Chapter 93: Not Quite Over Yet

Chapter 93: Not Quite Over Yet

While Issei was undergoing meditation and confronting his rebelling predecessors, out of everyone's sight and notice, another scene was taking place within the prison beneath the Palace of Eternal Light.

Within the dungeon, two prisoners were stationed in two separate cells facing each other. Sycorax sat on a simple bed provided in her cell, patiently staring at the limbless Euclid who was nailed to the wall via organic spears of bone, his magic sealed by Norse curse runes etched into his body.

The silence between them was heavy, tense, very volatile, as if they were ready to break it and ensure violence against the other.

For Sycorax, it was mostly for what Euclid did, risking her people.

The cells were guarded by Fenrir of all things, Loki summoned Fenrir just to guard them. How Loki summoned Fenrir from Asgard, Sycorax did not know. The God Killer Wolf was outside of their cells, but it was out of sight. Even from there, Fenrir could sense the enmity in the air between them.

Not a single word was spoken between them. The unspoken intent exchanged between their eyes was thick, easy to tell.

For Euclid, Sycorax failed him and costed them their progress.

For Sycorax, Euclid betrayed her despite their pact.

And they both despise each other for it.

The aggressive silence between seems to escalate with no signs of stopping, until Fenrir's growl broke the silence, catching their attention.

There was a roar, followed by heavy steps of the God Killing Wolf. The blue-furred beast's bellows echoed in the halls. The two flinched when they heard pathetic yelps and cries, the sound of a large body slammed against the walls repeatedly unnerved them.

They heard frightened yelps, wet rips and tears, the air humming as if sliced, whimpering sounds and high-pitched cries following, both looking in the direction, sweat pouring down their skin as they waited for the cause to enter their sights.

Sycorax and Euclid blinked when the dark spot between their cells suddenly grew wider, before a shadow grew out, forming a familiar figure, standing between them.

"You" Sycorax narrowed her eyes.

"Young master Djall!" Euclid's eyes gained a sliver of hope upon seeing his charge.

Each hand held several fangs, blood fresh dripped down the white pristine fangs. It was not difficult to connect where he collected those teeth, something they both knew he would do if given the chance and whim.

The three-eyed black-haired young man threw one of them into his mouth as he crunched, chewing on the hard enamel, the sound of crunching bone filling the silence.

"Hmmmm. So this is what half-god tastes like." Djall commented as he swallowed.

He flashed his teeth at Sycorax, his teeth gaining a similar hue to the fangs of Fenrir for a second.

"Young master! Good, now you can free me from this prison!" Euclid could not wait to get out and return from this hellhole.

"Hmmmm" Djall walked towards Sycorax, and stood still, staring at the dark elf queen.

"...Is there anything you wish to say to me, Djall?" Sycorax asked calmly.

Even if she were to escape, it was too late. She had surrendered and must go through with the process per her duty as Queen.

"...I was watching, you know." Djall answered.

So he was watching the battle.

"...And Euclid, this is why I am against your path. Sacred Gears are tools, tools can be broken or stolen but you probably didn't expect the Challenger to use your armor to repair his own. Even if you did manage to gain more strength, it means nothing if you don't have the spark like he does."

Euclid grit his teeth at Djall's criticism.

"If you were watching, why didn't you do anything?!" Euclid demanded.

"I don't like wasting energy in pointless conflicts." Djall answered. "You lost, you damaged your ties with Sycorax, and there is nothing else here for you. Other than The Tree Which reminds me - Why do you still seek the tree despite having the power you seek?"

Djall regarded Sycorax.

Sycorax met Djall's eyes as she closed and inhaled.

"...The Tree of Life is wise and ancient." Sycorax answered directly. "It is a sacred miracle. The culmination of our efforts to forge a future for our people. Away from our stagnation."

"...What do you hope to gain from the tree?"

"Power."

"You already have power." Djall pointed at himself.

"In order to stand on equal grounds with Asgard and Midgard, I will need more power."

"Do you? Is it really because you are weak, or you truly believe you cannot rely on yourself to face the uncertain future you wish to tread? Are you sure it is because you are weak, or is it because you truly believe that your kind is powerless? Enough to ignore your kin's potential?"

Sycorax perked.

It was the first time someone asked her that question.

"I think that you are stuck in the mindset that you and your people cannot become something more than your flesh allows. No, even if the potential is there, you do not have the courage? Yes, that's the word. Yes." Djall nodded to himself. "You do not have the courage to find the strength to do so You trapped yourself in Alfheim for many years. Yet you did not step out to see the outside because is it because you are afraid to see how far everyone else is ahead?"

