"AAAAAGGGGHHHH!"
An explosion echoed through the mountainside as a ball of flames impacted the ground with the force of a meteor. Issei was launched into the air before landing pathetically on the ground.
He looked up and saw Mitsuki sitting with her legs dangling off one of the stone pillars, watching his training with keen interest. Her eyes were glowing, indicating that her Scan ability was active.
"Do not let up, Red Dragon." Tannin landed on the ground, causing it to quake slightly.
"As if! You've been running me into the ground for three days! I won't be burned to a crisp so easily!" Issei yelled, shaking fist at the former Dragon King.
Tannin glanced over to Mitsuki, whose eyes turned back to normal.
"Then you wouldn't mind if Tannin upped his firepower a little right?" she asked, giving him an ominous smile.
"Oh fu-!" Issei had no time to curse his situation.
Tannin unleashed a powerful breath of flames that incinerated the ground where he once stood.
Issei ran at full speed, trying to get away from the Dragon King. He glanced over to his right and saw Tannin appear suddenly and fire a blast of flames.
Issei raised his arms to defend but was knocked back by the force of the blast and sent flying through a stone pillar. He skidded on the ground slightly but got back up quickly in order to avoid another ball of flames.
Damn it! Mii-chan's just been sitting there, watching me get blasted for 3 days! Is there a point to this? I've just been avoiding fire balls… well, then, if that's the case, then… Issei activated the Boosted Gear, getting the attention of both Mitsuki and Tannin.
"Then, Mii-chan! Take this! [Dragon Shot!]" Issei fired a beam of red energy at her.
Mitsuki's body vanished and reappeared on another rock pillar.
She teleported! Issei thought.
Mitsuki smiled and got up from her seat. Violet lightning crackled around her body. She summoned Yorihime to her hands and gripped the hilt of the sword.
"If you want to play like that then…" Mitsuki's eyes turned red once more. "Oborozuki-Ryu: Futsukazuki." She began swinging her sword at high speeds, launching waves of cutting electricity at Issei.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Issei rolled out of the way, barely dodging the speed at which the lightning waves traveled.
"Don't forget about me… Red Dragon."
"Huh? Oh shi-" Issei jumped over a blast of red flames. He felt the heat beneath his crotch as the fire traveled past him and hit a rock formation on the other side. Issei landed with a roll on the ground, panting as Tannin hovered over him.
"Is that it, Red Dragon?" Tannin asked.
[Are you really going to stand there and let him humiliate you like that?] Ddraig asked.
"S- Shut."
"That concludes our training for today." Tannin landed on the ground and crossed his arms.
"W- What?" Issei panted.
"I said that today's training has concluded. I believe the Dantalion Girl has gotten everything she needs so I'll defer to her about the schedule. Rest up, Boy. You have three weeks of this left to go," Tannin said.
"Peachy. Just… fucking peachy," Issei said.
Tannin grunted in acknowledgement before flapping his wings and taking off to wherever it was he had rested.
Issei hummed as he felt the cool breeze created by Tannin's wings wash over him. He leaned against a rock to catch his breath.
"You thirsty, Aniki?" Mitsuki teleported next to Issei and sat next to him.
"Y- Yeah." Issei swiped the bottle and downed the drink in seconds. He slammed the bottle on the ground after finishing it all. "Ahhh yeah, that hits the spot." Issei wiped the sweat off his brow. His track suit was beginning to get sticky and he would need to replace it pretty soon.
"I think I got everything for today," Mitsuki said, replaying everything she had seen for the past 3 days within her mind.
"Everything? You had Old Man Tannin chase me around just to gather data?" Issei asked. "That sounds like such a you thing to do."
"Well, I can't just craft the special training from seeing you walk. I had to gauge where you were at. The battle with Phenex and Morax showed me a bit," Mitsuki said. "It looks like we have a lot to work on." Mitsuki wrote something in the holo notepad in front of her.
"Today is July 27th… and we still have how many days until the 25th?"
August 25th. That was the date decided for the Sitri-Gremory Rating Game. Issei had told her about it after he had dinner with Rias and her family. That gave her plenty of time to whip her brother into shape as well as get some training in herself. Mitsuki swiped the notepad away and eyed Issei.
