DxD: Dragon On These Hands (Patreon)

CHAPTER 8

-

Hyoudou Issei's POV

"Any last words?"

Buchou asked the stray devil who was on the ground bleeding.

"Kill me."

That’s the only thing the monster says.

"... Then disappear."

A cruel reply. Buchou’s voice gave him the chills.

VROOOMMM... DOOONN!!!

A gigantic black mass of demonic power generated into an orb before shooting out from Buchou’s palm.

It’s so big that it cover the monster’s entire body.

The mass of demonic power devours its body. When the demonic power disappears, so did the monster’s body.

Just like Buchou said, it disappeared.

Confirming that, Buchou let out a sigh as she dusted her hands.

“It’s over, good work everyone.”

Buchou says to the club members as everyone returned back to their usual selves. So the “Stray Devil” hunt is over, huh?

The fate for the Stray Devils. he doesn’t know what to say. That thing left its master’s side because it had something on its mind…

So this is a Devil's battle…

STEP STEP STEP!

"That was a well done effort."

The group suddenly tensed at the sound of footsteps. They looked back to see a man walking towards them.

The man was wearing a hood, so he couldn't see his face at all.

He wore a thigh-length, white hooded haori-like robe, and underneath was a dark gray kimono and hakama with dark red pleats.

He was even wearing sneakers, which threw Issei off. What kind of person who wears such priest-like clothes wears trainers?!

And that mantle floating behind him... Wow, it was cool.

It was a white mantle with an interior that resembles a window into a slowly shifting star field.

On his hand was a weird looking staff with a menacing book in the middle, floating in between two metal rings.

"The teamwork and trust that each one of you have is splendid indeed."

He said with a soft tone which he recognized as English (He did remember that devils had a passive ability to listen to any language!) as he got closer, prompting his Peerage to raise their guard.

"Who are you?"

Buchou ordered as the man stopped in his track.

"Ah, I apologize, but I can't give you my name as my master has prohibited me to. You can call me "That Man" or "R#" (R-sharp) if you'd like."

He said with an apologetic voice.

"And what do you want?"

Buchou demanded an answer, the same orb that disintegrated the stray devil appearing on her palm once again.

That Man was silent for a while before reaching to take the floating book on his staff.

"First, I'd like to apologize. You see, my master has gained a vision of a future."

He explained as he opened the book, causing a burst of power to come out from the book itself. It made him shiver at the amount.

"Without going into details. he had accidentally changed the course of the future, and has doomed your own fate, Miss Rias Gremory."

That caused her to gasp as he bowed slightly to apologize.

"Due to this mishap, he has instructed me to at least recover the damage, by awakening your Pawn's Sacred Gear to its current limits."

Wait, pawn? That was when he felt his gaze on him.

Wait, he was a Pawn?! He was the lowest piece!

"Issei's? But he already awakened it, it is a Twice Critical..."

Akeno-san questions, confused as That Man shook his head.

"Without offense, there is no way that a mere Twice Critical costs 8 pawns, Miss Akeno Himejima."

Hold up, 8 pawns?! He was worth 8 pawns? WOW, was he that strong to need 8 pawns?!

"How did you get that information?!"

Buchou was now very angry, as he could see a blackish-red aura surrounding her body. The rest of the Peerage was now ready to pounce at any moment too, Kiba-san gripped his sword tightly, Koneko-chan got into a boxer pose, and Akeno-san had lightning pulsing on her hands, scary!

But he went along, summoning his Sacred Gear with a thought of the most powerful image in his head. With a slight flash of red, his Sacred Gear appeared on his left hand as he got into a battle pose.

That Man hummed.

"I have told you, my master has the information of a future. Now, as I was saying, I was sent here to apologize by awakening his Sacred Gear."

A pulse of wind suddenly pushed them all back as the floating mantle of That Man fluttered vigorously. With one hand holding the book while another raising to the sky, he said his piece.

"I'm sorry in advance."

DOOOONNN!!!

