Rias Gremory can't really say she's the most proactive of a person, or devil in this case.

She tended to take her time when dealing with an issue, only acting decisively once she's made up her mind. She tended to be playful, and more relaxed in her approach to things, unlike her best friend and co-supervisor of Kuoh Town, Sona Sitri.

That's why when she first learned about a fallen angel in her territory, she didn't immediately jump the gun, and attack them. She let them be.

They could be just one or two fallen, or even a small group, just passing through Kuoh on their way to somewhere else. It wasn't something that seemed like a big deal, that she would want to react by calling her brother or Sona's sister, the current Satan Lucifer and Satan Leviathan respectively.

Sure this might be under the preview of Serafall, Satan Leviathan, as she was the Underworld Minister of Foreign Affairs, but it might just be nothing but some fallen passing by, and result in Rias looking like she overblown things and overreacted.

She didn't want to bother her brother or Serafall for something like that, or look like she can't handle a simple fallen situation and was scared of dealing with a group of two-winged fallen, given her familiar's report.

Speaking of her familiar, Batty, upon sending our flyers with her Devil Summoning Contract on, came back and told her about Issei Hyoudou going on a date with a fallen angel. Initially Rias was worried, and given that she only found that out late at night, she decided to wait to the next day to see what had happened.

Thankfully Issei did show up the next day to school, so it seemed like there was nothing to worry about. The fallen likely just wanted her itch scratched, and used a well-known pervert for it. At least Issei got to have fun, hopefully. And unless his memories of the date were wiped, he was likely to spend the entire day bragging about having lost his virginity.

That didn't happen, so likely Issei's memory of the date were erased, and physically he seemed fine, so all's well that ends well. Specially since Rias had wanted to invite him to her Peerage eventually. She just needed the right strategy for it. ...Yes, she was procrastinating, just a tiny bit, but it's not like Issei was going anywhere.

However, things then happened and really worried Rias.

It started with her Rook, Koneko. The catgirl turned devil, upon passing Issei in the school's hallway, stiffened and froze and all the blood left her face. Thankfully Kiba acted quickly taking her away, before anyone noticed and caused a scene.

When Rias met her later and asked her what happened, Koneko said that while before Issei smell a bit like a dragon, now that scent and aura were overwhelming. It was like standing next to an apex predator, a king of beasts. Once Koneko calmed down, he added that Issei's aura was held back, not forcibly like someone struggling to hide their power, but someone doing so with relaxed experience.

That made Rias blink in intrigue and a bit of worry. So something happened in that date with the fallen to result in this, obviously, but what, and why did it change Issei to this extent.

Thus Rias had assigned her Peerage to look after Issei for the day, while having Koneko go scout out the fallen in the town and get more concrete information on them.

Issei was definitely different than his usual self. Almost as if who he was the day before was a completely different person.

For one, he seemed to sluggish and lethargic even when his friend suggested they peep on the Kendo Club members, which was made up of only girls, as they changed after training.

The class actually went silent and stared at Issei in shock when he tiredly, with his head laying on the table said he didn't feel like it.

Many exclaimed that the world might be ending, or that Hyoudou had been replaced by an imposter. Seeing reaction to his innocent remarks, and his friend acting like he was dying, Issei relented and the students of class 2-B went back to what they were doing, as the natural order had been restored.

Yet when the Perverted Trio went about their usual routine, Issei...didn't actively participate in the peeking or even seemed that interested. Only acting like he wanted his friend to let him have a peek, just so they don't remark like he wasn't being himself. Then when the girls naturally discovered the three boys, and ran after them with shinai to punishment, Issei wasn't running for his life like his friends, but jogging. His pace easily faster than the trained kendo girls.

Rias' Knight, who was watching Issei, even noticed that Issei was instinctively dodging the shinai sweeps, before realizing he was doing so, and consciously let the girls' shinai reach and hit him, so he'd continue to "act normal".

Something was definitely off with Issei Hyoudou. At the end of the day, Koneko came back and reported that a group of fallen angels, four in total, all two-winged and what seemed like a squad of stray exorcists had made base in the abandoned church at the edge of town. Koneko wasn't sure on the number of stray exorcists but they likely numbers a dozen or so. She couldn't be sure, and she didn't want to get too close and be discovered.

