One Month Later
Inside the bathtub a young man recalled past memories. Some parts of said memories made him cry, while others made him faintly smile.
(Haaa… quite the memory.) - He thought.
(After that, I woke up in the middle of the park, having slept there for about a day. Luckily for me, my parents went on a cruise trip around America after the Evil Dragon Campaign so I don't know when they will come back. Also those women do not care about me, so questions were not asked!) Spitting out the last part with a painful look and real actual pain in his chest, he looked at the reverse of his left palm. Something was telling him that his resident was awake.
[Recalling memories Partner?] - The Dragon spoke to him. (Yeah, and not the good ones, I just remembered that day) - He answered back to the Dragon inside of his head.
[Partner, you should leave that behind. It's been far too long and you are still in a horrible state. The Pieces are also acting correspondingly to your state. You do not have much longer left…] Scoffing at the comment of Ddraig, he mentally answered.
(Hmph! What are you talking about? I feel great! There is no need to worry!) - Issei quickly answered with false security in his voice. - (Also, if what you said is true… then I have not much time left.)
(The Corruption in my body is proof enough. Maybe when I'm gone, they will at least feel a tiny bit bad… All of them…) - The tone used in that comment was devoid of any emotion, as if his life or death didn't matter to him in the slightest.
[Partner, please stop trying to destroy yourself! If you do not do something about those Pieces then, the continuous clash between them and your Dragons' Aura will burn you from the inside out!] - Ddraig tried to bring some sense into that thick skull of his.
[The current Beelzebub has not answered your magic circles, and I'm pretty sure you will need to get rid of them by the end of the week before it's far to late.] - Ddraig told Issei, worry spread all over his voice. Over the past Month, he has been trying to contact anyone of the upper echelons just to find a solution to his problem. But either the magic circle does not connect, or they just plainly ignore him. He tried everyone, Grayfia, Sirzechs even Azazel-sensei, but not once has it succeeded. Ddraig also tried to contact Fafnir, but he was still in deep sleep due to the final battle against Rizevim.
After trying that much, even reaching the extreme of asking Rias to call her brother for him, in which she just answered; ' There's no need to bother Onii-sama, Ise. So please do no come and ask me again, I am very busy. I'm sure your problem will be solved in time! ' He just gave up, and if Ddraig was right, then he had around 3 days left before his… death.
The way she spoke to him as if he was just another pebble on the road made his Corruption increase in size and obviously in pain. She did not even let him talk about his problem and just dismissed him. Even when he told her it was a life and death situation, she didn't bat an eyelid.
Trying to ask Akeno to contact Baraqiel was even worse. She didn't even take the calls from Issei, whether from the magic circle or from the cellphone. Later on, she completely ignored him! Even when he tried to look for her, she was always gone, nowhere to be seen even inside his house.
Taking his luck with Asia also was horrible. She only spoke to him about club-related affairs and with everything else she just said; ' Please leave Ise-san, I have a meeting to attend to with the Student Council.' or 'Ise-san, someone is waiting for me so please leave before they come!' Of course understanding that the bastard he heard about that night was coming. He no longer was dumb or foolish. With this kind of experience in life, he did not have the luxury of being like that. Xenovia and Irina were also the same, but both of them were much more… cold towards him. Once, when he tried to explain his situation, both of them gave him a look as if he was garbage, even some killing intent was felt during that time. They only said one word to him, ' LEAVE!' They roared towards him, threatening to do something else if he didn't abide by their words. Ravel was just a lost cause, not a word was spoken, she just always ignored him. She didn't even have the decency to look at him when she saw him.
Koneko, well… let's just say she was really aggressive when spoken to, she only looked at him with anger in her eyes. Not courageous enough to try her patience, he always left. He tried to contact Sirzechs but every single time he tried it did not connect. Maybe the line was secure and only contact could be established if he made it first? It was different from the others he had called. But well, he was a Faction Leader so something needed to be done in other to protect himself.
To the other Maou, Ajuka Beelzebub, the magic circle was answered by his… secretary? Something like that. But just like a professional the secretary told him that he wasn't available for the moment and always cut the call. That pissed him off, but there was nothing he could do.
So he swallowed whatever pride he had left and managed to leave a message after much effort, stating that the Evil Pieces were malfunctioning and it was urgent to call him back. However, that was a long time ago and the Maou hadn't called him back. He also believed that the Secretary didn't put attention to him, so he was doubtful if he even recorded the message.
He tried to contact Le Fay through their contract but he couldn't sense anything from it, as if it was dead. Something was telling him that she cut their link while maintaining the contract intact, how she did that was beyond him.
Kuroka, after the job offer from Yasaka, which she actually accepted, was also the same. Her magical signature was erased, he wasn't capable of finding it. So even if he wanted to-and he really did, he couldn't contact her. According to Ddraig, only that could happen if one's magical signature is experiencing a change. Similar to changing cellphone numbers.
