Delinquent Dragon Emperor

by Melkor's Mercy

What if Issei had manifested his sacred gear earlier in life? What if he and Ddraig became friends with Great Red before meeting Raynare? Trained in secret from a young age in preparation for his rival, Issei is shocked when it turns out to be a beautiful silver-haired girl who just transferred to Kuoh Academy with her blue-haired friend. Badass Issei x Harem x Fem Vali x Tiamat

15. Chapter 15

A/N: I'm still alive! I'm deeply sorry for neglecting you guys for over 5 years. I feel like a deadbeat dad who left to go get milk. Anyways, I'm also working on updating the other stuff too. I can't guarantee any consistent updates, but I'm finally making a comeback.

Chapter 15: Nightmare Gang

Upon passing through the portal and entering the dimensional gap, Issei was surprised to see just how well fortified Red had made the area. They were in a pocket dimension inside of the dimensional gap, but it was quite unique to look at. The entire horizon was translucent and see-through which allowed them to see the violent chaotic power of the dimensional gap storming outside of the pocket dimension's boundaries

The area they were in seemed like a colossal and flat floating island in the eye of a storm much to Issei's fascination. True to Red's word, there was also a rather crazy looking obstacle course set up too with a portal at the end of it across from some kind of launching pad. Issei pushed aside his observations as he then focused his attention on Saji and Ingvild. Both seemed equally amazed and awestruck by the scenery.

"Well, this is definitely the right place. I didn't expect Red to make this pocket dimension see-through, but maybe he's just trying to show off for you guys. Out there is the real dimensional gap. It's a realm of pure entropy and chaos. I might take you guys out into it later once you're more comfortable," Issei got to business immediately.

"Woah, is it dangerous out there? I don't exactly feel safe going out into that!" Saji noted with obvious concern.

Issei simply shrugged, "Technically it's super dangerous and harmful to most beings, but you're a dragon now, Saji. So, once you feel comfortable with scale mail you'll be fine out there. As for Ingvild…well I'll think of something. Training her is going to be a bit different than training you. I mean with you; I can just teach you how to be a dragon and we've got Vritra to help with all the more mundane stuff. Ingvild has a Longinus though. She'll take a bit more of my personal oversight since neither one of us really understands it fully. If you don't mind, Vritra, can you get Genshirou started on how your powers work. Once you guys get scale mail down, I'll come by and give my input."

"I was actually going to suggest that myself, Issei Hyoudou. Until Saji learns how to put on the scale mail, you can't do much more to help him learn than I can. Come, boy…take us to that tree at the far end of the field and give your friends space. We have much to discuss about my powers and how draconic magic works," Vritra spoke out of Saji's arm.

The teen nodded, "Sounds good. Umm, but before all of that, can you tell me how you know this Ingvild girl and who she is exactly? You picked me up at school so suddenly, and we got side-tracked with that evil dragon and those gods. I haven't had the chance to ask yet. I spoke to her briefly while we were waiting at your house. She said she's a half-devil who goes to our school and is a stray. I'm amazed neither Sona-sama or Rias-sama noticed her presence before."

"Oh yeah…I forgot you haven't actually met her yet. Some of my other friends have. Must have slipped my mind. This is Ingvild. Remember that letter I got at school a while back? She's the one who sent it," Issei explained.

Saji perked up disbelievingly, "So the person who wrote you a love letter was this girl?"

"I-It wasn't a love letter!" Ingvild exclaimed with a flushed face.

"Yeah, she was apparently stalking me for over a year and I never noticed. She has a Longinus and is pretty powerful. Probably stronger than Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri," Issei shrugged.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration don't you think? She couldn't be stronger than them…especially if she was a stray. You said she has a Longinus too? How did she go unnoticed?" Saji shook his head skeptically.

Issei sighed, "Look man…if she could avoid my detection for as a long as she did, then there's no way Rias or Sona could have detected her. Her Longinus has some kind of water powers AND she's really good at stealth. Believe it or not she was actually there to witness Ophis abducting the two of us on the rooftop."

"Really?! Oh damn…so not even Ophis noticed her? How did you ever detect her then?" Saji asked.

"Attention to detail, I guess. It doesn't matter…she's with us and I have a feeling her Longinus will be really useful in this upcoming battle. I sent all my other friends away, but I kept Ingvild because I think she'll be valuable support in this upcoming battle. Obviously, I got you as well since we're in this together as fellow dragons," Issei stated conclusively.

Saji nodded, "Well if she's part devil too, then I guess we're technically allies. You pick up the strangest friends Issei. You mind if I ask you a question, Ingvild-san?"

"Of course, Genshirou-kun," Ingvild nodded.

"Why are you a stray? If you're as powerful as Issei says you are then wouldn't it be safer and make more sense to be in a peerage?" Saji wondered.

Ingvild frowned, "I…don't think I'd fit in with them."

"Why? Is it because you're a half-breed?" Saji asked, "because Rias-sama's queen is half fallen angel. The peerages at Kuoh Academy aren't that uptight about purity and bloodlines. It's mostly just those assholes in the Old Satan Faction that care about that sort of thing," Saji remarked.

The lavender-haired beauty frowned, "I'd much rather be with Issei-kun than take a risk with Gremory or Sitri. They might not be bad people, but I can't trust their families or the fact they're related to the current Maou."

"You never did mention her family name. It feels a bit weird calling you by your first name when we barely know each other. I mean I guess that's common in the west, but what is your family name if you don't mind me asking?" Saji asked.

"Leviathan…" Ingvild answered slowly.

Saji's eyes shot open in disbelief, "Wait…WHAT?! Leviathan?! As in…"

"She's a descendant of the original Leviathan family. She ran away from the Old Satan Faction from what I understand. Ingvild doesn't want to draw their attention or the attention of the other clans. Considering your master Sona Sitri's sister is the current Leviathan of the Maou, you can see why that would be problematic, right? She can avoid your detection in Kuoh and it's a perfect hiding spot since the Old Satan Faction wouldn't really risk trying to poke around in Gremory or Sitri territory," Issei explained.

"I…I apologize for my rudeness then. So, you're not actually with them then?" Saji asked.

Ingvild shook her head, "Of course I'm not. Like you said…they despise half-breeds. The only interest any of them ever had in me was because of my Longinus, but even then, they cast me aside for being weak and sickly in my youth. I'm an outcast, but I want to stand at Issei-kun's side. He is sincere and I trust him. Since Issei-kun has faith in you, I'll also trust you with my secret, but please don't tell your master or the other devils about me Genshirou-kun.

"Yeah…of course. We're all in this together now, huh? So, do you know anything about that Vali girl? I heard she's actually Vali Lucifer. She's a half-breed too," Saji wondered.

Ingvild shook her head, "All I know of her is what I've seen of her at Kuoh. She is the White Dragon Empress though and is very powerful. From what Azi Dahaka said, it sounds like the evil dragons forced her to join their group. I don't think she's evil or anything…and I can't imagine the nobles of the Old Satan Faction liking her very much even in spite of her royal pedigree. Under different circumstances, we could be friends, but she's our enemy right now and she will be gunning to fight Issei when she finds out he's the Red Dragon Emperor."

"Damn…so does all of this crap mean that Tiamat is actually a traitor?" Saji asked.

Issei shrugged, "I don't know man. Tiamat is just some kind of zealot who wants to unify dragon kind. She doesn't hate devils, but she does have weird delusions of grandeur."

"All that crazy stuff Azi Dahaka said…what do guys make of that? I'm still to process it," Saji changed the subject.

Issei frowned, "It's certainly interesting, but the main thing I gathered from it was the fact that Ophis has ulterior motives. I suspected that originally, but his weird rant all but confirms it. There's point in speculating on anything without proof or confirmation though. Anyways, now that we're all aware of the situation and you know who Ingvild is, we should really get to training. We can speculate on all this shit after we smoke those guys and send Ophis packing."

"Yeah, sorry for all the questions. I just figured I'd fill in the gaps before we got engrossed in training. Thanks for explaining the situation to me…oh and don't worry about me judging you Ingvild-san. I'm glad you're with me and Issei," Saji nodded before sending a friendly smile Ingvild's way.

She returned one in kind, "I appreciate your understanding and willingness to help us, Genshirou-kun."

"You can call me Saji. If we're gonna be a team going into battle together, there's no need for all the formalities," Saji chuckled.

"If you're okay with that, then I will…Saji-kun," Ingvild bowed her head politely.

"Ha, this girl has the mannerisms of a Japanese girl. Crazy to think she's a foreign half-devil," Saji noted.

"Alright well, here's the gameplan. Vritra, I need you to get Saji started on the basics. Ingvild is going to a require a bit more of my personal oversight for the initial training. Don't let him slack off," Issei got the conversation back on track.

"Don't worry about me for now, Issei. I'm going to work hard to learn all this stuff. I don't want to be a liability out there when we see all those evil dragons again," Saji exclaimed energetically.

"Glad to hear it. I'll check up on you in a bit. We'll be over here," Issei responded approvingly as Saji departed to go train.

Vritra didn't even bother waiting to explain as he started lecturing Saji on the walk over, "It's imperative that you understand the spectrum of magic available to a dragon and how my powers have overwritten your own devil ones to a certain degree. With draconic cells you can now-"

Issei tuned out of the explanation as Saji gained more distance and Ingvild spoke up, "So…I have no idea where to start with my Longinus. A-are you sure I would be able to go out into the dimensional gap like you two can?"

"That's what we're going to find out," Issei replied as he focused his attention on the purple haired beauty, "but first thing's first…we need to know everything your Longinus can do. That last time I saw you use it, your powers manifested through singing. I mentioned you were something like a bard in that regard. I imagine your powers are more support based, and less combat based…though I'm willing to bet that there are combat applications we can figure out. From the way Ddraig describes them, all the Longinus sacred gears are immensely powerful and dangerous."

"Well, I know that Nereid Kyrie has a strong effect on dragons…at least that's what I was told when I first learned about it. The woman who raised me was the one who said as much," Ingvild explained vaguely.

Issei cocked his head confused, "The woman who raised you? So, you weren't raised by your parents?"

Ingvild shook her head, "No…my parents died a long time ago and the surviving Leviathan Clan cast me off for being a half-breed abomination. I was also quite ill as a young girl. That on top of me being a half-breed…I was considered defective. I don't remember much of my childhood, but I was taken in by this woman who took a particular interest in me when I was a younger. I suppose you could say I looked up to her like a mother…or at least I did. In the end I found out she was only interested in my Longinus and that she planned on killing me after I helped her with something. She never exactly told me what it could do, but I know it's more powerful than she wanted me to believe. I ended up running away from her years ago and I've lived as a stray in your country ever since. Being in Kuoh is a nice place to hide in plain sight. That woman wouldn't risk being spotted in devil or fallen angel territory. She was particularly careful about us never encountering devils and angels. She taught me all my stealth tricks and how to use them with my Longinus, but not much else sadly. She never expected I'd have the strength or intuition to run away from her."

"Who was this woman that raised you anyways? What was her name?" Issei asked curiously.

It had only just dawned on him that he never thought to ask Ingvild details about her past until now. He found himself immensely curious about her former life with this newfound insight.

The girl looked away and frowned, "She said her name was Alexys and that she was from Greece originally. I have long suspected that it wasn't her real name though. She had black hair and looked fairly young. She never aged in the years I knew her. I have no idea how old she was, but I know she was more than human. Sadly, I never found out what exactly, but I know for a fact she wasn't a devil. She had a very peculiar smell. Before I ran away, I learned about her nefarious intentions when I overheard her talking to a friend of hers about me. That was a few years ago and I'm honestly surprised she hasn't found me yet. Other than the stigma of being a stray half-devil, I also hide in Kuoh so I can avoid her. To be honest, I'm more afraid of Alexys than the Maou. If I trusted that they could actually protect me from her, I might have been willing to appeal to them for shelter."

"Alexys, eh? Well, she'll definitely know you're here after this battle…assuming we survive," Issei noted nonchalantly.

Ingvild had a worried expression at Issei's remark, "I've been considering that, but there's nowhere safer for me than being around you. She was quite powerful, but nothing compared to what you're about to face. Honestly though, Issei-kun…do you seriously doubt our odds to get through this? I don't know what I'll do if we fail."

"I don't know to be honest. I have no idea how powerful any of those other dragons are and I'd be an idiot to just assume that I'm invincible. I believe I can win if I go all out, but I'm more worried about what kind of damage it's going to cause to Japan or even to you guys…and the war probably breaking out in the aftermath. Either way, I'm going to have a giant target on my back for the rest of my life. Guess that comes with being a dragon. It's no wonder Red loves the Dimensional Gap so much. Nobody else can survive in here and it's peaceful," Issei sighed.

"I imagine it will be a pyrrhic victory for whoever wins this upcoming battle. I am confident in Issei's power to succeed, but as I mentioned previously, we will undoubtedly have to fight Albion, Tiamat, Crom Cruach, Grendel, and Nidhoggr all at the same time. They all have a vendetta against me and Crom Cruach against Issei. I'm hoping these gods that were watching us might be willing to keep a few of them at bay while we deal with Vali and Albion primarily," Ddraig added.

