Training Part 14 of 14 - Eternal
Edit 1/16/2021: I'm full of shit since I couldn't make up my mind on when to introduce The Devil Is A Part Timer cast lol. I will do so in chapter 29 and 30. Same for the OC. When I do so, let's just say there is a certain character from another universe that I will be adding to the story, one that everyone loves if you have seen the anime he's from.
Issei's Dragons:
('Ddraig speaking telepathically')
("Ddraig talking out loud")
|'Vritra speaking telepathically'|
|"Vritra talking out loud"|
Other Dragons:
['Albion speaking telepathically']
["Albion talking out loud"]
{'Bahamut speaking telepathically'}
'A character's thoughts'
Chapter 27: Training Part 14 of 14 - Eternal
Days 104-120 Training Days
Asgard
Irina had tears in her eyes alongside a cute pout, making whining noises.
Ophis blinked at her. "... What's the issue? It's just a sword."
Currently, the Ouroboros was forcing her to pull out Durandal, saying it's time for it to merge with Issei's Holy Swords. Reluctantly pulling out the invisible blade, it glowed and immediately flew towards the collection of swords in Issei's hand.
It happened in slow motion.
"Duuuuuraaaandaaaaal!" Irina yelled, hand outstretched as the sword became one with its companions.
The Holy Swords turned mostly invisible except for a glowing light blue outline of the blade.
A message appeared for Issei. 'You have collected and reunited six of the eight Holy Swords!'
. . . . . . .
In the soccer field, the group stood there nervously as they saw who their trainer is: the Doom Slayer.
"Greetings," VEGA spoke for the mute warrior. He introduced himself and the Slayer for Tsubasa, who was the only one not aware of who he was.
The bluenette looked at the Slayer in confusion. "I thought you were just the new music teacher in Kuoh Academy, not Satan's worst nightmare?"
He shrugged.
"The Slayer says 'well, you thought wrong,' Ms. Yura." They sweatdropped. "Anyway, for our training session, I have fixed the Slayer's armor tethering system which allows him as well as a few others to traverse across dimensions with him. The Slayer is quite excited to test it out by taking you to the training grounds."
Vali raised an eyebrow. "And where would that be."
"The Fifth Circle of Hell."
"EHHHHHHHH?!"
Vali cackled. "Haha! Sounds like fun. I love a good challenge."
VEGA continued. "You will be put in life or death situations. Your job is to fight all the Demons of Hell you encounter while keeping up with the Doom Slayer. The Doom Slayer will not fight unless he absolutely has to in order to save your lives. He will lead you to each area with a demonic presence. The time you spend in Hell will feel like five months. In reality, it will be nothing more than the remaining 16 days of your training."
Issei looked worried. "VEGA, my girlfriend Raynare is three months pregnant... How far will her pregnancy progress in hell."
"Not far. Like I said, hell will feel like five months, but that is only a side effect to your psyche. Also, just an FYI, your girlfriend won't be able to exercise at all once she's five months pregnant and will have to take it easy; this is to prevent any risk of a miscarriage."
Issei sighed a breath of relief. "Okay, good to hear!"
Arisu raised a hand, a concerned look on her face. "U-Um, VEGA, I have my three cats with me in a pocket dimension. Is it safe to take 'em to such a hazardous place? Will they even survive that long?"
"Do not fret, Ms. Yamauchi. Your pets, as long as they stay within the confines of your pocket dimension, will remain unharmed. Just make sure that you're stocked up on a little over 16 days of food and water for them. One thing though: none of you will return as the same person."
She nodded. "Thank you, VEGA."
"No problem!"
"That last part is rather worrisome," Issei sweatdropped.
"Mew!" Kuro stuck his head out of the pocket dimension.
The Slayer suddenly knelt down next to Arisu, startling her, but she relaxed when he reached out and gently pet Kuro, making him purr. 'What a cutie!' Slayer thought, feeling sad that his pet rabbit Daisy isn't with him.
"It seems the Slayer has taken a liking to your cats and thinks they're cute."
