Continues on from Last Life… Poetic Justice
Continues on to Deterrence

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The Beast 666

After witnessing Rizevim’s final moments, Vali and I — as well as Lilith (slowly following behind us), opened the two great doors to the power room, and then advanced forward. After Fafnir defeated Rizevim, he returned by going back through the Dragon Gate. This time, he should be able to have a good rest. You can recover a bit earlier, and start protecting Asia again. It’s because you’re trusted by her. So, as was described before, there should be a massive crystal in here — it was the crystal that was rumoured to be used in the creation of [Evil Pieces]. With that in the centre, it acted as the power generator of Agreas, thereby generating the power to drive this floating city. Just when I set foot inside — I became speechless at the sight of the power generator. The deepest part of Agreas had actually turned into an extremely large spherical cavity. The crystal which was known as the power generator in the centre was…that crystal was there along with an even larger creature next to it.

“……Tsk! T-that thing is!?”

I could only stand there as my eyes widened in surprise. …I never imagined that it would be this, that bastard Rizevim…! That thing had seven heads and ten horns, the ’beast’ that was far too powerful—. Its giant body was easily longer than a few hundred metres, it was even larger than Great Red. —Apocalypse Beast Trihexa ^[1], 666^[2]. Each one of its heads belonged to a different creature; one of them was like a lion, one was like a leopard, one was like a bear, and there was also one like that of a dragon, there was no sense of unity. Its body had a variety of features from the different creatures, and it gave off a foreign sensation from its body. Extending out from inside its body was a countless number of chains which were tightly restraining the beast. All of its heads were asleep and did not seem conscious. …It had supposedly been left at the end of the world. Rizevim had actually brought it all the way in here…. I see, the reason why he stole Agreas was because he wanted to use it as a place to hold this thing. …The problem was its immensely dark aura. That thing was actually capable of releasing aura of such a degree…! By standing here, simply being able to feel the evil aura which was oozing out of that beast was enough to make someone go crazy. …That bastard Rizevim, he had actually already restored Trihexa to such a degree. There were only a few more seals before it would be completely released now. The Forbidden Fruit which he obtained in Heaven must have been in order to revive Trihexa, and speed up the unsealing…. And more importantly was the crystal which was embedded within the centre of Trihexa’s body. It looked like he wanted to assimilate Trihexa with the power generator of Agreas…. He was also using the power generator of Agreas to unseal it. He had actually used the legacy of the previous Maou’s era in such a way. He exploited what he could from his father’s legacy, he truly was a good-for-nothing son, that bastard Rizevim. …Anyway, it’s quite lucky that we’ll be able to take some preventative measures at this stage. Regardless of what we want to do though, Rossweisse’s sealing research would not be able to meet the deadline. She certainly was a genius, but this unsealing speed was far too abnormal. All of the different things that he did were all in order to accelerate its unsealing…. Vali raised his head and looked at the massive beast as he said

“So that’s how it is, even I wouldn’t be able to defeat it. Even if I was allowed to fight, I would be powerless against it in my present condition.”

Vali carefully watched Trihexa with a tight expression on his face. Suddenly, Lilith pointed to the wall.

“Ddraig, Ddraig.”

While thinking about what she was talking about, I turned my gaze to follow the direction that she was pointing at—.

“…What! He even went and did something like that…!”

I was completely astounded by the scene in front of me. Within the spherical cavity, a myriad of cocoons were hanging down from the wall. A part of it could be seen at the top of the cocoon. —Looking closely, all of them were the heads of the Boosted Gear Scale Mail ^[3]. That is to say, of the cocoons which were hanging from the walls of the cavity, inside all of them were artificial Boosted Gear Scale Mails. Were they the same type as the one that Euclid Lucifuge used? Most likely, there was nothing inside them. If they were truly Boosted Gear Scale Mail which were able to move on their own…simply imagining that made me shudder. Such a number of them was extremely bad. Within this space, from top to bottom, and front to back were more than a thousand cocoons…! I shuddered again whilst looking at what Qlippoth had prepared. But, we were very lucky right now. We would be able to stop it here before it actually began. I exhaled, and then allowed myself to calm down. I then took a step forward in order to stop all of this. —At that time. The power generator suddenly began to vibrate intensely. Accompanied by a rumbling noise, the power generator began to activate. How could this be!? I didn’t even do anything! Why would it activate—.

[Hiyahahahahahaha! Hyahahahahahaha!]

All of a sudden, that irritating laughter was heard again. Rizevim!? No, he just died thoroughly. So, this is—.

[If this has started, then it means that I’ve been killed. So by whose hand was it…was it Sirzechs-kun, or was it Vali-kun?]

…This was a voice recording? It was set to activate after his death. Rizevim continued to spell out his last words.

[Well whatever, since this has started, it’s fine that it’s become like this. —This reaction is based on my death and will force all of the stages to be destroyed, the final step in the resurrection of Trihexa. This will use my soul as the final energy source.]

