Dragon Emperor of the Heavenly Storm

by dragonliege242

There's an endless number of universes, each differing from each other depending on the choices we make. In most universes, Hyoudo Issei would have grown up to be a weak, untalented pervert by the age of 17. But, in this universe, Issei's fate is changed by a small difference in his life at the age of 6. Strong!Smart!Demigod!Non-perverted!Issei IsseixOphis

6. Life 5: The Tempest, Part 2

I'm back! Excited to get this chapter done and finish off this arc!

Jose19: Yes, the Hindu Gods are the current strongest Gods, but Hinduism is in fact only the third largest religion in the world. The largest is Christianity, which is why I believe that the Biblical God was at least as strong as or stronger than Shiva when he was alive.

By the way, does anyone know if the Biblical God has an actual gender? It's not a plot point, just idle curiosity on my part.

staplesdex2: Some spell it as Ddriag, some spell it as Ddraige. I happen to be one of the latter. And does it really matter? Ddraige is a unique name in the story, so there is basically no chance of mixing them up.

Dp11: Ascalon has to be modified so that Issei and Vali, the Sekiryuutei and the Hakuryuukou, can wield it without being affected by its Dragon-Slaying properties. Moreover, it's also a Holy Sword, which is all the more reason why Vali can't touch it. That's how Issei overpowered Vali initially in their fight in canon.

Canon Issei spams Boost because he knows that his base stats are crap compared to his opponents'. This Issei was born with power, and never having really fought anyone overwhelmingly stronger than him, became overconfident in his own power, which was why he never used Boost until he fought the real Grendel and Ladon. As for Vali, does he spam Divide in canon? I never really got that impression. Then again, he hasn't made as many appearances in battles as Issei and co.

Also, Vali joined Khaos Brigade in canon firstly because they approached him first, he wanted to fight strong opponents, and because he didn't know that Rizevim was affiliated with them until after he had already defected with his team. This Khaos Brigade has Rizevim as one of the leaders, and is thus much more competent. Plus, Rizevim himself is already a descendant of the original Lucifer, his son no less, as well as one of the 3 Super Devils, so what would the Old Maou Faction want with the weaker, half-human Vali?

Yes. Reflect shows up in Volume 16, but not as one of Vali's techniques. Issei gains it after Ddraige and Albion come to an understanding.

Gasper will eventually show up.

I haven't decided what to do with the Hero Faction and the Vali Team yet. Bikou, Kuroka and Cao Cao, yes, but as for the rest, now that Khaos Brigade has changed, I'm trying to decide what to do with them, especially Georg, Leonardo, Arthur and Le Fay.

Issei and Vali will eventually obtain a power different from their current Juggernaut Drives. Vali's will definitely be Emperio Juggernaut Overdrive, but I'm still deciding a name for Issei's.

Interest: I'm fairly certain their weakening and aging is due to the fall in faith in their pantheons.

I've never heard of the legend where Futsu-no-Mitama was used to defeat evil deities, only that it was a sword given to Emperor Jinmu by Takemikazuchi.

Oh, and a reminder, and slight spoiler, so if you want to read the chapter first, skip this next part now.

I've once again made up the details of a technique that already existed in the DxD universe, but was never well explained: Senjutsu. What I know about Senjutsu once again mostly comes from Naruto, but it appears that Senjutsu is different in the two universes, which necessitated the original stuff. It may seem contradictory, so if anyone could help me refine it, that would be great. I just don't have the time to do it myself, not if I want to stay on schedule.

On with the story!

---

Issei wondered how things had gone to hell so fast. One minute, they were celebrating the defeat of the invaders and the reconciliation between the Sekiryuutei and the Hakuryuukou, and the next, the 3rd Super Devil, Rizevim Livan Lucifer, had arrived with an army at his beck and call, blocking all forms of teleportation out of the boundaries of the barrier. What was once protecting them was now trapping them instead.

"Rizevim…!"

Issei turned and almost flinched at the apoplectic look on Vali's face, eyes narrowed and teeth bared in pure hatred.

"If it isn't my adorable grandson! Last time I saw you was when that useless son of mine abandoned you! How you been? I heard you got picked up by Uncle Azazel!" Rizevim asked in that irritatingly jovial tone.

"Grandson!?" Rias voiced hers, and everyone else's disbelief at the revelation. Issei had already noticed the resemblance between the two of them, but he never would have thought they were so closely related.

"That's right. Vali's full name is Vali Lucifer. He's Rizevim's blood-related grandson, born between a union between Rizevim's Devil son and a human witch. However, because Vali was born with Divine Dividing, his father began to fear him, so when he was a child, due to Rizevim's egging on, he started to physically abuse Vali, and Vali eventually ran away. That's when I found him and took him in."

"Hey hey, it's not like I ordered my useless son to bully Vali-chan, you know? I just made a little suggestion. 'If you're scared of him, why not bully him into submission?' That's all. Well, I suppose if someone as powerful as a Hakuryuukou was born into his family, my useless, wuss of a son with a brain as soft as tofu wouldn't be able to handle it!" Rizevim said with an amused sneer.

"Enough! What happened to that trash anyway?" Vali shouted at his grandfather.

"Oh, your papa? Are you curious? I killed him! Hahahaha! It pissed me off that he was so much of a wuss, so I decided to kill that disgrace of a son by blowing his head off! What's wrong! Are you sad!? Are you sad that your papa's dead!?" Rizevim laughed insanely without so much as a hint of remorse at his admission of filicide, drawing looks of horror from more than one person present.

"No, not really. I was planning to kill that scum, but it can't be helped if he's already dead. But more than him, I wanted to kill you, so I'll thank you for showing up in front of me!" Vali said as he rose to his feet despite the fatigue he was experiencing from using Juggernaut Drive.

"Geez, and here I thought I had a dysfunctional relationship with my grandfather." Issei privately thought to himself.

"Oh, are you going to give me a hug? Then, come here! Grandpa will accept all of your love!" Rizevim held his arms out as though anticipating a warm embrace.

Vali's response was to throw a ball of white light, Holy energy, straight into Rizevim's face, causing a minor explosion.

However, Issei could tell that that ball of white light had little power to back it up. Both he and Vali had already completely exhausted themselves. They were essentially running on fumes at the moment.

He was proven right when the explosion died down, and Rizevim's smiling, unscathed face was revealed within the smoke.

"What's wrong, little grandson? Out of gas? Surely that wasn't all you had?" Rizevim asked in a mocking tone, causing Vali to grit his teeth so hard that it was actually audible.

"Rizevim…why are you here!? Didn't you say that you had lost interest in the world and went into hiding!?" Sirzechs shouted at Rizevim, looking like he had had enough of Rizevim's nonsense.

"Oh, Sirzechs-kun! Mm, I did say that, but then someone came and told me there was still something interesting in the world! As for why I'm here, well, those useless Evil Dragons got themselves killed by my baby grandson and that rival of his, so I came here to finish the job!"

That certainly got their attention.

"You!? You're the one who sent that army of Evil Dragons!?"

"That's right, Shinto-kun~! It was really a pain in the ass, finding where those 7 were buried or sealed, reviving them, and mass-producing copies of them!"

"7…Impossible, you resurrected all 7 Evil Dragons!?" Azazel exclaimed in complete shock, a far cry from his usual carefree self.

"Uh huh, that part was a real piece of cake with this little doohickey here that we received from the Vampires!" Rizevim exclaimed with a happy expression as he twirled a tiny golden chalice in his hands.

Every member of the Three Factions simultaneously paled at the sight of the golden cup.

"It can't be…Sephiroth Graal?" Michael groaned at the sight of one of the 13 Longinus Gears, Sephiroth Graal, the Holy Grail itself.

"Yup, with this baby, powering up the Evil Dragons was a piece of cake. If not, we wouldn't have sent them to attack you guys and the other factions!"

"…The other factions?" Issei addressed the elephant in the room with a sense of dawning horror.

Rizevim's grin turned from jovial and mocking to outright malicious.

"That's right! At this very moment, the other 5 main factions around the world, the Hindus, the Greco-Romans, the Norse, the Egyptians and the Buddhas are under attack from an army of Evil Dragons, each one led by the original that the armies were copied from!" Rizevim cackled as he waved a hand, causing five images to form in the air between them.

Each image depicted utter chaos. Beautiful citadels and glorious palaces, under siege from armies of identical Dragons, each led by a much bigger version.

"Crom Cruach is attacking Mount Kailash, Apophis is destroying Mount Olympus, Yamata-no-Orochi is laying siege to Asgard, Azi Dahaka is rampaging in Mount Sumeru, and Nidhogg is invading Aaru! Isn't it such a wonderful sight?"

None of them replied, all transfixed on the sheer destruction being wrought by the five Dragons.

The Thousand Diabolism Dragon, Azi Dahaka, a dark purple three-headed and six-winged Dragon, laughing madly as it and its smaller copies fired spell after spell at the comparatively smaller figures that Issei knew were the Buddhas trying to fight back.

Massive black serpents' bodies undulated as one, and with that mere movement, felled entire phalanx formations formed by the Greco-Roman demigods and minor Gods, all the while a much larger version shrugged off bolts of lightning, high pressure streams of water and blasts of pure darkness from the Greco-Roman Trinity, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. That was the Eclipse Dragon, and also the Egyptian God of Darkness, Apophis, and its copies.

Light blue Dragons snapped their jaws at the assortment of Egyptian Gods, some animal-headed and others human-headed, attacking them, most notable among them a man dressed in battle robes and wielding a glowing spear, battling the largest Dragon. The Abyssal Rage Dragon, Nidhogg, engaged in battle with Atem, the strongest warrior among the Egyptian Gods and a member of the Top 10 of the world.

Eight-headed serpents, which the mere sight of made Issei's blood stir, spewed different elements from each of their eight mouths as they did battle with hundreds of winged women, Valkyries, wearing gleaming silver armor and wielding weapons ranging from swords and spears to maces and flails. Meanwhile, the largest among them wrapped their long necks around three Gods, an old man with a glass eye, wielding a golden spear, a young man with golden hair wielding a massive warhammer crackling with lightning, and an equally young black-haired man casting multiple spells. The Venom Blood Dragon, Yamata-no-Orochi, the legendary nemesis of Susanoo, locked in combat with Odin, Thor and Loki.

Finally, and without a doubt the strangest sight of them all, was the army of men with black and blonde hair and heterochromatic eyes, one gold and one black, doing battle with the strangest-looking Gods Issei had ever seen. And at the helm of the army, the supposed leader, who looked no different from the rest, did battle with a God with an odd buzz cut hairstyle, but donning traditional battle armor, wielding a massive lightning bolt and riding atop a gargantuan white elephant. That was Indra, the de facto head of the Hindu Gods in Shiva's absence. Which meant that the man that he was doing battle with must be the Crescent Circle Dragon, Crom Cruach, the strongest among the Evil Dragons. Issei didn't expect him to be a humanoid Dragon like Ophis.

However, Ddraige had also mentioned that Grendel was the smallest of the Evil Dragons. Did that mean that Crom Cruach was capable of switching between a human and a Dragon form?

"Hahahaha! Ah, just as I thought, this world is no fun without a bit of chaos!" Rizevim guffawed as he took in the utterly shocked expressions of the conference attendees.

"Rizevim-sama, I hope you haven't forgotten the reason we came here in person." One of the Devils standing behind him walked up to the laughing Super Devil and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to stop and look like he had a sudden realization.

"Oh, that's right!" Rizevim exclaimed as he palmed his forehead dramatically.

"Sirzechs-kun and Serafall-chan, these people behind me are the good folks of the Old Maou Faction! They aren't very happy with your rule, so they came here with my support to lodge a complaint~!"

Then, as if to prove Rizevim's words, hundreds of magic circles, inscribed with the runes of offensive spells, appeared in midair, all aimed straight at the conference attendees.

"The Old Maou Faction…they had been quiet lately, so we assumed that they had given up…" Sirzechs muttered as he stared at the army of glaring Devils standing behind Rizevim.

"Nope! It's just that the three useless brats leading got themselves killed a few years back, so they decided to lay low until they found me!"

Issei decided that with hundreds of spells aimed at them at the moment, it probably wasn't the best time to mention that the Shinto Faction had been responsible for said useless brats' deaths.

"R-Rizevim-sama, even if they were weaker than you, calling the descendants of three of the Original Maous is…"

"Hm, you got a problem with what I said?" Rizevim asked as he tilted his head back and asked the member of the Old Maou Faction who had protested.

His jovial smile was very much intact, but Issei felt a chill run down his spine and the rather unpleasant sensation of instinctive fear course through him as pure malice radiated from the Super Devil.

"N-No, of course not!" The poor Devil stammered out, eyes wide with even greater fear than Issei felt, being the subject of Rizevim's subtle ire.

"Good, I'd hate to have to kill you because you spoke out of turn. You appear to be a sensible lad." Rizevim's smile widened, making him look like a particularly bloodthirsty shark.

At that point, a silver magic circle appeared next to Rizevim, the design of which made the senior members of the Three Factions gasp as one.

From the light, a tall man with long silver hair tied into a braided ponytail and grey eyes emerged and knelt down on one knee before Rizevim.

"Rizevim-sama, Walburga and the magicians have finished modifying the barrier. With this, no one can leave without our permission." The silver-haired man spoke with a respectful tone.

"Oh, good work, Euclid-kun! Tell the magicians that they can go get a well-deserved rest! Oh, but not Walburga-chan! Her services are still required!" Rizevim addressed the man called Euclid.

"It can't be…you're alive?" Grayfia whispered in shock, just loud enough for the silver-haired man, Euclid, who had just bowed to Rizevim and prepared to leave, to hear and turn to face her.

"It's been a while, nee-san. I believe the last time we saw each other was when you betrayed us to defect to the rebels. As you can see, just as you have chosen to side with a 'Lucifer', I too have done the same." Euclid said to her with an unreadable expression.

