With a reverberating howl from Lycaon, Issei led the assault with his strongest shadow at his side, its massive frame surging forward like a thunderbolt while the other shadow wolves and troopers ran right behind them as they charged the battalion of knights.
However, it was the lightning and wind wolves that barreled through the front line of the enemies first with their elemental powers. While the lightning wolf moved like a lightning bolt, darting between the knights and discharging bolts of electricity that sent sparks flying and metal convulsing, the wind wolf created powerful gales that hurled knights into the air and crashing into each other.
Before the enemies could recover, Lycaon tore right through them, its giant, streamlined form crashing into the front lines and crushing several Magitek knights. With enemy formation in disarray under its overwhelming power, the rest of the shadow troopers and carnies surged forward to capitalize on the breach, causing the battlefield to explode into a chaotic clash of steels and brawl of metals, with the clanks of metal reverberating through the hall.
Issei charged into the fray alongside his shadow soldiers, the Ironbane longsword flashing in his hand as he cut through one Magitek knight after another while Rias assisted him and his shadows from behind the battle using her demonic power. At the same time, assassins tried to move through the battlefield in their camouflages to reach both Issei and Rias, but they were sniffed out quickly by the other shadow wolves, who immediately tackled them and wrestled them down to tear them apart with their fangs and claws.
[!] Notice – Level up!
Level 25 Dragonsworn / Level 3 Shadow Monarch
[!] Notice – Level up!
Level 26 Dragonsworn / Level 3 Shadow Monarch
[!] Notice – Level up!
Level 26 Dragonsworn / Level 4 Shadow Monarch
30 Levels accumulated - Boosted Gear LV. 4 – Unlocked
The Player now has access to Boosted Gear's Balance Breaker.
'Balance Breaker?' Issei thought as he glanced briefly at the notification on the window next to him, knowing exactly what it was but decided to leave it for later. More importantly, he was leveling up quickly, even with Rias benefiting from a percentage of his EXP gain each time she eliminated an enemy as a party member. His troops, too, were growing stronger, albeit at a slower pace despite gaining the same amount of EXP as he was, with Lycaon having only gained a single level so far despite how many knights they had killed.
MP: 1895 / 1975
MP: 1861 / 1975
MP: 1839 / 1975
However, what Issei noticed most was the rapid depletion of his mana, though he had no problem realizing that the MP he was exhausting was being automatically used to heal his shadows, who were taking as much damage from the Magitek knights as they were dealing. Despite this, the drain rate wasn't too bad, and Issei felt reassured knowing that as long as he had the mana to sustain them, his shadows would remain in the fight as long as he didn't let it drag on until his mana was completely exhausted.
The battle raged on, and as the minutes ticked by, the tide started to turn into the favor of the devils and shadow. The seemingly endless wave of Magitek knights marching into the room finally started to dwindle, allowing Issei and his shadows to dispatch the remaining enemies until the last of them was defeated by Lycaon.
Resting his sword on his shoulder, Issei surveyed the area. The battle had been easier than he had expected, but then again, he had come well prepared with the Ironbane Longsword, but above all he had his shadows and Rias with him. Without them, the battle would surely have been much more difficult, having to fight all those knights alone.
As Issei continued to look around, he soon noticed a small object emitting a faint glow, partially buried in the stone floor amidst the shattered pieces of armor and debris. He knelt down, brushing away the armor and rubble to reveal what looked like a stone the size of his palm, its surface etched with a strange symbol that were emitting the glow. With his curiosity piqued, Issei reached down and picked up the stone, feeling a surge of energy from it as a System Window appeared beside the item.
[Rune: Camouflage]
Category: Rune Stone
Rarity: D
Break the rune to learn the skill.
'Oh... this must be a Rune Stone, and it has that skill of those assassins." Issei thought in awe as he looked at the item in his hand. It was his first time seeing a Rune Stone, which could be broken to grant the user the unique skill it contained. Supposedly, anyone could use it, regardless of whether they were devils, fallen angels, angels, or even powerless humans. The ability or spell from the Rune Stone would still be granted if used, which was one of the reasons they normally cost a fortune, aside from their rarity...
Then, a realization struck Issei. His eyes widened as an idea came to his mind while he recalled the details about Rune Stones from the files Akeno had compiled for him. If he played it correctly then he wouldn't have to hide his shadows any more.
"Ise, is that a Rune Stone? This is my second time seeing one in real life." Rias said, her voice tinged with curiosity as she approached him from behind, flanked by the three shadow wolves he had assigned to protect her. Smiling, Issei stood up and turned to face her, nodding as he turned his gaze down to the item in his hand.
"Yeah. I've been discovering Rune Stones like this in the Gates I've raided." Issei said, though it was a blatant lie. He hated lying, especially to his friends and those close to him, but at the same time, Issei didn't know any other way that he could sell it better so he could have his shadows around outside of Instance Dungeons.
"Really?" Rias gasped in surprise "You're so lucky, Ise. How many have you found?"
"Well, about a handful or so..." Issei said, scratching his cheek with an awkward smile, not feeling entirely sure if he should have said that much. Luckily, Rias didn't notice his discomfort as she turned her attention to the shadow wolves and troopers.
"What you... did there back there? Was it a skill you obtained from one of those Rune Stones you found?" Rias asked unsurely, but Issei found himself quickly nodding his head in response.
"I think it's a necromancer skill of sorts, but instead of using the corpses of the enemies I've defeated, it seems I extract their shadows and turn them into my minions instead."
That, however, was the truth.
"Really? That's incredible, Ise!" Rias gasped as she turned her gaze between the shadow troopers and the wolves "Since these shadow knights are from here, does that mean you got the wolves from the previous Gate? Just how long can you keep them around? And how many can you have?"
"I... actually have no idea, actually." Issei answered while scratching the back of his head.
