The Familiar Forest

In the middle of a dimly lit, vaguely creepy forest a red magic circle glowed. In an instant, seven bodies standing side-by-side formed from the red light. The members of the Occult Research Club had wound up in the area of the Underworld known as the Familiar Forest. Technically, it was controlled by the devils, but more than just devils were known to visit it in order to obtain a long-term companion. Most generally magical creatures resided here due mainly to the fact that it had a wide variety of habitats and that the rest of the Underworld wasn't incredibly hospitable for beings that live in nature.

Issei stumbled a little, looking around. It was really weird to have someone else's magic used to teleport him. Since the Gremory circle was used though, it was safe to assume that the earlier form he filled out actually worked and considered him to be a member of her peerage.

"Everything alright Issei-kun" Akeno asked seeing him stumble earlier.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just… it felt really weird being transported by someone else's power and I had some doubts that it would work" Issei answered.

"Oh" Rias placed her hands on her hips "So you doubted my abilities then?" she inquired; a little bit peeved that Issei believed her powers would not work as intended. Even though she wouldn't admit it, it stung her pride to have her powers doubted.

Issei raised his hand and put a bit of distance between his thumb and index finger.

"maybe just a tiiiiiiiny bit" he admitted which caused Akeno to let out a small giggle and Rias pout.

"So this is the familiar forest, huh." Issei looks around his surroundings, seeing a forest of dead trees and withered plants. Up in the sky was the red moon shining down its crimson light on the forest. He couldn't help but compare this place to his home back in the dragon's territory and found it a bit lacking.

Not liking the eerie feeling given the creepy forest, Asia hid behind Issei.

"Um," Asia interrupted timidly, "what do we do now? This place is scary."

"No need to worry Asia-chan. As long as we stick together, nothing will happen." Matsuda tried to reassure the her which seems to have worked as she managed to calm her nerves and nod.

"ho ho ho, this place is scary you say?" they all heard a voice causing some of them to jump in fright.

"Who said that?" Matsuda yelled looking around before the group looked up to see a man jump down from the trees and land gracefully near them. He has a neck-length red hair tied in a low ponytail and has brown eyes. He wears a white top, black short with a green sweater wrapped around his waist, white socks, brown sneakers, black fingerless gloves, a dark-blue cap and carries a yellow bag pack. "Hello everyone, my name is Zatouji of Madara town and my dream is to become the next Familiar Master. It's a pleasure to meet you. Oh, if it isn't the young Gremory princess, it is nice to see you again"

"It has been a while Zatouji-san." Rias replied politely with a small bow. "I've brought my entire peerage with me however only Asia-chan and Matsuda-kun have need for a familiar."

"So, this guy is the one who will help get our familiars" Matsuda asked a bit skeptically. Given the guys attire, you wouldn't think he was a guide.

"You got a problem with it" the Familiar Master said in an annoyed tone.

Rias stepped in before things could turn into a conflict.

"Now, now, we didn't come here to fight Matsuda-kun. We came to get a familiar for you and Asia and Zatouji-san is familiar with the area and will help us locate the type of familiar you are looking for. Besides, we don't have the time for you guys to fight it out, we must start looking for your familiars before the moon disappears." This made Issei arche a brow.

"What do you mean by before the moon disappears? Are we going to be forcefully teleported out when the moon goes out?" he inquired confused why they were on such a time constraint.

"No, we are not going to be forcefully removed Issei-kun. Rather, when the moon disappears, familiars tend to return to their homes thus making it even harder for us to find them. They usually come out during the full moon and that only occurs once a month." Rias explained giving Issei a clear picture of why each peerage could only come here on a full moon.

"I see."

Zatouji walked towards Issei, his brows in contemplation "And this wild guy here who isn't a devil, is he also a member of your peerage?"

"wild?" is that how he looked to others. He wasn't sure whether to take that as an insult or compliment. Rias didn't seem the least bit offended by the familiar master's comment about her friend. No sympathy, how fitting for a devil or maybe this was a small payback for Issei questioning her abilities. Who knows?

"Issei is a dragon and a close friend of ours." She told Zatouji who, although surprised, nodded.

"Very well, in that case what kind of familiars are you looking for? Do you have a general idea or would you like some recommendations?" he asked both Asia and Matsuda who were the ones who came to get a familiar.

