Issei, the true Dragon of the Apocalypse (translated into English) Chapter 84: Issei vs Great Red!, a high school dxd/ハイスクールd×d fanfic

Here I present myself with a new translated chapter!

The end is nearer and nearer, and here will be a demonstration of where Issei is since he released his Dragon God power.

I hope this short battle will be to your liking.

Enjoy!

"I'm not too sure about this..." Tiamat showed her doubts at what was about to happen, being accompanied by all those who decided to stay in the mansion that belonged to the deities.

"If it's a Dragon God, then there's nothing to worry about. In fact, I'm thinking maybe we should worry about us, since this isn't far enough away to see combat." Loki stated, watching out of the corner of his eye as the three mistresses of Issei and Ophis stood close together, looking slightly impatient, with the exception of the latter.

"We know, but..." Rossweisse spoke the thought Penemue and Tiamat had, and though she didn't complete it, the worry and nervousness was more than evident.

They all stood on a small hill, watching in the distance as Issei stood waiting for Great Red with his arms crossed.

"Do you think this place can withstand a battle of such magnitude?" Tannin wondered as he rubbed his chin.

"This is no ordinary place. This place was created precisely to be able to withstand the most destructive training." The one who answered was Ophis, who looked her usual expressionless self. "Though that doesn't mean the site can be destroyed a bit." She added as an afterthought, something that worried the Angels and Rossweisse a bit.

Before some could probe further into this supposed resistance of the terrain, everyone focused the gaze on as a figure made an appearance.

CHAPTER 84: ISSEI VS. GREAT RED!

Great Red continued to advance at a slow pace, causing Issei to frown noticeably, and then entered his combat stance.

The seconds became infinite because of the silence between the two combatants, the only sound that broke this silence were the footsteps of Great Red himself. Although perhaps everyone would have wished that silence to last forever.

The reason?

It was quite simple.

The moment Great Red stopped his gait, a huge gust of wind was expelled everywhere as he gave off his aura. A blast of air and suffocating power that reached even to where the spectators were, forcing several who were taken by surprise to their knees.

Issei gritted his teeth hard and crossed his arms in an X. The subject's mere aura caused his feet to drag a little on the ground. That wasn't the only thing to happen to him, as his forearms suffered minor injuries from the powerful blasts that were trying to drag him away.

"Are you ready?" The suffocating aura suddenly disappeared along with that destructive blizzard when Great Red asked the question.

"This is crazy..." Issei thought aloud, then smiled. "But I always liked crazy." The protagonist's arms suddenly stretched out as he activated his gauntlet, creating a huge sphere in each of his hands from one second to the next.

This was something that came as a great surprise to his three crushes, as they knew well that concentrating that much magic without using his Balance Breaker was almost impossible for him, plus it would take a long time.

It was obvious that the increase in his magic reserves was no joke.

Issei quickly clasped his hands together, generating a gigantic sphere that brought back many memories to Loki.

"DOUBLE DRAGON SHOT!"

A massive stream of magical energy crossed the distance between Issei and Great Red practically to the second, but the Dragon God didn't even flinch at what he witnessed. In fact, that word defined him really well, as he simply remained folded his arms as the Dragon Shot slammed into him, or rather, into his thin aura, as the attack couldn't even touch him, it simply scattered and disintegrated completely upon contact with his vast power.

"WELSH DRAGON: BALANCE BREAKER!"

Issei's figure suddenly appeared over Great Red, delivering a strong punch to his forehead that made absolutely everything tremble, but the God didn't even move an inch at such an impact. The tremors did not stop there, as Issei delivered several kicks and punches all along his body, but Great Red continued to cross his arms, as if his opponent was a simple fly that was trying to annoy him.

Seeing that his punches had no effect, Issei gave a small jump backwards and clenched his fists very hard.

"EXPLOSION!"

Another blizzard much stronger than the previous one was generated when Issei suddenly attacked the God with a kick. The brown's eyes narrowed as he saw how this time Great Red hadn't flinched either, but the aura around him had increased a bit, which meant that he was using more strength to be able to withstand his attacks.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Issei shouted at the top of his lungs as he began to land various blows on his chest, or rather, arms, as the God still remained crossed-armed.

That barrage of blows stopped abruptly when Great Red made his first move, grabbing and parrying one of the punches without even mussing his hair.

"Elohim warned me to be patient with you because you like to enjoy the fights. But I think you're wasting too much time already and this is getting a bit tedious." Great Red reasserted his grip on his opponent's hand, causing Issei to grit his teeth in pain as the armor in that area was completely shattered and his hand made a gruesome sound. But that didn't end there, as Great Red slammed him to the ground in one swift motion, causing the ground to crack a bit.

