Hey everyone, it's me Hide Shinyama.
Now, you will find out what got me to leave everyone to leave in their greatest hour of need. What was it?
Also, I want to emphasize that this chapter is not the last chapter of this story! This chapter will only end the Hulk arc. After that, the final arc will begin, which is an epilogue arc of a sort.
Meanwhile, how does this arc wrap up?
Find out in…
Chapter 70 – Shinyama's Goodbye
15th of November, Sunday, 1:00 am – Four hours before Issei succeeded in calming down the Hulk, somewhere on a mountain far outside Tokyo…
Shinyama had just arrived after a long walk to the agreed meeting place. It was very far out in the middle of nowhere. Yet, his acquaintance insisted on getting this far away from civilization. After all, she did not want to be disturbed. For the person Shinyama was going to meet was none other than…
"Hello, Ophis. It has been a while," Shinyama greeted the Ouroboros Dragon.
The humanoid goth Loli Dragon simply nodded with a neutral expression and opened up a portal. The Dragon went in first and Shinyama followed.
Both of them found themselves outside of Japan and inside a white empty void. There was absolutely nothing inside it, with sole exception of Shinyama and Ophis.
Ophis turned around to face Shinyama.
"Now, we can finally talk," Ophis started off with a blank look on her face.
"Yeah, I guess we can," Shinyama shrugged. "Where do you want to start?"
"Why did you create this story the way you did?" Ophis asked directly and bluntly in a monotonous tone.
Shinyama looked away and shuffled his feet.
"Ah… that… Well, I'm not sure where to begin…" Shinyama admitted honestly.
"This story has been going all over the place. It has been messing up the dimensions and with it my sense of peace, too," Ophis stated.
"But… you yourself have been disrupting the World's balance yourself. I mean, was it not you who gave the Succubus power to break the fourth wall and drag in the girls from Doki Doki Literature Club into this World?" Shinyama pointed out.
"True," Ophis answered nonchalantly. "I guess I was bored and was curious what were to happen if a denizen like that Succubus would get power. Then again, the Succubus and those girls were intruding into my home. I had to deal with them somehow."
"Yeah, and I got dragged into this, too," Shinyama reminded Ophis. "And from there onward, the ball started to roll. And I ended up playing a major role in this fanfiction."
Ophis said nothing to that. She was silent for a while before she continued.
"But it still does not change that you are the one who wrote this story titled "The Lone Vigilante Issei". So, why did you drag all these non-DxD characters and concepts into the DxD World?" Ophis questioned Shinyama. "I mean from what I know you wanted to create a World that was supposed to be better than the original High School DxD story. But adding in all these other characters from outside this story is…"
"I know, I know…" Shinyama interrupted. "But you see, when I started "The Lone Vigilante Issei" I had completely different ideas in mind when writing it."
"What kind of ideas?" Ophis asked.
Shinyama paced about as he thought back to what he was thinking when he wrote this story.
"I guess I should start on how I came to create this fanfiction. I was inspired to write this story thanks to Froggy-slice's "Human kind ascending". It was a story that had Issei, Matsuda and Motohama find out about the Supernatural World on their own through an unlucky encounter with Stray Devil Viser. They changed their ways and improved themselves as they faced new dangers. This got the interest of Murayama and Katase who also ended up joining the trio and the Devils also caught their interest and… well… the story did not continue much from there. It's on hiatus, unfortunately. Yet, still, I was inspired to write a High School DxD fanfiction like that on my own, except that it was supposed to go according to my style and tastes," Shinyama explained.
"Uh-Huh. Continue," Ophis simply said.
"Now, originally, I wanted Issei to be Batman. I wanted him to go around fighting crime by himself and even defeat Supernatural beings along the way. I took inspiration from another High School DxD fanfiction (I forgot the name by now) that tried out this idea. But for me that story was kind of shoehorned in. Moreover, the problem for me was that Issei had the Boosted Gear which is designed to kill people. Batman, on the other hand, never kills. Plus, I really wanted to make a story where Issei had Matsuda and Motohama to rely on, so… I ended up going with that and thus undermined the accuracy of the story's title," Shinyama sighed at the reminder of his mistake.
