Issei's Power
Down below, Issei descended the stairs then walked across a single passage until he reached a big door. On the other side, he could tell were the rest of his enemies seemingly awaiting his arrival, however one thing bothered him. He could no longer detect the unknown soldiers he located previously. He was actually impressed that they were able to hide their presences from a dragon's senses, much less his own. This could only mean one thing.
'ambush'
They were most likely planning to ambush him the moment he entered the room or were waiting for him to let his guard down before striking him. He will find out soon enough as he blasted the doors open, making everyone turn their attention towards him.
Entering the room, he spotted the rest of the exorcists who were each carrying blades of light in their hands and they were all directed towards him. Further away, he spotted 4 fallen angels. One of them is the female Raynare who he remembered taking away Asia and injuring Matsuda.
Another was what seemed to look like a short girl with blond hair styled into twin tails with blue eyes. She wore a Gothic Lolita attire, which consisted of a black Lolita dress with white frills, a large black bow on the front, and a green jewel embedded on the collar, white thigh-high socks, and black shoes.
Next to her was a tall and buxom with brown eyes and long navy-blue hair that somewhat obscured her face. She was wearing a maroon, trench coat-like top with a wide collar, a matching miniskirt, and black heeled shoes. The trench coat top was open at her chest, giving view to her breasts and cleavage.
Last was the only male in the group. Based on his appearance, he looked to be middle age man with short black hair and dark blue eyes.
Finally, he spotted the person he came to save, Asia. Her limbs were shackled to what seemed like a machine-like structure. No doubt a tool they were planning to use for this ritual. He scanned her magical signature once more and breathed a sigh of relief to see that she was still alive and well. She was simply unconscious at the moment.
"Who the heck is this guy, Raynare?" he heard the blond one asked Raynare the question.
"I don't know Mettelt but whoever he is, he must be affiliated with those devils. I need you three to buy me some time so I can implement the ritual to extract this girl's sacred gear." Raynare ordered the three to stall him. Not that Issei would even let them.
"Whoever he is, he isn't that bright. Coming here by himself to take on all of us? What an imbecile, don't you think so Dohnasheek?" said the blue haired woman looking at her male comrade.
"Indeed, Kalawarner. I can't feel an ounce of power coming from the guy so he must be weak. Hah, they must have sent him here as a sacrificial pawn. What a joke. The soldiers gathered here are enough to deal with this" said the newly named Dohnasheek. It was clear that their arrogance knew no bounds as they insulted Issei in front of his face, not knowing the real difference in their power.
"You were a fool to come here by yourself. If you had any brains, you would have escaped the moment you entered this room but instead you choose to face us. What do you hope to do against all of us by yourself?" Dohnasheek asked arrogantly. All of the fallen angels wearing smirks on their faces as the two exorcists from earlier prepared to slash away at him from both directions.
"What I plan to do?" they heard him say.
The exorcists got closer
.
"It's simple, really."
.
They swung their blades thinking they would decapitate the intruder but instead their blades collided with something incredibly hard.
What blocked them were two scaly crimson wings.
"I plan… to annihilate all of you" his voice turned deep sending shivers down everyone's spine realizing that the enemy in front of them wasn't normal. However, it was only when he revealed his face behind his wings that caused everyone to flinch. Just like before, his eyes turned into slits as he used his wings to bisect the two exorcists foolish enough to charge at him. Blood spurted everywhere at the remains of the exorcists fell on the ground, a truly gruesome scene for everyone to see.
The fallen angels examined his appearance. Crimson wings and reptilian eyes. There was only one species they knew that fit this criterion.
"A-A DRAGON! What the heck is a dragon doing here?" screamed Mettelt in fright as her body started quivering. The others were not so different, never expecting to come face to face with a dragon of all things.
That very dragon turned his focus to them, his piercing red eyes seemed to stare at their very soul.
"I came to save my friend, fallen angel" they heard him say causing Mettlet to point at the unconscious Asia
"You mean this sister. I didn't know that this bitch even had any friends."
.
Big mistake. A sudden pillar of fire suddenly burst from underneath her, consuming her whole body as she was reduced to ash. She was killed, without even a shred of resistance. No one knew what had occurred as it happened even faster than a blink of the eye. The other three fallen angels could do nothing but stare wide eyed at the pile of ash that used to be their comrades.
"W…W-What just happened" whispered Kalawarner clearly in a state of shock, mirrored by her comrades.
"She got what she deserved, insulting my friend. Now I will teach you miserable insects what happens when you anger a dragon… but first"
HOLY SPHERE
A sphere was suddenly conjured around Asia as well as the artifact she was attached to, forming a protective barrier made up of Issei's holy flame, once more catching everyone off guard.
"There, at least now she is safe while I deal with all of you". With Asia protected by his barrier, Issei could now focus entirely on eliminating all of them.
Raynare and her comrades conjured their own spears of light and tried to destroy the sphere surrounding Asia. Unfortunately, their strike did not even make a single dent on it.
"W-What is this?" shouted Raynare as she continued her relentless assault with no success.
