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"Get my powers back…" Ophis sat on a floating stone within the Dimensional Gap. Nihil's words permeated her mind as she contemplated what she should do next.
As always, Great Red made a ruckus behind her, flying around and performing tricks as his flybys leveled the floating islands within the Gap. The discordant chaos of uniform space-time rippled from his laughter.
"Ophis! HEAAADS UUUUUUP!"
She glanced over her shoulder and held her hand out. A blue barrier appeared behind her and stopped Great Red dead in his tracks, causing the dragon to stumble back and grab his snout.
"I think I broke it!" he clutched his snout in pain as it healed itself.
"Can you shut up? I'm trying to make a decision," Ophis said, annoyed. This was a very important decision to her. She had grown quite fond of her after all. And now, they were telling her that the only way to be "complete" again was to reabsorb her into herself. The old her would've taken that offer no problem but time within the physical world had changed her slightly.
"Is this about your shard?" Great Red's entire form glowed as he shifted into a man with long red hair, wearing a black coat, and sat down next to her.
"Yes. It's the only way I can be at full power again," Ophis said.
"Why do you need to be at full power? Nothing's happening. The Apocalypse Beast is sealed and we can go back to minding our own business while the mythologies rip each other apart again," Great Red said, snapping his fingers. Ophis watched as Lilith (not the dragon) led an army of demons across the Earth, fighting against DxD and the Gods. What an ambitious yet foolish child her great-niece was.
"They've underestimated her and her group. Just because that fly is dead doesn't mean they're in chaos," Ophis said, summoning a cup of tea to her hand. She had developed a taste for it while on Earth alongside sweets. The Gap rippled, responding to her content as she watched the events unfold.
"So what are you going to do about your Shard?" Great Red asked.
Ophis closed her eyes and came to a decision. Her eyes glowed as an image of Lilith (the Dragon) came into view. Her mini-me was eating sweets on Issei's lap as he sat with the others. Her gaze drifted to another part of the screen and narrowed. Something was interfering with her vision in that specific spot.
"I've decided that I'm going to eat her." Ophis stood from her seat.
"Huh?" Red looked at her with a slightly dumbfounded look in his eyes. Eat? She was going to do what? "I'm sorry. I must have heard that wrong. Did you just say you were going to-"
"Eat her. I will eat her and reclaim my full power." Her tone did not match the look in her eyes for Ophis had looked at him with a resolve burning in her eyes but also some melancholy. He could plainly see how attached she was to her Shard. This was the hardest thing she would have to do. The hardest thing she's had to do in a few centuries.
"Don't do anything rash. That Red boy will fight you for her life," Great Red said as he disappeared from his spot and flew once more through the Gap.
Ophis nodded as the Gap responded to her will. A tear in it formed, rippling and pulsating as a black fluid-like portal formed in front of her.
Kuoh, Japan, November 15, 2020, Current Time: 1 Minute and 50 Seconds Til Midnight
"We're babysitting Lilith today." Kuroka put on a movie to distract the Infinity Loli, who took her place on Issei's lap and inhaled a bag of chocolate. Issei looked down at the gluttonous dragon before him and sighed. Azazel was busy so he couldn't be bothered to look after her so they were stuck with this.
Layla, who had been taken with them to recover from her injuries, sat in Issei's living room, watching all of this go down in front of her. She still hadn't gotten used to this. Powers, yes. Beings capable of destroying the entire world. No. She did not sign up for this. But still, whatever she could learn here would be useful to her in the future.
"Nii!" Lily ran into the room and saw Lilith on Issei's lap. She looked down and clenched her small fists. That was her spot.
"Lili! Want to sit on this Onee-chan's lap nya?" Kuroka held her arms out towards the little redhead. Said girl looked up and walked away, shattering Kuroka's heart. Instead, she walked over to Asia, who had been munching on some popcorn with Eren, and tugged her skirt.
"What is it, Lily-chan?" Asia smiled at her younger sister. The girl held her arm out and Asia smiled. She picked her up and put her on her lap.
"She never wants to sit on my lap," Kuroka said, crying a little.
"Lily is allergic to cats," Irina said, walking in with more food. Mitsuki and Vali lagged not too far behind her with drinks.
Koneko and Kuroka both deflated at that statement.
"You should be fine if you hide your ears," Asia said, holding the bucket for Lily. "She was fine around Koneko when we asked her to look after her."
"Is this normal for you guys?" Layla asked.
