Samael.

Once, he was an Angel, one of YHWH's most favored, given the title 'Light Bearer', much like Lucifer, who bore the title 'Child of Dawn'.

Outside of the Ten Seraphs, he had been the strongest Angel.

However, also much like Lucifer, he had fallen out of the Biblical God's favor when he tempted Adam and Eve into eating the fruit of knowledge, which he had expressly forbidden, resulting in mankind's eternal exile from the Garden of Eden, and in YHWH's subsequent hatred of all Dragons and serpents.

As punishment, God cursed him, turning him into a Fallen Angel/Dragon hybrid, giving him the upper body of a Fallen Angel, and the lower body of a serpentine Dragon.

That was where the name 'Serpent of Eden' had arisen.

However, his transformation alone was not the extent of YHWH's curse.

The curse could be said to be YHWH's dark side manifested.

Thus, it presented itself in the form of an extremely powerful curse, one that was absolutely lethal to Dragons and serpents.

Thus, he was called the Dragon Eater.

The power of the curse was so great that it drove the once cunning, manipulative Angel into complete and utter madness, a belligerent being that still posed a threat to all reptilian lifeforms.

Even beings on the level of Ophis and Great Red.

He was sealed into Cocytus soon after, and forgotten by all but the oldest members of the Biblical Faction and Hades himself, lying dormant in the River of Laments for eons.

And now, Qlipoth sought to obtain his Dragon-Slaying power that vastly eclipsed even that of Ascalon, Arondight and even Gram.

This information was not made known to anyone outside of the Biblical and Shinto Factions.

Though they were now allied with each other, no one held any delusions that the alliance would survive once Qlipoth was dealt with.

They would not overlook Ophis's presence, nor that of the Sekiryuutei or the Hakuryuukou.

Samael's curse was the perfect counter to all Dragons, and there was no doubt that they would prioritize acquiring it above anything else.

That could be not be allowed.

Thus, the Biblical Faction and Shinto Faction had another objective other than repelling Qlipoth from the realm of the dead.

In the event that Samael's unsealing could not be prevented, or his existence was revealed to the other Factions, they would destroy him before anyone could get their hands on him.

He might be the strongest natural enemy to Dragons, but even he could not possibly stand up to the combined might of Gods, Fallen Angels, Devils, a Kyuubi, not to mention several Longinus.

That was why they were currently rushing down there.

Unlike most other Factions, the Devils and Grigori had a direct path to the Realm of the Dead, since it was pretty much just a lower level of Hell.

The Olympians might have one too, considering Hades was one of them, but metaphysically, the Underworld was much closer to the Realm of the Dead than Mt. Olympus.

The problem was whether Hades had sent out the distress signal to all the Factions at the same time, or if he had contacted the other Olympians first.

They sure weren't going to just stand around and find out.

A massive crimson magic circle bearing Sirzechs's personal crest appeared just outside of Hades's palace.

Quite the entourage emerged from it.

Surtr Second, MacGregor Mathers and Beowulf, three members of Sirzechs's legendary peerage.

Rudiger Rosenkreutz, the current 7th Ranked in the Rating Games, the highest position any Reincarnated Devil had ever achieved.

Sairoarg Baal, the heir of the clan of the Great King Baal, whose power in the Underworld was on the same level as the Maou, accompanied by his Pawn, Regulus, whose appearance was concealed by a long cloak.

Baraqiel, a Cadre of the Grigori, also known as Baraqiel of Holy Lightning.

Ikuse Tobio, the current possessor of Canis Lykaon, and a blood descendant of the Himejima Clan, one of Japan's five greatest Onmyouji bloodlines.

Vali Lucifer, the Hakuryuukou, great grandson of the original Lucifer, Rizevim Livan Lucifer's grandson, the current and strongest possessor of Divine Dividing.

Arthur and Le Fay Pendragon, the direct descendants of the legendary King of Camelot himself, the former being the wielder of the Strongest Holy Sword, the Sword that Chooses the King, Caliburn, and the last of Excalibur fragments, Excalibur Ruler, and the latter being a prodigious magician, whose talent and potential vastly exceeded any other of her age.

Dulio Gesualdo, the Strongest Exorcist now that Vasco Strada had retired from active duty, the current possessor of Zenith Tempest, renowned as the Longinus that was only second to the actual God-Slaying Spear itself in power.

Griselda Quarta, the Strongest Female Exorcist, who wielded the Holy Sword of the Sun, Galatine, Excalibur's sister sword.

Takehaya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto, one of the Shinto Trinity, the Shinto God of Storms and the Seas.

Yasaka, the current head of the Kyoto Youkai, a Kyuubi, and Amaterasu's current Aspect.

And finally, Hyoudo Issei, the Sekiryuutei, the grandson of Susanoo and Amaterasu, the current and strongest possessor of Boosted Gear, and the wielder of Futsu-no-Mitama, one of the Shinto Faction's three Divine Swords.

The moment they teleported in, it was clear that a giant clusterfuck was currently taking place in the Realm of the Dead.

How did they know?

Well, maybe it was the sounds of battle coming from all directions.

Or the utterly devastated environment.

But mostly, it was the army of Evil Dragon clones that was most telling.

And the legion of black-robed skeletons armed with scythes trying and failing to push them back.

Those were the Grim Reapers, Hades's agents and the direct subordinates of Thanatos, the Greek God of Death.

"Well, we're definitely in the right place." Beowulf said drily as they prepared to join the fray.

"Which way is the Cocytus?" Issei asked tersely, not in the mood for banter at the moment.

"Sirzechs-sama has informed me of its location. It's quite a distance from Hades-dono's palace. But, we have to break through the Evil Dragons first."

"Then, that's exactly what we'll do. Balance Breaker."

[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker.]

Compared to the usual boisterous voice that would announce Boosted Gear's commands, the one that came out of the gauntlet was much more mechanical this time.

Still, the Scale Mail appeared around him.

However, it lacked the same overwhelming aura that it usually possessed.

Another sign of Ddraig's absence.

"Balance Breaker."

[Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!]

In comparison, Albion's voice was still as uproarious, and the white Scale Mail looked and felt as imposing as ever.

"Ddraig hasn't woken up yet?" Vali asked, a tinge of something resembling concern in his tone.

"No. From what Azazel said, he's definitely recovering, but it's going to take a while for him to wake up. In the meantime, though I can access Boost, Transfer and the Scale Mail, I can't use Penetrate or Juggernaut Drive."

[It can't be helped. You two really overdid it at the conference, trying to continue fighting even after you had nearly exhausted yourselves to the point of unconsciousness from using Juggernaut Drive. It took almost all of my energy to keep you from dying, Vali. And Hyoudo Issei's condition was almost certainly worse than yours considering he fought Rizevim a second time.]

"Though you did actually manage to wound the bastard in the end."

"Through a last ditch effort that almost got me killed until Ophis stepped in. I don't think it's all that impressive."

"You know, anytime you two want to join in, that would be great."

Susanoo cut in sarcastically on the conversation.

Issei and Vali turned to find that the rest of the team had already joined in on the fight with the Evil Dragons.

"Right. Mission first. Talk later."

The Evil Dragon army was easily taken care of.

They were vastly inferior to the originals after all.

Vali and Issei on their own had been able to tear through an army of Grendel and Ladon clones.

The addition of the clones of the other 5 Evil Dragons didn't really matter much when the sheer firepower of their team was considered.

It was when they reached Cocytus that things started to get hairy.

