The Dragon Farmer
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 18: The Battle
- Mathias -
We appeared at the town near the location of the meeting.
"Someone from the Church side will be coming to escort you all to the meeting place." Euclid said and we sat there waiting for them to arrive.
We didn't need to wait for long as very soon an older gentleman came to the place.
Euclid seemed to recognise the man. "Edward Christaldi. He is one of the top exorcists of the Church and a wielder of Excalibur Fragments. Be careful of him."
"Yes."
We didn't get much time to discuss anything before the man was near us.
"Hello, my name is Edward Christaldi, envoy of Heaven to escort Mathias Buné Zagan to meet Lord Michael." He handed a letter to Euclid and after verifying Euclid nodded to us.
"I will pick you up when the meeting ends."
"Alright. I will call you when I am out."
The man led the way and Euclid wished me luck.
Lavy, Ingvild and Shizuka followed close behind me.
We were escorted into a car outside, with Edward himself driving.
I sat between Lavy and Ingvild and Shizuka was beside Lavy, with Lavy leaning on my side as the car moved.
The scene outside was beautiful.
It was the border of the Norse ruled area. It was the winter season so the area was covered in snow, giving the land a very pure and serene look.
The journey continued for half an hour when the car suddenly stopped.
Edward looked behind at us. "I will have to check on the engine for a moment."
"Sure, take your time." I nodded. Did the car break down?
The man got down and closed the door behind him, to prevent the cold from entering the car, not that it would have been a problem. Two of us were dragons and the other two had water and ice type Sacred Gears and this was not pokemon where Dragon types were weak against Ice.
I laughed at my own joke attracting the attention of my peerage members.
"Eh, what happened?" Lavy asked.
"Nothing, I just thought of something funny."
"Funny?"
"Yes…" before I could tell her, I sensed some disturbance in the magic in the area outside and quickly grabbed and pulled all three of my Peerage members into my arms tightly.
The next thing I knew, a teleportation circle lit up and light covered us.
When the light faded, I sensed danger and pushed my Touki to the highest, taking my peerage members and tearing through the car and into the skies above.
The car exploded with a deafening sound almost immediately after that, the explosion carrying a holy and light aura. That must have used a lot of explosives.
But I didn't have the opportunity to think further as my Senjutsu had caught another attack coming our way and I turned and used my dragon flames to counter those.
A passing look told me that the wave of flames I had just countered were Holy Flames.
Seriously… to think Euclid was right all along.
"There, I told you they wouldn't die from just that." I heard a voice and looked to the side, where several strong strong energy signatures were gathered.
Two of the strongest ones had ten black feather wings on their back. One of them looked like a deformed elf while the other looked like a scholarly man with brown hair.
Beside them were some humans, some dressed like magicians while others in suits or japanese kimono.
I knew who the Fallen were and thus I could hazard a guess about who the others were.
The Wizards of Oz and the Utsusemi Organisation, or as they are called nowadays, the Chaos Brigade.
Did they kidnap us?
Just as I thought, I saw Edward Christaldi and many other exorcists walk out from behind them and draw their weapons, facing us.
Ah, it really was a trap.
The girls had summoned magic circles and were now standing on them, in the air behind me, looking at the group warily. No, that was not just wariness.
Lavinia and Shizuka were actually glaring at some of the people from the other side as well. Ingvild on the other hand just looked confused.
I took a moment to take a look at their status to know who each person was.
Satanael[Rank B]
Kokabiel[Rank B]
Augusta[Rank C]
Shinji Kushihashi[Rank C]
Genji Shinra[Rank C]
Hanezu Himejima[Rank D]
Edward Christadi[Rank C]
David Cero[Rank D]
Valper Galilei[Rank D]
I narrowed my eyes at the information.
Satanael and Kokabiel's powers didn't seem right. They felt more draconic.
Were they using Ophis' snakes? If so then this could become dangerous.
As for the Kushihashi and Shinra, I knew about them and finally Hanezu Himejima, the weakest among the three, was actually the leader of the group. He must have some ace up his sleeves too.
Armin had told me who they were and later Shizuka had also told me about them.
Members of the Utsusemi organisation who stole the Sacred Beasts as well as the Holy Swords of the Shinto pantheon.
Their powers being in Ultimate Class meant that they were probably using the same powers. In fact, the aura on Kushihashi was draconic but on the Shinra guy was different, so they could very well be using the Divine Beasts.
As for David Cero and Valper Galilei, I knew their names, having studied about some members of the Church from the information given to me by Euclid.
David Cero was the wielder of Excalibur Galatine while Valper was the guy who was the mastermind behind the Holy Sword Project.
I thought he was excommunicated by the Church after Serafall revealed the scam. Then again, we could never say. He could be with the Fallen or he could be hidden by the Church to continue the research.
