My Longinus Boosted Gear has lost Ddraig's soul.
Despite that, the Sacred Gear still worked. According to Azazel-sensei, Ddraig had adjusted it to function even without his soul. …So, Ddraig foresaw Irina coming to me. Yet he didn't tell me. And his parting words:
"Defeat me and become a 'Heavenly Dragon' yourself."
I don't get it. The Heavenly Dragons are you and Albion, right? I'm just a former human turned Devil who happened to inherit your soul's Sacred Gear.
Even so, I kept training. Irina and those knights led to some interrogations, eating up time, but I got stronger. I should have gotten stronger.
As the Rating Game approached, a party was held in the Underworld for high-ranking nobles. Officially, it was to wish young Devils success, but President Rias said it was just an excuse for the nobles to drink. During the party, I saw Koneko-chan slip away from the venue. She looked off, so I followed her. President Rias joined me, and we tailed Koneko-chan together.
We ended up in a forest near the venue. Waiting for Koneko-chan was a kimono-clad woman who resembled her, with cat ears and a tail revealing her as a nekomata. Koneko-chan had rushed out after spotting a black cat, likely the woman's familiar.
The woman was Kuroka, Koneko-chan's older sister. Once a Devil's servant, her youkai powers grew too strong, overwhelming her and leading her to kill her master, becoming a stray Devil. Some wanted to eliminate Koneko-chan before she could follow suit, but Sirzechs-sama saved her. She joined President Rias's peerage, but the experience made her deeply reluctant to use her nekomata powers.
Koneko-chan, shaken by the sudden reunion, faced Kuroka, who spoke.
"The Underworld's done for, nya. Come with me, Shirone."
Shirone—Koneko-chan's real name. Toujou Koneko was the name President Rias gave her.
"…What do you mean, 'done for,' Kuroka-neesama?"
"Just what it sounds like, nya. Whether the Demon God Pillars win or that goddess, the Lion King, wins, the Underworld's finished. Devils are done for, nya. The Old Satan faction and the current Satan are clueless. Are all Devils this carefree? They don't even know who's got their eyes on them."
Her words carried not mockery or exasperation, but anger.
"Come with me, Shirone. You don't want to die, do you?"
"Don't be ridiculous! What are you talking about!? The Demon God Pillars and the Lion King are part of the Khaos Brigade, right? Every mythology's uniting to deal with them. I don't understand what you mean by the Underworld ending!"
Kuroka, unfazed by Koneko-chan's outburst, responded gently, as if soothing a tantruming child. "Shirone, please listen. Those guys aren't the kind you can think of in those terms. They're not the kind you can dismiss with that perspective."
Her gentle tone belied a fierce urgency. What was it? I'd heard the Khaos Brigade's perception shifted after Ddraig's soul was taken, but… something felt off. What was different between our understanding and Kuroka's?
Then Kuroka looked at us. She'd known we were there. President Rias and I stepped forward to shield Koneko-chan.
"SS-rank stray Devil, Kuroka, you'll regret setting foot here while wanted!"
"Oh, the famous Gremory princess and the Red Dragon Emperor, nya. Sorry, but I'm taking this girl with me."
"No way! Koneko's my peerage! I won't let you take her! I'll protect her!"
"Protect her? Impossible, nya. Even if you protect her from me, they'll—"
Suddenly, a voice interrupted her. "You shouldn't speak carelessly, cat youkai."
Whose voice was it? Mine? President Rias's? Kuroka's? Koneko-chan's? Or all of ours?
"Manifest. Bear witness. These are the Seventy-Two Demon Gods."
The familiar incantation hit my ears as I recognized the pillar-shaped monstrosity.
"Demon God Pillar! Why here!?"
Its eerie reddish-black eyes writhed, all fixed on me.
"Let's be direct, join us, Red Dragon. Defeat the Lion King."
Another recruitment pitch. First Ddraig, now me? These monsters have no shame! And they mocked me last time!
"Wait, the Lion King Irina mentioned—isn't that you guys?"
"How insulting. We are enemies of the goddess called the Lion King."
So, there's infighting in the Khaos Brigade? Maybe that's why Vali's movements are unclear.
"Of course, there's a benefit for you, join us, and we can erase your sibling's tragedy."
Sibling? What? I'm an only child!
"You didn't know? You had a sibling who nevercametobe."
…What?
"Without sin or fault, they ended before birth. Denied even existence. What a meaningless tragedy. What a worthless despair. We seek to deny such tragedies, existing only as meaningless numbers. We have the means."
"…"
"But the goddess who stole Y Ddraig Goch from you intends to overlook all such tragedies. She'll perpetuate this ecosystem of pain. Can such ugliness be allowed? Join us, bearer of the Red Dragon. True Red Dragon. You can defeat the Lion King and reclaim what was taken—"
"I'll kill you, you bastard."
"What?"
I don't understand complex stuff. I'm an idiot.
But one thing I know: I can't forgive what was said. This thing mockedmyfamily.
I didn't know about a sibling. But if it's true, it mocked my parents' feelings, their wishes, and that unborn sibling. It called them meaningless. Worthless.