Those were the questions he had asked himself too. Although the number of shadows he could extract increased with his level, it was only recently that he discovered it. As for how long he could keep them around, obviously since they stayed in the fight for as long as he had mana, the answer for that question must be for as long as he lived, even if he didn't use them.
Before he could speak more, Rias hit his arm with the palm of her hand, causing Issei to turn to her to see her looking at him disapprovingly.
"And what were you thinking trying to raid another Gate in the middle of the night like this, Ise? Didn't Grayfia already tell you how dangerous it is?" She then brought out the device she had been holding earlier and showed it to him with a finger pointing at the screen, which displayed some big number. "And look at this. This number means this Gate has to be at least high C to low B in ranking."
"Oh. I read that B-ranks Gates is about high class... Does that mean I have gotten quite strong?" Issei asked with a grin, holding up his fists with his shadows cheering him on. The troopers and assassins clapped, while the berserkers pumped their fists in the air to him, and the wolves barked in approval.
"That's not my point." Rias reasoned, but she didn't push further because she knew Issei was right. She had seen the way he handled those monster knights, with his shadows negating any number disadvantage that he had. From the look of it, they couldn't die either, and since they were extracted from slain enemies, Issei's army would only grow larger as they battle raged on. Such was always the case with necromancers.
What a terrifying skill... That Rune Stone that he had given him that skill, it had to be at least S-rank in rarity, or maybe even an undetermined class above. How he managed to find something like that in a low-ranking Gate was the real question that was bugging her. Could it be that those Gates that he raided himself had higher rankings than she and Grayfia had thought?
"Regardless, let's get out of here." Rias said as she grabbed his arm, signaling him to follow her with a light tug "This Gate is still far too dangerous for us to continue to linger here. As soon as we are outside I will call..."
But Issei didn't move from his spot, even as Rias pulled on his arm. Closing his eyes for a moment, Issei then spoke to his master, with a smile that showed her his confidence "There's no need. We will clear this Gate, Buchou, by beating the boss ourselves."
"Ise, you can't be..."
"I'm very serious, Buchou. I intend to fight this boss, and test my skills against it. You can sit it out if you want... in fact, I think you should sit it out. I have a feeling whatever is waiting for us beyond that door..." Issei then turned his attention to the massive double doors at the end of the entrance hall, which no doubt led to a throne room of some sort. Before, they were hidden in the darkness, but after all the Magitek Knights had been defeated, the torches leading to them had been lit, signaling that it was time for him to face the boss "... it will not let you cast your spell, and you're not trained enough to avoid their attacks."
"I..." Rias looked like she wanted to argue, but immediately bit her bottom lip to stop herself, because, deep down, she knew Issei was right. She had almost been killed by those assassins, and the sight of her own reflection in their swords still left her pretty shaken. That had to be the closest she had ever been to dying. If it weren't for Issei and his wolf, Lycaon, she would have been long dead on the floor.
"Hey, troopers, you guys spread out and start collecting the loot here, see if you can find anything valuable." Issei gave the command to his new shadows, who all bowed their heads to him before heading off to do what they were told. "And you three entertain Lycaon and the wolves, play catch with them or something."
He instructed the three Magitek Berserkers, who pointed at themselves before turning to the wolves, who were all looking at them in expectants.
With that, Issei turned back to Rias and looked at her, seeing her biting the nail of her thumb as she looked around them. Maybe he shouldn't have said all that, but then again, what he was about to say would surely hurt her more, having decided to speak to her about what had been in his mind about their training. It's only the matter of whether or not he could make it sound better.
"And there's also something I want to talk to you about." Issei started, choosing his words very carefully "Our training... While I'm grateful that you and everyone are helping me and Asia get stronger, I can't help but think that it's not enough."
"What do you mean, Ise?" Rias asked. "We're doing what we can, Ise. We're training you and Asia because we need you both to be strong enough for the..."
"Exactly, Buchou. You're training us... but who's training you and everyone else." Issei interrupted, meeting her gaze steadily. "We have seven days to train, and it's been three days already. What I've noticed is what you guys are trying to do is to get me and Asia up to your level, and I really appreciate that. But what about you, or Akeno-san, or Kiba, or Koneko-chan..."
He paused for a moment, his expression serious. "Moreover, Raiser said it himself, Akeno-san is the only one in our Peerage who can fight on par with his servants. Can we really win if we can add two more to the equation, and I'm not even considering the fact that Asia cannot fight."
"Do you know why I'm out here tonight? Why have I been training so hard?" Issei asked, "Because I want to make sure that we will win. I want to beat Raiser so that you're free from the marriage with him, so you can smile again and choose to be with whoever you want, but I cannot do that at this rate. Every day, I learn new things from you, Kiba, Koneko-chan, and Akeno-san... but I don't get to push myself, to test and hone my new skills against opponents that try to take my life instead of leaving me with some bruises. That's why when I found this Gate, I decided to enter it. I don't care if Grayfia-san finds out and comes for me to give me a spanking either... I just want us to win."
He finished, speaking the last few words very clearly so that Rias could understand what he meant.
"Ise..."
Rias whispered, her voice barely audible as she listened intently, her eyes softening as Issei spoke. She could see the determination in his eyes and the sincerity behind his words.
"I know you care about all of us, Buchou, not just me... but do you really want me to shoulder this task alone?" Issei asked, his tone softening as he smiled at her. "I don't doubt that you and everyone else would want the satisfaction of beating Raiser yourselves. I can do it for you if you want, Buchou. Hell, there's a chance that I'd beat his entire Peerage as well with the boys here."
As he said that, he pointed his thumbs as his shadows, making the troopers wave back at him, making Issei and Rias sweat drop. Still, the sight of them working diligently while seemingly arguing with one another what they should bring back to their master helped ease the tension a little.
