High School DxD-Volume 16 Chapter 4

The middle-aged man with silver hair has the Holy Grail float next to him. Standing next to him is a little girl—Ophis’ other half, Lilith.

That silver haired old man is putting on an evil smirk and gazing at Vali.

Vali himself has so much anger in his expression that I have never seen him like this before.

It’s my first time seeing him this angry. He was quite pissed when Kuroka and Sensei were defeated by Cao Cao……but right now he’s even more pissed.

Seeing Vali’s anger, Rizevim laughs.

“Uhyahyahyahya! This grandpa is about to have an orgasm by having my adorable grandson look at me with such eyes!”

Since we came this far, I’m interested to know what this old man did to Vali.

“Sensei, what happened between those two?”

Sensei says it with a serious expression.

“……He ordered his son, in other words Vali’s father, to “persecute Vali”.”

—!

……What the heck. Did he tell his son to bully his own grandson……?

Maybe he heard us talking, so Rizevim makes an unpleasant face.

“I can’t ignore that~. You know I just gave precise advice to my idiotic son to “bully him if you are scared of him”? Well, if a Hakuryuukou was born among the kins of a Maou, then my idiotic son who was a wussy and had such fragile brain like tofu wouldn’t be able to endure it mentally~.”

To have a son who has exceptional talent, huh. I don’t quite understand since I haven’t become a parent yet, but does a person stop loving his own son and instead get jealous of him to the point where he gets scared of his son growing up, simply because he had more talent than him?

Rizevim starts to sneer.

“In the end, Vali-kyun couldn’t endure his dad’s treatment towards him so he ran away from home~♪ I hear that you were raised by Azazel-kun at the Grigori~. I’m so happy for you, since uncle Azazel is good at looking after people~.”

Sensei glares at Rizevim with hatred.

Vali then asks him.

“……This is pointless. Anyway, what happened to that man?”

“Huh? Oh, do you want to know what happened to your papa after that~? Uhyahyahyahya, I killed him! Because he was such a wuss~. It ticked me off when I saw him acting like that. So I ended up killing him☆ Oh, are you shocked~? Are you angry because your papa got killed~?”

Vali says it plainly to his grandfather who is talking in such a foolish manner.

“Not really. I was planning to kill him as well after all. —Except, this makes me happy.”

Vali’s aura around his whole body increases as it carries his will to fight.

“I wanted to kill you the most after all…… You are not someone who can call himself the Maou Lucifer that was called the “Morning Star”……!”

The glow of his white armour becomes even brighter.

Rizevim simply smiles happily after seeing that.

“……That’s nice. You have nice eyes. You raised him well, Azazel-chin. I can’t believe that my grandson, who was crying so much, grew into a youth who can give out such murderous intent, when I compare him now to the past~!”

Sensei who stops Vali from going at him asks Rizevim.

“……Rizevim, what are you planning to do with that Holy Grail? What are you planning to do by reviving the Evil Dragons?”

Yes, just what is Rizevim trying to accomplish with the Holy Grail? The reason why the Evil Dragons were revived is due to this guy and Euclid that controlled Marius from the shadows.

What are they trying to achieve by doing all of that?

Just what is the objective of the new Khaos Brigade—?

Rizevim says it proudly as he looks at the Holy Grail,

“Uhyahyahyahya, do you want to know? Sure, I’ll tell you as a special gift~. —This is something which happened a few months ago. A certain truth was brought to our “world”. –The “other world” that “we” didn’t know about. This is something that was speculated since long ago, but whose existence was finally proved~.”

“—!”

Does Sensei have a clue about it? He glances at me for a bit……

Huh? Am I related to it……?

Rizevim continues while I’m feeling suspicious.

“You can understand what I’m saying right, Azazel-kun~? Yes, it happened when the Evil God Loki came to attack Japan and that’s when that possibility came into reality.”

Rizevim points at me.

“And you were the one who made it happen, Oppai Dragon-kun~♪ You came into contact with the Chichigami who happens to be a God from another world.”

—!

C-Chichigami! I sure did get in contact with a fairy that serves Chichigami using Bilingual during the fight against Loki! Yup, the fairy sure did say that the Chichigami is a God from another world!

Rizevim continues.

“Did you know that it’s an unknown God that has nothing to do with all the mythologies of this “world”? It’s not from the Bible, it’s not from the Norse mythology, it’s not from Hindu mythology, and it’s not from Japanese mythology. So a God who we don’t even know about and that comes from a world we don’t even have a clue about came in contact with this world. Among the researchers who researched about this other world, this was basically an incident that brought a revolution.”

……So that’s how it was. An unknown world and an unknown God. Our world is said to be composed of the human world, the Underworld, the Heaven, and the other territories where other Gods from different mythologies live in.

So the world where Chichigami-sama lives is another world we don’t even know about huh.

Rizevim says it as he nods his head.

“So, this is what I thought. —Then how about I attack them? Like that!”

A-Attacking them!? Everyone’s impression regarding this situation changes with that one word.

Everyone continues to listen to what Rizevim has to say next.

“But the thing is, that’s not possible. The reason is due to the existence of an outrageous Dragon that is guarding the dimension of this “world”, making it hard to go to their world. Yes, I’m talking about Great Red-san.”

After speaking that much, Sensei shouts as if he understands something.

“……I see, you are after Great Red!”

Rizevim makes a really happy smile at seeing Sensei’s response.

“Correct! You sure are clever, Azazel-kun! I would like to reward you with a perfect mark! So I want to defeat Great Red-kun and break into their world.”

……Defeating Great Red!? Hey, this is getting really serious! So in order to enter the other world……he’s trying to beat that huge Dragon!

“But Great Red is of a greater existence. He’s insanely strong. He’s seriously strong. He’s ridiculously strong. Even if I try to pit Ophis against him to defeat him, that stupid brat Cao Cao halved the Dragon-God-chan, so the situation became bad. Then you may simply think we can just make the two existences that had split in half into one again, but it’s not that simple, you know?”

Lilith who is next to this man is emotionless. She shows no sign of moving.

Rizevim’s speech continues.

