To those that read this a long time ago: If you haven't yet, go read chapter 1. Quite a lot was changed.
Chapter 2: What is your name?
It has been a week since Asia Argento joined class 2-B in Kuoh Academy. In the said class' homeroom, everyone was currently staring in the direction of one certain Issei Hyoudou, who was currently laying face first on his desk, trying his darndest not to groan in complete agony.
They all wondered why the most energetic boy in the school - for all the wrong reasons, mind you - was looking like he was two steps from falling into a casket. And the answer was simple! To him, at least…
It all started the day after his adoptive sister joined his class. Now that things seemed to mostly calm down, Issei decided to finally follow the advice of his reflection - which he was told was named Eberus, since it and the armour were, as the reflection kindly told him, literally the same thing - and work on his stamina. But he immediately met a problem.
He first tried running but it didn't really cut it for him. It took too long and gave too little for all the trouble. So after a little brainstorming, the young pervert, reluctantly, asked the only person he knew well enough to be comfortable with, for help by sparring with him. Kiba Yuuto.
Fighting was what gave the young pervert the biggest boost to endurance. And while sparring with someone as skilled as the Devil Knight, he could get used to the weird, instinctual swordsmanship skills he possessed.
Initially, the training was hellish on Issei's part. An hour dedicated to eight, five-minute fights between the two swordsmen with four breaks in between. During the breaks, Issei took his time splashing himself with and drinking cool water, which somewhat helped him regain stamina, but usually by the end, Issei was left too tired to even complain that Kiba constantly hit his shins whenever he got a chance. 'Helps him keep his guard up', he said…
On the weekends the training hours doubled, even with Saturday classes, so he had little to no break. But he could not deny the results. It wasn't as much as in a life-or-death situation, but little by little he could feel himself go on for longer without sweating like a pig. It was a matter of extra seconds, to be perfectly honest, so the difference wasn't that noticeable at the moment, but it was still there.
However, the worst thing about it all wasn't the physical exhaustion, since a good night's sleep made most of it go away, but the mental one. Unlike his body, his mind didn't have his monstrous recovery speed, something that didn't help with the fact he now started to take studying seriously.
Why did he decide that, you may ask? It is due to him realising that, with the world being much more vast than he originally thought, he needed to be properly educated to stand somewhere if he suddenly got decommissioned.
So outside of scholar studies, he took it upon himself to learn more about the things most of humanity isn't aware about. He borrowed some of Rias' Devil history books to read at home and asked her to lecture him about some things, like deeper understanding of the Sacred Gears, races outside of the Three Factions and any possible dangers, like Stray Devils - something that REALLY didn't sit well with him.
But the density of what he was learning ended up taking a toll on him and whenever he got home, almost immediately he fell onto his bed, losing consciousness shortly after. At least his grades started going up a little.
A few minutes after everyone finally arrived, their homeroom teacher entered the class and smacked a book against his desk to get everyone's attention. "Alright everyone! Sit down and listen!" No one even considered disobeying him. Hagane Kenji, one of the few male teachers in the Kuoh Academy. The teacher of business classes and, as most came to call him, one ruthless son of a gun.
He was strict, methodical and overall hard on everyone, no matter their gender or connections. And it just so happened that he was their literature teacher as well. So it was easy to say, the enthusiasm wasn't the highest. "Today we have another student transferring to this class!" General confusion swept everyone, Issei included. No one heard about the news before now, so immediately mutters and mumbles of confusion and speculation arouse. "Silence!" Another growl of authority and everyone shut down once more. Kenji sighed and turned to the classroom door. "Alright, you can come in!"
Everyone turned towards said door and watched as a raven-haired girl stepped inside. Every boy's face flushed a little as they saw her fair bosom and cute facial features. But one boy's expression darkened as he recognized the being entering their class. "Raynare..." He spat out quietly under his nose through gritted teeth. The woman responsible, unintentionally, for awakening his power and almost killing his sister just joined their class in her disguise of Amano Yuuma.
Said woman was currently writing down her name on the board before turning towards her new class with a peachy smile. "It is a pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Amano Yuuma. I'll be in your care." She explained and bowed.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds and the information sunk in. Everyone turned towards Issei, who barely recovered from his traumatic memories before being hit by the piercing stares.
Raynare glanced at where others were looking and a small smirk appeared on her face before returning to the innocent facade. "Oh! Ise-kun! I didn't know we were going to be in the same class!"
And a thudding echo resounded through the classroom, caused by Matsuda slamming Hyoudou's head into his desk. "The hell, Issei!? I thought you told us you broke up with her!"
"Broke up...?" "Yuuma" looked at the two in confusion before giggling softly. "Ara Ara, Ise-kun~ Were you trying to hide me from your friends?" She asked, flaring up an outburst of shock and confusion from the entire class.
Meanwhile two of the Perverted Trio were currently attempting to kill Issei for his "treason against the Brotherhood", whatever that meant. For Issei it only meant he was currently between rock and a hard place and he knew Raynare was aware of that.
There was a moment of complete silence from Issei, his hair casting shadow over his face, before he shot up, a big grin plastered all over his face. "Well, I guess the secret is out."
Dead silence as everyone turned in Issei's direction, mouths agape. "Just... Just sit down, everyone..." Their teacher said with a tired voice, both shocked and defeated by the fact the school's biggest pervert got himself an adorable girlfriend. 'And before me too!' He thought in anguish.
A few hours after that event, Issei was heading with Asia towards a clearing near the ORC for Issei's daily training. The ex-nun, while still shocked by her would-be murderer joining their class, was much more acceptant of the fact, if only because of her "all is forgiven" mentality.
She was currently watching her adoptive brother walk ahead of her, heavy air surrounding him. 'Why? Why is she here?' He thought with a scowl. For the last few hours he had to pretend that he and "Yuuma" were a happy couple. It annoyed him. But on the other hand, it felt a little nice to have a cutie hanging on his arm every chance there was... 'NO! She tried to kill me and Asia for some stupid, fake orders! No matter what, I shouldn't consider her in any other way than the naive, backstabbing idiot she is!' His angry inner rant was stopped as the siblings arrived at their destination and saw the two that they have been meeting daily.
The first was Kiba, who, like Issei, was wearing his P.E. clothes consisting of a white t-shirt, dark grey sweatpants and matching sneakers. Since it was already late spring, both ditched sweatshirts, letting the onlookers witness their toned arms, with Issei's being surprisingly more toned than Kiba's.
The other person they saw was Koneko, currently munching on some cookies while giving the newcomers a passive glance of acknowledgement. At first the petite girl came here to watch Issei get his butt handed to him by Yuuto. But after seeing how even the spars were - most of the time, at least - she stuck around, since she had nothing else to do for the most part.
"Ah, Issei-kun, Asia-san. How are you today?" Asked the blonde pretty boy while picking up two dull swords. He made them with his Sword Birth with great durability and dull blades as practice swords in mind. On top of that, he reduced the weight of Issei's sword to imitate his own sword's lightness. Of course, it was impossible to make it weightless, but it definitely felt lighter than a boukken.
