(With the Gremory Peerage)
"Issei... come back." Rias quietly begged, tears pouring down her face as her pawn marched toward the towering monstrosity that was now Diodora. "Issei we have to go." She said before he exploded with power, her eyes barely making out the form of the Boosted Gear's glowing Balance Breaker armor through a cloud of dust. Diodora's twisted form seemed to stop it's pained screeching as it turned to the Red Dragon. "ISSEI!" She called out again, hearing her beloved saying something about the infinite and dreams as his own body grew and split into something more draconic before calling out 'Juggernaut Drive' and making a pale green light shine from his being.
"FULGUR!" Orihime's voice rang out before Rias felt herself being yanked back. "VENTUS!" The cloud of dust then started swirling around her for a short while before the scenery changed from the castle to a wide open space on some floating island within the territory. Rias turned back to see Orihime's barrier around Asia dispel as her formerly dead bishop sat back up, shocking the rest of her peerage.
"W-what happened?" She asked before being getting wrapped up in a hug from Koneko and Gasper.
"Whew, that was a close one." The teacher said as her students looked up to her. "If those weird snake things clung onto her, I might not have been able to save her." Orihime noticed their looks of surprise. "Did you forget I've done this twice already?" She asked, making the group think back to Irina and Kiba's earlier deaths that she undid with ease. "Anyways, this is a problem." Orihime turned her attention to two floating images high above them, one showing Issei standing defiantly against the larger Diodora as his power charged to greater heights and the other revealing Ichigo getting his jaw punched off. There was a noise that sounded like the Shinigami flashstep, drawing their attention to find Byakuya, Urahara, Ajuka, and Azazel.
"Quick, can you please describe exactly what those bars were doing to you all?" Urahara immediately asked as Byakuya handed the bar he was holding on to previously to him. Before the Devils could say anything, Orihime stepped up and started recounting how she felt when the trap activated.
"When they started glowing, it felt like a wedge was being jammed into my head. Worst of it, I felt like I lost all of the spirits I formed my contracts with." The Spirit user started, getting gasps of recognition from the Sacred Gear users in the group.
"That's what it felt like for me too." Kiba said aloud with Gasper and Asia nodding in agreement.
"It felt like my Ki was made all fuzzy, like my Senjutsu was being jammed up." Koneko added after thinking about it.
"Same with my magic." Akeno continued looking to Rias who nodded in agreement.
"Makes sense." Urahara muttered as the bar glowed for a moment before stopping and the captain rubbed his temple. "This things can disrupt Reiryoku." He declared gaining a confused look from the Devils.
"That's the term for the 'internal' spiritual energy of a person." Ajuka started explaining. "Pretty much everything uses at least some form of spirit energy, whether internal like magic blasts or external like rune magic. The mix of how it manifests is usually up to the different races' own unique makeup or whatever medium they tend to use."
"The Soul Society uses pure Reishi and Reiryoku." Urahara continued while picking the bar back up. "Everything we do is based on a connection of spirit and soul links. These bars were made by someone that's familiar with that same principle, but it wasn't made to disable your magic as a primary target. It was meant to sever the connection of the Sacred Gears and Orihime's spirits." That news came as no surprise, considering that they had the most intense reactions. What Kisuke chose to leave out was that this technology and technique was familiar, but the main suspect was killed by Uryu a decade ago.
"Do we have anything about who that is with Ichigo?" Orihime asked, drawing everyone's attention to the screen where the Captain Commander was removing his shirt while talking with his opponent. Once Azazel saw him, he winced while sucking in his breath.
"That's Crom Cruach, and that's bad news." The Fallen Angel said, drawing information from his well of memories. "He used to serve with the Fomorians of the Celtic pantheon, enslaved by Balor of the Evil Eye himself until they were defeated by the Tuatha De Danann. He was a terror back then but stopped fighting after Balor was defeated and just kept quiet. We tried keeping track of him, but he disappeared entirely when Christianity came to the Celtic lands. Guess the Khaos Brigade found him."
