Chapter 15: Chapter 12: Unholy History, Rewards for Hard Work & a Blast From the Past
A/N:
" " : Dialogue,
' ' : Thought,
"Italicized text" : Telepathy,
[ ] : Spells, Techniques and Sacred Gear Casts,
"Bold text": Ddraig & Albion.
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Narrator POV
A tense atmosphere pervades the ORC clubroom as the members of Rias Gremory's peerage look at Yuuto with concern. Most of Sona Sitri's peerage notice this and choose to remain silent, all but one.
"So the church lost the fragments of some sword. What's that meant to do with us, or with him?" Saji Genshirou says, and the other members of Sona's peerage look at him with disappointment at his lack of tact.
"Sit back down before I force you to. And this has very much to do with us as it does with him. Now, shut up." Haruki tells Saji with a cold voice. Saji initially let the thought of attacking Haruki get into his mind, but the memory of the rating game played vividly in his mind, letting him understand that Haruki wasn't beyond using torture to teach someone a lesson, so he sat down and kept quiet.
"The church losing any of the Fragments of Excalibur normally wouldn't be of alarm to the devils. As a matter of fact, it would be something that would be celebrated, as it means that Heaven and the church's forces are being weakened." Every devil in the room nods, as if to affirm his words.
"However, this time it's being suspected that these Fragments are now in the hands of a notorious warmongering fallen angel that has reached the ultimate rank and is also gunning for the lives of the siblings of two Satans. This situation is far from normal and is truly alarming. And for me, it means that an annoying crow is choosing to target the lives of my women, which is unforgivable and punishable by death." Haruki says with a cold smile on his face.
"We understand that him targeting Taichou and Rias-senpai are definitely issues, but that still doesn't fully explain the problem with Kokabiel being the one with the Fragments of Excalibur or how it involves Pretty Boy over there." Saji says, his voice tinged with clear impatience.
Sighing, Haruki responds. "I was getting to that. And I clearly remember telling you to shut up." Saji shifts back upon hearing the irritation in Haruki's voice and seeing his draconic eyes looking at him with annoyance. He gulps and sits down, his visage marred by a fearful expression, while Haruki snorts and turns his eyes away from him.
"The main issue with Kokabiel getting the swords is that one of the humans that works under him is Valper Galliel, the person that was in charge of the Holy Sword Project." Yuuto looks at Haruki, his eyes holding a great deal of vitriol behind them.
"The same Holy Sword Project that resulted in Kiba becoming Rias' Knight. As for why Valper Galliel's involvement is an issue, that's because he was successful with the Project, and made a way to make humans become fully capable of wielding Holy Swords, specifically the holy sword Excalibur." Haruki's words cause everyone to become alarmed. Yuuto on the other hand, was quite literally shaking in rage.
"That's really bad. If he's able to mass produce such a thing, it would spell disaster for us." Sona says, but get interrupted by Haruki. "If that's what you're worried about, don't let it bother you. If you remember, there was an exorcist that was in Kuoh, that I had Issei beat up. That guy was working with Valper." For Rias and her peerage that actually knew who Haruki was talking about, they nodded, as if everything he said just made sense. Sona and her peerage were however, left in the dark.
"If that's the case, where is he now?" Yuuto asks coldly. "Oh, Freed's dead, thanks to yours truly. I was also able to get a little more than just info from my time with him." Haruki says, causing them to look at him with inquiring gazes.
Haruki then explains Freed's origins and tells them about the crystal that he created by extracting Freed's blood and its possible effects on Yuuto.
"The ability to wield the demonic sword, Gram. That'll be quite a game changer.... Haru, could you please give him the crystal?" Rias asks Haruki with puppy dog eyes, but he just flicks her forehead in response.
"I was going to get to that. Like I said earlier, I was able to also extract some information about Valper from Freed. Specifically, the method that he was able to create to make Excalibur wielders." Haruki says as he rubs Rias' head.
"He was able to make 2 crystals similar in function to the Drakeblood Crystal that I made from alchemizing Freed's blood, except his houses souls. So if we assume that he got someone to use as a bodyguard in absence of Freed, we can also safely assume that he's only got one left. We'll get that one and see if Kiba-kun here can absorb it, and if it's successful, then I'll give him the Drakeblood Crystal as well." Yuuto clenches his hands while Akeno tries to comfort him.
"I see. What preparations can we make, besides training?" Sona asks , plans already shooting through her head. "You leave that to me. I've got some spells and arrays I've been wanting to test out against live targets, Kokabiel and his goons will be my targets." Haruki says with a chilling smile that shook Sona's peerage members.
