RISE (A Highschool DxD Fanfic)

Chapter 35 - A Dragon's Reverse Scale

Y/N POV

I found the person I was looking for.

"Sairaorg, have security standby on high alert," I whispered to him. "Something drew Rias and Koneko outside. I don't know what, but I just felt a powerful surge coming from outside, and it was uncontrolled."

He looked at me seriously. "Is my cousin in danger?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, but I'm going to investigate. I assure you, if somebody has hurt her, they will not leave this place alive. Now remember what I said, keep an eye out."

Sairaorg nodded gravely. "I will."

Before I left, I also alerted Akeno and Sona. Akeno and the rest of the peerage wanted to come with me, but I told them to stay in case someone tried attacking the venue.

Now I stood before the forest, its darkness calling to me and making me even more worried. Something felt. . . off about this forest, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

*ptu*

*fzz*

I spat an ember into the forest. I didn't know what to expect, aside from a forest fire of course. But what happened next was totally out of the ordinary. The ember I spat never even got close to the woods. It bounced back some distance away from the trees. Almost like. . . it hit something.

I slowly stepped closer to the spot where my ember was deflected. I spat again and sure enough, it was deflected again.

Was it a barrier? Or a seal on the forest?

I put my hand out and reached towards the trees.

*toom*

My fingers touched something sturdy, yet flexible. I pushed my hand farther and the air around my hand began to bend, kind of like how bedsheets would bend inwards when you press your finger into a single point on them. I pulled back my hand and the air returned to normal.

Then I flicked it. A faint ripple spread outwards from where I pressed.

So it was a spatial barrier. What I saw distorting was not the air, but space itself.

Heh, no matter.

My dragon gauntlets manifested on my arms. Making my hands into claws, I pressed them into the barrier. There was a firm resistance, but for Emynth's power, it was negligible.

I closed my claws into fists and pulled in opposite directions, tearing open the barrier.

The space around my hands shook. It sent painful vibrations into my arms, making me want to pull away. But I persevered.

I pulled harder, and the tear became larger.

Finally, it was big enough for me to step through.

I didn't know if the barrier was self-repairing or not, so I quickly stepped through it and it into the woods. I looked back. The space looked normal. There was no way to even tell if it was still torn or if it was fixed. Space works in mysterious ways, I guess.

But I couldn't waste any more time pondering over the barrier. Koneko and Rias might be in trouble.

Two wings appeared on my back and propelled me into the forest.

Issei POV

For a moment I thought I died. Or maybe it was correct to say I almost did.

When everything went white, I felt a strange power try to eat away at my own existence. It was. . . insatiable. The power wanted to consume everything around it. But then, it stopped. Or rather, something stopped it.