6 chapter 5

Dead Man's Drink

Seth's Bedroom

3:20 AM

"Part of me feels that this little goal I've set for myself is wayyy fucking out there – but another part of me is whispering into my fucking ears that 'A Pervert-With-No-Personality was capable of making all these women fall for him, if you can't do the same, kill yourself'" I said, staring at the ceiling. "I mean it would really suck if that happened. I honestly can't see what's so special about Issei that anyone would fucking fall in love with him. The dude sees women as nothing but breasts and a fucking masturbatory aid. Can anyone really fall for someone like that?"

"Perhaps – ugh – there – ah – is something you – mmm – are missing, Seth-sama?"

I snorted. "Like what? Issei's only redeeming traits are his 'kindness' and his 'never-give-up-attitude.' I don't even think kindness should be considered a fucking redeeming trait. 'Hey! You're not an asshole! Congratulations, that makes you special!'" I groaned a bit. "Being a decent human being should not be considered as a 'positive'. It's the 'absence of a negative', and the 'absence of a negative' does not equal a positive."

"I'm not sure I – ah – ah – understand –"

"L-let's put it this way," I said. "You want to go to a dance and you need to pick a partner. Issei comes along and says 'hey, I don't trip over both feet while dancing!' Would you pick him as your partner, even though that's the bare minimum requirement for someone dancing, or would you instead look for the person whose footwork and choreography can make you dripping wet on the dancefloor?"

"Y-yes – wet – dripping wet – I – ahh – I'd prefer – that."

"Well that's only fucking obvious selection. So, eliminating 'kindness', Issei's only real character trait is 'bullheaded stubbornness' masked under the shounen-tinted-glasses name of 'determination and grit.'" I groaned. "S-such bullshit. It's bullshit to think that those are the only two things you need to make someone fall for you. What about interesting hobbies? Special talents? Idiosyncratic perspectives? A daring, breathtaking life? An overpowering intellect? Or even just plain old fucking charisma?"

"Seth-sama, I'm – I'm –"

The woman on me shuddered out, her head curling back in pleasure as she bit down on her lips and tightened against me. Her lips let out a soft gasp, and she collapsed, her sweaty breasts landing on my exposed chest, her breath coming out in soft, ragged pants.

"Seth-sama, you – didn't –"

"No." I said dryly. "You know, at some point in my life, I'd have given fucking anything to have nigh-infinite stamina. I mean, to be able to stay awake all through the night and be able to never get tired? It sounded like a good deal. Guess they forgot to add that it makes it really fucking hard for someone to get you off."

"I – I'm sorry, Seth-sama."

I shook my head. "No – it's not your fault I have this freakishly weird body. It makes me feel like my life was written by an eroge mangaka. Shit, considering people in this world can gain power from poking breasts… I hope this isn't some ecchi aspect of this world fucking with me."

I sighed, reaching into my inventory and bringing out one of my Stamina Potions, before casually putting it in Sana's hands. "Come on, we're not done yet."

She stared up at me, her eyes wide. "S-seth-sama, another one?"

"Yes, another one." I said dryly. "Come on, this is good training for you too. I think your max Stamina will shoot through the fucking roof once we're done."

She looked at the potion, before clearing her throat. "But – ah – Seth-sama, you were telling me more about your plans and your goals?"

"Nice try Sana, but I can talk and have sex. Drink."

The woman understood the order when it came, and sighed as she took the bottle, and downed the contents of the Stamina Potion in one go. The effects were instantaneous, as she lost her 'tired' look. Her eyes became wide and alert, possessing sharpness in them. Her cheeks regained color and vitality, her entire body seemed to shudder once and then immediately come back to life.

Stamina Potions are great substitutes for aphrodisiacs. Who would have fucking thought?

The sound of flesh smacking against flesh reached my ears again as Sana's hips connected with mine, and I groaned a bit at the pleasure, before trying to remember what I was talking about.

