"...Well, we planned for the ceremony to take place right after the game. Well, the next day, specifically, but…" Lord Phenix was… awkward. There was no other way of describing the posture and manner of speech of the normally-arrogant and headstrong noble devil.
"I understand. This is not exactly something we planned for, although no rules were broken in the game itself. I double-checked and even got a statement from the Maous." Zeoticus Gremory commented. "Rating Games all carry a risk of injuries, and even death, though the chances of either are vastly reduced by the safeguards that are in place."
"...Sniff…" Lady Phenix looked downcast and she was tearing up slightly.
"There, there. It's alright. It'll be alright." Venelana was hugging the blonde woman.
"Riser, my cute Riser… His… H-his wedding… I prepared so much, but…"
"Um, Riser-niisama is not dead, is he?" Ravel sweated slightly as she observed the group of noble devils who were seemingly mourning before a private hospital room.
"He's…" Lord Phenix sounded like he had chomped on a lemon as he spoke. "You'll see, Ravel. Something happened to you, so you missed it, but…"
Ravel gulped and pushed past her mourning parents and opened the door.
There was only a single bed in the private hospital room. There were flowers on the nightstand as well as a number of 'get well' cards, and bright yellow sunflowers in a vase. The entire room was decorated with Phenix Clan's colors and had a large window to look outside at the Underworld's landscape and its artificial sunset.
The form in the bed had huddled into a fetal position and was shaking violently. A well-built doctor with scars criss-crossing his face was standing on the end of the bed, looking resigned and pale while shaking his head in defeat.
"R-Riser-niisama?" Ravel asked carefully and sent a glance at the doctor.
The doctor sent a defeated glance at Ravel, shook his head, and left the room to give the two Phenix children privacy, but not before leaving the notepad he had been writing on to a patient's info stand at the bed end.
Ravel snatched the notepad as soon as the door closed and looked over the summary in panic.
"...Um? Riser-niisama lost his pen? No, wait, 'penis gone'- eh?! EEEEEH?!" Ravel blinked as she re-read the notes again, certain that she had somehow misread it the first time around. "'Patient has lost male reproductive or-organs'? 'R-restoration via magical means, failed, patient's body is magically confirmed to be f-female'? A-am I in the right room? Wait, 'depression' and 'post-traumatic stress disorder'? N-Nii-sama?"
Ravel put the notepad back to its bed-end stand and hurried to sit next to the huddled form, and carefully lowered the blanket down.
"Kyaah! G-get away from me! H-help… D-don't come any closer…" The blonde woman in the bed screamed in terror as Ravel lowered the blanket… And then sighed in abject relief. "Ravel… Ravel! A-are you alright?! The beast… D-did it manage to get you as well?!"
"Nii- er, nee-sama?" Ravel blinked in utter confusion as the woman in the bed vaguely resembled her Riser-niisama, or at least their haircuts and height were similar, but that's about where the resemblances ended.
The blonde woman had a moderate bust, about the same size as Ravel's, and had curves that were somewhere between Ravel and her mother. However, she had the composure of neither, and neither did she have Riser's arrogance as it had seemingly been replaced by fear and terror.
"That… T-that dragon, he- he did something to me. T-thank the Maou that Yubelluna managed to end the game before… Before he'd have… b-before…" Riser was shaking all over. "R-Ravel, he didn't do something like that… to you as well?"
"Um…" Ravel paused. "D-do you mean… groping and then petting and growling sensually that they would take me before you a-and then show his d-disgustingly h-huge-"
"T-that monster!" Riser shook in terror as Ravel's blushed stammerings died off before she could finish her sentence. Not that Ravel could have finished it, as it was quite lewd. "Not to mention… My fiancee… My beautiful fiancee…"
"He… did something to her?" Ravel asked. "B-but you won, right? Riser-nii, er, neesama and Rias-sama are getting married, yes?"
"No, look at what he did to me! And the doctor says it's not just some magical glamour or something, I am a woman now! Somehow! H-how am I supposed to fulfill my duty as a husband with a body like this?! The doctor said he can't reverse it!" Riser wailed. "A-and with that monster as part of Rias's Peerage… I can't avoid him! He'll find me, and finish what he started!"
"Um, yes, I recall that the marriage contract was made for the purpose of producing pure-blooded devils…" Ravel noticed a problem in the plan, after what had transpired. She ignored the rest of Riser's words as it was quite lewd and Ravel was certain she'd faint if she let her mind wander into that territory.
"I can't… I've won in name only, but I lost everything at the same time…" Riser wailed while curling up into a ball under the blanket.
"R-Riser-niisama, what if I convince the Red Dragon Emperor-sama to come here and try to turn you back-"
"No! Keep that monster away from me! I'm afraid! He… I saw the hungry look in his eyes! He's going to do unspeakable things and only allow me to escape when he feels like it! I could feel it at the end of the Game! Only this time there's no referee to call it quits!" Riser wailed in terror.
"S-surely someone else could stop the Red Dragon Emperor-sama? Maybe even the Maous?" Ravel tried to offer a solution but it looked like fear had overcome Riser's senses as she continued to wail in terror about the dragon turning the Maous girls as well and then doing unspeakable things to them as well.