Grayfia, like Rossweisse, was also unreachable. It seemed that whatever she was doing she didn't want to be interrupted, so her magic circle was always off, in other words, useless. Azazel-sensei was the most annoying one. He didn't know how, but he managed to get a voicemail! And an extremely annoying one at it!
He was even shameless enough to say; ' Please leave a message after the tone!' But even with that stupid thing he still called him many times, even left a couple of messages in his ' voice mail.' He tried everything with everyone! Every single path he and Ddraig had thought off, he tried it! Yet every time a window was opened, it just slammed shut right on his face! All of those things were around less than a Month ago, so he decided to give up. His lack of self-worth and the emotions he felt, turned him into a walking corpse, soon to be one six feet under. After trying that much no one of them knew about his Corruption and now he did not care.
Kiba was gone because of the contracts he had to do, and when he did saw him he was just too beaten to even stand much less talkback. Gasper practically left the house and started to live at the hospital. So all of his plans turned out useless, all of them were…
Walking out of the bathtub he went to his changing room, but before he managed to put his clothes on, he looked at a full-body mirror. What he saw made him cry. He looked far too bad. His once scrawny body came back, and now it looked even worse! His skin now stuck to his bones and his entire body was pale-white, as if he hadn't gone out in weeks! The bags under his eyes were terrible, even the look of his eyes held no light as if dead.
But the worst were eight jet black, swirling, pulsing holes in his body. These were his ' Corruption.' Corruption, as he had decided to call it, were the eight dark spots where his Evil Pieces were inside his body. And those eight spots were the origin of the ' venom ' that was slowly killing him. When Ddraig found about them he came to know that it was present ever since his battle with Trihexa, somehow 666 has mark him with his curse, that got worse when that assassin stabbed him with the dragon slayer poison.
Each one of them was in a specific part in his body. One in each arm and leg, for a total of four. The rest were divided into two segments; The first segment was that of a single Piece in each side of his chest and one in the hole where the ribs join, taking the form of an inverse triangle. The second segment was conformed of a single Piece just below his belly button, in his navel.
But after that fateful day, things started to change. After the awakening of his Aura, things got worse. Because of the nature of his Aura, which was to protect him. It fought against the nature of the Pieces that were trying to kill him. Due to the clash of energy inside his body, as well as the almost use of the Juggernaut Drive, the Pieces were further corrupted and became eight malicious spots inside his body which's only goal was to feed off of his Life Force. Leaving him as a mummy in the best case scenario and in the worst, he would turn into dust blown by the wind.
When he heard that explanation from Ddraig he almost pissed his pants but later on he stopped caring, no one would miss him except a few… But after taking a look back into the mirror, he finally broke. He could no longer mask his emotions, his pain. He was like Ddraig said; Just too damn broken! Grabbing the last piece of sanity he had left, he asked in between tears. "… Ddraig… What can we do?"
Surprised by the question of the brown-haired boy, but also happy, Ddraig answered. [There is something we can do. It occurred to me a while ago, but you were in far too bad of a shape to listen to me. Also, if this goes wrong then you will die in a horrible way. Your body will explode and by the force of the clash between auras your soul will dissipate. You will literally become nothing. Are you sure?]
Looking at himself in the mirror once again he thought for a moment, but he quickly made his decision. What does he have to lose? "Tell me Ddraig. What exactly is this crazy idea of yours?" - A savage grin adorning his face, something the Dragon really liked to finally see.
[Fine! Have you ever heard of the theory of opposing forces?] Interested by the sudden question, Issei answered.
"No. Not in the slightest." - With a goofy grin he proudly stated.
[After this we need to make you more knowledgeable. Even the smallest piece of knowledge could save your life.] - The Dragon said with pity in his voice. His Partner really needed to read more, or at least to travel more. Maybe that way he wouldn't be that ignorant.
[Well, moving on.] - He left those thoughts for another time. [The theory of opposing forced states; That if two directly opposing forces meet, the one that has the most energy will ' win.' Completely pushing the other force back. That's why the Corruption exists inside your body. Right now the Evil Pieces are winning and destroying your body little by little. We need to make the opposite occur!] Impressed by the words of the Dragon, Issei swallowed his spit. He knew this was something bad.
"Wait, are you proposing to increase my dragonic powers so that they ' win' against the Evil Pieces?" - Asked Issei.
[Yes. That is correct.] - With seriousness the Dragon answered in a flash.
"You crazy bastard!" - He yelled. "The Evil Pieces are connected to my body and soul. Since you are part of my soul by failing this ' Suicide Attempt' you will also be gone with me!" - Crazily howled the boy towards the Dragon.
[Yes, that certainly is true.] - He agreed with his words. - [But why would I care? I'm already a soul inside a Sacred Gear. Dying with you, my best friend and host would certainly be better than being stuck here, knowing I could have saved my friend!] - The Dragon said towards Issei.