"So, what was I talking about again?"

"Your – dislike – of – this – Hyoudou – Issei – boy –"

I nodded, closing my eyes a bit as Sana tightened down on me. "Ahhhhh – yeaaahh – him." I said unintelligently. "He needs to die, and I'm not just saying this cause I'm jealous of how someone like him had girls falling left and right – but my issue with him was the fact that he had nothing of interest going on. Other than becoming a Harem King – he had no fucking notable goals to speak of, and he lived a mundane, boring, empty life that would make public librarians and salarymen shake their heads in pity."

I sat up a bit as Sana increased her tempo.

"Issei was not a doer. He never got up on his feet and flipped the world the middle-finger in order to chase his dreams – naw, fuck that, he just sat back and watched as everything fell into his lap. He didn't do, he had things done to him. Being killed, being turning into a devil, being forced to fight against Riser – his life is a laundry list of reactions, not actions."

I launched my hands out and grabbed her breasts, listening to her let out a soft moan was making it harder for me to think straight, especially considering how much tighter she seemed to be getting.

"I'm going to make sure I don't fall into that trap. I need to have a life so fucking epic that the gods sitting up in their thrones would aspire to be me. This means adventure – danger – conspiracy – the whole enchilada. I want to live a life so large, that at the end of the day, they'll be a large argument among the guys turning my autobiography into a movie about which genre it is."

I pushed Sana down to the bed, changing our positions and grinning down at the sweaty, moaning, panting woman.

"The most interesting motherfucker who ever lived and who would ever live – that's who I'm gonna be!"

Sana screamed into my ear, her legs locking tightly against me, her body shuddering in pleasure as I commanded it to, and I grinned as her back arched on the bed, her hardened nipples and large breasts slamming into me as she did so.

It took about thirty seconds for her climax to end, at which point, her ragged breathing calmed significantly, and she dropped back on the bed, tired.

"Ah… S-Seth-sama… I – that was… amazing –"

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet," I said, before waving a familiar vial with green liquid in front of her.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the Stamina Potion, then turned her gaze back to me.

"You can't mean –"

I grinned. "We're just getting started."

XXXX

"Seth-sama – I can no longer feel my legs."

I guess I had to stop at some point, and Sana no longer feeling the blood flowing to her legs was probably going to be it.

"Fine, fine – I guess I should let you get some sleep."

Sana let out a large sigh of relief that was not masked in the slightest, making my eye twitch.

"Hey now –" I wanted to say something, but merely chuckled instead. "This reminds me of the first time I got a PS3. I stayed up all night playing videogames for so long, I ended up sleeping through class the next day."

"How does this remind you of that Seth-sama?"

I rubbed my chin. "I never really had the chance to fuck a lot. I got some lucky hits here and there – but sex came around pretty fucking rarely. Without a girlfriend, it's not a surprise. Hell, even with a girlfriend, most people can't just have sex whenever and however they wanted, in any amount they wanted."

I paused.

"Not unless they're women anyway."

Sana rose an eyebrow at that.

"Come on, we both know it's relatively fucking easier for women to get laid. If a girl doesn't give two-shits about being called a whore or the usual slutshaming that follows – she can fuck a different guy every day for a year and have the time of her life. That is, you know, if she is careful enough not to get knocked up or get some STD or some shit."

"As you say Seth-sama." Sana said blandly, before yawning. "I will be needing sufficient amount of sleep to contribute to that topic. You, however, Seth-sama… you no longer need sleep. So what will you do with that extra time?"

I allowed my shoulders to rise and fall. "I'm going to go kill and possibly torture a pervert in order to attain his soul."

"…ah… I suppose whatever makes you happy, Seth-sama?"

I rose from the bed, leaving a naked and sweaty, and now resting Sana on it, and it made me wonder momentarily about the ethics and morals of it all. I'd slept with Sana, and sure, it was entirely 'consensual' except for the fact that she was under the influence of my Bend Will shout… which completely changed a lot of things.

