Takeyo's lips curved into a smile as he surveyed his surroundings.
If they don't show up soon, I might accidentally finish Loki off before they arrive.
After all, what if he killed the trickster god by mistake?
"Is this the confidence behind Diodora? No wonder he was so sure of himself."
Takeyo's eyes swept across the muscular figures materializing before him, immediately recognizing their true nature. They were Evil Dragons, legendary creatures resurrected by the Sephiroth Graal. To infiltrate this dimensional space more easily, each of them carried one of Diodora's Evil Pieces embedded within their bodies.
Now he understood why Diodora and all his peerage members had been slaughtered so easily.
The Crime Force Dragon, Grendel.
Known throughout history for possessing the hardest scale armor among all Evil Dragons, Grendel had engaged in brutal battles with Issei in the original timeline. Even when grievously wounded, the monster had reveled in combat with sadistic glee. After Issei and Sairaorg had finally overwhelmed him, Koneko had sealed his soul within a jewel from Issei's armor.
The Foreign Death Dragon, Niðhöggr.
According to legend, a voracious dragon dwelling in the frozen realm of Norse mythology. In the original story, he'd captured Issei's parents to use as hostages against Ophis. Violent and cruel, he'd eventually been annihilated by one of Ophis's clones.
The Stalwart Insomniac Dragon, Ladon.
A wood dragon renowned for his mastery of barriers and seals, Ladon possessed the greatest defensive capabilities among all Evil Dragons. In the original timeline, he'd trapped Issei within multiple layers of enchantments while the Red Dragon Emperor was using his True Queen form, until Issei was finally rescued and Ladon was subsequently sealed.
"Since you're all here," Takeyo said casually, "does that mean Rizevim has come as well?"
He already knew Rizevim had arrived. In fact, he knew exactly where the son of the original Lucifer was hiding at this very moment.
"Oh? You know about that person?" Grendel's silver eyes gleamed with surprise. "And knowing that, you still look so relaxed? What's your secret?"
He knows and he doesn't care? Why?
"In other words, you've prepared countermeasures?" Ladon mused thoughtfully. Rizevim was a Heavenly Dragon-level threat at minimum. Did this human actually have a way to handle him?
"Hey! Quit wasting time with pointless chatter! Just hurry up and rescue me already!"
At Takeyo's feet, the sealed Loki roared in frustration.
"Oh... if you hadn't spoken, I might have forgotten about you."
Takeyo plunged a golden sword, one enhanced with god-slaying properties, directly into Loki's chest.
In an instant, the Norse God Lord was left with only a final breath before contentment finally claimed him in death.
"Hah! Finally! That damn god is dead at last!"
The speaker wasn't Takeyo, but Grendel himself.
As a proud dragon, and an exceptionally tyrannical Evil Dragon at that, Grendel had never considered Loki a true ally, regardless of their nominal alliance. The powerful Evil Dragon Master needed no partners!
"ROOOAAR!"
At that moment, a thunderous dragon's roar echoed from the distance.
"That voice, !" Grendel recognized the meaning behind the roar instantly. Translated from dragon speech, it roughly meant: You filthy demons dare come here and cause trouble for my man?!
He knew that roar well. It belonged to Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon, one of the Five Great Dragon Kings!
"Tiamat has a man?" All three Evil Dragons exchanged bewildered glances.
Their intelligence had indicated that Sona's peerage consisted entirely of women. Diodora's side had been completely replaced with Evil Dragons and their clones. Surely the man couldn't be Loki or Rizevim? Those two didn't seem like they'd appeal to a female Dragon King's tastes.
"No, Tiamat is currently engaging Rizevim in combat," Ladon provided the correct answer.
The moment his words left his mouth, the barrier on Sona's side shattered completely.
A magnificent dragon burst through the breach, unleashing torrents of dragon fire while simultaneously bombarding Rizevim with dragon-language magic.
"But even if she's ascended to Heavenly Dragon status, Tiamat shouldn't be able to match Rizevim, not when she's only recently reached that level." Niðhöggr frowned with confusion.
"Don't worry. Right now, Rizevim is having a very difficult time."
