1,665Yooooooooo, everyone. I know it has been a long time.
Oof, where do I start. Well, firstly, I want to say that I want to take a little hiatus from this fic. I know that you're all properly wondering why I wanted that, but it is because I want to strengthen my affinity with DxD as well as work on other stuff for the time being to fix my scattered motivation.
I am not only a writer, but I am also a human being with things to work though before becoming a proper person. Seriously, there are times where I just couldn't write for the life of me and I want to battle through that, and that does not include the obstacles I face as a writer, sometimes entering phases where I forgot my own writing style which blows like hell :/
As for this fic, I feel as if it is distracting me for now. I have some things I want to write, for fun and for improving myself, and I want to get it out of my system. I will return to it once my system has been cleared.
Sorry about this, and enjoy the chapter. Hopefully, I can finally move this story forward as it is getting too stagnant even for my liking.
If you're wondering, Zaralann was busy dealing with his homeland Russia. He would not specify, but another reason why I am not feeling motivated with this chapter is because of his silent absence for so long so... yeah. Anyways, enjoy.
Rias couldn't believe the news when it reached her ears.
Her best friend had suffered an impossible outcome in her field of expertise in chess, losing not to the hands of a High-Class Devil but a human teenager with no connections or infamy.
How could she have lost herself to someone with no prominent history in the game of chess? She had clearly severely underestimated the boy known as Hyōdō Issei.
Rias held her head on her desk as she tried to find a solution amidst the chaotic swirl of emotions swelled within the Heiress. Her only option to sway the one chance to free herself from the curse of her marriage was farther away from her reach, and she could not find a way other than to approach the human directly and hope for the best.
"Sōna, how could you?!" Rias shouted to herself as she stared at the space in front of her.
Sōna had also shown interest in the potential Peerage member, even so far as to directly state her interest in the boy to her face.
The human did not show any signs of vulgar behavior during his chess match with Sōna. The boy showcased a very humble attitude to the Class President, without an iota of lust or attraction to her or Tsubaki. In short, there was indeed a change in Issei, albeit she did not identify the source.
Even so, almost none of that mattered now, considering that she was on a diminishing time limit against Riser.
A knock came in through the door, disrupting Rias of her thoughts - a break she welcomed.
"Come in." The door opened, revealing Koneko as she entered the room.
"Taicho." Koneko greeted as she entered the room with a cookie in hand.
"Koneko-chan." Rias smiled upon seeing her presence. "How is your mission today?"
Koneko hummed in thought as she recollected her words.
"Hmmm. There is nothing unusual with Issei-sempai today as well. He simply walked home… Although, I can see his distress on his face." Rias wondered if it was because of the stress of facing Sōna or something else. Either way, it only showed that no one could face Sōna without experiencing the backlash. Koneko did not fail to notice Rias' distress on her face. "...Rias-sempai? What's wrong?"
Rias held her voice in her stomach as she maintained her mask in front of her wonderful kouhai.
Koneko was part of her precious family, someone she could never replace. Rias was more than aware of her background, her special heritage as one of the Nekomata clan members, and the trauma that Koneko carried.
Because of that, Koneko wouldn't use her full power in the upcoming fight, and Rias accepted that.
Akeno was the same case as well, the daughter of the woman that fell in love with a Fallen Angel. Her mother did not marry the Fallen without paying the price, her own clan members murdering her before Akeno's eyes before the father arrived to save her.
The tragedy instilled a sense of hatred in Akeno, one for her own clan members and one for her own father, subsequently leading to hatred for her Fallen Angel heritage.
Thus, because of her Queen's and Rook's respective traumas, their full power was mentally sealed, preventing Rias the might and cards she needed to overcome Riser and his Peerage.
Even though Akeno's Holy Lightning would've aided Rias tremendously since the Phenex clan's Regeneration could not completely nullify the damage of the Holy Attribute, Rias did not press or coerce Akeno into unleashing her full power. Because despite her position, she was still a king, one that she shaped with her own power.