"Hmf, don't even bother. There is no chance your weak attacks will even make a dent on it. Although, considering you are or used to be angels, I'm surprised you haven't already guessed what power that is." smirked Issei. Taking a moment to examine the sphere, Raynare went wide eyed when she finally noticed what it was made of.
"Im-Impossible… That's impossible. How are you able to use holy flames, an ability only God of the bible and the seraphs can use!" She couldn't believe it. Holy flames were regarded as one of the most powerful flames. The fact that only God of the bible as well as only the Seraphs were able to use them, proved it and yet here was an unknown dragon capable of conjuring them and to a masterful degree it seems. This is getting from bad to worst for Raynare as she was watching her plans crumble to pieces by a single entity. The others as well, couldn't believe the predicament they were in. Gone were any traces of their arrogance as sweat beaded down their faces as fear overtook them.
"All of you, ATTACK HIM NOW" Dohnasheek screamed at the exorcists to attack Issei but they were rooted in place by the sheer pressure coming from Issei's killing intent.
"Unfortunately, I don't have time to waste so I'll finish you all right now."
Issei lifted his arm
"IMPALLING DECIMATION"
In an instant, multiple flaming spears rained down upon each exorcist, impaling them all. Their bodies instantly consumed by the flames reducing them all to ash. The fallen angels were taken aback by this.
"What the heck just happened? I didn't even see him conjuring all those spears." Said a panicked Dohnasheek having no idea what to do.
Issei was ready to finish the fallen angels as well when his instincts flared at him, warning him of a potential danger nearby. That was then he looked at his surroundings and noticed something weird. The shadows around him seemed to slowly be shifting as if they had a mind of their own. All of a sudden, from the shadows sprung multiple beings as they charged towards Issei in a surprise attack. Luckily, thanks to his instincts he was able to react just in time as he dodged the enemy strikes by jumping backwards. He automatically covered his body in scales for good measure since you could never be too careful as was taught by Tannin. Multiple sword stabs were heard crashing into the spot Issei was previously as Issei got a good look on his attackers. There were approximately a dozen of them and these were the soldiers he lost track of when he came downstairs. He never expected them to be able to meld within the shadows of objects to ambush him. Pretty creative. They appeared to be human beings yet for some reason he couldn't understand, they did not really feel human. They all wore some strange masks and were each carrying a light sword for offense.
These weird soldiers did not waste any time as multiple of them attacked simultaneously from all directions, prompting Issei to use his wings as a means of defense. All of their swords were repelled when they made contact with his scales not able to even damage them. They were indeed a lot stronger than the stray exorcists he disposed off earlier, however…
"You may be stronger than those exorcists, but you are still to weak to deal with someone like me" Issei then counter attacked delivering a powerful body blow to each of his assailants sending them flying and crashing on the wall. They were most definitely down for the count as Issei focused on the rest of them. Yet, he noticed that none of them showed a single reaction to their comrades being killed by him which puzzled him. That was when he heard multiple cracking sound coming from the bodies he supposedly killed.
CRACK CRACK CRACK
Slowly, their bodies seem to be placing themselves back into place.
'hmm some type of body Regeneration' he thought to himself. However, this proved that he was not simply facing normal humans. A normal human would have instantly died when he smashed them against the wall like that… meaning only one thing.
"Enhanced humans?" he said aloud, raising a brow in curiosity. He had never expected to come across such humans. But, his curiosity soon turned into anger when he understood that these humans were experimented upon. It now made sense why they felt dead. They had no mind of their own and seemed to only care about one purpose and that is to eliminate the enemy in front of them, not caring about themselves.
"How despicable" he couldn't help but be disgusted at whoever is responsible for creating such abominations. While he was having an inner monologue with himself, the enhanced soldiers had fully surrounded him with their swords in hand. He then noticed their light swords changing color from their usual white to a darker red. He felt a small chill now coming from the blade.
"Dragon slayer?" Although weak, he could definitely feel a dragon slaying property oozing off that blade. Somehow, these soldiers were able to change the property of their blades to suit the situation. It would seem that they are not as mindless as he first though although he still wondered whether it was an ability infused within them or within the swords. He pushed those thoughts aside for now, as he still had a battle to finish. However, due to their regeneration, he either had to deliver a blow that they could not recover from or destroy their body entirely. He possessed a lot of abilities in his arsenal that could do the trick however he had to be very careful because if he unleashes to much power, he could easily collapse the building. Asia would be protected thanks to his holy sphere but his friends above would definitely be caught in the crossfire, something he really wanted to avoid.
'ughh, maybe I should have told them to stay back.' He thought to himself although he was pretty sure that would have been a futile effort. Short of incapacitating Matsuda, there was no way to prevent him from coming here to rescue Asia and there was no way to prevent Rias and the others to come and help.
"In that case, let's try this."
GLACIAL WAVE
A sphere made of blue flames appeared on the ground surrounding Issei and then shot outwards causing anything it touched to be turned to solid ice. The fallen angels were able to dodge the attack by taking flight however the same could be said for the enhanced humans. They had all charged towards him hoping to land a simultaneous assault however that charge prevented them from being able to defend themselves against his attack a they were turned into ice sculptures.
