Issei the Eldritch
"Just keep going until you get to the other side of the barrier. You'll be in the train when you do."
That's what Yog said. Still, no one had bothered to warn Issei that it would be like trying to walk through three feet of snow. It wasn't cold or anything, just...thick? Goopy? It was like the black void around him was somehow a form of ooze or slime, something he had to push and slog through to get anywhere. Not impossible. Not even difficult, not really. But it made everything feel slow.
He tried to call out to Ddraig or Gactha, but he couldn't speak. There was no air. And he didn't know how to use telepathy or anything yet. He could still feel Ddraig's presence and faintly see Gactha, but that was it. He was Eldritch enough to make it through this unharmed, but still too human for it to be easy.
How long had they gone on? Hours? Days, maybe?
'Minutes. It's been only Minutes.'
Issei blinked. Had he thought that? It sounded like his thoughts, but how did he know that? How could he be sure? He didn't know, he didn't care, he just gritted his teeth and drudged on through the shield.
The shield trying to keep him out. Trying, and failing.
With a great shattering noise, they suddenly emerged into reality again with Issei stumbling forward before he came to lean on a wall and steady himself. "Geeze, is this what astronauts feel like?" he asked himself, suddenly having the sensation that he had been weightless just a moment ago. "Well, just like Yog said, it's a train," he mused, looking at the door to a train compartment.
With that, he looked back at Gactha, who was already standing there, ready for his next move as the shattered barrier behind them slowly pieced itself back together. The Priestess of Azathoth nodded to her master.
Issei took a deep breath, Ddraig's gauntlet forming on his arm. "Calm yourself, Issei, and trust your instincts," Ddraig cautioned.
"I'll keep that in mind. Just tell me if you know anything important about...whatever we're fighting," Issei requested, getting a hum of confirmation. With that done, he reached forth and opened the door.
The sound of battle echoed in his ears.
Lightning leapt from Akeno's fingertips. Swords broke in Kiba's hands only to be replaced by another. Koneko fought like a vicious, terrified animal. Bats swarmed around them, causing their enemies to freeze as if paralyzed. There were about a half dozen other girls that Issei didn't know, but looked familiar as they cast off their own attacks. There was another guy as well, using some kind of blue magic whip to attack and hold their foes off.
"Killed, Killing, KILL THEM! Suffered, suffer, suffering to the winged ones!"
Said foes were definitely Eldritch. They were like pears with five legs around their base, and the top have long whips or tentacles with spikes on them. Each was only the size of a person, but there were dozens of them, having torn away the roof and walls of the train cabin.
Though the devils were holding strong, they were backed against the other side, many of them bloodied and wounded as the Eldritch circled in front and above them. Some of them looked close to terrified, especially Koneko.
'Hey, uglies!" Issei yelled at the sightless creatures.
"Issei?" Akeno said in shock as Issei caught a tendril with his armored hand.
Issei yanked, making the creature stumble back and let out a mouthless scream as blood came out from the base of the tentacle. "Gactha, can you deal with the rest outside?!"
"Yes, I can. Be safe, Master," Gactha answered simply, her form cloaked in shadow and mist as she leaped into the air, taking flight to thwart off those crawling all over the train.
Issei kept his focus on the ones in front of him, heaving his arms up and slamming them down, sending a wave through the tendril that bounced the creature off its feet.
Akeno took the chance to fry it with lightning. Another tried to take her hand, but Kiba was able to cut off the attacking leg.
"Who dared, daring, dares to thwart our punished, punish, punishing of these wretched!?" one of the creatures demanded, seeming at Issei.
"Friend of theirs, so you're on my list now," Issei said in warning. "You can leave if you want though."
"Go for the legs," Ddraig whispered. "Those limbs are weak and these things start panicking if they can't stand up."
"Got it," Issei acknowledged under his breath
The creatures screeched, leaping at him with speed that he would have deemed impossible before Aza.
It started to feel very slow to Issei. He couldn't move that fast himself, but he could see it coming now. Just as they would have barreled him over, he leaped up, kicking one in the side and sending it tumbling back. He came down, landing a dragon-fist on the knee of another pear-dritch. It let out a horrible noise as the limb broke clean off in a spray of green blood. Another tried to grab Issei from behind with the many-fingered ends of their limbs, but he managed to barely wrestle it off of him, turning around and twisting the hand with disturbing ease.