Even if her power was so lacking that she couldn't fully include her Bishop into the fray.
Gasper Vladi… Rias sympathized with his plight. She was even more ashamed of herself than with him for her inability to encourage and manage her own Bishop. Because of that, Gasper must remain barred inside his room, interacting with the world from behind a screen while hiding from the world in a cardboard box.
Maybe Rias should go to Akeno to discuss their plan of action, though Rias was completely sure that her options were severely limited at this point. Maybe even rendered annul.
"... Nothing, Koneko-chan." Rias smiled sweetly.
She could not tell her kouhai about her situation. It would break her heart if she learned that Rias was at the cusp of hopelessness. No, she must continue to fight on and persevere, continue her search for worthy candidates for her Peerage while resuming her focus on the one card that continued to elude her.
While she ruminated her worries, she did not notice the bird watching her.
It was a small thing, yet its colors stand out amongst the local birds. Unlike the others, it only looked at her with intense focus, a behavior that strayed from the path of a normal bird.
It continued staring at her, watching her, listening to her through the glass while she remained blissfully unaware of the person behind those avian eyes.
Asia thanked the Lord above for her life.
Even after her exile, the Lord did not forsake her in her path.
Asia was grateful for Issei's kindness, being blessed with a warm shelter and generous company of Issei's strange company.
The… Undead, as Issei put it, was scary.
When Asia saw what Issei called a Death Knight, she was utterly terrified at first, clenching the cross on her neck on reflex. But she did not give in to her fear, for she trusted her savior, in Issei.
It was unusual to learn that he was a Necromancer, someone who raises and manipulates corpses of the deceased, but seeing him create the Undead himself with his strange power did put her conscious at ease.
She would be sad if he did kill people for the sake of their bodies.
It was also surprising to see the scary things turn… into girls for some reason. They turned from scary skeletons and zombies into cute adorable girls called him 'father' or 'papa' for some reason. She was happy that her savior didn't force them to return to being scary.
Even if he looked like he was in great pain every time he looked at them. Asia could tell that it was not his intent, but she was glad he did not try and get rid of them.
She found them to be too sweet to be erased. They, like all of God's creations, deserve a chance to exist, to live their lives like her… at least she thought she lived as they were undead, so… does it count as living? She found herself very confused.
Issei was now taking her somewhere in the forest in a wide-open space, a glade. He wanted to experiment with his powers, or that was how she heard. Asia was glad to give her opinions and thoughts as he requested… although she wished that she could do it with him alone - just the two of them.
She did not know why she had these thoughts, but her heart ached whenever he saw him holding the other girl's hand; the girl called herself Ophis like he was currently walking ahead with Ophis side by side.
What was that feeling that continued pricking her heart?
"Here it is," Issei said as they arrived at the clearing of grass.
"Ophis, would you kindly erect that barrier to prevent any prying eyes?" Issei asked Ophis.
Ophis looked at him with silent expectation. Issei took out something for Ophis, a piece of chocolate for her, freshly bought.
"Mmm." Ophis took the candy from his hand and waved her hand.
The air around them tinged. Asia could not tell, but the air had changed for some reason.
"Excellent." Issei nodded as he turned to Asia. "Now, Asia, I want to show you something. It is something I wouldn't show to just about anyone, you see."
Issei took a deep breath as he released Ophis's hand.
"U-Um…" Asia fidgeted on her feet.
Did he mean that she was special to him? Asia prayed so…
"I will show you my True Form… well, my New Form is the most appropriate answer." Issei pursed his lips. "I've never tested this one out, actually. It's something I wanted to do but never had the time for. The new surprises always pulled my attention to preparation."
Asia did not understand half of what he meant, in all honesty.
Issei stole a glance at Ophis, who was looking up at him. Issei walked into the center of the clearing alone and took a deep breath.