Both looked at Yuuto with gloomy expressions, Issei being the first to open his mouth. "Do you know why Raynare is here?" Both Devils halted any movement for a split second before shaking their heads.
"Buchou said she'll come. Didn't say why." Koneko said before resuming her cookie consumption. This confirmed one thing for Issei: This was a decision from the higher-ups.
The fact even solidified when Rias and Akeno suddenly came from the old building's direction. "Everyone, I'm sorry for having to stop your training, but we have a serious matter to discuss." Without saying it out loud, everyone knew what the matter was: Raynare.
Without any words of confirmation, they all headed inside. There, Raynare, alongside Mittelt and Kalawarna, were waiting for their arrival. Raynare and Mittelt wore the school's highschool uniforms, while Kalawarna had a business suit on. When Issei and Raynare's eyes locked, a tense silence overcame everyone. But nothing happened. Issei simply walked past the angels and sat down on a couch, with Koneko and Asia on both his sides.
Once Rias retook her seat, everyone turned in her direction. ""I am glad everyone could make it. Under Azazel and Lucifer-sama's orders, we are to take care of this group of Fallen Angels during their probation period–"
"Let me get one thing clear here, princess Gremory." Raynare butted in, getting dirty looks from most present. "We are NOT under your care. We have been specifically assigned to be taken care of by Issei-kun." This caused confusion to spread among everyone, with Issei being the brightest beacon of cluelessness.
"Wait, but why?"
Raynare shrugged her shoulders, setting closer to the centre of the room. "I don't know. Azazel-sama only told us that we are to answer to you and you only." She said before shooting a cocky smile towards Rias. "Not to the Devils residing here."
Rias did not like those damn criminals interrupting her and questioning her authority, but with an official letter handed to her, with Azazel unmistakable signature under it, she could not deny what Raynare was saying. "I was getting to that… Indeed, you are under Issei's care. HOWEVER, as it is my territory, I still require that you report all your actions to me."
"Like hell I wi–"
"Just do what she says, Raynare." Issei said, deciding to use his authority over them to ease his own burden a little. Although he wasn't sure why this Azazel guy placed this bunch under HIM, it gave him some satisfaction, being given the right to boss this idiot around.
Once Raynare resigned to her fate, another thing came up in Issei's mind. "Hey, where's that guy you were with? Donnaseck, was it?" The name mixup caused Mittelt, Yuuto and Akeno to chuckle, while Raynare and Kalawarner simply hid their smiles behind their hands.
"It's Dohnaseek. And he was given a different assignment, since during the mission he was technically our superior." Kalawarner explained after a moment, bringing another question forth.
One that was voiced by Koneko, of all people. "But aren't you the leader?" A valid question, to which Raynare nodded.
"In practice, yes. But Dohnaseek is of higher rank in Grigori, so in terms of technicality, he is our de facto commander." Raynare explained before her face softened. "But either way, it does not matter too much. We all think of each other as family and very rarely pull our ranks on each other."
The other angels nodded with tranquil expressions - or what could be called tranquil with the ever energetic Mittelt. This was not what Issei expected. Yeah, they seemed closely-bonded with each other… But to go as far as to call each other family? One had to wonder how long they have been together.
"Anyway. We have been given an empty house near the Hyoudou residence as our current place of stay." Kalawarner continued, walking up to Issei and handing him a small piece of paper with their address and all their phone numbers on it. "This way we can stay in close proximity in case of emergencies."
Feeling a little left out, Rias finally decided to speak up again. "You will also come here every school day after classes and around noon on Sundays alongside Issei." This time, there was no attempt to protest. One look at the boy himself told them that it was going to happen whether they liked it or not. "If there aren't any more questions or topics, I think we should end it here."
After that meeting, Issei had to adjust to a new norm in his daily life: Raynare. While Mittelt and Kalawarner mostly kept to themselves, instead focusing on blending in Kuoh Academy, Raynare - or rather Amano Yuuma, as she spent most of her time outside being called - stuck to him like a newborn to its parent. She spent EVERY moment of their free time in school next to him, tormenting both him and his friends, each in a different way. At first it was funny seeing everyone's reaction to the fact he had a "girlfriend", since it made him feel a little superior to some. But after a while it just became a matter of fact, only becoming tedious as he had to spend time with his would-be killer.
Even after school, when she could drop her act, Raynare continued to annoy him by progressively acting more and more over the top with her "lovey-dovey girlfriend" persona. If not for a fact he didn't know if there would be consequences for hurting her, she would have been flung across the town by the time Wednesday rolled around.
On said day, around early evening, Issei was walking with Raynare and Asia down a VERY different path to what they usually took. It came as a result of the angel practically BEGGING Issei to take her for some ice cream. Specifically from a shop some distance away from their neighbourhood. He would have shot her down if not for his sister asking if she could join them. Raynare actually sounded genuinely happy at the idea. Not like Issei noticed at that moment.
So there they were, going through another neighbourhood towards their own street, Asia licking her vanilla ice cream with cherry syrup and Raynare hanging off of Issei's arm, once again throwing sickly sweet words in his direction. "I really cannot wait for the day you introduce me to your parents~ I'm willing to bet they would be so happy to mee–" But she abruptly stopped and stood up straight, looking in a seemingly random direction.
This caused both Issei and Asia to pause, looking at the fallen angle. "Is something wrong?"
"I can feel a faint magical fluctuation in that house… Someone activated a Sacred Gear."
Issei raised a brow before something caught his eyes in the direction that Raynare was looking… A door kicked inwards, its lock broken. "... Shit. Asia, stay outside with Raynare!" He said before running inside. There was a small chance that this was an argument between two Sacred Gear users. But Raynare only mentioned one Gear being used… He really hoped it wasn't too late.
Unlike the last time he entered a random stranger's home, Issei did not go slow about it. He followed the noise inside, finding a middle aged woman with a stab wound in her lower back. Over her stood a hooded figure, wearing what could only be described as a cult robe. On his hands was a pair of gloves. At the tip of his fingers Issei could barely make out gentle indents, as if something was wrapped around them.
Without letting the man do anything, Issei charged into him, knocking him down. The boy then dashed towards the lying woman. Her chest was faintly rising, so she was alive. The blade itself didn't seem to hit any vitals either except… Spine. Shit! He turned back to the man and immediately brandished his sword. "Who are you!?"
The man slowly stood up and growled out in annoyance. "That should be my question, brat. How dare you stop my preparation for a grand sacrifice!" He asked before madly dashing at Issei. The fool clearly had a death wish.
Issei scoffed and slashed at his legs, aiming to incapacitate him in one, swift move. The blade did not connect, however, when what he now identified to be very thin, metal strings intercepted it. "W-what!?" He tried pulling away, but for some reason, it did not budge.
"How do you like my Sacred Gear, brat? [Hercule Hair] are indestructible strings which can bind and hold anything, regardless of my enemy's strength. With this, you are trapped without your weapons! You will be the dead before you rea–"
"You talk a lot, you know that?" Issei asked as he de-summoned his sword, making it turn to mist. The momentary confusion on the man's part was enough for Issei. He swept his feet re-summoned his sword, pinning the guy's left arm to the floor. "Asia! Raynare! Come in here!" He yelled before being kicked off by the madman.
