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[Ddraig talking]
[Ddraig thinking]
{Albion talking}
{Albion thinking}
|Tiamat talking|
|Tiamat thinking|
(Mastema talking)
(Mastema thinking)
Mental Communication
"Regular Dialogue"
Attacks/Spells
Mount Sinai, Egypt, August 11, 2020, 10:30 AM, Current Time: 2 Minutes and 40 Seconds Til Midnight, One Hour before Lotan's Revival
"Couldn't we have teleported closer to the summit?" Kiba asked as they ducked behind several large boulders. Rias motioned for him to be quiet as she peeked over the rock. Her Power of Sight activated as she scanned the surrounding area before ducking back down.
"So?" Issei asked.
"I count… forty, maybe fifty Devils out there, hidden among the human guards and archeologists," Rias said.
"So how do we get across? Where are we even heading?" Issei asked.
"There's a temple… across from here but to get there, we have to… cross through the guards," Rias said.
"What about flying across?" Tatsuya asked.
She shook her head and pointed at the sky. "There are several drones patrolling the main excavation site. If we try to fly across, we'll be spotted easily," she said.
"So how then?" Irina asked.
"Hmm, how about this?" Rikka asked. She peeked over the rock and saw a lone guard patrolling near the rock they were hiding behind. She whistled, catching his attention before quickly ducking into a crouching position.
"Are you crazy!?" Bova hissed.
"Hello?" the guard asked, his hand twitching for the trigger of his M-16. He pointed the barrel of the rifle over at the rock as he slowly approached it. When he got there, he noticed nothing wrong but decided to be thorough and check behind the rock. As he made his way around, a hand grabbed the collar of his uniform and pulled him behind the rock.
Rikka swiftly chopped the back of the guard's neck, knocking him out. The guard fell limp in her arms as she gently lowered his head to the ground.
"Okay, we have an unconscious guard… now what?" Issei asked.
"This," Rikka said as she began to take off all his clothes. She grabbed his uniform and placed it over her own clothing.
"Mind looking away while I remove my skirt?" she asked.
The men of the group nodded as they all closed their eyes, listening to the sound of fabric hitting the ground. Rikka blushed as she put on the pants, before zipping it shut. She grabbed the guard's hat and placed it on her head before taking the M-16.
"Ta-da!" she said.
"So… disguises?" Rias asked.
"Yeah, I'll go get us some uniforms. You guys stay put," Rikka said.
"Wait!" Rias grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "We can just alter our clothes with magic. Now that we have a frame of reference, I can cast a spell to change our clothing… less time looking around for spare uniforms," she said.
Rikka nodded before sitting down. Rias quietly formed a red magic circle underneath them and cast a spell, altering their clothing to be identical to the one Rikka wore.
"Wait," Rossweisse said.
"What?" the red-head looked at her with some confusion.
"Our ID badges. We're not all… Carl Mitchell," the Valkyrie reasoned.
"Right," Rias altered the names on the IDs.
"Right. Let's split into teams of two and head into the camp. Everyone, keep an invisible CC by your ear and speak through the channel if you find anything. Got it?" Rias asked.
They all nodded and split off into separate teams.
"Hey so are we going to talk about what happened back at the house?" Issei asked as he followed Irina. Incidentally, due to an odd number and an apparent conspiracy formed by Rias and his twin sister, Issei was currently stuck with Rossweisse and Irina as they tried their hardest not to stand out amongst the guards.
"Now's not the time, Issei," Irina said as she nodded at a passing guard.
"Then when is the time?" Issei asked.
"Guys, stow the baggage. We're kind of busy right now. We can have our lovers' spat later," Rossweiss said as she grabbed a water cup from the desk of an ignorant researcher.
"Wait… we?" Issei asked.
"They know Issei. They've known for a while," Irina said.
"Oh… when did you find out?" he said, looking solemnly at the ground.
"Back at the cemetery after we beat Beelzebub," Rossweisse answered.
"...!"
"We'll discuss this later but right now, focus," Irina said, cutting him off. She stalked off ahead of the two, leaving Issei and Rossweisse trying to catch up with her.
"Rossweisse? How do you feel about all this?" he asked, tentatively waiting for her answer.
"I… feel hurt. Issei, how can you bargain your soul away for your sister? This wasn't what she would've wanted and…," she was cut off when Issei spoke.
"I know. Everyone told me that, even Mitsuki. But what did you expect me to do? Just stand there and let her die? I can't do that… no, I won't do that. If there was a chance that I can save any of you, even at the cost of myself, I will take that chance," Issei said.
"It's just… I don't want to see you die again. I've watched you die against Samael's curse… or thought that you died. I can't go through that again. None of us can," she whispered.
"I…," Issei tried to get some words out of his mouth but found himself unable to say anything. Why was it suddenly so hard for him to try and apologize?
"Guys!"
