A few days have flown by since capturing Raynare, and Issei was finding her presence to be quite…awkward, he won't lie about it. Raynare has been wasting no chance to give him, Ingvild, or Kuroka nasty glares, not to mention she didn't enjoy doing chores either. At least she was not terrible at them, but Kuroka did say there was plenty of room for improvement, much to Raynare's chagrin.

During those days, Issei and the girls had also been busy training themselves. Ingvild especially was really working hard inside the dungeon, and when he asked her what motivated her, it turns out she had been talking with Rias quite a bit. Having another pure-blood seemed to do well for her, as the two talking allowed her to become bolder and more determined regarding her abilities.

She had the raw power, alright, but she lacked the proper skills to use it at maximum potential.

And speaking of power, Issei has not been only watching. He trained himself as well, completing two training sessions during this time, which earned him almost enough to level up again. At rest, he simply ground out some skills. He managed to gain crazy progress with his mundane [Run] skill, getting that all the way up to level 6, which only reduced the consumed stamina the skill needed.

He did train his [Dragon Shot] and [Wyvern Shot] skills as well, making sure to throw in [Dual Use] as well to grind that skill further. And here, his [Dragon Shot] reached level 5, making it change and evolve. And the changes were pretty big, somewhat.

(Unique) [Dragon Shot] (Level 5| 200/6400): By focusing your raw power in one point then releasing it, you have developed this seemingly pathetic, but devastating attack! This Skill deals damage based on your STR Stat + 50%, even if said stat is currently under the effect of the [Boost] Skill. This Skill costs 50 STA to use and has a 3 second cooldown between uses. As of level 5, you can now charge this attack using your [Boost] skill.

This was crazy. Sure, it was slow, but the amount of damage he could potentially do was insane! He also worked on his [Dragon Grenade] skill, creating multiples of those and throwing them at the dummy. He had come close to getting that one to level 5 as well, but Solomon stopped him, saying they had little time to spend on one skill alone. So he put some focus into his martial arts too.

He had used [Furious Fist] 5 times during this, but since he gained less skill EXP when training with the dummy, that resulted in a very small amount. However, his [Power Punch] was really growing from this as it hit level 8 during this entire training session. Now THAT was progress. Other than those, he also got [Power Jump] to level 5, which upgraded it. Now he could jump higher if he wanted to, which was bound to help him with evasions during battle. [Power Kick] took him a longer period of time, but he made one colossal jump in progress as he was able to acquire a new skill.

(SUB-SKILL) [Blazing Heel Strike] (Level 1| 100/400): A powerful kick-based attack which makes use of your Ki and elemental affinity! When activated, your leg will be lit on fire, adding fire-based damage and the chance to apply the [Minor Burn] status effect to targets. Additionally, this skill deals +5% damage based on your STR and MGI stats. However, while active, you will be afflicted with the [Minor Burn] status effect. This Skill lasts until you either hit something/someone, or until 2 minutes pass. 10 second cooldown.

This sub-skill counted under his main Youjutsu proficiency, as well as the elemental one, plus his martial arts. A triple win! All he needed to do was apply this to his [Power Kick] and, aside from it also training his [Fire resistance], it really did the work on the dummy, setting it on fire more than once! He loved this skill! That, and due to his training, he was able to bring it all the way to six! He instantly improved it as well! Then again, the benefits were far greater than any other of his skills.

(SUB-SKILL) [Blazing Heel Strike] (Level 6| 100/12800): A powerful kick-based attack which makes use of your Ki and elemental affinity! When activated, your leg will be lit on fire, adding fire-based damage and the chance to apply the [Minor Burn] status effect to targets. Additionally, this skill deals +10% damage based on your STR and MGI stats. However, while active, you will be afflicted with the [Minor Burn] status effect. This Skill lasts until you either hit something/someone, or until 2 minutes pass. 5 second cooldown.

Nothing much except a damage increase and cooldown reduction, but hey, he'll take it! It brought all his proficiency skills for martials and Youjutsu up to five as well! Damn, this was nice. However, something did happen once both of his Youjutsu Proficiency Skills reached level 5.

Conditions have been met! [Youjutsu - Novice] and [Youjutsu Elemental Manipulation - Novice] have both reached level 5, as such, the {Proficiency Skill} [Senjutsu - Novice] has been unlocked.

He cannot wait to tell Kuroka about that one.

Now, at the end of all of that, Solomon also told him to begin assigning stat points, which was what he was waiting for. Bringing up his stat page, he knew he had to leave 10 points, but that still gave him 45 points to play with! He knew he got perks and whatnot when his stats reach a certain threshold, making him wonder what the next one was.

Then Solomon told him since he did mess with the tutorials. 75. That is the next threshold. Of course, he didn't have enough to bring ALL of his stats to that value, so he focused on the important ones. Namely, he brought his STR stat to 75, and true enough, that evolved his already existing perk.

[Silver Striker]: This Perk grants you a +15% damage boost when striking using physical strikes based on your STR (Original)

Then Solomon scolded him slightly for being reckless in using 20 stat points in one stat, but he found it very much worth the sacrifice. Still, he was going to focus on stats that were closer to that value, like his MGI stat. He only dumped 5 points into that one.