"Now then… feast your eyes upon this." Issei's form started to… expand.
Asia yipped upon seeing his humanity fading, replaced by something else.
Scales rippled over his skin, dark crimson armor washing over his skin, muscles expanding, face elongating as fangs grew from his teeth.
His form was enlarging, bigger and bigger until Asia had to crane her neck to the limit to see a giant dragon in place of the person that took her in. It was the first time she saw a Dragon this up close… And this Dragon looked terrifying for some reason.
"Fueeeee…?" It was that terrifying.
Its face had skin, but there was no gentleness, only facial savagery. Crimson eyes glowed, crooked talons scraping the dirt as great red wings unfurled with a mighty beat, covering most of the ground. Spines protrude from his scales, sharpening his form with violence, teeth long and vicious enough that it could tear through meat and bone like paper. Overall, Issei bore a more violent form of the dragon she read from the texts, something more akin to an evil dragon.
"Hmmmmm." Humming with a draconic rumble from his throat, the dragon looked around, craning its long neck left and right, crimson eyes scanning the surroundings. "My vision feels much crisper than before. Everything feels small… so this is what being a dragon feels like."
Asia stopped trembling after hearing Issei's gentle voice. He did not sound different… well, it sounded deeper and with more authority than before, but the tone was still there. Asia watched as Issei lifted a foreleg, gazing at his five sharp talons for a moment.
"I think those are opposable thumbs. Oh, a dewclaw."
Ophis approached him, catching his attention.
"Ah, Ophis. How do I look? Generic?" Issei asked.
"Mmmm." Ophis stared at him somewhat. "Mighty."
"Really?" Issei asked.
"Mhm." Ophis nodded.
"Are you sure? Does the might of my visage match that of this Great Red?"
"No." Ophis shook her head. "Nnnn. Red is bigger. You are puny."
"Hey." Asia giggled when Issei's Dragon features scrunched an equivalent of a frown despite its scary face.
He would always be her Issei no matter how he looked.
It would appear that his Dragon Form was as he expected.
He wasn't sure how grand his force was considering the Racial Levels indicating what he was, but now he had a good idea with Ophis's comparison. In short, he still had a very long way to go in his evolution towards the final dragon stage.
Asia looked terrified for a moment when he did show his dragon form, a sign of promise.
He should conjure up a mirror to see what he looked like. He hoped he would look awesome like the dragons of YGGDRASIL.
The option of becoming a dragon was never allowed in YGGDRASIL, not even with the Wish Spell available. Knowing the shitty devs' mindsets, any attempt to use World Class Items would waste resources.
They would never allow anything to upset the balance of the game, as far as they knew.
Speaking of upsetting balances, maybe he should find a way to become a World Class Champion since he definitely has the means of getting it now. His attempt at summoning the Celestial Uranium was a success, after all. It was a matter of time before he obtained the Caloric Stone.
"Size comparisons aside, I shall commence my attacks." Momonga could not have a perfect method of testing his skills other than a living benchmark.
Since Ophis was stronger than God himself, according to Raynare, she should help his estimations considerably despite her lack of experience with strong opponents.
The first of his Skill he wished to test was his [Dragonfire]. Basically, it was his natural breath weapon.
According to it, it would allow him to do as it said, though that did not count for the other skills like [Divine Dragon Flame] and [Flame Affinity V]. According to the script, the first one allows his flames to harm Gods, but he wasn't sure about the Gods here since he and his friends usually kill Gods in YGGDRASIL for Loot and fun.
He was aware of the existence of Gods ever since he read this Skill. It kindled a curiosity within him, making him wonder what the Gods here were like. He doubted that they would be just like those in the Game that would just let raids of Players attack them for convenience's sake.
"Asia. Prepare the necklace and move away from the danger zone." Asia nodded and activated the magical item around her neck.