Rossweisse wiped her eyes and grabbed Issei's hand, running over to Irina. The two found her standing inside a tent with a large screen and a map of the entire world. Several locations had X's on them including the location they were on.
"The Philippines, Greece, Scandanavia… what is going on here? What does Seed Corporation want with all of these locations? Are there more Black Dragons there?" Issei asked as he analyzed the map.
"Other than the one that's supposed to be here? It's possible. Hey, so get this, they're excavating some old ruins they found in the mountain filled with unknown script," Irina read as she opened the folder.
"It says that… they've carbon-dated the ruins and it's… pre-Mesopotamian," she continued. "Strange figures were carved into the stones which couldn't have been done by any pre-Middle Paleolithic and appear to be… Lower Paleolithic… I can't understand this," Irina said.
"It means that these ruins… are at least nearly three million years old. Prior to the Great Deluge recorded in all religions," Rossweisse said.
"Wait… so these ruins are Pre-Human anything?" Issei asked.
"Yes and… from the looks of it, evidence indicates that the temple was active until… 1455," Irina read.
"So… after the end of the Great War and the Hundred Years War," Rossweisse placed her hand on her chin.
"But why now?" Issei asked. "Why would Seed take interest in a mountain, its ruins, and a dead Black Dragon?"
"Issei. Issei, come in."
"Yes, this is Issei," he answered, switching to a different frequency upon hearing the voice.
"It's me, Lisa. We're here at the mountain but… it seems that your hands are full with Seed Corp digging their hands everywhere."
"Where are you guys?" Issei asked.
"We just met up with Selene and we've snuck into camp by stealing uniforms. Tohka and Mica went off to find you while Eric, Selene, and I are heading towards those ruins," she answered.
"Yeah, we'll meet you there," he said. He cut the link and returned to the DxD frequency.
"So?" Rossweisse asked.
"Rias. She asked us if we're heading to the ruins," he said.
"We should head there," she said.
"Yeah but we should wait," Issei said.
"Huh? Why?" the silver-haired woman tilted her head in confusion.
Irina glanced at Issei and sent him a few signs.
"Look, our friends. The ones who were on our team for the Azazel Cup are coming here to meet up with us," he said.
"What? How do they even know?" she hissed.
"We'll explain later, Rossweisse but for now, we need to focus," Irina said. "How long until they get here?"
"Now," a voice said from behind. Irina jumped and turned to see Tohka with a grin on her face and Mica waving.
"Jesus, you scared me," Irina said, glaring at the shorter girl.
"To be fair, it was all Mica's idea," the black-haired girl said, raising her arms in defense.
"It's good to see you two," Issei said.
"You too, Issei," Mica said.
"Oh right, this is Rossweisse. Rook of Rias Gremory," Irina said.
"Hi! I'm Tohka Thyella," she said, extending her hand.
"I'm Mica Johnson," he said, bowing.
"Rossweisse. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, shaking Tohka's hand. "... Are you a God?"
"Hmmm. She found us out pretty quickly," Tohka said, releasing Rossweisse's hand.
"From a handshake too," he said.
"Wait… how… what?" Rossweisse looked between the two pairs.
"We'll explain later. Just trust us," Issei said.
"You owe me more than an explanation. You owe me a damn storytime!" Rossweisse said, glaring at the both of them.
"We will, we will!" the two said, shrinking in fear.
"Good. Anyway, we were heading to the ruins?" she asked.
"Yeah. Come on," Tohka said, walking off. The four followed after her.
"Hey, Mitsuki, I wanted to talk to you about something," Rias said as she and Mitsuki made their rounds in the camp.
"What is it?" she asked.
"... I know about it," Rias said.
"Know about what?"
"Issei. Deal. You."
"Oh," Mitsuki replied, looking blankly ahead.
"Oh? That's it?" she asked.
"Rias. Can we talk about this later? I don't really need to be reminded that my twin brother threw his soul into eternal damnation for me right now," Mitsuki said as she peeked into a tent.
"Right… sorry but, if you want, I'm here," she said.
"I know and I'm sorry for snapping," Mitsuki said.
"Rias! Mitsuki! I think we found something!"
The two looked up and saw Tatsuya and Yuu standing up ahead of them. The red-haired boy waved them over and the two ran to them.
"What is it, Yuu?" Rias asked.
"This," he said, walking into a tent.
"Just crates?" Rias asked.
"No, there's something inside them," he said, opening the boxes.
Inside the boxes were pieces of jewelry, furniture, and a few ruined scrolls. Mitsuki walked over to the boxes and opened them, finding the same content inside only to find intact books as well.
"Hey, these books appear to be in great condition for being excavated from an ancient ruin," she said.
"Wait… these books. Some of these are Gremory," Rias said, blowing the dust off one of the tomes. "A Compendium of Infernal Spells Volume 3."
"So what… there are Devil items inside this ruin? Is that why Seed Corporation is digging it up?" Tatsuya asked.
