Returning Welsh Dragon Hero - Chapter 17

Six days passed by. For Vali, life had always been about the next challenge and the next one after.

He knew how to relax yes. He had people to spar with, even formed his own group, unknown to Azazel or the Grigori, or even Slash/Dog.

People always treated him in relation to his power. They respected him for it. They feared him for it. They wanted to use him for it. They wanted to challenge him because of it.

Only rare idiots like Tobio Ikuse, someone that could be a challenge to him, treated him as just a friend. Or just a child when he was younger.

The Hyoudous and the young former nun, treated him differently. Like friend, like someone  they cared for. It reminded him of his older sister-figure, Lavinia Reni. Even then, she was the only one he knew that dared treat him like that, because she was strong, a Loningus user like him.

And because she was a ditz.

He wouldn't say that to her face though.

Gorou Hyoudou, Miki Hyoudou and Asis Argento knew who he was. Issei never seemed to bother keeping secrets from his family. Yet they didn't treat him differently.

Always with kindness and a happy smile.

Thus on this vacation, they had went to the Cape Erimo, and watched the sea from the cliff side.

They went to Toyoni Lake to try fishing, but given that it was a heart-shaped lake, once Miki and Gorou started flirting, Issei, Vali and Asia left post-haste.

They went to the beach, a golf course, and even a local hot spring. Sapporo City where saw the sights there, enjoyed the food and atmosphere of a new place. Decoration for the coming festivals were being put up.

Six days passed by so fast, but they were... nice.

Tomorrow, Golden Week would start in earnest.

"So," Vali said with some excitement as he and Issei Hyoudou stood atop one of the Erimo cliffs next to each other. "It's finally time for our duel." He said with a grin as his nerves buzzed with energy longing to be released.

"Yep," Issei said with a equal grin of his own. The Red Dragon Emperor wanted to appear nonchalant like he was lately, but even he couldn't help but look forward to this fight. "Asia will stay here to make sure to heal you once we're done." Issei jerked a thumb toward the Twilight Healing user who smiled back. "Although... who are they?" Issei pointed at the group of people by Vali's side.

"Yo! Name's Bikou. Sorry but the moment I heard Vali is finally fighting his 'destined rival' I couldn't help but come watch." Said a teen that looked like a ancient Chinese warrior. The staff and golden circlet around his head made something tickle at the back of Issei's head.

A Monkey King fanboy? Issei raised an eyebrow.

"Hellonya~! I'm Kuroka!" The two tailed nekoshou skipped toward Issei, leaning forward to emphasis her breasts. "Wanna make dragon kittens together?"

"No thanks." Issei glanced down once, smiled back and replied all in the same moment.

"Instant rejection!" The other girl in Vali's group, the blonde magician, Le Fay gasped in surprised. "He did the same thing as Vali. They really are the same!"

"Kaaah!?" Kuroka jumped back in surprise, before falling down on her knees, melodramatically  shocked.

Vali sighed and spoke up before his team could continue their chaos.

"This is my team. You met Bikou and Kuroka, these are Le Fay and Arthur." Vali wave toward them, to get introduction over with quickly.

"Hello~ Mr. Red Dragon Emperor." Le Fay said back, smiling.

"Good evening, I'm Arthur Pendragon." The blond warrior in a fancy business suit said with a small bow. "I apologize for everyone's sudden intrusion but once they heard about the match, they couldn't help but come watch. And I admit, I felt the same. To see a battle between the legendary Heavenly Dragon wielders could be considered a once in a lifetime event."

"Holy crap!" Issei said with wide eyes. "You actually have friends?!" He said to Vali.

Vali frowned. "What's that suppose to mean?" He crossed his hands. "And I'm not a child to cling to such a childish notion. These are simply my comrades that gathered around me as we share a common goal."

"Wow. Could you, not be any more of a classic tsundere?" Issei said with a smug smirk.

"Bu-wha!?" Vali was gobsmacked.

"Pfft-Nyahahahahaa!" Kuroka belly laughed out loud, holing her stomach.

Bikou joined her, while Le Fay looked to the side to not act like she was giggling. Even Arthur politely "coughed" while looking away.

"Oh, oh nya, so many things make so much sense now, nya!" Kuroka said to herself.