Ophis did not say anything. Shinyama took this as a sign to continue.
"I ended up trying to make the whole fanfiction a story where Issei would not be an ignorant naïve breast-loving pervert and instead make him come prepared for the challenges that came his way such as… the Fallen Angels and Riser. A lot of High School DxD fanfics did this, except that their problem was that Issei's backstory on how he became stronger in those stories was not expounded on or focused on with enough detail. Originally, that was what I tried to do. Make a lengthy prequel story in the year before the official start of the DxD timeline and then get into the DxD storyline and then have Issei overcome those challenges with superior knowledge, experience and strength – and with Matsuda and Motohama by his side," Shinyama added at the end.
Shinyama looked at Ophis who again said nothing.
"But as time went by, I realized some things about High School DxD that… well… to be honest… made me hate it the more I thought about it. The whole story is nothing more than Ichiei Ishibumi's way of expressing his fetish for breasts. All Issei cares about is breasts and somehow the whole DxD universe goes out of his way to revolve around his lusts and wishes. I still think that High School DxD has some good concepts like the Evil Piece system or the Sacred Gears and this whole world of Supernatural beings and their factions… they also have some good characters like Yuuto Kiba, Vali Lucifer and Sairaorg Bael, only…" Shinyama drifted off at the end.
"It wasn't good enough for you, huh?" Ophis completed Shinyama's thoughts.
"Yeah… At first, I also did not want to do crossovers with other universes in this story. Except that when I started with Doki Doki Literature Club, I added others, too, whether it be Ranma 1/2, Metroid, Marvel or Fist of the North Star. When I added Doki Doki Literature Club, it was at a time when it was still fresh and new. It fascinated me so much that I had to make a fourth wall breaking arc for this story. Nobody else had done it in a fanfiction as far as I know, so I decided to do it first. That was how the crossovers in my story began. And looking back at it all, I have to say the DDLC arc is not just the longest but also the best executed arc in "The Lone Vigilante Issei". And I truly enjoyed writing about it," Shinyama remarked with pride.
"And because of that, the whole High School DxD universe is now in chaos. All thanks to you," Ophis accused Shinyama, thus dampening any positive feelings on Shinyama's end. "The Hulk is going around rampaging around the whole world. Moreover, he has become so powerful thanks to the Deus Ex Machina status you have given him. So, what are you going to do about it?"
"Yeesh… all right, all right…" Shinyama placated Ophis with a groan. "Don't worry, I'll fix it soon enough. But first, I'll let Issei, and the others deal with him. Once the Hulk is soothed, we can move on."
"Soothed? You mean like tamed?" Ophis asked.
"Yes, exactly. The Hulk only stops his rampage once people stop attacking him. And the only one who can pull this off is Issei. So, trust him on this," Shinyama assured Ophis.
Ophis said nothing to that and moved on to the next topic.
"So, what will you do after taking care of the Hulk?" Ophis asked Shinyama. "Since you acknowledged you created this mess, what are you going to do with the universe from now on?"
Shinyama sighed. He paced up and about for a bit before answering.
"Of course, I plan to see this to the end. Once the Hulk has been pacified, I am going to bring him home. I will also speak to the boys one last time before I leave," Shinyama answered.
"Leave?" Ophis asked.
"Yes," Shinyama answered and took a few steps towards Ophis. "I did say earlier that I grew tired of High School DxD. Well, once I wrap up all loose ends and give the characters in this story the ending they deserve, I will finally end it."
"End what exactly?" Ophis asked again.
"The Lone Vigilante Issei," Shinyama answered. "I want to end it – once and for all."
"But why?" Ophis asked Shinyama a third time. "Do you really hate this world so much that you have to end it so soon?"
"Yes… and no…" Shinyama replied cryptically. "I truly did get annoyed by High School DxD and its dumb writing and Ichiei Ishibumi's fetishism. But also, I… I…"
Shinyama stuttered and paused. Ophis raised an eyebrow at Shinyama's odd behavior, though she neither said nor did anything.