"… You fucking bastard… " - Issei muttered under his lips, trying to hide his smile. He was happy about having such a friend.
"Never could I've asked for a better Partner! And even better friend! Hesitating would be and insult towards your resolve!" - He said. "I'm all ears! How can we do that?" - Issei asked Ddraig with tears of happiness across his face.
[About that. There is a way for us to weaken them, but is really, really crazy. I doubt it will work…] - Not very confident about himself, Ddraig told Issei.
"Okay, tell me about our ' Suicide Attempt '. Whatever it takes we shall do it! After all, neither of us has anything to lose."
[HaHaHaHa! Truly my Partner!] - He laughed for the first time in a while.
[Okay, listen up! The Pieces suck the Life Force out of your body and into them. So what would happen if we suddenly cut the supply of all eight of them, and at the same time connect it directly to the nucleus of your Aura? Theoretically, the Pieces will weaken, and your Aura will increase.] - Ddraig told him his theory. Even in the eyes of him, a crazy boy with nothing to lose, this was suicide! Severing the Life Force supply and then reconnecting it into his nucleus! Just by severing his Life Force, it will instantly kill him! Even if he survived long enough for the supply to be reconnected. Just how long was that? Seconds, Minutes, Hours?
[Yes. I know what you are thinking, but have you forgotten? One of your Auras' natures are Regeneration and Healing! Maybe, just maybe, that can keep you alive long enough for me to reconnect your Life Force into your nucleus.] - The Dragon told his host with hope in his voice.
"Ddraig… You're telling me to cut the connection between my Life Force and my body. In other words, cut the connection of my soul and my body. Then reattach it, but leaving the Pieces aside only connecting it to my nucleus! Are you trying to be a doctor when you grow up?! This is basically extremely complex surgery, on my SOUL!" - Issei roared at Ddraig, but after breathing for a little while, he calmed down.
"Okay, Okay. Let's say I manage to stay alive with the help of my Aura. What will happen to you? You are part of my soul. The ' Sacred Gear System ' made that obvious."
[Well, theoretically, I will enter deep sleep and the Boosted Gear will reboot itself. Just like if it was searching for a new host. But it will be inside your body, so it will not take much time for me to awaken. However, every progress you have made with the Boosted Gear so far will be gone, I also do not know what kind of side effects will it have to the Sacred Gear System or yourself and most importantly you will lose the usage of the illegal move and cardinal crimson promotion.]
"Wow… So it would suck either way huh?" - Issei said as he laid his body in the bed. Although for him it felt like more than a day had passed, little above two hours actually went by since he woke up. Time really is slow.
"Okay, I'll bite. Where can we do this? If anything you said is right then the amount of energy released will alert someone in the town. Using a magic circle might not be the brightest of ideas. After all, my body is a mess." - Accepting the Dragons proposal, the boy asked.
[Well, the energy needed for a transportation circle is really small. Even smaller if you do not specify a location, unless you target somewhere that is not part of the Human World. So you could make one targeting a random part of the Human World and probably not die.] - The Red Dragon answered.
"You are saying theoretically, probably and possibly a lot. Not too convincing." - Issei said, almost resigning himself to fate
"…"
- After some seconds of thinking things through, he gave up. "Well, let's do it. Better now than never." - Issei jumped off his bed with one hand above his head. Managing to get a drop of sweat in the back of the neck of the Red Dragon Emperor. Truly, his host was something else entirely…
[Well Partner, don't you want to leave a will or something behind? A letter, message, anything?]
"You sound as if I'm going to die during this…" - He annoyingly replied back, the Dragon just kept his silence.
"Haaa…" - Resigning himself to the Dragons proposal, he said. - "True… maybe I should."
Then, he went to look for something. Searching inside his room, he found what he was looking for. Inside a drawer at the left side of his bed, a circular machine was present with two buttons onto it; red and black. It was a holographic recorder, something Azazel left the last time he came here, drunk.
When he first saw it he took it since it looked interesting to him, never would have he thought to actually use it, at least not this way. Pressing the red button he started to record, a light shining towards him as proof of the machine actually working. A few minutes later he stopped the recording, having said everything needed to be said. Even about his Corruption and their plan named Suicide Attempt. He sighed and left the recorder at the top of his desk, at the far left of where his bed was.
"Well, Ddraig. Lets do this!" - Issei said with excitement in his voice, trying to mask the absolute dread and fear he felt. Although he couldn't cheat his partner, the answer he heard from him made him feel a little better.
[Fine! Since you seem so eager to do it, and before the adrenaline boost in both of us is gone, let's do it!] - Ddraig replied. [Set up the magic circle. After that, search for an isolated location. I'll start to gather the necessary energy for cutting your Life Force off of the Pieces. Once I'm done, I'll tell you! Best of luck Partner, we both will need it…] - Cutting his link with his host, Ddraig got to work. Not wasting a second, Issei made the magic circle onto the ground of his room and stepped inside it, hoping for the best to happen.