As everyone was getting ready for the next scene, Mythos decided to pause the viewing, gathering everyone's attention.
(Mythos) Sorry for pausing so suddenly, but I thought it was about time that I added some more guests from the FGO side, since our cast here is so lopsided.
The DxD crew looked interested in who would be coming, while Da Vinci had a sinking feeling.
(Da Vinci) Who are you bringing?
Mythos smirked as he snapped his fingers. A hole opened in the air again next to the FGO group and two more people dropped from it, landing in the empty recliners. The first was a well dressed gentleman in a large black coat and the other was a fat man with blonde hair and was well dressed.
(Ritsuka) Holmes and the Commander?!
Once the two got their bearings they noticed they were in a theater with Ritsuka, Mash, Da Vinci, and many other people they didn't know.
(Goredolf) Ritsuka?! Da Vinci?! What the hell is going on?!
(Holmes) Yes, I'm quite curious myself.
(Mythos) Yeah, we're skipping this.
Mythos snapped his fingers again, and just like with Kiryuu, both of them got the information put directly into their brains. Once they had a moment to process the information Holmes looked interested while Goredolf looked annoyed.
(Goredolf) And why do we have to partake in this? This sounds like a humongous waste of time.
(Mythos) Take a chill pill fat-man, you literally can't waste any time here, since I froze it. Besides, I thought "you" of all people would enjoy a break away from work with no repercussions.
(Goredolf) Hrmm… Well, that is true. I guess some R&R is fine every once in a while. And don't call me fat-man! My name is Goredolf!
(Mythos) I know what your name is, but as far as I'm concerned, your name is Annoying Noble Guy #3.
(Da Vinci) If you don't like him, why did you invite him?
(Mythos) Because your main cast is abysmally small without me having to bring people back to life. I don't count the Servants because they are essentially soldiers that just happen to have distinct personalities. They only pop into the plot when they're relevant, unlike you guys that are there more often than not.
(Holmes) While under normal circumstances I would say it's strange to know that we are fiction, I have no room to make that claim since I was originally a fictional character to begin with.
(Azazel) I've been meaning to ask, they called you Holmes. Are you Sherlock Holmes?
(Holmes) Why indeed I am. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.
The DxD crew gave their own introductions as they were all interested to meet someone who even to them was a fictional character. Once the greetings were out of the way and Goredolf got some food, with Sherlock getting some tea, Mythos started the viewing again after filling in the newcomers about what had happened so far.
It was almost midnight when the group arrived on the outskirts of the abandoned church. Issei's servants that had gone ahead had gathered and were waiting for their Master. As they walked up to the group the Devils looked at those that were gathered there. There were some knights in armor, others in holy robes, and more in some sort of traditional foreign clothing. When they got to the group one of the servants addressed Issei. "Master, while we were waiting the assassins that you had watching the church reported some activity," said the shirtless dark skinned boy with a bandana and tattoos all over his body.
(Goredolf) So, this boy is the one who replaced Ritsuka. Well, he does seem more capable than Ritsuka does at least.
That comment earned him a few glares from the others, though he didn't seem to notice.
Issei raised an eyebrow. "What kind of activity?"
"Seems they gathered all their forces that were in town here. It happened not long after that Fallen you encountered returned apparently."
"I see… Then this is the best time to take 'em out all at once. Good going Angry Mango."
"Why do you keep calling me that? That's not my name," said the boy exasperated.
"I know, but it's funnier that way," Issei said with a smirk.
The others couldn't help but chuckle, with Ritsuka planning to remember that one for the next time he talked to Angra Mainyu.
As the two were talking back and forth, Rias interjected. "Umm, Issei-kun. Who is this?"
Issei turned to her and gestured to the boy. "This is another of my servants, Angra Mainyu, or as I like to call him, Angry Mango."
The now identified Angra Mainyu lifted a hand up to wave at them. "Yo! I'm Angra Mainyu. Nice to meet you," he greeted them casually.
(Azazel) Wait! That's your Angra Mainyu?!
(Ritsuka) Yeah. I guess yours is different?
(Issei) That's one way to put it. It was a pain in the ass to fight that guy.
(Sirzechs) What's yours like?
(Ritsuka) Well, he seems pretty carefree. He says he's only good for fighting humans and that he's the weakest among the Heroic Spirits, but I think he's giving himself too little credit.
(Issei) W-weakest? I had to basically go all out to fight mine, and we only managed to turn it around at the last second.
(Holmes) Hearing about the differences between our worlds is very interesting.
