Night fell as all the students were in their rooms after they had dinner. However, a storm was brewing as everyone gathered in Issei's room. Ten people were all in the room as they were ready to hear what was going to happen. Rossweisee was sitting down in the corner holding off a hangover from her ranting induced drinking rampage.
Azazel was standing around a table that was projecting a map of the area. "Listen up." He started pointing out places on the map. "Kyoto station and Nijou castle are on lockdown right now. All Devil and Fallen angels in the area have been mobilized to search for anything regarding the current predicament. The Kyoto Youkai are also helping us with the search for the Hero faction, but as of now, we have yet to hear anything. The only news we do have is something ominous is coming out of Nijo Castle."
"Ominous?" Kiba asked looking for some more clarification.
Azazel nodded "Yes, Kyoto was built long ago on the traditions of the Yin Yang. Kyoto is a magical power plant and some sites through the city are hotbeds for radiating power. Unfortunately, Nijo Castle happens to be one of them."
Saji raised his hand somewhat afraid to know what the worst would be "So what will happen with it?"
Azazel shrugged "We have no clue. They Kyoto Youkai have been the best at keeping things like these under control. As far as we can look back this is a first for them. What we do know is they plan on using the Kyuubi leader to carry out some experiments using the ley lines of the city. The best case is nothing much happens, the worst case it's August 6 all over again. But we already have a plan to deal with our first problem." Everybody was waiting to hear what was going to happen. "First of all the Sitri servants will be guarding the area around the Kyoto station along with this hotel. The building itself has a barrier around it but we don't want to have to use the barrier. If anything suspicious approaches the area, stop and detain it."
"Understood!" They all answered like a well-oiled machine.
"Next like you didn't see this coming from a mile away will be the Gremory group. Sorry, I have to do this but you guys will be on the main offensive. You will advance towards Nijou Castle, unfortunately, we don't know what their numbers look like and any additional power they have compared to the earlier today. Your main objective is to rescue Yasaka and pull out immediately. Considering the factor that Cao Cao was bluffing and this is a plot to take you down I need you to be on your guard."
"You fought against Cao Cao earlier, Do we even have enough power to take down somebody like him?" Issei asked.
"I have enlisted some of my associates to aid you in this fight. They already work in the anti-terrorism jobs against the Khaos Brigade. So their support should increase their chances." Issei tried to open his mouth as Azazel spoke again "Now for the downside." Out of his suit, he pulled out some Phenex tears. "We can only obtain three portions of Phenex Tears."
"Three? That's too little for what we are dealing with!" Saji shouted.
"I understand that, but due to the Khaos Brigade's activities, the Phenex family tears have been in great demand. All the supplies that were stored up have been depleted. And the Phenex family has been busy making them non stop. There's even talk about removing them from Rating games due to the shortage."
Issei reached into his stash that was hidden away pulling out a decorative capsule that held one of the tears. "I've had one for a few months now. But considering it was a gift I'm trying not to use it. But during the fight with Loki, I came extremely close to having to use this one."
Azazel nodded "Keep quiet about this, but all the factions have banded together to search for users of Twilight Healing. It's a rare sacred gear but we have found a couple more users. Heaven has told us that eight of them are checked out currently but we still have to do the legwork to find them and deny them the use of the Khaos Brigade. Beelzebub has been working on the recovery of sorts… I can't say much about that. We at the Grigor have been researching our recovery type of artificial Sacred gear. Asia has been helping ups with the research, while what we have learned so far in promising the results will take some time to produce something useful."
Azazel handed out the tears to the two groups. "Sitri will get one and Gremory will get two due to them being mainline forces. Use them wisely, I hope the Sitri group will not have to use theirs at all." He looked at Saji "Saji you will be going with the Gremory servants as well."
"Me?" Saji pointed at himself as Azazel nodded. "Dragon King?" He slowly asked as he was understanding it all.
"That's correct. Vritra's Dragon King Transformation will be very useful in a fight against the hero faction. His black flames can slow down enemies and you can absorb their power and redirect it at them or to others. It will be more or less the same as it was with Loki, you will provide a support role this time with more cognitive use."
Saji understood the role he was going to provide as Irina raised her hand "Excuse me but have the other factions been informed?"
"Yeah, outside of Kyoto is stationed many devils, angels, fallen, and Youkai to try to capture them if they leave."
"We are working on a barricade right now. Once this meeting is done I will be heading outside to direct the barrier team." Serafall threw up a peace sign as her fingers sparkled. "I called Sona and they are willing to provide any help they can."
"What about Rias?' Issei asked
"Well, she has enough on her plate right now."
"I know she likes the place but what happened?"
"The Gremory territory is experiencing some riots." Azazel shrugged his shoulders "While they have been putting the riots down we know they were incited by some members of the Old Maou. It got so bad that Grayfia and Venelana had to go out and quell the violence. Long story short the rioters are fucked."
"The Flaxen-haired Madame of Extinction, Crimson-haired Ruin Princess and Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation all in once place. Venelana and Grayfia's titles are not to be taken lightly as they stem from wars. It should be a good lesson for the rioters provided they survive." Serafall was all giddy to hear that they were going to be put in their place.
Azazel looked over to Issei "Your future looks interesting." Looking back towards the group as he cleared his throat "Back to the plan, I will be searching for terrorists and will relay them back to you. The operation starts within the hour so get ready, and try not to die this is still a school trip. Now get out of here." As everyone left the room Azazel moved over to Issei as he was still sitting down. He pulled out a red looking jewel that pulsed with power "There have been a few molester events throughout town, and I've collected these from them. Know anything about them?"
[That Jewel is..]
"What is it Ddraig? I have no clue what it is."
[That's what came out of the box during your talk with Elsha.]
"We analyzed the jewel and it has your power inside of it." Azazel handed it over to Issei as it sank into his hand, never allowing him to touch it.
[Yes I feel our power from it.] Soon the tone of Ddraig changed as it darkened. [And your power of lust has been passed around Kyoto.]
"That explains the spike in molesters, but the fact that your potential was used by molesters is funny and yet sad at the same time."
"So will I gain more power Ddraig? Because I could sure use it right about now." Issei wasn't able to see on the inside of what changed so asking was his only course of action.
[I don't know… your power has increased but I can't be too sure after that.]