Shinyama turned away from Ophis and looked up into the deep whiteness of the void, as if he was watching the sky in all its majesty.
"I was 20 or 21 years old when I first read the Light Novels of High School DxD. At the time, I was a young adult who had just finished school and was attending a vocational preparation boarding school. I had yet to figure out what I wanted to do in life and while I was doing all that, I was fascinated of Issei Hyoudou and his pervy adventures on growing stronger and defeating enemies. I may have disliked the overt perverted fetishism of High School DxD. Still, I put that aside and ended up reading about 22 volumes of High School DxD. I was hungry for more at the time, so I read fanfictions of High School DxD and was amazed to find fanfictions written better than the original story. And then after I had turned 22 years old, I wrote "The Lone Vigilante Issei". At the time, I was in my second year of doing an apprenticeship to become an Office Manager (also known as an Office Administration Clerk). It's the typical office worker profession title used in Germany, by the way. There were plenty of times during my time at work when I had nothing to do. So, in my boredom, I decided to pass the time by writing this fanfiction. I would release them once every two weeks… eventually, I slowed down the release to every three weeks, then four weeks and then five weeks… Time went by and before I knew it six years had gone by while I was writing this story."
Shinyama smiled fondly at the times gone by.
"I had finished my Office Manager training, had undergone an internship in Ireland, had to suffer through the pandemic restrictions as a NEET… then started my studies in Health Management for one semester, then switched to doing Business Administration at another college… I remember working hard to pass exams and writing papers, while doing different part-time jobs – of which my current one is at the same place where I did my Office Manager training. Life has gone full circle, but… with six years having come and passed… things are different now."
"What is your point?" Ophis interrupted to ask Shinyama.
"My point? My point is that I'm 28 now. I'm nearing my thirties now and I have gained a much clearer outlook on what I want to do in my life. Life has changed… My interests have changed… I have changed… Now, I'm not saying that my age is a reason to give up writing on fanfiction. Rather, my interests have changed, and I want to move on to other things. And even though I have grown tired of writing about High School DxD, this story and everything that has happened… it's a reminder of all of the things that have happened in my life during the six years I was writing this. No! It reminds me of the seven years of my life since I first enjoyed High School DxD and… to me… that is something I will always cherish," Shinyama paused upon saying these things before turning back to face Ophis.
"And that is why I said that my answer to me ending the story because of dislike of High School DxD is "yes" and "no". I may dislike High School DxD, but… not completely… even if it is only because of my time writing this fanfiction," Shinyama stated to Ophis.
"I see…" Ophis stated without any emotion.
Ophis herself walked past Shinyama and towards the distance. She then stopped and stretched out her hand.
[WHOOSH!]
Suddenly, a portal opened up and Ophis walked towards it.
"Are you leaving already?" Shinyama asked Ophis confused.
"Yes," Ophis replied in the same monotonous tone as usual. "I have heard what you have to say and have decided that I do not need to kill you."
A chill ran up Shinyama's spine upon hearing this threat.
"Judging by what you said, I believe that you are trustworthy enough to fix this problem. And so, I don't need to waste any more time by staying here with you," Ophis said before leaving the empty dimension.
Before Ophis left, she turned around one last time.
"By the way, before you leave…" Ophis said to Shinyama.
"Yes?" Shinyama asked confused.
"There are some people who want to have a word with you first. They came up to me not too long ago and have asked me for help to deal with the Hulk. That is all," Ophis said and walked out of the dimension through the portal.
The portal closed behind her, leaving a confused Shinyama behind.
"Some people want to have a word with me? Who?" Shinyama could not help but ask out loud.
It was then that Shinyama heard footsteps coming from behind him. Shinyama whirled around to see who or what it was. And when he did…
"You guys!? You're…" Shinyama voiced startled upon seeing who the people in question were.
15th of November, Sunday, 11:00 am – In one of the houses in Nerima
Issei woke up with a groan. As he did, he noticed that he was in a room he had never seen before.
"What…? Where…?" Issei mumbled to himself.
