Life.4 As the Deterrence for the World —AxA—
I, Hyoudou Issei, teleported to the pseudo-space barrier along with Rias, the Gremory peerage (+ my peerage!), and Yasaka-san (+ the Youkai who were confident in their strength), and we have already started fighting against the group of Devils from the Realm of the Dead! The place we teleported to was an ancient ritual spot located in the northern part of pseudo Urakyoto.
There were stone altars, pillars, and huge boulders with Shimenawa[1] attached to them. I knew it because I visited this place when we were exploring the real Urakyoto a little, and I heard that this was the place where the leaders who managed Urakyoto had been telling fortunes of good and ill omens and receiving revelations from Gods and Buddhas revered in Kyoto for generations. In other words, although it was a pseudo-space, we had teleported to a very important place in Urakyoto.
Immediately after teleporting, we encountered a group of enemies and entered a state of combat, beating up the Artificial Devils. The combination of the two swordswomen, Xenovia with a Dual Swords style using the Holy Sword Durandal and the Holy Sword Excalibur, and Irina, who used the Holy Sword Hauteclere, was slaughtering the Artificial Devils in an excellent combination of sword attacks.
"It's my specialty to hunt Devils after all!"
"Saying that as you are now is kind of amazing!”
"They are our enemies, so that’s not a problem!"
Saying that, she vastly increased the holy aura around her blade and started cutting left and right, turning the Artificial Devils into dust. Meanwhile, Akeno-san was wearing the Oni mask while lightning covered her body.
"Ibaraki-Dōji-sama, Ura-sama, please show us all of your powers."
The legendary Onis that Akeno-san had contracted with — Ibaraki-Dōji and Ura, crushed, smashed and kicked the flying Artificial Devils with their monstrous strength. In addition, there was holy lightning, lightning with a great deal of light added to it, fired by Akeno-san pouring down, so I guess it’s not something you can withstand!
“Fafnir-san! Do your best, please!”
[Asia-tan is cheering for me. I will give my super best.]
The golden Dragon King Fafnir, summoned by Asia, mowed down the attacking Devils with his tail and blew them away with an aura blast from his mouth. There was a limit to the use of Fafnir in Rating Games, but if it’s a real fight where there were no such rules, he could go on a rampage. With cheering (and panties) from Asia, it looked like he would do his best infinitely!
"Disappear!"
Rias unleashed a dense sphere of aura that compressed the Power of Destruction towards a group of enemies! Cladding herself with the Power of Destruction, as her words suggested, she would erase the Artificial Devils.
This time, as Gasper was in the real Urakyoto, she wouldn’t be able to use [Forbidden Invade Balor the Princess], so she had her whole body clad in Dividing Wyvern Fairy’s [Crimson Extinct Dragonar] armour (so this time, Xenovia was not wearing the Wyverns' armour).
Rias originally had a lot of talent and participated in the tournament, experiencing battles with strong enemies, so the power of her destruction aura increased. The Sekiryuutei's power was also added to that. Manipulating the Power of Destruction, she shot out an extra-large lump of aura above the enemy and rained small spheres down on the group of Devils.
The Artificial Devils disappeared without being able to do anything when attacked by the rain-like Power of Destruction. It was a feat that could be done because it was densely packed.
On the battlefield where my comrades defeated the Artificial Devils, something super-fast instantly turned the enemy into dust. It was Kiba, who ran through the battlefield at a speed that couldn't be captured by the naked eye. He had activated [Blade Blacksmith] and had created a single Holy Sword brimming with holy aura with his Sacred Gear, hacking the Artificial Devils at great speed. Knights wearing armor resembling a Dragon followed him.
—This was the Balance Breaker of Kiba's [Blade Blacksmith], one of Kiba's Sacred Gears, [Glory Drag Trooper]. The group of Draconic Knights used by Kiba also had Holy Swords and slashed the Artificial Devils.
While using the Balance Breaker from [Blade Blacksmith], he couldn't activate his other Sacred Gear, [Sword Birth]'s Balance Breaker, [Sword of Betrayer].
...But I noticed recently that Kiba had been exploring the possibility of merging the two Sacred Gears, even though that should be impossible. However, we had overcome many impossible things and Sacred Gears were made stronger by the power of feelings. If that happened, he would get even stronger…
I was wearing my crimson armour and blasting Artificial Devils with my Dragon Shots. While me and my companions were in great activity, the one who was making the Artificial Devils tremble in fear was — a golden beast with nine tails. Yasaka-san had turned into her original form of a huge nine-tailed fox.
[I will not forgive anyone who casts darkness onto the ancient city!]
She exhaled a high-powered flame from her mouth and burned the Artificial Devils at once. There was a person who skipped on Yasaka-san's head. —It was Kunou.
"As expected! Haha-ue!”
Like, Kunou followed us on the teleport, and ended up on the battlefield with us. However, even though Kunou had a young body, she was clad in a powerful Youki, and her golden hair had turned white. This was something that showed a glimpse of the Divine Beasts, Masaki Gitsune.
Kunou added her own aura on Yasaka-san, increasing her mother's Youkai power. It was a mother-daughter combination. Youkai who were proud of their strength also fought right next to Yasaka-san. While we were fighting the group of Artificial Devils, Rias and Yasaka-san shouted at me.
“Ise! Fight Erebus with Ddraig!”
[That's right! We are enough here!]
Kunou shouted too,
"Go, Ise!"
She gave me reassuring words.
I said, "Got it!", and flew towards the altar — a huge rock in the depths of the ritual place... Ah, that's right. It was as Rias and the others said. It was already pretty obvious where Erebus was hiding. Since before, I couldn’t help but feel a super huge aura coming from the direction of the altar, after all. As I flew through the sky, I spoke a powerful chant.