In what seemed like a moment, the entire room was encased in solid ice. The only place that was spared was Asia who was protected by his barrier.
Up in the air, the fallen angels witnessed, in disbelief, at the power displayed by this single entity. In one move, he practically eliminated all of their army. Not even the enhanced soldiers given to them by their collaborator fared any better than the exorcists and they knew that they were way stronger than the common human, yet to see them dealt with so easily was unbelievable. They could not stop their bodies from trembling at the overwhelming might this dragon possessed. Their first instinct was to run away but they didn't even know if they could even escape his wrath. All of his attacks were executed in the blink of an eye. Mettlet was erased before they even knew what happened. Teleporting out of there required a few seconds but even those seconds might as well have been hours with how quick he appeared to be. In their minds, they already knew. Their lives were entirely in his hands and it did not seem he would spare them any mercy.
"Now, it's your turn Fallen Angels" They heard Issei state. They looked back TO him and noticed his gaze directed straight at them.
"W WWWW WAIT! PLEASE SPARE OUR LIVES. WEWEWE WILL GIVE UP ON OUR PLANS AND WILL LEAVE THIS PLACE THIS INSTANT. I SWEAR IT. JUST PLEASE LET US LIVE, I BEG YOUUUU!" shrieked a horrified Raynare begging Issei to spare their lives. Her fellow comrades sharing her sentiments. Unfortunately, it did nothing but anger Issei even more.
"You dare have the nerve to ask me to spare your miserable lives when you were going to kill Asia without a second thought! You messed with my friend and for that you will pay dearly so no…you will receive no such mercy from me wench. Like I told you before, I plan to annihilate all of you" stated an enraged Issei with clenched teeth, his fangs could be spotted, and balled fists. He gave them a piercing glare that scared the living hell out of them.
With movements ever so gradual, he stepped forward coming closer towards them. Yet, to their perspective, with every step he took, his form seemed to be growing in size, increasing to no ends to the point that his gigantic form outgrew them even in the air, taking a more identifiable appearance. In their minds, in front of them was the outline of a massive dragon with piercing glowing eyes promising them nothing short of death.
Overtaken by fear, they did not even notice Issei charging up his next attack.
AMATERASU
Suddenly Dohnasheek and Kalawarner's wings lit ablaze as black flames consumed them.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" they both screamed in agony as they plummeted to the ground without their wings. Being burned alive, they tried to put out the flames by dousing themselves with water spells yet the flames continued to burn strong as it slowly started to spread throughout their entire body. When that didn't work, they tried rolling around the ground like a dog but all that did was make the flame spread even faster causing them excruciating pain.
"It's useless. Those are the flames of purgatory. They will continue to burn until they have reduced their target to nothing but ashes."
"AAAHHHhhhhhh…" Their screams eventually came to a halt as the flame consumed them. They shared the same fate as their other fallen angel comrade as Raynare stared at the ashes that was once her comrades.
Issei then suddenly disappeared from view. But, by the grace of God, that she had abandoned, her survival instincts somehow managed to kick in just in time to barely, by the skin of her teeth dodge from Issei's fist. However, the shockwave caused by the force of his fist was enough to send her spiralling towards the wall.
"AHHHHHHHH." She screamed in pain as she coughed up blood. She definitely suffered a few crack ribs from the impact. She was reduced to this from nothing but the mere force of his strike. She could not believe it.
"Oho, you actually managed to barely dodge that one. Gotta say, I am impressed that you were able to manage that." Issei was honestly surprised that she managed to pull off such a feat. Survival instincts are never to be underestimated it seems.
"Let's see if you can pull that off a second time" he said, preparing to finish her off. However, before he could so, a few more soldiers sprang out of hiding hoping to kill him in a surprise attack.
It seemed that they were biding their time until they found the right moment to strike.
Unfortunately, this opponent was beyond their league.
"I told you, it's useless." He said as he stretched his arms side and blasted the incoming soldiers with a wave of fire, incinerating them into ash. However, those few seconds of distraction seemed to have been enough for Raynare to bolt towards the door leading upstairs. It was pure luck that Issei blasted her near the entrance of the room so with adrenaline coursing through her veins, she bolted towards the door when his attention shifted to his attackers trying to escape with her life.
Seeing his 'prey' escape, Issei deliberated whether or not to pursue but decided not to. He remembered the layout of the building so the only way out for her to take were the staircase that led upstairs so he would let the others take care of her. He was pretty sure Rias would want to take care of the fallen angel who harmed Matsuda herself and she was too injured to do anything anyways. Taking a deep breath, he shifted his attention back to his primary goal and walked towards the protected Asia. When he was near, he dispelled his holy sphere and destroyed the artifact she was tied to, catching her in his arms when she fell. He checked to see if she had any injuries but luckily, it seemed she was merely unconscious making him breath a sigh of relief.
Looking at her reminded him of a certain promise he made to a certain someone and he was glad he was able to keep it.
