Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

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86- Red Raging Dragon of Domination

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A few minutes before Serafall's defeat.

Ise landed on the last floor before everyone else and his eyes immediately scanned the place. [Traps everywhere.] Ddraig warned a second later, his senses sharper than any devil despite only being able to see through the sacred gear. [Hmph. At least that arrogant coward isn't stupid enough to face us without preparation. A pity…]

His Partner couldn't see anything but he trusted the Original Red Dragon Emperor's instincts, believing the floor was full of traps regardless of how empty it looked. Because to anyone else that was what the place was: empty.

There was little to nothing around the place, no windows, tables, or chairs, anything but a throne, the one sitting on it and the one standing by its side. However there was an inversion of parts from what they expected as the one in the place of honor was Asia Argento. Diodora was by her left, knife in hand and a smirk on his face.

A smirk Ise was itching to rip off in the most painful manner possible.

However he didn't move, waiting another few seconds as the rest of Rias Peerage landed on the floor proper, all eyes focused on Diodora and Asia. The group's mood was somber but determined despite the signs of exhaustion most of them sported. Only two looked fit for combat, King and Pawn taking center stage, more than ready to attack.

A chuckle escaped Diodora's lips at the sight. "Welcome to the last floor of my castle. Surprisingly, you all managed to make your way here despite all obstacles." His tone was full of mockery and bitterness even if it never lost a drop of confidence. "Pat yourselves in the back! You all deserve it since you are going to die together. A fitting reward, wouldn't you say?"

Taking a deep breath to stop herself from shooting her fellow pureblood in the head, Rias' eyes locked on the traitor's before she replied, "Diodora, I will offer you this once: surrender and I swear as Heiress of Gremory to do my best that your life is spared and your rights preserved." A look of stupefaction from the blond, his eyes growing wide, showed he really didn't expect that. "Despite your… more than reprehensible behavior…"

Akeno could already tell, 'She is really holding back the insults.' On any normal occasion that would throw the Queen into a fit of giggles.

Unfortunately the situation held her and anyone else's tongue as the King of Gremory pushed the Princess of Ruin back. "You haven't done anything truly considered irreparable to devil standards…" She meant the 'Elders' standards' who would care more about a pureblood's life than of his peerage's health. Nevertheless the redhead buried any rage, Asia's life was the priority and if letting the man live would secure the Bishop's safety, Rias would swallow that pill. "It is your best interest to stand down and cooperate. If you do it I swear on my love's life to get my brother and Clan on your side."

Before Diodora could consider everything a joke until a Gremory swore on her love's life. "You are serious? You are really willing to let me get away with everything?" That was rare but the sort of oath everyone knew the Gremory Clan always went to great lengths to uphold. "Kukuku. I thought you were ready to rip me a new hide! What is wrong? Suddenly realized I am too much for your vermin to take?"

Ophis' power surrounded the traitor of Astaroth, Infinity's presence filling the room easily as his hand rested atop his throne where Asia slept like a princess from a fairy tail. His eyes showed pure malice and confidence, the power of a Concept leaving him drunk with the latter.

Negotiations were already breaking down so the Princess of Ruin had no problem saying, "Asia's life matters more than you."

"Kukuku. Good to know." His knife went to the former nun's neck and everyone flinched. "In that case be a dear and order everyone to leave the premises so we can have a… private chat."

It was Rias' turn to chuckle. "If you think I will fall for that, you are sorely mistaken. That sort of deal will only benefit you." The Magus Killer's apprentice was completely out by that point. "Besides, I think I prefer her dying rather than forcing her to a fate worse than death."

"Oh, she would appreciate-"

"I meant any unnecessary second in your presence." The Princess of Ruin added without hesitation, silencing the blond who glared at her furiously.

"Then I suppose there is no point in negotiating." Diodora announced, basically declaring he had no intention of surrendering Asia. "So, who am I killing first? The vermin?" Ise growled but remained by Rias' side. "One of your Knights? Please don't send Ravel first, I want to save her for last… Well, second to last."

Both blondes offered him murderous looks before Ravel said, "And I will be the last thing you will see."

"Feist! I love that about you. Unfortunately… you have a King now and maybe she wants to send the other Bishop first."

"Or we could all attack you at once." Luvia offered both as a threat and as a bluff. Took her a minute but she managed to detect the traps all over the place.

She wasn't alone either as Akeno was already trying to trace a route towards their enemy. "Maybe two at a time? You can take that, can't you, Astaroth-sama?" The priestess offered, mockingly.

"Hmm, no, fun would end too soon." Diodora didn't fall for the taunt, his eyes remaining on the eager dragon waiting to eat his heart. "I guess the vermin is first then? If so, Rias, please step back. I really need you for later."

Red aura surrounded Ise once again. "There won't be a later for you."

[Remember to control your anger. The nun's life depends on it!] Ddraig didn't need to bother. While his Partner was indeed getting ready for a fight, he didn't advance a single step.

An equally eager Diodora laughed at his enemy. "Such bravado!" He said sarcastically before stepping away from his throne. "Sadly, as a noble devil, I shall have to debase myself to teach you a lesson on manners." His eyes scanned Rias Peerage who retreated slowly, raising some barriers, but whose eyes never left Asia. "But first, an assurance none of you shall try and steal my Asia."

Raising a hand and creating a magic circle with his Clan's symbol, his knife began to glow green before floating towards the Gremory Bishop. The barking dog on its handle had its eyes glowing while quickly guiding the blade where its owner commanded. In that case the target was Asia's neck.

The blade's tip went in without any challenge and everyone could see the pain on the former nun's face. "Bastard!"

"You better not move! This is harder than it looks! Hahaha!" Diodora laughed as his will held the knife back so just the tip got inside Asia's neck. "There we go! Now we are settled!" Watching the anger on his enemy's faces only made him more amused. "Don't worry, don't worry. This is just insurance."

"Insurance?" Kiba asked with disgust.

"Insurance. After all, even if Rias is willing to let her die, I doubt she wants to get that far. Or does she?" The redhead in question held her poker face perfectly and Diodora chuckled. "No, she wouldn't. And neither would any of you." The glares from most of the peerage said as much, if the aura around Ise didn't say enough. "This is just to keep you all back and make our fights fair. One against one, so long as you obey, well, the knife won't get any more deeper than that."

"And you expect us to believe you? I bet you are going to try to use her as a hostage the first chance you get." Ravel raised the issue immediately.

Which only got the traitor laughing. "Well then, you better choose whose life you value more. My dear Asia or yours!" He stepped forward, glaring at the Red Dragon Emperor. "Come on, vermin, time to die."

'Son of a bitch!' Rias felt her teeth almost breaking with how angry she was. 'He is baiting Ise knowing that there is no way he will risk Asia!'

Sure it was always the plan that her Pawn fought first but the way Diodora was making things happen was completely his control since there was no way her newest Knight was wrong.

They all knew for a fact that the second the traitor found his back against the wall Asia's life would be in peril.

"Buchou…" But before she could say anything, Ise's soft tone surprised Rias. "Don't worry about me. Please save Asia."

Placing her faith on him, she nodded. "You can count on it… I forbid you from dying."

"Have you already said your goodbyes?" Diodora asked after stepping up five or so meters away from his throne. Many couldn't tell but the man was surrounded by traps both from the boundary field and of his own making. "Let's go, vermin. You wanted my head, come and take it."

Attacking from the front was a terrible idea even if the traitor didn't make it obvious there were traps with his taunt. "Oriah!" Yet Ise roared, charging straight towards the enemy devil with a fist pulled back.

Diodora offered him a cocky grin before a raging blast of dark green mana exploded from beneath the armored devil. "Ise!" His team screamed his name with concern.

"Senpai, above-" Koneko's warning was too late and the dragon's body met the ceiling where another magic circle lay in wait.

That time it trapped him with bands of mana around the Pawn's neck, arms and legs before he felt something on his lower back. "Argh!"

[Boost! Boost!-]

"Won't be that easy!" Ophis' snake sprung from his right sleeve and unleashed a blast on Scale Mail's center gem which blasted Ise out of the building while feeling something uncomfortable on his back. "You think a bit of Boosts make you capable of facing Infinity? Think again!"

From outside the castle, the Red Dragon Emperor glared at the structure before charging back in only to be met with a huge blast of black mana on his face. Ddraig was already acting, their wings moving for defense, but the attack was stronger than the dragon expected and they were sent flying.

[Damnit! This little rat is surely abusing Ophis' power. Partner! We need to get back in there.]

[Boost! Boost! Boost!]

"I know! I know!" Opening his wings with renewed strength before feeling the pain in his back. "Can you-"

[Already working on it. Astaroth's Power is more problematic than I thought!]

Before the Rating Game began Rias had warned her whole peerage about Diodora's Power, his Clan's Power of Melting.

"In layman's terms, you could say it is acid." The King of Gremory told everyone at that meeting with a pair of elegant glasses on her face and a steel stick pointing to a black board with lots of facts about the Astaroth Clan written on it. Some of it was trivial stuff while others were surely relevant, like their Power. "Power of Melting, or the Power to Melt, is all about converting their mana into a dangerous substance that can, in theory, Melt through anything."

Gasper raised a hand like he was in the classroom. "Like your Power of Destruction, Buchou?"

"Incorrect, Gasper." Ravel cleared her throat, eager to show her knowledge. "Our King's Power is so great because it can actively Destroy atoms and such while the Power of Melting can only, in essence, transform."

"Think of it this way." Akeno added, much more gently. "Remember your chemistry lessons? How melting something is all about turning something solid into liquid with heat?" Kiba and Koneko nodded eagerly while Ise avoided her eyes, Gasper shook his head shamefully and Ravel just watched in confusion, not being on Earth long enough to have had that lesson. "Right, forget that. Just think about acid as something that changes the properties of… weaker objects into something harmful to touch."

"Or in layman's terms, don't touch his magic circles if you can help it." Was Rias final warning which Ise made sure to remind himself before he dodged another blast.

[To think my scales would one day be so weak that a devil could Melt them…] Ddraig would be feeling humiliated if it was his real body. At least Scale Mail was less painful to fix, a controlled blast of mana got rid of Diodora's and the armor was as new an instant after. [Still, I think we should get a few more Boosts before going in but…]

'But then he can hurt Asia!' Something Ise wouldn't allow at any cost which included him barely powering his body up and slamming back inside the castle with his hand full of mana. "Dragon Shot!"

Compared to the one which defeated the Chimera's clone, that Dragon Shot was just half strength and way off course since Diodora was still too close to Asia. Indeed the attack sailed harmlessly by the traitor's left who chuckled while his cape danced with the impact generated by the attack.

"Where are you aiming at, I wonder?" Yet the Astaroth's Heir could tell some of his magic circles broke after the blast. "Trying to fish out my traps?"

"Kicking your ass!" Ise began to zigzag around the battlefield, flying not too high nor too low to avoid anything on the ceiling or floor. An useless trick and Diodora proved it by waving his hands around to create several magic circles that triggered others around the floor.

Two on the ceiling immediately created pillars of energy which the Red Dragon Emperor managed to barely avoid by suddenly halting his movement, leaving himself vulnerable to another one from the floor that raised a pillar of stone to piece him.

Or would have if not by the Scale Mail which easily broke the trap apart while Ise prepared another Dragon Shot. The brown haired man repositioned, trying to get an angle where Diodora would be the only victim of the attack. It was worthless because the blond just chuckled and moved around, keeping Asia at his back.

"What a coward." Luvia complained but a magic circle shone above her head, forcing the magus to jump backwards. Her friends did the same and soon their Queen raised a barrier around them as they all glared at the devil of Astaroth.

"Careful how you talk. You are all in my territory! Hahahaha!" His arms wavered around in a steady rhythm, creating several green and black magic circles. The former held his Clan's symbol while the latter carried Infinity's snakes biting each other's tails in an eight shape. "Now, try this for size, vermin!"

Diodora pushed sixteen magic circles, twelve green and four black, towards the Red Dragon Emperor who was pulling his power back to not harm Asia which distracted him for a second, giving time for the magic circles to surround him.

Beneath his armor, Ise opened his mouth and felt the flames accumulate in front of his visor. "Burn!" His fire breath consumed the Power of Melting easily but Ophis' was another thing entirely. The four remaining magic circles approached quicker than he anticipated and exploded around him. "Aaaahhh!"

"Ise, you need to always keep moving!" Rias ordered as Diodora laughed at his hit connecting.

"Buchou-"

"Stand down, Kiba." The redhead anticipated her Knight's idea. "He still can do it. Just remember that we need to spread around a little to not give Diodora an easy target. Koneko, Akeno, Luvia, do we have a path free of traps?"

Medusa's priestess was on one knee with a hand on the floor. "He really filled the floor with them. Literally everywhere has one."

"No way in." The white haired nekomata added, her Ki flowing around and dismantling some of the magic circles around them. "And no way out."

Her observation had them all looking towards the entrance to the floor only to notice the hole had been closed. "Well, it seems we are in the dragon's mouth." Ravel observed callously, hands ready to draw the Married Swords.

"Ise-senpai needs to open the way a little more. There is too much mana." Gasper's eyes shone for a moment before he relaxed to save energy.

Back on the fight, Ise broke the cloud of dust from the blast with a swing of his arm revealing that Scale Mail had taken some damage. [This weakling would be nothing without Ophis.]

"Oi, oi. Should you be saying that, Red Dragon Emperor?!" Diodora asked upon hearing the dragon. "The same could be said about that vermin! He would be nothing without you!"

[Hmph. Clearly you know nothing about my Partner. Shall we show him our might?]

"Hell yeah!" Ise felt his power spike-

[Boost!]

-and his armor was fixed on an instant as a familiar shape appeared behind him. "Time to charge! Dragon Tackle!"

An almost solid dragon's head roared with its creator as Ise advanced towards Diodora, ignoring most traps exploding behind him which irritated the blond devil who called more of Ophis' power from the snake which summoned it again.

