At this moment, the barrier enveloping the entire city also dissipated. Raize couldn't help but lower his gaze, casting his eyes toward a certain house in the city below.
Through the window, he saw Lucoa stretching lazily by the windowsill. Noticing Raize's gaze, she smiled and waved at him before walking back into her home.
"Oh, I almost forgot about Kobayashi. Kanna, let's hurry back." Glancing around at the now-dissolved barrier and confirming Raize was fine, Tohru remembered another person she was worried about—Kobayashi.
After casting a perception-obstruction spell on Kanna, she casually opened a spatial door and stepped through.
Kanna said goodbye to Raize before also entering the spatial tunnel.
---
Within the dimensional rift outside the world, because Raize severed the interdimensional tunnel with Yamato, causing it to completely collapse and shatter, countless dismembered corpses, victims of the dimensional storms, floated scattered here.
Four figures shrouded in auras of vile filth, curse, death, and dark divine power, concealed within misty, pixelated obscurity that hid their true forms, observed the floating corpse and debris. One suddenly spoke in a deep voice:
"To think the daughter of the Dragon of the End from the Chaos faction is in that world. This first assault has failed."
The figure radiating vile energy reached out a hand, summoning countless lingering fragmented souls drifting in the dimensional rift into its grasp. It surveyed the surroundings and uttered a hoarse, grating voice.
"Not just a dragon from the Chaos faction. There was also a being with holy power. Did the Heavenly Realm of that world react that quickly?"
"Tch. Those disgusting dragons from the Chaos faction are truly haunting. They've even reached into this world. It seems Hellscythe will soon be under their protection. The chances of another successful sneak attack are slim." The figure exuding death energy spoke with the most displeasure, its tone venomous.
He had lost a demigod general this time, along with numerous lower-tier forces. Without achieving any results, how could he be in a good mood?
"No matter. Rizevim Livan Lucifer from that world will surely provide us with another opportunity. Likely, this time was also that fellow using us for some probing purpose." The figure enveloped in dense darkness spoke coldly.
This failure was somewhat expected; they hadn't held much hope from the start. To continue plotting for Hellscythe's power, they would need to lay low for a while.
Not only would the dragons of the Dragon World be alerted, but the forces of that world would also notice them now.
"Tch. Even if Rizevim gives us a chance, whether we succeed is another matter. His intel didn't mention the appearance of the Dragon of Demise's daughter. This will definitely draw the Dragon of Demise's personal attention!"
The figure in the darkness shook its head. "Stop complaining. Our relationship with Rizevim is one of mutual exploitation from the start. Who gains more depends on capability. We..."
Suddenly, the four figures floating in the dimensional rift stopped speaking simultaneously. A black light manifested around them, enveloping them before they vanished into the void.
The very next moment after their departure, a shade of true red emerged from the void. A massive dragon eye, filled with a bone-chilling coldness, scanned the insignificant, dust-like floating corpses around.
Looking on, it was a colossal creature that had suddenly manifested in the void.
Its form was the classic dragon of Western myth: body covered in rocky, crimson-red scales; a massive frame hundreds of meters long; two pairs of enormous wings capable of blotting out half the sky; and upon its raised head, a single horn resembling an emperor's crown.
The Guardian of the Dimensional Gap, the Red Dragon who presides over dreams and eternity, perpetually flying within the dimensional gap.
The dragon's icy, immensely oppressive gaze swept back and forth, searching for something. These corpses, not belonging to this world, had even lost their souls, making it impossible to read any information through them as a medium.
But that didn't mean the massive Red Dragon couldn't glean anything. The lingering auras were the best clues.
Great Red's cold, enormous dragon eyes flashed. An intangible wave of law rippled out. The floating corpses in the dimensional gap around it turned into illusory bubbles, their essential existence erased into nothingness.
"One after another... Quetzalcoatl and my old friend's daughter are one thing, but you insects dare to cross the boundary too!?"
Its maw full of sharp fangs parted slightly. Great Red's icy voice echoed through the space, carrying a sense of the illusory dreams of all living beings, uniformly expressing a certain wrath.
The massive dragon eye fixed on a direction. In an instant, Great Red's colossal form transformed into a dreamlike, ethereal phantom and vanished.
The dragon was following the traces to cause trouble for certain individuals. Did they truly think anyone could cross into this world without paying a price?
The dragons led by the Dragon of Demise were one thing; Great Red had good relations with him, so it didn't intercept Tohru's crossing.
Lucoa was an existence of the same tier from the spectating faction, so there was no need to worry about her causing trouble within the world.
As the Red Dragon embodying the law of dreams, Great Red bore the dreams and aspirations of the entire world—the collective willpower of all living beings. Its own power could be considered the sum of the entire world.
As long as Great Red existed near the main world, it would receive infinite power from this collective will.
If Great Red did not welcome Lucoa and prevented her from entering its main world, she truly could, relying on home-field advantage, stalemate with her until the end of time.
To disregard her, Great Red, and cross over privately with ill intentions—did they truly think the Red Dragon God Emperor had a good temper?
She wasn't like Ophis, that little fool who stayed in the dimensional gap all day doing nothing.
---
Back at Sobu High School, students who all thought they'd experienced an earthquake now had no classes. They could only move around in open areas and the playground for the time being.
After Raize's shadow clone checked on Mashiro and confirmed she was fine, it went to see how Shirogane was doing.
Due to the sudden 'earthquake,' Shirogane had emerged unscathed from the emergency evacuation, only twisting his ankle slightly.
After the events in the sky concluded, Raize walked over to Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri. Under the group's nervous gazes, he said expressionlessly:
"I assume you all saw that due to certain reasons, this city attracts hidden individuals who will launch sudden attacks like this. This time, the ones who came were from another world."
"Whether you choose to leave this place is up to you. But let me be blunt: if you dare bring trouble like what just happened here again, you won't need me to act. There are others who will eradicate you. Dragons won't listen to your explanations like I do."
"The only opportunity you'll have is to scream your last before them."
Upon hearing this, the expressions on the devil's faces varied. They had also seen parts of the battle within the mirror space in the sky.
Koneko and Issei secretly clenched their fists. Coming to this place filled with hidden strife, they deeply felt their own weakness.
Issei, who had recently become Rias's servant, felt the same. He wondered what would have happened if he had been caught in the battle in the sky earlier.
The answer was obvious: he would undoubtedly have died again.
After being killed b Yuuma last time and mysteriously reviving, he had become quite attached to his life.
But there was one thing he wanted to achieve: to help Rias break off her engagement. To put it bluntly, Issei coveted Rias's body.