It was the night of the meeting, and the ORC was preparing to head to the school from their clubhouse. Nero was also with them along with Musashi, Martha, Jeanne, and Jeanne Alter. Everyone was making their final preparations, with Mash straightening Issei's collar. "Senpai, your collar is crooked."
"Thanks Mashu. Even though it's just a modified version of my normal uniform it feels a bit stiff," he said, a bit embarrassed.
"It's just your imagination darling. Miss Crane's work is impeccable. I think your nerves are getting to you," said Nero.
"Maybe you're right," sighed Issei.
He felt someone wrap around one of his arms and saw that it was Rias. "Don't worry Issei, we are just there to inform them of what happened and to make sure things go smoothly. Even considering your circumstances, this is about the war between the three factions, so don't think you have to take care of everything right now. We can set things up for talks later on," she said, trying to comfort him.
Issei gave her a small smile in gratitude for her trying to comfort him. As they were talking another voice got their attention. "Rias-buchou, Issei-senpai, everyone, don't leave me," Gasper whined from inside his box.
Rias gave a caring but apologetic look to Gasper. "I'm sorry Gasper, but your power is still too unstable right now, and this is an important meeting that we cannot afford to mess up."
Issei showed a kind smile to Gasper and walked over and patted his head. "Don't worry Gasper, you won't be here alone. You have Erice, Voyager, and Nursery Rhyme with you. I'm also going to have some others here to protect you just in case." With that said Issei summoned three more Servants. When the light faded the three people standing there were Vlad, Jack, and Kijyo Koyo. When Voyager saw Kijyo he smiled and floated over to her for a hug, which she smiled and gave him. Issei looked to the three he summoned and addressed them. "Alright, like I told you before I want you to protect Gasper during the meeting. We don't know what will happen and I want all our bases covered."
"As you wish my Master," said Vlad with the other two nodding in agreement. He then turned to look at Gasper who slightly cowered from his gaze. "So, this is the young vampire you told me about, the one you wanted me to train."
Gasper's expression became surprised, as did the others and they all looked at Issei with questioning gazes. Gasper finally asked, "Senpai, w-who is this?"
"This is Vlad Tepes III, or as he's more popularly known, Dracula, but he hates being called that so please call him Vlad," explained Issei.
Everyone stared in shock at who was here with Gasper cowering in fear. Vlad noticed this and wished to assuage his worries. "Do not worry little one. My Master has told me about your situation, so I won't train you until you are comfortable in yourself. If I may be frank, I'm also not pleased with my vampiric nature and choose not to indulge in it unless necessary."
"Y-you're afraid of your power too?" asked Gasper.
"Fear wouldn't be the correct term, but something along those lines I suppose." Gasper seemed to be less wary after hearing that and partially came out of his box.
Jack tugged at Issei's sleeve to get his attention. "Mommy, he smells like a boy despite looking like a girl," she said innocently.
Everyone had surprised/amused faces at Jack calling Issei "Mommy", meanwhile Issei knelt down and patted her on the head. "Yeah, he's a bit like Astolfo in the way he dresses but be careful with him, he gets scared easily so don't spook him please."
Jack nodded with a smile. "Ok Mommy. I will make sure to play nice with him."
With that, Jack ran and sat near Gasper, with Akeno asking the next obvious question. "Okay, who's the cute child, "Mommy"," she asked with a slight giggle.
"She's Jack, as in Jack the Ripper," said Issei with a smirk.
Everyone was surprised, but unlike how they would normally react they were a bit scared, especially the girls. "Jack the Ripper, as in the infamous serial killer!" said Rias.
"Yeah, that one," said Issei nonchalantly.
"And you're having her guard Gasper, because…?" asked Rias who was clearly worried for her bishop's safety.
"Relax Rias, Jack won't do anything to him, isn't that right Jack?"
"I only kill what Mommy tells me to kill, or anyone trying to hurt Mommy," said Jack cheerfully.
"She's been guarding the house the whole time and looking after my parents so I can tell you she's fine," said Issei reassuringly.
The others nodded hesitantly in acceptance since they trusted Issei's judgment. Jack had been looking at Rias and after a bit Rias noticed her stare. "Y-yes? Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.
"You're dating Mommy, right?" Jack asked.
"Y-yes?"
Jack smiled an innocent smile. "Then that makes you my Mommy too!" she said excitedly.
Rias was surprised by Jack's words, and you could almost see a metaphorical arrow go through her heart since she didn't seem bothered by it. Rather she looked a bit happy. Asia, who also thought Jack looked precious, asked something she was curious about. "Why do you call Issei-san, Mommy?"
Jack tilted her head as if confused why she asked. "Because he's my Master, and that makes him my Mommy, even if he's a boy Mommy."
"Oh, so you know he's a boy," said Akeno, still a bit confused. Jack nodded her head in affirmation.
"Right, as entertaining as this is, we need to head out or we'll be late," said Kiba, trying to get everyone back on track.
Everyone straightened up and prepared themselves. "Alright, take care of Gasper. You know what to do if something happens," said Issei to his Servants, who nodded in confirmation. With that they all headed out towards the school.
The ORC showed up at the school grounds where the Student Council had already been preparing a barrier around the school. They had arrived first after the Student Council to greet the groups that would be attending the meeting. As they entered the barrier, they were greeted by the sight of many of Issei's Servants around and on top of the school. Issei had already talked with Sirzechs about providing extra security for the meeting and had deployed his Servants to guard the grounds as well as in the meeting room itself. Issei looked pleased to see everyone ready for anything and felt a bit of nostalgia for the times he had large scale operations inside of the Singularities. His Servants noticed his arrival and gave their greetings. Issei smiled back and waited with the others for the arrival of the leaders. The first to arrive were Sirzechs, followed by Grayfia, Serafall, and their followers. The followers started to spread out and take their own guard positions alongside the Servants, leaving 20 followers who headed for the meeting room. Sirzechs, Grayfia, and Serafall stopped to greet the group. "It's good to see you are all ready for the meeting," said Sirzechs
"Well, we're about as ready as we can be. This is a very important occasion after all," said Issei.
"You don't need to worry so much Issei-kun⁓. Even if something does happen it's not like we're helpless," said Serafall.
"Being helpless is the least of our worries Levi-tan," said Issei with a sweatdrop.
