Vali's team, Rias' Peerage, Baraqiel, Irina, Rossweisse, and Tannin went to a large desolated place before using the Dragon Gate to summon one of the Dragon Kings and one of Loki's sons, Midgardsormr, the World Serpent.
Midgardsormr is a grey Eastern dragon with an enormous body measuring around 500-600 meters in length, well over five times the length of Great Red's body.
When he was summoned, Issei couldn't help but comment, "H-he's huge... But why is he still sleeping?" The Dragon King's eyes were still closed.
"That's just how he is. He doesn't really care about anything and just continues to sleep until something interesting happens," answered Vali.
"What interesting thing could wake up this giant?" asked Issei.
"Just wait. He'll wake up naturally."
And indeed, after a few minutes, the gigantic Eastern Dragon woke up and opened its eyes and visible confusion emerged from those golden pupils, "Did I wake up in a wrong time when the Red and White aren't fighting?" A very laid-back tone of voice emerged from him.
"No. You didn't sleep that long. I'll give you the details later. Let me ask you a few things before you start dozing off again." Vali started talking to Midgardsormr.
He asked how they could deal with both Loki and Fenrir and as Midgardsormr doesn't really care about them, he readily answered. He told them strategies that could work on Loki and they would need Gleipnir, the magical chains that are said to be impossible to carry, to restrain Fenrir.
Although they got great answers, Midgardsormr kept falling to sleep in the middle of his sentences which earned him the 'Sloth Dragon King' nickname from Issei.
After getting the location of the Gleipnir from Midgardsormr, they finally sent him away and sent Arthur and Le Fay to retrieve the chain. Since it's impossible to carry by hand, it was supposed to be Kuroka's job as she can easily take it into her personal space, but Le Fay had to do it with her magic.
A few hours later, everyone participating in the battle got ready. Rias' Peerage, Vali's team, Baraqiel, Irina, and Rossweisse are the ones who would be fighting. Their trump card against Loki, the copy of Mjolnir, will come later as Odin still needs to retrieve it from Asgard.
Issei asked him why they couldn't borrow his spear, Gungnir and Odin told them that their strength is only enough to wield an inferior copy of the Mjolnir.
Once Loki got out of the magic trap, he was welcomed by everyone, and even if he would want to escape, it'd be impossible unless he defeated some people first.
Of course, even if they were ready, fighting a God isn't easy and it became harder when Fenrir was successfully trapped by the glowing chains as Loki suddenly summoned Fenrir's children, Sköll and Hati in addition to many of Midgardsormr's clones.
While Vali and Issei teamed up against Loki, everyone else was fighting Loki's summons and were being overwhelmed, resulting in the situation getting very dangerous. It was then that some backup came.
Saji, in his Dragon King form, came and restricted Fenrir's sons and started siphoning their powers. Soon after, the rest of Sona's Peerage came to assist in the battle. Even though Sona disappeared, they did their best to get stronger and the one who improved the most was Saji, as he could now transform into Vitra, the Dragon King inside his Sacred Gear, though with some help from Azazel.
Thanks to their arrival, the tides of the battle changed.
Seeing this as a chance, Vali suddenly entered Juggernaut Drive and transferred his attention to Fenrir. With the help of Gleipnir, Vali was able to weaken Fenrir and Arthur used that chance to stab its head with Excalibur Ruler. With its ability to control monsters, it was only a matter of time before Fenrir fell under their total control.
Le Fay immediately transferred Fenrir out, along with Vali. It was then Vali's teammates started retreating as they already achieved their goal.
Although Fenrir was no more, Vali's team also disappeared along with it. However, they are still in the advantage against Loki, as Fenrir was more troublesome than Loki himself.
Combining their strength, Akeno and Baraqiel used their strongest Holy Lightning to deal fatal damage to Hati and Sköll. Yuuto, Xenovia and Irina used that chance to behead them, removing them from the battlefield.
But even though the wolves were already out of the picture, the enraged Loki kept summoning clones of Midgardsormr, and without Vali, Issei wasn't a match against Loki and could only keep up because he kept boosting himself. But even that would soon reach its limits, as even though he has a strong body, it wasn't enough to match a God, especially aGod that is one of the main ones in their respective Mythology.
But before Issei reached his limits, the copy of Mjolnir suddenly arrived, giving everyone hope that everything will end.
Seeing this, Loki became even more enraged and desperate. He never would have thought that his father, Odin, would lend the Mjolnir, even though it's just a copy, to an outsider. Loki used one of his most powerful spells to devastate Issei and he was successful.
Issei's Balance Breaker was undone due to the immense damage he took and in this situation, he wouldn't be able to wield the Mjolnir, and none of his companions were capable of doing it aside from him, not even Baraqiel.
Rias immediately went towards Issei and picked him up while tears were streaming down her face. The Phoenix tears that they received from the Phenex Clan were already consumed after taking on Fenrir and the rest.
However, Loki didn't expect that Issei, despite his fatal injuries, would stand up again. Issei, thanks to the training method that Kisuke gave him, got his mind tempered as a side effect due to its insanity.
