Here I present myself with a new translated chapter!
It will be another long chapter. I think that soon the lengths will be back to normal.
Now it's time to answer the reviews:
Rain: Issei has always taken everything related to training very seriously. Maybe it hasn't been so noticeable until now because he was never committed to a situation like the one in the previous chapter.
MAX0910: Most likely it got bad towards the end due to time issues. As I've been saying, these chapters are much longer than usual and so correcting mistakes can get a bit complicated, especially these days, when I'm not as busy as I was two weeks ago. The "Senpai" was a mistake that appeared in the translated version as well as in the normal version, but it was my mistake not to notice it.
With nothing more to add, it's time to begin.
Enjoy!
In a somewhat desolate place there was quite a lot of destruction. The large amount of debris and shattered trees, along with the huge crater that seemed to sink into the ground generated a great impression to the distant eyes that watched from the top of a mountain. To be more specific, these were three people: two Demons and a Dragon.
"Are you okay?" Issei asked, watching as Gasper staggered to the side.
"Yeah, I'm just a little dizzy..." The vampire almost fell backwards after saying that, but Tannin caught him just in time.
"You'd better be supported during the battle. Make sure you have Kiba or Xenovia nearby." Issei commented with slight concern after seeing the condition his friend was in.
"As long as I can get on someone's back that will be enough. They'll give me enough angle and height to make good attacks." The half-vampire stated with a small smile, trying to compose himself as best he could. "Well...at least, the few attacks I'll be able to make." He concluded, placing himself on Issei's back as he pointed his hand to the front.
"Before we go into battle, let me give you one last piece of advice." Gasper looked at his friend intently. "Think twice before you attack. I'm not saying this because of the fact that you might hurt your own comrades." Gasper watched him with slight confusion after what he heard. "What I mean is that sometimes it's best to analyze the battlefield well. How you might move, how the enemy might move, how you might defend yourself and how they might defend themselves. The real idea of a battle is not the one with the strongest attack, although that usually always works..." Issei commented as he rubbed his cheek with a slightly embarrassed smile after his last words.
His gaze changed drastically after saying his next and last words:
"The most important thing is to keep your eyes wide open. That's what decides a battle."
Gasper couldn't help but look at him with even more confusion, as he hadn't quite understood his words.
"I know you guys know this more than anyone..." Tannin commented, approaching the duo. "But don't let anyone say what you may or may not do." He stated, slapping Issei's shoulder hard, then messing up Gasper's hair. "You're the only ones who know what your own limits are!"
"Speaking of which, aren't you coming with us?" Issei questioned, watching as Tannin's toothy grin changed dramatically.
"Even if things are better, I don't plan to set foot in the Demon Territory, with the exception of an emergency." The dragon concluded with great seriousness, making it clear that he could never forgive the Demons. "Except for you two who are special cases, I only train Demons by Azazel's request."
"Hum, I understand..." Was Issei's simple reply, feeling a bit bad that Tannin wasn't going to see his progress.
Tannin seemed to catch his gaze, so he smiled.
"Still, I'll be cheering them on!" He exclaimed with a toothy grin as he folded his arms.
"Good luck!"
Gasper and Issei raised their thumbs with a toothy grin to bid farewell to the Dragon King.
CHAPTER 46: DIVINE DISRUPTION: THE BEGINNING OF THE TRUE AWAKENING!
Penemue arrived via a magic circle to a considerably large table that was out in the open. There were many snacks, as well as a giant crimson magic circle that was currently completely empty. Surrounding the site were a large number of structures that looked solely like stages for the Rating Games, though there were certain stores as well.
"Sorry for the delay." The Cadre apologized, sitting down next to Azazel and Rossweisse.
"Strange, you're not one to be late..." The Cadre would comment, catching the aforementioned's attention.
"I had to help Tiamat with some problems. It's no big deal, she just stayed up all day and was dying of sleep." Penemue replied.
"I was already wondering why she wasn't here." Sirzechs said, gaining the attention of everyone there.
There weren't many, but they were certainly very important people.
Azazel, Rossweisse, Penemue, the whole Gremory family and Serafall.
"My sister won the first match!" Exclaimed the Sitri family representative with much excitement. "I hope your sister does the same! I can't wait to see the showdown between the two of them!"
"Speaking of showdown..." Commented the Gremory patriarch, looking at the huge magic circle. "They haven't started yet?" the man questioned, getting his son to smile.
"Actually, it already started a few minutes ago." He replied, making everyone look at the magic circle when a huge screen appeared, where they could see how Issei was running along with the whole Gremory entourage, except for Rias who seemed to have stayed behind.
Gasper was riding on Xenovia's back, while Issei was wearing a rather strange outfit, and the tunic he was wearing only made him stand out even more. Plus his hair looked more disheveled than usual.
"Doesn't Issei look a little strange?" Thought Rossweisse with a confused look, watching as the large robe seemed to tighten a little on his chest area.
At the beginning of the battlefield, one could see how Rias was sitting on one of the many debris they had placed to create the stage for the fight.
The strange thing about the redhead was that she possessed a cap that perfectly covered her eyes, in addition to the tight-fitting tunic she wore on her body, which denoted her breasts. Even if it was tight, it was not as big as Issei's, so it allowed for much better mobility.
Rias' hands had a small movement, and soon after a couple of sounds could be heard behind her back.
"Did you really think this plan could work?" Questioned a woman who was slightly cloaked like all the others, though one could see each other's faces. "Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, if only you hadn't explained it to our master's face."
Rias slowly stood up and turned around. Her long hair fluttered violently, forcing her to hold her cap so it wouldn't fall off.
"Nine."
That was her first thought as she adjusted her cap and looked at the women in front of her, slowly approaching.
"Eight pawns. The remaining one is hard to guess."
The women stopped walking, staying a few feet away from the redhead. A very awkward silence fell in the air, as neither side made a single move.
Finally, the first to move was Rías, who quickly ran to the side, being immediately chased by the nine women. Eight of them followed her along the ground, while one climbed over the rubble to chase after her.
Rias continued to run between the pillars and rubble, until she was forced to make a large sideways leap to dodge a melee attack, generating a large impact behind her back. She ducked immediately after to dodge a punch, then did a big back flip, dodging another opponent.