"Um, I would like a familiar that is both strong and cute" Asia said.

"I'm sure we can find something like that. How about you?" Zatouji then asked Matsuda.

"I want a strong and sexy familiar." Was Matsuda's instant response. He was already imagining a having a female familiar with large breasts.

The familiar master seemed to be at a loss for words. "umm… I see. Well let's see what we can do. Follow me, everyone." The group started traversing through the forest, following behind the familiar master until they reached what looked to be a pond or lake.

"Where are we?" Matsuda asked.

"This is the dwelling where the undines live and I believe that they fit the characteristics you two have given me so I thought they would a good candidate to become your familiars." Zatouji explained. Upon hearing the word undine, Matsuda's expression turned into a combination of happiness and perverseness.

"ohhh heck yeah. I can't believe I'll get to see a live undine that I only ever saw in games. I wonder what kind of order I should give it, ufufufu" Matsuda's imagination was running wild.

"Well, he certainly is a lively one isn't he?" said Zatouji after witnessing Matsuda's lively action.

"Ohh, it seems an undine is about to rise to the surface." Everyone turned their attention to the water when Zatouji said that and sure enough there was a cluster of bubbles coming from beneath the water indicating something was coming out. Matsuda watched in anticipation fully ready to make the undine his familiar.

Then out of the water appeared massive male body builder with long blue hair.

Matsuda slack jawed as his body broke into a million pieces.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?" he yelled at the familiar master who was startled by his shout.

"T-That's an undine. You don't need to shout." He answered but it seems Matsuda wasn't pleased with the answer.

"The hell it is. That's a freakin body builder. It looks nothing like an undine. An undine is supposed to a beautiful female whose beauty brings sailor to their knees. That thing looks like a freaking Machamp from Pokemon and even that doesn't do it justice. LOOK, it's even posing like it." Matsuda complained, pointing to the undine with exaggerated motions as his dreams were slowly crumbling to dust.

"hm! I'm not sure where you got those facts from but that is definitely an undine. Moreover, it is a female as well." Zatouji tried to clarify.

"WHAT! No way that is a female by any definition. It's a male no matter how you look at it" Matsuda defiantly said, not believing anything.

"Matsuda-kun, what Zatouji just said is correct. That is, in fact, a female undine" Rias clarified.

"No… way" his fantasy shattered into a million pieces as he slumped to the ground. How could it be?

"Well, judging by his reaction, I take it this familiar is a no-go." Zatouji asked scratching his forehead.

"I'm believe so. How about you Asia?" Rias turned to her bishop.

"um, she is cute however I don't think this is the familiar for me. Sorry!" Asia responded nervously.

"It's no trouble at all. Let's move over to the next one then." The familiar master said as they all followed him. Koneko was dragging Matsuda's unresponsive body along for the ride while he kept mumbling 'how could it be?' over and over. As they were walking, Issei decided to talk to Rias about something.

"Rias, can I ask you something?" Rias turned to face him.

"Sure, what can I help you with?"

"Earlier, in the ORC when you introduced me to the student council's president's peerage as a dragon, I noticed that everyone other than Sona and her Vice president were not surprised. Does that mean that they knew beforehand my species?" Issei asked. Rias was able to read in between the lines and understood he was asking if she told them. She sighed and nodded her head.

"Indeed, Sona already knew you were a dragon beforehand through me. I hope you aren't offended by it. Both Sona and I are in charge of guarding the entirety of Kuoh and thus we share information between each other whenever something major occurs. During the fallen angel incident, I revealed to her that you were a dragon and were a major help in dealing with the enemy. I also let her know that you were an ally so she didn't need to worry about you." Rias explained her side of the story.

"I'm not mad or anything. I knew that keeping the fact that im a dragon wouldn't be kept secret for long however it would have been nice if you told me." Issei answered. Rias bowed as a form of apology.

"You are right and I am truly sorry. Back then, things were a bit hectic and I completely forgot to let you know." She truly did fell bad about not letting him know as he had the right to know. Luckily, it seemed that issei didn't mind.

"Don't worry about it." He waved his arm

"I was simply cur…"

Suddenly his instincts flared up

"EVERYONE STOP." Everyone stopped mostly startled by Issei's command.