Apart from that, there were literally hundreds of exorcists, both current and stray ones, magicians, fallen angels, onmyoji and some humans who were using Sacred Gears so probably the students who had accompanied Satanael in his rebellion.
They actually had a whole army on the other side.
Next, I checked for any way to leave this place.
A simple look at the area told me that it was under a barrier, and an especially strong one too.
Escaping would take some effort and I doubt it would be easy to do so under the attack of all these people.
The other side must have prepared for us too. Holy, Light and Dragon Slayer attributes must be their main focus.
Lastly, I cannot use any of my large scale microbe based attacks so easily or it might actually affect my peerage members too.
Sigh… so troublesome.
Just as I was assessing the situation, they were also taking a look at me.
Finally, Kokabiel broke the silence and spoke to me.
"Mathias Zagan. I was among the people who had hunted the Zagan. I really didn't think anyone from that accursed family would be alive… not to mention an abomination like you. Don't worry, today we will complete the incomplete work."
"Now now Kokabiel, I understand that you are excited but remember our agreement. Leave his body intact." Satanael interrupted making Kokabiel scowl, but the guy didn't deny.
"Yes. Such high grade research materials are hard to come by. Too bad we have to kill him. I would have loved to research someone like him and his magic, maybe make an Utsusemi out of him. I bet the results would be the best we have had yet, even surpassing the Three Great Monsters." The woman, Augusta said. "For today however, I will keep the Demise Girl busy."
"The Absolute Demise is also a great research subject. Please don't waste it. While your current research on it is good, we could get completely different results depending on the race of the user. Be sure to capture her as well." Satanael said, making me narrow my eyes.
"The black haired one belongs to us. I thought she was killed by Susanno along with the Domon girl and we wouldn't be able to get our revenge but it seems luck is on our side. I can finally wipe out the entire Himejima Clan and clear our name once and for all from all the shame I have been forced to bear."
Oh come on. This damn drama queen.
Even after doing all that, he is still being a bitch about it.
Knowing Shizuka's mental state after the whole incident, this was the last thing I wanted her to deal with.
But before that I had something else to verify.
I looked at the guy and then at Edward Christaldi. I was here for a meeting with the Heaven faction and it was crucial to know if they were also involved in this shit.
"Is this everyone or will Archangel Michael be sending his angels too?" I asked.
A slight twitch came upon his face but it was not him who answered but rather the guy standing beside him, David Cero.
"We don't need the Archangels to intervene to take down trash like you." He roared.
I however completely ignored him and kept my eye on Christaldi.
"Does Heaven know of this or is this another matter like the Holy Sword Project, Church going off on its own?"
The old man however was far more experienced than that and didn't answer.
I shrugged. "Not that it would matter. You have brought me here. That alone is enough to violate the contract. Tell me, is it really worth it to potentially start a war over your dumb pride?"
"Dumb Pride! How dare you damn abomination…? We are doing what we should do. The permission of the Archangels is not required for us to do what is right. If we were doing anything wrong, God would have stopped us."
… oh you stupid fool.
"So the Archangels don't know about this. Great. That does put my mind to rest." After that, I just ignored them.
"Stalling for time will not work. This barrier is completely isolated from the outside world. No one can send any signals outside nor can they receive anything from here. The only way to open the barrier is from inside. Hahahaha even we cannot open the barrier till everything is finished." Satanael laughed.
I looked at the guy with a slight twitch on my face. "You know… this evil monologue and telling your enemies your plan is something usually done by third grade villains who don't even return for a second arc. Are you sure you want to set a flag before a fight like this?"
"That's good then, isn't it? You will die today so I don't think I need to return after today either way." He didn't fall for the provocation, although the guy beside him did.
"Enough talking. Don't forget why we have gathered here today. Get him!" Kokabiel commanded, creating a light spear in his hand.
The exorcists and magicians also began their spells as the barrier around us took on a yellowish hue. In fact, there were some kind of items… holy swords at the corners of the barrier, used to fuel the entire barrier's power.
"Holy power."
"It's something we use to hunt Zagans. The creations of the Zagan life magic are all demonic beings and Holy Power weakens them, making them no more than fodder." Satanael explained, helpfully.
Seriously, is this guy really so dumb?
"Oh!" I deadpanned. "Good work."
Their side was ready to attack too so I took this brief window to instruct my peerage members too.
"Looks like we won't be able to hold back this time. Go all out. Aim to kill. Stay in the air and use our aerial advantage. Lavinia takes on Augusta, Ingvild takes on the white haired guy with the draconic aura and then moves on to the scrubs… I mean exorcists and magicians, Shizuka Byakko is yours." I looked in Shizuka's direction. "Remember Shizuka… what happened previously was not your fault. You have a new life now, a new chance at life. Cherish it."
She nodded.
Finally seeing as the attack was about to come, I looked at Satanael and smiled.
"Thanks for all your explanations. As a courtesy, let me give it my best too."