That action freed Issei, so he didn't hesitate to instantly recompose himself to leap backwards with the intention of getting some distance again.

Issei watched him silently as he regenerated his cracked armor and the completely destroyed part of it, waving his hand to make the pain go away. Finally, Issei got back into position as he dematerialized his helmet, denoting a slight smile.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to do this when we face the Trihexa." Those words relaxed Great Red, even if he didn't show it. "I just think that this is a unique opportunity where I can measure myself against a Dragon God. Besides, this might also help me a little to understand the dimension of the conflict that will come our way when we fight Trihexa." After hearing these words, Great Red closed his eyes to debate internally.

"If you put it that way, I think it's not so bad for us to take a few extra minutes on this occasion. I'll play along with your game." The Dragon God opened his eyes, denoting a more serious look than usual. "But I must warn you that Trihexa possesses far greater power than I do."

"I know." Issei smiled as he reasserted his stance, causing a large crimson aura to burst from his body. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be in so much trouble."

"WELSH DRAGON: TRIAINA EVOLUTION!"

The Sacred Gear's shout was accompanied by a deep rumble that shook the surroundings with a powerful shockwave from the strong punch Issei had landed on Great Red's chest, though he didn't even flinch.

Or so it seemed at the time...

Issei's brow furrowed as he noticed Great Red take a small step backwards to reinforce his stance, implying that the punch had moved him a little. That fact generated a large barrage of heavy impacts to fall on the Dragon God's body, generating numerous shockwaves that cracked the ground more and more to the point that a small crater was created around both of them.

"They're generating too much commotion!" Rossweisse shouted as she covered her face as did the vast majority as the strong wind surges reached their position.

"Maybe we should go a little further!" Next to shout was Penemue, who was not faring much better than the Valkyrie.

"No, this place is perfect." The two women looked at Loki after hearing those words, who was barely affected by the blizzard. "Maybe we can't quite understand it yet, but those who are dragons..." The God focused his gaze on Tiamat, Vali and Tannin.

That gesture made everyone else look at those three, and it didn't take long for them to realize that something very strange was going on.

After all, it was very rare to see those three with such a puzzled look on their faces.

The shockwaves and tremors disappeared once Issei jumped back, dematerializing his helmet so that he could share a look with Great Red once again.

"Have you proven yourself enough?" The red-haired God asked with a raised eyebrow, earning a half-smile from Issei.

"I don't think so..." Issei clenched his hands and teeth tightly, causing a powerful crimson aura to burst across much of the area, being accompanied by a powerful gust of wind as Issei's armor began to change once more.

"Now this is where the real fun begins!"

"WELSH DRAGON: DEFINITIVE EVOLUTION!"

The gusts of wind and the crimson aura shattered in a great explosion of energy, causing all onlookers to involuntarily take cover. That explosion was the final act for everyone to watch as Issei sported his Second Evolution as he stood with his arms crossed being surrounded by a very pure and powerful thin crimson aura.

"At what point...?" Vali couldn't help but wonder with a very impressed look on his face, something very rare for him.

"What are you talking about?" Gabriel asked very hesitantly, receiving a nod from Dulio, indicating that he also wanted him to explain himself.

"That aura and energy..." The one who spoke this time was Tiamat, and everyone had to be surprised again to see that she wore an expression very similar to Vali's, although she could control it better. "How is it that there can be so much difference since that battle against that God?"

"His aura and energy..." Penemue put a hand to her chin, as all she could feel was the pressure emanating from Issei. It didn't take long for her to realize what she was really referring to.

"Only dragons can know how powerful another dragon is." Loki made it clear what the Cadre was going through, then focused his gaze on Issei once more. "So, how strong is Hyoudou at this very moment?"

"If we put it into simple numbers, he's almost as strong as me." Tannin's words caused everyone to fall completely silent, unable to believe what they had just heard.

Issei's smile disappeared completely just before he materialized his helmet. His combat stance returned to his body, and then he bowed his legs very carefully. The next thing that could be witnessed was how Issei's figure disappeared creating a crater around him.

This time, Great Red's eyebrows furrowed slightly and he abandoned his relaxed posture to cross his arms in X, receiving Issei's attack squarely. Said attack was so powerful that it finally managed to drag the God several meters, until it finally hit one of the protruding rocks, cracking it slightly. Issei's attack did not stop there, as he flew towards his opponent at a deafening speed, generating another powerful impact that was blocked in the same way, although this time Issei continued to push against him as they advanced through the rock, shattering its interior in progress. Once they were out they didn't stop, as both crashed and smashed various objects around the area.

