Down in the basement of the Hyoudou residence, everyone was in the bathing area as Issei was sitting behind Rias holding her hair as he was washing it. All of the girls were getting cleaned up in some other way or another as well as Xenovia was washing Asia's back "Your hair is so soft." Xenovia said ogling Asia's hair.
"I thought about cutting is like your's nice and short." She replied getting Issei's jaw to drop as Irina looked over at her.
"Don't." Irina said "Long hair fits you perfectly. Xenovia had long hair at one point and she looked good as well."
Asia turned around to look at Xenovia "You also had long hair?"
"It's a relic of the past. I cut it short after a mission with Irina because of what happened. That experience stays with me even today."
Irina moved over to Xenovia and stroked her hair "But you know Ise likes girls with long hair."
Xenovia went into a deep thought hearing that from Irina as she started talking to herself. "Maybe I should learn to use demonic power to change that. Make my hair grow long so I have a better chance."
Buckets of water started getting dumped around as people were finished getting cleaned up and moved over to the bath. As everyone was getting in commotion coming from the predator and prey of the house. "That overgrown cat ate my egg pudding!" Ravel said as Issei was looking at her nude form as it was just as perfect as all of the other girl's thanks to devil physiology. Ravel knew that something was wrong as she turned around and saw Issei looking at her as he was in the water with the rest of the girls "Please don't stare at me so intently."
Issei only shook his head no as she heard the girls trying to pull his attention away. "I have some questions" Katase said getting Issei to refocus his attention.
"Yeah?"
"We've been training a learning about the supernatural world for a while now." Issei nodded as she went on "I was talking with your mother about some history and is what she said about Roman myth true?"
"Probably," Issei said to them "From what I've been told by Zeus is that it started from a drunk emperor because of my mom. The Alcohol was meant for them but things got out of hand as per the roman traditions."
Issei felt Akeno's hands grab hold of him as she pulled on his arm resting his head on her breasts. "It's relaxing bath time." Issei felt his face sink into her tender breasts as he smiled.
"And this is still normal?" Murayama asked seeing that the girls were fighting over who would get Issei for now.
A thumbs-up came out from the water as he was getting lost in Akeno's chest. Ravel answered for him as he was preoccupied "Issei isn't as bad as you take him as. Yes, he's a pervert but he's dependable and kind about it."
Issei did all he could to pull his face away from Akeno "The three of you girls have shaped up well." Issei looked at them "You're burning away that fat that you always wanted to get rid of but never could. You said you could see how Kiba and I were training let alone Irina and Xenovia aren't fully holding back on you anymore. And you Kiryuu, a bow of all things wasn't expected. I expected something to do with spells but you can still learn those as you need them." He cupped his hand under the water and clamped down shooting water up into the air as it splashed down into the center of the bath. "Flaming arrows, maybe something that explodes or even just elemental arrows that cover all the bases." He looked at them as he had a feeling that this wasn't what it was all about "But I get the feeling that this isn't about my wild ideas."
Katase shook her head "No, we wanted to know something about Kiba."
Issei nodded his head listening "Is it about how you're trying to get his attention? And aside from throwing your panties at him, he ignores your advances?" Hearing that Katase sunk into the water just so her nose was uncovered.
Murayama stepped in to finish it "Is Kiba gay? Because it's just as you said."
All the girls kinda expected this question as Katase and Murayama were the only ones around that wanted to go after Kiba. "Ehhhhhh" Issei was wishy washy with his answer. "Kinda"
Katase and Murayama deflated hearing that as it looked as if their souls left their body but Kiryuu was somewhat excited to hear that. "There's no way he is. There was that one thing." Akeno pointed out as Issei slid his way between them as he wrapped his arm around them.
"Kiba is at minimum bi-sexual. After that time I fingered him/her that one time thanks to Azazel and some of the bromances he tried to put on with me I can say he's partially gay. Tho he is somewhat interested in woman otherwise he would never have sex with Tsubaki."
"We are missing so much context here." Kiryuu said as she was just as lost hearing all of that. "You're saying that the prince is not only got it on with the Vice president but he does have something for you?"
He sighed hearing that "Remember when I got sick a few months back and I was out for about a week?" The three girls nodded as they remembered it. "Well, I caught a nasty strain of the flu for Devils and then one for Dragons as well. It knocked me down hard, to the point I don't remember much of the days. But what I do remember was all the girls dressing up like skimpy nurses to make sure I got my medicine." Issei had a huge smile on his face thinking of nurse outfits. "After a while, I was visited by a long haired blonde girl when I was still out of it. Dressed in black stocking a short enough outfit to see black panties for days but one thing led to another as fingers were introduced to vagina." They looked at him in awe as Akeno was laughing remembering it all. "It's not my fault I thought it was Asia. Sure that hair color was duller but I was out cold for a while."
"And Tsubaki?" Katase asked
"That's a story for another time yet connected to the last one. But they have done the horizontal monster mash." He said as he saw Rias looking down at the water not as perky as she normally would be. "What wrong Rias?"
She looked up at him "It's nothing" She tried to push it away.