"Learn your place, vermin!" With a black magic circle and the fragment of Infinity by his side, the traitor unleashed two powerful attacks towards his rival separately. The serpent's blast was fast so it managed to halt the Red Dragon Emperor for a second before the devil's connected, unleashing a new explosion. "Hahahahaha! See what a real devil can do!"

Yet Ise emerged from the cloud of smoke faster than Diodora could blink. "Fuck you!"

His left fist hit the blond's face with all his might and for a second everyone thought it was all over when his neck began to bend as his body flew high. However Ophis' serpent had something to say about that, its body coiled around the Astaroth's torso, fixing his bones before it was too late.

But that wasn't all. "Stupid beast!" A furious Diodora, one of his eyes bleeding due to blood pressure, created his personal magic circle before crushing it with his right hand.

The place where Ise was standing began to shine green before a huge magic circle from the Astaroth Clan appeared beneath his feet. Immediately he began to feel the burn as Ddraig's scales melted just before he tried to fly away.

However the trap had a second layer on the ceiling which began to drop liquified mana over the red armor a second before his escape. That mana surprisingly didn't burn but instead it suddenly changed into dozens of magic circles similar to the ones where it came from. Then they suddenly changed again into chains that tied themselves to the ground.

"That control, is it the same as Akeno's?!" Rias revealed in a panic as her Pawn was dragged closer to the pit of acid behind him, his legs touching the magic circle built with Power of Melting despite him fighting back.

The Queen herself had her own opinions of the conflict. 'No, it isn't the same but-'

All heard Ise begin to scream in pain and rage while Diodora laughed. "What is wrong, vermin? Can't compete against a real devil?!" Summoning power from the King Piece inside him, the devil's magic grew more stable. "Let me show you the power of a real devil! To you and that filthy fake nun!"

"... He really is trying to upstage me now of all times?" Akeno could only half believe in it before shaking her head and focusing on her task.

While true that Diodora wanted to prove himself superior, all his attention was on Ise who fought against his chains trying to drag him inside his Power. "Melt! Melt! Melt! Hahahaha! You are going to Melt, vermin!"

[We really should start to fight back for real! Like, right now!] Ddraig warned his Partner as he worked hard to keep Scale Mail stable.

'But Asia-'

[She will still lament if you die, moron!] The dragon pointed out the obvious, his own mind getting fogged due to rage. Both could feel it growing but one was burying it under concern while the other already had far too much experience with the emotion. [So get your ass working already!]

[Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!]

Mana exploded around Ise's body, breaking the chains and magic circles as every gem in his armor began to shine. [We have to get him away from her! That is our job! Do it!]

"YES!" Ise roared in response to the words only he could hear, once again charging towards his enemy.

"You don't learn, do you?!" Two traps activated, one above and one below the Pawn, while the devil empowered by Ophis created a magic circle and called her snake. "This time you die!"

His attacks came quickly but Ise was different. The extra Boosts meant he could easily see them and evade if necessary. However, his eyes always offered a glance to Asia before he made every move.

'Do I dodge? Fight back? Block? If he hurts her? Try to hide?' The young man himself would admit he wasn't the smartest but he fully understood that to save the former nun he needed to anticipate Diodora.

To keep him entertained but not complacent while Ise himself stayed on the backfoot until an opportunity to save the girl presented itself. Which was why he avoided both traps but still took the blasts aimed at his body. A stronger body that could easily maneuver its wings to absorb most of the damage.

Making Diodora grit his teeth. "Vermin!" Ophis' power and his King Piece's energy pulsed in his body as the devil stopped his spells and raised his left hand. "I will tear you to shreds!"

A grew magic circle took shape above his fist creating some sort of blade made with the Power of Melting before the Astaroth Heir dashed towards Ise. For a moment the Red Dragon Emperor was shocked by the action since that went against everything his King told them about the devil.

However that moment was cut short and he pulled his wings back and fists forward. "Diodora!" He advanced quickly, faster than the traitor expected, getting on his enemy's guard in an instant to deliver another punch to his face.

But that wasn't all as just as his opponent was sent flying from the hit, Ise unleashed a huge fireball behind him that had Diodora opening his wings to recover his balance and cut it down with the malformed blade made of his Power.

Immediately the traitor pointed his magic circle towards the Pawn and transformed his 'sword' into a dark green blast taller than the younger man's armored form. Who also was preparing his own attack, his red mana challenging the green for a brief moment. There was a struggle as both dragon empowered devils pushed more power to crush the other.

Much to Diodora's rage who found himself dodging the attack and letting it sail upwards, destroying part of the ceiling. 'That- that vermin! He surpassed my power? Surpassed me?!' His eyes shone with Infinity's power as he glared at the Red Dragon Emperor who he knew was glaring back. "You disgusting vermin!"

Eight magic circles formed in front of the traitor, all of them pure black. He began firing towards Ise who dove to the right before using one of his wings to mitigate an impact he couldn't dodge.

[Boost!]

Then his wing opened to reveal a torrent of flames flying straight towards the blond, defeating his attacks without problems which forced him to create a green circle in front of himself.

While that absorbed some of the flames, Diodora felt the magic circle falling apart before doing much more, forcing him to dodge again. "Twice! You broke my magic TWICE!" With greater fury he made a green magic circle as tall as himself to his left before making it spin. "I WILL KILL YOU!"

Power of Melting filled his new attack as he pushed the King Piece inside his Core to its limits to amplify its power. Then he threw the huge magic circle, making it grow twice over as it sailed towards the Red Dragon Emperor, who was already preparing a new attack on his left hand.

"And I'm about to do it again! DRAGON SHOT!" During the fight Diodora had made a simple mistake, he had left Asia's position so there was nothing stopping Ise from unleashing all power he had accumulated.

Both spells clashed and the whole castle shook with the impact from the competition.

However, the Power of Melting couldn't really challenge a dragon's wrath and the red blast of energy shattered the magic circle before flying straight towards Diodora much faster than the devil could react.

The hit itself wasn't on the same level as the one which killed Chimera's clone but that shot was still powerful enough to rip off part of the castle walls and floor while demolishing many of the traps still in the room.

Seeing another cloud of dust where his opponent should have been, Ise didn't even wonder if Diodora was dead or not. 'Have to get Asia!' Because while he could trust his friends, he still wanted to save her the most. 'Just a little-'

But then he saw the knife on her neck shifted slightly left and the puncture wound grew uncomfortably big despite having just moved a millimeter. "You fucking worm!" Diodora's voice froze the Pawn who looked at him with anger. The traitor was bleeding from his chest, spitting blood with several wounds on his torso and burns on his arms but still very much alive. "You dare to harm your betters?! A true devil like myself?! You scum!"

[Kid… by taking Ophis' power, you can't be called a 'true devil' anymore.]

"Silence, lizard! I am in control here! ME!" Pulling the magic circle on his hand he watched everyone flinch and smiled. "That is right, vermin! I am the winner here! Not you!"

"You are just breathing because Asia is your hostage!" Luvia pointed out without fear.

She had yet to realize that, "SILENCE WITCH!" Diodora was losing his mind which he demonstrated by pulling the magic circle further making the wound grow. Already Asia's face showed discomfort which made them all fearful. "Look what you all are making me do! You are harming my toy!"

"She isn't-"

"Shut up, vermin!" Diodora's other hand created a second magic circle which he used to send Power of Melting straight blast towards Ise's chest. He dodged it at the last moment but before he could counter attack the traitor raised the magic circle which held Asia's life. "You better not move, vermin, or else you will leave me no choice but to use this."

Everyone watched the Red Dragon Emperor suddenly stop. "Ise-kun, he is bluffing!"

"I don't think he is, Akeno-senpai!" Gasper revealed as, despite his best efforts, Forbidden Balor View failed to restrain the knife since Diodora was influencing it outside the scope of the sacred gear.

It wasn't just him trying to save their comrade: Luvia discreetly attempted several spells to break the weapon, Koneko was constantly using Senjutsu to find a safe path to the Bishop with Akeno doing the same with magecraft.

Yet all their efforts were for naught as the knife was one of Ajuka's creations and thanks to the King Piece and Ophis' snake the Astaroth devil was too powerful for their indirect means to work.

It finally reached the point that Rias saw an opening and took it despite the risks. "Born To Be Wild: Act II!" A huge sniper rifle took shape in her hands which she aimed towards the knife on Asia's neck. More precisely its handle which shone like Diodora's magic circle. "Destruction Bullet!"

The projectile flew straight towards its target only for it to move slightly up, going deeper on Asia's neck and avoiding the bullet.

"Hahahahahahaha! You weren't expecting that, were you?! Hahahahahaha!" Diodora began to laugh uncontrollably in triumph. "I haven't even done anything to do that, my cousin modified it to automatically avoid Destruction without any input! Hahahahahahahah!"

"Then that means…" Kiba grew concerned.

"Onee-sama's shots can't hit it?!" Ravel confirmed his and everyone's suspicions, making Rias grit her teeth in rage.

As the traitorous devil laughed gleefully. "Carefully there, Rias! A wrong shot and you will kill my Asia! HahahahahaAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He began laughing like a maniac, fully certain of his victory.

"... I will shoot a Mana Bullet." Rias suddenly whispered, reloading the rifle.

"Rias, you can't!" Akeno rejected the notion immediately. "The knife is too close! If it explode into fragments now-"

"Diodora will keep using Asia as a hostage. We need to…" In truth the redhead didn't want to say those words. But the Princess of Ruin could. "... For everyone else's sake… for you all and Ise's sake…" Her hands held her weapon firmly. "We have to risk it…" It wasn't 'risk' but certain death with how close the knife was and the fact Diodora would be paying attention to her from then on. 'A King… needs to make sacrifices…'

Images of Asia smiling at the club, talking happily after a day of school or just about a new friend she made. Under normal circumstances killing someone so innocent would leave Rias with a bad taste in her mouth but Asia wasn't just someone random and that was crushing her heart.

Yet that was the only way they could achieve victory so the Princess of Ruin aimed her gun and prepared to take the shot, shocking everyone watching. "Buchou, wait!" Ise's words made Rias freeze, her own hesitation piling up because of her Pawn. "I'll save Asia! Just give me some time!"

"But Ise-"

"Trust me, Buchou…" The Red Dragon Emperor glared at Diodora who reciprocated. "What are you waiting for? Don't you want to shut my mouth?!" His challenge made them all pause and the traitor snarl. "Come on, come on, you motherfucker. Come and get me! Or is the scared cat scared?"

"Vermin!" Renewing his magic circle, Power of Melting pulsed with his piece. "You better not move~" He suddenly, his other magic circle pointing towards Asia. "If you do… something can happen~ Do you understand?" No one said anything but they all could see Ise setting himself in a defensive posture which made the traitor chuckle. "Good, good. Die!"

The blast was bigger than the last and the Red Dragon Emperor just kept his body still, waiting for the hit. Which he took freely, his shoulder feeling an immediate burn as Ddraig's scales absorbed most of the Power of Melting. After a few seconds of the attack, it stopped so the devil could inspect his work.

What he saw was a half deformed shoulder pad and not much more. "That's all you got?" Ise asked challengingly.

Infuriating Diodora. "You are just prolonging the inevitable, vermin!" Joining his hands, he opened them slowly to reveal another green magic circle. "I will enjoy hearing your screams… maybe just slightly less than Asia's later."

"Bring it on!" Ise spread his arms wide and his wings fully, giving his enemy a bigger target.

"With pleasure!" There was no way such an invitation would be rejected, not when Diodora's pride was on the line and his anger was blinding him to everything else but the Red Dragon Emperor's pain.

His magic circle grew as taller as he was before the Astaroth devil pushed it forward. Compared to anything else used that day, including Diodora's previous attacks, that one was slow and Ise could evade easily. Yet he chose to not do it, instead surrounding his body with aura before crossing his arms for the impact.

All of Rias Peerage shouted his name and yet the dragon stood in place firmly when the magic hit and Power of Melting tried to eat away his body. However Ise felt little pain that time and even smirked beneath his armor, giving a few seconds to let Diodora's Power vanish before relaxing his posture.

"Thank you sir, can I have another." His eyes shone green as the damage to Scale Mail had been minimal.

Something Diodora couldn't believe or accept. "You think you are better than me?!"

"We all think that." Ise replied before anyone else. "Also, didn'tcha say that before? Buchou doesn't like people repeating stuff so can you ask something different?"

"Wait, Ise, what are you-"

"Vermin! You are just a vermin!" The traitor's power flared again.

"That too! Don't you have anything new?" The Red Dragon Emperor punched his own chest like a gorilla. After a few hits he assumed a 'strong man' posture with his arms up and flexing a little before adding. "Come on! Melt me away or whatever that weak Power does. Destruction' s cooler anyway!"

"You are DEAD!" Dozens of magic circles carrying Power of Melting took form before Diodora threw his arms forward, launching all his attacks at the same time.

Instead of just taking the hits, Ise quickly dropped his arms in a familiar boxing stance before throwing several lightning fast jabs at the magic circles. Most of his defense was focused on his left hand but sometimes the brown haired teen would change to his right, protecting his face.

After a few seconds all of Diodora's attack had been dealt with, making Ise wonder out loud. "Uff, that's the best a pureblood devil can do? So weak!" To say nobody understood why he was taunting their enemy was an understatement. Yet he didn't stop and turned around to slap his own ass. "Come in here hit it if you caaaaaaaaan!"

Ravel couldn't take it anymore, not when Diodora made another huge magic circle full of his Clan's Power. "You utter buffoon-" Yet Koneko was quick to slap her mouth shut. "Uh? Hum, hum um hm."

"Quiet." The nekomata could feel how her friend's power was stable in a manner it wasn't on the previous floor.

"Ise-kun is trying something." Akeno also realized that fact, having everyone watching their Pawn with closer attention as a blast full of Power of Melting went his way.

"Dragon Shot!" There was another explosion as Ise countered the attack just before it hit. "Sheesh! Your aim sucks, bro!"

