The Dragon Farmer: Chapter 19: Infinity (Patreon)

The Dragon Farmer

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 19: Infinity

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- Mathias -

I rushed towards the rampaging Shizuka who was currently being contained by Ingvild and met her head on. Lavy’s fight had concluded too and she was on the side, holding a barely alive Augusta. Shizuka’s power had been suppressed and mine was being boosted by Ingvild so it wasn’t hard to stop her.

Having already done this several times before, I pushed her down on the ground and got on top of her.

“Calm down, Shizuka.” I ordered.

What I received in the reply was a roar filled with pain and anger.

Stopping Dragons during an outrage was a nigh impossible task. Thankfully, we were fully equipped for that.

I used my Dragon Tamer skills and tried again but unlike the previous times, she just shook it off.

This time around, it wasn’t fear and betrayal but immense anger that was driving her.

It won’t work like this.

I had to subdue her completely to calm her down.

I held her down but she opened her mouth, ready to drown me in a torrent of flames. Right on time I held her mouth and pushed her face into the ground and used the Dream Magic on her directly.

Dream Magic’s main power was to enter the dreams of other people and during an outrage, a Dragon’s rational mind also enters a similar state.

Her dream world was like a scene straight out of hell. Fire burned on the ground and the skies were covered in smoke and ash. Meteors were crashing from the skies. It literally looked like the end of the world.

And in the middle of all this, I found her sitting in one place, her eyes dead as she looked straight ahead.

“Shizuka. Wake up. Snap out of it.” I reached her and shook her shoulders but got no response from her.

Just what in the seven heavens have those bastards done?

Not getting any response, I decided to follow Tia’s example and slapped her hard. She however just looked in my direction, eyes still dead as ever. It took her a moment to recognise me and then tears filled her eyes.

“What happened? What did they do, Shizuka?” I held her shoulder and asked. Her state was scaring me.

Shizuka was not the kind of girl to show these kinds of emotions to others.

“Dead… they are all dead…” Was all she was whispering.

“Who? Who is dead?” Is she talking about the Himejima people from the Utsusemi Agency? But I made it a point to not make her fight them and those people were trying to kill us.

I tried asking more but she was stuck on that so I decided to do something more.

Using Dream Magic, I dove into her thoughts. It was far harder than normal but her mind was hardly protected right now, making it easy to access.

The battle appeared a while ago and a few moments later I understood why she was like this… that bastard… those kids were all…

No wonder she had been reduced to this state… I quickly pulled her into a tight hug.

To some extent, all this was also my fault… could all this have been avoided if I hadn’t told Armin about Tobio and the other four?

I had already seen that things were already different in this world so who knows if things would have been as simple as the novels or things were going to shit either way… I didn’t know and I would never know for sure either.

“I… cannot do anything to bring them back, Shizuka but I promise you that I will help you get justice for every family member you lost today. So please… let it all out. I will accompany you here.”

The words seemed to have worked and she broke down in my arms and I couldn’t do anything other than hold her in my arms and let her cry it out. When she was done, she fell asleep in my arms and the surroundings calmed down too.

I left her mindscape and outside, her body was asleep too.

I looked up but to my surprise, Ingvild and Lavy stood behind us protectively.

“What’s going on here…?” I asked or rather started asking but swallowed my words as I saw a figure in the sky in front of us.

It was a cute young girl with long black hair down to her hips and black eyes. Her ears had pointed tips, although her long black hair makes this feature difficult to notice. Her dark grey eyes had reptilian slitted pupils.

A dragon…

In her hand, she was carrying Satanael, looking down on us… no, she was looking straight at Shizuka and me.

One Scan later, I got her identity and felt a shiver run down my spine. What the hell was she doing here?

Ophis [Rank S]

Then again, she was with the Chaos Brigade and Satanael, them using her snakes and all…

“Lavy, Ingvild, step back. She is not someone you can fight.” I ordered as I got in front of them.

We stared at each other, not knowing what to do before she broke the silence…

“Why do you smell like him?” She asked, her voice low and yet enough for everyone to hear.

“Huh?”

“Why do you two smell like him?”

“...” I didn’t know how to answer that. What was I even supposed to say? But she continued again.

“That girl… feels like his spawn…”

“She kinda is.”

“You?”

“I… guess you can call me his friend.”

“I don’t recognise you.”

“Neither do I. I believe this is the first time we have met.”

She just stared at me without saying anything and then nodded before raising her hand. Some of the survivors rose up from the frozen wreckage of the battlefield.

I however recognised the members of the Utsusemi Agency among them and almost reflexively punched in their direction , breaking her control and smacking their bodies to the ground.

She stopped and looked at me “Are you going to stop me from reclaiming my silence too?”

“I have no interest in your silence or you spat with him. But they… they have attacked my loved ones. They have taken the lives of those important to Shizuka here… and I am not going to forgive that. I can let you take back Satanael because he only attacked me… I can forgive him… but them… no way.”

