Chapter XXIII

Issei didn't like fighting.

That was the truth.

Even when he was young he was always the type who would shout and throw a tantrum over actually starting a fight. And that wasn't because he was afraid he might actually get hurt, but because by trying to avoid others as much as he could he was trying to keep them around him.

Because being lonely hurts more than getting knocked on his butt by an annoying kid in the neighborhood.

Sure, he'd get annoyed and grapple with his friends from time to time, but as far as he remembered it took a long time for him to actually convince himself that the most basic inconvenience wouldn't make them turn around and leave in a huff because of him.

Fighting didn't get you oppai.

And that's what he believed.

Only now he wasn't so sure if that was true anymore.

It wasn't something he noticed at first, but from the moment Issei became a Campione, he'd been getting into more and more fights. And the thought of doing that didn't seem to bother him as much as it used to. Not anymore. In fact, the moment Sha Wujing challenged him, Issei felt a familiar electric sensation thrum through his body.

From the tip of his toes to the roots of his hair.

Excitement.

Anticipation.

Eagerness.

The same feelings he associated with opening up a limited edition magazine, or booting up one of his new games for the first time. The same rush he got when some of his classmates hit just the right angle to bless his eyes with their beautiful oppai. Yes, Issei understood now that the feeling pumping through his veins was a familiar one.

'But still… when did that change?'

He'd never been the violent type, so when did he start craving it?

"Not going to call for your allies? Don't think that just because I'm smaller than Bai Long that it makes me weaker by any means." The kappa-like warrior stood across from him. Seemingly lackadaisical, watching the girls from the corner of his eye as they stood near an overrun house, having long since abandoned their hideout when the second heretic appeared, the Campione couldn't tell if the relaxation was feigned or sincere.

Issei turned his shoulders, stretching his arms as he loosened his body.

"Don't wanna. If you got a bone to pick with me, then I'll just beat you up. The other guy was just causing too much damage to do it this way."

And, well, they kinda jumped in to help him without asking. Not that he didn't appreciate it, especially with his hometown on the line. But man, if they were in a place Issei didn't care about he wouldn't have minded seeing just how far he could go to test that legendary dragon.

"How chivalrous, for a poisoner, that is."

Ugh, did he have to keep bringing that up?

So maybe taking down the giant boar like that was his idea, but that didn't mean it wasn't for the exact same reason. And the fact that fighting all three legendary brothers was kind of a tall ask for little ol' him.

"Listen, even a curtain lifting general is still a soldier. How's it fair for someone like that to pick on a kid? In fact, I'd say that makes you a bully!"

Touching the tips of his toes, Issei grabbed the bottom of his feet for a moment and enjoyed the burning in his calves.

"Oi, oi, oi! If I'm a general, that's no way for a brat to speak to me!"

"So you admit you're a bully!"

Jabbing his finger at his opponent, the teenager was jogging in place when the monster roared.

"I'm gonna pound you into cucumber paste!"

Stepping forwards, the staff wielder brought his length of wood up and around in a vicious arc. Issei threw his arms up in an X block, catching the strike with suddenly conjured shards of marble, before taking a strike to the ankle when Sha Wujing used the rebound from his blocked strike to slip underneath the crossed pillars.

"Ouch! No fair!"

Issei had to hop back, but his ankle hurt enough it rolled when he made the landing and stumbled.

Sha Wujing pushed forwards, kicking the blocking pillars with enough force to send a blast of shards right at the Campione - who turned his shout of pain into a weak blast from Screech Wail.

Turning to dust, they smacked harmlessly into his butler costume, allowing the Campione a chance to follow back up with an extended rain of stone spikes. Each projectile fell with lethal position, seeking to slam into Sha's head from a slightly different angle. Only for the Kappa to fend them off with a rotating flurry of strikes, each attack sending at the very least a spray of debris in Issei's direction.

'This guy is pissing me off.'

Having his own power thrown back at him was annoying, even if the debris from his own marble didn't hurt him, it still forced him back and clouded his vision.

