In the outskirts of Kuoh Town stands a brand-new facility, a joint venture shared by the Three Great Powers. It was here that we gathered, joined now by Dulio, having rushed back from the field where we'd been speaking with Ajuka-san.
The room contained two medical beds. On them lay Diarmuid and Ophis, both hooked up to an array of monitoring equipment. Their clothes were little more than blood-stained rags. Asia stood between them, her hands glowing with the soft, golden light of Twilight Healing.
When we first arrived, the sight of them had been enough to make my stomach turn.
Diarmuid had arrived with one arm completely severed, her body a map of gouged flesh and deep lacerations. Ophis was no better; her limbs had been shattered, and her face was so badly bruised and swollen she was nearly unrecognizable.
How did this happen? It was Qlippoth.
Those bastards… they actually went after my mom and dad.
Azazel-sensei spoke, his expression grim and tight. "Issei, your parents are safe. They're sleeping in another room now; we had to give them a sedative to help them process the shock. When our scouts reached the scene, they found a literal mountain of Evil Dragon corpses. And this… was thrust into the ground at the center of it all."
Sensei held up a sword. It was a double-edged blade that shimmered with a cold, silvery light.
"The Magic Sword, Begallta. Its primary function is to manifest a powerful defensive barrier. This sword is what kept your parents alive. Even after Diarmuid was overwhelmed by their numbers, the barrier held firm. In fact, she set it so strongly that it effectively locked your parents inside—she probably knew they'd try to run out to help her if she didn't. Our recovery team had to pool their strength just to dismantle the ward."
I took the sword from him, my thumb tracing the flat of the blade.
Of course you did… I thought, my throat tightening. My parents would never have sat idly by while someone they considered a daughter was being torn apart in front of them. So, she trapped them. She made herself a wall that neither the dragons nor her own "parents" could cross.
"Diarmuid… you did all this for them? To the point of being broken like this…?"
Blood began to drip from my clenched fist. My nails bit deep into my palms, but the physical sting was nothing compared to the white-hot rage swirling in my chest.
Maurice-ossan turned to Sensei. "But I heard Diarmuid was found in that underground space? The kid there found her, didn't he?" He gestured toward Dulio.
It was true. Dulio was the one who had secured both Diarmuid and Ophis.
Under the weight of everyone's gaze, Dulio nodded. "I felt a strange disturbance and headed down there. When I arrived, the Evil Dragons were already fleeing. It seems Crom Cruach got there just a few moments before I did."
"..."
In the corner of the room, Crom Cruach leaned against the wall, silent and brooding.
Dulio continued. "Ophis was… she had collapsed, shielding the Spector Dragon egg with her own body. Diarmuid was there, too, tossed aside like a piece of trash. I imagine the dragons were spooked by Crom Cruach's sudden appearance and dropped her before they fled."
Sensei pulled a remote from his pocket and clicked a button. A monitor on the wall flickered to life, displaying recorded footage from the underground chamber. Because we were guarding a rare and precious egg for Tannin-ossan, we'd installed several hidden cameras to monitor the hatching process.
The footage began. We watched as a single Evil Dragon suddenly manifested in the chamber. Ophis stood to face it, but then… the violence began. It was a one-sided slaughter.
The dragon was a grotesque, serpentine horror with black scales. A foul liquid—half-saliva, half-venom—oozed from its mouth. It wore a hideous, mocking grin that made my skin crawl.
Rossweisse gasped, her face pale with revulsion. "The 'Abyssal Rage Dragon,' Nidhogg. He's a legendary Evil Dragon from Norse myth. He's famous for being incredibly difficult to kill—they say his malice is so persistent that he'll survive even Ragnarök. Records say he was last slain centuries ago. Did he revive on his own, or was it the Holy Grail?"
"The Grail, almost certainly," Azazel-sensei muttered. "And he's been reinforced by it, too."
On the screen, Nidhogg was relentlessly brutalizing Ophis. He struck her with massive claws, shredded her skin, and trampled her into the stone floor. He even sank his fangs into her small frame, shaking her like a doll.
Even in her current "limited" state, Ophis should have been able to repel an Evil Dragon of that caliber. So why wasn't she fighting back?
The answer appeared in Nidhogg's claws: a bloodied, unconscious Diarmuid.
Sensei's voice was bitter. "Their plan was to kidnap Issei's parents first and use them as leverage against Ophis. Diarmuid stopped that. She held off a literal army of mass-produced Grendels alone. We counted over a hundred corpses at the fishing spot. Protecting two people while fighting a hoard like that… even for a hero, it was too much. But…"
Sensei looked over at the bed where Diarmuid lay, his eyes softening.
"She did it. She protected Issei's parents until the very end. She's a hell of a warrior. The enemy realized they were running out of time, so they grabbed the broken Diarmuid and used her as a substitute hostage instead."
The video showed Nidhogg brandishing Diarmuid's limp body before Ophis. In response, Ophis immediately dropped her guard, standing still and stoically enduring the dragon's cruelty to ensure Diarmuid wasn't killed.
Ophis loved the people in our house. She rarely showed it on her face, but she was always there, tucked into a corner of the room just to be near us. And she felt the same way about Diarmuid.
She let herself be tortured… just to save Diarmuid…!
"They were after the egg, too," Rias whispered, her voice trembling with fury. "This is beyond despicable!"
The footage showed Nidhogg repeatedly feinting attacks toward the egg, forcing Ophis to throw herself in the way to act as a shield. Each time, Nidhogg would laugh and redouble his assault on her.
If she were still "Infinite," this would have been nothing. But now, she was "Finite." Even with her power, receiving such concentrated, unresisted violence had left her spirit and body shattered.
"But… how did they get in?" Griselda asked, her voice calm despite the tension. "That chamber was protected by a specialized barrier. Only authorized individuals should have been able to pass."
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