High School DxD: Fox of Ill Omen

Issei

I’d thought that I would be able to handle whatever pain would come from trying to absorb one of Vali’s jewels. 

Pain was all I could feel. 

I couldn’t tell what else was happening.

Not where Vali was

Not if i was even screaming or not.

Just pain.

It poured through me so hard that for a second the whole world narrowed into red armor, white light, and the feeling of something alien trying to grind itself into my bones.

I fell to one knee.

My left hand hit the dirt.

My right arm burned like it was being split open from the inside.

“Guh—!”

The jewel went into my armor

The problem was that it did not want to belong.

Ddraig had warned me that it would be dangerous and even possibly deadly, but I needed to do it.

Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to defeat Vali without more power.

And I had remembered Yuuto-san’s holy-demonic sword that existed despite having opposing elements. 

The sensation inside the Boosted Gear had become too large and too crowded, the two powers crashing against each other.

All I knew was that there were now two dragon powers inside me, and the meeting between them was being taken out on me.

[Partner!]

Ddraig’s own pained voice struck through the pain filling my mind.

The backlash of trying to absorb one of Albion’s jewels was affecting him as much as it did me.

[Gah! I-I told you this would be painful!]

“Not helping!” I shouted back through clenched teeth.

That came out half-growl, half-yell.

I felt the jewel resisting me, it felt like it viewed me with contempt.

Like even in this state, the Vanishing Dragon disliked the idea of belonging to me.

I forced more of my will down into the Gear.

I would take the jewel’s power for myself.

And if it helped me smash Vali’s stupid face in, then even better.

Through the pain, I heard speaking and then movement.

Albion saying something to Vali and Vali replying back.

Footsteps pounding against stone.

Buchou shouted something before a shriek of lighting filled my ears.

Then Divine Dividing sounded out before there was a loud crack and a body tumbling to the ground.

I dragged my head up just in time to see Vali rising from the ground, his side still smoking.

The white armor across one side of his body had blackened and cracked badly where he had been struck.

Not enough to put him down, but enough that I could see the irritation in his face now instead of just amusement.

Kusari-san had nailed him.

I turned my head just enough to find her.

She was with the rest of the peerage, who must have arrived at some point, and Azazel.

She was still standing, but I could tell it was a struggle from here.

Her right arm looked horrible.

The sleeve had burned away and the skin beneath looked like the spell had torn from her arm when she fired it.

Asia was already healing her while Yuuto and Koneko tried to support her.

Akeno-san was already moving toward her, but Kusari-san looked almost more annoyed than wounded.

That was both dumb and impressive.

Mostly dumb.

Then Albion called out to Ddraig. 

[Ddraig, you’re only going to destroy yourself. We are opposites. It’s our destiny to fight each other. You increase power and I decrease it. Our natures will always clash. If you try to change yourself by taking my power, then you’ll only end up killing your host and yourself.]

Ddraig let out a bolsterous laugh.

[Ever since meeting with this host, with Hyoudou Issei, I have learned one thing; that anything is possible with determined stupidity!] 

I’m just trying my best!

“Respond to my desires!” I shouted at the sky. 

The pressure in my arm shifted suddenly.

My arm was wrapped in a white light for.

[Vanishing Dragon Power is taken!!] 

When the light faded my right gauntlet had turned the same white as the Vanishing Dragon’s armor.

“Ha! I did it! So now I also have the [White Dragon Emperor’s Gauntlet]?

I inspected my new gauntlet.

The white armor only extended up to my elbow where it was still its normal red color.

It did look cool though.

[Impossible! It should be impossible for our powers to coexist! We are opposites! I don’t understand…] Albion said

“It should be impossible, but I’ve already seen that it’s not.” I said. “One of my friends was able to fuse holy and demonic swords with her balance breaker. Without God governing his System, things that should be impossible have started to occur. Like Azazel said there are ‘bugs’ appearing in the system, and I just proved him right again.”

I glanced at Azazel.

He was staring at my white gauntlet and armor with an unnerving intensity.

I was a little creeped out by it…

[So you were aware of the imperfections in the Sacred Gear System and abused it to let you absorb one of my jewels? That’s foolish and insane. It is a miracle that you survived that. You had no clue if your body would have survived the power of two opposing Dragons. It would have been very likely that you would have died.] Albion said with disbelief.

I shrugged.

“Well I was desperate and reckless. It worked out for me though. I’m still here.”

Ddraig sighed.

[You are, however, doing so costs you a chunk of your lifespan. You’ll still live for a long while, but it will be much shorter than a Devil normally would.]

“It wouldn’t matter if I would have lived forever if I would have lost here. I’ll still live a long enough life even with it reduced.”

Vali began clapping.

“Wonderful! This has been quite the unexpected turn of events. I’m interested to see how absorbing that jewel has changed you!”

Then Vali looked at Buchou and the others before turning back to me.

