The Gremory Group was gathered in the meeting room of the occult research club; all members were wearing casual clothes, not their school uniforms.
"So you beat up another fallen angel and brought this girl??" (Rias)
Rias was having a headache because of the young man in front of her; she had received a call from Akeno to come to the club because of a problem he had gotten into involving a blonde skirt-chaser.
"Yes, she's very cute, and I asked her to go out with me." (Issei)
Issei blushed along with Asia; Rias wanted to slap that blindfolded rascal as she watched him.
"Why was she after you??" (Rias)
Rias had doubts about why a fallen angel was after Asia; she must have something special and worth having.
"I think it's my healing power." (Asia)
"A healing Sacred Gear... luck is knocking on my side." (Rias)
Rias lost her annoyance at having come there and saw enormous potential in that girl; she also seemed much more tolerable than a certain blindfolded dimwit.
"I'll try to bring her into my group, but I can't force her. I have to protect her too—this is my territory, the people within it are my people, and those crows are getting too bold." (Rias)
Rias was getting angry at the fallen angels doing whatever they pleased in the territory that belonged to her.
"What do you plan, Issei??" (Rias)
Rias wanted to see if her pawn was intelligent and had a plan after taking Asia from the fallen angels.
"I don't have a pla—" (Issei)
Issei thought about making a joke about not having a plan, but stopped when he saw a certain very scary loli cracking her knuckles and a redhead emanating a demonic aura.
"I have a plan." (Issei)
"Then tell it, or I'll have Koneko-chan elaborate one with you." (Rias)
Rias was smiling as she saw that insufferable man trembling with fear of her white-haired rook.
"This loli scares me." (Issei)
"She is indeed terrifying." (Qin)
"I think she sacrificed her breasts to have the strength she has." (Issei)
"A reasonable hypothesis." (Qin)
Issei gave a cough to start explaining his point of view and then the plan he was going to execute.
"I wanted Asia to stay at my house after all this, but the best course of action is for her to stay with Akeno-san or Lady Rias for now." (Issei)
Rias sipped some tea while looking at the boy; she approved of his current point of view on things. Asia was a bit disappointed not to be at Issei's house right now and having to wait.
"Akeno-san and Lady Rias are incredibly strong and must know a lot about magic, so it would be difficult to catch her with her guard down. I am just a person with great strength and I lack in other areas compared to the two of them." (Issei)
Rias blushed a little when she saw that cocky guy praising her; Akeno flashed a smile at her kouhai's recognition.
"Ara, ara, it seems my kouhai sees me with very interesting eyes." (Akeno)
"Continue." (Rias)
Issei remained seated while Rias drank her tea and faced the young man regarding the course of action.
"The best action I see now is to wait and study our enemy; we don't know if they are a separate cell of fallen angels or if they have someone powerful behind them. So, we should gather information and then organize an extermination attack with the whole club together if necessary." (Issei)
Rias was happy with the point presented by her pawn, because the boy could be very conceited and full of pride, but he could still think straight.
"I'm glad you're smart. Asia will stay with me until we exterminate these fallen ones." (Rias)
Asia was happy to know she would only stay with her until these problems were resolved, and then she could be with that kind boy.
"I'll try to convince her to join my group while she stays with me; I see only profit." (Rias)
Rias was happy as she saw this possible addition to her group—a Longinus and then a healing Sacred Gear. She could resolve a certain problem very soon.
"Let's talk about today's contracts." (Rias)
The occult research group fell into a conversation about the contracts they had for today; Issei was excited to work and gain more status as a devil.
"I'm going to be a great high-class devil." (Issei)
"Let's take the throne of Lucifer." (Qin)
"Of course we will; I want to be the King of Devils someday." (Issei)
"I'm looking forward to this journey." (Qin)
"This excites me so much; I have to thank my master for everything." (Issei)
"Don't mention it, but it's better to only thank me when you're occupying that place." (Qin)
Issei and Qin lost themselves in a conversation about their plans to become the King of Devils, the highest authority in the demonic world.
... ... ...
"Is anyone home??" (Issei)
Issei knocked on the door when it opened; the owner seemed to have left it open for some reason.
"I'm coming in, sorry for the inconvenience." (Issei)
The blindfolded boy found it strange that the house was dark as he walked; he even took off the blindfold to see better in that place.