Rias continued running, moving between the pillars and debris, using them to her advantage to dodge the magical attacks coming from above, while trying to keep her distance from the eight women following behind, although it didn't seem to be easy at all.
After running down that hallway for several seconds, Rias came to an abrupt halt when she saw that she had arrived at a somewhat battered coliseum of sorts that had a gigantic roof. Beyond the coliseum there was nothing, indicating the end of the battlefield.
She turned her face as she watched the nine women fall behind her.
"I think the cat and mouse game is over." Said the one who appeared to be a Bishop with a smirk, as she made a magic circle glow from her hand, at the same time as the other female companions did the same.
"The mouse has already been caught!"
All the women positioned their hands on the ground, creating a giant magic circle that covered the entire coliseum, making escape impossible.
"So they had already prepared this in advance..." Rias thought, looking from side to side without a hint of concern, something that confused the nine girls.
Rias' gaze finally settled on her enemies, sketching a small smile.
"You're right, the mouse has already been caught." Rias commented, getting all nine women to widen their eyes as they noticed that the redhead's voice was too deep for a woman's. "But I'm not the mouse..." She commented, raising her hand, causing a red-colored gauntlet to appear.
The magic circle they had created to restrain the supposed enemy King shattered into a thousand pieces, and was instantly replaced by another, much stronger magical barrier that gave off a crimson energy.
The supposed redhead removed her cap, revealing brown eyes.
"You are the mouse." Issei concluded, removing a large amount of rubber prosthetic under his trench coat, making his fake breasts disappear.
"Wait a minute, isn't that cheating?" Serafall questioned with a confused look on her face.
"The limit on magic items is two, but this has nothing to do with that. No rule specifies that you can't dress however you want." Sirzechs stated, somewhat impressed by what he was witnessing. "It's the first time I've ever seen anything like this..."
"Likewise..." The bishop's face changed to a smug smile. "You're one!" She exclaimed, waving her hand to the front, causing her teammates to move into position, the vast majority defending her while others were poised for attack.
"Not having deserved recognition in Hell, they think you haven't progressed at all since you fought Raiser..." Penemue thought, looking at the screen.
"Show them who you really are."
Issei placed his elbow forward as he extended his other hand, both fists were slightly open while the thumb remained completely free.
When his legs parted slightly and his waist dropped a little, he finally completed the posture, causing an imaginary figure of Tiamat to land next to him, with exactly the same posture.
The first woman pounced without hesitation, trying to punch him hard, to which Issei dodged by turning 360 degrees to the side, then using his hands to deflect and block the other attacks, his fists opening just right at every moment to catch and deflect the blows with mind-blowing accuracy and speed. His arms moved with complete freedom as did the rest of his body. The imaginary figure of Tiamat made exactly the same movements, implying that Issei had mastered the technique completely.
The blocks and deflections managed to transform the battle into a kind of dance.
That's right, Issei was making his own rival dance without even realizing it.
Finally, the chestnut took another 360-degree turn to land behind her, and needless to say, the pawn's expression at this moment was one of pure stupor, as she didn't understand anything that was happening. When Issei landed on her back, he gave her a strong push that ended up throwing the woman off balance, causing her to bite the ground in a rather comical manner.
Another pawn joined the battle immediately, but Issei parried the attack with his forearm without the need to turn around. The woman tried to attack repeatedly, managing to get Issei to turn around and catch each of the blows with his hands, until he finally broke her defense when he pulled both her arms away, giving her a strong kick that generated a huge whirlwind. The pawn rolled across the floor until it ended up at the feet of the bishop, who looked at all this with great astonishment.
"What is going on?!" She thought as her body trembled. "He didn't even activate his Balance Breaker!" He concluded, watching as three pawns approached him in three different directions, being evaded and repelled by the boy.
One of those women tried to land a blow to his face that Issei dodged by taking a step to the side, only to hit her elbow. The damage didn't seem to affect the woman much, though her expression changed radically when Issei smeared the thumb on his fist, making a bloodcurdling sound in the bone. She didn't even have the freedom to scream, as she went flying a second after the impact, generating a loud sound that resembled a cracking sound.
The other pawn tried to attack him from behind, but Issei caught her fist and quickly turned around, drawing her in with his grip, at the same time delivering a strong punch to her shoulder. Time stopped right there again, the woman's eyes widened in great pain, and a second later that horrible crack was heard again, completely crumbling the bones in the area of the impact. She screamed in great pain as she was sent away by the blow.
Issei ducked quickly to dodge a blow, sending the wig flying. He took the liberty of putting it back on right then and there, then turning around and delivering a sharp jab with his thumb to the middle of the woman's chest, causing her to widen her eyes in horror, then fly away.
"Yes..." Penemue thought, then blushed slightly.
"Long hair looks great on you..."
"Enough games!" Roared the bishop, bringing both her hands forward to create huge magic circles. "Let's see if you can dodge this!" She concluded, gritting her teeth angrily when she saw how Issei looked at her without even a hint of concern.
The two magic shots were quickly fired, Issei again getting into position. Issei's bare hand was embued with magical power.
"But what?!" they all shouted in great shock, watching Issei deflect the two magical attacks as if they were nothing.
The woman was undeterred and threw a large number of more attacks, where they all ended up exactly the same. The coliseum was slowly being torn apart by each attack, generating several holes in the surroundings by the explosions, even the roof itself began to fall.
"You haven't seen everything yet..." Murmured the woman, creating a small magic circle in front of her.
Issei's eyes widened slightly as numerous magic circles appeared at his sides. At that moment, everything turned into slow motion for the brown, who brought his hand to his waist, or more correctly, to the sheath of his katana.
Issei unsheathed his katana and blocked all the magical attacks with the same unsheath, and then created a magical barrier in front of him, causing a huge explosion to be generated when another much larger magical attack attacked him from the front.
Issei flew out of the smoke and debris. The pawns saw this as an opening, so they quickly rushed toward the attack. All 8 women arrived at the same time, directing their fist in different directions.
Everyone's eyes widened to the max as Isseicreated a magic circle below his feet, parrying the frontal attacks with his katana and using his other hand to create a barrier behind his back, absolutely covering all hits.
