High School DxD

Life 3: The rebellious Heroes

“So good job on your test. Cheers.”

Sensei gulped his drink after saying that.

How much has this drunken Governor been drinking since noon...... The four of us moved to the hotel, where we were given relief from the fatigue of the test at the restaurant we reserved. At the restaurant, everyone in the Occult Research Club except Gasper and Rossweisse-san was gathered. Everyone has already started eating food. So I started filling myself immediately after seeing the gorgeously prepared food.

“How was it?”

I was asked by Rias who is sitting next to me.

“Umm yes. Both the tests were worth the time. This is all thanks to everyone who helped me. But for the practical I overdid it....”

I smashed my opponent with the power of Sekiryuutei. And I also made a hole in the test stadium.

“You don’t have to worry about it because we will pay for the damage to the broken wall. But you can’t go serious against mid-class devils if you happen to have an argument. Okay? There’s quite a difference in power between yours and theirs at this current point in time.”

.....I was warned by Rias. Yes, I am reflecting on my actions. I was shocked because I never could have imagined that there was that much of a difference between me and other low-class devils. If you look at strength, I’m a High-class devil huh. I can’t really feel it though. No, I do realize my strength. But I still can’t feel that I have a power where I can stand on equal grounds to the noble devils. I beat High-class devils like Raiser and Diodora by relying on the flow, so I never thought about how strong I am among devils. I just trained like crazy in order to make sure I wouldn’t lose against the enemies who are after me and in order to catch up to Vali. Ddraig then laughed inside me.

[Kukuku. In your case you are already abnormal by possessing me and your target is also the strongest Hakuryuukou of all time. Your target was already too high to begin with. Even so you continued to use your power, so it’s only natural that you would surpass other devils without realising it. By the end of Summer, you had already surpassed your master, Rias Gremory. That woman isn’t weak either. ---- The growth rate of Sekiryuutei was too overwhelming.]

Even so, my growth rate is slow compared to the past possessors right? That part alone makes me want to cry.

[It’s certainly slow. But comparing you who is showing a completely different growth process than that of the Sekiryuutei who came before you is a bit.... Though the key to that growth is tits....... Haaaaaa..........]

.....Sekiryuutei-dono has made a sigh. Maybe I should stop this discussion here. Then I saw a scene that made me smile.

“Here Koneko-san. You should eat this and this.”

“.....I can eat it myself even if you don’t grab it for me.”

“I’m not looking after you because I want to. Ise-sama will be sad if you are not energetic.”

“......I understand. I will eat...... Thank you.”

“No, thank you as well. If you don’t become energetic, I won’t be able to compete against you.”

I saw a conversation like that happening between Ravel and Koneko-chan. They are opening up to each other even though they still argue a lot. That is a good thing.

“......I shall look at Ddraig.”

......At the corner of the restaurant, there is Ophis who is staring at me. She was stuffing her mouth with pasta.

......If the restaurant staff finds out that she is the boss of the terrorists, serious things will happen. Obviously this is kept a secret.

It seems like Kuroka and Le Fay are also eating sweets in the corner of the restaurant. Fenrir isn’t showing itself, but its probably hiding behind Le Fay. What a skillful wolf. Well it is forbidden to bring pets inside the hotel. Wait.....the worst creature to be a pet is.....

Kuroka is an exiled-devil who is on the wanted list in the Underworld, so she hides her cat ears and tail while wearing a similar robe to the one worn by Le Fay. Though the colour is different. She is also wearing sunglasses. She’s also changing the ki flow, so people who can normally sense them won’t notice them and as a result they won’t be caught that easily. She’s also using it on Le Fay and Ophis, and that is one of the reasons why they aren’t being viewed as suspicious people.

.....Well if it’s Kuroka and them who haven’t been caught up until now, they won’t be caught here either. But I think I can understand it now. The reason why they appear in unexpected places is because they have the ability to sneak around like this. If I think back, my comrades didn’t realise it at all when they suddenly appeared at my house.

......So in that area, they are superior to us. When I was thinking about that, the drunken Sensei says this to Kiba.

“Ise. Kiba. Both of you are extraordinary even among the Gremory group.”

“You say we are......extraordinary.”

Azazel-sensei nods at Kiba’s words.

“I’m saying that you guys are young devils who hold outrageous potential. Ise doesn’t have any talent, but he is a man who possess the Sekiryuutei. He raised his power in a different way than all previous Sekiryuuteis and finally managed to awaken a power that is the total opposite to [Juggernaut-Drive]. Even if Kiba gained additional powers afterwards, your talent is very high. And both of you are still in the middle of your growth period. It’s an unimaginable talent to awaken two Balance-Breakers. On top of that both of you train with each other and are growing even stronger. ........Maybe you guys will become Ultimate-class devils before Rias even has her professional debut?”

Becoming an Ultimate-class devil before having a professional match.... I was already shocked from the talk about Mid-class promotion, so if that happens I might pass out and make bubbles come out of my mouth and be confused for 10 days. Having your servant be a Mid-class devil before your debut is abnormal, so in terms of that we might become a point of praise for Rias. Kiba then says it shyly.

“I am blessed. Right next to me the Heavenly-Dragon, Ise-kun, is there. For a training opponent I can’t ask for a better partner. And we are still in the middle of growing. Sparring against Ise-kun alone is an honour.”

How can he say such embarrassing things so openly!

“Don’t say embarrassing thing with a smiley face! ......Geez. I’m also gaining a lot from our training because my opponent is a genius technique-type like you. Since my weakpoint is technique-types.”

When I said that, Sensei shook his head.

“No. You also have another weakness. More like an exposure. The weakness of the powerful Triaina and True-Queen is stamina itself. Using either of them involves consuming great amounts of stamina and aura. Ise. Right now, how long can you maintain the True-Queen form?”

“.....The truth is, the power is unstable so there are times when the form disappears after one hit. Controlling it is very hard.”

Yes. That True-Queen is very hard to control. What is necessary for stabling the True-Queen is increasing the specs during the other Triaina forms. If I want to increase the power output and defence of my True-Queen form, it is necessary for me to continue using Triaina-Rook until I get used to it. If I want to increase the speed of True-Queen, then it’s Triaina-Knight. If it’s the cannon then it’s Triaina-Bishop. The basis for improving True-Queen is that I need to improve the specs of each of the other forms. That’s how it is made. In order to increase the strength of True-Queen, I need to train each of the Triaina pieces. The awakening of Triaina in Kyoto. The awakening of True-Queen during the Bael match. Thanks to that, the original power of Heavenly-Dragon was released and it seems like the limit of my Sacred Gear increased several fold. What’s left now is for me to train and reach even greater heights. Even if the limit of the Sacred Gear increased, since the possessor, which is me, is really weak, then I have to get there step by step.

“I have to get used to each of the forms of Triaina, and at the same time increase their powers. True-Queen is like an overall form.”

The improved results will all reflect to the True-Queen. The reason why it is unstable right now is because I still need a lot of training. I probably have to improve the usual Balance-Breaker form and Triaina forms. That’s what I realised after the fight with Sairaorg-san. It means that I’m still lacking in my training for the abilities of each of the forms. Maybe understanding that will relate to decreasing the huge stamina usage? That’s what I thought, but Sensei says something that put that idea away.

“Even if you were able to stabilise the power, it might not solve the high consumption. It’s a new power that doesn’t hurt either the body or soul, but either way the consumption is intense. It must consume more stamina and aura because it doesn’t eat away at your life span or put your body in any danger.”

So it has a high consumption because it doesn’t have the price that would cut down my lifespan. This is the answer I found by choosing a power other than Juggernaut-Drive......

Hmmmm, I need to find a way to make up for the high consumption. At this rate it will be impossible to fight in Triaina or True-Queen form during a long battle. My opponents are all legendary beings. It won’t be a problem if it is a short battle, but my opponents won’t let me defeat them right away so it will be natural for me to prepare for long battles as well.

The time limit for my usual Balance-Breaker form increased quite a lot so it won’t disappear unless something extreme happens. Though that very thing is Triaina itself. If I use a combo, it will consume a large portion of my stamina. The fatigue I get following the battle isn’t normal. But it’s better than Juggernaut-Drive, which would continue to go berserk until I die!

Then I thought about it. So I asked Sensei.

“Oh yeah. The independent Longinus that is under Sairaorg-san called Regulus can also do something like “Juggernaut-Drive”? Didn’t you tell me that Sacred Gears with strong creatures or dragons sealed inside them can do something similar to [Juggernaut-Drive]?”

“Judging from the system, it is possible. If it’s Regulus Nemea or a creature-type sealed in Sacred Gear, it will be called [Breakdown the Beast], which is written as "Beast of Domination" in Japanese. Though the Heavenly-Dragon’s Juggernaut-Drive is more powerful. That is special. Well these are very dangerous so you shouldn’t use them even if you can. Just like Juggernaut-Drive, it will drain your life force and eventually kill you after going berserk.”

Ah, so it’s the same. Then it will be hard to use.

“The Longinus need to be reported to the higher-up’s of the three great powers when they are found due to the alliance right? But Sensei didn’t know that the lion was under Sairaorg-san. Isn’t that a breach in the alliance done by the Bael side?”

I had doubts about that. The higher-ups of Heaven and the Underworld who searched and have surveillance on Longinus possessors. That lion, “Regulus Nemea” would be siding with the devil’s side so I thought it would be natural for Sirzechs-sama and Sensei to receive a report about it. I don’t think that Sairaorg-san would keep quiet about it on purpose. I started to think that there might be something behind it. Sensei then says after sighing.

“It seems like Sirzechs also didn’t know about it. It sounds like those guys from the Great-King faction told Sairaorg to hide the identity of his “Pawn”. But Sairaorg was insistent in telling the Maou about it. If he is to be the next heir of his house, then his actions will be restricted by the current head. On top of that the Great-King faction members were telling him to hide his identity completely even in the rating game. Even if he was to send it out, they told him not to reveal its identity.”

“But it came out in the end, and he revealed its identity.”

“It seems like Sairaorg reached his limit of keeping quiet about it. It seems like he was planning to use it whenever an opportunity to use it appeared. Nobody expected the last game to go like that, but it was revealed because of that. Thanks to that, the Great-King faction members are being questioned a lot by the Maou-factions you know? Though the Grigori and the Heavens also made a complaint to the devil’s side due to the alliance as well.”

---! So something like that happened during that match. For the higher-ups of the Great-King faction to tell Sairaorg-san not to use the lion..... But Sairaorg-san didn’t have a second thought about using the lion for the head to head battle. I just need to pray that it won’t turn into trouble like what happened with the Old-Maou faction. So does that mean I’m under the Maou-faction then? To put it specifically, a Longinus possessor who belongs to the Lucifer-side. Man this is a hassle! Ah, there’s one more thing I remembered after hearing about Longinus and abilities.

“.....Sensei, how about [True-Longinus]’s [Truth Idea]? Does that also have a phenomenon similar to [Juggernaut-Drive] or [Breakdown the Beast]? Does it also have a creature sealed in it?”

“......It’s not that a creature is sealed in that spear. What’s sealed inside it is like a will of “the God from the Bible”.”

---A will. That also gives an incredible image to me. Hmmm, so the ultimate spear also has an unbelievable thing hidden in it then?