"No, this is the most peace we've had in a while," Issei said.
"What's life usually like for you guys?" she asked.
"Usually, we're out running around on missions and stuff, fighting Demons and keeping them from destroying the world," Issei said.
"Destroy the world?"
"Yeah. Their leader was someone I knew personally and… she wants to destroy the current world and rebuild it in the way she envisions it. She thinks that we can't work together or that… what we built is destined to fall. You know, a house of cards scenario. So, she wants to make her own version of peace a reality. She said it would be a paradise."
"What if this world she wants is a paradise?"
"Huh?" Issei looked at her.
"I'm saying that you were all quick to shoot her down. What if she's right?" Layla said.
"She's not right. What we have right now is actual peace. People helping each other out. No one's fighting." Issei kept his gaze on her.
"On the surface, it looks foolproof but… nothing lasts forever. How did you get this peace? Did you work for this peace? Was everyone on board with this peace?" Layla asked. "Those are things you have to ask about the current state of affairs. Just because there is no war does not mean there is no peace. Humanity exemplifies this best. My people have always been under the impression that no war equals peace for all but that could not be further from the truth. World War 2 gave way to the Cold War. The mutual enemies of the Allies were defeated and there was no one left to fight. The Allies disagreed on how the world should be after and split them apart, causing the world of man to be in a state of near-constant annihilation."
"But we're not like that," Issei said.
"Are you not? Or are you just blind to it all?" she asked. She closed her eyes and smiled. "Looks like we went off on a tangent."
Issei blinked. This woman just ended their discussion without giving him a chance to rebut. And what's more, was that she dominated the entire conversation. He never knew that she was so philosophical.
"R- Right," Issei said.
"Did you-" Irina's questions were interrupted as the lights flickered. Everyone went on guard as Layla shrank in her chair. Lily hugged Asia's torso, causing the girl to hold her in anticipation of an attack.
As everyone tensed, Lilith got off Issei's lap and stood in the middle of the room. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, creating a barrier around all of them as a series of black liquid tendrils slammed into the barrier.
Lilith watched emotionlessly as her barrier began to give way. The cracks spread as the black tendrils increased their force and shattered the shield. She jumped back and into the air as she avoided the tendrils that were coming from seemingly everywhere.
"LILITH!" Issei yelled from behind the barrier.
"Issei, protect, Lilith's duty," she said in a monotone voice.
"How cute… even if you do possess at least a fourth of my powers, you possess no hope of even laying a scratch on me."
Everyone's eyes went wide as the sky darkened. That voice.
"Ophis?" Issei asked. A black portal appeared in the middle of the room as Ophis stepped out.
"But do not worry my Shard. I will not harm him nor the others. You are the one I came here for," Ophis said.
"Ophis! What are you doing!?" Issei asked, banging on the barrier.
(It's no use… you can't break it. This barrier is imbued with her power of Infinity.) Mastema appeared next to Issei.
"You." Ophis turned to Issei.
"Huh?" Issei took a step back as she stepped towards him. Mastema said that her barrier was imbued with the Power of Infinity but surely, Ophis, the original wielder, could shatter the barrier if she wanted to.
"How are you here?" Ophis asked.
"Huh?" Issei tilted his head. Next to him, Mastema's eyes widened.
(You can see me?) she asked, floating past the barrier.
[Who is she talking to?] Ddraig asked.
"Lilith will not go."
Ophis and Mastema's conversation was interrupted as the Dragon God turned to see her spawn looking at her with the first trace of emotion any of them had ever seen within her. Defiance.
"This is not your choice to make." Ophis looked at her with absolutely no pity at all. This was what she needed to do.
"Ophis! Don't do something you might regret!" Vali said.
"I regret nothing. You and Issei and everyone here showed me that this world is worth the sacrifice. And you reminded me of how much he loved this world." Ophis closed her eyes as a man with white hair smiled at her. "You will return to me willingly or I will claim you by force."
"Ophis! What is this about!?" Rias yelled.
Their eyes widened when Ophis suddenly appeared in front of Lilith and threw her hand out. The other dragon barely avoided the attack and smacked Ophis with the back of her hand. The Dragon God's head snapped to the side but she didn't budge. Ophis's eye merely turned as she punched Lilith. The punch had the same sound as thunder as the entire room shattered from the force. The barriers that protected them were rended to nothing as Lilith lost concentration.
