It would be helpful to have Sairaorg-san and Dulio in this battle against Thanatos, but they were unable to immediately rush over, so Ravel requested support from the various factions. …If those two arrive, this battle will be much easier…I wonder if they can make it in time? They’re already busy enough trying to deal with the riots caused by the mystery Devils in their territories…. I equipped my crimson armour, and after waiting for a while — a transportation magic circle appeared before me. The one who emerged from the magic circle was a Grim Reaper with a tremendous aura, and an exquisitely decorated cloak. The Grim Reaper — Thanatos looked around at his surroundings whilst wearing his skull mask, and then directed his eyes back towards me again. <<A forced transfer…. Indeed, I heard that the same thing happened to Loki. It’s quite a clever technique.>>
A scythe appeared in Thanatos’ hand. Its blade exuded a potent aura—. I calmly asked
“Why are you doing something like this?”
<<The reason — there is more than one.>>
Thanatos gradually shortened the distance between us as he responded to my question. <<First of all, in order to prevent the leakage of research data on artificial Super Devils, it must be completely destroyed.>>
“It would be fine to leave that to us to deal with, but you don’t appear to be satisfied with that. Is it because there was something wrong with us finding out about the research?”
<<I want to completely vanquish all of the research evidence before Hades-sama finds out about it.>>
…Wasn’t it meant to be for Hades? “…Why?”
I couldn’t help but ask. <<…It’s just like the Devils’ side, Sekiryuutei. We are not entirely unified. …But, everything that I do is for the sake of the Netherworld’s future that I envision.>>
Not entirely unified huh. Regardless of whether it was Orcus-san of the conservative faction or Thanatos here, the Netherworld seemed to have complex problems of its own. “…Well, what are the other reasons?”
<<Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate everyone who carries that research data. In order to prevent Hades-sama from obtaining any relevant information at all.>>
So that’s why…that’s the reason why he targeted Koneko-chan…! “I won’t allow you to interfere with Koneko-chan and Kuroka.”
<<That is fine. That is precisely why you are the Sekiryuutei of this era.>>
Thanatos erected his index finger. <<Another reason…is extremely simple. My comrade Pluto was defeated at the hands of the Hakuryuukou. But he shouldn’t have felt dissatisfied with that. He was able to touch the power of a Heavenly Dragon which can reach even a god—. As far as I’m concerned, I also would like to have a taste of your power, as you are considered to be the Strongest Sekiryuutei in History.>>
……In the end, it doesn’t seem like we can continue to talk like this. Not only are you targeting Koneko-chan, you’re also hoping to fight against me. I, no, we only wanted to protect the peace! I got into a fighting stance. “Even if you are a god — I will destroy you. This is not a game. I am the [Sekiryuutei of Blazing Truth], and I am also the [Pawn] of the [Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess].”
<<Please do try to fulfil my request, Hyoudou Issei. Allow this god of death to witness your full power.>>
Thanatos swung his large scythe down. This marked the beginning of my battle against the ultimate-class Grim Reaper. As I charged forth, I fired off several Dragon Shots at the same time! Thanatos left behind a black and blue afterimage as he dodged with an insanely high speed. I corrected the direction of my Dragon Shot, and I continued to fire it towards Thanatos as I approached! My demonic energy blasts all landed direct hits — but Thanatos was unscathed as he continued to approach me! So an attack on the level of a Dragon Shot isn’t even enough to scratch him huh! Even if I released my wyverns, they would easily be knocked down. Thanatos swung his scythe, and I quickly evaded it…the scythe cut through the ground’s surface. Every time Thanatos swung his scythe, a large scar would be left on the surface of the ground. He had such incredible power that every single movement of his scythe was enough to change the shape of the terrain—. If his ordinary attacks had so much power behind them, then he was far stronger than Pluto was! In order to move in for a melee attack, I charged towards Thanatos, and I began to punch him when we were almost face to face. However, it felt as though I was hitting air, and there was no solid sensation or feedback that I had actually hit him. And unbeknownst to me, Thanatos had circled behind and he prepared to swing down his scythe. What I was hitting had actually been an afterimage! I activated the Crimson Blaster cannons in my wings and fired them at Thanatos! As I rotated on the spot to adjust my stance, I extended Ascalon out of my left arm and thrust it towards Thanatos. Before he could disappear and leave his afterimage behind, I used the power of [Penetrate]! [Penetrate!!] The ability that allowed me to pass through any object had been infused into Ascalon. Thinking that it would be bad if he was hit by that, Thanatos immediately retreated backwards. I instantly reacted and flew forwards — I flew above Thanatos and then released my cannon blast. “Crimson Blasterrrrrrrrrr!”
A tremendous bombardment of aura descended towards Thanatos who was right below me. —But, it missed him, and once again, Thanatos circled around behind me! I flapped my dragon wings to turn my body around, and Thanatos used his scythe to parry Ascalon! When our blades clashed, Thanatos laughed
<<Indeed, you’re very strong. But it should be extremely clear after this brief encounter. —In this form, you have no chance of winning.>>
……It was something that I knew from the very beginning! But, if it’s that form, then…! —How can I possibly tolerate a provocation like that? I flew away from Thanatos to put some distance in between us. Say, Ddraig. Continuing on like this would just be a waste of stamina, right? [That’s right, and in the off-chance that you don’t respond well enough, you could suffer a serious amount of damage. True [Queen] is no match for him at all. It wouldn’t make much of a difference even if you used partial Dragon Deification.] Then, even if there is a time limit, I need to decide the outcome here. It’s also quite difficult to wait for both Sairaorg-san and Dulio to arrive. I took a deep breath, and then recited the chant of power. “—The Crimson Red Dragon dwelling within me, awaken from your dominance”
A dazzling crimson glow was emitted from the jewel of my right gauntlet. [—The Crimson Heavenly Dragon I possess within me, rise up to become a King]
A jet-black aura was released from the jewel of my left gauntlet. “—The jet-black God of Infinity”
An immense crimson aura enveloped my entire body—. [—The glorious God of Dreams]
The jet-black aura that symbolised infinity was then encased over it.