"He used a magical barrier to retake his position in the air and cover the attacks coming from that direction at the same time..." Rossweisse thought with slight surprise.
"He really is a fast learner."
"I knew he could give us a lot of trouble, but this is crazy..." Thought the bishop, unable to help but sweat at the harassing presence of her opponent, watching as all her teammates quickly returned to their positions.
"It was fun, but if I take any more time I'm afraid the buchou will be very angry with me." Issei commented, taking off his wig.
"We can still defend ourselves while some of them take care of breaking the barrier, since it doesn't seem very strong." Studied the woman. "I can send some..." Her thoughts were quickly cut off when she saw the condition of some of her companions, who were severely damaged. "Under the current conditions, we cannot carry out that plan..." The woman hesitantly appeared for a few seconds, then clenched her fists tightly. "Attack everyone, now!" She shouted, raising both of her hands as she made a giant magic circle appear.
Issei simply smiled at the sight. His arms resumed their stance as they were surrounded by a crimson aura. His legs firmed to the ground as they were covered by this same aura. Issei's smile widened even more, at the same time as that crimson aura began to transform into a large armor.
He watched as his female enemies quickly rushed towards his position. The crimson aura exploded in a huge burst as his arm flexed backwards.
His large grin was progressively covered by his helmet.
His arm flexed forward, again linking his thumb with his fist. The snap was heard along with the following words:
"Welsh Dragon: Balance Breaker!"
Penemue's proud smile disappeared completely as the screen went out just at the moment of impact.
"What happened?" Questioned Rossweisse with great doubt.
"This is not normal." Sirzechs rose from his seat with slight concern. " We didn't even hear the downing of Diodora's pieces. I'm sure at least one must have fallen with that blow." The Demon fixed his gaze on Serafall, who had a disappointed look on her face for missing one of the best moments. "Can you get in contact with Ajuka? He said was in the Trade District."
"Something is generating a lot of interference." Clarified Serafall, holding a small magic circle to her ear. "I can't talk to anyone."
They all looked at each other with slight distrust for what was going on.
"This doesn't look good to me..." Azazel stated, lighting a cigarette as he dropped his chin onto his hand.
Oblivious to everything that was going on, the Gremory group had managed to take down Diodora's remaining pieces without much difficulty thanks to Issei's plan, due to the fact that they were outnumbered, let alone outclassed.
The group quickly moved into some corridors as they approached Diodora's hideout, seeing a huge door looming a couple of meters away.
"Hey!" Issei exclaimed, getting everyone to stop and turn around.
"Issei! They all exclaimed with a big smile at the sight of their companion completely unharmed, or so it seemed, since they couldn't see much because of his thick armor.
"How did it turn out?" Gasper asked.
"Piece of cake." Issei gave him a toothy grin as he held up his thumb. "But now we'll have the real showdown..." He culminated, turning serious all at once.
"Issei is right." Rias stated, resting a hand on the door. "We were lucky to get Diodora in the first round, since he has the weakest sequitur. But he's still a High Class Demon, and his strength might be on Raiser's level. Someone we couldn't beat the first time." Rias couldn't help but be impressed when Issei placed a hand on the door.
"But this story is completely different." Issei commented, looking around at all of his companions. "There are many more of us now, and we've all increased our powers." They all smiled at his words.
"Issei is right." Rias looked at his retinue with a big smile. "This time, the Gremory Family will win!"
"Of course!" They all shouted, entering the room.
They all looked around the place, seeing that it was another very long hallway leading to another coliseum, where Diodora was at the end, sitting on a throne.
Everyone got into position as Diodora rose from his seat and began to slowly clap his hands.
"I must admit, I was completely fooled." Diodora paused after descending the stairs, raising both his hands for emphasis on his next words. "That was magnificent!" The man exclaimed with his trademark grin.
"So, you admit you're on the ropes?" Rias questioned with a raised eyebrow, taking several steps forward.
"Buchou..." Issei tried to stop what he considered recklessness, but Rias stopped his speech when she raised her hand.
"Why don't you just give up and make this simpler for everyone?" Rias stopped a few feet away from Diodora, crossing her arms.
"Uh, don't twist my words, Miss Gremory." Diodora widened her eyes slightly. "I never said I was going to give up. In fact, you are the ones at my mercy."
"What?" Rias couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the man's wild assumption.
"In fact, since you're here present, we're about time to change the bet." Rias looked at him with great curiosity after what she heard.
"What do you mean by 'moment'?" The redhead questioned seriously.
"I just want to set a condition that benefits both of us." He commented, then looked at Asia. "If you give me Asia Argento now, I promise that neither of you will die." Diodora's smile widened in a dangerous way, causing his kind smile to be changed to a much sicker one.
"So you finally get your true intentions out..." Rias said, smiling slightly. "But I must make you remember several things. The first is that you can't kill anyone, unless you want to be disqualified. The second, is that you are in no position to negotiate. In case you didn't know, you're all alone." She concluded, glaring at the man with her gaze.
Everyone looked at Diodora with great confusion as he covered his face and began to chuckle under his breath. Before anyone could ask what he thought was so funny, the man uncovered his face and began to laugh like a complete loon.
"What the hell do you think is so funny?" questioned Rias, somewhat angered by what was going on.
"You say they're done with everyone, but they still have about 15,000 more to go!" the man shouted with pure madness, getting Rias to widen his eyes in shock.
"Have you gone completely insane!" Rias threatened him, taking a step back.
Diodora muffled his laughter almost immediately, delivering a sepulchral smile to the redhead.
"Time's up for negotiating." The man said, raising his hand, managing to get a seal of a snake to glow on it.
Issei widened his eyes to the widest extent possible, launching himself at an enormous speed towards where Rias was.
"Now, die." The man said, causing Rias to widen her eyes to no end.
In those moments, Rias could see how a huge rift was starting to open right in front of her that was pulling her in without warning.
She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for its end, but she could feel someone grabbing her arm just at the last instant.
Her eyes widened in shock after seeing Issei throw her out of the gap.
Issei smiled slightly at her before being sucked in completely. The gap closed as quickly as it opened, leaving everyone dumbfounded by what they had witnessed.