“---A spear that can kill a being called God. The beginning Longinus. The God from the Bible left it in the current World. And as a human’s ability, the Sacred Gear. Though the reason for it is split between different opinions in my organisation. Something like even if God died, the believers can spread their teachings and the weapon can be used for invading since it can kill the Gods from other religions. Also something like a defence weapon for his believers in case of an attack from the Gods of other religions. Or it was just made for no particular reason. Like that there are different opinions. The Heavens don’t have a conclusion either. Either way other powerful Sacred Gears were found after that spear, and things like Longinus were defined.”

So the beginning Longinus huh. ......My Longinus was defined after that spear.

“In this age, each of the Longinus are showing different changes than in the past. We are in a flow where it’s not weird for other Longinus besides the 13 Longinus to appear, maybe a 14th or 15th Longinus could be found.”

Sensei says something like that.

.....A new Longinus might be born..... As one who has possession of a Longinus, I can understand that this would be very dangerous. They’re already dangerous to begin with, so it’s scary if more were to appear. ....From the discussion till now, it seems like they will appear as an enemy so I’m becoming frightened.

“.................”

It seems like Asia who is sitting close by is thinking about something. She hasn’t eaten much either. She has only been drinking sips of juice.

“What’s wrong Asia?”

When I talked to her, Asia says it quietly.

“.....I thought that I should understand more about the Sacred Gear.”

“Is it to increase....the healing ability?”

When I asked her, she nodded.

“I heard that Gasper-kun went to Azazel-sensei’s research institute to know more about the Sacred Gear. So I thought I should go there next.”

----!

......After that match against Bael, everyone started to face up to their powers and even Gasper who is always behind went to the Grigori in order to train himself. But Asia’s healing ability is already powerful. It shows remarkable support both at close and long-range. How many times have we been saved by it. Even so, Asia seems like she isn’t satisfied with it. She has a more serious expression than usual. Asia who is always putting on a gentle smile has strong eyes right now.

“Sensei I would like to ask you two questions. Is it possible for [Twilight Healing] to attain Balance-Breaker? Am I also able to attain Balance-Breaker? I would like to know these two answers.”

Hearing Asia’s question, Sensei took a gulp of alcohol and then opened his mouth.

“For the first question, there is. It is predicted that there is a Balance-Breaker state for Twilight Healing. It’s also “Yes” for the second question as well. If you are close to the Sekiryuutei Ise who makes lots of irregular phenomenon occur, then by training you will be able to reach it depending on how hard you work. It’s also possible to make it into a sub-species Balance-Breaker depending on your taste as well. –But Asia. Your ability has already reached perfection.”

Asia seems a bit in doubt at Sensei’s words.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s just like I said. Your healing ability is already high and mastered. Just like you can see, because of your ability Ise and the others have overcome dangerous situations countless times. I could say that you are already using your Sacred Gear to the fullest. Even comparing you with other Twilight-Healing possessors, your level of healing ability, time needed to heal and other parts are all top-notch. Even the healing from long-range shows a result that far surpasses average numbers. Even if you were to get Balance-Breaker, it will just be a scale up of those aspects.”

Sensei gave such huge praise to Asia. I also thought the same. Asia’s ability is quite high even at the current point. As long as Asia doesn’t get targeted, we can fight with relief. That’s because even if we were to be injured, we know that we can return to the battlefield as soon as we are healed by Asia. Being so highly praised by Sensei, Asia has a complicated expression instead of wanting to become stronger.

“Asia. You are the keystone of this group. A healing member is valuable and important. Out of the Gremory group..... No. Out of everyone here, you are the most important one during battle. You will know that if you ask everyone else, and you, yourself should realise that as well right?”

Asia nods at Sensei’s words.

“Then do you know what is your weakness?”

“....Is it the fact that I’m not useful besides healing?”

“No. It’s a bit different. You should just concentrate on healing. You can leave the rest to Ise and the others. But you will still be targeted. We will receive a major blow if we lose our healing support. If that happens, we would need an attacker who can protect you or the rear guard would have to defend you. That would disturb the formation and could lead to breaking the rhythm of the battle. ---Your weakness is that you don’t have a method to protect yourself. So what you should improve is the ability where you can defend yourself. .....Yeah. Maybe it would suit you to use a method like barriers, illusions, demonic-powers to summon, or even magic. If you make a pact with creatures who can act as your shield and summon them, then Ise and others don’t have to defend you. Rias. Asia made a pact with the hard to please “Sprite Dragon” right?”

Rias nods at Sensei’s question.

“Yes. It has become Asia’s familiar.”

The High-tier dragon baby that Asia caught at the forest of familiars. It plays with Asia at home quite often. When that grows, it will become the same size as old man Tannin. So it will be scary from now because it will become more than 10 meters big.

......What should we do about its food?

“Unexpectedly, maybe she has an ability that can enslave creatures. It was totally a blind spot. How about you start meeting with lots of legendary creatures and try to make pacts with them? Maybe it will go smoothly? If it’s a creature that can act as a shield.......”

Sensei started to talk by himself with enjoyment about improving Asia’s ability. But I agree that Asia summoning a creature who could become her shield would be useful. At the last group battle during the match against Bael, the reason we didn’t let Asia participate is because we didn’t have the flexibility to protect her. Since Asia would be healing us she would definitely be targeted, and we didn’t have the flexibility to both attack and defend so it would’ve been too high of a risk. If Asia can summon creatures that can act as her shield, then.... That last fight might have gone differently. Somehow since we arrived, a plan for improving everyone in the group has been established. Though there are still members who are keeping their improvement plans a secret, but the reflection we had during the Bael match will greatly influence our growth. Even Gasper and Rossweisse-san who aren’t here will return to us even stronger than before.

....I can’t lose to them either! I need to get even stronger. Since all my rivals are incredibly strong. Do my best, me! ----Then it happened right as I made a new resolve.

......! .........An uncomfortable feeling hit me. I felt a nasty sensation all over my body. The atmosphere changed immediately, and I immediately felt a sensation like I was teleported to a different place even though the scenery around me looks exactly the same.....

“...............”

Sensei also felt a sensation similar to mine, and made a serious face as he looked around the restaurant. Kiba did the same. Then there was a shadow that was moving closer to us..... It’s Kuroka. She has her cat ears and tails out, and her ears are twitching. Her outfit has changed to the usual kimono. It looked like she has a sarcastic smile.

“Arya-rya. Looks like Vali was ignored -nya. Looks like the “Bingo” came here.”

.....Vali? Bingo? The moment when Kuroka said things that I couldn’t understand.....

A familiar mist is surrounding us and it was covering the surroundings as well......

Part 2

We left the restaurant that was inside the hotel. Everyone is here including Ophis, Kuroka and her comrades as well. I started the countdown for Balance Breaker while I was running!

......There isn’t even a single person in the building! No matter how I think about it, it’s that phenomenon! It was the same as that mist I experienced twice in Kyoto! We were transported by force! He created the exact same hotel we were in before in an artificial dimension and transported just us! Xenovia who is next to me shouts.

“Ise! Is this perhaps!?”

“Yeah Xenovia. It must be. A mist I can’t forget even if I wanted to!”

The only one who can do this is the mist-user who appears in my head!

We arrived at a spacious lobby. In the lobby where there’s not a single trace of people, there are two men openly sitting on a nearby black sofa!

---! Then a fireball flew towards our direction! It’s aimed at Irina and Asia! But the fireball didn’t hit the two! Ophis acted as their shield and made the fireball vanish with ease.

....Ophis protected Asia and Irina?

“T-Thank you very much.”

“........”

Ophis didn’t react to Asia’s gratitude, but....... I looked back at the sofa.

A youth who is wearing a robe on top of a familiar school uniform, and a black haired youth who is wearing a Chinese outfit on top of the same school uniform were gazing at us. The Chinese outfit youth is tapping his spear on his shoulder while sitting down and then said it to us.

“It has been a while Sekiryuutei. And Governor Azazel. The last time we met was in Kyoto. I made my greetings right away. It’s the return of Durandal from the other day.”

“......Cao Cao!”

I spit out the guy’s name. The holy-spear wielder who has the strongest Longinus! The leader of the Hero-faction of the Khaos Brigade! The main culprit who attacked us in Kyoto! The wound I gave to his eye is gone completely.

......It was a wound where it wouldn’t be weird for him to have lost his sight.

.....There must be something about it. I should keep it in mind. But they shot a fireball at Asia and Irina all of a sudden! Is it payback for Xenovia’s attack back in Kyoto!? Cao Cao applauds.

“The match against Bael the other day was magnificent. The intense fist fight between two people wearing Balance Breaker armour. It was a fight in which people who love to battle would be ecstatic about. So I will give my praise to the Gremory team. Congratulations on being the number 1 youth devil team. They are good servants Rias Gremory. It truly is frightening.”

“Should I be honoured by being praised by one of the leaders of the terrorists? I do feel complicated. How are you doing Cao Cao?”

Rias put on a sarcastic smile while staying on maximum alert.

“Yeah I’m doing alright. It was only a short time when I saw you back in Kyoto, so this might be our first meeting. I was astonished at the sudden summoning. It certainly was a stimulating appearance.”

“Don’t say that! ........It embarrasses me even remembering about it!”

Rias puts her hands in front of her because of Cao Cao’s words and is telling him to “Stop!”. Yeah! Even if it was my fault, she appeared in Kyoto in an outrageous way! It certainly must be bad since that was their first encounter!

“So what was the reason for you making this field in another dimension and transporting us? It must be a good for nothing plot I guess?”

When Sensei asked that, Cao Cao looked behind us. He was looking at Ophis.

“Ya Ophis. I was wondering where you went with Vali, but for you to be here. I certainly didn’t anticipate that.”

Kuroka stood in front of Ophis.

“Nyahahaha, we are also shocked nya. I thought you’d head to where Vali is.”

“We sent a different team over there. They are probably battling them now.”

.............? What are they saying? I couldn’t follow either of their conversations. I do know that Vali’s team and Cao Cao’s team are against each other. While we were suspicious of the situation, Le Fay suddenly raised her hand. She made a cough and explained to us joyfully. At the same time an ash grey wolf appeared from her shadow and glared at Cao Cao.

“Well, this started from two things. The first is that Ophis-sama took great interest in Sekiryuutei, [Oppai-Dragon]-san. Vali-sama found out about it so he offered to set up a meeting between the two through his own connections.”

I know about that. That’s why Ophis made a shocking visit to my house. Le Fay had one finger up, then put up her second finger.

“The second reason is that Vali-sama got a hold of some information which said that someone is after Ophis-sama from the shadows. To find out about it, we decided to lure them out. If we are lucky we can fight directly with the people who get in our team’s way by using Ophis-sama as bait. ......So it means that---“

Le Fay shyly pointed at Cao Cao.

“Those people over there are after Ophis-sama and us, so we thought that they would take action if Vali-sama took Ophis-sama out of headquarters, and we could crush them when they came after us. But there was no reason for having Ophis-sama be in danger, so Vali-sama took Bikou-sama who disguised himself as a fake-Ophis-sama. And we took the real-Ophis-sama to [Oppai-Dragon]-san’s house.”

.....Wa-Wait a second! Hearing Le Fay, I looked at Cao Cao, Ophis and Sensei! Wait wait wait wait! I know that Vali’s team and the Hero-faction are on bad terms! I also know that Ophis is being targeted!

But the one who is after Ophis is......Cao Cao!? So does it mean that the Hero-faction is after Ophis!? W-What does this mean!? D-Don’t they all belong to the Khaos Brigade...... More like, isn’t Ophis their boss!?