He inhaled sharply as a tendril almost got around his throat before it froze for some reason. Ducking away, he turned to see Koneko on top of the beast, ripping the offending tendril out as bats flew around her.
"Are you okay?!" a voice came from the bats. Not one of them, but all of them at once.
That was the least surprising thing he had seen in a week if he was honest. "Umm, yeah. Thanks for the save!" Issei said, offering a thumbs up and getting a nod from Koneko, clearly less unnerved now. With that, he struck at the creature's legs before taking a glance at the others.
They weren't having as easy a time damaging the creatures, but they were going for the legs now, slowly whittling away at their foes until they were mostly rolling on the ground like dropped oranges.
Someone screamed. One fell from above and snatched at a white-haired girl, one who wasn't Koneko, and began twisting her arm. If she had been human, her arm would have already been ripped off.
"Ddraig, give me some boosts!" Issei called, his speed and strength increasing suddenly as the Boosted Gear's power flowed through him. He rushed the eldritch, his gauntlet pulled back in a fist, delivering a mighty punch.
The beast screeched as the impact ripped through its body, a gory hole bursting out the other end as it slumped over in death. The green blood sprayed over Issei's arm. He pushed his distaste aside as he looked down at the she-devil. "You okay?"
"Y-eah. Thanks," she said awkwardly as she got to her feet, holding her arm in pain
Issei looked back and saw that with what limbs they still had, the injured creatures began to crawl away into their own shadows, disappearing from sight.
"Okay! Everyone alive?!" Issei called out as he caught his breath, looking around for any stragglers.
"Thanks to you, yes," Akeno said gratefully.
"Issei Hyoudou, I take it?" another said, with long hair and glasses.
Issei stared, recognizing her but taking a moment to put a name to the face. "That's me. Tsubaki, the student vice-prez, right?"
She nodded stoically, before bowing respectfully. "Thank you for your aid, Lord Hyoudou."
"Guess I'm going to have to get used to that," Issei murmured awkwardly.
"You should be groveling, bat-winged worms."
Issei almost groaned at Gactha's tone, hearing her descend behind him, making all the devils tense. "Everyone ignore her. She's with me," Issei requested, turning to Gactha. "Gactha did you-the fuck!?"
Issei turned fully in surprise. In place of the unnerving young woman was now...a very sexy, very alien woman. Her skin was an impossibly pale-grey. She was "clad" in a black material that appeared like cloth in some spaces, like armor in others, and fully part of her body regardless. Her eyes were covered by what could be a horned helmet, or it might simply be part of her body. Her luscious breasts were on full display, concealed not by cloth or armor, with only the nipples covered by pieces of the black material, acting more like pasties than anything.
"Gactha? That you?" Issei asked in surprise.
"My form unhidden, Master," she answered, falling to one knee. "The Laa'shunts have been disposed of, dead or subdued. What are your orders, Master?"
"Right, just going to have to ignore this for now," Issei decided as he turned back to the Devils, giving them a once-over before frowning. "Please tell me Rias and Sona went ahead of you guys?"
At their looks, he knew they hadn't. "They were in the compartment behind us, but we can't get through to it," Kiba informed, motioning to the door. It was already opened, now that Issei looked, but showed only a solid blackness.
Issei raised an eyebrow as he walked over, reaching out to the "emptiness" only to reach a barrier. "The hell? Gactha, is this just the way out or something?"
The eldritch woman approached in an instant, the devils giving her a wide berth, which she ignored as she reached the blackness. "Hmm. Master, it is another pocket realm."
"...In this pocket realm?" Issei asked incredulously, sighing as she nodded. "Great. Pockception. Just...make sure we can get through without anything exploding. Er, or imploding. Any kind of -ploding"
"As you wish, Master," Gactha answered.
Issei shivered a bit at having such a beautiful and otherworldly woman calling him "master" but pushed his libido aside as he turned to face a train full of teenage devils. Scared, relieved, but also very confused.
