Dee gently patted the tiny Dragon God's head. She looked at Ophis with a soft, apologetic smile.
"I am really sorry about the time I beat you up in the Dimensional Gap,"
Dee said sweetly, her voice full of genuine guilt.
"I didn't mean to be so mean. I was just really, really worried about Eli back then, and I lost my temper."
Ophis looked up at the terrifying entity of Death. She reached up and touched the spot on her head where Dee was petting her.
"It is okay,"
Ophis answered in her flat, quiet voice.
"I do not mind. You are very strong. It is normal for the strong to win."
Then, Ophis looked back at Elias. Her blank eyes held a tiny spark of curiosity.
"Can I see it now?"
Ophis asked softly.
"Can I see the Shadow Realm?"
Elias smiled warmly.
"Of course,"
Elias nodded. He looked down at his own shadow stretching across the conference room floor.
"Scathach, are you there?"
Elias called out gently.
Instantly, the dark shadow on the floor rippled like water.
The tall, beautiful warrior queen stepped right out of the darkness, holding her red spear.
She bowed her head respectfully to Elias.
"You called, Master?"
Scathach asked.
"Yes,"
Elias smiled, pointing to the tiny girl hugging his leg.
"Ophis is going to be part of our family now. Can you please give her a tour of the Shadow Realm? Show her a nice, quiet place where she can rest."
Scathach looked at the Infinite Dragon God. She was completely unfazed by Ophis's legendary reputation.
To Scathach, she was just her Master's new adopted daughter.
"It would be my pleasure,"
Scathach smiled. She held out her hand to the little girl.
"Come with me, little one. I know the perfect, quiet spot for you."
Ophis let go of Elias's leg. She took Scathach's hand and, without another word, the two of them stepped back into the dark shadows and completely disappeared.
The moment Ophis was gone, the heavy, suffocating pressure in the room instantly vanished.
Every single god, goddess, and faction leader let out a massive sigh of relief.
Azazel wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
Odin leaned back in his chair, breathing heavily.
They could not believe they had just watched the most dangerous terrorist leader in the world get adopted like a stray kitten.
Dee giggled softly at the terrified leaders.
She floated over to Elias and wrapped her arms around his neck.
She leaned in and gave him a deep, sweet kiss on the lips.
"You did a great job today, Eli,"
Dee smiled, her dark eyes shining with love.
"I am going to go back and help prepare a room for our new daughter. I will wait for you at home."
"I will be back soon,"
Elias promised, kissing her forehead.
Dee gave him one last happy wave before fading away into the air, leaving Elias alone with the shocked politicians.
Elias turned around and looked at the giant round table. The gods were still staring at him with their mouths wide open.
He calmly walked back to his central seat. He sat down, adjusted his black suit, and gave them a polite, friendly smile.
"Alright,"
Elias said simply, clasping his hands together on the table.
"The interruptions are over. Please, carry on with the peace treaty."
No one dared to argue. No one dared to complain.
With Elias sitting at the center of the table, making sure everyone behaved, the rest of the grand peace treaty went on absolutely smoothly.
The grand meeting finally came to an end.
The gods and faction leaders stood up, shook hands, and slowly left the conference room.
They all looked very tired, but they were deeply relieved. The peace treaty was officially signed.
When the room was mostly empty, Sirzechs Lucifer and Azazel walked over to Elias.
Azazel let out a long, heavy sigh and sat down in the chair next to him. He looked very serious.
"I still cannot believe it,"
Azazel said, rubbing his forehead.
"Samael's poison... That is not something you can just find on the street. It is the deadliest curse in the world. It is guarded deep in the Underworld."
Sirzechs nodded, his blue eyes looking very dark and sad.
"There is only one person who is crazy enough, and powerful enough, to steal that poison and use it on the Infinite Dragon God,"
Sirzechs said quietly.
Elias looked at the two leaders.
"Who did it?"
Elias asked simply.
"Rizevim Livan Lucifer,"
Sirzechs answered. The name tasted bitter in his mouth.
"He is the son of the original Lucifer. He is the true mastermind behind the Old Satan Faction and the Khaos Brigade."
Elias leaned back in his chair.
"Is he strong?"
Elias asked.
"He is a monster,"
Azazel explained.
"But not just because of his magic. He is a monster because he has absolutely no heart. He loves chaos. He loves seeing people suffer. He doesn't fight for a reason or a dream. He just destroys things because he thinks it is fun."
Sirzechs looked down at his hands.
"He used Ophis,"
Sirzechs said softly.
"He knew she only wanted silence. So, he made fake promises to her, used her infinite power to build his terrorist army, and then poisoned her so he could steal the rest of her magic. To Rizevim, everyone is just a tool."