Serafall looked pleased that Issei was still calling her that but before they could continue, they were interrupted. Three Servants appeared nearby with one of them kneeling. "My Lord, everything is going smoothly, and the integration of the Underworld forces is successful," said Ushiwakamaru.
Issei gave a grateful smile. "Thanks Ushi, I'm glad I can count on you."
Ushi showed an embarrassed expression. "If it's for my Lord I will do anything."
"Kakakakaka! Loyal to a fault as usual Ushi. You should lighten up a bit, right Okita?" said Nobunaga.
"You're too laid back Nobu. This is a serious situation, and we can't afford to be reckless," scolded Okita.
"Don't be such a stick in the mud. With all these Servants here this is basically the safest place in the country," said Nobunaga.
Issei clapped his hands to get their attention. "Alright, that's enough playing around. The other groups will be here soon so please return to your posts." The three nodded and returned to their spots. When Issei returned his attention to the group he noticed Sirzechs watching Okita as she left. "Is something wrong?"
"That Servant, would she happen to be Okita Souji?" asked Sirzechs.
"Yeah, why?"
Sirzechs showed an amused smile. "I also have Okita Souji in my peerage. If I had known you would bring her, I would have asked him to be here."
Issei showed a surprised look, finding out that the Okita of his world chose to reincarnate as a devil. He was now extremely curious as to why he chose to reincarnate. "Well, if the chance arises, we should have them chat. Heck, I'm sure your Okita would like to have a long chat with the rest of the Shinsengumi as well since I also have them as Servants too," said Issei, a bit enthusiastically. Rias, who was listening intently, also seemed like she wanted to talk to Okita. Issei didn't seem to notice though.
Sirzechs smiled and nodded in agreement with Issei's suggestion. As they seemed to be making plans Serafall also jumped in with her own question. "Hey hey, are the magical girls here too?!"
"Sorry, they're sitting this one out. Considering the number of Servants here and their specific skills, I decided to have them stay home. If it becomes necessary I might summon them but for now, no." Serafall became crestfallen when she was told that, but Sirzechs put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her and they finally moved on.
The next group to arrive were the Angels and the church lead by Michael and a female angel. Despite being an Archangel, the same as Michael, she had a very erotic body that Issei had a hard time not staring at. He was brought out of it by someone clearing their throat and when Issei turned his head he saw Georgios suddenly next to him. "Master, it is rude to stare," he said.
"R-right sorry," Issei said while scratching his cheek. When he looked to the side, he saw his girls pouting at him as well. After those two entered, like the devils, the followers of the angels and church spread out to their positions, leaving only 20 followers just like the devils along with someone else they were surprised to see. "Irina?!" exclaimed Issei, gathering Asia and Xenovia's attention.
The girl reacted to her name being called out and gave a smile to Issei, although it looked a bit sad. She then turned her attention to Asia and Xenovia then looked away; a bit downcast. "Irina…" Xenovia said quietly.
While the mood became somber, someone unexpected approached the group. It was an exorcist with a sword on his waist. The group became on guard at the stranger's approach but he stopped in front of them and bowed respectfully to Georgios. "It's good to see you again Sir Georgios."
"Ah! I thought it was you. It's good to see you again Sir Darren. How have you been?" said Georgios.
Issei looked at his Servant, confused. "Is he a friend of yours, Georgios?"
Georgios turned to Issei with a smile. "Yes Master, he is the exorcist I told you about. The one who gave me the information about the Excalibur fragments."
"Oh, so you're Darren. Georgios told me about you." Issei extended his hand for a handshake. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Hyoudou Issei, Georgios' Master."
Darren showed a surprised expression, not expecting a young teenager to be Georgios' Master. He grabbed and shook Issei's hand in greeting. "I'm Darren Cunningham. It's nice to finally meet Georgios' Master. I wasn't expecting someone so young if I may be honest."
"I don't blame you. If I'm being honest, the circumstances that led me to being his Master were, unusual, to say the least."
Darren nodded his head in understanding. "When it comes to the supernatural, nothing really surprises me that much. I can only imagine what you've had to go through while being so young."
Oh, you have no idea, Issei thought to himself as he nodded gratefully to Darren's sympathetic words. "Well in any case, Georgios along with my other Servants are here to help protect the meeting and I assume you're here to do that as well." Darren nodded. "Then why don't you post up with Georgios? I'm sure you guys will have a lot to talk about."
"I would be honored to fight by his side," he said with a bow. He looked at Georgios who nodded and the pair went off to their positions.
As the group watched them walk away Issei felt a bit better about how things would go. "What a nice guy."
"I agree, Senpai. I'm glad Georgios made a friend as well," said Mash happily.
With that done the final group finally showed up. Azazel appeared with both Vali and Raynare tailing him. The followers of the Fallen Angels spread out to their positions but unlike the first two groups there was no one left besides Azazel and his two "attendants". The three approached the group and you could cut the tension in the air with a butter knife. Vali was staring at Issei with a slight smile, the girls (minus Asia) were glaring at Raynare, Raynare glaring at everyone, and Issei was trying his best not to let his now bad mood show. "Hey Issei-kun, Musashi, everyone," said Azazel carefreely.
"You aren't bringing anyone inside like Michael and Sirzechs?" Issei asked, a bit confused.
"It's unnecessary. Me and Shemhazai have already cleared what's going on with the other leaders of our faction and the followers will follow suit."
"Well, ain't that convenient," said Issei a bit exasperated and not really believing it will be that simple. Raynare looked like she was about to say something, but Azazel stopped her. Issei didn't want to hear her talk, but he also thought that having Azazel constantly stop her was annoying in a different way. "Azazel, stop doing that." Issei saying this caught both Azazel and Raynare by surprise. "As much as I don't want to listen to the sound of her voice, having you stop her from talking whenever we're around is counterproductive in what you're trying to do, right?" Azazel had a slightly resigned look, seeing that he was found out. Issei looked to Raynare who now was looking at him suspiciously. "If you got something to say then say it, but just keep in mind you're representing your Boss as well," Issei said sternly. Raynare opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself this time. It was clear she wanted to insult him but since she was representing Azazel, she knew she couldn't screw up a second time. She went back to glaring at Issei. Issei, seeing that she wasn't gonna say anything, let out a sly remark. "Riveting. So anyway-" Issei returned his attention to Azazel. "You're going to represent your faction by yourself?"
