"Whoever sat on that throne... that person is gone now. They don't need your protection anymore." Issei began "But your strength and loyalty still have value. Pledge your sword and your loyalty to me, General. Show me your worth beyond whatever past that you have, and together, we will rise stronger than ever before."
Arise.
With that command, another wave of shadowy mist erupted from the fallen Magitek General, but this time, a shadowy hand also burst forth from his armored husk. The mist swirled toward him and obscured his vision, and for a brief moment, the world around Issei went pitch black, with Rias disappearing. He could still feel her arms around him while his left rest on her shoulder, but she was no longer there next to him.
And then, the figure emerged, the same figure who had told Issei to grow stronger, because his duty, his burden would soon be his. He had a smile on his face, and a hand in his pocket as he looked at Issei, who found himself gazing back before noticing an armored figure that emerged at his side. This new figure, noticeably different from the axe-wielding one from before, was a tall, imposing knight with a light purple glow. His jet-black armor covered him from head to toe, complemented by a tattered black cape. A scar ran down the left side of his helmet, and a long, red hair-like ornament extended from the back of his headgear.
The Knight then threw his cape out and enveloped the other young man, making him disappear as he reached around and placed his hand on his chest to bow his head slowly to Issei, who widened his eyes in surprise as he heard his voice echoing in his mind.
The sword of my disciple is now yours.
Go to your new liege, lieutenant.
And with that, the knight faded away, with the world around his returning to normal and the shadow of General Glauca, whose form was now pitch black with only the inside of his waist cloaks retaining its color, fully emerging from his fallen husk, extending his hand out to recall his broadsword from Lycaon. As the blade flew into his hand, making Rias step back cautiously, the knight then swung it around with both hands holding the grip and stabbed it down the floor to get down on knee and bow his head to Issei.
[Shadow Extraction Successful.]
"I think you would want a new name too, like Lycaon..." Issei said with a small smile as he looked at the General, his mind racing to come up with the best name for his newest shadow, who lowered his head in expectation "How about... Gladio?"
[Gladio LV.10]
Rank: Knight
Once his new name was registered by the System, Gladio drew his sword and spun it around, resting the blade on the palm of his other hand to raise the sword high above his head, holding it horizontally toward Issei while bowing his head to him. Issei watched with raised eyebrows, intrigued by the gesture.
"I think he wants you to have it, Ise." Rias said, and Issei looked at her for a second before turning back to take the blade from Gladio.
[Glauca's Greatsword – LV 10]
ATK 225
Rarity: S
Element: Physical
Description: The sword of the fallen Magitek General Glauca, who in later life served as a lieutenant and second in command to a commander of the grand army belonged to a powerful Monarch. The blade emanates an aura of intimidation and strength, its size and weight capable of cleaving through even the toughest of defenses.
[Effect] Auto-Regen: Automatically heal the wielder every second for 2% of their missing health.
'Auto-regen... this kind of effect would be hella useful.' Issei thought as he looked at the sword. Even as he held the sword in his hand, he could see his HP going up steadily, regenerating back his lost health every second.
Casting his gaze back to his new shadow, Issei thought about the possibility of letting him keep it. If the Auto-Regen effect worked for Gladio even as he was a shadow, Issei wondered if he wouldn't have to expend his mana to heal him unless he was severely injured in battle if he had the sword. That would be incredibly useful especially if he had a lot of shadows to care for. "You know what? I think you should keep it. It will be more useful to both of us if you're the one to wield it."
With that said, Issei handed Gladio back his sword. Gazing at Issei for a moment, the shadow knight accepted the weapon with both hands, putting it behind his back and placed his fist over his chest where his heart was to bow his head deeply to his master in gratitude.
"Hahh, I think we can head back and call it a night now, Buchou." Issei said, turning his attention to Rias, who nudged him gently in the rib, making him wince a little but smiled nonetheless as the two turned around and started making their way toward the exit of the Dungeon with his shadows following closely behind them. "You know, I'd really appreciate it if you don't tell Grayfia-san when we meet her again."
"Don't worry, Ise." Rias nodded her head to him "But can I tell the others? They deserve to know and you can trust them to keep this a secret."
"I can live with that." Issei smiled as he turned his attention to Gladio and Lycaon along with the other shadow troopers "Cause you know what... I think I just have an idea for our training, Buchou."
"We can talk about it tomorrow." Rias said with a smile before continuing on unsurely "And... you know, if you want to, you don't have to call me Buchou outside of club activities. You can call me by my name."
"Really? Is that okay?" Issei couldn't help but ask, and Rias nodded her head in confirmation "Okay then, Rias-senpai. I'm still calling you senpai though since you're my senior."
"I can live with that." Rias beamed as she leaned herself into his side.
In the end, it wasn't that difficult for Issei, with Rias' help, to explain it to the rest of the Peerage about Lycaon, Gladio, and over sixty other shadow troopers, berserkers, assassins and wolves, who now joined them in their training and preparation for the match against Raiser and the Peerage.