Coughing into his hand, Issei then turned back to his master and continued "I guess the real question is: do you want me to hog all the glory of wiping that smug look off his face, or do you want to do that yourself?"
"Of course, I want to. When he threatened you and the others, I wanted nothing more than to blow him to nothing myself." Rias declared with conviction, making Issei smile at her. Her expression then softened as she continued, "But I guess you're right. We've been so focused on training you and Asia that we've forgotten to push ourselves. Plus, I have to admit my own blame in this. I thought we could beat Raiser, but that was just my ego and confidence talking. If we want to beat the Phenex for sure, then all of us need to become stronger, not just you, or Asia."
"Tomorrow will be a new day for us, so let us head back to the villa, call the authority, get some sleep and... we're not leaving, are we?"
Rias asked with a deadpan expression, and Issei only responded to his master with a grin as he turned his attention to the loot his shadow troopers had managed to collect. Most items that were collected from high level Gates could fetch a decent amount of money. Rias said she could help him sell them, so he decided to let her keep it.
"You're not gonna extract the shadows of these knights, Ise?" Rias asked as she looked at pieces of armor the shadow troopers were carrying as they lined up in front of so she could assess which items were worth selling and which were essentially trash. She appeared to have a good eye for this, as the items she deemed worthless didn't fetch much gold in the System Shop either.
"Nah, I have my eye set on a bigger prize up there, Buchou." Issei asked as he pointed his thumb at the double doors, making Rias widen her eyes in realization. Shocked, Rias looked over to Lycaon, who was watching some of the wolves play catch with the shadow berserkers, and asked.
"Wait, does that mean Lycaon is a boss?"
"Yeah."
Rias gulped nervously.
After everything had been looted and Issei gave a thumbs up to his shadow troopers, he and Rias slowly approached the double doors at the end of the entrance hall. An ominous presence emanated from within as Issei pushed the doors open with both hands. The interior was pitch black at first, but just like after the Magitek Knights had been defeated, the wall-mounted torches around the room lit up, illuminating the space and revealing the figure standing in the center of the chamber.
Even at first glance, Issei could feel an overwhelming presence coming from the imposing figure. His armors were thick, yet at the same time it was streamlined, with pauldrons on both shoulders in the shape resembling that of the heads of lions. The helmet bore sharp, angular features, with two horn-like protrusions curving upwards, giving the figure an almost demonic appearance. The visor was a narrow slit, almost fully concealing the face of whatever being resided within.
A thick, tattered cloak of deep crimson hung from his waist, splitting down the middle and draping down to the floor like bloodstained banners, contrasting starkly with the dark metal of the armor. Gripped tightly in its metal gauntlets and being held in front of him was a massive, double-edged sword with red runes running down the surface, with the blade being half as long as the figure, who stood imposingly tall himself. The edges of the blade gleamed menacingly, looking to be sharp enough to slice through steel like butter.
[Magitek General Glauca – LV 40]
"Ise..." Rias whispered unsurely, and Issei could feel her shaking behind him at the terrifying aura that the Magitek General was emitting.
"Buchou, stay back. Remember our deal." Issei said in a low tone with a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face, his only hope was that the Magitek General wouldn't be interested enough in Rias to shift his attention to his master, who immediately rushed to the side of the throne room and hid behind a pillar, with Lycaon and several shadow troopers following to protect her as they had been told to do so beforehand. As much as she wanted to assist Issei, Rias instantly had the feeling that she would only get in his way against an opponent like that.
'Ddraig, let's give it our all from the start.' Issei spoke to his Heavenly Dragon partner as he steeled his nerves and marched toward General Glauca, whose gaze he could feel was on him the moment he was close enough. Putting his sword behind his back using a handmade sheath that he had made using the left over from the Magitek knights, Issei then summoned his Boosted Gear, and activated the new feature that he had unlocked with its fourth level
[Understood, partner.]
[BOOST! OVER BOOSTER!]
In that moment as the green jewel of his metal gauntlet shone, with Ddraig making the announcement himself instead of letting the Sacred Gear do it like usual in his voice, Issei felt a surge of power unlike anything he had ever felt before surged through him, with his Status Window showing that his stats and attribute were rising off the chart. An intense, powerful aura of red demonic energy erupted violently from him like a hurricane, swirling and expanding with ferocious energy. The aura matched the overwhelming presence of the dungeon boss, who remained steadfast and unmoving in the center of the room, his imposing figure silhouetted against the fiery glow.
[!] Ultimate Activated
[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker – LV 1]
HP +2500
MP +500
DEF +150
- The 10 seconds time limit has been removed.
- The power of the weapon stored inside the armors will be continuously boosted whenever the Player uses Doubling on themselves.
- All damage done will be increased
- Devil Wings will be replaced by Dragon Wings.
[Pact Resonance]
1. Additional Status: +75 to all attributes
2. Draconic Aura: Reduces damage taken and enhances resistance to elemental attacks corresponding to the element of the current Pact.
[WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!]
With another announcement, the hurricane of red demonic dispersed with a sharp gust of wind, revealing in his Balance Breaker.
[BOOSTED GEAR SCALE... Hold on, what is this?]
The metal gauntlet on his left arm had changed significantly, extending up to his shoulder and enveloping the entire limb in a sleek, dark red armor. The rest of his body, however, remained mostly unarmored, save for the single pauldron with gold accents on his right shoulder, to which the Ironbane Sword was strapped. Additionally, the intense aura that had flared from him earlier persisted, though now it radiated more gently, akin to the flickering flames of the torches on the walls.
'Is this it?' Issei asked in his mind. He did feel a whole lot stronger, but at the same time, he had expected a lot more.