"That..." Rias had her eyes wide open at what she had witnessed.
"That was the Dimensional Breach, there's no way he's getting out of there alive..."
"Indeed." The unfamiliar voice caused everyone to raise their gaze.
None seemed to recognize it.
None, except for Rias, who couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"I thought getting rid of Sirzechs sister was a better option, but the reality is that the Sekiryuutei was a huge headache for the future." Said the middle-aged man as he slowly descended with his pairs of demonic wings, until he stood next to Diodora.
"Rizevim Livan Lucifer..." Was all the redhead said, managing to make the rest of her peerage freeze.
"Good job, Diodora. Now, leave the rest to me." Said the penultimate Original Demon King, fixing his gaze on his next victims.
"Just don't kill Asia. Remember our deal." Diodora said, taking several steps back.
"Don't worry." Said the man, looking at the redhead. "It's time for the real Demons to have a serious talk with the cowards." He concluded.
"Great..." Penemue commented as she stood up from her seat, watching as massive magical barriers completely covered the site. "This again, and there are many more of them than before." Said the Cadre, seeing the amount of enemies that began to appear.
"They also created another barrier with the power of Ophis on the battlefield." Azazel commented, watching out of the corner of his eye as other smaller barriers rose within the ones that had recently been created.
"If we don't end this quickly, they could die..." Rossweisse thought with great concern.
The numerous enemies began to surround them, causing Azazel and Penemue to clash backs.
"Hey, could you join in this time?" Azazel asked with a smile. "You know, to remember the old days..."
"I guess I don't have a choice." Cadre replied with a tiny smile.
In a completely distant and inhospitable place...
Issei was ejected into the said Dimensional Gap. His eyes widened in utter amazement as his body found itself floating adrift. His face turned from side to side, seeing that it was all completely green. He could only see certain condensed clouds of a stronger green color in the distance.
Issei tried to speak, but got a big surprise when not a word came out of his mouth. The brown instantly grabbed his throat because of his previous action, widening his eyes beyond belief.
"I can't breathe!" He thought in complete alarm.
Issei activated his gauntlet to try and talk to Ddraig, but the connection between them was hampered because of where they were.
"What the fuck is this place?!" He wondered internally, grabbing his neck with both of his hands, feeling that he couldn't hold on any longer.
In those moments, the celestial seal in her hand glowed brightly without her noticing.
Tiamat lay sleeping in great comfort on Issei's bed, until the seal on her chest glowed brightly, causing the dragoness' eyes to snap open.
Issei couldn't help but be surprised when Tiamat appeared above him and hugged him tightly, creating a bubble of magic that covered them both, getting the boy to breathe again in great agitation. He didn't have much time to catch his breath, as Tiamat quickly grabbed him by his cheeks and began to pull them tightly.
"What the hell are you doing in the Dimensional Breach?! Do you have any idea how scared I got when I found out?!" Exclaimed the dragoness with a cute expression on her face as she continued to stretch his cheeks.
"Well it's a long story, I can only say that the Rating Game turned into something else completely different, and definitely dangerous." Issei commented with slight difficulty, as Tiamat was still holding him by his cheeks. "It's too much to explain. It's best if you see for yourself."
At those moments, the dragoness stopped playing with Issei's cheeks and looked from side to side, to the brown's curiosity.
"What are you waiting for?" Issei asked with slight impatience.
Tiamat looked at him, then rubbed her hair slightly embarrassed.
"The truth is, I was only able to get in here because of our connection. I have no idea how this place works, and therefore no idea how to get out..." She commented, generating a small awkward silence between the two of them.
"...Does that mean we're trapped?"
"Look on the bright side. You have plenty of time to explain to me what the hell is going on."
Back in Hell...
Rossweisse blocked numerous thrusts with his ice gauntlets as she slid across the ice. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched a large magic circle settle behind her back. All of the cloaked subjects concentrated a large amount of magic, sending out a strong magical attack.
Rossweisse took a step forward, then made a 160 degree turn, hitting all the enemies in front of her and building a large wall of ice with her feet, causing the magical attack to impact with great force, generating a large explosion that would almost completely destroy the ice.
Rossweisse looked down, seeing how Sirzechs and his family were defending themselves while wiping out numerous enemies thanks to their powers of Destruction. Her gaze parked on Penemue and Azazel, who were finishing off all nearby enemies with long and close range attacks, taking turns with great precision. Rossweisse averted her gaze one last time, and this time she seemed to look worried after fixing her gaze on the battlefield the Rating Game was using.
That expression didn't last long, as she was hit with another large magical attack that ended up shattering the ice completely. She stopped her fall immediately as she created more ice, sliding on it as if she was skating as she charged up numerous magical attacks and hurled them at the surrounding enemies.
Rizevim watched in disdain as Kiba fell to the ground unconscious with extensive damage to his body.
"Kiba!" Exclaimed Rias as she grabbed her shoulder that kept gushing blood.
"This is what they earn for backing themselves up with fake Demons. I pity the hell out of them." The man declared, fixing his gaze on Gasper, who was barely staying conscious on the blond's back.
"You know well that the creation of the Evil Pieces was the best thing to do so that the Demons wouldn't end up disappearing." Rias commented, gritting her teeth tightly.
Rizevim looked at her for a short second, though he didn't say a single word. He just watched her with that look that indicated great contempt for her person.
"You think so?" He questioned, raising one of his hands as he created a large magical circle to where the redhead's entire unconscious retinue was. "Let's see if your so incredible Reincarnated Demons can withstand even a serious attack from me." He concluded, getting a large amount of violet rays to start emerging from the silver magic circle, indicating that he was charging a huge amount of magic in that attack, something that alarmed Rias a lot.
Rizevim couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he saw Gasper stand up. He didn't think much of it though, as he could barely move.
"A vampire...To be honest, I thought the humans had wiped them all out eight years ago. It's kind of funny, I have to admit." He commented, narrowing his eyes slightly. "But a race that couldn't against human scum is even worse than the scum themselves." The magic circle grew even larger, generating more violet rays. "You may try to resemble the Demons, but you will never cease to be a scum that stains the purity of our race with dirt and filth." He culminated, clenching his fist.
