The New Issei

It has been one month since Issei came to England and he has been working on a lot during this time. He has been sparring with Griselda daily and currently their score is 18-10 in Griselda's favor. Irina joined in on their spars on the third day so that both Issei and Griselda could teach her and help her improve her swordsmanship. Issei has also secretly been teaching Irina how to better control her mana and some Basic level Holy and Light spells in his room at night. All this teaching has greatly improved Irina's basics and helped lay a better foundation for future growth.

Issei has also been in contact with past users of the Boosted Gear and a few have agreed to teach him what they know. One who was an expert swordsman, one who was a master of all forms of unarmed combat and refining the body, and finally one who had mastered lightning magic to a terrifying level. These three were some of the strongest users of the Boosted Gear in history and all three had reached the level of a peak Satan Class being in their lives. They all started passing down their techniques to Issei, reinforcing what he already had and teaching him stuff he had not learned yet. The thing that was most helpful to Issei was the body refining technique. This allowed Issei to make his body much stronger. Now even if he did nothing to defend himself it would take an all out attack from a peak High Class being to damage him.

The thing Issei had been working on the most in this past month was Advanced level fire magic. It was much harder to learn and the spells power were on a whole new level. So he only managed to learn two new spells. Hellfire Inferno, which is a spell that summons fire in a massive area around the user burning anything the flames touch. The flames are black and can turn High Class beings to ash just by touching them. When more mana is put into the spell, the range the flames cover and how hot they burn gets a boost. This spell is also under the full control of whoever casts it, so they can make the flames not burn themselves and their allies. The second spell he learned was Fire Dragons Hammer. This spell makes a huge ball of super heated and compressed hellfire flames that the user can shoot at his opponent with immense speed. The more mana put in the bigger the ball and the hotter it burns. It may sound like a simple spell but compressing hellfire is not easy and the power is not to be underestimated. Also when the user wants to they can detonate the ball releasing all that compressed heat and fire at once, disintegrating anything around the spell. A direct hit from this can kill a Satan Class being.

During this month Issei had also become much closer to both Irina and Griselda. Griselda had even come to see Issei as one of her few true friends. Because he had become attached to Griselda himself Issei had made her a necklace like Irina's. It looked exactly the same as Irina's except the dragon was blue instead of red. Although they looked the same the one Issei gave Griselda was completely different from Irina's when it came to Enchantments. Griselda's Enchantments are tracking and teleportation marker, which allows him to know her location and to teleport to her if needed. He had added this to Irina's as well, just in case. The next enchantment is a powerful barrier that will activate if the wearers life is in danger, it will also notify Issei if this happens. Finally he put an Enchantment to increase Griselda's battle instincts. This would make it so that if her life was ever in danger she would be able to sense it quicker and react earlier. When he had given her the necklace Griselda had been really happy. It was one of the few presents she had received from a friend in her life and she promised Issei she would cherish it. Now Griselda had received a report from her subordinates that they had managed to track the devil they had been hunting to a mansion in the middle of some hills that was well hidden about 200 miles from where she is currently.

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Griselda: "I am afraid me and Irina will have to cut our vacation short here, Issei." She said as she and Irina stood outside Touji's house by her car. Standing in front of them are Touji and Issei.

Issei: "Well it was fun while it lasted. Both of you take care of yourselves, alright?" He said as he came forward and hugged them both.

Touji: "Yeah, you both be careful out there." He said as he also hugged Irina. "Come back and visit anytime you can."

Griselda: "We will be careful on our way back. You do not need to worry." She said while smiling at Issei and Touji. "We will see each other again in the future."

Irina: "Goodbye Issei, come visit me again when you can." She said while trying to hold back tears. She then went forward and kissed him on the cheek before hurriedly getting in the car. Issei had turned bright red and froze when she did this. Irina had not been able to tell Issei how she felt since she thought there was still time on this vacation but now she suddenly had to leave. So she at least kissed him on his cheek to let him know how she felt.