In an instant, Buchou and Akeno-san were suddenly encapsulated in a transparent blue cube.

"Buchou! Akeno-san!"

Kiba-san, with his speed, quickly tried to deal with the source itself, That Man, but he suddenly gets hit by a low attack that resembled a cube sea wave, causing him to drop onto the ground. Then, a follow-up came as a big red blast exploded, causing Kiba to drop to the ground unconsicous with blood all over his body.

Koneko who moved the same time as Kiba-san, ran in an arc before reaching That Man.

"Sei!"

She says out as she threw a punch, but a magic circle appeared in the middle of That Man and Koneko, blocking the attack.

BOOM!

The power behind the punch didn't even make a dent on the magic circle as with a motion, the book in his hands faced Koneko before a huge sword appeared and shot out, hitting Koneko in the stomach.

That caused Koneko-chan to fly a few meters back with force, slamming into the ground.

"Koneko-chan!"

Issei yelled out before quickly glancing at Buchou and Akeno-san, paling when he saw the state that they were in.

They were breathing heavily as their skin started to burn. Buchou tried to gather demonic power to blow the cube away, but every time she tried, the cube wills tart to absorb the energy.

Getting close to the cube, he felt super uncomfortable as his instincts told him to back away from the energy that the cube was exerting, but he ignored it.

"Oryah!"

He punches the cube with his left hand that held the Twice Critical, hearing it roar out a [Boost!].

FSSH!!!

"Ouch!"

But instead of it breaking, his knuckles started to burn as if it touched boiling water. That was when he recalled Buchou's lecture this evening. This was light energy, the type of energy that Yuuma used to kill him!

That caused a flashback of him dying as suddenly he heard something dropped to the ground. Turning his head, he started to breathe rapidly at Koneko dropping to the ground a few feet from That Man, her body filled with slash marks and a stab wound in her chest.

"I-Ise..."

He turned around to see Buchou and Akeno-san struggling. Now that he see it clearly, the cube was slowly shrinking!

"R-Run... You can't..."

He could hear Buchou's whisper as he could hear her skin burn. Akeno-san had already fallen unconscious from the pain!

"B-But — !"

"Please... R-Run..."

And not long after that, her head falls as she fell unconscious. He stared at the two women in the cube burning, and the two other Peerage members laying on the ground unconscious.

Yelling out loud, he charges at That Man, who just blocks his punch with a magic circle before suddenly a cube slammed into his gut, causing him to spit out blood at the light energy and drop to the ground in pain.

H-He couldn't do anything at all! Even with the power to boost his strength two folds, he still was so useless!

"Sacred Gears is driven with the power of desire. The stronger you desire, the stronger your Sacred Gear will respond to you."

He heard That Man walk towards him. He panicked as he subconcsiously stepped back in fear.

"What are you feeling right now, Hyoudou Issei?"

That Man asked as Issei clenched his fists so tightly that blood dripped out. What was he feeling? His master... His teammates...

Even though they've only met for only a day or two, what he was feeling now was...

"What I'm feeling... Is the feeling of punching you for what you did to my friendsssss!"

He yells out with pure emotion of rage and anger.

"Then manifest it! That anger, that rage, that desire to punch and defeat me! Manifest it into your left arm!"

That Man said loudly as Issei roared.

"ArrgggghhhHHHHH!!!"

[DRAGON BOOSTER FIRST LIBERATION!]

As if responding to his rage, the jewel on his Sacred Gear starts to shine brightly, blinding him. When the light fades away, Issei was left staring at his Sacred Gear in awe.

On the Sacred Gear were mysterious marks and 2 golden spikes that now appears on the gauntlet, making it look more menacing and powerful.

[BOOST!]

Power suddenly flows into his body as he clenched his fist. This was not the time to look at his cool gauntlet. He gets back up with shaky legs before glaring at That Man.

Dashing towards That Man, he swung his fist.

He dodges it with ease before a sword suddenly appeared from the book, stabbing his left thigh. He doesn't feel any pain, maybe it was because of the adrenaline?

