Capítulo 43: The Conference (IV)
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The ground beneath Issei started to tremble, the silver bracelet Azazel had given him snapping in two as his expression contorted into one of pure unadulterated resentment towards the man in front of him.
The man who had stood and watched as he cried out in pain, only a few feet away from him at the time. He was responsible, he could've saved his friend, but he didn't. He let her die, and not only that, he rescued the one who had carried out the execution.
"Come on then Hyoudou Issei, show me what you are capable of. Strike me down, and avenge the friend that was lost to you." Takauji had ordered Raynare to step aside, the latter not having the faintest clue what was going on, but deciding to watch the situation unfold with mild interest.
"Azazel, hold onto this for the time being please." The Governor raised a brow, watching as Takauji extended Fafnir towards him.
"You sure you don't need him?" The raw power radiating off Issei at the moment was of serious concern, the [Boosted Gear] only seconds away from lashing out at the Mage.
"I'd rather face him with my own strength, besides, Fafnir doesn't do fights with children. Isn't that right?"
["Mhm."]
"I mean it's your choice," he took back the Artificial Sacred Gear. "Make sure you come out of this alive, there is still much for us to accomplish."
"Of course."
The violet electricity around Issei reached its absolute peak, the atmosphere crackling with unmatched violence as the Red Dragon Emperor assumed his new form.
[𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝔹𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜: 𝕊𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕚𝕝]
Issei was coated in a set of armor similar to Albion and Fafnir's [Balance Breaker] form. With a crimson red and green color scheme, and a bladed tail sticking out the back of his waist. Issei himself didn't say a word, his eyes locked onto nothing but Takauji as Azazel created a barrier around the two, knowing full well what was about to unfold.
[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!]
His strength continued to climb and climb, reaching Ultimate-Class in a matter of seconds with no signs of stopping.
"You needn't say anything Hyoudou, I know exactly what's going through that head of yours." Takauji activated [Umbral Rope] in its close quarters form, Sayafushi clasped tightly in between his fingers. "Come at me."
Issei lunged at him, with speed almost rivaling that of [Vanishing Step]. Immediately sending a right hook towards Takauji's face with the intent to split his skull in two.
"Sorry, but that's still not going to cut it." Takauji increased his strength with [Null Vene], grabbing onto his armor-coated wrist as the Red Dragon Emperor struggled to overpower the Mage. "Try again."
With his other hand, Takauji swung down at Issei. Shattering his armor right down the middle with Sayafushi, revealing the Pawn's bloody face and hate-fueled eyes, not even bothering to clean himself.
"You're a coward."
"And you're about to pass out." Takauji snickered. "Dig even deeper into your Sacred Gear, the strength to defeat me is there. You just have to call upon it."
Memories of Asia flowed into Issei's mind, her smile, her kindness, every last moment he had spent with her, no matter how brief. The man who had spat on all that would not get away with it. Even if he had to chase him to the very ends of the earth.
His wrath for Takauji would surpass the Mage. That was his determination.
[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!]
Takauji beamed, feeling Sayafushi tremble in excitement as Issei's armor started to repair. The scale mail returned to its original strength as his raw strength grew closer and closer to Takauji.
It's not enough. This isn't nearly enough. Put more anger behind your strength! More hate! More animosity!
Now Issei's speed was on par with [Vanishing Step] reaching Takauji in an instant as he sent another punch his way.
"Nice, if that had actually hit, my face would've exploded like a watermelon."
But all he ended up hitting was a puff of black smoke, or more accurately an illusion. Takauji's speciality, his bread and butter.
"Unfortunately you're letting your rage control you, rather than you controlling it. Just how on earth do you expect to reach me like that?"
This time Takauji's blade sliced through Issei's back, destroying his armor again as Issei fell to the ground on all fours, his breath becoming labored as he was forced to endure even more blood loss.
"ISSEI!" Rias tried to come to her Pawn's aid, but Azazel extended his arm out and held her back.
"You'll die if you go in there, also Takauji doesn't plan on killing him to begin with. So relax." She found the Governor's words exceedingly difficult to believe. Especially when met with the sight of her bloodied subordinate.
"As much as I'd love to fight you for a bit longer, I don't want you to end up draining your lifespan in exchange for more power. So I'm going to go ahead and knock you out now." Before Issei had the chance to defend, Takauji struck him with the hilt of Sayafushi to send him to sleep.
"Raynare."
"Yes, Takauji-sama?"
"Heal him."
His servant didn't fully understand the order, but she had no intention of defying him. Walking towards the fallen Pawn and sealing the wounds on his back and torso.
"See?" Azazel said, sighing a little as he noticed Rias starting to fume with rage. Which was understandable seeing as Takauji had just revealed his betrayal and hurt her treasured subordinate.