The pace of the fight began to change drastically as Great Red opted to block and counterattack, causing Issei to struggle not only to attack. The tremors and strong shockwaves became noticeably pronounced as both opponents were dragged by their own blows across the entire desert battlefield. The movements were so fast that one could not tell for certain who was winning the clash, but that became readily apparent when Issei received a heavy blow to the cheek that shattered half of his helmet and caused him to spit out a large amount of blood. Great Red's counterattack did not end there, as Issei flew away from the blunt blow so he followed it instantly in order to appear over Issei to deliver a strong knee to his abdomen that cracked the armor, making him spit blood once again. The blow was so resounding that he was sent hurtling towards the ground at an enormous speed, creating a large crater when he collided. The landing was so hard that Issei bounced off his own fall, allowing Great Red to appear at his side to give him a hard kick that sent him flying once again, and as predictable, Great Red reappeared above him without warning and delivered a hard downward kick that sent him straight to the ground. Issei didn't even have time to compose himself, as his opponent appeared just before he finished his descent to grab him by his hair and bury his head in the ground with shattering force, generating a great tremor throughout the area.

"BOOST!"

Just before the massacre could continue, the numerous boost that resounded in the place made Great Red grit his teeth slightly, so he was forced to step aside when Issei turned his body in a rather curious way to kick him. The curious thing about this move was that his head was still buried in the ground. Anyway, Great Red was not impressed by this and tried to deliver a strong punch so that Issei would not have time to recover, but he was slightly surprised when his opponent moved faster than he expected and disappeared for a short second from his sight, causing his fist to sink into the ground where Issei once stood. His surprised expression returned to normal as he focused his gaze on Issei again, seeing how the brown-haired man was holding a decent sized sphere in one of his hands.

"DRAGON SHOT!"

The range of the Dragon Shot was quite normal, but what was really important fell on its pure crimson color, its speed, and, above all, how it was creating a huge destructive line around him.

Obviously, Great Red did not overlook this and created a small magic circle with one of his hands. Issei had to admit that he was surprised when his Dragon Shot was blocked and evaporated as if it was nothing.

Unfortunately, Issei had no time to be impressed anymore, and that proved to be the case when Great Red appeared in front of him out of nowhere. The protagonist flew out of pure instinct and started throwing various magical attacks noticeably less destructive than the previous one, being dodged by Great Red without much trouble, until he finally caught up to him and delivered a strong punch to his face that damaged his helmet again, sending him straight into the ground.

"BOOST!"

The boosts were heard again as soon as Issei created the crater on the ground, and he did not take longer than that to fly towards Great Red who received blocking him and then delivered a strong blow in the abdomen that sent him to the ground again, although this time, the Dragon God followed him instantly, causing a great explosion of energy to appear. It didn't take long for them to emerge through all the dust sharing various blows and blocks that made much of the battlefield tremble.

Their spectators could barely follow their figures, and, in fact, some could only be guided by the sound of the explosions generated by the blows. It was evident that everyone was watching the wakes of the figures and the great clashes of power with palpable awe, except for a certain Dragon Goddess who looked very relaxed and even bored.

The power clash was interrupted when one of the figures shot out towards some rubble, generating a great tremor when he collided with them. Issei could not contain the large amount of blood that came out of his mouth from the heavy blow to his abdomen, and the direction of the blow was easy to tell, as his armor was badly cracked in that area.

Just as he was about to pull himself together, the figure of Great Red appeared in front of him to grab his face forcefully, causing his helmet to shatter and he began to scream as his skull was slowly being crushed. That scream was nipped in the bud when a gigantic tremor appeared throughout the area, creating a huge crater at his feet. Issei vomited a huge amount of blood, and his eyes slowly lowered to see how Great Red's arm had embedded itself into his armor completely, thus delivering a devastating blow to his abdomen.

"I'm getting tired of waiting." Great Red whispered in his ear, then slowly withdrew his arm from the shattered armor.

The Dragon God opened his fist revealing that there was a small reddish colored orb.

"DRAGON SHOT."

The tiny orb transformed into a huge mass of energy that swept Issei through a large amount of debris, generating a great line of destruction that ended with a powerful reddish explosion.

"Issei..." Tiamat, Penemue and Rossweisse couldn't help but worry as that attack could have done a great deal of damage to him.

Great Red evidently didn't believe the same, as he never took his eyes off the dust and debris that had been generated by his own magical attack, waiting for any movement.

The debris would soon be flying everywhere and the dust would be dissipated in an instant by the great crimson energy that shot out in all directions. Issei emerged from the strong light with a completely serious look on his face despite the various slight wounds visible on the missing parts of his armor.