She narrowed her eyes as her power rose but I was in no mood to back down either. Worst case, I will call Great Red and cash in on that favour but I will not let her take them away.

My aura rose in reply as I directly shifted to my Dragon From. At the same time, I summoned my Familiar.

With the barrier broken, Leafa could be summoned easily.

A ginormous magic circle lit up the whole place as a loud roar shook the entire area.

Leafa appeared below my feet, lifting us up. Her mountain sized body bringing us to Ophis’ eye level.

At the same time two familiar auras reached us, landing directly in between us.

“Tia, Crom.”

“Are you alright?” Tia asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Yes.”

She then turned towards Ophis, her face serious once more. “What are you doing here, Ophis?”

“Tiamat? You… have changed.”

“Yes. I suppose I have.” She replied and then turned towards me. “What is going on here?”

“Her people attacked us with the Church people… and you can see what happened. Now she is here to take them back after that. I can allow her to take Satanael but others… especially those Utsusemi Agency people… they stay. They crossed my bottom line… and they will pay.”

“You cannot stop me.” Ophis replied in an even tone, unbothered by the situation.

“That remains to be seen.”

“You are weak. You cannot defeat me.” She said, not a hint of taunting in her tone. She was speaking facts for that matter.

I gritted my teeth. The whole situation was already testing my patience and then the memories of Shizuka… I didn’t have the patience to deal with anyone right now… Dragon God or not. That said, there was someone else who was just as angry.

My Gourmet Demon roared in anger at the slight it had perceived from another Dragon… and I let it.

I had begun experimenting with my Gourmet Demon since the time Tia had told me about it. Its strength increased with the level of my Gourmet Cells which was far stronger than it was before.

My aura rose once more as my Gourmet Cells burst with energy powering me. The aura around me taking shape as the Dragon King Derous appeared once more.

This time however, the projection was far more stable. I was sure that as long as I got the A Ranked Gourmet Cells, I could start manifesting body parts of Derous too.

But even with just a solid projection, the fear of the apex predator was not something which could be hidden.

The reactions were obvious.

Ingvild and Lavy both became stiff with fear, their balance breakers fading away as they fell to their knees. Crom was the same but he was clawing his own hands to keep himself standing. I could even see Tia’s hands shaking a bit.

Ophis’ eyes widened.

“Maybe … but I won’t take it lying down either. I haven’t gone out of my way to interfere with you or your plans while your people attacked me out of nowhere. I am willing to let this go if you leave these people behind. Don’t… and you will be making an enemy out of me.”

We stared at each other before she reigned her aura.

“What is your name?” She asked.

“Mathias.” I replied.

“I will be watching you.”

With that, she tore a hole in the space and left with Satanael’s body.

- Euclid -

They raced towards the direction of the place where the signal of Mathias and his peerage was last detected.

Ajuka sent the signal and Sirzechs will arrive there directly.

No one knew what exactly had happened and the tracker had disappeared too. Right now all they could do was go there at their fastest speed. Tiamat and Crom had already flown ahead of everyone.

Just as they were reaching closer, they felt several enormous auras from the direction. Two of them belonged to Tiamat and Crom. It was however the third and fourth auras that surprised them. The third one was something on par with Crom, a Heavenly Dragon level entity… and for the life of him, he couldn’t identify who it was.

They paused in their way and looked at each other. The Archangels wonder about who the last one was while Serafall and him were thinking a completely different thing.

One of those auras seemed to be similar to Mathias’... but the power… that didn’t make any sense… just what in the seven heaven’s was happening there?

The worst part however was the last aura… which seemed to even dwarf these three. ”

Euclid knew from the previous location of the tracker that the place was hundreds of kilometres away and yet… they could feel the power from this far.

Right at that moment several magic circles appeared around them.

Sirzechs stepped out of the magic circle followed by his peerage, looking serious. “Serafall, Euclid… what is going on here…?” His words got stuck in his mouth as he sensed the power from that place…

“Who are they…? Just what is going on there?”

That kind of power… Euclid had never felt it in his life.

Michael seemed to have a realisation.

“Do you know what that is, Michael?” Serafall asked, noticing his stunned look.

“Yes… but… that can’t be right. It… it never interferes in the world. Why is it there?”

“Who?” Sirzechs asked. To be honest, Euclid had never seen the leader of the Archangels this… intimidated ever before.

They however soon understood the reason for his behaviour.

“Ophis.”

“What?!”

They were all stunned in place by the revelation.

They nodded at each other and were about to head straight towards that place but it was as if the surprises hadn’t ended.

Another aura appeared this time, the same as the largest aura. This one however felt wild… untamed power, something majestic and yet frightening, sending shivers down their spines.

These feelings were not illusions or pressure of magic but rather primal… As if their bodies refused to go forward, afraid to earn the ire of that majestic entity.

