" when talking"
'When thinking'
"When ddraig talks"
System talk/message
(name tags)
Hyouduo household
After arriving at his house and laying raynare down in his bed, Issei could be found standing in his backyard looking at his daily quest after finishing his work out. ' i thought that the workout would help get my mind off everything that happened but i still keep thinking about how that went.' thought issei to himself.
" Player, you need to let it go. Both you and those girls let your emotions get the better of you. At this point it doesn't matter that you both fought." said tet to issei.
" I know, but that's not the main reason I am like this." said issei.
" ya i know. In all honesty it shocked me when you told me to keep the difficulty of the sacred gear the same, but I guess after realizing that you didn't stand a chance made you want to get better. All the better, given it is in your nature to want to get better to beat the boss that beat you so that you can move on to a harder boss." said tet.
" You're not wrong. But I wish that there was a way for me to do more to get stronger." said issei.
" Player, sometimes I think you are an idiot. Have you forgotten that you can train with your summons and you can take on dungeons." said tet.
" I haven't forgotten that, but I don't have a dungeon key and the summons I have can train me but it doesn't increase my stats much." said issei.
" ya well you have a point there, but hey you never know you might get a key from your reward for daily quest. But you do know that not all your strength comes from your stats right? If that was the only thing that mattered then your soldier tamiel would have killed you when you fought him. A measure of strength is a combination of multiple things put as one." said tet.
" good point, so i would probably try and get better at strategy, swordsmanship and other things. But speaking of my champion. Tamiel, igris." said issei calling out the two soldiers.
In a swirl of ash the champion of war, and crawling out of issei's shadow was his first soldier and his strongest soldier. " Yes my king." said both of the soldiers showing their respect to their king.
" I have a question for you two. Earlier at the shrine you acted like a teacher and student, why was that? I didn't think you knew each other until I summoned both of you?" asked Issei, slightly confused.
" you would be correct my king. The first time we met was when you summoned us for the first time. As for why we act as teacher and students is because when we are not summoned we train with each other. But unfortunately my swords skills are no match against tamiels." said igris with a tone of disappointment.
" Train, but how?" asked Issei, confused.
" When we are not summoned we exist in a pocket world connected to you. Think of it as your inner world. While there we wait for you to summon us, but we also watch what is around you. But at one point I realized that the other summons were not as strong as myself, so I decided to start training them." said tamiel.
" He's not wrong player," said Tet, appearing out of the sacred gear. " The inner world he is talking about is a representation of the sacred gear. For example when you talked to me for the first time, that was in the sacred gear and we were in the area i reside in. so what they are saying is not wrong, they do have a place inside the sacred gear, funny enough even your inventory is in the same place. So if they wanted the soldiers could practice with your weapons too." said Tet with a grin on his face while floating upside down.
" Absolutely not. Those are the honored weapons of our king. To use one would be of the highest disrespect to him." said igris with pride in his tone.
" That and we have our own weapons we can use that we have been training with for a long time. It would only be a detriment to use a new weapon, especially if it is not one we are used to using." said tamiel.
Before any of them could say another word, issei sensed raynare waking up. Unsummoning the soldiers and having tet go back into the sacred gear, issei made his way back to his room. As he walked into the room he could see raynare rubbing her eyes like she just woke up from any normal sleep. " raynare, you ok?" asked issei in a soft tone.
Looking around the room in a daze, Raynare looked at Issei and smiled. " oh hey issei." said Raynare with a calm and sweet voice. But after a couple of seconds, raynare fully woke up. " wait issei how…. Where… but I got it." Raynare was cut off by a hand being placed on her shoulder.
" I know, and thank you for being concerned about my safety." said issei smiling at raynare.
After calming the girl down and explaining what happened, issei was not surprised to see the look of anger on her face. " Those devils, why couldn't they just leave you alone, why couldn't they just leave us alone? Why can't they just leave me alone." said Raynare, getting more and more quiet as she looked down.
Looking at raynare issei could guess what she was thinking. She is probably still worried about the last saints coming after us. Damn those bastards.' thought issei, unintentionally letting his emotions show on his face.
" issei." said raynare looking at issei, who was pulled out of his thoughts at the girl's voice. " yes." replied issei.
" Next time you go into a dungeon. I'm coming." said Raynare with a face of determination.
Thinking about what raynare said, issei wanted to say no but taking a second to think about it gave issei an idea. " ok." said Issei, shocking raynare.
" what?" asked Raynare, confused.
" You can come with me next time. Actually I want you to come the next time I go into a dungeon. That way we can both get stronger." said issei with a smile on his face, getting one from raynare as well.
After talking with raynare for a little, issei decided to look at his rewards for his daily quest. Opening his reward window, issei was about to look at it when he felt two very soft mounds be pressed against his back. Holding a blush back he turned his head slightly. " might i ask what you are doing?" asked issei with a forced smile.
" What, I want to see what you get." said Raynare with a cheshire grin on her face as she wrapped her arms around Issei's neck.
Letting out a sigh, Issei went back to what he was doing, allowing Raynare to see what he could see. As issei opened his reward, he could have sworn that he heard a short god laughing in his head.
Quest: from the bottom to the top - complete
Quest rewards: 50 gold, exp, 1 stat point, random gift
Random gift: dungeon key- key to the corrupted harvest (lv.24)
Letting out a sigh, issei had a face of disappointment. ' Tet, why do I feel like this is your doing?' thought issei to tet, who continued to laugh in issei's mind.