"...A-alright. I'll… see if I can get you something to eat, Riser-neesama?" Ravel curtsied quickly to her new big sister and hurried out of the room.
"A-amu…" Ravel paused as she came face-to-face with the four noble devil lords and ladies who had been waiting outside, with her mother and father having a faintly hopeful look on their faces.
"Is Riser-kun up? Did… did you manage to help him, Ravel-chan? I heard voices from within, but I didn't want to interrupt…" Lady Phenix was wringing her hands nervously.
"...No, Riser-neesama is still a girl and the doctor says he can't cure that. A-and she is terribly afraid of the Red Dragon Emperor-sama…" Ravel blushed a bit. "H-he didn't have to go that far for my sake… Neither of them…"
"For your sake?" Lady Phenix tilted her head in confusion.
"That's… unfortunate." Zeoticus Gremory sighed at Ravel's news while Venelana reached out to pat Lady Phenix's back in a reassuring manner. "How is Riser-kun supposed to fulfill his part of the marriage contract like that?"
"It's… unfortunate indeed." Lord Phenix gnashed his teeth in annoyance. "It looks like your Rias has once again weaseled herself some time before the marriage can take place. Although I suppose that we could wed them like this, and-"
"Unfortunately, we cannot. The contract stipulates the clause of producing pure-blooded devils for our families, which won't be possible between two women. We should consider possibilities regarding Rias's engagement, perhaps to another of your sons?" Zeoticus shook his head… and then he was slapped by Venalana. "Ah?! Dear?"
"I will slap you again if you speak about our daughter as if she was nothing but a baby factory. I've heard enough. The marriage between Riser and Rias won't be possible in the confines of the contract, even if Riser won, end of story. I am aware that this is a disappointment for you two, my lords, but you must face the reality instead of living in your greed-filled dreams!" Venelana looked quite furious towards the two Lords at this point, causing Ravel to slowly slink behind her mother for cover.
"You would break the contract?" Lord Phenix sent the lady of Gremory Clan a loathing look, which seemed to be the last straw for the brunette woman.
"It is already broken! Riser might as well have died in the Game from the perspective of the contract, neither a woman or a dead body would be able to make Rias carry their children, and I resent the way we have treated my daughter over this matter! You all know Rias loathes Riser, and your son has done nothing to give her any reason to change her mind!" Lady Gremory's Bael blood came to full display as her fury was invoked.
"Their opinion of each other is irrelevant, as you should be aware! This union is not to guarantee their happiness, but for the purpose of producing pure-blooded devils and strengthening the bonds of our families-" Lord Phenix sneered, but was cut off as Zeoticus sent a warning and reprimanding look at the man for disrespecting his wife.
"Lord Phenix! You already have several pure-blooded devil heirs, with two of them having children of their own!" Venelana continued her rage, however. "There has to be an end to your cardinal sin of Greed before it costs you the life of your child and not just his gender! And Lady Phenix, do you truly care so much about Riser's and Rias's union, or the relations of our families, or producing future pure-blooded devils, or is this just an excuse for you to plan another marriage?! Is your cardinal sin of Lust for that pleasure so powerful it has overcome your senses?!"
"Um… I don't think that the door to Riser-niisama's hospital room is sound-proof…" Ravel tried to weakly interject but was ignored.
"You are biased, my lady, for it is clear that your daughter's irrational dislike of my son has infected your perception as well! There is still a chance that Riser might recover! If I get my hands on that Dragon brat who ruined my son, I'll break him and force him to come with us and have him personally undo what he did to Riser-" Lord Phenix's face turned red from anger over the accusation, even though Zeoticus's warning look had turned outright hostile from the disrespectful words that were directed at his wife… But a shriek of terror that came from the hospital room in response to Lord Phenix's yelled-out threat silenced the group of lords and ladies before the situation could devolve further.
"Riser?! Are you well? I heard a scream-!" Lord Phenix rushed into the hospital room with Zeoticus and Venelana following in the blonde man's wake, though begrudgingly, while Lady Phenix stayed behind and sent Ravel a curious glance.
"Ravel, you said something about… The Red Dragon Emperor doing this for your sake?" Lady Phenix asked.
"Um…" Ravel blushed to her hairline. "W-well, R-Red Dragon Emperor-sama is very forward, and Riser-niisama must have angered him, and he implied he'd do all sorts of things to Riser since he appeared to be, um, submissive and breedable and things happened a-and Riser-niisama said that the Red Dragon Emperor-sama should take him instead of me, and then all sorts of things happened, and then I passed out and found out that R-Riser-niisama is now Riser-neesama and… w-well, and that Riser-neesama 'jumped in front of the fireball' for me, so to speak, s-so that the Red Dragon Emperor-sama could take h-his l-lust out on h-him instead of m-me and… well…"
"You… don't sound afraid or offended over what happened, though? Even after what happened to you?" Lady Phenix sent her daughter a strange look. "...We saw the Rating Game through the screens, though there was a lot of fire so the camera-spells wouldn't have caught all the details. But you were there in person- What exactly happened?"