“—The Crimson Red Dragon dwelling within me, awaken from your dominance”
A dazzling crimson glow came from the jewel on the right arm.
[—The Crimson Heavenly Dragon I possess within me, rise up to become a King and roar]
Ophis’s voice was heard from the jewel, A completely black aura overflowed from the jewel on the left arm gauntlet.
[—The jet-black God of Infinity]
The extreme aura tinged with deep crimson surrounded my entire body.
"—The glorious God of Dreams"
The black aura representing infinity covered me even more.
“[—Watch over the false forbidden existence we shall become that transcends the boundaries]”
The armor of the True Queen became tinged with jet black, coming to embody the "Infinite" of the Dragon God. Ophis and I sang the last passage together—
“[—Thou shalt dance like radiance within our inferno!]”
"<<[D∞D !! D∞DD∞D!! D∞DD∞DD∞D!!!! D∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞D!!!!!! D∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞D!!!!!!!!]>>"
From the jewels of the whole body, "D∞D!!" echoed loudly. The symbol that meant infinity appeared on the jewels ∞.
"<<[Dragon Infinity Drive!!!!!!]>>"
My Dragon Deification was complete along with the voice. At the same time, the countdown for Ddraig’s manifestation began. I went to the altar and said out loud.
"You're here, right? Primordial God-sama!”
When I said this — the space above the giant rock was distorted and a hole was drilled while sparking. From the hole, a pitch-black aura filled with darkness flowed.
[The opponents of me, Erebus, are…the two Sekiryuutei, huh?]
The person who came out of the hole in space was a young man with black hair, light black armor and a black cloak. Perhaps in his mid-twenties. This was one of the Primordial Gods, the God of Darkness, Erebus… I shrugged my shoulders.
"Are you saying that we're not worthy opponents, is that it?"
Erebus raised the tip of his mouth.
[No, you are a threat. Every time I watch the recordings of your games, it makes me tremble.]
As soon as he finished speaking, Erebus hurled a dark mass of aura towards me. The God's aura of darkness had been compressed to an overwhelming extent. But I responded with my fist and repelled it in another direction. The aura that was repelled flew far away in a different direction, causing a phenomenon of black expansion. It must have happened when the black aura I repelled hit the ground. Seeing this, Erebus clicked his tongue.
[...You repelled a blow from a God. For an ordinary Devil, it has the power to blow up dozens...or even hundreds of them. I wonder what's going on with these things called Longinus.]
“Recently, I have dealt with Gods more often after all. I’m not missing my harsh daily training, you know.”
[An ex-human who defeats Gods by training, huh? The jokes are also reaching a scary level.]
I said to Erebus.
"If you stop your evil acts against Enma-sama and surrender, I was told by the superiors that we can stop the battle. So, what are you going to do?"
When he heard my words, Erebus’ eyes slightly quivered.
[—Yama—Enma refused our invitation. If Enma joined, this alliance would have been powerful. But I also thought of this. While interfering with Enma, I will deal a big blow to this country and to you too.]
"So, you are using ley lines and the ojizō-san to get Japan out of order?"
[Typical of a God, right? This Erebus is not that good at fighting, but with tricks, I am very good.]
“...I will ask again. Are you going to surrender?”
Erebus narrowed his eyes at my second question.
[You are the hated dragon that soiled my little sister Nyx. It would be better if you disappeared into the darkness.]
"—I understand."
The warning was ignored. It was enough. If you don’t defeat guys like him quickly, they’ll surely do something bad. Shalba, Euclid, Rizevim and the legendary Evil Dragons were all like that. Anyway, it's wiser to beat them up quickly.
These guys' fangs can easily reach my loved ones after all. So, there shouldn’t be any leeway for them to do that. I jumped forward, releasing a lot of deep black crimson aura from the rear impeller. Erebus smiled upon seeing that.
[A head-on attack without tricks, huh!]
Darkness gathered in Erebus’ hand and became something like a barrier, but I punched it with all my might without paying any heed!
"<<[D∞D!! D∞DD∞D!! D∞DD∞DD∞D!!!! D∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞D!!!!!! D∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞D!!!!!!!!]>>"
From the jewels on my armor, this sound echoed and my power increased explosively with Doubling. I already used [Penetrate], so I passed through the barrier of darkness without difficulty and a straight punch with my right arm flew to Erebus. Erebus defended with his left arm, but my right punch repelled the defense. I spun my body on the thrust of the punch and gave Erebus a high left kick.
Erebus, with the movement only of the upper body, avoided my kick, and finding an opening, tried to shoot an aura of darkness — but the tail of the armor stretched and, conversely, caught Erebus off guard. From the tip of the tail, Ascalon's third blade was revealed and tried to pierce him, but Erebus stopped it with the aura that remained in his hand and jumped back once.
When the attack of Erebus’s aura hit me, the part of armour where it landed got cracked and a strong shock was transmitted to the interior...! If it hit the same spot many times, it looked like I was going to suffer serious damage! Right after that, Erebus flew into the sky as if changing locations; I also chased him. However, Erebus suddenly turned to me in midair.
While doing that, he raised his divine aura on both hands to the extreme, and then released it towards me at once. From the cannons stored in the four wings, I removed the cannons from the two lower wings under the arm. While holding them with my hands, I gathered aura at the cannons’ muzzles! Opposing Erebus’s aura barrage, I also released a vast amount of aura from the two cannons!
Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonn!!
