When Genshirou Saji called him out, Cid stepped past Rias and the others, took a step forward, and silently looked at Genshirou Saji's wicked expression, his brow furrowed as if he were thinking about something.
"I remember that we actually know each other, Genshirou Saji."
"Hm? You actually think I'm Genshirou Saji?"
Genshirou Saji's brow twitched. A smile tugged at his lips as he looked at Cid, seeming rather pleased.
"You've got a good eye, Cid. Fine, then. I'll let you go afterward."
...He's beyond saving.
Cid's expression did not change, but he had already passed his final judgment on Genshirou Saji. His guess had been right.
"What are you talking about?! You nameless bastard. You controlled Saji and the others' bodies, and now you want to steal their very identities too?!"
Sona Sitri stepped forward in fury, practically roaring the words. Behind her, the others who had been teleported over with Natsuki Minamiya spread out to deal with the Fallen Angels landing around them.
"Ah... President Sona, saying that really hurts me. Don't you know how I feel about you?"
His tone was exaggerated, and his greedy eyes were fixed tightly on Sona Sitri. At that moment, Genshirou Saji, clad in that layer of creature-skin battle armor, looked strange from head to toe.
"Look at this Sacred Gear that belongs only to me. Look at this power that can't be copied. I am Genshirou Saji."
"Genshirou Saji would never hurt me."
Sona Sitri kept her gaze locked on Genshirou Saji and spoke almost one word at a time.
"No. This is exactly how I show my love for you, my President Sona. If I kill you, place your body in an ice coffin, and put you in my treasury, won't you belong to me forever?"
Genshirou Saji spoke as if it were only natural, the burning look in his eyes completely undisguised.
He was serious. Realizing that, Sona Sitri unconsciously took a step back under his gaze.
"You... Are you really Saji?!"
Sona Sitri had always known how Genshirou Saji felt about her, and she had rejected his confessions several times, because she did not feel anything romantic toward him. Perhaps time might change her mind someday, but right now, she did not like him that way.
It was precisely because she knew this that even after Genshirou Saji had displayed his unique Sacred Gear, Absorption Line, made from the body of Vritra, one of the Five Great Dragon Kings, she had only believed that he was being controlled.
But if she followed Genshirou Saji's logic, then everything made sense. On the contrary, his attacks on her and his possessiveness became proof that he really was Genshirou Saji.
"Of course I'm Genshirou Saji. It's just that now, I prefer using another name..."
Genshirou Saji split his mouth into a savage grin. Black mist poured from his body, his form twisted unnaturally, and black flames rose from the leather battle armor covering him.
"The Evil Black Dragon King, Vritra."
A standard Western-style Dragon appeared on the spot, cloaked in black flames. Its roar rang through the sky as a pitch-black Dragon filled with an evil aura manifested before them.
"Saji..."
Sona Sitri stared at the Dragon in front of her in shock and whispered Genshirou Saji's name in disbelief.
"It's been so long since I moved around. What a nostalgic feeling. President Sona, what do you think of this body of mine? Isn't it cool?"
Vritra spread his dragon wings. Some of the black flames on his body fell to the ground with the movement, hissing and corroding like sulfuric acid.
"You... who exactly are you?"
"How many times do I have to say it? I'm Genshirou Saji, and I'm Vritra too. Our souls fused together a long time ago. Look at my power now. I could probably just take you by force, President Sona... That's tempting."
"Fused together... Then all we have to do is separate the two of you?"
Catching the crucial information Genshirou Saji had let slip, a sharp light flashed in Sona Sitri's eyes as a plan formed in her mind.
Unfortunately, President Sona, they can't be separated.
Cid had been blown to the ground by the air current when Vritra revealed his true form. Now he was sprawled on the ground, slowly crawling toward the edge of the battlefield. Hearing Sona Sitri's words, he instinctively denied the possibility.
The soul was something unclear and difficult to define to begin with. Genshirou Saji had also fused with Vritra's soul willingly, causing the compatibility between their souls to reach an astonishing one hundred percent. That much was clear from their current perception. They believed they were both Genshirou Saji and Vritra.