"I promise I will do everything I can to help you out there. I…I know you're taking a great gamble counting on me and Saji-kun to help you. I know you have a difficult time trusting others to help you in this situation, but I'm glad you trust us…me especially. Even though you barely know me, I feel like I can trust you too…and that this is where I'm supposed to be. Before anything else, I just wanted to thank you again for accepting me, Issei-kun…it means the world to an outcast." Ingvild stated reassuringly.

He rubbed the back of his head and brushed off her sincerity with intentional aloofness, "Alright, well let's focus on what we know about Nereid Kyrie. It has some type of power over dragons and water too, right? And your singing can activate it. Tell me more about the water applications. Those don't appear to require you to sing, right?"

"I'm already elementally attuned to water magic and Nereid Kyrie simply just amplifies it exponentially. Alexys told me that it's quite fitting a hydromancer of my bloodline would get a Longinus like this. Assuming I apply all aspects of Leviathan hydrokinetic magic, I might be able to affect blood with it or even heal people with water. I've never fully tested its capabilities…but then again, I've spent most of my life trying to keep a low profile," Ingvild noted.

"Hmm…blood magic and healing water? That will certainly be useful. This is the perfect place to practice and go all out. I have another idea to add on to that. Since you have the ability to affect dragons with your Longinus, then maybe the way you sing will have different effects on them. If you apply some amount of creativity, it might even be able to summon you an instrument to add to your singing," Issei added.

"Well…I can't really play any instruments," Ingvild trailed off shamefully.

Issei shook his head, "No, but that doesn't matter. What if the music in your head can just manifest magically with your Longinus? I want you to try something…sing an angry song. Try to hype me up with a headbanger."

"W-what?" the devil girl's eyes widened a bit disbelievingly, "y-you want me to sing a heavy metal song or something?"

"Do you know any?" Issei asked.

The leviathan girl nodded, "I-I do, but I'd be too embarrassed to sing something like that."

"Nobody is here to judge you, Ingvild…this is training. Besides, we've already established that you're a good singer," Issei tried to reassure her.

The purple-haired devil sighed reluctantly, "Well…I did write a song that I guess could be considered angry. It wasn't really intended to be a heavy metal song, but I'll change some lyrics and tempos around and envision it that way for you. Promise you won't laugh, okay?! I'm still getting the hang of writing lyrics, and it might sound weird if I add a few lines to the chorus I wasn't intending. This is embarrassing…here goes nothing."

Issei watched with eager anticipation as Ingvild cleared her voice and closed her eyes. Much to his amazement, he saw a glow envelop Ingvild and even instruments took shape out of her magic and started to play. They played something akin to epic power metal guitar riffs and drumbeats. Ingvild then began to sing:

"Fires rain high above, your end is coming soon,

Hear his wings you false kings, for he brings your doom,

Far beyond the clouds so high, the true ruler of the sky,

DIE, DIE, DIE! When the red dragon Flies! FLIES! FLIES!,

Burn! Burn! Burn! When will you people learn! Learn! Learn,

Break, Break, Break! How much can you take take take?!,

Fear, Fear, Fear! Your end is here here here!,

Look into his eyes and you will see what it means to be free,

Fight or run, the battle will be won by the might of the crimson son,

Proudly I stand by his side, in his power I do confide,

So, consider this our last goodbye, it's time for you to die!,

DIE, DIE, DIE! When the red dragon Flies, Flies, Flies!,

Burn, BURN, BURN! When will you people learn, learn, learn!,

Break, Break, Break! How much can you take take take!?,

Fear, Fear, Fear! Your end is here here here!,

You can't run, you can't scream, you won't wake up from this dream,

You can't fight, you can't win, prepare to meet your end,

Burn beneath his breath, and embrace your fucking death,

And DIE DIE DIE! When the red dragon FLIES!"

Ingvild then stopped and looked up at Issei with a flushed and uncomfortable face, "Well…was that what you had in mind? Sorry, I know it was cringey…"

To say Issei was shocked by what he had just heard was an understatement. From what he had surmised of Ingvild's entire personality, it seemed almost impossible to imagine her angry or this aggressive. Dare he say it almost seemed paradoxical and uncanny to witness. In fact, he didn't even think he'd ever heard her swear before now.

The added guitar riffs, heavy drums, and Ingvild's own screaming at the chorus only added to his disbelief. Was she secretly a huge metal fan? Her voice was perfectly suited for it due to her dual talent in melodic harmonies and gravelly throat screams. To him it was about as shocking as watching a regular dog talk or something along those lines. Maybe it was just because she was a devil, but Issei was convinced that Ingvild was born to be a lead singer in a band after hearing her performance. He stood there silently for a moment before finally answering, "Well, that certainly seemed to do something to me. I'm shocked how good that was. You're a one-woman band!"

"You were right about the instruments, Issei-kun…I just imagined them like you said and they appeared. I thought about certain breakdowns and riffs I've heard in the past while I sang. Did it sound okay?" the devil-girl asked anxiously.

"Better than okay, that was badass. You might be a musical genius or something. I had no idea you were a metal fan, Ingvild. You really are talented…and I'm not just saying that either. I'll bet even Red would have liked that," Issei said enthusiastically.

"Ah well…I'm not exactly a fan, but I do like some of that stuff. I've never tried singing it before though. It felt so weird for me to do, and I felt like it could have been way better. You really liked it?" She seemed desperate for more validation and reassurance.

"Damn right I did. That song got me pumped up to go beat someone's ass now. These assholes aren't going wake from the nightmare I'm about to put them in," Issei remarked with a newly invigorated enthusiasm.

"Well…you are a glowing a bit," Ingvild pointed out.

Issei glanced down at his body and saw a very faint purplish aura from Ingvild's Longinus enveloping him now. He smirked at the sight of it, "Well that's a good sign."

"So…do you think different types of songs have different effects on dragons? Say maybe a sad song could weaken them?" Ingvild wondered.

"That is essentially what I imagine, but we don't really have time for you to be writing out a giant playlist of songs to practice. That might just be a specific ability. I think the mental aspect of your Longinus can simply just achieve a desired effect if you think about what you want to do and maybe just sing something random without lyrics. It might naturally change into a tune that reflects your thoughts," Issei suggested.

"That is how siren singing works…so you are correct in assuming this, Issei. Her Longinus seems to mimic the Nereids…or sea nymphs though to an exponential degree. She could probably alter perceptions and mind control weaker beings with it too. A true siren indeed. I think she'll make an excellent teammate on the backline," Ddraig added.

"The most important thing we learned from that is you can create things with your Longinus. That's bound to be useful. I wonder if we can make you some kind of armor out of it?" Issei pondered.

The following few hours Issei and Ingvild worked out ways to activate and utilize her Longinus in both support and offensive situations. The more they practiced with it, the more powerful Issei realized it actually was. Ingvild could essentially mind control weaker beings with her Longinus and had the ability to buff or nerf dragons in her proximity.

Over this brief span of time, Ingvild even managed to get most of Issei's ideas to work. She was able to materialize a strange type of translucent armor over herself now as well. While it certainly wasn't scale mail, the armor seemed to form out of her Longinus' pale and purplish aura. It was after she made that work, that Issei finally realized that Ingvild could drain draconic magic in this state. He allowed her to sap some of his which seemed to materialize ethereal dragon aspects over her body such as energy horns, an energy tail, and even draconic energy wings. The brunette figured he could easily boost and transfer power to her in this form to keep her well protected in combat…or she could nullify and sap draconic abilities of the other dragons he was going to fight.

They had also worked a great deal on Nereid Kyrie's water-based applications which Issei hoped would be more offense-based.

Due to Nereid Kyrie enhancing Ingvild's already great mastery over hydromancy, Issei was rather surprised to see that the devil girl was extremely powerful with water magic. She could summon tsunamis, create maelstroms out of thin air, and even shape her water magic into various forms. In fact, he actually believed she was way stronger than all the devils in Kuoh. She was unquestionably the most powerful of his non-dragon friends. He had no idea how powerful Serafall Leviathan was, but Issei had a feeling Ingvild could rival her given enough time and mastery. This girl was the perfect underling. If he had something akin to a devil peerage, she'd be the queen in his party without question.

Using Nereid Kyrie to create elemental water dragons was one of Issei's favorite displays of Ingvild's Longinus. They also worked on trying to figure out how she could heal with her tremendous water-based power. Eventually Ingvild herself figured out that humming a certain tune while immersing something in her magical water could heal it. He knew that was going to be useful…especially for Saji.

Ingvild was currently working on other creative ventures to help in combat when Issei finally left her to train alone. At this point he felt confident enough that she would have a decent arsenal to help. He then made his way over to Saji and Vritra who were both flying around and practicing powers in the scale mail.

He was relieved to see that Saji seemed to pick up on it quite well…though having Vritra personally tutoring him on how his powers worked was undoubtedly a great boon and the reason for this quick learning. Saji also seemed extremely serious about learning everything he could as well.

Issei was currently just in his regular draconic form with two wings as he flew over to observe Saji practicing spells. His new dragon friend glanced over at him eagerly, "What's up, Issei? Came to check on me, finally? How's Ingvild doing?"

"Pretty good. We worked out how to make use of her Longinus for offense and support-based applications. She's practicing her healing right now," Issei answered.

"She's got eight devil wings. That girl really is the true Leviathan heir. You have this uncanny ability to befriend the most unlikely people. I'm glad she's on our side though. From what I've noticed over here, she definitely IS stronger than Rias-sama and Sona-sama in their current states. I can see why she was concerned about revealing herself to them. The nobles would be scared shitless with a devil stray like that roaming around who has a Longinus. I mean they were already shitting their pants when they heard about Vali Lucifer being the White Dragon Empress. I can see Beelzebub-sama and Lucifer-sama wanting her on our side though. Those clowns in the Old Satan Faction were a bunch of morons for ditching a girl like that," Saji noted.

"Yeah…she told me some lady named Alexys from Greece raised her. Apparently, it wasn't a devil. Maybe it was a god or a hero-blooded human. I can see a lot of people wanting to use her power for their own agendas. I'm not going to let that happen," Issei sighed.

"Alexys? Huh…well Ingvild seems very humble for someone as powerful as she is. I wonder how'd she fare in a fight against Serafall Leviathan," Saji wondered.

Issei shrugged, "I don't know…and hopefully we never have to find out. Serafall is a good person, and I don't consider her my enemy even though she's a Maou. Honestly, the Sitri and Gremory Clans seem pretty decent as far as devils go. You don't have to worry about being torn between your loyalty to them and working with me. I'm not going to force any kind of subjugation on you. We're just fellow dragons fighting against this bullshit Ophis and her goons are doing."

"I appreciate that, man…though to be honest, I really wish you were legitimately with us. I understand why you aren't though, and I swear I won't put you in any compromising positions either. I know you're taking a risk trusting me, but I swear I won't let you or Ingvild down," Saji nodded.

"I really hope your friends don't try getting involved. I won't be able to protect them if they do. That's why I sent my other friends away," Issei sighed.

"Yeah, but you're also friends with Sona-sama's big sister. Having her help would be a godsend," Saji noted.

Issei shook his head, "Yeah but it comes with a lot political implications that I don't want attached to me. There's a reason I'm not aligned with any particular faction. Sure, it provides allies…but it makes a lot more enemies. Not to mention, I don't like the idea of having to ask Sirzechs Lucifer or Ajuka Beelzebub for permission to do what I want."

"Yeah, I see your point, Issei. Your motivations make a lot more sense to me now. On a side note, though, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Serafall Leviathan has the hots for you. Plus, Archangel Gabriel and this Ingvild girl too. Then there's those exorcists, fallen angels, and Tsubasa. I mean even Akeno-san and Rias-sama seem to like you more than they pretend. Do you know how lucky you are, Issei?! Powerful babes just gravitate towards you. Meanwhile, I can't even get the one girl I truly care about to see me as anything more than a pawn…" Saji sighed.

"You're talking about the president?" Issei asked.

Saji looked away, "Yeah…I had a feeling you picked up on that. I've been thinking about what you said that last time I asked you to train me. You were right…I've never been this motivated before. I feel like I'm stronger than Sona-sama's entire peerage now and yet…it's irrelevant. I have to be stronger…for my own sake and so that I can help you. What we're fighting for is way bigger than me trying to impress my peers or get girls to like me. I don't want them near the battle, and I don't even want them to know about all of this. The old me would have wanted to impress Sona-sama, but right now I just want to impress you and Vritra. I think I'm finally starting to understand you a bit. Call me crazy for saying it, but I feel like you're someone I look up to now. I want to be like you man! I understand what you were talking about before."

"That's surprising you look up to me since you're my senpai…" Issei remarked a bit disbelievingly.

"Dude, if you weren't such an antisocial jerk at school, EVERYONE would look up to you. I used to think you were the biggest tool in the world. Like I legitimately couldn't stand you. Now I think you're a damn hero who is just misunderstood. Crazy how things turn out," Saji laughed.

Issei shook his head, "I'm not that much of a jerk, am I?"

"No…you're actually really cool. It makes sense why all the girls are obsessed with you. I mean I probably would be too if I was one. Maybe now's not the right time to ask…but would you consider us actual friends, Issei? Do you think we ever could be real friends?" Saji wondered.

