Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.
Chapter 74
— How interesting. It appears Gallus's history has repeated itself. Karliah has provided me with the means to be rid of you, and this ancient tomb becomes your final resting place. But do you know what intrigues me the most? The fact that this was all possible because of you. Farewell. I'll be certain to give Brynjolf your regards. —
Mercer Frey to Edzard before stabbing him in the Snow Veil Sanctum.
Edzard was seated at his desk, filling out some documents. These documents were being printed on sheets that were far from normal, as they were smaller than regular sheets, even a quarter of the size of a regular sheet.
The Dovahkiin's hand moved neatly and cleanly, writing quickly what he wanted with clean and orderly handwriting. The young dragon was writing these documents in various languages: Italian, English, Japanese, and one in Tamrielic. This was because they were intended for different people who spoke different languages.
"Edzard-sama… Why do we have to do this?"
Upon hearing the question, Edzard stopped looking at what he was writing and looked up. Sitting in front of him, placing the written and signed documents by Edzard into envelopes, was an uncomfortable and tired Karna, who held one of the envelopes in his hand. This envelope was small and decorated with green stems and flowers of various colors.
"I suppose it's my punishment, and for you, it's a test from my wife to see if you're trustworthy." Edzard replied, looking somewhat pityingly at the poor human.
Hearing what his new boss said, Karna let out a sigh and continued storing the invitations for the double birthday of his boss's daughters. As he continued to store the birthday invitations, the young man began to recall how he arrived in this world.
Flashback
Karna's eyes opened in surprise as he fell to the ground and began to vomit what little remained in his stomach. The young man had felt one of the worst dizziness of his life, which literally left him stunned, but despite this, he had enough strength to get up.
When he got up, the first thing he saw was that he was no longer at Euclid's destroyed base and as far as he could tell, he wasn't in Africa either.
"Where am I?" Karna wondered as he looked around, realizing that he was in what appeared to be the courtyard of a very large palace.
"Who are you and what are you doing in this palace?" said a female voice behind Karna.
Upon hearing a voice, the young human turned around, hoping to see a human who could tell him where he was. However, when he turned his body and saw the owner of that voice, he saw that it was a devil with white hair and green eyes dressed in a maid's outfit.
Realizing that it was a devil due to the presence she emitted, Karna jumped back and then took a defensive stance.
"That's what I want to know… Why is there a devil here?" asked Karna, who knew he wasn't in the underworld because as far as he knew, the sky in that world was purple, not as blue as the sky under which he now stood.
Karna saw how the girl was about to tell him something but before she could say anything else, he heard someone else's voice arrive.
"Emilie. What's going on?"
When he heard this new voice, both Karna and Emilie, who was the maid, looked towards where it came from. When they looked there, Karna saw a young woman with blonde hair arriving closely followed by an almost identical woman but older with black hair.
"Asia-sama, Zephyra-sama." Emilie said while bowing. "I was doing general cleaning and saw an emergency teleportation portal appear so I approached to see what was happening and if it was Edzard-sama but it wasn't. I just found this young human."
When Karna heard Edzard's name and Asia's name, he immediately knew where he was. So, lowering his arms, he approached but didn't take two steps when three magical circles appeared next to the maid pointing at him.
"Don't take another step or I'll be forced to turn you into Swiss cheese." Emilie said seriously.
"Emilie, wait. He is not in a fighting position." Asia quickly said starting to walk towards Karna.
"But Asia-sama…"
"Calm down even if he tries something he won't be able to do anything… right girls?"
Hearing Asia's question both Emilie and Karna looked up at the sky and realized they were surrounded by several girls.
Seeing these women gathered Karna felt a chill because he realized that some of them could easily sweep the floor with him if it occurred to him to do something funny especially a blonde girl with red eyes.
"I don't want to hurt anyone." Karna quickly said while raising both hands in surrender.
"Yes, I can see that." Asia pointed out as she approached him calmly. "Who are you?"
Seeing her approach, Karna looked at her and was about to answer her, but before doing so another new voice shouted.
"Karna-san?!"
The shout came from Le Fay, who arrived at that place out of curiosity to see all the inhabitants of the palace present in one place in a formation that could only be described as preparation for combat.
The young woman's shout caught the attention of the girls, who looked at the permanent resident, for the moment, of the palace, wondering why she knew him.
To satisfy this doubt, the first to ask was Mittelt, who did not mince words to ask.
"Let's see, little fairy… Where do you know this guy from?" asked Mittelt, approaching Le Fay and pressing her face against hers to the point that they were breathing each other's breath.
Le Fay's face blushed at having the fallen angel's face so close. Still, she managed to speak, but she did so by turning her face away.
"Before being on Vali-sama's team, my brother and I were in the heroes' faction…"
"What?!" was the collective response of everyone, except Karna and Le Fay.
End Flashback
After that scream, Karna saw the fastest transition in history from being a free man to being a prisoner in a dark and damp dungeon. Fortunately, he wasn't there long, as Edzard himself came to get him out after a few minutes.
'It's good that he came to explain everything…' Karna thought as he finished placing another invitation in an envelope. Placing it on the pile of invitations, he realized that this one had the name Gremory on it, indicating that it was an invitation for the family of the current Lucifer.
"How are you adapting to life here, Karna?" asked Edzard, who had just finished signing and writing the last of the invitations he planned to write for his daughters' birthday celebration.
Hearing the question, the young human remembered his life in this palace since a few days ago. After Edzard arrived, he was introduced to all the residents of the palace. It was there that he learned that the blonde girl he had spoken to before was Edzard's wife. But not only that, but he also learned about the maids of the palace and their past… To say that this caused him indignation was an understatement. Still, he managed to keep all his emotions under lock and key because he didn't want to give the impression of being emotional.
After all the introductions, Emilie, the head maid, was assigned to show him around the palace. As they walked, he learned more about the palace and where he was now. He was also shown his room, where he would live from now on. His room was larger than expected because it had the size of a master bedroom in a large house. The place was decently decorated with a double bed as well as a wardrobe, a desk, a book-filled shelf, and a showcase for a weapon.
