40Dragon Emperor of Armageddon
Chapter 1: Awakening
Sovngarde. The realm of the dead, also known as Hell. It was the place that the souls of Heroes long dead rested in peace, or wandered the endless plains and mountains of that place for eternity. It was constantly covered by a thick fog, and the sky glared ominously in the sky. A moon was visible as well.
Above the trees, and the souls of the dead. Flew a Dragon. The Dragon was one of the largest of its kind, and was as black as night. Its scales seemed to devour any light that came its way, and through the fog glowed two, blood-red eyes, with the slits of the gigantic eyeballs twitching around and looking for something.
This Dragon embodied power. This Dragon embodied authority. This Dragon embodied death, and destruction. This was Alduin, Firstborn of Akatosh the First God. The God of Time, and the Dragon prophesied to destroy the world at the end of time so that time may start anew. Older brother of Paarthurnax, the God of Space, and who was Alduin's most fierce enemy.
From Alduin's body spewed a great fog, even blacker and evil-feeling than the one that naturally settled over Sovngarde. The very presence of Alduin spelled evil. Nothing else seemed to be quite as monstrous as the Dragon of Time. The fog served another purpose, however; it was devouring souls so that Alduin may regain much of his former power.
Alduin had recently fought the loathsome Dovahkiin at Alftand, where his traitorous brother had joined forces with that blasted half-breed. His red eyes burned with even hotter fire when he recalled his embarrassing defeat. How contemptible! He, the first born of Akatosh the First God had been defeated by a mere human with stolen powers! The very idea was ludicrous!
Alduin flew above the clouds, thinking on his inevitable next encounter with the Dovahkiin. It was inevitable that they would fight once more in Sovngarde. That was part of the reason that he had retreated to Sovngarde, to invoke his right as the Firstborn of the First God. So that they would be able to fight on his own terms, on his own field!
His mighty frame rumbled as he growled, remembering the embarrassing defeat he had suffered. The Dovahkiin...the one human who had been able to injure him severely, enough that he had to withdraw like a coward! Dragons didn't retreat, they fought to the death! Alduin, however, was aware of the hypocrisy of his thoughts, but he was the Firstborn, surely he was allowed to follow his own rules?
The Dovahkiin would have to come to him, wouldn't he? This would be their last battle, in Sovngarde. Alduin didn't care; he would enjoy ripping that human apart like the insect he was! Then, he remembered that the Dovahkiin had a secret weapon granted to him by the traitor.
Dragonrend.
"DOVAHKIIN!"Alduin roared to the heavens, the earth shaking from the volume of his voice.
He placed all of his rage and hatred into that single roar, and how he had felt escaping to Sovngarde. He remembered the humiliation of his forces deserting him due to being seen as a coward. They were traitors, all of them! Except for his own personal legion, the Evil Dragons, who had served him for many years and without fault. They alone were excempt from his wrath.
"Crom Cruach..."Alduin muttered to himself, as he recalled his lieutenant and right hand of wrath.
He had, after that fiasco, meant to summon all of his Evil Dragons including that weak Vritra, but he had been sealed into a Sacred Gear at the time. He snarled as he recalled those details. Sacred Gears...confining great mythical beasts into weapons and armor. How very frustrating! Giving away power they had no right to give!
It ranked him. He roared again as his rage overcame him. An entire mountain was destroyed by Unrelenting Force, a hole blown right through it before it exploded violently. He had always taken a lot of pleasure in destroying things that got in his way, as he embodied the aspect of Destruction and Time.
Everything had to be destroyed in time, so why not accelerate the process a little? It meant precious little in the long run. At least, to Alduin that seemed to be the case.
He had refrained from calling his legion; no, the pleasure of the kill belonged to him. The Dovahkiin deserved to face him, the mightiest of Earthbound Dragons. The Dovahkiin had proved himself worthy of that right, at least, after killing many Dragons he had resurrected.
Alduin hated to admit it, but he respected the Dovahkiin for his power. Dragons attracted power after all, and that led to a powerful Dragon gaining respect for a Dragon that was gaining power through dogged resistance against enemies.
He ate more of the souls, their ghostly power rejuvenating more and more of his power. Then, it happened. He sensed a pulse of something entering Sovngarde. Something that reminded Alduin of a diluted Dragon soul.
He smiled evilly, and gnashed his teeth together. It seemed that through whatever path, the Dovahkiin had entered Sovngarde. That meant that their final battle was nigh. That meant that one of them would die today.
He laughed out loud, glad that he would be killing that insulting parody of a Dragon! He might be powerful, but the Dovahkiin was nothing more than a human. He might have the soul of a Dragon but without the body that was useless.
The Dovahkiin grew closer; as he did so, he knew that he was joined by other insects. Perfect. Alduin took a deep breath in, before roaring to the heavens his challenge to the Dovahkiin. One God to another.
"DOVAHKIIN!"Alduin roared, and he was perfectly aware that the Dovah imposter could hear him even from such a far distance. "I will enjoy devouring your borrowed powers! Your soul will fuel me, and help me take over the damn world!"