Azazel had a wry smile on as he answered. "Yeah. Shemhazai hates stuff like this, so he ends up leaving this all to me. It won't be a problem."
"I see. Well then, I guess we'll see when we get inside." With a nod, Azazel walked off followed by Raynare and Vali who gave Issei one last glance before turning away. Issei, who noticed he was staring at him the whole time and did his best to ignore him, let out a sigh. "It's almost like that guy is my stalker."
"That's because he is," said Ddraig jokingly inside his mind.
Issei let out a small chuckle before Rias grabbed his attention. "Alright, we should head in now so that we can take our places in the meeting room." With her words they all went into the school.
Everyone entered the meeting room which was already occupied by Issei's Servants. Two were stationed at the door's entrance and several were around the room. All the Servants in the room either had a helmet on or wore a mask that covered part or all of their face except a red-haired man with a harp/bow. There were two groups of seats for the devils and angels/church officials to sit at and in the center of the room was a large roundtable with six chairs surrounding it. Issei took note of the number of chairs and thought, guess no one mentioned Azazel would come alone. The attending maids lead everyone to their seats while offering refreshments for them. Sirzechs and Serafall were seated next to each other. Next to Serafall was the other angel, which Issei learned on his way to the meeting hall was Gabriel, and in the next seat was Michael. Finally, Azazel sat in the seat next to Michael.
Issei thought things looked weird with an empty seat but as he was following the others to go stand off to the side, Grayfia walked up to him. "Issei-sama, please follow me."
Issei was confused as were the others, but he did as he was told and followed Grayfia. She led him to an empty seat and sat down like he was told. When his mind finally caught up, he realized he was in the empty seat at the roundtable. Eh? Eh? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?! Issei thought to himself as he mentally freaked out. Why am I sitting at the meeting table?! This is a meeting about the factions, so why am I a part of this?! He remained calm on the outside but the look in his eyes gave away that he was confused. He looked around the table and the others seemed like they didn't see anything wrong with this, with Azazel giving him a shit-eating grin. These guys! They planned this! Issei went from panicked to annoyed and was now trying to think of how not to embarrass himself during the meeting.
It wasn't just him who was confused. Rias gave a worried look to Issei, not expecting this either. Raynare looked like she was fuming at Issei sharing a table with her beloved Azazel with Vali looking amused. Irina looked surprised as well at the situation. The onlookers from the factions were whispering amongst each other wondering what was going on as well. The Servants whose expressions could be seen seemed to give off a proud look at their Master being at the head table with the leaders. Now that everyone was in their places the meeting began, with Grayfia giving the introductions. "We shall now begin the summit of the Three Factions. Representing the Underworld are Maou Sirzechs Lucifer and Maou Serafall Leviathan. Representing Heaven and the Church is Lord Michael and Lady Gabriel. Representing the Grigori is Lord Azazel. And finally, representing Chaldea is Lord Issei." Each leader stood as they were called and after they were all introduced they all sat back down. "Now that introductions are out of the way, we will now begin the meeting." Grayfia started the summit. With that the various leaders began to discuss how current events were affecting their respective factions. Issei was surprised that they talked about God being dead openly, but when he looked around no one seemed to be surprised, meaning they were all told beforehand or already knew.
He looked at Irina from the corner of his eye and saw that she looked downcast. At least she didn't pass out like the first time she heard it, but I'm not sure if this is better or worse for her. I should talk to her after the meeting, thought Issei. As things were progressing one priest finally spoke up about something that was bothering the onlookers.
"One moment! Why is this boy in this conference?! We shouldn't be talking about secrets and such to people who are unrelated in this matter! What does this child have to do with our war?!" he was clearly looking down on Issei as he demanded an answer. Issei didn't necessarily blame him for his and the other followers' confusion. However, the tension in the room already rose before anyone knew it, but that was due to the anger of the Servants now being directed at this priest who seemed to be acting haughty.
Michael addressed the priest's question. "Issei-kun is here because we leaders agreed for him to be here. He was already going to take part since he was directly involved in the last incident that sparked all this and is the one who provided the extra security outside and in the room currently." The spectators were surprised by this but Michael wasn't done. "Lastly and most importantly, Issei is the current host of one of the Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig. He is this generation's Sekiryuutei."
This revelation sparked discourse among the spectators at this revelation with the priest now looking at Issei with a hint of fear. "The Red Dragon Emperor, this boy is the new Red Emperor?!"
"Yes, so you best mind your manners, Priest Freddrik, lest you may find yourself dealing with his wrath," said Michael, signaling to him and anyone else that might slander Issei that they're on their own if Issei gets pissed. The other leaders nodded their heads in agreement with Michael.
Issei, the center of this conversation, was annoyed by the priest's belittling words but saw that Michael was supporting him. It told him two things, that the upper management of the church definitely had some idiots running the show, and that Michael is doing his best to appeal to Issei. With Freddrik taking the hint for now, he sat back down and the meeting began proper. "Now that that's out of the way, why don't we discuss something Michael brought up earlier? That being the incident that brought us here," said Sirzechs. He gestured to Rias and Sona who were standing at the side of the room to approach. They walked up to the table and Sirzechs continued. "This is Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri. They, along with Issei-kun, were there for the incident." He showed a kind smile to them as he addressed them. "Would you please tell everyone the events that had transpired please?"
The pair nodded and began their explanation of Kokabiel's attack on the town, the stolen Excalibur fragments, and the final battle that took place. The Heavenly section shifted awkwardly at the mention of the Holy Sword Project, with the angels being disgusted and a few priests shifting nervously. The entire Heavenly section had distraught reactions when they heard about the Fused Excalibur being destroyed. The angels were understanding of the situation while some of the church followers were less so. They also were concerned about a devil gaining holy powers, which was unprecedented. The devils on the other hand seemed pleased that someone from their group destroyed a holy sword, although the amount of help Issei's Servants gave made them wary of Issei and his group. Rias was keen to leave out details about Issei's Servants as she respected Issei's and their privacy, so she only mentioned them when they were directly involved and even then she was vague about what they did besides help. The only thing she couldn't omit was the battle between Kokabiel, Issei, and his Servants. While they were retelling the events Issei noticed that Sirzechs looked proud of his sister's achievements, if a little annoyed that she was in danger. Issei looked over to Serafall and noticed she was the same, although he was surprised that was all the reaction that came from her. "After that, Issei and his Servant did a combined attack that killed Kokabiel. Then the Hakuryūkō showed up and retrieved Kokabiel's body after talking with Issei," said Rias as she finished her report.
