Chapter 4
‘The what?’
Issei started at Rias' surprising outburst.
If this is some kind of joke, I've got a maid uniform with his name on it.
Though judging by the wide-eyed stare he was giving her, Rias didn't think this was another of Issei's usual attempts at humour…
‘You know…’ he began in a cautious, fishing tone. ‘The notification screens popping up in my vision ever since I woke up?’
Rias martialled her considerable willpower in an attempt to control herself—wonder and excitement warred for dominance inside her, but Issei was already overwhelmed enough as it was without her eagerness added to the mix.
Rias had been completely truthful when she'd told her boyfriend his sacred gear held no bearing on her decision to bring him into the fold—at least not directly.
That didn't mean she wasn't terribly curious. There wasn't a devil alive who wouldn't gnaw off their own arm to learn more about one of the most powerful sacred gears in existence.
Not just devils, either…
‘Issei,’ Rias began in a tone radiating forced calm, ‘please tell me this isn't one of your silly attempts at humour…’
‘Ouch, and…no?’
He looked thoroughly bemused at this point and, on closer inspection, even a little distracted, his eyes glazing over.
Is he reading these notification screens…?
Biting his lip, Issei shook his head to clear it before continuing. He looked unsure of himself, his gaze lowered and his teeth gnawing on his bottom lip.
Cute!
‘I…when I woke up, I thought I'd actually been Isekai'd…’
She wanted to laugh at him, wanted to ridicule the nonsensical notion—but after everything he'd just been through? After everything he'd just learnt?
At least he looks a little embarrassed…
Then again, could Rias blame him? If she'd been killed then, upon waking up, was bombarded with notification screens of all things…?
I'm as much an otaku as Issei… with no knowledge of the supernatural, I'd absolutely think the same…
‘Issei… I've never heard of notification screens outside of fiction, that's…if you're seeing that, it's not because you're a devil now…’
He nodded, but Issei continued to look distracted. Rias’ expert gaze easily analysed and identified her expressive boyfriend's micro expressions.
He's not pleased with what he's seeing…
She hadn't planned on going into the specifics of his sacred gear yet—he'd only just awoken it, after all. Rias firmly believed it was better to give Issei a solid foundation before they started to work on him specifically, but…
‘I think… Issei, that powerful sacred gear I mentioned you awakened? I believe it to be the Draconic Codex—one of the most powerful and mysterious in existence…’
He didn't look surprised by the reveal, and Rias felt her heart skip a bit when he gave her a crooked grin and wrapped his arms around her waist.
‘Oh? And what makes you say that?’
Rias was almost certain she was right, and she was only slightly less certain that Issei knew she knew. Rather than get annoyed however, Rias showed her workings, starting from Kiba’s feelings all the way through to its awakening in class.
When she was finished, Issei stared into her eyes for a quiet intensity for several moments before smiling and capturing her lips in an, at first tentative, then heated kiss.
Rias almost lost herself in the tender moment, her core steadily overheating with passion. It was a welcome distraction after the past few days of pure misery, but a distraction nonetheless.
When they pulled apart, both Issei and Rias were panting heavily, their eyes smouldering with desire.
‘Where did that come from?’
‘Just amazed that my girl is as smart as she is beautiful.’
Again, Rias felt her heart flutter. Issei could be an idiot at times, overly horny and often immature, but then he'd say something like that and she wanted to melt into a puddle of goo.
He was no poet, but the sincerity with which he said the words always touched her—the sincerity with which he did everything.
Akeno never let her forget that she thought Rias could do better, but her emotionally shallow best friend didn't understand how Issei made her feel.
Rias loved Issei, and now that the question of his mortality was well and truly solved, she allowed herself to imagine spending the rest of her immortal life with him.
That thought pleased her, it pleased her a lot.
‘Stop trying to distract me with your honeyed words, you foul beast.’
Rias punctuated her teasing words with a nibble and tug on his bottom lip. Issei was giving her that look she loved so much again, one that never failed to stroke her ego and inflame her desires.
A look filled with adoration, pride and desire.
Before they completely lost themselves and ignored the metaphorical and literal dragon in the room, Issei shrugged and pulled Rias off his lap and against his side. She couldn't help but giggle at the obvious and embarrassing tenting of his boxers, but Issei spoke over her to mask his embarrassment.
‘You’re right. When I woke up my vision was filled with screens saying welcome to the Draconic Codex or whatever, version three hundred and seventy seven…’
Rias rested her head against Issei's muscular shoulder and tried to play it cool, her pale, delicate fingers tracing the line of her boyfriend's shredded abs.
So much forbidden and unique knowledge is so painfully close…
‘Mmm, that's probably a sign of how many wielders there’ve been before you.’
Issei’s eyes widened and he froze as her words sank in. ‘Huh… I guess that makes sense. Wow.’
‘Especially pre-Industrial Revolution, most wielders likely didn’t live very long.’ Knowing something old, even by devil standards was one thing, actually sitting down and doing the math in her mind was another thing entirely. Humbling.
‘That’s… grim.’
Her fingers still tracing gentle circles over Issei’s chest, Rias looked up with a loving smile. ‘Don’t worry, my love. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.’ She immediately winced when she realised the context of the past week, and hastily added, ‘permanently.’
Issei wrapped an arm around her frame and squeezed her tight. ‘Stop beating yourself up about that. You saved my life, and apparently gave me magic powers—the rest doesn’t matter, it’s just semantics.’
They shared a tender smile and sat in silence for a good ten minutes. Issei looked to be splitting his attention between scanning whatever his sacred gear was showing him, and frowning, deep in thought, before gazing down at her lovingly. Rias would have been more than happy to drift off into a peaceful sleep like that, curled up in her love’s arms, the both of them embraced by the gentle warmth of the sun’s rays shining through the window.
Her mind, her sheer, burning curiosity wouldn’t let her though.
‘Issei…’ she began in a tentative voice so as not to seem pushy, ‘there are entire fields of study that focus entirely on sacred gears—how they came to be, what they’re capable of, cataloging what each of them does. Scholars have devoted their entire lives to such an endeavour.’
Looking up, she waited to see if she had her boyfriend’s full attention before continuing. Seeing him gazing back expectantly, and with an excited flutter in her belly, she pressed on.
‘As far as the brightest minds on the subject know, the Draconic Codex is not only a matched pair, but it’s one of the oldest. That wouldn’t really matter if it weren’t for one simple fact—despite how many lives, how much money and time have gone into studying these artefacts, the Draconic Codices are still shrouded in mystery.’
Issei’s eyes were wide at the revelation, but she wasn’t done.
‘Issei, if I wanted, I could order a book right now that told me the known abilities and powers of even the most fabled sacred gears in existence. But the Draconic Codices? The only thing we know is that we know nothing.’
Rias had watched Issei’s eyes steadily widen at her proclamation, but halfway through, inexplicably, they’d begun to narrow in suspicion. There was something she didn’t understand at play here and it was driving her insane.
‘Huh… weird.’
‘Indeed,’ she continued. ‘The scholars have concluded that the power sets of the notable wielders in history were far too varied to be narrowed down into a consistent, sensical skillset. There are theories, of course, but why would I waste my breath going over such things when I have the answers staring at me in the face like a big, dumb idiot?’
Instantly, the wary look in Issei’s eyes shifted to playful, and Rias knew she’d erred.
‘Oh?’ His voice was now teasing, and Rias didn’t fight it when he rolled over and pinned her wrists to the bed. ‘Sounds like you’re desperate to know what this thing does—what’s in it for me?’
‘Whatever you want,’ she whined, struggling in his grasp. Issei had always been strong, but with him being a human and she, a devil, it wouldn’t have taken much to overpower him. Now? After having been resurrected using all of her pawn pieces? He hadn’t even done any training yet and his strength was… formidable.