"...That's" Sycorax did not have the answer to that question.

"...I think it is not the power that you need. But the strength and insight to make the difficult decisions. And the courage to move and take action." Djall gave his opinion. "I don't see a reason to answer your call because it will not help you. It might give you what you want, but it won't give you what you need. In a way, it will make you weak, I suppose."

There was something in her that she could not describe like she found something within her that was not there for a long time. Something she needed but couldn't or wouldn't find if not pointed out.

In a way

It felt like there was a burden inside that was lifted, a little.

"...Aren't you a little too brazen to give your elders advice on the matters of life?" Sycorax teased with a smile.

Djall could feel none of the intent to deceive. It was an honest smile.

"I just pointed out what I see wrong and wanted to confirm for myself." Djall gave his honest answer. "How you conclude what I said is up to you. Though there is one last thing I want to do before I leave. All of this trouble because of one magical tree I want to see it."

Euclid perked his head.

"Young master, if you wish to see the tree, I have an important request." Euclid took this chance.

He was prepared to return with nothing, ready to receive punishment from Rizevim, but with Djall's help

"If possible, I wish for a small extract of the tree. Master Lucifer wishes for a pure potent essence of a developed World Tree for study! This is all I ask!"

Djall turned to Euclid.

"...Is it that important?" Djall asked.

"More than you know! I'll make sure you're rewarded for your efforts!" Euclid nodded.

"Now I am interested in seeing this tree." Djall flicked his wrist at Euclid's cell, firing a shard, a drop of his blood hardened, hardened into a bullet-shaped Aberration construct as it pierced through the cell lock and all of the magical wards with ease, the barriers shattering alongside the lock.

Djall pushed the door open, but stopped. He sniffed the air.

"...What did you sense?" Euclid asked, knowing his charge's habits, the purpose and intent behind most of which he documented to this day.

"...It's nothing."

Djall felt that he was being watched no, someone was watching him. Spying on him directly.

From the distance, Loki watched the young monster staring into his direction. Even invisible and shielded by the illusion magics, he did not expect the monster to notice him. Even Odin had a hard time detecting his presence.

The monster ripped the stake impaling Euclid to the wall out, tossing it aside as it clattered. Euclid gasped as he fell, wincing from the pain and the magic inhibiting his regeneration.

Djall knelt down next to the living limbless torso pressed his finger onto him, magic from the monster probing the runes etched into Euclid's flesh.

Djall's eyes shifted colors and shapes as he analyzed the magical bindings.

"Hmmm This will take a while." Djall clicked. It was the first time he encountered such a complex curse. "Better to store you away first."

"What do you mean 'store?'" Euclid asked.

"I'll undo your bindings later. There is a tree I need to see ah, right. First, maybe some more of the canine's teeth."

While Djall was still preoccupied, Loki inwardly hummed from his spot until he decided to withdraw for the time being, smirking in anticipation of things to come. Though he did feel sorry for Fenrir the monster showed no mercy in taking more than half of his god-killing fangs.

"Hm, he sure is taking a while, nya."

Kuroka remarked as she and others were busy with the post-war relief. To be precise, Kuroka volunteered to 'oversee' the post-war relief effort while lounging on top of the ruins caused by the battle, lazily scanning over the elves milling around.

The need to treat the injured was nonexistent due to Asia's existence. Her prowess as the party's healer was exceptional. She did heal Azazel through Orochi's violent beatdown, though Orochi probably enjoyed hurting Azazel through Sirzechs on purpose.

Sirzechs recovered from the battle, though his missing Bael power was still an issue not even Asia could resolve.

Kuroka watched Asia talking with

Ladon.

Yes, Ladon - The Imsoniac Dragon, that Ladon.

After the fiasco with Orochi and Djall, after raiding Euclid's base and defeating all of the enemies, witches, dragon clones, chimera made from Trihexa flesh

They were reminded of Ladon's existence when they left, seeing the poor tree dragon just lying there; so they decided to take the Insomniac Dragon prisoner.

Literally bound by whatever magical bindings they have with the help of Loki's curses keeping Ladon's power in check at the very least. The Trickster God was uncannily skilled with Norse Curses for some reason, they found.

Sirzechs and his Peerage were stationed alongside Asia as she talked with Ladon.

Well, more like listening to Ladon's problems. The tree dragon was on the blue-grass plains, lying on the soft gentle flora, at eye level with the patient holy maiden.

"Ahhhhhh And that is how I am here. To get away from the little monster to subsequently suffer humiliating capture."