"It's Grayfia isn't it?" Issei persisted
Rias sighed hearing that "Yes, I'm concerned about her. She's under lockdown and not allowed to assist Sirzechs or allowed to work as a maid in the main House. So now she isolated from everything of the world."
"That sounds rough even for her."
She nodded "The criticism from the higher-ups towards her is extreme even to the point that I cant contact her. My parents say she's okay and not to worry about it but I can't help it."
"Ddraig and I have been thinking of some ways to deal with Euclid when he shows up again."
"Both of you are the Red Dragon Emperor even though he is a fraud?"
Issei shook his head "No I am the Red Dragon Emperor, he is nothing more than a fake who knows nothing about the other things that resided in the boosted gear." Issei felt a pair of hands grab onto his arm as he was dragged away in the water.
"Akeno! What are you doing?" Rias shouted at her as she dragged Issei back to where she was at rested his head on her breasts while wrapping her arms around him.
"It's called an affair Rias. You should never let your guard down or he could be gone in an instant." Akeno was smiling the whole time she held onto him.
The other girls took notice as they closed in around them trying to get their own slice of Issei. Ravel looked over at Koneko "I think we need to get more involved if we want to come out on top.
As Katase and Murayama watched how the girls flipped a switch instantly turning rabid for Issei. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that wasn't all too normal, it was Rossweisse who had nothing on but a towel covering her. She got into the water next to Rias "I need a favor Rias."
"A favor?" Rias was somewhat surprised to hear that "It's rare for you to ask me for anything thing."
"Will you listen to anything I have to say?" Rossweisse asked as she seemed somewhat desperate.
"Yeah, what do you want?" Rias didn't know what was happening so she went along with it as Rossweisse whispered something in her ear "Really?" Rossweisse nodded rapidly as Rias looked over to Issei. "Issei" She pointed over to Rossweisse.
A blush formed on her face "Please be my boyfriend" She blurted out stopping everyone in their tracks hearing that from her of all people.
Issei only blinked a few times as his bran processed everything "You have seen you right? I can't just say no that's impossible." He wasn't expecting an answer from her but it was downright impossible to refuse her.
A couple of days passed since Rossweisse's request was unleashed upon Issei as he was in class with everyone. Everyone was looking over their tests they were given back but that all changed when Matsuda and Motohama came over to Issei's desk. "It's the end of the semester and these tests are done how did you do?"
"Ehhhhh" Issei wobbled his hand around "Better than you two, got high scores in Japanese."
"Average for life" Matsuda said to Issei.
"It's better than failing." Motohama tried to defend that fact.
Chattering in the corner of the room was picking up as Asia turned around and looked at Issei "Xenovia did amazing."
"She got over 90% on her tests." Irina followed up after Asia.
Issei thought about it as she was trying to prove something but he wasn't able to figure it out. But it clearly showed that she doing something positive for increased test scores. The church girls all brought their papers over to Issei as he looked through them. Xenovia was the clear breadwinner as Asia was right under her followed by Irina in the high 70's and Issei at the bottom. "If your children ended up like him then I would be worried." It was Kiryuu as she looked over
"That's not a problem, we can raise them differently." Xenovia said as Irina chimed in "She right you know, that's all it takes."
"Good children grow up if they are given plenty of love." Asia said somewhat lost in her dream world
Their response was normal for times not during school but they had no filter. Issei however was getting the look from everyone in the class as he turned to Kiryuu "I'll fight some way to punish you for that."
Motohama grabbed Issei and shook him "Are you planning on fulfilling their wishes over the winter break."
When Motohama let go of Issei he promptly replied "I don't know yet. They're going to be some Club activities but I think that's going to be over the winter break.
"What about the beginning of the year?" Matsuda asked him.
"I should be free then maybe New Year's eve." Issei told them that as he knew that work was picking up more and more and training was only getting rougher.
Hearing that Motohama sighed "You have been way too busy lately, and no time to hang out."
"You know I've been thinking about joining the photography club." Matsuda said as went over to his bag a pulled out his camera and started thumbing through it as he sent the camera down on Issei's desk. "What do you know about this?" Issei picked up the camera as he saw Rossweisse in the library reading something.
"Rumor goes she's been in the library quite a bit. Others have said she's been reading books related to and the Bible."
Issei shrugged his shoulders "You know as much about that as I do. What she does in her free time is none of my business." This was news to Issei that fact that she would be reading books related to the bible but she was acting strange.
"Speaking of other club members." Matsuda picked his camera back up "Has the ORC decided who the next president of the club is going to be?" They didn't receive an answer from Issei as he had forgotten about that and he left them only guessing who it could be.
The rest of the day passed as everyone made their way towards the massive training grounds that they used. Issei was alone standing in front of a mannequin that was fastened to the ground. He punched it as it lit up green as Issei swung at it once again, this time when he hit it the mannequin turned red "Too much power try again." it was the voice of Sun Wukong. The device was set up so when it was struck it required the same amount of energy in every hit. Precise use of energy was required for training and this was an exercise that honed a dull edge into a sharp one with time.