"And how would you rank him in power?" Orihime asked as her eyes spied the various Gotei seals appear and fade from her husband's form, eyes narrowing as she recognized the look on his face. One that understood the danger in front of him despite all the power he has.
"Last time we saw him? He wasn't too far from the Heavenly Pair of Albion and Ddraig." He answered, as a sudden massive pressure washed over them and disappeared just as quickly. "I really hope that kid has a way to survive this."
"And what's going on with Issei?!" Rias suddenly demanded, all attention shifting to the screen showing the Red Dragon form that the Gremory pawn took dodging a beam of green light from Diodora's giant bloodied eye before slamming a claw into his torso and throwing the twisted monster back. "What happened to him!"
"Juggernaut Drive." Azazel answered grimly. "Another transformation that grants an even great boost of power to the wielder of the Boosted and Divine Dividing Gears, turning them closer to the original forms of the Heavenly Dragons before they were sealed away. The downside is that it's fueled by the negative emotions of the past wielders and costs the current wielder their sanity and lifespan. Issei is literally burning away his life to fight that... thing." The Gremory peerage paled at that information and looked to Issei's fight with tears coming to their eyes.
"We need to stop him!" Akeno declared as Rias fought back her urge to cry, fueling her own anger to keep focus instead of breaking down again. She was done losing things due to her weakness and if this was a test of that resolve, then she was determined to win.
"Azazel sensei, you said it was fueled by negative emotions right?" The Crimson Princess asked as she tried to make herself a pillar of her team. "Can we counter that with positive ones? Can the 'power of friendship' thing work here?" Azazel adopted a thoughtful look while the others considered it.
"Realistically the odds are slim, but theoretically it is possible. And considering Issei's the kind of dope that throws reason out the window to achieve greatness, I'd be willing to bet on you guys pulling that off." Azazel informed them while Ajuka was drawing up a mathematical formula with magic, consisting almost entirely of letters.
"If we can assign values to the factors like so; Issei's current anger plus the lingering anger of the Sacred Gear versus Issei's joy that you as his peerage can offer, then you can even things out and pull him out of his madness." The Beelzebub explained. "Of course, that is if your voices can reach him and he doesn't burn away too much of his life."
"Personally I'd suggest you to hold off on that until his fight is done at the very least." Urahara called out as he watched the battle between the two creatures that were once humanoid. "Letting him vent and calm down a little would be safer than immediately jumping into that." Diodora's spiked tentacle was spilling a red ooze that seemed to be acidic as it started melting whatever it touched as the monster swung at Issei. The Dragonoid swung his claw and cut the writhing appendage off before tackling the creature once more, as the tentacle regrew and split into three.
"What the hell is going on there anyway?" Azazel asked, trying to make sense of the nightmarish mutation. "How did Diodora mutate like that? Was it the snakes and those chains?"
"That is the most likely scenario." The Gotei's top scientist offered as he continued studying the two. "From what we could identify from the Ophis Snakes, they link themselves onto the target's soul in a similar way to the Evil Pieces and Brave Saints but are still conscious entities and so form a symbiotic relationship with their hosts, giving them increased power in exchange for a body to inhabit. The chains of Hell are more like a parasite in that same regard, drawn by the sins of the host until dragging them to Hell to suffer as their soul withers away to nothingness. The clash between the two primordial energies likely merged their properties, keeping Diodora in the mortal plane where the snakes can survive while giving him the most tortured existence. He's very likely suffering like no one can imagine while in that state but is also being a danger to everyone here. And how do you plan on helping us, White Dragon Emperor?" Everyone started looking around until they found a line appear in space, opening to reveal Vali, Arthur, and Bikou coming through the rift.
"And how did you know I was coming?" He asked, curious and on guard but relaxed enough since he didn't sense any personal immediate threats.
"Azazel described you as a battle fanatic and we've got quite the gathering at the moment." Kisuke explained jovially. "We've got your intended rival who has been growing much stronger, a dragon that's supposed to rival the Heavenly Pair, and my student/boss that killed you without touching you. Why wouldn't you show up?" Vali lightly scowled at the Shinigami at that last statement.