"MOM!" As Issei was standing up and about to knock the guy out, a scream echoed behind him. He turned around and saw… Katase Yuri, looking horrified at the felled woman, which Issei guessed was her mother. She then looked between the teen and the intruder. "... H-Hyoudou-san…?"
Before Issei could say anything, Raynare and Asia finally ran into the house, stopping at the living room's entrance. "Issei, what's going on!?" The angel asked before looking beyond her boyfriend, immediately summoning a light spear.
Seeing how alert she was, Issei whipped back towards the madman, who was already up. His left arm was cut open from under the wrist up to the space between his middle and ring finger. "D-dammit… I cannot die here…" He growled out before dropping a flash bomb on the ground, blinding everyone for a moment.
"Where did he get those!?" Issei shouted to himself. A few seconds later, his vision returned, but the man was nowhere to be seen. They probably could catch up to him, but Yuri's mom was bleeding out on the ground. "Asia! Quickly! Go heal Miss Katase's wound!" He said hastily, de-summoning his sword and looking at the young girl on the stairs.
Well, she was on the stairs, but quickly ran up to her mother, who was currently being treated by Asia. "M-mom… mom, please don't die…"
"She'll be alright." Katase looked up to see Issei, holding a sympathetic expression on his face. "The guy didn't hit any of her organs and Asia's already healing her… She will be fine."
"H-heal? What are you talking about!? We need to call an ambulance!" Only then Yuri noticed a green light emanating from the blonde's hands, which were aimed at the slowly closing wound in her mother's back. "W-wha…?"
Issei glanced at Raynare, motioning for her to call Rias. The woman quickly complied while he knelt down next to the kendo practitioner. "We need to give Asia some space, okay?" The girl glanced at Issei before numbly nodding, still processing everything going on. They stepped back and waited for Gremory and her peerage to arrive.
It took them ten minutes to come and transport them all back to the ORC clubroom. Katase's mother was given a bedroom to recover in. Asia said that, while she was able to mostly heal the wound, it would still take a few weeks for her to walk again.
Once Yuri was able to calm down from it all, thanks in part to Akeno's wonderful tea, she finally was able to ask one, solid question. "What the hell is going on here?" There was no anger in her voice, no sadness or confusion. She was so emotionally exhausted from the eternal 20 minutes that passed, she didn't even find it in her to raise her voice, despite having all rights to it at that moment.
Rias sighed deeply and glanced over the girl. She knew she held a Sacred Gear in her left arm, just like Issei. But unlike Issei, she could feel it was something much more… She already had her suspicions over what it was, but refrained from approaching the girl on that topic due to the club politics making the possible transition a little more than troublesome. But now… "Allow me to explain it all to you."
Issei was a little shocked to see Rias willing to explain things to Katase. Yesterday, he learned about the procedures of how to deal with normal humans, seeing past the "curtain of normality" in a way. If it was just a small scale outbreak, she would personally erase all of their memories of that event and fill in the blanks using magic. If it was something bigger: a district, maybe the whole town, she would call for her brother to prepare a mass memory alteration spell. He was ready to at least try and convince Rias to let Katase know what was going on before erasing her memories, but here she was, going at it by herself… She most probably had some agenta behind it.
Once the heiress was done explaining everything to the girl, Katase was left floored. The news of supernatural beings like angels and devils existing overwhelmed her a little. Ironically, Issei's baptism in fire was a bit gentler than the sudden twist dump… But he would have still preferred that over anything else. "The guy that came into your house was some kind of cultist, from what he was saying…" Issei finally added, sighing softly.
Rias looked at the tired girl and closed her eyes. "Katase Yuri… I can feel that you possess a Sacred Gear in you. So I wish to ask you: would you like to try and awaken it?"
This got Issei up. "Wait a second here. She just went through a home invasion by some lunatic, she found out about the supernatural through you and now you ask her if she wants to unlock her Sacred Gear? Do you see how loaded th–"
"I do." Issei stopped dead in his tracks when Katase gave her answer. Of course she would say yes in this situation.
Shaking his head, he sat down and got himself comfortable on the couch. "What about you, Issei? Do you want to awaken your own Sacred Gear?" This out of nowhere offer surprised Issei. Sure, he expected her to figure out that Eberus was not a Sacred Gear, since she could feel it in Katase… But why would she suddenly ask him that.
His reflection just shrugged softly at the unspoken question. "Beats me. Doesn't seem like a recruitment tactic, but who knows?" Regardless, he nodded in agreement and listened to the explanation on how to release his Sacred Gear. So, he extended his left arm and, as instructed, began imagining the strongest being he could… The strongest being…
Issei stood before ******, his sword in a relaxed position. ******* snarled at his lack of respect. "FIGHT ME SERIOUSLY! PLEASE! Please…" *******'s expression turned sorrowful as the emotions overwhelmed…
"... I don't have the strength anymore… But fine. One last time." He replied, finally getting into a battle-ready. This made ****** perk up a bit before their weapons clashed.
Light came from his left arm as a black armguard surrounded Issei's forearm. At the backside of his hand was a silver crystal. When Issei opened his eyes and saw it for the first time, he smiled softly. It will work as a great parry tool… Wait, what?
Shaking off the weird thought, he turned towards Katase to see that she was still struggling. But he could feel something stir in the air around her… Until she was done, he decided to think about the memory he just witnessed.
He knew for a fact it WAS a memory, and not some kind of mirage. It felt way too vivid. The emotions… The complete defeat and despair his past self felt was still going through him. He couldn't see his whole self, but from just his hands he could tell that this happened around five years ago. Yet, the arms clearly had more muscle than they have now. Weird how he did not pay mind to it after his memories were screwed up… Then again, he wasn't the most self-aware person around.
But that other person. He couldn't make out much except the silhouette. The voice sounded distorted, yet painfully nostalgic too… Was this person the strongest being he knew? Or was this memory about himself at his prime? He did not know, but he felt like he would understand eventually.
Regardless, a few minutes went by and light finally came from Yuri's direction. When it settled down, a very similar gauntlet to his appeared on her left. The difference was the colour scheme of red and green with some yellow decorations. Another thing that was different in Issei's eyes was the feel of it. It felt… Alive, in a way. Issei could not describe it well, since he did not understand it too much.
Rias smiled and stood up. "You two possess a [Twice Critical]. It's a relatively common Sacred Gear which allows the user to double their strength." She explained with a smile, through her eyes examined Katase's Gear a bit too thoroughly. Yup, she could feel it too and did not try to hide it from anyone. Well, not like she needed to do so from Katase.
"So this is a Sacred Gear… It feels so… Wow." Words escaped Yuri as she examined the gauntlet up close. Issei smiled softly at how whimsical she sounded, almost as if she forgot the traumatic moment she experienced just half an hour ago. But soon enough, her eyes fazed a little. "H-huh? Why do I feel so tired?"
"It's probably due to the adrenaline dying down alongside with the small burden of awakening your Sacred Gear for the first time." Kiba explained, stepping into the room. "You should take a rest. We have a few rooms spare and ready for guests."