Issei however was not having a good time with it as he hammered away at it for awhile making little to no progress. Sun Wukong told him that he bled stamina at an alarming rate while using his balance breakers. The real problem was what he had become the infusion of Ophis and Great Red's energy had changed him into something new. And with that, it gave him a massive imbalance of powers that conflicted the infinite and nothing.
He looked over to his side and saw white trails of light zigging and zagging through the air as Sun Wukong was sitting on top of a yellow cloud of all things. The cloud moved only enough to send Vali flying past him as he twirled a large staff around deflecting and sometimes reflecting magic towards Vali. None of the attacks were serious enough to do damage each other but it was still no small feat to make Vali's attacks look as if nothing existed. "None of my attacks are landing." Vali said as he shrugged his shoulders while floating there.
A puff of smoke came out from Wukong as he looked at Vali "If I were to get hit by one of your attacks then I would be in serious pain. The power that the two of you can output is well beyond me." As the smoke cleared he pulled his pipe away "It's will become crucial so the two of you can increase your power to a level needed instantly. And your stamina consumption needs to reflect that. If you were to run out when you need it the most your training is for nothing." The two of them descended to the ground near Issei. "Overall White is more balanced but Red is far superior in raw speed and power of his strikes."
"I saw him delete pluto, I don't want to fight that." Issei said to Sun Wukong.
Vali looked over at Issei giving off a slight smile "At least you can use your Crimson form to train with. Mine is difficult enough to use training is impossible compared to yours. "
"Your Empiero Juggernaut Overdrive is far better than the Juggernaut Drive while retaining the same aspects. But you still induce plenty of stress onto your body at alarming rates and that's with mitigating the risks. Unfortunately, you cant maintain that form for long unlike Red can." Sun Wukong looked at the two of them as he continued "Red's ability to Boost and Transfer while White can Divide and Consume power. This is how it has operated forever, yet the past hosts never used them in unique ways or had unrealistic power gains." He saw Issei thinking about what he just said "Training will continue later as you have other things to deal with. I take it as Ddraig and Albion haven't returned yet.?
Issei tapped the jewel on the boosted gear as it was dull for the time being "Doesn't look like it, my head is empty right now."
Wukong avoided the joke as Issei set him up for it but he saw that it was far too easy. "Guess we will have to wait and see about Azazel's hypothesis is true then."Azazel suspected that their abilities were never truly gone only an evolution between the two of the dragons could unlock their past abilities.
"No," Vali said " Albion and Ddraig have run into difficulties. It seems the past wielders want answers from Ddraig mainly to berate him. And they formed a Victim association."
Wukong shook his head "If that's the case then we just need to wait while they sort it all out. Right now this makes Red's training harder and that's fine." Issei tilted his head as he didn't want it to be even harder than it was. "Balancing power is one thing, but if you can grasp the concept and do it without Ddriag then when he returns you will be able to progress faster."
A magic circle activated underneath Vali "I'll be heading out for today. I look forward to our next spar."
"Sounds fun," Wukong said as Vali teleported away. He pointed his staff behind Issei, getting him to look behind as he flew away on his cloud.
Behind him, Issei saw Xenovia and Irina with their trainees Katase and Murayama. "Are you done with your training?"
Issei looked back at Sun Wukong only to see that he was gone. "Looks like it." He headed towards them as they all walked back towards where everyone was going to meet up at the end of the day.
"Say Issei, where is Ravel? Does she not train as well?" Murayama asked him.
"No, she does. But as you noticed I don't have a 'Queen' and Ravel takes over a managerial role in this busy life. And right now she's talking to Le Fay Pendragon." He looked over to her "You know the third blonde girl with the funny hat who hangs out with Koneko's sister."
"Ise look!" Irina moved in front of them as she let out her wings and there was something new about her.
"Oh, you got a new pair of wings." He said as there were two pairs of pure white wings coming out of her back.
"I got a call from Heaven this morning and they said that my Angel rank was upgraded. And now I have a second pair of wings. It's a blessing that was bestowed upon me from Michael."
"Can you use your powers to a broader spectrum now?" Xenovia asked her.
Irina nodded "Yes that's correct. It's also much easier for me to use holy weapons that Heaven keeps. Now I have to go through less scrutiny to use them."
"To think the self-proclaiming angel is advancing. Such a proud thing to see from my friend."
"Don't be like that Xenovia." Irina tried hiding her embarrassment from Xenovia's words.
They made it to where Kiba was as Issei saw that Katase and Murayama had a creeping feeling. "Cold" Katase said as the two of them huddled behind Irina and Xenovia.
"Yo Kiba" Issei called out to Kiba getting him to turn around. In his hand, he saw Kibna holding the Red and gold sword of Gram. "Aside from how your training is going, your sword is creeping out the new girls."
"Oh? Sorry about that." Kiba toned down the power he was using as Gram did the same making it bearable for them. "I'm trying to learn how to control Gram using the same way Xenovia does with Excalibur covering Durandal."
Issei thought about it for a moment "But that's a sword covering a sword. Using your own power must be harder than that."
Kiba nodded in agreement "It is. When I get to the process where I can do it I end covering it in the holy power of the holy demonic swords." Issei thought about what he was doing as Kiba summoned a holy demonic sword in his hand "But when I do that the cover becomes brittle." He tapped the blade as it shattered. "When I strengthen the demonic power to stabilize it becomes slightly better."