Ladon was complaining about his current lifestyle, always living with the fear that he would be horribly maimed by the dragon-eating maniac that crawled around the main base. How he had to suffer hearing the cries of his victims being mauled no matter how powerful or evolved they became and that Rizevim did nothing to stop the monster.

It was only recently that they received a reprieve after the Hero Faction took the monster away from the main base to somewhere else.

Asia nodded, listening to Ladon's woes.

"Um I have a question. Do you happen to know what happened to Stjarna when he became Djall?"

Asia asked Ladon the most important question.

"Ah, that is a good question I wasn't there when it happened." Ladon mused, "If you must know I believe you'll have a better chance with Euclid - he's in charge of observing that monster's growth, after all."

Asia's expression twitched into a sad frown while Sirzechs and his peerage exchanged glances. Getting Euclid Lucifuge to feed them information would be a challenging task, considering his reputation.

"You won't get anything from calling out to Djall's past. I've never seen a mind-erasing technique this powerful before, to be honest." The tree dragon hummed. "I mean, Nidhogg tried to save himself the second time by confessing to Djall's previous identity The monster ignored him and continued eating him alive. I tried as well, but the monster only gave up on me because he found my barriers annoying. And he was too hungry to push through though I'm not sure if it is because he is hungry or just enacting vengeance on us however he can."

While the interrogation was underway, Kuroka's eyes suddenly widened as her body shot straight up - her feline ears were on high alert as she sensed an ominous energy spike from where Issei, Azazel and others were supposed to be.

"Ise-chin?"

OxO

Within Issei's room, Azazel jumped upon feeling an explosion of negative energy from Issei's meditating form.

Issei was on his bed, sitting in a lotus position. Azazel was busy monitoring Issei's condition with his magic, checking for his symptoms or any possible ailments he should offset.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

"Whoa! What the hell is happening there?!" Azazel did not know how he could jump into Sacred Gears.

Despite all of his research studying the subject, he never found a way where he could enter another wielder's Sacred Gear.

God made it so that no outsider could invade Sacred Gears or have them be tampered by outsider forces, meaning conventional magic and the like would not work.

If he could, he would have made much better progress in training the others and understanding the intricate systems for his research.

Within the realm of Boosted Gear, five dragons flew overhead, circling above the host and the red dragon.

They were merely observers - the souls of the dragons Euclid used as the power source of his Sacred Gear. Ones who Genghis Khan bargained with to join them in defeating the Welsh Dragon, albeit they were skeptical of the fragmented soul's assurances.

Their agreement was that they would aid Khan if he proved himself able to stand against Ddraig. They did not move when the host interfered and showed his dominance over the rest, a worthier soul to bargain with.

But his transformation frightened them.

A dark, alien power, demonic in nature yet unfamiliar in origin, the human transformed into a demonic monstrosity, tearing apart the fragments, limbs ripped and flesh vaporized by lightning and fire.

Then facing the Red Dragon Emperor without flinching.

Ddraig braced himself as he lowered his draconic body.

Issei inhaled deeply and exhaled. His arms crossed and his left leg rose, then stomped down as his arms spread, entering his martial stance.

Belzard and Elsha exchanged glances. They knew that they should not interfere as they leapt back, flying away with their armor's wings.

The Welsh Dragon looked down on the small demon clad in thick, almost animatic aura that bore a vague humanoid shape.

Without warning, two phantasmal wings spread, skeletal, the wings of death reached side by side.

Seeing this, Ddraig realized something. This was probably the first time the Welsh Dragon was taking responsibility for the Juggernaut Drive in a twisted irony, no less. Throughout his memories, he could not recall him trying, or succeeding, in suppressing the curse He was not sure if it was because he was free or that maybe he was as irresponsible as the young monster accused him of being.

He never took responsibility for the suffering he caused to Tiamat if he did think about it.

Now, he was doing his best to return his host to his senses. No - not host more like a brother.

His friend.

Issei's demonic eyes stared at Ddraig, his body still.

Almost as if he was challenging the Red Dragon to cross the line first.

Seeing they were going nowhere, Ddraig decided to answer to the challenge and roared - a common custom for dragons before engaging a fight. His open maws then glowed, as Ddraig literally fired his first shot with his signature god-killing flames.

Issei's pulse thrummed like an echoing drum, his right fist glowing emerald, as green as the jewel in Boosted Gear.

Ddraig barely saw it when Issei used this move against Euclid. He did not think that Issei could pull it off again here.

The world flashed bright when Issei threw the punch against Ddraig.

When Issei's fist was in mid-motion, Ddraig's instinct screamed that he had to dodge, so he did.

