On Monday morning, Kuoh Academy was buzzing with the usual gossip of the start of classes, but the atmosphere changed drastically when a young brunette walked through the front door.
Issei no longer walked hunched over or with that wandering, perverted look. Now he walked upright, with a firm stride that denoted absolute confidence. His uniform, which had previously been somewhat loose, was now slightly taut at the shoulders and back due to the brute strength he had forged in the mountains.
"Is that... Hyoudou?" a second-year girl whispered, stopping abruptly.
"It can't be, he looks... different. Did he grow?" his friend replied, turning around to follow him with her eyes.
The usual murmurs of disdain were replaced by a deathly silence or whispers of astonishment. Issei was oblivious to everything; his senses, sharpened by training, were focused on detecting any presence around him. Suddenly, a group of girls made their way into the main hall. In the center, walking with regal elegance, were Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima.
Issei stopped a few meters away. Their eyes met. In Issei's eyes there was no lust, but a deep longing and protectiveness that struck Rias like an electric shock.
"Rias?" Akeno noticed her president had frozen. "What's wrong?"
Rias didn't respond immediately. She was analyzing the boy in front of her. "His aura... it's human, but there are also traces that resemble those of the dragons. He's like a volcano about to erupt," she thought, feeling a chill she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Issei, making a superhuman effort not to run and hug them, simply nodded in a chivalrous gesture of respect and continued on to his classroom.
"Ara, ara..." Akeno murmured with a mischievous smile. "It seems the school 'pervert' has become quite an interesting man these past few months, don't you think, Rias?"
Rias stared at Issei's back until he disappeared down the hallway.
"That boy... Issei Hyoudou..." she whispered, clutching the books to her chest. "Something about him has completely changed. Akeno, I want you to keep a close eye on him. I sense a power emanating from him that no human should possess."
Meanwhile, upon arriving at his classroom, Issei was greeted by Matsuda and Motohama, who were left speechless.
"Issei! You damned traitor!" Matsuda shouted. "What the hell have you been doing these past two months?! Now you look like a damn athlete! What happened to you?"
"Tell us the truth!" Motohama demanded, adjusting his glasses. "Did you have surgery or what? Even the girls are looking at you like, 'I want to meet him!'"
Issei let out a calm laugh, one that had nothing of the shrill laugh from before.
"I just decided to take my future seriously, guys," Issei said as he sat down at his desk. "The old Issei stayed in the mountains."
"Partner, prepare yourself," Ddraig's voice echoed in his mind. "Rias Gremory has already taken the bait. It won't be long before she tries to contact you."
Issei smiled inwardly. Everything was going according to plan.
As classes ended, the sky over Kuoh turned a deep orange. Issei walked toward the exit, feeling the gazes of several students, but his senses were on high alert. Ddraig warned him in a low voice:
—Hey buddy, there she is. I feel the energy of a fallen angel, even though she tries to hide it behind that sweet girl facade.
Issei remained unfazed. Near the fountain, a dark-haired girl with an apparently shy expression awaited him. It was Yuuma Amano (Raynare).
"Um... excuse me!" she said, approaching with a fake blush.
—You're Hyoudou Issei-kun, right?
Issei stopped. His eyes, now sharper, scanned her with a coldness that made her hesitate for a second. It wasn't the gaze of a drooling pervert, but that of someone who could read her intentions.
—Yes, it's me. How can I help you? —Issei replied in a deep, calm voice.
Yuuma remained silent for a moment, surprised by the presence the boy exuded. He was nothing like the report she had about the "Kuoh pervert."
"Well... I..." he stammered, resuming his role. "I've been watching you for a while now and... I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me on Sunday!"
Issei felt a pang of anger in his chest as he remembered how she had murdered him in the past, but he controlled it thanks to his new discipline.
"A date?" Issei smiled slightly; a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Okay, I accept. See you Sunday at the central park."
Yuuma seemed relieved, although something about Issei's confidence made her uneasy.