“Then, who will be the one that can defeat Great Red? Me? No way. I’ll get killed. Then should I steal Samael? If I do that, that geezer Hades will really snap, and furthermore, the curse will be so powerful that our armies of modified Evil Dragons may get wiped out. Then there’s only one option left. —How about I make the verse of the Apocalypse into reality?”

He’s simply speaking gibberish, but only Sensei has a pale look.

“……[666(Trihexa)]……!!”

Sensei speaks out a word I never heard before.

Rizevim makes a happy face again to Sensei’s answer and he looks like he’s really satisfied with it.

“That’s correct, Azazel-kun. Do you want a cushion? Or a trip to America? It sure is good to have someone who can answer my question. It’s worth the effort to talk. Yup, that’s it, Sekiryuushintei Great Red isn’t the only legendary creature recorded in the Apocalypse. —[Apocalyptic Beast] 666, don’t you reckon it will be a good match if I can pit that child, whose existence was hinted by the God from the Bible, against Great Red?”

I ask Sensei.

“What is this thing called Trihexa?”

“……Even you know that 666 is a bad omen number, right? The number of the beast. It’s about the monster that became the source for it. In the Apocalypse, it is spoken of together with the Great Red.”

……So it’s a Great Red class monster! Even I had taken a glance and had read about the Apocalypse……so I do remember that there was a huge creepy looking monster standing next to Great Red.

Huh……so the source of 666 was the Trihexa!

Sensei continues to ask him a question.

“His existence was merely a possibility and all of the forces are still discussing where he may be at!”

“Nfufufu, guess what? He does exist. —As a result of looking deep into the principle of life using the Holy Grail, we finally found him at the end of the world which was forgotten by everyone. But the thing is, it seems like there was someone else who found 666-kun before us and put a strong seal on him. Who do you think it was? Hey, who do you think it was?”

Rizevim then says it while throwing his kiss to the Holy Grail.

“—It was the God from the Bible. That God sure was amazing. He found 666 even before any of us and put thousands of seals on him. Maybe that may have been the cause of death of the God from the Bible. After all, there were so many powerful seals that would be regarded as forbidden level that it wouldn’t be weird for a God to die after using those kinds of seals. So it’s a plausible story for the God from the Bible to vanish if he took part in the war between the Three Great Powers due to fatigue.”

So the God from the Bible found Trihexa that was merely a legend and sealed it without anyone knowing.

And sealing it to an insane level on top of it. And which may be the cause for the God from the Bible’s death……

That’s how much I could understand. But I can’t properly comprehend the detailed parts yet.

Sensei looks at the bed Valerie is sleeping on.

“So the spell Marius used just before was taken from the seal-spell used on 666!”

“Hell yeah! We are currently trying to unseal each of the seals desperately! Though it would have been easier if we had the Holy Spear to break the seal-spell into pieces. Well, the progress for it is going smoothly due to the cooperation from the Holy Grail and the Holy Cross.”

They are going to break the seal using the Holy Grail and the Holy Cross!? The relics really are being misused!

Rizevim then declares.

“That’s why~, we are going to revive 666-kun, and after we crush, destroy, and defeat Great Red, we will use the army of Evil Dragons and 666 to invade the other world! So I’m going trample down and eliminate every single God, monster, and the creatures of their world in order to make my own Utopia! Uhyahyahyahyahya~!”

Rizevim makes a disgusting laugh.

He then continues while putting on a smile filled with joy.

“Hmm, it gives me an orgasm simply by imagining it. So maybe something like this will be recorded in their mythology? Something that goes “The evil being that arrived from the other world brought an enormous beast and herds of Evil Dragons and brought disaster to this world—” maybe? After all, in this world, I’m merely someone who carries the blood of the previous Maou Lucifer. Except! Maybe I can become the one and only Great Maou-sama of the other world!?”

“So you made us go through all these troubles for some stupid crap like that!?”

I can’t help myself but to say my complaint to this old man who is speaking so happily.

That’s because I’m having myself listen to all these logic I can’t come to understand! That’s why I can’t help myself but to complain.

Rizevim then sighs.

“You sure are rude to call it stupid. Despite my motives, this is my aim that I have finally made. Devils are beings that live for so long but cannot come up with their dream so easily.”

I certainly did hear that before. Since Devils live for so long, they have a side where they lose their objective easily; so it’s important for them to live accordingly with a plan. Even more so for those who reincarnated from humans and that originally aimed to pursue their dreams quickly.

Rizevim then looks afar.

“You do know I was a self-indulgent person and had a lame life until I attained this wonderful dream of mine? Rather, what is it to be living? Is there even a thing called a dream? How can you attain an ambition? To begin with, what is a Devil? For a long time, I simply sat on my sofa drinking wine and thinking about issues that weren’t that important. Oh man, I can’t even call that having a life. I was simply an object that was capable of thinking. In terms of that, I’m actually jealous of the humans. I do hear that they are overflowing with ambitions. Well, it must be due to the difference of how species thinks.”

This time the old man makes a bright expression.

“Then Euclid brought an interesting thing to someone like me. —Ophis’s power, the Holy Grail, the proof about the other world, and finally the 666. This old man here became so excited that 'was unfitting for my age. For the first time in my life, my chest was beating so fast and my heart was thumping with excitement! So I revived the dead Evil Dragons in order to bring chaos to the world and go to the other world to go wiiiiiild!”

I then say it to the old man who is being hyped like a little kid.

“There’s no way I can come to understand that! Why do you have to cause havoc in the other world!?”

This is a completely crazy dream of an old man! There’s not even any logic behind it! His ideal isn’t even comparable to that of Cao Cao!

Then the old man swings his finger to the side.

“Listen up, boy. Devils are beings that have to be evil, wicked, brutal, bad, scum, wrong, brute, and vicious. Copying what’s done by a hero? Hero? That is something that a “justice” would do. You know, beings like humans and Angels? And what are we? You do know we are “evil” and “bad” existences? Then isn’t it obvious what we have to do?”

Rizevim suddenly directs his evil smile to us.