“However,” he said, his voice turning more grave, “I won’t accept any more interference in our fight. This is between the Hakuryuukou and the Sekiryuuti. If anyone else gets in the way I’ll deal with them as well.”

“Leave them out of this! I won’t let you threaten anyone else I care about!”

“Then give me a good fight. I think it’s time for me to get serious now. I’ll use my powers to halve you and everything around you!”

He floated into the air and spread his wings of light.

“What do you mean, everything around me?”

Vali laughed.

“Do you really know so little? Just like you I have more than one ability in my Sacred Gear!”

That guy let out a laugh to my question.

[Half Dimension!]

The air around him bent.

Vali was surrounded by a dazzling light as he pointed his arm at the trees below him.

The trees beneath him had their trunks halved.

Then it happened again and they began to collapse from the strain.

“What the hell was that!?” I shouted.

I stared at him

“Sekiryuutei Hyoudou Issei. Let me clearly explain it to you.”

Azazel spoke. 

“Half Dimension,” he said. “He can halve the size, force, scale, everything of whatever his technique reaches.”

I looked at the fallen trees.

Then back at Vali.

“That’s cheating!” I shouted.

Azazel sighed before continuing in a deadly serious tone.

“If you really want motivation, think of it this way — if he aimed that power at Rias Gremory’s chest, he could halve her breasts too.”

The world stopped.

I felt a cold dread in my core.

I turned to face him in an instant.

“What?”

Azazel pointed at Buchou

“I’m saying if you lose here, Rias Gremory’s beautiful breasts are in danger too.”

I looked at Buchou.

That was a mistake.

Because the second my eyes landed on her, my imagination betrayed me in the most horrifying way possible.

Smaller oppai.

Buchou’s breasts being halved.

My whole world shrunk in half. 

Absolutely not.

No, no, no.

That was unforgivable.

A crime against the world itself.

“You…

Vali looked puzzled for half a second.

Buchou said my name.

“Ise—”

Too late.

I felt a white hot rage.

“You bastard! I won’t let you ruin the size of Buchou’s breasts!”

[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!!!!!!]

The jewels on my armor glowed as they called out each Boost. 

“I can’t forgive you! You’re truly a monster! I’ll crush you Valiii!”

“[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!!!]

As my power skyrocketed the ground around me was blown away.

The glass left in the old school house building shattered from the pressure.

A massive red aura surrounded my body

I heard Azazel laugh.

“Seriously?! He became that much more powerful at the idea of his [King]’s breasts being halved? What the hell?!” He said while trying not to laugh.

I ignored him.

This was something that was completely unforgivable!

I haven’t gotten the chance to do enough ecchi things with Buchou yet!

I thrust my hand forward to point at Vali and the force of my movement sent a shockwave forward, destroying more of the ground.

“If you even try to touch her I’ll destroy you completely. I won’t let you anywhere near Buchou you monster!”

Vali smiled at my rage.

“Who would have thought that this is what it would take for you to become this strong? If I had known I would have just threatened Rias Gremory’s breasts instead of your parents. I don’t understand you, but the power you have now is interesting!”

He flew at me faster than he had before.

But now he seemed slow.

I dodged his attack and launched a kick into his side.

He recoiled from the blow before turning towards me again.

“Are you faster than me now? This really is interesting!”

I ignored him as I launched myself at him.

He was shocked to see me appear before him and couldn’t react when I swung my fist into his stomach.

“This is for Buchou’s breasts!”

_________________________________________

Rias

“This is for Buchou’s breasts!”

I should have been horrified.

I was.

I was also, quite unwillingly, moved.

I had already turned red once Azazel brought up my breasts as part of the fight.

Now they were Ise’s whole purpose for fighting.

The punch landed hard enough to snap Vali’s head up and make him spit out blood.

[Divide!]

From Ise’s right gauntlet a voice called out.

The power coming off of Vali dropped and his armor cracked from the blow.

My face burned.

There was no helping it.

The absurdity of the words crashed straight into the reality of what he was doing.

He had just taken in Albion’s jewel, his body was still shaking under the strain, and yet he was moving as if the only thing in the world that mattered was protecting me.

Or at least my breasts.

I had no idea whether to scold him, cry, or kiss him.

Probably all three.

Vali recovered with unnatural speed.

His winged armor flared white, and he tried to divide the next blow before it landed, but Issei had already closed the distance.

Red and pale power twisted together around his arm, rough and unstable but far too strong now for Vali to stop.

“And this one,” Issei shouted, driving another punch into Vali “is for Akeno-san’s!”

Vali’s helmet shattered.

Akeno laughed.

It was a small delighted sound under her breath, her eyes bright with exactly the kind of mischief I knew she would weaponize later.

“My, my,” she murmured. “How passionate.”

Even now she would find a way to enjoy herself.

I ignored the fact that she was the first one he named after me.

Vali tried to step away, but Ise followed without pause, his movements quick and brutal.

He hit him again.

“And this one is for Yuuto-san’s!”

Yuuto went red immediately.