After thinking about everything he had obtained, Karna began to think about how they treated him. Except for Edzard and Le Fay, everyone treated him cautiously, but he understood why they did it. After all, he was a former enemy who supposedly had distanced himself from Khaos Brigade but knew that would be hard to accept. Yet no one was cruel to him; they were mostly kind except for the fallen angel who was somewhat tough and thorny whenever she spoke with him.
"Fine, I guess." Karna replied, avoiding saying outright that he still hadn't fully adapted to this kind of life because he hoped to find a place where everyone trained all day. However, reality was different because while they did train, they didn't do it all day but rather for somewhat long schedules.
Hearing the response, Edzard knew that the young human still hadn't fully adapted. So, getting up, he began walking until he reached the window overlooking his palace's inner garden. Looking through the window, he saw Marie and Kunou playing with Zephyra.
"I suppose it's somewhat shocking for you to realize that we don't train every day and at all times, right?" asked Edzard calmly, watching his daughters play. Not hearing any response from Karna, the son of Akatosh just shook his head. "You may not know this, but everyone, even the greatest warrior, has their own life… a life which becomes the reason they wield their sword every day…"
The answer Edzard gave to his own question somewhat disconcerted Karna, but the young man managed to understand what he meant. Looking at his boss, he reflected on it. Thinking, he realized that he still hadn't found that for which to fight with everything… that made him feel somewhat depressed, but even before he could let out a sigh, Edzard anticipated him.
"Don't worry, just give it time… eventually, you'll find something to fight for… for now, stay focused on your desire… your desire to help humans who can't defend themselves. And in the meantime, try to fit in here since this could be your permanent home." Edzard said as he walked back and sat down.
"It's okay." Karna replied, who finished placing another invitation in its envelope.
"Good, and remember, an action is worth more than words." Edzard said with a smile while thinking something else. 'Please, Karna. Prove that you're trustworthy; I don't want to be castrated with a rusty butter knife.'
That thought of Edzard came from what had happened when he had appeared in his palace after his fight with Crom Cruach.
Flashback
Edzard was looking at the faces of all his lovers and friends, as well as his in-laws and maids. The faces of everyone who lived with him in the palace were unfriendly since they all had grimaces, except for Mittelt, who was the only one with a smile on her face… Or at least that's what Edzard thought because from his perspective, they all had tense grimaces while Mittelt smiled, although perhaps that was because he was upside down.
The son of Akatosh was hanging upside down, being held and tied by magical chains that emerged from a magical circle created by Rossweisse.
"So why have I been hung like a ham to smoke?" asked Edzard who was confident in himself, but that didn't last long because the answer he heard was something he hadn't expected.
"Why are you hung like a ham?! Maybe because you brought another member of the Khaos Brigade without telling anyone!" shouted Mittelt, who was very upset.
"Yes, Mittelt is right!" shouted Aika, who was also upset. "So, we'll give you five seconds to tell us what happened or else…~"
When Edzard heard how Aika said the last phrase, he felt a chill run through his body. So, looking at them, he realized they all had bright white eyes while their bangs covered their eyes, giving them an even more terrifying aspect. Feeling somewhat afraid, the son of Akatosh looked at his father-in-law and realized that he was just like him; pale and looking away, avoiding eye contact.
Seeing this, the son of Akatosh knew he was in a predicament and thought quickly about how to get out of it. In the end, his mind could only come to one conclusion. So, without thinking too much about it, he began to tell the reason why Karna was in the palace.
"Do you want us to believe that this guy has left the Khaos Brigade?" asked Valerie skeptically, looking at Edzard with her head tilted and a look of disbelief on her face, as she couldn't believe that Edzard had just taken that boy's word for it.
"Val is right, Ed. It sounds somewhat naive to just take his word for it." Lint added as a comment, unable to understand how her lover had fallen for something so simple and cheesy.
"The girls are right, Edzard." said Marcoryan with a hint of disappointment in his voice, as he expected the son of Selene to be more perceptive.
"Asia-chi's dad is right, Ed." commented Aika, who also shook her head somewhat disappointedly.
Hearing all these criticisms, Edzard mentally sighed, realizing that they all thought he had trusted Karna out of nowhere.
'It's annoying that they think I'm so naive. If it had been me before the Snow Veil Sanctum incident, yes, I'm sure I could have trusted just his word and one or two actions… but now… I lost that naivety when Mercer's sword pierced my chest.' Edzard thought as a ghostly pain crossed his chest. When he overcame that feeling, he looked at those gathered and smiled mentally because he was very pleased with what he saw. 'I'm glad they can get along well with Asia's parents.'
Edzard's thoughts were directed at the good relationship that had formed between his in-laws and his entire group, including his concubines. Although he expected there to be friction and words loaded with sarcasm and indifference when they met, to his surprise, it seemed they got along well. Still, after everyone's meeting, Edzard was closely spying on his in-laws to find out what was happening. That's where he learned about their true feelings. While they were not very happy, much less satisfied with what was happening, they respected Asia's decision; therefore, they decided not to act like fools, even though they did not agree with what was happening.
Letting out a sigh, which caught everyone's attention, Edzard decided to speak.
"You know, it's kind of annoying that you think I'm naive." said Edzard in a tired voice. "Do you really think I would do something as stupid as trust someone just by their word after going through several courts where there were intrigues that could end your life?"
The mention of Edzard's past as a member of various courts caused all those who thought he had been naive to blush and look away.
"So, you didn't trust him at first?" asked Ingvild curiously while bringing a finger to her cheek and tilting her face.
"Of course not; only an idiot trusts someone at first knowing that in the past they have been your enemy. I put him through some tests first."
"Really? Which ones?" asked Mittelt impatiently, beginning to tap her foot while placing her hands on her hips.
Hearing his lover's question, Edzard just smiled amusingly, something that confused everyone.
"The first one… mental magic…"
Everyone paled the moment they heard the name of that magic.
"By the gods… Did you read his mind with that magic?" asked Marcoryan worriedly because he knew what that magic could do.
