Rias was distraught.
All that planning. All that effort.
Forcing herself, forcing her friend to debase themselves in such a shameful way. Neither of them had felt themselves ready, and she knew how her friend generally felt about boys in general.
Forcing her other friend to make a contract... straining her friendship with another friend as they fought for triumph over each other.
All of it... for nothing.
The simple fact of the matter was that Issei Hyoudou could not be converted into a devil.
She had gotten his consent and used all of her remaining pieces, even if they didn't mesh with one another. If it meant he could join her peerage, she would happily use up those pieces acquiring him and his extraordinary power.
It just didn't work. Nothing did.
Not for her, and certainly not for Sona if she tried afterwards.
Sat behind her desk, Rias - now fully clothed - cupped her fingers together and her forehead against her hands. Externally, she appeared only mildly frustrated. She wore a stoic countenance, twitching every so often in displeasure as her mind ran in frantic, uproarious circles.
Akeno had also redressed herself, standing a few feet off to the side as she stared at her friend sorrowfully. She knew there wasn't anything she could say at this moment to cheer Rias up out of her depressive state.
Instead, she turned to the boy sitting down over on one of the clubroom's love sofas. If this had been a different moment not involving her friend on a personal level, she might have laughed at the awkward tension emanating from him.
The whole room had been filled with that unsettling strain after Rias's catastrophic failure to complete the ritual on Issei. Akeno could usually find a way to bring a conversation back after it took a misfortunate turn, but even she was struggling.
Finished with brewing the green tea made with her own grown leaves, Akeno moved over to fill Issei's cup. She met his gaze gingerly as she did, giving him a tender smile and making him flush before she moved over to the club leader.
Pouring the girl a cup, Akeno frowned as Rias failed to acknowledge her at all - trapped inside the damning prison of her headspace. She looked on the brink of losing it.
Hesitating to grab his own cup of tea, Issei thought of his own role in the matter. He knew the exact specifics why it had failed, but it wasn't like he could speak on anything. He was supposed to remain mostly oblivious due to him being new to the supernatural world. Rias was smart, and knew about The Flaming Sword in his possession. She would figure out quicky that he couldn't reincarnate because his newfound strength gained by wielding the holy weapon far surpassed her own.
That fact alone prevented him from joining her peerage, regardless of what either of them wanted.
Ddraig had been right before when he'd stated that his power had outgrown them. The Flaming Sword was on a whole different level - he knew that just by holding it - and he still couldn't bring out its full potential.
After the Boosted Gear and The Flaming Sword temporarily being sealed away, he thought maybe that power dynamic would have shifted back, allowing him to join her peerage. He should've known that was a bust. He might've not been able to use them right now, but that didn't mean he no longer had them.
There had been a different hope inside him that if not Rias or Sona, maybe a higher level devil could reincarnate him. He was now getting an inkling feeling that avenue might already be closed off as well. He couldn't be totally sure unless he tried, but heavy doubt had been placed.
In the case that he could, Issei still felt himself hesitant. He knew Rias and Sona well enough by now that he could join either of their peerages and things would work out. They were hot babes who were both totally cray-cray for his incomparable manliness. It would be tight if it was them, but someone else made that nervousness reappear.
They could recommend a relative, as they were both supposedly related to one of the Four Great Satans. That could work, and if they vouched for those great kings, he could put his faith in them. But then he would constantly be in the presence of the top dogs - something he had wanted to avoid.
Just as Ddraig had warned, this was escalating out of control, and it had only just begun. Maybe if he hadn't hesitated and had chosen to join Rias or Sona before pulling The Flaming Sword from the Gacha, he could have actually joined them.
The reason he put off joining either of them was because of fear. He wasn't sure if he could fully trust them at first. Everything had hit him so fast that he was second guessing everything, including his own abilities and whether or not it had all been some stupid illusion or dream.
'Damn it! If they had just busted their tops off earlier, I would have said yes! Why, cruel world?! WHY?!' Issei bit his lip petulantly, fighting away his own selfish feelings as to not make light of Rias's own.
He put the teacup to his lips and forced himself to drink. All of their moods were spoiled, but he couldn't focus on just himself. Rias had changed drastically since their little fun time inside the shower. She was so sour that his sex-obsessed brain couldn't remain worked up over it like he wanted to. Instead, he was feeling like he'd done something wrong. He was feeling more guilt than he should at being unable to join her peerage. It wasn't the same as his tremendous disappointment on missing his chance for infinite shower time play. It was a lot more than that.
The way she looked, and the disappointment she felt... Did it really affect her that much?
She was tugging on his heartstrings, and he didn't know why.
Quest Alert!
Quest: Demonic Marriage
Help Rias Gremory cancel her arranged marriage.
Rewards:
30,000 Experience Points
500,000 Yen
1x Epic Gacha Token
1x Rare Gacha Token
Time Limit: 30 Days