"I was drained after fighting Issei and I want a proper match with him." The Devil hybrid corrected before looking up at the screen with Issei. "So, what are the odds of success if I'm involved lord Beelzebub?" Ajuka studied the fight and did a quick calculation in his head.
"40% with minimal damage of 10% of his life force, 80% with 20% damage. But it should work." The Satan answered, prompting Vali to begin his own Juggernaut Drive transformation. All the while, Urahara was watching the area around him and received a silent report. Dimensional integrity was dropping rapidly.
(Issei vs Diodora)
He didn't know what he was saying as the words spilled from his lips, the voices that echoed in his mind was muted, nothing mattered to him in any way other than his one singular goal: Killing the monster Diodora. Immediately he was covered in the mail of his Balance Breaker and his power continued to explode, but it wouldn't be enough to give him the power he needed to properly punish that shitty Devil. He didn't care that his physically appearance was now as warped and twisted as his soul was, he wouldn't be satisfied until he crushed him with his own two claws.
"JUGGERNAUT DRIVE!" He heard as his body merged with the armor and grew, taking on a more draconic form. His neck grew while his helmet's mouth split into a fanged maw and two wings spouted from his back, lacking a membrane but still held by an invisible energy. All the while he was generating more and more energy as his power continued to double with his Sacred Gear's ability. Issei doubled in size, Diodora still towered over him but the size disparity was not an issue for him. Diodora seemed to understand the threat before him and threw his pincer claw at Issei's face. He swerved around and closed in, biting down on where the Astaroth's neck would be on his new body. The twisted figure howled in pain as Issei threw his head around, pulling Diodora along with him and tossing him through a number of stone columns before breaking through the wall and onto the floating island the Rating Game was supposed to be on.
"BOOST!" The words sounded out as Issei's power continued to grow before charging at Diodora again. The twisted Devil turned toward the Dragon and his giant bloodshot eye glowed for a moment before shooting a beam of sickly green energy at him, Issei narrowly dodging before slamming his claws into his foe's chest. The air had a visible shockwave pulse from the impact as Diodora flew backwards from the attack, his pained cries echoing throughout the Agares Territory as he fell on his back. A sickening crackle emenated from the Devil's body as it landed with some limbs bending at angles that suggested that they were broken in many places, further evidenced by the twisting and snapping as the body righted itself. A red blood like ooze started leaking from many cuts and tears that started to appear as Diodora started moving, as if its skin was too fragile for any movement, but the ooze also started to melt everything it touched.
'Not enough!' Issei thought as Diodora threw his bleeding tentacle at him, but the Dragon easily tore through the limb and did a shoulder tackle into the thing's chest. Diodora's new body was falling apart just as quickly as it was healing, the clawed feet breaking apart as they tried to hold purchase against Issei's tackle and three new tendrils burst out from the gaping wound where Issei tore his arm off. 'You haven't suffered enough!' Issei continued to think as he roared again in rage at the tortured creature. Several of Diodora's wounds seemed to turn into toothy maws while the spines on the tentacles grew larger and sharper.
'COME ON YOU BASTARD!' Issei let out an earth shaking roar before the monstrous Devil was tackled from behind and was sent flying toward him. Confused but not wasting this chance, Issei dug his claws into the melted humanoid and quadrupedal bodies of the twisted creature and vaulted it over him before tearing the two halves apart. His aura of power kept the majority of the acidic blood from touching him, but the few drops that still touched him healed almost instantly. However, he felt something on the two halves gnawing away at his arms, seeing that his hands were now deep in a pair of fanged mouths with thousands of eyes appearing and exploding with acidic goo coming toward him. On top of that, the two halves had thousands of eel like tendrils shoot out and reconnect the two. Issei tossed the body away as it started reforming, getting ready for the next assault before something latched onto his back.