"You make something so complex sound easy."
He laughed hearing that "I guess so, but I want Gram's curse to be reflected onto the blades I can summon and not onto myself or others around me. When I get it working I might be able to create new utilizing it."
"You already have those flashy knights, you planning on doing something with them?"
Kiba shrugged "I don't know yet, it's just a wait and see kind of thing. Did you come up with a name for that new move?"
Issei shook his head no "I didn't Rias however did. She called it…" Issei swiped his hand across the air making it appear in the air. "Dividing Wyvern Fairy. She said I reminded her of fairy chess due to my new abilities. And at this point, I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing."
A flash of light followed by the crack of thunder as they all looked up and saw an Angel flying above them with ten white wings. When they traced the thunder lightning they saw Saji covered in black flames doing all he could. "You wanna take bets?" Issei asked seeing if anyone would bite.
"You know just as well as I do that's a one-sided fight." Kiba said to him as he started to put away all his swords.
"Isn't that unfair for you to say that about Saji?" Murayama asked the two of them.
Issei shook his head "Not exactly it's a very one-sided fight and that's the point."
"Zenith Tempest is the second strongest Longinus wielded by Dulio Gesualdo the strongest Reincarnated Angel." Irina said to them.
"And that means what exactly?" Katase asked
"There are 13 Longinus as you have already been briefed on. Zenith Tempest is an element controlling Longinus. Just because he wields the second on the list doesn't mean that he can't beat the Lance. It's quite the opposite…" They watched as Dulio swung his staff as clouds were created out of nowhere sending a stream of water directly at Saji tossing him around as the winds didn't help his situation as the black flames were fading. "If he were to create enough water he could drown the user if he wanted to. How did your spar with him go Kiba?"
"Not good, he turned the ground into ice and then froze my legs in place."
"Sounds about right, he threw a column of wind at me negating my speed to nothing then froze the front of my armor and shattered it."
"Why go to such extremes?" Katase asked once again.
"The pursuit of strength. Every sacred gear has it to some extent." Issei turned around as he saw the flames around Saji fizzle out showing that he gave up. "I know the two of you don't understand why we sacred gear holders go to such lengths. But there is always some new goal for us to reach." The boosted gear appeared on his hand "Even in their basic forms there is plenty of power to be maintained. That power can swallow you whole or you can master it. Even then when you think you have mastered it you can take it to even further heights. Right now Saji has to reach that basic mastery where he can unleash his power and there's no better training than what he is getting right now." Issei motioned for them to follow him as it was about time for everyone to meet up. "You will understand what I said as you see more of this world."
They eventually met up with everyone else as they were sitting around on the grass in the open boundless field. Across from Issei Akeno was sitting "Hey Issei." She called out
"Yeah?" Out from Akeno's back came a pair of black angel wings as she sat there. Issei raised his right eyebrow seeing that as she retracted her wings. He noticed that there was no bracelet around her wrists when she did that "Nice."
"Maybe later." She told him with a smile as her gaze drifted towards Rossweisse. When Issei's eyes met Rossweisse's it's like she was trying to say something but didn't know how to form her words.
Rias shook her head seeing the mixed signals as they hear Xenovia "Don't worry Asia we will get plenty of time after the older girls do." The madness of the church girls arguing over who was going first with Issei when devolved into less of a meeting and more of a madhouse. It was decided that it was better to just head home and deal with the guest that was coming soon.
After a few hours of cleaning up the important places in the house and getting cleaned up, Akeno called out to the group "Everyone our guest will be arriving real soon, we should head down to meet them."
As they made their way down there Le Fay took Kuroka and Ophis down to Kuroka's room and waited it out. That just left the two peerages of the house to deal with the guest. When they entered the teleportation room they saw that it was flooded with light as the guest had arrived. Rias looked over to Issei "You're the last person that I have informed on this but our guess is Rossweisse's grandmother. She's a famous magic user in Asgard."
Issei nodded and kept his mouth shut as he looked over to Rossweisse who was standing next to him now as she wasn't all too thrilled with what was about to happen. The lights died down as an elderly woman appeared wearing a dark blue robe appeared. She was almost the same height as Rossweisse herself and aside from the wrinkles on her face, she didn't look that old. She looked around seeing all of them in front of her "Hello everyone, and thank you for looking after my granddaughter." Rossweisse was stiff as a board when her Grandmother spoke. "My name is Gondur pleased to make your acquaintance." Gondur gave a smile to everyone after she introduced herself.
With introductions out of the way, they made their way up to the VIP room at the top of the house. Once everyone was settled down tea and snack were brought out by Asia and Ravel as introductions went around. "Gondur will be participating in a Magician's assembly in the Agares territory in a few days." Rias began to explain to everyone what was happening. "Many skilled magicians will be meeting in Agares territory to speak about magic and there's going to be many eyes on the event. There's also something else happening. Currently, there are cases of magicians who know ancient, forbidden, or even top level magic from all factions are disappearing."
"Hurray for more terrorism." Issei twirled his finger in the air unenthusiastically.