"Something is strange..." (Issei)
"Yes, be careful." (Qin)
Issei advanced to the living room of the house when he found something that almost made him vomit. He might be someone powerful, but he had never seen this in person nor gone through anything like it in his training: the sight of mutilated bodies with the insufferable stench of them decomposing.
"What the he—" (Issei)
The youth's thoughts were interrupted when someone came at high speed with a weapon that looked like a light sword; it emitted a great threat to the boy.
"Monkey Style: Branch Breaker." (Issei)
"I've already been informed about that move, you shitty little devil!" (???)
The grey-haired man in priest's clothing didn't care about almost having his arm broken when he delivered a powerful headbutt to Issei; that blow stunned him along with his carelessness because of that horrible scene in front of him.
"Already kno—" (Issei)
Issei didn't have time to think again when four light spears were thrown at him by surprise. He didn't know where they were coming from and dodged to one side randomly, but one of them still managed to hit his leg.
"What a mess..." (Qin)
"Yeah, what a mess." (Issei)
Issei was nervous when four people with black wings appeared. He already knew the man and woman he had beaten before, but now two other women had appeared: a gothic lolita and an "Onee-san" with a very erotic appearance.
"Looks like we caught him." (Dohnaseek)
"Let's kill him." (Mittelt)
"I want to make him suffer first." (Raynare)
"Whatever you wish." (Kalawarna)
"Devil mincemeat." (Freed)
The five were smiling as they saw the boy weakened by the light spear and Freed's headbutt; the fight seemed won for them.
"What are my chances of winning??" (Issei)
"You could win if you were at 100%, but now they are very low. Your mobility was greatly affected by the holy element in your leg, and the smell of the corpses is affecting your other senses significantly." (Qin)
"Looks like I won't be a Maou then, but screw it." (Issei)
"I would even tell you to run, but that's something neither of us would ever do; death is preferable." (Qin)
Qin knew the ideals his disciple carried from him—the ideals a king should have to remain dignified in front of his people.
"A king never flees, yields, or doubts, right??" (Issei)
"I expected nothing less from you." (Qin)
Issei and Qin were laughing as they waited anxiously for someone to face them, even provoking one of them to attack.
"Want to die quickly, huh??" (Freed)
Freed was the first to advance with his light sword; the exorcist carried a pistol in his other hand and was ready to kill the devil in front of him.
"I haven't mastered this, but it's better than dying." (Issei)
Issei lunged at Freed and dodged his first strike with difficulty as he delivered a charge using all his body's strength on the exorcist.
"Ox Style: Hurricane Charge." (Issei)
A massive gale arose when Freed was thrown far away because of Issei's special move.
"Your body is not prepared to use this style." (Qin)
Qin looked on with sadness as his student received the same damage as Freed and also suffered internal damage from not using the move correctly.
"Attack!!!" (Raynare)
The four fallen angels attacked with their light spears toward where Issei was. Hyoudou didn't have time to complain about the pain as he had to dodge those blows.
"Where is he??" (Mittelt)
"He must be close." (Dohnaseek)
The four were afraid of being hit by that brown-haired boy; Dohnaseek and Raynare knew how powerful his strikes were.
"Wh—" (Mittelt)
The fallen woman wearing a gothic-style outfit quickly screamed when she felt a powerful force attack her neck; luckily, she flew back and it hit her stomach instead.
"Snake Style: Assassin's B—" (Issei)
Issei didn't have time to complete the move as his back was ripped open by a very powerful and painful cut; a sword was passing through it.
"I'm here, you devilish d—" (Freed)
Freed was smiling when his speech was interrupted by a powerful and fast kick from Issei; the exorcist was sent flying once again.
"Horse Style: Swift Kick." (Issei)
Issei tried to move more quickly to get back into the fight; he saw that Freed was almost losing consciousness and Mittelt would be out for some time after nearly being killed by him.
"Snake Style is very good for stealthy kills; a shame that priest intervened." (Qin)
"Yeah, I don't think I'll hold out much longer." (Issei)
"Is the cavalry arriving??" (Qin)
"I hope they don't arrive too late." (Issei)
Issei smiled as he faced Raynare, Kalawarna, and Dohnaseek, who were afraid of him. The pain in his body only gave him strength to fight more and more.
"He's a monster." (Raynare)
"This youth has serious injuries, but he refuses to fall or retreat." (Dohnaseek)
"Bastard!!" (Kalawarna)
The three were a bit afraid when they saw that teenager smiling while blood was all over his body.