The fight going on here was far more intense.

Hades, the Greek God of the Dead, and Thanatos, the Greek God of Death, were here personally, fighting against Qlipoth's forces.

They were doing exceptionally well, considering that they were heavily outnumbered by opponents like the original Evil Dragons, including Ladon and Grendel, who seemed to have recovered from their severe case of death by Heavenly Dragons, no doubt a result of Sephiorth Graal's power, Walburga, the insane Incinerate Anthem possessor, Euclid Lucifuge, the Strongest Queen's own little brother, and of course, Rizevim and Angra Mainyu themselves.

It appeared that all of Qlipoth's heavy hitters, or at least the ones they knew of, were here.

"Hades-dono! We have come to assist you!" MacGregor declared as they drew near.

"Hmph, so the doves, crows and bats arrived first, huh? Oh, and of course, our friends from Takamagahara. Hello, Tempestuous One. It has been a while since our last meeting." The moving skeleton that was the Greek God of the Dead's Divine Vessel answered, his eerily glowing eye sockets directed towards Susanoo, even while he idly countered Grendel's punches and several spells headed his way.

As expected of a God powerful enough to be ranked in the World's Top 10.

"Bag O' Bones. Long time no see. Still as unpleasant as ever, I see." Susanoo returned the greeting with his usual sneer.

"Kakakaka…Don't tell me you're still holding a grudge from when I spanked your bottom like a petulant child at the last Banquet of the Gods?" Hades asked while letting out a sound of clacking bones, which was presumably laughter.

Issei's brow shot up almost all the way to his hairline when he heard that, his feeling of incredulity only growing when he saw that his bipolar grandfather was actually blushing.

"Shut up! I was drunk! If I was sober, I would have kicked your ass!" Susanoo immediately retorted.

"Kakaka…I wonder about that. I seem to recall a certain brat of a God never being able to win a single fight against me." Hades chuckled.

"You wanna go right now, old man!?"

"As amusing as this conversation is, I would ask the two of you to stop. Hades, surrender the Dragon Eater to us, and we will cease our invasion of your domain." Angra Mainyu demanded as he sent waves of darkness at the Greek God.

"Kakakaka…You've become quite cocky since we last met, haven't you, Ahriman? Perhaps this old man needs to teach you a lesson." Hades declared as he idly waved a skeletal hand at the incoming darkness.

Which promptly did an about face and sped towards a surprised Angra Mainyu instead.

"Wha-!?" The Zoroastrian God of Evil let out a shocked voice as he dodged his own attack.

"Kakaka…this should come as no surprise. You really shouldn't overestimate yourself, Ahriman. It's true that you're stronger than you were in the past, but to claim that you're on the same level as the Destroyer? The Gods in the Top 10 are some of the oldest in existence. You think that mere power is enough to close the gap between you and us? That's wishful thinking. How about you try saying that again in another couple millennia?"

A wave of darkness washed out from Hades's robes and towered over Angra Mainyu like a tidal wave of black tar.

"…Did he even need our help?"

It certainly looked like Hades was strong enough take on Qlipoth by himself.

"Kakaka…come now. Despite my words, I really am a bit overwhelmed here. Even for me, fighting all of them at the same time is a bit much. How about lending this decrepit old man a hand?" Hades laughed, not sounding sincere in the least.

More than one person among them twitched.

It was like they were his cleanup crew or something.

Still, they had a mission to complete, and they intended to do so.

Now, who would fight who?

"SO YOU TWO SHOWED AFTER ALL, LITTLE SEKIRYUUTEI SHIT AND THE DAMN MATCHSTICK! I HAVEN'T PAID YOU TWO BACK YET! I'LL START WITH YOU FIRST!" The Crime Force Dragon roared as he abruptly abandoned his futile assault on Hades and leapt at Surtr.

The Fire Giant clone grinned and prepared to meet Grendel's fist with his own, when Beowulf stepped between them and drew two blood-red swords, easily cutting through Grendel's Adamantine Scales, causing the mad Dragon to roar in agony.

"Oi, whaddya think yer doin', Beowulf?" Surtr asked, not sounding very pleased.

"Sorry, Surtr, but could you leave this one to me? He and my bloodline go way back."

"THOSE SWORDS…! I SEE, YOU'RE THAT BASTARD'S DESCENDANT, AREN'T YOU!?" Grendel roared, angrier than Issei had ever seen him.

"That's right, Grendel. I am the descendant of the man who slew you and your mother, and I bear the swords he used to accomplish those feats, Hrunting and Naegling. Surely I would serve as a worthy opponent for you?"

"I'LL HANG YOU UP BY YOUR ENTRAILS, YOU LITTLE FUCK!"

Grendel's fist met Hrunting's blade.

"Tch, no choice, then…alrigh', how 'bout you, Crom Cruach? I hear boss actually used his true form agains' ye. How 'bout ye le' me see tha' power?" Surtr asked the Crescent Circle Dragon in human form with a wide grin.

"Hm…a clone of the Norse Fire Giant, huh? I suppose you'll do as an opponent." Crom Cruach said as black scales appeared on his bare skin, giving his limbs the appearance of draconic claws while still maintaining an overall humanoid appearance.

The two powerhouses clashed, and the resulting shockwave blew all those unprepared away.

Which were basically just the mindless Evil Dragon clones, the real combatants all too battle-tested to be affected by something of that level.

"Would thou assent to the continuation of our battle, MacGregor Mathers?" Apophis asked Sirzechs's Bishop with a smile, one that he returned.

"Of course. Our fight came to a very unsatisfying end in Romania after all." The co-founder of Golden Dawn said as his Bloodstone Grimoire appeared in his hand.

The two vanished, presumably teleporting somewhere else to do battle.

"Hm…going by this pattern, I guess my opponent would be Ladon?" Dulio muttered as he stood forth to face the Insomniac Dragon.

"Hmph, so be it. There was something I wanted to verify anyway." The main head of the Keeper of the Garden of the Hesperides said.

The air around the Strongest Exorcist crackled, and a bolt of lightning slammed into Ladon's tree-like body, though failing to elicit any more of a reaction than a mere grunt of annoyance.

"Hm…then I guess I'll settle for Albion's current host." The center head of the Thousand Diabolism Dragon said as his gaze turned to Vali.

"Albion!"

"Gwiber!"

The other two heads did a short follow up, suggesting a lower level of intelligence.

[Don't call me that. I threw that name away long ago.]

Albion's displeased voice came from the jewels on Vali's Scale Mail.

Come to think of it, Albion wasn't his original name.

When he first became famous, he was not known as Albion, the Vanishing Dragon who could halve the power of his opponents and steal it for himself.

He was known as Gwiber, the beautiful white Dragon who hid a terrible poison within his body, so potent that it was capable of annihilating Gods, right down to their very souls.

Hated and feared, Albion was driven to the point of complete isolation by the world, and began to loathe his own existence as the Dragon Emperor of Poison.

There were only two beings in all of existence that his poison did not affect.

Ophis and Great Red, the two residents of the Dimensional Gap who almost never left.

Likewise, Ddraig did not possess the power of Boosting from the beginning.

Back when he was still known as Y Ddraig Goch, his main ability was Blazing Inferno of Scorching Flames, the absolute fire he was capable of spewing, so powerful that like Gwiber's poison, it could incinerate even Gods, down to their souls.

Just like Gwiber, only Ophis and Great Red were not affected by the absolute force behind his flames.