"Yes… And do you know what the weirdest thing was?" asked Edzard.
"What?" asked Rossweisse curiously and somewhat fearfully.
"That he submitted to it voluntarily."
The response given by Edzard surprised everyone, especially those who knew the possible side effects of this type of magic. It was then that everyone realized that the young man had indeed left the Heroes' faction.
"Wow…" said Emilie with some pity and shame, as she had been quick to judge the young man because of his past. This seemed hypocritical to her now, as she, like all the maids, had been enemies of Edzard at some point, and he had saved them from going to prison and had given them a home with a very well-paid job.
"Yes, it seems we judged Karna too quickly." said Asia sadly, feeling guilty for what she had done when she heard that he had belonged to the Heroes' faction.
"So, I suppose my answer has been more than satisfactory, right?" asked Edzard, who began to look at everyone.
Everyone's faces blushed slightly with embarrassment, but they still nodded while some were more vocal.
"Yes, for now it's fine." said Mittelt as she moved one of the pigtails that was part of her hairstyle.
"Mittelt is right." added Aika, who turned her face slightly to look at Rossweisse. "Sensei, you can lower it now."
When Rossweisse heard what Aika said, she nodded and after snapping her fingers, the chains disappeared, leaving Edzard in mid-air. It was at that moment that Rossweisse realized that by doing this, Edzard would fall face down to the ground. Realizing this, she tried to say something, but before she could even speak, Edzard maneuvered in such a way that he ended up landing on his knees.
"Ahhhh…" was the long sigh released by Edzard after falling to the ground. After standing up, the son of Akatosh looked at those present before asking. "So where is Karna?"
When the son of Akatosh heard that he was in the dungeon he sighed but nodded. After that, he began to walk away but before leaving the room, he looked at those present, especially his wife and lovers.
"When I finish talking with him, I need you to go to my study. I need to tell you why I wasn't here and the reason why I arrived so injured." said Edzard, causing those present to nod as they were worried about Edzard's health. They may not have shown it at this moment, but the truth was that everyone was shocked when they saw him arrive all injured. However, the anger they felt knowing that Edzard had sent a former member of the Heroes' faction to this place overcame them; therefore, they ignored everything and focused on getting an answer to that.
However, now that Karna's issue was somewhat clearer, everyone felt bad for having tied Edzard to the ceiling with his injuries. However, before anyone could say anything about this, the son of Akatosh got ahead of them.
"And by the way, I will charge you for what you've done…" said Edzard with some malice, which worried everyone. Although those who were most worried were his lovers because they knew how he would take revenge on them.
'It seems we will have to take an extra dose of contraceptive potion.' thought all Edzard's lovers.
End Flashback
A somewhat perverted smile appeared on Edzard's face when he remembered how he got back at his lovers that night, recalling everything they did and where they did it. He was sure that the girls could have ended up pregnant if not for the contraceptive potion because he finished cumming inside each one more than ten times… How was that possible? Well, it's an advantage not being human and having a crazy amount of stamina.
"Edzard-sama." called Karna, who had a somewhat uncomfortable look after seeing his boss's slightly perverted smile. This was because he, and surely the entire palace, had heard them all night, as his boss's lovers were not silent at all.
"Yes, Karna." responded Edzard, coming out of his memories.
"When will you go see the Sekiryuutei today?"
Hearing Karna's question, Edzard remembered that he was going to see his pet, I mean his friend, with whom he had already scheduled a visit time.
"At three in the afternoon. Why?"
"It's just that it's almost three in the afternoon." replied Karna, standing up since he had finished placing all the invitations in their respective envelopes. "I have finished putting all the invitations in the envelopes."
"Ah, good." said Edzard upon hearing that. Walking through his study, he approached and took one of the invitation letters. Smiling, he remembered that his daughters' birthday was in a few days. Therefore, currently his lovers, along with Yasaka, Rossweisse, and Ingvild were not in the palace because they were shopping to buy everything necessary for the party, that is wines for the few terrestrial humans that would be there, food, and decorations. 'It's good that I already have all the materials to have their gifts ready for that big day.'
That thought was born from the confidence he felt in being able to finish the gifts for his daughters. He knew it would take some time, especially Kunou's gift, but he was sure that if he counted on Yasaka's help, he could do it well. Marie's gift was somewhat simpler to make since it required less work for him. This was because he knew how to make weapons for people with Magicka, something he couldn't do with Kunou.
After finishing thinking about the gifts he would create for his daughters, Edzard looked at Karna. Smiling, the son of Akatosh spoke to him. "Okay, I'll go see Issei. You can go train but remember. I need you to send me what I requested to start working on it."
"Ah yes. Don't worry, Edzard-sama. I will have it ready after the two princesses' party." replied Karna quickly.
"Good, don't forget that after that I will have to take your measurements." said Edzard with an amused smile on his face.
"Yes, Edzard-sama."
Karna's voice, which mostly sounded somewhat cold, was now full of joy and that was because he was talking with Edzard about his new bow. The young human had been surprised and at the same time amazed when he knew that his new boss was going to give him a customized bow. That was more than what the Heroes' faction did for him although his words and emotions should not be confused. He did not hate his former comrades but neither did he love them; however, he respected them… at least until everything went wrong.
"Well, see you later, Karna." said Edzard as he took a couple of those invitations and his shadow key to leave there.
Hearing his boss, the human nodded and before Edzard left the place, he left there because he did not want them to think that he was staying there alone to be able to spy on Edzard's personal papers. So timidly he left the room.
When Edzard was alone, he looked forward and moving his hand conjured a golden portal to go see his friend and ask the Heavenly dragon about Crom Cruach and why he might have become so strong.
The Hyoudou's house, which was always lively due to the daily antics of its residents, was in a state of absolute seriousness. The reason for this was Edzard's visit.
Issei's family had been happy to know that Edzard was going to visit them, but when they found out it had to do with the current war with the daedras, that happiness turned into somber concern. Therefore, Issei's parents decided to go out for a while, leaving Issei and the rest of the ORC alone.
