For Issei, everything went dark, all that he was aware of was the shouting of his name, though even that was blurred. That was the overwhelming power of the 2nd Dragon Ogre that even managed to almostdestroy his dragon armor. Even with a boost to his power and strengthening technics that he managed to learn, it wasn't enough to spare it from the devastating hit of the double-handed war hammer, and the electronic shock made Issei think that it was almost Thor's weapon.
And after a few more shouts of his name and pleads for him to get up, everything went dark. He was now in his mind in a very familiar place. A place that was filled with fire, volcanos, lava, everything that had to do with inferno it was there present, and in a center of it all, a massive Dragon that was dominating the area with his Aura, height, and mass.
Though what surprised Issei was that beside Ddraig was Belzard there and behind them were a few more people.
Those people all had white clothes and hoods that covered their heads and faces, but all of them had a like a coat of arms with a red Dragon releasing a fire breath. It was honestly cool looking and Issei even thought of making it his coast of arms in a sense when he gets to lead his team in Rating Game, but he dispelled that thought as this was not the time to think about that now. There was a huge ass Battle raging right now, he needed to get back to the fight and slaughter one ugly motherfucker big time.
[I would say that you are an idiot for charging Koleckh head-on without thinking but... That would only make me a hypocrite now would it partner?] Ddraig said as he looked at Issei with no small part of pride as he showed his razor-sharp teeth that would even break diamonds without a sweat.
(Oh, we can all agree on that without a doubt. But Issei while I also don't want to sound like a hypocrite you should have predicted he would try to attack you while you were at your weakest so to speak. But this turn of events has given us this unexpected, blessed opportunity.) Belzard said as he turned to the clocked People behind Issei and nodded to them.
Seeing a go ahead, one of the clock figures approached Issei slowly and stopping only a few meters away. Just a bit in front of Belzard and Ddraig but enough so that Issei wouldn't be uncomfortable with him.
/"Issei Hyoudou, the current Emperor, do you know who we are?" / The cloaked figure questioned in a voice without any emotion and flat as a hammerhead.
"You are the previous hosts of Ddraig? The ones that felt for Juggernaut drive?" Issei answered his questions making the lead figure nod his head.
/You are correct in those. Though this turn of events prompted our unexpected meeting. We sekiryuuteis of the past are willing to help you only this time, but you will, of course, need to do something for us in return. Are you willing to co-op with us?/ The cloaked figure said as Issei could see a huge dark grin forming on his face, though the idea of working together with his "seniors" and trying to see how to use this to his advantage was something he didn't want to miss. He also knew that he needed to come up with a plan to try and exploit them, though that was easier said than done, but that is a bridge that he will cross when the time comes.
"Yes, let's do it!" Issei answered with his own grin.
/Excellent!/ The cloaked figure said in joy as he put his hand on Issei's forehead.
XXXX
As the situation on the Battlefront started to worsen, Elsha was in a devastating situation.
Issei was blasted all the way to the backline and Lucy was leaving her post at a blinding speed to get to him.
Now she was sure to give her a hard lesson and a butt-kicking for this after this battle, if they survive of course, but now she needs to put her head out of the gutter and refocus on the shit head that blasted her loved one.
Though she was at least glad that left flank was reinforced in a timely manner, and that the Valkyrs had Perun's Royal Guard as support, and boy they were running on all cylinders. Killing the Chaos soldiers like they were nothing and fury of Blood Dragons who were slamming the enemy in the flank added to the carnage. It was like all the pent-up rage was unleashed and that they were the Chaos forces and not the other way around with how much carnage was dishing out by those 3 units of Elites that were fighting cannon fodder.
But now was the time for her duel with Kolekh, and she was seeing only red as he was laughing like there was no tomorrow. And that honestly pissed her off even more. It looks like it was time for her to unleash all her power and might. It was time for her to-go-to overdrive and show this motherfucker that he wasn't a top dog in this battle. Not even close!
With her mindset, Elsha closed her eyes and started to generate power like never before. All around her looked like time stopped, everything was frozen in place as she started her chant. No one even tried to attack her as they feared being vaporized in a second, by her aura that was covering her whole body.
