Thud
Issei threw a punch, his eyes focused on the punching bag in front of him as he launched several consecutive strikes, It was easy to tell that each blow was stronger than the last, but Issei didn't seem satisfied.
After a few minutes, Issei finally got tired and decided to rest. He caught his breath and sat on a nearby chair, he was currently in a small gym, looking around without much enthusiasm.
"That excitement, honestly... hahaha," Issei laughed after a moment, glancing at the girls training in another section, his eyes lit up a little, "Looks like it was just a temporary loss of self," he muttered.
Issei had been completely disheartened about women after a bad sexual experience with Kiryuu, but over time, his libido recovered, and he slowly started returning to his old self.
"Although it's a lot less intense now..." Issei murmured. Watching beautiful girls in tight gym outfits didn't have the same effect on him as before. Now, he looked at them differently, despite the desire in his eyes, his mind no longer idealized them.
"Seems like you've learned something, boy, now we can start focusing on what really matters, I suggest you concentrate on the chakra theory Itachi left you," Ddraig spoke inside Issei's mind, his voice calm and genuinely pleased.
"..."
Issei said nothing, he calmly observed the change in his mentality and finally remembered Rias Gremory, Akeno, and Koneko, after a moment, he sighed, and couldn't help but think of Raynare.
"I still love her..." he said, touching his lips and remembering how Raynare had stolen his first kiss, and his heart, however, despite the memories, Issei was different now.
"Though it doesn't hurt as much anymore, hahaha!" Issei burst into laughter, drawing the attention of many people in the gym.
After working up a sweat, he showered, returned home, and finally went to Kuoh Academy.
But something felt off at the academy, "Something's different, Ddraig... feels like something bad's about to happen," Issei murmured in his mind as he looked around and sighed with resignation, "Doesn't matter," he finally said.
"…"
"Issei, the President wants to see us," Akeno Himejima approached him with a serious tone, her voice lacked its usual flirtatiousness, and she seemed a bit nervous.
He looked at her, his eyes quickly scanning Akeno's body, from her legs, to her waist, to her chest, and finally to her face. For some reason, she had faint dark circles under her eyes.
"Goddess..." Issei thought, smiling to himself, "What kind of goddess would even have dark circles under her eyes?" A genuine curiosity ran through him, he nodded to Akeno, and in front of everyone, walked away with her.
When they opened the clubroom door, Rias Gremory was pacing back and forth, staring at the floor and deep in thought. When she saw them enter, her worried face shifted to slight relief.
"You're here..." she murmured, stepped forward quickly, and said, "Koneko has disappeared!!" Her words instantly silenced the room.
Rias took a step back and opened her mouth again, "She left a note in the apartment we bought her, It says..." Rias looked for a sheet of paper on her desk.
"Thank you for taking care of me, President, Akeno… but the last fight against that strange demon, and Kiba's recent death, made me reflect. I've been wasting my time at school… Now I'm going to follow Lord Orochimaru to become stronger, I'll kill my sister and come back when everything's settled..."
After finishing the letter, a wave of emotions crossed Akeno' face, from shock to anger, she stepped forward, scratching her head and looking back at Issei.
"What should we do?" she asked, Issei didn't know what to say.
"Obviously we have to find her, at the end of the day, she's still part of the Occult Research Club..." Rias said with strange conviction in her voice.
"It was already hard enough to beat Riser Phenex without Kiba, but now, without Koneko..." Rias lowered her head in disappointment, "I… think I'll just give up, let's go look for Koneko and try to bring her back..."
There was a brief silence, everyone in the room glanced at each other, the tension was heavy in the air.
"Do we know where to look?" Issei finally stepped forward, drawing the attention of both girls.
Another pause followed, Akeno looked at Rias, who narrowed her eyes, stomped the floor slightly, and sat down with frustration.
"We actually don't have any leads on Koneko, It's like she vanished off the face of the earth."
"Then… what if we call Itachi?" Issei suggested after a moment. The tension in the room suddenly lifted. Rias Gremory looked up at the boy, her eyes lit up, a bright smile spread across her face, and she exclaimed, "You're a genius!!!"
Meanwhile, somewhere else…
"Kukuku... I'm glad you came to find me, girl, You know, I once trained the second most powerful man in my former world, his name was Sasuke Uchiha..." Orochimaru said. Koneko walked cautiously behind him, the two of them moving down a dimly lit corridor lined with wall torches.
"When Sasuke and Naruto were constantly watching me in my old world, it was impossible to conduct my precious experiments as much as I wanted," the snake paused, glancing back at Koneko with a toothy grin.
"But now, in a new world, I can experiment as much as I want!!" Orochimaru spread his arms, feeling liberated, and continued walking.
Koneko wore a strange collar around her neck, according to Orochimaru, it would prevent detection by the leader of the peerage she once belonged to.
Not long after they continued forward, they encountered a demon approaching from the opposite direction.
Koneko's eyes widened as she saw him, the demon's golden hair, dull skin, and beautiful face were unforgettable.
"Ruval Phenex..." Koneko whispered, the demon looked at Itachi, smiled, stopped in front of him, and gave a respectful bow.
"Lord Orochimaru, everything is ready," Ruval said with an elegant tone, his respect for Orochimaru clearly genuine.