Sirzechs was the only one able to move but even he was having difficulty as the beads of sweat on his forehead told.

Ophis’ aura dispersed at that moment and the other one followed suit but even after that, they had to take a moment to regain their breath.

“What in father’s name was that?”

A stern expression appeared on Sirzechs’ face, one which reminded Euclid of the Sirzechs from the Civil Wars… “Let’s go.”

They raced towards the area and reached there a while later to the scene of utter devastation. Everything in the surroundings were either molten or frozen.

Just with a casual look, Euclid was able to identify the frozen statues of several people. The surprising one however was the broken and battered figures in front of the group standing there. Were those Fallen Angels?

Matty was sitting on the ground while Shizuka lay unconscious in front of them, being tended by Ingvild and Lavinia.

Tiamat and Crom had already left.

“Mathias!” They quickly went ahead and checked on the group. “What happened here?”

“We were betrayed by the Church. They were working with the Fallen Angels Satanael and Kokabiel. They also had the Utsusemi Agency and Wizards of Oz with them. They had set an ambush here with special barriers to block signals and teleportation. They even had some special barriers specifically designed to hunt Zagan Devils. It was a planned operation, something not done in a day. They also had the user of Incinerate Anthem and three of the five Divine Beasts belonging to the Shinto sealed in some kind of Sacred Gear… lastly, they all seemed to be powered by Ophis’ snakes, making them a lot stronger than normal. Their deal was to give… my body to Satanael for experimentation.”

“Are you sure it was the Church and not the rebel exorcists?” Micahel asked, looking around.

“Was Edward Christaldi a stray exorcist?” Matty asked, staring back at Michael.

“...No. But…”

“And yet, he stabbed Ingvild with an Excalibur Fragment. If she didn’t have something to heal her right then and there, it could have been dangerous for us.”

“Where is he… is he?” Michael asked.

Mathias pointed to the ground a distance away. “I think his ashes fell somewhere over there.”

Euclid as well as everyone who knew Mathias was taken aback by his statement. Anyone who knew Mathias well, knew one thing about him… Mathias Buné Zagan didn’t like killing. He was someone who had been able to look the killer of his parents in his eyes, be spat at by them and still retain his cool to not kill them. It was something which made Euclid both admire and terrified of the boy remembering what he had done to Naberius right after. Still, for him to speak like this… he must be really angry.

“And we are supposed to just take your word for it?” Uriel said, earning the glares of every Devil present there. “Do you have anything to prove your words?”

“Brother…” Gabriel was about to speak but was stopped by Uriel.

“No sister. Think of it carefully. If things were really as he says they were, then how did he survive? Do you think only these four can survive such an ambush, let alone uninjured? Such an ambush could have killed anyone of us, even multiple of us at the same time and they just got a few scratches? Are you telling me that we are to simply take their word for everything without even checking everything first?”

“You are speaking out of line, Uriel.” Sirzechs said, his voice showing his annoyance.

“Archangel Uriel.” Mathias stopped the man before anyone could say anything more.

“What?”

“Would you like to see how I was able to survive and remain uninjured? I can show you if you want to… it’s just that… you will die.”

“You!”

“But sure, let’s entertain your doubts.” he pointed to some rocks in the distance. “Kokabiel’s body must be somewhere there. I left him alive for such an occasion. Euclid, can you please bring him over? Don’t worry, he won’t resist?”

He shared a look with Sirzechs and went ahead. Sure enough, when close enough, he felt an aura nearby and removed a huge rock but was taken aback at the sight of the body under the rock.

The rock slipped from his hand and crashed onto Kokabiels… body once more before he hurriedly removed it and pulled the guy out.

Euclid checked his body and sure enough there were traces of Draconic energy in his body. In fact, the total energy in his body was almost reaching Serafall’s level.

Just what exactly happened here?

“Is there anyone else Mathias?” Sirzechs asked.

“Most were killed. Few from the Utsusemi Organisation are alive. Please don’t kill them. Those people… they don’t deserve an easy death.” Mathias requested, really angry this time.

Sirzechs nodded. “What of Satanael?”

“Sigh… he was taken by Ophis.”

“Ophis? How is Ophis involved in all of this?” Michael asked quickly.

“Ophis is working with them to reclaim her silence. Apparently Satanael promised her to drive Great Red away from the Dimensional Gap. Safe to say, she is being duped by them. But she did save his life.”

“What happened here? What exactly did it do?”

“Ophis… hah… can we talk about it later? I am a bit tired and my peerage members need rest too.” He said, although Euclid knew that he was trying not to say anything here. Even the girls looked a bit terrified.

Sirzechs noticed it too and nodded. “My apologies. Mcgreggor, Souji, take them back to the Underworld. We will handle everything here.”

“Euclid, you go with them too.” Serafall asked him and he agreed.

“Yes.”