- Satanael -
"Oh, I am honoured?" He mocked the boy.
"It's just that I had a small piece of advice for you all."
"Oh, amuse me." He smiled.
Advice?
He had calculated every situation of this fight, even the possibility of getting found out by the forces of Heaven and the Devils… What advice does he need?
"Enough of this Satanael, attack him." Kokabiel shouted and dashed forward, swinging his light spear.
Behind him, the rest of the fallen and magicians attacked, roaring at their loudest.
Satanael shook his head and laughed. "Seriously, this brother of mine. Always so serious." Not that he couldn't understand Kokabiel's feelings.
How long had it been since he had felt this… this thrill of war?
And Kokabiel had just received the snake of Ophis, increasing his power to rival that of Azazel. Of course he would be excited to test it out.
However, his laughter was stuck in place when he felt an enormous aura spike in front of him, making him snap his head in the direction of the boy only to feel a gust of wind hit the side of his face. From the peripheral vision, he saw something passing by his side and crashing on the mountain below into a loud explosion.
Suppressing the chill running down his spine, he turned his head behind, and saw Kokabiel laying in the middle of the mountain sized crater, blood flowing out from his mouth as his chest was caved in as if a giant had stepped on it.
His eyes widened and he turned to look at the boy who had just retracted his hand and taken a punching position. His brain was still catching up with the entire situation when he heard the voice of the boy again.
"As I was saying before I was interrupted so rudely… if you wanted to take me down… you should have brought at least twenty times the numbers." Then as if to prove his point, a massive aura erupted from the boy and his body was getting covered in touki.
That power… it was unreal. Wasn't he supposed to be just a High Class Devil? Even the previous Satans didn't have this kind of power when he had fought them dammit.
The entire army that had followed Kokabiel had halted their steps, stepping back in fear as they felt the monstrous demonic power from the boy.
He snapped out of it the quickest and quickly summoned Arondight, the Holy Demonic Dragonslayer sword, the best counter to someone like him who had both Demonic and Draconic attributes.
"Don't step back. Attack! We cannot leave here till he is dead! He is just a single person. We can take him down." He shouted, rallying the army and breaking them from their trance like states too as he dashed forward to attack.
He couldn't let the morale of his troops collapse before the battle had even begun in the earnest.
"Balance Breaker!" He shouted, activating his new Sacred Gear as a golden light enveloped them. When the light faded, his body was covered with a golden armour.
The Divine Beast Ouryuu, the strongest of the five Divine Beasts. Taking control of it wasn't easy so he used another method, trapped it in a Sacred Gear. Azazel's research data on Artificial Sacred Gear helped out a little.
And finally the result was this.
Yellow Dragon Scale Mail.
He felt his power increase by leaps and bounds as he went forward to clash with the monster in front of him.
- Ingvild Leviathan -
She faced the person in front of her, former member of the Five Principal Clans of which Shizuka-san was a member of before joining Matty's peerage.
Shizuka-san had been quite forthcoming and even Matty had explained the whole situation to them.
These people were the ones responsible for the destruction of Shizuka-san's clan.
A part of her understood their anger and their reason for doing what they had done but just like them, there were many innocent people in those clans too. Not to mention, the children they had kidnapped and experimented on.
She had witnessed Shizuka-san suffering and throwing herself into life threatening training everyday to cope with her loss. It had taken them a lot of effort to help her come out of it, although barely… and now…
And these people were targeting not only Shizuka-san but also Matty.
"Don't waste time with this one, Shinji. She is no one important. Take care of her quickly and go and wipe the last remains of the Himejima."
"Alright alright, don't get impatient Hanezu." The white haired man called Shinji spoke before looking at her. "You don't have to feel sorry about this girl. Rejoice for you get to die at the hands of the newest Seiryu, Shinji Kushihashi. Balance Breaker."
In front of her eyes, the man was covered by an azure glow and when the light faded, he was in an armour with draconic features.
"Azure Dragon Scale Mail. Witness my power by which we have even subdued the great Divine Beast Seiryu." He boasted as thunder crackled around him and the trees on the ground grew quickly.
The other man was not sitting idle either. He had brought out a sword which gave her a dangerous feeling and was chanting spells already.
Ingvild wasn't going to give them any opportunity to attack. She had trained a lot in the past few years and that too under one of the Satans and Tiamat.
She was not going to waste all the time and effort put in training her.
She let out her wings as her Demonic Power erupted. Waves of water gathered behind her forming gigantic serpents made of water sending them their way while she prepared for her next attacks too.
"Balance Breaker."
Nereid Kyrie answered her call, and she could feel her control over the water around her get stronger. Her Sacred Gear was a subspecies which allowed her control over bodies of water as well as dragons.
She had heard from Tiamat that the Nereid Kyrie contained the soul of her ancestor, which is why she was able to awaken from her Sleeping Sickness.
