CHAPTER 23:

OPHIS

Harry had to admit, something he'd grown to love during the last little while was waking up to the view of Raynare's naked body curled up next to him. In fact, gradually, he found that Raynare was smiling more and more, and not in a cruel way as used to be her wont. Rather, it was in a way that turned her beauty from a cruel one to a radiant one, one that could have him believe that she truly had once been an Angel from Heaven. A perfect beauty, created by the God of the Bible.

Then again, there were plenty of other Angels who were beautiful. Raynare had shown him memories of her time in Heaven, albeit in brief. Although Gabriel was male in most traditions, she was considered female in a lot of modern fiction, due to Gabriel being used more as a female name these days, and it seemed that fiction had hit on the truth.

Raynare had called Gabriel a walking wet dream and something close to the stereotypical blonde bimbo, which wasn't far from the truth. She was more naïve than stupid, so Raynare's assessment was coloured by her understandable bitterness of her Fall, but her description was still fairly accurate. He had to wonder whether the God of the Bible was a closeted pervert or something. It would explain a lot. Azazel himself admitted that he Fell due to becoming enamoured with women's breasts.

Still, Raynare's physical beauty was matched by her inner beauty. Admittedly, that was an acquired taste, as she was bitter, cynical, more than a little cruel, and ruthless. Yet she was also surprisingly kind, loyal, and holding a great sorrow inside her. And to those who earned her friendship, she was a true friend. A bittersweet beauty, like dark chocolate.

Almost as if woken by his thoughts, her violet eyes fluttered open, and she smiled softly. "Good morning. Sleep well?"

"Next to you, and after last night? Who wouldn't?"

"You'd be surprised. More than a few of my lovers or one-night stands were very much of the 'love 'em and leave 'em' type of night, even if precious little love was involved," she said, before sitting up in bed, stretching and yawning. The action did very interesting things to her breasts, though he was used to their physics-defying bouncing by now. "Then again…" she continued after she stopped yawning, "it's not like I can talk. I've left lovers asleep in bed…or shanked them after banging them."

"How many times did you have to act like a porn star while doing that?"

"More times than I'd like, but less than you'd think, oddly enough," Raynare said. "Really, I'm glad I don't have to play up that shit with you. It feels more…honest. Fuck, here I am, being all sentimental and shit."

"Hey, I like seeing this side of you," Harry said with a smile. "You know, the sentimental one. Nothing wrong with it."

Raynare snorted, standing up from the bed, and turning around, posing akimbo, completely naked, with her wings out. "And you love seeing this side of me," she teased.

"Yep. Unfortunately, I can't admire it for too long," Harry said. "We've got to get ready for our work at Kuoh Academy."

"Yeah, I know. I'll shower first. Once I'm done, you go in after me, while I make sure Asia's getting ready. Then we'll get some breakfast…"

Ever since arriving at the dilapidated church, there was an undeniable tension between the Fallen, Harry and Asia. Dohnaseek and Kalawarner were more belligerent than Harry had known them to be, Mittelt was a bit more snappy, and Azazel's orders had caused something of a schism. Harry had opted to cook breakfast for them a few times. He'd offered it as a means to try and lessen the tension, hoping beyond hope that Dohnaseek and Kalawarner were not truly traitors to Azazel. Not for their sake, but because they were friends of Raynare's.

While it didn't lessen the tension, Dohnaseek and Kalawarner seemed at least genuinely if reluctantly grateful for the meals. Though they shot Asia dirty looks when she said Grace prior to her meals (in Latin, naturally). Raynare and Mittelt merely rolled their eyes.

As they ate their breakfast, on a table set up in the basement chamber beneath the altar, Mittelt said, "Actually, now that I come to think about it, why do the wizards use mangled Latin and Greek a lot with their incantations?"

Raynare shrugged. "Spell incantations are really a form of mnemonic trigger. You can cast those spells without the incantation or the focus, it's just more difficult. And those spells are mostly used within Europe, where Latin, thanks to the Roman Empire and later, the Catholic Church, was a fairly universal language. It just got mangled over the millennia, absorbing from other languages."

Dohnaseek nodded. "The Killing Curse's incantation, Avada Kedavra, is actually Aramaic. It comes from an incantation meaning to destroy sickness, as that phrase means in Aramaic 'let this thing be destroyed'. It's also where the bastardised saying of stage magicians Abracadabra comes from."

"And you're the only person to have survived being hit by it, Harry?" Asia asked.

"Prior to my transformation, I'm the only known human to have survived, thanks to my mother and whatever she set up," Harry said. "I dunno whether the Killing Curse can kill a Devil or an Angel, Fallen or otherwise."

"Most wouldn't be," Raynare said. "But…"

Whatever she was going to say was cut off when some sensation crashed down on them. A pressure, a presence, like somehow they were underwater. It was bearable for the Fallen and Harry, but Harry looked to Asia, who was panting heavily, shivering in fear. "What…what is this?" she whimpered.

"Anyone have any idea?" Harry asked.

Dohnaseek grunted. "…I think I do. I have not felt this presence for a long time, and even so, they are restraining themselves compared to when I encountered them last."