'I was able to keep my promise… Sensei' he thought to himself as he looked up at the ceiling letting his mind wander..
Raynare was running down the halls, busy escaping with her life from that despicable abomination. She was clearly out of breath already but pure adrenaline and fear for her life kept her moving, wanting to get the hell out of there. All of her plans, her army, her allies… completely destroyed in an instant by one entity. She needed to warn her superiors about this dragon. Maybe they would be able to deal with this, this… thing. They had no idea that such a powerful entity resided in this city. All she had been told was that this city was governed by the little sister of the current devil king Lucifer but that she was no threat. Despite the additional forces given to them, they were not prepared to deal with such an almighty being.
Running up the stairs, she finally arrived to the altar room.
"hah… hah Freed… we need… hah … to get out right now" She tried to catch her breath as she called out to Freed. However, when she received no answer, she started to worry when she heard a feminine voice.
"If you are looking for that stray exorcist, he ran away with his tail between his legs just a moment ago. Fufu, good help is so hard to find these days, don't you think." Raynare looked up to see the crimson haired princess Rias Gremory in front of her. Next to her was her queen Akeno, who was still sporting her shrine maiden outfit. Kiba was standing in front of her, ready to protect his king from all dangers. All around her, she could see that the bodies of the remaining exorcists that were stationed here were dealt with. Pretty much another massacre. Some bodies were sliced, some crushed, others electrocuted and singed while others were simply erased by the power of destruction of the Gremory.
(For the Kiba vs Freed fight, it just pretty much went like in the anime or light novel so I didn't want to repeat it. Short version : Kiba and Freed sword fight, he uses his sacred gear to create a blade of darkness that sucks Freed's light sword, kicks his ass and Freed smoke bombs and escapes. LOL)
"AHHH" All of a sudden, she felt someone struck a blow behind her causing her to crash on the floor in front of Rias. She turned her head to notice that it was a short white-haired girl who struck her from behind. With the injuries she suffered a while ago from Issei, she could barely move anymore. She was trapped with no way out.
"I'm honestly surprised that you were able to escape from Issei-kun. He did not seem like the type of guy to allow such a thing. But at the very least, it allows me the chance to pay you back for all the harm you caused to my adorable pawn. So, I should thank him when I see him next time for giving me this opportunity." Rias said as she casually made her way forward to the lying fallen angel.
Raynare slowly looked up in contempt, still in pain from all her injuries.
"Damn you and that abomination of a dragon!" she sneered at Rias who did not seem to care, however one person clearly was affected by what she said.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH" Raynare instantly got electrocuted by a lightning bolt shot from Akeno who was extremely angry that this fallen angel had the audacity to insult her boyfriend. Her hatred for fallen angels spurred on once more, making her remember why she hated them.
"How dare you insult Issei, you wench" she said with clear distain in her voice. This was probably the first time everyone had seen Akeno this angry when she is usually very elegant and gentle. Even during her bouts of sadism, they had never seen such raw anger coming from her. Although since this is concerning Issei, it made sense.
Eventually, the torture ended. Her body twitching in agony as she could barely move. Is this where it all ends was the thought currently occupying her mind.
No… she didn't want to die here, not after all the sacrifices she made to get this far.
"Any last words, fallen angel before I make you disappear." Rias said in a cold tone filled with killing intent. Raynare was really scared, not knowing what to do.
That was when she spotted Matsuda located a bit behind Rias who seemed to be a bit conflicted. That is normal considering that she was his ex-girlfriend when she acted as Yuuma.
"Matsuda-kun, please help me" Matsuda reacted simply because that was the voice she used when she was acting as his girlfriend.
"This devil is trying to kill me. Please save me! I… I actually had a fun time when I was with you. I still have the arm band you bought for me. It was a wonderful gift that I treasure with all my heart." She somehow was able to lift her arm, revealing the band Matsuda bought for her during their date trying to emphasize what she was saying. She looked at him with pleading eyes and continued
"Please don't let her hurt me Matsuda-kun. I love you so please save me" she pleaded to Matsuda who had a very hard time thinking straight. He clenched his fist so hard that blood could be seen dripping from his fist as his nail penetrated his skin. All he could do was remember the words she told him at the end of their date on that fateful day.
[Will you die for me?]
She was his first ever girlfriend. He really did try his best. He made so many plans regarding his first date. He remembered how super excited he was and how he thanked God for giving him this one moment. He even went as far as thinking about a possible future with her. He was fantasizing about spending many Christmas and Valentines day together like a love-stricken idiot. He was even prepared to destroy all his perverted magazines which was a big thing considering what a massive pervert he was. Yet, it all came crashing down that day as more flashbacks of Raynare's vision and words came to bear
[I don't want a filthy low class Devil like you even saying my name.]
That day, her words shattered his heart into a million little pieces.
[Hahaha! Yeah, it was indeed a very royal date! Thanks to it, I was really bored.]
Then after completely destroying his heart, she then killed him on the spot, leaving him to die, as he was bleeding with a hole in his chest. It was certainly, the most devastating day of his life. At some point, he realized that he started crying as a few tears were flowing down his face. He then turned towards his king.
