- Somewhere in the Demon World
In the Demon World, power was authority, and the Demon Kings at the very summit of that world were the strongest devils. Now, those strongest devils had been forced to gather in one place because of an emergency.
Ajuka Beelzebub.
Sirzechs Lucifer.
Falbium Asmodeus.
Serafall Leviathan.
These four, who rarely ever met, were now assembled together, and the source of this incident was...
"That man called Uchiha Madara—what exactly is he?"
"I don't know either. But I do know that he vaporized House Astaroth's territory by himself, and that he possesses power overwhelming enough to dominate Lord Gremory and me."
"So you still don't know whether he was sent by the Angels or the Fallen Angels..."
"He may have been sent by another mythology."
The Demon Kings each voiced their opinions.
"If we don't know his identity, we can't simply comply with his demands. If all of our forces are drawn there and our territories in our absence are attacked..."
As Beelzebub said, it was the truth. A monster had suddenly appeared, but no matter how monstrous he was, there was no way a lone individual would wage war on the entire Demon World just because he wanted to fight. Unless he had lost his mind, who would do something like that? But there really had been such a madman, and Sirzechs, who had fought him directly, had felt it himself. Of course, that had been while he was being manipulated by the [Sharingan]...
"But there is one thing that concerns me. Not long ago, I received a report from my younger sister. There was a name mentioned in one mythology—Uchiha Madara."
That was right. Not long ago, Issei had told Rias about the history of the ninja, and Rias had naturally reported it to Sirzechs. Sirzechs had come to think of the history of the ninja as one mythology, and he began explaining that mythology to the others. After hearing it, the Demon Kings reacted.
"A human power created to oppose the Three Factions?"
"Then that Uchiha Madara is a human!? Ridiculous. How could a mere human overpower us devils?!"
Beelzebub and Asmodeus refused to accept reality.
"But that is the truth."
"What proof do we have that this so-called history of the ninja is real?"
"It could have been fabricated by the Fallen Angels or the Angels."
Objectively speaking, that was certainly possible. But both Sirzechs's opinion and Asmodeus's opinion were nothing more than illusions. Because all of it was a false mythology created by Issei. However, under the hands of the Demon Kings, that false mythology might yet become a real one.
After discussing it for quite some time, the Demon Kings finally reached a conclusion.
"Then let us decide. In preparation for his absence, the participation of the three of us, excluding Leviathan, along with the senior devils of each house. That should suffice, yes?"
"I have no objection."
"I agree."
"I wanted to fight too~"
Before long, their opinions had converged into one, and preparations for the subjugation of Uchiha Madara began.
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- Kuoh Academy, old school building
"What did you say!?"
"Then..."
Rias was stunned after hearing the report from Grayfia. That's right—once the events in the Demon World were relayed to her, Rias was left utterly shocked. She had never imagined that the man who appeared in Issei's story would actually show up and turn the Demon World upside down. It was especially hard to believe because he was human.
"Just what kind of thing is a ninja..."
It seemed this incident was causing devils to reassess their perception of humans, and in the end, Rias called in the only ninja besides Madara—Issei.
"Th-that kind of thing..."
Issei put on a shocked expression as if he knew nothing about it. He really did seem to have a talent for acting.
"So I'd like to hear Issei's opinion."
"Ahaha, if he really did appear, I think it'd be better to just give up."
From his experience fighting devils directly as a clone, there was no chance of victory for them. Honestly, he had never imagined devils would be this weak. No, it was just that he himself was far too strong—but from his own perspective, they really were weak. After he gave his honest impression...
"That... there really is no way?"
"I never imagined Uchiha Madara would still be alive, so I honestly can't think of a countermeasure either... but if there is a way..."
"If there is?"
"Legends can only be met with legends... If Madara is alive, then the man who fought him may also still be alive..."
"I see! That's it! Issei, can you find him!? The man called the god of the ninja!?"
"I'll do my best..."
"I don't think my older brothers would lose... but just in case, I'm asking you, Issei."
In the end, all Rias could do was rely on Issei to find the god of the ninja. As everything began to unfold exactly according to plan, Issei...