[Of course this is not it. How strange. In the past, the Balance Breaker of Boosted Gear manifests as a full suit of Scale Mail armor. Most if not all the Balance Breakers of Dragon-based Sacred Gears are like that.] Ddraig answered, his voice telling Issei that his partner also didn't know what was going on either [Could it be... that it has evolved into a Subspecies? And this form is also a level 1... What should be its name now, then...?]
"We can worry about that later, Ddraig." Issei said and drew his Ironbane Sword, swinging it down to hold it at his side. To his surprise, the Pauldron on his right shoulder then broke into parts, which snapped to his right arm to reconfigure themselves into a second gauntlet identical to the one on the left. "Okay, now this is more like it."
'Oh wait, maybe I should have kept it there and drawn it later. No matter...'
Bracing himself, Issei then turned his gaze to Glauca, who only then finally made his move. In a swift motion, the Magitek General lifted his sword with one hand and swung it around with such force that Issei felt a pressure so intense it could have cleaved him in half even from a distance. Bringing the blade back down, Glauca then took a stance with the tip of his blade pointed directly at Issei, who also readied himself with the Ironbane Longsword.
"Guess you will make a badass commander for my shadow troops. The question here is if I can make you submit." Issei murmured. Monster or not, Glauca showed class. "Make me proud, boys."
At that, the rest of his shadow troopers, berserkers and wolves burst forth from his shadow, charging toward Glauca with a series of battle cries and roars. The shadowy figures lunged at the Magitek General from all directions. Issei watched with anticipation, hoping that the combined assault of his shadow troops was enough to give him a glimpse of what he was dealing with.
And just as he had anticipated, Glauca was unfazed by the shadows, despite them overwhelming him by dozens to one. With a single, sweeping, lightning fast motion of his broadsword, he cut through the advancing shadow berserkers and wolves, their forms dissipating into wisps of dark smoke as the area around him exploded, sending rocks and debris into the air. The assassins used that opportunity to sneak up on him, but Glauca spun around and cleaved through the assassins before they could do anything, his swords moving in a blur as he hacked them to pieces, leaving them in shadowy fragments that took a longer time to regenerate.
One remaining assassin attempted to sneak up on Glauca from the side, but before it could deliver a fatal blow, the Magitek General shot his hand out and grabbed the shadow assassin by the head, lifting it into the air. Keeping his gaze on Issei the whole time while the assassin struggled to break free in his iron grip, he crushed the shadow by just clenching his fist, shattering its helmet and breaking its skull before dropping it on the floor of the throne room.
"Come back." Issei commanded, knowing that he would just be wasting mana at this point. He doubted even Lycaon stood a chance against this Knight.
[Skill Activated – Sprint]
With that, Issei shot toward Glauca with a burst of speed, moving faster than he had ever done before with the speed of his Balance Breaker combined with the Skill Sprint, closing the distance between him and General Glauca in a blink of an eye. With the Ironbane Longsword in his hand, Issei swung it at the towering knight with everything he had, leaving a faint, silvery arc in the air as it sliced through the air.
At the same time, Glauca raised his own weapon to meet the strike. In an instant, the blade of the Ironbane Longsword shattered into a million pieces upon colliding with the General's broadsword, filling the air between the two combatants with a shower of shards. Issei, however, had anticipated the destruction of his blade from the start, having suspected that a level 10 longsword with a B-rank rarity might not match the power of whatever weapon the Magitek General wielded.
That was 25,000 (G) down the drain, but if he could defeat this boss, then he would get rewards worth more than any gold.
[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]
Ducking down to avoid a wide swing from the massive broadsword as Glauca slashed his weapon horizontally, ignoring the destruction that the sheer force behind the attack caused behind him, Issei clenched his fists and delivered a powerful left hook to the side of the General's helmet with the full force of his empowered might by the Balance Breaker, its power further doubled four times in a row. The blow generated a shockwave that reverberated throughout the throne room, but Glauca only staggered back a single step. His eyes, or whatever that Issei saw under that dark visor of his helmet, gleamed dangerously as he retaliated with a deadly thrust, which Issei managed to narrowly avoid the attack by sidestepping just in time.
Rias held her breath as she tried to perceive the insanely fast pace duel. Issei remained agile on his feet, dodging and weaving through Glauca's relentless strikes with his broadsword. Each time Glauca swung his weapon it was with such force that the air seemed to distort around the blade, leaving deep gouges in the floor where it missed its mark, but Issei did not falter, countering the attacks with a series of punches, with each blow having its power doubled continuously by his Balance Breaker.
[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]
Still, no matter how fast he moved and how much harder he hit with each Boost, Glauca seemed to have no trouble matching him with his own speed, while his armor seemed to absorb the force behind each blow. Issei had no idea if the armor was that durable or not, but each time he struck the chest piece, he could have sworn that the dents he left on the part just vanished only a brief moment after, as if it had never been inflicted.
[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]
Before Issei could try one more time, this time with the Penetrate skill, Glauca slashed his sword at Issei, aiming to cleave him in two. Seeing that he could not dodge, Issei blocked the blow with both his gauntlets, but the force of the strike still sent him skidding back until he managed to regain his ground. Another swift, vertical slash came next as Glauca descended upon him, but Issei twisted his body in a practiced motion, a move that Koneko had shown him, narrowly avoiding the blow before using the momentum to deliver a roundhouse kick to aim at the side of the General's helmet.
To his surprise, Glauca just shot his free hand up and grabbed his ankle, his head tilting a little to the side as if he was unimpressed by what Issei was showing. Before Issei could react, the General had stabbed his sword down and pulled him into the air to kick him on his side, sending him rocketing across the throne room faster than Issei himself could have done it himself. Rias covered her mouth and stared in horror as Issei collided with the wall above the throne in an explosion of rock and debris, with Issei falling down only a moment later with blood trickling down the side of his face.