Issei's seriousness turned into a shout as his fists clenched very tightly, releasing another surge of crimson power that shook everything around him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"BOOST!"

The unstable crimson aura coupled around Issei once he stopped his shouts, opting for a serious look once again, an expression that was shared by Great Red, who only looked at him with his arms crossed as he saw how the brown's armor had been completely repaired.

Issei wasted no more time and stepped into his combat stance, dashing off at a faster speed than the previous time, causing the ground to create a thin line of destruction in his wake.

Witnessing the impending collision, Great Red's gaze frowned slightly and he tightened his arms a little, causing that thin aura around him to become a little purer.

Issei's eyes widened beyond measure as his advance was halted only by the awesome power emanating from the Dragon God's body, though he would have wished for it all to end there, as Great Red delivered a heavy blow to the side of his ribs that made him spit out a large amount of blood, then flew off and smashed everything in his way, until he finally landed forcibly, creating a line of destruction with his own body.

Issei dropped to his knees and began to cough up some blood as he took in the affected spot, seeing that his armor had been completely shattered like the previous times despite all the boosts.

Issei slowly raised his gaze, seeing how Great Red was already in front of him, with his typical stance that was covered in weak spots. He was most likely crossing his arms to show Issei that the difference was ridiculously high to take the fight seriously.

"We've wasted too much time already, it's time to get serious." Great Red clarified seriously, causing his aura to grow even larger.

Issei's teeth clenched, though his smile quickly returned to his face as he stood up and took a big leap backwards.

"Very well, but first I'd like to try one last thing." Great Red looked at him expectantly, indicating that he was allowing him to do one last thing before starting the real fight.

Everyone was surprised to see Issei raise one of his hands as he summoned his katana in the other, beginning to create a sphere of magic that kept growing endlessly.

"He's going to use that technique..." Rossweisse thought aloud in utter amazement.

"But, with the amount of magic reserves he has now, he could destroy everything." Penemue made her point, unable to help but look rather puzzled and amazed at the gigantic sphere that kept growing endlessly.

"What is it they're muttering so much about? Isn't it just an ordinary Dragon Shot?" Loki wondered inwardly with a hand on his chin, only to turn his gaze back to the spectacle.

"That's it!" Issei exclaimed with a grin, holding up a sphere as big as a two-story house.

"It's amazing to think that he always looked so limited before because of his shortage of magical reserves..." Tiamat thought with a mixture of pride and surprise at what she was witnessing.

"Come." Was all Great Red said, watching as Issei raised his katana into the air.

"TRANSFER!"

The huge magical sphere began to be introduced inside the katana at an enormous speed, causing it to take on a very strong crimson glow, until finally the transfer was complete.

Issei's eyes widened at his own power, as the katana emanated a dazzling glow that blinded the vast majority, as well as large red bolts of lightning shot everywhere, tearing the earth. That surprise took a back seat as he refocused his gaze on Great Red, who didn't look at all impressed at what he was seeing.

"Take that!" Issei exclaimed as he ran at a great speed, landing in front of Great Red in just the blink of an eye.

"CRIMSON DRAGON FANG!"

Great Red's eyebrows contracted and he made a hand towards the front, creating a large barrier in the process.

A great shock of energy erupted throughout the site, causing a large amount of debris to fly everywhere. Those watching the battle were forced to fly away from the conflict, as it was impossible to see clearly because of all the destruction the power clash was causing. Thanks to that distance, everyone was able to realize how the great barrier was stopping the katana, causing a great amount of highly destructive crimson magic bolts and blasts to shoot everywhere.

Tiamat and Ophis placed a large barrier to protect the others, while Issei couldn't believe what was happening.

"How is it that you can stop my katana's advance with just a barrier?" That simple question running through his mind made him realize that the difference in power between them was insane, as he was barely using one of his hands to hold the magical barrier.

It wasn't that Issei was dumb. He knew there was a huge difference from the start, but it was kind of impressive to live the facts rather than just think about them.

"This doesn't end here!" Issei gritted his teeth hard as his aura became present again.

"BOOST!"

"BOOSTOOOOOOOOOO!"

A smile emerged from Issei's face as he noticed how the barrier began to crack after using the maximum power of the Boosted Gear, causing his own attack to become somewhat unstable.

That smile was completely extinguished as he watched Great Red raise his other hand, causing the barrier to recover completely.

"Shit!" Issei cursed at no one in particular as he felt his katana about to explode from all the power it contained.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Issei shouted at the top of his lungs as blasts of destructive magic shot out everywhere, causing Great Red to grit his teeth a little for the first time in the entire battle.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" A shout emerged from the Dragon God's lips as he used a bit more of his power, causing Issei's eyes to widen in utter disbelief as he began to get sucked into his own attack.