All of us present, the Gremory group and the others are shocked! The ones who are calm are Sensei, Kuroka, Le Fay, Cao Cao and Georg! Cao Cao started nodding his head hearing Le Fay, and is tapping his spear on his shoulder.

“It’s Vali we are talking about. I knew that he won’t just go around taking Ophis with him. So we knew that he would be using Ophis as bait to lure us out. But we also knew that Vali won’t be using Ophis just as bait. We knew that Ophis was interested in the changes of this generation’s Hakuryuukou and Sekiryuutei. So we thought that something like this might happen so we split into two groups. One group went after Vali, while Georg and I would check on Sekiryuutei. Just as we thought, Ophis was here. So we ended up meeting each other like this.”

....I’m still confused but judging from the story, Vali tried to lure out Cao Cao without using the real Ophis but with a fake Ophis. And Cao Cao was suspicious of Vali’s movements and came here thinking that Ophis was with us! His guess was right and Ophis is standing over there!

“Cao Cao is after me?”

Ophis asks while twitching her neck.

“Yeah, Ophis. We need Ophis, but we determined that we don’t need the “current” you.”

“I do not understand. I would not lose to Cao Cao.”

“That would be the case. You are too powerful. To tell the truth, I don’t know what would happen if I took you head on. ----So let’s fight a bit.”

Cao Cao stood up and spun around his spear skilfully.

PIIIIIIIIN!

The tip of his spear opened, and a really bright light blade formed! ........It had an intense light that gave me chills like always. To us devils, it is the ultimate holy spear.

FU!

Cao Cao disappeared! ---Fast! He disappeared without making even the slightest movement!

STAB!

When he appeared, Cao Cao’s spear was thrust deeply into Ophis’s stomach!

---! A critical blow! If it was a devil, that stab would have killed it right away! Cao Cao then shouts while putting power into the spear he holds!

“—Shine, the spear that destroys Gods!”

KAAAAAAA!

At the same time he thrust his spear, enormous amounts of light were emitted!

“This is bad nya. Le Fay.”

When Kuroka said that, both she and Le Fay started to mumble something. Then a mist of darkness was created around us!

“It is a mist that greatly reduces the amount of light. It’s very dense, so please don’t breath it in! It’s poisonous to our bodies! But we won’t be able to reduce the light of the Holy-spear unless we do something like this!”

“Also it’s a double layer done by me and Le Fay nya.”

The moment Le Fay and Kuroka gave us an explanation like that, the torrents of enormous light created from the holy-spear expanded throughout the hotel!

......I understood that the light created from the holy-spear was intense even from inside the mist! If we didn’t have this mist, I wonder how much damage would we, devils, have received just from the torrents? The light of the holy-spear stops, the mist of darkness also disappears, and I looked at Cao Cao and Ophis. Ophis still had a spear pierced through her stomach. But there was no blood flowing out from her stomach and she also didn’t have any expression of pain on her face! Cao Cao takes out his spear slowly, Ophis’s stomach had a hole but there were no traces of blood. The hole disappears as if nothing happened.

.....So she didn’t take any damage? Even with the light of that holy-spear.....? Cao Cao then says it with an astonished face.

“An instant kill attack if it was a devil. I even put a lot of power in it so even other beings would vaporise...... It would have taken half of the power of one of the Gods whom are weak against this spear.”

Cao Cao then looks at me.

“Did you see that Sekiryuutei? This is Ophis. You cannot give it a critical wound even with the Ultimate Longinus. The damage went through. ----But to take down the power of infinite, is not possible even with this spear.”

Since Ophis herself is infinite, does it mean that no matter what kind of attack you do with that spear it is useless.....! So this is a dragon that represents Infinity. Cao Cao continues while tapping his spear on his shoulder.

“She won’t even fight back against me who just attacked her. The reason is simple. ---That’s because she can kill me any time she wants to. That’s why she won’t do it, even if I do something like this. Basically she’s not interested in anything besides Great-Red. Out of the Top 5 world’s strongest not including Great-Red, the strongest one is Ophis, and there is a huge gap between her and the second strongest where you could say that she is on a totally different level. This is what the embodiment of Infinity means.”

These guys..... Cao Cao is after Ophis right? Then I thought about it. ......Then what are they planning to do with this “Infinite”? Even if it is Cao Cao, it would be impossible to defeat her right? Or can he beat her if he uses Balance-Breaker or the thing called Truth-Idea.......? No, judging from how Cao Cao spoke, he’s basically saying that he can’t beat her.

Then what seems like a transport magic-circle is created below Kuroka and Le Fay! Is it a magic circle created by them!? Kuroka then says it with a smile.

“Nyahaha, we have connected it while you were doing your side show. ---Let’s do it Le Fay. It’s about time that we have to call him.”

When the ash-grey wolf, Fenrir, positioned itself on the magic-circle, the magic-circle made an intense glow and reacted!

When the light stopped, instead of Fenrir, that “guy” was standing there instead! A bishounen with dark silver hair and blue eyes.....

Vali! When I thought that the transport magic-circle was activated, instead of Fenrir, Vali appeared!

“Good work Kuroka. Le Fay. ----It’s been a while since we met face-to-face, Cao Cao.”

Cao Cao who is confronting Vali smirks at his appearance.

“Vali. This is a shocking summoning.”

Le Fay then says it while drawing a circle in the air with her rod.

“I have called Vali-sama here switching his location with Fenrir-chan.”

Vali then continues.

“I made Fenrir fight the other Hero-faction group members with Bikou and the others in my place. I had predicted that Cao Cao would be coming here. So I made sure I had insurance. ---Now, let’s finish things between us. But coming here only with Georg. Such a bold hero.”

Ah, so there are transport methods like that as well. This is my first time hearing about them. So it must be a special magic-circle that was activated by Kuroka and Le Fay? But this guy Vali, he also predicted that Cao Cao would be coming here. Cao Cao then smirks.

“Rather than being bold, I thought that it would be enough with just me and Georg.”

“Looks like you are confident Cao Cao. Does it mean you have the so-called [Dragon-Eater] as your trump card? I’m guessing it is a Sacred-Gear possessor who specialises in Dragon-slaying or a new Longinus possessor?”

Cao Cao shook his head to the sides hearing Vali’s words.

“No. That’s not it Vali. [Dragon-Eater] is the codename we gave to a being that existed already. We didn’t create it. It was already created. ---“God from the Bible” created that.”

Hearing that, the youth wearing a robe, Georg, speaks.

“Is it alright Cao Cao?”

“Yeah, it’s about time Georg. Vali is here. Ophis is here. Sekiryuutei is here. The infinite Dragon-God and the Two Heavenly-Dragons. A combination where we couldn’t ask for more. ---Let’s call it. The time for opening the jar from hell has come.”

“Roger that. ---So the time to devour the infinite has come then.”

Georg who put on a smile made a gigantic magic-circle behind him in the spacious lobby!

ZUOOOOOOOO.......

An intense vibration shook the entire hotel! A very ominous aura was emitted from the magic-circle!

.......A cold air that gave me chills. An intense pressure I had never felt before was coming from the magic-circle! A pressure that freezes both my body and soul.... I feel like a frog that is being glared at by a snake......!

[This presence is...! An overwhelming evil intent only directed at a dragon.....!]

Ddraig also seems like he felt something and his voice is trembling. Ddraig is frightened.....? What kind of being is there that can even frighten a Heavenly-Dragon, which is an embodiment of bravery.....?

Then a gigantic ominous thing started appearing from the magic-circle....! Head. Torso..... Black-wings. A cross....?

Someone was impaled into a cross. Restraint tools were intensely binding its body. There were so many restraining tools placed all over its body and there are creepy letters written on the tools! There were ones that were placed on its eyes and there were tears of blood dripping from them.

---! The moment its whole body appeared from the magic-circle, my breath stopped because of the bizarre existence. It had the lower-body of a....... Snake! No. There are scales on it. ......A skinny appearance like that of an Asian dragon! The upper-body of a fallen-angel and lower-body of a dragon! On both hands, tail, and all over its body, there were countless nails driven through! Even on its black wings!

Just looking at its appearance tells me how painful it is! ...... A pebble fallen-angel dragon......that is being restricted........?

A crucifixation done to a criminal who has done something very serious.... It looks like it is the personification of anger from the one who judged it.....

[OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.........]

A creepy voice emitted from the criminal’s mouth echoes throughout the lobby. From its mouth covered in fangs, there was blood and saliva coming out as well.

Pain. Jealousy. Suffering. Resentment. A sound that is mixed with all kinds of negative emotions. You can tell it is a being that was judged by someone who harboured great anger towards it. There was a black aura and mist coming out of the fallen-angel dragon that was spreading throughout the lobby.

.....A sensation where my skin is being poked with needles.....a disgusting sensation that covers my whole body.....

Sensei’s eyes changed and his expression changed to that of anger.

“.....T-this guy is...... To bring such a thing..... So you unsealed the seal of Cocytus.....!”

Cao Cao took a step forward and starts to speak as if he was reading a poem.

“—It says that it is the poison of God. It says it is the evil intention of God. A forbidden being that made the people in Eden eat the fruit of knowledge. The first crime that was judged by the dead God from the Bible and still continues to be in effect. [Dragon-Eater] Samael. The angel that received the curse of God who hated dragons and snakes. A dragon. Yes. A dragon whose existence was eliminated from the record.”

“----!”

Hearing the name of the restrained dragon, everyone besides me put on a shocked face.

“.....Sensei. What is that....? Even I know that it’s dangerous just by looking at it.”

I ask Sensei.

“Do you know the story of Adam and Eve?”

“Y-Yeah. I at least know about that.”

Weren’t they the first man and woman? The ones who were at the garden of Eden or something. Sensei begins to explain.

“The one who turned into a snake and made Adam and Eve eat the fruit of knowledge is that. That action brought the fury of “God from the Bible”. So God started to hate snakes and dragons to the extreme. That’s the reason why dragons are depicted as evil in many of the texts from the Church. He is a being that was made of the evil intentions of God, because of God’s hate, a being who received many kinds of poisons and curses on his body. Naturally it is impossible for God, who is sacred, to have evil intentions. That’s why it has intense poison. Not only can it extinguish dragons but it can affect other things besides dragons, so it was sealed in the depths of Cocytus. The curse it received from God is the ultimate dragon-slayer. That alone makes him an existence that is a brutal dragon-slayer.....!”

......A fallen-angel......snake......dragon.....that was hated by God......! God’s poison....! God’s evil intent......!

I understood that this thing was very dangerous just by hearing the explanation!

......What kind of monster did these guys bring! God’s evil intent and intense poison which is hatred towards dragons! Isn’t this thing a very dangerous existence to me!? Sensei then yells.

“What is the Olympian God who is in charge of the World of the dead thinking.....? ---! P-Perhaps....!”

Cao Cao smiles at Sensei’s deduction.

“Yes. We negotiated with Hades-dono. I was allowed to summon him while having many layers of restrictions on it.”

“....That bastard! He didn’t like the fact that Zeus was going to cooperate with other factions!”

Sensei spat out with hatred. So that skeleton-God lent his hand to the Hero-faction! No matter how you think about it, it is a serious issue that will bring ruckus to the alliance! He seems like he hates devils and fallen-angels but to help a terrorist! Cao Cao spins around his holy-spear and then points at us.

“So like that Azazel-dono, Vali, and Sekiryuutei. The curse he has will devour and kill dragons. He can kill dragons for certain. It’s not on the same level as the dragon-slayer holy-swords. You can’t even compare them. Ascalon is like a toothpick to him, Hyoudou Issei.”