Feeling a poke on his cheek issei was pulled out of thoughts. Looking to his side he could see Raynare looking at him with a quizzical look. " yes." said issei.
" Well when you were telling me about what happened you said that you had summons but I thought you only had two." said raynare.
" I guess I forgot to tell you that. You see while I was in the dungeon I got my job class which allows me to summon the enemies I have defeated." said issei summoning igris and tamiel who both kneeled in front of issei and raynare.
As she looked at the two in aw, raynare realized that igris looked familiar. " Hey, isn't he your shadow knight that you summoned before?" said Raynare, pointing at igris.
As issei was about to answer he was cut off. " Yes my queen, I am the same summon from before. But upgraded." said igris, bowing to raynare.
" queen?" asked Raynare, confused.
" Yes, you are our queen and Issei is our king." said tamiel.
" Wait, I'm Issei's queen?" asked Raynare, with a blush on her face.
" Yes, given you are someone that our king cares about and you have recognized him as your soon to be husband we saw it fit to call you by your title of queen." said tamiel.
Hearing the words of the champion both issei and raynare blushed with issei starting to freak out at what was said and raynare looking away with her hands on her face trying to cover her blush. Before anymore could be said issei noticed his sacred glowing and in the next instead tet appeared out of the sacred gear rolling around in the air laughing like a mad man.
" on my….. I….i ….. I don't think… i have ever … seen something so… funny." said tet in between laughs.
" umm issei who is?" asked Raynare pointing at tet.
Face palming at the god in front of him issei answered raynares question. " that would be the god that both lives in and is my sacred gear."
" Wait, he's a god and he is your sacred gear?" asked Raynare, confused.
" Unfortunately, yes. He is tet god of games, and he was turned into a sacred gear by the creator of the sacred gears." said issei, gesturing to tet who composed himself.
" Wait, the god of the bible turned him into a sacred gear?!" yelled raynare.
" yes miss, he did. He saw me in a weakened state and asked me if I would be willing to become a sacred gear to save my life and to help mankind protect themselves." said tet crossing his legs while floating in the air.
" You chose to be a sacred gear? But why? You are a god, why would you let yourself be sealed away?" asked Raynare knowing what it was like to be sealed in a cage.
" Well for me it was either that or be forgotten forever. I am the only god left from my mythology, the only reason I was still alive was because I gained power through those who play my games. But i will say that being a sacred gear isn't all bad, i get to meet new people and i get to help the same people i love to see playing my games. The other good thing is that given I became a sacred gear willingly, I have a bit more freedom than other sentient sacred gears." said tet, with a mix of happiness and acceptance on his face.
After talking with raynare and tet for a while, issei left the house and made his way to the forest where he first found raynare. Making it to the forest issei used his perception skill looking at the spot raynare was and the area around it. But before he continued looking he had to do one thing.
" You can come out now. I know you're there." said issei to nobody.
After a second or two someone walked out from behind a tree. " So did you sense me or was it another power you have?" asked the person.
Turning around to answer the person's question he could see his guess was right, for in front of him was the knight of rias gremory. " No need, I could smell you the minute I left the boundaries of kouh. Given you're the only one that smells like a forge, yuuto kiba." said issei looking at said knight.
" smell? Is that one of your skills or are you not human?" asked kiba walking over to issei.
" Now that would be telling. But I will ask, why are you following me? Is it because your king asked you to or is it of your own choice?" asked Issei, continuing to look around the area.
" I was told to be your observer by buchou." said kiba.
Turning his head a little, issei looked at kiba seeing the look on his face and gained a small grin. Turning his head back around to look at the slope near where raynare was, issei started to speak. " You have a question for me. I can see it on your face." said issei.
" multiple actually." replied kiba.
" Well you're in luck. I may have the answer to some of them." said issei, deactivating his skill and looking at kiba.
" Well, first, why are you talking to me? I thought you would still be mad at us." asked kiba with a curious tone.
" I would be, but after some talking with tet and self thought I have made a decision to give you guys a second chance, well maybe not all of you given that sona sitri shot me." said issei with a grin.
" Well I guess that's good news for my king to know that you are willing to give her a second chance at least. But I would like to know what information you get from your sacred gear when you use it? Is it just who they are and their title or more?" asked kiba with a half serious look on his face.
" Are you asking if I know about your past, about the holy sword project." said issei making kiba freeze in place with shock on his face, but issei could also see what looked like sadness in kiba's eyes.
After seeing the look on Kiba's face, Issei felt bad for just saying that out loud. " Sorry for bringing it up." said issei.
Looking down, Kiba replied. " No it's ok, I'm the one who asked."
Realizing that the moment had gotten weird, issei decided to get back to what he was doing. Seeing that issei had continued to do what he was doing, Kiba pushed his emotions to the back of his mind. " issei what are you doing out here?" asked kiba.
" I'm trying to see if I can find any more information on the people that attack raynare and akeno." said issei seeing the path that raynare slid down with his perception skill.
" So they also attack the fallen angel," said kiba walking over to issei.
" akeno is also a fallen angel so you can use her name. But yes i am looking for them." said issei slowly making his way up the slope with kiba following behind him.
" So who are they if you know?" asked kiba.