Yesterday night, after seeing Raynare, I'd been so consumed by lust that I didn't give much thought to it. I just saw Sana, and I took her. For all the good that it did, considering I was still hard and erect, and whilst Sana had gotten the time of her life, I'd been unable to achieve that big 'O' as it was.

I stretched a bit and descended down the stairs, scratching my hair as I did so. Strange to know I'd never have lice, or be able to catch a cold, or STDs – or pretty much anything, thanks to this body. Just in exchange, I could not sleep as long as my Stamina regenerated – and for some weird fucking reason, it was really, really hard for someone to get me off. I could get myself off no problem, but as Sana had displayed, her efforts could only go so far.

On the upside, as a Vampire Lord, my Stamina would stop regenerating in the day time, which meant, I wasn't completely insomniac. My stamina would run out in the day, and I'd be able to sleep, and presumably, hit the big 'O' that I really needed. It was absolute fucking torture to have been inside a woman for so long and yet not finishing. I had the worst case of blue-balls I'd ever experienced in my life.

I reached the main floor, the bar, and my thoughts strayed back to Sana, what I'd done, and the fact that I also had three unconscious female exorcists on my floor.

"Oh yeah… I took these women from Raynare didn't I?"

I'd… forgotten a bit about that. Whoops.

They were still unconscious though – which was a good thing. Or a bad thing. This wasn't a fucking movie where people could lose consciousness for hours due to blunt force trauma and then wake up fine and dandy.

At best, they had some serious concussions and other impairments like memory loss and sensory losses.

At worst, they had major brain damage and/or were brain dead.

Pft. I didn't feel up to treating them just yet, plus, if they did have long term damage, it'd help me discover if my healing potions and Restoration spells were capable of healing such damages. So, I just needed to make sure they didn't wake up and run away, or kill Sana.

I channeled my magical power into my right hand, before raising it and casting the spell I needed.

"[Conjure Familiar]."

Within seconds, the light born from my hand coalesced into a solid form, and before me, two large, (and I mean large) spectral wolves appeared. Thanks to the Twin Souls perk, I would always summon two spectral familiars at a time. Well, spectral for all of a few seconds, before they fucking decided to take on a more solid form, and gained beautiful color, appearing with thick, silvery-gray fur, gaining rich color, and filling out completely.

Before me stood two completely solid direwolves.

"…I did not see that coming."

I could feel a sort of connection with the creatures, a mental one that made me feel as though I had an extra pair of hands to control. I knew that if I ordered them, they would do as I said immediately and without hesitation, and I had to admit, being fully-colored and solid made the wolves very intimidating.

Now that I thought about it, the [Conjure Familiar] spell always summoned a wolf. But why? Why a wolf? Why couldn't it be used to summon something else? Did it mean that everyone had a wolf as a familiar? How did that make sense? The name of the spell wasn't conjure wolf, it was conjure familiar.

I pursed my lips, before raising my right hand again, this time, closing my eyes and envisioning something else.

"[Conjure Familiar]."

The lights worked as I needed, and, within seconds, rather than two extra wolves joining me, I was accompanied by two sleek flying mammals, both bats landing on my shoulders. Their eyes glowed a familiar red like mine did, and I grinned at the success.

Somehow though, I had this feeling that I couldn't summon anything other than bats and wolves. The bats were probably as a side-effect of me being a Vampire Lord, which made a lot more sense for me to have them as my familiars, but I doubted I could conjure a dragon or lion or even a cat.

"[Conjure Familiar]"

Two More Bats.

"[Conjure Familiar]."

Two wolves again.

"[Conjure Familiar]."

More bats.

I sighed. I guess I couldn't summon anything other than –

I paused as something fucking hit me, and it wasn't the bats flying around.

"…did I just conjure more than four creatures at a time?"