"It seems to look like they have an additional agenda other than the Black Dragon buried here. We need to get these to Gehenna as soon as possible. There's no telling what this company can dow it this much power at their disposal," Rias said as she began to shove items inside a magic circle.
Mitsuki nodded, doing the same.
"This place looks… unnerving," Tohka said as she looked at the architecture of the place.
Due to the age, the design was completely foreign in appearance to the standard devil structures they were used to. Most devil buildings resembled that of a Gothic European Style, however, this building threw all notions of that out the window. The stone was perfectly and cleanly cut, a feat that could be achieved with magic. Strange symbols decorated the top of the entryway while empty torch holders sat at the side. Lining the path to the entrance was a line of empty braziers. A small demonic face sat at the center of the arch of the entryway, staring menacingly down at the intruders.
"Anyone have a light?" Issei asked.
Irina nodded and produced a light sphere in her hands as they entered the building. As the small group went deeper, they saw lights at the end of the hall.
"Excavation lights," Tohka said. Irina dispelled her light orb and they entered the main chamber.
"Woah," Issei said.
"Woah indeed," Mica added.
The main chamber was incredibly well preserved despite being abandoned for nearly eight centuries. There were carvings of eight figures. Seven of them surrounded another figure that sat on a higher pedestal. These figures were not at all too large. The figures were about the size of a small crucifix that one would hang on the wall of a Christian Household. The figures each had a small plaque with a carving on it. Each carving was faded due to years of wear and tear with no maintenance or cleaning but some of the symbols remained.
"Enochian," Irina said, brushing her hands over the plaque that was underneath the statue of a man with long hair.
"The Sin of Gluttony," Irina read. Her eyes traveled to the insectoid insignia on the plaque and her eyes widened. She took a step back.
"What?" Rossweisse asked.
"That statue is a statue of Beelzebub," Irina said.
"And the others?" she asked.
"The Sin of Lust points to Asmodeus-sama, the Sin of Greed is Mammon-sama, the Sin of Sloth is Belphegor-sama, Envy is Leviathan, Pride is Satanachia, and Wrath is…," Irina trailed off upon seeing that the symbol was completely worn down.
"What?" Issei asked.
"The symbol… it's too faded for me to see. Even if I did, I don't recognize the initial shape. The other statues had insignias that we've seen. The Lucifer insignia on Satanchia is on Vali's magic circles, the Leviathan Insignia is on Ingvild's, and we've seen the remaining Prime Demons teleport so we've seen their magic circles," she said.
"Hey, look at Leviathan's statue," Tohka said.
"That dragon must be Lotan," Mica said.
"That it is. Lotan. One of the three dragons referred to as a Black Dragon and is known by her title as the Sovereign Dragon or the Coiling Black Dragon."
"Lisa," he greeted.
Lisa and Eric walked out from one of the tunnels.
"Hey," Lisa said.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Issei and Irina," Eric said, walking over to them. Issei smiled as he held his hand out. Eric grinned as he firmly grasped Issei's hand and shook it.
"Eric, it's nice to see you again," Issei said.
"Nice to see you too, kid. And who is this… charming lady," he said.
"Eric…," Lisa warned.
"What? I was just saying hi," he said.
"Whatever. I'm guessing that that is Rossweisse," Lisa said.
"Y- Yes! My name is Rossweisse, Rook of Rias Gremory!" she said, bowing to Lisa. The girl laughed a little when she saw the Valkyrie bow.
"No need to bow, I'm nobody important. Let's just work together to complete this mission," she said.
"Of course," Rossweisse said.
"So what did you guys find?" Irina asked.
"Well, other than standard spell tomes and all that crap, we've found absolutely nothing. There's no tomb in the mountain… no burial chamber. The warding on this place has been dead since the fourteen hundreds and we used Scanning Magic and we can't even find a secret chamber," Eric replied.
"He's right. Even with our most powerful scanning magic, we can't find a secret chamber. Well, one big enough to hold a body," Lisa said.
"So what? Hadad lied?" Rossweisse asked.
"I don't think so… perhaps what they want isn't in the ruins themselves but perhaps on another area of the mountain," she said.
As she said this, the entire mountain suddenly shook as the sound of thunderclaps could be heard from the outside.
"What the hell?" Issei said as the group rushed out of the mountain. They gazed at the sky to find storm clouds covering the entire atmosphere. Violet lightning crackled across the air with some of it striking the surrounding area. The winds became violent, akin to that of a storm as tents were blown over. Clouds of sand engulfed the area as everyone covered their mouths and eyes.
"What's going on!?" Irina coughed.
"The summit! Something's happening at the summit," Tohka said. She created a massive sphere of air to disperse the sand cloud as she gazed towards the top. The clouds were circling with the eye being the top of Mount Sinai.