Their souls had already completely fused. The white specks on the soul were only the last remnants of Genshirou Saji's consciousness. Once those white specks were assimilated as well, the Genshirou Saji of their perception would die.
Yes, die. They called it fusion, but what did Genshirou Saji even have to fuse with Vritra? His memories, soul, and will had basically all been crushed.
It was like mixing a single drop of clear water into a vast black sea. How much effect could that drop have on the black ocean? Given a little time, Vritra would regain his clarity.
Rather, the current Genshirou Saji was basically Vritra alone. Right now, it was truly Vritra who believed he was "Genshirou Saji."
Cid did not know what the Evil Dragon Vritra had been like before being turned into a Sacred Gear, but he could say one thing for certain. Compared to the old Vritra, the future Vritra would at most have picked up a few of Genshirou Saji's hobbies.
As for separating the white specks from the black... the "white" of those specks only looked white because they were being compared to Vritra's black. Put them on an ordinary person, and they would be black too. The "white" of those specks only looked white beside that darkness. On an ordinary person, it would still be black.
In a situation like this, even wiping Genshirou Saji's memories clean would not save him. His soul was already black. What was the phrase usually used for this kind of person again? Right. Born evil...
"Hm?"
Cid blinked in confusion. Feeling the force on his back and his viewpoint rising higher, he turned and looked at Vritra, who had picked him up with one hand.
"Hey, Cid, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Didn't I say I'd let you go earlier? I'm here to keep my promise."
The enormous black dragon head spoke with a playful grin, but the malice in its eyes suited him perfectly.
What should I do now? If I followed my usual style, I'd slap him to death... Calm down, calm down. I'm not Shadow right now. I'm a background character!
"So you're going to send me away from here?"
Hearing the hesitation in Cid's voice, Vritra's smile grew even wider.
"Hey, Saji, what are you planning to do to Cid?!"
As Rias shouted, a large amount of crimson Power of Destruction gathered in her hand, but with Cid in Vritra's grasp, she did not dare fire it.
"Of course I'm keeping my promise. But since I'm working under Kokabiel right now, if I let one person go, I have to keep another. So how about this? President Sona, or Rias-sama. One of you comes over here, and I'll let Cid go. How does that sound..."
As he spoke, Vritra suddenly looked toward Yuuto Kiba, who had kept his head lowered the entire time.
"Kiba, from the look of you, you don't seem too happy with my decision."
"...No."
"Good."
Vritra gave a disdainful sneer, then turned toward Sona Sitri with the eyes of someone enjoying the show.
"Cid, look. I've already given you a chance. As long as you can convince either one of them, you can leave this battlefield. Aren't I being nice to you?"
"Why me? Do we really have that much of a grudge between us?"
Cid looked at Genshirou Saji in confusion as he asked. He was certain that he and Genshirou Saji were acquaintances at best, not close at all. So why did Genshirou Saji hate him so much?
"Because I can't stand looking at you..."
That reason... really was impossible to argue with.
"Yuuto, are you really just going to stand there and watch? It's not too late to turn back. I'll plead with my brother and Leviathan-sama for you, and ask them to show you mercy. As long as you come back now and apologize publicly, I can still help you.
If there's some reason for this, you can tell me. I've always thought of you, of all of you, as my family. Don't do something stupid."
Rias looked at Yuuto Kiba, who had been silent from the start, trying to sway him through emotion. But those were also her true feelings. Even now, she still could not believe that Yuuto Kiba, whom she had saved when he was a child, would betray her.
But when Yuuto Kiba heard Rias's voice, his body only shook once. Then, with his head still lowered, he shook it.
"I'm sorry, Captain. But I have no other choice. You should find another Knight after this."
"Why?"
She asked again, unable to believe it.
"Because the past hasn't disappeared. I have to atone for my past."
Yuuto Kiba unfastened the package on his back, pulled out an Excalibur, and raised it. For the first time, he lifted his head and looked at Rias.
"All right, have you decided? Who's going to trade places with him? Or are you not going to trade at all, and simply abandon poor Cid-kun?"
