Issei Hyoudou's story picks up partway through the Azazel Cup, the tournament that closed out the original High School DxD light novels. The focus narrows onto Issei's own team, following their matches and training as the group chases the tournament's later rounds, while members of the wider Occult Research Club outside that team get less time on the page. Four volumes in, the series went on hiatus with the tournament still unresolved.