"If you actually want to be my friend, then sure," Issei nodded.

"You saved my ass from Ophis and those evil dragons. I'm not going to forget that anytime soon. I don't want you to feel like you're forcing me to be here. I'm actually glad to be fighting alongside you against these other dragons. I'm glad I have something worth fighting for…finally," Saji stated proudly.

"Alright, well enough with all the sappy power of friendship stuff. How's your training going? Where should we start?" Issei chuckled before changing the subject.

"Way better than I was expecting. Having all of the Vritra sacred gears combined into one is something else. Plus, Vritra is a really good instructor. I didn't realize I was THIS powerful now!" Saji exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Well, you have access to my full power and my personal tutelage…plus with all the sacred gears combined into one, you've essentially become a dragon yourself. Being a dragon makes it a lot less strenuous to use this power. Your body is still adjusting to it though, so don't overestimate yourself just yet, boy. We could certainly use some combat training." Vritra noted dryly.

"I know that…I was just saying that I feel like I can be useful with this power. Issei…I think I'm actually stronger than the president now," Saji said almost disbelievingly as if he was still coming to terms with the idea.

The red dragon shrugged at him, "You definitely are, but compared to who we're fighting, that doesn't really mean anything. Still…I'm glad you're picking up on this fast. Vritra instructing you has taken a lot of pressure off of me to educate you on how to be a dragon."

"Before we start though, Issei…I've been dying to see your boosted gear in action since I first learned about it. Can you show me?" Saji asked hopefully.

The delinquent chuckled, "Yeah, I guess. I'll spar with you for a bit, and you can get a firsthand look."

Despite his black scale mail's helmet covering his face, Issei could tell that Saji was staring with eager anticipation.

Holding up his hand, Issei then manifested the gauntlet over his arm. It glowed a mixture of crimson and green before taking shape into a scale mail balance breaker.

Saji seemed impressed by it and stared with silent awe. He had partially seen it once before after they returned to the rooftop, but he was curious how its added power would factor in with Issei's already incredible abilities.

Issei glanced over at him briefly before turning his head, "I'm going to expedite your training by lending you some of my power. It'll help you keep up with me. Before that though, we need to upgrade your magic capacity."

"Huh?" Saji seemed confused by the statement.

"BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!" Ddraig started chorusing the power up causing Issei to glow like a star as an overwhelming surge of energy began to drown the entire area.

Even from across the pocket dimension, Ingvild stopped what she was doing and watched fearfully as the light of Issei powering up blinded the area.

Saji fell back almost terrified by this exponential rise in power as he saw the red dragon move directly in front of him. At this distance, Issei's aura was actually starting to burn and shatter away at Saji's scale mail.

Issei then touched Saji as Ddraig spoke, "TRANSFER!"

This overwhelming transfer of power into Saji caused his scale mail to immediately shatter and him to lose control of the energy causing it to erupt in a spectacular explosion. Saji grimaced in agony as he felt a crippling burning sensation enveloping his body as the explosion launched outwards in all directions.

Issei managed to ward Saji from it so he wouldn't be injured, but the devil-dragon seemed to almost lose consciousness as he fell from the air. Issei quickly caught him and landed with Saji over his shoulder.

After catching his breath and recovering from the pain, Saji shook his head, "What the hell was that?!"

"Your body can't fully handle that much draconic power. I purposely overloaded you with my power to force it to adapt. There's no way I'm going to be able to make you strong enough to fight evil dragons in a day and a half, but if you can handle transfer from me, it'll give you enough of an advantage. We have to start by upgrading your magic capacity. Sorry in advance, but this is going to hurt a lot," Issei noted.

"The Aspect of Domination is truly powerful…combining it with Great Red's power seems even more impressive," Vritra noted.

Issei nodded as he set Saji down on his feet again, "Yeah…but Vali can use Divine Dividing…the Aspect of Supremacy. The two abilities cancel each other out in a way. If I didn't have Red's power as well, I wouldn't have any real advantage over Vali and the evil dragons. Especially since Ophis probably gave all of them infinity snakes to boost their power."

"Yes, I believe I saw Azi Dahaka had one when those gods appeared earlier. It will be troublesome to deal with. Saji and I can probably handle one or two of those evil dragons, but we're no match for Albion or Crom Cruach. I wouldn't even test my luck against Tiamat," Vritra replied.

"Which one of them do you feel most comfortable fighting, Vritra?" Issei asked.

The dragon quickly answered him, "Given the fact that all of them will want to fight you, the greatest benefit we can offer is to occupy at least one of them while you're dealing with Albion, Tiamat, and Crom Cruach. I don't trust those gods much…if at all, but we can be certain that Susanoo will target Orochi, Verethragna will target Azi Dahaka, and perhaps the Norse or Greek gods could deal with Grendel and Nidhogger. It would be beneficial if the Egyptian gods were to be involved against Apophis. The sun god Amun Ra is the eternal nemesis of Apophis. We also have to consider the variable of Jörmungandr, Ladon, and possibly others being present as well."

"We also can't overlook the variable of the fallen angel cadre, Kokabiel having some ace up his sleeve. I'm willing to bet his trump card is most likely Ahriman," Ddraig chimed in.

"Yeah…the student council was talking about Kokabiel. They said he broke into Cocytus with the Old Satan Faction. So, we could have something even worse to deal with as well. Geez…I really don't want my peerage to get involved in this crap," Saji shook his head.

"Plus, then there's Ophis herself to worry about as well. I don't think she'll actually fight us, but we're in trouble if she does. Not even Issei and Ddraig together could defeat Ophis," Vritra sighed.

The delinquent was quiet for a moment as he mulled over the impossible situation they were walking into. After a brief silence he spoke up, "Listen Saji…if things go tits up in this battle, I want you to run."

"What?! You want us to run away if we start losing the battle?!" Saji gawked.

Issei nodded, "Yeah I do. If shit gets that bad, I'll stay behind and buy you time. I already told Ingvild to do the same thing before we picked you up at school. Listen man…we might not be that close as friends yet, but I don't want you to die over this and I don't want Vritra getting captured. You're part devil and you can count on the Maou to back you up if you need to get out of there. If things fall apart, I don't want you trying to be a hero."

"Yeah, but you're willing to sacrifice yourself?! If you're willing to go out like that, then I will too! I wouldn't just abandon you to that mob, man! I mean…I know we're only recently friends, but this isn't something I'd run away from! I'm a dragon too now! If you go down, then I'll go down with you! I swear it!" Saji replied with resounding resolve.

The delinquent glanced at him surprised, "You're actually willing to go down with me out there? Why?"

"Dude…you saved my ass the last time we saw those dragons. Plus, you're on good terms with my peerage and Rias-sama's peerage. Even the Maou respect you. Plus, you're the son of Great Red! He'd probably think I was a pussy if I ditched you! I'm not running no matter what! We'll win together or we'll die together!" Saji followed up.

Issei then chuckled, "Spoken like a true dragon. Alright bro…I'll hold you to that promise then. It's better to burn out than to fade away anyways!"

Saji then held up his hand which Issei saw as a dap. They clasped hands as their thumbs interlocked and released a surge of draconic magic in the aftermath. Both teens stared into each other's eyes in the following silence. No words were spoken, but the intention was clear…they were going to succeed together or fall together like brothers in arms.

Issei never expected he'd ever have respect for Saji or consider him a friend, but the upperclassman surprised him. Saji could have easily just run away or insisted on hiding behind the Maou. He could have told Issei's secret to the student council or even rejected this entire ordeal.

He didn't though…and he seemed to understand what was at stake for himself and for everyone he cared about. The other teen's motivation seemed pure, and he radiated confidence without arrogance. This guy really could be a proper friend to him.

After finishing their epic dap, the delinquent then shook his head, "Well, assuming this goes well and we both make it out of this, what are you plans afterwards, Saji?"

"I haven't given that much thought to be honest. I owe so much to Sona-sama and I'll always be loyal to my peerage…but I don't really know. Would I even be able to go back?" he shrugged.

"Maybe, but I was thinking if things don't work out with them, you can just join my gang I guess. I planned on keeping Ingvild around after all of this," Issei shrugged.

"Your own gang? Haha, you really are a delinquent, aren't you, Issei? I'll tell you what man…you get my ass through this alive and I'll start calling you boss," Saji laughed.

"Hmph…yeah Tiamat was right about one thing. We dragons should stick together. Whatever you decide to do, I'll consider you an honorary member of my gang," Issei replied with a grin.

"Does this gang of yours have a name?" Saji asked amused.

"I haven't thought of one yet. We'll worry about all of that later. Let's get back to training," Issei replied.

Some Time Later

Many hours had gone by as Issei went back and forth training Saji and Ingvild. Both of them had made tremendous progress to the point where Issei actually believed they wouldn't be a liability to him now. Saji in particular had learned, practiced, and demonstrated all of Vritra's abilities in this timeframe and also gained a fair amount of combat experience sparring with Issei.

He was able to use umbramancy or shadow magic to a remarkable degree and also had shadow flames that appeared to curse things and dampen their power. In addition to that, Vritra's powers included the ability to conjure shadow tentacles, and to absorb magic and suppress abilities. He had combat and crowd control capabilities which would be useful since they were fighting multiple enemies. He also had the transference ability like Issei and Ddraig did, which was interesting.

Issei theorized that it would allow for Vritra to absorb a lot more power once Saji's body was properly attuned to it. The brunette specifically focused on expediting this process as he spent the latter hours of their training boosting and transferring to Saji. This was a very painful and excruciating ordeal for Saji, but he kept demanding to keep going even in spite of Issei himself wanting to give him breaks.

Saji almost seemed obsessed with his progress as he ignored the horrible pain and continued to grind through the torturous process of forcefully adapting his body. Eventually though, Issei got the bright idea to have Ingvild practice her healing on Saji and to use Nereid Kyrie to buff him as well.

Her added buffs to the devil-dragon greatly reduced his suffering and it even allowed for him to take more and more power. What was interesting about this however was the residual leftover power from these transfers actually remained behind in Saji's body after each of the latter attempts. He'd go up by a percent or two in power every time as his magic capacity and resilience increased.

This progress motivated him to keep going despite how tired it was making him, Ingvild, and even Issei. The fascinating development Issei wasn't expecting from all of this though was the fact that Ingvild got more powerful from this as well. Her Longinus ended up sapping so much draconic magic from Issei and Saji in this crucible of transfers that it actually mutated to the point where she could make her own completed ethereal scale mail. Hers was see-through and a lavender color. It stood in contrast to the black purple of Saji's.

Confident that both of them could now enter the dimensional gap without being killed, Issei would eventually take them out there and amplify this training exponentially. He would channel the energies of the dimensional gap itself into himself, Saji, and Ingvild.

Considering it was pure entropy, and that chaotic magic was harmful to most beings, Issei accidentally almost killed both of them while performing this powerup. It had very odd effects as well. While Saji and Ingvild were both devils still, they had both gained true draconic power from doing this much like how Issei became a dragon outside of Ddraig when he met Red in the dimensional gap.

Saji was able to handle it better than Ingvild since he had Vritra, but Ingvild was practically on the verge of death afterwards which forced Issei to take them back into the pocket dimension.

"Ughh…" Saji groaned in pure agony as he slumped to the ground and started wheezing.

Ingvild was practically unconscious as she flickered in an out of consciousness and whimpered, "I-Issei-kun…am I going to die?"

"Shit! I fucked up guys. I'm sorry about that…I don't know what I was thinking," the delinquent sighed as he gritted his teeth and looked over them.

"ARGHHH!" Ingvild screamed in pain as the residual power of the dimensional gap began to decay and darken parts of her body.

"Stay with me Ingvild! I know it hurts…just breathe okay?!" Issei shouted as he knelt over and wrapped an arm around her back to help her sit up.

Saji then rolled over and threw up as he continued to wheeze. He barely managed to speak afterwards, "Issei, I feel like I'm about to die! Urghh…is there anything you can do?"

"Transfer!" Issei shouted as he placed his other hand on Saji.

"Transfer!" Vritra added.

"Transfer!" Ddraig mirrored causing the overwhelming magical power to leave Saji and Ingvild.

It did little to help them in their current states, but Saji's scale mail shattered immediately afterwards as he fell to the ground and passed out.

Issei quickly lowered Ingvild as he went to check Saji's pulse. He was still breathing, and his pulse was weak, but it began to normalize after a moment.

Vritra would then speak through the unconscious Saji's arm as Issei rolled the other teen onto his side and manifested a pillow for him to lie his head on, "That was a very dangerous thing to attempt, but I think Saji will be okay. His body is at its limit. He needs to rest now."

"Yeah…I pushed him a bit too hard. At least he'll be alright thanks to you. I don't know what to do about Ingvild though. I almost killed her out there," Issei cracked a fist angrily before returning to the girl's side.

She was now fully unconscious and barely breathing. The delinquent shook his head, 'They were making such good progress, and I got carried away. I'll never forgive myself if I accidentally killed her. What should I do, Ddraig?'