The moment the Primordial God’s and Dragon Deification’s auras collided, the explosion and the impact from it instantly turned the whole area into scorched earth! The shock was transmitted even through the armour and the pain ran through my body! Erebus fired an aura of darkness towards me as he flew in the sky. I dealt with the aura of the God as I held the cannons extending from under my arm in my hand. I kept launching small yet powerful aura bullets, offsetting every shot by Erebus.
Occasionally, an attack from Erebus’s aura would hit me, blowing off a part of my armour, but I immediately rebuilt it with the aura and began to repair the armor. Naturally, the impact of the aura's attack resonated within the armor, so the damage to the body was building up more and more. Erebus said this while I was fighting an aura cannon battle with him.
[Despite having so much strength, why are you playing the children’s...make-believe hero!?]
"It just happened to become necessary while getting to where I stand now!"
While both of us lacked the deciding move, it once again became a close fight. I made Ascalon and Ascalon II appear in both hands, together with the tail Ascalon, I started a battle with both arms, legs and a tail! Erebus kept talking as he dodged my punches with Ascalon, kicks and tail thrusts with Ascalon. Every time Erebus dodged my attacks, he looked more uneasy.
[…Ku! What a dense aura! If you receive it directly, it will be the end! That explains Nyx being defeated!]
"Yes! How about defeating you like your little sister?!”
[However, the current Sekiryuutei! Even though you have all that strength, why don't you try to achieve domination!?]
"What are you talking about!?"
[I heard you can obtain the power to control the Devils, reign as king, and destroy other mythological systems!]
"I have no interest in something like that!!"
[Why!? It's a power capable of slaughtering even Gods, you know!? The chosen! You can become a king, or a God! You can also satiate the lust you are so fond of to your heart’s content!]
I — ejected Ascalon II from the right gauntlet! Erebus easily dodged the flying sword, but I shot Ascalon from the left gauntlet in succession! Erebus evaded this too by twisting his body. But I didn't care, as I fired many Dragon Shots at Erebus. But even that move got easily dodged by Erebus. Erebus said with a sneer, as if to ridicule me.
[Fuhahaa! I have seen at least your attacks on the match videos. This technique I saw in the battle with Vidar!]
Yes, yes, I knew that. The Dragon Shot that he dodged hit Ascalon II that was flying ahead, changing the trajectory. Ascalon II, whose trajectory changed, hit another Ascalon, and its trajectory changed too. Then it got hit by yet another Dragon Shot — the Ascalon that was ejected from the left gauntlet, after changing its trajectory, returned to Erebus, approaching diagonally from behind him! Just before he got hit, Erebus noticed a sign of the holy aura and looked in the direction of Ascalon returning.
—Here! I stretched Ascalon's tail and tried to stab Erebus when he showed an opening. Erebus somehow managed to evade the returning Ascalon by twisting his body, but — the Ascalon that was dodged went right back to my left arm. Erebus somehow managed to repel Ascalon from the tail that was coming at him with an aura-filled hand. —Thump! Once again, the Ascalon that had returned to the left gauntlet pierced deeply into Erebus's abdomen.
[Gnu!]
Erebus let out a voice of agony. After pulling Ascalon, I spoke while punching Erebus in the face.
“Devils, Fallen Angels, and Dragons too. All of them are companions. Isn't that awesome?! And I am — Oppai Dragon, who’s both a Devil and a Dragon! I will definitely beat the bastards that endanger the children!!”
At the same time I shouted, I spread the four wings at a very close distance and pointed the four guns forward. The aura of infinity gathered at the four guns.
Douuuuuunnn...
The aura built up and the cannons rumbled. And then, I fired all four cannons at once!
"<<[D∞D!! D∞DD∞D!! D∞DD∞DD∞D!!!! D∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞D!!!!!! D∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞DD∞D!!!!!!!!]>>"
I screamed along with the voice echoing from jewels!
“∞ Blasteeeeeer!”
The aura that was raised to the extreme was fired from the cannons while furnished with [Penetrate]. Erebus bathed in it head-on. The ∞ Blaster's aura hit the floor of pseudo-space and, along with a massive explosion, an extreme aura pillar with a combination of deep crimson and jet black was lifted high into the sky.
The remnants of the deep black crimson aura were spreading everywhere. When the fumes cleared, a large crater was born before me. I descended to the center of the crater. The moment I got down, I got dizzy and stumbled... I was out of breath.
…What was that 'I'm not that good at fighting'? Obviously, if it wasn't for Dragon Deification’s armour, I would’ve died long ago.
Just from the impacts of Erebus’s aura attacks, I couldn’t help but feel an intense pain all over my body... Erebus himself was down, and there were no signs of him getting up. ...The suppression of Erebus was over, I guess? What about Gressil and Sonneillon, I wonder?
Cao Cao and the [Slash Dog] team… It happened when I was thinking about that. Bac![2] Erebus raised his upper body only and pointed his hand toward me! —My whole body got enveloped in an aura of darkness!
"Kuu!"
I immediately launched a Dragon Shot towards Erebus!
[Guh!]
This time for sure, Erebus lied powerless, completely without his aura. However, he said with a laugh at the end.
[Fufufu... I told you I was good at tricks.]
After saying just that, Erebus lost consciousness.... What did that mean? However, Erebus seemed to have completely lost consciousness, so I formed a magic circle for communication close to my ear and reported to my companions about the defeat of Erebus. Soon after, Rias and the others, who had annihilated the Artificial Devils, joined me.
Apparently, the Hero Faction and the [Slash Dog] team seemed to have successfully defeated Sonneillon and Gressil respectively, and they were coming here. I tied the passed-out Erebus with a special magic rope so that he wouldn't be able to escape. Gressil and Sonneillon disappeared without leaving a trace, so bringing the tied-up Erebus back to the original space would be the end of the mission, I think.
