Archer continued, his tone laced with self-deprecation.
"So, what do you think? Still believe humanity has value? No, right? This world isn't your world, Goetia. Humans here might look the same, but they're different from those in that world. Some might have worth, but as a whole, comparing them to that world's humanity is an insult."
As the shocking revelation stunned everyone, one girl pressed on with her task—Asia Argento, fast becoming the second Iron Nurse. Having finished first aid for the wounded Hero Faction members, she deployed a magic circle.
Her pace was relentless.
"Come forth at my summons, forbidden dragons."
The magic circle, a Dragon Gate, was to Asia merely an "emergency response pathway." Her incantation was as routine as dialing 119.
Two dragons emerged. One, a giant with gray scales; the other, a dragon fused with a tree-like body.
"Guahaha! Time for a fight!"
"I understand your excitement, but we're not there yet."
Grendel, the Sinful Tyrant Dragon, descendant of Cain, and Ladon, the Treasure Tree's Guardian Dragon—both evil dragons that perished for good reason.
"Your orders, Master Asia?"
"Ladon, build a wall quickly. Isolating the air is the fastest way to ensure hygiene."
"Understood, Master Asia."
Grendel sighed. "You're stuck with grunt work too, huh?"
"Not at all. This is quite fun—reminds me of guarding the Treasure Tree."
"No chit-chat! Hurry!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
As Asia bossed around evil dragons like errand boys, she fixed Archer with a piercing stare, holding a bundle of bandages.
"Right, I need to rewrap your bandages. And I suspect severe injuries beneath—burns, or something similar. First, we'll remove them, examine you, then soak you in disinfectant. Grendel, help secure the patient."
"Wait, Asia, hold on! I'm a Servant—my wounds are etched into my soul, not my body. You can't treat them!"
"What nonsense! Is it a head injury?"
"To think you'd say that to me…! This is why I didn't want to see you…! Fine, I'll come back another time."
As Goetia and the Hero Faction gaped at his sudden shift in demeanor, Grendel stepped forward.
"Guahaha! Princess, I'll pin him down! For treatment, it's fine to break both legs to keep him still, right? Even killing him by mistake's okay for healing, yeah?"
"Stop, Grendel!"
Ignoring him, Grendel charged. Archer, unfazed, clicked his tongue.
"Stupid dragon."
Archer cracked open his coffin lid, pulling out a strange orb and hurling it at Grendel. The dragon shattered it with a swing, but black gel-like liquid splattered, coating him.
"What's this sticky—GAAAH!"
Grendel tried wiping it off, then screamed in agony, a cry that betrayed excruciating pain. His eyes lost focus, he spat blood, and he writhed on the ground like a beached fish.
"Guh! It hurts! What is this?!"
To Goetia, evil dragons like Grendel were disposable pawns. But evil dragons were notoriously durable, and Grendel, while not among the top three, was far stronger than average dragons, enhanced by the Demon God Pillars. To defeat him so easily required dragon-slaying properties.
Cao Cao had a guess.
"Samael's poison?"
"You figured it out at a glance, amateur."
"Of course. It's my own thinking—I'd know it well. I considered it myself against the Lion King. King Arthur has the dragon factor, the embodiment of Britain. Fused with the Red Dragon, she's fully draconic. So, using Samael, said to kill all dragons and snakes, is obvious, right?"
"Strictly speaking, it's not real poison—just a replica made with the True Longinus' power."
Samael, the forbidden serpent of Eden—God's poison, God's malice. A Fallen Angel yet a dragon, it tempted Adam and Eve with the fruit of knowledge, earning God's wrath. Ironically, it became a dragon that spewed poison lethal to all dragons, sealed deep in Cocytus for its danger.
"It's poisoned… so we need treatment. It's widespread, and without knowing the poison or having time for a serum, we'll need to excise the affected area. Hmm, the scales are in the way. Let's peel them."
"W-Wait!"
"Accept it, Grendel. You rushed in carelessly."
Ignoring the dragon's cries, Cao Cao questioned his future self.
"So, you used that poison to defeat the Lion King?"
"No. In my history, no goddess called the Lion King appeared. It was just knowledge from another world, tucked away in my mind. When Solomon summoned me and mentioned the Lion King, I first thought of Sairaorg Bael."
"Sairaorg Bael? The top young High-Class Devil?"
"Yeah, his peerage has the Lion King's Battleaxe."
Through Zepar's parallel world observations and the High-Class Devils' covert investigations, Goetia knew of the Lion King's Battleaxe's existence, if not its details. The Hero Faction shared this intel. Ironically, the Satans and their allied Fallen Angels didn't know—because to the High-Class Devils, who lost their first leader, it was a trump card. A ridiculous contradiction: terrorists knew what the government didn't.
"They say Samael became that way from God's wrath, but for me, it was fear—fear of death, a thirst to live. Probably inspired by someone's wish to survive."
"With the True Longinus, fear alone let you match a god? Bragging?"