Katase blinked and looked up at Prince Charming before a hand rested on her shoulder. "I think so too. It's no use staying up too late." Issei said with a small smile. Weird… Normally, Yuri would be disgusted just being near the pervert. But right now… His presence was almost reassuring. Almost as if he would stand guard by her while she slept.
After Yuuto took the girl into a different room, Issei turned to Raynare. "Call the others. We will sweep the town." She nodded and took out a communication orb.
Rias looked at Issei in confusion. "You DO know we can send our familiars to do that instead, right?" Issei nodded and stretched his body.
"Yeah, but if that lunatic tries anything again, being able to react immediately is the best in my opinion. Every second counts." He said before stepping outside with Raynare in tow.
Rias watched them leave before summoning her familiar and sending it out on a search too. After a moment of silence, she sat down at her desk and looked at Akeno, who came out of the kitchen annex. "Do you think this will be a problem?"
The raven haired beauty shook her head with her usual smile. "No. I think he just needs an excuse to clear his head. He seemed… Very melancholic when he awakened his Gear."
Rias nodded and glanced at the entrance door once more. That face showed great hurt… But what had to happen for him to associate strongest with this kind of emotion? With every day, Issei became more and more of a mystery for her.
Katase was given a few days off to recover from what happened. The school was informed and any information leak was stopped before it could even start. But Issei still didn't feel right, sitting in his classes and doing nothing. Yesterday's search yielded nothing, as expected. Only someone with a serious death wish would attempt another attack with his arm sliced open. And if his words were to be believed, he was on the opposite spectrum.
Thankfully, Thursday classes went by fast and Issei almost rushed in the direction of the old school building. He needed to find out if anything new came up about the invader.
But as he came close to it, he saw Katase at the clearing, doing a basic Kendo kata. He slowed down and approached her with a hum. "Hey, Katase-san." The girl jumped a little, probably knocked out of her focused state.
She turned to him, a bit of sweat collecting on her forehead. "Hello, Hyoudou-san. I… I couldn't just stay inside and do nothing, so… I decided to do some light exercise. I cannot let my body stiff up. Not before we find him…" Her face darkened at the last sentence, with Issei's following suit.
But soon enough the boy just smiled. "Then how about you get some training with me?" He offered. "It should be much more efficient than just some dry exercise." As he spoke, Issei picked up a bokken for himself and took a few test swings. A different weight distribution, but nothing that would get in the way too hard.
Katase saw how Issei moved with a sword in his hand. It was nothing like someone who knows Kendo, yet it all felt purposeful and calculated. He knew how to fight with a sword, she knew that much from the fact he used one yesterday. But how much? She would find out. "Sure, sounds good."
The two stood a few metres away from each other, staring one another down silently. The wind blew through the tree crowns calmly, carrying a few leaves alongside it. As one of them hit the ground, the two swordsmen finally clashed, the sound of wood swords colliding with each other echoing throughout the forest.
Katase was taken aback by Issei's skill. Even with this one hit, she could feel the extent of his strength by how expertly he matched her level. Even Katase had problems adjusting to her kouhai during club practice, yet this seemingly random guy was able to do it before even clashing with her.
She immediately jumped back after feeling the struggle was going in his favour. She took the time to quickly take in Issei's stance. Sword by his side, not high enough to seem like it was ready to block anything. Yet the tip of the blade was pointing slightly upwards, as if already in the motion of intercepting a swing. His right foot was also faintly placed forward to leave as little of his body exposed to attacks without compromising movement.
Many beginning swordsmen made the mistake of putting the foot opposite of their dominant side forward. This would cause their swings to delay a bit and leave more unprotected areas ready for attack. So Issei definitely wasn't a newbie.
Smile crept onto her face as she dashed forward, feigning a slash for his legs. In reality, she planned to strike his wrist in hopes of disarming, or at the very least exposing, her enemy. But as if predicting her movement, Issei moved for a thrust instead of a block. In fact, he was already in the position by the time Katase closed the distance between them. She needed to quickly shift her position to at least deflect the strike away from the chest area.
In a swift motion, she smacked the blade at the last second, pushing Issei's bokken to fly right under her armpit. Now, for the clean strike across his chest… As her blade was flying for the hit, Issei performed a move she did not expect at all: He grabbed her weapon and pulled her in, already raising his knee up high to her gut. This was going to hurt.
Thankfully, the boy stopped her right before her stomach connected with the leg. After a tense second of silence, he let her go and returned into a relaxed position. "Guess that would be a point for me, huh?" He asked with a goofy smile, causing her to smile herself. Before, she saw this grin whenever he was thinking of or doing something perverted, his 'passion' as his group called it. So, to see it after a sword spar, the source of her own joy… How could she not reciprocate the excitement?
"Yeah. But damn, I was so close!" She said before clapping was heard on her right. Turning to see the source, both watched as Rias, accompanied by Kiba and Koneko, walked up to them.
"That was a wonderful fight, both of you." She complimented them with a smile.
Kiba nodded alongside her master's words. "The fight was very even for how short it was. I wouldn't mind fighting against both of you at one point."
Katase blushed at the compliments given to them by two of the most popular people in the entire Academy. "T-thank you… But if we were fighting seriously, Issei would've won in a matter of seconds."
"I mean, yeah." Issei agreed with no signs of humility, which took everyone a bit aback. "After all, I have experience fighting people who kill on a daily basis. I would be lying if I even tried to say anything else."
Whether intentionally or not, Issei put some awkwardness into the air around them. "A-Anyway. Since Katase-san has just awakened her Sacred Gear, we should focus on your training. At this point, if you were to face anyone with experience, you could be put in danger." The girl nodded along to what Rias was saying. Even Issei could see it. Yuri was used to fighting with humans. And with clear rules as well. But in a real fight, the enemies are bound to be quicker, stronger and use underhanded tactics for their own survival. Because in the end, most fights are to the death… Disregarding that most of Issei's fights ended after one or two hits so far. "For that reason, Kiba-kun will be your trainer for the next few days. Or until we find the culprit for yesterday's attack."
Once again, the mood was soured, but not for long, as Katase's eyes soon started burning with determination. "I will do my best, Gremory-senpai!" She promised her before bowing towards Yuuto. "I will be in your care, Kiba-san."
While the two headed to start their training, Rias turned towards Issei. "Meanwhile you should come with me, Issei-kun. I wish to teach you how your Sacred Gear works personally." Under any other circumstance, Issei would take it as an invitation to a possible ecchi situation. But with Koneko following them, it couldn't be further from the truth.
Taking a different clearing near the building - what was up with the sudden lack of trees in the random areas? - Rias turned back to Issei with a smile. "Why don't you summon [Twice Critical]?"
Issei nodded and extended his left arm forward, noticing a faint [BOOST!] yell from where Kiba and Katase were. "[Twice Critical]." Light shined for a split second before the gauntlet once more appeared on his forearm. "Okay, so what now?"
"[Twice Critical], as I said before, is a fairly common Sacred Gear. Its function is fairly simple, as it simply doubles the user's strength. To see a difference, you can first test your punch against Koneko-chan." Said girl fixed a glove on one of her hands before punching one into the other. "And don't worry about hurting her. She is quite resilient."
