With Rizevim’s departure and the end of the attacks from the vampires-turned-evil dragon, the darkness lifted over the Tsepesh town… But the damage was nothing short of horrific.
Everything, from the roads to the buildings, had been utterly devastated.
The surviving Tsepesh and Carmilla agents were still evacuating the residents to safety, while a rescue team led by Asia was focusing on the injured in the underground shelter beyond the east gate.
As for me, I made my way back to the castle with Gasper, now reverted to his original form… It, too, lay in ruins, battered from the dragon assault.
All at once, I spotted a woman lying slumped on the ground—Elmenhilde.
“…Why…? Traitors…turning into evil dragons… Our homeland… What am I supposed to do now…?” she muttered in a daze.
…She must have learned from the agents supporting her that the Carmilla town had fallen under attack, just like the Tsepesh one. In fact, Azazel had told us just a few minutes ago that Heaven’s Brave Saints had intervened to drive away the mass-produced evil dragons.
The damage in the Carmilla town was said to be even worse than over here. According to Azazel, it would take both sides a long time to rebuild.
Traitors among the Carmilla vampires had succumbed to the allure of the Holy Grail, ultimately being transformed into dragons that attacked the town.
Marius must have brought forward his plans to retrieve the Holy Grail after rumors started leaking among the Carmilla. No doubt that was how Elmenhilde and her agents knew about it.
While I stood there struggling to find the right words to say to her, Gasper emerged from deeper in the castle carrying Valerie on his back. She hadn’t been with us when Rizevim teleported us to the castle tower earlier, so Gasper went back alone to find her.
I was just about to go help him when I noticed a figure standing nearby—Gasper’s father.
“…”
The head of the Vladi family stared at Gasper in silence.
“I’m a member of Rias Gremory’s Familia!” Gasper declared without shrinking back. “I’m her Bishop! And my name is Gasper!” He bowed his head. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. But I won’t be coming back. And I’m taking Valerie with me.” He passed his father in the corridor, delivering these final words: “Our home is in Japan now.”
The head of the Vladi family closed his eyes, saying nothing.
I felt a stirring in me—my junior well and truly was a man of the Gremory Familia.
To the best of my knowledge, that was the last conversation between father and son.
✦ ✦ ✦
Three hours had passed since the attack. Dawn was fast approaching.
It would soon be time for the vampires to go to sleep. Most would spend the day in the underground shelter.
We members of the Occult Research Club, along with Bennia and Rugal, gathered in the town’s central square.
After the underground battle, Bennia and Rugal had gone to help take care of the evil dragons on the surface. How diligent of them! As to be expected of members of the Sitri Familia!
As for Vali…he had vanished without a trace. Where could he have gone…? That pained look on his face the last time I saw him lingered in my mind. Azazel said he would go find him later.
Meanwhile, he looked Valerie over once more.
“Just like I thought, we’ll need the third Holy Grail, the one Rizevim stole, to restore her consciousness. That Holy Grail was a set of three, and she was only barely managing to hold on after Rizevim took the first one… Her mind must have shut down once the second was extracted. The only way to fix it will be to restore the Sacred Gear to its original state.”
So it was inevitable—we were going to have to deal with Rizevim and his reborn Khaos Brigade, that Qlippoth group.
“But why did they only extract one of the three Holy Grails?” I asked.
Unlike Marius, Rizevim was fully aware that Valerie’s was a variant-type Holy Grail. So why didn’t he take more than one?
“…I can think of a few political reasons for keeping the vampires around, but there’s probably a simpler answer,” Azazel said. “I’m guessing he realized more than one would be too difficult to control. From what he said, it sounds like he can still activate its Balance Breaker with just the one. On top of that, I get the feeling only one was active when Marius had Valerie use it. Maybe her body couldn’t take the strain of using two or more simultaneously… Well, we’re going to have to wait before we get any definitive answers.”
Right. So one was more than enough. Any more might be too difficult to handle. Considering the magnitude of what a single one of them had wrought—enhancing those vampires and later transforming them into evil dragons—it clearly was an exceptional power.
I had another question about my own ability this time.
“Teach? About that ability I used…”
I would never have imagined my White Dragon Emperor powers to reemerge like that. The Dividing Gear had vanished, changing form into those miniature reflecting dragons.
Azazel tilted his head in thought. “That’s probably less you evolving and more Ddraig undergoing a new awakening… Maybe the fact the Two Heavenly Dragons had an honest conversation was the key? I’d better look into it in more detail… Vali as well…”
So this also needed looking into… I knew it—I was responsible for both Heavenly Dragons’ mental turmoil, along with their reconciliation.
Yep, it was all so complicated! I didn’t know what to think! At least Ddraig was feeling better!
Azazel breathed a sigh. “Then there’s that replica Boosted Gear Issei told us about… It’s safe to assume it was made through some reckless combination of artificial Sacred Gear technology, cloning, and the Holy Grail. So long as Ddraig resides in Issei, it’s impossible for two Boosted Gears to exist. It really is just a crude replica. The problem is the person using it is already extremely skilled, so he can pull off tricks similar to the original. Take the user out of the equation, and there’s no way it could ever surpass the original.”
…So basically, my base stats were greatly inferior to Euclid’s… Well, it was true. I could barely do anything at all without my Boosted Gear.
…It was so frustrating. I needed to train harder to close the gap! After all, I was already drawing on the powers of Ophis and the Great Red! I wished I could unleash even a fraction of that strength!
While I was busy fretting, Gasper reached out to caress Valerie’s cheek.
“Thank you for watching over her, Azazel.” He stood up and turned to the rest of us. “President Rias, Issei. I’ve made up my mind,” he declared, his gaze firm and unwavering. “I’m going to retrieve the Holy Grail.”
—. Under the light of the rising sun, our heroic daywalker stood tall, majestic, and dignified.
“I’ll get stronger, and I’ll take the Holy Grail back from those leeches… I swear, I’ll make Valerie whole again… And then she’ll be able to start over…!” he shouted, choking on his words as he fought back tears. “I’ll save her!”
…Here he was coming out with such a masculine declaration. He really had grown up quickly.
“We’ll take it back, Gasper!” I said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
“Yes! I’ll help beat them all!”
What a brave face he was making!
Living to save the woman who had once saved you—now that was a goal worthy of any man!
Yep, he would be a strong one; that was for sure.
After all, he was a man of the Gremory Familia—just like me and Kiba.
Valerie, still unconscious, was readied for transportation to the Grigori Research Institute, while the rest of us set off back to Japan.