"Now then, we should get in touch with Georg and leave—"
When I was saying that, Kiba spoke to me with a puzzled expression.
“...Hey, Ise-kun. The shine in the jewels of your armor... Isn’t it strange?”
What? The shine of the jewels...in my armour? When I looked at the jewels of my armor — they somehow seemed darker!? The black mist seemed to linger on the jewel, and the usual glow was shaded! Hey, Ddraig, what is this...wait! Ddraig, the countdown should have ended, right? Why don't you come out? When I spoke to Ddraig that is inside me—
"────────。──────。─────"
There was a lot of noise and I couldn't hear Ddraig's voice! W-what's going on!? Speaking of which, Ddraig was not showing up! Ddraig's voice, which always reached me, was full of noise and Ddraig didn't come out... What the hell was this phenomenon...?
At this time — the ground shook a lot! Earthquake!? It's quite powerful though... This was a pseudo-space, and there shouldn't be an earthquake other than someone else's skill! Well, I didn't even know if earthquakes could happen in the original Urakyoto!
"Ah!"
"Kyaa!"
My companions screamed! Looking at them — I saw something like darkness appearing at their feet! They had their legs locked and were being sucked in little by little!
"W-What is that!?"
Rias also had her feet caught in the darkness and was gradually sinking into the ground! The deep crimson armor was also undone. Meanwhile, the ground trembling became even more intense, making it impossible to stand! Although I say that, it’s because Rias, Asia and everyone else were sinking into darkness!
"Kuu!"
Rias tried to wipe away the darkness at her feet with the Power of Destruction — but Rias's power was sucked into the darkness, and no change occurred! The power of Rias's destruction didn't work either!?
"Damn you!"
When Xenovia stabbed Durandal into the darkness — the Holy Sword itself was caught in it and started to sink in. Taking out the Holy Sword became impossible!
[Kuuh!]
Yasaka-san, who was in her original form of a giant Kyuubi, and the other Youkais also had their feet caught in the darkness.
"Ha-Haha-ue!"
Kunou over Yasaka-san's head seemed to be fine.
[Kunou! In no way separate from Mom's body!]
Yasaka-san told Kunou. Shit! Given the earthquake and this whole situation, it was better to fly and rescue everyone! Luckily, I still didn't have my feet stuck in the darkness, so I decided to grow out my dragon wings, rising to the sky and pulling my mates out of the darkness as I flew. I expanded the two dragon wings and tried to fly to the sky—
"Uwaa!"
Immediately, I felt the sensation of the gravity force. I fell without flying and was on all fours on the floor. ...Not good! I cannot fly! It's not like the ground in this space was doing something! In other words, there’s something wrong with the space itself... While I was thinking like that—
[Unfortunately, this is going to be the end of you.]
—An unknown voice was heard. In the next moment, unbelievable pressure and aura could be felt from above us! A dark mist appeared there, spreading across the sky and gradually becoming huge. And what appeared in the sky was — an extra-large black sphere that should be around a hundred meters. It was releasing an unbelievable aura, and I could also feel the aura of a God. A large eyeball appeared in the sphere. When I thought that, eyeballs started to appear one after another, and the sphere became covered in eyes! In addition, countless black tentacles grew in every corner of the sphere, and at the tip of the tentacles was a hand. Was it okay to say that — it was a sphere full of eyes with countless long, thin hands? The mouthless sphere directed all of its eyes towards us.
[I am the God of the Abyss[3], Tartarus.]
—! I've heard that name before! Rias screamed.
“Tartarus!? One of the Primordial Gods... The one who embodies the [Abyss]... No way, even Tartarus is related to the turmoil this time...!”
Tartarus was one of the Rulers of Hell who had responded to Hades' call. ...N-no way, even Tartarus showed up here! Tartarus said.
[What’s wrong, I was simply watching you from behind the scenes since the mid-fight. Whether Erebus's strategy worked or not, I would accomplish my goal.]
[....Goal, you say?]
Yasaka-san asked. Tartarus replied.
[To sink all of you into the Abyss along with this space made by a Longinus.]
"—!?"
Upon learning the goal of Tartarus, we couldn’t help but be shocked! Seriously?! It meant this space was sinking into the [Abyss] at this very moment! T-Then, Cao Cao and Ikuse-san, who were fighting elsewhere in this space, were in the same situation as us now— I tried to communicate with Georg, who should have been operating the barrier from Urakyoto.
“Georg, can you hear me!? Can’t you do something!?"
However, there was no answer.
"...It seems that we got cut off from the other side; it isolated us from contacting them there."
Rias said that. Tartarus continued.
[There are many Longinus possessors in this space. A perfect opportunity for dealing with them all at once. From the moment you teleported, this space was adjusted from the outside to become my area. Unfortunately, you were so focused on the new children of Lilith and Erebus that you didn't notice me. The owner of Dimension Lost should no longer be in control.]
…So, he wanted to take advantage of the Erebus group's plan and get rid of us! Rias asked.
"Why are you targeting Longinus owners!?"
Tartarus replied.
[From the shadows, I watched as the owners of Longinus defeated Lilith's new children, Gressil and Sonneillon who overflowed with talent, and the Primordial God Erebus. As I thought, Longinus are dangerous. A force that can easily kill Gods... It's not something mere humans or supernatural beings from other factions should possess.]
"So, are you going to kill us!?"
When I asked, Tartarus narrowed his countless eyes.