And just when he did, the door swung open and…
""ISSEI!"" Matsuda and Motohama ran in and pounced on the awakened Issei.
"OOF!" Issei grunted as he felt the two of them crushing him.
"Dude! I'm so glad you're okay!" Matsuda wailed.
"Me too! You're all safe and sound!" Motohama added while wailing, too.
"Get… off… me…" Issei said to them as he tried to shove them off.
"No way, man!" Matsuda said as he continued hugging Issei.
"Just a little more manly group hugs, my boy!" Motohama agreed and hugged not just Issei, but Matsuda, too.
[Haah… haah… haah… You three are so close that… Haah… haah… haah…] Ddraig mockingly interrupted the trio with his crude jokes.
Realizing just what their situation looked like to any onlooker, they quickly separated themselves embarrassed and taking on cross looks with Ddraig.
"""SHUT UP, DRAGON!""" Issei, Matsuda and Motohama yelled at Ddraig at the same time.
[What? It's true!] Ddraig insisted.
Having calmed down, Issei looked around him and asked what was on his mind.
"What is this place?" Issei asked Matsuda and Motohama.
"We're at one of the neighbors of the Tengu family," Motohama answered.
"What? Why?" Issei asked Motohama.
"Because the Tengu dojo has been turned into ruins. Sanma and the Amazons fought so hard, it got blown into pieces!" Matsuda answered this time.
"Whoa! Whoa! What!? Tell me what happened from the beginning!" Issei demanded of them.
Matsuda and Motohama did so, which took them some time to do so.
15th of November, Sunday, 11:20 am – at the ruins of the Tengu Dojo
"WHAAAAAA! The dojo has been completely ruined!" Soun Tengu cried with tears flowing out like a waterfall.
Meanwhile, the daughters of the Tengu family went through the ruins to collect their belongings and see what was intact or not. Sanma, his father, Grandmaster Hentai, Ryuga and Ukyu were assisting in the search, too. While they were doing so, Issei, Matsuda and Motohama came up to them. Issei was wearing some fresh clothes given to him by the friendly neighbors and had just been briefed about what the Tengu family and Sanma had been going through. Issei was shocked and saddened about what had transpired.
"Sanma…" Issei said to himself as he looked at the boy shifting through rubble to dig up some books.
Matsuda and Motohama were also shocked at Issei's story. After all, he teamed up with the Devils of Kuoh to fight off Stray Exorcists and Fallen Angels, just to fight against the Hulk himself. And what shocked them even more was that Issei came up on top – something all other supernatural beings failed to do! And Issei did it simply by talking, too! This made them think. If that was the way to get the Hulk to calm down and follow them obediently, then… this whole mess could have been avoided if nobody had bothered to attack the Hulk all this time, right? Knowing this fact made the three boys facepalm themselves hard!
Speaking of which, where was the Hulk – or should one say, Bruce Banner?
The three boys looked around and saw Bruce Banner (now fully clothed in human form) standing a good distance away with Shinyama Hide and… Sirzechs Lucifer!? What was he doing here!?
"I understand your point of view, Mr. Hide. But I fear that given all that has happened we cannot let Mr. Banner go," Sirzechs argued with Shinyama. "I'm afraid he must pay the price for what he has done."
"I understand your feelings, too, Lord Lucifer. But nothing is solved by keeping him here. In fact, if any of you wage any form of aggression against him, the same thing as before will happen again," Shinyama answered.
"Well, even if I were inclined to support you, I would still need to discuss this with the rest of my fellow Maou and Faction Leaders at least," Sirzechs stated.
"Well, do as you must. But before you do, I must ask that you involve some other people from my end as well," Shinyama requested Sirzechs.
"May I ask who these people are?" Sirzechs asked Shinyama with a raised eyebrow.
And that was when out of nowhere, a portal opened just behind Shinyama, causing the Tengu family and friends, along with the Perverted Quartet to turn and look in surprise. But none was more surprised than Bruce Banner himself.
"You are…" Bruce voiced out in recognition.