Only for nothing to happen. Son of a bitch, no one told him the perks were not a guarantee! Regardless of that, he put 13 points into his DUR to bring that up as well. 7 points left for him to play with. And given how he has an item that grants him a bonus in EXP based on his WIS…Yeah, all of those points went into his WIS stat.

Progress was just flowing in, and he was happy to have it! However, that was pretty much everything that was good, for now, he had to move on to more neutral matters. Rias had called him to the ORC, something about a disturbing topic coming up and needing her entire peerage, plus her contracted magician, there for a meeting. Something urgent, by the looks of things.

Arriving at the ORC building by himself, Issei entered the office to see the entire Gremory Peerage there. "Alright, Rias, I see everyone is here. Mind telling us what this urgent meeting is about?" He inquired.

"Please, take a seat." She gestured to him, and Issei took a seat next to Kiba, leaning back on the sofa. "Thank you for coming. Now, I will not beat around the bush, instead, I will go straight to the point. Recently, a string of murders has taken Kuoh by storm."

"Isn't that because of my Stray killings from a while back?" Issei asked in slight confusion, but something told him this was not his doing.

"No, those are separate ones. The killer targeted humans." Rias revealed, and now, Issei was starting to get an idea of the one behind it. He was warned about it, after all. "Not just normal humans either, but our clients. Yesterday alone we lost 2 clients."

"So, we got a killer on our hands." Kiba remarked. "An agent of the church?"

"They know Kuoh is our territory, so it is not likely." Akeno pointed out. "Maybe we are dealing with a Stray Priest? We do have information about that rogue group of Fallen from the Grigori, so perhaps he is with them?"

"I second that." Issei said, getting their attention. "I also know some stuff about who might be behind it all."

"Mind sharing then?" Rias asked, keeping her gaze on him.

"Freed Sellzen." Issei said, giving them something they didn't expect: A name. "Don't ask how I know, just accept that I do. He is a rogue priest, kicked out apparently because he has something wrong with his head. He is the one doing the killings."

"Do you know what his motives are?" Rias asked further. "Or perhaps, his next target?"

He shook his head. "I know little. All I know is that your clients are his targets, aiming to cause chaos."

"Well, in that case, he is not working alone." Akeno pointed out, taking out a bag that contained something Issei immediately recognized. A black feather. "This was found at the scene of one of the crimes. It is the feather of a fallen angel."

"He was supposed to work alone…" Issei muttered to himself, but he quickly began to talk. "I was not aware of such arrangements."

"Regardless, him working together and killing with a fallen angel just made things more complicated. I have no doubt that if we ambushed him alone, we'd be able to take him out, but if he has back-up that changes plans considerably." Rias stated. "But before even doing that, we'd need to figure out his next target, which is not as easy. All of them are random."

"There are signs of magic too. Barriers." Koneko said. "He is hiding while working."

"That is complicated, yes." Issei replied, then he turned to Rias. "Do you have any pattern to those murders? Like, for example, what else was similar between victims apart from them being clients?"

"They all lived in residential areas, and were killed at night." Rias replied. "They lived alone, with no other person."

"Killing normal humans would make it a problem of the Shinto Pantheon if he did." Issei pointed out, which subtly seemed to irk Rias. "Kuoh is merely borrowed to you and Sona from them, remember? You might have your clients, but every other normal human killed due to devil-related business is sure to be a bit sore for them. Strays are one thing, but humans caught in the crossfire are another. While the Shinto may keep out if your clients are harmed and killed, they might act if the body count of normal humans becomes too high. Not to mention their traditions are still practiced by a few."

WIS and INT stats sure come in handy.

"He is not wrong." Kiba pointed out, thinking about the issue as well. "This reduces the number of possible targets. There is no way he'd go for humans in higher positions, or those with a family unaware of their deals."

"I did hear he is crazy, but that does not mean he is stupid." Issei added.

For making a good analysis of the situation, you were awarded 1 INT.

That was nice, but Issei did have ulterior motives. Asia Argento. He had to save her before the fallen angels got their hands on her. That being said, he might have to fight the fallen, but that is not something he was worried about. Right now, he was pretty much BROKEN. He can thank his Sacred Gear for that. Still, if he wanted to complete the other goal of his quest, he needed to meet Freed face-to-face.

"We should try to locate him tonight." Issei suggested. "Teams of two for you, as I can handle myself just fine. We each choose the house of a random client, and stake out."

"We have more than just three clients left in Kuoh's residential area." Koneko pointed out. "The odds for him to pick one of the clients we are watching over are low."

"Yet, it is the best course of action when you think of the possibilities." Rias added, agreeing with Issei. "Very well. I will take Koneko while Akeno and Kiba form the other pair. I will hand you the addresses of our clients so you can choose who you wish to guard."

"Lovely." Issei replied.

+1 RP with Rias Gremory.

"If that was everything, I think I will go get ready for tonight." Issei said, getting up, but he was then stopped by Rias.

"Actually, Issei, there is something I wish to ask." She said, getting his attention. "I know you wish to keep your secrets, and I pretty much agreed to this upon us making a contract, but I cannot help but wonder how you came across such valuable information about Freed Sellzen."