"I'm not tsundere." Vali growled.

"Hey, come on, that's not bad. I mean, originally I thought you were like an emo kid that listened to ONE OK ROCK in the corner or something." Issei said with a "sympathetic" look.

"I don't listen to those." Vali said firmly.

Issei narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "...Linkin Park?"

"Not import—" Vali started to say.

"Yes, he does. He totally listens to them." Bikou said, which made the group laugh harder.

"Please, at least tell me your favorite song isn't 'Crawling'?" Issei asked with mock-concern, but mainly trying not to laugh.

"I'm not Emo!" Vali cried out with gritted teeth, a blush on his face. "And it's 'Bleed it Out'." I said as a counterargument.

"Oh!" Issei's eyebrow rose in surprise and approval as he nodded. "Okay, yeah, that's a good one." 

"Isn't that the one that talks about opening scars, in the climax of the song?" Arthur offered as a question, while trying not to chuckle. The rest of Vali Team did instead. Only Arthur was met by confused stares by both Vali and Issei.

"No, it says 'I'v opened up these skies'." Vali said back.

"Yeah, what he said." Issei nodded and gestured with his thumb as Vali.

"No, I heard Vali-kun listening to that one once, it definitely said 'opening up these scars'." Le Fay spoke up thoughtfully.

"No, it says 'skies' that's what makes the song come together." Vali insisted.

For the next few minutes, the sparring match was put aside as Bikou brought out his cellphone, and open up an app to search and play the song. For the next while group listened to the song and replied it at the line they had differences on.

It did say "scars". Both Issei and Vali were actually disgruntled and disappointed.

"Well that's it. My week is ruined. Let's just start the fight with Balancer Breaker, so the day would just get better from here." Vali said with an annoyed sighed.

"Yeah right." Issei smirked back. "We're not fighting to the death. Do you really want to take things into high gear right away?"

"...Nah." Vali grinned back. "Let's see if you actually know how to use that Sacred Gear before we throw power around, Red Dragon Emperor."

"Right back at you, White Dragon Emperor." Issei replied.

The two stood at opposite ends of the Cape Erimo, facing each other.

For a few moments, the two Heavenly Dragon wielders waited. In that time, Asia went to stand by Vali Team's side as Issei's request, so she's be safe from the battle's effects.

Le Fay casted a grand barrier spell with the help of Kuroka to not only have all mundane people leave from the area, not that there were many at this hour, but also mitigate or reverse damage to the landscape. Plus hide their fight from the larger supernatural world, so as not to draw unwanted attention, or accidently piss off someone nosey.

Finally with the barrier complete, the Vali Team and Asia floated away on top of a magic circle to watch the fight from a safe distance.

Issei idly looked toward the Vali Team one last time. Both to ensure Asia was safe and out of curiosity at the group. Kuroka looked like a normal cat youkai, albeit with demonic power emitting out of her. A reincarnated devil? He wondered who her king was. She seemed like the most normal one of the group.

Bikou was a monkey youkai but that attire like an ancient Chinese warrior and that staff and circlet. Was it normal for youkai to emitate famous figures, or would doing that hold an important statement?

Finally there was the Pendragon siblings, and wasn't that hell of a statement. The Pendragon bloodline was still alive in this world? Were they active? Did they have a role in the British government? Why did they give their kids really fucked up names? Either they will have impossible expectations they need to live up to, like Arthur.

Or get made fun off as kid with a name like Le Fay. Obviously that girl was gifted that name for some magical potential they sensed in her, but was she really bubbly as she appeared, or does she have some hidden dark side where she acts like a "witch", because of that hypothetic childhood bullying?

So many questions.

And yet...

Issei took a stance ready to run.

Right now he didn't care about any of them.

"Hoo?" Vali raised an eyebrow as he summoned his Longinus. White wing limbs appeared on his back, with eight diamond shaped energy feathers. "You think to face me without even summoning the Boosted Ge—"

[BOOST]

An emerald circle glowed on Issei's left hand, as he dashed forward.

Vali's eyes widened as Issei near instantly crossed the distance, now in his face, with a knee shooting forward at his stomach.

Vali's instincts kicked in letting him react immediately, turning his body sideways for Issei to pass by him.