Four Wolves, and Six Bats stared back at me, perhaps giving me the 'are you fucking stupid' look, which I couldn't blame them for.

"[Conjure Familiar]."

The original two wolves vanished, being replaced with two extra bats, and I let out a small breath of air.

Ten. I can fucking conjure ten creatures at a time. So that's my fucking max?

Conjuring Ten Monsters… I almost salivated. I imagined just how much damage ten Storm Atronachs could do, or, if I was feeling malevolent, ten Dremora Lords. Hell, even having ten Dead Thralls or ten Gargoyles…

I dismissed all of the conjured creatures except two wolves and two bats, before staring at the bats.

…will this work?

"Go. Fly around and tell me what you see."

The bats stared at me dumbly. I felt like a retard. I grabbed the bats by the throat, before 'smiling' at them.

"Bite human."

Well at least that worked.

The two bats lunged for one of the unconscious exorcists, sinking their sharp teeth into her ankles. The woman in question immediately jumped up in fright and alarm, her consciousness returning to her courtesy of pain.

She immediately regretted waking up, as the first thing she saw a wolf looming over her, growling straight in her face. Thankfully, the wolves were surprisingly easier to control. I felt for them, instructing them, and the wolves immediately obeyed, pinning the exorcist to the ground with its sheer weight, and then snarling at her.

The second one circled her head, bringing its sharp jaws and dribbling mouth right above her eyes.

Alright, it was time for Ragnar Lothbrok to work his magic.

"I'd advise you not to make any sudden movements," I spoke, making sure my voice was thicker and deeper than it was normally. "Otherwise my little pets will sink their teeth straight into your throat and rip out your larynx before you can scream."

She was unbelievably stiff – so much so that I almost felt a bit of pity for her.

Almost.

Damn, I'm enjoying this a little too much aren't I?

"W-w-w-what w-w-will y-you do to me?"

I contemplated the answer. I needed something badass – oh – something intimidating as well.

"Your life is no longer your own. You are spoils of war. Nothing more, nothing less."

She seemed to freeze up at that answer.

"I am curious. What possessed you to follow that Fallen Angel? Raynare, was it?" I asked, walking over to her, and gingerly rubbing the soft furs of my conjured wolves. "Perhaps it was her beauty? Were you bewitched by her appearance?"

The exorcist said nothing. Most likely she was too scared to even speak.

"A shame she chose to sell you out to save her own hide. Such a shame. To have no love for her subordinates. Tsk. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth."

I made a show of 'sighing' extravagantly.

"I will offer you a deal. You will tell me everything you know of Raynare, every weakness – every strength – every little detail you've observed, and all that you know of her plans. In exchange, I will ensure that you do not suffer any more than is necessary."

There was a sudden scent which caught my nose, one which made me pause as I spoke, one which drew my attention and my full focus. It was enriching, fucking beautifully… fuck, I couldn't think of anything that would describe it –

It was fucking ineffable!

What the fuck is that smell?!

I sharpened my eyes at her, and then, I realized it was coming from… her ankles?

Blood?

Oh… I told my bats to bite her didn't I? So she was bleeding…

Blood.

Why did blood smell so fucking great?

Oh, that's fucking right. Vampire. Shit, shit – shit – it smelt good – too good – what the hell –

How hadn't I noticed that blood smelt so fucking good before? Focus – focus – she was saying something – what was she saying?

"I – I don't know anything about R-Raynare's plans! I was just a –"

Nope, nope, couldn't focus. The smell was just that damned good.

Ah fuck it –

I ordered the wolves to stand aside, before grabbing the exorcist woman by her neck. She was light, or I was just strong, I didn't know which. I looked over her forgettable features, black hair, dull hazelnut-eyes, completely unremarkable. Oh, she was turning blue – why was she turning so blue? And why was she rubbing and patting my hands?

Ohhhh!