HP: 5972 / 8005
MP: 2050 / 2350
Before Issei could even touch the ground, Glauca appeared in front of him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, twisting around to build up the momentum before throwing him into the floor below. Not letting Issei even a moment to recover, the Magitek General shot down and threw a series of earth shaking blows at him with his fists. Each strike was a devastating display of strength, blowing up the area around him as the force of his attacks reverberated through the throne room and caused the floor itself to tremble.
Then, the knight stopped and held his hand out, causing his sword to remove itself from the floor to fly into his hand for a final sword strike. Despite the shadow troopers holding her back just as their master had told them to no matter what, Rias tried to rush in to help Issei as Glauca raised his sword over his head before swinging it down.
HP: 3972 / 8005
MP: 2050 / 2350
[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]
Before the blade could meet its mark, Issei shot his hand up and grabbed it, halting the swing with all of his might while blood trickled down the sides of his head. The green jewel of his left gauntlet shone brightly as he boosted numerous time before shooting himself up to throw his fist, empowered with the skill Penetrate, into Glauca's chest with a fierce cry, punching him with such force that the Magitek General was sent hurling back, crashing into the far wall with a thunderous impact.
[Skill Activated – Penetrate]
Issei stood amidst the debris, his breath ragged and his body aching in pain, but his eyes remained locked on Glauca, burning with determination. Despite the force of the blow the Sekiryuutei had given him, the Magitek General emerged from the hole he had created upon colliding with the wall only a moment later, with his broken breastplate quickly mending itself back together.
"ISE! IT'S THE SWORD!" Rias shouted to him from behind the shadow troopers "THE SWORD IS HEALING HIM!"
"Heh, so that is your trick." Issei smirked as he wiped the block from the corner of his mouth with the back of his gauntlet, his eyes widening when Glauca suddenly turned his attention to Rias "Oh no you don't."
As the Magitek General charged at the crimson haired devil, Lycaon threw himself at him in his lightning form, while the shadow troopers raised their weapons and formed a protective formation in front of the heiress. Glauca met Lycaon in a thunderous clash, one that sent the shadow wolf hurling back with a pained yelp as Glauca proved himself to be superior.
[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]
[Skill Activated – Penetrate]
MP: 1320 / 2350
Still, the elemental carnie had done its job well. The brief moment that Lycaon was able to halt Glauca in his tracks was all Issei needed, using not just his speed, but his dragon wings that had replaced his devil wings in his Balance Breaker. In an instance he was able to close the distance between them, and time seemed to slow down as Issei cocked his fist back, wasting no time after he had activated another Penetrate to deliver a powerful uppercut that launched Glauca into the air, crashing into the ceiling above him.
Dust and debris rained down as the General was embedded into the stone, but Issei didn't waste even a second to take off. With a flap of his wings, he shot upward like a missile, slamming himself into Glauca with a direct blow to the face before grabbing his sword arm with both arms, feeling the immense weight of the Magitek General's strength pushing back against him. Planting one foot firmly against Glauca's chest while keeping them both hanging upside down from the ceiling, Issei gritted his teeth and yanked hard, his muscles straining as he poured every ounce of his power into the effort.
[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]
MP: 1160 / 2350
Boosting himself up more than he had ever done before, Issei tore Glauca's arm from his shoulder with a fierce cry, leaving the broadsword to fall freely toward the ground.
"LYCAON!"
The shadow wolf, having recovered from the earlier clash, immediately leaped into the air and clamped down on the hilt of the weapon with his jaws, keeping it away from the Magitek General as he landed on the floor and darted over to the other side of the throne room. Glauca tried to retrieve it with his telekinesis power, but Lycaon bit down even harder, holding the sword firm between his fangs.
Still, the Magitek General was far from defeated. Even with just one arm, his strength remained a force to be reckoned with. With an inhuman roar, the first sound that he made the entire fight, he swung his remaining fist at Issei, catching him square in the jaw. The impact sent Issei reeling, but he quickly recovered, retaliating with a powerful punch of his own. The two warriors brawled furiously in midair, trading blows with enough force to shatter stone and shake the very foundation of the throne room until they crashed into the stone floor.
[Skill Activated – Penetrate]
[BOOST!]
HP: 3272 / 8005
MP: 1000 / 2350
[Skill Activated – Penetrate]
[BOOST!]
HP: 2872 / 8005
MP: 840 / 2350
[Skill Activated – Penetrate]
[BOOST!]
HP: 2572 / 8005
MP: 680 / 2350
[Skill Activated – Penetrate]
[BOOST!]
HP: 2372 / 8005
MP: 520 / 2350
[Skill Activated – Penetrate]
[BOOST!]
HP: 2072 / 8005
MP: 360 / 2350
As the smoke started to clear, the two could be seen engaging in an all-out, savage brawl. There were no techniques, no refined moves—just raw, brutal punches with everything they had. They traded blow for blow, even headbutts... but as the brawl wore on, it was Issei who could still hit harder and harder thanks to Boosted Gear, even as his body grew heavier and heavier with each boost – the sign that he had reached his limit of how much power his body could currently handle. Glauca, meanwhile, looked to be at his limit. He could still hit hard, hard enough to make Issei want to close his eyes and pass out with each punch to the face, but it was clear that each and every directed blow to his body had started to weaken him and wear down his stamina and endurance.
When Glauca launched another powerful punch, Issei ducked beneath it and immediately countered with a devastating uppercut to the Magitek General's helmet. The impact lifted Glauca off his feet, and Issei followed up with a series of strikes, each one enhanced by his Boosted Gear and fueled by Penetrate. His fists slammed into Glauca's armor, denting it and sending shockwaves through the his armored form before finally, with one last mighty blow, boosting himself up one last time with the remaining mana that he had left, Issei drove his left dragon gauntlet into Glauca's chest, shattering the armor and sending the General crashing into the wall behind him with a thunderous impact.
