Grendel glanced down at the wound on his body, his eyes narrowing as he finally noticed the spreading black rot around the area he'd been slashed. The edges oozed with a sluggish, sickly fluid.
"...This crap's rotting, huh?"
"Correct. I laced the attack with a good dose of malice and curses. Your cells are necrotizing—your body's becoming brittle."
It was hard to say whether he was simply dull or just an idiot for not noticing until it was pointed out.
"Hmm. So it's resistant to malice... I must admit, I hadn't considered something like that necessary for a dragon of evil. And it seems our friends have arrived as well."
A large teleportation magic circle appeared in the corner of the space, and through it stepped members of the Gremory and Sitri households—Kuroka and Irina among them.
"We're here! Is everyone safe—wait, what the hell is that guy with the ominous aura!?"
No, Issei, it's me! ...Wait, maybe he means Grendel?
"Actually, take a closer look. That seems to be Arima-kun. And that aura... I fear he's being possessed. Many youkai are known to be capable of such things. For someone of his caliber to be overtaken, the foe must be no ordinary spirit. Everyone, stay sharp!"
"What a dreadful aura... it's as if he embodies every misfortune in the world."
So it is me they're talking about!? Come on, don't shift into combat mode like that! The enemy's over there!
And Tsubaki-senpai, could you please stop with the disturbingly accurate metaphors?! Also—why is Kuroka the only one giggling in the back!?
"I already explained Arima-senpai's condition to Kuroka-neesama through Izuna."
Right. And what's the point if everyone else doesn't know!?
"I don't care who you are—get out of my best friend's body! Sorry, Ikki, this might get a bit rough. 'Awaken, the truth of kings that I uphold to the heavens—Crimson Dragon Emperor With boundless hope and immortal dreams, I walk the royal path. I shall become the King of Crimson Dragons and lead you to the shining heavens!'"
Dude, you didn't need that whole flashy incantation here! I'm not possessed! ...Well, okay, I did let Izuna possess me, technically.
Wait—no! That's not the point!!
"Oi, what's this? You guys fighting amongst yourselves? I thought we were gonna have an all-out brawl. That was the plan, right?"
"They're probably just shocked to see how drastically their friend has changed."
Can you not phrase it like that?! "Drastically changed" makes it sound like I've crossed some irreversible threshold or something!
At that moment, the tip of Grendel's wing and tail began to crumble and fall apart.
"Oh? Seems this is as far as you go, Grendel. Your body is still in the adjustment phase. This battle served as a test run, but the wear is showing. Could be the malice. It's progressing faster than we expected. Either way, it's time we head back. You wouldn't want to return to dust again, would you?"
At those words, the murderous aura Grendel had been radiating faded away.
"Tch! And here I was, just getting into the killing groove. You say that, and now I've got no choice but to retreat."
"Don't pout. Apparently, even the White Dragon Emperor is struggling right now. Once your body's been patched up, we'll join them. I want to collect some anti-dragon combat data too."
"Ho! If that's the case, let's go. I'll head out first. Oh, and you in front—plus the guys behind you… wait, is that Ddraig back there? Man, what a shame. But fine, next time for sure. That next time, though… I'll kill you. So don't go dying before then."
Grendel, his killing intent rising again at the promise of another fight, stepped into a Dragon Gate portal and vanished with a satisfied grin. Watching him go, the cloaked man accompanying him lowered his hood.
Beneath it was a refined-looking man with silver hair tied neatly behind him.
"My name is Euclid Lucifuge."
The moment he introduced himself—particularly the name Lucifuge—everyone reacted sharply.
"...I see. So it was you who bypassed this town's powerful barrier and brought in those mages. With an aura similar to Lady Grayfia's, it's no surprise our defenses didn't react."
"Please give a message to my sister—the woman who degraded herself into a servant of the Gremory. Tell her this: If she has the right to abandon the Lucifuge mission and live freely, then I have that same right as well."
Without answering Sona's question, he activated a teleportation spell and vanished.
"...Right. That leaves just you now. Give us back Arima-kun's body!"
Wait, we're still going with that narrative?! I hastily stopped drawing in malice through my Senjutsu and let my aura return to normal.
"No, no—it's all good! That was just one of my new techniques! I'm not being possessed or controlled, I swear! Look! The space is starting to collapse from the edges! We need to get out now! You can even bind me with magic if it makes you feel better! Izuna, grab two or three of those bio-pods while you're at it!"
Ravel probably doesn't want to see them, so I'll toss a cloth over them later. Still, they're important evidence.
And with that, we escaped the collapsing space through teleportation magic—though I was promptly detained by President Sona.