Ascalon as a toothpick!? No. Judging from this overwhelming hatred I feel, that Samael-san is a dragon-slayer that is on a different level from my Ascalon!

“What are you planning to do by using it!? Are you trying to annihilate dragons!? ......No. You guys are trying........Ophis.......?”

Cao Cao smirks with amusement at Sensei’s words. He then clicks his fingers.

“-Devour her.”

GYUN!

Something very fast went past us! Then.....

GULP!

I heard a weird sound, it sounded like something was gulped!

When I looked around, there was a black block created at the place where Ophis was standing! A size big enough to envelop a person! So that’s what happened! From the black block, there was a tentacle growing out. When I looked at where the tentacle was leading to, it was connected to the fallen-angel dragon that was pinned to the cross! There was a very black tentacle, his tongue, growing out from his mouth!

-Samael gulped Ophis!?

I became confused at the sudden happening! But I could tell that those guys were up to no good by having Samael wrap Ophis with its tongue!

“Hey Ophis! Answer me!”

I talk to the block! But there isn’t any response from Ophis! This is bad! I’m sure this is really bad!

“Yuuto! Cut it!”

With Rias’s command, Kiba creates a holy-demonic sword in his hand and went slashing towards the black block!

-But, the black block devoured the holy-demonic sword and made the its blade disappear! Only half of the holy-demonic sword was left in Kiba’s hand!

“......It erased the holy-demonic sword? Can this black block erase an attack itself?”

Kiba created another demonic-sword and slashed it towards the tentacle, Samael’s tongue! But it achieved the same results as before! When he went to cut it, the part of the blade that touched it was erased, and the tip of the blade got split in two!

[Half Dimension!]

When Vali made the wings of light appear, Divine-Dividing, his surroundings became warped and all the things got reduced to half while making the sound of the Sacred Gear at the same time. That is Vali’s halving ability! But it didn’t have any effect on the black block or Samael’s tongue. Did he learn how to use that ability without turning into Balance-Breaker!?

“How’s this then?”

Then Vali shoots a wave of demonic power from his hand, but it was also devoured by the black block as if it was nothing. It didn’t even give any damage to the black block! It doesn’t even have a scratch or dent! It’s no use even with Vali!

“Then how about the power of destruction!”

Rias shoots it with enough demonic power to make things around her dissapear, but it didn’t do anything either! Is it stubbornly hard or does it have the power to avoid all attacks?

GULP. GULP.

While making a creepy voice, the tentacle attached to the block is getting bigger and is taking it towards Samael’s mouth. It seems like it is absorbing something from Ophis who is inside..... Wait, that’s it! Cao Cao did say “devour it” just before! Then I will just use the power of my Balance-Breaker and---

I made the Boosted Gear Scalemail appear immediately and wore it quickly! I also promoted to the usual Queen! When I was about to go hitting towards the block surrounding Ophis, Sensei stops me.

“Ise! Don’t take it on! He’s your ultimate natural enemy! He can’t be compared to Vali! That dragon must have the power to kill dragons easily! I mean, the situation is already bad since Ophis can’t even get out of it! The enemy is a dragon but don’t use Ascalon! We don’t know what will happen against the ultimate dragon-slayer!”

“Even if you say that, something terrible will happen if Ophis’s caught by them right!?”

I shout. Then Xenovia goes forward immediately and slashes down her Durandal at Samael! The absolute wave from the holy-sword goes down towards Samael....

BANG!

There was something that hit it to the side..... It’s Cao Cao’s holy spear!

“You do a good attack from the start again, Xenovia of the Durandal. But there’s no second time.”

Cao Cao clicks his fingers.

“I thought I attacked with good timing...... Is my first strike with Durandal easy to read?” Xenovia asked.

"I also think it was good timing. But since she attacked first with Durandal at Kyoto, it’s natural that they would be on alert. Cao Cao did stop it easily. But you sure like to give a hello attack don’t you, Xenovia? I won’t say anymore than this!"

Then Vali turns into his armour form while releasing white lights.

“So my opponent is Samael. On top of that two high-tier Longinus possessors. I have no complaints.”

With Vali’s word, Kuroka and Le Fay also made a battle stance. I’m not copying Vali but I also made a battle stance. The Gremory team members also did the same. Sensei also enveloped his body with the armour of Fafnir! Anyway there’s one thing I know. If attacks don’t work on the block or Samael’s tongue, then we have to hit his body! It’s absolutely dangerous to have Ophis taken by these guys of who we can’t understand what they are thinking!

“Ravel. You are a guest and my precious manager. I can’t have you dying on me, so step back.”

Ravel nods and steps back with my request. That’s good. The wife from the House of Phoenix asked us to take care of Ravel but that doesn’t include battles that involve risking her life. I promised her that “I will protect Ravel”. In the worst case scenario, I have to at least make sure Ravel escapes. Of course I’m not planning to let the others or myself die either! Looking at our battle stances, Cao Cao put on a smile of enjoyment.

“With you guys as my opponent, it will be dangerous if I don’t become serious. Since Hades only allowed us to use Samael once. Our plan will fail if we don’t decide it here. Georg! I will leave the controlling of Samael to you. I will take care of these guys.”

Georg says it while controlling Samael.

“Can you take the two-heavenly dragons, the Governor of fallen-angels, and the Gremory team by yourself?”

“I will make it happen. If I can’t do something as simple as this, then I basically have no right to hold this spear.”

Cao Cao’s spear then makes a bright light!

“---Balance Breaker.”

Saying that, something in Cao Cao’s body changes! A ring of light that gave out intense light appears behind him and 7 bowling ball sized balls floating up in the air appeared! It was a silent Balance-Breaker. Until now I have seen many types of Balance-Breaker, but this is my first time seeing something so silent and simple. Even the spear looks basically the same. Cao Cao takes a step forward. At the same time, the 7 orbs around him move as well.

“This is my [True Longinus]’s Balance-Breaker, [Polar Night Longinus Chakravartine]. ---Though it’s still incomplete.”

Seeing Cao Cao, Sensei shouts.

“---! A sub-species! The Balance-Breaker that the previous [True-Longinus] used until now was [True-Longinus Götterdämmerung]! From the name of it, are you implying that you are the ideal ruler!? Damn it! Even I don’t know what those 7 orbs are!”

“I actually want to call myself the ideal ruler of heaven. That sounds cooler right?”

I don’t understand what Cao Cao is saying. But a sub-species of the ultimate holy-spear! What kind of ability does it have!? Vali then says it after standing next to me.

“Careful. That Balance-Balance-Breaker has the ability called “Seven Treasures” and has 7 Sacred Gear abilities. So there are abilities for each orb.”

I got shocked at what he said!

“Seven!? Not two or three!?”

“Yeah seven. Each of those abilities is deadly. Though I only know three of them. That’s why it’s called the Ultimate-Longinus. There’s no doubt that he’s the strongest out of pure humans. .......Yes among humans.”

.....Even Vali says this much...... But the pressure coming out of his body is quite lower compared to Samael’s..... I was more nervous in the fight against Sairaorg-san..... But I shouldn’t let my guard down. I was almost killed by him once in Kyoto. ---With the normal state holy spear that is. Cao Cao then moves one of his hands forward. ----One of the orbs reacts and goes in front of his hand.

“One of the Seven-Treasures. Cakka Ratana.”

Saying that, the orb disappears and......

BREAK!

The sound of something being destroyed violently echoes throughout the lobby.

When I looked around, I saw that the Ex-Durandal still held by Xenovia was destroyed!

“......! My Ex-Durandal.....!”

Xenovia also couldn’t react to the sudden action, and her sword was destroyed! The Excalibur, which was made into Durandal’s sheath, was broken!

Ho-Ho-Hold on a sec! It got destroyed like that!? What did the orb that just disappeared do.....and why did Ex-Durandal get destroyed all of a suddennnnn!!

No-one could react to it and everyone was astonished at the Ex-Durandal being destroyed!

“---That is the first one. Cakka Ratana’s ability is to destroy weapons. The ones who can oppose this ability are those who are quite strong.”

Cao Cao says. Then the next moment.....

SPLASH!

There was blood spurting from Xenovia’s body...... That’s because there was a hole in her stomach.

“Gough....”

Xenovia spits out blood from her mouth and falls down! I can tell that it’s a critical wound with one glance!

“I also made the Chiyatsu Calathana change into the shape of a spear and pierced her stomach with it. If you couldn’t see that, then that means you can’t defeat me, wielder of Durandal.”

Hearing Cao Cao, everyone spread out around the scene.

“Hurry with healing Xenovia! Asia!”

Rias reacts right away and orders Asia to heal. Asia was standing dazed looking at the fallen Xenovia, she soon realises the situation and goes to Xenovia’s aid!

“Xenovia-san! Noooooooo!”

Asia started the healing while crying out loud!

......................! Bastard! This shit! You hurt Xenovia! You hurt my comrade! Both me who was enraged and.....Kiba went towards Cao Cao! Just like me, Kiba was also furious!

“Cao Caooooooo!”

“I won’t forgive you!”

Simultaneous attacks by me and Kiba! But Cao Cao easily dodged them with his holy-spear and made another orb come to his hand!

“---Itsutei Ratana.”

FU!

The orb went past us and straight towards Rias and Akeno-san! Rias and Akeno-san react to it and try to attack. But.....

“Burst!”

The orb reacts to Cao Cao’s word and it started to emit lights that envelop Rias and Akeno-san!

“Ku!”

“With something like this!”

Both of them try to attack even though they are enveloped in light.

......But Rias and Akeno only have their hands put forward......

Both of them looked at their hands with suspicious looks. They try to attack again by putting their hand forward. ----But like I thought nothing happened! .....I-Is this perhaps....!

“Itsutei Ratana completely seals the unique power women have temporarily. This also needs a certain level of strength or you won’t be able to cancel it out. ----With this, three down.”

Rias, Akeno-san and I were shocked at Cao Cao’s words! He can seal women’s powers!? If people with the strength of Rias and Akeno-san can’t oppose it, then that means Xenovia, Irina and Asia can’t either! And if we have Asia who can heal sealed, then we are over! Xenovia is currently being healed! If we have Asia get sealed, then Xenovia will die! Cao Cao then laughed loudly. He had an expression of enjoyment of this battle.

“Fufufu. Defeating all of you in this limited space. ----Fancy attacks will give a negative effect on the complicated controlling of Samael. I will protect Georg and Samael with the minimum amount of movement that is necessary while I also go straight ahead by myself! What a magnificently hard mission it is! But....”

Kuroka and Le Fay have their hands glowing with demonic-powers and magic and have them aimed at Georg and Samael! They are aiming to attack when the guard is down! Then Cao Cao’s other orb heads to that direction!

“You are in the way –nyan!”

Kuroka tries to take down the orb with her other hand!

“---Atsusa Ratana. It can teleport the person I choose.”

After Cao Cao says that, both Kuroka and Le Fay disappeared from where they were out of my sight. When I looked in a different direction Kuroka and Le Fay were there! So this is what he means by teleport! I saw something outrageous when I found out about that ability! Kuroka and Le Fay who have their hands put forward. Their hands were directed towards....Xenovia and Asia! The attacks they did were originally meant to be aimed at Georg and Samael. But because of the ability, their aim was altered! The fire in their hands can’t be stopped all of a sudden.....

“Don’t mess around! [Welsh Sonic-boost Knight]!”

[Change Star Sonic!!!!]