Everyone nodded in confirmation at Rias' and Sona's report. Then they all turned to face Azazel, who seemed bored. "So, Azazel, what do you have to say about this?" asked Sirzechs.
Azazel lazily shrugged. "What's there to say? I knew Kokabiel was against peace from the start, and I had been trying to steer him away from fighting, but he still went behind my back and did all that. Once we knew what was going on we sent the Hakuryūkō to retrieve him. We were planning on sealing him in Cocytus, but Vali arrived too late and Kokabiel ended up dead. While I feel a bit sad as his friend, I can't say he didn't deserve it," said Azazel in a carefree tone.
"Azazel, your faction has been gathering Sacred Gear users for quite some time. At first, I thought you were gearing up to start the war again, but no matter how much time passed, war never came. I became even more concerned when I heard you recruited the Hakuryūkō to your side. Are you truly not interested in starting another war?" asked Michael.
"I just love studying Sacred Gears. If you want, I can share some of my findings with you two if you're so concerned about it. I wouldn't start another war with you guys. I have no interest in it. Kokabiel disparaged me for that too, which is what led him to what he did. I'm satisfied with the world as it is now. I've instructed my subordinates not to interfere with human politics and religion. And I also don't want to influence the devils. Do you trust me so little?"
"Yes."
"Essentially."
"Pretty much⁓"
"Is that something you really have to ask?"
Sirzechs, Michael, Serafall, and Issei all followed up Azazel's question with an immediate response as if they were prepared for it. The Faction heads at the table shared a smile at Issei being in sync as well, despite him not being as familiar with them as they are. Azazel scratched his head with a wry smile. "Geez, you guys are such a pain in the butt. I guess there's no choice but to make peace then," said Azazel casually.
There was a moment of silence before the stands erupted in disbelief. Issei figured there would be people opposed but he didn't expect confusion. He looked over to the ORC and the Student Council and saw that Rias and Sona looked surprised as well. Is this such a shock? I thought this was the obvious course of events. Did the leaders only mention this to me when we talked? Issei thought to himself. To Issei this seemed like the right thing to do but it seemed nobody thought it was feasible. Issei also noticed that they went through the process of laying everything out on the table to minimize the chance of the plan being rejected.
Michael finally raised his hand to gesture silence and once everyone calmed down a bit he spoke. "I agree with your proposal Azazel. This conflict has gone on long enough and has only served to cause more problems for all sides. Now I see it as our duty to help guide humanity on the right path, rather than to prepare for war." Gabriel was smiling radiantly next to him, showing her approval. The angels seemed to be happy with the idea of the war ending with some of the church officials feeling the same, but other church officials seemed conflicted about it.
"I also agree. We no longer have the Old Maou pushing for war anymore. This conflict has only served to dwindle our numbers at a time where we need to focus on rebuilding. Any further conflict would only lead to our end," said Sirzechs, with Serafall nodding in agreement. The devil crowd acted similarly to the church officials with some nodding in approval of the end of the war, some being unsure, and others being against ending the conflict.
Azazel, who had a lighthearted demeanor this whole time, now looked serious. "Exactly. If we went to war right now it would only lead to our destruction. Not only that but the human world would end up being destroyed in the process."
"That won't happen," said Issei in a low but audible tone. The leaders looked at him after he said that and the look on his face showed he was dead serious about his statement if the war did start.
Azazel cleared his throat and continued. "Right, it would be problematic in another sense too, since other supernatural factions might also take advantage of the chaos. We don't need to head down that path." Azazel spread his arms out as he spoke his next lines. "Do you think a world without God is wrong? Do you think a world without God would decay? I'm sorry to say that it's not the case. We are all still living in this world to the best of our abilities. The world moves on, even without a God."
With that the talks continued for a bit, with representatives from each faction coming up to speak for or against peace between the factions, with the leaders slowly trying to bring them around with rhetoric and charisma. Issei was watching intently trying to get a better feel of where each faction was at. Issei mentally sweatdropped when Vali came to speak, saying, "As long as I get to fight strong people I could care less." After him the leaders turned their attention to him.
"Now then, we have gone over most of what we've wanted to discuss but there is another matter that needs to be addressed that I'm sure our followers have been curious about. That being your's and your organization's involvement in all of this Hyoudou Issei," said Azazel. Issei seemed to straighten up more when he was directly addressed and Azazel continued. "While the Church wishes to protect humanity, they are undoubtedly on the angels' side, which is why we leaders thought it was appropriate to bring a third, or rather fourth party into this. Hyoudou Issei, and by extension his organization Chaldea, have forces that rival most factions in the supernatural world. Not only that but they state that their purpose is to protect humanity and make sure of its continued survival. Am I missing anything?" asked Azazel with a wry smile.
Issei returned the smile as he spoke. "No, that's the gist of it, but it is a bit more complicated than that. Chaldea's purpose is to protect the Human Order, which has less to do with saving every human like the church is trying to do but more like stopping anything that would wipe out humanity completely."
"If I may ask, what exactly is this Human Order?" asked Gabriel.
"The Human Order is something like a simple principle. "Humanity must survive as long as possible." While it sounds simple on the surface there is actually a delicate balance that needs to be maintained for humanity to survive. There are the obvious threats, like beings who would destroy humanity, but there are also cases where humanity could end up destroying itself if it progresses too quickly, so it's not as simple as fighting any threat that even looks at humans funny."
"You sound like you've seen this kind of thing before," said Azazel with an implying tone.
"Not personally, but there are records of such things in our organization, as well as some observable proof that these things happen. Personally, I've had to deal with the former rather than the latter."
"The former being a threat that tried to wipe out humanity?" asked Vali from the side of the room. Issei nodded in confirmation which gave Vali a wry smile. "Interesting."
Azazel cleared his throat to help get things back on track. "Well, with that said, we would like to know what you and your organization think of today's proceedings?"
"Well, I can give my personal opinion, but it would be better if you hear it from my boss herself first."