A groggy voice came from the corner "You have made so much trouble for the people of Kyoto. You need to find a way to make it up to them."
"Azazel can deal with that, I don't have that kind of political clout."
Azazel however was in deep thought "Titty power… it might exist" He was mumbling to himself.
Rossweisse had her hand over her mouth like she was trying not to puke as she stood up "You want to save people yet cause problems. Your logic makes no sense."
Azazel sighed as he saw her state "You sure you want to go? You're still drunk and were vomiting nonstop before the meeting. I feel like you don't have much ground to stand on lecturing Issei."
"Don't you start!" She pointed at Azazel "It's because of you that I'm like this." She ran over to the bathroom as quickly as she could as the door slammed shut.
"Vomiting Valkyrie." Issei's new nickname for her got a chuckle out of Azazel "So about Cao Cao how strong is he?"
"He's a smart fighter and he knows how to use the lance effectively. Be Careful if you have to fight him. I doubt you need to be told what the lance could do to you." They two of them headed out of the room down to where everybody else was waiting. Azazel put his hand on Issei's head ruffling his hair "Keep a level head, those kids are going to be looking for a leader. Even with the fact that you are facing humans, they will follow you in this time."
They reached the lobby as the Sitri girls were encouraging Saji. "Don't push yourself too hard." "We still have to go shopping tomorrow." A few of the girls told him.
"I understand." Saji nodded as he moved over to where the Gremory group had gathered up.
"Because Rias isn't here, Issei will be subbing in as our King." Kiba said as he placed his hand on Issei's shoulder.
Issei knew this was going to happen but not that fast. "That was quick."
"You're going to be a King soon, might as well get the practice now." Kiba took his hand off Issei's shoulder "You already led us into battle once at Togetsukyo. And they were more than enough to get us through the battle."
"Yes, that sounds about right. You give us orders and we can best apply ourselves so we don't have to think about it." Xenovia chimed in as she was holding a massive sword on her back.
"Then off we go." Issei pointed to the doors. They exited the hotel ready for the battle. When they got outside Rossweisse was waiting for them. Fully ready they headed towards the bus station to get where they needed. Looking over Xenovia's sword as it was a large blue sword just like Durandal but now it had a white sheath around where the handle and blade connected acting as reinforcements. "So is that your new blade."
"Yes, it just arrived here during the meeting. It's the new and improved Durandal. I call it Ex Durandal." She said with a smile "Unfortunate that I have to use it in real combat without testing it out. But that's how Durandal and myself operate."
They arrived at the bus stop as they waited around for the next bus. "Well, I think it's better than not having the blade in any form." Issei said as there was a rattle from above them only for something to collide into Issei latching onto him.
"I'm coming with you Sekiryuutei!" Kunou was latched onto Issei's back holding onto him as her face peered over his shoulder.
"Kunou, why are you here?"
She smacked the back of Issei's head a few times like he was an idiot. "I want to save my mother too."
Issei tilted his head over to her "You do understand that this is extremely dangerous?"
"I do but I want to go save my mother. Please take me with you. I beg you."
Issei looked over at the rest of the group gauging their expressions. He opened his mouth as he let out a single syllable as the area around them changed while a dark purple mist. Looking around he saw that he was transported down to the subway platform as he saw that none of the group was around only Kunou was still on his back "Looks like they want to play a little game."
"Is this that alternate dimension from earlier? The one they made the replica of earlier." Kunou asked not sure of what was going on.
Before he could answer her, Issei's phone started ringing as he pulled it out of his pocket answering it. "You know I'm more surprised that our phones even work here."
"Yes, I agree" Kiba's voice came out of the phone. "Where are you at right now? All of us are outside the Kyoto Imperial Palace."
"I have Kuno and we are at the Kyoto subway station." Issei said as he was getting her off his shoulders.
"It sounds like they have been spying on the devil for quite a long time if they created a dimension this vast."
"Yeah…. Gather everyone and meet outside of Nijou castle. If I take the train tracks to the castle it should be a quick trip." He hung up as he put the phone back in his pocket.
The Boosted Gear materialized on his hand as a red aura engulfed his body. [WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!]
As the red light died off Kunou put her hands on Issei's leg touching the armor "So this is the power of the Heavenly Dragons armor. It looked cool in the day but the red is even more beautiful now."
Footsteps were heard coming towards them as they felt a hostile presence. In front of them appeared a man wearing a black suit like shirt and pants with dark sunglasses. "Good evening Red Dragon, remember me?" He asked.
Issei looked at the man not knowing who he was. "Have we met before?" He asked, cocking his head over to the side.
"It's not surprising that you don't remember someone so small as me. But that matters not, thanks to the power I gained from our last encounter I can fight against you." The shadow that was cast on the ground below him started to move freely.
"Ohhhhhh I remember now. You attacked Kuoh a few months ago." Issei said, getting a smile out of him "And then ran away when somebody came to stop you." Issei rubbed some salt in for good measure.
"That day was much of a learning experience for me. Here's an example.." The shadows of the surrounding area were absorbed into his as it crawled up his body engulfing him "... Balance break." An armor formed similarly his Issei as it was jet black but instead of plates, there was only darkness.
Issei gave a small clap "Congratulations, you copied my armor."
"Yes, after that day I knew I needed armor like yours. But this is my Balance breaker Nights Reflection: Death Cross. Come to Red Dragon let me show you my power!"
Issei stepped forward putting the power down into his legs sending him forward with a flying punch. The fist went cleanly through the man's chest as Issei could see his fist on the other shit. "Oh shit."
A laugh came out from the shadowy armor as it backed away "It's useless to attack this armor directed." As he backed away he was the same as he was before the attack mocking Issei.
"That's a new one" Issei said as he backed away as he raised his hand up. Issei created a low yield ball of energy sending it towards him. The ball was sent flying towards the shadows only for it to sink into the armor and disappear. Issei felt its energy vanish but then it reappeared behind him. Quickly turning around he saw the blast flying towards them, only to dodge it before it detonated.
It was only a distraction as he ran up to Issei with blades of shadows ready to skewer Issei. He thrust the blades into Issei's chest as some of them nicked the armor as most of them faded away as if they shattered from the impact.
[Blade!]