Not on Koneko’s level, but enough that Rias would have to use magic if she wanted to break free.
If she wanted.
‘What’s mine is yours,’ she continued in a breathless tone, looking up at him with big, doe-like eyes and trying desperately not to let out a hysterical cackle at the dumbfounded look in his face as the words left her lips. ‘Money, power, my body…’
Issei shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs, before his eyes narrowed in suspicion. ‘Did you just cast a spell on me?’
She broke, her laughter coming straight from the belly. ‘N-no!’ she gasped, trying to regain control. ‘Not with my magic, anyway. I hold a different kind of power over you, apparently.’
Flushing in embarrassment, Issei flopped down on the bed beside her, shuffling around and resting his head on her chest, using her pancaked, unsupported breasts as a pillow.
Running her hands through his scruffy hair once more - he really needs a hair-cut—Rias frowned when she saw the weary look on her boyfriend’s face.
‘Why are you so sure the Codex is powerful if you don’t know what it does?’ His frown deepened. ‘Make it make sense to me…’
Rias, bemused by the question and the general lack of enthusiasm from Issei, answered nonetheless, though she couldn’t help the growing feeling of dread growing in her tummy.
‘As I’ve already said, scholars have spent their entire lives studying these artefacts, not just their abilities, but the histories tied to them. If the wielder of a sacred gear kills a divine being with its power, that sacred gear will forever be classed as a Longinus.’
Issei huffed in amusement. ‘Heh, Evangelion. Cute.’
Rias rolled her eyes. ‘The term predates anime, I promise.’ She batted away his retaliatory, pinching fingers and continued on from before she’d been interrupted. ‘Of all the sacred gears in existence, only thirteen have been classified as such.’
They lapsed into silence once more as Issei digested her words, their hands and fingers continuing their subconscious pinching war while the both of them remained deep in thought.
‘That’s… not really proof of anything, right? I’m an idiot, so correct me if I’m wrong, but that sounds like a logical fallacy—a genius and an idiot wielding the exact same powers can have wildly different results.’
‘You’re not an idiot,’ Rias admonished, snatching his hands in hers and putting her lips to his knuckles, blissfully ignoring the fact that she liked to tease him about being a bit of one often. ‘And that’s a fair point, though I should note the codices and their wielders are known to be responsible for the deaths of thirty-nine divine beings between them over the ages—a bit of a pattern.’
She pursed her lips as Issei lapsed deep into thought again, his eyes glazing over as he looked at his screens.
‘Issei, what’s wrong? What aren’t you telling me?’
Her boyfriend let out a long, weary sigh before running a hand through his hair and scratching at his scalp. Rias batted his hands away and took over, smiling as she instantly felt Issei relax against her.
‘I guess it makes sense for these things to remain so mysterious, the powers of the wielders so varied…’
Rias felt her heart thud with excitement. ‘Tell me…’
He let out another sigh and waved his hand in frustration. ‘There’s not much to tell, honestly. I woke up thinking I’d been Isekai’d, my vision filled with notification screens like I’m in a VRMMO—side note, that makes no freaking sense by the way if this thing is as old as you say—’
‘—you’d be surprised with how much of modern pop-culture is seeded by the Supernatural. Devils, angels, pantheons, yokai—most of it is real…’
‘Wow, more on that later, anyway, the Codex isn’t that complicated, it basically gives me access to a store I can buy power-ups from—potions, magic, artefacts, stuff about a core and body cultivation aids, it’s all kinda overwhelming, but it’s overwhelming because there are so many choices, and with all these choices, well, no wonder your scholars couldn’t nail down the specific power set…’
C-core? Cultivation aids? Are you kidding me?!
Rias was so excited she was vibrating with repressed emotions. It was all she could do to not pounce on Issei and ride him until he was cross-eyed and drained into a husk. ‘Issei, do you have any idea how incredible this is? Devils spend years, decades, generations cultivating aether to evolve and enhance their cores. If you can just… buy upgrades? Do you understand how ridiculously powerful that makes you?!’
Rias didn’t catch Issei’s pained wince at her words, her mind already racing off with the possibilities.
‘No wonder the scholars could never nail the Codices down, they’re not a power-set, not really, they’re a fast track to power!’
At Issei’s very notable lack of enthusiasm, Rias slowly turned to see her boyfriend looking miserable and apologetic. ‘I don’t understand,’ she repeated desperately, ‘this is amazing news—why do you look like your PlayStation just died?’
Issei let out a self-deprecating chuckle at her accurate description of his mood then pulled her in for a hug, her back held tight against his broad chest. ‘I get it, I’m part of your team—your peerage or whatever—now, and having access to this power sounds exciting, but—’
He let out a surprised oof when Rias flung her elbow back and nailed him in the side with bruising force she’d have never used were he still a human. Slipping out of his grip, Rias rounded on her boyfriend with an annoyed scowl, ignoring the look of surprise in his brown eyes.
‘It’s not like that, you silly fool. I already told you, if you never want to fight and grow powerful, I couldn’t care less! Whatever you want to do, I’ll support you. I’m excited for you, not because of you!’
Issei looked momentarily stunned by her proclamation, as if completely caught off-guard and chastined. At a loss for words, he just stared dumbly while Rias dared him to disagree with the intensity of her gaze.
A complex series of emotions played out like a drama on his features, and Rias refused to look away, desperate to know what he was thinking, disabuse him of the nonsense, and embrace optimism.
With a smile and a long, drawn-out sigh, Issei blinked first, his gaze flicking over to the coat rack in the corner of her room where she’d hung his repaired jacket.
Is Issei cold? Surely not, if anything, it’s really stuffy in here…
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, earnestly, recovering quickly. ‘Sometimes, I still find it hard to believe someone as amazing as you is still with an idiot like me.’ Rias nearly broke when she saw her boyfriend try to hide his shimmering eyes. ‘I’m still terrified you’ll wake up one day and realise you could do so much better, you know?’
This wasn’t the first time this issue had come up, but Rias had long since accepted that this pervasive, annoying insecurity wouldn’t be defeated by her words alone.
Though, in his defence, it had been a while since his last episode.
What brought this on?
She didn’t voice her thoughts, instead, Rias put a hand on Issei’s chest and smiled cheekily. ‘It’s no ring, but I wouldn’t invite a boyfriend into my peerage if I weren’t serious about him. Imagine how awkward that could get…’
Issei barked out a laugh, his cheeks blooming red. ‘That almost sounded like a proposal.’
Rias raised a challenging eyebrow, the smirk tugging at the corners of her lips expertly hiding how her heart fluttered at his words. ‘Well, if you keep making me wait, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands, no?’
Rias didn’t let how much she genuinely meant those words show on her face, firmly adhering to her teasing tone. A part of her was as surprised as Issei by them, by the sheer boldness—a larger part was even more surprised with how much she meant them.
Issei let out an annoyed groan and shoved a giggling Rias so hard she almost fell off the bed.
He’s not used to his new strength…
‘Can you stop soft-proposing to me, woman? For all you know, you were about to be proposed to and you just ruined it!’
Rias’ heart skipped a beat and she gaped at the now grinning Issei in shock before she launched herself at him, fingers extended like claws and delivering the most epic of tickle attacks in recorded history.
‘Help me! Somebody help me! I’m being devoured by a devil!’
Rias’ eyes lit up with a giddy, perverse desire. ‘Mmm, that’s a good idea, my love…’
With a sultry chuckle, Rias pinned Issei to the bed and almost tore off his boxers, his achingly hard cock springing free and pointing to the ceiling like a weeping flagpole. It had been too long since they’d last had sex, and all this excitement and talk of proposals had Rias smouldering with pent-up desire.