"Divide!" A familiar voice called out as Issei felt his power weaken, draining away the fog of noise and rage in his mind. A part of him wanted to hold on to that rage, to continue punishing Diodora for what he did, but as he turned to shake the thing off his back he spied something that managed to stun him in disbelief. He saw Rias, her peerage, Irina, and-
'Asia?' He thought in shock, seeing her alive and standing confidant next to some weird purple projector looking thing and a large speaker. In his still stunned daze, the Gremory bishop activated the machine and a bright light shined to show an image just a bit in front of him.
"Did someone say 'boobies'?" He heard his own voice call out as an video of himself in his Balance Breaker appeared, and Issei immediately recognized it. And was terrified. "Breast Dragon Emperor! (It's groping time!)" A bunch of kids ran out as a song started playing and he was dancing. A song about... a dragon obsessed with boobs. All at once, everyone stopped to look at the video, even the draconic Vali and Diodora, before turning back to him.
"Really?" Vali asked as Issei burying his head in his hands, shrinking as he reverted back to his Balance Breaker form.
"Please don't look at me like that!" Issei cried out, hoping to wake up from this nightmare of embarrassment. "It's Sirzechs and Azazel's fault for that stupid screenplay! They told me to do it for the kids!" He claimed desperately while his comrades approached him.
"I-it's okay Issei. We understand." Rias responded, embarrassed but relieved. "Ar-are you sure you're back? Do... do you need to... fondle my chest?" She asked, still embarrassed but trying to liven up the mood.
"No... not now." Issei answered, still embarrassed before looking at Asia. "I just wanna make sure I woke up from a bad dream." He said before wrapping the bishop up in a hug, relishing the warmth of her living body. "Asia, I'm so glad you're okay!" His dear friends gave their own warming smile, before the moment was ruined but a loud thud and an echoing 'Divide' filled the air.
"Oh right, that guy." Rias said as they all turned to Diodora, struggling as Vali kept striking him with quick calls of 'Divide'. "The plan is to reduce his physical form and then... I..." The Gremory heiress started explaining before the urge to vomit crept up her throat. Instead of shrinking away to a smaller form, Diodora's twisted and melted form began to rot and decay. The Devil howled in agony as his figure started breaking and collapsing, but the usual regeneration began to slow to a crawl. "Issei, give me that boost." Rias ordered, generating a ball of destruction magic, pointed at Diodora as he fell with his body unable to hold any support any more.
"Right!" Issei called out, transferring his boosted energy into Rias's spell while Vali jumped back and shifted to his human form. Issei felt his own Balance Breaker dispel and fatigue wash over him but he kept a grin as he focused on their enemy. "Bye-bye Diodora!" He shouted as Rias fired her shot. The magic immediately engulfed the Devil the moment it made contact, the screams going from the twisted howls of the monster to the more recognizable voice of the man as the magic faded. Diodora was restored to his original form but still bound in the chains of Hell, the skeletal doors soon appearing behind him and opening.
"NO! NO MORE! PLEASE!" He begged, his face locked in an image of terror and despair while his cries went unheeded, pulled into the abyss of torment. "NOOOOooooooooo~!" His cries faded as he was sucked away and the doors vanished.
"Well... that was-" Vali started before Orihime appeared in the middle of the group.
"Leaving now!" She quickly ordered as they were all engulfed in a whirlwind before feeling themselves being transported. They soon landed as the wind dissipated, revealing them now among the spectators of the intended Rating Game. All the visiting Gods, Angels, and Elder Devils, watching in shock and terror as the very air started shaking. "Urahara, any luck!?" Orihime shouted in worry to the man typing away on a holographic keyboard and monitor, Ajuka doing the same with one in front of him as well.
"We're having luck just barely containing this!" Kisuke responded, not in any mood to play any kind of games. "We need a miracle!" The Gremory wanted to ask what was happening, but one look at the screen left them stunned. On it was Ichigo, clad in his Hollow form with two black wings of burning energy with a black hole like object between them, fighting Crom Cruach, and every clash caused the very air to crack.
(Ichigo vs Crom)
"Really?" Ichigo asked, rolling around his reformed jaw as he stared down his opponent midst the field of molten rock and fire. The man, Crom Cruach, had an energy that was unmistakably a Dragon's and Ichigo remembered reading of a such a terrifying beast in Wing Bind's library as well as Scathach's. Both regarded him as a malevolent being even Dark Dragons would cower to. "Do you mind telling me who it was?" Crom gave a shrug.