"OPHIS STOP!" Issei took off towards her. "[Crimson Moon: Full Drive]!"
Ophis glanced over her shoulder. Issei suddenly found himself crashing into a wall.
"Do not interfere Issei. This is for your own good," Ophis said.
"Damnit! Ophis!" Issei said, getting up. Vali and Mitsuki donned their Balance Breakers and prepared to fight the Infinite Dragon Goddess. What had gotten into her?
"You do not understand." Ophis turned around and faced them.
"Then make us understand!" Vali said.
She said nothing. The others stiffened. Had Ophis finally lost her mind? She couldn't even explain why she just attacked her own spawn.
"You will not under-" she was interrupted as Lilith slammed into her back, catching her off-guard. The shard grabbed her and threw her into the sky, creating a sonic boom as Ophis exited Earth's atmosphere in a millisecond and slammed into the moon's surface.
"Go. Lilith will hold Ophis off." Lilith's body rapidly healed itself as it stared at the rising moon where she chucked her progenitor too.
"No. We need to get you out of here. Whatever's going on with Ophis, we can fix it. We just need time and help," Issei said.
[Great Red. We need to ask Great Red] Ddraig suggested.
|Assuming he'll help us…| Tiamat added.
"Issei! We need to go!" Irina said. Issei nodded and grabbed Lilith. He nodded as Rossweisse and Akeno created a massive magic circle and teleported them all way from the ruined living room.
Ophis appeared in the living room, sending a massive billowing wind to sweep across all of Kuoh. She scrunched her nose up in distaste at the thought of having to track down her shard. Her eyes narrowed when the connection became fuzzy.
"Cloaking…" Ophis muttered as she walked across the ruined room. Her eyes drifted to the spilled food and destroyed furniture. "Fix."
The room and all the rubble obeyed her vocal command and began levitating, putting itself back together and becoming a room once more.
Lilith, Gehenna
Issei and the others crashed into the middle of the street within the city of Lilith, groaning. He looked up and frantically looked for Lilith only to find her standing before him. He sighed in relief before turning around and seeing everyone else there with them. He noticed that Lily was clinging to Asia tightly. The poor girl must be terrified of what just happened.
"Asia. Take Lily and get somewhere safe. The rest of us will get to the Maou and try to safeguard Lilith from Ophis," Issei said, getting up and dusting himself off.
"Do you realize how insane this sounds?" Irina got to her feet and looked at her boyfriend with an apprehensive look on her face. "We're talking about fighting Ophis here. Ophis!"
"Irina is right. Even if she's incomplete, there's no way all of us working together can even hope to defeat her," Rossweisse added.
"Not alone. We need to get to the Maou. With Lilith helping us, we can hold her off long enough to find a way to banish her back to the Dimensional Gap," Vali said.
"No time to argue," Issei said, "We need to move now!"
The others nodded and Asia and Eren split from the group and teleported somewhere safe for them to hide Lily. Meanwhile, Issei and the others ran down the streets and headed for the Ars Nova. Above them, the sky grew darker as if an eternal night had begun to creep upon Hell. It was darker than usual.
"The sky…" Rias looked on in shock as the Moon slowly turned black. The dark purple hue of Hell's night sky was slowly being devoured by a pitch-black that spread like a disease.
"It won't be long before Ophis arrives in Lilith. We need to get Lith to Sirzechs so we keep Ophis from getting her," Issei said.
"We don't even know why Ophis is acting like this all of a sudden," Mitsuki said.
"We need to-"
A massive explosion interrupted Rossweisse's next sentence. The shockwave spread over the entire city, shattering every window and uprooting trees. Akeno and Rias raised a barrier that kept the wave from blowing them away. The two stood fast, pouring all their power into the shield to keep it from collapsing.
Alarms went off across the entire city as the wave died down. Alarms that haven't gone off since the Jabberwocky and Bandersnatch invaded the city.
(She's here) Mastema said, her mismatched eyes looking at the diminutive feminine figure that levitated high in the sky. The world flickered like a glitch as if Ophis's mere presence had overloaded the processors of reality.
"Damnit. Go, the rest of you! Explain everything to the Maou. I'll stay here and stall Ophis for as long as possible." Issei looked over his shoulder.
"What!? You'll die!" Irina protested.
"She won't kill us. It's Lilith she's after. Besides, I'm not going to fight. I just want to talk," Issei said.
"Then take me with you. The two of us should be enough to buy them a few minutes to get to the Maou." Vali donned [Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive].