Sirzechs was surprised by the appearance of the people from the portal. All of them appeared to be soldiers with uniforms and weapons. And stepping forward was a Black man with an eye-patch and a strong leader-like aura emanating from him. It was obvious that he was their commander.
"Who are you people?" Sirzechs asked of them.
"Lord Sirzechs of the Devil Faction, I presume? The name is Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD," the commander introduced himself. "And we've come to take Dr. Bruce Banner, a. k. a. the Hulk, back into our home world and into our custody."
"SHIELD?" Sirzechs voiced confused.
But before more could be said, another portal opened up again, revealing a man who looked familiar to Sirzechs.
"Thor!?" Sirzechs said in surprise.
"Lord Lucifer, I presume? Yes, I am Thor. But judging by your reaction you must be confusing me with the Thor in your world. Nay, I am the Thor of another world and am here to help SHIELD facilitate the extraction of the Hulk to my world," Thor said to Sirzechs.
15th of November, Sunday, 12:00 pm – In a conference room with all the Faction Leaders of the Anti-Hulk-Alliance
All the leaders of the Anti-Hulk-Alliance were shocked to hear that not only were they asked to urgently assemble but were also told that visitors from another world had come to discuss about what to do with the Hulk. And what was even more shocking was the fact that Thor existed in that other world, too. It was quite an astonishment for the DxD Thor to meet his other self yet given the situation he had to personal curiosity aside to focus on the topic at hand. And that topic and the demands of SHIELD and the other world's Thor made the Faction Leaders very angry.
"You have to be joking!" the Thor of the DxD world voiced in outrage.
"It is no joke. We have come to bring Dr. Bruce Banner with us," the Thor accompanying SHIELD said to him.
"Look here… I do not know why or what circumstances you have there that would make you this way, but as I truly live, I will never agree to this and will never understand it!" the DxD Thor said to his other self.
"As do I," said Falbium as he rose from his seat with umbrage. "How do we know that even if we hand over the Hulk to you that he will not come back the same way?"
The other Faction leaders sat there and voiced in agreement to what Falbium had said. Although they were able to heal themselves with their magic, they still felt the phantom pain of their injuries. Moreover, their many subordinates have been hurt, a few of them even killed, because of the Hulk. How could they let this go?
"Look, I understand your anger and frustration. But if you keep him here, you'll have to deal with Hulk and his rampages for all eternity," Nick Fury said to them.
"And do you presume you know how to deal with the Hulk better than us somehow?" Nurarihyon asked Fury. "The Hulk has injured and maimed hundreds of thousands of our warriors of all races and Factions. And many of them, including all of us leaders seated here, are all immensely powerful and still none of us could stop the Hulk. How could you deal with him better than us?"
"We have measures in place to deal with the Hulk," Nick Fury answered them.
"And what are those measures?" Tiamat asked this time in a challenging manner.
"I'll answer that," Shinyama said as he stepped forward. "I will make sure to put a permanent barrier between both your dimension and that dimension to ensure that the Hulk does not return."
"And how will you even do that?" Azazel asked this time.
"It may take some time for me to explain…" Shinyama said and started explaining.
15th of November, Sunday, 4:02 pm – Back at the repaired Tengu dojo
It was not an easy thing for the Faction Leaders to accept this. But after they had time to cool their heads down, they felt like they had no better choice but to do so. It was clear that the Hulk – according to the intel from SHIELD and their own experiences – was basically invincible and that the only reason the Hulk could be subdued was because of the influence of the Sekiryuutei who managed to calm the Hulk down just by talking. If information came out that this whole mess could have been solved this easily, the Faction Leaders would lose all face. Thus, they decided to keep the full truth under wraps by ending this debacle as quickly as possible. Plus, they never wanted to deal with the Hulk ever again, so if somebody else took the Hulk off their hands AND even threw in monetary and material compensation to compensate for the damages... Well, it was obvious that a deal could be made.