"That would be about 29 days. You and I are going to be spending a lot of time together," Mitsuki said, patting Issei's head.
"Stop that," Issei said, batting her hand away.
Her smile grew wider as she brought her notepad back. The itinerary she planned was pretty straight forward.
"Alright, Aniki. I got it. You'll spend the first three weeks training with Old Man Tannin, basically doing survival training along with combat training. After that… if you still haven't brought out the Balance Breaker, I'll take over and force it out of you," Mitsuki said, closing the notepad.
"Wait… if I'm going to be with Old Man Tannin for the first few weeks, then what are you going to do for that amount of time?" Issei asked.
"I have my own training regimen that I have to stick to as well as sorting the case files. I'll be watching you from time to time so you don't have to worry about me running off, Aniki~!" Mitsuki said.
"Yeah," Issei said.
True to Mitsuki's words, she had let Tannin turn him into his own personal chew toy for the next two weeks. Her explanation as to why was because that near-death situations were the most common way to awaken a Balance Breaker. The Balance Breaker for her Telos Karma was something she had acquired during her tenure at the Blacklight Affiliate Academy so she knew a thing or two.
However, all Issei experienced in the two weeks were severe burns and a few fractures caused by the force of the impact. But Issei wouldn't let up.
[Explosion]
Issei felt the stockpiled power of the Boosted Gear flow into his body. The power amplified his physical abilities, essentially providing an all across the board stats buff. Issei jumped up, avoiding the flames and raised his hand into the air.
"Dragon Shot!" he fired a blast of red energy half the size of Tannin at Tannin.
"Good! Gooood, Red Dragon Emperor! You've finally decided to bare your fangs properly!" Tannin complimented. He charged towards the energy, raising his palms.
The energy impacted Tannin's hand, creating a massive shockwave that blew everything within 200 feet away from them and created gale force wings. The energy blast from Issei suddenly grew unstable and ruptured into a fiery explosion.
In the distance, Mitsuki felt a wave of hot air pass over her face and saw a massive plume of smoke in the gorge where Issei had trained. "Aniki's getting stronger." Mitsuki smiled and crossed her arms. "It looks like training is going well."
Tannin looked down at his hand and saw steam rising from it. "Good. Your draconic power has increased along with your magical abilities. Your physical prowess has also improved dramatically and it looks like your survival training improved your danger senses as well," Tannin said.
"Good job, Whelp." Tannin crossed his arms and let out a jet of smoke from his nose.
Is he complimenting me? Issei asked.
[To get a compliment from a Dragon King. I'd be honored if I were you.] Ddraig said.
"This is our last day of training together. After this, your sister will be taking over and you two will train together with me acting as the supervisor," Tannin said.
"I heard Mii-chan laughing to herself and saw her training," Issei panted.
"I have as well. Your sparring partner is a formidable opponent but I think that pitting you against someone your age but with a difference in combat skill will be beneficial to you," Tannin said, sitting next to Issei.
Issei jumped up a little when Tannin sat down. "Yeah. She better not go easy on me."
"Judging by how she is acting, Red Dragon, I believe that she will not hold anything back against you except for her Balance Breaker. She is that confident in her own ability to fight," Tannin said.
"Ah! You're back!" Mitsuki's face brightened up when she saw Issei walking back to their campsite.
"Today was my last day of exclusively training with the Old Man," Issei said. He sat down next to her and exhaled deeply. Issei wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked up at the sky of the Underworld. The artificial moon shone dimly in the night sky.
"Two weeks of training with Tannin actually put some meat on your bones, Aniki," Mitsuki teased. She pulled the stick away from the campfire and held it out to Issei. "Did you get your Balance Breaker?"
"No. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Wasn't the whole point of this training to awaken my Balance Breaker?" Issei asked.
"Mmm, yeah. Hmm, since we're going to be training tomorrow, I guess I'll have to take some drastic measures," Mitsuki said.
"We haven't spent time out like this in the woods since we were kids," Issei said, taking a bite. He savored the bland flavor of the meat his sister roasted.
"Really? You're going to eat it without salting it first?" Mitsuki raised an eyebrow.
"What? Childhood nostalgia!" Issei said with a mouth full of half-chewed meat.
