Hello dear readers!

It is I – Czechus – with an early Christmas present just for you. We have another chapter of The Betrayed Dragon, just one month after the previous chapter! Isn't it great!

But – just like we always do – before the chapters, it is time for your comments. And let me tell you – this chapter had the biggest number of comments! I am so happy!

Gravity force – He can and he will, soon.

Thedevilgamer – well, I have a surprise for you, and the rest of the readers. But you will have to wait, probably a chapter or two. And that is all that I am going to say for now.

Darth56 – I believe I have explained everything to you in my response to your private message you sent me. And please, for the love of God – learn how to write in English. It can take me an hour to understand what you're saying in the comments.

Tjboomer93 – Thank you. And it would appear that you're someone standing in complete opposite our friend Darth56 – which is fine with me. And don't worry, those girls will only appear in this story when they will be necessary. Not sooner.

WolkaiserDrake – I know how you feel, but don't worry, I have everything already planned when it comes to the fate of Himitria Ashburn. Trust me, you will all be satisfied.

Guest – Thank you. And I happy that you like my approach to the "betrayed" types of story.

PleeZY56 – Thank you, and do not worry, I have planned for Issei/Verphis to return to the DxD world, so all you have to do is just wait and read all the new chapters that will soon be published.

MPrevilO – Well, as you can already see Raynare will not be a love interest for Issei (but I see what you did there – gosh that was funny, thank you very much for making me laugh!). And also, thank you very much for your kind words.

LorDragun – I also believe that this is the path that Issei should take instead of constantly thinking about revenge on his former comrades. That is why I created this story because I was bored with the 'angst' types of stories. The stories I read so far are jumping into the revenge part, way to fast and Issei there is just too much obsessed with thoughts of revenge. And thus I decided to create this story. I hope you like it.

OneTrueGeekIAm – Well, you know, in theory, Issei did move on from his past in the chapter where he got married to Ahri – the scene where burn away the picture of him and all his previous friends from DxD world. And Ahri also wants not only to lock away his bad memories but to completely make him move on and forget about it. But yes, I agree that those things should be addressed. But don't worry, I have everything planned. There is a reason why, even though in theory, he moved on from the past, he still haves those nightmares and feelings. And let's just say that I already gave some hints about it. Before I will answer in one of the future chapters, it is up to you (and all readers) to figure it out. Interesting thought tho. I like how you think about this story.

So, I believe that is it. The only thing left for me to say before the chapter starts is to remind you to like and comment on this story (this means a lot, I enjoy reading your comments!)… Oh and another reminder about the ongoing poll on my profile! It will be up until I will start working on another story arc. So you still have some time!

So, without further due, let's begin!

The Betrayed Dragon

Chapter 21

First Days of War

If someone out there will ever try to tell you, how much glory and fame you can get from a battle, from being an obedient soldier, fighting for the cause, there is only one piece of advice I can get you – get as far away from that person. Never believe in words of such a person. He or she is most likely a lier who has never seen a battlefield in their life. And when it comes to the battle, they will probably be on far away from the war-zone as possible, while you will be out there, begging for just another hour of your life.

Because let's face it – this is how it looks, for most people. War is no fun. War is literally hell on Earth. Or – in this case – hell on Centauria.

This is the only way I could describe what happened after all those rich kids from the Capital city has declared war –it was just hell, for most of the people. No glory, no happy thoughts, just hell.

And don't believe in all those claims of glorious victories on the front. It is not something anyone would ever believe… Well, at least not someone who at least has half-brain. Because it never works like this. There are no obvious victories, there is only confusion. You never know if you have won or not – you're mostly just shocked that you have somehow survived.

Yes – survived. In the end, this is your only objective in the whole war. You don't give a shit about ideas, your faction, religion, or whatever else this war is going on. You're just trying to understand how in the hell you managed to survive when the rest of the people from your squad did not. This is the reality.

It is all worse when you actually know why and how this war actually came into existence. That this is not about some righteous reasons, to bring freedom to the other side or something. No, when you know the real reason – the never-ending hunger for power from the ones above you, then you just wish for all of it to end, to die in the flames.

Because in the end, this is how things are. You're just a soldier on the bottom, fighting for some power-hungry kids out there. Things are that bad.

But I must admit, our armies had at the beginning an element of surprise. We took control over a few villages near the border – not like they hold any tactical value. But most people were just happy that we started this war and we already have won something, right?

Obviously, all of them were wrong. Because when the other faction has finally noticed what we were doing, they started their counter-attack. A very powerful one, I must admit. It was exactly that moment when the war truly began to me. When I had the very first taste of true conflict in my life.

And yes – when I was still living on Earth, I had many encounters with many enemies, but nothing from the DxD worlds could prepare me for this. For the daily reality of war. Back on Earth, it would go like this – a villain with his group of evil monsters would show up, we would fight for an hour or two and then the villain would just retreat to the hideout.

