Natsu Dragneel In Dxd - Volume 1 Chapter 27 Counteraction Part Iii

 

No one understood why or how this was happening.

Of course, it could be explained, but the sheer astonishment they felt overrode any sort of comparable judgment to assess the situation. Being on the front lines of war is one thing, but when there are two Dragons staring each other down in a continuing bout, shit gets real way too fast. The fact that you’re caught in this mess doesn’t make good feelings stir within- quite the opposite actually- but thepossibilityof you getting further involved to the point where you could get hurt builds a feeling of dread, one that eats away at your conviction as time goes on, waiting to find out the conclusion of said source of fear.

Uncoincidentally, Asia was feeling the same way.

In her eyes, Issei looked like a beast under armor. His rage reached her very soul as she trembled helplessly.

‘Issei isn’t like this. He’s nice to me, Gasper everyone. How can he be feeling this amount of hostility towards one person? He should know family always protects one another, no matter what. So what’s making him like this?’

“Vali!” Issei screamed hoarsely, charging towards the white armor-clad man for the umpteenth time. Ever since he provoked him, Issei went in guns blazing to fight Vali, no plan, no tactics and certainly no rationality. The fact that he had limited time completely left his mind when he encountered Vali and the cycle was vicious. Each and every time Issei put up a fight, Vali countered with his own magic which may sound like a balance between powers, but because of his large amounts of experience, Vali always had the upper hand.

They took to the skies multiple times with their trails blazing behind them, showing streaks of where they last were and their auras suffocating the air around them, making it practically absurd to try and stop them. Punches were exchanged, kicks were taken to the gut, elbows broke chunks of armor off and head blows were the most common attack with Issei in close quarters. He knew there was no way the fight a man like him with recklessness so he started to rush him when his guard was taken away and deliver a blow from inches away from him, locking arms and jabbing one area repeatedly until Vali somehow knocked him off.

Now, five minutes past and Issei’s fight with Vali seems never ending, their two forces polar opposites: one is able to divide and take power, the other doubling and granting its own. Legend says that this destined battle was to last for days, but no one knew how long Issei could really last at this rate, as once again, he was sent crashing down to the dirt.

“Issei!” Rias screamed in shock. After this whole time, despite him getting knocked around, this was the hardest he ever hit the ground. He was getting tired.

“Damn it!” Issei yelled to himself, struggling with his body to get up. The pain was all over but most of it he didn’t acknowledge, mostly because of the adrenaline rushing through him at inhumane rates.

“Nu-uh, not now Issei. You should rest- stay down.” Vali said sarcastically, “Divide!”

Then, in that instant, he was one with the dirt again, feeling even more drained than before. ‘Curse this damn guy’s power! I can never get the upper hand with him always bringing me down like this!’

“Issei! Come on, don’t lose!” Natsu cheered on, raising his fist in the air, “I know you’re stronger than this!”

“Yeah, you got this Issei!” Xenovia yelled out as well.

“Hmm,” Issei hummed to himself as he got up faster than before, feeling the words of his friends increasing his determination, “They’re right Ddraig. I don’t know what’s holding me back but I need you to help me destroy it! SummonAscalon: The Dragonslayer!”

“Hehe, you’ve got it, partner!” Ddraig yelled mirthly. “BOOST!”

At that moment, a tempest of red magic rays flared up and engulfed Issei as he stretched out his arm and ejected the majestic blade of magic-The Dragonslayer Ascalon. His overall appearance didn’t change, but the long protruding metal on his left gauntlet was impossible to miss.

“ADragonslayer, huh? That changes things up.” Vali said feeling slightly amused yet annoyed simultaneously.

“Be careful, Vali. More than one hit from that can ensue devastating injuries to the armor and yourself.” Albion clarified hastily, immediately seeing the threat in front of him.

“So all I have to do is dodge, right?” Vali said c.o.c.kily, not noticing Issei’s crouching position.

“Transfer all power toAscalon!” Issei yelled out catching his attention, but in that split second, when Issei flexed his calves, he was hovering over Vali menacingly as the sword glowed brightly in his arm. Crashing the elongated piece of metal in Vali’s armor caused the majority of it to break off due to the sheer force of the attack. Although most of the impact was cushioned by Vali moving backward with the punch and his armor, excruciating pain still signaled throughout his body as Issei didn’t let up. He pinned him in a body lock that had his left arm free to continue to bombard him with hits fromAscalon.

Then, once again, Vali used his wings to smack Issei away from him as said man shook his head as he tried getting used to having a wing knock the wind out of him.

“That’s right Issei! Fight me! Loathe me! Entertain me more!” He yelled maniacally with short scattered breathes due to partial exhaustion and pain. That’s when his two wings, whose color is originally blue, glowed a bright red for a moment until small particles escaped from it, and like fireflies, scattered in the sky.

“What is he doing?” Issei questioned, expecting an answer from Ddraig.

“He’s steadily releasing the energy he gained during our fight to maintain his max level. That way, he’ll be able to still steal your energy but won’t have to manually release it once he reaches his limit.” Ddraig explained thoroughly, already knowing the plan Issei had in mind.

“So even people as strong as him have limits, huh?” He hovered in the sky thinking about how he would approach his plan. But since it’s so obvious, He would have to go about this in a smart way- no more charging in crazily.

He had to beat this guy now.

“What’s wrong Issei, all tuckered out?” Vali teased as Issei clenched his fist in anger.

“You’ll see ya bastard” Then, he flew towards him at blinding speeds, ready to knock him out of the sky. Anticipating this, Vali tilted his head to the left and aimed his fist at his gut only to meet an opened hand which stopped the attack. But just as easily, he spun around and heel kicked him in the head as Issei had moved his body along with the kick to soften the blow. Despite this, Vali’s hit took a toll on him but he wasn’t done yet. After regaining his composer, Issei feinted a high kick, and seeing that Vali feel for it, he quickly flew right above him in the air and ax kicked his right shoulder. Not letting up with his attack, he put his plan into motion and transferred his power to his blade once more as it jumped forward and impaled Vali in the ribs.

He screamed out in anguish until Issei slightly turned his blade in the flesh to lock it in, and in that moment, the blade retracted with Vali and brought him closer to Issei while he bearhugged him to death.

“BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!”

“What are you doing!?” Vali cried out with the blade still moving in him. His suit started glowing dangerously red while the pulsating in the wings increased in frequency.

“I figured, if you have to let out the energy you gather then you have a limit to what you can take! And if I continue adding power to your suit, it’ll have to overload since you can’t divide your own power!” Issei yelled triumphantly while both of their outlines showed a dark red aura around them.

“How did you-!” Vali yelled frustrated at his current situation. His body was fidgeting uncontrollably due to both the unbelievable pain and the unprecedented damage done to his armor by Issei, and Issei alone. The only thoughts that entered his mind were how to get back at this motherf.u.c.ker for screwing with him so hard but, another thought came to him as well. If he kept getting this strong, this powerful, he’ll one day finally have a worthy opponent to face against. A smirk graced his pain written face unknowing of what’s to come.