Mitsuki grimaced at the sight. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Chew with your mouth closed, Aniki."
"Sorry," Issei said. He swallowed his food and took another bite.
The two sat together, silently eating their meal. The warm orange glow of the flames kept them company in the dark woods of the mountainous region of the Gremory Territory. The nights were often cold due to the altitude so the two had decided to sleep in the same tent to share their body warmth.
Mitsuki stole a glance from Issei as she began planning all the ways she would beat him into the ground in the morning.
"This brings back memories, doesn't it?" Issei said.
She smiled. "Yeah, it does. It's been a long time since we've gone out camping."
"I hardly call what we did camping. All we did was set up a pillow tent in the living room and call it camping," Issei chuckled.
"You know what I mean. We've been so busy with everything. Blacklight. Devils. Serpent's Seed. Rias and her peerage. I hardly had any time to spend with you other than our little siblings' date to the grocery store," Mitsuki said.
"Ew, don't say it like that," Issei said.
"I'm glad we have this time to ourselves. A year away from Aniki was hard," Mitsuki said.
"Aw, did you miss me that much?" he asked.
"The first year I was in the new school by myself, I was all alone again. You know how I was. I was never good with people. I don't think I am now either. But when I was there, for the first month or so, I never had any friends. People just looked up to me because I was the Chapter Head's granddaughter and they left me alone because of that," she said.
Issei just remained silent and listened to her.
"The entire first year there, there was nothing I wanted more than to go home to Kuoh. To you. To our friends. I wanted everything to go back to the way it was," Mitsuki said.
"And now it can. We can go back to how we used to but with a little twist. Just two siblings having fun and enjoying their lives. Now we can add kicking ass and taking names. We have an eternity ahead of us, Mii-chan, so why don't we just have a little fun and raise some hell in the process?" Issei said, flashing her with a grin.
Mitsuki's eyes widened slightly before her cheeks puffed up as she suppressed a bout of giggles. She turned around and held her hand out towards her brother as she failed to contain her laughter any further.
"W- What? What about what I said was so funny?" Issei asked.
"That sounded so damn corny. Did you pull that out of a chick flick or something?" she asked, wiping a tear that streaked down from her eye.
"Eh? O- OI! I can be very good with words when I want to be!" Issei protested.
"This coming from the guy whose vocabulary consists of 90% tags from the hub," Mitsuki said. "Oh jeez. How did you ever get Rias to fall for you with those cheesy lines?"
"Well, at least I have a girlfriend… I think. E- Enough about that! How about you, Mii-chan? Other than Ingvild, did you ever meet anyone?" Issei asked.
"I don't follow," she replied.
Issei raised his eyebrow suggestively and a teasing smirk appeared on his face.
"Do you have a boyfriend now?" Issei asked.
"What? No. You know I'm not cut out for that kind of stuff," she said. "After everything that's happened…," she muttered.
Her words did not escape Issei's ears. He sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to give her a one-armed hug. "You'll find someone. Don't worry about what happened back in Middle School. I won't ever let something like that happen to you again. Because that's my job right? It's a big brother's job to protect their pain in the ass little sister." Issei smiled at her.
"Three minutes."
"Still older."
"Still though," Mitsuki continued. She pulled away from Issei and looked him straight in the eyes. "If I can't find a boyfriend, then you'll have to take responsibility, won't you, Aniki?"
"Huh?" Issei raised an eyebrow at her question.
"You'll let me join your harem, right? A-ni- ki~!" Mitsuki leaned in.
Issei's face turned green as he quickly turned around and threw up a little onto the ground.
Mitsuki fell on her back and laughed hysterically. "Oh my Satan! Ahahaha!"
"That's not funny! Don't suggest something so gross like that!" Issei said, wiping some of the vomit from his mouth. "Seriously, the thought of dating my own sister…" Issei shuddered. "That sounds like something someone from the American South would do!"
"Pfft, ahahaha! What the hell kind of porn have you been watching?" Mitsuki asked. Her laughter continued into the night while Issei continued to vomit his dinner out.
Tannin stood in between the two. He would be refereeing all of their spars and this was the first one they would have out of many.