And just like Gwiber, he too was feared and reviled by the world as the Dragon Emperor of Cinders, for that was all that was left of anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in his inferno.

Sometimes not even that.

Two beings, hated by the rest of the world for their overwhelming power.

Perhaps it was destined that they met and became rivals.

And that the powers that they were so feared for would have no effect on the other.

Seeing that, they threw away their old abilities, along with their old names, taking up the ones they bore now, developing Boosting , Dividing, Penetrate, Reflect and countless other abilities during the long, long course of their rivalry.

No matter the reason for their long battle, or whatever lingering animosity they and their possessors had towards each other, they would also always be eternally grateful to the other.

Their meeting was what led to them becoming more than they were, allowing them to throw away their hateful pasts and become the legendary Heavenly Dragons, forever carving their names into history as the strongest Dragons outside of the Divine Two.

And now, Azi Dahaka was dredging up those painful memories.

It was only natural that Albion was get angry.

And even if he didn't, Vali would on his behalf.

"But, that is your name, isn't it, Gwiber?

"Albion Gwiber!"

"Gwiber is Gwiber!"

"Silence, Azi Dahaka! Say any more than that, and I'll crush you myself!"

"Ho? If you want me to stop, why don't you stop me by force!"

"With pleasure!" Vali snarled as he charged at the grinning Evil Dragon.

"Vali, don't be rash. Le Fay, we're supporting him."

"Yes, Onii-sama!"

The Pendragon siblings moved to help Vali in his battle with the Thousand Diabolism Dragon.

"In that case, I suppose I'll take Nidhoggr." Sairoarg Baal said as he stepped forward to confront the Abyssal Rage Dragon.

The Dragon who Gnaws on the Roots of the World Tree guffawed loudly.

"Bwahaha! The defective child of the Great King wishes to fight me? You must really be underestimating me if you think a Devil who can't even use demonic energy is capable of defeating me!"

Sairoarg smiled…and threw a punch at Nidhoggr so fast that Issei could barely follow it with his eyes.

The Abyssal Rage Dragon didn't even have time to react before his comparatively larger body was sent flying by a punch that should have felt like nothing more than a mosquito bite to him.

"That's right. I have zero talent when it comes to using demonic energy. I am not even capable of using our Clan's Blood Trait, the Power of Destruction. That is exactly why I have spent my entire life cultivating the only real weapon I had: my body. If you underestimate me, I am afraid it will be you who will regret it, Evil Dragon." Sairoarg Baal declared.

A thick purple aura manifested around his body.

That couldn't be demonic energy. Sairoarg was born with only a paltry amount of it.

That was…Touki!

Life force manifested as an aura to dramatically its users physical capabilities!

Issei couldn't believe his eyes.

A technique that only Senjutsu users were supposed to be able to use was being wielded so easily by someone who was scorned by his own family as talentless.

Sairoarg Baal…just how much did he train, how much did he suffer to attain his current level of power?

Issei could not help the surge of respect he felt for the young Devil.

"Insolent whelp! I will have you suffer for this!"

"You're more than welcome to try!"

The battle between the two began in earnest, leaving just one Evil Dragon without an opponent.

"So, you wanna take your old nemesis, gramps?" Issei asked his grandfather.

"Nah, you can have him. He doesn't seem like he'll be all that fun, considering he's incomplete."

"Incomplete?"

"Oh ho! Perceptive, God of Storms! You are correct, among all of the Evil Dragons ,Yamata-no-Orochi is the only one we revived with only half a soul! We're using the other half for something else! We'd feel sorry for him, but he doesn't look like he minds!"

And as though to punctuate Rizevim's words, all eight heads of the Venom Blood Dragon roared simultaneously.

Now that Issei thought about it, Yamata-no-Orochi's aura definitely felt…well, not weaker.

In terms of intensity, it was every bit as great as Grendel's, Ladon's or Nidhoggr's.

It just felt…incomplete, like a large piece that was supposed to be there had gone missing.

Why on earth would they only use half a soul?

If they went through the trouble of reviving Yamata-no-Orochi only to split his soul in half, why not just use the whole soul for whatever purpose it is they had requisitioned one of the halves?

They already had 6 of the 7 Evil Dragons.

Adding a weakened seventh just seemed redundant.

Yamata-no-Orochi's eight heads lunged at Susanoo.

Even with half of its soul gone, it appeared to still recognize its mortal enemy.

The God of Storms snorted and casually batted all of them aside with a simple wave of his hand, knocking the Venom Blood Dragon on its ass.

"Don't bother, snake. You couldn't defeat me with your full power back when my own divine power was being restrained. What makes you think you can defeat me with only half your power while I'm no longer under those restraints?" Susanoo sneered, casting a disdainful gaze at the mad Evil Dragon for a moment before directing his attention to Rizevim.

"You will be my opponent, son of the Morning Star." The God of Storms declared with a tone that left no room for argument.

"Who, little ol' me? Why, I'm honored that you would be interested in me, O Tempestuous God!"

Rizevim sounded as jovial as ever, but Issei could detect just a tiny hint of nervousness in his voice.

Which was expected.

Rizevim was insane. That was not the same as being stupid.

Issei was able to wound him using an incomplete Divine Avatar while severely injured.

In that case, how much more powerful would the complete Divine Avatar of an actual God be?

He was about to find out.

"Oi, Bag O' Bones. You don't mind if I rampage in here for a while, do you?"

"Not as long as you clean up after yourself."

"Alright then!"

A blue aura erupted from Susanoo's body, rapidly molding and solidifying into a certain form.

Towering over the Realm of the Dead was a massive spectral warrior, clad in robes and armor, with a mask shaped like a Tengi and two spots of ominous red light where its eyes should be.

This was Susanoo's Divine Avatar, bearing the same form that Issei's would take if he had the control to do so.

Even Rizevim had lost his smile at the sight of the translucent giant.

"Well, I couldn't manifest its full size because this place is too damn small, but…it's more than enough for the likes of you." Susanoo declared as he willed his Divine Avatar to move.

"Oh shi-Brace yourselves!" Issei yelled out to their allies before hunkering down himself.

The massive four-armed samurai-like warrior grasped the hilt of a spectral katana from a sheath held in its left auxiliary arm, drawing it in a single swift motion that looked like nothing more than a blue blur.

The shockwave hit a second later, utterly flattening the surroundings for a good long distance.

The Evil Dragon army that had been surrounding them was completely obliterated by the absolute force instantly.

Forget getting caught up in it, if Issei hadn't shouted out the warning in time, almost all of them would have been killed too.

Such was the might of a God who was considered to only be just below the Top 10.

The massive plume of dust that had been kicked up in the attack began to settle, and Issei caught sight of Rizevim.

And the Super Devil did not make for a pretty sight.

Rizevim had expanded all twelve of his bat-like wings and wrapped them around himself in order to absorb as much of the impact as they could before it reached his body.

It had worked for the most part, but now his wings resembled something out of abstract art.

Some were bent at the wrong angles, others were ripped apart. Not a single one of the twelve wings had been spared.

Rivulets of fresh blood flowed out of the numerous wounds that had opened up in the wake of the blow, dyeing his ceremonial armor robes crimson red.

"Hehehe…you gotta be kidding me. You have this much power, and you still can't rank in the Top 10? Oi, boss, you sure you're as strong as the Destroyer?" Rizevim said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh? If you need another demonstration of my power, I can show it to you right now." Angra Mainyu said with a raised eyebrow.