“No matter where we are, we have to kill every single person that we don’t like! That’s how it is. Aren’t Devils and Dragons supposed to be entities that take the bad role? So I’m going to cause havoc to this world and the other world using the Evil Dragons. I will break anything I don’t like and kill every single person I find as a nuisance!”

—!

This is absurd! I don’t care whether he is the son of Lucifer, I can’t allow something like his selfish desire to occur!

It seems like everyone from the Gremory-group feels the same way so they glare at Rizevim.

He then laughs after seeing that.

“Hahaha! I can’t stand it! What’s with those eyes!? Those sure aren’t the eyes of Devils. It’s good for nothing. ……Those are eyes of “justice”. Those are eyes of heroes. You guys are hopeless. Especially the Sekiryuutei brat, do you even know what you are? You are a monstrous Dragon on top of being a dangerous Devil, you know?”

……I certainly had my body remade due to Great Red and Ophis’s power……but I have no plans to become a dangerous and evil entity at all!

At least I have never once thought of bringing chaos to this world!

“Will you harbour hatred towards me? Fine then, come at me. I have to welcome a friend of my grandson Vali.”

Rizevim waves his hand at me fearlessly.

“—Bring it, Heavenly Dragon-kun. If you are okay with this old man as your opponent, then I will take you on. Though I’m sorry for your opponent being an old man who has the mentality of a kid with an eighth grade syndrome!”

“Keep on saying that! I will however take that Holy Grail back!”

I leap forward and concentrate the aura to my hand in order to shoot the Dragon Shot.

—!

Unexpectedly, Vali who has been releasing so much murderous intent since before isn’t planning to use this occasion to attack him.

“Ise, wait! That guy’s ability is—”

Sensei tries to stop me, but—

I shoot out my super huge Dragon Shot without being concerned about it!

The Dragon Shot released in my True [Queen] state! Now, how will you handle this!?

I try to observe what my opponent will do—but he shows no sign of moving at all!

He doesn’t even make any action to defend against it as the mass of aura hits him—.

But the moment it touches him, the Dragon Shot vanishes as if it was an illusion!

“—! What’s the meaning of this……?”

I become suspicious at this result.

It did hit him. My Dragon Shot did indeed hit him directly from the best angle.

However, the moment it him, my Dragon Shot vanished as if it fulfilled its duty.

Sensei starts to speak as the shape of his mouth changes.

“……Listen up, Ise. That guy’s ability is the only irregular one among the Devils……and it’s called the [Sacred Gear Canceller]. Any type of special traits due to the Sacred Gears as well as all abilities enhanced due to Sacred Gears won’t work on him……! Not just your power of Sekiryuutei but even the power of Kiba’s holy-demonic sword won’t be able to give damage to him at all since they are both Sacred Gears……!”

[—!?]

All of the Gremory group are in shock after hearing that!

……The Sacred Gears' abilities……won’t work!? So does that mean it can nullify it!?

The Dragon Shot was enhanced by the Boosted Gear. Is that the reason why Rizevim doesn’t have a scratch even though he got hit by it……?

I still can’t come to believe what I just heard, but Kiba also jumps forward. He has the holy-demonic sword in his hand.

“Haaaa!”

A single swing with lots of energy in it.

The moment the holy-demonic sword touches Rizevim, it vanishes without making a sound.

“—! So it’s useless against him……!”

Kiba who becomes shocked at seeing his holy-demonic sword shatter leaps back instantly.

“Uhyohyohyo, looks like even the irregular holy-demonic sword wasn’t able to damage me~.”

Rizevim simply laughs.

……No wonder Vali didn’t go at him recklessly. Right now he’s wearing the Divine Dividing Scale-mail. So it means he has to shoot while enhancing it with its power.

Since that will become a power shot out with the Sacred Gear and since it’s related to the Sacred Gear— he won’t be able to inflict damage to Rizevim!

Vali says it as he bites his teeth hard.

“……As I thought, even the power of the Heavenly Dragons going through irregular growth won’t work on him.”

Vali must have come up with that conclusion due to my attack. I guess he was observing to check whether my attack will work or not.

Just like me, Vali is also going through a different growth compared to the previous hosts of the Two Heavenly Dragons. He must have come to the conclusion that his attack too won’t work since my attacks didn’t work on him.

His expression is filled with frustration.

Seeing that, Rizevim deepens the evil smile on his face.

“Do you know why Sirzechs-kun’s group is made up of non-Sacred Gear possessors? Well, there are many reasons behind it. But the biggest reason among them is because they won’t be useful when they fight me head to head, you now? Now do you understand? I-T I-S I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E, okay? Thanks to that I can’t carelessly touch the Holy Grail directly though!”

As he says that, he makes the air within his hand become distorted, and puts away the Holy Grail that has been floating inside there. He must have put it away in a different dimension. He didn’t try to touch it directly with his hand.

……There certainly are no Sacred Gear possessors among Sirzechs-sama’s group.

I did find it weird. Even though they are such a powerful team, there isn’t a single Sacred Gear possessor among them.

……So that’s also the reason behind it huh. In order to stand up to this guy they purposely didn’t add a member with Sacred Gear among them.

I even tasted the reason behind it just now. Regardless of being one of the Two Heavenly Dragons or a Longinus possessor, as long as it’s a Sacred Gear—.

The attacks won’t work on him……!!

“Then the holy-sword must work on you!”

Xenovia swings down her Ex-Durandal and sends the holy aura flying towards Rizevim!

Just the moment before it touches him—the small girl, Lilith, comes to the front and takes the holy aura head on.

Simply by putting her hand forward and swinging it to the side, Durandal’s powerful aura gets reflected!

……To be expected from Ophis’s other half! A half-assed attack won’t even stand a chance! If he has a bodyguard like her with him, what are we supposed to do!?

The Sacred Gears won’t work! Other attacks will simply get blocked by Lilith! And Rizevim himself must be a formidable opponent!

Rizevim smiles happily as he sees us trying hard to figure out how to retrieve the Holy Grail from him and starts to nod his head.

“—Well, let’s stop at this since there is something I want to show all of you.”