The force of the collision cratered the wall, leaving spider-web cracks and a large hole where Glauca was. With a heavy clang, the Magitek General fell to the ground and remained there with his head hanging, white blood trickling from the tiny gaps in his helmet as his once-imposing form now lay broken and defeated.
[Magitek General Glauca LV. 40 – Defeated]
[!] Notice – Level up!
[!] Notice – Level up!
[!] Notice – Level up!
[!] Notice – Level up!
[!] Notice – Level up!
[!] Notice – Level up!
"Ise!" Rias shouted as she rushed to Issei's side just as he collapsed to his knees. His second gauntlet vanished as the Balance Breaker deactivated, lifting a huge weight off his body and allowing Issei to let out a sigh of relief between quick, shallow breaths.
"I'm okay... I'm okay..." Issei said quickly, holding his hand out to Rias as she kneeled down next to him and tried to use a healing spell to make him feel better. Both his HP and MP had reached critical level, but the increases from repeated level-up had restored a decent amount, enough to keep him standing on his feet. Still, his body was hurting all over, but there's nothing that his Dragon's Physiology couldn't fix with a good sleep later. "See... I told you I could do it."
"That was..." But Rias stopped, not knowing whether she should praise him, or berate him for being that reckless. In the end, she decided to hug him instead, wrapping her arms gently around his neck and bringing herself to Issei, who winced a little but smiled as he leaned into her embrace, with one hand resting on her arm.
[Target is eligible for Shadow Extraction.]
"Hey, Buchou, can you help me go to him? My body feels so heavy right now." Issei requested, and Rias nodded her head in response before slowly helping him up, helping him over to stand Glauca. Before reaching the fallen General, Issei glanced at his shadows, who had followed closely behind. "Good work, Lycaon. You guys too."
He praised, acknowledging his wolf and shadow troopers, who threw their hands into the air to celebrate, looking delighted even though they particularly didn't do anything. Still, seeing Lycaon with a sword in his mouth, it gave Issei an idea. If the wolf was up for it...
"Alright, then..."
Issei said, as she turned his attention back to the fallen Magitek General, who lay completely still before him and Rias. To say that Glauca outmatched him in almost every aspect was an understatement... If it weren't for his Boosted Gear and its Balance Breaker, which had lived up to his name in that moment and allowed him to boost himself up continuously, then Glauca would have beaten him the moment the fight started.
It was also thanks to Rias realizing that Glauca's sword had been healing him throughout the battle that they managed to turn the tide. He really needed to learn how to perceive the flow of magic like her, something that he couldn't see even with his high Perception and Observe. Maybe he should ask Akeno to teach him, since it had been stated before that she was particularly skilled in reading different kinds of energy flows.
But on to the problem at hand. Was he even high level enough to extract his shadow? Issei had no idea. As he studied the general, Issei noticed a handful of items falling on the floor near his hands.
[You have received the following items.]
- Magitek General's Helmet
- Rune Stone: Ruler's Hands
- Leather Pouch
- Instant Teleportation Stone x1
"This must be the boss loots that they mentioned." Rias said in amazement as she bent down and picked up the items for Issei "This helmet is a top tier item!"
"How can you tell that, exactly?" Issei couldn't help but ask as Rias handed him the helmet. She was right. Not only the item, identical to the helmet that Glauca was still wearing, was S-rank in rarity, but it also had a 15% damage reduction passive and a whole bunch of bonus stats into his attributes.
"The Gremory has multiple shops crafting and selling these items in the Underworld, called the Crimson Emporium. We're actually one of the most famous providers of Gate Items and Gears. I... also had a hobby of reading and researching this stuff back in the day." Rias answered with an awkward laugh before coughing into her hand and shifting her attention to the leather pouch while Issei raised an eyebrow at what she just said.
No wonder why she said she could help him sell the loot.
"What do you think is inside?" Rias asked while lifting the pouch up and down as if testing its weight and feeling out what could be inside.
"How about we open it?" Issei suggested with a curious grin. Rias nodded and pulled on the string that kept the pouch tightly closed. However, the moment the fabric loosened with a slight rustle, the content inside seemingly disappeared, with Rias even turning the pouch upside down shaking it gently, expecting something to fall out.
"Huh, now that is disappoint... you okay, Ise?" Rias turned to Issei to ask when he suddenly choked,
"I'm okay... just... uh, disappointed, that's all. I was hoping for another cool item." He said. In truth, however, he was excited, more excited than he had ever been before.
Fund: 1,000,000 (G)
Because the moment Rias opened that pouch for him, a million Gold was added to his inventory.
That's basically ten times more money than he had ever had.
"Well, I guess another Rune Stone and this rare Teleportation Stone more than make up for it." Rias said with a smile as she handed him the Rune Stone of Ruler's Hands. Judging by its name, Issei had a feeling it was the Rune Stone for that telekinesis ability that Glauca used "You're so lucky, Ise. Most devils who specialize in raiding would be immensely lucky to find a second Rune Stone in their whole career, yet you've found two already just in this Gate already."
"Y-Yeah... must be the luck of a dragon," Issei chuckled nervously while scratching his cheek. "I mean... Dragons like treasures, right? They must be attracted to me or something."
"Oh, that might be it, Ise." Rias gasped, nodding her head.
[Heh, gotta tip my hat to you for that quick thinking, partner, if I had one.] Ddraig said, sounding rather impressed.
"Now... onto the real loot."
Issei said as he put the two stones into his pockets. He couldn't just store them in his inventory with Rias around, even though he could have sold it as another ability he got from a Rune Stone. The method of storing items into his inventory was different from using a storage spell, which he hadn't bothered to learn since he had the System Inventory.