“Take the power of myASCALON!” Issei bellowed wildly, raising his arm for his final devastating blow. He had an idea that even he thought was insane, but right now, anything would work to beat this guy at his own game. With that thought in mind, Issei remembered how Natsu broke his armor with enough force to overwhelm hisDivide Magic, and as the more time slowed down around him, the more convinced he was to shatter Vali’s armor and end the fight. All Vali could do in his vulnerable state was watching closely as Issei’s left gauntlet glowed an ominous orange-red color that rocketed down towards the middle of his chest plate to deliver what he knew would be Issei’s final blow. Even though such an attack was coming at him, he couldn’t help but smile at Issei’s progression as a fighter in roughly a few minutes- Vali was definitely going to get back at him for this.

As the fist collided with Vali’s armor, everything was blasted with a blinding light that originated from their spot in the sky. The impact was most literally heard by everyone with a loudclangsound vibrating through their ears. While the light died down, white and blue objects were seen falling aimlessly towards the ground and two larger silhouettes that were covered in smoke blasted off in opposite directions with the same destination as the broken pieces of metal.

Luckily, Issei regained what sense he had and landed hard on the ground, tumbling helplessly and landing on his back. Meanwhile, Vali wasn’t so fortunate as he continued to pick up speed in the air and made a small crater around his impact point as a loud grunt could have been heard at that exact moment. Surprisingly, both males stood up simultaneously, panting hard and loud and clutching the parts of their injured areas with malice tracing their stares back at each other.

“You just won’t f.u.c.k.i.n.g quit, will you?” Issei rhetorically asked, slightly irritated at this situation. Here he was facing off against one of the most powerful beings he knew of and while he did manage to land a few good blows that shook his poise, he managed to shake them off within a few seconds. And once again, Vali was rolling his shoulders and stretching as if nothing happened. But Issei, on the other hand, was running on fumes and the limit on hisBalance Breakeralready expired as he had no idea what was causing him to last this long. Ironically, the pain he felt in his left arm started to emerge again with malice.

“The same could be said for you, Hyoudou.” Vali didn’t know what to feel. Anger, frustration, excitement, vexation? All these emotions yet he didn’t care one bit. He knew he found a chance to release it and was he going to let loose. Next on the list of surprises for Issei was the fact that Vali acquired anotherDragon Armourout of thin air. For him, it was taking his literal life force to maintain his!

“You’ve gotta be shitting me” Issei sighed to himself with vexation clear in his voice. He only had about two minutes to use in this form and things were looking bleaker by the second.

“What’s wrong Issei? You know If you don’t fight me now, your family’s life will be cut even shorter.” Vali said, purposely trying to aggravate Issei, which was indeed working wonders. But he knew he was going to have to keep a level head and try to figure out a way to sustain this form any longer. Looking around him, Issei cringed at the thought he had when he gazed upon one of Vali’s blue orbs.

“Hey, Ddraig you said that aSacred Gearcan bend and grow to the wielder’s will, right?” Issei asked, picking up the cracked piece of armor, staring intently at what could be his potential death.

“What you’re about to do can be considered suicide, Issei But either way, we die if risks aren’t taken right?” Ddraig smiled to himself as the green orbs on Issei’s armor all glowed brightly, “Let’s get out of this alive, Partner!”

“Right!” Issei yelled with determination while he crushed the blue sphere in his left hand as a flurry of green and blue light busted out of his gauntlet’s rapidly spreading out like a firework.

“What’re you doing now?” Vali asked fascinated by the light show going on.

“Vanishing DragonVali! Your damned power is gonna be mine now!” Issei boasted loudly, but all the c.o.c.kiness he felt flushed away immediately as a flood of pain crashed over his body like getting hit by a train. Although his right arm was the center of the torment, he could feel it equally throughout his body. Clutching his hand in the worst pain he’s ever experienced, Issei cried in anguish hoping the utilization of Vali’s power would complete sooner rather than later, “GAH! SON OF BITCH! THIS HURTS LIKE DAMNED JACKASS!”

“Oh, I see now. You’re trying to apply my power to your arsenal as a power boost and a sacrifice to stay inBalance Breakermode. I would say it’s a desperate move for desperate measures but the pure absurdity and madness of the act prevent that.” Vali replied in a way that already seemed as though he knew Issei would die.

“I would stop this Ddraig. If you continue, you’re going to find a new host faster than any other lifetime. You know our powers are complete opposites, so trying to blend it is mixing water and oil.” Albion explained ornately.

“Oh, I know Albion. But I won’t have this boy die yet. I have to say, he’s been the most fun I’ve had since we fought in our own bodies. And if there’s any I’ve learned from him: The more foolish the idea, the more ignorant you have to be to believe it’s possible.” Ddraig smugly remarked as you could hear the smile in his tone of voice.

“Call me a fool all you want! If that’s the case, I’ll become better than you even while being stupid! If Kiba fusedDemonicandHoly Magic]tThan I can do the same!” Issei bellowed angrily when he heard them talking about him, but that only fueled him more to complete this damn thing and use it as a sacrifice to beat him with his own power.

The frenzy of colors still continued with everyone looking towards it in awe at the magic being displayed. Never have they seen such two opposing forces being forcefully made together in a process this undeveloped and mindless. Natsu, however, knew there would be consequences. After experiencing eating and absorbing theEtherionin The Tower of Heaven, Natsu damaged both hisMagical Containerand his body; he’s lucky to even be using Magic after hearing what Porlyusica had diagnosed him with. All he hoped for was that Issei wouldn’t have any drastic drawbacks if not any.

But his attention was drawn back to the battle when Natsu realized the flashing light stopped and Issei’s screaming died down. And once again, not even a second after, he was back to full power.

“Alright!” He yelled triumphantly, fist pumping the air. All the people watching- and Albion himself- were shocked that Issei pulled it off He actually did it! He collided his now white gauntlet and his usualSacred Geartogether, showing off his achievement. What used to be his right arm, which was that of Ddraig’s Armour, was now overtaken by Albion’s with the blue orb glowing softly in the middle, “I guess you can call it theDividing Gearnow!” He said jokingly.

“Impossible Impossible! How the hell did you do that!?” Vali yelled out puzzled yet impressed.

“How am I supposed to know? I just freaking did it!” Issei said ignorantly, “Regardless, Vali, you and I still have the fight to finish, and now that I’ve got your power, I’m gonna beat you down with it.”

“Issei, you should know, doing this made a tremendous gap in your lifespan. As a Devil, you were going to live for thousands of years, but now, I fear it will only be half of that time, maybe less.” Ddraig warned his partner, worried that the news might shake him, but that goes to show how much they still have left to know each other.

“That doesn’t mean anything to me. I’ll still become Harem King in less it takes to complete One piece.” Issei said mockingly, smiling to himself.

“Huh, fine, I shouldn’t get worked up over this. After all, I did say you were an unpolished gem- who knows what mysteries are going to be discovered with you later on. But I guess I should take this somewhat seriously now, right?” Vali expanded his wings and slowly took flight in the air. His arms were spread wide andMagic Circlesstarted to appear over all his body, “Derisory Division: Half Dimension.”

All of a sudden, the buildings, tree, and practically everything that wasn’t made of flesh started to distort and shrink down to half its size. Unfortunately, things were still disfigured in a way that made hard to determine what was which and vice versa.

“What the hell?” He looked around in wonder and shock as all his familiarities were gone.

“What’s going on!?” Practically everyone in the Occult club asked frightened.

“He’s using his magic to bend space itself. This isn’t good, he’s become too dangerous to be around.” Michael said worriedly.