[No. I will seal you in the Abyss. The Sacred Gear System is made in such a way that it will move on to the next owner if the previous one is killed. So, it’s useless. That's why I will seal you all in the Abyss.]
—! ....What the hell! So, he's planning to throw all of us into the Abyss! I asked Rias.
"Rias, what is the Abyss?"
Rias said with a bitter expression.
“...I heard it's an area that you’ll never be able to escape once you descend there. It's a world of pure darkness without even a single ray of light...”
“...T-Then, I definitely don't want to go down there. There will probably be no breasts there, and even if I sink with Rias and the others, if there is no light, I won't be able to see them! —It's the end of the world!”
I yelled at Ddraig inside me. Ddraig! Get out please! At this rate, we will be taken to a world without oppai, to a world where you can’t see oppai!
"──────。─────！ ────！"
My partner’s voice was still full of noise and I couldn't hear it properly! It didn’t seem like he’s capable of manifesting himself! What’s going on!? Tartarus told me as if he read my mind.
[Erebus used a darkness incantation on you with his remaining power. Sekiryuutei Ddraig will not be able to appear immediately. And while he can’t do so, you will sink into the Abyss.]
That technique of Erebus... It was to seal Ddraig! Probably, Erebus was cooperating with Tartarus and made a plan to lessen his burden when passing the baton to him! Being a God's curse, as expected, even Ddraig wouldn't be able to leave immediately! In the meantime, my feet were also caught in the darkness and started to sink! Rias and the others had already sunk in the darkness to the waist! I-If it continued like this, it would be bad! We, together with the entire pseudo-space, would be sealed into the Abyss!
"God of the Abyss!"
While everyone was struggling, Kunou, who was safely on top of Yasaka-san, asked Tartarus.
"Why?! Why are you, despite being a God, trying to harm our world!?”
Tartarus turned all eyes on Kunou. Kunou got a little scared, but she screamed with courage.
“There are a lot of people looking forward to the show in Urakyto! No, not only that! No one who lives in Kyoto or who visits Kyoto bothered the God of the Abyss, did they!?”
[This is also because cause and effect got intertwined. In my view, you are evil, and to you, I look like a Jashin[4]. That’s all there is to it.]
Upon hearing this, Kunou looked puzzled, but then she made a brave face.
“...I don't understand what a God thinks. But! I will not let you sink my companions and Haha-ue into the Abyss!”
Saying that, Kunou raised her aura and showed her intention to fight Tartarus! Yasaka-san also had tears at seeing her heroic appearance.
[Well said, Kunou! This is the one who will carry the burden of the next generation of Kyuubi!]
...Geez, if a primary school student would go that far, if I didn't get up, it'd be lame, right? While my feet were locked in the darkness, I lifted my body and tried to get in stance against Tartarus— It was then. The necklace worn by Kunou, the one in the shape of a rainbow-colored snake, began to emit light. When it made the nearby area sparkle in a rainbow-colored light — it then changed to a jet-black aura and distorted the space near Kunou. A hole was created in a distorted space that was large enough for a person to pass through. And then, two people jumped out of there. Looking there — two lolis could be seen! Ophis and — Lilith!
T-The Dragon God sisters, why were they in such a place!? We couldn't help but be surprised! From Kunou's rainbow-colored snake necklace that glowed...Ophis and Lilith came out! Kunou also said that necklace was something that Ophis gave her, right!?
"Ophis!"
When I called, Ophis — gave me a V sign! No, not that! Why were you here!? Even though you shouldn’t appear in public too much! And why in front of Tartarus!? I was so puzzled that I didn't even know what to ask! From above Yasaka-san's head, Ophis looked at our current situation. After confirming this, she looked at Tartarus.
“Primordial God Tartarus of the Abyss. I won’t let you bully Kunou, Ise and the others anymore. They are my precious friends.”
Tartarus widened his eyes.
[Hou, and to think that the Ouroboros Dragon would be my opponent... Very well. Now that you are finite, let's see how much—]
But Ophis shook her head. Lilith also followed.
“Tartarus's opponent, not us.”
“Not us.”
[So, what will be my opponent?]
Then, in response to Tartarus, Ophis looked at a certain point in the sky and said,
“—Brought it.”
“Brought it to Ise!”
When Ophis and Lilith said that — cracks appeared in the sky! The cracks gradually spread, and then shattered into pieces with a crunching sound. That meant the pseudo-space walls were broken! It was a giant deep crimson flying object that crashed through the wall of the pseudo-space! I was familiar with it. At that time, it was wrapped in something that looked like a cocoon, but that shape and color was—
"—Ryu-Ryuuteimaru!?"
I screamed like that! Yes! The huge flying object that appeared by crushing the walls of the pseudo-space was Ryuuteimaru, which was in the middle of a mysterious change! W-Why was Ryuuteimaru here!? He was... brought by Ophis and Lilith!? Geez, I couldn't understand anythi-i-i-i-ing! While I kept being surprised, I heard a familiar voice in my ear.
《—ear? Please tell me, can you hear me—!》
Th-that voice! Seekvaira-san!
"Seekvaira-san!? W-what the hell is going on...?”
When I asked, it seemed like communication got established and I could hear the answer.
《I have some questions too, but suddenly, your Skithblathnir activated. Ophis and her other self said they were going to take him...and suddenly, they teleported.》
—Activated! And Ophis brought him!? Seekvaira-san continued.
《Fortunately, it looks like the communication device I installed on the Skithblathnir works properly. ...If I remember correctly, you are in the middle of an operation, right?》
“Right now, we are fighting Tartarus, the Primordial God! Or rather, we are about to sink into the Abyss!”
Seekvaira-san was also left speechless upon hearing my words.