"Issei! What's going on!? A storm just hit us!" Rias yelled through the CC.
"Something's happening at the summit of the mountain! I think that's where it's going down. That's where they're reviving Lotan!" Issei said.
"Go! We'll meet you there! Find a way to the summit!"
"Got it! Tohka, can you keep that barrier up while we fly our way up there?" Issei asked as a pair of energy wings appeared on his back.
"Just fly! I can cover us! Lisa, Eric, I'll carry you guys in the sphere," she said.
The entire group nodded as they took off towards the summit at breakneck speeds. The group navigated through the wind and debris as tents were ripped off the ground and thrown into the air. A bolt of lightning flew past them, nearly piercing their small air barrier. The closer they got to the top, the more intense the winds became.
A wave of power slammed into the barrier dispelling it.
Issei righted himself in the air with his wings and caught Irina and Rossweisse.
"Are you two alright?" Issei asked.
"Yeah, we're fine," Irina said.
"Good, now get back inside!" Tohka said as she appeared right next to them with Mica. She formed the same barrier to keep the winds out as they stared at the mountain's summit.
"Look," Mica said, pointing to the cubic brick building "We can hide in the mosque and catch our breath."
"Let's go then!" Issei said as they flew down to the entrance of the mosque. They burst through the doors and fell to the ground. Eric and Issei both got up and ran up to the temple door and closed it immediately as the sound of wind battered the entire building.
"Um, hi," Lisa said as she saw a bunch of surprised Muslims looking at them. "There's uh, a storm so we just… yeah, I'll be quiet now."
The mountain shook once more, this time even more violently as the winds began to grow stronger. The sound of thunder became frequent as lightning began to strike harder and in greater succession.
"We need to get up there to wherever the hell this storm is centered on," Eric said.
"But how. If you haven't noticed, there's a hurricane in progress outside," Tohka said.
"I can go. My [Balance Breaker] will let me push through the winds or we can use Tohka's powers to keep the winds from slamming into us," Issei said.
"I'm not letting you go alone and second, we don't even know if she has enough juice to let us get through the winds," Irina said.
"I can get us to the top. If we're at the mosque, then that means the summit is just a short walk from here," Tohka said.
"Can you really do that? That wind outside sounds pretty intense," Mica said.
"Shut up. I got this. Besides, once we make it to the eye, it'll be smooth sailing from here on out. Okay, Eric, the minute I give you the signal, open that door," she said. Eric nodded and placed his hand on the handle.
"NOW!" Tohka yelled as she formed an air barrier around them. Eric quickly dove into the barrier as the winds entered the mosque.
"Sorry!" Issei said as the group walked out. He waved his hand and the doors slammed shut.
Lilith stood in front of Lotan's crystal with her hand still on the smooth lattice surface. The lines began to grow brighter and brighter, causing the storm around them to grow more and more intense. Lightning struck other mountains within the mountain range, causing debris to fly everywhere. Winds stronger than even that of a tropical storm battered the mountain range, causing massive devastation to all non-steel or stone structures. The obelisk released pulses of power at regular intervals causing the entire peninsula to shake as the Black Dragon inside came closer and closer to awakening.
"Sister, it appears that we have intruders," Leviathan said, opening his eyes.
Lilith sighed as she turned her gaze on him.
"Astar… take care of them," she muttered.
A flash of blue light lit up the area as a woman appeared, kneeling before Lilith. Her figure was nothing short of divine. She had a lean yet bountiful figure that tempted every male devil within the vicinity. Even Leviathan had such fleeting thoughts before quashing them due to the presence of his wife. Her hair was long, being ice-blue and appeared to be extremely soft. The woman opened her eyes, revealing the icy blue orbs underneath and spoke.
"What is it that you require of me, Milady?" she asked.
"Go greet our guests," Lilith ordered.
"Understood," Astar said as she disappeared in an instant.
"How long do we have until she wakes up?" Leviathan asked.
"Not long now," Lilith said as she took her hand off the obelisk. She glanced down at her watch.
"Appointment?" he asked.
"Yes. Alastor found me a backdoor into Typhon's prison so I'm heading back to Sheol to prepare for negotiations. Guard this obelisk with your life. Lotan will be awake before the hour is over," Lilith said.
"Of course, my wife is inside," he replied.
Lilith nodded and disappeared soundlessly. Leviathan smiled as he summoned a throne made of pure water and sat in it. He noticed the devil guards standing around and sighed.
"Well, don't let Astar do all the work. Go," he said.
The guards nodded and rushed off to do as they were told.
"We should be getting there in a few minutes," Tohka said.
Suddenly, every hair stood on everyone's necks as they scattered. A giant spear of ice impaled itself into the ground around them.
"What the hell?" Issei muttered.
"Issei!" Tohka screamed. "Behind you!"
Issei turned around in time to see the silver flash of a sword narrowly missing him. He twisted his body out of the way and performed a roundhouse kick to his attacker, sending her sliding back. The attacker dug her sword into the ground, halting her movement.