Only for Issei to use his forward momentum to plan his dashing foot on the ground, and spin, turning the knee strike into a roundhouse kick.

Val's eyes widened again at the unexpected continued assault, as he had his arms up to block the strike.

The heel kick slammed into Vali's arm guard and was stopped. Instantly Issei pulled his foot back before Vali could grab it, and tag Issei with a Divide. Quickly Issei threw a straight punch at Vali's face.

Vali's grinned as he realized how this fight was gonna go now. His rival was not an amateur.

Issei's punch is parried only for another to follow it up.

Vali blocks and tried to counter, abandoning the idea on focusing on tagging Issei with a Divide and more on landing a hit first.

In the next second, Issei went faster, throwing five punches, each making the wind whined as they passed by Vali, dodging, parrying and blocking—

[BOOST]

Vali's guard was up stopping another full straight punch from Issei toward his throat. Even with his arms up in an x-guard, Vali felt the force of Issei's hit vibrating through him. And his instincts told him his rival was still holding back a bit.

How is he Boosting without summoning the Sacred Gear? Vali cried out in his head.

[It is something possible with mastery.] Albion answered back. [However something like that has to take a toil on the user. He likely exchanges stamina to use the Boost ability in a surprising manner like that.]

Vali back flipped into a bicycle kick to throw Issei back, only to find Issei rushing into Vali's guard once he finished his rotation.

Issei came in with a right hook, Vali anticipated that, blocked that arm, while throwing an uppercut with his other hand.

Issei spun away from the uppercut, grabbing Vali's defending arm and threw him over his shoulder.

The sudden over body throw should have slammed Vali onto his back.

But Vali wasn't a human and doesn't have to confined himself to fighting on 2D coordinated.

His Sacred Gear was out already, acting as his wings, thus he simply stopped in mid-air, and flew himself into a flying kick at Issei's head.

Issei dodged by crouching, then turned that into an upper kick.

Vali caught the kick, now halting momentum, and flew up, pulling Issei by the leg.

Issei used his core muscles and pulled himself toward Vali, sending an elbow to the white-haired teen's face. Vali blocked the embow with his palm while continuing to fly upward.

"Gotcha!" Vali grinned.

[DIVIDE]

Vali felt the effect take place. He feel Issei zapped of power, and the energy comes to him and reinvigorates him.

He pulled Issei down and spins to slam him into the ground—

[BOOST]

With a shining emerald flash, the red gauntlet appear on Issei's left hand. His free hand.

Vali barely had time to widen his eyes, as he felt the power explode from Issei's frame.

It seems the Boost without the Sacred Gear only worked on a singular aspect of Issei's power enhancement. Speed, strength, jumping, durability. It seemed Isse used the energy of the Boost for one of those.

But an actual Boost with the Boosted Gear active, now all Issei's power was enhanced by two.

Issei punched forward, slamming his fist into Vali's stomach. At the same time flames burst from Issei's back, as two red wing limbs extended out, with the "wing membrane" being blazing fire shooting out of the wings like jet flames.

With that hit Vali was blasted back, and Issei disentangled himself away from the White Dragon Emperor.

Vali regained his momentum and floated in the air, with Issei floating opposite to him.

Vali couldn't help the excited grin that overcame his face. He held himself back from shaking in glee.

Yes! This was it! This was building up to be the fight he was looking for.

"Hehehehehahahahahahaha!" No, he couldn't help but laugh at how fun this was.

Issei chuckled joining him.

"Oh, this really isn't gonna be disappointing, is it?" Vali said, mainly to himself, even if Issei heard him. "You are surprisingly vicious. I thought you'd be the more cautious type with how meek you always seemed."

"Knowing how to be chill doesn't mean I don't know doesn't mean I carry that attitude in a fight. Always take all opponents seriously, you never know if they were hiding their strength, or have some annoying secret technique that's uniquely capable of specifically beating you." Issei said back.

"Wise words." Vali acknowledged with a nod. "So... time to actually do this for real."

"...Yeah." Issei grinned back, his battle lust now reflected in his eyes. "I think so too."

Issei Hyoudou and Vali Lucifer unleashed the true power of their Sacred Gear.

===

AN: Motivation waned. Full battle with BB use next chapter.