Chapter 9: Blooddrunk

"War is where the young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other," - Niko Bellic.

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While Asia is with the Sitri peerage training and Issei's parents aren't home, that means that Issei and Raynare have the house to themselves.

He waits downstairs for her to get changed in clothes she said she likes, and soon enough, she turns up, causing his jaw to drop.

Raynare decided that the outfit she will wear at all times for training and actual combat (although the line between those two has gotten very blurry) is a burgundy-ish dark-pink short dress with shoulder armor pieces of the same color and bits of black mixed in, such as a small outline on her dress closest to her breasts that makes it appear as if it were part of her bra, showing much of her cleavage. On her neck is a black choker with an O-ring just under it. Bits of her upper arms are visible, her lower arms also have the same light armor on them, and her hands are fitted perfectly into black gloves. Her lower body is covered by a short black skirt and dark leggings, her dark hair tied into a ponytail.

Noticing how he's checking her out, she stares at her boyfriend innocently and expectantly. "How do I look?" 

"With your eyes," Issei jokes dryly after collecting himself.

Raynare glares at Issei. "Hey! That's not how you should treat a lady!" She looks away shyly and mumbles, "Besides, I'm your girlfriend, you know... You should be giving me compliments every now and then..."

He chuckles. "I was kidding. You look gorgeous as always. Plus, it helps that your outfit is both practical for training and combat plus very seductive."

"Seductive?" She tilts her head curiously.

"I mean, you're showing a lot of your cleavage, and your boobs are huge, so you can use that to distract any enemies."

"Hmph! I always knew you were secretly a pervert..."

The dragon shrugs. "I can't help it, I'm a 15-year-old boy. Although, if it makes you uncomfortable or comfortable, for better or worse, I guarantee that the first thing any man will notice is that huge rack. It doesn't matter how much self-control one has. You're like the closest thing this world has to a real-life version of Harley Quinn or Catwoman or something."

Issei pulls her into his arms on the couch. Sitting up, he buries his face into her tits.

She blushes and pouts at him, puffing out her cheek. "Dummy Issei..."

"Tshun tshun~" His teasing is muffled by the fun bags. 

His angel runs her fingers through his hair lovingly. They stay in that position for a couple minutes before they separate. 

"Alrighty! You ready to hunt some higher level strays?"

Raynare sighs in exasperation. "I am ready!"

"Are you ready?!"

"Yes!"

"I can't hear you! LOUDER!"

"Issei! For fuck's sake, let's just go! If I'm supposed to be learning ninjutsu to become your personal assassin, then we're supposed to be quiet," She scolds.

"Alright, alright!" He grumbles, "The lady doth protests too much, methinks..."

Raynare can't help but grin. He told her about his run in with the Shinto, mainly Amaterasu. Although a part of her can't help but feel jealous that she wasn't the one to help Issei, she's still grateful that Issei has become happier, even playful, and that he went out of his way to fix their relationship.

She decides it's time to repay his affection by becoming stronger for his sake. Together.

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ANIME OPENING

Song- "Hate Me" by Children of Bodom (album version)

It is night, and Issei is seen zooming up the outside of a massive medieval, Luciferian-esque tower using his wings, and in front of him stands all his enemies. His eyes turn green, his roar shaking the Earth.

Bats fly out of trees and in front of the camera, obscuring the viewer's vision, the Grim Reaper and his scythe come into view, illuminated by the deathly moonlight and followed by the title of the story:

DxD: Retribution

Issei is seen walking home as Rias watches from the second story of the ORC. On the way, he meets Raynare and Asia, who flank him and follow his lead.

A phoenix climbs in altitude revealing Riser standing on a rooftop, looking smug as ever.

Sirzechs stands next to his sister, who lays in bed in a fugue state, staring at her with worry at her condition, walking away with determination and anger in his gaze.

A brief cameo flashes for Grayfia and Serafall.

Azazel pops a cigarette into his mouth and has a goofy smirk on his face that turns serious as the sun goes down. Michael gets on a knee before the Tree of Life.

A mysterious man in a samurai's armor (Hachiman) thrusts his sword, practicing his swings as his sister, Amaterasu, watches from the side.

Asia and Diodora are glaring at each other. The devil charges at her and attacks, but she defends herself furiously, parrying and countering his moves with impressive speed.