I lightened my grip on her neck, and she let out large, gasping breaths. That was strange… I didn't have any fucking problems controlling my own strength when I was fucking Sana –

"I – " she wheezed "Raynare is planning to kill the Witch and take her Sacred Gear Twilight Healing! She also has plans to kill some teenage boy, but that's all I know, I swear!"

Twilight Healing? What was she talking about? And why was her neck growing incredibly attractive? I brought her closer to me, breathing down on her neck, and grinning as I slowly licked it.

"P-please! N-no! I swear! I told you all I know! Raynare wants the Twilight Healing for a plan of hers – she – she's also – she also knows something about the plans Kokabiel-sama has – but – but that's it – I'm telling y- gurk!"

Hmm…? Rich, creamy. Fucking creamy. Damn creamy. Tasted like a chocolate fountain – ice cream and yoghurt – well, not really, but it did have that coppery ting, and the taste as it rushed down my throat was quite delectable. Fuck – it was good – well, not good, but – damn I couldn't fucking explain it. It was like drinking soup tinged with lemon juice and vinegar – it had a taste that was overwhelming – but you still found it enjoyable.

Now if only she could stop fucking squirming like some cockroach and stay still – oh, that's right, I had a spell for that. [Paralysis] launched from my hand and she froze in place. There, that's better.

It gulped down my throat with confounding speed and efficiency. I didn't even need to suck to bring the rich nectar out, it was as though merely biting down caused the blood in her body to begin rushing out in submission to my will. That was fucking interesting – also fucking worth studying – blood magic would be fucking useful.

Ah… I drank my fill before letting go of her and wiping the red from my lips. It wasn't quite as bad as I'd feared – better actually. So, this was feeding? Now, shouldn't there have been that notification telling me that my Vampiric Powers receded?

…

No? Really?

No notifications?

Nothing?

Well, let's just fucking roll with that then.

Now I could have sworn she was saying something before the smell of blood set me off – what was that about?

She was frozen under the effects of Paralysis, so I guessed I would have to wait a bit before I found out. Or, more likely, I'd come back to find out. It wasn't like she was going anywhere now was she?

I turned to the wolves. "Guard. Don't let humans leave."

They both barked in confirmation. I shook my head and shook it again to shake off the slight haze that clouded my mind because of the blood –

On the upside, this 'blood buzz' would definitely come in handy with dealing with Issei and his shit. I definitely did not want to be conscious to listen to him.

Ah – pervert protagonist, here I come.

"[Clairvoyance]."

XXXXX

Kuoh

Near the Abandoned Church

"Well?"

"…It's… in shambles. The damage looks extensive – but most of which I can detect seem to be in the form of fire-based –"

"Let me see."

Sona Sitri pursed her lip as she took in the stock of the damage from the building which her kind was not allowed to enter. The Church was ruined, and it appeared as though a war had recently been fought there. The ground all around the doors was blackened to charcoal, if not worse. The entrance now possessed a giant hole that was clearly not put there by normal means.

Her eyes narrowed at the particles of glass where there should have been sand, and the fact that the entire building seemed to have suffered significant damages indicative of explosive heat or a shockwave. Windows were blown clean off the building, along with numerous bricks, wood, and other essential items. The central pillars were weakened and destabilized, and she estimated that it would not be long before they crumbled entirely.

"What do you think kaicho?"

She turned to her vice-president, still uncertain of what to say. The damages were not the sort that were possible to have been created by a Fallen Angel. Fire magic was not their specialty, hence, this conflict was not an internal one. Rather, they'd been attacked. The only questions on her mind now were to try and figure out who attacked them, and why.

The who of the question so far remained the most important. Sona shuddered as she remembered the overwhelming power and pressure of magic that had suddenly engulfed the town, as she checked and discovered that the entire average temperature of Kuoh had increased significantly in one night. There had been a sense of reality warping power that ached her mind and senses to even remember, as the magic in her body felt inexplicably cautious, disgusted, and terrified of this power all at the same time. She doubted that anyone remotely attuned to the sensing of magic in the city had failed to feel the sheer wrongness in the air.