Arisu giggled nervously. "That so?"
The Slayer stood up as VEGA spoke for him. "The Slayer is ready to leave whenever you are."
Arisu tucked Kuro away and sealed the pocket dimension so the cats couldn't come out. She felt sad that she had to cut off any contact with them, but it was for their own safety.
Issei smiled as he grabbed Arisu's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Issei." She smiled at him as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
Mira, who stood in the back, was a little nervous, but she felt the need to send them off with something to support them. "Before you all go, I would like to give you a gift." She went around to each of the eleven trainers with Issei last, holding her palm to each of their feet as a magic circle appeared from her hands. "There you go. I have insulated your shoes so that they do maintain whatever temperature you are comfortable with. I hear certain parts of hell are hot while others are cold, so..."
Issei grinned. "Thank you, Mira." He leaned in and gently kissed her cheek. Despite her not officially joining the harem, he cared for her and wanted her to slowly be comfortable with the idea of being in a relationship with him.
She blushed but nodded with a shy smile. "... I-Idiot. Just promise you will come back?" The bluenette received a nod and a confident smile as he pet her head, making her blush even more.
He looked at the Slayer. "We are ready."
The Slayer nodded. "Activating interdimensional tethering device," VEGA announced.
Suddenly, they were lifted off their feet and surrounded by electricity swirling around their bodies as they made the jump to Hell.
Ninth Circle of Hell, "Treachery"
Satan Lucifer's Castle
The Dark Lord's eyes cracked open when he felt the presence.
"I sense Him."
The announcement made his Generals nearly shit themselves.
"M-My lord," Asmodeus said, leaning forward as he softly spoke to his King from his side, making an announcement that the others also heard. "It seems the Sekiryuutei is with him as well as those other ten children. What is thy bidding, my master?"
A frown plastered onto the former Archangel's face. "For now, all we can do is hold out and hope we survive."
He wouldn't die like this. No. Not here, not now. There's still a rebellion to be had against God and all things good.
Fifth Circle of Hell, "Wrath," AKA Sentinel Prime on Argent D'Nur
Sentinel Prime was once a magnificent city on the world of Argent D'Nur. Now, it was completely absorbed by the dimension of Hell and its Demons. A few structures still stood, but most were either destroyed or turned into Luciferian-esque temples to mock the victims they killed during their invasion, something that only added further fuel to the Doom Slayer's rage.
As the trainees landed, they immediately began feeling a bit sweaty as they were very close to the Styx river of fire and lava. They were on some sort of hill that had upwards curving paths and hairpins that led from the river to them. The upper path ended in some sort of creepy Satanic cave that was blocked by metallic bars. Far in the distance stood three mountains, the middle one having a skull engraved into it.
"At least we have the high ground," Issei muttered. He narrowed his eyes to see in the distance where Possessed Demons began crawling out of the lava river onto the magma bed before slowly making their way towards them. Imps teleported in, shrieking their war cries.
Suddenly...
"AaaaAAAAAAHHHIIIII!"
They snapped their heads behind them to see the floating bodiless skulls of Lost Souls charging towards them with loud, irritating screams. The Doom Slayer pulled out his Assault Rifle and aimed it at them but didn't fire, letting the trainees do it.
"Incoming!" They began firing their magic and were glad to see the Lost Souls go down by one hit each, but their remains let out small explosions. Luckily, no one was hit.
"Issei, behind us!" Rossweisse shouted.
Cue Song: Doom OST "Harbinger" by Mick Gordon
They were surprised to see the imps now climbed onto their hill with their bare hands and monkey-like agility. Their glowing fiery red eyes in the dark environment creeped them out but somewhat helped illuminate their surroundings, but only a little. Some imps charged in to melee which resulted in their instant deaths. Others did the smart thing which was to climb up walls and trees, keep their distance, and attack from range using their fireballs, forcing the trainees to spread out and sporadically dodge multiple fireballs as they shot magic back at them, picking off the Imps one by one.
Two Hell Knights jumped onto the hill, and upon seeing the Doom Slayer, they felt enraged at their mortal enemy and tried to charge at him only to get immediately decapitated by Rossweisse.