- Mathias -

The first thing we did after reaching back home was let Shizuka rest.

Ingvild and Lavy went to get some rest too.

“We fucked up, didn’t we?” I asked when I was finally alone with Euclid.

“No. This was not your fault. You did your best. You went beyond what was expected of you and tried to do the right thing. Their failure is not and will never be your fault.”

I sighed as I fell back into my couch, closing my eyes.

Things had become too complicated too quickly.

“I really hoped things got better due to this meeting.”

“We all did, Matty. We all did. By the way, what exactly happened there after Ophis appeared. Who were the people who made it retreat?” He asked but I was not paying attention.

I suddenly remembered something and got up. “Ah, I need to talk to Rias and Latia. I didn’t tell them about this whole thing and they would be pretty mad if they found it out from somewhere else.”

“Oh yeah… you’d better do that fast.” Euclid’s lips twitched at my sudden reply.

“And… I will tell you all what happened together.”

“Okay.”

I quickly called Latia. She was doing some work of her own but said she will be there. She will be bringing Genbu Domon.

Rias was attending some classes.

I asked her to come here with Akeno too.

Then I called Armin and asked him to bring Tobio.

Shizuka would need her remaining family and friends.

With everything done, I waited for their arrival while thinking of what I could have done better today.

In the end I found out that there really wasn’t much better I could have done.

No matter what I did, people had to die. It was a matter of either them dying or us and I might not like killing but I wasn’t a fool who would let my own people die for that. They had attacked us first and they paid the price for it.

Even the one injury on our team was Ingvild and she recovered almost immediately. If not for the situation with Shizuka, today’s ambush would have been harmless.

And yet, things did go bad.

Ophis…

Why did Ophis come there?

She wasn’t someone to poke her nose in such matters…

And she recognised Shizuka’s and even my connection to Great Red.

What if that got found out by others?

I sat there thinking and finally decided to come out clean about some things with everyone. Leafa’s strength was unknown to almost everyone except Tia and Crom. Even Armin didn’t know.

They appeared around an hour later.

Rias was the first, followed by Latia and finally Armin.

“Matty, are you alright?” Was the first thing Armin asked as he entered.

“Well… yeah, I guess…?”

He then realised what he had asked and became quiet.

“So, what was so urgent that you called us immediately?” Latia asked.

“First sit. This is going to take a while.”

She looked at me weirdly but took the seat nonetheless.

“Around two weeks ago, I was approached by Rudiger Rosenkreutz via Serafall. He had a request for me.”

I started explaining the whole thing from the start.

“Did you know that his son is very sick and there is a low chance of him living through the next few years?”

“I have heard some rumours about him trying to find some type of cure for his son, although I am not aware of his exact illness.” Latia said. 

“Is he?” Rias looked worried. “I haven’t heard of it. What happened to him?”

“Well, he is a half devil and was born with a Sacred Gear… a holy type Sacred Gear to be precise.”

They winced at the information.

It was a painful thing.

Remove it and he dies, don’t remove it and he dies… painfully…

“The kid’s birthday was coming and he wanted something special. Safe to say, Rudiger was trying his best to get it done.”

“What did he want?”

“He wanted to meet someone he admired when he lived in the human world.”

“Who?”

“Dulio Gesualdo, the strongest Exorcist of Heaven.”

“What!?”

“But that’s…”

“Strange but hey, that was his wish. Rudiger, although doubtful, went ahead and asked Serafall who conveyed the message to Heaven.”

“They didn’t agree, did they?” Latia asked. “It would be impossible…”

“Actually, they did.”

“Eh?”

“However they had one condition of their own.” Euclid helped me out.

“What condition?”

“That Mathias has to meet the leaders of Heaven too. They heard about his special food products and life magic and wanted to meet him in person.”

“No way. It absolutely reeks of a trap.” Latia scoffed and I pinched myself to not wince.

“You are not going there, are you?” Rias asked, worried.

Man… this is exactly why I was avoiding telling them.

Armin on the other hand was quiet.

Thankfully Euclid lent me a hand here. “It’s not that simple.”

“Many factions are on the edge because of Mathias’ unique ability. They are worried that we will surpass everyone if given time. Especially the other two factions. If we didn’t calm them down, they could do something desperate and it could spark another Great War.”

“And the other houses would never let Matty live the fact down if an Exorcist came to the Underworld to help a half devil child, the son of such a prominent figure but Matty didn’t do anything. Even if Rudiger himself didn’t say anything, they would have dragged the matter out unnecessarily.”

“You don’t mean to send him there. This is obviously a trap. If they want to meet him so much, why can’t they come here?” Latia asked.

“There are many things involved in this matter that you all don’t understand right now.” Euclid tried to explain.

“What things? All I can see is them trying to get Mathias out of the Underworld by sacrificing an exorcist. They had done the same the last time with an Archangel to kill the first Zagan.” She argued back.