“This guy he’s batshit crazy!” Natsu yelled angrily, not wanting anyone to get hurt.

“Now, now Natsu. Cool your jets. Every host of a Dragon is mad about something; that’s what makes them stand out from the rest. But, let’s poke fun at what Issei’s crazy about.” Kokabiel said menacingly.

“You don’t mean..”

“Yes, I do.” He answered in a sing-song voice, “Hey Issei! Let me tell you a little something about this guy’s power!”

“What is it!? Anything would be helpful right about now!” Issei yelled back with curiosity.

“Well, right now he bending space by half the things around him. It starts only with inanimate objects but if time goes on and nobody stops him, he’ll even bend organisms! In short, if he’s able to halve anything, what do you think will happen to say, I don’t know, all the girls’ b.r.e.a.s.ts that’re here?” Kokabiel smiled sadistically when he saw Issei’s body stiffen in the distance.

“N-no. That can’t be” He said to himself, shock and fear taking over his thoughts. ‘Rias Akeno Asia Xenovia…Koneko hell, even Tsubaki and Sona- all their wonderful b.o.o.b.s will be taken away from me. Such glorious God-given gifts will vanish all because OF THIS BASTARD!’

“YOU F.U.C.K.I.N.G BITCH-ASS!”

“BOOST!”

“YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE AWAY THE VERY THINGS I LIVE FOR!”

“BOOST!”

“WHAT I STRIVE FOR, EVERY, SINGLE, F.U.C.K.I.N.G DAY OF MY LIFE, FOR IT TO BE TAKEN AWAY BY THE SHITTY LIKES OF YOU!”

“BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!”

“I WILL SAVE MY PRECIOUS OPPAI! AND YOU WON’T BEING WALKING AWAY SO EASILY VALI!”

“What?”

“BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!”

“RRAAARHHGGG! VALI!”

“No freaking way” Natsu gasped bewildered by this event.

“Huh, a thousand times stronger, just because of b.o.o.b.s. I wouldn’t believe if I didn’t cause it myself.” Azazel said slightly amazed at the sparks of magic that suddenly appeared from Issei, as his power spiked immensely beyond anything he ever felt from the boy.

But the more time passed, the greater and more extreme his magic became. The ground beneath his feet crumbled to bits and the magic around him whipped the air around like a doll, sending ripples of his own Magic outwards to the bystanders. Barriers had to be set again to protect against the immense pressure and winds that were being put on them as the bombardment didn’t stop. This time, instead of red, a green aura pulsated continuously growing larger with each passing second and the orbs on his armor illuminated the dark places under his plates as well.

With the one step he took, the dirt floated up only to crumble in flakes because of the pure power rolling of his being.

“Well, today is full of damn surprises, huh” Vali said blandly. He looked down on Issei and motioned him to come fight in the air. And as expected, Issei rushed him at even quicker speeds than in the beginning of their battle, reaching his high position in the sky in a split second. Vali, however, dodged effortlessly by flying higher to dodge his attack, “Come on Hyoudou, you’re gonna have to try harder if- gah!” ‘What was that!?’

Before Vali could even finish, Issei caught up with him before he could realize what was going on. With his power still increasing, his limit didn’t seem to be reached yet as Issei practically played with him, kicking Vali in all directions only to catch up and kick him in another random way. Back and forth this went until Vali uppercut Issei to stop the annoying cycle but undaunted by his attack, Issei pushed on with more determination.

“I’m not done yet! This one’s for my president’s firm glorious b.o.o.b.s if you ever touched them!” Issei bellowed, rocketing his fist towards the unsuspecting Vali’s chin completely rocking his cranium, “This is for Akeno’s soft pillow-like b.r.e.a.s.ts!” Then, a left uppercut to the gut, “Xenovia’s round bosom!” Elbow to the shoulder, “Asia’s still developing titties!” A knee flew to his chest plate with a combo of a hit to the temple as Vali flew backward. But Issei caught up with a yell and stopped mid-air to deliver a bone-crushing side kick while Vali spat out blood because of the destructive attack made to his already injured ribs, “And that was for the b.o.o.b.s that’ll be nonexistent if you halved them: Koneko-chan’s Loli chest!”

Everyone watched as Issei landed on top of Vali to smash him into the ground as a cloud of dust surrounded them. The spectators got worries as after a while Issei didn’t appear from the smoke, but their hopes were brought back when he walked out unharmed. Their faces slowly became that of relief while Issei walked towards them exhausted from his fight. This time, for sure, he knew Vali was down and he finally beat him. His helmet slowly broke off and crumbled to the ground as his weary smile could be seen from afar. His friends ran towards him to congratulate on his well-deserved win with cheers being heard from them all.

“You did it, Issei!” Rias screamed happily, jumping into a hug with Issei. Asia joined in as well as Natsu while a dogpile form not too long after.

“Great job pervert! I really never thought you had it in ya!” Natsu said gleefully, picking up Issei from the ground and patting him on the back.

“You’re the one who said to beat this guy up not too long ago!” Issei yelled baffled at his friend’s harshness.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just glad you came out alive.” Natsu said with a wave of his hand.

“Issei-san! Do you need ay healing? You got pretty beat up and I’m scared you have some type of major injury.” Asia walked up to him with haste while Issei eased her distressing thoughts.

“Hmm, it’s nothing that can’t be taken care of when getting back. I’m sure you’ll do-”

“Well, well, well. Look who’s grown a pair. I never realized how much bullshit your powers were until right now. That much of a boost after hearing about a woman’s body part? That’s the best kind of bullshit I’ve heard in a while, ya know?” Out of the dust, Vali menacingly walked out of his hole with his power surging unlike before. Although Issei could guess that Vali was holding back, he didn’t want that fact to be true but it was.

His tone was dark and husky and the way his body shook was a good distinction that he was beyond being just annoyed. And just like before, his wings glowed a brief red while little lights sparkled off that notably caused them to be intimidated.

“I think it’s time I show you myJuggernaut Drive. I mean, all the pain you’ve caused me has to be paid back somehow, right?” Vali’s words somehow struck fear into their minds while he continued walking forward with hisMagic Pressurecontinuously raising the bar for Issei to reach. He stopped at a certain distance from them and began to chant words only understood by Ddraig.

“What does he mean by, Juggernaut?” Issei asked slightly nervous.

“It’s a form that goes even beyond that ofBalance Breaker. The more you master yourSacred Gear, Issei, the closer you can come to master this form which gives you the power and abilities that are closer to usHoly Dragons.” Ddraig said aloud so that everyone heard. Issei and Natsu were the ones who were really startled by the news.

“You’re saying there’s a form greater than what I have now? Unreal..”

‘Yo Igneel, you heard that? TheirJuggernaut Drivesounds almost likeStage Three of Dragon Force!’Natsu thought to his father.

‘Yes, you’re indeed correct Natsu. I’ve already talked to Ddraig about this and we’ve decided to have you both do special training once you’ve reached this mode. But that’s only if you all make it out alive.’ Igneel explained to Natsu while he scoffed.

“I think your faith in me is almost laughable sometimes,” Natsu said to himself while he looked towards Vali, only to see his previous chanting stopped completely. His once flared wings coiled back and his power seemed to drop as well.