Elias's dark eyes grew a little colder.
He thought about the tiny, tired girl with blank eyes who just wanted a safe place to sleep.
He hated people who used others like tools.
He hated it when Zouken did it to Sakura, he hated it when the Einzberns did it to Illya, and he hated that Rizevim did it to Ophis.
"So, Rizevim is the real problem,"
Elias stated calmly.
"Yes,"
Azazel warned him.
"And now that you have taken Ophis away from him, he is going to be very angry, Elias. He lost his best weapon. He will definitely come after you."
Elias didn't look scared at all. He just gave a small, peaceful smile.
"Let him come,"
Elias said softly.
"He thinks he is scary because he plays with poison and terrorist armies. But he doesn't know what real fear is."
Elias stood up and adjusted his suit.
He looked at Sirzechs and Azazel with absolute confidence.
"Ophis is my daughter now,"
Elias told them firmly.
"She is a part of my family. If Rizevim tries to touch my family, he will not have to worry about dragons, devils, or gods."
Elias's eyes flashed with a faint, terrifying glow for just a second.
"He will have to deal with Death,"
Elias promised.
Sirzechs and Azazel both nodded slowly.
They actually felt sorry for Rizevim.
The evil devil had no idea what kind of absolute nightmare he had just messed with.
When Elias finally returned to the Kuoh mansion, the house was surprisingly quiet.
He walked into the living room and smiled at the scene in front of him.
Dee was sitting comfortably on the sofa, humming a happy little song.
Sitting on the soft carpet in front of her were two little girls.
Illya, with her bright white hair, was looking curiously at the tiny girl with black hair and pointy ears. Ophis was looking back at her with her blank, empty eyes.
"I am back,"
Elias said softly, sitting down on the sofa next to Dee.
Illya quickly stood up and ran to hug his arm.
"Papa!"
Illya smiled brightly.
"Dee said you brought a new friend home. She came out of the shadows with Scathach."
Elias gently patted Illya's head.
"Yes, I did,"
Elias answered, looking at the tiny Dragon God.
"Illya, this is Ophis. She is going to stay with us from now on. She is your new sister."
Ophis slowly tilted her head.
"Sister?"
Ophis repeated the word. She had lived for thousands of years, but she had always been completely alone.
"What is a sister?"
Illya walked over to the Infinite Dragon God. She didn't feel scared of Ophis at all. To Illya, Ophis just looked like a normal, quiet girl who needed a hug.
"A sister is family,"
Illya explained simply, sitting back down on the carpet next to her.
"It means we will live together, play together, and share our toys. It means we are never going to be lonely again."
Ophis looked at her own small hands, and then she looked at Illya's bright red eyes.
"The bad people told me I was a tool,"
Ophis whispered, her flat voice sounding a little sad.
"They said I only exist to give them my power. Are you a tool, too?"
Illya's smile faded just a little bit. Her eyes softened. She understood exactly how Ophis felt.
The Einzberns had treated Illya the exact same way during the Holy Grail War.
Illya reached out and gently held Ophis's small, cold hand.
"I used to be,"
Illya said honestly, her voice full of deep understanding.
"They made me fight because I was a tool. But Papa saved me. He brought me here."
Illya squeezed Ophis's hand tightly.
"In this house, we are not tools, Ophis-chan,"
Illya told her firmly.
"We don't have to fight for anyone. We don't have to give our magic away. Here, we are just kids. We just get to be happy."
Ophis's blank eyes widened just a tiny bit.
The warm, safe feeling in her chest grew even stronger. She looked at Elias, then at Dee, and finally back at Illya.
"Just happy,"
Ophis muttered softly. She slowly squeezed Illya's hand back.
"I think... I like that."
Illya beamed a bright, beautiful smile.
"You will love it!"
Illya cheered happily. She stood up and gently pulled Ophis to her feet.
"Come on! Let me show you our room! I have a lot of drawing paper, and Koneko-chan left some sweet cookies for us to share!"
Ophis gave a tiny, slow nod. For the first time in her endless, ancient life, she didn't care about returning to the pure silence of the Dimensional Gap.
She didn't care about her stolen power.
Right now, she just wanted to eat cookies and follow her new big sister.
Elias watched the two girls walk down the hallway hand-in-hand.
He felt a deep, warm peace in his heart.
Dee leaned her head on his shoulder and giggled softly.
"They are going to be best friends,"
Dee whispered happily.
"Yes, they are,"
Elias smiled, wrapping his arm around Dee.
"And I will make sure no one ever treats them like tools again."
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