"I guess it is a bit strange, isn't it?" Issei replied, realizing he was maybe a bit too forward with the information he had. Then again, he needed to maintain the trust he had going here. "I fought a Fallen Angel not long ago." He revealed, putting his [Lie] skill to work. "They attacked me for my Sacred Gear while I was visiting my parents."

"Strange, didn't you have a date with a girl that day?" Akeno pointed out, which surprised Issei a bit. She must have heard something or seen them. "A potential new member to your harem, I assume?"

"Yes and no. Yes, I was out with a girl, but said girl proved to be a Fallen Angel." He told them, hoping this was where the truth would end. "However, I took care of her, but not before getting some information."

"I see. This might be why they are working in pairs - they know there is someone who might be a threat." Rias said, eyeing him. Shit, he fucked it up here.

"I didn't know they would change their strategy, all I did was defend myself."

"I am not accusing you of anything, Issei. What you did was only natural." Rias added. "But out of curiosity, what happened to that fallen that attacked you?"

"You remember my abilities from the demonstration, correct?" Issei asked, and Rias immediately remembered his power.

"I do. Very well then, you are free to go. We will meet up later tonight to begin the stakeouts." Rias said, then Issei went out of the office, walking into the hallway.

"She is suspicious." Ddraig said.

"It looks like she didn't quite buy the altered truth." Solomon added as well.

"Regardless, we have work to do tonight." Issei replied to the two as he walked, reaching the outside. "We need to locate Freed before them, however, and see if he is going to be willing to talk as well."

"What about his companion? You saw the proof, he is not going to be alone." Solomon pointed out, but Issei was not worried.

"If Raynare said the truth, which I believe she did under the seal, then she was the strongest out of them all. If I could defeat her using my Balance Breaker, then the others should not give me that big of a headache."

"She could also be getting herself drunk on rose water, partner. People tend to mistake their beliefs as truth when not proven wrong." Ddraig stated, which was a very fair point. "Keep your guard up if a fight does break out."

"Will do. For now, let us return home. Can we complete another training session?"

"Yes, we should be able to complete one before evening comes." Solomon replied, and upon returning home, he informed everyone of the plan. Raynare was also able to hear, but she couldn't do anything except grind her teeth. Hearing that Issei was going to take on Freed, and most likely win, irked her severely.

But then again, there was nothing she could do about it.

Issei went over everything with Kuroka and Ingvild, then they had some food and went inside the dungeon again to train. He really had to upgrade the place, and although he had the Mana for it, he wondered just how much he could add. Still, it was not a priority right now, so he went to the training grounds to once again grind for his next level-up.

He decided to switch things up a little and work on his magic. He wanted to try something with his magical circle, namely creating more to launch multiple spells at once at his enemies. However, when he tried to do it, he was met with a notification before his eyes.

Conditions not met!

This confused him. It was almost like the system was limiting him in some way, or he was missing something. Regardless, he decided to train his fire spells. He got [Fireball] way up in terms of level, as he still had [Dual Use] to allow him to use two of them at once. He got the skill up to level 6, first, then switched over to [Scorching Touch] to finally get that skill some more levels as well. He got it up to level 4, then stopped working on that one.

For training your magic, you earned 1 MGI!

That was always welcomed. However, he wished this would go faster. What if…Bringing up his stat page again, he looked at his MGI, WIS, and INT, recalling how his perk became stronger when those stats increased. This was most likely the case, but if he wanted it to grow stronger again, he'd need to get those all to 75!

For making a deduction based on past information, you were awarded 1 WIS.

And that right there helped him a great deal!

"I don't quite agree with this." Solomon said, chiming in. "Issei, those 10 Stat Points are for emergencies only."

"I know, but come on now, Solomon, we have yet to ever use them!" Issei reasoned. "Just this time, please, let me use them!"

"Fine…" Solomon said, relenting. "Not like I can stop you, but be wary, if this comes to bite you in the ass later, I will be the one laughing."

"No argument here!" And so, Issei raised his WIS and INT stats by 5 each.

Due to your MGI, WIS, and INT stats reaching 75, your [High Magic Affinity] has grown into [Powerful Magic Affinity]

Now this made things way easier for Issei to level up his magic skills. This perk gave him a permanent 10% EXP bonus to all magic-related skills, so when he got back to grinding his [Fireball] skill, it was leveling up fast! He got it up to 7, which was not bad at all. Then, he moved on to his other skills within his fire magic tab, namely his [Firestream], [Fire Arrow], and [Fire Wave].

Stream got to level 5 in no time, granting it extra damage and the ability to inflict [Severe Burn]. That was very nice progress. [Fire Arrow] also reached level 5, increasing damage and adding the ability to inflict [Minor Burn]. Lastly, [Fire Wave] also got to level 5, which only increased the damage.

This was enough training for his fire magic, however, so he moved on to his water magic as well. First up, [Water Whip]. Once it hit level 5, it grew, adding a new capability to the skill that allowed him to split the main whip into multiple, smaller ones. Basic upgrade, all things considered.

