"Nnnnnooooo!!!"
Xenovia chased Gaspar around with Durandal while I and Koneko watched, sighing.
"Xenovia…you're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"It's her style."
"Do you think he'll end up hating exercise even more?"
"Gaspar-kun has potential."
Koneko being supportive… sure.
Once they'd worn him out, Gaspar collapsed in delicate, almost girlish exhaustion.
"W-Why are you doing this to me?!"
Issei, sad and teary-eyed: "Damn it! You're so pretty looking! What a cruel trick!"
Xenovia: "A sound body houses a sound soul too, you should have run from the start; then I wouldn't have drawn Durandal."
Though really, she'd still have drawn it to push him harder.
Koneko stepped forward:
"Gaspar-kun, if you're tired, eat this and you'll feel better."
She held out a piece of garlic, the classic vampire weakness. Where did she get that?
"Noooo! Garlic?! Koneko-chan, you're torturing me!"
As Gaspar shrieked, Saji appeared.
"Ah, there you are! I heard a shut-in familiar had been freed, so I came by on patrol… Whoa, blonde angel beauty! She's cute!" He paused. "…But cross-dresser, huh."
Issei delivered the hard truth. Saji dissolved into tears:
"No way… How could this be? The world is so cruel!"
I might have hated the world if I were in Saji's shoes…
"Hmm?"
Just then, I sensed something approaching from the nearby bushes, cleverly concealed. I almost didn't notice.
"Everyone, get back!" Koneko's tense voice set everyone on edge.
"Well, well! You found me. I say, are you devils playing games out here?"
"Azazel!" Issei shouted, and instantly, everyone recognized the newcomer and went on alert.
"Hold your fire, hold your fire. Without that human there, even together you wouldn't stand a chance. I just caught your aura and decided to take a stroll and watch. So, any holy-evil sword weavers around?"
"Kiba isn't here! If that's what you're after, best be on your way!"
"Too bad. Oh well. But I'm interested in more than just sword users… You—you're Arima Ikki, right?"
Me? Why would Azazel be interested in me? Hmm… I guess I have done some noteworthy things: beating Kokabiel and Vali…
"I heard about your artifact, the 'False Mirror of All Creation – Vergh Avesta.' It's shrouded in mystery. There's historical mention, but it rarely surfaces. We don't know its power or how it might trigger a forbidden balance breaker. How about coming to my lab for study? I'll treat you specially."
Sounds like a sanity-check trap. I get it.
"My friends aren't up for grabs!"
"I won't let you take Issei!"
"Haha, cautious indeed. I'm not here to recruit, but…? So, what'll it be?"
"As you see, I trust my friends. And even if I went with you and returned safely, I clearly see my friends beating me up, can you guarantee no repercussions?"
If Koneko starts blaming Kuroka, my personal life's toast!
"I can't guarantee that, obviously. Fine, I'll drop the matter of you… Now, about that vampire over there…"
"Eek!" Gaspar whined, trying to hide, which won't protect him from a fallen angel's strike.
"You wield the Forbidden Balor View, right? Artifacts triggered via the senses can go berserk if the bearer is weak."
Azazel then turned to Saji, causing him to shrink under the downfallen angel's gaze.
"Perfect. Yours is the Black Dragon Vein 'Absorption Line,' right? You can connect it to the vampire and absorb excess power. It's much safer."
"This thing does that?" Saji stared at his own artifact, intrigued.
"You didn't know? Seriously, demons treat human artifact-bearers as status symbols without caring about the artifacts themselves. That Absorption Line holds the power of one of the Five Great Dragon Kings, the Black Evil Dragon King Vritra. It can drain power or even link to beings other than its user. Or, simpler: drink the Red Dragon Emperor's blood. Dragons pass their power through blood, you're a vampire, right? Try it."
With that, Azazel waved goodbye, leaving us to deal with it ourselves.
"That was the Fallen Angel General, huh… impossible to pin down."
Xenovia sighed. True, he stayed aloof, but gave useful advice before vanishing.
====================
Later, with Saji's help I tried to teach Gaspar to control his artifact, but he retreated to his room again.
"Gaspar! Come out now! I'm sorry I tried to force you out…"
Only Gaspar's crying responded.
"I'm so sorry, Captain. I called you during an important meeting…"
"It's fine, you all acted for Gaspar's sake. No need to apologize."
"Captain, why did Gaspar become a shut-in? His fear seems… beyond normal."
"Yes. I should have explained earlier."
Rias summarized:
Vampires emphasize pure bloodlines more than demons do.
As a half-breed, Gaspar faced discrimination and persecution from adults.
His artifact activated unintentionally, even among kids, leading to isolation.
Growing up that way, he'd be afraid of people too.
"It's such a waste of the Maou's permission to unseal him… he's unsuited to be a Prince."