《—! ...Tartarus appeared? Understood. I will explain briefly. Hyoudou Issei-kun. —Please combine with the Skithblathnir, Ryuuteimaru.》
"—!? C-Combine!?"
Me and Ryuuteimaru...combining! With him, who became that flying thing!?
《The results of the examination shows, that it's yours—》
Interrupting Seekvaira-san's words, Tartarus's eyes turned into a dangerous color! He started coating himself with attack aura!
[I don't know what that is, but it’s wiser to make the first move.]
Offensive aura gathered in the countless long and thin hands!
“Looks like it's going to be attacked!”
When I said this to Seekvaira-san, she also responded in a hurry.
《That hole! There must be a hole in front of Ryuuteimaru that can fit a single person! Get in there!》
“Get in there!?”
《Don’t worry about it, hurry!》
“B-But my feet are stuck in the darkness—”
Yes, my feet were now submerged in darkness by the power of Tartarus— Wait, Ophis and Lilith got close to me! They walked here without worrying about the earthquake in this space! Ophis and Lilith held my arms tightly.
""Heave-ho.""
Along with the yell, they forcibly pulled me out! ...Ah, they could pull me out with brute force only. W-Well, it must be due to the Dragon God’s power... Well, I was also in Dragon Deification form now, however ...How should I put it, the real thing was different! Although my feet were freed, flying was also hard! An absurd force of gravity was applied, so I couldn't fly! However, Ophis — aptly raised my body! Ara! Me, I was being lifted by such a small girl! While lifting me, Ophis—
"Heave-ho~"
They threw me towards the direction of Ryuuteimaruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! I was thrown in the air and somehow managed to grab the edge of Ryuuteimaru, which was in the sky. So I went into the hole that a person could get into. I entered the hole that Seekvaira-san said.
"I'm already in!"
《You can combine from there. There is a hole where you can insert something like a plug. Place the tail of the armor there. And also shout at that time.》
A hole to insert something like a plug... Here! I asked Seekvaira-san as I stretched my tail.
“What should I yell?”
Seekvaira-san screamed with great spirit.
《In・finite Com・bination! Infinity Go!》
—!? .....W-What’s with that?! W-Was that kind of shouting necessary?! I couldn’t help but be perplexed! Of course! No matter what you think about it, there’s something wrong with her head! There are limits to loving robots, that princess!
“Do I have to shout that!?””
I asked that.
《Yes, probably.》
Seekvaira-san responded seriously.
'Probably'!? What does that mean!?
"It's not just about your hobby, is it!?"
《.............Please believe me.》
“What was that pause for!?”
《.............Please believe me.》
“U-Understood.”
If so, let's go all or nothing! Who knows what might happen? However, I had no choice but to believe in Ophis and Lilith who brought it here, and in the robot lover Seekvaira-san! After catching my breath, I swallowed my shame and — I screamed!
“In・finite Com・bination! Infinity Goooooooooo!!”
At the same time that I screamed, Seekvaira-san, my communication partner, screamed for some reason!
《Activation App・roved!!!》
—Was there anything that had to be approved by Seekvaira-san!? No, absolutely not! You just wanted to shout it and made me say that embarrassing phrase...! The tail was inserted into the hole. At that moment — many things started flowing in my brain! T-This was from Ryuuteimaru...? Sacred Gear...? [Boosted Gear]... From Ddraig… ...Seekvaira-san said.
《Hyoudou Issei-kun. This is probably a Sekiryuutei-strengthening Armed Base. Ryuuteimaru's information must be flowing through the tail.》
...Yes. Information was flowing. Above all, I understood the real identity of this Ryuuteimaru. What Ophis was saying, the power of Great Red, the manifestation of that answer... Using my body as a medium, Ryuuteimaru scooped it out and embodied the part which otherwise would be limited by my body. And by connecting with that, this form — the manifestation of Great Red's power was complete!
"This is my new form, "AxA Apocalypse ｘ AnswerArms"."
And when I made up my mind, Seekvaira-san's voice came.
《Ryuuteimaru is in an incomplete state, so don't be too reckless. And I want to do more research when you get back after all.》
It was not yet complete! After all, it just came out of the cocoon! Wait, Seekvaira-san's voice sounded really excited! W-Well, that’s fine! Anyway, if I didn’t do something, everyone would be thrown into the Abyss! In my mind — I thought about going ahead! Then, Ryuuteimaru, the huge flying object, also advanced. ...It works! If I think, this guy answers! I put the target on the sphere full of eyeballs in front of me and increased the speed! A booster connected to Ryuuteimaru spurted aura greatly and bounced forward with great impulse! Seeing this, Tartarus opened all eyes.
[—! Interesting. So, why don't we test how much the power of the Abyss works!?]
All the long, narrow hands turned towards me and fired countless shots of divine aura! A ridiculous number of aura volleys! Because it would take a long time to turn with this giant body, and the speed wasn't so high, at this rate, I’d get hit!
The means to defend against it— At that moment, a defense method flowed into my brain! To activate it, I thought about it in my head! I thought about activating it! Devices appeared from various parts of Ryuuteimaru's body. Then, through my jewels, Ryuuteimaru's voice echoed.
[Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[Revelation Barrier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
A strong barrier appeared across Ryuuteimaru's body in response to the volley of countless aura blasts that Tartarus fired! The barrier took on all of Tartarus's aura attacks — and it was completely unharmed!
"Seekvaira-san, I created a barrier and blocked the attack."
Seekvaira-san made a surprised sound at my voice.
