Chapter 20: Don't mock me

The soul of Ddraig had been extracted from my Sacred Gear—the Boosted Gear.

Even though Ddraig’s soul was gone, the Sacred Gear still functioned properly. According to Azazel-sensei, it was because Ddraig had adjusted it to work that way before he left. In other words... Ddraig had predicted that Irina would come to me. But he never told me. And then, those final words he left me with:

“Defeat me, and you become the ‘Heavenly Dragon.’”

I still can’t wrap my head around what that means. You and Albion are the Heavenly Dragons. I’m just a former human, a Reincarnated Devil who happened to stumble upon the Sacred Gear that held your soul.

Despite everything, I kept up my special training. There were distractions, like being interrogated about Irina and those knights, but I definitely got stronger. I had to have.

One day, as the Rating Game approached, a party for High-Class Nobles was held in the Underworld. The official pretext was to celebrate the success of the younger generation of Devils, but according to Buchou (Rias), it was really just an excuse for the aristocrats to drink.

During the party, I saw Koneko-chan, a member of our Peerage, slip out of the venue. She was clearly acting strange, so I followed her. Buchou joined me halfway through, and we shadowed Koneko-chan together.

We arrived at a forest near the venue. Waiting for Koneko-chan was a woman in a kimono who shared her features. Her ears and tail made it clear she was a Nekomata (Cat-Yokai). It seemed Koneko-chan had bolted after seeing a black cat that appeared to be this woman’s familiar.

The cat-woman’s identity was Kuroka. Koneko-chan’s biological older sister. She was once the servant of a certain Devil, but her Youkai powers grew too strong, causing her to lose control and go on a rampage. She killed her master and became a Stray Devil. There were talks of disposing of Koneko-chan as well before she could lose control, but Sirzechs-sama saved her. Koneko-chan became Buchou’s servant, but that trauma left her deeply hesitant to use her powers as a Nekomata.

Kuroka spoke to the bewildered Koneko-chan.

"The Underworld is finished, -nyan. So, come with me, Shirone."

Shirone was Koneko-chan’s real name. Koneko Toujou was the name Buchou had given her.

"...What do you mean by 'finished,' Kuroka-neesama?"

"Exactly what I said, -nyan. Whether those Demon God Pillar guys win or that goddess called the Lion King wins, the Underworld is done for. The Devils are finished, -nyan. Neither the Old Maou Faction nor the current Maous realize it. Are all Devils this easygoing? They don’t even know what kind of monsters have their eyes on them."

There was more than just mockery or exasperation in her voice; for some reason, there was resentment.

"So come with me, Shirone. You don’t want to die, do you?"

"...Stop messing around! What on earth are you talking about?! These Demon God Pillars and the Lion King... they’re just part of the Khaos Brigade, aren't they? All the mythologies of the world are gathering to deal with them. I don't understand what you mean by the Underworld ending!"

Despite Koneko-chan’s fury, Kuroka remained calm. She spoke gently, like soothing a child throwing a tantrum.

"Shirone. Please, just listen. Those things... they aren't enemies you can measure in those terms. They aren't the kind of people you can view from that perspective and survive."

Though her words were persuasive, her face showed intense agitation. What? I’d heard that our perception of the Khaos Brigade had shifted slightly after Ddraig’s soul was taken... but this was different. something was wrong. Something felt off. What was the difference between our perception and Kuroka's?

Just then, Kuroka looked toward us. She had noticed we were there. Buchou and I stepped forward to shield Koneko-chan.

"Kuroka, the SS-class Stray Devil. I’ll make you regret stepping onto this land while being a wanted criminal!"

"...Ah, the famous Gremory Princess and the Sekiryuutei. Sorry, but I’m taking this girl with me, -nyan."

"Don't be ridiculous! Koneko is my Peerage! I won't let you take her! I will protect her!"

"Protect? Impossible, -nyan. Even if you protect her from me, those things will—to this Underworld—"

"You should not speak of unnecessary things, cat-wraith."

"Eh—?"

Whose voice was that? It might have been mine, or Buchou’s next to me. It felt like it could have been Kuroka’s or Koneko-chan’s. Or maybe, the voice of everyone present.

"Manifest. Record. What arrives here is one of the Seventy-two Demon Gods."

The moment that familiar incantation reached my ears, I saw it. The pillar-shaped aberration.

"A Demon God Pillar! Why is it here?!"

