Like Blades of Fury said, I realized the transition between Catgirl and Retaliation was way too punishing. I have this bad habit, so I wrote a small Yuni chapter to fill things in and slotted it between this chapter and Catgirl. Thanks for the comments, as they help me correct these sort of errors.
Sorry for the mix up.
"They really have no intention of relenting, huh." Rias' words came more charged with amazement than worry, with Yuuto and Akeno defeating a bunch of exorcists each while she spoke.
The carefreeness in their fighting didn't go unnoticed, as exorcists pressed on or retreated in time with her sentence. As if following a trigger within her words.
"It's a matter of faith, after all." Diodora mimicked her unbothered tone as he spread his hands and conjured shields of demonic power to stop holy bullets and swords alike on the reincarnated devils fighting.
Ophis' power coursed through his veins, pumping more power than he could've imagined conjuring before. It made the fight more tedious than scary. It gave Diodora the breathing room to analyze and follow the flow more naturally, without the fear of being overwhelmed at some point.
The exorcists didn't stand a chance, lacking their Miracle Child to both support and give them the morale needed to fight off five reincarnated devils and their masters. Doubly so when said masters were the next heirs of Gremory and Astaroth. The quality of the servants were just that overwhelming.
"I know that." Rias sighed. Unbothered by the signal to retreat given by their foes "I just wish someone out there had some common sense for once. This is such an unneeded conflict…"
Diodora had seldom heard an understatement of such magnitude before. Even though he understood why the initial group had made a push for Kuoh Town, the situation quickly escalated into the devils pushing back toward neighboring towns once people got wind of what happened. Perhaps encouraged by the appearance of a Miracle Child, or maybe as part of another plan that had been in motion since before. The fact that the devils now had to retaliate didn't sit well with either Rias or Sona, who had been content to fortify their positions before.
To Diodora, this simply gave him an excuse to flex and try out his newfound powers. It also didn't hurt that this gave Genshirou plenty of real combat experience, outside of practice with the Gremory and Sitri groups. Diodora kept tabs on him, and used his demonic power mostly to keep him safe along with the others. So the danger Genshirou faced in reality wouldn't be something to take into account.
The boy still had a grim expression as they advanced. It'd have been strange if he didn't take a hit to the mind once he experienced real combat after having a normal life, so it relieved Diodora a bit that the blond looked out of sorts. At least he knew he wouldn't be nurturing a psychopath like Vali or the others labeled as 'battle maniacs'. Because that was simply a fancy way of saying that those people enjoyed violence to an unhealthy degree.
Diodora might be twisted, but he didn't actually enjoy hurting others any more than a normal person.
"Don't let it get to you, this won't be over until someone takes a hint and stops this nonsense." Diodora frowned as Akeno blasted the church into oblivion, summoning a pillar of lightning that made the building explode into debris and crystal all over the place.
Diodora motioned with his hand, annoyed at the echoing boom and lightshow, and the catapulted remnants of the church stopped dead in their tracks. Momentum died, and the debris fell ineffectually to the ground. Like time had stopped and died.
"Thank you." Rias shook her head, brushing her long crimson hair to take off the dust that did go through. She advanced with her head held high, but still bothered by the outcome.
Diodora thought she'd chastise her Queen, but Rias simply nodded to her and examined the remnants of the place.
"Good job." Diodora placed a hand on Genshirou's shoulder, giving him an understanding nod "You braved the danger really well, I'm proud."
"I-yes." Genshirou grimaced, eyeing Rias as her peerage surrounded her.
"Something wrong?" Diodora had an idea of what bothered the blond, but he still asked.
"It's just… I don't think he's here." Genshirou spoke with such security that Diodora found it hard to reply.
Him. Elijah, or any other Vritra host for that matter. It gave Diodora some semblance of tranquility, but that didn't mean they hadn't attacked and obliterated a church then and there.
"That doesn't mean Star Seeker won't be present. And I'm a lot more concerned about her than the witch hunter." To be honest, Diodora still didn't fully comprehend the threat that girl represented. And a part of him wished to see how big of a problem a miracle would be.