Then, Alduin breathed in, finding the core of his being, and roared. It was far more of a Roar than a Shout, but it didn't matter. It did its job nonetheless. From the skies, massive meteor rocks descended in a haze of fire, smashing into the ground with a thunderclap. Alduin always had been proud of his Meteor Storm; even though Tannin's breath was the most powerful of the Dragon Kings, Alduin was still legions above him.
He continued flying in a circle, watching with interest as the Dovahkiin and his band dodged the meteor strike efficiently, though they were caught in the blast radius of some of them. However, the Dovahkiin was never hit. Despite the others being bent and crippled by the meteors, the Dovahkiin stood straight and strong, his grey eyes peering into the sky and straight into Alduin's own. They both knew that the Dovahkiin would use Dragonrend; the question was when.
Alduin snarled as he recalled his brother, now. He had never particularly cared for Paarthurnax, but had maintained a healthy respect for him since they were both of the same strength. He had once been proud of Paarthurnax. However, now that Paarthurnax was a human-lover, and conspired to end the age of Dragons, he was furious. Angry. But, a small part inside his heart knew it was Paarthurnax's destiny. Ambition-Overlord-Cruelty, Paarthurnax's namesake.
To seek to overcome his natural nature was ambitious indeed. To become overlord over it was even more so. And to deny his very nature as a Dragon and to conspire to end Alduin's reign...how very full of Cruelty his little brother was. Despite understanding his brother's nature, Alduin felt betrayed, and thus he was filled with anger and rage when his brother crossed his mind.
He sent more meteors towards the Dovahkiin's position, but they missed due to the imposter dodging out of the way at an impressive speed granted to him through Whirlwind Sprint. The mist cleared almost immediately after, and he eyed the Dovahkiin. The Dovahkiin had, over his adventures, gained something of an armor, and it was appropriately regal looking for the imposter.
He bore silver armor in the fashion of those European knights Alduin had seen some time ago. His limbs were covered in silver metal, with black leather underneath protecting his skin from being attacked by enemies. He didn't have a chest-plate, but then again Alduin wouldn't either; Dragons took blows and threw them back with the force of a hundred times. It seemed that the Dovahkiin was much more of a Dragon than he gave the imposter credit for.
Long silver hair flowed to mid-back, and steel grey eyes caught Alduin's gaze. Then, the next moment, the Dovahkiin unsheathed a blade from the scabbard across his hip. The sword itself was magnificence; it bore a leather-bound hilt, with a ruby pommel. Then, the guard was shaped almost like a Dragon's head, with the blade erupting from the facsimile of a Dragon's head. The guard was gold and the Dragon head had ruby eyes. The blade itself also had ancient Dovah writing down the blade, and a streak of gold outlined the holy silver.
Fear. Alduin felt real fear as he beheld that blade. That sword had killed many Dragons and soaked in their blood. A Dragon Slayer, the one type of weapon able to kill a Dragon permanently. Dragonbane was one such weapon. As such, Alduin felt primal fear when he beheld the blade. However, his pride would not allow him to stop his charge, even if he was at danger of being slain by a Dragon Slayer blade.
His blood sang with the idea of killing the wielder of that fearsome blade. He looked forward to devouring the soul of the Dovahkiin.
"FO-KRAH-DIIN!" Alduin roared in the Thu'um, the Dragon Language. He felt power surge through him, and he expelled it through his mouth, sending a large blast of ice and snow down at the group that dared oppose him.
The icy tidal wave swept down to the group of heroes, and for a moment Alduin allowed himself to think that he would win in the first strike. He expected them to perish in the hoarfrost, however the Dovahkiin took a stance, before unleashing Firestorm. A Destruction spell, it erupted around him, eliminating the hoarfrost and causing steam to envelop the plain.
"YOL-TOOR-SHUL!" Alduin roared again.
This time breathing a large beam of fire at his enemies, but in response the Dovahkiin simply used Ice Magic in order to stop his Fire Breath. The Dovahkiin had obviously learned about the theory of opposites. That was very frustrating since if he knew a counter then he could stop Alduin's attacks.
Alduin hissed in annoyance as a result. The Dovahkiin was very competent for an insect, thus this was annoying for Alduin as he had never come across someone so hard to kill. He decided that he must end the battle now, else he would be over-run or his own power subverted by the Dovahkiin's own.
His thoughts turned towards his ultimate attack, the one that allowed him to destroy entire countries at a single blast. The one attack that Alduin was sure had every chance of killing his enemy even with that Dragon Slayer sword of his. The Lein Oblaan Kaag, or World-End-Burst, and the attack that he himself had named in order to honor his purpose in existence.
It was powerful enough to wipe out entire countries, as he said before; it definitely would be able to destroy the Dovahkiin, enough that even the Dovahkiin wouldn't be able to survive and if he did so, only live for a precious few moments before Alduin would eat him whole, along with the corpses of those long dead heroes.
He flew up higher, ever higher, aware that the Dovahkiin was watching him closely, with that Dragon Slayer sword held up high in his hands. Surely he realized that even the destructive blade-blast would not reach Alduin before he reached the altitude that he needed to reach. Some moments later, Alduin reached the altitude he needed to be at.
He stopped in mid air, savoriness the fact that all of them besides the foolish Dovah imposter knew what he was about to do. Good, it gave him no small amount of glee in how they were all so pathetic outmatched by him. As he reared his head back, they should be honored that he was using his ultimate attack on them. Truly, they were worthy of this last attack of his; in battle, he had only used it against those he had fought against and who were the strongest foes he had faced.