Eerie reddish-black eyeballs writhed on its surface. Not just one, but every eye fixed on a single point. They were staring at me.

"I shall be blunt. Join forces with us, Red Dragon. And defeat the Lion King."

A sudden recruitment. First it was Ddraig, now me? These monsters have no shame. And last time, they were looking down on me!

"Huh? Th-The Lion King is the one Irina mentioned, right? Aren't they on your side?"

"That is offensive. We are in a state of hostility with the goddess known as the Lion King."

Hmm? Does that mean there’s infighting within the Khaos Brigade? Is that why we haven't seen what Vali is up to lately?

"Naturally, there is an advantage for you. If you come with us, the tragedy of your sibling can be undone."

"Sibling? What are you talking about? I'm an only child."

"Were you unaware? You had a sibling who was never born."

"...Huh?"

"No sin, no responsibility—their existence ended before it began. They were not even permitted to be born. What a meaningless tragedy. What a worthless despair. We wish to negate such tragedies that exist only as meaningless, valueless numerical data. We have the means to do so."

"…………"

"However, the Goddess who took Y Ddraig Goch from you intends to overlook every one of those tragedies. She intends to continue this ecosystem of nothing but pain. Can such an atrocity be permitted? Come with us, Wielder of the Red Dragon. The True Red Dragon. With your power, the Lion King can be defeated. To take back what was stolen—"

"I’m going to kill you, you bastard."

"—What?"

I don't understand difficult things. Because I’m an idiot.

But there’s one thing I can understand. I recognized that he just said something that can never be forgiven. This guy... he just mocked my family.

I don't know anything about having a sibling who might have been. But if what he’s saying is true, then he just mocked my father’s feelings, my mother’s wishes, and the sibling who couldn't be born. He laughed it off as "meaningless." He looked down on it as "worthless."

I felt a rage equal to, no, even greater than what I felt toward Vali for the threat to my parents.

"I’ll never forgive you, you damn Demon God Pillar!!"

『Welsh Dragon Over Booster!!!!』

The Boosted Gear responded to my intense rage. It’s strange; Ddraig is gone, but these functions still work perfectly.

"Hmm. My data suggested humans feel joy when re-evaluated by those who previously looked down on them... Is this an exception? Or a side effect of no longer being human?"

This guy doesn't just "not understand the human heart"—he's beyond that! Where in that load of crap was I supposed to be happy?!

"Ascalon!"

I drew the Holy Sword from the Sacred Gear and thrust it into one of the grotesque eyeballs. But it only slightly shaved the surface of its body. It’s way harder than I imagined! Come to think of it, that guy calling himself 'Gremory'—one of his kind—was almost unscathed even after taking Buchou’s Power of Destruction. It was only natural that this one’s defensive power would be just as high.

"...Powerless. Incineration Ritual: Zepar!"

"Ghah!"

In an instant, an impact hit me so hard I couldn't even process what happened.

Before I knew it, I was lying on the ground, face down. Pain was racing through my entire body. I knew it was bad, but my body wouldn't move. It felt like it wasn't even mine. I tried to force myself to move, but I just twitched; I couldn't even get up. Maybe because I lost so much blood, my consciousness was flickering. Ascalon wasn't in my hand either. I looked for where it had blown off to—it was rolling near the monster's foot... or its base.

"Issei!"

Buchou’s scream. It’s okay, Buchou. I’m going to take this thing down.

"Ludicrous. Pathetic. Meaningless. Worthless. As expected, a Reincarnated Devil has no utility value. Human potential has been purged from this lifeform. Was my proposal a mistake? If so, I have no choice but to bet on the Holy Spear user’s plan."

It's frustrating. Truly frustrating! This guy isn't looking at me. He isn't looking at Issei Hyoudou. He isn't even looking at me as the Sekiryuutei or Rias Gremory’s servant. He only recognizes me as a "species," like a human looking at a bee or an ant. He doesn't care about me as an individual. That recruitment earlier probably had no reason beyond "because I'm the Red Dragon Emperor."

Then, my fingertips touched something. A piece of flesh. It was a fragment of the monster’s body that I had sliced off with Ascalon earlier.

"...Hey, Mr. Demon God Pillar. Sacred Gears respond to feelings. That’s how I once took in the power of my rival, the Vanishing Dragon."

Upon hearing that, the countless eyes stuck to its pillar-like body moved frantically.

"Do you understand what you are trying to do?"