"Buchou… I am really at my limit here… so please…"
Hearing that, Raynare's expression froze.
Rias nodded "How dare you try to play with Matsuda's heart after what you did to him. I will not forgive you for that so, good bye fallen angel Raynare" Rias conjured an orb of destruction and shot it at Raynare
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Was all Raynare could say before the demonic power shot erased her and left nothing of the fallen angel except a few black feathers that seemed to sway in the wind.
Matsuda could not help but look away from his ex-girlfriends remains but he understood she was evil and thus needed to die. At least now it was all over. He felt a hand brushing on his shoulder and looked to see it was Rias who wanted to see if he was okay. He returned a smile to let her know it was which seemed to calm her down.
"Ah, I see you guys are finished here" Everyone turned towards the newly appeared voice and noticed it was Issei but his appearance took them for a loop. All over his body were crimson scales, a deeper red than even Rias hair, reptilian slits replaced his eyes and even more noticeable were the 2 large dragon wings springing out of his back. The were easily 2 meters in length. If they had any doubts about him being a dragon, they were quickly discarded now that they had a full view of him now. Even Akeno was a bit surprised. In the past she used to see him partially transform himself into a dragon but this time, she could feel the aura of dominance oozing through him and she liked it. Everyone else simply stared at awe at Issei's features until Matsuda looked at what he was holding.
"Asia! Is she alright!" asked a very worried Matsuda. Indeed, in his arms was little Asia who they came to rescue. He checked her and was relieved to see her chest rising up and down meaning she was simply asleep but most importantly, she was alive allowing him to breath a major sigh of relief.
"She is alright. I already dealt with all the enemies below us and made sure she was safe the entire time. She is just unconscious at the moment, and should wake up very soon." Issei's voice slowly returned to his original one as his scales slowly dissipated, his eyes returned to his human ones and his wings retracted back into his back. He then walked towards an untouched bench and laid Asia there, letting her rest until she wakes up.
"Ufu, so like I thought, you let that fallen angel escape, didn't you?" Rias giggled as she posed her question making Issei answer her with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Meh, I figured you would want to deal with her considering all the trouble she did to your peerage and in your territory. Of course, she was already injured from our scuffle so there was no chance for her to escape even if she wanted to." Issei said as he turned around to face them properly.
"By the way, catch Kiba." Issei took something out of his pocket and threw it at Kiba who caught it thanks to his reflexes. He looked at the object tossed to him and saw that it looked to be a sword handle. He looked to Issei hoping for an explanation for the item presented to him which he gave soon after.
"That is the weapon that the soldiers down stairs were using and I was hoping you could shed some light on what it is. At first, I thought it was simple light sword like the ones the exorcists were using but during our battle, I noticed that they were able to change the characteristics of the sword from one of light into a dragon slayer. I was surprised but since I was in the middle of a battle, I moved it to the back of my head and focused on my fight. I don't know if it is a special property of the sword itself or if it was an ability those soldiers possessed so after the end of the fight, I grabbed one to bring to you and see if you could explain this little conundrum since you are the expect swordsman here." Kiba smiled and nodded
"Very well, let me see what I find." Kiba began inspecting the handle to see what he could find out about it. It was beautifully crafted, he had to admit even for an enemy sword but that doesn't matter. Like his sword master taught him, it isn't the weapon who is evil but the wielder who uses it for malicious purposes that is evil. Seeing that there is no switch to activate the sword, he theorized that the weapon activated with one's power so he pushes his demonic power into the blade and low and behold a blade of light emerged from the handle. Now he wanted to test whether or not the blade had the ability to change properties or it was simply an ability used by other people; but once again there was no switch so he focused strongly on the sword picturing a dragon slayer. Sure enough, the blade of light changed properties as it changed into a deep red color. Issei frowned a bit, Asia's body seemed to have shifted a little in her sleep almost as though she could feel an ominous presence in front of her and Matsuda, being part dragon thanks to his boosted gear, took a step back from the ominous vibe the sword seemed to ooze. However, this was all the conformation Kiba needed to make an assessment.
"Fascinating, it appears that this handle has similar abilities to my sacred gear." Kiba said only to notice Issei raise a brow in confusion. He then recalled that issei did not know that he had a sacred gear and decided to rectify that.
"Oh, it's true, you don't know. My apologies Issei-kun. Anyways, just like Matsuda-kun as well as Asia, if I recall her name correctly, I also have a sacred gear. It is called Sword Birth and it allows me to create as many demonic swords as I want and I can even alter the attribute the sword according to my will." Kiba started explaining then conjured a sword of ice in one hand and a regular demonic sword in his hand to demonstrate his ability.
"As you can see, I can create any kind of demonic swords at will. I can even give my swords certain property depending on the circumstances. For instance, during my fight against the stray exorcist Freed, I created a sword of darkness that swallows light in order to counter his light swords and that is how I managed to defeat him. So basically, depending on the opponents and circumstances I can alternate between swords to fit the situation. That is in a nut shell what my sacred gear is." Kiba finished his explanation as he dispelled the two swords he conjured earlier.