Griselda: "Well that was cute." She said in amus.e.m.e.nt as she watched Issei stand there with dumbstruck look on his face. Her comment brought him back to reality as he turned even redder and glared at her.

Issei: "Well at least I now know how she feels for sure." He said as he sighed and calmed down. He then looked at Griselda and said. "Look out for her for me alright. I do not want anything to happen to her before I ask what she meant by doing that."

Griselda: "I think what she meant was pretty obvious, but I will watch out for her. I was going to do that anyway." She said while smirking at him. Issei blushed again while looking away. "Well goodbye you two. I hope to see you again soon." She said as she walked over to her car and got in it. Then she and Irina left.

Touji: "You know I approve of you and Irina, Issei. That was why I did not say anything about the both of you always being so close over this vacation. Well at least not after the first day." He said as he turned to look at Issei. "But if you break her heart I will break you. Are we clear?" He said as he glared at Issei darkly.

Issei: "I would not dream of it Touji, but she has to be certain she wants to be with me before we get together. It will also probably be awhile before we start any kind of relationship." He said in a serious tone of voice. "Oh and now that they are gone, you can stop pretending."

Touji: "I don't know what you mean Issei." He said while slightly smiling at Issei. This caused Issei to sigh and then glare at him.

Issei: "I know you found out. You don't have to hide it. If you were going to tell your higher ups you would have by now." He said while looking at Touji intently. Touji then sighed and looked at Issei with a tired look.

Touji: "You are like family to me Issei. The fact that you are part of the supernatural world does not change that." He said as he smiled at Issei. "When you are ready to tell me the full story, I will listen. But until then just be careful and try not to get into to much danger." He then turned around and headed for the house leaving a slightly shocked Issei behind. About a week ago Issei had damaged his artifact that hid his mana by accident when he reacted to the presence of a devil he felt in town and accidentally leaked a bit of his mana, overloading the bracelet. He had quickly hid his mana inside his body but he had been out shopping with Touji when it had happened. So even though the leak had only happened for a second or two at most, Touji had noticed it. When he stopped being dazed Issei quickly followed Touji inside. It was time they had a talk.

Issei: "Touji we need to talk." He said as he sat down in the living room with Touji. He then explained about him being this generations Red Dragon Emperor and about how his parents are normal humans. He also told him about having Ddraig turn him into a half dragon and that he had learned a good deal of magic and skills from him. But he lied about his strength and said he is only at the level of a peak High Class being. He also did not tell him about all his affinities and his artifact crafting abilities. This had still shocked Touji since being that strong at his age was ridiculous. After they had talked about all of this and Issei had answered some questions a few hours had passed and it was nighttime out. "Well now you know. Do you still believe you can treat me as family?" He asked while feeling slightly nervous.

Touji: "Of course I can. You have a very good reason for keeping yourself hidden until now. Some of the fanatics in the church would either try to kill you or turn you into their puppet. The devils would try to force you into their peerages and the fallen would kill you. So staying hidden for as long as possible is the best bet." He said while getting up and hugging Issei. "I will keep your secrets to myself and if you need my help in the future you can come to me." He said as he let Issei go and smiled at him. "Now lets get some rest, today has been an eventful day." He said as he headed for his room. "Goodnight Issei, you are free to stay a few days before leaving."

Issei: "Goodnight Touji, and thanks for trusting me." He said quietly as he got up and headed to bed himself. But as he was getting ready for bed in his room he felt Irina's barrier activate, her life was in danger.

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As Issei and Touji headed into the house to have their talk Irina and Griselda were driving towards a meeting point for all the exorcists to gather up before attacking that Ultimate Class devil. Griselda had told Irina about the reason they were really in England as they were driving. She also explained that a couple of exorcists will look after her as Griselda and the rest fought the devil. This was meant to be a learning experience for Irina so that she can see what a fight among stronger and more experienced exorcists is like. Irina was still not happy about having to leave and complained about her having to go along when Griselda could have just finished this and come to pick her up later. Griselda then explained to her that this was an order form the higher ups to get her used to what a hunt is like and that Xenovia had already done this. Irina accepted it after that but still grumbled about it.