The feeling of anxiety of all those present was felt in the air, making their hearts beat faster than normal. Even so, everyone tried to maintain a facade of confidence for when their guest arrived.
"What do you think Edzard-kun wants to talk about?" asked Irina, worried, but at the same time somewhat happy to see the husband and lover of two of her friends.
"I don't know, but he sounded super serious when he asked me what day I was free to talk." Issei replied, who was worried because he knew that if his friend was serious, it surely meant trouble for everyone.
"So, I guess we'll find out when he arrives." Rias commented, who was sitting next to Issei, playing with his hand.
"L-Let's hope he brings good news or that it's not something very serious." Gasper commented, who was sitting inside a cardboard box in the middle of the room.
"Heh, heh, heh… don't ask for too much, Gasper." Akeno said with a smile, looking at the center of the room as her smile faded.
"Akeno is right, Gasper." Kiba said, also anxious to know what was happening. "I don't think he would have asked for this meeting so seriously if what's happening is something good."
"B-b-but…" the Dhampir tried to say, only to be interrupted by Koneko, who gave him a soft karate chop on the head.
"Don't think about it." Koneko said, getting up from her spot on the sofa next to Gasper and walking towards Issei, sitting on his lap in one swift movement.
The action of the nekomata took everyone by surprise, especially Issei, who felt slightly uncomfortable but did nothing to push her away. For their part, the rest of the girls who felt something for Issei were annoyed by this.
"Ara, ara… it seems Koneko-chan has become bolder." Akeno said with a smile as she slowly opened her eyes that she had kept closed when she began speaking. "I guess that as her 'senpai', I'll have to discipline her, so she doesn't do things like that."
The words of Baraqiel's daughter caused a shiver to run through Koneko's body, who for a second imagined herself tied up by various S&M contraptions while a cheerful and obviously excited Akeno "disciplined" her. However, despite that hallucination, the little nekomata looked at the queen of the Rias Peerage and was about to say something, but she remained silent when a golden portal opened in the middle of the room.
"Damn, he's already here." Issei said anxiously as he saw the portal that his friend used to teleport open.
The rest of those present felt the same pressure as Issei, as they were also anxious to hear the reason for the meeting.
"So, this time you're not fighting like idiots… that's progress." Edzard said, calmly walking through the portal.
The little jab that Edzard threw made everyone except Xenovia blush and look away, as they knew what he was referring to. The Hyoudou's house was always a lively place, but not because of laughter, but because of the catfights that happened from time to time. These fights were caused by the competition between Rias, Akeno, Irina, Koneko, and Ravel for the affection of the brown-haired boy.
"Hello, Ed." Issei greeted his friend with a smile, raising a hand.
"Issei." Edzard replied in response to the greeting, also with a smile, as he approached the ORC.
"Edzard-sama/Edzard/Edzard-san." Was the collective greeting from the rest of the ORC members.
"What's up, guys." Edzard said as he sat down in the free armchair in the room.
Edzard sat in the comfortable armchair, facing all the members of the ORC. With a quick glance, Akatosh's son realized that everyone was tense about his arrival. Feeling that this was due to curiosity about why he had requested this meeting, he decided to speak to calm them down a bit.
"Well, I suppose you're curious about why I asked to talk to Issei, right?" Edzard asked, receiving nods from everyone in response.
"Alright. But I hope you're prepared for what I'm going to tell you. However, I need you to confirm something for me, Ddraig."
Everyone's eyes widened when Edzard called out to the dragon sealed in Issei's arm.
[Ummm… it's rare for you to want to talk to me… What do you want to know?]
Ddraig's voice contained a certain tone of curiosity because the Heavenly dragon was confused by Edzard's request.
"Just one thing, tell me… Do you know the dragon called Crom Cruach?"
Edzard's question stunned everyone who knew who that dragon was. The eyes of Rias, Akeno, and Ravel opened wide because they knew that dragon, although they only knew little since there wasn't much information about him in the libraries of the underworld.
[Did you encounter that bastard?!]
Ddraig's shout caused everyone to look at him because it was the first time they saw the Red Emperor Dragon act that way.
"Woa… What's going on, Ddraig?! Why did you shout like that?!" Issei asked aloud, overcoming the surprise of hearing Ddraig shout in such a way.
[Of course something is going on! Crom Cruach is the most powerful evil dragon there is!]
When everyone heard that, they felt chills run through their bodies. While they had a vague idea of what the power hierarchy of dragons was like, they didn't know all types of dragons there were and at this moment they were hearing about a new one.
"Ddraig-sama." Ravel called out, quickly approaching Issei. The way the Heavenly dragon had mentioned that Crom Cruach was the most powerful evil dragon had generated a very specific doubt in the young devil, so without wasting time, she asked the question. "How powerful is this Crom Cruach compared to Tannin-sama or Tiamat-sama?"
The question from the daughter of the Phenex clan remained unanswered for a few moments until Ddraig's laughter erupted.
[Ha, ha, ha! Oh, please! There's no point in comparing them!]
The Heavenly dragon's response caused surprise among everyone because they, except for Ravel, had "faced" Tannin and knew that although this dragon had been playing around, he demonstrated being far above them. Therefore, knowing that there was someone more powerful than him and Tiamat, whom they had seen a few times, was hard to believe.
"W-wait… Tannin-sensei and the crazy blue-haired woman living with Ed are weaker than this Crom Cruach?!" Issei shouted, panicked, as he had seen both dragons and knew how powerful they were.
"Ise is right, I'm sure there can't be that much difference in power, right?" Rias asked, surprised and worried about what Ddraig was saying.
"Ddraig is right. The power difference between Crom Cruach and Tiamat is considerably high." Edzard began, drawing the attention of those present, who immediately looked at him.
"How can you be so sure, Edzard?" Rias asked, narrowing her eyes cautiously, as she realized that the dragon in front of them was hiding something.
"Because I have faced both."
Edzard's answer left everyone petrified. While they knew that Edzard had faced Tiamat, as she herself had commented on their battle, they did not expect that he had also encountered Crom Cruach.