"Someone high up in the Khaos Brigade, and that's all I'll tell you about that." He said before starting to stretch. "I took this job cause I heard you were strong, and I am interested in a decent fight. So, I'll give you the time to get ready." Ichigo raised an eyebrow as his lackadaisical attitude, but that only put him on edge. That punch would've definitely been lethal if not for his regenerative abilities, and that wasn't even at full strength.
"Thank you for that." Ichigo returned, stripping off his Haori and Shihakusho as the various seals of the Gotei appeared on his body. "Do you mind if I do a few test strikes to see if I can be an actual challenge?" Crom gave a confident and hungry smile at that.
"Go ahead." Ichigo nodded in thanks.
"Okay, first up; Gentei Kaijo, sixteen seals." The hybrid calmly said as the seals faded from his body in quick succession, the weight of his unsealed Reiatsu stretching out before vanishing as it reached transcendent levels. "Ikkotsu." Ichigo then shot forward and slammed his fist into Crom's chest, the strike causing the lava behind the Dragon to split apart before the liquid rock rushed to fill in the gap.
"Well? Do you have any more tests?" Crom asked, smirking as the strike didn't even seem to faze him, causing Ichigo to scowl deeper as he got a sense of how strong his opponent was.
'Figures it was only a matter of time before they sent an actual threat.' He thought, immediately thinking about how he'd have to put into this fight, and found himself wanting. 'Any advice your highness?' He asked the Soul King as his veins glowed with Reishi and magic Runes appeared along his flesh, his Blut and magic enchantments reinforcing his being as he threw another Ikkotsu. The only difference was how strong the shockwave became, tearing out an even larger hole in the path behind the Dragon.
"Unleash everything you can." The voice of the primordial God echoed in his mind, prompting Ichigo to veil himself with Touki and cause Kido to flow through him while drawing in the ambient Reishi. "Entertain him and you will survive."
'That's good enough.' The hybrid thought, understanding that winning wasn't an option in this case. "Sklaverei!" He roared, causing all spiritual energy to flow to him, from the remaining souls of the fallen to the energy that Issei was exuding in his fight. Burning black wings erupted from his back while his arms and legs were likewise coated in a black energy that flowed to a floating black orb that seemed to draw everything into it. "Shunko: Koku no Ken o Shohi Suru(Consuming Void Fist)! Vollstandg: Schwarzer Tod(Black Death)!" As he called those out, he was cloaked in the white horned form of his Hollow state, but that would be all. Despite all the dark rumors and hearsay about the Dragon before him as a force of 'evil', he could not sense true sin on him, so Hell would be ineffective on him. "Tell me, why are you considered as an 'Evil' Dragon?" This seemed to surprise Crom as he thought for a second.
"Mostly association, and probably because of how merciless I can be in a fight." He said with a shrug after thinking on it. "I just like fighting and I despise underhanded tactics, but I get the feeling you aren't like that."
"So you're just like my favorite sparring partner." Ichigo concluded, thinking back to his earlier days with Kenpachi Zaraki. "Okay, we're going to start now. I'd recommend you avoid using fire and occasionally not trust your senses... maybe. I don't know the minimum level for my Kyoka Suigetsu to be ineffective. Other than that, I can be straight forward." Crom nodded.
"I-" He started before getting another fist buried in his gut, making him grunt. 'I-' He started to think before thousands of other punches interrupted his mind, almost all at once with the most minimum delay between the strikes.
"Sokotsu." Ichigo said, finishing his combo and sending Crom flying off molten island.
'I might actually have fun with this.' The Dragon thought, giving a savage and hungry grin, finding the hybrid appear in his flight path. Ichigo said nothing as he raised a foot and Crom braced himself for a kick, only for a giant glowing foot to come down on top of him as his opponent did a stomp. As he shot to the ground, he found dozens of other glowing giant fists to come at him from every angle. This time he was ready, throwing his own strike at the closest giant fist while catching and deflecting another as it got close to him.