"Nee-san!?"

More than one person present echoed out loud.

"Let me introduce you! This is Euclid Lucifuge-kun, my right-hand man and Grayfia-chan's little brother!" Rizevim laughed as he pompously patted Euclid on the back, causing the man to grimace, though whether it was in pain or in irritation, Issei couldn't tell.

"Please don't do that, Rizevim-sama. My body is not so durable that it can withstand strikes from you, even if you are not being serious." Euclid said as he rolled his eyes and then left through a magic circle.

But, before anyone could say anything, he returned, this time with a young woman with white hair adorned with multiple ribbons, wearing purple gothic lolita clothes that did not suit her as well as Ophis's similarly themed clothes did her. If that was the standard of fashion among supernatural beings, the Dragon God had a much better sense of fashion than Issei had originally given her credit for.

Then, there was that manic look in her eyes that unnerved even Issei. He had seen his fair share of crazy over the past decade, but she was right up there with the likes of Grendel.

"Uncle Rizevim! Did you call for me?" She asked in a cutesy fashion that only served to invoke a feeling of pure disgust in Issei, and judging by the way a good number of people shuddered when she spoke, he wasn't the only one.

"Ah, Walburga-chan! Good timing, introduce yourself to our new friends!"

"You got it! One special introduction, coming right up!"

She turned to the conference attendees and made a peace sign.

"Hi there! The name's Walburga, the leader of Hexennacht, and the current possessor of Incinerate Anthem! Nice to meet you! Now, would you please die for me?"

At that moment, purple flames burst out of the ground in the form of crosses, just barely avoiding touching the barrier.

Azazel groaned.

"Even the Holy Cross? You, Euclid Lucifuge, the Old Maou Faction, the Evil Dragons, Hexennacht, Sephiroth Graal and Incinerate Anthem…just how expansive is that organization of yours anyway?"

"Walburga-chan, that's enough. We don't want to kill them just yet. We're not done gloating yet." Rizevim said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, okay! I suppose I can kill them later!" She said in a bubbly voice as the purple flames immediately died down, leaving behind only smoldering holes where they had emerged from.

"Judging by your words, you appear to be under the impression that I'm the leader of our little organization. Sorry, but you're a bit off! I'm the second-in-command!" Rizevim revealed.

All of the conference attendees started. The son of the original Lucifer, the 3rd Super Devil whose power rivalled some of the strongest Gods, was only the second in command?

"Then, who is the real leader?" Issei asked out loud. He hadn't actually asked anyone specifically, he was just wondering out loud.

However, he was answered anyway.

"That would be me."

A new voice cut in on the conversation, and immediately, everyone felt an immense force crushing them, as though an entire ocean had appeared above them and the sheer pressure was now exerting itself upon them. The Shinto trinity, Sirzechs and Rizevim weren't even affected, not even looking mildly inconvenienced. The other faction leaders, Grayfia and Euclid looked slightly pained, but were otherwise fine.

The effects were worst on the rest of them, almost crushing them down to the ground. If Issei and Vali were at their full power, they wouldn't be anywhere near as affected, but in their current exhausted state where they were barely any stronger than the foot soldiers of the factions, it was like trying to stop a meteor falling towards them with their bare hands.

Issei barely managed to lift his head, just in time to see a pitch black tear in the dimensions appear next to a slightly slouching Rizevim.

A slender, elegant hand with ashen skin and decent muscle tone slipped through the tear and tore it open wider with surprising force.

A man with pitch black hair, sharp eyes consisting of a black sclera, red iris and a slitted pupil, wearing ceremonial robes of dark colors and most striking of all, the plated tail that ended in a lethal looking spike, extending from his tailbone, swishing back and forth in a menacing manner.

The sheer aura…no, malice he gave off was so great that even Rizevim's paled in comparison. Rizevim's malice had felt like a black bog threatening to pull him under, then this person's malice was like a massive black sun only a short distance away from him, about to break his mind with its sheer absurdity and threatening to destroy his body with its power.

But, buried very, very deep underneath that overwhelming malice, there was a certain texture to his aura that Issei found familiar. It felt heavily corrupted, but it also felt like…

"This presence…a God!?" Azazel gasped out, looking out of breath even though he hadn't done anything even remotely physically demanding.

However, he was correct. This person's malicious aura possessed large traces of divinity.

Suddenly, Issei found himself regaining control of his body as the pressure crushing him seemed to lighten drastically. He turned to find that it was because his divine relatives were flaring their own auras to stave off the effects.

Then, he paused when he saw the looks of pure shock on their faces.

"It can't be…Are you…Ahriman?" Amaterasu asked, the shock in her tone outmatching what was reflected on her expression.

However, Issei focused on the name that she had spoken.

Ahriman. He had heard that somewhere before. A God from the Middle-East, but that was about all he could remember.

"It pleases me that you can still remember me even after so long, Lady Amaterasu. Correct, I am indeed Ahriman, but perhaps the rest of you will only recognize me by my more well-known name: Angra Mainyu."

That got a jolt from the rest of the conference attendees.

"The Zoroastrian God of Darkness and Evil…! The one said to represent all of the evil in the world…!" Michael realized with no small amount of trepidation.

The Biblical God was after all, said to be the representation of all that was good in the world. Though he was not from the same pantheon, the God standing before them was his polar opposite.

Ahriman, or rather, Angra Mainyu, did not visibly react when he heard Michael speak with such a fearful tone. Rizevim, on the other hand, looked like he was about to explode with ecstasy.

"Ah, so you do recognize him! Yes, this fine man here is the ultra-famous God of Evil, and also the leader of our organization, Qlipoth! Quite the quaint little name, isn't it? I picked it out myself! I chose the name of the opposing existence to the Tree of Life, Sephirot, since we're abusing the Holy Grail that is said to be an offshoot of Sephirot's power! And also because it possesses the meaning of 'a force of evil', I think it's a name that really suits us. Hey, what do you guys think?" Rizevim asked, sounding extremely excited about such an inane topic.

And apparently, Angra Mainyu agreed.

"Rizevim, enough of that nonsense. We did not come here to talk about something as insignificant as a name."

"Yes, sir! In that case, should we tell them Qlipoth's goal instead?" Rizevim asked as he somewhat mockingly saluted Angra Mainyu, who did not seem to care and simply shrugged.

"Do so if you wish. It hardly matters, since they're all going to die here." Angra Mainyu said such a terrible declaration in such a casual manner that Issei actually felt threatened, unlike the other times others had made similar declarations.

Idiots like the Fallen Angel quartet and even Kokabiel had been loud and obnoxious, even without considering that they were way out of their league. Even Grendel, despite being much more powerful, had not managed to inspire fear in him because of that arrogance.

However, Angra Mainyu had made the same declaration without a trace of that belligerence or arrogance, only pure apathy and casualness, a level of confidence that Issei had never seen in an enemy, and yet did not come across as arrogance. Not to mention, Issei was currently heavily weakened, and he had already felt the God of Evil's power. He was very much capable of killing him with contemptible ease.

"Don't overestimate yourself, brat. Have you already forgotten our power? Do you honestly believe that you defeat us?"

Evidently, Susanoo did not think so as he glared at Angra Mainyu with much more contempt than Issei had ever seen from his bipolar grandfather, and releasing far more power than before, dwarfing even the power that Angra Mainyu was releasing.

However, the God of Evil didn't seem to be the least bit bothered by the murderous intent aimed at him. Instead, he simply smiled sardonically.

"It seems that I'm really being underestimated. It's been countless millennia since we last met, O tempestuous God of Storms. Do you honestly believe that I've remained at the same level all that time?" Angra Mainyu asked, and as he did, his aura intensified drastically for a brief moment to the point that Susanoo's was crushed down almost immediately, prompting wide-eyed look of shock from the Shinto God of the Storms and Seas.

"Your power exceeds mine!? Impossible! Your pantheon faded long ago! Even if you survived, your power should be heavily weakened, barely above that of a human!"

"True, that would be the case for most Gods. However, Lord Susanoo, have you ever asked yourself this? Why is it that even though their pantheons faded, some Gods have continued to persist in their existence? Why is it that some of the Gods, who live on the faith of human worshippers through their prayers and actions, can survive even when we are no longer actively worshipped? The answer is rather simple. It's because of our domains."

"Your…domains?"

"Correct. I am the God of Evil. Tell me, what do humans define evil as? If I recall correctly, it would be 'profoundly immoral and wicked'. However, by whose morals is evil defined? Everyone has differing views. Humans have even gone to war over these views. What is considered to be a good deed by one person may be considered evil by another, and conversely, what is considered evil by one person may be considered a good deed by another. Therefore, if one were to consider every set of morals, one way or another, all of humanity can be considered evil. There are 7 billion humans on this world, and simply by living, going about their daily routine, they are committing evil in the eyes of another. As long as humans exist, so shall evil persist. My domain is eternal. Tell me, when there is so much evil in this world, what do you think will happen to a God of Evil? They do not even need to actively pray to me or act in my name. Simply their thoughts of condemning another for their perceived crime are enough to fuel my power. Imagine it, the collective thoughts, or faith, of 7 billion humans, all going to me?" Angra Mainyu said with an overly pleased smirk on his face.

The Shinto Trinity looked utterly horrified at the revelation. If what he was saying was true, then most likely, he was already…

"Right now, I believe that my power would not lose out to even the legendary Hindu God of Destruction himself. Of course, I am not foolish enough to challenge him. Though our levels could be considered to be almost equivalent, his are without a doubt more attuned to fighting than mine. He would destroy me in an instant. However, if it's only you 3, I believe that I'm more than a match."

At his words, the expressions of the Shinto Trinity hardened as they prepared for a battle, but Rizevim interrupted them with a pout.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop! We should gloat some more first before we kill them! If not, then what's the point of having an evil organization?" Rizevim exclaimed childishly.

"…Fine, do as you wish." Angra Mainyu sighed. He had apparently spent enough time with Rizevim to know that it was pointless to argue with him when he was dead set on something.

"Okay, I'll make this quick! Our goal is like any other evil organizations', almost to the point of being cliché! World domination! The human world, the Underworld, Heaven, Mount Sumeru, Mount Kailash, Mount Olympus, Asgard, we will conquer every single one of those realms and rule over them as kings!"

"…"

Well, he had been right about one thing. It was cliché. So much so that all of the conference attendees, not to mention a few members of the Old Maou Faction and Angra Mainyu, adopted deadpan expressions that were basically screaming, 'are you kidding me?'

Rizevim paid no heed and continued.

"However…! There are a few snags! If we simply try to take over the world as we are now, without a doubt, the various Factions around the world would join forces to crush us, and they would probably succeed, even with me and old Angra Mainyu over here! So we though reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally hard! How can we defeat all of the world's Factions? Well, basically, it means that we would need overwhelming power that even all of the Factions put together wouldn't compare. So, who possesses that kind of power? Naturally, one would think of the Top 10 Strongest Beings in Existence. However, most of them would choose to oppose us instead. Then, what about the Ouroboros Dragon, Ophis, who is known as the strongest being in existence, possessing power so great that it dwarfs the rest of the Top 10? Nope, we have no idea where it is right now! It just suddenly vanished off the face of the earth!"

"Actually, she's just a few meters away from where you're standing right now." Issei privately thought to himself, thinking of Ophis, who was still in the conference room, hiding herself on his request.

"So, after ruling Ophis out, we moved down the list. What about the True Dragon, Great Red, who is said to possess power equivalent or even surpassing the Infinite Dragon God? Nope, didn't work either. It completely ignored us when we approached it in the Dimensional Gap, and when we attacked it to get its attention, it responded with lethal force, so we had to hightail it out of there! It was really scary! Grandpa Rizevim almost had a heart attack!"

"So you say, but you kept taking potshots at that damned thing as we ran, didn't you?" Angra Mainyu commented as he ran a palm down his face in exasperation.

Everyone's deadpan expression seemed to intensify at that, and this time, even Rizevim seemed to notice, but just did not care.

"Anyway…! After that, we hit a bit of a rut. The Top 10 and Great Red won't help us, so who else is there? We thought and thought, but couldn't think of an answer, so we got depressed for a while. That was when I read an interesting little book. Know what it was called? The Book of Revelations." Rizevim continued and held up an old book with pages so yellow and ancient that they looked like they could crumble to dust any minute.

"There's an interesting part in this dusty old book. A picture of the Dragon that even God feared: Great Red. However, here's what we found interesting. Right next to the Apocalypse Dragon, there is another great beast, isn't there?"

"…No, it can't be…Trihexa!?" Azazel exclaimed as his face rapidly paled.

"That's right! The Emperor Beast of the Apocalypse, said to possess power equivalent to Great Red's! If we had that on our side, taking over the world would be a piece of cake!"

"But…Trihexa's existence has been purely theoretical all this time! There's no evidence it's even real!"

"Yes, we thought the same thing…that is, until we obtained this." Rizevim said as he once again held up Sephiroth Graal.

"Tell me, what is the nature of Sephiroth Graal's power?"

"…To come into contact with the principles of life itself."

"That's right! And that's how we found Trihexa! We used Sephiroth Graal's ability to find 'The World's End', a certain place that had been forgotten by just about everyone. That's where 666-kun has been hiding the entire time!"

"Then, don't tell me, you've already-!?"

"No, no, unfortunately not. Someone else found Trihexa before we did and put thousands of unbelievably powerful seals on him, so powerful that Angra Mainyu and I couldn't even put a dent in them! Hey hey, do you know who that someone was?" Rizevim asked as he gestured exaggeratedly with his hands.

Everyone blinked. Someone powerful enough to seal away a being that was of the same caliber as the legendary Apocalypse Dragon? No one immediately came to mind. It was unlikely that it was Great Red. If it and Trihexa had clashed, there was no doubt that all of the realms would have felt it, even through the dimensional walls.

