High School DxD: Fox of Ill Omen

Yuki

It was only a few minutes later when Rias and Akeno let out small shouts as Issei began to stir.

Rias had laid him on her lap after fixing her clothes, and Akeno joined her beside him.

Xenovia was still cradling Asia and didn’t seem like she would be letting go anytime soon.

Asia still hadn’t woken yet, but it was likely only a matter of time.

The rest of us, Koneko, Gasper-kun, Irina, Yuuto, and I, were resting nearby as we waited for them to wake before we moved. 

As I heard Issei mutter something as he woke, I walked over to him, Rias, and Akeno.

Koneko followed close by my side.

Since Shalba had injured me, she hadn’t strayed more than a short distance from me.

When I got to Rias’s side, I saw she was crying with relief as Issei looked around in confusion.

“I-Ise! You’re awake!” Rias said, wiping away her tears before hugging him. “When you saw Asia disappear after we saved her from Diodora Astaroth, you went berserk and activated a new ability in your Sacred Gear! You attacked the one who attacked Asia, Shalba Beelzebub, and defeated him while also collapsing the temple!”

Issei blinked in confusion, then his face scrunched as he seemed to try and recall what had happened. 

“S-So it’s true? Is Asia really gone?” He quietly asked.

He looked devastated.

“She’s fine,” I said, cutting in. “Vali rescued her when he happened upon her in the dimensional gap. He recognized her and decided to bring her here. She’s still not awake, but seems totally fine otherwise. She’s with Xenovia right now.”

I pointed to the side where Xenovia was holding Asia.

Issei turned to where I had pointed and immediately called out upon seeing her.

“Asia! Asia!”

He stood from Rias’s embrace and moved towards Asia and Xenovia. 

Rias smiled at him as he rushed away.

“He couldn’t even wait a moment,” Akeno murmured with a soft smile. 

Asia began to stir from his shouts.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked towards him groggily.

“Wha-….Huh?…I-Ise-san?” She mumbled.

“You’re alright!” He shouted as he moved to hug her.

But instead of embracing her, he was shoved away by Xenovia as she cradled Asia to her chest more tightly.

Issei fell to the ground and landed on his back.

“That was a bit rough,” Yuuto commented as she, Irina, and Gasper-kun came to join us.

“I-Is Issei-senpai going to p-pass out again?” Gasper-kun asked nervously.

“…Maybe.” Koneko muttered. 

“X-Xenovia-san! W-W-What’s…wrong? You’re… crushing me…it’s hard… to breathe…” Asia wheezed as Xenovia hugged her with all of her might.

She loosened her death grip on Asia. 

“Asia! I was so worried that you were gone!” Xenovia said as she buried her head in Asia’s chest. “I didn’t know what I was going to do without you! You and I are friends, so you can’t leave like that! We will be friends forever! So promise to never disappear on me like that!”

Asia gently patted her head.

“Of course, Xenovia-san. I won’t go anywhere. We'll always be friends,” Asia said with a gentle smile.

“Good…good…I’m glad.” Xenovia said quietly.

Irina watched the two of them with a soft smile as she wiped away tears. 

“They'll probably be like that for a while,” I informed Issei as he stood. “ Xenovia hasn’t let go of her since she came back.”

He looked over at me and paused as he noticed my injuries. 

“You don’t look too great. Shouldn’t we get Asia to heal you?” He asked.

I stopped myself from frowning as I shook my head.

“Let Xenovia have her moment. She’s been worried sick about Asia. We all have been, but she was beside herself when Vali brought her back.” I said. “Besides, Asia will be able to heal me rather quickly. Koenko-chan’s already started the process with her Senjutsu.”

“…We should still get Asia-senpai to help soon,” Koneko commented.

“We will. Just give them a moment. Asia and Xenovia are particularly close. She’s an important part of Xenovia’s new life as a Devil.” I replied as I watched Asia continue to pet Xenovia’s head. 

It was good that Xenovia had found a friend that she valued so highly.

It would help ground her in her new life.

Koneko looked like she wanted to argue but held herself back.

I knew that she was worried, but even she said I was fine.

I could wait until Xenovia released Asia eventually. 

I noticed Vali walking over to Issei. 

“Hyoudou Issei and friends,” he greeted us as he stopped a short distance from Issei.

He glanced at the rest of us, but paused and narrowed his eyes when he saw me.