"Let's end this now!"

Unwilling to stand back and get shot at, the Kappa dashed forwards and tried to land a thrust directly on Issei's temple. The Campion raised up a wall of spikes and then launched himself to the side. This let him counter with a stone-enhanced straight.

Unfortunately, audacity and boldness does not always defeat skill and training.

Which is to say that Sha Wujing retaliated by throwing out a snapping punch right into the meat of Issei's forearm, sweeping his leg, and dropping an axe kick straight into his gut. All in the time it took the teenager to realize he was not a trained martial artist. And also, as he spat up bile, to conjure several dozen smaller spikes directly around his opponent's back leg and send them rocketing directly into his flesh.

"Damn it!"

The squelch-tear of his leg being impaled was just wet and meaty enough that Issei was glad he hadn't eaten while they were cooking.

Issei didn't let him recover, rolling over and then spring up to his feet - using the force of his to jump to drive his forehead against the general's face with a meaty thunk. A strike with just enough force to send him stumbling back before swinging a massive hammer of white stone, hoping to crush him against the small bed of spikes the godslayer manifested behind the Heretic God!

Sha Wujing, however, was faster, and with a blast of smoke took flight as a hummingbird just as Issei crushed the space where he'd once stood.

"Right, I forgot he could do that."

Transformation didn't sound like a useful power until you actually saw someone using it.

And the heretic was fast! Flitting through the air, zig zagging around Issei even as he tried to catch him with an oversized fly swatter. The darned little thing had a sharp tongue too, stabbing into his arms and back like a swarm of bees, leaving small bleeding bite wounds all the while.

"Get OFF!"

A powerful shout exploded forth, the waves too widespread to really do anything other than knockback the bird, forcing the Heretic to switch back to his original form. Issei expected it, dropping a massive block on top of him, large enough to nearly crush a house nearby.

Only for a tower of sand to erupt from underneath the kappa and stop the stone before it could crush him.

"How can you do that? Just… I don't think I ever read about you having powers like that?"

The general smiled impishly.

"Don't ya know what they call me in the west, kiddo? It's Sandy!"

Issei sputtered.

Of all reasons to gain extra powers, he got them from a freaking pun?!

"Bwahahahaha! Look at your face!" Turning ugly and vicious, mocking and jeering, the Kappa's personality switched so suddenly it was jarring. "What a freakin' pussy. Even when I was cracking those guys' bones open, they didn't bitch and whine as much as you. And you're a Godslayer for God's sake!"

Face going red, feeling a sudden, ugly spite in his chest, the teenager almost screamed back, almost threatened his enemy, almost… charged in.

Like an idiot.

"Bastard. You almost got me." he spat. "But even if that was a trick, you still pissed me off."

"Good."

"I'm gonna kick your ass and turn you into a wallet."

"Very good."

Taking another stance, this time with one foot forwards, staff swept out, one palm forwards, Sha Wujing lined himself up perfectly.

"Now let's see if you can back those words up. Or if your journey ends here."

"To give and to take, to invoke the caduceus, twins, triplets, sisters all, one half shall grant salvation, one half shall invoke damnation. Both shall rage inside your veins, Dr. Venom!"

The Kappa suddenly grunted in intense pain, immediately shoving a finger down his throat and leaned down to puke. But just as sheer guts don't always work, sometimes they do. And with his opponent suitably distracted, Issei dashed in from the side and boosted his leg upwards with a marble pillar.

All he did was aim his knee.

There was a violent crunch when his knee slammed home in an absolutely brutal strike and Sha Wujing had to blast Issei away with a sudden rush of sand.

Pulling up a trick from the Lu Hao fight, the teenager threw up a mass of liquid marble behind him - bleeding off his speed and forming a semi permeable barrier in front of him that blocked the coarse, irritating sand before it got everywhere. Only to scream in pain when the sand in his clothes, his hair, trapped against his skin began to violently rub and dig into every inch of his body.