[Summon us as well] Ddraig said.
|We'll be on standby in case things get hairy with Ophis| Tiamat said.
{Tiamat and Ddraig are right, Vali. Summoning all three of us would buy them more time} Albion piped in. Issei looked at Vali with a raised eyebrow.
"We'll talk later," Vali said, "Right now, we have to stall Ophis."
Issei nodded and the two of them dashed towards the Infinite Dragon Goddess. Rossweisse placed a hand on Irina's shoulder as everyone else watched the two fly off.
"Let's go. They'll be fine," Rossweisse said. Irina clenched her fist and nodded.
Ophis hovered over the city, whose entire front she had accidentally nearly leveled upon her arrival. She had miscalculated how she should announce her presence. Usually, she just appeared in offices but this time was different. Was this how he felt whenever he made those grandiose appearances among mankind? Feeling slightly guilty, Ophis waved her hand and began the trivial process of healing and fixing the city. Her eyes lazily looked up and saw Vali and Issei flying towards her. She stood there, waiting as they approached and stop a few meters away from her. Her grey eyes drifted over to Issei. She was still there.
"Issei. Vali." Ophis regarded them with some emotion in her voice.
"Ophis. Why are you doing this? Why did you suddenly attack Lilith?" Issei asked.
"Have you finally lost your mind?" Vali asked.
"I told you that you would not understand but it seems that you will persist regardless," Ophis said.
"Try us." With Ophis, it was either extremely simple that it flew over everyone's heads or so foreign that even she couldn't understand it. These were the two thoughts that were clear in Vali's head when he said this. The Dragon God tilted her head at his words and sighed.
"I will consume her and reclaim my power. For too long, I have been finite. I long to be the Infinite once more and for that to happen, Lilith must die." Ophis's words pierced through them. Not the words themselves but how they were delivered. They were so cold and harsh that Issei and Vali felt the chill crawl down their spines.
"There has to be another way," Issei said. "Why do you suddenly want to get back to full power? You were fine during the Evil Dragon War! Why now?"
"The future was shown to me. And this future is not happy. In order to protect the people I like, I will require my full powers to prevent this future from happening." Ophis looked at them with slight melancholy in her eyes. There was another way her sister had shown her but that way was unknown to her. What did she mean by seek him out? Did she mean to seek out the others? Ophis eliminated such thoughts from her head. If she had told her to find the others, she wouldn't be in this situation.
"You know we can't let you pass," Vali said, getting ready to fight her.
"I know. That is why…" Vali's eyes widened as Ophis appeared in front of him. She had shown no signs of movement and to the observer, she looked like she teleported in front of him. "I will not hesitate to subdue you if you get in my way."
Vali was confused. Ophis was now much farther- no, she was much higher in the air than he was. And pain invaded his senses, nearly sending his mind and thought into disarray. It was only through this pain that he realized what happened. He was on the ground. His armor was broken and he lay in a crater within the streets of Lilith as citizens, both Devil and Fallen fled for their lives. No one had even seen her move. Not Issei. Not Albion. No one.
"VALI!" Issei yelled. He turned to see Ophis looking at him. He gritted his teeth and prepared to fight her. A red and blue circle appeared next to him as he was about to shoot towards her.
Before he could even move, Ophis's hand crashed into a blue barrier that shattered upon impact. But that split second allowed Issei to move out of the way.
(Keep it together) Mastema said, hovering in front of him.
Issei nodded and the circles grew brighter. Ophis took a step towards Issei but was knocked away by a massive red paw. She crashed into the city plaza, leveling the fountain.
[Never thought I'd get to punch Ophis of all people] Ddraig said. Tiamat hovered next to him.
|We need to heal Albion's vessel. Do any of you know healing magic?| Tiamat asked.
The two looked at her like she had gone crazy and sighed. The blue dragon descended and landed next to an extremely injured Vali. She held her paw out and a blue magic circle appeared over Vali, enveloping him in blue light. Vali grunted as he felt his wounds disappear. The light vanished and he got up, sending a nod of thanks to Tiamat.
Vali raised his hand and slammed it into the ground, creating a massive white dragon gate. A flash of white light nearly blinded Issei, Ddraig, and Tiamat before an ear-piercing roar shattered the silence that befell the area. Albion in all his glory came soaring out of the circle and into the sky where he floated next to Ddraig.
{It's been too long since I've seen you in person like this, you redneck} Albion let loose a puff of white smoke.
