Rias stared at the spear, her expression tense and uneasy.
"What is that Sacred Gear?" she asked quietly. "I honestly thought I was going to die just standing near it."
"…Terrifying," Koneko muttered, her tail stiff with lingering fear.
"Well, well," Akeno said with a playful smile that didn't quite hide the tremor in her voice. "Who would've thought my kouhai possessed such a… delightfully ominous Sacred Gear?"
"It looks like a demonic spear," Kiba said, eyes fixed on the weapon with open fascination. "But I didn't sense any demonic power from it."
He turned to Issei, smiling. "Would you be willing to duel me sometime, Issei-kun?"
"Sure," Issei replied lightly. "Just not today. Everyone's still shaken."
"Of course," Kiba said, nodding eagerly. "I'll be looking forward to it."
"Hyoudou-kun," Rias pressed, curiosity overtaking her fear, "what kind of Sacred Gear is that? I've never heard of a spear like this."
"I don't know," Issei answered bluntly. "It just awakened recently. Yesterday, actually."
He shrugged. "I was striking some cool poses, and it sort of… activated."
"…That somehow makes sense," Rias said after a pause, still uncertain, but letting the matter rest.
---+++-----
By the time Issei left the clubroom, the school was already quiet.
He felt oddly guilty. Lying so casually left a sour taste in his mouth, and worse—his body was buzzing.
Activating Gáe Bolg had awakened something primal inside him. His instincts screamed for combat. His blood ran hot. He was wired, restless, and painfully unsatisfied.
(No fights. No sex. Truly a tragic existence.)
Ddraig's laughter echoed in his mind.
(Partner, your lifestyle has officially turned you into an eternal virgin.)
"Shut up," Issei muttered—
—and then his eyes widened.
Something was coming.
He leapt backward just as a spear of light slammed into the ground where he'd been standing, exploding in radiant fragments.
"It seems Raynare failed to kill you," a rough, arrogant voice sneered, "and even delivered you straight into the hands of the Devils. How pathetic."
Issei looked up.
Standing atop a building was a middle-aged man in a suit, black crow-like wings spread wide behind him.
"For an old man to ambush a teenager like this…" Issei grinned savagely as he pulled out the Lancer card. "You must be pretty desperate, you pedophile."
"Pedophi—!"
The man roared in rage. "You insolent brat! I'll finish what that useless Raynare couldn't!"
"Oh? I see," Issei chuckled. "Before we start—what's your name?"
"You want to know the name of the one who'll kill you?"
The Fallen Angel laughed, adjusting his hat. "Very well. I am Dohnaseek."
"Nice name," Issei said, tightening his grip on the card.
"I just wanted to know the name of the one I'm about to kill."
"You little—!"
Dohnaseek snarled, forming another spear of light. "I'll kill you slowly."
"Include — Lancer."
Light flared.
Gáe Bolg materialized in Issei's hands, vibrating like a living beast straining at its leash.
"What the hell is that spear…?"
Dohnaseek recoiled instinctively, sweat running down his face as murderous intent washed over him.
"Tch—whatever. I'll kill you anyway!"
Issei moved.
He spun the spear once, utterly relaxed, and charged.
Dohnaseek hurled his spear of light. It cut through the air like lightning—
—and struck nothing but an afterimage.
Issei was already gone.
"Too slow."
The voice came from behind.
Before Dohnaseek could react, Issei rushed forward, movements light, fluid—almost dancing. Each step was wild, theatrical, and merciless.
Gáe Bolg scraped across the ground, scattering crimson sparks.
Dohnaseek created three spears at once and fired them in a wide arc.
Issei laughed.
He twisted aside by impossible margins. One spear tore his uniform. Another grazed his cheek. The third was stopped cold by the shaft of Gáe Bolg, the impact absorbed with a dull, disappointed thud.
"That's it?" Issei tilted his head.
"I thought you'd be stronger."
"Shut up!"
Dohnaseek retreated, flapping his wings to gain altitude.
"You're just an arrogant brat who thinks he's invincible because of a new toy!"
Issei planted his feet.
His aura changed.
It wasn't demonic.
It was wild.
Divine.
Like a sacred beast that existed only to hunt and destroy.
"Wrong," Issei said calmly, smiling like someone about to do something irreversible.
"I don't think I'm invincible. You're just too weak for me to take seriously."
He raised Gáe Bolg.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
"Gáe Bolg—"
Dohnaseek's heart raced violently.
Something was wrong. Deeply wrong.
"That's impossible!" he screamed.
"Only Cú Chulainn can wield that spear!"
He turned to flee.
Issei advanced.
It wasn't a throw.
It wasn't a leap.
Space itself bent.
A crimson beam erupted from Gáe Bolg's tip and pierced straight through Dohnaseek's chest.
The Fallen Angel tried to erect a barrier of light.
Too late.
The attack exploded inside him, countless internal spikes shredding his body from within. The impact sent him crashing into a distant building, concrete and glass shattering on contact.
Silence.
Dohnaseek collapsed to his knees, coughing unstable light instead of blood.
"H-how…?" he whispered, eyes wide with disbelief.
Issei walked toward him calmly, resting Gáe Bolg on his shoulder.
"Basic rule," he said casually.
"When I use this spear… the result comes before the action."
He pulled the spear aside.
A heart was impaled on its tip.
Dohnaseek's body dissolved into particles of black light, scattering like ash in the wind.
Issei stood alone amid the destruction.
His breathing was heavy. His heart thundered.
For a moment, his body demanded more—battle, blood, motion—
—but the sensation slowly faded.
(Heh… you enjoyed that, didn't you?) Ddraig said with satisfaction.
(I told you you'd love fighting.)
Cú Chulainn's laughter echoed within his mind.
"Way too much," Issei replied, cracking his neck. "I loved it."
Gáe Bolg dissolved into light, returning to the Lancer card in his hand.
He glanced at the darkening sky and walked away—unaware of the eyes upon him.
"…For a moment," said a woman completely cloaked from head to toe,
"I felt my disciple's presence within that boy… and that spear."
"Yes," replied the woman beside her calmly.
"It's the same spear of Setanta. But the original is in your possession."
"Exactly," the first woman murmured.
"So where did the other spear come from…?"
Both figures vanished.