"What's wrong Issei-kun" Akeno asked before everyone started feeling the ground begin to rumble and it seemed to be getting louder and closer.

"Something is coming." Well that wasn't ominous at all.

Abruptly, they spotted a horde of different animals stampeding towards them. They each took defensive positions ready to welcome the oncoming horde. However, it would seem to have been useless as the horde simply ran past them ignoring them completely.

"What was that about?" Yuuto asked.

"Do all familiars act like this?" Matsuda added

"No… they seemed to be have been spooked by something" the Familiar master answered.

"You are correct. That behaviour is typical when prey is escaping from its predator" Issei said not moving his line of sight from the spot the horde came from as though he was expecting something else to come by.

"It seems we are about to find out what it is." Everyone turned their attention towards the spot Issei was looking at and sure enough, the sound footprints and rustling leaves could be heard coming from that direction.

Then out of the shadow popped a green serpent like head.

"Wait, they were all afraid of a damned snake." Matsuda stated.

"No… it can't be" they heard the familiar master mumbled in fright as he took a step back. Then several other heads appeared.

"N-no d-don't tell me" Rias looked at the serpents heads with shock and fear "I-is that a Hydra?" Everyone except Issei took a step back in fear of the powerful creature.

"Dammit, it must have stepped out of it's territory while chasing it's prey. Everyone be very careful." Zatouji warned as sweat could be seen coming from his face. A clear indication that he is nervous and scared and it he had every right to be.

The Hydra soon fully emerged revealing its dragon like body to the group. It's nine serpent heads possessed a pair of amber eyes that has transparent films over them just like a real snake. Many sharp razor teeth could be seen from each of its mouth. Its rock-hard body was covered in dark green scales. If they weren't scared out of their wits, they would have appreciated the magnificence of such a legendary creature.

What made it even scarier was the dangling victims being carried in the hydra's mouths. They could see a deer, a wolf and even a boar. Their bodies seemed to be rotting even while in their mouths. They could spot some sort of purple liquid dripping from their bodies, melting the ground where it landed.

["Poison. Be careful, all of you. The hydra's poison is one of the deadliest poisons known in the world. Make sure you do not let touch you, partner"] The poison must be extremely potent if even Ddraig is very weary about it. Unfortunately, as though it understood what they were afraid of., all of its heads not holding a prey gathered a purple substance in their mouths. Seeing this made Zatouji go wide eyed in panic.

"It's about to fire its poison."

Rias and Akeno were prepared to activate their teleportation circle to get everyone out. However, one person strode forward without a care.

"Issei-kun" Akeno called out to her boyfriend very worried. She knew he was powerful but the Hydra's poison was no joke even for him.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? The hydras is one of the deadliest familiars here due to its poison. It can even kill its own master and even Ultimate class devils can perish to its poison. You need to get back" the familiar master shouted at Issei who seemed to ignore him as the hydra prepared to strike the group.

However, before the hydra could fire its deadly poison at them

"Don't even think about it!" Every one heard a deep powerful voice coming from Issei. Before they had even realized it, Issei had unfurled his wings as crimson scales started appearing all over his body. His eyes turned to slits as he glared at the hydra, releasing his aura causing it to pause at it looked at this unknown predator. Its instincts were warning him to be very weary of this one, if not outright run away. Everyone also felt the rise in his aura. Even the wildlife begun evacuating the area when they felt his energy.

The hydra started hissing at Issei who raised an eye and growled in return.

This exchange continued which baffled the rest of the observers who had no idea what was happening.

"What's going on?" Matsuda asked. Rias shook her head

"I do not know but it seems that Issei and the hydra are conversing somehow."

"Well, hydras are part draconic in nature so it would make sense for them to be able to communicate with one another. Although this is the first time, I've ever witnessed such a scene." Zatouji said

After a moment they saw the hydra step back with all of its heads bowing down in submission surprising everyone.

"I can't believe he was able to make the hydra of all creatures to submit" the familiar master mumbled, clearly surprised at this feat. The hydra was extremely difficult to tame even for ultimate class devils yet he was able to make it submit without even engaging in combat.