I changed the evil-pieces within me! I purged off the armour and went towards Asia with armour meant for high speed! I won’t let you! She’s my important Asia! With some attack like that! To take down Asia not with your own attack but with Vali-Team’s attack......!

I went in front of Asia with highspeed and acted as her shield! Asia was so concentrated on healing Xenovia that she didn’t react to the attack! Yeah, that’s not a problem! I will protect Asia! ---Though I doubt I can withstand Kuroka and Le Fay’s attack with this thin armour.....! Even so, I will protect Asia with my life!

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Along with a loud sound, both their attacks hit me without mercy! The impact and pain go through my whole body!

......My thin armour gets completely destroyed by the powerful attacks...... I spit out blood because of the intense damage I received......

“Gaha.......”

I spit out large amounts of blood.

.....Shit. “It hurts”.....doesn’t even express the pain I’m feeling...... Because of their attacks, I have my armour destroyed and took a critical wound to my body. I have black burns from my chest to my stomach. My flesh is torn and I have blood coming out of it........

......Damn it..... My weakness is the naked me....... And there’s only flesh and blood underneath the armour...... I fall down lifelessly. While falling down, I can see Cao Cao who seems to be smirking.

“Sekiryuutei. I already know your powers. It seems like you awakened to an unstable and more powerful ability in the match against Bael...... Though there are many ways to fight against it. The combo of Triaina is powerful. But there is a slight time lag when you change the evil-pieces. If I attack with the correct timing for it, I can take it down. ---I can take you down in a few moves if I find out the strategy method.”

......Bastard.......! He completely understands the Triaina and my weakness.....! If an unexpected attack was to be shot towards the defenceless Asia, I will definitely go to her aid with Triaina “Knight” that can move at high speed. And the weakness of Triaina-Knight is ........the thin armour.

Knowing that, he teleported Kuroka and Le Fay who have high magic attacks in front of Asia. He also calculated that I would appear there......

He saw through my moves just by seeing it once.......!

.....I can’t even be a challenge to him....... That is the obvious power difference between us......!

“Ise-san!”

Asia realises that I am in a critical condition, and she tries to send an aura of healing while she’s healing Xenovia. But I need to have her continue healing Xenovia!

“Don’t! Asia! .....I’m still okay. Heal Xenovia first....”

“But! Ise-san, your stomach......!”

Don’t cry Asia. It’s just that the blood isn’t stopping..... This won’t kill me........! I’m on the ground but I see a gold armour and pure white armour.

“Valiiiiiiii! Come with me!”

“Geez. I just want to fight by myself.....!”

Vali complains but heads towards Cao Cao with Sensei! It’s high speed! They closed the distance between Cao Cao immediately! The spear of light that Sensei holds and Vali’s punch covered with demonic power are released towards Cao Cao at the same time!

“A recital contest between the Governor of fallen-angels and Hakuryuukou! I can rise even higher if I can overcome this!”

Cao Cao accepts this situation happily, and dodges the high speed attack by Sensei and Vali by an inch! He can dodge that!? Cao Cao, is he really human!? He surpasses humans and super-beings!

“The armour-type Balance-Breaker that is an embodiment of power accomplishes a magnificent power-up. But...... because the power-up is too dramatic, the aura leaks out of the armour a lot! As a result, it’s easy to predict how you will attack next if I just read the flow of aura! See! Since you increase the attack of your weapons or fist, the aura concentrates on those areas!”

Cao Cao says that while dodging! ---The weakness of armour-types!? He looks at things like that!? How much of a strategy does he have against us!? Then Cao Cao who dodged their attacks has his right eye glowing in golden light!

“Do you know about the Evil-eye!? Yes, the special power that is inside the eye! I also had that planted in me! I had it replaced with the eye I lost against Sekiryuutei! It’s my new eye!”

Cao Cao who dodged both Sensei and Vali’s attack looks down. Then Sensei’s legs start to turn into stone!

“----Medusa’s eye!”

Sensei makes a noise with his tongue after realising the identity of his eye! Medusa! Even an idiot like me knows! The female monster who turns anyone into stone with her hair made from snakes! He implanted her eye in himself!? The 7 abilities, Holy-spear and Medusa’s eye! How much power does this bastard, Cao Cao have!?

STAB!

The holy-spear pierces Sensei’s stomach along with a nasty sound. The golden armour crumbled easily and Sensei’s body spurt out blood!

“......Guha! .......What is this insane power he has.......!”

Sensei falls to the ground while coughing out blood. Cao Cao says it while pulling out his spear.

“Well I did fight with you once so I know how to deal with you. ---The weakness of that artificial Sacred Gear is that it can’t reflect the power of Fafnir to you.”

“Azazel! Damn you Cao Caoooooo!”

Vali who became enraged by Sensei being taken down releases an especially large block of demonic powers towards Cao Cao!

“You were abandoned by your parents because they thought you were a monster, and the one who picked you up and taught you how to use your power was Governor Azazel wasn’t it!? Are you enraged because the life saver who raised you got taken down!?”

The demonic-power shot released by Vali! Even if it’s Cao Cao, if he gets hit by it directly....! But one of the orbs went flying towards his shot!

“---Mani Ratana. It can release the attack directed at me to someone else. Vali. Your demonic-power is enormous. If I get hit, I will die. Guarding against it is also hard. ---But there is a way to ward it off.”

Vali’s demonic shot got absorbed by the whirlwind created in front of the orb!

The whirlwind disappeared after absorbing all of it, and a new whirlwind appeared in front of Koneko-chan! Hold on a sec! From Cao Cao’s explanation before he can redirect an attack aimed at him to someone else......! Which means.....

Shit! Move! Move it, my bodyyyyyyyy! While dripping blood I got up while putting strength in my legs. But....... Gough!

I puked out blood from my mouth and fell down! From the new whirlwind, Vali’s demonic shot that was absorbed before is released! The powerful demonic shot was redirected towards Koneko-chan!

“Idiot! Why aren’t you moving Shirone!”

Kuroka screams and goes between Koneko-chan and Vali’s attack, to become her shield.....

BAAAAAAAANG!

The sound of the explosion echoes throughout the lobby! Kuroka received a direct hit from Vali’s shot that was redirected by Cao Cao towards Koneko-chan. Kuroka falls while bleeding and has smoke coming out. Koneko-chan embraces her body right away.

“......W-What were you standing all airheaded for.....”

Kuroka says that with a voice that almost sounds like it is about to disappear.

“.....Nee.....Nee-sama!”

“Cao Cao, you took down my comrade with my own hands......!”

Vali’s body is enveloped with an aura filled with rage! It looks like his anger is rising even more! It’s my first time seeing him get mad this much! And the cause for that is Sensei and Kuroka who were beaten!

“Vali. You think too deeply about your comrades. You look exactly the same as the Sekiryuutei over there who is pathetically on the floor. ----When did the two-heavenly dragons become that weak? Also I know that you can’t grasp my ability because you have only seen a few of my abilities before. ----That’s why I attacked with the Seven-Treasure ability that I haven’t shown you on purpose. You should be glad. With this, the only one who knows all 7 abilities is you.”

“Then I will also show you! I, the one who is about to awaken! The Two-Heavenly dragons that.....”

That bastard Vali! He started saying the chant for the “Juggernaut Drive”. Cao Cao then shouts at Georg as if he realised it.

“Georg. Juggernaut-Drive might destroy this artificial space!”

“I know.------Samael!”

Georg put his hand forward and created a magic-circle. Reacting to that, the restraint on Samael’s right hand comes off!

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

While making a creepy cry, Samael’s right hand is directed at Vali!

BUUUUUUN!

Vali is enveloped by a black thing at the same time the air rumbles! It looks like the black block that is enveloping Ophis!

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

When Samael howled, the black block bursts!

BASHUUUN!

At the same time that the block bursts, Vali also gets released. ---But his armour also bursted along with the block, and his body is covered with lots of blood!

“........Gough!”

Vali falls to the floor of the lobby!

You must be kidding me! That Vali......! That Hakuryuukou.....! My ultimate rival was taken down without doing anything! Is that how dangerous that “Dragon-Eater” monster Samael is!? Looking at Vali who is on the floor, Cao Cao makes a sigh.

“How is it Vali? The taste of God’s poison? It’s something that is too much for a dragon right? If you were to use Juggernaut-Drive here and rampage, it will affect the control of Samael so I will have it finished here then. I’m just a weak human, so I can only do attacks aiming for peoples weak points. ----My bad, Vali.”

“.....Cao Cao.....!”

Vali looks up at Cao Cao with hatred.

“Even that Ophis can’t do anything against Samael. Samael was the only natural enemy for Ophis. Looks like our prediction was correct.”

Cao Cao says it while tapping his shoulder with his spear. The black block enveloping Ophis. The tentacle still looks like it is absorbing something from Ophis!

“Ummm, so how many are down with this? With Sekiryuutei, Hakuryuukou, Governor Azazel defeated, the big threats are down. I would say the only ones left are Kiba of the Holy-demonic sword, Michael’s angel, and Le Fay.”

“............”

Le Fay doesn’t know what to do in front of Cao Cao’s overwhelming power. Irina also shed tears of anger while holding on to the sword of light.

“......How dare you! Xenovia! Ise-kun! My comrades!”

“You can’t Irina! If you go recklessly, you will get killed!”

Rias stops Irina who seemed like she was going ahead without thinking.

“If we don’t do something about the Seven-Treasures, then all of our attacks will be countered back at us. The seven orbs have the same size and shape, so it’s hard to tell which one he will be using and it will be even more difficult if he used more than one. If he was to use the abilities at the same time then..... It’s my first time confronting an ability which is so hard to read like this. If he created an ability including about that, then he is a fearful prodigy. –He’s someone who can take down Ise and others easily. He’s really a strong foe who researched about us that makes me panic so much.....!”

Rias seems to have a grasp of the situation. Yes. We were defeated by those orbs with unique abilities. On top of that you add Cao Cao’s physical ability and Medusa’s eye, and he showed a combo that surpasses terrifying.

“Ise-san! Healing for Xenovia-san is done! Next is Ise-san!”

Asia comes to me but I told her “Take care of Kuroka first”. She was troubled at first, but she nods her head and went to Kuroka.

.....That bastard. He doesn’t even try to attack Asia who is healing the others. He knows that his victory isn’t going to change.

GIIIIIIN!

Then the sound of metal colliding echoes through out the lobby! When I looked, Kiba was attacking Cao Cao with a Holy-demonic sword! Cao Cao easily blocks the holy-demonic sword with his holy-spear.

“You are too strong! But cutting you at least once is my pride as a swordsman!”

“Nice sword Kiba Yuuto. A talent that is close to that of Seigfried. To tell you the truth, the only one who can fight against me without having any effect is you. It doesn’t have any absolute power, but a Holy-demonic sword that could be used in any sort of different situation will be troublesome if trained. ----But if it is you who is still growing, then I can beat you easily.”

Cao Cao swings his spear to the side. Kiba jumps to the back quickly. He made the holy-demonic sword disappear and made a holy-sword instead! He instantly made dragon-knight troopers and made them head towards Cao Cao!

“A new Balance-Breaker! Please let me see it! It will become good data!”

Cao Cao who is wildly overjoyed starts to destroy the dragon-knight troopers by controlling the orbs by will! It’s like the orb of destruction Sirzechs-sama uses! The effect is different but he is controlling it similarly by moving it around and attacking his opponent! Kiba makes a stance as if he is protecting us.