"Arise." Issei held his hand out toward Magitek General Glauca, palm facing toward him and spoke the command, causing shadowy mist to erupt from the knight and swipe at them, swirling with such intensity that Issei nearly lost his footing if not for Rias continuing to support him. When it finally stopped, Issei widened his eyes in surprise as the General remained still, with only a notification hovering next to his corpse.
[Failed to extract the Shadow – Remaining attempt 2/3]
"So I can fail to extract that shadow of something this strong." Issei said, steeling himself for another attempt. "Arise!"
He spoke the command once more, this time louder and more forceful. The shadows erupted again, this time even more violently, but once the mist cleared, the notification remained unchanged:
[Failed to extract the Shadow – Remaining attempts 1/3]
"Fuck. This shadow is stubborn." The Sekiryuutei found himself cursing out loudly. He had one more try. It would be such a waste if he couldn't revive Glauca. He was such a powerful and formidable opponent.
"Could it be... that he doesn't want to serve you yet, Ise?" Rias suddenly asked, making Issei turn to look at her in surprise "That duel you two had... maybe he's still not convinced. Maybe he's looking for another quality in you other than just your strength."
Issei found himself softening his gaze as he listened to Rias. Turning his focus back to the fallen Magitek General, he let a small smile across his face. His eyes briefly glanced over to the empty throne on the other side of the room. The duel had ravaged the entire place, yet the throne remained the only thing untouched.
"Whoever sat on that throne... that person is gone now. They don't need your protection anymore." Issei began "But your strength and loyalty still have value. Pledge your sword and your loyalty to me, General. Show me your worth beyond whatever past that you have, and together, we will rise stronger than ever before."
Arise.
With that command, another wave of shadowy mist erupted from the fallen Magitek General, but this time, a shadowy hand also burst forth from his armored husk. The mist swirled toward him and obscured his vision, and for a brief moment, the world around Issei went pitch black, with Rias disappearing. He could still feel her arms around him while his left rest on her shoulder, but she was no longer there next to him.
And then, the figure emerged, the same figure who had told Issei to grow stronger, because his duty, his burden would soon be his. He had a smile on his face, and a hand in his pocket as he looked at Issei, who found himself gazing back before noticing an armored figure that emerged at his side. This new figure, noticeably different from the axe-wielding one from before, was a tall, imposing knight with a light purple glow. His jet-black armor covered him from head to toe, complemented by a tattered black cape. A scar ran down the left side of his helmet, and a long, red hair-like ornament extended from the back of his headgear.
The Knight then threw his cape out and enveloped the other young man, making him disappear as he reached around and placed his hand on his chest to bow his head slowly to Issei, who widened his eyes in surprise as he heard his voice echoing in his mind.
The sword of my disciple is now yours.
Go to your new liege, lieutenant.
And with that, the knight faded away, with the world around his returning to normal and the shadow of General Glauca, whose form was now pitch black with only the inside of his waist cloaks retaining its color, fully emerging from his fallen husk, extending his hand out to recall his broadsword from Lycaon. As the blade flew into his hand, making Rias step back cautiously, the knight then swung it around with both hands holding the grip and stabbed it down the floor to get down on knee and bow his head to Issei.
[Shadow Extraction Successful.]
"I think you would want a new name too, like Lycaon..." Issei said with a small smile as he looked at the General, his mind racing to come up with the best name for his newest shadow, who lowered his head in expectation "How about... Gladio?"
[Gladio LV.10]
Rank: Knight
Once his new name was registered by the System, Gladio drew his sword and spun it around, resting the blade on the palm of his other hand to raise the sword high above his head, holding it horizontally toward Issei while bowing his head to him. Issei watched with raised eyebrows, intrigued by the gesture.
"I think he wants you to have it, Ise." Rias said, and Issei looked at her for a second before turning back to take the blade from Gladio.
[Glauca's Greatsword – LV 10]
ATK 225
Rarity: S
Element: Physical
Description: The sword of the fallen Magitek General Glauca, who in later life served as a lieutenant and second in command to a commander of the grand army belonged to a powerful Monarch. The blade emanates an aura of intimidation and strength, its size and weight capable of cleaving through even the toughest of defenses.
[Effect] Auto-Regen: Automatically heal the wielder every second for 2% of their missing health.
'Auto-regen... this kind of effect would be hella useful.' Issei thought as he looked at the sword. Even as he held the sword in his hand, he could see his HP going up steadily, regenerating back his lost health every second.
Casting his gaze back to his new shadow, Issei thought about the possibility of letting him keep it. If the Auto-Regen effect worked for Gladio even as he was a shadow, Issei wondered if he wouldn't have to expend his mana to heal him unless he was severely injured in battle if he had the sword. That would be incredibly useful especially if he had a lot of shadows to care for. "You know what? I think you should keep it. It will be more useful to both of us if you're the one to wield it."
With that said, Issei handed Gladio back his sword. Gazing at Issei for a moment, the shadow knight accepted the weapon with both hands, putting it behind his back and placed his fist over his chest where his heart was to bow his head deeply to his master in gratitude.
"Hahh, I think we can head back and call it a night now, Buchou." Issei said, turning his attention to Rias, who nudged him gently in the rib, making him wince a little but smiled nonetheless as the two turned around and started making their way toward the exit of the Dungeon with his shadows following closely behind them. "You know, I'd really appreciate it if you don't tell Grayfia-san when we meet her again."
"Don't worry, Ise." Rias nodded her head to him "But can I tell the others? They deserve to know and you can trust them to keep this a secret."
"I can live with that." Issei smiled as he turned his attention to Gladio and Lycaon along with the other shadow troopers "Cause you know what... I think I just have an idea for our training, Buchou."
"We can talk about it tomorrow." Rias said with a smile before continuing on unsurely "And... you know, if you want to, you don't have to call me Buchou outside of club activities. You can call me by my name."