"Hmm," she said as she straightened herself. She dusted her clothing off as she stood confidently across from Issei. Behind her in the sky were dozens of devils.
"This doesn't look good," Issei said.
"Yeah, no matter how you put it," Rossweisse added.
"Rossweisse. We're going to teleport over to you right now. Flare your energy so we can sense it alright?" Rias said through the CC.
"Cover me, I need to signal our location to Rias and the others," Rossweisse said. Issei nodded.
"[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!]"
Irina summoned Hauteclere and activated Heaven's Twilight.
Without warning, the two rushed towards the woman. The woman craned her neck out of the way, dodging Issei's punch effortlessly. She countered by performing several precise jabs to Issei's torso and followed up with a gut punch. Issei was thrown back, flying past Irina as she thrust her sword towards the intruder.
The intruder parried her strike, staggering her. She prepared to stab her sword into Irina's chest to perform a visceral attack when a flash of silver and flames forced her to jump back.
"Hello Astar," Lisa said, pointing her blade at her.
"Lisa… have you come to take me back? If so, my answer is and always will be no," she said, her ice-blue eyes staring into Lisa's golden ones.
"No, Astar. We're here to stop whatever asshole employed you and is planning to unleash a Black Dragon into the world," Eric said from behind.
Astar glanced over her shoulder to see Eric with a gun pointed to her forehead.
"Hmph. Well, you'll have to get past me and them. And to be clear, Selene should just come herself if she wants me to come back!" without warning, Astar slapped Eric's gun out of the way and performed a roundhouse kick to his head.
Eric raised his left arm to block her kick before following up with a series of blows. She blocked and dodged before jumping out of the way when Eric's sword came swinging down from an overhead arc.
Astar gritted her teeth as she blocked Eric's attack. She parried him and thrust the sword towards him, causing him to deflect the blow.
"GO!" Eric said as he engaged Astar in swordplay.
"Right!" Issei said.
"They've picked up!" Rossweisse said. "Rias has a good track on me so let's get to the summit!"
"But what about the others?" Irina asked.
"We'll be fine! GO!" Tohka said as she fired a beam of red energy at the horde of devils. The three nodded and ran off.
"This is like that one time after prom," Mica said, floating next to her. He shifted his Magitech to its axe form. He swung the blade at an attacking devil, carving a deep wound as the blade cut through bone and muscle.
"Well, without the punch and the vomiting," Tohka said.
"Tohka!"
Tohka sensed several magic signatures heading their way. A large devil ran up to her and brought his meaty fist down on her. She caught the punch and used her weight to throw him into the sky.
A flash of violet and a series of lines appeared on the devil before he exploded into a series of body parts. Mitsuki landed in front of Tohka, her hands coated in violet energy.
"Where's my brother?" she asked as the others landed behind her.
"They headed to the summit. Go! We'll stay behind and assist Lisa and Eric," Mica said as he removed his axe from a devil.
"Let's go," Mitsuki said as she took off towards the summit. The others nodded and followed suit. As they were making their way, a portion of the devil swarm that had surrounded them split off to go follow Mitsuki and the others.
"Tohka," Mica said as he continued his deadly dance. Everywhere the axe landed sent blood and bone everywhere as Mica swung his axe with deadly precision.
"Uhuh," Tohka pointed her hand at the sky "[Dawn Strike Formation: Nike Cannon]."
A beam of red energy shot forth from Tohka's hand roaring across the sky as it instantly vaporized the devils in its path.
"Come at me, you dicks!" she yelled as her eyes glowed blue. Lightning arced off her body as it coalesced at her back creating wings. She launched into the sky, sending arcs of lightning everywhere.
"Aniki!"
"Nii-san!"
Issei stopped and turned around at the sound of Mitsuki and Asia's voices as the others landed before them.
"We saw the storm and saw you flying up here so we figured that we would follow," Kiba said, smiling.
"You're here just in time. Lotan, it's not located inside the mountain. The dragon was buried at the top," Rikka said.
"Just past that climb right?" Akeno asked, looking ahead where violet energy streaked into the sky. The storm clouds seemed to focus around that point as the storm violently churned and the earth shook underneath the amount of power being released by whatever was up there.
"Get ready. There's no telling what we'll face up there," Rias said. Issei nodded as he moved forward. As they climbed, Irina, Rikka, Ingvild, Bova, and Issei heard something in their pockets begin to beep. Issei pulled his AS out and his eyes widened when he saw the numbers on the screen. The program that Hephaestus had installed to find the culprit behind the Hong Kong incident.
100% Match detected.
Analyzing databases to find matches…
Match not found.
"Wait," he said.
They all stopped and looked back at him with questioning looks on their faces.
"Whatever did the thing in Hong Kong is here," he said.