It wasn't Ophis either. She would have said something, to Issei at the very least, if not to anyone else.

Shiva was out too. His powers, while far above the remaining 8 who were below him in the Top 10 and second only to Ophis, were specialized towards destruction, and though he was the leader of the Hindu Gods, who possessed versatile abilities, Issei didn't think it was him.

The rest of the Top 10, while powerful, wouldn't hold a candle to a being of Trihexa's level/

So, who…?

"No guesses? Boo, that's no fun! Oh well, I guess I'll just give you a hint. Uncle Azazel and Uncle Michael, you two and the rest of the oldies, you remember how the Biblical God died in the Great War, right? Of course you do! It's because that was revealed that you're even having this conference in the first place!"

Azazel frowned and Michael grimaced at the reminder of their Father's death.

"But, have you ever wondered, why did God die? The Biblical God was a very powerful God, even by Top 10 standards. So, how was it possible that died in the final battle against mere Devils and Fallen Angels? The answer: he wasn't at his full power at the time."

There was a collective sharp intake of breath from the conference attendees when they put 2 and 2 together.

"That's right! Many years ago, the Biblical God found Trihexa at 'The World's End' first and sealed it away! However, to seal a being of Trihexa's power away, he ended spending almost all of his power! Worse, it was right before the final confrontation between the Three Factions, which meant he didn't have the time to recover! It was no wonder that he was killed! In fact, it was very impressive that he had managed to kill off the Original Maous and most of the Fallen Angels before he kicked the bucket!" Rizevim cackled.

The conference attendees had been stunned into silence by the revelation.

"I see…I found it strange that YHWH, whose power was comparable to even Shiva's, could have died. But, if that story is true, then it makes perfect sense…!" Amaterasu muttered to herself.

"That's right, that's right! The Biblical God truly was a genius among geniuses! Even with all of the super smart magicians specializing in seals that we gathered, we estimated that it would take eons to break through! Unfortunately, Angra Mainyu and I aren't very patient people! But, what could we do!? Those seals could not be broken through with mere brute force alone, and reverse engineering even just one would take longer than a human lifetime! So, we're in quite a conundrum!"

The conference attendees all seemed to heave a sigh of relief at that. Though they had found Trihexa, it didn't look like they would be able to break it out anytime soon.

So, what was this bad feeling that Issei felt in his gut?

"However…! We discovered that there's an easy way to break those seals! By using the Biblical God's own power, it's possible to trick the seals into undoing themselves because they'll sense his power and think that it's him trying to get through, thus they won't put much resistance, if any!"

"God's power? But, God is already dead, and like you said, the majority of his power is being used in the seals…"

"Exactly! Furthermore, we would need a lot of his power to do that, otherwise it won't register at all! But you know what!? We found a solution! We decided to gather and use the 3 Holy Relics, the Holy Spear, True Longinus, the Holy Grail, Sephiroth Graal, and the Holy Cross, Incinerate Anthem, which all contain a crap ton of the Bibical God's power! Especially True Longinus, which contains his Will! And guess what!? As you can see, we already have 2 of the 3!"

"…! Then, the point of this coordinated worldwide attack is…!"

"Yup! First is, of course, to announce our intention to conquer all of the realms! World conquest wouldn't be fun if there wasn't anyone aware of the situation and acting to stop it after all! And the second and main objective is to obtain True Longinus! We confirmed that the current possessor is a member of the Hindu Faction, which is why we sent the strongest Evil Dragon, Crom Cruach, there! Otherwise, we wouldn't bother wasting resources on a hopeless battle should Shiva decide to get off his ass and do something!" Rizevim whooped with joy as he revealed their 'grand' plan.

However, simple as it sounded, the fact remained that if they succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"We won't allow it! The already fragile balance that this world is hanging on, we will not allow you to crush it!" Amaterasu declared, looking truly angered, as she and her brothers flared their divine power, this time with clear hostile intent towards the invaders.

The faces of the other faction leaders hardened as well.

"Rizevim, we will not let you do as you please. As Amaterasu-dono said, the world's balance is already fragile as it is. To prevent it from deteriorating any further, we will crush you and Qlipoth right here and now." Sirzechs said as his hands crackled with black and red energy, a sign of his activating Power of Destruction.

Next to him, Serafall, bearing an expression far more serious than Issei could have ever imagined on her face, brandished her pink wand, now coated in an ice blue aura. It was then that Issei realized that it wasn't just a silly cosplay prop. It was her actual weapon, as ridiculous as it looked.

Azazel and Michael created a massive spear and sword of Holy power respectively.

Seeing their leaders taking action, the various foot soldiers too got into formation, brandishing various weapons, some physical, some made of some form of energy.

Rias and Sona were chief among them, with magic circles appearing in the air around them as they readied spells. Their respective peerages weren't far behind. Akeno's school uniform changed into a traditional miko kimono, her battle attire. Yuuto activated his Balance Breaker, creating a sword containing both Holy and Demonic power. Xenovia drew the massive Holy Sword, Durandal, from the sub-dimension she had sealed it in. Koneko dropped into a battle stance.

Issei hadn't seen much of the Sitri peerage aside from Saji and his Absorption Line, whichw as why they didn't make much of an impression on him when they drew their weapons or readied their spells, but the Queen, Shinra Tsubaki, who, like Akeno, possessed blood relations to one of Japan's oldest Onmyouji lines, had summoned what appeared to be an ornate mirror, a Sacred Gear of some sort.

Sensing the hostility, the members of Qlipoth prepared for battle, causing the atmosphere to become unimaginably tense as power literally crackled in the air.

For several moments, the two sides simply stared each other down with nothing but hostility in their gaze.

Then…

"Oh, are we fighting already? Yay, more fun for Grandpa Rizevim!"

Rizevim exclaimed, breaking the tense stalemate.

The two small armies charged at each other, and immediately, the whole school grounds descended into chaos as weapons clashed, spells were fired and both armies suffered immediate casualties.

For now, the battle was in the favor of the conference attendees. While the invaders certainly had Angra Mainyu and Rizevim, as well as a Longinus possessor, the conference attendees had more high-level fighters like the Faction leaders and their direct subordinates.

Michael and Azazel easily tore through swathes of the invaders with their weapons constructed from Holy energy, blocking incoming spells with either barriers or their own wings.

Without even any time to scream, dozens of invaders were obliterated from existence when the spheres of Power of Destruction that Sirzechs had created engulfed them.

Entire groups fell to their knees, screaming as though every nerve in their body had been set on fire, as Tsukuyomi cast a mass illusion over them.

The ones that actually were set on fire, not to mention struck by giant bolts of lightning, didn't have that luxury, and Amaterasu and Susanoo simply stepped over their ashes to continue forward.

The temperature area dropped by several degrees as massive icicles appeared through a joint effort between Serafall and Grayfia.

Issei and Vali, weakened as they were, were unable to actively participate in the battle as of now, and instead stood back and provided support with their Longinus, sending power to their allies or reducing the power of their enemies' attacks respectively.

However, it wasn't completely one-sided. Qlipoth did not simply stand around and allow themselves to be annihilated.

Just as the Faction leaders were doing, Angra Mainyu and Rizevim were easily ripping through the foot soldiers with a great variety of spells like they were made of particularly flimsy toilet paper.

The others weren't quite as overwhelming in their attacks. They were actually quite evenly matched. Just because Rias and Sona, as well as their respective peerages, were considered talented, did not mean they would easily win, especially not when their opponents held either equal amounts of talent and power, or simply had the advantage of experience.

Still, from the pace, the conference attendees were beginning to push the invaders back, something Rizevim did not fail to notice.

"Hm…this isn't going very well, is it? Euclid-kun, Walburga-chan! You two can go ahead and let loose now!" Rizevim called out to his two direct subordinates.

Issei snorted. As strong as those two appeared to be, they alone were unlikely to make much of a differ-

That train of thought was immediately cut off as the aforementioned two's auras seemed to explode to new levels, now rivalling that of Serafall, Grayfia, Michael and Azazel.

Euclid, now enshrouded in a light blue aura, swept his arm to the side, generating a massive shockwave that instantly vaporized several foot soldiers and members of the Old Maou Faction.

Completely uncaring that some of his own allies had been killed in his attack, Euclid approached Grayfia calmly, completely ignoring Serafall, who was right next to her.

"Nee-san, it's been a while since we last fought. Would you do me the honor of having a match with me?" Euclid asked with a smile on his face.

Grayfia gazed at him with a forlorn expression that was soon replaced by a one of cold resolve.

"…Euclid. I honestly did not want to fight you. You are my little brother. However, you are now also an enemy of the world. As Grayfia Lucifuge, your older sister, and Sirzechs Lucifer's Queen, I will put an end to you now."

Saying that, Grayfia too flared her aura, which was an identical shade of light blue as her brother's.

The two siblings clashed with each other, firing dozens of spells to both attack and defend.

"Grayfia-chan, I'll help out too-" Serafall began as she tried to move to aid her friend, but was forced to leap back to avoid a pillar of purple flames emerging from the spot where she was just standing.

Identical pillars of purple flames sprouted from the ground in several places, engulfing friend and foe alike.

"Ohohoho, Maou Leviathan-san, I'll be your opponent instead!" Walburga cackled as she waved her hand and a torrent of purple flames rushed at Serafall, who constructed a thick wall of ice that melted almost instantly the moment the flames touched it. Still, that brief reprieve had been enough for her to retreat to a safer distance.

"Oi, Serafall, be careful! Those are Holy Flames! They'll hurt a Devil a helluva lot more than regular Holy power, even one as powerful as you!" Azazel called out to her as he cut through another Old Maou Faction member lunging at him without missing a beat.

"Mm, got it! So, it's fine as long as I dodge, right!?"

Serafall swung her wand and a massive wave of ice surged towards Walburga, freezing and crushing several invaders as it moved forward.

But with a simple gesture, the wall of ice melted as a blast of purple flames tore through it and went straight for Serafall, who dodged again.

"What's wrong? Is this the best a Maou can do?" Walburga taunted the current Maou Leviathan.

"Muu~, now I'm angry! Take this! Celcius Cross Trigger!"

In an instant, the world turned white and unbelievably cold as ice completely coated the entire school grounds. It would have caught all of the combatants around too, but incredibly, almost all of the members of the four Factions were untouched.

Almost all of them.

"Oi, Serafall! Watch it! You almost caught me in that attack too!" Azazel, shaking the frost off of his jet black feathered wings, yelled at the Maou, who grinned sheepishly.

"Ehehe~, sorry!"

She turned back to Walburga, who was trapped in a block of ice with an expression of surprise frozen on her face.

"Hm hm! This is Maou Leviathan's real power! I powered it down to prevent the barrier from being destroyed, but with this, you can no longer move!" Serafall puffed her bountiful chest out as she commented smugly.

Her euphoria was somewhat short-lived when the block of ice exploded in a blaze of purple flames, and a charred, yet heavily shivering, Walburga stepped out.

"Brr, I hate the cold! Now you've pissed me off too!" Walburga screamed as she glared at Serafall, who glared back with equal venom.

Pillars of purple flames erupted from the frozen ground, rapidly melting the surface and drenching the area.

But just as soon as they melted, they immediately solidified back into ice as Serafall once again swung her wand.

With another swing, the ice covering the entire school grounds coalesced and turned into rapidly spinning drills that looked much deadlier than the material they were constructed from would suggest.

The drills of ice shot at Walburga, who brought a wall of her Holy Flames to defend.

The two attacks of opposing natures cancelled each other out, producing a momentary deluge that flooded the area. And with the barrier blocking off anything beyond the school gates, they were essentially trapped in a giant upside down fishbowl that was beginning to fill up.

The two combatants seemed to notice that and cut off their attacks, instead switching to smaller, but much faster spells to break the other's defenses.

The tempo of the battle shot up with the addition of those two battles, but just as Issei had predicted, they still didn't do much to turn the tides. The conference attendees were still winning, though the margin had become much smaller.

"Hm, this still isn't going very well…Oh well, time to use that!" Rizevim said, noticing that his side was still falling behind, and then snapped his fingers.

Multiple terrible auras filled the area as every member of the Old Maou Faction suddenly stopped in their attacks and writhed in pain, much to the confusion of the conference attendees.

That was when their bodies started to distort and mutate rather painfully, judging by their screams.

"Rizevim…sama! What…is this!?" One of the members of the Old Maou Faction, still managing to maintain his coherence, asked the smiling son of the Prince of Lies between labored breaths and choked screams.

Then, with a final scream, his original body seemed to burst from the inside out, showering his immediate vicinity with blood and gore, and then…a very familiar humanoid reptilian figure emerged from the corpse.

Grendel, or rather, one of his mass-produced copies, roared at nothing in particular before charging at the stunned foot soldiers, who were quickly overpowered despite their best efforts.

"Hm, well, since all of you wanted power so much, that's exactly what I have given you! I modified all of your bodies using Sephiroth Graal! I put a little spell in all of you so that I can forcefully turn you useless lot into mass-produced Evil Dragon copies with a simple command! Hahahahaha! Aren't you grateful!? Hey, hey, how about you try saying thanks to me!?" Rizevim said as his grin widened enough to split his face.

All around them, members of the Old Maou Faction mutated and transformed into various copies of the Evil Dragons. It wasn't just Grendel and Ladon this time. Now, smaller copies of the other five Evil Dragons were mixed in. Three-headed, six-winged purple Dragons, serpentine black Dragons, light blue western Dragons, eight-headed Dragons, and humanoid Dragons with black and blonde hair with eyes of the same clashing colors rampaged around the school grounds, devastating the armies of the four Factions, who had been winning just a few moments ago.

Rias, Sona and their peerages quickly found themselves overwhelmed. Now, the only ones doing any real damage to the invaders were Yuuto, who possessed Ascalon, and Xenovia, who wielded Durandal.