"ISSEI!" all of his crushes screamed in horror as they watched Issei's figure begin to be consumed by the great attack.

The devastating crimson magic soon surrounded him completely, causing a final scream to be heard from him as the same explosion contracted in on itself from the successful block by Great Red, causing a tiny but highly devastating explosion to present itself on the battlefield, blinding everyone momentarily.

A small but dangerous crater lay on top of the recent explosion, being decorated by a floating red orb of considerable size that continued to emanate various lightning bolts that generated small explosions. The damage caused by the attack was seen by Great Red, who had moved away a little after all that happened. Meanwhile, everyone else was watching everything that happened in complete silence, especially Tiamat, Penemue and Rossweisse, who looked quite shocked by everything that occurred.

"Damn...!" The first to react was Tiamat, who focused her fury-covered gaze on Great Red, but before she could go looking for to confront him, Ophis was the one who stopped her when she placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. The real fight starts now." That clarification made Tiamat look at the Goddess with much intrigue.

Great Red slowly opened his eyes, feeling how the whole area had begun to tremble from one second to the next, something the others also picked up on instantly. The tremors increased more and more at the same time that the debris began to levitate, making everyone look in all directions with great surprise at what they were witnessing.

Ophis fixed her gaze on the giant crimson orb that was beginning to shake like crazy, causing a tiny smile to emerge from her lips after saying the following words:

"Behold the Fourth Dragon God."

The crimson orb evaporated into nothingness as a huge arc of violet light surged into the heavens, immensely surprising everyone. In fact, the great surge of power and pressure so sudden and harassing caused almost everyone to fall to their knees on the magic circles, with the exception of Tiamat, Tannin and Ophis, who were the only ones capable of withstanding such an event.

Among all the purple light, Issei's katana could be seen, which did not take long to slowly descend towards the crater, causing everyone's gaze to focus especially on that figure who lay standing with his hand outstretched, waiting for his weapon to reach him.

"This pressure, this power..." Tiamat thought aloud, unable to believe what she was feeling.

As soon as the katana reached his hands, the huge arc of violet light disappeared practically instantly, finally revealing the figure of Issei, who was surrounded by a thin purple aura, plus half of his body was completely covered by a black armor they had never seen before. The surprise in everyone increased even more when Issei turned his face, revealing intense crimson slitted eyes.

"He's almost as strong as me..." Tiamat concluded her thoughts, causing Penemue, Rossweisse, Tannin and Vali to look at her in utter disbelief.

Great Red couldn't help but frown as he watched Issei turn around to face him, as he felt a great harassing pressure completely surround him.

That feeling he had only experienced once before, and that was when he faced Trihexa.

Issei threw his katana into the air and it disappeared through a magic circle, something that caught the attention of more than one.

Was he saying that he didn't need his katana to face Great Red?

"It's time to start the real fight." Declared the red-haired god, who remained folded in his arms. "Come and don't hold back."

Issei looked down at his armor-covered hand and gave a small sigh in an attempt to control his body's movements.

"You know, this is the first time I've used so much power while conscious." Issei stated, refocusing his gaze on his opponent. "Forgive me if it's that I can't control myself properly."

"That's why we're training." Great Red clarified, receiving a nod from Issei.

"You're right." Issei closed his eyes as half of the helmet materialized on his body. "So..." The young man opened his eyes again, denoting a very dangerous crimson glow in his visible eye.

"Here I come!"

No one knew at what point, the only ones who were able to follow such speed were Tiamat and Ophis, who saw how Issei reached Great Red's position without making any sound, and it could also be seen how the red-haired God had ducked his body to dodge a strong kick that would have impacted his neck.

Everyone else noticed that move when a gigantic gust of wind shook everyone completely and cracked much of the magic circles that kept them safe.

Great Red acted instantly and tried to counterattack, but Issei reacted majestically as he foresaw and visualized the attack with ease, rolling over himself in the air to counter the blow with another punch, causing a deep bang to shake the entire area as both blows collided with each other, creating a huge crater at Great Red's feet. Ophis had to do her job and was forced to create new, more powerful barriers to keep everyone safe.

Issei and Great Red were sent away by the power clash, so each ended up at a different end of the huge crater.

"DRAGON SHOT!"

Issei looked up, seeing two very powerful magical attacks coming at him from different positions. All he did was close his eyes very tightly, causing his violet aura to go wild by the second as he created two large barriers with his hands. The magical attacks soon collided, but there was no explosion as the immense magical powers transformed into nothing but dust after coming into contact with the barriers, an act that led to Great Red's eyes widening slightly in surprise, and that surprise increased even more as Issei went all the way between them in just the blink of an eye.