"Oh, Ice of the eternal East Tundra the home of the lord Perun! , Sacred Fire of the Far South the domain of the War God Vido!, Swift Winds of the West Steps the lands of the ruler God Veles! The Holy Earth, Land of all Mighty Father of us all! God Father Triglav! Hear my plea as I call upon your might, give me your guidance mighty lord of the East! Give me your strength the undefeated warrior of the South! Grant me the speed of your winds and a clear path to my target as you give guidance to your followers, O the great leader of the West! Bless me with your stability and balance my dear Father God of us all! For I wish to destroy the enemy that is threatening to destroy everything you stand for!" Elsha chanted as the energy around her started to gather as her Gods that she faithfully served in her prime answered her plea without a second past.
All combat stooped as everyone stared at her as they witness the display that was starting to happen. It was something that for a great majority of soldiers was a first time seeing, though to the battle-hardened veterans of the last Great Chaos war it was a sight for sore eyes. As they witness Elsha once again entering her full power Dragon Empress armor that was specifically made for her and only her. A true piece of art.
As the energy that was around her slowly started to swirl, it was not too long until a Tornado was formed from pure mana that Elsha with Blessings from Slavic God's was unleashing. A power so mighty that Even Kolekh had a hard time holding his ground as he was forced to stab his hammer into the ground to hold himself from being blown away.
The Magic Tornado only lasted for a few moments but to some, it was like an eternity and boy did some even shit themselves when everything stopped as they had a clear view of a Battle Empress that was ready for slaughter. Her Sword shining with an unholy amount of energy that was making thunder look like a small electrical spark, her new armor was elegant and deadly as it come. And the look on her face said everything that needed to be known. Time for death has come and Veles is going to have to work overtime.
"Kolekh, I hope you are ready because it is time for you to die!" Elsha said calmly before she blitzed towards Kolekh.
XXXX
-Left Flank of The Battle- (Before Elsha's Powerup)
If someone thought that the Centaur was chaotic then the Left flank was a nightmare, as both sides tried to outmaneuver or just outright overpower the other.
Though while the regular troops were doing that, the Perun Guards and Valkyries were holding strong against forsaken and chosen that were so heavily armed and armored that it was a miracle to even wound let alone outright kill those bastards, but even though they were strong the combined force of Norse and Slavic elite units managed to hold and even push the back of the Chaos forces back enough to give a breather and to reorganize for the next stage of the grand plan.
Though while the troops were able to recover a bit it was a different story for the leaders as Akame and her sisters were in a duel against Cassie and Arnett even when Elsha forbade them to fight.
"Fuck, you guys are strong!" Arnett said as she was dodging a few slashes from Kurome while Cassie was in a stalemate with Akame as both girls had their swords look in a power struggle.
"You as well, though don't think the outcome would be any different, here is where you small Valkyrie will die!" Kurome said in a motionless tone as she dodged a magic fireball from Arnett before getting some distance so she could recover a bit.
"Ha! Only one has a chance to kill me and that is not you, you little bitch!" Arnett shouted, slightly exhausted from the constant battle, but her adrenalin was so high that she is holding up.
"We will see about that when it's 2vs1" Kurome said before she quickly dashed towards Cassie who widen her eyes seeing that she couldn't evade in time.
"Like Hell, I will let you!" Arnett roared as she used her special skill to accelerate in front of Cassie and block the strike that would be 100% fatal.
"Thanks for the save." Cassie said before she kicked Akame in the stomach making her grunt before she was punched in the face by Arnett and forced to pull back.
"I lost my concentration for a moment. Trust me that won't happen again." Akame said as she rubbed her stomach for a bit before she along with her sister took the stance again.
"Don't worry, you are going to be dead, so it won't matter." Cassie said as she along with Arnett also took their stance ready for another round.
"We will see about that you wretches!" Akame shouted before the 4 girls charged at each other for another round.
-Right Flank- (Lucy's side) before Elsha's power up!
The battle in Lucy's opinion was going so-so. Whenever the Slavic forces managed to push back the enemy, Chaos would just send more troops their way to force them back. It was a classic see-saw battle but to her, it didn't matter at all. All that mattered to the young heiress was that she was doing what she was ordered to do by Elsha.
Though that didn't mean that she was just standing around doing nothing and daydreaming about her love. No, she was doing her utmost to bring the victory closer to her side. Her magic power was sent to every enemy she could kill while trying not to do so much friendly damage to her allies though she knew that it was eventually going to happen, she just hoped that those poor souls would be at ease knowing that they were not sent to the dead again while not doing anything.