[I see, so that's why you want to know about him… but why? I suppose you've realized what evil dragons are like… so I don't understand why you want to know more about him.]
"I want to know exactly what an evil dragon is and if they possess any innate ability that they all share." Edzard asked, crossing his arms over his chest, adopting a more serious appearance.
Edzard's question was seconded by all those present, who also wanted to know more about this type of dragon. This was because they knew Edzard and were aware that he always sought to obtain all available information about a new enemy to know how to face it.
[Ummm… so you want to know what an evil dragon is… well, to explain it easily, they are unique dragons in their class. They stand out mainly for their innate desire to fight and destroy everything in their path… to be honest, they are so difficult to deal with that even Albion and I avoided contact with them. As for their power level, they are far above the five dragon kings.]
Ddraig's words confirmed what Edzard had said, who only nodded, as he was still waiting for the answer to his other question. Meanwhile, the members of the ORC were assimilating what they were hearing, as they were learning that the power hierarchy of dragons, they knew was not complete. Therefore, one of them was curious to know why the hierarchy seemed incomplete.
"Um… Ddraig-san… May I ask you a question?" Irina asked, surprising everyone.
The reincarnated angel wanted to know something because she still did not fully understand what she considered the omission of evil dragons from the known hierarchy of dragons. This was because she had read about dragons some time ago and in the book, she had read, evil dragons were not mentioned. However, despite her curiosity, the young woman was somewhat tense and scared because she felt she was interrupting Edzard's conversation with Ddraig. She looked sideways, hoping to see some sign of annoyance but was surprised to see nothing on Edzard's face except curiosity.
Noticing this, Irina asked her love interest's friend. "Um… Edzard-san… I'm not bothering you if I ask my question, am I?"
The question Irina blurted out caused all eyes to turn towards Edzard as they expected him to say yes or something similar, aware that Akatosh's son did not always have free time for such things. However, what they heard pleasantly surprised them and reminded them that he was someone reasonable.
"No, not at all." Edzard quickly replied with a smile, which caused Irina to blush slightly. Issei, who saw this, clicked his tongue in annoyance, something that Edzard also noticed. The son of Akatosh mentally smiled, as he found it amusing that his friend was jealous, but still decided not to joke about it, as it was not the time.
Hearing the answer, Irina let out a sigh and looked at Issei, more precisely at his left hand.
[If the kid doesn't have a problem, neither do I. So, ask.]
With the green light to ask, Irina launched her question. "Ddraig-san… I want to know, why do evil dragons seem to have been omitted from all the books of information about dragons?"
The question caused Edzard to whistle, as he had not thought about it. Looking at Issei's hand, he waited for the answer. Edzard's action was copied by all those present, who also wanted to know why it seemed that evil dragons, or at least this classification, had been "erased from history."
A silence ensued until finally, after several seconds, the dragon inhabiting the gauntlet of the Boosted Gear decided to respond.
[Ummm… That's a good question… the truth is that I can only make a conjecture.]
"Which is?" Akeno asked curiously.
[Evil dragons were so troublesome that only evil gods could control them, and as you know, many evil gods were killed by other gods from their own pantheon. Therefore, almost all are dead. The only one we had confirmation of still being alive was Crom Cruach, but he went underground after the death of the Irish god Balor. This made it impossible for us to contact him in any way. In fact, none of my former bearers have encountered him since he disappeared. I guess because of this, he was taken for dead or, as only he remained and was in an unknown location, some have assumed that all evil dragons were dead and therefore considered not taking them into account.]
Ddraig's answer was very enlightening, causing everyone to understand that it was possible that it had happened that way. This was something recurrent in history since when a species "went extinct." it tended to be removed from normal texts and placed in specialized texts where it was dealt with more detail.
"So that's what happened…" Xenovia whispered, who had also read those same books as Irina, so she knew the same as her.
"I don't see it as something far-fetched; that usually happens with some species…" Ravel commented, bringing her hand to her chin, remembering that the same thing had happened with some extinct plants in the underworld. In some general use texts, a list of certain plants belonging to a single genus was named, but when she accidentally read a specialized text, she realized there were more; only some were extinct or considered extremely rare; therefore, they had been excluded from the general list.
[Yes, I suppose that happened… Now for the boy's question: No, all evil dragons like many of us have the basic abilities of all dragons. Of course, each one has their unique abilities.]
"I understand… but does Crom Cruach have any ability that allows him to resist the powers of a dragon-slaying sword?" Edzard asked after hearing the quick explanation of the powers of evil dragons.
Edzard's question caused confusion among all those present since it was known that dragon-slaying swords were so named for their ability to easily injure dragons.
"That's impossible, Edzard." said Rias, standing up from where she was seated. "Dragon-slaying swords are called that because they are capable of killing dragons."
Rias' response made Edzard frown. He wasn't an idiot and knew perfectly well why those swords were called that. So, opening his mouth, he responded to the Gremory heiress.
"Yes, I know those swords have that name because of their power against dragons, but… my real question is, how do they affect evil dragons? Do they affect them the same way or differently?"
Edzard's words made Rias frown even more. She understood that the first part of what the son of Akatosh said was directed towards her, which annoyed her because she felt that Edzard was treating her as stupid. However, the questions that followed confused her a lot, as she didn't understand what Edzard specifically wanted to know.
[That question is very specific… But to answer you, dragon-slaying swords affect us all, but it's true that they don't do so with the same intensity for everyone. For example, if I had my original body, the damage that a cut charged with Ascalon's power would do to me would not be the same as it would do to Tiamat… for me the damage is milder, but still considerable compared to other attacks.]
The new information made Edzard let out a long and tired sigh. This caused all the members of the ORC to look at him with concern, understanding that something related to those swords had happened recently. Everyone's eyes opened wide when they realized.
"E-Ed… Did something happen related to a dragon-slaying sword in your encounter with Crom Cruach?" asked Issei with some panic, as he was sure that whatever had happened was not good and felt that perhaps the daedras had something to do with it.