"W-well, Red Dragon Emperor-sama is very passionate, and he… um… e-expressed interest in me, and we fought, and I was d-defeated, n-not that I liked that, h-he just… w-well, I might have liked it a little bit, and…" Ravel stammered while her blush was reaching critical levels. "Then Riser-niisama came and punched the Red Dragon Emperor-sama, and then Riser-niisama implied that Red Dragon Emperor-sama should take Riser-nii instead of me, and they fought, and t-then they made up, a-and then they made out, a- -a-a-a-aaaaaaa…."
Ravel covered her face with her hands while her speech died off to embarrased whimpers.
"I… must have missed that part? They… did look like they were bonding and getting along after a while. Before the… ending happened. You were retired before that, yes?" Lady Phenix looked to be thinking hard while analyzing Ravel's expression. "You've never been honest with your feelings, though, Ravel. I suppose Riser, in turn, is too honest with his feelings. However, they did seem to get along, in ways that men do, before Riser became a girl… Or maybe… Now that he's a girl and is confused with the depths of women's emotions, as opposed to the dull emotions of men, it looks like she's not truly honest either… Hm…"
"O-Okaa-sama?" Ravel got her blush under control and looked up at the woman who had begun pacing back and forth, before a 'pling' sound came from somewhere as if she had gotten an idea alongside with an audio que.
"I have some things to take care of, could I ask you to go to Rias-san's Peerage and ask Red Dragon Emperor-sama about what happened? I may have overreacted upon seeing you be molested during the Rating Game, if you yourself hold this sort of disposition over what happened."
Lady Phenix rubbed her cheek thoughtfully and continued. "Please be cordial and respectful as always, thank you."
"U-um! W-what about Riser-oneesama?" Ravel couldn't help but worry.
The woman had a worrisome glint in her eyes as she looked at Ravel. "I need to propose a solution to your dad~ Please try to get along with Red Dragon Emperor-sama in the meanwhile~"
"M-me? W-with Red Dragon Emperor-sama? P-Personally? Kya!" Ravel shook all over while she was blushing heavily. "I- I'm not sure my heart is ready, okaa-sama!"
"Hm, hm…~" Lady Phenix was sending Ravel a slightly sly look and then nodded. "Now then, I must go see Riser. Please be well, Ravel."
"A-and you as well, mother." Ravel curtsied politely and then scurried off.
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"Ise-kun, is he…" Akeno's voice was quiet and serious as she sat down on a small hospital chair that was beside a bed in a single-person hospital room in the Underworld. The room was large enough to not feel crowded even through three people occupied at once- Though only one of them was in the bed, and two others were sitting on chairs on both sides of the bed. Rias occupied the other chair.
Akeno clothed in hospital clothes and had her arm in a sling, and had numerous bandages across her face as well as one over her eye. She had still tied her hair to its usual ponytail, though the usual yellow straps she used to tie her hair were gone. Rias was clothed in a simple, though well-covering, red dress and had allowed her crimson hair to flow freely, as usual.
Rias's face was hard, almost as if it had been carved out of stone as she looked at the unmoving, deathly still occupant of the hospital bed. "Ise-kun… Akeno. You still refer to him that way."
"Do you object, Rias?" Akeno dropped the honorific while sending a look at Rias that was almost hostile. "...You should have retired when you had the chance. Before Issei… Before he…"
"...Akeno. Stop." Rias's stony expression didn't change, nor did she look at Akeno. "...It was Issei's choice to do this. I wanted to stop, but… after what he had already done for me, what he had sacrificed for me… I… I didn't want to betray his resolve by taking that choice away from him. Even if… in the end… it didn't matter. As a King, I should have taken the responsibility and retired anyway, despite Issei's objection. It was my responsibility, to make hard decisions even if it meant going against the wishes of my precious servants.. But… I… When I saw Issei's determination…"
"And that's precisely why-!"
"Akeno. Please. You… You're not the only one who cares for Issei. I'll shoulder all your anger, all of it… When you're clear-headed. I love you like a sister, Akeno, even beyond the fact you're my Queen. Please… don't break it. Not now. Not like this… Not when Issei is… when he is…." Rias sighed and continued to look down at the body that lay on the hospital bed, beside where she sat.
Her eyes briefly glanced at the crumpled-up and stomped-on piece of shredded paper on the floor, which was a copy of the fiancee contract, which had been delivered to her as soon after the Game had ended. A proof of her loss, a reminder, and statement of what was expected of her.
Issei had collapsed after the Game.
The Game had ended, and the Peerages had been teleported away in a flash to their respective 'entry points', with just Gremory Peerage in their designated room and Riser, presumably, to his Peerage's own room. They were nowhere to be seen.
One moment Rias had been sitting on Issei's broad shoulders in the otherwise calm room, slowly gathering her wits after feeding power to Issei's new 'armor' nearly knocking herself out from the strain, and the next moment she had been on the floor as her 'steed' had collapsed under her.
…And what had emerged from the red suit of armor, once it had disintegrated… She could barely bear to witness it. The pale face. The sunken eyes. The paper-thin skin that clung to Issei's thin arms and chest. His right arm was partially covered in red scales, and where it wasn't, it was bloody and skinless, muscles and tendons in full view. It was as if the red scales had become his skin.
