The Talk

A/N: Just a reminder, new chapter here officially means new chapter over on the P atreon now, where my patrons are currently voting on the future direction of this story!

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… Damn it all, he was getting sentimental in his old age, wasn't he? Issei doesn't quite sigh, but he does cross his arms over his chest as he stops in the middle of getting dressed, having only put his pants on. He stays back, recognizing that he's not the main event anymore and possibly never was, but he DOES stay.

Realizing this, Sona gives him an appreciative nod, before focusing on Serafall and Rei. The two older, more powerful devils suddenly look somewhat trapped and cornered. Certainly, Serafall no longer seems like quite the hungry shark as she did before with him, now that she's facing down her younger sister.

"… How long?"

Sona's voice, when she finally speaks, is quiet but not in a tame or shy way. Her tone has this feel of 'I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed' to it. Issei can't help but be amused as he watches her take her sister and her sister's Queen to task. After all, this is a part of Sona he's rarely gotten to see.

Oh sure, the Student Council President had TRIED to take this tact with him, back at the start of their relationship. Before she'd known exactly who and what he was and been taken in by his draconic aura. Hm, would she be cowed in a similar fashion if Serafall were to flare HER aura right now? The woman was one of the Great Satans after all, the Leviathan at that.

But at the same time, Issei's aura was more sexual in nature, driving girls like Sona and Rias and their peerages mad with lust. Serafall's sense of overwhelming power, presuming she had one, wouldn't be the same.

He wasn't going to get an answer to that question either way though, because Serafall Leviathan didn't seem to have any intention of unleashing her power on her sister. She also, however, didn't seem to have any intention of giving Sona a straight answer, unfortunately.

"I don't know what you mean, So-tan! I-!"

"Stop. Please… just stop."

Sona's words hit Serafall like a ton of bricks. Or some other much stronger material, since Issei doubted a ton of bricks would do anything to the Great Satan. It certainly wouldn't do anything to HIM, heh. Regardless, Serafall flinches back, her lips thinning out and her eyes widening as her face pales. For a moment, Issei wonders if she's going to flee. In fact, isn't there a hint of magic in the air, shimmering on the floor around her?

However, before Serafall can choose to flee from the awkwardness of the situation, she's betrayed… by her own Queen. Rei's hand snaps out and grabs the Leviathan by the wrist, and the faint stirrings of magical teleportation disappear before they can fully materialize. Shaking her head, Rei Hino's own lips are thinned out as well, but she seems more solemn then hunted. Serafall looks at her, betrayed, but Rei stays serious.

"The boy is right. It's time that you and your sister talked. I've… enabled you for long enough, Serafall."

Hey now, 'the boy'? Issei was insulted. But not enough that he interrupted. Better to stay quiet while they handled this. Serafall trembles at Rei's words, and seeing that she's not going to speak, her Queen looks to Sona and spills the beans.

"Your sister has always been fond of you, Sona. As have all of us in her peerage. You were a cute kid… now you're a beautiful, vivacious young woman. But you asked how long THIS has been in the works. Things changed a few months ago, when Serafall first caught you masturbating with HIS name on your lips."

It's Sona's turn to go pale and ashen, her lips thinning out as her back goes ramrod straight. Issei arches a brow at that and grins a little bit. Heh, he'd known that he had an effect on Sona, that there had to be SOME build up to when she'd invited him into the Student Council Room, and he'd ended up conquering her and her entire peerage. But to hear it stated outright… man, he can just imagine Sona in her bed, moaning his name. Or maybe behind the desk here in the Clubroom, hunched over and panting and mewling out 'Issei! Issei! Issei!'.

… Yeah, that was a pretty fucking hot mental image.

"We did our research, and everything we turned up made it worse. Serafall loves you with all her heart, as you well know… but what you didn't know until now is that she's IN love with you. Her own darling little sister… is the only one she could ever truly love, who she knows cannot hurt her, who she feels she can truly trust with her heart."

"R-Rei!"