"What?" Irina asked. She noticed that he was holding his AS and pulled hers out. Her eyes widened when she saw the results.
Rikka's expression became stony.
"Let's go…," she said, pushing forward.
"Wait. Wait! What's going on?" Rias asked, seeing the grim expressions on Issei, Irina, Ingvild, and Bova's faces.
"We'll explain later but for now," Rikka said. Without warning, she drew Agneyastra and unleashed a massive swath of flames. The flames collided with several water serpents, creating a massive cloud of steam. She covered her face as the scalding wave of gas washed over her and the others.
Issei squinted to better see through the mist when he saw a spear of blue energy heading towards…
"Eren!" Issei tackled Eren as the spear embedded itself mere inches away from them.
"You know… you really don't live up to expectations don't you, Red Dragon Emperor," a voice said through the mist.
"Show yourself!" Rias said, her eyes activating and her Power of Destruction coating her arms and legs.
"Are all the devils of this generation this rude?"
The mist was blown away as a strong gale swept through the area. Everyone flared their power in an effort to not get blown away. When the winds died, they all looked up and saw a lone man floating in the air. Twelve pairs of bat-like wings could be seen extending from his back. His violet hair, similar to that of Ingvild Leviathan, blew gently in the wind. But the one trait that sent waves of fear through them were his eyes.
The same malice that was found in Beelzebub's were found in this man's poisonous golden orbs.
"Wait… that insignia," Rossweisse said, pointing at the symbol on his jacket. The very same symbol that was located on the third statue in the ruins. A cross with two horizontal lines on its main body over an infinity symbol.
"That's…," Irina said.
"Leviathan," Issei finished.
"What? But that's impossible!" Akeno said.
"But it makes sense doesn't it?" Rias pointed out. "If the Original Beelzebub came back, then there was no guarantee that the others weren't running around behind our backs was there?"
She fixed the original Leviathan with a nasty glare. He shivered mockingly underneath her gaze.
"There's a statue of the Seven Prime Demons located inside the mountain ruins. That symbol was found to represent the Sin of Envy," Rikka said.
"My forefather, King Leviathan," Ingvild finished. "And that means that my… other ancestor is up here as well…"
"Oh? A Cambion and my descendant?" Leviathan said, looking at Ingvild intently.
"...," Ingvild remained silent as she activated [Nereid Kyrie].
"What are we going to fight?" Leviathan asked.
"If we have no other choice, then we will but I implore you, lay down your arms and surrender!" Rias said.
"You know… any other day, I would but… you're here to stop my wife from coming back and that is something I cannot let you do," Leviathan said.
"Then we'll force our way past you!" Issei said as he charged at him.
Leviathan raised his hand and blocked Issei's attack, catching his punch. Kiba and Xenovia appeared by the Original Leviathan's sides, ready to slice into his side when several water tendrils swarmed around them.
"Crap," Kiba said as he spun around the tentacles, using Gram to slice them all in an instant.
"Hmm," Leviathan smiled. He gripped Issei's fist tightly and threw him into Kiba. He spun around, delivering quick and precise jabs to Xenovia's torso, causing her to gasp in pain.
"Ise! Kiba! Xenovia!" Rias yelled.
"ISSEI!" Irina shot from her position and with Hauteclere drawn "[Code Seraphina: Flash Formation Phantom Solais!]
Leviathan saw Irina shoot past him as he felt several cuts appear all over his body. He grinned as his wounds began to emit steam before closing. He directed his tendrils to attack Irina when several red orbs and lightning blasts destroyed them. He looked down and saw a stream of ice and fire barreling towards him.
"Child's play," Leviathan emitted a telekinetic wave that dispelled the attack.
"Eat this!" Hiruko yelled.
A massive spike of earth threatened to impale the Lord of Envy. But he wasn't worried, instead, Leviathan allowed the spear to hit him, shattering upon impact with his skin. The Original Demon Lord floated there in the air, dusting his clothing off. He smirked at his opponents as he raised his hand. A sphere of black and blue energy formed in his hand.
Suddenly, Leviathan was wrapped and captured by a massive water dragon. The Original Maou was caught off guard as he glared at the offender from the constrictor hold he was in.
Ingvild glared at her ancestor with a terrifying gaze as she closed her fist, tightening the coils.
"ISSEI! RIKKA! DO IT!" she yelled.
"[Chaos Break: Satan Drive]," Issei darted towards Leviathan, with a massive ball of red energy in his hand.
"[Code Laevateinn!]" Rikka disappeared in a burst of speed towards Leviathan.
"Combination Technique: Crimson Pralaya!"
Leviathan found himself being engulfed in a sphere of destruction before a million flaming cuts sliced into his body. The entire sky was lit up in a scarlet glow as the storm was virtually dispelled from the pure force of the blast wave.
Issei and Rikka landed on the ground, looking at the sky.