Ddraig even laughed out loud after seeing his host stand up against his great adversity despite being on the verge of death himself. Issei's will to fight was so overwhelming that Ddraig couldn't help but feel proud and thought that he got a great host this time.
Rias tried to stop Issei as she knew he couldn't fight anymore. Of course, Issei knew of this too. He can't just fight a God with only an overwhelming will to fight. He knew his strengths and weaknesses.
Issei then decided to use what Kisuke had given him.
"Are you sure? The last time you took it out was an accident and made your Juggernaut Drive even worse." Asked Ddraig.
"Not much of a choice here... And if it's just for a minute or two, I think I can handle it. Can't really keep my trump card that can instantly boost my physical abilities hidden." Issei answered with a small chuckle.
"Kukuku, true. But even with that, I don't think you'll be able to overpower that God even for an instant with that wrecked body of yours. Yes, that could strengthen you, but it still depends on the state of your body. You might have had your chance earlier, but not right now." Ddraig added.
But Issei only continued chuckling at Ddraig's words, "As I said, I know my strengths and weaknesses, and this isn't the only strength that I have."
"...What do you mean?" Ddraig asked as he got a really ominous feeling.
"I'll be using you to the fullest!" Issei then faced Rias. Despite his messy appearance, Issei asked her with a straight and serious face, "Buchou! Please let me fondle your boobs! Directly!"
"...Huh?" Rias was taken aback, and so were the others, including Loki himself.
Ddraig cried out loud in despair, but he couldn't deny this was another one of his strengths. The strength of his will through perversion. Although it was unconventional, it is, without a doubt, effective, as the power given to him by the Boosted Gear became greater after he fondled some boobs.
Using the remains of Medusa's Divine Core controlled by Ophis' snake, the Ki from the surroundings wildly went into Issei's body, boosting his physical abilities beyond what his human body-turned Devil was capable of.
At that point, Issei reached something as the golden light descended onto him. Using Rias' boobs as the medium, he was connected to a being that didn't exist in this plane.
Introducing herself as the Chichigami (Boob Goddess), she claimed that she heard Issei's prayers and devotion and that she decided to give him her blessings, granting Issei additional strength on top of what he currently had.
At the connection of such being, even Ddraig reeled back as he could feel that this Chichigami was countless times more powerful than both him and Albion in their heydays.
Thanks to the Chichigami, Issei became even more confident and was able to wield the copy of Mjolnir with ease and overpowered Loki, successfully sealing him.
Without Loki, the rest of the monsters were just mobs to the Devils, Fallen Angel, Angel and Valkyrie.
Editors:
28th00: Oh no, early Chichigami means early absolute INSANITY that is the ExE world… Considering that the Chichigami is on the same level of existence as beings like the Soul King, Aizen, Ichigo(both final forms), Great Red and Ophis… Well… Transcendent beings are scary reality warpers as a byproduct of just existing.
Odin peacefully entered the Alliance, not just with the Three Factions, but also with the Japanese Mythologies. However, he left Rossweisse once again, which resulted in the poor Valkyrie crying in the corner for a whole day.
Seeing her situation, Rias thought of it as a chance and invited Rossweisse into her peerage. Rias knew that she didn't have much of a chance, but the sulking Valkyrie immediately accepted it after Azazel offered her a job as a teacher for the Kuoh Academy, which gave a better salary than her being a bodyguard.
It was then that Rias' Peerage welcomed their new 'Rook'.
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It was October and it had been a month since the incident with Loki. Issei had successfully recovered from his injuries without leaving any hidden damage. In fact, his body became even more durable thanks to that incident. However, he knew that he couldn't replicate this feat, as he was still not confident that he wouldn't lose control of himself once he took out Kisuke's 'gift' again.
The Chichigami's blessing did play a big role in keeping his mind intact for the duration of his fight with Loki.
Also during that month, Issei went to spar with the strongest youngest Devil, Sairaorg Bael. Despite not having the Power of Destruction that members from the Bael Clan possessed, Sairaorg trained his body to the limit and he was acknowledged as the strongest young Devil in their generation.
It was clear that Issei was no match for Sairaorg despite going into his Balance Breaker, but he also shocked Sairaorg for how resilient he was.
Aside from that, Ajuka also inspected Issei's Evil Pieces because he noticed something strange about it. As the creator of the Evil Pieces, it was impossible for him to not be interested in the changes of his own creation.
After inspecting it, he noticed some codes within Issei's eight Pawns. Although it was normally not that noticeable, once Issei used the full extent of his powers, it could prove to be detrimental for him. Ajuka assumed that the changes happened due to the Juggernaut Drive and the strange orb within him.
He then fixed the problem and modified Issei's Evil Pieces, so that they could adapt to the changes brought by the Boosted Gear and the strange orb. Although it made Issei weaker in the short term, his potential as a Devil became a lot better.