"Yes! With this, Senpai's marriage is! CANCELED AAAAAAAH!!"
...let out a triumphant shout the moment he stepped out. Of course it would be like this—something this major had happened, so there was no way the Rating Game would go through. In other words, the engagement decision would be postponed, and if Issei made other preparations in the meantime and then completely blew up the marriage, Rias would be freed.
And since he had to pretend to search for him for now, he erased his presence and headed to the Church. He had already set up a special barrier there, so even if God himself came, it would be impossible to detect who was inside. Deciding to lie low here until the day of the showdown, Issei...
"This is my first time using Wood Release, so I should practice a bit."
That's right. From the moment he inherited Madara's power after becoming the Rinnegan Madara, Hashirama cells had already been implanted in his body, making Wood Release usable as well. As he began practicing chakra control in preparation for battle, there was someone peeking at him through the crack in the door.
"....."
It was the Fallen Angel Raynare. She had come today as well to spend time in the secret room, but since Issei was sitting in seiza and not moving, she couldn't go in and was secretly spying on him from the entrance.
"If that idiot came, he could at least say something."
She puffed out her cheeks, clearly hoping he would speak to her. And as she kept watching...
"Ugh... ah, no good! I keep thinking about Senpai's breasts!!"
Issei, who had lost focus after imagining Rias's chest, let out a cry of despair. Raynare hesitated for a moment, then...
"Hyoudou Issei..."
"What are you here for again? And that outfit is..."
She appeared not in her usual Fallen Angel form, but as Amano Yuuma, the girl who had once confessed to Issei.
"S-so, you're trying to concentrate on something right now?"
"Yeah."
"And you can't concentrate because of that devil's chest..."
"..."
Normally he would have answered yes, but sensing something strange about Raynare, Issei stayed silent.
"What is it... why is this girl suddenly acting like this..."
"I-I think my chest is better than some devil's chest. What do you think?"
"!!! B-breasts!!"
He had already seen and even touched Raynare's chest before, but for her to openly present it like this was so shocking that Issei's mind practically exploded with exclamation marks.
"W-what are you thinking!? D-don't tell me..."
He thought she might be making another move now that her blossom had been undone, but...
"I-it's not like I like you or anything! D-don't get the wrong idea, okay!?"
...her embarrassed words struck Issei right in the heart.
He stared at Raynare for a long moment.
"What is this? I definitely only made her blossom enough to obey household chores..."
Originally, the purpose of the [Infinite Tsukuyomi] mini-version had been to make the Church, which would become his base, easier to maintain and manage. But this reaction was unmistakably tsundere behavior toward someone she liked. No matter how he looked at it, it made no sense. After all, until recently she had tried to kill him, and he had tried to kill her too. And yet suddenly she was talking about love? There had to be some kind of trick.
"I don't like you, though?"
"!!! Y-you idiot! I-I don't like you either, okay!?"
He tested her, and she reacted violently. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like she was plotting something.
"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Die! Someone like you should just die! Waaaaah!"
Then Raynare suddenly burst into tears and ran off. Issei...
"D-did I do something wrong? No, that has to be part of the act. Calm down, me..."
...barely managed to steady his heart and focus again, only for...
"Th-the thing from just now wasn't how I really felt, so..."
...Raynare to come back because she couldn't stop thinking about having told him to die, plunging Issei into even greater confusion.
"S-so, it's not that I hate you, it's just that I said it in the heat of the moment..."
She spoke while blushing, just like Amano Yuuma had when she first confessed to him. Seeing that, Issei...
"...C-cute!! ...No, calm down, me!! That's an act! You already got fooled by her once!! Calm down, me!!"
...fought desperately against his instincts and barely won.
"Hah!? What kind of trick are you trying to pull?"
"Hiiik! I-it's not like I'm trying to pull any trick..."
"Looks like you still need more punishment!"
Since he might as well give her some punishment as a test, he...
"Wood Release!"
...generated tree trunks that coiled around Raynare's entire body like tentacles and bound her tight.
"W-what is this!?"
"A tree that absorbs chakra—no, magical power. Go ahead and take your punishment there!"