Issei and Vali found themselves working overtime to quickly increase the power of the allies and decrease the power of the enemies before they were completely routed.

Issei found himself growling at the sight of the armies of the four Factions getting ripped apart both figuratively and literally. He wasn't close to any of them, not even any of the Onmyouji that comprised the army of the Shinto Faction, but they were comrades, his comrades, and he was unable to do anything but sit on the sidelines and try to help with the little power he had left while they were being slaughtered like lambs.

Even the leaders weren't spared. Opponents that they had been crushing before were now pressing them.

Sirzechs was still winning against his opponents. The nature of his Power of Destruction was, after all, utter annihilation. To him, his opponents' transformation only meant that his Power of Destruction, far, far more potent than his little sister's, more than even the strongest members of the Bael Clan, would need a bit more time to eat through the natural defenses of a Dragon.

Tsukuyomi was still holding his own. Whether they were Devils or Dragons, his illusions weren't so cheap that they would stop working just because of a little transformation. However, now that they had turned into Dragons, far more instinctual beings than Devils, rather than just falling to their knees as they were taken in by the illusions, the Evil Dragon copies started thrashing about and firing various attacks at nothing in particular, making them more dangerous than before.

Amaterasu and Susanoo didn't appear to be having any more problems than before. The Sun Goddess's Divine Flames were capable of scorching through almost all things in creation, and Susanoo had drawn Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, also known as Ama-no-Habakiri, a katana of the purest white, and started gleefully hacking away at his opponents, taking particular pleasure in killing any Yamata-no-Orochi copies he came across.

Michael was forced to retreat as the Azi Dahaka copy he was fighting fired nine successive spells at him, breaking his sword of light and almost clipping one of his wings. However, with a quick motion, he rained spears of light down on the Evil Dragon copy, successfully slaying it after some of them pierced through the false Thousand Diabolism Dragon's skulls.

Azazel clicked his tongue as the copy of Nidhogg his opponent had transformed into bit down on his spear of Holy power and shattered it instantly. Now that they had become Dragons, they had lost their weakness to Holy power.

The Viceroy of the Fallen Angels leapt back and fired a salvo of spears of light at his opponent. Some of them simply deflected off the hard scales of the Evil Dragon copy, but those that had struck the softer parts, like the membrane of the wings, stuck in place. However, his opponent did not seem to notice its wounds and simply pressed its attack, cornering Azazel quickly.

However, without showing any signs of panic, Azazel simply snapped his fingers, and the spears of light embedded into his opponent's body exploded.

The Nidhogg copy screeched in pain as the small explosions around its body tore through its scales, scorching its skin underneath.

But, that was the extent of the damage that had been done to it. It quickly recovered and resumed its attack on Azazel, who was starting to look just slightly irritated.

"Tch, since it's come to this…!"

Azazel reached into an inner shirt pocket and took something out. It was…a golden dagger-like weapon with a big purple jewel embedded in the hilt.

"Hm? What's that supposed to be, Uncle Azazel? A new toy?" Rizevim asked as he cocked his head in confusion.

"Something like that. This is the crown jewel of my research into the Sacred Gear System. An Artificial Sacred Gear. Well, this is the only one that's still intact. Its name is Downfall Dragon Spear, powered by one of the Five Dragon Kings, Fafnir, residing in the jewel. And…"

Azazel held the dagger, a weapon powered by a Dragon whose infamy matched that of most of the Evil Dragons, out in front of him.

"Balance Breaker."

A golden light engulfed Azazel, and then died down to reveal the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels, now clad in golden full body armor with purple jewels embedded in several places. His twelve jet black wings extended from his back, unbound by the armor as there were openings to let them out from. A massive two-pronged spear of light appeared in his armored right hand. His entire body exuded far greater than ever before, exceeding even Michael's, Grayfia's and Serafall's, though just a bit lower than Sirzechs's current level.

That armor…looked a lot like the Scale Mail, Issei realized. Most likely, Azazel had created that armor from the data he had compiled from Vali's Scale Mail.

"Downfall Dragon Another Armor. That's the name of this Balance Breaker. Now then…"

Azazel lashed out with his new spear of light and tore the Nidhogg copy he was fighting in half, killing it instantly.

He then threw the spear at the crowd of Evil Dragon copies heading his way, causing it to detonate with such force that a good number of them were disintegrated almost immediately as a blast front of concentrated Holy energy engulfed them.

"Hahahahaha! Not bad, Uncle Azazel! In that case, how about you have a match with me!?" Rizevim laughed as he, twelve bat-like wings extending from his back, rushed at Azazel, who met the charge…and then swerved to the right and struck at Rizevim's side with another spear.

However…

*SHATTER*

Accompanied by the sound akin to glass breaking, the spear shattered upon contact with Rizevim without doing any damage to the Super Devil.

Issei blinked. What the hell just happened? Even if Rizevim was a Super Devil, there was enough power contained within that spear of light to at least gouge a hole in his abdomen. And yet, he was completely unscathed?

"Tch, so this didn't work either. And I had such high hopes too." Azazel said with no small amount of frustration as he backed away from the smiling son of Lucifer, as though he had somewhat already expected this result.

"Of course. As long as the design was based on the Biblical God's Sacred Gear System, it will never work against me." Rizevim said as his smile widened.

"Won't work…?" Issei muttered.

"Hyoudo Issei, Rizevim's ability is called Sacred Gear Canceller. It completely negates the power of any Sacred Gear and renders it useless against him. Even powers indirectly affected by Sacred Gears, like Azazel's spear, won't work at all." Vali explained to his rival after sensing his confusion.

"That means…not even our Longinus Gears will work against him?"

"Probably, even if we were to both use Juggernaut Drive, we still wouldn't be able to reach him. That's how absurd his ability is." Vali said with a scowl.

"In other words, if we want to fight him, we have to completely forgo the use of our Sacred Gears, huh…Wait."

"Hm? What is it?"

"To put it simply, that Sacred Gear Canceller is a defensive ability that protects Rizevim against Sacred Gears, is that right?"

"Basically, yes. Is there a problem with that explanation?"

"No, it's the opposite. If that Sacred Gear Canceller is really a defensive ability, then what would happen I used Penetrate on it?"

Penetrate was one of Ddraige's original abilities. It was a power that allowed him to definitely hit his opponent and deal maximum damage, thus it would negate any defenses that would prevent from doing so.

Vali stared at Issei for a few moments…before a maliciously gleeful smile surfaced on his face.

"Why, I wouldn't know. Ddraige, what do you two think would happen?" Vali asked the original possessor of the ability.

[50/50 chance, I guess. Penetrate is not an ability that is usually available through Boosted Gear, so there's a high chance that it doesn't fall under the regulation of the Sacred Gear System. However, because Penetrate is channeled through Boosted Gear, there's also a chance that it'll be cancelled out.]

"However, there is a chance. So, why don't we gamble on that right now?"

"No, not yet. With our reserves as low as they are right now, Rizevim would kill us easily. We need to recover our power first…Tch, I guess that means I don't have any other choice. Vali, get back and cover me for a while. I need some space." Issei said as he crossed his legs under him and held his hands together as though about to pray.

"What are you doing?" Vali asked his rival, but Issei had already fallen into a meditative trance.

It was a very risky move that Issei was planning to use.

He needed to get his power back up to its full levels, or else Rizevim would tear him to pieces in an instant.

Issei felt his consciousness sinking into a black void and immediately started pulling the ambient energy into him, forcefully converting it into his own energy.

He felt his reserves quickly refill themselves as the energy was pulled into his body, but with that energy…

"Destroy, destroy, destroy…!"

"Kill, kill, kill…!"

"All things must perish…!"

Issei grimaced as the immense malice, just as great as the malice of his Sekiryuutei predecessors, that came with the energy struck him with full force, crashing into his mental barriers with the power of a tsunami.

But, like a tsunami, the initial impact had been the worst of it, and Issei found himself gradually better able to weather the hatred that was trying to seep through the walls of his psyche.

Issei felt his reserves refill completely, and then frowned. Was this going to be enough to take Rizevim on? He was a Super Devil after all.

Well, he supposed there was only one way to find out.

"Balance Breaker."

[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!]

With a flash of red light, the red Scale Mail that was Issei's Balance Breaker reformed itself around his body upon his command.

[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!]

[Transfer!]

Vali blinked when he felt a great energy surge through him as Issei transferred his gained power to him, reliving him of his fatigue almost immediately.

"With that, you should be able to use Balance Breaker as well. But, be careful. The power boost is only temporary. If you use it all up, or take a serious wound, you won't be able to continue fighting." Issei warned his rival, who had gotten to his feet.

"I know. We'll just have to finish him off before that happens."

Vali expanded the white wings on his back, the base form of his Longinus, Divine Dividing.

"Balance Breaker."

[Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!]

In an instant, Vali too was clad in his own Scale Mail.

The two Heavenly Dragons turned their attention to Rizevim, who did not seem to notice them, focused more on taunting Azazel, whose Artificial Balance Breaker had shattered, and his Artificial Sacred Gear broken, leaving behind only the purple jewel that had been embedded in the hilt.

"Ah crap. That's the problem with these prototypes. They break after one use. Looks like there's still some room to improve." Azazel said as he pocketed the jewel, trying to stay lighthearted despite the massive disadvantage.

"Sure, assuming you live past today."

It didn't look like Rizevim was buying the bluff. At this rate, Azazel would really be killed. They had to act now.

"I'll attack first. I'll use Penetrate to break through his Sacred Gear Canceller. The moment I do, blast him with as many attacks as you can."

"Got it."

Issei sped through the air rapidly at Rizevim, who had yet to turn around to face him.

As he neared the Super Devil, Issei cocked back his fist and threw it straight at Rizevim's open back…or so he thought.

*BAMF*

There was the sound of an impact, but it was much, much softer than it should have been.

"Oh, so it's the Shinto boy this time! Sorry, but as long as it's a Sacred Gear, that won't reach me, even if it's the power of the legendary Welsh Dragon."

Issei felt his fist being held in place. Rizevim had turned at the last minute and caught Issei's armored…or rather, now unarmored fist with his bare hand.

So that was the power of the Sacred Gear Canceller. In an instant, both the power that Issei had gained from the Balance Breaker and the physical part of his Scale Mail that was in contact with Rizevim had been negated.

However, that wasn't all he had.

[Penetrate!]

"Mmph!?"

Right after Ddraige's voice called out the new command that had been unlocked in the previous battle, Rizevim let out a pained and startled grunt as the gauntlet of the Scale Mail that he had negated and banished suddenly reformed, blowing past his hand and burying itself in his gut with great force.

He wasn't the only one surprised. Even Azazel was looking on with an expression of bewilderment.

Immediately after that, the pain not yet faded, Rizevim found himself getting a face full of spell fire, courtesy of his grandson.

Clicking his tongue, the Super Devil moved back, his clothes slightly torn from the impact, a bruise forming on the part that Issei had struck, and his face slightly charred.

But, Issei didn't let him get far before he closed the distance and swung his fist at him once more.

Rizevim brought up both of his hands this time, and Issei sensed that his power had increased. Evidently, he believed that he had simply not used enough power to completely negate the Scale Mail's power and was now responding up upping the output of his Sacred Gear Canceller.

No such luck.

[Penetrate!]

Rizevim bent over at an almost unnatural 90 degree angle as Issei's fist completely bypassed the Sacred Gear Canceller's effects and landed a heavy blow in the same spot it had earlier.

Then, his upper body snapped up so fast that a rather sickening cracking sound was heard from his spine as Vali landed a fist of his own with an uppercut.

Rizevim stumbled through the air, blown back by the force of the two Heavenly Dragon's punches. The smile had completely vanished from his face, and with a gesture, a spherical energy field appeared around him, measuring almost 5m in radius.

Issei guessed that Rizevim had finally decided to get serious and use even more of the Sacred Gear Canceller's power and spread it over an area, though whether that was its full power, which Issei seriously doubted, was unknown.

Undeterred, Issei flew straight at the energy field.

[Penetrate!]

The field distorted and vanished around Issei as he charged right through it and fired a ball of black fire at Rizevim, who batted it aside with a hand.

Vali fired another salvo of spells at his grandfather, but they too were deflected.

Any trace of glee or similar emotions was no longer present on Rizevim's face as the Sacred Gear Canceller's field shrank down to just barely extend beyond the Super Devil's body. His lips were curved downwards, as were his eyebrows, and his eyes were narrowed dangerously, sending a chill down Issei's spine as his opponent seemed to suddenly become 10 times more imposing than before.

Then, his usual smile returned, but that intimidating feeling did not fade in the slightest.

"Well well well! I didn't think there was a way around my Sacred Gear Canceller! Tell me, Shinto boy, can that ability be used by anyone, or is it exclusive to only you? Oh, please tell me that it's the latter! Then, I can save myself a lot of trouble by simply killing you right here and now!" Rizevim exclaimed with a very wide, toothy grin, causing Issei to involuntarily back away in instinctive fear before he managed to regain control.

"…Pfft! Don't look so scared! I was just kidding! Why would I kill you now? I said so, didn't I? World conquest wouldn't be fun unless someone was there to try and stop us! So, I won't kill you just yet! However, you don't mind if I fight a bit more seriously, right!?"

That was the only warning that Issei got before his chest armor suddenly exploded and fragmented, sending a wave of pain through his body as a slash wound appeared on his chest despite still being a distance away from Rizevim.

Issei looked up to see Rizevim with his hand outstretched as though to chop something, namely him. Issei hadn't sensed any buildup of power, so that was pure physical strength.

Issei scowled as the Scale Mail began to regenerate. So, even without the Sacred Gear Canceller, Rizevim was just that powerful. As expected of a Super Devil. He couldn't let his guard down just because the son of the Prince of Lies' greatest weapon did not work on him.