"Yeah! If I mess up, I might die! But even if I die, I want to punch you in the face!"

Summoning the last of my strength, I jammed the piece of his flesh into my Sacred Gear. Because of that "Incineration Ritual" thing, the gem was already cracked and battered, so I forced the flesh inside.

A pain far greater than what I felt with Vali surged through me.

"Aaaaaaaagh! It huuuuurtsssss!"

"Pain" wasn't a strong enough word. It felt like my entire body was rejecting this monster’s cells. It felt like my four limbs were about to explode. I could hear my body screaming that it would be better to die than to fight like this. My body rejected this power to that extent. Since I couldn't stand, I could only writhe on the ground like a fish out of water.

"Reckless! Impossible! Useless! Futile!"

"Shut up! It might be reckless. It might be impossible. But I won't know if it’s useless until I try! And I won't know if it's futile until I see it through to the end!"

"Ooooooooooh!"

『Goetia Power is taken!!!!』

"Heh... I guess this is the Goetia Gear."

Looking at it, the Boosted Gear was now covered in distorted, eerie patterns.

Amazing. The pain from a moment ago felt like a lie. I stood up effortlessly. ...If Ddraig were here, I bet he’d be explaining these new functions to me. I can figure it out myself, but man, it feels lonely.

"Unprecedented! What has occurred!?"

Ignoring Zepar’s shock, I stood up. I sprinted, snatched up Ascalon, and sliced right through Zepar’s body.

"Ooryaaa!"

A liquid that looked like blood sprayed everywhere, but I didn't care. I don't have sword skills or experience, so I just swung wildly. Maybe I should have at least asked Kiba for some pointers.

I swung the blade and thrust it in. There was no resistance like before. The blade sank in like I was cutting through tofu. I repeated it over and over. The enemy resisted, but it didn't matter. I just wanted to vent this maddening rage into him. Even the pain that felt like it was boring through my very soul couldn't calm me down.

"Impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible!"

Zepar let out a piercing shriek.

"It cannot be. It cannot be it cannot be it cannot be it cannot be! My design was overhauled! My functions were updated! How can I fall behind a mere Reincarnated Devil who was once human?! A piece of filth who abandoned the value of being human, who is not even a Heroic Spirit, let alone a Hero...! And you absorbed my power?! What was the Control Bureau doing?! Why did they overlook such a possibility?! This is a clear design flaw—!"

"You're too damn noisy!"

I’m the one fighting you! I’m the one trying to kill you, so don't go blaming the "Control Bureau" or whatever!

"Oooooooooooooooooh!"

『Boost!!』

I thrust my hand directly into the wound on his oversized body and unleashed a finishing blow at point-blank range!

"Dragon Shot: Custom!"

"Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

A red aura swallowed the Demon God Pillar whole, blowing its body apart. There was nothing left. Even I’m impressed by that power. Though I’m so exhausted I can barely move.

"Haa... haa... haa... ? Wha... what... gh... ?!"

A sudden headache assaulted me. A headache... no, it felt like an electric current running from my arm through my entire body. These were memories. Memories of something someone else had seen.

“Well, yeah. I mean. Not really... anything?”

Starting with those cold, merciless words... the memories of their journey flooded in.

"……Explanation from Zepar. This failure was caused by a design flaw from the Control Bureau and—"

"Silence, Zepar!"

"Incompetent!"

"Poor negotiator!"

"Are you actually our true enemy?!"

"A disgrace to the Seventy-two Pillars!"

"And you call yourself a Demon God Pillar!"

"You should be turned into a decorative houseplant!"

"Never leave the Temple of Time again!"

"Control Bureau! We request the disposal of Zepar!"

"In other words, are you saying you were unable to transport the patient infected with said disease to this hospital? And you call yourself a paramedic!"

"I think that's a bit different... By the way, why are they so furious?"

"To put it simply, it's an information leak. We’ve been defeated before, but that was within our calculations. However, being defeated here was beyond any calculation. Moreover, his physical body was absorbed, wasn't it? From there, the potential for the 'Incineration of the Underworld,' the 'Revision of the Bible,' and even the existence of our world to be exposed is a real possibility."

"Decision from Goetia. Commencing forced disconnection of Zepar."

"What! I... what did you say? This is a stroke of luck! Report from Zepar!"

"Hoh. Your final words? Speak them."

"Hyoudou Issei—has affirmed the Revision of the Bible!"