[Kiba Side]
Before reaching the third underground level, we sensed it—a heavy, malevolent aura. Rias and the others tensed, faces grim.
Opening the door, we saw—
"Guahaha! Been a while, huh?!" A massive dragon with black scales and silver eyes.
"Grendel!" Xenovia shouted.
I narrowed my eyes. This was the legendary evil dragon Issei's group fought, enduring Tenbu's attacks!
"I'm Grendel, itching to crush you all!" he roared, radiating intense malice, an aura rivaling or surpassing a Dragon King.
Scanning us, Grendel tilted his head. "Where's Ddraig!?"
He meant Issei.
Miu muttered, "That dragon's obsessed with Onii-chan. Only he could face him head-on."
"But Issei's not here. We'll have to handle this ourselves," Rias said, sharpening her gaze, boosting her magic.
We couldn't afford delays.
If I used that…
"Yuto, don't use Zweite Phase yet," Rias warned.
"I know. We need to conserve for later," I replied.
Crow Cruach, Rizevim, maybe more evil dragons like Grendel awaited. My recently mastered ability drains me heavily—using it now would make me a liability later.
But Grendel wasn't an enemy to underestimate.
Team effort it is.
Switching my holy-demonic sword to a holy sword, I summoned multiple dragon knights via my other Balance Breaker, arming them with Siegfried's demonic swords. In my hands: a holy sword and Gram, the demonic emperor sword with dragon-slaying properties.
Gram might work, despite his dragon-slaying resistance.
Xenovia and Irina joined me, launching a three-pronged attack.
"Haa!" I struck.
"Tchya!" Xenovia and Irina swung Durandal and a mass-produced holy-demonic sword.
"Light!" Grendel scoffed, taking only scratches from Durandal's edge.
"Need Durandal's full aura!" Xenovia gritted her teeth.
Irina spread angel wings, unleashing a massive light blast. "Haa!"
"Guahaha! That tickles!" Grendel laughed, barely affected.
Durandal, holy-demonic swords, light—all ineffective.
"Then try Gram!" I infused Gram with demonic energy, slashing Grendel. Dragon knights followed, carving his abdomen.
Against a normal foe, this would be overkill. But Grendel only bled blue from minor wounds.
Even Gram, a dragon-slayer, did this little?
"Damn, heavily enhanced," Azazel cursed, conjuring a light spear.
"How's this?" Miu deployed multiple magic circles, gathering prismatic light. "Star Dust Breaker!"
The condensed, seven-colored flash pierced between Xenovia and me, hitting Grendel, bursting a section and drawing blue blood—the most damage yet.
But Grendel grinned. "Guahaha! That hurt, little girl!"
"It should've pierced through… Is his defense stronger than before?" Miu frowned.
"Maybe enhanced magic resistance too," Rossweisse analyzed.
Dragon-slaying and magic resistance—what did Khaos Brigade do with the Grail?
"Come on, don't stop! That's too weak!" Grendel taunted.
Our attacks weren't enough against his insane defense.
I was ready to act, but Rias spoke. "There's one technique that can fatally wound him."
"You mean that?" Akeno asked.
"Yes. It's our only shot. But it needs time to charge. If we buy enough, we can win," Rias said.
I'd seen it before—a devastating power of destruction, banned in Rating Games. It could ignore defenses.
Miu nodded. "Our job's to stall?"
"Please," Rias said.
"Of course," Miu replied.
"I can stall," I added.
"If Rias has a trump card, we save energy," Irina said.
"Let's do it!" Xenovia agreed.
"I'll support the front," Reina said.
"Me too," Rossweisse added.
"We're rear guard," Miu said.
"I'm in," Akeno smiled.
"I'll join," Reivel said.
With such a strong rear guard, Rias began charging, a magic circle forming beneath her, amassing destructive energy above her head.
Even now, its ferocity was chilling.
Our job: buy time.
"Asia, Gaspar, Koneko—protected by a barrier. I'll join in," Azazel said, shedding his jacket.
The front line—me, Xenovia, Irina—charged. Xenovia and Irina attacked from the sides, I struck blind spots.
Rear guards fired magic, light, lightning, and flames.
"Fun! Keep coming!" Grendel laughed, countering with agile moves despite his size, tanking rear attacks and swinging massive fists.
I aimed for his feet, but he leaped, spitting flames at me.
I sliced the fire with Gram, conjuring seven airborne holy-demonic swords. "Go!"
They slashed Grendel, dealing only scratches, but distracted him.