The light died down to reveal that Leviathan was nowhere to be found. The entire group went on alert as they tried sensing him.
"Eren!" Asia yelled when a portal opened behind him. It was in that instant that Eren reacted, creating a massive wooden tendril that stopped Leviathan's fist from making contact with Eren's skull. The boy jumped back and landed next to Asia.
"Hmph. If that attack hit, I would've been really hurt. Good thing I managed to warp my way out of there," he said as he grinned cockily at them.
"Tch," Issei said, glaring at him.
"You really think just because you swatted Beelzebub means that you'll be able to defeat little old me? You wield the Shevirat Ha-Kelim, the holy power of our kind and it feels like you can take on the entire world right? Well, even with those powers, you're nothing because I'm not Beelzebub. In fact, I'm much worse than Beelzebub so come. See where that foolish bravado will get you, Issei Hyoudou," he said, holding his arms out in a taunting manner.
As he was about to move, Issei felt his ribs break as he was sent flying across the mountain range through several mountains. He landed on the other side, leveling the landscape.
"Heh, and here I was thinking you were going to sleep in," Leviathan said.
"Sleep? When Ddraig and Tiamat are both here? Fat chance."
A massive ungodly pressure fell upon the entire mountain. All fighting stopped as every combatant turned their gaze towards the summit. The world felt and the world trembled. A being of immense power now walked amongst them.
Astar sheathed her blade while Eric and Lisa froze. Tohka and Mica dropped their weapons, fear being the only emotion present in their body.
"So… they failed," Taki said. The alarms within their headquarters were all going off due to their sensors picking up such a large amount of power. He brought up a screen and looked at the massive red dot that engulfed the entirety of the Sinai Peninsula, parts of Saudi Arabia, Israel, and all of Egypt.
To say that they weren't afraid of her was a lie. Fear was the only thing present within their bodies. They were nothing before her. Nothing before this monster of a woman that stood before them. Her power was greater than anything they have ever felt from a God or a Maou. The woman's heels clicked and clacked on the stone as her onyx tail swished around behind her. A pair of feathery dragon wings spread from her back, casting a shadow over them.
"Oh? Is this the current generation of Devils?" she asked. Her red eyes looked down on them as if they were insects.
Irina gulped audibly.
She… She's the Black Dragon. I know about the rumors but I never expected her to be this powerful! She thought as she saw the massive aura surrounding her.
"Be nice, Lotan," Leviathan said, walking up to her.
"I'm seriously asking, Dear. They seem to be lacking," Lotan remarked as her gaze fell upon Ingvild "Is she our descendant?"
"She is," he replied.
"Y- You're Lotan. The Queen Leviathan and one of the Three Black Dragons," Ingvild stuttered.
"So I'm still famous in Devil Society is that it?" Lotan asked.
"No. They've virtually forgotten you other than the Elder Devils and the remaining Prime Demons," her husband said, glaring down at them.
"And how does she know who I am?"
"An organization known as Blacklight is actively working against us."
"Blacklight? I guess I'll ask later," she said, shrugging.
Without warning, Lotan quickly turned around and caught a massive red scaly paw. She smirked, her bangs casting a shadow of her eyes.
"Ddraig," she said.
[Lotan] Ddraig growled as he tried to force her to the ground. The Coiling Black Dragon grinned before lashing her tail out and sending the Welsh Dragon back.
|Paws off my husband bitch!|
Lotan grinned as she used her wing to parry Tiamat's talons. The Black Dragon grinned as she delivered a devastating kick to Tiamat's jaws. She held out her hand as a ball of black and silver flames appeared in her hand.
Issei appeared next to her with his fist cocked back. Lotan looked at him lazily as he delivered a series of quick and powerful strikes. Lotan yawned as she parried every attack before wrapping her tail around Issei's neck. She slammed him into the ground before stomping on his chest.
Lotan jumped out of the way when Ddraig swiped his talons. She landed on his arm and ran up it before kicking him in the face. Ddraig roared in pain as he was sent flying off the summit.
Tiamat slammed her tail into Lotan, sending her flying back several dozen feet. She righted herself in midair and stopped Tiamat's claws from impaling her, using her superior strength and speed to catch one of her talons mid-strike. She grinned as she threw the Dragon King to the ground, sending her crashing into the desert below.
"Ddraig… Tiamat," Issei groaned.
Issei shakily stood and went after them.
"ISSEI!" Rossweisse yelled.
She raised Misteleinnn and unleashed a volley of elemental magic at her. Leviathan appeared in front of the attack. His eyes glowed yellow as he created a series of magic circles, sending the same attacks to intercept hers.
"ROSSWEISSE! DON'T USE MAGIC ON HIM!" Ingvild yelled.
"What?" she looked at her confused. Leviathan's gaze fell on the Leviathan Princess as she began to explain.