......I’m sorry pal. The only strong guy left who can still move is you now. Cao Cao makes his stance with his spear against Kiba. But he shook his head and lowered his spear.

“-There’s no point. I understood the trait immediately. Putting the speed aside, it can’t reflect your techniques right? It’s a good move. You should increase it even more.”

Cao Cao says that while making a sigh! Hearing that, Kiba had an expression of anger. A Knight who was wielding his sword to protect his comrades. But the enemy didn’t care about it. Is there any worse disgrace than this? The shame Kiba received as a Knight, it’s something I can’t possibly even begin to understand. I was also pissed. That guy made fun of my pal......our Knight!

“How much were you able to take?”

Cao Cao asks Georg.

“.....More than three-quarters. I would say most of it. I won’t be able to connect Samael to the present world more than this.”

Behind Georg who said that, the magic-circle that is making Samael appear is losing it’s light.

.....So there is a time limit for making that monster appear here?

Cao Cao nods at Georg’s report.

“Excellent. That’s enough.”

Cao Cao clicks his fingers once again. Then the black block covering Ophis burst. The tongue that was connected to it returns to Samael’s mouth. Samael sinks into the magic-circle as he had fulfilled his role.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOO........”

The Ultimate Dragon-slayer that even took down Vali easily disappears into the magic circle while making a cry of anguish. The magic-circle also disappears.

Ophis who was released from it looks like she did before. But that attack by Samael wasn’t meant to make Ophis disappear.

Then what happened inside that block? Ophis looks at Cao Cao.

“My power was taken. This is what Cao Cao aimed for?”

W-What......? We became shocked at the astonishing phrase but Cao Cao just smiled happily.

“Yeah, that’s right. Ophis. We wanted to put you underneath us and use your power. But having you do as we wish is very hard. So we changed our mind.”

Cao Cao points the tip of the holy-spear to the sky.

“We will take your power and create a new “Uroboros”.”

Sensei then says it while puking blood.

“---! .....I see! You used Samael to trim down Ophis’s power and give birth to “it” by using the power you took...... The new Ophis.”

Cao Cao nods at Sensei’s statement.

“That’s exactly right, Governor. We want an Uroboros that does as we command. Truth is, Great-Red isn’t a being that is that important to us. This plan all began because we are tired of pleasing her with it. And we were able to challenge and test the ideal of the Hero-faction about challenging the superior being of “Can we defeat the infinite being and obtain it?”.”

“.....Splendid. For you to take down the infinite being in a way like this.”

“No, Governor. This is different from taking it down. Actually we do need the symbol to gather strength. In that part, Ophis was excellent. She became a propaganda tool and gathered those with strength that made a force like that. But using the Dragon-God whom we can’t read what she’s thinking as our puppet isn’t good.”

“......Sounds like a human. It definitely is a negative way of thinking like that of a human.”

“I’m very honoured with your compliment. ---Yes, I am a human.”

Cao Cao smiled at Sensei’s words.

.....A new Ophis? Creating a new Ophis....with the power Samael took from Ophis.....?

Georg looked at us who are very beaten down.

“Cao Cao. If it is now, can’t you finish Vali and Hyoudou Issei off?”

“You are right. It’s good to finish them off when we can..... Both are increasing their power in an impossible way. In the future, they will become more troublesome dragons than Ophis. But lately I’m thinking that it is a waste..... I can understand why the leaders of each faction want to look over the two-heavenly dragons. ---Only at this generation, the way of their growth is too abnormal. That also includes the people related to both of them.... They are beings that are very rare in terms of data. Perhaps the ones who will unleash the full power within the Sacred Gear is not us, but rather them.”

Cao Cao says that..... He then makes the orbs and ring behind him disappear. He turns around and tries to leave. He isn’t in a Balance-Breaker form anymore!

“Actually, I will stop. Georg. Where is the power of Ophis taken by Samael supposed to be transported?”

“I made the equation during the summoning so it will be sent to the research facility at the main headquarters Cao Cao.”

“I see. I will be returning first then.”

-! He’s planing to go back!? Vali stood up while shedding blood throughout his whole body!

“.....Cao Cao.....why aren’t you killing us.....? If it is you in Balance-Breaker, you can terminate everyone here..... If you use the ability to nullify women’s ability and use it on Asia Argento, then that would have completely finished off the Gremory team.”

Cao Cao stops and says it.

“I made the plan along with taking you guys down without killing you...... Aren’t you satisfied with it? To tell you the truth, the Balance-Breaker of the holy-spear still needs lots of tunning. That’s why I used this occasion to see its strong points and weak points.”

“.....You sure look down on us.”

“Vali, isn’t that the same as you? You also love doing things like that.”

Cao Cao then points his thumb to himself.

“Hyoudou Issei of Sekiryuutei. It doesn’t matter how many years it takes. Rise up to the level where you can fight me. In the future there are less than a dozen people who can have the ultimate Sacred Gear fight including you and Vali. ---No matter what age, the ones Heroes want to challenge in decisive battles are the Maou or legendary dragons.”

---! Bring it..... No matter how much of a gap there is between us right now, I will reach up to your level one day! Cao Cao then says it to Georg.

“Georg. Call the groups of Grim Reapers. Hades is after the weakened Ophis. .....Also the swapping transportation that was done by the guys from Vali team before. Can you try that. Can you transport me and swap me with Seigfreed? I will leave the rest to Seigfreed.”

“I only saw it once so I won’t know if it will work smoothly. But I will try it.”

“To be expected from the descendant of that professor, Georg Faust, who made a pact with the legendary devil Mephistopheles.”

“......My ancestor is so great that it puts too much pressure on me. Anyway, roger that Cao Cao. ......Also about the information I gained before......”

Georg passes on a paper to Cao Cao with a serious face. Cao Cao’s eyes become sharper after seeing that.

“.....I see. So this is the way the Old-Maou gives his gratitude for saving him.... No, I knew it from the start. Well, he did cooperate with us enough.”

.....Did something happen? From their atmosphere it seems like something they didn’t predict happened...... After their conversation, Georg goes off somewhere using a magic-circle. Cao Cao then turns to us.

“Georg went outside the hotel. He’s preparing for the swapping transportation between me and Seigfreed.”

Swapping transportation. The transportation used on Fenrir to swap places with Vali. Is Georg trying to do it by himself after seeing Le Fay and Kuroka doing it together only once.....? Cao Cao then says it to us.

“Very well. Let’s play a game Vali team and Gremory team. Soon a group of Grim Reapers will be coming here on Hades’s orders to retrieve the weakened Ophis over there. I will also have Seigfreed from my team participate in it as well. The key point of this game is whether or not all of you can get out of here safely. We won’t know what will happen when Hades captures that Ophis. –Now...can you get out of here while protecting Ophis with your lives? Please challenge it. I want the Two-Heavenly dragons to survive but I have no intention of enforcing it to the Grim Reapers and my comrades. I think it is more suitable to fight those who overcome a crisis.”

Saying just that, Cao Cao disappears.

.......Game.....? He sure is fucking around.....! I couldn’t keep my anger down towards Cao Cao who has been looking down on us.

Part 3

“There were Grim Reapers in the car park. There’s quite a large number of them.”

Kiba who went to take a look came back to the hotel room where we were staying on stand-by.

“......That bastard Hades! He’s seriously making a move!”

Sensei spat out with disgust.

After the fight with Cao Cao, we the Gremory team who had many injured people, Irina, Sensei, Vali, Kuroka, Le Fay, and Ophis were on the upper floor of the hotel located in the artificial space.

The hotel was sixty stories high. We moved to the middle of the hotel, which is the thirtieth floor, and covered the whole floor with many of Le Fay’s sturdy barriers in order to use it as our base. If she wanted to, she could have put defensive barriers on the whole area, but in exchange for having a certain amount of defence a single floor was the limit. We had the injured resting in a separate room on the same floor waiting for Asia’s healing. Me, Xenovia and Sensei who had been injured are now completely healed. Kuroka has also been healed but she is resting in another room. Koneko-chan and Ravel are looking after Kuroka. Vali had his wounds healed but his curse wasn’t able to be removed, so he was enduring the intense pain in another room.

.....According to Le Fay, she tried using dispell on his curse, but Samael’s curse was simply too powerful. As a result we learned it couldn’t be removed that easily. He had received the best dispell there is, so all he could do now was to wait for the curse to wear off naturally. Meanwhile Vali would endure the constant pain of the curse.

.....Even Vali ended up in such a horrible condition. If I had received the curse.....I think I would have died. Asia was sleeping in the room next door because she seemed to be tired after continuously healing the injured. Even in a situation like this we still wanted her to have a chance to rest. But it looks like we need to make a plan so we can get out of here.

According to Sensei, this dimension was created by Georg who possesses the Sacred Gear Dimension Lost. Dimension Lost’s Balance-Breaker, “Dimension Create”, could use the mist to create a barrier. When Asia was kidnapped by Diodora, he made a similar thing. Including this hotel, he also created the car park and the nearby scenery as well. I heard that the space he recreated in the town of Kyoto where it included the surroundings of Arashima and having the Nijoujou at the centre was also because of that Balance-Breaker. Of course he stole the devils technology for the game fields for the Rating Game and used it to create it. It’s amazing how it could recreate the interior of the hotel with so much detail. The sensation of the bed felt real. But electric powered objects such as televisions didn’t work. The water also didn’t come out of the tap and the fridge was also empty. So there were things he could recreate and things he couldn’t. Apart from the members resting and those taking care of them, everyone else is gathered in this room. Le Fay sighed.

“An official notification came from the main headquarters. To explain it simply, it said “The Vali team tried to do a coup d’état by deceiving Ophis and making the organisation their own. Ophis was rescued safely by the Hero-faction. Terminate any remaining members of the Vali team when found”. That’s how it is.”

We’re shocked at Le Fay’s report. Are you serious! So they were told that Vali deceived Ophis! And she was rescued safely? No, no, the real one is here!

.......Perhaps the one that was absorbed by Samael is the “real” one to them, and the one here was either the useless or fake one. They really are terrible......!

“So it turned out like that. The Vali team is not only being targeted by the Hero-faction, but things turned out like this because they were trying to grant Ophis’s wish. What hardship.”

Sensei also sighed. So the Vali-team are being treated as traitors, and are now being targeted. Maybe the price of doing what they felt like finally came to them. Though I couldn’t forgive the things the Hero-faction were doing.

Le Fay then said it with a downcast attitude.

“We checked on the mysteries of the World beginning from Great Red-san, looking for legendary strong people, and sometimes make Ophis-sama’s wish come true..... But it seems like the Hero-faction found us a nuisance because we have powers. Also Seigfried-sama seems to hate us a lot. Especially he didn’t find it amusing that his former rival, my brother Arthur, came to this group......”

So there were quarrels like that. So Arthur was originally from the Hero-faction I see. Wait, the Vali-team was doing things like that while gathering powers?

“What are the mysteries of the World? I also can’t understand what you’re doing about the legendary strong people.”

I ask Le Fay. What is that guy Vali doing with his comrades?

“Yes. We started off with the secret about Great Red-san swimming in the dimensional gap. The extinct civilisation. The technology of the lost continent of Mu and the continent of Atlantis. We also searched on parallel universes. We also went to look at the Yggdrasill from Norse mythology. Also the anecdote of legendary strong people and the search for the Heroes or creatures whose status, either dead or alive, is currently unknown. Sometimes we do terrorism.”

“.....You guys are like adventurers.”