“It appears my Dragon Albion says that you all still aren’t ready to see it, sadly.” Vali disclosed sounding bittersweet, “So I’ll take you on like this but without holding back. But, it is disappointing that I can’t show you the true glory of a Dragon.”

Issei grimaced at what he said when he realized that even with his normalBalance Breaker, he was still going to be no match, he also used up the Magic he got from Vali’s orb a long while ago. So, there was only one option left.

“Natus I’m going to need your help in this round.” Issei flinched slightly at his own words while looking at Natsu’s odd expression. It was like he was telling him yes and no simultaneously.

“Let’s do it. I know you’re low on Magic so a tag team should be good.” Natsu agreed after a while of thinking before telling the others to go. They all knew they weren’t going to be strong enough to support them but rather be a burden and ran back to where the barriers were still put by the Faction leaders.

Natsu was in turmoil though. How was he supposed to fight ifhe can’t get to Issei’s level. The only way for him to match his strength was to go full-poweredDragon Force: Stage Twobut he never trained to unlock it. If he tried now, it could potentially mess up the flow of Magic within him- or rather, that’s what Igneel had been saying. But it was now or never for them right now. Either risk his life or go defeated. The choice was obvious for him.

“Issei go power up again while I hold him off. The only way for this to work is if you’re able to deal the final blow with yourAscalon.” Natsu explained seriously, squinting his eyes in concentration.

“Got it. Good luck man, and don’t you die. If so, that’ll mean I’m stronger than you.” Issei joked while Natsu chuckled at the idea that was momentarily true. While Issei stepped back to a safer distance, Natsu stared down Vali and started to get down in his fighting stance. Vali noticed this change in opponent’s and decided to comment on it.

“What’s with this? Issei, I thought it was supposed to be you and me?” He turned to face Issei while he scowled at him, “Oh well, Dragneel, I hope you’re able to entertain just as much as Issei.”

“Trust me, I’ll do more than entertain, you asshole.” Natsu growled as he let his fire creep up on his body. The temperature in the area rose slightly and his red-orange fire started to shift to pure gold.

‘You made the mistake of not going full power in the beginning even though you know that I’m way stronger than you…Natsu, you crave fighting; you love it to the point where it gets disturbing.’

‘Why did you not go intoDragon forcein the first place even though you knew he was strong? You knew that you could match him full strength if you just activated it, didn’t you?…But you didn’t. And that’s why Rias almost died… your pride is what stopped you. You killed Rias, Natsu.’

These words, these memories of what Azazel said haunted him to no end. The idea of holding back in this fight was immediately thrown away when these statements popped into his head at that moment. Never again did he want to feel that kind of fear and hopelessness when Rias died. This was his chance to make up the mistakes from before and learn his lesson once and for all.

He clenched his fists in readiness, looking down towards Vali with his eyes a bright burning gold. His skin harden and turned to the color red with his canine teeth elongated downwards to his lips. As his magic rustled around him, moving his wilder hair around, Natsu noticed a disturbing fact.

“Shit.” He couldn’t feel the same oneness he had with his fire once before. He couldn’t go full power

“What’s the matter, Dragneel. This isn’t even half the power you showed me before when you were fighting Kokabiel.” Vali commented, actually pondering on what was holding theDragonslayerback, “Could it be that your previous state of power was a fluke? Or, do you want to prolong the battle as you have done so many times before.”

Despite hearing his harsh words, Natsu tuned him out to stay focused on the problem he had right then, right there. “Igneel, what’s going on? I can’t unlock this power like last time!”

“Be patient my child. I told you before, what you did was premature and rushed which must have messed up your Magic pathways. Concentrate and find the blockage that’s causing you this trouble. But hurry, I think your friend is getting a bit impatient.”

“Find the blockage how do I do that?”Natsu’s thoughts were clouded with uncertainty and confusion for the few seconds that followed, going back and tracing everything he’s done. He even opted the meditate in this dire moment!

“I’m sorry, son, but you’re going to have to find that answer yourself. It’s the only way you’ll learn.” Igneel thought to himself quietly so Natsu couldn’t hear. Afterall his son still had his doubts about his own power, fearing what the future holds. He was going to have to find that solution himself.

“Damn it, I don’t know what to do! All of this is just too confusing!” Natsu said to himself, working up the courage to go fight regardless of his weakened state, “I’m just gonna have to find the answer while fighting.”

Natsu looked up to find Vali patiently waiting and decided not to have him stay there any longer. He dashed forward towards his new opponent, still using his usual straightforward approach and began his attack on Vali. With his speed and strength still amplified by his second form, Natsu was able to keep up with Vali momentarily if he didn’t use his wings as a speed boost. But, although his physical attributes increased, hisMagic Powerwas nowhere near where it needed to be for this fight.

Each and every time he delivered a flame covered fist to Vali’s armor, it did absolutely nothing. Unlike last time where his flames burned and chipped the Dragon armor, his effort was revealed to be useless.

“Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist!” Natsu roared, twisting his body to the side to dodge Vali’s attempt to kick him and landing a straight hook to his face. The pure strength of the punch managed to move him back a couple of inches, but Vali didn’t lose his footing and responded with a left jab to the chin rocketing Natsu backward. Skidding to a stop, he began to suck in gallons of air and launched the attack from where he landed.

Before it could even reach him, Vali completely disabled the attack and rushed towards Natsu in his vulnerable state. Using his wings, Vali flew up a few meters and came down to deliver an ax kick from the sky that Natsu blocked with his scales on his forearms above his head and grabbed onto his ankles that were currently resting on his arms. Natsu wasted no time and started to spin Vali around but it proved futile as he countered with a hit from his right wing and blew Natsu away.

Not giving up, Natsu ran back to where Vali was resting and dodged another straight jab, and with his fist lit aflame, he landed an upper right cross to the neck putting all of the momenta he gained in the attack which finally had him lose his footing and flying in the other direction. Flaring his wings, Vali stopped his route to the on coming tree and slowly flew back to where Natsu was standing, still on guard but panting heavily.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you better step up your game or else I’ll be killing you today.” Vali threatened his thrill from before completely lost and replaced with frustration and boredom.

“Yeah, well, I don’t know what’s wrong either. Just keep fighting me and you’ll see what happens.” Natsu replied slightly annoyed at the situation he was in. He just couldn’t figure out what was holding him back; he couldn’t find the blockage. ‘Will I even be able to find it anyway? Am I strong enough to fend him off until Issei gets back on his feet? Have I already reached my limit?… Is this the end for me?’All this confusion, uncertainty, turmoil and frustration going on through his head made him lose focus. Was it really worth it- coming here? If he was going to die, why did he still fight? Why did he still hang on to hope in the future?

Negative thoughts plagued him for what seemed like an eternity as Vali suddenly appeared in front and him and punched him in the ground. And Natsu responded with nothing. He couldn’t do anything. No rage, no sadness, no excitement, no happiness all because of what? He doubted himself, his abilities, his power, his courage and his faith.

“Natsu! What’re you doing!? Fight back!” Issei yelled out angrily, watching his friend getting beaten down viciously by Vali.

“He seems to be going through a metamorphosis.” Sirzechs commented as the people around him looked in his direction, “Ever since he came here- and although others couldn’t see it- he’s been suffering from depression. After losing his home, his friends, his family, and his previous life, Natsu kept away from those thoughts by fighting and ignoring them; distracting himself from what’s been secretly causing him pain from the inside out. I tried to help him with it, but he never accepted my offer. Now here’s the consequence.”

