Everyone stared in shock that Issei was completely gone. Jack most of all. "This can't be real..."
"Issei..." Xenovia breathed in disbelief.
Gasper looked around. "Where is he?!"
"What happened?" Koneko asks. A green magic circle appeared above them and a man with brown hair appeared.
"I thank the Black Dragon Emperor for disposing of Diodora for me." The man says. "However, it is also good to know that he won't be here to stop me."
"Who are you?" Rias demands.
"Dear little sister of the despicable and fake Devil King, who I am is the one and true descendant of the great devil Beelzebub. I am Shalba Beelzebub." The man states.
Rias then began to glow in her red aura.
"You will pay for killing the only man I've ever loved." Rias growls.
The man opens his palm and prepares his magic. "Little sister of the imposter, Sirzechs, nothing personal but I think I'll kill you."
Jack got his feet and looked around. "Issei. Come on, man. If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny!"
"He's lost it." Kiba says.
Asia puts her hand over her heart, crying. "Jack..."
"Come on, dude." Jack pleads. "Let's go home! You'll be able to cheer me and Asia on when we do the three-legged race. We'll play more awesome songs! IsseiOOOOOO!"
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Fenrir was roaring as he and Indo were ripping apart the devils attacking them. Up above, Rossweisse and Irina combined their attacks, sending a great number of devils into oblivion.
"It seems like we're about good to go here." Rossweisse says.
Irina flies next to her. "Agreed. I hope Rias and the crew are all okay."
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Jack continued to aimlessly wander around the room. "Issei, come on man! We're supposed to continue to be an awesome band with Kiba and Saji. We need to practice!"
Asia hugs Jack from behind. "Oh, Jack."
Everyone else begins to cry as Xenovia then screams and charges at Shalba, tears falling down her face. "I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE! I'LL CUT YOU DOWN PIECE BY PIECE UNTIL YOU SCREAM FOR MERCY!"
Xenovia brings out Durandal and Issei's Monster Slayer sword and strikes them at Shalba, as he merely blocks the attack. Shalba then electrocutes Xenovia, making her yell in pain and get thrown to the ground.
"Xenovia, no!" Rias cries, rushing to help her.
"Don't test me." Shalba warns.
Xenovia tries to reach for Durandal, but grunts in pain. "Bring Issei back now! Please, he's the only man I've ever had feelings for! He was so kind and unbelievably loving...IsseiOOO!"
Jack turns to Asia. "Hey, Asia. Do you know where Issei might've gone? We need to find him so we can leave. Help me, please. We can't go without him, he's my brother."
Asia just cries in his chest, unable to respond.
Shalba just laughs. "Guess, Esdeath was right. Together, you all are a force to be reckoned with. But take away the head and the body dies. Without your precious Issei, you'll all perish. And I get the bounty she placed on him. Do you really wish to know where I sent your beloved Black Dragon? A place far beyond our reality. To the Dimensional Gap! Not even HE will survive all the exposure in there. Of course Esdeath will jus bring him back to life and make him her slave! To put it simply, I gave a dog back to his owner!"
Jack grits his teeth as his eyes then glow green. He then marches forward towards Shalba as he summons his dragon gauntlet.
Ddraig the speaks from the gem, "Rias Gremory."
Rias gasps. "What is it, Ddraig?"
"If you'd rather not die, you should leave this place immediately." Ddraig suggests. "As for you, devil, the one who calls himself Shalba. You made a poor decision...AND NOW YOU MUST PAY!"
Jack then exploded in red and green aura, blowing Shalba against the wall and making everyone else cover their faces.
"His aura and power are incredible!" Kiba shouts.
"And dangerous!" Koneko adds.
"Jack!" Asia tries to run to him, but a pillar falls and blocks her path.
Rias pulls her back. "Asia, no!"
Shalba struggles to get up and looks at Jack as he was in his Balance Breaker. "Who are you?"