"Shut up! I am not your 'bro'! Also, you are barely blocking my blows, you vermin!" Diodora replied with anger.

Only for Ise to say. "Hey, my armor 's still here. If it's too strong, just say it." He made a show of fixing Scale Mail before removing his helmet. "I can't take it off, if you want…" Anybody who knew him could see the pervert was being far too cocky compared to his usual self. "I mean, not like a devil can defeat the great Red Dragon Emperor!"

"Fucking vermin!" More magic circles were created and launched. They soon sent green blasts towards the armored warrior's side but just before they connected, Ddraig raised his wings as the helmet closed around his Partner's head.

[Boost!]

Their power flared and broke a few magic circles apart just before Ise punched another off the air as Ddraig raised his left wing to take a hit.

And while his friend blocked the attacks, Kiba had an epiphany. "He is trying to keep Diodora's attention away from Asia… by playing with his pride."

"And taking the punishment…" Koneko noticed first that some of Scale Mail was melting away after every blow only for Ddraig to fix it immediately. "But he isn't attacking…"

"Why?" Nobody could answer Gasper as none understood what their friend was planning.

But the Crimson Haired Ruin Princess took control again. "Focus on rescuing Asia." She ordered calmly, letting her Stand go. Immediately she noticed Diodora throw her a look before focusing fully on Ise. "While our enemy is distracted, we must save Asia. That is our priority. Don't waste Ise's efforts."

"Yes!"

The whole group began to come up with plans to try and deal with the knife while a small voice on Rias' head asked. 'Ise really trusting us, or has he another idea in mind?'

On the battlefield, the Red Dragon Emperor had just finished blocking everything Diodora had thrown at him only to watch as the traitor began gathering energy for another huge magic circle.

However there was a clear difference that time as Ophis' snake had emerged and wrapped itself around his neck after feeling the devil's distress. Its eyes began to glow and soon so did the traitor's. Full of new energy his magic circle became a deeper shade of dark green that looked like something from a swamp.

And Diodora liked that as he felt the extra power flowing in his veins which began to grow dark as well. His face suddenly had a more sinister aspect as Infinity flowed inside him almost like poison making his blood vessels budge. He didn't know it but that was his body growing closer to become a hybrid of devil and dragon.

Yet that wasn't happening as his soul fought back against the transformation thanks to the King Piece inside him increasing the output of demonic power. That stabilized his existence, keeping the more harmful effects of Infinity at bay by enhancing the very things that made him a devil.

Still, that all meant his power had grown exponentially to the point Ddraig was concerned. [Partner! Move!]

'We can take it!' Ise replied while focusing all his energy into enhancing Scale Mail's defense.

[Boost!Boost!Boost!]

The Original Red Dragon Emperor knew that wasn't enough. [Stop being stubborn! Your plan isn't going to work anyway!] If he could even call it that.

What Ise had been trying to do with all those taunts, besides keeping Diodora's attention away from Asia, was trying to get his enemy to spend all his energy attempting to get the Pawn killed so the traitor no longer could control his knife.

It was a logical approach all things considered since Diodora needed an active magic circle to threaten Asia's life. Helping his plan was the fact that the Pawn was confident in his defense, or better yet Ddraig's scales. With the addition of some Boosts he was sure there was no way his Balance Breaker could lose.

However there was a huge problem with that plan. [He is using Infinity's power, you moron! That gives him more mana than you!]

Ise refused to change his course of action nonetheless, showing absolute no fear when the new magic circle flew in his direction with a combination of Infinity and Power of Melting that was more stable than it had any right to be.

"I'll save Asia…" The young Red Dragon Emperor mumbled to himself as the spell got closer. "I will save her!"

[Fool!] Ddraig moved their wings forward to block the hit but Scale Mail couldn't block it properly because of Ophis power.

After all, the dragon's natural predator was another dragon.

[Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!]

Immediately both Red Dragon Emperor's used as many Boosts as they could in a short period of time while Ise threw a double punch full of mana towards the spell. The powers clashed, the red aura failing to push the dark green magic circle like it did with the previous ones.

Took a few instants but soon Ophis' influence allowed Diodora's power to surpass the threshold to Ultimate Class thanks to the King Piece which converted most of its mana into demonic energy.

Nevertheless that meant Ise, who had little to no skills in making shields, couldn't really win the struggle on the defensive. His aura shattered, pushing his arms backwards despite his resistance, allowing the Power of Melting to hit his body directly.

The roar of pain the Pawn unleashed sounded like a wounded dragon's. Scale Mail had been mostly breached by the magic circle revealing his burned torso and part of his right arm. Power of Melting spread on his flesh despite how reduced it was thanks to their struggle.

"Oh no!" Luvia exclaimed with concern as her peerage watched the event happen.

Both Rias and Akeno prepared their Stand and chains to join the fight only for Diodora to raise a magic circle towards his hostage. "Don't you dare, Rias!" The knife glowed a grin and the traitor laughed. "Kukuku! Hahahahahaha! Why are you so upset?! I am just teaching this vermin a lesson! Or don't you care about dear Asia's life?"

"Don't move, Buchou! Please!" Ise exclaimed desperately as he stood up, ignoring the ugly, painful burns around his body. Burns that everyone saw for a moment before Scale Mail was restored to its original state. "I can do this… all day!"

"Are you insane?!" Ravel asked loudly, making Diodora laugh again. "Onee-sama, if we don't act, both will-"

"I know!" Rias turned to Gasper who gave her a sad look before shaking his head. When she bit her lip it was hard enough to draw blood. "Shit…" Stuck with the decision of who she had to save, the King of Gremory directed her anger to Diodora. The man looked smug and completely unconcerned. "Shit. Shit!"

"Language, Rias… Kukuku!" Happy his enemies were in pain and tasting despair, he used his free hand to prepare Power of Melting Again. Ophis' snake immediately began to help, a power equal to the previous one quickly forming. "Ready to die, vermin?"

[We need to attack!]

'Asia will die.'

[Save her first!]

'You know I thought about that!' More than once during the fight his gaze had wavered towards that knife but fear stopped him every time.

Problem was that they wouldn't last long, Ddraig knowing that more than anybody else. He had plenty of his Hosts dying from biting more than they could chew and the damage Ise took was no joke. After patching up his Balance Breaker, the dragon tried to direct some of his energy to help with the wounds.

But the healing Tannin taught Ise wasn't working since Power of Melting remnants kept eating his skin. Sure the burns weren't getting any worse but unless they managed to get rid of Diodora's Power somehow they wouldn't get any better.

"That is right, vermin. Be good and die like the trash you are." Diodora's words made Ise grit his teeth but besides preparing himself for another hit, the Red Dragon Emperor did little.

Until a voice captured everyone's attention. "Ise-san!" All turned to Asia, standing from the throne with a look of concern, one hand with Twilight Healing taking care of her neck while the other held the knife which once threatened her life. "Fight back!"

"Asia-" Diodora couldn't even finish exclaiming his surprise before he was hit by a powerful fist courtesy of the Red Dragon Emperor.

"YOU BET!" Ise roared with determination as all his shackles had been broken-

[Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!Boost!]

-his power exploding with joy at seeing the Bishop safe, knowing that he had nothing else between him and punching the one who placed her in danger.

Another roar, one of triumph and excitement, left his mouth before he continued his attack by punching Diodora's face five times, his chest eight and breaking his arm when the traitor tried to raise his magic circle defensively.

The spell he was preparing suffered the same fate and Ophis' snake moved into the fray, trying to bite off the Red Dragon Emperor's neck. Ise grabbed it before the creature of mana could sink its fangs on him, punching his enemy on the chest one more time while trying to pull the black creature.

[Ophis' serpent won't abandon him that easily.] Ddraig commented upon seeing Diodora hit the floor, the snake going to its full extension but the tail's tip remained connected to the traitorous devil. [What do you say about us using that?]

"With pleasure!" Ise began pulling and spinning into place, the thrusters on his back accelerating the armored form-

[Boost!Boost!Boost!]

-until he was practically a blur strong enough to create a huge wind while treating Diodora more like a yo-yo.

The blond tried to recover but his mind was in chaos and losing to panic. 'How? How? Howhowhowhowhow?! She shouldn't be awake yet! And this vermin-' His train of thought was cut short when the Red Dragon Emperor let Ophis' snake go and sent him flying straight on a wall far away from Asia and Rias Peerage. Ribs broken and blood leaving his throat, Infinity was the only thing stopping him from passing out. "You- you-"

"Osha!" Mercilessly Ise delivered a powerful uppercut on his enemy's stomach, ripping apart several organs and breaking just as many bones. Diodora could do nothing but puke blood and bile while the punches kept coming. "Bastard! Fucker! Coward! Bitch! Idiot!"

He kept punching and punching but it wasn't enough because Ophis' serpent was there to pick up the devil's slack. Its neck moved swiftly to try and bite off the Pawn but his arm intercepted the blow before returning to the punching which kept going despite the blond's efforts to break free.

The best Diodora managed to make was a small magic circle with Power of Melting but when he raised it against the Red Dragon Emperor's scales the construct fell apart without causing damage before another punch hit the side of his face.

'Am I going to die?' Astaroth Clan's traitor questioned for the first time. 'I don't want to die! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!'

Fear consumed Diodora as his blood mixed with the dragon's red scales, dropping everywhere as his face was demolished by Ise's fists. It was just a matter of time until it was literally carved in, his teeth were already falling and only Infinity was extending his life.

However he only had a carving of the Concept which meant it was extremely limited and, ironically, the King Piece wasn't helping matters as it kept transforming his mana into a constant flux of demonic energy which reduced Ophis' influence.

Indeed Diodora wasn't going to transform on any sort of dragon, suddenly gain any extra power or turn the tables around with the talents and strategies he had. With every punch the truth of his imminent death sunk in further into his heart.

Panic began to brew as he tried and failed to summon mana, Ophis' serpent losing its form and turning its focus on keeping the devil alive as his face was completely deformed, moans of pain escaping his toothless mouth.

Except they weren't just from pain. "Sto-" Another punch. "Ple-" And another. "Pl-" Ise showed no mercy, not even hearing the incomplete pleas. "Stop-" The Red Dragon Emperor only saw red, "I beg-" because Diodora's blood kept hitting his own face. "I-"

At some point his hand started trying to push the younger man but Pawn cared not about it and just kept punching while hurling whatever insults he could think of. And while sure they weren't many, Ise began to repeat himself after the seventeenth punch, all of them carried the same tone of rage full of bloodlust.

Those who climbed the castle with him could sympathize, none of them even thinking about sparing the traitor's life for any reason since they were too disgusted by the man who acted far too monstrously whenever he had any advantage.

"Ise-san, stop! Please!" However Asia didn't even need to plead, the Red Dragon Emperor's fist freezing just shy from Diodora's face. Everyone had similar reactions, staring at the former nun like deers in the headlights without knowing what to say.

All but one who just found relief. "A-A-A-A- Asia…" Nobody could know because of how deformed his face had become but the devil was smiling as his eyes dropped because of pain. "I- knew- I knew that you… would save me."

He was back in the past, walking around a city in Italy after hearing rumors about a Holy Maiden. Buying a room in a motel, the devil managed to take a peek inside the church where she lived after days of patience.

What he saw was an image of purity and beauty unlike any other before.

A true pious maiden full of mercy and compassion.

Once again he was seeing that image albeit a lot different. Asia wasn't smiling at him or at anyone even, her eyes gave out only sadness. Sure she wasn't crying or anything similar but her emotions were easy for any to see. Enough that even Rias found herself unable to say a word.

"Why?" Ise, whose focus immediately turned to the Bishop, asked. Despite having one eye towards the blonde and feeling all her emotion on her shoulders, his rage still burned. "After all he did to you… I can't…"

"That is right. Asia was asleep!" Gasper reminded everyone and some of them suddenly understood that Asia was just showing kindness to someone undeserving because that was just how she was.

Yet their friend broke all their expectations by shaking her head and muttering. "No, I wasn't." The reveal shocked everyone, including Diodora who was so stunned the fog of pain in his mind was lifted. "I was awake from the beginning. I heard everything."

The devil of Astaroth suddenly wanted to drop to his knees and praise the Holy Maiden for being an example of virtue unmatched in his eyes; a true Holy Maiden God Himself would approve of.

Ise's fist slowly came down as he stared at the smaller devil. "He hurt you." Confusion and frustration rolled from his person in waves but he wouldn't go against Asia. Never against Asia. "He ruined your life."

"Asia, please be reasonable." Everybody stopped what they were doing to look at Akeno. "Diodora is a monster who deserves death. I bet even the Elders won't complain."

"They will. He is pure of blood." For the first time since she could remember, Ravel utterly loathed the system she was born in.

"Screw them if they complain." Rias absolutely couldn't have cared less. "That bastard needs to die. Better, be burned alive! Better! We need to get God back to personally smite him into oblivion!" After taking a few deep breaths, the redhead composed herself. "Is this… what you really want?"

Because she would abide by her Bishop's wishes, they all would, no matter how much nobody agreed with them.

"We can just cut off his head. Swift, no pain." Kiba suggested in an effort to change Asia's mind.

"He hurt you." Ise repeated, turning back towards Diodora, eager to finish him off. He had the strangest feeling the traitor was grinning even if his mouth couldn't show it.

Taking in what the Pawn said, Asia smiled gently, full of understanding. "He didn't ruin my life. In fact I am grateful." Her words shocked the room. "I am grateful that I could meet all of you, that I found a family. I think… I prayed to God for that more than anything else." Whatever pain came with devotion was ignored. "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be together. I would still be… alone. Because of that… Diodora, I can forgive you for all you have done to me."

"But if you were awake-"

"Ise-san, knowing you is a greater gift than whatever pain that man could inflict." Her sincere smile caught the Red Dragon Emperor off guard, all the embers of his wrath dying. Then her green eyes shifted to Diodora. "We can't kill him, because he must see Justice for the crimes he did with the others."