Issei once again flew at Rizevim, this time weaving random patterns in the air as he moved to throw off the Super Devil's aim.

It didn't work quite as planned, as Issei found out when he suddenly found himself kissing the ground, knocked down by a massive invisible force.

Vali, who had been following closely behind him, tried to halt in midair when he saw that Issei, the only one who could break through the Sacred Gear Canceller, had been knocked down, but he had already entered the area of effect, and his Scale Mail vanished, leaving him completely open to a haymaker from his grandfather that sent him flying straight into the main school building behind him.

[Penetrate!]

Issei quickly flew back up behind Rizevim and threw a punch at the Super Devil's open back, but before he got close, a giant magic circle appeared between them and in the next instant, he was struck by a massive beam of darkness.

[Reflect!]

A transparent barrier encased Issei, deflecting the beam of darkness before it was able to do much damage to him.

Vali, his Scale Mail already fully regenerated, flew back out from the hole his body had made in the wall of the school building when he was knocked into it, coming to a stop right before the Sacred Gear Canceller's area of effect.

An unspoken message went between the two Heavenly Dragons, and they attacked at the same time.

[Penetrate!]

At the sound of the command that was currently his bane, Rizevim turned around to meet Issei, who he apparently recognized as the greater threat, committing one of the greatest errors a fighter could ever make.

Showing their back to their opponent.

"Mm!?" Rizevim let out a sound of surprise as white armored arms seized him under his own, squeezing them tightly enough to force them upwards and unable to move due to the awkwardness of their positioning. Because he had underestimated his own grandson, Rizevim was now in a very precarious position.

Leaving him wide open to Issei's attacks.

Issei drew Futsu-no-Mitama and slashed the Super Devil across his chest, eliciting a grunt of pain as the wound steamed, burned by the divine energy contained within the blade.

But before Issei was able to land another blow, both he and Vali were blown away by a sudden explosion of an ominous dark aura from Rizevim's body.

As they struggled to regain their balance in midair, a thin black lance of dark energy pierced through Issei's chest, carving a hole through his heart, and another pierced Vali through his midriff.

Issei's vision darkened as the lances were removed and the two Heavenly Dragons fell from the sky to the ground, his Scale Mail dissipating. Blood spilled forth from the smooth, perfectly circular hole in the center of his chest. It wasn't big, which was the only reason why Issei was still hanging on despite having the second most vital organ in his body pierced.

One blow? One blow was all it had taken for someone like him to be defeated?

Issei's pride took the biggest blow that it had ever been dealt since the day he was born.

Vali was doing slightly better, since a stomach wasn't as vital as a heart. In fact, an attack like that shouldn't have been enough to keep him down, but evidently, the residues of Rizevim's terribly powerful energy was keeping their wounds from naturally regenerating.

However, aside from the movements of his chest, there was no sign that his rival was even conscious at this point. Did the impact rattle his brain and knock him out cold?

[Partner! Hang on! I'll send the remaining energy to your wound to regenerate!]

Issei vaguely registered Ddraige's voice, but his vision slowly began to clear up power flowed from Boosted Gear to his wound, causing it to glow red and slowly close, Rizevim's residual energy barely overpowered.

"Rizevim…!"

As he slowly healed, Issei strained to turn to lie on his back and face upwards. He caught sight of Azazel, looking utterly livid and wielding a spear of light.

In a swift movement, the spear of light was tossed straight at the Super Devil, who shattered it with a wing, and briefly paused to frown when the Holy energy scalded him. However, that quickly faded to be replaced by a broad, mocking smile.

"Oh, Uncle Azazel! I was wondering when you were going to return to the party! But, what's wrong? You look like someone just took a piss in your cereal! Pfft, I actually did do that to my son once just to see his reaction, and boy, was it fun-"

Rizevim was cut off from his rather disturbing reminiscence when a spear of light flew past his face, missing its mark by less than an inch, but close enough to leave a slight burn on the Super Devil's cheek.

Rizevim's eyes flitted over to Azazel's face and studied the Viceroy's face for a bit before he spoke in a serious tone.

"Doesn't look like you're in the mood for joking. Alright then, I'll take you on seriously."

Rizevim straightened himself and release his ominous black aura…and was promptly forced to duck down as a sword of light sliced through the space his head had occupied a moment ago.

"Hey, that's a bit underhanded. Certainly not what I would have expected from you, Uncle Michael." The Super Devil said as he turned to look at the acting leader of Heaven, who had a grave expression on his face.

"Be that as it may, you are not an opponent so simple that I can hope to win without resorting to more unsavory methods. Reluctant as I am to fight in an unfair manner, you are an evil that must be terminated immediately." Michael spoke in a completely neutral tone as he flew next to Azazel and faced their opponent.

Issei frowned. Wasn't Michael fighting off the Evil Dragon copies?

That was when he noticed that it had become much quieter than before. The uproar as battles raged across the school grounds had died down a great deal.

Issei looked to find that while he and Vali had been attacking Rizevim, the others had managed to kill off most of the invaders, leaving only a few stragglers to be taken care of.

That also meant that it would be a showdown between the leaders from now on. The Shinto Trinity was standing in front of Angra Mainyu with hardened expressions, while the God of Evil simply stared back with an expression of indifference.

Grayfia and Euclid, as well as Serafall and Walburga, were still fighting, no sign that their battle would end anytime soon.

As for Sirzechs…it appeared that he was leading the effort wipe out the remaining Evil Dragons.

"Just like old times, huh, Michael?" Azazel said as he cracked just a hint of a smile, brandishing another spear of light in a stance that could respond to a frontal attack from any angle.

"I do hope your skill hasn't deteriorated over the years, Azazel, or you may not be able to keep up with me." Michael said, exchanging light banter with his Fallen Angel counterpart.

It had never really hit Issei until now that despite being on different sides for the most part the past few millennia, Michael and Azazel were once fellow Archangels and comrades. Naturally, at some point, they must have fought alongside each other.

Michael vanished from sight just as Azazel charged at Rizevim with his spear stretched out to pierce the Super Devil's head.

Rizevim created a blade of dark energy in his hand and parried Azazel's spear, but was forced to disengage and back away as Michael came crashing down from above with his sword of light extended towards him. The blade cut through empty space, but the shockwave of the swing shattered the ground beneath them, speaking volumes of the unseemly physical strength of the slightly flaky-looking Archangel.

Rizevim switched targets to Michael. Being a full Angel, albeit an Archangel, their leader, no less, he was more susceptible to Demonic Energy than a Fallen Angel like Azazel was. Evidently, the son of the Prince of Lies had determined that it was too dangerous to fight both of them at once and was trying to pick Michael off first.

He would find that it would not be an easy task.

Michael abandoned his sword of light and summoned forth a solid red flaming sword with a broad double-edged blade inscribed with runes that Issei could not make sense of. Despite its seeming affinity to fire, it was releasing an immense Holy aura.

With a single swing, the flames shot forth and engulfed Rizevim, who was unable to halt his charge in time and burst out of the torrent of flames looking like a chunk of charcoal and in a lot of pain.

"Hoh, now there's a familiar sight. Never thought I would ever see the Sword of Truth again." Azazel said as he whistled in appreciation at the sight of the flaming sword.

Issei blinked as he stared at the sword that gave off power only slightly below that of Futsu-no-Mitama.

The Sword of Truth. The legendary weapon from Heaven's Armory that Michael had used to wound and cast the original Lucifer and the other traitorous Angels down to the Underworld with after their rebellion. It was a weapon that possessed the same amount of fame in Christianity as Excalibur did around the world. A Holy Sword among Holy Swords. And this occasion marked the first time it had been used in real combat since the Great War.

"Yeesh, pulling something like that out for little ol' me? Uncle Michael, aren't you maybe taking this just a bit too seriously?" Rizevim asked in a lighthearted manner despite the injury he had just received, more severe than anything Issei and Vali together had landed on him.

"As I've already said, you are an evil that must be terminated immediately. This Sword of Truth entrusted to me by the Lord, our Father, I will pass judgement unto you with it."

Michael brandished the Sword of Truth, flames swirling in a vortex around the blade. Rizevim straightened and prepared to counter the Archangel's imminent attack.

"Oi, you didn't forget about me already, did you?"

"Hm!?"

Rizevim was forced to bend his body so far backwards to avoid a spear of light hurtling through the spot where his brain had been that he looked like his back was about to give out.

"Good grief, don't you think that this is a little unfair? Both of you oldies teaming up on a little kid like me?" Rizevim asked as he easily straightened himself and positioned himself so that he could respond to attacks from both Michael and Azazel.

"Weren't you just referring to yourself as 'Grandpa' a few minutes ago?" Issei thought to himself.

*BOOM*

An explosion not far from where Michael, Azazel and Rizevim were clashing caught Issei's attention.

Angra Mainyu burst through a great cloud of smoke, not a scratch or scuff on his skin or his robes.

Following right behind him were Issei's divine relatives. Amaterasu, her body engulfed in white divine flames and wielding two balls of black divine flames in her hands. Tsukuyomi, his eyes glowing pale blue with power and wielding a naginata. Susanoo, his limbs coated in lightning and wielding Ama-no-Habakiri.

The Shinto Trinity launched their attacks, a ball of flames, a beam of pale blue energy and a blade of lightning on Angra Mainyu, who responded simply by holding his hand up and creating a barrier of black fog in front of him.

The attacks of the Shinto Trinity crashed into the flimsy-looking barrier, but failed to break through it. In fact, the moment they struck the barrier, they basically just fizzed out of existence.

"It's no use. This barrier is infused with the concepts of Weakness, Fatigue, Misfortune, Ruin and Failure, all part of my domain of All of the World's Evils. Any attacks you throw against it, whether they are physical or magical, will simply fail." Angra Mainyu calmly explained as the barrier faded away.

The Shinto Trinity all had looks of utter frustration rather than shock on their faces. This evidently was not the first time since their fight began that their attacks had been rendered completely useless before the Zoroastrian God of Evil.

Angra Mainyu raised a hand, looking like he was preparing any attack of his own, but he stopped himself and brought up the black fog barrier once more in time to defend against several red and black spheres that had slammed into it.

His strangely colored eyes widened before he hastily moved out of the way as the spheres tore right through the fog barrier that the Shinto Trinity couldn't make a dent in without visibly losing any of their power.

"Hm, it appears that my Power of Destruction is capable of breaking through that barrier though." Sirzechs Lucifer calmly commented as he hovered in the air a short distance away from the enemy leader.

Issei blinked and looked around, just in time to see a Nidhogg copy screech in pain before it fell to the ground dead, its body covered in deep slash marks mostly created by an exhausted-looking Yuuto and his Ascalon.

The number of Evil Dragon copies remaining had dwindled down to a handful, enabling the members of the four Factions present to take them on without the aid of their leaders. It was because of that that Sirzechs was able to confront the God of Evil instead.

"…I see. True, your Power of Destruction's concept of Annihilation is of a higher level. Good grief, it was because I was afraid of something like this occurring that I hesitated to challenge Shiva. To think that I would meet an opponent with a similar power…But, are you fine with this? From what I've heard, you and Rizevim have a score to settle with each other, don't you?" Angra Mainyu asked.

"That's fine. I'll let Azazel and Michael deal with him. You are the greater threat, after all." Sirzechs said as his aura began to increase and the air around him crackled with power.

Spheres of Power of Destruction appeared in the air around Sirzechs at the same time that a pitch black aura far more ominous than even Rizevim's appeared around the God of Evil.

The next instant, the two clashed in midair and released a shockwave that blew the foot soldiers nearby away and caused the hijacked barrier to creak and groan, but still held firm under the strain.

A stream of white flames, a beam of blue energy and a bolt of lightning surged towards the God of Evil's open back, but it was apparently a bit too obvious, because Angra Mainyu immediately pushed Sirzechs away and moved back, causing the three attacks to simply pass between them harmlessly.

The Shinto Trinity moved to stand by Sirzechs, unwilling to be ignored by their opponent.

The four leaders and the enemy leader stared each other down for a few moments, and then Sirzechs acted first by launching the spheres of Power of Destruction at Angra Mainyu, who deftly weaved through them.

Sirzechs made a gesture with his hand, and the spheres curved in their path and moved back towards the God of Evil, who turned around and fired at the spheres with blasts of dark energy. They did little to stop the spheres, but continuously applying the concept of Annihilation on the blasts to break through them was causing the spheres to slowly shrink in size and in power.

That was when the Shinto Trinity made their move and pounced on the God of Evil while he was distracted.

Amaterasu released a torrent of her divine flames, Tsukuyomi threw an ethereal spear and Susanoo let loose a massive bolt of black lightning. Three attacks surged towards Angra Mainyu's back. Once again, the black fog appeared to block them. The spear and lightning bolt dissipated again, but this time, instead of dissipating on contact, the white flames began to break through the fog instead.

Angra Mainyu grunted in pain as the white flames washed over him and scorched his skin. He moved out of the way, but the flames followed, prompting him to bring up another black fog barrier.

But once again, it was broken by the white flames, prompting the God of Evil to dodge again.

"It's no use. I took a leaf out of your book and infused these flames with the concept of Illumination to break through that darkness before your concepts can affect them. Even more than that, I strengthened that concept to increase its power." Amaterasu said with a rather vindictive smile on her face, her pride still evidently bruised from earlier.

Amaterasu was the Goddess of the Sun, the main source of light for the world since the dawn of time itself. When she had hidden herself away in Ama-no-Iwato after Susanoo had offended her, the world had been shrouded in darkness because the sun refused to rise. It was only after Ame-no-Uzume had lured her out that light returned to banish the darkness. Therefore, Amaterasu had the ability to use the concept of Illumination, one application of which was the banishment of darkness with light. And darkness was exactly what the basis of Angra Mainyu's power was.

The white flames leapt at Angra Mainyu like a persistent attack dog.