He looked to his right. The girl, who the Red Dragon had said was a Dantalion Descendant, had her katana resting at her side. The design of her katana's sheath was unique. He had never seen someone design their sheath to act as a gun or that's what he thought. Compared to Issei, the girl held herself much more confidently as a combatant and the fact that she was also a Longinus Wielder would make this fight all the more interesting. However, the real factor here was if Issei could get her to even use her Longinus at all or the Qliphoth Mode for that matter.
"I hope you're not going to cry after I beat you, Aniki," Mitsuki said, placing her hands on her hips.
"You're the one who's going to be crying in the end. I've trained with the Old Man for two weeks! If I can handle being a Dragon King's chew toy, then I can handle fighting you!" Issei said, pointing his armored hand at her.
"Do not talk like I am not here, Ddraig. And please stop referring to me like a dog." Tannin pressed his hand against his snout. He lowered his hand and hovered off the ground. "This spar will be between the Red Dragon Emperor and Mitsuki Adashino. The spar will be over when one person can no longer fight or if their back touches the ground first. Lethal blows are allowed but the Balance Breaker shall be restricted for the Telos Karma Wielder."
"Wait what?" Issei's eyes flicked over to Tannin.
"That's fine. I won't need it anyway," Mitsuki said, dropping into a stance. Her eyes turned red as she locked on to Issei.
Her ability is the power to process information faster. From a combat perspective, it's useless but… Tannin trailed off.
"Remember, Aniki. The whole point of this training is to pull out your Balance Breaker. We only have a week left for you to do it so I'm taking over and implementing drastic measures," she said.
"Wait… what do you mean by drastic measures?" Issei asked.
Mitsuki said nothing and merely stood there.
"Mii-chan?" Issei pressed.
No response.
"You may begin."
Issei wasted no time and took off towards her in a burst of speed. He cocked his fist back and threw it at Mitsuki.
She sidestepped the attack, evading it at the last possible moment. The smirk on her face showed Issei the sheer difference in speed between them.
Nevertheless, Issei threw a kick at her with the intent of striking her cheek with his leg.
Mitsuki shifted her foot and blocked the strike with Yorihime's scabbard. She was surprised by the amount of force behind it and slid back a few inches.
Issei continued his relentless assault in an attempt to catch her off guard or pin her down.
Mitsuki dodged and blocked his attacks using her scabbard, taking note of the amount of Boosts he had used in order to do so. She jumped into the air and spread her wings. Her hand rested on Yorhime's hilt as she carefully watched Issei.
"How long are you just going to keep running like that, Mii-chan!?" Issei jumped into the air, channeling power into his fist.
"Fine then," Mitsuki said. She flicked Yorihime out of its sheath, drawing it faster than Issei's eyes could track.
However, Issei's body sensed it at the last moment and he instinctively raised his gauntlet to block the attack.
The force sent him crashing violently into the ground.
Issei groaned in pain and looked up. He quickly rolled out of the way as Mitsuki's boot impacted the ground where he once was. The ground splintered and shattered under the force of Mitsuki's kick.
"What happened to winning, Aniki?" Mitsuki asked. Lightning crackled around her body. She took one step forward and vanished from Issei's sight.
S- So fast! He began looking around for signs of her. The sound of a rock hitting the ground sent him into high alert and he whirled around to see nothing.
"You're a little jumpy, aren't you, Aniki?" Mitsuki whispered into his ear.
Issei's eyes widened as he jumped back in order to gain distance from her. "Tch! Haaah!"
[Boost]
Issei felt his power surge through him again.
[Blade]
Ascalon's blade protruded from the gauntlet of Boosted Gear. He dashed towards Mitsuki, swinging his arm blade furiously.
Mitsuki raised Yorihime's scabbard, blocking the attack.
Their dance continued across the field. Each swing from Issei was parried by Mitsuki's expert swordsmanship.
Issei broke through her defense, darting beneath a place he perceived as her blind spot. He swung his fist upward towards her chin, retracting the Ascalon blade in the process.
Mitsuki's eyes saw Issei's fist coming in slow motion. Mere seconds before his fist made contact with her chin, her body vanished from Issei's spot and reappeared behind him. Lightning coated her leg and she kicked the small of Issei's back.
Issei gasped and flew across the entire field, smashing through several stone pillars before crashing into a boulder.