According to the agreement SHIELD and the Anti-Hulk-Alliance made, the Hulk would leave with Shinyama accompanying him since he was the ultimate guarantor of the Hulk remaining calm and controllable. In return, SHIELD would provide compensation to the victims of the Hulk later. Until then, dimension travel between both worlds would happen quite frequently soon with both Thors acting as the middlemen for smooth transactions. Once everything was paid in full, Shinyama would close off the boundaries of both worlds for good.
Standing before the Tengu dojo (which had been repaired with magic by Sirzechs himself), the Faction leaders observed the departure of the Hulk accompanied by Shinyama. But also assembled were the Tengu family and friends, along with the Perverted Quartet.
Issei and Dr. Bruce Banner were shaking hands. They may not have known each other for a long time but the bond they had went deep.
"Thank you… Issei Hyoudou…" Bruce thanked Issei with the little Japanese he knew.
"No problem, Banner-san. Just make sure you don't lose your cool next time," Issei replied in Japanese, making Bruce look at Issei in confusion.
Shinyama whispered in English about what Issei had said into Bruce's ear, making the latter nod in understanding.
"I will… I hope…" Bruce said unsure.
Sanma came up to Shinyama next.
"I can't believe ya're going, sensei," Sanma said to Shinyama.
"You've learned everything you needed to learn. You have freed yourself from the web that has entangled you and have found your way in the world. All you need to do now is to apply what you learned into daily practice and learn more as life goes on," Shinyama advised Sanma.
"Yeah, you're right…" Sanma sighed in reluctance.
"Sanma, you're not alone," Ukyu said as she held his arm. "I'm here with you. We'll face through the challenges of life… together."
Sanma and Ukyu smiled at each other which made Shinyama smile at the two of them in return.
"Take care of each other," Shinyama said to them both.
Next up, Shinyama went to the Perverted Quartet to speak to them.
"Alas, our time together ends here. It was great being with you guys," Shinyama said to Issei, Mastuda, Motohama and Ddraig.
"But wait!" Motohama spoke up. "If you're gone, who is going to take care of the apartments from now on?"
"You do not have to worry about that," Shinyama said to them. "Lord Azazel will be doing that from now on."
"The leader of the Fallen Angels!?" Matsuda voiced incredulously. "Why him?"
"Because he's a capable man who loves to take care of youngsters like you. Do not worry. You will like him," Shinyama assured Matsuda.
"But what will happen to us?" Issei asked Shinyama. "We only got to where we are because of you. Without you, how can we…?"
Shinyama smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You boys… when you first arrived in Tokyo, you had no one to rely on except me. But now, you have so many people who are willing to help you. Plus, you guys have become so strong that any enemy might have a hard time beating you. The time has come for you guys to stand on your own two feet. You don't need me anymore," Shinyama said to them.
"Yeah, but…" Issei weakly tried to argue but could not find the right words.
[Partner, you cannot rely on Shinyama all the time. It is as he said. You have to stand on your own two feet. Besides, you have me to help you] Ddraig said to Issei.
"He's right. Besides, you guys will be fine as long as you stick together. You guys will stick together, won't you?" Shinyama asked them.
None of the four of the quartet answered. And they did not need to. For them it was clear that they would continue to do so.
With that said, Shinyama went towards Bruce to fetch him. Shinyama made eye contact with Bruce and Bruce understood that now was the time to leave.
Both men headed to the portal accompanied by SHIELD agents and their commander Nick Fury and the Thor of the other world.
Just before they departed, Shinyama turned around to wave goodbye to the Nerima residents.
"Sayonara, and yet… may we still each other again…" Shinyama said to them all.
"Sayonara, sensei!" Sanma called out to him.
The other members of the Tengu family were also saying goodbye to the man who had done so much for them.
"Sayonara!"
"Sayonara!"
"Sayonara!"
The Tengu family friends did the same and so did the Perverted Quartet.
Issei could not help but shed a tear for Shinyama.
"Thank you, Shinyama… for everything…" Issei said to Shinyama.
Shinyama nodded at that and finally departed through the portal with Bruce and the rest of their escorts.
"Goodbye… Thank you… for everything…" Shinyama said to them all.
After the portal had closed, Sirzechs could not help but turn his attention to Issei Hyoudou.