(Mythos) I'm glad you're having fun Holmes but let's get back to the viewing.
The ORC were shocked. Standing before them was the manifestation of all evil in Dualistic Cosmology, and he was serving Issei! Issei was also casually teasing such a being as if it were nothing. This made Rias once again re-evaluate the danger of angering the man in front of her. Who knows who else he has under his command. "Ahh… right. Anyways we should formulate a plan on how to handle this, since all their forces are here."
(Sona) Seems even Rias is having a hard time understanding the situation, not that I blame her.
"Well, I already had a plan to do this without you, so now it simply needs to be adjusted to account for you four now," Issei stated. The Devils looked expectantly at him waiting for him to explain the plan. "My Servants will deal with the stray exorcists while we go and deal with the Fallen that are in there. According to my spies, there are four Fallen inside, three of which I already encountered one way or another, so dealing with the ringleaders ourselves shouldn't be a problem. And on the off chance they are stronger than we expected my assassins are already all over their base in hiding, so worst case scenario they will jump in and assist us in the fight. I also don't really have strong expectations for the humans inside so the other Servants will be ready and waiting to help us once they clear them out."
(Holmes) A well formulated stratagem that leaves very little to chance and has backups in place.
(Azazel) I shouldn't be saying this about my own guys, but they really need to do a better job with building security.
(Mythos) While I agree with you Azazel, in this case it wouldn't matter, since the Servants are Master Assassins who earned their spots in the Throne of Heros.
The ORC nodded in agreement but one of them couldn't help but make a remark on the plan. "So, basically the plan is to go in and beat the crap out of anything that isn't on our side," Koneko said in her usual monotone.
Issei smirked and put his hands up and gave a shrug. "Yeah, pretty much. While I know the importance of planning beforehand, I'm more of a in the moment kind of tactician. I work best adapting to things as they transpire rather than trying to outthink the opposition. Thankfully, I have reliable allies to help me with pre-preparation of missions." The Servants around them showed wry smiles, showing that they agreed with their Master's self-assessment.
(Rias) They have complete trust in Issei.
(Michael) After what we've seen so far, I think he's more than earned it.
After the group organized itself, they began to move in on the enemy base. Issei ordered the archers and assassins that were with them to take out the security around the church before they could alert the people inside. Once that was done some of the Servants took positions around the church to make sure no one escapes. The main group consisting of Issei, Mash, Asia, Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, Martha, Jeanne, Angra Mainyu, Raikou, Sieg, Ana, and Yan Qing walked up to the front door of the church. They looked between each other and nodded before Issei kicked the door in. As they entered, they looked around the room. The peus were strewn about randomly and the crosses on the walls were cracked and damaged.
(Michael) It pains me to see a church fall into such disrepair.
(Xenovia) Not to mention the blasphemous desecration of the symbols of the church.
As they walked in further a mad laughter filled the room. "Hahahaha! Well well! What do we have here? The shitty Devil lover came right to our base, and with friends too!"
(Goredolf) Who is this psychopath? And why does he make my skin crawl?
(Da Vinci) He's Freed, the Mad Exorcist. We've only seen him once before and I can tell you from the small interaction he had with Issei, that he's the worst scum of the earth.
(Goredolf) I'll say. Seeing him gives me the same unsettling feeling that being near Rasputin gives me.
"Freed," Issei said with disgust in his voice.
"I didn't think you would be stupid enough to come walking to your death, but this works out fine for me. I need to pay you back for your trick the last time we met. Not only that, but I can also have fun cutting up the shitty Devils too." He aimed his gun and lifted his sword handle which lit up with a light blade. "Now then, why don't we get this party started!?"
The members of the ORC readied themselves, Issei put his hand out to stop them. "Wait a minute. You shouldn't waste your energy on this small fry." He turned to Angra Mainyu. "Take care of this guy. This is your specialty after all."
Angra gave Issei a wry smirk. "You got it Boss. This is all I'm good for anyway," he said self-deprecatingly. He moved forward while wielding his bladed weapons Tawrich and Zarich.
Freed looked at him confused but sneered at him. "And who are you supposed to be? I can give you points for style, since body art is something I can appreciate, but that won't stop me from cutting you to pieces."
"Who I am doesn't matter really. All I am, is the villain. And tonight, my goal is to ruin everything you guys worked so hard on," he said uncaringly.
(Asia) He almost sounds sad when he says that.
(Mythos) His story is a complicated one in the FGO universe. Maybe I'll show you guys later… If I remember.