Vritra completely ignored Rias's attempt to persuade Yuuto Kiba. He shook Cid in his hand and asked Rias and the others.
"Of course, from my personal point of view, I'd very much like you to abandon Cid-kun. After all, whether it's President Sona or you, Rias-sama, both of you are so noble. What right does an ordinary Magic Swordsman have to be exchanged for either of you?"
A vicious smile curled at Vritra's lips as he openly poured out his malice toward Cid.
"I'll go, Sona."
Rias stopped Sona Sitri, who was about to step forward for the exchange, and took a deep breath.
"Cid is one of mine. No matter what, you shouldn't be the one to trade yourself for him."
"But Saji is my vassal!"
"Isn't Yuuto my vassal too?
I can't lose another family member. And if Cid disappears, how am I supposed to explain it to Claire?!"
Rias gave Cid a faint smile, glanced at the black Dragon before her, then stepped forward to make the exchange.
"She actually... really agreed to trade!!!"
Feeling the sudden increase in strength against his back, and hearing the faint sound of grinding teeth that did not fit the bearing of a Dragon King at all, so quiet that he would not have caught it without his hearing, Cid turned to look.
He's completely assimilated!
Watching that patch of white flare up almost instantly, the thought flashed through Cid's mind. Dragons really were creatures that did whatever they wanted.
"I've changed my mind. I'm going to kill both you and Rias, Cid."
Roaring those words, Vritra tightened the dragon claw gripping Cid and threw him with all his strength toward Rias. At the same time, he opened his bloody maw, and black flames with an eerie aura spewed out.
"Whoosh!"
The force from Vritra's overwhelming strength sent the scenery around Cid flashing past, but he still vaguely saw a red Dragon rushing over from the sky.
"Boom!"
A soft body caught Cid in midair, then was dragged down by the immense force carried by his body and slammed heavily into the ground.
"Cid, sorry. Looks like we're going to die together."
Cid glanced at Rias's bitter smile, then at the black flames surging toward them at high speed. He drew in a small breath.
"Delta!!!"
"Awooo!"
Delta rushed in at astonishing speed. A large amount of Slime Suit fluid surged from her body and formed a shield. Thick smoke and explosions engulfed the battlefield at once.
"What a powerful aura!"
Vritra looked excitedly at Delta as she walked out of the smoke. With one swing of his tail, he sent the person attacking him flying, then roared at Delta.
"You shall be the first strong opponent I fight after my resurrection. Only that will live up to my name as an Evil Dragon!"
"Grrr..."
Like a wolf on the hunt, Delta looked at Vritra with clear wariness. The Evil Dragon in front of her might not have as much combat strength as Vali, but the threat he posed to her was far greater.
"Captain Rias, can you still stand?"
Behind Delta, Cid brushed the broken stones and dust from his body, then grabbed the dazed Rias by the hand and pulled her up.
"Wake up. Come back to your senses."
"Ah, Cid. I didn't see that wrong just now, did I...?"
Cid waved his hand in front of Rias's face, finally snapping her out of her shock. She looked at him in disbelief.
"I'll say it again. Delta and I are just normal friends. Besides, don't we have something more important to do right now?"
There was no time for Cid to mourn the death of his background-character life. His attention was already on Delta. She... had run into the worst possible matchup for her.
Undying, bizarre, and not lacking in intelligence. If any other member of Delta's team had faced this Evil Dragon, it would not have been so bad. But for Delta, a stat monster who had always relied on overwhelming numbers to crush everything...
"You're so gross!"
Delta shook off the black flames clinging to her. Thin streaks of blood seemed to fall with the flames, splashing into the dirt and stones. The Evil Dragon's black flames, carrying a strange power, had pierced straight through Delta's two layers of defense, Magical Power and slime. Meanwhile, Delta's purely physical attacks were useless against a creature like the Evil Dragon, who had maxed out undeath.
Tch. This is what happens when you only stack stats and never invest in skills or mechanics!
"Mm. Cid, you're right. Then let's help your friend now."
Rias nodded firmly. Although their side had the advantage in both numbers and combat strength, she still pulled Cid along and joined Sona Sitri in calling a group of people to charge forward.
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