"Then who is it?" Raynare asked.

The door to the basement opened, and to his surprise, the silhouetted figure was small. Easily the size of a pre-teen girl. The figure peered at them, before a soft exhalation reached them. Not quite a sigh, but not far from it. The pressure went away almost entirely, and the figure approached them.

"…Ophis," Dohnaseek said.

Harry stared as the diminutive figure moved closer. He had a brief glimpse of her as he was suffering in the Dimensional Gap, and until Azazel confirmed she was real, he had thought her some strange hallucination of his dying mind. This girl was the Ouroborous Dragon, the Infinite Dragon God, a being who could probably kill gods in the same way as a human would swat a mosquito.

She was bizarre, to say the least. She was dressed in something like Victorian dress, but with no top, just taped crosses over her nipples. And considering she seemed to be a prepubescent girl, he found that disturbing. Then again, her cute features were disturbing, not because of the purple eyes or the pointed ears. Rather, there was the blank, impassive expression on them.

What was that expression? Boredom? Stoicism? A disturbingly concentrated form of antipathy? It was inhuman, whatever the emotion behind that expression, and had little place on an adult's face. On a child's face, it was even more disturbing.

But then, their eyes met, and Ophis' eyes narrowed ever so slightly. It wasn't in anger or any negative emotion. Rather, they seemed to be focusing on Harry. And Harry knew now what it was truly like to have a predator focus on its prey. Voldemort and his lackies had nothing on Ophis.

Distantly, Harry heard Asia reciting the Lord's Prayer in Latin, not quite under her breath. But otherwise, things were silent, save for the noise of Ophis' footsteps as she approached them. No, approached Harry. Nobody else made a sound or a move. Ophis may not actually be the most powerful being in the universe, but she was definitely in the Top 3. One wrong move could mean their annihilation, and possibly that of everyone else in Kuoh.

So, no pressure.

She came up to Harry, and looked him up and down, sizing him up. Then, almost like a child with an animal, she poked his arm. "…Ddraig…Albion…fused together. Hmm…"

After a few seconds of poking, surprisingly gentle from the powerful being, Harry asked, "Umm…what are you doing here?" He hoped he wouldn't kickstart a localised apocalypse by asking her questions.

"I…made a mistake. I…have heard of your strength," Ophis said, her soft voice and strange speaking cadence only adding to the disturbing nature of this scenario. "Hmm…not strong enough to beat Great Red."

"Beat Great Red?" Asia asked, her voice quavering.

Ophis' purple eyes flicked over to the former nun. "Great Red…has taken my silence. My home. I…want my silence back."

"…Son of a bitch," Raynare muttered. "What, you want to evict the Great Red Dragon from the Dimensional Gap?"

Dohnaseek scoffed. "Good luck with that. The Dragon of Dragons and the Infinite Dragon God pitted against each other? Unmovable Object, please meet the Unstoppable Force. Let's see how they get along." And then, the pressure returned, though only slightly to anyone whose name was not Dohnaseek. Ophis was…well, it wasn't quite a glare, more of an irritated glance.

"Do not…mock me." The pressure suddenly released, and Dohnaseek, after a moment, hurried away from the table, a suspicious darkening stain on his trousers. Harry couldn't find it in himself to be amused. As much as he and Dohnaseek had some mutual antipathy going, the fact remained that Ophis had scared him into pissing himself, over some rather gentle ribbing at that.

Still, Harry glared at Ophis, probably unwisely. "Was that called for?"

"I…need my silence," she said. "Great Red…is in the way."

After a moment, Harry sighed. He doubted Ophis would even understand what she did wrong. Maybe she was a child in some ways. Eventually, he indicated his plate. "Okay, well, how about a pancake or two? I can do without a couple."

Ophis frowned, her eyebrows knotting together. She seemed about to say something, before thinking better of it. "…I…do not eat."

"…Is that do not need to eat, or just don't eat?"

"…Is there a difference?"

Harry just indicated the ones remaining on his plate. The others were looking nervously at Ophis, who was peering at Harry's plate, almost as if she expected the pancakes to spontaneously turn into a singing frog, before she began tentatively eating it. The only sign of any reaction she made was a small grunt, though whether it was pleasure, displeasure, or indifference, Harry couldn't tell.

"…Ophis, why come to me?" Harry asked. "Do I look like I could evict the Great Red Dragon from your home?"

"…Not yet. But…maybe soon. I…need strong people to evict him, or to kill him, to bring back my silence."

"And yet, you kicked me out of the Dimensional Gap earlier? Calling me rubbish from the wizards or something?" Harry said pointedly, perhaps too pointedly given the situation, but he was beginning to get annoyed.

"That…was a mistake," Ophis said simply, though given the way Raynare, Mittelt and Kalawarner stared at the Dragon in the form of a young girl, it was a stunning admission. "You…will help me bring back my silence."

"…A simple please wouldn't hurt," Harry said.

"Dragons…do not plead."