The bigger, more reasonable part of his mind, reminded him that it might as well be the last thing he sees. Because even with Ophis' snake he suspected a miracle would mean something outrageously unfair, or at least something that would be hard to evade even with his current toolkit.
He couldn't help it. Things never went as planned for long, and he knew that better than anyone present.
"Perhaps it's better if we don't cross paths with her anymore." Yuuto approached, a tired smile on his face and two blades that had been haphazardly cleaned of blood "If Yuni-san's right, then we should look forward to keeping things this way."
"That's a cute sentiment, but one I doubt will come true." Diodora released Genshirou and crossed his arms. His eyes fell on Koneko, who stared at him with those golden eyes of hers without any apparent emotion. He looked away first "Defending ourselves will probably be taken as an act of aggression. Who's to say we won't be facing more annoying opponents as time comes by? Ideally, that girl will come back so we can make agreements with her. Discourage further conflict before we end up having to…"
A stray blade of light made itself present as a hidden exorcist roared into motion.
Diodora stepped between Yuuto and the exorcist, putting a hand forward and casting a shield that saw the light sword break against Ophis' power.
Diodora pivoted to the other hand, and blasted the exorcist with his demonic power. Sending the man flying away and closer to Koneko. She could get rid of him just fine.
"Thanks, Diodora-san." Yuuto said in spite of being completely capable of dealing with the man by himself.
"Don't mention it, you lot must be tired. You've been doing most of the heavy lifting, after all."
"We ought to be ready at all times." Yuuto shrugged "You too, Genshirou-kun. Your help is really appreciated."
"It… Doesn't feel like I'm doing a lot." The other blond looked down, more exhausted now.
"Don't say that. Your Sacred Gear has been really important in all of this. We can keep in good shape thanks to you!" Yuuto beamed at him, forcing Genshirou to cover his face as Rias' Knight radiated a light of pureness.
Metaphorically speaking, of course.
Diodora gave the Knight a thankful smile. Honestly, he couldn't keep Genshirou in top shape alone. And Miyuzuin's style ran more along the lines of being strict with the boy and correcting his bad habits rather than encouraging him with positive feedback. He understood the reason, Miyuzuin couldn't have had it easy as she grew up, but it still left most of the moral support to Diodora. So having Rias' group around made him feel like he had less weight to carry.
An illusion, perhaps. But one he'd take regardless. As he knew for certain that none of them were bad people. They wouldn't let Genshirou brood all the time.
"You're more awake than usual, Diodora-sama." Akeno approached them, a demure smile on her face.
Diodora shook his head with a smile.
"I'm more centered." He gave Stain a side glance.
The slime stoically resumed pretending to be a person.
"Did something good happen?" Akeno also looked at Stain, her expression mostly unchanging, making her whole body face the creature as she studied it with some curiosity.
"Rather, nothing bad has happened. And that's good enough to be in a good mood." Diodora chuckled, but both Yuuto and Akeno seemed a bit put down by his words. Good. They had his so-called misfortune in their minds "All things considered, it's an improvement."
"Well… We have to start somewhere, right?" Yuuto tried to lighten the mood. Awkward as it was, Diodora hadn't meant to completely sever the conversation. So he cut the Knight some slack.
"Precisely!" Diodora beamed and patted Genshirou on the back "Let's not lose optimism, people. Things can improve."
The snake within Diodora came to life, reacting to something he hadn't even noticed thus far.
A pillar of light slammed against the place the Oblex had stood, changing coloring like some RGB light coming directly from heaven.
It blew everyone away, forcing them to use their demonic power to cover themselves from the sheer heavenly presence that it oozed.
Diodora's protection only lasted because of Ophis' snake, so he placed Genshirou behind him while gritting his teeth. The effort of pushing the power against the holy element made his consciousness swim, only remaining centered because of the searing feeling of being burned alive.
When the light cleared out, he saw Olivia's figure standing in the center of the crater, eyes burning with anger. Almost protesting Diodora for his choices.
The real culprit appeared a moment after, clearing the illusion with a superhero landing while Diodora reeled from the experience and lack of air. He felt Genshirou's strong arms help him stay on his feet while the figure stood back up and glared.
Diodora blinked once, twice, thrice. He covered his face with a hand and struggled to get his thoughts in order, fueling his Autosuggestion to help put everything in place mentally.