But here things look differently. You have this constant fear, a never-ending paranoia that in every second the enemy might attack. And when the attack comes, it does not end in just a few fights, no. The battle can last for hours, sometimes even longer than a day. You're tired, confused, afraid and you just want to end this slaughter all around you.

Yet no matter how hard you try, the enemy is still out there, his fury is still set upon you and somehow his forces are much stronger and have much more energy than you. All is set against you as if the world itself wanted to take your soul away.

And every day is like this. No chances for any form of rest. You either fight or go somewhere with the entire army. No matter what is going on, you're always moving somewhere.

But perhaps I should say more about the campaign than just about the psychology behind the battlefield.

Like I said previously, at first it was all good. A few minor victories, few new villages for us. Many soldiers started to believe that this war will soon end with our magnificent victory. Obviously, they could not be more wrong.

A few days later – perhaps one week later, the other Centaurian faction prepared a counter-attack. The Darksiders – like many people from Elyne liked to call them – had an army, just like us, but with some extra units. Some of those units looked like people in futuristic exoskeletons, others looked like cyborgs, and there were also units containing nothing more than robot-like soldiers.

Fighting them was just a pure nightmare. The Darksiders had an advantage in everything – power, magic, technology – you name it.

Soon we had to give up every piece of land we have gained in the previous week. But the Darksiders started to push us further into our own territories. In other words, we were losing pretty badly. Our forces were forcefully divided by the pure strength of the enemy's soldiers.

The chain of commands was almost non-existing. None of us knew what should we do next, words from the Capital city were not coming. Soon, the panic spread amongst our soldiers. People were not ready for what was coming.

Thankfully, some people who already had an experience with war – be it some older officers, people from the mercenary guilds and some acolytes and masters from the Ancient temples were able to not only calm down the panic attacks but also create their own command chains. Soon we were once again a proper army. Or at least a military group.

Some of us started to do regular recon parties, to keep all of informed about the enemy's moves. Other started to organize the supplies from the nearby cities and villages. While the rest – like me – were part of the guerilla warfare.

Our job was simple – make sure to wound and kill as many enemy's troops as possible in simple and fast strikes, mostly in forests or every other tight area. We never engaged in any open battles, or attack any bigger groups.

It went like that for weeks. For weeks we were doing everything we could to slow down the enemy's forces as much as we could. And we still also waited for the signal from the Capital city – be it in the form of new orders or the reinforcement. Anything would be good for us. But the Capital city and all the noble families went suddenly silent.

All of us started to wonder if perhaps the Capital city and the other side did not already sign a treaty, in which Shu and their allies were getting something, but the extra prize of us being simply a send to slaughter as a cattle.

During my time as a guerilla fighter, I had a chance to fight both alongside many of my comrades but I also had many missions where I had to play the role of the lone wolf.

I'm not gonna lie, I often preferred the missions where I had to be a lone wolf. Or in my case – the lone dragon. In those missions, I was able to unleash more of my power without any fear of harming my comrades. And in those missions, I was could attack bigger groups just on my own. Obviously, I tried to make my attacks fast and surprising – after all, I still wanted to maintain my incognito mode. That is why only a few selected people knew about my solo missions.

And those missions were always a success. Many times I was able to destroy and kill many of the enemy's troops and machines. I knew that my solo missions were able to give some breathing room for the rest of our forces.

We've maintained our tactic for over a month. During that time, the border between us and the Darksiders would constantly shift in many directions. Somehow – perhaps through some weird miracle – our entire war did not move further from the original borders than for about twenty kilometers.

But all of that changed. Five weeks since the beginning of this war, we finally got some news from the Capital city, and from other parts of the front. And let's just say that the news was… less than encouraging.
"Have you heard? There are rumors of weird monsters attacking Darksiders on the north."
"Yeah, but what about the south front? I've heard there are some new units deployed out there. Straight from the Capital city!"

Talks like those could be heard on many occasions. And I knew that if any of those were the truth, it meant that new problems were incoming. But that was also a sign that not only our front was fighting.

But there were still many questions that would not leave my head. Why the HQ would not answer our calls or give us clear orders? How did the Capital city ménage to gather such a strong army in such a short period of time? How they were able to create their own front? And most importantly – what were those weird monsters attacking the Darksiders?

The more info we were getting, the more questions we just had. This war was getting weirder and weirder with every incoming day.

"Is there something on your mind, darling?" Just like every other day, my wife would go and check if everything is alright with me – both physically and mentally.

Ahri was deployed to the supply division. Her job was to mostly heal all the injured during the fight or to protect the convoys with supplies. At first, she was not too happy with the fact she could not go with me, but I – somehow – convinced her that it is better. That since I was again doing some black ops work, I had to work alone.

It didn't change the fact that she was not happy. But if I wanted to have her letting me on missions without any "yandere episodes", then I had to let her make a full check-up every day, even when I was on any missions.