Ascalon was still connected to the gauntlet as he swung down cutting the shadows. A shadowy rope crawled up his right leg anchoring him in place. With a flex of his leg, it told Issei that the rope wasn't as tight as it intended to be. "This is a battle of attrition, and I have the advantage here." He said to Issei as the rope didn't get any tighter.
Kunou peered out from behind Issei's leg with a small fireball in her hand as she threw it in the shadows. The fire fizzled out as it hit the mass of shadows. "Foxfire? From the little princess? Your fire is far from hot enough to harm me."
Extending his wings out Issei moved his hand behind him so she could climb up on his back. [What do you plan on doing?]
'He felt her fire. It wasn't much but he still felt it so I plan on cooking him alive. Just shield her from the flames.'
[I understand]
[BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!]
A slit in the helmet opened up revealing his mouth. "You know talking to her was the worst thing possible you could have done."
"What?" He asking not knowing what Issei was talking about
Issei inhaled a large volume of air as hell was about to break loose. [TRANSFER!] Out of his mouth, a massive stream of fire was sent hurtling downrange. The flames were hot enough to scorch the tiles on the floor as it engulfed the shadowy man. As he finished breathing out the fire it created a vortex around him as the fire was whisking away the shadows breaking his armor.
"You bastard!" He yelled out as the vortex died out. Bubbles on his skin were popping and oozing out as blood was all over his body.
Kunou's head peeked out from behind his wings "Dragon fire is so cool."
Issei walked over to the now bloody mess as he was standing up. "Too strong... even with my balance breaker I can't beat a heavenly dragon."
Placing the flat of Ascalon's blade under his chin raising up his head "If you want to keep fighting you will die."
"So be it, If I die then I will die for Cao Cao."
Retracting the blade Issei looked at him "Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?"
He laughed "Tragedy is the fate of sacred gear holders." Before he could go on Issei punched him in the chest, knocking him down.
"I don't have time for you philosophical crap, I am aware of the roles we play in this world and the burden we have been given. You chose to run away from it." Issei ran down to the train tracks and flew down to them to catch up with everyone else.
After a few minutes of flying down the subway, they came up to the station next to Nijou castle. When they exited the station Issei was no longer wearing his armor as they heard puking noises as they saw Rossweises throwing up away from them.
"It's good to see that you're fine." Kiba said
Issei looked at the group seeing if anything was wrong. "Likewise, did you have any trouble getting here?"
"Nothing major, just some assassins that we dispatched of with relative ease. You?"
"Good Good, we ran into that shadow user from the Kuoh attack. Turns out he obtained his balance breaker. Unfortunately, he's currently nursing major burns right now. Provided he's awake, I thought about killing him but you know."Issei tilted his head to the side as Kiba got the picture.
A massive creaking door was heard as they looked over to the castle seeing that the doors were opening up inviting them in. "Looks as if they are inviting us in for tonight's main performance." Kiba said as he was ready for the real battle.
Crossing the street they headed into the castle as they came into a courtyard where everybody was waiting for their entrance. Cao Cao and his group were holding a tall blonde woman with a cup size that made Akeno look small. "Mother!" Kunou called out "Mother it's me! Please wake up!" She called out as the woman did not move. She looked at Cao Cao furious that she wasn't responding "What have you done with mother?"
Cao Cao was confused when he heard this "I thought I explained this before. Your mother is cooperating with us for our experiment." Cao Cao tapped the bottom of his spear on the ground as Yasaka let out a mix between a cry and a howl. Her body started to change as she started to get larger as she gradually changed into a massive golden fox.
Her form towered over the castle casting a large shadow over the area. She roared as it echoed through the whole area. "Cao Cao, what do you plan on doing with her?" Issei asked as Cao Cao threw his spear back over his shoulder.
"Kyoto is a massive magical conduit. We plan on using that magic supply and this alternate dimension which is stored deep within the dimensional gap. They say that the nine-tailed fox is on par with the power of a dragon king and we plan on summoning Great Red here."
Cao Cao's plan stuck them like a barrel of bricks. "You want to summon Great Red?" Issei was baffled by Cao Cao's experiment. "You are insane, summoning Great Red here is nothing but bad ideas."
"Our boss wants it done and Ophis will have her wish granted. But like I said this is more of an experiment to see if we can even summon the Apocalypse Dragon."
Out of the corner of Issei's eye, Durandal was glowing white as it slammed down into the ground. A massive wave of holy energy flew off the blade as it cut the ground open revealing parts of the sewer system and it tore through the castle destroying it with ease. "If this is your plan then Eliminating you now is the best course of action." Xenovia said as she was lifting Durandal out of the crack in the ground she just created.
Kiba nodded agreeing with Xenovia as Saji looked at Issei "It's always a death battle when you guys are fighting."
As the dust settled Cao Cao's voice was heard again "That wasn't half bad. I guess Shalba Beelzebub did underestimate you guys even if he was a complete fool. Enough about him, Once your group starts competing in rating games entering the double digits will be more than a breeze for you."
"Remember that Shalba is dead, turned to dust in the wind." Issei walked forward while the boosted gear appeared on his hand. "Saji deal with the Fox. Restrain her and prevent her from using any forms of magic for their experiment." The eye-catching red armor appeared on Issei with no words being said as he spoke again. "Kunou stays with Asia, everyone else pick a target of this so-called hero faction and eliminate them. They pose a threat so grave that if provoked they could destroy large areas of the earth with their plan."
Around Saji's body, black snakes started coiling around him as a shadowy figure appeared behind Saji made of black flames. "Vritra please lend me your strength. Tonight we can fight with little limits."
A deep voice came from the black flames as a snakehead appeared from the flames. "My other half...what is our target? Is it that holy spear? Or maybe the fox? All are fine targets as they will be consumed by my flames."
Raising his arm he pointed at Yasaka "We need to restrain her.
Cao Cao tapped his spear on the ground once again as Yaska began to howl and glow again "Let's get this started. "Georg focus on the fox and prepare to summon Great Red."
In the back, a man with brown hair and glasses in a red coat was surrounded by layers of magic circles of all different designs. Rossweisse caught onto this as she looked at him "Black, White Fairy, Fallen Angel. So many types of magic he can use all at once."
"The bait is set Cao Cao, just keep them off me."