"We don't know if they went rogue or if it's the Khaos Brigade. But what we know that the users are missing." Rias said as she didn't want to agree with him but there were still other possibilities.
That's when Gondur spoke up "During this meeting, some of the other prolific users are considering sealing some of our research and magic away."
"Sealing your magic away? Is that a bit drastic?" Ravel asked
"It's better to seal it until we know it's clear to release it. Rather than have some ner do wells steal your life's work and use it for evil purposes. The Grigori has been researching anti magic for some time now and we plan on using them if everyone agrees to it." She knew somebody was going to ask more questions if she didn't elaborate more. "The Grigori has been gaining trust throughout the magical communities over the years and a large uptick as of late. Leaving it to them to deal with it rather than sealing it ourselves has a higher level of security. Even then there have been plenty of mages who have outright refused to show up. It's also convenient that this meeting is taking place in the same area and timeframe as I received an invitation from Sona Sitri."
"We will also be joining her at Sona's school." Rias told everyone letting them know for the first time. "Gondur here is labeled as a Valkyrie so her visit to the school will have plenty of intrigues."
Gondur got a small chuckle from Rias "And because of that I told Rose that she was a bit too clumsy to be a Valkyrie." Her focus turned to Rossweisse "You know why I'm here Rose do you not?"
Rossweisse stood up and walked over to Issei as she grabbed his hand and pulled him up "This is my boyfriend Hyoudou Issei." Issei waived his right hand at her as he waited for his impending doom.
"Rose, you left the house turned into a devil, and started working as a teacher in the human world all on your own. You're a terrible child for making me worry so much."
"Uhh I umm.." Rossweisse tried to defend herself.
"I invited her so don't blame her for such times." Rias stepped up and covered for her.
"Princess don't misunderstand my words. This isn't a problem as you think it is. But my Granddaughter up and left changing her lifestyle without even discussing it with me." Gondur quickly realized that she was being far too harsh as she shifted gears "I've already dealt with Odin and how he left you here, so I can't fault you for that." What Odin did was cruel to her but at this point, it looks as if it was for her betterment. While some of the girls were uncomfortable with the words that were being said Gondur looked back over to Rossweisse "You are great at studying and magic but everything else is a train wreck waiting to happen. It worries me that you have taken the role of a teacher here without causing trouble. That's why I wanted you to find a boyfriend…" She looked towards Issei "But now she says she has one."
"Ise is dependable and even the legendary Red Dragon Emperor. Let alone he's already ascended to the rank of High-Class Devil with a bright future ahead of him." Rossweisse sang his praises to Gondur
Issei's eyes wandered around looking at the other girl's Rias was stiff as a board Akeno was no better as she stood up grabbing ahold of the teapot "Excuse me." She said as she walked out of the room not wanting to hear what was to come next.
Ravel stood up "I'll go help her." She followed after Akeno.
Gondur continued "So how long have the two of you been dating?"
"Three months" Rossweisse answered, seeing that he was in this position he figured Rossweisse had come up with answers to every possible question that her grandmother could muster.
"Three months then… that would mean that the two of you have done it then."
"I ummm It's…. We aren't married yet. And you told me to protect my chastity."
"Like a chastity belt?" Issei asked, "That's not my kink but I'll hold your key."
Gondur shook her head "I never told you to do that, you can have fun if you want. I told you not to get caught up by a man who has made horrible choices in life."
"But I want to do erotic things with him." Rossweisse held onto his arm even tighter as she squeezed it while her voice changed from her normal self and reverted to a country accent.
Gondur smacked her hand down on the table making everything jump as her accent changed to match Rossweisse's. "Then just fuck him already." Rossweisse was shocked to hear that as all the other girls could only listen. Gondur took a deep breath in as she reassessed the situation "A relation between the two of you is acceptable."
Rossweisse's mouth was left open and words failed her. Gondur fixed that for her "The two of you will go on a date while I'm here." She stood up from her chair "But for now I will be heading to my hotel that Sona Sitri provided me for the night." Gondur left the room leaving everyone in some form of shock or denial.
"I'm sorry everyone." Rossweisse said, "There's no going back on this so just hang in there."
Issei was the only one with his sanity still in check as he sat back down "A date with Rossweisse doesn't sound that bad."
The following day after the madness had cooled down slightly Issei was in one of the rooms in the basement. He was sitting down in front of Le Fay with a small table between them and Ravel next to him as he was reading a piece of paper while Ravel was preparing something. On the table, there were some plates and candles that were lit as the room as was dark and the candles were giving off enough for Le Fay to see. "Does the ritual have to be sooo weird?" He asked.
"Its tradition." Le Fay said to them.
"It's still weird. Anyways thanks for dealing with this Ravel."
She shook her head "Your ability to make pacts with a Witch like her made this exceptionally easy." Ravel said as Le Fay didn't let the complement go past her.
"Right" He placed the paper down on the tables he picked up a knife and slit part of his thumb letting the blood drip down on the paper. Words in devil script formed spelling out his name, Le Fay did the same as she had to cut into her palm to get enough blood as her name was spelled out.