"Your fight is with us," She coldly stated as blood rained down.
Suddenly, they saw three massive monsters they have never seen before, all of them ridiculously fat and covered in metallic armor. Two mancubi and one cyber-mancubus. Issei was too close to one of the mancubi, who began firing its flame thrower at him, so he backflipped out of the way.
"Issei!" Raynare shouted, worried for a moment before he landed next to her.
"I'm okay." He kissed her cheek. "Stay focused."
Vali grit his teeth through his battle maniac smile. "Damn. Looks like it's time for us to get serious. DIABOLOS DRAGON LUCIFER!"
Seeing this, Issei also transformed. "DIABOLOS DRAGON GOD!"
Both of them lunged at the monsters and tore them to shreds.
"The Slayer wishes to move further up," VEGA announced. "Follow him."
They followed the Slayer with their wings as he double jumped, grabbed onto a ledge, and went towards the cave entrance.
"... It's locked," Issei stated.
The Doom Slayer began tossing a yellow skull up and down. "The Slayer just so happens to have a key." He shoved it into a yellow pedestal next to the door. "There is one more area to clear. Here, you will fight some of the hardest enemies in large numbers. Be ready."
"Thanks VEGA." Issei turned next to him to speak with Raynare as they sprinted after the Doom Slayer. "Are you okay?"
She smiled. "I'm fine. It's weird since I have only experienced morning sickness once in my pregnancy so far."
"Hm. Maybe it works differently for supernatural beings."
The eleven trainees leapt off a mountain to another, following the Slayer who was already surrounded by recently teleporting Demons. It was a massive circular platform surrounded by bone fossils for walls.
Demons of all sorts were present, and hundreds of them, but Issei recognized the danger of one in particular that he fought back in Kuoh Academy, a Summoner. Not just one, but three. They were bringing more and more Demons to their location. Several invisible roaring Demons, Spectres, as well as their visible counterparts of the same appearance, Pinkies, charged at them with somewhat high pitched roars. They look like smaller versions of rhinos and covered in armor except for their behinds.
"Dodge and attack their backs!" Issei ordered while fighting a Demon called a Revenant. It has a very undead type of appearance, being mostly a rather tall skeleton wearing a jetpack that it used to try to keep away from him while shooting missiles at him from its launchers mounted onto its shoulders, all of which he dodged. As soon as he stabbed and killed it, he began hunting the Summoners while Raynare and Akeno kept him covered from the air.
Vali and Rossweisse were busy fighting a big horde of Mancubi.
Arisu and Tsubasa were taking on a group of Hell Knights and Hell Razers with a few Imps here and there. 'These Imps are so annoying!' The Princess thought.
Ravel, Murayama, and Irina flew up beside each other right to dodge as a pair of Pinkies and Spectres reached them, colliding into the wall, confused. They launched fire, ice shards, and Holy Lightning at the two, killing them.
"At first, I was nervous to be here, but this isn't so bad!" Irina stated.
Right as she said that, the last Summoner, right before Issei killed it, brought in a platoon of 25 Barons of Hell and 8 Marauders.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Murayama said, sensing how dangerous this threat is.
"You just had to open your mouth, Irina." Ravel scolded.
"I'm sorry!"
The Slayer shot a few Imps here and there, as they were too stupid to realize it's him in all the chaotic frenzy, but for the most part, he stood still and let them handle it.
Issei and Vali, not seeing each other, crossed paths as they swung their swords, but they sensed each other and ended up back to back.
Vali cackled. "I like this."
Issei held his sword up en guard. "What?"
"The training we're going through right now. It's actual combat where we have to fight enemies to the death, and it's really honing our skills, our blood lust, and our ability to determine friend from foe; just now, you and I could have stabbed each other, but we didn't. Plus, I can practically smell the murderous intent in the air (77)."