"Xenovia!"
"Got it!"
We charged with Gram and Durandal.
"Crush you!" Grendel's tail swept, but magic circles restrained it.
"We can't damage, but we can bind. Rossweisse!" Miu called.
"Yes!" Rossweisse summoned an ornate magical gun from Risha, firing a thick laser that deflected Grendel's fist.
"I'll redirect attacks," Rossweisse said, reloading.
Grendel stumbled. Xenovia landed a heavy, holy-aura-infused Durandal strike on his shoulder, gashing it. I circled behind, slashing his back with a demonic-aura-charged Gram, drawing blue blood.
"Ow! That hurts!" Grendel roared, unfazed.
His scales were too tough, his resilience unreal.
I drove my swords into his wounds, deepening them.
"Move!" Akeno shouted.
We retreated as three dragon-shaped lightning bolts wrapped Grendel, shocking him inside and out via the swords.
"Gagagaga!" Grendel smoked, scorched.
"Now, Xenovia!"
"For raw power!"
Gram and Ex-Durandal unleashed massive holy and demonic waves, engulfing the stunned dragon.
"Guooo!" Grendel screamed.
A normal foe would fall, but not him.
As our barrage ceased, Grendel stood, smoking and bleeding, then knelt with a heavy thud.
It worked—our combined attacks brought him down!
But he grinned creepily. "Fun! So damn fun! Guahaha!"
Despite his wounds, he stood, laughing.
"What… he's still standing!?" Irina gasped.
"He enjoys death itself!" Xenovia said.
"No wonder we're told to avoid him," Akeno added.
He relished death.
"Take this!" Azazel hurled a massive light spear, which split into countless arrows, piercing Grendel's abdomen.
"Reivel, sync with me!" Miu called.
"Got it!"
Miu's magic circle merged with Reivel's phoenix flames, unleashing a fiery tornado, scorching the walls and swallowing Grendel.
His scales charred, but—
"Hot! This is it! Hit me more!" he roared, spitting multiple fire blasts.
We dodged or slashed them, but Grendel closed in with terrifying speed despite his wounds.
We fought fiercely, landing hits, with Asia healing injuries. Normally, he'd be down, but he wouldn't fall.
"Burn!" Grendel unleashed a massive flame wave in the tight space.
"Four-Wall Seal, Mini-Version!" Miu shouted, erecting blue barriers around Grendel, containing his flames, which burned him instead.
Sweat dripped from Miu—she was straining.
"Annoying magic!" Grendel stopped his flames, hammering the barrier, cracking it.
"I won't let you rampage!" Miu deployed another magic circle with foreign runes—Ast Aarde's magic.
Raising her hand, a matching circle appeared above Grendel, dropping torii-like structures that pinned his tail, limbs, and neck to the floor.
"What!? I can't move!" he growled.
"A spell I practiced for you. It won't kill, but it stops you," Miu panted, exhausted.
A chance to deal decisive damage!
"Thanks. It's ready," Rias said.
Turning, I saw her with a massive orb of destruction, chilling even from a distance.
Rias sighed, moving forward. "Too many foes resist my attacks. I can't keep looking weak before my clan and juniors. So, I made this—a sure-kill technique."
"Everyone, back off!" Akeno shouted.
Azazel carried the immobile Miu, and we retreated behind Rias.
"Here we go, Grendel. Vanish!" Rias unleashed the orb.
It moved slowly, scraping the floor, easily avoidable—but Grendel was pinned.
Rias told Miu, "Release the spell."
"But—"
"It's fine. He can't escape."
Miu complied, freeing Grendel.
"What's the plan?" he sneered.
The orb swirled with red and black energy, pulling Grendel in despite his resistance, lifting him off the ground.
"What suction!" he roared.
As he touched the orb, his scales shattered.
"Guooo!" he screamed.
Rias flicked her crimson hair. "'Extinguish Star'—a mass of destruction that obliterates all, ignoring resistances or weaknesses. Begone."
The orb glowed, consuming the evil dragon.
[Kiba Side Out]
[Red Dragon Clan 'King' & 'Queen']
"Hey, Issei," Alice said.
"What?"
"Bad news."
"What?"
"…We're lost."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
The Red Dragon Clan's 'King' and 'Queen' were lost in the underground passage.
[Red Dragon Clan 'King' & 'Queen', End]
-----------------------------
Love my work? You can support me on Patreon! 💫
Get early access, bonus content, and special updates.
👉 patreon.com/Greyhounds