It felt… it felt as though someone was… threatening reality into doing its bidding.

Absurd as such a statement was, it was the closest thing she could use to describe the sensation.

No doubt, her peerage members had felt it as well. She flicked her eyes behind her, noticing that all of them were unusually tense and coiled. Even her Queen, regardless of how well she attempted to hide it, was clearly shaken by the power they had felt.

"I believe we should involve Rias in this." she stated finally. "An attack on the Fallen Angels is not something we can overlook. There is a possibility that the attacker might move on us, and, if this is not the case, there is the possibility that we can be associated with this incident."

"Associated?" Tsubaki asked, "Do you believe that they might think, we were responsible for this?"

"It's not outside the realm of possibility." Sona said, adjusting her glasses with her middle finger. "It could even be asserted that we hired an outside party to do the deed in order to have plausible deniability."

"But – but they wouldn't have proof!" Tomoe sputtered out, and Sona turned her gaze sharply back on her peerage member.

"No they would not. Which is why I will need to involve Rias into this to ensure the accountability of all her peerage members."

Tsubaki's lips morphed into a frown. "Kaicho, first, there was the mysterious police man who claimed to have been robbed by a 'cosplaying foreigner' and now, this. Do you think there's a connection?"

"I would be remarkably surprised if there was not."

A mysterious stranger appears in Kuoh, and a day later the Church was attacked? Calling it coincidence would be naiveté of the highest order. Even if there was no direct correlation between the two events, there would most certainly be a common denominator.

"Finding this 'foreigner' is now a priority. We need to make sure we know just who or what has come to our town – and if deemed necessary, eliminate it."

XXXX

Kuoh

Hyoudou Residence

You see, I played the thief style majorly in my Skyrim campaigns. There was something about stealth and assassination that was just fucking fun to do. There was no reason to go out of my way to announce my presence or even converse with my targets. I merely spotted them from afar, took aim with a bow and poisoned arrow, and then let loose. They'd die, I'd loot them, and be on my way back to the Dark Brotherhood hideout to collect my reward.

So, I didn't see any reason to do things differently here.

Crouched as I was with my max Sneak skill, I was effectively a ghost. I arrived at the Hyoudou Residence, thankful for the broken power that was the Clairvoyance spell which helped me find my 'goals' and I stopped at the door, turning the knob silently and frowning to discover it was locked.

I grinned at the challenge, bringing out a single lockpick from my inventory, and I'd barely needed to insert it into the door before it clicked open, near silently.

With that mission done, I Silent Rolled my way into the house, closing the door behind me, and now vaguely realizing that I was trespassing in the Hyoudou Residence. A lot of some places looked vaguely familiar from the anime, whilst others didn't, and I rolled my way up the stairs, so silently that not even the tiniest of sounds could be heard, before making my way to a corridor with the bedrooms.

I knew which one belonged to Issei, the second door on the left, and I made my way into the room as silently as ever.

There, I saw him for the first time.

Sprawled across the bed, wearing a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, with one leg hanging off the end and his right hand on his stomach, Hyoudou Issei slept.

It would have been ridiculously fucking easy for me to bury a dagger in his throat and kill him before he even had a chance to react, or even realize that there was something wrong. The only reason I didn't, was because I wasn't sure if killing him now would grant me his Boosted Gear, considering the fact that he hadn't even unlocked it yet.

Should I wait until he unlocks his fucking Sacred Gear before killing him?

No – that would mean letting him get turned and become acquainted with Rias and her peerage. I did not want that fucking happening, because I did not want to give Rias a reason to even consider Issei as a romantic prospect.

So, I needed to find a way to make him unlock his Sacred Gear – without killing him.

He'd need stress – a lot of it – and a dash of motivation, a sprinkle of a little bit of fear and rage and anger…

I think I knew just the thing.