After a moment Angra crouched slightly and dashed towards Freed. Freed started firing at him but Angra dodged every shot. Once he got close, he swung Tawrich at Freed who deflected it with his light sword. The two engaged in close quarters combat trading swipes and shots at each other. Freed kept getting grazed by Angra's weapons but was unable to hit him at all. "You piece of shit! Just stay still!" he screamed.
"Now why would I do that?" Angra said sarcastically. Angra threw Zarich at Freed causing him to drop his gun. Then moved in and slashed at him causing Freed to block with his blade. Angra slashed through the light blade, shattering it and cutting through Freed. Immediately after he kicked Freed, sending him hurtling through the altar and crashing through the window in the back of the church. "Well, that was fun. We should do this more often, Master," he said while wiping his hands in front of him.
(Issei) He took care of Freed like he was no big deal.
(Kiba) Granted he wasn't the most difficult enemy to fight, but we were inexperienced at the time. I'm still glad I killed him.
"Yeah well, after tonight you might just get your wish," Issei said while walking past him. He moved to the knocked over altar and moved it out of the way of the trap door it was covering. He opened the trap door as the others came up behind him. Before he could enter though Mash grabbed him.
"Let me go first, Master. After all that noise we made, there is no way they aren't preparing for us. My shield should be in the front to block any surprise attacks when we reach them."
(Holmes) Sound reasoning by Ms. Kyrielight. Seems like many things were improved earlier on than in our world.
Mash seemed happy to be praised by Sherlock.
She made a sound argument, so Issei let her go first. Although he should be used to her going ahead of him, all this time being independent and relying on himself had made him a bit reluctant to do so now. But he shook those thoughts from his mind as he knew this was something she felt she needed to do too. As the group traveled down the passageway, they came upon a door leading to the underground area. Mash readied her shield and opened the door. She was immediately met with various attacks from light spears to magic bullets. That only lasted a few moments though and once the dust cleared the enemy knew that their surprise attack was ineffective as well as expected.
(Vali) Looks like her call was correct. Not only that, but she shrugged them off like they were nothing.
The group moved into the room where they saw over a hundred exorcists as well as the four Fallen in the back of the room. As everyone made it in, Raynare finally spoke. "I didn't think you would be foolish enough to walk right into our base, and with the nun no less. It's like you're giving me my promotion on a silver platter," she said mockingly.
Issei stood alongside Mash in the front and addressed the Fallen. "That's quite the talk considering you've failed at everything you've done since coming here. I wonder where you get the confidence to fuel that overinflated ego of yours," Issei mocked back.
The DxD group showed smug smiles at Issei's continued berating of the Fallen.
(Goredolf) What is with her outfit? It's way too provocative.
(Azazel) It's part of being a Fallen Angel. We promote sin, just like Devils, and lust is useful for getting what we want, one way or another.
(Goredolf) I-I see. Well, it would take a lot more than that to sway someone of my stature.
The others in the room didn't believe him for a second.
Raynare's face began to become uglier as she scowled. "That's it! I will make sure you regret ever existing!" She extended her arm out towards the group and gave orders to her subordinates. "Kill them all except for the nun! We need her for the ritual!"
A ritual, huh? I don't think I want to know what kind of ritual they're talking about. Issei thought to himself as he gave orders to his own Servants. "All right everyone. Just like we planned!"
"Yes Master! Mash Kyrielight, deploying!"
Both sides began to move in on each other. Issei's Servants went to meet the exorcists while Issei, Mash, Asia, Martha, Jeanne, and the ORC went to confront the four Fallen in the back. Raynare ordered the other Fallen. "Kalawarna, Dohnaseek, Mittlet, take care of those Devils. Once they're out of the way, leave the boy and his lackeys to me." Three of the Fallen went to meet the group while Raynare stayed back.
"Leave this to us. It's time we show you just what we're capable of," said Rias. Issei nodded and the ORC moved in front to deal with the incoming Fallen.
(Rias) So, it's our turn. Let's see how we do this time.
(Akeno) It shouldn't be a big deal. After all, you killed all three of them with one attack after they angered you.
(Rias) Well of course I was angry. They were mocking Issei for doing his best on his date with that bitch! If I could kill them all again I would!
Mythos had a sly smile on his face.
(Mythos) That could be arranged.
Everyone gave him a look of disbelief.
(Mythos) What? I can basically do anything. It wouldn't be hard to bring them back so you can use them as metaphorical punching bags.
Rias and Akeno seemed to like the idea. Vali seemed like he wanted to ask to fight some people from the past too. Issei was not too thrilled by the idea of his ex coming back to life, even if it was to get murdered all over again.