Dragging his barrier across himself, he managed to gather up most of the attacking debris, but at the cost of his eyes, nose, and ears bleeding, and what felt like hundreds of scratches and cuts all across his body.

"Gah. Asshole."

The two had collapsed to their knees across from one another, Issei letting out a curse as he spat up sand.

Sha Wujing didn't manage to talk, merely holding his broken jaw and smiling with his eyes.

Both fighters needed a minute to rest.

Issei couldn't see well at all and his enemy was clearly reeling from the blow to the head. Neither of them were exactly at their best and both of them knew this fight was also far from over.

So neither of them attacked.

Sha Wujing was dealing with the fact his leg was maimed and that he still had lingering poison in his bloodstream, while Issei could feel small grains of sand still buried in the holes pecked into his body by the hummingbird form of his opponent. And if he was feeling a little winded, well, who could blame him?

They'd both been maneuvering and throwing around magical attacks that could have ripped people apart or shredded them to pieces.

Yet… that well of energy was still within him.

"Tell you what. Don't act like a bastard again." Issei raised a fist to the other man. "And we can fight to the bitter end. Sound good?"

A pained nod from Sha Wujing, who limped forwards to bump knuckles with the Godslayer.

And the battle was back on.

Before their knuckles had fully cleared one another, Issei raised up a giant slashing blade of stone that swam around his body to strike at the kappa from the side. And Sha Wujing lashed out with his staff to block the blade before reaching for a rabbit punch.

The human pushed forwards, letting the blow clip his ear, as he pushed inside the guard of his opponent. Spiked gauntlets manifesting mid blow, he began exchanging a rapid flurry of strikes with his foe, both grunting when struck, and neither able to land telling strikes.

But because of Issei's wounded senses he failed to do much in the way of dodging, while Shu was similarly unable to gain the distance needed to properly bring his staff to bear thanks to his injured leg!

And amidst the lull of battle and the adrenaline, Issei's heart thundered in his ears.

'Yes, that's the feeling.'

The thing that worried him the most, that for all he didn't want to hurt and kill anyone, for all everyone went on and on about how he was a great terrible Godslayer, Issei had slowly but surely started to develop the same battle lust that Luo Hao expressed.

Yet now was not the time for distractions!

Casting aside his doubts, the teenager launched himself at his foe with every ounce of fury he could muster.

Focused on throwing straight jabs against his enemy, Issei knew that trying to be fancy and clever would get him defeated. He had no martial arts, after all. But that didn't mean he couldn't use certain moves to his advantage.

So, when Shu trapped his arms, wrapping his staff around both and moving to throw Issei to the ground, the brown haired boy moved with the toss and brought both of his legs up… and then kicked out while conjuring stone spikes on the bottom of his feet!

Both strikes landed smoothly in the kappa's stomach, penetrating deeply, while the young man was slammed into the ground hard enough to make him see spots - his head cracking the pavement and bouncing as the throw ended. And yet neither attack was enough.

A Campione's body was durable, even if their brain was still vulnerable, and Sha Wujing was a cultivator and a celestial being even before becoming a Heretic God.

Simple disembowelment wouldn't be enough to end him.

So, blinking stars out of his vision and trying to ignore a strange ringing in his ears, the young man rolled to the side and forced himself to stand up.

"Damn my injuries! I won't give up!"

Unleashing a sand twister, the kappa held his stomach and launched wave after wave of skin-shredding-slashes. Raising up a pair of marble walls, Issei created a windbreak to shelter behind and began focusing. Because something told him this fight was about to end soon.

'One way or the other… I can tell this is going to end soon.'

Maybe it was because they were both slowing down, but Issei could tell that playing for distance like this was to his advantage, not Sha's.

'A medium range fight lets me use all of my authorities, while a close range favors his staff and transformations. But a point blank fight is no good because I can use small conjurations and my own blood to further weaken him. So what's he planning?'

The ground shook, the Earth rumbled, Issei closed his eyes because he knew what was coming.