It was a surprise for her… and everyone to learn about the origins of Leviathan and the reason for the end of Atlantis. She still remembers how Matty's lips were twitching when he had heard the information.
This fact however didn't just awaken her from her Sleeping Sickness but also gave her incredible compatibility with her Sacred Gear, making it a Subspecies and promoting it to the levels of a High Tier Longinus.
And over the past few years, she had trained to control her Sacred Gear as well as learn magic which can make use of her Leviathan power.
The Original Satan Leviathan was only known for her Sea Serpent of the End form and her control over water but from Tiamat she found that her father also had another power, something which manifested in Nereid Kyrie, the power to control, empower or weaken dragons.
It was a power similar to Mathias' Dragon Tamer ability to a certain extent and that's why she was trained by him to control this power so that she could help him manage the Dragon farm.
She too did her best to master this ability to help out more in the farm and by now… it had become her strongest ability.
That's why when she saw the sword wielding onmyoji overcome one of the water serpents and dash towards her, she didn't stop him. Instead, before his sword fell, he was punched away into the ground by another figure.
He looked around in stunned surprise.
"Shinji! What are you doing?" He shouted towards his companion in anger.
The man in question however didn't answer and instead dashed towards him, throwing a large bolt of lightning towards him, making him dodge hurriedly but didn't get a chance to do so as the rest of her water serpents cut off his escape route, tearing off his arm, leaving him defenceless against the next lightning bolt attack from the Azure Dragon guy while reduced him into a charred mass of flesh, with only the sword left behind.
Quickly, she picked up the sword and turned her attention towards the other battlefields.
The one nearest to her was Shizuka-san. She was fighting with another person who was wearing a white armour on his body.
He was controlling wind to attack Shizuka-san but was being suppressed by her sheer strength and speed.
Shizuka-san was dominating the fight, each one of her punches sending the other person crashing into the ground.
Ingvild was pretty sure that she would have won the fight had she not been continuously interrupted by strange monsters controlled by zombie-like people who were accompanying the man.
Shizuka-san was hesitating from attacking them but was holding her own against them so she went ahead to assist Matty who was fighting a large group of people by himself.
- Shizuka -
She dodged the attacks from the Utsusemi and knocked it back as she took to the air once more to make a distance between them. Genji Shinra used this opportunity to gather himself and attack again.
"How does it feel, Himejima… to fight against your own family members? We have finally taken vengeance for the humiliation and sufferings we have suffered all these years." he mocked, making her grit her teeth.
The people controlled by those Utsusemi, she recognised them…
They were the missing members of the Himejima Clan. She had sent the children away with some members when their family was chased out but heard that they were killed.
Did they get caught by these people?
"Today, you will fall and so will each and every one of you and our vengeance will be complete." Genji shouted and sent another barrage of wind blades, following the attack to advance towards her.
She summoned dozens of fireballs to counter the attack but suddenly deflected them to the side when some of the kids controlled by the Utsusemi jumped in the way.
The wind blades tore through the kids and attacked her, tearing her skin and throwing her aside. She felt blood rise into her mouth but more than the pain in her body, it was the scene in front of her which hurt her.
The kids who had jumped were all cut into pieces and their bodies were still falling from the sky.
"Nooooooooooooooo!"
And the world turned red in front of her eyes.
- Mathias -
I heard a roar from the side as Shizuka's magic power just went berserk.
Dammit, did she snap again?
I knew fighting against the people who brought the Himejima Clan to destruction was going to be heavy on her but she had gained pretty good control over her powers.
Just what did those bastards do?
However I didn't have time to think much about them as I dodged the sword coming for my neck and punched forward forcing Satanael to dodge.
The Sacred Gear he was using was a Draconic type and was boosting his power by quite a lot. That on top of Ophis' snake made him able to take on my attacks while the sword was able to cut my scales.
I would still win but I had to keep an eye on others who were trying to come for my head. They had used Phoenix tears on Kokabiel to bring him up once more and now that guy was just kiting from a distance and sometimes taking the advantage of the Totsuka no Tsurugi, the sword Susanno used to kill Yamata no Orochi to try to land an attack on me.
My defence was strong enough to not let those attacks hurt me seriously but it was giving Satanael a chance to land attacks.
Even the rest of the exorcists, Utsusemi and fallen who were not fighting creatures made by me, were just trying to divert my attention from a distance.
I needed concentration and time to create stronger creatures which couldn't be done in the heat of the battle and the holy barrier was weakening and downright killing the viruses I was making. Anything I had created in a hurry was barely keeping them in line.
I could see why this lineup could kill off the Zagan.
Had I not been as strong as I currently was, I was pretty sure I would be dead instead of just being annoyed.
The barrier was also slowing down the smaller creatures and it would take a while for them to act, so I needed to hold for a while more.
Worst part was that it was disturbing any spatial movement so summoning Leafa was not possible.
