"Sera... don't bite my ear."
"Mmn? Nom nom..."
Is she marking her territory or something?
The sensation of her nibbling on my earlobe gave me goosebumps.
I frowned at the ticklish yet odd feeling, but Sera clung to me even tighter, paying no heed to my discomfort.
It was then.
Ophis stopped.
"We are here."
Simultaneously with her words, the surrounding scenery changed.
No, it was a space where the word "scenery" hardly applied.
A chaotic space where colorful energies flowed like rivers and the boundary between reality and unreality collapsed.
And there, it existed.
"Ohh..."
An exclamation escaped my lips involuntarily.
I felt Sera gasp behind me as well.
Is that Great Red?
The Red Dragon of the Apocalypse.
The apex and strongest entity in the High School DxD universe.
The embodiment of dreams (illusion).
Just looking at him, I could feel waves of power that made my flesh tremble.
It wasn't simply a matter of being strong.
His very existence was a world, a law unto itself.
Just by existing, the surrounding space-time shimmered and distorted like a dream.
His size isn't as big as I thought...
Is he a bit smaller than my dragon form?
No, the concept of size itself was meaningless for that thing.
Every time I looked, his size seemed to change.
One moment he looked colossal, the next he felt incredibly small.
"Well then, as a greeting."
I set Sera down from my back.
And I released all the power within me.
Crack—! Cr-r-rack—!
My human form collapsed, transforming into a chaotic dragon of mixed light and darkness.
The power I had learned to control perfectly over tens of thousands of years of training roared, demanding to be unleashed.
"Grrrrrrrr..."
I opened my jaws.
The power of countless souls I had devoured, Light Power and Demonic Power—all those contradictory energies condensed into a singularity before my maw.
A perfectly controlled chaos, on a different dimension from before.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM──────!
A breath containing my everything was fired toward Great Red.
The beam of destruction, cleaving through the Dimensional Gap, scattered futilely.
"...Wow, not even a scratch."
Returning to my human form, I muttered dejectedly.
It was an attack close to my ultimate move, after all.
To be precise, it was closer to vanishing before it even hit.
The moment the breath touched his body, it passed right through like a mirage and disappeared into the void beyond.
I see. So that is the Dream (Illusion).
The ability to dismiss my attack as a mere dream and ignore it.
Absurd.
I thought Ddraig's boost and Albion's divide were ridiculous, but this guy has an ability on a completely different dimension.
At that moment, a voice resonated directly in my head.
[Soul from another world, why did you attack me?]
"I'm honored... for the Dragon God of Dreams to speak to me first. There's no special reason for the attack. Just because of a contract with Ophis over there. I agreed to chase you out of here."
[Go back. Even if you and Ophis attack together, you cannot defeat me.]
"Wait, aren't you and Ophis basically on equal footing? Then if I add my strength, shouldn't there be some chance of winning?"
[Impossible. Between Ophis's Infinity and my Dreams, the compatibility ensures my victory. Even if you intervene, you cannot pierce my Dreams. ...Though if the new Albion beside you joins in, there might be a possibility.]
Great Red's gaze turned toward Sera.
I see. So if Sera joins, there is a chance.
[Rather, I will make a proposal. I will share my power with you. With that power, protect this world as well.]
"...Ha? Don't make me laugh. Why should I?"
A sneer burst out involuntarily.
I don't have even a speck of a reason to protect this damn world.
[I will not interfere with whatever you do within this world. Rather, an alliance with me would be more beneficial to you.]
"..."
That is true.
Leaving aside the non-interference since he usually doesn't interfere anyway, an alliance with him is an opportunity to reduce numerous variables.
Ophis seems manageable with some smooth talking, and with Great Red too... it's a golden opportunity to remove two Dragon Gods from my list of threats.
If that happens, the only remaining threats to me would be the Evil Dragons, but as long as I hold the Grail, there won't be a new user to revive them.
So that's solved too.
"Fine, it's certainly not a bad deal. But I need to hear why someone as strong as you needs my power."
[Someday, beings from another world will come to invade this world. And undoubtedly, those beings will be stronger than the me of now.]
...Ah.
Come to think of it, there was something like that in the original story.
It's been so long since I reincarnated that I've forgotten parts of the original plot, but thinking back, there was something about Mechanical Gods or whatever invading and killing Great Red.
"In that case, let's make a deal."
[I am glad you understand. Here is the power I promised.]
A single scale detached from Great Red's massive body.
The crimson scale glowed in the air, then transformed into a small dragon and flew toward me.
[I would recommend absorbing it if possible.]
"Pass. I can grow stronger on my own as much as I want."
But opportunities to create strong subordinates are rare.
My gaze turned toward the space where I kept Ddraig's heart.
"Tilt? Red, not catching?"
Ophis, who had approached unnoticed, asked discontentedly.
"That's how it turned out, Ophis. Instead of fighting, how about I bring you 'Silence'? This will be more helpful for you to get a quiet space to rest."
"Silence? Then good."
She's so simple, I love it.