"I think not, Ahriman. If you even try to assume your true form, I will do the same. Do not forget. You are in my territory. I have more power here than you." Hades threatened, the air around him turning pitch black as a massively oppressive aura descended on the area for a moment before disappearing without a trace.

The two Gods stared each other down, and Angra Mainyu actually looked like he was really going to do it.

And then he shrugged.

"Oh well. I suppose the demonstration will have to wait for when we return to base, Rizevim. Until then, do your best to survive."

"Oi oi, boss, that's no joke. I might really die, you know?"

"Enough of your nonsense. I already know that you used Sephiroth Graal to modify your own body. Even a wound of that level should not be a problem for you."

Rizevim's expression turned unreadable for a moment before he grinned widely.

"Hahahaha! I really can't hide anything from you, boss!"

Immediately, all of the wounds on Rizevim's body closed, and his wings literally snapped themselves back into shape.

"Regeneration, huh? Well then, I'll just beat you so badly that even that won't be able to save you." Susanoo said offhandedly as he willed his Divine Avatar to brandish its sword once more.

"Hahaha, I'd appreciate it if you showed me a little mercy. Though I modified myself, there's a limit to Sephiroth Graal's power, since Valerie-chan didn't manage to achieve Balance Breaker before I took it from her." Rizevim laughed, as though he wasn't talking about tearing out a vital piece of Valerie Tepes's self, almost killing her and knocking her into a coma.

Though that last part was a result of her brother ripping out a second Grail from her.

"Mercy? I'm afraid I don't know the meaning of the word."

The ethereal sword was raised up and then swung down at Rizevim so fast that only blue streaks were visible before it came to a halt.

The ground was split open cleanly by the force of the swing, even without direct contact.

As for Rizevim, who should have been in the direct path of the blade…

"Whew! That was close! Almost didn't get out of the way in time!" The son of Lucifer exclaimed as he exaggeratedly fanned himself with a hand, not a single scratch on him.

"Fly around all you want, mosquito. You cannot keep it up forever. No matter how times it takes, I will cut you down!"

The massive sword arced through the air several more times, each one coming closer and closer to hitting Rizevim, who was frantically dancing between the blows.

No matter how Issei saw it, there didn't seem to be any way for Rizevim to win against his grandfather.

"Focus on your own opponent, boy!" Susanoo shouted down at him.

Issei blinked, and understood what he meant when something slammed into his armored side with incredible force, almost shattering the Scale Mail.

He quickly recovered and struck back at whatever had hit him, turning in time to see one of Yamata-no-Orochi's heads snap backwards.

Just one of a degraded Evil Dragon's physical blows had almost broken his Balance Breaker?

Just how badly had Ddraig's absence degraded the Scale Mail?

He guessed he was about to find out, because he had to fight the Venom Blood Dragon in his current state.

The remaining combatants also appeared to have settled on an opponent.

Griselda Quarta, Baraqiel and Rudiger Rosenkreutz were confronting Euclid Lucifuge, while Yasaka and Ikuse Tobio were fighting Walburga.

Grayfia's little brother still had a relaxed smile on his face despite facing three opponents at once, two of whom possessed powers of Holy nature, capable of annihilating him without a trace, expertly handling two swords as he simultaneously exchanged blows with Griselda and Baraqiel while avoiding spells from Rudiger.

Meanwhile, Walburga had manifested a massive cross of purple flames, which quickly took on the form of…

…Was that Yamata-no-Orochi?

There could be no mistake.

Walburga's purple flames had molded into Yamata-no-Orochi's form, crucified to a cross, but still seeming pretty pissed.

"Do you like it? This is my Subspecies Balance Breaker, Incinerate Antiphona Calvario! My flames can take on the form of the soul used to power them, and they can act independently of me!"

So that was where the other half of the Venom Blood Dragon's soul went.

"I never though the day where I would fight the legendary Eight-Forked Serpent would come…However, you have made a grave error, possessor of Incinerate Anthem. If the power of your Balance Breaker is dependent on the soul used, it would have been more prudent to use the entire soul. Against the Venom Blood Dragon's full power, even I would have trouble. But, if it is only half…"

Yasaka's body distorted for a moment, and she was replaced by a massive golden-furred Kyuubi-no-Kitsune, glaring balefully at the fiery imitation of Yamata-no-Orochi.

"…This won't even be a fight."

A massive furred claw lashed at the flaming construct, dispersing them in an instant, the sheer force of the blow slamming hard into Walburga and sending the witch careening through the air and landing face first on the ground.

Right at the feet of Ikuse Tobio, who gazed down impassively at his fellow Longinus possessor, a large black dog beside him, growling menacingly at Walburga.

"You…!?"

"It's been a while, Walburga. Shall we settle the score once and for all? Jin, sic."

The black dog that was the independent avatar form of Canis Lykaon roared, seemingly growing almost twice its size before leaping at the witch, who was desperately backpedaling to open up some distance.

The jowls of the black beast closed around her right wrist, its sharp teeth easily tearing through her human flesh.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa! G-Get off me, you mangy mutt!"

Purple flames burst into life around her, quickly shaping themselves into Yamata-no-Orochi's form and lunging at Jin.

The black dog-like creature backed quickly, moving back to Tobio's side.

"H-Ha! How's that!? As long as the soul is still attached to my Sacred Gear, I can reform this avatar no matter how many times it's defeated!"

"I see. In other words, if we defeat you, that thing goes away too, right?"

"…Eh?"

"Jin."

The black dog seemed to melt into shadows, flowing up towards Tobio's outstretched hand and slowly solidifying into a black katana.

"Shall we cooperate, Yasaka-dono?"

"It would be an honor to fight alongside you, Ikuse Tobio-dono."

Issei turned away from that particular fight.

It was already pretty clear which side would emerge the victor.

As strong as Walburga seemed to be, he couldn't see how she would be able to take on both 'Slash Dog' and Kyoto's Princess at the same time.

How were the others doing?

As he dodged the Venom Blood Dragon's wild blows and spits of corrosive poison, he glanced around at the other ongoing battles.

There wasn't a single battle being fought that wasn't intense.

Hades and Angra Mainyu were surrounded by wisps of darkness, fighting for control over their shared domains, pitting the former's incredible experience and skill against the latter's immense power.

Rizevim was still flying around, avoiding Susanoo's attacks while taking potshots at the Divine Avatar that didn't even leave so much as a mark.

There would be blows that were simply too fast for him to dodge, which resulted in him turning into a fine red mist, only to fully regenerate in a matter of seconds and repeat the process all over again.

If there was a limit to how many times he could regenerate, he didn't seem to be approaching it.

Beowulf fluidly danced between Grendel's punches, Hrunting and Naegling streaks of red as they cut into the Crime Force Dragon's prided Adamantine Scales with seemingly no resistance, causing the Evil Dragon to get angrier and angrier.

Surtr Second and Crom Cruach were exchanging savage blows with each other, the Fire Giant clone guffawing loudly even as he simultaneously pummeled and was pummeled.

Even the Crescent Circle Dragon seemed just a little unnerved at his opponent's maniacal laughter.

MacGregor and Apophis could not be seen amidst the maelstrom of spells they were throwing at each other, neither showing any signs of faltering.

The hundred heads of Ladon snapped furiously at Dulio, who had no choice but to fly in and out of range, his attacks lacking the sheer firepower needed to pierce through both the Insomniac Dragon's barriers and scales without being at point blank distance while also being too squishy to get hit even once by the Evil Dragon.