Incredibly, just as she was about to swallow his member whole, Issei put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, a pained look in his eyes.
‘As much as I’d love to do that, we didn’t finish talking about this thing in me.’ He sighed, and Rias didn’t fight it when he pulled her into his lap, his hard cock leaving a wet spot in her nighty where it pressed urgently against her. ‘I know you’re excited, but I don’t know how else to break it to you—as amazing as this codex thing supposedly is… it’s completely useless.’
Rias froze as his words registered through the lusty haze clouding her mind, then hurriedly spun around in Issei’s lap, their faces centimetres apart.
There were a thousand questions on the tip of her tongue. How? Was he sure? How could he possibly know, especially with being so new to this?
She kept a lid on them however, and allowed Issei to explain.
‘I was trying to tell you earlier before you went on your sexy little tirade—the codex sounds incredible, sure, but it’s completely useless. At least to me.’
She couldn’t hold it back anymore. Frowning, she asked, ‘Issei, what do you mean?’
Her boyfriend let out a weary sigh and buried his face in her neck before answering. ‘I already told you about the welcoming screen when I woke up? Well, that wasn’t the only thing. Not only did it tell me the name of the sacred gear and the version number, but it asked me to select a difficulty. Just like a game.’
‘So…?’ Rias asked, confused by Issei’s apprehension.
‘I don’t know what happened, but I somehow—accidentally—chose the hardest one.’
Rias’ confused, bemused frown deepened. ‘O…Kay?’
She wasn't trying to be obtuse, and Rias’s frustration was growing along with her boyfriend's at her lack of comprehension.
She hated the feeling, hated feeling… uninformed.
With an annoyed growl of frustration and cheeks as red as her hair, Issei's eyes unfocused and he started gesticulating wildly in the air. Whatever he was attempting clearly bore fruit, because he let out a cry of triumph before turning to Rias with a sheepish grin.
‘Thankfully it looks like this’ll work, it'll be easier if I just show you.’
Rias felt her pulse quicken with excitement - only for it to skip entirely as Issei’s handsome features were suddenly overlaid by a blazing, translucent screen.
Light surged between them, not harsh but radiant, its glow diffused across the air like fire seen through frosted glass.
Draconic Codex v377
Difficulty: DIVINE
Cuckold Protocol: ACTIVATED
Due to your selected difficulty, standard quests and guidance have been disabled. Your natural potential has been severely handicapped.
To accumulate Ascension Points, engage in activities that involve:
The sexual sharing of your bonded partner
Real or perceived infidelity
Acts of erotic humiliation, denial, or submission
Situations that emphasize loss of control or partner temptation
Let your lust and perversion guide you. The system rewards bold experimentation.
Your pleasure will not be prioritized. Your growth demands sacrifice.
Strive for Ascension. Endure the DIVINE Path.
…
By the time Rias finished scanning through the text, her cheeks were as inflamed as Issei’s.
Surely not…? Is this some kind of joke?
But despite Rias being desperate that this was all some kind of elaborate prank the universe—or maybe even Akeno, this was absolutely something she’d cook up—was playing on them, the words remained blazing in her vision in all their ridiculousness.
‘See?’ Issei said with a helpless gesture towards the screen. ‘Useless. There's no way I'd ever force you to do some degenerate shit just so I could get magic powers. Just thinking about it…’ Rias’ eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as Issei literally shuddered in revulsion, his features twisted into a pained grimace. ‘Gross.’
A surge of affection for her man blossomed in Rias’ chest and she wrapped Issei up in a tight hug. This was another one of Issei's surprising moments of thoughtfulness and maturity and it just made her love him even more.
Just as she squeezed Issei harder, thoughts of how she'd repay him causing fresh pulses of desire to flow through her core, her mind replayed his words in her head on repeat—like an alarm demanding her attention.
She quickly realised why, and she pulled back with a surprised look on her face.
‘Wait, what?’ Seeing Issei's look of surprise, she elaborated. ‘That's what you have a problem with? Forcing me to do ecchi stuff? Not, you know, the thought of your woman doing said stuff with other men?’
The codex had been painfully clear in what it would require of Issei—and by extension, her—should they want him to grow powerful. There was also that mysterious line implying that his potential had been somehow handicapped as well, likely forcing them to gain power through the codex, or not at all.
A result of this Divine difficulty?
Issei flushed crimson, his expression like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He sputtered, his reply sounding unconvincing to Rias’ ears.
‘T-that bothers me too, obviously.’
Apparently the look Rias was giving him conveyed her doubt and Issei quickly looked away, unable to meet her gaze.
‘It's just… pimping you out?’ He gave a vehement shake of his head. ‘Not even if it let me learn the Kamehameha.’
Rias let out an amused titter at the ridiculous claim while Issei turned away in embarrassment, muttering under his breath.
Girls, find yourself a guy who’ll give up the Kamehameha for you…
As adorable as Issei was acting, Rias still couldn't get over the shock of what she was hearing—not with the nature of the Codex, per se, but with Issei's apparent lack of interest in grasping for power when it was tantalisingly within reach.
Rias’ brother was one of the kindest, most honourable men she knew. The kind of man she’d unconsciously been holding up as the yardstick against which she measured every potential boyfriend.
Not that she’d ever admit that to anyone.
Especially her degenerate siscon of an older brother.
And yet, even he wouldn’t hesitate if a power like the Codex were dangled before him.
This, from a man who adored his wife so deeply he’d risked civil war—even the fracturing of his political faction—just to marry her.
That was the difference, wasn’t it?
Devils understood the value of power, and the cost of getting it. Sex, pride, dignity—none of it was sacred when weighed against survival or strength.
It was why her parents had been so willing and eager to sign away her freedom to such a vile piece of garbage like Riser Phenex.
It was also why promiscuity was much more common among her kind, even if Rias was monogamous and took her relationship seriously.
But humans… humans could still draw a line in the sand. And Issei had just done it. Issei’s humanity and common decency weren’t the only reason Rias loved him, but they certainly played a part.
The mere thought of cheating on her boyfriend made her stomach lurch in revolt, a shiver of disgust shooting through her, but…
It’s not cheating if we both consent to it…
Biting her lip, she let her arms drape around her boyfriend’s shoulders and made sure Issei was looking her in the eyes when she next spoke.
‘And… what if I were okay with it?’
‘Huh?’
Issei didn’t mishear, the deepening flush in his cheeks and the tenseness of his body made that abundantly clear.
Though not as clear as the throbbing member poking her backside…
‘You heard me,’ Rias purred sensually, grinding herself against his tented boxers. ‘As King, it’s my duty to help my precious peerage realise their potential. What if I wanted to help? What if I was… okay with it? Could you handle it?’
A tense, heavy silence settled between them, but Rias never broke eye-contact, never let Issei turn away in embarrassment.
Nor did her nethers break contact with his clearly excited manhood.
Issei was looking adorably trapped, desire and embarrassment warring on his features.
Does this turn him on? I mean, sure, we’ve read netorase doujin together in the past, but I never thought it was a serious kink…
Issei licked his dry lips, his eyes wide with confusion and lust. His next words came out in a raspy croak, and Rias had to try really hard not to giggle, even if Issei’s embarrassment was utterly adorable.
This wasn’t a laughing matter. It was important.
It was their relationship—to Rias, it couldn’t get more important.
‘Y-you’re serious?’
‘Only if you are,’ Rias whispered, her expression as earnest and open as his was overwhelmed and uncertain. ‘To reiterate, I’m excited for you, not because of you. I cherish you, cherish us, I wouldn’t risk that for all the power in the universe.’
She leaned in and captured his lips in a soul-searing kiss—slow, deep, and aching.