Raynare, dressed as a maid, is seen conversing seemingly happily with high-ranking devils including Grayfia at a party. She exits the building and quickly sheds her disguise, her fake smile disappearing as she becomes stoic. She looks over to a hooded-figure, Issei, hiding in the shadows, and sends him a nod.

A short cameo flashes of Crom Cruach, and then Vali, smirking as his balance breaker covers him.

Raynare walks alone under the kiss of the waning sunlight. A breeze causes her to stop and tuck her long hair out of her face as it obscures her view. She gazes up at the sky with a longing look. The weather is beautiful and would uplift the spirits of most, but she feels sad. Tears stream down her cheeks as she runs away, not looking where she's going as she crashes into Issei's chest with him hugging her and whispering her name. Her eyes widen in shock.

It rains hard as a battered Issei walks through the streets, punching a wall in frustration, his eyes melancholy. He's startled when a hand is placed on his shoulder, so he turns to fight, but he's greeted by Sona giving him a reassuring grin, her peerage behind her.

The scene changes, and suddenly, a mountain-side explodes, and Issei is seen emerging from the flames in his balance breaker, his sword covered in the blood of those that crossed him.

It's night again, and while flying up the Luciferian tower, his sword clashes with a winged figure. The moon turns blood-red as Kokabiel cackles while observing, not noticing Raynare swing her weapon at him from behind, murder in her eyes.

Beings of several factions join the fray and fight each other, causing the tower to slowly crumble.

Issei falls off the tower as the hooded Grim Reaper swoops passed. Raynare panics and reaches out, her hand tightly clasps Issei's.

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Chapter 9: Blooddrunk

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Issei and Raynare teleported into an alley in Tokyo where no one can see them. Outside, the bustling city immediately put them on edge as they know they'll have to be extremely careful to not get spotted, so immediately they cast magic to mask their auras. 

"Where do we start?"

"I'm thinking that if we're gonna dip our toes, we might as well go swimming with the sharks. Some of the busiest but riskiest public places in Japan are train stations. Follow me, Raye!" 

He wall jumps up a fire exit as they rapidly but quietly ascend the side of a building.

"I feel like we're gonna blow our cover there."

"Perhaps not. A lot of people, mainly Japanese men, focus more on being perverted creeps, molesting girls on trains and whatnot."

"It's a good thing I can teleport and fly instead of dealing with public transportation."

They skip from rooftop to rooftop.

"Sexual assault may not be the only crime committed on trains. I suspect that during rush hour, sussy people pickpocket, and strays especially will do so to look for money or food, or money to pay for food."

"Sussy?"

"Suspicious."

Realization dawns on her face. "Ohhhhh."

"Now that it is rush hour and people are commuting from schools and work to home or their part-time jobs, we may find someone we're looking for."

Using their wings, they descend into a crowd of people going up the steps of a staircase leading into the train station. No one seems to notice them due to their presence being concealed, at least no one that isn't supernatural, so they remain on alert for anyone that has magic.

Then, as they wait for the trains to arrive at the platform, they see it. 

At first, from a distance, it looked like bugs on the ground, like cockroaches or scorpions, but then it disappeared before reappearing. These are the strange creature's eyes. Suddenly, the ground shifts, rising as the hideous thing that was blending in, sickly yellow in color, makes itself known by shape-shifting to announce its presence.

Other humans notice this and run away screaming in terror.

"Ahhhh! The aliens are here!"

"It's the end of the world!"

"We're all gonna die!"

Sighing in annoyance, Issei snaps his fingers and casts an illusion charm, protecting his lover and himself from the view of ordinary people as well as surveillance. They harmlessly faze through their forms as they run for their lives. As soon as they are all gone, he also puts up a barrier to protect the area from the ensuing brawl. 

He was hoping this would also work on this thing that is evidently a stray devil, that it would not notice them, but it did. The Creature of a Dozen Eyes blinks at them, opens its maw, and rapidly spits out magical attacks at the speed of a minigun, forcing the two to dodge. Blue lights, fireballs, and icicles zip passed them.

"Shit!" A curse escapes Issei. "Raynare, you know what to do!" He shouts as they flank the stray on opposite sides.