The unconscious boy didn't react to anything, nor did he do anything but breathe, even hours after the Game, after Asia had tried to desperately heal him, after the doctors had come and taken him to a hospital room and attempted to do what they could to heal him. But for naught, though her healing did restore his surface-level wounds as well as the scales of his right arm so that he merely looked like he was sleeping instead of outright dying
Issei was alive… if it could be called life. 'But at what cost? For what purpose he sacrificed everything? In the end… Because of the stupid scenario, because of someone's stupid interference, it didn't matter in the end.'
Rias's dark thoughts roiled in her mind.
"...I wonder if he's dreaming." Rias moved her hand to quietly stroke Issei's face. He didn't react to the touch.
Her hand curled into a fist in a bout of frustrated rage, wishing that Issei's hurdle was something that had a physical obstacle, something she could hit so that it'd go away. But Rias forced herself to relax, if barely. Life for her was rarely so easy that her problems could be solved with violence. If even [Twilight Healing] failed to restore Issei, her fists would not help the matter.
She would attempt to give him her energies later at night, however, just as she had when he had first turned into devil- When he had first been wounded to unconsciousness. Assuming that her 'fiance' wouldn't come dragging her to his bed by his hair by then.
The thought caused Rias's mouth to curl into a snarl.
The door to the hospital room opened but neither of the girls in it turned to regard the one who stood in the doorway. "...Sirzechs Lucifer would like to have a word, Rias-sama."
"...Please convey my… regards to my kind brother, and thank him for his kind, yet unrequested, assistance." Rias spoke in a cold tone without looking away from Issei's face. "However, I must politely decline his kind request."
Grayfia, who stood at the doorway, seemed to read the mood and curtsied before taking a step backwards.
"...I'll be certain to convey this message, Rias-sama. Ahem, additionally, Ravel Phenix has requested a chance to meet Issei-sama."
"...Send her in." Rias's tone was cold and murderous. Grayfia curtsied and sent Akeno a pleading glance before closing the door.
"Rias, she's…" Akeno knew what Grayfia was asking and wanted to warn Rias, to tell her that Ravel wasn't the culprit for Issei's condition, and that she shouldn't take her anger out on her.
"Tell me about Asia. How is she dealing with the situation?" Rias spoke over her while continuing to gently stroke Issei's pale face.
"...Not well. She's locked herself up in her room. The fact she couldn't heal whatever is affecting Ise-kun, as well as the fact her loss was what lost us the Game in the end… She's not dealing well with it." Akeno spoke quietly, all of the usual teasing and playing gone from her voice and tone. Those emotions had been replaced by a deep sadness and frustrated anger, both of which she struggled hard with to keep from rising to the surface. "Koneko-chan is looking after Asia. Kiba is… dealing with it. I'm not sure what he thinks, but he is guarding the hospital. I believe that's his way of coping."
"...I see." Rias sighed. "I should be there as well, telling Asia that it wasn't her fault, that it was my arrogance that caused us to lose, believing that Riser would just send his Pawns to slaughter and not hide them away. But I can't get myself to leave Issei's side."
"I understand." Akeno had a slight tug at the corner of her mouth, as if it was trying to form a teasing smile but couldn't quite manage to do so. "I feel the same way."
"Hm." Rias's huff was slightly playful. "I won't lose to either Asia… or you, you know?"
"Ara, has Ise-kun already managed to seduce the stoic and business-like Rias-chan?" Akeno had a small sliver of her earlier mirth in her tone.
"Are you sure you haven't confused me with Sona-chan?" Rias smirked back. "I've always been passionate about what I love, and Issei is very honest about what he loves as well~"
"Ufufu…" Akeno let out a small chuckle, allowing the tension in the room to wane just slightly, even if Issei was still weak and unconscious on the bed. The moment of free-hearted banter allowed Rias to forget, if just for a moment, that her budding affection for Issei wouldn't be able to ignite into something more, not with her being wed off soon to a man she hates.
"...You really planned to use Asia's Rosario to cripple Riser if he came after you?" Akeno asked after a while.
"I planned on shoving it down his pants. And even if he wouldn't be crippled during the Game from that, it'd at least buy me some time just in case I lost, before I'd have to do my… 'duty'. Though I imagine that my reputation in the Underworld might as well have been gone after that sort of stunt." Rias growled while her eyes promised death to the blonde man. "I regret not getting a chance to do that."
"Ufufu, so vicious~ I approve~" Akeno had a sadistic smirk on her face.
There was a faint knock on the door and Rias resumed her stone-faced expression.
"Enter." Rias called out with a voice that could freeze over a boiling sea.
"A-amu. G-greetings, I am Ravel Phenix. I was told I was allowed entry and a permission to meet with… gulp…" Ravel's face lost all colour as Rias's wrath and resentment coalesced into her aura and slammed against the face of the blonde girl with twin-drill hair.
"Rias-chan…" Akeno reached to put a hand on Rias's knee, trying to continue her earlier point about not taking Issei's current state out on Riser's sister.
…Though, Rias noticed that Akeno's expression had been that of utter loathing as she had glanced at Ravel before making a show of calming down Rias.
Rias smirked and allowed her presence to wane slightly. In turn Ravel seemed to shake herself out of the stupor and adopt a more ladylike appearance with her hands on her lap.