“If he can get over what’s been eating him, you think he can finally fight back?” Kiba asked worriedly.

“I don’t know… it’s all up to him.” Sirzechs replied grimly, “Right now, he’s the only one who can change his fate.”

Meanwhile, Natsu barely had his guard up when blocking Vali’s kicks and punches on the ground. He heard Issei yelling at him but his words were drowned out by the pounding going on around him. He never knew that doubting yourself this much would cause you so much literal pain. Ever since coming to this world, Natsu had one set goal on the top of his list, and that was to get home to Fairy Tail. Everything else came after. But as the months passed by, the hopes of completing that goal seemed to slip away ever so slowly.

The truth was, he was starting to even doubt his friends would bring him home.

“WHAT!?” Natsu yelled abruptly, catching the foot that was about to smash into him and threw Vali back meters away. He stood up out of the crater that was the size of his body and anger completely took over his features. Did he really just think that? Just the notion of doubting his own Nakama was alien to him. It was as if he was betraying their very essence, “What did you say back then Igneel?” Natsu thought to himself.

Vali got up from the place he was thrown and started to wipe off his armor of dust, “It seems you’re back in business.”

Natsu tuned him out and continued to speak to himself, “Umm, let’s see ‘If you doubt your strength because you couldn’t protect than get stronger… If you doubt your reliability to your friends than gain their trust back and If you doubt what I’m saying, then don’t listen’. Igneel, you lovable son of Dragon, I really needed that dad.” He grinned viciously with his hair shadowing his bright gold eyes. His magic then began the flare up and his pressure could be sensed rising to a level that was similar to Issei’s before. The temperature rose exponentially as waves of heat hit their faces even with the barriers.

He let his sharp teeth show through and looked up to face his incoming opponent, feeling his magic flooding his veins each second, “No more doubting myself. ‘Look and have hope in the future, for the unknown isn’t something to be feared, but to be explored.’” Natsu quoted his father again, “Now I’m fired the hell up!” He yelled excitedly with a pillar of gold fire erupting from his current place as the ground began melting under his feet.

After seeing witnessing the thing he hoped would happen, Vali smiled happily under his mask and rushed towards Natsu with an itch to be scratched. He did the same, using his combustions from his feet to propel him faster towards Vali with each step. Having the advantage in speed, Natsu immediately did a roundhouse house kick straight for the head in midair which Vali dodged putting up his left arm to block and proceeded for a punch to the ribs while he was still in the air. However, seeing the attack coming, Natsu stuck out his hand and blasted him with a torrent of fire which also launched him away from Vali, effectively dodging and attacking simultaneously.

Vali took the blunted of the attack but brushed it off as he recovered instantly and started blasting blue orbs of magic towards Natsu’s new resting place. The said person moved effortlessly through the constantly exploding magic balls and maneuvered to where Vai was ready to use another magical attack. Pulling his fist back, Natsu punched the air as, with a slight delay, a gargantuan golden fire fist was rocketing towards Vali from behind Natsu, “Fire Dragon’s Crushing Fist!”

“Divine Dividing!” Vali called out completely dismissing Natsu attack as if it were nothing, and using this advantage, punched Natsu in the gut before feeling his gauntlet being gripped tightly.

“Got you bitch,” Natsu said calmly, holding Vali right arm with his left and returned the punch with a flame powered uppercut of his own, still holding onto his arm. Vali managed to fight through the constant punishment and elbowed Natsu in the jaw by ducking under his last punch. Having the edge in the moment, he twisted Natsu arm and brought his left arm overhead, slamming him into the ground. Natsu never let go despite that. Somehow, from the ground, he double heel kicked him from below, causing the grip he once had to release due to the sheer force.

“Fire Dragon’s Pounding Talon!” Natsu quickly recovered and from his spot, high kicked the air. Knowing what was going to happen next, Vali moved away from his previous spot and dashed towards Natsu in an effort to catch him off guard. Then in that same moment, a giant blast of fire erupted from the ground Vali was once on and flew into the air, but he was already in front of Natsu, already c.o.c.king his fist back for a devastating punch. He saw this and just when Vali was about to punch the lights out of him, Natsu disappeared in a wisp of fire. Now, his previously charged punch hit nothing but air as the magic loaded within caused a large explosion around Vali.

Natsu reappeared 20 meters away from the explosion with little embers floating around his body. Wiping his brow from exhaustion, he sighed in relief from escaping the killer punch.

“What the hell did you just do?” Vali asked angrily, walking out of the dust caused by himself.

“Well, my fire a part of me now, also meaning I’m a part of my fire.” That’s when Vali saw it, Natsu was standing right where his last attack was, where his fire was still burning bright.

“So you deconstructed and reformed your body with your own magic. How intriguing. Please show me more.” Vali said still a little peeved by his antics. Once again, his blue aura shown around his armor and the same was for Natsu as he covered his body with his golden fire. The two Dragons ran straight for one another taking blows in any place you could think of. Their limbs were practically blurred to the eye while Natsu and Vali continued to duke it other on each other.

‘Okay Issei, get ready withAscalon. I’ll give you an opening and you’ll finish it!’Natsu thought to himself, still concentrating on fighting with Vali, not willing to make any mistakes. It wasn’t too long ago when Natsu realized that Issei was finished powering up, and he got the hint from the corner of his eye when he flashed him with hisSacred Gear. The only thing that Natsu wasn’t certain of was whether Vali could tell what their plan was, but at the moment, it seemed his attention was focused on him and the fight and Natsu had to keep it that way.

The bout continued and Issei studied their every movement to find what he was looking for. Natsu seemed to be keeping up with Vali at the moment but with him constantly dividing his power every chance he got, he was having a hard time matching withMagical Strength. As time passed, everyone could clearly see Natsu gradually losing the power behind his punches because of the repeated exposure to Vali’s Magic. He started getting more hits in on Natsu’s guard and even with his armor a bit broken from Natsu’s own Magic, Vali never used that as an excuse to lose to him.

Issei watched desperately waiting for Natsu to pull some type of miracle and give him an opening so he could help him, but as things went on, hope didn’t seem as bright. But then, something noticeable happened to Natsu, something he thought he wouldn’t do: He purposely deactivatedDragon Force!

Such an action was inconceivable to Issei as he tried to think of some logical explanation for this. Was he just getting too tired to stay in that mode? No, that’s stupid; Natsu himself told himDragon Forcedecreases Magic usage and waste and increases your stamina. Then, did he think that he could surprise Vali with a burst of Magic? No way, Vali’s too smart and cunning to be tricked like that, plus Natsu isn’t that stupid of a person. If so, what was it?

While Issei continued to ponder on Natsu’s actions, Vali did, however, notice this change but kept it to himself, and not personally knowing what he was capable of thought nothing of it. But that mistake would soon bite him back. Natsu knowingly put himself in danger by deactivating hisDragon Force, as the thought of pure power andMagical Strengthto overcome Vali left his mind immediately after fighting him head-on, matching everything he brought to him. So instead ofMagic Power, he decided to use the certain properties of hismagicsto give him the advantage.

