Chapter 4: King.
Arriving at the throne room Yuno quickly dismissed herself, leaving Issei alone with Sirzechs and an angry looking red-haired girl that seemed to be of a similar age to Issei. The pair seemed to be mid argument when they had entered the throne room and since Issei had been introduced by Yuno the girl glared at him then when Yuno was gone she raised her hand to point at him. "Is this him"
Sirzechs gave Issei an apologetic look before looking to the back of the girl's head. "Yes Ria, this is him."
Ria, swivelled to steady her glare onto Sirzechs which as far as Issei knew was probably a pretty dangerous thing to do. Sirzechs though just smiled weakly at her. "Why did you do it, he doesn't seem like he's worth that much?"
"I'm sorry Ria if I've somehow offended you." Issei was incredibly confused but it seemed that he had done something to upset the girl and judging by the close connection Sirzechs and the girl seemed to share Issei through it best to apologise.
Unfortunately that seemed to be the complete wrong thing to say, the girl exploded a dark red aura covering her. "MY NAME IS RIAS GREMORY! Only my family are permitted to call anything less!"
Sirzechs stood placing his on her girls shoulders which put out the aura and refocused his apologetic look toward Issei who was taking several slow steps back. "I apologise Issei. I have kind of made a mess of things, this is, as she said, Rias Gremory. She is my sister and has been placed into my care to train her. It is for this reason your time here has come to an end. My attention can only be spread so thin, even if it might seem I've placed much of your attention on you. I was waiting for a certain development to occur before I took a personal touch towards your training. Unfortunately that chance has passed and I have had to make other arrangements however before you departed I felt it was best to have the pair of you meet given rare chance such as this. She is your King after all."
Issei gulped suddenly terrified. "Oh."
Sirzechs then smiled like a great idea had come to him. "You see Issei, Rias is angry because I took the choice aways from her. I feel that it was the best choice as you are the best she will find for her peerage…"
Rias raised her head to glare at him. "But to give him all of my…"
"Ah no, let not reveal that secret yet shall we. Why don't we instead have a little test. It'll let me know how far along Rias is in her training and It will allow me to give your new instructor Issei all the information they need."
Issei backed away a few more steps, his hands coming up open palm in a manner pushing away from the situation not liking the direction things were taking. "What kind of test?"
Sirzech grinned, letting his hands off Rias. "You'll fight of course. Though so ground rules first. Physical attacks only, no magic please Rias I want the boy alive please."
Rias didn't respond, instead she launched herself at Issei hard faced and determined, she charged at him like a raging bull. His training taking over Iseei stepped to the side so that Rias moved past him, he left his foot out a bit so that Rias tripped, crashing into the hard floor of the hall. The impact of which didn't seem to slow her down as she rolled and got to her feet before she twisted to throw a punch at Issei who blocked it with his forearm opening her guard before sending a strike back of his own; he had fallen into the same rhythm he had with Yuno. He mixed his strike punching and kicking at Rias in combos and blocking strikes he saw coming, doing his best to dodge ones he did not but slowly it became clear that Issei was out matched. Rias wasn't a fighter, not like Yuno had been but she was stronger and faster than Issei. Making it all Issei could do to dodge out the way rather than take a hit. It lowered his chances of landing a strike of his own forcing him to look for openings or advantage of some kind. That advantage came when a familiar echo sounded in his mind. "Boost."
Suddenly Issei was moving faster, striking harder at the openings he saw and was now recreating. Surprised filled Rias' eyes as she was suddenly on the back foot not understanding the sudden change of to the side Sirzechs smiled softly before frowning when he noticed a shift in Rias as her as the red aura returned around her. Seeing the fight needed to end, Sirzechs tensed and stood before thundering. "ENOUGH!" loud enough that the sounds bounced around the throne room.
The pair stopped mid strike Rias aiming for Issei face, whereas Issei aimed for Rias' gut. The pair both moved to face Sirzechs who instantly relaxed stepping away from his throne and towards the pair stopping a few feet away from them he was proud of the pair's control, at least in view of the physical fight, he was disappointed when it came to their other abilities. "That was very close, Rias, you nearly lost control."
A pained expression flashed over Rias' face. "I'm sorry Brother."
Sirzechs waved a hand. "It's why our parents sent you to me. As for you Issei, well done, that was very well done."
Issei nearly smiled at Sirzechs' praise but looking quickly at Rias and her frustration he kept his face down to keep the smile hidden. Instead just nodding his head in acceptance. Sirzechs regarded the pair before speaking in a more formal tone. "It is now time for both of you to travel with me to the familiar forest where we seek out your first familiars…or as those of the host like to call them demons."
With a sudden flick of his hand a crest flashed under his feet big enough for ten people to stand in, the pair took Sirzechs silent stare as a request to join him, once they were on the crest it flashed brightly. One moment they were in Sirzechs throne room the next they were in a dark gloomy forest. "Welcome to the Familiar wilds. Truthfully there's a whole process for getting here and you would normally require a guide but I figured it would just be quicker and easier if I showed you around."
