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"Rizevim, what have you done to Lord Marius?!"
"Stop! Lord Marius, please—stop!"
Screams and the sickening crunch of bones echoed through the palace. The monstrous Evil Dragon that Marius had become devoured the vampire elders one after another, each bite swelling his body even larger, his power intensifying with every victim.
Rizevim watched from the heights, laughter booming across the carnage. "Marvelous, Marius-kun! Look at you now—so beautiful, so powerful!"
But the celebration was cut short.
"Rizevim, you really are revolting. Turning him into this—neither man nor monster. You call this entertainment?"
Tenra's voice rang out, sharp as steel. He hovered in the air, Yubelluna and the rest of his team arrayed behind him.
Rizevim grinned up at them, unfazed. "Red Emperor-chan! Perfect timing. Marius-kun's been dying to meet you."
Below, the Evil Dragon twisted its grotesque head skyward. The human face embedded in its forehead contorted, eyes blazing with hate.
"Red… Emperor…"
"ROAR!!"
Even stripped of his memories, Marius's resentment for Tenra burned through. The hundred-meter beast surged upward, jaws gaping wide, fangs gleaming—intent on swallowing Tenra and the girls whole.
"Enough noise."
Tenra's eyes narrowed. In a flash, he unleashed his Holy Sword Creation. A golden blade, as massive as the dragon itself, shot downward and pierced straight through Marius's back, pinning him to the ground with a thunderous crash.
The beast shrieked, thrashing violently. But Tenra wasn't finished. Three more colossal swords rained down—two impaling the creature's wings, one silencing its gaping maw. Bound by four blades, the monster could do nothing but writhe helplessly, defeated in an instant.
Rizevim clicked his tongue, feigning disappointment. "All that modification, and you still get taken out in one move? Marius-kun, you're hopeless."
Tenra ignored the taunt. "Rizevim, is Valerie's missing Holy Grail with you?"
He had no patience for Rizevim's theatrics.
Rizevim's eyes glinted with amusement. "Sharp as ever, Red Emperor-chan. Yes, I have it."
He spread his fingers, and the Holy Grail shimmered into existence in his palm.
"Whatever chaos you stir among the vampires is your business. But hand over the Grail."
Rizevim's smile widened, maddeningly cheerful. "Gya-ha-ha! So you came for the Grail, did you? Sorry, can't do. It's essential for my dream. I'm not ready to part with it."
Tenra arched an eyebrow. "Dreams? You, of all people, have dreams?"
Rizevim bristled, indignant. "Even villains have dreams! Don't look down on me, Red Emperor-chan!"
Tenra almost laughed at the display. He supposed even monsters had the right to hope for something. Before he could reply, Rizevim let out a theatrical sigh.
"Honestly, not long ago, I was just drifting. No ambition, no purpose. I'd lounge on the sofa, sipping wine, thinking about nothing important. I was alive, but it felt no different from being dead. I was sick of it."
"But then Euclid brought me something interesting—intel on the Holy Grail, proof of worlds beyond ours. In that instant, I found my dream. My heart raced. For the first time, I felt alive. I had a reason to exist!"
Rizevim's eyes shone with genuine excitement. "Red Emperor-chan, you don't know, do you? This world is far bigger than we ever imagined. There are other worlds out there!"
"Just a few months ago, an unknown divinity descended here and blessed a human. Not a god from any mythos we know—a deity from another world entirely. People have speculated about other worlds for ages, but now it's confirmed. For researchers, it's revolutionary."
Rizevim rambled on, lost in his own enthusiasm.
Tenra stifled a yawn, unimpressed. "And? So what?"
Rizevim gaped. "That's all? I just dropped a bombshell and you're not even surprised?!"
"Hmph. Other worlds? I already knew. The human who got that blessing was Issei Hyoudou, right? He disappeared recently. Which means you've got him."
Rizevim's grin faltered. "Well, aren't you clever. Yes, Little Ise is in my hands. He's my most precious experiment. We've found all sorts of fascinating things about him—including that he used to be the host of Boosted Gear."
He shot Tenra a sly look.
Tenra met his gaze, unimpressed. "I know you stole Boosted Gear from Issei. So what? At best, you'll cobble together a few fake Sacred Gears from the data. You're not making a real Longinus."
Rizevim blinked, momentarily stunned. "How do you know all this?"
Tenra smirked. "I know more than you think. I can even guess what your 'dream' is."
He fixed Rizevim with a cold stare. "You're not chasing any grand ideal. You just want excitement—an excuse to rampage across the other world, turn both worlds upside down, kill anyone who annoys you, and become the demon king everyone fears."
"But there's a problem. To get to the other world, you have to defeat Great Red—the guardian of the dimensional boundary. You? Not a chance. Even a hundred of you couldn't touch him. So you need a way to take Great Red out first."
"There aren't many who could do it. Ophis, maybe—but she lost half her power when you idiots created Lilith. That's off the table. Samael the Eater is sealed in the depths of the Underworld. If you tried to steal him, Hades would lose his mind. And even if you got him, Samael's curse would eat you alive."
"So, that leaves one last option—the Beast 666, straight out of the Bible."
"Sealed at the edge of the world by the God of the Bible. You found it after probing the laws of life with the Grail, didn't you?"
"Your plan is simple: break 666's seal, resurrect it with the Grail, use its power to defeat Great Red, then march into the other world with your army of monsters and 666 at your side, wrecking everything in sight. All to fill up your empty, bored heart."
Tenra's words came in a relentless torrent, each one hammering Rizevim further back. He finished with a thunderous shout:
"Tell me, Rizevim—did I get it right?!"
For a moment, Rizevim could only stare, mouth agape, as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Ah… ah… Red Emperor, how do you know all this?!"
His plan, his dream—Tenra had laid it bare.
Impossible. Impossible!
Tenra gave a cool snort, tilting his head in mock mystery. In truth, he'd just pieced together fragments from the original story and the clues Rizevim himself had carelessly scattered. The man loved to brag, and Tenra had simply connected the dots.
The effect was dramatic. Rizevim looked ready to faint, and Tenra couldn't help but feel a touch of pride. But then he noticed Yubelluna and the girls staring at him, wide-eyed with disbelief.
Maybe he'd overdone it a bit.
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