Of course, I had nothing against it – I mean, what kind of husband would not want to spend his time with such a beautiful wife as Ahri? We both celebrated those moments when we were alone, just the two of us. All the precious moments when Ahri didn't have to work or I didn't have to go to another battle.

She would also always immediately know what is in my mind or what kind of thoughts I have, what would I feel at the moment.

And so this time, I turned around, just to see her worried eyes. She knew I was worried about the current situation of the war. She could always read like an open book.
"I don't know Ahri… Just this whole situation… And with all those new information about other fronts… I just don't like it… It just screams 'it is another thing we Shu did!'. I don't know what to think about it, that's all."

She listened to me in silence, only nodding in understanding. She also didn't know what to think about this whole situation. But out of two of us, she was the one who was more cool-headed when it comes to dealing with situations like this. I was nervous, maybe even a little paranoid.

After a few seconds, she came closer and hugged me, without saying a word. We'd stay like this for a while, just simply enjoying each other's warm and sharing hope between us.
"I know that you are worried." She began with a calm voice. "And I know that this whole situation might be too much for you and all of us. But we will survive all of this. Soon, we will both return to our home, and we will once again fully enjoy our lives together."

Yes. She was right. It will soon all end. Soon we will head back home. To our little paradise.

Or at least, this is what I believed would happen…

It was another guerilla type of mission. Target – a scouting party protecting a courier with important information. Mission – destroy all the enemy forces in the party and take over the intel. Seems pretty easy, right?

Well, not exactly. Missions like those are never easy. Literally, everything can wrong in any second. Someone might run away, or someone might just notice me. You have to be extra careful to make sure you're target will disappear from without anyone noticing anything.

First, you need to be patient. And that is something hard for a dragon, like me. Even with all those years of training, it is still something against my own nature. Some part of me is just screaming to destroy every single opponent right now, to show my superiority to everyone.

But – if I had to be honest – I have considered that option many times. Just go out there, and release all the tension inside me.

Well, maybe with some luck or miracle I'd be able to destroy all the enemy forces out there, but then my cover would be just obliterated. And with that, I would have some un-wanted eyes on me – mainly from the Shu family and from a certain blue-haired princess. Not something I wanted right now.

But back to the mission – I was right now hiding in the forest, using every bush available as my cover. Against the scouting party, there was only me and my trusted familiar – a Centaurian cat Shadow. Together we were unstoppable on those kinds of missions. I mean – two hunters in their natural habitat against some rookies? That was impossible not to win.

And so we've waited. A few minutes before they came near us, we've already set out the trap. No one will see what will kill them.

The only thing I was worried about was their infrared vision. Some of the enemy troops were equipped with infrared visions binoculars. With that, many ambush-like missions were nearly impossible to do… Unless you knew how to trick those infrared troops.

There were a few different methods to fight against those units. One – was to somehow mask your own heat signature. It was hard, but there were some warriors within our army that could do that. They were very valued for their abilities.

The other was just to set many false hitting signatures – be it by making fire all around the enemy troops. Then their infrared vision was simply useless.

And there was also my method – I would increase my body temperature to the levels when on the infrared vision I would be as bright as a sun. And then, everyone with such vision would get immediately blinded – with that I have an extra surprise attack for everyone. Most of my enemies would fall dead before they would even realize what is attacking them.

See? I can think in a tactical way. I am not a stupid idiot.

Now, to wait when my enemies will come to me. Just a few seconds and they will all be dead.

~Verphis-nyan, I can sense them. There are eleven of them. Ten guardians and one courier, I think?~ Shadow said in my mind, to not alert anyone. I only nodded. The action was about to begin.

We've waited until they will come as close as possible. Just a few more steps. When they were close enough, I made sure to increase my body temperature as much as possible.

The first step of our ambush worked. The entire group stopped. All of the 'guardians' were right now looking at my direction… well, at the bush where I was hiding right now. They were preparing their weapons. But I was faster. Much faster than any of them could imagine.

Within a nano-second, I made fire guns and started to shoot at my enemies. First two shots – the two most front-ended scouts have fallen dead. Meanwhile, Shadow has attacked their backs. So in other words, they had to fight on the front (against me) and they also had to protect their backs (against Shadow).

This tactic was just genius. Two fast attacks from two different sides. A small group like this one had no chance to regroup or to even respond in any possible way. There was only a slaughter awaiting them.

It was going exactly as I thought. Within a few seconds, half of the squad was lying on the ground, dying or already dead. Some of them were trying to put up a fight, but no one was on my or Shadow's level.

Not even a minute and they were all dead… Well, all beside one – the courier. He was trying to run away from us. Not like he had any chances of course.

"Shadow, how much do you like to play with your food?" I asked jokingly, knowing that she would understand what I meant. She only smirked and then jumped right at our last victim.

