"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Flashback"
"Attack/Name"
"Narrator"
"The rain seems to be clearing up, here I thought it'd go all day." The boy looked up at the morning sky, There was still a soft spray, but the warm gray clouds were a much welcome sight compared to the thunderstorm.
"Here I thought you'd get some sleep, it's already morning," Ddraig commented as Issei walked down the street. His appearance had caught the eyes of many, not only his armor but the damage attached. Regardless of the onlookers, Issei ignored them as he descended the lavish roadway.
"Yeah well, I did get up at 10 last night," Issei argued, shifting his attention back to the city around him. He didn't know how it happened, but partway through his stroll, he crossed a bridge into a part of town that resembled something straight out of the Dark Ages. Massive pointed towers ordained with gothic architecture reached the sky, seemingly made to intimidate those who walked in their shadows. Yet Issei found the change pleasant, to him, it was oddly serene seeing a monolith standing in the gentle sprinkle.
"You seem to be getting a lot of attention, especially from those guards." Ddraig pointed out, catching Issei's attention. The guards in question were Devils dressed in ornate glowing orange and red armor. Spikes and pauldrons jutted from the red armor. They wielded staffs, seemingly built for ceremonial intents rather than combat.
"Yeah, I don't know where they came from. Are we near a castle or something?" Issei whispered, making sure he didn't stare at any one person for too long.
"No idea, though it'd be best to mind your surroundings." Issei nodded, changing his stride from that of a shambling madman to a dignified knight, though the fact that his armor was torn apart and most likely stained with blood and grime didn't help.
"Be careful boy." Issei's attention was snapped away from the scenery and towards Ddraig's voice, "What's wrong."
"Something powerful is nearby, just up ahead." Issei's eyes darted back and forth through the street, no one looked particularly out of the ordinary, which meant whoever Ddraig felt was much further away.
"You think I can take them?" Ddraig huffed at the boy's question, clearly thinking over his host's chances.
"It's possible, but it'd be one hell of a fight that's for sure," Ddraig answered, Issei nodding at the dragon's response. Just as the boy was about to speak up, a man called, "Turn around with your hands up!"
Issei froze, turning to see a group of guards surrounding him, all pointing their staffs at him, 'Most likely a gun.'
Glancing behind himself, he saw more guards running up with their spears pointed at him. Some of the men towards the front of the circle deployed shields made up of translucent orange plasma, matching their armor.
'They took you as a threat I'm assuming. They either don't know who you are and believe you to be an intruder, or even more likely-,'
"They do." Issei stared at the man ahead of him. The one who he presumed to have given the order was dressed in a similar armor, however rather than red and orange, it was white and orange. Scanning the crowd, he knew he couldn't back down again, not like he already had.
"Issei Hyoudou, you are reported to have been at the scene of an immense public disturbance, and are hereby ordered to leave the Underworld immediately!" Issei skimmed over the crowd, he could take them, it wasn't like he had the option to quit.
"Guess you had better arrest me then." Issei challenged, shrugging his shoulders as he looked over the group again. The men around began to laugh, each looking at their comrades before a man in the center chanted, "18-3-104.7 "Threatening an Honor Guard Ultra" Deadly force is authorized."
One by one the men around Issei unemployed their shields, switching to a double-pronged energy blade. Issei smirked as his helmet folded over his head. He flicked his claws by his side, the metal sharpening from his movement as he prepared for a fight.
Elsewhere
"What do you think is happening?" Azazel asked, looking at the gray sky. Sekaino, leaning against a wall near his ally responded, "No clue, I can still sense his presence which confirms he's still alive."
"You think he found Vali yet?" Sekaino shook his head, answering, "I doubt it, I would've sensed him as well, and I'm sure if they fought we'd notice."
Azazel sighed, pushing himself off the wall, "Welp, guess we should find your guy, Lilith can only be so entertaining."
"I don't even know why we had to spend so long in a bar, I'm trying to not start something with the Underworld. If word got out that I was with you, it could start another war." Sekaino warned.
"Ah, I'm sure it's fine, besides you gotta live a little." Sekaino deadpanned at the man, commenting, "Well I'm glad we at least got out of there without anything happening, but that really cut into the time we had to look for Albion."
"At least we had fun." Azazel shrugged his shoulders, Sekaino walking away towards the door of the hotel room they had gotten for themselves. Opening it, Sekaino ordered, "Let's go."
Walking out, Azazel could only whisper, "Gee what a buzzkill."
Catching up after exiting the room, the two walked side by side towards the exit. Entering a small elevator, the Fallen asked, "So now what?"