Vali had already activated Juggernaut Drive at some point and lashed at Azi Dahaka with both physical and magical attacks.

The Pendragon siblings were supporting Vali, Arthur darting in and out to cut the Evil Dragon with Caliburn and Le Fay bombarding him with even more spells than Vali could dish out.

However, the Thousand Diabolism Dragon didn't seem to be taking any damage, easily rewriting all of Vali's and Le Fay's magic circles before they could be fully formed and weathering the former's punches along with Arthur's slashes with ease.

Strange…why wasn't Vali using Divide on him?

Was Azi Dahaka's power so great that even a Divide enhanced by Juggernaut Drive was not working on him?

Sairoarg Baal…appeared to be at a stalemate with Nidhoggr.

Several of the Abyssal Rage Dragon's scales had cracked, the shards cutting into the flesh beneath and drawing fresh blood.

However, Sairoarg's hands appeared to be in the same condition.

The skin on the knuckles had torn open, and streams of blood dripped down to the ground.

"Good grief. I have to admit that your body is a bit harder than I anticipated." The heir of the Baal Clan sighed as he surveyed the damage done to his fists.

Once he had gotten over the initial shock of meeting a Devil who was actually capable of matching him physically, Nidhoggr laughed at the sight of Sairoarg's injury.

"Foolish whelp! I admit, you are stronger than I imagined, but my scales absorbed the impact of your punch! How do you expect to defeat me if your hand is already in such a condition after just one blow!?"

"Hm…true. Defeating you will be a bit difficult like this…And I might have to keep fighting even after I defeat you…Very well then. I suppose there is no other option. Regulus!"

Sairoarg's Pawn, who had been standing aside and observing the battle thus far, cast off the cloak they were wearing at the sound of Sairoarg's summons.

And beneath the cloak was a golden lion, rapidly growing in size to almost 5 meters long, with a purple jewel embedded in its forehead.

Issei vaguely recognized it.

A Nemean Lion, one of the strongest monsters in Greek Mythology. The original Lion itself was one of the Twelve Labors that Heracles himself had to undertake, along with the original Lernaean Hydra, the original Cerberus of the Realm of the Dead and the Insomniac Dragon, Ladon, all of which were so legendarily powerful that each of them by themselves had almost killed the strongest Greek Demigod on separate occasions, ranking below only the King of Monsters, Typhon himself.

And judging by the jewel on its forehead and its aura…was that the aforementioned original Lion, which had its soul sealed into one of the 13 Longinus, Regulus Nemea?

"Balance Breaker!"

[Balance Breaker!]

Sairoarg and Regulus Nemea roared in unison.

The golden Nemean Lion turned into a flash of golden light and wrapped itself around the young Devil's body, solidifying into a set of golden armor with a lion motif.

The already thick coating of Touki around his body grew even denser, so much so that Issei could feel his skin tingling from the sheer force it emitted, even through the Scale Mail.

In fact, it seemed to almost form into the shape of a massive lion head, its jowls wide open as though preparing to devour everything in its path.

Even Nidhoggr had taken a step back from the intimidating power that Sairoarg was now releasing.

"Impossible…a Longinus!? I never heard anything about this! What the hell is going on, Rizevim!?"

"Oi oi, even if you ask me, I'm pretty damned surprised too! Our spies didn't report anything remotely close to this!" Rizevim retorted as he dodged Susanoo's Divine Avatar as it made to swat him like a fly.

It wasn't just Qlipoth's side that was looking rattled.

Even the allied forces were surprised to see another Longinus in their midst.

"Of course you haven't. By the order of the first head, I've kept Regulus's existence a complete secret up until now, even from Sirzechs-sama and the other Maou. No one aside from the first head and the current head were aware before this. I have a lot to answer for after this, but first of all…I will take care of you, Nidhoggr."

"H-Ha! If you think a new outfit will do anything, you have another thing co-"

Nidhoggr's false bravado was interrupted when Sairoarg closed the distance between them in an instant and swung an armored fist down on his head.

The Abyssal Rage Dragon's skull seemed to cave in for a moment before the force of the punch utterly annihilated the ground beneath them and planted the Evil Dragon in a deep crater, splattering the area in copious amounts of draconic blood.

All was silent for a moment, everyone turning to stare at the abrupt end to the fight.

At least, that was appeared to have happened.

Until Nidhoggr roared in rage and burst out of the ground.

The Dragon who Gnaws on the Roots of the World Tree did not look good.

His entire body was deformed, resembling a bloody blob of flesh and scales than the sleek, powerful form of Dragons.

That injury should have been fatal, and in the case of any other, it probably would have.

However, Nidhoggr was also known as the Extrajudicial Death Dragon, possessing some authority over death, though obviously not as great as actual Gods of Death.

Using that authority, he could 'reject' the event of his own death and return to life when he should have by all means died.

It was that ability that would allow him to survive the Nordic Cataclysm known as Ragnarok.

And also what allowed him to survive the severe maiming of his body.

The Dragon was very much alive, and very pissed off.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"

The Abyssal Rage Dragon screamed out a demented mantra as black miasma began to spill out from various spots on his mangled body, surrounding him in a dark cloud.

"Now what!? My miasma corrodes anything that it touches! How will you fight me if you can't come close!?"

"Hm…I see. So that's your strategy. Interesting. The fact that you have resorted to this even though you resurrect yourself from death means that there is a limit to either how many times you can resurrect or the extent of the injuries you can recover from."

Nighoggr froze, which was basically a telltale sign that Sairoarg had hit the nail on the head.

Sairoarg's smile grew wider.

"Very well then. Let's see which reaches their limit first, shall we? My body or your resurrection."

The heir of the Baal Clan did not even hesitate to dash into the cloud of corrosive gas.

The effects were almost immediate.

Protected by his thick cloak of Touki and his Balance Breaker armor, Sairoarg was not directly touched by the gas, but the aura around him began to thin out as it took the brunt of the corrosive effects.

Nidhoggr, still stunned in place, was nailed by yet another powerful punch and was sent flying.

However, rather than being thrown out of the cloud, it followed him even as he sailed through the air and landed on the ground a distance away with a tumble.

Undeterred, Sairoarg charged at Nidhoggr again, his fist stretched back for another punch.

The Evil Dragon was prepared this time.

With a flap of his wings, the cloud of miasma was blown forward right in Sairoarg's face.

A stream of flames erupted from Nidhoggr's snout, igniting the gas and causing an explosion that engulfed the young Devil.

Sairoarg burst out of the smoke cloud, covered in light burns that even his Touki was not enough to protect him from, and ploughed his way through the draconic flames to reach the Evil Dragon.

It was inevitably going to be drawn out into a battle of attrition.

Issei refocused his attention on his own opponent, still madly snapping their jaws at him.

He slammed an armored elbow down on the snout closest to him, stunning the other heads as their shared senses registered the pain.

Issei drew Futsu-no-Mitama and stabbed it right through the head he had just struck, the divine blade ripping through the black scales without much resistance, eliciting a bellow of pain.

Even if he had pierced its brain, he didn't think for a moment that that would be enough to kill even an incomplete Yamata-no-Orochi.

Dragons were made of much tougher stuff than that.

Plus, whatever modifications had been made with Sephiroth Graal would ensure that it would recover even from an injury like this.

"In that case, how about some of this!?"

[ . .Boost.]

[Transfer.]