Our lonely courier was terrified. He was scream and trying to get Shadow of him, but it was all ineffectual – try to get take off a big cat – trust me, you will fail miserably.

When Shadow made sure that our little survivor won't even move, I came closer to him and kneeled right next to his head.
"Now, if you'd be so kind and tell me every bit of information you were supposed to give to your HQ…" I said, with as much calm and friendly voice I could muster. Obviously, it sounded very fake.

But then, when I asked him, I noticed a change in his behavior. It was as if he has switched something in his brain. He was no longer afraid. No, right now he was laughing like a psycho. And I must admit – it was one of the most creepy things I have seen in my life.

"Oh, for the love of ancestors, I can't believe you have fallen for such an easy trick!" His voice was hysterical right now. He had problems with stopping laughing to even say a word. "You truly are stupid barbarians! You really thought we – the Darksiders – would ever use such primitive means of sending information? You really are nothing more than a bunch of anim-aaargh!"

This guy was already annoying me enough to get a punch from me. I mean, some of us had already known about the fact that Darksiders would never use such a primitive means of sending information, but we had to try everything that was available.

Some of our commanding officers also believed that this whole scouting mission was nothing more than a decoy to get us distracted.

"Okay. So you're supposed to bait us here. When and where the true attack was going to be?" I asked as I put my finger on his throat and slowly started to add more pressure… and heat. It took us twenty seconds before our courier decided to speak… Or before he wanted to start speaking, but the pain I was causing was making it hard for him.

So I decided to stop my little fun and let him talk.

"It… It is already happening. The road coming from the border to the Aza city… You won't be able to stop-" And at this moment I decided to stop him, by slicing his throat with my newly created plasma blade.

That place he had described. I knew it too well. I know exactly what was going on that damned road. A supply mission. Full of civilians, injured soldiers and… a place where my wife was right now.

I was furious. Something inside of me was screaming, wanting to spill as much blood as possible. And I knew exactly why – my wife was in danger. I had to do something.
~Issei-nyan, the place he mentioned…~
"Is exactly the same place where Ahri is right now…" I could barely hold my rage. I knew I had to do something, even if that meant disobeying all orders from the HQ. "Shadow, get into my backpack. We must hurry, and I am going to fly as fast as I can to get there."

She listened without hesitation. As soon as she was inside my backpack, I released my wings and jumped as high as I could and then I started to fly. I also added more speed by using the fire coming out of my fists and feet.
/Issei… I know what you feel right now… But perhaps you should get into contact with someone before you start this rampage? You still have your communication device, right? Then make sure someone else knows about the fact that there is another attack from the Aza city./

Even my dragon self knew that I should do it. As much as I hated to admit that right, Raynare was right, I had to inform someone about what was going on. Someone had to know to pass this information further.

I called the last number on my communication device – thankfully it was Angar's number.
"Verphis, what is going on? Why are you calling during your mission?" Angar was always a strict warrior at all missions, so, me breaking any form of security (that could jeopardize any mission) had to be weird.
"Forget the mission! It was nothing more than a bait! The Darksiders' forces are attacking our convoy to Aza city! I will get there are soon as I can, but you have to inform our HQ! They need reinforcement!"

I basically yelled to my device, while I was increasing my speed. I only heard a short 'you got this' from Angar's side and then he hung up. Now all I had to do is to get to our convoy in time and make sure I will be able to hold back the enemies until our reinforcement will come.
[Are you ready partner? For some real action? Are you ready to unleash your fury upon your enemies?]
'More than ready. I feel like I could begin a slaughter everything right now!'

Ddraig only hummed, clearly satisfied with my answer…

It didn't take long for me to reach our convoy. The attack had already begun, and I noticed that while our forces were doing everything they could to protect themselves, the enemies had an advantage of number and firepower. I knew that if someone will not do something, this entire battle will be lost.

In this battle, I noticed my wife – Ahri – trying to protect herself from five attacking her hunters. She was using her fox powers. Right now I didn't care if she could or could not win – I was so furious at what happened and for the fact that right now my wife was forced to protect herself from someone, that I decided to unleash the fire from my stomach to burn those hunters to ashes.

I landed near her, unleashing more fire to incoming enemies. Another dozen of enemies were turned into nothing more but ashes.
"Ahri, is everything okay? Are you hurt?!" My fury was mixing with fear. It was something I had never experienced in my whole life. It was a very painful mix.

My wife only looked at me and just smiled. She was touched by the fact I was so worried about her.
"No, I am not. But right now I am worried about how we are going to get to Aza city. Do you have an idea?" From the tone of her voice, I could tell that she was relieved that I came here, but she was also focused on her mission. And she was right – this whole situation around was just grim.

At that moment I decided – no more hiding. I had to make sure that our mission will end in success and that my wife will not get hurt in the process. Even if that meant I will have to deal with a certain type of people later.