Next up, [Water Blade]. Level 5 here gave it only some bonus damage, nothing more. Water magic was really not great when it came to offense, huh? There was no way he could train his [Aqua Heal], so he mostly skipped that one and went to his [Water Jet] skill. Level 5 there, only a small bit of bonus damage gained.

Water magic felt a bit like a waste, he won't lie when it came to offense. Still, skipping over healing magic for obvious reasons, he went straight for his shadow magic, deciding to train those and then end his training session. [Shadow Tendril] was the first he trained, getting that up as much as he could. When it hit level 5, however, it didn't change much. The only change was that some costs with it became lower Mana-wise, but apart from that, nothing else really changed. Moving on, he began to train the spear-like variant of this spell as well. He didn't get it to 5, but he did move on to other skills as well. [Shadow Veil] had a cooldown, but he discovered that said cooldown is between uses. As long as he kept the spell up, he got EXP. He got that one up a few levels then moved to [Shadow Shelter], which he found strange. When he used it, he just sunk into his own shadow. It was like he was floating inside an ocean or something.

Yet, the same story was here as the previous skill. He simply waited and allowed the skill to level up. And then, alas, he was done with the magical training for now. Then, Solomon announced their training session finished, allowing Issei to receive the EXp, which was given a bonus by his ring as well.

Congratulations! You are now level 26.

All was good, very good even. He drank one Stamina potion to recover a bit for tonight, then he went out. Rias texted him the house he was to watch, but before leaving, he made sure to inform the girls, which included Raynare as she was in hearing range. They simply wished him good luck, and then he went out.


Arriving at the building, Issei made sure he was hidden before starting his stake out, hoping his LCK stat would help him here. Still, he was preparing himself. Whoever may be with Freed may be around 20-30 in level, around his own, same with Freed. Two-on-one may still be a bit challenging, but nothing he shouldn't be able to handle. However, one thing he came to regret two hours later was not bringing something to ease the boredom and pass the time.

He really wished he'd at least see SOMETHING going on around the place, but this was no shady neighborhood. It was roughly a 20-minute walk from his own place, in a good part of the residential area, meaning no interesting dealings to crash. But alas, he had only one option, so he waited.

And waited.

And waited..

And waited…

He was starting to think Freed and whoever was with him was not going to attack this house. Crud. Looking at the time, Issei saw it was a little past midnight already, so he decided to perhaps contact the others, but as he was getting out his phone, his [Aura Sense] flared up, making him pay attention again. It was brief, likely just out of his range, but he clearly sensed something, or rather, someone.

And true enough, he noticed something. The lights inside the house turned on.

Shit, he should have considered them taking a less direct route from the front door! Rushing from his hiding spot, Issei went closer, allowing his [Aura Sense] to better pick things up. He sensed a Fallen Angel, and two human signatures, alive, thankfully. If he wanted to keep it like that, he'd need to hurry, so he ran to the front door, breaking it down.

"Freeze!" He shouted, possibly making them think it was the police. He spotted the hooded figures in the back, but before he had more time to process, one of them formed a spear of light and threw it at him. Issei, reacting to the attack, deployed his Sacred Gear, blocking the attack.

"T-The Boosted Gear? This is the kid who took out Raynare!" Dohaseek exclaimed, taking off his cloak to reveal himself.

"HAHAHAH! Do you mean that bitch got taken out by this boy? She must have really let herself go if this kid was able to get the upper hand." And the one who was laughing on the side was none other than Freed, who took off his cloak as well to reveal himself. He was young with short white hair and red eyes dressed in clerical clothing, however, the smile he was showing Issei was chill-inducing. "Who cares if he is the Red Dragon Emperor, let's get him!"

Freed pulled out his gun, shooting three rounds at Issei, but Issei was able to dodge by jumping at the wall, then he got out his Enchanted Steel Sword and charged at them, but he forgot about Dohaseek who came at him with a powerful kick, knocking him straight through the wall and into the street.

"Damn…" Issei said, getting him and feeling the pain in his gut. Raynare was not kidding, this guy liked to get up close and personal, but Ddraig might have also been right when he saw Raynare was drunk on rose water. That kick hurt a lot, taking a nice chunk of HP with it. The two of them got out of the house, following Issei outside.

"Oh well, looks like we have another target tonight." Freed said, aiming at Issei. "I hope you said your prayers because this is going to be the last time you will be able to speak!"

"Issei.."

"Balance Breaker!" Activating his Scale Mail just as Freed pressed the trigger on his gun, Issei's armor was able to block the majority of the damage from the bullets, but then Dohaseek charged in again. This time he was ready, and he was able to block his kick, catching his leg with one hand while charging a [Wyvern Shot] in his other hand.

But when he tried to launch it in order to strike Dohaseek, he saw Freed charging from behind the fallen angel. "Surprise!" He shouted, swinging a blade of light at him. This forced Issei to back away to avoid the strike, launching the attack he readied hoping to strike, but Dohaseek summoned a spear of light and the two attacks met mid-air, nullifying one another. Swearing under his breath, Issei got out his Mystical Moonlight Blade, charging it up. Freed seemed to be impressed by the sword, but that didn't last long.