Well, that alleviated all his worries… But after actually throwing a punch at the petite girl, he could tell Rias was not joking or exaggerating. It did not even move her, despite the fact Issei was strong enough to cut through trees with a dull sword. A fact he found out by accident a few days back.
"Now, to activate your Gear, just say double while it's out."
Issei nodded, at this point not questioning how simple it sounded. He honestly thought he would need to concentrate while it charged up, but nope. Just say one word. "Okay… Double."
[DOUBLE!]
A yell came from the gauntlet while Issei could physically feel his power rising. It was a very surreal feeling. He then turned back to Koneko and threw another punch. While it did not fare any better compared to before, the change was noticeable on his end. The attack came quicker and he could feel more pressure pushing back on him at the moment of contact.
"Well, that's all fine and all, but if that's all there is to it, I could've learned it with Katase. Also, I heard her Gear yell boost instead of double. Why is that?" Rias just smiled and walked up to Issei while he dismissed his Gear.
"That's the actual reason why we came here. Her Sacred Gear isn't actually [Twice Critical]." She revealed before watching with amusement as Issei's head whipped to her at a speed creating a small vacuum in the place it was before. "It's currently in this form due to her body not being strong enough to hold it."
"Then… What IS her Sacred Gear, actually?"
"It's [Boosted Gear]." Issei's jaw dropped when the name was dropped. He only recently started reading up on the Longinus, but both [Boosted Gear] and [Divine Dividing] caught his eye almost immediately, simply for their backstory. In summary, two Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig and Albion, fought in the middle of the Holy War, ignoring the conflict around them. They ignored it so much, in fact, that they accidentally killed a bunch of soldiers on all sides as collateral. Since they were getting in the way, Angels, Fallen and Devils called a momentary ceasefire and teamed up to stop the dragons. It all ended when God himself sealed both of them into Sacred Gears.
So in short, both of them were so strong in their prime that GOD CREATOR himself could only seal them. And his classmate currently had one of the dragons in her. "Then why didn't you tell her from the start?"
"Simple. At this moment, her mind is preoccupied with getting revenge on that cultist. If I told her she had even more power inside of her than this, she could try and force it out. There is only a small chance that it would work out without any backfire. What is more likely to happen is that she ends up crippled or even dead by the sudden release of power." The way Rias put it made Issei nod in understanding. True, if Issei was in the same position Yuri was right now, he would want to get as much power as quickly as possible himself.
But the revelation brought another question forth. "Then what about Albion's host? Do you know anything about their whereabouts?" If they already awakened [Divine Dividing] and Katase was found out… His stomach turned at the mere idea of it happening.
Rias shook her head with a soft sigh. "No. There is no confirmation of anyone using the Gear came to my ears. But…" She stopped for a moment before shaking her head again. "No, nevermind. I'm just thinking nonsense."
"Well, now that you said it I am really curious."
Biting her lip, the heiress conceded. "Fine… It's something I only felt once, a while back, and it was very faint, but… I think one of your classmates might be Albion's host."
Silence fell on the two. Even Koneko, who occupied herself with munching on some rock candies, stopped and looked up at her King. After a moment, Issei sighed out and looked Rias dead in the eyes. "Who?"
"I do not know. The pulse of magic was momentary, but it DEFINITELY came from your class." Rias clarified, motioning Issei to follow her once more. "I'm not sure if it was even Albion's power. It was just draconic in nature. But whoever it is, they don't have strong ties or feelings towards Katase-san."
As the three approached Kiba and panting Yuri, Issei was mulling over the new information he got. So not only was his - hopefully - new friend the Red Dragon Empress, but there was a chance that someone else in his vicinity was the White Dragon Emperor/Empress. This was going to be such a doozy, he can already tell.
Evening came once more. And again, Issei decided to patrol an area between his home and school for any signs of this maniac. Again, he knew this would not help much but he needed space to think all this new info through. Honestly, he was so deep in thought he barely paid attention to his surroundings. So when his stomach finally demanded food, he thanked his luck to find a ramen stand by the side of the road.
Stepping in, he sat down at the bar. "One bowl of tonkotsu ramen, please." The chef nodded and got to work.
"Pork bone, huh? I'm more of a miso ramen myself." The patron sitting next to him said. When Issei faced him, he could see a pair of blue eyes and short black hair. The man seemed a few years older than Issei, probably in his mid twenties. He wore a purple gakuren, which was already weird enough, with some sort of an ancient robe tied around his belt. Almost immediately Issei could tell this was going to be trouble.
"Oh yeah? I bet you only eat your sushi with ginger too." Issei said in faux offence before chuckling, to which the man replied in kind. The boy then decided to just get it all over with. "Name's Hyoudou Issei." He said, extending his hand. There's no way this guy stumbled onto him by accident, which means he already knows who he is. Ergo, hiding his identity would be useless trouble.
His talking companion took his hand and shook it firmly. "Nice to meet you, Issei. I'm Cao Cao." The name caused Issei to do a double take.
"Cao Cao? You don't mean The Three Kingdoms Cao Cao, right?" Damn, what next? He's gonna meet King Arthur or maybe even Odin himself? Cao Cao laughed out softly and shook his head.
"Not exactly. I am his descendant, yes, but I'm also my own person." Just then, both of their bowls arrived. And true to his words, Cao Cao had a bowl of miso ramen.
Issei hummed softly and slurped up the noodles. So good~ "So, what's up, Cao Cao? Because there's no way we accidentally met here." Cao Cao looked at Issei, a strand of noodle on his chin, which he quickly ate up.
"Astute observation, Hyoudou-kun. I'm here to recruit you." He said before sipping some of the soup. "Ah~ Ramen's so great on cool evenings…"
Recruit him? "For what?"
"For the sake of humanity." The air of goofiness dropped as Cao Cao's expression turned serious. "I want you to join my Hero Faction."
Issei dropped the joke-y face as well and fully faced Cao Cao. "Oh yeah? And what is this faction of yours about?"
"Our plan is to save humanity from supernatural beings. Our race was held back by them for too long. We need to finally stand up for ourselves."
"... And how do you plan on doing that?" This smelled way too fishy to be nothing but a horrible offer.
"We will eradicate all other species. Devils, Angels, Youkai. You name it. Every religion, every faction. Every single individual." The air grew heavier with each word coming from the man's mouth. "And for that, I need strong humans. Just by looking at you, I can tell you are the man for the job. What do you say? Will you fight for our people's sake?"
…
After several tense seconds, Issei's grimace slowly broke into a smile, followed by robust laughter. Cao Cao was a bit surprised by it, but was relaxed by the words that soon came. "Can't believe I met someone who has the same idea about the supernatural as I do."
While he did not voice it to anybody, doubt grew in Issei about the order of things. Yes, there were human guilds and factions that had significant hold in the mystical part of the world, according to Rias' explanations… But they seemed to be below tenth of a percent of the entire human population. So much humanity was left in the dark. And for what? Humans were fickle and violent, that was true, but so were other races, clearly. They held humans back from progressing too fast, most probably scared of being dethroned sooner or later. But…
"Really?! So I that means yo–"
"HOWEVER, I will not join your faction." Cao Cao's smile dropped at that, facing the stone faced Issei. "I don't mean to offend you, but the way you plan to go about all this is really dumb."