Not the playful kind they shared between teasing jabs or giggles in bed. This was the kind that said you’re mine, I want you, and I trust you with all of me. She felt the heat in his breath, the tension in his jaw—the way he clung to her like a lifeline.
As if she might slip between his fingers like a cloud of smoke.
It was a kiss that had a magic all on its own, conveying not just her feelings, but an assurance that they were unassailable. That, together, they could weather any storm.
They shared an entire evening’s worth of conversation in that brief moment in time, thoughts, feelings, insecurities addressed through passion.
This time, when they finally broke apart and Rias saw the dopey grin on Issei’s face, she couldn’t quite suppress the amused titter.
‘Wow…’
With her delicate fingers brushing through the hair on the back of his head, Rias bit her lip sensually and shrugged. ‘Buuuut…’ she continued, her words smouldering like boiled honey, ‘I also wouldn’t say no, if that was something you were comfortable with…’
Issei’s eyes fluttered closed and he inhaled deeply, basking in her scent, her presence.
Rias smirked, but didn’t push her boyfriend. As much as this was a decision for the both of them, Rias wasn’t deluded enough to think that he wasn’t the one giving up more, especially as a man. They would be playing a dangerous game—not with their relationship, but with Issei’s reputation and standing in the society he’d only just joined.
She would die before letting that hold her beloved back—but she wasn’t going to push him, either.
‘I… can’t believe I’m considering this. I can’t believe you’re okay with it…’
‘My sacrifice is not as grand as you make it out to be,’ Rias replied with a cheeky grin and a giggle. ‘You know better than anyone, my love, I’m no prude. I’m also monogamous. I only love one man, no matter how much of an idiot he is.’
But Rias was also no nun.
There was a thrill humming just beneath the surface—the kind of dangerous, delicious spark that came with exploring a boundary neither of them had touched before. The idea wasn’t unappealing—quite the opposite, if she were being honest with herself—but it wasn’t why she was doing this.
‘Tell me what you're thinking,’ Issei whispered, his voice soft but his gaze resolute, confident, sexy.
Licking her lips, Rias shrugged then pressed her forehead against his.
‘I'm not going to lie to you. The thought of having sex with a bunch of handsome strangers to help you grow stronger? All while you sit and watch, caged, humiliated and devastated…?’
Issei's eyes widened in shock at her harsh words, as if he hadn't considered the ramifications yet, not fully.
She made sure Issei was staring directly into her eyes before she continued. ‘Just imagining that? It sickens me. I feel like vomiting and crying my heart out just imagining it…’
‘Then what—’
Rias pressed her fingers to his lips to halt his words—she wasn't finished. Her gaze softened, and she reached up to brush a strand of hair from his forehead, her lips curling seductively.
‘However… the thought of having sex with a bunch of handsome strangers to help you grow stronger,’ she repeated as she gently started to grind her nethers against Issei's aching manhood, the burning need in her core almost unbearable, ‘all while you watched, bound, caged, excited… aroused?’
Rias froze, her eyes opening wide. Just for a moment. A sharp breath caught in her throat—as though she’d stumbled over the edge of something unspoken—and slipped. Her lashes fluttered, lips parting in a soft gasp that barely made it to the air between them. And then—quietly, intimately—she exhaled, long and trembling, her forehead still pressed against his. She didn’t pull away. She didn’t hide.
Did I just…?
Issei blinked. ‘Did you just…?’
Rias gave the softest laugh, breathless and a little dazed, her cheeks tinged with color. There was wonder in her expression, but something a little sheepish, too—it brought to her mind Issei’s reaction to his overeager performance the first time they were together.
The memory brought out another husky chuckle.
‘I didn’t mean to,’ she murmured. Then, after a pause, ‘Well, I wasn’t trying to.’
Issei’s wicked grin made Rias flush deeper, especially as he motioned to her still gyrating hips.
‘Could’ve fooled me…’
Rias bit her lip and gave her boyfriend a playful, admonishing slap to the chest.
She could have chased it. She could have given in—rocked her hips just a little more, let it consume her, let it ruin her composure entirely. But that wasn’t what this moment was for.
Not yet.
Her eyes found his again, dark and smouldering with certainty.
With desire.
It was a look Issei eagerly returned.
She needed to pour some cold water on this before she threw Issei down and rode him to another orgasm—despite how much she desperately wanted to, there were more important things to discuss.
Relationship defining things.
‘It’s just sex,’ she continued, matter of factly. ‘If we’re going to do this, we need to be able to compartmentalise, otherwise it poses too great a risk to something I hold above power, above everything.’
Rias didn’t turn her gaze away, she owned her pleasure, her excitement, her eagerness and arousal—she wore it proudly, like a badge of honour.
‘Can you handle that Issei? I’m not even going to entertain this unless we’re both fully on-board, not just willing, but eager.’
Her boyfriend licked his dry lips, uncertainty warring with clear arousal.
‘I’m not gonna lie to you,’ he began with a cheeky grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes, mirroring the beginning of her own, earlier proclamation, ‘I’m… really scared. This is insane. You just came all over me thinking about this, and that… makes me so horny I’m worried I’m not even thinking straight…’
Issei paused and Rias didn’t press. Boys always struggled talking about their emotions—she remembered how much of a nightmare it had been counselling Kiba after his trauma—but he was doing incredibly well so far.
He licked his lips again before continuing with a shuddering breath, clearly at war with his own emotions. ‘No matter how sexy the thought of this—’
She promised not to interrupt him, but she had to nip this in the bud before it became a thing.
‘Don’t do that.’
He paused, surprised at her interruption.
‘Call it what it is, don’t talk around it. Own it. I’m not going to kink-shame you, I love you.’
Issei gazed up at her in awe, as if drawing strength from her confidence and passionate assurances.
‘...no matter how sexy the thought of you… cuckolding me is… I’m scared.’ He winced, as if hearing himself admit that out loud somehow made him lesser instead of admirable and brave. ‘Scared you’ll… I dunno. Stop loving me? Find someone better? Finally realise you’re way out of my league?’
Rias’ face remained impassive but supportive as he tried his hardest to pour his heart out to her.
How am I supposed to prove a negative?
Rias wanted to assuage his fears, but she didn’t want to lie or coddle Issei either—and she didn’t think he’d want that either.
‘Issei, I can’t promise I won’t stop loving you, just like you can’t promise you’ll never change. You’re a devil now, we’re functionally immortal. It’ll take a while before that really sinks in, but when it does, it changes the way you’ll look at everything.’
As her words sank in, Issei’s eyes widened in alarm, as if the concept had only just truly registered.
‘What I will say is, for a while now, every thought I’ve had about the future, every dream, every plan, every scheme, every ambition, you feature in all of them.’ She realised the language she was about to use would be considered heavy by some, but Issei needed to hear it. ‘And not just as my boyfriend…’
Issei stiffened at the admission, his eyes wide with shock and—her heart fluttered—delight, but before he could overthink them and short-circuit, she leaned in close and put her lips to his ear.
‘Also, just now? As I was imagining taking on other lovers? Each one of those dirty fantasies ended with me coming back to you, seeing the look of worship in your eyes as you reclaimed me, as you restaked your claim…’
Rias shuddered against him, the very fantasies she was talking about replaying in her mind and sending her libido into overdrive. She didn’t fully share—not wanting to overwhelm her poor boyfriend—but she would.
Soon.
‘You’re… unbelievable.’
Rias pulled back and smiled, winking cheekily.
‘You love me.’
‘Yeah,’ he agreed, his eyes flashing mischievously. ‘I really do… I love you more than Shonen Jump.’
And with that, her brilliant boyfriend instantly dispelled all the tension in the room, and they both broke. In seconds, they were both gasping for breath as they collapsed into fits of laughter, a release that was sorely needed.