"Made of stone, formed by fear, drowned in love lost and worship scorned. Oh Garden of the Gorgon, oh Rose of Marble, hear my call and know I see you. Let the beauty of life ever frozen manifest as the Mineral Garden!"

Chanting, Issei focused every drop of power he had into a single spear.

Four meters long, with a large, curving handle right in the middle. Each side curved off and formed a wing, while the tip formed a flat, leaf shaped blade. That is to say, he conjured a boar-spear of pink veined marble.

Because the massive tusks smashing through his barriers were obvious. As was the final charge in his sister's form Sha Wujing. After all, he was a shapeshifter. So what better finishing attack than that of a rampaging divine beast?

There was the explosion of the impact and then a wet, grotesque squelching as the giant transformed monster skewered itself. Eventually, there was a small pop and a kappa fell from the ground, most of its torso now a ruined mess. Though Issei hardly cared, dashing forwards to catch his opponent as he fell.

"Gah. Bastard." Sha Wujing smiled at him, his actually flexing a little. "How'd you guess?"

Exhausted, still dazed from having his skull smacked into the ground, and feeling his own strength leaving him, Issei could only smile back.

"Because you rushed in to protect your big sister."

The general chuckled, spitting out a thick spray of blood as Issei laid him against the ground. The Campione could tell, instinctively, that all fight had left the Heretic God and with his own instincts calming down the Godslayer reigned in his thundering heartbeat.

The battle was over.

"That was… so freaking cool!"

And then was immediately startled as Zhu Bajie, who'd spent most of the past few minutes laying down on her face, seemingly taken out by the poisoned food, rose like a zombie would from a casket, a smile of the purest, most child-like adoration gracing her as she hopped and skipped over to the two of them.

"Man, you two put on such a show. What a battle! Sha, why didn't you tell me you'd gotten fancy new tricks, too! We coulda totally team up, ya know? It would have been super easy to win, and then the food woulda been all ours!"

The Campione blinked in confusion, stepping aside as the girl he thought he'd poisoned to defeat ran past him and started shaking her brother like a ragdoll.

"You… were alive this whole time?"

Sha Wujing had a different question.

"Why didn't you say anything, you dolt?! We could have actually banded together now!"

"And miss out on watching the show? No way! No sir! You two were being so cool that I just had to let you guys have your manly duel. If only I hadn't eaten everything earlier, I'd have actually snacked on something too." Zhu Bajier stuck out her tongue teasingly.

Issei and Wujing shared a look, as if passing a message between themselves.

'This girl is a dumbass.'

"Glad you enjoyed the show, but uh… are we gonna fight now too? Or what?"

She tilted her head, confused.

"What are you talking about? I'm already dead."

He blinked, shocked at the frank admission only to realize the heretic wasn't lying. Visible cracks started to appear on her face, running down her neck as the skin lost its coloration and began flaking away. Hadn't she been completely normal a moment ago, Issei would have mistaken her for one of his statues.

Even so, it was clear she was telling the truth.

"Ah… I'm sorry."

She waved him off with a carefree smile.

"Nah, nah. Don't be like that. The food was actually delicious, well worth the poison in fact! And, well, I can't even say it's against the rules, whether it was us or Wukong, we always ended up having to be clever to save the day. Today we just happened to be on the receiving end."

Besides her, Sha Wujing rolled his eyes fondly.

"You're too cavalier about this."

"And you were having too much fun to notice, Mr. Honorable Duel."

The kappa warrior blushed, looking away as he scratched his cheek. By now he too had started to break apart, deeper cracks appearing around his wounds, flesh breaking apart and fluttering into the air as white dust. And yet the two legendary warriors didn't even seem to notice it, instead bickering and complimenting each other on how well, or how poorly, they did.

Issei couldn't help laughing along with them.

"Hey now, don't you get a big head just because you managed to get one over us this time, mister. Cuz when we come back I'll make sure to get payback. No matter how tasty of a snack you are, I'll definitely beat you up. And then you'll marry me and feed me,and call me-"

He gave the kappa a look.