 She realizes what he means. 'Issei means to get close and distract this thing. Luckily, it's not very smart, so I have to be the one to finish it off, but I'll need to be fast!'

They quickly dispose of this middle-ranking stray.

Little do they know that they were being watched. On top of one of the skyscrapers, a boy with silver hair and blue eyes looks on with great interest as the pair fight stray after stray.

'So this is your true strength. My rival is strong!' 

He stealthily tails them. He observes and studies the capabilities of his rival patiently. After a few hours, he gets bored and decides to get closer.

The couple fought and killed several dangerous strays, both parties trying to stay as anonymous as possible. Some of these things they killed look like skinwalkers or SCP's. 

As Issei and Raynare finish off a much larger stray that can be mistaken for an alien yet again, Issei wipes off a bead of perspiration.

"Finally! It only took six hours, but I'm finally sweating!"

"Translation: You are only just now getting warmed up," Raynare concludes, looking at him with exasperation. She clears her throat and looks over her shoulder towards a garbage dumpster in the alley they're in. "I hate to break it to you, Issei, but we're being followed."

"We are? I thought something felt off," Issei stands beside her and follows her gaze to the dumpster. "You there! Come out."

After a moment, the figure emerges.

"You both sure surpassed my expectations," Vali Lucifer smirks. "That especially goes for you, Red One, although your girl is special, too. She detected me when I was doing all I can to hide myself."

Issei shrugs. "Every person has that sixth sense when they feel someone's eyes on them."

Raynare blinks. "I can tell that you're far stronger than me, but stealth is something I mastered long ago. Now, I'm just adding a more human element to it."

Issei adds. "That doesn't explain how I wasn't able to sense you."

The Hakuryuukou replies, "If the roles were reversed, I'd wouldn't have sensed you, either. Does that make you feel better?"

("Vali, please don't do this,") Albion pleads. ("Ddraig's human has already surpassed even most ultimate class beings in such a short time. Fighting him will be like setting off a nuke with you at the epicenter.")

His warning falls on deaf ears.

Issei steps forward, half-shielding Raynare protectively. "So you're him, huh. Ddraig told me about you, bearer of the White Death. You know, I think it's very stupid."

"What is?" Vali asks.

"This whole rivalry between them. Why should we fight because two old farts hold a grudge and are too prideful to see what they're truly capable of, or they simply don't care?"

["Actually, Issei, I do realize how much suffering my actions have caused. However, you may have no choice but to fight if your opponent insists upon challenging you."]

"I know, Ddraig. If push comes to shove, then so be it. Still..." Issei has his eyes closed for a moment, sighing regretfully. "Why did it have to be today, of all days, that we meet? It just so happens that I'm in Tokyo, but a battle here would kill many innocent people."

Vali looks on thoughtfully, as if he's considering their words. "You have a point, but I've waited too long to be denied this." He steps forward, arming his Divine Dividing. 

['Ah fuck,'] Ddraig cusses. ['Looks like I have no choice.']

'What are you talking about, Ddraig?' Issei mentally communicates.

['Partner, right before you were born, I placed three seals on you so that your aura and all its power doesn't leak out. Being so young, you wouldn't have been able to control it so easily, much less the Boosted Gear or its Balance Breaker.']

'Exactly how much more powerful would I be without my seals?'

['Right now, you can easily handle one less seal to deal with, which would raise you from low ultimate class to a leader class being. Another seal lifted would put you on my level when I had a body. Lastly, without all three seals, you become something else entirely.']

'Like what?'

['I have no idea. None of my hosts have ever reached that level. I just removed your first seal.']

'I don't feel any different.'

['That's because it's not going to physically change you as much as it will magically, although you might be able to use new abilities that can alter your body composition.']

Issei, out of respect for Vali, also arms his Boosted Gear. "It would be rude of me to not fight you using the same form as you."

"I-Issei?" Raynare stammers in worry. "You're seriously going to do this?"

He sighs, turns towards her, and kisses her square on the lips for several seconds, surprising her. "In case I somehow die, I love you."

She frowns. "That doesn't make me feel any better, you reckless-!"

They're interrupted by Vali making the first move. The white-haired boy teleports them to the outskirts of Kuoh City, far from downtown, but not exactly out of view of the suburbs. 