"I-I told you, I'm not trying to pull any trick—ahh! W-what is this tree!? It's taking my magical power! Kyaaaah! S-stop it!! E-eh? There!? Kyaa!"
Watching her moan while her magical power was being drained made Issei feel like it was weirdly erotic.
"Mental preservation! Mental preservation!"
The sight of tentacles wrapping around a girl and tormenting her was exactly the kind of scene you'd only see in a manga with an adults-only label, and to Issei it was nothing short of a masterpiece.
"Eeeh!? Stop! I... I'm going to cum!"
In the end, Raynare was subjected to tentacle p*rn, and once her blossom was undone, she lost all strength and collapsed.
"Haah... haah... I... at this rate, I'm going to get weird... I can't move anymore..."
She panted heavily and let out soft moans. Seeing that, Issei...
"If I tease her a little, I probably won't get punished, right?"
...had his switch flipped.
"Eh?"
"It's your fault for seducing me!"
He lifted the exhausted Raynare, laid her down on the bed, and climbed on top of her. Raynare looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
"I-I'm not ready yet... b-but if it's you... then I guess it's okay... so... you can..."
"....."
She was crying and speaking in Amano Yuuma's form, and Issei found himself staring at her for a long time.
"...."
Then those feelings from back then came flooding back. His first girlfriend. Treasuring her, and promising to treasure her again. She was the girl who had tried to kill him, so why was that feeling coming back now of all times? Even Issei himself didn't understand it, and in the end...
"Forget it... that's enough."
...he released Raynare.
"Eh? You're not going to do it?"
"No. It's enough now, so put your clothes back on."
At his words, she hurriedly covered herself with the blanket.
"You didn't want to do it?"
"Well..."
Of course a man would want to do it. That was just the kind of creature he was. Or rather, Issei himself was confused by the feelings that had surfaced at the end. After being betrayed by Amano Yuuma and now having his heart turned toward Rias Gremory, he couldn't understand why memories of Amano Yuuma were surfacing again, so he clutched his head with both hands.
"You really are kind."
Suddenly, Raynare leaned her body against his back.
"...You're the one acting strange, aren't you? Weren't we enemies just recently?"
"W-well, back then I couldn't help it because I was following orders..."
That made sense to Issei, since he had seen plenty of things like that when orders came from above. But even after that, their relationship had been such that she could have completely regarded him as an enemy, so he couldn't understand why she was acting like this.
"I failed the mission anyway, and I disobeyed orders too. If I go back, all that's waiting for me is punishment. In that case, it's better to hide out here."
She was talking about the Fallen Angel executive Kokabiel, someone above Raynare in rank, and a ruthless Fallen Angel infamous for discarding anyone useless. She had failed her mission and had even tried to use the Sacred Gear she was supposed to bring back on her own, so if she returned, punishment was all that awaited her.
"And besides... when I went on that date with you, it wasn't like I hated it completely..."
She said that while looking at the bracelet on her wrist. Issei looked at it too.
"You still kept something like that..."
Back then, his wallet had been too empty to buy anything better than something cheap like that. And yet Raynare had kept it all this time. Issei stared at her for a long moment.
"I see..."
"I've lived a long life too, but that was the first time I ever went on a date with a man. Even if it was for work, still..."
It seemed that once her hostility toward Issei disappeared, and the blossom effect of the mini [Infinite Tsukuyomi] prevented her from thinking negatively about him, the feelings from that time had finally sprouted and taken shape. In other words, even without the mini [Infinite Tsukuyomi], this might have happened anyway. That made Issei wonder if he had done something unnecessary to Raynare.
"I... I'm sorry. For everything until now."
"Eh? Why are you apologizing?"
"Because... I did things to you that I shouldn't have done to a girl..."
"But I also tried to kill you, and I did those things too."
"....Then I guess that makes us even."
"...Yeah, I guess it does."
For Issei, Raynare's stabbing him like that had actually been something he could be grateful for, because it had awakened her. As long as it wasn't done out of malice. And the two of them looked at each other, then exchanged a soft smile.