I don’t know what’s worse, that he thought that was a thoughtful card to get on our first anniversary, or the fact that I still have it…
‘Alright you big idiot, show me this store already. Can I at least know what all this serious talk was for?’
Issei smiled cheekily before pulling up the shop window and sharing it with her with a gesture of his hand. Rias winced as the entire room was bathed in crimson light, not unlike when she teleported.
Unlike when she teleported, Rias was made to read an entire wall of glowing green text against the blinding crimson backdrop.
‘This… is rather hard on the eyes…’
‘I know, it’s dogshit,’ Issei growled in frustration, closing the shop window with an angry wave of his hand. Rias watched with fascination as he navigated through a bunch of screens at the speed of thought until he, thankfully, found a Settings option.
Rias gaped at the staggering number of pointless options, as if the UI itself had a vendetta and was trying to bury what Issei needed.
‘Oh come on, even Visual Studio lets me theme this shit. I thought this was supposed to be an all-powerful Sacred Gear… piece of junk more like it—’
Rias felt a sense of foreboding at Issei’s borderline sacreligious words, but she immediately forgot about it when he let out a cheer at finally finding what he was looking for.
An option to change the colour scheme of the UI.
Without any kind of mouse or touch interface, Issei apparently used his will to set it so the screen would have a charcoal background and ivory text. Plain, sure, but focus-tested into the ground for a reason.
With a sigh of pleasure, Issei turned to Rias for approval. She shrugged nonchalantly, giving Issei a hand gesture that encouraged him to get on with it. Rolling his eyes, he made to hit accept when the confirmation button moved.
They both froze.
You could hear a pin drop.
Before Rias assumed Issei could hit accept again, the button moved once more.
‘What the fuck?’
Rias watched the bizarre cat and mouse game play out on the screen, with the confirmation button blinking all over the place with Issei’s focus or will attempting to chase it. Eventually, the button returned to its original position… completely greyed out.
The feeling of creeping dread from earlier returned, full force.
Neurons started firing off and making connections in Rias’ brain, a memory from her childhood coming to the fore as Issei cussed out his sacred gear.
I remember the cold marble against my feet.
The echo of Mother’s heels behind me, Father humming like he was in a cathedral instead of a gallery built into our estate.
The floor had opened beneath us like a wound—not stone, not art, but memory made solid. Two dragons, Ddraig and Albion, red and white, claw and fang, their epic struggle immortalised. Ddraig’s eyes… they were green, weren’t they? Like glass chipped from an emerald heart.
‘Can you believe this was done by hand?’ Mother had whispered, breathless. ‘Tile by tile. Enchantment by enchantment. Decades of work, just to bring this to life.’
Even then, I hated it. The excess. The self-importance. The way they saw destruction and called it beauty.
But he looked at me. Just for a moment. That dragon of mosaic. Like he knew who I was, even though I hadn’t become her yet.
A dragon of crimson and emerald…
Her eyes snapped open in shock as she was returned to the present.
‘Oh no…’
‘Wut?’
Rias’ hand stayed Issei’s wildly flailing arm, her expression deadly serious. ‘Issei, when you were given the difficulty options—that was the first time you saw the notification screens? Were you cussing them out like you are now?’
Issei froze, his face scrunched up in concentration. ‘Maybe? Not out loud though, I don’t think?’
Rias took a deep, calming breath. ‘Issei, listen to me,’ she hissed in an urgent whisper, ‘this is important. What did you say?’
‘Think,’ he corrected, but he immediately held his arms up in surrender when she gave him the look.
Rolling his eyes, he nevertheless folded and immediately settled into a thinking pose. ‘I don’t really remember, to be honest. I was a bit overwhelmed. Something about only a brain dead retard would choose this stupid Christmas-tree colour scheme—what? What’s wrong?’
Issei paused in alarm when he saw Rias bury her face in her hands.
‘It’s… you can’t have known.’ When she removed her hands, Issei was favouring her with a look of bemusement, as if she were the one who’d pissed off a divine freaking being! ‘Remember what I said about the Longinus Class sacred gears?’
‘Uber powerful, kills gods, yadda yadda—give me a break Rias, you were doing a lot of exposition dumping on me!’
Rias resisted the urge to smack Issei upside the head.
Relax. He doesn’t know…
‘Issei, some Sacred Gears, especially the powerful ones like the Longinus Class… they can become or already are sentient. You’re not to know this of course, but the Draconic Codices? They house the actual souls of the divine dragons Albion,’ she paused, then pointed to Issei, her finger like a bolt of judgement, ‘and Ddraig.’
Silence hung heavy in the air at her pronouncement until Issei finally broke, still looking bemused. ‘Are those names supposed to mean something to me?’
Before Rias could pull her hair out, Issei’s eyes widened, then narrowed into slits. ‘Wait a minute, don’t tell me. This Ddraig guy—wouldn’t happen to be an overgrown red lizard with, oh I dunno, green eyes?’
At her weary nod, Issei sighed and threw his hands up in frustration.
‘Of course he does.’
To Rias’ surprise, rather than looking afraid, Issei looked ready to release a tirade of epic proportions—given how much control the divine dragon had already shown to possess of the real world through the sacred gear, she didn’t think that would be a wise decision.
‘Issei,’ she urged desperately in an urgent hiss, ‘this proves Ddraig is aware, and he’s paying attention!’
There was no stopping her suicidal boyfriend, it seemed.
‘Great,’ he sniped, bumping Rias off his lap so he could pace along the length of her bed furiously and rant. ‘So I’ve got a perverted fucking lizard in my soul who’s apparently a little bitch and sensitive about the colour of his scales?!’
He stopped in front of her full-length, antique floor mirror, and Rias was genuinely concerned he was about to put his fist through the glass when he instead pointed a finger. Without anything to direct his anger at, Issei settled for his own reflection.
She supposed that was as good an option as any, the sacred gear resided in his soul, after all.
‘What’s the matter, big guy?’ he goaded in an annoying, babying voice, ‘does the red make you look fat?’
‘Issei!’ Rias barked out in a panicked attempt to shut him up before her idiot boyfriend got himself killed. She’d never heard of a Sacred Gear killing its own wielder, but she wouldn’t put it past the legendary dragon to somehow manage it.
‘What?!’ Issei snapped, rounding on her in a fury, his nostrils flaring angrily. ‘What more can the fuck do? He’s already handicapped my potential, whatever the fuck that means, and then he tries to twist the knife more by having my w-girlfriend cheat on me—!’
Rias’ eyebrow rose at the apparent slip and rapid correction. It wasn’t like she was opposed to being referred to as his woman, she rather liked it, in fact.
‘Calm down Issei, the joke’s on him anyway. I’d never cheat on you.’
With his cheeks already flushed in anger, Rias wasn’t allowed the delight of seeing Issei’s face heat up in embarrassment at her earnest proclamation, but still, with a head full of steam, he ploughed on.
‘You think I’m gonna let some degenerate, soul-squatting, overgrown lizard dictate my life? If we’re gonna do this cuck thing, it’s because we want it! He can go fuck himself, and if he tries to test me, not only will I never play his stupid game, but I’ll spend the rest of my—apparently immortal—life locked in a library somewhere researching on how to destroy sacred gears for good!’
Silence, aside from Issei’s heavy, panting breathing, as if he’s just finished a marathon.
‘What?’
It was only then that Rias realised she wasn’t just staring, she was eye-fucking her… incredibly sexy boyfriend. She repositioned so she was leaning against the mountain of pillows on her bed and made herself comfortable as Issei’s heavy breathing had his shredded, naked body tensing and flexing delightfully.