—What!? …What did you say…? I looked back towards the power generator! In the end — each of Trihexa’s heads had started to open their eyes. At the same time, the seals which had been applied to it became visible, and then began to shatter—. That bastard Rizevim, he actually used his soul as a sacrifice to forcefully accelerate the unsealing! This was not good! This…was really bad! I anxious started to create a seal on the spot — but it showed no signs of stopping Trihexa’s awakening at all! One of its heads had completely opened its eyes, and then roared out!

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnn!

—It was just a roar, but it felt as though even my soul was being tightly clenched! That howl just then echoed out across not only the cavity, but also the entire city! The people above would have noticed it! After that, the second head — also began to open its eyes completely!

“Vaaali! Attack it quickly! If that thing revives — the world will end!”

“Che!”

Following my instructions, Vali instantly equipped his armour, and then flew out! He gathered a massive amount of aura and fired it towards it — but Trihexa remained unharmed! It won’t work even with Vali!? The Juggernaut Overdrive that he used before was very draining for him, but for the one known as the strongest Hakuryuukou in history to land a blow and not even be able to scratch the skin…! While lost for words, I could do nothing but continue to create several layers of seals over and over again; even a little bit would be good, I had to gamble on that tiny possibility! Vali also continued to attack it endlessly! At this point, Rizevim’s last words still continued.

[This is a forced resurrection after all, so I don’t know what will happen. Perhaps even greater damage than I expected will occur. —At the same time that Trihexa is being revived, a very interesting thing will also be released. That is…perhaps it has already appeared before your eyes, the mass-produced fake Sekiryuutei, and a large army of them too.]

The cocoons of the Sekiryuuteis which were originally hanging off the wall—. They began to break apart one by one. The Plate Mail ^[4] which had been adjusted to move on their own then started to climb out of the cocoons slowly.

“Lilith! I’ll give you snacks afterwards, can you do something about that right now!?”

I cried out to Lilith as a desperate hope. Lilith walked towards Trihexa, and simply raised her head to observe it—.

“Scary.”

…Perhaps it was an instinctive fear of Trihexa. Then we’ll just have to change the target.

“Well, then do something about those mass-produced Sekiryuutei!”

Lilith obeyed my instructions, trotted over there, and then sent the Sekiryuutei which had just activated flying with a single punch! She was indeed Ophis’ spawn! Having said that though, going by her leisurely pace, destroying that many Sekiryuutei was somewhat…!

[Because they’re replicas, they don’t have the strength of the real thing. But with this, it’s certainly possible to destroy the city.]

The mass-produced Sekiryuutei spread their wings, and then flew towards the surface together! The third, and fourth head of Trihexa had already opened their eyes. In this desperate situation, that bastard’s disgusting laughter echoed throughout the room.

[Hyahahahahahahahahahaha!]

……Rizevim…! Livan! …That bastard…! Even after your death, you won’t let go of us and you’ll continue your evil!?

[The legendary beast recorded in the Book of Revelation, and its subordinate fake Sekiryuutei army! Well, what will you do, how will you deal with this!?]

Vali became even more impatient upon hearing Rizevim’s words, and continued to attack Trihexa, but the beast ignored him and continued to awaken. Rizevim’s gleeful voice still did not stop—.

[Like this, the Underworld, Heaven and the Human World will be destroyed, carrying my will and dream, and advancing towards another world that has never been seen—]

His voice suddenly stopped. At this time, another voice resounded within the power room.

<<Your last words were still such a trifling matter…how truly hopeless, Prince Rizevim.>>

—It was Apophis’ voice. Although he himself wasn’t present, it was definitely the voice of the Evil Dragon Apophis who had appeared just before. Then, the voice of another Evil Dragon was also heard.

[Gukuku, but it could be considered to be his style.]

[How bothersome!]

[That’s dead right!]

It was Aži Dahāka!

“Those are the voices of Apophis and Aži Dahāka!?”

I said that as I lifted my head to look upwards. Without any sign of hesitation, Apophis answered me

<<That’s correct, former governor-dono. Unlike earlier, it’s a bit rude of us to be there only in voice right now. I’m very sorry about interrupting you while you were listening to the prince’s last words, but please listen to my next announcement.>>

Aži Dahāka and Apophis began their declaration of war against us!

<<We will take Trihexa and the army of fake Sekiryuutei.>>

[We’ll take them away.]

[We’re going to use them.]

[Not only in the Underworld and the Human World, but also in another world, we’re going to create the world that belongs only to Evil Dragons. So please allow us to make good use of them.]

Just while they were saying that, Trihexa’s heads — the final seventh one had now opened its eyes. I wasn’t sure if it was bound to be, or just coincidence that the final head was that of a dragon—.

“You guys, did you plan to use Rizevim and us from the very beginning?”

After hearing my question, Apophis replied

<<No, not from the very beginning. —It’s only because Prince Rizevim was too pathetic that we planned this.>>

[The worst is that that guy looked down on dragons too much. And I’m not just referring to the Hakuryuukou in there or Fafnir. He simply thought that Devils were the strongest race and tried to use them, he was also too fond of playing little tricks.]

[Dragons like simplicity and straightforwardness the most!]

[There’s no need for thinking! One simply follows what they feel!]