'Energy constructs? How is he doing this?' The Dragon wondered as he kept blocking or deflecting, having no room to really dodge as each fist was just as fast as the initial burst Ichigo threw with more distance. 'A Sacred Gear? No, for some reason I doubt that. An ability of one of his weapons? Probably not.' He then noticed Ichigo appear and disappear as he was throwing another punch, causing another giant fist. 'He's literally just projecting his power into a physical mass! Nothing special to it, he just has that much!' Crom realized in excitement before flaring out his own power with a loud roar, dispelling all the projections. "Come on! Show me more Ichigo!" He roared before kicking off the air toward his opponent, stunned from the shockwave Crom released.
"Crap!" Ichigo said as Crom slammed a fist into his gut, blowing a hole in his body before it vanished like it never existed. "Too slow." The Dragon turned his head to find Ichigo making a cross of glowing black energy. "Gran Rey Getsuga Jujisho!" Ichigo shouted, firing the attack. Crom didn't even flinch, smiling as caught the attack with his bare hands. During that struggle, cracks started to appear in the air around him.
"RAH!" The Dragon roared as he tore the attack apart. "THAT'S WHAT I CRAVE FOR!" Ichigo cracked his neck and readied his Zangetsu, already in Shikai. "GIVE ME MORE!" The hybrid was immediately in front of him, ready to strike while Crom was ready to defend as his own fists glowed. The space between the two instantly became an instant death zone as blades and Dragon fists collided over and over at speeds so great that the air disappeared from around them. Very soon the air started to break like glass as the structural integrity of the Netherworld began to reach its limit with the clashing titans. This had become a test of endurance and Ichigo knew he'd lose that, but as a hole broke open above them he got an idea.
"Of the heavens, the truths of light, give worth to those who fear." He began to chant, though no sounds came in their vacuum, reaching out to the largest and nearest mass of Reishi he could sense in the void. "Of the earth, the lies of dark, give strength to those who writhe." So engrossed were the two fighters that neither noticed the shine of the Hogyoku in Ichigo's chest. "May storms scream of all, and nothing be left for the accursed. Single requiem. Twins of balance. Trifold dance. Quartet cacophony. O ye great five of manifold vigor, be still and know thine master." Crom could sense something coming, his savage grin growing all the more ecstatic. "Divine eye. Stone wings. Flame of despair. Waver only when the end nears. The sacred kings fall, the black of the world knows nothing. Praise the mighty, and leave the unforgiven alone in dust!" As Ichigo finished his chant, five Eastern style Dragons of black energy shot out of the cracks in space and charged directly at Crom. "Hado #99, Goryutenmetsu!"
"YES!" Crom shouted in excitement as they converged on him, too drawn in his excitement to realize the danger as he threw a fist at one. The moment they made contact, Ichigo flashed away as an explosion shook the entirety of the Netherworld. The hybrid reappeared miles away, watching the aftermath of the attack, the rising smoke and still burning energy visible at this distance.
"Well... that happened." Ichigo said, panting as adrenaline wore out and he was finally able to breath. 'My arms are still shaking and feel numb.' He noted, unable to let go of Zangetsu with either hand. 'I'm locked in, not good.' He thought, looking up to find a disheveled and bloodied Crom, still grinning savagely and ready to throw a punch. 'Fuck.' Ichigo mentally cursed before Crom's fist landed on his chest and sent him flying into a cliffside. After the impact, Ichigo recognized that his ribs and spine were immediately shattered and most of his organs were ruptured, causing him to cough up blood. Death would've been certain for anyone else, but the Hogyoku and his Oken bond would not let it be and his body was already recovering.
"As much fun as this was, I still have to kill you." Crom said, appearing in front of him again. "And you might wanna cancel out whatever is keeping you going, it'd be best to die quickly." Crom advised, raising his fist again before stopping it. "Any reason you're in my way Ophis?" He asked the Dragon God of the Infinite, standing in front of him as a young girl in gothic attire.
"I'm protecting him."