Rizevim clicks his finger. Then an image appears within the air of this ritual place.

It’s showing the vision of somewhere outside.

“Now then, do any of you know where that place is?”

Rizevim asks us as if he’s having fun. A vision of a place with snow falling. You can see something that seems to be a town.

……And you can observe the castle at the centre. Hey, isn’t this—

It seems like there are many of those among our members who share the same opinion as me.

“—The castle town of Carmilla’s side?”

When Rias says that, Rizevim makes a big nod with his head.

“Exactly, that surely is the Carmilla’s castle town!”

From the vision, we can’t observe any particular change, and the only thing we can see is a town covered in snow……

Rizevim then says it while putting his hand forward.

“Now then, what will happen now is something so fun that it should be broadcast live~. If I click my fingers now—”

Rizevim clicks his fingers as he says that.

“Something terrible will happen. Are you able to predict it? Destruction? Hmm, very close, but a bit different!”

We stay on alert but we can’t see any major changes in the vision…… Rizevim himself tilts his head and checks the vision several times since nothing is happening.

“Just wait a sec. Yup, it should be about now. Oh, look!”

Rizevim points with his finger.

—When I look carefully, one after another huge black things begin to fly above the snowy scenery.

……Is that a……Dragon!? A black Dragon! And it’s not just one or two of them! Many black Dragons that are releasing terrible auras start to appear in the Carmilla’s castle town!

The old man who is showing an evil smile gets hyped.

“Many mysterious black Dragons have appeared in that town! From here on those kids will go wild! Oh, they started breathing out fire already! It sure is wonderful!”

The scenery shown in the vision is—the town that is being attacked by Dragons!

How can this be!? Those black Dragons started attacking the Carmilla’s castle town!

“What is the meaning of this!? Rizevim!?”

Azazel-sensei questions him. Rizevim smiles evilly.

“It means that there are also Vampires among Carmilla’s side that fell for Tepes’s sweet word—in other words there are those that are craving for a body with no weaknesses. Those Vampires made a pact with us where they passed the Carmilla’s information to us in secret, so we enhanced their bodies. —But this is the important point!”

Rizevim continues as the black Dragons, the herd of Evil Dragons, cover the whole vision behind him.

“They had themselves enhanced so much that they come with a special bonus where they will turn into mass-produced Evil Dragons when I simply click my fingers!”

—!

……Then that means the identity of those Evil Dragons is……

“T-Then this vision is……!”

Rizevim continues happily at Rias who gulps down.

“—They are the aftermath of the Vampires that take importance in their tradition and blood.”

I-It can’t be! So he modified them into that state while telling those who took their offer as an enhancement!?

“Well, they did say that the troubles caused by the Vampires would need to be handled by the Vampires. That’s why I thought it would be better for Vampires to destroy towns of the Vampires~. Well, “former” Vampires that is!”

We can only become speechless at Rizevim’s confession.

……For the Carmilla’s side to be attacked by the Evil Dragons that were formerly Vampires…… Since most of their combatants are out here in order to supress the coup d’état, I’m guessing they don’t have any remarkable force over there, right? And they are the Vampires who detest getting help from outsiders. At this rate, that town will—.

To us who can only watch the vision where the snowy town is getting burned with a painful expression, another evil trick gets played on us—.

The ground shakes violently.

An earthquake……? That’s what everyone thought, but that shake happens again and eventually gets even bigger. It’s not the shake of an earthquake. It’s a shake where I can only think something big happened above here.

It must be a huge thing since the shock even came down to this basement……

“W-What is going on!?”

Rias looks up.

Rizevim bangs his hands together as if he just remembered something.

“Oh, I forgot to mention this. I’m sorry~. A special bonus gets activated here as well when I click my fingers.”

“—! Wait, this shake can’t be……!”

Rias comes up with an answer to this situation due to Rizevim’s words. Even I start to imagine for the worst!

Rizevim says it while putting on a disgusting smile.

“Yup, that is it. The enhanced Vampires of the Tepes side also turned into the mass-produced Evil Dragons and are causing havoc in this town due to my signal~♪”

—! I knew it, but this is serious……! This shake……is due to the destruction caused by the Vampires of the coup d’état faction that have now become Evil Dragons!

Rizevim makes another vision appear in the air.

What appears on it—is the world of Tepes in flames, just like the Carmilla’s castle town.

“……How can this be……!”

Sensei has his body shiver in anger.

Rizevim simply looks at the vision in joy.

“Oh my, they sure are going wild~. It will be but a matter of time until the town is annihilated.”

While we become speechless at seeing the disastrous state of both the Carmilla’s and Tepes’s town, Rizevim click his fingers once again.

Then, a gigantic magic-circle gets activated below our feet.

“Then, since all of you are concerned about it, how about we go and check them out?”

As he says that, the magic-circle releases a bright light—.

When I open my eyes—what appears is the night view. We are outside. We look around us.

—We see the Evil Dragons that are flying everywhere. They are spitting out enormous flames on the town!

The place we got teleported to is—one of the towers of the castle. It looks like we are on top of it.

This place allows us to see the whole town and castle as well as witness the destruction the Evil Dragons are causing!

Shit! This is horrible! There are flames and smoke everywhere, and basically all of the tall buildings are destroyed! The whole view that appears before my eyes is like a sea of fire!

“Ku……where did that bastard Rizevim go off to……?”

Sensei looks around. Vali shouts when he looks up the sky.

“Rizevim!”

“Yahoo, Vali-kyun♪. Your grandpa will play with you☆. Your grandpa sure will be happy if you massage his shoulders!”

Rizevim who is flying in the sky simply waves his hand innocently while carrying Lilith who happens to be Ophis’ other half. Vali makes his wings of light appear and flies towards him.

“Hey, Vali!”

Sensei tries to stop him, but Vali who is in rage due to his actual grandpa’s provocation starts a battle in the air against Rizevim!

Sensei shouts out his anger.

“Shit! Looks like it can’t be helped since we are in this situation! Hey, Rias!”

Sensei says it as he points at the Evil Dragons that are causing destruction.