"Wha–!"
"Let me finish." Issei once again stopped him, sipping some of his soup to moisturise his throat. "While I can get behind the idea of helping humans against supernatural beings, your method will help no one. In fact, I would go as far as to say it will be a deterrent for humanity."
Still aggravated, but now listening to the boy's words, Cao Cao sighed out in frustration. "And how could that be?"
"Let's say you start your fight. You win, you lose, doesn't matter too much. After how much time will someone from the opposing side will decide that human genocide is a good idea?" This gave a pause to the descendant. He actually did not think of that. He knows for a fact this is a possibility, but somehow ignored the idea until now. "And even if that doesn't happen, the path to victory will be long and littered with bodies… Many of which will be human."
Cao Cao's hands gripped his knees in anger. "And what do you think we should do then, huh? Sit idly and watch our society stagnate?!"
"Of course not." Issei hummed out, finishing his noodles quickly. "Work internally. Make powerful allies, gain a place within higher ranks of their work. Beat them on THEIR turf."
Silence once more overtook them as Cao Cao solemnly finished his Ramen. "... Let's agree to disagree, Hyoudou-san." He said afterwards, extending his hand to Issei once more. "I respect your opinion, but I will not yield on my ambitions."
Issei took it and gave another firm handshake. "I understand. I respect your resolve as well, but I cannot get behind your methods. Let's just hope we don't have to fight each other in the future."
"Agreed." Cao Cao smiled a little before placing his payment on the counter. "Until we meet again, Hyoudou-san." And with that, Cao Cao left Issei to mull over yet ANOTHER piece of information.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Hero Faction got onto a roof of the nearby building, meeting his vice-commander, Georg. "So, how was the meeting? Did he join us?" With a simple shake of head, the young magician knew everything. "Then what? Will you force him to come with us or…?"
"No, let's leave him alone for now." This shocked his underling quite a bit, since usually Cao Cao forced or manipulated people into joining if they did not comply of their own free will. "He is quite an interesting fellow. I think leaving him as is will be far more beneficial than just making him join us." This was a first… For Cao Cao to speak of someone with so much respect in his voice. Just what did they talk about for him to turn out like that? "Let's head back now. I don't want the devils to find us out just yet." With a blink of light, the two were teleported out of Kuoh. With devils and angels none the wiser.
The next day rolled about and the meeting with Cao Cao went into the background soon into it. When a free period rolled about, Issei joined Katase and Kiba in their training, helping the young girl in understanding her limits. As the devil Knight later commented, though, that limit was rapidly expanding. "I'm not 100% certain yet, but I suspect her family has some history in the supernatural, possibly being a very distant branch family of an Onmyoudou clan. I already asked Buchou to investigate it."
Again, the surprise just kept on coming, weren't they? … Issei's head was bound to explode sooner or later.
But as luck would have it, he did not have much time to think after school. As he entered the ORC building - and wondered when they would officially include him as a member - he could see everyone gathered, with Katase looking angry. "... I'm guessing you found him?"
Rias nodded with a frown of her own. "Yes. And as it turns out, he is under the command of a Stray Devil." Stray Devils… Reincarnated Devil who seemingly lost their minds and escaped their master, usually killing them beforehands, before turning to devouring humans for the sake of power. They took on grotesque forms as a side effect of consuming human flesh and absorbing their souls through such a crude method. But here was one of them, controlling a human. "From what I can deduce, it made him kill people and bring their bodies to the Stray to let it feast… Issei, I know you are not a part of my peerage, but will you–"
"Help you? Of course. I want nothing more than to beat that monster into the ground." Issei said calmly, but his face showed just how far his disgust extended.
Nodding her head, Rias stood up and went to an empty section of the room. "Then let us teleport to wher–"
"Wait!" Katase suddenly stood up and looked at everyone seriously. "I know I just got my powers… But let me join you!"
No one spoke a word to that. They all knew Katase was NOT ready to fight anyone just yet. Especially if it meant killing someone. She would end up just being a hindrance. But finally, Issei decided to answer. "Fine. But promise you will not charge ahead. You will stay beside someone who can protect you at all times. Got it?" With a nod of confirmation from her, everyone present, Asia included as a support for when someone gets hurt, gathered around Rias and Akeno, who teleported them near the monster's lair.
Which turned out to be an abandoned smelter building. A long time ago, there used to be a huge iron mine placed in the mountains near Kuoh, with a smelter building built nearby for ease of manufacturing. But about 50 years ago, the vein was completely drained of any resources and the smelter was closed soon afterwards. Since then, the building was left in disuse, since the company that owned it refused to sell or rebuild it into something else.
And thanks to that, it became a lair for one disgusting creature and its follower. When Yuri and Asia recovered from the teleportation vertigo - something Issei did not experience at all, weirdly - Rias left the group, facing all of them. "We will break into two groups. Group A, headed by me, will neutralise the Stray Devil with collateral damage in mind. Akeno and Issei-kun will be in Group A." The two nodded, Issei already summoning his sword. "Group B, headed by Kiba-kun, will take care of the human that is following the Devil. His survival is optional. Koneko-chan and Katase-san will be under your care, Kiba-kun."
Yuuto nodded, but turned to Yuri soon after. She was confused as to why before seeing him hand her a katana with a glowing red blade. "This is [Hi-o-Nameru], a sword I created with [Sword Birth]. Since you practice Kendo, I shaped it like a katana. It has the ability to produce flames when swung at high speeds." Katase nodded and swung it in the air, watching as hot flames engulfed and followed the blade, disappearing when it stopped.
Once they were done, Rias turned to the ex nun. "Asia-san, you will stay with Raynare and the others in the back, healing people as necessary." The blonde nodded with resolution held in her eyes.
But this caused some annoyance in the Angels present. "And why can't we join you instead? One person can easily protect Argento and even take her out of the building if necessary." Kalawarner was the first to voice it, looking very miffed. Mittelt joined in right after.
"Yeah! All this sitting on our butts got me all stiff! I want some action!" But this bravado got her a slap across the head by her elder sister.
Raynare was the last to speak up. "I agree. Why do we have to all stay back? Do you think we will try to attack you during the fight or something?"
Rias shook her head, holding a faint smirk of annoyance. "No, but friendly fire can happen from time to time, right? One that could be fatal for most present, with us being weak to light and all."
Before a full on argument could happen, Issei stepped in between them. "Okay, okay. That is enough." He first turned to Raynare. "Rias is right. One spear thrown in the wrong direction could end up killing someone from Rias' group. It would be better if you weren't involved in the fight this time." His head then faced Rias. "But at the same time, you shouldn't try to suppress them like that all the time. Otherwise they may seriously try something."
"So instead, Raynare, Kalawarner and Mittelt will all observe from a distance. If one of the targets tries to escape, they will chase or try to corner them with a spear throw. Does this sound good?" Raynare nodded while Rias reluctantly followed suit. "Good. Then can we move on? Otherwise they might notice us outside and try to flee."