White energy rimmed with black appeared in his gigantic maw, and swirled into his mouth as well. It filled him with unbridled power, and reminded Alduin of the kind of God that he was, how he was the strongest of Dragons on the Earth. Besides the Three First Dragons. They were more monsters than him.
"LEIN..." As Alduin spoke the words, comprehension came with them. And with comprehension, understanding and purpose. The World was fragile, easily broken. Thus, it was his duty to shatter it.
The insects rushed around on the ground, utterly incapable of fighting him at this altitude; even the Dovahkiin wouldn't reach him in time to stop him. Nor would his powerful Dragon Slayer sword's energy blast be able to reach him in order to bring him down. They were utterly incapable of stopping him.
"OBLAAN..." The End was coming for them. Armageddon. Ragnarok. Meggido. The catastrophes were coming for those foolish enough to try and defy him. They were going to meet the End right now, and there was nothing they could do to avert the End, to avert Fate itself.
It was then that his defeat was sealed.
At first it was merely him stopping so that he could see the last scared expressions on their faces; utter terror and humiliation at their own weaknesses. Then, a chill went up his huge spine before he felt something inside him change, and his wings began to lower him down to the ground.
"Joor-Zah-FRUL!" The Dovahkiin shouted at Alduin, now forcing him to bear the brunt of the power that had defeated him in the first place.
Alduin felt down faster now, roaring his defiance as he felt his preconceptions about the World, Life and Mortality change irreversably, change so that he changed with them, changing his entire existence! It was painful beyond all belief, and he smashed down into the plateau, and the heroes yelled as they began to charge him, swarm over of his massive frame like flies.
He was shocked beyond all belief, but was able to use Unrelenting Force to blast them all away from him. The Dovahkiin simply slashed his blade into the ground and slid to a stop before pulling the blade out. They stared at each other for a good long time, before rage overwhelmed Alduin and he decided enough was enough.
"Dovahkiin!" Alduin roared at the warrior, who simply met his gaze with his own, detached stare. "Curse you! I curse you and your ilk for your continued insults towards myself and Dragon-kind! It is time for you to die!"
The Dovahkiin said nothing, only raising his blade with an audible 'shing' and rushed forward to face Alduin, the band of heroes he had recruited along the journey in Sovngarde alongside him. The rage clouded Alduin's mind, as he reared his head and roared his challenge to those annoying heroes.
The battle continued for hours on end, none of them gaining an advantage as despite the speed of the heroes and their smaller size that allowed them to creep underneath the blows that Alduin attempted to rain down upon them, Alduin was far more accustomed to fighting as a Dragon and was comfortable in his own body, which allowed him to predict instinctively where the attacks would be sent at.
However, not even he could shrug off blows dealt by the Dragon Slayer. He roared in pain as it cut into his hide numerous times, and used Unrelenting Force in vengeance against the Dovahkiin, getting increasingly annoyed by the fact that the human never seemed very fazed by it. But they were all losing stamina fast, though Alduin was far more durable due to the energy that still coursed through him.
Though, as the battle continued, Alduin felt something else, something different to the great anger that overwhelmed him continuously during this final battle. It was hard to place, and it was a feeling he had rarely felt towards anything before. But as the Dovahkiin shrugged off his fire and his ice, he was able to place it, and was very surprised to find out that he felt this single emotion.
Respect.
Yes, he deeply respected the Dovahkiin. Throughout this battle, and all the battles up to now, the Dovahkiin had kept on fighting the enemies that he had faced, and never gave up until all opposition was crushed. Alduin reflected on the irony of such a statement; the Dovahkiin was perhaps more Dragon than even Alduin or Paarthurnax had ever thought before. It was a strange but not unwelcoming experience.
However, the battle was destined to end. So, as Alduin smashed his tail down onto the Dovahkiin, hoping to crush him, the silver-haired knight raised his sword and charged it with twilight energy, before slashing into Alduin's tail. Almost immediately, great pain seized Alduin, and he roared out as gallons of blood pooled out of the wound, his tail hanging on only by the part of the bone that hadn't been severed.
"You wounded the beast!" One of those heroes shouted the morale boosting drivel. "Now is the chance! Strike the final blow!"
Alduin knew it would end here. So he gathered all of his last remaining strength for one last attack. He opened his jaws, and the magic spread to there and ready to enhance his bite. He was so consumed by rage and anger that he failed to realize that as his jaws surged forward, ready to devour the Dovahkiin, that the Dragon Slayer sword moved with impossible speed, before burying itself into Alduin's chest and thrust through his heart.
There was no sound or movement for a time, and Alduin looked at the Dragon Slayer blade, his eyes widening in disbelief at the impossible circumstances, before he thrashed around in agony, and toppled backwards, lying on his back as the pain finally became too much. The sword slid free from his chest, and fell to the ground. The Dovahkiin grasped it again as he strode forward to meet Alduin's gaze.
The Dragon eyed the Dovahkiin with great anger and hatred at the fact he had been beaten so utterly, but at the same time respect filled him again. Yes, he respected the Dovahkiin for the impossibility of killing the World-Eater. He chuckled to himself; how very unlike him to compliment someone else.