It was the first time Ddraig felt his mind screaming in fear in response to an attack. He never had this happen to him before when he fought Albion as he took flight, his gargantuan body nimble despite his size.

Elsha and Belzard felt the realm quake when the flames collided against the fist, and the flames gave in to the latter.

The fires of the apocalypse overpowered as the shockwaves tunneled through the dragonfire, swallowing Ddraig's tail as the two strongest past users dropped their jaws at the sight.

Ddraig's tail was damaged.

Razed apart by both the shockwave and his own fire.

Ddraig landed back down and stared at his tail, seeing that the force shaved scale, hide, and muscle, exposing the bone underneath.

Stunned.

Speechless.

He gazed back at Issei, seeing that he was intact. His fist was not damaged like last time.

"...Shit."

That was the last chance he could speak before Issei appeared before his eyes.

When Elshan and Belzard met Issei face to face for the first time, they could already tell that the boy would achieve great things..

They did not expect to see the boy to conquer the Welsh Dragon this soon.

For the longest time, Ddraig could not remember the last time his right cheek caved like this. Nor did his face slam into the ground with so much force that the rest of his dragon body below the neck lifted, tail facing perpendicular to the boundless white void sky.

Nevertheless, the Welsh Dragon had no time to wallow in his current predicament; he had a friend for him to return his senses to.

[Boost!]

Ddraig started boosting himself.

But Issei landed onto his face, fist slamming Ddraig further into the ground as he landed on Ddraig's face.

It got even worse when Issei grabbed Ddraig's horn.

And lifted the dragon's entire massive body into the air. All of the giant dragon's, lifted by the small human-sized Demon. And thrown across the dimensions as Ddraig tumbled and ragdolled in the distance.

"Okay this is bad." Elsha was now panicking.

Never before did a wielder of Boosted Gear lift and throw the Welsh Dragon.

However.

Issei's visage suddenly flinched, froze, then trembled as if he was trying to struggle against the invisible force that binds his body.

OxO

"He is reacting to the presence around him."

Griselda and Asia were the first to move.

Without delay, they surrounded Issei with their powers linked, angelic light pouring into Issei under Azazel's watch, radiant light attempting to suppress the unique, shaped Aura surrounding Issei.

Kuroka sat on the bed near Issei, purple haze blew from her lips towards Issei's demonized face. Honestly, considering the Trihexa factor, the mist she was blowing was lethal enough to kill a devil a dozen times. She was gambling with Issei's innate poison resistance to save his life from his current state.

Vali and his team were also present, as well as Sirzechs and his peerage.

Kiyome did try to link into his mind, but all she received was a massive backlash of negative emotions that forced her to cut herself from him lest she shared Issei's fate. Rossweisse was with Saitama, accompanying Queen Sinmara's whims to partake in 'royal talk' with Titania's family.

Though everyone knew that Sinmara was dragging the invincible Baldy to his newest, greatest enemy - Politics, which was tantamount to torture for the poor simple man, the way he trudged behind her as if following her to his Hell.

"He looks like he's still approaching his berserker state. We might need to restrain his limbs" Azazel surmised. "But he might react violently if we approach him carelessly. Seriously, this reminds me of the time he accidentally entered Juggernaut Drive the first time and nearly killed Vali, but without the dragon armor. Actually, Sirzechs, does this remind you of something?

"I don't understand the question." Sirzechs, however, was clueless of the similarities.

"...Heh, you really didn't look at yourself in the mirror when you unleash your full power, did you? What about Ajuka? Does he have a 'true form' as you call it?" Azazel remarked.

"Why is Ajuka's true form a matter of importance?"

Grayfia slapped the back of Sirzechs' head.

"He means that Issei has achieved 'True Form'." The Silver Queen explained to her dunce husband.

"...Oh What?! That's impossible!" Sirzechs was astonished.

Only he and Ajuka achieved this stage of power, a level of power not even the original Lucifer could achieve. Yet this boy could do something almost every other Devil could not and so fast, further reminding Sirzechs of the curse the Demons placed on them.

"Ah, this is fascinating." Matthers leaned forward. "This needs to be documented and appraised for our race. If my memory serves, I recall your report from Alichino. The imperfect demonic awakening Does this mean that he is on the verge of achieving it?"

"It isn't that simple. From what I've known so far from experience, Demonic Awakening isn't something that anyone can master." Azazel warned. "If he fails to break through this imperfect stage or break out of it, he will become a Fiend - a powerful monster dominated by his most powerful emotions."