It was only a slight flush across her cheeks, but on Yuuto she might as well have been bright red.

She looked away for half a second and then back at the fight almost at once, trying to regain her composure and failing just enough to make it obvious she was embarrassed.

I wanted to chuckle at how flustered she seemed.

Instead I looked back to the fight.

Ise hadn’t given Vali a chance to recover before he ripped off his wings from his armor.

“For Asia’s growing breasts!”

Asia flinched as if she had been struck herself, then immediately clasped her hands tighter under her chin.

She looked flustered as she blushed dark red.

“Ise-san...” she whispered.

There was both embarrassment and care in her voice.

Fear too.

Vali tried to create a shield to block Ise’s attack. 

Issei kicked through it and launched him higher into the air.

“This is for Xenovia’s breasts!”

Xenovia seemed completely unaffected by his embarrassing words.

Ise caught up to Vali and threw him back towards the ground.

“This one is for Kusari-san’s breast!”

He hit Vali hard enough to make the white Dragon line actually lose his footing for an instant.

I saw Yuki turn toward me immediately afterward.

Her right arm was still a ruin from the Baleful Bolt she had fired to keep Vali off him long enough to absorb the jewel.

Asia had stabilized it enough that she was not in danger of collapsing immediately, but even standing still she looked like she was in pain.

And yet what she gave me then was not pain.

It was a dull, exhausted stare.

Not angry enough to be dramatic.

Just accusing enough to say very clearly that this entire absurd sequence had, in some unforgivable way, still become my responsibility.

As if she regretted, only slightly and only on principle, spending that much of herself to keep him alive long enough for this.

The look almost made me laugh.

Because beneath the dullness, I could also see the relief she would never state aloud.

Issei was alive.

The opening she bought had mattered.

Still, the message remained:

This is your fault.

I was probably indulging Ise’s desires too much.

Vali tried to reform his wings as he fell but Ise followed him and punched him down into the ground.

“And finally! For Koneko-chan! Her breasts would disappear if you halved them!”

Koneko’s expression did not change much.

But I saw the tiny way her mouth tightened, and then the almost immediate flattening of it into annoyance.

“…Trash,” she muttered.

I was about to defend him when he spoke again.

“You can’t do that to Koneko-chan! She’s self conscious about her small breasts, and you would halve them? She would be totally flat! I can’t allow you to do that to her!”

He shouted down at Vali, who had ceased into the ground.

I closed my mouth.

Koneko turned slowly to me.

She was frowning slightly now and I could see the anger in her eyes.

“….Buchou, can I help Vali beat Issei-senpai?”

Her voice was completely hollow.

“Uh, no, sorry Koneko-chan…. I’ll talk to him about it later though.”

I awkwardly said without looking her in the eye.

“Koneko-chan, I can make you some cursed items if you’d like.” Kusari said. “I think no one could complain if they ended up mixed in with his things.”

Kusari was giving me a light glare as he spoke.

Koneko smiled slightly before moving over to Kusari’s side.

“Good idea, senpai.”

I looked at the rest of my peerage.

Akeno was openly enjoying all of it now. 

The reactions. 

The chaos after each of Ise’s shouts.

The future teasing material piling up in front of her one declaration at a time.

Asia remained embarrassed and worried in equal measure.

Yuuto was still lightly flushed but was watching the fight with more focus now.

Xenovia was still watching the technique and power displayed in the fight.

Gasper was standing near me still unable to see.

“C-Can I uncover my ears now, Kusari-senpai? Did Issei-senpai win?”

“Yeah, you should be fine, Gasper-kun.” Kusari answered. “And it looks like Issei-san is winning but the fight isn’t over yet. 

Kusari shot me a look as if to ask whether I finally understood the full cost of letting Ise be himself in battle.

I was beginning to think I did.

Then Vali rose from the ground.

He was smiling even after the beating that Ise had just given him. 

“Interesting. I was wrong, our rivalry will truly be interesting.” Vali said.

Ise got ready to attack again when Albion spoke. 

[I have finished analyzing his new halving power, Vali. Due to it only being absorbed power and his lack of control, I should now be able to neutralize the effect.]

“That’s good to hear. That’s one less thing to worry about.”

Albion had already made Ise’s absorption of one of the Hakuryuukou's jewel ineffective.

Ise had risked his life for a benefit that was nullified that quickly.

Vali tilted his head while watching Ise.

“Albion do you think Hyoudou Issei is worthy of using [Juggernaut Drive] against?”

[Vali, it is not the time to use that yet] Albion said quickly. [If you enter that state now, you may for berserk.]

“It’ll all work out, Albion. [I, who am about to awaken, Am the Heavenly Dragon—]” 

Power began to swell around Vali as he started to chant.

Ise reacted instantly and moved forward to stop whatever Vali was attempting to do.

Before he could a figure landed between them, blocking Ise’s advance.

It was a young man wearing an ancient style of metal armor.

He looked around with a grin before turning to Vali.

“Vali. I’ve come for you.”

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