I spun in my place, smashing a light spear with my tail, the attack stinging my tail.
Aghh, this is getting annoying.
"You seem to be losing your concentration, boy! Are you perhaps close to that Himejima girl? I can understand. She is quite good looking after all. In fact, all three of them are quite good looking. Maybe if you fall quickly, I can go and take them down myself. Although they are devils, the boys could enjoy themselves before sending them off for experiments. After all, live subjects are more valuable than dead ones." Kokabiel taunted.
I know they are trying to get under my skin by trash talking but… it was actually working. My rage was bubbling more with each passing moment while my dragon instincts were screaming at me to rip them to pieces for eyeing what is mine.
I was about to turn into my full dragon form and use my Illusion Magic to do just that when suddenly, I felt my power rise sharply.
I recognised this feeling.
Ingvild.
Did she complete her fight?
I had sensed a draconic aura from one of her enemies that's why I had sent her there to face him. Looks like she was done already.
Satanael who was coming to attack me was also weakened and was taken aback by the feeling. I took this opportunity to dodge his sword and hold his hand and punch his face with a touki and senjutsu powered fist, shattering his scale mail and breaking his jaw.
Several light spears came my way but most of them were blocked by gigantic serpents made of water.
"Matty!" I heard Ingvild's voice behind me. "I will back you up."
That's all I needed to hear. I held Satanael's hand harder, my body morphing further into my half dragon state. My body size increased by almost two feet as the scales on my body grew larger. My face morphed into a more draconic form as I looked more like a humanoid dragon than a dragon human hybrid.
I was trying not to use this more as it would increase the effect of Dragon Slayer elements of Arondight on me but I had to end this fight soon and stop Shizuka.
Sensing a presence coming towards me with my senjutsu, I took a page from Armin's book, turned and bashed towards the attack with Satanael's body like a makeshift club of sorts. David Cero, the one who had attacked was not expecting this and defended with Excalibur Galatine but the attack snapped his arm and created a massive crater under him from the sheer force behind it.
The attack crushed a large part of Satanael's scale mail. He vomited a large amount of blood but I wasn't done yet.
I slammed my foot on his chest, further sending him into the ground and then using my leg to keep him pressed into the ground, I pulled… with all my might.
"You want to kill me… you want to toy with my family? Do you have the power to back those words up?!" I growled, my voice heavier, almost like a roar in my half dragon form.
"Argggggggghhh!" he shouted as his arm was ripped from his shoulder, Arondight falling from his hand.
Stomping once more to make sure he was down for sure, I picked up the Arondight and Excalibur Galatine, the holy and dragon slayer elements trying to repel me but I just stored it in my inventory and threw sealing magic on him to make sure his magic was sealed tightly.
The fallen had lost consciousness.
Suddenly, I felt my power falling back to my previous level and heard a cry from Ingvild's direction. Looking there, my eyes widened as I saw Edward Christaldi with Excalibur Blessing stabbed into her side.
He had snuck up on her using Excalibur Transparency while she was busy fighting Kokabiel.
For a moment my mind blanked at the sight… and then a guttural roar erupted from my mouth, carrying all the anger that had been accumulating.
I kicked the ground, shattering it under my foot as I reached her side, punching away a light spear from Kokabiel.
The fallen was taken aback by my sudden arrival.
I roared at the fallen, sending a torrent of dragonfire towards him and then at Christaldi, burning the entire area with the attack. Christaldi was caught in it too. He tried to slash at the flames with his sword but the attack was too much for him and he was lost under the dragonfire, his life or death unknown.
I needed him alive to question him to know if Michael and Heaven were really involved in the attack so I was trying not to kill him but fuck that.
"Are you alright, Ingvild?!"
"Y-y-yes, I used a Senzu Bean. I am fine." She answered and I looked down to see her wound completely healed.
My rage however wasn't suppressed completely so I looked towards the other fallen angel cadre who suddenly looked pale and let out a roar.
Without waiting any longer, I was at his face, touki and nature energy twisting around my fist as it blazed with dragon fire and punched.
Kokabiel tried to defend with his sword but his hand snapped under the force of the attack. The attack sends a crack through the blade.
His body was sent to the ground, shattering the landscape under him.
I crashed into him foot first, breaking all his ribs. This time just to be sure that he wouldn't be healed, I held him by the face and lifted him up.
"You wanted to toy with my peerage. Let's see if you are capable of doing anything after I am done with you."
I saw horror in his eyes but he couldn't speak due to his injuries so I continued. "Don't worry. I am not going to kill you. I have a special kind of hell planned for you."
I sealed his magic first and then created a new type of virus and directly forced it into his mouth, directly injecting the virus into his body so that it would remain unaffected by the Holy Barrier..