Just before the magical attack was fired, Gasper raised his gaze, denoting a crimson eye that was shaped like a clock. The clock began to spin very fast as he raised both of his hands, indicating that he had activated his Balance Breaker Evolution.
Rizevim's eyes widened as a large dark, reddish area completely surrounded him, destroying the magic circle in less than a second. The Demon couldn't help but clench his teeth tightly as he used all his strength to stay on his feet, at the same time as a huge crater was created along the entire length of the domain the vampire had exerted.
"Buchou, now!" Gasper would exclaim, falling to his knees after feeling the last of his energy rapidly depleting.
"I'm still not in complete control of him..." Rias thought, tilting her hand back. "But that doesn't matter now!" She concluded, causing a large dark red condensed magic to be flung with great force towards Rizevim, who watched this with great surprise.
Just before it could hit him, Gasper fell fainted to the ground and the domain of space and time disappeared, making it so that Rizevim could move just in time.
Rizevim watched as the magical attack passed him by and hit one of the nearest columns. Not even an explosion could be witnessed, as the Destruction magic completely engulfed it and made it disappear without a trace.
Rias clicked his tongue, beginning to breathe very shakily.
"For a moment there I thought you'd be a bit of a handful." Diodora scoffed, managing to get Rizevim to give him a bad look.
"It's just another piece I need to eliminate before it proves to be bothersome, as well as the Sekiryuutei..." He stated, looking at Gasper for a short second, then turning his gaze on Rias. "Now do you understand, Rias Gremory?" the man asked, slowly approaching the woman. "Reincarnated Demons are useless, they only taint our purity. They only ruin our species." He commented as he deflected various magical attacks from the redhead without even mussing his hair. "Demons shouldn't mix with other species, let alone ask for help from those... things." He said with a dismissive tone, stopping in front of Rias, parrying her punch with only one hand. "Those "things" serve no purpose. They only monopolize our world, everything that belongs to us." He concluded, then grabbing the woman by the neck, lifting her up into the air slowly. "While we waste our time over these stupid squabbles, they continue to grovel and sully our Realms."
"It may be true...!" Rias exclaimed with great difficulty, trying to wriggle out of the grip in vain. "But that scum you mention is much more useful alive! They are good slaves!"
Rizevim threw Rias away and shook his head several times, turning his back on her.
"You have the same thought as your brother's. All of us lowering ourselves in front of the other species, acting under their mercy and hiding our own Nature to stay alive." Rizevim paused, fixing his gaze on Rias. "You people don't disgust me, I only pity you." The man narrowed his eyes in great disapproval.
"And to make a Demon feel pity for his own kind is utterly repulsive and pitiful."
"The only pitiful and repulsive one here is you, Rizevim." Rias commented as she struggled to her feet, rubbing her neck.
"That's what someone who's run out of arguments would say." Rizevim turned around, looking at her face to face.
"And tell me, how do you think you can wipe out all the other species without a real army?" The redhead questioned, watching in slight surprise as the man smiled at her question.
"I don't need any army. I just need one entity and one object. That's why I'm here." The man commented, getting Rias to look at him quizzically.
"What do you mean?" Questioned Rias, getting Rizevim to pucker his lips.
"I almost rolled off my tongue. It's time to end this." The man approached with tremendous speed, grabbing her by the neck again.
Before he could do anything else, Rizevim received a small magical attack on his cheek, causing his face to contort.
His face slowly moved back to the source, fixing his gaze on Gasper, who had regained consciousness a second ago.
"First, let's take out the trash." The man commented, burying Rias in the rubble through a great use of force, managing to keep the redhead embedded in it by remaining in a state of unconsciousness.
Rizevim slowly turned around, coming face to face with Gasper, who could barely stand.
"I'll start with you..." He said, slowly approaching.
In the Dimensional Breach...
"Now I understand everything..." Tiamat commented, sitting on the small magical orb she had created. "From what that Demon said, they are an army of 15,000. You could also see that he had the seal of Ophis..." The dragoness rubbed her chin after recapitulating all the information she had obtained.
"There is no doubt that this is the Khaos Brigade."
"So, they..." Issei thought aloud, waving his foot with great impatience.
Tiamat understood how he was, so she stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder, offering her support.
"Don't forget that Penemue and Rossweisse are there. They'll surely manage to hold off the army long enough." She commented with a cute smile, getting Issei to relax a bit. "You should also keep one thing in mind..." Commented the dragoness, opting for a serious look. "Such a large army isn't good for just attacking one point. Chances are that all of Hell is under attack right now. They must have taken advantage of the Rating Games to infiltrate while the defenses were down, plus they were able to take you out of the way of a surprise attack. Most likely the main objective was to neutralize you, or to use the Gremory as a hostage. It could also be both..." The dragoness began to draw conclusions under Issei's watchful eye.
"So, do you think Gasper and my other companions will be alright?" He asked hopefully, a hope that was quickly extinguished when Tiamat looked at him with great seriousness.
"Penemue and Rossweisse may be very strong, but I see it difficult for them to have enough power to defend themselves while having to babysit." She would explain, getting Issei to start sweating.
"Then, we need to leave as soon as possible..."
"Not that I want to be pessimistic about it, but there's a chance we could be stuck forever." Tiamat clarified with a poker face, as Issei hadn't realized the dangerous situation they were in.
"Well, I guess this is your lucky day."
The two looked to where the voice came from, startled by the presence just a few feet away from them.
There stood three men. Two who were completely familiar. The unknown one was blond and wore a pair of glasses.
"Vali?" Issei couldn't help but watch the trio with great interest as they moved in a bubble much like their own.
"I was hoping our reunion would be soon, but I never thought we'd see each other in a place like this." Vali stated with a smile as he folded his arms.
"I didn't feel your presence..." Tiamat said with slight distrust.
"That's because we met in the Dimensional Breach." Commented the man wearing glasses. "Despite what happened long ago, this place still has an impressive magical concentration that hinders much of your motor and sensory abilities. That includes your sense of smell." He explained, adjusting his glasses.
"Back on topic, can you explain to me how the hell you ended up locked in this place?" Vali asked, standing just inches away from the bubble containing Issei and Tiamat.