"We rendezvous with Issei, he should be in the center of this place so he won't be too hard to find." At that, Azazel paused, stating, "That means he'll most likely be near the Capitol Building, where the Four Great Satans are, which means if I'm spotted there..."
"You're quite literally screwed?"
"Yup, so let's try and make this quick." The elevator opened up into the quiet lobby, luckily the front doors were a straight shot so they didn't have to meander their way through the hotel. Watching Azazel walk out, Sekaino whispered, "You're one to talk."
Exiting onto the streetside, both men made sure the coast was clear to ensure Azazel wouldn't be spotted. Nodding at each other, they made haste toward the center district where Issei was. While walking wasn't the fastest option, it was the most lowkey, as flying would bring unnecessary attention to them both.
"Streets seem empty, hopefully, we can make it a fair distance before you're spotted." Sekaino commented, however before the man walking behind him could speak up, someone yelled, "Hey, stop!"
Both froze, Azazel's eyes widened immediately, Sekaino giving a bored look as Azazel whispered, "You jinxed us."
"Shut up, if it's security, we run." Turning, they saw more than just one guard, no, they saw an entire platoon of soldiers in distinctive cobalt-colored combat harnesses with helmets possessing fins on the sides and rear. Each wielding various weapons, though both men could tell they were firearms. Behind the marching footmen was a hovering tank-like vehicle, coated in a similar blue metal.
"How in the hell did you not notice that?" Azazel quipped, Sekaino sneering at his comment. From the vehicle a man called out, "Azazel, leader of the Grigori! Understand you are trespassing into the capital city of the Underworld, Lilith! This is in direct violation of the Treaty of the Forsaken Destroyer!"
"The what?" Sekaino questioned, tilting his head in confusion.
"We named it after the Destroyer who killed Ddraig, ending the Great War by doing so and separating the two Heavenly Dragons," Azazel explained, getting a laugh out of Sekaino.
"Oh so you named it after me, I'm flattered." Sekaino joked, catching Azazel's attention.
"You make it sound like you are the Destroyer," Sekaino shrugged his shoulders, responding with, "All in due time, for we have to deal with these Devils."
"Fair enough," Though Azazel wasn't convinced, however, that could wait. Looking back at the group, the two men noted how none of the soldiers' weapons were pointed at them, as though the group was only on guard.
"Azazel, leave the capital or we will remove you by force!" The top half of the hovering craft shifted forward, revealing a mounted cannon. Upon the sound of the mechanical shifting, the men pointed their weapons at the two, an electrical hum emanating from the crowd.
"Run?"
"Yup." After Sekaino gave the order, two men dashed upwards at speeds faster than the group could realize, leaving blue and yellow trails respectively. Unfortunately for the two, the group took this as a reasonable offense to fire.
Sekaino turned, seeing hordes of plasma dashing at them, immediately assuming it was the men's weapons.
"Punch it, Fallen!" Sekaino ordered, the two blasting off with a noticeable shockwave as they ripped through the sky. At their sides, flying skiffs matching the purplish-blue color scheme the Underworld's military possessed flew behind them. Without warning, the aircraft fired at the two. Sekaino was the first to notice, grabbing Azazel before swerving downwards as an explosion created by the artificial militarian might cascade upon them.
Azazel crashed into the street, tumbling across it as the asphalt was painted orange. Sekaino slid across the road, stabbing his blades through the material to slow himself down. Looking up, the man watched as the fireball was split by another skiff zipping through it before firing upon them.
Sekaino, already having his bearings dodged the bolts of light, diving past the vehicle before grabbing Azazel. Rolling across the asphalt, Sekaino scooped Azazel up before bursting from the ground just as another skiff fired where the men were.
"Damn Azazel! You good!" Looking down, he saw the man stirring in his forced sleep. Waking up, Azazel saw the city zipping underneath them, oblivious to Sekaino holding him up by his arms.
"The hell? Sekaino!" The Fallen yelled up in confusion.
"About time, wondering if they killed you, old man!" Sekaino shouted, a smile on his face as the two continued their flight. Azazel grinned, responding, "It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me! Now then!"
In one swift movement, Azazel dove from Sekaino's grip, spinning as his wings unfurled before blasting off and catching up to his friend.
"Geez, you'd think they'd lay off after a while. It's been a couple of millennia since the Great War." Looking at the Fallen Angel, Sekaino commented, "Yeah well, it did have lasting effects."
"I guess so. It is what ended the Age of Gods and all, still, the three factions have been at a cease-fire for ages." Sekaino grimaced at this, stating, "If it's a cease-fire, then no one considers it as a form of peace, meaning that anything could break the treaty you all made."