[Indeed it has you white bastard] Ddraig said.
"Looks like you two need to continue your bromance later." Issei created a sword of destruction. A violet light twinkled in the distance and shot towards them. The two Heavenly Dragons flew apart from each other as Issei narrowly dodged the beam. The beam shot through the clouds and disappeared into the skies.
"I'm starting to have second thoughts about this," Issei said as the gear let out [Boost] commands.
[You and me bo- Watch out!] Ddraig knocked Issei away with his tail as Ophis's fist made contact with his cheek, sending the Red Dragon flying at least several thousand meters from where they were.
Albion let out a roar and brought his talons down on Ophis. The small girl sidestepped the attempt and slapped him. The slap was enough to knock Albion away with relative ease.
She has no idea how to fight but even still, we're completely overpowered and outclassed against her. And even in her weakened state, she was able to send Ddraig and Albion flying with a single hit. A bead of sweat trickled down Issei's forehead.
"Issei, focus. We just have to hold off until the Maou get here," Vali said, hovering next to him.
Issei nodded. His armor glowed as he entered his [Chaos Break: Satan Drive].
"Give up…" Ophis raised her hand and several massive black serpents appeared from portals behind her and shot towards Vali, Issei, and Tiamat.
Tiamat opened her mouth and let loose a torrent of blue flames that engulfed the serpents. Issei and Vali raced past the stream, appearing next to Ophis. Their intent was not to hurt her. Not that they could. They just needed time.
Ophis raised her hands and caught their punches rather easily. As she held their fists, she looked up and saw a massive red tail slamming into her. The force was enough to make her let go of Issei and Vali. Below her, as she was sent hurtling like a meteor, Albion appeared and swatted her with his tail, sending her into the sky once more.
Ddraig, Tiamat, and Albion all let loose a massive torrent of flames that vaporized all the clouds in the sky as it became a storm of blue, white, and red flames.
"[Longinus Smasher]"
"{Satan Compression Divider}"
Their attacks joined the stream of destruction created by the Two Heavenly Dragons and the Azure Dragon King, rupturing the sky and shaking the entire region. The flames slowly died down as Albion, Tiamat, and Ddraig stopped their flames. Issei and Vali watched on, anxiety filling the core of their entire beings.
"Issei!"
The two turned and nearly sighed out loud in relief. The Four Satans arrived with the others in tow.
"Sirzechs," Issei said.
"Ria-tan and the others explained what's going on," Sirzechs said, looking towards the empty sky.
"Is she?" Irina landed next to Issei.
A violent blast of energy rained down from the sky, forcing them all to scatter. Ajuka noted how the blast completely ate away at the ground of Hell. The area hit vanished as if it was just a mirage in the desert. He looked up and saw Ophis standing there completely unscathed, bar from the fact that half of her face was currently reforming from the combined attacks of Albion, Ddraig, Tiamat, Issei, and Vali. She floated in the air like the indifferent God she was.
"There's no way we can possibly beat her. Not without pulling off anything dirty," Ajuka said.
"What's wrong with her?" Sirzechs asked.
"She wants Lilith. She wants to absorb her back into herself in order to get her full power back. Ophis wants to be complete again." Issei clenched his fist at the thought of Ophis devouring her own spawn. It didn't seem right. Not in the slightest.
"That's it?" Ajuka looked at Issei oddly. The choice there should be obvious.
"Yeah but… she attacked us out of nowhere. It's like…"
"She expected you all to put up a fight. That's understandable." Sirzechs stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "But… not everything works out the way we want it to. Maybe this is the right call."
"What? Are you listening to yourself right now? This isn't right! She's just a child! She hasn't even experienced anything!" Issei yelled, turning around in fury.
"Issei. This is the only way we can get through this without a fight," Ajuka said, "I don't want to get into a fight with Ophis. Not only are our chances nearly zero according to my calculations but… the damage that could be done to Hell itself could be immense. Ophis is a being whose power is virtually infinite."
Issei looked at them and felt betrayed when the others were considering Ajuka's words.
"Irina?" Issei looked at her, expecting her to side with him. She looked away. He turned to Rossweisse, who looked at him sadly. His final hope was Kuroka. The cat loved children. He looked at her with hopeful eyes.
"I… Issei. It's her or all of the people here in the city. If this battle carries on, everyone, including us, will die." Kuroka tried to break it to him as gently as possible.