"How strong is a 'Fiend'?" Griselda asked.

"Last time I saw one, it was when Michael was still attempting to genocide the Demons and my wings weren't black back then. She slaughtered many of the angels that accompanied Michael and then stood against him. And that wasn't even a Demon Lord back then." Azazel explained.

"And how dangerous will Issei be if he does become one?" Vali asked, curiously observing Issei's condition.

"We don't want to find out. A Fiend cannot be compared with your average Chimeras or Stray Devils, the difference between them is literally Heaven and Earth." Azazel explained. "... But they can be saved from their condition. Don't know how though, ironically."

"W-Will Ise be alright?" Asia asked, concerned with a sad frown while still working her magic on Issei.

"I don't know. Ermias never allowed any angel or devil to oversee the training to achieve the Awakening. I don't even know how it is even triggered." Azazel shook his head.

"Um, boys? I know you guys are a bunch of nerds and all of this is fascinating, but a little hel-AGH?!"

Kuroka gagged.

Issei's arm reached out and held her throat as his eyes glowed crimson.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

He was moving. His eyes were now on them.

"...Oh, shit."

Everyone was starting to panic when Issei slowly stood on his bed, his glare almost burning them with hate.

"I-Issei!" Asia called out as she stepped forward in front of him. "Issei, c-can't you recognize us?! A-Are you still in there, Issei?! We are here to help you!"

Rassei poked out of her hair and started squeaking frantically, waving his tiny hands at Issei.

Back to the material plane, Issei looked up at Vali as his crimson eyes glowed.

[Transfer!]

Vali was caught off-guard at the sudden shift in the flow of energy.

Within Divine Dividing, Albion sensed something dangerous touching the imaginary borders of this realm.

As for Vali, he could not believe it as Issei stole the power he stole from Issei instantly.

Was that Transfer? He knew the feeling of that technique, but to upgrade and weaponize it, that was extremely unfair.

[Soul Transfer!]

Then the demon decided to get greedy as he pushed back both Vali and Ddraig, against Elsha and Belzard, rising to his feet.

Ddraig sensed it. The dragons that Euclid imprisoned in his faux sacred Gear sensed it.

Ddraig had never sensed Albion this close ever since they were sealed.

In Divine Dividing, a breach opened for the first time in centuries, a foreign influence infiltrating this Sacred Gear.

From the breach in reality, a massive titanic hand reached out - a phantasmal skeletal framework composed of power the likes Albion had never witnessed.

And it was nearing towards him.

"Don't tell me!" Albion could not believe it.

[Vali! VALI! I hope this isn't just my fear thinking for me but I think Issei is trying to take me!]

Albion immediately casted Divide from within. Here, he could at least fight back in this domain

[Transfer]

However, the hand took the power back on reflex.

Albion's first response was to fight, but his instinct roared at him to stay away.

But the hand lashed out lightning fast and grabbed his body.

[VALI! HE'S TAKING ME! He's actually trying to take me away from Divine Dividing!]

"What?! WHAT?!"

Vali noticed it. A 'hand' touching someone critical inside him, within Divine Dividing.

"Shit, SHIT!" For the first time in his life, Vali panicked - feared for his life, no, for his future.

Issei's hands crushed the Juggernaut's gauntlets into powder, before he reached out and plunged his claws into Vali's dragon chassis, ripping the dragon shell and exposing the soft cambion filling inside, a panicking Vali.

Then Issei grabbed his face and plunged his other hand into his chest.

"Wait, wait, wait! Stop! Isn't the copy enough for you!?" Vali flailed as he struggled to free himself, firing magic at the demon, ice, lightning, fire, anything, only for the demon to ignore his attempts.

Griselda moved first since she was the closest. She broke off from purifying Issei in favor of helping Vali. Channeling the power of Excalibur Destruction, Griselda swung her blade, prompting Issei to intercept the swing.

However, he did not take into account the resulting shockwave that launched him away from Vali's Juggernaut form.

"Sir Vali, are you well?" Griselda asked while keeping her eyes on Issei's demonic form.

"Albion, how are things in there?" Vali asked as he took a few deep breaths.

[It was a close call But the sister managed to prevent the transfer's completion. We will be fine as long as the Red One does not repeat the same technique on us again.]

At this point, everyone else has regrouped with Vali and Griselda, regarding Issei who had become still again while glaring blankly at them.

"Damn Now the window's closed again." Azazel cursed, providing the first opening for Griselda was already a very tall order.

Now it was safe to assume that Issei would be more guarded around them. Whatever the hell was happening to him.