Cao Cao waved him off "Leonardo and the others are outside holding off the Fall Angel Governor and Maou Leviathan. But for now Jeanne Heracles." He called out as a blonde girl around the same size as Irina and a tall man loaded with muscles appeared.
"These two also inherited the spirits of heroes. Joan of Arc: The Maiden of Orléans and Heracles." Issei felt his eye twitching as he kept hearing those names. "Who do you want to fight?"
Siegfried came out from behind them holding two of his swords "I'm taking the blue-haired girl and the sword boy. Anybody else is yours."
"Guess I'll take the Angel then, she looks kinda cute."
"That means I'm left with the silver-haired lady. Looks like an easy fight as she is about to throw up." Everyone looked at Rossweisse as she was doing better than before but still not that great.
The snakes that surrounded Saji's body started to be lit on fire as he spoke up "I already promoted to Queen before we left. Vritra promotion!" He shouted out as he gained size as he transferred from a human to a large black and purple dragon that towered over the field.
"Go deal with them." Issei said as everybody ran off to deal with their respective fights.
"Now that we are mostly alone, Red Dragon I have a question. Are you stronger than Vali?"
Issei shrugged "Who knows maybe I am, maybe he's stronger. Here's the real question you fought Azazel so how strong are you?"
Cao Cao put his hand over his forehead as he feigned ignorance "I am but a frail human."
Clashes of metal and explosions could be heard all around the battlefield. Kiba and Xenovia were fighting Siegfried in a somewhat flat area between all the rubble. As the two of them had just backed off an attack from Siegfried's three sword assault, a white light came out from Xenovia's newly formed Ex Durandal. The light formed a shaft as she gripped it. "Guess I will need two swords for this." Excalibur destruction had formed in her hand.
Siegfried looked on seeing what his opponents could truly bring to a fight. "Interesting, I guess it's time I show you my power. Balance Breaker." Out of his back grew three more matching arms that were grey as they reached into his coat pulling out a variety of swords. "Chaos Edge Asura Ravage, a subspecies of the twice critical. It's time to see how well you can keep up."
Meanwhile, Irina was flying around the battlefield throwing spears of light at her opponent Jeanne. While Irina's accuracy was pinpoint she was facing no ordinary opponent as Jeanne was able to avoid the spears with ease. Her movements were graceful in the art of dodging but she wasn't as fast as Issei or even Kiba. "Not bad Miss angel, your attacks are to the point." Jeanne was smiling the whole time as she reached down to her side and pulled a rapier out of its sheath deflecting one of the spears Irina threw.
Wasting no time Irina dived down at Jeanne with a sword of light. Jeanne pointed her rapier up at Irina as the blades collided. Jeanne was able to take the attack as if it was nothing as a sword rose up from the ground under her feet. Grabbing ahold of it she swung the blade at Irina causing her to flap her wings propelling her back into the air. "I am the Ace of Michael, leader of Heaven! Do not underestimate me!"
Jeanne just smiled at Irina "Balance breaker." Out from under her a platform was created of metal as swords formed it. "If that boy over there Sword birth a demonic sacred gear, and I have Blade Blacksmith the opposite of his." Behind her swords were combining and rising up creating a dragon-like head. "Just like Sieg I also have a subspecies Stake Victim Dragon." Irina raised her sword conflicted that she was having to fight the person who inherited a Saints spirit.
Off in the distance explosions could be heard as attacks from Rossweisse magical attacks had exploded as each one of them hit Heracles. She saw that none of her attacks did no damage to the hulking monstrosity. "No damage from being hit by my attacks, How?"
Heracles was laughing like a mad man as he walked out of the blasts "Can I have some more?" He ran up to Rossweisse, sending a punch towards her. She was able to dodge it due to being nimble enough but the landscape behind her wasn't so lucky as it exploded. "Variant Detonation, it makes my targets explode. I could just punch your magic but they might harp on me if I don't stick with the plan." An orange aura formed around him as on his wrist's feet and shoulders spikes formed that were just as large as he was. "This is my Balance breaker Mighty Comet Detonation." He pointed at Rossweisse as one of the spikes detached and was propelled at her like a missile.
Rossweisse had no choice but to run away to get out of the explosion radius and not let it get close to anyone else at the same time. "This isn't good."
"Now that the gang has been introduced, it's time we fight." Cao Cao ran up towards Issei getting in close with the spear. Issei's left arm was hit with the lance as the shaft struck the armor as more and more explosions could be heard.
Shaking the blow off he opened up communication lines with Asia "Watch Rossweisse that missiles are going to tear her up if she gets hit."
"I'm already on it." Asia said as she was sending out a green beam of energy towards Rossweisse.
Issei looked at Cao Cao as he shoved Cao Cao backward."What's not going to Balance break as well?"
"Oh no, I do not need to. We can win without going that far. Today is the day I see how strong the Red Dragon power is."
That hit Issei harder than he expected "Looking down on us? Wasn't expecting a lecture in the actions of gods in the past."
"No no… I was thinking about how I can draw out your power all while having a satisfying battle." Issei had heard this one before as Cao Cao was almost the same as Vali in wanting a fight. "But My companions came up with a theory on how you can be defeated. One idea was to accelerate you so you would use more power and release your armor. But that plan has its downsides as well as you could accelerate your boosts and generate much more power than normal. And there's also the chance that when you reached the depths of your sacred gear you could have obtained something that we are unaware of yet. So we decided direct confrontation was the best route in the long run. People who are classified as technique types are your enemy."
Hearing Cao Cao breakdown gave Issei a small feeling of the chills. To think that somebody was watching him as closely from the outside like this.
"But your weakness is already apparent, The dragon slayer and Light. Devil and Dragon and powering full yet deadly combination. I've spoken enough, let's fight."
"Asia, I need a promotion to Queen."
"Okay!" Her voice was heard over the communication as Issei felt the power surge from the queen piece. Below his shoulders on his back thrusters popped up as it belched out massive red flames propelling him forward.
Cao Cao was able to dodge his line drive, but Issei turned around sending the black blast towards Cao Cao as he twirled his spear deflecting what he could as Issei tried it once again. This time he gathered power into his hands forming balls of energy as he made the line drive once again. Getting ready to fire the shots Cao Cao swung the spear down hitting Issei's right hand all while kicking his left hand knocking both attacks off into the distance.
