High School DxD: Return of the Crimson Dragon Emperor

Chapter 172: Chapter 167: The Red Dragon Emperor and the Dragon God

”Amazing...” I muttered.

”Yeah, unreal...” Kiba added.

The scene before us was a barren wasteland. The Reapers were decimated by the girls’ power, leaving only Siegfried, Georg, and Pluto, who was battling Azazel.

Their strength seemed... multiplied. Way beyond normal.

[”Their spirits soared after that moment!”] Ignis giggled.

Spirits? That’s an understatement.

Thanks to them, Georg had to expend serious power. His Dimension Lost is incredible, but it has limits. With me and Azazel still standing, we could crush them now.

Then—

CRACK! SNAP!

A sharp sound rang out. A spatial rift opened above, unexpecting even Siegfried and Georg. An intruder?

A man in light armor and a cape stepped through, landing between us and them. I froze.

It was Shalba Beelzebub, the Old Demon King’s heir from the Diodora incident.

”You’re alive!?” Azazel growled.

Why? I defeated him back then!

Siegfried stepped forward. ”Shalba, I heard you were acting alone, but really?”

”Thanks for the help, Siegfried. My wounds healed, though losing Ophis’s snake weakened me,” Shalba said.

”Why are you here?” Siegfried asked.

”To declare war,” Shalba sneered.

War? What’s he planning?

Shalba’s twisted grin revealed a boy with shadowed, controlled eyes—Leonardo, the Annihilation Maker Longinus wielder from Kyoto.

”Leonardo!” Siegfried and Georg gasped.

”Why’s he with you? He was on another mission!” Georg demanded.

”I borrowed him,” Shalba smirked, activating a sinister magic circle near Leonardo.

”AAAAHH!” Leonardo screamed in agony.

His shadow expanded, covering the field. What’s Shalba doing!?

”Annihilation Maker is perfect! He specializes in anti-monsters, so I brought him to fulfill my desires—creating beasts to destroy the devils!” Shalba laughed.

From Leonardo’s shadow, a colossal monster emerged—bigger than Great Red by two heads, over 200 meters long. Smaller, 100-meter beasts followed.

VWOOM!

A teleportation circle appeared beneath them. ”These anti-monsters will ravage the Underworld!” Shalba cackled as they began to vanish.

No! If they reach the Underworld—

”Stop them!” Azazel shouted. We attacked, but the beasts didn’t flinch.

”Miu! Sync with me!” I yelled, shifting to Tenbu, deploying all cannons.

[”Accel Booster!”]

[”BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBoost!!!”]

Miu gathered prismatic light. ”Dragon Full Blaster!” I roared.

[”Highmat Full Blast!”]

”Star Dust Breaker!” Miu shouted.

Our combined blast hit one monster, knocking it from the circle, shaking the ground. My body strained from the effort.

But the other monsters vanished into the teleportation light.

GROOAN...

The field rumbled, cracks forming in the white sky, the hotel collapsing. The forced monster creation and transfer overwhelmed the space.

”This device can’t hold! Shalba overpushed Leonardo’s limits!” Georg yelled.

”Time to go. Grab Leonardo, Pluto—” Siegfried stopped, noticing Pluto had vanished. ”So, Shalba had Hades’s help. Typical—sacrificing for chaos. Leonardo’s in danger.”

They grabbed Leonardo and vanished into the mist.

Damn it! After all this! And the Underworld’s in peril—Hades aided Shalba too!?

BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions from the hotel. Shalba was attacking Vali’s group.

”Vali! Where’s your White Dragon Emperor power? You’re just a hybrid!” Shalba taunted.

Vali, weakened by Samael’s curse, could only defend. Shalba targeted Ophis, binding her with demonic runes. ”You’re unstable now—easy to capture! A gift for my allies, and I’ll take another snake!”

”No way!” I fired an aura blast, forcing Shalba back.

”This is a curse! The Underworld rejects the true Demon King, so I’ll destroy it with these beasts!” Shalba ranted, pointing at me. ”Your precious Underworld children will die—low, mid, high-class devils, writhing in agony!”

This scum!

The field’s collapse worsened, debris sucked into spatial rifts.

”Limit reached! I’m deploying the teleportation circle!” Kuroka yelled from the hotel.

Everyone gathered, but I stayed.

”Ise! What are you doing!?” Alice shouted.

I retracted my mask, smiling. ”I’m staying. Gotta save Ophis.”

”Big brother!?” Miu gasped.

”I’ll stay!” Miu and Alice said.

I raised my hand. ”I’m enough for this scum. You’ve got bigger priorities. My armor lets me move in dimensional gaps. Letting Shalba or Ophis go could cause worse damage.”

They fell silent.

”Now or never!” Kuroka urged.

”Ise,” Vali said, leaning on Azazel, pained. ”You’ll handle it?”

”Damn right. He insulted my rival. I’ll crush him,” I grinned.

Vali smirked faintly.

”We’ll open a dragon gate for you and Ophis—” Azazel began.

”No need. I’ve got the best big sis, right, Ignis?”

[”Yup. My power can cut through dimensional gaps. Use your time for Vali’s treatment, not summoning us.”]

Exactly. Like when I saved Asia.

Azazel nodded. ”I believe you’ll return!”

”Count on it!” I said.

[”Leave Ise to me. I won’t let him die. If it gets dicey, I’ll unseal my power.”]

That sounds dangerous!

[”It’s fine. In a dimensional gap, my full power’s safe... probably.”]

Probably!?

