My dream…I also wanted you to see it, onee-sama…”
The sorrowful Sona Sitri wept without any of the visage that she normally had, but instead showed tears befitting a girl of her age. It was only natural. She was eighteen years old. As a Devil, she was still a child, and from now on, she would be waiting for an eternity without her ane, and a world without her ane. At the same time, standing beside her to comfort her, Rias Gremory was in the same situation. Her aniSirzechs had also departed for the Isolation Barrier Field—. No parting words could be conveyed either. Her ani was Lucifer. The King of Devils, Lucifer. So, in order to protect the Devils, he made up his mind to participate in the eternal battle against Trihexa. However—. Her ani…he was also a Gremory. He was originally a Gremory. Even if he was called a Super Devil, he was originally a Gremory. It’s just that he was a gentle and strong person. Yes, he was gentle and strong—. No, precisely because of this, Sirzechs had such determination. Precisely because of his gentleness and his strength, he departed for the sake of protecting everything. “…Onii-sama…you really are, hopelessly stupid…”
A stream of tears flowed down Rias’ cheeks as she conveyed her own thoughts—. Soon, it would be her high school graduation ceremony. …I am going to depart on a journey from there, and I originally hoped that you would see that moment…. This battle, and the scene before her eyes, it was something that Rias would not forget for the rest of her life—. I, Hyoudou Issei opened my eyes, and the first thing that I saw was — a white ceiling. I smelt a rather distinctive scent, and then finally understood that I was currently inside a hospital…. These unpleasant experiences have been increasing. When I moved my upper body to sit upright, a voice came from my side. It was actually Vali who was sitting on the chair beside the bed to accompany me. “It seems you finally woke up, Hyoudou Issei.”
“…No way, I never imagined that the first person I would see after waking up would be you.”
It wasn’t Rias, nor was it Asia, and neither was it any of my other nakama, it was the truly unexpected Vali. Vali smiled to himself bitterly. “After confirming that your condition was back to normal, the members of Team [DxD], of course that includes my team and the Gremory household, went off to deal with the aftermath of the battle. You and I were confined in here so that we could get some good rest.”
Oh, to allow me and Vali to rest? I remembered that while Vali went to Europe to stop Trihexa, I went to Japan to stop Trihexa…. “Yes, speaking of which, w-why am I okay…? I remember that because of the consequences of Dragon Deification, I should…”
I frantically touched every part of my body! That’s right! At that time, I already prepared myself for Dragon Deification…and I also fought together with Sirzechs-sama against Trihexa’s core! “Ah, speaking of that—”
Just as Vali was about to begin explaining, someone suddenly sprang out from under the bed and called out
“Ise, you woke up?”
With flowing long hair that was deep black in colour, it was an extraordinary beauty! She was wearing a black outfit, and her o-oppai were staggeringly large! Why was such a beautiful onee-san in this patient room!? “Are you awake? Are you awake?”
This time it was a relatively smaller girl who appeared from behind Vali. A girl who looked like and was formed from Ophis — Lilith! W-Was it okay for her to be in this patient room…? On that topic, when did she also come over here…. ……. …I then realised the change that had occurred within myself! —I was able to see oppai! Originally, due to the aftereffects of Dragon Deification, I couldn’t see oppai, let alone speak about them! Moreover, this was also the second time that I had used Dragon Deification, so it wouldn’t be surprising if I died straight afterwards! Even if I was saved and brought back, I should be suffering from the long-term side effects of it for the rest of my life! Upon seeing the puzzled expression on my face, Vali explained it to me
“You originally suffered from the burden and repercussions of Dragon Deification, but Ophis, who you borrowed that power from adjusted it. So this is what the result is.”
—Vali pointed to the black-haired beauty. The beauty tilted her head and said “I, Ophis? Ise doesn’t recognise?”…. …………. ……. …I temporarily stopped thinking…if I looked closely at this beauty…she did indeed have a resemblance to Ophis, perhaps if she grew up, this is what she would look like. No, having said that, would a Dragon God-sama grow up? No, let’s not talk about that first…. “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhh! ?”
I cried out in surprise! Although it wasn’t good to raise one’s voice in a hospital room, I couldn’t help crying out upon hearing that! Eeeeeeeehhh, Ophis actually became like this!? “O-O-OOOOOOOOOOOO-Ophis……is that really you?”
I pointed at the beauty with my finger — Ophis nodded her head slightly. It really was a gesture that only Ophis would do. Vali said
“Because you overused the power of Dragon Deification, your existence became ambiguous, and your life was also hanging by a thread — so ultimately, Ophis shouldered all of the aftereffects. As a result, this is the appearance that she now has. Moreover, it seems like she has almost become fixed into this woman’s body.”
…No way, Ophis took it for me…. Vali continued
“Lodged inside your body was the power of infinity, that is, the power of Dragon Deification, and even with the flesh of Great Red, you were originally a human, so it is impossible for you to withstand it. It was then that Ophis came to adjust it, no, it should be said that she received it on your behalf. She stabilised that power to a level that your body and mind could withstand.”
So that’s how it is. Originally, after suffering from the repercussions of Dragon Deification a second time, even if my body…was destroyed, it would not be surprising. “Well, I can’t use Dragon Deification again huh.”
“If you’re talking about the power output you had during the time when you fought against Rizevim or Trihexa, you won’t be able to use it again unless you become a god. Even my lifespan has been reduced by a lot. But, I also received a blessing from the Dragon God.”
Blessing? A question mark floated above my head. Ophis, who had turned into a beauty answered that question for me
“At that time, you awakened the armour with my power, and you can continue to use that form. But, its power has been decreased by a great extent. However, there is also room for improvement.”
Oh, so I can still change into that red and black streaked armour. However, it won’t have abilities of infinity, and its immense strength has also been decreased. But that is still enough. Even if that power has been reduced, it’s still incredibly strong. At the very least, it’s far above that of my [True Queen] form. And there’s also room for improvement. So it’ll be fine if I just do more training.