Recovering from the dodges, Cao Cao swiped his spear across Issei's abdomen cutting it lengthwise. As the spear reached the center it went in slightly as Issei grabbed onto the shaft of the spear as smoke was coming from the wound as blood was oozing out. "Not bad," Cao Cao said as he tried to drive the spear in further but Issei was preventing it from going in anymore. "But your style is predictable and has far too many openings."
"Funny you say that." Issei quickly raised up his left hand as there was already magic gathered. "Dragon Shot." The orb rapidly formed and launched as Cao Cao let go of the spear to roll out of the near point-blank attack. The blast ripped through the fake city destroying some of the buildings in the way. As Cao Cao made some distance between them the Lance dematerialized and reappeared in his hands.
"Issei!" Asia called out as his body was hit with a green aura healing his wound. Once the cut was sealed up the armor reformed fixing itself.
"You almost died to play with some bait?" Cao Cao asked. "Any more and that would have been a critical wound."
"Your spear only has 9 possible attacks." Issei felt some pain still as he took out one of the Phenex tears and hit himself with it. "And from that range, you only had two choices."
Cao Cao laughed when he heard Issei's explanation "Now I understand why Vali likes you so much." The lance reappeared in his hands as the blade started to glow as it funneled in power.
[BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!]
Issei wasted no time in preparing for what was to come. He raised his arm up once again firing off another dragon shot this time with much more power backing it. Cao Cao had to use his spear to deflect it away Issei rushed towards him as he now had an opening.
[BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!]
Rushing towards him Issei held out his right arm getting ready to land a blow on Cao Cao. But he was on to it as Cao Cao raised the spear getting ready to deflect the attack away. Mere inches away from impact as Issei fist was getting ready to impact with the spear he pulled it back as it sent a pulse of air towards Cao Cao causing him to step back. Power had pooled around Issei's fists as he swung his left but Cao Cao wasn't quite in range for the attack to hit. But as his arm was flailing around out of the top of the gauntlet a blade extended at a rapid pace.
[TRANSFER!]
Ascalon made contact with the underside of Cao Cao's right armpit as Issei yanked up. The cloth was cut as blood poured out while Issei sliced cleanly through Cao Cao's arm. There was no cauterization as the jagged blade did its work. His arm had been severed, blood was leaking out and a bone was cut through. Cao Cao swiped his spear getting Issei to back away as he sent the spear tip into his own arm retreating away from the fight for a moment.
He slammed the spear into the ground as the arm popped off as he caught it. Reaching down into his left pocket he pulled out an all to familiar vial. "No." Issei said as Cao Cao placed it into his mouth popping the top and pouring it onto the severed arm. It gloved a bright green as he discarded the bottle and released the arm catching it and reconnected the two pieces.
Once the light died down Cao Cao's arm was reattached as he clenched his fist making sure everything was in working order. "The Black markets are amazing things. With enough money and keeping relations open you can get your hands on anything. Doubt the Phenex family wants their precious tears to fall in the hands of people like us."
Jeanne landed next to Cao Cao with Irinia in her arms covered in blood. "Irina!" Asia called out as she saw the mess.
"Well, he might put up with it better than they did." Siegfried was dragging Kiba and Xenovia as he dropped them like a sack of potatoes.
"No no I'm first." Hercules' voice was heard as he crashed into the ground making a small crater throwing Rossweisse aside.
Issei looked over to see that Saji and Yasaka were still fighting with no clear winner in sight. "Well, at least that's going well."
Grabbing his spear out of the ground he placed it on his shoulder "This is the end of the line. Your power is exceptional but you can't win against all of us." He turned his head looking over to the mage "George how's that magic circle coming?"
"Oh you know concentration is needed but I still need some time. Are we even sure Great Red will come?"
"Who knows, if he doesn't then we got data and we can try again later."
They were ignoring Issei as they went back to their plans. "Mother….Mother." Issei looked back and saw that Kunou was looking to see the fight with Saji as she was starting to cry.
You can still make the impossible possible. Issei heard Elsha's voice radiating in his head. The past welders were devoured by power but you have a chance to change that. Grab hold of those possibilities and make them yours all you have to do is turn the key.
"The key." He said to himself as those words bounced around in his head. And that's when it clicked what she meant. Issei slammed his hands together creating a small shockwave as the crest of Ddraig appeared underneath him. Both of his hands glowed a bright red as he thought about the possibilities and what they could bring him. Pulling his hands apart the glow got brighter as in his hand was a deep red crimson jewel. Raising the jewel up into the air, voices were heard throughout the area as they all chanted the same words "Oppai." Kiba, Irina, Xenovia, and Rossweisse were encapsulated in green spheres of energy as they were pulled over towards Asia.
The Hero faction looked on as they saw the voices forming bodies, somewhere spectral while others were full of bodies. "Did he just summon Zombies?" Cao Cao asked not knowing what was going on.
Issei felt power pooling into his body but only so much as it built up but it hit a limiter. Now release it all. Crushing the jewel the crest lit up creating a solid wall of red light. Inside the beam of light, a body was floating down and all to the familiar body. Rias floated down in front of him in a black and pink pair of panties still asleep.
As she woke up she looked around noticing the familiar sights. "That's Honmaru palace.." She looked down and saw Issei standing there as his helmet retracted. "Ise… what's going on? Why was I summoned here?"
Do it.
Rias was suspended in front of Issei as he walked up to her as the armor on his hands faded away. He slid his hands under her bra, grabbing all of her breasts he could as his index fingers dug into her nipples. She moaned out as the pleasure took over her only for Issei to dive in and kiss her on the lips. It sent her overboard as her breast started to glow.
She is part of your potential. As she can unlock your next stage.
Issei pulled his hands off her as he watched as her breasts were still glowing. [Poke them, that should change everything.]
"Ise?" She looked down not knowing what was going on.
"Sorry Rias, but I need to poke your nipples again." His index fingers pushed in as she felt nerves throughout her body fire off giving a tingling feeling. The light that gathered in her breast transferred down to Issei as he felt a click as a new wellspring become available. "Sorry about this, I'll make it up to you later." In a matter of seconds, she was teleported away as the light receded back to Issei leaving him standing there with his armor back on.