"The others?" Then Rias remembered who Asia was talking about. "You mean…"

Her Bishop nodded sadly. "The other girls he tortured. They deserve Justice as well. No, they deserve it more than me." Her firm tone shocked Diodora. "Unlike me, they weren't saved, nobody found them. Even their love for God is so far away that…" She refused to show tears or anything other than decisiveness. "It isn't fair. They deserve Justice and Astaroth must pay for his crimes."

"Unfortunately, as a pureblood devil, I find it hard to happen." Luvia pointed out what concerned most of them.

Yet Asia just shook her head. "Lord Michael will see to it. I also believe in Lord Sirzechs and of course, you Buchou." Offering her King a beautiful smile, the redhead relaxed and showed one of her own.

Before placing a hand on her heart to say. "Of course! I swear as the future Lady of Gremory to help see Justice done… And that in case nobody wants to take care of these girls, we will." Looking at the traitor, she added. "It won't fix the harm he caused but perhaps it is for the best they are there to see his fall."

"Thank you, Buchou." Asia turned back towards the men who changed her life. The one who saved her and the one who tried to imprison her. "Ise-san, please, for them…"

The Red Dragon Emperor looked towards the former nun with a sense of pride and understanding before turning to the ruined devil close to his feet. It wouldn't take much to kill Diodora and he honestly wanted to do it wholeheartedly. One Boost or two or a point blank blast and he would be gone.

Yet his heart cared for Asia more than any hatred he could muster and there was no denying her request because in the end it wasn't for their enemy or even for herself. It was for those who were unlucky and fell to a Fate that she managed to escape. For the nuns and Holy Maidens Diodora didn't hesitate to corrupt and break.

Looking back at her, his smile hidden behind his helmet, Ise said confidently. "Fine, Asia. If that is what you want, then fine." Before grabbing Diodora's chest with his right hand which made the traitor scream in pain before closing his mouth with his left. "Just going to make sure this bastard can't escape."

Flames poured from his armor, melting Diodora's flesh while the Red Dragon Emperor's claws dug deep into his torso and carved through bone which would have made him scream if he could.

He was still fully conscious but knew there was no escaping because it was almost like his flesh had melted around the gauntlet making sure the process of escaping would be far more painful than what locked him there.

But only Ise knew his pain since the devil couldn't scream and he made sure his wings were covering the Astaroth so nobody could see it. Once that was done, he turned around to look at Asia again while making sure to show the beaten up Diodora.

"He ain't escaping anytime soon." Ise commented a little shyly and Asia nodded her head with another sad smile. The young man was sure she couldn't see the torture he inflicted on their enemy.

He forgot she was someone who patched hundreds of wounds before ever meeting him.

Either way everyone was relieved as the crisis seemed to be over-

*Diodora, your time is over.*

-only for a voice to apparently fill the castle as the whole place's atmosphere changed.

Behind the throne, the only area intact from all the fighting because it was where Asia stood, the air began to crack and bend as something began to mess with the pocket dimension. Or someone.

"Asia! Get-"

Rias couldn't even finish her line when the very air broke, the crack spreading around and not touching the walls but spreading around regardless. Anyone there with the least bit knowledge of magic knew that was the sign of forced entrance as it was very similar to a boundary field being breached.

Just on a much larger scale as the whole dimension, small and artificial, felt the invader violently breach in its insides while breaking through most of the spells waved by the devils that once kept the place stable.

No longer that was the case things began falling apart due to outside interference, deliberate outside interference because the 'entrance' was prepared during the pocket dimension's construction but nevertheless the reason why nobody entered those once Rating Games began was because of how easy they could fall apart.

And it began to do so when the crack became a breach, a tall man with black armor and brown hair was suddenly floating behind Asia and Diodora's throne. His noble features were familiar to Rias and Akeno who saw paintings of his father and grandfather, devils who fought and died in the Underworld Civil War.

His eyes slowly studied the area, finding his subordinate bleeding and crying on the Red Dragon Emperor's hand, basically dangling from it. Despite being busy coordinating an invasion, the man understood everything that was happening with a few glances and previous intel.

"All that for a simple girl." Finally he turned to the former nun, looking at her like she was less than an insect. "Huh. Nothing special." His aura pulsed revealing a huge amount of hostility and power similar to Diodora but on a greater scale. Not odd since they all felt Ophis' influence. "Rias Gremory, playtime is over. You are coming with me."

Obviously he was a new opponent to be faced and not a weak one, making Rias answer with her own power in challenge. "I am not going anywhere with you." Preparing herself for what was to come since the King of Gremory could already tell it wasn't going to be an easy fight.

But the main problem his arrival created was the huge hole in the space where everyone could catch a glimpse of a world made with every color of the rainbow and more including some Humanity never saw.

It wasn't the castle that broke but the dimension itself, resulting in a difference of pressures which generated a vacuum of sorts that demanded to be filled. The hole grew behind the man generating a powerful wind that started sucking the walls of the castle. Not only that but mana itself shared that fate.

Everyone started to struggle against the dimensional breach either with magic or brute force. From Rias Peerage, the tired Ravel and Gasper were quick to lose their balance but Akeno sent her chains to catch them both. Kiba quickly grabbed Luvia who looked to be struggling as well, using his sword to stabilize himself.

However the one suffering the most was, "Asia!" Ise began to fly towards the blonde only for a blast of black mana to hit the center of his chest and push him back.

"Shalba Beelzebub!" Rias called the man and managed to get his attention as he ignored the Bishop holding the throne by his right, stepping forward to greet the redhead. "So you also consumed Ophis' power?!"

"Consume? Such a crass way to describe it. As expected from that man's sister." Shalba replied with disdain as a magic circle with Infinity's symbol formed on his hand. "Which is good since he cares so much about you. Be a good girl and come quietly."

"Born To Be Wild: Act II!" Rias produced a pistol for each hand and began to open fire but so did her enemy's hastily created magic circle. Destruction crashed against several small blasts of black mana which moved like snakes to try and capture her. "Go to hell!"

She took flight and Shalba was half impressed she managed to fight back against the dimensional breach's pressure and reposition herself better above him for a clear line of sight while opening fire over a dozen of times over.

Four bat-like wings appeared behind the man's back before he was suddenly in the air while avoiding the ceiling debris that were falling thanks to his entrance. However, the Beelzebub devil didn't care about his surrounding his focus completely on Rias. Splitting his magic circle into two, he began to shoot hundreds of balls made of black mana towards his target.

Who quickly combined both forms of her Stand to create a machine gun with an even bigger rate of fire to shoot them all down before retargeting their creator. She ended up missing several of the small orbs which were moving around erratically, Destruction clashing against Infinity's magic.

Before the small spheres changed shape into the symbol of his ancestor and then again into small creatures. Creatures know to follow the Beelzebub Clan, the symbol of the Original.

"King of Flies. You aren't as strong as your brother, Rias Gremory." The flies made of mana, perfectly resembling the most common variant of the insect, dashed towards the redhead who shifted her weapon to shoot them down. Yet for each one that she Destroyed, more emerged from Shalba's magic circles. "He was able to kill my father in an instant with Power of Destruction, breaking his King of Flies empowered by- No, the past is irrelevant and I have a greater power by my side!" Black mana ran freely around his body as his hands created four more magic circles. "With Ophis as an ally, us devils can reach heights that even Goetia couldn't dream of."

A wave of his hand sent dozens of creatures towards Rias, pushing her closer to the floor which was cracking because of the breach. Born To Be Wild changed into a bazooka as the redhead focused on her ammunition for a bigger area of effect strike.

"Mana Blast!" Was the spell chosen by Rias, unleashing a spread attack that consumed the cloud of mana, getting rid of much of it. Yet it wasn't enough as Shalba had dropped to the floor and created another magic circle unleashing another cloud of flies.

"Raijin!" Akeno's attack pierced the new magic circle as her purple wings manifested completely. His eyes were fixed on the Queen for a long instant as he tried to understand why a devil had angel wings. "Did you forget about us, Shalba-dono?"

And she wasn't the only one attacking as several gems and a blast of blue mana flew towards the brown haired man who casually flew up and dodged them all. "You aren't getting our King that easily!" Luvia commented while preparing another attack. "Taurus!"

The huge construct in the shape of a bull flew straight towards the man who raised an arm to catch its head. "A powerful strike. Just one problem," closing his grip on the creature's head, the spell fell apart, "you aren't at your best and I don't have time to indulge you!"

A wave of Shalba's hand created a detached magic circle that stayed in place while he dashed to the side, a beam of energy flying straight towards Luvia with minimal input from the devil.

Instead of evading the magus just called forth another spell, "Gemini!" completely ignoring the attack on her way.

She knew there was nothing to worry about because Kiba was already moving in front of her with his sword behind his shoulder. With a roar he threw a powerful slash that parted the mana into two, protecting himself and his ally as the blonde's gems moved around their enemy blast.

The twins danced, approaching Shalba from behind as he attacked Rias with the intention of capturing her only to be forced into duck or lose an ear. That slowed him down momentarily, enough for Akeno to try and approach her for the side with her spike dancing in the air, ready to pierce his heart.

"Raijin!" The Lightning danced wildly even as the chain moved in a perfect straight line.

Yet, no matter how powerful the attack was or how strange its composition on Shalba's eyes, the man wasn't actually worried. The castle may have lost several of its boundary fields in the previous fights but everything was still under his control. That control allowed him to open a dimensional breach so controlling the arena was easy.

Which was why one of Diodora's traps suddenly sprung to life making a huge concentration of Power of Melting focused on the ceiling, which was falling apart more and more, dropped down and destroyed the Hybrid's attack before it got too close.

The Queen tried a follow up from the side but a counter came in the form of a huge black serpent that almost ate her leg. "Ophis really isn't fair!"

"Tell me about it!" Rias commented while opening fire with Born To Be Wild but none of her bullets were making contact. Instead of facing Destruction, their enemy chose to avoid it, much to the redhead's chagrin. 'I need to improve the rate of fire. A machine gun isn't enough-'

"Onee-sama, use me!" Ravel shouted while charging ahead, fire on her back, Kanshou and Bakuya in her hands.

Shalba saw the new threat and realized what the plan was instantly. 'The Phenex girl is bait.' One of which he couldn't ignore. "Try to regenerate after this! King of Flies!" From a magic circle hundreds of small spheres which quickly took the shape of common flies flew against Ravel who tried to cut them down. "Big mistake."

While she managed to get rid of a few, King of Flies began to bite over her whole body, distracting the pureblood, breaking her concentration. Unexpectedly the brown haired devil flew to meet her in the air, grabbing the blonde by the throat and slamming her into the floor, into one of Diodora's traps.

By the time the magic circle exploded, the man was already avoiding Rias' following barrage of bullets as she summoned two miniguns to try and pressure him. The rate of fire didn't improve much and she was getting no hits. Whenever one of her bullets got uncomfortably close, Shalba raised a shield to block them.

Unlike Diodora, all magic circles Shalba was using carried Ophis' symbol and were far more potent than just demonic energy meaning Destruction was failing to break through. Realizing she couldn't win by herself, the Princess of Ruin tried to push the man back into the breach to reduce his options.

Yet she moved the wrong way, a magic circle appearing above her head. "Buchou!" Koneko didn't hesitate to tackle her King to the side, saving her from some more Power of Melting going rampant because the floor was growing more unstable because of the breach. "Gasper! Help here!"

Unfortunately the white haired nekomata knew their position was an awful one, surrounded by several magic circles which Shalba was able to control while also increasing the danger by personally attacking them.

The former dhampir, already understanding he couldn't stop the older devil's time, focused his sacred gear on the floor. "Run!"

His warning told King and Rook exactly where they needed to go but Shalba had no intention of letting them get away. "As I said; you are coming with me, Gremory!"

"In your dreams!" Akeno held two spikes of pulsing Lightning and threw herself against their enemy, forcing the armored devil to parry the blow with his gauntlets before kicking the ravenhead back.

Or at least trying since the priestess wasn't going to be repelled so easily and brought her wings up just in time to block the collision, flying back just a few meters. Opening her wings she threw several Thunder Spheres which Shalba had no choice but to counter, several explosions breaking the area apart.

The whole floor was starting to crack faster as the breach began growing but Shalba was safe from Akeno's Holy Energy, retreating a few steps to prepare a new attack. "I knew you were the Daughter of Baraqiel but your whole existence is awkward." His eyes turned to the right, Luvia's gems were making their return. "None of you even fight like devils. Cloud of Desolation!"

Magic circles shone beneath his cape and a swarm of flies made of mana surrounded the Beelzebub devil's body, breaking apart Luvia's gems and blocking a stab from Kiba who tried to get him from behind.

Holy Eraser then began to crack into dust, much to the Knight's shock, because hundreds of miniature spheres of mana ate the steel at a fast pace. Soon a group of mana flies were reaching towards the blond's hands and he found himself abandoning his weapon to escape.

Shalba was about to chase when Rias and Akeno attacked from the side forcing him to evade several Bullets of Destruction and a Lightning Bolt. Both women pursued him but Cloud of Desolation began to block their attacks while he created several magic circles for retaliation.

Koneko was by her King's side, guarding the redhead's flank and moved ahead to bodyblock the counter giving Rias the opportunity to keep her offensive going. The priestess was more isolated so she was forced to dodge everything sent her way until finding herself against a huge blast over twice her size.

Without wasting a motion she raised her hands and wings to create a shield but her whole body was slammed by what felt like a giant van made of pure heat. Hybrid or not, an Ophis empowered devil wasn't something she was ready to face in a weakened state so her body crashed on the ground with a few burns.

'I should have… got Serpent Eye back out…' Getting up quickly, Akeno felt her wings and arms hurting from the impact but she ignored the stinging sensation to focus back on the fight.

Yet her advance was a bit stalled since her wings almost felt numb because of dozens of flies still attacking them. Took a bit of extra energy, a push with her Divine power, to get rid of those and yet the effects lasted a little longer than they should.