"You may have killed me here, dovah," Alduin whispered with respect, the strain of talking becoming heavier every second. "But know that I Alduin, the World-Eater will come for you and your ilk, no matter how long it takes. I will enjoy consuming the flesh of the only human to defeat me, and I await our next great battle."
Alduin's flesh began to flay off his bones, and organs disappeared into smoke and ash. As the effect began to reach up Alduin's neck, he remembered he had not asked the Dovahkiin his name, the one way he would be able to identify the kin of the Dovah when he next fought the descendant that would bear his blade and the name Alduin had graciously accepted that he deserved.
"What is your name, dovah?" Alduin inquired. "Who are you?"
"..." The Dragon Slayer and Dovahkiin stayed silent, before replying to Alduin's request. "Siegfried son of Sigmund. In the further West, I'm also known as Sigurd."
Alduin chuckled at the delicious irony. That his slayer would bear such an ironic name. It was humourous to him. "How...very ironic dovah. How delusional were your parents when they named you so?"
The Dovahkiin refused to take the bait, however.
"I don't care about that." Siegfried argued against Alduin. "I will be victorious in protecting people, for all of time."
Alduin snorted at the impossible dream that Siegfried had just described to him. How very stupid; such a powerful being would seek to protect those underneath him? How very laughable! Alduin had always discarded weaklings who no longer served his purposes. It was why he had never attempted to release Vritra from his imprisonment; better to let that weakling grow strong in captivity than to be weak when he was free.
"Such an impossible dream you have, dovah..." Alduin rasped out, as the flakes began to come off the edges of his massive head. "People die every day, you know that? Everything must End. Everything must give themselves to Time eventually."
Siegfried nodded solemnly, as Alduin's gaze became dark, and his red eyes began to lose most of their blazing colour that had made them so fearsome in the first place.
"I'm well aware of that." Siegfried was telling the truth, plain and simple. Alduin's eye kept following him, even as the little light began to leave them
He had seen numerous people die in this place, on the journey to finally kill Alduin. The trip through Sovngarde and meeting Ulfric Stormcloak once more had challenged the ideals he had sought to live up to, and he had nearly fallen into despair until he had found his resolve once more.
"I am aware of the impossibility of it all, but that goal is all I have and I will continue to follow it." Siegfried declared to Alduin. "Even if it is an impossible dream, I will continue to follow it because it is so beautiful and deserves at least one follower. I don't care what happens to me, but as long as I follow this path I will never regret it, Alduin."
Alduin looked into those grey eyes and saw conviction and resolve as sharp as a sword. He felt somewhat proud of the Dovahkiin for following such a destructive path; how very appropriate for someone who was not even a true Dragon. It made Alduin feel somewhat pathetic, but the Dovahkiin deserved his respect, at least.
"You were a worthy opponent, Siegfried Sigmundson." Alduin gave his final compliment, and closed his eyes as if for a sleep. "You were a very worthy adversary..."
His body completely broke down, and his Soul remained in the air for several brief moments, before moving upwards again towards the realm of Akatosh, to await the time when he would bear a physical body once more and fulfill his mission. And then, perhaps if he was lucky, he would be able to fight the descendant of Siegfried and see him prove his mettle as his ancestor once did.
Siegfried bore an unreadable expression on his face, though deep inside his core he felt a great pull of an emotion he had never really felt before; sadness.
He stood still for a long time, with Gram held firmly in his grasp, as a final respect to the Dragon that considered Siegfried the Dovahkiin his equal.
Alduin floated around in the black void, without a form for many years. He had had no concept of Time for the amount of time he had resided inside this strange and twisted space, which was really quite ironic considering that he was the God of Time in some mythological pantheons.
He never really understood where he was, nor how he had got here in the first place. But there was no doubt about it; there was a great seal around the place where his 'soul' had been put after he had been killed by the one worthy human he had faced. His memories were all jumbled after being sealed here, but he still retained enough sanity to make sure that he always recalled the anger and resentment that he felt towards those who had put him here.
With a force of will, he put together his memories once more with an effort and felt his rage and anger grow several times over. He had been floating back to the Heavens where his Father had been waiting for him. It hadn't been a talk he was particularly looking forward to, especially since he was sure that his Father would keep him in a similar state to this until he was ready to end the world once more. Admittedly, it wouldn't have been better than this state, since his Father was notoriously unrelenting in punishing those who 'broke the status quo', so the little bit of freedom he was allowed here was something welcomed.
Anyway, as he was ascending back, he felt himself being pulled back down to the Earthly plane, and his confusion had grown at that time; what was going on? What was happening to him? It was completely unexpected, but the confusion gave room to anger when he had seen those pathetic Great Satans and the leaders of the Fallen Angels gathered in a circle, giving his soul a solemn look. Michael had been there as well.
He had demanded to know what they were doing to him, before the one with the crimson hair had stated they were going to seal him inside a Sacred Gear. His wrath had been made know then; being sealed in a Sacred Gear had been a fate all beings feared; their freedom being taken away for all eternity. But it had been much more problematic in his case; he was needed in the grand scale of things.