(Issei) Could we maybe, not bring my trauma back to life?
The girls realized that they were upsetting Issei.
(Rias) I'm sorry! That was thoughtless of me.
(Akeno) Yes, we're sorry Issei.
(Issei) No, it's fine. I appreciate the sentiment.
"It's laughable that you think you oversized bats can do anything to us," mocked Mittlet.
"You Devils will be crushed beneath our power, proving that the Fallen were always better!" bragged Dohnaseek.
"Let's just kill these skanks and be done with this already!" said Kalawarna, annoyed.
The ORC were glaring at the screen again, and while Sirzechs had his usual calm look he was angry at the trio on screen too, for insulting his sister and her peerage.
Rias stood imposingly. "You will try. Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, let's show them what happens when they trespass where they don't belong."
Rias' peerage fanned out to meet the Fallen. Koneko faced Mittlet, Kiba faced Dohnaseek, and Akeno stood off against Kalawarna. Rias stood in the back, ready to help any of them if the Fallen were beginning to get the upper hand. Issei started to watch them closely as this was the first time he would get to see the Devils in action.
Mittlet started launching spears of light at Koneko. Koneko charged forward, her small body making her a hard target to hit, and any attack that would hit her she batted away with her fists. Mittlet tried to lift off the ground to create space, but Koneko used her strength to burst forward and close the distance. Koneko threw a punch at Mittlet which she tried to block with a light spear. The spear shattered from the impact of Koneko's fist and buried itself inside Mittlet's gut, causing her to cough up blood. The attack slammed the Fallen into the ground so hard it created a crater in the ground.
(Goredolf) J-just how strong is that girl?!
(Rias) Well, she is my rook after all. So it's to be expected.
(Goredolf) Rook?
(Mythos) Ugh, not this again.
Mythos snapped his fingers and gave Goredolf and Holmes info about the Evil piece system. Once they processed the information they gave their two cents.
(Holmes) I see. So it's like chess mixed with a war game. A useful and balanced system.
(Goredolf) Yes, I agree. If only we could make Mages like that. It would certainly be a great boon.
Da Vinci rolled her eyes, not wanting to bother explaining why it could go wrong after the group went over it earlier.
Despite having a body barely bigger than a grade school kid she packs a lot of power, Issei thought to himself, making a mental note not to piss Koneko off in the future. Koneko jumped back a bit to get proper footing while watching the Fallen. Mittlet managed to stay conscious after the attack and was struggling to pick herself up out of the crater.
"Cough! Cough! Y-you scum! How dare you do this to me!" Mittlet snarled, blood escaping her mouth.
She tried to strike back at Koneko but was too slow as Koneko launched herself again at her and delivered a powerful kick to the side of her head, knocking her out. Koneko, seeing her handy work dusted off her hands. "So much for the trashy crow," she said in her regular monotone.
Koneko held up her hands doing peace signs.
(Koneko) Easy win.
Kuroka who was next to her, huggered her sister tightly.
(Kuroka) Oh, I'm so proud of you!
(Koneko) Nee-san, get off.
Issei saw Koneko's work and was impressed by it, although he noted some flaws in her style that he was sure his teacher would have pointed out too. He shook the thoughts from his head and started focusing on Kiba's fight against the only male Fallen of the group.
Kiba was using a sword to fight the Fallen who was meeting his strikes with his own spear of light. Kiba clearly wasn't as strong as Koneko was, but he was faster, and his strikes were sharper. Dohnaseek was having a hard time keeping up with Kiba's strikes but finally got fed up with being pushed back and swung his spear with great force, pushing Kiba back. "You're pretty good for trash, but you won't beat me with weak attacks like that!" yelled Dohnaseek, a wild grin on his face.
A battle maniac huh, Issei thought seeing how much the Fallen was enjoying himself. He knew more than his fair share of people like that and was able to tell someone like that a mile away.
Dohnaseek charged at Kiba, swinging his spear at him. Kiba tried to block but his sword was shattered by the Fallen. Dohnaseek smiled smugly thinking he was about to win when Kiba swung his other arm at the now exposed Fallen. In Kiba's other hand was another sword that he seemingly pulled from nowhere, he swung it at Dohnaseek who couldn't react in time and cut through him. After he was hit Dohnaseek jumped back while clutching his chest where he was cut. He was bleeding badly, and blood was escaping both his chest and mouth. "Kuh! Where did that sword come from?!" he shouted angrily.