"Yes… something happened when I fought with that lizard." said Edzard with annoyance in his voice, something that amazed all those present, as it was not very normal for him to get annoyed like that.
"What thing?" asked Xenovia curiously.
Hearing the question from the former exorcist, Edzard was about to answer her but had a better idea. Standing up from the sofa, the son of Akatosh looked at those present, but especially at Rias and Issei.
"There is a space for training in this house, right?"
"Yes… why?" asked Rias with some concern, as she had a bad feeling about that question.
"It's better if I show you what happened."
After those words, Rias and the rest of the ORC nodded and began to guide Edzard to the training floor located in the Hyoudou residence.
When they arrived at that floor, which was the first basement of the house, they found several rooms for training, from workout equipment to areas for practice combat.
"Wow, they really went overboard with the size of this." commented Edzard as he observed the first basement of the house. "Honestly, I don't like such large constructions; I prefer buildings that are smaller."
Edzard's words almost made everyone trip because they took them by surprise. However, when they managed to recover, everyone had the same thought:
'It's hypocritical for you to say that when you have an entire huge palace.'
Unaware of that thought, the son of Akatosh entered the room and looked around. The room was empty of any kind of furniture; it was just a room with super reinforced concrete floors and walls, which had been fitted with various barriers to help keep it "unscathed" despite any type of attack used inside it.
"We're here." said Rias, crossing her arms under her breasts, making them appear larger visually. "What did you want to show us?"
The voice of the Gremory heiress was brimming with confidence, but at the same time, the girl was worried and somewhat scared by what Edzard planned to show them.
"Alright, I just need you to step back a bit…" said Edzard as he walked to the center of the room. Once there, he extended his hand and conjured Gram, then looked at the members of the ORC. "When I fought Crom Cruach, I struck him directly with Gram's blade, which was covered with a powerful demonic aura with properties to slay dragons."
Edzard's new words caused surprise and shock in them, as they didn't understand what he meant by that, but they didn't have time to say anything. In less than a second, the blade of the most powerful demonic sword began to expel such an enormous amount of demonic power that it swirled in such a way that it began to create winds within that small space.
"KYAAA! / AHHHH!" was the collective scream of all the ORC members when the winds touched them. The strength of these winds was great, but fortunately for them, they were not strong enough to send them flying, although they did have enough force to make them anchor their feet to the ground to avoid being slightly dragged.
"This is incredible!" shouted Kiba, who had his arms over his face to see better what was happening. The young devil was amazed by the amount of power that Edzard was drawing from the sword. "The amount of demonic power generated is on par with that attack Buchou launched against Kokabiel after receiving Issei-kun's Boost!"
Kiba's shout was accompanied by nods, as there were some, like Gasper and Ravel, who could barely stand firm in front of so much power. There was also Irina, who had not been present when that happened. Even so, those who were present at that time knew how to compare the amount of power emitted. However, something chilled them at that moment… they remembered that Gram's sword used the user's life energy to charge its attacks, so they began to worry about what Edzard was doing. However, before they could even say anything, Edzard anticipated them.
"And this is what I used against Crom Cruach…" said Edzard making Gram stop expelling demonic energy. This was a breath of fresh air for everyone, especially for Irina, who had been the most affected by the aura generated by the sword. Although she had not been injured, the mere presence of that aura was terrifying and annoying for her.
When Gram's demonic aura disappeared, evaporating like motes of energy in the air, everyone came out of their shock and without losing a second lunged at Edzard.
"Ed!" shouted Issei as he reached his friend's side in a single leap. "Are you okay?!"
Issei's shout was followed by questions from all those present, who also asked him if he was okay.
"Yes, I'm fine… why do you ask?" said Edzard, setting aside his attack on Crom Cruach to understand why they were so worried about something as simple as a demonstration of power.
Edzard's question disconcerted all ORC members because no one knew why he said that.
"Edzard-sama…" said Ravel approaching him slowly. "Gram's sword uses its user's life energy as fuel…"
"That's right; you made that sword release a large amount of demonic power… that… that's not good for your health…" said Akeno showing a lot of concern on her face as she approached Edzard. When she got close, she looked at Koneko. "Koneko-chan, can you see how much life energy he has lost?"
When the little nekomata heard this, she quickly approached Edzard and, as she did, she conjured her second tail to better see what Edzard had lost. However, before she could reach him, Edzard stepped forward and stopped her.
"There's no need for you to examine my life energy." said Edzard, stopping her. Koneko looked into his eyes because of that action.
"It's necessary to know how much life energy you've lost." insisted the nekomata, getting closer to Edzard. "To know how to heal you."
"Koneko-chan is right, Ed… let yourself be examined." pointed out Issei with concern for his friend.
Hearing their insistence, Edzard frowned but eventually gave in so they would leave him alone.
With Edzard's permission, Koneko began to examine the young dragon's life energy using her senjutsu… and what she saw was terrifying. The surprise was such that her ears and tails instantly stood up, causing everyone to look at the nekoshou in surprise and begin to fear the worst about the amount of life energy that Edzard had spent.
"Damn…" whispered Issei in a somber voice, thinking that his friend had lost a lot of life energy.
The expressions of all ORC members, except Koneko, turned gloomy. But that didn't last long because Koneko said something that left them stunned.
"His… his life energy is intact…" said Koneko stuttering, as her mind couldn't comprehend what was happening. Slowly, the little one began to back away from Edzard, looking at him as if he were a monster, not the kind that ravages villages for fun, but the kind that escapes all established natural precepts.
Koneko's words left them frozen because their minds were trying to comprehend what was happening. However, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't decipher the reason why Edzard's energy was not affected using Gram's sword.
"Why?" asked Rias in shock while looking at Edzard with some fear. "Why doesn't Gram's sword consume your life energy?!"
Rias' scream was the conjunction of all the thoughts of those present there. It was not only the union of their thoughts but also a signal they used to take a step back, beginning to fear Edzard.
Seeing how everyone slightly retreated, the son of Akatosh smiled, finding this amusing. However, he decided to end it all and speaking up decided to tell them the truth.