I felt rage equal to—no, greater than—what I felt toward Vali for threatening my parents.
"I won't forgive you, Demon God Pillar!"
"Welsh Dragon Over Booster!!!!"
My fury triggered Boosted Gear. Even without Ddraig, it still worked. Crazy.
"Hm. Data suggests humans rejoice when re-evaluated by those who belittled them… but there are exceptions? Or a side effect of no longer being human?"
This thing doesn't get human emotions! What part of that was supposed to make me happy!?
"Ascalon!"
I drew the holy sword from my Sacred Gear and stabbed one of its eyes. It barely scratched the surface. Way tougher than I expected! I remembered its kin, the fake Gremory, was nearly unscathed by President Rias's Power of Destruction. This thing's defense must be just as high.
"…Pathetic. Incineration Ritual: Zepar!"
"Gah!"
A shock hit me, too fast to process.
I was on the ground, face down. Pain coursed through me, but my body wouldn't move. It felt alien. I tried to force it, but only twitched, unable to stand. Blood loss made my consciousness waver. Ascalon was gone—blown away, lying near the monster's base.
"Issei!"
I'm fine, President Rias. I'll take this thing down.
"Laughable. Pathetic. Meaningless. Worthless. Reincarnated Devils have no use. Human potential is absent in this lifeform. My proposal was a mistake. We'll have to rely on the Holy Spear wielder's plan."
So frustrating! It doesn't see me. Not Hyoudou Issei, not the Red Dragon Emperor, not Rias Gremory's servant—just a "species," like ants or bees. Its recruitment was only because I'm the "Red Dragon Emperor," nothing more.
My fingers brushed something—a chunk of the monster's flesh, sliced by Ascalon.
"Hey, Demon God Pillar, Sacred Gears respond to emotions. I once absorbed my counterpart, the White Dragon Emperor's power, with it."
Its countless eyes twitched frantically.
"Do you realize what you're doing!?"
"Yeah! I might die! But even if I do, I want to punch you!"
With my last strength, I shoved the flesh into my Sacred Gear. The jewel, damaged from its Incineration Ritual, let me force it in.
Pain worse than with Vali surged through me.
"Argh! It hurts!"
It wasn't just pain—my body rejected the monster's cells. It felt like it would explode. My body screamed that death was better than this power. I couldn't stand, writhing like a fish out of water.
"Reckless! Impossible! Futile! Pointless!"
Shut up! Reckless, sure. Impossible, maybe. But futile? Pointless? I won't know unless I try!
"Uooooh!"
"Goetia Power is taken!!!!"
"Heh, Goetia Gear, huh?"
The Boosted Gear now bore warped patterns.
Incredible. The pain vanished. I stood effortlessly. …If Ddraig were here, he'd explain the new features. I get it myself, but it feels lonely.
"Unforeseen! What happened!?"
I rose, grabbed Ascalon, and slashed Zepar's body.
"Take this!"
Blood-like fluid sprayed, but I didn't care. I had no sword skills or experience—just reckless swings. Should've learned from Kiba.
I stabbed repeatedly. No resistance like before—the blade cut like tofu. I kept at it, ignoring its counterattacks. I just wanted to vent this overwhelming rage. Even the life-draining pain couldn't calm me.
"Impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible!"
"No way! I've been redesigned! My functions updated! How can a mere reincarnated ex-human outmatch me!? Not a Heroic Spirit, not a hero—just filth that abandoned human value! And it absorbed my power!? What was the Command Center doing!? How did they miss this possibility!? This is a clear design flaw—!"
"Shut up!"
I'm fighting you! I'm trying to beat you, and you blame the Command Center!?
"Uoooooooh!"
"Boost‼"
I plunged my hand into its wounds, unleashing a point-blank finishing blow.
"Dragon Shot Kai!"
"Guaaaaaaah!"
Zepar wailed as red aura consumed it, obliterating its form. Nothing remained. Damn, what power. I'm exhausted, though.
"Haa, haa… What…!?"
A sudden headache hit. No—a jolt like electricity shot from my arm through my body. It was a memory—someone's memory.
"Well, uh, nothing special?"
A merciless phrase marked the start of their journey's memory.
"…Explanation from Zepar. This failure stems from a design flaw by the Command Center—"
"Silence, Zepar!"
"You incompetent fool!"
"Negotiation failure!"
"Are you the true enemy!?"
"You disgrace the Seventy-Two Pillars!"
"A Demon God Pillar, yet—!"
"Become a houseplant!"
"Stay out of the Temple of Time!"
"Command Center, we demand Zepar's disposal!"
"So, you failed to transport a patient with that disease to this hospital? And you call yourself an EMT!?"
"That's not quite right… Why are they so furious?"
"Simply put, it's an information leak, being defeated was within calculations before, but this was beyond unexpected. And its body was absorbed! That risks exposing the Underworld incineration, Biblical revision, and our world's existence."
"Decision from Goetia. Zepar's connection will be forcibly severed."
"What!? I… What!?"
"A stroke of fortune! Report from Zepar!"
"Your last words? Speak."
"Hyoudou Issei—affirmed the Biblical revision!"
***
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