As if on que a magical projection appeared between Issei and Sirzechs and sitting between them was the current Director of Chaldea, Da Vinci. "Greetings ladies and gentlemen of the Three Factions. I am the current Director of Chaldea. My name is Leonardo Da Vinci, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Everyone besides the ORC was surprised at the sudden appearance of Chaldea's leader. Azazel was now incredibly interested as he addressed Da Vinci. "Leonardo Da Vinci, as in the famous painter and inventor?"
"The very same, and you must be Azazel. I've heard a bit about you from Fuji- I mean Issei-kun," Da Vinci said while correcting herself from how she usually calls Issei.
"I'm sorry but if I may, I thought you were a man," said Michael with many people nodding their heads agreeing with his assumption.
"Oh, don't let my appearance fool you, I was a man, but when I was brought back I figured, instead of looking like some old man I would take the form of the most beautiful thing in the world, and to me that was the Mona Lisa, which is the reason for my appearance," Da Vinci said with a proud look.
Everyone there who wasn't used to her had perplexed looks at Da Vinci's explanation. Azazel just had a wry smile the entire time. "How interesting. I have a feeling you and I will get along swimmingly."
"Funny, I had the same feeling as well about you, but we can talk about that later. As for the matter of this alliance. Chaldea has no issues with what was discussed here today. As explained earlier by Issei-kun, our only concern is the preservation of humanity, so if peace is the means to that end, then there is nothing for us to say against that." The leaders had happy looks on their faces, but it didn't stay that way. "However, whether or not we will help in this endeavor will be up to Issei-kun."
The leaders seemed confused at first but then Sirzechs, Azazel, and Michael seemed to have a look of realization, while the followers didn't seem to understand. "Not that I'm against it, but is there a reason you're leaving the decision to Issei-kun?" asked Serafall.
"There are a few, but the main reasons are that Kuoh is Issei's home, as is Japan as a whole. Chaldea is not somewhere where any of you can reach. You could say we are foreigners in the truest sense. Issei-kun is the only person from your domain that works for us and as such I feel it is only right that he decides. He has my complete trust, so even though I am his superior I will abide by his decision," said Da Vinci stoically.
With those words everyone's attention refocused on Issei. "So, what do you think of what was discussed here today?" asked Azazel again.
Issei sat quietly in thought for a moment before responding. "I think it all sounds good. In my opinion this seemed to be the natural solution to ending these conflicts." The other leaders had smiles again, but just like before their expressions didn't stay that way. "That is, of course, if you all really can follow through with what you all say you will do," he said slightly accusingly.
Sirzechs, Michael, and Azazel seemed to get what Issei was getting at but everyone else did not. Rias was staring at the table nervously, hoping Issei knew what he was doing. Gabriel stepped in to try and assuage Issei's worries. "We promise Issei-san that we are all truly committed to making this a reality."
"Words only hold so much weight Gabriel-san. To be frank, I have seen problems with each of the factions since I started interacting with them regularly several months ago. My matters with the devils are more or less settled for now, but I have some serious issues with both the fallen and especially the church that need to be addressed if I'm to believe this will work."
The leaders had understanding looks but the followers of the church seemed less so, seeing as how they were being criticized. Priest Freddrik stood once again to confront Issei. "And what exactly is it that you find so problematic, boy?"
The tension in the room rose again as the Servants were glaring at the priest with Jealter seeming eager to shut him up. Issei gave the priest a cold stare as he spoke. "First, your handling of the Excalibur incident was terrible and poorly thought out. Sending priests and exorcists alone to try and secretly deal with a problem only to have them killed over and over again. Then when you finally try to step it up, you not only send only two exorcists but send them in with the very weapons the enemy is trying to collect. It's like you were handing it over to them on a silver platter." The members of the church shifted awkwardly in their seats, knowing that his criticism of how terribly done that incident was was accurate. "While I understand you were in enemy territory and trying not to inflame tensions with a third party, when you finally decided to stop being subtle, your idea was to tell the devils of this territory to stay out of the way like you had some right to tell them that."
Priest Freddrik interrupted Issei after that comment. "There's no way we could trust the devils not to join with the fallen since the holy swords are something they despise more than any of us. What guarantee did we have that they were going to, even at the very least, stay neutral?"
"As I said to Xenovia when she asked the same thing, what would have stopped the fallen from turning on the devils if they did team up to defeat the church? Even considering the situation where they stayed neutral, what would have stopped the fallen from coming after the devils after they dealt with your exorcists and they gained two more Excalibur fragments. In the end, the only sensible option was to aid the church since I would like to think you would be more reasonable in your use of the holy swords." Priest Freddrik didn't really have a response since Issei's critic was on the basis that his side was reasonable, so arguing back now would only make him look like a fool (well more of a fool than he was already making himself). "My second and most important criticism of your group is…" Issei pointed behind him to Asia, who stiffened a bit at suddenly being brought to everyone's attention. "Your expulsion of Asia Argento, for effectively doing as the church taught and helping someone in need."
Both Michael and Gabriel looked ashamed while Priest Freddrik looked like he didn't understand what the problem was. "Asia Argento? You mean the witch that was cast out for healing a devil?"
He barely finished his sentence when a blade was pointed at him close to his face. The one responsible for that was Jealter. "Call her a witch again and I'll show you what a real witch looks like," she said menacingly.
The priest took a step back in fear as the leaders looked between Issei and his Servant. It was clear to them that Issei wasn't going to stop her by the annoyed look on his face, so Michael stepped in. "Issei-kun, please call off your Servant. There are reasons for what happened to Miss Argento." Issei's glare had now shifted to Michael as he waited for him to explain. "As you know, God died at the end of the war. As such his system that he created to protect believers was left unattended. I, as well as several other Seraphs, combined our efforts to keep it running, but unfortunately, we are unable to keep it running as effectively as God could. Because of that, there is less leeway for us to be able to save everyone. This has also made things difficult if the faith of our believers wavered or if a Sacred Gear was added to the mix. It would cause the system to create errors like what happened with your friend Kiba. Holy and demonic are something that shouldn't be able to merge but our inability to use the system perfectly resulted in him being able to do so."
"Alright, so?" asked Issei, implying for him to get to the point.