Serafall yanks herself free of her Queen's grasp and buries her bright red blushing face in her palms as Rei so bluntly lays it all out on the table. Sona too, is now sporting a blush, as she gazes upon her sister with fresh eyes.

"So, you were watching… I wondered where you went, you know. Sera… I wondered why you stopped visiting."

Sona's tone is still quiet, but now it's developed something of a gentle quality to it. Peeking through the gaps in her fingers, Serafall trembles as she looks up at her younger sister.

"S-So-tan noticed my absence? I always thought I was just being an irritation… that you'd be happy I stopped coming around…"

Before Sona can reply, Rei hops in again, clearing her throat.

"She tried to stay away; you know. She thought she needed to, for your safety. She wanted you to be comfortable with whatever came next. But then the incident with the boy and your peerage happened here in this very room, and in the weeks since, Serafall has been having a harder and harder time controlling herself. So… we came up with this plan. And it went off without a hitch."

Hey! He'd won these challenges fair and square! Even by the skin of his teeth, damn it! Rei wanted him (and more importantly Sona he supposed) to believe that all of this was according to Serafall's plan? That the Great Satan had played them like a fiddle from start to finish? Bah! Issei refused to believe it had ALL been like that. Maybe the broad strokes… MAYBE Serafall had sandbagged a little bit, here and there.

But there was no way that she'd been in total control of the encounter the entire time. Issei and Sona had taken over way too much. They'd been in charge. Serafall might have surrendered on purpose, but she DID surrender, and let them lead the way. Unless the Leviathan was even more insidious then Issei thought… tch.

He almost speaks up, almost demands an explanation, but he catches himself and keeps his mouth shut. There's every possibility that Rei is trying to rile him up here, and he refuses to give her that satisfaction. On top of that… eh, he's more or less ambivalent to the idea that Serafall played him for a fool, at this point. He'd already saw through her act by the end… and it wasn't like he hadn't ENJOYED fucking the Great Satan alongside Sona, even if it all was just a ploy to get into the younger devil's panties at the end of the day.

"We're sorry for the subterfuge Sona, but nothing happened that you wanted to happen, so-!"

"No. Stop."

Sona's words cut Rei off along with a raised hand towards the centuries old shrine maiden. Blinking, Rei falls quiet. Meanwhile, Sona's eyes have never left Serafall's face.

"Don't apologize for her. If Serafall is truly sorry, she'll apologize herself."

Silence falls for a moment, as Serafall and Sona stare at each other. Finally, the Great Satan speaks.

"… I'm not. I'm not sorry, So-tan."

Issei raises both eyebrows at that, but hey, at least Serafall is being honest. Still, he's curious to see how Sona is going to react. Serafall's Queen is looking at her askance, but Sona… Sona steps forward and, in a move Serafall had to have seen coming, rears back her hand and slaps her older sister across the face. THEN, she leans down over the kneeling Satan and grabs her by the head, pulling her into a deep, tongue-filled kiss.

To her credit, in spite of ALL of the immense power at her fingertips, Serafall goes limp in her younger sister's grasp, seemingly having no issue whatsoever with being the submissive to Sona's dominatrix in this moment. Rei watches all of this with a blush, while Issei too looks on, grinning slightly as the two sisters makeout heatedly for several long moments before Sona finally pulls away, her gaze laser-focused on Serafall's eyes.

"Good. Neither am I."

And then they go back to kissing, and it becomes abundantly clear, at least to Issei, that they're not going to stop any time soon. It also becomes abundantly clear to Issei that he's definitely no longer needed… and probably not wanted? Eh, Sona would be happy to accept his presence if he decided to get involved again, but Serafall and Rei probably wouldn't. Best to just bow out now that he was no longer needed for emotional support.

Heh, in the end he hadn't done anything but stood there quietly in the back, but it still felt good, like he'd made the right call by sticking around. Maybe he'd provided Sona with that extra bit of confidence she needed to properly take her sister to task and get to the bottom of everything. Maybe he'd been pillar she needed to be able to stand at eye level with her sister's immense power, even if Serafall was reining it in well enough the entire time.