From her position the Queen watched as Kiba summoned several swords to stab his opponent from below only for them to fall apart without getting close, she saw Luvia trying a beam of concentrated mana that Shalba ignored thanks to his aura and armor while Rias worked with Ravel for another attack, the latter once again trying to be a distraction.

Clearly the brown haired man wasn't going to fall for that, a magic circle slamming on the blonde's face while he avoided her to take aim at the Heiress of Gremory with another one, the second carrying a greater quantity of power.

"Buchou!" Koneko called.

"I know!" And both jumped out of the way, the attack demolishing part of the castle. Not surprising since the whole place was already falling apart.

Which reminded Akeno of someone in need of rescue. "Asia!"

"Don't worry about me, Akeno-san! Help them!" The Bishop was holding the throne with all the strength her arms could afford because of how close she was to the breach. Yet there was no fear in her eyes, just determination. "I can hold on! Everyone needs your help!"

Akeno couldn't necessarily disagree with the statement but the crux of the matter was the dilemma of letting her friend behind while there was a huge fight happening around them. Added bonus was that nobody knew how long the castle was going to last, much less the dimension itself thanks to the breach.

Akeno's peripherals were always seeing the myriad of colors behind the throne growing larger and larger. Just looking at it almost gave her a headache but her nature as a Hybrid kept most of the negative effects at bay because of how advanced her very existence was.

Still, staring at the Dimensional Gap wasn't recommended unless one had a very good barrier between them and it. "No, I am getting you out first." Suddenly the ravenhead turned around and created a shield to stop one of Shalba's attacks. "It isn't polite to get in the middle of a conversation like that."

Shalba, having heard Akeno's voice and realized she wasn't down despite one of his strongest attacks, moved to finish her off. "Your existence is a very dangerous anomaly." Closing his fists, the magic circles beneath his cape glowed again as he opened it fully. "You need to be exterminated. Necro Flight!"

A new swarm of flies was unleashed but that one was different. They weren't creatures made of mana but real flies or creatures that looked like flies, at least. Akeno couldn't be certain of either because of the power the small creatures held, power directly connected to Shalba.

Without missing a beat the priestess threw her own attack. "Raiden!" Thunder came down like a wrecking ball and collided with the swarm, killing many.

However the bugs were in the thousands and several still moved past it, the floor getting ripped apart as they approached the ravenhead who dove to the left in an effort to keep the newly summoned creatures away from everyone as she flew towards one of the many demolished walls and got out of the place.

Watching that event unfold, Shalba knew his familiars were going to keep the Hybrid busy for a while as they had been fed with his power for years before he received Ophis' and then grew stronger with the latter's addition.

What he focused on was on the danger he had been aware of since before stepping into the castle and whose power shouldn't be underestimated at any conjecture. His eyes shifted towards a corner of the room where the most powerful enemy slowly stood up even after receiving a surprising attack packing his full power.

'As expected of the Red Dragon Emperor.' Indeed Hyoudou Issei was a Reincarnated devil but the Heir of Beelzebub wasn't going to take any chances after having watched Chimera's clone being turned into dust.

Without Ophis' power, Shalba knew he couldn't kill that creature and that Ise did it was enough reason to be wary despite his lack of concern about the Pawn. When the Red Dragon Emperor triumphed over a creature of myth it was during an attack of unbridled rage.

At the moment, even as he recovered from a cheapshot, all Ise's thoughts were drowning in worry. "Asia... Asia!" Getting up from his floor, whatever remained of it, he barely heard Ddraig warning him to focus on fighting after restoring Scale Mail or Diodora's moans of pain. Infinity was truly the only thing keeping that devil alive. "I have to save her!"

He barely noticed when Shalba summoned dozens of magic circles and began to fire everywhere without a care in the world. Whatever was left of the top floor fell apart as Rias Peerage was scattered, easily avoiding the liberal use of energy. Fine by him since that wasn't a real attack but a distraction.

A way to buy him space to deal with the real threat; the Red Dragon Emperor.

[Partner!] Ddraig had used their wings to keep Ise safe since the boy was too busy dashing towards the nun and didn't notice the huge amount of mana being aimed at him.

The magic circle Shalba had created was twice the younger devil's size and far stronger than his current power as three snakes emerged from inside the older man's armor and sent black sparks towards it, adding more energy.

"Ise! DODGE!" Rias' scream snapped the Red Dragon Emperor from his single minded thought process, giving him enough time to see what was coming before the attack was fully unleashed.

The blast was huge and definitively left no room for escape, it was bigger than the floor itself and the already broken castle began to cave in as a consequence which only accelerated its demise, a more than certain fate thanks to the dimensional breach.

Seeing nowhere to run, Ise decided to challenge the attack head on if just because he saw no other choice. Building up his own power as fast as he could, the Red Dragon Emperor roared to unleash a torrent of Fire worthy of his title.

Thanks to the many Boosts he had used throughout the day his fast attack was strong enough to compete against Shalba's but also far more unstable so when they collided an explosion was the least of everyone's worries.

Because the castle's top floor had already been ruined and the two masses of draconic energy were just the strawberry on the cake which resulted in the two floors below suffering a similar fate.

However the main problem for almost everyone involved in the fight was the loss of stable footing or places to hold on, especially for one person in particular who struggled with all her strength to not be a burden while stuck in the eye of the hurricane.

"Ise-san!" Asia screamed in terror upon realizing the predicament after looking back and seeing what waited for her.

A realm of colors without end.

An abyss ready to take her in.

The throne of her jailer had crumbled and she had nothing to hold herself so the dimensional breach was free to devour the Bishop. Worse even was that she caught a glimpse of the kaleidoscopic world that was the Dimensional Gap and instinctively understood that once inside there was no getting out.

Her scream got the Red Dragon Emperor in a panic, making him fly at her at full speed only for a second attack from Shalba to veer him off course. Akeno, who once again had a clear view of her friend thanks to the structure falling apart, threw a chain her way regardless of Necro Fight still biting her body.

Unfortunately her throw fell short leaving only Rias to save the former nun as the redhead dove straight towards Asia without caring that she could also be consumed by the breach while fear propelled her.

She was afraid for her friend, afraid of the colors which hid horrors and wonders unknown to even the gods. Afraid of the mysteries that lay in the unknown that most creatures in the world couldn't survive and that wasn't even talking about its most famous and powerful resident.

For an all mighty dragon who was the very definition of power ruled the Dimensional Gap and Rias wasn't willing to bet Asia's life on its mercy. She was half way there when many of the flies striking Akeno attacked her by their owner's command. Born To Be Wild assumed its Stand form to protect the redhead but she was soon hit by a blast from her blind side.

Shalba suspected an attack on his person, not even caring about the girl about to fall into oblivion, so measures were taken as his divided attention still didn't hamper his skill on detecting mana.

Even if that mana was applied to saving someone and not harming him, the devil of Astaroth chose to lashed out in the expectation that Rias was scheming something against him so she needed to be neutralized.

Gasper and Luvia tried to help with sacred gear and magic but besides freezing Asia's time for an instant they could do little as Shalba was still throwing his magic around to keep everyone busy while he tried to finish off Ise who punched his chin before shoving him to the side, his sight locked on the former nun.

Everyone but their enemy was trying to save Asia yet her body was already a few inches inside the Dimensional Gap.

[All or nothing!] Ddraig roared, giving Ise as much power as the young man could take before he exploded in flames to reach his loved one with a speed so great that he was a blur to almost all eyes.

All eyes but Shalba who glared hatefully at the dragon because of the shot to his face. "Red Dragon Emperor! Necro Flight!" More flies emerged from his cape but they would never catch up with his enemy in time. But the last few boundary fields of the castle were still his and with a swipe of his hand, two magic circles manifested. "Don't turn your back on me!"

One magic circle was on his hand while the other appeared in the air where the throne once stood, right in the Red Dragon Emperor's way. Ise didn't care or bothered to notice, just kept his charging going and slamming face first against a blast of Astaroth's Power. He didn't care his armor fell apart, not while he could see Asia falling.

However he slowed down and Shalba's familiars slammed into him, sending the younger devil into an out of control spiral that ended up landing him on the floor below before Beelzebub's descendant sent another beam of mana to keep him down, slamming him on whatever was left of the castle's last two floors.

Rias moved past their enemy with a grimace in her face. 'Please, make it in time!' She had exploded with aura to get rid of Shalba's dwindling familiars previously on her and immediately charged towards the dimensional breach. "Asia! My hand!"

Born To Be Wild manifested ahead of its creator, its limb extended beyond its normal limitations as the Heiress of Gremory sacrificed consistency for reach. The open hand went as far as it could, the Bishop's green eyes growing wide as she threw her own hand to save herself.

Close, it was truly too close but also too little, too late.

Her feet were already in the Dimensional Gap and suddenly the girl found herself being stretched and she almost felt herself being ripped apart before her whole body was sucked inside.

And disappeared in a myriad of colors.

"ASIA!" Rias screamed desperately as she threw herself into the breach only to be pulled back by familiar chains. "Akeno! Let me go! Asia is-"

"We were too late!" The ravenhead was wounded but still managed to say firmly even as tears appeared on her eyes. Didn't matter to her King who called Born To Be Wild and was about to shoot her faithful Queen's weapon but was stopped by Kiba and Ravel.

Both Knights dashing in close to the breach with their full speed before each took one of Rias' arms and pulled with all their might. "Let me go! Asia! Asia!"

"We know!" Kiba was holding himself back from feeling the pain of leaving another friend behind while Ravel hid her face from her King, focusing on pulling and nothing else. "But we can't-"

"The hell we can't!" Rias fought to break free but found another magical band wrapped around her arms and stopping her movement.

Luvia also pulled and Gasper joined her soon after, the taller blonde hiding her emotions with an awful poker face while the former dhampir was already crying at their loss. Everyone had tried to reach Asia in the end but failed. Once she saw all the effort being put by them all, Rias accepted being pulled back despite the pain in her heart.

Which became the pain in her whole body once Shalba saw her and her Knights moving to safety with their backs to him. "Soft fools! King of Flies!" Dozens of mana flies attacked the retreating trio, sending all down to join the others. "Wasting time to save a weakling when it would be wise paying attention to the real threat first." He dove to capture Rias but Akeno and Luvia stood in his way. "Out of my sight!"

A wave of energy threw the Queen and Rook to the side but Kiba was already standing once again, trying and failing to call his Balance Breaker due to the weakness still in his body. 'The curse!'

Still unwilling to quit, the one once known as Isaiah dashed against the taller devil who slapped him out of the way only to find that the sword met its mark on Shalba's chest. "Annoying insects." He ripped it off carelessly, fully trusting Ophis' power to fix anything else. "Why don't you stay dead?"

Kanshou and Bakuya descended in Ravel's hands, forcing the man to fly backwards. "Ironic! Calling us insects," she threw several stabs and slashes but Shalba didn't allow himself to be hit as he had watched those Noble Phantasms deal with some powerful creatures minutes ago, "when you are a member of Beelzebub!"

Finally the brown haired man grabbed one of her arms and unleashed a blast of mana point blank in the opening he created. The girl's body was consumed amid Fire and energy but she was a Phenex and soon would be back.

His attention on the blonde, he didn't detect the white haired Rook until she had already punched his spine in a very painful location. He turned around with a back handed fist but the girl grabbed his shoulder, did a flip and wrapped her legs around his neck. Whilst in the middle of being strangled the older devil she also began punching his head with everything she had.

Which wasn't all as Akeno and Luvia returned to the fight, Lightning pulsating in the shape of stakes and the magus' gems preparing a new spell, both aiming for some payback-

"Cloud of Desolation!"

-the three women were blown away by a swarm made of mana and Shalba's impressive aura which was empowered by Ophis, an absolute necessity considering the next blow going his way.

"Destruction Bullets!" An enraged Rias returned to her sniper rifle and unloaded over fifteen shots in just as many seconds, every single one of them aiming to turn the older devil into swiss cheese.

Of all fighters from her peerage the King of Gremory was the one in the best condition so Shalba didn't hesitate to raise just as many magic circles to counter every bullet. Their eyes met while the rest of Rias Peerage flew back up to join their leader against the devil Ophis empowered.

All but one whose heart began to fall in despair.

Didn't take long for Ise to get back up and burn away Shalba's familiars attacking him, Diodora's screams of pain completely ignored by the Red Dragon Emperor as the Pawn unintentionally burned him.

Ddraig was the one who saved his life, putting out the fire while trying to calm his Partner down. [Focus, Partner. Focus. You are losing control!] He had to shout the last part as the other voices inside Boosted Gear grew louder.

Unfortunately the dragon's words couldn't really reach Ise as his head began to hurt because of the blow he had just taken and the voices he was beginning to hear. For the moment they were just mere whispers, almost like wind beating on his ears, and he couldn't understand them.

Nor he tried as his focus remained on his greatest priority. "Asia! Where is Asia?!"

[Partner, calm down. Listen to- Listen to me!] His Host confusion was making Boosted Gear grow more active as the sacred gear was feeding on dark emotions.

A fear so great that could consume the mighty dragon began to emerge.

"We don't have time, Ddraig!" He looked around, ignoring Shalba beating his friends up, trying and failing to find the Bishop. "Did she fall from the castle?! Maybe she 's hurt?! We have to find her!"

Something had to be done before delusions and lies made the situation worse. Problem was that Ddraig feared the truth would be just as damning.