Kiba just gave the Fallen his usual refreshing smile as he created another sword in his free hand, now dual wielding swords. "So Kiba's ability is just like Emiya's," Issei thought back to his Servant Emiya who taught him how to create swords with magecraft just like him. He showed a small smile thinking of how a match between him and Kiba would go.
(Mash) Kiba-san has an ability similar to Emiya-san's.
(Kiba) Is he another Servant?
(Ritsuka) Yes, he's an archer that uses swords. He can project swords to use or launch them at the enemies he faces.
(Kiba) Interesting. I would like to meet him.
(Ritsuka) Maybe after this.
Kiba, now wielding twin swords, charged at the Fallen. Dohnaseek tried to block it but in his now weakened state he couldn't keep his grip on his spear. Kiba swung his first sword, knocking the spear out of Dohnaseek's hand, then swung the other sword, cutting down the Fallen.
"Well, that was a nice workout. We should do this more often," Kiba said casually, showing his usual refreshing smile.
Stupid pretty-boy. Issei thought to himself. While he didn't bear a grudge towards Kiba, he and the other two of the perverted trio always cursed him for his ability to just attract girls just by walking in a room. It was a petty thing but that didn't stop him from thinking "All pretty boys must die!" whenever he saw Kiba.
(Kiryuu) Well, it's good to know some things never change.
Issei had an embarrassed look on his face. He hadn't thought that way about Kiba in a long time, so he felt a bit embarrassed. Kiba just gave Issei his usual refreshing smile.
Finally, Issei looked over to Akeno, who at some point changed her outfit from her school uniform to a miko outfit when he wasn't looking and was trading magic attacks with Kalawarna in the air. Kalawarna was on the defensive as Akeno was launching bolts of lightning at her. The Fallen was dodging all over the place while launching a spear of light at Akeno whenever she could. Akeno just moved gracefully out of the way like a miko dancer and continued to attack.
(Goredolf) Such elegant movements. Being able to do that while in battle is a talent all its own.
Akeno was grateful(?) for the praise she got, although she didn't know how to feel about Goredolf yet.
Akeno put a finger to her lower lip and let out an "Ufufufu" of mirth. "You're doing well dodging my attacks but if you can't fight back sooner or later, you're going to tire out."
"Shut up! Don't think some Devil whore like you can beat us Fallen!" Kalawarna screamed.
Akeno showed a slightly sadistic smile. "I'm going to enjoy watching you squirm."
Goredolf showed a fearful expression. That look reminded him all too well of Koyanskaya.
Note to self, don't piss off Akeno either, Issei slightly shivered seeing Akeno's face and showed a strained expression. Rias noticed Issei's expression and elaborated.
"As I'm sure you noticed, Akeno has a bit of a sadistic streak in her, but she is also a masochist too, though she doesn't show it all too much," Rias said.
"I-I see…" Issei said awkwardly. S&M huh… That's quite the hobby Akeno-san has. I never would have guessed from how refined she acts at school, Issei thought about what the rest of the school would think if they knew this.
(Akeno) I'd only ever show it to you, Issei. You're the only man that deserves to see that side of me.
Issei felt grateful and troubled at the same time. The FGO group looked weirded out by Akeno's openness about her fetish.
While Issei was coming to grips with this new information Akeno was overwhelming Kalawarna. Eventually the fallen made a mistake and Akeno was able to take her out with a large lightning strike. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kalawarna screamed as she was fried by the lightning. She dropped to the ground barely alive next to her two Fallen comrades. Akeno had a hand over her mouth while gently laughing with a blush and a satisfied look on her face.
After seeing the scene, Goredolf vowed not to anger the young girl.
Raynare was making a dissatisfied face at what was happening in front of her. She was preparing to deal with her target and his unidentified allies before they came here, and her compatriots couldn't even handle the Devils who had been here the whole time. "This is absurd! How could you filthy Devils beat them!?" she yelled.
Rias just walked up to the three defeated Fallen while looking at Raynare. "It wasn't that hard. Of course, that's to be expected from my peerage," she said smugly. "You should have gotten out of my territory when you had the chance, because now none of you are leaving here alive."
"Grrrrrr… Even if you defeat us there will be others who will-"
"No there won't be. After all, we made sure to check if you were acting against orders or not. So even if you manage to escape, your own faction will make sure you're punished for nearly reigniting the war," Rias said matter of factly.
Raynare had a look of horror on her face at Rias' words. While Raynare was contemplating what to do next, Rias created a ball of destruction energy in her hand and looked down at the three defeated Fallen. "Now then, disappear!" She launched it at the three, killing them and leaving no remains except for a few loose feathers.