"What you do need to do is train more effectively and prepare to meet some members of the church. They'll definitely send someone to retrieve the swords, and knowing how a lot of the clergy is indoctrinated, they'll be highly aversive to working with devils, or excommunicated members." Haruki says, facing Asia as the last words left his mouth.
"I see. By the way, could I ask for your help in training us?" Sona says, much to Saji's displeasure, but he stays silent as he understands that he is in no place to interrupt. "Well, that's just a matter of telling my parents that another devil heiress and her peerage want to join me in using the training room at home, so it's no biggie." Haruki replies, giving Sona some much needed relief.
Haruki tells them the details of the training and the meeting concludes there. Haruki along with Issei, Asia, Rias, Koneko, Akeno and Yuuto head to Haruki's home and go through their routine training, just with a bit more intensity this time around.
Everyone is now capable of bearing a minimum of 4.2 times the gravity of Earth, save for Asia, who is still struggling to bear 3 times the Earth's gravity. Yuuto , Issei and Akeno have become proficient enough in Shūndō to use Kōkū Shūndō, while Asia was now capable of using Shūndō without tripping when she stops.
After the training was finished, Rias ordered Yuuto to stay the night in the Hyoudou residence, especially for this time when the probability of one of the Fragments of Excalibur appearing in Kuoh is quite high. He begrudgingly obeys her order and stays in Issei's room in the Hyoudou residence.
The next day passed by as normally as always, but this time, Sona Sitri and her peerage had joined the training session, with the permission of Haruki's parents, much to Rias' disgruntlement.
As they entered the training room, Haruki called Rias and her peerage to one side. "Today is going to be vastly different from our normal training sessions, and I'm not talking about the higher numbers." He says to them with a serious voice.
"But why?" Rias asks curiously. "Because first off...[Release]." Haruki says and snaps his fingers. At the same time, Rias, Akeno, Koneko and Yuuto feel their energy pools sharply increase. [Doppel.] He creates 3 clones that stand behind Rias, Koneko and Yuuto with their hands on the devils' shoulders.
The energy that was leaking from them is quickly sealed within their bodies, and slowly their bodies start to get subtle changes. They feel themselves become considerably stronger, with Rias' hair seeming to gain a dark sheen to it, Akeno's fallen angel wings erupting from her back and gaining an extra pair, Koneko's cat-like features coming out, only this time her single tail had split into two at the end.
For Yuuto however, no dramatic physical changes had happened, but it was clear that he was now much stronger than he used to be. As some time passes, they eventually open their eyes to see Issei, Asia, Sona and her peerage looking at them with awe and competitiveness.
"Congratulations, you're now all at the High Rank." Haruki's words jolt them out of their focus, then they look at him standing in front of them, smiling at them, with his clones dispersed.
Rias and Akeno hug him in their happiness, while Koneko and Yuuto look to have resolute expressions on their faces. Noticing this, Haruki warns them to all be even more careful with their battles now, as entering in the High Rank was merely getting out of being weak and not becoming one of the strongest.
Taking his words to heart, they nod in acknowledgement. After being released from the hug, Haruki then turns to Sona and her peerage, then begins checking their different capabilities, in order to create training regimens for each of them to maximize the effectiveness of the training.
After he finishes checking each of them, he then tests their energy control using the same water in container exercise that he used for Issei, Rias and her peerage. He also subjects them to increased gravity, helps those that know martial arts to polish them and teaches those that don't.
The training session continues on, with Rias, Akeno, Koneko and Yuuto being subjected to 10 times the Earth's gravity, while Sona and her peerage were steadily increasing the amount of gravity that they could withstand, with the highest being at 3.5 times Earth's gravity.
While everyone else was being trained by his clones, Haruki pulls Issei to the side to help him with something else, something that would change the way Issei sees his own power.
Haruki POV
"Okay, so as we've established, you have reached a level where you can bear the weight of the Boosted Gear, seeing as you can now take 15 Boosts without becoming fatigued. Now, we're going to get into the really fun part of your Sacred Gear, or rather, the fun part of having a Sacred Gear." I say while stretching.
"The fun part of having a Sacred Gear, you say? And what's that supposed to be?" He says as he goes through some Kyotōryū katas. "It's called the Balance Breaker. You can see it as the Super Saiyan of Sacred Gears, as the power of a Sacred Gear is massively multiplied and the base power of its wielder is also permanently increased." My words catch his attention, as he stops his movements and focuses solely on what I'm saying.