"Issei Hyoudou, the Sekiryuutei… I still cannot believe that he managed to do what we could not…" Sirzechs commented.
"And he did it all by himself. It's like he's one of those heroes in action movies. A great hero and savior who would appear once every hundred years… A watchful protector of the night… not the hero the world needs but the one it deserves…" Serafall swooned at the young man.
"I heard of all that he was doing before all this. He was hurting and killing so many of our kind like some wannabe vigilante… and that all by himself, too!" Barakiel spat out.
"Ooh… that sounds cool! A vigilante… No, I've got it! I've got the title for my next movie production and that title is…" Serafall moved her hands to form a square to capture Issei's frame between her fingers.
Serafall moved forward to capture Issei's frame better all while moving past Penemue who raised an eyebrow at Serafall's odd behavior.
"The Lone Vigilante Issei…" Serafall announced her title. "…Sounds cool, no?"
Azazel shook his head.
"Lone Vigilante? No, no, no… While he is a vigilante, it's also clear to me that he is not alone… In fact, he was never alone," Azazel explained to Serafall. "If I were to give a fitting title to a movie about this kid, it would be…"
Azazel gazed at Issei with his own makeshift screen capture with his fingers. At this point, Issei was hugged by Kasumi and kissed on his cheek making her sisters and father look at her with shock, all while Matsuda and Motohama were fuming.
"The Vigilante And His Friends," Azazel announced the title.
While Azazel was speaking, Issei made a happy and perverted grin.
And that was the Chapter 70 of The Lone Vigilante Issei – or should I actually say, "The Vigilante And His Friends".
Now about this chapter.
I really wanted to get my thoughts about this story out into the open. I apologize if my monologue bored you or you disagreed with it, but I really wanted to do this for quite some time now. While writing this, I did some reflecting on why I wrote this story. Like I stated in my conversation with Ophis, I had plans for the story that I ended up changing as I wrote it. A lot of it was improvisation. Nonetheless, I truly enjoyed writing this fanfiction, even if it ended up being different from what I had intended it to be.
This chapter is a fine example of my improvisation in this story for I did not intend Nick Fury, Thor and SHIELD agents to come in and bail Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk out. Originally, I wanted to do it with a flying boat that also had the DDLC girls in it. But I shelved this idea since those girls have no reason for returning, since I made their goodbyes to the Perverted Trio (many arcs ago) their final ones.
Further on the topic of improvisation, I finally did it! I finally made the title drop that I had wanted to do for so long. I had long complained about how this story "The Lone Vigilante Issei" had been mistitled since Issei was not truly alone (my commentary in this chapter also made that clear). With Serafall saying the title, I finally had a justification for the title of the story being called "The Lone Vigilante Issei". But the improvisation of it all lies in the fact that I ended up coming up with a title that fits this story better than its actual title. And that was the title Azazel mentioned, "The Vigilante And His Friends".
Finally, I must mention that this chapter does not end the story. It merely ends the Hulk arc. After this, an epilogue arc is coming up. It might not even be an arc in the end, it may end up being just a chapter, but we will see. This epilogue is meant to tie up all lose ends by giving the characters in this story their deserved conclusions.
Also, here is a little teaser for what the epilogue entails.
A blonde-haired girl wearing a nun's robe is walking through the streets of Kuoh. She approaches a businessman to ask for directions.
"Scusami, ma sa dov'è la chiesa in Kuoh? (Excuse me, where is the church in Kuoh?)" the girl asks in Italian.
"Sorry, uh… I don't understand what you're saying…" the man apologizes in Japanese, unable to understand what she is saying.
"Oh, scusami!" the nun apologizes herself and moves on.
She wished she could speak to them in English, only her knowledge in languages other than Italian and Latin were practically nonexistent.
Nevertheless, she intends to persevere. She will find the place she is looking for.
No doubt about it!
In the meantime, what did you think of this chapter?
Did you like it?
Please read and review, I would like to hear from you.
And as always, I hope to see you around next time.
Until then.
Hide Shinyama