[Partner, Ise, listen to me. You need to calm down. If you don't calm down, I won't tell you where she is!] He added quickly and was suddenly assaulted by silence as Ise suppressed all his rage and concern in a single breath. All his attention was on Ddraig and the dragon could only hope the worse outcome had been avoided. [Look, whatever happens you can't allow-]

"Where is Asia, Ddraig?" Ise's tone was devoid of warmth and held a hint of warning. "Where is she… The breach!" His eyes focused on the hole which had grown large enough to 'devour' the top floor of the castle completely. "She is inside? I have to-"

[She is dead…] Again came silence but the Original Red Dragon Emperor knew his greatest fear was about to become a reality. Another of his Hosts was about to fall and there was nothing he could do. [I am sorry, Partner. You can't even… I can't say how great it was to meet you… For what it was worth it, you were- you are one of the best-]

"She can't be dead!" He began to fly towards the breach but Ddraig pulled their wings back. "Let me go! I can still-"

[... The Dimensional Gap isn't a place just anyone can survive… Even with Scale Mail you wouldn't last more than an hour there…] Everything was silent between the two of them but the dragon knew he was only stalling the inevitable if his Partner didn't realize the truth. Or he simply refused to acknowledge the facts, denying reality. [Someone like Asia-]

"No." It was a whisper but inside Ise's soul Ddraig could hear it very well.

Which prompted the dragon to think. [So denial it is… How many times have I gone through this?] The voices were back, promises of hatred and blood. Out loud, at least for his Partner, he said. [I am sorry, Ise.]

"No. No, nono, no! NO!" The Pawn only wasn't heard by the others because of the sounds of battle above their heads. "You're wrong! Asia can't be-"

[She is…] Ddraig spoke with certainty and trepidation as the voices grew louder. For the moment he couldn't make out the words, a good thing since it bought them some time. [Just a few instants in there, a few seconds if you want to be generous, and her body is going to be torn apart. No, without a doubt it was already torn apart.]

"Asia…" Ise whispered his name as he began to hyperventilate, his free hand moving to hold his head as voices reached his ears in force. Voices he didn't know, couldn't understand or cared about. "Asia. Asia. Asia… Asia! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Tears left his eyes as a green and red aura exploded from his body. "ASIA!"

All fighting stopped and Shalba cursed himself for having forgotten the individual who he had previously judged as the most dangerous inside the pocket dimension. "Damn you, Red Dragon Emperor! Necro Flight!"

A new swarm of flies dove straight towards the Pawn of Gremory while his teammates grew scared because of the oppressive aura. "That is… Oh no!" Rias concluded with fear before ordering, "Everyone! Get back! As far away as you can!"

Yet none of them had time to move, watching how all of Shalba's familiars were consumed by the red blaze surrounding the Red Dragon Emperor whose cry of despair was so loud it filled the dimension with his despair.

[Shalba Beelzebub, you just made the worst mistake of your life.] Then they all heard Ddraig and despite the dragon sounding like he was struggling against something, they all could hear his sadness. [I apologize, Rias Gremory, but there is no stopping this. This is where we part ways! A good thing this dimension is already falling apart! Maybe that will increase your odds of survival!]

Ddraig unleashed a roar of fury, one that Ise reciprocated as all his sadness turned into wrath and his armor grew brighter while his power escalated to new heights. Nobody could hear Diodora also screaming from pain as, despite Ise's grip never changing, he suffered the brunt of the dragon's rage, however indirectly.

When the red blaze aura reached the skies and the dimension shook, they began:

{I, who am about to Awaken,}

It wasn't just one voice, nor just Ise and Ddraig.

{Am The Heavenly Dragon who stole the Principles of Domination from God}

Dozens of voices, perhaps hundreds of them, all lacking their sanity were united.

{I laugh at the "Infinity", and fret not over the "Dream"}

They all sang as one in a mad chorus that couldn't be stopped.

{I shall become the Red Dragon of Domination}

And Shalba tried with all his strength but his attacks failed to even pierce the red aura dominating the dimension.

{And I shall sink you into the depths of the crimson purgatory!}

Everyone else was already running as the devil empowered by Ophis could just glare at the existence who had fully taken over the pocket dimension. The skies turned a dark shade of red and the atmosphere held a presence unlike any he had ever sensed in his life. It was so strong even gods would shake in their boots.

"That is the Red Dragon-"

{Juggernaut Drive!}

An explosion of energy shook everything, unleashing a storm that began to destroy whatever was left of the castle. Realizing others were in danger, Koneko dove inside with Gasper and Kiba right behind, the Knight rushing to the bottom floors while the smaller duo worked on the middle ones.

However their time was short because floating above the castle was the Red Dragon Emperor who lost himself in rage and fury. His sacred gear absorbed all misery he could give and added it to the emotions belonging to his predecessor's whose spirits still haunted the Boosted Gear.

Where once stood a warrior with dragon-like armor there was a new creature belonging to the nightmares of brave men and cowards alike; at least twice as tall as his previous form, his limbs were much longer and the armor appeared to be truly made of flesh.

It was also considerably different, slimmer and more skeleton-like, especially the torso where six small red gems filled the sides of its abdomen, three in each, and the huge green gem once resting proudly on Scale Mail's chest had apparently split into two minor ones resting just below the shoulders.

Gauntlet covered arms and legs were still present but also slimmer. More barbaric as well since those who saw the dragon's form when the light dimmed could see long sharp claws. At least in one of his hands, the other kept Diodora as a prisoner, mutilated, burned and whimpering, whispering things nobody could hear.

The once proud wings which could have been used as a shield also changed in a drastic fashion becoming more akin to bones of a giant bird or a dragon's corpse with each appendage holding three 'branches', several gems carved all over them.

But they weren't the only different thing about that form; his tail danced in the air with a more slick design that slowly moved left and right showing an eagerness or pent up desire to do something while a wicked arrow head on its tip was ready to rip someone apart.

A moment of silence passed as Ise's once proud helmet rose slowly from glaring at the destroyed castle, everyone feeling the hair on their necks jump as his dark green eyes looked up.

More precisely they locked on the figure of Shalba Beelzebub, the source of his hatred and the reason for Juggernaut Drive's awakening.

Then the helmet was revealed to no longer be a piece of armor when the Dragon of Domination opened his mouth and unleashed a roar loud enough to finish demolishing the castle just after Kiba dragged out the last woman inside.

His mouth was full of sharp teeth and its color reminded everyone too much of blood for it to not be unnerving. "Ise…" Rias didn't want to admit it but she was afraid.

"Juggernaut… Drive…" Luvia didn't bother hiding her fear and her whole body shaking. "We need to run. We need to run fast!"

"Where?" Akeno asked, buckets of sweat dripping from her forehead as her Light diminished before the Red Dragon of Domination's presence.

"Emergency measures! They should have already activated by now! Right?!" Ravel suddenly remembered but nobody knew how to answer her.

"There are no guarantees… Not after whatever the Khaos Brigade did…" Despite the resignation in her tone, that really wasn't Rias' concern. "Oh, Ise… For you to become that… Is there any way we can help? Is this really the Fate of every Dragon Emperor?"

Another roar shook the pocket dimension as the Dragon of Domination glared at Shalba who smiled candidly. "Feh! Just a simple beast. All that for a nun?" Magic circles formed in his hands, flies and blasts of mana bombarding the Red Dragon Emperor. "Then you can join-"

The next instant the Ophis empowered devil saw a bright light before feeling an odd sensation on the right side of his body. Turning his head slowly to look, the brown haired man noticed both his right arm and leg were missing together with some of his torso.

Another roar shook the sky and the confused devil turned to see the Dragon of Domination's open mouth and smoke leaving his throat as more fire and mana danced in front of his sharp teeth while he prepared to turn his enemy into dust like how the previous attack did to part of the man's body.

The only reason he missed was because the creature didn't aim, or in truth couldn't care to try aiming immediately since all it wanted to do was lash out on everyone and everything in its sight, always starting with the reason for its actual incarnation.

Failing into killing Shalba immediately just enraged him further.

Ise's hatred was leading the creature and he demanded retribution for Asia.

His predecessors didn't care, motivation of any kind had long since been turned into fuel for the death machine that was the Red Dragon of Domination. Juggernaut Drive had been used several times since Ddraig's sealing and a lot of negative emotions had piled up to make an unstoppable creature.

One not of pride but of death and destruction.

Born from Ddraig's rage from having his soul sealed in the first place, it took several of his first Hosts dying before his fury diminished and he started appreciating the people who he would be bound with for as long as they lived.

Which wasn't long since sacred gears were Miracles sustained by emotion, good or bad. His darker emotions never left it, they were stuck with him just as he was stuck in his prison. Perhaps if it was just his own anger then Ddraig could manage things better, even control Juggernaut Drive to an extent.

Such was not the case for everytime a Red Dragon Emperor succumbed to madness they would leave a fragment of themselves inside the Boosted Gear, a fragment carrying echoes of the last moments of their lives which were usually when they became their worst.

Men, women and even children being afraid of death and succumbing to the temptation of Ddraig's wrath, giving in to Juggernaut Drive's influence. Even as the Original Red Dragon Emperor eventually calmed down, that didn't wash the sins he committed nor the lives he took, especially his own Hosts.

So long as the Red Dragon of Domination was unleashed, until stopped or was stopped, the creature would destroy everyone and anything in its sight like a mad animal lashing out against the world.

For the moment the target of that rage was the half devil just a few meters above his head so the dragon opened his mouth once again, mana and fire condensing into red energy that was as oppressive as it was bright.

When the attack was unleashed it came out as a huge beam of light sure to devour the source of the most recent Red Dragon Emperor's anger. The sky was already red because of his presence but every other color grew dull under the blast's shadow.

Shalba, struggling against the pain of losing most of his right side, managed to see the danger that time but could do nothing despite Ophis' power.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He screamed in desperation, trying to muster any sort of defense.

However Shalba's death wouldn't arrive, not in that moment at least because a small insect hidden inside his armor has been sending out a signal to its owner a whole dimension away from the conflict.

It had started its work the instant Ise had succumbed to Juggernaut Drive and hadn't stopped ever since, acting as a beacon that eventually formed a magic circle below the devil and took him away before the final blow could connect.

Nobody saw that as their eyes were stuck in a far bigger event; when the blast moved to the sky and finished breaking the pocket dimension. All barriers keeping the Dimensional Gap at bay crashed down but so did the modifications made by the Khaos Brigade.

Everyone conscious felt magic circles activating around their person including the Red Dragon of Domination who roared again. It could not really understand that it was being teleported but as a dragon it unleashed its rage to take over whatever was challenging his power.

An instant later the pocket dimension fell apart, becoming dust in the Dimensional Gap as a figure watched everything from a distance.

….

Shalba Beelzebub couldn't believe he was alive when his bleeding body crashed on a stone floor of some sort. His missing side was bleeding and the man tried to use his remaining hand to drag himself up. All he did was pull himself a little before more blood left his wounds, Ophis' snake finally trying to fix him.

"Curse you… Red Dragon Emperor!" The brown haired devil managed to shout as he tried to drag himself up again. His vision was blurred and he could barely make out some columns in the empty room. "Soldiers! Attend me!" He had deduced some of his allies had come to his rescue and expected some sort of attending back on the Khaos Brigade HQ. Gritting his teeth from the pain, his anger grew when no one appeared. "Servants! Come tend to your Maou!"

The order echoed in the dark chamber, an indication of how empty it was which confused Shalba since some of his men should have stayed behind. While the Old Satan Faction had used most of its resources, not everyone could fight. Knowing he somehow ended in a desert place didn't stilled him with confidence as he could tell his healing wasn't enough.

Yet he wasn't ready to lay down and die, dragging himself further with his remaining limbs.

'Did everyone else… departed to fight? Against… orders? Is the fight… still going? I must return to my office-' Pain exploded from his left side as he, who had experience dealing with hundreds of insects at once, felt small creatures moving on his side and tending to his wounds. "Larva? Where-"

"Ah, Shalba! I didn't expect you to arrive so soon." The brown haired man looked up to see a silver haired figure with yellow eyes approaching and despite being unable to recognize his features, the bleeding devil was sure he was smiling. "Forgive my delay, I was busy helping Creuserey with his wounds. Not that yours are much better… Tut, tut, tut. Worse, actually. What a disappointment."

"Careful, you… insolent weakling. You speak with… Maou Shalba Beelzebub…" The blood loss finally took its toll as his body grew weaker by the second.

"Kukuku. Sure, sure. Forgive me, I was just musing that both of you managed to damage your bodies so much. To lose limbs like that… And some organs too." Another chuckle left the man as he approached and placed a hand on Shalba's back. Immediately the devil began to feel better. "But do not worry. Everything is fixable. Yes, troublesome but not irreversible."

"I will be… in your debt…" Realizing how weak he actually was, Shalba decided to not provoke this unknown subordinate. "How does the battle fare? Was Creuserey… really defeated?"

A hum left the silver haired man as he called more worms and larva to work on the younger one's body. "Undoubtedly the fight is over, at least on our part. I detected the Red Dragon Emperor's power and I must say, kukuku, the Underworld may have bigger troubles than us, at least for the moment." Standing up again, he moved a hand and several insects began to gather around the two. Soon a swarm of flies began carrying Shalba which actually calmed the man further. "Whoever is able to escape, will escape. I am certain Lady Leviathan will be here shortly."

The silver haired man began walking deeper in the room, his insects carrying Shalba who felt his consciousness slipping as his wounds healed. Ophis' snake was doing its best but the damage was plenty and the treatment was only to help him survive, not heal.

No, Zolgen wouldn't bother to heal someone about to die, not when he was already planning to remake their body into something he could use. It was far from the first time he did something like that and the third time his preparations were going for a body it wasn't for himself.

"Katerea fought… as well? How is she?" The Mage of Insects couldn't help but be amused at the question. "Did she… did she triumph?"

"Oh, I have no doubt she did." The silver haired man replied without turning back. He doubted the younger man could see his expression even with his sight but there was no need to risk it. "But forget about those matters, Shalba. Rest, relax. Allow the gentle darkness to take you so your body may emerge stronger later."