Turning to face the skiffs, Sekaino added, "That means we can't harm anybody, so just keep flying, Fallen!"
Elsewhere
Issei's fist careened into the side of a soldier, forcing the man onto the floor. Ducking underneath a baton, Issei tackled another to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.
Casting his gaze up, the boy watched as more men ran towards him, surrounding him from all sides. Folding his wings from his armor, Issei spun around, pushing himself off of the ground causing the metal of his wings to slam into the men around him.
Looking down, Issei slammed his talons onto a man, the road caving in from the weight beneath Issei's strike.
Ahead of him, a tank pulled into the street, pointing its barrel at Issei. Just as a bolt of light burst from the machine, Issei flew up before snapping his momentum towards the source. His fist careened into the hull of the vessel, tearing through it, and exposing the vulnerable mechanics.
Quickly firing a beam into the vehicle, Issei was surrounded by the following explosion, the fireball swallowing the street. The soldiers left standing watched, thinking the man who fought Riser perished.
From the rubble, a silhouette marched from the light, his form growing more developed. Issei flicked a fragment of flaming rubble from his shoulder, before planting himself in view of everyone remaining. The remaining soldiers hastily pointed their weapons at Issei, behind them, several skiffs rose into the air, surrounding the boy.
Behind his helmet, Issei's breath grew ragged, he didn't know how much longer he could keep this up, especially in his current state. Raising his fists, Issei watched as the machinery ahead of him began to glow yellow, preparing to fire.
"Stop this, now!" Just as sudden as it happened, the soldiers cast their weapons down, ensuring Issei wouldn't be torn asunder. Looking for the voice, Issei pointed his gaze past the crowd, seeing a man enter the scene. He was handsome, appearing to be only in his 20's with bright crimson hair and blue-green eyes, if Issei had to describe him, it would be as a male version of Rias. He was ordained in silver and gold plated armor, with blue, green, and white garments draped around his body where the metal couldn't.
The man looked on at Issei, the tension in the air evident to everyone on the site.
"Ddraig?" Issei asked, his voice resonating within his armor.
"Possible, implausible in your state." The armored men stared at each other, one was sizing up the other while the latter was merely assessing the boy in front of him.
"Issei Hyoudou, possessor of the Boosted Gear and host of the Red Dragon Emperor, Y Ddraig Goch, am I correct?" The man quizzed, a calm yet eager smile on his face. Issei's eyes were wide, his mouth was agape from the shock he felt at the man's question. Why wasn't he immediately attacking him? Shaking his troubles from himself, he focused, answering, "Yeah, that's me, and just who the hell are you?"
The man calmly chuckled, responding, "I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself, I am Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the Four Satans who rule the Underworld."
Now Issei was surprised, this man who claimed to be a ruler of the Underworld was openly welcoming him? This had to be a trap, though if he was Rias' brother as he claimed, perhaps that could explain his sudden warmth.
"You're, you're Rias' brother." The man smiled, commenting, "How could I forget, along with Sekaino Kami you both allied with Rias to not only train her but to save her from a marriage with Riser Phenex, managing to be one of only three people who could claim victory over him during a Rating Game in an admittedly flashy show."
"Yeah? The fight looked cool but what about it?" Issei harshly demanded. At the moment he couldn't afford to be openly friendly, he certainly didn't want to hurt anyone but he wouldn't hesitate to defend himself.
"I suppose I'm just eager to meet you, Issei." Sirzechs turned to face the men around him, announcing, "At ease men, he's an ally, there's no need to keep this battle going."
Both the soldiers and Issei found themselves stunned at Sirzechs' orders, though they inevitably obliged. Issei was certainly skeptical, so far the Underworld provided the best and worst experiences of his life within 12 hours. Luckily, his suspicions were proven wrong as Sirzechs called out, "Come on Issei, we have much to discuss."
Hesitantly nodding, Issei walked closer, carefully eyeing the men whom he fought mere moments prior. Many had looks of trepidation, others kept a stern calmness, while others possessed a furious scowl. Regardless of their personal opinion, he knew they wouldn't harm him, not that they could.
Stepping next to Rias' older brother, the two stepped into a larger vessel, most likely a private shuttle. The interior was lavish, resembling the interior of a private jet. The cockpit was separated from the main cabin, perched on top of the fuselage giving the pilots a bird's eye view of the whole ship.
Sirzechs took a seat on a white and brown chair, one of two nestled between the twin staircases that ascended to the second floor.