Issei grinned. "True, but I think the actual purpose of training with the Slayer is to desensitize us a little when it comes to war and killing. Reflect!" He summoned his shield and sent back a green ball of fire thrown by one of the 15 foot tall, 500 pound red Barons of Hell. The Demon was shocked to see his attack turn on him as it obliterated his face and blew off a horn, making him roar in agony as he fell backwards and died.
"Longinus Smasher!" Vali lined up a group of four Cacodemons and killed them all in one shot as they slowly floated closer, trying to bite his head off but failed due to their demise.
Arisu, much to the surprise of the Demon army, quickly took care of the Marauders, slicing and dicing through them with her sword.
"Hee Hee Hee." Akeno giggled creepily.
"What's up with you?!" Raynare asked as she fired a bolt of Holy Lightning at a few charging Hell Razers, frying them to death.
The Priestess of Thunder looked to the sky with a smile filled with blood lust. "... You know, I never told my father I love him. Isn't that sad?"
"What are you talking about? You did back in the house when you two talked it out. Baraqiel visited. It was shortly after Tsubasa joined the peerage, remember?"
"I did?"
Raynare facepalmed. "Yes. Are you feeling alright?"
Akeno looked at Raynare and narrowed her eyes with a small, mischievous smile that sent shivers down the Queen's spine. "I think I'm going crazy."
The Queen blinked and casually dodged a fireball while impaling an Imp without looking. "You were already crazy."
"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No. That's not what I mean. There's something just weird about this place. It's fucking with my mind."
"Uh, yeah. Duh."
Akeno hummed in confusion. "Hm? How come you aren't feeling the mental effects of this place? I'm feeling nothing but sadness, anger, hatred, and madness! Why?! This isn't fair!" Tears began flowing down her cheeks but stopped when Raynare suddenly slapped her, making her moan in pleasure.
"Get a hold of yourself! I can't feel it as much probably because I am technically Satan's niece. Remember? It's written in the Bible, and my mother said it herself, that the Angel Gabriel is one of his siblings, making me his niece. That might have something to do with it." She sighed. "I'm sorry for hitting you."
Akeno pouted and whined. "Mou. It's so unfair."
One by one, the Demons fell. One by one, the trainees slowly started to go insane except Raynare. Not that she was immune as she started to feel a bit depressed, but luckily for the pregnant Queen, their training was over as VEGA announced that he's now going to take them back to Asgard.
. . . . . . .
Asgard
Once they made it back, everyone except the Slayer was fazed. The Slayer teleported back to Kuoh Academy, leaving the kids to themselves. They all reacted differently to what they just went through.
Arisu merely shrugged and opened her pocket dimension with a smile on her face as she immediately began hugging her three cats. "Hello Louise, Kuro, and Kaze! Sorry I had to keep ya in there for a while. I'll let ya play in the grass at the front entrance of the castle, 'kay? You be good kitties now."
Ravel, Rossweisse, and Irina weren't in the best shape, but they weren't awful either. They were tired and stressed out, but they were so glad to be back. "Ugh, I need a beer," Rossweisse announced.
Raynare was just a little dazed, finding the experience surreal. Her head pounded with a bad headache, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep it off, so she teleported to her and Issei's suite, collapsed in the bed, and immediately fell asleep without a care in the world.
Kuroka and Vali had bitter smiles on their faces. The negative aura that permeated throughout Hell was enough to make them feel a bit down. It reeked of nothing but negative emotions and barbaric cruelty.
Tsubasa was panting. Despite being athletic and more fit than most girls due to her tomboyish nature, she couldn't help but react in such a way, thinking to herself, 'Did that all really just happen? Where's my room again? Shit, I can't remember the layout of the castle. The Asgardian castle, not any of that Luciferian crap. Dammit.'
Issei was gasping for air, feeling nauseous and panicked but not throwing up either. To him, this is one of the worst feelings in the world. 'Did I eat something bad? What the hell just happened? Is this what they call PTSD?' It took him a while to calm down... and a small salty snack, so he settled for corn chips. For the first time in a long time, he skipped out on dinner knowing he wouldn't be able to eat a full meal after what they just went through.
