Chapter 26
"Let's go!" - Regular Speech
'Oppai!' - Thoughts
[BOOST!] - Sacred Gear/Ddraig Speech
"Um…best regards?" Issei bowed slightly towards the immensely powerful dragon that dwelled inside his left hand.
[Polite.] Ddraig remarked, [There is no need to be, however. I am linked to you by the communication line you set up, so I can see through your eyes and view your memories.]
The boy flushed in embarrassment.
[Hah! Now then, on to serious business…] the Welsh Dragon said solemnly, [These…Purifiers and the ratmen they have spawned. They are troublesome, but compared to some of the factions out there, they thus far seem to be barely worth the trouble to eliminate them.]
"So you haven't heard of them before?" Issei asked curiously.
[My last host was a man twenty years ago and at the time, he was in touch with more than a few unsavoury types in the supernatural crime world.] Ddraig replied as he flexed his wings idly, [I had never heard of these Purifiers then, so I suspect that either they were a Japanese creation and were unknown to me, as my last host kept to America and Europe, or they never existed until sometime after my last host died.]
"Huh." Issei looked thoughtful at that.
[The fact that they were planning on assailing the Gremory and Sitri Heiresses is troubling, as that would kick-start a war.] The gigantic red dragon stated, [Or rather re-start a war.]
"What…do you mean?" Issei asked nervously.
[I suppose I had better tell you.] Ddraig mused, [Millennia ago, the Great War of the Three Factions between the God of the Bible and his Angels, Azazel and his Fallen Angels and the Four Maō, led by Lucifer, and Devilkind was waged. The casualties were horrendous; a full half of the Devils died, as did more than a few Angels and Fallen Angels. That was when two foolish dragons, who were fighting each other, entered the battlefield and were hit in the crossfire. One of those dragons was me, while the other was Albion, the Vanishing Dragon.]
"The White Dragon Emperor." The human nodded in understanding.
[Yes. Sadly, we were both so wrapped up in our battle that we got very…angry when it seemed like someone was interfering in our fight.] If it was possible for a dragon longer than a 747 to be sheepish, then that was how Ddraig looked at that moment, [We roared 'how dare you interfere in our fight!' and started to tear into the armies of all three factions. This actually forced all three to set aside their differences and call a truce, as Albion and I are two of the Ten Strongest Beings in the world. We both fought hard and well, but against that number of foes, it was a forgone conclusion that we would lose. Once we did, the God of the Bible sealed our souls into the [Boosted Gear] and [Divine Dividing], sending us into the cycle of continuing our battle via using our wielders as proxies. After that, the war came to a halt for about a decade, barring minor skirmishes before renewing. After the Four Maō were slain in a coup by peace-seeking devils, a ceasefire was tacitly agreed upon by all three sides. No formal end to the hostilities has been declared.]
"So wait…you mean after who knows how long, they're still all technically at war?!" Issei sweatdropped at that, "What the heck?"
[There are many Fallen who cry out for vengeance for their dead comrades.] Ddraig explained, [Among the regular Angels, some are fanatics who desire the destruction of devils and their Fallen brethren. And there are those among devilkind, those who are either old and conservative or young and stupid, who wish to prove their race's superiority over the others. Should the Gremory and Sitri Heiresses die here, near where Fallen make their home, it will restart the Great War.]
"That…would be bad." Issei managed.
[That is putting it mildly, Partner.] The Red Dragon Emperor snorted, [This Rias Gremory is likely the younger sister to the new Lucifer, Sirzechs Gremory, and Sona Sitri is likely the younger sister of Serafall Sitri, the new Maō Leviathan. From what I have heard, they love their family tremendously, and would bring their wrath down on the people responsible for their sister's deaths. They are also said to be far more powerful than their predecessors, which is saying something.]
"Great." Issei said sarcastically, "And I assume from what you've been saying that the Fallen will be blamed if they die in a town that Devils and Fallen share, regardless of whether or not they had anything to do with it or not?"
[Just so.] Ddraig nodded his massive head, [The Three Factions are dry tinder; a single spark can set them alight. The ratmen in this city and their Purifier masters could act as such a spark. They must not be allowed to rekindle the flames of the Great War.]
"Well I was already going to fight the Purifiers because they might try to kill me, so this just ups the stakes." Issei sighed.
[Good. Now, on to your second Sacred Gear.] The red dragon said with narrowed eyes, [You do realise that it is very, very rare to receive one Sacred Gear, let alone one of the Thirteen Longinus?]
"The what now? That sounds familiar for some reason…"
[The thirteen most powerful Sacred Gears in existence are known as the Thirteen Longinus.] Ddraig explained, [The one I am sealed inside of, the [Boosted Gear], is a mid-tier Longinus, meaning it is dead in the middle, just as the [Divine Dividing] is. The others are the [True Longinus], [Zenith Tempest], [Annihilation Maker], [Dimension Lost], [Regulus Nemea], [Canis Lykaon], [Sephiroth Graal], [Incinerate Anthem], [Absolute Demise], [Innovate Clear] and [Telos Karma]. Each of the Sacred Gears allows the user to, under the best circumstances, kill a god.]
"Crap." Issei swore.
[The fact that you possess a second Sacred Gear is astonishing, as only a small handful have ever received two in the past, and even then, they were always low-level Sacred Gears, such as a [Twice Critical] and [Wind Fang].] The dragon continued, [Far more uncommon would be a rare Sacred Gear, such as [Blessing of the Priestess] or [Twilight Healing], being one of them. Possessing not only a Longinus but one of the [Gamer's Gears] as well means you are a frightening individual, Hyōdō Issei.]
"Wait, so you know about my [Gamer's Gear]?" the Sekiryūtei asked.
[Naturally. Where do you think the concept of an RPG came from?] Ddraig asked rhetorically, [The wielder of Gaia's Gamer's Gear helped to create tabletop RPG's over forty years ago. Tartarus' wielder even helped, which is astonishing. Those two get on much worse than Albion and I do.]
"So…Tartarus is in the orange one and I have Gaia in my one?" Issei asked, giving his right arm a dubious look.
[Imprisoning a Titan or Primordial takes the power of one or more of the most powerful of gods.] Ddraig disagreed, [Especially when it's Gaia, the ever-present and all-knowing Titaness of Earth and Tartarus, the personification of the deepest section of the Greek Underworld, we are talking about. No one knows where Gaia is; all we do know is she isn't locked up with the rest of the Titans. And Tartarus is bound to the location which takes his name. Not even the God of the Bible would have been able to defeat and imprison those two. No, they have some form of consciousness within them, but none of the wielders have ever talked about what they are like.]
"I haven't heard of anything from it." Issei remarked, "Game on!"
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