"You have already acquired your prey so I suggest you take your leave, now" Issei ordered the hydra who turned its body around and headed back to its territory.

With the creature gone, Issei rescinded his wings and his scales before returning to his group with a smile.

"Dude that was insane and awesome at the same time. I didn't know you could do that." Matsuda shouted in awe.

"That was certainly an interesting sight to see." Kiba added, his swords dissipating into thin air now that the threat was gone.

"yes" was all Koneko said.

"You were amazing Issei-san" praised Asia who got a pad on the head by Issei.

"Thank you" He then felt someone embrace him and by the feel of her chest, it wasn't hard to determine who.

"ara ara it was indeed very interesting but please don't make me worry like that next time." Akeno asked which received a nod and an embrace by Issei.

"Have to say, you are full of surprises kid. I have never seen the hydra submit like that before. It's considered a very dangerous creature capable of killing it own master you know." Zatouji said as he was certainly surprised that the hydra left without conflict.

"Hydra's are technically a sub species our race so it was possible to communicate with one another. In addition, it could tell that I was stronger so a conflict would not have ended well for it. I asked it why it was trying to attack us and apparently, she said that it was because she thought we were here to hunt her and she was only trying to protect her unborn hatchlings. And yes, apparently the hydra is female and was pregnant so I guess it makes sense how it considered everything a threat. Anyways, since she already got her food, I told her to leave and she did." Issei explained receiving a nod from Zatouji who seemed to be writing notes.

"I see… so the hydra is pregnant. I'll document that and warn any other devil who comes here to stay away from it's territory and avoid it." Zatouji seemed to be taking notes. At least he is very diligent at his task as Familiar master. "Anyways should we continue on with finding a familiar for the two of you or did you have enough for today?" Zatouji asked the group, though mostly Matsuda and Asia since they were the ones who came for a familiar.

"I would like to keep searching" Asia answered.

"So, do I! I haven't given up on finding my ideal familiar" Matsuda added. The familiar master nodded.

"Very well then. On we go." He said leading the group to another section of the forest.

As they travelled along another path of the forest, the Familiar master pointed at a certain spot.

"Look over there." He pointed at a certain branch where a small Dragon, with blue diamond-like scales and a small pair of wings was resting peacefully while looking at its surroundings with its eyes.

Asia felt her heart melt. "Aww, it's really really cute!" Issei had to agree. It was absolutely adorable as far as small dragons go. Of course, it was a baby sprite dragon after all. He was still kind of surprised that there would be hatchlings here. They must have been sent here to learn how to fend for themselves even at such a young age.

"They are cute but also very dangerous. If they feel threatened, they can shoot out blue lightning." Warned the familiar master.

"What kind of dragon is that Issei." Asked a curious Rias.

"It's a Sprite dragon" Issei responded, recalling everything he knew about them. "When they grow up, they are classified as high-class dragons. They can't really do much other than shoot lightning; however, their lightning is extremely powerful. This little guy will probably grow up to become 10 meters tall. By then, he will be able to deal with high class devils or even ultimate class devils easily. Hopefully, in a couple of years he will even be able to learn how to speak since right now he is but a baby. Unfortunately, there are aren't that many of them left" Issei said the last part with a hint of sadness. There weren't that many dragons left and if it weren't for his sensei hard work and sacrifice, their race might have gone extinct by now.

"If you want to claim it then I suggest you do it now. They become untamable once they fully mature into adults" Zatouji spoke unaware of Issei's internal sadness.

Asia smiled at the small dragon "I really like him."

"KYAA" All of a sudden, they heard someone scream. Everyone turned towards Rias and Akeno who seemed to have covered by what appears to be a green slime.

"Kya" this time it was Asia who scream as she and Koneko were also being enveloped by the slime. Koneko didn't shout but based on her expression, she was pretty disgusted by it.

"What is that?" Kiba asked with sword in hand.

"Oh, those are slimes however they are practically harmless. All they seem to do is eat female clothing making them the least sought-after familiars in this forest." Zatouji said, clearly not worried about the situation.

Upon hearing the magic words "eat female clothing", Matsuda seemed to have sprung into action as he looked towards the girls and sure enough, he could see that their clothes were beginning to melt causing a massive nosebleed from him.

Rias however wasn't about to let a slime melt her clothes.