As though he had yet to learn his lesson, Angra Mainyu once again created the barrier of black fog in front of him to block the flames.

But, it was impossible. Amaterasu's flames, infused with the concept of Illumination, would destroy any barrier he created regardless of what concept he infused into them, because his powers were based on Darkness…

Issei's thoughts grinded to a halt when the flames collided with the barrier…and both promptly vanished.

"Hm, so it did work after all." Angra Mainyu said with a slightly smug tone.

"You…what did you do?" Amaterasu asked, too stunned to even sound shocked or outraged.

"It's quite simple. While it's true that the barrier was constructed out of pure Darkness, the concepts I infused it with were those under Evil. Therefore, the intrinsic concepts of Darkness were overpowered, and even if they weren't, they still wouldn't be enough to overcome your flames that you had infused with the strengthened concept of Illumination. So, I decided to do what you did and infused this barrier, constructed out of Darkness, with the intrinsic concept of Obscurity." Angra Mainyu explained with a smirk.

Obscurity was one of the intrinsic concepts of Darkness. Its most basic application was the receding of light when darkness approached, just like how day would eventually give way to night. It could be said to be the complete opposite of Illumination, which was why they had cancelled each other out. In fact, if Angra Mainyu had strengthened it any more, he could have completely overpowered and consumed the white flames. The advantage that Amaterasu had finally gained had been taken away so quickly.

A look of anguish appeared on the normally serene features of the head Goddess of the Shinto Faction, and as though they were a physical indicator of her mental state, the white flames she was wielding began to dim.

That was when a beam of pale blue energy, a bolt of black lightning, and several spheres of red and black energy shot at the God of Evil, who immediately dodged rather than risk trying to block when his barrier had been overcome not once, but twice already.

"Don't tell me you're giving up because of something like this, Ane-ue." Tsukuyomi said with a tone of disapproval to his older sister and wife as he fired more pale blue streams of energy at the God of Evil.

Amaterasu shook her head to snap herself out of her daze.

"Of course not. This is only a minor setback. It still doesn't change the fact that we currently hold the advantage." Amaterasu said as her divine flames that had died down earlier reignited with renewed force.

*CRASH*

A loud thudding sound caught Issei's attention. He turned his head as best as he could to catch sight of Grayfia, her maid uniform torn and tattered in several places, commanding a serpent of ice to chase after Euclid, who was flying away at top speed, crashing through several trees without pause as they moved. Despite being siblings, it appeared that Grayfia was doing her best to kill her little brother.

Well, the same could be said for Euclid, who turned in midair and created an identical serpent of fire to clash with its frozen twin, producing copious amounts of steam that obscured them from Issei's sight.

A bright flash of golden light drew Issei's attention back to the battle between the acting leader of Heaven, the Viceroy of the Grigori, and the Super Devil.

Michael's battle armor was covered in dings and scratches, not to mention the splotches of blood on it, but his face was set in an expression of cold determination as he swung the blazing Sword of Truth at a serious-looking Rizevim's head.

The son of the original Lucifer easily avoided the burning Holy Sword and slashed at the first Archangel with a sword constructed from Demonic energy.

Said sword was parried with a lance of Holy energy that had cut in between them. Azazel too had a grim expression on his face, a far cry from his usual jovial attitude. Though he did not possess a legendary weapon like the Sword of Truth, it didn't mean that he could be disregarded.

The former Archangel and the first Archangel, brothers, attacked as one, a legendary Holy Sword and a seemingly mundane lance of Holy energy thrust towards the Super Devil's vitals.

Rizevim unleased a terrible black aura that destroyed Azazel's lance and repelled the Sword of Truth, prompting a frown from Azazel and a look of shock from Michael.

Azazel's lance, though crafted skillfully with the technique and experience that the Viceroy had gained over the past few millennia, was, in the end, a simple construct of Holy energy. When met by an even greater amount of Demonic energy, it was only natural that it would break down.

However, the Sword of Truth was a legendary Holy Sword that could almost be considered a Divine Sword. Its power, while not equal, was only a very small margin below Futsu-no-Mitama in terms of power, and in the hands of its original and equally legendary wielder, its power should have easily outclassed said Divine Sword in Issei's hands. It was the weapon that defeated the original Lucifer and cast him out of Heaven.

And yet, the son of the Morningstar, Rizevim, had deflected it simply by flaring his aura.

Michael gritted his teeth and swung the Sword of Truth down at Rizevim again. This time, it cut right through Rizevim's aura and landed a blow on the Super Devil's body, intersecting with the wound that Issei had given him earlier.

The son of the Morningstar hissed as the Holy energy of possibly the strongest Holy Sword in existence seared him. With an angry snarl on his face, he thrust his hand at Michael's chest, as though attempting to gouge out the Archangel's heart with his bare hand.

He was thwarted when he was forced to defend against a salvo of Holy spells from Azazel, allowing Michael to retreat. For the time being, the sons of YHWH held the advantage.

Issei knew he could not remain idle. Michael and Azazel were certainly strong, but there was a reason why even Gods were wary of the Super Devils. The longer the fight went on, the more frustrated Rizevim would become and the more power he would use. They had to land a decisive blow soon.

He examined the hole in his chest to find that no more energy was being pumped to it now that it had completely closed. However, his reserves had once again fallen to a pitiful level.

[Huff…huff…huff…]

"Ddraige, you okay?" Issei asked his partner out of concern when he heard the Welsh Dragon's heavy panting.

[Yeah, but now I'm completely exhausted. Healing isn't exactly one of my fortes. I don't think you'll be able to use any more than Boosted Gear's base state like this.]

"That's fine. I wasn't planning to anyway. Even with Penetrate, a Sacred Gear is a terrible match against Rizevim's power."

[Then, what do you intend to do? Even with your full power, without the Scale Mail, I don't think that you'll be able to match someone like that. His power is equivalent to…no, it might be more than even most of the Gods I've ever had the 'pleasure' of meeting.]

"I know. It means I just have to use a method to increase my power that doesn't rely on Boosted Gear."

[…Partner…you don't mean…?]

"Yeah. I'm terrible at it, but right now, it's my only shot at matching Rizevim's power without Boosted Gear. Ddraige, go ahead and sleep for a bit. This'll be over by the time you wake up."

[Well…if you're sure…]

Ddraige did not sound very reassured, but Issei felt his presence die down, so he figured that the Heavenly Dragon had heeded his words and gone to sleep to recover from his fatigue.

Issei forced himself up into a sitting position and got into a meditative stance again. Like he had before, he started gathering natural energy and started converting it into his own to refill his reserves. Having done the same not long ago, he was easily able to weather the malice that came with it. It certainly helped that it would fade as the natural energy turned into his.

However, this alone was no longer enough, He had to take it a step further.

After refilling his reserves, Issei remained in his position and began to draw even more natural energy into himself, but instead of converting it into his own energy, he instead mixed it with his own energy in his body.

If converting natural energy into his own was risky, then this could probably be called outright suicidal.

Senjutsu. By mixing and balancing natural energy with one's own energy, the representation of one's own life force, Senjutsu Chakra, would be created, enabling him to control the flow of his own life force.

It wasn't well suited for direct combat like other forms of energy, like magical energy, but it made the user capable of many techniques that would not have been available to them before. It was said that a master of Senjutsu could bend the laws of the universe to his whim.

Some Youkai and certain Gods had a predisposition towards Senjutsu, and because of that, they did not need to do this in order to use it, already possessing a body that was tuned for Senjutsu, but for someone like Issei, who was only a demigod, and none of his immediate divine relatives possessing a head for the art, he required to condition his body into a certain state before he could start using Senjutsu. That was what he was doing now, using the natural energy in the surroundings to change his body into a state that could channel Senjutsu Chakra effectively.

However, the true danger lay in the process of balancing. If it was even a modicum out of balance, the user's body would be torn apart from the inside, granting a very slow and very painful death. And even worse, after succeeding, because natural energy was mixed rather than converted, one would have to take care not to be swallowed by the immense malice that came with it, or the consequences would be no less dire than a Sekiryuutei or Hakuryuukou in an uncontrolled Juggernaut Drive state.

Those were the reasons why Issei had been so worried that the Yasakani-no-Magatama for Senjutsu had yet to be recovered. Who knew what would happen if the wrong person got their hands on it?

"Must…destroy…everything…!"

"Humans…You hateful humans…!"

Issei gritted his teeth so hard that it felt like his gums were about to tear. The malice of the Earth itself, festering and growing after years upon years of abuse and exploitation by humans, threatened to crush his mental barriers like a legion of soldiers attacking a castle gate.

But still, he endured and focused his mental faculties on mixing the natural energy with his own reserves, adding an extra layer and bolstering them even further.

Then, he felt the expected changes take place. He couldn't see it himself, but he knew that markings must have appeared around his eyes. But, that change was only minor compared to the rest.

Every breeze of wind, the rustle of grass, the nearly negligible shifting of the earth beneath him, all of it became as obvious as a flashbang going off right in his face. He felt his own body become more in tune with nature, but also go out of sync at times like two connected gears trying to rotate against each other.

As expected, he wouldn't be able to hold this Sennin Mode for long. Perhaps five minutes at best.

But, that would have to do.

"Ikazuchi!"

With a resounding crack, a bolt of white lightning came down from the storm clouds that had formed out within the boundaries of the barrier. Issei grabbed it…and started subsuming it into his Senjutsu-enhanced body.

Electricity coursed through Issei's body, but he felt no pain. With Senjutsu, the lightning was becoming a part of him just as much as his flesh, muscles and bones were.

But in place of that missing pain, Issei experienced a sense of vertigo that almost knocked him on his ass. It couldn't be helped. After all…his entire body was undergoing a massive physical change as the subsuming process neared its completion.

There was no obvious sign that the process was complete, but Issei could tell, even without the powerful sensory abilities of Senjutsu. Every part of his being coursed with the volatile power of lightning. Bolts of white electricity rolled off of his skin and struck the ground, leaving tiny gouges in the earth where they landed.

Issei figured he made for quite the sight at the moment. After all, almost all of his color had faded to a very pale version of their original shade, and his hair had lengthened a good extent down to his waist. His entire body was covered in lightning…or to be more specific, his body was lightning.

This was the last form of Issei's signature Raijin no Yoroi. Final Level: Buyu no Aragami, the Valorous Storm God. Rather than turning lightning into armor like the previous two levels did, the Final Level completely converted Issei's body into charged particles.

In the case of a God, changing their body's composition like that was something that could be done on a whim because they were more akin to living forces of nature rather than actual physical beings, but for a mortal like Issei, it was only achievable through the use of advanced techniques that specialized in manipulation and transformation of the material plane like Senjutsu.

And another disparity between a God and a mortal was the length of time that they could remain in such a state. A God could stay in this form indefinitely if they so desired, but a mortal could only maintain it for a very short duration. Even for someone like Issei who had trained for almost a full decade, due to the deficiency in his skill in Senjutsu, he could only use this technique for the same length of time that he could stay in Sennin Mode. If he attempted to maintain this form after Sennin Mode had already ended, there was a good chance that he would never be able to regain his original physical body.

In other words, he would only have enough power to challenge Rizevim for just under five minutes. It was a truly herculean task.

But, he wouldn't get it done by whining about it.

He looked up where the Archangel, Fallen Angel and Super Devil were clashing. It didn't look like any of them had noticed him yet, despite the rather obvious rise in his power and the massive lightning bolt that had descended not far from them earlier. They were too engrossed in the fight, because even a moment's distraction could cost them their life.

He could see it. Their energy, their life force, their aura. He could see all of it clearly. This was one of the effects of using Senjutsu. He could now read the flow of the various energies within their body.

Because he could see that flow, he could also disrupt it, which would cause catastrophic damage to his opponent's body.

With a loud crack, Issei lifted a hand and a vortex of wind appeared, speeding towards Rizevim, who naturally noticed and dodged. In the next instant, Issei kicked off the ground and sped towards the Super Devil with far more speed than he had before, even in his Juggernaut Drive.

Rizevim started with no little surprise when Issei, his entire body pale and crackling with bolts of electricity, appeared in front of him instantaneously and launched a kick at the Super Devil's face.

The limb, accompanied by a bolt of lightning, crashed into Rizevim's face with all the subtlety of a nuclear bomb, sending the Super Devil flying without even the time to scream as electricity lit every nerve of his body on fire.

However, Issei did not let him rest. In another instant, he closed the gap between him and the careening Rizevim and slammed a lightning-infused fist into the gut of the son of the Morningstar.

Blood spurted out of the Super Devil's mouth as his face was twisted into an expression of pain. The impact carried him down to the ground, slamming him deep into the earth with the force of a freight train.

That was still not the end. Issei clapped his hands together, producing a sound similar to a thunderclap.

"Come forth, Ranjinsou (lit. Spear of the Storm God)!"

In response to his command, a large number of storm clouds formed overhead, completely obscuring the top of the barrier, and numerous bolts of black lightning descended, coalescing into a single, giant bolt that began to form itself into a straight shaft with a tapered point that stretched to over ten times Issei's height.

This was Ranjinsou, the second strongest technique that Issei had available to him other than Longinus Smasher. He would have liked to use his strongest, but that one was meant for widespread destruction, which could not be used with so many allies present in such a small space. That was why he had chosen this technique instead. Its firepower was moderately lower, but it was meant to be used on a single target despite its size, therefore still making it a viable technique.

With a swing of his arm, the massive spear of lightning descended towards Rizevim, who, catching sight of the very lethal looking weapon headed his way, immediately tried to fly away, but Issei had predicted that he would do that and closed the distance between them again, rapidly jabbing Rizevim's body in certain spots before hooking his arms under Rizevim's, clasping his hands together behind the Super Devil's neck and planting his feet firmly onto the ground to prevent him from moving.