Putting Issei and his new odd behavior out of her mind at the moment, Rias contacted Sona with her findings.

The next day Issei came to school with a yellow page phonebook. It was something that he looked through between classes and spent the entire lunch break reading through.

"Do you need help with that, grandma?" Issei's friend and fellow pervert, Matsuda said.

"Why do you have a phonebook? I didn't even know those were still around." The other pervert of the trio, Motohama said as he adjusted his glasses.

"There's a secondhand bookstore that still keeps copies, they're pretty cheap." Issei said nonchalantly, not taking his eyes off the yellow pages, as he perused the book, with a slight frowny expression.

"Hyoudou! You better not be using that to call girls and harass them!" Shouted one of the girls in class.

"Of course not!" Said Matsuda back. "What the hell is the point of calling girls? You can't see them!"

"Wait..." Motohama said with sudden realization. "Are you... looking up the numbers of porn actresses? Issei, you genius!" Shouted the glasses pervert known as the Three Sizes Scouter.

"My god, that is some 3D chess thinking Issei!" Matsuda said in awe.

"What the heck? No, I'm not doing that! I'm just looking for-"

"Like hell we'll allow you to harass innocent women. You trying to contact t-t-those kinda women, that's even worse!" Said one of the female classmates.

"Oh, and why the hell do you care, B44-W50-H72 cm?" Motohama immediately cried out.

"KKYYAAAA!" The girl in question shouted. Other girls argued with the perverts, Motohama and Matsuda argued back. Then things got physical with some of the girls trying to take away the phonebook, with Motohama and Matsuda trying to take it back.

Issei actually tried to calm things down, and just wanted to get his book back.

But naturally amidst the fighting it got torn up.

Issei looked pouty for the rest of the day, which some girls said he deserved it. And some secretly thought he looked cute like that.

Kiba that witnessed the whole thing, could only wonder who Issei was looking for.

A girl with the last name "Fujimaru". Who could she be? Thought Kiba.

The week passed by with a sort of new norm about Kuoh Academy's perverted trio. It was something that most of the student population who already had a negative view of the Perverted Trio didn't notice, but some still took note of.

Issei Hyoudou wasn't acting as much of a pervert as he usually did.

Oh sure, he still discussed boobs openly with his friends. He still talked about his dream of being a Harem King. Yet, to any that actually paid attention to the boy, he didn't seem to have his heart in it. In Rias Gremory's eyes, his heart wasn't in it.

Yes, Rias may have been a lax devil when she dealt with things, but that didn't mean she wasn't observant to changes in people. Specially trauma. She couldn't afford not to be, when her Peerage was basically a walking list of physiological diagnoses.

She may not have been able to help her Peerage members from their tragic pasts, whom she considered family, but she could provide the next best thing. A stable, happy home. She had tried. Oh, she had definitely tried to help them. Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, Gasper. She gave them all the love, support and tools needed to heal them of their emotional scars. She had the best therapist in all the supernatural world on speed dial if they needed.

While it wasn't in her ability without pulling on her brother's influence, she would even try to get a Buddha to help them. However, any attempt to help was stopped by a roadblock, that her brother taught her about. The bitter lesson that, "people that don't want to be helped, can't be helped".

Thus the next best thing Rias could give her Peerage was love and attention. It also meant she learned when a change in someone's mood or behavior was just something temporary, or something more... lasting.

Issei Hyoudou definitely had the characteristics of someone that went through a life altering event. Not traumatic, probably. At least not as she first suspected, but he definitely gives off the signs that something major happened to him.

Rias just wasn't sure what. Akeno had teased her that she had been observing Issei more closely lately, that it ventured onto stalking. Rias playfully slapped her friend's shoulder at the remark.

But she couldn't help it. Rias' just felt like she should be concerned about the change in Issei. Even if it was irrational, he was someone in her territory, so kinda her responsibility. And he's someone she wanted to invite into her Peerage in the future, so kinda more so her responsibility.

Maou, can't I just find someone with a normal childhood and no tragic backstory? Rias thought. Was this maybe a sign from that universe that now, she could approach Issei and recruit him but not before?

As she usually had taken to do these past few days, Rias would watch Issei through her familiar's eyes, whenever she was relaxing in the day, done with paperwork, and feeling bored with nothing to do. No new anime seasons caught her interest, and no trips to ancient Japanese landmarks were coming soon, soo... why not observe Issei some more. Just for his safety really.