"F- Fuck." Issei got on his hands and knees. He felt something warm in his mouth and spit it out. Blood stained the ground as he eyed her carefully.
While he knew she wouldn't, Mitsuki might actually kill him before he brought his Balance Breaker out.
Mitsuki walked slowly towards Issei. Lightning crackled around her body, charging the air around her with high concentrations of electricity. Her red eyes were drinking in every detail in the environment, taking note of Issei's injuries and overall status.
"I can see it," Mitsuki said. Her eyes glowed even brighter.
Ddraig… she's been reading my every move. I feel like she's evolving to counter my fighting style.
[You mean your lack of fighting. However, you are right. It is strange. The Power of the Dantalion Clan is just the ability to process information faster. It's an academic ability from what I can remember and not combat oriented… which means this girl developed her ability to work in combat.] Ddraig deduced.
"Tch… so Mii-chan evolved her own devil ability. What a strange twist of fate," Issei said.
"That's right," Mitsuki said.
Issei quirked his brow at her statement.
Mitsuki smiled and pointed at her eyes. "The Dantalion ability, Scan, isn't combat applicable. Our ability is to scan information and process it faster in order to learn at a rapid rate. But… over the past year, I've developed it into something else. I call it Precision. It allows me to perceive everything at higher speeds and process said information," she said. "It lets me see through everything."
Issei clenched his jaw and dropped into a stance.
Mii-chan can manipulate probability, control lightning, and read virtually every move I'm about to make. Hah… Issei closed his eyes and smiled. If only I had the Balance Breaker…
[What are you thinking, Partner?] Ddraig asked.
I'm going to use a tactic from an anime I watched to overload her perception abilities… but I don't know if it will work. Issei clenched his fist.
Mitsuki was getting closer. The air around him was electrically charged and the static caused the hair on his arms to stand.
[Anime?]
How many boosts have I had so far? Issei asked.
[About over 3 dozen or so. Are you going to activate Explosion?] Ddraig asked.
Yea- Issei moved at the last moment.
Mitsuki had stopped walking and darted at incredible speed, momentarily leaving Issei's sight and reappearing in front of him. She thrust her blade, piercing through the boulder with a bolt of lightning that carved a shallow trench across the area.
"Tch! Shit!" Issei jumped back to gain some distance before kicking off and charging at her.
[Explosion]
[Don't use the Dragon Shot. Using it will consume your Boosts and drastically shorten the time you stay in the Explosive State. Make your hits count okay.] Ddraig said.
I got it!
Mitsuki narrowed her eyes. Issei had gotten faster. Much faster. She dodged a punch and thrust her sheath into his torso. But this wasn't what she was looking for.
Issei flipped over her and grabbed the back of her shirt. He roared and threw her into the air, sending a wave of air from the force of the swing. He jumped up towards her, shattering the ground beneath him.
Mitsuki flipped in midair and sheathed Yorihime. Lightning coated the entire weapon. She held her hand over the hilt and pressed the trigger on its sheath. The blade launched from the sheath and she swung it swiftly.
Issei twisted his body, avoiding the wave of lightning that flew past him.
Mitsuki flapped her wings, ascending higher into the air. She coated her sword with lightning and launched more waves of electricity at Issei.
Issei flew, zigzagging around the blade waves. He felt one cut him across the cheek.
"ORAAA!" Issei launched a barrage of high-speed punches at Mitsuki, using the enhancement he received from Explosion.
Mitsuki's eyes tracked each punch. Her brother's punches were moving at extreme speeds. She parried each punch. But even she was beginning to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the punches Issei had thrown at her. Pain shot through her side and winced as Issei's fist made contact with her body.
Lightning surged through her body and twisted her body to avoid Issei's next attack. Her eyes focused as she poured more demonic power into Precision, slowing her perception of time.
"Oborozuki-Ryu…" Mitsuki pressed the trigger on Yorihime's sheath. "Futsukazuki." She launched the blade from its sheath and slashed twice at speeds surpassing that of lightning. Two crescent arcs of lightning launched from her blade.
Issei's eyes widened when he saw nothing but Mitsuki pressing the trigger on her sheath. He felt two cuts sliced deeply into his body. "Gahk!" Issei felt blood pour from his mouth. He clenched his teeth and demonic power surged from his body.