"Miss Argento's power to heal people was truly helpful and we knew she was a devout believer, but once we learned her power could be used on anyone, including devils, it became a problem of if people saw her healing a devil it could throw into question the faith of our followers, so we had to excommunicate her. This was also the reason we had to cast out Xenovia as well. Since she found out about God's death, having her near other believers would pose a risk to their faith as well. These situations were unfortunate but necessary." said Michael with regret.
Issei seemed to be contemplating Michael's words but clearly wasn't satisfied with the answer. "I understand your reason for casting out Asia and Xenovia." Michael and Gabriel had a look of relief for a moment before it was swatted away by Issei's next words. "But as with the Excalibur incident, your execution was terrible. Asia was raised at the church, she lived her life for the church, and did nothing but help people, but she helps one person you don't like and you completely abandon her! Is this how you treat all your loyal followers? You didn't even so much as provide her with anything to help her survive! She knew nothing of anything outside the church and if it wasn't for the Fallen picking her up she more than likely would have starved to death!" Issei was nearly yelling at them which was impressive considering he was holding himself back. "The way you handled Xenovia was incredibly sloppy also. You more or less straight up abandoned her and left her with your "at the time" enemy. No matter how I look at it, your decisions are sloppy, careless, selfish, and clearly not thought all the way through, which is something I would have never expected from your side out of all of them. As things stand, I'm more inclined to trust the Fallen over you, and my opinion of them is already incredibly low."
"Ouch," said Azazel from the side. He took a stray verbal bullet from Issei's berateing of Michael and Gabriel, but he was also slightly enjoying seeing someone criticize and mock the holy faction since it was something rarely done by anyone.
Michael and Gabriel bowed their heads to Issei in apology. "We're sorry Issei-san. You are correct in your criticism of how we've been handling these past situations and we will do everything we can to correct these mistakes," said Gabriel.
"Oh really? And how exactly do you plan to do that?" asked Jealter. Her joining the conversation caught everyone by surprise since they were expecting only Issei to do the criticizing. "The way I see it, your church is corrupt right at its source. It's currently run on lies and hypocrisy and having people like this asshole running the show just proves that your whole shtick is just for your own benefit," she said pointing to the priest.
The priest who was initially afraid of her was now angrier than scared and because of that was able to talk back again. "Who do you think you are?! What right have you to criticize our beliefs?!"
Jealter turned her head to him with an evil smile. "Who am I? I'm your precious Saint of Orleans, Jeanne d'Arc. Or more accurately, I'm Jeanne d'Arc Alter."
The room became noisy as everyone besides the ORC were shocked to learn the identity of the darkly dressed Servant. The angels and church officials looked bewildered while the devils looked darkly amused. Michael was especially confused as he had met Jeanne previously and could see her at the other side of the room, but when he looked at Jealter he could tell they looked exactly the same. He looked to Issei for an explanation but someone else spoke to try and calm things down. "Alright, that's enough Jealter. Now's not the time for this," said Jeanne.
Everyone who was panicking now took notice of her and saw that she looked exactly the same as Jealter leading to many confused looks. "Oh really? I think now is the perfect time for this. Do you really expect an alliance like this to work out with all these incompetent hypocrites running the show?" Jealter made an annoyed expression at Jeanne. "Don't act all high and righteous about this. I know you disapprove of what happened to Asia just as much as Master does. If I remember correctly, you and Martha said it's a shame since Asia was someone you both thought was worthy of being called a Saint." This statement caused the heavenly section to stir even more. Based on the conversation the mention of Martha could only mean Saint Martha to them, so her words implied that two Saints agreed that Asia should have been made a Saint. The members of the church started to sweat profusely after understanding this and realizing they had made a huge mistake. "If what Lord Michael said is true then it makes him no different from the ones who burned us, don't you agree?" Jeanne was confused at what Jealter was getting at. "As Azazel said earlier, "this world moves on even without God", meaning that even if these angels and their system disappeared tomorrow nothing would happen to this world. Their precious system only exists to give them and their group power, and they will do anything to hold onto it, just like those corrupt priests from back then," Jealter explained condescendingly.
"It is not the same! Lord Michael is trying to help others, just as God did."
"And they do this by turning on their own and being completely negligent in their own teachings?" Jeanne went silent at Jealter's last comment since she agreed that the Heavenly faction have been doing a poor job.
As much as Issei agreed with Jealter's criticism the conversation was getting derailed. "That's enough Jealter. As much as I agree with you, the conversation is getting off track."
"Tch!" Jealter clicked her tongue and turned her head away. She and Jeanne walked back to their corner of the room as everyone got settled again.
Issei turned his attention to Michael and Gabriel. "Now then, Jealter's personal feelings aside, I agree with most of her statements. How exactly am I to trust you to follow through with this alliance and help its members if your group has continually been shown to drop the ball over and over again?" he asked in a serious tone.
Both Michael and Gabriel had ashamed looks. "It seems we really have been negligent in our handling of our faction. We had faith our followers were doing the right things but, it seems we need to do a better job of our methods of handling these situations," said Michael.
Issei sighed; a bit annoyed. "Look, it's not like you can keep an eye on everything at once. I understand that much, but when you have consistent failures one after the other, that should be your que to check and see where things went wrong. Same thing goes for your handling of Xenovia and the Holy Sword Project. Lives lost and abandoned because of your negligence."
"We have no excuse to give. This is truly a failure on our behalf. All we can say to you is that we will be working to do better in the future," said Gabriel as she bowed her head.
"Honestly, this wouldn't be as big a deal if your group didn't stand on the fact that you're supposed to be caring and understanding, but a majority of my interactions have been filled with spite, hatred, and pride, which are things I thought your group frowned upon. Having been trained and having fought alongside the Saints, how should I say it? The disparity in your actions and words compared to theirs makes you look like fakers. Granted, that's probably too high a bar for most of your faction but I would at least expect better from the people in charge." Issei looked around the room and saw that everything had become dower. He thought it was ironic that he was nervous earlier and now he was berating the leaders of the "good" faction like a parent does to their child. Issei took a deep breath before speaking again. "Anyways, I hope you show me some results that you'll actually follow through with what you say. I know I've more or less just been only complaining but as far as these matters go, they're something that needs to be discussed and taken care of if things are to move forward." Michael and Gabriel nodded in agreement and Issei turned his head to Azazel next. "As for the Fallen, I don't have a long sermon for you. We've already talked about my issues with your group, and I can't say anything more than keep your people on a tighter leash."
