Point of View: Hajime
The runes lining the walls of the underground chamber pulsed with a rhythmic intensity, as if reacting to the growing tension in the air. Hajime watched Issei with clinical precision. Every movement the boy made was measured, every fluctuation of energy logged in his mind like an alchemist observing a volatile substance on the brink of detonation.
"Boost!" Issei shouted once more, the ruby on his gauntlet gleaming with renewed vigor.
Hajime frowned. The Boosted Gear's power was finally beginning to stabilize, but Issei's mind was still a battlefield—fear, doubt, impulses... all forming dangerous cracks in his resolve. And that made him vulnerable.
"Focus. Feel the energy. Don't fight it, but don't accept it like a gift either. You're taming a beast, not receiving a blessing," Hajime said, his voice sharp as steel.
Issei panted, drenched in sweat, his muscles trembling from the prolonged strain. With each activation, his body grew tougher—but still not enough. The presence of Ddraig was a weight on his soul he was only just beginning to comprehend.
"I'm trying...!" Issei muttered, his legs buckling.
"Try harder. Or die trying," Hajime replied without mercy.
Point of View: Kuroka
Perched in an elevated corner of the room, her tail swaying lazily, Kuroka watched the scene with a contemplative gaze. Her golden eyes lingered more on Hajime than on Issei. She knew his brutality well. It was how he shaped the world—through fire, pain, and relentless persistence.
"You're hammering the boy like raw iron, nyaa~," she said with a yawn. "But humans are flesh before they're blades."
"If he can't take it, he's not fit for what's coming," Hajime replied, never looking away.
"Oh? And what exactly is coming?"
"War. Choices. Chaos," he said, arms crossed. "The factions are going to make their move. And now that the Boosted Gear is active, it's only a matter of time before the scent of power draws in the vultures."
Point of View: Rias
In the Occult Research Club room, Rias pored over magical documents scattered across the table. Ancient seals, records on Sacred Gears, and a recent file: Hajime Nagumo. The intel on him was still limited—but disturbing. No one truly knew where he'd come from. His background looked fabricated—and expertly so.
Akeno approached with a cup of tea.
"Still trying to crack that puzzle?"
"He's not just strong. He's methodical, discreet, and... completely detached from our systems. He acts like every faction is just a temporary obstacle."
"Maybe they are, to someone like him," Akeno mused.
Rias fell silent, her gaze fixed on a map of the city marked with surveillance runes. She already knew where Hajime lived. And she felt there was more going on than just the boy named Issei.
Point of View: Hajime
By day's end, Hajime left Issei half-conscious on the reinforced training mat. The training was working. Ddraig was speaking to him more frequently, and his affinity with the dragon's power grew stronger with each session.
Kuroka silently descended to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"That's enough for today, nyaa~. He's going to break."
Hajime nodded.
"Tomorrow, we'll test his limits. The real awakening only comes when fear is crushed by necessity."
"Hmmm, and what if fear wins?"
"Then he dies," Hajime said coldly, turning away. "And I start over with someone else."
Kuroka chuckled softly but didn't argue. She knew he meant it. But she also knew that deep down, he didn't want to see the boy fail. There was something in Issei that Hajime recognized. Something he might have lost in himself.
Point of View: Issei
Lying on the ground, eyes half-shut, Issei felt the ruby on the Boosted Gear pulse like a tribal war drum. He heard Ddraig's voice—clearer now—a distant roar echoing through his soul.
"You're awakening, boy. Keep going. Grow stronger. Or be forgotten."
Issei didn't understand everything. But he understood the essential part. This wasn't just about becoming powerful anymore. It was about surviving something far greater. And even if fear tried to drag him back, there was a spark inside him that refused to die.
Point of View: Kuroka
Later that night, in the mansion's spacious bedroom, Kuroka nestled beside Hajime in bed, resting her head on his chest, eyes half-lidded.
"Will the boy make it, nyaa~?"
"He will. He's starting to understand. He has no other choice."
She purred, her tail brushing across his waist.
"And what about you, my love? Will you hold the line when the world finally finds out what we are?"
Hajime stared at the dark ceiling, face unreadable.
"I'm not hiding. I'm just waiting for the right time."
She smiled, content.
"Then I'll wait with you. Every night, nyaa~."
To be continued...