Doing a backflip to avoid another one of Vali’s destructive magic blast gave him an opportunity to finally take a breather and relax, crouching on one knee and panting heavily. Wiping some blood from his mouth, Natsu steadily stood up and recomposed himself for the other round to begin.

“Ready yet?” Vali asked flapping his wings and floating slightly above the ground.

“Yeah, let’s get fired up!” Natsu yelled tiredly as the feeling of his magic changed again, “Flame DragonGod mode!” He bellowed as black and red fire swirled around his being, but this time the effect of this mode was heightened due to just being stuck inDragon Force. The earth cracked under the weight of his one step which in turn launched him to where Vali was floating, engaging him in another close quarter fight. Seeing his opponent approach him at high speeds, Vali began to raise his own magic and readied it to counter his opponents. Just as the boy was getting closer, he heard something coming from his lips that intrigued him to say the least.

“Flame DragonGod’s Ignition!” And just like that, Natsu was gone from his eyes in a burst of an insane magic boost made by this spell. Not even a second passed and Natsu was seen flying above Vali, seemingly in slow-motion, and landing hard on the ground behind him. Before Vali could even react, he had him in an absurdly strong full nelson and squeezed as hard as he could, breaking off pieces of his neck and shoulder armor.

“This is it!” Issei yelled triumphantly, running as fast as he could towards the two.

“Oh, I see, a tag-team. Sorry to say but it’s not going to work on me!” Vali began his breaking of the hold he was in as Natsu struggled to keep him in line.

“I’m sorry about this Azazel!” Natsu screamed to himself while his muscles tensed up and bulged, almost instantly feeling the strain of what he was about to do, “Flame DragonGod’s Ignition! Times 2!” His body exploded with fire as the black flames started to overtake the red flames. Seeing Issei coming closer and Vali adding more power to break his hold, Natsu knew what Azazel told him not to do was going to be to only way to hold him long enough so Issei could, the moment Vali was about to break free, Issei already caught up to him, but it was too late as he was about to slip away and Issei would miss the attack entirely.

That’s when Natsu followed through with his plan to keep Vali in check, “Lightning Flame DragonGod’s! Brilliant Implosion!” What followed next was a spectacle the bystanders couldn’t help gaze at in awe, looking upon the brilliance of the attack with shock and amazement. The fire that encompassed Natsu immediately swallowed Vali and Issei in an instant as it kept growing, almost to the previous size of the school. The most notable part, though, was the not only the black fire but the yellow lightning that appeared as well. The way the red and black fire mixed together and the lightning whipped through the giant orb was like watching railroads intersect in a three-dimensional space, constantly changing direction and angle with no clear stopping point. The attack ate everything in its path, including the ground itself and parts of the barrier started giving way as well.

And while their own shields stood strong, the people within had wide eyes at the display of such unruly magic. They could feel the heat rise and the air electrifying unsteadily, with the people watching wondering what was going on. Then, rays of blue and green light shone through the fire and just as abruptly, the blast of magic subsided and imploded in on itself causing hurricane level winds to be released from the centre point, testing the durability of their barriers. And, of course, a thick layer of dust and dirt concealed the people stuck in that same explosion until Michael hastily waved his hand and the cloud was dispelled, showing what was underneath.

All three males, Issei, Natsu, and Vali, had been wiped out, sprawled on the burning hot floor that used to be the school grounds. Scorching steam rose everywhere and the three Dragons were shown being completely vulnerable as both Issei and Vali’s armor was destroyed and Natsu’s body was torn up heavily with multiple bleeding wounds that needed immediate attention. But one man was shown standing up above the rest. That man

Was Vali

Nonchalantly, he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck before making his way towards Natsu and Issei. He picked them up, one in each hand, and threw them back on the floor.

“Wake up! We’re not done yet! We Dragons fight until the others are dead, so stop napping and fight me!” Vali donned his white armor and walked in their direction while looking down on the two. Just as he was about to pick them up again, the barrier around them was decimated and the person who caused it crashed in front of Vali stopping his path.

“Yo! What’s up!” The man greeted Vali, also turning around and seeing Natsu and Issei slowly gaining conscience, “Woah!? Who are these beaten turds?” He pointed.

“What do you want Bikou?” Vali questioned annoyed by this person’s antics.

“Well, it’s time to fight the Aesir up north. We need you to come with us and prepare.” The man named Bikou explained. He had on a casual light-armor clothing covering his torso, forearms, and shins that were burgundy with gold outlines. He had on top of his head a gold headband that looked similar to a small crown and his weapon of choice was a bow staff which was currently resting on his back.

“Really, so fast?” Vali asked rhetorically, looking at Bikou with mild shock, “I guess it can’t be helped.”

Working up the strength to ask, Natsu sat up and looked puzzled at the new arrival, “Who’re you?”

“Oh little ol’ me?” Bikou pointed towards himself with a grin on his face, “You might know me as the boy who ‘Journeyed to the West’! Simply put-”

“You’re Son Goku!” Issei yelled in bewilderment, wincing from the pain in his sudden jolt.

“I am indeed! Sorry but Imma have to take my friend Vali here to some business. Au Revoir!” He swiftly took out his staff and slammed the ground underneath him as the two men both sunk slowly into a black hole which led to who-knows-where.

“Until next time; our battle will be even more fierce and us, even stronger. So prepare, Issei, Natsu.” Vali disclosed quickly before being completely swallowed by the darkness. Silence followed and for awhile, the two stared at where those two men left in a black transporter hole-thing until Natsu broke the stillness in the air.

“That guy is such an asshole.” Natsu tiredly said aloud, falling on his back once more.

“For sure. Sometimes I wish he would put a sock in it for one minute.” Issei did the same, grunting and groaning along with Natsu as the two boys felt all the pain wash over them which was dulled by adrenaline. The two friends turned and looked at each other and nodded in agreement, reading the other’s face immediately.

“I want to eat, so bad right now.” They said in unison while their stomachs growled in agreement. While all of this was happening the group rushed to where the two Dragons were and gazed on their very beaten state. Although Issei wasn’t bleeding as much due to his armor protecting him, he had severe bruises and bumps littered over every place in his body. And Natsu, though, not getting bruises because of his scales, had scratches, scr.a.p.es, and cuts that were bleeding out in random places as there was no clear way of seeing the wounds while his body was mostly covered in dark red.

“So, Son Goku joined the Khaos Brigade huh?” Azazel said, putting his one good arm up to his chin to stroke his beard in thought.

“Yeah, but is that the same Son Goku in all the video games I played? Like, is he a Saiyan?” Natsu ignorantly asked, raising his eyebrow in confusion.

“No numbskull, that Goku is based on the real one, who turns out to be real.” Issei sighed at his friend’s stupidity and continued his argument with Natsu.

“No way! I’m about 80 percent sure he can turn super saiyan!” Rias looked at the two males bickering and couldn’t help but smile as things were turning somewhat normal after this catastrophic event. She walked up to them and bear hugged their faces in her lap.

“I’m so glad you two are okay you made me so proud.” She said softly, comforting both Natsu and Issei while they smiled along with her.

“Yeah, I’m kinda glad to be alive right now.” Natsu said calmly, but that was until Azazel kicked him upside the head.

“You moron! I said not to combine your twoDragon modes, now I don’t know what’s going to happen to you, idiot. You could be magic illiterate or have your whole body be in shock!” Azazel stared down angrily at a pissed off Natsu.