Azazel chuckled at Issei basically treating him as a side note. "It's very amusing how you go on a long lecture for your comrades but when it comes to your own personal safety you barley have anything to say."
"I'm used to people trying to kill me. I'm not gonna cry about it every time it happens," said Issei in a bored manner.
The leaders shared a smile. He really is a good guy, was all of their thoughts. Sirzechs decided it was time to wrap things up. "So, now that you've gotten that off your chest what do you say?"
"Right, I will back this agreement and Chaldea shall support you as long as you do your part," Issei said emphasizing the "do your part" part of his statement.
Sirzechs smiled at him. "Alright, then all that's left to do is-" Sirzechs was interrupted by the room suddenly shaking. There was a muffled noise to go with it, seeming to mean that some kind of impact or explosion happened.
Everyone looked around the room panicked with the Servants being ready and on guard for whatever may come. Suddenly from the closed entrance smoke seemed to be coming in through the bottom of the door which caught everyone's attention. After a moment the doors swung open, and the entire room filled with fog. Everybody got on guard with only the leaders and Issei remaining in their seats, although they still were looking around. Suddenly a massive shadow was moving in the fog. It looked like some kind of monster and the size was intimidating for something that was just a shadow. Eventually the giant shadow was standing behind Issei who didn't seem to react that much causing the leaders to look at him with questioning expressions. Eventually Issei reached his hand out next to him and placed it on something that wasn't there before. "That's enough Jack," he said while rubbing someone's head. The fog cleared and the leaders saw a little girl with white hair being pet by Issei, clearly enjoying it. They then looked behind him and saw the giant creature that was covered by the fog. It was a giant T-rex with horns, hair, and some kind of cloak on its back, and on top of it were several more people. The room was shocked at the sight in front of them, even the ORC who recognized most of the people but were wondering where the dinosaur came from. Issei looked up behind him, wanting an explanation. "What happened?"
"Master, this place is under attack!" said Erice. Her words confirmed what everyone suspected a moment earlier with the loud noise and ground shaking.
"Whoever these attackers are were very coordinated. Not only here but they attacked us in the building you left us in, trying to capture the Dhampir," said Vlad.
At his words Rias immediately stepped forward, concerned for her bishop. "Where is Gasper?!"
Erice jumped off the large dinosaur with a box in her hands. "Don't worry he's right here." She held the box in front of her as the top opened and Gasper poked his head out with teary eyes.
"B-buchou, I was so scared!" he whined.
She hugged Gasper, thankful for his safety. She looked at Erice with a smile. "Thank you for protecting him."
"There's no reason to thank us, we're his friends, so it's only natural," said Erice coolly.
While they were having their moment the people in the rooms were trying to figure out what to do. A devil made a move towards the wall, pulling something out from his cloak. Serafall saw him but before she could say or do anything the Devil's head was suddenly separated from his body. His head rolled, blood gushed from his neck and finally the body flopped to the ground, with the device in his hand falling out of it. Aśvatthāman, who was near the devil, walked over and picked up the device that was dropped. He held it up and asked, "What's this supposed to be?"
"It's a bomb, and judging by that guy's movements, it was meant to blow open the wall and let in people from outside," said Azazel.
"So, someone snuck in with the devils to try and sabotage the meeting from the inside. Well, I half expected that, which is why I had so much security come to this event," said Issei.
The other leaders nodded their heads in unison with Issei's statement. Meanwhile the followers of each group tried to reorganize themselves while the ORC and Student Council tried to check and see if everyone was all right. Priest Freddrik was moving shiftily as everyone was moving. At some point he had gotten behind Asia who was checking on one of the angels. He thought this might be his chance and tried to pull the knife he was concealing under his cloak to stab Asia, but he never got the chance. A spear erupted from the ground impaling him through the stomach, causing him to cough out a large amount of blood. The event shocked everyone, and all eyes were now on the impaled Freddrik. Soon more spears popped out of the ground stabbing into him more and lifting him off the ground. As he was lifted, the knife he was about to pull out fell from his robes below him. Everyone saw it and were now confused as to what was going on. A certain witch walked up to Freddrik with a wicked smile and picked up his dropped knife. "Tsk tsk, did you really think I would let some shifty priest out of my sight. What's this oh mister nobel and just? What were you planning on doing to little miss Asia with this?" Jealter taunted while waving the dropped knife in front of him.
Issei figured out what Jealter was saying, and the room soon was filled with killing intent, all coming from Issei. He was glaring hatefully at the priest but didn't say anything. Priest Freddrik could barely speak since he was in immense pain from the spears. Michael walked up to him behind Jealter. "Why Freddrik?"
The priest shifted his gaze from Jealter to Michael and hate could be seen in his eyes. "Your… p-peace… is an… abomination… and an… a-affront… to the… Lord…" he managed to spit out.
Jealter gave the priest a condescending look. "Oh? And who gave you the right to decide that? It's as I said before, you're just a shitty human who used his position for power. None of this has to do with God, it's just about you." A sadistic smile appeared on her face. "I've been waiting to do this to a priest for a long time!"
Issei knew what was coming next, Jealter was about to set Freddrik ablaze like how she was burned, but before that Issei noticed that some other devils and members of the church were all moving suspiciously. More of them. I guess I should have expected more than two, he thought. As they were about to make a move suddenly all their heads fell off their bodies just like the first devil. Their heads and bodies fell in a similar way. Everyone except Issei was confused why the same thing not only happened again but with more people this time. They all heard the sound of a harp playing when it happened both times and looked over to the sounds source. Issei showed a wry smile. "Thanks Tristan." Tristan nodded with a small smile.
Jealter looked back at her target and continued what she was doing. "Now that the distractions are out of the way, BURN!" After she said that the spears set themselves ablaze and Priest Freddrik screamed in pain. It didn't last long though as he was incinerated almost instantly. There were no signs of the body and the spears disappeared. Jealter smirked, clearly pleased with herself.
The leaders looked at Issei seeking an explanation. "Was all that your Servant's doing?" asked Michael.
"Yeah, I only had the most reliable Servants who can act quickly and endure hits to protect the meeting room. Tristan there can create sound blades by plucking the strings of his harp-bow. As such he can kill someone instantaneously who makes a suspicious move, hence all those people losing their heads," said Issei.
