— — — — — —
"Did we fail?"
On a small hill ten kilometers from Hokyoji Temple on the outskirts of Kyoto, Indra let out a sigh.
Wrapped in a Greek invisibility cloak, he stared toward the distant city.
"The agreed time has passed. And Great Red never appeared. Our cooperation ends here." Beside him, Hades gave a cold snort.
Without even bothering to reclaim the divine artifact he had lent Indra, he prepared to teleport back to the Depths of Hell.
After the fall of Greece, the surviving second-generation Hades had been persuaded by Indra to join forces against the increasingly powerful three factions.
Capturing Samael had been their first joint operation.
Even the spell designed to control Samael had come from Hades.
But now that Great Red hadn't shown up, nobody could keep Ryo and Ophis occupied. There was no reason for Hades to stay.
"Wait."
The third person present, Rizevim, raised a finger to his lips.
A delighted smile spread across his face.
Moments later, ripples invisible to ordinary people spread through the air. But all three were among the world's most powerful supernatural beings. Naturally, they sensed the disturbance immediately.
"So it really came..." Hades murmured. "The legendary dragon beyond all dragons."
"Just his voice is enough to disrupt spatial order." Rizevim grinned wider, excitement shining in his eyes. "Now this is getting interesting."
Indra adjusted his round glasses and finally smiled. "Then let's continue observing as planned. Let's see exactly how large the gap between them really is."
...
..
Hokyoji Temple—
The sound of shattering glass echoed endlessly through the night.
Beneath the vast cracks spreading across the sky, Great Red slowly forced more and more of his enormous body into reality.
His gigantic dragon head lowered, his eyes fixed on Ophis.
Dressed in her black gothic dress, with black hair and black eyes, she looked up in silence.
Great Red had already asked once and received no answer.
Now he spoke again.
"Did I use the wrong language?"
He sounded genuinely puzzled.
Perhaps the Dragon Tongue he had spoken wasn't understood. After all, it was the language only used among ancient dragons.
"In that case... let's try Rune speech."
Switching to the universal language derived from Norse runes, he asked again, "Miss Elf, do we know each other?"
"Pfff—"
Ryo nearly burst out laughing and quickly turned his head away.
Ophis' expression finally changed. A slight ripple passed through her eyes.
Without a word, she leaped into the air. Her body transformed mid-flight.
A pitch-black dragon appeared in the sky. A dragon with neither horns nor legs. Its body was only a few meters long, yet it twisted into a looping symbol that resembled infinity itself.
"...!"
Great Red visibly froze.
Then realization dawned.
"Oh. So it's you."
For the first time, his voice carried a trace of embarrassment.
"I never imagined you'd take on the form of an elf and walk among the world of mortals." Having finally recognized her, Great Red sounded genuinely pleased. "So what did you need me for?"
In the air, Ophis returned to her human form. She was once again the emotionless girl in black.
Only now, her expression seemed even colder than before.
"To kill you. To return home. To reclaim the silence that belongs to me."
Great Red blinked.
"Silence? When did I take your Silence?"
"..."
The atmosphere instantly became awkward.
Because Ophis had once again lapsed into utter stillness.
Even Ryo started feeling concerned for her mental state.
To be fair, Great Red really was impressive. Not many people could infuriate Ophis this badly with only a few sentences.
That took talent.
"Did I ask something I shouldn't have?"
Even Great Red finally realized something was wrong. Or more specifically, that something was wrong with Ophis' mood.
Ophis took a deep breath. Then she turned toward Ryo.
Her eyes were slightly red.
Ryo paused. After thinking for a moment, he cautiously asked, "You want me to explain it?"
Ophis nodded hard.
Ryo couldn't help laughing.
He understood. She was completely done trying to communicate with this idiot.
"Fine. I'll help you out."
With a sigh, Ryo looked up at Great Red. "Red, from here on, I'll be speaking on Ophis' behalf."
Only then did Great Red look at him.
After a moment of silence, it spoke. "You smell of another world."
"You mean this?"
Ryo raised the hand that had touched the cross earlier.
"Not only that." The enormous golden eyes reflected Ryo's figure. "The power inside you does not belong to this world."
"Your disguise is excellent. Even standing before you, I couldn't immediately notice anything unusual. But unfortunately, your power gives you away. It is as deep as an abyss."
Great Red pushed more of his colossal body into reality.
Nearly half his form emerged from the dimensional crack.
His muscles tensed. His posture shifted into one prepared for battle.
"You are too strong. There cannot be someone like you in this world. Only another world could produce a being of your level."
"..."
Ryo scratched his head.
To be honest, he had no idea how Great Red had figured him out.
Still, that wasn't the important issue.
"That doesn't matter. The important thing right now is Ophis."
"It does matter." Great Red's voice became solemn. "Allowing a powerful outsider to enter this world is my failure."
"So?"
Ryo raised an eyebrow.
A playful smile tugged at his lips as he said, "You wanna fight?"
Great Red stared at him for a while before answering.
"Come to the Dimensional Gap with me. We'll fight there."
A being at their level could shatter planets if they fought seriously.
Great Red didn't know the terminology of four-digit beings, but it understood the reality well enough.
If someone like Ryo fought it at full strength here, this planet would probably cease to exist.
The Dimensional Gap would be a far safer battlefield.
"So you're saying we'll fight first and talk afterward?" Ryo rolled up his sleeves with a smile. "Then—"
Before he could finish, Ophis grabbed the corner of his clothes.
"No." Her voice was unusually firm. "The Dimensional Gap is my home. You can't fight there. If you are fighting, fight here."
Great Red lowered his head and frowned. "If we fight here, this precious living world will be destroyed."
Ophis' face darkened. "If you fight in the Dimensional Gap, my home will be destroyed."
She paused.
Her expression became terrifyingly cold. "If you insist on fighting... I'll destroy this planet."
Great Red's eyes widened.
Then it roared back, "If you make a move, I'll blow up your home!"
His immense crimson wings unfurled.
They stretched, covering Kyoto's night sky in scarlet shadows.
Dozens of meters apart, the two dragons glared at each other. Neither willing to back down.
After a long silence, Ryo looked from one to the other.
Then he turned to Ophis. "So? Want to fight? I'll beat him up for you."
Both Ophis and Great Red fell silent.
A few moments later, Ophis finally relented, "Let's talk."
"Agreed."
Great Red folded his wings and calmly nodded.
.
.
.