A red armor, almost a human-scale mecha, stood in front of him. Plating like scales covered limbs and torso, and emerald gems adorned its chest and the back of the hands at the same time as the eye pieces.
Diodora almost spoke up, completely confused as to how or why he was staring at this then and there. He almost thought he was still hallucinating, but the armored helmet vanished to reveal brown hair and golden eyes he knew very well.
What… What is he doing here? Why is he this powerful at this very moment?
Realization hit Hyoudou Issei's face. Thoughts connecting and forming an idea as he registered just who was standing in front of him.
"Wha—Why are you here?" The Red Dragon Emperor asked breathlessly. Only Diodora's mental spell prevented him from replying.
He knew who Diodora was, recognized him. His eyes filled with loathing and distrust, and Diodora couldn't help notice the shift in his body language from defensive to borderline aggressive. Ready to strike at the minimum provocation.
Rias' group had put themselves together. Hurt, but healthy enough to mount a defensive position. Only Diodora had been caught without being able to regroup.
Rage filled Diodora's mind, and he chose to use it.
"You absolute cretin! Who do you think you are?!" Diodora sliced the air with his hand horizontally. Catching everyone's attention as he filled his voice with as much venom as he could "Do you know who you just attacked?! That's a servant of house Astaroth. My own Pawn! Do you know what punishment awaits you?!"
"Shut the hell up, trash." The Red Dragon Emperor's voice was cold, uncaring "Try to attack me, see what happens."
That took Diodora aback. At no point had this guy been anything but a pushover with threats and people with authority, let alone being so aggressive and smart as to make the first move from a distance and stealthily.
Perhaps it was the mental spell, but Diodora really, really doubted this was the Hyoudou Issei that he knew of. Which confused him even more. He might have avoided anything that had to do with him, and he knew his actions would change how things played out around the town. But he couldn't be made to believe that he changed things so much that Hyoudou would awaken Balance Breaker this early on, and without Rias' help to boot.
"I asked a question." Diodora spoke firmly, his voice a bit shaky but he didn't mind at all. It'd be weird if he didn't show signs of being put off by the situation. No one knew of his mental spell, and he preferred it that way "Do you not know who I am?!"
"You are a depraved, desperate little excuse of a devil who will die if you don't shut up right now." The Red Dragon Emperor's eyes glowed, colors changing as power surged out of his body.
Diodora didn't need any other answer from him.
He slammed his hand down, casting magic circles that encased the Red Dragon Emperor in demonic power and detonated it. Creating an explosion in as close as a vacuum as he could pull off in such short notice.
Rias' group reacted before the barriers broke, Akeno and Rias taking to the air while Yuuto and Koneko rushed to get to the barrier.
The Red Dragon Emperor smashed his bindings with a blast of holy light, grunting and pointing at Diodora as Yuuto appeared in front of him with twin demonic blades at hand.
Yuuto sliced the air as the Red Dragon moved away, and got pushed away with an armored back hand slap. He spun in the air, redirecting his momentum with demonic power, and tried to cut through the armor again. Only this time, the Red Dragon punched him square in the chest.
Koneko arrived in time to take the hit herself, giving Yuuto room to reposition and attack once more, encasing the Red Dragon Emperor in demonic flames and wind. Encasing him in power of his own like Diodora had done.
"Genshirou." Diodora hissed, pushing his subordinate further from the fight. It took a split second, but the Red Dragon Emperor dispatched both pieces and threw them out of the way. Armored gems shining with hatred "Genshirou, listen to me…"
Diodora casted demonic circles again, encasing the Red Dragon Emperor in another vacuum. It gave Akeno enough time to charge another boosted lightning strike, one that pinned the Sacred Gear host to the ground as soon as he smashed Diodora's restraints away.
"Y-Yes?"
"Restrain him." Diodora casted more magic, blasted away at the red armor and created magic circles that sucked in the air and forced the Sacred Gear host to use more boosted power to break free of them "I'll give you a chance."
Diodora blasted a wave of pure motion at the Sacred Gear host. But the guy took to the air and surged toward Diodora while ignoring everyone else.