The entire temple then exploded in green energy.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Elsewhere, Azazel and Sirzechs were talking to Orphis herself.
"So, Orphis, if we defeat you here are you finally gonna let peace reign out?" Azazel asks.
Orphis just smirks. "How cute. It's impossible to defeat me."
"Well, can you clue us in now as to why you've never shown any interest in this world before?" Azazel says.
Sirzechs nods. "I agree. I would also like to know why you're leading a brigade of terrorists."
Orphis looks up at the sky. "For a world of silence. All I want is to return to the Dimensional Gap, otherwise known as my home. And reclaim that silence."
Azazel cocks a brow. ~The Dimensional Gap is her home? If I remember correctly...of course Valia! I understand! I know what you want!~
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
In the Dimensional Gap, Valia, Iraka, Mayana, Arthur, and Bikou were traveling through a bubble.
"Valia, do you truly believe we shall find it here?" Bikou asks. "The Dimensional Gap is almost a void."
Valia nods. "I'm confident we will find it."
Mayana then looks up. ~That power...Jack Hyoudou.~
Iraka feels it too. "There's been a change of plans. We're going to the Underworld."
Bikou looks confused. "Why so suddenly though?"
Arthur stiffens upon what he sees in front of him. "Is that...who I think it is?" The rest of the group widen their eyes upon what Arthur was staring at.
"Took you guys long enough!"
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Jack roars in pure rage, but mentally he roars, "IsseiOOOO!"
Rias and the ORC stared at Jack in sadness at the monster he'd become. Jack then looks down at Shalba, growling.
He then charges at him, grabbing Shalba by his arm with his teeth and ripping it off. Shalba gets up and looks at Jack in anger. "Don't play with me. Face my light of judgement! If you dare!"
A giant circle appears of Jack as Ddraig then yells, "DIVIDE!"
The circle over Jack gets smaller and smaller until it disappear, shocking Shalba. "He has Divine Dividing power?!"
"I remember that." Koneko recollects.
Kiba steps up. "Jack's using the power that he stole from Valia!"
Shalba threw his cape away. "Why must Valia insist on standing in my way?! Die!" Shalba sends a blast at Jack, making him roar a red beam of light that overwhelms his attack and destroys his other arm.
"No! You bastard, this creature must be the Dragon of Domination!" Shalba realizes.
Gasper uses his time power but it does nothing, making him gasp.
"Gasper, did you just try to stop time?" Kiba asks.
"I did, but it didn't even phase him!" Gasper replies. Jack roars as his chest then opens up.
Green energy began to build around him as Ddraig yelled 'Boost' over and over.
"We can't stay here, Rias!" Akeno says, carrying Xenovia. "If we do, we're all going to die!"
Kiba nods. "Let's go! I don't want to either, but we must!"
"No." Rias says defiantly. "I won't."
Kiba then grabs Rias. "We're going!"
The ORC sprouts their wings and flies away as Ddraig yells, "LONGINUS SMASHER!"
A humognous green beam shoots out of Jack's chest and hits Shalba. "Damn you! Red Dragon and White Dragon! DAMN YOU BOTH!" Shalba then disintegrates into ash.
Jack then sends numerous green energy bolts in every direction, making Rias and Akeno form a barrier around the floating crater they and the ORC were watching from.
"I wish there was more we could do than just sit here and watch!" Gasper whines.
"Yeah, you and me both." Koneko agrees.
Xenovia sits up. "So what can we do? Anyone know a way we can change Jack back to normal?"
Rias looks down. "I don't know."
"We had a feeling it was the Juggernaut Drive."
Rias turns and sees Iraka and Mayana standing there with an open portal behind them. Valia and Bikou come out as well. "Iraka and Mayana? What are you two doing here?"
"We sensed a change in Jack's power." Iraka states. "We wanted to see what it was. Is that him down there?"
"It looks like you're servant had an incomplete transformation." Valia says.
"Do you know if there's anyway to change him back?" Rias asks.