"No seriously what was that all about?" Cao Cao now asked Issei as he didn't bother to respond.
Go forth and awaken. Issei's body was radiating a pure crimson energy that was as calm as it was violent all at the same time.
Ddraig felt a return of the familiar. [I remember this from a long time ago. This is what my original aura is like. No influence of the Juggernaut Drive, no curse of god just my pure aura.]
Issei was transported back into the Boosted Gear's mental landscape as he saw Elsha and a tall buff man next to her. You did it, you unlocked an alternate path instead of the Juggernaut Drive. Issei opened his mouth as she spoke again Our time here is short as it is time for us to pass along.
"Wait." Issei called out as they began to fade away.
Give him some inspiration Belzard. Elsha said as Belzard held out his index fingers Zoom Zoom iyaan The deep voice came out as he flicked his fingers getting a laugh out of the two of them as they faded away.
He was ripped back to reality as Ddraig spoke [We have a problem that needs to be dealt with. We can talk about this power later but for now, use this power and show them the power of the Red Dragon Emperor.]
Audible noises were heard coming from the gauntlet as they all had the same beginning [DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD] Issei power spiked as this power became tangible in his mind.
"I see it now." Issei spread his legs slightly apparent for a better stance. "Mode Change Welsh Blaster Bishop." The armor started changing forms as out of his back two massive cannons grew as they rested on his shoulder. On his knees, the armor also morphed as claws grew out of them that extended down into the ground making a bipod effect.
"That looks dangerous." Cao Cao said, getting the attention of the others.
The tips of the cannons started to glow green as energy was gathering into them [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] [BOOST!] In less than a blink of the eye, there was a massive blast at the ready. "Did you think you would get away with your plan? Hurting my friends was only going to accelerate your demise." The power condensed one final time "Dragon Blaster!"
The shoulder-mounted cannons were let loose as the blast spanned over 5 feet in height and width. No matter what Issei tried to do the recoil was going to happen as he slid backward as his feet tore a massive rut as he was pushed backward.
Hercules saw the blast coming towards them as everyone else got ready to dodge him and looked as if he was going to take the hit. "This looks interesting, I will take this blast."
"Don't tank it you fool, evade it." Cao Cao swung his spear hitting Hercules in the arm sending him flying as the rest of the group lept out of the way of the attack.
As the mass of energy tore through the landscape it stopped as it hit the back of the barrier making an explosion. After the shockwave passed the hero faction looked on in horror at what they saw. There were cracks in the barrier's sky that flickers like a broken TV, a massive trench was dug along the blast path where the trench was melting rocks from the friction that was created. The trench glowed a deep red as heat poured out of it. Behind them, there was nothing left of the artificial city, as it was blown away.
They were all dumbstruck but the power of one blast could have on the area. Issei wasted no time as the cannons and bipods retraded and folded away. He leaped into the air as his wings were spread out. Thinking about what his next move was going to be, he thought about the knight piece. The cannons disappeared as the armor shifted once again.
"Cao Cao!" Issei yelled out, getting his attention. "Mode Change Welsh Sonic Boost Knight." Issei dived down as the standard boosters appeared on his back this time now belching out large amounts of green flames propelling him forward and an alarming pace. It wasn't fast enough for Issei tho as he was thinking on how to go faster and faster to move at a god-like speed. "Release!" He yelled out as the armor started to shed parts it didn't need to become more and more aerodynamic as it slimmed down to the point where it was as slender and form-fitting as it possibly could be.
Issei's speed multiplied on a factor of 10x as he felt a strain on his body from the speed alone. Cao Cao could just barely see Issei coming towards him as he readied his spear to stab where he though Issei would be. Before he could fully get into position Issei fist collided with Cao Cao's chest as he was sent flying backward as he coughed up blood. Issei kept flying after Cao Cao as he caught up with him. He was able to swing the spear as Issei put up a guard. "Mode Change Welsh Dragonic Rook." The armor quickly gained its normal size and then more as large chunks of armor appeared making him massively bulky.
Cao Cao stabbed the spear into Issei's arm as the tip got stuck in the armor as he was unable to dislodge the spear. Issei reeled back his right arm and sent it towards Cao Cao, a jet booster fired off on his arm propelling his massive fist into Cao Cao. The loss in speed was well worth the trade-off for the raw power it provided. Cao Cao was slammed down into the ground creating a massive crater as Issei grabbed a hold of the spear, yanking it out of the armor and tossing it aside as he floated down to the ground.
Floating down the ground Issei reverted to the standard balance breaker. The transformations were intense on Issei's body as his stamina was drained away at an alarming place with the use of transformation and use of an ability. The High magical power, near God-like speed and neigh unbreakable defense were all amazing things to have but there were still weak spots that needed to be ironed out.
[More training is needed to lessen the stamina draw.]
Cao Cao stood up and looked around to see if he was injured as he made eye contact with Issei at the top of the crater. "So this is the power of the Red Dragon Emperor. It seems that you truly do have great power when you need it the most. I'm almost certain I would have died if I held onto my spear any longer."
"How fortunate I am that you're still here."
Cao Cao did the best he could to straighten himself out "That combo of attack you just used is well out of the range of the evil pieces. It's almost as if it's an Illegal move.
"Illegal move…" Issei though
"Yes, everything you did falls outside the rules of Chess and even the Evil pieces."
"Triaina… no Illegal Move Triaina."
[I like Triaina like a trident, that's a good one.]
"You're outpacing Vali. I wonder how he's going to take this news." Cao Cao's spear flew into his hands as he rested it on his shoulder as he heard the sound of a massive magical circle opening up. "But it looks like the real show is starting. George prepare the Dragon eater ritual…..." The magic circle opened up even more as a different dragon's aura was felt. "That's not Great Red... and there's a touki signature as well." Out of the power appeared a green eastern dragon that was extremely long. Cao Cao saw who it was "That's Yu long the Mischievous Dragon."
Issei laughed hearing that "You got a dragon king and not a dragon god. Even I could have summoned you a Dragon King, maybe even a two for one deal if you would have asked nicely enough." Looking up towards the dragon as it descended there was a small spec on top of the dragons head. It jumped off the dragon's head as it fell towards the ground near them. Speed was not a factor as the spec turned into an older man who landed on his feet creating no crater from the fall and only moved a small amount of wind from the fall.