Diodora snapped his fingers, and movement and direction inverted. Making the Red Dragon's flight go upwards and away from Diodora instead of downward and into him.
Rias shredded the armor with balls of Power of Destruction, forcing the Red Dragon to create more holy energy to eat away at Rias' attack.
Akeno casted more lightning, and the Red one was back to the ground.
Genshirou smashed the floor with a foot, his shadow stretching forward and connecting with the Red one's in turn. Tendrils of darkness surged out from the shadows and reeled before snatching arms away from their intended motion, some even surrounding the guy's chest and neck.
"Yes!" Diodora casted a huge magic circle and smashed pure demonic power against the Red Dragon Emperor, creating a blast almost as big as the one that had taken out Stain.
[BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST] [BOOST]
Another blast of holy energy had the guy out of the blast.
"Enough! I will not be made a—!"
Yuuto finally broke through the armor, slicing a part of the helmet and breaking it. Revealing the guy's left eye that shone with holy energy.
Koneko smashed a fist against the guy's chest, making him reel as more dark tendrils attached themselves to him and kept doing their intended job.
The Red one spat saliva, but no real harm had been done to him. Diodora casted more power to pin him against the floor, sandwich him between the demonic power and the ground itself.
Akeno used more lightning, Rias conjured more power of destruction.
It wasn't enough. They couldn't keep him down, let alone defeat him. Diodora noticed when he got serious, using his Boosted Gear even faster to shrug off the lines and take another of Koneko's attacks without flinching.
The Power of Destruction still cut through the armor, making him bleed for the first time as he spent boosts as quickly as he gained them. Such was Rias' ridiculous Privilege Magic.
Diodora motioned up and both Yuuto and Koneko levitated back to their feet, readying themselves for another exchange.
"Stop! What are you guys doing?!" The Red Dragon Emperor roared, pointing at Diodora "Why are you helping that bastard?! Don't you know what he did to his peerage?! He brainwashed them and made them his sexual slaves! You shouldn't let him be around you so easily! Think about—!"
Diodora thought about interrupting, clarifying. But he didn't want the free information to stop flowing. A picture had formed in his mind, and now it was time to get back the time he spent making himself agreeable to Rias and Sona.
"Shut up!" Genshirou screamed when he couldn't take it anymore "Diodora-san has been nothing but kind and understanding! He's spent all his time helping me, and encouraging everyone else to do their best! He's a nice person that's done nothing but try to make change happen!"
"What the hell do you know?!" The Red one spat "I should've known you'd be stupid enough to be fooled! This is beyond ridiculous!"
"What's beyond ridiculous is your attitude." Rias' voice was cold, devoid of any understanding or willingness to meet the other halfway. Diodora had to suppress a smirk "Not only did you attack us unprovoked, you dare harm the servants of the house of Gremory and Astaroth. And now you spit nonsense about one of the heirs of the 72 Pillars? Do you have no shame?"
That almost appeared to be a physical blow, having the Red one reel and unsummon his helmet.
Diodora released the magic trying to trap him. His mind had a bondage even stronger now, and it required to be left alone.
"N-No. Rias, I…"
"Don't speak my name so casually." The redhead reprimanded him, looking genuinely disgusted "Even if they're unharmed, I will NOT tolerate anyone treating my servants like this! Who do you think you are to attack us in such a manner? Don't you know that repercussions will follow?!"
"But I'm saying the truth! I…!" He stared at Diodora, expression shifting to that of a child that couldn't get his way.
Diodora smiled smugly, still quiet and not intervening. Content to let this play out as long as Genshirou didn't take a hit he couldn't recover from.
Too bad, he thought another person from the real world would have more common sense than this. Then again, becoming Hyodou Issei and getting this strong in such a small period of time was no small feat. Perhaps Diodora had to give him credit, even if he thought about these people like the same characters he had seen behind the screen.
"I have proof." The Red one finally stated. That made Diodora pause.
"You do?" He asked more confused than worried. After all, his original servants were dead. Even Olivia, who had haunted him before…
"I am Fate Weaver." The Red one released his wings, blades of light that changed colors like his eyes and power did. Still like RGB lights. He ascended to the air, his Boosted Gear summoning more power as the air itself became hotter "If I need proof, then I'll just summon it!"