A massive bolt of lightning struck the divine blade deeply embedded in the Eight-Forked Serpent, using it as a lightning rod to bypass the highly resistant scales of a Dragon and entering its body.

All of Yamata-no-Orochi's 8 heads let out identical screams, a truly piercing sound that reverberated throughout the Realm of the Dead, as divine lighting augmented 5 times by the Welsh Dragon's Boosting coursed through its body.

The Venom Blood Dragon slumped over unmoving, smoking from several places on its immense body.

Even then, Issei was not convinced of its death and repeated the process several times to make sure that his grandfather's old nemesis was very much dead.

And then he started carving up its body and igniting every piece with divine fire.

He had no doubt that Qlipoth would still be able to revive the damn thing unless the soul itself was sealed or destroyed, but unfortunately, he couldn't destroy a soul of Yamata-no-Orochi's level without using up a great deal of his power in the process, and he was not well-versed enough in Onmyoujutsu to perform something as complicated as a soul-sealing ritual, so he had to settle for this.

Only when every last one had been reduced to less than ashes did he finally relax his guard.

Which might have been a mistake, because in that moment, an ominous rumbling shook the Realm of the Dead.

Followed swiftly by the sound of something cracking.

Issei looked around, searching for the source of the commotion.

And when he found it, he froze completely.

Cracks had begun to form all over the frozen surface of the River of Laments.

The seal on the Cocytus was breaking.

And not just the one on Samael.

The entire river was breaking open.

All of the ongoing battles stopped right there and then, everyone turning to stare at the frozen river, the allied forces in horror and Qlipoth in glee.

"Impossible…! Cocytus's seal isn't something that can be broken so easily…!"

Even the previous unflappable Hades was completely shocked.

Well, about as shocked as a moving skeleton could look.

"The seal that you and YHWH placed on the River of Laments was truly a work of art. I doubt any modern magician would even know how to begin unravelling it. However, have you already forgotten, O Lord of the Dead? Apophis and I are masters of primal magic. Even something of this level can be accomplished with enough time." The Thousand Diabolism Dragon laughed as his eyes turned to Hades.

"Too easy!"

"Too simple!"

"Mine apologies, Azi Dahaka. The bulk of the work hath been forced upon thee. This opponent is not one that even this Apophis can take lightly." The Eclipse Dragon said, his gaze still trained on the man who was acknowledged as the greatest modern magician.

"It's fine. In comparison, my own opponents are rather lacking. Even with 3 of them, my main focus was still on the seal." Azi Dahaka snorted, his eyes filled with contempt and disappointment as he gazed derisively at Vali and the Pendragon siblings.

"Weak!"

"Pathetic!"

The yellow visors embedded in the helmet of the white Juggernaut Drive-augmented Scale Mail flashed dangerously as Vali's ire rose.

The Hakuryuukou lashed out with a fist, backed by the power of a Dragon that even Gods feared, again, but like before, the Evil Dragon stopped it without much effort.

"It's no use, Vali Lucifer. Perhaps we are not as well-known as Y Ddraig Goch and Albion Gwiber, but Apophis and I both possess power that would not lose to the Heavenly Dragons in their prime. Do you believe that a mere portion of their power can defeat us? Don't overestimate yourself, brat."

Azi Dahaka slashed at Vali with a claw, and the vaunted Juggernaut Drive that caused entire Factions to shudder in fear of its overwhelming destructiveness…shattered instantly.

Vali hacked up goblets of blood as the force of the impact, though absorbed by the armor, was still more than enough to reach his body and throw him to the ground.

"Vali!"

The Pendragon siblings abandoned their attack on the Thousand Diabolism Dragon and moved to their friend's side.

Even if he wasn't rendered unconscious, Issei doubted he would be in any condition to fight.

"Now that that's over with, let's start with freeing the Dragon Eater, shall we?"

"Why stop there!? There are plenty of unpleasant folks locked up in the Cocytus! Might as well take all of them with us!" Rizevim cackled.

He was right.

Samael was not the only horror sealed in the River of Laments.

Leaving the recently imprisoned Kokabiel aside, the Cocytus was of the two main dumping grounds for those who were considered by the Biblical and Greco-Roman Factions to be too dangerous to be allowed to roam free, but also either too important or too difficult to kill, the other being the legendary Pit of Despair, Tartarus itself.

Every single one of them was dangerous, and would be all too willing to exact revenge on the ones who had locked them in there in the first place.

"Bag O' Bones, what the hell are you doing!? Replace the seal on the Cocytus already!" Susanoo roared at Hades, who snapped out of his daze and pointed a skeletal palm at the river.

"I don't need you to tell me that, brat!"

"I won't let you!" Angra Mainyu declared as he resumed his assault on Hades.

"Tch…Thanatos!"

"Yes, Hades-sama."

The handsome, black-haired, black-eyed and dark-skinned Greek God of Death stepped between his superior and the Zoroastrian God of Evil.

Holding a single hand up, he stopped Angra Mainyu's attack, keeping him in place while Hades got to work.

"Step out of my way, God of Death, unless you wish to meet your end by my hands."

"I'm afraid that is not possible, God of Evil. I abide only by my Lord's will. Therefore, I will stop you."

A black mist billowed out from Thanatos's black cloak and surged towards Angra Mainyu, who immediately stepped back.

Just in time too, for the ground he was standing on started to crumble the moment the black mist passed over it.

"Know one thing about Death, Ahriman. It can come for Gods too."

The black mist compressed itself into multiple tendrils and shot at the God of Evil, who countered with some of his own.

Meanwhile, a black magic circle appeared over a portion of the Cocytus and expanded rapidly until it encompassed the entire river.

The breaking of the mythical ice slowly halted, and began to reform into a perfect layer.

"Interesting! Let's see whose technique is superior, Lord of the Dead!"

A purple magic circle appeared right above Hades's.

The reformation process stopped, and the entire river went quiet.

Then, it began to break once more as Azi Dahaka's primal magic began to overpower Hades's seal.

"Damn!"

The Lord of the Dead cursed as he adjusted the power of the seal to overwhelm the Thousand Diabolism Dragon's magic.

In response, Azi Dahaka smiled and did the same.

The two warred over control of the Cocytus.

No one could be sure who would win.

However, they could not afford to lose control of the Cocytus.

If they did…

If Samael was freed…

Images of Ophis's bloodied corpse flashed through Issei's head.

He snapped.

To hell with that!

He would never let that happen!

"Raijinsou!"

With a crackle, a spear of lightning formed in his hands.

[ . . . .Boost.]

[Transfer.]

Said spear grew exponentially in both power and size, becoming so great that he looked like a toddler trying to use his father's sword.

He hurled it with all of his might, aiming for the Thousand Diabolism Dragon.

If it was a power of this level, not even he could just shrug it off…!

"Hmph!?"

Azi Dahaka let out a sound of surprise as the massive spear of lighting crashed into his side with all the subtlety of a freight train and exploded with tremendous force.

"Heh…not bad, Shinto boy." Hades commented as Azi Dahaka's magic circle dissipated, its creator's concentration broken, and Hades's seal was able to take effect.

Soon, the Cocytus had been frozen over once more.

"What do you say to that, Thousand Diabolism Dragon? I have altered the structure of the seal and increased its power. Not even you will be able to break it easily."

"Yes, I suppose so. Even for a magic user of my level, breaking that seal will require a substantial amount of time. Well played, Lord of the Dead."

"Not bad!"

"Good job!"