However, before anyone else could have spoken, the tension was broken by the sound of rumbling thunder, followed by flashes of lightning coming from the clouds above.

Issei immediately sensed someone was descending on him as he immediately leapt away to avoid a lightning strike destroying the spot where he stood earlier.

When the dust settled down a few seconds later, everyone was greeted by the visage of the Norse's most powerful God of Thunder.

"Gahahahahaha!" The newcomer's mirthful laugh bellowed like thunder, powerful and full of vitality.

Electricity danced across his purple hair as he smiled at the demonic form of Issei Hyoudou.

"I hope it isn't too late for another! My, you have changed! Is this another form of yours?!" Thor grinned his teeth.

Everyone was surprised yet again.

"Whoa" Kiyome was stunned. She did not expect to see the Thunder God joining the chaos.

But Azazel was worried. He was not sure if Thor could stand up to this Issei.

In terms of might, Issei surpassed Orochi, though that snake was holding back at his master's behest.

Issei roared at the newcomer, breaking free from Ddraig's hold with renewed strength.

No, his strength had increased from the conflict as he closed the distance and struck Thor directly in the abdomen.

"Thor!" Sirzechs and Azazel shouted as the shockwave traveled through the Thunder God and kicked a wave of dust behind him.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Not bad! My turn!"

Issei found himself feeling confused; but his confusion died soon enough when Thor struck Issei's face, thunder exploding on impact as Issei flew into the remains of Euclid's base.

The base shattered as the plateau shook, rumbled from the impact. It fell into pieces and sunk into the earth as if it was sinking into quicksand.

"...What?" Vali and the rest gawped.

The Thunder God, in contrast, overpowered Issei with surprising ease.

"Are you amazed by the fruits of my training?!" Thor turned around and greeted their shocked faces with a smile.

"As Son of Odin and sworn Brother of Saitama, it is my duty and honor to surpass the Egg God! HAHAHAHAHAHA! And he took that hit well!"

The ruins of the base erupted, stone and debris flung into the sky like a geyser.

Something jumped out of the cloud of dust and landed before them, Issei glaring at them, with a fresh crack in his organic armor.

To be Continued.

Bonus Special

Deep within the underground cave system, were a party of five youngsters walking in a formation. From their get-ups and inventories, these five were not your average explorers - they were adventurers, a group that braves through the unknown for the sake of discovery, thrills and glory.

The air was moist with stone-trapped dew, the sound of dripping falling from stalactite to stalagmite, their steps muffled under their boots.

The sole male in the middle - a young man with spiky brown hair clad in a simple red robe, was holding his staff that was conjuring a ball of light to provide the party a better vision of their surroundings.

"Have you sensed anything ahead so far, Xenovia?" Issei the wizard asked as he stood in the center of the formation.

Xenovia the Paladin, clad in armor complete with a sword and a shield, replied as she was the vanguard of the party, "Nothing so far, Koneko?" She asked her comrade who stood a little behind her.

The petite barbarian was sporting a two-handed axe that was nearly twice her size, clad in what appeared to be a set of cloth wrapped around her chests and private areas, and a cloak made of animal fur - a bear in particular, as the head of the bear served as the hood covering her head.

"Hmm..." It was her usual 'Dunno' response.

"Alright, but stay alert for traps and enemy scouts." Issei then addressed the ranger of the group, "Irina, how's your ammo?"

"Still fresh - we didn't run into many enemies earlier." Irina nodded as she had an arrow tucked on the quiver, ready to be set loose.

"Asia - how many miracles can you use today?"

The healer of the group, Asia - stood at the rear near Irina, "I can still use some minor heal, purification and holy light." She sounded understandably nervous.

The party had been tasked to investigate a site where several people had been reported missing; earlier investigation indicated there was a cave that might have led to a nest of creatures that could be responsible for the disappearances.

After nearly an hour of trekking, they stopped at a sizable space within the cavern, with the sight of a fork in their path.

Now they must make a choice.

Left or right.

Which would they take? They must choose wisely.

"...How should we do this?" Xenovia asked.

"Coin flip?" Irina chimed.

"Really?" Issei scoffed but he procured a coin nonetheless. "Alright, heads or tails?"

"Heads."

"Tails."

"Hea-...eh?" Asia felt a sharp pain piercing her from behind.

Everyone turned to Asia seeing a small shadow lurking behind her, which was revealed to be a short green humanoid creature lodging a dagger through her back.

"Asia!"

"Goblins!"

Xenovia quickly moved to kill the creature who backstabbed Asia, which was done easily enough, however

Koneko and Irina were the first to notice several presences making themselves known, lurking out from several dark spots within the cavern.