“We will split apart to eliminate the so-called mass produced Evil Dragons and evacuate the civilians! Even if the higher-ups were such bastards, the ones living here are not at fault! So we will rescue them!”

Rias makes a big nod with her head.

“Yes! Everyone, I will need you to work in pairs if possible! It will be Akeno and I, Yuuto and Rossweisse, Xenovia and Irina-san, and Ise, you should be okay by yourself right?”

“Of course!”

I respond to her! My crimson armour exists for that reason! I need to show that I can take on the likes of mass produced Evil Dragons!

Rias then looks at Xenovia, Irina, and Asia.

“Xenovia and Irina-san, please take Asia, and the unconscious Koneko and Gasper with you out of here for their safety.”

Sensei continues.

“Then go further past the east-gate. I’m sure there is an underground shelter there.”

Rias nods.

“Roger that. Then after this, we will use that place as the emergency shelter. So each of you must lead the civilians there! I will entrust the role of healing the civilians that have been wounded to you, Asia!”

“Roger that.”

“Leave it to us!”

Xenovia and Irina who respond to her carry Gasper and Koneko-chan respectively.

“Yes, I understand as well!”

Asia is also full of energy due to Rias’s suggestion.

Alright! The Gremory-group will be taking action once again to help the castle town that is in need of help right away! I won’t allow them to tell us not to interfere ever again! Even the civilians who are living here normally are getting dragged into the Evil Dragons' havoc! There’s no way I can allow this to happen!

Sensei also makes the spear of light and his black wings appear.

“I will also move on my own! Let’s do this, everyone!”

[Yes!]

We scatter from that spot immediately—.

“Toryaaaaa!”

[Solid Impact Booster!!!]

As soon as I descended down to the castle town, I went to help the civilians that were being attacked by the Evil Dragons, and am currently defeating them one after another. Even just now I made my right arm thicker in order to punch one of them really hard!

My single strike can defeat the mass produced Evil Dragons. Geez, unless they have the strength of Grendel or Crom Cruach, I can still fight them while preserving my strength!

Even if that’s the case, I think they are strong enough. They at least have a strength above a Mid-class Devil. The Occult Research Club members that have come here are all strong fighters that are capable of fighting and defeating enemies of the strength of these mass-produced Evil Dragons without any worries.

The problem is the number of them. At this point, I have defeated four of them. And it seems like there will be more. ……Geez, I really do want to question how many Vampires from the anti-government faction received an upgrade through the use of the Holy Grail!

I shake my head to put on a proper attitude and tell the civilians that are running with a loud voice.

“There is a shelter past the east-gate! So please head there!”

“T-Thank you very much!”

The Vampire civilians head to the shelter as they thank me.

Next, I fly up into the sky and head to the next place.

The night sky with snow falling down. When I look down, I witness the agents from the Tepes and Carmilla’s side fighting against the Evil Dragons.

I support the Vampires that are having difficulty and release a strong hit to the Evil Dragon. The Evil Dragon simply falls to the earth. The Vampires can take care of the rest.

Alright, next—as I was about to head to the next place, a certain someone appears in front of me in mid-air.

A man with silver hair and a silver robe—. His fantasy-like silhouette shines under this night sky where snow falls.

“Oh, if this isn’t the Sekiryuutei.”

The man wearing the robe says that to me. I certainly do remember his face and voice.

“Euclid Lucifugus! Why did you appear in front of me?”

Yes, he was the master mind who assaulted Kuou academy and his name is Euclid Lucifugus who happens to be Grayfia-san’s younger brother!

He smiles when I ask him with a tone that carried my disgust and hatred towards him.

“Oh, when I came here after finishing my business, I happen to cross by you.”

……He must have come to join up with Rizevim. If I think about it, Vali did say he fought this guy before he came here.

Euclid looks down at the town in flames with his chilling eyes.

“But this sure is ironic. For the Vampires that have lost their weaknesses to assault their own homeland. They had pride in being Vampires while detesting the lifestyle of Vampires. And this is the result of it.”

“Didn’t this happen because you guys urged them to do this!?”

He sighs at my words.

“……This has been coming to my mind all the time. That the Longinus breaks the balance of a single important principle, the truth, and even the foundation of it. Yes, they give new “choices” to you. For both the possessors and the ones around them. They — simply chose that “choice”. Simply by doing that, they collapsed like this.”

………… He sure is someone who speaks of something I can’t come to understand……! I’m amazed that he can talk about his opinion under this situation!

He continues to speak to me who is getting even angrier.

“—This may be the result of you and the ones around you that have most likely chosen the new “choice”.”

“……Stop speaking nonsense……!”

I make my right arm into the Solid Impact type and release my fist towards Euclid.

Euclid takes off his silver robe and tries to take me head on.

“Very well. I will deem you as my opponent. This must also be fate. —Then I will show it to you as well. Come out, Boosted Gear!”

—!?

A familiar looking gauntlet appears on Euclid’s right arm! The Boosted Gear!?

“—! What the heck is that!?”

I’m in shock, but Euclid increases his aura while he makes a stance with the gauntlet.

“—Should I show you one more? Balance Break!”

While emitting red lights, Euclid gets engulfed by his aura. The red aura starts to form into armour……and what appears is a plate armour that looks identical to my Sacred Gear!

“…………Boosted Gear Scale-mail……!?”

Euclid says it to me who is really shocked.

“Yes. This is indeed the Boosted Gear Scale-mail. Though this is the replica of it.”

[A replica!? Absurd! There is no way you can copy this Sacred Gear! That is an impossible feat for even Azazel, you know!?]

Even Ddraig is in shock. Of course! Longinus is one of a kind! I was even told that two of the same kind can’t appear at once! And it also isn’t a three in one type like Valerie’s as well!

Ddraig asks.

[……You are telling me your research has advanced that far!? No, it’s impossible. This is an act that even surpasses the power of the God from the Bible!]

“Yes, that is correct. I couldn’t possibly make this from nothingness. Except, it will become a different story if I have something that became the base for it.”

Euclid points at me.