"In an incomplete state, there's a chance it'll happen naturally." Mayana explains. "But if not, he'll use up his life force until he dies."
"That's not happening on my watch." Everyone then see Issei follow Arthur out of portal, still in his Demonic Slayer armor.
"Issei!" Everyone says happily.
"I leave you guys for five minutes and already everything's gone to hell." Issei chuckles.
"We happened to cross paths with him while we were moving through the Dimensional Gap." Arthur says.
"He's one lucky guy." Bikou says. "He would've been exposed to the void if not for us. A body cannot withstand that kind of pressure and will usually dissipate into nothingness."
Issei glares at him. "How 'bout you shut the hell up before I jam that stick up your ass?" Bikou immediately closed his mouth. "Now then, I'll go calm him down."
Akeno grabs his shoulder. "Issei!"
Issei retracts his helmet. "He'll calm down if he sees that I'm alive."
"It's not that simple." Valia says.
"And I don't recall asking for your opinion!" Issei snaps.
"She is right though, Issei." Erakhan says. "Merely just getting near him could kill you."
"So then what do we do?" Issei inquires.
"As the old saying goes, 'fight fire WITH fire'!" Erakhan states.
Issei widens his eyes. "You mean I have my own Juggernaut Drive? Is that the forbidden armor you said no one's ever mastered?"
"No. But we can talk about that later." Erakhan orders. "Right now, let's focus on helping your brother."
Issei nods. "Right." Issei then shoots into the sky and closes his eyes.
"I AM THE DRAGON OF DARKNESS WHO STOLE THE POWER OF DAMNATION AND WRATH FROM GOD. I WILL BECOME THE BLACK DRAGON THAT SHOWS NO MERCY AND SLAYS THE FALLEN AND THE CORRUPTED! I WILL MAKE ALL BOW BEFORE ME AND SHUDDER AT MY NAME! JUGGERNAUT DRIVE!"
"Well done." Erakhan praises. "Now hurry, we must contain his power before he uses up what's left of his life force!"
~And how are we supposed to do that?~ Issei asks.
"You'll have to get close." Erakhan states. "You try and talk with Jack and I'll see if I can get through to Ddraig."
Issei flies down at Jack and pins him to the dirt. "Jack! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! IT'S ME, Issei! I'M HERE!"
Jack roars in response and shoves him off, firing a red beam of energy that Issei blocks.
"BRO, LOOK AT ME! I'M NOT DEAD! I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE!" Jack then opens his chest and tries to fire another Longinus Smasher beam.
Issei dodges and rams him against the remains of the temple. "COME ON, BROTHER! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! DON'T LET YOUR ANGER AND FEAR GET THE BETTER OF YOU!"
Jack slashes Issei in the face and sprouts his wings. He grabs Issei and takes off, throwing him through several floating craters.
~EERGH! This isn't working, father! Can you reach Ddraig?~ Issei asks.
"It's no use. Ddraig can't hear me either." Erakhan replies. "Jack's mind is so shattered he's seeing things that aren't real."
~Do you think maybe I can reach into his mind?~ Issei questions.
Erakhan nods. "That could work. However you'll have to get him to hold still and remain absolutely powered down."
Issei sighs. ~I'm so afraid of hurting him though!~
"I'm afraid you'll have to harm him, Issei. It's the only way." Erakhan says.
~Alright. If you say so.~ Issei then extends his wings. "Jack! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME IN THERE... I'M SORRY!"
Jack roars once again and he and Issei clash around in the sky. Issei whips his tail in Jack's face, shattering some of his dragon teeth.
Vali crosses her arms. "Strange. His energy signature isn't purely dragon."
"Something else is inside him." Orphis says, appearing next to her.
"Look who showed up." Valia smirks. "Hello, Orphis."
Issei grabs Jack by the throat and holds him out as he rams through crater after crater. "Jack COME ON, MAN! SNAP OUT OF IT! I DON'T WANNA HURT YOU!"
