The Kitsune (High School DxD x OC)

Ch.24: Underworld Training (Issei)

Issei POV

As I fly atop Tannin's back, I can't help but admire the odd beauty of The Underworld.

Issei: (A few months back, if you told me that The Underworld would be filled with natural beauty, I'd have probably called you insane.)

After flying for about 30 minutes, Tannin and I made it to what he calls The Dragon Mountains. Everywhere I looked, I saw many different types of dragons. Big, small, red, blue, and many more.

Tannin: Impressive, isn't it?

Issei: Yeah... I've never seen anything like this. It's amazing!

Tannin chuckled as I continued to marvel at the sight of The Dragon Mountains. Suddenly, I felt Tannin descend down to a cliff side.

Tannin: Look, Hyoudou.

I looked to where he was pointing, and it was a tree, but what caught my attention was this weird purple fruit growing from it. It kinda looked like an apple.

Issei: What is that?

Tannin: This is the reason why I became a devil. These are Dragon Apples. Go ahead, try one.

I picked one of the Dragon Apples, and inspected it. It smelled nice, and I realized that I started to salivate a little. Without wasting anymore time, I took a bite.

Issei:... Oh wow! It's really good!

Tannin: *chuckles*

Issei: It's so sweet, and juicy! But, aren't apples supposed to be really bitter right off the tree?

Tannin: You can thank Ddraig for the taste. You being his host has altered your DNA to be part dragon. Trust me, if you weren't a dragon, they would taste really bitter.

Issei: Well, count my lucky stars. But, you said you became a devil for these apples?

Tannin: As you can see, this is the only place where the apples grow, and some dragon species rely on the apples to survive. And I doubted the devils would just hand over the territory. So I became a devil and worked my way up to high class, and eventually claimed this territory as my own.

Issei: I see, so you became a devil so you can help the other dragons who need them.

Tannin: Precisely. Anyways, we've delayed enough. Let's go to the training grounds.

I nodded and jumped back onto him. We then flew off for a few minutes until we reached a lightly forested area. Tannin landed and I jumped off of him.

Tannin: This is where we will be training for the foreseeable future.

I looked around inspecting the area. It was a pretty open area with a few trees.

Tannin: And if you are worried about destruction, don't be. The area is fueled by magic. Any damage done to the area will be fixed overnight.

Issei: That's good I suppose. So when do we start?

Tannin: Right now.

Issei: Huh--

He then shot a fireball at me, and I narrowly dodged it. Now I see what kinda training this is. I jumped towards him, and tried to punch him, but he slapped me away with his tail.

Tannin: You're going to have to do better than that if you wish to strike me, young one.

Issei: Alright then. *summons Boosted Gear* Let's go, Ddraig!