DxD: The Dragon Oppai {Chapter 124: Diodora did that?! ] (Patreon)

10:55 A.M. [I got this number from my sister. This is Sona Sitri. I apologize for sending you a message on your phone without asking, Hyoudou-kun, but I thought you should know that Riser Phenex and his sister came by to talk to me earlier. They were asking me where you lived. Please don't freak out or kill them. I didn't sense any ill intentions.]

Issei immediately started texting Sona back on his phone, [What?! You told those people where I live?! Why are they coming over here?!]

A few seconds passed before Issei got a response, [They wouldn't say, but they assured me that they were not here to provoke you in any way.]

[How long ago was this?] he asked immediately.

[Fifteen minutes ago.] Sona messaged back.

Issei let out a heavy sigh, feeling a mixture of frustration and confusion. "What the hell? What could they possibly want with me?" he muttered to himself, his mind racing with various possibilities.

In the next moment, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the house, further adding to Issei's growing sense of dread. Reluctantly, he made his way to the door, taking a deep breath to compose himself before opening it. As expected, standing before him were Riser and Ravel Phenex, but what caught Issei off guard was the presence of his entire peerage.

Issei's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to process the situation. Why would all of them be here together? Before he could even speculate on their intentions, he overheard one of his nosy neighbors gossiping about him. "That troublemaker Hyoudou boy always has girls coming in and out of his house. What must his poor parents think?"

Issei inwardly groaned, already planning on finding a new place to live later that night. "And maybe I'll ask Gremory to perform a mind-wiping spell on my neighbors while she's at it...she owes me one," he thought, his annoyance palpable as he caught a glimpse of his neighbors hastily retreating out of sight.

Ddraig, his partner dragon, chimed in with amusement, "Sounds like a solid plan, Issei. Let's make sure your future home is free from nosy neighbors."

Lost in his thoughts, Issei hadn't realized that he had been standing in awkward silence, leaving the Phenex devils waiting for a response. Their expressions ranged from anxiety to fear, clearly unsure of how to proceed. Finally, Issei focused his gaze on Riser, the leader of the Phenex group, and spoke with a hint of impatience, "Sitri sent me a text saying you were looking for me. You better have a damn good reason for showing up at my doorstep. What do you want?"

Riser's gaze dropped momentarily as he struggled to find the right words. The girls in his peerage seemed equally uncertain, their eyes darting nervously. After an uncomfortable pause, Ravel stepped forward, breaking the silence. "My brother, Riser, wanted to apologize to you. We're here to make amends..."

Issei's eyes widened in disbelief as he processed Ravel's words. The gravity of the situation began to sink in. "Apologize? After everything that happened?" Issei deadpanned, his voice filled with skepticism.

Ravel continued, her voice filled with earnestness as she glanced at Riser, nudging him gently for support. "We all saw the news...we witnessed what happened to Diodora Astaroth. It made me realize how easily you could have defeated us in the Rating Game. None of us want to be on bad terms with you. We're here on behalf of the Phenex family to offer our sincerest apologies."

Issei's arms remained crossed as he leveled a skeptical gaze at Ravel. "You expect me to believe this? You're actually here to apologize to me?" he questioned, his voice tinged with a mix of disbelief and suspicion.

Riser, finally summoning his courage, looked up and spoke with a determined tone. "No, Issei Hyoudou, this is not a joke," he asserted. "The only joke here is me and my foolish ego for underestimating the power of a dragon. I had never encountered one in battle before facing you. It's easy for us devils to believe that we are at the top of the food chain, but the truth is different, isn't it? Dragons are feared by every faction in the world for a reason. My sister's words rang true when she made me realize that you could have easily wiped us out. I began to question myself...why didn't you kill any of us?"

Issei shrugged nonchalantly, uncrossing his arms. "I don't know. Maybe you would have perished without your Phenex regeneration ability. But honestly, I didn't harbor a personal grudge against you guys, apart from your queen destroying my uniform and you being an insufferable jerk. The only reason I even participated in that Rating Game was to ensure that Sitri would enroll my friends at Kuoh Academy. I wasn't planning on doing it until you started provoking me. And as for Diodora Astaroth...I killed him because he kidnapped my friends and threatened to defile them," he explained matter-of-factly.

Ravel's curiosity got the better of her as she asked, "Diodora did that? Why would he do such a thing?"

Yubelluna, Riser's queen, shook her head in disapproval. "He's an utter fool for even attempting such despicable acts," she remarked.

"He assumed I wouldn't be able to find him, and he believed that even if I did, he was politically protected from any retaliation. He was also counting on his older brother, Beelzebub, to shield him," Issei explained with a hint of anger. "But none of that stopped me. I killed that bastard for kidnapping my friends and to serve as an example. And the reason I spared you all is simply because I didn't have a personal vendetta against you. Riser, you're a complete douchebag, but that only warranted a severe beating. Diodora's actions, however, deserved nothing less than torture and death."

Ravel's eyes widened in astonishment as she struggled to comprehend the gravity of Diodora's depravity. "Let me get this straight...you participated in the Rating Game to enroll your friends in school? Who are these friends, and why was Diodora so interested in kidnapping them?" she inquired, her curiosity piqued.

Issei let out a weary sigh. "They are two exorcists...ordinary humans affiliated with the church," he began. "From what I gathered, Diodora had assembled his entire peerage from former nuns and similar backgrounds. He had a sick obsession with raping pure-hearted maidens and converting them into devils. He saw my friends as his next targets, aiming to add them to his twisted collection."

Ravel's disbelief was evident as she muttered, "Seriously? Diodora was capable of such despicable acts? He always seemed pleasant whenever I encountered him..."

Riser, finding his voice once more, added with a somber tone, "I never fully trusted him...but to hear that he stooped so low, it's truly disturbing."