Once the two names were on the contract a Gremory magic circle appeared on the table. "In the name of Le Fay Pendragon, I shall make a pack with Hyoudou Issei High-Class Devil. In this pact with me, you will become my sworn friend."
"In the name of Hyoudou Issei King of the Hyoudou group, I agree to the pact with Le Fay Pendragon. So… let's get along?" He questioned at the end not knowing what to say exactly.
The magic circle snapped closed on the paper giving it a shine as if the contract was signed onto a parchment now. On Le Fay's face appeared a small Gremory crest appeared underneath her left eye as it faded away soon the same thing happened to Issei. "That was interesting. So where do we go from here?"
"Well, the two of you are business partners now." Ravel said as the lights in the room came on. "Depending on what she wishes to research or experiment on she can summon you with that mark." Ravel picked up the paper and put it away. "For now the two of you are in a five year pact. And honestly, there's little downside making it a win-win for both of you."
Issei pointed at Le Fay's hand "You might want to get Asia to look at that."
"I will" as she pointed up to the roof "I never expected that Rossweisse was related to the famous Gondur of the Norse."
"Agreed," Ravel said looking at Issei. "She's famous for her uses in Rune, fairy, and a spiritual variation of Norse Magic. It explains why Rossweisse is such an adept at her use of magic."
Le Fay pulled up a notebook that was next to her and started to flip through the pages as she was showing them to Ravel. "I've seen a few of her magic circles that Rossweisse uses. I think she uses a self-made magic for her own formula."
Issei wasn't fully lost as this was something that was ground into his head but never really stuck. "I know that it's not a bad thing but her magic is powerful. Magic never has been my thing."
"That's right" Le Fay nodded "She made a super powerful formula for herself and I think she adapted it to the Norse magic. Kuroka said that her magic circle somehow restrains the amount of magic power needed to produce the spells. She has figured out how to cast two of the same spells for the price of one. It's something only experts in their field can do but I've never seen the spiritual magic that her grandmother uses."
"Speeking of Rossweisse." Ravel coughed getting Issei's attention "I heard you have a date with her Ise."
"I do. And when I get back I think the rest of the girls will have found a way to murder me."
"That's fine and all but you need to pay attention to the rest of the girls as well."
Issei laughed hearing that from Ravel of all girls "I'm well aware of that. That's why Akeno left the room when she heard that. But it has been nothing but work work work. The one day we get off and nobody wants to kill us, Rossweisse wants a date to cover for her grandmother."
"When was the last time you umm you know with either of them?"
"It's on the top of my list I know." Issei was scratching the back of his head as he said that.
"Maybe the three of us could go shopping some time?" Le Fay asked them.
"That would work." Ravel said "Going shopping with Issei sounds like fun. I'll put it on the list."
The closet door opened up a black ball rolled out of it and uncurled into a small person. "Hello" It was Ophis eavesdropping on them.
Issei laughed seeing her just act weird whenever she appeared out of nowhere. "Ravel, can you make a schedule for this madness? Between training and the New Years Holiday coming up it's going to be chaos if it doesn't go smoothly. And you know there going to be some get together for the New year of some sort." He excused himself from the room to go and get prepared for his date with Rossweisse.
After about thirty minutes Issei was waiting at the main entrance. All of the normal shoes were there except there was a new pair a large long topped pair of boots fit for a woman. It might have been Rias or Akeno's but why they were out is beyond him. After a few minutes of waiting, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs as he looked to see who it was. Rossweisse came down wearing a shorter than normal skirt for her and a coat. This was something new for her and his eyes. "Wow" was all he muttered.
"Please don't stare too much. It's hard enough for me to dress in something so fashionable." She walked over to the pile of shoes and grabbed the boots and sat down to put them on.
Rias and Akeno came out from the hallway. Rias was her normal self while Akeno seemed to be a bit down in the dumps. "The two of you need to be back by nightfall. We have a meeting before we go to the underworld.
"Okay" Rossweisse said as she was done putting on the boots.
Rias's attention shifted to Issei "I told the others not to interfere with you two. I'm also not going to follow you. But I trust you and that you will make the right decisions. I just hope that you take us on a date soon."
He stood up as they were ready to leave "I already have plans for that and I wanted to do it awhile ago."
Hearing that Akeno cheered up a bit and smiled "Another date with Ise."
The two of them waved as they walked out of the door leaving for an interesting day. Meanwhile, upon the balcony of the top floor that overlooked the house, Gondur and Aphrodite were looking down at the front gate. "My granddaughter might think I don't know who he is but I'm not blind to that fact. The question is can I trust him with Rose, Aphrodite?"
Aphrodite only smiled "Issei is my only child that I trust with my powers. When it comes to women he has done nothing but what he thought was the best for them. Rossweisse will be fine with him and if she truly does want him he will be there for her plus Freya likes him."
Gondur laughed hearing that "I've heard that Lady Freya was with a young man some time ago. If that's the case I don't have to worry as much about rose then."
"Now that Rosseiwsse has finally spoken her mind about Issei, I might have to retest him. And I know just the person to help me out with it."
"You old gods are weird as they come." Gondur stepped away from the edge of the balcony as she said that to Aphrodite.