But of course, those idiots hadn't known about his essential role. Even Paarthurnax had tried to intervene but he had been driven back, injured. His rage grew as he saw how they treated the rest of his species, including his traitor of a brother; only he should have that power! Only he had the right to defeat them so thoroughly!
Of course, he had been sealed inside a Sacred Gear, and the coldness had came and claimed his soul. He had known nothing for a very long time, before waking up and realizing that a person was using his power for his own. Using HIS Thu'um for their own power! How insulting! The rage that Alduin had felt that day had made his 'host' go berserk and unleash the wrath of his power against a whole contienent until he burned out his lifespan.
After all, that's how Acre fell before being rebuilt once more.
World End, they called the Sacred Gear he was sealed inside. It gave his users the power to use the Thu'um themselves or to channel it through whatever form World End manifested for them as. Sometimes it was a sword, or a shield or even a gauntlet. He had snorted in amusement; so many were weak and couldn't handle his power. So many were insects. They couldn't handle the Balance Breaker 'World End Scale Mail' or the more powerful 'Juggernaut Drive'.
Disgusting.
Though to be fair, Juggernaut Drive was a refreshing change of pace; it allowed him to stretch his wings occassionally, and he could take over the state and deliver destruction to the place his host decided to use it. He gathered over time this was not supposed to happen; his hosts were told that the seals were also used for the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing; he had found that humourous. He was far more powerful than Ddraig and Albion.
Those pathetic 'aspects' of the other two Firsts couldn't hold a candle to him in his normal state. Of course, in his incredibly weakened state, they were more powerful than him. As he had been sealed when he was still weakened from being killed by the Dovahkiin whereas Ddraig and Albion had been at full power, it would take some time to regain enough strength to fight them one on one.
Or two on one, it didn't matter. They would both fall to his might.
However, it wasn't all bad. It seemed that Fate had taken his suggestion; his hosts sometimes crossed paths with the descendants of the Dovahkiin. He had smiled whenever that had happened; they were at times almost to the level of strength that the original had possessed, and he enjoyed watching the fights, with the Dovahkiin's kin sometimes bearing the sword that had killed him, or a greatsword that had a black guard with crosses on it.
He had heard of that sword from his followers who had reported to him back when he was 'alive'. It had slain less Dragons than the golden sword, but it was still a potent Dragon Slayer. But he was always disappointed in some fashion during the bouts; they never matched the strength and speed that the Dovahkiin had. They dodged strikes the Dovahkiin had powered through, or were slain by blows that the Dovahkiin would have taken and send back twice as powerful.
He felt rage at the disappointment, and in turn that bore him anger towards his imprisonment. Those who had sealed him here probably intended his solitude to have broken him mentally and to render him unable to perform his duties, but Alduin was much more powerful than that. He had survived an Elder Scroll, and even there he had been nearly broken before pulling himself back together.
He decided to go to sleep, just to do something productive; sleeping allowed him to concerve his energy, so that if something happened in the near future then he might be able to break through the seals. They were already under stress from the Juggernaut Drive that had been repeatedly used by various hosts, and every time the seals attempted to 'regenerate' Alduin would make sure those loopholes stayed open.
Of course, his shit luck just had to kick in right then.
"I wanna squeeze some boobs."
Ugh. Alduin sighed heavily and desperately tried to go back to sleep. Of course, the fact that his current host kept saying such a ridiculous thing didn't help matters, so he was forced to be, once again, bombarded with what the perverted teen thought of the womanly parts he was so obsessed with.
He had very little patience for perverts and their kin; they were far too disgusting, even to Alduin. That said something about them all, didn't it? Alduin had never had any desires to 'mate' with other female Dragons, nor had he ever the desire to 'peep' on them. Female Dragons were so weak compared to him, that the only way he could ever be charmed by a female was if they were as strong as him. There was no Dragon alive as strong as he was in his prime, so there was no reason to seek out a mate so that Akatosh's lineage continued on.
Paarthurnax was already 'taking care of that' when he had seen his brother after the Elder Scroll trip he had been put through.
He found Issei's perverted theatrics to be detrimental to his own survival; he always liked to stay a while in each host so that he could gather more power. However, Issei's life was repeatedly threatened by his own actions-women who had become aware of his peeping nature often attacked him after he committed a gross violation of privacy.
Though, Issei Hyoudou was a remarkably normal person; he was born to average parents of average standing, and his brown hair was wild and same colour eyes held no power behind them like many of his other hosts. Though, that was to be expected; Issei never experienced hardship, and he had never grown up in a period of warfare which would have required him to, as they say, grow up. He remained a normal teenager, and for the time being Alduin thought that would be it for the rest of this incarnation.
But he was undoubtedly the stupidest host that Alduin had ever had in the existence of World End.
However, something had changed recently. Issei had gone on a date with some girl who had been proven to be a Fallen Angel grunt. It was to be expected; he had known exactly who proved to be Devils and Fallen Angels. It rankled Alduin that so many factors were attempting to influence his host in ways they had never been manipulated before. The Fallen Angel had told Issei some drivel, before everything had gone dark.
He had been prepared to wait until the next host to actually be able to fulfil his role, or wait until someone managed to use his power for his own. However, he had been caught completely unawares that Issei had, the next day, become a Devil. It was the one reason why Issei was currently in the Occult Research Club surrounded by the various Devils the perverted useless idiot hadn't known been present in his school.