“Yes! We have great adventures every day! We also fought against strong people then. Vali-sama is also trying to find where the beings referred to as dragons originally came from. Also he’s looking into the reason behind the big fight of the Two-Heavenly dragons. Also if we can find a new Longinus. That is also one of the things we searched for!”

Le Fay said with enjoyment.

......I take back my words. They aren’t adventurers. They are just guys who have nothing to do! Maybe fighting Great-Red is Vali’s final aim, but apart from that they are just going around looking for things that interest them. Is he being an adventurer in order to seek out strong foes?

“I think Vali-sama’s purists on things is an influence from Governor-sama.”

Le Fay added that at the end. Hearing that Sensei sighed and put on lazy eyes. His face looked like that of a father who heard a report on the actions of his naughty son. Le Fay smiles.

“By the way Governor-sama. It has been a Longinus parade lately hasn’t it. ---Is the person who is in possession of “Canis Lykaon” that is staying with the Grigori doing alright?”

Sensei who was just asked a question looked up at the ceiling.

“........[Canis Lykaon]. Slash Dog huh. He is out on a different mission. That is also quite a troublesome case. He hated Vali.”

“Yes. I have heard.”

Le Fay chuckles. I had my feelings soften up after seeing her adorable smile. I then ask Sensei.

“By the way Sensei. If Cao Cao has the strongest Longinus, then someone has the second strongest Longinus right?”

“Yeah. [Zenith Tempest]. That is the second strongest Longinus. The Top-tier Longinus are the four known as the [True Longinus], [Zenith Tempest], [Annihilation Maker], and [Dimension Lost]. The possessor of Zenith Tempest is already known and the heavens are mainly governing it...... So Irina. How is he.....How is the Brave-Saints’s “Joker” doing?”

Irina who was asked a question twitched her neck.

“Do you mean Dulio-sama? I hear that he wanders around places searching for delicious food.....”

Sensei seemed to be speechless from that answer.

“Wha....... He’s a genius reincarnated angel who might be picked as a candidate for Seraph! He’s a Joker(Trump card)!? What are Michael and the Seraph guys doing!?”

Hearing Sensei’s question Irina mumbles “E-Even if you say that to me......”. Sensei has also hinted about the Joker of reincarnated angels before. Looks like he was chosen as that position.

“Is that person also strong?”

I asked Sensei but the one who answered is Le Fay.

“He is someone who Vali lists at the top of his “wanting to fight” list. He is apparently the Church’s strongest Exorcist.”

-Church’s strongest Exorcist!?

So he must possess quite a lot of strength. He is the possessor of the second strongest Longinus, he’s the strongest Exorcist, he’s a reincarnated angel, and he’s a Joker..... He’s someone who has so much “strongest” criteria in him! Xenovia who is a former exorcist responds.

“Dulio Gesualdo. He was also famous within the Church. I never met him, but he was sent out mainly against High-class devils and really evil creatures even though he was just a human.”

......He fought High-class devils even though he was a human..... He’s basically like Cao Cao. He must be able to do that because he is a Longinus possessor..... Sensei then sighs.

“Longinus possessors huh. There are 13 Longinus: [True Longinus], [Sephiroth Graal], [Boosted Gear], [Divine Dividing], [Regulus Nemea], [Innovate Clear], [Absolute Demise], [Dimension Lost], [Zennith Tempest], [Incinerate Anthem], [Annihilation Maker], [Canis Lykaon], and [Telos Karma]. Put that on your memo carefully, Ise.”

“Y-Yes!”

Though I don’t have anything to write on!

-13 types. I have encountered about...... half of them. Just thinking that there was another half of those Sacred Gears with abnormal abilities gave me the chills. Sensei stood up all of a sudden as if he realised something. Oh, did you come up with a good plan on how to get out of here?!

“Ah! I found the similar points between the current Longinus possesors. –Each and every one of them is hard to predict! We have an oppai-brain and battle freak and they are all selfish guys who have weird motives! I’m going to write that down afterwards! Damn it!”

....I’m an idiot for believing in you. But Sensei continued on.

“I also found one more similar point. –The way they use their Longinus isn’t the same as how it was until now. Most of the possessors are finding different ways to use it and it is increasing their strength. ......Have the current kids surpassed our expectations...... ? No, but still.......”

Aaaah, he started to think by himself again. Once he goes off into his own world, Sensei doesn’t come back that easily...... That’s what I thought but he seemed to have finished his thinking time. That’s because Ophis returned to this room.

“I - ’ll go around this floor.”

Ophis just said that and left before. She finally came back.

“-So how do you feel Ophis?”

“I - ’ve become weak. Right now I - am twice as strong as the Two-Heavenly Dragons at their strongest times.”

“That is.....yeah you have weakened.”

“.....No, no. She’s still twice as strong as Ddraig and Albion before they were sealed right? And she became weak while still having that much power? How strong was she before.....”

I reply back to Sensei saying she has “weakened”. If she weakened with that, then there’s no place for me as one of the Two-Heavenly-Dragons!

“Well she is the strongest being out of every faction.”

Yeah, you are right! So the original Ophis was much stronger. Well, she didn’t even have Cao Cao in her mind even when he was her opponent.

“Hey Ophis. There’s something I want to ask. Why did you save Asia and Irina back then?”

The fireball Georg released against Asia and Irina immediately after we arrived in the lobby. Ophis acted as their wall and protected them. Why did Ophis save those two? I was wondering about that. Wasn’t she uninterested in anyone besides Great-Red and Ddraig? Ophis answers with one sentence.

“They gave me tea, they played cards with me.”

....! Is she talking about what happened at my house? I asked her with a dumb look.

“T-That’s it?”

Ophis nods at my question.

......Maybe she isn’t a bad guy......?

“Thank you very much Ophis-san!”

Irina thanked her. Hearing Ophis’s condition, Sensei put his hand on his chin.

“.....But only twice as strong as the Two-Heavenly Dragons. That’s weird. Cao Cao said that you were basically a left over but if you still posses that much power then that’s enough.”

Well it was certainly like Sensei said. It seemed like the Grim Reapers and Seigfried were here, but if Ophis had that much power left then that made me feel relieved. Ophis raised her hand emotionlessly.

“Samael took my power, I released my power in the form of snakes in another space. That, is what I just went to retrieve. So I’m only twice as strong as Two-Heavenly Dragons.”

-! Everyone became shocked at Ophis’s confession! Sensei shouts.

“So the reason you said you would go around this floor is so you could retrieve the power you released to another space!?”

Ophis nods. Seeing that Sensei starts to laugh.

“Kukuku. That Cao Cao. He said he took most of Ophis’s power, but Ophis released her power into a different dimension while she was having her power taken. She retrieved most of it just now and got back some of her original power. And she’s still twice as strong as the Two-Heavenly Dragons in their primes. Looks like the Hero-faction took Ophis too lightly.”

Looking back at Sensei, Ophis created a black snake with the tip of her finger.

“My power changed like this. This, is what I sent to another space. That, is what I retrieved. But I, cannot leave here. Here, there is something restraining me.”

So that’s how it is. Sensei stopped laughing and took a breath.

“Well if the Grim Reapers are here, then they have predicted certain types of resistance from Ophis. Also the current Ophis isn’t infinite. She is finite. They must have a way to seal Ophis besides using Samael. It’s obvious for us to be still and careful.”

Sensei then asks Le Fay.

“Le Fay, you are talented in using magic related to space like Kuroka right? Is there anyway to get help from the outside world? Or is there anyway to get at least a few members out of here?”

“There is. –But since Kuroka-san is down, there is a limit to it if it is by myself. There is a magic where others can leave this space with me..... But the number of people that can is 2 at most. Since we performed a swapping transportation with Vali-sama and Fenrir-chan, I think the barrier on this space became even stronger. I am pretty sure that it is impossible to perform the swapping transportation once again. I think Georg-sama knows the majority of the formula used by our magic, so there is only one more chance where I can use a very special transportation from here.”

We can escape. But only three people including Le Fay, and there is only one chance.

“Are we going to make Ophis escape while fighting the Grim Reapers?”

I ask Sensei. Sensei shook his head to the sides.

“That would be impossible. Judging from what Ophis said earlier, this space has a special barrier that holds Ophis captured in here. I would love to ask them how they made such a thing, but Ophis must be the only one who can’t leave here. We need to destroy the barrier somehow and escape from here together. And Grim Reapers are more dangerous than you think. In terms of potential, you guys are stronger but it is bad if you get cut with their scythe. Grim Reapers trim down life spans along with giving you damage. If Ise who is currently healing his lifespan gets hit by it, you will end up dying because your life span will go down to zero. Ophis is also finite right now. If she gets cut by the scythe repeatedly she will get weaker. So we need to protect Ophis at all cost. If we have her powers get taken away any further than this, the problems will increase drastically. Especially if our opponent is Hades.”

So it means we have to make sure we don’t let the enemy take Ophis. I also need to be careful about the Grim Reapers scythes. I will seriously die if I get cut by them. .......Looks like today is a day where I could get killed by even the slightest of things! This is weird! I already had my hands full with the Mid-class promotion test! And now it all turned around into a situation where our lives are in danger! Sensei then continues.

“But we also have to choose the members who should leave here to get help from the outside World.”

Sensei’s gaze grasped hold of Irina.

“-Irina, you will go first. Go and tell the truth about the Hero faction and coup d’état of Hades to Sirzechs and the heavens.”

“B-But! I think it should be Ravel-san to escape first!”

Sensei continued speaking without pausing for Irina who is trying to argue back.

“Ravel said before that we don’t need to have her as our first priority if we are to escape. –We are at a disadvantage here. They will definitely come to take down Ise, Vali and Ophis. The Dragon-God and Two-Heavenly-Dragons are things they’d want to take down definitely. If we have Hades use “this” Ophis over here for evil deeds, we won’t know what would happen to this World!”

Irina seemed like she wanted to talk back to Sensei, but she kept it down and nodded her head.

......This girl takes deep care of her comrades, so she must have wanted to fight along side us till the last moment. But she understood her position and her role. Sensei then looks at Xenovia.

“Take Xenovia as your guard. The function of Ex-Durandal was destroyed, but Durandal itself can be used. There is a chance that reinforcements from the Hero-faction or Grim Reapers are outside this space.”

“.....A guard huh?”

Xenovia narrowed her eyes.

Just like Sensei said, Ex-Durandal was destroyed. The Excalibur parts that were turned into a sheath were destroyed leaving the six cores of the original holy-sword. There is also a minor scratch on the blade of Durandal. Cao-Cao’s ability was something that could destroy the legendary Holy-sword with ease. In this situation, Xenovia can’t fight with her usual powers. Xenovia also understands that. Even so, she still had a frustrated face.

“Guarding someone is also a splendid mission. –Also it’s about time that the results of “that” research will be made. Go and confirm that as well. Also repairing Durandal. I’m sending you there because of that as well. It doesn’t seem like it will end with only this battle, so go and repair it quickly.”

Having Sensei say that, Xenovia nods quietly. Like this Xenovia and Irina will be leaving from here with Le Fay so they can alert others of the crisis. Le Fay goes to another room so she could alter the formula of the transportation magic circle. Since she wants to insert the basic information of Xenovia and Irina into the formula, they also left the room with her. Before leaving this room, Le Fay gave Irina a single sword.

“T-this is!”

Le Fay smiles at Irina who is shocked. –That is the last Excalibur sword, which was in possession of Arthur Pendragon. It’s something called [Excalibur Ruler].