Hells, that was so hot…
‘Nothing, it’s just… I wish Akeno could see you right now, that was…really hot.’
Issei’s eyes narrowed and he tried desperately—adorably—not to let show how much her words had flustered him.
‘Why would she need to see me right now? Does she not think I’m sexy?’ He narrowed his eyes playfully, the anger slowly seeping out of him. ‘Did you tell her the thing I can do with my tongue? What about the g-spot slammer thrust? You love that!’
Rias laughed delightfully at Issei’s defensiveness.
‘Oh, my love, I tell her how amazing you are all the time—she just doesn’t believe,’ she teased with a sultry wink. ‘Maybe one day, I’ll let you show her your moves yourself…’
His anger, which had already been slowly evaporating, was sucked out of him quicker than if Akeno had been personally harvesting his emotionally-tinged essence.
‘Huh?’
‘You were going to show me the shop?’
‘No, not that, what did you just say?’
‘I’m not sure what you’re talking about,’ she teased, her eyes twinkling mischievously, ‘the shop?’
He cautiously approached the bed, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. Before he rejoined her, he poked two fingers at his eyes before pointing them at her, ‘I’ve got my eye on you, Devil woman.’
Rias’ smile widened, ‘Much more closely going forward, I should think.’
The teasing and suggestive lilt to her words left no room for subtlety and Issei, whose cheeks had calmed after his recent bout of anger, flushed again.
‘You’re trouble.’
‘You love it,’ she winked, but before he could join her back on the bed, Rias hopped up and rolled her eyes when Issei’s eyes zeroed in on her bouncing, unsupported breasts in the slinky nightie. ‘Come on, my love, I want to write this down…’
Rias burst out of her bedroom dragging Issei behind her. It was the middle of the afternoon and classes were still in session despite the attack on Issei—she and Sona were handling it privately. From her view of the lake, she could make out several rowing teams getting their practice in while countless more students lazed away in the warmth of the sun.
Excited to finally see what this store had to offer Issei, she threw him into her high-back, throne-like chair next to her desk and hopped on his lap, crossing her legs as she powered on her laptop.
‘What're you doin?’ she heard Issei's voice ask in confusion as she made herself comfortable.
‘I'm going to write it all down, better my screen than the, err, having to bother you every time I want to see the store.’
Issei snorted in amusement, knowing full well she'd held herself back from outright insulting the apparently sensitive and legendary beast living in his soul again.
With a—likely unnecessary—gesture, Issei allowed for her to see the screens once more, their glaring luminescence bathing her dorm in blazing crimson.
It took several moments for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, her eyes scanned over the title header—then froze.
Draconic Codex Ascension Point Shop
Level 1
Ability: Lament of the Chaste - 0 AP
Lock your manhood in chastity made of conjured Draconic Iron. Each time you earn Ascension Points (AP), receive a stacking 10% boost to further points gain permanently until the chastity cage is removed, up to a maximum of 100%
While the AP boost was undeniably invaluable, Rias’ mind refused to move past the surprisingly titillating image the description conjured—her beloved boyfriend, naked, bound, and helpless on her bed, his poor cock caged and deliciously out of his reach…
She closed her eyes, and her breath hitched. The tantalising image sharpened into focus.
Issei’s shredded, sweaty body writhed beneath her in exquisite frustration. His left arm and ankle bound to one bedpost, the right to another, folding his body open in full vulnerability. His most intimate parts were caged, utterly exposed, his testes overflowing, desperate for release, his rosebud—completely hers.
Her hips started to gyrate before she even noticed, instinctively grinding against Issei’s lap as the fantasy consumed her.
She only snapped back to reality when Issei pinched her sides. Hard.
‘Should I be worried?’
His voice was amused, not alarmed. He was teasing her—but she didn’t mind. Not after the way she’d just told him to own his kinks, rather than let them own him.
Whether this whole business had actually revealed a kink, or forced one on him, Rias was yet to decide.
‘No, my love,’ she whispered, breathless. She cast him a coy glance, her lips curling in satisfaction. ‘I promise, you’ll enjoy it very, very much…’
What it was, she didn’t need to explain. Not when her fingers were still frozen on her keyboard, the blinking cursor innocently drawing attention to the last words she'd typed.
…manhood in chastity
‘Can you get your mind out of the gutter for three seconds,’ he teased without a single shred of shame at the blatant hypocrisy, ‘we've got theorycrafting to do.’
‘I was theorycrafting,’ Rias replied primly.
‘Fantasizing about me being bound and gagged, my ass ready for your plundering, while my cock is caged is not theorycrafting you deranged, horny slut.’
It's scary how crazily accurate that was…
‘Fiiine,’ she drawled, pouting like a child as she looked at the rest of the list.
Rias’ eyes quickly scanned over the options, her fingers rapidly tapping away. She was impressed and intrigued by the options, but nothing there was truly groundbreaking.
I suppose that makes sense, it's the first level of the shop, apparently…
A dimensional storage was always amazing, but Rias could make one herself with the same functions the codex offered—though the wording heavily implied the skill could later be upgraded upon.
Dragon-based body cultivation manuals were also fascinating, though she wasn't sure how useful they would be. Each option seemed to allow Issei to cater his growth in a specific way, but devils had their own unique way to cultivate their bodies.
That is to say, through the practice of carefully flavouring one's internal aether with powerful emotions that synergized well with one's skill set.
Some choose to focus more on this than others, like Akeno, who drank up her lovers’ lust like a greedy whore. Literally.
These Dragon-based cultivation manuals seem more important and foundational though—something that'll shape the rest of Issei’s build going forward. Seeing as he can only choose one, apparently, we'll have to choose carefully…
Naturally, the magical school specialisation option made Rias insanely jealous - she couldn't wait to see the look on Akeno’s face when she heard about it either.
While, again, Issei could only pick one, being able to shape one's aether into any form of essence they choose, at the level of a prodigy? That was incredibly powerful.
She flew through the rest of the list in a flash. The options were interesting, but not something they'd focus on for now.
Then, once more, she froze when she neared the end of the list. The reaction was much more noticeable and visceral compared to the one she'd had when reading and the chastity cage, so much so that Issei instantly picked up on it.
‘What?’ he asked with concern. He'd been happy to sit in silence as she copied down the shop’s contents until then, but he couldn't keep quiet as Rias gaped at the screen, her finger shakily pointing at one of the most expensive options.
Draconic Ascension: Perfect Evolution Catalyst - Variable Cost
Refines the user's aether, purging all impurities from the core in preparation for advancement. Guarantees a flawless breakthrough for core evolution, laying an unshakable foundation for exponential growth.
‘Issei…do you have any idea how broken this is?’
‘Obviously not…’
Rias did her best to reign in her excitement. This, more than anything on the list, could help make Issei one of the most powerful beings not just in the Underworld, but all the worlds.
As far as she knew, nobody had flawless breakthroughs, the idea that one could completely purge impurities from one’s core mere fantasy…
‘Issei…wealthy noble families routinely bankrupt themselves making sure their scions have as good a leg-up as possible. It's not an exaggeration to say most of the nobility’s material wealth doesn't go towards manors, land or even weapons and artefacts…’
She pointed at the option on the glaring red screen in emphasis.
‘A perfect evolution? Purging of all impurities? That's unheard of—if you buy this before forming your own core? You'll have an advantage the likes of which even the wealthiest of devils could only dream of—and if the codex lets you rebuy this at every level? That gap will grow exponentially…’
Issei’s face scrunched up in confusion. ‘Cores, essence, impurities, Ascension…are you telling me devils grow stronger like xianxia cultivators…?’
Rias smiled with delight. Surprisingly, in their years together, their choices of fiction had never really come up beyond the realm of video games—she hadn't known Issei was a fan.