Raynare watches from ground-level as the two Dragon Emperors clash high in the air, throwing punches, hooks, blocking, kicking, shouting, screaming, and hollering enough sound that would wake the whole town up, so she sets up a barrier for the sake of protection and illusion, separating the three from civilization. 

Issei's draconic wings unfurl, and he soars high above his adversary, pointing his palm at his target and launching dozens of mini-dragon shots. Most of them miss and explode at the ground level, forcing his girlfriend to cover herself in a bubble of magic and protect her face from debris using her arms.

One of the mini dragon shots lands its mark and stuns Vali. Seeing this, Issei pulls out his sword, Early Retirement, and divebombs straight towards the boy

("Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!")

At the last second, right before the blade makes contact with the White Dragon, he is suddenly enveloped in armor from head to toe. However, before the final piece of armor can connect, Issei's weapon stabs the draconic kevlar at a sharp angle, causing the entire Balance Breaker to fall off and disappear.

Vali cackles and responds with a headbutt, sending Issei back several meters, disorienting him. 

"This is fun!"

"You're one crazy sumbitch."

"Don't pretend like you aren't enjoying this."

"Heh. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't." Issei grins.

"Let's finish this!"

Simultaneously, they both charge up one final attack at the same time, causing Raynare's eyes to widen.

'Are they insane?!' She wonders as she enters the barrier she was maintaining to keep the city safe.

[(""Longinus Smasher!"")] Both Ddraig and Albion shout.

The energy beams from their palms meet halfway, colliding and expanding outward into a massive explosion. 

Raynare grits her teeth as she is barely able to hold the barrier before it finally shatters from the shockwave, knocking her off her feet. A few small buildings closest to the battle instantly crumble. Windows shatter miles away from just the sound alone.

She coughs as she gets back up and looks up in fear. "Issei!"

After a minute, the smoke and dust clear, and she smiles to see him still in the same position. 

"I'm okay!" He wipes a drop of blood from a small cut on his face. "All that for a drop of blood..."

Flying down into a crater in what was once a mountain, he finds Vali embedded in the Earth, gritting his teeth in pain.

"Damn, rival. I knew you'd be strong, but I didn't know you were THIS strong." Vali coughs and chuckles.

"I don't think we officially introduced ourselves. My name is Issei Hyoudou."

Issei offers a hand. Vali looks at it, hesitating for a moment before he takes it, helped back onto his feet.

"Vali Lucifer. I only make friends with those more powerful than me because they have something they can offer me. Care to guess how many friends I have?"

"How many?"

"Zero."

Issei laughs.

"Then how about I be your first?"

Reluctant at first, Vali shakes his hand.

"Friendship, huh. My experience with that is nil. I was wrong about you, Issei. You're not a little crazy. You're just as batshit insane as me."

"We should leave now. Someone might come here to investigate. I'm not exactly popular among devils."

Vali nods.

Raynare runs up to them and hugs Issei before they transmit out of there moments before a teleportation circle opens and a beautiful woman with silver hair and red eyes emerges.

"What the hell...?" Grayfia mumbles upon seeing the destruction. Bewildered, she has never seen anything on such a level.

All she can think is, 'What could've caused this?'

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In the Underworld, a certain Satan is scrolling through a datapad. 

"You're sure of this, Grayfia?" Sirzechs says.

"I am. Several mountains were turned to dust, leaving nothing but craters. The investigation team I assembled finds that whatever magical residue was there is similar to Beelzebub's findings."

The red-haired man clasps his hands in front of his face in thought. "There is very few people that are capable of such a thing. Either they were Evil Dragons or one of the Heavenly Dragons, possibly both."

Grayfia blinks and narrows her eyes, realizing how serious this is. "The dragon we're looking for, the one that attacked Rias... You don't think...?"

She let the silent question hang in the air.

"This is really bad. Call Serafall and the others to the emergency room."

To Be Continued

Sorry it took me a while to update. I got so busy and tired from my part-time job and school over these last couple months.

This was my least favorite chapter to write thus far due to writer's block, but I have great things planned for future chapters.

If you don't like the new format of me putting the ANIME OPENING in the story paragraphs, then let me know and I might only insert it sparingly, say every few chapters I deem worthy.