" They call themselves the last saints. They are a group of humans, and hero descendants who believe that only humans and human heroes belong on this planet, and that all supernatural races and people with sacred gears must die." said issei making it to the top of the slope.
" they can't be serious. They do know that most human heroes of history had sacred gears right?" asked kiba rhetorically.
" To be honest, I don't know. It wouldn't surprise me though if the one leading them had a sacred gear and is just trying to be the only human with a sacred gear left. Or something equally as crazy." said issei looking at a pile of ash on the ground.
" Unfortunately it would seem that we have even more enemies now." said kiba making a mental note to tell Rias about these last saints.
As the two were standing on top of the hill, issei's eyes widened and the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. In the next instant issei was diving onto kiba to move him out of the way, and as the two hit the ground it could be seen that issei had a screen up right were he was before showing a emergency mission but the screen had multiple holes through it thanks to the six light bullets that issei and kiba just dodged.
Looking to the side both issei and kiba could see six men holding weird pistols and light swords, and one more guy who looked to be their leader standing behind them. Making it to his feet first, Issei helped kiba up. " you alright?" asked Issei as he kept his eyes on the seven people.
" I'm good, thanks for the save." siad kiba making it to his feet.
Looking at the men, Kiba gained a weird expression which is noticeable. " What's with the face?" asked issei.
" the six with guns and swords, their priests from the church. But the guy behind them he's not from the church. I don't recognize that uniform." said kiba with a narrowed gaze.
" I do. That's the same uniform that the guys who attacked akeno were wearing." said issei with anger in his eyes.
" Oh what do we have here? A devil being helped by a human who has a sacred gear. What did we tell you, people with sacred gears are destined to join the devils. Only a select few will ever be good and pure enough to not betray the lord." said the man with the last saints uniform.
Hearing the words of the man both issei and kiba gained a face of disappointment at the comment of the man. " Hey issei, what would you say to you and I working together to beat these guys and get some answers?" asked kiba as he stood next to issei.
" I think I can do that. But this will be the closest thing you and rias will get to me joining your peerage." said issei pulling out his storm ruler.
" I'm ok with that. Anything else I should know?" asked kiba summoning a standard European straight sword.
" Just that the one from the last saints is mine." said issei as his armor covered his body and the mimic started to extend its tendrils from behind issei's back.
" Works with me." said kiba getting into his swordsmen stance.
Seeing the two ready to fight made some of the priests raise up their light swords and ready themselves to attack. " don't just stand there you idiots, kill them!" yelled the last saint. Hearing the words of their appointed leader, all of the priests started to fire light bullet after light bullet at issei and kiba. Activating quicksilver and using his air dash magic, issei practically vanished from his spot reappearing next to the last saint, shocking not just the man but also kiba given that out of everyone there he was the only one that could see issei move and he didn't expect that kinda speed from a human.
Quickly recomposing himself the last saint went to draw a curved sword from his back but before he could, issei had already charged up his storm ruler and fired a lightning arc at the man sending him flying back a couple of feet away from the priests and issei. Dashing after the man issei activated greed on the man feeling the increase from the ability. Making it to the man issei readied his storm ruler to cut the man's chest but was forced to stop when tet yelled at him in his head to stop.
' Tet this better be good.' said issei to get in his head.
" I sense another sacred gear. He has one." said Tet with a serious tone.
Hearing the words of the god issei activated his observational skill on the man.
Name: james mcroads level: 16 race: human
Information: a member of the last saints sent to recruit stray exorcists and excommunicated priests and get more information on the supernatural creatures and individuals in kuoh. He is an arrogant person who thinks that just because he is in the last saints and that he has a sacred gear that it means he can do whatever he wants.
Sacred gear: heaven's binding: heaven's binding also known as the shackles of heaven are low class sacred gear that takes the form of chains with arrow shaped tips on the end. This sacred gear allows the user to bind any enemy and limit their movements and their powers. The chains can be released from anywhere within a 5 foot radius of the user.
Current thoughts: damit way did they have to be here. Why can't they just die?
' thanks tet. Went in a little too fast.' said issei.
" No problem. I'm here to help after all." said tet.
Keeping an eye on the man, issei sheathed his storm ruler and prepared to unleash his lightning blade staying just out of range of James's sacred gear. As James got to his feet and raised his sword he noticed issei in his stance and that he was just out of range for him to do anything.
" you fucking unnatural bastard. You and that devil don't belong in this world.!" yelled james.
" By that case doesn't that also mean you shouldnt belong either. You know, having a sacred gear." said Issei back with a calm tone.
" That's where you're wrong, you ignorant disgrace to humanity, I am one of the few chosen by our noble leader to lead humanity to a new age." said James, with a crazy look in his eyes.
Seeing the crazy look coming from the man made issei even more ready to cut him down but the threat of the chains kept issei from making an attack. But unfortunately James didn't let Issei just sit there. Taking a couple steps forward with his sword at his side, and a crazed grin on his face. As James took those steps multiple chains shot out from all around issei. Seeing the incoming attack issei released his lightning blade using his endurance to make a second cut and his double impact skill to make a third and fourth cut breaking multiple chains but not all of them. Activating dragons hide, quicksilver, perception. Beastial features, and a new one bestial rage.
Feeling the increase from his enhancements, issei was able to hit the rest of the chains away and start making his way towards james. But even with a level difference and buff, the amount of chains eventually got through his guard and one chain hit his left leg only grazing it but once it hit issei felt weaker.
