Chapter 18

"Finally, we won."

"Yeah... Now we need to run." Issei tried his best to move, trying to get onto his feet.

"Leave this to me." Ddraig forced Issei's hand to move to the left and caused an explosion. Sending Issei flying away into the unknown, Issei started screaming when he kept making loops.

With his brutally damaged body, he had no control over his movement leaving him to only fall into the mercy of hopefully landing safely.

While Issei was getting trolled by his partner, a couple of hours later, the supernatural world finally began investigating on what happened.

A question always remained in the supernatural world. Whenever something large would happen, why didn't the leaders confront the potential threat the moment that they sense it? It was simple, some of them were afraid of what might happen to them and how this would cause damage to their respective faction. Sirzechs was sitting down thinking, he may have been the most powerful devil there was, but a simply mistake of lowering his guard could easily change that title. He heard the news, sensed the battle, but he didn't decide to confront whoever won.

"Lord Lucifer, I have been reported that a top level stray devil from the ancient times has been killed by an unknown entity." Grayfia, hus wife, was right next to him reading the report that was given to him by investigators that went to that area during the aftermath of the battle. "Not only that, it was said by all of them that nothing remained of the area. It was as if most of the land was turned to ashes, not a single tree in the proximity remained. We decided to use magic to heal up the trees and plant life to make sure that humans don't question what happened."

"Good..." Was all that he could say to his wife. He sat there thinking to himself. This entity must have been the same person that killed off the legion of fallen angels. However, why would this entity kill off the stray devils when the being had killed off innocent fallen angels. This brought Sirzechs into thinking that maybe the fallen angels were in the wrong provoking the being into killing them, but that could also be wrong and that the being kills everything in sight. "I want everyone to remain away from that area unless I give them a task to do so. Make sure that everyone that are affiliated with the Satans are told of what happened. I want everyone to be prepared, and I want the public to not panic. I don't want riots happening between the public and us Satans for being, 'afriad' of this threat."

"Understood, Lord Lucifer." Grayfia swiftly walked away leaving Sirzechs to think to himself.

"The power that I felt. It felt so dark yet so familiar."

This leads back to Issei, who was walking along the road back to his house. He may have taken a little too long of a break, but hopefully he doesn't have to deal with pestering from his parents about it. He might have to go back to school since he wanted to make sure that his parents didn't think that he begins slacking off or know of his position in the supernatural. He didn't want to have the spotlight in the supernatural world just yet.

"Alright, summer break isn't that far away and I should be able to train some more during that time."

"Why don't you just quit school?"

"My parents will definitely be disappointed and be even more worried about my mental health if I randomly just told them that I wanted to quit school, especially when the school is filled with women. I don't want them to worry about me when they have a lot more to worry."

"I had a host that dropped out of school because he had awakened the Boosted Gear. It didn't lead into wealth, being feared and being loved are two different things. Trying to force money from people leads into the higher ups getting involved and knowing most of my hosts weren't that powerful compared to the higher ups... Yeah, you get the picture of what happened."

"Not only that, but once I achieve my dream. I will only have to deal with having a human job." Issei watched as a speeding car zoomed by him and lost control. Issei simply watched as the car crashed into a stop sign leading into a wall, breaking the wall and the car in the process. "I also need a car. I always wanted to know how driving one would feel like."

Issei continued until he reached his house, knocking on the door of it and waited for a response. That was when he noticed the door opening to reveal his mother. It was in the middle of the night, and she was trying to sleep, hearing the loud knocking had woken her up and brought her to open the door, even if it took a minute or two for it to happen. When seeing who was on the other side of the door, she stopped and widened her eyes.

Issei stood in the doorway, his heart pounding as he saw his mother's tear-filled eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, she rushed forward and enveloped him in a tight embrace, her sobs echoing in the silence of the night. Issei felt a lump forming in his throat as he held his mother, feeling a mixture of guilt for causing her so much worry and overwhelming joy at being reunited with his family. He only felt care for his family... Only his family could make him this emotional. That included his partner, who he considered part of his family.