[BOOST!]

Another sound from the jewel. The mark on the jewel of the gauntlet changes from [I] to [II].

THUMP THUMP!

A second change happens to his body.

The power — something to beat down the enemy in front of him is increasing.

"TAKE THIS!"

He roared out before charging towards That Man.

He manifested a magic circle to block the punch, and the same sword that stabbed his thigh stabbed into his stomach, still not being able to react in time.

SPLURT!

Blood starts to drip as the sword cleanly entered through his stomach and out from his back.

He weakly pulled and took out the sword from his stomach.

[BOOST!]

[II] -> [III]

Even when he was pierced by the sword and stopped his attack, the gauntlet on his left arm continues to make a sound.

It hurts. It really hurts.

Strength flooded back into his body, but the sudden increase caused him legs to fail, causing him to stumble to his butt.

He doesn’t have the strength to stand up. Shit, he doesn’t have any strength in his legs.

No, he doesn’t have any strength left in his whole body, even though a new surge of power entered his body.

Looking at the hole in his stomach, he just thought to himself.

Was he in a bad condition?

He looked at Buchou. Her face and her skin were pale and now showing a little bit of red flesh at the surfaces touching the cube. Akeno-san was the same. They were in pain.

He was about to pray to God when he remembered.

Right, he was a devil now, so that meant that God would not listen to him.

"... Maou-sama, will you listen to my wish? You exist, right? Are you listening? I’m also a Devil, so will you listen to my wish?"

Issei said slowly, light fading from his eyes, but he persisted.

He couldn't die yet. Not until Buchou, Akeno-san, Kiba-san, Koneko-chan all are alright.

"I’m going to bash this shitty guy's face in front of me, so please... Just one hit is enough. Please let me hit him."

As the Pawn of the Gremory House, he has to make sure that he must sacrifice himself for the Peerage. That's what Pawns do, right? They sacrifice themselves so that the King can win the game.

His legs could move, but there was no sensation left. But they could still move. With a growl, he slowly starts to get up, That Man not moving at all.

He just have to endure it until he hit him once, hard enough to make him drop the cube and set them free. Then, they will finish this bastard.

His body hasn’t stopped shaking, but he gets up, panting.

"... Well done, Hyoudou Issei. Well done."

Issei took a step towards him. One more step, and he would be in range. Every step hurt so much as blood gushes out from his wounds, but he was going to bash this asshole's face!

"Hey, Sacred Gear. You still have the power to punch this guy in front of me, right? Then let’s finish it.”

[BOOST!]

[III] -> [IV]

[EXPLOSION!]

The sound from the jewel made just now sounded especially strong. The jewel shines even brighter. Such a bright light. It’s dazzling. Power surged into his body one last time.

He took the last step needed, coughing out blood.

"Come, hit me, and you will save your friends from me."

He yelled out as Issei grabbed That Man's haori tightly, he was not going to get away!

He cocked his arm back, putting everything into this last attack before yelling out loud.

"TAKE THISSSSSSSSS!"

The gauntlet released all of its energy. All the strength gathered in his left arm, and Issei concentrated them on his fist.

He used that fist to punch straight and accurately at the face of the enemy.

BANGGG!!!

The hard sound echoes. His fist is dug into That Man's face, and he pushed his fist even further!

That Man went flying backwards with his punch.

GURUGURUGURU! THUD!

That Man's body bounces slightly before dropping to the ground.

He did it. He has won.

VOOOOooom...

The cube dissipates as Buchou and Akeno-san dropped to the ground, now breathing a lot better from the release of the light energy. They were still unconscious though.

He saved them. They were finally alright...

[RESET!]

And with that, he dropped to the ground with a THUD! before closing his eyes in exhaustion.

=

=

=

General POV

Rubbing his face, Sin winces in pain as he gets back up from the ground. That punch really hurt like a truck.

Looking at the chaos of the battle, he quickly walked over to the most damaged person.

Issei had done it, sure, Sin had maybe traumatised the kid, but he at least awakened his Boosted Gear, that was a plus!