Akeno and Tsubaki approached him, Akeno more serious than usual. "Not that we're not grateful, Issei, but why are you here? What's going on?" Akeno asked as neutrally as possible.
Issei rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not Aza or a war or whatever you're imagining," Issei said with a frown. "One of the Eldritch decided to stir up trouble and decided that you were all a good way to do it."
"I'd ask their name if I didn't value my sanity," Tsubaki remarked. "How bad is this?"
"Well, they made this pocket space around your train so that Outer Gods like Aza couldn't just...will it away without killing everyone inside," Issei elaborated, making them stiffen.
As they talked, the others watched on.
"So, that's Issei?" Sanji remarked with his arms crossed. "The guy that is supposed to be dating this Aza-?"
Gactha's head snapped like an owl to stare at Sanji.
A hand came over his mouth at the same time, prompting the Eldritch to return to her study of the barrier. "Don't say her name, idiot!" Tomoe said quickly.
"Sorry, I just really don't get this forbidden name stuff," Sanji said with a grimace. "Why is he here though?"
"I'm glad he is, and so is my arm," Momo said, nursing her wounded appendage.
"You okay? Anything broken?" Kiba inquired as he approached her.
Momo shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Just sprained."
"No offense, Kiba, but shouldn't you be looking out for your own right now?" Sanji remarked, nodding to the seats on the other side of the train.
The swordsman followed his gaze and saw Gasper curled up in front of the seats, holding the ruined remains of his box. Koneko was kneeling on the seat, watching Issei with a hawk-like focus.
Kiba was concerned for the vampire, but Koneko? He was surprised by how good she was doing. If anything, she was doing better than even before the attack happened.
"Master," Gactha spoke up, cutting them all off. "The source of both barriers is within the second pocket realm."
"Of course," Issei said under his breath, not even surprised. "Can we get in?"
"Yes, Master," Gactha answered, turning to rise with unnatural grace. "But they cannot."
"What?" Tsubaki asked with a scowl, others voicing their discontent at being unable to help their mistresses.
"I almost expected that," Issei admitted. "Does this complicate things?"
"No, Master," Gactha confirmed. "But it will only allow one Eldritch to enter. Anymore, and both fields will fail and kill them all."
"Does that mean we're going to die either way?" Koneko asked with a blunt scowl.
Gactha glanced eyelessly towards the neko devil before looking to Issei again, who was giving her a questioning look. "No, Master. They should survive if the source is dealt with."
"Well, I'm getting the feeling she's calling me out on purpose with this setup," Issei murmured with a head shake. "Gactha, stay here."
"Master, it would be better for me to deal with this," Gactha insisted. "Mistress would not want you to risk your form."
"Gactha, if you happen to lose over there, they'll all die. I don't know how to make a shield or anything against the barrier collapsing, except maybe trying to punch it," Issei countered forcefully. "You can at least get them back to earth, right?"
"Master, that is not-" Gactha started, only for Issei to step closer to her with a stern look.
"Can you or not?" he asked pointedly.
"...Yes, I might be able to," Gactha answered slowly.
"Better than nothing," Issei decided.
"...Is there a reason you're risking your life for us?"
Issei turned to see Akeno approaching him curiously.
"Or is this just out of the kindness of your heart too?" she asked with an interested twinkle in her eye.
"No, and yes," Issei answered with a shrug. "I helped Koneko because I felt bad for her. I'm doing this because I want to help."
"...Do you know what's through there?" Akeno asked carefully.
"Not a clue," Issei admitted bluntly.
Akeno nodded before leaning into his ear. "Bring them back safe, and I'll..."
Issei flushed as he heard Akeno's rather...descriptive offer before coughing. "You'd have to fight Aza for that, we haven't done that yet."
Akeno raised both eyebrows at that. "But you have done the deed, with her?"
"Yes, we fuck," Issei answered, trying not to sound too smug.
Akeno could only stare in uncomprehending amazement.
"If you're both done being pervs."
Issei's eyes shot down to look at Koneko, staring up at him. "...How much of what she said-"
"Every word," Koneko said, giving Akeno a sideways look, eliciting a giggle. "...Thank you, for coming."
With that, Koneko hugged Issei. It was brief, it was quick, and then she pulled herself away and walked away.