The old man had a large wrap around sunglasses wearing a monk's garb holding onto a simple red and gold tipped staff with an old school pipe in his mouth that he blew smoke out. He looked around and saw Cao Cao "It's been a while, spear boy, you sure have grown up."
"The Great Victorious Fighting Buddha graces our presence. You were one of the last people I would have expected to come here. Considering I've heard that you have been thwarting our efforts around the globe."
He looked down into the crater at Cao Cao "Your pranks have gone too far. I had to pull some serious strings with the Heavenly Emperor to talk with the Kyuubi leader on his behalf. And then you kidnap her off all things. Some Heroes become gods, then they are the likes of you, a poison that rots the world because you strive for stupidity. Tyranny has never worked considering your namesake it looks as if you have failed to learn that."
"First Generation Sun Wukong." Kiba's voice was heard as Issei looked over to see that the group had made a recovery to a sizable extent.
Sun Wukong took the pipe out of his mouth as he looked at Issei "You have worked hard enough here tonight Red Dragon Emperor. The power you have showing off is impressive. But it's time for the reinforcements to deal with this." He looked up to the dragon in the sky "Yu-Long please deal with Yasaka."
"Making me do all this work, First I use up all this energy bringing you here and now you want me to fight the Kyuubi. Giving orders to me of all things…. Oh, cool its Vritra." Yu-Long flew off over to where Saji and Yasaka were fighting. "It's been so long Vritra."
[It's nice to hear that some things have stayed the same]
"Siegfried don't!" Cao Cao shouted out as Siegfried ran to Wukong with all his swords in hand.
"You will make an excellent opponent!" Siegfried shouted as it got close to the group.
Wukong pointed his staff at Siegfried "Extend." The staff rapidly extended in length as when it hit Siegfried some cracking was heard as he was sent flying.
As Siegfried landed on the ground "You are far from ready to be my opponent. You're too slow, you should train more, maybe start with some running and go from there."
The black fog mist started to pool in the area near all of them. "Capture and restrain." The mist rapidly moved up around Wukong engulfing him.
A metallic ringing sound was heard as the staff made contact with the ground. The mist around him was blowing away. "You lack discipline, it might be best if you speak to the sacred gear like red here." Georg was at a loss for words as the attack was destroyed with little effort. Issei however was surprised that he was being complimented by Sun Wukong.
Cao Cao saw the only opening as he thrust his staff towards Sun Wukong as it extended a great length. As the tip neared Sun Wukong he stuck out his pinky finger blocking the spear tip. No blood was drawn or scratched at that "Your attack wasn't bad…. But If you want to eliminate other gods or Buddhas you have a long way to go. And with a plan like this, it was even more foolish. None of you seriously attacked me yet you were foolish enough to attack me in the first place."
Siegfried finally stood up recovering from that attack he was given. "Cao Cao we need to leave. He's stopped plenty of our plans before."
Retracting the spear Cao Cao thought for a moment "Retreat it is then." All the members gathered up as mist swirled around them. "We shall call it a day then. First Gen, Gremory Servants, and even you Red Dragon we hope to see you again."
Issei raised up his right hand and pulled what remaining power he had left as on his wrist a miniature cannon formed. The remaining power formed in the muzzle of the cannon. "Interesting." Son Wukong looked at the cannon that Issei was charging. "Looks as if you want to finish my mission here. How about this then." He tapped the bottom of his staff on the cannon as the energy was transformed from a small ball to a large boulder.
Issei felt his body was much more relaxed as he was now infused with the energy. "Hey, Cao Cao! Here's a going away gift." Issei condensed the power as much as he could as he let the blast loose.
"This bastard still has some fight left in him." Hercules stepped forward ready to block the oncoming attacks as Jeanne prepared as well. As the blast neared it split apart raining blasts down on them. Hercules and Jeanne did what they could to deflect the attacks.
"Come on it's now or never." Issei said as a larger beam came flying towards the group. It was heading right for Hercules as he stuck his hands out getting ready to block the main event. The remaining energy started to curve bypassing Hercules as it made contact, setting off an explosion behind them.
Cao Cao was holding the right side of his face as his hand was covered in blood. "My eye…. The Red Dragon will die here." Cao Cao raised his spear in the air as the tip started to glow. "O Spear. The true Holy Spear which pierces through God. Suck the ambition of the King-"
Siegfried covered Cao Cao's mouth holding him down "Now's not the time, if you do that it's only going to be worse for us." The light from the spear died out as they were engulfed in the mist.
As the mist dissipated Issei's armor faded away leaving him drained of his energy. Yu-long laid the sleeping body of the massive fox next to them "You owe me food for this."
Sun Wukong waved off Yu-Long "Don't worry there will be plenty of food around."
He watched as Kunou ran over towards her mother holding onto whatever she could of the giant fox head. "Mother! Please wake up." All to no avail as there was no response.
"I can remove the negative Ki from her but something like that will take a while for the effect to take hold." Son Wukong looked at Issei. "Red, are the rumors true? That you can speak to female breasts?"
Issei nodded "Yeah I can, don't ask how tho. All I know is that I can do it and I don't know how it works."
Son Wukong scratched his chin "That's good enough, use it on the kid and the Kyuubi I will assist you from there."
Issei moved over to the head of the fox as he kneeled down next to the down of them. Rubbing his hands together they produced a green light as he touched the two as they were in a dream like world. "This is it."Issei said as little of his energy was being sapped away, getting more and more tired by the minute.
"Interesting technique. It's a creative use of telepathy between heart and mind." Son Wukong twirled his staff as the area around them grew denser as if the connection was getting denser.
"Mother, can you hear me, mother?" Kunou's voice was breaking apart as she was crying. "Please come back, I'll do whatever you want. I won't sneak out at night anymore, please just come back to normal."
"Ku…..no…" A faint voice was heard.
"Mommy Mommy." Kunou called out as she started jumping up and down. "Please come back."
A burst of white light engulfed the area as the fox body was glowing white as it began to shrink down. Slowly the massive fox shrank down returning to a tall busty woman. Kunou ran towards Yasaka crashing into her chest as Yasaka wrapped her arms around her daughter.
"Well, I guess everything is done here." Son Wukong said seeing that Yasaka had returned to normal.