"Great! See you there then!" he said before walking away almost at a trot.
"That woman... she still thinks I'm easy prey," Issei thought, clenching his fists.
"Be careful, partner," Ddraig warned him. "Your physical strength has grown so much that if you strike her without thinking, you could pulverize her before she can reveal who sent her. Remember, we need Rias to appear for the contract to be fulfilled."
—I know, Ddraig. But this time, I'll be the one doing the hunting.
From one of the windows of the old school building, two figures observed the scene. Rias Gremory frowned while Akeno stood beside her.
"That girl isn't human, is she, Rias?" Akeno asked in a serious tone.
"No. He's a low-ranking fallen angel," Rias replied with a hint of concern. "But what worries me most is Issei. He didn't seem scared or excited... he seemed to be accepting a challenge. Akeno, set up a teleportation circle. I'm not going to let that boy die this Sunday."
Sunday arrived with clear skies, but the tension in the air was palpable to someone with the senses of a dragon. Issei walked toward the central park wearing a t-shirt that accentuated his muscular shoulders. He was no longer the nervous boy of his past life; now, every step was calculated.
"Partner, I detect three Fallen presences in the perimeter," Ddraig warned. "Raynare didn't come alone. It seems they suspect you're not an ordinary human."
"Let everyone come if they want," Issei replied mentally. "My body needs a real punching bag after two months of hitting rocks."
Yuuma was waiting for him by the fountain in her summer dress, wearing that fake smile that Issei found repulsive. They spent the afternoon walking, but Issei noticed how she was becoming increasingly nervous. The "new" Issei didn't fall for her games or blush.
Finally, at dusk, he led him to the most secluded part of the park.
"Hyoudou-kun... today has been so much fun," she said, stopping under a tree. "But I have one last request... could you die for me?"
In a burst of violet light, her human clothes disappeared, revealing her true form as a fallen angel with black wings and a spear of light.
"Die?" Issei let out a dry laugh that sent shivers down Raynare's spine. "Sorry, Yuuma, but I've been through that once. And I'm not going to repeat it."
Raynare, enraged, hurled her spear at full speed. In the past, that would have been the end. But now...
In a flash of pure speed, Issei vanished. The spear hit the ground, but he was already behind it.
"What?!" Raynare shouted, turning around frantically. "It's impossible! A human can't move like that!"
"Ddraig, now!" roared Issei.
Although he didn't summon the gauntlet so as not to alert the entire Underworld, Issei charged his fist with a fraction of his power. The air around his arm began to distort from the pressure.
—This is for what you did to me last time!
It unleashed a blow that broke the sound barrier. Raynare barely managed to cross her wings, but the impact was devastating. The crack of her bones filled the air as she was flung out, piercing through three trees before crashing into a stone wall.
Raynare was embedded in the wall, coughing up blood as her black wings hung broken and lifeless. She couldn't understand it. That human, that "worm" who was supposed to be executed, had overpowered her without even using a sacred weapon.
Issei walked towards her with slow steps; each footstep echoed in the silence of the park like a sentence.
"How... what are you?" Raynare managed to articulate, her gaze clouded by pain. "That power... is not human."
Issei didn't respond. He stopped just a few feet away, observing her with an indifference that hurt more than the blow. At that moment, two more spears of light descended from the sky. Donnasheek and Kalawarner landed in front of their fallen companion, their expressions a mixture of fury and bewilderment.
"Raynare! You damned useless thing!" roared Donnasheek. "How could you let a human put you in that state?!"
Kalawarner narrowed his eyes, analyzing Issei.
—Don't let your guard down.
Issei exhaled a long sigh, relaxing his shoulders.
—Ddraig, it seems the mountain training wasn't enough to calm my temper. What do you think? Should we wipe them out?
"Partner, don't hold back," boomed the voice of the Welsh Dragon, this time so loud that even the demons present felt a vibration in their chests. "Show them why even the gods fear the Sekiryuutei, even without his armor."