"Tch, you'll be hit by that spear too, you know!? Not even your natural resistance against electricity will hold up against that much power!" Rizevim shouted at him while struggling to break out of his grip. It appeared that even the Super Devil was becoming a bit nervous in the face of such an intimidating power.

"Heh, sorry, but I'm completely immune to electricity in this form." Issei smirked as he strengthened his grip. Rizevim was starting to get desperate in his attempts to break free, and that desperation translated into physical strength that seemed impossible coming from someone as lean as the Super Devil was.

However, from the look on his face, he wasn't exerting anywhere near enough power as he could and wanted to.

Issei smirked. It was because he had used Senjutsu Chakra to interfere with the flow of Rizevim's life force and energy, rendering him unable to use much physical or magical power.

He wouldn't lose so easily. He hadn't gone through the trouble of entering Sennin Mode just for his opponent to escape at the last moment.

The spear of lightning was beginning to near them, and Issei felt Rizevim's struggle intensify to no avail. The Shinto demigod held his opponent firmly in place.

"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" Rizevim let out a loud scream as the tip of the spear pierced into his chest…and then detonated.

The surroundings were blown away almost immediately as a massive pillar of lightning rose from the ground all the way up to the barrier, straining its defensive abilities to the limit before dying down, leaving behind only a smoldering crater and an unharmed Issei. Rizevim…was nowhere in sight.

Had Rizevim…been vaporized in the blast? Issei was both hopeful and doubtful. He had felt the weight of his opponent in his arms suddenly vanish, so that meant that either Rizevim was disintegrated…or he had somehow managed to escape at the very last moment, despite Issei's best efforts.

"Is he dead?"

Issei turned to see both Michael and Azazel descending from above with serious expressions on their faces.

"I'm not sure."

"Well, it certainly would help us a lot if he had been killed, but somehow, I get the feeling that it won't be that easy." Azazel said with a sigh.

"That's right~!"

All three of them looked up at the sky, and to their not-so-surprise, Rizevim was there, his chest and clothes a bit charred, but looking otherwise unharmed by Raijinsou.

"Okay, that's just bullshit." Issei muttered to himself with no small amount of frustration.

"Phew, you really scared me there, Shinto-kun! Disrupting my ability to use both my physical and magical powers and then throwing something that huge at me! If Walburga-chan hadn't teleported me out just in the nick of time, Grandpa Rizevim would be ash in the wind! Thanks for the help, Walburga-chan!"

"No problem, Uncle Rizevim!" The leader of Hexennacht hollered back even as she continued to clash with Serafall, throwing massive fireballs while avoiding frozen vortexes.

"Tch, back to square one then. I'll just do it all over again." Issei clicked his tongue and prepared to move. He still had a bit over three minutes left. He would make good use of that remaining time.

"Oh, I think you'll find that it won't be that simple, Shinto-kun!"

Issei ignored Rizevim's taunt and launched himself at the Super Devil at nearly unperceivable speed, throwing a lightning-infused fist at him…which was immediately caught with a bare hand.

"Wha-!?"

"This was a surprise too! Your technique is a lot more scientifically-founded than I thought! Somehow, you converted your body into charged particles, enabling you to move at the speed of lightning. However, to do so, like a lightning bolt, you must travel from a point of high electrical potential to a point of low electrical potential. So, you separated the negatively charged particles from your body and moved them to my position, enabling you to move towards me with such speed that it looked like you were teleporting! I admit, it bamboozled me at first, but once I figured it out, it was easy to counter it! By keeping an eye out for any regions where the electrical potential had dropped, I can tell where you'll be attacking from! You're basically telling me what your next move will be, Shinto-kun!" Rizevim laughed as he revealed the mechanics of Issei's techniques.

"…Dammit!" Issei spat as he tore his fist out of Rizevim's grip and moved backwards.

He figured it out. After only seeing it three or four times, Rizevim had completely figured out the sole flaw of his Raijin-no-Yoroi's Final Level, one that Issei was unable to overcome despite his best efforts.

Without external stimulus, charged particles could only move at the same speed as normal particles, meaning that Issei's speed had not increased at all after using Buyu no Aragami. In order to move at lightning speed, he had to do exactly what Rizevim had described. After all, he had only converted his body into charged particles, not into the element, Lightning, itself. He still had to obey the laws of physics that governed charged particles.

Now what? Rizevim had seen through his so-called lightning speed, so this technique was already next to useless against him. He could not use Raijinsou again. Rizevim would easily avoid it. His strongest technique could not be used in confined spaces, and anything weaker would likely bounce off of the Super Devil's body.

"Oi, don't tell me you're giving up already, Hyoudo Issei?"

"Indeed. It's still too early to give in to despair."

Azazel and Michael said as they brandished their weapons, preparing to clash once more.

"We'll create an opening for you to attack. Even if he's seen through your technique, it doesn't mean anything if he can't react to it in time. We'll finish him off right now." Azazel said solemnly.

He and Michael tensed as they prepared to kick off the ground into the air.

"Ah, so troublesome! Well, it is true that if all three of you attacked me at once, even Grandpa Rizevim would be in trouble! So, sorry but, would you three mind if I quietened you down?" The Super Devil said with a dangerous smile.

Issei felt a shiver run down his spine. Every part of his body was screaming at him that he was in danger.

An energy buildup behind him caused him, and the two Faction leaders at his sides, to turn around, just in time for blades of Dark energy to pierce them in their lungs and stomach each.

Issei felt his Sennin Mode collapse as his wounds were too much to allow his body to maintain that state. In turn, it caused him even more fatigue that prevented him from moving completely.

"Guh…!"

"Shit…!"

As they fell to the ground, Michael grunted and Azazel cursed as energy left their bodies.

"Hm, I wonder if I overdid it a bit? Well, if it's you three, I'm sure wounds of that level won't be enough to kill you. Don't worry, I already said I would leave all of you alive so that you can oppose us! So, just lie there and wait until Angra Mainyu and I are done with the remaining leaders!" Rizevim laughed as he turned around and flew away, leaving the wounded trio on the ground, unable to move, blood slowly pooling under their bodies.

This was bad, Issei realized. Really bad. The Shinto Trinity and Sirzechs were going toe to toe with Angra Mainyu, but if Rizevim were to join in, the tides might turn against them. They had to do something or…

But, Issei was well and truly drained this time. He could no longer use Senjutsu, Ddraige was asleep, leaving him unable to use most of Boosted Gear's functions, and while his wounds were not fatal, they were debilitating enough that he would only be a hindrance if he tried to fight the way he was now.

"Azazel…Michael-dono…can either of you move?"

"Mmph…moving is one thing…but neither of us can fight with these wounds…!" Azazel grunted as he tried to push himself up, but lost his strength and collapsed back down to the ground.

Michael was in a similar state. His pristine golden wings were covered in blood and dirt and had lost their radiance.

Issei looked to where the God of Evil, the Shinto Trinity and Sirzechs were clashing to see that Rizevim had joined in, much to the shock of the four Faction leaders.

The son of the original Lucifer attacked the current Lucifer, seemingly intent on cutting him off from the rest, leaving the Shinto Trinity alone to fight Angra Mainyu.

They were going to lose. Rizevim and Sirzechs appeared to be evenly matched with each other, but the Shinto Trinity were not doing well against Angra Mainyu, who could literally stop all of their attacks. Attempts to break through his Darkness with Illumination were stopped by his Obscurity. Other concepts, like Tsukuyomi's Tranquility and Susanoo's Devastation, which was second only to the concept of Annihilation in power, were all blocked. None of them possessed the raw power required to empower a powerful enough concept to break through the God of Evil's defenses.

Angra Mainyu would eventually prevail over the Shinto Trinity, and if he were to team up with Rizevim, even Sirzechs would lose. With the strongest of their leaders defeated, the rest would be picked off easily.

Issei slammed a bloodied fist onto the earth. How could he possibly let that happen!? After so many of their men had been slaughtered, after being toyed with so thoroughly, how could he possibly just allow them to lose like that!?

He needed more…even more power. Power that could not possibly lose. Power greater than his own.

Golden light flashed from around his neck cut off his train of thought, and Issei immediately found himself being revitalized…no, that wasn't accurate. His wounds were still present, his reserves were as low as they were just a moment ago, but his pain and fatigue had completely vanished, allowing him to get to his feet without any problem.

Blinking in confusion, Issei reached into his kimono…and pulled out the glowing golden Yasakani-no-Magatama that Michael had returned to the Shinto Faction. Was it…activating?

Issei got his answer when a red aura slowly started to build up around him…and he wasn't the one doing it, not consciously.

The aura grew bigger, and bigger, until it was almost three times Issei's size.

Then, images started flashing in and out of Issei's head, all of them depicting the same thing from multiple angles: a massive red ethereal warrior, so tall that its head was obscured by the clouds above, clad in samurai robes, a helmet shaped like the head of a tengu, pointed boots and armor plates on its shoulders and waist. It possessed two main arms and two auxiliary arms that could also change into wings at will. Held by the sheath by the two auxiliary arms, the warrior possessed two katanas. Mounted on its main right arm was a bow, and held by its main left arms was a shield shaped like an ornate mirror, both of a size proportionate to their titanic wielder. The tengu-like helmet possessed a hexagonal jewel on the forehead region, accentuated eyeholes through which only dots of molten gold, eyes, could be seen, a long nose that gave it its tengu likeness and three holes on each side where the armor covering the cheeks were located. The armor covering the mouth had a long slit that quite literally went from almost ear to ear, allowing the helmet to open up and move along with the movements of the warrior's mouth underneath. Its hair, extending out from the helmet, was shaped like waves, eternally flowing.

Issei recognized what it was instantly. It was slightly different, being red in color rather than the blue that he had previously seen, if only once, almost 5 years ago, the mere sight of which had nearly been enough to burn out his eyes at the time. But, without a doubt, that was his divine grandfather's, Susanoo's, Divine Avatar.

A Divine Avatar was, as it sounded, an avatar, molded from divine energy into the likeness of their Full Divine Form, through which a God could act. It was considered to be the stage between a Divine Vessel, the form that his divine relatives were presently using, and a Full Divine Form. A Divine Avatar was only capable of outputting about half of a God's true power, but that way, they wouldn't damage the world. There was a reason why almost no Gods took on their Full Divine Forms when descending to the mortal realm, and instead used a Divine Vessel most of the time. Their presence, being the masters of the laws of the world, was so great that it was enough to damage the planet beyond any hope of salvation. Even malicious Gods weren't foolhardy enough to try something that would potentially earn them the ire of the majority of their fellow deities.

The last time a God, Ares, the belligerent Greek God of War, was foolish enough to attempt to assume his Full Divine Form while in the mortal realm, a horde of other Gods, helmed by his own father, Zeus, immediately appeared and subdued him. Issei heard that he was still being punished even now.

A Divine Avatar was not limited to only Gods. Even demigods like Issei, or those possessing divine blood and huge reserves of divine energy, were capable of manifesting a Divine Avatar that would bear a likeness to their divine relative's own.

Issei had known that he had the potential to use this technique due to his blood relation to not one, but two head Gods, but he had never trained in it. He simply had not seen the use. It required an absurd level of divine energy to use, and even after refining the technique to be as efficient as possible, it was still much simpler to use Boosted Gear to increase his power instead.

But then again, he had never even thought of the possibility that he would meet an enemy that Boosted Gear's power would not be able to affect. Issei decided that if he survived this, he was going to learn, one way or another, how to create a Divine Avatar.

But for now, he had the corresponding Yasakani-no-Magatama that would help him do so. The images it was sending him was not that of his grandfather's Divine Avatar, but of the one that he possessed the potential to create.

Issei found it truly ironic that of the two divine grandparents he had to take after, it was the one that he liked least.

However, even if he manifested a Divine Avatar, it was unlikely to last very long. His wounds were severe. His fatigue and pain, while numb, would return soon. And his reserves were very, very low. Even with the Yasakani-no-Magatama, he would not be able to manifest a full Divine Avatar like the one in the images, and it would not last any longer than probably a bit over 10 seconds.

It would have to be enough.

Without any input from Issei, physical or mental, the aura that was flaring out from his body began to mold itself…into the shape of a very large ethereal human skeleton, outline by a red aura that took the vague shape of a human, with giant golden spots in its eye sockets and two main arms with two auxiliary arms conjoined to them by the elbow. Issei himself was floating around where the heart would be if this had been an actual human.

It was nothing like Susanoo's Divine Avatar. It was much smaller, only 3 or 4 times Issei's height at best. Its auxiliary arms grew out from the main arms' elbow joint instead of being separate arms that could change into wings growing out of its shoulders. It did not have any armor, or even flesh for that matter. It did not have any of the weapons that the Divine Avatar that the Yasakani-no-Magatama had been sending images of to him.

It was the best that Issei could do.

With a mental command, a blade of black flames that looked more like a rod appeared in his Divine Avatar's main right hand. Issei was about to leave when he paused.

"Will you two be okay?" Issei asked the two Faction leaders still lying in a pool of their own blood, looking stunned at the sight of him.

Azazel was the first to recover from his shock.

"We're fine. We won't be able to fight, but it'll take a lot more than wounds of this level to kill us. We aren't survivors of the Great War for nothing."

"Yes. Please hurry, Hyoudo Issei-kun. Our allies are in need of help." Michael spoke seriously.

"Understood."

Issei looked back towards the battle…which appeared to have halted. All of the combatants were staring at him, his divine relatives and Angra Mainyu in shock, evidently realizing what it was he was doing, Sirzechs in mild surprise, and Rizevim in irritation.

With a mental command, Issei had his Divine Avatar, the hand holding the blade of black flames raised for an attack, leap towards the son of the original Lucifer, whose look of irritation seemed to intensify.

"Ah geez, not you again. How many times do I have to beat you down before you realize that you cannot defeat me?" Rizevim complained as he raised a hand in preparation to attack.