“You’re the one who interrupted my first fight with Hyoudou Issei, aren’t you? He asked. 

I nodded.

“You’re correct. And it may happen again in the future.”

There was no point in letting people take on unnecessary one-on-one fights.

Vali frowned at me and then shook his head before turning to Issei. 

“Anyways, Hydouou Issei, it seems that you’re fine. More importantly, we are all about to be able to witness something rather interesting. Look up to the sky.”

Issei looked confused before looking up into the air.

I looked up just in time to see a giant tear appear in the sky. 

A huge red dragon emerged from the tear in space.

It wasn’t flying.

It looked more like it was swimming through the air. 

I stared at the massive creature in shock.

I heard Koneko let out a stubbed murmur beside me.

“… Whoa.”

“That was the one I came here to see, Hyoudou Issei,” Vali said with a smirk.

The dragon moved across the sky.

It was enormous.

It was easily over one hundred meters long.

“There are two Dragons in existence that are known as the Red Dragon,” Vali continued. “One is the Sekiryuutei, the Welsh Dragon which resides inside you. The other is the Red Dragon recorded in Revelation.”

“From Revelation? The Dragon that knocked stars from the sky?” I asked, “It doesn’t really look like how it was described.”

“Wait, it’s from the Bible?” Issei asked.

“You really should get around to reading it, Ise-kun. We are Devils after all,” Yuuto added.

“It’s known by many titles and can change its appearance as it wishes,” Vali continued. “The True God-Emperor of Red-Dragons. The Dragon of Apocalypse. The Dragon of Dreams. Great Red. To name the most popular ones. It is one of the two Dragon gods known as the True Dragon.”

I looked back up at one of the two strongest beings in existence.

The Dragon gods were said to have been feared even by the God of the Bible.

And this huge dragon, Great Red, was one of the two Dragon gods.

Ophis was the other Dragon god, and the leader of the Khaos Brigade. 

It was worrying to think of the one behind the attacks targeting our factions.

“It lives in the dimensional gap, swimming through the nothingness of its home,” Vali explained. “It’s the reason we came here today. The field for this Rating Game was created within a section of the dimensional gap by my creating a barrier to make an isolated space. Finding and confirming Great Red’s presence was Ophis’s true goal today. Whatever Shalba had planned wasn’t a part of our true goals.”

Issei tore his eyes away from the massive Dragon and turned to Vali. 

“But did it enter this space? The dimensional gap is huge, right?” He asked. “It could have just gone around.”

“No clue. I can’t say for sure why it entered this specially created space.” Vali said, staring up at the huge Dragon. “But it is Ophis’s goal and a creature I wish to defeat.”

“Ophis I can understand, but you want to defeat one of the Dragon gods?” I asked.

Vali looked to me.

There was fire and determination in his gaze.

“My goal is to become the True God-Emperor of White Dragons. To do that, I’ll need to fight and defeat Great Red, the DXD, Dragon of Dragons. If I wish to become the greatest Hakuyuukou to ever live, then I will need to overcome even the True Dragon. And one day I will.”

That was quite the goal.

But coming from someone whose whole motivation for joining a terrorist group was to fight strong opponents, it made some sense.

It still sounded ridiculous, even if he was rather powerful.

Imagining anyone fighting that enormous Dragon was ridiculous.

I was pulled from that thought as I heard a small, dull voice from behind me.

“Great Red…At long last.”

I turned and saw a small black-haired girl standing there, looking up at the Dragon above us.

She was wearing a black, frilly gothic dress, and her eyes had a dull, almost lifeless look to them.

I hadn’t heard her approach.

It was almost as if she had appeared there.

I used my Veil Sight to see if she was some sort of illusion.

The moment I did, I went very still.

The small girl was overflowing with magical power.

It was to an insane degree.

I should have been able to feel it when she approached and while she was standing right in front of me, but I couldn’t.

Koneko had gone still beside me as she watched the girl. 

She must have noticed something too.

“Who the heck is this?” Issei wondered aloud.

“…I can’t sense her with my Senjutsu…” Koneko murmured. “She doesn’t have any life force flowing within her…She’s like a void of spiritual power… It doesn’t make sense.”

She was right,

It didn't make sense considering the amount of power she had.

“But she has much more magical power than anyone I’ve ever met,” I said. “Comparing her to Shalba Baazlebub is like comparing a candle to the sun.”

Vali chuckled.