"That's simple, Gremory. Gram's sword doesn't consume my life energy because it consumes my Magicka." replied Edzard with a smile, which widened as he saw everyone's eyes widen in shock.
"What?"
"What you heard. Gram's sword doesn't consume my life energy because it consumes my Magicka."
The confirmation of the previous answer made everyone surprised and began asking Edzard how that was possible. The son of Akatosh's answer had been simple and concise… he had bent the sword to his will. This answer caused some confusion, so Edzard had to explain better what was happening.
"You see, for me, holy and demonic swords are a kind of semi-conscious objects. While they cannot speak, they have a certain capacity for cognition, which makes them capable of choosing their owners. Therefore, it's almost as if they were alive… so, when I realized that, I used my willpower to subdue the sword to my control. When I achieved that, Gram stopped trying to steal my life energy and began to use my Magicka." explained Edzard, lying about subduing Gram with his willpower. The truth was that he had used the Thu'um of will subjugation for this, all to save time. Although, that was something they did not need to know. After that, he also decided to say something more, something about what would happen if he had not dominated Gram. "Although, even if I hadn't subdued Gram, I have enough life energy to use Gram at full power for a week without worrying about the side effects."
What Edzard said caused various reactions among those present.
"Wow… t-t-that's incredible…" said Rias in surprise, trying to internalize what she had heard.
"Ara, ara… so not only are you capable of taming a dragon, but you are also capable of taming dangerous swords… I wonder what else you can subdue…" said Akeno with a smile and a slight blush, which made Edzard feel somewhat uncomfortable because he understood the second meaning of her words.
"Incredible…" said Irina with shining eyes while looking at Edzard. "You really have an enormous willpower to do something like that…"
"I expected no less from you…" said Xenovia with an ear-to-ear smile. "If you were capable of this, then your children will be able to do- Ump!"
What the former exorcist was saying was quickly stopped by Koneko, who had received a signal from Rias and Akeno to do so.
For her part, Ravel looked at Edzard in amazement, unable to understand how what he had done was possible… yet she decided to say something about it. "It's incredible… really…"
Gasper just nodded, but inside he was amazed by what Edzard had done, something he thought only true men could do. That's why he got depressed for a second but then came back to himself when he realized that wasn't what a man would do. So, looking at Edzard, he decided to take him as a role model to overcome his fears and become stronger.
On the other hand, Kiba just looked at Issei's best friend in amazement and surprise. What he had just said and supposedly done was beyond his capacity. That made him realize how far behind in strength he was compared to Edzard, which began to motivate him to improve more to show him that he too had mastered his respective demonic swords because he also had demonic swords, more precisely, the other swords that had belonged to Siegfried before.
With the matter of Edzard's life energy resolved, the conversation returned to its original topic. It was Issei who strangely enough uttered a phrase that summarized what everyone thought after seeing Gram's display of power.
"Wow, I guess that attack must have caused a lot of damage on that Crom Cruach." said Issei with a smile on his face.
"Yes, it's true." replied Xenovia with a smile because Koneko had stopped covering her mouth. "I'm sure that power combined with your strength was more than enough to cause him great damage."
The rest of the ORC members said similar things, commenting on Edzard's strength and power. However, they began to stop saying those things when they saw that Edzard did not respond positively.
"Ed?" asked Issei with concern upon seeing his friend in that state.
"Haaahh… I didn't do much damage." said Edzard as he let out a sigh, revealing what really happened with that attack.
"What?" exclaimed some members of the ORC, while the rest remained in shock upon hearing that.
"What you heard. This attack was driven by my strength and was a direct hit, but I didn't do much damage. Just a slightly deep cut."
That revelation caused everyone to be stunned, unable to say anything. Fortunately, Ddraig now understood why Edzard had gone to look for him. Still, the Heavenly dragon did not understand what was happening.
[I understand… but what you're saying… it's impossible… even I wouldn't have come out so easily after that attack…]
Ddraig's response made Edzard narrow his eyes, opening new questions.
"Are you sure he doesn't have an ability to resist dragon-slaying weapons or to increase his resistance to them?"
[No, even among all the evil dragons, the only one who had the greatest defense against those weapons had been Grendel, but he's dead.]
Hearing this new response, Edzard frowned and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Bringing a hand to his chin, he thought. In the end, he came to one conclusion.
"This means that he—"
"He has obtained resistance against dragon-slaying weapons artificially." said Ravel, interrupting Edzard and saying what he wanted to express.
When the daughter of the Phenex house realized what she had done, she blushed and was about to start apologizing, but Edzard did not allow it.
"You shouldn't apologize; you've come to a good conclusion. But now, that leaves a new window of doubts… How did he do it? Who is supporting him?"
The questions thrown by Edzard did not get an immediate answer, but after a few seconds, Gasper opened his mouth and said something that seemed sensible to the ORC.
"P-perhaps it was the daedra…" said the dhampir with some fear, but not as much as before.
"That's true! Those guys might be involved in this." said Issei quickly, who, along with the rest of the ORC members, looked at Gasper with pride because the young Dhampir was beginning to put aside his fears and be more active in important conversations.
"No, I doubt it." said Edzard, drawing everyone's attention. The young dragon had heard everything and, cross-referencing information, came up with a theory about Crom Cruach's resistance.
"What? Why?" asked Rias, looking at him doubtfully because she did not understand why the extra-dimensional beings attacking this world could not be the culprits.
"Because of this." said Edzard as he conjured a sword.
Before everyone's eyes, a katana appeared. The katana was the same length as all the katanas they had seen before, with a black guard with gold details and a tsuba shaped like a coiled snake. However, Issei and Ddraig knew it was not an ordinary sword when Edzard unsheathed it.
"T-t-that's a dragon-slaying sword." said Issei with some stuttering because unlike Gram, this sword had more dragons' essence impregnated in its blade as if it had reaped the lives of thousands of them.
The revelation surprised everyone who looked at the sword and quickly concluded.
"So, you've forged a dragon-slaying sword." commented Rias in amazement, something very expected because she knew that these types of swords were not easy to create but knew that Edzard was more than capable of doing so.