"...Okay, that happened," Issei remarked in surprise as he stared at Koneko's back before shaking his head free. "I should get going. No telling what's happening to those two."
"Don't sell them short," Akeno said with a small smile.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Issei said, turning with a wave. "I'll try to make this quick."
With that, he turned to head to the barrier, pausing to stand near Gactha. "Are you sure about this, Master?" she asked with a frown upon her lips.
"About as sure as I am that this form of yours is hot and I'd like to see it more often," Issei remarked. "Just, if something happens to me? Try to get them back, and don't let Aza mind break them."
Gactha tilted her head ever so minutely.
"Right, I'll rephrase, making sure she knows I don't want her to before letting her," Issei corrected in amusement.
"That much I can do, Master," Gactha accepted with a bow of the head. "Please hurry back. Mistress will be displeased if you are not sharing a bed tonight."
Issei smiled at that. If that wasn't motivation to make it out of this with his body intact, nothing was.
With a deep breath, he pushed through the barrier- and instantly found himself on the other side, facing the door to another train cart.
Issei frowned at the ease of that. "Definitely calling me-"
He was interrupted as half of the door and the wall next to it exploded in a red glow, causing him to jump against the opposite wall.
"Out?" he said, pushing the remains of the door aside to peek inside.
There was a woman with wings for arms and talons for legs, wearing "clothing" that appeared to be her own feathers stabbed into her body.
In front of her were Rias and Sona, both injured with parts of their clothes destroyed. Sona's stomach was exposed, her skirt barely holding together, while Rias had one of her beautiful breasts on full display. Both were breathing heavily, clearly exhausted.
A sight Issei would have enjoyed normally, if not for the blood and danger involved.
"The Great She cannot be denied, Princesses of Devils," the harpy-ish woman said ominously, raising her wings, the feathers forming into dark hands, an otherworldly energy forming between them into a ball.
"...Okay, yeah, no," Issei decided, holding up the boosted gear, feeling the power drawing into it.
Red energy swirled around Rias, only for both she-devils to become surprised as a green energy ball launched into their opponent's unfinished attack, causing it to explode prematurely.
The dark harpy, unphased by her own attack, turns to glance at the newcomer.
"Issei?" Rias called out in surprise. "You're...?"
"Sorry I'm late," Issei said as he walked in, trying to act more confident than he was sure he should feel. "I take it you're working for the Narly?"
"Bold and foolish to call the Great She as such," the Dark Harpy said idly. "Who are you?"
"If I told you I'm dating the Queen of the Eldritch, would you give up?" Issei offered with a shrug.
The silence he received was answer enough.
"Didn't think so," Issei said with a sigh. "Who are you, anyway?"
"My name is gone. I am only a Servant of the Great She. You may call me-"
Her introduction was interrupted by a wave of destructive red energy, aimed at her head by Rias. She raised one arm, the feathers of the wing acting as a shield as the power exploded.
"The Avaratrice," she finished, scowling at the devils. "I have not forgotten you are here, sisters of the Satans."
"Shame," Sona said, a blue magic symbol forming in front of her outstretched hand, sending out a burst of water in the form of snakes, ensnaring and biting into one of the legs.
Avaratrice didn't even flinch, pulling her leg free and spinning to catch a punch from Issei with her talons.
"Worth a shot," Issei murmured as the claws held steadfast to his arm.
"Was it?" Avaratrice asked, her right arm shifting and changing to form a large, tooth mouth along the span of the wing.
"Shit!" Issei cursed, grateful as a boost from Ddraig kicked in, giving him a chance to kick up at the leg holding in, a sickening crack sounding off before he was released. But before he could get away, the teeth of the wing-maw came down and sliced into his right arm, leaving a deep and bloody gash. With a hiss of pain, he leaped away, joining Rias and Sona on their side of the cart.
"Are you okay?" Rias asked with a frown, her hand raised, ready to cast another attack if and when needed.
Before Issei could answer, the bleeding stopped and formed a long, narrow spike…crystalized in appearance, blazing orange in color. And most surprising of all, the sharp and burning pain in his arm was gone. "Umm, apparently," he answered in surprise.
His attention returned to Avaratrice in full as she snapped her leg back in place, her wing still chomping at the air as she gazed at them.