As Issei swung the blade, launching the ranged slash attack, Freed jumped up, shooting at Issei while in the air and managing to strike at his shoulder. But that is when an alarm went off in Issei's head. "That bullet went right through Scale Mail!" Literally.

"That bullet…While we were dealing with Dohaseek at close-range, he must have switched out his ammo."

Solomon analyzed, and Issei put the other pieces together. Dragon-slaying bullets, most likely. This is bad, he won't lie. Bringing out both swords, he charged at the two of them, going for Dohaseek first. He was the biggest threat that he had to remove, and it seemed like he agreed. But this time, he was not going to go easy. He used his [Boost] ability, increasing his stats. His swords made contact with Dohaseek's light constructs, and he could sense how the fallen faltered a bit before he began to push back.

That is when he got a surprise.

Dohaseek began to glow as a crimson aura surrounded him, his strength increasing and actually being able to push Issei back. Now this was a surprise!

"Remember, some enemies we face are bound to have skills of their own. This is likely that."

Solomon reminded him, and Issei got himself ready for whatever was coming, but that was when Freed began to laugh on the side. "Man, you are stupid or something?! This rogue fallen boy here with black wings is known for being able to gradually absorb kinetic energy to empower himself! Each time you hit him, or he blocks, or he hits you, he grows stronger!"

Dohaseek growled at Freed's gloating, then he spread his wings, charging at Issei once again. Issei, seeing this, put his swords away. If physical attacks were off the table…Then some magic! He summoned his magical circle and cast multiple instances of [Fireball] at the fallen, who saw this and tried to dodge it, but one of them still struck him in the abdomen.

"Gah!"

"Oh shit, he can do magic too…This ain't fair at all." Freed noted with a tone that was a mixture of mocking and surprise. Dohaseek, for his part, was holding his small burn wound. But to Freed, that was his permission to go crazy. "Too bad it doesn't mean shit!" And so, he charged at Issei, the Dragon Emperor being surprised at his speed. He still didn't get to [Observe] either of them, and he doubted he could get the time to get in-depth information, so as Freed charged, he checked him.

He was going to only check their level…Too bad he doesn't like what he was seeing.

[Freed Sellzen]

[Level 32 A]
[HP: 28000/28000]

[Artificial Human]

What the fuck it meant 'Artificial Human', this guy was not normal?!

Freed swung down his sword at Issei, who managed to react in time and take a step back, but just as the sword touched the ground, Freed pulled out his gun and shot Issei again, the bullet once again going through his Scale Mail and grazing his side. "Shit!" Issei swore, using his [First Heal] spell to fix the damage. This guy was fast! He thought Kiba was fast, but this guy must have been faster!

Then Freed raised his blade, swinging it wildly at Issei who was trying his best to dodge as he walked back. Freed laughed in sick pleasure and he swung his blade. "What is it, Mister Dragon?! Scared?! Did my Dragon-Slayer bullets spook you?! Hahahaha!" After another slash of his light sword, Issei summoned forth his magic once again. He needed Freed alive to question him, so he used his water magic. [Water Jet] manifested, striking Freed at point blank and knocking him back and down on the ground.

But he was not beaten, only coughed a bit as the water got in his mouth. "Water?! Did you just water-hose me?!"

"His arsenal is impressive." Dohaseek commented, getting up. He grabbed his top clothing, throwing it away to reveal his scared body. Issei had to admit, this guy was dedicated to his craft if those scars were anything to go by. A large smile appeared on his face, one that was almost sickly. "But that is not to say he is invincible! Come on, Freed! Get up your ass!"

"Hey, who died and made you the boss?" The two of them charged at Issei together, Dohaseek with his spears of light and Freed with his gun. Shit, he could only react to one of them. But perhaps he doesn't need to. Putting his arms forth, and focusing, he used his shadow magic and summoned multiple tendrils from all around them.

Using one of them, he struck Freed and captured him. "What is this, some kind of freaky porn?!" He shrieked as the tendrils wrapped around him tightly.

As for Dohaseek, Issei used his spear variant on him. He was not important, meaning he could kill him. The tendrils flew at him, sharpened tips aimed at his chest. He swung his light spear and managed to cut one down since light directly countered them, but the other one managed to pierce him. "Gah!" He shouted in pain, the tendrils piercing him through the stomach. However, that didn't stop him, and he simply cut it, making it vanish.

He was bleeding badly, but that didn't stop him as he charged at Issei again, but the boy was not going to let him get any closer. Here, at night, his shadow magic was at its strongest. He used [Shadow Walk] when Dohaseek got too close, teleporting right behind him.

"For all that is worth, you fought well." Issei told him, then he summoned multiple tendrils with spear tips under him, impaling him several times. Blood flowed down the tendrils on the ground, then they vanished, allowing Dohaseek to collapse on his knees. Issei turned to him, hearing him breathe with difficulty. He went to him, standing before the defeated. "Tell me, is this death good?"

This type of person, like Dohaseek, who enjoyed fighting, had different opinions on death. "You…You were a good opponent." Then he collapsed in front of Issei.

"He died?! For fuck's sake!" Freed whined as the tendril holding him didn't let him go, but that changed as he managed to release the arm where he had the light-based sword, allowing him to slash the tendril and drop to the ground. "The big boss won't like hearing that one of his own is dead, but oh well, I have to look after number 1!"