"Yes, I forged it myself." revealed Edzard, earning a round of surprised sounds from those present. "This sword is a copy of another called «Dragonbane», That one was a sword I had in my possession for a few years and originally belonged to the «Blades», a sword that was created ages ago… when the members of that order were dragon hunters."
The revelation that there was a dragon-hunting sword originating from Nirm surprised everyone, but they could not do or say anything, as Edzard began to speak with Ddraig.
"Ddraig, how does the aura of this weapon feel?"
[It's like that of the dragon-slaying swords of this world…]
The voice of the red emperor dragon contained amazement in large amounts, almost on the verge of becoming absorbed.
"I see… that confirms my theory." said Edzard, who after that looked at the ORC and realized they were looking at him doubtfully. "You see, if what Ddraig says is true, then both the dragons of Nirm and those of this world have things in common… one of them is that dragon-slaying swords can easily harm us."
The revelation of this weakness, which according to Edzard himself included him, felt like a show of trust towards the ORC members, who were overwhelmed by this. Even so, they decided that if Edzard had entrusted this to them, they would not mention it to others.
"So, that means the daedra couldn't have been it, right?" concluded Ravel.
"That's right. That leaves an entity we don't know…" said Edzard, raising the alarms of all those present, who did not know how to understand this.
"Damn it, another enemy!" shouted Issei, beginning to feel overwhelmed by the situation. The young man wanted to enjoy his life but couldn't because of the daedric invasions and the Khaos Brigade. Knowing that there might be another enemy made him feel overwhelmed by what was happening.
Issei's words reflected the feelings of the other ORC members, who began to have somber expressions.
Seeing them like this, Edzard worried they might start suffering from the beginnings of battle fatigue. This was a term he had become familiar with after arriving in this world and reading about world wars. He understood more easily with those texts what affected soldiers' minds after wars; therefore, he knew he had PTSD. Knowing what they were feeling, he quickly acted and without thinking twice gave a loud clap.
The sharp sound of that clap caused all ORC members to shudder and jump, looking at Edzard afterward.
"Damn it, Ed! Don't do that again!" shouted Issei as he brought a hand to his heart.
"Yes, you almost killed us with fright." added Rias with her hand between her breasts.
"That's not good for the heart…" said Koneko, who for a second was tempted to scratch Edzard's face.
Seeing them like this, Edzard internally smiled before standing up.
"Yes, I know what I did wasn't good… but it's also not good for you to stress like that. Although we may have a new enemy, it's also possible that it's someone who is already in the Khaos Brigade… so don't get worked up." said Edzard with a smile before adding something else. "I'm sure Sirzechs will mention it soon, but apparently there will be a period when the daedra won't attack us."
Edzard's words caused everyone to smile with relief.
"Yes, finally some peace time to enjoy oppai!" shouted Issei, jumping up and raising a fist to the sky, showing a smile of joy that Edzard had not seen in a long time.
Issei's exclamation made his companions laugh, who were also happy to know this.
"Edzard-sama." asked Akeno.
"Yes."
"Do you know how long this peace will last?" asked the daughter of Baraqiel.
"As far as we know about six months… or at least that's what my sources estimate. It could be months. However, calculating, the losses that both Bal and Dagon have suffered in their war against each other have made them not have associates here. That, added to the wear and tear of their own daedric forces, gives us a breather…"
"I see…"
"Yes, well… I'll leave you. I must go back home. My family is about to arrive." said Edzard, drawing everyone's attention.
"Arrive? Did they go somewhere?" asked Issei curiously.
"Yes, actually, that reminds me that I must give you this." said Edzard with a smile as he took out the invitations for Marie and Kunou's birthday party.
"This is…" said Issei looking at the invitation with surprise in his eyes.
"That's right, you are invited to my daughters' party." said Edzard with a smile before adding something else. "And about Crom Cruach, don't worry too much. I'll mention it to the rest of the faction leaders. Maybe they have something that will help me look for answers. So, take care and get ready for the party… it's formal attire."
After those words, Edzard said goodbye and left the place in the same way he had arrived.
After crossing the portal of his Shadowkey, Edzard arrived at his palace and, with calm steps, began to walk towards where his family was surely waiting. However, before he could get there, he was intercepted by Emilie, who told him that Asia wanted to talk to him in the garden.
Upon hearing this, he was surprised because he thought his wife would be with the rest of his family. However, shrugging his shoulders, he nodded and headed towards the garden. When he arrived, he saw his wife sitting on one of the many umbrella benches there.
"Hello." greeted Edzard as he joined his wife.
"Hello, Ed." replied Asia to the greeting before standing up and kissing him.
The kiss they shared was long and tender. When they parted, they both sat down on one of the many benches there.
"Emilie told me you wanted to talk to me about something… What's going on?" asked Edzard, looking into his wife's eyes.
Asia's first response was to look away but after a few seconds she let out a sigh. This sigh was long and deep, something that confused and worried Edzard because he knew that his wife only made such sighs when she had to talk about something uncomfortable like…
'Oh shit… Don't tell me that…' thought Edzard, understanding what was coming.
"Ed, we need to talk about Rossweisse and Ingvild."
Author's Note:
To those who have made it this far, thank you for reading. To be honest, my English writing skills are not strong, and I'm relying on Google Translate and the dictionaries that come with Office 2019.
And finally, Chapter 74 is ready.
I've had a few problems writing due to time constraints, but that won't stop me.
Well, let's dive right into the story. As it appears, we're witnessing how Karna has "joined" Edzard as his subordinate, something that I hope will shed light on what might happen in the future regarding the Dovahkiin and the DxD factions.
Additionally, there's a conversation between the Dovahkiin and the ORC, where he's going to ask Ddraig if he knows about Crom Cruach. After all, his newfound resistance to dragon-slaying weapons is bound to catch the attention of anyone with half a brain.
I apologize for any spelling errors. Please don't forget to leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter, or if there's something that needs improvement, or if you have any questions about the story. Any constructive advice is welcome. With nothing more to say, see you in the next chapter.