"Well, that didn't work. Any ideas?" Issei asked idly as he got to his feet again.
"We've been doing everything to hold her off until now," Rias answered with a frown.
"Rias's powers have more of an effect than mine," Sona informed, glancing to the floor where many scorched and discarded feathers lay. "But she seems to recover from everything."
"Yeah, well, thanks to how she set this trap up, we're on our own," Issei warned in advance.
"You could always give in," Avaratrice offered hollowly. "It would be easier for you to accept what will happen."
"How encouraging," Rias said derisively.
Issei stared intently at Avaratrice, for once completely ignoring his perversion as he looked at such a scantily clad woman; mostly because she might just kill him if he wasn't careful. Still, how did they stop here? Just keep hitting her until she didn't get back up? There had to be some weak points.
'There.'
Issei stilled at the voice in his head, glancing down at Ddraig. "That you?"
"Hmm?" Ddraig made a noise of confusion, answering Issei's own question.
Looking back at the Avaratrice, he felt his eyes drawn to her stomach; a space right above the womb. He could feel it more than see it, some...thing there…her eldritch "heart" perhaps? Or the source of her power? He didn't know. Just that he had a target.
'Stab her there.'
His gaze drifted back to his arm and his newly grown spike. "Well, if you want the cub, enter the cave," he muttered, flexing his gauntlet. "Ladies, I have an idea. Just try to give me some cover."
"You sure?" Sona asked skeptically.
"It's worth a shot," Issei answered casually.
"Don't worry about us," Rias assured, her ruinous power flaring.
"Make peace with your souls, before they are extinguished," Avaratrice warned as she held her arms up, and sped towards the trio.
All at once, the she-devils let loose attacks of crimson and azure, barreling toward their enemy, but Avaratrice did not slow, her more normal wing raised to shield her as her charge continued.
Sensing him before she saw him, Avaratrice hurled her mawing arm out to bite at Issei, attempting to hit him from the side.
"Not happening," Sona said, her water serpents shooting forth to grab the toothy limb, pulling it back.
Avaratrice frowned, her first facial reaction, before launching out her legs.
Issei gritted his teeth, holding back a scream of pain as he felt the talons stabbing into his lower leg, feeling like she was about to rip his shinbone…actually, that was probably exactly what she would do if he gave her the chance, he realized. Still, there was little to do as he fell to one knee.
"Give in, and I'll make it quick," Avaratrice offered coldly.
"Oh, j-just fuck off," Issei muttered through the pain as he reached up to the spike in his shoulder.
"Hmm?" Avaratrice eyed him strangely as Issei slumped over and-
The gauntlet glowed green for a moment, power flowing into the spike before it suddenly expanded, stabbing into Avaratrice's stomach, and hitting the mark.
"Gah..." she gasped out wordlessly as blood poured through her mouth and wound.
Issei grunted as he snapped the spike off at his shoulder, leaving it stabbed through Avaratrice. Her leg slowly, tremblingly released his, blood rushing from Issei's injuries before quickly sealing in a red mesh.
Avaratrice stumped backward, falling to her knees, reaching for the improvised weapon, the ichor spike beginning to fill with a twisted blackness. She made to pull it out...
Until she was surrounded by red symbols. "Issei, move!" Rias called out in warning.
"Moving!" Issei acknowledged, using his one good leg and all the strength being a budding eldritch afforded him, landing outside of the area of attack.
Between her wound and Sona keeping her pinned, Avaratrice seemed to have no such chance.
But as she was enveloped by the red power of Rias's ruin, Issei swore he saw the harpy give a small, broken smile before she was engulfed.
End of Chapter
Well, there was Issei's first real fights. The pear-eldritches were the mooks of this fight, but the Avatrice would have mauled him a lot worse if Rias and Sona weren't there.
Hope these turned out well. I have a habbit of making multi-chapter fights, so I made sure this was only one chapter.
Oh! And we got to see Gatcha's true form. Kind of, her true form isn't exaclty set in stone. Which fits since Azathoth made her kind.
Until next time!
Early viewing of chapters 15-16 avaliable on my pat-reon:
p a treon . com (slash) akumakami64