Reaching into his clothing, Freed attempted to pull something out, a flashbang, to escape. However, his attempt was quickly thwarted as something dropped from above. "Don't try." Koneko said as she held Freed down to the ground, dropping his weapons in the process. She had attacked him from the back.

"What the- AH! My arm! You fucking- Who the fuck even are you?!" Freed asked in a small rage. Then Issei proceeded to deactivate his Balance Breaker and go to Koneko just as Kiba showed up as well.

"Kiba? Shirone?" He asked, feeling a bit confused. "I didn't realize you were close."

"We weren't…" Kiba said, panting a bit. "Koneko picked up on your power burst, and we rushed here. Looks like we were not needed, though. You were not lying when you said you could handle yourself just fine."

"Still, it is good you showed up." Issei said, then he looked down at Freed. He also checked the EXP he got from Dohaseek, seeing that he was worth 250K. Damn! He must have been a pretty high-level Fallen Angel, or something like that, to give this much EXP. But right now, he had other priorities. He kneeled down before Freed, who was still struggling against Shirone's grip. "Alright, Freed, you fucker. Talk, or else I will not hesitate to ask Shirone here to break your arm."

"You're bluffing!"

"Shrinone, if you please."

"Ow, ow, ow - Ok! You are not bluffing!" Freed said, and Issei gestured to Shirone to stop. "Still, what makes you think I will spill the beans that easily?"

"Well, for one, you are captured." Kiba replied to that. "Our allies will be here soon as well."

"Your allies? Wait a minute…Fucking hell, you are devils!" Freed noticed, looking at Kiba. "Haha! Oh, this is just awfully rich! The Red Dragon Emperor is in cahoots with a peerage? Which are you from? Sitri, Gremory? Or are you from some fancy task force sent to put little old me down?"

None of them answered his question, instead, Issei went forward, grabbing Freed by his face. "Listen here, because I could care less about it. Your well-being is currently in our hands, and if you don't want things to get ugly, you WILL answer our questions." Kiba looked at Issei with a surprised gaze, seeing him so serious. "So, what will it be?"

Instead of answering, however, Freed spit in Issei's face. "Fuck you!"

Issei, cleaning himself, looked at Shirone, who gave him a nod. However, as her ears twitched, she was forced to dodge as a spear of light almost hit her. "That useless Dohaseek went and got himself killed, huh? Looks like he finally got what he was searching for." Mittelt said from the side, standing together with Kalawarmer. "As much as I enjoyed watching you suffer for a bit, I am afraid we need to go. He is not happy."

Getting up, Freed jumped, landing near his allies. "Well, it looks like my pick-up is here. 'Til next time, fuckers!" And in a flash of light, they vanished.

"Damn it!" Issei swore as they escaped, clenching his fist. He was so close! So fucking close!

Hidden Objective completed! Defeat Dohaseek while giving him the death he wanted.

Reward: 150K EXP, 100K Y, 1 Dungeon Seed.

At least that is some kind of compensation. "So, in the end, all we get is a dead enemy." Rias said as she and Akeno arrived at the scene, just a couple of seconds late. "At least the client is safe."

"Still, interrogating him for additional information would have been very useful." Akeno remarked. "And now that we killed one of them, I doubt they will come out again to play anytime soon."

"My information source let me know that this one is named Dohaseek. He was the only male among this group, so it is easy to recognize him." Issei said, helping them regarding the identity of the dead fallen angel. "They told me he likes to get up and close, and they were not lying. They, however, seemed to have managed somehow to hold back on information…" He'd need to ask Raynare about this next time.

"We will contact the Grigori, and have them collect his remains." Rias said, looking over at the body. Despite how easy it'd be to use her power, she didn't believe it was worth the trouble. They will just take his body and have someone from the Grigori come to collect it, easy as that. However, she also noticed something about Issei. His wounds. Bullet wounds. "You got hurt?"

"Yeah, he had bullets with Dragon-Slaying magic." Issei replied, answering truthfully. "I can heal myself, so I will be fine. Kuroka will not be happy when I get home, however."

"I could heal you as well." Rias offered.

"I will be alright, but thank you for the offer." Issei replied, denying the offer politely. He had his own healing. "All in all, there is nothing left for me here. I managed to stop Freed from killing anyone today, and even if he escaped, I know me and he will fight again soon enough. Until then, I am going to return home for the night and rest."

"In that case, we will talk more tomorrow." Rias said. "Rest well, Issei."

"Will do." And then he simply used [Shadow Walk] to leave the area. He made sure to note down how powerful shadow magic got at night, there were simply shadows everywhere you looked!

"He got stronger again…" Kiba said suddenly after Issei left. Koneko, however, remained silent. "I could tell since he no longer actively hides his power around us."

"Issei is working hard." Koneko added.

"I won't lie that I am curious about what makes him develop this quickly, but I won't risk his trust." Rias replied, thinking more long-term. As far as she was concerned, Issei Hyoudou was no enemy, instead, he was now an ally. She dares to say he is slowly becoming a friend as well, but her curiosity about the element making him progress that far seems to be his biggest secret, and digging there might cause damage to their relationship.