The red-haired God crossed his arms in X and blocked the strong kick successfully, though he was sent hurtling upwards, being followed by Issei practically instantly.

The fight of both Dragon Gods took to the skies, going back and forth in various reddish and violet trails that collided and shared a great deal of blows, generating some great shockwaves all over the battlefield, and said attacks were accompanied by various purple and red lightning bolts that occasionally expanded between collisions.

Finally, a shockwave noticeably larger than the previous one caused both trails to separate a few centimeters, and there it was possible to witness how Issei and Great Red were looking at each other at a short distance. The brown had some slight wounds all around his body, on the other side, the red-haired God was without any scratches.

Both continued to stare at each other without a word for a few seconds, until Issei threw himself on him, creating a sequence of unstoppable waves of collisions that were produced without end, while both remained in exactly the same position, blocking and counterattacking as much as possible. Tiamat and Ophis were the only ones who could clearly see the combat, so it was a delight for their eyes to see how each blow was perfectly blocked, and that meant neither of them could hurt the other.

Unnoticed by anyone, Issei's visible eye widened in a big way, making half of the armor grow a few more centimeters.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Issei's shout was accompanied by a large shockwave that surprised Great Red himself, as Issei had managed to land a punch to his abdomen, causing him to spit out saliva.

Great Red shot out onto the ground, but was able to land properly when he somersaulted in mid-air. His feet buried themselves in the ground when he hit the stones, but that was no deterrent to paying close attention to Issei, and as he already suspected, his opponent was flying towards his direction at blinding speed with his legs pointing straight ahead.

Great Red's eyes widened just before he received the double kick. The attack was so powerful that it created a gigantic cloud of dust that sent a large amount of debris flying far away, some even flying out of the bubble surrounding the large floating island.

Just before anyone could react properly, a large mass of reddish energy shot out from within the dust curtain, sending Issei flying away while leaving a trail of blood in his wake, something that alarmed his lovers greatly.

"Issei!" Tiamat, Penemue and Rossweisse cried out in concern, heading straight for where their beloved's body fell.

"I have to go with them." Ophis clarified, knowing that something bad could happen if they were this close to the fight.

"Are you okay!" Tiamat carried him so he could get up, causing Issei to wince a little from the pain.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I was just caught a little off guard." Issei finished getting up by himself, seeing how the half of his body that wasn't covered by his armor had suffered large burns and wounds. "That guy is really powerful!" The brown-haired man grumbled comically as his wounds healed at a mind-blowing speed, surprising the women a bit.

"That's right, that healing..." Penemue thought aloud, remembering how Issei had overcome very dangerous moments thanks to that ability that was very similar to Ophis'.

"We're not done yet." They all looked in the direction of the voice, seeing how Great Red was hovering over the rubble several meters away.

"Certainly not." Issei replied with a chuckle, as he couldn't control the excitement of being able to take on someone so powerful, and, more importantly, that he can keep up with him for now.

"Issei..." Tiamat placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a hint that she was very worried.

Issei looked at her with some understanding, as the dragoness had always been very careful with their training when they became very close. As such, she didn't like him taking risks or getting hurt too much in a friendly fight, and it added up to a lot of worry points considering his opponent was Great Red himself.

"Tiamat..." Issei answered her call as he placed his hand over hers, then gave her a small smile.

Issei pulled her hand away and took a few steps forward, under the impassive gaze of Great Red, who was impatiently waiting for the fight to resume.

"Hey, remember that bet we made a long time ago?" Tiamat's eyes widened slightly after hearing those words, as numerous memories struck her mind.

"Hmmm, I don't think you'll ever get over me..." Tiamat hummed with a chuckle.

"Shall we bet something?" Issei opened his eyes, causing the dragoness to look at him on that cold night 8 months ago.

A toothy grin appeared on Issei's face as he raised his thumb.

"Whoever wins will have to fulfill any wish of the other person!"

Tiamat's eyes twitched as she returned to the present day, as Issei was delivering the same smile as he gave her a sidelong glance, plus he also had his thumb up.

"I'm sorry, Tiamat. But I think I won the bet." He concluded, then turned his gaze back to the front, starting to run towards where his opponent was.

"I don't care that you're the most powerful Dragon Queen, I'll find a way to beat you!" Memories of when Issei finally discovered who she really was pounded her mind, as she watched Issei slowly walk away at the same time as the armor began to coat the missing half of his body at a great speed.