"You'd get a lot more out of people if you were polite. Because honestly, don't you know how sick and tired I am of being dictated to? Yes, I know you're an ultra-powerful Dragon and all, but I'm still getting used to this power, and not long after I got it, I was betrayed, even executed! So excuse me if I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request." Harry facepalmed for a moment, trying to get over the fact that he was arguing with a girl dressed in Victorian dress, only, her chest was bare, save for fucking duct tape! And this was also debatably one of the most powerful entities in existence. He groaned into his hands.

"…Why are you groaning into your hands? Is that…a ritual?" Ophis asked.

"Yes," Harry snarked. "I am trying to hold back an aneurysm caused by sheer frustration."

"…I have never heard of a ritual like that."

"…I think that's because you've never heard of sarcasm before."

"…Sar-chasm?" She actually tilted her head quizzically.

"Harry, little survival tip," Kalawarner said desperately. "You do NOT use sarcasm towards the fucking Infinite Dragon God! Or are you really that suicidal?"

"I'm just the sort to rush in where Angels, Fallen or not, fear to tread," Harry muttered resignedly.

"I noticed," Raynare said, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

Harry then looked to Ophis. "If I can get stronger, strong enough to take on the Great Red Dragon and drive him away, then I will help you…as long as you say please. You'll get a lot more people to help you if you say please."

"I am…a Dragon. We…do not plead."

"It's just good manners. You'll get more people to agree if you say that. Just saying. As I said, I'm not rejecting the offer, but I can't be of use to you right now."

Ophis looked him up and down, apparently mulling something over, before coming to a decision with a nod. "…It's as you say. Get stronger. And…I want more pancakes." On seeing Harry's pointed look, she added, without any sincerity or even any intonation, "Please."

"You want them now?"

"No. I…will be back another day." And with that, she vanished in a magic circle of her own, with a symbol like an ouroborous, a snake consuming its own tail. She didn't even bother saying goodbye.

As she vanished, Raynare turned to Harry. "What the actual fuck is wrong with you, agreeing to help her like that?! You just…"

"Saved our lives with a bit of quick talking. And learned something very interesting," Harry pointed out, his tone far more calm than he actually felt. He then turned to Asia. "Asia, are you okay?"

The blonde ex-nun nodded mutely. Mittelt ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, well, I'm not. Still, Harry's right. I remember what Lord Azazel told us about what you claimed Ophis had said when she found you in the Dimensional Gap. It didn't really occur to me that it was odd about the Great Red Dragon being there and Ophis not being ornery about it."

"…Well, we know now," Harry said. "She wants strong people to help her deal with the Great Red Dragon. Oh, and she's a rude little shit."

Mittelt laughed, though it was more out of nervous hysteria than humour. "Harry, did you seriously call the Ouroborous Dragon a 'rude little shit'? Fuck, that's…I don't think even Samaritans can help you with how suicidal you are!"

"It's accurate though," Raynare said, beginning to calm down a little. "God, Harry…don't do something like that again!"

"Here's hoping I don't have to," Harry said, sagging back into his chair. "I was just kind of winging it. So…after we've cleaned up, we contact Azazel, and let him know that we've had the Ouroborous Dragon as a breakfast guest and lived to tell the tale? We'll probably have to tell Rias, Sona, and their Peerages, I wouldn't be surprised if they felt that from Kuoh Academy."

Raynare and Mittelt nodded, as did Kalawarner, a bit more reluctantly. After all, anything that involved one of the strongest beings in the cosmos, never mind another such entity, was of concern. It would be prudent to notify their superior and allies as to what was going on…

CHAPTER 23 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Harry and his allies have encountered Ophis and survived.

I hadn't written much about Harry and Raynare's relationship since the timeskip and the copying and pasting of large parts of Azrael Rising, so the start of this chapter was meant to remedy that. It also had some examination of Raynare actually enjoying being in a relationship where she doesn't have to pretend. She's had these before, admittedly, but her lovers eventually died, and that, along with the seduction and assassination missions she has been on, has soured her mindset somewhat.

And speaking of copying and pasting large parts of Azrael Rising, a good chunk of the latter half of the Ophis scene was taken from that. In that fic, Ophis appeared much sooner to Harry and company, and even then, only to Raynare and Mittelt, while at 12 Grimmauld Place. Kalawarner, Dohnaseek and Asia were not present at the time.

I thought that if anyone was going to piss Ophis off, it'd be Dohnaseek. Out of all of Raynare's cell, he seems the most impulsive. I mean, he attacks Issei, knowing full well that he's a Devil, and in all likelihood, belonging to Rias. I think he did that just for shits and giggles. Harry could have done it, but Ophis needs Harry, so she's tolerating him more.

I actually wrote in the Ophis scene because some reviewers were wanting more of her in the fic after the prior cameos, and I was kicking myself for not bringing her in earlier. There just didn't seem to be the right place for it, given the emphasis on Raynare's character arc and her burgeoning romance with Harry.

Anyway, I'm sorry about the wait for this chapter. And I dunno when the next one will be out. I hope you enjoyed regardless…

Review-answering time! Akuma-Heika: The wording seems to be the Protestant Church, and Irina spent her time in England, so it's fair to say they mean specifically the Anglican Church rather than the Lutheran Church. It could be the Lutherans, true, but I've no idea.

No numbered annotations this time.