Azi Dahaka spoke lightly as he emerged from the dust cloud kicked up in the aftermath of the blast, looking completely unharmed aside from a few almost unperceivably singed scales.

Something was wrong.

The bastard was smirking.

Why?

"It's too bad, really, that your efforts were in vain. While I wasn't able to free all of the prisoners of the Cocytus like Rizevim suggested, I did get the one we came here for in the first place."

Issei's insides turned to ice.

Azi Dahaka grinned viciously.

"Let's say hello to the Dragon Eater, shall we?"

The ground rumbled and split open as a malicious aura washed over the entire area.

Chills ran down Issei's spine as something emerged from the crack.

That thing had the upper body of a ten-winged Fallen Angel, who probably would have been rather handsome were it not for a number of factors.

One, it was rather abruptly connected at the waist to the undulating lower body of an Asian Dragon, covered in purplish-black scales not too different from Azi Dahaka's, but far more sickly.

Two, the entire body was crucified to a massive cross, nails going through its forehead, hands, wings and tail among other body parts. Not only that, but it was covered in other forms of restraints, such as shackles, all with an unknown scripture carved into them.

Three, it appeared to be leaking black blood from under its blindfold, which he assumed was coming from his eyes. His mouth also had a number of out of place fangs in them.

And finally, it was exuding the most terrifying aura Issei had ever felt, and that was including his grandfather at his most insane moments, his grandmother at her angriest, Rizevim and Angra Mainyu.

This….this was the Dragon Eater, the Serpent of Eden, Samael.

He was free, and no Dragon in existence was safe.

Not even Ophis.

Even Azi Dahaka seemed taken aback by the sheer malice radiating from Samael.

"I see…so this is the result of YHWH's hatred of serpents and Dragons. It feels like I'm about to rot away just from mere proximity. True, if it's something of this level, not even the Ultimate Two would be able to escape unscathed."

"Scary!"

"Terrifying!"

He had to destroy it.

He had to destroy it before Qlipoth could make use of it.

He had to destroy it before it got to Ophis.

But, he couldn't move.

In the face of an existence created for the sole purpose of annihilating Dragons, Issei was paralyzed by fear.

"Oi, how long will it take to take control of Samael? I'm kinda reaching the end of my rope here, and I think I'm not the only one!"

Rizevim actually was starting to show signs of straining, his visible skin covered in a coating of sweat, and his regeneration starting to slow.

"Unfortunately, even for me, this will take a while. Even leaving its curse aside, everything about Samael is a deadly weapon to be used against Dragons. As powerful as my magic is, it won't be as effective on the Dragon Eater as it would on any other being."

"Shit…well, we can deal with that later. Teleport Samael to headquarters now."

"Got it."

A purple magic circle appeared beneath the Dragon Eater.

They were getting away.

They were getting away with Samael.

The only known being outside of Great Red and Trihexa capable of harming Ophis.

Issei bit down hard on his lip, letting the sharp pain jolt his brain back into action, and seized the final trump card he had hidden on him.

The golden Magatama that Michael had returned to the Shinto Faction.

One of the Yasakani-no-Magatama, granting mastery over Shinjutsu.

Issei's foray into the teachings of Shinjutsu had not managed to get very far before this, which was why he was carrying this.

The 9-shaped jewel glowed as Issei's red aura surged from his body and quickly took on an identical form as Susanoo's Divine Avatar.

With one main difference.

Rather than an ethereal blade, Issei's Divine Avatar was wielding an enlarged Futsu-no-Mitama.

Issei willed it to strike Samael down with all of its might, intending to destroy the Dragon Eater before Qlipoth could put it to use.

Before anyone could react, the massive divine blade had already struck Samael head on, annihilating the ground beneath it as well as Azi Dahaka's magic circle.

"GUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

A terrible groan of agony shook the Realm of the Dead down to its foundations.

Once the debris had settled, the result of Issei's attack was clear.

The Dragon Eater was severely injured, oozing black ichor from wounds all over its gruesome form.

Amazingly though, neither the seals covering its body nor the wooden cross it was crucified to appeared to have been damaged.

And it was looking really pissed off.

"Die."

Issei ignored the malice being directed towards him and struck Samael once more.

However, the blow was intercepted by Angra Mainyu.

The God of Evil held back the divine blade with both hands, showing only the slightest amount of strain.

"All of you, abandon your battles immediately and stop Hyoudo Issei! We must retrieve the Dragon Eater at all costs!" Angra Mainyu roared to his subordinates.

Some, like Rizevim, Euclid and Walburga obeyed him immediately, turning away from their opponents to attack him instead.

Others, like Grendel, Apophis and Crom Cruach, were far more reluctant to do so, their draconic pride demanding that they finish up their battle first.

However, they eventually followed Ahriman's orders instead.

Issei ignored them, focusing everything on destroying the Dragon Eater.

He forced his sword out of Angra Mainyu's grip and grasped the hilt with both of his Divine Avatar's hands.

"Ikazuchi!"

Arcs of white lightning surrounded the divine blade at his command.

Issei swung once more.

This time, there was so much physical strength behind it that not even the God of Evil could stop it without his Divine Vessel taking severe damage.

The lightning-infused blade sheered right through one of Angra Mainyu's arms with only minimal resistance, causing him to let out a strangled cry at the sudden loss of an extremity, and continued its way towards Samael.

"GUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

An explosion of sheer force and lightning engulfed the Dragon Eater and with it, another furious roar of agony that shook the Realm of the Dead.

"Gah!?" Issei cried out in pain when he felt a sudden burning sensation scorching his torso.

He himself didn't seem to have suffered any injuries, which meant…

He looked up at the torso of his Divine Avatar, its senses connected directly to his, and saw that it was covered in a black ooze.

What the hell was that?

He got his answer when another black glob shot out of the dust cloud and hit his Divine Avatar's cheek.

"Agh!?"

He felt the same burning sensation at the exact same spot where his Divine Avatar had been struck.

And if he looked closely, the divine aura at the spots that had been hit were slowly beginning to corrode.

Was this Samael's blood?

Which meant that this sensation was Samael's curse!?

Was it so powerful that even his Divine Avatar, which only possessed the barest traces of draconic power, was slowly wasting away?

He looked at his blade, which was also covered in the Dragon Eater's blood.

Good, it wasn't affected.

Whether it was because Futsu-no-Mitama's power was enough to resist the curse, or if it was because Samael's curse only affected living creatures, he had no idea.

"Gh!?"

Issei let out another groan of pain when he felt a sudden impact in his side.

Grendel, covered from head to toe in wounds and his own pungent blood, had rocketed himself into his Divine Avatar's side with so much force that the construct had almost toppled over.

And that force was now being directly transmitted to Issei through his shared senses with his Divine Avatar.

"Tch…out of my way!"

The samurai-like spectral warrior slammed a massive fist into the Crime Force Dragon, turning him into a bloody paste.

With the wounds he had already sustained from his fight with Beowulf, wounds made by the swords that were created for the sole purpose of killing him and his mother, there was no way he would be able to regenerate from that any time soon.

That was one problem solved, but with even more to come.

A purple flame construct of Yamata-no-Orochi lashed at him at the same time that he was bombarded with spells and slammed from behind by a majestic black Dragon.

Walburga, Euclid, Rizevim and Crom Cruach, all at the same time.

"My apologies, Sekiryuutei. It is not my style to gang up on a single opponent, but since Angra Mainyu ordered it…" The Crescent Circle Dragon lamented even as he attacked Issei's Divine Avatar with startling force.

