you that confident in your strength to match mine?"

"You have a losing streak back home so… Do you ever train seriously?" Ise asked.

"Well, when I have time."

"Then Grayfia isn't whipping you to shape. That's good. I can beat a deadbeat husband no problem," Ise said while cracking his neck.

Sirzechs found himself pouting at the remark, while Grayfia suppressed a snort.

"Did you have to go that far?" Sirzechs asked.

"What? It's true." Ise smirked. "If you want to say otherwise… prove it." He wagged his finger at Sirzechs.

"I suggest that you prepare to eat your words." Sirzechs' aura flared, his crimson power filling the room much to the terror of the younger members. "Because I will not hold back even if you beg."

"Kuh. Please." Ise entered his Water Stream Stance. "I hope you prepare the platter because you're eating well tonight. Hopefully, Grayfia will show you your place in your bedroom."

Grayfia and Sirzechs' Peerage started to break into laughter, all of them unable to hold themselves back, unfazed by Sirzechs' powerful presence anymore.

"Now you've crossed the line. I hope you're ready for the consequences."

Sirzechs' eyes glowed as he fired several spheres of erasure.

Hyper-condensed energy of the Bael, concentrated crimson destruction that could draw blood from Gods.

But it flowed around Ise's parries. Sirzechs stared at the spheres of destruction he fired now levitating around Issei, the latter stealing his attacks.

"Yeah, you're gonna have to do better than that."

Then Ise's form blurred before appearing before Sirzechs,

Centuries of experience screamed at him to defend, but when Sirzechs raised his arm, he found Ise's leg hooking against his elbow and slammed his knee into Sirzechs' chin, then grabbed Sirzechs hair as he somersaulted over the Satan, throwing him overhead to the ground, his movements mirroring Djall's tendency to use all of his limbs to their limits.

Then Ise threw all of the stolen crimson spheres down at the downed Sirzechs, blasting a hole into the training floor, taking Sirzechs deep, so deep that it left a seemingly bottomless hole as Sirzechs' makeshift grave.

Everyone could not believe what they were seeing.

The Strongest Satan was overwhelmed, a sight that had never been seen for centuries.

A dark, ominous power surged under the chasm as devil wings rose from the pit - a serious Sirzechs greeting Ise's casual smirk.

Sirzechs charged forward, fists clad in erasure, but Ise moved faster, smashing into Sirzechs like an arrow.

Exploding Heart Release Fist.

And slammed Sirzechs into the wall.

Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist.

When Sirzechs retaliated by exploding a wave of erasure, Ise deflected the energy pulse and resumed his relentless assault.

Sirzechs tried to repel the storm of fists, but it was like trying to repel an unstoppable current, flailing within the waters helplessly.

Chromatic Dragon Fist: Earth Dragon's Mountain Strike

Ise's fist, clad in draconic Earth Ki, met with Sirzechs' ribcage.

The mansion shook, the magical defenses containing the battle barely held against the earthquake produced by the impact as Sirzechs felt every bone in his body shattered, quaking as he coughed blood, the wall against his back forming a spider web of fractures while the magic wards revealed themselves, almost sizzling out.

"You should know better than to hold back like this." Ise whispered in the Devil's ear. "When your people need you the most, you think a man that can't control his power would cut it?"

Sirzechs coughed as Ise pulled back, letting the Satan fall on hands and knees, blood dripping from lips.

"This power… is not a force that can be tamed with words." Sirzechs rose, struggling to stand.

"It requires will," Ise knew. "Also…."

Sirzechs immediately summoned layers of the finest barriers between him and Issei, but they were destroyed, all from a punch. He met Ise head on, but his struggle failed to reverse the tide.

His wings spread, shrouded in dangerous destruction, whipped at Issei, only for Sirzechs to find his wings broken before Issei smashed him back to the wall, the endless barrage of fists resumed pounding the Satan.

Everyone could not believe the sight.

Rias and Vali in particular - as Ise slammed Sirzechs to the ground on his knees then ax kicked him into the floor, more blood spitting from Sirzechs.