"I am willing to overlook your hostility in light of these recent events, Rias-sama." Ravel spoke with carefully controlled and balanced tone and words, befitting that of a noble lady-in-training. "I apologize for interrupting your meeting with Red Dragon Emperor-sama, but I was asked to attend to him by my esteemed mother."
"...'Attend to him'? Are you here to assassinate my cute pawn after he nearly beat your brother fair and square?! Your family knows no shame!" Rias's annoyance turned to anger in a heartbeat and a sphere of [Power of Destruction] appeared in her hand.
"I plan n-no such thing!" Ravel eyed the ball warily. "M-moreover, I am a Phenix! T-that sort of thing wouldn't kill me! Think of the political fallout if you attack me here, Rias-neesama!"
"You dare call me your sister?! I am not yet wed to your brother! You are not my sister-in-law!" Rias's annoyance over the blonde's words peaked and she would have sent the ball of black energy at the blonde girl, if it wasn't for Issei slightly twitching as Rias moved to stand and her leg brushed against Issei's hand. "Ise? Ise! You moved!"
The corpse-like body didn't react to Rias's calls, however, and continued to lay motionless. For a moment Rias wondered if she had imagined the twitch-like movement, but quickly threw away the doubt before it could eat her determination.
"Aa- amu?" Ravel had backed away and lifted her arms up in front of herself to cower from the black sphere. She seemed to double-take the scene as the ball of black energy dissipated and both Rias and Akeno hurried to stand beside Issei's bed.
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POV: Issei
"Ahaha~" Issei jumped and bounced on the bouncy terrain of the world of breasts.
"I'm gonna get you~" Ddraig giggled as she chased after him, her breasts swaying in the movement as she bounced after him in the boob-like terrain.
"You do not have time for this."
"Ahaha~ Ddraig is so cute~" Issei spoke happily as Ddraig playfully punched him in the arm, causing him to float off. "Oho~ Tag~ I'm it~"
"What the fuck are you thinking at a time like this?!"
"Not gonna get me~" Ddraig giggled as she ran off.
A forest of thighs appeared, some clad in thigh-highs, some in garterbelt, some in gyaru-socks, and Issei dove right into the thicket where various thick thighs brushed his face as he chased after Ddraig, narrowly dodging a light spear thrown at his face.
"Oh no! It's the fallen angel trio!" Issei paused his giggling to point at the three girls in various tropes, one of them a lewd office woman, one a gothic loli who wore no panties, and the third a bdsm-dommy.
"Why do I have no panties?! I wear panties! I wore them! Dammit!" The tsundere gothic loli pushed her skirt down while screaming with a red face.
"Shut it, let's kill the boy. He's worthless anyway." The bdsm-fallen rolled her eyes and threw a Light Spear at Issei, spearing right through his stomach.
"Eh? But- I…" Issei looked down at his now-dying body.
"No-one touches my husbando!" Rias suddenly came from stage left and smashed the Fallen Angel trio (as well as a fourth, male fallen who had been furiously masturbating to the sight of the three Fallen, just out of eyesight), mulching them to particles of energy in one hit.
Issei couldn't take it and fell to his side in the blood-stained boob-ground…
"Issei-kun~ It's alright… I am here." Rias was suddenly beside Issei, smiling at him while holding his hand and lying beside him. "I love you too."
"And I love you two, Rias's boobs~" Issei responded, causing Rias's lovely expression to sour with disgust.
"What, only that? That's all you love?" Rias sneered, suddenly clad in the kendo club's uniform. "Disappointing. I'll have nothing to do with you, Issei-san. Please leave."
"Rias-buchou!" Issei tried to crawl up but failed, as he noticed that his legs didn't work. Instead, his lower body from waist-down was hairy and his lower body had become a chimera-like mixture of a scaled horse and a pig. "W-what?!"
"Ufufu, Issei-kun has become a Stray. Unfortunate. But it looks like I'll get to have him all to myself~ Please don't die easily, Ise-kun~ I want to enjoy your pain lots and lots~" Akeno chuckled as she spread Fallen Angel wings and prepared to throw a lighting spear at Issei.
"B-but Akeno-oneesama isn't a Fallen Angel!" Issei protested, but it was useless as the Light Spear hit him in the forehead, killing him.
"...And I declare you husband and a wife." A priestly man with black wings sprouting from his back declared in a church with an inverted cross at the end of it.
"I do." Rias had a sweet smile as she looked at a blonde man with a face that was… empty, as if his face's textures had not loaded in yet.
"I do as well, as the White Dragon Emperor, Riser Phenix." The blonde man's face suddenly clarified, and he had a white gauntlet around his arms that resembled Issei's Boosted Gear.
"Noooo!" Issei struggled to get up, but he was dead, and thus unable to do so.
"...Get up. Stop this delusion." A booming voice echoed in the church.
"I will not… I will not give… Any part of Rias-buchou… Not her breasts… Not her thighs… Not her waist… Not her cute face… Not her love… Nothing… Nothing to you! Even if I have to die for her!" Issei stood, causing the congregation to look at Issei. Each one of them was a Fallen Angel who were leering at him.