"She's half human and half devil. The energies of the dimensional gap are disintegrating her cells. Unlike Saji, she doesn't have draconic cells and regeneration to tolerate this kind of power. She was able to absorb our power and Vritra's in here without harm, but the dimensional gap is too overwhelming. It's poisoning her," Ddraig explained.

"I know that! So what can we do?!" Issei demanded.

"You're part human…or you were, so she might be able to absorb your cells to compensate for it. I'm not sure if it will work, but it might make her part dragon as well," Ddraig surmised.

Issei didn't even wait to question it or think it over as he bit his wrist and held the open wound over Ingvild's mouth.

"You're not turning her into a vampire, Issei, what are you doing?" Ddraig asked confused.

"Transfer in and out until I tell you to stop, Ddraig!" Issei shouted.

"Transfer! Transfer! Transfer! Transfer! Transfer!" Ddraig kept repeating the ability as Issei forcibly integrated his own blood and power in and out of Ingvild's body.

This transfer caused blood to pour out of Issei's wound thanks to him channeling his power towards it. It worked sort of like a pump. He had to mentally focus on keeping his open wound from regenerating as he poured his own blood into and out of the unconscious Ingvild's mouth.

The effects were strange as they caused her to manifest actual scales and become coated in veiny lines as Issei flushed the dimensional gap's chaotic power and his own in and out of Ingvild repeatedly. After about a minute of doing this, Ingvild shot up awake and puked up blood violently and she began to scream in pain.

She wheezed and shuddered for a few moments as she rolled over and continued to puke. Her body then began to mutate as the purplish aura of her Longinus flared up with its draconic armor again.

Her body violently mutated to match the shape of the armor and filled in causing her to gain real draconic features. Horns erupted, a tail came out, and two pale amethyst wings sprouted from her back as well as her eight devil wings. After the agonizing metamorphosis was over Ingvild finally caught her breath as she looked down at her clawed hands in disbelief.

She then turned her attention to a surprised Issei and an unconscious Saji, "W-what happened? I-Issei-kun, I…"

"I guess you're part dragon now. Sorry I had to put you through that Ingvild, but it was the only way to keep you from dying," Issei sighed.

"I'm…part dragon?" she asked disbelievingly as she looked at her body. It was now regenerating at an unbelievable rate as she felt the pain subsiding slightly.

"I honestly thought you could handle transfers in the dimensional gap. I didn't realize it would do this to you. I'm sorry, Ingvild…this wasn't my intention, but it was the only way to save you," Issei held his head down apologetically.

Ingvild tried to stand up, but she immediately collapsed as her body's weariness hit her like a truck. Issei rushed over to catch the girl and gently lowered her down as he held her in his arms.

She then chuckled almost hysterically as if she was half-awake, "Ahaha, am I dreaming? I'm like you and Saji-kun now? I'm…part dragon?"

"I'm sorry, Ingvild…" Issei responded grimly.

"I was always a freak, Issei-kun…but I can be like you guys. I…I can be a dragon too," she responded weakly.

"It's probably permanent, but you should be able to suppress your draconic features like I do. I have no idea how it affected your Longinus, but you're still also a devil as far as I can tell. You have your devil wings out and dragon wings too," Issei explained.

"I'm…t-tired," Ingvild dazed off as her draconic features began to recede. Her devil wings would also return as Ingvild receded back into her base human form and passed out again.

After she fell asleep again, Issei sighed as he picked her up and moved her closer to Saji. He'd manifest a pillow for her as well. The delinquent would then stare down at his two comrades as they both slept like they had never slept before.

'I feel bad, Ddraig. I went overboard…like I always do,' Issei thought shamefully.

"Maybe…but you've done a lot to make them both more powerful. It may seem cruel, but you doing this for them might very well save their lives in the future. Besides, Ingvild didn't seem opposed to this development," Ddraig noted.

'It wasn't right of me to force Ingvild into becoming part dragon. I theorized on the possibility, but I didn't want to do that against someone's will. Plus, it almost killed her. I'm not going to try this again,' Issei remarked.

"Regardless of how you or they feel about it, this is the best thing you could have done for them. Saji and Vritra will both be able to handle transfers from us now and his body has finally adapted to draconic power. Ingvild will also be far more powerful with her own draconic magic, and you've actually enhanced her Longinus from what I can tell. They will be ready for this battle…you did what was necessary Issei." Ddraig added.

"I'm kind of tired too…but I can't rest after putting them through all that training. I need to train myself since we'll be dealing with the most out there. If I fail, then they'll have gone through all this shit for nothing," Issei spoke aloud.

"Normally I'd encourage you to take a break, but I actually agree with you on this matter. You need to master Nightmare Mode and come up with some kind of ace if we're to have any hope of making it through this battle alive. Remember what we're doing this for…your parents, your friends, and for Great Red. This is a battle worth fighting and it's one only you and I can win," Ddraig responded.

Issei nodded, "Let's go train, Ddraig. I'll let them rest."

"I'm curious about this obstacle course, Great Red constructed. What's the purpose of it? We haven't even attempted it yet." Ddraig asked as Issei looked off into the distance and examined the pocket dimension in more detail.

"If I had to guess, it's like a scaled down version of how he makes dimensional portals. It's probably designed to help me use nightmare mode or replicate that apocalypse overdrive ability he did. I don't want to disturb these two while doing that though. Let's go drop them off at the house. I'll probably wake them if I go all out on here. They've done more than enough training for now," Issei noted.

After returning Saji and Ingvild to his house, Issei placed them both on his couches in the living room. He also wrote out a note for them telling the two to take it easy for a bit and that he would come back to check on them later.

Issei didn't take any chances this time around when leaving his companions at home. He set up powerful barriers around his house and a magical alarm trap to alert him in case he needed to teleport back at a moment's notice. He also found some food for them and dropped two massive water containers next to each of them.

Considering how much they both puked earlier, they were definitely dehydrated. After playing nurse for a few minutes, Issei eventually returned back to the dimensional gap to perform his own personal training.

It had gone well so far, but nightmare mode was not an ability Issei was entirely used to still. He had gained this power as a perk from gaining some of Red's power to manipulate "the dream" as some would say. He could break the laws of nature with it and defy reality.

Red's power was truly terrifying as it allowed for him to create anything from his will and magic. Issei could do this as well to a much lesser degree, but he couldn't fully create other realities or override the entire material world around him like Red could. The only way he could truly emulate that ability was with Nightmare mode. Nightmare mode was difficult to explain to others, but it was essentially a pocket dimension or "dream" domain that Issei could expand around himself and envelop others in. Within this nightmare, he would warp reality and manifest a fraction of Red's true power with it.

His aniki/father figure had always told him to "use his imagination" when Issei asked how to use this power. He had successfully used aspects of the dream power to create his own abilities and to even mimic cool things he saw in media, but Issei knew that alone wasn't going to cut it. He needed to think outside of the box. He needed to master this power and find a way to combine it with the boosted gear.

"Apocalypse Overdrive…that's how I'll combine the balance breaker, and I'll expand the domain with boosts trapping them in another dimension with me," Issei spoke aloud.

"Hmm…you mentioned that earlier. You think you can actually manifest an Apocalypse Overdrive like Red? Even with boosts, how would you get the power to do that? It seemed far more powerful than even juggernaut drive and it used the Dimensional Gap's power, didn't it? We won't really have time to build up power like that if Albion is dividing us," Ddraig pointed out.

"I'll flood my Nightmare Mode's domain expansion with the raw power of the dimensional gap, and I'll compress it into a singularity in the middle. Then I'll create a mirror sphere to rebound that energy at lightspeed so I can amplify it exponentially into a limitless and condensed energy source," Issei theorized.

Ddraig laughed, "Like a penrose sphere?"

"I'm surprised you remember that Ddriag!" Issei chuckled.

"The black hole bomb…how could I forget it? You wrote a research paper about black holes that one time. You seemed very interested in the idea of turning one into a bomb. Are you sure that'll work in the Immaterial realm and how would you use that as an energy source?" Ddraig wondered.

"With nightmare mode it will work. I can manipulate the laws of physics in it. I'll create a penrose sphere to build up the energy and before it blows up, I'll open it on myself. That should give me enough power to manifest an Apocalypse Overdrive and recreate the conditions Red used to make his," Issei exclaimed excitedly.

"Even if that works, that's insane, Issei…Juggernaut Drive nearly killed you the first time you used it. Luckily you didn't use it to fight anyone, or you'd have died quickly. You could destroy your body trying to replicate the Apocalypse Overdrive in such a reckless way…" Ddraig stated concerned.

Issei sighed, "Yeah, well I have to do it, Ddraig. I won't have enough time to boost up power with Albion dividing the boosts. This penrose sphere in Nightmare mode is just the kind of thing I need to bypass that. Albion won't be able to divide it fast enough since it'll be moving at lightspeed."

"How exactly did it work again? I'm not as scientifically adept as you are," Ddraig asked.

"The way it works is I create a spinning singularity…like a black hole in space. I'll amplify the gravity and condense it as tightly as I can. Then I'll manifest a sturdy mirror around it and leave an opening to flood it with power. Some of it will feed the singularity, but we can extract the rotational energy that rebounds across the mirrors through the ergosphere. It's called superradiant scattering. It'll exponentially amplify power and eventually turn into a bomb. We're going to boost it and before it blows up, I'm going to use it as a power source to conjure apocalypse overdrive. The residual energy we can use as a bomb to take one of them out. Plus, if you boost the domain of nightmare mode while I'm doing it, we can minimize all the damage to the pocket dimension and won't cause a calamity on the Earth if the bomb destroys the domain," Issei explained.

"I can see why Red told you not to neglect your physics studies now. That's rather ingenious of you to try, Issei…but what if it doesn't work? I mean how would even manifest the Apocalypse Overdrive even with that power source?" Ddraig wondered.

Issei thought for a moment, "The same way Red did, and in my domain expansion, I'll be able to do it with my imagination and the power source. I think Red planned on me to try manifesting Apocalypse Overdrive and to use it on this obstacle course."

"Alright, well, I guess we should go see if you can actually make this penrose sphere then," Ddraig replied.

Issei decided to fly outside of the pocket dimension and a safe distance into the dimensional gap. Despite flying for almost ten minutes, Issei still didn't feel comfortable doing it this close to the pocket dimension Red made.

As they flew, Ddraig spoke up curiously, "Hey Issei…you remember that time we asked Red about the layout of the Dimensional Gap?"

"Not specifically…what did he say?" Issei replied.

"You asked him if the Dimensional Gap had a center, remember?" Ddraig reminded him.

"Oh…yeah I did ask him that. He said the center was some kind of impenetrable dimension and that I'd die if I tried going near it? What did he call it again…the Blue Mausoleum right?" Issei shook his head.

Ddraig was silent for a moment before responding, "What if there's something there that Ophis wants? I mean that's the most serious conversation I ever recall us having with Red. He was actually very adamant about you not going there."

"That thought hadn't even crossed my mind. Good catch Ddraig. So, you think that's where he went then?" Issei surmised.

"Maybe Red is actually protecting it…and whatever is there is being kept out of material world and the realms of gods, angels, and demons. It's just a theory though. It might be worth asking him again if we get the chance. He could also confirm or deny the bizarre claims Azi Dahaka was making," Ddraig sighed.

"Wait…don't tell me you're starting to believe that bullshit Azi Dahaka was telling us about the True God who was some dragon," Isssei scoffed.

"No…but there is something to it though. I mean think about the name Issei…Blue Mausoleum. Aren't mausoleums usually tombs? Maybe there's a dead dragon god there?" Ddraig countered.

"Wait a minute…Azi Dahaka also said that Great Red fought this other Dragon God before…maybe there is something to it then?" Issei exclaimed.

Ddraig spoke urgently in response, "Red also said the Blue Mausoleum would kill you if you got near…I wonder why?"

"Do you think we should go find out, Ddraig?" Issei asked seriously.

"No…we don't have time for that. Still, it's worth checking out later. Red must be dealing with something there. At least we know Ophis' true motivation now. She's trying to enter the Blue Mausoleum. You should ask her about it when we see her…or Red the next time we see him. I'm of the belief that most of what Azi Dahaka said was some lie fabricated by Ahriman, but there might actually be some blue dragon god involved in all of this," Ddraig stated logically.

"What like a Great Blue or something? That's crazy…I wonder what Red or Ophis' relationship to a being like that would be? Why would Red keep that a secret from me?" Issei wondered.

"There's no point in wondering about it any further right now. Let's get this training done. One thing at a time Issei," Ddraig sighed.

"Right…Nightmare Mode: Domain Expansion!" Issei exclaimed as he formed his own pocket dimension within the dimensional gap. It wasn't nearly to the degree that Red could. Red was able to create entire worlds and realities with his. Issei could only create a fraction of that over about a kilometer.

The dimension was shaped into a dark barren landscape with crimson red skies. Issei took a deep breath as he then opened the portals into the dimension from the outside causing it to fill with the entropic magics of the dimensional gap.

"Start boosting the domain, Ddraig," Issei commanded.

"BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST!" Ddraig chorused causing the domain to get larger and spread out further.

