(100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter!)
*****
A colossal castle stood amidst the void. Its structure was enveloped by a golden barrier that shimmered in all directions. The view beyond the barrier was distorted, as if the entire world had transformed into a kaleidoscope, blending iridescent colors that danced across the endless horizon.
Inside the fortress, in one of the countless halls adorned with sophistication, a middle-aged man lounged comfortably on a red sofa. His dark silver hair reflected the dim light of the room, and his brown eyes carried a mischievous, almost childlike glint. His noble attire made his status clear.
This was Rezevim Livan Lucifer.
He broke the silence with his relaxed voice:
"So, how are the preparations going?"
Beside him, a refined-looking young man rapidly typed on a computer. His silver hair was tied back in a long braid, and his silver robe, adorned with intricate accessories, accentuated the elegant and cold aura surrounding him.
This was Euclid Lucifuge.
"They're almost fully prepared…" he replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.
Rezevim chuckled softly, a playful laugh that echoed through the room.
"Hah… really? Impressive." He leaned back on the sofa, crossing his legs. "It all started just to destroy that boy… Ryougi Kazuya. And thanks to your research, Euclid, we now have an army of ten thousand Super Devils. Not bad, considering it was all we could produce using the body of the Mother of Devils, Lilith…"
Euclid maintained a serious expression, his voice filled with conviction.
"I don't deserve such praise, Rezevim-sama. I will show all the forces of this world what 'Devils' truly are. I will make them realize the brutality and terror of the malevolent species that bear that name." His eyes gleamed with determination. "I don't care about governments or politics. In the final phase, I want even the human world to understand what the existence of a 'Devil' means…"
His voice trembled for a moment, overcome with restrained emotion.
"…And also, I wish to take revenge on that bastard who dared to harm my sister." He took a deep breath, lowering his head. "Forgive my crude words, Rezevim-sama…"
Rezevim, in contrast, only smiled more amusedly, as if he delighted in his subordinate's dark passion.
Rezevim tilted his head, observing Euclid with a malicious grin.
"Oh? Revenge, is it? You really let yourself get consumed by emotions when it comes to your little sister…" he said in a teasing tone, narrowing his eyes. "That's quite human of you, Euclid…"
Euclid's fingers paused for a moment on the keyboard. He took a deep breath, but his voice sounded cold, laced with resentment.
"It's not just about emotion, Rezevim-sama. That human…" He gritted his teeth. "That bastard crossed every line. He shouldn't even breathe the same air as my sister… just like that son of a bitch Sirzechs…"
His eyes narrowed in fury, revealing deep-seated hatred.
"Well done to him. Becoming a eunuch is a fitting end for someone who called himself the 'strongest' of the Devils…"
Rezevim burst into loud laughter, his voice echoing through the hall like a distorted melody.
"Kukuku… yes! A fitting end for a false devil." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "At least this way, he won't have the chance to spread his inferior genes to anyone else…"
Euclid gave a faint, almost satisfied smile as he resumed typing on the computer.
"Fair. He never deserved the title he carried."
Rezevim, still laughing, clapped his hands once, as if closing the subject.
"Very well, very well… but enough talk about those failures. Let's get to what matters." His gaze sparkled with interest. "And what about what I asked regarding the Evil Dragons?"
Originally, he had planned to use the revived Evil Dragons to plunge the world into absolute chaos and then release Trihexa, the Beast of the Apocalypse, whose existence threatened all of creation. Only after the world was in ruins would he march to other realities, conquering them one by one. However, there was a problem. For this plan to come to fruition, they needed to possess the Longinus, Sephiroth Graal, a relic capable of manipulating the cycle of life and death on an absurd scale. Unfortunately for them, the artifact was currently in the hands of the enigmatic organization Chaldea, protected in an isolated and untouchable space.
Euclid sighed, closing the computer screen for a moment.
"It wasn't possible to locate the Sephiroth Graal, Rezevim-sama. As I suspected, Chaldea operates in a space completely isolated from this world." He looked at the Lucifer with seriousness. "It's inaccessible to us… only the organization's own members can access it. If it weren't for that, I would have already unleashed our army of Super Devils on them and taken the Graal by force…"
Rezevim shook his head, feigning regret, but his amused smile remained plastered on his face.
"Hmm, what a shame…" His voice was that of a man lamenting a spilled glass of wine, not the impossibility of his apocalyptic plans. "But, well… there's no need to rush. There are always other ways to lure the little mice out of their holes…"
He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand.
"How about… destroying one or two human countries?" he suggested as casually as if proposing an afternoon stroll. "That would certainly catch Chaldea's attention. They wouldn't resist meddling in the affairs of the 'defenseless people'…"
His brown eyes gleamed like embers, full of malice.
Euclid's eyes lit up, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"Absolute genius, Rezevim-sama…" he said, bowing his head slightly in reverence. "Chaldea cares deeply about humans. They couldn't ignore something like that. It's perfect! We can send a warning, declaring we'll destroy two countries in a few days. Then, when they show up to protect the humans, we'll have the chance to eliminate a few and capture one or two of their members. With them in our hands, we can bargain for the Sephiroth Graal."
Rezevim laughed, his laughter vibrating through the hall like a perverse melody.
"Kukuku… hahahahaha! As expected, you truly understand me better than anyone, Euclid. Always so precise, always so reliable…"
He stood from the sofa, pacing a few steps through the hall, hands behind his back, like a king pleased with his plan.
"And, of course, it won't just be Chaldea who takes notice…" His voice carried an almost theatrical tone. "The whole world will see the might of Qlippoth! They will remember us as the true terror that dwells in the shadows, the chaos that surpasses all their fragile alliances."
His brown eyes gleamed with cruelty.