“Hyoudou Issei. Within the dimensional gap, you met with Great Red and attained its body. Then what happened to your body which became the base for it?”

“……That should have been destroyed!”

Yes, I was told from Ophis that my previous body that was poisoned by Samael’s poison became the base of my new body that is made from Great Red’s flesh.

Euclid then says.

“……What if even a fraction of your flesh was left behind? What if we collect that and salvaged both the information of the Sekiryuutei's soul and the Sacred Gear by using the Holy Grail?”

………………He must be joking.

[…………!!]

Even Ddraig seems like he’s speechless.

Euclid continues to tell us who can’t say anything.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t copy Ddraig’s soul. However, it became possible to make this replica armour. Except, it became necessary to use several famous Dragons’ souls in order to use this Sacred Gear each time. Due to it being powerful, the cost for it became the worst.”

The armour that Euclid is wearing has different designs in certain parts compared to mine. Except, when you look at it from any direction, it’s the Boosted Gear Scale-mail!

“—Now then, let’s have a battle between the Sekiryuuteis.”

Euclid makes his stance.

“Stop messing with me!”

I fly forward! There’s no way I will lose against the replica! I can’t be allowed to lose!

[Solid Impact Booster!!!!]

I then went to hit Euclid with the thick right arm of mine!

The moment of impact—.

[BoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoost]

That sound echoes from Euclid’s replica Sacred Gear and his aura increases dramatically!

……Euclid blocks my Solid Impact head on.

The shockwave of my attack sways away the snow around us for a moment, but it seems like Euclid hasn’t received that much damage from it.

Euclid then looks at my armour with keen eyes.

“Hmm, so this is what the crimson armour looks like up-close. I sure can’t make it appear like that—”

—!

……Euclid’s fist thrusts into my stomach. An attack which breaks through my armour where it even reaches my flesh…… I……spit out the blood which came up to my throat.

Shit……are you telling me he’s using the power of the Sekiryuutei better than me……?

Euclid says it as my body bends in mid-air due to the intense pain.

“I have never once thought my power lacks even when compared to my sister Grayfia. —It does prove that the stronger the possessor of the Boosted Gear Scale-mail, the more will be the increase in power.”

……So this is the difference in power between us……

……Grayfia-san is the strongest [Queen] whose strength is said to be at the level of a Maou. And a Devil with equal strength to her is wearing the Boosted Gear Scale-mail……

……Even though I’m wearing the armour form which has evolved……

“This can’t be happening!”

I fly forward once again and release my strike at Euclid!

However, all of my attacks get dodged, and he attacks me back with a counter!

“Damn!”

[Star Sonic Booster!!!]

I close the distance with him right away, but he even dodges that attack as if he knew it was coming and I end up receiving a demonic-power attack to my back! My breath almost stops due to the impact……!

……Then how about this!?

I make the cannons appear from both my wings, I then aim for my target after I finish charging it!

“Crimson Blasteeeeeeeeeeeer!”

[Fang Blast Booster!!!]

My special attack! You won’t be able to endure it if you receive it head on, unless some miracle happens! And this time, it is the sky which is spacious unlike the small corridor where I had used it before; I have both the right and the left cannon active!

A huge crimson aura gets released from the cannon! He puts both his hands forward.

[BoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoost]

A large sound echoes from his replica Sacred Gear once again, and his demonic-power increases immediately !

“—Dragon Shot, was it?”

After he says that, he releases an aura that is a mixture of red and silver colour!

The two enormous auras collide high up in the sky of the castle town! A huge explosive sound echoes throughout the surrounding, and it causes a huge explosion up in the air!

After the cannon stops—what appears in front of me is Euclid who seems to be fine.

……My Crimson Blaster was nullified by being hit with an increased wave of demonic-power……!

I am in shock at this outcome. ……Can I even allow such a thing to happen……? For me who is wearing the crimson armour to have an equal attack power against the demonic-power that was shot from the replica……

Despite him being in a regular Balance Breaker state, will there be this much difference simply due to having a different possessor……?

Even if that happens to be a replica……no, since my opponent is the one with replica, I……

I can’t hide my agitation……then Ddraig shouts.

[Stand up, partner. We simply can’t lose against this. After all, he is my, no, he is our imposter! The Two Heavenly Dragons are enough with just me and Albion!]

His voice carried intense rage and fearless confidence.

[No! Hyoudou Issei and I are the Sekiryuutei! We are enough with just uuuuuus!]

—!

Ddraig’s shout. I……I…… Yeah. He’s right. I, no, we came this far together while going through many hard battles. We have survived till now! We……went through such situations together!

I then say it out loud while I put my left arm forward.

“I……am the Sekiryuutei! Hyoudou Issei the Sekiryuutei who fought together with Ddraig! Ddraig and I can’t accept to lose against a fake!”

Ddraig continues after me who is shouting.

[That’s right! There is no way an imposter like you can understand us the Two Heavenly Dragons that are suffering due to breasts and butts! I was finally able to have an understanding with Albion! So there is no way a Heavenly Dragon besides us two is allowed to exist!]

Ddraig shouts while showing off……but do any of the things he just said have anything to do with this situation!? I say that inside myself—but suddenly, a change occurs to my armour.

—All of the jewels located on my armour give out a silver light!

T-This kind of phenomenon never happened before. The silver light, something that looks like Vali’s Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive—. It happens while I am thinking.

A really bright light engulfs my body. After the light diminishes, something appears from each of the jewels!

A small white object starts to fly out from it!

“Ddraig, a white thing appeared from the jewels!”

When I say that due to the shock, Ddraig also tells me with a shocked voice.

[Yeah, I’m also shocked right now. The moment I spit out what was in my mind just before, Albion’s thoughts flowed into me. The last time something like this happened was the time when we risked our lives to equip his jewel on your right arm.]

He’s referring to the time when I fought Vali for the first time. I broke Vali’s armour back then and equipped a jewel which came out from his armour on my right arm.

The masterpiece which I started calling [Dividing Gear] turns the right gauntlet white, and we became capable of using Albion’s power—the power to half. Except, since the requirement and the risk to use it is too hard, I’ve been using it while treating it as something that needs to be sealed.

