Kabooooom!
The explosion blasted through the area with terrifying force. Trees were uprooted and sent flying through the air, while rocks rained down all around him. The ground beneath Issei's feet caved in completely, leaving behind a huge crater scorched by the impact.
"Whaaaaa—?!"
Issei threw himself to the side as fast as he could, barely avoiding Tannin's deadly breath attack. The heat alone was enough to make his skin sting, and the shockwave nearly knocked him off balance.
Damn that old geezer!
"Come now, Red Dragon kid," Tannin said, his voice full of amusement. "If you do not pick up the pace, I truly will reduce you to ash!"
"Argh! I can't turn to dust until I've had sex!
Issei couldn't remember the last time he had been this exhausted, both mentally and physically.
Morning and night, Tannin chased him around the mountain. Every blast of fire from the old dragon was powerful enough to tear chunks out of the mountain, leaving craters, broken trees, and burning stone behind.
So far, Issei had managed to avoid taking a direct hit from that monstrous dragon breath, but only barely. His tracksuit was already in ruins, torn open in several places and covered in burn marks. Every time he thought he had gotten used to the pattern, Tannin changed the rhythm and nearly caught him again.
Once the daily sparring was finally over, basic training started immediately after. Push-ups, running, strength drills, balance work, and more exercises that made his muscles scream for mercy.
'There are no girls here! Not a single one! I couldn't think of a worse hell than this! How I long for a lap pillow from Asia… What I would have given to feel her thighs again!'
"Oh, so you're going at it? How's he keeping up?" came Adrien's familiar voice.
--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>
"Delicious! Awesooooome!"
Issei tore into the hamburger Adrien had brought back, eating like a starving animal.
Adrien watched him flatly. "You look like you haven't eaten in a week."
"Where have you been?!" Issei shouted between bites, "I'm close to dying here! That dragon guy is insanely strong! Sparring with someone powerful is fine, but he's going all out!"
He pointed dramatically toward the mountain, where smoke still rose from the places Tannin had blasted apart during training.
"That old geezer Tannin doesn't know how to hold back! Every time he breathes fire, I feel like my soul is about to leave my body! He's going to be the death of me! I'll die without ever having lost my virginity!"
"Do not be a fool," Tannin said, his nostrils flaring as smoke leaked from them. "Are you truly going to let such a thing happen so easily? If I wished to, I could reduce you to ash with a single breath. The solution is simple. Use your Balance Breaker."
"That's easy for you to say!" Issei shouted, pointing at the massive dragon. "You're the size of a mountain! I'm basically a speck of dust compared to you!"
Tannin gave a low, unimpressed snort. "Hmph. And you call yourself the mightiest of Lady Rias's Pawns? Do not make me laugh. Do you understand how many devils would kill for the chance to serve your master? Yet here you are, complaining because the path to strength is difficult."
Issei flinched slightly at that, his expression twisting between frustration and exhaustion. He knew Tannin was right, but hearing it from a dragon who had been blasting him around the mountain for days only made it sting worse.
Adrien, meanwhile, sat off to the side, looking through Issei's training records "You've been doing your basic training too, right?" Adrien asked without looking up. "Good. If you don't keep up with that, you'll never build the body needed to reach Balance Breaker properly. You still lack in a lot of areas. Your demon powers are shit so you've got no choice but to increase your strength."
"Where have you been?" Issei asked.
"Me?" he said. "Oh, nothing special. I infiltrated one of the highest-ranked devil Houses, seduced their daughter into becoming my secretary, stole information about a gigantic flame bird, found said gigantic flame bird, somehow befriended it, and then came back."
'That's the Sunny special' he thought as a smirk formed on his face.
Issei slowly lowered the hamburger from his mouth, he looked at Adrien with a confused expression
Tannin's massive eyes narrowed slightly, "A gigantic flame bird, you say?"
The dragon's eyes moved over Adrien from head to toe, studying him carefully. Tannin couldn't sense any strange energy coming from him, not even the slightest leak of power, but something about Adrien's aura had clearly changed.
Adrien noticed Tannin's expression, but he didn't say anything.
The Phoenix was sealed inside his ring now. Tannin was old, but Adrien doubted he was old enough to truly know the Phoenix. Even if he had heard of it, recognizing its presence from a sealed artificial Sacred Gear should have been impossible.
Then a calm, voice echoed from the ring on Adrien's finger. "Who is this dragon, boy?"
"Huh?" Issei quickly looked around, turning his head left and right. "Where did that voice come from?"
Adrien sighed. "You couldn't help but talk, huh?"
"Oh, should I have kept my silence? My bad…"
"What? Is that voice who I think it is?" The Boosted Gear appeared on Issei's hand, and Ddraig's voice echoed out from it. "Aurephion… is that really you?"
"Ddraig! It's been a long time, old friend."
Unlike the Dragon Gods like Ophis and some others, Aurephion was good friends with both Ddraig and Albion, even though the two dragons had been longtime rivals.
"When did you come out? you have been slumbering in your cavern for so long!"
"Huh? Who are you talking to, Ddraig?" Issei asked, looking down at his Boosted Gear in confusion.
Ddraig's voice echoed from the jewel, carrying a rare hint of surprise. "This is Aurephion, the Primordial Phoenix. He is a very old friend of mine, one I have not spoken to in more than a thousand years."
Issei's eyes widened. "What? Phoenix? Isn't the Phoenix supposed to be connected to the Phenex Clan or something? Why is it with Adrien?"
Aurephion's calm voice came from the ring on Adrien's finger. "I see this devil has not informed everyone. Though, I suppose that is understandable. The Phenex House you know of only came into existence after I granted one of their ancestors a drop of my blood."
Issei stared at the ring, then slowly turned toward Adrien with disbelief written all over his face.
Tannin, however, remained silent. His massive eyes were fixed on Adrien's hand, his expression filled with shock. He had never met Aurephion himself, but he had heard the name before. The Primordial Phoenix was a being spoken of only in ancient rumors, a creature said to have no interest in the world outside its own domain.
Its territory had always been unknown. There were no proper records, no maps, and no reliable witnesses. For such a legendary being to suddenly appear sealed inside Adrien's ring was something even Tannin had not expected.
Tannin's eyes slowly shifted toward Adrien.
If the Agares prince had truly made a pact with the Primordial Phoenix and sealed him inside his ring, turning that ring into an artificial Sacred Gear, then his power had surged to an absurd degree. Tannin could only imagine how much stronger the boy had become after gaining access to such an ancient being.
Adrien noticed the way Tannin was looking at him. He didn't need the dragon to say anything. The thought was written clearly across his face.
"Yes, I can use some of his power," Adrien said casually. "I can use his flames and healing abilities, just like the Phenex Clan can. Probably even more potently, actually."
Issei's eyes widened slightly, while Tannin remained silent and continued listening.
"But I still can't use his full force," Adrien continued. "At most, I can probably handle around fifteen to twenty percent of his power before it starts damaging my body. And since it's external energy, not something fully integrated with my own demonic power, my base strength hasn't increased."
"Even so, that is an enormous increase in strength," the dragon said gravely. "The ability to wield Phoenix flames alone is extraordinary. But to also gain access to its healing power… that is something many devils would kill to possess."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Yo I'm dropping a bonus chap, when we reach 100 Power stones I'll drop another bonus chapter.