"But before we march toward this spectacle…" Rezevim paused, his smile widening even further. "…we need to get rid of two obstacles in our path. Ophis… and the ridiculous Great Red."
The air in the hall seemed to grow heavier when he uttered those names.
"For that, we'll use the [God's Poison]. Everything must be ready, right?" He raised his hand, as if imagining crushing something invisible. "And besides that… that special device. Is it ready?"
Euclid closed his eyes for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts, and then responded calmly.
"Yes, Rezevim-sama. The device is complete, and I've finalized everything regarding the [God's Poison]. Ophis and Great Red won't be able to resist." His lips curled into a cold smile. "With the [God's Poison] weakening them and the device… it will be their end. And thus, Qlippoth will advance unhindered."
Euclid fell silent after his last statement, but deep within, conflicting thoughts began to stir. The cold smile on his lips was only surface-level; behind it hid doubt.
The device he referred to wasn't a simple creation resulting from his calculations and research with Lilith's body. The truth was far more complex and unsettling. The design, the magical formulas, and even the essence that made the weapon's existence possible… none of it had come solely from his mind. He clearly remembered its origin: a dream. A dream so vivid it felt more real than reality itself. In it, a man who shouldn't exist had appeared. His figure was shrouded in shadows, but his presence overwhelmed even the pride of a Lucifuge. The eyes of that being, intense and profound, had pierced through Euclid's core as if dissecting his soul…
It wasn't an ordinary dream. It was a transmission, an interference. That man had shown him impossible diagrams, circuits of power that defied the logic of the worlds. Without it, the device would never have left the realm of theory.
And that was the point consuming Euclid's thoughts. Should he tell Rezevim or not? Reveal that the device, the key to subduing Ophis and Great Red, wasn't solely the product of his genius but also the result of alien knowledge brought by an unknown emissary?
The man in the dream had demanded nothing in return, merely delivering the instructions and vanishing, leaving an uncomfortable feeling in the air, as if he had laughed at Euclid's naivety for accepting them.
However, the Lucifuge decided to remain silent. Rezevim didn't need to know. If his master discovered there was another player in this game, someone capable of reaching even dreams and implanting forbidden knowledge in his mind, he would surely become interested in finding out who that man was. And perhaps, in his morbid curiosity, he would end up attracting an enemy that even Qlippoth wasn't ready to face…
Rezevim laughed once more, this time raising his arms as if celebrating an invisible symphony.
"Magnificent! Oh, Euclid, I can't wait to see the world's face when they realize that even the deities they feared have been reduced to nothing! It will be… sublime!"
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The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon when Ryougi Kazuya left the National Diet Building of Japan, the seat of Japanese politics. The imposing neoclassical structure, with its gray stone pyramidal dome and corridors stretching like a bureaucratic labyrinth, seemed distant and dull in the face of the unease still prickling in his mind.
He took a deep breath, letting the evening air fill his lungs. The golden light of the sunset painted the sky in shades of red and orange, reflecting off the glass of Nagatachō's skyscrapers. He recalled the discussions inside that building about some political issues in a world now united under the banner of Chaldea.
Until he felt it.
A strange, dense, and unmistakable presence awaited ahead, right at the center of the exit staircase.
His eyes met the unexpected figure.
A young girl. Small, almost fragile at first glance. Her black hair, long down to her hips, swayed lightly in the breeze. Her eyes, however, shattered any illusion of fragility: dark, bottomless. There was something unnatural about her existence, something even the most oblivious human would feel as discomfort. The outfit she wore clashed completely with the urban setting: a black gothic lolita dress, adorned with lace and layers, as if she had stepped out of another world.
Kazuya stopped on the last step, his heart beating faster. The stranger stood still, staring at him fixedly, as if she had been waiting for him for a long time.
It was impossible not to recognize that figure.
Was it Ophis?
So, she had finally come to find him, huh?
Kazuya descended the steps calmly, maintaining that carefree smile that seemed to never leave him. He slipped one hand into the pocket of his suit and tilted his head slightly forward, as if trying to ease the strangeness of the situation.
"Hey, little lady…" he said in a light, almost playful tone. "Are you lost? I can help you find your way home…"
The breeze blew gently, swaying her long black strands. Ophis blinked slowly, as if processing the question with a logic different from that of humans. Her voice came out flat, devoid of emotion.
"…Can you help me… defeat the Baka Red?"
The silence that followed seemed to freeze time for a moment.
Kazuya raised an eyebrow, surprised by the girl's direct frankness. Then he chuckled softly, bringing a hand to the back of his neck as if he'd just heard a joke.
"Hah… so you're not lost after all." His eyes gained a sharp glint, analyzing the small figure before him. "But, you know… isn't that a bit of an absurd request to make to a stranger on the steps of parliament?"
Ophis remained still, staring at him with those dark eyes. She didn't back down, didn't blink. She simply waited for his response, as if the possibility of refusal was inconceivable.
Kazuya sighed but didn't lose his smile.
"Defeat the Great Red Dragon, huh…?" He scratched his chin, looking at the reddening sky. "That's the kind of thing no one in their right mind would agree to without thinking twice…"
He then turned his gaze back to her, his voice lowering, almost amused.
"But I'll help you…"
Kazuya let the sentence hang in the air, as if it were just a casual response to any ordinary request, not an absurd declaration that he'd help defeat the most feared dragon in the Dimensional Gap.
Ophis continued to stare at him in silence, her dark eyes reflecting the last light of the sunset.
He smiled even wider, as if enjoying the weight of that surreal situation.
"But not here, not now," he said, turning his back and starting to walk. "Let's talk somewhere else, little lady. It's not good to discuss this kind of thing in front of parliament, right?"
She followed him without a word, like a silent shadow.
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