I shouldn't need to guide his path anymore, the rest is up to you Hyoudou Issei. First you must face the Vanishing Dragon, and then you can come and try to kill me. I wonder, will you be the one to strike me down in the end? Or will it be someone else? I don't know, maybe I'll even reach the end of my path without anyone successfully putting me in the ground. Who would've thought that in the span of a few weeks my world could become this interesting?
The second Azazel retracted the barrier, all the members of the Gremory peerage rushed to Issei's side. Each of them not forgetting to shoot glares of pure contempt Takauji's way.
The Mage simply ignored their stares and walked up to his contractor, looking at him with a thoughtful expression.
"Did you get the data you were looking for?" He asked the Fallen Angel.
"Yeah, Hyoudou Issei is indeed a valuable source of information regarding the [Boosted Gear]. I look forward to seeing how he and Ddraig perservere from this point onwards."
Azazel still had doubts about Issei being too dangerously incompetent to be left with the [Boosted Gear], one of Grigori's missions was to keep an eye on such threats after all. Especially when they concerned a Longinus. However, his opinion had now changed. Even if Issei was an unstable host, that didn't necessarily make him a bad one. It's not like Ddraig and Albion were the most level-headed people around during their glory days.
"Taka." He heard a voice call to him, belonging to the Queen of the Gremory peerage. "Explain yourself."
Takauji raised a brow.
"What is there left to explain? I am your enemy now. All that's left for you to do is obtain the strength to kill me. I have no intention of hiding, I will be in Kyoto from now on. Once you feel prepared to take me on, I will be there waiting. That's all."
The Mage turned his back on her, signaling for Raynare to follow him as Azazel prepared to bring them to Kyoto with a teleportation circle he had arranged in advance.
"Wait."
Takauji paid Akeno no heed, his face unchanging as he continued to leave.
"I said wait."
A beam of [Holy Lightning] shot towards him, Takauji still not turning around and blocking the attack head-on with [Null Vene].
Sorry, but I have no desire to look back anymore. If for some godforsaken reason you still want to be with me after this, then you'll have to catch up. Though I imagine it'd be much healthier for you to focus on killing me instead.
From this day onwards, I will focus on nothing but what's ahead.
That, and making sure Raynare's happy. Happy wife, happy life, or so they say.
"Off we go," Azazel waved his finger as the teleportation circle activated. Marking Takauji's official departure from Kuoh Town.
"Azazel really has a special kind of luck when it comes to his subordinates." Michael groaned. "First the Vanishing Dragon, and now the Unregistered Mage. Is he planning on plunging the whole world into chaos?"
"At this point I don't think he even bothers to plan things out anymore," Sirzechs chimed in. "Maybe he created a Sacred Gear that causes disasters wherever he goes."
"That explanation is more sound than it has any right to be. But his proposal of peace was definitely a positive, that much is for certain. The question is whether he intends on maintaining that peace or not."
"For what it's worth, I do believe him when he says he isn't interested in war. I think what we need to be worried about is whether his research leads to him creating something that indirectly results in it."
"He did agree to share his research with us, so I suppose that's where we'll start." Now that the conference had officially concluded, the Satans and Seraph decided to take their leave in order to inform their factions of the newly formed alliance. With hopes of successfully convincing them not to lose their minds in response to the sudden development.
Furthermore, they needed to start thinking about how they were going to deal with the newly formed terrorist organization, Khaos Brigade. Ophis's presence alone made them a threat that required all hands on deck. Especially if the brigade had Longinus users and people from the Old Satan faction with them.
And of course, they had Vali Lucifer with them now. Battle-maniac that he was, they could definitely expect his presence to become an issue in the not so distant future.
A storm was brewing over the three realms, that much was evident. The question was whether they'd be able to react to it properly, or end up being crushed under its might.
People with potential to become individual powerhouses such as Issei Hyoudou, Vali Lucifer, and Ashikaga Takauji would require their direct attention. Whether it was to nurture them, or prepare against them. They couldn't leave any stone unturned.
Chaotic as Azazel might be, his knowledge and ability to acquire talent was paramount to their success. The fact that he was willing to share his research with them was something they just couldn't pass up, the same applied to the brilliant mind of Ajuka Beezlebub.
Now that the Underworld was an ally of Heaven, with his help it was possible that Angels might finally have a way to increase their numbers after centuries of their creator's absence. The ability to reincarnate humans into their ranks was a boon too great to pass up, especially with their potential to wield Holy-Swords or Sacred Gears.
The world had changed, and whether that would end up being a good or bad thing remained to be seen.
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She Issei on my Hyoudou till I [Boost]? Or she Vali on my Lucifer till I [Divide]?
Anyhow, you can consider this the end of this book's first season if you want. I honestly have no clue how long this story will end up being, but I suppose time will tell.
As always thank you for the insane support, 500 powerstones as usual for a bonus chapter.
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