"Shit!" Sekiryuutei exclaimed to the surprise of the three men. "We have to get back to Hell immediately!" Issei clenched his fists tightly to make emphasis on his next words. "One of the Khaos Brigade factions is attacking us!" At that moment, Vali's eyes narrowed with great interest.
"Who?" The blond asked with great haste noticeable in his voice.
"He said he was sent here before I could see who it was. The orchestrator is most likely a Demon. After all, Diodora was a Demon." Tiamat commented, gaining the attention of the three men.
"What was the District?" The man in glasses asked, joining the two bubbles.
"The War District, where they create all the scenarios for the Rating Games." Issei replied instantly, watching as the man stabbed the saber into the ground even deeper, causing it to start moving much faster.
"This will take a while." Vali replied, seeing that Issei had a clear expression of impatience on his face. "The Dimensional Breach is a place where time reigns, but it lacks space. It's really complicated to find a specific position, due to the fact that it depends on many factors." A small smile would appear on Vali's face. "Luckily, Arthur has dedicated much of his life to researching this site. He is a descendant of King Arthur and was raised by wizards, so he has a lot of knowledge on the subject."
"I just hope it's not the Hero Alliance..." The blond commented seriously, though his gaze denoted quite irritated.
"Hero Alliance?" Issei asked with great curiosity.
"It's another Faction of the brigade." Bikou replied, resting the cane on his shoulder. "He belonged to that Faction, but let's just say that because of certain misunderstandings he ended up leaving them."
"Misunderstandings?" The man his scoffed, laughing lightly. "I think we humans may be an equally competent species as the supernaturals. But it is utterly ridiculous to think of extinguishing all races for the simple act of belittling us."
Vali watched Tiamat for a few seconds, seeing how the woman remained serious throughout, as if assessing something.
"Is this your first time in the Dimensional Breach?" Vali questioned, taking a nod from the dragoness.
"But, it's strange..." Said the dragoness, looking around the place. "I was always told there was only magic in this place, and there certainly is, but it's nowhere near what I imagined."
"Arthur said so." Issei commented. "He had said that the Dimensional Gap had changed recently."
"Not that recently, actually." Arthur commented, glancing sideways at the two passengers. "It used to be that this place was one big cloud of magic. There was so much of it it was scary, or so they mention in the books." Arthur couldn't help but get very serious, clutching the wand even tighter. "I was still very young, and I was barely a child. About 19 years ago, my mothers came in and said that almost all the magic in the breach had vanished. They were very scared..."
"Why should they be scared?" Issei questioned, unable to help but raise an eyebrow.
"Such a gigantic amount of magic..." Tiamat couldn't help but widen her eyes beyond belief. "That could mean the birth of a new Dragon God..." Thought the dragoness aloud to Issei's great interest.
"But in the end, nothing happened." Vali commented, watching Arthur pause. "It should have already appeared several years ago, and there was no hint of that supposed Dragon God. It will only remain as one of the greatest mysteries to be solved."
"Here we are." Arthur remarked, raising his sword into the air, as he attached a strange liquid to the blade. Arthur commented, raising his sword into the air, then placing a strange liquid on the edge of it.
A few moments later, in Hell...
Gasper tried to land a hard punch on the Demon, who caught the attack without a hint of difficulty.
Rizevim couldn't help but smile as he saw the desolate expression the half-vampire currently wore.
After having contemplated that expression, the man lifted Gasper into the air, then slammed him with absurd force against the ground, generating a small curtain of dust. When the dust finally disappeared, Rizevim watched as Gasper was still barely conscious. His gaze strayed for a short second to his companions, who were really hurt and completely unconscious.
"Maybe you're the only one worth a bit..." Thought the man aloud as he lifted him off the ground.
Gasper could barely keep his eyes open as his whole body shook with pain.
Rizevim used even more force on his hand, managing to make Gasper's wrist make a horrible sound. The half vampire couldn't help but close his eyes in great pain as he felt his hand break.
"Don't worry, I'll put you out of your misery." Rizevim commented with a rather mischievous smile.
As he raised his hand to deliver the final blow, the Demon could see how a gap opened a few meters away from the battlefield, being several meters in the air.
Diodora noticed it as well, quickly approaching Rizevim.
Gasper's expression was replaced by a huge painful smile as a couple of tears ran down his face.
"Issei!" the half-vampire shouted, watching as his friend was the first to emerge from that breach, accompanied by three men he didn't know.
"That brat..." Rizevim thought very irritated at the sight of Vali, who seemed to be giving him a death stare.
Rizevim and Diodora's expression changed drastically as another figure began to emerge from the gap.
Gasper's eyes widened in great shock as he saw who it was.
"It's the bad madam!" He exclaimed, watching as Tiamat saw the wasteland filled with enemies.
"Leave it to me." Rather than a request, it was a command from the dragoness, who could see the numerous enemies that were positioned around the coliseum, and they were not few. "It's been a long time since I've had any fun." She concluded, sketching a smile that made Vali and the others recoil, with the exception of Issei, due to the fact that that side of her presented no discomfort to him.
"Just make sure you don't make them suffer so much." Issei commented next to her, watching as Tiamat gave her a small glare.
"I'll try, but no promises." She concluded with a small smile as she balled her fists.
"That hair..." Rizevim muttered.
"Is that who I think it is?" Diodora questioned, giving Rizevim a somewhat unsure look.
"So it wasn't just rumors..." The Demon looked at his army, gritting his teeth slightly. "Stay out of this fight, I got this!" He exclaimed, adjusting something he had up from under his sleeve.
"But, lord. It's just a few of them." One of the subjects would comment, making it quite clear that he had no idea who they were.
At that moment that the subjects averted their gaze to look at their leader, Tiamat disappeared in less than a second.
The minion who had spoken could only feel a quick blizzard pass near him before a large part of his body burst into a thousand pieces.
Everyone was alarmed at the sight of the huge bloodstain their companion had become, but they could do nothing. They were being torn apart one by one at breakneck speed, not even Rizevim or Vali could follow. The only thing they could witness were certain celestial flashes that went from one place to another.