Regardless, one way or another, Issei felt accomplished as he slipped out of the room. Sure, he'd been used and that felt a little weird, but he'd also gotten to fuck a Great Satan and her Queen, so that was a win in his book. Serafall was the most powerful entity he'd come face to face with, at this point. It was nice to have a feel of where he stood in this big wide world, especially after everything that had happened so far, from that shit with Riser, to that OTHER shit with Kokabiel.

Mm, I remember when you were just lazing about, resting on your laurels. Not much of a sleeping dragon anymore, are you Issei?

Snorting as Ddraig's voice fills his ears, Issei shakes his head. He supposed not. No, while he may not be able to say he'd added a Great Satan and her Queen to his hoard of maidens, to his harem… he could at least say he was rubbing shoulders with some VERY interesting people, these days. And somehow, Issei got the impression that things were just getting started.

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The very next day, Issei finds himself getting a delicious titjob from a half-naked Sister Griselda, when his thoughts from the day before, come right back around to bite him in the ass.

"They're sending one of the four Great Seraphim to negotiate with you."

Blinking, Issei cocks his head to the side as he looks down at Griselda. The older woman is grimacing, her mind clearly a hundred miles away, even as she mechanically slides her tits up and down his throbbing member, drooling saliva into her cleavage to make the passage slicker and smoother. It's also incredibly soft… Issei won't lie, he loves Sister Griselda's tits. Having the retired exorcist working over his shaft feels… amazing.

"… Oh?"

He's really not sure how else to reply. He knows about the Great Satans, but not nearly as much about the Great Seraphim. Hm, he should probably look into filling that knowledge gap. Oh hey, look, a high-ranking member of the Church is on her knees giving him paizuri with her wonderful oppai! Perfect!

"More accurately, one of the Great Seraphim has decided to come negotiate with you. With God dead, there are none higher than them. Michael might be first among the Four Great Seraphim, however he does not give orders so much as suggestions… and my contacts at the Church who are still speaking to me assure me that this was neither his order, nor his suggestion. The Seraph Gabriel is coming here of her own accord, to treat with you personally."

Everything she's just said sounds very important and very useful. And Issei is paying attention, he swears he is. He's definitely listening, definitely acknowledging that she's trying to warn him. But also… he gets sort of caught on one thing she's said in particular.

"Gabriel is a 'her', is she?"

Griselda's eyes snap up and fill with half-panic, half-anger.

"Yes! And this is exactly what I was afraid of! You cannot act like this around a Great Seraphim, Issei! No matter what or who you are! This is a test, clearly. It would not surprise me if Gabriel were coming here solely to see if she needs to kill you or not. It would not be the first time that the Church and the Heavens have chosen to remove a wielder of one of the Thirteen Longinus from the field and try their hand at a more pliable user in the future!"

Hmph, she's not wrong. Though it's not just them. Every faction has been responsible for a few of my bearer's deaths at this point. Some because of vendettas, some who were just trying to change the world in a way some group didn't like.

Cocking his head to the side, Issei considers both Griselda and Ddraig's words with a bit more seriousness. Ultimately, he lets out a sigh.

"And what would you have me do?"

"Be respectful. Let us, that is, Xenovia, Irina, and I, show the Great Seraphim that our situation is of our own doing, our own hubris. And… negotiate in good faith for the return of the Excaliburs in your possession. A Great Seraphim is capable of offering you much more than any mortal representative could have. Just… please don't be yourself."

Wow, rude. But also… sort of fair. Still, as Griselda returns to the boobjob and they both fall silent, Issei considers what she's said. This Seraph Gabriel was apparently on the same level as Serafall. He'd survived his encounter with the Leviathan well enough, but to be fair, he had her little sister's love, and so Serafall wouldn't raise a hand against him.

Not knowing anything about this Gabriel or what she cared about, Issei couldn't say how things would go between them. But perhaps being a little careful was not amiss? Or a lot careful. Or… not careful at all, heh.

This was the cost of interacting with the greater world more and more. The decisions got direr and direr…

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