"Doesn't matter if it is harmless, we are getting rid of it" Rias stated as she prepared her demonic powers.

"WAIT BUCHOUUUU" They all heard Matsuda shout of the top of his lungs

"I have decided that I want this slime to be my familiar." Matsuda said the most absurd thing ever, even causing Rias to facepalm herself. Even Issei seemed at a loss for words.

"Are you serious? Didn't you want some type of sexy familiar. A slime does not fit your criteria."

"That was before I've seen what this guy could do. Besides, I doubt I'll find what I want after seeing what that undine looked like as well as all the other familiars we saw so I decided to improvise and I've decided to make this slime my familiar" he proudly stated, clearly not wanting to budge on his choice.

Normally, Rias would support her peerages decision however this was clearly not one of those times.

"I'm sorry Matsuda-kun but we will get you a different familiar." She said before using her demonic power to extinguish the slime covering her. Akeno did the same with her lightning.

"noooooo, please don't". Koneko got rid of the slime with brute force muttering how she hated perverted things. All that was left was the slime on Asia.

"I'll take care of this" Issei said but before he could get of rid of the slime, Matsuda, in a sudden burst of speed, quickly embraced Asia in a desperate effort to save what remains of his desired familiar. Asia turned bright red at the sudden gesture from her crush, almost forgetting the fact that her clothes were being melted by the minute.

"NOOOOO, DON'T DO IT. I WON'T HAVE TO UNDRESS EVERY GIRL WITH MY EYES IF I HAVE THIS GUY WITH ME. I KNOW NOW THAT MEETING THIS THING WAS MY DESTINY. DON'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME, PLEASE" He desperately pleaded with the others not to destroy it although his reasons are clearly not pure.

"hoho, I've never seen someone so passionate about acquiring the most useless familiar in the forest. I have to say this is a first for me. You really know how to pick em, princess." Zatouji said, surprised at the fact that anyone wanted a slime as a companion.

"Please Matsuda-kun, step away from Asia and let us deal with that thing. I promise you; we will find you a better suited familiar." Rias said activating her demonic powers once more, yet Matsuda refused to budge. He was certainly persistent for the strangest of things.

"No, Buchou I've already decided to make him my familiar. Can you really blame me for wanting a familiar that makes women naked? How do you expect me, a pervert, to pass up the opportunity for some pure, unadulterated juggling action?" He tried to make his case yet it fell on deaf ears. no surprise there.

"Issei-kun, can you do something about this." Akeno asked her boyfriend who signed and nodded.

"Sorry about this Matsuda." He turned towards Matsuda. However, before Issei or anyone could do anything

ZAAAAAAAAP

Matsuda and the slime were both electrified by a bolt of blue lightning. Matsuda fell down comically backwards, his body charred black and at the same time, the last remaining slime on Asia disintegrated into ashes. Inside the boosted gear, Ddraig couldn't help but facepalm at the fact that his host was defeated by a baby dragon. He has a long road ahead of him if he wanted his host to be able to match Albion's host, whoever they may be.

The sprite dragon landed on Asia's shoulder, remnants of lightning still coming from its mouth indicating he was the likely perpetrator.

"Well, I guess that takes care of that. It seems the dragon likes you." Zatouji spoke.

Asia smiled. "I like him too." She rubbed the dragon heads and he started to coo at her touch.

"I'm surprised that Asia remained unharmed by that lightning bolt." Akeno was indeed surprises that only Matsuda and the slime were injured by the lightning yet Asia who was literally at close proximity didn't even have so much a single blemish on her.

"It's because while a sprite dragon can only shoot lightning, it holds complete mastery over it, even as a child. The sprite dragon was only interested in dealing with the slime and Matsuda so it's power did not hurt Asia." Issei explained. He leaned forward until he was at eye level with the baby dragon.

"You are quite the little fellow aren't you." He tried to pat him but the dragon responded with a wave of blue electricity that left him a bit sizzling. Although it didn't affect Issei in the least, he was still shocked, no pun intended. Asia became frightened at the action because the sprite dragon attacked Issei and dragons weren't beings to take things like that lying down even if it against a whelp.