"What's fun about bragging to my past self? It's just fact. Truth is, I'm not strong. I made this poison to kill a low-class reincarnated Devil, not even a year old."
That low-class Devil must've left a bitter memory. Cao Cao wasn't one to hold grudges over losses to strong foes, so if his future self felt this way, that Devil must've used despicable means.
"Well, Goetia, Professor, amateurs—don't mess up in this history. And beware the god of worldline E, neither D nor F."
He cracked open his coffin lid, releasing a familiar mist that enveloped him. In an instant, he vanished.
I, Yuuto Kiba, returned to Kuoh Town in a somber mood. Not just me—the entire Rias Gremory peerage came back burdened with more anguish than when we left.
First, our master, Rias Gremory. We lost the Rating Game against Riser Phenex, with her future at stake. It wasn't a complete rout, but far from a close defeat. Issei's absence was significant. Now, she faces an unwanted marriage, with an engagement party looming. Smiling through it will be impossible.
Next, Akeno, our vice-president. She's hit hardest. She lost her only family, Barakiel. Despite their rift over her mother, he was her father. Deep down, she knows he wasn't at fault, but she had to believe otherwise to cope. Since his death, she's withdrawn, barely speaking, silent on the train back.
Then, Koneko. She reunited with her fugitive sister, Kuroka, a stray Devil. The Demon God Pillars' attack muddled things, but why Kuroka urged her to leave the peerage is unclear. She seemed to know much about the Pillars. That reunion, tied to Koneko's trauma, shook her deeply.
Gaspar's benefactor from his homeland is missing. Persecuted by his family, the destruction of his home paled compared to his worry for this person. The Pillars struck Romania before entering the Underworld, and with only vague news of a disappearance, his anxiety is overwhelming.
Issei, too—attacked by the Lion King's subordinate, his Sacred Gear's Ddraig was stolen. After the Pillar incident, he fell into a coma. He can fight, but he's not himself, often distracted.
Finally, me. I lost my mentor.
Okita Souji, the Lucifer peerage's sole Knight, my sword master and idol. He died in a mutual kill with Solomon's subordinate. To push Okita that far, they had to be formidable. Solomon, possessing a descendant of the Old Satans, was destroyed in that body, dying a second time. With the ring broken, a third revival is impossible.
With the killer and Solomon gone, my anger must turn to Solomon's remnants. I avenged Excalibur, only to swear vengeance on another so soon.
"Issei, I want to defeat the Demon God Pillars—to avenge my mentor. Will you lend me your strength?"
"Of course! No need to ask!"
"Thank you!"
"Yeah, let's win!"
Issei agreed readily, seeming back to normal, which was a relief.
Kingu, linked to the Pillars' identity, can't be questioned yet—not by me, but by the Three Factions. The Kyoto yokai leader hosting him is hostile to the Biblical factions, likely due to Solomon's intrusion during Sirzechs and Azazel's talks. Sirzechs and Serafall operate hotels in Kyoto, so relations weren't always this strained. The drastic shift suggests Kingu's importance to them.
His truth will be revealed at a multi-mythology summit hosted by Takamagahara. Until then, he's under Japanese mythology's protection, with Biblical factions barred from contact.
What value will Kingu's information hold? Will it plunge the world into further chaos?
Rias once said, "It's all Solomon's fault." That might not be far off. Even with Solomon dead, the world remains in turmoil.
"…There's something I've been wondering."
"Where is my sister? I thought she was with the Pillars, but her attitude felt different. Whose will is she following?"
"Ugh! This is such a hassle, nya! I just wanna see Shirone, nya!"
"Quit your nya-nya whining, Kuroka!"
"Honestly. I need to finish this job Solomon dumped on me so Tamamo-chan can go on an elegant UK trip. Hurry up, will you?"
"What elegant UK trip, nya?! Getting used for that makes you a cheap woman—nya!"
"Didn't catch that, stray cat. Who's cheap?"
"Stop it, Kuroka. That lady's pissed after losing to Solomon in every way—oww!"
"Talkative monkey. Have you and the cat forgotten your lives hang on my mood? Without Solomon, you'd be awkward stragglers in the Khaos Brigade, right? Especially you, monkey—you nearly died in the Dragon God's Reality Marble, didn't you? No, Solomon caused that mess. And Tamamo-chan wasn't just swayed by a travel voucher. Solomon threatened to send the Apocalyptic Beast to our world's Moon, so I'm reluctantly complying—for my master's peace, for our Seraph's harmony!"
"But the voucher was nice, right?"
"Oh, absolutely! I mean, how did that pseudo-Beast, sealed in a ring until now, get such a premium voucher? Top-tier hotel, bypassing a six-month waitlist, all-inclusive service—it's cheating! I get why his era's humans wanted to deify him. From the Moon Cell's perspective, him becoming a god would've been convenient—offloading Heaven's management, human protection, and the cycle of life!"
"That's a god's true thoughts? The old man wasn't like that, but it feels god-like, ze!"
"Guess the Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels treating him as human were just too incompetent, nya."
***
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