Rias blinked as she watched Issei stumble into meeting a nun. The nun clumsily fell and her bags broke open to throw her clothes onto the street. Issei helped her out, however when Rias expected some comedic shenanigans due to a language barrier, as the nun was Italian, Issei shocked her.

"Sorry, I know little Italian." Rias' eyes bulged out, as Issei spoke Italian. "Do you know English? I can speak that better." Issei spoke in fluent English.

"Oh thank the lord," The nun, Asia as she introduced herself, spoke in relieved joy. "Yes, I can speak English. I'm glad the lord deemed to send you my way, Mr. Issei."

"Just Issei, Asia. Mister makes me sound old." Issei jokes, to which Asia smile and giggled back at him.

As the duo walked and talked for a while, stopping by a fast food restaurant for a quick lunch, Asia asked what made Issei interested in learning Italian.

"Oh, a friend of mine knew it and taught me a bit. I heard people like to hear others speak in their native language so I tried to do that." He said back.

And as the boy with a Dragon Sacred Gear and the nun, apparently with Twilight Healing-Rias saw the girl heal a young boy who scrapped his knee playing around-Rias had one thing going through her mind.

What friend of Issei's speaks Italian?

The meeting between Issei and Asia ended on a surprising note. Rias had send Akeno to find out about this nun, and it turned out she was a pretty famous saint who got excommunicated for healing a devil.

Okay, it was clear the fallen were here for something nefarious, which was later confirmed when Koneko returned saying she saw one of the stray exorcists staking out the home of one of their contractors, with a crazed look. It was time to deal with those fallen and stray exorcists right away.

Them having the ex-nun with the healing Sacred Gear might be a problem, but Rias and Sona along with their Peerages would just have to deal with it.

However, unlike what Rias expected once Issei and Asia reached the edge of town, where the abandoned churched was in sight, Issei didn't let Asia go.

"Asia, sorry, but that place is no good."

"Eh?"

"It's abandoned, and I've heard bad rumors about it. The people who sent you the location are either mistaken or playing a cruel prank on you." Issei took out his cellphone. "You're staying with me and my parents until your situation is figured out, come on let's go." Issei took Asia's hand in one of his own, and with the other called his parents.

Asia protested but didn't seem too against Issei's decision and with a small smile to hide her happiness went along with the boy.

Huh. Unexpected, but that's probably good. Rias thought. If the nun wasn't with the fallen, that makes things much easier, as they could just launch an all-out attack.

Then something crazier happened.

As Rias and her Peerage prepared to head out at sunset to assault the fallen and drive them out, Batty alerted her of Issei heading to the abandoned church.

Panic filled Rias as she and her Peerage rush out and teleported as close as they can to the church, before flying the rest of the way.

Issei entered the broken down church casually, just ducking under the door leaning half-down with one broken frame and walked in.

His attitude was so relaxed that the stray exorcists didn't even notice him till he just stood in the middle of the church, with his hands in his pockets, looking at the fallen discussing someone among themselves.

"The healing bitch should have been here by now, where the hell is she?" 'Yuuma' shouted out in frustration.

"Someone local seemed to have taken her from what the minions said." Said a fallen in a trench coat.

"Uuum, who's he?" Asked the blonde loli fallen, who was the first one to not just notice but call out at Issei's presence.

"That's him!" One of the stray exorcists shouted. "That's the guy the Twilight Healing was walking around with."

"Well, well, well!" Said a silver-haired stray exorcist with a crazed look, and bloodlust oozing out of him. "Aren't you the ballsy one, just swaging around here. So where's the nun? You didn't play with her too hard, did you?" Freed Sellzen laughed to himself.

"You!" Raynare shouted upon noticing Issei. "How the fuck are you alive? I stabbed you clean through the stomach."

"Wait, that the boy you played house with and killed? Doesn't seem like you did a good job." Said a tall busty fallen.

"Shut up, Kalawarner." Rayanre said back. "That just mean I have to be more through this time." She said with a malicious look as she made a Spear of Light, holding it threatening. "Unless, maybe you can change my mind by telling me where the nun is? Did you kidnap her to spite me? Do you want me back, Iss~e~i~kun?" She said playfully before laughing out loud with cruelity.