This virus will completely ruin his body's ability to move or use any kind of energy. After all, we needed our brain and consciousness to use magic. This virus will just change his brain to remove that part completely. Moreover, since it changes his brain, it wouldn't be something he can heal. Lastly, I changed his eyelids, and removed them completely.
"You will be able to hear and see everything, but you will not be able to do anything. You wanted to start a war by killing me, didn't you? Then I am going to create peace…just to spite you… and I will make you sit in the front row when the Peace treaty is signed and witness as I trample on everything you stand for. You will regret ever eying me and mine till someone takes pity on you and ends your disgusting existence."
With that I dropped him to the ground.
At the same time something else happened, a massive storm of ice enveloped the area, turning everything white.
The mobs were all frozen into ice sculptures in their places.
Lavy!
Ingvild looked in that direction and then at me.
"Go and help Lavy. I will check up on Shizuka."
The attack had broken the barrier slightly and Euclid would be able to track us soon. I had to finish everything before that.
- Lavinia -
She used her Absolute Demise to stop a wave of Holy Flames rushing her way as she created a giant wall of ice to stop the exorcists from coming near. She then shaped the ice on the walls into icicles and shot them towards the place where most of them had gathered, to mow down their numbers.
The ice wall stopping Augusta cracked and she got ready to face her too.
Facing Holy Flames, especially ones from the Incinerate Anthem was a devil's nightmare.
It was after all, one of the best weapons to kill any devil, right below the True Longinus.
But she didn't feel the same fear as other devils would have.
The last few years had brought great changes to her life, some bad while some good. But at the end of the day, there was no denying it that all these events had made her strong. And honestly, she was glad that she was where she was.
Because after almost a decade, she felt that she had found a true home with Matty and the rest of her fellow peerage members.
Gasper is like a little brother to her while Valerie, Ingvild, Shizu-chan and Natsume were like sisters.
Even Latia and Rias treated her the same and didn't mind her relationship with Mathias and were even supportive of her. And finally, Matty… the person who had given her a new home…
Their love and acceptance had allowed her to leave behind her previous life and start a new life of her own.
She loved her new life but it seems that while she had left behind her old life, her old life hadn't left her behind, coming back once more to take away what she loved.
But this time she wouldn't allow it. This was something she had pledged to herself when she had accepted Matty's offer to join him.
Anyone who tries to do otherwise will face Demise.
In the last few years, she had trained under arguably the best Ice Magic users of the Devil race, Serafall Leviathan and Euclid Lucifuge.
Even without Absolute Demise, her understanding with Ice Magic was enough to take on Ultimate Class beings.
Coupled with the special type of food products Matty provided her with and the constant hunting near the pits, spars against Dragons and Dryads of the Farm and even Tiamat, she has had enough time and opportunity to hone her magic against some of the harshest situations in the Underworld.
And if that's not all, Mathias had made specific environments with situations which made it hard for her to use her Sacred Gear in, like a volcanic land or the extreme gravity and heat waves of the Heat Planet. All these environments tested and pushed her and all her fellow peerage members to the limits and took their powers to a whole new level.
That's why, even when faced with Holy Flames from a Longinus, she didn't have much fear and could keep her calm.
Quickly flying away, she created a large mass of ice above her, in the form of meteors, letting them fall down on the stunned crowd below.
Even Augusta was taken aback and was forced to cancel her spell and quickly teleport away, stopping her attack in the middle to avoid getting caught in the attack.
The retreat of Augusta had given her time to concentrate on her next attack which needed some preparation to use.
"Balance Breaker." she called out and felt Demi-chan listened to her call.
Her lessons with Euclid had taught her various ways to use her Sacred Gear and after her fight with the Demonic Beasts when she had attained her Balance Breaker for the first time, she had experimented more with her Sacred Gear too.
Finally, she was able to develop a Subspecies Balance breaker for her Absolute Demise similar to Tobi-kun's Balance Breaker with his Canis Lykaon.
Demi-chan merged with her body, becoming a blue and white coloured armour, a tiara of ice appeared on her head, keeping her hair in place, preventing them from interfering with her fight and lastly wings of ice covered her devil wings, giving them a feeling of an angel's wings only made of ice.
This form of her Sacred Gear not only increased her magic power and Ice Magic but also boosted her physical stats, something she has had plenty of time to train. Being a member of Mathias Buné Zagan's peerage essentially meant she had to train her physique. So although not at the level of Mathias and the rest, she was confident about taking down High Class beings with her physique alone.
Her preparations were completed just in time as she felt another aura spike nearby. Looking in the direction, she felt the heat wave emanating from the eight headed fire serpent made of Holy Fire… eight headed hydra.
It felt almost draconic and there was a hint of something else in the Holy Flames that made the attack feel more dangerous to her.
The flame serpent roared, destroying the ice wall and setting many exorcists and magicians in its path on fire.
She waved her hand, creating a barrier of ice and meeting the attack head on.