"Ahri… I am going to go into my dragon mode… Soon reinforcement will arrive… But for now, I just want you to…"
"If you think I will just go, and leave you here, then you are mistaken Verphis. Haven't I told you already, during our fight with Loki? I am not letting you go. I will not let you go out there to face hell by yourself. What kind of wife would I be, if I'd willingly let my husband go to face a certain pain and suffering, and perhaps even death? No, from now on, we fight together. Only that way I can make sure that nothing will happen to you!"

I was more than touched by how she interrupted me. The way she wanted to protect me and all of that… And I could not just refuse her. Because I knew she would not listen. Especially not after what happened during our incident with Loki. Now her yandere instincts were kicking in.

All I could do as a response was just to give her a nod with a smile. And with that, she kissed me and said.
"Well, darling, let's kick some butts. And after that, I hope you will reward me properly, will you?" And then she covered herself in blue flames.

Meanwhile, Shadow has already jumped out of my backpack. She was standing on the ground, in her bigger form, waiting for my command.
~So, are you going to stand her in awe, and watch your wife do all your job, or are you going to help her out there, nyan?~ She asked with a little sarcastic tone.

I just looked at her with my left eyebrow up. And then I just said.
"Well, ladies first."

And so we all jumped into action. At first, I still tried to fight in my basic form, but after a few waves of enemies, I decided to unleash Ascalon and with it – my first seal.

Like always with my first seal, my look didn't change a bit, only my power level was now much higher. I could now rival an ultimate class devil or angel. Or in other words – now I could kick some assess!

With my first seal opened, it was so much easier to fight. Most of my enemies would just die after a one-hit, be it from Ascalon, my fist or my fire. I felt unstoppable.

Right next to me was Ahri, fighting with her foxfire, unleashing her fury upon our enemies. She seemed to be even stronger than when we were fighting against Loki. How did she develop so much in such a short time was beyond me. Who would knew that my wife would be able to surprise me that much years after our wedding?

And on my left there was also Shadow, ripping into enemies as if they were nothing more than chew toys. Maybe our situation wasn't as bad as I thought?

But right now, I had to concentrate on my enemies. And they were surely trying to kill me. I had to protect myself from all the angles possible. Against all the weapons possible – sword, daggers, guns, magic. They were using everything they could against us.

And I have to admit, this whole battle was tiring. I am not sure how much Darksiders had sent against us, but I was sure that it was more than thousands. Or perhaps it was just imagination?

After a while of just defending against an incoming horde of enemies, I decided to change something in this battle. I jumped as high as I could and landed on some of the enemy troops. I was surrounded from every side by the enemy forces, but that was something I hoped for. Knowing that I am right in the center of their wave I could do so much more damage to the enemy troops.

So I concentrated on my inner fire and then – with one fast swing of Ascalon – I released it all in the form of a powerful fire wave. Dozens of enemies before me just disappeared from the existence of that attack. All that was left from them were now ashes flying in the air, waiting to just fall.

That action made the rest of the group to stop their march in shock. Right now they were forced to concentrate on me. They just realized that they had an enemy within their lines.
"Come on! I am waiting!" I yelled at them, trying to make them do the first move.

And so they did, they charged at me from all directions, screaming from the top of their lungs.
'Good. Show me what you got!'
[I believe your inner dragon instincts are taking over you… Let's see where this is going…]

First to kill where the troops behind, those I killed with another swing of Ascalon. But since this time I didn't use my fire, the blood and organs were flying in the air like birds. Well, organs and sometimes mechanical and electronic parts… That was weird to see.

But I continued the slaughter. After all, I had to give chances to all the rest of our troops protecting the convoy until the rest of our forces would arrive.

And so I send a fireball from my left hand for another incoming group, trying to kill as much as possible in one hit. The result? A big explosion of fire with a shockwave with enough power to make enemies a few meters around it to fall. People who were the closest to the explosion were hit directly by the power of the explosion. There wasn't much left from them.

And it went like this for so much longer. The Darksiders troops were incoming all the time, I had no time to break. It felt like it will never end.
/Well, you are fighting right now practically alone against hundreds or maybe even thousands of troops. Don't be so surprised./
[Look at this as a chance to see how far you can go and how strong you truly are! So fight Issei, Fight and find out how much stronger you became!]

And so we fought, wave after wave, creating a river of blood right under our feet. The grass became red, the ground became red… It looked as if we were trying to reshape the look of this entire field.

With this deep scarlet color, and all the gore around, many bystanders would think that through some weird accident, they fell into hell. Well, I must admit, they would not be completely wrong. After all, isn't war just hell?