They have failed to perceive the hidden tunnels and crevices around them in the darkness as well as the fork in the road behind them.

They walked into the ambush.

Spears, daggers, and cackling laughter sprang from the darkness.

Koneko tried to rage, but the goblins had the initiative, and she was pelted with arrows and thrown stone, one striking her temple.

She was stunned, leaving her open for the next attack, forcing Irina to cover her and herself as she began to fire her arrows at the nearby enemies.

Xenovia was covering Issei who attempted to heal Asia using a potion.

"Come one, come on. No! Why isn't this working?!"

Issei yelled in frustration at the sight of Asia's wound closing, yet the cleric was not showing any signs of recovering. In fact, her face was pale and she appeared to have difficulty in breathing.

Issei then had a quick look at the dagger that stabbed Asia earlier, and he managed to notice the murky substance mixed with Asia's blood on the blade.

"Shit, it's a poisoned dagger! Does anyone have any antidotes!?"

"None! We didn't have enough money to buy antidotes!" Xenovia replied while busy fending off a pack of goblins.

In a fit of desperation, Issei then casted Rejuvenation, in order to keep Asia alive, "Come on, Asia Stay with us! Breathe!'

Then an arrow struck Issei's arm, causing Issei to grunt in pain as he turned his focus on a goblin wielding a bow.

Issei then growled and aimed his staff at the offending creature, "Carbunculus Crescunt Iacta!"

The goblin then was caught in flames.

"Yes!" Issei could not help but feel elated at his first successful spell.

Kyakakakakaka!

However, the rest of the goblin cackled as more arrows flew from the darkness.

Irina desperately attempted to fire back, but a stray arrow snapped her bowstring.

"Nooo!"

Several more goblins rushed towards her with wicked smiles, drool dangling from their tongues as their oily, creased skin leaked sweat from the anticipation alone. Soon, Irina found herself screaming and kicking at the goblins pinning over her frame.

OOBLAK!

Then Issei was blasted, his head shot by a spell of Force energy, sending him flying back. He broke his ankle on the fall, leaving him prone as he hissed in pain. In the darkness, a goblin shaman casted a spell in return, calling upon the powers of its chosen God to give it strength.

When he looked up, a swarm of goblins with clubs ganged up on him and started beating his face with their primitive weapons. In the midst of the beating, Issei then witnessed his comrades being overwhelmed.

"No! Stay back!"

Xenovia had been bereft of her sword and shield as multiple goblins tackled and pinned her to the ground, followed by a couple more who proceeded to dismantle her armor and equipment. One goblin managed to wrench her chestplate off before undo her chainmail with a jagged dagger, revealing her breasts; and another goblin was dismantling the lower-half of her protection.

"Nyaaghk-!"

Koneko was robbed of her weapon and a goblin pulled her down to the ground while clinging on her back - its arms wrapped around her neck and its legs were trapping her arms against her torso. The other goblins were already in the middle of ripping away her cloak and clothing.

Asia was too weak and helpless as the goblins savored her, one ran her tongue across her cheek with wicked eyes gazing into her, while the other took its time to tear her clothing away.

"Noo!"

Irina herself was already stripped of her minimal armor and her clothes, with the goblin standing by her crotch slowly pushing his erect meat rod against her slit.

As Issei was assailed by clubs, one raised a dagger over his head with a triumphant cackle.

"Wait, wait, stop! Time out!"

Then, the world around suddenly stopped, as if frozen in time before the view glitched away.

OxO

"...Goblins don't do that! Where the hell did that come from?!"

Issei shouted as he pointed at Black, who was holding the Dungeon Master's Book.

Everyone - Irina, Xenovia, Koneko and Asia, was sitting around a table in the living room, a map drawn on paper laid on the table, characters made in their image but all wearing fantasy clothing standing on a certain section of the map, along with several unique-looking dies.

In short, they were playing Dungeons and Dragons.

"Yes, they do! That's what the guide says!" Black replied to Issei's remarks.

"They don't in real life! And seriously?! Tone down the R-18! This ain't right, man!" Issei gestured to Irina and Asia. "It's better to just kill and eat our corpses! No need for this shit!"

"Hey, again - that's what the guide says about Goblins! The default is R-18! What the hell do you know about goblins, anyway!?" Black returned.

"I met them in Alfheim, and they do NOT violate women! Only orcs do that shit!" Issei shouted back.

While Black and Issei were arguing, the girls were engaged in their own discussion about the session so far.

"...I underestimated this game." Xenovia remarked with a small sigh.