“That is Ophis, the Ouroboros. The Dragon of Infinity, and the leader of the Khaos Brigade.”

I saw Issei’s mouth drop when Vali revealed that the small girl was one of the Dragon gods and the enemy leader.

I froze in place.

If she wanted us dead, it would take seconds to kill all of us.

Probably less than that.

She reached up at Great Red with one open hand.

“I will achieve it. I will obtain the silence I so desire,” she said to herself. 

From above us, I could hear the beating of wings before Azazel-sensei and Tannin landed nearby. 

“Sensei, Ossan!” Issei called out to them.

“It’s good to see that you’re back to normal, Ise,” Azazel-sensei said, then sighed. “I was worried about you, but knew that a song about breasts would definitely be enough to bring you back. It seems that you’re enough of a breast-loving idiot that you could break free from [Juggernaut Drive] with that song. I really didn’t waste my time writing that song.”

“You may have too much free time, sensei,” Yuuto murmured.

“I’ve got plenty of great subordinates,” Azazel-sensei said as he turned to her and Yuki-san. 

He looked over to me.

“It’s good to see that your unsealing was successful, but you look rough.”

That knocked me out of my stupor

“I am aware,” I replied with a frown.

Even with the additional power I had regained from my seal being released, I felt as though I did little to nothing with it.

I couldn’t even put up a fight against Shalba.

It only took him a moment to end the fight between us.

I pushed that thought away.

I would worry about it later.

“We meet again, Hyoudou Issei. Hello, Rias Gremory and her servants. It’s good to see that you are alright despite all of this destruction,” Tannin said, looking at the ruins around us.

Then he noticed the huge Dragon in the sky.

“Well, it’s certainly nostalgic to see Great Res again, but I didn’t expect to see him after chasing Ophis.”

“Oh, you've met before? Did you fight him, Tannin?” Azazel-sensei asked.

Tannin shook his head.

“No, he treated me as insignificant. He didn’t even acknowledge my existence.”

I glanced between Tannin, Great Red, and Ophis.

Tannin used to be one of the Great Dragon Kings and is an ultimate-class Devil.

But even he wasn’t enough to get Great Red’s attention. 

It made one wonder exactly how strong the Dragon gods are. 

Vali lazily waved to Azazel-sensei.

“Yo, it’s been a while, Azazel. Did you end up defeating Creuserey Asmodeus?”

“Sirzechs was the one who took him down. And now that their leaders have been defeated, the rest of the rank and file of the Old-Maou faction should retreat,” Azazel-sensei said, glancing towards the temple ruins. “And it seems that Shalba Beelzebub was defeated by Ise while he was using his Juggernaut Drive.”

Issei looked at the devastation of the ruins.

His face took on a complicated expression for a moment as he looked over the destruction he had caused. 

Rias stepped forward then.

“And what about Onii-sama?”

“He’s fine. The barrier around the field collapsed, so he went back to the observation room with the other leaders,” Azazel-sensei answered.

Then he turned to face Ophis.

“Ophis. The members of the Old-Maou faction that were fighting here have either died, retreated, or surrendered. The Old-Maou faction is finished. You’ve lost the strength of one of your main factions.”

Ophis glanced at Azazel-sensei before looking back at Great Red.

“Yes, you’re correct,” she said without any emotion. “That was always a possibility, but it doesn’t matter.”

She seemed completely unbothered as she continued to stare at the sky.

Azazel-sensei looked at us and shrugged before looking back at Ophis.

“Now that they are defeated, the faction under your control with the most strength is the Hero-faction, right? The descendants of Heroes or Sacred Gear possessors. Well, they’re the strongest besides Vali’s small group.”

I frowned at the mention of another faction within the Khaos Brigade.

We had managed to defeat one, just for another to take its place.

And this one would be full of powers and abilities we were unfamiliar with.

With the Old Maou faction, we were fighting Devils we knew what to expect.

With the Hero faction, everything was unknown. 

Azazel-sensei stepped forward and created a spear of light that he pointed at Ophis. 

“Now, Ophis. Shall we fight?”

Ophis finally looked away from Great Red.

She looked at Azazel-sensei and his spear.

Then she looked over the rest of us before looking back at Azazel-sensei.

“No, I don’t think so,” she said as she turned away. “I will leave her and go home for now.”

That sounded like the best outcome.

Azazel-sensei and Tannin may be powerful, but Ophis seemed out of their league. 