The ice and fire met together in an intense explosion, covering the whole area with vapours, blocking everyone's vision. She flew out of the cloud of vapours and saw several heads of the hydra coming towards her and attacked them with giant spears of ice, cutting them off.
However, suddenly something surprising happened.
From the heads which were cut off, two more heads rose up and came racing towards her, making her quickly take to the skies to dodge the attacks, sending waves of icicles towards the heads of the hydra to cover her retreat.
Once more, as the heads were destroyed, two more took their place.
"Fascinating isn't it? Just a bit of research and good enough materials could boost the abilities of Sacred Gears to such an extent, even a Longinus." She heard the voice of the woman she had hated for years for killing her former teacher. The woman came out from the cloud of vapour.
It had taken her witnessing Glenda alive and willingly working with the same woman she had hated.
The truth had broken her but it had also helped her let go of her hate for Augusta. Sure enough when she saw her today, she couldn't feel any hate for the woman… at least for the past.
"You seem to have developed quite nicely yourself. I didn't know the Absolute Demise had a Balance Breaker like this. Was it because of you becoming a Devil? Are there any reactions between the Sacred Gears and Evil Pieces? Or is it because of the special food items created by the Zagan boy? I can't wait to find it out for myself."
Lavinia felt an intense burst of anger when she heard her mention Mathias and her plans for him. "If you…"
"Hmm? Are you saying something?"
"If you even harm a single hair on Mathias' head, I will end you." She warned.
"Oh my, such big words. Have you forgotten what I did to your teacher?" The woman mocked.
"You did nothing. I already know everything, the whole truth about the Witch of the South, Glenda Goodwitch and I have nothing to do with such a person anymore."
She recognised the look of surprise on the woman's face."Ah, so you know already. Good. I don't have to keep this act up anymore. To be honest, I always thought Glenda was too cautious, fearing the Longinus would go berserk if you threw a tantrum and going through all this drama. There was always the option of finishing you off but I am thankful she didn't do that or we wouldn't have such great research materials in our hands. Still, it looks like I will have to put some effort into it. "
She took a look towards the area where Matty was fighting. "It looks like Satanael is having problems with your King and might need my help. Do you think his body would be damaged too much if I attacked him seriously with the Holy Flame? We don't want to destroy such precious material after all."
That was the last straw for her as she sent waves of icicles towards the woman.
"Haven't you learned, girl? It's useless to use such tricks on me." Augusta replied as the Incinerate Anthem tanked the attacks, evaporating the ice and creating vapours between them again.
Lavinia however didn't reply and instead created body doubles of Ice and spread them in the cloud of vapours.
The ploy worked as the serpents began to attack the ice doubles. The doubles were created and controlled by using Demi-chan's powers and had semi-sentience, enabling them to move and attack by themselves. It wasn't enough to stop Augusta but it was more than enough to buy her some time and time was all she needed to prepare her strongest spell.
She poured her power into her Sacred Gear, as a bluish orb of icy energy formed in between her palms, the more energy she poured the colder it got, by the time she had finished, the orb had turned from icy blue to pure white and the area around her was freezing too.
Augusta had also sensed this and had also finished taking care of the ice body doubles and hurriedly sent her hydra towards her.
The dozen flaming jaws of the Holy Flame hydra approached her but it was done, she had finished preparing her spell.
"Celcius Cross Trigger!"
And the world turned white.
- Euclid -
"What do you mean you don't know! Edward Chirstaldi took him away. He even had your letter and now you tell me that he just disappeared? How can he just disappear?" He heard Serafall shout at Gabriel and this time around it wasn't even her just being childish due to her one sided rivalry with the Archangel but real anger.
The thing which they all had feared had happened.
Mathias and his peerage members were kidnapped.
While it wasn't exactly verified what happened to them yet, he had received a signal from the device he had given to Shizuka and by the time they rushed there, they were already long gone.
And now, what could have turned into the first step to a possible Peace Treaty between Heaven and the Underworld, had turned into an emergency meeting to stop another Great War.
"Our people are trying to find out what happened to them. Even Edward has been missing since he went out to receive Mathias Buné Zagan and his peerage members. Please rest assured that we are doing our best to find them." Gabriel answered calmly.
"I cannot rest assured when they just disappear not even thirty minutes after leaving with your people. Who knows what kind of situation he might be in right now?" Serafall argued.
"Please calm down, Serafall. We don't know what happened to them." Michael tried to speak and assure Serafall but it didn't work either.
"If I may interrupt, Lord Michael." He interrupted.
"Yes, Euclid."
"I am almost certain that Mathias and his peerage members are in danger. One of them had a tracker and trigger which would let us know if they were in any danger. It was triggered from the place where they were teleported from. We have checked the area and there were signs of a spell prepared in advance there and it would have needed the car to stop there. There were no signs of any accidents or even resistance which meant that the car had stopped exactly at that point until the teleportation took place. All this doesn't paint a good picture for us. I hope you will do whatever is needed from your side or… things will turn ugly."