……This flying object that is about the size of my palm which has the shape of a small Dragon may be related to back then.

It seems like an inorganic thing rather than a living thing.

I can certainly sense Vali’s aura from these. Ddraig then says.

[……It appears like you can control them with your thoughts.]

Hmm, and will that use up my lifespan?

[No, the strange thing is that it only consumes your stamina and there is no risk for your life to be in danger.]

That’s good. So it will depend on my stamina. ……Well, my crimson armour is also extreme in terms of using up my stamina. Anyway, if I can do something about the enemy in front of me, then there’s nothing more to it!

Euclid then says.

“……Is that the power of Hakuryuukou you stole previously? Speaking of him, I requested Vali Lucifer for a fight just before, but no matter how good our battle became, Vali Lucifer didn’t show me his true strength—the Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive. So I asked him this. Why aren’t you changing into your serious form? Do you know how he replied to me?”

“…………”

I can’t imagine it, but he then says it as if he’s using the exact words Vali said to him.

[The only Sekiryuutei I will use Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive against is Hyoudou Issei. My pride won’t allow myself to use it against a fraud Red Dragon such as you. You—are not the Sekiryuutei I want to fight against with everything I have.]

—!

So he said such things……

My rival, huh. I don’t know why, but I should be feeling down to have a guy say such a thing about me, but I’m a bit happy to hear that, Vali.

I don’t want to be treated the same as the guy in front of me after all!

Well then, I’ll have myself use the power I stole from him. Though the shape of it changed quite a lot!

I start to learn how to use this strength by diving into my Sacred Gear. ……I see, this thing is amazing…… Depending on the way of how I use it, I can be quite a—.

Since I learnt how to use this ability, I start to imagine the small White Dragons moving. ……Will this be okay? I imagined them moving in a farfetched way……

[Yeah, give them your order, partner!]

Even Ddraig is saying that, so I will allow myself to use this new ability in a real battle immediately! At the same time, the number [X] appears on the jewel of my gauntlet.

“Go, my small flying Dragons!”

When I shout, several small White Dragons fly towards Euclid at high velocity!

They are much faster than I imagined! This sure is a good miscalculation!

The small Dragons that are flying in the sky on their own get deployed as if they are surrounding Euclid.

He also looks around him and it seems like he’s observing what the Dragons are going to do.

I release my Dragon Shot towards him!

“Eat this!”

A huge mass of demonic-power that gets shot from my hand! He dodges it swiftly, but—

[Reflect!]

A sound is made when the Dragon Shot hits the White Dragon, and it reflects the mass of demonic-power I shot by creating a wall of light!

And the shot that is reflected hits Euclid! Yeah, this is one of its abilities, reflect!

It can reflect an attack to a certain degree. And it just showed what will happen with my demonic-power. Well, it won’t be able to reflect attacks with too much destructive force and will break instead……

Euclid who couldn’t see that coming fixes his posture, but I continue to shoot out Dragon Shots at him in random!

“Go! Reflect Dragon Shoooooooooooooooot!”

My randomly shot attack heads towards Euclid! He hits them away with his gauntlet after finding the option to dodge them will be a bad idea—.

[Reflect!]

Without a moment to spare, the small Dragons fly around and start to pick up my Dragon Shots! The Reflected Dragon Shots hit Euclid!

The randomly shot Dragon Shots surround Euclid due to being reflected!

[Reflect] [Reflect][Reflect][Reflect][Reflect] [Reflect][Reflect]

My Dragon Shots starts to hit him due to the repetition of Reflect! My attacks have been dodged till just before, but he is definitely receiving damage if he is hit by them! It really does!

“Ku!”

He can’t withstand it so he stops the option of dodging and hitting them back, and instead he changes his tactics to using his own attack to eliminate my Dragon Shots.

Yeah, that must be the best option. But Euclid. There is something I learnt when I fought Cao Cao!

So I change the direction—,

“Tuuuuuuuurn!”

—of my Dragon Shots! My shot that is about to hit Euclid starts to evade before hitting Euclid.

[Reflect!]

And hits him from his back after being reflected!

Euclid has red smoke rising from his whole body. His armour is already in a bad state.

……Well, my stamina is also at its limit. And the count that appeared on my jewel is already low. It has reached [II] already.

This doesn’t indicate the countdown for how long my armour can last, but instead is the number of times I can use the small Dragons. The more I use it, the smaller the number gets.

So it means I can’t use it too many times. So I need to finish this!

—Then Euclid’s demonic-power increases to an insane amount.

“……Looks like I can’t guard against it. If that’s the case, I will give you another huge one! Unlike your cannon, I don’t need to charge mine after all!”

[BoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoostBoost]

For the third time, his replica Sacred Gear makes a sound and increases his aura so much.

Euclid releases the huge aura without a second to spare—.

That’s quite the thing. It will be dangerous being hit by that directly. But—.

I give orders to the small Dragons using my brainwaves! Then, they gather in front of me swiftly and line up in a line as if they are going to take that on!

Just as his attack is about to hit it. Then—.

[Divide!] [Divide!][Divide!][Divide!][Divide!][Divide!][Divide!][Divide!]

A sound which signifies the power being halved echoes, and it reduces the demonic-power shot from Euclid head on!

His demonic-power gets smaller each time it passes the small Dragons. By the time it reached me, his attack got reduced to a state where I can use my hand to hit it away and demolish it.

“…………!”

It seems like Euclid is in a daze after witnessing this.

This is the other ability of the small Dragons, Divide. This ability is the original power of Hakuryuukou. The object that can halve the power flies in the air by itself. There isn’t any other way to defend against attacks better than this!

The small Dragons vanish due to the damage received from Euclid’s demonic-power, but it’s not like they are completely gone. If I activate the ability again, they will come back.

However, if I think about it, this is originally Albion’s power. Then does that mean he has something to do with this ability to reflect……?

Rather, why did this ability show up all of a sudden? It’s not like it just awoke all of a sudden, right? I don’t think I had some growth either. Instead, it feels like the power flowed into me from Ddraig……

Ddraig then says.