"She has her priorities straight, huh?"

"It is one of her many virtues, yes. Though I hesitate to call it that."

Issei nodded, before offering the general a hand… which he hesitantly took before shaking.

"I figure you'll want a rematch."

Sha Wujing smiled.

"Damn right. Next time, a proper fight. No monkey business."

Whatever answer he could offer went unsaid as the general faded away, leaving behind nothing but a pile of dust. Besides him, Zhu Bajie stopped her demented rant, a look of relief washing over her face as she offered Issei a tiny genuine smile and waved her own goodbye.

"Thanks for the food!"

Before her body too, fell apart.

Issei took a deep steadying breath. Smile quivering a bit as he rubbed away at his eyes. It was just his luck that some dust got caught on them. A terrible fate for any godslayer.

And so what if anything happened after that?

There was no one there to see.

"Thank you for seeing them off."

Issei looked up, heart weighing heavy in his chest as the blonde monk walked over to where he stood. Taking a seat besides the very spot that not so slightly twinkled under the light of the sun with white, pristine dust. The very same dust that appears every time the body of a god gave away.

Like the gods he'd just killed.

Her friends.

"I'm sorry."

She looked up to him, golden eyes striking as the rising sun as they saw right through him. Issei had to look away, eyes bloodshot and body still aching.

"Do you feel guilty?"

Did he?

Yes. This marked the 5th… no, the 6th time that he'd gone through with slaying a god. And even after all these times, Issei couldn't help but feel like he'd done something unforgivable. Maybe not as bad as when he fought Dusa-chan and her sisters, but to force a young boy to fight and then kill the heroes he spent years hearing about and cheering for….

It was rough, to say the least.

"You are a kind boy, Issei Hyoudou. Please, will you take a seat?"

She touched the spot beside her, Issei's legs collapsing under him as he took the spot to the other side of the monk, no longer facing the stain of white that had been left behind.

"A godslayer who regrets having to kill gods. I find myself quite surprised, even more so when you seem to genuinely mourn for them. As a heretic myself, there are a lot of things we expect as we manifest. Being challenged, worshiped, detested, or cursed is all natural. But I don't think any of us ever expects to be mourned."

He didn't get it.

He didn't get it at all.

"Isn't that sad?"

The Monk, Sanzang, sighed.

"We aren't real. Or rather, we are born with the awareness that we were created through the wishes and love humans bestowed upon our legends. For many of us, that monkey included, it's a hell of an ego boost. And for those who despise their own legends, it's something to be reviled. We are actors who are born to perform a role we had no choice of, but those roles give us meaning and thus we can never betray them."

It was what made Dusa-chan suffer so much.

What made Stheno and Euryale chase after him.

And now put him up against all these heroes of legend.

"How do you feel about that?" He couldn't help but ask. After all, she was the first Heretic to actually go out of her way to help him… okay, maybe she was the second to do it, but with Athena he was pretty sure she was paying him back for taking her out.

"I'm content with my role, why do you ask?"

It was weird. And it made him feel deeply unpleasant things.

"It's just… that I don't like that we're having to fight your friends. Real or not, you're still pretty much companions, right? It doesn't matter if you change, to you that's who they've always been."

The monk looked away, though Issei managed to spot a brief flash of color to her cheeks.

Was she feverish or something? Could gods get sick?

"These fools are just acting out again, making a mess they need to be scolded for. Really, if anything I should thank you for helping me fulfill my role. As it stands, I think they were satisfied."

Issei looked up, confused.

He didn't know about that, he hadn't known them long enough to know what they were thinking or feeling. But he had the feeling that right up until the end, those two were having fun.

"Man, this is complicated."

"Being a good person always is. I am glad that you turned out to be one."

Issei looked away, embarrassed.

"Well, it's not like we're done yet. With those two down, that means only Goku is left, right?" And fighting the monkey king wasn't gonna be easy in any way, shape, or form.