Throughout it all, Issei calmly stood in the center of the fallen's base with his hands in his pockets. His relaxed pose and uncaring expression was making some of the wiser stray exorcist set on edge. Even some of the fallen, like the one in the trench coat, Dohnaseek, took a more battle ready stance in wariness.

"You know, " Issei finally spoke. "I'm glad you're all exactly as I expected and it's not just you that's the crazy bitch, Yuuma."

"Huh!?" Raynare shouted vilely.

"That way," power began to surge and rise within Issei, enough for an emerald aura to envelop him. "I can just destroy you all without worrying about someone innocent getting caught in the blast."

"The fuck do you think-" Freed began to say.

[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker]

The power that was building up exploded into draconic might, the aura washing over the building terrifying everyone, stray exorcist and fallen angels to their knees, from the sheer weigh of Issei's power.

"T-T-The Boosted-" Raynare only had a moment to realize her error.

Issei in his crimson armor looked at Yuuma and the fallen apathetically. He held hand facing down, and a red energy sphere formed under his palm.

"Bye. Dragon Shot."

A beam of concentrated magical energy burst from sphere downward into the floor.

Rias and her Peerage arrived in worry about Issei's suicidal confrontation with the fallen group.

They were flying and the abandoned church was now sight. Rias desperately hoped she wasn't too late-

A shining red light erupted from the church windows and door, before a beam of crimson energy erupted upward and outward engulfing the whole of the church.

The light caused Rias to cover her eyes, and the shockwaves resonated outwardly, sending strong winds had Rias hold her arms up to protect herself.

The Gremory Devil and her Peerage were forced to land, and make a magic barrier around themselves to protect from the violent magical energy explosion.

A moment later it was the energy died down, and Rias saw what was left of the church.

A crater.

With Issei standing in the center. The church was no longer there.

Rias saw a crimson gauntlet on Issei's left arm.

"Rias, that's..." Akeno pointed out, but Rias already knew.

The Boosted Gear. Issei had a Sacred Gear that was listed as one of the thirteen strongest there were. A Longinus.

Issei dismissed his Sacred Gear, and as he turned back to walk home, Rias and her Peerage landed close by in front of him, making him blink.

"Rias-senpai? Akeno-senpai?" He noticed them first, before noticing Kiba and Koneko, mentally acknowledging their presence.

"Issei," Rias began warily, trying to find out an explanation to... all of this. "What happened here?"

As she looked the boy with the Red Dragon sealed in his soul, all Rias saw was someone who looked... apathetic. Tired. Not physically. He didn't looked even winded, heck, his clothes weren't even ruffled by this battle, if it even could be called that.

Yet there was now a heaviness to this eyes that he didn't bother to hide, unlike when he was at school.

What happened to you? Rias thought. Because the sudden change within what was formally an energetic and excitable perverted teen.

One Week Ago - After Issei's Date with Raynare

Issei Hyoudou was lying on the ground of the Kuoh public park, with a hole in his stomach, bleeding to death. He was been stabbed by a fallen angel named Raynare, pretending to be a girl with a crush who asked him out.

As he laid there on the ground, he closed his eyes with his last thoughts being about, wishing he had been bold enough to touch Yuuma's boobs ("Yuuma" being what Raynare called herself).

It was a story that was seen a thousand times. The beginning of the tale of Issei Hyoudou and how he becomes a devil and then fulfills his destiny to be the greatest Red Dragon Emperor and eventually his dream of getting a harem.

Thus normally what would have happened is that the paper slip advertising wishes, given to him by a girl in a cosplay batgirl suit, before his date would have activated and saved his life. The paper slip was actually a summoning talisman, handed out by a familiar of the devil, Rias Gremory. She was one of the supervisors of Kuoh Town and one of the idols of Issei's school.

Normally, Issei's strong desire would have summoned Rias, causing her to use an Evil Piece to save his life, by reincarnating him into a devil, yet be it by a quirk of fate, or simple probability of different events across the multiverse, things happened differently this time.