“Well, it’s not my fault! I had to increase the lightning’s effect by using my Ignition spell, and just so you know, that stunned him long enough so Issei could connect his attack!” Natsu argued back, “Man if I was able to move right now I’d kick your ass.”

“Yeah right,” Azazel said under his breath.

“Well Natsu, I get what you were doing, but that spell hurt like a bitch! I was caught in it too! If it wasn’t for my armor, I’d be a pile of ashes.” Issei griped, frustrated with Natsu’s actions.

“Just be glad, pervert.” Natsu turned away from Issei on Rias’ lap while he did the same until something popped into his head.

“Oh wait, Michael-sama! About my request, you still think you can grant it?” Isei wondered, looking to him from the ground.

“Yes, of course, if it is within my power, I’ll grant your wishes.” He said, addressing him.

“Well, I was wondering if you would be able to have Xenovia and Asia be able to pray like they were before without any pain,” Issei asked sheepishly, blushing a little in embarrassment.

“Really? That’s all? If so, I can do that the minute I get back to Heaven. Having a few Devils pray isn’t a large issue when the Factions are finally going to be in peace.” Michael smiled sweetly turning towards Xenovia and Asia while the two girls couldn’t believe their ears. They were going to be able to pray again… all because of Issei’s request.

“I can’t believe it Asia.” Xenovia looked completely flabbergasted and turned to see Asia with the same expression. Both of them hugged instantly once they locked eyes and squealed loudly to let everyone hear their excitement. Meanwhile, Irina saw their glee and optimism and decided now was the right time to address an issue that has been bugging her since she heard it. She walked over to Xenovia’s place quietly, putting her head down along the way. Xenovia saw this and stopped her celebration with Asia as she moved her body to face towards her.

“Hi,” Irina said shyly, holding her hands close to her chest.

“Hello.” Xenovia said, equally as awkward.

“So- Oh no, you go first. No please, I insist. Hahaha!” The two girls spoke the same words simultaneously and laughed heartily at how weird their interaction was. After their gleeful moment, Irina decided to speak first, working up the courage to face her former friend.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry that I avoided you after the incident with Kokabiel. I never knew what you had to burden until Michael told me what you knew and I felt completely guilty after realized that I left you like that. But, I wanted to talk to you ever since I just hadn’t forgiven myself for my transgressions until now to go and speak with you.” Irina spoke from her heart and picked her head up to see a grinning Xenovia.

“You don’t have to apologize, Irina. I chose to take this route for my life and it’s my fault for not consulting you first. You’ve been my best friend for who knows how long-”

“8 years.”

“And I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Xenovia chuckled at the end when looking at her giddy face when she jumped into a hug with her. Not long after, she motioned Asia to join in which she happily obliged to.

“Hmm, Devils and Angels coming together and commuting. I think this is a great sign of peace between nations, don’t you think guys!” Serafall yelled joyfully, turning to her fellow superiors.

“It is indeed is.” Sirzechs nodded, looking around and feeling the unity of love wrap around him.

“Oohhh, and my hubby Natsu was so cool-looking in that fight! I can’t wait to marry him! Right!?” Serafall ran over to Natsu and bent down closer to his face while he sheepishly turned away.

“Uhh” He didn’t know how to correctly respond to this proposal of marriage, but luckily, since Rias was literally right on top of him, she gave a stern look of defiance towards the Satan as she pouted cutely and gave up trying to persuade him. At least, for today that is. And for Natsu

He really didn’t want to see her for a while.

“You know, I think I’m just gonna-” Before Natsu could even finish his statement, he fell right asleep as if a bulldozer knocked him over.

“I think I’ll follow suit.” Issei yawned out loud but just as quickly fell into a dream state like Natsu.

Sirzechs chuckled at their actions and began to speak, “Those two are really more similar than they let on.”

Location a Week later in the Occult Research club:

During the week that passed after the battle with Katerea’s siege on the peace summit and the abrupt reveal that Vali was, after all, a traitor, many things transpired to lead up to this moment. The fierce combat inflicted an unprecedented amount of damage to the Kuoh Academy grounds and the leaders knew that in order for the place to look acceptable for its everyday use, they were going to have to bring in the heavy artillery. The Faction leaders all called their maintenance Wizards to clean up the mess that was left by them as the races cooperatively worked together, knowing how much would change once the treaty was made public. The repairment didn’t take long at all with all the service that was at disposal and the area was fixed completely; every nook and cranny that was misplaced was put back together and all the major damage was revered to where the academy looked as if it was never touched.

Once that was over, Azazel announced he was going to stay there in the city to look over things for a while, which most definitely didn’t please Rias. She fought with both her brother and Azazel to have him deported, but all the points that were brought to her attention about the dangers which could potentially arise brought her to stop the pointless argument. Meanwhile, Serafall wanted to stay here as well, opting to teach at the school and protect her lovely sister, Sona. Of course, being the way she is, tried to defend herself and convince her not to stay but the only way for her to agree to it was for Sona to make an agreement which would aggravate Rias for sure. But if it was to be separated from her sister, she would do anything at this point.

As for Gasper, well, just as Azazel said, he reconstructed himself after a few hours in the form of hundreds of little black bats and when he woke up, he was confused as hell. Nonstop complaining and questions went on for the Research club for three days and it was only until Gasper was threatened by Koneko with onions that he shut up completely. But, of course, Rias took pity on him as he did go through a traumatic experience and was tortured for his power. She comforted him all through the three days and sang him to sleep every night. But, the one thing that she couldn’t get out of her mind was how Issei and Natsu were doing.

Now, those two are idiots. She knows that. But the pain they went through never left her mind.

It was only after the Academy was finished that they were taken to the personally owned hospital in their mansion where Rias was also taken care before. The diagnosis the doctors gave wasn’t so pleasing though, as to sum it all up: they could possibly be permanently disabled for life. Since Issei adapted Vali’sPower Stoneinto his ownSacred Gear, the effects were disastrous. Because their powers were total opposites, Vali’s power infected Issei’sMagical Flowin his body as caused him to get severely sick, almost to the point where it would destroy his immune system and corrupt his ownSacred Gear. The doctor said there was no way to take out the foreign magic without killing him as Issei bonded it to his own magic, and it was his own magic that was killing him. “The only way for him to recover, ” one the lead nurses said, “was for him to fight it out and control it.”

And that was only half of it.

Natsu also had been going through similar levels of agony. He absolutely pushed his body to the limit when he used both magics. Physically, his body constantly went into shock and randomly had seizures that were sometimes out of control. His motor reflexes and system were on the fritz as everytime he wanted to move his arm, either one of his legs twitched involuntarily and walking or even sitting up became a chore. The doctors said it was a side effect of theLightning Magic, but pertaining to that subject, was the worst diagnosis: hisMagical Container. They didn’t know exactly what was wrong with it, but the way the doctors described it was like a tear; because of the overload, the container ripped and tore opened, leaking the magic he was absorbing through the air as the body compensated by working even harder to take in the essential magic it needed to function, but by doing so couldn’t get the energy in return and caused a repeating cycle ofMagical Withdrawals. The only way for him to recover was for an excessive amount of magic to be continuously injected into his body for it to regenerate.