(Da Vinci) Such destructive power.
(Sirzechs) Yes, it's our family's specialty. Destruction Magic.
(Da Vinci) Interesting. I guess that's more to talk about later.
Issei moved forward followed closely by Mash with Jeanne, Martha, and Asia staying back. Rias walked alongside Issei while her peerage fell back to Asia to guard her and have any wounds patched up by her. "Now then, I think it's time we ended this," Issei stated matter of factly.
Raynare grimaced. "This wasn't supposed to be this way! I was supposed to destroy the threat to the Fallen and gain a Sacred Gear for Azazel-sama! I was supposed to gain his praise and love for this!" She yelled angrily.
Azazel couldn't help but sigh in annoyance.
(Azazel) I know we've already moved past this, but I'm still ashamed I didn't make it clear enough about my intentions to my subordinates. Though that's my own fault since I probably would have accepted Twilight Healing after scolding them anyway. Making too many exceptions can be its own problem.
(Holmes) True. Many Mages fall from grace by having a similar mindset. Once you make one exception, it becomes easier to make another. Then you have to figure out where to draw the line, if you're even able to.
Azazel huh? One of the leaders of the Fallen Angels. Seems like I'm going to have to be wary of him too, Issei thought to himself. "You say you did this all for love, huh? Well, I can't fault you for something like that but unfortunately, you picked a fight with someone stronger than you. You have no one to blame but yourself for your own incompetence," Issei mocked.
(Issei) I know this is gonna sound strange, but I kinda get it now.
The DxD group looked at Issei with a mix of shock and confusion.
(Issei) After all this time fighting for all of you, I understand wanting to do anything to help and protect you guys. I still don't forgive her for what she did, but I at least understand a bit better now.
The DxD group just stared at him silently, trying to take in his words. Azazel, Sirzechs, and Michael were happy that Issei seemed to be maturing properly, while the ORC had mixed feelings about his comment.
Raynare grit her teeth and readied her spear. "You filth! I will kill you here and now!"
Issei showed a confident smile and repeated the words a certain red-head said earlier. "You will try."
(Vali) Now the fun begins.
Issei sweat-dropped at his rival's comment, seeing as how he seemed more excited about his fight than he did.
"I will join you in this fight, Issei-kun. Let's take her down," Rias said.
"Engaging the enemy. Let's go Master," said Mash.
Issei nodded and the three of them charged at Raynare. Raynare launched spears of light while gaining some altitude so that she could create distance. Mash sprinted at the Fallen to close the distance, while Rias took flight herself and launched balls of destruction at Raynare. Issei followed behind Mash but stayed back to take shots when there was an opening.
(Michael) I should say it's to be expected at this point that Issei and Mashu's coordination is commendable as usual, but they also have seamlessly adapted to Rias-san being in the mix.
(Ritsuka) Well, it makes sense considering how many times we had new people join our fight out of the blue. Being adaptable is part of the job.
Raynare deflected the Devil's attacks to the best of her ability while moving around to make her a harder target for both her and the girl with the shield. She created another spear in her other hand and launched both at the Devil causing her to create a magic barrier to block it. As the Devil's attack paused, Raynare turned her attention to the shield girl who had just launched herself at her. "Don't think the same trick will work twice!" Raynare yelled while creating two spears again. She used one to deflect the shield that was swung at her and as the girl was vulnerable tried to launch the second spear at her, but before she could a fireball intercepted it and destroyed the spear. The explosion of the two attacks colliding caused Raynare to be pushed back somewhat. She looked where the attack came from and saw Issei with a magic rune in his hand and a small flame above it, smirking provokingly.
"Having fun?" Issei said mockingly.
(Akeno) It sure looks like Issei is.
Raynare's face was becoming uglier as she grew angrier. "YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" she screamed and threw a spear at Issei with incredible speed and force. Issei was slightly caught off guard, not expecting that kind of power from her. He didn't have time to move out of the way or create a magic barrier so he did the only thing he could do. He swung his left arm and summoned his Boosted Gear to bat away the spear. His arm glowed bright red and with a loud shattering sound destroyed the spear. Everyone there stared at him. The Devils and Raynare had their eyes wide open and mouths agape at what they were seeing. The Servants, who had finished defeating the exorcists, smiled proudly at their Master, being able to tell how much stronger he had become since he left. Asia was looking at Issei with surprise as well, but had known beforehand that he had one since she was told by Issei. Issei had a smirk on his face like one of a kid who had successfully pulled off a prank. Raynare was the first to speak. "T-that's! That's a Longinus class Sacred Gear! You had access to it the whole time!?"
