High School DxD: Return of the Crimson Dragon Emperor

Chapter 384: Chapter 374 The Mock God

[Miwa’s POV]

A rainbow was spreading.

A brilliant ribbon of prismatic light arched across the sky, enveloping the entirety of Agreas. Shimmering, iridescent particles filled the air, and as they fell, they seemed to saturate my very soul.

It was warm... a light that brought a profound, bone-deep tranquility. Just touching this radiance made all my anxieties vanish.

I knew this light. I knew this warmth.

This was his light. This was Issei’s light.

It was the same warmth that had always stood between us and the world, keeping us safe.

The swarms of mass-produced Evil Dragons and the legion of Red Dragon Emperor clones that had just appeared were relentless. With Asia and the others having rushed back to Kuoh Town, I had prepared for us to be crushed under the sheer weight of their numbers.

But this rainbow light—this miracle—had chosen to protect us.

Whenever a dragon or a clone tried to lunge at us, the rainbow particles coalesced into a barrier. Anywhere the light touched, the enemy was not just stopped, but utterly crushed, as if the world itself were rejecting their existence.

Strangely, Bell—who was facing me—and Vieka—who was fighting Alice—seemed completely unaffected by the light.

Vieka actually offered a thin, enigmatic smile as she looked up at the prismatic sky.

”Heh heh... finally. With this, my Father’s wish is...”

Father’s wish...? Assem’s wish?

Were they waiting for this? Had they been stalling just so Issei would awaken this power?

I looked up at the projection in the sky. To my shock, the rainbow light wasn’t just here in Agreas. It had manifested in Kuoh Town as well.

No way... is he projecting this light across dimensions? It was impossible. It defied every law of magic and logic I knew.

And yet, Issei’s voice drifted through my memory.

—I’ll protect you, even if I have to twist the dimensions and break the laws of the world to do it.

Recalling those words, I couldn’t help but smile.

He really did it. He actually bent the fabric of reality just to keep his promise. It was so forceful, so reckless... so typical of him.

That’s just who he is. That’s Hyoudou Issei.

Something caught my eye on the monitor. Amidst the rainbow light in Kuoh, a fierce golden aura erupted. The gold light washed over the town, and as it passed, buildings and trees shattered by the dragons began to knit themselves back together, returning to their original forms.

At the center of that golden light stood Asia.

Her voice echoed in my mind, carried by the resonance of the light.

—Issei-san has always protected us. Now, it’s my turn. I’ll protect everyone. I won’t let a single person in this town—my parents, my friends—be hurt!

Her voice was filled with a resolve so sharp it could cut steel.

Behind her, I saw the silhouette of a golden dragon. Fafnir. He was wrapping himself around her like a protective cloak, his golden pride manifesting as an unbreakable shield.

The rainbow and the gold combined, purging the Evil Dragons from the streets of Kuoh.

It was likely Asia’s Balance Breaker. She had reached a new height, spurred on by the resonance of Issei’s awakening.

Alice looked up at the sky and sighed. ”Protected by him again. Honestly... no matter how much time passes, we’re always the ones being saved. It’s frustrating. I want to be the one protecting Issei for once.”

”I know,” I replied with a smile. ”I feel the exact same way.”

We were always under his wing. Past and present. But we couldn’t stay there forever. We wanted to stand beside him. We wanted to fight as his equals.

And finally, the time had come.

『Miwa-chan, Alice-chan, can you hear me?』

Ignis’s voice rang clearly in my mind. Judging by the lack of reaction from the others, she was speaking only to Alice and me.

『Issei has reached the summit. Now, it is your turn. It is time to awaken the potential sleeping within your blood.』

Her voice was gentle, yet commanding.

『Recite the words. Don’t do it for the sake of the world. Do it for the one you love. Do it for the man who is always in your hearts.』

Alice and I closed our eyes in unison.

I felt it.

The power dormant within me.

The blood flowing through my veins.

The infinite possibilities of the ”Pseudo-Deity.” A power granted only to us. It was finally time for it to bloom.

I opened my eyes and began to chant. My voice layered over a phantom echo of Issei’s, our spirits harmonizing.

”—O Successor to the Will of the King.”

A dark aura—black as a starless midnight—erupted from my body. It swirled around me, hardening into a form befitting this new power.

『—Illuminate the night with the power of the magical.』

A crimson dragon-aura gathered in my right hand, stabilizing into a quiet, pulsing wave of energy. It took the shape of a staff—a magical scepter carved in the likeness of a dragon.

”—O my Father, O Crimson Hero. I embrace your legacy and reach the peak.”

This black aura belonged to my father, the Demon King Sirius. And this crimson light was Issei’s. Their combined love wrapped around me like a warm embrace.

『—Thou shalt become the Mock God of the Night.』

Finally, we spoke the final line together.

”「MANIFEST NOW—!」”

The black aura shattered. For a split second, a vast starlit sky expanded outward from me, a world of eternal night lit by a billion stars. Then, the vision receded like a tide, leaving me transformed.

Bell blinked, tilting her head. ”You changed...? Big sister, your power... it’s on a different level now.”

The aura I was radiating now... it was divine. This was my version of the ”Pseudo-Deity” state Losward had used.

I was clad in a dress of shimmering obsidian silk, draped in a black celestial raiment that fluttered like wings. In my hand was the Dragon Staff, its head clutching a glowing red orb.

”Pseudo-Deity Activation—call it ’God-Princess’ form. Right now, I possess the power of a god. This is the true awakening of the blood within me.”

God-Princess Form: [Mystyka Fürstin, Witch-Princess of the Black Star].

The Mock Goddess of the Starry Night.

Bell, though surprised, didn’t hesitate. She began weaving her hands, manifesting a new Nightmare Beast.

”Big sister is very strong. I can tell without even fighting. So...”

Multiple magic circles appeared around her, summoning a dozen hundred-meter-tall humanoid beasts. She then drew a massive, complex seal, forcibly fusing them together.

With a roar that shook the air, a twelve-armed titan—no, a Demon God—emerged. Each of its twelve hands gripped a colossal sword. This was the same terrifying power Bell had shown during the Auros Academy raid—the ability to create beasts that rivaled the gods.

”Bell will try hard, too,” she said, pointing toward me.

The Demon God swung a massive arm, its sword descending like a falling building. A single strike had enough power to level a city block. If it hit me directly, I would be erased.

During our last encounter, I’d barely survived with the help of Tia and Dill. Alone, I would have been helpless.

I raised my staff. A single, giant magic circle manifested.

The titan’s blade slammed into it—and stopped. The circle didn’t even flicker. A single defensive spell was effortlessly nullifying a strike meant to shatter mountains. I felt no strain, no fatigue.

And I wasn’t even using my full strength yet.

This is the power of a god...

Maintaining the shield, I flicked my staff. The red orb glowed, deploying three smaller circles in a triangular formation. When the titan’s swords touched these circles—

They crumbled into sand.

”—Durchsehen. It’s a decomposition spell I can finally use in this form.”

I had tried to use this once before to save Asia from Diodora Astaroth, but back then, I could only manage it because Issei had shared his power with me, and it had left me bedridden with exhaustion. Now, it felt as natural as breathing. This was the magic my father had taught me.

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