“Latia… we… the Satans are planning to sign a Peace Treaty between the Three Factions and end this state of cold war.” Euclid said, making her stop in between.

“But that’s…”

“What if they attack, Matty? You are not going to go, are you?” Rias asked, looking worriedly at me.

“Actually… I already did.”

“What!?”

…sigh.

“Dulio visited a week ago and I met him. He is a very nice person.” I explained. “I went there to meet Michael today. We obviously had protections. I took Ingvild, Shizuka and Lavinia with me. I had even asked Tia and a friend to stay on standby and keep a watch from a distance in case something bad happened. We had a tracker on us with Sirzechs’ and Falbium’s peerages minutes away to provide support to us. Moreover, Serafall and Euclid escorted us themselves.” I looked at the man who nodded.

“And?”

“Huh?”

Latia looked at me with her trademark piercing look. “And what happened there? You wouldn’t have called us like this if things had gone all well.”

“The matter was top secret. Very few people knew it was even going to happen.” Euclid added.

“What happened there, Matty?” She asked, completely ignoring his words and looking at me.

I let out a sigh.

“We were ambushed.” I replied and suddenly chaos erupted in the room.

“Are you alright?”

“What!?”

“Matty!”

“Alright calm down. I am fine. We are… okay.”

Safe to say, none of them calmed down.

It took me over fifteen minutes to reassure them that I was unhurt and then another thirty minutes to explain about the ambush.

“Those people… they used the kids as bait and attacked Shizuka, killing them and attacking her at the same time. She went into an outrage and is currently sleeping. Akeno, Tobio, could you two stay here for a while. She might need your support when she wakes up later.”

They both agreed and left the room.

I then looked at Latia who had been eerily quiet for a while. Her face had gone white when I brought up the ambush. But after verifying that I was alright, she had gone quiet completely.

“Umm, let’s take a small break. I will get something for everyone.”

“No, it’s fine…” Euclid and Armin tried to reject but I looked at Rias and Latia.

“Will you two help me carry things out?”

They nodded and followed me out.

We went to the kitchen and I put a ward around us with a twitch of my finger and looked at them.

Rias was still worried but Latia was angry.

Knowing her as well as I did, I could feel her anger.

“I… I am really sorry.”

“Why?”

“Hmm?”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I didn’t want to worry you two.”

“It’s our job, our right to worry about you, you moron!” She shouted, taking me by surprise. She almost never raised her voice like that. But before I could say anything, I noticed the tears in her eyes.

“Latia, I…”

“No. no just shut up. Just shut up for a while. I…” She stopped speaking as her voice broke into sobs.

I quickly went ahead and pulled her into a hug. She tried to break through but I kept holding. After a while she stopped struggling.

A while later, even Rias joined in the hug. After a while she spoke. “Promise me.”

“Hmm?”

“Promise me that you will never hide such things from us. I know I cannot always stop you from doing stupid things. I don’t want to be that kind of wife either and I know you hate that more than anything else but at least promise me that whenever you do such things, you will at least tell us beforehand.”

“I… I promise. Also, I am really sorry.” I apologised again.

“You could have died…” Her voice broke again and I felt the grip of the two girls tighten on me.

I pulled them both against my chest and hugged them closer.

“Actually… I could have taken them all on by myself.” I said after a while.

They looked at me, the deadpan on Latia’s face hurt.

“Matty, you are strong but they had a Longinus user and several Ultimate Class beings. Such an ambush… even the Satans would have had a hard time dealing with it.”

“....hmm, about that… you two have never seen me go all out, have you?” I asked.

“What?”

“Have you both seen me going all out in a fight?” I asked again.

“I have seen you spar against Armin…” Rias said, thinking for a moment.

“Yeah… that… no, that’s not even close.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Until now, there have been only two people who have pushed me to my brink. Tiamat and my new Rook. The only way Heaven had a chance of killing me… was if they had sent at least three of the four Archangels or beings of the same level together against me.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go. I think it’s better to clear some things up today.”

Tia’s advice was helpful and has no doubt kept me safe all this time. In fact, even today’s fight could have been different if the enemy knew about our exact power levels. They could have prepared different countermeasures against us.

There was also the thing about not spooking out the other houses of the Underworld as well as other factions but it was causing too much pain now… It’s better to get it off my chest, at least for those close to me.

They followed me.

- Latia -

She followed Matty who called Euclid, Armin and the rest of Mathias’ peerage except for Shizuka and directly took everyone to a different dimension which he had made for creating a new biome for his new farm.

“Why are we here, Matty?” Euclid asked.

“You wanted to know what happened there, right? Let me show you a part of it. Can you make a barrier around you all?”

“Barrier?”

“Hmm. Armin, you know what to do.” Armin nodded. 

“What is he up to?” Euclid asked Armin who was looking silently in the distance.

“Keep looking. You will know.”

And they did just that.

Mathias walked a few hundred metres away from them and then waved at them.

