High School DxD: Return of the Crimson Dragon Emperor

Chapter 556: Chapter 546 Serafall-san suddenly burst into a waterfall of tears!

Yeah... where did that cool guy from two seconds ago go, Saji? Also, aren’t you way more terrified now than when Assem rained black blood on us!?

I mean, I get it. Getting targeted with absolute murderous intent masked behind a sparkling smile is pitch-black terrifying.

”WAHHHHHHHH! So-tan was stolen from meeeeeee! That’s it, I’m freezing everything to ice! WAHHHHHHHH!”

Serafall-san suddenly burst into a waterfall of tears! An absurd amount of magic power erupted from her body, transforming the surrounding terrain into a frozen wasteland!

”W-Wait, Onee-sama!? Please calm down!”

”Leviathan-sama, please don’t freeze me! I’m gonna die! I’m gonna get turned into an ice popAAAAAAAGH!”

Sajiiiiiiiii! Sonaaaaaaa!

Is it your turn to ruin the serious mood this time!? Is this my fault too!? Is it because of me!? Am I really just a dragon who attracts comedy subplots!? I don’t even know how to react anymore!

”Haaahhhhh...”

”It always ends up like this, doesn’t it...”

”Yeah. Well, it’s pretty much a daily occurrence around us.”

Alice and I let out massive sighs, while Miu offered a strained chuckle. The mood caught on, and bitter laughs rippled through the surrounding crowd. Well... I guess this is just who we are.

Stepping forward with my still-heavy body, I looked up at Assem and called out to him.

”Looks like you’re gonna need a lot more despair if you want to break us. A little setback like this? We can cross it in no time. And I’m not the only one here who’s changed.—Come at us. We’ll show you what this world is really made of!”

◇

It was undeniably a desperate situation.

With their fear forcibly amplified, countless soldiers were unable to exert their normal strength. A massive number had surrendered to terror and lost consciousness entirely. Protecting them while fighting would be a monumental task. On top of that, our opponent possessed power that surpassed even the original strength of the monster he had absorbed.

And yet—

Assem spoke.

”Very well.”

Forming a sword of aura in his left hand, Assem severed his own right arm.

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock... but I recognized this move. The members who had fought him in the parallel world of Ast Arde seemed to realize what his action meant as well, immediately dropping into battle stances.

Assem grabbed his severed arm and swung it sideways. The blood spraying from the stump soaked deep into the earth—

Rumble, rumble, goooom...

The ground began to bulge and heave with a heavy sound. The shifting, contorting earth began shaping itself into physical forms. When the transformation ceased, what stood before us were beasts roughly ten meters tall.

Humanoids, dragons, spiders, lions—monsters taking the shapes of all manner of beasts appeared. And there were tens of thousands of them.

Alice narrowed her eyes.

”...Familiar beasts. So he can use the exact same ability as Losward.”

”Well, if he’s the creator, it makes sense he can use it. But this is way more of a pain than when we fought Losward. Not all of them, but there are monsters mixed in there with magical signatures on par with Dragon Kings. This is gonna be a tough nut to crack,” Azazel-sensei said, forming a spear of light in his hand.

I expanded my senses to grasp the scope of the horde... It wasn’t just Dragon King-class. If I wasn’t mistaken, there were several beasts in there hovering around the Transcendence-class. It looked as if the Transcendence and Dragon King-class familiars were leading squad-like formations, surrounded by High-Devil and Ultimate-Devil tier beasts. While Losward’s beasts had moved individually, Assem’s horde was organized into structured military units.

Exhaling a small breath, I manifested my gauntlet and began walking forward at a slow pace. After taking a few steps, I came to a stop and closed my eyes.

Standing like this brought back memories of those days.

Back when I faced the enemy with my allies behind me. Back when everyone called me a ”Hero”—

—I’m counting on you, Hero of Perversion.

Leave it to me, Hero of Cooking. We’re gonna protect everything!

Opening my eyes, I let my aura explode from my entire body and roared!

”HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

『ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!』

At my shout, the entire army surged forward!

Melee fighters dashed out all at once, while long-range attackers specializing in magic and demonic power immediately began drawing up spell circles!

Assem’s familiars let out deafening roars and charged. For their massive size, they moved terrifyingly fast!

The vanguard collided with the horde—

”URAOOOOOOOOOOAGH!”

Leaping into the air, I coated my fist in ki and brought it crashing straight down onto a familiar’s face!

The beast’s body wobbled, and just as I thought it would collapse onto the ground, it dug its thick legs into the earth and withstood my strike! I unleashed a rapid barrage of punches and kicks, but the monster refused to go down! Even taking into account how weakened I am, what kind of insane durability is that...!?

The familiar’s blood-red eyes locked onto me as I struggled to put it down, baring its fangs. But before it could snap at me, a blow from behind cleaved it clean in two!

The one who delivered the blow was—

”It seems even Assem’s familiars go down in a single stroke against the current me!”

Xenovia, wrapped in an aura resembling blue flames. Her signature blue hair had grown down to her waist, giving her a divine, mystical presence.

”Thanks, Xenovia.”

”Don’t mention it. But you shouldn’t be running off on your own right now, Issei. You might be healed, but your power output has dropped significantly.”

”Yeah, fair enough.”

To be completely honest, if someone asked me to fight Xenovia right now, I wouldn’t bet on myself winning. She had effortlessly sliced through an opponent that had endured my full-power strike. That gap was huge.

”Still, Xenovia, you’re running on fumes yourself. Don’t push it.”

”A difficult request given the circumstances... Ah, I have a good idea.”

”Heh, what a coincidence. Me too.”

Xenovia and I turned our gazes toward the swarm of familiars rushing toward us. Xenovia readied Durandal and Excalibur, while I raised my fists.

””Let’s do this as a team.””

With fearless smirks on our faces, we charged forward simultaneously.

I took the lead, parrying a giant fist swung down by a familiar. The moment its posture broke from the parry, Xenovia sliced through it with ease.

What I currently lacked was the raw power to obliterate these things in one hit. What Xenovia lacked was the technical maneuverability to handle a massive swarm surrounding her. So if we covered each other’s weaknesses—

””These guys are nothing!””

Tearing through more than a dozen monsters at once, we plunged headlong into the next wave—

~ Bonus Afterword Mini-Story ~

Asia: ”Come to think of it, Valkyrie-san, what is your favorite thing?”

Valkyrie: ”Little girls.”

Asia: ”...Eh? L-Li...?”

Valkyrie: ”Little girls.”

Asia: ”U-Um... how am I supposed to respond to that...?”

Valkyrie: ”Little girls.”

Asia: ”Hauuu! I don’t know how to do a comedic retort like Issei-san!”

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