Alongside it, Ajuka also gave Issei a key which seemed to be related to his Boosted Gear. When Ddraig saw it, he immediately understood what it was and told Issei that it was about time for him to unlock more power for the Boosted Gear. But he didn't tell him what to do with the key.
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As second years, Issei, Yuuto, Xenovia, Asia and Irina had to attend the school trip to Kyoto.
On their way to Kyoto, Ddraig suggested to him to partially recite the incantation for the Juggernaut Drive. Issei was shocked, but Ddraig explained to him that we wouldn't actually enter Juggernaut Drive. Instead, he would be able to meet his predecessors.
And Issei did indeed meet his predecessors, but all of them were just staring at blank space. Not knowing what to do, Issei was about to ask Ddraig for what he was supposed to do in this space, when a woman with long, wavy blonde hair and decorated with a head accessory while wearing a light purple dress appeared. She introduced herself as Elsha and Ddraig said that she was the strongest Red Dragon Emperor host among the women.
She then provided Issei a box which contained Ddraig's real powers and told him that Ajuka's key would be able to open it. But at the moment he opened the box, its content jumped out of his inner world into the physical world, disappearing among the people of Kyoto.
Issei wanted to find it but he had no idea how to do it and could only leave the thing as it was.
The first day of their school trip went successfully, but on the next day, they got embroiled in Kyoto's Youkai Faction as they were accused by a certain young kitsune as being the kidnappers of her mother. The group then returned to the hotel and reported it to Azazel.
Azazel also didn't know what was going on so he asked the person who probably did. Grayfia, who came to Kyoto to invite the factions into their Alliance, met the group and explained what had happened.
Grayfia explained that the talks couldn't be pushed through, because the leader of the Youkai Faction was abducted by some group.
Hearing that, Azazel immediately launched an investigation himself and contacted the Intelligence Bureau of the Grigori. A few hours later, they got ahold of information that the Hero Faction of the Khaos Brigade had been active lately around Kyoto and assumed that this was their doing.
Everyone from Rias' group already knew about the existence of the Hero Faction as they were the ones who kept attacking Kuoh Town as of lately in the name of the Khaos Brigade. And from their encounters it became known that everyone from the Hero Faction were pure Human and Sacred Gear users.
At the same night, the Youkai Faction contacted Grayfia and said that they wanted to discuss something. As they arrived at their headquarters, Issei and the group met the young kitsune once again, apologizing for their attack yesterday. The young fox Youkai introduced herself as Kunou, the daughter of the current leader of the Youkai Faction.
After further discussion, everyone got a clear view of what had happened to their leader and Azazel gave them information on who might have done it. Kunou, along with her mother's advisors, asked for their help to take back their leader, Yasaka.
Issei didn't hesitate to help after seeing the little girl pleading for help.
They then planned to take a look around Kyoto tomorrow to gather some more information. At the same time, Kunou proposed to guide them around the city as she knew almost everything about it to which the group happily agreed. While they searched for Yasaka, they would also continue their school trip.
On the next day, Kunou showed everyone the tourist spots and the shortcuts to reach each and every one of them. It was a peaceful and happy time for the group, until they were enveloped by a purple fog that covered the entire city.
Issei then recalled one of Azazel's lessons about the Longinus and thought that it was similar to one of them. Yuuto confirmed his thoughts and it was indeed the Longinus Dimension Lost which could trap anyone in the personal space of the user.
All the normal people around them disappeared and the scenery was replaced by a bleak and purple copy of the city. The space was similar to that of a game field used for the Rating Games and it was probably based on those.
It was then, that the main force of the Hero Faction arrived. They were led by Cao Cao, a descendant of the famous Cao Cao of the past. He was also the possessor of the True Longinus, the first and most powerful Sacred Gear.
They admitted that they were the ones who kidnapped the leader of the Youkai Faction for a certain experiment. But the main reason for them to appear in front of them now, was for Cao Cao to gather data on Rias Gremory's famous Peerage, especially on the current Red Dragon Emperor.
The first one to make a move was a child called Leonardo, who possessed one of the thirteen Longinus called Annihilation Maker. This Longinus could create monsters from the user's imagination and with enough energy, he could potentially create anything ranging from small weak monsters until colossal monsters, capable of slaying Gods. Due to this ability, this Sacred Gear was dubbed as one of the most dangerous and could potentially destroy the world.
Leonardo summoned almost a hundred monsters which were capable of casting strong light attacks that were fatal for Devils. However, Issei magnificently overturned their advantage by commanding his comrades.
Meanwhile, Azazel in his Balance Breaker, took on Cao Cao. The battle between the two of them destroyed the surrounding scenery, and frankly speaking, their battle was too high leveled for Issei to follow.
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Editors:
28th00: At the pace we're going, we should reach the part where Kisuke came in by like 4-6 more chapters.
Alexander: Yeah, and the trashing of Cao Cao is easily one of my most anticipated moments in this arc.
28th00: Honestly, the trashing of Cao Cao is so deserved after what he DARED to do to Phis-chama, i'd call it karmic justice, but Telos Karma was not involved in this.
Alexander: Was, is and always will be.