In a short time the coliseum was stained with blood, and all the enemies had been almost entirely eliminated in a matter of seconds.
Rizevim and Diodora turned their gaze quickly as they felt a great blizzard pass behind them only to come across Tiamat, who was crushing the skulls of the two men who were guarding the unconscious bodies of the Gremory peerage and Rias herself.
Once the heads of both exploded, Tiamat's body was stained with blood. She slowly turned her gaze, seeing how half of her face and hair was covered in blood. The dragoness' gaze was instantly fixed on Gasper. Rizevim seemed to understand this, so he quickly created a sword of magic and pointed it at Gasper's neck.
"Don't move." He warned, as sweat ran down his entire face.
Tiamat watched him for a short second, then smiled. And just as the dragoness smiled, she disappeared and reappeared in a jiffy in the same spot, though this time she had Gasper in her hands.
Rizevim ended up crashing to the ground with enormous forcefulness as he received a heavy downward blow to the cheek that he was unable to witness. Meanwhile, Diodora went flying with a hole in his abdomen, crashing into a pillar and collapsing it in the process, being buried by the same debris.
"Can you move?" The dragoness asked, setting the vampire down on the ground.
"I don't think I have a problem with that." Gasper commented with a pained smile.
"Okay." Tiamat nodded. "Take them as far away as possible. I wouldn't want to kill them by accident." She stated, receiving a quick nod from the vampire, who began to carry all of the unconscious on his shoulders, to the watchful gaze of Rizevim who was slowly beginning to compose himself.
The Demon spat out a large amount of blood and some teeth. The sound made Tiamat turn her attention back to the man, who didn't seem to be happy at all. The dragon's light blue eyes engulfed with an icy glow, alerting the man.
Rizevim's eyes widened as he received a heavy blow to his abdomen that sent all the debris in the place flying. The Demon couldn't help but vomit a huge amount of blood, but far from being overwhelmed by the intense pain, the man tried to catch the woman with both his hands, who ducked in an extremely fast movement.
"That's it!" Exclaimed the dragoness with a scary grin. "Amuse me more!" Tiamat finished her outburst with a strong punch to Rizevim's face, who spat out a large amount of blood along with a few teeth, generating another large shock across the battlefield.
Rizevim's rolling eyes came back to himself fast enough for him to counterattack again, but he only ended up punching the air again, due to Tiamat having moved behind his back without being able to follow.
"Even if you destroy me, I'll make sure you come with me!" Roared the man, quickly turning around.
"Those words only make it more interesting to me!" The dragoness exclaimed, charging a punch much harder than the previous ones.
Rizevim seemed to do the same, giving a great shout.
A huge plume of dust added to a gigantic tremor rose through much of the coliseum, at the same time as a large amount of debris flew out from such an impact.
Issei, Vali, Bikou and Arthur parked themselves in the dust curtain, watching it slowly disappear.
Gasper was watching everything from the edge of the barrier along with his unconscious companions. When the curtain of dust finally revealed the two opponents, the half-vampire's eyes grew wide for some reason.
Tiamat still continued to hold her fist outstretched, though said fist was piercing completely through Rizevim's abdomen, who couldn't help but spit out a large amount of blood. The man staggered backwards and separated from the dragoness, who was looking at him with a smile.
"Is that all?" She questioned. Her smile was replaced by a confused expression as everything around her began to blur.
Followed by that, the dragoness spat out a large amount of blood and brought her hand to the area where she had been hit. She slowly lowered her gaze, seeing that there was a huge bloodstain all over her abdomen.
"What...?" Issei couldn't finish asking his question, as he was completely shocked at the sight, and the people with him seemed to be the same way.
Rizevim still remained hunched over and shaking from the pain, but he had enough strength to raise his gaze and give him a cocky smile as he opened his fist.
Arthur saw the needle slipping out from under his sleeve, and the small purple drop falling to the floor.
"It can't be..." Arthur commented completely dumbfounded. "Samael's Venom." Issei couldn't help but stare at the blond in complete horror, then turn his gaze to Tiamat, who was beginning to tremble and breathe in great agitation.
"That poison..." Vali commented, without noticing how tears were beginning to appear on Issei's face. "That poison is responsible for consuming a dragon's life energy quickly, until..." Issei clenched his teeth tightly, as tears began to stream down his face. "Die..." The albino concluded, watching Tiamat fall to her knees as she vomited blood again.
Vali couldn't help but widen his eyes as he felt Issei pass by his side.
Tiamat turned her gaze, she was completely deafened and dizzy, but she could barely make out Issei's figure. She could see him running towards her as tears kept rolling down his cheeks.
"Issei..." She thought, resting one of her hands on the ground, feeling her whole body quickly going numb. "What are you doing? You haven't even activated the armor..." She concluded.
Issei reached out his hand with the intention of reaching for it, but just before he could reach it, a large magic circle appeared in front of him.
"Die." Rizevim thought with a dark gaze as he had one arm raised.
At that moment, everything turned into slow motion for Tiamat's eyes, because she knew very well that Issei would not be able to withstand an attack of such magnitude if he did not use his Sacred Gear.
Vali appeared above Issei with his Balance Breaker, saving him just at the last moment when he broke the magic circle with a strong punch.
Vali quickly dragged Issei backwards, who was already carrying the dragon in his arms. Rizevim seemed to try to intervene, but was unable to do so due to being forced to dodge a magic slash sent by Bikou's staff.
"You will pay for what you did to my sister!" Arthur roared, slashing at Rizevim's arm, who was able to have enough speed to dodge the killing blow.
Vali quickly rejoined his comrades, seeing how Rizevim was barely holding his own. The albino averted his gaze for a short second, feeling some empathy as he watched Issei continue to cry non-stop while holding Tiamat.
"Issei, there is no cure. You'd better say goodbye while you can..." The albino stated, widening his gaze as Issei shook his head fiercely.
"Not that I want to be cold, but you need to calm down..."
"No!" He cried out in tears, delivering a devastated look to the dragoness, who was looking at him with her somewhat dull eyes. "You can't die, you can't!" He exclaimed, making a superhuman effort to smile, though his tears wouldn't stop flowing. "We still have a lot of things to do! We can travel to other cities! We can go to an amusement park! We still have to see the little dragoness in the familiar kingdom, it's been a long time since we've seen her and I'm sure she'll be missing us!" Issei tightly closed his eyes. "We still haven't finished that bet! You can't leave!" He concluded between sobs.