"Please, take a seat, Issei." The man gestured towards the opposite chair. Issei stood, deciding if he should trust the man, "How do I know this isn't a trap?"
Sirzechs chuckled at Issei's concerns, commenting, "You have good instincts, but please, I'm sure you already outclass any one of the Four Satans."
Issei hesitantly obliged, allowing his armor to remain on as he took a seat on the admittedly comfortable seat.
"First, I must apologize for the lackluster accommodations, I didn't have much time to prepare anything for you after I was made aware of your presence here in Lilith, and I had a feeling our garrison wouldn't take too kindly to someone of your stature pacing through the inner city." The man was polite, almost as though Issei was meeting a distant relative for the first time and they had to clear the onsetting awkwardness.
"Don't worry about it. Besides back home I'm not accustomed to something as crazy as this." Gesturing to the interior, Sirzechs laughed as Issei added, "I mean seriously it's like a private jet!"
"Well, this is my personal shuttle, and seeing as you did save my sister from Riser, I thought it best to repay you, even if it was in a small way such as this." Issei nodded, replying, "Don't worry about it, I think I might've wrecked your city a tad bit."
Upon hearing this, the Devil put on a grim face, not one of resentment, but one brimming with worry. Turning his gaze towards the human before him, Sirzechs added, "I did want to talk about that, as I may have some information that you will find useful."
The boy perked up, though his attention was pulled away from the man and onto a soft dinging noise resounding from the armrests of their seats. Sirzechs smiled softly, stating, "It looks like we're here, I can only hope the landing isn't too bumpy for you?"
Tilting his head in confusion, Issei asked, "Are we not landing on a runway?"
"It's closer to what you'd call a helipad." Pointing at the center of the room, the two watched as most of the furniture folded in on itself, tucking into the walls creating an empty room. From the center, the metal panels opened up, revealing the bottom of the ship to have a hatch built into it. Issei stared into the hole, looking down at a pit built into a gothic castle. At the edge were the castle walls, almost resembling a hotel in the way it was built. In the actual landing zone itself was brass machinery reaching for the ship.
Feeling a sudden jolt as the ship was dragged into place, the men watched as the vessel was lowered into the hole. At the bottom was an immense hanger bay, circular in layout with dozens of other ships perched against the walls as though it were an aviary. A set of arms reached out for the shuttle, an audible hum ringing out as the vessel was slotted into place against the walls.
Deciding the show was finished, Sirzechs pressed his palm against a console, causing the hull to close beneath the two. Issei looked over at the man, the Devil in question stating, "Come on, there are those who wish to meet you both."
Time Skip
"This is an unexpected development..." What Ddraig referred to were two of the Four Great Satans next to him. One was inspecting the Scale Mail, gushing about its mechanical properties, while the other raved about its design.
"An intriguing design, certainly outdated by most regards, but still an engineering marvel." A green-haired Devil quizzed, Ddraig shouting back, "Outdated?! What do you mean 'outdated'?!"
"Yeah! His armor is totally the coolest thing I've ever seen!" The Devil defending Issei's attire was a young girl, appearing to be no older than 20. She had long black hair tied into twin tails with blue eyes, matching her childlike demeanor. Serafall Leviathan if he remembered correctly, the other being Ajuka Beelzebub.
"Thanks but is all this necessary, I just got here after all?" Issei quizzed, scratching his jaw nervously having told two of the highest-ranking Devils what to do.
"He's right, I know he's the Red Dragon Emperor but we have yet to let our guest sit down." Sirzechs walked up to his colleagues, saving Issei from their clutches.
"I suppose you're right, perhaps I can modify his armor at a later date." Breathing a sigh of relief as the Satans pulled away, Issei followed the three deeper into the castle.
"Anyways Issei, I believe we should discuss our presence here in Lilith," Sirzechs stated, catching Issei's attention. The other two Satans perked up as well, the shift from their casual tones to professional immediately recognizable.
"Earlier in the morning, before our sun had risen you were spotted in the southern business district at the epicenter of a massive accident.
"How did you know about that?" Ajuka was the one to speak up, "Cameras by my design, positioned at the crossroads of our streets much like many human cities, though instead of using wires, our cameras use a much more refined process to broadcast information."
"Not only that but considering that your attacker caused so much damage, it makes sense that we'd be alerted immediately." Serafall quipped, however, it was the way she worded her answer that caught Issei's attention. She spoke as though they knew it wasn't his fault, of course, it wasn't seeing as he was attacked, but how would they know? Honestly, he believed they would exile him from Lilith, or even ban him from the Underworld due to the scale of the incident he was directly related to.