"Our family power other than Sea Serpent of the End is known as Sehmehl Kinat. It literally means the Symbol of Envy! Everything we see. All forms of non-inheritable magic can be replicated by our family power!" Ingvild yelled.
Rossweisse bit her lip. She was practically useless against someone like him. "I can't just stand here and let Issei fight against her alone!"
"Neither will we," Rias said. Rikka nodded and got to her feet.
"Bova. With me," Rikka said.
"Got it," Bova said as he opened his mouth.
Rikka raised her sword and ignited it.
The two unleashed a combo attack of Agneyastra's Divine Flames and Bova Tannin's Meteoric Fire.
"Heh. Huh?" As Leviathan raised his hand to fire the same attack, the flames were dispersed as a black vortex appeared in front of Leviathan. He sighed and stared at the newcomer.
"Apollyon," he said.
Irina glared as the familiar masked devil appeared in front of them. Her icy blue eyes stared down stoically at them. She turned around to Leviathan.
"Milord. Milady has ordered that you and Lady Lotan return to Sheol," Apollyon said.
"Already?"
Apollyon's expression didn't change. Her eyes remained as lifeless as ever. The Lord of Envy sighed and waved her off.
"LOTAN! Finish them! Elder Sister is calling us home!" he said.
Lotan deflected Ddraig's attack before countering his flames with her own. The heat radiated by the flames were enough to ignite small plants and animals as shrubbery burned. Eventually, neither flame won and the collision point collapsed and exploded, obscuring Lotan's vision. She sighed upon hearing Leviathan's call.
"Already?" she asked, dodging a swipe from Issei. Without warning, she clotheslined Issei, sending him crashing through several mountains.
"Yeah," Leviathan said.
"Fiiiine. We'll finish this next time, Ddraig," Lotan said as she slugged him. The Welsh Dragon crashed through a mountain and into the ground, creating a massive crater.
"I won't let you run!" Issei said, darting towards her. He created a massive orb of black and red energy.
[Deep Crimson Spiral!] Issei yelled. However, before the attack could connect, Lotan was engulfed by a vortex of black energy and disappeared.
"Damnit!" Issei said, as the sphere slammed into the ground and punched a massive hole through the mountain itself.
Astar kicked Lisa into Eric, sending them both sprawling onto the floor.
"You can't beat me and you know it," she said, walking over to them.
Suddenly, every hair on the back of her neck stood on end as a massive ice shield manifested itself behind her out of instinct. The shield was shattered by a flash of silver as Astar found herself avoiding the blade of a rapier by a hair's breadth. She jumped out of the way, creating some distance between her and the attacker.
"You're late," Eric said, wiping some blood from his mouth.
"Sorry about that. The Warp Gate placed me at the bottom of the mountain due to some heavy energy interference coming from the summit then I had to fly in this weather," Selene said as she brushed her hair out of the way.
"Sister," Astar growled.
"Astar."
A black vortex appeared next to her. "Our Lady is recalling us and all the force we brought."
"... Fine," she said.
"And where do you think you're going?" Selene asked, pointing her blade at her.
"Not back to Greece," Astar said as she was consumed by the vortex. Selene sighed and sheathed her sword, staring at the empty space that held her older sister.
Sheol
"Milady, the mission was a resounding success," Naamah said, smiling.
Lilith sat on her throne with her hand on her cheek as Leviathan and Lotan knelt before her. She stood from her chair and walked forward, seeing all the expectant Devils in the room. She held her hands out in a grand gesture.
"Rejoice my friends! Today has been a major victory for Serpent's Seed! Our goal towards bringing forth paradise draws ever nearer! Allow me to introduce you to a new member and my sister in all but blood! A precious ally who will help bring down the tyranny of the current system, Lotan!" Lilith said.
Lotan stood and faced the crowd, bowing slightly. The crowd cheered and roared in approval, their morale boosted by her presence.
"For now! Celebrate! For in a few weeks, we claim our next ally!" Lilith said.
The crowd cheered as the festivities began. Lilith smiled and walked back to her throne, sitting down. Holding a banquet within her throne room was not her idea but Naamah's.
She looked up when she saw Lotan and Leviathan walking over to her.
"Well, it seems like they're all fired up," Lotan said, pointing her thumb at them.
"Of course they are," Lilith replied.
"So… when are we going to get this 'next target' of ours?" Leviathan asked.
"In a few weeks. In a few weeks, we will kill two birds with one stone. Typhon's been transferred," she said.
"Transferred? Where to?" Naamah asked.
"Thanks to Apollyon and Alastor's skills, we have acquired information that Typhon has been transferred from his prison in Mount Etna to Cocytus," Lilith answered.
"So how does this equate to killing two birds with one stone?" Lotan asked.
"Simple…," Leviathan answered. "You're going for him, aren't you?"
"That's right. Our targets are… The God of Monsters, Typhon, and the Venom of God… Samael."
That's it for this chapter! Please leave a review.