"M-Mom, I'm sorry," Issei managed to say, his voice choked with emotion. "I didn't mean to make you so scared. I should have let you know I was okay."

His mother pulled away slightly, her hands trembling as she cupped his face, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Issei, my baby boy, we were terrified. We didn't know if something terrible had happened to you. We couldn't bear the thought of losing you."

Issei's eyes welled up with tears as he realized the extent of his parents' anguish during his absence. He gently wiped away his mother's tears and held her hands in his own. "I'm here, Mom. I'm safe. I'm so sorry for making you worry. I should have thought about how you would feel."

His father approached, his voice filled with a mixture of relief and concern. "Son, we were so scared. Your mother couldn't sleep, and I couldn't focus on anything. We missed you every single day."

Issei turned to his father, his voice trembling with a mix of guilt and gratitude. "Dad, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you both so much pain. I needed some time to find myself, to figure out who I am and what I want to become. But I never stopped loving you or thinking about you."

His parents pulled him into a group hug, their love and warmth enveloping him like a protective shield. Issei buried his face in their embrace, feeling a flood of emotions swirling within him—relief, happiness, remorse, and a deep sense of gratitude for their unwavering love and support.

"We love you, Issei," his mother whispered, her voice filled with unconditional love. "No matter what happens, we will always be here for you. We're proud of the person you're becoming."

His father's voice joined in, filled with pride and tenderness. "You've grown into a strong young man, Issei. We've always believed in you, and we always will. Remember, you don't have to face the world alone. We're your family, and we're here to stand by your side."

Issei held onto his parents tightly, feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude for their understanding and acceptance. In that moment, he realized that his family was his anchor, his source of strength, and the reason he fought so hard in the supernatural world. They gave him the courage to face any challenge and the love that fueled his determination.

As they sat down in the living room, the conversation continued, "So, where did you even go for the two months?" His mother asked immediately.

"I went around the world. I started with the United States which brought me to Canada. I decided to move to Brazil then to many of the countries in Europe and right back here." Issei was lying straight out of his ass with everything that he said. He remained only in the forests and jungles near him, well deserts now.

"What did you do during those travels? It couldn't have been just sightseeing." His mother asked right after.

"I watched some people fight and started some classes. I took some advice on how to train to properly defend myself. It was fun, nonetheless... It destroyed me."

"Yeah, but it was definitely worth it." His father complimented. "Just look at that body." His father tried imitating him, flexing his muscles to even try to look strong.

"Calm down Gorou, you might pass out. We both know that you haven't done anything close to exercising in years." His mother dropped the bomb, being as harsh and caring as she was, shattering the pride that his father was building up in himself.

"Come on, he still has the spirit in him, isn't that the most important part?" Issei tried defending his dad.

"Nah, that's been passed down to a specific someone." His mother smiled when looking at Issei.

"She's right, you know... But I still do have that spirit. Anyways, what are you going to do about school?"

"Try and pass my exams before going to college. I still want to be successful in the future." Issei said, leaning back on his couch and soaking up the comfortable feeling. "It feels good being back."

However, what Issei didn't notice was the burn mark that he experienced during the battle against the sludge monster, which was still apparent even through magical healing, which was finally noticed by his mother. Even having Ddraig use some magic to make an "allusion" to a shirt, his hands still showed the huge burn mark. "Issei... What the hell is that?"

His mother grabbed his hands and brought all the attention to his hand. "I kind of played with some fire. It burnt my hand..."

"This is serious... Issei, a simple fire couldn't have caused this."

"Trust me... I'm terrible at dealing with fire. And it couldn't have been put out because... I don't know why."

"Honey, you need medical attention to this."

Issei stopped his mother, "Don't worry, I have already checked with the doctors and they said to simply allow it to heal normally. It may sting here and there, but that's all that they wanted me to do." His mother wasn't convinced, but Issei continued, "Mom... This is supposed to be a happy moment. Drop the topic for a different time."

His mother decided that she should trust her son. Dropping the topic, the night was filled with tears, laughter, and a profound sense of connection. Issei knew that he was home, surrounded by the unwavering love of his family.