Closing his eyes now, Issei manipulated the domain with his will to cause the landscape to become nightmarish and twisted. He then opened his eyes and strained with as much power as he could to crush all of the magic he could into a compact point.

Along with Ddraig's boosting, Issei howled with pain and power as he compressed it harder and formed a singularity with it. The micro blackhole was spinning hundreds of times a second and he had to flood it with more mass to keep it from evaporating or absorbing the pocket dimension.

The delinquent heaved with a strained breath as he conjured a mirror like shell around the spinning singularity. All four of his wings erupted from his back as his full draconic features emerged from his body. He was already in his scale mail, and was glowing red, gold, and green as he wrestled against the power of the penrose sphere he just made.

"BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST, BOOST!" Ddraig chorused as Issei opened a tiny sliver in the mirror to channel his power into it before closing it again.

"Keep boosting the sphere, Ddraig! Albion and Vali will probably try to divide it when we fight them," Issei commanded.

A deafening hum began to grow louder and louder as the energy in the sphere rebounded countless times a second throughout the ergosphere causing the mirror shell to glow white hot and expand from the penrose bomb. It soon became unbearably loud as gravity waves fluctuated all around the pocket dimension causing it to tear apart like a cataclysmic drum.

"Here goes nothing! Apocalypse Overdrive!" Issei strained as he tried to manifest the enhanced scale mail whilst simultaneously opening the mirror back up facing towards him. The ultra-amplified and compressed energies of the dimensional gap hit him like a hypersonic bullet at the speed of light.

It shattered parts of his balance breaker and hit him with the force of a quasar gamma ray burst and blasting holes in his body. Issei felt himself becoming irradiated with more power than his body could handle as it actually began to partially disintegrate away.

In spite of this, time seemed to slow down for him as he willfully manifested his scale mail back as well as a pseudo imitation of Red's Apocalypse Overdrive on top of it. His body glowed like a star as he finally managed to redirect this burst into powering up this new armor.

Before it could kill him, Issei sealed the mirror closed. He felt like his body was close to melting from the sheer amount of power radiating from him now. He panted heavily as his regeneration kicked in and the armor began to seal around his entire body.

Afterwards, he looked at the penrose sphere which was gathering up power again. Issei caught his breath for a moment before looking at it and grabbing the sphere with his hand. He then began to laugh almost maniacally before tossing it to the ground of his pocket dimension. The explosion could only be described as comparable to one of Red's dimension-destroying portal explosion stunts.

The pocket dimension shattered from the explosion as it launched out in all directions like a supernova. From the residual power of the blast, Issei used it to fly twice as fast back towards the pocket dimension Red had made for him.

The nova erupted across the horizon like a dazzling light show as Issei landed at high-speed causing the ground to crater around him.

He then felt an agonizing power drain on his body as he slumped to his knees and screamed in pain.

"ARGHH!" he howled as he tried to stand up.

Though he wasn't in a clear enough state of mind to understand exactly what was happening, Issei was coherent enough to realize that this amount of power could kill him. Ddraig also seemed more coherent than him as he urgently spoke up, "Issei, you can't maintain this form without the power of the dimensional gap! Open the pocket dimension!"

"Yeah, URGHH!" Issei grimaced as he held his hand up and flooded the entropic magic into the pocket dimension. Upon doing so, he felt a bit of relief as his body and its armor began to absorb the chaotic power to reach a state of equilibrium.

Issei then stood up straight and panted heavily as he tried to walk. His body felt ten times heavier and a weariness unlike any he had ever experienced was prevalent down to his bones.

"Fuck…I can barely move in this armor," Issei complained.

Magical words then manifested in front of Issei's face as the dimensional gap's chaotic entropy flooded into the training ground. It was in floating red writing, "If you're getting this message, Issei, then it's obvious that you tried to manifest an apocalypse overdrive like I thought you would. It's exponentially more powerful than your juggernaut drive, but it takes exponentially more energy to maintain. It'll kill you if you don't take it off or use up its power fast enough. As you probably realized, the dimensional gap itself can power it, but without direct power, it'll start to sap both of you until it kills you. Ddraig can offset the decay with boosts, but it's not permanent or stable. Even I can't maintain this power outside of the dimensional gap for long. This obstacle course is designed for you to use with Apocalypse Overdrive as I'm sure you've realized by now. It'll help you get used to it. The end has a portal that'll take you through another dimension. You're gonna have to fly through it and destroy it or you'll get reset back to the beginning. If you manage to pull off a one portal explosion stunt while doing it, you'll be strong enough to fight those punk kids and scare away Goth bitch. Also, don't count on being able to maintain a permanent link to the dimensional gap with your portals. Goth bitch will cut those off once she realizes you can use my power. If you master the course, you should be able to maintain apocalypse overdrive for a few minutes in your world. Don't overdo it kid…seriously! Also...don't underestimate goth bitch. I doubt she'll try fighting you herself, but if she does, GET THE FUCK OUTTA THERE! She might be a wimp compared to me, but Ophis has hands and can throw down if you piss her off enough. She's my biggest hater and might lose her shit when she finds out you're my protege. Make me proud out there!"

"Damn…so Red anticipated this?" Issei spoke disbelievingly.

"I feel more reassured knowing he actually has faith in our chances of winning. Though if even HE is concerned about you fighting Ophis, then clearly, we should heed his advice. As much as I'd like to talk about it though, we can't waste any more time. The longer you keep this armor on, the more likely it'll permanently damage you…and me. Let's master this course quickly and go back to working on making combinations with nightmare mode and the boosted gear," Ddraig replied.

"Yeah…let's get started," Issei nodded as he winced in pain and forced himself to a brisk pace and began to attempt the course.

To say it was challenging was the understatement of all understatements. He wouldn't wish this kind of pain on even Diodora Astaroth.

Issei THOUGHT he knew what hardcore training was. He THOUGHT he was tough and that he could endure any pain and any challenge. This crucible, however, had proven to be one of the most grueling and torturous experiences of his life.

Words could scarcely describe the pain it brought him to move at a normal pace in the apocalypse overdrive. Ddraig would periodically boost consistently to help him maintain his strength and endurance, but even the Welsh dragon was getting tired from it.

Issei couldn't even believe how incredible Red truly was to be able to fly at the speeds he did in this armor…let alone the Juggernaut Apocalypse Overdrive which was a form beyond even this one. Despite the agony and the waning of his ironclad willpower, Issei felt motivated to keep going.

This would make him more like Red. This would give him the power he needed to be free…to save his friends. To have the power to enforce peace and to become a true dragon. He had to keep going no matter what.

He lost count how many times he ran the course. Dozens…hundreds? He couldn't even say since all his mind could focus on was the pain of moving and getting faster. He tried and failed countless times to build up enough speed and power to do the one portal dimensional stunt at the end of the course.

Every time he failed, he was reset back to the beginning. Yet even in spite all the hardship, he started getting faster and he started becoming numb to the pain.

After what felt like an eternity of agonizing attempts, Issei reached the portal one last time. He ran at it full speed whilst simultaneously absorbing the residual power of the dimensional gap and the endless chorus of boosts from Ddraig.

He then focused all of this power onto his wings and his feet and mimicked the jet-like propulsion Red used with it. This final attempt actually succeeded as Issei roared at the top of his lungs and launched himself through the portal causing an apocalyptic and dimension shattering explosion as he shot through the other side finally.

"ARGHHHHHH!" Issei howled as he blasted out the other side into the dimensional gap. Not long after breaking through it and finally conquering the course, Issei felt himself losing consciousness.

Despite his weariness and the feeling of his eyelids being heavier than boulders, Issei quickly opened up a portal back to his house with the last of his energy.

He collapsed into the middle of his home's entryway as his apocalypse mail and the scale mail underneath shattered off. As he sizzled there like a smoking meteorite, Issei then passed out completely.

Issei's Dream

It was hard to describe what was going on, but Issei was quick to realize that he was in a dream and was completely lucid as he found himself in what appeared to be the underworld. It was a very deep part of it by the looks of things and there were quite a few individuals his dream-like vision was following.

"Is it just me or is it getting really cold here?" a man who looked like a greek warrior asked the group.

"Yes, Ares it is getting colder. This is Helheim," A man responded to him.

"I'm looking forward to shheeing thish Hel woman. She better be hot, because I'd have much rather stayed in Olympus than freeze my ballsh off down here," a drunk man chimed in.

'Those are Gods…Greek Gods maybe?' Issei thought confused.

'I recognize them, Issei. That's Hades, Persephone, Hestia, Ares, Dionysus, Osiris, and Anubis. They said they were in Helheim? How odd…I wonder why? How are you even dreaming about this?' Ddraig asked telepathically.

'Last thing I remember was passing out at home. Maybe this is a side effect of using Red's power that much? Is this actually happening or is it a vision of the future I wonder?' Issei asked.

'Beats me, but let's just watch and see what's going on. Maybe we gained access to the dream or some of Red's prescience,' Ddraig replied.

The gods all walked calmly as they finally entered into a massive hall where they saw a woman seated on a throne. A man was seated next to her, and he looked a bit dazed and unresponsive.

"Ah, welcome guests. You're finally here…good. I am the jotunn goddess Hel, queen of Helheim. A pleasure to meet you all," she introduced herself.

Dionysus looked at her a bit confused, "Huh…she has some interesting fashion."

Hestia quickly elbowed the god annoyed at his rude comment. Though everyone there who had never seen Hel before quietly agreed. The jotunn goddess had a striking duality about her. She wore half white and half black and her hair was also half white and half black. The white half had red highlights in it and the black half had blue highlights in it.

The white half seemed to symbolize vibrancy and life in its patterns, whilst the black half looked like something you'd expect a necromancer to wear. Hel was quite beautiful, but half of her face almost seemed to have a light and ethereal glow at certain angles as it manifested a skull-like visage over it.

From the front she looked completely normal, but as she turned her head, this odd feature would appear and glow faintly over that darker half of her face.

Osiris then walked up and extended his arm as he bowed his head respectfully, "Thank you for meeting with us, Lady Hel. I'm assuming you're up to date on everything and are ready to join us on a trip to Tartarus?"

"Yes, of course. My husband Baldur will also be joining us. His light can ward away the shadows and other dangers down there as well. It will be dangerous, but I see you brought plenty of backup for the expedition," Hel nodded her head.

"Baldur…Hermes mentioned him before. Didn't he-" Ares never go the chance to finish his statement before Hestia covered his mouth with her hand.

She sighed, "Mind your own business, Ares. We're not here for that."

He immediately ripped her hand away and sent her a sharp glare before conceding, "Yeah, fine…I was just curious."

"Woah…Hermes was right! That guy is Baldur?! He's the best-looking person here! Damn he's so good-looking even I'd marry him haha!" Dionysus exclaimed as he stumbled closer and looked at the dazed Baldur.

"My beloved husband is very beautiful, and his light shields the underworld from greater darkness. I couldn't ask for a better spouse. While I do respect your admiration, he's taken," Hel replied to Dionysus' comment.

He then laughed, "I didn't realize he was drunk too!"

"I apologize for that; Baldur is very distressed recently and has been drinking quite a bit. It won't be a problem though. Come, dear…let us join our friends."

Baldur didn't speak as he regained brief coherence and stood up alongside Hel. She snaked an arm around his as she smiled happily, "Let's not waste any time."

"Before we go, Lady Hel…I have a question," Hestia spoke up grimly.

Hel eyed her almost dangerously but smiled in response, "Yes, Lady Hestia?"

Hestia seemed a bit wary and surprised that Hel recognized her but brushed her concerns aside as she took a moment to collect her thoughts.

"I heard that Ophis was after the midgard serpent. Does your father, Loki know about that?" Hestia asked.

Hel relaxed slightly as she shook her head, "I honestly don't know. Father rarely visits me anymore. Last time I saw him, he mentioned something about investigating the Old Satan Faction."

"I see…well I was just curious if you knew anything about that," Hestia sighed.

Hades then spoke up for the first time as he looked between Hel and Baldur, "It's no secret to any of us in the underworld that Baldur is your hostage, Lady Hel. Though it isn't like him to not speak. What's wrong with him?"

Persephone stared at Baldur seriously for a moment in silence as she empathized with him. She knew this feeling and recognized the look on the man's face. She had long since accepted her place as Hades' wife and even cared for him now, but Baldur's situation seemed much worse than she used to think hers was.

"Is that you, Lord Hades? Lady Persephone? I haven't seen you two in ages! Like I said, Baldur just had a bunch of wine and he's really tired. Say hello to our guests, dear" Hel responded as she looked up at the norse god of light.

He then spoke for the first time, "Well met everyone. It's nice to see new faces down here."

"You know if it wasn't for the light beard, you could put him in a dress and he'd be the most attractive babe I've ever seen," Dionysus lightened the mood as he couldn't seem to get over his homoerotic infatuation for Baldur.

The norse god glanced at him and sighed, "Spare me your perversion, Olympian. I'm not into that sort of thing."

"While I can't blame you for having good taste, Dionysus, Baldur is mine and mine alone. Please stop ogling him like that," Hel commanded.

"Geez…my bad. I didn't mean anything weird by it. No need to get all jealous," Dionysus laughed.