"Thanks for the compliment." Aphrodite smiled knowing that the test was more of a checkup to see how it was progressing.
Rossweisse's game plan for her date was to head into Tokyo, something nearby but away from anybody who would recognize them from their normal crowd. Two trains later and Rossweisse was getting compliments from guys and even girls who saw her on the train and even in the station. "If I would have worn my normal clothes this wouldn't have been a problem."
Issei shook his head as he was sitting next to her. "It would have changed nothing. You look great in whatever you wear. You're just now seeing the side effects of fashionable clothes." She did all she could to not make eye contact with him. But she forgot that windows were reflective as Issei saw her face was red and she was just going to accept the compliment. Keeping the conversation going was near impossible after that until they arrived at the station.
From there they strolled through the busy streets until they entered one of the large department stores. As they looked at the sign read a rough translation of beauty. But for Rossweisse there was a gleam in her eye. "I've wanted to come here ever since I got my job." They walked in and Issei followed her around as she went up and down the aisles looking at all things they had for sale.
A one hundred yen shop was not something Issei expected her to shop in Tokyo of all places. But if it made her happy then that's what ticks her boxes. "Issei look" She turned around holding an assortment of items "All these cost 100 yen and the most expensive item is 300 yen." This was the most excited that Issei had seen her ever.
After a while, the two of them were sitting down in a coffee shop as Rossweisse was looking into her wallet and also sad to see that the money she had spent disappeared. She had bought so much stuff that they had to hire a courier service to haul all of her stuff away. "I spent ten thousand yen shopping there." She closed her wallet and put it away as she looked at Issei "Did I bore you today? I bought everything and it looks as if I'm the only one who had any fun."
He smiled "No far from it. It was nice to be out here with you."
"I thought about it and this my first time having a date with a man before."
That surprised Issei of all things "And yet you picked me? I somewhat expected you to hook up with somebody like Kiba or even Azazel for that fact."
Her face turned red as she looked at him "Don't misunderstand me but I chose you of all the men around." She took a drink of her coffee as she looked down at the table "Back home all I did was study. When I was in school everyone left and wasted their time with the opposite sex, while all I did was study." Rossweisse was zoned out by that point already absorbed in her past. "I put all my effort into becoming a Valkyrie. But now that I look at it I should have had some fun."
"You are not that old." Issei said getting her to look at him "Your only 19 and I'm 16." He said quietly enough that nobody would hear them "There's not much of a gap between us. Even Rias has fun and she's a year older than me. But you need to be proud of what you have done at your age. Hell, you were Odin's bodyguard right out of school."
"He left me behind"
"And look where you are now. In a better place."
"It's not that simple." She pulled a small piece of wood out of her pocket that was engraved with a complex array of symbols that made no sense to him. But they did look similar to the magic circle to the one Gondur used. "This is a unique symbol similar to a house crest that is passed down. The eldest child gets it carved into their body fusing it with their soul. I happen to be the eldest child. Yet I couldn't inherit the symbol." She picked it up and clutched it in her hands. "I don't have any siblings and a distant cousin inherited the emblem. They performed the ritual and they obtained it instantly. I remember leaving that day not knowing what to do. I was bad with magic that my family uses and I still can't use spiritual magic. Eventually, I learned how to use Rune magic but I was able to adapt the combat magic the Valkyries use with relative ease. Once that happened I became one of the most powerful offensive magic users in my family."
"But I'm still the irregular one in the family. I can only use one of the three types that they use but I'm nowhere near grandmother in her prime. I ate offensive magic as if it was the only food that was available to me. Once my magic progressed my parents were amazed that I was able to use magic at such a level."
"What about defensive magic? You're quite adept at that." Issei asked her, seeing that she could block and deflect massive amounts of energy.
"Yes I learned plenty of that, my powers have swayed heavily from what my family can do. But I broke from tradition and learned whatever I could and used it. Even now I still don't know what to do and how this will affect the future." She reached back into her pocket and put the emblem away. "None of my family treats me differently and they understand that everyone is different. They even accept the fact that not every child is meant to be like the ones before them. But my way of life now was a drastic change. I skipped many grades and graduated early and became Odin's bodyguard." She looked up at Issei and realized something was wrong "I'm sorry I've been rambling on about my past. "
"Think nothing of it." He pulled out his phone and started to thumb through as he placed it in front of her "I want to show you this." She looked down at the phone and saw the pink magic circle that he had used before and then flipped over to the next picture. This time the magic circle was pink and crimson and parts of it were bleeding together. "Right now only mom and Azazel are aware of this. But after I came back I can't craft the pink circle anymore. I can still make pink roses but I can also make crimson ones now."
"Why are you telling me this and not Rias or the other girls?" She asked as she pushed his phone back to him.
"The others worry too much, and you shared your story with me. We are no different in some respects, the only reason why I can use mother's magic is that I possess enough of it to use it. But I can't use it for anything practical, that's why I use my fists. That's also part of the reason why I became a devil."
"I don't regret becoming a devil. It's been amazing, the pay is great and everything else is beyond what I expected. Getting dragged into all kinds of weird things is fun. I also never expected to be a teacher at the academy."