I sighed, glancing at Kiba. ”Protect everyone, Kiba. As Occult Research Club guys, we guard the girls!”

Kiba nodded.

I spread my dragon wings and flew toward Shalba.

Above the collapsing hotel, Shalba laughed. I faced him.

The field was mostly gone.

He scowled. ”Chased by a defective Heavenly Dragon!?”

”Defective, huh? Forgot I beat you already?” I taunted.

Shalba paused, then snapped, ”Why pursue me? To scorn true Demon King blood? Or to gain Ophis’s power? You Heavenly Dragons must crave Underworld and human world dominance!”

Same old nonsense.

”Lame,” I said.

”What?” he growled.

”Bloodlines, power, dominance? That’s why you’re a failure. No one respects that.”

”You—!” he snarled.

”Enough. You said you’d kill Underworld kids, right?”

His twisted grin returned. ”Yes! Devils raised under false Demon Kings are vermin! They’ll never respect me, so they’ll perish—”

THUD!

My fist slammed into his gut, bending him double. He crashed onto the roof, vomiting blood.

”No more. I shouldn’t have listened,” I said, aura sparking, boosters forming. ”Balance Breaker Second Stage—Tenbu. Get up, third-rate. I’ll show you real power!”

My aura raged, staggering Shalba. He raised a hand, summoning swarms of flies that filled the area, forming magic circles and firing countless magic waves.

I swiped my arm, dispersing them. ”This is true Beelzebub power? Don’t make me laugh!”

[”Accel Booster!”]

[”BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBoost!!!”]

Boosters flared, closing the gap instantly. Another body blow, followed by a roundhouse kick to his face.

Shalba bounced across the roof, tumbling off. He spread demonic wings, hovering. ”You lowlife!”

He unleashed multi-attribute full bursts like Rossweisse’s, each massive. A normal devil would be obliterated.

I aimed my right hand. ”Agnis!”

A torrent of light swallowed his attacks.

Shalba gaped. I closed in, landing another punch. He reeled.

This is it? His attacks lack soul, weightless. True Demon King? Sairaorg took my punches and fought back, driven by his dream. Sirzechs worries about the Underworld’s happiness. Sirius sacrificed himself for his world.

I can’t forgive this guy.

”You don’t get to call yourself a Demon King!” I roared, unleashing a barrage of punches, tearing into Shalba’s body.

No mercy. I’ll end him here, completely.

”ORA!” Another body blow shook the air.

Shalba was a wreck. ”Damn dragon!” he gasped, forming a small magic circle.

An arrow shot out, slicing the air.

I caught it between my fingers. ”Not letting my guard down. Something special, huh?”

The arrowhead oozed a black aura—Samael’s curse.

I tossed it, blasting it with an aura shot. That would’ve wrecked me like Vali.

”Hades’s arrow...!” Shalba whimpered.

Hades again!

Desperate, Shalba begged Ophis. ”Give me another snake! I need it to beat him!”

”Impossible. I’m unstable. Can’t make power-boosting snakes,” Ophis said.

Shalba’s face crumpled in despair.

”You’re pathetic, relying on others,” I sighed.

My gauntlet’s boosters expanded, emitting a fiery red aura. ”You tried to steal kids’ smiles, their future. That’s reason enough to crush you!”

I grabbed his face with my blazing hand. His magic bullets were futile.

To ensure he never returns, to protect those kids—

”Too good for you! Shining Bunker!”

[”Pile Period!”]

Searing flames engulfed Shalba, reducing him to nothing.

I landed before Ophis, snapping the demonic ropes binding her.

”Why save me?” she asked.

”You saved Asia and Irina, right?”

”That was repayment. Not a reason for you,” she said.

”They’re my precious friends. That’s enough,” I replied.

Ophis tilted her head cutely. Man, she’s adorable—makes me wanna pat her head!

Oh, right. ”Why’d you join them?”

”They promised to help defeat Great Red. I gave them snakes,” she said.

A verbal promise?

”Didn’t think they’d use you?” I asked.

She nodded. ”If they helped, I was fine with it.”

I got it. Ophis is pure. She became the terrorist leader because the Old Demon Kings and Hero Faction propped her up. World domination, supernatural battles—she doesn’t care. It was all a facade by Khaos Brigade.

I laughed, feeling lighter. Ophis is a mysterious, insanely strong dragon, but really—

”Hey, Ophis, wanna be friends?”

”Friends? Is that... beneficial?” she asked.

”Dunno. But I’ll be someone to talk to.”

”Sounds fun,” she said.

Yeah, it’ll be fun. I’ll make sure she never regrets it.

Ophis pointed. ”What about that?”

I turned—

[”ROOOOAR!”]

The giant monster Miu and I blasted was back!?

It regenerates!?

Good thing one stayed.

”Wait...” I glanced at the collapsing space. Perfect chance.

[”Using that?”] Ignis asked.

[”Good opportunity. The dimensional gap won’t mind,”] Ddraig agreed.

Right. This move’s too dangerous for the Underworld or human world.

”Ophis,” I said.

”What?”

”You came to my house because I intrigued you, right?”

”Yes. Your growth is unusual. I’m interested,” she said.

”Then I’ll show you my new potential—our friendship’s first gift. You’re the first to see this.”

I closed my eyes, focusing—

Feel it—my potential.

Spread—the wings of hope.

”Balance Breaker Third Stage: Drai Phaser—Celestial Wing Aios!”

And that’s the promotion exam and Ouroboros arc done! Made it before year-end! The next Chapter starts soon, but expect a short break. Happy New Year!

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