"He'll be fine! Let me handle him, he's my first underclassman male after all. We'll fix this! Right, Issei?"
"I'm not going to say no, that'd be heartless. I'll stick with this until the end."
"Ah, but Issei, we can't have you left out." Rias continued. "The Maous also want to ask you some questions. Yuuto's meeting is wrapping up; they'd like you to join too."
What questions from Maous for me? Must be about Kokabiel.
"Um, Issei. Since you agreed to help, could you handle Gaspar? I… don't have the guts to refuse two Maous on the eve of the summit."
"Hey, don't blame yourself. I'll handle it! But… you might be the one in trouble, imagine answering to Maous… my stomach hurts thinking about it."
"Don't worry less. It'll be quick, they said so, Now, Issei, let's go. Issei and I will head out, while you two watch over Gaspar."
"As you command, I'll do my best to bond with Gaspar!"
With that, Rias and I teleported out to a luxury hotel, VIP floor, guarded by demon SPs.
"Excuse me."
We knocked, then entered behind Rias.
"Thanks for coming, sorry for the sudden call,"
"Good evening! Surprise, right?"
This suite had two floors, it felt like a mansion! Sirzechs and Serafall were seated across a table. Yuuto and Akeno stood behind, with a holy-evil sword laid out.
"Perfect timing, Rias, have a seat."
We sat. Then:
"Let's get straight to it. I apologize in advance, after hearing about the Kokabiel battle, we secretly researched you, Issei."
"...Yes?"
"Your kind of aura-user is hard to probe, so we gathered info indirectly."
"We found you've often been sighted in Kyoto recently. Even just now we learned you're engaged to the daughter of the Nine-Tailed Princess, who oversees Youkai."
Whoa! That's where they'd found info! I can sense Rias's shock even from here.
"As Maous, we need confirmation. We want you to clarify your stance in this incident, here, now."
"Sure. I was merely in town when Kokabiel attacked, no connection to Youkai agendas. And of course, I wouldn't tell anyone not to stop a town-burning monster, or not to save a friend."
Hahaha, got it. Maous understands.
"Marvelous. That's exactly it. We'll share your words with the church and fallen angels, hope that's alright?"
"If they already know from the demons, other factions likely know too. It's fine."
"Excellent. Then that's all. Arima Ikki, Yuuto Kiba, you may leave now."
We bowed and left. As we stepped off the floor:
"I never imagined you'd have a fiancée, Princess Yasaka, I know of her."
"The Nine-Tailed Yasaka-san often pushes me around… but her daughter, Kokoe, is straightforward, bless her."
I hope she remains that way, she's a rare comforting soul amid all this chaos.
Outside, as we returned to the academy and went to Yuuto and Gaspar's room, Yuuto and Issei were already chatting amicably.
"Impressive, Issei! You've already broken the ice with Gaspar?"
"Yep! Actually, I had some teamwork plans for the boys in Occult Club."
"Oh? Tell me more."
He clenched a fist, fired up:
"First, I'll lend Gaspar my power, so he can stop time! Then, while time's frozen, I can grope all the girls!"
"...Wait, do we even need to be part of this?"
"…Yeah, I guess we're not necessary?"
"Of course we are! Kiba, you might be attacked even in frozen time, so protect me at all costs! Then Issei, you'll sniff out the lapse in time for maximum boob-groping time, perfect teamwork, right?"
That's too perfect maybe?
"Kiba: I vowed to be your blade, but perhaps we should seriously discuss this stuff."
"Tell him, Kiba, if he hates it, say so!"
"Shut up! Girls hug me and call me dirty, so I gotta do this to get skin contact!"
For someone always hugged by Rias and Asia, he sure tries hard.
"Hey, having a nice chat?"
At that moment, Xenovia, Asia, and Koneko barged in.
"Where've you guys been?"
Issei looked up.
"They thought only Issei handling Gaspar wasn't enough. So we brainstormed ideas."
"Gaspar is important, we got a gift."
They tossed garlic at him. Gaspar jumped, and Xenovia slipped a paper bag over his head.
"Asia's idea, how's it feeling?"
"Huh?...Oddly comforted."
"Since your contract's online, not meeting clients face-to-face is okay, right?"
"...I guess. But this hat is intimidating, kind of creepy in a romantic way."
"True, but it worked. Pair it with his cross-dress, and maybe add a veiled bonnet for the full demure-lady look."
"Issei! Why are you giving such on-point advice?"
Guilty, I imagined it for a moment too.
"Thanks, everyone. With this cover, I think I can finally step forward, as a demon and vampire!"
That's great, Gaspar. Go for it!
====================
Note: Finally, the top-level summit. Time for diplomatic games… And yes, your artifact is set as historically real but scarcely recorded, so Azazel doesn't get too triggered