Then Sirzechs marched forward the darkness quickly swallowing him, leaving the young pair behind. The pair wasted no time in catching up, their previous conflict forgotten in site of the unknown, None of Issei lessons had covered this place, he had studied some familiars mostly due the stories he had read which resulted in questions for Nathius but they had never spent time studying much of the supernatural. The trio found themselves pacing along a well worn path that was covered in exposed roots of the large trees that grow around them, they remained in silence the only sounds to be heard was the crunching of shoes on hard dirt of the rooted path and the activity of unseen creatures. Suddenly Sirzech paused, holding one hand up, eyes scanning around sensing something, Issei began to do the same, unsure what he was looking for. There was a sudden rustle from a bush near to Issei which caught his attention as a large snake the size of Issei forearms coiled forward from under the bush towards Issei leg it's head pointed in there direction almost as if it was trying to look them in the eyes. Sirzechs flashed the pair a look of urgency as he gestured for them to move close to him as he stepped steadily away from the snake. "Look away from its head, especially its eyes, it's a basilisk. Although it appears to be a young one so its gaze shouldn't kill you if you catch its eye but it will render you unconscious allowing it to strike you with its poison which will kill you."
Issei saw Rias make the mistake of closing her eyes whereas Issei noticed Sirzechs seemed to look around the snake well, keeping his attention on the two of them. Issei followed his lead but step in front of Rias lightly moving her towards her brother who also stepped closer to Issei, Sirzechs nodded his head at Issei in gratitude but as his eyes flicked to Rias when he saw her eyes were closed from the look on his face Issei knew another lecture was very likely in store for her. Quickly returning his focus onto the basilisk keeping his eyes on the tail of the beast which was quickly moving towards the trio. A really stupid idea formed in Issei's mind as he thought of why they were here. It was most likely incredibly dangerous but could also hold a lot of advantages for him which both Nathius and Yuno had taught to always seek out. "Lord Sirzechs, how does one go about taming a familiar?"
Sirzechs laughed darkly, fully understanding Issei's intentions. "You form a contract with it. Simply touch it and push your intention into it. I'll warn you if the creature you're attempting to form a contract with declines, they're liable to strike at you."
Issei nodded in understanding, focusing on the creature before him. He took a deep breath calming his racing heart, the old fear that rose up inside him and he stomped it down seeking out the echo within his mind pleading with it to aid it answered him filling his mind with the echo that brought power giving Issei the confidence to lunge forward. "Boost!"
Stepping around the serpent as it shot forward to strike at Issei, the strike missed going wide as Issei got behind the creature snapping his hand on the back of its neck feeling the spines that ran down it pressed into his palm uncomfortably, accompanied by a off putting smooth texture along it's flesh. Pushing the odd sensations, Issei pushed the creature to the ground forcefully limiting its movements placing knee to the back of its body stilling the beast fully as its surprising strength fought to free itself from Issei grip, but with his boosted body Issei was just barely able to hold it down once he had fully stilled it. With it pinned to the ground Issei tried to push his desire to bond with the creature into the snake and was again surprised when the Basilisk stopped fighting as a sudden wake of heat passed through his hand that held the basilisk an odd looking crest he hadn't seen before forming on top of his hand, it looked like a coiling red dragon that was chasing its own tail. Just as quickly as the crest appeared it vanished and Issei could feel the beast below him like an inch in the back of his mind. Flashing a questioning look to Sirzechs who was looking at him wide eyed before turning proud. "You should finalise the bond by naming it and I would suggest you ask it to keep its eyes down."
Issei looked at the basilisk below him, taking it in fully for the first time, shocked he had actually succeeded. It was a dark green like the leaves on the trees around them, with black spines that flowed evenly down its back staring at its neck and ending at its tail. Its head however was smooth, letting go of the basilisk Issei could see the underside of it was the same black as the spines. Issei awkwardly got to his feet as he took his knee off the Basilisk and relayed Sirzechs request to the new presence that hung in the back of his mind he caught what looked like the snake nod before moving beside Issei leg keeping it's head low away from the rest. Issei smiled before speaking verbally to it so the rest could hear its name. "Thank you Titus."
Rias who had opened her eyes at some point cock her head at him. Where Sirzechs laughed joyfully. "Titus, the one from the stories right? Hahaha."
Issei just smiled rubbing the back of his neck, he had remembered one of the tales involving a Basilisk and it had just stuck out at that moment. Then Sirzechs turned to Ria's face hard. "What have you been told about being focused during confrontation, I said look away not to close your eyes. You had no idea what was happening around you and missed out on a valuable prize. Remember this lesson! Come on, we still need to get you a familiar before the trip is done."
Rias looked Issei in a manner like she was reevaluating him, surprising Issei as he had expected more of the rage from before. She then turned to follow her brother, Issei looked to Titus who was positioned close to his leg, the basilisk looked at him directly into his eyes and Issei felt nothing as he matched the creatures gaze, a feeling from the bond told it what was protecting him from the dangerous gaze of the Snake then the pair followed behind the siblings. Sometime later Rias got her familiar. A bat-like creature that was more rounded than flat like the bat's Issei had been shown in the books he had studied. It had simply landed on her shoulder and gave her a look that read 'get on with it'. A moment later Rias claimed the bat naming her moon which made Issei chuckle which earned him a glare, well Sirzechs just smiled softly.
For a few moments Sirzechs let the pair mostly Rias get used to the presence of their familiars before he clapped his hands to get the pair's attention, neither of the two familiars made a move an inch at the sudden sound. "I would say that was a successful trip, now it's time to say goodbyes. Issei I'll be sending you straight to your new instructor and Rias we will be beginning your training the moment we get back."
Rias nodded her head looking eager and then looked to Issei who gave her a smile before a wave. "I'll see you around, let's both get strong alright."
Before Rias could say anything back, Sirzechs waved his hand and Issei was gone. A slow gentle clap got his attention and Issei turned to find a man with black hair with golden bangs dressed in a fancy looking three piece suit sitting in a familiar looking recliner. "Welcome home Issei, the name Azazel. It's a pleasure to meet you. We have a lot to discuss."