‘No, I'm telling you some enterprising and clever devils created the xianxia genre to help make the onboarding of the mortals we reincarnate less…complicated.’
Issei grinned and snorted in amusement before something occurred to him and all mirth faded from his features.
‘Your parents? Did they do this for you too?’ He hurriedly elaborated, ‘help purge your impurities or whatever, I mean.’
Rias schooled her features, her expression growing cold at the unwelcome reminder. Leaning back, she snuggled against Issei's chest to let him know it wasn't him her anger was directed at.
‘They set me up for three aether purifications before each of my first three core evolutions—if I wanted more, I was told I'd need to accept the arranged marriage.’
She didn't see it, but Rias could hear the scowl on Issei's face. ‘Assholes,’ he growled, wrapping his arms around her waist in comfort. ‘That’s basically blackmail to someone with ambitions like yours—who does that to their own kids…?’
Rias snorted in amusement at the massive understatement.
‘A lot of devils, unfortunately. In time, you’ll come to understand what being desperate for power over millennia does to an entire civilization. I haven't spoken to them since.’
‘Their loss,’ Issei replied in a dispassionate tone.
They snuggled in silence, the playful and excited mood thoroughly quashed.
It was with an alarmed voice that Issei finally broke the oppressive silence, as if the conversation about her parents reminded Issei of his own.
‘Shit, what day is it?’
‘Wednesday.’
He started in surprise and cursed again. ‘My parents must be freaking out - there's no shot they think I've been bedridden for nearly a week without calling the ambulance—shit, shit, shit, I'm surprised my mum hasn't brought in the government!’
He tried to get up, likely to find his phone, but Rias used her superior leg strength and pressed against her desk, keeping Issei trapped in the ominously creaking arm chair.
‘Relax, my love, I handled it.’
His struggling instantly ceased, and Rias reached back to blindly caress the side of his face.
‘Huh?’
‘I had Akeno cast a minor charm on them—don't worry, it's completely harmless,’ she hastily added. ‘It just makes the target more susceptible to suggestion.’
‘The fact that Akeno is a fucking psychic or some shit is the opposite of comforting, babe…’
Rias giggled and continued to caress Issei's face with a soothing, gentle touch.
‘You best learn to defend your mind then,’ she warned, both teasing and in an effort to motivate Issei to grow. ‘Mind magic is a powerful and scary field of magic—thankfully, it's completely painless if the target already trusts you. That obviously changes if they don't or the caster and target are of similar skill…’
Rias expected Issei to throw more shade at Akeno, maybe even to faux quail in his boots a little more.
She did not expect what he actually said, however.
‘Man…magic sounds so cool. Can I be one now too? A mage, I mean.’
Rias turned, not even bothering to hide her surprise.
‘I'm gonna be honest, going through that list and seeing the potential paths of growth, I would have put all my money on you using the codex to go full Goku or Kamen Rider…’
Issei didn’t respond to her remark immediately, his cheeks flushing pink and an adorable look crossing his face.
‘Can I just say, it’s really weird that I find it so hot we’re already talking about character builds? Like the fact that we need a lot of AP first is just a foregone conclusion…’
Rias turned sideways in his lap and caressed the side of his face, biting her lip sexily but making sure she saw the seriousness with which she meant her next words. ‘Say the word, and we’ll forget about all this—you’ll just be my incredibly handsome, talented, master chef…’ Rias’ eyes fluttered closed as her overactive, overstimulated mind supplied her with another fantasy, one she very much approved of. ‘I can picture it now, you, your cute bum bared in a naked apron, serving me and my guests filet mignon in red wine jus with a side of truffle mash mmm… maybe we’ll eat the slices off your body…?’
Issei’s chuckle was deep and husky, his cock reawoken and poking her in the thigh. ‘I can’t tell if you’re hungry or horny…’
Rias’ eyes fluttered open and they smouldered with desire. ‘Both,’ she purred, the two giggling when her tummy let out an adorable grumble.
Issei tilted his head from side to side, as if pained, ‘As incredible as that sounds—and I’m super curious who you’d want me naked and serving food to—I… become a wizard and flinging bolts of lighting sounds so cool!’
‘Akeno does that,’ Rias teased, popping Issei’s bubble. If he wanted to be a lightning mage, she wouldn’t stop him… though she might offer up some other suggestions to better round out her peerage’s offensive capabilities.
‘What?!’ he squawked, ‘I thought you said she was Kageyama! Some kind of scary psychic!’
Rias traced circles over his chest and offered Issei a cheeky grin. ‘She’s that too. I’ll not stop you from pursuing lightning magic if that’s what you really want… but imagine what Akeno will say if she thinks you’re copying her…’
Issei groaned and Rias’ smile widened. ‘She’ll be unbearable.’
‘That’s okay, there’s no rush, but if you want to try your hand at magic, it looks like we’ll need at least five hundred AP to get the correct body tempering manual and to specialise you in the school of your choice… that’s potentially a lot of grinding…’
Issei audibly swallowed and his grip around her waist tightened, but he didn’t look all that put out by the thought.
‘You like the sound of that, don’t you, you naughty boy,’ Rias teased, her core practically screaming for attention as her ardour grew. ‘You like the idea of me flirting with strangers to make you more powerful! You’ll be wearing the cage, of course, that boost is too broken, especially once we build up the stacks.’
Issei laughed almost hysterically, muffling the sound as he buried his face in her breast and squeezed her tight. ‘It’s so crazy, we sound like we always do when we theorycraft, except everything’s so messed up when you add in the context…’
‘Messed up, or hot?’ Rias teased, leaning in to nibble at and suckle on Issei’s ear lobe.
He loved it when she did that. Her free hand slid down his chest and grabbed his aching member, gently squeezing as she purred out her next words.
‘I can feel it, dirty boy, you love the idea of your naughty girlfriend being a kinky slut for you…’
Something in her statement caused an immediate and strange reaction from Issei, a sharp eye peering up from her cleavage and pinning her with its intensity, as if it were staring directly into her soul.
‘No…,’ he murmured distractedly, a strange tone to his voice. ‘I… don’t think I do.’
Rias blinked, the abrupt shift in the tone of the conversation almost giving her whiplash. ‘Pardon?’
‘You asked if I like the idea of my girlfriend being a kinky slut for me—I don’t think I do.’
‘Oh.’ Rias couldn’t mask all of her disappointment, but she couldn’t honestly say she was surprised. Would she have reacted any differently if the roles were reversed?
She… couldn’t honestly say.
She hid her surprise as well as she could—in her defence, given the sexually charged atmosphere over the past hour, she could have sworn they were trending towards giving this an honest try. But if Issei wasn’t on board, she had no interest in forcing it.
Besides, the Codex wasn’t going anywhere.
To be fair, Issei had been a little moody and quick to anger ever since waking and having his brain crammed with the Intro to Life as a Devil 101 crash course she'd forced on him.
Even now, Issei was regarding her with a strange look she couldn't quite decipher, and her eyes narrowed.
Was this some kind of test? Was he never going to accept the terms of the Codex?
Rias loved Issei with all her heart. Aside from Akeno—and even that was debatable—she genuinely didn't think she was closer with or knew anybody as deeply.
Not being able to read him when Issei was usually an open book to her was throwing Rias for a loop.
Is destroying the Codex even possible? We'd have to keep it a secret from everyone… especially the dragon.
She was just wondering if doing so would reverse whatever damage the Codex had done to Issei's potentiality when her thoughts were interrupted by the man in question.
Another pinch to her sides.
He knew how sensitive she was there, how much she hated when he did that. His infuriating smirk only brought back to mind her earlier fantasies of Issei bound, caged and at her delicious mercy…
Rather than be intimidated by the deranged, salacious smirk she was no-doubt favouring him with, Issei only smiled mysteriously.