It angered him. It angered so much that he felt his old power return for an instant. Every single race apart from Dragons came under his scorn, and even then some Dragons were always thought of as insignificant to Alduin. But this went deeper. He remembered seeing that red-haired girl through Issei's eyes once, and immediately knew she was the sister of the Devil that helped seal him in this pitiful state.
And Issei was now her servant for lack of a better term.
Issei contradicting the traditional pattern of his incarnations made Alduin's blood boil. He might not have liked humans in general, but the Dovahkiin had proven that even among humans there could be those that had the potential to be truly powerful. Powerful enough to make Alduin respect them.
The boy was currently attempting to summon him in some sort of form that benefitted his nature, emulating the ridiculous poses from those shows that the boy watched days on end. For a brief moment, Alduin wondered why he should even do so; the boy was currently such a disappointment that nothing could be expected of him. Giving him access to World End would, in the long run, be utterly wasteful.
However, he recalled that once one was revived into a Devil, they cannot be resurrected a second time. When they die after being resurrected as a Devil, they are sent back into the reincarnation cycle. Dragons didn't have to worry about that particular issue since they were immortal once they matured. But another, ulterior motive came to Alduin. One that made him smile in spite of himself.
He let a sliver of power seep through the seal towards Issei, and he could feel that the boy was manifesting World End in his own particular individual form. As he did so, Alduin chuckled long and hard, and was sure that his plan would come to fruition eventually.
"Oh, how ironic, human. Your quest for power will give me what I want..." Alduin whispered in barely concealed pride at his own rather impressive plan. "And all I have to do is watch you burn."
Issei Hyoudou was currently posed like his favourite hero from Dragon Ball Z, Son Goku. His hands were cupped at his right side, in the signature stance of the Kamehameha attack that Goku was most famous for throughout the world. Issei didn't really understand anything that Buchou and the others had told him up to now, but they said he would be able to unlock his Sacred Gear as part of his initiation to Rias Gremory's peerage.
The Occult Research Club was the best! It had two of Kuoh's Great Ladies as their members, Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima. They were the top two most beautiful women in the whole school! Their boobs were so big that if Issei were to hold them, they would spill out over his hands. They were that big and magnificent! Maybe he could start his harem route now!
His Sacred Gear would be the key to his own harem, just like Buchou had said!
"If you want to hold a grudge, then hate the God who put the Sacred Gear inside you."
For a moment, he recalled Yu-Raynare's- last thing that she said to him before she speared him on her light spear. A pang of pain came back to him, focused on his chest. Where she had ramemd that weapon right through him. He remembered the pain as he had died slowly and painfully, and the blood that he had seen on his hand when he had attempted, in a pathetic way, to save his own life. He had been very pleasantly surprised to see Rias naked to him the next morning.
His mood instantly cleared. Buchou's breasts were full and desirable, and he and his friends had repeatedly had fantasies where they had one night with the legendary woman. His spirits lifted even higher when he realized that, as a Devil with practically eternal life, it was very possible he could do something about that!
However, he focused back on summoning his Sacred Gear. Buchou hadn't told him which one he had, but she said it was very powerful. Alright! He might not end up such a failure anymore! At least, he couldn't possibly be as much of a failure as he had been before becoming a Devil!
He had been very surprised to find out Yuuto Kiba the token bishonen of the school, and Koneko Toujou the unofficial mascot were Devils as well. His blood spiked with jealousy; Kiba always had the girls, and they didn't treat him with scorn like many treated Issei. He was very timid towards Koneko because of her silence and her own scorn towards him. All women seemed to have hearts as cold as ice, it seemed. He didn't mind that Akeno had broken his fantasies of having such an onee-san as a sexual partner; it had made her all the more desirable to him.
Of course, he wasn't such an asshole that he would take her without her consent! He wasn't like those unsympathetic rapists in some of the material he had seen over the years. Even he, the King of Perverts, had discarded that material in disgust.
What an unfortunate existence he had.
He suddenly became aware of how despite wishing with all he had, no Sacred Gear was materializing yet. He felt an ember of anger course through him. He desperately wanted it to appear so that he didn't look like an idiot to his new friends-his reputation had already influenced the way that they were interacting with him, and he didn't want anymore blemishes on such a promising beginning to a harem route!
"Now, open your eyes. In this place which is filled with demonic power, the Sacred Gear will be able to appear more easily." Buchou's voice cut through his self doubts, as always. But he had the feeling that something was coming.
"Do you want to die for me?"
He hissed in anger as he attempted to funnel some form of power into his Sacred Gear. His Sacred Gear was the reason for all of this: it was the reason that Yuu-Raynare had manipulated him, and why she had killed him. He was too dangerous to leave alive. He remembered helplessness as he died, and her last words to him once more echoed through his head.
"If you want to hold a grudge, then hate the God who put the Sacred Gear inside you."
He was sick of being treated like a doll by every girl he ever had feelings for; for the first time in his life Issei Hyoudou was well and truly angry at his predicament. It was because of his Sacred Gear he had been killed, because of his Sacred Gear that his parents would die before him. Because of his Sacred Gear, he had been ripped from the normal life that he had never realized he had cherished so much until it had ended.