"You're all… if you won't fight for her, then I will!" Issei said.
[Issei… you know they're all right.] Ddraig said.
"Mastema?" Issei hoped the final person he knew could lend some sort of support on this.
(I… I'm going to have to agree with them. Are you really going to sacrifice an entire city… no, an entire world just for that girl?) Mastema appeared in front of him. She had a sad smile on her face as she placed her hand on Issei's head. Even if the others couldn't see her, he could feel the warmth coming from her spectral form, enveloping him like a mother's hug.
"Issei…" Mitsuki stepped towards him in an attempt to comfort her twin. She could plainly see the conflict on his face. How his eyes were brimming with anguish as he grappled with the decision of being forced to choose between an entire city of innocent people or one person.
"W- What should I do?" The others looked at him with worry. He looked defeated. They knew that he knew he had no choice. This was the only way to get out of this without extensive collateral damage and loss of life.
"Issei," Irina said, placing her hands on his face. He looked at her with despair in his eyes.
"I don't… I don't want to lose her too." Tears trickled down Issei's face. Despite the short period of time that they had known each other, Issei was quite fond of the little dragon loli. She was like… a daughter almost. Back before this entire incident with the girls, the pieces, and Beelzebub, Issei had taken it upon himself to teach her about the human world and watch her grow. Alongside Vali and Rias, the three had taught her what they had known before they were inevitably pulled away to the front lines.
"We don't either." Rias knelt next to Irina and grabbed his hand. "But…"
"It's not fair…"
Rias nodded solemnly. She looked up into the air and glared at the Infinity Dragon. Ophis paid her no mind but felt a pang of pain in her heart at seeing Rias's glare. She descended from the sky and landed before them, her emotionless grey gaze bearing down on them like the pressure of the bottomless sea.
"You win…" Issei looked at her with a look that nearly broke Ophis's heart. She kept her grimace off her face because she didn't know how to express such an emotion. She hadn't been able to for a long time. Ophis walked forward and looked up to Issei's face.
"I am sorry," she said.
"Save it…" Issei looked down at her with slight contempt. Ophis frowned before reaching up and tapping his forehead. Issei's eyes widened as he felt a rush of information enter his head. He fell to his knee, gripping his temples as images of a violet-haired woman with golden eyes looked down on him. He couldn't make out what she was saying but… it sounded important.
"Issei!" Irina knelt next to him and looked up to Ophis. "What did you do!?"
"I showed him. I want him to know the reason for this. He wouldn't understand if I explained." She looked at her like the answer was obvious.
Find Him.
"Who is him?" Issei groaned, fighting through the throbbing pain in his head to look at her.
"I do not know," Ophis replied. She walked past him and towards Lilith. The girl looked at her apprehensively before becoming confused as Ophis held her hand out.
She looked at her with a confused expression on her face.
"It's time for you to come back." Ophis kept her hand held out. Her expression held no emotion as she continued to look at Lilith. The girl made no move to grab her hand and instead walked past her to Issei. She held her arms out as if to defend him from whatever attack Ophis had planned.
"I will not attack him so do not worry." She turned to face her Shard.
"Lilith will not go with you. Lilith wants to stay with Issei. Lilith wants to live with Issei. Issei promised Lilith that he would show her everything and that Lilith would live like a normal girl." Her voice rose with each passing word as she began to feel fury for the first time. Fury at the one she viewed as her Creator.
"Do not make this more difficult for me than it already has…" Her eyes glowed ominously as she took a step towards Lilith.
"Lilith…" Issei looked up at her. She looked down at the kneeling boy and smiled for the first time since they had met. Issei's eyes widened as he got to his feet and stood in front of Lilith.
"I won't… the others may think this is the only way but I… what you showed me proves that there is another way," Issei said, stopping Ophis in her tracks.
"?" she tilted her head in confusion. Did she accidentally give away the entire conversation? She only wanted to show him the part where she was told that reclaiming her power would be the only way she could help.
"Him. Whoever he is. He can help you right?" Issei said. The others looked at him strangely. Him? Who was him?
"That is what I was told," Ophis said.
"Give us time," Issei said.
"Time?"
"If we can find this person, the one who can help you regain your powers. Will you spare Lilith?" Issei asked.
"You must be delusional. There is no one on this planet or on Earth capable of restoring me to my full power. The only one who could has long since passed into oblivion." Ophis's words punched Issei in the gut hard. This… this was going to be impossible to pull off. Or that was what he thought until a thought came into his mind.