(Kuroka) Looks like the cats outta the bag.
(Da Vinci) Longinus Class? The only Longinus I know of is the spear used to pierce Jesus Christ.
(Mythos) Longinus are different in your respective worlds. In the DxD world there are many Longinus Class weapons, while in your multiverse it refers to a specific weapon.
(Da Vinci) I see. How interesting.
Issei lifted his gauntleted arm in front of him. "That's right. Like I said, you picked a fight with someone more powerful than you. So now you will face this generation's Sekiryuutei!" he stated proudly.
(Vali) He seems more proud of his power than my rival did when he first discovered it.
(Issei) Could you blame me? I'm not particularly a fan of violence, especially when I started out. But I won't hesitate to defend myself or my friends.
(Goredolf) So what makes this "Boosted Gear" so special?
(Mythos) To put it simply, it's an endless supply of magic for the one wielding it, with the only limit being how much magic the user's body can endure.
(Goredolf) W-wait! Isn't that amazing?! Or rather, it's completely unfair! Mages would kill for an endless magic supply! It's essentially the ultimate magic!
(Holmes) True. If something like this was known in our world, many would stop at nothing to obtain it, and if one of them did…
(Da Vinci) It would spell disaster for our world more than likely. We unfortunately have more unsavory mages than good ones, so the very nature of our world would be at risk.
(Mythos) Well, thankfully you don't have to worry about that. But, he does.
The viewers realized just what kind of situation this version of Issei was now in. Whether or not he knew was yet to be seen.
Rias stared at Issei in shock. "Issei-kun, you were the Red Dragon Emperor!"
Issei gave Rias a sly smile. "Can you understand now why I was so reluctant to say what my Gear was? It was also clear that the Fallen didn't know what Gear I had, which was why I didn't feel any urgency in telling you what my Gear was. But at this point there really isn't a reason to hide it anymore." He focused on Raynare and stood beside Mash. "Now then, it's time to finish this!"
(Sona) It makes sense. If you think the enemy doesn't have all the information, then it's better to make sure that information is kept under wraps until it's necessary to divulge it.
(Tsubaki) I also think this is Issei's way of showing that he trusts Rias and the others more now.
The ORC were relieved to hear that, hoping that this Issei would end up like their Issei soon.
Issei and Mash rushed the Fallen who was now panickly trying to create distance. Raynare threw spears of light at the pair but was inaccurate because she was now afraid of the person she was fighting. While they were closing the distance Issei used his magecraft to project his own swords, which caught Kiba's attention, and launched them at the Fallen. The blades went outward then curved like boomerangs aiming to hit Raynare from all sides. Raynare had to stop and spin her spears to block all the incoming blades and while she did that, Issei and Mash had jumped above her. Issei created a red spear in his hand and thrust it down alongside Mash who thrust her shield at Raynare as well.
(Ritsuka) Wait! He can project the Gáe Bolg too!
(Mythos) He learned projection from Emiya, but he had many teachers and expanded his skill beyond swords and bows.
(Da Vinci) How resourceful, and dedicated.
Both weapons impaled Raynare through the stomach causing her to cough up blood. Then the three of them crashed down onto the ground, creating another crater. Issei and Mash jumped back out of the crater and looked down on Raynare. Despite having a giant hole through her stomach, she was still alive, if barely. She coughed up a lot of blood but managed to get her words out. "T-this wasn't supposed t-to end this way," she stuttered out.
Issei narrowed his eyes at her. "Well, we don't always get what we want now do we?" He lifted his gauntleted hand and a small red ball of energy appeared ready to finish her, when he was stopped by Rias.
(Irina) Is it just me, or was there something worrying about how he said that?
The others agreed with Irina's assessment as it seemed like Issei was referring to something with that statement.
"Hold on Issei-kun. She trespassed into my territory so I should finish her," Rias stated.
After Mash and I did all the work against her, she wants to help now? Well, whatever. As long as she dies then it doesn't matter who kills her, Issei thought to himself and put his hand down.
Rias felt like she was getting the rough end of the stick with this Issei. He always had a comment or thought that seemed to jab at her, and she couldn't comment back because he was usually right.
Rias walked up beside them as Raynare struggled to pick herself up. Raynare had fear written all over her face as Rias prepared a ball of destruction. "Before you do that, let me add a bit of my own to it," Issei said.
[BOOST!]
Issei's Gear sounded off, increasing his power. He then placed his hand on her shoulder.
[TRANSFER!]