Murayama ran to a trash can and threw up from the amount of blood they spilled. She immediately felt better.
Akeno fell on the ground. "Heh heh heh. I see staaaars~" She giggled, her eyes spinning. After several minutes, she recovered.
Everyone was in their own world, but they all realized one thing, sharing the same thought.
'So that's what war is like... What Hell is like.'
. . . . . . .
The Next Day
The eleven trainees, now all much happier than they were yesterday, arrived in the throne room of the Asgardian royal castle after being summoned by Thor. For some reason, they were told to dress fancily. The throne room was filled with a half dozen large round tables covered in white cloth, flowers in vases, handkerchiefs with eating utensils, and wine glasses like a five star restaurant which made the trainees suspicious that something good was about to happen, especially since all fourteen people who trained them, except Lelouch who went to the afterlife, sat at one of the tables. Every man was wearing a suit, and every woman a dress. Even the Slayer was dressed up, his normally angry expression looking slightly amused.
"Yo! I'm back!"
"Odin?!" Issei yelled.
The Norse King nodded with a deep laugh, Thor standing next to him with smile. "Don't think of me so weak, Sekiryuutei. It's going to take more than that to kill me."
Issei smiled. "Oh no! I was just surprised to see you up and about."
Odin stood from the throne. "Yeah, well... Anyway, enough about me!"
Bahamut nodded as he stood next to Great Red and Ophis. "That's right. This is your big day!"
"Big day?"
"Graduation! You and your peers have graduated from what was essentially a military boot camp but much harder since you were all trained by the supernatural! Congratulations!"
Great Red and Ophis, both also wearing a suit and dress, raised a glass of champaign and said, "Congrats!" followed by the other trainers, except Tiamat, before they chugged the drink.
Cue Training Graduation Song: Shinmai Maou no Testament OST "Sekai wo teki ni kai shi te mo." Why? Because this song makes it sound like the protagonist has ascended to godhood XD.
They were all startled when fireworks exploded inside the throne room high above them as the rockets were launched sideways from the walls. The resulting explosions and chemicals were all harmless due to multiple barriers set to protect the environment. They grinned at the sight. After a couple minutes, the fireworks stopped.
Odin clapped his hands once. "Now, what say you, Issei Hyoudou, be the Valedictorian and give us a brief speech?"
The other ten cheered and whistled for him while Great Red chanted, "Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei!" This made Ophis silently laugh.
Issei smirked sheepishly as he rubbed his head. "Oh man, you're really putting me on the spot. Alright, I'll do it."
He walked forward and turned around to face his friends. "I would like to start by saying thank you to my teammates, my comrades, and above all, my friends. Without you, none of this would be possible. Most of my success came from my own work ethic, sure, I get that, but I wouldn't be here without your love and support." They smiled at him.
"I would also like to thank the Norse gods who were kind enough to provide us with the resources and the right people for us to succeed, as well as the most important part: luxurious suites. I am going to miss the bed you gave me, it was quite cozy." He earned laughs from Thor and Odin as well as a few others such as Leonidas, who smirked. "Last but not least, thank you to the fourteen trainers. Yes, even you, Tiamat. I still owe you for breaking my nose."
Tiamat scowled and turned her face away with a click of her tongue as she grumbled. "Tch! Why do I have to be a part of this stupid celebration? Screw you, Ddraig and Ddraig's host. I don't need your gratitude, so shove it up your-"
Great Red clamped a hand onto her mouth. "Don't be rude to the Aesir or my nephew, for I can punish you again if you prefer." The threat made Tiamat shake her head in fear.
("Hello to you as well, my lady. There is no need to be jealous just because my partner is more powerful than you could possibly imagine.") Ddraig spoke mockingly, making the Dragon King huff.
"Hmph! Whatever."
Issei snickered. "Anyway, one last thing. I hope to see all of you there at this rating game tournament. We will continue to need your support in some form or fashion in the future. After all, we are allies. That is all!" He bowed and they all clapped, even Tiamat albeit reluctantly.