"Uuu If only I were more vigilant" Asia said while holding her head down.

"It's fine, Asia I was supposed to be the scout in the group, yet I failed the perception check." Irina consoled while she was also disappointed with herself.

Koneko was looking a tad dejected, yet she also glared at the die, as if she was blaming the small object for her failed perception check that led to their ambush.

The twenty sided die was now her enemy.

The die that rolled natural 1s for everyone in this group.

"...The dice is wicked," Koneko muttered loud enough for the girls to hear.

"Is it? We got to kill several goblins and Issei also managed to cast some spells." Xenovia replied.

"Anyway!" Black finally declared the end of the game and argument session, "Y'all up for another round or what?"

Issei glared at Black. He was wearing that damnable evil smile again.

"...Fuck it. But we're changing the dice." Issei blew his hair. "...I'm choosing to be a Dragonborn Dragon Blooded Sorcerer."

"Another spell-caster? And you just changed your racial-class." Black remarked.

"Wanted to see what being a Dragonborn is like. I'm already a fighter in real life, so Yeah," Issei said.

"Hah Aight, aight. What about you gals?" Black sighed before he asked the girls.

"Um I think I'm fine for now." Asia meekly replied, since she was still new with the game.

"Same here." Xenovia also replied.

"I'm good." Koneko as well.

"Hmm I think I want to try something cuter, like an elf, maybe?" Irina mused.

While everyone else was having fun in setting up another session, the door was opened, revealing Vali and Saitama.

"There you are."

"What are you guys doing?"

"Oh, dad, Vali." Issei greeted while filling in his new character sheet, "We're just playing some Dungeons and Dragons, care to join us?"

"Dungeons and Dragons? Ain't that a western game for geeks?" Vali asked.

"Hey, it's fun!" Black shouted in protest. "And besides, since the DnD game was a huge success, and the kid binged through the game with the gals, the girls wanna try out the tabletop version."

Saitama hummed and stared at the table filled with maps, dies, and several small figures and pawns. He then turned to look at the DnD guide books and eventually shrugged.

"Eh, sure. Why not? I'm kind of bored myself, anyway." Saitama said as he joined and took a seat between Koneko and Black. "So? How are we doing this? Who am I playing as?"

"Well, you need to build your own character first for this game. That's how this works." Black answered.

Saitama blinked, "...Wait, what? So no characters ready for me to use? Don't these games usually come with all characters ready and stuff?"

"That's the main charm of this game, baldy. Instead of making do with characters prepared for you, you get to build your own character. Here, for now, fill this form - you get to choose your name, your race, profession, powers, etc."

"Eeeh." Saitama slightly grimaced at the paper, feeling lazy already.

"Come on, dad." Issei called out. "If there's a time where you can show us you can do things without Uncle Genos, now's that time."

"Hey, I filled in my application forms for my Hero job back in the day, okay? I know what I'm doing here." Saitama defended as he took the pen and began reading his character sheet, "Let's see. My name and personal information, easy enough Character backstory? Hey, can I just use my own backstory?"

Issei and Black exchanged glances before the latter shrugged, "Knock yourself out, bud. Um, Koneko, mind helping the baldy filling his character profile? I think he's gonna need some extra hands soon enough."

Koneko blinked at first but she wordlessly obeyed as she scooted closer towards Saitama, overseeing his paperwork.

While Saitama was agonizing over the fact that his character sheet has two pages of detailed information he had to fill out, Vali was watching with disinterested gaze.

"Well? You want to give it a shot or not?" Issei asked with a knowing smirk.

Vali regarded his rival and best friend for a few seconds before scoffing, "No, I'll pass. I have better things to do than playing some role playing games."

"Like what? You're already role playing in real life, so what's the difference?" Issei scoffed.

"Screw you." Although Vali refused to rise to the bait any further.

"Actually, thinking about it, there's no way you'll last a turn knowing how you like to roll the dice in life."

Vali then narrowed his eyes at that remark, "...What do you mean by that?"

Issei simply shrugged with a smile, "Oh, nothing really. You can go if you don't want to play, I guess this game is too advanced for you."

"Oh, is it?" Vali quirked an eyebrow, unamused.

"Mhmm." Issei smirked at his 'rival', "It's okay, Vali. Nobody's judging you for being unable to play a game or two."

The two maintained a tense stare-off for a moment.

"...Give me the rule book."

Black then handed it to Vali with a knowing smirk. He glanced at Issei who held a peace sign towards him, much to the dwarf's approval.

Tbh, the bonus segment was something I pulled out from my ass. Thoughts? XD