Finally, Tiamat's stupefaction changed to a slight smile, accepting her defeat gladly.

"You have defeated me completely, Issei..." Those were her last thoughts as she watched the armor completely encircle her beloved.

Issei dematerialized his helmet, demonstrating how his hair shook violently from the aura that suddenly surrounded him.

"I'M GOING COMPLETELY FOR REAL NOW!"

Great Red's entire body tensed as he watched a dark monstrous aura in the shape of a large dragon's skull position just behind Issei. That simple sensation made his aura go wild, indicating that he was ready to use his full power if necessary.

Issei summoned his katana, then waved it with great force towards where Great Red was standing, causing him to frown as he got a bad feeling, so he quickly created a large barrier with both hands. His eyes widened as the barrier shattered into a thousand pieces just from the powerful wind current, causing him to cross his arms in X as he gritted his teeth hard. Just when he thought to get out of that position, he watched in disbelief as Issei was already in another position, preparing various air currents with his katana that trapped him in his position.

"I can't move!" Great Red gritted his teeth hard as he felt all the incessant air currents surrounding him in all directions, so he was simply trapped.

All he could do was watch helplessly as Issei appeared beneath him, tilting his arm back at the same time as said arm was surrounded by dark colored magic with a glowing violet outline.

Great Red could barely find enough strength to position his arms, creating a powerful barrier just below him to try to contain him. But the word try was the key.

"SEPULTURE OF IIIICCCEEEEEEEE!"

Great Red's teeth clenched hard as he was barely able to hold off the attack in the first instance, but this had just begun and he knew it. The red-haired god was dragged against his will until he crashed into the bubble that contained the island, then shot outward.

The destructive power of the brutal attack emerged from both sectors of the island as it exploded, as Issei's attack had apparently broken through. Everyone was forced to cover their faces once again, and this time their shouts were not long in coming, as the deafening, blinding power was so awesome that it would not allow them to remain silent.

"I didn't think they would make such a fuss during training. They'd better hold back the next few times or they'll destroy the whole Island." Ophis said to no one in particular, seeing how several parts of the battlefield had been completely destroyed because of the conflict.

Her gaze once again drifted to the outskirts of the bubble, a gesture that everyone mimicked as they noticed how that spot was covered in a huge cloud of smoke from the most recent explosion. Those gazes automatically focused on Issei as they saw that he was floating in the same position as before the explosion.

Issei's eyes squeezed shut tightly as the image of Rias flashed through his mind, causing him to grab his head rather painfully as he began to descend without stopping.

"What happened to him?" Rossweisse asked with a hint of concern, noticing that Issei had a very strange reaction.

"It's the hate." Everyone looked at Ophis after that statement. "Every Dragon God has an origin. That origin is what gives them strength, but it is also their weakness." The Dragon Goddess' words had been clear, but there were certain points ignored that confused the three women greatly.

But it was obvious that such a description could only mean trouble.

"Should we be worried?" Penemue questioned as she watched Issei land on the ground in a somewhat forced manner.

"No, he can control it." Ophis showed all her confidence towards Issei, causing them all to look at the brown-haired man with great intensity.

Issei's hands stopped clenching his head tightly the moment the image of all his friends crossed his mind. His gaze lifted, dematerializing his helmet to sketch a toothy grin as he remembered his three lovers. The aura around him began to grow darker and darker, to the point that the night itself would be envious.

"Alright!" Issei shouted as he patted his cheeks, making sure to expel all those negative emotions that had suddenly come into his body.

His smile changed to a serious look as he caught a glimpse of a figure of a huge dragon beginning to make its presence known among the huge cloud of dust that was slowly disappearing.

"I can't believe it, he forced him to use all his power..." Tannin thought in shocked bewilderment, watching as Great Red's true form came into view.

"To be honest, you're bigger than I remembered." Issei commented with a smile the moment he flexed his legs.

Everyone watched Issei with wide eyes as his aura shot up, and as a result, the pressure in the atmosphere was much more crushing than Great Red's.

"But you know the saying..." Issei's eyes suddenly widened as he took a huge leap, creating a huge crater at his feet.

"The bigger they are...!" Everyone watched in utter shock as Issei's body was changing into that of a dark dragon slightly larger than Tiamat.

"Everyone behind me, now!" Ophis shouted, drawing the attention of everyone, who quickly complied with her orders.

Great Red created various barriers to stop the relentless dragon that was heading towards him with that corrosive aura that seemed to be able to kill you just by coming in contact with it. In fact, those thoughts were confirmed almost instantly in the worst possible way.

That was easy to notice, you only had to watch Great Red's eyes as his barriers began to melt just because Issei was approaching him.