They watched Ise mount Sirzechs' back and continued, hitting Sirzechs while he was down.

"Enough!"

However, before Sirzechs resorted to using his desperate, more unstable techniques, Ise stopped at the sound of Grayfia's voice.

The maid/wife immediately teleported beside Issei and Sirzechs, standing beside the victor.

"...You have already proven yourself worthy of escorting Lady Rias to Romania." Grayfia concluded with a stern gaze weighing on Issei.

"...Huh." Issei blinked. "Sorry, I was getting too into it… Hey, Sirzechs. How are you doing?"

Ise got off the Satan as Sirzechs sighed, grumbling despite having bruises swelling over his face as Grayfia knelt down to tend to him.

"...The outcome wouldn't be this if we fought in an open field."

Ise smirked while offering his hand to Satan, "Sure thing, bro. Let's have another round once we deal with this fiasco."

Sirzechs returned with a smile as he accepted the offered hand, allowing Ise to pull him back to his feet.

Grayfia presented a Phoenix Vial to Sirzechs, which he used to heal himself of his injuries.

"Word of advice. You're too cocky even if you don't know it. Fighting like a brawler when you're built like a mage. You're too used to dealing with fodders and you lost sight of how you work. Also, while you're strong in a PvP, in a setting where there are people to protect, you ain't cut out for the job as you are. Case in point, you can't go all out against me without killing everyone."

"When you have around thousands of people to lead, dozens of nobles to keep watch over, terrorists to kill, and a family to look after, it's rather difficult to have some time for yourself." Sirzechs replied with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, that's easy. Get more people to do your job while Grayfia does her work. Good luck." Ise backed away, almost gliding even to Sirzechs' confusion.

He winced when he felt Grayfia's piercing stare, the same disciplinary gaze she always uses in their private moments.

Ise left Sirzechs to deal with his strict wife's 'wrath' as he joined Rias.

"I never got to ask how good your Issei is with the flesh of the Great Red on him. I know a guy that has the flesh of the Trihexa, and he is… quite a bit of an asshole." Ise regarded Rias, readying for the storm of questions.

"Ahem. While I understand your curiosity, that isn't the subject at this moment… You do realize what you did, correct?" Rias asked.

"I whooped your brother's ass. Is that such a big deal?" Ise scoffed.

"You are surprisingly lax about your achievement." Sona stepped forward. "Gaining victory over a Satan in a private duel is more than enough to spark a war of the Kings to get a hold of you into their Peerages, let alone the opportunities from the other Pantheons. Hell, you are effectively eligible for the seat of the next Satan."

"Kind of already used to that kind of attention when I fought Magni and Modi." Ise was still receiving invitation mail to this day, ironically. Nowadays, the Shinto was involved in the group of senders.

"...So, how'd you manage to hurt Lord Sirzechs, anyways?" Saji asked a normal question.

"The aura defense is hard to break through, and the layer of energy that can erase you is a problem. Condense your aura to overpower Sirzechs' own or find a way to nullify his magic attacks and you'll be fine."

"You make it sound so easy." Benia commented.

"It is once you get the hang of how it all works… Oh, Bennia and Loup Garou." Ise waved at the two latest additions of Sona's peerage, before he turned to the latest Knight, "You're in Sona's peerage, too… Though, how'd you end up in her Peerage this time?" Issei asked.

"That's… umm. A long story… Let's just say that I am a fan of the Oppai Dragon Show." Bennia blushed.

"...Are you, now?" Ise asked with a somewhat tight smile on his face.

"Yep, the show is a riot. I love it." Bennia nodded with a proud smile.

Ise exhaled through his nose as he patted Bennia's shoulder. However, some others may have noticed the pain behind his eyes for some reason.

"...What about you, Loup? You were recruited from the college division directly by Sona as well?"

Loup simply nodded, the man of few words.

"Huh. Okay."

"I am honestly envious of my other self in your world." Vali joined in. "To think that he has a rival worth striving to defeat."