"The Balance Breaker of a Sacred Gear can have any possible criterion to be achieved, but most of the time it requires a great deal of emotion from its wielder. However, there is a way that you can speedrun getting your Balance Breaker in particular, Ise." I say, looking at his left arm.
"How?" He asks, his voice tinged with genuine curiosity. "Well, it's a way that requires a bit of a...sacrifice, from you." Ddraig then manifests the Boosted Gear. "Hey, kid. How do you know of the sacrifice ritual?" He said with a solemn tone.
"Sacrifice? Ritual? What are you guys talking about??" Issei asks, puzzled by the interaction. "I happen to know Azazel, who has studied quite a lot about Sacred Gears, especially those of the Longinus Class, like you and Albion. I'm also friends with the White Dragon Emperor."
"Hmm, you've met the white one, huh? How would he fare against my partner here?" Ddraig asks, his voice dripping with competitiveness. "He'd wipe the floor with him as he is now. If he achieves Balance Breaker, then it's a different story. He could probably match him for a good while before eventually getting overwhelmed. After all, the White Dragon Emperor is at the Ultimate Rank."
"That's....quite a predicament. Hey, partner. You'd better train to your core, otherwise you'll lose to the white one when he comes for a fight." Ddraig says and goes silent, leaving Issei with more questions than answers, questions he's clearly going to ask me.
"Who's this White Dragon Emperor, and why would he want to fight me?" He asks, alarmed but unafraid. "The term Dragon Emperor is given to people who wield either of the Sacred Gears that hold the two rival Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig and Albion, the Welsh and Vanishing Dragons. You are the Red Dragon Emperor and Albion's wielder is the White Dragon Emperor." I explain.
"Now, getting back to the sacrifice. You basically just have to give up one part of your body to be 'owned' by Ddraig, and in return, he'll give you power or in this case, give you access to your Balance Breaker." Issei silently does into contemplation, thinking of what part he would give up.
"If you want my advice, I'd say that you should use your heart for the sacrifice. That way, your heart will pump out both blood and draconic power which will slowly draconify your body, increasing your power at a much faster rate than anywhere else. Except maybe your bone marrow., but pumping dragon blood through a human heart will also make you kind of go crazy, like what happened to the OG Siegfried." Issei remains quiet for a while, then nods, as if he'd finally come to a decision.
Getting into a meditative position, he closes his eyes and shuts everything out from his senses. I'm sure of that because of the loudness of the sounds of the others training.
Leaving him to his dealings with Ddraig, I move away from him to get to my own business, increasing the progress of my draconification.
So far, I've been able to make my heart, blood vessels, bones, eyes, ears, stomach and lungs draconic. Now, I'm going to draconify my brain and the rest of my muscles and organs in one fell swoop.
If it works out, at my base, I'd be more powerful than Issei's Cardinal Crimson form. If not, I'd still have some ways to get back on track.
Focusing on the Dragon Seed within me, I siphon more draconic power from it and cycle it to every point of my body, even those parts that have already been draconified. Then using my authority over organic matter, I stimulate my body to accept the draconic power and evolve to better use, absorb and generate it.
Some time passes, and I eventually open my eyes to see Issei with way more draconic power in his body than before. "So you've done the sacrifice, good." I say then stand up and rush him with multiple attacks.
He immediately brings out the Boosted Gear and tries to stab me with his hand, but I read the flow of the attack and quickly counterattack with a palm to his torso, that pushes him a meter into the air and 5 metres away.
"You're going to have to take this as seriously as possible, Issei. Or you might end up dying today." I say while releasing a considerable amount of killing intent, giving him some motivation to actually fight back.
[Boost!] His second boost goes off like a bell, and we rush each other, sending punches, chops, stabs, claws and palms at each other's bodies while evading and countering as many blows as possible.
Twelve more boosts later, Issei finally clocks a blow to my face, but not without receiving a strong palm attack to his chest that sends him flying backwards. He's luckily able to stop himself from hitting the wall, but looking at him makes it clear. He'll soon be at his limit, and that's what I'm aiming for.
After my body finishes healing, I dash toward him again, which he reciprocates with a spear hand to my face. I dodge the attack and clock his jaw with a fist. We continue for about another minute, when he suddenly erupts with power far beyond that of a normal boost.
"[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker: Scale Mail!]" Issei and Ddraig shout out and red armor begins to manifest on Issei's body, and eventually covers him in a red draconic armor.