《It is surprising that it’s equipped with even the barrier generator. It's the best... Ahem. Anyway, because the weaponry and its firepower are unknown, limit the power during the attacks, please. Otherwise, we don't know what can happen.》
Somehow, it looks like she's having fun... But I'll put that aside for now! First, I have to finish this eyeball-monster in front of me! —! Through the Sacred Gear, the next information from Ryuuteimaru was transmitted! ... I'll use this next! A great number of muzzle-like things appeared all over Ryuuteimaru's body. I limited the power and wow! An unbelievable amount of aura flowed there. All muzzles were facing Tartarus. And then, a powerful voice echoed.
[Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[Revelation All-Range Blaster!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
From muzzles all over the body, countless shots of extreme auras were fired towards Tartarus!
"—Like I’ll let you.”
Defensive magic circles formed at the end of Tartarus's arms. Those magic circles got rained by Ryuuteimaru's aura shot — Revelation Blaster! Tartarus's magic circles were pierced as if they were made out of paper and the bombardment fired by Ryuuteimaru hit almost the entirety of the eyeball-filled sphere! Overflowing bombardment hit the ground, and at that moment — it created a huge explosion that easily changed the terrain!
No, it didn't end with just that, it made the space itself tremble! Tartarus, who took the Revelation Blaster head-on, seemed to have taken a huge amount of damage, with almost half of the sphere being blown away! —! N-No, wait a minute! Wait a second! Didn’t the attack just now almost become a decisive blow!? It was still just the first shot, you know!? I was greatly surprised by this result! ...Wh-What the hell! Just how many ∞ Blasters combined was that!? And yet, I was limiting the output! Yasaka-san saw the result of my shots and said.
[Ku...! What quantity! With this much power, the pseudo-space will not last!]
I-Indeed! At this rate, it looked like this space would reach its limit at once due to Ryuuteimaru's attacks! Tartarus, who had half its body blown up, regenerated his body and stared at me. His voice changed completely and the tone was — from someone cornered.
[...You can shoot so many shots and with such force...!? Demonic dragon who manifested the power of infinity…and the dreams…no, who was endowed with the power of Ophis and Great Red...!!]
His fighting spirit had not been shaken, huh! So, I had no choice but to weaken those shots a little more, and then use them again!
There were long gun barrels on both sides of the body. Perhaps that was — a killer move of his, and because I wasn't used to this form, I couldn't tell what's going to happen, so I couldn't shoot that easily! So, I could only shoot Revelation Blaster from before! When I tried to charge the aura into the muzzles and shoot another Revelation Blaster—
[So, how about hand-to-hand combat? With this giant body, it should not be able to move well.]
Tartarus was flying over here! The huge eyeball God had aura overflowing in his countless hands! The countless hands stretched out! Did he intend to pierce Ryuuteimaru's body with his hands covered in aura? Hand-to-hand combat! I also — had the means for that! I thought of the information that flowed into my head! Then, Ryuuteimaru's upper and lower body parts slid, and two arms appeared from each of them! Four arms grew! He even had four arms!
[Revelation Blade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Along with the voice, an extremely large blade of aura appeared from the tip of the four arms! I attacked the countless hands from Tartarus who targeted me with the aura blades that extended from Ryuuteimaru's four arms. It's called Apocalypse Ascalon. The blade of aura that grew from the arms moved according to my thoughts and cut off Tartarus's arms one after the other. Tartarus opened the distance for a moment, and then regenerated his severed arms.
[Who would have thought that I would eventually have to fight head-on against such a ridiculously atrocious existence.]
Tartarus started to release something like light beams from the many eyes on his spherical body! Also, because he did that while rotating, Tartarus's aura attacks rained everywhere! What about my partners!? I sent my look down. I was worried about my teammates who couldn't move because of their feet stuck in the darkness...but it seemed like Ophis and Lilith repelled them. I also paid no heed to his attacks.
But if you put it in another way, this situation, it would be dangerous if not for Ophis, Lilith and "AxA Apocalypse ｘ AnswerArms". ...Primordial God, incarnation of the Abyss, Tartarus. He wasn't some ordinary foe! I yelled at Tartarus.
"If you are a God...save those who are weak!"
[The Greek Gods have love and madness. You should learn Greek mythology. Every God is just a crazy thing. Yesterday, they were affectionate, and today they are driven by madness. It's just that.]
“So that’s how it is, huh! In that case, I'm going to kick your ass!”
It happened when I finished that line.
"Exactly! If they come at you, you just have to defeat them!"
I heard a familiar voice! Looking there, an aura radiated over Ryuuteimaru, taking the form of a Dragon. What appeared there was the figure of Ddraig on top of Ryuuteimaru! Ooh! Finally, Ddraig manifested! I see, when we combined, through me, Ryuuteimaru made Ddraig manifest! Tartarus became much more cautious upon seeing [A×A] and Ddraig on top.
[The two Sekiryuutei... A reality more terrifying than any legend.]
...It's better to decide things here! I told Seekvaira-san.
“Seekvaira-san! I somehow want to contact Georg in Kyoto Interior through you!”
《—! It's urgent, right? Understood! So, what do I say?》
It helps me a lot that she understands quickly! I said.
“Tartarus and the two Sekiryuutei are fighting! As I’m going to blow up Tartarus with all this space, I want you to return us back to the original location the moment you get control over the barrier back!”
《I will tell him!》
Answered like that by Seekvaira-san, I spoke to Ddraig.
“Ddraig! —Fire an aura with a great amount of power! Now then, won’t you keep me company!?”
"Hahaha! Of course, Partner! Heck, staying with you just ends up facing this craziness, that's as much fun as possible!"
“I’m not having fun at all, but I'm confident if I have Ddraig!”
"I see, I see! Right! Here we go!"