Her feet lifted off the ground as she took flight, ascending above Issei and the others. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about his skills accidentally catching her via splash damage.
Ophis remained stoic as she watched him open its mouth and breathed a stream of Dragonfire, the tide of white flames washing over the diminutive dragon god.
"O-Ophis!" Asia shouted despite her being informed before arrival.
She always had an unnatural amount of worry for others' well-being, an essential quality of a Saint. However, to Momonga's expectations, once the flames died and revealed her form, Ophis appeared unharmed. There was not a scratch on her clothes, nary a burn mark on her skin, not even a strand of hair singed. Momonga knew that she would be unharmed, but seeing it was another story.
Ophis was standing in a molten pool of melted soil mixed with plant ashes, yet her clothes did not bother to catch fire, almost as if they just said no to the concept of burning.
It made Momonga wonder if her clothes were of a tier higher than Divine Rank… Could her clothes be a World Class Item itself, or something similar? Momonga wasn't a pervert enough to ask.
"So, what is your evaluation?"
"Mmmm." Ophis simply hummed in the middle of the orange circle of melted earth, completely unfazed.
"... You did not feel anything, did you?" Momonga the Dragon-Hybrid-Thing asked.
Ophis simply nodded her head in response.
Asia descended in his view, flying a little close with one hand outstretched, only to pull it back once she felt the heat of the molten soil. It would seem that the heat was genuine, and the unfair loli dragon was overpowered as she stated to be.
"Asia, return to a safe distance. I shall commence another experiment."
"Y-Yes, Issei." Asia listened to the Momonga Dragon and flew away sheepishly above in the safe skies.
This time, Momonga wanted to see if this would affect someone like Ophis.
First, he applied [Boost] on himself several times. According to the skill, it would boost everything he had, his Stats, his Magical Power, the potency of his Abilities and Spells twofold. The only factors it wouldn't include were his HP and MP.
The only cost to this Skill was that it consumes the user's stamina, but Momonga was Undead. His stamina has no limit as he could function without rest, fatigue, or sleep forever. He wanted to test the radius of his AOE attacks, especially if they were boosted to a degree.
Next, Momonga applied [Penetrate] on himself as he opened his draconic mouth.
The skill [Penetrate] was, as is implied, an active power designed to bypass Resistances, Defenses, and Immunities of a specific Skill, Spell, or Attack in general. Unlike [Boost], [Penetrate] has no negative costs, meaning Momonga could literally spam it in every attack. It was something that would definitely be among the World Class Item tier that every user would fight for.
If the dragon breath before was a bomb, then this was something similar to a mini-nuke.
His mouth was like an overpowered cannon used to annihilate the small thing before him. However, like before, with his dragon vision, Momonga could see Ophis through the carpet of fire, standing unfazed by the Dragonfire.
He was curious as he had boosted himself considerably, to the point where he should be able to harm World Enemies, yet Ophis seemed relatively unfazed by his efforts.
Was the level difference between them that large? No, it was unfair to categorize Ophis via numbers in the first place.
The fire was a roaring tide consuming the land right to the edge of the barrier Ophis placed in the area, and it splashed against the wall, spreading against the curved surface of the magical barrier.
"... Eh?" Momonga did not expect this much of a difference of power.
According to the [Boost] skill description, it was supposed to consume stamina, yet Momonga did not feel anything. It would seem that being an undead of unlimited stamina had special benefits. Not a single blip of fatigue wracked him, if he was honest. He was now curious about how many times he could stack this skill. It reminded him of a few warrior class skills in YGGDRASIL that stack the same buffs under certain conditions but only to a limit. If he could stack it without end, though…
He might be able to kill just about anything. His spine shuddered at the possibilities behind such a power. The only problem was if there were counters. There were Class Skills that could remove all buffs or stop the target from buffing as well.
As far as he knew, [Boost] definitely classified as a Buff since it would fade once in a short duration. Even so, it was a Buff that would give him great cheat powers in YGGDRASIL.