"What makes you think I want you, Issei?" Rias sneered. "What makes you better than the White Dragon Emperor-Phenix? What do you have that he doesn't, you who only see me as a carrier for my breasts?
"...I…" Issei fell back to his knees, realizing that he had no answer.
"Shut up. Are you not my Wielder?! Have you not awakened my power?! Is that the extent of your determination?! To lose yourself into the [Boosted Gear], to become yet another voice in the madness within?!" The booming voice spoke again.
"Hah. No wonder. I would have killed him even if he wasn't a Sacred Gear holder, he was just such a dreadful bore and a worthless pervert as well." The Fallen Angel congregation were mocking and giggling at Issei.
"I did the world a favor by taking him out of it."
"It's good that he died."
"I could feel his eyes roving all over me, I celebrated when he died."
"I'd kill him all over if I had the chance."
"The Kendo Club had a small 'we're glad Hyoudou died' party."
"Issei? Yeah, the bastard deserved to die for getting a girlfriend before his bro's! Honestly! Fuck that guy!"
The voices began to melt to one another, with more familiar ones coming to the forefront.
"I'm disappointed in you, Issei-kun. I can no longer tolerate your antics in my Peerage."
"Ufufu, Ise-kun looks like he's in pain~ Good, that's how he should be, that's what he deserves~"
"A-wawa… I-Issei-kun, I don't blame you… even after you left me with those Fallen... After you left me die…"
"Hentai should just die quietly and not bother anyone else."
"...I'm sorry, but your behaviour is unacceptable, Issei-san. I must ask you to leave, and if you fail to do so, I will be forced to drive you out, as per Rias-buchou's orders."
"Haa, I have such a troublesome son. I wish I had a dutiful daughter instead…"
"Listen, Issei, I support your desires as a father, but… Don't you think this has gone too far?"
"I'm…" Issei was curled into a ball at the center of the voices.
"Shut the fuck up, peanut gallery. Go back to [Juggernaut Drive] alongside the rest of our madness!" The voice boomed, washing away the congregation of voices as if they were just pieces of trash at a beach. "Are you not Issei Hyoudou?! Do you let yourself be… NTR'd like this?! Like a child mewling over being rejected at a playground?!"
"...What is there to NTR? I… What good am I? I failed. I failed, I failed, I failed…" Issei looked at his arms. One of them was a regular, human-like arm and the other had become a scaled arm of a monster with sharp, talon-like fingertips. "Yuuma… No, Raynare was right. There was nothing. I am nothing. Pearls before a swine. Rias… She…"
Before Issei could say anything more, a crack opened in the dark, sunless sky of the 'world' where he was, and an arm came down to grab him by his neck.
The arm lifted him up, and he was suddenly face-to-face with Ddraig's female self. Or rather, the giant version of her, with Issei being small as a mouse and Ddraig looking absolutely furious.
"Is this it, then? You'll quit like this, die, and fall into the sea of regrets?" Ddraig looked at Issei with fury and anger. "You'll disappoint everyone who ever believed in you?!"
"...Why? I failed… Who would-"
"Idiot!" Ddraig tossed Issei off, where he bounced off the floor of his mind and dug a trench with his back. "...Haa. No, I was the idiot here. I didn't see it. It's been such a long time since I had a wielder with baggage like this, with desires this strong, but zero clue with how to deal with any of it."
"I…"
"Shut up. Listen." Ddraig put a hand to her ear, as if to indicate Issei to be silent and listen as well. "You, who claim that you are nothing, worthless, unloved, listen."
"...I see." A voice came into Issei's ears. A sigh. It was a female voice, one that he recognized as Rias's. "I should be there as well, telling Asia that it wasn't her fault, that it was my arrogance that caused us to lose…. But I can't get myself to leave Issei's side."
"I understand." The voice was strange. It was like Akeno's, but oddly serious, lacking her usual mirth. "I feel the same way."
"Hm." Rias's huff was slightly playful. "I won't lose to either Asia… or you, you know?"
"Ara, has Ise-kun already managed to seduce the stoic and business-like Rias-chan?" Akeno had a slightly coy undertone to her voice.
"Are you sure you haven't confused me with Sona-chan?" Rias smirked back. "I've always been passionate about what I love, and Issei is very honest about what he loves as well~"
"Ufufu…"
"They have been beside your bed ever since they woke up and recovered enough to walk, you know." Ddraig said.
Issei looked up at the sky of his inner world while small tears began to fall from the corners of his eyes.
A shuffling voice came from somewhere and Issei realized Ddraig was looking over him, having crawled over him on all fours so that her red hair brushed against Issei's face and her qipao was slightly loose.
"I resent the fact that the uncontrollable burst of power from your 'second awakening' caused me to be trapped in this sort of body. But if I hated you for it, or wanted you to die for it, I wouldn't have reached into the depths of [Boosted Gear] to draw your psyche from out of it. I would have just let you sink and disperse in it, lost in your regrets, like so many of my even less worthy wielders." Ddraig's words were delivered with a no-nonsense growl that sounded strangely arousing to Issei, considering how close the dragon's female form was to him. "...I resent your perverted nature, but I do not resent you. If I did, you would not have been able to unlock my Balance Breaker. I would not have offered you to trade your body parts to me in exchange for power. Do not mix those two opinions… partner."