Diodora's mind almost became blank, his spell pushing against the incoming doom with the power of Ophis' snake.
A Miracle Child. Hyoudou Issei hadn't been one. It couldn't be, it was nonsense. It didn't make sense…
A pure white light blinded him, washing over him with searing power that made him struggle to keep his bearings.
When it cleared, the not-Hyoudou still had his hand extended in the air.
A single Queen piece laid on top of it.
"...Eh?" He blinked once, twice. Dumbonded.
Diodora clicked his tongue.
"So that's how miracles work." He stated with little emotion in his voice. Then, his face contorted "Give me back my Evil Piece!"
Diodora created a spear of demonic power, following how Miyuzuin did them. It had more shape now, more consistency. He threw it at the Red one.
The Red one punched it away.
"No! This isn't what's supposed to happen!" He gritted his teeth, almost smashed the Evil Piece between his fingers "You monster! What the hell did you do to your minions?!"
"Stop throwing around nonsensical accusations." Diodora spoke coldly, glare still in place and spell running strong "Even with your miracles, you won't be able to brainwash anyone today. Leave now, Fate Weaver, or we will take you down."
That made the brown haired guy pause.
Then, he snickered.
"Try."
The Miracle Child surged forward, grabbing Diodora by the neck before anyone could react.
The devil reinforced his body with demonic power, being pushed to smash into trees and debris as the Red one grunted along with a manic smirk.
No boosted power though.
Diodora channeled Ophis' power to his right hand, decking the guy below the ching and sending him to the air as the power of Infinite struck against Ddraig's own.
Diodora coughed, but didn't relent. He trapped the Red one in another magic barrier, then that one inside a bigger one. Again and again. All the while channeling more power to press and compress it into a single point in space.
"Diodora-san!" A male voice called out, Yuuto or Genshirou, but Diodora was too busy pushing against the holy power trying to break free.
"Rias!" Diodora howled as he felt his power breaking.
The redhead took to the air, ball of Power of Destruction held above her head like an oversized beach ball, and slammed it down the same moment the Miracle Issei broke free of Diodora's spell.
The guy was thrown down, proof of his power as anyone else would've been disintegrated by Rias' blast. And slammed the ground deep enough that the resulting caving in couldn't be called a mere hole. The proximity of the Power of Destruction alone making it so it dug deeper than the initial blast would've provoked.
"Regroup!" Rias commanded.
"No. To me, now!" Diodora interrupted, raising his hands as a demonic circle extended from underneath his feet.
"What are you doing?!" Rias didn't move, creating more Power of Destruction as seconds ticked "We have to-!"
"We won't win." Diodora stated. A clear expression staring straight into Rias' confused own "We need to go. We leave now. Our combined efforts didn't do anything."
Rias didn't reply, but Diodora saw her peerage come to their own conclusion.
Akeno flew to her master while casting a lightning bolt down into the caving. Only to take Rias with a hand and drag her across the air toward Diodora.
Yuuto and Genshirou were behind them. Koneko had been by Diodora's side since he started casting.
"Your sister will kill me." Diodora murmured, channeling his power as the others kept the not-Issei inside the ground.
"Yes." Was all that Koneko said in reply.
"Where are we going?" Yuuto hurried to ask; Genshirou's arm in his hand.
"We can't go back to Kuoh, not now." Diodora gritted his teeth as he felt the holy power rush back to their location "Next stop: The Astaroth state."
Diodora finished the spell in record time. Twice he had had to teleport in a hurry, and he'd be damned if he was found lacking in this department the third time.
Space bent and light was swallowed as the teleportation took hold, becoming a plethora of colors as they crossed across dimensions and into the void.
In the darkness, Diodora saw the Star Seeker smiling at him. Her eyes still devoid of real warmth as the vision diffused and he felt momentum once more.
His heart skipped a beat, feeling 'down' spinning until something that felt like a line going taunt and retreating pulled them to the other side.
They didn't get to the Astaroth state. In fact, they didn't arrive at the Underworld at all.
The air felt hot, uncomfortable. And the lights around them shone ominously as a huge cross stared back at them across the enormous hall that now housed them.
A giant church, a trap.
A god-damned miracle.