Whistle "Wow, that is indeed a very useful sacred gear you possess Kiba. In fact, it's function seems similar to my flames." This time it was Kiba who raised a brow but before he said anything, it was his master that asked the question he wanted
"Really, how so?" Rias asked curious to learn of Issei's abilities.
"Well, unlike Kiba whose power revolves around swords, mine are based entirely on my flames." Issei lighted up his fists as bright orange flames emerged from his hands to demonstrate then continued.
"Not to come across as arrogant or anything but I have perfect control over the use of my flames and through lots of training have managed to develop multiple abilities using these very flames. You've already seen one of them when I protected you from that Stray devils desperate attack last time. That ability is known as Flame Barrier which basically, as its name suggests, create a barrier made of dragon fire that protects me or anyone I wish from attacks granted they aren't stronger than me. Any weak attacks that even come into contact with my barrier instantly get reduced to ash like you've seen previously. Anyway, I created a variety of different abilities but by complete accident, I discovered another aspect of my power that I never even dreamed off. It seems I possessed the ability to actually change the property of my flames." His right flame suddenly changed from an orange hue to a blue color surprising his friends but none more so than Rias because she learnt how tough it was to manage that. She approached her hand towards the flame and realized that instead of heat, she felt a chill.
"Wow, the fire is cold. I can't believe you were able to do that. During my education, it's been said that something like that was practically impossible to do even for experts. It's amazing." Rias remarked. Issei agreed with her statement.
"You are correct Rias. According to my shishou, even experts would find it difficult to accomplish such a level of mastery that I have done. Plus, there is also the fact that fire is perhaps one of the most volatile elements to control and to be able to change it's property is something even gods find it hard to do and let me tell you, it was not easy training these flames. Many times, I've had my flames blow up in my face when I tried experimenting with them. If I had been an average person, I would have probably died during the explosion. Anyways, it took me almost 7 years of grueling training to gain complete mastery over my flames but it was well worth the price but I believe we are getting off topic here, you were saying that the swords possess the same properties as your sacred gear Kiba?" Issei dispelled his flames and turned his attention back to Kiba.
"Ah yes, Issei-kun. This sword possesses the ability to change its properties based on the users will. It truly is a fascinating weapon; however, I believe it is nothing but a prototype device." He stated causing Issei to tilt his head in confusion.
"What do you mean? How can you know that this is a prototype?" Issei asked his question.
"It's better if I showed you." Kiba answered as he used his power and activated the sword to form a light sword, then he deactivated it and tossed it back at Issei who caught it in his hand.
"Now you try activating it. Simply put your aura into the device and it will activate." Kiba explained to Issei. Issei followed his instructions and poured his aura into the handle and low and behold a light sword was created. After carefully examining the result, Issei quickly understood what Kiba was getting at.
"They have the same power output." Issei said to himself but loud enough for Kiba to hear which caused him to smile.
"Exactly! Normally, a high-class sword would usually draw power from it's wielder and would be strong or weak depending on its user. However, this sword seems to have a set limit for the amount of power it can use. I believe it was most likely done to balance out the ability to change its property so due to this fact, it will not be able to surpass an ordinary sword of a single attribute. Kind of like a jack of all trades but master of none. This is why I believe that this is just a prototype version of the sword. I am pretty sure that my sacred gear could easily overpower anything this sword produces even though our abilities are similar. Whoever created this must have sent them here as a test run to see their effectiveness in battle. That's as far as my observation goes. If we want to know more, we should probably give this to Ajuka-sama since he is the technological expert in such matters." The last part was directed at Rias who nodded at her knight's suggestion.
"Good idea kiba-kun. I'll ask my brother to notify Ajuka-sama of our findings and, with any luck, he might be able to trace this device back to it's creator. If anyone can do it, it's probably him." Issei nodded to Rias.
"Very well, in that case, I will leave this device in your care." Issei said.
"Whoever created these devices is one hell of a genius. It really is a bit scary to think that a man of such intellect could possibly be an enemy." Kiba added.
"All we can do is wait and see." Rias stated thereby ending the conversation.
"Well, now that this is done and over with."
Akeno stepped close to Issei and suddenly pinched his cheek as hard as she could.
Issei was blindsided and couldn't react or brace himself at all, so he took the full brunt of this cheek abuse.
"Ow, ow, owow, oi, Akeno! that's hurts." Issei exclaimed. It really did hurt as he rubbed his cheek.
"Well, that was for leaving us and going on ahead. What if something happened to you? I was very worried" she told him with a sour look. Everyone started to giggle at Issei's plight.
"but but but but time was of the essence so I had to hurry to save Asia" He tried to explain himself to her. He really was pressed for time and needed to save Asia as quick as he could, although he couldn't blame her for worrying. She just loved him that much and was scared to lose him. He did feel bad about it though so he wanted to make it up to her.
"I'm really sorry Akeno. What can I do to make it up to you. I will do anything you want." He proposed to her instantly sparking a reaction from her but not in a good way.