"No, Rizevim! Dodge that attack!" Angra Mainyu warned his co-conspirator, aware of just how dangerous that power was, weakened as it was.

Perhaps it was because he heard the alarm in the God of Evil's voice that Rizevim paused. A fatal mistake when Issei was already in front of him.

Issei, with the last vestiges of strength that he was able to muster, swung down the blade of black flames on Rizevim.

The black inferno of divine fire tore right into the Super Devil's skin, prompting a terrible scream of pain as Rizevim's chest was torn open, spilling blood in a great arc, and immediately crudely cauterized. The very first serious injury that the son of the Morningstar had sustained thus far.

Unfortunately, with the last of his power utterly spent, Issei's Divine Avatar dissipated and the Shinto demigod fell to the ground his vision slowly blackening.

He was barely even able to register his pain when a pissed off looking Rizevim landed and stepped on his hand, breaking the bones of his wrist.

He didn't even react when the Super Devil lifted him into the air by the collar of his kimono.

"Oi, Ahriman. This kid seriously pisses me off. I know I said that we shouldn't kill any of the strong ones today, but it's fine if I kill just one, right?" Issei vaguely heard Rizevim ask.

"Go ahead. That one's very dangerous. I've never seen someone with such low reserves create a Divine Avatar before, even one that was incomplete. If we leave him, he'll become a plausible threat to us. Kill him, Rizevim." Angra Mainyu commanded.

"No!" Amaterasu shouted as she and her brothers attempted to move to aid her grandson, but the God of Evil quickly got in between them and trapped inside three barriers of black fog to halt their movements.

Sirzechs attempted to intervene as well, but was forced to stop when 8 pillars of holy flames erupted from the ground and surrounded him.

"Fufufu, sorry, but I can't let you get in Uncle Rizevim's way." Walburga giggled as she floated down from the sky.

Sirzechs frowned. If Walburga was here…what happened to Serafall?

"Hey, what do you think you're doing, bailing on our fight like that!? Now Levia-tan is angry!" Said Maou flew after her opponent, who had evidently disengaged from the battle to aid Rizevim, and was now the target of the Maou Shoujo's increased ire for it.

However, even with Serafall's arrival, Walburga's job was already done. Even Sirzechs was trapped and not even a Super Devil could carelessly try to pass the holy flames, not when they were made to destroy beings like him.

From a distance away, Issei could faintly hear the voices of Rias and the others as they attempted to come to his aid, but they were just too far away to make it in time.

And by the time the Shinto Trinity or Sirzechs broke out of their traps, Rizevim would have already had enough time to kill him.

It was…an utterly hopeless situation.

"Farewell, Shinto-kun…no, Hyoudo Issei. At the very least, I shall remember your name, the first one in this long, long conflict who managed to properly wound me."

Issei heard Rizevim speaking, followed by crackling that he blurrily figured was Rizevim preparing a lethal attack.

That was when an absolutely massive aura, far exceeding even Angra Mainyu's and Rizevim's, washed over the area, crushing the holy flames trapping Sirzechs and shattering the barriers holding the Shinto Trinity, stopping all the other fights happening and capturing everyone's attention.

Rizevim dropped Issei and turned in the direction that the aura was coming from, as did everyone else, staring at the same spot with expressions of utter disbelief, even fear.

Issei did the same, despite his fatigue and fading consciousness, but with an expression of affection and reverence, as though beholding the descent of his God…

…Or rather, Goddess.

"Ah geez…even after I told her not to come out…" Issei muttered to himself with a tired, fond smile.

*BAM*

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" Rizevim screamed as he was blasted away to the furthest reaches of the barrier by an invisible force, quickly disappearing from sight.

Immediately, an uproar erupted amongst the remaining enemy forces, which basically only consisted of Angra Mainyu, Walburga and Euclid, and even among the remaining foot soldiers of the four Factions. After all, who could be strong enough to overpower a Super Devil so easily?

But, just as soon as the fuss started, it died down when the aura grew more and more oppressive, yet the only ones being visibly affected by it were the three enemy leaders, the latter two of whom had collapsed to their knees, and the God of Evil himself looking very inconvenienced to the point that he looked constipated.

*STEP* *STEP* *STEP*

Everyone had completely fallen silent, which was why the footstep that would normally have been inaudible was amplified, as obvious as a jet engine roaring overhead.

As one, everyone looked up to the second floor of the main building, which now had a huge hole in its side, to see a little prepubescent girl with long black hair, pure white skin, dark grey eyes, and pointed ears, wearing gothic lolita clothes that border lined on inappropriate.

Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon, had finally emerged. Her face was set in its usual blank expression, but Issei, who had known her for more than a decade, could tell that she was very angry.

She descended floatingly from the hole, as though the wind itself carried her down to the ground. Her bare feet lightly touched the earth, yet were not stained by the dirt beneath.

"…"

Without saying a single word, she simply stared straight into Angra Mainyu's eyes, causing the God of Evil to take a step back in instinctive fear when he recognized a superior predator in front of him.

"This feeling…Great Red is in the Dimensional Gap…Trihexa is still sealed…it can't be…the Infinite Dragon God?" Angra Mainyu muttered as he trembled, realizing the identity of the little girl in front of him.

"…"

Ophis, still completely silent, took a step forward towards the God of Evil, who immediately stepped back to keep the distance between them the same.

It was a natural reaction. Issei had never been on the receiving end, but the murderous intent of the acknowledged strongest being in existence, sans Great Red, who never left the Dimensional Gap, and Trihexa, whose existence was only confirmed a few minutes ago, was probably something that lower beings would not be able to endure, not even one who was on par with the second strongest being in existence.

Ophis's eyes narrowed, and Angra Mainyu completely froze.

"…Leave."

"…Eh?"

It was so softly spoken that Angra Mainyu actually needed a few seconds to confirm that, yes, Ophis had indeed spoken.

"Leave now, and I won't erase you." Ophis said as she took another step forward.

Her aura seemed to grow even heavier, if that was possible, and Angra Mainyu swallowed in fear.

"…Walburga, get Rizevim and leave. We're retreating immediately." Angra Mainyu said to the leader of Hexennacht, who was on all fours, unable to move a muscle in the face of the Ouroboros Dragon's wrath.

"…Yes, boss." Walburga muttered as a magic circle appeared on the ground beneath her. While she wasn't able to move, casting a simple teleportation spell was not a problem.

She vanished in a flash of light, and in the next second, her presence reappeared a distance away, right next to Rizevim's, before both vanished, having presumably left the boundaries of the barrier.

"…Euclid, we're leaving." Angra Mainyu spoke to his last remaining subordinate.

"Yes, Ahriman-sama." Euclid replied, and a silver magic circle appeared beneath him. He vanished in a flash of light, just like Walburga did.

Only Angra Mainyu remained. He and Ophis stared at each other for a few more moments, his gaze filled with fear and apprehension, and hers with pure murderous intent.

"…Well then, I'll be taking my leave." The God of Evil spoke as he tore another hole in the dimensions with his bare hand and stepped through it.

The distortion disappeared, and the God of Evil's presence with it, leaving only the stunned remnants of the armies of the four Factions behind to process what had just happened.

Issei smiled weakly and wryly. Their forces were decimated, the enemy leaders were all still alive and largely unharmed, and he himself had only been spared because of Ophis's timely intervention.

This…could not be called a victory. But, they had survived, and he supposed that was good enough for now.

But, someday…he would definitely avenge himself.

That was the last coherent thought that Issei had right before his consciousness began to rapidly fade.

The last thing he was able to take note of was the unusually soft object that his head had landed on, and the small hands gently stroking his hair before he passed out.

---

Sirzechs sighed as he watched the remnants of the armies of the four Factions clean up and restore the mess that was once Kuou Academy.

800. That was how many Devil soldiers he and Serafall had brought with him for the conference. And the number left now was…42.

758. 758 of his men had been killed in the invasion. Every single one of those lives lost were on his and his fellow Maou's heads.

It was with no small amount of guilt that Sirzechs was glad that Rias and her peerage were all alive, if injured, and he was certain that Serafall felt the same about Sona and her peerage.

The armies of Heaven, the Grigori and the Shinto Faction were in a similar state, with less than a tenth of their original numbers remaining. They might had been able to kill off all of the Old Maou Faction members that Qlipoth had brought with them, but the number of the enemies slain was much, much lower than the number of soldiers that had been lost. The power of the Evil Dragons, even inferior copies of them, was truly fearsome.

The red-haired Devil who was known as the strongest of the four Maous turned to look at Ophis, who had laid an unconscious Issei's head across her lap and was gently stroking her mate's hair as a black aura flowed from her body into his. It appeared that she was helping him refill his depleted reserves and also healing his injuries.

If the Ouroboros Dragon hadn't stepped in at the last minute, there was no doubt that all of them would have been killed by now. Rizevim would have disposed of Issei and returned to fight him again, while Angra Mainyu dealt with with the Shinto Trinity. Gods were notoriously hard to kill without an anti-God weapon like True Longinus, but they were killable. And Sirzechs had little doubt in his head that Angra Mainyu possessed a power that would allow him to destroy his fellow deities. He was the physical manifestation of all of the world's evils after all, and deicide was one of the most heinous evils that could be committed against nature.

Once the Shinto Trinity had been slain, the two of them together would have been able to kill him, even if Sirzechs were to throw caution to the wind and assume his true form.

After his death, the remaining leaders and subordinates would have been easy pickings for the son of the Morningstar and the God of Evil. And after that, with the leaders dead, there was a good chance that the members of their Factions unhappy with making peace with each other would have seized the opportunity to start another Great War, with possibly even the Shinto Faction, deprived of their leaders, joining in.

If that had been the case, Sirzechs felt that the Devils would have won. Even excluding Ajuka, the other Super Devil, they had a number of truly remarkable Devils. Mesphisto Pheles, the leader of Grauzauberer, an organization that facilitated the formation of pacts between magicians and Devils, Diehauzer Belial, Roygun Belphegor, Bedeze Abaddon, Rudiger Rozenkreutz and Tannin, all Top 10 rankers in the Rating Games.

Yes, the Devils would likely have been victorious in that case, but Qlipoth would have doubtlessly seized the opportunity to increase their numbers, leading to even more chaos around the world. And with Angra Mainyu as powerful as he was, he could easily crush the other Factions, with the exception of perhaps the Hindu Faction that had both Shiva, and the wielder of True Longinus, if Rizevim could be believed.

Sirzechs held back the urge to shudder. Yes, they were very, very lucky to have had Ophis here during the invasion.

"Well, this is a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into."

Sirzechs turned to see Azazel, bandages wrapped around his torso, walking up to him somewhat shakily. His wounds weren't fatal, but they had taken quite a toll on him.

Michael too was now able to move around, and he, the Ophanim who was with him, Rias, Sona and their peerages were helping to recover the bodies of their deceased comrades and restore them to a condition that could be sent back to their loved ones for a proper funeral. The ones who were mostly intact anyway. The Evil Dragon copies truly were as savage as the legends of their originals said.

The Shinto Trinity were using their powers to retake control of the barrier, which was still acting against even after Qlipoth's departure. All three looked positively apoplectic, especially Susanoo, though whether it was because of their wounded pride, because most of their subordinates had been killed, or because Issei had taken such severe injuries, Sirzechs did not know. He figured it was a combination of the three.

Vali…Lucifer, as had been revealed by Rizevim and confirmed by Azazel, was still unconscious, having suffered a concussion earlier while fighting Rizevim. A good number of them were wary of him now that they knew of his blood relation to the mad son of the Morningstar, but Sirzechs was inclined to trust him, because that hatred that he had shown towards his grandfather had been too authentic to be an act. Which was why he had asked Serafall, who specialized in both ice and water magic, to heal him. She didn't appear to bear any ill feelings towards the young half-Devil, so she had complied readily.

"Yeah, it really is a huge mess. I imagine the other Factions that Qlipoth attacked are in chaos as well."

"They'll be looking for answers. We'll have to ask Michael and the Shinto Trinity to send messages to all of them. Defeating Qlipoth and preventing Trihexa's revival will require the cooperation of every major Faction. We'll probably have to host another conference."

Sirzechs nodded. The word of an Archangel and three Gods would be much more convincing than that of a Devil or a Fallen Angel.

"A conference on a global scale, huh? Well, I suppose the possibility of the revival of a Great Red-class monster will be enough to convince even the most hard headed of them to act."

"Yeah, hopefully Shiva will be in attendance too. He'll probably be the only one who can counter Angra Mainyu. Him and…Ahura Mazda."

"The Zoroastrian head God and Angra Mainyu's brother and nemesis, huh? True, by the logic of Angra Mainyu's explanation, it can be argued that there is just as much good as there is evil in the world. If that's the case, then Ahura Mazda should be alive as well…but, do we really need their power? We have Ophis on our side, and they do not have anyone that can counter her power."

"Unfortunately, all Dragons possess the same weakness to Dragon Slaying properties. Even Ophis, though in her case, most of them won't even scratch her. However, if it's Angra Mainyu and Rizevim, they'll probably find a way to stop her. They won't have a choice, since right now, Ophis is the greatest threat to them. We can't rely completely on her power to defeat Angra Mainyu."

"…Well, anyway, I suppose we've achieved the original purpose of this conference, even though we ended up incurring much greater losses than we expected."

"Yeah. Once we're done here, I'll head back to the Grigori and start drafting an official terms of treaty…and to prepare for a war. For better or for worse…the world is about to change."

---

And that's the end of this chapter! Sorry for the delay, I was basically brain dead while trying to write the first part of this chapter.

So, the enemies have been revealed! I know Angra Mainyu is a bit of a cliché antagonist, but I think he works well in the DxD universe.

Next chapter is the fallout of Qlipoth's attack on all of the major Factions of the world.

That's all for now. Please read and review.