"D-Ddraig…"
"...Also, you should stop thinking of girls as a collection of individual parts, and instead consider them as whole entities. I know you don't actually think that Rias, for example, is just a pair of boobs stuck to a stick, but they don't know that you know if you keep just referring to girls as 'Rias's boobs' or something. Elsewise you'll just drive them away when you start screaming something about boobs and thighs and whatnot. I can see inside your head, read your true thoughts, but they cannot. Maybe call them by their names as well…. grumble… can't believe I have to explain this aloud to someone" Ddraig had one more piece of wisdom to depart, though it looked like it caused her physical pain. "Consider this a friendly tip from someone who has seen hundreds of prior wielders seduce themselves harems of various sizes… even if I can't exactly remember all of it."
"Y-your boobs are touching…" Issei blushed as Ddraig's breasts had come to rest on his chest as she was on all fours over him so that she could growl her advice into his ear.
Ddraig looked down, and then punched Issei in the face so hard his body was buried a few inches into the soil of his mind like a macable open-no-casket burial.
"O-ow…"
"Did you hear what I said?"
"Y-yes…"
"Good." Ddraig turned away. "...You can consider that to be my reward to you for your actions in the battle against that Phenix brat. Well done, despite it all."
"Eheh… Ddraig-chan… Tsundere, so cute…"
"...I'll pretend I didn't hear that, just this once."
"Um, one more thing… H-how exactly do I wake up?"
"..." Ddraig was sweating a bit. "...We'll… cross that bridge when we get to it."
"You said we had no time to waste- Wait! The announcer said- Rias lost?! I need to get up, now!" Issei suddenly realized what was going on. "I need to wake up and pummel yakitori into dust before he can lay his hands on Rias!"
"Her, by the way, did you forget that your wanton power release from unlocking the [Scale Mail] manifested in that punch to turn the Phenix brat a girl?" Ddraig lifted her eyebrow but Issei's concentration was entirely elsewhere.
"Hngggg… Wake! Pinch! Ow, damn! It didn't work!" Issei tried to pinch his own cheek, hard, to wake himself up from the coma that his physical body was in. "Dammit, I have no time for this! Ddraig! Help!"
"I'm… not exactly certain how to wake you from the coma. Your body suffered terrible damage from overusing [Boost]s and from forcibly unlocking Balance Breaker before your body or your mastery over the [Boosted Gear] was good enough for it. The fact your consciousness, your soul, had inverted and was slipping into the depths of the madness residing inside [Boosted Gear, should have been a good enough indicator that you can't just slap yourself back awake." Ddraig looked slightly awkward, which was cute, but Issei couldn't afford to perv on the qipao-wearing redheaded dragon with thicc thighs and huge breasts as she shuffled awkwardly. The motion caused all sorts of secondary motions, and her nervous foot-tapping was very cute from Issei's point of view.
'Okay, maybe I have some time to perv on Ddraig after all.' Issei thought before he was back on the 'floor' of his mental world, courtesy of Ddraig's tail-whack.
"I can hear your thoughts just fine, brat."
"...Hm…" Issei thought quite hard while he was on his back… Before he felt a jolt run through his body. "That- That was!"
"...Rias's leg brushed against your hand. Wait, is this… Oh. This is going to be incredibly stupid, isn't it?" Ddraig seemed to notice what happened and promptly looked resigned.
"Yes- With the [Power of Thighs and Boobs, specifically [Power of Thighs, I can channel enough power that my body can wake up!" Issei stood up in a flash. "Um… except… it'd be pretty… lewd… uh."
"You're worried that your girls would just look down on you if you asked. Or refuse outright, considering your perversions." Ddraig filled in between the lines. "Didn't I just tell you to stop that self-destructive mindset? Your girls love you. Even if you don't quite see it… Thanks to the actions of that weakling Fallen Angel."
"...Yeah." Issei sat back down, but was instantly pulled back to his feet by Ddraig, by his chest.
"Sit down and you age. Hesitate and you die. Keep standing. Keep moving. Your dreams are closer than you think- Or were you planning on submitting to your despair again, and watch as that damn yakitori NTR's your beloved Rias, your Akeno-oneechan, and your cute Asia?" Ddraig looked like she hadn't even noticed that she had used Issei's descriptors of the girls. But the words shocked Issei back into gear. "Two of whom have stayed beside you all this time, and one who has fallen into despair over the fact she didn't manage to save you just like you, in the end and once all was said and done, saved her?"
"No… I will not. Thank you, Ddraig… You're the best partner I could ask for." Issei stood tall and pat Ddraig's shoulder as if she was his brother. Ddraig's counter-slap sent Issei face-down into the dirt so he didn't notice the light blush on her face.
"...Since you sacrificed your arm to me, I think I could manifest [Boosted Gear] in the sacrificed arm and speak through it, even without your input. I could relay your message- You mentioned using [Thighs] to power yourself up?" Ddraig proposed.
"Let's do it. I think I have a plan… It should work. I'll just need…" Issei detailed his plan.
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"Brats." A voice echoed in the hospital room that had almost become a battlefield.