"I don't understand why it wouldn't be."

Heavy moment passed, it seemed that Bucchou and Akeno felt comfortable approaching them, though the dark haired beauty looked at him as if he'd said something confusing.

"I don't understand what you mean?"

"If what we've learnt of Campione in general is correct, then shouldn't you have obtained no more than three new abilities since this entire mess started. The more heretics you slay, the more powerful you should become, no?"

Fortunately, the monk answered that one.

For the three of them.

"Not in this instance I'm afraid. Subordinate Gods like us are part of a greater self. Our powers aren't imparted onto those who defeat us, but instead return to the source."

The red headed devil clicked her tongue.

"So the Monkey King recovered most of the power he split off by this point? We missed our chance to end this by ambushing him when he was at his weakest."

Issei shook his head.

"He was pretty strong already without them. At least it was pretty hard to fight him when he didn't bring them out."

The monk nodded.

"Yes, his imperfect manifestation meant that he had to gather the power which had been spread over when the seal was broken. I'm sure that he will be an even more formidable foe now that those three have been subsumed back into his legend."

Issei smiled thinly.

"Well, I guess that just means that so long as you stay with us he won't be at full power, right?"

The look she gave him didn't inspire hope.

"Right?"

"Unfortunately I already find myself already being drawn back to the mountain. Before, I was able to resist the compulsion with my own powers. But now that Bajie and Wujing have been subsumed, his power eclipses mine by too much. If we wait too long to confront him, he may assume complete control over me."

Crap, so that was another problem to deal with.

Issei closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Whatever." He paused, gathered his thoughts, and then discarded them so that he might speak carelessly. "Right now we have food that isn't poisoned and it's getting late. Goku can stew up on this throne alone or come down off his mountain to face us. But I'm not walking up there in the dark. Besides, I think it's time you two figured out a way out of here."

"What do you mean! We're not just going to, to, to abandon you!" Rias seemed genuinely offended. "I know I might not be as durable as a Campione, but both Akeno and I can help."

"Yeah. You two are probably better at fighting than I am. But you're forgetting one thing."

Seemingly knowing exactly what she was talking about, the Queen put a hand on her King's shoulder.

"Rias, we… should probably speak with your brother."

"Huh?"

"If I'm not back by the end of the day you two should probably call someone to clean up this mess."

The Campione smiled when he spoke, but that was that.

"First, though, let's go get something to eat. You guys cooked like crazy and I don't wanna let any more of it go to waste than we have to!"

So what if he was still ignoring the obvious?

So what if there was a crazy demon monkey god thing threatening his hometown?

Issei's friends had cooked him an amazing meal and he was going to appreciate it!

And just maybe leave out two bowls of rice as an offering.

But like with the dust, well, no one needed to be around to see that either.

The rest was brief, and the food was great, but then came the time where he and Sanzang had to part with the girls. A promise that they would be staying inside their hideout and wait for him. The trust felt nice, like they were sure that he'd win despite the rollercoaster ride they just went through.

Issei wished he had as much confidence as they had.

"And how are you feeling?"

Turning to the monkey, he watched her with concern. By the looks of it the compulsion she talked about must have meant one hell of a headache since the usually unflappable monk had her face set in a pained grimace.

"Hanging in, but I should be fine for the time being."

He nodded.

Shouldn't stick around him if she felt she might get taken over. That was the kinda person Sanzang was.

In the end, it wasn't hard to find their way back to their base. All the roots covering up the houses and the streets lead back up to the mountain, and after a time Issei could even see the remains of his home.

"Heh. I guess having magic makes things really convenient."

Watching as the Devils heated up the food, lit the home, and conjured a heated bath and, well, the teenager had to admit he was pretty dang jealous.

Even more so when Akeno levitated several remotes around as she tried to get any kind of signal and Sanzang walked over to stand next to him and squeeze his shoulder.

"Rest when you can, God Slayer."

Because when they were done, it would be time to face the Monkey King.