She cannot afford to lose his aid.

"Let's clean here and be on our way." Akeno added. "I will also go inside to check on the client."


"I did not know." Raynare replied as she was sitting in the living room, being interrogated by Issei and the girls about Dohaseek's ability. "He never showed that kind of power around any of us!"

"Yet, you boasted about being the strongest, and look what happened!" Kuroka scolded Raynare, irked that Issei got hurt, even if the boy said he was fine thanks to his healing magic.

"Issei is still powerful enough to take them on, it seems, but Kuroka is right, Raynare. Let me ask you, how long have you known your group for?" Ingvild asked, looking at the fallen angel who could not lie or keep silent.

"Not long." She confessed. "I only replied to the previous question based on what I have seen."

"So, as far as things are concerned, the information you gave us is not accurate." Issei summarized. "At least I now know not to take it easy on them."

"Ha! Enjoy the feeling while it lasts." Raynare said, confusing Issei for a second. "The feeling of being safe, it won't last long when Lord Azazel comes here! You might be the Red Dragon Emperor, but Lord Azazel's secret weapon is not to be taken lightly."

"Azazel?" Issei echoed the name, then he looked at Kuroka.

"The Leader of the Fallen Angels." She replied, informing Issei. "Their Governor General, and perhaps one of the brightest minds that exist, aside from Ajuka Beelzebub himself. He was the one to pull the Fallen Angels out of the Great War early, given how bad they are at repopulation."

"Yet, that also leads to Lord Azazel not easily forsaking any of us." Raynare added. "I know he will save me, come after me, and now that you KILLED Dohaseek, he will come after you…" She finished, but then, looking at Issei, she saw something strange. He was not scared or worried about Azazel, a Cadre of immense power, coming for him. More so, he looked…calm.

"Raynare?"

"What?"

"What does it mean for a group of fallen angels to be tagged as rogue?" Issei's question had Raynare's stomach drop, making her eyes widen. "It looks like you figured it out."

"B-but…Lord Kokabiel told us we were on a mission from Lord Azazel." Raynare said slowly, processing what she just heard. "If we were tagged as rogue, then…We can't ever return to the Grigori, we'd be imprisoned, or worse!"

"I don't know if the other fallen angels know about it, but if they do, they don't seem to care as much as you are." Issei said, speaking from the way he observed the fallen that rescued Freed. But also something else, something Freed said. He KNEW Dohaseek was a rogue, and judging how Dohaseek did not react as badly as Raynare here, who was currently having a small crisis, it means…"They lied to you."

"Huh?" Raynare looked up at Issei, confusion in her eyes. "Lied to me?"

"I see…" Ingvild said slowly. "Azazel never approved of anything then, it is all Kokabiel."

"Nya! And the other fallen there must be in on the truth!" Kuroka said, continuing, but Raynare was not going to let them speak ill so easily.

"Shut your mouths!" She snapped, shouting at them, but in doing so caused the seal to glow, causing her great pain. However, she kept talking. "There is just no way Lord Kokabiel lied about the order…No way!"

"Raynare, I heard this from Rias and Freed also let it slip." Issei told her. "Neither know that you are alive and/or here. I gave them the impression that you were killed, or at least dealt with"

"Lies!" She said back, not accepting reality. "I won't believe a word that comes out of your mouth!"

"Then this line of dialogue is useless…" Issei muttered, and somehow, he started to feel sorry for Raynare. She was pretty much discarded by her race, all because of a lie said by one person. But, there was also something else she said. "Tell me about this secret weapon of Azazel."

"I only saw him ONCE." Raynare replied, not fighting the seal. It was useless, she knew that much. "The White Dragon Emperor is working with the Grigori."

"WHAT?!" Ddraig raged, not being able to remain silent when hearing about his rival. "You are telling me Albion is working with those black chickens?"

"He has been for years now." Raynare said further. "I only know that the White Dragon Emperor has been found and adopted by Azazel, who offered him training and aided him in developing his Gear."

"This is very interesting information." Issei said, processing things. So, the White Dragon Emperor is working with the Grigori, meaning the Fallen Angels. Now he knew where HE was, and that could only mean one thing.

Quest Updated!

No, not that.


The Fated Battle

Now that you know where he is, the time for the battle between the two Dragon Emperors is drawing near. Prepare yourself for the fight that lies ahead!

Main Objective: Battle the White Dragon Emperor and either just survive, or win.

Additional Objective: Raise your STR, DUR, AGI, ACC and MGI to 100.

Additional Objective 2: Achieve Level 50 before the fight.

Quest Time Limit: N/A.

Main Objective Rewards: Removal of the [Lustful Desires] status effect, 500K EXP, 1 New Sacred Gear Skill, 1.2M Y

Additional Objective Reward: The perk: [Peak Human Body], 2 MAX-L Orbs, 3 Random Reward Boxes, 1 Random EXP box.

Additional Objective 2 Reward: ?, 5 Dungeon Seeds.