"Are you threatening us, devil!" Uriel, the ever hot head said in a loud voice.
"No, no I am not. We are beyond the point of threats. I am just stating the natural progression of things. We had already repeatedly warned your side about this so it shouldn't come as a surprise. Should all this be a plot to harm Mathias… we go to war."
"We are not going to war, Euclid." Michael interrupted. "Heaven has nothing to do with this, I can swear this on my father's name. All the three factions have lost a lot in the Great War. We do not wish for those tragedies to be repeated again."
"Maybe you don't… but can you say the same about your subordinates?" He questioned. "Can you say the same about the Church?" He asked and watched as a frown appeared on his face. "See, you can't."
Before he could speak however, they sensed two massive auras approaching towards them and looked in the direction to see a familiar figure appear with a cloaked person.
"Tiamat!" He spoke to the person in lead but the woman didn't look like she was in any mood to talk.
"Where is Mathias?" She asked directly in a no nonsense tone. Not that Euclid would have tried to speak any nonsense after sensing the menacing aura around her.
"Mathias and his peerage members were teleported away on their way to the meeting location. We are still trying to find any signs of him." he quickly explained the situation to her, not wanting to risk the ire of the angry dragoness.
He was glad that he did so because she turned her attention towards Michael who was taken aback by the intensity of the dragoness.
"Where is Mathias, Michael?" She asked once more.
"Tiamat. We really don't know where Mathias and his three peerage members are. Believe me. We are trying our best to find him too." He tried assuring her but by the look on her face, it didn't look like it worked.
Tiamat just glared at the Archangel and spoke after a minute of glaring.
"Two hours. I will give you two hours. If Mathias doesn't stand before me safe and sound by then… not even your father coming back from death will be able to save Heaven from my anger."
Everyone present was taken aback by the blatant threat of the dragoness.
As expected, some didn't take it so well.
"You will mind your tongue, dragon!" Uriel roared, holy flames coming to life around him.
Both Serafall and he took their stances against the angel too. Tiamat was currently on the same side as them. But before any of them could do anything, the cloaked figure moved at a pace beyond any of them, grabbing the furious Archangel's face and smashing him into the ground, sending shockwaves around the entire area.
The flames burned the cloak and the shockwaves sent the burned cloak flying away to reveal the face under it, making them freeze.
"Your methods are too tame, Tiamat. These kinds of fools understand things better after a limb or two are removed from their bodies."
It was Michael who broke out of his stupor first. "You are… The Crescent Circle Dragon, Crom Cruach?!"
While his mind was still reeling from the fact, trying to understand why the strongest of the Evil Dragons was suddenly here and asking about Mathias, even going so far as to pick up a fight with the entire Heaven, Tiamat's aura flared.
The power of the strongest Dragon King came out in its fullest but to the surprise and horror of the Archangels, it didn't just stop there but kept increasing.
Earth shook and the mountains started to crumble as her power reached a level which surpassed even Sirzechs and Ajuka's, reaching into the realms of Heavenly Dragons.
He had only heard about the full power of the Heavenly Dragons from the older Devils, not having been born when they were sealed but if this was anything like the power they possessed, he could see why it would take all three factions to face the two of them… especially when they were outraged.
Tiamat's show of power however didn't just end there, her shadows expanded, and to everyone's horror, claws erupted from the shadows as monstrous dragons stepped out of her shadow, climbing out.
That was… the Annihilation Maker.
How… just how and when did she get that?…
A Heavenly Dragon with a Longinus and that too one of the top four… just thinking about it sent shivers running down his spine. He could understand Michael's state now.
"You have one hour fifty five minutes left, Michael. Find Mathias and pray to your departed father that he is unharmed or there will only be two factions left from now on."
Unlike Crom's angry roar, Tiamat's calm voice scared Euclid even more.
Thankfully, right at that time, he received a message and breathed a sigh of relief.
"We have found their location."
He said and immediately the magic power and the monsters evaporated and the two dragons turned towards him.
"Lead the way."
He didn't complain either. He himself was worried about Matty after all.
All of them took to the air and raced towards the location, each of them praying that nothing happens to Mathias… for their own reasons.
x_x_
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Author's Note:
I am back with another chapter of 'The Dragon Farmer'.
Man, I really suck at writing the fighting scenes. It took me so many tries to complete the chapter finally.
So… the idiots tried to fuck with Mathias and found out.
We also got to see the growth of the other characters a bit.
Ingvild toyed around with her opponents and changed the entire battle in a matter of moments while Lavinia went full Serafall in the end.
Finally, the Archangels re-lived some of their nightmares, being on the wrong side of the Heavenly Dragons once more.
The whole fiasco will be done in the next chapter and we can move on to the aftermath of the whole incident.
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.