"Right… you are… right…" Shalba's eyes were growing heavier as he felt himself grow sleepy despite the abundance of energy in his body. Wounded or not he was a powerful devil descendant of the Original Beelzebub and carrying Ophis' snake within yet he felt more exhausted than he ever did in his life. 'Like when I was a boy…'

For he wasn't born strong, he grew strong by leaning in his mind and bloodline until reaching a point where he became the de facto leader of the Old Satan Faction, someone trusted by Rizevim himself to lead their people to victory.

At least in his own mind, that was the truth. "You are… Lord Lucifer's son, correct? I must… see to it…"

After a moment Zolgen was sure the devil had finally fallen asleep yet his insects on the younger man's body told him otherwise. "Hum? See to what?"

"About a… proper reward…"

"Oho~ No need to worry about that. I just did my duty, that is all." An eager grin grew in his face. "Your survival is important, very important, Shalba. More for me than most. Kukukuku."

Before a reply could be given the devil finally passed out, leaving Zolgen and his familiars to carry his body deeper inside his workshop until they arrived at one of its main chambers where the magic was much stronger with several tables lined up on the walls and shelves filled with experiments all over the place.

It wouldn't have been safe to place the special teleportation circle close to anything important and risk an accident, after all. "Here we are, Shalba. Your final stop." Zolgen joked despite the other man being unable to hear. Slowly he approached a huge wall where three coffins rested. "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing. Kukuku."

One of the coffins had its lid cracked open while the other two were pristine and the tubes connected to the latter pumped them with several sorts of concoctions to help prepare the body for the 'next stage' as Rizevim joked once.

They would also fix some of the damage and, thanks to Creuserey's own condition, a few potions were already added to help the creation of new limbs supposingly the process went smoothly.

And it would, Zolgen was sure of that.

"Now," the silver haired creature opened the central coffin's lid showing it was already half full with many substances, "here you go, Shalba. Don't worry, don't worry. These caskets are more like sensory deprivation chambers than anything." A humorous sigh left his lips. "Ah~ I had prepared a whole speech after the trouble that was getting Katerea in one of these. She didn't fight, stupid woman, but she almost damaged my experiments." Turning towards the unconscious man, he cackled. "Kukukuhahahaha! So sorry that I gave some of the speech to you when you can't hear but it was a good one and I didn't want to waste it." Motioning to the coffin, the Mage stepped back. "Now, in you go."

His insects turned Shalba around before gently placing him in the coffin, his head resting on a velvet pillow and outside the potions as the familiars made sure he was comfortable. Only then did Zolgen close the box, another chuckle escaping his lips before the coffin began to glow.

When the light diminished, he said, "Sweet dreams…"

"So, is it done?" Rizevim's voice filled the workshop as the man stepped from the shadows.

"Oh yes, it is. Soon three of the four Originals will have returned." Zolgen turned to his 'father' with an amused grin. "For the last one, we will need… a few extra things."

"Dear old dad can wait a bit," Rizevim offered a glass of champagne that was accepted with gratitude, "for now we should be celebrating. How long did this take again? Fifty eight years?"

"Something like that." Both stepped away from the coffins before the Mage of Insects raised his glass. "For great comebacks?"

"And new gods."

…..

Sirzechs had nightmares that started with the Red Dragon Emperor going mad and attacking everyone, most of them included his sister in a perilous position and in a few she got in his way to protect her Pawn only to die by his hand.

Considering everything that happened before her peerage's return with the insane Dragon of Domination, he could easily say that was the worst timing possible in the worst location possible.

Lilith's stadium, in the heart of the capital, was already falling apart. The capital was in chaos because of Leviathan. Thousands were already dead and when a Heavenly Dragon went berserk the numbers were usually higher.

Even his nightmares failed in conceiving a situation that bad.

"Well, that is a problem. An extremely dangerous problem." Leviathan said suddenly after watching her tsunami being destroyed by a simple roar. "To think I would see this sort of power again… Sirzechs Lucifer, you can keep Serafall," a puddle of water formed beneath the woman and she began to sink on it, "if either of you survive, we shall meet again. Good luck."

Then the woman was gone with no trace of her presence left. Not that Sirzechs would have tried to stop her since a dragon sized problem was staring right at his face. Time wasn't on his side either and the man had to think quickly.

His mind proceeded to count everyone present, including those who were unconscious, before making any judgment call. Challenging the Red Dragon Emperor was certainly something he could do but not with his sister in the line of fire. While he was willing to consider losses in that fight, she would never be one of them.

Stopping him would probably turn the capital into dust because of that regardless so his first priority was either to get the Dragon of Domination out of Lilith or everyone away from him. In that moment Serafall felt heavier in his arms so the former Gremory had no choice but to accept the city's doom.

Magic gathered in his free hand as Sirzechs prepared himself to take initiative. "Everyone! Escape!"

"Wait, brother-"

Sirzechs already knew what she was going to ask. "We have no time, Rias!" However indulging her was out of the question wherever a berserker Red Dragon Emperor was concerned. Once his power was sufficiently revealed, the dragon acknowledged him as a threat and ignored the rest. "Move!"

To not risk anyone else the redhead Maou used a blast of pure mana instead of Destruction but the hit was still strong enough to shove the dragon on the stands. Still wasn't strong enough to harm him but it bought the devil time to get everyone out. Unfortunately there were many unconscious women around so he couldn't save them all by himself.

Fortunately everyone had felt the Dragon of Domination's arrival, including his most precious loved one. "Lord Lucifer!" Grayfia announced her arrival via magic circle before using Power of Space through several others. Nobody had time to even complain as they vanished in the blink of an eye. "I am taking them to the most secure camp!"

"Excellent! Take Serafall! I will deal with-" Another roar shook the area and both their eyes grew wide with horror as his wife's magic circles fell apart in an instant as the region fell under the Red Dragon Emperor's influence.

It wasn't just the stadium as everyone in Lilith, and in several other territories, could feel Juggernaut Drive cutting loose and growing more powerful as time passed. The weaker devils could already feel as if a predator was staring at them even if they were several kilometers away.

Back in the stadium, Sirzechs stepped in front of his wife just in time to block a blast of energy strong enough that would have certainly killed her. With an extremely wounded Serafall on his arms he couldn't use his full power but had enough to block the shot from the dragon.

Once the red energies dissipated nullified each other, Sirzechs noticed the dark green eyes on his person. They carried so much hatred that the man could easily imagine the suffering behind them. In fact his mind eye could almost see the deaths of several previous Red Dragon Emperors.

But the actual Lucifer refused to allow those eyes to do anything more than surprising him. "Grayfia, you have to get out of here."

His wife was going through the same struggles but kept her eyes firmly on the enemy while elevating her own aura to match it. "I think he won't let me just leave…"

There was no intelligence behind the Dragon of Domination's gaze, just hatred and instinct that guided his actions in a manner to destroy everything as quickly as possible. Sure destroying the Power of Space was more of a coincidence than strategy but he would be able to recognize it to an extent.

And since the only way out was flying away, Sirzechs realized their options weren't good. "A temporary retreat?" He offered while creating another magic circle and sending a blast towards the Red Dragon Emperor who fired back with a roar of energy.

Just like before, their power collided and pushed against each other but they had increased their power so much by that point that a small earthquake began to spread around the capital.

"It would be for the best." Grayfia created a magic circle of her own to add to her husband's strength but they felt the Dragon of Domination's power grow to new heights. What they really needed was to get Serafall out but there was a chance the dragon would pursue easier prey, like any animal would. "Most of the army will be useless against Juggernaut Drive and I don't think Lilith can survive much more."

"The capital is doomed but we need to limit the losses." Sirzechs concluded in agreement. "I will focus on defense…"

"... And I shall make an opening!" Since both her hands were free the Ultimate Maid had more room for her power which she demonstrated by creating seven magic circles around them to bombard the dragon.

Every hit connected but the streams of mana did little else other than push the Dragon of Domination back a few inches. However it was enough for Sirzechs who took a step forward and pushed a huge magic circle to try and press the red dragon's body.

A roar of rage cracked the improvised wall before the individual once known as Hyoudou Issei shattered it with brute force. Juggernaut Drive rendered him unable to feel surprised when instead of an explosion it was a cloud of red smoke that covered his body and took his sight.

The Dragon of Domination charged forward towards his prey's last position and slammed the area with enough force to finish bringing the stadium down while releasing a shock wave that generated another small earthquake.

Quickly the dragon got up once he failed to find any blood and unleashed another roar upon noticing the devils had escaped. His power grew with his fury as he stood in the stadium's rubble by himself.

Or almost by himself as his ears finally caught something that had been happening for a while. "Please… kill me…" The whisper was weak and almost unrecognizable but the dragon wouldn't be able to understand it either way. "Please… please… kill me…"

Diodora, or what was left of him, kept repeating those words again and again like a mantra or because death was the only relief his broken mind knew could end his torment because of how broken he was.

The Heir of Astaroth's body had been broken beyond repair and burned to the point of almost being carbonized. He no longer had legs or arms, destroyed because of the Red Dragon of Domination power, bones could be seen on his head and a few ribs were literally escaping his chest.

Which was pretty much all he had left, a head and some of his torso. He shouldn't even be alive after everything he went through, much less conscious. The only reason he lingered was because of two factors; the King Piece and Ophis' power.

Black mana struggled to keep him together and supplement his vitals with the necessary stuff to keep him alive while his cousin's creation pumped his body full of energy to help with healing and to fight off whatever was attacking him.

Not that he could anyway as he was broken beyond repair because of pain and everything he endured.

All Diodora could do was beg for death. "Please… kill me… kill me… kill me…" Even then it was just incoherent mumbles that anyone would have trouble understanding but that was the best he could do. He just wanted to die. "Kill me…"

A tilt of the Red Dragon of Domination showed how little he understood about the whole situation and if he could think about anything verbally the only thing the raging dragon would be concerned about was why his claw was stuck in someone.

But looking at the pathetic form of Diodora had something click in his mind, a spark of rage that while nothing compared to the fury which unleashed Juggernaut Drive in the first place it was still relevant.

At least for Hyoudou Issei who could almost remember Diodora. "You hurt Asia… You hurt Asia…" Normally saying anything was impossible for a berserker Red Dragon Emperor but his own fury brought through, surpassing his predecessors. "You hurt ASIA!"

Mostly because it was just more rage for Juggernaut Drive to feed on, more fury to the fire that wished nothing but to consume everything. If the already existing anger could generate more negative emotions for fuel then it would gladly go along with the current Red Dragon Emperor's desires.

And Ise hated Diodora, not the playful anger he had on Shirou and Kiba because of their status or girlfriends, the sort that could be played off or joked about. It wasn't something born of immaturity or jealousy but true hatred that only could come from the most inner self of a person.

Hyoudou Issei hated Diodora Astaroth for all he had done and even if while stuck inside Juggernaut Drive he didn't know what that hatred was the Dragon of Domination knew he hated the devil stuck in his claw.

Hated enough that he wanted the devil dead immediately upon noticing him.

Lifting his arm up the dragon prepared a stream of fire in his throat before unleashed a constant breath of flames that began to consume his prisoner. Diodora couldn't even scream anymore and soon his body began to fall apart into cinders.

But before Diodora's life was truly extinguished a last ditch effort came from Ophis' snake when it jumped straight towards the dragon's throat. Breaking through the flames, it reached the Dragon of Domination's head before he suddenly closed its maw on the smaller creature, chewing Infinity's mana.

It still tried to fight back but the snake was just a small fragment of a Concept against one of the strongest creatures to ever exist. The dragon's fangs ripped the black serpent's body and drank Infinity's essence.

By then the Red Dragon of Domination was done there was nothing left of Ise's object of hatred. The devil was gone with less than a corpse remaining of the man which fell apart rather quickly leaving only the King Piece on the dragon's hand before it fell close to his feet.

A loud roar filled the Underworld's capital once again but it wasn't signaling anything other than death was coming since the Red Dragon Emperor finished off his most recent prey and was eager for more.

Ise soon found himself having a sort of out of body experience as his tired soul lost the spark of his own anger while his body was still being pushed by his predecessor's wrath. A destructive impulse took over the devil's body fully and even as he felt more powerful than never before, the young man also felt impotent.

However, even as the Pawn watched all that, he found himself with no desire to do anything as his body unleashed another roar towards a couple of buildings, taking them down with just that and little else.

Sure there was no attempt to stop the Red Dragon of Domination but even if he was capable of doing it, the current Red Dragon Emperor found himself with little to no interest in making an attempt as the anger still touched his soul.

Only to be suffocated by a lump of apathy because of Asia's demise.

Yes, despite watching his body letting out flames of rage to destroy more of the city the battle had failed to demolish, Ise wasn't interested in doing anything as his particular anger had been buried under depression.

"Asia… Asia…" The brown haired boy cared not for where he was or what was happening since his anger vanished. He could feel nothing because he didn't want anything.

Anything other than his friend's return.

Inside the Red Dragon of Domination, in a red space surrounded by flames, Ise watched his body moving through the fire. Despite how it danced, the image was clearer than any television offering the brown haired teenager a clear view of everything happening outside his soul.

"Asia…" Crying wasn't an option as that grew impossible for him, his empty eyes staring to nothingness as he just kept lamenting his loss. "Asia…"

Regardless, there was no trace of care in Ise's expression. Not even sadness and certainly not anger, joy, curiosity or confusion. Sitting on the flames that devoured his soul, his arms rested around his knees as he hid his face.

"Asia… Asia… Asia…" He hadn't even seen her go and yet his mind kept conjuring images of her body falling into an abyss that he could never reach as he kept repeating her name again and again.

Voices still could reach his ears, belonging to people he didn't know screaming for blood, destruction and death. Sometimes it was about their deaths, sometimes it was about their enemies' deaths. Most of the time it was death for everyone in their way while also cursing everything.

Perhaps if Ise tried, he would be able to find Ddraig's voice and try to take some control over the situation. The dragon was still making his best attempt to hold back their fury but his struggle was futile as he could do little alone and all his previous Hosts combined were greater than him.