*Image Here*
I notice that instead of the imperfect form that he used against Riser in the original timeline, he actually unlocked the perfected form of his Balance Breaker, which unlike the anime would have you believe, doesn't have draconic wings. This could only mean that he'd have to go into Juggernaut Drive to get the wings, which I honestly hope doesn't happen.
"Well done, Issei. You've successfully achieved a perfected Balance Breaker. Now to see if you can use it well." I say with a slow clap, then for the first time since our battle began, use Shūndō to close the distance.
[Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] 'There it is.' He sends a punch to my face as he dodges mine. I avoid the blow and go to his back, aiming a kick at his head. He notices the attack coming and uses the jet boosters on his back to propel himself forward while using Shūndō.
Before he reaches the ground, he begins turning around with a charging Dragon Shot in his hand. As he lands, he fires the attack at me. [Dragon Shot!] Choosing to indulge him, I respond with my own attack...[Nature Dragon's Fulminate Roar]...and blast a roar of lightning that eats through his Dragon Shot and impacts on him, causing an explosion that shakes the entire training room.
After some time, the dust clears, showing Issei with most of his armor broken away and his body bleeding. Looking at him with a toothy grin, I clap my hands in approval. "Congratulations, Issei. You're the first being to take a roar attack from me. And you not only took the attack, you survived. Well done."
He chuckles then collapses to the ground in exhaustion. Asia rushes over to him with concern and begins healing him. Looking at the time, I'm quite surprised to see that it's already 10:30. Telling everyone that the training session is over for today, I send Sona and her peerage on their way, while Rias, Akeno and Koneko head back to my room to shower and Kiba joins Asia to carry Issei home.
After they leave, I immediately begin the repairs to the training room, as I know more than anyone else, the horrors of my mother's anger.
Issei POV
Yesterday was awesome. Is what I'd have said if that idiot Ruki didn't blast me to kingdom come with lightning. Then he had the nerve to congratulate me, saying some shit about me being the first to take a roar from him and survive. What shit is that meant to be?
Either way, school went about as normally as it has ever since I started training with Haruki. With the girls swooning over him and Kiba, calling them the King and Prince of Kuoh, and Matsuda and Motohama being chased by the Kendo club girls because they keep peeping at them in the showers.
We had our routine club meeting, but this time, I noticed that Buchou was looking at me almost as if I was some prize she was competing for. But why? I know that she's sharing Ruki with Akeno-senpai, so she can't be trying to get me as a boy toy, so just why would she look at me like that?
For the fact that she's one of Ruki's women, I've already decided to just treat her as a friend and nothing more. So I'm gonna have to tell him about this. I just hope that things go alright.
After the meeting, Asia and I walk back home together, but as we get closer, I feel a familiar energy coming from the house in addition to my parents' auras. It feels similar to the energy I felt from Freed, except stronger and more pure.
Looking to my side, I notice that Asia also had her guard up, but her face held a small hint of sadness on it. Steeling ourselves, we enter the house.
Looking into the kitchen, we see no one, but we hear my mom's laughter coming from the living room. We go into the living room and see her with two unfamiliar girls who had Rosaries on their necks and are wearing white robes.
They both looked about my age, with one of them having chestnut brown hair and the other had blue hair with a green mesh. Feeling the holy aura coming off them and seeing the clothes as well as their seemingly sane countenances helped me put two and two together. These girls were the ones that the church sent to retrieve the stolen Holy Swords.
"Hello, Hyoudou Issei-kun." The one with chestnut hair greets me with a smile. Choosing to flash her a smile of my own, I reciprocate her greeting. "Hello, miss. Nice to meet you." She then looks puzzled, as if something about my greeting was strange.
"Huh? Don't you remember? It's me?" She says, but I still don't recognize her. Mom then gave me a familiar photo, the one with the holy sword and the boy I was friends with when I was younger.
"That's her. Shidou Irina-chan. To think that tomboy from all those years ago has now become a proper lady. Even I was shocked." Wait, what? This girl that qualifies to be called a babe, is the same person as I thought was a boy for the entirety of my childhood?!
"Long time no see, Ise-kun. So you thought I was a boy? Well, I guess it couldn't be helped since I was being a troublemaker like the boys. But still, it seems that we've both changed in the time we didn't see each other. You really can't tell what will happen in a reunion." Okay, so at least she's happy to see me, but she's also aware that I'm connected to the supernatural. Just fucking great.
Chapter End.
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