After what seemed to be an eternity, suddenly, the sound of a horn was heard around the battlefield. For me it was a sign of relief – the reinforcements were coming. Our main army had finally come to help us win this battle. Now was our time to win.
/Issei… I don't want to ruin your happy mood but… On your fourth…/

I looked into the direction pointed by Raynare… What I saw there was something so shocking that I just could not say or do anything for a few seconds.
[It would seem, that our enemies have also called for reinforcements… Brace yourself, partner, I believe this is what you humans call "The boss fight"…]

Yes, Ddraig was indeed right. What was out there was indeed a boss fight. A very weird and scary looking boss…

This thing had six mechanical legs and was moving like a crab or a spider. His torso and chest were made from pure silver-black metal, with violet lines on it. This thing also had four arms, and in each arm, it had a sword.

Every sword was different. Even if they looked the same, it felt like they had different powers or elements inside them. One was entirely covered in fire, another was sparkling with electricity, the next one looked like the metal itself was freezing and the last one simply looked like a chain sword.

The last element was its face… or rather four faces looking at the fourth directions. All painted in gold color. And all of them just scanning for the enemies.

I must admit, that thing was the weirdest thing I have ever seen in my life. And it was terrifying. And I also knew that I will have to fight it.

As much as I wanted to say that I made the first strike, I couldn't. I was just shocked to see my new enemy. And that thing just jumped a few dozen meters, over the head of its allies, just to land before our marching lines. And then it just started to attack our forces. Without any mercy, it just used his four swords to bring chaos among our ranks.

That was the moment when I jumped into action. Right before this monster was supposed to do another swing with one of his sword and destroy another group of soldiers, I appeared just in time to block the incoming strike.

This monster tried to attack us with a fire sword, I took this strike with my Ascalon as if it was nothing. After all, a fire like that could not hurt me.
"Run! I will take care of our new friend, so run and regroup!" I yelled at the soldiers near me, while I was blocking the sword.

And then, the metallic monster did something I didn't expect. It completely changed its tactic. Most likely because it recognized me as a bigger threat. Instead of just a single strike from another sword, it attacked with two – one filled with the electricity, and the other, ice-one.

I tried to block the electric sword with my Ascalon, while the ice one block with a newly created fire sword. But it was the worst mistake I could do.

The ice sword completely dispelled my fire sword, striking me on my left side. The temperature of the sword was so cold, that I felt like my skin is just going to break like glass and my organs are going to freeze into solid ice.

Meanwhile the electric sword – the one I blocked with Ascalon – has also done its damage. Even if I physically blocked the strike, the electricity has already traveled through my sword and then through my arm. It was like being stabbed by millions of needles on every inch of my body.

On my side, being frozen, and the other – being electrocuted. I could not even tell what was more painful. It was as if became two different persons at once, feeling two different things.

And another strike – this time with a chain sword. And right next to it – a fire sword.

I had less than a second do to something. But I could not move. Half of my body was still frozen, and the other half had to still recover from the electric shock.
/Issei, do something! Come on, move your body!/
[Partner, you can still breathe fire! Just release the fire from your stomach! Do it now!]

Yes… I could do it. I didn't have to move at all.

And so I gathered as much fire as I could in my stomach, waited for the right moment to release it. Just when the chain sword was just two meters from decapitating me, I unleashed everything I had in my stomach. The fire was so powerful that it melted the chain-sword, the ice sword, two arms and part of the torso of this mechanical monster.

Then, suddenly I felt that I can move my right side of the body again. It was no longer under a shock from the electric attack. So I used my right side of my body, to move around. Right now my back was facing the monster, while my still frozen part was preparing itself for a fire attack.

/Issei, this is suicide! You cannot be sure if the fire will unfreeze you if it will just melt your body away! Don't stand there like an idiot, move! Just concentrate on making your left side warmer!/ Raynare was scared right now, but I decided to go against her wish. I had no time in warming up my left side to a normal level.

Three, two, one… And then, an overwhelming pain attacked my left side. The thermal shock almost made me fall unconscious. Almost. Yet somehow I got through pain, and I regained the power over the left side of my body. But it still was very painful to move it. I guess it was the prize for doing something like this.
/YOU IDIOT! You could have died out of thermal shock! Do you have any idea how painful to you that death would be? Do you?!/
[Let it go fallen one, he did what he had to in order to regain full control of his body. And it worked, so there is no reason to panic.]
/No reason to panic?! You stupid dragon! He could have died, and you're just saying it was nothing?!/

While I was rather happy that I could move my whole body again, while Raynare and Ddraig seemed to have a heated discussion inside my soul. Well, it was better to leave them be for now.

And then, another unexpected thing happened. It started with a feeling of great power being slowly released. I looked upon the machine monster, and I noticed something coming out of his first mouth. He was still facing me, so I could see it clearly. It was a small ball of green energy, slowly rising gaining power and getting bigger.

At that moment, every cell in my body was screaming to run. Whatever that thing was doing, it was going to be extremely dangerous.

I looked around to see where I could run, hide, or just move. I saw Ahri and Shadow, fighting alongside our soldiers, trying to fight off the enemy forces. They were doing fine, slowly but surely winning. I have realized that this thing was not only targeting me. Whatever it was trying to release, it will obliterate me, and all our forces behind me. It will be a slaughter.