Issei then opens his chest. "PLEASE, BRO! DON'T MAKE ME USE THIS!" Jack shakes off the rubble and flies straight at him. "Forgive me..."
Issei sends his own Longinus blast, blowing Jack to the ground. When the dust clears, Issei sees Jack on the ground motionless.
Issei descends and places his large-scaled hand on Jack's head. "Jack...listen to my voice. Whatever you're seeing inside your head, whatever nightmares the Juggernaut Drive has created, they aren't real. I. Am. Alive. And you need to come back. Not just for me, but for Asia, and Rias, and everyone else."
Issei pulls his hand back and picks up Jack, both of them still being in their Juggernaut Drive. Issei then hugs him to the best of his ability, which was difficult considering the bulkiness of their scales. "Jack...I love you, bro."
Both of their armor's then shattered revealing, Issei and Jack hugging in human form. Jack pulls back and stares at Issei. "Issei?"
"I'm here, man." Issei assures him. "I'm here."
They both hug again and see everyone flying down, yelling their names. Issei stands up and extends his hand to him. "Come on."
Jack takes his hand and stands. "Dude, I'm so sorry. I just felt something inside me snap when I heard that Shalba guy talking and then-"
Jack gets interrupted by Xenovia shoving past him and tackling Issei in a hug. "Issei! I thought you were gone! You're alive! Issei, you'll be with me forever, right? Like FOREVER forever, though. Cause you can't leave me like that ever again!"
Issei just smiles and holds her. "I won't. I don't break my promises."
"Hey, Issei. Come take a look." Valia motions him over to her, Iraka, and Mayana. Issei comes over, carrying Xenovia who was clinging to him, and follows their gaze.
A giant red dragon then appears with four humongous wings.
"It can't be." Rias gasps.
"The Dragon of Dragons." Valia states. "He's often called, 'DD'. The True Red Dragon God Emperor. Great Red."
Issei whistles in amazement. "So he's your rival and brother, huh father?"
Erakhan laughs. "We've had multiple battles in the Dimensional Gap to see which one of us was the strongest. Eventually it got tiresome just fighting and being alone in there with only him as company. Still though, it's been a while since he and I had another bout."
"Orphis wishes to fly around for all eternity in the Dimensional Gap, like him." Mayana states.
Valia raises her hand and makes a fist. "My goal is to defeat him. To become the True White Dragon Emperor. The White Dragon God Emperor. Some day, I'll take down Great Red."
"Great Red." Orphis says appearing and sitting on a rock. "It's been a while."
"Who is that?" Jack cries.
"I didn't see her until just now!" Xenovia adds.
"Meet Orphis." Iraka introduces. "The Dragon God of Infinity. Oroborous Dragon."
"Wait, what did you say?" Rias questions.
"Oh no, that dragon is her?" Gasper shivers.
Koneko widens her eyes. "So she's the leader of the Khaos Brigade?"
Orphis stands. "One day. One day soon I'm going to obtain my silence."
Issei cocks a brow. "How is obtaining silence going to help you find peace? Explain what you'll possibly gain from that."
Orphis eyes Issei and floats over to him at eye-level. "Issei Najasaki. Son of Erakhan, the Death Dragon, you truly are a sight."
Issei glances to the side nervously. "I'm sorry, what?"
Orphis smiles. "Tell me something. Do you wish to become the strongest in all of the universe and beyond that?"
Issei scoffs. "Little girl, the only thing I need is to love and protect my family. You can do whatever the hell you, Valia, my sisters, and your so called Brigade want. But know that if you ever come after them or me...I won't be merciful."
Orphis just stares at him. "...I can see he takes after you, Erakhan."
"That he does indeed, Lady Orphis." Erakhan says.
Issei winks at her as she and the Khaos Brigade then leave via magic circle. Issei looks back up at Great Red. "One day. I'll meet you and talk to you in person...Uncle."