Great Red watched helplessly as the aura so impressive surrounded the dark dragon completely, preparing for the imminent impact.

Issei opened his mouth, revealing a large orb of energy with a very dark color.

"HARDER THEY FALL!"

The gigantic red dragon vomited a large amount of blood when Issei collided with a great force on him, and then a gigantic explosion occurred, as if it was an asteroid that had hit the earth.

Ophis did not wait and raised both hands creating a large number of barriers along the entire island. That caused the enormous devastation that would have killed anyone to be contained, although that was not the exact word. After all, the hundreds of barriers were destroyed and melted almost instantly, leaving only a single layer standing.

The Dragon Goddess fell to her knees as she began to gasp in great agitation, implying that she had expended nearly all of her magical reserves in order to protect them. That was not something to take lightly, as a Dragon God was always presumed to have infinite magical reserves, due to the fact that they never found themselves needing to use that much.

Everyone looked at the sky with their mouths open, as it was impossible to contain the sheer bewilderment and amazement of seeing such a massive clash of forces as it was a fight between Dragon Gods.

"That's enough." Everyone turned their gazes, watching in great bewilderment as Great Red stood in his human form with a large number of wounds all along his body.

That bewilderment was not due to the beaten state of the most powerful entity, but due to the fact that no one noticed at what moment he landed behind them.

Everyone raised their eyes once again as they noticed how the other dark-skinned Dragon God descended, until he was only a few meters from the ground. His body began to glow brightly and it took no more than a second for him to disappear, revealing Issei again.

"What did you think?" Issei asked with a toothy grin, landing in front of Great Red.

"I see you were able to control your power, though you had some difficulty at one point." The red-haired God made his point clear, and Issei understood what he meant.

"Don't worry, I already went through something much more complicated, so I'm not going to let myself be controlled by my emotions." Issei replied seriously, then looked back to focus his gaze on his crushes. "Especially if I know it's not worth thinking about it. After all, I'm already surrounded by people who really love me." He concluded with a slight smile.

"Agreed, but I must make sure that annoyance doesn't come back to you at any time, plus you must learn to measure your power correctly. That's what this month of training will be for." Issei could only rub his hair with a nervous smile, as he knew perfectly well that he had overdone it quite a bit with the final attack.

"The reality is that I didn't mean to make such a fuss, so I guess I also need to know my limits properly." Issei chuckled under his breath after his own words, but stopped almost instantly as he felt Great Red rest a hand on his shoulder.

"In the evening I have to clarify something very important to you about what you suffered today." The red-haired God whispered in his ear, causing Issei to become visibly confused.

"Let's go have lunch." Ophis pulled herself together in a leap with a rather peculiar glow surrounding her after saying those words.

"Weren't you supposed to be on the verge of fainting?" Rossweisse wondered with a nervous bead of sweat.

"That's right, watching this whole show made me kind of hungry." Dulio stated as he rubbed his abdomen.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Vali started to leave along with Dulio, Gabriel, Loki, Gasper and Great Red.

"You were great, Issei!" Tannin gave him a thumbs up before following the others.

"Tannin is right, it was truly amazing to be able to see how far you've come." Tiamat declared with great pride, a pride that Penemue and Rossweisse shared as they nodded. "I still remember when we first met. You were as weak and skinny as a toothpick..." The dragoness said the latter in a dreamy voice as she recalled so many beautiful moments, but it was obvious that Issei would not take the statement very gracefully.

"Remember that toothpick just won you a bet." Issei stated with a small twitch in his eye.

"Oh, that's right..." Tiamat placed a finger over her lips, then gave him a very seductive smile. "I wonder..." She purred as she approached Issei, resting a hand on his chest rather sensually. "What will you ask me?"

Issei pulled away slightly at the curious looks from Tiamat and the three women still standing around. It wasn't because of the fact that Issei turned away, it was because of that very embarrassed look on his face.

"Hum... the idea was too sudden and I prepared absolutely nothing. But..." Issei gave a small sigh to calm himself down, something that seemed to work.

Tiamat watched intently as Issei took her hand carefully. Her gaze twisted to an even more confused one as she watched her beloved crouch down in front of her.

Finally, Issei let out another sigh to relax and say the next words:

"Will you be my wife?"

END OF CHAPTER!

I hope you enjoyed it!

The next chapter is quite long, but I'll try to bring it before the end of the month.

There will be a lot of lemon in the next update, but that doesn't mean there won't be other important scenes to read, so, as always, I invite you to read the whole chapter until you get to that point (remember there's always a warning in case you don't like to consume sexual scenes).

I'll say goodbye now.

Thank you very much for reading!