"You're right. We should move in fast." Rias said and once more faced the whole group. "My familiar is currently scouting out the interior. The [Hercule Hair] user is currently in an office at the upper floor of the factory, while the Stray is in the main production room. A staircase is located by the entrance, so we will split from there. Raynere, take your group and head through the back entrance instead, since you'll be able to see both areas from there." Everyone nodded and started to move into their positions.
Once in the main room, Issei saw mostly rubble and one metal support toppled over. It was hard to imagine anyone hiding in there. But then again, further in he barely could make out a few human skulls just laying about in a dried pool of blood. Immediately brandishing his sword, he went on a vanguard as the only melee combatant in the group. All Issei knew about how Akeno and Rias fought was that they used magic. But what kind and in what form still eluded him. At least he will be able to see it today.
Once they were firmly in the middle of the room, they all could hear commotion coming from the room which hung above the entrance to their current location. "So they already started to fight the guy." Issei mused out loud before suddenly jumping back, putting everyone on guard. Where he stood, now embedded in the ground was a spear made from a large bone. Judging by the angle it was currently at, the attacker was not too far from them.
Looking up, Issei saw that SOMETHING was holding onto the ceiling above before dropping down. This… thing was twice their size and looked like a human praying mantis, with its arm blades made of bones. Its elongated neck and body made it feel almost unrealistic at a first glance. The rib cage was even placed above the skin, almost like a very primitive exoskeleton. With all those deformations, it was hard to tell what this thing was before transformation. The only reason Issei could recognise its humanoid features was thanks to prior knowledge. "Ah, Rias Gremory and her peerage have finally found me. Good, good." A deep, feminine voice came from the monster as it grinned mianacly at all of them. "That means I can finally feast on you and gain even more power for myself! Kikikikikiki!"
Even its laugh didn't sound right. It was like a screw scraping on a metal sheet. "Gremory-senpai, how should we deal with this thing?" Issei asked his current leader, waiting for the thing to make any kind of moves to attack, though it seemed to be currently just taking in the moment of its supposed 'victory'.
"It used to be a knight of a fresh High-Class Devil, so it's most probably very fast… The best course of action will be occupying it with something while someone prepares for a killing blow… Issei-kun, Akeno. You two will keep it in check while I gather magic to strike it down."
"Ara ara~ This will be interesting~" Akeno said, lightning crackling between her fingers. Issei, meanwhile, lowered his stance, ready to pounce.
"I will go first. Himejima-senpai, prepare to strike right after me." He said before dashing at the beast, swinging for its VERY open neck. But unfortunately, it was not distracted enough for Issei to finish it in one blow. It raised its blades to block the attack, but after noticing that it was sinking into the bones without much resistance, the monster jumped back. "NOW!"
"Ufufufu~" Akeno chuckled before releasing her spell, a bolt of lightning striking the beast from above. Then another. Then another. Its screams filled their surroundings and, on one hand, Issei felt a little sorry for it. "Ah, the pain you go through sounds so wonderful~" On the other hand, he wondered why the hell he was here in the first place.
The answer came when, in a short break between lightning strikes, the mantis monster threw a few spears made of its own leg bones towards his sadistic senpai. Unable to react in time, Akeno braced for impact, but felt relief when they were deflected by Issei. "How about we just end this instead, senpai?" The girl nodded and charged a stronger bolt, which paralysed the beast in place.
Once that happened, Issei turned to Rias, who now had a crimson circle floating before her. "Any last words?"
"P-piss off…"
"Interesting… I bid you adieu." And with that, a wave of black and crimson energy came out of the circle, covering the monster and leaving nothing behind. "Now that's tha–"
"WATCH OUT!" Yuuto's voice suddenly grabbed their attention and, through the window, they could faintly see the cultist charging at Katase with something in his hand.
Issei was about to try and run up there or jump up, when suddenly he heard a whistle from a shattered piece of glass nearby. "Jump into the shadow! Quick!" Why would he want to do that? "Just trust me! Do that and imagine appearing in that room!" Shaking his head, Issei turned left and jumped into the shadow created by a huge pile of debris. And with that, much to the girls' surprise, he disappeared.
Around the time Rias, Issei and Akeno entered the main room, Kiba's group climbed the stairs to the upper floors. It was not hard to find the room occupied by the cultist, since it was the only one with any sort of light source. At the vanguard was Koneko, followed by Katase, with Yuuto at the back in case their enemy tried to strike them from behind.
As they were coming up to the entrance, Koneko was stopped by Katase. "Wait… can I fight him by myself? I feel like I won't be able to move on if I don't." Koneko looked at Kiba to see what his decision was.
Yuuto glanced at Yuri and saw the look in her eyes. The anger at both the attacker and herself… It reminded him of himself, in a way. His own rage at the mere thought of his past trauma and… The swords that started it all. "... Fine, but if there's even a sign of trouble, we will jump and end this."
"Are you sure, Kiba-senpai?" The sceptical Koneko asked her teammate, only getting a silent nod of confirmation.
Yuri nodded towards her leader, looking back at the door. She could feel her heartbeat speed up. Taking a deep breath, she tightened a grip on her sword and headed into the room.
The room was disgusting, no other way she could describe it. It was covered in blood, both fresh and dried, with a crude pentagram drawn at the centre. She could even smell feces from somewhere. It was hard to even keep her eyes open, that's how awful the fumes were. But she carried on and found the man, his left arm crudely stitched together. He was facing a wall, chanting something incomprehensible under his breath.
Katase began to slowly approach him, trying not to make a sound. But as luck would have it, she stepped on a wooden paint brush, snapping it. "Oh… Who do we have here?" The man turned to her and grinned. "Oh, it's the little lamb I lost two days ago. Come to offer yourself to my goddess?"
"No. I came to finish you off for what you did." She tried to put on a facade of bravado, but in reality she was shaking in her boots. This man nearly killed her mother, forcing her to stay in bed for at least a month without being able to walk. He killed people like it was nothing. She was scared, but knew she needed to do this. Otherwise, she would never be able to carry on.
The man started chuckling softly before bursting into an insane laugh. "Finish me off? Child, you are way too wet behind your ear to even try and fight me." He said and took a step closer. On instinct, Yuri summoned her [Twice Critical]. "Oh, you have a Sacred Gear too? Too bad it looks soo weak." He said before noticing two other people in the doorway. And those looked like an actual threat.
[BOOST!]
"But it's enough to beat you!" Katase yelled out and started a charge.
"I-I wouldn't be so hast–" Before he could make his bluff, Katase closed the distance, [Hi-o-Nameru] heading for a clean slice across his chest. Unfortunately, it was stopped by his [Hercule Hair] a few centimetres away from his face. But the flames managed to come out, setting his brows ablaze. "Shit!" He kicked her away and turned his strings into a thicker, singular string. He then attempted to get behind her to choke her out.
His moves were slow, sloppy, allowing Katase to quickly recover and dash away. "You coward! I can see just how weak you actually are."
"Maybe I'm weak. But I have my goddess on my side! And once we're done with you all, I will finish what I started with your mother."