The leaders all had uncomfortable looks on their faces. They were grateful that Issei chose Servants who would be good bodyguards, but they also knew that they wouldn't have been able to do anything if Issei had his Servants attack them before knowing what they were capable of. "We need to figure out what's going on," said Sirzechs.
"I think I already know," said Azazel. The others looked at him waiting for him to continue. "The Khaos Brigade."
"Khaos Brigade?" asked Michael. He looked to Sirzechs to see if he knew what Azazel was talking about, but Sirzechs seemed just as confused.
"I've only found out about the basics of them recently. They're a group of terrorists made up of multiple people from various factions," explained Azazel.
"What is their goal?" asked Sirzechs.
"They're terrorists. Their goal is to create as much chaos and destruction as possible. They don't like the peace we have now or what will come from our alliance. Their leader is the dragon above the Vanishing and the Welsh," said Azazel.
Michael and Sirzechs made surprised faces that then turned serious while Issei was curious who this dragon that was above him and Vali was. "I see, so the Infinite Dragon, Ophis, is making its move," said Sirzechs ominously.
"That's right. The Khaos Brigade is taking action now with Ophis as our leader," said a voice from nowhere. Everyone looked around to try and find the source when something caught their attention. A small device next to one of the fallen devils lit up and a hologram of a woman wearing a risqué dress appeared. "Hello current Maou Sirzechs-dono, Serafall," said the woman, her voice was venomous when she said Serafall's name.
"Katarea Leviathan!? What is the meaning of this?" asked Serafall.
"Nearly all the members of the Old Maou Faction have decided to work with the Khaos Brigade," said Katarea smugly.
"Seems like you have a coup on your hands," said Azazel carefreely but clearly analyzing the situation.
Sirzechs stepped forward. "Why Katarea?"
"Simple, we have come to the opposite conclusion that all of you have. Since God is dead and the Old Maou are gone it's time for a new age. This world needs to be reformed and we will be the ones to do so with Ophis' power." Katarea glared at Serafall. "Today, I will kill you Serafall, and take the title of Maou Leviathan, which is my birthright for myself! Then Ophis will become the God of the new world. A symbolic one of course, for we will be the ones managing it. Micheal, Azazel, Sirzechs, your time is now over.
The room was silent for a bit after Katarea's speech but someone unexpected spoke up. "How incredibly foolish," said Salter.
Katarea glared at Salter. "What did you say?"
"I said you're a fool," spoke Salter sternly. "You simply think that by killing those who currently rule that everything will just fall to you? How childish and deranged. People will only follow those whom they respect, and the people won't respect tyrants who are continuously putting the boot on their neck. They will resist, and you can continue to press harder but eventually something will give whether it's you or them."
"If they die then so be it! We don't need weaklings in our new world!" said Katarea angrily.
"Oh? But what is a kingdom without subjects to rule? If the only people who remain are the rulers, then there is no kingdom in the first place. You are an idiot if you think power is all you need to rule a kingdom, important as it may be."
Katarea gritted her teeth at the insults, but before she could say anything she was interrupted by laughter. Everyone turned to see it was Azazel. "Truer words were never spoken. As expected from a hero from the past. Katarea, you say you and your group will reform this world?"
"That's right. That's because this world is-"
"Decaying? Filled with stupid humans? Being destroyed? Bah, aren't things prospering nowadays?" interrupted Azazel, clearly uninterested in Katarea's view.
Katarea was becoming even more annoyed. "Azazel, you never change. Even now you're satisfied with the world as it is now. Pathetic."
"Honestly, the pathetic ones are you guys," said Issei out of the blue. "You all know nothing of what it takes to rule over others. You're just a bunch of spoiled brats that are throwing a tantrum because you're not getting your way. Nothing you rule would ever last, and quite frankly just from this conversation alone I can tell, you're too pathetic to even succeed."
"Hah! I agree with the Sekiryuutei," said Azazel amused.
"Grrrrrr! We'll see who's pathetic when you're all groveling on the ground begging for mercy!" yelled Katarea and the projection cut off.
"Sheesh, what a child," said Issei under his breath, earning a few chuckles from those who heard him.
Not long after the shaking began to increase as the fighting outside grew more intense. The leaders along with Issei walked to the window to see what was going on and what they saw surprised them. There were magicians fighting against the Servants and guards but that wasn't what surprised them. What was surprising was the number of magic beasts that were also there. And they weren't just any magic beasts. "Senpai! Aren't those-!?" Mash exclaimed in surprise looking outside next to him.
"Yeah, they are. But that shouldn't be possible, right?" responded Issei. They looked just like the phantasmal beasts from Babylonia. It would be one thing if it was just a generic chimera or something, but the monsters were one to one the same, which meant… "Things just got more complicated…"
So here's next months chapter a day early because I'm impatient. Everyone's favorite exorcist makes his return! I'm sure Darren will contribute a great deal to the coming battle. Also making his momentary appearance is the dickhead priest Freddrik, who was sent off in a blaze of glory (lol). Anyways, this was a chapter I had been looking forward to writing since the beginning as I had mentioned previously. I know I didn't put in everything I wanted to from back when I first thought of it but I still like what I did. I know some people will be disappointed with the fact that Chaldea barely had any input into the meeting but this was never about Chaldea to begin with and they will have a separate meeting after everything is done here. So regarding Raynare, although I've had her appear multiple times she hasn't said anything yet. That's because I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do with her. The next chapter will decide what path I have her take but for now she is in a nebulous position. For those who play FGO, I'm sure you can think of the scene I'm referencing with Tristan decapitating people. Also, I'm sure people were probably expecting the rag-fest Issei went on against the church and honestly I know I had more to say on that because I remember I was gonna have Martha say something to them just like previously but I just couldn't remember. So that's all for this chapter. On a side note, for those of you only following this story and not me I have, in the past month posted 3 chapters for other DxD crossovers, those being Pokémon, Yugioh, and Dragonball FighterZ. If you're interested in any of those stories they are up for yall to read. As always I look forward to the comments. :) P.S. When the banner for Morgan came out I was like, "It's time to spend all the saint quartz I've been saving for this." First 11 roll I get Morgan. Wtf man, I coulda spent that quartz on other Servants I skipped. Also got all of the other fairy knights not long after too.