Ares then shook his head, "Why'd we bring this embarrassment with us again? He's so drunk that he's mistaking a god for a goddess."

"Aww c'mon Ares. Look at the guy…you can't tell me you wouldn't," Dionysus egged his brother on.

Persephone then silenced their banter as she hissed in annoyance, "Enough of your prattling perversions, Dionysus! We have important business to deal with. We didn't come here to interrogate Lady Hel or fawn over her…husband. I am grateful you'll be accompanying us, Lord Baldur. Hermes has said nothing but good things about you. It's an honor to finally meet you in person."

"Hermod's a good friend…" was all Baldur said in response.

"I for one am grateful that Lord Baldur will be present in Tartarus. We could use his light if nothing else. It would be a good deterrent against someone with dangerous shadow powers like Nyx," Osiris changed the subject.

"Or her brother Erebus. They're both equally dangerous and uncooperative," Anubis added.

"Nyx is receptive to me and I know she'll listen to Hestia as well. I don't expect any serious complications to arise," Hades cut in.

Hel then tilted her head at them seriously, "Nyx…she's not in Tartarus."

"S-she isn't?! Since when?!" Hades gawked.

Hel shook her head, "You didn't know that? I thought you were aware…She's been missing from there for at least a decade."

"This is serious news! If Nyx isn't in Tartarus, then where is she?! How did she escape?!" Hades demanded.

"I couldn't say, but it was certainly before Ophis destroyed the gate. Someone let her out according to my father. For all I know he could have done it himself," Hel shrugged.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous Nyx is?! Where could she be?! Hades, she was your responsibility to watch over!" Hestia cracked a fist in anger.

Hel quickly answered, "Remember when I told you my father was investigating the Old Satan Faction? She's been sighted around them according to Loki. That's all I know…and please do not hold Lord Hades responsible for it. I only recently learned of it myself."

"So, Nyx is free and gallivanting about with those filthy devil extremists?! That doesn't make any sense. Nyx despises devils…as do I," Hades shook his head.

"Maybe she's hunting them then? We could certainly use her help. I think you're right Hades. She'll listen to me and probably to you as well. Maybe we should divert and find her," Hestia suggested.

"That's not a good idea…we don't have time to spare looking for her. We should still go and investigate Tartarus and report this news back to Olympus. The titans and other primordials doubtlessly have vital information about Ophis," Persephone interjected.

"Zeus is not going to like this…" Hades groaned.

"I recently learned that the Old Satan Faction teamed up with a Fallen Angel Cadre named Kokabiel to break into Cocytus. She could be involved with that," Osiris added.

'I don't think we're seeing the future, Ddraig…this must be happening in real time,' Issei commented.

'It would appear so. Also, I know of Nyx and they're not exaggerating about her power. She's a very dangerous primordial goddess. Maybe not a threat to you, but she would be to any of your friends,' Ddraig added.

'It sounds like a lot of pantheons are involved in this upcoming shitshow we're about to deal with. Greek gods, Shinto Gods, Norse gods, Zoroastrian Gods, Egyptian gods. All we're missing now is Jesus and Buddha. Hell why not the Hindu Gods too. Why the fuck did Ophis have to rile up all these damn assholes?' Issei scoffed.

'There is one thing I do remember distinctly about Nyx. She despises Longinus sacred gears and goes out of her way to kill people with them. She tried to kill one of my first wielders. Nyx believes Longinus wielders are dangerous anomalies that should be purged. She might be after somebody with one in the Old Satan Faction if I had to guess. Someone like Ingvild maybe,' Ddraig remarked.

'Wait a minute…Ingvild said Alexys was from Greece…what if that lady who raised Ingvild was Nyx?! It would certainly explain why Ingvild was scared of her too.' Issei guessed.

'Damn it…' was all Ddraig said in response as he seemed greatly distressed by the new variables and the possibility of that connection being true.

Issei and Ddraig went silent again as they tuned back into the conversation they were watching.

"What could possibly be in Cocytus that they're after though?" Persephone wondered.

"Ahriman or Samael…both of which should NOT be set free under any circumstances," Osiris responded seriously.

"Wait…WHAT?! Samael? That's it! They're after Samael! We should go get him instead! That didn't even cross my mind. Samael's blood is poisonous to dragons! We should divert to Cocytus! We can use Samael's powers to kill those dragons." Hades remarked.

'Samael…who the hell is that?' Issei asked Ddraig.

The welsh dragon was silent for a long moment before responding, 'So that's what Kokabiel had planned for us. No wonder he seemed so confident. Samael is…well was an angel. He was the serpent in the bible that tempted the first humans to eat the forbidden fruit of knowledge. The bible god cursed him with all of his hatred for dragons and serpents. I don't really remember what it all entailed, but he has the ability to cripple dragons with his cursed blood. He's the evil intentions of the bible God…a being never meant to have them. His curse is powerful Issei…and he HATES dragons more than anything. They call him the Dragon Eater. I didn't think those weakling fallen angels or devils would ever resort to setting that monster free. Even God didn't use him against me and Albion even though he could have. I always considered him honorable for that.'

'So, if Kokabiel unleashes this Samael guy against us, then we're fucked?' Issei asked.

'Not just us…every dragon there would be in danger. We need to go straight down to Cocytus and stop them when we wake up.' Ddraig exclaimed urgently.

'You got that right…how do we wake up from this dream?' Issei wondered.

Upon thinking that he felt his vision going dark before a blinding light and the sound of muffled voices drew him out of his dream.

The Next Morning

"Hey, Issei! You alright man?! C'mon dude, don't do this to me! Wake up!" Saji frantically shouted as he tried to shake Issei awake.

Ingvild was right next to him as well, "Issei-kun, wake up, please!"

"Try to heal him, Ingvild. If Issei is this beat up before our battle, we're as good as dead. What in the world did he do to end up in this state," Saji sounded concerned.

Ingvild immediately glowed in a lavender hue and held up her hands and channeled her magic. A strange ethereal glow radiated from them before water poured out and orbited over the supine delinquent's body.

The stray half-breed focused intensely as she did her best to heal the unconscious dragon's injuries. At first it didn't do anything, but as Ingvild poured more power into her Longinus, Saji could see Issei's injuries speedily regenerating much faster now and let out a sigh of relief.

Issei's eyes then shot open as he sat awake and looked around for a moment realizing that he was finally awake.

To say his body felt sore didn't do enough justice to the pain he was in, but Issei ignored it as he immediately noticed the presence of his two companions who seemed elated that he was finally awake.

"Ughh…that hurts," he grimaced briefly.

Ingvild ceased her healing when she saw Issei's body take over on its own to fully regenerate and let out the breath she had been holding in, "He's awake! Thank goodness."

"Did you guys just wake up?" Issei asked.

Saji nodded, "Yeah, I woke on the couch and Ingvild was on the other one. We had blankets and pillows…you even left us water. Thanks man…sorry we passed out on you during training. It was nice of you to drop us off at your house to rest."

"I'm sorry I almost killed you guys…Ingvild especially. How are you two feeling?" he asked them.

"We're fine man. I'm more concerned about you right now. I've never seen the invincible Issei Hyoudou this beat up before. Did you seriously crash out in the middle of the floor here? Your body was covered in wounds before Ingvild started healing you. I've never seen anything like it. Vritra said it was odd you weren't regenerating," Saji remarked.

Ddraig then spoke aloud through Issei's arm, "Issei and I went through a crucible after we went back to training last night. I'll spare you the details, but Issei's new power takes a heavy toll on his body."

"You called it Nightmare Mode, right? Sounds scary…" Ingvild remarked.

"Forget about me, I'm fine. What about you guys? It looks like you and Saji recovered fine after that crazy overload I put you through in the dimensional gap, Vritra. Any side effects I should know about?" Issei asked.

Vritra chuckled, "Only good ones actually haha. Thanks to your extreme training, Saji's magic capacity has gone up exponentially and he is fully adjusted to my draconic power now. By my estimation, he should be able to fight with my full arsenal now and be able to handle power transfers from you. The exposure to the dimensional gap also strengthened my transference and shadow magic. I also believe Saji has gained some additional abilities of his own. We should certainly test them out."

"Good to hear. What about you, Ingvild? Do you remember what happened?" Issei asked her.

She nodded, "Yes…I spoke with Vritra about it after we woke up and before we found you collapsed on the floor. He said I'm like Saji-kun now. Part devil and part dragon. I recall him saying something about you having to give me draconic blood to recover from the exposure to the dimensional gap's entropic power."

"I'm sorry I put you through that. I don't like forcing life changing things on people," Issei sighed.

"It's okay, Issei-kun. I actually don't mind. Now that I'm part dragon too, I can actually be a real member of our little dragon gang here," Ingvild smiled warmly.

Saji then grinned in approval, "Haha, yeah I guess we really are a dragon gang now, aren't we? We should seriously come up with a name."

"You guys are serious about all of that? Well…I guess I could think of one. If you have any ideas, go ahead and run them by me," Issei chuckled.

"How about Nightmare Gang…since we're fighting for the Dragon God of Dreams, and we'll be everyone's worst nightmare on the battlefield. Plus, they are calling you the Crimson Nightmare Dragon, Issei...and you're the leader," Saji suggested.

"Nightmare Gang? It sounds corny as hell…I love it. That's some edgelord anime shit. Right up my alley," Issei smirked.

Ingvild nodded, "I don't care what it's called. I'm just glad I have friends I can finally trust and depend on. Thank you both for all the help and acceptance you've offered me."

"Well now that we're all okay and awake. Can one of you tell me what time it is right now?" Issei asked.

Saji checked his watch and shook his head, "3:40 in the afternoon, or 15:40 if you're partial to military time."

"Shit…well I guess we already blew a day and a half of training. Still, I feel like you guys made really good progress. I also made some breakthroughs myself last night after I dropped you off," Issei noted.

Ingvild frowned as she saw the look of concern on Issei's face, "Are you actually okay, Issei-kun? I've never seen you collapsed and so beat up before. It won't do you any good to go into battle injured."

'Wearing that Apocalypse mail really fucks me up, doesn't it? I didn't think the damage would be this bad?' Issei thought concerned.

"I'll be okay. I accomplished the main thing I wanted to with my training, and I'll be ready for tomorrow's battle. Thank you Ingvild," Issei nodded.

"So, what now? We going back to training?" Saji asked.

Issei straightened up his posture as he stood fully and shook out the soreness, "No…there's something way more important we need to deal with right now."

"More important than training for the disaster we're about to face?" Saji laughed almost nervously.

Ingvild seemed shaken by the urgent tone in Issei's voice as she silently stared with concern.

"Yeah…I found out why Kokabiel broke into Cocytus. I had some kind of vision about it. Apparently, he's going there to get Samael. It's some kind of dragon-angel hybrid that's deadly to dragons," Issei explained.

"The Dragon Eater?! Those foolish devils and angels would ACTUALLY resort to using Samael?! That is grim news indeed, Issei Hyoudou!" Vritra chimed in grimly.

"That sounds really bad…who is this Samael guy?" Saji asked.

Issei shook his head, "It doesn't really matter. All you need to know is he could kill me and he's Kokabiel's ace in the hole against us and Ophis' forces. We're taking a detour to Cocytus and killing Kokabiel and whoever else is there. I don't want that variable fucking us up in our battle with Ophis."

"Fuck…we're really doing this then. I thought we still had some time before the fighting started," Saji clenched his fist seriously.

"How are we going to get to Cocytus? Do you have a way to teleport there, Issei-kun?" Ingvild asked.

Issei frowned, "Not directly…but Gabriel probably does. I used her help last time I needed an express trip to the Underworld. I didn't want to get anyone else involved in this, but we should bring her with us."

"Damn…so you think Gabriel will actually let us go there? Cocytus is off limits to everyone! There's a huge treaty involved and everything. Plus, some of the Maou might show up too. Sona-sama mentioned that the devil clans were mounting an offensive to stop Kokabiel and the Old Satan Faction," Saji sighed.

Ingvild tilted her head confused, "I was under the impression Kokabiel hated devils. Why would he team up with the Old Satan Faction even if it was to get Samael?"

"Beats me, but I'm not about to let them show up against us with Samael or this Ahriman guy. Let's go knock some pawns off the board before the main event! You two get whatever you need while I go and contact Gabriel," Issei ordered.

"You really think she'll help us?" Ingvild seemed doubtful.

Issei nodded, "I'll MAKE her help us."

After breaking away from the others, Issei walked outside and opened a portal to Irina's old house. Once he was there, he quickly pulled out his phone and sent a text to Gabriel, "Hey…Gabriel. I need your help. Can you please teleport to Irina's house?"

Not even twenty seconds passed before Issei saw a light circle appear next to him and the archangel teleporting from it. Gabriel didn't seem surprised by Issei contacting her and unlike her usual ditzy self, she had a serious and somber expression on her face and didn't even speak. It almost looked like she was waiting for this.

"I need to get to Cocytus…" Issei began without even bothering to greet her or explain anything.