Opening the Tome of Origin (Fake), he quickly flipped through the pages before finding an area of effect healing spell, casting it immediately as a green dome erected as it started to heal the Peerage.

The Tome of Origin, that was the book on his hand currently. Well, it was a fake, of course. The original Tome of Origin had the Backyard sealed inside of it by the Original, so it is impossible to even try and replicate it in this world.

So he opted for a fake Tome of Origin which increased his magic prowess by 5 times, and it was a good read since the contents of the book were plots and arcs of the Guilty Gear series.

And the huge sword and light cubes that he created? They were also the work of the mantle, he calls it the Gravity Mantle, based on Asuka's theme song in Guilty Gear -Strive-. 

It allows him to use Asuka, the original That Man's, combat magic, which were mostly cubes for some reason. He guessed that Asuka really liked cubes.

Who could blame him though, cubes in math are sick.

[So, you were saying the truth about awakening me, Artificial Dragonborn.]

Sin freezes before looking at the sound's direction, Issei's gauntlet. The jewel lit up once more as a voice comes out from it.

[Shocked?]

"... A little bit. Greetings, Welsh Dragon."

Y Ddraig Goch, the Welsh Dragon, and the Red Dragon Emperor of Domination, was talking to him.

[Greetings. Now, explain.]

He started to explain the future that he mentioned earlier until the part where Issei saves Rias while healing the cast of DxD, to which the Welsh Dragon hums in thought.

[... I see why you did that. It's for the major events after the wedding crash, yes? I doubt you'd do all this just so that he could save a mere damsel in distress?]

"Who knows? But I cannot tell you it as it would create a butterfly effect though."

That prompted Ddraig to laugh.

[Knowing too much is a boring endeavour as a Dragon. Sometimes, Chaos is the only way to have some fun.]

"... You do have a point there."

Asking Ddraig to promise never to reveal this piece of information, he gets to work healing them all. Once they were not in mortal danger anymore, he made sure to heal Rias more to the point that she would awaken from her slumber.

Using the staff to poke her, she soon wakes up groggly before her eyes shot wide open. With a gesture of a fingergun, she points it at Sin who was busy healing the rest.

"What have you done?!"

She angryly demanded as Sin didn't look up from his book as an act.

"Congratulations, Miss Rias Gremory. Your servant has awakened the true form of his Sacred Gear, the Boosted Gear."

She had a shocked expression as she repeats the name of the Sacred Gear in a daze.

"Boosted Gear...?"

"Yes, the Boosted Gear, one of the Longinus, being able to multiply one's power two folds every 10 seconds, that kind of power has the potential to kill even God."

Sin explained as he finishes the spell, closing the book, causing the green dome to dissipate into the air. Noting that he wasn't a threat anymore, she quickly checks on her Peerage before discovering the he had healed them all along with giving some presents.

"... My demonic powers... Their reserves have increased by 30%!"

She looked at him for answers.

"An apology gift, for what I've done to you and your Peerage."

He mutters truthfully before lifting the book back up, watching as it magnetically starts floating in between the two rings.

It's always so therapeutic to watch the book aimlessly floating around.

"... Why? You attack us without any explanation, then heal our injuries? Just what are you after?"

She questions to which he repeats it once more.

"As I said, my master accidentally derailed the future. This would, hopefully, be sufficient to keep the flow of time constant enough for canon to move as it should."

With his piece said, he turns around before starting to walk away.

"I shall bid you goodbye, Miss Rias Gremory. Till we meet again."

=

=

=

A/N:

Weapon Tickets Used:

=

Junkyard Dog MK III (Sol Badguy)

+ Increased Fire Magic Potency by 500%

=

Gravity Mantle (Asuka R. Kreutz / That Man)

+ Access to Asuka's Combat Magic

=

Tome of Origin [Fake] + Staff of Origin [Fake] (Asuka R. Kreutz)

+ Increased All Magic Potency by 500%

=

? (Sin Kiske)

=

? (Ky Kiske)