It had been an hour since issei left the meeting with sona the day had been long and he decided to skip the training and move straight to the hunt he was currently walkin around in the shadier part of town waiting to see who would be his prey tonight but unbeknownst to him he was being observed
Koneko on the phone with rias - i found him pres he's just walking around in the shady part of town but one thing is concerning me
Rias- what is it
koneko - that mass of negative energy has gotten bigger since i last saw it
Rias- good to know keep watching him and remain hidden
Koneko- yes ma'am" koneko continued to watch issei with curiosity until eventually the boy made his way into a dark secluded alley so she made her way to another rooftop to see what was happening and what she saw shocked her issei's right hand had transformed into razor sharp claws she watched as he snuck up on a man from behind and shoved his claws through his chest spearing the man's heart she continued to watch in terror as pure negative energy began leaking from the body she saw as issei manifested a black book and absorbed the energy into himself through it seeing the black mass within him grow as he did once all the energy had been sucked up he wiped his claws on the corpses shirt and walked off koneko quickly called rias
Rias- koneko what is it me and ichika were about to take a bath
Koneko- it's about the pervs brother he just killed a man and sucked the negative energy that came from the corpse" Though she spoke with her usual emotionless cadence rias knew her servant well enough to know she was unnerved
Rias- koneko did you get any clues on what his abilities are"
Koneko- he manifested claws and used a black book to absorb the negative energy it was creepy how precise he was it was like watching a predator strike down its unaware prey"
Rias- so you think he is a stealthy fighter relying on ambushes
Koneko- I think so
Rias - keep following him i'm sure we'll all meet up with you and ambush him then if he relies on stealth then we shouldn't have a trouble against him
Koneko- yes ma'am
After another hour of watching him he finally returned to what seemed to be his hideout the same warehouse they had found the corpse of the stray devil she alerted rias and within 10 minutes the rest of the peerage was there
Rias- so you're sure he's still in there koneko
Koneko- yeah i can sense him in there it's like a giant mass of shadow
Ichika- i still can't believe my brothers in the supernatural i mean he's such a loser
Kiba- you know what they say ichika don't judge a book by its cover a
At this ichika rolls her eyes
Ichika- uh that's so corny
Rias- he is right though ichika in the world of the supernatural you never know what's going to happen next speaking of which we should get down there and deal with him
'
Ichika- finally some action she says equipping the blood red gauntlet of the boosted gear
Down in the warehouse issei was sat at a small table a lone cupcake sat in front of him on a paper cake 2 candles atop formed the number 18 he sat watching the clock on his phone move ever closer to midnight as he fidgeted with a lighter igniting and extinguishing it repeatedly
Issei- 5 more minutes issei said with an exhausted tone
Umbris- shouldn't you be more excited issei my boy your turning 18 thats an important age for you humans
Issei- you can read my thoughts umbris i don't need to explain why i hate my birthday
Umbris- i know you've had your birthdays ignored before but now you have me let's skip school tomorrow and have some fun or better yet just drop out of it
isse- - i just might he said with a light chuckle i did just get that offer to be a writer for that studio this could be my way out
As the two of them talked they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening as issei looked over he saw a sight he was really hoping he wouldn't see the members of the occult research club stood in the doorway of the warehouse and they looked ready to fight rias and the black haired woman who issei didn't remember the name of stood magic circles ready to fire off spells at a moments notice and his sister the schools pretty boy kiba and some small white haired girl he didn't know stood ready to fight the blonde girl stood in the back the only one not seemingly ready to attack seeing this issei stood up and cracked his neck
Issei- so i take it you've figured out i'm not your average guy
Rias- thats right now you can surrender and come peacefully or well have to use force
Isse- or just hear me out here you six leave now and i won't have to fight you
Rias- i'm afraid we can't do that
Isse- eh too bad " he brings out umbris's claws " come at me
And with that the fight began kiba ichika and koneko rushed in each began a brutal assault on issei that was fruitless as he dodged and parried every attack they sent his way he noticed an arc of lightning coming his way so he goaded kiba who was wielding a sword into its path the attack collided and the blonde was knocked unconscious
Isse- one down 5 to go
The next to fall was koneko as ducked under a punch from his sister it collided squarely in the small girls head knocker her unconscious
Issei- that two down he mocked it's not too late to give up
As he was mocking them ichika snuck behind him and landed a devastating punch sending him flying onto the table he was sitting at earlier as he regained his senses he saw the cupcake sitting on the ground completely ruined and he couldn't help remember the day he started hating his birthday it was the twins 8th birthday and the party was designed for ichika all the things she liked all her friends at the party and as his parents brought out the cake he was confused to see only her name on the cake the confusion was slowly replaced by despair as he was given a cheap store bought cupcake by his mother with a singular 8 shaped candle on it and that was the day he realized he didn't matter that his parents only really cared for their precious daughter
Back in the present issei's emotions were like a storm a mixture of rage and sorrow mixed inside him it was made only worse when his sister walked over and planted her foot on his chest
Ichika- huh sure were talking shit earlier but i know the truth you're just a pathetic loser
As these words left his sisters mouth rage began consuming him what did she know about him she's spent her whole life getting anything she wants while he had to fight for the scraps he looked over at the cupcake smashed on the ground his cupcake the one thing he got for his birthday while she got decadent cakes and parties he got a cheap cupcake but it was his cupcake and he was content with it but now she had taken it too that was all she had ever done to him take take take the word echoed through his mind as rage clouded his thoughts he was barely thinking as he grabbed her ankle and threw her into the wall so hard the concrete cracked he stood up a sickening black smoke emanating from him as he walked he thought he heard umbris speaking but he couldn't make out the beings words so he ignored it
Issei- im a pathetic loser huh then what does that make you" almost instintually he summoned the tome and pulled a long spear from its pages he stabbed the spear into her shoulder and as she cried in pain he said " a parasite thats what you are your like a worm that sucks away everything i have" he pulled the spear from her and pressed it to her neck " i should kill you right here right now take from you as youve taken from me youve lived a perfect life with parents who love you an army of friends whatever you wated you got all while i suffered with parents who barely teated me like i existed an outcast to my peers i had to work for what i have all while you got it served on a silver platter" he pulled the tip of the spear from her neck " but i wont because im better than you you would strike me down if you had a chance and we both know it but i wont" issei glanced at his phone the screen cracked but still operational seeing the time read midnight he sighed " consider this your birthday present from me happy birthday ichika hyoudo
While all this occurred unnoticed to issei but a massive barrier of black smoke separated the others from helping ichika they all saw what happened but didn't hear a thing as the smoke muffled the sound as issei stepped away from his sister the barrier disappeared
Issei- looking at the the others " i'm going to be very generous right now i'm not going to kill you tonight so take your wounded and leave and if you ever come after me or get in my way again i will not hesitate to kill you"
Taking his warning to heart the remaining orc members grab their injured and flee leaving issei alone in the warehouse
Issei- happy birthday to me i guess