Despite not having heard anything he said because of deafness, Tiamat slowly raised her hand to her beloved's shocked gaze. She deposited her hand on his cheek, and gave him a small smile.
"Your tears hurt me much more than this pain..." She commented, brushing away his tears with the wave of her hand, which fell completely limp after that action.
Issei watched as the dragoness had closed her eyes, causing her expression to opt for a smile, or rather, an expression covered in complete despair.
He simply couldn't process everything that was happening.
He preferred to believe it was a joke.
He didn't want to believe it!
"No..." He whispered under his breath as his tears continued to fall, his expression changing from an apparent smile to one of complete devastation. "No..." He said again as he hugged her even tighter, to the comprehensive gaze of the three people who were defending him at the moment.
"Her confidence is what brought her to the end..." Rizevim commented with a satisfied smile, watching as Tiamat was about to die. "And you, it will be your path that will lead you to the end." He concluded, fixing his gaze on his grandson. "First you killed my son, the last true Demon King to exist in these lands. Now, you kill your entire family just because your little scumbag stuck her nose where it didn't belong..." Rizevim narrowed his eyes in great disdain. "You are a disgrace to our family, and to the true Demons..." He concluded, watching as Vali laughed.
"You were never my family." The albino commented with a cold stare. "And the only one that's embarrassing here, is you, Grandpa." He concluded, causing Rizevim to grit his teeth tightly.
"The Penultimate Original Demon King will not tolerate your insolence any longer!" He shouted in a great rage, expelling an enormous amount of power that shocked even Vali himself.
"That energy...it's too much." Vali thought as he covered his face, watching as a seal appeared on Rizevim's hand. "Why do I always have to deal with your irresponsibilities, Ophis?" He would conclude, watching as the Demon instantly regenerated his entire body.
Rizevim finished his shout, generating a final small blizzard. The man fixed his gaze on his grandson with a cocky grin.
"Even though she has lent you a great deal of power, you know that won't be enough against me, don't you?" Questioned the albino with a confident smile.
"I know, but I just need to make time. And this power is perfect for that." Vali and the others couldn't help but look at him with great curiosity at what they heard.
"Time for what?" the albino wondered internally, only to look back again after hearing Issei's mutterings, even Rizevim himself watched the brown only to revel in his misery.
"No..." He heard himself mutter under his breath as he continued to stare at her.
"This is bad." Ddraig thought in the mental space with great concern, sensing how Issei's mind was completely shattered. "If he continues like this, it won't be long before it activates..." He concluded, sketching a sad look.
A large amount of crimson energy began to gush from the dragon's body, indicating that Issei was about to activate a new power. One highly destructive to the opponent, and to himself.
Ddraig was already resigned, so his surprise was even more than gigantic when the energy stopped gushing from his body abruptly.
"Juggernaut Drive doesn't activate?!" The dragon's widened eyes widened even more as he felt a massive purple energy unfold behind his back.
The dragon turned around, watching as the entire mental space was flooded with an unknown power.
Issei hugged Tiamat even tighter, caressing her cheek as he pulled her closer to his lips.
A thought crossed his mind.
It was all those moments he felt so good next to her...
"I'm not leaving you!"
That was the last thought that crossed his mind, before he melted his lips with those of the dragoness.
Everyone had to cling as tightly to the ground as possible when a huge stream of purple power emerged from Issei.
Penemue and Rossweisse watched the huge arc of violet power reaching up to the sky, which made the entire underworld tremble.
"What is this power?!" they both wondered at the same time in great shock.
Everyone stopped their battles, watching the huge arc of violet light that could be seen for miles.
Vali watched Issei with an indecipherable expression. It was completely normal, due to the fact that he was the only one who could truly feel the power Issei was emitting, and it was at least twice as strong as him at its maximum power.
Everyone's mind was blank. They could only witness the event with great amazement.
Finally, the arc of light calmed down and channeled itself around Issei, who had not for a second parted his lips from the dragoness. His tears were still streaming down his face, and his eyes were closed. It was clear that he had not realized what was happening.
Vali slowly uncovered his face, keeping that indecipherable look on his face, and it could be said that his friends were the same way.
Gasper watched Issei with wide eyes as he covered his face, as the gigantic blizzard produced reached even there.
Rizevim's gaze slowly relaxed, watching as everyone seemed to be very shocked by what was happening.
"Alright..." Rizevim said, causing Vali to turn his gaze back to him.
Everything around Rizevim went completely black, where everyone was completely motionless, as the Demon slowly ran towards a single target.
"I'll be sure to kill two birds with one shot." He thought, preparing a strike with all his might, heading towards Issei and the unconscious Tiamat, who still had their lips pressed together.
Vali seemed to be the only one to keep up with Rizevim's speed, so he gritted his teeth tightly and started running after him, reaching out in a poor attempt to catch up.
"He's fast!" He thought, as he activated his armor and began to slowly change appearance into his second evolution.
"I won't make in time...!"
Rizevim swung his magically imbued arm to the front, generating a gigantic explosion that covered much of the battlefield.
"AAAAAAAAHHH!" Bikou, Vali and Arthur screamed helplessly as they were thrown out by the sheer force he had used in the blow.
Vali stood up quickly, expecting the worst.
The dust was slowly dissipating, leaving a myriad of debris and a huge crater in sight. In short, the coliseum was no more.
The dust continued to disappear, and the first to be seen was Rizevim with his arm still raised.
His expression reflected just what he was feeling. And that was utter bewilderment.
There was Tiamat parrying her fist with one hand as she looked at him. Now that violet aura was surrounding her. With her other hand she was circling Issei's neck, making sure their lips didn't part.
END OF CHAPTER!
I hope you enjoyed it.
They were probably left wanting to know what's next. To be honest, I personally think that from this chapter onwards there is a pretty resounding before and after in this story. I'm sure you will discover it as the chapters go by.
I promise to bring the next one as soon as possible.
Thank you very much for reading!