"She's right, due to how we've built this city, it was only a matter of time until we learned that you of all people were not only present within Lilith but also attacked by some unknown man." Issei looked over at the redhead, confused by the reality of his situation.
"I guess all we're asking is why you were here in the first place because something has decided to make you its enemy and requires you to be here." The man turned to Issei, approaching him as though he were also his older brother. Taking a breath, Issei began, "We're looking for the White Dragon Emperor, Vali."
Both Ajuka and Serafall had a look of contempt and uncertainty respectively, while Sirzechs had a firm resolve to find out more of Issei's situation.
"Your rival, well Ddraig's rival."
"Yeah, me, Azazel, Sekaino Kami, a friend of mine.-"
"Oh don't worry, we know who he is. After all both Grayfia and Rias told me plenty about him." Sirzechs interrupted, though Issei inwardly was glad he didn't have to do much explaining. Nodding, he continued, "Anyways, to put it simply, Sekaino needs my help defeating a god, and just a few days ago he decided that recruiting Ddraig's rival was also a good idea, and we decided to go to Azazel for help."
"Odd, I'm not aware of the two being allied, Albion's host and Azazel."
"Well apparently they are, and Azazel took us to the Underworld, deciding that creating a scene was the best way to get Vali's attention."
"And he had to choose Lilith," Ajuka commented, though it went mostly ignored with only Serafall snickering. Sirzechs, redirecting the conversation asked, "Then why did you three separate?"
"Beats me, best guess is that Sekaino wanted to cover more ground and dragged Azazel along so he didn't run." The Devils pondered the situation, though instead of Sirzechs speaking up, it was Ajuka, "And then you were attacked later the same night?"
"Pretty much, I don't know who the guy was, though I'd bet he's strong, obscenely so." His assumption put the three into thought, if that much was true then he was an imminent threat to the Underworld. Furthermore, if he decided that Issei was his goal, it meant the boy was equally a potential threat, if not then he was certainly a bad omen.
"That means by you staying here, Lilith is in danger." Serafall laid out, Issei snapping his attention towards her.
"Wait what? How am I the threat?" Issei asked in bewilderment, his temper steadily rising.
"You're not, it's the fact that you drew whoever attacked you to the Underworld by your presence alone, which makes them your enemy, and if a battle were to ensue here, the collateral would prove to be immense." Issei looked down at the gauntlet. Though he did want to argue otherwise, the logic was sound.
Looking back up at the man who so closely resembled the Devil he knew back on Earth, Issei asked, "Does that mean we're suddenly enemies now?"
"Not at all, quite the opposite." Sirzechs gave a soft smile, leaving the boy confused for the umpteenth time. Just what was the man talking about?
"I did state a need to repay you for saving Rias, right?"
"Yeah, but how would you? I doubt whatever you guys use exactly translates to Yen." Sirzechs chuckled, before answering, "By not paying you with money, but an alliance."
Ajuka took a step forward, holding an open palm out before him as a bright green circle burst to life before a strange device formed in his hands, "It's a communicator by my design. It's a simple thing to use so I doubt you can mess this up.
There's only one button to it, press it once and it'll send a signal to Sirzechs, twice and it'll go to me, and a third will go to Serafall. You can press it a fourth time, though that'll go to Falbium Asmodeus, who I'm sure wouldn't be fond of someone he's never met ringing him up while he's in one of his vacation homes god knows where." Issei nodded, grabbing the device as his helmet formed around his head. The metal slid around his ear, allowing the device to be integrated into his armor.
"Hmm, I kinda hoped you'd use it like that." Just as Ajuka spoke, a series of booms rang out in the distance, a clear sign of something coming.
"I believe that's your friend Sekaino. A man like him would have a presence." Sirzechs turned to Issei, planting a hand on his shoulder, "I believe you should go, I'd imagine Sekaino wouldn't be happy to find us with you."
Suddenly the glass on the left side of the hall they were in exploded, ripping through the open air as an unseen force flew past the castle.
"That's our garrison, who haven't learned subtlety," Ajuka stated as he rose from his momentarily crouched position. Sirzechs looked at Issei, stating, "You have an ally in the Underworld, now go! Good luck, Issei!"
Nodding, Issei took flight before bursting out of the window. An explosion cascaded upon him, the result of an aerial battle. Forming the energy into his hands, Issei cleaved the fireball in half with a burst of light showing his form perched upon the shattered window to the world.
'An ally in the Underworld, huh?'
A/N: Not much to say here, I don't want this getting any longer as it's already the longest chapter to date!
Art Page - @gzyzzartist
Word Count - 4,564