And during the whole time of waiting for them to corporate, Rias and the Gremory Family had been worried sick. Both of their lives hinged on whether or not they themselves could save it. But when the week passed, the two boys woke up together and their check-up began to see if they really got better. Then, after hours of testing, the boys were said to be cleared for normal living.

It was a miracle! But then again, underestimating them would also be a mistake.

It wasn’t even an hour after they got out that Natsu suggested they throw party and get drunk while Zoticus and Sirzechs happily agreed to. Though, the women of the household thought differently. And Issei well, he was an outlier. Although he did want to party, he also didn’t want to get on the President’s bad side. Oh, and let’s not forget everyone’s favorite blue ball of sarcasm.

Happy was completely devastated about what happened to Natsu(not so much Issei) and never stopped binge eating fish out of stress for the whole week. So when the time came and Natsu walked out the hospital, he really did see a big fuzzy blue ball- to put it shortly, he got fat. Happy, however, didn’t mind being bloated as he continued to eat fish but he did say he was never going to leave Natsu’s side, “never ever ever- not in an eternity- going to allow you to go anywhere at any time to any place without my presence!” which were actually his exactly words.

So as of right now, everyone in the Occult research club- including Natsu(Happy) and Issei- were present in the club room, utterly blindsided by the surprise that was left in the room, or rather what was residing there.

“What is this about!?” Rias boomed angrily, slamming her hand on her own desk.

“Well, taking up with you brother if you have issues with the arrangements. So there you have it, today I’m the oficial advisor the this particular club.” The man sitting in her chair was no other than Azazel himself as he put upboth handsto signal Rias to stop yelling in his face.

“How did this even happen?” Kiba asked curiously, looking directly at him.

“You see, Sirzechs told me to talk to Serafall’s sister about this issue. And here I am.” He raisedboth armsin the air to express his presence while Rias turned and sighed when seeing Sona and Tsubaki put their heads down.

“I had no choice. My sister threatened me to allow him to stay.” Sona said lifting her head to show her dignified face until Rias stared her down viciously, “Okay, fine, she begged that she wanted to come and the only way for her to agree not to was for him to take her place. Happy now?” Sona uncharacteristically whined, showing how much she actually was repulsed by her sister.

“So, you basically sold us out?” Rias asked rhetorically, putting on a sly smile. Sona didn’t respond and walked out the door with Tsubaki a second later.

“Good luck with your ventures.”

“Hey, what are you-” And the door slammed shut.

It was also at this moment that Xenovia noticed something odd about Azazel, “Excuse, Azazel-sama, where exactly did you get that arm? I thought that you cut it off?”

“Ah, this? Well, while researching aboutSacred Gears, I got bored at one point and decided to build some multi-purpose robotic limbs if I ever needed any. And would you look at my luck- I did need it! Hahaha!” He laughed to himself as he displayed the multiple functions of the arm, including elongated finger, drill formation and a-

“ROCKET ARM!” Natsu yelled excitedly as he watch his metal arm fly about the room then reattach itself to his body, “You have a freaking rocket arm! Gimme gimme gimme!”

“Oh Natsu, you can’t get one unless you want your arm cut off like his.” Happy remarked, flying in the air as he seemingly lost all his weight in one day.

“Your cat is right, I can’t give it to you without that happening. But I’d gladly take that limb of yourshands. Get it! ‘Cause an arm and cutting it off and relate to surgical amputation! Hahahaha!” Azazel laughed at his own joke while Natsu was the only one who joined in.

“I don’t know what that means but it was a great pun, Azazel! You should have come here earlier!”

“NO!” Everyone yelled towards Natsu watching him slowly put hisarmsup in defense.

“Anyway,” Azazel called out getting their attention, “Sirzechs gave me some conditions I had to keep if I wanted to stay here. First, no experimenting on any of you, sadly. Second, I have to train your individualSacred Gearsto their highest potential. And third, make sure none of you do anything stupid.”

“Really? So you’re staying for real?” Gasper asked, popping out of his box in the corner next to Koneko.

“Yup, so y’all are stuck with me! Also, I’d prefer it if I was called, “Azazel-sensei”-no, “Super Kami Azazel-sama”sensei.” He grinned merrily.

“Uh, I think you’re giving yourself too much credit, “Super Kami Azazel-sama-sensei”.” Akeno chuckled to herself as she said the full name out of curiosity of how it would feel. In all honesty, it was satisfyingly funny to say it.

“Oh, how can I forget! There’s one more thing Sirzechs wanted me to tell all the people of this club. After he stayed the night in the Hyoudou residence, he realized how important it was for family to be together. He also realized how important it was to have space for said family.” Azazel paused for a second, trying to build a climax.

“And where are you getting with this?” Koneko asked stoically, holding a cup of Bubble tea.

“Well, it means, everyone here has to go live with Issei in his house, and it’s also getting a remodeling! But, the males here have a choice to go of course. I don’t want to cram you into a house full of women of you know what I mean.” Azazel winked towards Kiba jokingly.

“But I’m the one getting thrown into a house full of women!” Issei yelled in disbelief at his hypocrisy, “Not that I mind.” He whispered.

“I like the place I’m living in now, plus I really don’t want to stomp on Issei’s dream,” Kiba answered, scratching his head sheepishly when looking at a crying Issei giving him a thumbs up.

“You’re so noble!” Issei said thankfully, wiping the tears of joy from his eyes.

“Uh, I also like my darkness in my room here. I don’t think they’re going to have it in that house.” Gasper’s voice was muffled because of the box, but everyone heard exactly what he said.

“So there you have it. All the girls getting packing and move out into Issei house!” Azazel ordered, watching everyone walk out the room. Everyone except Natsu and Happy.

“Yo Natsu, you coming or not. Despite how much I hate it, you live there too.” Issei commented while Rias stopped as well to here his answer.

“Uh, I have to talk to Azazel first about something. Sorry, Princess, I’ll see you guys later.” Natsu answered bitterly, which caught the attention of Rias. Issei ignored the signs Natsu was giving out and nudge the president to move along. She compiled, but not without having her doubts.

“So, what’s on your mind youngDragonslayer,” Azazel asked, very much curious as to what could be bothering the gleeful boy.

“I’m gonna need you to take me to Zechs. I have something I need to ask both of you.” Natsu’s demeanor suddenly became serious to which Azazel took notice of.

“Of course, anything thing for my student.” Azazel smiled mirthly as he tried to guess what was on his mind. Happy saw this and grabbed onto Natsu’s clothing that he was still wearing after the fight. It wasn’t long till aMagic Circleappeared under there feet and engulfed in them in light, with Natsu seeing the inside of the Gremory Mansion a second later, “I transported us in front of his office to make things quicker. Come on, I’m curious to know what you have in that thick skull of yours.” Azazel led the way to the closest door and knocked on the handle to signal their presence,

“Come in.” They heard through the door. Doing so, he turned the knob and opened the door to see Sirzechs puzzled face greeting them, “Oh, Azazel, Natsu and Happy? What do you all want at this moment.”

“Ah, well, it’s not what I want, it’s what Natsu here wants.” He answered, pointing towards the boy beside him.

“Okay Natsu, what is it?” Sirzechs pondered, raising his eyebrow curiously.

“Zechs tell me how to get to Hell.” Natsu said plainly and seriously, shocking the red-headed man.

“To get to where now?”