Several of the shadow troopers Several of the shadow troopers turned out to be exceptionally good cooks, or at least they became so after watching a few cooking shows, being able learn quickly thanks to them being magic infused machines. Besides cooking for them, Issei had the shadows take care of the household chores around the villa, letting Rias and Akeno focus on their own training. The shadows, being undead warriors, also made for exceptional training partners, serving as indestructible punching bags for the devils, especially Rias and Akeno, to hone their skills against without having to worry about anything other than collateral damage.
"Kiba!" Issei shouted as he brought his sword down, but Gladio blocked it with the back of his gauntlet, barely shifting under the force. Kiba dashed in from the side, aiming for his flank, but the knight instantly caught the blade with his own before throwing Kiba back with just a swing.
Only a few minutes into their first sparring session, the two realized that his swordsmanship was a force to be reckoned with. Kiba, who found himself bested in an instant, was eager to learn from the shadow knight, who seemed to have mastered various sword styles, including dual-wield which Kiba frequently used. His sheer strength, meanwhile, allowed him to wrestle both Kiba and Koneko to the ground whenever they trained with him.
Even after becoming his shadow, it was clear that the fallen Magitek General was still superior to him and everyone else under his command, being at least a tier above in terms of pure battle prowess. He also seemed to also have a keen strategic mind, and despite the fact that he could not talk like everyone else, Gladio could still instruct Rias with simple gestures and point out various key notes in her tactics, helping her improve her qualities as the strategic leader of the Peerage.
To say Issei was pleased and grateful to have a shadow like him would be an understatement.
As day became night, and night became day again, the Peerage trained relentlessly. After Issei had given them the same speech that he had given Rias, the stakes had become clear, and the senior members no longer worked to train him and Asia to their levels, but instead trained to push themselves beyond their limits with the two working alongside them instead. Unsurprisingly, Asia was the one having the most trouble keeping up as the training got more and more intense, but her determination to help them allowed her to improve decently.
Time flew by quickly, and on the morning of the Rating Game, Issei found himself doing some last-minute training with the two dummies in the courtyard, both of which were now equipped with daggers to increase the difficulty. Lycaon and Gladio were on the sidelines, watching intently, with the shadow commander serving as his trainer and supervisor. The arms of the two dummies were spinning faster than ever before as Issei hit them with palm strikes, punches, kicks, and elbows, but at the same time, he didn't allow a single dagger to slash him, moving his body swiftly in a fluid motion to dodge and block all the spinning arms.
After a moment, he then finished by leaping into the air and rapidly punched and kicked at the two dummies, sending the steel-reinforced parts flying off in all directions. By the time his feet touched the ground, the dummies lay in pieces, with only their legs remaining where they had stood.
"Show off." Issei let out a grin as he turned around and looked at Koneko, who walked toward him with Rias and the rest of the Peerage. Behind them, the shadow troopers were carrying their belongings as they prepared for departure.
"Couldn't have done it without you teaching me, Koneko-chan." Issei said with a grin as he walked toward them, removing the bandages around his arms as Koneko flashed him a rare smile. He then turned his attention to Rias, and saw her approaching him with a smile, clearly impressed by his performance.
"Well, you certainly made an impression," she said. "I think it's safe to say that you're ready to kick some ass this afternoon."
"You can bet on it, Buchou." Issei said with a smile, making the Peerage beam at him in response.
That's right.
He's ready.
Current Stats:
Name: Issei Hyoudou
Race: Reincarnated Devil
Class: Level 30 Dragonsworn / Level 6 Shadow Monarch
HP: 6115 / 6115
MP [Current Attribute: Draconic/Demonic: 2135 / 2135
Title: Shieldbreaker [Add 10% Armor Penetration]
Strength: 130
Vitality: 113
Intelligence: 108
Dexterity: 118
Perception: 98
Charisma: 88
Unique Class Skills: Fire Imbue (LV1), Shadow Extraction (LV1), Shadow Storage (LV1).
Active skills: Doubling (LV2 – Pact Affected), Transfer (LV2 - Pact Affected), Penetrate (LV2 - Pact Affected), Sprint (Max Level), Vital Slash (LV1), Jump (Max Level – Equipment Ability), Observe (LV1), Ruler's Hands (LV1).
Active spells: Active spells: Fire balls (LV2 - Fire Dragon Pact Affected), Firewall (LV2 - Fire Dragon Pact Affected), Lightning Strike (LV1), Water Blast (LV1), Earth Shield (LV1)...
Current Pact [1/4]: Y Ddraig Gouch (Fire) – Pact LV1.
Current Shadows: 67 / 90
Elite Rank Shadows: Lycaon (Knight), Gladio (Knight).
Items: Boosted Gear (LV4), Abyssal Cloak (LV5), Razan's Blade (LV7), Magitek General's Helmet (LV1), Palace Guard's Boots (LV6), Metal Gauntlets (LV5 – Only one currently in use -Stats Reduced), Kamish's Slumber (LV?) ...
Potions: Healing Potions x15, Mana Potions x15, Greater Healing Potions x10, Greater Mana Potions x10, Miracle Potions x3...
Gold: 1,020,250 (G)
Ultimate: Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker – Unnamed (LV. 1)
End of Chapter 8