Ahri noticed me. She smiled at me, seeing that I was ok. But then she also noticed what was the giant monster doing. How it was loading an attack. I heard her screaming my name, but I already knew what I had to do. I had to make sure that when that thing fires, she and Shadow will not be in a line of attack.

I started to run on the left side, while also bombarding the mechanical crab with dragon shots. Thank ancestors he was still focused on me. I was still the biggest threat to him, so he followed me. And then, when I was sure that whatever this thing would fire it would not hurt anyone close to me, I stopped. I was awaiting his first move.

At that moment, the green ball of energy seemed to just disappear. But only for a little moment, because a second later, in the place of a ball, a large and powerful green energy beam appeared. A beam, rushing straight at me, destroying – no, obliterating into nothingness everything standing on its way.

Within a second, the beam reached me with its full power. I crossed my arms, trying to protect myself from the destructing force, but I soon felt on my own skin the terrifying force of this energy beam. If I had to describe… Being inside this beam was as if I had suddenly found myself on a sun's surface. The heat, the radiation, and the overwhelming power were just killing me.

I heard all my friends and family calling my name in agony, but no one could help me. I was inside a death trap, knowing fully that if I won't do anything quickly, I will be reduced to nothing more than ashes.

I had to do something. There was only one problem – thinking in a situation like this is kind of a hard task. I mean, my mind was being microwaved right now, so I really needed to use all the strength I had to think.

But soon I knew what I had to do. The answer was obvious from the very beginning. I was just afraid to use it. I was still trying to maintain my incognito profile. But right now that was off the table. It was either to remain to be in the shadow and being turned to ashes or to fight with all the power I had… and to face the consequences.

'Raynare… Are you ready? I think I should-'
/Release your power?! Took you long enough! Do it now!/ Raynare was more than eager to let me use more power. And obviously, she sounded mad right now.

And so I reached, into the depth of my soul to unleash the power that should be used a long time ago.

Then I felt it – a new, powerful wave of power, coming straight from me, able to overpower the green attack trying to destroy me.

In the place where I was attacked, a big explosion took place. And with that – a shock on all of my friends' faces. For them, it must have looked like I was just evaporated in this explosion. But soon, all of their thoughts of my possible death were dispelled, when I used my newly transformed sword to distinguish all the flames and smoke around me.

I was standing there, in my new form. Right now, my power could rival all those who had the power on a satan level. So I guess I could fight easily against fully angered Serafall.

I looked at my sword for a little moment, to see how it looked in this form. I did like this new design. It was darker, more terrifying. Now it really looked like a dragon-slayer sword.

I took a quick glance at all the people around me. Judging from the scorched ground behind me, I could tell that I did not save everyone when I took that beam on myself. But at least fewer people died than if I'd just avoided that attack.

Then I looked at my friend, at Shadow, and at my wife Ahri. All of them had at first shocked expression. Then, it turned into relief. Ahri even started to cry from happiness. But I also knew that she will have a very serious talk when this is all over.

Meanwhile, our mechanical monster was again looking at me. It switched its face to another one and started to gather energy for another attack. But I was not afraid of that attack anymore. I had more than enough power to take those attacks on myself.

And the monster attacked again. But this time I was prepared. I helm my sword in a defensive position and then waited until the energy bean would hit me. When I felt the attack touching me, I used my sword to deflect the attack.

The result of my action was more than satisfying. Not only I deflected the attack, but I completely eliminated it. The only thing left from the attack was a wave of wind flying in all directions. But it didn't stop me – I continued my attack.

Obviously, the monster didn't like the fact that I was getting closer. It tried to fire the same attack from the third mouth, while also protect itself with the two remaining swords it still had. But in this form, I was much faster and stronger. Those swords were nothing to me. I just simply dodgem them without any problems.

I finally got near the monster's mouth. I was so close to the gathering energy that I could feel its gravitational pull. It was hard to resist, but I had a job to do and determination to fuel me. There was no way I could stop right now.

The moment when the monster wanted to unleash another bean of energy, I thrust my new dark Ascalon – filled with my dragon energy - straight into an energy ball. And then I simply said.
"Meteor."

What came next was the biggest explosion I ever had to survive. It was so bright and hot inside the explosion that I wasn't even sure if I won't evaporate inside of it. I reached for as much energy as I could and wrapped myself inside my own fire bubble. I just hoped that it will be enough to ensure my survival.

Seconds later, I unwrapped myself from that energy, releasing it in one powerful pulse. Within a moment, all the fire and dust from the explosion just disappeared, leaving only me with my black wings out.

Our soldiers looked at me in awe. Enemy troops were now terrified. I was now like an angel of death to them. And they were right because I was about end this entire pointless battle in one simple attack.