Issei made a fist. The ground beneath his feet began to crack simply from the muscle tension.
Donnasheek didn't wait. Fueled by wounded pride at seeing one of her own humiliated, she created a spear of light in each hand and charged at Issei with a war cry. Kalawarner, more cautious, rose a couple of meters and began bombarding the boy's position with successive bursts of energy.
Issei didn't even move from his spot.
With a fluid movement of his arm, he deflected Donnasheek's first spear with the back of his hand, as if swatting away a mosquito. The impact of the light against his skin generated only an insignificant spark.
"Is that all?" Issei asked.
Before Donnasheek could react, Issei planted his palm on the fallen man's chest. It wasn't a punch, it was a shove charged with a fraction of his Boost. The shockwave was so powerful that Donnasheek was thrown backward, bouncing off the ground several times before he ran out of air.
Kalawarner, seeing his companion on the ground, descended at full speed with a massive spear.
"Don't get too cocky, human!" he shrieked, launching a direct thrust at the neck.
Issei caught the light spear with his bare hand. The heat of the holy energy hissed against his palm, but his dragon-like resilience barely felt it. With a sharp twist of his wrist, Issei shattered the spear as if it were glass.
"I said I'd sweep them away," Issei muttered, his eyes glowing a deep emerald green.
Suddenly, an overwhelming gravitational pressure filled the park. Issei didn't summon Scale Mail, but a reddish aura began to emanate from his pores. Donnasheek, who was trying to get up, fell back to his knees under the weight of the murderous intent emanating from the boy.
"It's a monster!" Kalawarner screamed, backing away in terror. "That's not the aura of a human, it's that of a high-class dragon!"
Issei prepared to deliver the final blow. His muscles tensed, ready for a burst of speed that wouldn't give them a chance to blink. However, just as he was about to launch himself, a magic circle bearing the Gremory clan emblem began to glow a few meters away.
"Tsk, Rias's here!" Issei growled, stopping abruptly. "She can't see me fight like this yet."
Donnasheek, taking advantage of that second of distraction and seeing the crimson circle appear, understood that they had no chance against either the boy or the demons that were arriving.
"Kalawarner, get Raynare out of here! Now!" Donnasheek ordered, throwing one last burst of light at the ground to create a curtain of smoke and dust.
Kalawarner flew to the wall where Raynare still lay unconscious, grabbed her by the shoulders, and lifted herself swiftly into the air. Donnasheek joined her, both of them panting, their robes torn and fear etched on their faces.
"This isn't over, you bastard!" Donnasheek shouted from above.
In a flicker of black feathers and violet light, the three vanished in a teleportation circle. Issei was left alone in the silence of the park, but his heightened senses immediately detected the crimson energy fluctuation behind him. Rias's circle was about to open.
"Let's go, Ddraig," Issei murmured. "It's not time for them to see what I'm capable of yet."
"Wise decision, partner. Mystery is your best weapon for now," replied the dragon.
Showcasing his newfound speed, Issei propelled himself forward and vanished into the shadows of the trees in the blink of an eye, just a second before the park lit up with the Gremory clan's seal.
Rias and Akeno emerged from the magic circle, hands raised, ready for battle, but stopped dead in their tracks. There was no one there. The silence was profound, broken only by the creaking of the still-collapsed trees.
Rias walked towards the center of the crater, observing the remains of the shattered light spears and the trail of blood on the stone wall.
"We're late..." Rias whispered, running her fingers over an impact mark on the wall. "But this is impossible. A fallen angel of this rank shouldn't have been defeated so quickly by a human."
Akeno approached, picking up a singed black feather from the ground.
"Rias, look at this," he said, pointing to the cracked ground beneath his feet. "This floor didn't break by magic... it broke by sheer physical pressure. Whoever was here has the strength of a monster."
Rias stared into the darkness of the forest, frowning with a mixture of relief and deep suspicion.
"Where are you, Issei?" he asked into the air, feeling that the boy he thought he knew was now the biggest enigma in Kuoh City.