“Please take this. It is something that my brother asked me to take with me. I couldn’t find the right time to give it to you, but I think now is a good time. That sword is something that has no use to us anymore.”

“Is it okay?”

Le Fay nods at Xenovia’s words.

“We have obtained Fenrir-chan. Fenrir-chan’s power has decreased dramatically to allow us to control him, but even so there aren’t any creatures that are more powerful than him. –How about you use all of the Excaliburs to repair Durandal?”

Irina bows her head down.

“......T-Thank you very much! Le Fay-san! I thought people who carry the blood of heroes are scary, but there are nice people among them indeed!”

“Fufufu. I am honoured. Though I am called a weirdo along with my brother.”

Le Fay made a bitter smile like that and goes to another room along with Xenovia and Irina. But Ex-Durandal that will have all of the Excalibur in it! Until now it was only equipped with 6 of them! Even I can’t imagine how it will turn out! Sensei then knocks his knees.

“Now Rias. We will think about the plan to escape from here. Our aim is to escape from here along with Ophis and having all of us get out of here alive.”

“Yes. That would be obvious.”

The two tacticians smiled and it became strategy time. Yes. We will definitely escape from here with all of us still alive!

Part 4

While Rias, Sensei and Akeno-san make a plan in the room I was in before, I’m on my way to Kuroka’s room to see how she is doing. Her wounds have healed but she’s still resting on the bed. According to Le Fay, Kuroka was on the lookout to make sure nobody would be after Ophis so she has been on alert this whole time. Because of that, her stamina and mind were drained much more than she thought. That’s why she hasn’t fully recovered even though her wounds were healed. Right now, Ravel is looking after Kuroka. Naturally it should be Ravel, who is a guest, that should be escaping from here first. But she chose to stay here because she was worried about Koneko-chan and Kuroka.

“I’m also a member of the immortal house of Phoenix. I won’t die that easily.”

That’s how she responded. That’s why it ended up being Xenovia and Irina escaping from here. As expected from someone from the immortal family. She sure has guts. That’s also why we need to protect this girl along with everyone else.

“.....How is it?”

I asked Kuroka who is laying down on the bed. Kuroka put on a naughty smile.

“Ara. Sekiryuutei-chin. You are so kind to come and see me –nyan.”

“Well you did save my comrade, Koneko-chan after all.”

“It was just a coincidence –nyan.”

That coincidence was an action taken before you shouted your sister’s name out. She saved Koneko-chan from danger by risking her life. Next to the bed, Koneko-chan is sitting on a chair looking down.

“......Why?”

Koneko-chan mumbled and then suddenly got up and shouted.

“Why did you save me!? I was supposed to be like a tool to you, right Nee-sama!”

“I wonder. I don’t quite understand –nyan.”

“Please don’t play with me! ......That time you left me behind. Do you know how many horrible things the people around me said to me....... Even during the party in the Underworld you tried to take me away by force......”

Koneko-chan who usually didn’t speak that much was releasing all the things she had built up inside her.

“I can’t understand you Nee-sama.........!”

Saying that, Koneko-chan leaves the room!

“Koneko-chan!”

I tried to go after her but Kuroka stops me by pulling my sleeve.

“Rest assured. I will go after her.”

Just saying that, Ravel went after Koneko-chan. I have been making Ravel take care of many things, but I think there are things only she can do because they are in the same class. I sat down on the chair where Koneko-chan had been sitting before and then asked Kuroka.

“......Hey Kuroka. What happened at your previous master’s place?”

“Nothing. I just killed him because he was a detestable bastard –nyan.”

Saying that, Kuroka stopped smiling and put on a serious face.

“Nekoshou..... He became a nuisance because he took too much interest in our powers. Putting me aside, if my previous stupid master were to have asked Shirone to use sennjutsu, she would have used it without hesitation and her powers would have gone berserk. –She is an honest girl after all.”

Kuroka who just said that has some kindness in her eyes right now.

“Anyway he was focused on increasing the ability of his servants, and made us go through things forcefully. Having his servants go through that is one thing but he also tried to forcefully strengthen his servants’s family –nyan.”

The reason why Kuroka became a wanted person. That’s because she killed her master. Why did she do that. That’s because........

“.....Did you save Koneko-chan from him? The reason why you tried to take her away at the Underworld forcefully is so she could get away from “power”. ......It’s because I’m a Sekiryuutei who attracts powers.......”

She has evil intentions. She has the heart of a naughty child. I can tell she is someone who does the things she feels like doing. But I started to think that that isn’t the only side of her after spending time with her for the past several days.

“......I like fooling around you know? I also like using my powers. I also love entertaining things. I am a stray cat after all –nyan. It’s better to wander around how I feel like with comrades who I can relate to. But Shirone is different. She suits being a house cat. That is why Sekiryuutei—chan.”

Kuroka says it to me with serious eyes.

“I don’t care even if you become a mass of powers, but I want you to become an idiotically honest Heavenly-dragon just like Vali. If that happens, that girl will also become idiotically happy.”

......I see. It can’t be helped that you are a naughty cat. The bad cat of the Vali team. There are parts of you that like being drunk with your own sennjutsu power. And you probably also love fighting too. But your little sister...... You also like Koneko-chan like before as well, right?

“....... You are more clumsy than me.”

When I said that with a bitter smile, Kuroka made a weird face and looked to the side.

“I don’t want to hear that from a power idiot like you –nyan. Even if I look like this, I am a Wizard-type that consumed 2 Bishop pieces you know? –Well this discussion is over. I’m going to sleep –nyan. Or do you want to do baby making with me right now –nyan? You are a horrible Heavenly-Dragon who wants to forcefully try to make love to a woman who is injured nya.”

“I would love to! No, that’s not what I mean idiot! Get some rest. Now is not the time for it.”

I will have her rest until the battle starts. Kuroka’s ability will become very useful for the upcoming battle. I got up from the chair and tried to leave the room.

“........Thank you, Sekiryuutei-chan.”

I turned around after she said that, but she is acting as if she didn’t say anything and is sleeping.

After checking Kuroka out, I was walking towards the room where “that” guy was resting. When I got inside the room, Vali had his upper body up and was laying down. His wounds are healed thanks to Asia, but his face looks awfully bad. He is breathing violently and he seems to be enduring great pain. The curse of Samael must be circulating throughout his body. ......It is my first time seeing him like this and I don’t want to see him like this either.

“......I never thought you would take that much damage from one attack.”

When I said that, he makes a bitter smile.

“Seems like I showed something unpleasant. I came here to take down Cao Cao. But I ended up like this.”

“It means that that’s how insane the Dragon-Eater Samael’s curse is. I didn’t think you would go down without doing anything.”

There seriously wasn’t anything we could do. Getting hit once made this guy, who is basically an embodiment of power, go down. That scene is burnt into my memory. There must be a reason why Cao Cao used Samael in that situation. That must have been the only way he had to stop Vali who was about to use Juggernaut-Drive.

“Sounds like you are backing me up.”

“I come to realise how strong you are every time I get stronger. I’m frustrated because it seems like I still haven’t caught up to you yet.”

“.......I’m really looking forward to it. Catch up to me quickly.”

“You sure are full of yourself, which makes me feel sick of it. So did you obtain the power that surpasses Juggernaut-Drive?”

“So what if I did?”

“I feel relieved. It doesn’t seem like you to not do anything against Cao Cao right?”

Vali nodded quietly saying “You are right” against my sarcasm.

“........Cao Cao guarded Georg and Samael. He stole the power of Ophis without doing any flashy attacks. He did all that by himself and attacked us in a way that wouldn’t kill us. He fulfilled these four hard requirements while overwhelming us with the minimum amount of attacks necessary. Even if Samael’s power was involved, you should also have realised his power. –That is the leader of guys who have their fangs raised against superior-beings and who are just humans.”

Yeah I know. He blocked the demonic-attacks of the magic duo’s from both the Gremory group and Vali team while playing around with you and Sensei. Even I......

I thought that I paid him back with Triaina at Kyoto. But I’m so frustrated to find out that I’m not anywhere near that guy today.......! I held my hand very tightly with frustration. Vali then says it.

“They observe their opponents very carefully and research the weakness of their opponents without any blind spots. On top of that they look very deeply into the traits of their weapons. That is the Hero-faction. The one in the center of them is the man called Cao Cao who wields the Holy-spear. Remember that man’s Balance-Breaker very carefully. That is a sub-species Balance-Breaker that he developed through research and he still continues to do further research on it so he can take on the superior-beings all by himself.”

“And there is a thing called [Truth Idea] right? How strong is that guy.....”

“......[Truth Idea] is something very similar to our Juggernaut-Drive. You could also say that it is the most far away from it as well........ He can gain an overwhelming power though it will come with the price of going berserk. I don’t think he can control [Truth Idea] because he doesn’t have that much Demonic-power........no, magic power as me.......”

He did try to use it against me at Kyoto. Did he try to activate it because he was taken down by me and also because of the atmosphere of that scene? Or did he have a method to control it......?

Vali continues on.

“If it is defence, both you and I have higher defence than him. His magical-power isn’t high either. If our attacks hit Cao Cao, he will go down. But his techniques are too high. But he also realises that he is a “human” more than anyone else. ......In Rating Games, he would be someone called the ultimate technique type. Well if he wanted to, he could have enormous amounts of aura emit from the spear to eliminate a section of an area.”

The ultimate technique type....... A technique and ability that specialises in attacking people’s weakness. An attack used after researching his opponents. My Triaina-Rook damaged him in Kyoto. I could have defeated him if it hit him directly. It was the same today as well. But Cao Cao understands my ability completely and it didn’t seem like it would hit him at all....... Cao Cao is the exact opposite of Sairaorg-san. He is too creepy. And it is hard to tell what he is thinking.

.....An existence whom I can’t come to understand. That is Cao Cao. Oh yeah. There is one thing I need to confirm.

“Hey Vali. Why did you send Ophis to our place? Weren’t you only trying to use her?”

“Me? To Ophis?”

Vali makes a reaction as if my guess was completely off the mark. Is he telling the truth?

He used Ophis as bait to lure Cao Cao out. But he did think about Ophis’s wishes as well. He also tried to release Ophis from Samael’s attack. If he was only after Cao Cao, he could have left Ophis like that and attacked Cao Cao right away.

“......I was just someone who Ophis could talk to. She seemed lonely at times. .....No, it’s nothing. I said something unnecessary. Forget it.”

I see. So it’s nothing huh. Okay then. Let’s make it that way. But I think I can understand what he means by Ophis seeming lonely. She interacted with Asia and Irina and saved them, they who had paid attention to her. That alone makes Ophis someone who I would guard with my life. That was something very certain to me.

“Ophis is the boss of bad guys. No. She “was” their boss. Even so, I will make sure she escapes from here.”

“Yeah. You can tell that something insane would happen if she gets caught by Hades.”

“After this I’m going to participate in the plan to escape from here. Vali. Are you going to rest?”

“......I would want to rest, but I’m a [Hakuryuukou] so I can’t help it. –Even if my body is affected with a curse, I can’t be backing down from mere Grim Reapers. There was never a choice of just staying out of it from the beginning for me.”

.....An embodiment of pride. I felt very relieved to hear something that he would usually say. Yeah. With this we can fight. Our preparations are ready.

“Vali. Let’s finish our fight one day. Defeating you is one of my aims.”

“Yeah. I’m looking forward to it Hyoudou Issei. Both of us can’t die in a place like this.”

The plan to escape from here is getting closer......

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