"ara… anything you say." Akeno said. Her tone sounded very excited. Her eyes possessing a glimmer of mischievous intent as her inner sadist seem to rise up, scaring Issei a bit as he took a step back.
"W Within reason, of course, he heh heeeeeeeh." Shit, he totally forgot that his girlfriend was a massive sadist and he had given her the green light to do anything she wanted. He may have told her that he would do whatever she wanted within reason but there is no way he could deny her anything, really. And, he knew that she knew that he knew that which is why her smile did not decrease one bit when he told her his response. He needed to think of something to save himself. On the side, he could see Rias barely able to contain her laughter, Kiba giving him a sympathetic smile, Koneko acting… like she usually does and Matsuda seemed to have hidden himself behind a bench scared of Akeno when she acts like this.
'Oh come on, you were willing to dive straight into the enemy headquarters to save Asia, yet you are frightened by something like this' thought Issei when he saw Matsuda cowering behind a bench like a scared chicken which is kind of ironic considering that he too was scared of his girlfriend at the moment. A prime example of the pot calling the kettle black.
"Ohhhh I know, how about I take you on a date tomorrow or whenever you want." He hoped his suggestion for a date would calm her down and it seemed to work. The glint that was in her eyes seemed to have vanished and replaced with a look of happiness.
"Ara ara, a date with Issei-kun. I guess that will do… for now." She said making Issei breath a sigh of relief, happy to have dodged that bullet.
'Dammit aunty Shuri, why did you have to pass on that trait to your daughter!' It was the first time in his life that he mentally cursed his aunt. Issei sighed. Nothing he could do about that. Oh well, as they say life isn't fair and it seems that holds true even to the son of dragon gods.
"Mmmh…" That small noise alerted everyone that Asia was starting to wake up from her slumber. Matsuda quickly removed himself from his previous hiding spot and moved closer towards Asia having been worried about her. Everyone turned their attention to Asia who slowly rose up rubbing her eyes before opening them. She then glanced around in confusion, not understanding what happened before she caught sight of two people she recognized alongside many other individuals she did not.
"Matsuda-san, Issei-san… w what happened?" she muttered unsure of the current circumstances. Issei smiled
"Well, what do you remember Asia?" he decided to ask.
"ummm, I remember Matsuda-san taking me to visit many places then we ended up strolling to the park. Afterwards, Raynare-san showed up injuring Matsuda-san who tried to protect me. I think she then teleported but then everything is blank for me." She recounted as much as she could remember getting a nod from Issei.
"I see. Well to keep it short you were basically kidnapped by the fallen angels who wanted to extract the healing sacred gear within you for their own purposes. We all then stormed the building guns blazing and after taking care of the enemies, we managed to save you from their ritual and now here we are." Issei tried to add a little humour which seemed to work as Asia giggled a bit but then got up from the bench she was in and bowed to everyone.
"In that case, thank you all very much for saving me! I am truly grateful" she sincerely thanked them.
"Although Issei said all that, he really is the one who saved you. We just dealt with the enemies up here while he took care of all the fallen angels by himself so he is the one who deserves your thanks" Matsuda responded looking down with a bit of shame. He really wanted to do more but, in the end, he left it all up to Issei.
"That is not true, Matsuda. If anything, you were the first to take the initiative to come here to rescue her even if you had to do it all by yourself. Even though, I would have gone to save her, I probably would have taken my time which may have led to different circumstances but your initiative is what made me follow you. In addition, by taking care of the enemies here, you allowed me to reach Asia that much faster which allowed me to interrupt their ritual before they could extract Asia's sacred gear. You all deserve as much credit as me in saving her so chin up pal." Issei tried to reassure Matsuda to the best of his abilities.
"I still want to thank you all for saving me, no matter what" Asia gave them all a sincere smile.
After a moment of silence, Rias decided to speak up.
"Very well, if we are all done here, it is time to go home" she said earning a nod from everyone as they exited the church.
In another place, several figures could be seen talking to each other
"Oh my, it seems I can no longer get a read from the soldiers I sent as reinforcements for your subordinates, meaning they have most likely been killed. How… unfortunate, I spent quite a while on their modifications but oh well… at least I received some data on the prototype sword I created. Quite pleased on that so it is not a total loss." said one of the male figures, although he seemed to have a very feminine voice. One of his colleagues raised a brow at his discovery.
"Killed, you say? Are you certain? It isn't only your soldiers but also a lot of stray exorcists as well as fallen angels that have been sent to that place. For all of them to have been dealt with is something I find very hard to believe. Oy Kokabiel, didn't you say that only Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri were located at that place. They should not possess the strength to be able to deal with a force of such numbers?" said a very worried male who addressed the third person present who was revealed to be the fallen angel cadre Kokabiel. Kokabiel simply shrugged.