Cracks were actually starting to appear, marring the surface of the back of the spectral warrior's neck.

"Damn!"

Issei's Divine Avatar shook violently, trying to dislodge Crom Cruach to no avail.

The Crescent Circle Dragon had too tight a grip for even him to break.

Alright then, screw that.

He decided to ignore the Evil Dragon clawing at his neck, not to mention all of the other attacks headed his way, and focused on his original objective.

Protecting Ophis at any costs.

Without waiting for visual confirmation, Issei kept swinging his blade at the same spot as before.

The continuous cries of pain he got told him he was still on target.

"Change of plans. Rizevim, Euclid, Walburga, teleport Samael to headquarters before Hyoudo Issei destroys it." Angra Mainyu ordered.

Issei cursed.

Unlike Azi Dahaka or Apophis, none of the mentioned three were Dragons.

Their magic would not encounter interference from Samael's curse.

He had to stop them.

Though it looked like the others were already ahead of him.

Euclid was forced to dodge when a rain of spears of Holy Lightning rained down on his position, Tobio appeared behind Walburga and restrained the witch, and Rizevim was literally squashed like a bug between the massive palms of Susanoo's Divine Avatar.

They weren't the only ones.

The rest of Qlipoth's combatants quickly found themselves on the receiving end of powerful attacks from their previous opponents, easing the pressure on Issei, especially after Surtr knocked Crom Cruach off of him.

"What the hell are you waiting for, brat!? Hurry up and kill Samael!" Susanoo roared at him.

"I fucking know!"

Issei kept up the assault, adding divine flames to his blade.

Samael was struck over and over again by the power of one of Japan's Three Divine Swords, wielded by the Divine Avatar from a Shinto demigod born from the bloodlines of two of the Shinto Trinity, combined with the divine fire inherited from Amaterasu and the divine lightning inherited from Susanoo.

Any regular opponent below the level of at least a minor God would have been turned to dust a long time ago.

The fact that Samael's overall form was still intact after being struck over and over was a testament to just how hardy the Dragon Eater was, as expected of a being capable of harming the Ultimate Two.

Or rather, it was a testament to just how strong YWHW's hatred of Dragons was.

But, just the fact that it was being wounded was enough to prove that it wasn't invincible.

If he kept it up long enough, even the Dragon Eater would eventually break.

But, the question was…

"Urgh…!"

Issei groaned as Samael's curse began to coat his Divine Avatar's arms, eating away at them and transmitting the sensation directly to him.

The question was whether or not he could kill Samael before the Dragon Eater's curse overpowered him.

"Stop him! Stop him no matter what it takes!" Angra Mainyu yelled, now sounding extremely aggravated.

"Like hell we'd let you!" Susanoo roared in return.

The battles around him grew in intensity as Qlipoth tried desperately to get to him while the allied forces tried just as hard to stop them.

Issei paid them no mind.

He had the most critical duty to perform right now.

Nothing would sway him.

Futsu-no-Mitama descended on Samael again and again, and each time, more wounds appeared on the Dragon Eater, while also pissing it off even more and causing it to attack viciously with both globs of its blood and its form fluid tongue.

Holes had begun to open up all over his Divine Avatar, the divine aura weathered away by the sheer lethality of the curse.

That too, Issei ignored.

He didn't care if he got cursed, as long as he managed to destroy Samael.

"Die."

The divine blade crushed the Dragon Eater again.

"Die."

And again.

"Die!"

And again.

"Die! Die! Die! Die!"

And again and again and again.

"DieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDie!"

And again and again and again and again and again and again and again.

"GUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo…"

Samael's scream began to taper off as the Dragon Eater finally seemed to have reached the limit of its endurance.

And with one last blow, even that hoarse cry was cut off.

All that was left of the Dragon Eater was a mangled carcass, so horrendously mutilated that the only parts of it that still resembled its original appearance were the seals and cross it was bound to, still looking mostly intact despite being struck dozens of times by a heavily augmented divine blade.

He did it.

He did it.

He killed Samael.

And the nature of his attacks had all but ensured that its twisted soul had been destroyed as well.

Now the only left thing left to do was destroy the corpse, and everything would be-

It was at that moment that Samael's carcass began to bloat obscenely.

Before Issei could react, it exploded in a gory shower of blackened blood and guts, splattering all over his Divine Avatar and even reaching his body through the holes that had already been burned through the construct.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!?"

A scream tore its way out of his throat as unimaginable pain assaulted his entire body.

It was the greatest agony Issei had ever experienced.

It was like being stabbed all over his body by Susanoo's Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, infused with divine lightning, and the resulting pain magnified by a factor of 1000.

This was the curse created to kill all Dragons.

He could feel it permeating his body, trying to make its way to his soul, and he was only just barely able to keep it at bay with his power.

What remained of his Divine Avatar shattered completely, and his Scale Mail quickly followed suit, which left him basically defenseless.

"Kill him. Make it painful."

Issei vaguely heard Angra Mainyu speak, a torrent of rage filling his words.

He couldn't imagine that the God of Evil was very happy at having his plans foiled.

And he couldn't exactly do anything to defend himself at the moment.

Not that he really needed to.

Susanoo's Divine Avatar landed around him.

"Sorry, but if you want the kid, you have to get through us first. And I don't think I have to tell you that our side has the advantage right now."

Grendel was basically a puddle of guts, Nidhoggr looked like he just gone through a meat grinder, some of Ladon's heads had been destroyed and were regenerating slowly, Yamata-no-Orochi was dead, Rizevim was at the limit of his regeneration, and Walburga and Euclid were injured in the course of their respective battles.

Azi Dahaka, Apophis, Crom Cruach and Angra Mainyu were relatively unharmed, but as a whole, the allied forces were in better shape than Qlipoth.

The only casualties on their side were him and Vali, and while out of commission, neither of them were dead.

Issei would take those odds any day.

And Qlipoth knew it.

"…We're leaving. Now." Angra Mainyu announced.

One by one, Qlipoth began to teleport out of the Realm of the Dead, Euclid and Walburga staying behind for a moment to collect Grendel's and Yamata-no-Orochi's souls.

Soon, only the God of Evil himself was left.

"If you are still lucid enough to hear me, then heed my words, Hyoudo Issei. Should you survive the Dragon Eater's curse, know that the next time we meet, I will personally end you." Ahriman spoke in a terrifyingly emotionless voice.

And then, he was gone.

And at the same time, Issei collapsed, unable to stay conscious with all of his power focused on fighting off Samael's curse.

Even in his unconscious state, he smiled.

He had succeeded.

He protected Ophis.

"Well, that was a total bust. What do we do now? Where are we going to find another Dragon Slayer as convenient as Samael?"

"There is no need for that. Isn't that right, my son?"

"You know me well, father. While we were not able to retrieve Samael, I did manage to analyze its curse before Hyoudo Issei killed it. I cannot guarantee that it will be as potent as the original, but it is certainly possible for me to create a variant."

"Good. In the meantime, we must consolidate our forces. Rizevim, reach out to our allies. Let them know that the time is nigh."

"Will do, boss! I just can't wait to see this world plunge into chaos!"

And that's it.

Sorry this took so long. I had to take most of November off to study for my exams.

Samael was destroyed, but Qlipoth's plans weren't completely foiled, simply delayed.

Next chapter will be another training interlude.

That's all for now.

As always, please read and review.