Now he wanted to see how many times he could buff himself before reaching the level of power needed to harm someone like Ophis. It would be an interesting experiment that would help Ophis feel the concept of pain for the first time. It might sound bad on paper, but he needed to stimulate her very withered survival instincts somehow.
Momonga continued experimenting on Ophis this time.
Next, he tried the [Flame Aura] skill, a power similar in YGGDRASIL. His flames scorched the surroundings and nearly started a wildfire in the forest. Ophis helped him douse the flames.
Then he attempted to test his YGGDRASIL spells on Ophis, the ones he knew at least ranging from [Reality Slash] to the very weak [Magic Arrows]. Ophis commented that the Magic that struck her felt very strange for some reason. Momonga wanted to know the difference honestly as Ophis managed to invalidate every attack he had thrown at her.
There was an itch inside him that wanted to test [Energy Drain] on her, but he would rather not do such a thing to Ophis. He preferred her at her best in a case to deter the factions that did exist and the various pantheons.
After he finished his experiments, the land around him was a charred hellscape. He might need to find a way to repair everything with a bit of [Creation]. It was a shame that he was no Druid, though, but he did not think that he needed that Class. Momonga preferred to be more of an Arcane Mage than an Apostle of Nature.
That and he wasn't sure if he could delve into Spirit Magic as it was a completely separate concept compared to Arcane Magic.
"I believe I am finished with my experiments," Momonga concluded as he canceled his transformation phase.
He did manage to learn some things in Dragon Form.
One, his Magic and Attack Power was definitely strengthened in Dragon Form. Two, he was a tad bit slower in Dragon Form in exchange due to his massive size. And three, he was completely not used to being a Dragon.
Momonga understood that he needed to learn how to be a dragon before using his dragon powers to the fullest extent. It wasn't like his Lich Avatar; Momonga had never trained in being a Dragon.
"Ophis." Momonga glanced at the closest dragon. "I have a feeling that my words will be wasted on you, but I will ask. Do you think you can train me on how to become a Dragon?"
Ophis simply stared at him.
"... Why? You're a Dragon."
"Never mind." Momonga's suspicions were confirmed. He would need a Dragon with more experience than power. "Asia, it is safe now. You may descend."
Momonga turned his Dragon head up. The former nun was seemingly bewildered by the devastation, which Momonga could not blame on her.
"A-Alright." Asia nodded as she descended.
To Momonga's surprise, Asia lowered herself until she was at eye level with Momonga. He felt her hand touching his nose.
"... It's ticklish," Momonga responded.
"Uwaaahhh." Asia stared into his eyes with amazement as she continued rubbing his face. "It's so smooth! And hard."
Momonga chuckled at Asia's comment. Having a girl feel his face felt very… soothing. Yes, Asia's was very soothing.
"Do you wish for a ride?" Momonga offered.
"U-um, r-really?" Asia asked.
If she had wings, Momonga swore she would look downright adorable as an Angel.
"Only if I found a way to hide with Illusion Magic. Then I will give you a ride you deserve." Momonga promised.
Momonga had his thoughts wander to his time with the President; he almost murdered Sōna and her aide on the spot during the chess match.
He was about to use [Grasp Heart] on Sōna before following it with a [Time Stop] to appear before Tsubaki and kill her as well in a fit of panic. For a moment, he thought she was onto his True Nature or the cause of Diodora Astaroth's death.
It was a good thing, at least.
Sōna seemed like a very nice person despite what he assumed, but he still couldn't be sure. The girl looked confident, strong, and steadfast in the face of trouble, as one of his bosses, only younger and more considerate.
Still, he couldn't believe that he managed to fool Sōna and her entourage. In seriousness, Momonga never thought that he could freeze both Sōna and Tsubaki in frozen time without them knowing about it. He was really glad that he thought of [Temporal Stasis] in his match with Sōna.