"Yes!"
Me and Ddraig answered each other! With Ddraig jumping from the top of Ryuuteimaru towards Tartarus being a signal, I also increased Ryuuteimaru’s speed in my mind! Tartarus indiscriminately shot innumerable aura beams from his countless hands and eyes! Ddraig dodged it easily in the air, and while Ryuuteimaru that I controlled dodged some, it also took some direct hits from the rays as well.
However, even taking the beam up front, thanks to the barrier, I was intact. Speaking of the terrain on the other side of the pseudo-space — the countless rays of light of the Abyss God made the earth devastated, caused multiple cracks to appear in the sky, and the space itself was getting all worn-out and gradually heading towards collapse.
It gave me shivers just thinking about such a battle occurring in Urakyoto and Kyoto in the human world... But, on the other hand, that's exactly why I could feel free to go crazy here! Getting in close combat again, I generated huge aura blades from the four arms and cut many of Tartarus's arms!
And at this moment, Ddraig punched the giant globe full of eyes on the side, his fist full of aura! As if pursuing him, I thrust the blades of the four arms into the body of Tartarus mercilessly! There is no way I will let you escape!
“Ddraig!”
"Yes! Let’s do it!"
I made the muzzles appear from various parts of Ryuuteimaru's body and pointed all of them at Tartarus! A huge...unbelievable amount of aura gathered at the muzzles. Ddraig also inflated his abdomen and began to prepare to launch his flames! At that time, Before I knew it, Ophis and Lilith moved onto Ryuuteimaru's body. All of Tartarus's eyes went to Ophis and Lilith at the same time. Ophis and Lilith opened their mouths to speak to Tartarus.
"Ise has no talent."
"None."
"But whoever it may be, he will do them a favour by becoming their friend, their ally.”
"Friend."
“You’ll be as strong as the number of comrades you have. That is, "Issei Sekiryuutei Sekiryuutei of the Blazing Truth". This is—”
"Oppai Dragon!"
Upon hearing this, Tartarus replied.
[For that reason, he fights... He gets stronger... Do you think we can understand something like that?]
Even if you don't understand, the preparations for shooting the aura were ready.
[Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer! Answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[Revelation All-Range Blaster!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
The sound resonated and I thought about letting it blow all out up at once!
“Blow awaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!”
At the same time, Ddraig spat out the extreme flames from his mouth! The super powerful bombardment that could easily blow up even the Primordial God fired by [AxA] and the fire fired by the Heavenly Dragon, with it, Tartarus was swallowed inside the aura without doing anything— This pseudo-space was also destroyed by my and Ddraig's attack.
The next thing I saw was — the scenery of Urakyoto! Ah! The space was fine! Or rather, did we return to the original location? I immediately disconnected from Ryuuteimaru and flew into the air. Looking down, I could see Rias, Asia, Yasaka-san, Kunou and my companions! Cao Cao and the Hero Faction and Ikuse-san's team were alive and well too! Looks like Georg was safely contacted by Seekvaira-san...
If you looked closely, there was also Erebus who had passed out and was still tied up, and a little further away...a black sphere which was reduced to roughly five meters. Even though his eyes were all closed...it’s probably Tartarus. All tattered. So he wasn't exterminated even after such an attack? Should I say as expected of a God? ...Ddraig and I went down to everyone. Ara, before I knew it, Ophis and Lilith were on Ddraig's head. We got down to everyone. Rias said.
"Ise, you won, right?"
"Yes, thanks to Ryuuteimaru — thanks to [AxA], somehow."
Rias looked at the deep crimson flying object that floated in the sky — at Ryuuteimaru.
"...That is, your familiar's grown form, and the answer of Great Red's power...I suppose.”
"...I don't know how to use it from now on, but I think it would be nice if it’s something worthy of that 'answer'.”
Everyone was also looking at Ryuuteimaru with curiosity. In this situation, Kunou raised a surprised voice.
"So, Phis-dono and Lith-dono are the Dragon God of Infinity-sama?!"
Ah! So, the time to reveal their true identity has come... After all, we lied to Kunou about the true identity of Ophis and Lilith.
"Kunou, I—"
Ophis tried to say something, but Kunou simply responded with a smile.
"It's all right! Being with Ise and the others shows that, leaving aside the complicated situation, you get along. Besides, it doesn't change that I, Phis-dono and Lith-dono are friends! ...It's what I think, right?"
In the end, Kunou asked so shyly. Ophis had a rare pleasant smile and hugged Kunou.
“I, am Kunou's friend. Thanks."
Lilith also joins in their hugging.
"Friend! Friend!"
Kunou also had a hug with Ophis and Lilith.
“Umu. Friends.”
I’m glad! Suddenly, Ophis and Lilith's true identity was discovered by Kunou...but the three managed to remain friends! Yasaka-san, who was watching over this, had already returned to her human form.
“It seems like the whole case was solved. Okay, guys. Let's tell everyone that everything turned out well.”
"Yes!"
We agreed with the words of Yasaka-san. I told everyone too.
"Well then, you must be tired, but let's start preparing for the event show. Everyone is looking forward to it, you know!"
"Naturally."
Even though everyone had to be tired too, they answered thus. In this way, we managed to successfully close this incident— When the incident ended, sophomores reported that a sudden sun shower descended upon Kyoto, the one that was called "Fox Wedding". Kyoto in the second year was also turbulent.
Translator's Notes and References
1. lengths of laid rice straw rope used for ritual purification in the Shinto religion.
2. Refers to sudden motion
3. Raw says Naraku. Naraku can mean both hell and abyss in Japanese
4. Malevolent God
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