Still crouching, I made my way out of Issei's room and straight back into the corridor, before finding another room there, and eventually opening it to see the two sleeping nameless placeholders that called themselves his parents. Issei's father wore a pair of plain pajamas to sleep, and his mother wore a nightie that would have looked better on anyone else. I shook my head at the sight.

Sorry folks – maybe in your next life, try to be better parents and not let your son be a worthless pervert –

I glanced at his mother, before raising my right hand, and powering up my spell.

"[Frenzy]."

And hence, I officially fucked up canon.

Issei's mother woke up, her eyes wide and frantic, an evil, vehement smile on her face that could not be explained or even justified. It was the smile you'd find on Yandere girls, minus the attractiveness. She couldn't see me, because my stealth skills were too high, so she turned her gaze straight to her sleeping husband. She climbed on top of him, straddling the man in a way that made my eyebrow twitch and wonder if I was going to be a fucking voyeur –

Right up until she carried her pillow, and immediately pressed it against his fucking head.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" she laughed, or screamed, or did both, whilst trying to do her best to suffocate her husband.

Shit… should have brought some popcorn –

I instead settled for a Sweetroll from my inventory as I watched the drama unfold.

Issei's father struggled, his hands moving wildly and maniacally and his feet kicking up and about on the bed. It didn't take long for him to overpower his wife, knocking the pillow off his face and knocking her to the ground.

He gasped a bit for air, turning his attention to his wife. "W-what – what are you doing?"

"RAAARGH!" she didn't deem him with a response, instead lunging straight at him with all her might and tackling him to the ground, her nails raking across his face and leaving deep marks.

I munched on my Sweetroll judiciously.

"What's come over you?! Stop!"

With her on top of him, there was a struggle, a scuffle, he was holding her back with his superior strength and preventing her from choking him. Well, too bad he couldn't prevent her from slamming her head into his repetitively. She didn't even seem to give a shit about the damage it did to her as well, only interested in causing as much pain as she could.

He faltered after one rather nasty headbutt to his right eye, which was probably where things began to get a little messy as she slammed her fingers into his eyeballs with a mighty roar, and permanently blinding her own husband.

"GRAAAH! MY EYES! MY EYES!"

He stopped holding back, kicking his wife square in the stomach and delivering solid punches across her face that sent her sprawling across the room, slightly dazed. He grasped around blindly for something, gritting his teeth in confusion and anger.

Might as well end this –

I reached into my Inventory, pulling out a plain Iron Dagger, and sliding it across the room. The only other person with working eyes snapped her attention to it, not knowing where it came from or how it got there, but knowing what exactly it could be used for. The Frenzy effect was still going strong, so she dashed for the dagger, picked it up, and immediately turned her attention back to her husband with a wicked snarl.

She rushed him, dagger outstretched, and slammed the blade into his stomach.

He screamed.

She twisted it, brought it out, and stabbed him again, this time, in the chest.

Again, stomach.

Once more, chest.

Three more times in the stomach.

"DIE! DIE!"

I lost count of how many times or how many stabs, as her hand was a blur of motion, going up and down and up and down, penetrating the blade endlessly into her husband. Her nightgown was stained a bright colorful red, along with her face and body, as the scent of blood filled my nostrils and made me smile appreciatively.

By the end of it, when he littered in stab wounds, she stopped, panting heavily, as he stared up at her and barely croaked out his last words.

"W-why?"

…

That kinda made me tingle a bit.

"Ka-san, Tou-san, what's with all the noi –"

Hyoudou Issei appeared at the door.

And that's my queue.

XXXX

This – this couldn't be happening!

No!

No!

This had to be some sort of dream! A nightmare! That was it! That was the only explanation!

"K-k-ka… chan?"