In front of Vali and I — the seventh head had already woken up entirely!

Gyoooooooooooohhh! Zuooooooooohhh! Gyooooooooohhh!

The seven heads were howling out individually—. The booming volume of their noise caused even the entire city to shake. I was forced to use defensive magic to protect my ears. Even after it finished howling, my ears were still aching. —Trihexa had revived.

The giant beast shook its enormous body, and forcefully snapped the chains which were binding it. At the same time, this room was beginning to collapse. No, it wasn’t just this room. Even a part of the city was beginning to collapse from the shockwaves which were produced by Trihexa’s revival. One of the heads looked upwards, and then opened its gigantic mouth. Within its mouth, an unimaginably vast amount of aura was gathered! —Shit! I instantly grabbed hold of Lilith, and then dashed into a corner to take refuge. I also created several layers of defensive magic barriers. In an instant—. One of Trihexa’s heads spat out an immensely large fireball! The ceiling was struck by this blow, several explosions occurred, and the ceiling began to crumble. Amidst the shockwaves produced by these explosions, I continued to strengthen my defensive barriers. …Once, twice, three times, the shockwaves of the explosions shattered my magic barriers one by one. …Just a single head ejecting a fireball out of its mouth is like this…!? From the broken ceiling — rays of light poured down. Trihexa was illuminated by the light — all of its heads focused onto the light which was streaming in…it appeared to be highly satisfied. Trihexa slowly flew up towards the ceiling which had been destroyed. Then, more than a thousand of the mass-produced Sekiryuutei flew up, following it! …It was an incredible scene. Next to the beast recorded in the Revelation was a sea of red dragons, all moving together. I — couldn’t help feeling that it was the beginning of the Apocalypse as I watched this scene. And in my mind, I recalled the passage of the Apocalypse.

—I saw a beast rising out of the sea.

Moving through the ceiling of the power room, the giant beast had been released—.

—The beast had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And on each head were blasphemous names of God.

With the numbers 666 on its seven heads, it was an overly powerful beast—.

—The beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like those of a bear, and its mouth was like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast its own power, throne and great authority.

Juxtaposed with the Apocalypse Dragon ^[5] Great Red, it was the legendary beast recorded in the Book of Revelation—.

—One of the heads seemed to have had a mortal wound, but it had immediately healed. All of the Earth’s inhabitants were frightened. They worshipped the dragon which had given the beast its authority.

From afar, I could see that Trihexa, which had flown out of the ceiling was being attacked by the [DxD] team who were outside. …Against the most evil beast, it had no effect at all—.

—Who could match up to this beast?

…If Great Red fought against it, not only the Underworld and the Human World, but the worlds of the other mythologies would also…they wouldn’t be safe!

—Who could wage war against this beast?

So, who could possibly stop it…! Trihexa and the large army of red dragons had already flown out of the power room completely—.

“…Damn it.”

Within the collapsing cavity, I could only bitterly continue to slam my fist against the wall. The voices of Apophis and Aži Dahāka made a final announcement.

<<Come if you want to come. —We Evil Dragons and you of [DxD] will have our final battle. Don’t worry, we won’t play any petty tricks like Prince Rizevim. We will eradicate everything in front of our eyes together with Trihexa.>>

[Come quickly, Vali Lucifer. Let us fight again. We can fight while admiring the destruction that Trihexa will perform. Don’t you feel excited? Since this is a fight for your lives, a dragon that does not fight is not a real dragon!]

[The Heavenly Dragons against Evil Dragons!]

[Bring the Sekiryuutei as well!]

Then Vali — looked at Trihexa flying in the sky and revealed a fearless smile.

“Of course. Aži Dahāka. That is very interesting indeed. That’s simple and easy to understand.”

…Really. Under these circumstances, these two are even more troublesome than Rizevim to some degree…. Apophis and Aži Dahāka were different to the arrogant and presumptuous Rizevim, they were simply a gathering of pure power. I see, I finally understood now. All of the dragons who possessed power — were pure. To dreams, fighting, violence, magic, and survival—. That’s why they devoted their all. They defeated every obstacle in their way, they won victoriously, and then fell and disappeared—. Ah, Rizevim. That’s why it was impossible for you to win. At the very end you stumbled over yourself, and everything was taken from you. These dragons all possessed their own immense power, and lived freely according to their own will. Now, the fate of the world was dominated by dragons. It’s the same as the time when the Two Heavenly Dragons interfered in the fight between the Three Factions. —Those guys were all convinced that they were the strongest. They acted and lived only according to their own thoughts. The final battle around Trihexa had begun. Regardless of whether it was our side, or the enemy’s side, at the centre of everything were dragons—.

[1] Kanji was Imperial Beast of the Apocalypse, kana was Apocalypse Beast.
[2] 666 is read as Trihexa.
[3] Kanji was Sekiryuutei armour, kana was Boosted Gear Scale Mail.
[4] Kanji was full-body armour, kana was Plate Mail.
[5] Kanji was True Red Dragon God Emperor, kana was Apocalypse Dragon.

(Part 1 of 1) (18/2)

Continues on to Deterrence