Euclid and Armin both made several barriers around them while the rest of his peerage members looked confused and then they sensed his demonic power flaring.

It began rising.

She had seen many strong people in the Underworld, mostly in the Rating Games so she had an idea of what to expect…or so she thought…

His power kept rising, reaching the levels of Ultimate Class but not stopping or even slowing down in the slightest.

A few moments later, the dimension started shaking as the air got heavier with demonic power.

“This… what is happening here?” Gasper looked around, looking terrified.

“Calm down, Gaspy. It’s Matty. He won’t hurt you.” Armin said looking calmer but she could see the look of surprise in his eyes too.

The power however kept rising as the dimension’s shaking got more and more and now they could feel his demonic power pressing down on them and the pressure kept getting heavier.

“Use your demonic power to reinforce yourself.” Armin advised without breaking looking their way.

The power stopped rising finally and when it did she found herself unable to speak anymore. Her breathing got heavier.

Gasper, Valerie, Rias and Natsume were having a much harder time.

“This is… this is insane. Just how much power was he holding back?” Euclid said, looking stunned. “This is… beyond even Serafall…”

“What?!” All of them turned towards Serafall Leviathan’s Queen who was looking at Mathias with a flabbergasted look.

Their surprise however didn’t end there as a roar erupted from Mathias and the power started rising again. This time however they could see his body becoming larger and changing into a… draconic looking from.

The Buné Trait of Dragonification.

Moments later, a huge dragon stood in front of them. He had red scales with golden highlights at the joints. He roared loudly as the ground around him cracked and they had to grit their teeth to stand straight in its presence.

“This is absurd.” Euclid shook his head in disbelief. “It’s… on… the level…”

They looked as Matty turned to the side and breathed flames towards the end of the dimension.

Euclid’s face turned pale as both Armin and he pushed their barriers even further. They looked in horror as the place which was hit by his dragon flames erupted as if it was the end of the world.

The shockwave smacked against the barriers of Armin and Euclid, breaking several of them before stopping finally…

Mathias then turned towards them and his figure began to shrink once more until he was back in his normal form and walked back towards them.

He stood in front of them and looked at them. He seemed almost pained as he did so but took a deep breath before speaking. “I went there… because I was confident in my strength. If I wasn’t worried about the surroundings, I could have reduced the entire country and maybe even some of the surrounding ones to ashes. Not to mention, I had Ingvild, Lavy and Shizuka with me and Tia, Crom and Leafa as a backup. The latter three are stronger than me. I know how sad you all would be if something happened to me… that’s why I don’t risk my life unnecessarily.”

“Why… did you hide this… your power?” She asked.

“Do you know the difference between the strong and monsters?”

“Eh?”

“The strong can make people admire and look up to them, aspire to be like them… but monsters… they are different. They only make you feel despair. Just their presence can make people shiver… I don’t want my loved ones to be afraid of me.”

“I am not…”

“Your hands.”

“Huh?”

“Your hands are shaking.” He looked at her hands, making her turn towards them.

Her eyes widened as she looked at her own hands, shaking. She tried to stop them but the shivering continued.

“Matty, I…” She looked at him with a horrified look.

He had a pained smile on his face. “I am someone who can fight Heavenly Dragons to a standstill, Latia. Two of them could fight all three factions. This reaction of yours… it’s natural. There is nothing wrong with it. You don’t need to feel bad.”

“I…” She tried to say something but found herself at a loss of words.

“We have all had a long day today. So, let’s call it a day today. We can talk again tomorrow.” He smiled again but she noticed that this smile was not like his usual carefree one.

He didn’t wait for anyone and left.

Latia suddenly felt her as if someone had crushed her heart.

- Serafall -

Calling the situation a nightmare would be underselling it.

She knew things were going to get bad. Everyone had doubts that this might be an elaborate trap of some kind to kill Mathias and yet… yet they wanted to use this chance to ease the rising tensions between the three factions due to the reveal of Mathias’ food products.

Not only the three factions but even the other factions were suddenly watching them and smuggling his products to test them for themselves. His products were a boon for the Devil race but this very boon could turn into a terrifying curse if not handled properly. That’s why they wanted at least the three factions to present a solid front to deter anyone who might be thinking of making any moves.

Maybe even use it to work towards a Peace Treaty down the line. They were all tired of the constant wars and they didn’t want the younger generation to experience the same struggles. And yet… their worst fears had come true.

Well, perhaps not the worst fears. That would have been the case where something actually happened to Mathias.

They would be going to war right about now. Thankfully, nothing of that sort happened and the kids were all safe and sound.

But the current situation wasn’t much better either.

The tensions between Heaven and the Underworld had gone from relatively calm to shit in less than a day. Falbium was organising the defences and armies of the Underworld against any surprise attacks and she was sure Heaven was also doing the same.