So her peaceful retreat seemed fine to me, especially considering we would likely get caught up in any fight that occurred.

Tannin looked like he wasn’t going to accept Ophis’s retreat.

He stomped forward and flared his wings.

“Wait! Ophis!” He shouted 

Ophis turned back towards us with an unsettling smile. “Tannin. All of the Dragon Kings are gathering again, even you. Things will begin to become rather interesting soon,” she said.

Then the air around her shimmered for a moment, and she was gone.

Sensei clicked his tongue after Ophis fled.

I let out a deep sigh as soon as she disappeared.

I felt my tails sag as the tension I felt from her presence dropped.

Next to me, Koneko was the same.

Her ears and tail drooped as she slumped forwards slightly in relief.

“…I’m glad she’s gone,” Koneko murmured.

“She was rather perturbing. I hope we don’t run into her again,” I said, breathing out another sigh.

Issei nodded in agreement.

“It is time for us to retreat as well,” Vali said. 

I turned and saw that he was already standing in front of a tear in space that the suit-wearing swordsman had made.

They seemed to be quite proficient at making escapes. 

“Hyoudou Issei. Do you want to defeat me?” Vali asked.

“I do,” Issei replied without hesitation. “…But you’re not the only one I want to surpass. There are members of my own peerage that I can’t defeat currently, like Yuuto-san and Yuki-san. And the rest of my peerage is becoming much stronger as well, so I’ll have to focus, or they’ll overtake me too. I also need to keep training to be stronger than my friend, Saji. There are plenty of people besides you that I want to become stronger for.”

Yuuto-san smiled at his comment.

Xenovia nodded while still hugging Asia.

I raised an eyebrow at him mentioning that he wanted to become stronger than me.

It felt like I was the one who needed to catch up to him.

Sure, I could play cat and mouse with him in a fight, and avoid him until his Balance Breaker wore out, but in a clash of power, I would lose.

Vali looked pleased by his answer.

“It is the same for me. I have plenty of others that I’d like to fight and defeat besides you. Ironically, the current Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou have objectives more important than their destined battle. I guess we are both strange Dragons,” he said with a grin. “It sounds nice for now. But one day…”

Issei pointed at him.

“One day we will settle things. It would be a problem if you reduced Buchou’s or the other girls’ oppai by half,” he declared

Buchou turned red and shook her head.

Of course he would bring up breasts.

He almost made it through the whole interaction without doing so.

“Don’t include me in that,” I said, shooting him an annoyed glare. “Also, shouldn’t we be trying to capture the terrorists, even if they’re about to escape?”

Azazel-sensei shrugged.

“If we try, they would just leave. Let Ise and Vali have their moment.”

He wasn’t wrong at the moment.

If I wasn’t injured, I would protest that I could reach them before they fled.

But with my injuries and how strong they were, it wasn’t a realistic suggestion. 

Vali and Issei ignored Azazel-sensei and me.

“You really are amusing, Hyoudou Issei. Get stronger. I’d hate for our battle to be a short one,” Vali said before turning to leave. 

“See ya, Oppai-dragon! And you too, Switch-princess!” Biko called out with a wave and a smug smile.

Issei looked confused by his comment, and Rias turned bright red. 

“Kiba Yuuto-san. Xenovia-san.” The swordsman said.

Both of them turned their attention to him.

“I am the wielder of the Holy King sword, and the descendant of Arthur Pendragon. Please call me Arthur. I’d like to cross blades one day, between fellow wielders of holy swords.Goodbyee.”

He turned to the crack too, and the three of them left with it closing behind them.

We all watched them escape again.

They had saved Asia, so perhaps no one wanted to attack them because of it, or maybe everyone was just too tired.

Either way, they were gone now. 

Issei moved to Asia and took her hand. 

“This time, let’s go home for real, Asia. To our home.” He said with a smile. 

Asia smiled back at him.

“Let’s go home, Ise-san. Otou-san and Oka-san are waiting for us after all.”

“Yeah.”

Issei nodded at her. 

Then his legs gave out.

“Ise!” “Ise-san!”

Asia dnd Rias shouted as he collapsed to the ground.  

Asia caught him before he collapsed to the floor.

Everyone rushed to him as Asia checked on him.

“H-He’s alright. He’s just unconscious,” Asia told everyone. 

“I-I was right! He d-did pass out again!” Gasper-kun murmured.

“…Good job Gya-kun.” Koneko replied.

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