Takeyo smiled knowingly.
Dragons being dragons, he thought. They completely ignored the non-dragon members of my peerage.
Before launching his attack on Loki, Takeyo had given Sona his [King] piece, the chess piece representing himself. With it in her possession, Sona could summon any of Takeyo's peerage members to her location.
This had been a precautionary measure to ensure Sona's safety. Just as he'd anticipated, Rizevim, that cunning old devil, had sent his subordinates to engage Takeyo directly while he himself went after the hostages.
Unfortunately for Rizevim, Takeyo had predicted exactly this scenario.
The moment danger appeared, all of Takeyo's peerage members at or above Maou-class strength, plus Ingvild, had been teleported to Sona's side.
Issei Hyoudou. The Ex-Machina Schwi. Artoria Pendragon. And the Dragon King Tiamat herself. All of them had materialized to defend Sona.
"The man Tiamat mentioned... that's you, isn't it?" Ladon directed the question at Takeyo.
Everyone who heard this statement, including Grayfia, couldn't help but raise their eyebrows.
It seemed... yes, that explanation actually made the most sense.
"First of all, I'm not Rama. I'd appreciate it if you could remember that."
Takeyo's eyes narrowed as golden swords materialized behind him, their blades gleaming with lethal intent.
"So the dragon was right about you?" Grayfia sighed.
He really is too capable, she thought.
Based on her intelligence, she could only deduce that Takeyo must have encountered Tiamat during his first visit to the Familiar Forest. Or perhaps during his unexplained absence, he'd somehow managed to become a dragon knight?
Either way, she found herself impressed. Terrifyingly impressed.
"Do you believe the forces on the other side can handle Rizevim?"
Facing Grayfia's question, Takeyo nodded confidently.
"What...?"
"Um..."
"Well..."
The three Evil Dragons were momentarily stunned by his response. Had the world changed so drastically since their deaths?
They'd perished long ago, far more thoroughly than Ddraig and Albion, who had merely been sealed.
Only through the power of the Sephiroth Graal, the Holy Grail of the Secluded World, had the gods' bones been given flesh again, allowing them to walk the earth once more.
Their resurrection held particular meaning to them as Evil Dragons. The terrorist organization that had revived them suited their destructive nature perfectly.
Better still, even if they fell in battle, the Sephiroth Graal could resurrect them again and again! For battle-hungry Evil Dragons, it was the ultimate gift.
But having been disconnected from the world for so long, they found themselves genuinely surprised. Could humans actually ride dragons now? That seemed rather impressive!
"Even with her recent ascension to Heavenly Dragon status, Tiamat theoretically shouldn't be a match for Rizevim," Ladon observed analytically.
"No, they can handle him."
Takeyo's smile widened.
Should I point out that dragons tend to ignore everything except other dragons?
Meanwhile, on Rizevim's side, two clones had already engaged him in fierce combat, perfect replicas of Fenrir and another Dragon King, created by the human-lion avatar Narasimha and the divine boar Varaha.
"Come on! This uncle fears no challenge! HAHAHAHA!"
Grendel transformed into his full Evil Dragon form and charged forward, scales gleaming with dark anticipation.
Born to fight! Growing stronger through combat! Dying for the thrill of battle! Resurrected to fight again! This was his destiny, and he embraced it utterly!
On the other side.
A few minutes earlier.
Sona had been reading, trying to distract herself from her mounting anxiety. Her peerage members, except for Tsubaki standing vigilantly at her side, were scattered around the room engaged in various activities.
They all had complete confidence in Takeyo. After all, this was the man who had effortlessly defeated even a ten-winged Fallen Angel.
"President, you seem quite nervous," Tsubaki observed, noting Sona's leg bouncing beneath the table.
She recognized this habit well. Whenever Sona felt excessive tension, she would unconsciously begin shaking her leg. The book she was reading was clearly just another coping mechanism.
"How could I possibly be calm? There's no way I can relax right now."
Sona clutched the golden chess piece pressed against her chest.
It wasn't that she doubted Takeyo, quite the opposite. Her nervousness stemmed precisely from her trust in him.