Debuff: steal chain- steals the power of those the chains hit. The longer a chain is touching a target the more power is taken.
' damn. I need to stop these chains before anymore touch me. But they come from every direction. This is going to be a pain.' thought issei continuing to block and break chains.
Slowly walking James continued to send more and more chains but it could be seen that he was sweating profusely. Chain after chain issei couldn't keep up, getting hit and scratched by different chains getting weaker and weaker as time passed. ' Dammit I still am not powerful enough to handle a simple sacred gear without my stronger skills.' thought issei angry at himself.
" What's wrong? Cant handle some simple chains you vile creatures!" yelled James in a crazed shout.
Hitting multiple chains away, issei looked right at the man and said two simple words. " the world.". In the blink of an eye James could only feel pain more than anything.
With kiba
After issei dashed off, kiba dodged and deflected multiple light bullets from the six priests slowly making his way closer to them. As he got close he noticed that the priest had run out of ammo and needed to reload. Not missing the chance, Kiba dashed towards them with his increased speed from the knight piece in him and cut the barrels off of all the light pistols.
Being disarmed of one weapon, all the priests quickly attempted to attack kiba with their light swords. But given that they had very little training with the sword, gave kiba the chance to block parry and deflect all the attack with easie, that is until a lucky priest hit his left shoulder and almost took his arm off.
Backing away from the priest, kiba dropped his sword and held his wounded shoulder, gritting his teeth so as to not let the scream he wanted to release to come out. Seeing the devil injured the priest all charged swinging their light swords at kiba to cut him to pieces. In a fit of anger kiba let out a loud yell and activated his sacred gear and caused multiple swords to grow from the ground around him, skewering each of the priests till all of them were half a foot off the ground impaled by multiple swords.
Taking deep breaths, Kiba slowly made his way out of the maze of swords he unintentionally made. Looking at the dead bodies of the priests, Kiba had a weird mix of remorse and slight joy. Looking away, Kiba made the swords disappear and let the bodies fall to the ground. Walking in the direction that issei went, kiba could see issei standing over james's body.
Letting his armor disappear and having the mimic take the appearance of a scarf, issei let out a deep sigh. " before you ask, he's not dead. I just knocked him out." as issei said this he allowed his storm ruler to disappear back into his inventory as kiba stopped in front of the two.
Looking over kiba, issei noticed the cut and could see the amount of pain kiba was in. reaching into his store issei pulled out a health potion and handed it to kiba. " Here, you look like you could use this."
Looking at the bottle with a curious and suspicious look, kiba was hesitant to take it. " It's not poison. It will heal you. If I wanted to kill you there are easier ways. Besides, if we go back to your king and you look like that she may try to kill me." said issei with a small chuckle at the end.
Grinning at issei's comment, kiba took the potion and in one go all of it was gone. As the final drop left the bottle, Kiba's wound started to heal and the pain began to leave his body. After a couple of seconds kiba couldn't feel any more pain and once he ran his hand over the areas he couldn't even feel a scratch or a scar. " wow. Those things really work. That's better than healing magic and devil regeneration." said kiba in amazement.
" Well it can only do that so often. The average human can only have one of those twice a day, for you and me we can have it more often but too much and our bodies start to rapidly age." said issei as he deactivated his skills and used his increased strength to pick up james and lift him onto his shoulder.
" rapidly age? But devils live almost forever, why would aging be a worry for us?" asked kiba with curiosity.
" Well, here is a question for you, given I don't know the answer. But what lives longer: a devil or a dragon? Cause tet told me that at one point a dragon died from aging after drinking too many of those potions." said issei getting kiba to look at him in shock and in worry.
Seeing the look on Kiba's face, Issei started to laugh. " dude don't worry, you would have to drink more than you did to have that happen." said issei as he started walking away from kiba and towards the priests. As the two approached issei could see all the puncture and slash marks on the dead bodies.
" got a little mad and lashed out." said kiba with a small amount of disappointment coming out.
" don't worry, I don't blame you. That and I don't think god will be too mad either. They were all excommunicated apparently." said issei not noticing the slight face of pain on kiba at the mention of god.
Continuing their walk both issei and kiba made their way to the kuoh academy campus. While walking, Issei opened up some of his windows to clear them while he had a chance.
Emergency quest complete. Would you like to accept your rewards?
Reward 1: gift box
Reward 2: gift box
Accepting the rewards, Issei was slightly disappointed at what he got.
Reward 1: mintberry soap - a simple soap made from berries and herbs. When used this soap can help rejuvenate the skin removing all signs of fatigue and can also help relax the muscle and joints of the body.
Reward 2: calming incense- incense made from herbs that are known to help relieve stress. Upon using the incense and sitting in the area of effect the user or users will feel a sense of calming come over them and a sensation of stresslessness.
' I feel like I should be more mad at the fact that I didn't get anything good, but then again that was relatively easy and at least I can use these as gifts.' thought issei as him and kiba made it to the academy campus.
" Come on, our meeting location is the old school building on the side of the campus." said kiba leading issei on to the campus grounds and in the direction of the old school building.
As the two approached issei could see an old wooden building that looked like it hadn't been used in years but as he entered the building he could tell that it was well taken care of. From the new wooden floors to the nice windows, issei couldn't even understand how an old battered building could look so nice inside.