"What!?"
[BOOST!]
"You heard me! But I will first make sure she suffers! I will make sure to rip her body apart, limb by limb, leaving only her torso!" He gleefully explained the atrocities he was planning, jumping about like a schoolgirl.
[BOOST!]
"Then I will take her clothes off, pull my penis out and have my wa–"
[EXPLOSION!]
"Hu–?" He couldn't even comprehend what was going on before his left arm was completely severed from his body. Blood splashed out at a quick pace, dirting his robes even more than they already were. "W-wha…?" Pain did not reach his brain completely as he watched the arm lay on the ground motionlessly, only occasionally twitching. "AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH–!" And before he could blow their eardrums out, Katane smashed the handle of her sword into his jaw, making him bite his tongue off.
"Shut your mouth." She said coldly and turned to speak with her companions, but soon enough, the sudden boost left her, causing her to fall to her knees in exhaustion. "S-shit."
"That was great, Katase-san." Kiba said with a smile, admiring her Sacred Gear. Due to her sudden surge of emotions, the girl managed to evolve her Gear to a higher state. No, evolve was a bad word in this situation. It was more like she only just now awakened her real Sacred Gear. But what exactly was it…?
His train of thought was forced to a halt when he saw movement in the corner of his eye. The cultist was back up, holding a knife in his only hand. "Yuuu bichh… Agh kil yuuuuu!" He yelled with his blood-filled mouth, charging at the still kneeling Katase.
"WATCH OUT!" Kiba yelled before dashing to intercept him. No, he was just a step too far! Even at full speed, the guy was literally ON Yuri already, the knife going down towards her head!
But as it was a moment from connecting, with all hope lost… Ebony black blade from nowhere and cut the man's hand off, sending it and the knife flying across the room. "W-Wha–?!" Once more, the guy went flying via a kick across his face, smashing into a wall.
When dust settled, everyone could see Issei, sheathing his sword and wiping sweat off of his forehead. "Glad I made it in time… Hey, guys!" And so, once more, all tension disappeared as the threat of danger was completely gone.
"H-Hyoudou-san!? How did you get here so fast!?" Katase asked the very logical and fair question, only to get a shrug in response.
"Idunno." He said nonchalantly before turning back to the unconscious human and walking up to him. "So, what do we do? Do we finish him off or…?" The kendo student was taken aback by how casual Issei was about offering to kill the guy… Yeah, she was aiming to do that too, but she was at least hesitant about it!
"Buchou said that we don't need to keep him alive, so…" Yuuto walked into the room, with Koneko in town, and examined the guy himself. Hearing that, Issei turned to Yuri with a soft grimace.
"What do you want to do?"
One question. This was enough to stump Katase completely. She now had the man's fate in the palm of her hand. They could call Asia and heal him before sending him to prison or whatever equaled it in the Underworld - probably still just a prison. OR they could kill him here and now, no consequences.
"I know it's a hard decision to make, but it's only fair you get to choose. After all, you were the most affected by his actions." Taking a deep breath, Yuri looked up at Issei and nodded with a resolute expression. "Alright. Do you want me to do it?"
Katase slowly stood up and went up next to him. "No… I will do it."
Issei looked at her with worry. "Are you certain? You will never be able to return to normal life after this." Those words made the girl laugh lightly. Not a dark, ironic laugh. But a more genuine one.
"Yes, THAT will destroy my normal life. Not getting a literal superpower in a gauntlet or a fire sword." She said with amusement before her expression settled on a more serious emotion, though it was hard to tell which one. "If there will be more fighting in the future, I want to at least know I can go through with the act."
Seeing her resolution standing firm, the Eberus holder nodded and both he and Kiba stepped back, giving her some space. Raising her sword, she took a deep breath and stared down at the back of his head, thankful she couldn't see his eyes. After two seconds of hesitation, she finally pushed the blade deep into his skull, finally ending this short, but stressful chapter of her life.
And when she did, and the relief washed over her body, she was no longer able to stand. She was about to once more fall to her knees, but was caught by Issei and Kiba with a smile. "Let's head back now."
And so they headed outside to meet the rest, with Koneko in tow, carrying the dead body to dispose of it.
The next day, around late evening, Issei sat in his bathroom, washing his face. After they returned and Katase settled, Rias explained to her what happened to her Sacred Gear and why she didn't tell her before. Afterwards, the long awaited question came: Would Yuri join Rias' peerage. And the answer was no.
'I'm really sorry, Rias-senpai, but I… Well, it might sound a little silly, but I wish to grow old with the person I fall in love with one day.'
A very understandable reason in Issei's eyes. But he noticed that Rias turned a little sad when she refused. He noticed it before too, when he rejected her offer, but back then did not pay it much heed. There was a reason she needed new servants. One that made her desperate enough to ask both Issei and Katase after their biggest times of need. Maybe he'll find out one day.
But regardless of that, he had a much more pressing topic to discuss. "Eberus."
"Yeah?" The reflection looked at Issei with a raised brow.
"Why have you been so quiet since I started hanging around Rias and her peerage?" Ever since he started training with Kiba and during most of the Stray Devil ordeal, Eberus was completely quiet. Even when he was speaking with Cao Cao, it did not even pop in to make a comment about it.
The reflection's expression hardened. "Because I do not trust them. I do not know about our time together, but with my other hosts… Whenever we met Devils or other things, it rarely ended up well." It spoke with such venom in its voice that it somewhat affected even Issei. At least, it affected him enough not to question Eberus on the topic much else.
"Wait, you remember your other hosts, but you don't remember our time together?" He suspected that much, but still held hope that Eberus was just withholding some information from him.
The reaction it gave him was… inconclusive. It almost felt like it was trying to hold itself back from talking. "Yeah. Maybe whoever screwed with your memories blocked my own… But why?"
"Yeah, why?" Issei hummed out himself, unable to stop his sarcastic tone from coming out. Why was it acting so shifty? "... by the way, what the hell was that shadow teleport thing?"
Eberus relaxed itself and chuckled softly. "It's my special technique. Using shadows, I can move us into the Dimensional Gap and move by a distance you could cross at full speed in ten seconds in a straight line. But the best part is, no time passes when you use that technique!"
"Huh… ignoring the fact I have NO idea what the Dimensional Gap is, this sounds pretty sweet!" Issei said in excitement, but then remembered no power came free. "But the downside is…?
"You can only use it every half a minute and trying to move any further than the limit WILL get you killed. But no biggie." Yeah, no biggie. Eberus chuckled softly before glancing towards the bathroom door. "Now, head back to your room. You have a guest."
A guest? Issei raised a brow in confusion before just complying with Eberus' suggestion. He put his shirt on and stepped into his room, but paused when the image before him fully sinked in.
There was Rias Gremory, in all her glorious beauty, wearing only a nightgown.
"Hello, Issei-kun~"
FINALLY! After four years, I finally finished chapter four! I am so happy!
But yeah, I am so hyped right now I am even willing to write chapter 3. It won't come out tomorrow or the day after. Might not even come out this week. But I will try to finish it in May at least.
I don't have anything else to say right now, so I will leave for now. Until next update.
Jia~ne!