Gabriel sighed, "You're aware of that development I see. Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and the others have already dispatched a legion there, but we were too late. I was actually about to contact you and inform you of the possibility of Samael's involvement. They have him now, and I believe Kokabiel intends to use him against you and all of the dragons in your upcoming confrontation with them. I know you didn't want us to get involved, but Heaven cannot allow Samael to be used like that or to remain free. It is our divine mandate to capture him and to destroy those who would unleash his darkness. Kokabiel and his fallen allies have been sentenced to death. With a heavy heart, Michael has already ordered all of Heaven's forces to prepare for war…I'm sorry Issei-kun. None of us wanted this."

"God damn it!" Issei growled as he turned around and began to pace.

"You shouldn't say that Issei…invoking the damnation of God is a sinful and antithetical thing to do. It's insulting to him and to Heaven," Gabriel muttered almost sadly at the delinquent's words and his mood.

"Why not? Is he going to strike me down with divine judgement?! He's dead, Gabriel…and he hated dragons too, so why should I venerate him like you all do?! I'm not like some gullible lost human looking for salvation. I know who I am and what I want...and besides, I'm the wielder of one of his killers." Issei countered.

Gabriel's expression then grew serious again as she showed genuine emotion, "Regardless of how you feel about him, I would kindly ask that you do not insult my lord as a favor to me...as your friend. I know you believe God hates dragons and that he would have rejected and hated you, but I don't think that's true. There is a light within you, and as angel I can see it as clear as day. Your willingness to protect his faithful and your temperance and purity are things he would have admired you for. You may doubt the intentions of the Grigori angels, the devils, humans, and other factions…but true angels are not fickle manipulators, and we don't offer our favor and protection to people who aren't worthy of it. I meant what I said the first time we met. I genuinely do like you and I know our Lord would have as well. God is not nearly as petty as many religions or factions would have you believe. It pains me when noble people like yourself curse his name when you don't know anything about him or how benevolent he truly is."

Issei bit his lip as he looked down annoyed. After a moment, he cooled off and sighed, "Sorry, then Gabriel. I'm not mad at you or even him. I'm just frustrated that this turned into a looming calamity that I can't do anything about except wait for it to happen."

"Michael believes as I do that you're a true ally. We will help you against these forces of darkness, Issei-kun. I know you didn't want us involved, but we have to be now. You cannot fight Samael yourself. He's lethal to dragons. The archangels will deal with him…and you will have Heaven's protection like I promised you. We won't engage with the other dragons. We'll leave that to you. Is that an acceptable compromise?" Gabriel responded with sincere assurance.

"Yeah…that works. Well at least I can count on having some kind of deterrent for Samael now. What about Ahriman though? Did they set him free as well?" Issei asked.

Gabriel nodded, "They did…I believe he's Kokabiel's master in the shadows. The traitor grigori angels and several members of the Old Satan Faction have allied with Ahriman. His involvement explains why they're working together. Ahriman is a master of manipulation and God only knows what vile things he's promised them. It might also interest you to know that Michael and I spoke with Sirzechs Gremory and Azazel about this threat. We've agreed to an armistice and cooperation against this mutual foe. Though war is inevitable now, we don't intend to fight each other. If anything, this unprecedented alliance of interests may actually lead to a lasting peace between our three factions once and for all."

"Wow…so something good actually came out of this whole disaster?" Issei asked surprised.

"The rulers of Hell showed a much stronger willingness to work with us since we were willing to work with a dragon like you. They fear you greatly, but many of them also seem to trust you such as Sirzechs and Serafall. In a strange way, you actually helped foster this union. We'll need your strength if it is to last though…in return we will unify with you against this Khaos Brigade and the evil forces within it." Gabriel sighed.

"Can you guys do me a favor…can you make sure my human parents are safe? The same way you're looking after Irina and Xenovia?" Issei requested solemnly.

"Of course we can, Issei-kun. Is there anything else I can do to help you?" Gabriel followed up.

He looked down for a moment before responding, "I heard some crazy things from Azi Dahaka the other day about how our universe was created by the sundering of some Dragon God and how the creators of all of this were aspects or shards of it. Do you know anything about that? Is there any truth to it?"

"I can't speak for giants, and the pantheon pagan 'gods', but our Lord God is the true creator of this world and its inhabitants. He created the laws of this universe and was truly all-powerful in ages past," Gabriel stated confidently.

"Then how did he die? Ddraig told me he seemed weakened when he and Albion fought him," Issei asked.

Gabriel frowned, "God was weakened after fighting the monster known as Trihexa. 666…the Beast of the Apocalypse. He sealed this monster forward in time. It did not originate from God's creation and likely comes from the same origin of Great Red and Ophis. God also used up most of his power to create this universe and to spread his holy spirit to all the beings within it. He created angels and humans in his image. The bible gets one thing wrong about him that we haven't the heart to tell humans…he isn't the only one of his kind. There are Outer Gods like our lord who exist beyond this universe who could have created their own universes. It is considered heretical knowledge, but we archangels know this truth. It doesn't dispute our Lord's true divinity in this universe though. The dragon gods Ophis and Great Red are the only Outer Gods I'm actually aware of…and possibly the monster Trihexa. Azi Dahaka could be right about there being another Dragon God. One whose shards infested our Lord's reality and created the dragons within it. God was rightfully wary of these trans-universal creatures. The false deities in these various pantheons worshipped by the pagan humans could be fragments of some other outer deity. We angels have a name for these pagan 'gods'. We call them 'celestials' or 'devas' and we're not on good terms with most of them. Uriel spends a lot of time investigating their true nature. Various religions have emerged around the world in worship of these beings, but they are not 'gods'. There's only one God of this universe. The only reason these beings have been able to dispute it is because God selflessly spread his power throughout creation. Between the celestials and the fallen, Heaven really has its hands full trying to protect humanity and our Lord's sacred creation." Gabriel explained.

"Wow…maybe I was too harsh on the guy then," Issei trailed off surprised by Gabriel's insight into this confusing matter. He wanted to ask her some science questions as well, but figured it was probably not a good idea to go down that rabbit hole. Even still, he was fascinated to hear about this 'Trihexa' monster and wondered if it was the strange beast he saw in his dream.

"I had no idea…so the Bible God used up his power for that. Suddenly I don't feel so proud about killing him now," Ddraig spoke up.

"You didn't really kill him, Ddraig…and I believe it was his plan to let you and Albion strike him down. Your battle actually stopped our original war with each other. We do not begrudge you though, because one day our Lord will return…of that I'm certain," Gabriel announced with pride and confidence.

Issei was a bit surprised Ddraig would speak in Gabriel's presence, but given the fact that she knew about him, it didn't seem too crazy.

"We appreciate the clarification on these matters, Archangel Gabriel, and Issei and I also appreciate your willingness to help us. With that said, I hope it doesn't come with any fine print or strings attached," Ddraig announced.

"Just your willingness to work alongside heaven and protect the world against evil, is more than enough compensation for me," Gabriel responded lightly with a smile.

"Since we're on this topic, Gabriel, what was God's relationship with Ophis and Great Red like? Do you know? Surely, they must have communicated at some point, right?" Issei wondered.

"I couldn't say…but clearly the Dragon Gods have some sort of restraint when it comes to destroying our worlds. it was believed that Great Red would herald the apocalypse. He's a being of apocalyptic chaos just like Trihexa, but I don't believe he's evil. In fact, he seems to not even care about our existence. Michael and I speculated that God might have made some kind of deal with Great Red long ago…for Great Red to show up and kill Trihexa at the end of days. Sadly, I don't know that much about Ophis or Great Red," Gabriel sighed.

Issei briefly recalled the hilarious scene where Red showed up at the parent teacher night and told Gabriel she looked like she belonged in an adult film. It couldn't help but make him smirk. Suddenly his bad mood dissipated a bit, and in spite of all the truth bombs and the looming dangers to come, he felt a weird sense of reassurance.

"Thanks for all your help and for explaining this stuff to us, Gabriel. You really are my favorite angel…just so you know," Issei actually smiled.

"You're not joking about that, like last time, are you?" Gabriel asked as her face lit up.

"No, I mean it…as far as I'm concerned regular angels are way better than the fallen angels. Not only are you super helpful, but you're also knowledgeable, humble, and understanding. Plus, I really appreciate you looking out for Irina, Xenovia, and my parents. I won't forget that…and I'll stop saying God damn just for you," Issei laughed.

"Well, that's a great start on your journey to salvation!" Gabriel exclaimed.

"Don't get carried away. I'm still a delinquent you know…" Issei chuckled.

"With a heart of gold," Gabriel nodded in approval.

He then changed the subject, "By the way, I meant to ask you something unrelated. Why does Serafall Leviathan hate you so much?"

"I believe she feels threatened by me. We have clashed in battle before and I am more endowed and radiant than she is. She is also distraught by the fact that you and I are close friends. I would assume it's probably jealousy. Serafall Leviathan is a sinful woman who covets things beyond her reach. Devils are quite envious by nature much like Lucifer was. She said something about us still being rivals even though we're temporary allies when we had our meeting earlier," Gabriel said with an innocent cluelessness.

"That sounds just like her…" Issei laughed as he imagined how the exchange went.

Gabriel then titled her head at Issei, "Despite her sinful heart, it is filled with love for her family, her subjects, and even for you. I don't consider her evil, and I'd prefer that we not be enemies. Sadly, she insists on battling me at some future time and her hostility towards me has only grown worse since she learned of the special kinship that you and I share. It's rather unfortunate I must say…"

"Well, that's all I really wanted to talk about. So back on topic here…Ophis and her goons are probably going to show up tomorrow tonight. I guess I'll see you guys there. Is there anything else I should know before then?" Issei got back to business.

The archangel nodded, "Oh yes…there was one more thing I wanted to inform you about. Many of the celestials have taken a personal interest in this upcoming battle as well. More specifically, Amun-Ra has dispatched his solar barge and is coming to battle Apophis again. We're most likely not going to get involved until Samael shows up."

"Got it…I'm guessing the Maou and the Fallen Angel leaders are showing up too? All we're missing is Buddha and we'll have every major religion covered," Issei shook his head.

"Azazel and some of his fellow leaders will be there, and I believe Serafall Leviathan, Sirzechs Lucifer, AND Ajuka Beelzebub all said they were coming as well. Ajuka is particularly distraught about Tiamat's involvement in this matter. He was also worried about your presence there," Gabriel answered.

"This feels like one of those parties where I invited a few people and the whole neighborhood just decides to show up uninvited. Well, there's no avoiding it now. Try to keep them from getting in the way. I can't guarantee I won't accidentally kill anyone if they try to get between me and the other dragons," Issei groaned.

Gabriel nodded, "Michael and Sirzechs both agreed that it would be too dangerous to get between the dragons and the celestials. We're going to stay back until Samael and Kokabiel arrive…or unless you need help."

'So much for finishing high school, Ddraig…at least I can rest easy knowing my parents will be safe. Man, how I miss the old days where I didn't have to stress over any of this crap. I can't even take pride in that one portal explosion stunt we finally pulled off last night,' Issei sighed mentally.

'We knew this coming…at least they're smart enough to stay back, and they have a plan for intercepting Samael. Who would have guessed that the angels of Heaven were actually dependable allies? It's good that they're planning to deal with Samael...but I still have a bad feeling about all of this,' Ddraig also sighed.

"I deeply apologize, Issei-kun, but I must be getting back to heaven at once to prepare our legions with Michael. God bless you my friend," Gabriel bowed her head politely before teleporting away.

After she was gone, Issei put his hands behind his head and stared into the sky, 'Outer Gods, huh? Maybe Ophis is scared of something out there? I just really want to talk to Red right now.'

'Enough dallying. We should get back to the others and train some more. I also want to come up with a failsafe in case they can't stop Samael,' Ddraig snapped Issei out of his daze.

'Right…let's go,' he nodded.

Unknown Location, Ophis

The ouroboros dragon goddess Ophis was currently levitating around as she looked through some kind of scrying mirror in her hand. It was showing Issei and Gabriel speaking to each other.

She was deeply curious about how Issei could disappear from her scrying and stared at him as she saw him open up a portal to return to his house which ended up cutting off her feed, 'Hmm…so they're all getting involved too now. This whole thing could have been avoided if you just accepted my offer to begin with, Issei Hyoudou. You and Ddraig will be mine soon. A portal? Interesting…so that's how he's moving around undetected? He mentioned he had been to the Dimensional Gap before, and he seemed greatly concerned about Red too…is there any relation between them I wonder? No…Red would never interact with one of these lesser beings. He doesn't even consider me worth his notice. Red usually kills everything that enters the Dimensional Gap, and I doubt Red would spare someone foolish enough to cross his path in there. That aside, I wonder how Issei Hyoudou is able to cut off my scrying? Perhaps he uses that ability to avoid Red's detection in the Dimensional Gap as well? He must be quite powerful…easily on par with Crom Cruach in addition having Ddraig as well.'

She would never admit it aloud, but Ophis had been deeply pondering her encounter with Issei and reflecting on his words about Red and about herself. Normally she didn't even care about the opinions of lesser beings, but something about this Issei Hyoudou reminded her of Red. His powers and his four wings seemed oddly similar in addition to his crude mannerisms.