I once again gathered as much energy as I could, but this time not in my sword, but in my stomach. And then – I released it all, creating one big inferno. Just one attack had enough power to destroy almost all enemy forces.

We were lucky in this battle. The Darksiders did not put against us anything more powerful than that one mechanical monster. Which was good. Both for our troops and for me, because I could end this entire battle in just one attack – which I did.

All that was left from the enemy forces, was nothing more than ashes, slowly falling from the sky…

The news about our victory spread fast. From Aza city to other corners of the Centauria. We destroyed a large portion of the Darksiders' military forces deployed for the invasion. Now it was time to regroup and wait for our enemy's next move.

News from the other fronts was not so good. The front where Capital city deployed some mythical beasts, was successful, but that caused for Darksiders to regroup and deploy more troops to the third front, the one secured by the Capital's main forces. And that forced our allies from the Capital to retreat.

So now, we also had to retreat. Aza city was safe for now, but since the Darksiders troops were deep within our territory, the remaining forces protecting the Aza city were forced to retreat and protect their hometowns. Not like I minded or anything – I would do anything to protect Elyne from anyone who would even dare to think about destroying or conquering it.

Ahri and Shadow were also happy that we were going back to Elyne. All of us wanted to return home. It was just sad that we knew we might soon need to protect it at all costs.

A few days later, we have arrived. The city was already preparing for the defense. Which was good – the more city was prepared, the bigger chance we had in winning the battle.

The first thing we do, after we came to the city, was to go to the HQ of city defense – which happened to be in the old temple. It felt good to return to the temple.

Ahri, Shadow, and all my old friends from Elyne – we all decided to head straight to the temple. There was no time to lose.

We were soon greeted by the temple acolytes, training with more experienced mercenaries and soldiers.
[They take the danger of invasion very seriously. Good. Perhaps they will survive this whole war.] Ddraig seemed to be complementing the effort many people took in preparation. I shared the same opinion as him.

As soon as we entered the inner temple, we saw countless people – noble, who had experience in the strategy, older and more experienced mercenaries and guards from the city and even some troops I saw during our time near Aza city.

But there was one person whom I recognized immediately, even after all those years.
"Master Gor Na Kosh!" I called my old mentor, who was currently standing at the opposite end of the room.

Our old mentor noticed as soon as I called him. His old face was soon smiling the same way I remember all those years ago.
"Verphis, Lester, Angar, Kalom! It is so good to see you again! Please, come closer!" He was very happy to see us again. "And you Ahri, you grew again! With every day you're becoming more and more beautiful!"

Ahri only bowed in thanks.

"So, can you tell us, what is the situation? Who is in charge?" I asked, trying to go through the official part as fast as I could – I wanted to go back home as soon as possible.
"Well, the Capital city has sent us the reinforcement… and some other people to help us prepare for the possible invasion. The Capital city also sent us someone to oversee and supervise the entire city and the operation…"

Voice of Gor Na Kosh wasn't too happy. That was a signal to me, that whoever Capital city sent to take control over the city during the time of war, he or she was not easy to cooperate with. Perhaps even this person was problematic or was just a typical rich kid without any proper knowledge about anything.
/Maybe we could teach this person some manners? What do you think Issei? Make we can convince him or her to cooperate?/ Raynare was already plotting some hellish plan in my head.
'Let's just wait and see what kind of person we will have to work. Perhaps just a few words will be enough…'

"So, who is this person? Where we will meet this emissary?"
"That would be me."

When I've heard this new person in the room, I could not help but feel shivers on my whole body. I knew exactly to whom this voice belonged.
'Why her? For all people on this godforsaken planet, why it had to be her?!'

I turned my head slowly, to confirm the identity of the person that just walked into this room. It was indeed the only person I didn't want to see here.
[Good luck…]
/You're fucked…/

"Hello, Verphis. I have finally found you, my slave…"

And that is the end of this chapter. What are your thoughts? What will happen next? And I belive you already know, who has taken power over the Elyne city, right?

And to all people asking "when will you kill this blue-haired bitch?", I have the answer – her fate and final days are already set in stone, you're all going to love what I have prepared for her, soon –like really, really soon – it will be revealed to you… in the next chapters… or chapter?

Anyway, like always, I'd like to thank you all for being with me, for reading and liking this story. Right now, this story has 107,387 views, 314 favorites, and 330 followers! I want to thank you very much!

What is there left to say… thank you again, and please express your feelings about this story in the comment section.

And a little and quick reminder about the arcs of this story:
1. Prologue – completed.
2. Memories of Centauria – completed.
3. Downfall – in progress.
4. Fade to Black.
5. Secret War.
6. Game of Shadows.
7. Dragon May Cry.
8. The Tragedy of Monsters.
9. Game Over/The Beginning.

So, at the very end – I wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Guys, it's almost 2020! WE LIVE IN THE FUTURE!

So, I think that's it for now. See you in the next chapter!

Czechus' out.