"Damn it all..." Issei grunted angrily, gnashing his teeth in concentration as more doubts filled his head. "Why won't you do anything?! If you're the reason I died, then give me your power to make up for it!"
"Issei..." Rias muttered, watching him carefully. They all were-the Sacred Gear was taking far longer than expected to manifest. "Maybe..."
But their voices were drowned out as Issei suddenly heard something; something vibrating inside his soul. Instinctively, he knew that it was from the Sacred Gear. But it felt dark; it felt as if it was something terribly evil and something that would lay waste to everything in the world.
[You desire my power, do you? Very well then. Have some; but remember-the next time you want my power I won't be as generous…]
"GAHHH!" Issei cried out, as a great pain coursed through his body. He twitched in pain, but despite himself he remained standing. What the hell?! "It hurts, it hurts it hurts it hurts!"
Black energy streaked with red encased his right arm, and began to stab into it with the force of a thousand needles. Even the pain from the light spear was nothing compared to this! Something was trying to invade his mind, invade it and put something else there. He grabbed the energy encased limb, and cried out in pain as tendrils wrapped around the hand of his left arm as well, and tendrils smashed into the carpet, creating black scorch marks.
Rias and the others were incredibly shocked at this turn of events; none of the Sacred Gears' awakenings, not even Gasper's had been so violent. Rias watched with worry as Issei cried out in pain, and the black-red energy that resembled her own Power of Destruction swirled even more violently around the right arm.
"Rias, what should we do?" Akeno asked Rias, uncharacteristically serious in her inquiry. Kiba was frowning as well, and he and Koneko were ready to intervene if they needed to. "This is unlike anything we've seen before; should we forcibly stop the awakening?"
Rias was intensely worried as to the state of her new Pawn, but decided on a method of action relatively quickly despite the unheard of circumstances. "Akeno, be on stand by. In case things get too violent, be prepared to intervene."
They were weary, and Kiba was beginning to create a Demon Sword, Holy Eraser, in case he could use its light-siphoning powers in order to help weaken the light that had encased Issei's arm. Koneko was fidgeting more than usual; Rias became aware that the former Nekomata could feel something coming from Issei's Sacred Gear.
They energy stormed around Issei's arm faster and stronger, before there was something like a great wind and the light dispelled. Issei trembled from the pain he had felt that disappeared as soon as it started, and he began breathing in heavily in an attempt to regain the energy he had lost in the screaming and staying still instead of twitching on the ground.
He opened his eyes, and said one thing. "What...the...hell…?"
The gauntlet that encased his arm was made of the blackest metal, something that resembled obsidian and felt like it; the weight was something that was not bothering Issei-his new Devil body allowed him to support it like it was his own limb. Which it was. Black metal claws covered each of his fingers, and were like the claws of some Dragon. On the back of his right hand there was a red jewel right above it; it flashed menacingly and he thought he could see the crest of a Dragon inside the jewel, as black as darkness. The next moment, it was gone.
The gauntlet itself looked less that it was an armored limb but comprised of black scales. It was definitely metal though, so perhaps it had been made in the shape of a Dragon's arm with black metal? Silver lines ran down the gauntlet, and spread out from the red jewel with two lines going down the length of his arm towards his bicep and two more branching off and running down his right thumb and right pinky finger. But by far the most interesting part of the gauntlet was that after the jewel, there rested the top half of the head of a Dragon with twisted horns that spread backwards from the skull with the eyes a dim red.
Issei clenched his hand in a fist, before feeling something hot and opened his palm. There were cracks running across the metal-covered palm, and were glowing red with power but also with fire. As he looked at the fire, it seemed to resonant with him before the cracks disappeared. Something about the jewel and the work of the gauntlet made Issei think that it was incomplete. That something was missing from it. He couldn't figure it out, though; he had never really been smart not even compared to his other class mates.
He heard a dark, throaty chuckle in his head, before dismissing it as just a figment of his imagination. He did it all the time when he was thinking of boobs and sexy fantasies regarding women, so it wasn't really out of the ordinary for him!
"What is this? Is this my Sacred Gear?" Issei asked out loud, more to himself than anything else.
Rias watched as Issei comically attempted to dislodge the Sacred Gear from his arm, and frowned to herself. It was a Sacred Gear, she was sure; and more specifically a Dragon-type. But she had been expecting Twice Critical or some other similar Dragon-type Sacred Gear. This one was unfamiliar to her. Even her library of Sacred Gears at home had not mentioned a black gauntlet that had a red jewel and the top half of a Dragon head on the arm.
"Yes, that is your Sacred Gear. You can use it whenever you want, now." Rias confirmed Issei's inquiries.
Issei calmed down, and began muttering about something that Rias did not completely understand. "Alright then...maybe this'll help me stick it to that bastard...Sieg..."
Issei didn't mutter it with malice; it resembled the tone of voice he used whenever he addressed Kiba who he had a firmly established jealousy towards. But this tone didn't fit that either- it sounded more like he considered the man a friend. If Rias didn't know, it would parallel the type of friendship she had with Sona; it was mixed with the want to out smart and out do each other in every thing. It seemed to be much the same case between Issei and this 'Sieg' person he knew.