Mitsuki barreled forward, slamming into Issei and sending them both crashing into the ground.
Issei barely had any time to recover. His eyes were met with the lightning-filled fist of his sister. He kicked her off him and jumped to his feet.
"Mii-chan's really not screwing around. I managed to get the drop on her but I don't think she'll let me do it again," Issei said. He was getting tired and Explosion wouldn't last for long.
Mitsuki, on the other hand, was barely winded. Her stamina was far better than Issei's and the fact that she hadn't used her Longinus Gear at all while Issei had been utilizing every ability of the Boosted Gear except for the Balance Breaker was a hard slap in the face for him. The sheer difference between their abilities was palpable.
"Damn…" Issei clenched his fist tightly.
"Come on, Aniki. I'm barely using a third," Mitsuki said.
A… A THIRD!?
[She's not kidding. The girl's power has barely peaked at all during this fight while yours is beginning to reach its upper limit. I'm sorry to say this Partner but there's no hope for you in this spar.] Ddraig said. [Either you summon the Balance Breaker now and turn the tide of the fight or your sister humiliates you.]
Mitsuki began to charge toward Issei. Her sword was poised and ready to cut him down. She let loose an immense amount of malicious intent that froze Issei to his spot.
M- Mii-chan's letting out so much killing intent, Issei thought. He shook his head and composed himself. As she got closer, Issei ducked underneath her blade and landed a solid blow in her liver.
She bit down, suppressing a scream of pain, and twisted her body, performing a powerful roundhouse kick that sent Issei skidding to the side. She jumped back and flipped into the air.
"Futsukazuki!" Mitsuki launched two high-speed lightning blades at Issei.
Issei raised his arms, feeling the pain of the blades slicing into his body. He stumbled back, feeling the blood flowing down his arms.
"What's wrong, Aniki! No witty remarks! No retorts!" Mitsuki said, running towards Issei and furiously assaulting him with a series of high-speed slashes.
Issei barely managed to keep up and was barely able to block even a few of them. The cuts on Issei's body were slowly building up and the pain and blood loss was beginning to get to him. He needed to end this and end it fast. His pride would never allow himself to fall so far behind Mitsuki.
And he would prove it. A surge of newfound power coursed through Issei. A red aura flared around his body, catching Mitsuki off-guard as it pushed her back. "Take this!" Issei swung his fist at her at full force.
Mitsuki raised Yorihime's scabbard to block the blow. However, the force of it reverberated through the sheath and her body. She flew at high speeds away from Issei and crashed through a few stone pillars before slamming into the cliffside.
She fell off and landed on her hands and knees, feeling the pain of Issei's blow. Mitsuki raised her hand and wiped a bit of blood away off her lips.
"Heh, that's the spirit." Mitsuki shakily got to her feet and stumbled a little. That blow was stronger than she expected. She would have been severely injured if she hadn't raised her defenses at the last possible moment. "But still no Balance Breaker."
Issei rocketed towards her at high speeds. She was right. He needed to awaken the Balance Breaker. The whole point of this training was to place him in lethal situations to force his body to react and provide the stimulus needed to awaken it.
He threw a punch at her.
Mitsuki dodged the attack and responded with a punch of her own. She sent several quick jabs to her brother's face, knocking him back. She followed up with a lightning-coated fist to his midsection that sent Issei flying into the air like a ragdoll.
I can't bring it out! Issei thought as he felt his energy beginning to wane.
Ise, don't disappoint us.
I… no! I have to keep going! I can't disappoint, Buchou!
With that resolve, Issei caught himself in mid-air and hovered over Mitsuki, who was eyeing him carefully.
"You know what Mii-chan. I think I can do it. Emotions are running at an all-time high. This next attack will definitely bring it out!" Issei said, clenching his fist.
"Hmm? Really? I've spent the past hour and a half trying to get it out of you." Mitsuki raised an eyebrow. "How sure are you that you got it?"
"I…" He didn't. But what he was going to do next was suicidal. He was going to poor the rest of his energy into the Dragon Shot which would lower his defenses drastically. And Issei knew for sure that Mitsuki would cut it apart easily.