Keeping up with kiba, issei noticed that they were walking towards a set of double doors on the second floor of the building. Seeing kiba open the doors and walk in, Issei decided to follow right after him. Stepping through the door, issei could see a wood-paneled room with Victorian-style couches and chairs along the walls, with a large desk seated in the center back of the room looking over the couches. In the room issei could see rias, akeno, and koneko all sitting like they were waiting for something.
" issei, i hope you and kiba are ok. Kiba told me what happened." said Rias walking over to her knight to check his shoulder where he was hurt.
" he told you, how? He was with me the whole time." asked issei confused.
" I used a magic circle to send a message to her." replied kiba while Rias finished looking over his shoulder.
" I didn't know that was a thing, but it's good to know. But to answer your question I am fine. A couple scratches but they will heal. My regeneration is already doing its job." said issei moving to the side of the room to place james down.
" you regenerate? Is it a skill of yours?" asked akeno with a curious tone.
" ya its a skill i have, its a minor regeneration skill." said issei as he finished putting james body down.
Taking a couple steps back, Issei could feel someone's hands on his shoulders. Looking over he could see Rias's hands on his shoulder with a faint red glow coming from her hands.
Effect: devil healing magic
" Thanks for the healing magic but like I said, just some scratches, they will heal on their own." said issei, not making any move to stop rias.
" Think of it as a small thanks for healing Kiba's wound." said Rias, slowly removing her hands from Issei's shoulders.
Turning to rias issei could see a small smile on her face. " Thank you for healing me but remember I'm not joining your peerage. I am still a little mad at you and sona for what you did to raynare, i am starting to forgive you. But it takes time." said issei looking at rias with a straight face.
Looking away, Rias had a sad look on her face as soon as she heard Issei's words. Seeing the look on her face issei also gained a sad face. Letting out a deep sigh, Issei looked at the rest of the people in the room lingering on akeno for a few more seconds then the rest, before returning to rias. " Hey enough with the sad face, it doesn't suit you. And remember I'm still willing to be friends, and to help you guys out if you need it." as issei said this rias's face changed to a face of happiness and sunshine as she perked up in excitement.
" Really, you mean it. That's wonderful to hear." said Rias with stars in her eyes.
Looking away from the shining rais and away from her bouncing breasts, issei tried to get the group back on the topic at hand. " Well now that we have that done, what should we do about our unwanted guest?" asked Issei, looking at james.
Recomposing herself, Rias looked at the unconscious man. " You're correct, I would like to have a few words with this man myself." As Rias said this, all the joyfulness on her face disappeared and was replaced with anger and cold indifference.
" Well if you don't mind, I would also like to have a word or two with him. So I hope that doesn't make things difficult for you?" asked issei looking at james.
" No problem with me. As long as he cant do anymore to hurt us or other then it should be fine." said rias as she gestured towards koneko who moved over to the unconscious man and picked him up just as easily as issei did.
" It's still a little weird to see someone that size pick up a full grown man." said issei in a small amount of shock at the sight.
" fu fu fu. Yes, that's the normal reaction the first time anyone sees it." said akeno with a slight chuckle at Issei's reaction.
After watching koneko carry the man into another room and seeing rias follow after her, issei decided to wait out in the main room with kiba and akeno. While sitting down issei could see kiba reading a book while drinking a cup of tea that akeno made for him and issei. Taking a sip of his own tea, issei had to admit that it was both delicious and calming to drink the tea.
Seeing the look of appreciation on his face made akeno gain a smile as she sat down next to issei. " It looks like you like my tea."
Finishing his sip, Issei put his cup down and looked at akeno. " very much so. It's very good." said issei with a small smile of his own.
" I am glad to hear that. Would you like some more?" asked akeno holding the kettle.
" Yes please." replied issei holding his cup so that akeno could pour him some more tea.
Pouring him some more tea and setting down the kettle, akeno looked back to Issei with a questioning gaze. " Would it be ok to ask you some more questions?" asked akeno.
" sure as long as it's not too personal." replied issei taking another sip of his tea.
" Well, your summons, how did you get them? Are they a part of your sacred gear or something else?" asked akeno with a curious tone.
" Well, I wasn't expecting that. But to tell you my sacred gear gave me a job class. Think of it like a speciality." said issei getting not just akeno's attention but also kiba's who put his book down to listen to issei.
" And what is this job class you got that gave you the summons?" asked akeno, more curious than before.
Letting out a deep sigh, Issei answered the question. " Well my exact job class is called king of war, it's a sub specialized class of necromancers." As issei said this both akeno and kiba's expressions changed to that of shock.
" necromancy, so you command the dead and your summons are zombies?" asked kiba with a small amount of disgust.
" Not exactly, I can only bring back those that have died in battle or in a fight, and i dont bring back their bodies it's more like I bring back the ashes of who they were." said issei.
" But wait, if you can only bring back those that die in battle then that means that your sacred gear can take those that would go to the realm of the dead that are for warriors. Like valhalla." said kiba interested in how a sacred gear could overwrite the laws of a realm.
" Well according to my sacred gear and the skill I can only try and bring someone or something back three times and the chances of me being successful depend on how long the thing is dead and the will of the creature to stay dead. If I fail all three times then the soul is released to the realms of the dead and I can try to bring them back anymore." said issei opening his skill info window mid conversation to make sure he was saying the right thing.