"How strong is your Issei with the flesh of the Great Red, though?" Ise asked since Rias didn't answer his question. "Does he have like super reality warping dream powers or something?"

"Nothing that far, as far as I know." Vali shrugged, "...The only interesting things about this other you are… He tends to turn the tables when we least expect it."

"How?" Issei asked.

"That's… an interesting question that you might not like the answer to…" Vali carefully worded as he recalled some of those moments.

"...I don't think I want to know either." Ise decided to spare himself. "By the way, I've been finding a bunch of porns in… The other me's room. Where did he get all of those junks from?"

"Have you now?" Rias blinked before looking thoughtful, "Huh, could've sworn I've gotten rid of them all."

"Issei is always crafty like that sometimes." Akeno sighed wistfully.

"Where'd you find Ise-senpai's sinful secrets?" Koneko asked, her cat ears wiggling.

"Err….." Ise trailed awkwardly, "Doesn't matter; but anyway, is it okay if I throw them away?"

"Yes, please do." Rias nodded.

"Good, and… I don't think I'll be comfortable sleeping there again. Is it okay if I use one of the spare rooms here?" Ise asked.

The girls exchanged eyes. Vali shrugged.

"Well… You can sleep in my room if you want." Rias replied with a shrug.

However, her answer caused eyes to turn on her.

"Ookay…" Ise decided to speak up, "So you are letting me sleep in your room?" He at least had to make sure that everyone in the room was on the same page.

"Yes." Rias replied, as if nothing was amiss.

"I assume it's separate bedding?" Ise prodded a bit more.

When Rias was about to reply, her mind came to a halt - finally processing what just transpired. Soon her cheeks were tinged as red as her hair.

"Y-yes, of course! That can be arranged." Rias replied while clearing her throat.

"My, my, ufufu, I didn't know you had it in you, Rias." Akeno commented with a gleeful smile. "Are you sure you don't want to share a bed with him? He's technically Ise, after all."

Everyone watched Rias' face pale.

Rias turned to Ise, staring at him. Sure, this young man bore the same face and visage as the Issei she knew but… but…

She compared the two Isseis in her head…

Was this cheating? No, no no no, this couldn't be it, they were just sharing a room, nothing that could cross the line.

It was not like she was going to cuddle next to this Issei naked as always or something.

"Uh, Rias. I understand that he looks like Issei but…" Tsubaki was the first to comment.

"I must concur. This is taking some strange turn…" Rossweisse added.

"...Is this the infamous cuckolding?" Sona asked.

"IT'S NOT CUCKOLDING!"

Everyone recoiled at the Heiress' shrieking response. Even Sirzechs and Grayfia were amazed by the girl's reaction.

"...Wait, President, how'd you know about that word?!" Saji retorted.

"I'm seventeen, Saji. Who do you take me for?" Sona pushed up her glasses.

"Wait, don't hide things from your big sister, Sona-chan! Tell us!" Serafall butted in.

The entire room fell into pandemonium over Rias' kind proposition, with Serafall and Saji interrogating Sona, much to her chagrin.

Ise stared at Rias, who averted her eyes away as soon as they met; he glanced at the other members of the club, who looked utterly at loss of what to say, albeit Akeno was utterly amused with the development.

This would lead into some… development…

Wait, could it be his Aura was countering this Issei's dragon aura by any chance? Overriding the pervert's charm influence?

...Crap, if he stayed here too long he might have TWO harems. Not to mention, as much as he detested his other self with his pervy ways and everything, Ise knew better than to steal someone else's girl.

…But it would be a massive achievement that Black would definitely praise - that evil bastard.

Then again, he could not manage two universes worth of harems. One universe was more than enough, the other Issei could have this one. And the problems with this universe. He has enough to deal with back home other than love relationships.

Speaking of, how is everyone doing back home?

Image models for Kuroka and Griselda's jewel-lingerie, as well as Chapter 5 can be found in my (P) atreon. Cheers!