[I’m not sure either. —But, ever since I spoke with Albion just before, it feels like it became lighter. My heart feels very light now! And also the feeling of being happy is spreading inside me. And since I received a mockery towards the Two Heavenly Dragons at such a time, I couldn’t stop myself from snapping. At that time, Albion’s consciousness flowed into me and said this.]

[We are the two of the only Two Heavenly Dragons—. Your pain is my pain, and my pain is your pain. We are not alone! So let’s break through pain together!]

—It seems like that’s what he said. Ddraig continues while his words carried his cries.

[I am not alone. —Now we are not afraid of breasts and butts.]

I can feel his dignity coming back to his words—.

……M-Maybe, due to the Two Heavenly Dragons having mutual understanding about the Oppai Dragon, it caused this phenomenon to occur……?

I-I don’t quite understand but, oh well, I’ll think about that afterwards.

Euclid smiles even under this situation. His armour starts to repair itself while emitting a red flash!

“Interesting. Interesting indeed. —This should be enough for a warm-up.”

The aura around Euclid increases again. And it isn’t an increase due to the replica Sacred Gear but due to the aura he originally has—.

That’s right. He did say he is equal to Grayfia-san. So the real fight starts from here huh……

Maybe he was simply observing my actions. After all, my one is the original. He wanted to observe my tricks and techniques, so it won’t be weird for him to make them into his own.

The fact is, I can only think that he was observing me very cautiously.

Damn. My stamina is about to run out. I’m entering the phase where I won’t be able to maintain my armour.

“More, show me the power of the Sekiryuutei even more—”

After he says till there, he stops.

That’s because an abnormal phenomenon is occurring where the whole area around here gets tainted in black. The town, the castle, the roads, the buildings, they are all getting tainted in darkness—.

I remember this phenomenon. Of course. That’s because the same thing happened downstairs—.

“……Is this Gasper!?”

When I say that while looking around me, the space right beside me starts to get distorted.

Then eventually, darkness starts to appear from the space and forms into a shape. —It’s Gasper who has the form of a beast.

Gasper says it while standing next to me.

《Ise-senpai, let me help you.》

“So you woke up huh.”

《Yeah. I heard about the situation from Asia-senpai. ……That’s why I can’t just sleep so nonchalantly.》

Gasper says that in a low-pitch voice where there is anger in his words. His eyes glow creepily in red.

This whole area, the whole castle town is getting engulfed in jet black darkness—.

……I can simply be speechless at seeing this. The scale of his ability is huge! So he can control the whole town with his darkness!? Just how far will his trait grow!? It’s such an abnormal ability that I can agree why it will be a Longinus-class!

The mass-produced Evil Dragons that were going wild in the town get absorbed by the darkness that came up from the ground—.

It’s so overwhelming. Once Gasper’s eyes glows, the many Evil Dragons that are causing havoc in the town stop at the same time. And the darkness that Gasper is controlling starts to eliminate them.

But there are no casualties caused to the civilians. He is simply choosing only the Evil Dragons and is getting rid of them. Even the flames on the buildings get taken care off.

《I can’t endure having the power they attained from Valerie being misused any more than this.》

Gasper the Beast of Darkness catches the sight of Euclid with his eyes.

“Yeah, you sure are right about that!”

I also make my stance since I have the same opinion. My stamina will run out soon so I won’t be able to maintain my armour, but our victory won’t change if I have this Gasper with me.

I will defeat him and capture him. I’m going to prove Grayfia-san’s innocence by sending this guy to the Underworld!

Gasper and I try to go at him, but—

“Euclid!”

It’s the silver haired man who is coming our way—Rizevim Livan Lucifer.

“Rizevim-sama.”

When Rizevim stands next to Euclid, he looks around with a smile.

“It’s about time we retreat. Uhyahyahya, this darkness seriously is dangerous. It even attacked the Evil Dragons. So where is Crom Cruach?”

“I doubt he’s still here.”

“Oh my, he seriously acts free, that Evil Dragon-san that is. Uhyahyahyahya!”

Rizevim even laughs under this situation. Vali then comes here flying while having his wings of light shine.

“Rizevim! I’m not done with you yet!”

Rizevim starts laughing when he sees that.

“The thing is, my grandson is really persistent. So let’s head back. The town is destroyed quite a lot already, so we are heading back, Euclid-kun. So teleport us out of here by force♪”

Euclid activates a teleportation-type magic-circle in the air quickly.

I won’t let him get away! Vali, Gasper, and I, close our distance between them immediately!

“Hold on, Rizevim!”

“You also stay still, Euclid!”

《Give me back Valerie’s Holy Grail!》

However, the attacks shot from the three of us don’t touch Rizevim at all. They vaporise when they hit him as if nothing happened.

—The Sacred Gear Canceller!

Rizevim swings his finger to the side and is making a mockery of us.

“Too bad♪. Since those powers have something to do with the Sacred Gears, it won’t work on me, you know? See-ya♪ So please support us from now on as we are going to cause a huge terror! And I will be sure to bring the legendary Evil Dragons next time as well!”

Dammit! So the attacks involved with a Sacred Gear really don’t work on him!

The three of us here; Vali, Gasper, and I, are all Sacred Gear possessors! I never thought I would feel this frustrated……!

Rizevim makes his declaration while he disappears into the teleportation light.

“Oh, yeah. Our name. –“Qlippoth”, nice name right? It’s the exact opposite of the “Tree of Life Sephirot”. I named it since we are misusing the Holy Grail that represents the name of Sephirot. It also has the meaning of being the force of evil♪ Ciao☆”

Rizevim, Euclid, and Lilith disappear into the teleportation light—.

At the last moment, Lilith looks at me……

Vali shakes his body in rage due to the frustration.

“……My dream is to defeat Great Red…… Dammit. Is my dream the same as his then……!? No, I……I am……different to him!”

I think it’s my first time seeing Vali show so much emotion—.

That’s how much he despises him, that man that is.

No, even I think he is the worst type of guy.

Rizevim Livan Lucifer—.

That man is too dangerous.