Maybe it was the sweat and heat of carrying the paper slip around all day, while going from one place to another on his date with Yuuma that messed up the ink of the magic circle drawn on the talisman. Maybe it was the magical energies of corrupted Light Spear of the fallen angel that tangentially interacted with the talisman due to being at close range to them (spear in Issei's stomach, talisman in his pocket), that resulted in the function of devil summoning talisman changing. Maybe it was Issei's blood that fell everywhere, changed the shape of the magic circle drawn on the talisman.

Could have just been the work of a shitty work of hack magus that should choke on flowers, trying to aid the heroes of another world by summoning King Arthur.

The multiverse is vast, and the probability of anything that could happen differently that could exist, exists.

Thus in that moment of dying, when Issei's soul left his body, he entered a dream world. That world that connected him to a auburn-redhead named, Ritsuka Fujimaru.

The events of the dream world were ridiculous and nonsensical, specially given that they were created by Issei's mish-mashed desires of wanting to live and touch boobs. Ritsuka however was an incredibly lucky girl, and also an expert in dealing with nonsense, thus through perseverance, empathy and charism that could even affect a dragon, Issei's mind and soul was saved. His will to live shone strong enough to affect his body back in his home world.

Thus unseen by anyone, a concentrated draconic magical energy shone in Issei's stomach, and when it disappeared left his stomach whole with unblemished skin.

Yet, Issei then had a new desire, a desire that overrode even his will to life.

A desire to help the girl who saved him. The girl with the weight of the world on her shoulder, as in another world, she was the one tasked with saving her world, and getting back all of human history that was incinerated by a demon that knew only pity.

Thus Issei Hyoudou's will and soul ended up connecting to Chaldea's FATE Servant summoning, and Servant Rider, Issei Hyoudou came to Chaldea.

In the Kuoh public park, for hours after sunset, the body of Issei Hyoudou laid on the ground, next to the infamous fountain, where multiple couple confessed their love, or ended their date with a kiss.

No one had come to their area, as a barrier made by the fallen angel Raynare, was left up from when she wanted to isolate her prey and kill him. The barrier was left callously behind, as the fallen expected the barrier to cycle through its energies till it runs out and disperse. That way, when the boy's body was found later on, it could be attributed to a random mugging turned sour or something.

Yet, the body of Issei Hyoudou was alive. It was simply sleeping.

And laid there for hours.

And hours.

And hours.

When it was close to midnight, Issei's fingers began to twitch and jerk, as his eyes slowly opened up.

Issei just laid there for a while, just taking in the feel of the grass on his back, and the wind flowing over his face and bare stomach. He blink as he felt the wind on his stomach, and sat up touching his stomach to see it healed and whole. It took him a moment to remember how he ended up in the park, with his clothes damaged like it was, along with why he smell of blood. No, why he was surrounded by blood. His blood.

Yet all of that too a backseat in his mind as he, almost with mindfulness, stood up and just looked at the clear sky and full moon.

A spark of spite sprang in his chest. It was a fleeting emotion, random and irrational, yet Issei gritted his teeth for a moment, his eyes watering a bit, before he sighed and looked down. Shoulders sagging.

[Partner.] Spoke the Welsh Dragon sealed in Issei's soul. [We're home.]

And right upon hearing those words, it was as if everything clicked into focus.

Issei's heart began to pound quicker, louder. The emotions that exploded in his chest as he remembered, what was from his perspective the last year, rose up and kept shouting in his head.

The adventures, the people, the heroes, the events, the enemies, the rivals. All of it crash into his mind.

[Issei.] Ddraig said in a gentle tone, that one almost couldn't imagine the Red Dragon Emperor speaking with. [Breathe.]

The last battle. The Temple. The hype, the rush, the struggle, the despair, the hope, the exhilaration, the determination, the anger, the sadness, the despair, the rage, the calmness, the resolution, the determination, the exhilaration, the victory, the joy and finally...

All of Issei's emotions keep spinning faster and faster in his chest till-

Her face entered his mind.

Her cheer, her smile. That stupid excited smile, with a wink and a thumbs up.

Issei looked up, the moon's light shining on his face and reflecting off the tears that found themselves flowing down his face.

"Ddraig," Issei finally spoke. "I wanna go back."

[...Yeah.] The Red Dragon said.

No elaboration needed. No other words were said.

The adventure of the soul of Issei Hyoudou in another world ended in victory and salvation.

And the reward was naturally to go home.

Now after the end, the only thing left in Issei's heart was longing.