‘Babe? Do me a favour? I think I saw my jacket hanging on the coat rack? Can you get it for me?’ His mysterious smile turned teasing. ‘I'd do it myself, but there's this fat ass and juicy thighs keeping me trapped here…’
She cupped the side of his face, her fingers gently tracing his cheek until they brushed over his ear. Then she pinched—hard.
‘I've killed people for less…’
He paused, then regarded her cautiously.
‘After everything you've told me today… I genuinely don't know if you're joking…’
She let Issei stew in his uncertainty—it wouldn't do to have all her mystique abolished in one exposition-heavy afternoon.
Holding out a hand, it glowed with the purple light of her Aether as she magically summoned the jacket in question.
‘You have no idea how handy it is to not have to hide things from you anymore…’
Issei returned her smirk with that mysterious smile again, his hand darting out blindly and snatching his jacket out of mid-air as it whizzed by.
I wonder if he even realises how much his twitch reflexes and senses have improved? He likely won't until we play an FPS…
‘I was gonna do this in front of my parents this weekend, but I guess that psycho angel bitch ruined that…’
What?
Rias blinked in confusion.
She saw him pull out the box, knew intellectually what it meant, but nothing made sense.
It didn’t compute at first. Rias registered the deep velvet casing, the slow, almost reverent way Issei turned it over in his fingers. Her brain tried to build a model of what she was seeing—tried to connect it with anything that made sense—but the pieces refused to fit.
Her breath hitched. Her heart misfired.
No… surely not…
‘So, uh,’ Issei began, clearly trying to sound casual and failing miserably. ‘This wasn’t—I didn’t mean for it to be right now, I mean, not like this, obviously. I had a plan. Candles. Dinner. My mum's birthday—she's gonna be devastated she missed this by the way—it was a whole… mood, you know?’
Rias’ lips parted, but no words came.
‘It’s not even that big a ring, really. But I’ve been saving. For, like, a while. It's kinda why I got the job at the restaurant, actually. I was gonna—well, I wasn’t sure how, not exactly, and then the whole “turn into a devil” thing happened and I didn’t even know if the engagement customs would be the same, or if we'd have to, I dunno, sacrifice a virgin or something, but then everything with the Codex and holy shit, you know?’
His voice was fading, muffled, as if it were coming from the bedroom, not because he was getting quieter or moving away from her, but because her world started to spin, the beat of her heart pounding in her ears.
All her focus had narrowed to the ring—a white gold band, elegant and solid, with a single carat ruby glowing like firelight, framed by a delicate halo of diamonds. It shouldn't have been possible. How could he even afford that?
Did he just say something about his job? I…I didn't catch it…
She couldn't remember, she couldn't focus.
Her entire world had focused down and fit into that tiny, velvet box.
Her vision blurred. Warm tears spilled freely down her cheeks before she even realized they’d formed.
Issei was still talking, his words tripping over themselves.
‘—just in case you’re wondering if I’m not in this for the long haul, if I might be using you or something to grow more powerful or if you’re unsure of my feelings… I, umm, ugh, fuck it, Rias, I love you, will you m-marry me?’
She kissed him.
It wasn’t desperate. It wasn’t rushed. It was slow, intense—somehow both certain and uncertain at the same time—and infused with everything she didn’t know how to say. Not at that moment, maybe not ever.
Her fingers tangled in his hair, her arms desperately wrapped around his shoulders, holding him like he might disappear, like this moment wasn’t real.
When they finally parted, Issei looked stunned—flushed, blinking, lips parted in bewildered awe.
‘Was… was that a yes? Or a maybe? Or did you just want me to stop talking?’
Rias choked on a laugh that came out more like a sob, wiping at her eyes even as more tears followed. She exhaled hard, trying to piece herself back together.
Her voice, when it came, was a whisper.
‘You have no idea what you’ve done,’ she breathed, cupping his cheek, eyes blazing with something powerful, primordial.
Issei gaped, eyes wide with terror.
She'd let the poor man stew for long enough. Wiping at her eyes, her lips quivered and she favoured him with a shaky, deliriously happy nod as the tears continued to fall.
‘You’re mine now Hyoudou Issei. Forever.’
Rias nearly lost it when she saw Issei’s lips quiver then he let out a shaky breath.
‘Okay, that w-was pretty unequivocal, but I'm a dumbass and I'm gonna need you to—’
Rias let out a joyous, watery laugh. With her cheeks starting to ache from smiling so much she nodded and pulled Issei's face against her breast. ‘Yes, my beloved, handsome idiot, I would love nothing more than to marry you. Yes.’
Issei's hands were shaking so much he struggled to slip the ring on her finger. It was gorgeous, beautiful and no doubt cost Issei a fortune. It was also a perfect fit.
There was no way Issei could have gotten her ring size and tastes so perfectly - he just wasn't wired like that.
Akeno…
She didn't know whether to be ecstatic or furious that the two most important people in her life had managed to put aside their differences and conspire against her.
I think I'll let this one slide…
Her mind was a mess. Any possibility of sitting down to rationally plan out her boyfriend's—no, her fiance's—future completely torpedoed.
‘Issei, my love, if you don't mind, I need to go find Akeno where we'll proceed to conduct the most ancient and sacred of womanly rituals—’
Issei's smile was blinding. With a simple, single word from Rias, he looked ready to take on the world. ‘You mean scream, squeal and hop around like a pair of big-tiddy baboons?’
Her sheepish, joyous grin said more than her words ever could.
‘Yes, well, after we do what we must for, shall we say, ten minutes? Give or take?’
‘I'll allow it,’ Issei nodded magnanimously before sniffing at his armpit and wincing. ‘I should probably take a shower, anyway…’
Rias' smile turned sultry and she leaned in to nibble at and whisper directly into his ear.
‘Perfect, because when I come back, we're going to make Akeno proud, do you understand? We're not leaving my bed until I wring you dry—do you know why?’
Issei licked his lips, an adorable flush on his cheeks.
‘Because you're happy, we're in love and you want to celebrate…?’
Rias’ smile widened, but instead of using her words, she only raised a teasing eyebrow.
He wasn't wrong, but she was waiting for the real answer.
Issei's flush deepened and he squirmed in his seat adorably. What made Rias' heart skip a beat and her core moisten even more however was that he didn't look uncomfortable with what he was about to say, he looked like a guilty, misbehaving child and, most importantly, excited.
‘Because that chastity cage ability is broken as fuck and we're not gonna waste any AP gains by me not wearing it…?’
Rias clung to Issei, a shudder of pleasure and raw desire shooting through her so powerful it made her knees go weak.
‘Woah, you okay?
‘I'm fine just… really horny.’
‘Hey, at least you've got to cum, my balls are about to burst here with you grinding on me non-stop!’
Rias bit her lip but didn't deny it, if anything, her smile grew wider. She leaned in close, her breath coming in hot, laboured gasps.
‘You’d best get used to that feeling, cuck…’
When she pulled back, Issei was gazing up at her in awe, his body quivering and a steady stream of his excitement leaking out of his crown.
Before she left Issei and devolved into a screaming banshee in search of her best friend, Rias paused in the door and regarded Issei with a final, steamy look.
‘Oh, and Issei…? Make sure you wash deep okay? Get right in there, you understand?’
She bit her lip, not quite able to stifle the wanton smile or needy moan that slipped from her lips.
‘...You'll need to get used to that too…’
At his shaky, embarrassed nod, Rias stopped trying to hold back her emotions. She threw her head back and let out a borderline hysterical, uncontrollably joyous cackle before almost flying out of her dorm in nothing but her slinky, sexy nighty and a gorgeous ring on her finger.