Fortunately, after an explanation from Kuroka and a detection spell from Rossweisse, I was cleared.
...Kuroka, however, got a good ear-pulling lecture from Sona.
Shirone kept an eye on her to prevent another escape attempt, and just as things wrapped up, Raiser and his peerage arrived for backup—way too late.
As for the battle between Issei and the mages? With armored Issei and Kuroka on the field, what outcome could there be other than utter domination?
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[Azazel's POV]
In Romania, Rias, Kiba, and I were bumping along a rough mountain path in a car. We were already in vampire territory, but because we had to follow a designated route, we had to take a major detour.
We got a map at the border from the vamps, but after that, they just tossed us onto a busted dirt trail. What a warm welcome.
I checked the rearview mirror. Rias sat there, her expression distant and contemplative.
"Still worried about the boyfriend you left back in Japan?"
"...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. Akeno and Xenovia are aggressive, and Asia and Irina are easy to sweep along because of their personalities. Still… as someone who intends to become Issei's wife, I need to weather these storms."
Looks like she's starting to carry herself like a true Queen of the Harem. If she can say "wife" so naturally, she'll be fine. Issei's maturing quickly, but it'll still take a while before he truly earns the dignity of a Harem King. Until then, she'd better keep a firm grip on his reins.
"We should arrive at the rendezvous point with the local vampire staff in about 15 minutes."
Kiba, seated up front, gave the report while comparing the map and compass. From there, I would head toward the Carmilla faction's territory, while Rias and Kiba would head toward the Tepes faction's.
After a lull, Rias brought up a new topic.
"What happened to Cao Cao? I heard there was an official announcement yesterday."
"Yeah. The Three: Cao Cao, Georg, and Leonardo—wielders of Longinus-type Sacred Gears—were captured by Indra. The Spear of Destiny was confiscated, and all three were sent to the Underworld. Chances are, Indra's got the other Longinus relics too. Jeanne and the rest of their leadership have started spilling details about their dealings with Indra, but... it's anyone's guess how far that'll get us with a god like him.
If not for Ikki, Indra would've stolen your thunder and claimed all the credit."
Ikki testified that Indra caught them, probably as part of some deal with Indra for future cooperation—so I couldn't exactly press him on it.
"...Hades. That whole mess was unbelievable."
Rias's expression soured, no doubt remembering the groveling God of the Underworld.
"Haha, Ikki shows no mercy to enemies, after all."
"Come to think of it, didn't he suggest trapping enemies inside a dragon knight's armor and incinerating them? Armor's supposed to protect, not barbecue."
"If Ikki had been on the Heroes' side, we might all be dead right now."
She might have a point. Against him, even now, they'd have to rely on some miraculous breast-powered intervention from Issei.
After the whole magical beast incident, I had a brief communication with Indra.
"HAHAHA! The boy's downfall was not deciding what he truly wanted to be. Claimed he wanted to beat monsters with human strength, then grafted in Medusa's eye? No wonder the True Longinus rejected him in the end. He became a clown. Hilarious, isn't it?"
Hard to disagree. The True Idea Longinus feeds on its user's ambition. If the owner keeps flip-flopping, it's no wonder the Sacred Gear abandoned him.
"They all wanted to be 'heroes'—but they never understood what that actually meant. That kid Arima told Cao Cao something brilliant: 'Heroes aren't crowned—they're acknowledged. It's fine to aspire, and work for it. But the moment you call yourself one, all you're doing is playing pretend. You're a terrorist wrapped in tragedy, not someone worthy of admiration.'"
Ikki might say he's not cut out to be a hero—but ironically, he gets it better than most.
Issei's the same. He brings joy to children in the Underworld and fights as a hero. It may have started as a show, but now he's the real deal—with real achievements and real admiration.
Compared to that, Cao Cao and the others were just playing dress-up. Of course they couldn't win.
"What's Indra's angle? He let Cao Cao loose, provoked Hades indirectly, and stirred up every faction."
"He wants strong players—people who could rival Shiva, the God of Destruction. He believes war breeds power."
Yeah, and the stronger his enemies grow, the more likely we're looking at a full-scale world war. Spare me. If you're going to do it, do it in-house.
I was still mentally flipping off Indra when a magical alert came through.
"Grendel... and Lucifuge!?"
The connection cut there. It wasn't a two-way line, but I damn near tried to force it back open.
A legendary evil dragon thought destroyed… and Grayfia's supposedly dead brother!?
This wasn't just "suspicious"—this was defcon chaos.
"Rias. Kiba. Looks like things are about to get complicated."
It was like I could already see the chaos opening its jaws wide, waiting for us just ahead.
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