"Eep!" Ravel twitched and stood ramrod straight, and then relaxed with what looked like herculean effort. "R-Red Dragon Emperor-sama. Good morning. I am Ravel Phenix, and I have come here as an offering- I mean, to offer my council and friendship in the name of Phenix Clan?"
"Cool. Shut up. Rias and Akeno, listen up." The voice continued to echo from the gauntlet that had suddenly appeared around Issei's right arm. Ravel looked quite stunned by how her self-introduction was brushed off.
"Ddraig-sama?" Rias was instantly on alert while Akeno shuffled closer despite her bandaged state.
"We don't have a lot of time. Issei is fading, but he's still alive. I had to pull his consciousness before it'd disintegrate into [Boosted Gear, but he's trapped until he gets enough power to break out of the coma from within. If we take too long he'll lose his mind… or I do…" Ddraig's words died to a murmur. "We have a plan. Do you trust that Phenix girl to overhear us?"
Rias and Akeno turned to send Ravel a harsh glare… But instead of backing down, Ravel lifted her chin up and met their glares.
"Do not think you can intimidate me! Moreover, if Red Dragon Emperor-sama needs help to recover, I'm willing to assist! After all, my nii-sama, er, nee-sama also needs help, and Red Dragon Emperor can help him! Er, her!"
"Denied, chick." Ddraig's voice was harsh. "This is not a time for all that wishy washy 'you rub my back I rub yours haha now we're contractually bound seven generations down' devil nonsense. Fuck off and tell your brother we're coming for him next. Or her. Whatever."
Ravel looked like she had been hit in the head with a hammer and was on all fours on the floor!
"I'll… I'll be s-sure to let him, er, her know! B-bye!" Ravel practically teleported away while crying. Rias suppressed a pang of sympathy over the harsh way Ddraig had shut her down, but Issei took the priority.
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Ravel-o-vision ('she is beyond help' ver.)
"You are known to me, but you cannot help me, for your family would use it against us. Go to your sister. I rest now, but when I rise, when I revive, I will seek out both you, and your sister!" The Dragon spoke, though his body had died. It was only natural that something as inconsequential as 'death' wouldn't stop the Red Dragon Emperor's overflowing passion for Ravel... and for her new older sister!
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"Asia!" Akeno burst into the recovery room that the blonde girl had secluded herself into.
"Sniff…" Asia looked… miserable.
The girl's normally bright eyes and healthy skin were replaced by a haunted look that dulled her eyes and turned her skin pale. Tear-marks stained her cheeks.
Koneko was trying to reassure Asia by hugging her from behind, though it looked as if Koneko wasn't exactly in high spirits either.
"A-ano…" Asia hiccupped. "W-what good am I… I can't even… Issei-kun…"
"...Hentai was brave. Stupid. But brave. He's… strange." Koneko had a strange tone of voice as she muttered to Asia's ear. "...I want hentai to recover quickly so I can hit him for being stupid and risking his life like that. He was hurt so bad..."
Akeno paused as such a statement from Koneko might as well have been an admission of friendship. And she knew that Koneko had never held a particularly high opinion of Issei.
She quickly shook her head to clear it of stray thoughts. Ddraig had said that time was of the essence.
"Asia-chan! Koneko-chan! Ise-kun needs you." Akeno called.
"...Issei-kun… B-but what can I even do… N-not even this stupid power can help him…" Asia was looking at her hands, which were briefly lit by the green glow of the [Twilight Healing].
"Asia-chan… Ise-kun still needs you." Akeno walked to the bed on top of which Asia and Koneko were huddled. "Silly. Issei-kun doesn't just want your [Twilight Healing]. It's your presence, the presence of everyone who loves him, that matters the most in bringing him back. Rias wants you there too. She isn't blaming you for the loss, you know?"
"...B-but… Ah…" Asia's crying continued but instead of misery she had a slightly hopeful look on her face. "If… If I can…"
"...I'll come too." Koneko said. "As long as whatever it is isn't… too… lewd."
"Ufufu, don't tell me that Asia-chan has gained more competition?" Akeno teased Koneko, but didn't exactly expect her to blush and look away. "Ara? Maybe Rias should be worried too~"
"Akeno is being ecchi. Stop." Koneko's voice was cute but harsh and accusing. It made Akeno shiver in pleasure, faint as it was.
"Let's go." Akeno turned and left with the two girls in tow. "I've already told Kiba, and he'll protect us as we complete the ritual.
"R-ritual?" Asia looked worried but her stride didn't change.
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"Excuse me!"
"Ah! Rias-chan! What brings you here? I thought you were in that field trip with your club and Issei!"
"Please, do not worry. Some things just happened and I need something important from Issei's room. Don't worry, I'll be unobtrusive and Issei-kun knows about it~ But I really am in a hurry, so please excuse me if I don't stay for tea."
"Oh. W-well, certainly. It's just that there's… some pictures and magazines of… well, um…"
"Oh, don't worry, I already know~ I have been there before, after all~"
"W-what?! Issei! My son! You truly have become a man- owww!"
"Ahaha, ignore my dear husband. Please, go ahead, Rias-chan."
"Owie! It's going to tear! My ear is going to tear off! M-Miki! S-spare this foolish husband!"