"and quite the brave one to attack someone leagues above your own strength." Luckily, it seemed Issei didn't mind the action at all and praised the little fellow. The two dragons kept staring at each other. Everyone around them seemed amused at the dragon stare off.

"I see… so you like Asia then" The dragon dipped his head in acknowledgement or at least, that is what it seemed to everyone else.

"Very well! Then I expect you to take very good care of her and protect her to the best of your abilities."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever initiation that just went down, Asia was glad that Issei thought that this little guy was going to be okay for her familiar. Sure, it wasn't the strongest, but she really liked it. Not only was it cute, it was a dragon, just like Issei and herself. That had to count for something in her mind.

"I'm not sure what just happened but it seems everything is alright." The blond knight was the first to speak out.

Issei crossed his arms "Yeah, he just realized that I am much stronger than him. He is pretty determined for one so young. Hope he can keep up with his training." Issei replied.

"Wow! Dragon's in action really is a sight to see. I have to say nothing this exciting has happened in quite a while if we ignore the whole hydra incident" Zatouji called out.

"Your going to train him?" questioned Rias who received a nod from Issei.

"Of course! If I'm going to leave Asia well being to him, I need to make sure he becomes strong enough to protect her from any enemy that comes her way. Naturally, I won't start now; however, eventually I will make sure to train him to be strong enough to defeat even ultimate class devils." He boasted how he was going to make the dragon stronger.

"raw" the sprite let out a small noise as though saying "damn straight I will" which everyone found super cute especially Asia who continued to rub his head.

Rias found it a bit doubtful that would be possible to defeat ultimate class devil. Asia and Akeno however, knew it could be true since they knew he was a dragon god. Asia imagined how strong the sprite dragon would become under Issei's tutelage. He may actually become the next dragon king.

"Anyways, it seems you have found a good familiar Asia-chan. What are you going to name him?"

She considered for a second before her face lit up. "um, how about Rassei?" Issei was pretty surprised that she would name the dragon after him.

'She'd name him after me' Issei thought. That was a pretty big gesture and he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed about it but still really appreciated the gesture.

Rias smirked "Well, I think it is a fitting name so all we need to do now is to bind the familiar to you. I'll help you out since it's your first time." Rias begun drawing a magic circle on the ground. The circle will be used to form a contract with the selected familiar, in this case the sprite dragon, and then she will be able to call upon it whenever she pleases.

"In the name of Asia Argento, I command you to accept this pact and become my familiar forever." A bright green glow enveloped the dragon and then the magic circle disappeared indicating the forming of the contract.

"Is it done?" Asia asked her king.

"Yes, it is. This dragon is now your familiar and you can call upon it whenever you want." Rias explained. Rassei flew into Asia embrace and started snuggling on her.

"heh heh, that tickles Rassei" she then lifted him in the air.

"You and I are going to be friends forever." She received a nod of acknowledgment from Rassei who quickly went back to snuggle against her chest. He clearly liked her. Whether it was due to her innocent personally or the fact that she too was part dragon or maybe both. Who knows!

"urrgh" They heard Matsuda grown as he rubbed his head indicating he was waking up.

"oww, what the heck was that?" he asked before he spotted the baby dragon on Asia's shoulders and connected the dots.

"You little bastard… why did you attack me and" That's when he realized that the slime covering Asia was no where to be seen until he spotted the ashes right next to them and it didn't take him to long to realize whose ashes those belonged to.

"NOOOOO SLIMYYY" Matsuda dropped to his knees crying profusely as he scooped up the remains of what used to be his selected familiar. He then glared at the sprite dragon

"this is your fault!" he shouted only to get electrocuted once more by Rassei.

The Familiar Master whistled "Again, I have never seen someone so adamant about acquiring a slime as a familiar. He even named the poor fellow."

"uhhhh… so many possibilities… gone in an instant" they could hear Matsuda mumbled as he continued to shed tear for the slime. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Matsuda meant when he said "possibilities" considering his personality and what the slime could do. Rias made her pawn towards her pawn and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Cheer up, Matsuda-kun. I promised you I would find you another familiar, didn't I?"

She tried to cheer him up but it seemed to have failed.

"But Buchou, I wanted… I wanted slimy as my familiarrrr" he kept sobbing over the fact that he lost the slime which caused Rias to sigh.

