KRAAAK—!
A sound like shattering giant glass thundered, though only audible to their sensitive spiritual senses. The domain of absolute silence created by Issei—the zone where color, sound, and even the laws of magic were erased—suddenly cracked and collapsed.
As if a gray curtain enveloping the world was forcibly pulled away. Colors exploded back into perception: the green of trees, the red of church bricks, the blue of the night sky. Sound flowed back—the hiss of wind, the rustle of leaves, and the ragged breaths of the survivors. Ether Flow, the world's foundational magical energy current, flooded back into the area like a tidal wave, feeling almost intoxicating after being completely isolated.
At the very center where the Domain was focused, Issei's body fell helplessly to the ground, like a doll with its strings cut. The Void Gauntlet on his right hand still emitted fading remnants of glowing red runes.
Great Red, the Red Dragon that Inhabits the Dimensional Gap, immediately withdrew all his Dragon pressure that had previously filled the air. His usually authoritative face still looked annoyed, but more controlled. He glanced at Issei's unconscious body, then turned to Tiamat.
"Take care of him," he ordered, brief and firm.
Tiamat snorted loudly, the scales on her body creaking. "Who are you to order me around?" she challenged, yet there was a hint of anxiety beneath her annoyed tone. She wasn't used to being commanded.
Great Red ignored her protest. He had already shifted his attention to Ophis, who stood not far away with her usual flat expression. Great Red's voice this time sounded calmer, but contained the deep weight of a warning.
"Don't attract the attention of the Outer Gods," he whispered, yet his words resonated clearly between them.
"Especially Nyarlathotep. I hate that being." He looked around, as if gazing at the boundaries of the world. "This world is still busy with the wars of petty races, busy forgetting the sealed Trihexa... yet out there, across the multiverse, many Conceptual Entities roam."
He paused for a moment, his glowing red eyes staring sharply at a point in the sky only he could see.
"Especially the world of Evie Etoulde. The Evies race." His voice grew even lower, full of wariness. "I am preparing my strength. If they ever attack this world... it won't be a racial war anymore. It will be an extermination."
Ophis, who was usually just silent, nodded slowly. "I know. They... are annoying. Especially Evies."
Tiamat, listening seriously now, couldn't hold back her curiosity. "What is Evie Etoulde? And the Evies race?"
Great Red sighed, as if bearing the burden of heavy knowledge. "The Evies race is a race of mechanical humanoids. The spirit of war and cold logic is embedded in the structure of their existence. The Etoulde race is a race of pure spirits, think of them like high-level Nature Spirits that have evolved. Those two races have been fighting for eons, and now only one planet remains as their final battlefield."
He looked at Tiamat. "I am trying to close the 'door' to that world. Their power... far exceeds your estimation. Far above anything in this world."
Then, his gaze returned to the unconscious Issei. He pointed a finger towards the teenager. "You'd better train him harder. This world will not be ready to face Trihexa, let alone face the Evies and Etouldes races." His words were like a hammer hitting reality.
After delivering that warning, Great Red's body began to fade, breaking apart into red particles of light that scattered and disappeared into the folds of dimensions, returning to his home in the Dimensional Gap. His departure left a heavy silence, filled with the terrifying truth he had just revealed.
Tiamat fell silent, processing the information. The multiverse was real—she had suspected it since her conversation with Issei. But knowing there were warring races out there so powerful they made Great Red wary... that was an entirely new level of threat.
Michael, the Leader of the Angels, and Dulio Gesualdo, the Church's strongest Sacred Gear user, approached cautiously. Michael's face was full of questions and a desire to understand, but also cloaked in caution after witnessing events beyond reason.
"Can... you explain what just happened?" asked Michael, his voice calm yet full of authority. "And why did Great Red descend to the underworld here?"
Tiamat, her mind still filled with Great Red's warning, turned to him with an indifferent air. "I don't know more than what you witnessed," she answered curtly.
She then pointed towards Irina and Asia who were still unconscious. "Better check on those girls."
Michael took a deep sigh, understanding he wouldn't get a direct answer from the Oldest Dragon. He nodded and focused his attention on those in need.
Not far from the main site of the incident, Xenovia was still crouched, her hands gripping her Excalibur sword tightly and pressing against her own chest.
This was the second time in a short span she had felt the lethal pressure of the Supreme Dragons—first from Tiamat, and now from all four at once. However, in her sharp brown eyes, there was no fear. What was there was admiration and gratitude.
She had witnessed Issei, even when cornered, trying to protect them with his strange Domain. It wasn't a selfless power, but an instinctive act of protection.
Griselda Quarta, her Guardian, approached and smiled faintly, though her eyes remained wary. "You're lucky not to be dead, Xenovia. I can't imagine if we had arrived later and the clash of dragon pressure had lasted longer."
Xenovia lifted her face, her gaze firm. "I know," she said, her voice slightly hoarse. "I thought this was just a regular Excalibur fragment search. But instead... Great Red himself came."
Vasco Strada, the Saintly Protector, had checked Irina and Asia's condition. Both were still unconscious, but their breathing was stable—more from shock and spiritual exhaustion than physical injury.
"Griselda," Vasco called, his voice heavy. "We should take them to a safe place first."
Xenovia, hearing that, immediately interjected. "Just take them to Issei's house."
Vasco and Griselda exchanged looks, slightly surprised by the suggestion. "You mean, the house of that boy who fainted?" Vasco asked, pointing towards Issei who was being lifted by Tiamat.
Xenovia nodded firmly. "Yes. There... it's safe."
Her reasoning was simple: Issei's house had become a strange 'neutral zone' inhabited by several Supreme Dragons. After witnessing firsthand how powerful the external pressure was, that house might actually be the most protected place in the city right now—a strange paradox.
Ophis, who had been standing still observing, suddenly vanished without a sound, most likely returning directly to Issei's house using her ability.
Dulio Gesualdo was still standing in place, his eyes full of curiosity fixed on the Void Gauntlet on the unconscious Issei's hand. Its red runes had faded, but the impression of 'alienness' and 'rejection' emitted by the artifact was still faintly felt.
Meanwhile, Tiamat easily lifted Issei's unconscious body. Though she looked annoyed, her movements were careful. Michael, seeing there was nothing more to be done or asked, gestured to Vasco and Griselda.
"Very well," Michael said, his voice soft yet firm. "We will follow Xenovia-san's suggestion. Take the wounded to... Issei-kun's house. We need to ensure their safety, and perhaps... we can get an explanation when everything has stabilized."
With the help of basic healing magic from Michael and Dulio, Irina and Asia were carried steadily. Xenovia walked beside them, while Vasco and Griselda guarded the front and rear.
Tiamat, carrying Issei, led the way with determined steps towards the Hyoudou house. The sky above Kuoh slowly returned to normal, the gathered black clouds gradually dissipating. However, the silence of that night was no longer peaceful. It was replaced by a deep vibration of tension—the vibration from the meeting of legends, warnings of greater threats, and the reality that an ordinary teenager, now a Dragon, had become the center of it all.
The journey home under the moonlight was made in silence, each carrying their own thoughts about the future of a world that suddenly felt very fragile and full of shadows from beyond the stars.