But even as her peerage congratulated Issei on summoning his Sacred Gear, her instincts as a Devil told her that there was something malicious about that gauntlet. That it wasn't safe; to a Devil, that equated to something that sought to do them harm. But if Issei kept a lid on that power, then there would be nothing to worry about, right?
The jewel on the gauntlet glowed a malevolent red, and inside Alduin was very pleased towards the development of events. Issei was a fool; and fools were notoriously easy to manipulate.
[Don't worry, Gremory wench. I shall bide my time for now. I shall bide my time so that I may take my glorious vengeance against all Devils. I am Alduin, and your kind has incured my wrath.]
Later on during the night, in a part of Kuoh overseeing the place that Issei Hyoudou slept and what he considered to be his home, there stood a man concealed by the night. He stood on the top of one of the buildings, and using his enhanced sight was able to see Issei say goodnight to his parents, before going to bed.
The man smiled to himself. It was most likely Issei would be awoken later on in order to conduct Devil business within Rias Gremory's peerage. It left a bad taste in his mouth that the boy had been snatched up by the Devils before he himself was able to get to the scene in time. It rankled him that the Fallen Angels had taken the one sure chance he had had to fulfill his goals away due to their own arrogance.
He snarled. He hated all those arrogant species who thought they were above the Dragons, when it was the Dragons who were better than all of them. If Dragons had been united, they could have taken over the world. He had thought that once, before mellowing after the loss of his King and everything had changed. He had suppressed the battle maniac side of himself, and he had made sure to train hard until the time came to return his King to his rightful place.
It was going to take some time, however, but the fact that World End had awakened earlier in the day bode well for his plans. He could take advantage of it later on, but he still had preparations to complete first, objectives that he had sent his subordinates after while he decided to stay in this town for the time being.
"Issei Hyoudou...the wielder of World End..." The man murmured, not unpleased by the recent events. "How very fortuitous I took a break inside this town."
He heard steps behind him, and turned. The sight that greeted him was a teenager encased in an armor that resembled that of a medieval knight, with horizontal grills down the large helmet. A cape was partially drawn over the right shoulder of the armor itself. What drew his attention was the blade that was drawn and present in the knight's right hand.
It screamed danger at him. His instincts told him to run, but he had trained himself so that he could overcome his instincts. He knew this person, and they were working together for now. At least, until their mutual goals were fulfilled. Then they were back to being sworn enemies.
"What are your intentions here, with Issei Hyoudou?" The knight asked, brandishing the frightening golden blade. "Your goals...aren't to be fulfilled here."
"Oh, and you get to decide what I can and can't do, knight?" the man asked back. The knight glared at him, and raised the blade threateningly. "Don't worry; I have nothing untoward planned to do to him. World End awakened inside him today-so I need to see it for myself."
The knight's posture grew taunt, and he began to step forward angrily. The man smiled; it had been some time since he had had a good fight, and he would welcome it. However, the knight visibly strained to stop himself, so he was only slightly disappointed but also respectful. There was a reason why Dragons had praised this man's ancestor for his various deeds.
"As soon as the business with the Fallen and that Rogue Exorcist are complete, I want you out of this city." The knight demanded. The man decided to entertain his wishes. He only needed to stay in this city for a short time. "I don't want you to interfere in his life, do you hear me? Or my blade will welcome eating into the flesh of your kind once more."
They were mutual enemies that dated back to his ancestor, so this was to be expected. And he decided he would fulfill these wishes, as they didn't say he couldn't come back later. He nodded his agreement, before getting up and walking past the armored youth and planted a hand on the armored shoulder.
"Alright, I have to leave now. They are going to expect me to report back in. But you know that you and that boy...you will be blood-enemies when he fully awakens, you know? I'd like to see if that ever comes, but I wouldn't mind if a Dragon and a Dragon Slayer were friends for a change. See you."
There was the swish of reptilian wings, and the knight was left overlooking Issei Hyoudou's home. He gripped his golden sword harder, before pledging to protect the boy from those that would harm him. But first of all, he had to look into the business of those Rogue Exorcists, and Freed Zelzen.
Hey guys, I'm back!
Here's another project from me, this time inspired by Moonlit Emperor by Arrixam. I'd highly recommend checking it out, since it really is quite good!
So, in lieu of reading it, I decided to have Alduin sealed into a Sacred Gear, World End. It will allow Issei to channel Dragon Shouts through the gauntlet and into the material world, so he has the potential for a Kamehameha like attack, but much more powerful than Dragon Shot.
Alduin is also the Evil Dragon King, so he is above Crom Cruach and the Evil Dragons; pretty appropriate for a Nordic Dragon God of Destruction, eh? That will come into play later on.
That Lein Oblaan attack that Alduin was using? That's important later on. Keep stock of that. I've also introduced Siegfried or Sigurd as the Dovahkiin, and I'm drawing inspiration from the Type-Moon version. He is an important character in the background of the story, and his influence ill be persistent throughout the story particularly through Alduin's thoughts and feelings towards humans and other species.
A lot of stuff was set up this chapter, and the action will happen next chapter, where the Knight will receive something of an introduction. Let's see if you can guess the identities of those two individuals, okay?
I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please vote on the new poll as well as read and review this first chapter. I'd really appreciate it!