"Is it fun?"
"Very much, I didn't think teaching was going to be as fun as it is."
"Are you going to take Sona's offer then?"
"I'm thinking about it. But since we are going to the school I'll make my decision after I observe it." She thought about things as she paused for a moment "I don't know what I'm capable of doing but I know that I like teaching."
"There's somewhere…" Issei tried to speak as his words were drowned out by a familiar voice.
"You are far from inferior to your grandmother." They both looked at saw Euclid Lucifigus smiling at them "How do you do Hyoudou Issei the Red Dragon Emperor and former Valkyrie Rossweisse."
They both were ready for anything but unfortunately, it was in the middle of the day and they were surrounded by humans. Euclid let out a small chuckle seeing that they were on guard "I'm not here for you Hyoudou Issei. I have business with the other party here." His focus turned to Rossweisse as he extended his hand "How would you like to join our side?"
Recruiting her in a place like this was bold but he needed a reason why he would recruit her for all things. "He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is a number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six" Euclid put his hand on his forehead and rubbed it.
"The Number of the Beast was a good cd, but I'm more of a Powerslave person. Fear of the dark was a good one as well." He wasn't able to mess with Euclid too much but it was well worth it.
Euclid wasn't too happy about Issei's snide remark "It's a verse from the bible. But I've heard about an essay you wrote during your time as a student in Asgard. An essay title "Regarding the Beast of the Apocalypse."
Issei's brain clicked back to the photo of Rossweisse reading a book in the library. That's when things started to make much more sense and that this went deeper than expected. "I got rid of that paper." Rossweisse stumbled on her words "I submitted a different paper and destroyed the original. So how do you even know about that paper."
A smirk came across Euclid's face hearing that "We're going out of our way to gather every tiny piece of information on Trihexa. And we will go to the ends of the earth to find it."
"No, you didn't…" Rossweisse's body shook when she thought of all the possibilities.
"We poked around in your former roommate's memories and found out about it. We only got a fraction of information so we decided to change our approach and recruit you to our side."
"So you assaulted her." She smacked his hand away "You are nothing but scum to sink that low."
Euclid laughed out loud getting the attention of the humans around them. "If that's the case I'll be off then. No need to cause a scene." He walked behind her as he gets ready to leave as he grabs a part of her hair " I will have your abilities. You have far more potential than you think. And this silver hair just like…" She jerked her head back snapping her hair out of his hands as he walked away. "Farewell"
They returned home after making some calls to some leaders informing them what happened. But back at home Everyone had gathered in Issei's room it was more of a sentimental thing for the girls now. "To think he would show up in Tokyo of all things." Rias said as she was thinking about what was to come next.
Tokyo's supernatural division had been put on high alert after it was reported what happened. "It looks like they don't have any hesitations influencing the human world." Irina spoke her mind about Qlippoth.
Rias looked over at Issei "Don't let it get to you Ise. We could have never anticipated something like that happening."
"But something like that poses a more serious threat. If they can get in and out of any major cities that's not a good thing."
"But approaching her in the middle of the day to take such a risk? That essay must have some important information." Ravel looked over to Rossewise to see if she was saying anything.
"His actions alone proved that. But Azazel should be calling soon. So we can hear what he has to say." Rias said to everyone as she crafted a magic circle ready to accept the call.
After a few minutes of waiting as an image of Azazel appeared in front of them and the explanations began (I take it you have heard about the disappearing Magicians?) He asked them as he saw them nod. (Then targeting Rossweisse has to be part of it. There are far too many similar incidents and they were all researching into "The Number of the Beast."
"Euclid said they would go to the end of the world to find information that they needed," Issei said to Azazel
(The end of the world is most likely where Trihexa is sealed. And a seal of that level would require many bodies who have researched it just to break through a single seal of god. However, I've done a little bit of my own research and found out there are 23 different seals that they have to breakthrough. The problem is we don't know how far they are or how much time we have left. Only to prepare for the worst.) He saw that they looked down already as he needed to pick them up (Don't worry tho, we are already planning an insurance policy. Once we have more of the groundwork laid we can discuss with all of you.)
(Rossweisse how do you see the number 666?) He asked her changing the subject.
"Aside from the numerical number of its same I tried researching it but the deeper I got when comparing documents and other things I came to the number 616."
Azazel nodded hearing that (That's not surprising that you found that number. Many people who have researched the apocalypse found 666 to be 616. Many people don't see the correlation but the number 616 is used somehow in the seals of Trihexa. But I need you to write down everything you can remember about your report and send it to me. We can cross-reference it with our information.)
"No need." Rossweisse twirled her finger creating a magic circle as a stack of papers fell into her hands "I kept everything I wrote about it."
(Well now that's even better.) Another magic circle appeared on Azazel's side as the pile of papers moved over to him. He looked at the top few papers and saw magic circles and other things on the paper (To think you researched similar things to your grandmother.) Rossweisse was surprised to hear that but conflicted at the same time. (Anyways I need to get my team on this asap. So I need to cut this short.) The transmission faded away as they were left in silence wondering how this was going to progress.