" Interesting and your summons, they had intelligence. And they had their own thoughts." said akeno with a hand on her cheek in thought.
" Well from what they tell me, they know that they died and that they have come back. They also remember their past and keep their skills. But as for listening to me and following my orders they say that it's as if they had been following me for my whole life and that they have nothing but the utmost respect for me. To be honest kinda creeps me out, given they are in all sense of the word brainwashed to follow me. Well except one." said issei with a quizzical look on his face at the end.
" And which one is that? What makes them different?" asked kiba.
Instead of answering, Kiba issei looked to his side where his shadow was. " igris come out please." said issei, as his shadow stretched and as if made of the darkness igris rows from the shadow in a kneeling posture with his sword planted in front of him with one hand on the hilt and the other over his chest.
" You called my king." said igris with his head lowered.
" Oh you have them call you king." said akeno with a small chuckle at issei.
" Actually they decided to call me that." said issei looking away from akeno who continued to smile at him.
" It is a sign of our respect." said igris, getting to his feet and stowing his sword on his side.
" You say respect but issei just told us that when he brings one of you back it is like blind loyalty." said kiba.
" Yes, when my king brings back something from the dead it makes them believe and feel as though they have been following the issue for their entire lives. But the difference from me to them is that I was not brought back by the job class. I was his first summon and I chose to serve him of my own free will." said igris, shocking kiba and akeno at the words of the shadow knight.
" If you don't mind me asking mr. igris but why do you follow issei?" asked akeno.
" It is no problem to ask, and if you would like, you do not have to address me as mr. igris. For that is a title I no longer hold, Igris will be fine. As for your question, the reason is that issei set me free from a curse. When we first met i was nothing but a monster and i wanted nothing but the nightmare that my life had become to end, and along came my king who ended my nightmare and by the grace of his god gave me another chance at life." said igris which caused akeno to become intrigued along with kiba and issei, give he had not heard about this before.
" You said you were cursed, and that issei's god gave you a second chance. What did you mean by that and when you said issei's god do you mean lord tet?" asked kiba.
" Yes, the god Tet who resides inside of my king gave me a choice to help Issei, and I took it. I became the armor that he now wears, as it is made from the hide of my monsterized form. As for my curse, that is a long story, some of which I myself have forgotten over time, but the parts I do remember are the worst of the story. I was a knight who served his kingdom with honor and glory, I fought in many battles and won many wars. But one thing I wanted was a family, and one day I got that. I had a wife and a child on the way but I never got to see the child. For the day they were supposed to be born I was sent to kill a witch that had threatened the kingdom. Unfortunately for me the witch was much more powerful then I was and she cursed me with lycanthropy. At that moment I knew nothing but pain and anguish as my body changed. But once the change was done my pain had only started, as in my monsterous form I attacked my kingdom and slaughtered the people of it, including my own wife and unborn child. After that my memories get harder to remember up until I meet issei, who i now follow as my new king." said igris handing akeno a tissue as she had started crying at the story, while kiba was locked in a state of wonder and shock. But the person with the greatest reaction was issei, who had almost had a mental breakdown at the information and what he had truly done for one of his summons.
Looking to his king, igris could see what the information that he had just said made his king feel. " My king, I apologize for making you feel conflicted with how you killed my monsterous form." said igris kneeling to issei.
" No it's not that. It's just I thought this whole time that the things in my dungeons were simply made from my sacred gear and had no effect on the real world, and I thought that you were simply made from my armor. But if you were a real person and had a life, a life that I technically ended…" issei couldn't finish his statement due to igris interrupting him.
" My king, like I said , you have set me free. As for the life I had, it doesn't matter anymore, given that my family and friends have been dead for many many years. So I ask you, please do not feel bad for killing me and giveing me a second chance at life. Even if it is in death." said igris makes issei's jaw drop at the sincere words.
Listening to the words of the knight, kiba couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity with igris as he remembered how he met Rias, how she saved him from the brink of death after he had escaped from the holy sword project. Making up his mind kiba got up from his seat and walked over to igris getting both the knights and issei's attention. " Sir igris, I would like to ask you to train me in the arts of a true knight." said kiba bowing to igris' shocking issei at what he asked.
Hearing the young man in front of him igris placed a hand on his shoulder and had him raise his head. " Before I answer your question, would you answer mine?" asked igris.
" Yes, please ask." replied kiba.
" Do you have someone you wish to protect?" asked igris with a serious edge to his tone.
" yes. I want to protect Rias and my friends." said kiba with his own serious tone.
" Would you sacrifice everything to protect them?" asked igris, not changing a ounce of his tone.
" yes. I would give my life to protect them." said kiba with a small change in his eyes, a change that igris saw.
" Who do you seek vengeance on?" asked igris with his glowing eyes narrowing.
" the ones that killed my friends and tortured me." said kiba in a small amount of shock at how igris knew what he was thinking.
" Would you put protecting those around you above your want to kill these people? Would you throw away your desire for revenge to save your king?" said igris taking a step towards kiba causing said person to take a step back.
" i ….. I ….. I would ….." kiba didn't know what to say. On one hand he wanted to say he could tell that deep in his heart he knew it would be a lie.
" a true knight will put the protection of those they care about above anything else, a true knight's sword is not to cut down their enemies but to block the blade that is aimed at the ones you care about." said igris taking another step towards kiba cause the boy to trip at the pressure the shadow knight was giving off.