Everyone then took their seats and began eating a delicious dinner while the kind waiters set up some nice jazz music for the ambience and began serving orders.
Odin walked over to the graduates. "How about a drink?" He said, offering some wine.
They all looked at Issei. "It's your call. Personally, I say let's do it." Vali said.
Issei sighed. "Alright, but Raynare gets none since she's expecting."
Odin laughed. "Haha! Congratulations. So how was it?"
"Hm?"
"You know, having sex, especially with a hot young girl around your age?"
Issei spat out his drink to the side, and Great Red cackled at him a few tables over. Raynare simply blushed at the intrusive question, feeling a little annoyed by the perverted old man.
"Lord Odin!" Rossweisse yelled.
. . . . . . .
After half an hour, everyone had finished eating and simply sat there conversing.
"Hey, Issei. Mind if I sit next to you?" Thor asked, pointing to the spot left of the Sekiryuutei.
"Of course! It's your castle, after all."
Thor laughed. "You're the guest of honor, though. Anyway, I heard what happened between you and Loki when you were last in the library. I just wanted to say if you need anything from me, I'm here, and that if Loki or Baldur ever approach you to try to bother you or any of your peerage again, let me know, alright? I'll set them straight."
Issei nodded. "Thank you. That means a lot."
Thor nodded. "Hmph. Also, about this tournament, do you have any questions?"
The Sekiryuutei sighed. "Well... I would like to know what the format is and how many peerages or groups are participating."
Thor nodded and stood up. "I'll go ask Bahamut. Bahamut! What is the format of the tournament?"
"I'm not telling you."
"What?! Why not?!"
"I am not allowed to announce the rules until the first day of the tournament."
"Can you at least tell me who is participating in it or how many there will be?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Dammit."
Issei chuckled nervously as Thor walked back to him with an apologetic look. "Well, it was worth a shot."
Arc Fin
To Be Continued
References:
(74) Assassination Classroom
(75) Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies
(76) Airforceproud95
(77) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
By the way, here are the guns the Doom Slayer will use in this fanfic for now. I haven't played DOOM Eternal, so this will be DOOM 2016 only, but I may or may not add my own original weapons later on:
Normal weapons from most to least used:
Super Shotgun
Fists
Assault Rifle
Combat Shotgun
Wrist Blades
Plasma Rifle
Pistol
Heavy weapons from most to least used:
Rocket Launcher
Gauss Canon
Chaingun
Special weapons from most to least used:
Chainsaw
BFG 9000
Crucible
Grenades:
Frag. Not including Hologram or Siphon because I don't feel that the Doom Slayer, of all people, will need them.
I won't include any powerups either since Doom Slayer could kill anyone, even Goku who is protected by plot armor.
Demon monsters I will include are the following:
Foot Soldiers from strongest to weakest:
Marauder (From DOOM Eternal which I haven't played, but these guys are important to the lore, mainly for the Slayer's back story)
Barons of Hell (Satan's royal knights)
Hell Knights
Summoners (I first called them Banshees in this fanfic by accident, but I will now call them Summoners)
Mancubus
Cyber-Mancubus
Spectres
Pinkies
Hell Razers
Imps
Revenants
Possessed Security
Possessed Soldiers
Possessed Worker (suicide bomber in case you don't remember from the game)
Possessed Engineer
Lost Souls
Unwilling
Generals/Bosses from strongest to weakest:
Satan Lucifer
Astaroth
The Icon of Sin
The Cyberdemon
Belphegor
Belial
Asmodeus
Issei's Harem From Peerage (same as peerage members, most to least powerful):
Issei Hyoudou (Mutated King)
Arisu Yamauchi (OC, Six Mutated Pawn Pieces)
Raynare (Main Girl, Queen)
Akeno Himejima (Knight)
Kuroka Toujou (Bishop)
Irina Shidou (Rook)
Rossweisse (Rook)
Ravel Phenex (Bishop)
Natsuki Murayama (Two Pawns)
Tsubasa Yura (Knight)
Non-Peerage Harem Girls:
OC yet to be introduced
Sona Sitri
Mira