"Really? Is that okay?" Issei couldn't help but ask, and Rias nodded her head in confirmation "Okay then, Rias-senpai. I'm still calling you senpai though since you're my senior."
"I can live with that." Rias beamed as she leaned herself into his side.
In the end, it wasn't that difficult for Issei, with Rias' help, to explain it to the rest of the Peerage about Lycaon, Gladio, and over sixty other shadow troopers, berserkers, assassins and wolves, who now joined them in their training and preparation for the match against Raiser and the Peerage.
Several of the shadow troopers Several of the shadow troopers turned out to be exceptionally good cooks, or at least they became so after watching a few cooking shows, being able learn quickly thanks to them being magic infused machines. Besides cooking for them, Issei had the shadows take care of the household chores around the villa, letting Rias and Akeno focus on their own training. The shadows, being undead warriors, also made for exceptional training partners, serving as indestructible punching bags for the devils, especially Rias and Akeno, to hone their skills against without having to worry about anything other than collateral damage.
"Kiba!" Issei shouted as he brought his sword down, but Gladio blocked it with the back of his gauntlet, barely shifting under the force. Kiba dashed in from the side, aiming for his flank, but the knight instantly caught the blade with his own before throwing Kiba back with just a swing.
Only a few minutes into their first sparring session, the two realized that his swordsmanship was a force to be reckoned with. Kiba, who found himself bested in an instant, was eager to learn from the shadow knight, who seemed to have mastered various sword styles, including dual-wield which Kiba frequently used. His sheer strength, meanwhile, allowed him to wrestle both Kiba and Koneko to the ground whenever they trained with him.
Even after becoming his shadow, it was clear that the fallen Magitek General was still superior to him and everyone else under his command, being at least a tier above in terms of pure battle prowess. He also seemed to also have a keen strategic mind, and despite the fact that he could not talk like everyone else, Gladio could still instruct Rias with simple gestures and point out various key notes in her tactics, helping her improve her qualities as the strategic leader of the Peerage.
To say Issei was pleased and grateful to have a shadow like him would be an understatement.
As day became night, and night became day again, the Peerage trained relentlessly. After Issei had given them the same speech that he had given Rias, the stakes had become clear, and the senior members no longer worked to train him and Asia to their levels, but instead trained to push themselves beyond their limits with the two working alongside them instead. Unsurprisingly, Asia was the one having the most trouble keeping up as the training got more and more intense, but her determination to help them allowed her to improve decently.
Time flew by quickly, and on the morning of the Rating Game, Issei found himself doing some last-minute training with the two dummies in the courtyard, both of which were now equipped with daggers to increase the difficulty. Lycaon and Gladio were on the sidelines, watching intently, with the shadow commander serving as his trainer and supervisor. The arms of the two dummies were spinning faster than ever before as Issei hit them with palm strikes, punches, kicks, and elbows, but at the same time, he didn't allow a single dagger to slash him, moving his body swiftly in a fluid motion to dodge and block all the spinning arms.
After a moment, he then finished by leaping into the air and rapidly punched and kicked at the two dummies, sending the steel-reinforced parts flying off in all directions. By the time his feet touched the ground, the dummies lay in pieces, with only their legs remaining where they had stood.
"Show off." Issei let out a grin as he turned around and looked at Koneko, who walked toward him with Rias and the rest of the Peerage. Behind them, the shadow troopers were carrying their belongings as they prepared for departure.
"Couldn't have done it without you teaching me, Koneko-chan." Issei said with a grin as he walked toward them, removing the bandages around his arms as Koneko flashed him a rare smile. He then turned his attention to Rias, and saw her approaching him with a smile, clearly impressed by his performance.
"Well, you certainly made an impression," she said. "I think it's safe to say that you're ready to kick some ass this afternoon."
"You can bet on it, Buchou." Issei said with a smile, making the Peerage beam at him in response.
That's right.
He's ready.
Current Stats:
Name: Issei Hyoudou
Race: Reincarnated Devil
Class: Level 30 Dragonsworn / Level 6 Shadow Monarch
HP: 6115 / 6115
MP [Current Attribute: Draconic/Demonic: 2135 / 2135
Title: Shieldbreaker [Add 10% Armor Penetration]
Strength: 130
Vitality: 113
Intelligence: 108
Dexterity: 118
Perception: 98
Charisma: 88
Unique Class Skills: Fire Imbue (LV1), Shadow Extraction (LV1), Shadow Storage (LV1).
Active skills: Doubling (LV2 – Pact Affected), Transfer (LV2 - Pact Affected), Penetrate (LV2 - Pact Affected), Sprint (Max Level), Vital Slash (LV1), Jump (Max Level – Equipment Ability), Observe (LV1), Ruler's Hands (LV1).
Active spells: Active spells: Fire balls (LV2 - Fire Dragon Pact Affected), Firewall (LV2 - Fire Dragon Pact Affected), Lightning Strike (LV1), Water Blast (LV1), Earth Shield (LV1)...
Current Pact [1/4]: Y Ddraig Gouch (Fire) – Pact LV1.
Current Shadows: 67 / 90
Elite Rank Shadows: Lycaon (Knight), Gladio (Knight).
Items: Boosted Gear (LV4), Abyssal Cloak (LV5), Razan's Blade (LV7), Magitek General's Helmet (LV1), Palace Guard's Boots (LV6), Metal Gauntlets (LV5 – Only one currently in use -Stats Reduced), Kamish's Slumber (LV?) ...
Potions: Healing Potions x15, Mana Potions x15, Greater Healing Potions x10, Greater Mana Potions x10, Miracle Potions x3...
Gold: 1,020,250 (G)
Ultimate: Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker – Unnamed (LV. 1)
End of Chapter 8
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