The power Issei created was now being sent into Rias. Her body glowed a bright red and she felt a slight sense of euphoria as well as a power boost. The ball of destruction in her hand grew twice the size causing Raynare to try and scramble back in fear. "No! Please! Have mercy!" she screamed.
(Rias) Not on your life, Bitch!
Rias managed to pull herself together and refocused on Raynare. "Now, trouble us no more. Blow away." With a loud squawk of fear Raynare was gone leaving only black feathers behind.
Issei watched the black feathers fly and his other self standing amid it. He felt the same feelings as when he experienced that scene personally, sadness and melancholy. Meanwhile his other self seemed to be unbothered and rather indifferent to Raynare's fate. It made sense since he didn't have the trauma to affect him, but it was still strange to see. The ORC girls watched their Issei closely as they saw him entranced by the scene and his expression changed ever so slightly as he looked around. They wanted to comfort him, but it seemed like they shouldn't disturb him at the moment.
With that, everything was taken care of. Issei turned around and gave a thumbs up to the others. "And with that, we can call this a successful mission. Good work everyone," he said with a wide smile. His Servants cheered while the ORC gave satisfied smiles. He then walked up to Asia who had a small smile on her face as well. "Now that the Fallen are gone you won't have to worry about people attacking you out of the blue anymore."
Asia gave a grateful nod to Issei's words but then looked down. "I guess this means I won't be living with Issei-san anymore," she said sadly.
Issei had a confused look on his face. "Why? Are you going somewhere?"
(Akeno) Of course, Issei wouldn't give Asia up so easily, ufufufu.
Issei and Asia blushed at Akeno's comment, but they both seemed happy.
"Eh?" Asia looked up at him surprised. "But- Well- You don't have to protect me anymore so there is no reason for me to stay at your house anymore, right?" she said nervously.
Issei gave her a kind smile. "You don't have anywhere to go so it's fine to stay with me if you want." Issei looked away, slightly embarrassed. "My parents have kinda already come to the conclusion that you were staying anyway so it won't be a problem with them if you stay." He looked back at Asia. "Of course, I'm not forcing you to stay if you want to leave," he said to her while giving a gentle look.
(Kuroka) Giving her that kind of look is unfair. What girl wouldn't melt when someone is looking at them like that?
Asia hesitated. She wanted to stay with the people who had been so kind to her when she was in trouble, but she didn't want to be a burden. She stood there in silence for a bit, thinking it over. After a while she seemed to have come to a decision and looked directly at Issei. "I want to stay with Issei-san. I also want to stay with Mash-san, Martha-san, Jeanne-san, and Issei-san's parents. I want to be able to spend more time with everyone who has now become my first friends," she said somewhat shyly.
Everyone watching smiled at the girl's pure feelings. Even Goredolf, who had been acting indifferent to most of the viewing, couldn't help but show a small smile at what he saw.
Everyone smiled at the nun's honest feelings and Issei went and patted her on the head. He then turned to Rias. "Now then, about that favor we talked about before," she was surprised at the change in topic and raised an eyebrow.
(Issei) Well, at least things ended smoothly this time.
(Sona) While this may be a good thing, there seems to be a downside to this series of events.
(Issei) What would that be?
(Sona) The fact that Rias is down two pieces from where she would be originally. Remember that she got both Issei and Asia due to them dying at the Fallen's hands during this plot, but that was prevented here. So she is at a disadvantage compared to normal, especially considering what's coming up next.
(Ravel) Onii-sama…
(Riser) Right, our Rating Game was the next big thing to happen to you guys at this time. While this situation seems favorable to me right now, I have a sinking feeling that it's not that clear cut.
Mythos hid his smirk since he knew what was in store for the group and began preparing the next scene.
New chapter! Alright, this is my upload for this month, the rest of my time will be focusing on the main story that you've all been waiting for. As you can see, I've added more guests. I finally finished Epic of Remnant and have gotten into the Lostbelts on my FGO profile so I'm learning more about certain characters. I actually just finished beating the first Lostbelt and have yet to start the second. I know Kadoc eventually joins Chaldea's side but I don't know why yet so he won't be added until I have a grasp on what his deal is. Also, I've been keeping up with Ordeal Call 2, which is the newest event for FGO in Japan right now. After watching it, it made me realize that I severely underutilized Edmond Dantes in Volume 3 and now I wanna make up for that in the future somehow. Also some things in Ordeal Call 2 gave me ideas for future plot points in my story so look forward to that down the line. Anyways I've rambled long enough so I look forward to the comments and criticisms as usual. : )