Before leaving, Takeyo had instructed her to use this chess piece immediately if any danger appeared. In other words, he'd anticipated that she would face some kind of threat, which was why he'd given her this precautionary measure.
He'd also told her that if nothing happened, she could simply call to him mentally, and he would return immediately. But she knew Takeyo was handling something critically important right now. She didn't want to disturb him unless absolutely necessary.
Since Takeyo had given her this contingency, there must be an enemy he was guarding against. While trying to manage her anxiety, she kept trying to identify who that enemy might be.
Unfortunately, no answer came to her.
Until, a few minutes later, everything became terrifyingly clear.
The son of the original Demon King Lucifer and the Mother of Devils, Lilith! The one who had betrayed all of devilkind!
The instant she sensed the enemy's approach, Sona didn't hesitate. She activated the golden chess piece Takeyo had given her.
A brilliant flash of golden light erupted from the piece.
"ROOOAAR!"
An enraged dragon's roar announced the first arrival. Then a small figure emerged, a crimson-scaled dragonoid radiating fury.
Before she could process that, a golden-haired paladin materialized, the holy spear in her hands gleaming as she immediately took a protective position at Sona's side.
Finally... a beautiful girl with flowing purple hair?
This last arrival caught Sona's attention. The girl didn't look like a combatant at all. She'd also been summoned by Takeyo's chess piece? Something felt off about this. Could this delicate-looking girl really stand against Rizevim Livan Lucifer?
What happened next answered her doubts completely.
"Ahh... ahh... ahh..."
A hauntingly beautiful melody poured from Ingvild's lips.
This was the song that could awaken a dragon's full potential!
All three summoned warriors received massive power amplifications.
Tiamat, who had been struggling to stabilize her recently ascended realm, felt her power surge and solidify. Her aura expanded dramatically as she achieved a level of strength she hadn't possessed before.
Issei, who had been in his standard combat state, felt Ddraig's power surge through him as he advanced from his base form directly into True Queen mode.
Even Artoria experienced a significant boost, her power leaping from her previous half-step Transcendent state into full Transcendent-class strength.
The reason was simple, flowing through Artoria's veins was the blood of the Red Dragon.
"What...?"
Rizevim, who had arrived fully expecting to secure hostages, stared dumbfounded at the three Transcendent-level powerhouses who had materialized before him.
Did I wake up on the wrong side of reality today?
How had so many unknown Transcendent-class fighters suddenly appeared out of nowhere?!
"It seems I'll have to use my final resort..."
Rizevim's expression hardened with grim determination.
What a shame...
But without employing his ultimate measure, he doubted he could break through the combined defense of three Transcendent-class guardians.
His Sacred Gear was the Canceller, an ability that could nullify other Sacred Gears and their effects. It would be convenient if all his opponents relied on Sacred Gears, but clearly they didn't.
Besides, even his Canceller had limitations. In the original timeline, Issei had awakened the primordial [Penetrate] ability belonging to the Red Dragon Emperor Ddraig, allowing him to bypass the Canceller's protection entirely and strike Rizevim's true body directly.
There's no other choice, Rizevim thought. If I'm not strong enough, I'll simply have to suffer the consequences.
Unfortunately for him, Takeyo's main forces were only partially deployed here...
Rizevim's true objective was Takeyo himself! More specifically, Takeyo's blood and Takeyo's power!
With these thoughts churning through his mind, Rizevim launched his attack!
Whatever happened, he had to achieve his goal! Otherwise, his organization would be exposed to the entire supernatural world, and he'd face coordinated suppression from every faction. He refused to have his freedom of movement restricted in such a way.
"ROOOAAR!"
Dragon fire erupted from Tiamat's maw in devastating torrents!
"You filthy devils dare come here and cause trouble for my man?!"
That was roughly what her roar translated to in dragon speech.
"Rhongomyniad, shine with the light at the end of the world!"
"Liberation!"
Artoria didn't hold back. She immediately began releasing the Thirteen Restraints that sealed her holy lance's true power.
Just like the Holy Sword Excalibur, the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad was bound by thirteen seals that limited its devastating capabilities.