Failure Penalty: Possible Death


Ok, that. The fight between him and the White Dragon Emperor. Since he knows from Ddraig that the two Emperors are fated to meet and battle, it makes sense that it was not avoidable. However, he was worried. Despite his quick progression, he has no idea WHEN he will end up fighting this person, or if he'll be able to level-up to the requested level in time. 50 was no small leap from where he was now, not to mention the EXP requirement goes up every time he does level-up, making it increasingly difficult.

Still, the rewards were crazy! He also wondered what the System might do with his Gear.

"It doesn't matter right now." Issei said, facing them. "Right now, there is only one thing to worry about. Asia Argento."

Hearing the name, the girls perked up. "Nya! That poor girl is walking into the lion's den without knowing!"

"We need to find her first!" Ingvild added. "But we don't even know what she looks like, so it might be problematic."

"We know she is from Italy, and most likely foreign as a result. It shouldn't be difficult to find an Italian girl roaming around Kuoh if we listen closely to the language." Issei said, but it was not so easy. They didn't even know what she looked like! "Raynare, what do you know about her physical appearance?"

"Young with long, blonde hair." Raynare said, giving them more information. "She also has green eyes."

"Given how rare such traits are in Japan, that narrows things down a lot." Issei replied. "Do you know how she was set to arrive in the country?"

"We bought her a plane ticket." Raynare replied. "However, I know no more details. Heck, I don't even know the name of the airport she is supposed to arrive from!"

"There is only one airport close to Kuoh." Issei recalled. "She is likely to arrive from there."

"Given how much we stirred the hornet's nest already, it is very likely the fallen won't risk losing her, so they might give her a lift." Kuroka stated. "Our only chance of getting her would be to be there when she lands, nya!"

"Do we even know when that plane lands?" Ingvild asked, feeling worried. "For all we know, it might be landing right now as well!"

"Nah, she will arrive during the day." Raynare added despite not being asked. "I know that much."

"Then it is settled." Issei said. "Tomorrow looks like it will be a full day, so here is what we will do. I will go to the airport and pick Asia up, hopefully, I can convince her to come quietly and explain everything to her."

"Issei, we both know we cannot tell her everything." Solomon said, which confused the boy. However, hearing the wise king, Issei decided to wrap up their meeting and enter the dungeon, especially since he had a new dungeon seed to use. But more importantly, he could talk with Solomon in private there.

"You mean THAT, correct?" Issei asked, having a sneaking suspicion about what Solomon was talking about.

"I sometimes regret telling the two of you about it…" Ddraig added. "The death of God."

"This girl, Asia, seems to be a girl of the faith from what Raynare told us. You remember how I was when I learned of such news!" Solomon said, and the guys recalled the event. It was shortly after they got the house in Mei all built and ready, Solomon suggested they blessed it so God could aid them, but then Ddraig let it slip it would be useless.

He later explained why.

Never had Ddraig seen Solomon broken before, but that was a first. The wise king cried the entire night, worrying Issei who then also told Kuroka about it. The shock to a strong believer like Solomon was great, and it took him several days to accept it and get over it. He still praises his name, hoping that at least someone in Heaven is hearing him. Solomon knows God is no more, but even so, to him, and other believers, God is still out there, somewhere, watching over them.

Solomon recovered, but that is not to say everyone will be as lucky. Losing your faith…To some is like losing your life. Losing all meaning, and being swallowed up by a sea of despair from which no light can shine through to give you hope. Solomon recovered because Ddraig told him about how Michael himself is now managing Heaven, trying to keep things together and keep the faith alive. He recovered because the faith was not lost, but merely lost its God.

Ddraig also said he knows nothing of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, or his whereabouts. Many believed he'd take over Heaven in his father's place, but he vanished after the Great War without a trace.

"So, you are saying we must keep it a secret from her?" Issei asked, seeing the logic there. Suddenly saying to someone that God is no more would easily break one's faith, and possibly, break them. Or worse, cause them not to trust him. He'd need to keep his tongue about this detail, something reinforced by Ddraig. Whenever he revealed the secret to a host of great faith, the next things that could have happened were either involving a rock or a cliff. Not to mention the secret itself is something the church keeps heavily guarded.

Ddraig always made his hosts promise to keep the secret, due to the damage it can cause. Always.

"It is the best course of action, at least for now." Ddraig added as well. "Lying may not be pretty, but when it is necessary, it is necessary."

Issei sighed. "This is bound to bite us later if she finds out…"

"We must not lose sight of the greater purpose, Issei. Trust me, lying is never easy, but when done with a noble cause, it atleast becomes sufferable" Solomon told him. "Now, go rest Issei. As you said, tomorrow is a full day."

"Yeah…Let's go to sleep." He replied, then Issei went up to his room. However, upon opening the door, he found someone sitting on his bed. "Kuroka?"

Kuroka was sitting on his bed, her top fully exposed. "I hope you are not too tired, nya!~" She said slyly, then parted her legs just a little to let Issei notice something quite important.

She was not wearing any underwear.

"For you? NEVER!" He exclaimed, then he let his lust take him, making love to Kuroka through the night.


However, their love-making was making things awkward downstairs. "Fuckin' animals…KEEP IT DOWN, I AM TRYING TO SLEEP!" Raynare whined from downstairs, trying to sleep on the couch.