Things would be different if his current Host were to offer a hand but just like wrath couldn't reach Ise, nor could hope. The flames around him tried to prompt the boy to move and destroy but he just didn't care about anyone or anything.

Unfortunately his apathy wasn't enough to reverse Juggernaut Drive and so his body would carry on the will of the others whose presence lingered inside the Boosted Gear. Their screams, cries and moans of desolation rang in his ears for Ise to ignore but that didn't matter.

Another roar leveled another part of Lilith as the dragon let out a huge blast of fire that consumed much of the great city. Yet he wasn't using his full power, not having the intelligence to destroy everything immediately and falling in a certain rhythm of destroying anything too close.

Since there was nobody on the driver seat the dragon kept unleashing its power miscellaneously, turning half of Lilith to dust before there was little around him to destroy for several kilometers.

Yet the Dragon of Domination could see towers and other buildings at a distance, structures he could easily demolish with another roar or just a more calibrated blast. If only anyone was in the driver's seat instead of pure emotion then the capital of the Underworld would vanish from the map in seconds.

However there wasn't anyone, just raw emotion moved the mighty beast, and so the dragon began to march towards the closest buildings still a few kilometers away. Regardless the fact remained that unless stopped the Dragon of Domination would wipe out the city from the map eventually.

It would just take a few minutes instead of seconds.

…..

Asia Argento lost herself, literally and figuratively.

For various seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, every single measure of time and none of them at all it was like her body, mind and spirit had been thrown inside a washing machine that sponged out everything she was before putting her back together.

At least that was how she felt when her body was dragged inside the Dimensional Gap without proper protection or preparation. She went insane then sane again, the colors blinded her only for the blonde girl to recover her vision an instant later. Her senses were overloaded by sensations that she didn't know yet had always known at the same time.

It was death. It was rebirth.

It was bliss. It was torture.

It was chaos. It was order.

Everything and nothing, being sucked inside the Dimensional Gap in any case was a dead sentence for those weak of body and soul. Fortunately for Asia she was plenty strong in the latter, her will powerful enough to bounce back from several traumas while retaining her shining personality.

Because of her will, insanity didn't last for long and despite not knowing how long she had been inside the Dimensional Gap, the Bishop could focus her mind enough to look around past the kaleidoscope that painted unknown colors everywhere.

Didn't take her long to see the breach being lost in the distance as the momentum that shoved her inside that colorful nightmare didn't stop. It wouldn't, not in a place with no gravity, vacuum or inertia.

The Dimensional Gap had no laws of physics or magic, not unless someone was powerful enough to impose them and very few could do such a feat. It was akin to being lost in space but with dimensional rays instead of cosmic rays and other differences that were irrelevant for anyone in Asia's position.

Both situations would be fatal for her nonetheless because while Asia was strong compared to the average devil it took beings of exceptional stature, or utilizing Artifacts of great power, to survive inside the Dimension Between Dimensions.

Funnily enough the fact she managed to preserve her mind was already quite a feat but also a useless one since what she needed to escape her predicament was a body strong enough to fight against the forces trying to rip her apart.

'I have to get back-' When Asia tried to breathe something went wrong. There was no air entering her lungs yet something did even if it wasn't apparently harmful. 'I can't- I can't- breathe?'

Didn't mean Asia could use it as oxygen or anything similar. Her body couldn't even know if it was something useful or not and neither could the Bishop. All she understood was the sensation of suffocating despite 'breathing'. The contradiction alone was enough to make someone mad.

However the Bishop had already gone mad and had recovered from it, her focus going to her lungs and Twilight Healing before placing her hands on her chest. The latter helped her stay awake despite feeling like her body could explode at any moment which it would have because of the forces dominating the Dimensional Gap.

Obviously the former was to help her survive as her eyes remained locked on the distant dot that appeared to be so far it was like looking at a small ant on the other side of a busy street in a festival.

And it was getting farther away as time passed and with the constant kaleidoscope of colors changing constantly around her it was very easy for the former nun to lose her sense of direction no matter how much she tried to focus her sight on the exit.

By that point the blonde understood her chances of escaping were nil.

Such odds weren't enough to break her spirit.

'I need to go!' Using all her strength, Asia beated her wings to save herself before suddenly freezing as a powerful presence made itself known. "What? Who?" She barely noticed that her ability to breathe had returned.

Because there was an aura around her, a protection that not only created an atmosphere for her to breathe but also filtered the radiation from the Dimensional Gap and stopped its harmful effects from affecting the girl, even purifying her body to some extent.

Controlling the myriad of colors around her, that mighty presence filled her perception with positive stimuli, the chaotic pattern that only few could see without growing insane changed to a gentle hue of red and orange that reminded Asia of the dusk.

Feeling herself slow down, the Bishop managed to use her wings to right herself and stop flying uncontrollably before trying to find the exit once again. She was still frantic but a gentle 'nudge' on her soul requested that she calmed down with an honest eagerness that successfully relaxed the former Holy Maiden.

Stabilizing herself, Asia suddenly found some sort of footing, landing on a red rock that appeared to be floating around harmlessly. She looked around to try and find whoever was protecting her but saw nothing except for the new colors around the area. Still she knew there was someone else there, that she wasn't alone.

Hands around her mouth, the blonde shouted. "Hello! Is anyone here?!"

She didn't need to wait for an answer as the rock where she stood began to shake and reveal it wasn't a rock at all. No, it revealed itself to be not a part of the scenery but apparently the tail of something huge. Really huge, probably the biggest thing the former nun ever saw in her life.

Quickly Asia took flight again and flew away from the 'rock' which she could suddenly see was actually the body of a huge creature that could be easily described as the classic western definition of dragon.

"Big… Really big…" When it came to dragons the tallest one Asia had known was Tannin who was the size of an apartment at least, when in his real form. That one was bigger than that by a huge margin. "Are you… a mountain?"

Perhaps even a mountain was still too small as the body began to extend before moving around at a speed she could barely process. It was like watching a bullet train going full speed being fast forwarded times eight.

The more it moved, the more its true size was evident to Asia who suddenly found herself looking up to find the titanic dragon's head. "Uhh… Hello?" She bowed out of politeness.

Because even though she was before a creature so big its size dwarfed anything she had ever seen, the dragon didn't scare her or anything of the sort despite how intimidating its size should naturally be.

It was like she was an ant standing in front of the moon and Asia felt small by just looking into its bright gold eyes but the sensation vanished when she felt an warmth coming from them that was distinctively kind.

Like if the dragon only wanted the best for her and even if the barrier keeping the Dimensional Gap's effects at bay didn't exist she would know the red dragon floating in the colorful space was her friend.

What Asia didn't realize was that the dragon before her wasn't just gigantic but actually the one considered the Strongest Existence and the de facto Ruler of the Dimensional Gap, the one who kicked Ophis out from her home and place of birth.

A creature of many names, she had heard a few in passing: Apocalypse Dragon, True Dragon, Dragon of Dragons, Dragon of Dreams and proclaimed as Glorious Red God of Dreams.

Most people knew him as Great Red, the Strongest.

Clearly he was bigger than Asia by several meters of height, speculative measures put the dragon at one hundred meters of length from the sword like appendage on his snout to the tip of his tail.

His fangs were fully into view like the teeth of a white shark and in a fashion worthy of the Ultimate Apex Predator. He was also bulky even as far as dragons were concerned, powerful muscles accentuated his frame making him bigger than Tannin if they were the same size.

On his back were four powerful wings, each perfectly proportional to his body, huge waves of leather and scales, the latter woven around like armor especially on his upper body to give more protection to his chest.

The belly of the beast was mostly a dark red, almost black color, going from his neck towards his legs but not reaching his tail. The tail itself remained still once the dragon positioned himself in a manner he could study his visitor as his huge arms remained low in a non threatening manner.

Which gave Asia the chance to do the same, focusing on Great Red's head and noticing how his features looked soft despite the scales or the 'crown' that emerged from his forehead and almost descended from his neck like hair.

She also saw a powerful light behind the dragon's head, almost like a halo or a second crown that held a meaning she couldn't divine. Yet she knew it meant something as her very soul reacted to its visage before the halo's light grew weak and disappeared, leaving her to stare at his rich gold eyes.

Not in fear or even admiration but familiarity because what the Bishop saw hidden by Great Red's monstrous form was a generous soul. One that chose to save her and was patiently waiting for the girl to understand what sort of existence he was.

Or perhaps he was waiting for a request of some sort, Asia couldn't know since she didn't even understand who Great Red was. Having read the Bible many times, if her mind wasn't so addled by exhaustion she would have an idea but not a complete one. And since she was rather tired, no dots were connecting in her mind.

In her eyes all she saw was a dragon and thanks to previous experiences she hardly saw a member of that species as dangerous despite reputation and many, many examples of the contrary.

And Great Red wasn't an exception despite his massive size. If anything she felt safe under those gold eyes as there was not a single speck of malice in them. Despite looking like a giant monster, the former Holy Maiden only felt positivity from him and that made her feel like nothing could go wrong.

"Hello! My name is Asia Argento!" Once again she bowed out of politeness and a nudge on her mind made her think the dragon was amused. In fact she had the distinct impression he was chuckling even if there was no sound. "Could please help me?! I need to get back to my friends!"

Great Red looked at the blonde with something she couldn't quite put a name on before slowly nodding without need for any further explanation, much to the former nun's relief as she knew he would do his best to keep her safe even if she didn't understand why.

Asia couldn't even explain why she was feeling that way and the Dragon of Dragons wasn't actually doing anything special other than keeping a barrier around the girl so she wasn't harmed by his home.

Even the mental nudge he had previously sent to her mind was more to calm her down and show he meant no harm.

Regardless it didn't matter, she made a request and Great Red was going to deliver it although the way he was going to do it probably wasn't what she expected. His huge hand began to approach Asia and surprisingly the young woman had no fear when it touched her head extremely gently because of the difference in size.

An instant later she felt mana course on her body and thanks to her experience mending wounds she could understand that Great Red was fixing the damage done by the Dimensional Gap with a method she couldn't understand.

'Warm…' It was still relaxing and Asia felt almost like she was having a relaxing bath as the impurities from the Dimensional Gap were washed away.

The blonde didn't even notice when her body relaxed a bit too much and she began feeling sleepy once again. Unlike Diodora's trick which was supposed to knock her out, the dragon's energy was pretty much doing the equivalent of singing a lullaby to her soul, another form of healing.

Great Red knew for a fact that she needed the rest and made sure to transmit his intentions via his mana, assuring her that when she next woke up it would be with familiar faces and away from the Dimensional Gap.

But it wasn't the magic that Asia relaxed, not really. It was the dragon's presence and his warmth that was touching her heart.

'It feels, somehow, familiar. Like the Light of the Lord… No, like… Cardinal Strada…' Opening her eyes again, Asia saw the giant dragon no longer but instead a man easily twice her size, his right hand resting on her head. Her blurred vision could make no features but recognized the tall build and even a gentle smile on his face. 'Is this what it feels like… to have a father? Or… a brother?'

Without gravity her body began floating again but the humanoid that was once Great Red gently approached to hold her in his arms. In his human form his eyes were still gold, he had long red hair that reached his upper back in a wild mane and sharp features the Bishop didn't see.

Dressed in a long regal red cloak that wrapped around his chest reached his ankles, just above his feet, there was some light armor showing he was still ready for battle. Great Red also retained his powerful frame albeit in a more proportionally fit and muscular form for a human instead of a dragon.

For he looked fully human, a handsome one to boot but that wasn't important to him as he held the Bishop with grace and care. Slowly he studied her face before shaking his head and closing his eyes. His senses expand to every corner of his domain, ignoring its endless nature as his power and control over it allowed only him to.

Even if the Dimensional Gap was infinitely large, he knew every corner, nock and crane, the advantages of being a God of Dreams. With that awareness he looked for someone he knew should be in his home despite not having any invitation.

Finding nobody, Great Red understood, "They haven't arrived yet…" For several reasons he couldn't just leave the Dimensional Gap but he had every intention of returning Asia to her friends. "Hmm… but it is almost time…"

The Strongest looked up towards the infinite number of colors dancing on the Dimensional Gap with a pensive expression. For a long time that had been his home, a place of chaos that stood between everything and nothing.

So much stuff was crammed inside the Place Between Worlds that the only reason nobody stumbled on those things when trying to navigate the place was because of how large it was. The odds of finding anything without proper guidance or the right set of skills were the same as those of finding an habitable planet in space.

Actually it was worse despite how organized everything was despite the Dimensional Gap's chaos. And it was all Great Red's who, over the centuries, started collecting all that stuff to pass the time. He was a dragon, after all, and every dragon had an unhealthy obsession with treasures.

Even if his developed late in life

Nevertheless he knew every corner of that infinite space and could easily take Asia to one of the buildings he made or one of those he rescued after some sort of accident, usually from despots trying to acquire absolute power, magicians trying to reach the Root or someone doing something else he would classify as stupid.

Regardless, Great Red knew exactly who he could entrust Asia while also being aware they would show up in his home sooner rather than later.

"Time waits for nobody, no matter how much of it you have…" Looking down towards his charge, the Dragon of Dragons paused before saying, "Your own time is short but it will be bright. I promise that you will be with your friends soon and you will share many more happy moments…" Looking at the kaleidoscope again, Great Red pondered what he should do. 'It is close now, isn't it?'

With that in mind he gave Asia one last look before his body began to shine and his humanoid form transformed back into the titanic dragon. His left claw moved around to shrink the barrier protecting the Bishop until it involved her into a ball he could hold without fear of harming the blonde.

Turning his snout towards the sky, the Glorious God of Dreams felt the smell he was waiting for. 'He better not start a fight. Considering how many of my warehouses I let them raid, they better take Asia to the Underworld or else…'

A powerful roar signaled that the Strongest was on the move, the precious charge in his hand resting ease not knowing that the dragon would protect her with his full might until she departed his care.

But she believed in that anyway.

Great Red was nice and warm.

Like a giant teddy bear.

…..

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