Issei Hyoudou (the Lion of Vatican)

Son of the former exorcist Gorou Hyoudou, Issei was raised in Vatican City, and like most of his family inherited the ability to wield the Holy Sword Joyeuse.

## Personality

Issei is known to be a happy, caring teenager despite his occasional rude and inconsiderate attitude. He has been prone to letting enemies accidentally escape due to him not finding the fight cool, and wanting them to be like the ones in the movies.

## History

Like all exorcists, Issei began training at a young age. Like his father, and his father before him, Issei was gifted with the ability to wield the Holy Sword Joyeuse. He spent most of his time training under Paladin Dulio Gesualdo with his father occasionally watching, and teaching him how to wield Joyeuse properly.

One day he met a boy named Felix and became great friends with the boy, and made a pact about how they were going to make the world a better place.

As time grew on Issei, awoken his sacred gear Regulus Nemea and went under extensive training with it, and earned himself the nickname 'the Lion of Vatican' a name that eventually struck fear into the hearts of Devils and Fallen Angels.

Upon hitting the age of thirteen, Issei and Felix embarked on their first mission dealing with a C-Class Stray Devil. The two boys had been separated from one another upon confronting it, and were forced to search the abandoned warehouse in hopes of finding one another. Mimicking Felix's voice, the stray devil guided Issei to her, where he was greeted by the sight of a headless Felix staring directly at him. After breaking down in a fit of rage, and despair Issei unlocked balance breaker for his sacred gear, and ruthlessly killed the stray devil with his bare hands.

Since the death of Felix, Issei had undertaken many missions alone killing strays, fallen angels, devils, and other creatures he considered evil in hopes of fulfilling their dream.

## Plot

Issei was introduced in the Vatican City's Church Gardens, a place he often visits upon returning to Vatican to admire its beauty. It was there he met a Holy Maiden and expressed his hatred towards Devil and Fallen Angels, claiming that they were nothing but sinful creatures, and how God's teachings only apply to humans, that they should forgive only humans.

Later on that day, Issei returned to his family's home, and was greeted by his injured for life father, the two of them had a heartwarming reunion, and later his father confessed his fears for him. After they had this his mother entered the household and was happy to see her son but was also upset with him for not calling them and letting them know he was okay.

Not long after this, Issei got a call from Paladin Gesualdo telling him that the infamous SS-Class Stray Devil Kuroka was in Vatican City which annoyed Issei to some degree, but he agreed to deal with her. However, before he could leave the household his mother forbade him from leaving. Stating that she is tired of the Church always taking away her baby boy, and that he has done enough for them. Which led him to reassuring her, promising that after this mission he will take some time off, and spend time with them.

After tracking down Kuroka, Issei confronted the stray devil, and had attempted ordering her to come quietly, but she ignored him multiple times by drinking her beverage very loudly. After a quick debate with the former Nekoshou the two engaged in combat, and before he could kill her a white blur came to her defense allowing her and the new arrival to escape before he could do anything.

The next day, Issei stood before the higher-ups of the Church, who were disappointed in his failure of killing or capturing the SS-Class Stray Devil Kuroka, claiming that they expected too much from him. After that Issei returned home only to be greeted by his mother, who cheerfully told him she was making his favorite meal, only for him to blow her off saying he wasn't really hungry. Not long after this, Lord Michael the Archangel of Heaven visited Issei's home, and gave the young exorcist an assignment that could benefit humanity.

Trying to put his hatred towards Devils and Fallen Angels aside, Issei Hyoudou agreed to undertake the mission, and went to Kuoh Town where he enrolled as a student at Kuoh Academy's High School.

## Powers & Abilities

**Natural-Born Holy Sword Wielder:** Issei like his father, and his father before him was born with the gift to wield any Holy Sword.

**Master Swordsman:** Issei is a prodigy with the sword, he was able to stand against Cardinal Priest Vasco Strada for a short period of time before being overwhelmed by the man.

**Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant:** Issei is also skillful when it comes to hand to hand combat, this, of course, is supplemented by his immense strength. It is said that while in his balance breaker, Righteous King of Lions, Issei has the ability of destroying skyscrapers with just a single punch.

**High Joyeuse Compatibility:** Being born of the Hyoudou bloodline, Issei can wield Joyeuse easily, it is theorized that the Hyoudou males are descendants of the first wielder, Charlemagne.

**Adept Exorcist Skills:** Issei is proficient with his abilities. He is capable of taking on High-Class Devils, and possibly eight winged Fallen Angels by himself. Due to him being an excellent fighter, he was labeled as the Lion of Vatican and can strike fear into the hearts of many low-class creatures of hell.

**Immense Combat Skills:** Issei is all around a deadly combatant, being skillful in nearly everything he is capable of holding his own for a decent amount of time. It is rumored in the Underworld that he is able to go toe to toe against the Strongest Youth.

**Immense Speed:** Issei is shown to be very fast, he is capable of outrunning low-class Knights and matching High-Class Knights.

**Immense Strength:** Due to constant training, Issei is shown to have tremendous strength, it is rumored that outside of balance breaker he could punch through stone with no problems.

**Immense Stamina:** Issei has a massive pool of stamina.

**Whip Expert**: Issei is a master when it comes to using a whip. He has the ability to conjure a whip made of Holy Fire, and use it while wielding Joyeuse.

## Equipment

**Joyeuse:** Joyeuse is one of the four Holy Swords forged through the means of alchemy and magic, said to be on par with the original Excalibur. According to legend, the original owner of the sword was the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. It is said that the sword is indestructible and that even Great Red can't destroy it.

* **Righteous Fury:** The signature power of Joyeuse. A golden beam of energy that comes down from the heavens, and incinerates whatever is in its beam. It is said that this ability was used to kill the original Lucifer, and leaves nothing but a glassed like surface.

**Templar's Armor:** An old spell that is capable of converting his priest vestments into the armor of a knight.

**Regulus Nemea:** Issei's sacred gear and best friend. Regulus Nemea is one of the thirteen Longinus which holds the spirit of a Nemean Lion, Regulus. It originally took the form of a battle axe, but after the previous host's death, Regulus appeared as a lion that reached the height of five meters. Regulus is very fond of Issei, and cares deeply for the young boy. He is capable of changing his height to fit indoors and is willing to take the brunt of powerful attacks in order to protect his partner.

* **Righteous King of Lions:** Issei's balance breaker, Issei first unlocked this at the age of thirteen, and unlike the previous hosts, his balance breaker is gold and white lion armor, while the others were gold and black. It is said that while in this form Issei can destroy skyscrapers with a single punch, and with the right amount of punches he can cause an earthquake. The armor also protects him from projectiles
* **Regulus Rex Climb Over:** Is Regulus Nemea's Breakdown the Beast. This form is where the user unleashes the full power of the Nemean Lion, like Juggernaut Drive it uses the user's lifeforce.