After a few minutes of waiting around Azazel appeared with a group of people carrying medical equipment. Azazel walked over to Issei as the others flanked out gathering everyone and tending to them. "You did well." Azazel said as he put his hand on Issei's shoulder
Issei looked up at Azazel "Do you have any food?" He asked as he tried to stand up but his legs were shaking so much that it was impossible.
Azazel shook his head "We will get you guys back to the hotel and patched up."
Everybody was gathered up and Saji was out cold on a stretcher as the tolls of the Dragon King were apparent. Asia was no better as she was sleeping from expending all of her energy healing everyone. "I'm sorry Issei I was useless." He heard Kiba as he saw Kiba being glum.
Issei waved at him "It's fine…. We need to train when we get back, double time."
The following day was a sluggish mess as they made their way around buying whatever they wanted to get. But as the day moved on towards their departure they were all at the train station. Kunou and Yasaka were waiting at the train station as they were going to say their goodbyes. "Sekiryuutei." Yasaka called out.
"Issei or Ise is fine."
"I see, thank you for saving me. I will be speaking to Leviathan here soon about our cooperation with the devils."
"Are you going to come back to Kyoto Ise?" Kunou blurted out, interrupting her mother.
"I'll see what I can do." He said.
"You must You must." She said as the train let off a whistle. The group gathered their things and boarded the train as he heard Kunou one more time "We will meet again!"
Issei waved at Kunou as the doors closed. For everyone, the train ride home was quiet as they still weren't fully recovered from last night's events. Returning home was another thing that they all dreaded. After they got off the train and made it back to the house every when they entered the front door Rias Akeno and Koneko were waiting as they grabbed onto Issei and dragged him off into another room. Naturally, everybody else followed to see what was about to happen.
"Why did you tell us about what was happening in Kyoto? Better yet does Sona know about it?" Rias was interrogating Issei as he was on his knees looking up at the girls.
"Uhh well." Issei looked around and saw that everyone was there as he saw Azazel. "You see Azazel said to say nothing." Rias looked over to Azazel giving him a pissed off look as he ignored it.
"How could you treat us like that?" Akeno faked a sad voice.
"All that matters is the situation was resolved." Azazel tried to calm the girls down "That and Issei was hitting it off with a new girl." But he felt like throwing fuel on the fire was a better idea. The girls looked at Azazel "Its the Kyuubi's daughter no less."
"Screw you Azazel, I'm not interested in girls that short." Issei felt a sharp punch to his gut. Issei looked down as he saw Koneko retracting her fist. "I'm not talking about you Koneko, I'm not into children."
"Hahahahaha." Azazel was laughing seeing this all play out in front of him "That's a good one, anyways you should cut him some slack. He obtained a new form that ramped his power massively."
"Yes, I should…' She looked down at Issei "But to be summoned in the middle of the night for THAT." Her face was bright red remembering the details.
"Anyways…" Azazel wanted to change the subject slightly. "It's good to see that he made a choice in a positive direction. The Juggernaut drive has limits and nothing good has come of it. Instead of tyranny, you chose the road to royalty now all he has to do is perfect it."
"By the way Issei." Akeno put her hands together "They just announced they would be airing Oppai Dragon in the Youkai world earlier today. Looks like you're going to be even more famous."
"At this rate, Ise will be the hero of children through all of the lands." Xenovia pointed out.
Issei's shoulders sagged hearing that "I want a harem of ladies not a harem of children."
"About that," Azazel said, getting their attention once again. "The daughter of House Phenex is going to be transferring to Kuoh before the culture festival." Aside from Rias and Akeno, everybody was surprised to hear that she would be transferring as they looked at Issei.
"Ravel is coming here, interesting." He looked up seeing their gazes. "She said something was going to happen in her last letter but didn't say anything."
"I think she has been influenced by Rias' and Sona's example by studying in Japan. She should be in the first year classes the same as Koneko." A small smile crept up on Azazel's face "A cat and a bird, that should be fun to watch."
"whatever…" Koneko wasn't too pleased to hear the news.
"Looks as if you girls are going to have an even harder time now." All the girls had different thoughts on how best it was to deal with their Issei problem.
Later in the night Azazel and Aphrodite were in one of the rooms upstairs looking down at a purple hair girl sleeping in a bed. "So what do we know about this girl?" Aphrodite asked.
"Genealogy report came back when we were in Kyoto. This girl is in fact a half breed Devil Human hybrid just like Vali. The problem is she's a descendant of Leviathan. We didn't keep anything from the last known descendant of Leviathan Katerea… snooty bitch. So they had to dig down in the archives to match it up. Another problem is she has a sacred gear as well."
"Do you know what one it is?" Aphrodite asked.
"Not yet, if she were to awaken we could figure it. But for now, in her sleeping state, we can't identify what one she has. She has to activate it to show us it or at least send some power to it so we can get a reading on it. What about Olympus' side?"
"Eros found her in a town in the Mediterranean. Turns out keeping a devil in a town where one of us might visit was a dumb idea. But he found the girl in an empty house that had seen its days. Zeus has sent some for some investigations in the area to see if they could figure out anything about who had stored the girl. So far all we know is Nyx has been in the area in the last year or so and a few minor deities."
"Interesting… have the deities story checked out?" Azazel asked her.
"So far they do. It's mostly a trading and agricultural reason why they have been in the town. Nyx however is another story… she's always been an odd person. She could be playing pranks on people at night but who knows."
"Alright then let's hope it only goes to that extent then. If here were to wake up tomorrow have you acquired her some new clothes?" Azazel looked around the darkroom as it had been prepped up, becoming more fitting to live in from the last time he was in.
Aphrodite walked over to the closet and opened it up showing it off "Of Course I have… this little cutie here is wearing some old clothes. In design and age, I already had the dress and skirt remade with modern cloth if she wants to keep it. But I also have some casual clothes in her sizes. So I'm ready if she does wake up, but I can shake the feeling my son is going to sink his teeth into her if she does wake soon."
"Yes, I have wondered about that possibility. And with Ravel coming, the last thing those girls need is a second one entering the fray." Azazel teleported away heading off to deal with some of his other duties.
Aphrodite stood around for a while examining the clothes. "Issei has yet to learn of the reality of what he's in for. Others want him but don't know how to ask for it."