"What a bastard!" (Freed)
Freed couldn't get up properly as he pulled out his pistol and shot at Issei. The brown-haired boy tried to move when he felt something.
"My leg doesn't work anymore; the pain from that spear was too strong." (Issei)
One of the shots hit Issei, but only in one of his arms. The martial artist managed to grit his teeth while moving both hands to intercept the rest of the shots.
"Monkey Style: Agile Hands." (Issei)
Freed widened his smile when he saw the situation of the man in front of him; his enemy seemed unable to move.
"Pierce him all over, because today we'll have devil kebabs." (Freed)
The three angels standing understood what Freed was saying as they readied their light spears and fired along with the exorcist's holy bullets.
"Bring it on!" (Issei)
Issei was smiling as he moved his hands with an even more absurd speed to intercept the bullets and spears. The bullets burned his hands because of the holy elements contained in them, but those spears burned not just his hands, they burned his entire body.
"I will not yield!!" (Issei)
"Die! Die! Go to hell!" (Freed)
Issei could no longer catch all the shots as he suffered from the pain of the holy elements; he could only manage to keep the spears and bullets from hitting vital points.
"Looks like this is the end... Sorry, Master." (Issei)
"Don't apologize." (Qin)
Qin felt guilty as he saw the young man closing his eyes because of exhaustion and damage; he hadn't fled only because of his idiotic ideology of not retreating.
"You're going to have to kill someone else." (???)
A powerful and furious presence had just arrived in the room; this person had red hair and her blue eyes were glowing with a massive fury.
"See ya later, red-haired bitch." (Freed)
Freed threw a smoke bomb to throw off all the senses of those devils; Raynare used her magic to take them away from that location with teleportation magic.
"They will pay!" (Rias)
Rias looked furiously at the one she called a cocky idiot, badly hurt and nearly dead, but still standing.
"Akeno, take Issei to Asia now!" (Rias)
A lady in Shinto clothing appeared beside Rias; she was also very furious when she saw her kouhai's situation and decided to contain it for now. The moment was to save Issei.
... ... ...
"I..." (???)
The brown-haired boy was trying to open his eyes, but his body was very weak. He was still very injured when he realized he was all bandaged up.
"I seem to be alive, that's good." (Issei)
Issei quickly regained his spirits when he realized he was alive, but his body felt heavy as he noticed red hair on one side and blonde on the other. One was naked for some reason, and the other was in pajamas.
"I really died and I'm in heaven for this to be happening." (Issei)
"You're not dead yet." (Qin)
"So it seems I really didn't die." (Issei)
"Issei..." (Qin)
"What??" (Issei)
"There are certain moments when it's good to retreat; that was one of them." (Qin)
"But Master..." (Issei)
"Issei, you are an idiot; I think we are both fools for thinking about dying at that moment." (Qin)
Issei was reflecting on his master's words about retreating. He had never been in a position of needing to flee or retreat from someone, and it made his blood boil when that supposition arose.
"Seems you've woken up..." (???)
A woman with red hair was looking at him with a certain anger in her eyes; she seemed furious about something he must have done.
"Hi, Lady Rias." (Issei)
"Why didn't you run??" (Rias)
Rias knew that idiot was capable of fleeing, but he didn't, and instead only sent a message to Akeno saying he was almost dead as a joke.
"I never run from anything, I don't—" (Issei)
Issei took a slap just as he was about to finish his sentence. He looked at the red-haired woman and found her crying for some reason.
"Do you think it's nice to worry us and die just because of this idiotic pride of yours??" (Rias)
"Bu—" (Issei)
"No more! I won't accept explanations from you! Do you know how much I worried when I saw you in that state?? I thought I would lose you." (Rias)
Issei even thought about complaining because of the slap, but realized Rias was right, that his master was right, and that there really were moments to retreat.
"I'm sorry." (Issei)
"It's good that you're sorry. I can stand your conceit and arrogance, but I won't stand you dying just to protect this pride of yours..." (Rias)
Issei began to ignore the speech Rias was giving until the Gremory pinched him to make him pay attention.
"Listen to me!!" (Rias)
"Okay, I'll listen." (Issei)
Asia Argento seemed to wake up as well from the commotion and was happy when she saw the brown-haired boy awake, even hugging him.
"Seems there really are situations where it's best to retreat." (Issei)
"I'm happy you're alive and well." (Asia)