" i…. I will…."
" you will what?!" demanded igris.
" I will protect them!" yelled kiba.
As he said these words the pressure in the room disappeared. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Kiba could see igris kneeling in front of him looking into his eyes. " I know I can see it. I can see your true desire in your eyes. For a knight must know what they want in the moment instead of what they want in the future. You might not be able to get your revenge now or soon, but the world has a strange way of helping those that push himself achieve their goals." said igris standing up and offering his hand to kiba.
Looking at the hand, kiba took it and lowered his head while staying in a kneeling position. " From this day forward you and I will walk the path of knights and I will teach you what I know of knight hood." siad egress with kiba agreeing.
As this moment happened issei and akeno just looked at each other in confusion. " Um, do you know what just happened?" asked issei.
" no, but from what it looks like, kiba has finally taken a step away from his inner darkness." said akeno smiling at her friend.
While the two knights continued to stay in the positions they were in, both rias and koneko walked out of the room that they brought james into. " ok we got what information we could but….. Umm am I interrupting something?" asked Rias, confused at the sight in front of her.
Koneko was just looking at the two with a blank face before walking over to Issei and looking at him. Looking at the girl, issei didn't know what to say until koneko spoke up. " Move yours in my spot." said koneko pointing at the spot Issei was sitting in.
Seeing the serious look in her eyes issei quickly got up and out of koneko's way, with akeno giggling and both igris and kiba moving away from one another, with kiba sitting back down looking away from rias and igris standing behind issei with a neutral expression.
Getting past, she says, Rias continued to tell the others about what she could get out of James, which wasn't much given that he seemed to forget certain things as soon as Rias asked him about them. After hearing what rias said issei made his way into the room with igris behind him for his turn with james. As soon as he walked into the room he could see James sitting in a chair with rope holding him to said chair and a weird magic circle around him on the ground.
Activating observer issei learned it was a anti sacred gear magic circle that disables the users sacred gear as long as the person stayed in the circle and if the circle was made from their blood. " Guess they didn't want to take any chances with you." said Issei, walking over to the man.
" fuck you scum. You don't….."James was interrupted by a blade being stabbed into his shoulder and a shadowy hand over his mouth.
" now. I am going to be the one asking questions and you will answer them. But unlike the devils it seems, I will hurt you. So my first question. Who sent you to kuoh?" asked Issei with igris removing his hand from James' mouth. But the man didn't say anything, looking like he wasn't fully there.
Notice target is under the effect of a seal.
Seal of silence: a unique technique that stops the person with the seal from revealing certain information to others.
' damn so that's why he wouldn't tell rias more information.' thought issei.
" How do I remove the seal?" asked Issei, narrowing his eyes.
" What seal you dumb ass. Are you just trying to waste my time!" yelled James, thrashing around.
" ah so you weren't listening earlier." said issei holding up his players world gauntlet with his emerald blade still dripping with his blood from a second ago. Before James could say another word the blade was stabbed into his other shoulder causing him to let out a loud scream, or it would have if igris didn't put his hand over James mouth again blocking the sound.
" So on to my next question" said issei pulling his blade out of james's shoulder.
These went on for about an hour up until James passed out from pain and shock, which was not surprising given the amount of stab wounds and cuts all over his body. Though it was a surprise to the devils when they saw him after issei walked out of the room.
" What did you do to him?" asked Rias with a small amount of fear at issei.
" I was trying to get information and also get a small amount of revenge for raynare. But I couldn't get much given he has a seal that stops him from tell others about the last saints." said issei standing next rias.
" Revenge, what did they do to her that would warrant this?" asked rias.
" That is for her to tell, and don't worry he is not dead or severely injured. All the stabs and cuts are to none vital areas." said issei, as she looked at a clock in the room.
Seeing the time, Issei realized he needed to get back home for dinner. " Sorry to just leave but I have to get home so that my family doesn't get worried." said issei to the group.
" awww a mama's boy, that's cute, or could it be you just want to get back to that young girl at your house?" asked akeno with a teasing smile.
Not answering the question, issei started to make his way out of the room but stopped a few steps from the door. " Oh that reminds me." said issei turning around while reaching into his inventory and pulling out a bottle with light blue liquid in it.
Walking over to Rias who had taken a seat next to akeno, Issei handed her the bottle. " thank you issei but what is this?" asked rias.
" It's a gift for you girls. It's called mint berry soap. It's a soap that can help rejuvenate the skin removing all signs of fatigue and can also help relax the muscles and joints of the body. That and it is also supposed to smell like berries and herbs." said issei, getting both rias and akeno to look interesting.
Opening the bottle both girls took a smell from it and both let out a sigh of happiness. " It smells so good," said rias.
" yes it does. Oh issei is this your way of saying you want to bathe with us. Oh you're a naughty boy." said akeno with a Cheshire grin on her face.
Blushing issei looked away. " No, that's not what it is for it is just a gift." said issei getting a laugh from both girls.
" It could also be so that he could tell when one of you is nearby given he does have a heightened sense of smell," said kiba with a small chuckle.
" Hey man, you're not supposed to throw a fellow bro under the bus like that!" yelled issei at kiba.
" Oh, is that so? Well if you wanted to know when i was around." said akeno getting up from the couch and hugging issei from behind with her arms around his neck and her head next to his ear. " You could always spend a night taking in my scent while we had fun. All night long." whispered akeno causing issei to invent a new shade of red on his face and cause steam to come from his ears.