"Hmm, looks like Cassie and Arnett are engaged with those sisters. Well, I can only hope that they will be alright. Their flank is really hard-pressed but so is this flank." Lucy said it silently as she sent more ice and electricity toward enemies while forming barriers around some troops that were getting targeted by magic from Chaos mages.
"Lady Lucy you should withdraw for a bit; you lost enough mana as it is. It would be wise for you to recover." A Sargent from the heavy infantry told her as he was passing by her with his troops to relieve the battle exhausted ones and contribute to the fight.
" Thank you for your concern but, I still have enough in a tank to keep going..." Lucy replied before her heart stopped for what felt like eons as she saw a scene that she hoped would never see.
It was a sight of Issei being slammed with the Warhammer so hard that he was sent all the way back towards the backline of wounded and killed soldiers.
"ISSEI!" The scream of anguish could be heard from Lucy as she helplessly watched her man crash land amidst the soldiers who were shocked to see Red Dragon Emperor.
Without a second to lose Lucy pushed herself towards Issei, damn be this battle if he died now. Getting to her man at lightning speed. Lucy was horrified to see the damage done to him, but she was relieved to see that he was alive even though barely. Without a moment to waste, she started to use heal magic even though hers was nowhere near as potent as the battlemages of the Slavic Armies she was sure that even her limited skills in this art would help recover Issei from deaths doors. Though it was helpful that instantly 2-3 battlemages were there to start the process of healing along with Lucy.
"Damn it Issei! You idiot, why does this always happen to you." Lucy muttered as tears started to fall down her face as she was pumping as much magic into him to help him, not caring about the fact that she was close to exhaustion from the strain.
"Lady Lucy, you can stop now, we managed to stabilize him, he is no longer in danger of dying from the wounds." A senior mage from the Dragon Knights told her as she looked at him with eyes that said that she was not convinced but she never the less backed down when the mage looked at her even more seriously.
"But he!" She tried to say something but was unable as the senior put a hand on her shoulder stopping her.
"Trust me, I know what I am saying. He is now safe. I was specifically chosen by my Emperor to be a Healer in his unit because of my ability to read the flow of mana and life force. I was even a student of Lord Veles and Old Father Triglav. So put some faith in us, we know what we are doing." The Mage told her before he used a bit of his magic on her, making the Lucifuge heiress gasp as she felt her magic and stamina return like she never was in a battle, to begin with. " There, you should be good to go. I will look at the emperor and make sure that he is back to his feet in no time." The senior said before he nudge his head towards where Elsha was dismantling the troops that were trying to stop her before she reached Kolekh and another General of Chaos.
"I am not as offensive as Grand General or my fellow Dragon Blood comrades though what I lack in attack I bring up in support and defense so that others could do their most. And now, it looks like the offense is the name of the game, so go and do your utmost. I am sure that we will survive this battle and live to see another day, but for that, you need to unleash that power that was still untapped." The Mage said before he put his hand on Lucy's head and started a small chant.
"What are you?... Huh?" Lucy questioned before she felt a huge power slowly gathering deep inside of her which make her gasp as she didn't know how she had this much power.
"You are surprised? Don't be, you are a lover of the Red Dragon Emperor, so it is normal to inherit something from him. What you gain from him is a small part of his power that is transferred to you from him. I will not tell you more since I think you have enough idea how that happened" The battlemage told her with a smirk and wink before leaving to treat the others as Lucy was left burning bright red from blushing so hard as she understood how and what.
"Issei, you bloody bastard. Thank you." Lucy muttered before she bent down and kissed him on the lips. "I love you."
Whit that Lucy turned her sight on a battle where Elsha was and without a moment to lose catapulted herself towards the Empress.
'Kolekh and the other bastards will never forget this day. I woe to this with my soul.' Lucy thought as she sent a huge spear of Ice into the air that exploded and send hundreds of small spears onto the enemy's front line. Decimating the front line of the Chaos forces and making it possible for the allies to push forward.
Done.
Sorry for the extremely late chapter. I had a few ideas to write this chapter but...I have no motivation to do it. Hopefully, the next chapter would be faster to do. To all of you who eagerly wait here it is. Also, I do hope I will manage to write a bit more of Heavenly Road but that is in the future for now.