High School DxD: Return of the Crimson Dragon Emperor

Chapter 445: Chapter 435: Enter the Strongest

[Kiba’s Perspective]

Instead of my usual Holy-Demonic Sword, I gripped a newly forged Holy Sword in a reverse hand. Instantly, a sacred aura surged from beneath my feet, rippling outward.

I closed my eyes, turning my consciousness inward. I severed all five senses, focusing every fiber of my spirit into a single point.

Deep within that infinite darkness, I saw a light in the distance—a crimson flame radiating a dazzling brilliance.

Crimson. The color of the Master I serve. The color of the only person to whom I have sworn my life. And yet, it is also the color of the man I have always yearned to catch up to.

Kind, strong, and proud. No matter how many times he falls, he stands back up. To me, ”Crimson” is the color of immortality.

I snapped my eyes open and shouted the incantation with everything I had.

”Balance Breaker, Second Stratum: Glory Drag-Trooper of the Crimson Immortal!”

The expanding sacred aura ignited into a crimson radiance, beginning to coalesce into physical form.

Emerging from the light were knights clad in scarlet plate armor, their helms fashioned in the likeness of dragons. They lined up behind me in perfect formation, drawing their blades in unison and holding them against their chests in a crisp salute.

Simultaneously, my own attire shifted, transforming into a long coat dominated by deep crimson. Visually, it was essentially a red version of my Knight of the King state.

Rossweisse-san gasped, her eyes wide with shock.

”Is this Kiba-kun’s new Irregular...? The evolved form of his second Balance Breaker?”

Yes. This is one of the fruits of my training.

The Blade Brave evolution of my Sword Birth—pushed to an even higher dimension. It was a task from Maurice-san that bordered on the suicidal, but somehow, I managed to give it form.

I turned my gaze toward former President Rias and spoke over my shoulder.

”This form is the manifestation of my new resolve. I will no longer lose my way. I will no longer be a prisoner of the past. I fight as the Sword of Rias Gremory—and I will protect you.”

With those words, I lunged forward alongside my armored knights.

To some, my words might have sounded like the mere duty of a servant. They might wonder why I felt the need to say it now, after all this time.

But I had to say it. She reached out her hand to me when I should have died. She watched over me. She even accepted me after I once betrayed her feelings. I owe her more than I could ever repay.

That is why I want to use this life for her sake. Now, and for all eternity.

There is just one thing... if I may be permitted one selfish thought, there is something I hope to put into words one day. To me, you are my Master, but you are also like an older sister—

”Well, it’s a bit embarrassing to actually say out loud,” I muttered to myself as I closed the distance to an Evil Dragon.

I slipped into its guard—and flashed my blade.

The dragon was cleaved clean in two, top from bottom. It sprayed a fountain of blood before sinking into the sea.

Behind me, the Crimson Knights were carving through the enemy. Each of them struck down mass-produced Evil Dragons with single, decisive blows.

My previous knights could replicate my speed, but they couldn’t mirror my technique. These Crimson Knights had overcome that flaw. In essence, they were perfect copies of myself.

And yet, that was only one of their many abilities.

”Tch! Issei-kun’s clones are coming...!” Rossweisse-san muttered, her eyes fixed on the Gate.

I looked up. Amidst the swarms of pitch-black dragons, dots of red began to mingle. The copies of the Welsh Dragon Overlord had finally been deployed.

They were total replicas of Issei-kun’s raw power. While they lacked his refined combat intuition, their attack power, defense, and speed were perfect recreations of Issei-kun at the moment they were sampled.

Ordinary fighters—even High-class or Ultimate-class Devils—would find themselves in a desperate struggle against them.

There is only one person who could make killing them look easy.

”Defective goods like these only need a second.”

An ultra-godspeed draw from a sheathed stance. Maurice-san’s blade bisected a clone, and in the next heartbeat, the copy was minced into microscopic dust.

Right. You’re probably the only person who could take them down like that.

This is a clone of Issei-kun we’re talking about. It possesses power on par with a Satan-class being. Just how far ”outside the specs” are you, Maurice-san?

The Crimson Knights moved to intercept the clones, but as expected of Issei’s replicas, the clones shattered a knight with a single blow.

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