Several factions were shaken by the auras they had felt in the human world and on guard for sudden attacks.

The prisoners were taken and were being interrogated for information and they had gotten bits and pieces from them. Those people were not in a state to be interrogated. Mathias had done a serious number on them.

Kokabiel was for all matters and purposes, a cripple now and as for the Utsusemi Agency and Wizards of Oz… they were currently locked as per Mathias’ request. She had already called Azazel and asked him to come to a meeting of the leaders of the Three Factions.

Kokabiel’s action was a surprise for everyone, even Azazel… or at least he said that. Not that such an excuse will cut it since he was working with Satanael, a known traitor of the Grigori and they even had the criminals of the Shinto with them. Ughh… now those stuck up Gods will be poking their nose here too,

Michael and Gabriel will be attending from Heaven’s side. Uriel was sent out because of his previous behaviour. Sirzechs retained his anger well but made it clear that he didn’t want him anywhere near the meeting.

As she finished her call, Falbium entered the room followed by Sirzechs and Ajuka.

“How is it?” She asked.

“Not good. Ophis’ appearance has spooked many people. We were on the borders of the Norse so even they wanted to know what’s going on. Vidar was there with a regiment of his own. Odin has sent a message that he wants an explanation for the destruction near their borders.”

“Hah… what of the Shinto?”

“They haven’t found out anything about the involvement of the Utsusemi Agency. But it won’t be long before they do and we will have them knocking on the door.”

At this time Euclid also entered the office.

She nodded towards him and looked at the rest. “Did you at least get anything out of those people?”

“It’s as Mathias had said. They were there to kill him and get his body. They were planning to find more about the Zagan Life Magic and his new products through research in his bloodline.Kokabiel and the Church just wanted him dead and had offered the Excalibur Fragments and some research data to them in exchange for helping out. It seems the plan was originally initiated by the Church.”

“Those fools...”

“We also found the artifacts used by the Utsusemi Agency members. They looked to be artificially made Sacred Gears and they contain the spirits of the Divine Beasts stolen from the Shinto. Expect a call from them soon.” Ajuka added.

“Just my luck. So, what do we do about those artifacts?”

“We will have to return those to not cause problems at such a time… but it cannot be for free. Our people risked their lives to get them. They cannot just walk over here and expect us to return them without proper compensation or other factions might take it for a sign of weakness. We cannot afford to show any weakness at such times.”

“By the way, were any of you able to contact Tiamat? And while I can understand her intervening, just how in the world did Crom Crauch get involved in all of this? No one even knew where that Evil Dragon was for the past several centuries. Not to mention their power… that was way beyond anything in the Dragon King level. I haven’t seen Heavenly Dragons in their prime but I doubt they were far off from them. Both of them were as strong or stronger than you both and Tiamat… how did she get the Annihilation Maker. A Heavenly Dragon with a Longinus capable of destroying the world… Michael was very right to feel worried. Even I was terrified at the thought of facing her.”

“She received the call and said that she called in some favours but refused to elaborate on that.” Ajuka replied. She could sense that he was not pleased to be in the unknown.

“Her favours were able to summon beings on the level of the Heavenly Dragons and even someone capable of making Ophis back off. Be glad she was on our side this time. Any ideas who the other people were? Did Mathias say anything?” She asked.

“We haven’t talked to him yet. They wanted some time to recover. Shizuka Himejima was unconscious and they wanted to get her treated first.” Sirzechs replied.

“Actually…” Euclid opened his mouth but paused.

“Hmm?”

“I know this might sound crazy but…”

“What is it, Euclid? You have been awfully quiet since you came back.” Sirzechs asked too.

“One of those auras back there… it belonged to… Mathias.”

“Eh?”

- Venelana Gremory -

She looked worriedly at her daughter. She had been crying since she came back from Mathias’ farm.

Venelana was confused and wanted to call Mathias but was stopped by Rias. “It’s not his fault.” Rias said.

Akeno was the only one who had accompanied her there but she stayed there for some reason so she couldn’t ask her.

Confused about everything, she called Leila and found that Latia was in the same state, having shut herself in her room.

She asked Leila to bring her to the Gremory mansion where they can talk things out.

They arrived there quarter of an hour later and Venelana saw the red in Latia’s eyes, the obvious signs of crying.

“Okay, just what happened there? Why are you all in such a state? Is everything alright?” She asked.

They didn’t say anything, making her have a headache.

“Well, if you don’t want to speak, then I can only go and ask Mathais.”

“No!”

“Don’t call him.”

Both the girls stopped her.

“Then speak up. What’s the matter? Did you have a fight with him?”

“I…”

“It’s…”

“Will you both speak or should I call him?”

They winced but started speaking nonetheless.

They told them about the deal with Rudiger Rosenkreutz and about Heaven’s demand in return.