His mother, his sweet, wonderful mother – covered in blood, a dagger in her hand, and his father – on the ground –

Blood – there was so much blood –

There was blood everywhere –

She wouldn't – she couldn't – why would she –

"DI –"

"That's enough out of you."

Shock passed through him at the sound of the sudden voice. A male voice. A male voice he didn't recognize. Standing in the room, in his parents bedroom, was a figure cloaked in red and black, a cowl obscuring his face and leaving nothing but haunting red eyes, the armor he wore was studded, sharp, and had an air of danger to it. Issei didn't understand – who – who was this person? Where had he come from?

The figure slammed his right foot into his mother's chest, pinning her to the ground, and Issei's stomach burned with anger.

He was responsible!

That was it! He – he did this!

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" He roared. His chest was burning. It was burning so much, so badly, it was tighter than he had ever felt it in his life. The cowl-wearing man with red eyes turned his gaze to him. Two red eyes that spoke of nothing but death and chaos.

"LET GO OF MY MOTHER!" he lunged at the man regardless. He bellowed out his lungs in his charge, hearing his blood pump in his ears –

Only to be stopped solid. Frozen.

I can't move. The realization was alarming. He couldn't move. Anything. Not even his eyes, not even his eyeballs – his entire body became restricting, like a cage.

"Weak." The figure spoke, and Issei could do nothing but endure as a punch connected deep with his stomach and sent him to the ground. It burned, it burned and he couldn't even cradle the stomach in an attempt to dull the pain. He couldn't even involuntarily recoil to the damage.

He landed in the pool of blood on the floor, his gaze fixed upwards, unable to move down. He was paralyzed, frozen in place –

"This is because you are weak. Too weak to do anything. And for that reason –"

His mother knelt on his chest, and he was confused. What was she doing? Why was she –

No, the man was forcing her to kneel on his chest – overpowering her, grabbing her by her hair –

And –

And –

No.

His eyes would have widened in horror if they could.

No.

His voice would have roared out in protest if it could.

No.

No –

No –

Ka-chan!

What are you doing?!

Why?!

WHY?!

"I'll be sure to make her pregnant and give you a little sister. And then, she can join in on the fun."

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA –

His hand – his hand was burning – it was overfilling itself with power –

It was –

He was –

A gauntlet – why – how –

But – but – with this –

With this power –

HE COULD FIGH –

"RII!"

Cold. Cold. Cold.

"VAAZ!"

Pain. Pain. So much pain.

Agony – burning – burning agony –

Something was being torn from him – ripped out of him –

"ZOL."

His world went blank.

XXXXXX

In Anime and popular media, torture was always the great fucking key to unlocking hidden powers and becoming more badass. Of course, I doubted this actually fucking worked in real life, and more likely, torture would only leave you fucked up beyond all repair, and with extreme amounts of PTSD afterwards.

But hey – there are dragons in this world, so, let's roll with it!

At least I didn't peel off his nails and shove a centipede down his ear while making him do math –

All I needed to do was to make him think I was raping his mother on top of him whilst he lay in the blood of his dead father. Not too extreme all things considered – considering I could have cucked him by sleeping with "Yuuma Amano" like this was a shitty third-tier hentai.

It took a while for him to break and for the familiar gauntlet to appear – and I didn't hesitate before using the [Soul Tear] shout.

The effects?

The wispy, spectral, undying soul of Hyoudou Issei floated in front of me, hovering, staring in abject horror and confusion, before an empty Grand Soul Gem popped from out of my inventory and into the air.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Issei tried, tried to flee from it – but he couldn't – and he could only let out a ghastly wail before his soul rushed straight into the object, and it fell to the ground, sizzling.

Soul Captured!

I turned my attention to another soul, one which swirled with burning red energy and power, overwhelming and completely outshining the entire room, before rushing towards me and filling me with a certain sense of… accomplishment. A sense of…

Power.

Dragon Soul Absorbed!

Ha –

Hahaha –

HAHAHAHAHAA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!