An hour later they made it to the meet up point where they join up with six other Veteran exorcists. They then talked about what the plan of attack was going to be when they meet up with the three other exorcists that are watching the mansion. After that they all got back in their cars and headed for the mansion. Two hours later they stopped their cars at the road leading to the mansion and called the other exorcists that were watching the mansion. Five minutes later the three of them came out of the trees that surrounded the road. They then reported that the devil had not left the mansion since he entered it early that morning.

Griselda then had two of the ones that were watching the mansion guard Irina and had the rest go forward with her to surround the mansion. The two exorcists and Irina would be back behind the others but close enough to give a helping hand if needed. Once everyone was in position surrounding the mansion Griselda ordered them all to bombard it with magic. But before she finished giving the order the devil inside flashed outside with incredible speed and appeared directly in front of one of the exorcists before grabbing her neck and holding her in front of him as a shield.

Devil: "It was foolish to send so many weak humans after me. I am insulted that they did not even send one High Class angel. Heaven must really be underestimating me." He said as looked at the other exorcists mockingly. "You all know how this works, surrender now and I spare her life, come close to me and I kill her. So what will you do now, you weaklings?" He taunted as he smirked. Suddenly Griselda appeared from his blind spot and sent him flying with light magic from close range, forcing him to let the woman go.

Griselda: "Everyone regroup with me and lets pursue the target." She called out as she checked on the woman. "Are you alright Aria?" She asked in concern as she saw bruising on the woman's neck.

Aria: "I am fine Griselda. We have mission to finish, worry about me later." She said as she got up.

Griselda: "Okay, but you stay back with the other two guarding Irina. You are injured and that could distract you during this fight." She said as the others gather up around her. Aria grudgingly nodded before falling back. Griselda and the others then set out after the devil she sent flying. When they found him he was peacefully sitting on a tree stump in the hills waiting for them. Griselda's spell had only managed to make a small burn on his side. When they arrived he stood up and smiled.

Devil: "It is unfortunate you followed me. I was going to let you all live if you left. Now you will all die. But first let me ask you a question." He said as he started to smirk. Suddenly there were screams coming from behind the main group. Griselda immediately jumped to the side as her instincts screamed at her to move. As she did so she watched in horror as her entire team including the three with Irina were all killed from behind. Standing above their corpses were two more devils. Both were women and were giving off enough power to match a weak Ultimate Class. That's when the original devil they were hunting asked. "Who said I was alone? These two lovely ladies are my wives. You did not do enough research on me or you were given false information. Either way your the only one left now. So will you run away or die here. Your choice." Griselda truly felt despair as she remembered Irina and desperately searched for her. To her surprise she found her lying up against a tree a little ways away from where her guards had been killed. The weird thing is she did not appear to be hurt but was only unconscious. Griselda could also see a faint barrier shimmering around her in an oval shape. The male devil also noticed this and was deeply surprised. That barrier had blocked the sneak attack of two Ultimate Class beings, even if they are weaker ones. It truly amazed him, but it also made him wary. He immediately started to head for the girl, only to be blocked as Griselda stood in front of her.

Griselda: "You will not touch my student." She said fiercely as she raised her sword. She knew she had no chance against three Ultimate Class beings, but she would never abandon Irina.

Male devil: "You stand no chance. Why would you protect her when you know you will die?" He said as he joined up with his wives and advanced on Griselda. Just as he was getting closer to both Irina and Griselda a massive pressure fell on him and his wives. His wives were brought to their knees while he was sweating like crazy and having trouble standing.

Issei: "Who do you think you are threatening, you pathetic insect." He said in a dark voice as he stepped out of a red spacial portal he had opened up to Irina's location. He was surrounded in dark red draconic mana that was emitting from him in massive waves. It kind of looked like the magic pressure Gildarts gave off when he forced Natsu to feel fear in Fairy Tail, except it was dark red. The amount of pressure he was giving off was equal to a powerful Satan Class being and he was obviously pissed off.