Unlike [Time Stop], [Temporal Stasis] was a Ninth-Tier Spell that freezes a single target in time with the same duration as Time Stop. Like [Time Stop], those caught in [Temporal Stasis] will not receive any damage in the duration. It was tricky trying to aim at Sōna and Tsubaki without getting noticed, positioning his palm at the right angle while waiting for the two girls to look away from the board enough not to notice the rearrangements.
In the end, Momonga returned home a victor, even though it was foul play. Now he just needed to figure out what to demand of Sōna in his victory.
"Information on the Devils would be nice." Momonga hummed as he walked up the stairs to his room.
This could be his chance to gain further insight into Devil society without making enemies. She seems like a Devil that would keep her word, and she was so primly elegant as well.
"Mmmm." Her hand was in a place she never thought would incite her, doing something so not elegant for someone like her.
On her bed, in her bra and panties, Sōna moaned as she clamped her thighs on her hand, her fingering hand.
"I-Issei, ahhhh." She did not know why her mind was stuck on him.
Whenever her thoughts wandered to the Human that defeated her, she found her loins burning with a need she never thought would arrive until the late prime of her youth. She never thought that she would resort to such unladylike habits when she thought of someone else as her virgin fluids trickled down her fingers, fingering out the womanly pleasure locked inside her for so long with squelching fervor.
Her own loins started to contract as Sōna grimaced, grunting as she arched up against her back. She had never experienced it before, but she could feel it coming out, her first step to adulthood to arriving.
Was this a crush?
It felt more intense than she imagined.
"I-Issei, Issei!" Sōna moaned as she felt something coming out.
Her cries grew in volume the more her loins convulsed; her pink velvet folds gripping her fingers as it arrived.
"Ahhh! Ah! AH! AHHHHHHHHH!" She could not stop it.
Her groin was unleashing a violent orgasm that expunged her liquid lust. The climax… It was a first for her. An explosion of energy is leaving through her lower entrance, leaving behind only a slight void and a sense of satisfaction… along with the addictive desire to dig for more.
It was a bit exhausting for her.
Feeling a sense of drowsiness, Sōna fell back on her bed and laid her arm on her forehead as she stared at the ceiling of her room.
"... What is happening to me?" She asked herself.
This could not be love. It was dirty, an impure feeling that should be so far beneath her it couldn't even touch her. And yet, here she was, finding herself in a territory reserved only for the dirty minds - like she entered the realm where certain perverts only tread.
Yes, she felt more like a pervert than a maiden in love.
Sōna rolled over as she raised her dirty hand, taking a good look at the act she committed. How should she feel about this? It was… unsightly for an Heiress of the Sitri clan… no, for a girl like her to… But the act did feel soothing, cathartic, although a bit addicting in the way her nerves relaxed as if all tensions were released at once.
She blushed as she admitted to that before she smothered her face into her pillow. She just hoped that Serafall wouldn't notice her sinful act. If she did, she would never stop hounding her… for days. No, maybe months.
Unfortunately, to her unawares, however, a familiar was watching her from the shadows of the room, completely melding with the color of the room. Her privacy was non-existent long ago due to the nature of her sister.
"Ehhhh, Sōna-chi got a cruuuush?" In another room, a certain girl laid on the bed on her stomach, kicking her legs back and forth as she watched her little sister finish her first taste of masturbation.
She was a beautiful girl with black hair tied in twin-tails. Her eyes were cerulean blue, and she wore pajamas, pink in color. Serafall Leviathan did not expect to see her little sister do something so lewd in her room, making her very curious about who could induce her sweet little Sōna, the very serious Sōna, into such a state.
She wondered if she could finally convince her little sister to try on magical girl uniforms now that she tasted the forbidden fruit of pleasure and indecency. But first, she must sneakily find who her crush was and then prod him, or her, until she was either satisfied or otherwise. She refused to let anyone go after enchanting her little sister.