"You don't know, do you? You're gambling it all on this one move. I can see why… I can see why Asia died."
Issei felt something inside him snap. Mitsuki had chosen to go for the lowest-hanging emotional fruit. Anger bubbled up inside of him at her words. "That wasn't my fault…" Issei said. "I promised her. I promised all of them that I would grow strong enough to protect them."
"Then prove it. Prove it to me that you won't fail like you did with her," she said.
Issei clenched his jaw. He knew what she was trying to do and he hated to admit it but it was working. Issei raised his hand above his head and a massive ball of red energy appeared above him. He began pouring power into it, amplifying its strength and size until he could no longer. The size of this blast was bigger than the one he used against Tannin.
"I won't lose. I'll achieve it! I can feel it!" Issei affirmed.
Mitsuki smiled and widened her stance. She focused her eyes on the massive red sphere Issei was holding. Her hand hovered over Yorihime's hilt and her finger rested on the sheath's trigger.
"Take this! [Dragon Shot!]" Issei roared.
Issei fired the massive beam of crimson energy at her. The blast rocketed towards her with the force of a massive city-killing meteor. Winds uprooted bushes and plant life around the area as the blast approached the ground.
Mitsuki remained calm. The blast inched slowly towards her. That was what her eyes could see. Demonic power began to flow through her body and surged outward, producing a violet aura. Lightning crackled around her and her blade.
"Oborozuki-Ryu: Mangetsu."
Lightning engulfed Mitsuki's body as she surged forward, disappearing from her spot in the blink of an eye.
A streak of lightning sliced through the Dragon Shot, cutting it in two and causing it to explode violently. The entire area was leveled and reduced to a pile of molten rubble and a smoldering crater.
Issei's vision was engulfed by lightning. That's all he could say about it. It was like lightning ripping through the tranquil air and severing everything in its path. And in that instant, Issei knew that he was going to die. This was certainly going to kill him. Issei's life so far began to flash before his very eyes and his instinct and strong desire to live began to take over.
For them! I'll do it for them!
For Buchou!
For Asia!
For everyone!
And that's when he felt it.
[It seems that… this near-death was what you needed after all, Partner.]
The moment Mitsuki's lightning-filled katana sliced through him, a surge of energy burst forth from Issei's body. She flew past him and sheathed her blade slowly, causing even more cuts to appear on Issei's body.
Issei wanted to scream in pain but bit down. The power in his body was overflowing and drowned out the searing pain he felt from Mitsuki's Yorihime. A crimson armor began to encase his body and the red aura became even stronger. Powerful winds ripped through the area, heralding Issei's ascension into the Balance Breaker proper.
Mitsuki hovered in the air above him, observing the situation. Tannin appeared next to her with his arms crossed.
"He's unlocked it but…"
"Yeah, he's lost too much blood and he won't be able to maintain the form," Tannin finished.
The armor finished encasing Issei and a pair of draconic wings burst from his back.
[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker: Scale Mail.]
Issei turned around to face Mitsuki and Tannin.
"Mii-chan, I… did… it…" The Balance Breaker faded as suddenly as it came and Issei began to plummet to the ground.
Before Issei could hit the ground, Tannin caught him in his hand.
"Hey, Old Man," Issei groaned as the dragon placed him on the ground gently.
"You did it, Aniki. Sorry about the whole Asia thing," Mitsuki said.
"It's fine. I know you didn't mean…" Issei passed out before he could finish his sentence.
Mitsuki smiled and lifted her brother's head before placing it on her lap. "Get some rest, Aniki. You've earned it."
Issei blinked when he found himself in the same abyss from his dreams. The infinite black stretched as far as the eye could see. However, Issei made out one structure inside in the distance. There was a chair just sitting there in the middle of the void.
"Ddraig?" Issei asked.
[I'm here. It seems that we're in your mind.] Ddraig said.
Issei turned around and saw Ddraig standing behind him.
"Let's go."
Issei and Ddraig moved forward towards the only thing that they could see. As they got closer, Issei heard the sound of clapping getting louder. And they stopped as soon as they saw who was sitting there.