" akeno that's enough. He still needs to get home and I don't think the other girl would be happy if you stole him from her." said rias with a smile at her friend.
" aww but it's so fun to tease him. But alright i will let him go." said akeno letting go of issei but whispering one last thing into his ear. " But I wouldn't mind sharing."
After cooling his face and saying goodbye, Issei started to make his way back home. Making it to his front door, Issei could sense his parents in the house in the kitchen and he could even smell what his mother was cooking, and he could sense raynare in the living room.
Walking into the house, Issei yelled out that he was home and he could hear his mother welcoming him home and telling him that dinner would be ready in about 10 minutes.
Making his way into the living room issei could see raynare sitting on the couch watching a show on the tv. Looking closer issei could see that raynare was wearing tight skinny jeans and a tank top which was definitely gooding in given that issei couldn't stop staring. That is until raynare turned around and gave him a cheeky grin.
" You know you don't have to just stand there, you can just sit down. Or is there something else on your mind." said Raynare, keeping a grin on her face.
Shaking his head, issei walked over and sat on the couch relaxing and feeling the stress of the day wash away. But he wasn't relaxed for long when he felt Raynare move over and sit right next to him leaning against him. Slowly turning his head, Issei could see Raynare leaning against him and laying her head on his shoulder. Before he could say anything, Gouru walked into the living room and saw the two. " Well sorry to interrupt but dinner is ready." said gouru grinning at issei.
Turning around, gouru walked back into the kitchen and left issei and raynare alone in the living room. " Well guess I have to move," said Raynare, getting off the couch and eating and walking towards the kitchen. Before she made it there though she turned around and could see issei still sitting there. " What's wrong you miss the feeling of your girlfriend leaning on you." said raynare smiling at issei before continuing to make her way into the kitchen.
' haha haha. It's always so entertaining to watch the courting rituals of mortals. Especially when it comes to seeing the females being the ones hitting on the males.' said tet in issei's head snapping him out of his stunned state.
' shut up.' thought issei, with a blush on his face while getting off the couch to eat dinner.
' whatever you say, just remember to let me know before you do anything private with someone so that i can just cut the link between our senses.' said tet still chuckling a little.
' What? Can we do that?' asked Issei, slightly shocked.
' oh i guess i forgot to tell you that. My bad.' said tet rubbing the back of his head with a small uneasy grin on his face.
Next day
Waking up and immediately starting to do push ups and sit ups, issei was feeling slightly nervous, given that today he would be going into a new dungeon and he would be accompanied by raynare. Not knowing what will happen when raynare enters the dungeon and the thoughts that he was having about what ted said to him earlier had led to issei not getting a lot of sleep adding onto his nerves. But some of those nerves were washed away when half way through his sit ups raynare entered the room wearing all black leggings and a tight black tank top, causing issei to lose track of his count to to continue doing sit ups looking at raynare every time he came back up to do a rep. This continued until Raynare asked him how many he had left.
As issei shaped out of his state he looked at his daily quest window and something on there surprised him.
Quest: from the bottom to the top
Train to get stronger and level up.
Daily training:
Push ups: 100/100
Sit ups: 124/100
Run: 0/10 mil
Rewards: 50 gold, exp, 1 stat point, random gift
' 124? So the counter keeps going even if I finish the normal amount but why?' thought issei confused why the counter would simply continue to go up for no reason.
Ending his train of thought and setting a personal reminder to look at it later, issei got to his feet and prepared himself to go for his run with raynare.
After finishing his run and making it to a park bench, issei was stretching to release the little pain in his legs while also giving raynare a chance to catch her breath while she sat on the bench. " you ok. I mean you did better than last time. You actually finished all 10 miles." said issei with a cheeky smile.
" i….. Am…. fine. what ….. Is ….. Next?" asked Raynare, taking deep breaths in between each word.
" Well you and I have a dungeon to beat, so first things first let's get back home so that we can take a shower and get into a change of clothes." said issei while taking a sip of water at the end of his statement.
" I would… make a….. Joke. but… I'm too….. Tired." said Raynare trying to get to her feet but wobbling a little as she stood up.
After getting a shower and changing clothes, both issei and raynare made their way to a small farm on the outskirts of town. Arriving at the farm issei got an interesting idea and checked his daily quest one more time to collect his reward and to see if his idea was correct.
Quest: from the bottom to the top
Train to get stronger and level up.
Daily training:
Push ups: 100/100
Sit ups: 124/100
Run: 14/10 mil
Rewards: 50 gold, exp, 1 stat point, random gift
Would you like to accept rewards? Y or n.
' it also went up. How did I never notice this?' thought issei to himself accepting the rewards.
' Tomorrow I'm going to see just how high those scores can go.' thought issei looking at his random gift.
Gift: butter cookie tin- a tin of butter cookies that automatically refills itself at the end of each day. The tin holds 20 cookies of varringing shapes.
' i mean free food is great and it refills itself but i'm not much of a butter cookie fan. Wish they were chocolate chips.' thought issei putting the tin in his inventory.
Walking up to raynare, issei pulled out his key and inserted it into the air where a decent sized blue portal opened. " Well ladies first." said issei holding his hand out towards the portal.
Smiling at issei and grabbing his hand, raynare made her way into the portal pulling issei along with her.