"What if we use the Sephirot Graal to summon them from death?" Issei asked.
"That-"
"Please. Just let us try. Give us time to do this!" Issei said.
"..." Ophis regarded him silently and nodded.
"Thank you. Thank you!" Issei said.
Ophis merely nodded and turned around.
"Be careful, Issei." Ophis glanced over her shoulder and looked at him. Her eyes drifted over to Mastema, who looked at her with a guarded look in her eyes. Ophis mouthed something to her, causing her eyes to grow wide in shock.
(This… as expected of her…)Mastema thought as she watched Ophis disappear into a black vortex.
Unknown Location
He ran. Ran for his life. This was not what he had signed up for when he joined Belial. He was supposed to be a spy within the city, not a disposable camera. He had just seen the Infinite Dragon God appear and lay waste to Lilith before engaging the Heavenly Dragons in combat. An experience that had nearly taken his life.
"Where do you think you're going?"
The devil tripped and landed face-first on the dirt, groaning in pain. He looked up and scrambled back in fear as a man with silver hair walked out of the shadows. He wore a white suit underneath a long white coat. The man had a tall stature, far taller than most people he had seen during that battle. His golden eyes looked upon his downed form with an overpowering gaze, making him feel like a worm that had been targeted by a bird for breakfast.
"L- Lord Belial! Wha… What are you doing here?" he asked.
"You failed to report so I came to see what was happening. Imagine my surprise when I find the Infinite Dragon God engaging the Red and White Dragon Emperors alongside the Azure Dragon King," Belial said, looking back in the direction of Lilith.
"I- I'm sorry! I got caught up in the mess and-"
"Quit your blithering you fool. I got what I needed to see," Belial said as his golden eyes glowed. "The girl that those two failed to capture is with the Red Dragon Emperor so for now, we will stay back. Engaging them out in the open when we already have other problems on our hands is quite… troubling."
"O- Of course!" the devil said.
"Go back to your post," Belial said.
"Y- yes sir!" he said as he ran back in the direction of Lilith. Belial scoffed. Did that fool not realize he can teleport?
He turned around as he felt a presence appear behind him.
"My lord…"
"Gremory." Belial turned to face her. Gremory bowed in respect. She took out a tablet and opened it, before looking at the man with an expectant look in her eyes.
"What is it?"
"Leviathan has begun to show signs of activity. It seems that he's finally making his move through the company." Gremory began to read off the report on her tablet. "Also… we have defeated Ronove and his group. We are preparing to assimilate anyone who is willing to join."
"Ronove is dead? Again? Hah, that old fool." Belial chuckled at the thought. "And what was that about Leviathan?"
"Leviathan is making use of the company to try and drive us and the others into a corner," Gremory replied.
"I see. Are our insiders ready?" Belial asked.
"Our insiders are ready and waiting. We can use the political field as well as the battlefront to overwhelm them. You just need to give the order, " Gremory said.
"Good but hold off for now. I want it to be there when Naamah and Leviathan will finally be forced into a corner for us to pick off. Lilith's death gave us the perfect opportunity to take control of this faction for ourselves and the internal power struggle created by the hole left behind with her demise is a perfect opportunity." Belial smiled. His golden eyes gazed upon the city of Lilith.
"All the pieces are now in play. Our next move will… commence now." Belial snapped his fingers. In the distance, in the capital city of Devilkind, an explosion could be seen.
Alright! Now we can officially get into the meat of the final part of this season! This last half of the Second Season of this fic! These first two chapters were meant to set everything up. Layla. Ophis. The main events for Layla and the mini-events for Ophis that will happen from time to time. With that in mind, I have left a lot of things here open. Ophis can see Mastema. The Demons aren't as united as the others think they are. In fact, from the last part of this chapter, it's pretty obvious as to what's going on. And lastly, Ophis is trying to reclaim her full power. She decided that consuming Lilith will give it back to her but as you can see, there is another way... which I will leave up as to what it is. Well... small hint, Aeons.
(PS: I know that if the two fight together, they are as strong as complete Ophis. I read Ishibumi's blog. Just humor me.)
And now, we shall begin to get into this... highly technical arc which will probably trigger a lot of people's political preferences because I... will be bringing or try to bring humanity and our extremely polarized opinions into this. So, come and get me CriticsUnited!
Don't forget to review. Or follow. It's up to you. And with that, I bid thee adieu.