"Calm yourself, Valper. They must have sent their own reinforcements to aid the two brats. Even though they are weak, they are still siblings of 2 devil kings. No way would they let anything happen to them. I'll admit, it was a small miscalculation on my part but in the grand scheme of things, it matters not. Luckily, they provided enough of a distraction for us to retrieve 3 pieces of Excalibur so in all, it was not for naught. I still have plenty of available subordinates, just as there are still plenty of stray exorcists who have joined your cause. By the way." Kokabiel turned to his other collaborator, taking something our of his pocket and handing it to him.
"Here are the blue prints you wanted on Azazel's machine. It was a bit tricky to get them so I hope it was well worth it. Also, how goes the retrieval of the fourth piece from the Vaticans?" The unknown figured gladly accepted the blue prints from Kokabiel and began examining it with excited eyes.
"Ah, so these are the blueprints for the Sacred Gear Remover machine. How fascinating! I can't wait to build one with even more efficiency. Also, to answer your second inquiry, I have successfully retrieved the Excalibur Blessing piece, although it came at the loss of many of my followers. I have to say, that Griselda Quarta is a very dangerous exorcist. As expected of the brave saint of the Seraph Gabriel. If it weren't for her, it would have gone more smoothly. However, thanks to my brilliance, we have the fourth piece in our possession which should arrive here in a about a week. Although, do you think your boss is aware of your betrayal?" he asked Kokabiel who crossed his arms.
"Hmf, I have no doubt that he probably already suspects me. He may be a pacifist but he is not an idiot and with Raynare having already stolen the artifact, he will definitely be aware of it but that is of no cause for concern. Even if he knows, he would not do anything due to his fear of restarting a great war. What a fool! I can't believe we elected a pacifist to lead us." Scorned Kokabiel wearing a very angry expression.
"I also have a piece of good news to impart. My spies have informed me that Heaven will send two exorcists here to investigate the theft of the pieces but the best news is that both wield two other pieces of Excalibur. How generous of Heaven to send them right at our doorsteps. Finally, my research on holy swords will finally bear fruit." Said a very ecstatic Valper.
"Michael is just as much of a pacifist as Azazel is. He wouldn't dare send his angels here for fear of bringing war to their doorsteps. How about the location of the last piece? Any luck finding it?" Kokabiel asked his colleagues.
"Unfortunately, not! The last and strongest piece, Excalibur Ruler had been missing ever since its creation and no one seemed to have found where it had gone." Valper answered.
"Oh my, I haven't had any success either in locating the final piece. Whoever is in possession of it has done a marvelous job in hiding it all these years. A pity too. The experiment would have been a lot easily had we had all pieces assembled. Oh, what a sight that would have been."
"It matters not. Even without the final piece we have what we need to make our plan come to fruition. How long before the rest of the preparations are accomplished?" Kokabiel asked wanting to know how long before they can begin their objective. Azazel may be a fool but he is no idiot. Kokabiel had no doubt that Azazel will soon make a move against him. Even if he can't intervene, he will probably find some way to warn the devils of his arrival so they could not afford to waste to much time. Even he isn't stupid enough to believe that his power is enough to face the combined might of the 4 Maous by himself. He will simply take them down one by one and when his plan succeeds, he will finally get the chance to prove that fallen angels stand superior above all other races.
"I've already started assembling many stray exorcists to join our cause and I am in the midst of analysing the pieces of Excalibur so, in my calculations, I should be done in a couple of weeks." Valper explained his side to Kokabiel who then turned his focus to the other person in the room who simply kept his cheery attitude.
"Oh my! Are you doubting my ability to get things done? Well, don't worry everything is proceeding according to schedule so you have nothing to worry about."
"Good! Oh and before I forget, I believe I have something that may be of use to you." Kokabiel removed what seemed to be a small bag from his pocket and handed it to his companion who wondered what he was given until he opened it and noticed a golden glow coming from the articles within and for the first time, became truly surprised.
"Is… Is this what I think it is?" Kokabiel smirked.
"Yes indeed. Those are scales of one of the 5 Dragon kings Fafnir. For some reason, Fafnir formed a pact with Azazel and is taking part in aiding him with some of his crazy inventions. These scales were given to Azazel as part of their agreement. Unfortunately, I could only snatch a few of them without drawing attention but these should be enough for those new toys of yours, right. You could use them for the base of your project as long as it does not cause any delays" Kokabiel told his associate who seemed to be over the moon with his gift.
"Of course, Kokabiel. Who do you think you are talking too. It's true it would take a normal scientist months to accomplish what we need, but with my abilities and these" he lifted to reveal his primary tool before continuing "you can be sure I will finish everything on time. Plus, with these added to my collection, I will be able to further improve my experiments, reaching new heights that no scientists has ever dreamed of reaching. I have to say, this partnership of ours has indeed been very fruitful for me."
"As long as you come through with your part, then that is all that matters. In any case, both of you let me know when your matters are settled so we may begin the next phase of our plans. It's only a matter of time before Azazel and the others figure up what we are up too." Kokabiel warned them.
"Very well" They both answered at the same time.
"If there is nothing else, then you are all dismissed." Kokabiel waved his hand thereby ending the meeting.
It is only a matter of time until he gets what he wants.