"Fine, then how about this then." She kneeled and whispered something to his ear. She made sure it was quiet enough that even Issei's enhanced hearing couldn't hear.

Suddenly, Matsuda's attitude took an enormous turn and with a sudden burst of vigor stood up all bright and cheery

"All right guys, let's go. We still got some nightlight to burn." Issei was honestly shocked. Whatever Rias said clearly worked to cheer him up, if not overly so. He couldn't help but be curious what she told him.

"What did you tell him that made him so invigorated" He decided to ask.

"Oh, nothing much I just promised him that he would be able to touch Akeno's breasts when we get back." She joked although his mind didn't register it as he nodded.

"yeah, I can see why that wo… WAIT WHAT!" Issei didn't realize that she was joking and it didn't help that Akeno decided to follow up on it.

"ara well if my king orders me too then I have no choice" Acting like she had no other choice, she started to unbutton her uniform but Issei wasn't having any of that.

"OH HELL NO! There is no way I will allow any man to touch, let alone see Akeno's breasts. ONLY I CAN DO THAT" He only realized a little too late what he actually shouted.

"Ara ara, I didn't know my boyfriend was such a pervert" Akeno teased him which sent his embarrassment into overdrive.

"I … I I I eh… I…" he couldn't even utter a single word clearly. His face was so red, it put rias crimson hair to shame and it looked like even smoke was coming out of his head. Rias couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. Even Koneko seemed to have let out a small giggle but no one realized.

Matsuda though seemed to be very hyped. "Glad to see you've come to understand the greatest of breasts Issei. Welcome to the dark side of the force." He used an analogy of Star Wars as he tapped Issei's shoulder. Issei simply groaned, too embarrassed to do or say anything.

Rias wiped a stray tear from her face as she finally managed to stop laughing.

"In any case, it seems that we are done for today. Matsuda-kun wasn't able to find a familiar but, at the very least, we were able to find Asia-chan a familiar of her own so I'll consider it a success for today. Thank you, Zatouji-san, for all your help." She thanked the familiar master for his assistance.

"My pleasure Gremory. I have to say that today was probably the most fun I've ever had in a long time. I even got to see several interesting things." He responded with a laugh.

She nodded and prepared to activate her power to transport all of them back home.

"Alright everyone let's head…"

RRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Suddenly, a loud roar could be heard reverberating throughout the familiar forest causing everyone to cover their ears. Rias had to interrupt her spell to do so. The roar was probably enough to freeze the blood of any creature nearby causing all the wildlife to run for their lives.

"What the heck was that?" shouted a frightful Matsuda, an emotion currently shared by every single member of the group.

"I… I don't know but that sounded like"

"A dragon" Issei finished Rias sentence while looking at the direction the roar was coming from. He was the only one who remained calm.

"A DRAGON!"

"Let's all calm down, please! Zatouji-san, do you know who this encroaching dragon is?" she asked the familiar master who was visibly shaking, indicating that he knew exactly who was heading their way.

"it… it can't be… why is she here so far from her territory" They all heard him stutter.

"If you know who this dragon is, then please tell us" Rias inquired Zatouji.

"wait wait wait wait wait wait! How how can we be sure it's a dragon, maybe… maybe it is that hydra from before that is coming back for revenge or something, right!" Matsuda seemed to be desperately clinging on to the small hope that it wasn't a dragon coming their way, but his idea was instantly rejected by Issei.

"It wasn't the hydra, Matsuda" replied Issei in a calm tone.

"how how can you be sure" Issei simply pointed to a certain direction without even looking. Everyone turned their attention to where he was pointing only to spot the very same hydra from before running away for it's life.

"no way" was all Matsuda could utter. Even Rias was extremely surprised to see a powerful mythological creature such as the hydra flee for it's life.

"For such a powerful creature to run away like that! Who are we dealing with here?" she asked in a frightful tone.

"There's only one creature here that possesses enough might to make even the feared hydra run for its life" Zatouji began explaining. Issei however already had an idea of who was coming. There was only one being whose aura radiates that much chaos. So this is where she lived…

"One of the five Dragon kings as well as the strongest" Zatouji began but Issei finished it as he could spot a certain being coming ever closer to them

"Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon king"