“That’s dumb. Those people couldn’t possibly think we would accept such a condition. It’s an obvious trap.” Leila rolled her eyes and then suddenly paused. “Don’t tell me that that idiot actually accepted it…”

Latia nodded. “Today was the meeting… and they were ambushed.”

Venelana felt her heart skip a beat. “Is he… is he alright?” She asked, worried.

They nodded.

“So… you had a fight with him for hiding this?” Leila asked.

Latia nodded.

“That’s… well, that’s understandable. There is no need to cry over it. Every couple has their fights. It would be odd if you didn’t have any.”

“Obviously dear. People have their own personalities. Fights are bound to happen when there are differences. I am sure, he must have his reasons for hiding everything from you too. Did you talk to him?”

“Hmm… we made up but…”

“But what?”

The girls paused and it took them some more prodding to make them speak again. It was only then that they understood the actual reason behind their tears.

Mathias… that boy… they had known he was strong, perhaps someone like Sirzechs and Ajuka but none of them had realised that he had already reached such a frightening level.

Even Leila was shocked at the whole reveal.

“He… he said he didn’t tell anyone about his power because he thought we would be afraid of him and… he was right. I… my hands… my hands were shaking. I couldn’t control them…” Latia broke down once more, making Leila pull the girl into a hug.

That kind of reason… it was just like Mathias.

When thinking about it, it was understandable too.

He had been alone for years and finally got to make some friends, got engaged and fell in love with these two… he would be apprehensive about showing them that side of him too.

She looked at Leila and saw the look of understanding in her eyes too. After all, both Leila and her had to deal with Sirzechs and Ajuka, two people in similar situations.

“He wasn’t wrong, you know. There is a difference between the strong and monsters… Mathias’ words are absolutely true.” She began making them look at her even more hurt but she continued. They needed to hear this if they wanted to go into a relationship with someone like Mathias. “In fact, I know of two more people who have been in a similar situation. Their thoughts were very similar too.”

“Who?” Rias asked.

“Sirzechs and Ajuka.”

“Eh?”

Sirzechs had dealt with similar thoughts about his True Form until he met Elsa. She will have to ask him to go and talk to Mathias when he is free.

“Do you know why Sirzechs is called the strongest Devil alive?” She asked.

“Because he is the Lucifer right?”

“Well, he is the Lucifer because he is the strongest. Not the other way around. Most of the younger generation don’t know about this and the ones who fought in the Civil War never speak of this but I guess it’s time that you should know this seeing as you are facing a similar situation. Sirzechs… always keeps ninety percent of his power sealed away.”

“Huh?”

“The power you see him exhibiting, that’s just a tenth of what he is truly capable of. When he releases his full power, it can cause the entire Underworld to shake. In that form, he loses all control over his Power of Destruction and turns into a mass of Destruction himself… destroying everything in his path indiscriminately. It’s terrifying. It’s something which makes his enemies lose all their will to fight him once they witness that form of his. It’s not even just fear but rather an instinctive reaction of their mind in front of overwhelming power.”

She looked at the look of horror on their faces.

“And Sirzechs, just like Mathias, doesn’t want to see that look on the faces of his loved ones when they are near him. Your reactions… they were not unusual. It’s natural.” She reassured the two.

“But…”

“What you should concentrate on is not on that but rather on whether you like him despite of that?”

“I do.” Was the answer from both of them.

“Do you think he would harm you?”

“Matty would never do that.”

“Exactly. So go and talk to him. Matty is a very understanding and mature kid. He wouldn’t mind it.”

“But he… he was hurt.”

“Then go and make up for it.”

“Yes. He needs you two more than ever. Sirzechs and Ajuka had us but Matty is there alone. Go to him.”

“Hmm.”

The two girls got up and got ready to leave.

“Oh and wash your faces before you leave. You both look like a mess.”

…

When they left she looked at Leila and summoned a drink.

“Would you like some?” 

“Yes. I think I wouldn’t mind a glass right about now.” Leila summoned two glasses.

She poured two glasses and picked one.

“Kids… they grow up so fast, don’t they?”

“Yes… yes, they do.”

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Author’s Note:

I am finally done with this chapter.

Too much work this week.

Anyways, several things happened.

A wild Ophis appeared.

I know many were waiting for the reactions in this chapter but this was something I had in mind for a while and wanted to deal with first.

Sirzechs’ true form had terrified even Hades and the Heavenly Dragons were even stronger. Someone of that level would scare the crap out of normal devils, maybe even traumatise them.

We always read high class, ultimate class and take it so casually. But when thinking about it from a realistic point of view… It's freaking terrifying.

I just wanted this to be addressed somewhere. Matty is always so easy going that people don’t even realise how freaking busted he is and this chapter. I mean, in a way those girls are sleeping with someone who can wipe of continents. The realisation of that was something I wanted to show here. It was a moment of character building and relationship building for them.

As for the reactions, we will see that in the next chapter.

Enjoy the new chapter.

Good Day, Peace Out.