In front of him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life. No words could describe how perfect she looked. She had a curvaceous, slender body with creamy pale skin that was matched by her alabaster white hair. Her eyes were exotic with her right eye being as blue as the sky and her left eye being as red as a ruby. A halo that resembled a crown of horns sat atop her head. She wore a dark blue jacket with a white button-up shirt, and a long blue skirt.
The amount of raw power she was radiating pinned Issei to his spot. The power was not demonic in nature at all but rather, it was Divine… in a twisted sense. Her power easily surpassed Kokabiel, Azazel, and even that of the Four Satans. This woman, whoever she was, had power akin to that of a God. And despite its suffocating and crushing presence, all Issei could feel was a familiar and comforting warmth washing over his body.
"So you've finally gotten to this place, Ise-chan~!" the woman said, getting up from her chair. Seven pairs of wings as black as the infinite darkness around them unfurled from her back. Each wing possessed a single talon at the top.
Her wings are darker than Sensei's! Issei thought.
"I've been waiting for you to unlock your Balance Breaker but I never thought you'd do it in such a reckless way! Good thing Mii-chan is such a considerate girl, holding back that blow so you can survive," she chastised.
For some reason, her words made Issei feel small. It was like being scolded by his own mom.
Ddraig's eyes widened when he saw her.
[Y- You are-]
The woman waved her hand and Ddraig's mouth snapped shut. She placed a finger on her lips, signaling for Ddraig to be silent.
"Now, let's get introductions out of the way, shall we? I am your Guardian Angel. The manifestation of the Origin Power in your body. My name is Mastema," she said. "And as you can see, only a girl as beautiful and bright as the Sun can grant you powers second to that of the Welsh Dragon~!" she winked.
Mastema
The mysterious being who describes herself as Issei's powers made manifest.
She is a free-spirited girl who does whatever and whenever she pleases.
Regardless of whether it catches her attention or makes her lose interest, she regards it as something worth noting.
"As you can see, only a girl as beautiful and bright as the Sun can grant you powers second to that of the Welsh Dragon."
[]
Blacklight File: Archive File #18303
File Name: Tannin
Information:
One of the Former Dragon Kings and the Blaze Meteor Dragon.
He is ranked Ultimate Class and is on par with The Four Great Satans. Only known relationships are with Mephistopheles, an Original Devil, and Bova-Tannin, his offspring. Primarily known for his high physical parameters and fire breath. It should be noted that his fire breath is on par with that of a meteor strike of at least city killing level, making him extremely dangerous. Possesses the Queen Piece which augments his draconic and demonic powers. All personnel should not engage Tannin in combat and instead observe from a distance. Do not attempt to engage without the presence of a Division Captain. To Division Captains and Division Heads, engage with caution.
The old man's fire breath is really strong! I wonder if we can replicate that in a simulation? -Crimson Wyvern
Is there a way to turn off sound? It's not that he's rude, it's just that he talks after every move he makes. -Blooming Orchid
I'll try to modify it. For all rookie agents, please do not attempt this simulation on Real difficulty. -Providence Eye
Well, there are no reviews today so I won't have to answer any.
Before I get into it, a few translations for Mitsuki's sword techniques.
Oborozuki-Ryu: Hazy Moon Style
Futsukazuki: Second Day Moon
Mangetsu: Full Moon
Ah yes, so Tiamat is not going to end up in the Boosted Gear like she did in the original. Sorry guys, she didn't make the cut to be Ddraig's roommate sadly. Mastema is now Ddraig's roommate! In addition, I don't know if you've read my other story, Azure (which you should), but I didn't do the same thing I did in Azure like I did in here. Azure followed the canon way of Issei awakening his Balance Breaker while Issei was almost killed in this one to awaken his Balance Breaker. It's to show the outside influence Mitsuki has on him. Also Mitsuki's Precision is literally just accelerated visual perception. She can see high-speed movements and the environment in greater detail. Nothing too fancy. To everyone who read... Til Midnight, don't spoil characters in the reviews. I want people who've never read it to have a good experience with this story and to come up with their own theories as to what I'll do next because I did wash down the original plot and destroy it. The only thing that vaguely resembles TM is that TDO has the same basic plot premise and shares some characters.
Well, that's it for that. Please leave a review and I will answer it to the best of my ability! And follow if you liked the story. See ya'll next time in the next chapter.