It just didn't make sense to her though. The signs were there, but how could it be possible? The seemingly invincible Great Red. Her one-sided rival and the only being she could truly call her better had some connection to this Issei Hyoudou. This half-breed human dragon. Issei's nonchalant fearlessness in her presence and the way he spoke seemed so familiar. It was impossible...and what was Issei Hyoudou's interest in Great Red anyways? Why was he more interested in Red than herself? He didn't take her seriously at all. He even laughed at her. It wasn't condescending though...he was amused. How could such a lesser being find HER amusing?

She couldn't quite explain why he fascinated her so much or why she even listened to him and changed her form to get his validation. Why did she do that? What was this Issei Hyoudou's true objective as well? Was he some sort of dragon activist like Tiamat? A renegade warrior looking for power and ascension like Crom Cruach? How could he claim to understand what Red's thoughts on her might have been?

'He laughed at me like Red used to…' Ophis frowned, 'and he agreed with Red that I was lame and causing trouble. He didn't want any power from me…he just wanted me to leave Great Red alone. He also seems to care about the well-being of dragon kind like Tiamat and asked me for something so useless...to care about him. He saw right through my logic about desiring silence in the Dimensional Gap. While it was true, I get the feeling he could tell that I desire something more than just silence. He reached that conclusion even before Azi Dahaka spoke to him about Ahriman's ridiculous ramblings. As unlikely as it seems, I can't rule out the possibility that he has a connection to Great Red or that he knows about the Blue Mausoleum. If he's been to the Dimensional Gap before, then that would make sense. I look forward to asking him about it. He did bring up a good point about how foolish I was to trust this Khaos Brigade. I think I'll cut ties with them and simply just keep my dragon subordinates. No matter how this plays out though, I know that Issei Hyoudou will be more willing to cooperate when he learns that I don't actually want to kill Red. I didn't want these foolish fake gods getting involved and learning about the Blue Heart. I am grateful Issei made me aware of the dangers and ulterior motives all non-dragons posed. Azi Dahaka and Jörmungandr won't like it, but their fathers are now my enemies and will have to die. How tiresome…'

"Hey, dragon…I gave you Jörmungandr like I promised. How long are you just going to ignore me?" An angry white-haired man demanded as he stormed into her chambers.

Ophis then desummoned the mirror in her hand before turning her uninterested gaze to the figure. She spoke with complete apathy, "You're still here, Loki?"

He growled at her bitterly, "We had a deal! The Midgard Serpent is yours, so give me what you promised! NOW!"

She then levitated down to his level. She was still in the form Issei talked her into taking and her newer adult form was quite captivating as Loki's anger lightened slightly as he glanced at her bust.

"Who exactly do you think you're talking to, little fake god?" Ophis replied with dry apathy to his tone.

Loki gritted his teeth at her and seemed surprised by Ophis' dark and dangerous tone. He had never seen her show this kind of reaction to anyone before. If anything, she seemed far too aloof to actually get offended.

He quickly changed his tone as he nervously spoke again, "I've been waiting for an hour now. When am I going to get what you promised me? I have already delivered on my end of our deal. I'll tell the whole Khaos Brigade if you screw me over."

Ophis seemed unfazed by his veiled threat as she spoke carelessly, "True…we did have a deal. Your noninterference and your delivery of Jörmungandr to me. You've delivered on the latter, but not the former. I consider our deal null and void now. I don't care about the pointless machinations and schemes of you lesser beings, but the moment you decided to plot against me is the moment you erased any tolerance I had for your worthless existence."

He looked at her a bit spooked as he stepped back fearfully, "W-what?! What are you talking about! I've done everything you've asked! I didn't even warn Asgard about you! If this was about my lack of respect, please forgive me, Lady Ophis!"

Ophis then conjured some kind of magical display for Loki to look at. It showed the shattered entrance to Cocytus and the arrival of several gods there.

The infinity dragon turned to look at it and spoke stoically, "You must think I'm a fool, Loki. Your entire pathetic Khaos Brigade was under the impression that I was a clueless weapon that they could manipulate and dispose of after getting what they want. I don't know what Ahriman promised you, but I don't approve of your treachery in retrieving Samael. Did you intend to use that anathema angel abomination against me or my dragons? I can think of no other reason you would free him other than to betray us."

"I-It was a countermeasure for the Great Red Dragon and that Issei Hyoudou!" Loki tried to talk his way out of being caught.

"I can see why the lesser dragons despise your kind so much now, little fake god," Ophis spoke darkly as her otherworldly gaze pierced through Loki's soul.

Loki fearfully gulped as he stepped back even further. Before he could even consider making a run for it, a clawed hand pierced through his back and out through his chest a split second later.

Loki gurgled in disbelief as he slowly looked back and saw Crom Cruach standing there menacingly.

"You may think me aloof and ignorant to your petty schemes, but I know everything about your plan. I know what Cao Cao is doing. I know what Indra is doing. I know the pathetic little fake gods are bringing an army. I also know what Ahriman wants…and he will not have it. None of you will," Ophis stated emotionlessly.

"Damn you, vile serpent whore!" Loki hissed as he tried to break free.

He did not fare well in his current position as Crom Cruach tore his hand free and began to brutally pummel and beat him down. Loki tried his best to fight back, but it seemed completely futile due to the black dragon's superior strength and power.

Ophis watched blankly as Crom Cruach beat and tortured the trickster god for a good minute. No words were spoken, but despite Ophis' emotionless demeanor, Loki could sense a disgust coming from her. He knew Ophis was extremely powerful but seeing her like this was truly terrifying.

"Crom Cruach…" Ophis broke her silence causing Crom Cruach to briefly stop the beatdown he was inflicting on Loki.

He turned his gaze to her and stared blankly without saying a word.

"May you please retrieve Azi Dahaka for me? He should be here to witness this," Ophis commanded calmly.

"Yes, master…" Crom Cruach sighed as he turned his hateful gaze down to Loki and kicked him in the face before walking off.

Loki looked petrified as he gasped and wheezed in his wounded state. He visibly recoiled in terror as Ophis levitated over towards him.

Her almost soulless looking eyes were so terrifying that he felt like they could bore through his very soul. He couldn't ever remember feeling fear like this.

"P-p-please! Have mercy, great Lady Ophis!" Loki pleaded almost pathetically.

"Why?" she replied with complete blank stoicism.

"I-I'll serve you forevermore and I'll help you! I'll atone for this! Whatever you want, just listen and don't kill me, please!" Loki practically started begging.

"If you're so afraid to die, then why did you challenge a real god to begin with? In what world could you ever defeat me?" she asked emotionlessly.

Loki was completely caught off guard...which was very rare for him. How could he have ever deluded himself into believing this eldritch monster could be manipulated or reasoned with? This was a dragon god and she was not as gullible or passive as the Khaos Brigade thought. How could he have underestimated her? How could anyone? This monster terrified him to his core.

"You were never a contender in this game. You were a puppet…and a puppet that can no longer be used is mere garbage. This puppet's role has just ended," Ophis stated with stone cold apathy and very subtle disgust in her voice.

Loki could only scream in agony the dragon goddess formed an infinity sign over her hands before his body began to hemorrhage uncontrollably from her dark power. The infinity snake she gave him prior began to start tearing apart his insides as his body expanded larger and larger before exploding.

The blood and gore didn't splatter the room or Ophis though as it merely disintegrated into pure nothingness afterwards.

After she finished executing Loki, Ophis turned her attention to Crom Cruach who had a frightened looking Azi Dahaka standing in the entranceway with him.

She then met her underling's gaze and spoke emotionlessly, "Thank you, Crom Cruach."

"Do you want me to kill him, master? His loyalties are clearly with Ahriman. I don't want him getting any funny ideas about double crossing us," Crom Cruach asked seriously as he turned his gaze towards Azi Dahaka dangerously.

Azi Dahaka looked terrified as Ophis levitated over towards him and stared at him blankly before speaking again, "That depends. Who would you say you're more loyal to, Azi Dahaka? Me or Ahriman?"

"Y-you, master!" Azi knelt down in pure terror.

"I say we just execute him. He went and spouted off a bunch of nonsense to Issei Hyoudou too and some gods even overheard it! He's a damn traitor, Ophis!" Crom Cruach hissed.

Ophis then placed a hand on Azi Dahaka's head as she leaned in closer, "Once we've acquired Issei Hyoudou and Ddraig, I will explain the truth to the rest of you, Azi Dahaka. Until that time, please continue to trust me. I would prefer not to kill you,"

Ophis then motioned for Crom Cruach to let the other dragon go.

"Rest assured, I'll see to his execution personally if he so much as waivers once, master," Crom Cruach stated seriously.

The dragon goddess didn't respond as she merely conjured up another magical display and focused her attention on the Khaos Brigade amassing its forces.

As Azi Dahaka fearfully scampered out of Ophis' chambers, Crom Cruach glanced at her, "You're far too merciful, master. We should have started killing these people a long time ago. It sickened me seeing them talk down to you for this long. Maybe now they'll actually start showing the proper respect! I am grateful that you're finally putting these gods in their place! This Khaos Brigade will die…just give us the word."

"This is so tiresome…we'll deal with them later. It is imperative that we acquire Ddraig and Vritra no matter what as well Issei Hyoudou. If we get enough of them..." Ophis then trailed off without finishing her statement.

"I'll personally deal with Issei Hyoudou, master," Crom Cruach announced seriously.

"Do not underestimate them…I doubt you're stronger than Issei is. You will need Albion's help to defeat him," Ophis stated simply.

Crom Cruach's eye twitched as he cracked a fist in anger, "I don't need help, master! I can defeat him by myself! I am the most powerful!"

"I doubt that...you might be equal to Ddraig and Albion, but you're fighting someone that's independently a greater dragon than you who also happens to have Ddraig." Ophis responded blankly before turning around.

"I'll prove you wrong, Ophis!" The Crescent Circle Dragon hissed in contempt before storming out of her chambers fuming.

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Alright boys and female boys, that a wrap for chapter 15. It only took me 5 years to update. Dad came back with the milk though.

Anyways, that aside, let's go over the synopsis of the chapter. So… I should start by saying the mysterious nightmare mode is actually a type of domain expansion haha! If you've ever read/watched/experienced JJK, then you'll have an idea of how utterly scary it is in the hands of a dragon with dream-based powers. I didn't showcase all of the cool stuff Issei can do with it, but you'll see some of that next chapter and beyond.

Also, a penrose sphere is a real theoretical megastructure that could exist under the known laws of physics. If you want to learn more about it, just go look up "Black hole bombs" or whatever. They're super cool and actually COULD exist if humanity ever gets around to building megastructures in space. It's speculated that the civilizations at the end of time in the universe will live around black holes and that's how they'll get energy with all the stars dead. That's of course if you believe in the entropy heat death of the universe and don't have any religious beliefs.

I'm not here to tell you what's right and wrong though. That brings me to my next point. Dxd has always been a fascinating mixture of all the various religions and mythological settings. As cool as it is to mix them all up, I don't want anyone to get offended or think I'm ignorantly trying to invalidate anyone's personal beliefs or faiths. I feel like I shouldn't have to say that, but people are super sensitive these days, so I figured it was worth throwing out the disclaimer. This is a fictional anime setting with fictional lore I made up for this fanfiction. I just wrote something that made the most sense to me that can actually tie together that oddity of all these things existing in the same setting at the same time. I could just be jumping the gun in saying all of this in advance, but I feel like it has to be said at least once. This story is AU and not canon and it's certainly not a reflection of any real religions portrayed within it. So hopefully it doesn't ruin anyone's enjoyment of this fanfic.

With that (hopefully unnecessary) disclaimer out of the way, let's move on. So, a main theme you probably saw in this chapter was based around its title "Nightmare Gang". Issei gets some valuable training and bonding in with his new friends. Despite how their first interaction went in this story, Issei and Saji actually still ended up becoming friends like they did in canon. Also, Ingvild had some big-time developments too. We found out a bit more about her past…and obviously that's going to play a major role since Nyx is now on the scene.

Ingvild also becomes something of a half dragon in this chapter as well. True to Issei's own thoughts on the matter, she's definitely going to be one of his strongest allies. I feel like a lot of that stuff speaks for itself, but the most important thing to get from this chapter is Issei's own development. He's always been a bit of loner who didn't want to trust others to help him, but now he's got a legit gang that he can actually count on. He also gained an interesting powerup with the Apocalypse Overdrive. As OP and cool as it is, it's got some nasty drawbacks, and he won't be able to use it for long. Will our boy be able to hold out and defeat the coming army? Will he lose? What's Red doing? What's the Blue Mausoleum? What's the Blue Heart? What's Ophis' real objective? Those questions will certainly be answered when I update again in another 5 years. Haha…JK, I'm gonna try to update all my main stories more consistently again.

Also, thanks to all of you who sent me personal PM's asking if I was okay and expressing your support for my fics. I sometimes forget real people actually read this stuff and are invested in it. You guys inspired me to come back finally.

Stay tuned for the next chapter. It's going to be the LONG (And I do mean LOOOONG) awaited showdown. I'll probably end up updating White again before getting Chapter 16 out, so don't expect it before that gets updated.

Anyways…as always thanks for reading guys. I truly mean that. See ya next time.